Another Wine Surprise From Trader Joe's Bargain Rack

I keep tasting Trader Joe’s wines that are made in Santa Maria, and I keep finding them to be excellent wines for the price point.  Comique Révolution 2010 is another that exceeded my expectations.

Produced by Santa Maria’s Central Coast Wine Warehouse - an outfit now known as Central Coast Wine Services which produces other wines available at Trader Joe’s - I gave it a try based solely on the attraction of the name “Santa Maria.”  It’s one of my favorite wine locales in California’s Central Coast.  I don’t know that the grapes are sourced there, but it does bear the mark of the Central Coast AVA.

There is very little of value on the label - just some prose and tasting notes.  The wine carries an alcohol content of 14.2% and sells at Trader Joe’s for five dollars.

The label has no information on the grape varieties used, but the Trader Joe website tells me this is a southern Rhône blend of Roussanne, Viognier, Grenache Blanc and Marsanne - grapes I don’t expect in a wine that sells at this price.  the website also mentions in a roundabout way that the Central Coast Wine Warehouse is a collective of grape growers turned winemakers.  Steve, Nicholas and Marshall Miller are the owners, while Chris Brown is the director of winemaking.

The wine’s color is a pale yellow, and the bouquet is quite inviting.  Aromas of white flowers, peaches and tropical fruit are pleasant, if not terribly forceful.  On the palate, the wine shows medium weight and bright, fresh acidity.  There are flavors of stone fruit, but the taste is centered around a vibrant minerality.  Earthy, nutty tones are at the forefront, while spices and citrus peel dart in and out during the sip.  I guess the spice is a result of oak treatment, although I could not find any technical sheet to confirm that.

As I have said before about wines of this type, it’s not knocking anybody off their feet.  But spending half a sawbuck for wine that delivers what this one does is what I call a good deal.


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Arthur Earl Winery, Los Olivos

Arthur Earl Winery makes wine in Buellton, CA, and they pour it in their tasting room in Los Olivos.  Arthur White (pictured) and Earl Brockelsby are the names behind the names.  They have no vineyards, so they buy all the grapes used in producing their wines.  Fruit from Santa Barbara County, the Santa Ynez Valley, Paso Robles and other parts of the Central Coast find their way into Arthur Earl bottles.

The tasting room is on the main street in Los Olivos, but it is tucked away a bit.  A serviceable room that seems much larger than it needs to be, the Arthur Earl storefront is staffed by people who love not just AE wine, but wine in general.  The pourers are equipped with pairing suggestions for dishes at restaurants in town.  One small business helping others.

And small is the word for the Arthur Earl production.  They usually only produce 100 to 300 cases of each varietal per year.  If you find one you really like, you’d better jump on it.  It may not be there on your next visit.

Arthur Earl Viognier, Vogelzang Vineyard, Santa Ynez Valley 2008
From Santa Barbara County’s Happy Canyon AVA, it spends four months in neutral oak barrels, giving a surprisingly oaky overlay to the peach fruit.  $24

Rosé of Mourvedre, Vogelzang Vineyard, Santa Barbara County 2010
This pinky is dark in the glass with a funky nose of strawberries and green leaves.  The lovely taste is as complex and dark as you’d expect in a rosé made from this grape.  $25

Grenache, Vogelzang Vineyard, SBC, 2007
Very lovely strawberry aromas and flavors, with great acidity and nice tannins.  It’s great with Greek food.  $29.50

Nebbiolo, Stolpman Vineyard, Santa Ynez Valley, 2006
Aromas of roses and cherries gives such a great start to this extremely pleasant wine.  It’s quite acidic, of course, and a really nice match with tomato sauce - it changes the taste of both the wine and the food.  $29.50

Moscato, Carrari Vineyard, SBC 2006
This is a sweet wine, but not necessarily a dessert wine.  Six percent residual sugar certainly makes for a sweet taste, but it’s not at all cloying.  In fact, the nose is rather herbal and the acidity is nice.  It’s not dessert, but it pairs well with dessert. Keep it in mind for the holidays.  Only 12.9% abv.  $16 (375 ml)

Refugio Ranch Ineseño 2009, Santa Ynez Valley

Here’s a nice way to expand your ability to recognize grapes in a blend.  When you find a blend on a wine list with no explanation of which grapes are used in making it, order the wine and try to figure it out.  I wasn’t familiar with the Refugio Ranch Ineseño when I ordered it.  It’s a white wine from the Santa Ynez Valley selling for $10 by the glass - that’s all the wine list offered.

I know there’s a lot of Sauvignon Blanc grown in the Santa Ynez Valley, so I thought that might be a good starting point.  I eliminated that grape right away, though, due to a lack of grassy and tropical aromas and flavors.

Chardonnay?  It’s possible, but the fruitiness takes a back seat to salinity.  Hmm.  Roussanne?  Maybe, but there’s a lot of fruit in there, too.  Roussanne/Chardonnay?  I don’t feel it.  A creamy mouthfeel... Viognier?

