Winter Wineland, Northern Sonoma Cnty – Day One

ViciVino.com was very fortunate to receive two complementary tickets to the 2011 Winter Wineland Weekend.  This is a weekend in which over 140 wineries in the Russian River Region, from Santa Rosa through Russian River Valley, Alexander Valley, Healdsburg and Dry Creek Valley get together to let wine lovers experience the different wineries.  The theme this year was “Education and Art”.  Some of the wineries are not normally open to the public, some by are by appointment only but on this weekend all the participants are open and ready to receive you.  More wineries than not offered food to be sampled with their wines.  Larry and I went through the map and listing and tried to locate wineries that we either haven’t been to or haven’t been to in a long time.


Day 1 – Saturday January 15 – We started off the day by leaving our house in the East Bay, San Francisco area around 9:30.  We got to the first winery just past 11:00, which is when it opened. 

Martin Ray – Their parking seemed limited, but it is a small winery with a nice tasting room.  They have merchandise to sell.  Their staff is very friendly.  They offer picnic benches and have a beautiful view of their vineyards.  They were pouring their Angeline ’09 Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc and their ’04 Santa Cruz Cabernet.

                        Martin Ray Winery                                                    Martin Ray Winery Tasting Room

Graton Ridge Cellars – Another small winery right on the 116, Gravenstein Highway.  I liked this tasting room.  There was a nice large bar, plenty of room to wander inside and look at all the gift items they have for sale.  Here they had made homemade chili that they were serving.  They have a nice outdoor bocce ball area with comfortable chairs to sit at while either having a picnic or playing.   They were offering their Chardonnay at 25% off.

                           Graton Ridge Winery                                                    Graton Ridge Bocce Ball Court

Dutton Goldfield Winery – Also on Gravenstein Highway, this winery is one of our favorites for Pinot Noir.  They have been written up several times, been the Winery of the Year and have received above 90 points on over 4 of their wines.  We met our daughter-in-law and granddaughter here.  We tasted ’08 Dutton Ranch Chardonnay, ’08 Dutton Ranch Pinot Noir, and ’08 Devils Gulch Pinot Noir and a ’08 Syrah.  As we enjoyed the wines we sat out on their front deck and ate our picnic lunch.  They have good parking and a very well informed, educated staff.  They have nice art and a fireplace indoors which is perfect on those cold days.

                                       Dutton Goldfield Winery                                        Kim and Elliana Lapides having a picnic


Red Car Winery – This winery is right next door to Dutton Goldfield.  They had just opened up their tasting room recently.  They don’t have any picnic benches but they have a very art deco tasting room.  They were pouring a Chardonnay, and two ’09 Sonoma Coast Pinot Noirs from different vineyards.  I would definitely go back and try them on a day when it isn’t so crowded.

Mueller Winery – This is a nice winery in a very remote location.  We had to drive through rolling farmland with cows on one side and vineyards on the other.  Here we tasted their Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Zinfandel, which we liked very much.  They had a live band, the Surf Brothers, playing soft rock and roll songs.  They also had Claudia Sanchez, an artist, who displayed her cat art.  The tasting room is in the cellar.  They purchase all their grapes.

                         Mueller Winery Tasting Room                                                 Surf Brothers performing

Russian Hill Estates – Here they were pouring their new releases.  Their Viognier is what stood out to us.  But more importantly, the views from their backyard are amazing.  They have a few tables and chairs and welcome you to relax and take in the view while sipping their wine.

                              Russian Hill Winery                                                  Views from Russian Hill Winery

Sonoma-Cutrer – Known for their Chardonnay we tasted a few different vineyards of Chardonnay.  Their building is beautiful with African animal art displayed; they also have photographs of different vines growing in different soil.  They were pairing their wines with a black bean/corn salsa on a corn chip.  The backyard is enormous and would be perfect for an outdoor function.  They have two full-size croquet courts with immaculately groomed lawns.

                          Sonoma-Cutrer Winery                                             Sonoma-Cutrer Croquet Court     

                       
Inman Family Wines – Here we met the winemaker and owner Kathleen Inman.  She was very nice.  They just recently opened up this tasting room.  They will be making their Chardonnay here soon.  They are very popular for two things.  One is being very organic.  The building they have their tasting room in, is made by using all re-used products.  Second, they use screw caps for all their releases.  They are firm believers that this keeps the wine from going bad and makes it easier to open. 

