Showing posts with label Syrah. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Syrah. Show all posts

Wednesday, March 6, 2024

Washington Syrah For My Pot Roast

I was shopping for the goods needed for a pot roast when I spied a wine for less than ten bucks on the top shelf at the market. That's unusual placement, so I picked it up and found that it was a Vintage Upper Left Syrah. The grapes for this wine were grown in Washington's Columbia Valley, which encompasses an enormous portion of the state. I figured I could hardly go wrong by using this wine in my slow-cooker roast.

Winemaker Hal Landviogt has made wines for some three decades, so he knows a thing or twenty about it. He is billed as an unpretentious winemaker who likes to make unpretentious wines. Alcohol in this one resides at 14.2% abv and it was on sale for just $9 at Whole Foods Market.

This wine has a deep purple color, very dark. Aromas of blackberries, leather, tar and black pepper dominate on the nose. The palate follows suit with extremely savory notes of pepper, cardamom, anise and allspice to adorn that dark fruit. The medium length finish is tasty and the mouthfeel is full and round. The tannins are firm enough so that I can pair the wine with the pot roast into which it went.  


Wednesday, February 7, 2024

Pink Wine From Monterey County

The Seaglass Wine Company is based in St. Helena, California, while making wines from vineyards south of Napa, in the state's Central Coast appellation. They notably pull fruit from the Los Alamos Vineyard in Santa Barbara County, but for their Rosé they went to Monterey County for the grapes.

The 2022 Seaglass Wine Rosé was made from 53% Grenache grapes, 23% Pinot Noir, 19% Syrah and 5% Viognier. The wine was crafted entirely from free-run juice, with no pressed grapes at all. The winery claims that this move helps produce a softer wine with a lighter body. Fermentation took place cold, in steel tanks, with no malolactic fermentation. Alcohol hits 13.5% and I bought the wine for less than $10.

This wine has a pale salmon color, like onion skin. The nose carries light aromas of strawberry and citrus, but easy on the lemon. On the palate, there is a lovely sense of fruit, with minerals along for the ride. Strawberry, raspberry, lemon and a very light flavor of cardamom. Acidity is fresh and the finish is lengthy. 


Monday, February 5, 2024

Too Big, Too Bold, Too Brawny: Bogle's Not-So-Essential Red

The Bogle family has farmed the California delta region for six generations, 50 years now in the effort of growing wine grapes. Like a lot of farming families in the area, they started out selling their fruit to others, then got wise and started turning their grapes into wine themselves. 

The 2020 Essential Red is a California red blend of four grapes: 53% Petite Sirah, 23% Syrah, 16% Teroldego and 8% Cabernet Sauvignon. It was aged for a full year in American oak barrels. Alcohol is right where one would expect it to be, 14.5%. Essential Red sells for $10 or less. The Bogle website suggests making a mulled wine of it. I am not a fan of such, but it does seem to be a good use for this bottle, as bold and brawny as it is. 

This wine is quite dark and quite aromatic. The nose would be fruit-forward if the oak spices weren't so strident. The big display shows dark fruit - plum, blackberry and black currant - carried along by a huge whiff of clove, cedar, tobacco, cardamom and several other occupants of the spice rack, I'm sure. The palate is similarly blessed, or handicapped, depending on your own view of oak treatment. The oak in this wine is heavy-handed and best suited for blunt-force trauma. That is disappointing, since I have long been a fan of Bogle's wines. I’ll stick with their other offerings in the future. 


Monday, December 18, 2023

Great Grenache! CDP From Paso Robles

Halter Ranch Vineyard is located in the beautiful hills of western Paso Robles. The Santa Lucia mountain range is the backdrop to the 2700-acre estate. Only two hundred of those acres are devoted to organic grapes, 20 different varieties, as well as walnut and olive orchards. The rest is all Mother Nature, including oak woodland and wildlife corridors. Owner Hansjörg Wyss is described as a "Swiss entrepreneur, philanthropist, and world-leading land conservationist." Winemaker Kevin Sass spends a lot of time in the vineyard. He says that is where great wines begin. 