The Refugio Ranch Ineseño has a green tint in the glass and offers a savory nose of minerals, melons and spice.  Some green notes waft in and out.  The palate shows a nice salinity, almost like a Vermentino.  Cantaloupe and a buttery note add complexity.  The acidity is very nice, despite the creamy consistency.  It hits the New England clam chowder just right, and also plays well with the bacon, lettuce, tomato and avocado sandwich.

Ineseño is a blend of Santa Ynez Valley Roussanne and Viognier.  It’s aged on the lees for 15 months in 20% French oak barrels of different types.

The Refugio Ranch - once cattle land - now features vineyards dominated by Syrah, Sauvignon Blanc and Viognier.  They also grow Roussanne, Petite Sirah, Semillon, Sangiovese, Grenache and Malvasia Bianca.  The ranch is owned by the Gleason family, who employ winemaker Ryan Deovlet.  The vineyards are in the eastern part of the Santa Ynez Valley, but the Refugio Ranch tasting room is at the corner of Grand Avenue and Highway 154 in Los Olivos.

The meaning of Ineseño?  It is a dialect once spoken by the Chumash Indians who lived along the Santa Ynez River.


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California Wines Road Trip Tasting Event

Wine country is not a long drive from Los Angeles.  In Southern California, though, drives have a way of becoming long even when they aren't supposed to be.

Wine Institute staged a wine tasting event on September 6, 2012, that left the driving to the wineries.  The California Wine Road Trip tasting event brought the wines to Los Angeles.  Actually, to the Peninsula Hotel in Beverly Hills.  The Verandah Room - with its part outside, part inside design - is a great place for a wine tasting event, even on a hot and muggy afternoon.

Different California wine regions were laid out at their own tables, so one could get a glimpse of a whole region while standing still.  Here are some highlights from my own tasting notes.

Lake County
Rosa D'Oro Vineyards Aglianico 2010 - A big, earthy, funky nose shows strong minerality.  Great flavors of red fruit, candy finish and firm but smooth tannins.

Six Sigma Ranch Tempranillo 2008 - Tastes cherry delicious, with great acidity.  Nice touch with the oak spice.

Livermore Valley

Fenestra Winery Pinot Gris 2010 - Earthy peach aromas, with minerals shading the fruit on the palate.  Good acidity.  Really nice touch of oak.

Mitchell Katz Winery Sangiovese 2010 - Smokey, rosy cherries all over the place.  Great acidity.

Steven Kent Winery Lineage 2009 - A blend of Bordeaux grapes from the east end of Livermore Valley.  Big fruit, very smooth, tart finish lasts forever.  Steven Kent Mirassou said he had been on the road for several days, and the wine was just beginning to show like he wanted it to.  It was showing very well.

Wente Vineyards Morning Fog Chardonnay 2010 - Pears, melons and apples.  Oak just right. Great acid.  100 year-old vines.  Wente claims to have done the first bottled Chardonnay in California.

Lodi

McCay Cellars Rosé 2011 - Carignane is the heart of this rosé.  It's not done in the saignée method, where the juice is bled off in the making of a red wine.  This is intended to be rosé all the way.  The Carignane is picked from an old field blend vineyard where the grapes were conveniently laid in rows, more or less.  Some Grenache, which imparts a bright cherry flavor, comes from a different vineyard.  Michael McCay talked about micro climates and how the ocean cools an area 60 miles inland with breezes through the delta.
One of my favorite wines of the event.

Peltier Station Winery hy.brid Vermentino 2011 - Notes of the earth rather than the ocean, as is found in the Italian version of the grape. Nice acid, minerals.

Monterey

Bernardus Winery Fairview Pinot Noir 2009 - From Fairview Vineyard in the Santa Lucia Highlands. Subtle tannins.

Paso Robles

Austin Hope Wines Grenache 2010 - Brilliant fruit and acidity.

Justin Vineyards Icosoles 2009 - Extremely fruity nose, big dark fruit flavors and great tannins. Steak, please.

Villa Creek Cellars Rosé -  Grenache, Counoise, Mourvedre and Roussanne combine for a smooth and refreshing wine. The acidity comes on the finish.

Tablas Creek Vineyard Cotes de Tablas Blanc 2010 - Fantastic minerals and salinity from a four-grape blend: Viognier, Grenache Blanc, Roussanne and Marsanne.

San Luis Obispo County

Tangent Winery Albarino 2011 - Great floral nose.

Zocker Winery Gruner Veltliner 2011 - Floral meets mineral on the nose, more minerals on the palate.  Acidity really zips.

Saucelito Canyon Vineyard and Winery Cotes de Blanc 2011 - Roussanne, Marsanne and Grenache Blanc blend shows big minerals.

Santa Barbara County

Brewer-Clifton Chardonnay 2010 - Great, smokey oak bouquet, fruit forward and brilliant acidity. What more do you want?

Buttonwood Farm Winery Cabernet Franc 2009 - Beautiful red fruit and great acidity.

Foxen Winery Syrah 2010 - Great Rhone funk shows on the nose.  Dark fruit, nice grip and a fabulous finish.

Margerum Wines M5 2009 - Doug Margerum adds Counoise and Cinsault to the standard GSM mix and gets an herbal wave over red fruit on the nose, with a tart edge to the flavors and extremely nice acidity.  Huge tannins: beware the brawn!

