WINE EXPORTS

California's Wine Institute reports that U.S. wine exports set a new record in 2010.  Last year, winery revenues from exports hit $1.14 billion, an increase of 25.6% from the previous year.

The California wine industry has set a goal of $2 billion in wine export revenues, which they hope to achieve by 2020.  Last year's jump makes that figure look very much within reach.

The numbers are great news for California wineries, as 90% of American wine exports originate in the Golden State.

The 27 countries of the European Union soaked up 38% of the stateside wine last year.  Other big consumers include Canada, Hong Kong, Japan and China.

A Wine Institute spokesperson credits "changes in the dollar exchange rate, a recovering economy and California’s effective marketing and high wine quality" for the improved export figures.

WINE COUNTRY: IDAHO

When you think of wine from the Northwest, Idaho probably doesn't come to mind first.  The Idaho Grape Growers and Wine Producers Commission thinks it should.  They report that the first grape plantings in Idaho date back to 1864, before Washington and Oregon.  As is the case in many areas around the U.S., Idaho's wine industry was practically booming when Prohibition shut it down.  It would be 1970 before Idaho grapes were again planted.

The region that took off first in Idaho's wine rebirth was the Snake River Valley, in the southern part of the state.  That region became an official American Viticultural Area in 2007. The Snake River Valley's cold winters allow grape vines to go dormant, which is a benefit come growing season.  It doesn't rain all that much there, either, and that helps control rot.  The warm days and cool nights during summer are not unlike some of California's great growing regions.  Temperatures swinging as much as 40 degrees between day and night are the norm.  Idaho's well-drained volcanic soil is similar to that of Washington, with even higher elevations for vineyards - as high as 3,000 feet.  All this means you can expect concentrated flavors and naturally high acidity in Idaho wines.

Sawtooth Winery was founded as Pintler Cellars in 1987, changing names in 1998.  Their Sawtooth Vineyard is one of Idaho's warmer growing sites, and is planted to Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Syrah, Merlot, Roussanne and Pinot Gris.  The Skyline Vineyard encompasses slopes facing in all directions and the cooler parts are home to grapes that like a cooler climate, like Sauvignon Blanc and Riesling.  Sawtooth Winery is a member of the Rhone Rangers.

Sawtooth Winery Reserve Carmenénère 2009

Sawtooth's '09 Carménère is labeled as a Snake River Valley wine, with grapes coming from both the Sawtooth and Skyline Vineyards.  The wine is 80% Carménère and 20% Malbec.  It sports an alcohol level of a moderate 13.5% abv.  108 cases were produced.

The Carménère is medium-dark violet in color, and the nose bursts with aromas: dark fruit, cherry and raspberry, a bit of tar and a pipe tobacco note.  The palate shows dark fruit, plums, anise and the whole bottom row of the spice rack.  The spiciness plays on forever on the finish.  There’s also something in the taste that reminds me of pine trees.

You'll find it benefits from a bit of decanting, but it’s not harsh upon opening.  The tannins are definitely present, but the wine is quite smooth going down.  Moderate acidity and very nice minerality make this a good choice for the dinner table.  It's a natural to pair with a skirt steak or pork chop grilled over a rosemary fire.

Sawtooth Estate Winery Riesling 2009

Another Snake River Valley wine made from grapes grown in both the Sawtooth and Skyline Vineyards, the Sawtooth Riesling is abetted by 5% Muscat grapes.  With alcohol at only 12.3% abv and 2% residual sugar, this wine is very easy to drink.  Sweet orange on the nose and flavors of green apples and honeydew are simply beautiful, with a smooth mouthfeel and a refreshing acidity that concentrates on the finish.  I tried it with Castelvetrano olives and loved the match.  It should fit well with grain-based or pasta salads and almonds or pecans, too.


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BANFI CENTINE ROSE TUSCANY 2009

A restaurant which never lets you down is something to be cherished.  In Los Angeles, Denise and I have dined at any number of establishments with up and down results.  Dishes may vary in quality from meal to meal, the food's good but the service isn't, hype doesn't deliver - we've encountered each of these issues all over Southern California.

One restaurant where we have never been let down is Il Buco, on Robertson Boulevard.  This small branch of the Drago family Italian restaurant empire always delivers.  The food is excellent - never less - and their soups are an experience for which my wife lives.  The service is efficient without hurry and the staff is friendly in a familial way.  Waves and smiles always greet us and see us out the door after dinner.

The wine list - as I have written about before - is one of my favorites in Los Angeles.  There's plenty of choice in both Italian and California wines, and my selections always seem surprisingly good - although the surprise really shouldn't be an issue.  "Good" has become expected here.

On a recent lunch visit, a new entry on the list caught my eye - Banfi Centine, a Tuscan rosé which I decided to enjoy with my meal.

This pink wine is quite pink, and looks very pretty in the glass.  A blend of Sangiovese, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, it is vinified for 14 days with minimal skin contact in stainless steel.  The alcohol content is 12.5% abv.

The nose of the Centine Rosé shows a beautiful fruit salad of raspberry, strawberry and sweet watermelon.  A light strawberry flavor is rooted in minerals.  The acidity doesn't quite seem to be there on the palate, but shows nicely on the finish.

Paired with carrot soup, it's a hit.  The thyme in the soup really sets off the delicate flavors.  The wine also provides a good match for an endive salad with walnuts, pears and gorgonzola. Rosemary chicken also fits very nicely with this lovely rosé.