              Inman Family Wines Tasting Room                                        Inman Family Wines Barn


Benovia Winery – Known for their Pinot Noir, they were pouring their wines in the barrel room.  We tasted a Pinot blend, two different Pinot Noirs and a Zinfandel.  All of their grapes will eventually be harvested from their own vineyards.  They are open by appointment only and have a beautiful visitors center with a fireplace, dining room table, and a very nice outdoor deck overlooking their vineyards.  Here they had an educational video on how oak barrels are made.

                       Benovia Winery Cellar Room                                         Views of Benovia Winery Vineyards

This day of wine tasting ended about 4:30.  We were pretty tired.  Larry spit out all of his tasting so he was able to drive us around safely.  I however, just took little sips all day long.  Needless to say we didn’t have any wine with dinner that night.  The day ended up being about 70 degrees!  In the middle of January!  Wow!  We needed to go to bed early this night so we would be ready to go to more wineries the next day.

Wineries, Birthday and Babysitting

Last weekend Larry and I went up north to Santa Rosa to attend the annual Winter Wineland event in the Russian River wine region.  Over 140 wineries were participating and the Wine Road of Northern Sonoma County comp’ed us two tickets.  We started out on Saturday morning and drove straight to Martin Ray Winery to check in and receive our weekend bracelet and wine glass.  I’m not going to go into details of each winery on this post as I will dedicate a post to each day of wine tasting.

 

Suffice it to say that we went to nine wineries on Saturday and eleven on Sunday.  On Saturday we met up with our daughter-in-law Kim and granddaughter Elli at Dutton Goldfield Winery.  We went and talked to some of the staff that we all knew because Brandon used to work there.  We tasted some good wines and had a picnic lunch there.  The temperature that day got up to 70 degrees!  Yes, 70 degrees in the middle of January!  It was such a perfect weekend for touring around different wineries.

 

After lunch we continued onto a few more wineries and ended up at the meat market.  This is where Brandon and Kim suggested we go to buy the beef we were interested in for Sunday’s dinner.  We bought 4 nice rib-eye steaks and a package of 4 lamb sausages for our dinner that night.  After a quick trip through the grocery store we got to the kid’s home.  We visiting a bit, then Brandon got home.  We were going to be babysitting Elli so that Brandon and Kim could go out for an evening alone.  After a bit they left and we were there with Elli.  We fed her and played with her.  We even gave her a bath!  Then we put her to bed.  We then got working on our dinner, which was lamb sausages and sautéed vegetables consisting of onion, mushroom, red pepper and zucchini.  The sausages really hit the spot in a delicious sour dough roll with a nice porter mustard.  We watched a little T.V. and relaxed.  The kids got home before 10.  They saw the Black Swan, which we had already seen.  So we discussed the movie a bit before heading off to bed.

 

The next morning I was awoken to the smell of bacon cooking.  What a treat, Brandon was cooking eggs and bacon for breakfast.  We all ate together then we all dispersed to different locations.  Brandon went back up to his winery, Armida, where he was pouring his Chardonnay and Zinfandel all day.  Kim and Elli went off to church and then to the winery for a little lunch and visit, and we went off to our day two of wineries.  We went to four wineries before we got to Armida for lunch.  Once we got to Armida, which was very crowded, Brandon was ready to take a little break.  So we grabbed some food and sat out on their beautiful deck.  This day the fog had just lifted and it was a bit cooler.  But it was nice to spend 10 minutes with Brandon.  We went back into the winery and watched a little bit of football and watched Brandon sell his futures.  Afterwards we went to a few more wineries and got back to the house around 4:30.  I made nachos for a pre-dinner snack.  Brandon got home around 5:45 and he opened up a bottle of 2006 Pinot Noir from Windy Oaks Winery from the Santa Cruz Mountains.  We started making dinner.  I did the stuffed baked potatoes, Larry did the green beans and Brandon did the steaks. This dinner was in celebration of Brandon’s 29th birthday.  There was a 2007 Petite Verdot opened also but it wasn’t as good as the Pinot Noir.  Elli finally went to bed and we enjoyed the birthday dinner.  For dessert we had chocolate chip/oatmeal/dried cranberry cookies that I had made and brought up.  We watch the Golden Globe awards and gave Brandon his present, which was a dehydrator.  This is something he can really use since he has such a big garden.  A good time was had by all. 

