NZ Is For New Zealand

Great wine is all about location.  The location of the vineyard makes all the difference in the end product.  Locations is an experiment of place for winemaker Dave Phinney, of Orin Swift fame, in which he makes wines from all over the world.  These wines are labeled only with a big letter or two, depicting the place of origin, much like those European bumper stickers - F for France, P for Portugal, I for Italy, and NZ is for New Zealand.

Phinney sold the Locations brand this past summer to Modesto's E and J Gallo, two years after selling off the Orin Swift brand.  A price wasn't announced, but Phinney will reportedly stay on as the winemaker "indefinitely."

The NZ7 vintage features 100% Sauvignon Blanc grapes which were grown in three valleys in the Marlborough region - Wairau, Awatere and Waihopai.  Phinney says the grapes from the Wairau offer the fruity, grassy framework, with the Awatere grapes adding minerality and the Waihopai fruit supplying the "final layer of complexity."  The wine was made in stainless steel tanks and aged a minimal amount of time.  Alcohol hits 13.5% abv and the wine retails for $20.

This wine shows a light golden color in the glass and a grassy nose with peach aromas, but not full-blown Kiwi herbal.  The palate also offers peaches, apples and herbs.  The nice acidity doesn't exactly zip, but gets the job done.  There's an herbal finish, which again does not overpower.  The wine should go great with salmon and salads.

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Trebbiano From Abruzzo

Citra Vini, an association of unified wineries in Abruzzo established in 1973, covers a lot of ground in Chieti.  The winegrowing group is located near the Majella, a limestone massif in the Apennine mountain range, Gran Sasso - the highest peak around - and the Adriatic Sea.

Their website explains that the Trebbiano grape goes by a number of names, each one utilizing the area in which the grape is grown.  The Citra umbrella shades a lot of labels, and this would appear to their bargain brand, as it sells for less than ten bucks.

There was scant information available about the wine, but a winemaking team of 19 worked on it, so at least they had a lot of experience in the cellar.  Alcohol hits a reasonable 12% abv.

The 2017 Citra Trebbiano d'Abruzzo barely colors up - it's a very pale gold green in the glass.  The nose gives off soft floral notes with a hard edge of minerals.  The palate is tart and refreshing, with apples, earth and those wonderful minerals.  A great acidity leaves the mouthfeel crisp and dry.  Have it with oysters or crabs.

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Weissburgunder - Call It German Pinot Blanc

German wines tend to fall beneath the typical U.S. wine drinker's radar.  Aside from Riesling, one could be hard-pressed to find a German grape variety or even a German version of a more familiar grape, on a supermarket shelf.  Specialty wine stores will dig deeper, but depending on their inventory they may not have a very wide coverage. 

Los Angeles wine expert Matthew Kaner says of the new world of German wine, "there’s more than just Riesling," and he cited the Koehler-Ruprecht Pinot Blanc as an example.

Kaner commented during an online event that people should be drinking more Pinot Blanc.  Usually a sommelier suggests Riesling, it seems.  However, the grape known as Weissburgunder in Germany has some serious food friendliness of its own.

The history of Weingut Koehler-Ruprecht goes back to the 18th century, with Bernd Phillipi overseeing the place for three of the most recent decades.  Like his grandfather, Phillipi uses no irrigation, fertilizers or herbicides in his vineyard, and anti-pest and anti fungal treatments are kept to a minimum.  In the cellar, fermentations happen in large, old German oak barrels with the spent yeast cells - lees - in the mix for fullness.  He uses sulfur before bottling.

Phillipi is a busy guy, with winemaking activities on three continents competing for his time.  He has brought up Dominik Sona to handle most of the cellar duties in Germany. 

In addition to Pinot Blanc, the estate has vines full of Riesling, Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris, Chardonnay, Gewürztraminer and Scheurebe on three different terroirs - Saumagen's chalky limestone, sandstone-based Steinacker and Annaberg.  The 2016 Pinot Blanc (Weissburgunder) is trocken - dry - has alcohol at 12% and sells for $20.

The 2016 Koehler Ruprecht Pinot Blanc shows yellow-gold in the glass.  The nose is laden with minerals, like a driveway freshly rained upon.  There are pears and peaches, but they fight to get through the wet rocks.  The palate also puts minerality first, with pear juice coming through.  The acidity is not very strong, but is zippy enough to carry a salad or shrimp cocktail. 


