Onward For Malvasia Bianca

A recent Brandlive virtual tasting featured the wines of Napa-based Onward Wines. They are what the PR department calls, "single-vineyard, site-driven wines crafted by one of the most exciting winemakers out there." They’re talking about Faith Armstrong-Foster, whose "mantra" is, "I could never make a wine I couldn’t afford to enjoy myself." She grew up in British Columbia, a good little Canadian girl who went to school every day in a tiny boat called - wait for it - the Onward.

Armstrong says her wines are site-driven, and she owes part of her success to the growers with whom she has partnered - Hawkeye Ranch, Cerise Vineyard, Capp Inn Ranch, Casa Roja Vineyard, Ledgewood Vineyard, Knox Vineyard and Babcock Vineyard. A smaller part of her success could probably be attributed to that little boat. Onward Wines was created in 2009 and she has another line, called Farmstrong.

Charles Communication, the PR folks who staged the virtual tasting, tweeted "Faith fell in love with #wine while shoveling a fermenter - that's #truelove for you."

Suisun Valley Malvasia Bianca 2015

The Malvasia Bianca grapes came from the Suisan Valley in Solano County east of Napa Valley, from Brian and Rob Capp's Capp Inn Ranch. Their great-grandfather was named Giuseppe Caporicci before changing it to Joe Capp when he came to America. Armstrong loves their Malvasia Bianca grapes and also makes two other wines from them, a tank-aged still and a bubbly. This one is light on the alcohol and sells for $20.

Armstrong calls this wine "Tahiti in a glass," and it really is much like a liquid vacation. It's a pale, straw-gold color with a nose full of flowers, citrus and wet stones. It's not terribly acidic at first, but the freshness really comes on as the wine lingers in the mouth. It feels lean and clean on the palate, and leaves a green apple flavor on the finish. Not strictly a sipper, this wine can handle salads, fish and chicken.


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Old World, New World Wine

From the vaults, a few years back.

Mendocino Pinot Pink

A recent Brandlive virtual tasting featured the wines of Napa-based Onward Wines. They are what the PR department calls, "single-vineyard, site-driven wines crafted by one of the most exciting winemakers out there." They’re talking about Faith Armstrong-Foster, whose "mantra" is, "I could never make a wine I couldn’t afford to enjoy myself." She grew up in British Columbia, a good little Canadian girl who went to school every day in a tiny boat called - wait for it - the Onward.

Armstrong says her wines are site-driven, and she owes part of her success to the growers with whom she has partnered - Hawkeye Ranch, Cerise Vineyard, Capp Inn Ranch, Casa Roja Vineyard, Ledgewood Vineyard, Knox Vineyard and Babcock Vineyard. A smaller part of her success could probably be attributed to that little boat. Onward Wines was created in 2009 and she has another line, called Farmstrong.

Charles Communication, the PR folks who staged the virtual tasting, tweeted "Faith fell in love with #wine while shoveling a fermenter - that's #truelove for you."

Rosé Hawkeye Ranch, Redwood Valley 2016

The Hawkeye Ranch rosé of Pinot Noir features the cool-climate version of the grape, as if there is another type. Grown by Peter and Stephen Johnson, fifth-generation winegrowers in Mendocino County, the grapes come from vines that were planted in the 1970s, some of the oldest in the vineyard. They were picked specifically for rosé and the whole clusters were pressed to make the juice. It sells for $22.

The wine glows pale salmon in the glass, and smells of fresh cherries, light raspberries and a soft touch of Meyer lemon, which was a bit of a surprise. The mouthfeel is fresh and rich, with a zippy acidity and a full mouth. Cherry flavors dominate, but a mineral aspect does not try to hide. This is a delicious rosé that’s as good at the dinner table as it is on the porch.

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Spanish Wine Comes To L.A.

The Familia Martínez Bujanda winery was established in 1889. Today, it's run by Carlos Martínez Bujanda and his sister Pilar. The family has estate vineyards in Rioja, La Mancha and Rueda. I recently had the great fortune to meet Marta Bujanda, Pilar's eldest daughter and the first of the fifth generation to join the family business.

