via flickr.com

Winemaker Bradley Cooper of Penticton, British Columbia, produces exquisite wines from the south Okanagan Valley, including this delicious handcrafted small-lot Cabernet, of which he made 752 cases.

I simply adore this wine’s cherry, coffee and cola overtones, especially when enriched by a broad silkiness on the palate and an enduring finish that will cause you to delay brushing your teeth too soon. Lovely with red meats or on its own, here’s a special, affordable Township 7 Cabernet that you should be drinking.

Price: $25.99 per bottle / $311.88 for a case of 12
Heat: 13.9% ABV
Where to purchase: from snooth.com or contact the winery.

Disclaimer: this bottle was a sample, stolen fair and square from the winemaker when he wasn’t looking.

Posted via web from winehiker’s posterous

I’m no country boy. But more often than not, I find myself escaping to the country – the wild country – that is Nature’s backyard. For it is true that I love my local mountains. Just seeing them ringing the valley where I live, much less walking their trails, is good for my soul.

Escaping to the city can be good, too. But if I ever visit New York again, I won’t go there as much for the attractions of New York City – gastronomic, cultural and otherwise – as I will to revel in the delights of the New York countryside. If I have the time (and I hope I will), I’ll taste the wines of the Finger Lakes region as well as walk the trails and scale the peaks of the Adirondack mountain range. Though it has no mountains, I would even visit the North Fork of Long Island. Why? Because its maritime climate, rich terroir and the steadily-improving management of its roughly 3,000 acres of grape vines is allowing the area to gain recognition as a prime wine-producing region. I think that’s reason enough to want to taste wine there.

Fortunately, when it comes to wine, the North Fork of Long Island can still come to me. And so it is that, on a warm early-May afternoon, I popped the cork from a bottle of Macari Vineyards 2007 Chardonnay, a steel-fermented chardonnay made from grapes that were grown and produced on the Macari Family Estate in Mattituck, New York, in the heart of Long Island’s North Fork wine country.

The wine pours clear and pale gold into the glass, unfurling aromas of lemon, green apples, some grass, and even tangerines. On the palate are fresh, complex citrus flavors plus pears, wet stones and peaches and a creamy mouthfeel that begs to be savored. The acidity of this wine is perfect: not too tart, not underguessed, but just right. Indeed, the balance between acid, tannin and sugars in this chard is ideal, not to mention its lingering finish which I can still taste minutes later…

…and make me want to pour another glass. Which I do.

As you can tell by the remaining volume of the bottle, I liked this wine.

Over the years, as I’ve tasted them, oak-fermented chardonnay wines have left me largely non-plussed. There have certainly been a few good ones, however – wines in which the use of oak has resulted in rich, round textures rather than sour or bitter aftertastes well after opening. But as my palate has matured, I’ve grown more fond of chardonnays fermented in stainless steel tanks – a process that allows the essence of the grape and its terroir to come through to the palate without undue tinkering by the winemaker; one that can result in an exquisite, refreshing wine.

I’m definitely fond of the exquisitely refreshing Macari 2007 Estate Chardonnay. I don’t believe I need to shout too loudly from the local mountaintop to recommend you enjoy it too.

19 Winehiker Points*
Heat: 13.2 % alcohol by volume
Closure: cork
Price: US$18-$19 per 750ml bottle; available from Macari Vineyards and at snooth.com
Disclosure: I received this bottle as a trade sample from Macari Vineyards

~winehiker

*Based on the Davis scale and scored using my 20-point Wine Scoring Sheet.

“Follow me, señor.”

The voice spoke to me in a baritone, richly smooth in timbre, uniquely Castilian in tongue, yet it was coming from inside my head. Or so it seemed. Willingly, I shouldered my Camelbak and complied with the voice.

Along the gentle westward grade of Rogue Valley Trail I followed the voice, stepping upward through the deep bay forests of Wildcat Loop, ever rising above the high meadows of Rancho San Antonio. I climbed, mile after mile, all the while that voice repeating in my mind’s ear.