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Amador County Zinfandel

Bella Grace Vineyards is located in the Sierra Foothills region of Amador County.  Run by Michael and Charlie Havill, their vineyard sits on 20 acres in those granitic rolling hills.  The winery says Michael is "one of the few elite female winemakers in California," while husband Charlie is credited with being the mastermind behind the vines.  The winery was named for their two grandmothers.

The Havills grow Primitivo, Zinfandel, Grenache, Vermentino, Grenache Blanc, Syrah, Petite Sirah and Mourvedre, sustainably without pesticides, as well as three types of olives.  Nearly seven acres of the estate are devoted to four different clones of Zinfandel grapes.  This one is not an estate wine, but the 100% Zinfandel grapes all hail from Amador County.  It rings the alcohol bell at 14.2% abv.  It's a Double Gold winner in the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition.

The 2016 Bella Grace Zinfandel is dark garnet in color and smells of blackberry, plum, slight cranberry and a healthy dose of bramble, with a layer of sweetness as counterpoint.  On the palate, deeper dark fruit and raspberry comes across in a rustic fashion with a zing of oak.  The wine drinks smoothly, with fine tannins and a medium mouthfeel.  Earthy, dark fruit lingers on the finish.

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Wine Marketing Targets Rebel Middle Sisters

Some wines are marketed not by what's in the bottle, but what's on the bottle.  Label art, a normally enjoyable addition to the wine in the bottle, often replaces wine quality and aims to appeal to consumers as they shop.  Sometimes they are called "critter" labels, with cute or magnificent animals capturing the shoppers attention.  The practice has spread to include eye-catching images or text of any sort.  The 19 Crimes line shows pictures of actual criminals, with associated smartphone apps to let them "tell their story."

There's a wine out there that takes the label appeal issue a step farther, targeting their demographic directly.  The Middle Sister Rebel Red label says birth order determines psychological development, and claims that middle sisters are better suited to having a wine named after them because they were "born lucky."  A new study reported last month differs with that opinion and says birth order does not affect a person's adult behavior.  The stick-figure middle sister pictured on the wine's label says, "I've never crashed a party, I AM the party."

The Mendocino County company also offers wines named Goodie Two Shoes, Drama Queen, Sweet and Sassy and Smarty Pants, while touting that they "give back to causes women care about."  Marketing issues aside, they have little to say about the liquid in the bottle, except that it's a "top secret blend of delicious red varieties."  An online search for info showed that they're pretty good at keeping that varietal secret.  Alcohol clocks in at 13.5% abv and the wine sells for about $10.

The non-vintage Middle Sister Rebel Red California Winemakers Blend is medium-dark ruby in the glass and displays a nose of strawberry, cherry, vanilla and oak spice.  On the palate, one finds angular, tart red fruit, stiff tannins and a fairly heavy dose of oak.  It's faint praise to say that it's not horrible, but Rebel Red is probably better suited to making sangria or serving chilled at a cookout than pairing with a meaningful meal.

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An Elegant Pinot Noir From New Zealand

New Zealand's Villa Maria winemaker Kathrin Jankowiec recently guided a group of wine writers through a half dozen of her creations during an online virtual tasting event.

Aotearoa is Māori for New Zealand, and being a full-flavor kinda guy I'm usually pleased with the bold, delicious wines made there.

Villa Maria was founded by George Fistonich in 1961 as a five-acre vineyard in Auckland.  He and his wife ran the show themselves until he expanded in the 1970s.  They now have estate vineyards on both the North and South islands.  Sir George was knighted by his government in 2009 for his service to the nation’s wine industry.  He took Villa Maria 100% screwcap in 2001.

The 2017 Villa Maria Marlborough Pinot Noir was made from grapes grown in the Awatere and Wairau valleys, in the Marlborough region on New Zealand's South Island.  Alcohol is extremely manageable at 12.5% abv and the wine retails for just $20.  I found this wine surprising because it didn't fit my expectations of a bold and dark Pinot, like the ones I've had.

This wine has a light ruby color to highlight its elegant look.  The nose pops of light violets and roses with strawberry and cranberry aromas playing through. In the mouth, this Pinot is as elegant as it looks.  Flavors of cherry and a faint tea note are playful in this easy drinker.  Semi firm tannins back up all those attributes and get to work on meat dishes from foul to feast. The winery suggests a smoked salmon pairing.