The 2020 Halter Ranch 2020 CDP is a blend of 70% Grenache grapes, 15% Syrah, 13% Mourvèdre and 2% Tannat. The CDP, of course, stands for Châteauneuf-du-Pape, the Rhône region where Grenache blends rule. This wine, though, is definitely from California. 

92% of the wine was aged in neutral French oak barrels, while the remainder was aged in concrete tanks. Alcohol rests at 14.7% abv and the retail price of the wine is $55. 

The wine looks very dark in the glass. The nose is bold, with big cherry, raspberry and blueberry aromas. There are also notes of oak, but just trace amounts. A caramel aspect floats from the glass periodically. The palate is full of bold fruit and a passel of tannins, as my grandparents might have said, had they ever talked about tannins. The fruit dominates the flavor profile. The name on the label isn't too far off. You might think it is a CDP while sipping it. 


Friday, December 8, 2023

Blood Of The Vines - A Clambake Of Queens

Pairing‌ ‌wine‌ ‌with‌ ‌movies!‌  ‌See‌ ‌the‌ ‌trailers‌ ‌and‌ ‌hear‌ ‌the‌ ‌fascinating‌ ‌commentary‌ ‌for‌ ‌these‌ ‌movies‌ ‌and‌ ‌many‌ ‌more‌ ‌at‌ ‌Trailers‌ ‌From‌ ‌Hell.‌ This week, we screen three films with the word "queen" in the title while wondering where a clambake fits in. Oh, and we have wine pairings for each film. And maybe for the clambake, too.

Let's start with the top queen in the deck, Her Royal Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. There was a British sparkling wine released for her 70th anniversary on the throne. It was a 2016 vintage blend of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier, of which Her Highness was presumably quite fond. Not that the royal public information officer was at liberty to release any such information. Let's get to the movies.

Barbarian Queen is a 1985 action-packed film from Argentina. I've seen it referenced as a classic, so it must be so. It is also hiding in some places under a different title, Queen of the Naked Steel. The one sheet for Barbarian shows off plenty of naked and plenty of steel. Roger Corman went to Argentina in the 1980s and they wouldn't let him leave until he had made ten pictures. This is one of them.

The film is a sort of female version of Conan the Barbarian. A group of women set out for vengeance against marauders who attacked on the day of a wedding in the village. There is plenty of violence involved in their revenge, both by and against the ladies. As you might guess, several of the women are subjected to sexual assault and torture. This movie may have its legion of fans, but you won't find it screening at Wokefest2024.

Australian producer Fowles has a line called Ladies Who Shoot Their Lunch. This collection of styles, from Pinot Gris to Shiraz, gives a gentlemanly tip of the hat to the female hunter/gatherers from the land down under. 

1951's The African Queen pairs Humphrey Bogart and Katherine Hepburn as a boat captain and a British missionary. Their trouble-plagued trip down a river in German East Africa would make Colonel Kurtz green with envy. The film earned Bogie his one and only Academy Award. No statue for Kate? How did that happen? Oh, Vivien Leigh won it for Streetcar Named Desire. Okay, I guess I'll let it go. It still doesn't seem right, though.

The steamboat which bears the name African Queen was reportedly once owned by actor Fess Parker. Parker's name is also on a Santa Barbara County winery. How convenient. 

Fess Parker Winery makes a Syrah from Rodney's Vineyard, their main estate plot. Just a suggestion, as they offer a lengthy line of wines which capture the terroir to near perfection. 

Zsa Zsa Gabor stars in 1958's Queen of Outer Space. The film is set waaay in the future (cue the theramin and zoom the camera in and out) in 1985! Yes, the year when mankind would travel to Venus, the female planet. What a disappointment to get there and find that it is ruled by a cruel dictatrix. That's not Zsa Zsa, by the way. 

There is little to no surprise in finding out that it all works out well in the end. Zsa Zsa's character even gets a nice promotion, from beautiful tour guide to… well, I'll not spoil it for you, except to say that the tiara fits her to a T. 

Zsa Zsa reportedly taste-tested some California wines on The Tonight Show in the late 1960s, and found them to her liking. Did she single handedly catapult Napa Valley to wine world dominance with her blessing? More likely that credit goes to the Judgment of Paris, but it's nice to know that Zsa Zsa was on the right side of history. 

