Bokisch Wines

When you get a chance to sample wine with the winemaker, jump on it. Markus and Liz Bokisch were pouring their offerings recently at a couple of places in Los Angeles, and I caught up with them at 3Twenty South Wine Lounge on La Brea - 320 South La Brea, in fact.

Bokisch Vineyards specializes in Spanish grape varieties grown in their vineyards in Lodi, California.  Markus explains that while he was born and raised in California, he visited family in Spain quite often as a child, and formed a love of Spanish wines there.  "As kids, we were given wine with water added at meals. As we got older, there was less and less water included.  By the time we were grown, it was all wine."

"After Liz and I were married, we moved to Spain and worked in the wine industry there for a while.  We came back to California and searched for vineyard land, stopping in Lodi because it reminded us of Spain.  Also, the Spanish varieties grow well there."

Liz and Markus are an easy-going and friendly pair, and they were both happy to talk to those of us who came for the tasting.  Liz told an interesting story about the evolution of their Garnacha Blanca.  "The first vintage was way over the top," she said, "with over 15% alcohol content and a full body like a Viognier.  It wasn't a bad wine, if that's what you want, but it wasn't varietally correct.  We were taking the grapes based on how they tasted off the vine.  It took several vintages for us to learn to trust the brix and take the fruit at the right time, so we'd have it like we wanted it."  


Markus spoke of his attempts at blending his Garnacha and Graciano wines.  "That didn't work out," he explained, "because both of those grapes like to fight for territory.  They just don't match up when you try and blend them together, so we kept them apart, which is how they like it."


Bokisch Vineyard is a very small production winery, making less than 2000 cases per year in total.  The groundwork for expansion is being laid, though.  Recent new hire Kenny Stetson is now the cellarmaster, freeing Liz and Markus to focus on the winemaking responsibilities.


The couple is looking forward to pouring their wines at the annual tasting event of the Tempranillo Advocates, Producers and Amigos Society, in San Francisco on June 9, 2012.  TAPAS is a non-profit organization devoted to Iberian varieties.  If you plan on attending, I heartily recommend you make sure to stop at the Bokisch table.

Here are the Bokisch wines I tried at this tasting event:


2011 Albariño, Terra Alta Vineyard - A very lively nose of citrus, especially grapefruit, leaps forward.  The palate shows great acidity, lovely zest and lemon lime notes with a touch of grapefruit


2011 Garnacha Blanca, Vista Luna Vineyard - The wine was served a bit too cold, and as a result the nose tight.  Again, there's a great acidity and a zesty, tropical fruit finish.


2009 Tempranillo, Liberty Oaks Vineyard - Super ripe cherries on the nose with a big palate of cherry, blackberry and plum with an amazing tannic structure and yet again - fabulous acidity.  3Twenty owner and sommelier Edgar Poureshagh told me he had decanted the Tempranillo for a couple of hours because "the tannins were rippin'."


2009 Garnacha, Terra Alta Vineyard - Blackberry, cherry, smoke and earth.


2007 Graciano Terra Alta Vineyard - A low yielding, late ripening grape, this Lodi Graciano has a nose that's dense and rich, and very earthy.  Big tannins can't hide the dark, earthy chocolate and black cherry notes on the palate.


2009 Graciano, Las Crezas Vineyard - This one shows a huge chocolate nose, with big tannins and a lovely black cherry finish.

Georges Duboeuf Beaujolais Nouveaux 2011

Picnics are fun, even if you go solo - and even if it's just out on the deck.  Faced with a little yard work and armed with a salad and a bottle of Beaujolais Nouveau by Georges Duboeuf, I made a picnic that turned out very nice.

One important consideration is this: get the yard work done first, then relax.  It's a lot easier to do hard labor before the wine, rather than after it.  And, the task/reward scenario has always loomed large in my life.

Duboeuf's BN had been sitting in the wine cellar/office/junk room since its natural season, around the end of last year.  A perfect springtime L.A. sunny day - barely warm with a cool breeze - provided an opportune backdrop for the work and the picnic.

The wine has only 12.5% abv, so it's a great lunchtime accompaniment, when you probably want to go a little easier on the alcohol.  Its fruity, youthful nose is abundant with fresh cherries and strawberries.  The palate is also young and fruity with a nice acidity, so it goes great with food.

This "Red Beaujolais Wine" paired well with my favorite grab'n'go lunch - a mélange of tasty treats from the Whole Foods salad bar.  As usual, I packed some grain, hummus, black olives, Parmesan cheese, eggless tofu salad and corn into the small box, along with a couple of corn fritters.  I was feeling rather giddy on the first day of my unemployment in which I had been able to just relax - job hunting is harder than having a job - so I threw in the fritters as a treat.

That's a big piece of banana cake in the photo, by the way, and the BeauJo went quite well with that, too.


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Spanish Wines At Whole Foods Market

The wines of Spain loom large in my love of the grape.  It was a tasting event featuring Spanish wines which first made me want to pursue wine as something more than just a beverage.  To paraphrase the Hoyt Axton song made famous by Three Dog Night, “I’ve never been to Spain, but I kinda like the vino.”  I kinda like it a lot.

Whole Foods Market has their springtime spotlight on Spain’s wine heritage, and they are featuring a dozen Spanish wines that are each priced at less than $20.

When the grocery chain invited me to participate in a pair of Twitter tastings featuring some of these Spanish wines, I didn’t even think about saying no.  Due to scheduling difficulties, I was unable to participate in the first round of tasting and tweeting.  The second round - April 19th, 2012 at 7:00 p.m. CDT - will see me tasting and tweeting.  Since my local Whole Foods was kind enough to supply me with all six of the wines in the tastings, allow me to taste and type about the first three now.

Hermanos Lurton Rueda Verdejo 2010
In addition to Spain, Francois Lurton also makes wine in his French homeland, as well as in Portugal, Argentina and Chile.  This wine comes under a screwcap and carries an alcohol number of 12.5% abv.

This Verdejo comes from from low-yielding vines.  When a grapevine yields a small amount of fruit, that fruit tends to be much more concentrated in aroma and flavor.  The Lurton holds true to that rule, showing a medium golden tint and an extremely aromatic nose.  Tropical fruit aromas, cantaloupe and the peel of lemons and oranges fill my nostrils immediately.  It’s the kind of bouquet I want from a slightly chilled white wine on a warm afternoon outside.  Not to plagiarize Evan Dawson, but it has the olfactory sense of summer in it.

The wine is fairly full in the mouth, too, with a razor-sharp acidity.  The citrus zest comes across the palate first with pineapple next - not the sweet heart, but the part very close to the rind.  Melon lingers on the very long finish.  This is what I want a white wine to be - anytime.


