Luscious Lushes » wine blogs

We didn’t go for the almonds but…

winebratsf — Wed, 12 May 2010 20:44:12 +0000

Jordan Winery is a hidden gem in Alexander Valley. Up a winding driveway, through the woods, and yes – even over a creek, you meander up to the upper vineyard of the winery, where the French inspired chateau winery sits. It was founded in 1972, coincidentally the same year both I and our host john jordan, were born – based on the dream of creating world class Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay in Sonoma. I’d say that they have accomplished that dream quite nicely.

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).

We began lunch with 3 chardonnays – the 2005, 2007, and some more of the 2008 we tasted outside. The 2005 Chardonnay had a bit of age on it, which I found to show a touch of petrol, with creamy lemon curd and richer earthy bold profile. 37% was fermented in new french oak, with extended sur lie contact to round out the palate. Again, the malolactic fermentation was limited to 76%, which preserved the green apple and lime zest flavors. For me, this was my least favorite of the three whites – but if you enjoy a creamier chardonnay do try it. the 2007 Chardonnay showed more grapefruit than the 2008, and 48% was fermented in new French Oak. This year had more ofa spiced pear favor to it, and I can imagine it going quite well with fish dishes and apple pie. All in all, I really identify with Jordan’s style of chardonnay, and I am still learning to love new wines that are made in the Burgundian tradition, with less oak and subtle maloactic fermention which lets the fruit speak for itself.

Next, we moved on the to Cabs. We were treated to a lineup that is jealousy inducing, with a 1999, 2005, and 2006 cabernet Sauvgnon. The 1999 was soft and supple, and simple a luxuriously plush wine. The velvety black and dark red fruit showed plums, blackberries, and juicy raspberries with a touch of chocolate cherry on top. 1999 was the first harvest from the newly acquired upper vineyard, and the wine has 23.2% merlot, which adds to the soft fruti flavors. It was aged for a year in oak barrels, but also for an additional 6 months in American Oak tanks, which produce less contact with the wine and therefore more subtle oak flavors. Yum! I adored this wine, and found that it went with my duck quite well (everyone else had lamb). The 2005 has 5% of Petite Verdot bleed in, and I could really taste even that small addition. It was earthy and robust, and much more of a masculine wine than the 1999. I found smokey tobacco leaf, coffee and cola, with black walnuts and figs followed by a touch of anise. With a year in oak (64% French) , it was tasty but I think it would be better over time. The 2006 is a baby, and really needs to lay down for a while. It was just released, and has 4.5% Petite Verdot as well as 19.5% Merlot. It is a young wine, full of cherries and cassis, but just isn’t ready yet.

After lunch we took a little hike in the vineyard and then had dessert on the terrace with a sip of the very rare Jordan Sauterne style late harvest Sauvignon Blanc. But, I can’t tell you about that, or I’d have to kill you. And, given the caliber of wines being poured, and the fact that I had a sutie at the guest house fit for a queen, I did my Thirsty Girl best to NOT spit the good s*!t, and enjoyed most of my sips.

Please take a moment to stop by, by appointment only, and taste for yourself. If you can’t make it up to the winery, check out the terrific blog!

Special thanks to everyone at Jordan for such a great day, which yes FCC folks, was gratis, and to all my blogger buddies for making the trip out!

On top of the world, looking down on…

winebratsf — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 14:22:35 +0000

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?

The Nose knows

winebratsf — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 14:45:20 +0000

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!

When socializing goes mainstream

winebratsf — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 19:26:43 +0000

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.

Once inside, atop the catwalk above those giant redwood fermentation tanks, there were stations set up with each of the wines, where we were instructed to check in on FourSquare at east tasting station in the hopes that we might win some swag. More importantly, the social locator allowed us to see who else might have been at the event, and seek out those individuals that we might want to meet, by nature of the geo locating tool. Say what you might about tools like FourSquare – but for social location, networking, and impromptu meetups over a glass of wine, it is an invaluable tool.

As I wandered from station to station, I saw many of my old friends, and was able to reconnect over a glass of wine. In addition, it was a spectacular networking event as I met many more tweeters and industry insiders that were in attendance. The benefit to events such as this are difficult to measure; however, on a personal level, having the ability to meet many people that I have not otherwise had the opportunity to do , and to revisit a winery that I have not been to in a while is invaluable. Changing perception in this business can be challenging; too often, large wineries write people off if they are no longer repeat customers. this is a poor business decision in a challenging economy, as EVERY old customer can be a new customer provided that the experience is a good one.

