Mosey over to Moser for some Italian bubbly

Hello friends! How you holding up out there?

Ringed by the Dolomite Mountains in northeastern Italy, the Trento growing region has proved over the last hundred years or so to be fertile ground for growing grapes to produce sparkling wines. In the mid 1980’s, the growers in this region began organizing themselves around sets of oenological standards.

The result of this organization bore fruit, pardon the pun, in 1993 when the Trento region received DOC status in Italy. As a refresher, DOC is short for Denominazione di Origine Controllata – which refers to the aforementioned standards.

DOC (and its fancier cousin, DOCG) have now been subsumed under the broader “DOP” category – and is still used for familiarity’s sake. However, the winemakers saw an opportunity to broaden their brand, and Trentodoc was born.

The grapes used to make Trentodoc sparkling wine —Chardonnay, Pinot Nero, Pinot Bianco, and Pinot Meunier—are harvested by hand, and the “base wine” ages slowly in the bottle on the lees from a minimum of 15 months for a Brut to a minimum of 36 months for a Riserva, and upto 10 years for more refined and mature Trentodoc wines. Trentodoc is available as a white or rosé wine as Brut, Millesimato, and Riserva.

The other major production difference between Trentodoc and many other Italian sparkling wines like Prosecco is the method of carbonation. Most Italian sparklers use the Charmat Method for carbonating, which involves carbonating wine in tanks. Trentodoc sparklers exclusively use what is termed Metodo Classico, which is the same as the Methode Champenoise used in Champagne. In these wines, the wine is carbonated in the bottle while being periodically turned, and the expired yeast is disgorged at the end. (For a more detailed explanation, see here.) Wines made in Metodo Classico tend to be have more balanced flavors and have more carbonation than their Charmatted cousins.

Thanks to a well-timed visit from Drinkerbell the Wine Fairy, a bottle of Moser “51,151” Trentodoc Brut arrived at my door. After election stress, work from home craziness, and not a little cabin fever from lockdown, the Sweet Partner in Crime and I wanted an evening to kick back – and how better to do that than with bubbly, I ask you?

This wine’s nomenclature is an homage to Francesco Moser, a champion Italian cyclist, who held the world “hour record,” which refers to the distance ridden from a stationary start over the course of an hour. Moser rode 51.151 km in his record run. Along with his cycling prowess, he worked in his family vineyards from his youth and, in 1979, along with his brother Diego, established the Moser winery near the village of Gardolo di Mezzo.

We cracked the bottle as the skies darkened in State College. (This means that both of us had left our respective workstations a little bit early this time of year.) Sitting back in our “evening chairs,” we had our first few sips. This 100% Chardonnay sparkler has a lightly fruity nose with some very pleasant floral aromas and a little toast on the back end. The mouthfeel is round and full, with lots of refreshing bubbles. Not as much of that toast and yeast lees flavor carries through to the midpalate, but there’s a collection of fruit: pineapple, mango, and pear. The finish is zippy and cleansing, settling back into a little bit of fresh bread at the very end. All in all, it’s just a super pleasant sparkling wine.

As we got closer to the dinner hour, I manned the stove and put together from some fresh crab ravioli from another central PA institution, Fasta & Ravioli Company, done in a simple white wine sauce. The wine’s flavors married particularly well with the rich shellfish, playing off the meatiness while cutting through the sauce’s butter. While crab is an obvious pairing, shrimp or lobster would be nice. I also tried a little bit we had left over the next day with some braunschweiger on a saltine – a flavor craving I picked up as a kid – and was actually a pretty nice match. While I know liver sausage may not be everyone’s cup of tea, any sort of pâté would be lovely alongside.

I’ve long been a fan of these Metodo Classico wines, if you’ve followed here long enough. They’re excellent budget-friendly substitutes for many Champagnes, and the Moser is no exception. You’ll find this for around $25, which is well-priced for a bottle of this quality
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Nyetimber -- Bubbles from Great Britain

Hello, friends.

These are quiet times around the vineyard, but as we round the horn into the beauty of fall around here, I’m starting to feel like there’s some light around the corner.

To celebrate, or at least take a breath before, what I’m hoping may be the beginnings of the piercings of this veil of negativity we’ve been under for what feels like forever. I want to share with you Nyetimber 2013 Blanc de Blancs, a sparkling wine from…England?

Yes, England. You read that correctly. While the English are better known for their fondness for pounding bottle after bottle of Claret (red Bordeaux to the rest of us) there’s not been a real emphasis on wine production among our friends across the pond. However, as our global climate warms, some areas which would have been too cold to produce vinifera grapes consistently are now finding themselves fertile ground for grape growing. The total area under vine in England has almost quadrupled over the last decade, largely in the south of England along the English Channel.

Enter Nyetimber. With vineyards spread across Sussex, Hampshire, and Kent – the three counties in the southeast corner of the U.K. – Nyetimber was the first English winery to grow the three primary varietals which comprise Champagne: Pinot Noir, Petit Meunier, and, of course Chardonnay.

The Nyetimber estate takes its name from Nitimbreha – the name of the valley in which the first vines were planted nearly 900 years ago, according to a reference in the Domesday Book. The main sparkling varietals were planted much more recently – only over the last 30 years or so, and those wines were largely consumed locally or elsewhere in the EU. With England’s departure from that European body, I imagine these wines will begin appearing in US stores much more frequently.

Thanks to a well-timed visit from the wine fairy (thanks, Pia!), the Sweet Partner in Crime and I had the opportunity to build part of an evening around our first experience with English bubbly -- which I must say was very pleasant. This 100% Chardonnay spends about five years on its lees, so I readied myself for a Champagne-like experience. What I got was quite different.

The nose of this Blanc de Blancs is somewhat yeasty with a nice backing of lemon and apple blossom. My first sip was refreshingly bracing. Crisply layered green apple flavors and flint ride a wave of tight bubbles like a breeze off the Solent. The texture was fascinating – I’ve never felt the bubbles of a sparkler on my teeth as tightly as with this wine. The slow-to-build finish exits with some toasty vanilla and a bit of a return of the yeast from the nose.

 I found the Nyetimber to be less rich and creamy as a lot of Champagnes, but that is certainly not to its detriment if your taste for sparkling runs more to the invigorating. I thought it was incredibly lively and would make a fabulous aperitif when we get back to having dinner parties again. Since this wine has such a lovely palate-cleansing effervescence, I expected it would make a good food wine. No disappointments there.

In landlocked central Pennsylvania, one might not expect to find good seafood, particularly shellfish. However, in Lemont, just outside of State College, sits the beacon that is Maine Bay and Berry, an absolutely essential stop for us these days. MB&B makes weekly runs to various New England stops to bring wonderfully fresh fish back to us in Centre County. One of their signatures, not surprisingly is lobster, and we adore their lobster rolls – which are light on mayo and heavy on flavor.

Since the basic rule of food and bubbly is “get a little fat in your mouth,” we had the Nyetimber alongside our lobster rolls with a side of potato chips. Once we dug in, I don’t think there was a coherent word that passed between us – just some guttural yummy noises. If you have a chance to try the Nyetimber with shellfish – and I imagine it would be astoundingly good with oysters – do so.

The Nyetimber is a special occasion wine – this bottle is available for around $40-55, depending on seller and quantity, but I imagine that price will descend. There are also some less-expensive cuvees from the estate available. There's also a fun feature where you can enter a code from the label to see the precise date when your bottle was...well...bottled, riddled, and disgorged.

 

Keeping it Natural -- Santa Julia Organica

Organic wine is nothing new. I first wrote about organic wine more than a decade ago – but over the last couple of years, it feels like the rise of wine characterized as “organic” has mirrored the reconfiguration of many grocery store produce sections. Where once organics were a small corner of a store, now organic products are mixed throughout. Wine stores are following suit.

The new label for Santa Julia wines.

What makes a wine “organic?” The USDA definition has changed slightly over the years. There used to be three categories of organic wines – and that’s been reduced to two. The first are wines labeled “made with organic grapes.” Organic grapes are produced without most pesticides, fertilizers, and other synthetic ingredients. The wine must be bottled in a facility that has passed certain inspections, and must be bottled with fewer than 100 parts per million of sulfites. If a wine is labeled simply “organic,” then there are no sulfites permitted.