Castillo de Monséran Cariñena Garnacha 2009

The grapes for this wine - called Grenache elsewhere - are grown in Spain’s northeastern Aragon region.  The cool-climate vineyards are located up in the Sierra de la Virgen mountains.  The DO status for Cariñena was created in 1932, and the area is where the French Carignane grape originated.  It’s known as Mazuelo in Cariñena and is still widely planted, although Garnacha Tinta is king.

The back label, after a brief and none-too-descriptive summary of the vinification, ends up with one of those great blanket recommendations: “To be drunk with all meat dishes or slightly chilled with any starter.”  That doesn’t narrow it down much, but it does leave my options wide open.  Again, a moderate alcohol level of 12.5% abv.

The medium dark hue tips off a nose of very intense black cherry and blackberry with a bit of earth peeking through.  The taste is a mix of cherry and raspberry, with a tartness and earthy quality about it.   A great level of acidity makes the mouth water.  Nice tannins would support that rather all-encompassing pairing suggestion..


Castaño Yecla Monastrell 2011

Yecla is a DO in the Murcia region of southeastern Spain.  The area is known for its Monastrell - elsewhere called mourvédre.  Under the Castaño screwcap is a wine made from organic grapes and bearing a robust 14% alcohol number.

It’s a very dark wine, not inky but getting close to it.  The nose displays dark blackberry and plums with a layer of clove.  On the palate there is dark fruit and spice as well.  Some oak steps forward but doesn’t try to steal the show.  That act is handled by the brilliant acidity and forceful tannins.  The Castaño Monastrell would pair quite well with a smoky grilled steak.

If these three Spanish beauties are an indication, the second round of the Whole Foods Twitter Tasting should be a gem.  Join in, if you can.  Follow my tweets, or those of @WFMWineGuys.  The hashtag #WFMWine should make it easy to channel all that Spanish wine chatter into a single column.  You can also go to http://www.twitter.com/#!/search/wfmwine to see all the tweets.

Spanish Wines Twitter Tasting 2 – Apr. 19 at 7 p.m. CST

Castell de Raimat Albariño

Faustino Rioja

Más de Leda Tempranillo

Whole Foods Market featured Spanish wines include:

Hermanos Lurton Verdejo from Rueda

Castell de Raimat Albariño from Costers del Segre in Catalan

Spartico Organic Tempranillo from Valencia 

Protos Tinto Fino from Ribera del Duero 

Faustino Rioja from Rioja

Maximo Tempranillo from La Mancha 

Más de Leda Tempranillo from Castilla y León 

La Vendimia Granacha Tempranillo from Rioja 

Cellars Can Blau Blau Cariñena Garnacha-Syrah from Priorat 

Monte Oton Garnacha from Campo de Borja

Castillo de Monséran Garnacha from Cariñena

Castaño Organic Monastrell from Yecla 

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Wine Tasting Event: Don't Be Afraid Of The Noir

Wine lovers and film fans will converge for a Hollywood Pinot Noir tasting event to celebrate film noir.  Trailers From Hell, Now And Zin and K&L Wines are pouring the Pinot Noir in association with the American Cinematheque's 14th Annual Noir City Film Festival.  Check that link for a full schedule of the films to be featured.

The event - Don't Be Afraid of the Noir - will be held Thursday April 26, 2012 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at K&L's Hollywood location, 1400 N. Vine Street.  Tickets cost $15 per person and will be available at the door.

Your hardworking Now And Zin correspondent has been invited to share in the hosting duties, which I have been led to believe involve standing around tasting wine and talking about it some.  That sounds like it’s right up my alley.  Some filmmakers have signed on for that gig as well, notably Dan Ireland, Chris Wilkinson, Adam Rifkin, Brian Trenchard-Smith and TFH chief guru Joe Dante.  Presumably, they were led to believe the job involves standing around tasting wine and talking about movies.

Here are the Pinots which will put us all in the noir mood, examined by our Film Noir Wine Critic, Robert Walter Parker-Neff:

Black Ridge Vineyards Pinot Noir

"Black Ridge is made by ADS Wines, a red stained property in Lodi, owned and operated by the Scotto family.  They have been in the wine business since the 1940's, the heyday of film noir.  Come to think of it, it was the heyday of Lodi, too.  I'm going on the assumption that three generations of Scottos can't be wrong.  That's why they're still there.  The Pinot is soft and pretty, two things a man like me likes, especially when they arrive together.  It's also supple and juicy.  Things are looking up."

Jackhammer Central Coast Pinot Noir

"In a rare moment of clarity, the Los Angeles Times made this one a Wine of the Week.  They say it's all about the grapes, and the grapes for this Pinot come from cool Central Coast sites in the Santa Maria Valley, Santa Barbara County, Santa Lucia Highlands, and Edna Valley.  That's a lot of ground to cover, but you get used to it selling door-to-door.  Aged in French oak barrels older than my suit, JackHammer brings the berries and spices forward with smooth tannins.  That's the way I like my tannins.  Smooth.  The Times calls it "delightful," which is odd because I'm used to hearing them break out the twenty-five cent words.  I'd pair it with a Mike Hammer movie, if you like that sort of thing."

Napa Cellars Napa Valley Pinot Noir

"The grapes for this Pinot Noir come from Napa Cellars' southerly Napa Valley vineyard north of San Pablo Bay.  I used to live there, a little room over a garage.  I couldn't see the grapes from there, but I sure could see the ocean fog.  They say that makes for a long growing season.  You ask me, driving a forklift around a winery for chump change, that makes for a long growing season.  Once, the fog cleared out just enough so I thought I saw Robert Mitchum stomping some grapes to a pulp.  The wine is fruity and accessible, not a bit like Mitchum.  But then nobody is."

Rickshaw Sonoma County Pinot Noir

"This Pinot reminds me of a dame I used to know, drenched in pretty cherry and wild strawberry aromas, accented by hints of clove.  She worked at a farmers market.  The palate is juicy, with a core of red fruit that carries you through to a spice-kissed finish.  Is it getting warm in here, or do I just need a cold beer?"

Windrun San Luis Obispo County Pinot Noir

"Ken Brown made this wine, so now you know why he's in that line of work.  He loves to talk about the cool Burgundian climate of beautiful San Luis Obispo, cool like an ocean breeze.  I think it's more like he's talking about himself, but then, I'm suspicious by nature.  Oh, yeah, the wine.  Full of ripe cherries, raspberries, you know the drill.  One thing I like about it - it's drinkable now with or without food.  Most of the characters I know get along the same way.  I'll take mine with a steak that thick.  But that's how I take my bourbon, too, when I can get it."


