ROCKIN' THE VINEYARDS IN SANTA BARBARA COUNTY

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

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

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

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

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

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ALL THE WINE IN CHINA

While Wine Spectator reports that Burgundy is replacing Bordeaux as the most sought-after wine in Chinese auctions, one Chinese man is bringing California Cabernet to the party.

France has a 47% market share of bottled wine imports in China, so selling California wine to a nation enthralled with French wine may seem like a tall order.  The Wall Street Journal says former NBA star and Chinese legend Yao Ming feels up to the task.

Yao Family Wines is being launched solely for the Chinese market.  Made by Napa Valley winemaker Tom Hinde, the Yao Cabernet will sell for the equivalent of $289 American, per bottle.  Yao aims to put California wine on a higher plane in China, but despite his fame there, it won't be a slam dunk.  Wine from the United States currently ranks sixth in Chinese imports, behind France, Australia, Italy, Spain and Chile.  

Yao does not own any vineyards presently, so the grapes will be sourced for his line.  He does, however, have plans to purchase some Napa Valley land in the near future.

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EXPLORING BEAUJOLAIS

I have always thought rosé wines had it tough.  People seem to think rosé is reserved for summer, so a lot of folks miss out on the pink delight the rest of the year.

That's nothing compared to the sad story of Beaujolais.  Some people think Beaujolais is for November only - and just the last two weeks of November!  Au contraire.

Beaujolais Nouveau is the young, fresh wine of the Gamay grape released on the third Thursday of November each year - but there's a lot more to the Beaujolais region than that fruity beverage that ends up on so many Thanksgiving tables.  

Picturesque Beaujolais is sometimes called "the Tuscany of France," with vineyards covering nearly every hillside.  Beaujolais produces the most single-varietal wines in France, and 99% of their production is Gamay.

Nearly the entire production of wine in the Beaujolais region is red - only 1% is white, and most of that is Chardonnay.  Beaujolais is technically in both the Burgundy and Rhone regions.  The climate is more like the Rhone, but the wine is considered to be different enough to justify separation from both regions.

The Gamay Noir grape - a cross of Pinot Noir and the ancient white variety, Gouais - is the grape from which Beaujolais wines are made.  The wine of Beaujolais is fermented in cement or steel tanks, undergoes semi-carbonic maceration and is put through malolactic fermentation.  

The result of all that tech-talk is a fruity red wine high in acidity and low in tannins.  It has been called "the white wine which is red."

The Beaujolais region has twelve appellations: Beaujolais, Beaujolais Villages (made up of 39 communes) and the ten Beaujolais Crus - Brouilly (pictured), Chénas, Chiroubles, Côte de Brouilly, Fleurie, Juliénas, Morgon, Moulin à vent, Régnié and Saint-Amour.  The Cru wines come from these villages in the northern part of the region.

In the coming weeks - maybe months - Now And Zin will be tasting and reporting on a number of different wines from the Beaujolais region.

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BLOOD OF THE VINES - CHAMPAGNE MURDERS

Wine Goes To The Movies With 

Now And Zin and Trailers From Hell 

With a title like "Champagne Murders" it should come as no surprise to find that the movie is a French murder mystery.  The lead character is a Champagne dealer who sustains a blow to the head and can't take care of his business anymore.  Some would argue that people enter the wine business after a blow to the head, but we don't align ourselves with those snarky types.

The woman who owns the winery tries to wrest control of the wine's trademark away from him - cherchez la femme - and murders and blackmail ensue.  A lot of Champagne is consumed in the movie, most of it by the wine guy.  We don't know if he's the killer or not, and he's so loaded even he doesn't know.  Anthony Perkins is in the cast, and considering his role in "Psycho," I'd keep my eyes on him, if I were you.

While not exactly bubbly, Claude Chabrol's film is quite artistic and much loved by fans of French cinema.  It probably has quite a few fans in the French wine business, too.

In his commentary on the movie, Trailers From Hell guru Tim Hunter shows a poster from the film's Mexican release, where it was called "Burbujas de Terror," which translates to "Bubbles of Terror."  The trailer tells us that the film depicts "The Vintage Year For Murder."  Let's take the natural path and pop the cork on some terrifying bubbles.

Actually, the bubbles aren't so terrifying, but the price tag is.  Moet & Chandon's Dom Perignon 2002 Brut will find a way to wrest control of that $140 bucks in your wallet, but if you are going to trade in bubbles, trade in the best.  They say it's really a killer Champagne.

