BLOOD OF THE VINES - I WAS A TEENAGE WEREWOLF

When I was in college - way back when - the student center had a room where a different video each week was piped in and played continuously.  I would plop down between classes - when we weren't drinking something horrible at the school newspaper office - and catch fifteen minutes or so of whatever they were showing.  By the end of the week I had probably seen the whole feature - in bits and pieces out of sequence.  I saw "Lemmings" that way, and "Groove Tube."

I also saw the 1957 horror classic "I Was A Teenage Werewolf" that way, and it was a delightful week.  It may have been the movie, or it may have been the horrible stuff we were drinking at the newspaper.  After so much time, I'll charitably attribute it to the film.

The movie stars Michael Landon, before his "Bonanza" days and waaaay before his "Little House on the Prairie" days.  It also stars Whit Bissell, a great character actor who was in so many films of the 1950s you'd think he came with the cameras.  For no apparent reason - or maybe because of the horrible stuff - Whit became one of my favorites, and I watched anything in which he appeared.

In "Teenage Werewolf," Landon plays the troubled young man while Bissell plays the troubled older man.  That's a lot of trouble there, and that starts with T and that rhymes with C and that stands for cool, which is how I rate this film.

What else but Werewolf Cabernet Sauvignon for this film?  The website exclaims the wine is "notable for its dark red color."   Well, I would hope so.  They also make a Pinot Grigio, which is notable for its lack of red color.  At seven dollars per bottle, you sometimes have to take whatever color you get.  You just hope it's not too horrible.

Wolf down some of these:

Piggs Peake Werewolf Zinfandel/Shiraz - Zinfandel in Australia!  Who knew?  $80

How wine can turn you into a werewolf - "A bottle a night, two a night on weekends" ?? Werewolf tendencies could be the least of your problems.

Wolff Vineyards in Edna Valley - Beautiful wine country, just outside San Luis Obispo and not a werewolf in sight.

Stone Wolf Vineyards in Oregon's Willamette Valley - The stone wolf guards the vineyards.  Finally, a good guy wolf!

Grey Wolf Cellars in Paso Robles - On the label: "Life is too short to drink bad wine."

Wolf Mountain Vineyards & Winery in Georgia - They are in the foothills of the southern Appalachian Mountains.

Follow Randy Fuller on Twitter

Follow Trailers From Hell on Twitter

CIMARONE 3CV CILLA’S BLEND 2009

The Cimarone 3CV Bank appeared earlier on Now And Zin.  It's a Bordeaux blend with a bit of Syrah.  Now let's try their 3CV Cilla's Blend, which reverses the math and mixes 69% Syrah with Bordeaux varieties: 20% Cabernet Franc, 4% Malbec, 4% Petit Verdot and 3% Cabernet Sauvignon.  The alcohol content is 14.5% abv and the wine sells for $18.

The source for all this fruit is Cimarone's Three Creek Vineyard in the Happy Canyon AVA of Santa Barbara County, in the warm, eastern clime of the Santa Ynez Valley.  The blend sees 20 months in new and neutral French oak barrels.  Cimarone owner Roger Higgins named the blend after his wife, Priscilla.  He calls it “a wine of beauty and elegance - just like Cilla.”  

Doug Margerum was the winemaker for this effort.  Now, Andrew Murray has come on board and will be Cimarone’s winemaker for future vintages.  Cimarone kindly provided a sample of Cilla's Blend. 

There's a big whiff of alcohol upon opening, but this is not an issue after decanting.  The gorgeous fruit is dark.  Blackberries and blueberries play against an undercurrent of bell pepper, black pepper and sage.  The herbal angle features prominently, but the fruity aspect leads the way.  

The wine sports a great tannic structure and mouth watering acidity.  It's a big wine, with an intense flavor, and herbal notes linger on the finish.  I'd pair this with a rosemary steak.

Follow Randy Fuller on Twitter

BRISTOL’S HARD APPLE CIDER BRISTOL’S HARD APPLE CIDER

The Southern California thermometer nudged up over the 80 degree mark in early March, and the contacts on my Facebook page were all gassed about getting out and grilling a steak.  It always amazes me when that first 80-degree day rolls around.  The roads to the beaches are clogged, outdoor restaurants can’t get enough tables on the sidewalk and the grills are a-blazin’.

