Wine:  The final frontier

These are the voyages of the Wine Brat, Thea.
Its 5 year mission (yep, it’s true.  I’ve been blogging for five years!)
To explore strange new wines
To seek out new bottles and new producers
To boldly go where no wine blogger has gone before.

These are the voyages of a wine bloggers writer and lover, trying to discover more about herself and her passion for the grape.

Recently back from a weekend in Virginia at the Wine Bloggers Conference, where both New York Times wine critfc Eric Asimov and London Financial Times wine writer Jancis Robinson gave a key note speeches, my thoughts are jumbled and varied as I think about how to be a better blogger.

Both Jancis Robinson and Eric Asimov challenge the word, and somewhat the concept – of blogger.  Is "blogger" still really a valid term?  Bloggers are wine writers who chose to publish on line.  Traditional print media authors choose to publish on paper.  Writing is what brings us all together, today.  Love, true love (of the vine).  I am still getting used to this idea.  I am a proud blogger and I like to refer to myself that way, because if I call myself a wine writer, the mass public naturally assumes that I write for a publication.  Perhaps we should be called "online wine writers".

As wine writers, Jancis challenged us to do more investigative research before we blog.  Er write.  While the core value of this makes sense, I question the validity of her challenge; I am not a journalist, nor do i wish to be one.  While the most successful wine bloggers (not in terms of making money but in readership) have similar core writing styles, none of them assume or claim to be journalists.  Nor do I.  I try to be accurate and truthful in my writing, but in the end – my blog is just my blog, and musings of what I feel like talking about.  one of the major reasons that I decided not to pursue writing with an online wine magazine was because I didn’t want to be subject to the editorial rules that come with being a professional writer.  I write this blog so I can express my  thoughts in a meaningful way, and I hope that you enjoy reading it, and share with others.

One vital point that Jancis made during her speech was that writers, print or otherwise, need to sit up and take notice that while the book is not dead, the delivery method of the written word is changing.  Online, kindle, ebook readers, print, newspapers, magazine.  Essentially, they are all the same thing – but the delivery method is different.  I have an ipad, but most of my books are just that – books.  That said, the Kindle / iPad / Nook market allows you to give readers the option of how they will choose to accept delivery of your material.  I read blogs primary via an RSS reader.  Some people read blogs via the web or on their phone.  The point here, is that you must make your material available and readable for all sorts of platforms, as well as an international audience.  Don’t localize too much or you are putting yourself in a box; I write primarily about American wines, but just one click on Google Analytics, and I know that I have international readers.  The balance is maintaining my wit and style, while limiting colloquialism that would be lost on an international readership.

A key point that both Robinson and Asimov were keen to make is that if you are an online writer, you are also your own editor and publisher, and you need to understand what this means.  My task is to digest these nuggets with a blogger’s mindset, and interpreted to suit your needs.  Jancis further implored us, as wine writers in an online world, to hone our writing skills.  I work at this every day and in every post; but there are, sadly, too many blogs that use poor grammar or just don’t make sense.  If you are a blogger online wine writer, you should ensure that you are taking the time to digest your thoughts, and work & rework your written words.  Writers of all sorts go through multiple iterations before their words are put to print.  I think we should do the same.  Posting things that are not well thought out just add ot the misconception that bloggers online wine writers are hacks that don’t know what they are talking about.  While I don’t think I need an editor to write a blog, I DO think I need to self edit – even if it’s at the most basic level of spelling.  I believe I need to understand how to structure a sentence so that it makes sense and expresses my thought coherently; I also believe that to write a piece for a n audience that won’t hear my inflection and comedic wit, that i need to think about how it looks on the page, and not how I sound when I say it out loud.

Occasionally, writers suffer from a thought block or an uninspired lull.  I am not immune to this but I have found that reading other blogs and using tools like Creative Whack Packs can help blast me out of lull.  Another key trait of a good writer is admitting that you don’t know something.  I hope that you see that in my writing; I don’t know a lot of things, and I’d rather admit that, than make something up.  There shouldn’t be any fear in admitting the unknown.  One of the keys in being to be open an honest in this is fostering a community, both of readers, and other writers, who you can uses as a resource.  Encourage new readers to be engaged.  Wine can be a scary subject for someone just starting to enjoy it, and when you get too esoterica and off on tangents, you will alienate some readers.