Marta is the export manager, an important position for a wine producer which sells 70% of its wine abroad. Marta came to Los Angeles to pour her wines for a few wine scribes like me, Anthony Dias Blue and Brett Anderson. A swingin' night out with that crew may sound like a full-on vacation, (pause for chuckles) but Marta was in work mode. She enjoyed herself, it was clear, but I believe that had less to do with table mates and more to do with the chance to expound on her family's wines.

The Bujanda wines poured at dinner - at Michael's in Santa Monica - were all single-vineyard wines, driven by their respective terroir. From Rioja, there are the Viña Bujanda and the Finca Valpiedra wines, from Rueda comes the Finca Montepedroso line and out of La Mancha are the wines of Finca Antigua.

I got to the restaurant a little early and had the chance to enjoy a drink from Michael's bar. I opened with a barrel-aged Martinez, 47 day.  It's gin, sweet vermouth, maraschino, angostura and orange bitters with a lemon twist. It has a lovely cherry red color, and flavors of black cherry, herbs, citrus and vanilla spice. For this cocktail, it should be Christmas.

Here are my impressions of the wines poured during the dinner.

Finca Valpiedra Reserva 2009 - A Tempranillo from Rioja, made by winemaker Lauren Rosillo. It's a Graciano and Maturana blend. Great tannic grip, beautiful fruit, savory notes. This is the steak wine. $40

Cantos de Valpiedra 2013 - 100% Tempranillo from Rioja.  Perfumed and delicious. Smooth, with 22 months on oak.

Viña Bujanda Gran Reserva 2010 - 100% Tempranillo from Rioja, fermented in steel and aged 24 months in French and American oak, 39 months in the bottle. Smooth, helluva 30 dollar wine.

Vina Bujanda Crianza 2014 - All Tempranillo from Rioja. It spent a year in American and French oak. Grapes from 20-60 year-old vines. Red fruit and vanilla spice, beautiful with the Bronzini.

Finca Antigua 2013 - Cabernet Sauvignon from La Mancha. $10. Here's where you do a double-take. Response at the table was "Ten buncks? Get out!" Fresh and fruity. Fermented in steel, aged 10 months in new French oak. Great structure.

Finca Antigua 2016 - 100% Viura from old La Mancha vines. Grapefruit nose, flavors of distinct earth and citrus. Very savory white wine. Spent five months on lees.

Finca Montepedroso 2016 - 100% Verdejo from the Rueda vineyard named for its "mountain of stones." Grapefruit and lime, less savory than the Viura, but just a little. 2500-foot elevation vineyard planted in 1980. Five month on lees.

Both whites age well, according to Marta, over 12 years at least. Virua is the better ager, she says, and it even picks up some petrol notes with age.


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Taste Of Water

South African Chenin Blanc

Lubanzi Wines is named for a wandering dog who led the winemakers on a six-day journey along South Africa’s Wild Coast. Founders Walker Brown and Charles Brain have only two wines in the line at the moment. One is a red blend, made of Shiraz, Cinsault, Grenache and Mourvedre and a white, which is 100% Chenin Blanc. Both South African creations retail at about $15.

Brown and Brain - not South African themselves - are working with two of the country's more noted winemakers. Trizanne Barnard and Bruce Jack were asked to be "forward-thinking, socially responsible and innovative" in making the Lubanzi wines. Brain says they're aiming at the millennial market, a demographic that he thinks has the buying power to lift South Africa's underrated status. He says they want to make a wine that "punches above its weight."

The owners are directing some of the proceeds back to those who helped make the product. Half of their profits will go towards The Pebbles Project, an NGO that works with low-income families on South Africa's wine farms.  The Brown and Brain say the group focuses on families "by providing resources and improving access to health & high-quality education."

 The Lubanzi Chenin Blanc  2016 is made of grapes grown in Swartland, just north of Cape Town. It has an alcohol content of 12.5% abv

The pale wine gives off an aromatic nose that's loaded with minerals and dressed up with a smoothly savory bit of lanolin. Lemon sneaks in almost unnoticed. The palate shows citrusy minerals and a clean, bracing mouthfeel with plenty of fresh acidity. The finish hangs around a good while, and lets that citrus flavor work its magic.