Bubbles and no blackmail:

Franck Bonville "Millesime" Brut Blanc de Blancs Champagne 2005 - All Grand Cru Chardonnay and proud of it. - $40

Heidsieck Monopole "Blue Top" Brut Champagne - Elegant and friendly. - $30

Pommery "Pop" Rosé Champagne - Just enough to get you through the first act, 187ml for $13.

How to open a bottle of sparkling wine - Pretty basic stuff.

How to open a bottle of sparkling wine with a sabre - The advanced class.  Don't hold us responsible if you get bad results with this technique.

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SEGHESIO ZINFANDEL AT M RESORT

Anthony's Steakhouse at M Resort in Las Vegas put a positive spin on a day of visiting my mother-in-law - my favorite mother-in-law - in the hospital.  Actually, the visiting itself was fairly positive.  She was doing much better by the time we got there, and we were overjoyed to see that.

No special occasion is needed, though, to enjoy this spacious Vegas eatery located a few miles south of the Strip in an area that was once considered to be out of town.  There's a fantastic view of the strip through the wall of windows on the restaurant's north side.

It's customary for me at steakhouses to not order the steak.  I have nothing against beef, I just can't resist the siren call of a big pork chop on diced candied apple.

That was a great choice for the Seghesio Old Vine Zinfandel 2009.  Nice and dark in the glass - inky wine holds a great allure for me, too - the aromas of blackberry, blueberry and peppery spices are joined by whiffs of tar and anise.  The nose is huge - it even wins the fight with the overly perfumed air in the casino.

The Seghesio's flavors are very dark and earthy.  Blackberry dominates, but that tar really comes forward.  Great tannins and minerality make a natural for pairing with steakhouse cuisine.

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TWO FRENCH WINES AT MONSIEUR MARCEL

The famous Farmers Market at 3rd and Fairfax in Los Angeles only has a few places to sit and have a drink, and they are mostly good for beer.  Monsieur Marcel is an open-air market/restaurant at the southeast corner of the venerable collection of shops and stands which speacializes in wine.

The outdoor seating is warmed on cool nights by plenty of overhead heaters, and diners get a constant stream of shoppers coming and going for their people-watching pleasure.

We happily accepted the customary basket of bread and plate of mixed olives, then ordered some cheese and wine.  The wines at Monsieur Marcel are unfortunately served in tiny little glasses, making it hard to get the aromas.  On the plus side, they serve their red wines at cellar temperature.

The Pierre Laplace Madiran Tannat 2007 is a blend of Tannat, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon.  Madiran is in the Southwest France wine region, in Gascony.  The tannic Tannat is the main grape of the region and is often blended to soften the tannic attack.  This wine sells for $9 by the glass in the restaurant.

The nose was hard for me to discern, but the flavors of blackberry and blueberry jump out immediately.  An herbal, tarry note flies under the radar and the wine is not as tannic as I had expected.  The Cabs do a good job of taming the Tannat.

Our other wine also hails from the southwest part of France - Carcassonne, to be exact - in the Languedoc-Roussillon region.  Carcassonne is inland from the Mediterranean, west of Narbonne.  It was near Carcassonne that sparkling wine was invented, in the 16th century, when the Champagne region was only producing still wine.

The Chateau de Bonal Vin de Carcassonne 2007 is a still red wine selling for $9 by the glass.  Five grapes make up the wine - Grenache Noir, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cinsault, and Alicante.  It has a fruity, almost grapey, flavor that smacks of blackberries.  It's nice and dry, with a good tanninc structure.

As for pairing with the cheeses, we liked both wines best with the firm Etude, closely followed by the hard Manchego.  The Brie de Meaux was our least favorite pairing, although it wasn't unpleasant at all.

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SCREWCAPS ON WINE GAINING ACCEPTANCE

More wine drinkers now say they're OK with screwcaps on their wine bottles instead of cork.  That's the message from a recent study conducted by Wine Intelligence and included in its 2011 Closures Report.

The report says overall acceptance of screwtop closures for wine bottles among American wine drinkers has hit a new high of 70%, up from 59% in 2008.  Women and younger consumers - between the ages of 18 and 34 - are most likely to accept a bottle with a screwcap while men and consumers between the ages of 45 and 54 still like to pull the cork rather than twist off the cap.

People still seem to prefer cork closures overall - either natural or synthetic.  Natural cork is still the most-preferred closure for wine bottles among those surveyed.  Similar results were found among wine consumers in the United Kingdom and Australia.

Richard Halstead - COO of Wine Intelligence and the author of the report - says, "It's clear that the screwcap still has some way to go to win over the mainstream wine drinkers in America, but it looks like the process is starting.”