Most organic wines you’ll see commonly are domestic in nature – which makes sense, since “organic” is a definition of the U.S. government. For an international wine to be labeled as such, the growing and production must follow the USDA rules prior to import. There are non-domestic wineries who have been doing the “organic thing” for many years, however. One of those, Santa Julia Organica from Argentina, has recently completed a rebranding to align with the demand for organics.

Santa Julia is a product of Familia Zuccardi winery in the Mendoza region of Argentina. Under the direction of José Zuccardi – who named the wine after her only daughter, Julia – Familia Zuccardi has produced Santa Julia’s award-winning wines since the late 1990’s. They’ve designed their winemaking process to be environmentally sustainable, yet have been able to keep costs at a reasonable level. The Santa Julia Organica wines retail in the U.S. for about $11 a bottle.

I had the opportunity to try three of Santa Julia Organica’s lineup recently. In short, I was very pleasantly surprised.

Santa Julia Organica 2017 Malbec – At first sniff, I was met with cherries and strawberries on the nose, which I thought was interesting for a Malbec. The nose has an airy character I’d expect to find on a much lighter wine. This one’s a dark, rich violet. Diving into the glass, though, I was quickly hit with dense dark cherry flavors, along with leather, smoke, and a fairly full boat of tannin. The wine really picks up steam once it gets some air and the chocolate notes come out. Finish was lighter than I expected – there was lasting tannin, but the weight from the palate does a vanishing act, leaving behind a gentle fruit finish.

Santa Julia 2017 Organica Chardonnay – I thought this was an interesting middle ground Chardonnay. The mouthfeel really stands out for me here. While there’s plenty of weight, it doesn’t get bogged down with a lot of malo-creaminess or high acidity. Nose is fragrant with peaches and green apple. The major flavors on the palate are pineapple and apricot, with a twist of lemon on the finish that lingers lemon crème-ish. As we start getting into winter, this style of white would certainly be welcome around many tables. It’s a crowdpleaser.

Santa Julia Organica 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon – The Sweet Partner in Crime has been on a real light-styled wine kick. Jammy zins and merlots just aren’t hitting her palate right these days. I pulled this particular Cabernet for a meal of some pork loin chops, hoping that the interesting twists of the previous two wines would follow along in this cabernet. Thankfully, I was right. This Cabernet is a leaner, smokier quaff than many cabs, even Argentinean ones. Dark cherry and cassis flavors are layered over smoke and graphite on the palate. The finish isn’t overly tannic, which was a nice change, and had a smoky, berry-filled finish that reminded me just a smidge of a Pinot Noir. A very nice food wine, as it really meshed with the sear and flavors of the chops. I’d recommend it.

Santa Julia Organica also produces a Tempranillo and a Torrontes, both at the same price point. All are solid values.

Naked Vine Double Barrel – Veneto cool for Summer’s heat

Ah, Venice. Starting spot for the first European trip the Sweet Partner in Crime and I took together a decade ago. We have many lovely memories of Venice itself, but we didn’t get a chance, that time, to leave the confines of the city to head for the hills of Treviso, where wine grapes grow plentifully.

The eastern portion of the Veneto DOC region, named for its proximity to Venice, is best known for production of white grapes, particularly Glera, which is the primary grape in Prosecco, as well as numerous others. The western, warmer portion of the region, towards the city of Verona produces largely red grapes, including Corvina – the primary grape in both the light-styled red Valpolicella and the tannic, raisinated Amarone.

It’s to the eastern portion that we turn our eyes for the last set of tasties that the Wine Fairy graciously brought to our door to spawn some Italian reminiscences. We had the chance to try a couple of whites from Gran Passione, a producer in the Veneto, both of which retail for around $13.

Gran Passione Prosecco DOC – Prosecco, the ubiquitously tasty Italian sparkler, continues its rise in US popularity, thanks to the help of many friendly neighborhood bartenders working this wine into various craft cocktails that have caught on with Millennials. In Italy, however, these warm-weather creations are served as traditional aperitifs. This particular Prosecco, which is dry and full of peach and green apple fruit, makes a lovely drink on its own. I had this alongside a lovely mushroom quiche the Sweet Partner in Crime whipped up on Memorial Day and it was an excellent pairing. However, I thought it really shone as the base of an Aperol Spritz – over ice, pour two shots of Gran Passione with a shot of Aperol (a reddish bitter liqueur) and a splash of club soda. Stir gently and squeeze in a lime wedge. Enjoy summer.

 

Brunch from the Sweet Partner in Crime -- with Gran Passione Prosecco

Gran Passione 2017 Veneto Bianco – The other sample was a crisp white – a blend of 80% Chardonnay and 20% Garganega – the latter of which is the primary grape in an Italian wine called Soave. This crisp, acidic blend, has a floral aroma backed with a hint of baking spice. The main flavor reminded me of lemon crème. Fuller bodied than many Italian whites, this is a bold enough white to handle multiple food duties – from summer salads with strawberries and goat cheese to roasted chicken to salmon with a lighter sauce. Nicely versatile and quite a decent value.

Revisiting Australia with Hope Estate

Australian wine played a major role in the early days of my wine education. I was in graduate school, invited to one of my first “grownup” parties. The party was hosted by the boyfriend of one of my classmates, a debonair business sort who hailed from Sydney. He’d bought the local wine store out of Jacob’s Creek and Penfolds, it seemed. I was a beer guy at the time, but was always willing to drink for free learn about new drinks.

After that, Shiraz from Australia became one of my “have a bottle lying around” reds – largely because it was decent, inexpensive, and easy to drink. The Sweet Partner in Crime (who also has an Australian wine history thanks to her stint as a server at Outback back in the day…) and I went through our courtship consuming copious quantities of Rosemount Estates’ Grenache-Shiraz.

But times change and palates change. Most of the Australian wine available in my price range for many years was relatively uninteresting – big jammy reds, semi-sweet Rieslings, and steel tank one-note Chardonnay were always available. A friend of mine in the wine business referred to the inexpensive Australian juice as “Pop-Tart Wine” – because every flavor basically tasted the same. There were some higher quality Australian reds to sample, but many of them were out of our price range at that point. As my wine education took my palate to different areas of the world, Australian wine largely dropped off my radar.

Until recently, that is. My recent dispatches about the wine shortages brought about by climate change in North America and Europe prompted me to start looking below the equator for better wine values. Fortuitously, the wine fairy dropped off a package of wines from Hope Estates in Australia’s Hunter Valley, in New South Wales near Sydney.

Hope Estate, founded by Michael Hope in 1992, started as a single vineyard, but has expanded to an entertainment complex which includes a brewery, a café, and a 20,000 seat amphitheater – if you’re ever in the neighborhood. A four pack of Hope Estates wines got me rethinking the lack of Australian wine in my portfolio, as they were all quite good and sit at a nice price point:

Hope Estates 2016 Wollombi Block Semillon – I don’t know when the last time was that I tried a straight Australian Semillon. Must be a decade, at least. Semillion’s a native grape of France, where it’s usually blended into white Bordeaux or noble rotted to make Sauternes, the most expensive (and for good reason) dessert wine in the world. In Australia, though, Semillon is grown as a primary white varietal. If this wine’s any indication, I’ll need to work this into the rotation somewhere. This version’s a crisp, minerally white full of lemons and limes. Lots of minerals on the palate, which has a nice weight and a little honeyed sweetness. Most wines this acidic feel much lighter. Pretty floral nose, too. $14.

Hope Estates 2015 Hunter Valley Chardonnay – As I mentioned, for me, Australian Chardonnay always seemed uncomplicated and forgettable. Some winemakers seem to have taken up the challenge of improving these wines. This estate grown Chardonnay is aged in French oak with extended time on the lees to add to the mouthfeel. It has a very fruity nose -- bananas and pears, which leads to a full flavored body with a nice creaminess. The flavor yields plenty of pears and peaches, transitioning to a well-balanced oakiness. The finish is lasting, fairly crisp, and with a nice little smokiness. A nicely put together wine. Good value at $14.

