Two Vermentinos

Wine made from the Vermentino grape is one of the more refreshing experiences in life.  Often a Vermentino wine will come from the Italian island of Sardegna - or Sardinia - but the grape is also cultivated elsewhere, like in France, California and Virginia.  Vermentino has been found through its DNA to be identical to the Pigato grape in Liguria and the Favoria in Piedmont.  

There are few true Italian grape varieties planted on Sardegna, and Vermentino is one of the few.  The grape varieties found on the island tend to be those with more of a tie to France or Spain - Carignan, Cabernet Sauvignon, Malvasia and Bobal are plentiful, as is Cannonau, a Grenache clone.

A new restaurant in Los Angeles - Gusto, on 3rd near the Beverly Center - specializes in homestyle Italian with wines to match.  Chef Victor Casanova says the place is designed as a "cool neighborhood joint with an informal vibe and intoxicating aromas," and he has succeeded in those efforts.

Gusto has a nice wine list, too.  It’s tidy and well-stocked with good Italian choices.  I had the Villa Solais Vermentino, from Sardegna, with my meal.  The golden color is lovely and the nose - rather than being all about the aromas of the ocean, also shows traces of wood and an herbal note that is intriguing.  The wine has a great acidity - great with food - but it also feels somewhat full and creamy in the mouth.  It’s $8 by the glass.

We had appetizers of tomatoes stuffed with burrata and fried squash blossoms stuffed with cheese, followed by the roasted chicken and a side of rosemary potatoes.  The freshness of the food is simply amazing - Gusto instantly became our favorite Italian food in Los Angeles.

The Vermentino, unfortunately, did not hit the mark for Denise with the tomatoes - a little too much acidity in that mouthful - but it was excellent with squash, the chicken and the potatoes.

Some Vermentino was poured in Las Vegas, too, at the Terra Rosso restaurant at Red Rock Resort.  The Guado al Tasso Bolgheri Vermentino is part of the Antinori wine group.  It comes from the Guado al Tasso estate on the Tuscan coast .  The wine is vinified in stainless steel tanks.

The pale straw color tips me off to the fact that it might be a stainless steel wine, since wood usually imparts more of a golden shade in a white wine.  Smelling the wine offers that wonderful “oceanesque” salinity, but there’s also a nice presence of apricots here.  The acidity level is wonderful, and it feels vibrant in my mouth.

It would have been a better match with seafood, but it did alright with the late-night snack of arancini bolognese - fried, mozzarella-stuffed risotto.


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Green Sauvignon

When I try a wine at a restaurant, I usually jot down a few notes so I won’t forget any details later when I’m writing about it.  Sometimes the information given on a wine list is so sketchy it’s difficult to track down the wine online to find out more.  Sometimes I just don’t take very good notes.

I had a wine at Terroni a while back which was identified only as Green Sauvignon.  I could only find a Douglas Green Winery in South Africa and a Patricia Green in the Willamette Valley, and I don’t think either of those Sauvignon Blancs is the one I had.  The South African winery makes a Sauvignon Blanc/Sémillon blend, which would seem more like it, based on what I experienced.

The Green Sauvignon was served too cold - whites are always too cold in restaurants - but the nose did give hints of vanilla over considerable minerality.  A sweetness showed after warming a bit.  In the mouth, it was just off-dry, with minerals and melons in the flavor profile.  The acidity was good, but not overwhelming.

This Sauvignon Blanc wasn’t such a great match with the honey-vinaigrette salad dressing, or with the blue cheese, really.  It fit in nicely with the salami plate, though.

Trader Joe’s Wine Tasting

The new Trader Joe’s at 3rd and Fairfax in Los Angeles - right across from the Farmers Market - is now pouring wine tastings.  It's something I never see at the Trader Joe's stores I frequent.  They even have a little tasting bar in the back of the store.  I was told they will pour all day.  That’s the good news.

The bad news: it’s not really a very good tasting experience.  Kudos to them for the idea, but it isn’t really a good substitute for a trip to wine country.  The tastes are served in those little white paper cups in which they serve all their samples - about the size of the ones used to serve pills at the hospital.  There’s not a lot of swirling going on, and good luck getting your nose in there.

There’s no spit bucket, either - not that you have to worry too much about getting tipsy on that thimbleful of wine.  The crew member pouring for me offered a waste basket - half full of used paper napkins - in which I could expel the sip.  I did appreciate the thought, though.

Lastly, the wines being poured - there were two on the menu the day I popped in - aren’t exactly off the top shelf.  Five or six bucks can buy a decent wine at Trader Joe’s, but it has never changed my life.

Even if you don’t like the wines, you probably needed some peanuts or cheese or vanilla almond milk anyway.  There’s also the Mendocino Farms restaurant in that new shopping center, so the trip won’t be a total loss.

Blood Of The Vines: The Last Waltz

Wine Goes to the Movies with 

Now And Zin and Trailers From Hell

“This article should be read (a)loud”

It probably won’t be long before there will be sommeliers at rock concerts, if there aren’t already.  I don’t go to many concerts, so there may well be someone behind the concession stands these days curating the rock and roll wines - someone to help guide you to just the right crappy Chardonnay to hold in the hand that doesn’t have your Bic lighter in it.  Or the iPhone Bic lighter app, anyway.

TFH guru Allan Arkush tells the story about how he worked at the Fillmore East in his college days at NYU.  He made it possible for one of his professors - one Martin Scorsese - to see The Band at the Fillmore.  The rest, as they say, is rock and roll cinema history.

“The Last Waltz” isn’t just a concert movie, of course. Martin Scorsese would need more up his sleeve than that. It’s a document, a testimony, a farewell.  It completes a circle that started at the Fillmore, watching perhaps the greatest American rock band, with free tickets, in 1970.  It's no Freixenet commercial, but it's close enough for rock and roll.

The 1976 concert at Winterland was staged as a big sendoff to The Band, who were breaking up, with Robbie Robertson’s departure.  Robertson’s value as a songwriter I won’t question, but I understand that it was not uncommon for his microphone to be turned off during performances.  If only they could have managed that for Neil Diamond.

Robertson’s curious fascination with Neil Diamond surfaced in 1976, and Diamond appeared at The Last Waltz concert.  Levon Helm, for one, was critical of Diamond’s presence on the stage.  I have read that Helm and Bob Dylan had an amusing backstage conversation as Diamond was finishing his song.  Diamond was apparently the butt of a Dylan joke in which he explained to Helm that in order to properly follow Diamond, he’d have to fall asleep onstage.  I'd have given a magnum of anything Coppola makes to have been privy to that.

Much has been made of the cocaine booger on Neil Young’s nose.  It got bigger each time the story was told.  It has since been removed from the film, but now, instead of looking for the booger, people look for where the booger used to be.

Check the credits the next time you watch “The Last Waltz.”  Aside from Scorsese directing, you have cinematographers who worked on films like “Raging Bull”, “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” “Five Easy Pieces” and “Easy Rider” working the cameras.  The production designer who worked on “The Sound of Music” and “West Side Story” did the lighting.  The San Francisco Opera contributed the set from “La traviata.”  There may have been more high-level talent behind the cameras than there was in front of them.

Oh, yeah.  There were a few famous guest musicians present, too.  As your sommelier for this concert, my wine selections for “The Last Waltz” are done like a setlist, according to those who took part in the show.

Check out the trailer - and the commentary by Arkush - then do as he recommends.  Pop the DVD in the machine and turn it up.  And try not to look too hard at Neil Young’s nostrils.

The Wine setlist for “The Last Waltz”

The Band - “Hard-workin’ wines to rock your tastebuds,” proclaims House Band Wine's mission statement.  Napa, Sonoma and Mendocino wines often do that.