“Come with me, señor.”

The voice resonated from without and within, always gentle, never chiding, yet powerfully intoxicating, so much so that I could not begin to disobey its alluring imperative. I was a mound of unshaped clay under the voice’s command, ready to be molded into whatever guise I was to become. It was if I was guided by the unseen hand of Nephi.

I was just glad I had my boots on.

At five miles, at last I reached the high point of the trail, a place uncrowded, serene, and glowing with warm sunshine. Panting slightly and ready for lunch, I stepped into a semi-secret off-trail oasis that few could know, one that would afford me a commanding view. I doffed my pack and reached in to relieve it of its edibles. That’s when I discovered the Torremoron.

Strange it was that I had not felt the pack’s extra weight on that climb. Light of foot on the trail yet heavy with hunger now, I tore into my roast beef-and-grilled pepper sandwich and studied the bottle’s label.

Ribera Del Duero
Denominacion de Origen
Torremoron
Tempranillo 2006
Estate Bottled by Bodegas Torremoron S.C.
Quintanamanvirgo – Burgos – Spain
100% Tempranillo

Without thinking, I set down my sandwich only to find my Swiss Army knife suddenly appearing in my hand, corkscrew at the ready. And, as if to demonstrate to me that miracles do occur, a wine glass dramatically appeared, intact and whole, gleaming inside my pack. I smiled to myself, feeling glad I had risen out of bed this morning.

“Drink me, señor.”

And so I opened the Torremoron and, setting serenely on top of a hillside, I poured. I studied the glass, sitting silently, complaining of nothing, contemplating everything. Beyond a mere breath of wind on my cheek, there was a fine stillness. As the morning drew toward noon, juncos chattered in the thickets below and the dry grasses of Autumn whispered their secrets. I swirled the glass, catching the late-morning sunlight in the wine’s many crimson facets. I could hear my own heart pumping, as if it were the drumbeat of misión ejemplar, a call to action!

I drank. The Torremoron was at once delicious, cherry red, and meaty. Full-bodied, concentrated, and rich with aromatic earth, cinnamon spice and fruit flavor, well-balanced in palate and exquisite in finish, a wine for the season, heady with promise, underpinned by lush desire and strong passion. It was a wine divine, one only the Spanish could make. A wine both easy on the wallet and easy to call mi vino de la casa. And I didn’t even have to be en la casa!

I wanted to taste every drop of it.

I poured again, and listened for the voice. But there was no longer any voice; it had become—¡evolucionado!—something so much more profound.

For in this Tempranillo Tinto, I tasted—I had become—the very soul of Iberia.

Heat: 13% alcohol by volume
Closure: plastic
Price: US$11.99 per 750ml bottle
Where purchased: BevMo, where it is on sale now; also available on snooth.com.

Rancho San Antonio Open Space Preserve is nestled in the western foothills of the Santa Clara Valley above the town of Cupertino. Here’s how to get there:

From Interstate 280 North or South, take the Foothill Boulevard exit and proceed south on Foothill Boulevard approximately 0.2-mile to Cristo Rey Drive. Turn right on Cristo Rey Drive, continue for about 1 mile, veer right around the traffic circle/roundabout, and turn left into the County Park entrance. There are several parking lots, including a dirt lot designated for equestrian trailers. The trailhead for the preserve is located adjacent to the 85-car parking area in the northwest lot.

A virtual clink of the wineglass to all who have participated in this month’s Wine Blogging Wednesday, the 50th in a series originally conceived by Lenn Thompson at LENNDEVOURS.

~winehiker

50 can be a very special number, a golden milestone that speaks of advancement and achievement, the fruits of passion, efforts worth celebrating. This month, I’m pleased to be hosting the 50th Wine Blogging Wednesday (WBW), a monthly online wine tasting event that, for 50 months running, has been a cooperative endeavor of the wine blogging community and the brainchild of Lenn Thompson of the LENNDEVOURS blog.

