MALIBU WINES: CORNELL WINERY

The Malibu wine scene has been more vineyards than tasting rooms.  That is changing, however, as some of the over-four-dozen vineyards in the Malibu Hills have now opened to the public.  Malibu Family Wines and Rosenthal were the first to open tasting rooms.  Cielo Vineyards has opened Sip recently.  Tasting rooms are sprouting up from the ocean to the hills, so Southern California wine lovers can get some wine tasting on in less time than it takes to have lunch at Neptune's Net.

Not all the vineyards and wineries in Malibu are open to the public, but many of the ones that aren't have their wines available at a winery and tasting room which acts as a cooperative, Cornell Winery.

Beginnings

Tim Skogstrom of Cornell Winery has been in the wine business some 20 years, on the distribution end with Young's Market Company, in sales and marketing with Francis Ford Coppola, and now as a winemaker and wine seller in the Malibu Hills.  The knowledge Skogstrom picked up while working in all aspects of the wine industry, plus a keen sense of how to make things happen, brought him out of the corporate wine world and into his position as one of the most fervent advocates of the Malibu wine scene.

In 2006 Skogstrom had an opportunity to partner with Morgan Runyon, whose father owned some land in a little place in the Santa Monica Mountains called Cornell.  At least that's what it was called in the early part of the 20th century, when the tiny mountain community sprang up.  Tom Runyon had been cooking steaks at his restaurant, The Old Place, since 1970 and was beginning to slow down.  Nearly 90 at the time, the elder Runyon was set in his ways and somewhat resistant to change, but Skogstrom's ’s friendship with Runyon's son, Morgan, brought an opportunity to present a business plan.  Tom loved it, Morgan loved it, and so began the story of Cornell Winery & Tasting Room.  Tom Runyon passed away in July of 2009.  This posed a question to Morgan and Tim: what’s next? 

Today Skogstrom runs the Old Place restaurant with his partner, Morgan.  They serve steaks and clams just as Tom and his wife, Barabra, had for more than 40 years.  The restaurant has matured in the sense that they now have regular hours and serve a full menu.

Malibu wines had been on Skogstrom's radar for several years. "I knew several people making wine in Malibu," he said, "and in tasting through several vintages I began to notice a sharp increase in quality."  Setting out to become a retailer focusing on wines produced between Los Angeles and Monterey, he eventually narrowed that focus to the wines of the Santa Monica Mountains.

There's Wine In Them Thar Hills

"We harvest grapes differently here than in, say, Napa.  The climate, the land - the terroir - dictates that we take grapes at a different time, at a different growth stage, to get the best results," said Skogstrom.  "The wines of Malibu are of a very high quality.  Conditions being different, Malibu might be on the verge of becoming the next big wine region.  That won't happen, though.”

“Malibu is all zoned rural residential, so there's little to no agricultural land.  In Malibu, that residential land is very expensive.  You can't grow a vineyard on the property because of the zoning, but you can grow anything you want - like grapes - in the fire clearance zone that surrounds the property.  Such a limited space for grape growing means most producers make a very limited quantity of their wine.  That's why what is happening with the growth of interest in Temecula wines can't happen in Malibu.  Temecula is all ag land, priced so winemakers can actually hope to make a living from wine production.  You can never really hope to make enough affordably-priced wine from Malibu vines to cover your expenses.  There'll never be enough Malibu wine to go around.”

History Lesson

Skogstrom is a fount of information on the wine-producing history of Southern California: "You couldn't make wine in L.A. County until about 6 years ago!  The sole exception was San Antonio Winery in downtown L.A., which received a special dispensation to make wine during Prohibition, because they made sacramental wine for use in the church.  Wine used to be delivered to your back door like milk!  There were over 200 wineries in L.A. County before Prohibition.  Agua Dulce, up in the Antelope Valley, was the first winery to open in Los Angeles County since that time.

“After Prohibition was repealed - the federal part - it was up to local governments to actually reinstate the three arms of the wine business, consumption, production and sales.  Well, L.A. County reinstated sales and consumption, but not production.  That didn’t happen until the 21st century.

"Things are more complicated for Malibu because of the Coastal Commission.  They have a lot to say about what goes on in Malibu, and they generally don’t want to allow any kind of development at all.  Even though we have around 50 vineyards in the Malibu Hills, we still haven't figured out how to produce our wines on site.  We have to take the grapes to a facility like Camarillo Custom Crush or Terravant in Buellton to have the wine made.”

Esprit de Malibu

At Cornell Winery, Skogstrom doesn’t just make his own wine.  He also stocks, sells and pours for tasting the wines of some 20 other vintners in the hills of Malibu.  He carries wines by Malibu Sanity, Hoyt Family Vineyards, Bodegas Gomez de Malibu, Colcanyon Estates, Casa Dumetz and many more.