Ronnie Hawkins - Hidden away in California’s Suisun Valley, Winterhawk Winery does a Late Harvest Zinfandel that sings sweeter than Hawkins.


Dr. John and Bobby Charles - Uncork some Blanc du Bois and some Norton from Pontchartrain Vineyards for these two sons of Louisiana.


Paul Butterfield - Sometimes a big, buttery Chardonnay gives me the blues.  Sometimes it’s just what I needed.  Newton Vineyard does it like that.


Muddy Waters and Eric Clapton - Muddy Water Winery in New Zealand’s Waipara Valley used to make a wine called Mojo.  Now they make one called Slowhand.


Neil Young and Joni Mitchell - Canada’s Harvest Winery should fit nicely for these north-of-the-border legends.


Neil Diamond - In honor of Dylan’s comment, let’s choose something from Sleepy Creek Vineyards.


Van Morrison - Bunratty Castle is the site of the first vineyards in Ireland.  The Celts have always been crazy about their mead.


Bob Dylan - So Dylan’s Wine Cellar is named for the owner’s kid, but he may well have been named after Bob.  Stop in the next time you’re in Peekskill, NY.


Ringo Starr - Ringo’s playing a winery this summer.  Enjoy a Chateau Ste. Michelle Riesling.


Ronnie Wood - From the Wines That Rock series, 40 Licks Merlot.


The Staple Singers - They hit it big with Stax records, so dip into Memphis with a Blush from Old Millington WInery.


Emmylou Harris - Vin de pays means “country wine” in French, so why not grab a nice back porch blend of Viognier, Sauvignon Blanc and Muscat d’Alexandrie from Château Saint-Cosme.

Lawrence Ferlinghetti - Not a wine for this poet, who performed Loud Prayer at the conclusion of The Band’s farewell concert, but a book.  We should all go out like that.  Have some Bukowski.



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Rhone Rangers Los Angeles 2012

"From out of the west with the speed of light and a hearty ‘hi-yo Cinsault’..."

There was no clatter of hooves beating upon the dusty pavement of downtown Los Angeles, no fiery steed, no faithful Indian companion.  There were SUVs revving at the traffic light, parking lot attendants and a pretty good Indian restaurant around the corner.

The Rhone Rangers did, however, ride into Los Angeles to pour their wines on June 2, 2012 at Vibiana, a former cathedral in downtown Los Angeles which has been converted into an event venue.  It’s a sunny and open space with beautiful architectural lines.

In case you are uninitiated, there is an organization of winemakers who are wild about the grapes of the Rhone Valley.  These Rhone Rangers - mostly of the U.S. West Coast - meet every so often to pay tribute to those French grapes.  It’s a tasting event like no other, where the expression of the Rhone grape varieties in other terroir is explored.

Leading Rhone Ranger Randall Grahm, of Bonny Doon Vineyards, referred to the event space, Vibiana, as a “decommissioned church” in a tweet before the event began.  It still shows up on Google Maps as “Cathedral of St. Vibiana.”  Like many of us, Mr. Grahm worships at the altar of the vine.

Grahm’s Bonny Doon VIneyards was present, with Grahm himself behind the table.  I had never run into him at a Southern California tasting event before, so it was a real treat to get a face-to-face meet with the witty, erudite, social-media-addicted, original Rhone Ranger of the California wine world.  Since he is noted for his minute-by-minute presence on Twitter, I wasn’t too surprised to catch him in what looks like mid-tweet.  I apologize that I didn't think to get another, more suitable, image in the crush of people around the Bonny Doon table.  I did get the chance to speak with him, briefly, while tasting.  His comments will be featured in an upcoming podcast on the Now And Zin Wine Report.

The Bonny Doon wines are represented by the iconic Le Cigare Volant, described by Grahm as “A blend of grenache, syrah, and mourvèdre with just a soupçon of cinsault.”   I sampled a different kind of red, the Clos de Gilroy, a Grenache/Syrah/Cinsault blend taken from various Monterey County vineyards.  It’s a fresh and vibrant red that’s perfect for summer use.  Speaking of warm weather, the 2010 Le Cigare Blanc, Beeswax Vineyard, is an exciting white blend in which Grahm tips his beret to Châteauneuf-du-Pape.  Roussanne and Grenache Blanc mix it up with gorgeous expressions of fruit, minerals and acidity.  Bonny Doon‘s 2011 Vin Gris de Cigare rosé shows light cherry and strawberry flavors and aromas in a nice, dry framework.

Winemaker’s daughter Maggie Tillman poured the fruit of her father’s labor.  Bob Tillman is the grower and winemaker for the Paso Robles family outfit of Alta Colina.  Big, attention-getting wines are the rule here, like their 2010 Estate Marsanne.  It spends 18 months in oak and is not a bit shy about it.  This one would be a great choice for the holidays, with its bounty of flavor.  Their refreshing 2011 Grenache Blanc is the first varietal release they’ve done with that grape.  Big bold reds - Grenache, Mourvedre, GSM - round out the menu.

Acquiesce Vineyards, near Lodi, brought some of the more beautiful bottlings I found at the event.  Their wines are packaged in imported French bottles.  Owner and winemaker Susan Tipton says Acquiesce is Lodi’s only all-white wine winery.  There are some interesting facets to their wines.  The herbaceousness and salinity of the Grenache Blanc, the nuttiness of the Roussanne and the memory of snap peas in the Belle Blanc blend of those two grapes are delightful.  The rosé is made from Grenache, and produced like a white wine, not from a juice bleed-off.

Cornerstone Cellars of Napa Valley has a rosé that was a big hit on this warm afternoon.  Their 2011 Stepping Stone Corallina comes from their millennially-priced line. Green elements indicate the whole cluster press that was used and this pinkie is also not of the saignée method.  In fact the fruit comes from their dedicated Syrah vineyard intended only for use in the rosé

Ridge Vineyards has been doing great things with grapes since before Apple put the “i” in Cupertino.  They are probably best known for their extensive line of Zinfandels, but for this show they stayed true to the Rhone varieties.  Tart Carignan, brooding Petite Sirah and spicy Syrah all bear the mark of Rhone specialist John Olney, who took charge of the Lytton Springs winery in 1999.

Rhone specialists Curtis Winery of Santa Barbara County brought cool-climate Syrah and Grenache which display a tartness I like a lot. Their Heritage Blanc, a 60/40 mix of Viognier and Roussanne, has a lovely floral aspect and a nice acidity.

Every winery seemed to have a great, floral, aromatic Viognier on hand.  Clayhouse Wines, Adelaida Cellars and Ecluse Wines - all of Paso Robles - are standouts.  Ecluse does theirs in ⅓ steel, ⅔ oak for a full and creamy treat.


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Blood Of The Vines: Lord Love A Duck

Wine Goes To The Movies 

with Now And Zin Wine and Trailers From Hell

If you are in the mood for an unhinged parody of the beach-blanket-teen-flesh movies of the early to mid-’60s - and when are you not in the mood for that? -  “Lord Love A Duck” is where you should go.  Duck pairs wonderfully with wine and the movie gives flight to the “groovy” part of the sixties.  I expect Peter Sellers to walk into the scene at any moment.  The script can only manage to flirt with alcohol, but going on a murderous rampage with a bulldozer suggests there may have been something stronger in play.

Tuesday Weld and Lola Albright play the bikini-beach gal roles to the hilt.  Sweaters?  Sure you get sweaters!  How about a dozen?  Try them on - please!  Roddy McDowall is a cross between Moondoggie and Bonehead, only dangerous.  The music in the beach party scenes is just about the most redundantly cheesy song ever written - one of those “Here’s what showbiz thinks is hip” moments.  Mercifully, this time, it’s tongue-in-cheek.  The dance performed to that music is perhaps the best parody of the act of sex I’ve ever seen.