Also quite special is the Autumn season; it’s certainly a favorite of mine. Despite cooler evenings, the heat of summer still lingers, the vegetable garden is happily producing your favorite squashes, tomatoes and peppers, and you’re anticipating the robust red wines that will warm you during the longer nights ahead. And yet it’s comfortable out still, and you’ve been thinking about hopping in the car for one last outing in your favorite nearby wilderness – one that’s within, say, 50 miles of your home – before the weather turns wintry.

And so, imagine you and your significant wineau walking in the cool woods of Autumn. An amber glow lights your path, golden leaves fall around you, and as you walk, you’re working up a sizable hunger for that post-hike picnic you’ve got planned. Not to mention that sizable thirst! Which wine will you pour in the Great Outdoors?

You get bonus points for choosing a wine that is made locally to you, double bonus points for sharing the name of the wilderness you would walk in, triple bonus points for sharing the name of the trailhead and how to get there, and a gazillion bonus points for actually walking that trail, enjoying your selected wine on a post-hike picnic, and describing your day of outdoor adventure for your readers. But by all means, do describe the wine!

Wine bloggers around the world typically post their WBW reviews on the second Wednesday of the month. This month, Wine Blogging Wednesday is October 8th. If you are participating this month, just add a comment to this post with a link to your WBW#50 review. Within the following week, I will endeavor to compile a synopsis of this month’s reviews and post them here on Winehiker Witiculture. Like those cool Autumn woods, I’m sure the results will be golden, and you may even achieve a milestone of your own.

Hey, it’s WBW #50! Let’s make it special.

Follow-up post: WBW#50: Into the Land of Rancho San Antonio and the Torremoyon

Related posts:

• Wine Blogging Wednesday #40: 2004 EOS Reserve Petite Sirah
• Wine Blogging Wednesday #31: 2004 French Rabbit Pinot Noir

~winehiker

Last Thursday night at the Wine 2.0 Spring Fling at Crushpad in San Francisco (photoessay here), I chanced to meet Linzi Gay, Marketing Director of Clif Family Winery. I was glad to meet her and get an advance taste of the Clif Family wines she was about to pour. After all, I had just days before received four bottles of wine from this winery, plus an invitation to schedule an interview with Gary Erickson and Kit Crawford, the husband-and-wife team who own Clif Family Winery.

A quartet of true California adventure from Clif Bar Family Winery

I wrote a post last summer about Clif Bar Family Winery. But perhaps you didn’t read that post and are wondering about the winery’s unique name. Indeed, before Kit and Gary ventured down the winemaking path, they achieved great success making the Clif bars that many outdoor enthusiasts enjoy.

And how does the word Clif fit in? It’s the name of Gary’s father.

While I enjoyed the wines Linzi poured me last week, the crowded and lively atmosphere of the cavernous Crushpad warehouse didn’t lend itself quite well enough to focused study. I’ve now, however, tasted from those four bottles, and you’ll find my tasting notes below. But before you scurry down to the bottom of this post, you might enjoy taking a moment getting there: what follows is my interview with Gary Erickon and Kit Crawford.

WH: You are the folks that make Clif bars and Luna bars. Tell us the story behind your passion for the outdoors.

Gary: When I was young, my dad took the family from Fresno, and later San Francisco, to the Sierras to go camping, hiking, and skiing. I promptly fell in love with those mountains, and as I grew up it didn’t matter to me if I was on a bike, on skis, or on a climbing rope.

Kit: My parents were into camping and the outdoors, too. We took a lot of camping trips! My family is Canadian, so we often camped all over the Great Northwest. After I graduated from high school, I worked in Yosemite at a concessionaire. I did a lot of hiking, climbed a glacier, and enjoyed some great rock climbing, which I even did in high school. Mainly I went hiking and swimming in the streams. I even hiked recently with my sister in Scotland on the West Highland trail. The outdoors is so much a part of me that it’s second nature for me to work with the animals on our farm, tend the plants, and enjoy the fruits of our garden.