At Il Buco, the Centine is $7 by the glass, and it sells for around $11 a bottle retail.

HOLUS BOLUS SYRAH OCTOBRIST, SANTA YNEZ VALLEY 2006

A wine's sense of place is its most important characteristic.  It's called terroir - the way the grapes, the soil, the climate and the winemaking all come together to create something much bigger than the individual pieces of the puzzle.

A sense of place is also important when tasting a wine.  A wine sampled in the hurried and sometimes chaotic atmosphere of a big tasting event may not fare as well as when it is sampled in a more relaxed and personal manner.

That note was gently brought home to me during lunch with Denise on Valentine's Day.  Almost by chance, we lunched at Bouchon in Beverly Hills, but not actually in the Bistro.  We had our Valentine lunch at Bar Bouchon, downstairs from the restaurant.  A few tables scattered along the beautiful courtyard in the bright, warm sunshine of February in Southern California called to us strongly, and we took a seat.

The wine I enjoyed was the '06 Holus Bolus Syrah Octobrist, a Santa Ynez Valley product of Black Sheep Finds , a winery located in a nondescript warehouse facility in Lompoc.  Peter Hunken - formerly winemaker at Stolpman Vineyards - heads up the collective which includes his wife, Amy Christine.  This Syrah is one of the most intense and delicious wines I've had recently.  Would it have been so good in a one-ounce sample, swirled, savored and spit at an event with other tasters crowding in at my elbow?  Maybe the taste would have been there, but the experience would have been missing.

The setting was perfect.  Valentine's Day lunch with my wife, bright sunshine warming us on a day that was just barely cool, and the food of the Thomas Keller eatery would have been enough to write home about.  But a big tip of the pork-pie hat should go to Bouchon's Beverly Hills sommelier, Alex Weil, for including the Holus Bolus on his list.  Kudos also go to Hunken for making the wine in the first place.

Inky black, this 100% Syrah has a nose that is dark, dark and darker still.  Dark blackberry and cassis fruit are joined by aromas of roasting meat, smoke, cedar and tar.  The taste is full of blackberries, spices and a Slim Jim component that both amuses and thrills me.  My BBQ sandwich of braised Hobbs Shore pork shoulder, cabbage and Fuji apple coleslaw paired perfectly with the Syrah.  The wine costs $13 by the glass at Bouchon.
 

HUMBERTO CANALE ESTATE MALBEC PATAGONIA 2009

The wines of Argentina make for a fascinating study, particularly those from Patagonia.  A distinctive earthiness has been the calling card of the Patagonian wines I have sampled.  Humberto Canale is in the High Valley of the Rio Negro province, located in the northern portion of Patagonia, an area comprising the southernmost part of South America.

Malbec, an Argentine restaurant in Toluca Lake, CA, has a wine list that is heavy in Argentine brands.  A lunchtime visit there offered me the opportunity to try Canale's '09 Patagonian Malbec.

This 100% Malbec wine is fermented in concrete vats for 20 days, then undergoes malolactic fermentation and aging of about 20% of the volume in American and French oak for a year with another 6 months in the bottle before its release.  My waiter suggested it is on the lighter side, but I find it to have a very full body.  The alcohol content is 13.7% abv.

It's very dark, both in color and aroma.  The wine is inky with a nose of dark fruit and earth, with some tar characteristics thrown into the mix.  There is an almost a minty edge on the palate, which is dominated by the same traits found on the nose plus some spice.  The finish is quite long and entirely satisfying.  Very concentrated flavors taste great in the mouth and for minutes afterward.  Minerals play a large part in this wine, and the acidity is just about perfect.

This Malbec paired so well with wood-fired salmon that it seemed to be made for that purpose, although the winery suggests barbeque is its intended mate.

WINE LAWS: ARIZONA AND MASSACHUSETTS

Will it play in Peoria?  Apparently so, at least in Peoria, Arizona.  Safeway grocery shoppers in the Phoenix suburb will soon be able to enjoy samples while they shop.

An article in the Arizona Republic reported that the Peoria City Council has approved samples of beer, wine and spirits at two Safeway stores in a unanimous vote.

By state law, samples are limited to three ounces of beer, one ounce of wine and one ounce of distilled spirits per person, per brand, per day.

In Massachusetts, legislation has been introduced which would reinstate a sales tax on alcoholic beverages sold in retail establishments and increase the excise tax, too.  According to an article in the Wellesley Wine Press, Massachusetts residents voted not long ago that they did not want a sales tax on alcohol.

The article states that Massachusetts is still awaiting legislation which would allow the direct shipment of wine as well as a law that would allow retailers to ship wine outside of the state.

PASO ROBLES TASTING EVENT IN LOS ANGELES

Paso Robles is a great wine producing region, vastly underrated by many.  Winemakers in the California Central Coast AVA have great fruit and terroir to work with, and they make the most of it.

A group of Paso Robles winemakers brought their wares to Los Angeles on March 2, 2011.  The tasting event was held in Vibiana, a downtown church turned event venue.  Tasting heavenly wines in a former church seemed appropriate, I confess.  I prayed for a great wine tasting experience and, Lo! - one was delivered.  The miracle of turning grapes into wine was displayed at table after table.

