MATANE PRIMITIVO PUGLIA 2007

A night out with a couple of friends can hardly go wrong, but the right place for the meeting can boost an already enjoyable event to a higher plane.  Jones and Maggie met Denise and me for dinner at Pane E Vino, on Beverly in Los Angeles.  We've known Jones forever, but Maggie is a recent addition to our list of friends - and a welcome one.

We recently rediscovered Pane E Vino and it has quickly become one of our "go-to" Italian eateries.  Great food and service are abetted by a wine list that has yet to let me down.

Jones is always quick to defer to my judgment on wine selection.  It's one of the reasons I like him so much.  Should I tell him that when he follows my lead, it's usually for a wine I've never tried before?  He liked this Primitivo just fine, so I think we'll wait on that revelation a while longer.  By the way, in the photo that is his fish being fileted in the background.

The Matané Primitivo is grown and produced in Puglia, the "heel of the boot" on Italy's map. It's an IGT wine, and consists of 100% Primitivo grapes.  A collaborative effort from the Empson family and winemaker Filippo Baccalaro,  this Italian red was a nice find and paired very well with a simple rigatoni and light tomato sauce dish.

The Matané shows a medium-tinted red with some purple tones in the mix.  The only disappointment is a somewhat faint nose.  What is there, is laden with cherry and smells very fresh, though.  On the palate, there are lots of spices clamoring for attention among full and fruity cherry and raspberry notes.  A good bit of earthiness is also present.  A slightly smoky finish tops off the fruit very nicely.  The wine feels about medium-full in the mouth, has very nice tannins and is quite smooth. 

LONE MADRONE PASO ROBLES

I have sampled the wines of Lone Madrone at several tasting events around Southern California, but have never had the pleasure of a visit to their tasting room.  The Paso Robles AVA currently sports over 200 wineries - 219, according to the Lone Madrone tasting room - so I hope you’ll excuse me for not having stopped in yet.  My friends Anthony and Meri did stop in on a recent visit to Paso, and they brought me a wealth of information I thought I would pass along to you.  They found the wines as mesmerizing as I did, and I think I can safely say they appreciated my recommendation.

Neil Collins is the winemaker for Lone Madrone, and he has been making wines in the area for about 20 years.  He came up with the unusual name after seeing a single Madrone tree on a hilltop overlooking the York Mountain Vineyard.

The current tasting room has been open since 2006 and features not only their wines, but many artisinal items from local artists and points farther away, like Columbia and Africa.  Wood furniture, glass,  jewelry and clay pottery compete with the wines for a visitor’s attention.  It’s said to be a great place for a picnic, too.

The tasting room menu I was given is graced with a quote from Mark Twain:

“There are no standards of taste in wine, cigars, poetry, prose, etc.  Each man’s own taste is the standard, and a majority vote cannot decide for him or in any slightest degree affect the supremacy of his own standard.”

Here are the wines that were being poured at the Lone Madrone tasting room the day my friends were there:

La Mezcla 2008 - This white blend is Grenache Blanc and Albarino.  There are plenty of tropical notes on the nose and the palate.  I have tasted this one, and their recommendation of pairing with oysters, clams or ceviche is completely justified.

Points West White 2007 - A golden color, a honeydew bouquet and minerals aplenty make this Roussanne a delight.

Rosé 2009 - The notes say the nose is lush with strawberries, cranberries and cherries.

The Will 2007 - Cherry and cassis on the nose lead to a full mouthfeel.  This dark and inky blend of Grenache Noir, Petite Sirah and Zinfandel has a full complement of tannins to work with.  They say it will stain your teeth.  I say you won’t care.

Old Hat 2006 - Zinfandel and Petite Sirah meet in this battle royal, and they both win.  Spice, vanilla and tobacco on the nose, with fruit and spice on the palate.

Barfandel 2007 - This was not on the menu that day, but they poured it anyway, then packaged a bottle that my friends took home.  Zin, Petite Sirah and Barbera combine here for a complex nose they say features candy apple, blackberry, strawberry, white pepper, cardamom and smoke.  They advise you enjoy it with anything grilled or glazed.

The Lone Madrone tasting costs $10 and includes the Riedel glass.

DRY CREEK VINEYARDS CHENIN BLANC 2008

Variety is the spice of life, but I freely admit I can get stuck on things I really enjoy.  A favorite tune can cause me to hit the "repeat" button for the duration of the drive.  I'll go to "On Demand" for several episodes at a time of a TV show I like.  When a restaurant makes a dish I can't do without, I don't do without.  I go there repeatedly to enjoy it again and again.

When some friends wanted to hook up for dinner, I was overjoyed when they agreed to Fabrocini Beverly Glen.  That's because they make the salad of my dreams, the calamari and scungilli.  A little light on lettuce and a little heavy on seafood is how they make it, and that's fine with me.  I ordered the Dry Creek Chenin Blanc to go with it, and all was well in my world.

Healdsburg's Dry Creek Vineyards produces some extremely nice wines.  This white is produced from 100% Chenin Blanc grapes from Clarksburg, the Sacramento Delta region.  It's stainless steel fermented with no barrel aging and logs a 12.5% abv number.  According to the winery's website, 2008 was the first vintage for the wine to have a vineyard designation, and also the first to feature a screw cap.