I mentioned how Skogstrom’s practice of making wines from his competitors available in his tasting room carries  with it a real picture of camaraderie.  The image of helping struggling winemakers brought a smile to him.  “Well, there aren’t too many struggling winemakers in Malibu.  There are some millionaire winemakers here.  For them, wine is a sideline.  It’s more than a hobby to them, but for most of them, it’s not the biggest thing they have going on.  Griffin Family Vineyards, Tony is Merv Griffin’s son.  Jim Palmer, George Rosenthal, Ron Semler - these guys aren’t exactly hurting.  Charles Schetter of Malibu Sanity - if he didn't collect wine, he'd collect coins or something else.  Whatever he does, he wants to do the best way he can.”

Reasons To Believe

Skogstrom promotes Cornell Winery as strongly as he recommends his colleagues’ wines.  “We have the tasting room on the grounds, local artists hang their works on our walls, The Old Place restaurant right next door, Charme D'Antan architectural antiques, right across the street is the Peter Strauss Ranch Park.  You can come and do some wine tasting, bring a picnic to have across the street, browse around Charme D’Antan, see some art and get a great steak at The Old Place.  You could make a whole day of it.”

“More Americans should drink local wine,” is his advice to all who will listen.  “Wherever you are, drink local!  Are they drinking Napa Cabs in Italy?  No, they’re drinking Italian.  What do they drink in Burgundy?  They drink Burgundy!  Drink your local wines!”

Once on a corporate fast track, Skogstrom lives a completely different life now, and doesn’t miss the rat race one bit.  "Life in Cornell is good.  It's pretty simple.  I grow Cab, Merlot, Syrah, Viognier, Pinot Gris, Roussanne.  I like Rhone Varietals.  Our restaurant is where the general store used to be years ago.  Beautiful scenery, great family - both my own and my extended family of employees - doing something I'm proud to do.  I guess I don't need the $100,000 car.  I'll just take the good life instead."

Location

A flight of eight wines at the Cornell Winery tasting room costs $15 and the menu changes weekly.  The room is open Thursday through Sunday each week, from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.  Sometimes they're open later, until 9:00.  Call to find out.  Directions.

Cornell Winery
29975 Mulholland Highway
Cornell, CA 91301
818.735.3542

SUMMERLAND WINERY

If you are heading from Los Angeles to Santa Barbara soon - possibly for the California Wine Festival in Santa Barbara - you'd be well advised to plan a stop in the little beach community of Summerland, CA.  Here's an account of a stop I made there in the summer of 2009.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

WINE NUTRITION

Health-conscious types are always worrying about the nutritional value of the food they consume.  There's good reason for that.  For instance, if you have tried to eliminate high fructose corn syrup from your diet, you have no doubt found that there is almost no prepackaged food available in regular supermarkets that lacks that substance.

The wine drinkers I know aren't losing too much sleep over how nutritious their favorite beverage is.  In case you are wondering, the nutrition facts for wine, according to Calorie Count , are as follows:

One glass of wine - one 3.5-ounce glass of wine - contains 85 calories, none from fat, 5mg of sodium, no fat, no cholesterol, 2.8 grams of carbohydrates, less than a gram of sugar, almost no protein, no vitamin A or C, 1% Calcium and 2% Iron.

You won't find the familiar nutritional grid on a wine label like you do on other food and beverage items.  Winemakers are not required to conform to that regulation.  For one thing, the nutritional labeling you see on prepared food is the result of regulations from the Food and Drug Administration.  Wine is governed by the Treasury Department's Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB).  Rarely do federal agencies get a first-column check mark in "working and playing well together."

So, while not a particularly nutritious item to consume, wine does not appear to be harmful from a dietary standpoint.  Aside from nearly 11g of ethyl alcohol - the major detriment which causes wine to receive a nutritional grade of "C" from Calorie Count - and some trace elements, the main ingredient is water, 89g per serving. How bad is that?

Obviously, the abuse of alcohol takes its toll in ways not measured by a simple nutritional profile.  Also, some are allergic to alcohol and react to wine with flushing in the face and neck.  Some people simply have no tolerance for alcohol and shouldn't drink at all.  But let's go forward assuming no alcohol-related health problems and a healthy, light-to-moderate wine consumption level.

After water and alcohol, sugars come in a distant third place on wine's ingredients list.  Sucrose, glucose, fructose and maltose are present, but at least there's no high-fructose corn syrup in there.

The type of wine has a lot to with the nutritional numbers. The nutritional profile above seems to be about the same as that for white table wine.   Red wine shows far less sugar and sodium amounts.  Dessert wines contain much higher levels of sugar but the numbers on other ingredients are pretty much the same as in a table wine.

All this attention to the nutritional aspect of wine is rather silly, of course.  We don't drink wine for its nutritional value, we drink it for taste, for aromas, to complement a meal, for metaphysical or philosophical reasons.  We drink it because we like the way it goes with a salad, with a cool night, a sunny day, a fireplace, Chet Baker, Chet Atkins, the news, a movie or haiku.