It amazes me because, generally speaking, Southern California weather is not too far off the 80-degree mark all winter.  Why people in Los Angeles feel they need to be “spared from old man winter” is confounding to me.  

Sure, Southern California has its share of days when the high temperature doesn’t get out of the 50s.  You should hear the complaining then.  Folks in Michigan and Vermont and Ohio consider a high in the 50s to be the harbinger of spring.   

The SoCal beaches are crowded all year, sidewalk tables are always an option and we can pretty much grill anytime we like. Why wait?

Even so, after a long winter of fighting off that 60-degree chill with a 65-degree red wine, I have my own little springtime celebration.  When that 80-degree mark hits SoCal - while other parts of the country are still having to shovel snow - I like to break out a summer beverage.  

I purchased Bristol’s Hard Apple Cider at the Lone Madrone tasting room in Paso Robles for $12.50 in the summer of 2011, and I understand the cider is sold out now.  

Credited on the label as being produced and bottled by the Traditional Company of Colfax, California,  I couldn't find any info about that organization.  The apples come from See Canyon in San Luis Obispo and the cider carries a 6.6% abv number.

The Lone Madrone website says this about the Bristol’s Hard Apple Cider:

“This Zummerzet style cider was fermented in retired oak wine barrels and stainless steel tank. The cider is finished in bottle with champagne yeast a practice which yield's tiny yet vigorous bubbles. Made with See Canyon apples, it is dry, dry, dry with with crisp apple on the palate.”

The bouquet is all apple, all the time.  I was a little surprised, since I expected the influence from the oak barrels to be more significant.  It’s a very nice aroma, quite fresh and intense.  The palate offers more apples, and a generous amount of bubbling action in the mouthfeel.  As advertised, it’s dry, not sweet, and it went quite well on a warm afternoon with a fresh tomato salad.

Follow Randy Fuller on Twitter

POMAR JUNCTION VINEYARD & WINERY: BROOSTER CAB, SYRAH, ZIN BLEND

The Merrill family can boast of an eight-generation lineage in the California farming industry, stretching back to the Mission era.  The almond and fruit orchards eventually became the Pomar Junction vineyard.  They also have a heritage in the railroad business, which is why you’ll find a boxcar and caboose on the grounds of the winery.  They stand as a tribute to Marsha Merrill’s grandfather, the railroad engineer.

Dana and Marsha Merrill handle the farming and business end with son Matthew, while winemaker Jim Shumate turns the sustainably-raised grapes into their small-lot wines.  Pomar Junction estate fruit - along with choice lots from other vineyards managed by their Mesa Vineyard Management company - are grown in what the Merrills say is the most environmentally conscious way possible.

Dana Merrill was ahead of the curve on the sustainability issue, helping found the Central Coast Vineyard Team.  That organization’s mission statement says they “identify and promote the most environmentally safe, viticulturally and economically sustainable farming methods, while maintaining or improving quality and flavor of wine grapes.”

Pomar Junction Vineyard was one of the first to be certified by the SIP program - Sustainability in Practice - an honor which “recognizes a vineyard’s commitment to environmental stewardship, equitable treatment of employees, and economic stability.”  It took the Merrills six years to bring the vineyard up to their standards - and those of the CCVT.

Fittingly, Pomar Junction will be the site of the 2012 Earth Day Food & Wine Festival on April 21, an event which showcases sustainably produced wine and food products.

Pomar Junction kindly provided Now And Zin with a sample of their Brooster Red Wine Pomar Junction Vineyard, Paso Robles 2010.

This blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah and Zinfandel also utilizes estate fruit and has a moderate - for Paso - 14.3% alcohol level.  It’s aged in neutral French oak, retails for $18 and has a Stelvin screw cap closure.  

Brooster's nose offers quite a whiff of alcohol at first, so breathing or decanting is a must.  The fruit aromas are dark and tarry, with a hint of bramble.  On the palate, that dark fruit leads the way with the tar close behind.  There are notes of coffee and tea adding complexity and the tannins are rather forceful in this very dry wine.  I liked it more with each sip.