Hope Estates 2014 “The Ripper” Shiraz – The first of two Shiraz bottlings in this set. Don’t be frightened by the name of this wine – “Ripper” is an Australian slang term for “Great.” Honestly, I feel like that’s a pretty solid interpretation of this particular bottle. Full of Oz-Shiraz red fruit-forwardness on the nose and palate, the Ripper pulls back into a nicely balanced middle of spice, licorice, plums, and leather. Not the fruit bomb you might expect from an Australian Shiraz, the finish on this is long and fruity, but with a solid tannic backbone. A particularly strong value at $18.

Hope Estates 2014 Basalt Block Shiraz – The “Basalt Block” is a parcel of land in the Broken Back mountain range with deep, volcanic soil, which lends an earthy characteristic to this wine not found in the Ripper. This one has a lovely nose of coffee and plums that transitions into a deeper, smokier fruit on the palate. Blackberry, graphite, and smoke entwine on a firm tannic base. The finish tickles on for quite a good length of time, with smoke and dark fruit alternating. Fans of Rhone Valley-style blends will really enjoy this wine. Again, $14.

Game of Thrones Wine -- Just in Time for Your Watch Party

Gather ‘round, Khals and Khalessi, Ladies and Sers. Game of Thrones returns after its hiatus to whisk us back to Westeros this evening and our respective water coolers on Monday.

The blood, the magic, the palace intrigue – they give welcome respite from the Drogon-ing of our country’s democracy. (And what I wouldn’t give to watch a face to face between Our Dear Leader and Lyanna Mormont…)

With Season 7’s premier in the offing, I got a text from my good friend The Wizard of Covington a couple of weeks ago that read “Winter is Coming” next to a picture of a bottle of Game of Thrones red wine. I did a little research and was able to make contact with my friends at Folsom, who are heading up the PR for this new label, and they were goodly enough to get me a couple of bottles to sample in time for the premiere.

Game of Thrones Wines are produced by Vintage Wine Estates – the California company behind Cosentino, Firesteed, Middle Sister, and many other brands. They make three versions of GoT wine – a Chardonnay from California’s Central Coast and a red blend from Paso Robles, both of which retail for around $20, and a Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, which retails for $50.

My samples were of the first two. How were they? Well, as they say around (what’s left of) King’s Landing…

”Valar dohaeris:”

Game of Thrones 2016 Chardonnay – This Chardonnay started out very floral, likely from the 10% Riesling blended in. I thought it smelled like peach ice cream next to a bouquet of wildflowers. The Chardonnay/Riesling interaction creates a pleasant, integrated set of flavors. Mouthfeel wise, there’s a bit of “stickiness” that comes from a Riesling, with a little accompanying apple-y sweetness. The Chardonnay creaminess and lemon flavors come through secondarily as the acidity kicks in. The finish is a bit on the fruity side, with the peaches returning, followed by a bit of lemon peel. Really not much oak to be found anywhere, other than at the tail, tail end of the finish. My guess is that this would be a crowd-pleasing white – the perfect sort of thing for a watch party – but it’s not one that I’d probably snag just for general consumption. The Sweet Partner in Crime thought that the wine was one of the better Chardonnays that she’d had in a while. She really liked the floral/fruity combination, saying that it reminded her a lot of a Viognier. I wasn’t quite as keen on it, but I certainly thought it was decent.

Game of Thrones 2015 Red Wine – When we first really got into wine tasting, we loved big reds. Back then, this field blend of Malbec, Tempranillo, Zinfandel, Petit Sirah, and Syrah from Paso Robles would be been right in our wheelhouse. “This wine would have been my jam,” said the SPinC, “and now it’s just jam.” She’s not kidding. This full-blooded, fruit-forward inky monster wouldn’t be out of place on a table with roasted joints of meat and mince pies. You want extracted blackberries and dark cherries? Check. You want tannins chewy as an old waterskin? Bingo. You want some vanilla and pepper in your finish? Aye. That’s your quaff. If you want to understand the XY side of the “masculine vs. feminine” wine divide, try this one. The testosterone level matches the alcohol. While it was too much for the SPinC’s pinot-loving palate, I thought it was a pretty strong offering for what it was – a wine that will pull your attention back from the screen to let you know you’re drinking *wine*. For science, I had this next to a strip that I bought from the local butcher. It was as good as you might expect.

While these wines may retail for around $20, your wine stores will probably be running specials on them not long after the premiere. Bottom line – they’re pretty solid wines, but they’re hardly subtle. But who watches GoT for the subtleties, I ask you?

So, saddle up with Dany as she gets across the Narrow Sea, pour yourself a flagon or tankard of your choice, and return to one of the last instances of “appointment television” that we still have left.  Enjoy, and try your best to be nice to that guy yelling “NO SPOILERS! NO SPOILERS!” from a few cubes down and the bummed out lover of the novels who can’t hit you with a “You know nothing” anymore.

Checking in with Charles Smith

Over the Vine’s period of years, I’ve seen wine trends come and go. Wineries merge, brands change, labels change. Early on in my tasting time, I remember hearing about a Washington winemaker named Charles Smith.

Smith had a reputation as the “rock and roll winemaker.” With his big mop of curly hair and penchant for mosh pit-approved attire, Smith looked more Slayer than Sonoma. Using partnerships and interesting, approachable twists on a number of wines, Smith built up an intriguing portfolio and a great deal of brand loyalty when he discovered that simple, eye catching label designs crossed with quality, reasonably priced juice makes a successful market entry. His labels and their black and white iconography look back at you at most decent wine stores.

Smith has long been into sustainable agriculture. All of his winemaking operations follow up-to-date growing techniques and such. I also have some recollection of Smith being an early adopter of using Stelvin screw-top closures exclusively.

OK...Let's do this...

Recently, a slate of five of Smith’s wines showed up at the door. I was interested to get re-acquainted with many of these, since it’d been a couple of years since I’d actually done a full-on tasting of them.

Charles Smith 2015 “Eve” Washington State Chardonnay ($13) – Eve is appropriate moniker. Ripe sweet apple blossom is the first note that shows up in the bouquet, and that’s mirrored with those similar apple flavors on the palate, backed with some tropical fruit. Very lean style, but not overly acidic. No butter or cream. Tastes like there’s just a kiss of oak to round out an exceptionally well-balanced chard. Super pleasant to drink, and a great accompaniment to some slow-baked salmon alongside some sautéed mixed veggies, broiled with shredded parmesan.

Had the Charles Smith 2014 “Chateau Smith” Cabernet Sauvignon ($20) and the Charles Smith 2014 “Boom! Boom!” Syrah ($18) side by side. This pair of deep reds were cracked and poured next to a quality grill-job on some steaks. The Cabernet was rich and fruity, with dark cherry flavors and some blackberry notes against a medium weighted body. The finish was dry and not quite as long as I thought it might be, at least initially. It improved over the course of the evening.

The Syrah, on the other hand, was a juicy, savory experience. Lots of rich blueberry and blackberry flavors, a somewhat fruity and floral nose from the hint of Viognier blended in. The finish did something quite interesting – it starts off quite dry and earthy, then comes back with a little bit of candied sweetness that I found quite pleasant. Alongside the steaks, in a bit of a surprise to me, I found myself preferring the Syrah.

The Charles Smith 2014 “The Velvet Devil” Merlot ($13) has long been one of my go-to bottles of value-priced red, and not just because of my alma mater. (Although this Devil is much more Purple than Blue.) Smith has always produced a quality merlot – and this vintage is no exception. Dark, rich cool-climate fruits are in abundance here, although there’s enough of a tobacco-ish backbone to keep it from becoming a complete fruit bomb. Good restraint in the flavor and some good earthiness and fruity on the finish. Another quality entry. This ended up being an end-of-day wine that went really well with chocolate.