The bottom line is, there appear to be no nutritional roadblocks that would prevent you from enjoying a glass of wine.  Conversely, there are no compelling reasons - nutritionally speaking - to include wine in your diet.  If you need to focus on the nutritional value of the things you consume, your time would be better spent looking into high fructose corn syrup than into wine.  Cheers!

OJAI VINEYARDS ROSE 2007

We'll keep the summertime wines rolling with a look back at a rosé I had a couple of summers ago and enjoyed immensely, the Ojai Vineyards Rosé 2007.

This pink comes in a clear bottle that really shows off the beautiful salmon-colored contents.  The diamond-shaped label shows it to be a California Table Wine at 14% abv.  It's a blend of Grenache, Mourvèrdre, a touch of Syrah and Sauvignon Blanc.

A floral sense dominates the nose, with notes of cranberry and strawberry.  On the palate, bone dry!  That's always a pleasure.  How disappointing is it to taste a rosé and find it to be a pretty little candy bar?  Not this one.  It sooo wants some food.  This wine would be great with the usual pairings of salad and fish, but I think it would also pair well with heavier fare, like pork chops.  I had mine with some crackers and extra sharp cheddar, and it scored.

Run by Adam Tolmach and his wife, Helen for more than a quarter century,  Ojai Vineyards is probably best known for their Syrah.  Adam writes on the website, "In the old days we used to make it dark, soft, and full to the point that it could have been confused with a Pinot Noir.  The wine was a meal in itself.  But I have turned away from that style; I now prefer rosés light and zippy-so much easier to slurp with lunch on an unbearably hot day."  The '07 sure fit the bill.  I understand their '08 rosé contained Syrah, Grenache and Mourvèdre, while the '09 sports Roll Ranch Syrah with a spot of Viognier and Sauvignon Blanc.

If you have found it difficult getting your hands on a variety of Ojai Vineyards wines, you should note that the Tolmachs plan to open a tasting room - for the first time - with a target date of July 15th.  The tasting room will be in the historic firehouse at 109 South Montgomery Street in Ojai.  Sounds like a jaunt to Ojai may have just popped up on the summer calendar.

VALLE DELL'ASSO GALATINA 2006

Sometimes the label on a bottle of wine doesn't offer much more than a blurb designed to sell the product.  The sticker on this rosso, though, is a wealth of information.  Valle dell'Asso is an Italian wine from Galatina, in the Puglia region - the heel of the boot - this is 85% Negramaro and 15% Montepulciano.  It's a red wine I purchased a couple of years ago for about $17 at Rosso Wine Shop in Glendale.  The importer is Tesori Wines of San Francisco. The alcohol level is only 13% abv.

This dark wine has black cherry, licorice and clove on the nose, and it's a dank and musty aroma.  I mean that in the best possible way.  I asked Denise for her opinion on the nose, and she said "It's meaty."  I concur.

The word for the taste is "Wow."  There's a burst of fruit - plums and figs - and a spicy quality that is both peppery and sweet.  There's some mushroom in there, too.  Despite the darkness that pops up at every turn, it's a very bright tasting red that's quite showy from the start.  It definitely makes an impression.  A rather lasting one, too, as the finish keeps on going and going.  It's a well-balanced and sturdy wine.

CORNARO ROSSO VINO DA TAVOLA

Here's a fantastic summer wine that looks and drinks like a rosado, even though  it's marketed as a red by the folks who make it.

This light red is 11% abv.  It comes from Italy's Veneto region, produced by Cantina Montelliana, a cooperative that's been making wine since the 1950s.  They're in the Treviso province and take grapes from Montello and Colli Asolani.  Exactly what grapes they take is a mystery to me - perhaps someone more knowledgable than I on Italian wine can fill in the blanks.  It reminds me a lot of Refosco, and I would not be surprised to find it is fermented without any wood.  It is a Vino da Tavola - table wine - and as such is unregulated by the Italian wine beaurocracy.

Whatever grapes are in it make the wine as dark as a rosado, a ruby red tint I can see through it easily.  There's a trace of tiny bubbles clinging to the sides of the glass.  In fact, the wine shows just a touch of frizzante, especially when not chilled.  The nose is so fresh and perfumed, like a basket of fresh-picked cherries.  The taste is not sweet, but it is rather reminiscent of a cherry soda from a flavor standpoint.  There's a fairly big strawberry profile, too.  Throw in a hint of spiciness and you have a light and delicious red that tastes great slightly chilled for a summer day.

The wine's nice acidity makes it a cinch that it will pair with salads, pasta or even chicken, pork or veal.  When served cold, a really grapey taste comes in.  Reminiscent of, but not exactly like, the taste of Spanada wine from back in the '70s.