Gary: These days our kid joins us backpacking and climbing, and she’s on a ski team. We both still get out there a lot; in fact we’re climbing Mt. Shasta tomorrow.

WH: Imagine how much I’d love to climb that mountain with you! So how did your outdoor pursuits result in producing Clif bars?

Gary: It was a cocktail of several things occurring at the same time. It came in the form of an epiphany, an idea born on a 175-mile “accidental” bike ride! A friend and I had climbed our bikes to the top of Mt. Hamilton, which we reached at about the 125-mile mark. But somewhere along the way we realized my friend had got the mileage wrong, and we discovered we still had 50 miles to go! All I had to eat was six Power Bars, but as the evening got darker, it also got colder and I ended up vomiting; I just couldn’t eat that last Power Bar. Finally, after a long, dark and terrible descent into San Jose, we stopped at a mini-mart where I bought a six-pack of powdered donuts. I remember thinking at the time, “If I’m ever in a situation like this again, I want something I can eat.”

I decided I wanted to make a better-tasting energy bar. I owned a bakery at the time and I also worked in the bicycle industry, so I took notice of how Power Bars were being distributed. Sixteen months later, in February 1992, I launched Clif Bar & Company. Chocolate, Apricot, and Date Oatmeal were the first three bars we made; the Date Oatmeal later evolved into Oatmeal Raisin Walnut. Today we have 130 different SKUs, including sports drinks, Luna bars, and Shot Bloks.

WH: You’ve come a long way since that accidental bike ride. How did you gravitate to making wine and olive oil?

Gary: We bought property in Napa County over ten years ago. The property reminded us of the East Bay town of Fremont in the old days, with its agriculture and its beautiful scenery. We finally moved there permanently five years ago. In the time since, we have met the parents of our children’s friends, many of whom are growers and winemakers. We became intrigued by their passion for wine, and because we enjoyed wine, too, we began to explore that age-old What If? question. We rationalized that we can’t eat energy bars all day long, so let’s learn how to create wine! It was another “cocktail” of being in the right place and meeting the right people.

Kit: We have about fifteen mature olive trees on our property. Early on, I had gotten to thinking about how to pick and press them to make olive oil. I figured to learn how, and quickly realized that it was more complicated than I thought! But I rounded up the family and, for a few years, we picked and home-pressed those olives every Thanksgiving. It was labor-intensive but fun, and the oil was fabulous! Olives do really well in Napa Valley. But I had to stop asking the family to help pick every Thanksgiving because though it was fun for me, it became evident that it wasn’t particularly fun for them.

Today we still make olive oil from those trees, but we blend our olives with olives that we purchase from other local growers. Meanwhile, we practice sustainable farming methods to produce our certified extra virgin olive oil, and we’re transitioning to organic.

WH: Tell us about your relationship with Sarah Gott.

Kit: We love her! We first met her in 2005 at a health club in St. Helena. She was training for the IronMan Triathlon, and our friend and fellow triathlete Cathy Chesky introduced us. A few years later, we were looking for a winemaker. Joel Gott heard about that and contacted us via email, mentioning his wife Sarah.

It quickly became a perfect fit: we were all three into sustainability and competitive athleticism. Sarah didn’t really want to take on new business, but she was intrigued just the same; like many athletes, she was already knowledgeable about Clif Bars. It wasn’t long before she decided to become part of our journey.

I’ve really admired how Sarah managed to balance raising three small children while training for triathlons, making wine, and doing interviews with Runner’s World and Inside Triathlon magazines.

WH: You produce about 10,000 cases and just last month released your wines nationwide. Are you satisfied with your wine sales thus far?

Gary: We’re very happy with our sales thus far. As newbies in the beverage business, we are getting good response to our wines on both style and price range. It’s hard work, but it’s going really well. We’re hoping to sell all 10,000 cases in one year. Not that we’re trying to grow our business – we just want to focus on quality and sustainability. We certainly don’t want to put the brakes on Clif Bar & Company; in fact, we’re very mindful of our growth. It’s all quite exciting, even if it is time-consuming.

