March, 2009:

Up & Coming producers you should know about

I have long been an advocate of shopping locally, while thinking globally, and I think the same can be applied to wine. I have always thought that I would rather spend $30 on a bottle that was produced by a small time operator that was locally owned, then $15 on a corporate wine that will get lost in the economies of scale.

Particularly in this time of economic distress, I think it’s more important than ever to support the little guy. I am in a unique position to be able to afford the luxury of wine, and I do what i can to support the small retailers and producers.

This past weekend, my social media and wine friend Shana (@sharayray) and I took off for parts well known, but wineries not as well known, for Weekend 1 of Russian River Barrel Tasting. Along the way, while I admit we ducked in to old favorites, we also discovered new favorites among the list of some barrel-tasting 100+ wineries pouring their wares for this annual event. Here are some of our favorites from the first weekend, with more to come next weekend!

Truett Hurst (@truetthurst) yes ok old fave but have to plug it!) Who is making amazing Petite Sirah as well as Pinot and several zins on their bio-dynamic property on Dry Creek Road.
Mounts Family Winery (@mountsfamwinery) – While I have been going to Mounts for several years, their hidden location off of West Dry Creek Rd. makes them a gem that is just starting to be discovered. The family atmosphere and the delicious Rhone focused wine is worth a visit even on your most hurried trip. I really love their Syrah and Zin, and we got to taste their 2nd ever Malbec, which will be released in another year or two.
Michel-Schlumberger (@m_schlumberger), an historic winery but well off the beaten path, next to Mounts. Boy what a visit we had! After meandering through the cellar to taste some barrels, we tasted current releases which were being offered for a great deal. Furthermore, they were having their annual Stash Sale, and Shana and I scored a case of 2001 Pinot for a song. YES, I know we were in Dry Creek, but the 2005 & 2001 pinots were exquisite! The property is up against the ridgeline, and the cool fog and Russian River influence provide a morsel of pinot passion here. Oh did I mention their Cabs were phenomenal too? Judd, the President and Chief Blogger Ambassador, kept us entertained with the libations and we were hard pressed to leave. We’ll be back next weekend!
Copain Wine Cellars (@copain) – This was my first visit to Copain, but I have been hearing about it from my friends in the wine community for several months. With expansive views of the Russian River valley from it’s perch above Eastside Road, the wine and the views will keep me coming back for more. Their Rhone varietals were representative of the region and I fell in love with their GSM. I will certainly be back for more.
Hawkes Wine -(@hawkeswine) Located next to the Jimtown store in Alexander Valley, this small tasting room ha some yummy cab to go with the chocolate pudding we had for lunch. YUM!
Stuhlmuller Vineyards – another new discovery, this family property is up a long isolated road, off of Healdsburg Avenue north of town, where Alexander Valley meets the suburbs. We were really in the country here and they had Coq au Vin that hit the spot.
Hudson Street Wineries, a new collective next to the Front Street Five collective on the south end of Healdsburg, gives you a one stop shop for tasting some of the smallest wineries in town. If you make a day out of the Front Street Five, Davis Family and the nearby Longboard Cellars, you don’t need to leave! Hudson Street Wineries, which literally opened the day before we got there, will feature:
- Bluenose
- Willowbrook / Owl Ridge
- TEIRA Wines – which holds a fond place in my heart, since it used to be THEA Wines
- Grove Street Winery
- Sadler-Wells Winery
- Shippey Vineyards
I didn’t get to taste that much here since it was the end of the day, but it’s a great location and I will certainly be back.

Route 128 Winery - is in an storefront in Geyserville. The teensy winery offers several different wines as well as speciality meats & olives to go with your tastes. Stop in and stay a while, you never know what you might taste!

These are just a few of the new discoveries we made this weekend which are, in my opinion, worth going to. You of course should explore and make your own decisions, but with the number of small wineries and the multiplication of coop tasting rooms enabling small wineries to show their wares easily, you have no excuse for not being creative!

Further adventures in urban winery exploration will include a visit t the new coop tasting room off of Ghiradelli Square in San Francisco, Winery Collective. Winery Collective will feature several urban wineries, as well as some that are far afield, in order to offer a tasting experience closer to home.

Bacon, Cheese, and Wine! OH MY!

Mar 6th, 2009

by winebratsf.

3 comments

Last Saturday, I had my wine friends Marshall & Brittnay of WineQ, Liza of The Brix Chicks, Ward of WineLog and some other friends over to celebrate Open That Bottle Night.

Since I had agreed to host the event at my place, I was on the hook for providing vittles. What else would I do, then make something with bacon! Of course, we had the requisite cheese, bread and crackers, but I felt the need to go a little food slutty and make a scrumptious yet oh-so-easy pizza bread to eat with our Twitter Taste Live wines.