Mondavi is one such winery that I have been underestimating. Long ago, I was a frequent visitor and a fan. Then I grew up, and started visiting smaller wineries, and other wineries, by passing the monolith as I cruised up 29. On this night, I was shown the light, both in the warm welcome by the Mondavi staff, and in their willingness to embrace social media and us, the Mediaites, by providing an elegantly casual setting where social media users and curiosity seekers mingled, discuss business, blogs, twitter, and just have a good time, puts the Social back in to social media. Don’t underestimate the power of inclusive events such as the tweetup. Personalities such as Hardy Wallace have been instrumental in challenging market perceptions in brands like Murhpy Goode, which are often written off by more experienced wine drinkers (ok fine, me) as the mass produced and overdone wines.

Later that weekend, I stopped by Amista Vineyards (@amistavineyards) in Dry Creek Valley during barrel tasting. An effective user of Twitter, Amista has been attracting tweeters with their personal attention, and inviting tweets promoting their wines and lovely picnice grounds. While out and about, Vicky tweeted that I was only 3 miles away and should stop by. Far be it for me to refuse and invitation, so my friends & I grabbed a picnic and headed out to the grounds behind the tasting room. Having a personal touch with a warm greeting and a welcome sign will bring in people more times than having a cult cab. Wineries should take note – it’s about relationships first, wine second. If you are treat a customer poorly or indifferently, when visiting a tasting room, they are almost certainly not going to becoming a lifetime customer. Treat a customer like a valued friend, and they will cmoe back over and over again. Amista has won my Customer Loyalty award, along with Holdredge, Manzanita Creek, Mounts, and Michel-Schlumburger – to name a few in Sonoma. In Napa, the winners are St. Supery, Titus, and Domaine Carneros, which proves that you don’t need to be a small family winery to understand excellent customer service.

I hope that this tweetup was just one of the first in a long series, as it will go a long way in expanding the value of social media and proving that it’s not just about the static post or tweet anymore. Social media is a living organizsm, and requires maintenance, just like freindships.

Special thanks to Robert Mondavi Winery, Vintank, Amista, and all of my new & old social media buddies who are now valued friends (and I can’t list them all so here are a few of my rockstars, who mentor me and are just generally awesome)

Today’s wine is brought to you by…

winebratsf — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 20:47:33 +0000

The Letter A!

You remember those closing credits on Seasame Street right? “Seasame Street is brought to you by the letter…”? Well my friend Amy @educatedpalates, told me about the Alphabet Challenge that she was participating in with some other bloggers. The Alphabet challenge pushes us to try wines frmo every letter of the alphabet. you could go crazy and do it all by varietal, A to Z, but I’m not sure I know of any Z grapes I’d want to try, and i’m certerain that I do NOT want to try white Zinfandel.

Most of the others who are participating are doing it out of order, but I thought it would be more of a challenge, as well as a push to get some more Century Club grapes under my belt, if I did it starting with A. I could start with Albarino, because I have some in the cellar, but given the chill in the air and the misty fog, I’m not much in the mood for a chilled white. So i will start with A is for Audelssa.

So I am going to try to Producers and Varietals, starting to with the letter A.

A is for Audelssa, that makes my mouth sing.

A is for awesome, cuz that’s just the thing.

A is for audacious for that is what i found

A is for Audelssa, who makes Glen Ellen Proud.

On my recent visit to Audelssa, I tasted through thier current releases with Amy aka @educatedpalates. I had never been there and I was excited to try out the juice. Audelssa focuses on artisinal wines in the Bordeaux tradition, and is also releasing Rhone blends this spring. I must say, I particularly enjoyed their Bordeaux blends Summit and Summit Reserve, and am looking forward to the Rhone.

The 2007 Summit is a Right Bank style belnd of 38% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot, 12.5% Cabernet Franc, 10% Malbec, and 4.5% Petite Verdot. I found it earthy, rich and chewy with a flavor of underripe blackberries and a floral aroma. At $52, while it was interesting, I’d like to wait to see how ti develops in the next couple of years. HOLD

My favorite of the tasting of 5 wines was the 2007 Summit Reserve, which is 75% Merlot, 25% Cabernet Franc. Only 100 cases were produced, and it was a deliciously rich blend with plum & blackberry flavors followed by cloves and spice. The lush wine was complex, with really nice blue & black fruit but a nice backbone and finish. It’s a bit pricey at $125, but I’d say it’s worth the splurge for a special occasion. If you have deep pockets, BUY this wine.