Then, there’s my old fave, Charles Smith 2015 “Kung Fu Girl” Riesling. ($13) I still remember years ago when I first saw an article about Smith, where he was asked about the name of this particular wine. His booming response was “"WHY? BECAUSE, RIESLING AND GIRLS KICK ASS!" The man knows. In any case, I’ve recommended this Riesling more times than I can count, because I find it hits the middle of the Venn diagram for people who aren’t into super-sweet Rieslings, and those who can’t deal with the flinty dry ones. Rich with citrus and honey, this is one of the better wine pairings with spicy Asian cuisine that you’ll run across. Peaches and some nice minerality round out the experience.

Mr. Smith, himself.

Finally, just to be a completist – and because I happened to run across this wine when I was ambling down the pink aisle – there was the Charles Smith 2015 “Vino!” Rosé ($12) – the newest addition to his catalog. This wine, made from 100% Sangiovese grown in Washington State, which is an interesting twist in and of itself, is a very solid, study quaffer. Full of melon and strawberry with a backing of herbs, I powered through this wine much too quickly on my front porch on a warm day in early May. What was left of the bottle was fabulous with salmon.   

Smith’s wines continue to hold their reputation for being solid, well-priced entries in the “quality everyday wine” category. I still give them a thumbs up.

Naked Vine One-Hitter: Harken, the "Throwback Chardonnay"

When I went to the Sweet Partner in Crime's house for the first time, she offered me a glass from a big ol' bottle of Meridian chardonnay that she had in the fridge. This was in the early oughts, when most California chardonnay was chardonnay -- big, oaky, buttery wine with lots of emphasis on the oak.

That flavor profile was the common style, in my experience, up until the middle of the 2000's -- when many wine consumers, including myself, started turning their backs on chardonnay in favor of wines that were a little less rough around the edges. The rise of Sauvignon Blanc and Dry Riesling -- more fruit, less creamy charcoal -- started to eat into that market, as did relatively inexpensive imports from South America and Europe. In my personal shopping habits, California chardonnay went from "always in my shopping basket" to an aisle I rarely ventured down.

Sensing the change in consumer desire, California chardonnays started dialing back the level of oak and butter. Unoaked chardonnay became a thing, as winemakers turned to stainless steel for aging instead of oak barrels. Buttery flavors faded -- until many left coast chards became almost indistinguishable from the lighter-styled wines coming in from all over.

The pendulum is beginning to swing back in the budget wine world, as evidenced by a recent sample of Harken 2015 Barrel Fermented Chardonnay that I was lucky enough to try. Harken bills itself as "Old School Chardonnay," so I readied myself for a bit of a blast from palate's past.

Before we get to the wine, let's take a moment and talk about Chardonnay in general. Chardonnay may well be the most flexible varietal in the world. It can grow in almost any climate that supports vinifera grape growing. Chardonnay reflects the terroir of a region very distinctly. One of the fun things about unoaked chardonnay is that it gives a drinker a real sense of place (minerally soil vs. volcanic -- warm vs. cool, et al.). Unoaked chardonnay, however, can be fairly ordinary -- so adding touches of oak or butter can jazz up the overall profile.

Oakiness in wine comes from juice contact with wood. The wine soaks into the wood a bit, extracting some of that oaky flavor. Barrels can be charred, or charred staves can be added to a fermentation tank, to boost the level of smokiness.

The creamy, buttery flavors come from a process called malolactic fermentation (or just "malo" to wine heads). This is a process by which bacteria is added to wine, converting malic acid -- which is fairly tart -- to lactic acid. "Lactic" means "of milk," and this compound is found in most dairy products. Malolactic fermentation is often used to smooth out high-acid wines, such as cool climate wines, but it can also be used to really accentuate a buttery note in the wine.

Which brings us to the Harken itself. It's entirely fermented in oak barrels and goes through 100% malolactic fermentation, which cuts the acidity and sweetness. It's aged for 7 months in an 80/20 mixture of American and French oak and then bottled.

Thankfully, the Harken's constructed with a little more care than some of those inexpensive bottles from those oak bomb days of yore. I found distinct sweet apples and pears on the nose. As advertised, there are strong creamy, caramelly notes on the palate, backed by a firm smoky oak background and more pear and tropical fruit flavors. I hesitate to call it "creme brulee" -- because there's really no sweetness to speak of. The finish is solidly oaky with a bit of an apricot note.

I thought that it would make a nice accompaniment for a smoked duck breast that I'd done in my new Cameron stovetop gizmo, but I was a little disappointed by the pairing. The smoke and oak flavors really didn't agree with each other. However, I tried a little of it a couple of nights later with roasted tilapia with a garden tomato salsa, and that went really well. The oakiness is able to tame food that has a little bit of a zip to it -- so I would think it would go with any number of food selections.

The Harken Chardonnay is around $15 retail. I do have to give their marketing department a special shoutout. The promo sample I received came with its materials on the reel of an old Mattel ViewMaster. If you're of a certain age, you'll remember this 3D viewing gizmo with the two lenses. You know, something like this:

I won't lie. It gave me a pleasant childhood flashback and made me smile. The wine's pretty good, too.

WITNESS THEM -- The Wines of Macedonia

The national flag of Macedonia. Sunshine!

Some of my favorite wine tasting days involve sampling from countries whose wines I’ve not yet experienced. If you’ve followed this space for any length of time, you know we’ve bounced everywhere from Turkey to Thailand in our quest for good juice.

Since the fall of the Soviet Union and the rise of the EU, many Eastern European countries returned to their winemaking roots. Armed with more modern winemaking techniques, some of these countries, like Moldova, are starting to produce some quality wine. The Wine Fairy recently delivered some treats from another one of these former Soviet Republics to Vine HQ. This time, the wines of the Republic of Macedonia found their way to the tasting lineup. Macedonia has a winemaking history dating as far back at 800 BC. Macedonian wine was common on the dinner tables of Alexander the Great, and the country hopes that their wines will again find favor around the globe.

Before we get into the wines themselves, here’s a quick geography lesson. The Republic of Macedonia should not be confused with the identically-named northern region of Greece. The Republic of Macedonia was once part of Yugoslavia, which split in the early 1990’s – also creating the countries of Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Slovenia, and Montenegro.

Wine grapes thrive in the terroir of Macedonia. There’s abundant sunshine (usually about 270 days per year) with a continental climate very much like what exists in parts of Italy, France, and Spain. Macedonia has over 61,000 acres of vineyards dotting its hillsides.

Long a part of the culture, many Macedonian families produce wines from their own personal vineyards. Each February 14^th, as many Americans are scurrying about buying heart-shaped boxes of chocolates or trying to find last minute dinner reservations, Macedonia celebrates the Feast of Saint Trifun, the patron saint of wine and winemaking, which sounds like a much better time to me.

While winemaking has long been a part of Macedonian culture, the mass production of wine was slowed several times over the years– first by being a part of the Ottoman Empire, where wine production was largely kept alive in monasteries. After a brief resurgence, the rise of the Soviet Bloc placed all Yugoslavian winemaking under control of the state. After Macedonia declared independence in 1991, production began to pick up again – this time with more of an eye towards export. 85% of all Macedonian wine is now exported, making it an important part of the country’s economy.

Macedonia produces wines made from Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Merlot as well as indigenous varietals Smederevka (white),Temjanika (white), Vranec (red), and Kratosija (red). Because of the varied soils in Macedonia, the flavors and character of these wines vary widely. Thanks to Arielle at Colangelo, I had the good fortune to be able to try a few bottles from this new and interesting region. Here are my thoughts:

Bovin 2014 Chardonnay – As I imagine it, when the Macedonian winemakers started spreading their wings after the Yugoslavian breakup, they looked around the world to see what kinds of wines would go over well. My guess is that the winemakers at Bovin ended up drinking some Kendall Jackson or Meridian and tried to emulate it. The result, as the Sweet Partner in Crime put it, was “an Old World take on a 90’s California Chard,” in that there’s plenty of tropical fruit alongside a really strong oak presence. The old world slides in at the end with a crisp, flinty finish. Chardonnay is one of those grapes that really reflects the unique terroir of a region, and at $15, it’s a quality white to start your Macedonian explorations.