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Fogo De Chão Unveils Spring Menu Meats, Drinks, Wine

The fantastic, Dallas-based Brazilian steakhouse Fogo de Chão is now serving new menu items for the spring season.  If you've never been to a Fogo location, it's been described as a "meat parade," in which servers keep those choices coming until you throw out the stop sign. 

Fogo has introduced seven new seasonal dishes, a new cocktail and a new red wine.  The new meats include Pork Picanha - butchered and prepared with the same simple style as traditional Picanha, then carved tableside - and a new spicy Linguiça Sausage - pork with red pepper, garlic and fresh onion.  I was invited to sample the menu recently at the Beverly Hills location, with manager Sevenir Girardi guiding me along.  Girardi told me the BH store was the fifth in the nationwide chain when it opened 14 years ago.

The new pork meats are excellent, especially the Linguiça, which was an overwhelming favorite for a sausage-lover like me.  The sirloin was done to perfection, as was the Frango - chicken marinated in beer and brandy and wrapped in bacon.

Fogo's CEO Barry McGowan says "Brazilian cuisine focuses on harvesting and serving fruits and vegetables when they are in season and have reached peak flavor," and the revamp also shows up on the salad bar, or Market Table.  I'm not a particularly big fan of carrot ginger soup, but I'll have the Fogo version anytime.  It's vegetarian, gluten-free and delicious, with a bit of a spicy kick to the coconut milk.  The Brazilian kale and orange salad is also fresh, as is the roasted cauliflower salad.   The Bosc pear slices pair nicely with bleu cheese.

Dessert also got a new dish, one that Girardi says came straight from Brazil.  The Crème de Coconut combines freshly-shredded coconut with condensed milk and cream, baked in the oven and served warm with ice cream and a little lime zest.  I had this instead of my typical Key lime pie, and was glad I did.

There's a new cocktail at Fogo de Chao for spring, the Blood Orange Manhattan.  The bartender mixes Buffalo Trace Bourbon with a splash of Carpano Antica, a dash of blood orange and angostura bitters.  It is served over rocks, and the loads of citrus and its easy-drinking nature make it a great seasonal choice that should be a fave right through summer.

Fogo also unveiled Eulila, a Chilean red wine blend from the Cachapoal Valley (Carmenere, Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah) specially created exclusively for Fogo by the award-winning winemakers at Viña Vik that pays tribute to Eulila "Selma" Oliveira, Chief Culture Officer of Fogo de Chão.   It's a great pairing with Fogo faves like the dry-aged steak offerings: Bone-In Cowboy Ribeye, 24-ounce New York Strip, 32-ounce Tomahawk Ribeye.

Born and raised in Brazil, Oliveira moved to the United States in 1985, determined to achieve the American dream. Following a chance encounter with the founders of Fogo de Chão while in Dallas, she joined Fogo as the brand's first female manager and, eventually, executive.  She's considered today to be the heart and soul of the organization, affectionately known as the Fogo matriarch. 

Created by Viña Vik for the Fogo de Chao restaurant chain, this wine blends 48% Carmenere grapes, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon and 22% Syrah into a food-friendly delight.  The wine smells of earth and dark fruit and has a savory edge to the fruitiness on the palate, with excellent acidity and tannic structure.  It hits 14% abv on the alcohol scale, a little lighter than wines of this type usually are, and it sells for $76 bottle in the restaurant. 

Fogo de Chao is not a seasonal choice for me - I’ll go anytime, no arm-twisting required - but their springtime focus adds a few new reasons to stop by.


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Michigan Rosé

"From wine what sudden friendship springs."  British author John Gay wrote that, likely for his book entitled, "Wine," but I like him for writing his own epitaph, which is carved into his Westminster Abbey resting place: "Life is a jest, and all things show it, I thought so once, and now I know it."

The former quote today floats across the website for Hawthorne Vineyards, on Michigan's Old Mission Peninsula.  Founder Bruce Hawthorne and his wife have deep roots in northern Michigan and planted a vineyard through their interest in agriculture.

The locals call it paradise on a peninsula.  Michigan's Old Mission Peninsula wine region sticks out of the northwestern edge of the state’s main body into Lake Michigan.  It's a 19-mile spit which juts northward and forms the east and west sides of Grand Traverse Bay.  It's only four miles wide at its broadest point.  The blue waters surrounding the land are some 600 feet deep, which produces what they call a "lake effect."  That protects the vines with snow in winter, slows bud break in spring to avoid frost damage, and extends the growing season by up to four weeks.