The following day, Eric Asimov, author of the New York Times column formerly known as The Pour (now incorporated in the Diner’s Journal), shook up the room my telling us that we shouldn’t write tasting notes.  I emphatically disagree with this statement -0 and even though I think it was really meant rather flippantly, I think many in attendance are taking it too literally.  I am spinning this with my bloggers mindset, and ensuring that my tasting notes have a place within the story of the wine at the focus of the post.  We are, after all, wine bloggers (wine writers wine writers wine writers.  I will get this down eventually!).  To not write a wine review or tasting note for a year, if I take Asimov at his word, would cut out a large amount of wine blogs who are talking about the wine.

In fact, in a simple poll that I did on Facebook, I asked my blog readers if I should write more reviews, less reviews, or something entirely different.  While the majority of respondents said they wanted me to write more about the winery, location, or the STORY, they also indicated that they wanted the tasting notes in context.  So, for my part, I will try to make sure I write about why I like or dislike a wine, what emotions it evokes in me, and why I think you should try it, and try to stay away from triple berry crunch descriptors.  After all, my schnozzberry might be your razzleberry.

The key takeaway I have from Eric’s speech (which I might add, I read on twitter, and watched online after the event – since I was suffering the creeping crud at the time) is that in order to write about wine, you need to learn about wine.  Tasting wine is not enough.  You need to experience wine.  How do you do that? You drink a lot of wine, you explore wine, you read about wine, you learn about wine, you experiment with pairing wine with food.  Why this is important is that it can give you the perspective to be able to think about situations in a new light.  I knew, before going to Virginia, that the VA wines that I had tasted were probably not the best examples of what the state has to offer.  I didn’t like VA wine.  But, I went to VA with an open mind.  I decided, before I went, that I was going to taste VA wines and yes, they might suck, but, then again – they might not.  And, I’m happy to report, I was pleasantly surprised by some of the wines I tried.  This changed my pre-concived notion about wines from the area, and I’m more apt to try a wine from someone off beat as a result.

So go forth, and learn.  I am my own worst critic and I often question if I write well, or if I know anything about wine, so I am ever striving to learn more and do better.  The secret to success in most things is to be on a continuous journey of education.  I know what I like, and I chose to write about that because that’s what I know.  The unconformable challenge, is to learn about what I don’t know, and to share that journey with you.

Wine blogging has evolved.  Even if you write your blog out of passion, as I do, writing with professionalism and knowledge is key to being heard.  That doesn’t mean your blog shouldn’t express your voice, but it does mean:

• Learn your subject matter
• Dive in to your material, and don’t be afraid to dig deeper
• Be honest
• Ask questions
• Be inquisitive
• Be welcoming and gracious

Happy reading!

It’s less than 2 weeks before the annual Wine Bloggers Conference, and I’m finally getting a little jazzed with it.  life has been busy these days, with my day job, the WBC Scholarship, and, well, STUFF but I’m looking forward to a few days off spent with my 300 closest friends in the sweaty summer weather in Virginia. As a 4 year veteran, some things that I’ve learned on the road to blogging:

