Ahh, Wine Blogging Wednesday. Once upon a time, WBW was a monthly spark for wine bloggers to collective think about a particular topic, and form the gestalt of the blog.
The sum of the many is the one.
Sadly, WBW all but disappeared over the past few years. Formed in 2004, WBW is having a resurgence thanks to a new committee and new life behind it. I for one, am grateful to have a guided post every month, as I struggle to be inspired and write posts that are both thoughtful, but also interesting to my readers. This month, as we kick off a new year, January’s theme reminds us to think about what make us start blogging int he first place. The Corkdork asks us what sparked our interest in wine, but more why we decided we needed to write about it.
For me, I actually have to thank my wine loving friend, and fellow blogger Liza Swift of the Brix Chicks for challenging me to put my money where my mouth was. There was never one wine, or a specific experience that made me put pen to paper. I had always been involved int he wine community one way or another. But Liza, whom I encouraged to blog before I even started my own, asked me why I wasn’t writing when she was.
Good point! Wine fascinates me. the fact that it is alive, and forever changing, inspires me. I have been drinking wine since before I was 21, and I have been entrenched in wine, while maintaining a techie career, for the better part of (*gasp*) 17 years. I felt compelled to share my favorite wine discoveries with friends via word of mouth, but then in a newsletter. That newsletter, which was filled with wines that I had consumed and fallen in love with, as well as tips on events that were up and coming in the Bay Area, and stories of my adventures in wine, are what sparked this blog.
Why do I write? To write puts thoughts on paper - or on the internet – and shares them with your audience, however selective that might be. To share the joy that I have experienced drives me. My tastes have changed from zinfandel to pinot, and further more to the complex wines of the Rhone. Starting out with my so called newsletter, I had the overwhelming feeling that to keep such knowledge to myself would be indulgent and selfish. Beyond that, writing is cathartic, regardless of whether it’s in a personal journal or in a public format. This blog, Facebook, and Twitter act as a life coach, therapist and best friend.
Wine is alive. Wine changes. Both time and place can turn the same wine in to very different beasts. What happens when you taste a wine 5 years after the initial release? Is it better? Is ti worse? Is my taste just different? All of these are true, all of these are not. Wine also changes in the glass. What other tangible and consumable object has this much life to it. It sound like I am quoting Maya from Sideways, but it’s true. Wine lives, and wine is alive.
What sparked me? My gateway wine was definitely zin. Having worked for and with ZAP for over 10 years, I was exposed to over 200 wineries that had a wide variety of zinfandel to offer. Is it the brambly jammy blackberry from Dry Creek? Or perhpas the spicy mincemeat raisin from Sierra Foothills? Dig a little deeper and try the rose petals and somewhat lighter style from Russian River. I still love zin, and while my everyday tastes have changed somewhat, there is nothing better on a cold rainy night.
Today, my passion is for learning about and discovering pinot. Why are pinots so fickle? What are they so different? How can I possibly love a pinot from Willamette Valley but also love one from the vast and strange Sonoma Coast? While keeping my love affair with pinot alive, I am ever the explorer. My latest quest. Grenache! Where fort art thou! One of the essentially Rhone grapes, you can get Grenache for days in the Rhone Valley and also in somewhat rougher, inexpensive Spanish Garnacha. But what about in the New World? Where can I find that meaty, spicy, unique in a way that only Grenache can produce, flavor here int he new world? Apart from a few favorites that I can’t seem to keep in my cellar, I am always on a quest to meet the winemaker who has taken on the bold new world of the Rhone, Spanish, interesting varietal. Beyond the Grenache, what of the misunderstood, misplaced, lost and lonely Mouvedre/Monastrell/Mataro?
It’s a bold new world out there, and wine is waiting.
Garnet: -A semi precious mineral gemstone, often mistaken for a ruby.
-A middle English word meaning dark red.
-A wine producer that specializes in Pinot Nor from Carneros.
Recently, I was tretaed to a dinner featuring the wines of
Garnet, hosted by winemaker
Alison Crowe.
Once a lower brow brand of large California fighting varietal house Saintsbury, Garnet was sold to the grape supplier Silverado Winegrowers in 2011.
With over 11,000 acres of California vineyards, Silverado has been a longtime supplier of premium grapes to several brands. With the purchase of Garnet, they now focus on production of higher-end wines.
Creating wines that retail between $11 – $30, you can bet there is something in there for everyone. I was delighted by the quality of the lower price point Monterey Pinot Noir, which typically can be a bit off putting to me. I just don’t personally care for the Monterey terroir in my pinot.
