Pinot Noir

Generally speaking, I don't enjoy Pinot Noir. There, I said it. Ridicule me if you must, but it's a wine that for many reasons I have issues with. I will explain those in greater detail below. But every once in a while, I come across one that I think is outstanding. Today, I was introduced to one of those.

First, my complaints / issues with Pinot Noir.

The Sideways Effect

Americans, as a whole, are lemmings and the movie Sideways is an excellent example. This movie single-handedly moved Pinot Noir up a couple of notches on the national consumption list. But it goes much deeper than that. Following the movie, the grape's demand shot way up leading many grape growers to rethink what they were planting and growing. The movie also beat the Merlot grape to a pulp (literally). As a result, a good part of those grape growers grafted their vines from Merlot to Pinot Noir. The problem with that? Pinot Noir and Merlot don't usually thrive in the same climates and soils. This lead to many acres of Pinot Noir currently planted in areas and regions that just don't create good wine. Bummer.

Pinot Noir is finicky

Plant Pinot in a climate that is perfect for it (cool, foggy and even windy) and it will grow extremely well. Sure, you have to worry about mold, bunch rot and mildew like most other grapes, but in the right climate it works. Where Pinot is finicky is mostly on the way to the winery and in the cellar. It's a thin skin grape and can be damaged easily during the transportation process. So, the closer the winery is to the vineyard the better. In addition, the cellar is a place where many things can go wrong. Generally, Pinot Noir is handled differently in the crushing, pressing and fermentation process.

Many winemakers will de-stem the grapes and drop them whole berry into stainless steel tanks. The pressure of the grapes on top of each other cracks their skins and allows the juice to be extracted. Then a cold soak happens. This is extra time on the skin and can be anywhere between a few days to a couple of weeks. The thinner the skin, the shorter the time because it takes less time to extract the colors and flavors you're looking for.

Ok, so now that I've gotten too technical, here's the problem. Because demand has increased so much, the proper time and care isn't being taken in the cellar. It's quite sad because no wine should be treated that way.

BUT, everyonce in a while there's a Pinot that I taste that is truly amazing. It has all the right qualities I'm looking for in Pinot: Cool Climate, good winemaking techniques and all these amazing flavors.

This one was opened by a friend today and I immediately enjoyed it. It only got better with more time in the glass....


And the back....At $42 a bottle, it's not cheap, but it's certainly not expensive for Pinot either. It's really easy to get above $50 and not uncommon to see $75 for bottles of this grape. There is a lot of inconsistency though. With some grape varieties there's a decent scale of more expensive, better qualities. But there seems to be an exception with this type of wine.

This wine had a killer nose of black cherry, blackberry along with some forest floor and mushrooms. In the mouth, the wine coated my tongue like cream cheese on a bagel. It was intense - I had to sit down. Then it followed with this amazingly long finish, uncommon for most of the Pinot's I've tasted.

All in all, I haven't given up hope. But Pinot remains to be a tough grape for me to get behind. I do think the food pairing opportunities with it are quite broad and chef's and wine buyers for restaurants definitely use that to their advantage. I can't say that's a bad thing. I will continue to look far and wide (in and out of Sonoma County) for good producers of this grape. I know they're out there.

Cheers!

Another great dinner at home....

We do enjoy going out and tasting culinary delights from local area restaurants, but we really enjoy staying at home - especially when we want to relax and open several bottles of wine....

Last night we had some newer friends over for the first time. It's always craziness at our house - two kids, two dogs, two cats and a bird will do that! So, it is with caution that we invite new friends over for dinner because you never know what's going to happen.

But when friends (new or long-time) come over, it's always an excuse to go digging in the cellar. Tonight I grabbed a 2007 Quivira Sauvignon Blanc to have with some cheese and sourdough before dinner. This particular one is very small production and was barrel fermented and aged in French Oak. That is rare with Sauvignon Blanc. Most of the time it's fermented in stainless steel tanks and then filtered and bottled with no oak ageing at all.The qualities of the wine were awesome with the Bellwether Farms Carmody cheese. The cheese was creamy and light with good acid and was a great pairing with the wine and its rich qualities and weighty mouthfeel. I think the 'thumbs up' says it all.

The second bottle we opened up was a 2004 Louis Martini Lot 1. I received this wine from the assistant winemaker a couple of years ago. He told me to hang onto it for a little while. I did, but not as long as I could have. Lot 1 represents the best barrels from the mountain vineyards around Napa. It's not often that I rave about a Napa wine, but this 100% Cabernet was outstanding. The aromas coming out of the glass were so complex it was hard to identify just one. Then, when the wine hit my mouth it was like the smells were intensified. The concentration of fruit with hints of oak (not overpowering at all) were just downright amazing.

