WINE COUNTRY MASSACHUSETTS - WESTPORT RIVERS VINEYARD AND WINERY

The Massachusetts wine industry is a relative newcomer to the national wine scene - the state's first winery of the modern era opened in 1971.  

Massachusetts boasts only about 30 wineries, but they are making a name for themselves.  Several folks who know a lot more about Massachusetts wine than I do have told me it's high time that wine from the Bay State got its due.

The grapes you'll find growing in Massachusetts are likely to be Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Riesling, Gewurztraminer, Pinot Blanc or Pinot Gris.  They are also growing some American hybrids like Vidal Blanc and Cayuga.  Wine made from fruit other than grapes is also in the picture, and mead - wine made from honey - figures in to the winescape.

Wine Country has already visited Massachusetts - Cape Cod Winery - which gave us a chance to try a wine made from hybrid grapes.  This time, we taste some more traditional winemaking grapes.

Westport Rivers is a small, family-owned farm in Westport, Massachusetts which has been growing grapes and making wine for 25 years.  Over that time they have racked up a lot of gold medals and good press, but they are most proud of the fact that their wine has been served in the White House under two administrations.

Their website sings the praises of their "dark, rich, New England loam on well drained gravel."  The cool New England weather is tempered by the Gulf Stream, which warms the South Coast of Massachusetts.  Westport Rivers is situated in the Southeastern 

New England AVA, where most of the Massachusetts wineries are located.  They are also a member of the Coastal Wine Trail of Southeastern New England.

The folks at Westport Rivers also sing the praises of their wines.  They point out that their wines are literally tailor-made to go with the seafood and cheeses of their region.  Westport Rivers was kind enough to provide six of their wines for the Now And Zin 

Wine Country series.

Westport Rivers Pinot Gris 2009 - After harvest they let the grapes sit in the press for a few hours before pressing, to give the wine some color and aromatics from the skins.  It works!  The wine has a great golden tint and the nose is bouquet of flowers - a big bouquet.  There's also a touch of minerality in the aromas which comes across more like a gentle earthiness.  The palate plays peaches against melons with a lovely herbal quality rising along with some acidity to keep things food friendly. 

Westport Rivers Pinot Noir 2010 - At 13.2% abv, this is much more old world than new.  Medium ruby in color, the nose on this Pinot Noir shows muted raspberry and a strong herbal aroma that smacks of greenness. It's nothing like a whiff of high octane Cali Pinot, that's for sure. The palate shows that same herbal edge, reminiscent of Cabernet Franc, and it weighs in nearly equally with the red plum and sour cherry flavors. The minerality is strong, the acidity lip smacking. It's herbaceousness and acidity show that the winemakers were thinking of the state's seafood bounty when they crafted this one.  It's a light, even delicate, framework for a wine that's more about feel than flavor. 

Westport Rivers Chardonnay 2009 - 100% estate-grown Chardonnay, this wine is 80% aged in French oak, sur-lie.  Letting wine rest on the dead yeast during fermentation imparts a richer, fuller feeling.  That does not come at the expense of acidity, though - there’s plenty of acid to tingle the taste buds.  Big tropical aromas and spices dominate the nose, while the palate also gets the palm-tree treatment - there are traces of pineapple, guava, banana and even a little coconut in the flavor profile. There's also a trace of lemon peel and even a ginger-like quality that flirts on the palate.  That earthy minerality shows up here, too, as it did in in Pinot Gris.  It's quite a complex little Chardonnay, and - once again - not very California.  A 12.2% abv number makes for a very drinkable wine.

Westport Brut RJR 2006 - A traditional method sparkler comprised of 65% Pinot Noir grapes and 35% Chardonnay, the Brut has a light golden hue.  The frothy head dissipates quickly.  Its nose reminds me of earthy peaches, very ripe.  I swear I smell mayhaw jelly.  On the palate there's a distinct banana flavor and a toastiness with that earthy quality.  A light mouthfeel and a lingering sense of banana candy give me plenty to ponder while sipping. This is a singular sparkler in my tasting experience.  It's fascinating.  By the way, RJR stands for Robert James Russell, Westport Rivers' winemaker. 

Blanc de Blancs Ultra Brut 2000- This yellow-gold sparkler offers one of the most pungent noses I've ever experienced in a sparkling wine. The tropical aromas I found in the Chardonnay are here, along with a heaping helping of toasty earthiness. The Blanc de Blancs is made from 100% Chardonnay grapes and is aged over seven years before finishing.  The palate is rich and citrusy, with plenty of bubbles and a bracing acidity.  There's a very intense nutty quality i find fascinating  It does wonders for a handful of peanuts!  The winery recommends you pair it with oysters, and that would seem to be an even better choice. 