Temecula

South Coast Winery GVR - Grenache Blanc, Viognier and Roussanne combine in a tasty mash up of flowers and nuts.  It's mostly stainless steel, with just a small portion of the Viognier fermented in oak.  Really refreshing.

Palumbo Family Vineyards Merlot 2009 - A 100% varietal wine this 2009 effort shows smokey roses on the nose, with earth and cherry cola flavors.  The tannins and acidity are fantastic.


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A Picnic At Rideau Vineyard, Santa Barbara County

Sometimes the best trips to wine country are spontaneous - off-the-cuff, spur-of-the-moment, play-it-as-it-lays explorations of the magic moments that seem to lie around every bend in the road.  Denise and I woke up recently and just decided to gather our friend Guido and head up to Santa Barbara County.  It’s not that long a drive from Los Angeles - a couple of hours - and the conversation in the car makes it seem like no time at all.

Most of my excursions to the nearby wine regions are well-planned, often to the last detail.  It’s nice every now and then to throw away the itinerary, and just do whatever comes next.  That makes it truly a getaway.

Entering Santa Barbara without any plan at all, we decided that lunch would be at a picnic table instead of a restaurant.  There was a brief stop at the Trader Joe’s just off the freeway to pick up some bread, cheese, olives and an avocado.  Then off to a Santa Ynez Valley picnic at Rideau Vineyard in Solvang.

I had been to Rideau before, and remembered how pastoral the picnic area looked when a wedding party was held there.  We had it all to ourselves.  Denise loves fresh food and cheese, and I think Guido keeps the Kalamata olive trade in business all by himself.  Throw in that beautiful avocado and a glass of wine, and everybody’s happy.

The Rideau Viognier 2010 is an unoaked beauty.  It has a really nice yellow-green tint and a bouquet of tropical fruit with some vanilla custard.  Very creamy in the mouth, yet with a nice level of acidity, the palate shows rich layers of pineapple and golden apple.  An excellent pair with the baguette and goat cheese, as well as the avocado.

For the same $36, Rideau also makes a Viognier in which just under half the wine gets five months aging in neutral oak.


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Summer Wine: Andrew Murray Viognier 2011

Viognier is a great choice for a summertime beverage.  I had the pleasure of finally getting around to opening a bottle of Viognier that I purchased on my most recent visit to Los Olivos.  Andrew Murray’s Viognier is great as a summer sipper, but it also carves out a place at the dining table.

It’s a product of the Santa Maria Valley.  The grapes come from a block of Viognier planted especially for Murray.  The cool days and foggy nights which are common at the vineyard help get the grapes ripe without going crazy with the alcohol.

The grapes are whole-cluster pressed and the vinification takes place in stainless steel. The lightly tinted Viognier shows a fruit basket on the nose, with pineapple, mango, apricot and citrus fighting for attention.  Minerals are certainly present, as expected in a wine from the Santa Maria Valley.  The palate really shows the minerals, as well as the wonderful herbal edge attained through the whole - cluster press.  The sweetness of the fruit is tempered by lime zest.  There’s good acidity and a tart, pleasing finish.

I’d suggest that you run out and pick up a bottle, but that’s not possible.  The 2011 yield was limited and only 50 cases were produced - those are now sold out, according to the Andrew Murray website.


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Los Olivos Wine Tasting Day Trip

A wine country day trip is something I’d like to have once a week - every day, if I can manage it - but lately, it seems they have been few and unbelievably far between.  Denise, our friend Guido and I fixed that with a drive up the 101 Freeway from Los Angeles to Santa Barbara County.

Denise and I have a certain rhythm for these trips, from which we do not feel the need to stray.  The first stop comes in Camarillo, off at Santa Rosa Road for breakfast at the New York Bagel Company.  My pizza bagel recommendation was a hit with Guido.  A secondary stop occurs in Santa Barbara at the Trader Joe store just off the freeway, if needed.

We blew through Gaviota Pass like the cool breeze on the outside of the car and before we knew it, Buellton appeared.  Amazingly, we took a pass on Pea Soup Andersen's and turned left to head out into the Sta. Rita Hills.  We stopped at Foley Estates Winery and sampled the Chardonnay.  Regular readers may remember something about that yesterday in this space.  We tasted the Chardonnay, we bought the Chardonnay.  Then we headed back east and up to Los Olivos.

Lunch

There aren’t very many places for lunch in the tiny downtown area, but what’s there, as Spencer Tracy said, is cherce.  Downtown Los Olivos really isn’t much more than a block filled with wine tasting rooms.  That’s my kind of block.  My favorite place to grab lunch is the new location of the Brothers restaurant, Sides Hardware and Shoes.  It’s the name the building bore back in the day when it was, well, a hardware and shoe store.  There’s a great bacon burger there, and a chilled pea soup with a dollop of sorbet that is great on a hot day.

