Thunder and lightening and rain oh my!  What is it about winter weather that makes me want huge red wine.  Maybe it’s the way it warms me up, maybe it’s the romantic notion of red wine in front of the fireplace.  Whatever the reason, Michelle Lentz over at Wine-Girl has asked us to cozy [...]]]>

http://www.winebloggingwednesday.org

Thunder and lightening and rain oh my!  What is it about winter weather that makes me want huge red wine.  Maybe it’s the way it warms me up, maybe it’s the romantic notion of red wine in front of the fireplace.  Whatever the reason, Michelle Lentz over at Wine-Girl has asked us to cozy up with a glass for Wine Blogging Wednesday.

As you may remember, Wine Blogging Wednesday is the brainchild of Lenn Thompson, whereby bloggers and wineaux around the world, blog on a particular theme once a month.  So this month, it’s all about what you drink when you’re tucked up inside while the weather outside is frightful.

So, while I have been known to tipple the Scotch and swig the Irish, wine is my passion – so off to the cellar i went.  A syrah popped out at me, in this case a 2005 Petroni Syrah that was a gift from my friends Chuck & Paige  WOW!  When I first poured this wine i could tell it was a bruiser, which is just what i would want on a day like today when we have had thunder, lightening, flash floods and sunshine.  Oh and howling wind.  No, I don’t like in Iowa, I live in San Francisco!  Anyway, back to the wine.

When i poured the first glass, I could see this would be a big daddy.  It was almost black in the glass, and the aroma is of blackberry jam on the stove, followed by stewed plums and cherry brandy.  The first sip makes me smile, because I taste coffee and bacno fat, while i chew on the big blue fruit.  The finish has a touch of black pepper, which adds an interesting finish to the wine.

The 2005 syrah i sa blend of two blocks, both located on their estate in Sonoma Valley.  Both of these blocks are hillside plantings, which Petroni feels makes for phenomenal syrah growing.  The first block is the Hooker’s Creek  is on the lower, gentler South East facing slope on the eastern edge of our property.  This is the main source for the syrah, and the remainder is from the Diablo block which is located on a steep south facing slope in volcanic soil.  this is where the bruiser quality comes from.

Each block lot was fermented separately, which gives the winemaker more control over the finished product.  After the fermentation, the lots were blended and aged in 35% new French oak for 16 months, which gives a touch of spice and sweet toastiness without overpowering the wine.  Only 150 cases were produced of this big bold racy wine were made, so at $48 it really is a STRONG BUY if you are a syrah fan like me.  It’s not overpowered by fruit, and there is a lot of interesting stuff going on in the layers beyond the first sip.

The only thing I’m missing on my snow day here in the rain in a fire in the fireplace, but alas – it’s a spare the air day and I’m not allowed.  So I’ll pump up the heat, tuck my toes under a blanket, and watch some of my saved Tivo shows while sipping on this luxerous bottle.  Thanks Michelle for reminding me to slow down and enjoy the rain days!  Err, snow days.

As luck would have it, this [...]]]>

For this month’s adventure in the themed blogging topic known as Wine Blogging Wednesday, our hostess @sonadora from Wannabe Wino, is hosting us for the 5th Anniversary.  This time, Megan goes back to her love of Zinfandel, and encourages us to taste our favorite zins paired with some yummy BBQ.

As luck would have it, this post coincided with the annual ZAP Summer Celebration, which is famous for it’s BBQ and plethora of zins.  To start out, we took a little tour of some of the ZAP producer vineyards, starting out with Pete Seghesio at Saini Vineyards.  Saini was planted in 1946, and is now run by the 4th generation of Sainis.  Prior to being farmed for grapes, it was planted with apples, pears, and prunes, as was much of the Dry Creek Valley where this vineyard is located.