Stay tuned for B-Z and thanks to all our group participants!

http://www.audelssa.com/index.cfm?method=storeproducts.showDrilldown&productid=c26088dc-9b2a-40f9-f9df-2c69544f86d5&ProductCategoryID=a2b9e5f5-1cc4-fbb6-2394-45532d37d707&WineryID=A2B9E578-1CC4-FBB6-231B-B057770814E4&WineTypeID=&ProductType=&wineVarietalID=&wineRegionID=&vintage=&lowprice=&highPrice=&WineBrandID=&WineAppellationID=&lowletter=&highletter=&OrderBy=PXPC.DisplayOrder%20Asc,%20P.ProductName%20ASC&ShippingState=CA

It’s Bloggership Time!

winebratsf — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 18:17:13 +0000

Happy New Year! Boy am I glad 2009 is over. While there were some fabulous times last year, the last few months were pretty wretched for me. Today is 1/02/2010 however, and as a palindrome, I’m thinking it’s good luck.

To kick this year off with a bang, I’m here to announce the 2010 Wine Bloggers Scholarship applications and donations are open! This year, we are headed to Walla Walla in June to talk about wine, blogging and social media. As with the 2009 Wine Bloggers Conference, this 3 day symposium brings together professionals, bloggers, winemakers and more to discuss the impact of industry and citizens bloggers, social media, and the adult beverage industry.

We will spend 3 days in Walla Walla drinking great wine, learning the basics of wine blogging, blogging live while tasting, touring the Walla Walla wine scene, and also doing a whole lot of networking. After the 2009 Conference in Sonoma, many connections were made, many bloggers blossomed, and several people got some killer careers going in wine. What could YOU accomplish?

In an effort to support bloggers that wish to attend to learn more, perfect their craft, or see what it’s all about, the WBC Scholarship sets out to raise funds to assist citizen bloggers (those unaffiliated with a winery or other professional organization) get to Walla Walla and participate in the event of the decade. Ok well the first year of the decade anyway.

To find out more about the WBC Scholarship, please visit our site at http://wbcscholarship.wordpress.com/. If you’re a citizen blogger and would like to apply for assistance, please see the Application page.

If you would like to donate, or you know someone who would be a good resource, you may do so directly at our Paypal page here:

If you prefer to send a check, or if you have any questions, please email us for details at wbcscholarship at gmail dot com.

Bloggers, media, is there a line?

winebratsf — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 17:21:04 +0000

Bloggers, media, journalists, TV reporters, wine critics, mom. Can’t we all just get along? I know that there are a lot of shills out there, and there has been a lot of controversy in the Mommy Blogger arena about posting for peanuts, or in their case products, but the recent FTC ruling regarding bloggers really chaps my hide.

It’s not that I take issue with the fact that the FTC is requiring bloggers to disclose the fact that they receive samples. That is simply the ethical thing to do; it is that they are specifically and pointedly excluding traditional media from this ruling because they apparently have better “Independent editorial responsibility”. So really, you’re saying that BOb Parker actually discloses to us when he takes a press junket to Paris? London? Australia? Funny, I don’t seem to read that in his work.

Esentially, what the FTC is doing is widening the gap between tradition and new media in all arenas. Clearly, the straight up pay for post model is something that needs to be disclosed, but with over 2000 wine blogs alone, are you really going to police EVERY post by EVERY blogger to see if we are disclosing the fact that I got a $15 bottle of wine that probably cost the PR agency / winery / retailer $7? REALLY?

Now i’m all about letting your public know if you got something for free, and I try to include in my posts if I am reviewing a wine. Yes, occasionally i forget, yes occasionally i get so excited about a wine I don’t bother but clearly i will need to be more cognizant of that in the future.

But why not hold “traditional media” to the same scrutiny? Apparently, the FTC doesn’t think that bloggers are intelligent enough or ethical enough to hold our selves to the same level as the old boys club. Basically, if i get PAID to review items i get for free, then it’s ok but if i review items that i get for free, for FREE then I must disclose. HUH? The FTC apparently feels that those kids in the big buildings have a better grasp on what is right and wrong that me do, and that their reviews are not “endorsements”. THOSE reviews are not impacted by the fact that their reviewer did or didn’t pay for the item in question. MY reviews are impacted because I’m not a journalist. OR so I’ve been told more than once and loudly by the FTC.