Tensley

Fully fed and getting down to the business of tasting wine, we went to a place Guido had visited before, the Tensely Wines tasting room

Their Detente is a very plainly labeled red wine which is half French, half American.  The American half of the blend is 2009 Tensley Colson Canyon Syrah.  The French half is 2009 Domaine de Montavac Gigondas - 70% Grenache, 25% Syrah and 5% Mourvédre.  The wine demonstrates the American winemaking talents of Joey Tensley and the French ability of Cecile Dusserre.  It has a rich, dense nose and a juicy blackberry palate, although it runs a bit hot at 14.9% abv.

Tercero

Just around the corner is Tercero Wines, 2445 Alamo Pintado Drive.  This is the main side street in Los Olivos, and Tercero is about a block off the beaten path of Grand Avenue, right next to Dragonette Cellars’ tasting room.  It was nice to see Larry Schaffer (right) in a more comfortable environment than a wine tasting event, but he always seems a little wound up when he’s pouring his wines for people.  Here’s what he poured for us:

2010 The Outlier Gewürztraminer - “Nobody in California should call it Gewürz,” says Schaffer, who apparently likes tongue twisters.  The wine is spicy and flowery.

2010 Viognier from White Hawk Vineyard sports a lovely floral nose with fantastic acidity and fruit.

2010 Grenache Blanc is a new release for Larry. Nutty, saline minerality on the nose meets peaches, flowers and rocks on the palate.  It’s zippy.

2008 Cuvée Christie has a pretty, floral nose and an earthy edge to the rich, fruity flavors.

2007 Larner Vineyard Syrah shows a dense, dark nose and lovely rich fruit flavors.

2007 Thompson Vineyard Syrah has an extremely dark and delicious bouquet with a rich, black cherry flavor.

2007 The Climb is a half and half mix of Syrah and Petite Sirah.  It puts me in mind of old world Cabernet Franc souped up to Cali specs.

Thread is an effort in which Schaffer was one of five winemakers who contributed a wine to the blend, his Larner Vineyard Grenache.  This one has a really smoky nose and a big spicy taste.

Andrew Murray

We walked the short distance back to Grand Avenue for the Andrew Murray tasting room.

2011 Viognier shows a nice, floral nose and flavors of spiced peaches with a rocking acidity.  Santa Maria Valley fruit does a star turn, but only 50 cases were produced due to low yields.

2010 Eleven Unplugged is Murray’s attempt at being a rock god.  He explains that the blend is like three guitarists playing together.  “The lead is the Chenin Blanc...Sauvignon Blanc trying to steal the show...balanced by the oldest player, Chardonnay.”  It’s unoaked, spicy and zesty.

2011 Sanglier is a rosé of Grenache, Mourvédre and Syrah inspired by a wild boar who used to steal the fruit when it was ripe.  Murray decided to pick early to foil the animal, and the grapes turned out to be better for rosé than red wine.

2009 This Is Eleven Red is another rock music-themed effort, a five man electrical band of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Tempranillo, Sangiovese and Grenache from the Santa Ynez Valley.  A nice rich nose leads to black and blue fruit on the palate.  The Cabernet Franc really shines in this one.

2009 Syrah, McGinley Vineyard has dense smoke on the nose and lush blackberry on the palate.

2010 Syrah, Watch Hill Vineyard is beautiful to smell, lovely lush and dark to taste.

2009 Syrah, Terra Bella Vineyard has great dark fruit with minerality from the limestone hillsides of Paso Robles coming through strongly.

2010 Grenache, Terra Bella Vineyard offers a whiff of earthy cherry and sails into a lovely sour cherry candy finish.

Dinner & a show

It was quite a long day for us, as we saw a screening of “Snow White and the Huntsman” back in Los Angeles - a valley in a day full of peaks - and finally wrapped up with a late snack at Salt’s Cure, one of those hip, locavore restaurants in L.A.  I must say I was impressed with my squid and sausage alongside a glass of Mourvédre rosé from Sonoma County producer Bedrock.  Morgan Twain-Peterson is the winemaker, and he is Zin-master Joel Peterson’s son.  One of the bullet points in Bedrock’s mission statement is “To reclaim rose’ from the excesses of saignee and focus on precision, delicacy, aromatics, and food friendliness.”  He does a fine job with this delicate, pale, dry effort produced from vines planted 120 years ago.


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THIS IS E11EVEN WINES PRESENTS PURPLE HAZE 2006

Santa Barbara County winemaker Andrew Murray created an incredibly big, aromatic Syrah/Viognier blend he calls Purple Haze.  He sells this rock-targeted wine under the banner of This Is E11even Wines, a nod to the Spinal Tap reference of "turning it up to eleven."  It's a Central Coast red wine - at once brawny and elegant - which, oddly, takes inspiration from the wines of the northern Rhône.  Purple Haze may be an Old World blend, but it is a New World wine through and through.

Murray explains Purple Haze on his website:

"Purple Haze is inspired by the incredible wines of Côte Rôtie in the extreme northern reaches of the Rhône Valley.  There, Viognier is intentionally planted amongst or adjacent to the Syrah vines.  Syrah is a dark, spicy, and fruity red that benefits from the delicacy, perfume, and "lightness" of the Viognier.  The Syrah for this wine comes from Verna's Vineyard on Cat Canyon Road from a block planted to the French clone, simply named 383.  It is one of my favorite clones of Syrah; unfortunately it is not very widely planted.  We only harvested enough to craft three barrels of this wine.  The wine was open-top fermented with frequent punch-downs yielding an impossibly dark and concentrated Syrah.  It always seemed like a distillation of Syrah...so I thought that it needed something to truly shine.  We did some trial blends and found that about 10% Viognier added to the wine acted to both soften the wine and elevate the aromatics."