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CRU VIN DOGS - THE LOYAL COMPANION

For some folks, the wine business has gone to the dogs, and they like it that way.  Cru Vin Dogs in a winery based in Denver, Colorado, which "tracks down exceptional vineyards and small lots of wine throughout the world to craft masterful blends of exceptional quality and value."

Every Cru Vin Dogs release features a pencil drawing of a dog - a different breed each time - by gifted artist Jay P. Snellgrove.  Prints of these drawings are available to wine club members, with the remainder offered to the public.

The winery also has a philanthropic side showing on their line called “The Loyal Companion.”  Proceeds from the sale of these wines helps local animal shelters and rescue groups find homes for some of man’s best friends who are doing without faithful companions of their own.

Cru Vin Dogs’ winemaker Tony Wasowicz makes the Loyal Companion blends with small lots of grapes sourced from vineyards in Sonoma County.  I was provided with a couple of samples to try, and here are my notes.

The Loyal Companion Sonoma County Red Wine hits 14.8% abv on the alcohol scale and the $13 price tag means you can enjoy it even if your finances aren’t running with the big dogs.  It’s a mixed breed: 60% Syrah, 25% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Malbec and 5% Zinfandel.

The wine is extremely dark in the glass with a nose of dark fruit - blackberry and black plums - with an earthy overlay of minerals, tobacco and cedar.  There’s earthy fruit on the palate too, and plenty of it.  Wood spice also figures in on the palate, but not to distraction.  Lip smacking acidity and good tannins lead to a nice, dry and rather lengthy finish.

The Loyal Companion Chardonnay also utilizes grapes from cool climate locations in Sonoma County.  It wags its retail at $13 and is barely slimmer in alcohol than the red - 14.5% abv.

This 100% Chardonnay is a pretty golden color.  The nose offers tropical fruit that is almost pungent in its intensity.  Oak spices are also present in the aromas.  Flavors of pineapple and mango are laced with those oaky spices.  The flavor of oak is somewhat heavier than the light touch promised in the winery's notes, so be prepared for some good ol' California Chardonnay.  There is a great acidity level, which means pairing with food shouldn't be a problem.

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WIN A TICKET TO ZAP ZINFANDEL FESTIVAL GRAND TASTING

January 2012 will bring the 21st annual ZAP Zinfandel Festival to San Francisco.  It's a great event staged each year by Zinfandel Advocates and Producers, a non-profit organization devoted to the love of, and passion for, the wines of the Zinfandel grape.  The organizers came together in the belief that "Zinfandel deserved recognition as a highly respected varietal that could compete with the finest wines around the world," according to the ZAP website.

The four elements of the 2012 ZAP Zinfandel Festival are outlined here, and Now And Zin has tickets to the Grand Tasting on January 28, 2012 that you can win!  More on that at the end of the article. 

If you'd like to become a card-carrying Zinfandel Advocate, hit this link and join.  An Annual Advocate Membership is $44 and includes up to two people.

There are four events comprising the three-day ZAP Zinfandel Festival for 2012:

Epicuria is a walk-around exploration of food and Zin pairings.  50 wineries and their Zins will be paired with 50 of San Francisco's top epicurean creators working in the ZinKitchen.  You may want to skip lunch on this day, because you'll want to try them all.  Thursday January 26th from 6:00 - 9:00 p.m. at The Concourse, 635 8th Street at Brannan, San Francisco.  Tickets are $95 for ZAP members, $125 for non-members.

Flights: Forums of Flavor is an in-depth seminar-style tasting featuring themed flights of Zinfandels presented by the winemakers.  Plenty of insights into the true nature of Zinfandel are in store.  It's a one-of-a-kind tasting opportunity which fans of the variety should not miss.  Friday January 27th from 10:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. at the Westin St. Francis Hotel, Union Square, 335 Powell Street, San Francisco.  Tickets are $60 for ZAP members, $75 for non-members.

Winemakers' Dinner is a Las Vegas-style benefit.  Wines for the dinner are chosen by the winemakers, and you can take part in the auctions.  It's a glamorous event, so you are advised to dress to the nines.  Proceeds will benefit ZAP programming, education and Heritage Projects.  Friday January 27th from 5:00 - 10:00 p.m. at the Westin St. Francis Hotel, Union Square, 335 Powell Street, San Francisco.  Tickets are $225 and include an annual Advocate membership for two.