Grape Geeks

When there's a big roomful of winemakers present, you're going to hear a lot about grapes.   You're going to hear very deep discussions about grapes.  You're going to find out how much you don't know about grapes.  I had the chance to listen to Ken Volk talk about grapes at length with someone who appeared to be trying to dislodge Volk as the biggest grape geek in the room.  Note to others: that's a game you won't win.  Volk gave an impromptu botany lesson, ranging from DNA to grape origins to the genetic offspring of Muscat Alexandria.  I was transfixed until the pourer looked at me and cocked his head toward Volk, saying "He can get geeky."  2010 was Volk's 34th vintage, so he has earned the right to be as geeky he wants to be.

Alcohol

When tasting wines at events like this one, I often ask about the alcohol content of the wine I'm tasting.  Most of the time the responses are not too unusual, but with nothing but Paso Robles wine in the room, I kept getting answers in the 15 to 16% range.  That's a fairly high alcohol reading, but I was told why that seems to be the norm for wines from Paso.

"It's the weather," explained Eric Ogorsolka of Zenaida Cellars.  He went on to extol the virtues of the climate in Paso Robles: the warm days, cool nights and 40-50 degree temperature swings between night and day during the growing season.  The area's grape growers can typically wait longer to harvest than anywhere in California, thus giving winemakers fruit that's as ripe as can be.

Ogorsolka boasted that his wines nearly all fall between 15 and 16% abv.  Truly, that big bold wine is one of Paso's calling cards - and big, bold wines are okay in my book.  Many people feel that such high alcohol levels are not food friendly.  Some complain that wines like Pinot Noir simply aren't varietally correct in that rarefied air.  There are also voices out there who maintain that high alcohol wine is flawed wine.

I can certainly appreciate a fine and delicate offering that fails to hit 13%, but I can also appreciate aroma and flavor that's as big as America, even if it means the wine is creeping close to Port-level alcohol.  There's room in this big world for everyone to have it their way.   This is how they roll in Paso Robles.

Favorite Tastes

Ancient Peaks Winery 
Sauvignon Blanc 2010:  Grassy and fresh, with great acid on the finish. $12
Oyster Ridge 2007:  Cabernet Sauvignon/Petite Sirah/Merlot/Petit Verdot blend is brambly with flavors of blackberry and meat.  $50

Eberle Winery
Mill Road Vineyard Viognier 2009:  Huge floral play with great acidity.  $21
Steinbeck Vineyard Syrah 2008:  Earthy and dirty, very old world.  $20

Kenneth Volk Vineyards
Pomar Junction Vineyard Verdelho 2008:  Mix of flowers and citrus with great acidity.  $24
Pomar Junction Vineyard Aglianico 2007:  Dark, dusty fruit with a lasting finish.  $36

Kiamie Wine Cellars
R'Own 2006:  Rustic mix of Syrah/Grenache/Viognier with a splash of Zinfandel.  $38

Le Vigne Winery
Kiara Reserve Sangiovese 2007:  Bright cherry candy nose, earthy palate.  $20
Le Vigne di Domenico Cabernet Franc 2006:  Dark nose full of earth with mineral laden fruit.  $30

Lone Madrone
La Mezcla 2008:  Extremely refreshing white, with lime and other citrus and great minerality.  $22
Points West Red 2007:  Syrah/Mourvèdre blend displaying a big, juicy nose and a dark palate.  Grippy, big wine.  $28

Niner Wine Estates
Sangiovese 2007:  Beautiful, cherry nose.  Dark and dry.  $24
Twisted Spur Paso Robles Red 2007:  Big, rustic blend of Merlot/Cab Franc/Syrah/Petite Sirah.  $28

Ortman Family Vineyards
Sangiovese 2008:  From the O2 line.  Big, brawny take on the Italian grape.  $20
Wittstrom Vineyard Petite Sirah 2007:  Intense nose and palate with big tannins.  "Light" at just 14.2% abv.  $36

Pomar Junction Vineyard and Winery
Estate Viognier 2009:  Nose of oranges and flowers, very fruity with great acidity.  $25
Espiritu Chardonnay 2009:  Very light touch of oaky vanilla with mouth-watering acidity.  $25

Roxo Port Cellars
Paso Melange 2007:  Extremely concentrated Cabernet Franc flavors from Port-style-only producer.  $44
Ruby Tradicional 2007:  Portuguese varieties, Paso-grown.  Coffee and chocolate notes.  $44

Terry Hoage Vineyards
The Gap 2009:  Invigorating white with nutty citrus.  Grenache Blanc, Roussanne, Picpoul Blanc.  $38
The Pick 2008:  Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre, Counoise.  Dark cherry with tons of earth.  $48

Vina Robles
WHITE4 2009:  Vermentino, Verdelho, Viognier, Sauvigon Blanc.  Didn't remind me of Sardinia, but lots to like with citrus and minerality.  $16
RED4 2008:  Syrah, Petite Sirah, Grenache, Mourvèdre.  Earthy on nose and palate; brooding and peppery.  $16

Zenaida Cellars
Estate Zinfandel 2008:  Very fresh and vibrant.  A different slant on Zinfandel.  $27
Wanderlust 2008:  Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre.  A brooding, old world style Rhone blend.