Hahndorf Hills Winery of Australia's Adelaide Hills region makes a Zsa Zsa Zweigelt. They say they were the first to grow the German grape in Australia, so they must know what they're doing. Do they know that Zsa Zsa was Hungarian? Who cares? How often do you get a chance to drink a Zweigelt wine?

If you are intent on having a clambake, or any sort of party-oriented meal featuring shellfish, try a Muscadet. The Loire Valley bottling is sometimes labeled as Melon de Bourgogne, even though it is not from Burgundy and has nothing to do with melons. You'll be pleased with it as a crisp accompaniment to a clambake, crabwalk, lobster party or crawfish boil. Well, actually, have a beer with the crawfish.  


Friday, December 1, 2023

Blood Of The Vines - Hollywood Babylon

Pairing‌ ‌wine‌ ‌with‌ ‌movies!‌  ‌See‌ ‌the‌ ‌trailers‌ ‌and‌ ‌hear‌ ‌the‌ ‌fascinating‌ ‌commentary‌ ‌for‌ ‌these‌ ‌movies‌ ‌and‌ ‌many‌ ‌more‌ ‌at‌ ‌Trailers‌ ‌From‌ ‌Hell.‌ This week, we have a trio of movies that expose the soft underbelly of Tinseltown, our own private Hollywood Babylon. And what Babylon would be complete without a wine to go with it? We suggest pairings for each of these films. 

Blake Edwards earned a place in my heart with his 1981 film, S.O.B. I believe it has brought me as much laughter as Blazing Saddles or Fargo, or One, Two Three, which is saying a lot. The movie pokes deliciously dark fun at the workings of Hollywood. There is the director, who goes nuts while making a movie. There is the studio, which wants to salvage what they see as a flop coming down the road. There is the editor, who can't wait to take his scissors to the film. There is the doctor, who, well, opens the next fifth of vodka. 

Robert Preston is a revelation in S.O.B. My history with doctors is checkered. Dr. Whitepockets never wrote a prescription. He just pulled a sample pack of pills from his labcoat and handed it to me. Dr. Insult never saw an infirmity that didn't make him laugh. His hallmark line: "Yeah, it sucks getting old." Dr. Dental finagled insurance companies like a body shop owner. They were practically paying me when he was through with them. But Preston, as Dr. Irving Finegarten, delivers a career performance and steals nearly all the best lines in the script. 

Oh, right, like some desperate winemaker would dare to slap the letters S, O and B on their wine label. Wait a minute. There happens to be one right here. SOB is a kosher wine from Israeli winemaker Ya'acov Oryah. He blended Carignan, Petite Sirah, Syrah, Pinot Noir, and Grenache grapes into a wine which, he must have felt, could only be described by those three letters. Maybe they mean something else in Israeli. Anyway, it’s a $60 bottle. Standard Operational Business.

The 1950 classic, Sunset Boulevard, shows us how cruel Tinseltown can be. Fading silent star Norma Desmond lived in the fantasy that she was still the greatest movie star of them all. She hired people to tell her that she was still all that and a tub of popcorn. Her world view was summed up with, "No one ever leaves a star. That's what makes one a star." If you leave the wrong star, you could end up face down in the swimming pool. Warren Zevon wrote about Hollywood. "Heaven help the one who leaves."

Norma Desmond would accept nothing less than a good Champagne for her good times. When she’s ready for her close-up, she’ll take a bottle of Moet AND a bottle of Chandon, thank you kindly. The Imperial will do, if you have nothing better. 

From 2019 we have Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. You know it's a fairytale from the title, so there is little surprise that one of the more tragic events of Hollywood history gets rewritten for a happy ending. Not to spoil, but the baddies get theirs in true Tarantino fashion, with one going out in a real blaze of glory. 

I would like to have known TV Bounty Hunter Rick Dalton. He seems like he would have been a great guy to have a beer with, even if the "beer don't need no buddy." His pal, driver and body man Cliff Booth, I'm not so sure about. He seems like a guy on whose good side you want to stay. I don't think I would go spear fishing with him. 