We paired it with this hearty meal....

Chicken Parmesan, garlic mashed potatoes, pasta, and salad with cranberries and Pt. Reyes Blue Cheese. It was perfectly balanced.


This would probably be enough for most people. But there was more. My lovely wife makes killer creme brulee. And her milk chocolate variation is my favorite....Our guests brought over a Jodar port from El Dorado County (in the Sierra Foothills). We're not sure exactly what was in it, but likely there was Syrah, Zinfandel, Grenache, Petite Sirah or all of the above. Whatever it was the fruit was sweet without being overly so and the flavors from the barrel (think cocoa and cinnamon), along with the palate coating texture were matched flawlessly with the creme brulee. The conversation continued after all the food had been consumed (and most of the wine). And I think this is the most important part. The food was great on its own. The wine would have been as well. But it's not until the food, wine and company came together that there is a true sense of how these particular components join together to create a nearly perfect evening.

Cheers!

Paso Robles Zin

Admittedly, I don't know much about Paso Robles and their winemaking and growing region. I've only had a few wines from there, but so far from what I've tasted I'd like to try more.

Paso AVA has one of the largest temperature swings of all the AVA's in California. In other words, it's really cool / cold in the morning and overnight and very hot during the day. This, of course, depends on how close the vineyards are to the ocean, but the swing is there none the less.

What does this mean? Well, they can grow a lot of different grapes. In fact, over 40 different types of grapes grow in this one area. Everything from Chardonnay to Cabernet, Syrah and Zinfandel.

This bottle of Zin call 'biker' hails from Four Vines Winery in Templeton, CA....This wine is huge! Once the cork was popped, the wines aromas were jumping out of the glass. Tons of blackberry and raspberry along with white black pepper and lots of spices are on the nose. The smell was actually a little overwhelming at first, but after we let it breathe for a moment it calmed down a bit.

In the mouth, it was liquid pleasure. Well balanced, fruity, spicy and a good finish of decent length. There was almost a hint of sweetness like there was a small amount of residual sugar. With only 15% alcohol I would be surprised if that was really the case.

The back label was totally uninformative, but quite entertaining. One thing I've learned about the Paso Robles region is they like to have fun down there. And this back label is a good example....I love the part about this isn't the wine to bring home to your mother. So, I brought it to my mother-in-law instead! About 4500 cases of this wine were produced, so I would expect you would be able to locate it on some wine lists and stores.

I think this wine really got better when we sat down at the dinner table and paired it with the peppercorn / balsamic grilled pork. Amazingly, it went well with the asparagus too - one of the harder food items to pair with. Almost a little too powerful on its own, the wine became an integral part of the meal.

The great thing about wine is that you don't have to travel to taste different areas. I can easily close my eyes and imagine myself in the central coast drinking this wine. It's always fun to explore other areas through wine, but mostly I enjoy coming home.

Cheers!

Dinner with the in-laws

My in-laws are not what you think of as the proverbial in-laws. We actually get along (and quite well). They watch our kids 3 days a week - sometimes more - and I bring them wine. I think we're getting the better end of the deal. But once every couple of weeks we cook them dinner. It's something I always look forward to.

On this night, we started with this wine....It's an Italian Prosecco (sparkling wine) from Trader Joe's. This wine is a great start to an evening. There's just something about bubbles that makes it feel like a special occasion. And at less than $6, this wine can make almost any day a special occasion. It also makes great mimosas for that Sunday brunch.

Dinner preparation was a bit of a fiasco. When I opened the tri-tip, it smelled bad. Not taking any chances, my father-in-law and I ran out to Sonoma Market - love that place - to get a fresh one.

I made a rub out of espresso powder, cayenne, ginger, brown sugar, oregano, salt and pepper. I think it turned out really tasty. And to pair with it, we opened this.... It was the first time I tried this Syrah from Sonoma Valley. I've had their Zin on several occasions. Amapola Creek is a private winery started by Richard and Alis Arrowood. Richard has been making wine in Sonoma Valley since the 70's and has a special way with grapes. Amapola means Poppy in Spanish and the winery was named for the creek that runs through the property that is lined with California Poppies every Spring.

This wine is sourced from estate fruit that is organically grown. The color was deep purple. In fact, it was so dark, I would have mistaken it for a Petite Sirah if I didn't know what was in the bottle.