LUNETTA PROSECCO

Bringing bubbly to a Super Bowl party shows a particular kind of readiness for celebration.  It was not my intent to be boastful, merely to be supportive of the team allegiance of our hostess.  It turned out to be unfortunate that Sheryl was backing the Steelers for Super Bowl XLV, but being from Pennsylvania - Beaver Falls - she had no choice and wanted none.  The place was festooned in black and gold for better or worse.  Despite the success of the Green Bay Packers in that game, we all enjoyed the feast and festivities.

A couple of growlers of really great beer from Eagle Rock Brewery were the beverage star of the party, but I did manage to pop the cork on the Prosecco.

Lunetta is produced by Cavit, in the northern city Trento.  An Italian sparkling wine brut, Lunetta is pale in color and shows a white, foamy layer of fine bubbles which rise playfully and persistently in the glass.  A fruity nose gives way to green apples and peaches on the palate, with a dry finish that lingers with a cleansing effect.  It went great with the guacamole, by the way.  The wine has an 11.5% alcohol content and was purchased for $9, marked down from the original $16 ticket.

CHARTRON LA FLEUR BORDEAUX BLANC

The wine list at Salades de Provence in Los Angeles changed recently, and one of the new additions was the Chartron La Fleur white Bordeaux.  The strength of the wine list here is not in quantity, as it is a rather short read.  The wines selected for serving at Salades de Provence always seem to to pair extremely well with their menu items.

Neither the food nor the wines are fancy.  Rustic or country might be an appropriate term to use.  Both elements of the meal, however, are quite satisfying - and have been so on my many visits to La Cienega and Holloway.

On this visit, my friend and wine expert Nicolas Soufflet joined me, along with his lovely Carol and my lovely Denise.  Nicolas also had a glass of the Chartron La Fleur to start, although he has a habit of announcing his white wine consumption as merely a "palate cleansing" measure.  He seemed to enjoy the wine, as he also seemed to enjoy conversing in his native French with our waiter.  "Garcon! More palate cleansing liquid for mon ami, s'il vous plaît!"

The wine is 100% Sauvignon Blanc.  It sells for $10 by the glass, probably less than that for a bottle at retail.  A tropical nose shows kiwi and honeydew.  The mouthfeel is almost creamy, but with a nice level of acidity.  Lemon curd on the palate fits well with quiche Lorraine, and I would imagine it would pair nicely with a wide variety of seafood items.

TEMECULA WORLD OF WINE, 2011

Celebrate the coming of spring with a day trip to Southern California's Temecula Valley for some wine tasting.  It’s not too far from Los Angeles, the countryside is beautiful, the wine trails are really simple, the wines are often award-winning, and the quality is surprisingly high.  If you’ve never been to Southern California’s wine country, early March brings a great way to get an introduction. 
The Temecula Valley Winegrowers Association has a world of wine to offer over their Barrel Tasting Weekend, March 5th and 6th, 2011.  Their member wineries - more than 30 of them now - swing open their cellar doors and invite you in to sample tank and barrel tastings of future vintages along with tastings of finished wine.  The event is even catered.  Each winery will have food selections specially paired with featured wines.

You can start almost immediately after exiting the 15 Freeway.  Take Rancho California Road or the De Portola Trail to get started on your self-guided tour.  At your first stop - Ponte Family Estate Winery - you’ll get a winery map with menu listings, a passport ticket and a souvenir logo glass.  Take a few minutes to map out the wineries you want to visit – if you haven’t already done so – and get started.  You may be surprised that you’ll find some new favorite wines as a result of your visit.  Ponte Family Estate Winery specializes in Italian varieties, so I'll probably linger there a bit.  Also try to make it by South Coast Winery Resort and Spa.  It is the jewel of the valley.  It was the first Southern California Winery ever to win the coveted Golden Bear Award at the California State Fair as "Best Winery in California."  They followed up that success by winning the award again.

The World of Wine Barrel Tasting Weekend runs from 10:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. both Saturday and Sunday.  Tickets are $99 per person and are good both days.  Sunday Only and Designated Driver tickets are available at a discount.

WINE CONSUMERS WARY OF BLOGGER RECOMMENTATIONS

A survey in the Wine Intelligence Internet and Social Media report finds that independent bloggers are the least trusted wine information sources in the U.S., the UK and France.  The internet is still a popular destination for those seeking wine information, though.

People seem to be more in tune with their local wine merchants when seeking information to help with their wine purchases.  According to the survey, 80% of wine shoppers in the U.S. say they trust the person on the other side of the counter, as opposed to the person on the other end of the Internet.

There's a lot of evidence, though, to suggest that Wine Intelligence patched together a quilt of lies and BS to come up with these findings.  That issue is explored in-depth by Amy Corron Power on Another Wine Blog.  It's worth reading.

As an independent wine blogger myself, the Wine Intelligence results seem downright embarrassing at first blush.   But, if the data is accurate, is the it surprising?  It would stand to reason that people would trust someone they can talk to face-to-face - someone who knows their taste and palate based on previous purchases - rather than someone with whom they have no personal connection.

I have long advised friends and readers to look to their palates for answers about which wines to buy.  I can't tell you what you will like - only you can find out that for yourself.  One of the best ways to do that is to become acquainted with a wine dealer you trust, preferably one who stages tasting events in the store.  Go to these events, talk to your merchant and you will be able to find wines that are right up your alley.

I just hope you trust me when I tell you that!