Winemaker Brian Hosmer turns the grapes into wine, which the Hawthornes label as their passion.  They say the grapes are a product of the 26-acre vineyard's complete terroir, from the soil to the climate to the plot's proximity to the lake.  From their tasting room's beautiful porch guests can see the blue water of Grand Traverse Bay's West Arm.

Hawthorne's 2016 Rosé is made using the saignée method, in which the juice is bled from the newly-crushed grapes.  The blend reportedly includes 40% Cabernet Franc, 26% Pinot Meunier, 13% Merlot, 12% Pinot Noir, and 9% Gamay.  It hits 13.2% abv and goes for $12 a bottle.

This wine looks, smells and tastes like an elegant Pinot Noir despite the fact that the grapes gets fourth billing.  Cabernet Franc, Pinot Meunier and Merlot lead the way, with Gamay bringing up the rear.  The color is very strong for a rosé, and the Meunier brings a note of Champagne to the mix while the Cab Franc is pronounced on the palate.  This drinks like a red wine without the tannic structure.  It's very pleasant and leaves a bit of tea on the finish.  Quite nice.

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A Pretty Good Nine-Dollar Cab

The little hamlet of Murphys, California is home to one of the nation's biggest wineries.  Ironstone Vineyards is located east of Lodi in Calaveras County, in the Sierra Foothills along Highway 4 north of Douglas Flat, Vallecito and Angels Camp.  It may be an out-of-the-way stop, but there's a better than average chance you've had some of their brands, or at least seen them on the supermarket shelf.

The 2017 Leaping Horse Cab is one of those brands, a subset of the Obsession label.  They make a handful of styles, including a California Cabernet Sauvignon.  The grapes are 77% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot and 3% Tannat.  Aging took place over only four months in new French oak barrels.  Alcohol clocks in at 13.5% abv and the wine sells for about $9.

This very dark wine offers a jammy plum nose with oak spice and pencil lead.  On the palate, there are black plums, currant, vanilla and tobacco.  There's a very savory, and rustic, finish.  I didn't have very high expectations for a nine-dollar Cab, but this one actually beats them.  It's nothing to write home about, but that didn't stop me from posting here.


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Perfect Wine For Spicy Foods

The little hamlet of Murphys, California is home to one of the nation's biggest wineries.  Ironstone Vineyards is located east of Lodi in Calaveras County, in the Sierra Foothills along Highway 4 north of Douglas Flat, Vallecito and Angels Camp.  It may be an out-of-the-way stop, but there's a better than average chance you've had some of their brands, or at least seen them on the supermarket shelf.

Obsession is one of those brands, and the thrust of the label is the semi-sweet wine made from Symphony grapes.  Symphony is a California-bred cross between Muscat of Alexandria and Grenache Gris, which produces a rather simple wine with low acidity, perfect for spicy dishes like those found in Thai and Indian cuisines.

The grapes were grown by the Kautz Family in the Lodi and Sierra Foothills AVAs.  They are fourth-generation growers, and the family-run winery is exactly that, where the corporate officers are known simply as John, Gail, Kurt and Jack.  Alcohol in Obsession Symphony  is fairly low at just 12% abv and the wine retails for about $14.

The 2016 Obsession Symphony has a pale green tint with a nose of white flowers, peaches and nectarines. The mouthfeel is medium, while the flavors are semi-sweet renditions of the same sort of fruit.  A very light acidity makes for the spicy-food-friendliness, and the sweet finish is pleasant, but not long-lasting.


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New Zealand Wine Reimagined

Erica Crawford is best known for her work in building former brand and namesake, Kim Crawford Wines, the sale of which enabled her and husband-winemaker Kim to buy their own vineyard land.  After a contractually-mandated time away from competing, the Crawfords returned with a new take on New Zealand wine, Loveblock.  

Crawford hosted a small lunch for several wine writers in Southern California recently, and while enjoying the farm-to-table fare at Fig Santa Monica, she explained how Loveblock Vineyards came about.  

Her wild ride in the wine industry began in the 1990s, when Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc took off like a rocket and helped define the New Zealand flavor profile for that grape.  Crawford credits that unique, bold flavor with establishing the brand, and points to their use of screwcaps as a secondary factor in their success.  That sold-off brand now produces more than two-million cases annually, while the new Crawford brand, Loveblock, turns out some 28,000. 