There is a fair amount of drinking in this movie. For the pairing, Rick will have a Whiskey Sour and Cliff will down a Bloody Mary. But a wine pairing for Once Upon is a tough call. The film was set a few years before Napa Valley found its way onto the world wine map, and there was still something called California Burgundy. But maybe Rick picked up a Barolo or Chianti while he was off doing Spaghetti Westerns and brought some home on the spacious jet airliner. 1969 vintages will run upwards of $150. Or, you could just make a blender of frozen margaritas. It's a long movie. 


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Wednesday, November 15, 2023

Jaffurs Wine Cellars In Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara wine country stretches county-wide, and it is a big county. The vineyards north of the city are a great place to hang out, but there is plenty of wine tasting to be done in town. 

Jaffurs Wine Cellars is located in downtown Santa Barbara, an easy walk from the beach and from Stearn's Wharf, close to Trader Joe's and reasonably near to La Super-Rica Taqueria, a great stop for lunch.

They have been making great wines at their facility on Montecito Street for more than two decades, specializing in Rhône varieties grown at some of Santa Barbara County's most notable vineyards. Bien Nacido, Thompson, Larner, Stolpman and Kimsey vineyards regularly contribute fruit to the Jaffurs cause.

I paid a visit to Jaffurs on an October trip to Santa Barbara, one which yielded some bakery stops for the wife and wine tasting for me. It was a great day, in large part because the winery was buzzing when I arrived at 11:00 a.m. Winemaker Stephen Searle explained, while hustling from sorters to destemmers to huge bins, that they had just received a load of Petite Sirah grapes from Thompson Vineyard. The tasting table was set up for me right in the middle of the action. It was all I could do to stay out of the way so the crew could work. I was even offered a taste of the raw fruit, a first for me in all my many tasting sessions.

Here are the wines that were poured for me:

Jaffurs Viognier 2022

Sourced from Bien Nacido Vineyard in the Santa Maria Valley AVA, this wine was vinified half in oak and half in steel.  The floral nose is beautiful and the marvelous salinity on the palate is breathtaking. There is a very nice acidity level here, too.

Jaffurs Roussanne 2021 

Grapes from Stolpman Vineyard in Ballard Canyon make up this wine. It has a wonderful, nutty salinity to go with the prettier fruit and floral descriptors. It was aged in French oak, 17% of which was new. I am told that the next vintage will come from their concrete tank.

Jaffurs Grenache 2020

This wine got ten months in neutral French oak. The fruit was taken from Ballard Canyon. The graceful nose shows roses and the palate is full of cherry flavor.

Jaffurs Santa Barbara County Syrah 2021

Half the grapes came from Bien Nacido Vineyard, along with half from several other vineyards. Aromas of flowers and cherry lead to flavors of cherry and raspberry.

Jaffurs Kimsey Vineyard Syrah 2019

Done up in new French oak, this Syrah has violets, black fruit and that awesome salinity.

Jaffurs Bien Nacido Syrah 2019

This one is made Côte-Rôtie style, with a little Viognier in the blend. It has a sweet floral and fruit nose and a savory taste.

Jaffurs Petite Sirah Thompson Vineyard 2021

A bold nose here, due to the new American oak in which it was aged. The wine has a beautiful sweetness and gorgeous black fruit. It was presented last in the tasting lineup, as a “dessert,” although it is certainly not a dessert wine.


Monday, October 30, 2023

French Rosé At A Bargain Price

Here is a bargain rosé from the Perrin family. They have been making wine in the south of France for more than a century. They adorn the back label of the 2022 La Ferme Julien with a quote attributed to Leonardo da Vinci: "Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication." Is it really so simple? Stay away from chemical fertilizers, use natural nutrients in the soil to bring the vines to maturity, adopt a laissez-faire attitude in the cellar. Not so difficult, I suppose.

La Ferme Julien is a blend of Syrah, Grenache and Cinsault grapes, it carries alcohol at a mere 12.5% abv and it sells for around $10.

This wine has a soft, light, onion skin pink hue. The nose is fresh and fruity. There is a bushel basket of strawberries in the aroma package, along with citrus minerality and that wonderful smell of rain on a hot sidewalk. The palate is dominated by the acidity, which is quite lively. Ripe red fruit is there, of course, as is a healthy dose of lemon and tangerine. The wine finishes long and the acidity keeps on working after the sip. 