According to the Wine Intelligence data, online sources most trusted by American consumers are websites of wine shops, newspapers and small-production wineries.  Facebook comes in ahead of supermarket websites on the trust meter.

"We have known for some time that consumers trust people closest to them for recommendations about wine," says Jean-Phillippe Perrouty, Research Director at Wine Intelligence.  "This data shows the power of the Internet as a way of leveraging this trust as the consumer's search for wine knowledge moves online."

MARINELLA DRY MARSALA

You may know Marsala only as a cooking wine, as in chicken Marsala, but it also makes a fairly decent sipper.

Produced in the Sicilian city of Marsala, D.O.C., this fortified wine has a long history dating back the Roman era.  Marsala is usually labeled by its relative sweetness - secco, semisecco, dolce - and by quality.

Marinella Dry Marsala is labeled as “fine,” which means it received less than a year of aging.  “Fine” is the lowest level on the quality scale for Marsala.  It retails for around $13 and has an alcohol level of 17% abv, the minimum for fine Marsala.  Some higher grades are required to be at least 18%.

The Marinella shows a brownish brick or amber brown color in the glass.  It smells of alcohol at first, but just let the heat burn off for about 15 minutes to a half hour and it’s smooth sailin’.  I
love the aromatic nature.  The nose is rich with dried fruit, raisins and a caramel aspect.  It tastes of dried fruit, too - a little like raisins, but with a helping of dark berries and some apricot sneaking through.  There’s a nice acidity, and an astringency lingers on a little too long for my taste on the finish.  It is quite a lengthy finish, however.

I tried the Marsala at room temperature, but the winemaker recommends a chill - 50 degrees F - for use as an apertif or dessert wine.  It is much better this way.

I have found better dessert wines, although at $13 for a full 750ml bottle, this wine is a good buy.  I would also recommend cooking with it.  Chicken Marsala, anyone?

BEVERLY HILLS WINE FESTIVAL 2011

A winter weekend which was supposed to bring bad, bad weather to Southern California - "look, a snowflake!" - actually yielded a lovely Sunday on February 27, 2011 for the Beverly Hills Wine Festival.  Held at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza - just around the corner from Beverly Hills, in Century City - the event provided those not already involved in Oscar Night festivities an afternoon of tasting the wines of about 50 wineries, plus a handful of beer and spirits.

I wondered about the wisdom of scheduling an event in Los Angeles on Oscar Afternoon, but I needn’t have concerned myself.  The huge room at the Hyatt was elbow-to-elbow with wine lovers who apparently had no previous commitments for other parties, Oscar-related or not.

There were some snags in traffic due to red carpets which were rolled out for various movie biz soirées, but once at the festival, it was all about the wine of the minute, not the movie of the year.

The occasion benefitted Fran Drescher’s Cancer Schmancer Movement.  From the look of things, the fundraiser will probably be looked upon as a rousing success.

The caliber of wine which was presented was a little disappointing.  The crowd, too, seemed a little different from the usual throng at a Southern California wine tasting event.  Usually I overhear a dozen or so people at tasting tables asking for "the Cab."  Interest in Cabernet Sauvignon didn’t disappear for this event, but it did dwindle to just one Cab request overheard by yours truly.

I did hear requests - maybe a half dozen of them - for "sweet wines."  This is something I have not noticed to a great degree at other tasting events.  I couldn’t help but think of Eric Asimov’s article recently suggesting that wine writers trim their tasting notes down to either "sweet" or "savory."  For the record, I heard no one asking the pourers for some "savory" wine.

There was a party atmosphere abetted by DJ Reaper spinnin' some classic hits, and the Cap'n Morgan Pirate was wandering around for photo ops like the one pictured at right.
Notable Wines
Although the selection of wines was a little disappointing overall, there were some winners present.

Casa Barranca, an organic winery and estate retreat in Ojai Valley, California, presented a wonderful '08 Pinot Noir with fruit from Arroyo Grande's Laetitia Vineyards.  Roses on the nose are met with soft and gentle cherry flavors.  Their '07 Bungalow Red mixes Syrah and Mourvedre from Santa Barbara County for a dark, earthy, cherry nose and a palate full of minerals and red fruit.  Casa Barranca's '08 Viognier is sourced from Madera and shows floral aromas with guava notes and a citrus/banana flavor.  Their '08 Cabernet Sauvignon from Paso Robles' French Camp Vineyard is light and dry with tart berries.

Ritual Wine Company's  Mike Stan poured a delicious '09 Viognier of Paso Robles fruit.  The nutty nose and savory taste with great acidity really knocked me out.  The New Black, a 2009 Cab/Syrah/Grenache blend has the Grenache coming through in strong fashion with big tannins and dark cherries.  Ritual's '08 GSM is dark and earthy with a meaty finish, while their '09 Grenache is still young.  Simple and soft, Mike feels it's still about six months away from full integration.

Los Olivos, California producer Coquelicot brought a brawny 2006 Bordeaux blend called Mon Amour which shows intense anise on the nose with strong, dry tannins and deep, funky fruit.  It's a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and Malbec.  Their 2008 Sixer - Syrah with 6% Viognier - is big, bold and peppery.  Great tasting cherry marks the '09 Pinot Noir, but with a lofty 14.5% abv.