The fruit was plum and blackberry with hints of cooking spices and smoked meats. It was a perfect selection for the grilled tri-tip. I don't have many "rules" for wine, but when it comes to foods coming off the grill they are usually paired best with Syrah. There's just something about it. This wine was perfectly balaced and had one of the best mouthfeels I've ever experienced with a Syrah. I have to get some more of this before they run out!

In addition to the tri-tip, we had tri-color potatoes and cheese biscuits. I'd never had a purple potato before, but they were really good. We also finished up with a Lemon Meringue pie that my mother-in-law baked with fresh lemons from her garden. Sorry for no picture, but we gobbled it up so fast, there wasn't a chance....it was spectacular.

I'll continue to look forward to our dinners and the food and wine that goes along with it. It's also a small way to say thank you for watching our kids. But there's some good bonding that happens too! Invite your in-laws (or parents) over for dinner....you never know what will happen.

Cheers!

Quivira

Quivira Winery is located in Dry Creek Valley. It is known for crisp Sauvignon Blancs and stunning Zinfandels. But they do some other interesting wines as well. From Petite Syrah and Grenache to a dry Rose and this little beauty....
Mourvedre traces it's roots back to Spain, but it wasn't until it reached France's Rhone Valley in the 16th century that it found its true home. Often blended with a little Grenache to soften it, but this particular one is 100%.

Wine Creek Ranch is Quivira's home vineyard and it is farmed not just organically, but biodynamically. Biodynamic farming is all about putting back in the vineyard (and land) what you take out, but it goes so much further than that. It's a mix of science, farming and spiritual awareness. Based on moon phases, there may be many different things that need to happen, including: certain ways to stir, cow horns buried in the vineyard and making fertilizer.

But what does this all mean to you? I believe that all wineries are striving to make the best wine they can. Some do it in this biodynamic way, others choose different paths. To me, I choose to take the path of let's try it and see how it tastes. Because after all, if I like it, I'll buy it and I believe Quivira does a great job. You can read more about Demeter Biodynamic Certification here.

The winery itself is powered by solar panels and everything they do is in a conservation manner. They have estate gardens, a chicken coup, honey bees, and Ruby....

Isn't she cute? They do a pig roast every year (because their wines go so well with pork), but I was informed that Ruby is here to stay. Good news, because my kids would be disappointed if we showed up and she wasn't there.

The Mourvedre that I'm drinking tonight has beautiful bright fruit flavors like blueberry, blackberry, plums and bramble. In addition, there's this underlying spicy character followed by a nice weightiness, soft tannins and a pleasant black licorice finish that goes on and on....


I would consider this a rare varietal on its own, which makes it fun and interesting. If you find a bottle, snatch it up and throw some pork chops on the BBQ. I can almost guarantee you a good time.


Cheers!

Spring is here!

Driving around wine country today, it is very clear that Spring is in the air. Here are some pictures of bud break.....

Some vines have already made some pretty decent progress....

Look at all the little buds - it's so exciting!

The wind machines are a reminder that Spring is actually a dangerous time for grapes. These machines will move air around on nights that the temperatures drop to freezing or below. The theory is that moving air is warmer than air standing still. Generally, this works.Some growers use a sprinkler system that coats the grapes with water which then freezes. It sounds counter-intuitive, but the frozen water around the grapes actually keeps the grapes from freezing.

Here's an example of the sad reality for some growers right now....

This vineyard, and many others I drove past, haven't been pruned. It's not uncommon for growers to wait until early March to prune. This can protect them for an additional 7-14 days from frost by delaying bud-break. However, this late in the game, the reality is that this vineyard likely isn't being pruned because it has fallen out of contract. In other words, the growers don't have anyone to sell their grapes to. Bummer.

The canes that the new buds are on were last year's canes. These vines should have been cut back to the thicker part of the stalk as shown in the pictures above.

Stay tuned for more signs of Spring in the coming weeks.

On another note, I just had to make some cookies today. Now I'm enjoying them with a glass of this Matanzas Creek Sauvignon Blanc. The cookies are lemon macadamia with white and milk chocolate chips. The Meyer lemon aromas and flavors, along with the acid in this wine pair perfectly with the dessert.

That's all for tonight.

Cheers!

Simple meal

We had a simple meal tonight. Very good, but simple.

Okay, don't laugh my wife made pizza made with Bisquick, veggies and sauce....

I was little skeptical, but was really surprised that it tasted wonderful.

What does a simple meal call for? A simple wine....

This is a Red Table Wine from Loxton Winery in Sonoma Valley. Loxton was founded by Chris Loxton in 1996. Originally from a grape-growing family near Adelaide, Australia, Chris moved here in the early 90's for a different reason, but quickly found his way back into the wine biz.