While most Garnet wines are sold at restaurants, they recently announced a partnership with Safeway to sell the Monterey pinot in stores, which means you can get a inexpensive wine for a steal. The Garnet label has been around since 1983; in the mid nineties, the production swelled to 15,000 cases, which, while I don’t know for sure, probably lead to some degredation in quality.
Alison cut her winemaking teeth at Chalone, one one of the great family houses in Central California (ok that’s another story). From there, she move don to work with Randall Graham, and really honed her style with some of the world’s best renegade wine makers. Now, she has the opportunity to build a brand in to one of Carneros’ finest. It is her goal to ensure that each wine is a true expression of the terroir, and by selecting specific sights in the vineyard portfolio for each bottle, she can do this.
Before dinner, we were greeted by the 2010 Sonoma Coast Chardonany. Now, you know that I’m not the world’s biggest chard lover but this was a nice departure from the overly cloying, butter bombs that are typical of the region. Filled with bright lemon and citrus, there was a lemon curd sprinkled with nutmeg hiding in there. I loved the brightness with a hidden agenda. The fruit is 75% Carneros and 25% Green Valley (Russian River). It’s my personal opinion that the Green Valley fog brings an acidity and zip to this wine that you wouldn’t otherwise find in a Carneros chard. The other quality that has promise in this is that it is 100% stainless steel fermented and is just kissed by oak barrels when the wine is finished, so you get very little of the oaky butter bomb effect. For $15, this is a great wine for your white wine sipping ladies on the porch. A-
The 2009 Monterey Pinot was a sleeper hit. As I mentioned, I don’t care for the flavor profiles I often find in Monterey Pinot. There is an oddness in there, and something that doesn’t sit well with me, in the form of green sticks and odd leaves. But this example has dusty dried cherries and strawberries, and while it was a bit tight at first, opened up to white pepper with a lot of floral influence. Again for $15 it’s a crowd pleaser. Solid B.
The 2010 Carneros Pinot was, as is expected, big and jammy with bright raspberry. I personally thought it was a little hot, and bold but silky. Even though it was big and jammy, the body was lighter, which was somewhat surprising for a Carneros wine. There was a lot of darker fruit hiding in there. Not my fave. C+
My personal favorite glass was the 2010 Rodgers Creek Pinot. This single vineyard designate is the only wine that is finished with cork and showed Earthy mellow mushroom, bark, sarsaparilla and spicy gingerbread. In a way it reminded me of a Coca Cola cake (it’s a southern thing). The foggy terrain of Rodgers Creek gives this a stunning baking spice palate that I just love. I couldn’t quite believe that this was only $30, and it definitely gets n A in my book.
The moral of this story is that it pays to dig a bit under those big brands. They often hide premium wines under their hats that you might not otherwise approach. Since I prefer to dig under the vines for smaller, less well known wines, I am appreciative to find a larger production winery that is focusing on quality, even when quantity makes the bankers happy.
Thanks to Alison and Laura from The Barn Group for a lovely evening!
I have a love hate relationship with New Zealand wines. Sometimes I love them, sometimes I hate them. There really is no in between there for me.
Some of the pinots are too earthy and full of dirt and sod. Some of the sav blancs are enamel stripping gooseberry piss that I can’t swallow.
Luckily, there is a sweet spot in the middle, where this wine falls neatly. The first whiff brings out method and wintergreen, and the first sip is a bright raspberry crush.
Aged in 100% new French oak barriques, the larger barrels allow for less immediate contact to the barrel, which gives it just a kiss and not a smack of oak flavors. There is a touch of baking spice on the back end that rounds it out nicely.
For $15, this is a great budget wine, and if you’re looking for a pinot, is a good option for the under $20 crowd. It falls a bit flat at the end however, so I wouldn’t race out to buy it, but I would pick it up if I were going to a party.
Happy sipping!
This wine was provided as a PR sample. And yes, I have to say that, the feds make me!
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!
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!
It’s Valentine’s Day today, and that means, roses, chocolate, and – yes! Pinot Noir! What better way to say I love you than to share the heartbreak grape with your sweetie.
Personally, Pinot Noir is the wine that excites me the most, because of its mystery, and allure. There are so many different styles and flavors in a Pinot Noir, and it’s a world in your glass!@
Do you want to learn MORE about Pinot Noir?
On Saturday, February 26th, 300 lucky Pinotphiles will be able to attend the Pinot NOir Summit in San Francisco. If you are thinking about attending, and you should be, I have a secret deal for you just because you actually read my blog. This deal is SO amazing, SO huge, SO fabulous, that you just can’t pass it up!
Because it’s so amazing, i can only offer this deal to two of my readers – well really it’s four – because here’s the deal..
You can get 2 tickets to the ALL DAY SUMMIT for the price of one! That’s a $250 value for $125.