Sounds like a great time coming, so get that $15 ready.  Don't Be Afraid of the Noir, Thursday April 26 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at K&L Wine, 1400 N. Vine Street in Hollywood.


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Blood Of The Vines: Runaway Train

Wine Goes To The Movies With
Now And Zin and Trailers From Hell.com

Is it just me, or do all the characters Eric Roberts plays need a smack upside the head from a wine bottle?  Not the 750 mL size, either, but a magnum (1.5 L) or a Methuselah (6 L) or even a Nebuchadnezzar (15 L) just to make an impression.

With a roster of 243 roles to his credit, I’m not going into all of them.  Suffice it to say that it just seems to me Roberts always plays the guy with whom you’d hate to be stuck pulling off a crime.  Can’t keep his mouth shut, no finesse, no idea how to be unobtrusive.  Hey, that sounds a lot like the group at the last wine tasting I attended!

Regardless of what I think of his characters, Roberts sure does work a lot.  According to IMDB, he is presently listed as having two films underway, one that he is announced for, eight in pre-production and 22 which are in post-production.  33 films in less than a couple of years seems like a lot to me, but I’ve never even been on a casting call - what do I know?  It seemed like a lot to the actor who waited on me at the restaurant last night, too.

At any rate, “Runaway Train” does nothing to sway my feelings for the characters Eric Roberts plays.  Hey, Buck!  Whoop!  Upside the head.

Jon Voight, on the other hand, has so much ice on him in this flick he looks like the missing link.  He has more ice on him than the freezer in my first apartment.  I wouldn’t mind being his sidekick on a caper, but I’d sure as hell keep my mouth shut and stay out of his way.  Maybe I’d offer him some wine from a less dangerous train.

Red Car Wine is made in Graton, California just west of Santa Rosa.  The brand was born in Hollywood, though.  Founded by producer Carroll Kemp and late screenwriter Mark Estrin, Red Car is named after the streetcar line that served Los Angeles until the 1960s.  The Trolley and Boxcar lines are made from Sonoma Coast fruit taken from a variety of vineyards, including their estate land.

Rolling boxcars:

Train - the rock band - has a wine club in which they offer a wine of the month.  They also have their own brands: the Drops of Jupiter Petite Sirah and the Calling All Angels Chardonnay.  One would have to guess that they rock.  A portion of the proceeds go to charity.

Loco Vino - Missouri’s West Winery has a line of locomotive wines.

Wine Trains - Just about anyplace with at least three wineries in straight line has a wine train connecting them.  Some skip the wineries altogether and just have wine on the train.  See Napa Valley, Santa Barbara, Fillmore, Texas, Colorado, Alabama, South Dakota, New York and, as they say on the late night TV ads, many, many more.  It’s a lot more comfortable than the Runaway Train, and there’s wine on board.  A win/wine situation.

Coaltrain Wine & Spirits - A Colorado Springs store where the big news seems to be that Pliny the Elder is out of stock.

Night Train - Bum Wine offers a nice writeup on Gallo’s low-end juice.  Ride the rails right to the bottom of the barrel.

Bearboat Pinot Noir Russian River Valley 2007

When I taste a wine I like in a restaurant or bar, I always look forward to learning more about the winery.  It’s such a great feeling to discover a new boutique winery or a winemaker I had not known before.  On the opposite end of that emotional spectrum is the feeling I get when I open a winery’s site and find a cartoon of two bears in a rowboat.

Wine experts constantly remind us to steer clear of wines featuring animals and/or cartoons on their labels.  Those “critter label” marketing tricks are used to make ordinary wines sell better by catching people’s eyes as they scan the wine shelf at the supermarket.  The thinking is: people will pass up any number of informational-looking images without noticing them, but everyone stops and looks at the kitten playing with a ball of yarn.

I don’t like “cute” in my wine, and when I ordered Bearboat Pinot Noir at Wood Ranch in Los Angeles, I felt that I was setting myself up for disappointment.  Seeing those cartoon bears on every web page, spouting off "humorous" dialogue between them, confirmed that feeling.  The above image is one of several from the Bearboat website.

This wine is is made under the corporate umbrella of Rémy Cointreau.  It’s a blend of 95% Pinot Noir grapes from Sonoma County’s Russian River Valley and 5% “old-vine Gamay Beaujolais.”  Huh?  Well, that’s a new one on me.  It seems that the fact they are blending French Gamay with Sonoma Pinot is the story here, but in the online materials for this wine, the company just glosses right over that fact, as if we didn’t notice.

It’s particularly odd in that the tasting notes provided online go into such detail about the "cool-climate, destemmed, hillside fruit" and the four different kinds of "tightly grained oak" used in the aging process.  But there's not so much as a "Waiter, there's a Gamay in my Pinot" joke from those bears in the rowboat.

The wine is dark and moody, which I like a lot.  There’s a hint of forest floor here - actually vineyard floor - along with the nice blackberry fruit.  It’s tasty enough to have collected a small hipster hat full of points, stars and medals from various publications and competitions.

I must imagine that Alsatian winemaker Raphaël Brisbois probably never saw his career arc winding up in a rowboat with a couple of bears.

Cordon Chardonnay 2009

We arrived early - imagine that! - for a play in West Hollywood, and decided that we had just enough time to stop into Hugo’s for drinks and appetizers beforehand.

The venerable eatery on Santa Monica Boulevard has a short wine list with a lot of variety packed into it.  Wines from Bordeaux, Limoux, La Mancha, Valencia, Veneto and Mendoza offer a world tour, while California is represented by Lodi, Sonoma  and Monterey Counties as well as my wine country neighbor, Santa Barbara County.  They also place a bottle of wine on each table.  It makes me feel welcome, but it also serves as a good marketing tool.  It makes me immediately think about ordering a glass of wine - not that I need a reminder.

I saw a Chardonnay from a winery called Cordon.  The wine was listed as coming from Kick-On Vineyard, which intrigued me.

I have never been to Kick-On Vineyard - never even heard of it - but I gather it is in a good location in Santa Barbara County, west of Los Alamos and south of Santa Maria. They appear to grow Riesling and Pinot Noir in addition to the Chardonnay.  At least one SBC winemaker thinks the vineyard is under-promoted, especially for the quality of their Chardonnay grapes.

The Cordon label is the personal effort of winemaker Etienne Terlinden, who also serves in that capacity for Summerland Winery, east of Santa Barbara.  He uses grapes from several SBC vineyards - French Camp, White Oak and Faith - in addition to Kick-On Vineyard.