While you are viewing “Lord Love A Duck,” try not to crawl too deeply into the fascination with the title - it has probably won an award for awfulness.  McDowall’s character calls himself by the name of an extinct duck, in case you were wondering.  Swirl that ducky wine and relish the satire before you.  If that pairing doesn’t get you twelve sweaters, hold the relish.

Duckhorn Vineyards makes a nice Petit Verdot - among a number of other nice Bordeaux varieties that would pair nicely with duck.  They also have a duck on the label, and you have to love that.  They also have the Paraduxx line, when one duck isn’t enough.

Duck!  There’s more!

Cold Duck - One writer calls it “a cross between grape Fanta, Cranberry Juice Cocktail, and one of those ‘Champagnes’ you need to swallow with Advil in order to circumvent the inevitable headache.”  Cheers!

Duck And Wine Festival - Duck, North Carolina is the place for this one.  You’ll have to wait for April - that’s apparently when wine season opens in the Carolinas.

The Inevitable Duck Wine Bottle Holder - This one shows the duck comically appearing to glug the bottle.


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Resalte Ribera Del Duero Crianza 2005

Considering how much I love the wines of Spain - and that it was an Iberian tasting event that got me into wine in the first place - I don’t feel that I have Spanish wines often enough.  It’s not for lack of loving them, it’s just that I do a lot of specific tasting that always seems to take me to some other wine corner of the world.

A sample from Bodegas Resalte came to me recently via the nice folks at TGIC Importers in Southern California, who kindly made it available to me.  It's the Resalte Ribera del Duero Crianza 2005.

Resalte has only been in existence since 2000 in the village of Peñafiel in the Ribera del Duero region, a mere babe in the woods in a place where wine has been around since Bacchus was an apprentice.  They must have learned quickly - their ‘05 Crianza made Wine Spectator’s Top 100 Wines of 2010 list.  It came in at number 26, which made it the top Spanish wine on the chart.

It is, of course, a 100% Tempranillo wine.  It spends 15 months in oak barrels, 80% of which are French and 20% American.  The alcohol content is a whopping 15% abv.  It would seem to have been crafted specifically for the American palate.

The wine’s bouquet is extremely rich, with big dark fruit and lot's of tar.  The palate is equally dark and rich.  The tarriness that drapes over the plums and cassis flavors is just exquisite.  Fine tannins, just a little bit toothy, will make this one a good choice to serve with steak.  It’s also good with the black beans and rice in casamiento.  The BBQ tofu was a little lame for it.  I'm embarrassed that I even tried that, but I’ll write it off to experimentation.  This is a great wine, full and inviting, and deserving of a nice cut of meat.

Whole Foods Wine: Summer Twitter Tasting #1

The folks at Whole Foods Market have a popular series of Twitter Tasting events designed to show off the wines offered in their chain of groceries.  The Whole Foods wine buyers and some local stores take part, but mostly the gatherings consist of a bunch of social media addicts who love wine - good people like you and me.

Their Twitter Tastings about their line of Spanish wines were quite enjoyable, and just last week the same venue was used to expose Whole Foods’ wines of summer.  They have a top ten list of summer favorites, and three of the wines were the topic of the May 31, 2012 event.  Another trio will be sipped and discussed on July 12, 2012 from 7:00 - 8:00 p.m. CT.  If you want to take part, pick up the wines and log on at that time.  Use the hashtag #WFMwine.  We’ll be waiting for you.

There was a lot of very satisfied tweeting about the three wines tasted for the most recent event.  A lot of tweeters found all three to be of high quality at a reasonable price.

Mionetto Prosecco is made from organically-grown Glera grapes, which were known as Prosecco until a few years ago.  The name of the grape was changed to help protect the name of the Prosecco D.O.C.  The sparkling wine has only an 11% alcohol content and less than 1% residual sugar.  The winery advises serving it refrigerator-cold, which is a lot colder than I like to serve wine.  They recommend Mionetto Prosecco as a base for Bellinis and other sparkling wine cocktails.

I found the nose a little hard to reach - that happens to me a lot with very cold wine - but minerals and lemon lime did come through for me.  On the palate, the toasty aspect of the fruit was more pronounced than I had anticipated.  It wasn’t as sweet as I had thought it might be, either.  Apples and citrus are in front, with a gentle earthiness riding over the sweetness of the fruit.  Minerals abound amid a wonderful acidity.  The medium finish really holds that minerality.  On Twitter, @WineHarlots liked it a lot.  I know that @WineHarlots tend to love that which sparkles, they also have a discerning palate I can trust.

Pratsch Grüner Veltliner 2011 is another organic wine.  The Pratsch winery is in Austria, northeast of Vienna.  This wine also presents an easy-drinking abv number of 12%.  On the Austrian scale of wine quality it is Qualitätswein.  The Austrian and German quality scale is as challenging a topic as the Italian D.O.C. system, so I won’t pretend to be an authority on it.  As I understand, Qualitätswein means the grapes used in the wine were harvested somewhat overripe.  This could result in a late-harvest type of sweetness, but in this case it does not.

The Pratsch Gruner is very pale and has a nose of lemons and wet rocks.  On the palate it’s very smooth - almost too smooth.  I would like to have a little more acidity, but the smells and flavors are great.  Green apples and minerals are most notable, and the minerals are all over the finish.  Chill this wine for a summer sipper.

On Twitter, @SomeGrapes, @DeniseFraser, @joewinetraveler and others commented on how nice they found the acidity, directly contradicting my impression.  @WineFoodTravel pointed out there’s a hint of cucumber, which I had not noticed until it was pointed out.

Tormaresca Neprica 2010 is a wine from Italy’s I.G.T. Puglia region.  The grapes used are alluded to in the wine’s name:  NEgroamaro, PRImitivo and CAbernet Sauvignon.  The red blend is vinified and aged completely in stainless steel, with full malolactic fermentation.  I always love tasting a red wine produced without oak - the aromas and flavors are always so fresh and enticing.  In this wine, malolactic fermentation imparts a full-mouthed creaminess.

It’s medium-dark in the glass and has an amazing nose - big, huge black cherry, raspberry and currant notes are all wrapped in an earthy hint of allspice.  The palate is lean and fruity, showing very dark raspberry and cherry flavors, but so clean.  The nice acidity level and elegant tannins work together to make a mouth-watering quaff that is a joy to drink.  And in case you think summer wines have to be white or pink, this shows otherwise.  Neprica takes a chill quite well.

On Twitter, @sf_valerie thought the Tormaresca Neprica was like an Orin Swift Chianti, while @melanie0 was happy to find a chillable red for the hot weather ahead.

We hope to see your Twitter handle in the timeline in July!


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Wine Country: Indiana - Turtle Run Winery

Winemaking in Indiana dates back to the 18th century, although it has only recently become a going concern.  According to the Indiana Wine Grape Council, there were only nine wineries in the Hoosier State in 1989.  Today, there are 60.  There is one American Viticultural Area in the state, the Ohio River Valley AVA. The IWGC states that Traminette is the signature grape of the state

Turtle Run Winery is in Corydon, Indiana, less than a half-hour west of Louisville, Kentucky.  If you can’t imagine a turtle running, try wrapping your head around the notion that Indiana just may have some of the best terroir in the country.

Turtle Run’s owner Jim Pfeiffer tells me his property is situated on one of the  best limestone deposits in the world.  That limestone is prized by builders and winemakers alike.  Wherever you find grapes growing in limestone-based soil, you are likely to find some outstanding mineral characteristics in the wines made from them.  “Our grapes generously provide us with incredible depth and complexity,” Pfeiffer says.