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Bieber Brosé

Oregon's Orange Riesling

From southern Oregon's Applegate Valley, Troon Vineyards has released a Riesling to contemplate. The 2016 Troon Riesling Whole Grape Ferment doesn't look like a Riesling. It has a faint burnished orange color, like apple cider. It's not made like most Rieslings, either. I’ll let General Manager Craig Camp tell you about that. He came to Troon from Napa Valley last year, and this incredible wine is one that "fully reflects" his winemaking goals.

In this wine, as in all from the 2016 vintage, Camp says it was all about "native yeast ferments, no additives (enzymes, acids, sugar) and no new oak barrels."  He says the orange Riesling was "produced essentially the same way" as the winery's red wines. The grapes were "first crushed by foot, destemmed, then it was transferred to one-ton fermenters. The native yeast fermentation started after 48 hours and completed in ten days. The fermenters were punched down by hand once a day. It was then pressed into neutral French Oak barrels for three months. That's it." And that's enough.

The wine staff made the decision to bottle earlier than planned to maintain freshness, and it is a fresh wine. Camp says the wine "should be consumed young and fresh, but as this is the first time we've made it we really don't know how it will age, I'll be keeping some bottles around to see how it develops." I wish I had that kind of patience.

He likes the Troon Riesling Whole Grape Ferment with tapas, but its freshness and structure would allow a pairing with a wide variety of dishes. This Riesling offers alcohol at only 12% abv and retails for $20.

The wine’s orange color is immediately interesting. The nose is beautiful - orange blossoms, peaches and pears, oh my. On the palate it drinks like a red wine, full and flavorful. There even seems to be tannic structure. The fruitiness I expected revealed itself instead as savory. Salinity drapes the apple flavors beautifully. I should mention, it's dry, by the way. And the acidity is fresh and lively.

Camp tells me that Troon will continue the "orange wine" program this year with a second vintage of the Riesling and a Vermentino done the same way. 

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Pink Wine From Sonoma Coast

Sonoma-Cutrer is located in the cool Sonoma Coast appellation, and it's been there since 1973. Mick Schroeter is the third head winemaker to serve at Sonoma-Cutrer, and this rosé is his Winemaker’s Release.

The Pinot Noir grapes from the estate Owsley Ranch were whole cluster pressed for this 2016, the first Rosé produced by the winery. The grapes were grown with pink wine in mind. They grow in sandy loam, blanketed by the cool fog from the Bloomfield Gap. Alcohol sits just a shade under 13% and the wine retails for $25.

This rosé is more red than pink. Its color is brilliant and rich and flits between orange and flame red. The nose is all earthy strawberries, and the acidity is as fresh as spring. Flavors are fruity - strawberry and cherry - with a streak of the green stems thrown in. It is a completely enjoyable rosé of Pinot Noir.


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Two Wonderful White Wines

It’s always nice to discover a casual place with a carefully curated wine list. With a few minutes to kill in downtown Los Angeles, I looked around and spied "Pitchoun!" It is described on the signage as a bakery with a French flair, so I stepped in for lunch.

It’s run by Frédéric and Fabienne Souliès, who hail from Provence and Monaco, respectively. The name of the place is a term of endearment used by French grandparents, say, in referring to their grandkids. It’s like "kiddo," or something similar. A little pinch on the cheek.

My Niçoise salad was the usual mix of tuna, tomatoes, hard-boiled egg, olives, radicchio, delicate greens, bell pepper, celery, cucumber, green onions, anchovies and vinaigrette. It was tasty, but it’s the wine I was attracted to. Oh, by the way, they also serve Bonny Doon Le Cigare Volant at Pitchoun, so they got high marks from me before I even saw a wine list.

Sean and Nicole Minor started their own winery 12 years ago, after years of experience with some fairly big-name outfits. Minor's wine consultant, Will Bucklin, is similarly well-traveled. Minor's Four Bears Chardonnay has a golden tint and offers apples and apricots on the earthy nose. Minerals define the palate, with bright peach and pear forming a taut and focused flavor profile. It’s lean, but not mean. The acidity is quite nice, almost bracing. It always stuns me to find such nice freshness in a wine with so round a mouthfeel. Alcohol sits at 13% and some of the juice underwent malolactic fermentation, to soften the feel a bit. It finishes clean and snappy.