The Cordon Kick-On Vineyard Chardonnay sells for $8.50 per glass at Hugo’s and retails from the winery for $19.50.  130 cases were produced.  A lot of Southern California restaurants with great wine lists are picking up on Cordon, according to the list of locations where they can be found.

The nose was a bit tight due to the cold serving temperature, but it unveiled nicely as it warmed in the glass.  Apples and cantaloupes appear, swathed in a light spiciness from the neutral oak.  The palate offers apricot flavors, along with a splash of lemon and figs.

The wine paired quite well with the food, good renditions of Asian spring roll and corn tamales.  The spring rolls are unusually large and a bit difficult to eat because of their girth and the way they fall apart when cut.  The flavors are fresh and vibrant, however.  The two-tamale plate is adorned with guacamole and sour cream and is swimming in salsa verde.  It’s a lot of food for an appetizer.

It seems that any L.A. dining experience now offers The Drama At The Next Table as a free floorshow.  Ours was the young woman going on endlessly to her girlfriend about how “I was like all and he was like all and I deh eh know what to say and oh I didn't know you were like a rockstar bartender.”  I supplied the period in that quote through poetic license.  She didn’t appear to use any punctuation in her speech.  Her friend seemed to hang on every word though.

Wine Country: Iowa - Tassel Ridge Winery

The Wine Country series stays in Iowa for another winery from the Hawkeye State.  You can catch up on Iowa wine here and here, while we taste a third set of wines from Iowa.

Tassel Ridge Winery is located in Leighton, Iowa, along the Heart of Iowa Wine Trail.  My thanks go to Bob Wersen for including some pretty extensive notes on the grapes in his vineyard, some of which I’ll share here.  Bob was kind enough to send six samples of his wines.  We’ll start with the whites.

Tassel Ridge Edelweiss Iowa 2008
Tassel Ridge and all the other vineyards in the midwestern and northern United States owe a great debt to Elmer Swenson.  He was a grape breeder who came up with a number of varieties that thrive despite cold, harsh winters.  The Edelweiss grape is an Elmer Swenson creation.  From Wersen’s notes:

“Swenson crossed Vitis Riperia with Vitis Labrusca as he attempted to create a cold climate grape ‘that tasted good.’  He didn’t leave very clear records so we really don’t know exactly what the parentage of Edelweiss (or that of most of his other creations) is, but its Labrusca component is immediately clear.  In order to control the Labrusca qualities, we harvest this grape early with relatively high TA, low pH, and modest sugar.  Because of its natural high acidity, it is best when sweetened after vinification.  So, the Edelweiss is sweetened to about 7% R.S. whereas the White Blossom is not sweetened at all.  The sugar masks some of the natural flavors, but our market in Iowa demands sweet wine, so we sweeten our Edelweiss. We grow all of our own Edelweiss in our own vineyards.”  

Edelweiss is the largest planting of all the grapes in Wersen’s vineyard.

The Tassel Ridge Iowa Edelweiss has a nice, warm, golden tint.  The nose is sweet with candied apricots and pineapple juice aromas allowing only a peek at an herbal scent in the background.  The wine tastes only slightly less sweet than it smells.  Delicious apple flavors in the foreground lead to apricots and oranges on the finish.  There's a nice bit of acidity present despite the full mouthfeel.  Fans of semi-sweet wine should enjoy this effort.  It sells for $14 and carries 12.7% abv.

Tassel Ridge White Blossom
As noted by Wersen above, the White Blossom contrasts with the Edelweiss in that it is not sweetened.  It’s also a 100% Edelweiss wine.  Light in color, White Blossom has only a very faint straw tint.  It smells of pineapple and orange peel, but the fruit seems to lurk behind a wall of wet underbrush.  There’s great acidity in this wine, and the palate shows more orange zest with some green apple notes.  It actually seems rather Sicilian, with a salinity on the palate.  The nose however, shows more earth than ocean.  It’s very refreshing, and should do well chilled for a warm afternoon.  It should also serve nicely with all sorts of salads and some lighter meat fare.  The wine costs $14 and sports a 12.6% alcohol content.

Iowa Brianna 2009
Brianna is another Elmer Swenson creation.  It’s a particularly cold-hardy white wine variety and, for that reason, it has become quite popular among midwestern wine growers.  A golden hue makes the Brianna the richest looking of the three whites. Its nose is quite aromatic.  Denise smelled banana from across the room after I opened it, but I might characterize it as a whole bunch of bananas, an aroma that's both sweet and herbal at once.  There's a hint of oak on the palate, and it plays against the green fruit flavors very well.  It's quite dry with a bracing acidity and the label lists its alcohol content as 14% - rather hefty for Brianna, I would imagine.  I love the sour apple finish. It's a brilliant match with sharp, white cheddar and with a handful of peanuts the taste sensation is absolutely transformative.

Now we turn to the red wines.

Pizzeria + Pasta, Too! is a  varietal wine utilizing 100% estate-grown Sabrevois (I understand the pronunciation is “sa-brah-voy”) from the Tassel Ridge vineyards.  The grape is another Swenson creation, by the way.  This red is very dark in color, nose and palate. Ths is a dense wine, with a somewhat forceful nose that smells of plums well trodden into the ground.  Tarry notes are also present after its been open a while, and a grapey aroma hangs in the background.  It's a medium weight wine, despite the darkness in aroma and taste.   It goes with a cheese plate well, one featuring Vermont cheddar and smoked provolone, walnuts and dried cranberries.  I'll be honest - this is a very different sort of wine than I am used to drinking, and it takes a little getting used to, at least for my palate.  I don't really care for it as a sipper,  but once it hit the food, it was really quite enjoyable.  $13.

Marquette 2009 
The Marquette grape is another hybrid, actually a cross of two other hybrids created at the University of Minnesota.  These are estate grapes, too.  The wine spends a year in new French oak barrels and another 11 months in a mix of French, Hungarian and American oak.  There is an intense expression of fruit on the nose, with a bit of a balsamic edge.  The dark and luscious aromas are actually stunning.  Notes of tar turn flat paint into metal flake.  It’s jammy.  The palate has cherry cola and plums  showing with a richness that reminds me of Port-style wines.  It's not sweet, though - very dry in fact, with lip smacking acidity.  This should be great with a steak.  It sells for $25 - worth every penny - and carries an alcohol level of 16.2%.  That's right in between a Paso Robles Zinfandel and Port.

