Tasting the wines of the Russian River

“The world possesses many great wine rivers that have writ their legends large in the epochal story of wine and the vine: the Loire, the Rhine and Mosel, the Rhône, the Dordogne, the Saône, the Douro.
   Among this exalted company, the Russian River deserves a place.” A Wine Journey along the Russian River, Introduction.

This book by Steve Heimoff, West Coast editor of the Wine Enthusiast, is what inspired me when I was looking for a wine tasting theme, in order to raise money for Gunn High School's excellent music department. As he explains in his introduction, the Russian River is unique in several respects, perhaps the most important one being the distinct weather zones it passes through. It is remarkable that some days, Jenner, which is at the mouth of the river, is 60 degrees cooler than Cloverdale, located north of Healdsburg in the Alexander Valley. Consequently, Bordeaux varietals like Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot grow best in the warm Alexander Valley AVA. West of the river, the Dry Creek Valley AVA is best known for Zinfandel. Then, south of Healdsburg, the river suddenly turns west towards the ocean. This part of the river defines the Russian River Valley AVA where the weather tends to be cooler, especially near the Pacific coast, and where Burgundian varieties like Pinot Noir and Chardonnay excel.

Here are the wines that we tasted:

• 2004 Jordan Chardonnay Russian River Valley

Jordan Winery was founded in the 1970s by Tom Jordan, a geologist and owner of an oil and gas exploration company in Colorado. Tom Jordan had the vision to create a world-renowned Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon modeled after First Growth Bordeaux, in a wine region that was little-known at the time. Now, the winery also produces Chardonnays that are crafted in a style similar to the white Burgundies. I found the 2004 Jordan Chardonnay Russian River Valley to be a well-made wine with a golden color and a classic California Chardonnay nose of ripe pear and apple. On the palate, it was creamy and not overly woody with a well balanced acidity.

• 2005 Hanna Sauvignon Blanc Russian River Valley

Hanna Winery has 252 acres of vineyards in the Russian River Valley (for Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, and Pinot Noir), Alexander Valley (for Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot) and Sonoma Valley (for Bordeaux varieties, Syrah, and Zinfandel). The 2005 Hanna Sauvignon Blanc Russian River Valley is sourced from the cool Slusser Road vineyard, a low to no irrigation vineyard with a soil of deep rocky clay loam. The wine was very pleasant with an aromatic nose of grapefruit and pineapple and a crisp and fresh palate.

• 2005 Elizabeth Spencer Rosé Sonoma Coast

Elizabeth Spencer Wines is a two-person operation run by wife and husband team Elizabeth Pressler and Spencer Graham. He is a former wine distributor and she is a former winery sales manager. The 2005 Elizabeth Spencer Rosé Sonoma Coast was inspired by the Rosé wines of the South of France. The fruit comes from vineyards located north of the San Pablo Bay outside of Petaluma. The wine was cold fermented to preserve the wine's bright fruit flavors. It showed a deep pink color and a unusual smoky nose. On the palate, it was dry, fruity, with a zingy acidity.

• 2003 Porter Creek Pinot Noir Fiona Hill

Porter Creek Vineyards is a father and son operation. The winery is certified organic but Alex Davis the winemaker also uses biodynamic preparations to farm the vineyard and is working towards biodynamic certification. He produces vineyard-designated Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Syrah and Viognier from the Russian River Valley and a Carignane old vines from Alexander Valley. The 2003 Porter Creek Pinot Noir Fiona Hill comes from the steep, hillside Fiona Hill vineyard located at the entrance of the winery. It had a medium brick-red color and a nose of fresh sweet cherries. On the palate, the wine had a earthy character with some good acidity and a smoky finish.

• 2004 Merry Edwards Pinot Noir Russian River Valley

Merry Edwards Wines was founded by Merry Edwards who started making wines more than thirty years ago because she was fascined by food chemistry and yeast fermentation. She mostly produces Pinot Noirs from the Russian River Valley and Sonoma Coast appellations plus a small amount of Sauvignon Blanc. The 2004 Merry Edwards Pinot Noir Russian River Valley is a blend from five Russian River Valley vineyards separately vinified. It had a deep garnet color and an aromatic nose of sweet red berries. On the palate, it was rich and well-balanced with a complex finish. This was the group's favorite Pinot Noir.

In terms of pairing, “At home I serve my Russian River Valley Pinot with all manner of fowl: quail, squab, Guinea hen, duck, goose and pheasant.” wrote Merry Edwards on her website, “The wine's substantial fruitiness pairs well with any meat that favors a fruit stuffing or sauce, like rabbit or pork. My husband Ken's paella with lobster and saffron is a delicious foil for this main course of Pinots.”

• 2002 Lancaster Estate Red Wine Alexander Valley

Located at the southern end of the Alexander Valley, Lancaster Estate was founded by Ted Simpkins, a senior executive with Southern Wine and Spirits with a vision of producing world-class Bordeaux-style wines. The 2002 Lancaster Estate Red Wine Alexander Valley is a blend of 88% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Cabernet Franc, 4% Malbec, 2% Merlot, and 1% Petit Verdot. I decanted one of the two bottles that we were going to taste and served the two wines, decanted and non decanted, side by side. Overall, the wine had a dark color and a nose of blackberry and blackcurrant. On the palate, it was rich with an opulent texture. But the decanted wine was found smoother, more polished than the non decanted one. We also noticed that the decanted wine was warmer, which was maybe the main reason the two wines were different.

• 2002 Chateau Souverain Cabernet Sauvignon Alexander Valley

Chateau Souverain, now owned by Beringer Blass Wine Estates, is recognized as one of Sonoma County's best wineries, producing high quality wines at a very reasonable price tag. The 2002 Chateau Souverain Cabernet Sauvignon Alexander Valley
showed a deep purple color and a nose of dark berry fruit. On the palate it was full bodied, balanced, with a reasonably lengthy finish. As for the Lancaster Estate Red, the group preferred the decanted bottle although the aromatic differences between the decanted and the non decanted wines were more subtle.