The nose shows minerals, citrus and tropical notes.  The palate is quite interesting, with a sweet edge to the citrus, maybe some Meyer lemon.  More minerals are tasted and a bracing acidity is present - the creek isn't the only thing that's dry here - but at the same time there is a creamy aspect which I don't find too often in white wines fermented in steel.  It's a delicious quaff on its own, but it pairs perfectly with the calamari and scungilli salad - still the only thing I've ever ordered at Fabrocini and still the reason I look forward to dining there.  Denise had the shrimp scampi, which is nothing short of amazing.  The wine is brilliant with that dish as well.

TRAPICHE MALBEC 2009

Los Angeles Argentine grill South Point, on Sunset Boulevard, has a history of serving their red wines at a temperature seemingly warmer than that of the room.  The wine on this trip was served at room temp but, as usual here, could have benefitted from a little breathing time.

The Trapiche Malbec is a wine I've had before at South Point, and liked.  I still do, despite the lack of time to open itself.  From Argentina's Mendoza region, Trapiche gets good marks from many as a quality producer.  I must admit, they serve several different varieties of their grape at South Point, and I have found them all delightful.  They are also all very inexpensive by restaurant standards.   The Malbec is $6 per glass.

The deep purple color and dark fruit on the nose of the Malbec are enticing attractions, and the taste features a spicy cherry component along with dark berries.  As is my custom, I paired it with the chorizo sausage, the sandwich this time instead of the appetizer.  The wine pairs well with this wonderful meat.  Sandwich or appetizer, the chorizo is a highlight of South Point's menu.

ERCAVIO MAS QUE VINOS TEMPRANILLO ROBLE 2005

Every now and then a wine pops onto my personal radar when I see it touted as a nice "value wine."  This Ercavio is one of those wines.  I had this about a year ago, and it cost just under $10.  I think it runs a shade over that amount now.

The bottle has a rather pleasing label, with some arty little "grapeprints" at the top.  A product of Spain, this 100% Tempranillo comes from vineyards in Toledo.  It's aged 5 months in French and American oak barrels and is 13.5% abv.

Right away, I love this very fragrant nose.  It has lots of blackberry jam aromas and is also laden with earthy and oak.  The taste is a bit hot right after pouring.  This wine likes to be opened and poured - or decanted - for quite a while to let it settle down.  Once it does, I get a very nice, spicy taste that has an amazing cedar-like quality.  The mouthfeel is a little fuller than I expected from a Tempranillo.  It has a good, solid weight.  There is clove and a host of other spices in the flavor profile.  It's very purple, by the way, very deep and rich in color.  It was nice to find the taste was right along those same lines - deep and rich.

MAGISTRATE VINEYARDS MERLOT 2007

When a $19.95 Napa Valley wine is marked at $9.95, I pick it up and look at it.  I can’t help it.  I’m a sucker for a big sale.  I’ve bought CDs for five bucks, had ten dollar shoes and have been the proud owner of a $50 motorcycle.  Okay, the motorcycle was mostly in a basket, but even so, it was cheap.  And it was a classic.  At least I loved the CD and wore the shoes for a long time.

Magistrate Merlot is the wine in question.  I wasn’t familiar with the name, but I bought it on a hunch.  The label had markings on it citing that “Only 7,989 cases were produced and there will be no more.”  It’s hard to tell whether that’s a good or bad thing until one tastes the wine.  The label also cites that the winery is in Graton, CA.  That’s close to Napa Valley, but not in Napa Valley.  Presumably, the grapes were sourced in Napa.

A little poking around on the internet revealed that Magistrate is one of many private labels produced by Winery Exchange in Graton, CA, a bit west of Santa Rosa.  Upon learning that, I started to see a fenderless 1963 Honda Dream 300 where the wine bottle was.  A little more poking around revealed that the wine had won a silver medal in the San Francisco Chronicle’s 2010 Wine Competition.  That wasn’t really enough to make me feel good about this bargain again, though.

“Enough stalling,” I thought to myself.  “Let’s do this.”  I never say, “Let’s do this,” but in this instance it seemed the right thing to do.

Upon pouring the wine, my first impression is not a good one.  There is a lot of alcohol.  There’s way too much heat for a wine that’s only 13.5% abv.  The nose shows aromas of jammy blackberry and cherry - almost candy-like.  It’s a little fake, but pleasant.  There’s vanilla and cinnamon, too.  On the second night, the nose displays a tinge of greeness and some coffee grounds.  The heat is not so prominent, either.

The taste is really grapey, but with a black cherry cola sensation.  The finish is reasonably lengthy and leaves the memory of a Cherry Coke behind.  The wine is very dry, with mouth-gripping tannins, but it’s also a bit harsh.  The acidity seems a little out-of-balance, and there is the general feeling that something is missing on the palate.

Getting a $20 Merlot for $10 is a real bargain - if it tastes like a $20 Merlot.  Unfortunately, Magistrate does not.  It tastes more like a $7 Merlot, and that is not a bargain.  

NINER WINE ESTATES WITH WINEMAKER AMANDA CRAMER

Amanda Cramer was a math teacher before becoming an extraordinary winemaker.  “One particular group of students drove me to drink,” she says.  That statement may have been a vehicle for hyperbole at the time, but if those mathematical underachievers had anything to do with putting Cramer on her present career path, we owe them our thanks.