While seemingly sailing along on the crest of a good wave, Crawford found that various family and business problems began to drag her down.  She credits a turn toward organics for improving her well-being, from the food she ate to the way she cared for her skin.  This interest in organics carried over into the Loveblock vineyards.

Crawford says she's like other people, particularly millennials, who want to know where and how their food is grown.  She says she and her husband strive to make wines that are elegant, restrained and complex.  "Elegant" and "restrained" are words that were probably used by no one, ever, to describe the Sauvignon Blanc that made them famous.  However, that was then and this is now.

Those big, New Zealand grassy aromas are not completely gone in the Loveblock Sauvignon Blancs, but they are less powerful than in previous efforts. The grapefruit and grass that her husband's wines helped establish as a profile are now muted in favor of what she terms a sweeter sense of canned peaches. That change happened in the vineyard. Crawford explains that a compound which delivers the green component is lessened by sunlight, so an alteration in crop management reduced the leaf canopy on the vines, allowing for riper fruit.

The 2018 Sauvignon Blanc and 2018 Pinot Gris are sourced from the Crawfords' own Loveblock vineyard perched on top of the hills overlooking Marlborough's Awatere Valley.  Crawford says the land is "far from the agricultural bustle below ... I can almost see the end of the planet.   I have always believed this site - with its unique aspect and crazy mad wind - could create wine of extraordinary character and flavor."  The 2017 Pinot Noir is sourced from the Crawfords’ 15-acre Someone's Darling Vineyard nestled among the mountains of Central Otago.

The 2018 Loveblock Pinot Gris is a Marlborough wine, with the grapes sourced entirely from the organic Woolshed estate vineyard.  It's dry and aromatic and completely a wine with which to fall in love.  Alcohol hits 13% abv and the retail price hits $23.  The mineral-driven nose suggests a wet driveway, apples and limes, with slightly savory edge.  There are great minerals on the palate, too, and an easy acidity leading to a great savory finish  

The 2018 Loveblock Sauvignon Blanc shows 12.5% abv and sells for $22.  Crawford says, "New Zealand's signature varietal tends to be bold and big," thanks in no small part to her husband.  This wine, she says, "focuses on texture rather than enhanced aromatics."  It went through 25% malolactic fermentation in order to soften the wine.  Sure enough, it’s tamer and fruitier on the nose than their previous efforts.  The minerals are still there, but the sometimes overwhelming greenness is replaced by a great fruit flavor.  The 2017 vintage is a little grassier on the nose and palate, but still mild in comparison to the earlier profile.

The 2018 Loveblock Pinot Noir is all Pinot Noir, and is one of the most restrained and elegant examples of that varietal that I have tasted from New Zealand.  The label may say Central Otago, but the wine suggests Burgundy.  It's aged eight months in used oak barrels, hits 13.5% abv and sells for $30.  The nose is light and beautiful.  Crawford seemed apologetic when describing it as an odd vintage, but I think she would have more on target to be boastful.

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O Rosal! Rias Baixas Albariño!

The folks from the Spanish wine region Rias Baixas have a great product to push.  Albariño is not only a delicious white wine on its own, but it's one of the more food-friendly grapes you'll find in the world.  In fact, Albariño seems to crave a food pairing so it can show its best. 

Albariño wines tend to show up online a lot, in virtual tasting events where wine writers gather together with a sponsor to sample a few selections.  In a recent online tasting, writers commented on the great pairings they were having in real time.  A Spanish omelet, chicken and waffles, bouillabaisse, roasted fish with citrus and turkey are just a few of the inspired pairings that sprang from the tasting.

The various grapes in the 2017 Santiago Ruiz Albariño wine were grown in the O Rosal area of Rias Baixas.  The blend consists of 76% Albariño, 11% Loureiro, 5% Treixadura, 4% Godello and 4% Caiño Blanco.  Alcohol checks in at the customary 13% abv and the bottle retails for $20.

The charming map on this wine's label dates back several decades, when the winemaker’s daughter sketched it for the benefit of those attending her wedding at the estate.  I can't vouch that carrying the bottle on a journey to San Miguel de Tabagón will keep you from getting lost, so stick with the GPS. 