 

The next morning Kim went to work and I took Elli for a 45-minute stroll.  We went on a couple errands, she had lunch then she went down for a nap.  After her nap we went to Benovia Winery where we went to check out their new visitor center.  It is a beautiful center with couches and a fireplace for casual fare, a nice dining room table for more formal fare, and the backyard deck which looks onto their vineyards and beyond.  We then drove home, Kim got home and Larry and I got on the road back home.  It was a very full and eventful weekend.

Traveling along… Hollister, CA

The day after Christmas we went on a small one-day journey.  We were headed to the Santa Cruz area and decided to head to a wine region that we had heard of but not been to.  They skies were blue, it was a bit brisk but very reasonable for December.  This region is San Benito County and the city was Hollister.  Hollister is about 1 ½ hour southeast of Livermore and about 45 minutes northeast of Monterey.  Just 20 minutes off hwy 101.  There are about 40,000 people residing but it is spread out and there is a lot of visible land.  Something you don’t see too often anymore.

 

We drove and went to our first destination for lunch at The Running Rooster .  We were in the mood for a good hamburger and fries.  They label themselves as the “best burger ever”.  So we decided to give it a shot.  It is right on the main street of Hollister on San Benito Street.  They have their grills outside in front so that is the first thing you see.  They cook the burgers and other items to order.  I got their ¼ pounder, which was plenty.  It was good, not the best ever, but it hit the spot.


From there we went to go and find some wineries.  First on our list was Calera Wine Company .  It took us about 20 minutes from the restaurant to get there.  They have some of the best scenery from the winery.  The wine making facilities and tasting room are all at the same location.  The tasting room wasn’t very fancy; it was in the barrel room.  But they had a couple counters and a couple people pouring so it was a very nice experience.  Lori was the one who was helping us.  She was very nice and knowledgeable.  The owner and winemaker is Josh Jensen.  He has been there for 30 years.  They have a seven level gravity flow system for their wine making process.  This is very unusual but they can do it because the winery starts way up on the top of the hill. The gravity flow system allows the wine to travel from tank to barrel to barrel without much disruption, thus making the wine happier.  We bought their ’09 Viognier, Central Coast.  It has a very nice flowery flavor but not over powering.  They also make Chardonnay, Vin Gris of Pinot Noir, Pinot Noir, and a few other miscellaneous varieties.  They have a few benches and a couple tables if you want to have a picnic here.  Like I said the view is beautiful.

     
                    Views from Calera Winery                                           Grape Arbor at Calera Winery


Our next stop was at Pietra Santa Winery .  This winery is just beautiful.  It is in the style of a very old California Mission.  The outer walls were made with stone and there are bells in the steeple.  The only downfall of this tasting room is that you have to go upstairs to get to it.  If you can’t climb the stairs, no worries, they will come down and let you sample their wines, but you miss out on the ambiance.  Once upstairs they have a couple of tasting menus.  The tasting fee is $5.00.  We really enjoyed their Gewürztraminer and their Sangiovese.  We also tried their Pinot Grigio, Chardonnay, Merlot, Cabernet and Zinfandel.  They sell some shirts, caps and a few miscellaneous items.  While we were there we met a couple that are club members.  They were very nice and we had fun chatting.  We found out that they were then going to Leal Vineyards next.  So we decided to follow them there.

        

                         Pietra Santa Vineyards                                                             Pietra Santa Winery

 

At Leal Vineyards one of the first things you see is a big white tent set up for weddings and events.  As we parked we noticed that they had recently planted some new vineyards and they were also growing Agave plants.  Strange!  So we went inside.  Their tasting was $10.00 per person.  They have a nice area just outside their tasting room where they have a very large fire pit with some seating around it.  Nice ambiance for drinking wine, especially if it’s nice out, which it was.  Here they make mostly blended wines.  We tried their Chardonnay, Cabernet and three different blended wines.  They also offer some estate Syrah, Merlot and a Meritage.  We took a walk up to their two bocce ball courts.  They had a full outdoor kitchen up there as well as another fire pit.  Up there they also had tons of tables and chairs.  This is the perfect location for a picnic.  We were still mystified by the agave plants growing there until we found out that the owner, who has a love for tequila, is a co-owner in a tequila distillery. 