St. Croix 2008  
The St. Croix grapes are also courtesy of Elmer Swenson - I told you he was a big deal - and are grown on the Tassel Ridge estate.  This is a dry, red wine with an earthy nose, almost funky, with meat and grease notes showing amid an array of spices.  I smelled it immediately after I had smelled the Marquette, and thought something must be wrong.  As I wondered if it was corked, I remembered the Stelvin closure - all six wines are closed with a screwcap - and thought that it was probably just me.  It was just me.  Sampling the nose again on its own, I found it reminded me a bit of a funky, old Côtes du Rhône.  The bouquets on these last two wines are simply worlds apart.

On the St. Croix’s palate, the acidity is bracing and the fruit is tart.  Plums and black cherry show up with an oak spice which makes an appearance but is not overplayed.  The tannins are quite gentle.  Of the six wines featured here, this is the one you’ll ponder over.  For some reason it had me wanting meat loaf.  And I never eat meat loaf.  It’s a $20 wine with 12.9% abv.

So, we have another impressive entry from Iowa in the Wine Country series.  The Brianna, Marquette and St. Croix really stood out for my palate, and for the wonderful way they paired with food.

Iowa is the 20th state from which we have sampled local wine in this series, so we still have a way to go.  If you are a winery wanting to represent your state on Now And Zin's Wine Country, or if you know of one that should, email me: nowandzin@gmail.com.


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Blood Of The Vines: All The King's Men

Wine Goes To The Movies with
Now And Zin and Trailers From Hell

When talk turns to Louisiana, we don’t really think of wine.  Mint juleps, sure.  Falstaff beer, of course.  Absinthe, it makes the heart grow fonder.  But, be honest.  When you think of Louisiana, you think of crooked politicians, complete with prison sentences.

Willie Stark is the main character in “All The King’s Men,” and he was pretty much traced from a cutout of former Louisiana Governor Huey Long.  Broderick Crawford’s bellicose portrayal is - for my popcorn money - one of the best acting jobs in movie history.

Stark is a populist politician who forms a ruthless political machine behind all the dumb ol’ hicks he wins over with his “I’m just like you” jingoism.  That’s right - it’s kinda like watching FOX News.

The story of Huey Long fascinates me, turns my stomach, makes me cry, makes me vote, makes me want to give up voting.  It’s rather like my reaction to absinthe, only with voting involved.

In his song, “Kingfish,”  Randy Newman sings in the voice of the politician, “Ain't no Standard Oil men gonna run this state, gonna be run by little folks like me and you.”  The joke, of course, is that little folks don’t run anything.  They didn’t in 1930s Louisiana, and they sure as hell don’t in 2012 America.

I understand that John Wayne was offered the role of Willie Stark first, and turned it down - apparently with a lot of posturing about how he felt the script was unpatriotic.  The role then fell to Crawford, who wasn't so choosy.

In an ironic twist of fate, Crawford won the 1949 Best Actor Oscar for his performance, nudging The Duke out of the way.  Wayne was nominated for his starring role in Sands of Iwo Jima.  “All The King’s Men” was nominated for seven Academy Awards in all, and won three - Best Actress (Mercedes McCambridge) and Picture (Robert Rossen, Columbia) join Crawford's win.

Now that I’ve unburdened myself, howzabout a drink?  Some nice Louisiana wine would be perfect.  Uhh, except that Wikipedia’s entry for “Louisiana Wine” is basically, “Huh?”

Louisiana hardly figures in the American wine scene beyond the 17 or so bottles produced each year by the state’s four wineries.  It's brutally hot and humid there and wine grapes don't grow well in those conditions.  Louisiana winemakers - all four of ‘em - rely mainly on grapes like Blanc du Bois and Muscadine, which tend to grow well in a swamp.  That means our wine for "All The King's Men" is... a beer.

Abita Brewery is located just a short drive north of New Orleans.  A late entry into southern Louisiana’s rich brewing history, Abita has captured the hearts of ‘Nawlins beer drinkers with special brews from which a portion of the proceeds go to charitable causes.  They made a pale ale to raise money for the restoration of New Orleans after the Hurricane Katrina disaster, and a pilsner is helping clean up the Gulf shore after the major oil spills Louisiana has suffered.

The Rest of the King’s Men:

Kingfisher Beer - Couldn't resist, even though it's an Indian beer and its namesake is a bird, not a politician.

Kingfish Wine - A Livermore, CA outlet flying under the radar.  Their website features only an email address, like a speakeasy.  “Hey, have Huey send over some more uh that wine stuff.  Ah’ll pick it up at the usual place.”

King Estate Wine - It's from Oregon, and they farm organically.  It's Ore-ganic!

Fisher King Winery - Not King Fisher, but Fisher King.  It’s about as hard to grow wine grapes in Wisconsin as it is in Louisiana, although for different reasons.  The winery has some connection to the medieval tale of the Fisher King - at least the king is on their logo, holding a sparkling chalice.

California Wines: Down To Earth

During the month of April, a number of California wineries will be showcasing their sustainability efforts with green wine trails, eco-tours in the vineyard and, of course, Earth Day wine and food festivals.

Wine Institute has a list of festivities occuring during "Down To Earth Month" at wineries across the Golden State, in which sustainable farming and eco-friendly winemaking will be the focus.


The highlight will be the 6th annual Earth Day celebration April 20th - 22nd, 2012, at Pomar Junction Vineyard and Winery.  During the weekend-long bash, over 200 wine and food purveyors will show off their sustainable practices and offer samples of their wares.

The Wine Institute says the “Down to Earth” month events will "let wine lovers get down to earth—connecting to the land and the people who make the wines they enjoy in a manner that benefits the environment and the community."

Robert P. (Bobby) Koch, president and CEO of Wine Institute says, “More than two-thirds of California’s winegrape growers and winemakers have adopted our sustainable program and participation is increasing, making ours one of the most widely adopted in the wine world.”

A New Look For Now And Zin Wine

There's a bit of change underway on the Now And Zin Wine Blog.  If all my tech-savvy know-how falls into place without a hitch, you might not even notice it, except to remark that it may well be the first time all my tech-savvy know-how fell into place without a hitch.

For a number of reasons, I'm exiting the blog platform I have used for the past two years or so.  Website Tonight's Quick Blogcast service has looked good, but it has provided me with several technical issues I felt I needed to address.

I'm in the process of a "soft opening" of the new site, Now And Zin Wine, which should become official over the weekend.  It's actually a return to Google's Blogger platform, which I used in the initial months of this effort.  Google made a lot of upgrades since I had used it last, and it made sense for me to return to it.

If all goes well, it should be a seamless changeover.  If, however, you have saved links to articles on the Now And Zin Wine Blog for any reason, they will disappear at some point.  All the articles which have appeared in the past two years have been shifted over to the new site, so if you need to fix any links, they are available.