Now, I know that seems like a lot of money to spend on wine, but look at what you get:
A full day of Pinot Noir! Starting with a blind tasting of the top rated juice from a long and arduous process (yeah well I was a judge, such hard work), test your buds against pros, panels, and pinotphiles. Vote for your faves! We will find out what women liked, what men liked, and what the judges liked at the end of the day.
You also get your choice of two Pinot Noir workshops. This year we have:
Session One
New World Pinot Noir
A Question of Style
Discovering New Stars
Session Two
Oak and Pinot Noir…Getting it Just Right
Pinot Noir, the Most Versatile Wine on the Planet
Winemaking 101
But wait! You thought I was done? Nope. You ALSO get a Sparkling Wine Reception, to see how Pinot Noir behaves under pressure.
And then, the GRAND finale – the 9th Annual Pinot Noir Shootout Grand Awards Tasting with top Pinot Noir winemakers showcasing their wines. Includes a pinot-friendly selection of light hors d’oeuvres.
SO if you want to take advantage of this deal, post a comment here and let me know WHY you really want to go and should get this half of deal. HURRY though! I only have two to offer and I know it’ll be popular!
I can’t wait to hear your comments!
I walked by the TWELVE Wines tasting room in McMinnville, OR last Labor Day weekend, but didn’t get the chance to pop by since we were on our way to meet my dear friends from Republic of Jam, Lynnette & Amy.
As luck would have it, I was contacted by their PR rep, and received samples of the 2005, 2006, and 2007 Pinot Noir 144 to taste. Yay! Twelve Wines is a family owned winery in the Yamhill-Carlton area of the Willamette Valley AVA in Oregon, where they have 11 acres of Pinot Noir planted.
First up, I opened the 2005 Pinot Noir 144 after a long day of spring cleaning. Sipping away in a long bubble bath while reading about Spain, I really enjoyed the boldness of the wine on a cold San Francisco day. the trick with bold Pinots is that they don’t really evote a Pinot Noir feeling however. This wine is 50% Pommard clone, 17% Wadenswil clone, and 33% 115 clone. It was 100% destemmed, and fermented in 50% new French Oak for just shy of a year. This was a big Pinot, with flavors of cranberry, dark strawberry and rich raspberry with some strawberry jam, with huge cherry pie filling. I detected a bit of cola nut as well as some strong dark plum characteristics. I’d TRY this if you’;re curious about the area, but you might save your money for the later vintages. I enjoyed this wine, but prefer my wines from Oregon to be a bit more Burgundian in style, and not so much Santa lucia highlands. there was an unexpected smoke to this, and it was way to full bodied for my expectation of Oregon.
In contrast, the 2006 has a much higher acidity and a lot more zing. This is somewhat surprising given that 2006 was quite a warm year in the willammette and the ABV is over 14%. There were a lot of bright cranberry, hibiscus, and raspberry flavors, followed by a touch of violets and spice rack, with some root beer and bark, and a touch of vanilla. It was much lighter than the 2005, but stil had a medicum body with crisp acidity. I think it was great with food and would BUY it if i found it on the shelf.
As luck would have the wines kept getting better and better. nowing that, for hte most post, Oregon is known to have the best vintages in odd years, I was looking forward to the 2007. I certainly was not dissapoitned as this was my favorite of the three by far. It was was classically burgundain, iwth lovely acidity and bright red fruit. The spice notes were earthy and forest floor, and it was simploy a lovely example of what I love about Oregon wines. big bright red cherries and a touch of nutmeg were clearly present, but it almost tasted older than an 07, in the very best way. this is a MUST BUY for me and is still affordable for this quality of wine. This is a wine that you MUST BUY if you are in the area and are a Pinotphile!
I fully expect great things to continue to come from TWELVE Wines, and really look forward to seeing what else they come up with. They also make a Pinot Gris, and I look forward to tasting that when i thaw out.
Happy drinking, and I look forward to bringing you more pinot nori from the 2011 Pinot Noir Summit in Feburary!
No people were harmed in my desire to run to the nearest Pinot Noir, but these wines were provided as samples.
Holy cow! Where has the time gone? I'm not quite sure how this happened, but it's almost Halloween, and I find myself struggling for words. I know I know, it's a shocking turn of events for this Gemini gal, who basically blogs because she likes to talk. Truth be told, between work, events, friends, breaking my first bone, catching the crud in the hospital when said bone wa" data-image="http://lusciouslushes.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/lemelson.jpg" data-site="">
photo provided by Chow Studios
Holy cow! Where has the time gone? I’m not quite sure how this happened, but it’s almost Halloween, and I find myself struggling for words. I know I know, it’s a shocking turn of events for this Gemini gal, who basically blogs because she likes to talk. Truth be told, between work, events, friends, breaking my first bone, catching the crud in the hospital when said bone was being fixed, and feeling overwhelmed, I haven’t been blogging like I used to. I apologize for that, but I have lost my mojo. I havent’ stopped drinking however, since I frankly find Pinot NOir a better pain killer than vicodin and since the combination of those two might permanently delay my wine adventures, I choose Pinot noir.