• Get to know your sponsors.  We have a few hours on Friday to learn who has made the event possible; stop by and say hi!  You never know what relationships might form.
• Attend the keynotes with Jancis Robinson and Eric Asimov.  These sessions are great kick starters and will get you in to the groove.
• Go with the flow, don’t get overwhelmed.
• Be prepared to want to do more than one thing at once
• have FUN!
• Don’t be overly structured
• Spit spit spit.  I can’t emphasize this enough.  Yes, there are moments (dinner, after hours parties) where I don’t spit and enjoy myself, but you are representing bloggers as a whole, and should have some decorum.  It’s a business conference at the core, disguised as a party.  Present yourself accordingly.
• Don’t forget to sleep!
• Engage in the “Anti-Conference” spontaneous events; these are the best way to network with your fellow bloggers, writers, and industry professionals.
• Participate in the Unconference sessions.  These informal discussion panels let you get involved.
• Have an open mind.  You never know if there are wines you wouldn’t normally try, that you will love!
• Bring something from home that represents your region, style, and / or personality.  This could be wine, but it could also be food, a book, or a t-shirt.
• Bring business cards.  yes it may seem archaic, but it’s the best way to quickly introduce yourself with a memorable item.  The stacks of cards collected are reminders when we get home to follow, tweet, and read otehr peoples information.
• Follow the #wbc11 twitter stream.  Make sure you are not protected (my main account is, but I tweet under @luscious_lushes for public consumption).  We want to hear your thoughts!
• Find time to post a few quick blog posts with your thoughts BEFORE, DRUING, and AFTER the conference.  First impressions are great conversation starters.
• Spend some time on Friday morning meeting the sponsors.  They are the reason we are all able to attend this event, and they want to know the bloggers are much as we want to know them.
• Participate, however briefly in the after hours events such as the Other 46 Tasting and the International Wine Night.  While there will undoubtedly be parties at the time time, it’s a great way to get to know other people.
• Find a party to attend!  This is a great way to get ot know people on a personal level.  Sponsors, wineries, and bloggers all host formal and informal parties during the event.
• Attend the break outs.  Too many people don’t attend the core of the conference and they miss out.  While You Need to choose which bits are important to you as a blogger, just to pull the meat out.
• am Content

I”m a blogger.  I blog.  That means I read blogs.  Hundreds of them.  It’s impossible for me to keep up every day, but when I find a few spare minutes, I can be found on Google Reader or on my smartphone, iPad or other device that lets me read RSS feeds catching up on the news of the day.

What’s the problem with this?  RSS feeds.  I used to think that feeds were awesome, and made my life streamlined and cozy.  However, as I gather more and more blogs to read, and information that I find useful, I am beginning to hate feeds, and more so – blogs in general.  Why?  Because of the partial post feed.  A partial post feed is essential a teaser; a blip from the full article on the blog that catches you attention, and hopefully forces you to click through to the actually blog page – thereby forcing you to be counted amongst the “readers” on the blog.  THe problem I have with this is that I, like many felling media junkies, are not going click through to 500 individual blogs – let alone blog posts – on any sort of regular basis.

With the advent of smart devices to aggregate reads, and thee fastest selling download apps being RSS readers and magazine syndication posts for these feeds, the snipped post is obsolete.  What is a girl to do if she wants to maintain a somewhat accurate count of the number of “readers” she has?  A combination of feed subscribers and unique visitors will give you a fairly decent high level view of this.  As someone put in a response to my Facebook post about this though – subscribers do not equal readers.  That might be true, but what defines a “READER”?  If you incorporate page views vs unique visitors, add in returning visitors, and divide by the sum total length of each page view, yo might if you are lucky get a number something like pi.  NOT particularly useful in the real world.

Since numbers are primarily a game, and the BEST (well ok most popular really because who defines “best”) blogs have guesstamates of accurate readership, why all the fuss and scardy cat behavior in using partial posts?  I’m not convinced there is a logical reason for it unless you are really trying to hide (a valid reason), track someone down (another valid reason), or stick it to the man.

Fortunately there ARE tools out there that give you a well rounded picture.  Most blog feeds are on Feedburner, a google underling.  Currently, you can use Google Analytics to track most blog traffic, and also log in to Feedburner to view RSS traffic.  After doing some digging, since it’s a pain for me, I found a few possible solutions.  On possible solution includes hiding some code in your RSS feed so you can track it separate in Analytics.  I’m still working on that one.  There are some additional ways to get the results, but i’m still trying to decypher them since it appears they were written by Russian hackers.

The debate over full versus partial feeds rages on in the geek community – I’ve uncovered some pretty interesting conversations on the subject; for the most part, blogs with a large subscription base and a lot of content have  made the switch to full feeds.  IN many cases, subscribers have gone up significantly after that jump.  Personally, I subscribe to a lot of blogs via the Google Chrome RSS doohicky, a one click plug in.  That aid, when I go comb through my reader, I subsequently ditch a lot of feeds that are header only (instead delete) and partial feeds (read first, then ditch).  While there are a small number of readers who do prefer partial feeds – I find that the majority of readers prefer a full feed and that as a result most who provide them notice an upswing in subscriber numbers. Of course there are downsides in full feeds (for one they become more attractive to scraper sites) so make your decision carefully – but if it’s subscriber numbers that you’re after full feeds will be something to consider.