    

                Leal Vineyards New and Old                                        Leal Vineyards and Agave Plants

 

After leaving Leal we had about 45 minutes of sunlight left so we headed towards the Mission of San Juan Bautista .  It was about a 10-15 minute drive from downtown Hollister.  As we approached we realized that we didn’t give ourselves enough time to see the quaint town with the different shops and restaurants.  Nor did we have enough time to get a tour of the Mission.  So, we will have to go back another time.  We did however walk the grounds of the Mission and see some of the gardens.  From there it was just a 45 minute drive to the Santa Cruz area.  A perfect day. 

  

            San Juan Bautista Mission Gardens                                      San Juan Bautista Mission

Goodbye 2010

The Year of 2010

It’s that time of year when you can’t even believe that a whole year has gone by since you last celebrated in the New Year.  The years are just flying by.  

Here I sit at my getaway beach house near Santa Cruz, California reflecting on 2010.  It was a year full of drama.  We had many celebrations, one after another, starting with my youngest son, Jacob, proposing to his then girlfriend of 2 years while we were all in Cancun bringing in the year 2010.  That was a very festive evening.  Then in March and April Larry and I turned 50 and we had a very nice celebration.  The end of April brought us our first grandchild, Elliana.  We had forgotten how a little person can add so much love to your life.  And at the end of summer we had an engagement celebration for Jacob and Brittany.  With all these happy times came some sad days when we lost a number of very close friends to cancer.

I want to say that I am so happy that I have a wonderful husband and two incredible sons who have chosen such fantastic women to add into our family.  I have two cats and one dog which I love and so many great friends and family that have always been there when they are needed through the good and the bad.

In these difficult times that we are living in, it is sometimes hard to see all the good things that one has.  That is why I feel that it is so important to at least take out a couple hours at the end of the year and reflect on all that you have.  If you make a list of the good and the bad things that have happened, you can always find more good things than the bad.  And just remembering all the good things should help to erase most of the bad things.

In closing I just want to say thanks to all of you who read my blog and are patient with me as I don’t always have the time or energy to write.  I have still been enjoying drinking wine and traveling to a number of different wineries and I will get to writing about it.

What does Wine Tasting and the World Series Have in Common?

On a normal day going wine tasting in California you have people who are very relaxed and happy.  They are relaxed because they aren’t working and they are happy because they are drinking wine.  This is all good, especially this time of year when most of the craziness has died down from the harvest.  The grape vines are void of their grapes, so it’s time for them to start to hibernate for the winter.  The leaves on the vines are starting to change from the green to the red to the orange and yellow.  It’s a great time to go wine tasting!  So Larry, Elliana and I went wine tasting on our babysitting day yesterday.  Mid-week is a great time to go wine tasting; the crowds are less, which frees up more time with the winery staff.  They have more time to give you attention and you usually can have a nice spot at the bar.  Ask if there is any way you can see their winemaking facility.  It’s always interesting to see how each winery makes their wine, so similar, yet so differently.

So, you ask?!  What does this have to do with the World Series?  Well, as it turns out the San Francisco Giants are in the World Series against the Texas Rangers.  Yesterday was the first game of the series.  So as we go to our first winery, Arista Winery in the Russian River Valley, Sonoma County we noticed that we wern’t the only ones wearing orange and black (those being the colors of the Giants).  It was great, we had a lot of attention to talk about wine and baseball.  These are two of my favorite subjects!  Arista is in a beautiful spot on West Side Road.  The grounds at Arista are beautiful.  It is designed with an Oriental Garden feel and as you walk through their gardens you get a sense of peacefulness.  We tasted their Gwertztraminer and Sauvignon Blanc on the white side.  Then for the reds we were treated to a Pinot Noir comparison of two wines from the Sonoma Coast.  Their ’07 La Cruz Vineyards which was a blend of two vineyards and their ’08 Sonoma Coast a blend from four different vineyards.  Both were very nice.  I have a thing about the ’07 vintage and love almost everything produced from that year.  Next we compared two Pinot Noirs from the Russian River.  Both were 2008 vintages.  The main difference of those two wines was the fact that one was a blend and the other, the Longbow, was from a single vineyard.  We were helped by Gabriel and Billy.  The staff was very nice and they have a very relaxed policy.  They want you to come and spend time in their beautiful gardens while sipping their wine.  There is plenty of seating and areas to picnic if you choose.