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Monday, September 18, 2023

Why Is This Wine Mr. Pink?

This rosé wine comes from the Underground Wine Project, which began as a “collaboration between Washington winemakers Mark McNeilly of Mark Ryan Winery, Trey Busch and Jerry Solomon of Sleight of Hand Cellars. Their And Why Am I Mr. Pink? Is presented as a cult classic.

Mr. Pink is a 2021 Columbia Valley rosé wine which takes its name from Steve Buscemi's line in Reservoir Dogs. All the other criminals had a cool color name. The grapes are 58% Sangiovese and 42% Syrah.

Why is it pink? Because of skin contact in the winemaking process. A little less skin contact and it might have been Mr. White. A little more, Mr. Orange. A lot more, Mr. Purple. Alcohol resides at 12.5% abv and I paid $12 at Whole Foods Market.

This wine really shows more of a light copper color than pink. Its nose is full of ripe strawberries and an herbal note. On the palate, big time fruit again, this time featuring citrus. There is a strong mineral angle, too, and plenty of wonderful acidity. This will pair easily with the usual pink wine fare, but it will also be able to handle a pork chop or some sausage. 


Wednesday, July 26, 2023

A Syrah From Galilee

The 2019 Yarden Allone Habashan Vineyard Syrah Galilee is one of the more prized wines from Yarden, which operates under the Golan Heights Winery umbrella.

This delicious - and kosher - Syrah was produced and bottled from grapes grown in the historic Allone Habashan Vineyard at an elevation of 2,000 feet. The plot was one of the first vineyards in the Golan Heights, and the winery restored it to its original state a dozen years ago. The volcanic soil is largely basalt and clay, with great drainage.

The wine was aged for 18 months in French oak, and only 19 of those barrels were produced for the 2019 vintage. Alcohol sits lofty, at 15% abv and the retail price is up there, too, at $96. 

This wine carries a dark purple hue and a rather complex nose of clove, tobacco, cassis and anise. On the palate, dark fruit comes forward first, with a spice rack in tow. Earthy notes arise perhaps from the volcanic soil. The wine has firm tannins, but it is elegant first and foremost. 


Monday, July 17, 2023

Pink Wine From Provence

If spring and summer are the times for rosé wine, then let us uncork and pour something pink. If it is to be pink wine you seek, your search probably starts in the south of France, in Provence, where rosé is the name of the game.

BY.OTT Rosé Côtes de Provence 2022 is made by Domaines Ott, crafting brilliant rosé since 1912. This pink wine utilizes grapes sourced from Château de Selle and Clos Mireille, two of Ott's three estates in Provence. The wine is made under the supervision of fourth-generation winemaker Jean-Francois Ott, blended and bottled in the de Selle winery cellar. BY.OTT is a blend of Grenache, Cinsault and Syrah grapes. It is imported by Maisons Marques & Domaines USA of Oakland. Alcohol sits at 13% abv and the retail price is $27. That price tag may seem a bit steep for a rosé, but you pay a little extra for a bottle of the Provençal sunshine. 

This pale pink wine shows aromas of lemon, strawberry, cherry and minerals on the nose. The palate is full of bright red fruit, citrus, watermelon and a hint of cinnamon. There is a racy acidity present, which puts this wine squarely in the "food friendly" category. The sip finishes on a slightly tart note, which plays into the food friendliness a little more.


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Friday, July 7, 2023

A Pink Wine To Remember

While the spring and summer are seen as prime Drink Pink times, people seem to forget about rosés after Labor Day. It's a shame, because most rosés are great pairing with pork, foods on the Thanksgiving table, or foods on the table for Black Friday. Ham and turkey sandwiches, f'rinstance. 

Here is another rosé wine you should try to track down while the summer is here. And don't forget about it when the summer fades. La Chapelle Gordonne makes this 2022 Côtes de Provence pinkie from organic grapes grown in what they call their most beautiful vineyards. This rosé is called, on the label, a tête de cuvée. That is a term usually used in reference to Champagnes, which means top blend. 