The aptly named Purple Haze - Murray says the Viognier "puts a spell on the Syrah" - is a very dark purple which gets only barely lighter around the edge.  Blueberry jam on the nose does not do a solo act.  It's joined by aromas of cassis, and tobacco - so aromatic it makes me think of pipe tobacco.  A floral note makes a peace sign from behind the fruit.  The smell is intense, like a perfume.

The wine shows every bit of its 15.9% alcohol level upon pouring, so let it sit a while before enjoying.  Wonderful, dark fruit flavors explode on the palate, with deep and rich blackberry and plums.  Firms tannins and a delicious acidity round out the concert.  I was struck after the bottle was open a while by the way it had smoothed out.  Incredibly dark and delicious, Purple Haze made me forget all about the Crosstown Traffic.  'Scuse me, while I finish off the bottle.

I notice on the website that both of the This Is E11even wines - Murray also makes a blend of Grenache, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Syrah - are sold out.  Happily, he has an encore planned.  Murray tells me a white and a red E11even are coming soon.

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ROCKIN' THE VINEYARDS IN SANTA BARBARA COUNTY

Andrew Murray has turned it up to eleven.  Inspired by the rock mockumentary "This Is Spinal Tap," Santa Barbara County winemaker Murray offers a side project called This Is E11even Wines.

As rockers enter the field of winemaking in growing numbers, it's fitting that a winemaker shows his mettle with a line of wines in tribute to the rock and roll dream.  Murray describes himself as a once-aspiring rock star, but he seems pretty happy to be a rock star winemaker now.  On his website, the Rhône-loving vintner says, "I’ll be blending to achieve just the right melody, and experimenting with non-Rhône varieties to bust out a solo."

The Santa Barbara Independent had this to say of his Purple Haze 2006:

"This one, a Cote Rotie-style blend with 10 percent viognier, doubles up with a Jimi Hendrix connection, as Murray believes the viognier “put a spell on” the syrah. We enjoyed it, writing, “Dark with a little chocolate,” “lean on the mouth but spicy,” and “more flavorful than Old World, more vibrant.” ($25; 15.9%)"

It comes under a Stelvin closure, known in rock'n'roll circles as a screwcap.

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A NICE WINE STOP FOR AFTER THE WHEEL OF FORTUNE TAPING

L'Epicerie Cafe and Market is a good stop for a bite and a sip anytime you find yourself in the vicinity of Culver City, California.  It's right across Culver Boulevard from the Sony studios, which makes it convenient to a taping of Wheel Of Fortune or Jeopardy.

A friend of ours became the announcer for Wheel Of Fortune recently, and he finagled us a couple of VIP admissions.  He joined us afterward and we got to catch up a bit.  I've known Jim for around 20 years, but most of the contact we've had has been over a telephone or a two-way radio, so a little face time with the voice guy was welcome.  Denise gets to see him pretty regularly across the console at the Los Angeles news powerhouse, KNX 1070.

We ordered some oysters, some mushrooms, a pork belly confit, a savory crepe and maybe some other stuff, too.  It was all delicious.  So was the wine.

I opened with a Big Vine Pinot Noir 2009, a Central Coast effort combining grapes from the Arroyo Grande Valley and the Sta. Rita Hills.  Bacon on the nose mixes with dark, earthy fruit and the palate is a riot of cola, meat and cassis.  It is $10 by the glass and went very well with the garlicky mushrooms.

The oysters were nicely abetted by the Côtes-du-Rhône Maison Arnoux Vieux Clocher.  This blend of Grenache Blanc and Viognier offers floral and citrus aromas and a rather full mouthfeel with a decent level of acidity.  At $11 by the glass, it actually favored the pork belly better than it did the oysters.


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TREANA WHITE 2008

The Hope family has a 30-year track record growing grapes and making wine in Paso Robles, California, in the big Central Coast region.  They go a little farther north, though, for the grapes which make up theirTreana White.

The Rhone varieties which make up Treana White - 55% Marsanne and 45% Viognier - come from Monterey County.  The Mer Soleil Vineyard is in the northern end of the Santa Lucia Highlands, close to Monterey Bay and the cool growing conditions which provide a great place for them to reach their peak.

Since it's a winery in a warmer, more southern area reaching northward for grapes, it's fitting that the blend pairs grapes that figure prominently in the northern Rhone Valley - Viognier - and the southern Rhone - Marsanne.

The grapes are whole-cluster pressed and fermented in French oak, except for a small portion that is fermented in a stainless steel tank.  The alcohol level is 14.5%.

Proprietor Charles L. Hope and winemaker Austin Hope are identified on the label by name and signature.  They can be proud to have their names displayed there.