Pfeiffer also breaks down American oak to specific regions, saying that “Minnesota oak has different characteristics than oak from Ohio, Tennessee or Kentucky.”  Pfeiffer helped form the Indiana Uplands WIne Trail.

Pfeiffer proudly notes that his Turtle Run Traminette turned up on a list of best wines under $20 available in Indiana, a list compiled by wine writer Howard Hewitt.  “There were a few American wines on the list,” says Pfeiffer, “and only one outside of the West Coast.  Our Traminette was ranked as the number five wine overall.”  Pfeiffer is sure that only the lack of national distribution keeps his limestone-rich terroir from being widely recognized, and he may be right.  All four wines we sampled for this article were produced from grapes grown in the Pfeiffer Vineyard, in the Ohio River Valley AVA in Indiana.  The samples were graciously provided by Turtle Run Winery.

Traminette 2011 (blue bottle) is produced in the traditional style, 13.1% abv and 1% residual sugar.  The wine is a light golden color in the glass, with a slight effervescence upon opening which was not present on the second night it was open.  Nice aromas leap from the glass, fruity with a nice slab of minerals on the side.  The mouthfeel is medium-full and dry with very nice acidity, ripping acidity, in fact, when unchilled.  Orange peel, melon rind and lemon-lime flavors combine with that acidity to create a very zesty, zippy wine.  This is quite an impressive effort. Traminette, by the way, is a cross of Gewürztraminer and a French American hybrid.

Traminette 2011 (green bottle) is barrel-fermented, as opposed to the stainless steel treatment given the blue bottle version.  At 13.1% abv, the wine is just as enjoyable, though.  A beautiful, rich, golden color appears very pretty in the glass.  Aromas of earthy honeysuckle, apricot and tropical fruit mix with mellow vanilla notes.  There’s a slight effervescence with this Traminette, too, upon opening.  This dissipates over time and disappears completely when ice cold, so don’t give it more than a bit of a chill.  The ripping acidity also diminishes when too cold.  The oak notes support the intense pineapple and guava flavors, and a big spiciness makes a play on the palate, as well.

Vignoles 2011 appears with a lovely golden hue in the glass, just like the barrel-fermented Traminette, but it is steel-fermented.  An earthy, honey-laden apricot aroma dominates the nose, but isn’t too blustery.  The grapes for this vintage were touched by Noble Rot - Botrytis cinerea - and as a result, imparted a lovely sweet edge to this dry effort.  It’s not a dessert wine by any stretch of the imagination, but it does have just enough natural sweetness from the Botrytis to be a pure delight.  As Pfeiffer says, “one unique section of our vineyard allows for us to develop Noble Rot on a regular basis.“  How lucky he is!  The acidity is there, too, so this wine is loaded with good things.

Chambourcin 2010 carries a 13.9% alcohol number, and appears of medium density and color in the glass.  The growing season for the Turtle Run Chambourcin grapes was marked by hot weather and drought, and both elements work in favor of rich, concentrated aromas and flavors in grapes.  The nose is more fruity than spicy, and more spicy than earthy.  Aromas of black cherry and black pepper come forth in a West Coast kind of way - rather unusual for a grape one is more likely to find in the Midwest or East.  This French-American hybrid hits the palate with dark fruit, clove, a touch of leather and cocoa and a really nice level of acidity.

Terroir in Indiana?  These four outstanding wines make a good case for it.


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Blood Of The Vines: Strangers on a Train

Wine Goes To The Movies With 

Now And Zin Wine and TrailersFromHell.com

Here we go, back to Alfred Hitchcock for another pairing of wine with a movie.  Why not?  There's always plenty to drink in a Hitchcock movie, and Hitch was quite the wine connoisseur himself.  So you can hardly go wrong with any of his films.

The drinks connection is made even easier by an irreverent movie blogger who suggests a game in which you watch "Strangers on a Train" and have a drink every time you see Robert Walker's tie pin, someone wearing glasses, a guy in a suit or hear carnival music.  That last one could work in a number of Hitchcock movies.  The guy loved calliopes.

Speaking of music, the rock group Journey may have had "Strangers on a Train" on the brain when they penned "Don't Stop Believin'." They had a small town girl and a city boy both on the train.  But the strangers were all on the boulevard.  Not even a hint of murder.  Maybe they were playing that drinking game while watching the movie and writing the song.

There's the "strange toast" which is alluded to prominently in the trailer.  I'd suggest an Irish toast if you want a really strange one.  "May the seven hounds of hell sit on the spool of your chest and bark in at your soul case." Wait, that's an Irish curse.  Aah, what's the difference?  Make a drinking game out of it and anything goes.

You’ll probably want to make like a Hitchcock character and have a snifter of brandy after getting an eyeful of Robert Walker's smoking jacket - noirishly festooned with ashtrays and cigarettes all over it!  Was he sporting a pair of charcoal slacks with it?  I must speak with his tailor to find out if he has one worked up with wine glasses and corkscrews in the pattern.

Walker does an outstanding job in this movie, but nothing stands out more than his face in the crowd at Farley Granger’s tennis match.  He keeps his head perfectly still while keeping his gaze fixed on Granger.  That’s pretty creepy, but when the carousel goes ballistic it's time to cut the drinking games and get serious about it.

Pomar Junction is serious about wine and trains.  There’s a railroad in their family tree - and on their labels.  They even have a train at the winery.  Well, they have a boxcar and a caboose.  They only go somewhere in your imagination.  Their wine is another story - it’s going places fast.  Their Train Wreck is equal parts Cabernet Sauvignon, Petite Sirah, Zinfandel and Syrah.  All aboard!

Sidetracked:

Red Car Wine Company - Yes, it’s named after a trolley - but they have a Boxcar line if the HO gauge isn’t enough for you.

Loco Vino produces wine in Macon, Missouri which is inspired - or at least the labels are - by railroad history.  It may take a little work to find it, sort of like that pesky cigarette lighter in the movie.

Central Coast Railroad Festival Wine Train Excursions - San Luis Obispo County knows how to get to the wine in style..  They brake for wineries.

The Napa Valley Wine Train - The same idea as above, but further north.


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Los Olivos Wine Tasting Day Trip

A wine country day trip is something I’d like to have once a week - every day, if I can manage it - but lately, it seems they have been few and unbelievably far between.  Denise, our friend Guido and I fixed that with a drive up the 101 Freeway from Los Angeles to Santa Barbara County.

Denise and I have a certain rhythm for these trips, from which we do not feel the need to stray.  The first stop comes in Camarillo, off at Santa Rosa Road for breakfast at the New York Bagel Company.  My pizza bagel recommendation was a hit with Guido.  A secondary stop occurs in Santa Barbara at the Trader Joe store just off the freeway, if needed.

We blew through Gaviota Pass like the cool breeze on the outside of the car and before we knew it, Buellton appeared.  Amazingly, we took a pass on Pea Soup Andersen's and turned left to head out into the Sta. Rita Hills.  We stopped at Foley Estates Winery and sampled the Chardonnay.  Regular readers may remember something about that yesterday in this space.  We tasted the Chardonnay, we bought the Chardonnay.  Then we headed back east and up to Los Olivos.

Lunch

There aren’t very many places for lunch in the tiny downtown area, but what’s there, as Spencer Tracy said, is cherce.  Downtown Los Olivos really isn’t much more than a block filled with wine tasting rooms.  That’s my kind of block.  My favorite place to grab lunch is the new location of the Brothers restaurant, Sides Hardware and Shoes.  It’s the name the building bore back in the day when it was, well, a hardware and shoe store.  There’s a great bacon burger there, and a chilled pea soup with a dollop of sorbet that is great on a hot day.