Chatom Vineyard isn't shy about letting the alcohol take center stage, either.  The Calaveras County winery has an '06 Zinfandel which brings 15.5% to the table, but it doesn't feel like a lot.  It does have good acidity and earthy chocolate notes.

Pink Girl Wine poured their 100% Syrah rose from Napa Valley's Coombsville appellation.  It boasts a rich rosado color and is strong in strawberry.

Keating Wines from Sonoma had a 2007 Malbec, sourced from Rockpile, a 2009 Zin from Dry Creek Valley fruit and their Georges III '08 Cab made from 100% Rutherford grapes.  Each is bragworthy.

Fillmore, California's Giessinger Winery presented a tableful, to mixed results.  I found their whites generally wanting in acidity, although the flavors are great.  Their '07 Barbera boasts Amador grapes and is the best of the lot.  A close second goes to their Forgiveness, a dessert blend of Symphony and Zinfandel from the South Coast AVA which is sweet in the Lambrusco style.

Paso Robles' Estrella Creek showed some good wines, my faves being the Petite Sirah and the Stargazer Syrah/Cab/PS blend.

Big bargain producer Barefoot had hired help manning their table.  The gentleman commented to one taster, "Hey, it's six bucks!"  He was barely more interested than that when answering my questions.  I thought Barefoot's dry wines were somewhat ordinary, but I really liked their sweet ones - a Moscato Spumante bubbly and a still Moscato actually run around $10 - while the Sweet Red is not TOO sweet, and is a killer chiller at $7.

Maybe that's why those tasters were looking for more sweet wines.

WINE LAWS ROUNDUP: WASHINGTON, NORTH DAKOTA, MARYLAND

Here are a few items that have come in recently on the wine news wire.

Farmers markets in and around Olympia, Washington will be allowed to stage beer and wine tasting in the future.  The Peninsula Daily News reports that state legislation has okayed a pilot project to allow one brewery or winery per day to offer samples of less than two ounces to shoppers.  Don't get too comfortable at the tasting table, though.  Each customer will be limited to four ounces of samples per day.

On the wine law blog "On Reserve," Lindsey Zahn reports that North Dakota has recently passed legislation allowing that state's winemakers to sell their product directly to stores, instead of requiring them to go through a wholesale middleman first.

Tom Wark's Fermentation blog notes that Maryland's legislature has introduced bills which would allow residents of the Chesapeake Bay State to have wine shipped directly to them.  cautions, though, that this would apply only to wine produced in the United States, not imported wine.

GROUP THERAPY IN TEMECULA

A support group is a welcome friend when you feel you aren't getting the attention you deserve.  South Coast Winery Resort and Spa, in the Southern California wine country of the Temecula Valley, held the first of what appears to be a series of events called Group Therapy on February 23, 2011.  Fans of Temecula wines certainly know how to support one another.  They also know how it feels to be an afterthought when the conversation turns to the grape-growing regions of California.

The region lies about as far away from Los Angeles as Santa Barbara, but in the other direction.  Located a couple of hours southeast of L.A., Temecula is tucked away south of what's known as the Inland Empire.  Thanks to the eastward curve of the California coastline, however, Temecula is less than 20 miles away from the Pacific Ocean.  They get enough of that good ocean breeze to make grapes a viable commodity.

Though they are still "bubbling under" as a wine region, South Coast is one of the leaders in bringing a Napa-style elegance to the valley.  The sprawling resort is easily one of the showcases of Temecula, if not the pinnacle.  Private villas, music features, wine dinners, the Grapeseed Spa and a tasting room environment that places fun above all else make South Coast one of the most popular stops on the Temecula Wine Trail.  If you've ever been to a wine country wedding, you get the idea of the mix between fancy and fun which the folks at South Coast maintain.  It is, no doubt, a big reason so many weddings are held at the resort.

At Group Therapy, though, it was the wine they wanted to focus on.  The event was presented live at the winery and streamed online for those who couldn't make it.  A Group Therapy package of the wines to be discussed was offered for sale through the winery's online store.

Winemakers Jon McPherson and Javier Flores proved to be a nice team heading up the show.  They served as "play-by-play" and "color commentator" for the evening, with McPherson providing a solid background for the wines on the table and Flores interjecting some whimsical banter along the way.  McPherson opened with a lesson on how to grade wine by numerically scoring its different facets.  He seemed to catch some in the audience off guard when he revealed that Pinot Grigio is actually a red grape, and the reason it has no color is because the juice sees limited contact with the skins.

Owner/vintner Jim Carter was also along, and he touched briefly on the struggle Temecula has had getting what he feels is proper recognition of the product.  "We're right there with Napa," is how he summed up his feelings on the quality of the wines being made in the valley, and at South Coast in particular.

I couldn't make it to Temecula for the live Group Therapy session, so South Coast provided me with two of the wines that were the topic of discussion, and I followed along online.

Pinot Grigio Temecula Valley Sparkling Wine

This bubbly is the 2010 vintage and is comprised of 63% fruit from the Temecula Springs Resort Estate Vineyards, 23% Schuler Vineyards grapes and 14% from Huis Vineyards.  Pinot Grigio may be an offbeat choice for a grape from which to make a sparkling wine, but it works well.  The grape is known for fruity flavors and crisp acidity.  South Coast uses vinification methods similar to those used in Italy's Alto Adige, so it's not too surprising that it comes across with an Italian Prosecco-like flair.