Follow Randy Fuller on Twitter

BLOOD OF THE VINES - FROM HELL IT CAME

If ever there was a movie that deserved a wine pairing, 1957's "From Hell It Came" would be the one.  In fact, something stronger might be in order to make this "walking tree" movie bearable.  Chief Trailers From Hell guru Joe Dante points out in his commentary on the trailer, it's probably one of the worst movies of the 1950s.  Dante notes, that when "a long shot of a stick falling over is considered worthy of being included in the trailer, it goes to show there's not a lot (of action) to choose from."  Maybe the stick just had a little too much wine.

Forget the plot - the monster is a tree.  What more do we need to know?  The talking trees in "The Wizard of Oz" were not only scarier, they probably had more screen time - and more action.  Dante cites one reviewer who commented that, since the tree came from Hell, it may as well go back there.   It can't be coincidence that the Trailers From Hell blog goes under the name "From Hell It Came."

The natural wine pairing for a movie featuring a walking tree monster is Twisted Oak Wineryin California's Calaveras County.  Their Rhone blend called *%#&@! (rhymes with "What the *%#&@!") is perfect, since that may well be what you're saying by fifteen minutes into this 

picture.  It's an $18 bottle, which may seem expensive considering the quality of the movie.

Branching out for some other wine choices:

d'Arenberg Stump Jump Shiraz McLaren Vale 2008 - The stump jump plough was invented to clear land peppered with scrub brush stumps.  Your mileage on "walking tree" stumps may vary.  $9

Black Stump Wines - Australian for "the middle of nowhere," black stump is also a neat descriptor for the monster in "From Hell It Came.".

Hells Canyon Winery - A boutique winery in Idaho's Snake River Valley, their Seven Devils Red is actually anything but hellish.

Hell Hole Semillon - From Meerea Park Wines in Australia's Hunter Valley, this refreshing white was no doubt named by those who harvest the grapes in this warm climate region.  Be careful which tree you seek for shade.

Follow Randy Fuller on Twitter

Follow Trailers From Hell on Twitter

WINE COUNTRY IOWA: TABOR HOME VINEYARDS AND WINERY

The Now And Zin Wine Country series will stay in Iowa a while longer, as some more wineries have provided samples of their Iowa wines.  I was quite impressed with Iowa wine in my first encounter with it, and couldn't wait to try some more and see if the quality stayed high.

Tabor Home Vineyards and Winery is owned by Dr. Paul Tabor, who is also the winemaker.  His family farm in Baldwin, Iowa - 170 miles west of Chicago and 40 miles south of Dubuque - was a grain and cattle operation since the 1860s.  A six-acre vineyard was planted in 1989 and the winery was built in 1996.
Tabor Home is located in the Upper Mississippi River Valley AVA, which covers nearly 30,000 square miles.  AVA status was approved in 2009 for this region, snaking through  northeast Iowa, northwest Illinois, southeast Minnesota and southwest Wisconsin.  The soils of the area are generally clay and silt loam on bedrock and limestone.

Toast of Iowa 2010

This sparkler is made from La Crosse grapes, 70% of which are grown in Tabor Home’s estate vineyard while 30% come from a grower 30 miles away.  The 11.5% alcohol level is reasonable by anyone’s standards, and Dr. Tabor writes that he “kept residual sweetness lower (2.8% RS) so not to mask” the delicate fruit flavors of the La Crosse.  The wine retails for $16 and comes with a bottlecap closure.  The bottle has no punt, by the way.  It's flat on the bottom.

Not truly a sparkler, but definitely a bubbler, Toast of Iowa is labeled as a "carbonated wine."  It has a very light tint in the glass and shows tons of bubbles at first, dissipating quickly.  The nose is highly aromatic and yeasty with apricot fighting it out with an earthy minerality to come in second behind the yeast.  The palate does feature a sweetness, but it's very restrained.  The acidity is marvelous and flavors of apricot and golden plums rise up on the bubbles.  An extraordinary Sweet Tart finish comes as a pleasant surprise.  I would have thought La Crosse lovers would have liked a sweeter version of this, but I'm sure the doctor knows his market.  It certainly hits me the right way.

JackSon Red 2010
This is an estate wine, with all the grapes grown in the Tabor Home vineyard.  The name “JackSon Red” references the doctor’s father, Jack, as well as the winery’s location in Jackson County.  Its alcohol is quite restrained, at 13.4% abv.  Dr. Tabor recommends it to those who enjoy Pinot Noir.