Next we went to Thomas George Estates , just a couple minutes drive from Arista.  After you drive up their driveway and park, you will just fall in love with their grounds.  They have their wine cellar caves on the one side and the tasting room and winery on the other.  They have many tables and chairs for you to sit on to enjoy a picnic if you choose to.  We were the only ones in the tasting room at the time.  We sampled their Sauvignon Blanc (which I liked) and Chardonnay.  Then we sampled a Russian River 2008 Pinot Noir and a 2008 Sonoma Coast single vineyard Pinot Noir.  I enjoyed the single vineyard but liked them both.  Finally we sampled 2008 Dry Creek Zinfandel.  It had a nice body, light on the fruit forward, but a very nice finish.  They do offer events and weddings in their caves.  Shannon who was behind the bar was also a Giants fan and was wishing that they could close early that afternoon.

Through all of this Elliana was a trooper.  She batted her dark eyes and smiled every so often.  We got back to the kids house in time to see the pre-show of the World Series.  Thankfully there is a happy ending to our wonderful day as the Giants beat the Rangers 11-7.  What does Wine Tasting and the World Series Have in Common? Fans everywhere!
 

The Lonely Planet Speaks

The other day I had a great opportunity to meet and greet the CEO of the travel book publishing company Lonely Planet .  The Cornell Alumni program, here in the Bay Area, put on a reception/lecture in Berkeley.  I drove into Berkeley, parked and walked across the street to the Hotel Shattuck Plaza .  In all my years of going to Berkeley I never knew of this very cool hotel.  They have a fantastic bar and restaurant area next to the main lobby.  It was pretty busy for a Tuesday night.  I went into one of the ballrooms to find the event.  They had some nice appetizers sitting on a table in the corner.  They had 3 different kinds of cheeses, Humboldt Fog, a Gruyere, and a Blue Cheese.  They served that with sliced baguette.  They also had some fresh fruit, a roasted vegetable platter, a couple puffed pastry items with filling and small potato pancake topped with lox and cream cheese.  They had a bar serving your basic Central Coast Cabernet and Chardonnay, beer and soft drinks.

I was talking to some ladies there; they seemed to be frequent travelers.  One had gone to India for a three-week tour last December.  She said it was the highlight of all her travels so far.  Another lady said that she just got back from Greece and had a great time.  Like many of the other people who came to see Matt Goldberg, Cornell alumni, all were very much interested in travel.  A number of people in the crowd are avid Lonely Planet travel book readers.  The company started about 37 years ago by Tony and Maureen Wheeler.  They started traveling with backpacks because they didn’t have a lot of money but loved to explore.  So they kept good notes of their travels and started their first guide.  It was designed for travelers who were traveling with their clothes on their backs and to this day, in general, it still is.  They have kept up with the current times and have an application with the I phone and I pad and can be found on Facebook and Twitter as well.  Yes, Lonely Planet was the main guidebook for those traveling on a budget and seeking the roads less traveled.  Lonely planet has produced and sold over 100 million guidebooks, they have over 450 employees worldwide and have over 300 authors who contribute.  Matt says that their ultimate goal with their books were to “use travel to break down walls between people.”  He also said some clues to traveling safely and comfortably are “to keep your wits about yourself, and to smile more than you frown.”

Matt was a very dynamic speaker.  The audience was very receptive to him and his work ethics.  There were some very good questions about where Lonely Planet will be going in the next 5 to 10 years.  Matt couldn’t say much because things aren’t yet set in stone, but their plan is to be around and in the front foreground of all travelers needs.