• 2004 Hartford Zinfandel Russian River Valley

Hartford Family Wines is a Russian River Valley winery specialized in the production of Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Old Vine Zinfandel. The 2004 Hartford Zinfandel Russian River Valley comes from dry farmed, low yielding old-vine Zinfandel vineyards (average vineyard age being about 75 years). The wine had bold aromas of red berries on the nose, an intense, full-bodied palate followed by a very long finish. This was everybody's favorite Zinfandel.

• 2004 Amphora Zinfandel Mounts Vineyard

Amphora Wines is a Sonoma County family-owned winery that produces handcrafted Dry Creek Valley wines including Zinfandel, Petite Sirah, and Syrah. The 2004 Amphora Zinfandel Mounts Vineyard was hand harvested from 35-to-40-year-old head-pruned vines from Mounts Vineyard on the west side of Dry Creek Valley. The wine had a dark purple color and a nose of black fruit. On the palate, it was dense with some good acidity and a nice long finish of licorice.

“Suddenly, a huge wave, the kind they call a sleeper, easily twenty feet high, came in and exploded, one of those rogues that gather strength above long offshore troughs and then break with tremendous force against the steep beach face. This one was so near that it soaked my pants. Startled, I backed off and headed home.

   It was sunny when I left. At Cazadero, the sky suddenly darkened and the rain came pouring down—but that was exactly as it should be. Ten minutes later, at the Farmhouse Inn, the sun reemerged and lit up the vineyards, bare of grapes till next year.” A Wine Journey along the Russian River, last chapter.

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Winemaking step #4: getting ready for the pressing

The Brix measurements of our fermenting wine had been decreasing rapidly these last few days. Therefore, we expect the wine to be dry soon, maybe by the end of the week. At this stage, the wine has an intense dark purple-ruby color. It is still sweet but the alcohol is now very noticeable. The palate has nice tannins, some good amount of acidity, and hints of toasted oak.

Brix is measured using a Brix hydrometer, an instrument that determines the specific gravity of a liquid using the Principle of Archimedes. A Brix hydrometer is calibrated to read in degrees of Brix, or percent of pure sugar, at a temperature of 20°C. It provides a good indication of when fermentation is complete and the wine dry, usually when the reading is -1.0° Brix or less.

This Brix hydrometer also measures the temperature of the liquid.

Crushpad has a new Wine Community software called Crushnet that allows me to have real-time access to my winemaking status. Conveniently, the data is also sent to me via email where Brix and temperature measurements are displayed on a graph:



My next visit to Crushpad will be Saturday morning and this time, we'll be pressing the wine. Stay tuned!

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WBW #26: Where's Wino?

With the 26th edition of Wine Blogging Wednesday hosted this month by Beau of Basic Juice, we are off to a new adventure: we have to play Where's Wino?.

The rules are simple: first, we sample a white wine from New York, Oregon or Italy, or a red wine from Washington, Spain or France; then, on October 11th, tasting notes of the participants' wines are published on Beau's blog, without revealing the origin of the wines; finally, participants are invited to guess the origin of the submitted wines and someone will even win a prize!

Do you want to guess my entry?

The color is medium-red. The nose has cherry and plum aromas with notes of smoke. The palate is medium-bodied, firm, spicy, with good acidity and length, and a touch of caramel on the finish. We paired the wine with barbecued pork loin and white beans which brought out the smokiness and earthiness of the wine.

Actually, it's not so hard, good luck!

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Winemaking step #3: monitoring the fermentation

I made a quick visit to Crushpad yesterday to check how the fermentation of our wine was progressing. And I got lucky because I came just in time to see the fermentation barrel being rotated: several times clockwise and several times counter-clockwise to keep the cap moist and to extract a maximum of color and flavor.


Rotating the barrel

We then measured the temperature and brix of the must. From 25.5 at harvest, the brix was already down to 23.5 on Sunday. Now, it had reached 21 with a rising temperature of 22° Celsius. The fermentation was doing fine.

I did not want to leave before trying the wine. For sure, this was not the fruit juice that I had tasted last Thursday. The color was eggplant purple. The juice was still very sweet but tasted yeasty and had already some secondary flavors.

I am excited, this wine is going to be good!

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Winemaking step #2: inoculation of the must

Yesterday, I was back at Crushpad for another winemaking exercise. We had destemmed and crushed our grapes two days earlier and since then the must had been cold-soaked in order to extract color, tannin, and aromas from the skins. It was now time to inoculate the must with yeast and start the fermentation.

Our winemaker Kian Tavakoli was ready when I came in. We started talking about yeast. “The yeast that converts sugar into alcohol in grape juice is called Saccharomyces cerevisiae .” explained Kian, “Cerevisiae means beer so it's also used to make cerveza!” he added with a smile.

Now I am realizing that there are many different strains of saccharomyces cerevisiae and each of them has very specific properties. Therefore, choosing the right strain has important consequences for the wine.

Crushpad has many different types of yeast

Originally, the plan was to use Enoferm BDX, a French strain commonly used in California for Bordeaux varieties but there was none left in stock that day so we used Enoferm CSM instead. It's also a yeast strain from Bordeaux and recommended for Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot. According to the manufacturer's instructions, its optimum fermentation range is between 15° to 32°C (59-89° F) and it does not handle alcohols above 14%. It favors color and phenolic extraction, is red fruit driven, reduces vegetal aromas and adds complexity along with balanced, round mouthfeel. In comparison, the Enoferm BDX had an alcohol tolerance of up to 16%, but making a 16% alcohol wine was not our goal.

To insure a quick start to our fermentation, we prepared a starter. First, we re-hydrated the yeast, mixing it with warm water. Then, we activated its life cycle by adding a small quantity of grape juice to it. In less than fifteen minutes, the yeast colony had expanded considerably and the starter was ready. We then poured the starter over the must to kick off the fermentation process.


Crushpad winemaker Kian Tavakoli is getting some juice for the starter.