Grace Chardonnay NV - This is their aperitif Chardonnay, one of those gold medal winners they like to brag about. Westport Rivers blends their eau de vie of Chardonnay with fresh pressed Chardonnay juice, then they age it in French oak.  Repeat for seven 

vintages and you've got Grace.  It has an alcohol content of 17.5% abv, so you'll want to go easy on it before operating heavy machinery. This wine looks terrific in the glass.  It's a rich shade tending towards amber, almost like bourbon.  Gorgeous aromas of caramel and honey just about knock me off my feet. The palate is awash with flavors of lemon peel drenched in dark honey.  After regaining consciousness, I realize what great acidity this wine has - feel free to bring on the fattiest cheese and pâté for it.

The one thing that keeps appearing in the wines of Westport Rivers is the amazing terroir, the sense of earth that permeates each of the wines I tried.  It marks each wine as a distinctive representative of Wine Country Massachusetts.

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KING ESTATE OREGON PINOT GRIS 2007 AT THE LOBSTER

After quaffing a Rioja as an opener and warming up a bit in the cool Santa Monica lunchtime breeze, my visit to The Lobster turned toward more appropriate fare.  Ordering clam chowder and the sea scallop dish that always turns my head there, I asked for an Oregon Pinot Gris.

The King Estate wine is $9 by the glass and a light straw color.  The nose shows some green apple and citrus, and the freshness is obvious on the first whiff.

Zippy, fresh citrus flavors dominate the palate with a peach note coming forward.  The acidity is quite nice and a fairly good minerality lasts beyond the finish.  It's a good match for the chowder and the scallops.

BRANDER CUVÉE NATALIE 2008

Here's another in a semi-regular series of Friday Wine Treats.  In case you want to take a little extra time at lunch today and give your Los Angeles work week a great sendoff, I have a suggestion.  Akasha  in Culver City is a restaurant/bakery located where Culver Boulevard turns onto Washington Boulevard.  It has a heavy-duty, distressed rock bar that leads you into and around the dining area.  Take a seat at the bar and look up at the wine list.  It's on a chalkboard that looms over the bar area.

Akasha is a great spot for a week-ending glass of wine from anywhere, but Central Coast fans will be happy to note they have a number of good choices from Paso Robles, Edna Valley, Santa Barbara and the Santa Ynez Valley.  You can even get a summery glass of rosé from the region.  I was delighted to see Fiddlehead's "Pink Fiddle" and Fontes and Phillips' "Panky" - two of my favorite pinks - on the board.

My choice, though, was a white wine from a Los Olivos winery, the Brander Cuvée Natalie, an Alsace-style white blend.  Named after owner and winemaker Fred Brander's daughter, Natalie, this blend includes Sauvignon Blanc from the Brander Vineyard with Riesling and Pinot Gris from Kick On Ranch.  It's made completely in stainless steel and has the crisp, fresh edge to prove it.

Cuvée Natalie pours into the glass as a pale yellow with a greenish hue.  The nose is floral with a peachy aspect and it's not a surprise to find a little fresh-mown grass in the aroma profile.  The taste is laden with minerality.  Crunchy pears and a hint of melon are joined by a slight petrol note.  Big acidity should help make this wine as food-friendly as you want.  The finish is long and bright, with a zesty sense of lemon lingering long afterward.

Tasting Room: Alma Rosa, Buellton

Alma Rosa Winery and Vineyards was founded in 1970 by Richard and Thekla Sanford.  Not only were they on board early in recognizing the Santa Rita Hills as a good place to grow grapes, they also were among the first to plant Pinot Noir there.  Alma Rosa is described on their website as "an enterprise dedicated to creating high quality wines and setting a benchmark for organic farming, sustainable agriculture methods, and environment-friendly commerce."  Oh, and their wines rock.

My visit occured on a day when there was considerable celebration at all the area wineries, and Alma Rosa was no exception. Going through the small tasting room to a back area where a band played something that sounded like the Grateful Dead's version of reggae, I settled into what seemed to be Hippie Heaven. Taking a cue from the warm and sunny afternoon weather, I decided to sample some white wines.


Santa Rita Hills Pinot Blanc 2007 - There's just a bit of oak on this wine.  A lemony, creamy pepper taste springs forth from a very lively and fresh, green nose.

La Encantada Vineyard Pinot Blanc 2007 - A fresh nose is found here, too.  There's a little less oak influence.  With a very creamy mouthfeel, it's a pleasure to drink.