RIVERBENCH PINOT NOIR ROSE 2009

With the weather unseasonably cool in Southern California recently, it seems almost a shame to crack open a nice Central Coast rosé.  Part of me feels I should wait until a warm, sunny day when I can lounge about on the deck and soak up the Laurel Canyon quiet.  Another part of me feels that if I open the rosé, summer will come.  Of course, someone on the east coast may have tried that, and look what happened.  Triple digits.  I'm throwing caution to the cool ocean breeze and opening a rosé from the Santa Maria Valley.

Opening the Riverbench  '09 Pinot Noir Rosé is a little more difficult that opening most wines.  They have sealed the top of the bottle with a beautiful, pink wax enclosure.  Inside the clear bottle they have placed the beautiful, pink wine.  It's a rich-looking pink - not quite red, but not pastel, either.   This pink wine is produced in the saignée method, in which the juice is bled off from the skins. It's all stainless steel and rather full-bodied for a rosé.  It's 13.8% abv.

The Pinot Noir grapes for this wine come from the Riverbench Vineyard.  The nose is lovely, with cherries and rose petals.  A slight earthiness shows up on the palate, but the fruit does not hide.  Fun flavors of strawberry, cherry, raspberry and citrus abound.  The bracing acidity may take you by surprise.  The wine is nice and dry, and it finishes that way - for a long time, the way it should.

WHITE ZINFANDEL

Summer is well underway now, and there's one summer wine mainstay we haven't mentioned yet.

White Zinfandel, also known as blush, is usually a sweet wine, sometimes off-dry.  The pink hue of the wine looks a lot like rosé, but the wine tends to the sweeter end of the spectrum than does rosé.

White Zinfandel is produced, as one might expect, from the Zinfandel grape.  Usually a wine made from Zinfandel is a rather bold red wine.  White Zinfandel is produced by the saignée method, in which some of the juice is bled off to increase the intensity of the wine that remains with the skins of the grapes.  The wine that is bled off is a much lighter color than the red wine, hence the name.

Known as a sipping wine which often lacks the acidity required to pair well with food, White Zinfandel has taken much criticism for its fruity, punchlike tendencies.  “Serious” wine lovers think of it as little more than Kool Aid, intended for novice wine drinkers who lack the skills to recognize or appreciate the complexities of high quality wine.

In 2008 White Zinfandel accounted for about 11% of supermarket wine sales in the U.S.  In 2009 that number dropped to 8%.  

Many of those bottles of pink liquid flying off the shelves are from producers like Beringer, Sutter Home, Gallo, Baron Herzog, Woodbridge, Arbor Mist and Barefoot.  Most are cheap - under ten dollars - and found in all  supermarkets where wine is sold.

The story is told that many old-vine Zinfandel vineyards were spared from being replanted with more commercially viable grapes because of the White Zin craze of the 1970s.  So, fans of old-vine Zin may well have the much-maligned White Zinfandel wine to thank for the presence of those vines.  When the demand for Zinfandel picked up later, everybody was pretty happy they didn't rip out those 100-plus-year-old vines for Chardonnay.

I don’t intend to bash White Zinfandel nor those who love it.  I believe one should drink what one likes, and like what one drinks.  I prefer my rosé bone dry, so most White Zin is clearly not for me.  I have tried a couple - from Charles Shaw and Sutter Home - and found them to be passable wines with nothing to make them really worth seeking out, to my taste.  But, on a hot day with the sun blazing down, if you offered me a chilled White Zinfandel on the patio... I wouldn't knock the glass out of your hand.

LAGARDE MALBEC

One spot where I like to have a glass of wine every now and then is an Argentine restaurant on Sunset in Los Angeles, South Point.  I liked it a lot better when it was called Gaucho Grill, even though the same people still own it.  The food's the same, the decor's the same, the view of the Laugh Factory is the same.  I don't know why businesses do what they do sometimes.

Usually I take the opportunity to have a Trapiche wine there, of which they have several.  This time I decided I'd try the Lagarde Malbec.  Our dinner guest, Jones, said he'd go along with my choice.

The Lagarde Malbec shows no vintage on the menu, and the conversation took my mind from asking the waiter a lot of wine questions.  One of those questions would have been, “Why do you serve red wine warm?”  Not just at room temperature, mind you, unless the room in question is the kitchen.  Which I figured it probably was.

The hot wine was also hot in the tannic sense.  Despite rather wonderful aroma and flavor qualities, the wine was hot and harsh as we drank.  It could have benefitted from decanting, although I lingered over my glass for nearly an hour waiting for improvement.  None came.  It may be that the wine is simply unbalanced, although I gather others have had much better experience with the brand.  Anyway, next time at South Point, I'll make it a white wine.  They serve them nice and cold.