The starter is ready to be used


The starter is poured over the must

During fermentation, the yeast cells produce carbon dioxide gas that pushes a cap of skins, stems, and pulp to the top. Whereas physically pushing down the cap in order to keep it broken up and moist, as well as extract color and flavors is a common cap management practice, we chose to put our wine in a special brand new oak barrel placed on a barrel rotator stand. The cap and the juice is thus mixed by rotation of the barrel several times a day, which extracts color and tannin much faster than the punch down technique.


The wine will ferment in a brand new oak barrel placed on a barrel rotator stand.

Next week, I'll be at Crushpad again. I want to taste the baby wine, check how the fermentation is progressing and see the barrel being rotated!

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Crushing at Crushpad

I was at Crushpad this morning because our Ink Grade Vineyard lot had been harvested yesterday and I wanted to participate in the destemming/crushing process. Of course, the first thing I did when I arrived at Crushpad was tasting the fruit. The berries were delicious, very sweet and flavorful. I also noticed how carefully hand-picked the grapes had been. The clusters were very clean and uniformly ripe with very few green or sunburned and shriveled berries. According to the final harvest data provided by Crushpad, the grapes had been picked at Brix 25.5, pH 3.39, and TA 7.5 g/l.

The destemmer/crusher is a machine that gently separates the berries from the stems to avoid bitter tannins, and then slightly crushes them. But before being fed through the destemmer/crusher machine, the grapes go on a sorting conveyor where they are carefully inspected and where leaves and bad berries can be removed.


Our fruit is brought over to be destemmed/crushed


The grapes are dumped into the destemmer/crusher machine


On the sorting conveyor


The destemmed berries


The leftover stems are falling out of the destemmer/crusher machine


The final mix of juice, pulp and seeds called the must

After being crushed, the must, which is the final mix of juice, pulp and seeds, is ready to undergo a cold maceration. Cold maceration is a relatively new technique and a way to increase skin contact and extract color and phenolics. The grapes are thus chilled to 14ºC/60ºF for a couple of days in order to inhibit fermentation.

Now, after cold soaking, the next step will be to come back to Crushpad to inoculate our must with our chosen yeast, the BDX - Bordeaux Red.

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Mediterranean meze and Greek wine

The other day, one of my friends from Turkey prepared a variety of meze dishes for lunch. Like the Spanish tapas, meze (or Mezédes in Greece) are small plates that are served in Turkey to accompany wine or more likely raki, the anise-flavored national drink. I was in charge of bringing the wine but I could not find any from Turkey. Instead, I chose a couple of wines from Greece, a white and a red, both from the Peloponnese.

The Peloponnese has a long tradition of winemaking. In the ancient times, Homer called it Ampeloessa, which means of vine leaves. Many indigenous grapes grow in the region, including the white varieties, Roditis, Sklava, Moschofilero and the red Agiorgítko. International varieties such as Chardonnay, Viognier, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Merlot are also cultivated and increasingly popular among winemakers that want to win entry into the foreign markets.

Our first wine was the 2003 Mercouri Foloi Roditis, “a fine, dry wine made from the Roditis variety grown at altitude on the plateau of Foloi, Ilias, in West Peloponnese, Greece — an area famous in Greek mythology for its aromatic wines.”, as it is described in the back label.

Roditis is a white variety that mainly grows in Central Greece and in the Peloponnese. The finest Roditis wines are produced from low-yielding, high elevation vineyards with a north-facing exposure. The wine had a light golden color and a nose of lime and grapefruit. The palate was crisp and well rounded with a refreshing finish of herbs and light spices. I really enjoyed the wine with the Imam Bayildi dish (The Imam Fainted), a dish of eggplants stuffed with onions, garlic, and tomatoes, simmered in olive oil.

Our red wine was the 2003 Skouras Grande Cuvée from the Neméa appellation. Neméa is now considered by some to be Greece's most important appellation. It produces deeply colored and complex red wines exclusively from the Agiorgítko grape. The wine had a dark purple color and a peppery nose of blackberry and blackcurrant. The palate was medium-bodied with a well balanced acidity and notes of mint on the finish. The wine was a great accompaniment to Kabak Dolmasi, a tasty dish of zucchini stuffed with ground beef, rice, onion and spices, and served with a yogurt, dill, and garlic sauce.



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Lucia Pinot Noir: sorry but not my cup of tea

Choosing a wine in a restaurant that is good and affordable at the same time is becoming, I think, more and more challenging. The other day, I was struggling to find a reasonably priced Pinot Noir and I asked the waiter about a wine that had a Sleepy Hollow Vineyard designation and sounded interesting. He seemed to ignore my question and came back with what I guess is one of the restaurant's best selling wines, a Pinot Noir from Lucia Vineyards.

The Lucia Vineyards winery is owned by the Pisoni family and produces wines from the renowned Garys' and Pisoni Vineyards in the Santa Lucia Highlands. The wine that the waiter poured had a dark color and a nose of vanilla and black cherry. The palate was very rich and unctuous with toasted oak and more vanilla flavors on the finish. I couldn't really say that the wine was bad although I found it overpowering but my friends were all happy with the waiter's choice and we kept the wine. However, was this wine the Pinot that I was looking for? Certainly not.

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Sad that summer is over? Drink a Corsican wine

Have you ever been to Corsica? For me, this rugged and mountainous Mediterranean island is one of the most beautiful places on earth. As a kid, I spent a few wonderful summer vacations in Corsica, although I remember that getting there was far from easy. I haven't forgotten the crowded and uncomfortable ferry that we used to take to cross the Mediterranean sea from Nice to Bastia. My sister and I were always seasick but there was no room for us to lay down. Fortunately, on our way to our vacation place, we could quickly forget our miseries; there was so much to see: dense forests of chestnut and cork oak, wild boars running freely on the twisty mountain roads, pristine white-sanded beaches. And I also vividly remember this heady scents of myrtle, cistus, and heather that emanated from the sun-drenched maquis.


Palombaggia beach

Not far from Bastia, Patrimonio is one of Corsica's best wine region. On chalky soil mixed with clay, the vineyard has an exceptional western exposure facing the sea. Surrounding mountains protect the vines from the strong winds coming from the Rhône Valley. The deeply colored Niellucciu — niellu means dark in Corsican — grows particularly well in the area and in Patrimonio, it must account for 95% of red wine. The grape is actually identical to the Tuscan Sangiovese and was most likely imported by Genoese during their rule of the island between the mid 15th century and the late 18th century.