Macedon 2013 Pinot Noir – From the mountains in the southern Macedonia, this pinot noir is not a morning person. If you crack a bottle, expect that it will take a bit of air and time to loosen up. I decanted it for a couple of hours and it still needed a good, long spin in the old tasting glass. Until it gets enough air, it's a little grumpy, with some fairly rough tannins dominating. Once it's had a little time to face the day, it unlimbers itself and becomes quite pleasant, much like me in the a.m. The Macedon’s nose is light, floral, and cherryish. A solid earthy backbone gets wrapped in layers of smoke, plum, and leather. The finish is grippier than your average pinot and hangs around for a good long while. The pricetag is the kicker. I figured it would be solidly in the $25 range, but it's only $15. A killer value.

Bovin 2012 “Imperator” Vranec Red Wine – Unless you're the Wizard of Covington, you likely have no idea how excited I was to try this wine. I mean, I was stoked to be trying an indigenous varietal – the aforementioned Vranec (VRAH-netsch), whose name translates from Macedonian as “black stallion.”

While the Black Stallion grape is plenty cool in and of itself, my enthusiasm stems from my strongly-held opinion that Mad Max: Fury Road is one of the great pieces of cinema in recent memory. You might recognize her here:

In my world, Furiosa is the Wine Fairy. I'll drink whatever she suggests.

Her character’s name is “Imperator Furiosa.” She’s an asskicker. Her namesake wine? Also an asskicker. 

As many in that film discovered, you do not mess with the Imperator. Approach gently and with caution.  At 15.5% ABV, the wine's as hot as Charlize,  so give it plenty of air. When I got her in a calm moment, I found a nose of vanilla, caramel, and menthol. I thought it very fruity and medium bodied, with powerful blueberry notes. There's not a ton of tannin to be found, surprisingly, in such a big structured wine, although they started peeking out as time went on. The finish is long and laced with cherry. I thought it tasted like a petit sirah and a pinot noir had a baby. A big, strong, kick you in the palate baby.  Alongside a spinach stuffed veal brasciole with a mushroom sauce, it sincerely shined. Holds up well overnight, if you have any left over. Like many indigenous varietals, the prices tend to get somewhat inflated on export. The price point on this one is $70.

Wente -- Some Chards for our Chard

I really enjoy Fair Ridge Farms, our outlet for Community Supported Agriculture. If you’re not
familiar with a CSA, it’s usually a farmer or cooperative of local farmers supported through the sale of “shares” of freshly harvested produce.

For us, what it means is that every couple of weeks, a box of in-season goodies shows up at Vine HQ. The Sweet Partner in Crime and I have found that joining the CSA has really improved our eating habits, since we certainly don’t want these fresh-from-the-farm tasties going to waste! We look for recipes specifically to incorporate the items from the share, and those recipes trend healthy.

The Fair Ridge Farms logo. Groovy, no?

For the last little stretch, we’ve been swimming in lettuces. Our last couple of deliveries have contained three heads of delicious red leaf, romaine, and Boston lettuces, as well as some spinach, a few kinds of chard, kale – you get the idea. Plenty of roughage around these parts.

What to do with all these greens? Well, make salads, of course – usually with as many of the other newly-arrived raw materials as possible! The bitterness of the greens, the various flavors of dressing, a myriad of ingredients – flavors are bouncing in all directions.

The flavor of greens, with their associated bitterness, makes it nearly impossible to come up with a perfect wine pairing. Getting a “good enough” pairing is what you’re shooting for with salads. A salad wine pairing should be assertive enough to get its flavor across, but yet not kill the freshness. Acidity helps, but too much and you get lost in the flavor of the dressing most times. Best bet? I find new world Chardonnay to fill the bill.

In a fortunate bit of Wine Fairy karma – just as we were met with our latest onslaught of lettuces, Balzac sent along a trio of this year’s vintages from Wente, which you might remember is the “First Family of Chardonnay.” Stocked with these California whites for our Newport city nights, we rolled out the greenery for dinner:

First up was the Wente 2013 Riva Ranch Chardonnay. The Riva Ranch started me with a gentle nose of apple blossoms, which is probably enhanced a bit by the small amount (3%) of Gewurztraminer blended therein. The first taste is quite fruity --a combination of sweet and tart apples along with a little melon. This is a fairly weighty chardonnay, but it managed not to be cloying in that weight. Big apple and butterscotch flavors on the palate, which heads off into a finish with a lasting bit of creaminess and a growing oakiness. All in all, it’s a fairly noble tasting white, which the Sweet Partner in Crime and I liked quite a bit. We had it alongside a grilled salmon-topped Caesar salad from our romaine. I would be hard pressed to hit a better pairing combination. The oakiness and residual acid cut nicely through the salmon’s oil, and the oakiness went nicely with the grilled flavors. Made for a really nice dinner. Retails for $22.

A couple of nights later, we had the unoaked Wente 2014 “Eric’s Chardonnay” – which is named for Eric “Big Daddy” Wente. In my experience, much unoaked chardonnay runs toward the lighter side, packs lots of acidity, and offers a lot of crisp tartness. Big Daddy’s wine is a bit of a departure. The nose brings up peaches and pears instead. The first taste is very rich, almost glyceriney in texture, with quite a bit of heft. Tropical fruits – papaya and pineapple – are the main flavors. The finish, after a few sips, gains some richness and a little bit of that tropical fruit again at the back end. I think it’s definitely a chardonnay that calls for food. Dinner this time was a citrus-avocado red leaf lettuce salad with a yummy maple syrup vinaigrette, made with some syrup from a CSA winter share. I made a batch of my twist on Burneko’s Frickin’ Crab Cakes to go alongside or, more accurately, atop the greens. The combination of flavors in the salad was otherworldly splendid and the wine did what I wanted it to – be a good team player. The wine’s richness played nicely off the crab, and it had enough oomph not to get buttered over by some of that good fat of the avocado. I liked it, but I thought the price was a little on the high side at $25.

Finally, we tried the Wente 2013 “Morning Fog” Chardonnay – I expected a middle of the road California chardonnay here,as this was the least expensive at $15, and I pleasantly discovered something more interesting. The nose and first sips are Viognier-ish from the touch of Gewurztraminer (2%). The nose is almost perfumey with apple blossoms and the body has that spare-yet-rich palate that I find in many Viognier. Once the wine opens a bit, it turns into a straight-ahead, very decent California chardonnay. There’s a nice little oaky backbone, plenty of apple and butterscotch flavor, and an agreeable, lingering finish. We had this with a salad that had a lot going on. More fresh leaf lettuce, boiled egg, slow cooked salmon with thyme, capers, onion, and a maple syrup vinaigrette. Despite all those different directions, this wine made a solid accompaniment. I wouldn’t say it blew me away, but with that range of flavors, staying in the “pleasant” zone is an accomplishment. Good value here.

Back to the CSA for a moment. If you’re looking for an easy way to improve your diet, see if you’ve got a CSA that delivers in your area. If you’re in the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky area, there are several options – but I like Fair Ridge’s option of doing full and half shares, each delivered either weekly or bi-weekly. Biweekly is a nice way to start if you're a bit unsure of how much you like fresh veggies. Easy not to get swamped from the start that way. Check them out. (And if you do decide to join, please tell ‘em Mike Rosenberg sent you…)

Naked Vine Double Barrel -- New Terroir, New Tastes

Terroir comes up quite a bit around here, obviously. To refresh your memory, terroir is the combination of soil geology and composition, geographic location, and weather patterns that affect the growth of grapevines and thus affect the flavor of a wine. A wine made from Chardonnay in the cool, limestone-soiled French region of Chablis will taste completely different from a Chardonnay from the warmer, loamier soils of California’s Central Valley, for instance.

The practical upshot of the effect of terroir is that, given enough consumption, you can make general assumptions of what a wine from a certain country or region will taste like. This is especially true in some of the regions lesser known by the general wine-drinking public. For instance, if I’m in a restaurant and I see a New Zealand sauvignon blanc on the wine list that I’ve not heard of, I usually feel fairly certain that the wine will be highly acidic and have grapefruity flavors with the occasional fragrance of fresh-cut grass.