Tensley

Fully fed and getting down to the business of tasting wine, we went to a place Guido had visited before, the Tensely Wines tasting room

Their Detente is a very plainly labeled red wine which is half French, half American.  The American half of the blend is 2009 Tensley Colson Canyon Syrah.  The French half is 2009 Domaine de Montavac Gigondas - 70% Grenache, 25% Syrah and 5% Mourvédre.  The wine demonstrates the American winemaking talents of Joey Tensley and the French ability of Cecile Dusserre.  It has a rich, dense nose and a juicy blackberry palate, although it runs a bit hot at 14.9% abv.

Tercero

Just around the corner is Tercero Wines, 2445 Alamo Pintado Drive.  This is the main side street in Los Olivos, and Tercero is about a block off the beaten path of Grand Avenue, right next to Dragonette Cellars’ tasting room.  It was nice to see Larry Schaffer (right) in a more comfortable environment than a wine tasting event, but he always seems a little wound up when he’s pouring his wines for people.  Here’s what he poured for us:

2010 The Outlier Gewürztraminer - “Nobody in California should call it Gewürz,” says Schaffer, who apparently likes tongue twisters.  The wine is spicy and flowery.

2010 Viognier from White Hawk Vineyard sports a lovely floral nose with fantastic acidity and fruit.

2010 Grenache Blanc is a new release for Larry. Nutty, saline minerality on the nose meets peaches, flowers and rocks on the palate.  It’s zippy.

2008 Cuvée Christie has a pretty, floral nose and an earthy edge to the rich, fruity flavors.

2007 Larner Vineyard Syrah shows a dense, dark nose and lovely rich fruit flavors.

2007 Thompson Vineyard Syrah has an extremely dark and delicious bouquet with a rich, black cherry flavor.

2007 The Climb is a half and half mix of Syrah and Petite Sirah.  It puts me in mind of old world Cabernet Franc souped up to Cali specs.

Thread is an effort in which Schaffer was one of five winemakers who contributed a wine to the blend, his Larner Vineyard Grenache.  This one has a really smoky nose and a big spicy taste.

Andrew Murray

We walked the short distance back to Grand Avenue for the Andrew Murray tasting room.

2011 Viognier shows a nice, floral nose and flavors of spiced peaches with a rocking acidity.  Santa Maria Valley fruit does a star turn, but only 50 cases were produced due to low yields.

2010 Eleven Unplugged is Murray’s attempt at being a rock god.  He explains that the blend is like three guitarists playing together.  “The lead is the Chenin Blanc...Sauvignon Blanc trying to steal the show...balanced by the oldest player, Chardonnay.”  It’s unoaked, spicy and zesty.

2011 Sanglier is a rosé of Grenache, Mourvédre and Syrah inspired by a wild boar who used to steal the fruit when it was ripe.  Murray decided to pick early to foil the animal, and the grapes turned out to be better for rosé than red wine.

2009 This Is Eleven Red is another rock music-themed effort, a five man electrical band of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Tempranillo, Sangiovese and Grenache from the Santa Ynez Valley.  A nice rich nose leads to black and blue fruit on the palate.  The Cabernet Franc really shines in this one.

2009 Syrah, McGinley Vineyard has dense smoke on the nose and lush blackberry on the palate.

2010 Syrah, Watch Hill Vineyard is beautiful to smell, lovely lush and dark to taste.

2009 Syrah, Terra Bella Vineyard has great dark fruit with minerality from the limestone hillsides of Paso Robles coming through strongly.

2010 Grenache, Terra Bella Vineyard offers a whiff of earthy cherry and sails into a lovely sour cherry candy finish.

Dinner & a show

It was quite a long day for us, as we saw a screening of “Snow White and the Huntsman” back in Los Angeles - a valley in a day full of peaks - and finally wrapped up with a late snack at Salt’s Cure, one of those hip, locavore restaurants in L.A.  I must say I was impressed with my squid and sausage alongside a glass of Mourvédre rosé from Sonoma County producer Bedrock.  Morgan Twain-Peterson is the winemaker, and he is Zin-master Joel Peterson’s son.  One of the bullet points in Bedrock’s mission statement is “To reclaim rose’ from the excesses of saignee and focus on precision, delicacy, aromatics, and food friendliness.”  He does a fine job with this delicate, pale, dry effort produced from vines planted 120 years ago.


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Are You Ready For Some Chardonnay?

The variety that wine has to offer appeals to me so much that I often find myself passing up the standard stash of grape varieties in favor of more exotic treats.  It's not that Cab, Pinot and Chardonnay are boring - not by a long shot - but the thrill of getting off the beaten path sways me time and time again.  That's why I like a good reason to get back on the road more traveled every so often.

Those who cry "anything but Chardonnay" may be exploring new things - and that's good - but they are also unfairly turning their backs on a grape variety which has a lot to say.

Foley Estates Vineyard and Winery has their first annual Celebration of Chardonnay coming up on Saturday, June 9, 2012.  California's favorite white grape will also be celebrated at the upcoming Chardonnay Symposium at the end of June in the Santa Maria Valley.  I was in the right place at the right time on a visit to the Sta. Rita Hills, stopping in at Foley's tasting room west of Buellton to sample a variety of their Chardonnay offerings.  The ranch lingo used in naming their vineyards is Bill Foley’s tip of the Stetson to his cattleman days.

2010 Chardonnay, Steel
The Rancho Santa Rosa vineyard gives the fruit for this one, and it is kept in its purest state, without the influence of wood.  Tropical citrus and pineapple meet a lively spiciness and a zesty acidity.

2009 Chardonnay, Rancho Santa Rosa
The golden tint tips off the presence of oak, but Dave, who poured the samples for me, hit the barrel stave on the head when he said, “It’s doesn’t spend a lot of time in oak, so it’s creamy rather than buttery.”  The oak isn’t overdone in any of these Chardonnays.  Here, the pineapple and minerals come through beautifully.

2009 Chardonnay, JA Ranch
Aged in 35% new, French toasted oak, this is what California Chardonnay should always be about.  A smoky nose introduces a gorgeous palate of apricot tinged with caramel.

2009 Chardonnay, T-Anchor
A touch of smokiness on the nose doesn’t obscure the rocks and citrus aromas.  There’s a bit more oak on the palate here, too, with a huge fruit expression to offer.

2009 Chardonnay, Bar Lazy S Ranch
The minerality is the star here, but there a strong supporting cast of varied fruit flavors.  Toasty oak spice and zippy acidity complete the big mouthfeel.

2009 Chardonnay, Two Sisters
From the Rancho Las Hermanos vineyard, This is Foley’s top of the line Chardonnay.  With 20 months in all new French oak, I would expect a disturbingly wooden touch to this one, which is not the case.  50% malolactic fermentation increases the creaminess.  It’s smoky, creamy and rich, but clean tasting, not buttery.


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Top Ten Summer Wines From Whole Foods Market

The weather is heating up in the hemisphere I call home.  Summer is met with big cheers by sun worshippers, baseball fans and school children - and many of us who like to enjoy a glass of wine are opting for lighter, more refreshing fare that fits in well under the sun.

My friends at Whole Foods Market help out in that last area each year.  They have, once again, revealed their selection of Top Ten Summer Wines available in their stores.  They are also organizing a pair of “Taste and Tweet” sessions in which you can participate.

As an homage to summer, Whole Foods Market wine team has selected ten of their favorite warm-weather wines - from crisp, fragrant whites to earthy, spicy reds - all priced between $7.99 and $14.99.  That pricing will take the heat off buying every day sippers and hearty reds that stand up to grilled foods.

The Whole Foods Top Ten Summer Wines include a one-of-a-kind organic grüner veltliner from Austria as well as the old favorite Bolla Soave Classico, an Italian favorite from the 1970s that has been bottled in classy, retro packaging.