The Now And Zin Wine Report podcast also has a new location, and it is accessible through Now And Zin Wine.  You'll also find links for the Wine Country series, Blood Of The Vines, the Now And Zin Facebook page, California wine events and other items on the site.  The search box is easy to use, and the share and subscribe features should also be painless.

I'd love to hear feedback on the new site, if you feel inclined.  Contact information is available on the "About Randy Fuller" page at Now And Zin Wine.  Just click on my picture.

Thanks for all your support during an amazing growth period for Now And Zin.  I hope you find the changes make the site better.


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Wines For The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Induction

The Rock And Roll Hall of Fame will induct new members on April 14, 2012 in Cleveland, Ohio.  It's the 27th annual induction ceremony, the 27th time rock fans get to yell "It's about time!" or "Where's KISS?"  With all that shouting, we're going to need something to soothe our nerves.

With that in mind, let's take a look at the 2012 inductees and pair a wine with each.  Our pals over at the excellent rock music blog 30 Days Out have had this post up for a while now, with some tasty pics and music attached.

Performer category:

Beastie Boys
If you're singing along with “(You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To Party!)” it's a good bet you're doing jello shots or drinking beer from a glass with quarters at the bottom.  The Beastie Boys' blend of funky rock, rap and hip hop need not be reserved for the lesser beverages.  In fact, Beastie Mike D has dabbled a bit at wine criticism.  Not surprisingly, he likes wine with a bit of funk.  Root around a bit in the Côtes du Rhône aisle and pop for a Châteauneuf-du-Pape.  You should be able to find a wine that brings enough funk to get a party started without fisticuffs.
 
Donovan
Donovan's music is poetry, a delicate flower at one turn, a handful of psychedelics at the next.  His lyrics abound with references to wine, including a lovefest for the "maroon-coloured wine from the vineyards of Charlemagne."  Sounds like a Burgundy is about to be opened.  Bonneau du Martray should do nicely,  from the Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru.  You may want to select a white wine, as Charlemagne's wife is said to have preferred her royal hubby not mess his beard with the red stuff.  You are probably a much neater drinker than Charlemagne, though.

Guns N' Roses
In the mid-1980s, when Guns N' Roses exploded from L.A. with a balls-out Sunset Strip strut and an Appetite For Destruction, they redecorated a rock and roll landscape that had become rather tired and listless.  G 'N' R offered up a brashness which made other acts seem like they were mailing it in.  You may be tempted to go with a beer for them - a cheap one, in a bottle you can hurl at something - but California has a wine worthy of the Guns N' Roses brand of excess in old vine Zinfandel.  Both winemaker Joel Peterson and his Ravenswood Lodi Old Vine Zinfandel are brash enough for rock and roll.

Laura Nyro
If any one of these inductees screamed for a wine pairing, it would have to be Laura Nyro.  It was, after all, she who suggested we go "down by the grapevine, drink my daddy's wine."  She also suggested "there'll be lots of time and wine,"  but, sadly, her time ran out.  Lift a toast to her with Schramsberg's 2008 Brut Rosé.  It's complex and dry and will fit with anything you bring to a Stoned Soul Picnic.

Red Hot Chili Peppers
BloodSugarSexMagik would be a good name for a wine, if the Red Hot Chili Peppers hadn't already claimed it as their own.  Their funky guitar rock and throbbing sexuality certainly puts one in the mood for a glass of something nice to pair with their spicy gastronominal moniker.  Chili peppers call for something a little on the sweet side, like a nice Spätlese Riesling.  Dr. Loosen' Mosel-Saar-Ruwer efforts in that vein should provide enough ripe fruit sweetness to offset the power of the pepper.

The Small Faces/Faces
This dual-identity entry is remembered more for their hard-rocking, hard-living '70s style than their mod '60s diminutive version.  Rough and rowdy, never afraid to let the rough edges show, The Faces have Tannat written all over them.  Choose a varietal selection from Madiran for that swagger, or pick one blended with Cabernet Sauvignon to dress up the palate like a skinny tie on a sharkskin suit.

Early Influence

Freddie King
The electric blues master known as the Texas Cannonball, Freddie King left his fingerprints all over rock and roll.  He was a huge influence on anybody who ever picked up a guitar and intended to do some damage with it.  So affected by his entire persona, Grand Funk shouted him out in one of their big hits.  Mr. King deserves a vintage Port, full-bodied and luscious, with a whiff of smoke to reference the dance halls and pool rooms of Texas, where the blues is still the king.

Ahmet Ertegun (non performer) Award

The Ahmet Ertegun Award goes to the late Don Kirshner, a songwriter and song seller who played a big part in shaping the pop music side of rock and pioneered the maturation of televised rock concerts.  For good or for bad, he was the creative fire in the hole for The Monkees and The Archies.  Kirshner's wine should be a commercial success - natch - and should carry its years well.  Mouton Cadet is a best-seller from Bordeaux, so you can expect good things from it with age.  It's easy on the pocketbook, too.  A bottle of the current vintage will probably set you back less than a Monkees Greatest Hits CD.

The Award For Musical Excellence

You might not recognize his name, but Cosimo Matassa's New Orleans recording studio was the place from which many great rock hits of the '50s burst forth.  Matassa eschewed gimmicks and audio manipulation, preferring to let the music speak for itself.  The winemaking hasn't changed much at Lopez de Heredia since the 1800s - they didn't like gimmicks and manipulation then, and they still don't.  Their 1991 Viña Tondonia Tinto Gran Reserva is pure Rioja elegance.

As a scientist, Tom Dowd worked on the Manhattan Project that gave us the atom bomb.  As a recording engineer, he worked at the Atlantic Records console and gave us Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, Eric Clapton and the Allman Brothers.  Both sides of his career packed a whallop.  Would a fruit bomb be out of place here?  How about a warm-climate Syrah with plenty of depth under all that fruit?  Andrew Murray's 2008 McGinley Vinyard Syrah comes from the hot microclimate of Santa Barbara County's Happy Canyon - and it is the bomb.

British recording engineer and producer Glyn Johns helped nuance storm out of the speakers with acts as diverse as Led Zeppelin, The Eagles, Joan Armatrading and The Who.  He could coax a heartfelt ballad out of the recording session as well as bring the thunder and lightning right through those gold-plated wires.  Merlot here, with a silky, mellow side playing counterpoint to the rock and roll smoke and leather notes.




This article ran originally on the excellent music site 30 Days Out.


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Blood Of The Vines: Alien

Wine Goes To The Movies
with Now And Zin Wine and Trailers From Hell.

So you meet your friends for some wine before the movie.  You allow plenty of time, so you can relax and have several glasses before walking over to the cinema.  You settle into your comfy movie chair with some of that $20 movie food, let the promos wash over you, and then...