Saini zin undergoing veraison

You may not have known this, but dry farmed zin can be one of the most difficult grapes to grow because it can rot from the inside out; the cool fog that drifts in to the valley over the western mountains cools down the fruit and can make it damp, and prone to botrytis.  Now, if you’re in to Sauternes, this is a good thing.  In red wine, not so much!  Dry farming also can have a 1pt increase in the over all brix (measurement of sugar) a day, in the summer heat.

From Saini Vineyard, we went over to Lytton Springs, where Ridge has 175 acres planted next to their straw bale winery.  One of the most interesting things we saw was a newly planted field on the drive in, which is a purpose ffield blending of Zinfandel, Charbono, Petite Sirah, Syrah, Mataro, Cinsualt, Grenache, Grenache Blanc, Palomino and pretty much everything else in the kitchen sink.  This is an old school Italian field blend, and should be some interesting stuff.  Ridge will be harvesting this vineyard block by block, and while this will allow them to harvest depending on each varietals individual ripening, it will undoubtedly have some cross over.

The Lytton Springs Vineyard is planted on old river rock, and you can really see the red soil coming through.  This vineyard is on a small bench, that seperates the Dry Creek and Alexander Valleys, and is between 80-100 feet in elevation.  The red river rock holds those 100 year old Zin vines in the cool morning fog, with hot summer afternoons.  This will give it a district flavor profile from the Saini Vieyard, which is on the more fertile flood plain of the Russian River.

Ridge purchased fruit here since 1972, and bought he property in the early 1990s, making it part of their estate portfolio.  There has been zin planted here since the very early 1900s, when the old Captain Litton (spelling changed later) owned the land and had a large variety of grapes growing here.  That history of complementary varitals is show in that new field blend I mentioned above.

But enough about the grapes, what about the wine!  After the vineyard tours, we headed back to Seghesio in Healdsburg where we were treated to a smorgasbord of ZAP Producer zinfandels, including the delicious Rock Wall Sonoma County zin.

If you don’t know, the Rock Wall Wine Company is Kent Rosenblum of Rosenblum Cellars fame.  Rosenblum is now owned by Diageo, but Kent and his daughter Shauna started the next chapter up down the street and are producing some mighty tasting stuff.

The Sonoma County zin is a punchy one, at 15.6% ABV, but I found it well balanced and subtle, even in the 80 degree heat.  There were only 475 cases produced, so at $25 you better get out and buy some before it’s all gone.  I tasted the classic blackberry, but also some dark raspberry and bittersweet chocolate.  I was lucky enough to meet Shauna, as she was behind the table pouring, so I thank you and look forward to seeing you in September for the ZAP Volunteer Thank You party!

Rock Wall Wine Company tastes their wines by appointment only (hey, it’s a licensing thing kids!) and is located at 2301 Monarch Street, Suite 300, in Alameda.  For you locals, that’s part of the old Naval Air Station, and is spitting distance from Rosenblum.  It is part of the booming urban vintners trend, and is a member of the East Bay Vintners Alliance. I love the fact that I can taste at almost 20 wineries less than 20 minutes from my house!  Keep an eye out here for urban winery events soon.

I also had the chance to taste Duane Dappen’s zins, from D-Cubed Cellars, in Napa.   Duane is the new ZAP Board President, and I have been talking to him on Twitter, so it was fun to meet him in person.  Duane has been working in Napa Valley since the early 80s, and has worked with some of the biggest names in zin, like Grgich Hills, Storybook Mountain, and Rombauer.  Happily, he now has his own label, and was pouring both the Napa Valley and the St. Helena versions at our BBQ.

I loved the 2006 St. Helena Zinfandel, which is now in its second vintage.  It is made from the Korte Ranch Vineyard, which was planted back in 1910. Talk about some old vines!  OK, so they’re not 100+ years old, but they are old at the same.  This fruit creates a wonderfully bold and balanced zin, with raspberries, blackberries, notes of vanilla, and some herbal notes.  It’s also relatively low ABV for a zin, at 14.5%.