In the extreme southwest of France, in the Bas Armagnac AOC, is the Domaine de Menard. It has been a source of grapes since the 1920s, but not until a decade ago or so did the family begin wine production under their own name. They grow Petit and Gros Manseng and harvest the grapes late to produce a sweeter style of wine. The Gros Manseng is not a full-blown dessert wine, but does have a pleasant taste I think of as semi-sweet, or off-dry.

The Domaine Menard Gros Manseng also shows golden in the glass, offering a pungent slate of earthiness and wet rocks. The semi-sweet palate has apricots, honey and plenty of minerality. This wine, too, has a full, creamy mouthfeel as well as generous acidity and a clean finish.


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The Spanish Refresher

Albariño is a grape of Spanish origin, and in the Rias Baixas region of northwest Spain it is pretty much king. Ninety percent of all the wine made in the area is Albariño.

Kobrand, the U.S. importer of Don Olegario Albariño, writes that Olegario is an "artisanal winery begun in the 1950s by Adolfo Falcón," and it's still a family affair. In the 1980s, Adolfo's son Olegario pushed the bodega to its present status as a top producer of Albariño. His five offspring now run things, with Roberto Carlos Falcón handling winemaking duties, while Fernando grows the grapes. María, Vanessa and Mónica are also involved in the day-to-day operation.

This wine has served up as one of the more enjoyable whites I drink all year for several vintages now. This reliable wine is tasty vintage after vintage. The 13% abv alcohol number makes for a light and easy sip, but it’s no pushover. The thread that runs through each vintage is that of minerality and acidity, so bring on the oysters.

The 2016 is pale gold and fresh-smelling. Green apple and lemon aromas are braced by a strident minerality. Those minerals really come forward on the palate, as do the apple and citrus flavors. The wine is ever so slightly frizzante in the glass, and the acidity rips across the taste buds.


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South African Cabernet Sauvignon Rosé

Everything's coming up rosé at Whole Foods Markets. It is the time of year when people love to turn to a nice, refreshing pink wine, although that time of year never stops for me.. Whole Foods has a slew of pink wines that are easy on the palate and the pocketbook. This wine is one of several that were offered to me for review. Whole Foods beverage guy Devon Broglie calls this one of the wines from their "rosé garden."

The Mulderbosch winery was started in 1989, and this rosé was introduced a decade later. It was a time when South African rosés were usually a byproduct of red wine production. This one has always been produced as pink, from vine to bottle. It is 100% Coastal region Cabernet Sauvignon, and the winery says that once the grapes are pressed after early picking, "the juice is handled as per Sauvignon Blanc." Alcohol content is restrained at 12.5% abv and it sells for $12 at Whole Foods.

The color of the Mulderbosch rosé is rich, a deep ruby-pink that looks almost like rosado. The nose is just as rich, black cherry and earth wrapped around an herbal note that hits just right. In the mouth, a zippy acidity made me forget this is a Cabernet Sauvignon. Red fruit takes a back seat to herbs and earth. The savory edge is so great, the spice so understated, the greenness just green enough. This is a classy rosé, and for 12 bucks, it should be on your patio well chilled.

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Spending Money On Wine

Here's a repeat from the vaults. May 2011.

Look Who Makes This New Zealand Pinot Noir

This Pinot Noir is from New Zealand, Central Otago to be more specific. High above the Awatere Valley, to be even more specific. Their mountaintop perch is so beautiful that it prompts the marketing department to wax poetic; "the peace lifts you above your troubles." The winemaking philosophy is one of "low intervention" that allows the terroir to speak. This terroir, in a warm area of the region, speaks in a robust language.

The winemaker, Kim Crawford, has moved on from the company which he and his wife built on Sauvignon Blanc. Loveblock is their current brand. Their 2013 Pinot from the Someone's Darling vineyard clocks in with alcohol at 13.8% abv and retails for around $27.