This wine - more than simply Albariño - offers the scents and flavors of the grapes that make up a quarter of it.  It offers a pretty nose of white flowers and apples.  The palate adds stone fruit to the green apple notes.  The acidity lags a bit, but is still zippy enough, while there's a nice finish that is genuinely refreshing.

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Michigan Wine: Gamay Noir

The locals call it paradise on a peninsula.  Michigan's Old Mission Peninsula wine region sticks out of the northwestern edge of the state's main body into Lake Michigan.  Situated on the 45th parallel, about the same latitude where one finds Bordeaux, it's a 19-mile spit which juts northward and forms the east and west sides of Grand Traverse Bay.  It's only four miles wide at its broadest point.  They grow wine grapes there.  The blue waters surrounding the land are some 600 feet deep, which produces what they call a "lake effect."  I am told that protects the vines with snow in winter, slows bud break in spring to avoid frost damage, and extends the growing season by up to four weeks.

There's a thriving wine AVA on that strip of land, along with breweries and distilleries.  I've tasted Michigan wines before and found them to be of very high quality, so I had high expectations when the OMP reps sent some of their wines to me for review.  I was not disappointed.

Mari Vineyards Gamay Noir 2017

This wine is made from the grape of Beaujolais, Gamay, but grown on Michigan's Old Mission Peninsula.  It is estate grown and bottled in Traverse City.  The grape was first planted on OMP in the late 1980s. 

The wine has a medium ruby hue and smells of the earth.  Coffee and tea notes dance across dark fruit on the nose and palate.  Acidity is quite fresh and the finish lasts a good while.  Just another fine bottle from a state that really needs to get more recognition for its wines.

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Wine From Spain's Northwest Corner

If you want Albariño wines, look to Spain's Rias Baixas region of Galicia.  Albariño is a lovely white wine grape that is predominant in the Spanish northwest corner.  It's the reason they get out of bed every day in the Rias Baixas region.  I love Albariños for that reason - not because it's spring, or summer, or because I'm having a salad.  Although each of those reasons would have been enough of a convincer.

Wine writer Lyn Farmer notes that the Rias Baixas region has a sense of tradition, but is not bound by it.  He says half of the area's winemakers are women.  Wine writer Dezel Quillen says if your wine shop doesn't carry Rias Baixas Albarino, they need to.  He tweets, "These Spanish wines are quite versatile and extremely food-friendly—especially with #seafood dishes."

O Rosal is home to Paco & Lola Albariño.  It's a little piece of land butted up against the Miño River to the south and the Atlantic Ocean to the west.  The grapes were estate-grown and vinified to 13% abv.  The 2017 vintage is selling for about $18.  In a nod to their labeling, the winery boasts that they are "the polka-dot wine."

An earthy nose masks the floral arrangement one expects.  There are some herbal elements there, but more along savory lines.  The palate shows apples, peaches and a shovel of the earth of Rías Baixas.  Nice acidity and a pleasantly earthy finish cap a wonderfully different style for the region.

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Asti Sweeties For The Summer Porch

Wines with a gimmick generally leave critical wine tasters flat.  Tropical Moscato has a gimmick, and the gimmick is fruit.  The Moscato wine from Italy's Asti region is infused with real fruit, aside from grapes. 

Tropical's wines are made with Moscato grapes grown in vineyards that sit some 200-300 feet up in the hills of Santo Stefano Belbo in Piedmont.  The sparkling effect comes from the charmat method, in which the second fermentation happens in the tank.  Then comes the blending with real fruit.

The mango variety of Tropical Moscato is made from 88% Moscato grapes, 10% mango pulp and 2% passion fruit pulp, while the passion fruit is 95% grapes.  There is now also a strawberry version, which I did not sample.

Both are sweet and fruity on the nose, with a strong floral sense.  They're sweet on the palate, too, and low in alcohol at just 5.5% abv.  The passion fruit bottle shows a nose that's a bit earthier.  Honestly, I knew which was which and I couldn’t really tell the difference.  Both are sweet and simple and don't require much in the way of thought.  I'm guessing they'll be best served quite chilled, outdoors, on a hot summer day.  They will probably make a good base for a summery cocktail or two, with some gin or vodka in the mix.