You can taste D-Cubed wines, along with a dozen others, at the Vintners Collective in Napa.  They are located at 1245 Main Street, and area a great destination in town!

With both of these wonderful zins, as well as a smattering of tastes of others, the BBQ boys were there serving up pulled pork sliders, ribs, and sausages.  This is classic zin food, where the richness of the BBQ sauce and its tang goes with the bold dark berry flavors of the fruit in the zin.

I have always enjoyed this event, because we not only get to stuff our faces with pork product, but we get to taste a lot of different zins in one place that is more restrained than the Grand Tasting in January.  On a final note, for dessert, I took my raspberry sno-cone, and poured some leftover zin of unknown origin in to it.  Let’s just say it was probably the best zin based dessert I’ve had since the Zinfandel ice cream at Rosenblum’s Open House Last year.

I hope you’ll go out and taste some zin for yourself, and be sure to try some tasty BBQ treats with it!

PS please stay tuned to Palate Press for some more news regarding zin soon!

Wine Blogging Wednesday is upon us again!  This month, Remy Charest (@remycharest) of WineCase has challenged us to restage the Civil War, in his version of North vs. South – Wine Wars.  Since Remy is based in Quebec, it’s a great theme to think about what is a classically northern varietal, or something he would [...]]]>

Wine Blogging Wednesday is upon us again!  This month, Remy Charest (@remycharest) of WineCase has challenged us to restage the Civil War, in his version of North vs. South – Wine Wars.  Since Remy is based in Quebec, it’s a great theme to think about what is a classically northern varietal, or something he would find locally in Quebec, and what we find here in the Lower 48.

As I have been exploring different regions of the US as well as the world, I thought I’d use Walla Walla, WA, Napa Valley, CA, and the wines of Chile to do a North vs. South with a central tag point of Napa.

My first wine is the Forgeron Cellars – 2003 Cab Sauvignon from Columbia Valley.  The Columbia Valley AVA takes up a good chunk of eastern & central Washington and a touch of northern Oregon thrown in for good measure.  This AVA lies between the 46th & 47th parallels, which is in the same vein as Bordeaux and Burgundy.  Because of this, the wines of Columbia Valley tend to be the classic grapes, such as Cabernet Sauvignon.

This Cabernet Sauvignon has a lovely floral nose, with a touch of licorice.  It’s very fruity, and reminds me of a ripe blackberry bramble.  When I sip it, it is plush and smooth, with plum flavors a strong component.  It is a velvety wine, with a long lingering finish that has bright berry fruit.  I am REALLY enjoying this wine, because while it is a Cab, it’s not heavy.  It’s rich without being over done.  At $30, it’s an affordable luxury, and I thank Catie (@walla2winewoman) at the Wild Walla Walla Wine Woman for the great recommendation!

The 2nd wine hails from Napa Valley, one of the world’s best known wine regions for Cabernet Sauvignon.  The 2005 Levendi Sweetwater Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon was a party favor that I received after last year’s Wine Blogger’s Conference, at a party hosted by The Wine Spies to introduce us to this producer. The Sweetwater Ranch is located in the Oak Knoll District of Napa Valley, adjacent to the Stags Leap District. Since Stags Leap has been producing some of the best known cabs for years, I would expect that this would also be a delicious example.

The first thing you notice is that this wine comes in half bottles.  This is great for us single folk, since we can crack it open without worrying about how to store the wine until we finish it.  It had rich aromas of leather and tobacco, with dark fruit.  This is what I would expect from a Napa cab.  It was darker and richer than the Washington Cab, and much chewier with a lot of black fruit , fig, plums and black cherries followed by a finish of black licorice.  I really liked this wine, and it retails for $52 in the 750ml bottle.

Finally, I worked my way to Chile, to taste some of the new world wines that are coming out of these.  The interesting about Chile, is that a lot of Old World producers, as well as some from California, are looking to this up and coming growing regions for a change and a challenge.  To that end, I received two samples from an agency representing the wines of Chile.