Grand Tasting: From A To Zin allows you to explore all things Zin, including hundreds of barrel samples and new releases.  Taste away and meet the winemakers while you find out how many of them have red hair.  Keep score on ZAP's ZinTracks map.  Saturday January 28th from 2:00 - 5:00 p.m. at The Concourse, 635 8th Street at Brannan, San Francisco.  Tickets are $49 for ZAP members, $59 for non-members and $69 at the door.

The 2012 ZAP Zinfandel Festival promises to further ZAP's mission - to celebrate the appreciation for American Zinfandel and its role as America's "Heritage Wine."

You can win a ticket to the Grand Tasting: From A To Zin from Now And Zin.  

We have been graciously provided with four tickets to the Saturday tasting, which will be given away by random drawing on January 16, 2012.  Enter the contest between now and January 15, 2012 by visiting the Now And Zin Wine Blog and adding your email address in the box labeled "SUBSCRIBE VIA EMAIL."  You will then be eligible to win, and you'll receive email notifications of new posts on the Now And Zin Wine Blog.  All entries must be made by January 15, 2012 at 11:59 p.m.  Four email addresses will be selected at random, and you will be notified if you are a winner on Monday, January 16th.  Only one entry per email address, please.  Duplicate entries will be thrown out.

Please enter only if you plan to attend the event in San Francisco, as the tickets can be claimed at the event only by you and are non-transferable.  Good luck!

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BLOOD OF THE VINES - BLACK CHRISTMAS

Wine Goes To The Movies With

Now And Zin and Trailers From Hell

For the Trailers From Hell gang, nothing gets us in the mood for the holidays like a yuletide slasher movie.  "Black Christmas" was directed by Bob Clark in 1974.  Nine years later he would settle in to a more conventional view of the holiday season with "A Christmas Story."   Ralphie would have peed in his snowsuit had he seen this film.

When you answer the phone over the holidays, you'd better hope it's Grandma and not the homicidal maniac who phones it in before he does his dirty work.  Watch "Black Christmas," and you'll immediately get rid of all the Saran Wrap in the house and put that unicorn ornament away for next year.

The title makes one think a Blaxploitation movie is about to roll.  As a result, the name has been changed a couple of times.  It was to receive yet another name change for television airing, until the TV brass said, "Never mind - it's too scary for the small screen."

Horrifyingly, the movie was based on an actual string of Christmas murders in Quebec.  It was one of the first slasher flicks and it has all the elements of a great one.  Disturbing title?  Check.  Deranged killer?  Check.  Sorority house?  Check.  A variety of gruesome killings?  Check.  All we need now is some black wine.

For "Black Christmas," lets go with a very dark and very forceful wine - the black wine of Cahors.  The Cahors region, in South West France, is the only place where Malbec is still grown in the whole country.  It hasn't been without its struggles, either.  Phylloxera killed all the Cahors vineyards in the late 19th century and a horrible, deadly freeze in 1956 brutally murdered the replanted vines.  The strong, black wine of Cahors has been a favorite of many generations of royalty, dating back to the Roman Empire.  

Château Haut Monplaisir Prestige Cahors 2007 is a $20 version of the black wine of Cahors.  The inky Malbec shows a nose of meat on the hook and herbs on the black cherry flavor.

Also in the black:

Château du Cèdre Héritage Cahors 2009 - More inky, black Malbec with 10% Tannat. $15

Black Estate Wine - from New Zealand's Waipara Valley.

I'm Dreaming of a Black Christmas - holiday musings from the very funny Lewis Black

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NOW AND ZIN YOUTUBE

Here's a little video with some wine images from Southern California and the Central Coast.

GRAPE THIEVERY IN GERMANY

News reports show up from time to time about people stealing grapes.  Lots of grapes, like a vineyard full of grapes.  An AP story recently appeared, telling the tale of thieves in Germany harvesting grapes that weren't theirs.

They came in the dead of night to Germany's Pfalz wine region and hand picked rows upon rows of Riesling, Trollinger and Grauburgunder grapes.  This would be a huge financial loss any time, for any winery, but a late frost in May 2011 killed many grapes, so the ones that survived are the last hope for these winemakers.  Add in the fact that the remaining grapes are thought to be of extremely high quality, and it's a double whammy.  Also, most of these family-run wineries have no insurance that covers theft of grapes.

It's not unusual for harvesting to occur at night, so there would nothing overtly suspicious about seeing people with flashlights working the vines in overnight hours.  Some witnesses claimed later they did see people in the vineyards, but simply thought it was the usual harvest.