The movie is "Alien," and that drippy, gelatinous monster with the big teeth scares the wine right out of you.  How do you think Ripley felt when the alien got right in her face?  She probably felt relieved it wasn't right on her face.  That scenario didn't work out too well for her spacemates.

This alien scared so many people there should have been a red threat level attached to it.  Personally, I was off eggs for months after I saw the film.  The alien costume was so well done, the "guy-in-a-suit" tag really doesn't apply, even though it was a guy in a suit - a drippy, gelatinous suit.  The Creature from the Black Lagoon didn't scare me half as much as ol' drip tooth.  The Creature could have used a foot-long fang to boost his scare factor.

On a musical note, I hear that director Ridley Scott wanted the movie to be scored by Isao Tomita, which would have given the film more of a sci-fi sound, but the studio wanted Jerry Goldsmith's score, conducted by Lionel Newman.  The studio won, but not without lots of input from Scott - input it seems Goldsmith was none too thrilled to receive.  He got the job.  Why the sour grapes?  Speaking of which...

British Columbia's Monster Vineyards has Merlot and a red blend called Red Eye.  Maybe the White Knuckle would be more appropriate in case the monster has a taste for fish.

Little A'Le'Inn Wine - Directly from the heart of Area 51 - at least I presume that's where Rachel, Nevada is located.  It probably pairs well with that Alien beef jerky from Baker.

Alien Wine Festival - Pecos Flavors Winery in Roswell, New Mexico, was the host of the first ever Alien Wine Festival in 2011.  Information for the 2012 event is mysteriously missing.  Maybe we need Agents Scully and Fox to look into this.  Or, maybe they were the only ones to show up last year.

Alien Wine - An article by fantasy writer Raymond E. Feist on exploring the alien world of wine.

Alien Wine - This recipe for homemade hibiscus flower liquer is untried and untested - by me, anyway - but it sure looks easy.  Let us know how it works out for you.

Green Alien Wine Holder - Of all the goofy wine holders I've run across, this must be the most overpriced piece of bent metal with which I've had a close encounter. - $46


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CHANG THAI BEER

I'm not a big fan of lager beers, but this one actually tasted pretty good with Thai food.  It's a Thai beer called Chang.  The brand was established in the mid 1990s and became something of an overnight success in Thailand.  They now hold a 50% market share there as the leading beer in the country.

The name means "elephant" in Thai, and plenty of them adorn the label of the bottle.  Elephants are revered in Thailand, and the brewery no doubt hoped the association with them would elevate the product.  Apparently, it worked.  It's something like an American beer company branding themselves with the Bald Eagle - but who would be crass enough to do that?

Chang is a nice golden color in the glass and the aromas remind me of wine - Sauvignon Blanc, specifically.  There is not much of a head to speak of, and what's there dissipates rather quickly.  The nose shows a smoky side along with a floral aspect and some citrus zing.  On the palate it's full and refreshing, with a nutty salinity to counter the slight hoppiness.  On the finish there's a slightly bitter aftertaste.  The beer paired quite well with my garlic pork, and even the salad beforehand.  Did I mention the Chang was a $1.99 lunch special?  That's a hard price to beat for a cold beer on a warm day.


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BLOOD OF THE VINES: PIRANHA

Don't be too quick to fish for a white wine to pair with the 1978 "Jaws" parody, "Piranha."  The Roger Corman production, directed by TFH chief guru Joe Dante will probably require something with a little more bite.

While "Jaws" had only one fish - okay, it was a pretty big fish - "Piranha" has a whole school of the fanged demons chewing up the scenery, and anything else into which they can sink their teeth.  A Piranha attack is something which has fascinated me all my life, and apparently Dante was similarly taken with the idea of a bunch of fish picking a carcass clean.

You have to love the script's plan to kill the piranhas by opening up the waste tank at a smelting plant and prevent them from making it into the open water of the ocean.  It may be the only time in movie history that industrial waste was penned as the good guy.  Did the plan go awry and allow the killers to spawn a sequel?  Does a fish have teeth?

Considering the tip of the hat to "Jaws" - and the dearth of piranha-themed wine on the market - we will look to another dangerous denizen of the deep for the wine to pair with "Piranha."

Although Hello Vino says you should try Pinot Noir with shark, you may want to check with The Shark himself.  Golfer Greg Norman has estates in California and Australia, from which some killer wines are produced.  You can pair any of them with "Piranha" at prices that won't leave you feeling like they put the bite on you.

Take a nip of these:

Steele Wines Catfish Zinfandel - Recommended for Cioppino, which may well have some piranha in it.

Cool Fish Wines - Whites are the specialty of this Napa producer, although pairing with piranha would suggest a red with toothy tannins.

Big Fish Wines - A San Francisco-based winery which sources grapes from Santa Barbara County, Monterey and Dry Creek Valley.

FishEye Winery - This South Eastern Australia winery promises wine that jumps out of your glass, which sounds as messy as the piranhas' victims.

This wine contains fish - Personally, I'd rather hear "This fish contains wine."

Piranha attack at the Smithsonian - Maybe I'm the wrong person to be asking this, but, who sits around thinking up this stuff?  Incuded here because of the reference to "expensive Pinot Noired wine."

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ANGELES WINE AGENCY: LOS ANGELES SPRING TRADE TASTING 2012

Angeles Wine Agency is a wine distributor based in Southern California.  They specialize in importing wines from the Rhone Valley,  Burgundy, Alsace, Italy, Spain, Argentina and Australia.  They also represent wines "by interesting Artisan producers from Napa Valley, Sonoma, Anderson Valley, Monterey, Paso Robles and Santa Barbara," according to their website.

AWA put on a trade tasting in West Hollywood at Ago Restaurant on March 19, 2012, which I was invited to attend.  I found a great mix of new and old world styles which allowed guests to taste through the spectrum of the wine world.  It was a pretty great way for a wine lover to spend a Monday afternoon.  A lot of wine lovers thought so, as the jammed the patio area at Ago.

The event got off to a great start with a table devoted to rosé wines from Provence.  A half dozen bottles - any of which would be welcome on the deck this summer - were highlighted by the dry and floral Château Routas Coteaux Varois Rosé 2011 and the earthy Domaine de la Fouquette Côtes de Provence Rosé 2011.  Both are from Jeff Welburn Selections.

Welburn's main table also featured the lovely, dark, herbal Domaine Fabrice Gasnier Chinon Les Graves 2010. 