I had lunch with Amanda Cramer recently.  Well, I and eleven other wine-writer types did.  She’s the winemaker at Niner Wine Estatesin Paso Robles.  The lunch and tasting - at West Hollywood’s Sunset Marquis - showcased seven of the wines Cramer has made for the Paso producer since signing on with them in 2004.  Praise has been heaped upon her by a variety of award-giving interests.  Just this year she won two gold medals for her wines and grabbed the winemaker of the year award at the 2010 San Francisco International Wine Competition.  There, she was up against over 3,000 other wineries, so those kudos are anything but “gimmes.”

Wine Fever

Cramer was bitten by the wine bug at Cornell University.  “I filled out a semester of math and science studies with an elective class: Introduction to Wine and Spirits,” she explains.  “It was a 15-week class that provided basics on grape growing and winemaking plus lots of tasting labs so we could get hands-on experience with wine regions around the world.”  That was all it took to get her interest, even though she pursued her teaching path and got a job in which the chalk was in her hand, not the soil.  Then, along came those disinterested students, pointing the way to her exit from teaching.

In the wine industry, Cramer has worked and learned at Far Niente Winery, Chimney Rock, and Heidi Barrett’s Paradigm in Napa Valley, D'Arenberg in McLaren Valley in South Australia and Casa Lapostolle in Santa Cruz, Chile.  Of her viticulture knowledge, Cramer modestly says, "I know enough to know what I don't know, and I know who does know, so I can call them if I need to.  I don't emulate anybody," she insists - but her love for Carmenere stems from her days in Chile

When she was given the opportunity to help create a winery from the ground up, it was too much to pass up.  The new facilities which she has at her disposal allow Niner to make wines on-site now, rather than trucking their grapes to a crush facility.  That means they can pick grapes at night, and they have time to double sort - sorting both the clusters and the individual grapes.  “Double sorting gets every last stem out of the grapes," says Cramer.  "I like to press ‘sweet’  - without any stems - so the vegetal notes are minimized and the fruit is the main thing."

The newly-opened Hospitality Center at Niner Wines looks like a stone barn, but inside it contains a cutting edge wine tasting facility complete with a demonstration kitchen to be used by visiting chefs.

Her Philosophy

Cramer believes quality wines begin in the vineyard, but they definitely don't end there.  When tweaking is called for, she's an able and willing tweaker.  "We don’t grow grapes, we grow wine bottles.  My goal is balanced tannins, so it's an approachable wine,” she says, adding that her red wines are “nicely aged and built to last."

“With oak, overall we use 75% French, 15%-20% Hungarian and the rest American.  Hungarian is basically the same as French oak, and I can get Hungarian for sooo much less.  Our Italian varieties get new oak and a little less time in the barrel than, say, Merlot.  Our Merlot spends 16-18 months in oak.  One-third of it is new, one-third is once-used and one-third is twice-used.”

The Vineyards

All of Cramer’s wines are estate wines, with the grapes coming, so far, exclusively from Niner’s Bootjack Ranch Vineyard east of Paso Robles.  That vineyard is dominated by Bordeaux varieties.  “It’s got a Cab focus, but the Carmenere is great,” she says.  The only white grape from Bootjack Ranch is Sauvignon Blanc, so that’s the only white wine on Niner’s menu at present.  “That will change when the grapes in our Heart Hill Vineyard start to come in.  We hope to have a Heart Hill flagship wine, and that will be a blend of Rhone varieties.  That vineyard was named for a stand of oak trees that have grown in the shape of a heart.  It’s west of the Paso AVA, about 12 miles from the ocean.  It has a longer, cooler growing season.  2010 will be our first vintage from Heart Hill.”

One of the big attractions for Cramer is the location itself.  The Paso Robles AVA is one of the gems of California’s Central Coast.  It’s said to be the fastest growing wine region in the Golden State, and now boasts over 200 wineries.  Warm days, cool nights and diverse soils which feature limestone, shale and sandy loam all give Paso Robles’ wines a unique character and present the opportunity for many different varieties to be grown.

The Wines

Here are the wines Amanda Cramer poured at the luncheon, along with my notes on them.   All the wines utilize fruit from Bootjack Ranch Vineyard.

Rosato 2008 - It’s a deep red strawberry color with a beautiful cherry nose.  The wine has a fresh and vibrant character with great acidity.  It’s really delicious and mouth watering.  The juice spends about three days on the skins, so the color is darker than in previous vintages.  "Maybe a little too dark," says Cramer.  I disagree, it’s a lovely, rich color.  The grapes are 75% Sangiovese and 25% Barbera.  With an alcohol content of 14.5%, it’s as dry as a bone.

Sauvignon Blanc 2008 - There is a grassy nose with tons of tropical notes.  A mix of steel and neutral oak in the winemaking process adds a lot of character.  I taste citrus - lime and grapefruit.  It’s 14.1% abv with a bracing acidity - quite refreshing and food-friendly.  This is all Sauvignon Blanc, since it’s the only white grape Niner has made wine from - so far.  Cramer explains, “Heart Hill has Grenache Blanc that will be ready this year.  The Marsanne and Roussanne were just planted in 2010.”

Sangiovese 2007 - The Niner family traveled in italy and fell in love with Italian grapes.  They tried Nebbilo, but Cramer says "it didn't work out."  Their Barbera vines developed viruses and had to be yanked out.  “That hurt,” says Cramer.  “Barbera is a part of our Rosato.  The block was replanted to Barbera, so that’ll be okay.”   The Sangiovese shows spicy cherry, black cherry and licorice on the nose, with cherries and dark berries on the palate.  It’s quite dry and full in the mouth.  It’s a blend of 97% Sangiovese and 3% Cabernet Sauvignon.  The 14.9% alcohol content does not detract from the aromas or the taste.