The first was produced by Domaines Barons de Rothchild Lafite, and I expected it to be a New World representation of an old, and Old World, producer.  The 2007 Los Vascos comes from Colchagua Valley. The Colchagua Valley lies about 80 miles southwest of Santiago.  It’s a wide valley, and has a Mediterranean climate.  It has often been compared to Napa, so I expected that the wine would taste like Napa cab.

Sadly, I was dissapointed.  The Los Vascos Cabernet Sauvignon was thin and bitter, with no real depth.  While it’s possible that this bottle was off, I did have it with food and it just had no substance.  At $10, I think I could do better.

So I went on to open my 2nd Chilean Cabernet, 2007 Marques Casa Concha, fromthe Maipo Valley region.  The Maipo is one of Chile’s warmest growing regions, with temperatures regularly getting above 90 in the summer.  While this might seem like Napa at first glace, their winters are much milder.  Cabernet Sauvignon is the largest planting in Maipo.

The Casa Marques Casa Concha exhibited the ripe fruitiness in a similar way to the Forgeron Cellars, with bright cherry fruit and a large firm body.  I tasted tons of cherry fruit, chocolate, blackberry, and bit of wood smoke.  This wine got better and better as the night went on, and at $15, I would highly recommend this is a value Cabernet.  Even though I don’t eat steak, I can see how this would be great with a hamburger or a portabello burger!  It had an exceptionally smooth finish, that lingered and made my taste buds happy.

In light on the current political climate and the impending election, David Honig of 2 Days Per Bottle has asked us to toast to the end of this madness we call [...]]]>

Yes yes I’m a day late, and a dollar short. That said, this month, we have a special theme for Wine Blogging Wednesday #49.

In light on the current political climate and the impending election, David Honig of 2 Days Per Bottle has asked us to toast to the end of this madness we call the Bush era.

What will I drink to toast this momentous occasion? It certainly will not be something to honor the President, although I will be celebrating his demise.

If Obama wins the election, as I hope he does, I will be toasting with a lovely bottle of Champagne. The current candidate is Perrier-Jouët NV Brut, which my friend Liza the Brix Chick brought over to my house before an event on Sunday. In this tasty sparkler, I found creamy toast, hazelnuts, and a lemony backnote. Ahhh refreshign!

IF however, my worst nightmare comes true and McLame & Caribou Barbie win this freak show, I will be drowning my sorrows in some good single malt scotch as I drive up to the border to escape. My favorite single malt thse days is Glenmorangie Sherry Cask, but that, is another blog post me thinks!

Happy drinking!

This month, it is the 4 year anniversary of Wine Blogging Wednesday, started by our Fearless Leader Lenn Thompson of Lenndevours.For this anniversary edition, Lenn is asking us [...]]]>

You know the drill. Once a month, your fellow wineaux and bloggers are handed a theme from the heavens above, and we drink. Then we write.

This month, it is the 4 year anniversary of Wine Blogging Wednesday, started by our Fearless Leader Lenn Thompson of Lenndevours.

For this anniversary edition, Lenn is asking us to go back to our drinking roots, and find that wine that got us to fall in love with Bacchus, or something you used to drink a lot of when you were young and impressionable. Please try to avoid the Boone’s Farm or Sutter Home however!

Be sure to stop by Vinquire and take a look at our Wine Blogging Wednesday efforst.

For those of you who don’t know, once a month we get togheter a group, and taste in a particular theme.

This month, that theme was Rhone varital white wines. We were a little madcap, and tasting 6, from both [...]]]>

Be sure to stop by Vinquire and take a look at our Wine Blogging Wednesday efforst.

For those of you who don’t know, once a month we get togheter a group, and taste in a particular theme.

This month, that theme was Rhone varital white wines. We were a little madcap, and tasting 6, from both France and abroad.

You can see the results here:

http://www.vinquire.com/blog/2008/jun/10/wbw-46-rhone-whites/