It's a dark wine, and a fragrant one. Blackberry and raspberry dominate the nose with allspice, tobacco and vanilla wafting in. The palate shows plenty of freshness, great acidity, dark fruit and spices. It's a little muscular for my Pinot taste, but it carries its weight well and settles down a bit after opening. There is a nice, tart finish. It should be a great match with roasted meat or a soft cheese.


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Ancient Peaks Wine

From the vaults. May 2011.

Pink Wine From Bordeaux

Everything’s coming up Rosé at Whole Foods Markets, and that's good news for people looking for wines to pair with spring and summer get-togethers. They have a slew of pink wines that are easy on the palate and the pocketbook. Their marketing department offered a sample of a half dozen of their favorites, and I took 'em. Whole Foods beverage guy Devon Broglie calls this one of the wines from their "rosé garden."

"Je vois la vie en rose." I see things in a rosy light. What a lovely thought, especially when that light shines through a glass of rosé. Rosé wine makes "everyday words turn into love songs."

There is a decided lack of information available on the French Blue Bordeaux Rosé.  It comes from a region that is typically not known for its pink wine as much as for its reds. Grapes? Possibly Cabernet Franc, but I'm guessing Merlot. Alcohol is quite restrained at 12.5% abv, and the French Blue retails for around 11 bucks at Whole Foods.

This simple pinkie has a muted, yet ripe, nose. Strawberry aromas are not so green as in many other rosés, not so herbal. The color is almost nonexistent, too. An extremely light onion skin hue is pretty, though. On the palate, a ripping acidity is right up front, while the sweet-tartness that was MIA on the nose shows up ready for action. If you want some oysters, this wine will help you with them.

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Sonoma Coast Pinot Gris

In the 1970s, an Italian immigrant in California's Bay Area taught his grandson how to make wine. Fred Cline took the information and ran with it, starting a winery and eventually moving the operation to Sonoma County's Carneros Valley.

Cline Cellars now has sustainably-grown ancient Zinfandel and Rhône varieties in Oakley, more Rhône grapes in Carneros and Pinot Noir in the Petaluma Gap.  Winemaker Charlie Tsegeletos produces wines that, according to Cline, "express the unique qualities of California fruit, and their specific sense of place."

Baseball fans may want to know that Cline partners with Wines by Design on a San Francisco Giants Pinot Gris. It's sourced from the winery's Sonoma Coast estate vineyard, and they say it’s a "hit."

The Cline Estate Pinot Gris is also sourced from the Petaluma Gap vineyards and is fermented and aged in stainless steel.  It hits 14% abv and sells for $15.

This California Pinot Gris is lightly tinted with a yellow-green hue. It smells of apples, peaches and apricots with some lemon zest adding to a complex nose. An earthy aroma underlies all else and provides a base from which the other aromas work. The acidity is fairly bracing, and will welcome seafood. Flavors of apple, lemon, and tangerine come forward with stone fruit on the finish.

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Paso Robles AVA

Rosé Wine - Folie En Provence

Everything’s coming up rosé at Whole Foods Market, where you’ll find plenty of pink wines to liven up your spring and summer. Folie en Provence Rosé is a Côtes de Provence wine from the south of France. The Provence region is pretty much the mothership for pink wine. It’s nearly all they make and virtually the only thing that comes up in France when a rosé is ordered.

"Folie" translates to concepts like madness, craziness, lunacy and folly. Maybe the original vintner had a little trouble at home after announcing “winemaking” as a career. Maybe he had just consumed a white Zinfandel and was temporarily driven insane by sugar. Maybe it was just one of those nutty, Provençal days.

The demand for pink wine in general, and specifically from Provence, has blown up in recent years. Everybody wants rosé, even manly men are going pink with the brosé movement. Provençal rosé, by the way, is always very dry, not sweet, and usually displays remarkable acidity.

In the Folie en Provence, the alcohol is very reasonably restrained at 13% abv and it retails for about 13 dollars.

It's a beautiful shade of pink and smells just as lovely. Cherries, strawberries and watermelons come to mind. The palate displays a fine acidity and light flavors of red fruit, with an herbal touch. A summer salad on the porch would be great with it.


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White Zinfandel