Merlot 2007 - This Merlot is nice and dry, too, with smoke on the nose and mouth puckering tannins.  It tastes fruity and dry with a graphite edge.  Cramer says, "We weren't sure about the Merlot, but we blended it with cab and it blossomed in the bottle.”  86% Merlot, 9% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Cabernet Franc.  It’s got the lowest alcohol level of all their wines, at 13.8%.

Syrah 2006 - There is a big, blackberry and blueberry nose with hints of chocolate!  The taste is fruity and dry, at 14.5% abv.  There’s a splash (2%) of Petite Sirah in this blend, with big tannins once again.  “We like to start with 100% Syrah and go from there until it’s right,” says Cramer.  “I've got three different lots of Syrah at Bootjack Ranch, so even at 100%, it’s still a blend to me."

Cabernet Sauvignon 2006 - There is some Merlot in this big Cab.  Spices and fruit on the nose with a lovely floral streak lead to blackberry, cassis and some graphite on the palate.
It’s a 14.3% alcohol level.

Fog Catcher 2005 - This big red blend is 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Cabernet Franc and 10% Merlot.  The nose shows plenty of dark fruit, with red fruit, minerals, pencil point and smoke on the palate.  It’s dry and dark.  Future vintages of this blend should include as many as six Bordeaux varieties, according to Cramer.  The wine sits at 14.1% abv.

A NIGHT OUT ON MELROSE AVENUE

The Los Angeles restaurant, Bulan Thai Vegetarian Kitchen, was the starting point for quite an enjoyable night of friends, food and wine.  Tricia and Rob met us at Bulan, where we ate fantastic appetizers until we were stuffed – and until it got so loud that we were literally shouting at each other to be heard over the racket!  The ladies strolled down the street to Frankie's to stake out some spots at the bar, while Rob and I took care of the food bill.  At Frankie's, we laughed and enjoyed the company of our bartender, Adam, who contributed wine facts, baseball stats and music to our evening.  Some guy named Craig drifted in and out of the scene fairly quickly, and that was probably for the best.  He didn't realize the ladies were spoken for.

At Bulan, we brought our own – a rosé and a sparkler which are both French – and at Frankie's I sampled a few reds from their by-the-glass list to finish the evening.

The rosé is La Vieille Ferme, Recolte 2008.  I had previously enjoyed their white wine.  This pink - from Côtes du Ventoux - is produced by Jean Pierre Perrin – of Chateau de Beaucastel fame - and stands at 13% abv.  The wine is a blend of 50% Cinsault, 40% Grenache and 10% Syrah.  It shows a good strawberry red color in the glass which is quite reminiscent of a Spanish rosado.  Strawberries on the nose lead to a full mouth which is also dominated by strawberry, raspberry and some great earthy notes.  It's a dry rose – not bone dry, but it pairs very well with Thai food.

We also had Parigot Cremant de Bourgogne at the table.  The 100% Pinot Noir bubbly has a lovely, earthy nose and notes of toast and berries.  It's very bubbly and lightly hued in a soft pink.  The fruity taste and effervescence make it quite refreshing and palate-cleansing.

At Frankie's, Adam the bartender provided me with a memorable Chianti and a few samples of some less-than-memorable reds.  He also got an assist for taking part in a time-honored bar tradition: the sports dispute.  Rob and I were wondering who was the first baseball player to earn $100,000.  Adam hit the cell phone and informed us it was Joe DiMaggio.  That's only partially correct.  Joltin' Joe was the first American Leaguer to get a six-figure salary, in 1950.  Hank Greenberg hit that mark in 1947, though, with the Pittsburgh Pirates of the National League.  The wines Adam had to offer were a mixed bag, too.

The Piccini Tuscany Chianti 2008 was a delight, showing a nose of violets and minerals.  It's extremely smooth with good tannins and strong finish.  The blend is 95% Sangiovese and 5% Ciliegiolo.  Big cherry notes and a nice smokiness that lingers on the finish really make this wine stand out.  They call this DOCG wine “Chianti Orange,” and it is a considerable source of pride for Tenute Piccini.  Winemaker Antonella Conti gets a big thumbs up from me for producing this fantastic wine.

The Kenwood Vineyard wines Adam poured were not as impressive.  Their Zinfandel – blended with 8% Petite Sirah – has a black cherry streak a mile wide and a ton of spice flavors.  I found it be a bit fake tasting and overdone, though.  The Kenwood Cabernet Sauvignon has small amounts of Merlot, Petit Verdot and Malbec in the blend.  Pencil shavings on the nose with currants and plums on the palate were nice to find, but they couldn't lift the wine up above average. 

TAITTINGER BRUT LA FRANCAISE NV

People always say we should drink Champagne everyday.  “Why wait for a celebratory moment to come around?” they say.  “That glorious pop! should be business as usual!”

Maybe the problem is, we're just not celebrating enough.  I am reminded of the old joke in which the notorious drunk tells someone he only drinks on special occasions, then takes a swig.  “What's the occasion?” asks the foil.  “Tuesday,” the drunk replies.  But why not make a few more occasions “Champagne special?”