So here goes: My medication, as found in Oregon, over Labor Day weekend at Lemelson Vineyards. Naturally, I wanted to go to Lemelson because they made a wine especially for me, Thea’s Selection! Lemelson Vineyards produces Pinot Noir (as well as Pinot Gris and Chardonnay) from 7 estate vineyards, which are all Certified Organic. the winery’s location just east of Carlton, Oregon in the Willamette valley AVA is on a meandering country road which combines rural farm agriculture with vineyards, making it a diverse and beautiful area to explore.
First and foremost, let’s talk about my wine. The 2007 Thea’s Selection Pinot Noir is the benchmark blend for the vintage, and is made of a combination of six mature vineyards. It had a dark ruby red color, and flavors of black cherry, rhubarb, and black pepper as well as bright cherry, and blackberry followed by earthy spice. It really opened up after a few minutes in the glass, and the majority of the bold fruit blows off, leaving a clearly Burgundian style wine with earth & spice. This is MUST BY, particularly since I got a case of the 07 during and end of vintage sale. And to show off my name on a wine bottle obviously!
The follow up vintage of Thea’s Selection, 2008, was very similar but brighter than the 07. The first impression was bright cherry, earth, and freshly ground cinnamon. it was clearly a forest floor influence with mushrooms and dusty spices, but it wasn’t funky. the dark plums and dark red fruit were more present than in the 07, with a lot of cherry pie and baking spice. This is a STRONG BUY, especially fi you try the vintages side by side.
The 2008 Six vineyards was designed to be a restaurant wine, particularly for a by the glass program; this was an easy drinking, smooth and mellow wine. I enjoyed it but found it a big pedestrian if I were to buy a bottle. It’s made from six mature vineyards, and is a light translucent ruby red. It was very light, and had cranberry, rhubarb, and dusty nutmeg flavors. It’s a great VALUE so i would TRY this if you are looking for an everyday wine ~$20.
2007 Meyer Pinot Noir shows as quite acidic, with leaner, stronger red fruit flavors. The 07 vintage had strage weather in Oregon, and early rains caused some challenges. This had flavors of wild strawberry, raspberries and baking spices with some cola. It was lean and quite austere, with a luscious and bright with a long clean finish. There was a lot of minerality on the finish, and it was very different than the others. This is also a STRONG BUY.
The 2008 Meyer was an ideal vintage. It was hotter, so this wine is more reminiscent of a Russian River wine to me; I found a caramel chocolate finish, with big bold root beer and cola notes surrounded the cherry and strawberry jam base. It finished dry with dusty nutmeg. The bold fruit forward style gave way to a classic Oregon wine, which I would BUY again if I found it.
2007 Stermer Vineyard Pinot was very bright and light. The raspberreis and cherries showed first, with rose petals and cranberry right behind. There was just a hint of earthy spice and red apple lingering. TRY this wine for variety. While I liked the 07, I did NOT enjoy the 2008 Stermer and I would AVOID that one.
The 2007 Cuvee X Pinot Noir is a blend made up of 99% Meyer Vineyard. It comes from the highest elevation of the vineyard, and was picked before the rain in 07, and aged in 100% new French oak, which, in my opinion, overwhelmed the wine. I didn’t like it and if you are not an oak monster, I’d AVOID it.
2008 Jerome Reserve Pinot is a blend of the six mature vineyards, where the most age worthy selections of wines are hand selected for blending and aging. This was an interesting wine, and I’d HOLD on to it for a fe years to see how the sarsaparilla and root beer flavors give way to the black cheery spice. It’s a baby, but I can see a lot of potential.
All in all, I really enjoyed my visit to Lemelson, and can’t wait to open up my case of wine!
Have you had these wines? What did YOU think?
Holy cow! Where has the time gone? I'm not quite sure how this happened, but it's almost Halloween, and I find myself struggling for words. I know I know, it's a shocking turn of events for this Gemini gal, who basically blogs because she likes to talk. Truth be told, between work, events, friends, breaking my first bone, catching the crud in the hospital when said bone wa" data-image="http://lusciouslushes.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/lemelson.jpg" data-site="">
Somewhere along the way of my Alphabet Challenge, I lost my path and started speaking in tongues, which made my order slightly questionable. Well, I’m back, from outer space, and am restarting with the letter E.