WH: Where do you source your grapes, and why?

Gary: Sarah takes the lead on where we get our grapes. Right now we bottle four wines. Kit’s Killer Cab and Gary’s Improv are committed to being made from Napa grapes, and the grapes for our white Climber are sourced from the Northern California appellations of Lodi, Napa, Sonoma and Mendocino. In the future, we may also source grapes from Paso Robles.

WH: Let’s hear more about that Paso Robles idea. Will there be a Rhone-style blend in the near future from Clif Bar Family Winery?

Kit (chuckling): We’ve actually gotten good leads from sustainable vineyards in Paso Robles. In fact we became fascinated by Rhone wines last summer on an trip through the Rhone Valley in France. Gary rode his bike all over the French alps.

Gary: We loved Chateauneuf du Pape, and we were impressed with the area’s wines in general. We began to ask ourselves, “could we do a Rhone wine?” So we’re toying with the idea of planting Grenache and Syrah on our own acreage on Howell Mountain.

Kit: Sarah, meanwhile, is very proactive about collaborating with us about sourcing and blending.

WH: Let’s talk more about your Howell Mountain land and its potential for producing estate wines.

Gary: Our property is technically on Howell Mountain but is not in the Howell Mountain AVA; it’s on the east side of the mountain. It’s 130 acres, most of which will remain fallow. We may only develop a total of five acres, agriculturally, with only two acres devoted to grapes. That five acres includes fruit and olive orchards. Meanwhile, there is lots of wildlife: cougars, bobcats, fox, rattlesnakes, and raptors. Because we don’t use pesticides, Kit feels good about preserving the land for its many species of birds. When replenishing the farm’s soils, we use manure from our goats, chickens, and horses.

There was an old pond on the property that was used to irrigate a 50-tree orchard. It’s since been filled in, and we use it for our vegetable garden. 2007 was the first year for the garden, and we rotated potatoes, tomatoes and melons. We actively want to see what the land produces, and we could sell seasonally at farmer’s markets. It’s a future possibility.

Kit: We are preparing for planting grapes, and we may also collaborate for storefront sales downtown. We liked that about our visit to Chateauneuf du Pape: neighborhood wineries selling their wares downtown. Why drive when one can walk around and taste twenty different wines? Perhaps you’ll someday be able to taste our wines at Sunshine Market in St. Helena.

WH: Any plans to integrate your clifbar.com website with the Clif Bar Winery & Farm website?

Gary: We would like to integrate them and be more seamless. We’ll test that next year, but first we want to get momentum with our wines.

WH: Gary, Kit, what do you both consider important?

Gary: Balance! Trying to keep balance in business and in life. Wine is a good symbol of balance. It is good to take time to relax with family and friends and have a glass of wine. We may be swamped with a lot of projects, but we have no complaints, because we feel that balancing our aspirations for our businesses is important.

Kit: Everybody’s busy. It’s easy to get sucked into running from one thing to another. It’s important that people get out to Nature! In other words, spend moments to be in the moment.

WH: That’s certainly music to my ears. And now, lastly, what would you like the readers of Winehiker Witiculture to know?

Kit & Gary: I bet we’re preaching to the choir when we say that we all have to make time to slow down. We created Clif Bar Family Winery with that in mind. Hopefully you will continue to enjoy our Clif Bar products on your hikes, bike rides and even on a busy day at the office. After those adventures, be they work or play, we look forward to introducing you to Clif Bar Family wines. Clif Bar Family Winery strives to overdeliver quality in the bottle as we continue to challenge ourselves to leave a smaller footprint environmentally.

—————————

The following four wines were created by winemaker Sarah Gott for Clif Family Winery.