I did however, recently discover a tool for google reader (on Chrome only) that allows you to turn a partial feed in to a full feed.  But what if I am reading on my iPad?  Bloggers need to understand that readers are expanding from the web interface to other forms of reading.  Yes, I realize that footprints on your blog are important – as is foot traffic in a retail store environment; however, if you take the analogy of retail stores email me specials, deals, info and turn that in to bloggers making content available to me – is that not the same?  Why or why not?  In a business environment, we are moving to a mobile tablet environment.  Our sales reps will soon be equipped with iPads and not issued laptops for business purposes.  Yes, we are a google apps shop – but that really doesn’t matter since you can get enterprise apps for iPads and other tablets that allow you to function effectively with mobile devices.  If Salesforce and Microsoft, and Google can create apps that are business friendly for mobile devices, why can’t bloggers create an environment that is to reading RSS feeds?

Given that foot traffic is so critical, there are a number of ways to track this.  My little friend Google informs me that there are ways to integrate Google Analytics with RSS feeds.  you don’t HAVE to use Feedburner.  A little bit of know how will allow you to actually track the clicks and therefore the subscribers.  I’m going to work on this for myself, since I’m interested to see the outcome; I struggle with the Feedreader / Analytics stats because I wonder how accurate they are; what other tools have better stat tracking?  I’m a bit stuck on that so if you have a great tracking tool please share.

And people, please make it easier on me!  Put your subscribe link on the top of the page, above the fold.  For those less technically inclined, offer a subscribe by email option.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, concludes my tech lesson of today.

What do YOU think?  Why do you have clipped feeds?  Why do you care?  Speaking more to the citizen blogger out there, and even industry folks, how do you encourage readership?  Discuss!

I first found out about Cana’s Feast Winery when touring around the WIllamette Valley last fall.  I didn’t pay it much attention, as we drove by on our way to a Pinot Pit Stop, primarily because they made other wines that weren’t on my hit list.  Bu also because I was overwhelmed with other deliciousness.  I finally woke up when my friend and fellow wine blogger started working there.  Well!  Fortunately for me, Tamara was able to send me samples as part of her marketing job, and I received a bottle of the 2008 Meredith Mitchell Pinot Noir.

I wasn’t very happy with this wine at first, because it was very woody, and suffered from a bitter quinine aftertaste that just didn’t sit right with me for an Oregon Pinot.  There was some burnt sugar and earth, and it was overwhelmed with dusty baking spice.  Where was the fruit?  Where was the PINOT in this Pinot?

Well, far be it for me to throw away wine.  It’s just not in my making to dump Pinot!  So I left it, for about an hour, corked but not completely closed.  When I came back to it, it was beginning to wake up but there really wasn’t any THERE there if you know what I mean.  Oh well.  Fortunately, the next night, since I already had two open bottles of Pinot, both from Willamette, I was able to re-taste it.  What a different a day makes!  Now, I tasted bright cherries, pomegranate, cranberry.  There was my red fruit!  There was my acid!   It really opened up nicely, and turned in to a wine that I very much enjoyed.  The lesson here is DECANT DECANT DECANT!  It needs some serious air to show her true colors.  I’d also cellar this for at LEAST 2 years to get the full benefit.

Which brings up an interesting point.  When I was poking around in September, I really didn’t like the 08 Pinots coming out of Willamette. They were just too ripe, too big, too Russian River, bordering on Sta Rita Hills.  Gasp!  Shock!  Horror!  That wasn’t what Oregon was supposed to be!  WHere was my Burgundy?  Where was my restrained style and light body?  I was sadly disappointed.  That said, here were are 6 months later; I’ve been tasting several of the 08s, as they are the current release for the most part.  My my my what a little bottle age will do!  They are improving, slowly but surely.  I think 2008 might not be such a bad year after all…

This bottle of Oregon Crack was supplied by my dealer at Cana’s Fest.  Thanks guys!