Of course, you’re familiar with the old saw about the word “assume” – and that can come into play with wine. One reason we can make these assumptions about a country’s wine flavors is that there tend to be areas of that region that dominate wine production – whether because of weather, amount of grape production, access to easy shipping, and any number of other factors. The New Zealand sauvignon blanc I mentioned above? I can also make an assumption that the wine came from the Malborough region of New Zealand, which leads that country in wine exports. However, other regions of the same country do their own twists on wine production – yielding wines that can be very different and certainly worth exploring.

I received a pair of bottles from Juliana at Colangelo from a couple of Southern Hemispheric regions which are starting to make more of a dent in the U.S. wine market. Both turned out to be somewhat different than my usual expectations.

The first bottle was from – surprise, surprise – New Zealand. As I’ve mentioned, most of the best known wines from there hail from Marlborough, which is on New Zealand’s South Island. This wine, the Trinity Hill 2013 “The Trinity” Red Blend, comes from Hawke’s Bay on the North Island. (I’ve actually written about a wine from Hawke’s Bay a couple of New Years Eves ago…) The reds I’ve tried from New Zealand tend to be on the lighter side, like pinot noir. The North Island’s climate is somewhat warmer, which allows for the growth of grapes that thrive in a little more heat. This Merlot-dominant blend with additions of Tempranillo and Malbec, packs a little more oomph in its pleasant package.

The nose is fairly fragrant, full of plums and blackberries, and those big flavors are echoed on the palate. It’s not too thick – certainly falling into the medium-weight category, with plenty of grippy tannins that aren’t overwhelming. The finish is lasting and full, with blackberry, mint, and lasting tannins. We cracked this over Memorial Day weekend, and I’d grilled up a London broil. The Sweet Partner in Crime made a wonderfully hashy side out of some leftover Israeli couscous, crystallized ginger, leek, and asparagus and we laid the strips of steak atop. Just a lovely meal, I gotta say. For $17, this wine stepped right up.

The other bottle was a Chardonnay from South Africa. The most common wines from South Africa are from regions such as Constantia, Stellenbosch, and Paarl – all of which have terroir that includes a warm climate. This makes for big, rustic reds – many of which are made from Pinotage, a cross between Pinot Noir and Cinsault that grows well in hot weather. The white wines tend to be made from sauvignon blanc and chenin blanc – again, good warm weather grapes.

However, there’s much more attention now being paid to a region of South Africa called Elgin. Elgin is located on a high-altitude plateau, which allows for the creation of “cool climate” wines, which tend to be lighter in body and higher in acidity. From Elgin comes the Lothian Vineyards 2013 Chardonnay – billed as a more “Burgundian” version.

I’m not sure I’d quite go that far with that description, but the flavors are certainly different from any other South African white that I’ve tried. Most of those wines tend to make good summer sippers, but this one makes for a much richer, fuller quaff. The nose brought to mind “toasted pear,” if that makes any sense. For a cool climate wine, the body is richly styles and somewhat hefty on the palate for a white with full flavors of honey, apple, and butterscotch. There’s some oak hanging out, too, but much less than I thought there would be given the nose.

The Lothian finishes creamily, with just a quick citrus bite and a long butterscotch ending. I wouldn’t exactly call it “elegant” – that makes it sound dainty, which it’s not. I’d probably go for calling it “classy” chardonnay. Good alongside any sort of fish with a little oil in it. We had this with some rainbow trout filets over wild rice, and we found it quite nice. The pricetag on this one is around $20. If you’re a fan of California chardonnay and would like something with a slightly different twist, it’s worth a try.

The Bodega Bay Bookend and another Sonoma Snowball

You might remember the Naked Vine’s May trip to California, where the Sweet Partner in Crime and I plopped ourselves down in the town of Sonoma, tooled around a bunch, and tried some delicious wine thanks to the Naked Vine Snowball Technique, which I described thusly:

How does this work? Start at the place where you’re staying. These people live there. They know things. Say something like, “We’re looking for a good place to start. We want somewhere fun, laid back, and not overly pricey.” Replace those descriptors with whatever you want…expensive wines, pinot noir specialists, great gift shop -- whatever floats your cork. You’ll end up with at least a couple of recommendations. Pop in to one of them and do a tasting. Chat. Enjoy. If you feel like you make a connection, then repeat your question to the good folks behind the bar. These people live there. They know things. They’ll mention a couple of other places. Those places will mention other places. Patterns form in the recommendations. You now have your guide. Go forth and enjoy.

We decided to head back out west again just before school started – this time using the Sonoma Coast as our base of operations, since we’d not done much exploration of that area of this wonderful wine region. The evening drive through the fog from SFO to the town of Bodega Bay was a bit harrowing, but all's well that ends well! We got checked in to the Bodega Bay Lodge (which I recommend once you get used to the foghorn in the bay going off every 30 seconds) and got ready for our new tour of the county.

 

(c) the San Francisco Chronicle

The Sonoma Coast AVA (AVA = “American Viticultural Area” – the designation for a subregion within a growing areas), as you can see, is a fairly large portion of Sonoma County. Most of the vineyards in this AVA are at much higher altitude than the rest of the county You might remember, during my writeup of the last Sonoma trip, that I discovered a preference for “mountain fruit” vs. “valley fruit” wines. Mountain fruit grapes from the generally cooler, breezier climates like the Sonoma coastal region create wines that are less fruit-forward and more subtle in flavor. 

These areas favor cool weather grapes such as pinot noir, rather than the Cabernet and Zin that you’d find just a few miles inland as the crow flies. The climate also gives an interesting twist to the Chardonnay and Syrah some growers are producing. The region also produces some absolutely fabulous rosé.   Many of these wines also tend to be somewhat more expensive, as the grapes are more difficult to grow and harvest. It’s easy to burn through a lot of coin ordering stuff if you’re not careful.

 

We started the snowball in Bodega Bay at a wine and gift shop called Gourmet Au Bay. Their trademark is their “wine surfing” samples, in which you get three pours on a surfboart. After a couple of tastes and a discussion about what we liked, we talked to the manager, Sissy, to see what she might recommend. Out came the highlighter and the map of Sonoma County, and we were off. 

Just getting under way. Two down, one to go.
(Snowball forming on map...)

With the narrow, twisty roads of this part of Sonoma County, we didn’t hit as many wineries as we could have – but I was pleased with our finds. Here were some of our favorites:

Iron Horse Vineyards – The gorgeousness that is the Iron Horse property is right on the border of the Sonoma Coast and Russian River AVA’s, so I’m including it. If you remember, Iron Horse was the tasting experience which started The Naked Vine down its path of oenological debauchery. Nine years had passed since we were last there, and they seem to have done pretty well for themselves in the interim. Unlike nine years ago, when they were crafting incredible cabernets (one of which, “Benchmark,” was the celebratory bottle when the Sweet Partner in Crime made full professor), they only make wine from estate fruit now. This means that they grow only Chardonnay and Pinot Noir – much of which goes into the sparkling wines for which they’re well known. We were fans of the Ocean Reserve Blanc de Blancs ($45), a sparkling wine that has an attachment to the National Geographic Ocean Initiative. Their pinot noirs were exceptional, but quite pricey. The $70 pricetag on the Russian River Pinot Noir was steep, but it’s a great wine. (http://www.ironhorsevineyards.com/)

Our return to the scene of the crime...Iron Horse.