I received news recently after an insurance adjuster examined my car.  He told me the damage wasn't extensive enough to justify making the car a total loss.  The first sound heard was me saying, “Yesssss!”  The second was a cork popping out of a split of Taittinger Brut.  Let the celebration begin.

You probably know that Champagne is from France - from Champagne, France.  That's why it's called Champagne.  Other bubbly wines from other places are called other things.  Sparkling wine, Prosecco, Cava and spumante are all perfectly wonderful bubblies.  For some, though, only  Champagne will do.

The Taittinger Brut La Francaise in a non-vintage wine made from 40% Chardonnay and 60% Pinot Noir grapes.  The fruit comes from around 30 different vineyards.

It's quite dry, as you would expect from the word “brut” in the name.  Pale in the glass, the wine appears as a soft straw color with a layer of pure white bubbles on top.  The bubbles are very fine and quite long-lasting.

Aromas of earth, minerals and toasted bread come forth.  The taste is no-nonsense crisp, with green apples and citrus zest most apparent to me.  It's a full, pleasurable drink that feels good in my mouth.  If it's possible for a Champagne to have too many bubbles, this may come close to that mark.  It's flavor and texture is rich and the finish is long.

GRAFF FAMILY VINEYARDS CHALONE JULY MUSCAT 2007

One of the great thrills of the wine world is discovering a wine which makes me really glad I opened the bottle.  Not just ordinary, everyday glad, but extra-special glad.

The Graff Family of Sonoma makes very limited-production wine, partially as a fundraiser for the Richard H. Graff Scholarship Fund for wine and food education. I opened their dessert wine, July Muscat, and I was glad I did.  Extra-special glad.

I had never heard of July Muscat before, but now know that the grape is a cross of four different Muscat varieties.  The hybrid was developed at UC-Davis in the 1950s.

The grapes for this wine are grown in the Chalone appellation in California's Monterey County.  It's a 100% Muscat wine which is fermented in stainless steel and aged two-thirds in steel, one-third in French oak, 20% of which is new.  The oak-aged wine is in barrels for ten months.

On the label, it's called a “sweet table wine,” and at 11.3% abv and a residual sugar level of 10%, that sounds like a fair description.

Very pale in the glass, the nose of the Graff Family's July Muscat is incredibly floral and drenched in sweet, ripe peaches and apricots.  Apricots dominate the palate and a mild acidity realizes its full potential on the finish.  That finish is a delight, lingering long with traces of fruity sweetness that just don't want to go away.

WHITE SANGRIA AT SOUTH POINT

I have mentioned before that Los Angeles Argentine restaurant South Point  has a tendency to store their red wines in the attic rather than the cellar - at least that’s the impression I get from the rather warm serving temperature .  Their whites, happily, do not suffer the same fate.  Just to be safe, on my most recent visit there, I took advantage of the hot summer weather and ordered a white sangria .

Our waitress explained that she would be back after she made it.  It didn’t take long before she brought a beverage that looked like a pink lemonade to the table.  The tint comes thanks to a dash of grenadine.

The white sangria features the Trapiche  Torrontes and lemonade, along with small chunks of orange, lemon and strawberry.  She also added a little sugar, which I felt was unnecessary and I will ask her to skip next time.

It’s a refreshing drink with tartness from the lemon, brightness from orange and sweetness from the strawberry.  I left the sugar at the bottom of the glass.  Oh, and there’s plenty of ice, so it’s nice and cold, no matter where the wine is stored.

CERRO PRIETO VINEYARD AND CELLARS

Larry Stanton, owner and winemaker of Cerro Prieto Vineyard and Cellars, doesn’t go to Mexico any more. Who could blame him? After not one, but two, run-ins with what he refers to as "ninja-suited narco-terrorists," his beloved hunting and fishing excursions to the Cerro Prieto geothermal field became less about "Field And Stream" and more about "Guns And Ammo." He decided for his own well-being to stay in the good ol’ USA and tend to his vines.

Stanton would hunt for ducks, pheasants and quail, fish for freshwater bass and dig freshwater clams. It was such a big part of his life that he filled two books with his tales from the Baja campfire. Over 500 game trips to Mexico induces a lot of storytelling. He hasn’t been back, though, since the latest encounter with the business end of a machine gun. "There was a time that knowing a little Spanish might have spared you in a traffic stop by the police. It’s really gotten bad there now since the drug guys have taken over."

The love for his favorite spot lives on in the very name of his vineyard, and the passion he once held for those trips is now poured into his grapes.

Stanton loves to talk about his vineyard. Local photographers tell him it is the most photographed vineyard in San Luis Obispo County. "That may be true," he says, "because I picked up the phone book a while back and saw my vineyard on it! I give tours by appointment, and people seem to like it. The mountain portion is almost straight up and down. It’s chiseled out of solid limestone rock. We started by hand and had to go to jackhammers. We’ve got boulders the size of my truck out there."

The vineyard seems to lend credence to the notion that the more grapevines struggle, the better the fruit. "We dug holes in the rock and planted with just a gallon of dirt," he says. "The vines just took off."

"We’ve got oak trees on the property that just soak up the nutrients, so we’ve had to plant the vines as far away from them as possible. Even so, the two rows nearest the trees ripen before the rest." Stanton says, "I got tired of watching good fruit burn up, so we started taking those grapes earlier. The wines we made from them are gold award winners."