It’s raining cats and dogs, and we’re driving around in the mud, trying to find Dusi Vineyards.  As it happens, J Dusi Wines is tucked away in the family home in the middle of a vineyard just outside of Paso Robles, and is hidden in the 80 year vines of the vineyard.  This is like stepping back in time, to an era when there were more cows in Paso Robles than wine; to an era of farming, of family, and of community.

As we enter the house, Janell and her mom greet us with coffee, which was welcome at 9:30 on a chilly wet day.  Mom was in the kitchen cooking up a storm for the wine club party that night, and Janell sat down with us at the table to tell us the story of her wine, and the family tradition.  Janell Dusi is turning her family business on its head, becoming the first Dusi to make wine and not just grow it.  Her great grandparents, Sylvester and Caterina Dusi began farming this land in the early 1920s, and started  business after business, including vineyards, farms, restaurants, and the now defunct Dusi Winery.  She was born on this vineyard, and raised among the vines that her grandfather Dante planted with his two brothers, the sons of Sylvester.  In 1945, vineyards were few and far between in Paso, since it was a large rural farming community.  With the farm, came the Italians, and the rich tradition of Zinfandel and field blends.  Th brothers planted a classic field blend, and head trained the vines, with no irrigation.  65 years later, the traditions remain the same.

This fourth generation winemaker hand picks during harvest, and enlists the entire family to help – including her nieces and nephews, who are young sprouts in the field.  This family tradition is dying in California, and it’s refreshing to see a tried and true farm family, albeit farmign wine. Growing up int he vines, Janell learned all she could about grape farming, but she always wanted her Grandfather Dante to teach her how to make wine.  When she was 16, she made her first wine, and continued making an Italian style zinfandel every year after that.  Each vintage asked and answered a different question in winemaking, and Janell learned by doing, under the careful gaze of Grandpa..

Now, she’s in her 3rd vintage of J Dusi wines. The two original vineyards are about 1/4 mile away from the family house; the first is 40 acres, that was planted in 1943 with an Italian field blend of Carignane, Alicante Bouchet, Petite Sirah, and who knows what else.  in 1945 a second parcel was purchased nearby.  In the beginning, the family sold their grapes to surrounding wineries, but as the grape market fell in the 1950s, the Dusis ventured in to winemaking to make their way through the grape glut.  Their first foray in to finished wine was about 8-9 years under the label Dusi Winery, and when the grape prices came back up, they stopped making wine and started selling grapes again.

One of the unique properties of this area is the large diurnal temperature swing during the course of day.  This vineyard in particular can go from 99+ degrees on a hot summer day, to below  at night on that same day.  This gives the fruit some unique character.  That, combined with dry farming, give the vines some vigor as they are forced to struggle a bit – classically, this makes a lovely wine.  First up, the 2008 Dante Dusi Ranch Zinfandel.  This was bright raspberry with white pepper, bold blackberry juice and hints of other spice box flavors.  I found it to be viscous and lingering (in a good way).  Only 850 cases were made, and since 90% of the home ranch fruit is sold to other wineries, this is a rare gem.  Janelle really wants to showcase the whole ranch in one bottle and not segment the wine out.  These wines are Representative of the terroir of the property as a whole, and this zin in particular showed a lot of juicy red fruit, with just a hint of oak, followed by a lot of cherry cola.

The 900 cases of the 2009 Zinfandel was just released.  This was a totally different wine – and rather unexpected in the zone of big, jammy, raisiny Paso zins.  The herbaceousness really struck me, and while it might have been a bit closed, it was herbal with bay leaf , dusty black pepper, a hint of red raspberry coming out under tobacco and leather.  There were chewy bark lots of spice.  

Finally, the 2009 Fiorento which was recently bottled.  This blend of 50% Zin, 25% Carignane, and 25% Syrah showed dusty blue fruit, and was lean and racy but refined, with dusty blue fruit, and strong chewy notes from the Syrah.  With only 50-60 Carignane vines on the property, they are hand picked to ripeness to make sure that the perfect fruit is selected.

We could have stayed and talked to the Dusi family for hours – about dry farming, about old vine zin, about restrained California Zinfandels, about Paso Robles’ best changes at Rhone.  But alas, another appointment was calling.  I did however not leave empty handed!  I brought home some Zinfandel to share with my friends, and am looking forward to trying the 09 again after it settles down a bit.