Lynmar Estate – I’ve talked before about my notion of “wood theory” – in that there’s generally an inverse relationship between the amount of burnished wood in a tasting room and the quality of the wine. Lynmar is an exception to the theory, as their tasting room and surrounding gardens (which include a rosemary shrub taller than I am!) are lovely places to linger. The wine, as well, is lovely to linger over. Their focus is pinot noir and chardonnay, although they’ve begun cranking out some cool-climate Syrah. We really enjoyed their spread. I thought their Russian River pinot noir at $40 was exceptional, especially for the price. Lynmar also was where we discovered that a lot of these wineries are producing some pinot noir for the express purpose of creating rosé, like the good folks in Provence. Lynmar’s rosé was top notch. Their Quail Hill chardonnay, while hardly a bargain at $55, is simply luscious. (http://www.lynmarestate.com/)

Red Car Wine – Red Car won the “most interesting tasting room” prize from us on this trip, with its funky collection of memorabilia and a vibe that stops on the playful side of hipster. Red Car focuses almost exclusively on production from high-altitude, cold-climate vineyards, which produces very bright, clean, flavorful wine at relatively low alcohol levels. For instance, I don’t see a lot of Syrah under 13.5% alcohol, and Red Car’s Estate ($50) clocked in at 13.3% with gorgeous layers of plum, earth, and chocolate. Their Chardonnay ($35) could have fooled me into thinking it was a white Burgundy along the lines of the clean but oaky Meursault. Their pinots, which start around $40, also have a bit of that lean Burgundian earth and smokiness – and fruits that are very clean and striking. Highly recommended. (http://www.redcarwine.com/)

Red Car's tasting room. Good fun.

Taft Street Wines – “Garagistes since 1979” is their proud announcement. Garagistes were winemakers inBordeaux who operated outside the strict French guidelines for wine production, often making their wines in garages rather than on chateaux. The American iteration, which moved from a garage in Berkeley to an old apple processing plant in Sebastapol, was the best overall value of any of our stops. Their estate pinot is under $35, and I took a shine to their Alexander Valley Merlot, which at $20 was the best QPR I found on the trip. Fruity and lush with a really nice cocoa backbone, it’s worth stocking up on. They also produced some of the few sauvignon blancs we tried on the trip -- a steal at $18. (http://www.taftstreetwinery.com/)

Joseph Phelps Freestone Vineyards – Joseph Phelps is a very accomplished Napa winemaker. He’s produced three cabernets -- his “Insignia” label -- that earned 100 points from Robert Parker, including his 2002, which was named Wine of the Year by Wine Spectator. In 2007, Phelps opened a winery in the Sonoma Coast region for the grapes grown in his new Freestone Vineyards in the Sonoma Coast AVA. The $55 Freestone Vineyards pinot noir was a delicate, wonderfully balanced offering – full of fruit and smoke. We also discovered Phelps’ “second label” wine – Fog Dog – which were perfectly decent pinot noir and chardonnay, although at the price point, there were better wines in the county. We also had the opportunity to try the 2006 vintage of the “Insignia” which would retail for $240 – making it the second-most expensive wine I’ve ever tried. Needless to say, it was a pretty damned good wine. (http://www.josephphelps.com/)  I’ll be writing more about Phelps in the future, so stay tuned.

Fort Ross Vineyard – Fort Ross was the one Sonoma Coast tasting room we visited that was actually on the coast – about a 35 minute drive from Bodega Bay up the windy Pacific Coast Highway up through Jenner (where you absolutely must stop and get a sandwich and a beverage at Café Aquatica) and then up into the mountain fog to the beautiful tasting room, where you can watch the sun burn away the clouds as you sip on some excellent pinot noir and chardonnay. My favorite selection of theirs, however, was a grape I’d not seen anywhere else in the region: Pinotage, the national grape of South Africa – the native country of owners Lester and Linda Schwartz. I like South African pinotage just fine, but it’s usually a rough wine that calls for a big slab of meat from the braai. Planted in these coastal altitudes, the Fort Ross pinotage ($48) yields a rounder, smoother – yet still muscular – glass that features blackberry flavors and a really nice earthiness. Their pinot noir ($42-70) and rosé ($24) were also top notch. (http://www.fortrossvineyard.com/)

Fort Ross Vineyard -- Nice view, eh?

Fog Crest Vineyard – Our last stop was a lovely one, here at one of Sonoma’s newest tasting rooms. It’s so new (it just opened this year) that it’s not on the touring maps – and we only learned about it from our friends at Gourmet Au Bay. We were very glad that we made the turn up the driveway and planted ourselves on their lovely terrace overlooking the vineyard for our final tasting of the trip as we headed out of town. The view was a little reminiscent of Iron Horse – so yet another bookend. We really enjoyed the Estate Chardonnay ($39), chock full of crème brulee and spice and their full-flavored Estate pinot noir ($55) with its smoky layers that would be good to stash for a couple of years. The wine that made the biggest impression on me, however, was their Rosé ($21), Rich and fruity for a dry rosé, it’s clearly lovingly crafted. I pulled the trigger on a case for home, since one can never have too much good dry rosé around. (http://www.fogcrestvineyard.com/)

Saying farewells to Sonoma at Fog Crest.

If you’re over in that neck of the woods, I'd also recommend driving around Bayshore Drive in Bodega to get some oysters at Fisherman’s Cove (http://www.bodegabayoysters.com/), get dinner at Terrapin Creek Café (http://www.terrapincreekcafe.com/); and snag brunch at Willow Wood Café in Graton (http://www.willowwoodgraton.com/).

Cheers!

Sonoma and the Snowball

The Sweet Partner in Crime and I made our first trip to Sonoma County in 2005. Our first stop upon entering the county, before even checking in and unpacking, was at Iron Horse Winery, where we cobbled together a lovely picnic amongst rows of Cabernet Sauvignon vines. We hit a couple of other wineries before making it to our B&B, where we went to a happy hour down in their “speakeasy” of a tasting room. In just half a day, we had learned quickly that we were surrounded by so many good wines…zins, cabs, syrahs, merlots…and I wanted…no, I needed…to try them all. In three days. I saw the light. My mission was clear.

I went a little crazy.

The Origin of Madness

I had some recommendations from my more knowledgeable friends of several wineries to hit and we kept adding to the list as we tried new wines. We zoomed though the valleys, bouncing from tasting room to tasting room like a meth-addled census taker. I thought a dozen tasting rooms a day seemed perfectly logical, starting at the first one to open and running the gamut until they closed up shop. Sure, we covered a lot of ground, but needless to say, this isn’t the most relaxing way to spend a vacation.

To the great benefit of my palate, my liver, and the SPinC’s willingness to keep me around, my strategy has changed a bit in the ensuing years. I have no more illusions about trying to drain the contents of entire valleys. So, on our recent return to Sonoma, rather than trying to run down a bunch of wineries someone else thought would be good, we took matters into our own hands based on our own conversations and connections once we arrived. The Naked Vine Snowball Technique was born.

The Snowball’s central idea comes from a research method called snowball sampling -- a recruitment technique in which participants are asked to assist researchers in identifying other potential subjects. In short, after someone takes a survey, the researcher asks, “Do you know other folks who might be interested in participating?” Those referrals leads to other referrals, growing in number as the virtual snowball rolls down the hypothetical hill.

How does this work with tasting rooms? Start at the place where you’re staying. They live there. They know things. Say something like, “We’re looking for a good place to start. We want somewhere fun, laid back, and not overly pricey.” Replace those descriptors with whatever you want…expensive wines, pinot noir specialists, great gift shop -- whatever floats your cork. You’ll end up with at least a couple of recommendations. Pop in to one of them and do a tasting. Chat. Enjoy. If you feel like you make a connection, then repeat your question to the good folks behind the bar. They live there. They know things. They’ll mention a couple of other places. Those places will mention other places. Patterns form in the recommendations. You now have your guide. Go forth and enjoy.

We wanted a different experience this time around, so we parked it in the actual city of Sonoma, which is in the southern portion of Sonoma County. Our previous trips were to the northern end of the county near Healdsburg, and the surrounding valleys. Sonoma has 26 tasting rooms in and around its city square. (In the past, I might have tried to hit them all.) We found a distinct contrast with those tasting rooms. Most places we’d been, the tasting rooms were basically outlet stores for well-established wineries with very recognizable names. In Sonoma, however, the tasting rooms were generally run by smaller operations at which many didn’t own vineyards themselves. Many of these winemakers bought grapes from vineyards they liked that fit their needs, producing excellent wine. I like that notion. Egalitarian.