On the Malbec, the nose is rather powerful and full of blackberry, earth, and spices.  The taste is intense, with the blackberries leading the way and a very dark sensibility following close behind.  I gather the wine is 100% Malbec, but I don't know if this is the winery's single vineyard varietal or not.  I neglected to find that out from the waiter, too.  I didn't even remember to take a photo until the wine was gone!

This is a $9 glass of wine wine in a strip-mall restaurant where one would expect $6 glasses.  It was also served warm with no apparent breathing time.  That being said, there were qualities there which made me wish the wine had been served under better circumstances.

SANGRIA WINE

With summer here and patio parties no doubt on your agenda, I've been writing a lot about some nice white wines and rosés that are so good for warm-weather outdoor get-togethers.  These are fantastic summer drinks, and for my money, whites and rosés can get me through any summer, with a few hoppy beers along the way.  There are a couple of other items on the summer beverage menu into which we should take a look.  One of those is sangria, a wine punch that originated in Spain.

Sangria is usually made with a bottle of red wine, thin-sliced fresh fruit and sparkling water, soda or ginger ale.  For every bottle of wine used, use about half that amount of the other liquid.  I've noticed a lot of restaurants that serve sangria are also serving a version made with white wine.

It's made by the pitcher, and most people use either wine that is already open or what we'll generously refer to as "bargain wine" to make their sangria.  As for the fruit, oranges, apples, pears, peaches and grapes are always good, but one of the beauties of sangria is that you can use whatever fruit you like or happen to have around the house.  A tropical sangria, with pineapple, passion fruit or mangoes is a nice twist. Strawberries are good, too.

You can't go wrong with a nice Spanish wine - I'm thinking Tempranillo for red Sangria or Albarino for white - but feel free to try a wine that's a favorite of yours, or one with a flavor profile that will bring out the taste of whatever fruit you are using.

Here's the basic sangria recipe:

1. Cut the fruit into thin slices to maximize the surface area.  Two cups of fruit per bottle of wine should do it.

2. Pour the wine into a pitcher and put the fruit into it.  If you are serving it right away, cut the fruit into wedges and squeeze the juice into the pitcher, tossing in the squeezed rinds as you do.

3. A lot of recipes call for a half cup of sugar, but if you are watching your sugar intake, you can leave it out.  The fruit itself contains enough sugar for me.  If you do use sugar, use simple sugar, not granulated.  The simple sugar will dissolve, granulated won't.

4. Try to make your sangria ahead of time so the fruit and the wine can marinate together.  Keep it in the fridge for a day, if possible.

5. When you are ready to serve it, then add the sparkling water, soda or ginger ale and serve over lots of ice.
There you have it - instant party.  That was easy.

Sangria always seems to be a real crowd-pleaser, and it's a taste treat which should be enjoyed often throughout the summer.  You have the basic steps, now start experimenting with your own personal twists.  Leave a comment here and tell us how you do sangria.

RUFFINO ORVIETO CLASSICO 2008

Los Angeles restaurant Luna Park on La Brea seems to attract Denise and me back time after time.  Lately we've been somewhat disenchanted with the volume at which the music is played in the restaurant.  Even at lunch, it has seemed overly loud and overburdened with all the '80s songs you know and hate.  This time, however, the music was at a comfortable level which allowed us to talk to each other without shouting.  The song selection didn't even seem too bad.

I might have just been in a good mood, because it was a half-price food day at Luna Park.  You have to be a real insider to know when those money-saving days are.  Or just do what I do - follow them on Twitter .  They give a secret word to tell the waitress, which allows you to save money while enjoying that under-the-table-speakeasy sort of vibe.

We love the food at Luna Park, and they have a pretty nice wine list, too.  This lunch, I chose an old reliable - Ruffino  Orvieto.  I've never been to Orvieto, but every time I read about the city, they call it beautiful.  Situated in Umbria between Rome and Florence, the area is blessed with a chalky, limestone soil which seems to be so good for white wine.

Ruffino sources their grapes from vineyards in Orvieto, 40% Grechetto, 20% Procanico and 40% a mixture of Verdello and Canaiolo Bianco.  The wine is 12.5% abv.

A nice straw yellow in the glass, the wine's nose is floral and fruity, with pear, apple and a lot of minerals present.  The taste is delicious, peaches and that wonderful minerality taking center stage, with a citrus note on the finish.  It's got great acidity that begs for food.  Fortunately, they have plenty of that at Luna Park.  This wine was a hit with the salmon on spaghetti aglio y olio, the yellow tomatoes and burrata - Orvieto goes very well with cheese - and the roasted cauliflower and capers.  It's great just to sip, too.

ALBERTONI CALIFORNIA CHARDONNAY 2009

Bargains aren't too hard to come by in the wine world these days. Most producers seem eager to move their product no matter what it takes.  Some producers were way ahead of the recession game, having branded themselves as "bargain wines" long ago.