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Oregon Pinot Noir - On The Nose

Lenné Estate is in Yamhill County, in the Willamette Valley of Oregon.  They say "site is everything," and they have a minimalist approach to making wine.  They say the grapes are good enough to do the heavy lifting themselves.  They boast of having some of the poorest soil in the county, which makes the vines work harder to squeeze out their tiny, concentrated grapes.  The 20-acre vineyard produces three different lines of Pinot Noir, and this is about their estate brand.

Their website proclaims "deep root Pinot Noir," which I don't think has anything to do with Dr. Cross Deep-Root Hair Oil, a late-night mainstay on some flamethrower radio station across the border from Texas.  If it does, I stand corrected.

I don't know who belongs to the "nez" on the label, but it’s quite distinctive.  Maybe it's Len the hen's profile, the guy who started his family's migration from London to Oregon, maybe not.  It makes me think of Danny Kaye, but I doubt that’s who it is.

This Oregon Pinot Noir is extremely dark in every way.  It's tough to see through a glass of it and it's tough not to notice the blackness in the nose, too.  Black currant, black tea and black coffee dominate.  The palate is also shrouded from light.  The tea note is perky and the dark fruit lively.  Nice acidity and a lengthy finish put a nice bow on the package. 


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Don't Be Sheepish Abut Pecorino

A ferzo is a patch of fabric stitched together with others to form a sail or a flag, and it's the central idea behind Ferzo's patchwork of vineyards.  Ferzo says their wines grow out of  "small-scale, highly selected viticultural operations in the skillful hands of local vintners."  The grapes come from Abruzzo, in the broad province of Chieti.

The Winebow Group explains, "the vineyards that source Ferzo Terre di Chieti Pecorino are found in the rolling hills that stretch between the Adriatic Sea in the East to the Appenine Mountains in the West.  The relationship between mountains and sea is always felt in this part of Italy as temperature variations yield a constant breeze known here as the "brezza di terra".

The Pecorino grape is named for sheep, which apparently like munching on this particular fruit. The varietal wine is fermented and aged in stainless steel, getting three months in the tank and one in the bottle.  The alcohol clocks in at 13% abv and it retails for $26.

The nose comes on with a healthy whiff of lanolin and citrus, salinity on the side.  It's a savory sniff, with the ocean taking the forefront while the fruit plays a lesser role.  On the palate, the salty feel stays the course, while apricot, lemon and orange come through on a wave of nuttiness.  The wine finishes tart and refreshing.

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French Sweetie

Monbazillac is in France's Côtes de Bergerac region, in the southwest part of the country, along the Dordogne River.  Bordeaux is to the west, with its more expensive cousin wine, Sauternes.

The wines of Monbazillac are sweet, white wines made from Sémillon, Sauvignon Blanc and Muscadelle grapes.

It's a pretty good bet that a wine produced in a land that's been making wines since the Middle Ages will be a good one.  Even better when it's a sweet one, too.

Château Tirecul La Gravière Monbazillac 2013

Claudie and Bruno Bilancini leased the Monbazillac property in 1992 and bought it '97, during a time of rebirth in the Monbazillac AOC.  One of the more noted wine writers compares the outfit to Château d’Yquem, a fairly noted outfit on their own.  Their wines have been fully organic since 2012. 

The Cru de Tirecul sports, on average, 40-year-old vines of Semillon and Muscadelle.  They are harvested late in clusters showing advanced botrytis, or noble rot.  That's where the sweet comes from.  The wine bears some resemblance to the wines of Sauternes, but with less oak effect.  The wine was aged for 25 months in French oak barrels, hits 12% alcohol and retails for around 20 bucks.

This golden sweetie smells succulent, with the nose showing honey, apples and chalk.  The palate is pure dessert, with some razor-sharp acidity thrown in just to make us want to pair it with a steak or something crazy like that.  It's all sweet all the time, yet does not even go near the "cloying" signpost.

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Dow's Port

Before the Port season slips away, here's a 2012 Vintage Port you should try.  Of course, it's always Port season for some, but the style does fit better with cooler - colder - weather and more robust meals.

Houston Porter writes on Petaluma360 that Port is just one in the family of fortified wines, which includes Madeira, Marsala, sherry and vermouth.  True Port wine comes from Portugal, although many wineries use the term to market their own bottlings.  Technically, Porter writes, to be called port the grapes must be grown, crushed, fermented and initially aged in Portugal's Douro Valley, the world’s "oldest demarcated wine region."