I don't remember the exact blend of this wine, but I know there is a lot of Syrah and Zinfandel. I originally bought it for my Dad some time ago (because I know he liked it when he tasted it), but decided to give him something better.

The aromas and flavors were quite good, but singular. In other words, there wasn't a whole lot of complexity. It was very fruit forward with a lot of body and tannin - perfect for pairing with pizza (any kind).

When it comes to food and wine, it's okay to think about simple wines with simple foods or complex wines with more complex foods.

Sometimes, it's the simple things that make life great. Tonight was a great example of that. After all, we can't eat (and drink) like Kings and Queens every night!

Cheers!

Wine and Cheese Class

Last night I was lucky enough to go to a wine and cheese pairing class at the Ferry Plaza Wine Merchant in San Francisco. If you haven't been to the Ferry Plaza, check it out next time you're in SF. There is plenty to keep yourself busy, most of which is food focused.



It's not often that I venture into the city, but I thought it was worth it for this event. The class was just $65 and included seven wines and cheeses.



But first, a trip to the Ferry Plaza isn't complete without a stop at Taylor's Refresher. The original one is in St. Helena, but this one works for me too.



I had a bacon cheeseburger, fries and a 1/2 bottle of Silverado Vineyards 2005 Cabernet...

Of course, I had a good friend with me to help share the wine and fries!

They poured us a glass of Prosecco (Italian Sparkling wine) which was very crisp and refreshing with lots of fruit flavor on the palette.

Next came these six still wines and the seven cheeses.

The wines from left to right:

Godello (Spain)

Gelber Muskateller (Austria)

Chardonnay (Carneros, CA)

Pinot Noir (Sonoma Coast, CA)

Petit Verdot (Napa Valley, CA)

Solera 1847 (Spain)

The wine from Spain had almost no smells at all and was very light in the mouth. The cheese that was paired with it was a soft cow / goat cheese that overpowered the wine a little. But the same cheese with the Prosecco was outstanding.

My favorite white was the Austrian Gelber Muskateller (don't even attempt it!). It had amazing aromatics (like CA Guwurtztraminer) and was full of body and flavor on the mouth without having too much oak. The cheese with it was perfect - a fresh pecorino from Italy. It was so soft and creamy. I was thinking it would make a great cheese for the next time I make pizza.

I was really surprised about the Chardonnay. This Chard was representative of CA: big, buttery and oakey. On its own, I didn't like it. BUT, with the Carmody cow's milk cheese it changed significantly. The wine became more creamy and most importantly the wine had this elegant long finish that was a result of this creamy cheese interacting with the wine. Cool.

The cheeses from top clockwise:

Largo, Andante Dairy (CA)

Pecorino Toscano (Italy)

Carmody, Bellweather Farms (CA)

Pilota (France)

Mimolette (France)

Noord Hollander (Holland)

Bleu d'Avergne (France)

The fourth wine was a Pinot Noir from Sonoma Coast, CA. Pinot is not typically my favorite type of wine and this one wasn't an exception. But, yet again, with the Pilota cheese (sheep's milk from the Basque region of France) the wine evolved into something I would drink.

The last dry (all the sugar was fermented out) wine was a Petit Verdot from a small producer Napa Valley. Just 110 cases of this wine were produced. This is a grape variety that has been used as a blending grape in Bordeaux, France since the beginning of time. Well almost, anyway. It's fairly uncommon to find this grape bottled on its own because it usually doesn't have enough interesting qualities. However, with this one, that was not the case. Tons of fruit on the nose and palette and a pleasing long finish. This paired wonderfully with the sheep's milk cheese from france. I think this cheese would work well with many CA Merlots as well.

The final wine was a Sherry from Spain. Slightly sweet this wine had outstanding smells. Everything from toffee to petrol (like the late harvest Riesling from an earlier post) to caramel and coffee. It was by far my favorite of the night and at just $18 it was a bargain too. This was paired with two different cheeses - a 24 month old Gouda and a Bleu from France. The Bleu was my favorite with it and that's not uncommon for me and sweet wines.

Overall, this was an excellent experience that I would highly recommend.

There was even a dog there, to ensure the proper wine country reception....

In case you were interested, her name is Sheeba. Isn't she cute?

I hope I have inspired you to pair some of your wines with cheese. There are no "rules" when it comes to this, but there are some cheese that work better with some wines. The problem is it's hard to generalize both cheese and wine, so it's difficult to say that this cheese will work with this wine. The best thing to do is to try.