This Caramelized Onion, Brie, and Bacon pizza worked particularly well with the two red wines of the evening, Insoglio del Cinghiale, and Perriers Vallee Du Rhone. The sweetness of the caramelized onions, and the smokey sweetness of the bacon, paired with the creamy rich brie that was slightly melted, rounded out the slightly rough edges of these European gems and made the circle complete.

To make this delight, you will need;

4 medium onions, any kind
1 package ready made pizza dough (not frozen, fresh – it should make 1-12 inch pizza)
8 slices GOOD applewood smoked bacon
brie
shredded mozzarella
optional: Fig Jam

The night before, you will need to caramelize the onions. To do this, simply slice them in to a pan with some hot olive oil. Fry them until you get a nice browning, and then turn the heat to low. Make sure to add plenty of salt, and let them simmer for about an hour. You will know they are done when they look golden and have a caramelized texture, and smell sweet.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

The day you are gong to eat this pizza, roll the dough out to make 2 6-8″ pizza rounds.

Cook the bacon until done. It doesn’t need to be too crispy, since you will bake it.

Spared the rounds with a thin layer of fig jam if you have it.

Sprinkle with shredded mozzarella.

Add onions. A little, a lot. It’s up to you!

Slice brie and add 3 or 4 1/8″ thick slices to the pizza.

Crumble the cooked bacon over the top.

Pop the whole concoction in to the oven, and cook for 8-10 minutes, until cheese is melted.

Enjoy with a nice red wine! Try a grenache blend.

To trade or not to trade, THAT is the question.

Mar 5th, 2009

by winebratsf.

6 comments

Spring, wonderous spring. The rain has left for now, and the wine festivals are upon us. Or are they?

Recently, I found that Pinot Days, the San Francisco varietal focused event held at the end of June, will not be offering any trade tickets to this years event. Huh? No trade tickets? To ANYone? While I understand that the definition of “trade” has become blurred recently with bloggers, media, and other supposedly credentialed folks clamoring to take part in free wine, I really think that Pinot Days is missing the boat here.

First, the “Trade Requirements” link takes you to a page that says yo must be a legitimate member of one of the following categories:

Wine Retail Owner or Buyer

Restaurateur

Sommelier

Wine Distributor

Wine Buyer

Wine Broker

Ok, great. That makes sense. But when you click on Request Trade Tickets, you are rudely informed that San Francisco will not be offering trade tickets at all. To restrict trade tickets to a select few individuals does make economical and logistical sense. This is what Rhone Rangers has started to do, by reviewing each trade request carefully, and making a determination of trade eligibility. Fair enough. If I qualify, i get notified. If i don’t, I make the decision to pay or not pay to attend with the rest of the public. Understandably, the costs and time required to verify legitimate trade members may be more than the actual cost of the ticket, which presents a good reason for not taking the time to review every site individually.

Now I appreciate the fact that some of these events have gotten out of control, and every Tom, Dick or Harry, attempts to pass themselves off as trade. However, to eliminate the attendance of restaurants, wine retailers, and traditional media Representatives entirely is to put a big DO NOT ENTER sign on your front door. As a blogger, I am keenly aware that word of mouth is the most powerful marketing tool there is. See my collective rant about Domaine Chandon’s lack of service recently. If I am not exposed to things to talk about, then I guess I won’t be talking about them at all. My focus will be shifted to those wineries I will be visiting at Barrel Tasting this weekend and next, because they WANT me to visit. They practically begged me to visit.

Yes, many of the wineries pouring at these events have an elitist attitude and feel that they don’t have to “sell” their wines to the trade. We should know who they are obviously. Clearly, I should be printing the pour list out and running to my local wine shop requesting each and every wine to be stocked. Obviously, I am a little befuddled at that thought process, since this is one of the few single varietal tasting events, and it allows me to explore new areas, new wineries, and new tastes in Pinot which I can then review. Furthermore, I can network with retailers and share my business proposition with them for Vinquire. Clearly, that is not going to happen this year, as all the 5000 attendees or so will be paying customers who will be having a pinot drunk fest.

Will I pay the $50 to attend? Probably not. I really enjoy this event, but I enjoy being able to discuss the wines with the reps, and taste at my leisure before the flooded masses get in. Without that time, I don’t see the point in spending $50 to drink the pinots that I love so much, when I can drive myself up to Russian River and part-take for the same amount of money and less attitude.

To clarify my point, the issue is not really about the money. I have no issue with charging trade a nominal fee for the privilege of attending these tastings. To further emphasise that point I also have no issue with restriction exactly WHO is a member of the “trade” vs. who is on the periphery.

My core issue is with the total exclusion of the trade only event in San Francisco, and the lack of customer service finesse on behalf of Pinot Days. As new media and Wine 2.0 become the mainstream, it’s important to INCLUDE people, not EXCLUDE them.

As this is an editorial blog, it’s just my opinion and what really matters is YOUR option! Happy reading.