The Climber California White Wine 2007: 16.5 Winehiker Points*
This unique blend of 81% Sauvignon Blanc, 12% Pinot Blanc, 4% Chenin Blanc and 3% Muscat pours a clear, pale yellow into your glass, offering a bouquet of honeysuckle and guava blossoms that is impossible not to love. Pear and gravel follow, along with a fine balance, supple body, and lovely finish.
13.5% alcohol, 5371 cases made, screwcap closure, $12.50 per bottle.

The Climber California Red Wine 2005: 14.517.5 Winehiker Points*
An intriguing blend of 42% Zinfandel, 31% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Petite Sirah, 9% Syrah and 7% Merlot, the Climber Red shows a deep garnet color in the glass, tapering to rose at the edges. Jammy black currants are underlaid by a dusty pot pourri with hints of fig to round out the mid-palate. Drink now.
14.3% alcohol, 4900 cases made, natural cork closure, $15.00 per bottle.

Kit’s Killer Cab 2005 Napa Valley: 17.5 Winehiker Points*Deep red color with violet edges. A voluptuous fruit basket of ripe blackberries, raspberries and currants with secondary notes of caramel and cedar resins. A little tannic but holding a pleasing mouthfeel and finish, suggesting an aging potential of 5-10 years or more.
14.7% alcohol, 450 cases made, natural cork closure, $35.00 per bottle.

Gary’s Improv Zinfandel 2005 Napa Valley: 18 Winehiker Points*
Similar in color to the Kit’s Killer Cab but with more rust color toward the edges. Red roses, juniper, licorice and a touch of white pepper on the nose yield to cranberries, cigars, bramble and almond on the palate. Not your typical Zinfandel, and definitely open to interpretation – hence its name. A very food-friendly wine, as a zinfandel should be – only this zin would pair best with pork roast served with a cranberry glaze; or perhaps you’ll be more inclined to pairing it with a fennel-sausage lasagna. Age potential: 3-7 years.
15.5% alcohol, 260 cases made, natural cork closure, $32.00 per bottle.

Update: Over the weekend, I sampled the three red wines again, and am happy to say that all of them, most especially the Climber Red, had improved. The Climber Red had softened noticeably, developing a much more broadly-appealing flavor and texture. As a result, I was compelled to revise my score for the Climber Red upward to 17.5.

—————————

I first tried Power Bars when they were handed out free prior to the start of the 1986 Markleeville Death Ride. For years they were the only energy bar available in any quantity. I found Power Bars hard to swallow without also gulping down most of my water; they were also too hard to chew in cold weather.

Therefore I can easily understand Gary’s desire to create a more palatable energy bar with the right amount of moistness for easy eating on the go, and I’ve been a fan ever since I switched to Clif bars in the mid-90s. I still buy them by the case at my local Trader Joe’s. But now we wine-loving adventurers can buy Clif Bar wines by the case, too.

Follow-up: As a result of this post, I got a delicious surprise.

~winehiker

*Wine scores based on the 20-point Davis scale; see my wine scoring sheet for details. Special thanks to Maggie Zeman, Managing Director of The Barn Group, for arranging wine shipment and my interview with Kit & Gary.

Oops – should I have said that? Whoa, I’ve just blown my cover!!!

Uh-oh. Now I’ve gone and done it! Suddenly, it’s cloak and dagger time! Sheesh, I’m going to have to spend the remainder of my days constantly looking over my shoulder for Impy the Midget!!

But seriously: there’s an organization called The Wine Spies, and they’ve recruited me to be an agent. And my control - we’ll call him Agent Red – has been in contact with me recently to uncover the truth behind the Oakville Ranch label, specifically to infiltrate their 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon. A wine which, incidentally, will be available for sale – one day only – on The Wine Spies’ website tomorrow.

The price? Only 48 American dollars.* (Typical retail price: $60. Yes, you’ve just uncovered a real deal.)

The 2004 Oakville Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon could be yours as soon as tomorrow! No covert action required.

Due to unforeseen back-channel logistics, this newly-commissioned Agent Winehiker has not yet tasted the wine. (I claim plausible deniability.)