With the Bronco Wine Company, Fred Franzia is one of those producers.  With a seemingly endless list of labels, Franzia has positioned himself as the mack daddy of cheap wine.  The pinnacle of his success in that effort is the notorious "Two-Buck Chuck," known on the bottle as Charles Shaw.  I tried a Charles Shaw wine once, and found it to be a decent drink with little else to recommend it.  Now I'm back at the Bronco trough for Albertoni Chardonnay.

On the label, there are references to Napa Valley and Sonoma County. I thought Franzia sourced his fruit from the Modesto area, though, so I suspect this may be a marketing ploy, if not an outright attempt at deception.  These days, though, what's the difference?  The wine is called "California Chardonnay" on the front label, so one can surmise it's probably from neither Napa nor Sonoma.

This wine has a 12.5% abv number and cost under $10.  Compared to some of the other Bronco offerings, this is positively top-shelf stuff at that price.

It's a very pale wine in the glass, with almost no color at all.   On the nose, pear juice meets vanilla, as the oak is fairly apparent.  The wood shows up even more on the palate.  A soft, buttery sheen rides over the pears - not to the extent of obliteration, but it's certainly not trying to stay out of the way.  If you like your Chardonnay to be a lean, mean, stainless machine, then this is not for you.  Fans of the big, oak-driven "California-style" wine will probably think it's just fine.

BORGHI VIN SANTO DEL CHIANTI 2002

Vin Santo wine is about as close as I'm likely to get to a religious experience. The Italian traditional wine - the wine of the saints - was made in small batches for family and church use for centuries. Many wine regions in Italy produce their own versions of Vin Santo, using a variety of local grapes. It didn't become a commercially exported product until the 1970s.

Grapes for Vin Santo are harvested by hand and hung from rafters to dry - this may take three months or so. Once dry, they are pressed and the juice is placed in small oak or chestnut barrels -caratelli - to ferment for up to 10 years, even longer. The wine is produced in sweet, dry or semi dry types.

The type I'm drinking - Borghi Vin Santo del Chianti 2002 - is a dry type, produced from a blend of 70% Trebbiano Toscano Bianco and 30% Malvasia del Chianti Tuscany. This dry white wine - brownish amber in color, actually - is a single vineyard and single vintage wine which is aged a minimum of three years in those little caratelli barriques. It's a strong wine at 16% abv.

It smells a lot like sherry to me. The alcohol is prevalent on the nose and the aroma of raisins cuts through the heat. On the palate, this Vin Santo tastes of dried fruit - not a surprise - and has a delicious sweetness, like caramel. It's a dry wine, to be sure, but it has a wonderful sweet edge to it. The finish lingers forever and leaves the sensation of an Irish whiskey, if you'll pardon the ethnic juxtaposition.

I may not buy much of what the Catholic church is selling, but drinking Vin Santo is pretty close to finding religion in a bottle.

BRANDER CUVÉE NATALIE 2008

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

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

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

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

COPPOLA SOFIA ROSÉ 2009

One of the great warm weather lunches in Los Angeles is found at Fabrocini Beverly Glen restaurant. I'll bet a good many of their dishes are wonderful, although I'll probably never find out since all I ever order there is the calamari and scungilli salad. I don't see this on many menus, so if you know of another restaurant that does this dish, I'd love to know about it. Please feel free to leave a comment alerting me to where else I can find it.

Celebrating the summer day even further, I ordered a rosé to go along with the salad. The Coppola Sofia rosé is of Pinot Noir grapes which are sourced from the Sonoma Coast appellation. The 11.5% alcohol content is nice for lunchtime. Fabrocini has it for $10 by the glass.

Sofia pours to the glass as a deep salmon color, a very dark pink. This is due to the 48 hours of color extraction before the juice is separated from the grape skins. The nose is floral and fruity but was obscured by the cold serving temperature. There is a taste of melon on the palate, along with hints of cranberry, strawberry, cherry and even a shimmering glimpse of a childhood taste memory from my soda-drinking days - Big Red. Please understand this is not a predominant factor, and it actually is quite pleasant.

The wine is bright and fresh tasting, with acidity perfect for my seafood salad. The finish lingers just this side of dry, and it's a smooth, easy drinking quaff. It paired very well with the food, and set off the lemon I squeezed over the plate. It was a darn good summertime lunch treat!

MELIPAL ROSÉ OF MALBEC 2009

Dinner with a couple of good friends at Il Forno Caldo in Beverly Hills brought that ugly bias against rosé into the light of the waning day. She said we could get a bottle and share and he agreed, quickly passing the wine book to me in honor of my interest in wine. When I mentioned that I was interested in the Malbec rosé, he didn't quite let go of the menu, pulling it back while explaining that they were red wine people. Oh well, drink what you like and like what you drink, I say. They ordered red by the glass while I sampled the pink one from Argentina.