Thanks for such a great visit Janell!

Ding, ding, ding went the bell
Zing, zing, zing went my heartstrings as we started for Huntington Dell.

The iconic sounds of Judy Garland in Meet Me In St. Louis.
Ah the images of a red trolly, rambling down the street.  we’re lucky here in San Francisco, we have vintage streetcars from around the world on parade.  We’re also lucky because we live so close to Red Car Winery.   Red Car Winery was founded by Carroll Kemp and Mark Estrin way back in 2000, with only 50 cases of syrah.  Now, 11 years later, there are four Red Car wines, and two other labels – Trolley and Reserve.

With a flair for the dramatic, Hollywood producer Carroll and screenwriter Mark bring us great grapes and great wine.  Today I opened the 2009 Trolly Pinot Noir.  2009 was an interesting year, and I was a little aprehensive when I opened the bottle.  That said, several of my

blogging friends (NorCal Wine) have been up to the winery or to a winemaker dinner (yes YOU Dallas Wine Chick Melly!) and they were all  h the wines.  i must say, I am really enjoying this pinot myself.

Bright and bold without being over extracted, this Pinot Noir is great on it’s own or with food.  Tons of bright cherry and cranberry, with a hint of raspberry, and strawberry on the back end, the spice box nutmeg and tannins also fill out the back of the palate.  There is a touch fo brown sugar with tons of spice as well.  This is my kind of Pinot Noir!  The grapes are sourced from the cool coastal vineyards, and they show the high acidity of the Sonoma Coast fruit.  That balances out nicely with huge black Cherry flavors, followed by floral notes of rose petals.  An hour after opening, it is really developing nicely in the glass and the earthy mushroom characteristics come otu to play.  This is clearly a Sonoma Pinot Noir, with rich cherry and dark red fruit, as well as plum flavors; it’s rich but not overblown, and I really like it!

At $48, it’s not exactly budget, but it’s a lovely wine and if you should see it on the market, you should BUY it.

Happy Tasting!

These wines were brought to be on a bus by Malm Communications.  I think we need to get Mia a trolley!

John Jordan, CEO

Tom Jordan began the winery in 1972, when he signed the deed the day John, his son, was born; the first blocks in the lower vineyard were purchased then, and in 1974 the property was expanded to incorporate the upper ranch of the vineyards.  Construction began on the winery in 1976, and the first Cabernet Sauvignon was released in 1980.  Fast forward 25 years, and John, the prodigal son returned to the home ranch where he grew up, to take over.  John Jordan, the current CEO, took over operations in 2005 after a successful career in law.  In fact, he STILL works in law, which is rather amazing considering what it takes to run a place like Jordan well.  When he took over, John strived to find the best of old world techniques and new world know how, including sustainable farming techniques and a unique focus on a welcoming hospitality center which includes a private library tasting room as well as Michelin star worthy dining experience.

On our arrival to the winery, we were greeted by John, Lisa Mattson (@jordanwinery) – my friend and Jordon’s Communications Director, as well as a great video blogger-, Brent Young – the viticulturist, and hors d’oeuvres by Chef Todd Knoll who was tucked away in the kitchen preparing our nosh.  The 2008 Russian River Chardonnay that was paired with the tidbids was not at all what I was expecting and absolutely delightful.  I found lively citrus, stone fruit and a creamy mineral finish, while being subtle and not at all over oaked or overly full of buttery malolactic fermentation.  The lemonade flavors gave way to baking spices, green apples, and Asian pears.  this wine is treated with only 55% new French Oak, while the rest is in 1-2 year old barres; a full 25% is stainless steel fermented, which allows the fruit to shine through.  The 75% of barrel fermented wine balances out the stainless steel and the 28% malolactic fermentation rounds out the wine while retaining the crisp refreshing chard that even this ABC curmudgeon would love.  This wine was literally just released (May 1st) and at $29 I would recommend it for summer sipping.

After our chardonnay, we stepped in tot he dining room which is in the end of one wing of the tank room.  And by tank room, I don’t mean large steel drums.  I mean beautiful, hand built oak tanks, which look as if they should sing to you.  In the dining room, our tables were set with beautifully hand calligraphered corks with our names, as well as a menu card (which clearly I could not see well as it’s blurry here).