Wine, Artisan Bread & Babysitting

I had a great day yesterday.  Larry and I drove up to Santa Rosa for my weekly babysitting gig with my granddaughter Elli.  Larry came up with me because currently I have a bad back, so I can’t lift Elli quite yet.  When we arrived nearly at noon Elli was just waking up from a nap.  Kim had already made Asian spiced meatballs and put them in the crock-pot to be ready for dinner.  We had a little bite to eat, a nice turkey sandwich, and then got our day moving along.

Kim went to work at Arista Winery.   After Elli got fed and cleaned up we left and drove to Forestville where we had heard about an amazing bakery there.  The bakery is called Nightingale Bakery , and if you blink too many times you will miss it and the whole downtown area.  The bakery is known for their Artisan breads.  We came out with a loaf of rye bread, sliced whole wheat with oats, and a sweet mini baguette.  Afterwards we made our way to Guerneville and found the Guerneville Park, which has a few parking spaces, walking trails that lead to the Russian River, and picnic benches amongst the redwood trees.  We parked there and walked along a passenger bridge over the Russian River to the small downtown area.  We stopped at My Coffee Bazaar and had a nice coffee drink and sat outside in a little garden area.  My Coffee Bazaar was a nice little place with fantastic coffee drinks, baked goods, breakfast and lunch items.  Halfway through our drinks, Elli decided that she was thirsty too.  So Larry fed Elli her bottle of milk.

 
                 Larry and Elli, 5 months old with a full belly

It was a very leisure afternoon.  The sky was blue, it was about 70 degrees outside, and there was a light breeze that blew the downed leaves around.  After we were all done with our drinks we walked back over the bridge to our car and went off to our next location.  

As we were driving west on River Road we decided to take a right hand turn onto Olivett Road.  Along this road the wineries are known for good Gewurztraminer, Zinfandel and Pinot Noir.  We stopped at Hook and Ladder Winery .  We have passed by this winery several times but never stopped there.  Their vineyards and wine making facilities are there as well as the tasting and barrel room.  We sampled their Gewurztraminer, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Zinfandel, Zinfandel blend and their Tillerman, which is a Burgundian blend.  There was another couple there when we arrived.  Elli was in her stroller and when she woke up we gave her a cup of water with a hint of grape juice.  Their tasting room is in their barrel room.  What they have decorating the tasting area are t-shirts from different firehouses from around the country.  They also have a board with patches from different firehouses as well.  They sell t-shirts and sweatshirts and a few earrings.  Outside they have a well landscaped yard with a number of picnic benches.  If you sit on one of the benches you will have a nice view of their vineyards and the surrounding hills.

We then got in the car and went back to our son and daughter-in-laws home.  Larry and Kim prepared the vegetables and the rice sticks to compliment the meatballs that were smelling very good.  I got to feed Elli Squash and oatmeal for her dinner.  She is 5 months old and has been eating solids now for about 3-4 weeks.  She really enjoys it and had a big wide mouth open for each spoonful.

After dinner we got into our car and went on our way back home.  So, another 12-hour day with Elliana in the books.  We didn’t get to see Brandon as he was literally knee deep in grapes at Armida Winery , as the bulk of harvest has finally started to come in.

Shoot Your Dog Contest Benefits the Healdsburg Animal Shelter

Almost exactly a year ago, on a trip to Healdsburg, we told you about one of the newer tasting rooms in downtown Healdsburg, Topel Winery .  (See Larry’s post on Healdsburg Tasting Rooms .)  Some good wines, and especially good values for the wines.  One other item about Topel is that they’ve started an annual Shoot Your Dog contest, publishing a calendar to benefit the Healdsburg Animal Shelter. 

Wine and dogs combine two of our passions, and hopefully yours as well.  And we’re big supporters of the shelters.  We found Elmer Fudd, our current mutt (pictured here as a puppy 4 1/2 years ago), at the Santa Cruz SPCA.  The Shoot Your Dog contest closes the end of this month, so get your entries in asap. 

Petite Sirah stains my thumbs!