Cheers!

The Oscars, I guess

I'm not a movie buff. In fact, most movies I just pass by. But tonight when we happened to be watching the red carpet show prior to the Academy Awards and it hit me. The red carpet us just like Pinot Noir. Which was really funny because I had already planned on opening a Pinot for tonight's dinner.

Pinot is everything the red carpet is: Red (of course), soft, sexy, velvety, luscious and in the best cases complex.

Tonight, we opened a 2005 Landmark Kanzler Pinot Noir....I bought this a couple of years ago and managed to put it away in my cellar and forget about it. It has developed beautifully. The nose was packed full of aromas like blackberry, plums, black pepper and little hints of smoke, redwood bark and barnyard - all pleasing smells. In the mouth, the wine is velvety, packed full of flavors and has an extremely long finish.

Landmark is steeped in history. Its roots are from the John Deere tractor family and was founded in Windor in the Russian River Valley. But today, you will find the winery and tasting room at the Northern end of Sonoma Valley. I actually happened to visit them this week. I was surprised and pleased to see sheep out in front of the tasting room....

The sheep eat a lot of the weeds that are not good for the vines. This only works in small vineyards, but can be very effective. They also leave behind some great fertilizer!

The reason I opened the Pinot Noir tonight was because my wife was making a new dish....

This pasta was absolutely restaurant quality. First she roasted a whole head of garlic along with tomatoes sprinkled with salt pepper and a little sugar for an entire hour. The smells filled up the whole house and were fabulous. I had also just finished baking my weekly sourdough and those aromas were still filling the air too. In addition, there was some fresh basil and mozzarella. All of these came together to create the perfect pasta. It paired splendidly with the Pinot we had opened. It was a good night.

Next time a big event comes on T.V., think about what wine might pair with it. It just might lead you to open a bottle and enjoy it!

Cheers!

Dinner at a friend's house

Last night we went to a friend's house for dinner. Not knowing what the menu was going to be, I brought along a myriad of wines. This is almost expected when I show up - so I just go with it.

What I brought: An off-dry Rose, an antique vines (over 100 year old vines) Zinfandel and a bottle of 17 year old Late Harvest Riesling. Between the three, we had most foods covered. Plus, this particular friend doesn't usually eat dessert.

There were seven of us total at this dinner party (half in the wine business) and when we walked in there was quite a spread in front of us. Nuts, apricots, hummus made with green olives, goat cheese (one of my favorites) and many other accouterments.

We opened a Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and the Rose that I brought. All three were great wines to start the evening with. I particularly liked the tangy-ness of the goat cheese and how it matched up with the acidity of the Sauvignon Blanc. Always one of my stand by pairings.

Then there was Onion soup and triple cream brie grilled cheese sandwiches. The soup was made with Chardonnay and the creaminess in the brie paired perfectly with the Chard. I was stuffed.

But then came this....Steak salad with tons of goodies - greens, kalamata olives, cherry and green tomatoes, more goat cheese, and two types of bread with butter, of course. It was quite possibly one of the best salads I've ever had.

We all brought Zins....

A 2002 Contra Costa V. Sattui in the middle flanked by two 2006 Zins from Monte Rosso Vineyard in Sonoma Valley. One from Stryker Sonoma and one from Amapola Creek.

Most people don't know that there are some awesome Zinfandel vineyards in Contra Costa County. It's darn near perfect growing conditions out there. This V. Sattui did not disappoint. It actually took a while to open up, but when it did it was surprisingly still fruit forward with a nice round and full mouthfeel.

Monte Rosso Vineyard has been around since the late 1800's and has some of the oldest Zinfandel vines in Sonoma Valley - if not the oldest. The Monte Rosso Zins were like night and day from each other. The Stryker was all raspberries and alcohol (though not in a bad way) and the Amapola was perfectly balanced with dark fruits, white and black pepper and a very long finish.

I think one of the biggest differences was the Amapola grapes came from vines planted in 1885 and the Stryker didn't. Thought I don't know the exact age of the Stryker grapes.

Our host surprised us with a chocolate almond flourless cake with whipped cream for dessert, and it was fabulous. Good thing I brought along with me an Arrowood 1993 Late Harvest Riesling. The wine looked like light roast coffee in the glass (as Rieslings age the color of the wines turns darker). The aromas were toffee, caramel and petrol (diesel), common of aged Rieslings. In the mouth the wine was sweet right away, but then that soon faded to flavors of espresso and mocha. This particular Riesling had 28% residual sugar at bottling - a very high sugar content. Most of us agreed (and I thought so) that this was the best wine of the night. It was outstanding.