Port wine blossomed in the 1700s when England was at war with France and sought to replace the French wine they couldn't get anymore.  Many Port houses still have English names, like Dow.  The reds are made from grapes with names like Touriga Franca, Tinta Roriz, Tinta Barroca and Touriga Nacional.

Port requires at least two years aging.  Ruby Ports are aged mostly in bottles, while the tawny style is aged in barrels.  Ruby generally shows more fruit flavor as a result, and tawny is a more savory wine.

Dow 2012 Late Bottled Vintage Port

Late Bottled Vintage Port is made from a single vintage of Ruby Port and gets up to six years in the barrel before being bottled and released.  Dow's says they only produce Late Bottled Vintage Port from the best of years, passing over lesser vintages.

Dow's 2012 LBV comes from the Quinta do Bomfim and Quinta da Senhora da Ribeira vineyards.  The Symington family winemakers have tended those plots for five generations. I'm told that 2012 was a very dry year in the Douro Valley, but cooler-than-average summer temperatures helped offset the drought.  The alcohol hits a typical 19% abv level and the wine retails for $24.

I won't beat poetically around the bush.  This vintage Port (2012) is nothing short of astounding.  It's got the savory nose one expects on a tawny, but bigger, blacker, more brutish.  A heavy whiff of smoke never goes away, and the earthy aromatics stay right behind.  The palate lets the fruit shine through, sweet and sultry, with an amazing level of acidity and oh-so-firm tannins.  It's a great sip, but I'm saving the last glass to have with a steak.


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Wine In Cans, Right Now

Canned wine, I'm told, is the fastest growing trend in the wine industry.  No longer a fad or gimmick - well, maybe it's still a gimmick - wine in cans is a 45 million dollar business.  U.S. sales of canned wines jumped by 43% in the year leading up to June 2018.  Stupendous Cellars' David Weitzenhoffer told Forbes that the market for wine in cans has been doubling every year, and he expects it to more than double this year.  He calls cans "the greatest democratization of wine in our lifetime."  Who's buying it?  Those millennials, I guess, with all their white-water rafting and Himalaya climbing.  They need a wine that's portable as well as potable.

If one can get past the packaging, cans really are a pretty good idea.  No open bottles because it's a single serving.  Fully recyclable along with all your other aluminum cans.  No fuss no muss getting those darn corkscrews to work right.  This is starting to read like one of those cable commercials where the person gets all flustered trying to do a simple, easy thing, then breathes a gigantic sigh of relief when the product appears that makes everything simpler and easier.

Right Now wines are sold in cans, fairly classy looking ones at that, and contain wine that's actually pretty good.  None of the four I sampled were big thinkers, but they tasted fun, and when you need wine while skiing down a black diamond run you don’t want that darn glass getting in the way.

Winemaker and Master of Wine Olga Crawford did a good job with the Right Now collection of red, white, rosé and shimmer.  They taste good, have a nice level of acidity and pair well the sort of fun food one finds at a barbecue or a tailgate party.  They sell for $24 for a four-pack

Alpine Stream White is made up of 85% Pinot Gris, 10% Viognier, 3% Sauvignon Blanc and 2% Vermentino.  Alcohol lays low at 12.5% abv.  The pale gold wine has mineral driven stone fruit, nice refreshing acidity.  It's a bit earthy on the palate, which I like.

Shimmer Lightly Sweet Rosé is carbonated pink wine at 13% abv.  Zinfandel grapes account for 40% while Petite Sirah, Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot make up most of the rest.  Nine percent are written off as assorted varieties.  It has quite an interesting look in the glass, dark pink-orange, and offers a nose of slightly candied cherry and strawberry.  It tastes really sweet, Jolly Rancher cherry, with light bubbles for fun and a nice acidity for pairing.

Dry Rosé has California on the can and alcohol hits easy at 12.5%.  The grapes are 35% Zinfandel, 32.8% Syrah, 30.2% Barbera and a 0.4% dollop of Merlot.  This wine shows a nice salmon color, with a muted nose of cherry  It's earthy, tasty, not too complex and has a wonderful acidity.

Red Number 8 is labeled as California, but contains a 63% share of Lodi Zinfandel, along with Petit Verdot, Merlot and Petite Sirah.  Alcohol sits at 13.5%.  It’s very dark, with an earthy nose of brambly black berries.  The tannins are good, the acidity is great and the fruit is dark  A bit of a short finish, but it's the best of the bunch.


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