Doug Bell is the global wine buyer for Whole Foods Market.  He says, “We have found some great wines that are like ‘bottled sunshine’ for our shoppers who will also be pleasantly surprised when they see the prices of these gems.  With our selection and diversity of summer wines, shoppers can easily find the perfect bottle or two for the beach, outdoor picnic and/or backyard barbecue.”

If you’d like to join the discussion of these summery wines, do so on Twitter, during two different Taste & Tweet online chats.  Go to wholefoodsmarket.com/wine for more information about the Twitter Tastings and use the hashtag #WFMwine to follow the conversation.  Here are the dates, and the wines about which we’ll be tasting and tweeting:

Summer Wines Twitter Tasting 1 – Thursday, May 31, 7-8 p.m. CT
·     Mionetto Prosecco
·     Pratsch Grüner Veltliner
·     Tormaresca Neprica

Summer Wines Twitter Tasting 2 – Thursday, July 12, 7-8 p.m. CT
·     Kyklos Moschofilero
·     Yalumba Christobel’s Eden Valley Riesling
·     Pallas Tempranillo by Jorge Ordonez

Here’s the whole list - Whole Foods Market’s Top 10 Summer Wines: (descriptions, recipes and pairings are provided by Whole Foods Market.)

Mionetto Prosecco (Italy)
With golden apple and elderflower flavors, this lively and delicate sparkling wine has a clean, lingering finish – perfect to sip or pair with seafood.  Made with organically-grown grapes.

Recipe pairing: Mussels Vinaigrette
Cheese pairing: Fromager d’Affinois

Kyklos Moschofilero (Greece)
This light straw-colored white has melon, white rose, and citrus flavors with some fresh vegetable notes, providing a zingy, pleasant finish.  A great pairing with seafood, this is a fun substitute for Chardonnay or Pinot Grigio.

Recipe pairing: Calamari Pasta
Cheese pairing: Mahón

Bolla Soave Classico (Italy)
What is old is new again with this classic Italian white with aromas of flowers and fresh stone fruit and a clean, fresh finish.  This is an easy-drinking white that pairs well with fish.  With a new vintage label created for Whole Foods Market, this is the perfect summer porch wine.

Recipe pairing: Shrimp and Mango Ceviche
Cheese pairing: Wellspring Creamery Cranberry Orange Goat Cheese

Louis Latour Ardèche Chardonnay (France)
With a toasty bouquet, this white has delicious apple notes and a crisp acidity and round finish.  This is a bargain for a French chardonnay from one of the most innovative producers in Burgundy.

Recipe pairing: Waldorf Salad with Honey-Yogurt Dressing and Fresh Mint
Cheese pairing: Mons Camembert

Pratsch Grüner Veltliner (Austria)
Made with organically grown grapes, this fruit-forward fragrant white offers apple, citrus and white pepper notes paired with great acidity for a crisp finish.

Recipe pairing: Lemony Angel Hair with Crème Fraîche, Parmesan and Artichoke Hearts
Cheese pairing: Morbier

Yalumba Christobel’s Eden Valley Riesling (Australia)
With aromas of nectarine and white peach, citrus zest, tropical fruits, and some minerality, this white offers a touch of sweetness.  This riesling would be perfect paired with apple pie and cheddar cheese.

Recipe Pairing: Sesame-Peanut Noodles
Cheese Pairing: Cypress Grove Humboldt Fog

Hogue Late Harvest Riesling (Washington)
This dessert wine offers zesty aromas of sweet tangerine, honeysuckle and apricot flavors, with hints of mint on the finish.

Recipe pairing: Grilled Fruit with Caramelized Orange Sauce
Cheese pairing: Rogue Creamery Oregon Blue Cheese

Vinum Cellars Pinot Noir (California)
With classic earthy, cola and ripe cherry flavors, this full-bodied red has soft tannins and drinks like a gem.  It is a perfect pairing with grilled salmon and pork loin with fruit.

Recipe pairing: Firecracker Grilled Salmon
Cheese pairing: Borough Market Cheddar

Pallas Tempranillo by Jorge Ordonez (Spain)
This lush, ripe red has aromas of red and dark berries, smoky herbs and spices – the perfect pairing with barbecue, shish kabobs, and Spanish chorizo.

Recipe pairing: Spanish Chickpeas and Chorizohttp://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/recipes/119
Cheese pairing: Solé Gran Queso

Tormaresca Neprica (Italy)
A blend of negroamaro, primitivo and cabernet sauvignon, this lean red has dusty aromas, black raspberry and pepper flavors, and silky tannins.  This is a top-notch pick for pepper steak.

Recipe pairing: Skillet Fajitas with Jicama Salsa
Cheese pairing: Drunken Goat

Columbia Winery Merlot (Washington)
With black cherry and plum flavors, and mint and smoky undertones, this merlot is the perfect “go to” wine for burgers and eggplant parmesan.

Recipe pairing: Eggplant Bolognese
Cheese pairing: Parrano

Bubo Cabernet Sauvignon (California)
Rich layers of black cherry, blackberry, spice and cedar create a jammy red for pizza, barbecue and sangria with berries.

Recipe pairing: Grilled Vegetable Pizza
Cheese pairing: Grafton Classic Reserve Cheddar Aged Two Years


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Italian Wine: Eisacktaler Kellerei Sudtirol Lagrein 2009

A new Italian restaurant has opened in Los Angeles, Victor Casanova’s Gusto.  Just down 3rd Street from the Beverly Center, Gusto is tiny - probably no more than a few dozen seats.  That makes the wine list seem even bigger, and I like that.  It’s an eclectic and wide-ranging menu of wines which offers a lot for a grape geek to get excited about.

I couldn’t resist the call of the Lagrein, a grape which is terribly underrepresented on L.A. wine lists - even in Italian restaurants.  This Lagrein comes from Eisacktaler Kellerei, a winery in the Valle Isarco region of northern Italy’s Sudtirol in Alto Adige.  I’ve had their Kerner before and was quite impressed with it.  Their website describes the area beautifully: “where glaciers meet the gentle hillside landscapes of the Mediterranean.”  The Lagrein is grown in the gravelly soil of Gries near Bolzano.

The Kellerei Lagrein also made an impression on me.  It’s a richly aromatic wine which broods darkly in the glass.  A tarry nose has a floral element, but it puts me in mind of a rather mean flower.  The whole essence of the wine seems very dark visually as well as aromatically.  The palate shows very nice acidity with fairly stiff tannins. Blackberry and smoke flavors are deep and imposing. 

The pairing with my fennel sausage pasta was good, but this wine will stand up to much heavier, beefier plates, too.


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Blood Of The Vines: Deliverance

In the South, drinking is the national sport.  That’s why they named their beer “Dixie.”  Of course, they also name their cars, hunting dogs and little girls “Dixie,” but those are for other columns.  This one is about wine and movies, and it says here the best movie about the southern United States is “Deliverance.”

It’s not a feel-good movie.  It’s a writhing, retching record of the worst that humanity has to offer, and I don’t mean litterbugs.  Those goons are scary stupid, and those city boys are way out of their element.  They should have turned around and gone back home at the first sign of trouble, but you know what a bad influence that Burt Reynolds can be.

When Burt told the local yokel that fifty dollars was too much for the ride, maybe he should have used a little more tact.  “Fifty my left pinkie” might not have riled ‘em up as much as “Fifty my ass.”   Of course, it may have raised different concerns.

I’m from the South, so I’ve heard the entire roster of “squeal like a pig” comments, thank you.  Yes, there really are people out there who keep the memory of that line alive as humor.  Scary stupid.  I knew a guy who raised exotic birds.  He was fond of saying, “Scream like a peacock,” but I don’t think it was in reference to the movie.