The highlight of the evening was being able to spend time with some great friends. And as you know, I feel like the wine brought us closer together. So grab some different wines, invite from friends over (ask them to bring wine too) and have a get together. Try a sampling of foods with out of the ordinary wines and see what happens. I'll bet you have a great night.

Cheers!

I'm back!

I've been pretty quiet for the last two weeks because I've had that nasty cold that's been going around and haven't been able to smell or taste anything. It really sucked.


So, what's on the agenda for tonight? Mostly just a few comments.


I'm working on some of the requests for what you all want to learn about - we'll get there in the coming days. But for tonight just some thoughts.

Last night we had some great friends come over for a meal at home. They brought with them lots of wine. Of course, we drank most of it. We had a pretty simple meal. We started with bruschetta and for the main course had lasagna, salad (fresh greens, homemade dressing, cranberries, and Gorgonzola), garlic bread (on homemade bread), and Italian sausage. We also had a killer dessert that my lovely wife made - a tiramisu cake.


Anyway, I'll get back to the wine. From a food pairing standpoint we had 3 different varietals - Grenache, Zinfandel and Syrah, all from Bella winery in Dry Creek Valley. I was really surprised, but all of these wines paired just about perfectly with the food. I guess I shouldn't be that surprised since these are typically big, bold and fruity wines. A pretty good match for this particular dinner.

But more important than the wine working well with the food, the wine brought us together. We analyzed, tasted, smelled and talked about the differences between the wines and how they differ from other producers as well. What is it about wine that turns a dinner party into a special occasion?

Some could make an argument for the alcohol. Good times are had with alcohol, I guess. But I don't think that's it. A dinner party certainly isn't the same drinking martinis all night.

Is it the flavors? One could make a case for the complexity of flavors and how they match (or don't in some cases) with the food. Sure, I think that's part of it.

But for us last night, we were talking about the vineyards these wines came from and the way the wines were processed in addition to the flavors. In other words, the story behind the wine.


Everyone is looking for something real these days. And I think in the adult drinks world, wine is real. It's one of the few drinks (with alcohol) that on its own has a broad depth of aromas, tastes and colors. Sure, you could make a claim that some scotches or rums have all these things as well. But how often do think about where those drinks come from and crave the story behind them?


With wine, there is a "place". If you travel to it, you can actually go to the vineyard and producer of that wine in your glass. And that is very cool.

As I finish this post, I'm finishing the last drop of my favorite wine of last night - 2008 Belle Canyon Zinfandel from Bella Winery. This wine is just amazing. Check them out if you're in Dry Creek.

Cheers!

Wine ratings and The Olympics compared

I was watching the Olympics last night when I realized wine is like the Olympics!

To me, wine ratings are like the Olympics, specifically the medals. I'll explain.

First, a quick explanation about ratings for wine. There are many wine raters and almost all of them use a scale up to 100 points. In some cases the rating is given by just one person. In others, it could be a panel of people and their ratings are averaged. A perfect wine (100 pts.) is rare, but it happens. If they are rated, most good to great wines fall between 85-99. That should help with my thoughts below.

Here's my comparison:
Gold Medal = 95-100 pt. wines
These wines are outstanding by most accounts. They have everything going for them: grapes sourced from excellent vineyards, meticulously cared for in the cellar, and are generally smaller production.

Silver Medal = 90-94 pt. wines
90 points, for some reason, appears to be the threshold for what the wine world calls great wines. Most of these wines you and I would drink on a special occasion. They also represent wines that for some of us may be the best we taste....ever.

Bronze Medal = 85-89 pt. wines
For the most part, wines in this category are good everyday drinking wines. By our (mine, yours) account, some are nothing special, some are outstanding. I think it's the most overlooked category for great value.

Now that the basis is set, I'll go further.

Usually, I don't care a lot about wine ratings. To me, these ratings only add or detract from the real wine behind them. The ratings are a snapshot in time of how the wine tasted on that one day by that one person (or panel). Often this tasting happens long before the release of the wine. On a different day, the result could be a rating higher or lower.

To the same respect, medals from the Olympics and the medals awarded are just a snapshot of the best athletes at that moment in time. On another day, it could have been another athlete. Maybe not, but it could have been.

So what's important to me? Of course, I want the wine to taste good. Otherwise, why drink it? Beyond that, what I care about is the story behind the wine. Where did the grapes come from? What was the weather like during that year? How were the grapes processed through the winery? What barrels were used? Etc... I want to know the wine in all its aspects.