The table featuring AWA's California brands had several standouts.  The Anglim Pinot Noir Fiddlestix Vineyard Sta. Rita Hills 2009 is fruity and very smooth with a nice, tart finish.  Anglim's Grenache Vista Creek Paso Robles 2008 is a monster, showing big cherry flavor, strong tannins and great acidity.  The Palazzo Cabernet Franc 2009 has a nice display of fruit and herbs.  The Sunstone Merlot Lot 118 Santa Barbara County 2009 is smoky, dark and earthy.  I really enjoyed the ripe, red and spicy Peter Franus Zinfandel Napa Valley 2009. 

Montecastelli Selections had a table full of Italian wines which remained so crowded throughout the event I could only elbow in once for a taste of the Monteflor Velio Pinot Grigio 2010.  The Friuli wine shows some really nice mineral aromas and a nice acidity.  It's the sort of Pinot Grigio that makes me want to drink more Pinot Grigio.

The Wines of France table drew a crowd for their Châteauneuf-du-Pape offerings.  The Cuvée du Vatican "Reserve Sixtine" Rouge is tall, dark and spicy, while the Domaine De La Charbonniere "Hautes Brusquieres" digs deep for some extreme earthiness.  The Mas De Boislauzon Tintot is 100% Mourvédre, dark and moody.

Ole Spanish Selections poured some noteworthy wines.  The Bodegas Hermanos del Villar Oro de Castilla Verdejo brings grapefruit acidity from Rueda.  Three rugby fans founded Bodegas Rugvino - their Big Bang de Expoto Rioja 2008 is a bright and lively cherry flavor framed by wonderful acidity.  Bodegas La Cartuja Priorat 2010 is bold, tannic and toothy.

The Grapes of Spain table had a couple of great Ribera del Duero wines.  The Bodegas Arrocal 2009 was brimming with dusty roses and cherries with a nice tannic structure.  The Finca Torremilanos Montecastrillo Red 2009 smells and tastes of raspberries.  Bodegas y Vinedos Maurodos San Ramon Prima 2006 out of Toro brings an enormous showing of smoky blackberry.  The campfire sensation persists into the finish. 

The Argentine wines of Maipe presented by Kysela Selections really impressed me.  Their '10 Malbec sees four months in oak and has a fresh fruitiness that's almost grapey in its purity.  The '09 Reserve Malbec gets 12 months in barrels and delivers more spiciness as a result.  The '11 Torrontes sports a nose that leaps right out of the glass. Its acidity comes from the high, cool-climate vineyards of Saltas.  The Maipe 2010 Bonarda shows an intriguing, dark minerality and almost bracing acidity.

Last, but - as the cliche goes - certainly not least, were the Bordeaux selections.  I tried the Chateau de France Pessac Leognan 2009 and found a nice tannic grip and healthy acidity.  Château Laurensanne Côtes de Bourg 2009 is full of flinty, old world earth.  Château du Perier Medoc Cru Bourgeois is loaded with minerality and Marquis de Bellefont Bordeaux St. Emilion Grand Cru 2008 shows a fragrant bouquet.

HAHN FAMILY WINES ON CENTRAL COAST WINE DAY

Those of us who participated in the Twitter tasting for Central Coast Wine Day on March 15, 2012, had a blast tweeting our thoughts on the wines we were tasting that evening.  There were many online who, like me, were supplied samples to taste from the Hahn Family of wines.  The four Hahn wines we all seemed to be tasting and tweeting were the Hahn Santa Lucia Highlands Chardonnay, Hahn GSM, Hahn Pinot Noir and the Smith & Hook Cabernet Sauvignon.

 

The Hahn Family makes wine in Monterey County, in the Santa Lucia Highlands.  Warm climate vineyards there provide a good foothold for Cabernet Sauvignon, and it was that grape that captured the attention of Nicolaus and Gaby Hahn in the mid-seventies.  The Hahns turned a couple of neighboring ranches - the Smith Ranch and the Hook Ranch - into vineyards and released their first Smith & Hook Cab in 1980.  Nowadays some Paso Robles fruit is added to the fruit from the San Antonio Valley in the southern end of the Santa Lucia Mountains.

The tasting tweeters all seemed to really like the Hahn wines quite a bit.  There were numerous tweets hailing the Chardonnay as the best, and a seemingly equal number praising the GSM.  Backing for the Pinot seemed to get a late start and the Smith & Hook Cab really never seemed to get going, at least to my notice.  Winemaker Paul Clifton can feel proud of the love the tweeters were showering upon the fruit of his labor.

People seemed genuinely surprised to learn that the price of the Chardonnay, GSM and even the Pinot Noir were well under $20.  The Cabernet retails for around $30.

It was great to have a tweet-versation with a gentleman from Florida, who spoke of his trips to Paso Robles and pined for a wine country life.  He spoke with reverence of meeting Paso winemaking nobility like Gary Eberle, Kenneth Volk, Stephen Lohr and Stephan Asseo.  You can check how the conversations went on Twitter by searching the hashtag #CCWineDay on Twitter.

The Hahn Chardonnay Santa Lucia Highlands 2010 is very light in color, with a golden tint.  The nose is massive with tropical fruit, pineapple, green apples and oak spice.  It tastes tropical too, with some guava and a citrus zest element.  Oak shows up here, in restrained fashion, but maybe just a touch more than I usually like.  The effect of the oak does not hide the fruit, but it definitely colors it.  This wine certainly wowed the Twitter crowd.  It was in a dead heat for the title of favorite wine of the night.

In the Hahn GSM 2010, the Grenache gives tons of pretty fruit, the Syrah providing darkness and tannins, and the Mourvédre gives it some kick.  Medium dark ruby in color, the nose has black cherry and anise in the forefront.  A bit of an herbal note comes through as well.  On the palate, bright acidity lifts the dark fruit and coffee notes.  The Hahn GSM has great tannic structure and a cherry finish.  It's a very flavorful and somewhat complex wine.   The mix is 62% Grenache, 34% Syrah and 4% Mourvédre, with an alcohol content of 14.5% abv. 

Hahn's Pinot Noir Monterey 2010 has lovely floral aromas with cherry notes.  The palate is dominated by black cherry and I find some pretty big spice rack notes.  It’s pretty lusty, with nice tannins and a finish that goes forever.  It also has a 14.5% alcohol content.  I, and others, find it hard to believe it sells for $14 a bottle.

The Smith & Hook Cabernet Sauvignon Central Coast 2009 is a very dark ruby red color.  The nose shows dark fruit and oak spice.  It feels quite full in the mouth.  The wine is very dry and has nice, firm tannins.  The flavor of plums and currant appear on the palate, and an earthy quality holds the fruit in check.  This is a great steak wine, with some mushrooms on the side.  The Sith & Hook Cab retails for $30.

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