And yet this operative suggests that when the operative word is Oakville, your mission, should you decide to drink it, is to run, not hike, to The Wine Spies’ website tomorrow, Friday April 25th.

As for my own mission, I have secured the product. Espionage awaits!

*That’s $48 per bottle. Plus, you can get Free Ground Shipping if you buy a minimum of 4 bottles and enter Agent Red’s Exclusive Winehiker-Only promo code, “SPYHIKER”.

~agent winehiker

[More spy stuff here.]

Saturday evening was a busy one in my wine world. Not only was it the last Saturday of February and therefore this year’s Open That Bottle Night – the ninth annual – but it was also the night my friend Vindu brought me a case of Juice Crew Red.

Vindu wasn’t due to arrive until much later and, deciding not to wait, I broke out a wine I had been storing conveniently out of sight. If you’ve never heard of Open That Bottle Night, sometimes seen as OTBN, it is billed by its originators, Wall Street Journal columnists Dorothy J. Gaiter and John Brecher, as a call to wine enthusiasts to not wait for that one special occasion to open a special bottle of wine you’ve been saving. Instead, these two suggest, create your own occasion and highlight the wine as a part of the event. And who am I to say no to such a suggestion? After all, opening a bottle of wine is, to me, its own event. But I can be rather biased that way.

Being close to 4:30 p.m. and the day’s chores all done – all that were going to get done – I figured I’d save a taste or two for Vindu but celebrate while making dinner. I reached deep into my trusty wine rack and, after blowing off a little dust, sure enough, I held a bottle of Sarah’s Vineyard Estate Pinot Noir, vintage 2003.

And, after a moment, I beheld it: a shimmering yet dark ruby spectacle, medium purple-pink at the edges, luscious legs, faint aroma of freckle fruit and Milk Duds. I sipped, eyebrows lifting, mouth corners rising. I sipped again, and immediately logged on to Twitter.

Strawberries and tiramisu in this Sarahs Vineyard PN. A little coffee, too. With cream! Rich mouthfeel, lurking backbone hit all palate pts.

In other words, it is a wine I’m glad I saved. I would have added other words, too, but Twitter only allows 140 characters! Speaking of characters, I soon received a very apt reply from Sonadora, author of the Wannabe Wino blog. Sonadora lives in Washington D.C. and was celebrating with her special OTBN wine, a 2000 Cyrus from Alexander Valley Vineyards, Sonoma County, which she and her husband purchased on their honeymoon. Sonadora asked, simply,

Dessert in a glass?

Oh, Sonadora, indeed it is. And I don’t need a fork or spoon! With a complex and lovingly intense assemblage of berry fruit, mocha and vanilla flavors and a touch of forest floor underlaid by a near-perfect balance of acid, tannin, and just a dainty dollop of dessert-like sweetness, this Pinot is overtly pleasing, very food-friendly, even quite drinkable on its own, i.e., whether dessert is on the menu or not. But be careful. Despite its very reasonable bottle price, there could be a price to pay for this wine’s palate-pleasing creaminess: it contains 15.9% alcohol.

It is surprising to me that this exceptional Pinot Noir hails from the Santa Clara Valley. More precisely, it is made from grapes grown a few short miles uphill and west of the southern reaches of Santa Clara Valley. It is a fertile area bordering the southern tip of the Santa Cruz Mountain Range that experiences cool ocean fog, blazing hot summer sun, and therefore dynamic daily swings in temperature potentially unsuitable to the cool-climate-loving Pinot grape. Despite the valley’s rich agricultural history, it is not particularly easy to create consistently good wines in this area, much less the finicky Pinot Noir grape; perhaps that is why the Santa Clara Valley is not particularly known for its Pinots.

Despite these uncertainties, the wines of Sarah’s Vineyard have, to my mind, few area competitors; along with their Pinot, their Chardonnays and Syrahs* stand out like white swans on a pond of mallard ducks. That’s rather remarkable considering that there are a handful of other producers in the immediate local vicinity that experience similar growing conditions. Slope and elevation account for some of this, to be sure, yet so does the soil itself as well as carefully-chosen Pinot Noir clones planted in 1989.