It’s not a Pinot, of course, but is produced from the Marechal Foch grape.  Foch is a cold-hardy grape which has apparently found some favor in Iowa - the previous Iowa winery in the series, Schade Creek, makes good use of Foch grapes.  The wine sells for $14.

In the glass the wine looks very dark - light barely gets through.  Its inviting nose has extremely dark, old world aromas.  Blackberry plays equally with tar, tobacco and anise.  Denise said each time I sampled it that "it smells yeasty, like baking bread."

As someone who drinks California wine a lot, the palate seems almost alien to my taste.  Had I not known it was produced in Iowa, I may have guessed Spain.  The fruit is quite restrained and a lovely minerality rivals it for attention.  An herbal flavor comes just short of tasting green, and reminds me more of sage than bell pepper.  The medium weight of the wine and the gentle tannins combine to make an extremely drinkable beverage.  I see this pairing with a chicken sausage, or lamb, quite well.

Follow Randy Fuller on Twitter

BEVERLY HILLS WINE FESTIVAL 2012 RECAP

It was Academy Awards Sunday in Los Angeles on February 26, 2012, so making it through the limousine-heavy traffic to the Beverly Hilton was a little more difficult than usual.  Once there, the reward was a few hours of pleasure at the Beverly Hills Wine Festival.  Braving the traffic was worth it.

The organizers put on a great show.  The layout looked a little fancier than last year's event.  The room in which the festival was held was decked out in chandeliers while a big screen - make that huge screen - monitor allowed those interested in the Oscar red carpet action from Hollywood to keep abreast of all the arrivals.  A big band (right) provided sets of entertainment throughout the afternoon and there was even a psychic on hand with an array of tarot cards spread out.  Maybe some tasters were getting a little last-minute help in filling out their Oscar pools.

On the down side, a funky numbering system and a lack of identifying signage made it a bit difficult to find specific wineries one might be looking for, but most people seemed to enjoy just making their way from table to table, sampling whatever came their way.

TGIC Importers poured mainly from their international collection, with Ironstone's Obsession being the only domestic I spotted on their table.  The semi-sweet wine made from the Symphony grape has a nice sweetness with a streak of citrus acidity.  Omaka Springs New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc shows grass and grapefruit, while the '09 Montes Alpha Carménere from Chile's Colchagua Valley has gobs of black cherry in an extremely smooth setting. 

My first taste of Malibu's Malibu Rocky Oaks, was provided by distributor Andrew Figge (left), owner of Central California Wines.  Figge poured a very nice rosé of Pinot Noir, a fruity and steely Chardonnay, a dark and peppery Syrah and a Cabernet Franc with great fruit and oak spice.  All the fruit is estate grown 2,000 feet up in the Santa Monica Mountains.

Field Vineyards is situated on the Russian River in the Alexander Valler AVA of Sonoma County.  They poured a vertical tasting of their Katarina Cabernet Sauvignons from 2003, 2004 and 2006.  All three have wonerful, rich bouquets and the '04 is my favorite with a darker fruit expression than the other two.

The Reyes Winery table was enlightening for me.  I had not been acquainted with this winery in Agua Dulce, north of Los Angeles an hour or so.  I also was unaware they have an appellation now, the Sierra Pelona Valley AVA.  Reyes Winery is only about a year old, and they're already winning awards with their wines.  Robert Reyes (right) turned a former frog farm into a vineyard, and he has produced a prince of a Chardonnay.  Its color is so rich and golden - like a Sauternes - and has such an array of spicy flavors, I was surprised to learn it was produced unoaked, in stainless steel.  Their rosé is a blend of Chardonnay and Muscat, with Syrah for color.  The Cabernet Sauvignon has supple tannins, the Syrah tastes bigger and the Merlot is bigger still.  It's worth a trip up the Antelope Valley Freeway to explore Reyes Winery.

The Pacific Coast Vineyards table was staffed by Tammy and Todd Schaefer.  Winemaker Todd said, "I'm a little nervous about pouring the newly-bottled 2010 Pinot Noir."  With a history of awards and high scores behind him, it seemed his jitters were unneccessary.  The thrilling acidity and brilliant tart cherry flavor of his most recent Pinot supported that feeling.