Santa Barbara County Pinot Gris 2008 - The fresh noses were out in force today.  A pear flavor dominates, but a bit of a tropical play figures in, too.  It's steel fermented and aged six months in French oak.

Pinot Gris La Encantada Vineyard 2007 - Apricot and tangerine flavor the wine after a floral nose.  Lots of minerals produce a crisp and clean palate.

Chardonnay El Jabali Vineyard 2006 - A woody nose greets you, but it's not overdone. Tropical flavors and pears rule the palate.

Tangent Ecclestone 2007

Spring starts on March 20th this year.  That knowledge plus the weather turning a shade warmer in Southern California today put me in mind of some of the wines I thoroughly enjoyed last spring and summer.  And autumn, for that matter.

Ecclestone, from the Tangent Winery in California's Edna Valley region, is one of my favorites for when the last vestiges of winter have gone away for a while.  Tangent is an offshoot of Baileyana Winery.  You might expect a winery which specializes in white wines - and which has "tangent" as its name - to vary from the mainstream occasionally.  They do.  This "alternative white wine" utilizes so many varieties, it could be named "Pinot Kitchen Sink."  Pinot Gris, Viognier, Riesling, Pinot Blanc, Muscat and Albarino all combine to produce this unique and fascinating wine.

There is a very modern flair to the label with clean lines a crisp design. Remember those descriptive words.  They'll come in handy later when describing the wine.

Ecclestone's nose is gorgeous.  It's full of flowers.  It has one of the most intensely floral bouquets I can remember.  Orange blossom is billed, but to my nose it's more like honeysuckle with a splash of orange.  If you recall the intensity of the smell when walking near a honeysuckle, the first sniff of this wine is much like that.  Try to serve it only moderately chilled, as those floral notes really explode when not fully refrigerated.

The flowers don't quit after you smell them.  There is a floral carpet laid upon the palate as well, one which I welcome each time I experience it.  Citrus notes are here, along with a clean and crisp minerality that braces and refreshes.  There's a stony quality to the minerals that comes through, as opposed to chalky.  I love this wine on the deck on a nice warm afternoon.  It refreshes in much the same way a cold, hoppy ale does.  It just seems made for the sunshine. The acidity is certainly there, too, so don't think this is just a sipper.  Serve it with salads, Kalamata olives, mild cheddar or a nice plate of scallops.

Variety:   Pinot Gris, Viognier, Riesling, Pinot Blanc, Muscat and Albarino
Appellation: California > Central Coast > San Luis Obispo > Edna Valley
Vintage: 2007
Alcohol Level: 13.5% abv
Price: $20
Acquisition disclaimer: Purchased by the author

Pasadena PinotFest 2010, 2nd Annual

I made a sort of "wine resolution" at the beginning of the year to drink more Pinot Noir.  To that end, this month I have attended not one but two big tasting events featuring Pinot Noir.  The most recent, the Pasadena PinotFest, was held at the University Club of Pasadena on January 30.  I had not been to the venerable facility since my friends Jerry and Robin had their wedding reception there.  It was a jumpin' joint that night, but the wine crowd got the room rockin', too.

A full house made their way from winery table to winery table, stopping to refresh their palates at a major cheese station, a carving table for assorted meats and a wonderful island where succulent braised short ribs were served atop a pile of cheesy grits.  Pleasure abounded from wall to wall.

Nearly 50 wineries were represented, and not all of them felt obliged to restrict their pours to Pinot Noir.  Quite a few brought Chardonnays and Syrahs with them, while I did see one Pinot Gris and a rose.  It was a Pinot Noir rose, however.



Although the room was crowded, I was able to make it in good fashion up and down the aisles.  At no time was it difficult to get close enough to the pourers to hear what they had to say about the wines.  In fact, at an event earlier in the month, I had some difficulty getting close to the Clos Pepe table.  This time around, winemaker Wes Hagen was able to devote his entire attention to my questions for several minutes.  That's probably not the way he would have preferred it, but it worked very well for me.



Hagen poured some of his prized rose to start.  He explained that for this pink wine, his grapes are taken a full six weeks before other Pinot growers begin harvesting.  He feels he can get full fruit flavor without letting the grapes possibly get overripe.  I agree.  The Clos Pepe rose has one of the best fruit presences I can remember tasting in a pink wine.  Moreover, his Pinot Noir seems almost like an extension of the rose rather than a different wine entirely.


Another big favorite for me was Row 11 Russian River Valley 2007.  The spices were so delicious this one really did make my eyes open wide.  According to the pourer, winemaker Richard de los Reyes makes New World Pinot Noir by selecting the "best vineyards, in the best appellations and taking the best rows."  She explained that's where the name, Row 11, comes from.  Reyes can walk any vineyard in California and select any row he likes.  He apparently likes Row 11.