The 2001 Domaine Leccia Patrimonio Petra Bianca is one of the few Corsican wines that can be found in the United States. It is a Kermit Lynch import that I bought last year at his Berkeley store. It is produced by the Domaine Leccia, a family-owned estate established in 1850. The domaine has a 54 acre vineyard located just a mile away from the sea and planted with traditional varieties such as Niellucciu, Grenache, Malvoisia, and Muscat. It is farmed with no pesticide and the harvest is done manually. Petra Bianca (white stone) is the domaine's special cuvée, made from lots that are particularly rich in limestone and schist.

The wine had a dark, brick/brown color. The nose exhibited aromas of sweet blackberries and spices. On the palate, it was full-bodied and well balanced, leaving an aftertaste of bittersweet chocolate. There were also some herbal notes that reminded me of the myrtle berry liqueur, a Corsican specialty that my parents bought one day as a souvenir and that we used to top our crepes with.

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Margaux en danger!

During the visit of my parents in law this summer, I decided to open in their honor a special bottle for dinner, a 1998 Pavillon Rouge du Château Margaux. This brought my father in law to tell us one of the hot stories in France at the time: the Bordeaux bypass project that could destroy some valuable vineyards in the renowned Margaux appellation.

The project that made many Bordeaux producers take up arms this summer is a plan to build a motorway that will bypass the congested town of Bordeaux and connect Spain with Northern Europe. The problem is that some of the proposed routes run through the vineyards of Margaux, including one route that could completely wipe out the vineyard of Château Cantemerle. More than 70 chateaux, including Château Margaux, signed an open letter to the local prefecture. Moreover, the representatives of the appellation created a dedicated website and blog — www.margaux-danger.com — to fight the proposal.

The latest news is that the government is trying to reach a compromise with the vintners and has published a revised plan that should not impact any vineyard. But opponents of the project are still worried about lead related pollution and damage to the terroir.

As we were discussing this, we were savoring the wine. It was dark in color, concentrated on the palate and, at the beginning, still tight and closed, so I decanted it. But as the wine opened up in the glass, it started to reveal its full personality, a perfumed nose of black fruits, a delectable, full-bodied palate with well-balanced tannins, and a finish that was long and classy — undoubtedly Margaux.

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WBW #25: A Sparkling Blogging Wednesday

The 25th edition of Wine Blogging Wednesday is all bubbly thanks to Sam at Becks and Posh, our host this month. She wanted us to taste a sparkling wine coming only from the Champagne region.

If you're a Champagne fan, I highly recommend the extensive K&L Wine Merchants Champagne selection. K&L Champagne Buyer Gary Westby direct-imports fantastic wines from small grower producers. Grower producers farm their own vineyard and make their own Champagne, therefore produce wines that have distinctive personalities, expressing the vineyard they come from and the unique style of the winemaker.

One of my favorite Champagnes from K&L is the Champagne Leclerc Briant Brut Premier Cru Clos des Champions, a single vineyard wine at an amazing price of $29.99. But today, I wanted to try something different that Gary had also recommended: a Blanc de Meuniers from Tarlant, a Champagne house owned by the Tarlant family since 1687.

The wine of Champagne is generally a blend of Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier. Pinot Noir accounts for nearly 40% of the plantings in Champagne and is often the backbone of the blend. 26% of the vineyard is planted with Chardonnay, which brings finesse and elegance, and 35% with Pinot Meunier, which provides acidity and fruitiness.

The Champagne Tarlant Extra Brut Blanc de Meuniers Cuvée La Vigne d'Or is an unusual wine made entirely from Pinot Meunier. It comes from a single vineyard in Tarlant's home town of Oeuilly with vines averaging 51 years of age. The wine had a straw golden color and a yeasty nose showing apple cider flavors. On the palate, it was dry, vivacious, but also slightly creamy, leaving a distinctive pear à l'eau de vie aftertaste.

We enjoyed our Champagne with a Grilled Tuna Basquaise, a dish that calls for a light and fruity wine. This was a joyful and sparkling dinner, thanks Sam!

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An ice bucket for my red wine please!

Maybe this summer has been warmer than usual; maybe I tend to drink my wine cooler than before. But for sure, I have been served red wines in restaurants this summer that were way too warm. I don't know about you but for me, a Pinot Noir that is poured at 80F is simply not drinkable.

In France, we say that red wine has to be chambré which means at bedroom temperature. But what most people must have forgotten (even in France) is that bedrooms were traditionally the coldest rooms of the house.

At this point, the solution is to ask the waiter for an ice bucket to chill the wine. Now, in few cases, I even had the waiter argue with me that ice buckets were for whites only and much too cold for reds. Therefore, I was extremely pleased when I found the following lines on the wine list of a new restaurant in Palo Alto:



It is always a good sign when a restaurant seems to care about wine. This means that you'll most likely find a wine in the wine list that will work well with the food. And it is even better if the wine is served at the proper temperature.

If a wine has been ordered by the glass and is too warm, the problem is trickier. I sometimes prefer to order the ubiquitous Chardonnay that I known will arrive nicely chilled rather than having a warm red. The alternative is to chill the wine with a few ice cubes, stir, and quickly remove them before they melt completely and dilute the wine too much.

That evening at Mantra we ended up not ordering a red wine — instead, we felt like having an Austrian Riesling with our dishes — so I don't know if the restaurant really serves red wines at cellar temperature. Next time, I should find out.

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Blind tasting of Grenache-based wines

For me, Grenache is the quintessential summer grape. It is often an essential component of the red and rosé wines that we enjoy drinking during the warm and sunny season. It was also the theme of our latest wine tasting gathering where we blind-tasted six Grenache-based wines from Spain, Italy, Southern France, Australia, and California.