Prodigious medium-sized bubbles produce a frothy, white head and the nose is full of fruit.  Apples are prominent, with an aroma that reminds me apple cider, or Apple Beer, a soft drink I used to enjoy as a kid.  Peaches also make an appearance, as does a slight grassy note.  On the palate it's apples and pears.  The sparkler is nice and dry, with good acidity that remains after the bubbles quiet down a bit.  It's a really lovely taste with fruit for days.  It's also very drinkable at only 11.8% abv.

Il Temporale 2007

The fruit for this Super Tuscan-meets-Bordeaux blend comes from Wild Horse Peak Mountain Vineyards.  The red is made up of 58% Sangiovese, 19% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% Petit Verdot and 10% Merlot.  On the nose, oak is apparent.  Cherry and earth notes are discernible, too.  The palate shows the effect of 14 months in French oak, with vanilla accents and a cherry cola flavor.  Although I find the oakiness just a bit distracting, there is depth and complexity there.  I like the way the spicy character of the Petit Verdot shines through.  The tannins are strong enough for pairing with roast beef.  Il Temporale logs a 14.1% alcohol number.

WINE COUNTRY: FLORIDA - KEEL AND CURLEY WINERY

As Now And Zin attempts to travel around the 50 states in a wine glass, this time we find ourselves in the southeastern corner of the USA, Florida.  Maybe Florida doesn't immediately come to mind when you think of wine, but the Sunshine State was ranked 6th in wine American production in 2009-2010.

Keel and Curley Winery is located outside of Tampa, in Plant City.  The winery was founded in 2003 by Joe Keel, a central Florida blueberry farmer who had a lot of unharvested blueberries on his hands after the price fell.  He decided to try his hand at making wine with them.

Today his wines - three 100% blueberry wines and some fruit/grape blends - are popular all along Florida's Gulf Coast.  The blueberry wines come in dry, semi-dry and sweet styles. Their tasting room - unlike that of many wineries - has seats at the tasting bar, indicating you may want to stay awhile.

Keel and Curley provided me with three of their wines to sample, a dry blueberry, a sweet blueberry and a Strawberry Riesling blend.  I must admit, I didn't have much experience with wines made from fruit other than grapes and I approached these with a little bit of trepidation.

Dry Blueberry Wine

My fears were soon dispelled as I tried Keel and Curley's Dry Blueberry wine first.  Bottled in strikingly blue glass, the wine is made from high bush blueberries, according to the label.  I suppose those are preferred over the berries from the bottom of the bush.  The label also informs that the wine is fermented with the skins to concentrate the colors and flavors.  It has an alcohol content of 12% abv.

The nose - not surprisingly - shows a very pure and uncomplicated blueberry aroma. It’s not the blueberry of jam or jelly, though. It’s the blueberry right from the bush, with a hint of herbal or vegetal notes.

As I take my first taste I find this is surprisingly good wine!  It is actually off-dry, but just barely.  The sweetness is only winked at by the well-structured fruit.  It is actually just a bit hot upon opening, but let it just sit in the glass for 15-20 minutes and the heat decreases.  At half an hour open, the wine is silky smooth, but still has a good structure and tannins.
I tried pairing it with a rather spicy piece of beef, but it didn’t seem to work too well.  It was better with blue cheese, but still not a natural.  The pairing I kept thinking about - and finally tried - was peanuts.  A handful of peanuts with this wine is like an instant PB&J.

Sweet Blueberry Wine

Again the striking blue bottle makes a good visual impression and the Sweet Blueberry Wine is a good dark purple in the glass.  The nose again shows all blueberry, but with less of the vegetal aroma present than in the dry version.

This one is sweet for sure, but it's not cloying.  It’s not even dessert-wine-sweet, really.  The sweetness is so fruity and natural tasting it seems more like a blueberry juice.  I would compare the sweetness in this wine to that of a sweet Lambrusco.  There’s a nice little acidity, but I don’t know exactly what I would pair it with.  Don't bother worrying about it - it’s a delicious wine to sip.  At 12% alcohol by volume, you feel free to sip a little more the you might normally.  I found it tastes great at room temperature, but the winery recommends serving it chilled.  It is very good that way.

Strawberry RieslingThis wine also utilizes non-grape fruit, but includes some actual wine grapes as well.  It comes in a clear bottle, all the better to show its pale golden hue.  The fruit on the nose is all strawberry, all the time.  It’s not a candy-like aroma, or like a strawberry candle.  It’s like a strawberry farm.  The smell of real strawberries jumps right out of the glass and into my nose.  On the label, the winery claims the Strawberry Riesling is what summer smells like.  That sounds like a good assessment to me.  The taste is sweet like ripe strawberries and mildly acidic.  I don’t know if it pairs too well with many foods - fruit salad, anyone? - but this wine could be sipped poolside all day long.  At 12% abv once more, it’s very gulpable, especially when served chilled.

Keel and Curley's Dry Blueberry strives to be a "real" wine, and comes pretty darn close.  The two sweet wines I tasted are nothing but fun by the bottle.  It's easy to see why these wines are so popular in Florida.  I think they should go well anywhere there's a pool.



So far in the Wine Country series

COOKING WITH WINE

It's thought to be W.C. Fields who said, "I love cooking with wine.  Sometimes I even put it in the food."  It's not too clear how much cooking Mr. Fields ever did, but they say he really knew his way around a bottle of wine.