It took over 24 hours to get the wine stains out of my right thumb after attending a Petite Sirah lunch and wine tasting last week.  If you don’t already know, Petite Sirah is a very dark and robust grape that is made into a very dark and robust wine.  Some people get confused in thinking that the Petite Sirah grape is just a smaller Syrah grape.  That is wrong.  It is its own varietal from a little grown French vine called Peloursin, and Syrah, but the name of Petite Sirah has become attached to several different grape varieties all of which have been traditionally planted together in California.  This varietal has been talked about in California wine literature as far back as 1880.  Petite Sirah produces a savory, almost meaty character and dense blackberry fruit.  Its powerful style has long made it a useful blending wine, especially for Zinfandel.  The Petite Sirah wine is often age worthy, lasting up to 20 years in the bottle.  It’s best known for growing in Mendocino and Sonoma County, and Livermore Valley in California.  It is also grown in Argentina and Brazil where unirrigated vineyards of often very old vines produce wines of considerable depth, backbone and brutal power.

One of the lead wineries in the Livermore Valley producing great Petite Sirah is Concannon Winery.  This is where the event was held.  John Concannon, who is the president of the Petite Sirah (P.S.) I Love You advocacy organization, was the host of this event.  It started out that morning with a symposium on Petite Sirah with over 100 interested members attending.  The symposium went on for about 3 hours.  When it broke, lunch was served.

We had a delicious lunch sitting under the grape arbor outside the Concannon Winery and tasting room.  Lunch started with a couple passed appetizers; one was a crostini with Brie and pancetta.  Another was duck confit wrapped in a very small tortilla.  The first course was a delicious heirloom tomato salad served with fresh mozzarella cheese and basil with balsamic vinegar and local olive oil drizzled over the top.  That was served with a Concannon 2009 Pinot Grigio from the Central Coast region.  The main course was then served.  It was a beautiful plate consisting of two small wooden skewers.  On one skewer was fish and shrimp, on the other was sausage, chicken and beef.  This was served on top of Israeli couscous, garbanzo beans, white raisins and some grilled vegetables.  To go with this course we drank Concannon 2007 Petite Sirah, Livermore Valley.  The dessert course was served in a martini glass on a plate.  It was mixed berries such as blackberries and raspberries in a white chocolate raspberry sauce, served with a dollop of whipped cream and a cookie.  Lunch was supposed to last one hour, but it went about 1 ½ hours.  Very lovely.  We sat at a table, which had winemaker Vic, and wife Beth Edwards of Edwards Vineyard and Cellars from the Ramona Valley of San Diego County.  They produce Petite Sirah and Cabernet Sauvignon.  We also sat near winemaker Kristoff Paubert of Stags Leap Winery in Napa and their P.R. manager Carrie.

After lunch we all went into the barrel room where about 40 wineries were pouring their Petite Sirah.  This is a big challenge, as I explained above to you, Petite Sirah is a robust wine and gives great pucker power.  I find it difficult to taste without having a cracker in between each glass or some chocolate to compliment it.  Before the end of my tasting experience and my tongue was reminiscent of my cat’s tongue.  I enjoyed some very good Petite Sirah.  Of course there was Concannon, who were pouring their 2007 Reserve Captain Joe’s Petite Sirah, which honors the founder James Concannon’s son, affectionately known as Captain Joe because of his service in the First Cavalry.  This wine is composed from estate lots and blended with a small amount of Syrah for balance.  They were also pouring their 2007 Reserve Nina’s Cuvee Petite Sirah.  This bottle honors their founder’s daughter-in-law, Giovanina Ferrario Concannon, who came from Italy to visit California in 1919.  These grapes were planted almost 40 years ago; they have a low yield, small berries, dense flavors and unique maturity profiles.  Both of these are bottled in a special bottle where there is a glass design of the gates to the winery.

Some of the other Petite Sirah’s I enjoyed were:
–  Grizzly Republic Winery out of Paso Robles – 2007   
–  Jazz Cellars, San Francisco – 2006 Mendocino
–  Esoterica, Napa Valley – 2007 Rutherford
–  Edwards Vineyards & Cellars, San Diego County – 2005 Ramona Valley
–  Crooked Vines Winery, Livermore Valley – 2007 Del Arroyo
–  Cinnabar Winery, Santa Clara County – 2007 Clarksburg
–  Robert Biale Vineyards, Napa – 2008 Napa

After a great afternoon of eating, drinking and schmoozing, it all came to an end.  But the good thing was that my right thumb, no matter how many times I washed it, was stained for the next 24 hours from the little bit of wine that got on the wine glass after pouring out my tastes.