Most likely, Grenache comes from Spain where it is known as Garnacha. The grape is extremely heat and drought resistant and thrives in warm and dry climates as well as in poor soils. As it ripens slowly, it can reach high sugar levels. Grenache can produce different wine styles varying from light, fruity rosés, thanks to its thin skin with little pigment on it, to full-bodied reds and rich dessert wines. In the south of France, it is traditionally blended with Syrah, Mourvèdre, Cinsaut, and Carignan, in Spain, with Tempranillo and in Australia, with Syrah and Mourvèdre in the so called GSM wines. In California, Grenache counts to only 2.6% of the total wine grape acreage but a growing number of wineries known as the Rhone Rangers are dedicated to actively promoting the Rhône varieties in California, including Grenache.

Ridge Vineyards is one of the Rhone Rangers member wineries. The winery produces various rhone style wines using Carignan, Grenache, Mourvèdre, Petite Sirah, and Syrah grapes. The 50% Syrah/ 50% Grenache blend from Ridge's Lytton Estate was the first wine that we tasted. The Lytton estate is located north of Healdsburg, on the hills separating Alexander Valley from Dry Creek Valley. Ridge's involvement with Grenache in the early 70s happened quite by accident when a high percentage of Grenache vine interplanted with small amounts of Zinfandel and Petite Sirah was discovered on one of the hills. Since then, Ridge bought additional vineyards including a thirty-two-year-old mixed Grenache blockland and 3.2 acres of mature syrah. The 2001 Ridge Syrah/Grenache Lytton Estate had a deep garnet color and a bright nose of sweet vanilla and red berries. On the palate, it was rich, slightly tannic, and well balanced with tasty sweet fruit flavors and a mineral-iron finish. Half of us ranked it first which put the wine in first position.

The second wine took us to Sardinia where Grenache is known as Cannonau. Grenache was probably brought there by the Spaniards during their rule of the island between the 15th and the 17th centuries. The 2001 Contini Cannonau di Sardegna Riserva 'Inu had a dark color and a spicy and fruity nose. On the palate, it was full-flavored with a characteristic Grenache taste. That was a pleasant wine that ended up in the fourth position.

Our third wine came from Almansa, a little-known wine region located in Spain's Castilla-La Mancha. The 2004 Bodegas Tintoralba Higueruela gained significant notoriety when it was rated 90 points by Robert Parker. The wine had a spicy nose of sour cherry and blackberry. On the palate, it was smooth and concentrated with some acidity and a fruity aftertaste. The wine finished second.

Our fourth wine was the 2003 Gigondas Moulin de la Gardette Cuvée Ventabren. The winery name Moulin de la Gardette refers to an old windmill that once stood on the stony hill of La Gardette just outside the village of Gigondas Designed for long term aging, the Cuvée Ventabren is a blend of 70% Grenache from very old vines, 20% Syrah and 10% Cinsault. The wine had a dark red color and a nose of raspberry liqueur. On the palate, it was still tight and tannic with sweet and peppery flavors. The wine finished in fifth position.

Our fifth wine, the 2004 Jason Schwarz Thiele Road Grenache Barossa Valley, came from the Barossa Valley in South Australia where Grenache vines are some of the oldest in Australia. Jason Schwarz is the son of an independent grape grower with over 100 acres of vineyards in the Barossa Valley. In 2001, Jason decided to make his own wine and now produces a Syrah and a Grenache from the family vineyards. The nose of the 2004 Grenache was sweet and spicy. The palate was big with sweet strawberry candy and raisin flavors and some definite heat on the finish. For me, the wine was too sweet with too much alcohol and I found out later that the 2004 vintage had an unusual 16% alcohol and 6 grams/litre of residual sugar. The wine was ranked last.

Our last wine came from Château La Nerthe, one of the main producers in Châteauneuf-du-Pape and one of the most historic domains in France—the wines of Château La Nerthe were served at the court of Louis XVI in Versailles. One of the property's owner was the eminent Commandant Joseph Ducos, the first French grower who imported American rootstock to overcome the phylloxera epidemic, and who is remembered as the soul of the viticultural reconstitution. The 2002 Châteauneuf-du-Pape Château La Nerthe had a medium ruby color and a earthy nose of sweet berry and jasmine aromas. The palate was round, fruity, and peppery. For a Châteauneuf-du-Pape, the wine was rather light and easily overpowered by the Schwarz Thiele Road Grenache (2002, known as the "flood" vintage, produced light wines in the Southern Rhône). But, as the dinner progressed, I found the wine to be one of the most food friendly and balanced of the tasting. The wine finished in third position.

Slow Wine

There was an article on slow wine in the Summer edition of Edible San Francisco, that featured an interview of Randall Graham, the iconoclastic winemaker of Bonny Doon Vineyard. Most of us are familiar with Slow Food, the international movement opposing fast food, but who has any idea of what a slow wine is?

“Essentially, slow wines are complex.” explained Grahm when asked to share his latest thoughts on slow wine and slow winemaking, “They're rich in minerals. The more minerality that one is able to extract from the vines, and the less obscene the degree of overripeness at which one harvests the grapes, the slower the wines tend to be.” And then he added on the virtue of slowed wines: “Slow wines are unique and therefore irreplaceable. They cannot by definition become commodities. Slow wines are the ones that enliven the spirit, take your breath away with their complexity, and generally make you believe that despite all the travails of this mortal existence, life is worth living.” The whole interview can also be found on the slow food forum.

Curiously, a few days ago, as I was reading Lawrence Osborne's excellent book The Accidental Connoisseur: An Irreverent Journey Through the Wine World, I found a similar quote from Mitchell Klug, at the time vineyard manager for Mondavi: “You can see it everywhere, this culture of instant change. But with wine you hit a problem. Our culture is fast, but wine is slow. It takes decades. The irony with all these novelty cult wines is that wine has a different mentality from commodities that can change very quickly. It isn't music or fashion or software. You can't change a vineyard overnight.”

I had not realized until now how trenty the slow wine concept was, but now I am wondering: what is more important, the quality of a product or how it is consumed? Can a slow wine really be slow unless it is enjoyed by a slow consumer, I mean someone with a convivial attitude, someone that can take the time to share long meals with friends? Who really makes a wine slow? The winemaker or the consumer?