Cooking with wine is a great way to add flavor to a meal. You don't have to worry too much about the alcohol - cooking burns off a good bit of it - the longer you cook, the more it burns away - and leaves just the lovely aromas and flavors found in the wine.  The wine's flavor tends to become mellower the longer you cook it, too.

Don't cook with cheap wine, or cooking wines.  Use only a wine you would drink in your cooking.  You don't have to break open an expensive bottle you are saving for a special occasion, but remember that quality counts.  It is going into your meal, after all.

Wine is like any other spice when used in cooking.  Using the proper amount is just as important as with any other seasoning.  Use enough to make a difference, but don't overpower the food by using too much.  Cooking the wine makes the flavor concentrated, so pour with a steady hand.

You need to allow some time for the wine to do its work.  Don't taste right away after adding the wine. Wait at least a few minutes.

Red or white?  As the rule of thumb goes for serving wine with dinner, red is best with meat dishes, white with cream sauces, seafood or white meats.  But as you would when selecting a wine to drink, let your own palate be your guide.  And don't forget rosés.  They can be used with great success in pork and chicken dishes.

If you're cooking with less fat these days, wine is a nice addition because it will help bring more moisture to the food that is missing in the absence of the fat.

Leftover wine can be recorked, refrigerated and kept for future use, but not for more than a few weeks.  Of course, the best thing about cooking with wine is that you can always drink the remainder with dinner.

WINE GAMES

If you're a wine-loving board game fanatic, you should check out Monopoly's Napa Valley Edition.  The Parker Brothers classic is remade utilizing notable wine names from Napa Valley as properties, instead of the familiar streets of the original Monopoly game.  Instead of houses and hotels, wheeler-dealers can add vineyards and estates to try and trample the competition while moving wine-related tokens around the board.  Monopoly's Napa Valley Edition seemed to be in short supply when I checked, and it was selling for $100.

If you'd rather spend your Benjamin on an actual Napa wine, try a less expensive board game, also available from Amazon.  Wine-opoly sells for $20, and it offers a thinly disguised wine version of a Monopoly-style game using more generic wine themes.

While you're shopping, Amazon also has Monopoly wine charms, those little tags you hang on a glass so you can tell yours from the others.

LINI LAMBRUSCO ROSSO EMILIA NV

Dining amongst the hipsters is always risky.  In Los Angeles, sometimes it's unavoidable.  Friends have favorite places - for one reason or another - and when you aren't careful they can steer an evening into a place where you might not normally alight for dinner.

Little Dom's is one of those places.  The food looked interesting enough, and it certainly smelled interesting enough.  It's a small room, though, and it was packed.  Hipsters tend to make a lot of noise when they eat, and the rabble was loud enough to prevent me from hearing my table partners - and sometimes myself - speak.  The hipster quotient - tabulated by a quick look around to see how many pork pie hats are in the place - was about four.  Back in Texas we used to call this the cowboy quotient - the number of cowboy hats visible as you walk through the door.  Cowboys, as I recall, are even louder than hipsters.

Enough with the hipsters!  We were at Little Dom's because Marge has adopted finding a wine called Fata Morgana as her personal quest.  She had the Calabrian white wine quite a while back at this establishment, and has had no luck in finding a bottle elsewhere to purchase.  So she suggested we return to the scene of the wine and, wouldn't you know it, it's off the list.  She settled for a Birra Moretti.

We ordered salad and pizza done very thin with a crispy crust.  I enjoyed a very nice Lambrusco by Lini, in Italy's Emilia region.  I love pairing Lambrusco with simple, rustic food.

Its color is a beautiful, deep red, with just a trace of effervescence showing around the rim.
It's hard for me to get at the nose of a wine when it's chilled, and the slightly refrigerated temperature of the Lini in its narrow flute was enough to keep me from smelling too much.  Also complicating the whiff was the fully packed restaurant and all the wonderful smells coming from every other table.

The wine feels good on the palate, cool and slightly frizzante in style, with a little tickle of bubbles on the tongue.  It tastes like strawberry and cherry mixed together, but not in too sweet a fashion.  The finish is actually rather dry.

WINE NEWS: LAWS ON WINE

Checking for some wine-related news stories recently, a few from three different areas of the country caught my eye.

In El Cajon, California there's an ordinance under consideration which would place a ban on beers and wines with a high alcohol content.  If passed, the city ordinance would mean fans of Porto and Port-style fortified wines would have to leave town in order to buy them.  City fathers hope the ban would cut down on El Cajon's problem with drunken transients - but, while keeping fortified wine off the store shelves, the ban would not affect the sale of a two-dollar hip flask of vodka.  And what about a 15.5% Cabernet. Is that considered a high alcohol wine?

In Kansas, state lawmakers are holding hearings on the possibility of allowing grocery and convenience stores to sell beer and wine, which presently is not permitted in the Jayhawk State.  State officials are probably thirsty for the $72-million increase in state and local taxes the sale of beer and wine in grocery stores would bring.

Maryland's state legislature is considering raising the wholesale alcohol tax.  The bill would add $215-million to the state's coffers by increasing the wine tax from 40 cents to three dollars, the beer tax from nine cents to $1.16 and an even greater jump for taxes on distilled spirits.  One Maryland brewery claims their excise tax would rise from $20,000 per year to $270,000.