Silicon Valley?  Yes Virginia, there is wine in the South Bay, high above the muck of Cupertino, on Monte Bello ridge.  Long before the computer chip was invented, the Monte Bello winery was started on this ridge.  At 2600 feet, the winery is located at the apex of the hill, where the upper most vineyards are.  Winding our way past the gravel trucks and up the mountain, there were precarious hairpin turns and road closures, but nothing was goign to stop me from getting to the good stuff at the top of that hill.

On one particularly gorgeous day recently, I was invited to attend a private tasting at Ridge’s Monte Bello property.  Although I adore Ridge wines, I often find myself avoiding the mayhem on holiday and special event weekends as it can get to be quite crowded.  It’s a long drive up the mountain, but the reward at the top is a sweeping view of the Bay Area, including a hazy glimpse of San Francisco in the distance.  Upon arriving at the tasting room, we were greeted by our host Christopher Watkins, the tasting room manager.  Here, we started with a glass of the Santa Cruz Mountains chardonnay as we wandering the garden, waiting for the rest of our crew to arrive.

Once we were assembled, we started our journey with the 2008 Jimsomore Chardonnay.   Not being a huge chard drinker, I really didn’t have that many expectation of the starter, but  this vineyard is dry farmed and head trained, and the wine undergoes full malolactic fermentation with native years.  I found it quite floral, with note of honey tangerine and cream caramel.  It was rich and viscous, with a hint of lemon curd.  this limited release only has 200 cases, and the vineyard lies below the fog line with hot summer days and cool nights, making for some great chard.

Next up the 2008 Santa Cruz Mountain Chardonnay.  this is a parcel selection, and is intended for longevity and complexity.  It is more vibrant than the Jimsomore, and has a bright acidity and is refreshingly ful of stone fruit and Meyer lemons, with some tropical influences.

Now we delve in to the zin, which is how I fell in love with Ridge.  First the 2008 East Bench Zinfandel, which is the youngest area designated benchland between Dry Creek and Alexander valleys.  The cuttings here are 120 years old, and this pre-release wine was spicy cherries with black pepper, soft berry jam, figs, beef jerky and a mellow soft medium bodied zin that is perfect with food.  We also tried the 2006 East Bench, which I found to have more fruit forward flavors of strawberry, cherry, smoke and tobacco.  This was a very cool year in Sonoma County, which made for a leaner wine.  It was a bright zin, and was the first vintage from the then 8 year old vines.  This was a terrific example of a complex zin that would pair well with food without being overpowering and jam packed with berries.

The 2008 Geyserville is a blend of 72% zinfandel, 20% Carignane, 6% Petite Sirah, and 2% Mataro (Mouvedre).  it had a sweeter edge of big blackberries with a smoky backbone that I attribute to the Mataro, with flavors of raspberries and figs blended in a brambly pie with a faint hint of cedear.  The 2007 vintage, which is the current release, is 58% Zinfandel, 22% Carignane, 18% Petite Sirah and 2% Mataro, which made for a chocolate blackberry pie with brandied blackberries and coffee, followed by molasses and bittersweet cocoa over stewed fruit.  Each one of these blends is hand selected from a field blend, parcel by parcel, and depending on the best of the crop for a given vintage, the blend can change significantly.  Wine after all is half science, half dream, and half magic.

Lytton Springs, which is next door to Geyserville, showed less fruit and more structure in the 2008 blend of 74% Zinfandel, 21% Petite Sirah, 5% Carignane.  It was quite spicy with raspberries, strawberries, and blackberries.  The 2007 was much jammier, with black fruit, dried figs, and earth.  I found it a touch hot, but that soon blew off.  The 2007 blend was 71% Zin, 22% Petite Sirah, and 7% Carignane.

After meandering through the zinfandel country, it was time to get to the big boys of cab, which started it all for Monte Bello.  First, the 2007 Santa Cruz Mountains Estate Cab, which is a blend of 58% Cabernet Sauvignon and 42% Merlot.  It is not yet released, and was quite chewy and dense with scents of lavender and leather.  The 2006 is 56% Cabernet, 42% Merlot, and 2% Petite Verdot, and had coffee notes adn an herbaceousness that the 2007 did not.