It's all Italian varieties at Sunland Vintage Cellars, a Ventura County winery.  Proprietor Michael Giovinazzo told me they source their fruit from a variety of great California growing regions.  He cited Lodi, Santa Barbara County and Pixley, California as some of his fruit sources.  I drew a laugh when I asked if Pixley was near the Hooterville AVA, but Giovinazzo is an easy audience, as affable as they come.  He explained, "if you take the 99 and hit Fresno, you've missed it."  Giovinazzo's Tre Ragazzi is a non-vintage blend of '08 Nebbiolo, '09 Barbera and '10 Sangiovese.  His '07 Dolcetto shows great acidity and a strong tannic structure.  The '07 Nebbiolo has a nose which is almost port-like in its intensity.

Rancho Ventavo Cellars' owner and winemaker George Gilpatrick poured some of his wines, produced at his winery in Oxnard.  The '07 Lodi Zinfandel shows nice, dusty tannins, while the '08 Mourvèdre from Santa Barbara County is full of bright, red fruit.  "Since we don't make any whites, that's our fish wine," quipped Gilpatrick.  He says it goes great with grilled mahi mahi.  The '06 Petite Sirah is a 50/50 blend from a vineyard in Paso Robles and one in Santa Barbara County.  It's rich with a tart undercurrent.

Mike Stan (left) of Ritual Wine Company was thoroughly enjoying his return engagement at this event.  He happily poured his '09 Paso Robles Viognier with its fruit salad nose and tropical palate culminating in a nice, tart finish.  High marks for acidity on his '09 Grenache and '09 

Cabernet Franc.  "This Franc is the first 100% single varietal wine we've made," he said.  His '08 GSM is a light and breezy red produced using whole-cluster pressing.  "The big crowd pleaser today is The New Black," said Stan, referring to his blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah and Grenache blend.  The tasters at the table with me certainly seemed pleased to be sampling it.  Stan invited me to come back later for a vertical tasting of Mourvèdre, but the traffic in the room delayed me.  Hey, that's L.A. for you.  There's even traffic inside.

Naked Grape poured their full line of unoaked wines.  I liked their Pinot Noir and Cabernet Sauvignon just fine.  Both have a lively acidity and the fresh flavors of the fruit leap out, unencumbered by the influence of oak.

D'Anbino Vineyards & Cellars of Paso Robles shows the time the owners spent in the recording industry.  Their '07 Quadrophonic is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Syrah.  The '07 Orchestration is a Syrah blend, while the '07 Portamento is a Cab-based port-style wine.  It's lush, with a great acidity.

Blue Plate Wines is practically brand new, and they showed their only offering so far, a Clarksburg Chenin Blanc which also sports some Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay.  The grapefruit and other citrus notes are abetted by a razor blade acidity.  The wine already has a "Best In Class" award to its credit.

Although the wine was the focal point of this event, there were some very tasty treats on display.  Sweets from the Pacific Cheesecake Company,  Randy's Brownies and Desserts and Amella Artisan Cocoa Butter Caramels were a delight, and Marcus Cavalier of Deuvo Gourmet Swets had two pralines to sample.  His sea salt and espresso pralines were both pretty awesome.  A cliché, to be sure, but it fits here.  

Wine and dessert intersected at Chocolate Shop.  They infuse red wine with chocolate in the bottling process.  The result is a dry red wine with an overwhelming chocolate experience added to it.  It's quite a decadent mixture of two great joys.

Follow Randy Fuller on Twitter

CALIFORNIA WINE TASTING EVENTS FOR MARCH 2012

March holds some great opportunities for California wine lovers to taste a barrel full of wine an ounce at a time.  Events like these are a great way to experience a wide range of wines from different producers, expanding your palate in the process.

Be sure to take notes on your favorites.  I see a lot of people at wine tasting events snapping photos of bottles with their smartphones, which is an easy and quick way to remember what to look for when you are shopping.

Here are some highlights to put on your calendar:

Family Winemakers of California
Mar 11, 2012
Del Mar Fairgrounds
Del Mar, CA
Well over 100 California wineries will be represented at this annual affair which showcases smaller producers you might not see at other tasting events.

Family Winemakers of California
Mar 13, 2012
Pasadena Convention Center
Pasadena, CA
A trade/media tasting featuring most of the wineries featured at the Del Mar event.