A Mendoza rosé of Malbec, the Bodega Melipal  is nine dollars. It shows a deep, rich red color - but not deep enough to pass for a red wine. The restaurant serves it at cellar temperature, not completely refrigerated, so the fruity aromas of cherry and raspberry are easily accessible. The taste is very fresh with a bright acidity and a nice, dry finish.

It has a medium-full mouthfeel and is silky on the palate, with flavors of cherry and a hint of lemon zest I found pleasing and rather unusual. The freshness of both the nose and palate is delightful, even somewhat surprising. I didn't feel it was a terribly good match with my chopped salad, but it fit well with the tomato sauce on the eggplant appetizer. 

CHAMISAL VINEYARDS MORRITO EDNA VALLEY 2007

Some think uncorking a fine wine should be reserved for a special occasion.  I feel every day is a special occasion, but I still found myself holding on to this wine, waiting for a really special reason.  I recently reminisced about a trip to Edna Valley, a visit to Chamisal Vineyards with a group of journalists and the winemaker who gave me this wonderful bottle of wine.

Fintan du Fresne, Chamisal's winemaker, showed our group extraordinary generosity during our visit - not just with his wine, but with his time, too.  He spent nearly an entire day with a dozen or so of us, tromping around in the vineyards with us, drawing tastes from the barrel in the winery, eating lunch with us and hosting a wine tasting at a beach front resort.  And after all that, he hosted a winemaker's dinner for us.  Our group felt quite special at the end of that day.

So, as I reminisced, I decided it was a special enough occasion to justify uncorking that special wine.

Chamisal's Morrito is an Estate Pinot Noir, made with grapes that grow on a small hill - morrito - behind the winery, which produces particularly intense fruit.  Two clones are used, 2A and Archery Summit.  The alcohol content is listed as 14.6% and the wine spends 18 months in French Oak barrels.

Morrito is very dark for Pinot Noir, I can hardly see through it when holding to the light.  It has a very intense nose which simply explodes from the glass.  Black cherry, cola notes and spice are the major players.

The palate shows an earthy tone, which is dominant over a big cherry sensation.  The wine lasted over three nights, and on each night it required quite a bit of time after pouring to settle down, but once it did calm a bit the experience was wonderful.  On that third night, a slight herbaceous taste revealed itself which added to the complexity but did not detract one bit from the explosive fruit on the nose and palate.  If anything, the wine became darker and more brooding over the span of time.  It was a rather thrilling transformation.

SPANISH WINES

Santa Monica wine bar Pourtal welcomed a group of Spanish winemakers Sunday evening.  These producers were mostly very small wineries, many of them actually from the Canary Islands.  Kudos must go to Pourtal for bringing this wealth of winemaking talent to Santa Monica.  These winemakers are all so enthusiastic about their wines and are eager to talk about them.

Some of the winemakers are fluent in English, some are not.  I am not fluent in Spanish, so communication might have been a problem had those with good English skills not stepped in and helped those who lacked them.  Most of the time it was a combination of their English and my Spanish that made the communication barrier almost nonexistent.

In case you don’t know, the Canaries are not off the coast of Spain, but off Morocco, in Northern Africa.  The archipelago lies well south of Casablanca’s latitude and is an autonomous community of Spain.  The name derives not from huge flocks of small pet birds, but, according to Wikipedia, "Islas Canarias is likely derived from the Latin term Insula Canaria, meaning "Island of the Dogs."  This was probably because of the large population of seals once found there.  They aren’t found there anymore, though.  No canaries, no seals - it’s getting to be a bit of a disappointment.  I’d better get back to the wine.  There’s certainly no disappointment there.

Not all of the winemakers at this event are from the Canaries.  Four of the producers are from Galicia, there’s one from Rioja, one from Tierra de Leon and one from Alicante.  The wineries are represented by importer Jose Pastor .  Pastor has a knack for bringing to the U.S. some truly magnificent wines from areas like the Canaries and Galicia.  The wineries he represents are mostly small outfits which keep an eye on tradition while blazing new trails.  Things I heard often from these winemakers: very natural, no sulfur, unfiltered, local grapes.  They are reaching out to the American wine drinker by making wine the way they always have.  It's about time more people discovered that these folks don't need a re-invention.  They seem to be doing everything right.

Following are my notes on the wines I tasted at Pourtal.  As I am not extremely versatile in Spanish wines, it was a bit of a labor for me to get the information correct.  If I have committed any errors, please feel free to correct me in the comments.

1 Bermejos Malvasia Seco 2009 - ($24) - Anna poured a white from Lanzarote, in the Canaries. It has a grassy nose, tastes crisp and dry with grapefruit and a nice acidity. 100% Malvasia.

2 Hermanos Peciña Crianza 2003 - ($20) - Pedro Peciña offered a Rioja Tempranillo with 2 years in oak instead of the one required. It has a beautiful violet nose with smooth and bright mouthfeel. Clove and coffee notes rest on big, fruity palate.