Stanton has been trying to move Cerro Prieto’s vineyard closer to sustainable agriculture, with hopes of having an organic vineyard. His feeling though, is that he just won’t be able to move much closer than he is now.

Presently, 90% of weed control is done with hoes, not chemicals, and grapevine prunings are not burned, they are mulched. "That way, it doesn't foul the air, and it helps prevent erosion. I also use cover crops to help prevent erosion. We've decreased the use of fertilizers by 1/3 by growing clover around the vines. This helps put nitrogen back in the soil."

For varmint control Cerro Prieto uses traps, not poison, when possible. Owls and hawks also help keep the gopher population under control.

He says that although their use has been dramatically reduced, he still has to use some pesticide and herbicide, plus commercial fertilizer for the steep hillside vineyards. The valley vineyard uses organic fertilizers. "There are just some problems where pesticides are needed," he says. "We use the lowest concentration we can get by with, though, and try to stay as organic as possible."

Stanton sells 95% of his grapes, making wine from the remaining five percent. This means very low production, which in turn means he often sells out of his more popular wines.

His 2006 Merlot sold out quickly after garnering some international gold medals. "The ‘07 Merlot has Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah in it," he explains. "It’s still 80% Merlot, but after tasting the blend, I had to go with it. It’s just great."

The 2006 Cerro Prieto Paso Bordo - a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah - got high scores from critics and kudos from customers. The ‘07 Paso Bordo will be released on September 30th, 2010 - just in time for Stanton to pour it at Sunset Magazine’s Savor the Central Coast event at the end of September. His Pinot Noir won't be available until 2012. The story behind that particular grape is a bit of a sore spot for Stanton.

The magnitude 6.5 San Simeon earthquake in 2003 ran right through three acres of Pinot Noir grapes. What remained, he made into wine, then laid it down for five years. "It was hard to do, but it was worth it," he says. "It sold out very quickly." Last year, he had more bad luck with Mother Nature. "We were having pretty good weather when a really early hot spell brought a 117-degree day to the valley vineyard. All the Pinot and Sauvignon Blanc was ruined, so we'll have to wait a while for some Pinot. We should be able to make about 50 cases or so."

Stanton writes about the trials, tribulations and triumphs of growing grapes and making wine in the "Larry’s Blog" portion of his website. There he is part folksy yarn-spinner and part wine scientist, a role which pretty much describes his real-life persona. It's an entertaining read, even if he hasn’t had a lot of time to devote to it lately. "Five problem acres have taken up a lot of my time," he says. Anyone who tries to write in their spare time can understand his problem.

Nevertheless, he has two more books in the works. One is a collection of stories from campfires around the world. The other is a medical malpractice novel he patterned after a case on which he helped deliver judgment some time ago.

Stanton was a doctor for 40 years - he actually still practices pro bono medicine - and began farming and ranching in 1977 with barley, safflower, walnuts, almonds and cattle. Grapes were planted in 1999 and commercial winemaking began in 2006. Last year was his first official bottling.

MONTE ZOVO VALPOLICELLA RIPASSO 2007

Birthday month rolls on for Denise, and we dropped in on Il Buco again.  I've mentioned them before, with good reason.  The food is excellent, the service is unfailingly pleasant and the wine list is very Italian and fairly deep.  It's no surprise, then, that we ended up there for birthday lunch.

I went with a sausage dish and decided to have a red wine.  I asked the waiter for a good choice, and he pointed me in the direction of a California Meritage, Malibu, in fact.  I would like to try that wine, but as I explained to him, when I go to Il Buco, I like to go Italian.  He immediately suggested this Valpolicella, and I said that it would be fine.

The Monte Zovo Ripasso is the sort of wine I have come to expect from Il Buco, very Italian, a bit rustic and a great match with the food they make.  It's from the Valpolicella region of Veneto in the northeastern part of Italy.

The grapes used are Corvina (70%), Rondinella (20%) and Molinara (10%).  I'm told Ripasso means "second pressing," indicating the juice is re-fermented on the skins used in making Amarone, which is a "first-pressing" wine.  It's fairly hefty at 14% abv, yet it feels only medium full in the mouth.  It's a deep garnet color with a demomstrative nose of black cherry and blackberry.
 
The palate shows some dry, dusty, brambly notes which are suggestive of an old-vine Zinfandel.  The flip side of that coin is the freshness that this wine carries with it.  It spends two years in oak, yet the wood seems not to leave its mark as indelibly as it might with other grapes.

I enjoyed this wine with the farfalle and sausage plate.  The pairing was excellent.

SALADES DE PROVENCE - AGAIN

It was a short week for Denise and me, but a tough one nonetheless.  Our Friday night came on Thursday, and we opted to go for what we have come to know as a reliable, feel-good destination.  Los Angeles French bistro Salades de Provence is our go-to spot when we just want it to be good without the drama.

We discovered on this evening that Denise has quite a palate for wine.  She ordered the rosé she likes – the Côtes de Provence Cuvée du Golfe de St. Tropez Rosé – and immediately she noticed it was paler in color than the wine she usually orders there.  She tasted it and noticed it was even smoother and had a better acidity than her fave.

We called the waiter over and inquired as to whether it was, in fact, the same wine or not.  As it turns out, it was – and it was not.

The wine was still the Cuvee du Golfe, but it was a different vintage.  The waiter told us he could not get the more recent vintage from his distributor and had instead ordered the 2007.  Denise liked it better than the other, so all worked out well.  Particularly well in the pairing of the rosé with her mushroom soup – still a meal in itself – and the salad with lamb.