The music of “Deliverance” gave the banjo a rare appearance in the Top Forty.  The instrumental “Dueling Banjos” was a big hit, performed by Eric Weissberg and Steve Mandel.  That big wave of follow-up banjo hits never occurred, though, even on country radio.  Forty years later we are still waiting for the banjo craze to cycle back around.  I think we are ripe for a banjo rap song.  Banjoists should run an ad campaign: “Hey, at least it’s not accordions!”

My wife and I overheard Ronny Cox tell an interesting story about his experience in “Deliverance” as we sat at the next table during lunch at the Mulholland Grill.  He said the kid who played the banjo in the movie was terribly afraid of playing in front of the cameras.  The kid took a shine to Ronny, though, and didn’t have any problem playing his part as long as Cox was nearby.  Everybody appreciated that, but Cox’s character was found floating belly up anyway.  Sorry for eavesdropping, Ronny.

As long as we’re in the Southeast trying to decide which is worse - the heat or the humidity - let’s do something that had to happen sooner or later.  Let’s go Muscadine.

The Muscadine grape is indigenous to the Southeastern US, although you can find it growing a purty far piece up the eastern seaboard and even as far west as Texas - yee-haw!  Fans of wine made from vinifera grapes - the sort grown in France, or California - will immediately turn up their little pug noses at the hint of a Muscadine wine.  But the grape grows well in conditions that would leave a Chardonnay grape fanning itself on the divan. 

Sir Walter Raleigh is said to have been so impressed with Muscadine wine he traded a carton of cigarettes to the Indians for some and sent it back to Queen Elizabeth.  There’s no record of how she liked it, but it probably ran a close race with okra.

The Muscadine grape survives in lousy grape-growing weather because it has 20 pairs of chromosomes, one more pair than European grapes.  That's also the reason there is about 40 times the amount of antioxidants as in traditional wine grapes.

There’s a nice little Muscadine produced in Alabama, at Morgan Creek Vineyards.  It might take a little getting used to it, but it’s got great acidity and is a good fit with food.

Do you deliver?

Organic Muscadine can be found coming out of Georgia, Tennessee, Florida, North Carolina and Louisiana.

Muddy Water “Deliverance” wine - This Waipara Valley wine from New Zealand is a blend of Syrah and Pinotage, the latter sometimes regarded as lowly as Muscadine.


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Wine Country: New York Finger Lakes - Red Tail Ridge

The wines featured on the Now And Zin Wine Country series are usually shipped to me from the winery’s location.  This time, they came to me in person.

At industry wine tasting events in Southern California, I am exposed largely to California wines.  There’s a smattering of events featuring European wines and fewer from around other parts of the globe.  Hardly ever at these events do I get a chance to taste an American wine that is not produced in the western US.  A recent wine show gave me one of those rare opportunities.

Finger Lakes winemaker Nancy Irelan, owner of Red Tail Ridge Winery in upstate New York, poured her wines at the Wine Warehouse trade event on April 24, 2012 at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza in Los Angeles.

Red Tail Ridge Winery is located on the western shore of Seneca Lake, one of eleven long, narrow lakes left by glaciers.  On a map, they look as if a hand may have clawed them out of the earth, hence the name “Finger Lakes.”  The winery’s name is credited to a pair of hawks who nest close to the 32-acre vineyard.  They are the constant companions to Nancy and her husband, Mike Schnelle, as they work amongst the vines.

I have enough experience with Finger Lakes Rieslings to know that crisp acidity is their calling card, and that remains true with the Rieslings of Red Tail Ridge.  That bright, zippy acidity is at its best in the '09 Estate Dry Riesling, and the 2010 Chardonnay Sans Oak is no slouch in that department.  That steely Chardonnay also has a great fruit axpression, as does the Red Tail Ridge 2010 Semi-Sweet Riesling, Geneva-Dresden Bench.  The latter has the apricot flavors digging their way out of a massive display of earthy minerals.

The Red Tail Ridge 2009 Semi-Dry Estate Riesling is a showcase for peaches, while their ‘09 Good Karma - a Riesling/Chardonnay blend - is a source of income for the local food bank.

Their 2008 Blaufränkisch caught my attention, as I have not had the chance to experience much in the way of Finger Lakes reds.  This Austrian grape - called Lemberger in Germany - is one of the Red Tail Ridge wines in their “Obscure Red Varietal Series.”  They also make a Teroldego and a Dornfelder for that series.

The fruit for the Red Tail Ridge Blaufränkisch is from the Martini Family Vineyard.  This wine shows a gigantic expression of earth on the nose, with extreme acidity and minerals on the flinty, cherry palate.  This wine was my personal star of the entire event.  I mentioned to Irelan that there are some hip, new wine bars springing up all over Los Angeles which would kill to have something this crazy good on their wine lists.  At less than $15 per bottle, it’s a steal.

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Exploring Beaujolais: Duboeuf Beaujolais-Villages

We visit Beaujolais once again, and this time we go not with a Cru, but with Beaujolais-Villages. There are 38 villages in the northern part of the Beaujolais region entitled to use the name on their labels.  These wines could carry the name of the individual village from which the grapes came, but most of the winemakers feel the Beaujolais-Villages name has a bigger recognition factor.


The soil in the Villages is composed of more schist and granite than the soils of other areas in the region.  The vineyards are also located in more mountainous terrain.  As a result of these factors, there is the potential for some very high quality wine to come from the region’s Gamay grapes.


The Georges Duboeuf 2009 Beaujolais-Villages carries a 13% abv number, about the norm in Beaujolais.  This wine is an easy drinker, with a nose that displays dark cherry and grapey notes and a nice touch of spiciness.  On the palate there is some very nice acidity, while the tannins are somewhat restrained, but noticeable.  There is a medium-full mouth with notes of cherry cola and clove.  The wine is much more complex than most of the Cru wines from Beaujolais I have tasted - mostly from the 2010 vintage.  This effort is good and juicy, and works well with a bit of a chill.  Pair it with lean meat, seafood or even a salad, especially one with some light meat involved. 

Italian Wine: Viva Vino Los Angeles 2012

The week-long festivities for Viva Vino Los Angeles 2012 peaked in the middle, with the mid-week grand tasting event on May 16th at The Mark For Events.

Hundreds of Italian wines were poured, from producers large and small.  Assuming you love Italian wines, it was a chance to wallow in them to your heart’s contento.  If nothing else, you could add a few grapes to your Century Club efforts - quite a few.  There were grapes like Cortese, Grechetto, Corvina, Rondinella, Turbiana, Malinara, Teroldego - and those are from just the first two tables at which I stopped.  If you are new to Italian wines, I apologize in advance for the extreme grape geekiness you are about to encounter.  If you have not sampled these wonders, though, you really owe it to yourself to do so.

Notable Wines:

The white wines at Viva Vino were simply outstanding.  From table to table, one white after another impressed with acidity and minerality.  Green apples here, a touch of lime there, but nearly all the whites I tasted were driven by extreme minerality, laced with bracing acidity and just waiting for a meal to come along.

The most impressive wines of the day, for me, were from La Castellada in Oslavia.  Winemaker Stefano Bensa (right) was on hand to guide me through three scintillating whites.  The 2007 Friuliano, 2006 Ribolla Gialla and 2002 Bianco Della Castellada are among the best wines I’ve had in a while.  They all spend four days on skins, a year in oak, a year in the tank and a year in the bottle.  Bensa told me they are produced as naturally as possible, from low-yield vineyards.  The intensity and complexity of these wines is mind-blowing and they are definitely age-worthy.

Also in Oslavia, Robert Fiegl is producing three exceptional DOC Collio wines - a savory Ribolla Gialla, a playful Pinot Grigio and a pungent Sauvignon Blanc.