Along the same lines, what I look forward to when watching the Olympics are the stories behind the athletes. The struggles they've been through to get there and the injuries they have overcome are all part of what make the medals they win valuable.

Do wine ratings help sell wine on a shelf? Absolutely. Is that all that matters? Not by a long shot.

Next time you open a bottle of wine, look it up and see where it came from. You may just learn the story behind it and you might enjoy it that much more.

Cheers!

The Super Bowl

I'm not a big football fan. I never really have been. Sure, I know some key names, know how the game is played and can get into it when it's called upon me. But if I miss the 'big' game I won't be disappointed.

However, this year we were invited to a Super Bowl party which made the game not only a game, but a social event too. And what happens at social events? We drink wine! And eat lots of food. Now this sounds like fun.

Here's what I brought to the game....For starters, we opened the Tandem Pinot Noir, 2006 Sonoma County. It was typically light, but did not disappoint on the nose or palate. Pinot loves cool climate and lots of fog and wind (sounds a lot like Chardonnay). When it's grown in colder climates, generally the result is more earth and less fruit. I like my Pinot Noir earthy, not fruity. This one was all barnyard and forest floor and made for a perfect sipping wine while dining on pre-game food.

We also opened up a 2006 Matanzas Creek Syrah, Sonoma County and an 05 Quivira Grenache. Both we're bigger, bolder wines with tons of fruit and character. In my opinion, these bigger, bolder wines were the perfect pairing for the Super Bowl. After all, is there a bigger game in the season than the Super Bowl?

Game day foods included chips and dips, chicken wings and bread bowls filled with homemade chili. All the wines worked well with the food, but the Syrah and the chili seemed to be the best pairing.

I know what you're thinking, "shouldn't you be drinking beer on game day?" But I'm not a beer drinker and never have been. Guinness is my beer of choice when I do drink it, but wine is generally my drink of choice.

The game is over now (and the social event is too), but maybe I'll look forward to the Super Bowl next year to see if I can better the pairings. But for now, I'm content.

Cheers!

Culinary coma....

Tonight we celebrated my father-in-law's birthday and now I'm in a culinary coma. I'll take you through what we ate and drank. It was outstanding!

We had three wines that we paired tonight. A Stonestreet Chardonnay, a Limerick Lane Old Vine Zin and a VJB Barbara Port. All three were very tasty.

First, we started with our cooking wine....that is, wine to drink while we're cooking - the Stonestreet Chardonnay.

We also had some Vella Dry Jack to pair with it. Yummy!

Next, we moved onto the main course: Pork tenderloin cooked in Merlot with shallots and garlic, string beans with almonds and Yukon Gold mashed potatoes. We also had some homemade French bread.

This paired perfectly with the 2005 Limerick Lane Old Vine Zinfandel. The vines (and winery) are in Eastern Russian River Valley and are dry farmed.

Dry farmed means they use no irrigation at all. This can be quite difficult, especially in years of drought and very hot summers. But in the best years the grapes can be outstanding, like this one.

The final course was dessert, of course. My wife made this amazing triple chocolate tart with Bailey's Irish Cream sauce. For this, we pulled out the 2005 VJB Barbara Port. Port and chocolate are one of life's little pleasures that you need to experience. Really.

















I'm now going to retire for the evening and let the coma fully kick in. Until next time.....Cheers!

I love Merlot...

I love Merlot. Really, truly and honestly. Phew, I feel better now. Why is it that I feel like a just let out a big secret? When did Merlot become such a terrible word? Is it really all because of the movie Sideways?

I spent the day today pouring (and tasting) Merlot wines from the mid to late 90's and they were outstanding. It's not easy to create a Merlot with ageing potential like that, but for those who can do it well the end result can be some of the most stunning and interesting wines you'll ever run across.

Merlot is the main grape in many of the worlds most highly regarded wines. I'm specifically speaking of Bordeaux, although California has its fair share as well. If Merlot is grown in the right climate - relatively cool - it is known for high acidity, dark fruits, soft tannins and low alcohol. Of course, the alcohol is a whole other discussion we'll save for another day.

Of course, Merlot is not for everyone. It certainly wasn't for the lead character in Sideways. But what the movie doesn't tell you that the book does is he doesn't like Merlot because it was his ex-wife's favorite varietal. But I believe the producers of that movie chose to stick with Merlot because, from California, it was becoming a singular flavored, watered down, simple wine. At least for the inexpensive ones. The ones the majority of Americans drank.

The real irony in Sideways was lost on many people. The main grape in the bottle he drank (1961 Cheval Blanc) at the end of the movie in the burger joint was Merlot based. Interesting.