Some winemakers in the region are now clinging to ice wine as their last chance to salvage something from this vintage.  Grapes for ice wine are harvested when frozen, and the winemakers are keeping close watch on their vineyards until it's time to harvest them.  They know, however, that the criminals are watching closely, too.

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GOLDEN ROAD BREWING POINT THE WAY IPA

Due to my "real job" schedule, I get very few chances to join in on a happy hour.  Recently, a meeting ran shorter than anticipated (!) and I found myself near Marie Callender's.  I strolled in to see if they could make this newfound hour a happy one.  They did.

Hopping onto a seat at the bar, I watch a football game on television between two college teams I don't care anything about - Northern Something University vs Eastern Something State.

Beers are $5 - that's happy - and I spy the magic letters on one of the tap handles:  I.P.A.  It's called Point The Way IPA, from Golden Road Brewing of Los Angeles.  Turns out it's an IPA lover's version of a light beer. 

The brew registers an abv number of 5.2%, fairly low when you know that IPAs generally run well over 6%.  Master brewer Jon Carpenter says this is the beer for which the brewery was founded.  They're a new kid on the beer block, with doors open just a 

couple of months at the time I am writing this. 

Point The Way IPA has a beautiful and rich amber color with an off-white head, shows citrus and flowers on the nose and tastes quite hoppy with a strong lemon note.  It's nice and creamy and a slightly bitter nuttiness flows into an extremely lengthy finish.  It's very refreshing and makes me wish I were having it in the backyard while barbecuing - even though it's dark out and quite chilly.  

I'm sure it will still be around when summer comes back.

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NOW AND ZIN WINE REPORT: PODCAST

The Now And Zin Wine Report is a five-times-a-week one minute feature on the world of wine.  Targeted to everyday wine consumers, the daily report contains information about wine in the news, wine tasting, pairing and recommendations, wine in popular culture and wine consumerism.

The feature is hosted by yours truly, Now And Zin's Randy Fuller.  I hope you enjoy listening to it as much as I enjoy producing it.  Cheers!

WINE EXPERTS PONDER FUTURE WINE

At the recent Wine Future in Hong Kong event, three noted wine experts looked into their crystal balls and spoke of changes on wine's horizon.

An article by Richard Siddle in Harper's Wine & Spirits Trade Review cites some oeno-prognostication from California winemaker Randall Grahm, wine critic Stephen Spurrier and Master of Wine Tim Atkin.

Grahm, the visionary head of California's Bonny Doon Vineyards, sees  winemakers going for a more nutritional approach.  Grahm envisioned wines in the future would have a "life force" element resulting from winemakers gaining an understanding of how to get the most from their soil.  This would be useful, according to Grahm, as a means of coping with climate change.

The panel presented a unanimous vote for wine regions around the Black Sea having enormous unrealized potential.  

Spurrier identified what he feels are the three best areas of opportunity for wine's future: Vermentino, Cabernet Franc and English sparkling wines.

Atkin branded Turkish wine as his pick for great growth, although he added that it's possible the greatest wine region worldwide has not yet been discovered.

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BLOOD OF THE VINES PAIRS WINE WITH MOVIES

Wine Goes To The Movies -
Blood Of The Vines
With Now And Zin Wine and Trailers From Hell

Now And Zin is pleased to announce a series of wine articles in conjunction with TrailersFromHell.com.

The series is called “Blood Of The Vines,” and each Thursday on both the Trailers From Hell blog, From Hell It Came, and Now And Zin Wine, Randy Fuller presents a wine and movie pairing - in tongue-in-cheek fashion.

In case you don’t know about Trailers From Hell, it’s the brainchild of film director Joe Dante.  On the site, Joe and other movie “gurus” screen movie trailers and add some personal comments about the films in question.  It’s highly entertaining, and highly addictive.  Browse the library of titles and see for yourself - betcha can’t watch just one!

Many of the movie gurus are wine lovers as well as film lovers, so this pairing of two different parts of the blogosphere came easily.  We hope you find the pairings entertaining, too.

Trailers From Hell began as a haven for horror movie fans, hence the hellish blood references and preponderance of horror movie titles in the trailer library.  Over time, the site has broadened to include other types of Hollywood offerings besides the horror genre.  It is there, though - in monsters and mayhem - where the roots of Trailers From Hell remain.

Now And Zin has dabbled in mixing wine and movies before - “never mix, never worry” - and we’re starting to get a taste for it.  We’d love for you to check out “Blood Of The Vines” on the Now And Zin Wine Blog or the new Trailers From Hell blog, From Hell It Came, as wine goes to the movies.