I was also taken with the Windstream 2008 Pinot.  It's a big, floral, rich wine which is, I'm told, "the winemaker's baby."  Winemaker Anthony Riboli, of the Los Angeles winemaking Riboli Family, really impressed me with this wine.



The Pasadena PinotFest served as a fundraiser for Hillsides, a Pasadena-based nonprofit organization doing good work for Southern California's children.  If you weren't able to help by attending, please click on their name and explore other opportunities to help.

Here are some of the wines I sampled (all are Pinot Noir):

Ampelos Lambda 2006 - very good

Ampelos Rho 2006 Barrel Select - excellent, bright and earthy on nose and palate

Ampelos Fiddlestix Vineyard 2007 - subdued fruit, somewhat green

Alma Rosa  Santa Rita Hills 2007 - nice and earthy

Alma Rosa La Encantada Vineyard 2005 - wild nose, got a lot of attention from other tasters while I was there

Badge 2006 - complex nose, spicy taste

Baileyana Grand Fire Peak Cuvee 2007 - earthy and full

Cargasacchi Point Concepcion Salsipuedes 2008 - barnyard nose, nice mineral profile

Cargasacchi Estate, Cargasacchi-Jalama Vineyard 2007 - brighter and more vibrant than Concepcion

Clos Pepe Rose 2009 - strawberry, 11.5% abv, great fruit presence, very "real"

Clos Pepe 2006 - like and "extension" of the rose, darker and fuller

Clos Pepe 2007 - even fruitier and fuller than '06

Derby 2006 - very good nose

Ken Brown Santa Maria Valley 2007 - violets

Ken Brown Sta. Rita Hills 2007 - great sense of earth

Ken Brown Clos Pepe Vineyard 2007 - dark and brooding

Loring 2008 - like candy on the nose

Loring Gary's Vineyard 2008 - herbaceous, bright and delicious

Marimar Don Miguel Vineyard 2006 - lovely and dark

Marimar Dona Margarita Vineyard 2006 - big nose, subdued fruit

Row 11 Russian River 2007 - OMG! great spices

Stephen Ross Chorro Creek 2007 - nice minerals

Tin House 2005 - very nice earth, big, sourced in Edna Valley

Windstream 2008 - very big taste, floral and rich, "winemaker's baby"

Tasting Room Notes: Summerland Winery

Why had we never gotten off the 101 freeway in Summerland before? Maybe it's because when we pass that way we're usually headed for either Santa Barbara or the Santa Ynez Valley, and it seems we should just press on and get where we're going. Maybe it's because we never knew there was a really great little highway grocery there. Maybe it's because we never knew about the Summerland Winery.

Well, this time we were headed for Pismo Beach, so it was actually perfectly positioned as a stopping place. We needed to pick up a few things at a market of some sort. The Summerland Winery just happened to be there, in the right place at the right time.

The tasting room is in a tidy little building in the seaside community of Summerland, between Los Angeles and Santa Barbara. There's a bay window upstairs and a flag adorns the front, flapping in the cool ocean breeze. I had imagined it would look more like a boutique and less like a tasting room inside, but I was wrong. Ample bar space beckoned, so I picked up a tasting menu and got started.

I had just sampled Summerland's wares at the Ojai Wine Festival a week earlier - my pourer recognized me - so I knew there were good wines here. The tasting fee is $8, $12 to keep the glass.

Sauvignon Blanc, Santa Barbara County, 2007 - A pungent aroma leads to tropical flavors and grapefruit. The acidity is quite nice, so I would guess it's a good wine to have with food. It's very crisp and refreshing, so you could just sip it if you like.

Pinot Gris, Santa Barbara County, 2008 - More tropical flavors, and a nice clean finish.

Chardonnay, Rancho Santa Rosa, 2007 - 10 months in oak left its mark on this one. It's very oaky, although with a clean taste and finish.

Pinot Noir, Santa Barbara County, 2007 - Brilliant aromas and flavors in this one - black cherry and clove all over the place. This is not subdued - it's a very lively Pinot Noir.

Grenache, Paso Robles, 2006 - This medium-bodied Grenache surprised me. It tasted a lot spicier than I expected. Fairly nice, but I can think of several other Grenaches I like better.

Cabernet Sauvignon, Paso Robles, 2006 - The black currant profile is very strong here. French oak for 14 months gives a nice effect, but the wood is rather restrained.

Orange Muscat, Santa Barbara County 2008 - This dessert wine isn't sappy, it's nice and crisp in fact. The sweetness is there, it simply isn't overdone.