The blend combines Grenache, Syrah and Cinsault grapes, a fairly common cuvée in Provence. Alcohol hits only 12.5% abv and the wine sells for around $27. 

This wine has a pretty salmon pink color. Its nose is subdued to the point of being nearly absent. The flavor is all there, though. Strawberry, cherry and lemon notes are delicious, while the acidity is as fresh as you would expect from the south of France. Pair with seafood, pair with salad, pair with a ham sandwich. Or a quiche. You will have no worries. 


Monday, June 26, 2023

Pinot And Syrah? That's Life!

The 2020 C'est La Vie wine would seem to be a cousin of Aime La Vie, a Syrah/Grenach blend from France's Languedoc region. C'est La Vie is a slightly more unusual mix, pairing 60% Pinot Noir with 40% Syrah. This Vin de Pays wine - Pays d’Oc - puts Burgundy with the Rhône Valley. Gasp! The blend is something California Pinot Noir makers have been accused of for years - slipping in some Syrah to beef up their Pinot. I have only heard that accusation denied over and over again, so I will let it go and enjoy the real thing.

These Languedoc-Roussillon grapes were vinified and finished in stainless steel containers, not oak, so the fruit gets a chance to shine on its own. C'est La Vie carries alcohol at 13% abv and sells for about $12 in most places.

This is a dark wine. It looks dark, smells dark and tastes dark. The nose brings blackberry, plum, coffee and black tea. There is no oak in the aroma package, or in the flavors. The palate shows dark, earthy fruit as well, with a clean and healthy tannic structure. The finish is not terribly long, but it is juicy and flavorful. 


Monday, June 12, 2023

Doggin' Around For A Good Rosé

It is, they say, the time of year to drink pink. I like to enjoy pink wine all year long, but I have also worn white pants after Labor Day. With that in mind, here is a rosé from an outfit called Scout and Cellar. The label says Dove Hunt Dog Wine is located in Healdsburg, California. The label also notes that a bottle of wine is more than a bottle of wine, it's a companion. I think that is stretching a point - maybe leaning into alcoholism - but I get that it completely justifies the critter label. Good doggie!

This pink wine is a blend of grapes: 87% Grenache, 8% Syrah and 5% Gamay, from Clarksburg, as I understand it. Alcohol is extremely light at 13.9% abv and the wine is listed at $23 a bottle.

This wine is a very pretty, light salmon color in the glass. Aromas of cherries, strawberries and Meyer lemon leap up on the sniff. It is a fruity nose, and there is a mineral aspect with some salinity, too. On the palate the Grenache shines, ripe as hell. Some raspberry notes come through along with the aforementioned bright red fruit. Acidity is crisp and fresh and the finish lingers quite a while. It's a pretty good wine, especially considering the critter label. 


Wednesday, February 22, 2023

A Hearty Rosé From Tavel

If you love rosé and you don't know Tavel, you should correct that problem immediately. Tavel is a region in France's Rhône Valley. It is known for its rosé wines - in fact, that's all that is produced there. It is the only wine appellation in the Rhône Valley which makes nothing but pink wine.

The 2020 Réserve des Chastelles Tavel Rosé is likely made from Grenache, Cinsault, Syrah and Carignan, although details on this particular wine are a little hard to find. It was made by negotiant Vignobles & Compagnie and imported by Plume Ridge of Claremont, California. Alcohol tips 13.5% abv and I got mine for $9 at Trader Joe's - a distinctly good deal for a Tavel rosé. Prices in Tavel generally start at twice that amount.

The wine comes in a clear bottle, the better to show off its deep, rich color. The wine pours up much darker than a rosé from, say, Provence. Additional skin contact for the grapes gives the wine a beautiful hue which ranges from an almost magenta shade to hints of tomato red and salmon. Rolled into one descriptor, we can call it copper colored. The nose gives up some luscious strawberry and cherry aromas with traces of citrus, minerals and spice also present. There is a lot of flavor to be had on the palate - red fruit, a touch of tobacco, some melon, allspice, and even ginger. This is a very complex wine, and it has a nice tannic grip, too. You can use this Tavel in place of a red, while other rosés can only stand in for a white wine.