My wine was the Les Tours Chardonnay 2007.  It's an estate-bottled Vin de Pays d'Oc that goes for $8 per glass at the restaurant.  The wine is served a bit too cold, which obscures the nose and makes it difficult for me to discern too much there.  It has a creamy mouthfeel with just enough acidity.  Pears and a hint of vanilla make up the simple, but delicious, palate.  I paired this with a chicken Caesar salad, which worked out nicely.

MICHELE CHIARLO BARBERA D'ASTI PIEDMONTE 2007

It's birthday month for Denise.  We don't wait for the one day to celebrate, we try to stretch it out over the entire month.  We've been a little bit distracted by other events this month, so we really have let things slide a bit where celebrations are concerned.  She's been a pretty good sport about it, though.  So good a sport has she been, I wanted to have a really special dinner with her. 

It's always a little chancy, we've found, trying new dinner spots.  We've had so many rude awakenings in Los Angeles restaurants we have sworn off new places several times already.  I felt good about this one, though.  And it turned out to be just fine.

Pane E Vino on Beverly Boulevard is an Italian restaurant - a nice one - that we hadn't visited for quite some time.  Why we hadn't been there in forever was a mystery to both of us, but we are both glad we stopped staying away.

We opened with a shrimp and Feta cheese appetizer and a plate of melon and prosciutto.  Denise had the lobster tortellini while I ordered the spaghetti with calamari and leeks in a light marinara sauce.  It was delicious all the way around the table.

On the suggestion of the waiter, I ordered the 2007 Barbera d'Asti from Michele Chiarlo .  I'm glad he suggested it, because I get into a Sangiovese rut in Italian restaurants.  Not that it's a bad rut to be in, but I like to keep it varied when I can. 

This Piemonte red is medium in color with aromas of cherry cola and some soft spices.  It feels medium full in the mouth with a big, fresh taste of cherry and raspberry.  The oak shades the fruit with a very light touch of leather.  It pairs well with marinara sauce and would no doubt be a hit with pork, too.

PAIRING WINE WITH STEAK

If you really want a good recommendation on what kind of wine to serve with a particular cut of meat, ask a sommelier at a Texas steak house.  Wine Spectator did just that. 

That wine mag did a short interview with Drew Hendricks, left, director of beverage education and wine for Pappas Bros. in Houston.  You can read the entire article , but here is the meat of the interview:

Hendricks says the determining factor is the amount of fat in the cut of meat.  For a filet or tenderloin, he likes to pair a Chateauneuf-du-Pape or a Spanish wine for the bold flavors the lean meat needs.

For a New York strip Hendricks wants to keep the big flavor and add some tannins and acidity.  He says a Sangiovese, an old-school Zinfandel or a Washington Syrah are perfect for that.

With prime rib, his advice is Pinot Noir or Barolo.  Hendricks says those wines will offer a cleansing effect with the richness of the meat.

In the interview , he also answers some questions about wine service in restaurants, talks about how he got started and gives a bit of advice for future sommeliers.

SELLA AND MOSCA LA CALA VERMENTINO 2006, SARDEGNA

There are some pretty good options from which to choose in Los Angeles when I want to take my Italian-heritage wife for a birthday-month lunch.  For this outing, I opted for one of our favorite spots, Il Buco on Robertson in Beverly Hills.

For one thing, they treat us like it's our birthday every time we dine there.  For another, the food's great.  Also, they have a pretty decent Italian wine list.  Okay, that last one was on my side of the checklist.  It still counts.  A shrimp salad for the lady, I'll have the chopped, and a glass of Vermentino.

Sella and Mosca is a pretty big deal on the isle of Sardegna - Sardinia, if you prefer.  Their property contains a 1,600-acre estate just inland about four miles.  Their La Cala Vermentino is one of the prizes of the island and is exactly what I look for in this special grape.

La Cala is named for a small cove on the edge of the estate, and it's a natural to pair with seafood thanks to the slight saltiness in the wine.  You can thank the Mediterranean Sea for that.

This 100% Vermentino white is a pale, greenish straw color in the glass.  It delivers a soft nose of grassy salt air and lemons.  There's an alcohol content of 11.5% abv, and it serves up a bracing palate of minerals and tart lemon zest with a nice acidity that lies just beneath the surface.  It's a really good buy at $8 a glass.

It paired well with the shrimp, but also fit nicely with my meatless salad.  It does something good with the garbanzo beans in the chop.

IL FORNAIO CHARDONNAY 2009

It’s about time for another Friday Wine Treat.  Let’s go to a restaurant you can find in a lot of places, and have a nice white wine that can probably be found at all their locations.

At Il Fornaio, the Italian chain, I went for the lowest priced glass of wine on the list - the house label Chardonnay.  At $7, it’s a steal.  It’s an especially good price considering I had it at the Beverly Hills location.  There may not be another $7 glass of wine in the 90210 zip code.

Il Fornaio Cellars is named on the back label - in Ukiah, CA - and the grapes are sourced from Mendocino.  It’s a little odd that it’s listed on the menu as a Sonoma wine, but I’ll go with the information on the bottle’s label. 

The wine is quite pale in the glass and the fruity nose carries just a bit of vanilla.  The mouthfeel is soft and full, but it’s no big, buttery California Chardonnay.  The oak is not overworked.  In fact, a crisp green apple flavor dominates the palate and the acidity is just right.