My suggestion to you is to go and get a few bottles of Petite Sirah from the three different regions of California that I mentioned.  Open them all up and serve a nice heavy dish such as duck, eggplant Parmesan, or a very hearty tri-tip.  Try the wines with the meal, but leave some for dessert.  For dessert you should have either a chocolate torte or chocolate truffles and please drink the wine with dessert.  You will be amazed!  Let me know which wines you tried and what you ate with it. ☺

Wine Tasting in Napa July 2010

Surprise, surprise, surpries!  I had another great time in Napa last week.  We had cousins in town from Southern California, they came up to Napa for a water polo tournament.  They had Friday available to “play” with us, so we met them in the southern part of Napa and started our journey for the day.  

Our first stop was at Hagafen Cellars .  They are located on the south part of the Silverado Trail.  It’s a small family owned winery, Ernie Weir is the current owner and winemaker.  He and his wife have owned the winery since 1979.  They produce about 6,000 cases each year.  Their wines are made in within the Jewish dietary laws.  The new winery was built in 2000 and the tasting room, which is designed in a Tuscan style, opened in 2002.  When we arrived they had two small vans loaded with guests who were in the middle of a tour and tasting.  Even though they were very busy they were able to get us started with sampling their wines.  After about 10 minutes the vans left, so we were able to go and sit outside in their very quaint patio with arbor. 

     Relaxing under the arbor at Hagafen Winery

The next half hour we sent the boys in to gather more wine for us girls.  A nice treat.  We just spent the time catching up and relaxing.  After a bit, George, their outreach manager came and asked us if we wanted a little tour.  Larry and I had met George at the Silverado Wine Trails this past winter and again at the most recent Pinot Days in San Francisco.  Everything about Hagafen Cellars was lovely.  They have very nice and happy people working behind the counter and their wines are good and the place is very comfortable.  They also have a winery cat that was doing his job-hunting in the bushes.  

Next we went to explore another small family winery in the Howell Mountain area called Pope Valley Winery .  This winery is north off the Silverado Trail and to the east into the hills.  We went to the winery not ever experiencing this area before.  First of all it was about 5-10 degrees warmers up there.  There are a few wineries up there but they are spaced far between each other.  For sure there are a lot of beautiful winding roads.  Ed Haus established Pope Valley Winery in 1897. The winery is a showcase of 19th century winemaking technology; the main building – situated on top of the Haus Creek that meanders through the property so as to conserve usable land – rises three stories against a hillside so as to use gravity to move the wine from stemmer/crusher to press to barrel.
                     
                        Entrance to the old winery                                                                         Dog “Gus”

The winery is built into the hillside to create cave-like cool temperatures and higher humidity for the bottom barrel room.  We tasted a nice variety of their wines in their little no frills tasting room.  Their dog Gus, a brown lab mix, was very sociable and loved for us to throw his ball for him.  He had recently been lying in the local river to cool down.  For a taste of down home, good wine and friendly service I strongly recommend stopping here.

Our next stop was at Cade Winery .  This was a suggestion of Pope Valley Winery.  It was just down the road 5-10 minutes.  As we were driving up the long driveway to the winery the laborers were just finishing up for the day.  When we got to the winery we saw a sign, “by appointment only”.  “Oh darn”, we said.  But we still meandered towards the tasting room.  Once we walked through the opening of the walls protecting the tasting room we were awestruck at the amazing views from there.
                                             
                                                              Gorgeous views from Cade Winery

We were able to see about 60 miles across most of Napa Valley clear to the East Bay where we could see the tip of Mt. Diablo.  They offered nice comfy chairs and a table to just sit outside and look at the views.  In front of the view was a large rectangle fountain with an endless waterway.  As it turned out they were busy with other guests but they were generous enough to give us a sampling of their Sauvignon Blanc, which reminded Larry and I of what we would have had down in Marlborough, New Zealand.  We sat outside in the chairs relaxing for quite a while.  This was a nice tease.  We definitely need to go back to visit Cade.