To quote Tom Wark of Fermentation, who sums it up SO well:

Let me put this in plainer words. If a publisher sends me (a wine blogger) a copy of a new book about the wines of Bolivia and I review it positively I must disclose the book was given to me or face a fine of $11,000. If a reporter at the Wine Spectator (traditional media) receives a free copy of “The Wines of Bolivia” and reviews it positively, they need not disclose they received it free from the publisher. Put another way, if Alder Yarrow or Dr. Vino respond in the affirmative to my email to them offering a bottle of press sample of Mayo Family Winery’s 2006 Reserve Zinfandel with a request (though not a demand) that they review it, they must disclose they received the sample free of charge when they do review it—good or bad review. If I call Steve Heimoff of the Wine Enthusiast and make the same offer and he accepts, he (and the editors at The Wine Enthusiast) need not disclose they received the press sample free.

To also quote John Stossel, formerly of ABC News 20/20 and therefore not subject to freebie limitations, GIVE ME A BREAK!~

Does this potenitally give bloggers more credibility on paper? Yes.

Does this make me dislike the paper boys even more? You bet.

Will I make sure my ass writes “FREE SAMPLE” on every blog post? Well, yeah.

Will I say if I paid for a wine tasting at Joe’s Vineyards? No. Because that is up to the discretion of the winery staff weather to charge me or not, blogger, journalist or flirt.

This piece was not paid for by any means, liquid or otherwise and is purely an expression of my opinion. If the FTC comes after me, I’ll tell them to go see PinotBlogger for a free Suck It Parker! T-shirt.

Pre-Posterous!

winebratsf — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 20:32:53 +0000

So I’m jumping on the wagon here. Posterous seems like a good idea in theory, since I can effectively email or text my blog posts to Posterous, which will auto update the blog, and / or Twitter and /or Facebook. Since my TwitterFeeds don’t work all the time and since sometimes WordPress doesn’t cooperate, why not!

Posted via email from lusciouslushes’s posterous

Day 2 part 2 from vineyard to dinner

winebratsf — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 18:10:35 +0000

So here we are, leaving the CIA on the second day of the conference. We decided to keep our Bus 4 shenanigans going, so we all piled back on and were excited to see where the day might take us. Soon, we learned we were to lunch at the nearby Cuvaison. Unfortunately, upon arrival to their Calistoga tasting room, we were promptly told that we were expected at the exact opposite end of the valley, at the Cuvaison Carneros winery. Whoops! Now I’m not assessing blame, or trying to make it someone’s fault, but clearly there was a communication failure since Carneros is 30-45 minutes in the wrong direction.

At this point, the bus-o-bloggers was pretty hungry, and starting to get grumpy. Fortunately, our trusty group was wise enough to bring provisions on the bus, and you can see my friend Rob Bralow over to the right uncorked the Bella Zin with this bare teeth so we would survive the bus ride.

FINALLY we made it to Cuvaison Carneros, which is off of Duhig Road directly across from Domaine Carneros. The location is charming, since you are very close to Napa itslef, Sonoma proper, and you are on the Carneros coast, hugging San Pablo Bay. Carneros means The Rams, an old Spanish word for the ranches that once dominated the landscape here. Here, the cool fog from the San Francisco Bay influences the grapes. This cooling breeze and moisture is particularly amazing for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.

Here, we were warmly greeted by Jay Schuppert, Cuvaison’s President, and he told us a bit about their operations. We were then ushered in to the wine barn, where we were served lunch in a room upstairs overlooking the vineyard. During lunch, we learned the story of Cuvaison, and how they are working to be green with several initiatives. Cuvaison practices sustainable wine growing, in addition to being Certified Napa Green in winemaking and land use. One of things that struck me was that they really work at additional greening techniques, such as the cork recycling program as well as the solar power array that generates up to 250 kilowat hours for the Carneros operation. One of the shining lights at Cuvaison was the admission that they really didnt’ understand blogging, Facebook or Twitter, bu they were wise enough to actually hire a marketing manager who did. This is a bold move in an old industry, and one that clearly benefits the winery int eh long term as it allows them to engage with a new audience without wandering around in the dark.

While we munched away, we were treated to tastes of the 2007 Carneros Chardonnay, 2007 Carneros Pinot Noir, and 2006 Mt Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon. Many of us particularly enjoyed the Pinot Noir, and Cuvaison was gracious enough to provide us with a bottle of our choice to bring home. Thank you! I will certainly come back to taste some of the other wines you have in the tasting room. I of course, chose the Pinot Noir! Some of my short tasting notes are:

Chardonnay:

Lots of citrus and stone fruit, slightly tropical with toasty spices.