I paired it with the simple insalata al balsamico and was quite pleased.  Even with no wine and no salad, the olive bread placed on the table would have been worth my while.  I hope your Friday Wine Treat is as good, and as affordable.

ABUNDANCE VINEYARDS, MENCARINI FAMILY WINERY, LODI, CA

Recently at the California Wine Festival in Santa Barbara, I had the opportunity to taste the wines of Lodi's Abundance Vineyards.  I wasn't familiar with them before the festival's grand tasting event, but I was quite impressed with the product I sampled.

Farming Lodi soil since 1951, the Mencarini family has focused on wine grapes since 1961.  The outfit is spearheaded by third-generation brothers Dino and Ron Mencarini.  All their wines are estate grown and produced.  Dino states his family's vision clearly: "...to give the average working person a high-quality wine for an affordable price."  It's a noble endeavor, if you ask me, and it seems they are checking off both concerns nicely.  Nearly all the family's wines are award-winners, and nearly the whole list comes in at under $20 per bottle.  Even the winery itself is an award-winner: Visit Lodi named Abundance the winery of the year for 2010.

Wine is in their blood, and judging from the juice I tasted in Santa Barbara, it's an understatement to hear Dino say, "I have a passion for it."  The very first of their wines I tried opened my eyes.

The 2007 Bountiful Blanc is 65% Symphony grapes and 35% Sauvignon Blanc.  I'm not a big fan of the Symphony grape, and the pretty floral nose I encounted in this wine - although quite lovely - did nothing to convince me that things were about to change.  However, the Sauvignon Blanc really takes over on the palate and helps deliver a wine that is substantially more than just a sipper.

The Abundance Reds also came as a bit of a surprise.  They are mouth-puckeringly dry while still maintaining a big fruit profile and a chewy complexity.

Their 2007 Merlot has 15% Zinfandel in the mix.  Zin plays at least a minor role in many of the Abundance red wines.  Spicy cedar notes grace the nose while smoke and earth are all over the palate.  The wine spends 17 months in French and American oak.

The 2005 Old Vine Zinfandel was one of my favorites not just on the Abundance table, but on any table at this tasting event.  Dark, earthy raspberry dominates the palate of this very dry wine.  The “old” fruit is 110 years old here.  The “young” grapes are from 60 year-old vines.  This award winner is 85% Zinfandel.  Judging from the age of the vines, I would imagine the remainder is a melange of field blend grapes.  This one sees 19 months in French and American oak.

Another one that really captured my fancy was the ‘05 Abundantly Rich Red.  This blend is 45% Carignane, 40% Zinfandel and the rest Petite Sirah and Syrah.  With 17 months in French and  American oak, there’s a campfire nose to match a big, blackberry taste.  Dark and earthy, it’s loaded with a strong mineral profile.

The 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon has a curve thrown into it - even the Cab has 15% Zinfandel in the blend.  It’s really a different take on Cabernet.  Earthy in the extreme, very, very dry and showing the influence of 19 months in those French and American oak barrels, this wine has surprisingly good fruit from the dry, sandy soil of Lodi.

The ‘05 Petite Sirah also carries some Zinfandel, but only 8%.  Dark fruit on the nose meets cherry, blackberry and plum on the palate.

One delightful wine after another left me thinking that surely the other shoe had to drop at some point.  The 2008 Bacio Dolce Carignane Dessert Wine. was the final taste, and it was a winner, too.  A 100% varietal wine, they call this sweet drink “user friendly.”  I would imagine it would be difficult to find a user who could find this one unfriendly.  Plum notes abound in a setting which makes it easy to see why they named it the “sweet kiss.”  At 19.5% abv, it’s a hefty drink, to be sure, but it was a fitting end to the day’s best tasting.

As I was finishing up at the Abundance tasting table, Dino was effortlessly entertaining all who appeared.  Looking every bit the farmer he has been much of his life, he laughed and talked easily about his wines.  When a camera crew strolled up to interview him and shoot some video, he just as effortlessly shifted gears and launched into his ready-for-prime-time TV persona.  His wines may be able to speak for themselves, but as long as Dino Mencarini is around, they will never have to face the crowd alone.

TALUS COLLECTION LODI CHARDONNAY 2007

This Chardonnay is from Lodi.  I'm a big fan of Lodi wines, so I get the feeling I'm going to like this one before it's even open.  The label shows 13.5% abv, but the notes from the winemaker say it's more like 13.7%.  It's a blend, by the way - 91% Chardonnay and 9% Sauvignon Blanc.

It's got a nice, pale golden color in the glass.  The nose makes me think of apples and oak.  My wife thought, "chalk and flowers."  I get the floral aspect, too.  And the chalkiness comes to me on the palate, but not the nose.

The flavor of apples is there, along with some kind of tropical note - possibly pineapple.  There's a bit of oak, too, but not as much as I had feared, nor as much flintiness as I had hoped for.  A hint of vanilla creaminess is present, but it's subdued.  This may be due to the blend, as the Sauvignon Blanc probably keeps it from being a full-blown California Chardonnay.  It has more of a French feel, to my taste.  The mouthfeel is quite full, and finish is fairly long and luscious.  It doesn't have me jumping up and down, but it's not a bad little white at all.  The cost, if I remember correctly, was quite low - about $5 on sale at the grocery store.