We got to town, dropped our bags at the Inn at Sonoma (highly recommended), made a couple of inquiries to get us started, and off we went. Did we hit all 26? Nope. Not even half of them, truth be told. We had a lovely, relaxing time and made some wonderful discoveries along the way. Heck, we barely had to move our car! Here are our top experiences from the trip:

Two Amigos Winery – We remarked that we’ve had good luck with “tastresses” when we’ve started our little treks. Our first trip to Sonoma was kicked off by a woman named Annalise. This time, Michelle was the one to get our trip off on the correct foot. She was there along with Bob, one of the aforementioned “amigos.” The other amigo is an actor named Squire Riddell, whom you’ll recognize if you watched any TV in the 80’s…

He also played Ronald McDonald after Willard Scott headed to the Today show, so plenty of McDonald’s and clown-themed memorabilia adorn the tasting room.

They had plenty of decent wines. Their 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon was fascinating for a wine that young. I’ll be curious how it develops. The other highlights were their Viognier, a port made from Syrah, and a Syrah from GlenLyon – which is Riddell’s other winemaking venture. Needless to say, McDonald’s must have been a pretty good gig. Michelle and Bob gave us the initial seed for the snowball, leading us to a couple of the following tasting rooms. (http://twoamigoswines.com/)

Bump Wine Cellars – We missed throwing our annual Derby Day party because of our Sonoma trip, but we felt right at home walking into Bump’s tasting room to find a beautiful horse-themed art exhibition by an artist named Tej Greenhill. Bump’s tasting room was far and away our favorite, with warm, contemporary décor and comfortable places to relax and sip. Sip we did. Bump was the best value we found in Sonoma. The winemaker, Geordie Carr, specializes in fermenting wines at cooler temperatures to preserve the aromatics. He sources his grapes from all over Sonoma County through friendly partnerships he’s developed in his travels. Their chardonnay was delicate and nuanced with just a kiss of oak. I don’t classify many zinfandels as “delicate,” but Carr’s technique of slightly early picking and cool fermentation yielded a beautifully aromatic wine that drinks like a good pinot – even at 15.2% alcohol. With nothing (currently) in their portfolio over $28, it’s a good time to stock up. (http://www.bumpwine.com/)

R² Wine Company – Since we’re on a survey research kick, the SPinC, also sometimes known as the Queen of All Regressions, was so very excited to see a winery called R². The r-square statistic, also known as the measure of “explained variance,” is a key measure of many of her multivariate analyses. While the name of the winery has nothing to do with statistics (it’s named after co-founders Richard and Roger Roessler), the notion of “Sonoma wine variance” shone through here. In tasting through the R2 portfolio, we noticed a distinct difference between wines made from Sonoma “mountain fruit” vs. “valley fruit.” The mountain fruit wines in general had earthier, deeper flavors with a mineral character, while the valley fruit wines had bigger fruit flavors and stronger tannins. We enjoyed their Black Pine pinot noir ($26), which was a delicious general California pinot noir. Their Hein Vineyard Pinot Noir ($48) was “smoketacular!” according to my notes. Their “1331” Cabernet ($54) was a quintessential example of a mountain fruit wine, and it was hedonistically complex. (http://www.r2winecompany.com/)

Bryter Estates – Oh, where to begin with Bryter? If you forced me to pick a favorite from this trip, the top prize would go to Bryter with its collection of nuanced, happy wines. Bryter is one of the few wineries we encountered with female winemakers. Terin Ignozzi, the winemaker and co-owner with her husband Bryan (“Bryter” is a fusion of their names), has crafted a portfolio with great range and exceptional quality. All of their wines -- red, white, and rosé – are exceptionally harmonious and clean. The Sweet Partner in Crime remarked, when we tried their rosé after getting back home, that it “tasted like what our walk in Yosemite felt like – sunshine and fresh air.”

We heard in at least three different tasting rooms that we needed to try Bryter “for their bubbles.” No lie. The “Le Stelle” brut sparkler ($38) is excellent, with a nutty, green apple flavor and a creamy mouthfeel. That would have been worth the stop alone, but as we went down the line, we found more surprises. The “Vivant” sauvignon blanc ($34) is crisp and melony – pleasant, pleasant!. Their “Jubilee” rosé of pinot noir ($32) gets a double plus for the lingering fruit and the touch of oak beneath the clean flavor. Our favorite was their “Cadeau” Pinot Noir ($50). “Cadeau” translates as “gift” and was, simply, the best bottle we had on our trip. My note says, “So subtle, so beautiful.” This wine edged its way in with my faves among the Oregon pinots. A must-not-miss. (http://www.bryter.com/)

Walt Wines – Walt sources grapes from all over the west coast, and they do an interesting array of wines. The highlight of our visit with Liz and Terry, our pourers, was their “850 Mile Road Trip” where they showed pinots from the Shea Vineyard in Willamette Valley, Oregon, “The Corners” in Anderson Valley in Mendocino, and Rita’s Crown Vineyard in Santa Rita Hills. (All $65) The pinot flavors ranged “from brambles to boom!” across these three wines, and the tasting was a wonderful exploration of terroir. They also release a wine each year called “Pinpoint Extreme,” which is an anagram for “pinot experiment.” Last year, they added roasted stems to the fermentation. This year, they flash-heated some of the grapes until they exploded. Fun to try new stuff. (http://www.waltwines.com/)

Hawkes Wine – Memorable wine-wise for a really fantastic licorice-and-dark fruit flavored merlot ($35) sourced from vines planted on a seam of clay in one of the vineyards where nothing else would grow; some very well-balanced cabernets; and an estate-pressed extra-virgin olive oil (proceeds to a local kids charity) that blew us away. Before we went to Hawkes, though, I realized that I hadn’t packed very well, and I needed another t-shirt. Hawkes has a neat logo, so I picked one up to wear on our flight home. On the way to the Sacramento airport from Yosemite -- which followed Sonoma on our itinerary -- we stopped for lunch at a restaurant in Lodi called the Dancing Fox. The waitstaff was mostly male and powerfully metrosexual. At least three of them stopped by my table to ask, “Is that Hawkes Winery?” Lodi is about two hours from their tasting room, so I guess it’s the winery of choice for expensive-yet-casually dressed men. (http://www.hawkeswine.com)

Kamen Estate Wines – Kamen is the child of Robert Kamen, whose name you might not recognize, but you’d know his work. He’s the screenwriter for “Taps,” "The Karate Kid," “The Fifth Element,” “The Transporter,” “A Walk in the Clouds,” “Taken,” and various other films. He bought a property in the mountains with the paycheck from his first screenplay, not realizing that he was sitting on a goldmine. His wines were some of the best we tried on the trip, and they’re certainly not inexpensive. His top-of-the-line, “Kashmir,” runs $100+ per bottle. The Syrah ($75) and Cabernet ($80) are also top notch with layer upon layer of flavor. “Opulent” is as good a descriptor as any. “Darned awesome” would also fit. It’s worth a swing through their tasting room – both to try these wines and to hear Robert’s story, which stands in contrast, and made a very interesting bookend, to that of Two Amigos’ Squire Ridell. Needless to say, a commercial actor and a screenwriter have very different views on how wine should be made and how life lands you in various circumstances. While we were there, we were lucky enough to meet Robert himself, who popped into the tasting room briefly. He struck me as an affably sarcastic M.O.T. -- much the same way I hope people think of me. His "Sin while you can -- otherwise Jesus died for nothing" shirt will live forever in my memory. (http://kamenwines.com/)

In addition to all of the wines that you can sample, the town of Sonoma is home to any number of fabulous restaurants, and we worked our way through several. Try the Red Grape for lunch. La Salette is a Portuguese restaurant with fabulous variety and flavor. The Girl and the Fig is a local favorite – contemporary French. The El Dorado Kitchen does some neat takes on American classic cuisine. One of our favorite dining experiences, however, was the Tuesday night we were there – which coincided with the first Sonoma community farmer’s market of the year. The farmer’s market turns into a big community picnic, so we joined right in with a bottle of Bump rosé. Once things started winding down, many locals head over to Murphy’s Irish Pub for an oyster roast and multiple beers. After a few days of wine tasting, beer made for a great way to close a wonderful stretch of vacation.