Pinot Noir:

Cherry cherry cherry! Strawberries and spice, with some raspberry. Lush, very much Carneros. Yum.

Cabernet:

Blackberry, dark blue fruit, plum, floral notes. Rich.

After we bid farewell to our lunch buddies, we did some switching around so that we would have time to enjoy the Napa Valley Green presentation that we were promised in our Day 2 itinerary. We moved on to go to Staglin Wine Cellars, where Staglin, Duckhorn and Parry Cellars were waiting for us to tell us about the differences between large production operations and small production operations, and how that could impact green practices.

Parry produces approximate 250 cases of Cabernet Sauvignon, and Duckhorn produces somewhere around 20,000, which Staglin in the middle. Clearly there are differences in how you can be a sustainable winery in these sizes, and the impact on the final product must be monitored and adjusted so that every bottle of Duckhorn tastes as if it were a bottle of handmade Parry. It all started out so well, being excited to go to Staglin since someone on our bus exclaimed that this was one of her favorite wineries. Upon arrival they greeted us and welcomed us in tot heir cellar room, a beautiful dark paneled room with ta long table. Unfortunately the setup was such that it was very difficult to interact with the wineries, and in fact to hear them at all.

Furthermore, we were not able to taste any of the wines, or to see the end result from a small, medium and large winery. This was quite disappointing to us, as we- wine bloggers – are here to learn about and taste the wines. No, contrary to some of the negative blogger bashing that has been permeating the web recently, we don’t have to have wine all the time, non stop. however, when you are trying to encourage a group of bloggers to discuss your wine and in effect, evangelize our brand in their own words, it seemed like a huge missing point on their end. To add insult to injury, we were being bombarded by tweets from other attendees that were at sessions where they were interacting with their panels and tasting 10 year verticals of rare cabs. Salt in the wound you think? I think.

My primary parting thought was one of the wineries saying good bye to us and asking us to return and try their wines. Unfortunately, I am not inclined to do so as I didn’t feel like they really wanted to engage with bloggers, and while they were curious about the creatures in the zoo, not one fo them really wanted to know how to work with social media. It seems that this is huge opportunity wasted.

From there, we went to the Grand Tasting at Quintessa. A lot of wine, a strange set up in teh modern cellar, wine wine wine. The one point that i really enjoyed was that a staff member met us at the gate and explained the history of Quinetessa to us as we had a short ride up to the winery. Ahhh dinner time! Yes, we got back on to Bus 4. But we had few people change out since we needed even numbers for the vineyard dinners. Suffice it to say, we kept our core group adn made some new friends, as we headed off the 1/4 mile to Conn Creek, where we had dinner in the AVA Room. Cornerstone Cellars, Conn Creek another winery whos name is escaping me.

the AVA Room at Conn Creek is a wonderful experiment in private blending, where you can taste over 20 individual Cabernet’s, as well as blending elements like Petite Sirah, Malbec, and Cab Franc. The Cabernets are set up and grouped by flavor and richness, beginning with the softest and ending with the biggest boldest cabs from Napa Valley. There, we could make our own bottle if we attended one of their mainstream events, or – as we did at dinner – had fun making our own Cuvee Blogger! some of us winged it (ok ME!), just making a blend in the glass and experimenting, but a few resourceful people like Ward and Elizabeth Dehoff found beakers and measuring devices and really went to town using a booklet provided and blending examples. Having only been to Conn Creek once before, went he AVA Room was still a work in progress, this really was a delight.

PHEW another full day! After dinner we headed back over the hill to The Flamingo, where Vini Portugal was doing a tasting and after parties commenced. More wine, beer, wine wine wine. I’ll leave the official reviews up to someone else and leave you with this:

Napa Valley has its stars.

Napa Valley wants to connect with bloggers (mostly)

The Old Guard still needs some help.

New and different is good.

Stay tuned for Day 3 and closing thoughts!

A smattering of tastings – WBC Day 1

winebratsf — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 17:12:02 +0000

Where does the time go? The Second Annual Winebloggers Conference has already come and gone, and I am left wondering “what the heck was that bus that rolled over me “.As one of the voices behind the curtain of the WBC Scholarship, and as a huge cheerleader, proponent and fan of the WBC, I am pleased, shocked, elated, bummed, and catching my breath after the weekend.