3 - Preto Picudo Tinto 2007 ($18) - Gregory showed a wine made from Preto Picudo, taken from 12-20 year-old vines. Clay soil on a 1000-meter plateau contributes to a Tierra de Leon terroir Gregory is particularly proud to call his. This Tinto gets three months in wood to calm the tannins. This is one of several wines featured that boast indiginous grapes not seen very much on these shores. It's a great summertime red which really tasted nice gently chilled. I can imagine how good it is with a lamb dish.

4 Guimaro B2M 2007 - ($45) - Pedro had the Ribeira Sacra covered, with a Mencia wine from Galicia. A lovely floral nose leads to some spice on the palate and a dark edge to the fruit.

5 Viñatigo Gual 2008 - ($24) - Elena poured an all-steel white with an extremely grassy nose and a big grapefruit taste from the volcanic soil of the Canary Islands.

6 Fronton de Oro Joven 2009 - ($18) - Pedro (there are three Pedros in the group) had an interesting blend of negra comon (I hope I have that right - the notes took a little wear and tear as the tasting went on) and Tintilla. The nose is a little tight, but some nice smokness comes through. It's a very dry wine; differently delicious.

7 Carballo Negramoll 2008 - ($20) - Eliseo poured his La Palma wine like it was the only one on earth. And like it deserved to be. The nose is a bit tight, but its very dark flavor was immense. Even so, it felt bright in my mouth.

8 Tacande 2006 - ($48) - Jose told me tacande means "volcanic soil." That's where the wonderful violet nose comes from. It's very dry and grippy with dark tones. the grapes in the blend are Babaso, Vijariego, Tintilla, Negramoll.

9 Primitivo Quiles Cono 4 2008 ($12) - Francisco was effusive about his 100% Monastrell (known elsewhere as mourvedre). It's a big local grape, as all the reds in Alicante must be at least 50% Monastrell.

10 Laureano Serres L'Abeueador 2008 ($25) - This wine is 100% macabeu. It is a very cloudy white with nice acidity and a big citrus palate. It hails from Tarragona, in northeast Spain.

11 Pedralonga Albariño 2008 - ($27) - Miguel was so apologetic that this was the only one of his wines he had to offer. He needn't have been. All steel, grapefruit and tropical flavors, it's one of the better Albariños I've had. From Galicia.

12 German Prada Galgueira Mencia 2009 - ($17) - This winemaker was absent from the event, but Miguel was kind enough to give me a taste. It's a dark and moody red from Valdeorras, Galicia.

RIDEAU VINEYARD CREOLE BBQ FOR JULY 4TH 2010

If you are casting about for a good old, down home food, wine and music event for the Independence Day weekend, I'd suggest you take a trip to Solvang for anannual summer BBQ .  Saturday July 3rd, 2010 is the date and the party will run from 11:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.  The Rideau Vineyard tasting room is at 1562 Alamo Pintado Road in Solvang, right in the heart of the beautiful Santa Ynez Valley.  Their phone number is 805.688.0717.

If you are not familiar with Rideau Vineyard , it was founded in 1997 by New Orleans native Iris Rideau.  She dedicated her vineyard to Rhone grape varieties in part because they are well suited to the terroir.  She also feels they go well with her beloved Creole cuisine.

Speaking of food, the menu for this shindig will feature BBQ chicken and ribs, red beans and rice with Andouille sausage, green salad, pecan cornbread and - a staple of any summertime get-together in the south - big, juicy watermelons.  The music will be in the jazz/blues vein from Lenny Kerley.

All this and southern hospitality, too, will cost $50, $40 for Rideau wine club members.  The price includes a wine tasting and a glass of wine of your choice.  If you are from the south and miss this kind of summer treat, it comes highly recommended.  If you are from some other geographical locale, this event will show you why people miss the south when they move away.

By the way, the Rideau wines are superb and the tasting room is as close to New Orleans decor as you are likely to find in the Central Coast.

DEEP CANYON CELLARS ROSÉ 2006

Deep Canyon Cellars  is a house label sold by Los Angeles wine shop Wally's.  According to Wally's website , "the group who produces it for us also makes one of the most expensive wines in the world, but that's all we can reveal!"  Very coy.  They do reveal that Au Bon Climat produces their Chaparral Chardonnay, so it's hard to dispute the quality of the name behind the label, whatever it is.  The grapes are from Santa Barbara County and, if memory serves, the price tag was about $12 for this rose.  It's made from Sangiovese.  I had this wine a couple of summers back, and it was delicious.

The nose shows a lot of fruit coming out of the glass, strawberry mostly.  I also detect a bit of a raspberry note.  The mouthfeel is a little heavier than most rosés.  If you don't mind that, and I certainly don't, you have a very refreshing drink that sips almost like a red with good acidity and a nice finish.  It's better chilled than not, so I would think it's well suited to summertime quaffing.  I find it gains a bit of complexity after it's been open a few days.