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Monday, February 6, 2023

Revisiting A Paso Robles Zinfandel

It has been about a decade since I took a fascinating tour of Ancient Peaks Winery and their estate vineyards near Paso Robles.  Santa Margarita Ranch is the southernmost - and coolest - wine region in the Paso Robles AVA.  The land was once an ancient sea bed, and time has left it high and dry, dotted with old oyster shells which impart their minerality to the grapes grown there.  Science may pooh-pooh that notion, but I cling to the idea that what is in the ground is in the grapes.

This wine is composed of 86% Zinfandel and 14% Syrah, all grown in Margarita Vineyard. Two late-summer heatwaves in 2020 interrupted an otherwise temperate vintage, speeding up the ripening of the grapes and lending a beautiful, jammy sensibility to the wine. Aging took place over 18 months in French and American oak barrels. Alcohol hits 14.1% abv and the bottle retails for $20. I got mine for a couple bucks less at Whole Foods Market. 

This beautiful, medium dark wine displays a nose which is bursting with ripe fruit - cherry, raspberry, cranberry - adorned by tobacco, clove, nutmeg and black pepper. The palate is lush with the fruit - but has a savory side, too. The acidity is fresh and lively, while the tannins are muscular. It is, as always, a great pair with any kind of meat - especially straight from the grill. 


Monday, October 17, 2022

A Wine Dedicated To A Tree Doctor

Just off Highway 46, on Paso Robles’ east side, sits Vina Robles Winery. Their tasting room is there, too, as is their bistro, serving a seasonal menu which features locally grown food prepared on-site. Founder Hans Nef felt his Swiss heritage blended well with the opportunities that America offered him. The winery website tells us that Mr. Nef died in 2019 due to an accident while swimming off the Cape Verde islands. The winery is now in the hands of Nef's two daughters. 

Winemaker Kevin Willenborg takes the grapes from their six SIP certified sustainable estate vineyards and creates wines that promise to honor the past while looking into the future. He has a minimal intervention policy of staying out of the way and letting the grapes do their thing.

Besides sustainability, Vina Robles partners with One Tree Planted, an organization which tries to improve the world one tree at a time. A portion of the Vina Robles wine, The Arborist, goes to that charitable outfit. The wine was named The Arborist after an actual arborist saved the life of a 300-year-old oak tree that sits in one of their vineyards.

The 2020 Arborist Estate Red Blend is a blend of 40% Syrah grapes, 34% Petite Sirah, 20% Grenache and 6% Tannat. The wine was aged for 18 months in both small and large-format French, Hungarian and American oak barrels. Alcohol reaches 14.5% abv and sells for $20.

The nose on this dark wine shows lots of dark fruit - blackberry, plum, currant - and plenty of complexity thanks to notes of clove, tar and roasted meat drippings. The palate is rich and dark, and the tannins will not be ignored. You can pair this wine with a steak, no problem. 


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Monday, May 30, 2022

A Côtes du Rhône Villages Cheapie

This Côtes du Rhône Villages 2019 red blend is labeled as a Grand Vin from the southern Rhône Valley. The grapes are Syrah, Grenache and Mourvèdre, making this a GSM, if you switch a couple of the words around. While researching the wine online, I found that a large number of America's supermarket chains carry it, so I feel justified in calling it a grocery store wine. I mean no disrespect by that, as I make a lot of my wine purchases at the market. Alcohol tips in at 14.5% abv and it sells for less than $15. Mine cost $10 on sale.

This medium dark wine shows plum and blackberry on the nose, with hints of black pepper and herbs. The palate brings those dark flavors amid a somewhat watery mouthfeel with medium-firm tannins. On the medium-long finish, those savory spice and herb notes come forward. I bought this for cooking, for which it was fine. It was decent as a sipper, but a little disappointing in aromas and flavors. 


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Monday, March 7, 2022

Four Great Pink Wines For Spring - Or Anytime

Wine importers are important.  Good ones can sniff out the good stuff and bring it to us from all over the world.  Mack and Schühle are Miami-based importers who find great wine and pass it along at a price that is more than fair.  Founded in 1939, the company expanded to the Miami office a number of years ago.  They produce wine in Italy and Spain and distribute other wines globally.