On our first day, the rag tag Twisted Crew (@sonadora, @thebeerwench, @winehiker, @eljefetwisted, @ryanopaz, @gabriellaopaz, @houstonwino, @winewonkette) and I pulled up to the Flamingo after fighting what seemed to be an eternity in Central Valley and Infinion drag racing traffic followed by the usual Friday flow in to Santa Rosa. Arriving at 12:30 or so, I didn’t spend much time with the sponsors, something which I regret doing. Partially because many of them were familiar to me, partially because I was just plain exhausted due to unfortunate events the day before, I found my fellow people and sat down to eat some lunch.

I was excited to see so many of my friends, both those that I know in person and those that I knew only online, as new recruits tot he WBC posse. After catching up, albeit breifly, with some regulars, I was circulating the room trying to spy new faces while inspecting their name tags without looking like I was completely crazy. Fortunately, I caught up with a few new regulars.

After lunch, we attempted to do the speed tasting sessions, but well for reasons so many have discussed, it failed. Miserably. Like died on the operating table failed. In its stead, we heard about the Wine Blogger Awards. Unfortunately, I had purposely planned to skip this male dominated prom king style popularity contest, and moving it up unfortunately resulting in people not being there to accept thier awards. Eventually the wireless supposedly turned back on but as I tried to tweet my tasting notes, the wireless only stayed up for 10 seconds at a time, I gave up and just enjoyed the wines. Sorry folks, no tasting notes from me.

After the speed tasting, we beat a hasty retreat to our short but sweet annual Anti-Conference BYOB session in the small space at the front of the hotel. We did get to enjoy a large plethora of wines from attendees, and I really look forward to this time to meet new folks, try new wines, and just have a good time in an unstructured way.

Not wanting to miss a beat, we then made our way out to the pool for a very crowded very crazy Sonoma Grand Tasting. Not wanting to get crushed in the milee I pretty much avoided this, and found a spot at a table with Wine Biz Radio’s Randy Hall, his wife Jen and her amazing goat cheese, as well as some fellow bloggers. There, we shared some wine, I opened some wine,

Chritophe (@cork_dork) from Titus opened some wine, and we made our own tasting. PS for next year, PLEASE do no try to squeeze 250 people in to a space meant for 50, it just doesn’t’ work. I am sorry I missed many great wines, but I count myself lucky that I have tasted many before so didn’t really feel like I was losing out. It was just too much of a mosh pit to really enjoy your self and so instead, I opted to find an empty poolside table and sit with my buds catching up. Jen, Randy Hall’s wife, had brought some of her homemade goat cheese to share and with some wine to sip on, we snacked and chatted the afternoon away.

Oh – I forgot to mention. During all portions of the Speed Tasting and Sonoma Grand, I was readily accosted for my unusual jewelry of Wie BLogger Bling. It looks like my ribbons and charms were a hit, yet again! Yes, t

his was the idea, and I am pleased that so many of you enjoyed the camradierie of being a Naughty Wine Minx or saying tot he world Screw It! More WIne! That was the intention behind the blogger bling, as there were so many people I didn’t know and knew I wouldn’t get a chance to meet; I was pleased that it afforded me the opportunity to have random strangers become aquaintances via a common love of all thing wine and silly.

After the Grand Tasting, we made our way in to the dinner session, where I had a tizzy of a time finding not only a seat, but a seat at a table where I at least recognized one face. I know i know, I was going to mingle, but even this cowgirl gets the “I’m shy” blues and wanted a friendly face. I sat down with my favorite Cellar Rat Alan Baker, and we had a great time trying our wines and catching up, while I went table hopping to poach different wines. The table layout was that most tables were hosted by a winery, and we had a few of their wines plus others on our tables. Since I wanted a variety, I found Brad Cooper’s table (@bradinator) and poured a nice big taste of his Black Cloud Pinot Noir. WOW! Who knew such beauty came out of of British Columbia in a bottle! (Hey, @winebard stop throwing things at me).

Even though I was operating at 45% sanity, both physically and mentally, after dinner I wandered in tot he after hours tasting hosted by Russian River Winegrowers. I was please to see many wineries I knew here, and was able to taste some more treats, and chat with the locals on what was new. In there, I met up with Julie from Windsor Oaks, whom I’ve written about before here. Julie is a pioneer in the industry and is working hard to make sure that she is in tune with not only bloggers, but with what her customers want and need. I was so pleased to get a gift of their Unoaked Chard, which is just a lovely treat. Anyone in the area, MUST stop by and try their wines! They will welcome you as one of their own, and the wine is pretty good too .

I tried and tried to stay up for the after after after party but I just couldn’t do it. My body and my brain gave out. I’m sure I missed out on a lot and I’m bummed, but well, Saturday was another day!

(How long til WBC 10?)