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Tasting the 2005 Hook & Ladder The Tillerman White and the growing influence of wine blogs

Do you think that wine blogs have a growing influence on the wine community? Tom Wark from Wark Communication and the Fermentation blog believes so: “The Wine Blog is one of these new information sources that people are paying attention to on a daily basis and using to shape their worldview. And their numbers are growing as well as their influence.” he told a group of wine professionals in a presentation entitled Blogs, Wine Blogs and Communication.

Michael De Loach, head of sales & marketing at Hook & Ladder winery, agrees: “Our family has been in the wine industry for more than 30 years. In that time we've seen lots of changes. When the growth in personal websites and wine blogs was pointed out to me, I was amazed and heartened. It appears that technology has helped ferment a renaissance in wine publishing. I couldn't be happier. It is exactly what this industry needs.”

And therefore, he sent me and other wine bloggers a sample of his 2005 The Tillerman White so that we could talk about it on our blogs.

The owner and winemaker of Hook & Ladder is Michael's father, Cecil De Loach. He is a former San Francisco firefighter and the winery was named to honor this 16-year career: Hook & Ladder is another name for a fire truck. Before launching the winery in 2004, he was also known as the founder and winemaker of De Loach Vineyards, pioneering the Russian River Valley as one of California's premier grape-growing regions since the mid 70's.


The Russian River Valley

I was pleased to read on the winery website that Cecil and his wife Christine De Loach were both very committed to keeping the Russian River Valley environmentally sound. They have implemented a number of environmentally friendly actions such as creating an oak tree nursery, placing barn owl boxes and raptor perches to promote natural predator-prey relationships, and conserving water.

The winery grows many different grapes from various parts of the Russian River Valley, including Chardonnay, Gewürztraminer, Pinot Noir, Zinfandel Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Sangiovese, Syrah, Petite Sirah, Grenache, and Mourvèdre. Two blends are produced, a red and a white, which are both named The Tillerman. This is another reference to Cecil De Loach's firefighter job: because a fire truck needs two steering wheels, there are two drivers; one is in the front, and one, called the tillerman, is in the back.

According to the winemaker notes, the 2005 Hook & Ladder The Tillerman White is a proprietary blend of three estate varietals. It is made using a 100% stainless steel/cold fermentation technique to get a fruit-forward, crisp, expressive wine. The winemaker would not disclose the exact composition of the blend because it will eventually change over time in order to create a consistent flavor profile.

While I felt honored to have been asked to review this wine sample, I have to confess that I was slightly anxious when I opened the bottle. What if I didn't like the wine? Would I still be able to talk about it? I poured a little of the wine in my glass and quickly felt relieved. The wine had an attractive light straw color and an aromatic nose of ripe apple, pear, and white peach. On the palate, it was dry, round, with a refreshing vivacity. I also detected some honey and light spices on the finish. Overall, I found the wine thoroughly pleasant and perfect for a relaxed sipping. Try it with a appetizer of lavosh bread, hummus, and olives.

As for the blend, I agree with Tim Elliott from Winecast who also reviewed the wine: Chardonnay and Gewürztraminer, the two estate white grapes, must be part of the blend. And the third varietal? The obvious choice would be the aromatic Viognier but the grape might be too golden to match the light color of the blend. My other guess is Pinot Gris, a superb cool climate grape that has recently gained in popularity in the Russian River Valley.

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The incredible lightness of Arbois Rouge

A week ago, we had the visit of my husband's parents from France. My father-in-law being a wine lover and an amateur of fruity, low-alcohol, and light-bodied wines, I took the opportunity of their visit to discover—or rediscover—some lesser-known regional wines. One evening we tasted an Arbois rouge that I found particularly noteworthy.


The village of Arbois

If you had the chance to read Edward Behr's well documented coverage of the wines of Jura in the last issue of The Art of Eating, you must be now fairly well acquainted with the region. It is a mountainous massif between Burgundy and Switzerland with Arbois being one of the main communes and appellations. Arbois, which means fertile soil in celtic, is also the childhood home to Louis Pasteur, sometimes called the father of oenology.

The appellation produces a wide variety of wines including red, rosé, and white wines, sparkling wines, sweet vins de pailles and of course the distinctive vins jaunes. The red wines are usually blends of Pinot Noir, Poulsard, and Trousseau. Pinot Noir produces a much lighter wine than in Burgundy and is mostly used for blending. Poulsart is a thin skinned grape native to the Jura producing delicate, lightly-colored wines. Trousseau is more robust and brings color and structure to the traditional Trousseau-Poulsard or Trousseau-Poulsard-Pinot Noir blends. It is also found in Portugal under the name of Bastardo where it is used for Port.

The 2002 Arbois Rouge Vieilles Vignes Jacques Puffeney had a pale red color. I found the nose very distinctive with notes of tart cherry, dried flowers and spices. On the palate, it was dry, refreshing, almost like a rosé, and certainly, incredibly light.

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Chard No Way!

When I bought the 2004 Montlouis Clos du Breuil François Chidaine, my recent contribution to Wine Blogging Wednesday, I also found a bottle of California Chenin Blanc, the 2005 Vinum Cellars Chenin Blanc CNW (Chard No Way) Cuvee. So I bought the wine, curious to see how Chenin Blanc from a warmer climate would taste.

Vinum Cellars is one of the few California wineries that makes Chenin Blanc. The reason is that the two founders and winemakers, Richard Bruno and Chris Condos, both share a long-standing passion for Chenin Blanc: “It is our belief that Chenin Blanc (when made well) rivals some of the greatest white wines of the world. This wine was made from cool climate grapes, barrel fermented in French Oak, and aged for 9 months. Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah...REDISCOVER CHENIN BLANC!&rdquo

The Chenin Blanc grapes come from Wilson Vineyards in the Clarksburg AVA. This out-of-the-way region is located west of Sacramento and has a unique combination of soils, water, and climate. The soils are rich in organic material with a high mineral content. The Sacramento River provides an abundant source of water. Daytime temperatures are not as high as in nearby Sacramento thanks to cooling breezes coming from San Francisco Bay and rolling into the Sacramento delta. Chenin Blanc and Petite Sirah grow particularly well in this area.