But back to why I love Merlot. One reason is when Merlot is young, it's great to drink. Another is when Merlot has aged, it's great to drink. Which is not the case with many wines. Also, I believe that really excellent Merlot only comes from cooler climates or higher elevations with eastern exposure where you can get a long hang time. Longer hang time equals more complexity. Plain and simple. The warmer the climate, the faster the sugars in the grapes develop, the sooner you pick. There are only a few producers of Merlot that will spend the time and energy necessary to grow Merlot in the cooler conditions.

But most of all, Merlot is versatile. It's an elegant wine that pairs perfectly with many foods. Merlot also has plenty of structure and complex aromas and flavors that it's a fabulous wine to pair with a glass. In other words, it drinks wonderfully on its own.

So, next time you're shopping for wine give Merlot a try again. If you still don't like it, at least there will be more for me!

Cheers!

Slownoma, officially.

For many years now Sonoma has had the nickname, Slow-noma. And it's true. Things move at a different pace in Sonoma. It just has a small town, country feel to it. It's one of the reasons we decided to move here to raise our family. That and all the good wine, of course.

Well, Sonoma was officially named a "slow town" by the Cittaslow folks on Wednesday. Cittaslow (pronounced Chee-Tah-slow) is an Italian organization that has named over 120 towns in over 15 countries "slow". The name literally means slow town. There are 50 or so qualifiers that a town has to have in order to be named a Cittaslow town. The big news here is that Sonoma is the first in the U.S and that, my friends, is a big deal.

Sonoma is dedicated to small town life, history, organic, sustainable, family, and community just to name a few. All you have to do is come out to a farmer's market on Tuesday night in the Spring or Summer or to the annual 4th of July parade to know that Sonoma embodies all these things. I hope it never changes.

How does this tie into wine? Well, for me, wine is all these things. Wine is history in a bottle. It's naturally organic (though some people change that). It started as a small town crop, and in most parts of the world, including parts of California, it still is. Sure, there's the big producers, but in Sonoma that's still the exception.

Wine is slow. The grapes grow slow. The fermentation can take forever. The barrel and ageing process can seam to last a lifetime. But when I open a bottle, the world slows down. I use all my senses. And most importantly, I smell and taste every drop. How often do we stop and do that these days?

So, please slow down, open a bottle of wine and think about all the time and energy that went into making it. But above all, enjoy it!

Cheers!

First trip to Vella Cheese Co.

I've been eating Vella Cheese, specifically the Dry Jack, for several years now. It's made right here in Sonoma and they have a retail shop about a mile from our house just off the plaza. I'm not sure why I never ventured to it, but I finally did today.

Maybe for some of you going to a cheese shop may not be a big deal, but for me it was huge. I've really grown to love different kinds of cheese (paired with wines, of course) and this particular cheese goes with almost any wine - a true versatile wonder.

I know them for this Dry Jack (pictured below), but they also produce high moisture Jack, Cheddar and some Italian style cheeses too.

Vella was started in 1931 by "Tom" Vella and is still in the family. They pretty much make cheese the same way they did back then. I talked with one of the "Vella" family members for a little while about the cheese, she had some great information.

The shop is small and rustic. It's situated at the front of an old stone building that was built in 1906. It was like a time-warp going in there. The staff member and the family member I talked with were knowledgeable, friendly and genuinely seemed happy to see me. That is hard to find.

Hopefully next time I go I can get a behind the scenes tour, we'll see. Until then, I'll continue to enjoy this cheese with many of the different wines I'll be drinking.

Cheers!

Another reason I love Sonoma...

If you haven't figured it out, I love Sonoma. Not just the town of, but Sonoma County and all of its cool little towns as well. (More on that as I travel through Sonoma).

Tonight we went to one of our favorite local restaurants in Sonoma: The Red Grape. There are many options in Sonoma, especially surrounding the plaza, but this is consistently one of the best eateries at a great price.

The Red Grape has great pizzas, pastas and panninis (at lunch). Sometimes we take a bottle of wine, but most of the time we order off their list. Their wine list is almost all local wines at really reasonable prices.

Tonight, I ordered a margherita pizza and paired it with a Pellegrini Merlot from Alexander Valley. The half bottle was just $14....that's awesome!














The wine paired perfectly. It had great acid (a must for food pairing), and flavors of chocolate, black cherry and just a little oak.

We finished the meal with one of their giant ice cream sundaes. Perfect!

Stick around for more wine and culinary adventures. Until then, Cheers!