Finally we worked through several of the Monte Bello Cabs.  Two of my favorites were the 2006, wtih 68% Cabernet Sauvigon, 20% Merlot, 10% Petite Verdot, and 2% Cab Franc.  I found chocolate coverted cherreis, bright fruit, and dusty cocoa and really enjoyed it.  The 2005 was also a favorite, with 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Merlot, 6% Petite Verdot, and 2% Cab Franc.  It had a dusty earth cover, with blueberreis and blackberries, covered with instant coffee.  It was a very low yield in 2005, and this wine was muscular and lean.

As you can see, we did some serious damage to the Monte Bello libarry and I would like to thank Christopher for his hospitality and humor as we tasted some of these amazing wines!  Next up…who knows?

Our sense of smell is the most powerful tool we have, and is responsible for most of what we taste.  Thsi is particularly true for wine, and the Napa Valley Wine Sensory Experience was an opportunity for a group of bloggers to learn, store, and recall sensory memories.

We first started out with a blind exercise where aroma essences were contained in black glasses, arranged by groups, and we had to guess what they were.  let’s just say this is easier said than done!  I know that my sensory sense is not exactly on par, but I scored a sad 9 / 25.  Yes that’s right, me, the wino, with the random flavors that I pull out of wine like coffee and dried blueberries whirred together in a grinder for one specific Syrah, got 9.  The horror!  The shame!  The hilarity!

At the risk of being aughed out of town, here are my guesses and the actual answers, grouped by major scent category:

• Fruit
• Pinot Noir
• Herbal
• Oak Barrel Boquet

We also tasted the effect of different additives to chocolate, as well as how the glass shape and size impacts the flavor profile of the wine.

It absolutely is eye openeing (and nostril flaring) to be reminded of how much the olfactory sense impacts flavor.  Have you ever had a cold and been so stuffed up that everything tastes like cardboard?  This is why.  As someone who suffers allergies, it can also explain why wines taste different from day to day, since a sunny pollen filled day will impact me more than a foggy cool damp one.

After the initial exercise in futility scent, we tasted teh wines of WH Smith, and tried to put some of our new found aroma detective skills to work.

2007 Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir – strawberry, raspberry, tea, smoke, balsamic vinegar.  This was a nice well rounded P that was light enough for everyday drinking, but had a classic Pinot Noir profile.

2007 Maritime Vineyard Pinot Noir – is from a vineyard on the hillsides of Cazadero, where a lot of sun exposure gives a dense and concentrated wine with strawberry, raspberry juice, a touch of spice and rich cherry and plums were followed by a touch of bitter nutmeg on the back palate.

One of my favorite wines of the day was the 2006 Piedra Hill Vineyard Howell Moutnain Cabernet Savignon.  This was a big fruity Cab, with a rich softness that made it quite approachable from teh get go.  Dark chocolate, blue & black fruit and chewy earthy goodness made this a lovely drinking wine.

I hope to go back and try my nose at the sensory evaluation again!  It’s a difficult skill to master and I often wonder how much training it takest he pros to pull out the “correct” scents.  As someone who has become known for pulling random flavor profiles out of wine, I lean towards the nontraditional and would love to expand my aroma palate.

Cheers to Marcy Gordon for setting this up!

What’s a tweetup you ask?  Why would you tweet something up?  Recently, I had the opportunity to meet and greet with dozens of the Bay Area’s finest, bloggers and wine professionals, as well as just some very cool people at the The Napa Valley Tweetup – Presented by Robert Mondavi Winery.

Earlier in the day, the Social Media Seminar provided an in depth look at how social media is changing the wine industry, and how users are becoming more engaged via blogs and other social media platforms.  Then it was time to have some fun!  Hidden int he stunning To Kalon Cellar, with it’s giant redwood tanks and awe inspiring barrel cellar, the in crowd assembled to taste Mondavi’s wines and mingle over a social media cocktail.  In the rather cavernous dungeon, we were greeted by Gabriel Carrejo, who is the cheerleader behind many digital media tweetups and networking events.