The 2005 Vinum Cellars Chenin Blanc CNW Cuvee has a pale yellow color. The nose is aromatic with expansive fruity and floral notes. On the palate, the body is quite full with some good acidity and ripe fruit flavors. Although it does not have the sharp minerality of a Loire Valley Chenin Blanc, it is nevertheless very pleasurable to drink. And for the price, Chard No Way!

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Poetic tasting notes

Jim Harrison's latest piece in Kermit Lynch's August Newsletter, entitled Vin Blanc, was a real treat to read. The novelist and poet has to reduce his consumption of red wines due to health reasons and is therefore discovering the flavors of white wines.

When Kermit Lynch sent him a case of whites to sample, he “felt immediately trapped by the ineffable mystery of taste.”, and then added: “So this case of varied white wines trapped me both in my own limitations as a writer and in the rather obvious limitations of language itself. I make countless aesthetic decisions when composing a novel but am far less comfortable making critiques of the work of others.”

Nonetheless, can you find anything more eloquent than these little gems of tasting notes?

Domaine de la Tour du Bon 2004 Pretty good but a little sweet for my taste. Acceptable on a warm twilight watching birds from our patio in Patagonia, Arizona. One of the thousands of wildflowers I can't name even though I like them all. Naturally had to open a red for the rather musky buffalo shank stew I had made for dinner.

Philippe Faury Saint Joseph 2004 My father was an agronomist who with eyes closed could name the weeds and grasses he smelled. Naturally I can detect a herring egg sandwich when I bite into it. In this wine I can taste the stones of the Rhone Valley. The place suits me and so does the wine.

Ermitage du Pic St. Loup This was also easy because I love the terroir, and had pleasant memories of drinking it in a cafe in the grand square of Montpellier while watching the prettiest woman in France walk by. This wine tastes as soft and pleasant as the back of a girl's knee after she has taken a dip in the Mediterranean. I drank it with the light-breasted scaled quail I had shot, then downshifted to the mighty Vacqueyras, Sang des Cailloux, for the shoulder of wild pig.


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WBW #24: A fine Chenin Blanc from Montlouis-sur-Loire

Today is Wine Blogging Wednesday and for the second anniversary of this popular wine blogging event, Alder of Vinography has asked us to drink a Loire White as he think that the Loire Valley is the most underrated wine regions of France.

And I believe that Chenin Blanc is the most underrated grape variety. Like Riesling, it is made in a wide variety of wine styles: light sparkling wines, bone dry table wines, as well as unctuous dessert wines. Thanks to its high acidity, it can produce wines that are capable of aging for many decades. And it is also extremely food friendly.


An old Chenin Blanc vine in Vouvray

Chenin Blanc is Loire's signature white wine grape and has been well established in Anjou since the 9th century. It was later exported to Touraine, also called the garden of France, where it thrived in the highly calcareous soils of the region, especially around the towns of Vouvray and Montlouis-sur-Loire. Sadly, as light red wines became highly popular in Parisian Bistros in the 1970s, plantings of Chenin Blanc in Anjou and Touraine has been inevitably replaced by the more profitable Cabernet Franc and Gamay varieties.

Vouvray and Montlouis-sur-Loire are just across the river from each other but for some reason, Montlouis has never enjoyed the high reputation of its neighbor. Maybe it is because of its lighter, sandier soils, or maybe it is its tiny size: 380 hectares planted exclusively with Chenin Blanc.

For a long time, all I knew about Montlouis was the inexpensive sparkling wine that my grand-father used to buy from a local vigneron. It was our poor man's Champagne, relatively bland in flavor, nonetheless bright and bubbly, which was what we needed for our family celebrations.

The 2004 Montlouis Clos du Breuil François Chidaine that we tasted last night was of a different caliber. François Chidaine is one of the most serious producers of the region. He believes that “wine is born from the vine, not from artificial skills of re-creation in the winery”, and his 16 hectares estate, made of eight distinct plots, is organically farmed. Clos du Breuil is one of these plots. It has a soil of clay and limestone with flint and is always vinified separately as a Montlouis sec.

The wine had a bright golden color and a light, mineral nose with undertones of stone fruits. On the palate, it was crisp, dry, mineral, with also some roundness, leaving an aftertaste of white peach. We enjoyed the wine with some halibut filets baked in a Thai-inspired curry sauce. This reinforced my conviction that, like Riesling, Chenin Blanc loves Asian spices.

Thanks Alder for hosting and choosing this inspiring theme!

“et avec gros raisins chenins estuverent les jambes de Forgier mignonnement, si bien qu'il feut tantost guery.” (and with big grapes of chenin cutely bathed the legs of Frogier, so that he soon was cured)
François Rabelais, Gargantua.

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1979 La Crema Viñera Tasting

One of my wine lover friend, James Strohecker, had recently the great opportunity to attend a 1979 La Crema Viñera Tasting dinner, hosted by wine collector George Kautzman. He sent me some great tasting notes and was kind enough to let me post them on this blog.


1979 La Crema Viñera "Ventana Vineyard" Chardonnay (Magnum)

One of the best kept secrets in the history of California winemaking was a small winery started in Petaluma in the late 1970's called La Crema Viñera. Their first vintage, 1979, saw the emergence of three "super-premium" wineries, all of whom received the scarcest and most highly sought after grapes in all of California -- Winery Lake Vineyard, in Carneros.

I was lucky enough to be invited to a tasting hosted by famed wine collector, George Kautzman, who had scurried away every 1979 La Crema Viñera creation.

George Kautzman’s Original Background Notes:

The three upstart wineries were Acacia, Kistler, and La Crema Viñera. Of these three, there is no question that the finest wines produced that first year were from La Crema Viñera. (The name and assets were later sold, eventually becoming La Crema, part of Jess Jackson's wine empire, but the winemaker and grape sources were long gone.)