The color is beautifully golden, with hints of copper showing at times.  After admiring the hue for some time, I put my nose in the glass and was struck by the incredibly aromatic nose of the wine.  The tropical fruit aroma tries to fight its way past the honey-laden dried apricot.  The honey aspect is almost mead-like in its intensity. 

The wine looks quite viscous in the glass, clinging to the side on the swirl while slowly receding after.  It feels viscous in my mouth, too.  An oily texture gives way to a shimmering acidity.  The flavors are complex, with first that dried apricot, then dried pineapple, then a slightly savory flavor fades into an acidity which intensifies on the finish.

I’ve had this wine a few times at tasting events - and was duly impressed.  Having an entire glass really underscores how much is missed by simply having a small taste.  The wine provides a new sensation with each sip.

It’s a big wine - big aromas, big flavors and big use of oak.  If you like a noticeable effect of wood in your wine, this won’t disappoint.  My palate tends to extremes.  When I want less oak, I want unoaked.  When I want oak, I want a tree.  This wine doesn’t fall too far from the tree.


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CIMARONE 3CV VIOGNIER 2009

I sneaked away from my neighborhood recently for a glass of wine at the Colorado Wine Company in Eagle Rock, California, between Glendale and Pasadena.  After a little browsing of the racks in the front of the store, the small back room beckoned.  With a soundtrack of world music, the dark little space offered a rather tasty, if short, by-the-glass menu.

My choice for this Saturday afternoon quaff was the 3CV Viognier from Cimarone.  Doug Margerum takes the grapes from the Vogelzang Vineyard in the Happy Canyon AVA of Santa Barbara County.

The wine is produced by stainless steel fermentation with 25% of the juice moved to neutral French oak for barrel aging and malolactic fermentation.

Very light in color, the wine offers a huge floral nose with a nutty, almond aroma and a drapery of honey that's irresistible.

The taste is very clean, with crisp pears and great acidity.  The nutty finish hangs around forever, or at least until the next glass arrives.



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SCULPTERRA WINERY AND SCULPTURE GARDEN, PASO ROBLES

There is a long list of winery tasting rooms in Paso Robles which are fun to visit, but there's one you really have to see.  Sculpterra Winery pours some good wine, but they also show off some dandy visual arts to go with it.

Sculpterra's property is adorned with beautiful iron work from master blacksmith Bob Bentley and the tasting room features contemporary art by Aleah Koury.  The grounds around the tasting room are a real treat, with sculptures in bronze and granite by John Jagger.

Pictures don't really do justice, so plan a visit to Sculpterra for your next trip to Paso Robles.  You'll be glad you did.  Just don't get so mesmerized outside that you forget to go inside to taste the wine.

The Frankel family started out growing pistachios and a few grapes.  The grapes won, as they now dominate their 260 acre estate vineyard.  They're still nuts about their pistachios, though.  Have some from the tasting bar.

Young winemaker Paul Frankel is a 2009 grad of Cal Poly SLO.  He has already shown his stuff in the winemaking game, sculpting some very nice wines to rival the sculptures outside the doors.

Sculpterra's 2010 Chardonnay is a steely white, while the 2009 Viognier has a big, floral nose with flavors of pears and honey.

The 2007 Merlot shows beautiful, smokey, red fruit, while their '07 Zinfandel is actually Primitivo.  Great spices abound in the '07 Syrah from O'Neal Vineyard.

The Sculpterra Cabs are wonderful.  The '07 has a zin-like nose and evidence of the American and Hungarian oak.  The '05 Cabernet Sauvigon - a library wine - is silky smooth with gentle tannins and a pencil point edge.  The '06 Cab is much fruitier than the '05, and gives some nice minty, herbal notes.

The 2007 Figurine is Paul's initial stab at winemaking, and he really nailed it.  Equal parts Cab and Zin with a bit of Merlot, this wine lets the different varieties really shine.  The '07 Maquette shows a lot of graphite.  It's 63% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot and 12% Petite Sirah.

They also poured the dense '08 Petite Sirah and a non-vintage Zinfandel dessert wine.  The late-harvest Zin is a Port-style wine with brilliant flavors that cry out for some blue cheese.



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WINE TRENDS EXPLORED AT LONDON INTERNATIONAL WINE FAIR

Wine aficionados always want to be on the leading edge of wine trends.  At the London International Wine Fair, held in May, wine experts identified and explored trends in the wine world they felt were worthy of inspection.

An article in The Independent cites a trend toward wines with citrus - specifically lime - aromatics as one of the next big things these wine experts were expecting.  Surprising blends and a deep and abiding love of Pinot Grigio were also singled out as major directions in the wine world.

A spokesperson for the event said the Austrian Rotgipfler is one grape those in the know are keeping in their sights, as well as the South African wine called Zevenwacht.  That's a blend of Sauvignon Blanc, Viognier and Chardonnay.

The lime and citrus notes of Riesling and Gewurztraminer are said to be winning over wine drinkers everywhere, as is the Italian bubbly Prosecco.  According to the spokesperson, many people find Prosecco's lighter approach preferable to the drier, heavier feel of Champagne.

The event spokesperson claimed that people seem to be "moving away from pure fruit... towards more restrained, elegant characteristics."