Paso Robles Zinfandel Festival, 20th Annual
Mar 16-18, 2012
Paso Robles Event Center
Paso Robles, CA
Paso Robles presents its annual homage to the Zinfandel grape with a variety of events culminating in Saturday's Zin Tasting and Wine Country Auction.

In Pursuit Of Balance
Mar 19, 2012
Julia Morgan Ballroom
San Francisco, CA
This tasting promotes dialogue around the meaning and relevance of balance in California Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. The participating wineries focus on balance, non-manipulation in the cellar, and the ability of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay to serve as vehicles for the expression of terroir.

STARS of Napa Valley
Mar 21, 2012
The Hotel Hanford
Costa Mesa, CA
Learn About Wine brings Napa Valley to Southern California.  Top Napa producers will pour while you explore one of the great wine regions of the world.

STARS of Napa Valley
Mar 22, 2012
The Peninsula Hotel
Beverly Hills, CA
The Beverly Hills version of the Learn About Wine event.

Lompoc Wine Ghetto Locals Day
Mar 25, 2012
Lompoc Wine Ghetto (Sobhani Industrial Park)
Lompoc, CAAll 15 wineries which produce at the industrial park known lovingly as the Lompoc Wine Ghetto will open their garage doors and pour their wines.  Music and food trucks will add to the festivities. 


Get details on these and other California wine tasting events by checking the Now And Zin events page.



Follow Randy Fuller on Twitter

BLOOD OF THE VINES - THE FASTEST GUITAR ALIVE

"The Fastest Guitar Alive" is one of those rock'n'roll movies that rock'n'roll would probably like to disown.  In fact, it may have driven rock'n'roll to drink - and it was doing all right in that department before this film came along in 1967.

It's Roy Orbison's only acting role - for a clue as to why, see the movie.  Fortunately, he didn't give up his day job so he could sit in a Hollywood apartment waiting for his agent to call with that next big offer.  According to TFH guru Allison Anders, Elvis Presley had first crack at this gem and turned it down.  Elvis must have already read the script for "Clambake" and decided that his Oscar was waiting to be picked up.

Roy Orbison - a great musical artist - lacks any sort of Elvis-esque charisma, a quality that just might have lifted this movie a notch or two.  Not to say his acting is wooden, but Roy could have been upstaged by a box of Lincoln Logs.

Orbison walks through this Civil War western carrying a guitar that doubles as a rifle.  Roy's guitar playing was not particularly fast, and the gun barrel that extends from his axe when called upon does so at a snail's pace, so the movie's title is a bit of a puzzler.  It must refer to the bullet that is fired from the guitar gun.  A hidden wine compartment might have proven to be more useful, but considering that he was working for the Confederacy, it probably would have contained Muscadine wine.

I don't even know where to start with the word "alive" in the title.  The last time I checked, guitars are inanimate objects.  Was the working title "The Fastest Guitar Player Alive," before the producers got a look at Orbison's strumming?  Does it have to be an old mill?

The Big O wrote and performed seven songs which appear in the movie, any of which are at least as good as the movie itself - and a lot shorter.  If you're screening this one at home, get that wine ready early - you're going to want it.  Suggested viewing activity: do a shot every time the gun barrel extends from the guitar.

Red Guitar Wine comes from the Navarro region of Spain.  Tempranillo and Garnacha are the varieties they bottle, and the vines are up to 100 years old - like many classic rock guitarists.  The website claims it was the Spanish who added a sixth string to whatever instrument they were playing back then, giving birth to the guitar and paving the way for a movie about a fast one.

More fast guitar wine stuff:

Rock Guitar Wine Rack - Pretty cool, if you don't mind dropping a C-note on a wine rack that only holds four bottles.  You can empty this one before the third reel.

Wooden Guitar Wine Bottle Holder - This one only holds one bottle - useless for me - but it's only $11. 

Guitar Wine Tote - This only holds one bottle, too, but I'll admit I'm intrigued.  $35

Dog Playing Guitar Wine Topper - This item sums up everything that's bad about wine-related chotchkies.  $16

Follow Randy Fuller on Twitter

Follow Trailers From Hell on Twitter

EXPLORING BEAUJOLAIS: GEORGES DUBOEUF MOULIN-A-VENT 2009

We have already visited several of the crus of Beaujolais - through tasting the wine, at least -  in this little series, and this time we are again tasting a Georges Duboeuf wine.  It's one of a number of Duboeuf wines received as samples for review.