Here are a few pink wines found by Mack and Schühle which would fit nicely on anyone's porch or patio.

Mosketto Frizzante Rosato NV

This fun, pink wine comes from the Vino d'Italia appellation, from grapes grown in Piedmont.  It's a blend of 80% Moscato and 20% Brachetto grapes which the distributor says is produced in a "modified Martinotti method."  Fermentation is stopped to keep the alcohol low and the fruit fresh.  Alcohol content is only 5.5% abv - a real summer sipper - and the wine retails for $12.

This wine is very sweet, very low in alcohol and as drinkable as it gets.  There is no brain-stumping complexity here, just sweet, simple sipping pleasure.  The Moscato/Brachetto blend is a wine of Italy, one that shows sweet floral aromas and sweet peaches on the palate.  Acidity is fairly low, but the wine pours frizzante and will be suitable for spicy or salty dishes.


Art of Earth Organic Rosé
2019 comes from Michigan negociant Woodberry Wine.  They produce wines from Germany, Spain, Argentina, Italy and this one, from France.

The appellation is Vin de France - I don't have any more specific sourcing for the vines - and the organic grapes are 70% Grenache and 30% Syrah.  The wine has alcohol at 13% abv and a sticker price of $14.

This beautiful, pale salmon-colored wine has a nose which is just as gorgeous - melon, cherry and strawberry aromas dominate, with a little herbal angle in the mix.  Herbs become more focused on the palate, which carries a nice tartness along with the racy acidity.  There is a grapefruit flavor draping the red fruit and adding to the freshness.  It's a really great, and complex, rosé. 


The 2020 Fête de Fleurs Rosé was made in the heart of the AOC Côtes de Provence Region by a cooperative of a hundred local winegrowers, Maîtres Vignerons de Vidauban.  It was formed 110 years ago in the spirit of rosé, the raison d'etre of Provence.  The terroir features the stony galet soil for which the area is known and the vintage was blessed with dry mistral winds.

The importer says the wine is released each year in time for the French celebration of Springtime, the Fete des Fleurs or Festival of Flowers.  The grapes involved are 40% Grenache, 35% Cinsault, 10% Carignane, 10% Syrah, 3% Mourvèdre and 2% Rolle.  It was aged on the lees, or sur lie, carries alcohol at 13% abv - possibly as low as 11.5% - and it sells for $19.



The Acquesi Brachetto DOC Piemonte is a spumante, or sparkling wine, made from 100% Brachetto grapes grown in the Monferrato area of Piedmont.  The wine carries a very low alcohol content of 6.5% abv and a retail suggestion of $18, although it is usually lower.

This wine colors up in the beautiful garnet red for which Brachetto is famous, and it has a layer of fine, light violet bubbles atop it, which are quite long lasting.  The nose is rich with cherries, strawberries, red currant, flowers and an earthy element - an absolutely wonderful collection of aromas.  The palate is sweet with a cherry pie flavor and baking spices, all rolled into a candy treat.  The acidity is very nice.  While the winery calls this a dessert wine - it is, really - it also pairs nicely with dessert favorites like anisette cookies, chocolates or apricot tarts.

Thursday, February 3, 2022

Northern California Red Blends Hits High Gear

Petaluma based Adobe Road Winery owner Kevin Buckler is a real-life race car driver.  His winemaker, Garrett Martin, reportedly drives the speed limit and brakes fully at stop signs.

The Adobe Road Racing Series of wines includes Apex, Redline, The 24 (after Le Mans) and the latest release, SHIFT 2019.  SHIFT contains 58% Zinfandel grapes, 24% Tempranillo, 13% Syrah and 5% Petite Sirah, taken from top vineyards in Mendocino, Sonoma and Lake counties.  The SHIFT bottle even looks special, bearing a metal label that resembles a vintage, gated shifter.  The cork is topped with a five-speed metal shift knob.  Alcohol red lines at 14.8% abv and the wine retails for $63.

This wine certainly tastes special, with pure fruit expressions of blueberry, currant and plums on the nose and palate.  There is a sense of white pepper and sweet oak, but just a touch - they let the fruit do the talking here.  Tannins are gentle, but firm, and the finish takes a long time to wave the checkered flag.