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LONE MADRONE, PASO ROBLES

Several years ago at the Ojai Wine Festival I tasted a white blend by Paso Robles producer Lone Madrone that I fell in love with.  It's called La Mezcla.  The notes of bananas and tropical fruit on the nose, the citrus and minerals on the palate and the zesty acidity made this mix of Grenache Blanc and Albariño an instant favorite of mine.

Lone Madrone's owner and winemaker Neil Collins may be known to you as the Tablas Creek winemaker.  Lone Madrone is his personal label.

As long as I was in Paso, I figured I'd better stop in to the tasting room and see what else Collins had to offer.

Lone Madrone's Points West White 2008 has a funky nose and fabulous acidity.  A full-feeling wine, it's a blend of Roussanne, Viognier and Picpoul Blanc which displays pears, peaches and a sense of wet rocks on the palate.  The '07 Sweet Cheeks is an amazing wine. the grapes are handled in Vin de Paille style, where they are set out on straw in the biodynamic vineyard for a few days after harvest.  It has a beautiful, full mouthfeel bursting with apricot nectar.

A dry rosé, the 2010 Zin Blanco is all Zinfandel, showing earthy strawberries for summer.  The'09 La Mexcla Roja is great for warm weather, too.  It's a bright red wine with a slight effervescence and plenty of earthy minerals.  Serve this blend of Grenache, Cinsault, Counoise, Nebbiolo and Zinfandel chilled.

Points West Red 2007 is made of Syrah and Mourvèdre.  It has a briar-laced strawberry nose and big red fruit on the palate with a touch of vanilla spice.  Barfandel is not a new grape - or a stomach disorder - it's Lone Madrone's blend of Barbera and Zinfandel.  White pepper in the bouquet is joined by spicy, brambly red fruit on tha palate.

PAIRING WINE WITH CANDY

Pairing wine and food always seems to center around matching wines with meat, pasta or vegetables.  You can have a lot of fun pairing wine with candy, though.  If you've never tried it, it's a taste treat you need to experience.

Chocolate is a natural for pairing with red wines.  I find that dark chocolate works best, and reds with a soft mouthfeel go really well with it.  Try to stay away from reds with a lot of oak, or too much tannin.  Zinfandel, Syrah and Merlot are usually pretty good choices.

Chocolate candies with a creamy center of raspberry or cherry taste great this way, and the creamy center adds to the melt-in-your-mouth factor.  Port wine is nearly always a good choice for pairing with chocolates.

White wines can even be matched successfully with candy.  Try tasting a chocolate with a butter rum filling with a sip of Chardonnay, or a late-harvest Viognier.  Spicy candies - with peppers or chiles introduced to the mix - match up spectacularly with with a dry Riesling.

I recently found that brittle made with New Mexico chiles and pumpkin seeds was a perfect fit with Roussanne.  Throw a little goat cheese into the bite and you have a real delight.  With this kind of match, you want to use a white wine with a good deal of acidity.

What's your favorite candy?  Think about the flavors involved in it and pick a wine that suits those qualities.


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MICHAEL DAVID INCOGNITO VIOGNIER 2007

Lunchtime in Beverly Hills usually takes us to one of a bushel basketful of Italian restaurants located in and around 90210.  This time, we tried a place that was new, for us anyway.

Da Pasquale Trattoria Italiana in Beverly Hills is a bright and comfortable place to grab good Italian food.  There are streetside tables on the sidewalk, but I honestly don't see what people find so enthralling about dining three feet from Los Angeles traffic.  We went indoors.

The wine list is fairly decent, but when I asked which whites were unchilled, it was a choice between a Lodi Viognier and a California Chardonnay.  I think I made the right choice.

Brothers Michael and David Phillips carry on a family tradition of farming that dates back to the 1860s.  The vineyards are irrigated by the Mokelumne River, and the family no longer relies on selling their grapes to other winemakers - they make their own wine.

The Michael David website calls Incognito "the Viognier formerly known as Roussanne. Originally thought to be Roussanne, D.N.A. testing found it to be a rare clone of Viognier."  The winery also produces a red wine which goes as Incognito Rouge.

Incognito shows a beautiful golden color, with a nose not as floral one might expect from Viognier.  There is a big flourish of apricot, with a touch of peas, or maybe edamame.  Apricots dominate the palate as well, with a vegetal accent and a wet rock minerality.   Incognito has a very full mouthfeel.  It's a lush drink with nice acidity and a long finish.  It paired well with my spaghetti aglio olio, which was garlicky and simply fantastic.

BRIDLEWOOD CENTRAL COAST RESERVE VIOGNIER 2008

Although Italian food calls for Italian wine, Denise and I knew we'd be waiting a few minutes for Guido, so I decided to break tradition and go with a good old Central Coast white as a pre-meal refresher.

Sprazzo - on Westwood Boulevard in Los Angeles - has a good, but not great, wine list.  It does have its high points, though.  One of those highlights is the Bridlewood Viognier.

Winemaker David Hopkins blended several different lots of grapes from Central Coast vineyards for this lush wine.  Destemmed grapes - 90% Viognier, 4% Chardonnay, 4% Marsanne and 2% Roussanne - are fermented and aged in stainless steel, so it's fresh, clean and crisp.  The alcohol content is 14.2% abv.