Rod Berglund, La Crema Viñera's winemaker when they launched in 1979, will be here to talk about their inaugural wines. I have been holding every wine La Crema Viñera produced their first year, including Magnums of 5 of the 7 wines (the other two were only produced in 750 ml's). As a hint of what's in store for us that evening, I brought a 750ml bottle of the 1979 La Crema Viñera "Winery Lake Vineyard" Chardonnay to the Francois Audouze dinner on May 1, and you can visit that thread to view the raves this wine received that night. Imagine what it will taste like from a Magnum! The scarcity of these wines, and the chance to taste them from Magnums, assures that this tasting will probably never be duplicated....

These are my tasting notes on the lineup:

1979 La Crema Viñera Vin Gris Pinot Noir (two 750 ml's)
As George Kautzman pointed out, the two bottles he selected were twin (750 ml) “brothers” out of the same case – one tuned out fine and went to an outstanding university such as the University of Oregon. The other went to Soledad Prison near where its grapes were grown.

This was the tale of two completely different wines, same vintage and bottling. The first bottle was clear; and the second had a smoky, caramel tainted look.

Interestingly, Rod Berglund and his original business partner were talking about this wine: They’d essentially made it to last a year at most.
• Light bottle 1979 Vin Gris Pinot Noir: Excellent. Tangy and tart. Very nice; almost “young” and still with some bounce on the palate. No real heaviness or excessive sugars.
• Dark bottle 1979 Vin Gris Pinot Noir: Very sherry in the nose; mushroom taste. It had turned and was too far gone for me. *However,* there were a few tasters in the group who actually liked it and later thought it went well with the dinner course of Mushroom-covered bread.

2005 Ladd Cellars Russian River Valley Pinot Noir Rosé
Let me start by saying I really don’t care for Rosé. Don’t like it. Never have. Always too fruity or made for a different palate. Or maybe it’s a reflection of growing up in a family supermarket where we sold Gallo Rosé. And not surprisingly, of my two favorite Pinot Noir brands/winemakers, I don’t like David Bruce’s Rose, and if Ancien’s Ken Bernards made one, I’ll say that I wouldn’t like it either. It’s just not a wine I care for.

But this wine really changed me -- I really liked this Ladd Cellars Pinot Noir Rosé. It was unique – in more ways than one. Supposedly, this was one of only 12 bottles in production. The Rose was very crisp with a nose of fruit blossoms and passion fruit. The flavor was an intense, full Pinot grape flavor, with a tangy finish. It was young and powerful – and only opened up slightly over time. I rated this the fourth-place wine of the evening.

1979 La Crema Viñera "Winery Lake Vineyard" Chardonnay (Magnum)
The nose was oak and apricots, that eventually flattened out a bit. It tasted like Chenin Blanc and Marigolds; but was very fresh and clean with a silky-soft finish with a twinge of Nectarines on the palate. An excellent, surprising start to the Chardonnays.

I rated this my third favorite wine of the evening, and spicier and more bouncy than the Ventana Vineyard Chardonnay that followed it.

1979 La Crema Viñera "Ventana Vineyard" Chardonnay (Magnum)
This wine nosed very buttery – I first wrote, “butter and lobster,” but that could have occurred from the aroma of our first dish, a Lobster Ravioli appetizer.

Later, when I tasted it again, it had a butter and kumquat nose, with a lime-rind (lime zest) citrus-and-hay finish. Though this flattened out a bit as well, it stood the test of time as a solid Chardonnay that was slight and smooth on the palate

1981 La Crema Viñera (51% Monterey/49% Sonoma)
This was fresh with still some room to move, but probably best to drink now. Smooth, smooth, smooth. Balanced. A touch of smoke and rose on the finish. Good citrus twinges and as the evening progressed, you could taste the blend – but the flavors never fell apart. Well melded when made and now at the tasting.

1979 La Crema Viñera "Winery Lake Vineyard" Pinot Noir (Magnum)
Raspberry and cocoa. Smooth (of course) and classy finish. Barn-color on the edges gave away its age.

The nose was lighter and more delicate than the Ventana Pinot Noir. Later, the tastes that emanated were lake water + minerals + raisins. Nice. This really was excellent and was my second favorite wine of the evening

1979 La Crema Viñera "Ventana Vineyard" Pinot Noir (Magnum)
Yum. Smoke On The Water. Older musky nose and a light finish. Big. Lots of late-palate blackberry. And an unusual, spice-filled finish. With a tart lingering flavor. Much different than the Winery Lake Pinot Noir. More hearty. And though it never boomed with new flavors, it remained remarkably strong during the tasting; it didn’t flatten out.

1979 La Crema Viñera "Roberts Vineyard" Pinot Noir (one 750 ml)
First of all, George has 11 bottles of this . . . somewhere in his vast collection. Secondly, and more importantly, he could only find one 750 ml out of the 11 he has. So he also provided a 1980 Roberts Vineyard Pinot Noir (see below)

1980 La Crema Viñera "Roberts Vineyard" Pinot Noir (two 750 ml's)
BIG. Fruity up front nose that never diminished. Tanin and black cherry. More fruit. Drinkable and delicious. Almost un-Pinot Noir like à very deep. Many layers. With a smoky, interesting BIG final pow on the palate. Wow. This is great wine.

This clearly stormed to the top of the list and stood out as my (and others’) Number One selection of the evening. Well crafted and it aged very well.

1979 Petaluma Cellars "Steiner Vineyard" Cabernet Sauvignon (Magnum)
Silky and sweet nose. Dark and full with hints of Boysenberry and Oak. Tanin-rich with a spicy finish. This was Zinfandel-like on my palate; although smooth, it’s not a knock-down Cab. Later, I smelled hints of Mrs. Neushin’s Dill Pickle juice, with a smoky back. Though this was polished, it was a bit past its prime – no palate increase; it flattened out.

Frankly, I wasn’t as blown away by this wine as others were. Many raved long and loudly about this Cabernet. I felt it had settled a bit too much and thought that it was a little too raisiny for my taste.

1983 Graham’s Vintage Porto
Wow! Smooth and medium-sweet with a Wild Berry finish. No sediment. Very smooth and not overbearing with alcohol. A fine finish to the evening.

James Strohecker

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