A lovely Gavi, La Maddalena Gavi DOCG 2009, from Cantina Produttori di Gavi in Piemonte, is produced from 100% Cortese grapes.  It has beautiful acidity and the taste of green apples.  It’s a completely refreshing wine.

Tuscany’s Robert Pitti Vermentino Bianco Toscano IGT 2010 slathers the minerals  in a nice salinity.  The palate is savory and the acidity lingers on the finish.

Terre de la Custodia is owned by the Farchioni family in Umbria.  Their 100% Grechetto Colli Martani DOC 2009 is savory and mineral driven.

Gruppo Montresor showed a Pinot Grigio Veneto IGP, Pinot Grigio Marche IGP Brumaio Organic and Lugana DOC Gran Guardia, which is 100% Turbiana.  All three display nice acidity and savory minerality.

Sicily’s Donnafugata presented two wines produced with 100% Zibibbo grapes, a clone of Muscat of Alexandria.  The grapes are dried on the winery rooftop before fermentation, which steps up the concentration of aromas and flavors.  The raisiny sweetness is abetted by bracing acidity.

From the Friuli hill country comes Vidussi.  The Malvasia Vidussi DOC 2011 is one of the few wines I sampled which showed a blast of fruit and flowers on the nose, rather than rocky minerality.  Unoaked, the wine still plays richly on the palate.  Their Ronchi di Ravez Bianco Collio DOC 2011 combines four grapes - Ribolla Gialla, Malvasia Istriana, Friuliano and Picolit.  There is plenty of earthy fruit after spending three months in a large cask.

Also from Friuli, Valter Ciani was represented by sons Alessandro and Andre.  The pair poured five outstanding white varietal wines - Friuliano, Pinot Grigio, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and  a Prosecco - which they told me wholesale for around four dollars per bottle.  They are looking for someone to import these wines, and they would seem to be a great addition to some distributor’s portfolio.  Contact them at andre@viniciani.it.

Distinctive Reds:

Tuscany’s Palagetto poured their Brunello di Montalcino DOCG 2004.  This is the way you want your Sangiovese to taste.  Beautiful, earthy cherries and plums are framed by firm tannins.

Terre de la Custodia is owned by the Farchioni family in Umbria. Their Sagrantino di Montefalco DOCG 2005 has great acidity, tannins and very dry, raisiny, cherry notes.

Gruppo Montresor poured Amarone Della Valpolicella DOC Classico Capitel Della Crosara.  A blend of 60% Corvina, 30% Rondinella and 10% Molinara, it has great tannins, acidity and a raisiny edge to the fruit.

From Veneto, Masi showed their prowess with Amarone.  The Costasera Amarone Della Valpolicella Classic DOC 2007 has fabulous acidity and the trademark dried fruit and raisins on the palate.

Conti Wallenburg’s Trentino Teroldego Rotaliano DOC 2011 is composed entirely of the Teroldego Rotaliano grape.  It shows rich, ripe cherry and a dash of tartness, along with great acidity.  With only two months in oak, it’s fresh and vibrant.

Trentino-Alto Adige’s Barone Fini Merlot 2010 is enjoyed at the Vatican, I’m told.  The importer’s representative said the earthy fruit and nearly toothless tannins make it “one of the only reds the older Cardinals can handle.”

Tuscany’s Castello di Monastero Chianti Classico 2007, on the other hand, sports big tannins and smoke-cloaked fruit.

Sicily’s Villa Pozzi Nero d’Avola is earthy and quite smooth, while Umbria’s Moretti Sagrantino di Montefalco DOCG 2007 has tannins in play, but they are not overwhelming.  20% of these grapes are pressed by foot - stompin’ it old-school.

From Basilicata, in southern Italy, D’Angelo’s Aglianico del Vulture DOC 2008 is big and brawny.  Their Riserva is a much smoother version.

Sparkling:

Bubbles were provided by Gatta Winemakers’ sparklers, produced in the Champagne method in the Lombardia region.  Their Brut Franciacorta DOCG, 80% Chardonnay and 20% Pinot Nero, bubbles up nicely and shows a sweet edge to the fantastic acidity.  Zero Franciacorta DOCG is 100% Pinot Nero, and offers a toastier nose.

Conti Wallenburg poured a Trentino sparkler, Rosé Costantinopoli.  It is 100% Pinot Nero and has a fabulously funky nose with mineral-driven strawberry flavors.

Food:

I have to give a shout out to a really tasty discovery - Italian Magic Olives.  These gourmet stuffed olives are really something to sign up for.  They appear to come from Gardena, California via Chicago.  That’s the gist of what the very Italian representative told me.  One winery rep had a bowl full of them delivered to him by a very attractive young woman.  I told him she must like him a lot, and he raised an eyebrow and asked how I knew.  I said that if she didn’t like him, she would have kept those olives for herself.

Objets d’art:

There were some arty, one-of-a-kind wine gift bags designed by Caroline Hallak of Beverly Hills on display during the event.  No prices are given online, but I’m told the bags go for between $14 and $19 each.  She’s open by appointment only, due to the exclusive nature of her clientele.  It’s a lot to pay for a wine gift bag, so make sure the wine you’re gifting is worth putting in a designer tote.

There were some paintings on display as well, from wine artist Elisabetta Rogai.  She paints with wine, or at least with paints made from wine.  Her work is worth a look.  Hopefully it ages like wine, and not like Dorian Gray.


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Table For Three At 3Twenty South Wine Lounge

The radio business has some nice euphemisms for being out of work. That’s probably because being out of work is a more-or-less natural state in radio. “Between gigs,” “on the beach,” “away from the mic” - nice, presentable ways of saying you’re jobless. I have been considered fortunate through my radio career to have stayed employed fairly consistently and for durations much longer than typical radio jobs usually last. My last gig was 22 years. My next one is - hopefully - just around the corner. After so long in a career which sometimes saw me working when others were playing, I now get to play while others are working. I stopped into 3Twenty South Wine Lounge in the mid-afternoon a while back after running some errands on La Brea. I wasn’t looking to prop myself up at the bar, I just wanted to pop in and say “hi” to my friend Edgar Poureshagh, the owner and sommelier. As luck would have it, another friend was there, too. Jamie Edlin, of Hollywood and Wine, was seated at a table in the otherwise empty restaurant. Her company represents and services “a select portfolio of boutique, artisan wineries,” and she was obviously ready to pour a few samples for Edgar to taste. They were both very kind to insist I join them. Jamie was pouring Pinot Noir from two Monterey County wineries, Chesebro Wines and Cima Collina. Chesebro Wines - in Carmel Valley - is a small, family-owned outfit which produces around 2,000 cases per year. They own vineyards in Monterey County. The Chesebro Arroyo Seco Pinot Noir 2009 utilizes a blend of grapes from two vineyards, Cedar Lane and Mission Ranch, in the Arroyo Seco AVA. The sandy, low vigor soil and cool, foggy mornings make for good Pinot-growing conditions. Big acidity is immediately noticed, and welcomed. The wine is very dark in color and taste - with black cherry, clove and dark spices coming forth. Cima Collina produces artisan wines which are unfined and unfiltered. The vineyards of the two wines tasted are on opposite sides of the Salinas Valley. The 2007 Pinot Noir, Lucia Highlands Vineyard, is rather oaky with cherries and plums in the forefront. The alcohol is restrained at 13.8% abv. Cima Collina's Pinot Noir, Chula Vina Vineyard 2007 hails from the northeastern side of the Salinas Valley in the foothills. The granitic soil is well drained and somewhat protected from the windy conditions in the area. Dried plum leads the way in this fascinating, very easy drinker. A big, full-bodied feel in the mouth and the fruit-forward attitude makes for a good example of California Pinot. The alcohol edges up to 14% abv.