This Viognier is very pale, with a greenish tint.  Matching that hue are aromas of limes and a slight grassiness on the nose.  There's quite a floral element, too.

The mouthfeel is full and creamy - it just feels delicious - and there's a wonderful acidity, which seems downplayed at first but comes on stronger at the finish.  Soft flavors of grapefruit and a citrus zestiness give the wine a very refreshing character.

TRES PINOS THREE PINES CUVEE 2009

I can spend more than five dollars on a bottle of wine if I like, and I feel fortunate that I can.  I do love a bargain, though.  That's why I find myself drawn to those discount wines at Trader Joe's so often.  I tell myself to keep moving, spend a little more.  But the lure of finding a good wine on the cheap is too great.  The sirens were singing my song again when I saw the Tres Pinos white. “Here's your five dollars.”  “Here's your wine.”

Tres Pinos Three Pines Cuvee is made by San Antonio Winery in Los Angeles.  They source their grapes from all over California, and the grapes for this wine came from San Luis Obispo County.  I like a lot of wines from SLO, so I had high hopes for this effort.

The grapes in question are Sauvignon Blanc, Gewurztraminer, Chardonnay and Viognier.  That's a likely bunch of suspects for a good blend.  13.5% abv.

This white is the color of straw, and there's just a hint of effervescence upon pouring without refrigeration.  The second night the tiny little bubbles didn't appear when the wine was chilled.

I am often disappointed by the nose on cheap – er – inexpensive wines.  That is not the case here, as a beautiful bouquet of honeysuckle, apricot and cantaloupe rind appears.

The palate is not as fruity as I expected.  It's actually rather dry.  There is a subtle flavor of pear juice and a decent minerality – something I always love to find in those Edna Valley wines from San Luis Obispo County.  I'm intrigued by an almost savory edge, maybe guava.  The acidity is more than adequate for pairing light fare.  It's great with a handful of peanuts!

The various grapes used in Tres Pinos blend together nicely.  None of the four stand out too much.  I found it to be much better when chilled than not.  It's a serviceable wine that actually tastes pretty good.  And the price is certainly right.

CROSSING VINEYARDS AND WINERY TASTING ROOM, WILKES BARRE, PA

After a few hit-and-miss attempts at sampling some Pennsylvania wines during my visit to the Keystone State, I was eager to try a real winery tasting room.  Our schedule did not permit any wine country excursions, unfortunately.  My luck changed at the Mohegan Sun Casino at Pocono Downs in Wilkes Barre.  Not only did I take some chips off the blackjack table, but I got to visit the Crossing Vineyards and WineryTasting Room, located in the shopping mall that encircles the gaming area.

The Crossing Vineyards winery is located in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, about 45 minutes from Philadelphia and an hour and a half from New York City.  The estate is over 200 years old and is less than a mile from the place where George Washington crossed the Delaware River in 1776.  Established by the Carroll family in 2000, Crossing produced its first vintage in 2002.  Winemaker Tom Carroll, Jr. envisioned the winery at age 10 when his family bought the property.  He spent time in California and returned home with his acquired knowledge to see his dream realized.  Carroll has a wide assortment of grape varieties at play and he does an admirable job with them.  I was impressed with the overall quality of his wines.

The tasting room is modern and commercial, with plenty of bottles for sale along with some gourmet food items and wine paraphenalia.  The $8 tasting fee buys samples of six wines or four wines and four cheeses.

The white wines and the blush I tried all have a nice acidity, with nary a flabby wine to be found.  The reds are very bright and fresh on the nose and palate.  Here are my tasting notes:

Blush - This pink wine is made from Stuben and Merlot grapes.  Steuben is also known as Ambrosia, and is used in making jellies as well as sweet, floral wines.  The sweet nose of honeysuckle no doubt comes from the Steuben, while the cherry soda flavor represents the Merlot.  Despite the references to sweetness, this wine has a very nice acidity.  It's one of my favorites of the tasting.

Vintner's Reserve White - A blend of Riesling and Chardonnay, this wine has a nose remeniscent of a Sauvignon Blanc.  Grassy, funky aromas lead to a fruity taste of pears and tropical fruit.

Vintner's Select White - This blend of Vidal Blanc, Riesling and Viognier has an herbal nose and is very pale in the glass.  Vidal Blanc is a French hybrid grape parented by Ugni Blanc and Seibel.  Guava and apricot are the flavors I taste, but the wine is not too fruity.

Pinot Noir 2008 - This Pinot has a peppery, spicy nose that really intrigues, but it's thin on the palate with a raw raspberry flavor.  It was not a favorite.

Cabernet Franc 2007 - I was surprised to find that even a Cab Franc doesn't go dark and brooding here.  A bright red nose is matched by cranberry on the bright, fresh palate.  Very different, but nice.

Vintner's Select Red - This red also has a bright and fruity nose.  Raspberry, clove and leather show up on the palate, but the oak does not appear dominant in the profile.  It's a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot.  Another favorite of the tasting.

Tomorrow on the Now And Zin Wine Blog, a New York state of Riesling.