The Moulin-à-Vent cru features some of the “most robust of the Beaujolais wines,” according to the Duboeuf label.  They are also said to be the most age-worthy wines in the Beaujolais region.  As I understand it, the soil in Moulin-à-Vent has a rather high manganese content.  This is actually toxic to grapevines in high enough concentrations.  Here, the manganese level is just high enough to cause the vines to produce limited yields.  This makes the wine’s aromas and flavors quite intense.  

A 15th-century windmill overlooks the appellation and gives the region its name.  It has not been used functionally for years, but it serves as one of the most striking visuals in Beaujolais.

Duboeuf’s Moulin-à-Vent is produced from 100% hand-harvested Gamay grapes.  It has a very reasonable 13% alcohol content and sells for $16.

The wine's bouquet is quite full of fruit and spice. It's a rich and heavy nose, bursting with intensity.  The flavors are just as impressive, showing cherries and plums with a nice floral texture.  Spices grace the palate as they do the nose, and a note of cedar shows through.  The acidity is bracing and the tannic structure is forceful, to a point of distraction, compared with other wines from Beaujolais.  I can see the Duboeuf Moulin-à-Vent pairing quite well with meat of any kind. 

Follow Randy Fuller on Twitter

PALI RIVIERA PINOT NOIR SONOMA COAST 2010

Launched in 2005, Pali Wine Company specializes in Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.  Their Pinots are made from grapes grown in California’s Sonoma Coast and Sta. Rita Hills AVAs, as well as Oregon’s Willamette Valley.  The winery and tasting room are located in the winemaking haven of Lompoc, California.

Tim Perr and Scott Knight founded Pali in order to produce the kind of wines they like to drink.  The name of the company derives from the fact that Perr and Knight hail from the coastal SoCal community of Pacific Palisades.  Their wines are named after neighborhoods in their hometown.

Winemaker Aaron Walker oversees the Lompoc facility, under the guidance of Consulting Winemaker Kenneth Juhasz.

Pali plans to increase their production this year, and open a tasting room in downtown Santa Barbara, too.  They were kind enough to provide a sample for the purpose of this article.

The Pali Riviera 2010 Pinot spends ten months in 30% new French oak, sports a very California-like 14.7% alcohol content and sells for $20 under a Stelvin closure (screwcap).  Pali produced 10,500 cases of this wine.

Riviera's nose is loaded with jammy black cherry, blackberry and plums, and the fruit is quite ripe.  A whiff of alcohol is not much of a surprise.  A little anise, a little clove and a tin roof element also appear. A slight aroma of smoke adds a touch more complexity. 

It's rather darkly tinted, with a full mouthfeel that is fresh and loaded with acidity. Black fruit on the palate is ripe, too, and a raspberry finish seals the deal.  It drinks more like a Cab than a Pinot Noir.  Its a young wine - the tannins have some bite - but after some time decanted it smooths out and acquires an even darker quality.  I revisited this wine on two successive nights, and each night it was a more pleasurable drink than on the previous evening.

The Riviera is definitely not old world, and it's definitely not shy or delicate.   The critics of big California Pinot will find plenty with which to take issue here, but those who like this big, brawny style of high octane wine could well find a new favorite at a reasonable price.

Follow Randy Fuller on Twitter

THE BEVERLY HILLS WINE FESTIVAL 2012

The wealthy neighborhood known as Beverly Hills will attract wine lovers on Sunday February 26, 2012 as the Beverly Hills Wine Festival comes to the Beverly Hilton Hotel.  

Tickets for the Grand Tasting, from 2:00 to 6:00 p.m., are $150 while VIP tickets go for $300 and include a walk on the red carpet and a sample of Armand de Brignac champagne.  VIP ticket holders also gain admittance to the tasting an hour ahead of the general public.

There are also a very limited number of tickets for an intimate tasting experience with LOUIS XIII de Remy Martin.

There are a number of wine, spirits and beer makers slated to pour at the event.  Here is a listing of those expected to be in attendance.

Make plans to turn your Lamborghini over to the valet for a few hours and enjoy a Sunday afternoon of wine at the Beverly Hilton.

Follow Randy Fuller on Twitter