Depending on the vintage and which side of the summit the grapes are grown – ocean side or valley side – this pocket of relatively unexplored territory called Santa Clara Valley can be hit or miss with its wine production. Yet it is a splendid area worth exploring whether by car, by bicycle, on foot, or simply by the glass.

Varietal: 100% estate-grown Pinot Noir
Production: 189 cases
Alcohol: 15.9%
Where purchased: Sarah’s Vineyard; also available on snooth.com.
Price: $25

For more about Open That Bottle Night, see the Gaiter and Brecher article, An Evening to Uncork Memories. For more about Juice Crew Red, please see my follow-up post-to-come this week.

~winehiker

*The Syrah grapes are not estate-grown; however Sarah’s Vineyard is currently testing additional plots of Pinot Noir, Viognier, Grenache and Roussanne on the estate (from the Sarah’s Vineyard website).

“Decant today, and you will smile tonight.”

I’m no Chandler Bing. And yet upon first sniffing, then tasting this 2004 EOS Reserve Petite Sirah from Paso Robles, I was culturally compelled to say:

Oh. My. Gawd!

The long-running sitcom, Friends, featured Matthew Perry as Chandler Bing. And strangely, now I do too. Photo source: toppics4u.com

Our friend Chandler also said:

I’m not really good at giving advice. Do you want a sarcastic comment?

Nevertheless, I’m going to try to reach beyond my first impressions of this wine to characterize, evangelize, dramatize – even advise about – it’s sensuous character. If I can keep from exaggerating a la Chandler Bing. But why the hell shouldn’t I exaggerate?

All right, look: if you absolutely have to tell the truth, at least wait until the timing’s right. And that’s what deathbeds are for.

Yeah, Chandler Bing said that, too. But I won’t wait nearly as long as my deathbed to spill all my guts, seeing as how WBW #40 is here today. And so’s the wine.

The See

In my defense, it was dark and he was a very pretty guy.
An unfiltered wine exhibiting a bold, dark violet color tapering to magenta; clear at the edges.

The Swirl

It bodes well for me that speed impresses you.
If you swirl this Petite Sirah just fast enough as you gaze into it under your nearest compact fluorescent bulb, you can almost see the gamut of the blue spectrum in its inky recesses.

The Sniff

Honey, I know you’re in pain right now, but I’m a little turned on.
Boysenberries, chocolate, and coffee. Ooh baby ooh! Must be a breakfast wine.

The Sip

Is there a mute button on this wine?
Loud, luscious raspberry, boysenberry, and blueberry flavors underlaid by muted baking spices and a subtle but rich alluvium. Tartness is crisp and tannin, while somewhat pronounced in this young wine, provides satisfying structural balance to its effusive fruity goodness. Remind you of any popular TV characters?

The Savor

That’s a relatively open weave and I can still see your nipular area.
Some wines are just nice. Others leave profound impressions, mental images that stay with you. This wine is total brain candy. And it stays on, just like Rachel’s loosely-woven bath towel.

The Summary

Wow, it’s – it’s like porno for clowns!
This wine is an overtly hedonistic juggernaut, a circus in the mouth! If you love Petite Sirah, you’ve got some Boogie Nights ahead.

Heat: 13.5%
Where purchased: Bevmo
Price: $19.99
Food pairing: A perfect match with country-style pork ribs slathered in my own moderately hot and tangy-sweet BBQ sauce.
Additional note: The back label on this 2004 EOS Reserve Petite Sirah states it to be the EOS flagship wine.

A virtual clink of the wineglass to Sonadora at Wannabe Wino for hosting this month’s Wine Blogging Wednesday, the 40th in a series originally conceived by Lenn Thompson at LENNDEVOURS.

~winehiker

To tack onto yesterday’s post, here is a brief list of some of the syrahs I’ve been enjoying lately, including a recap of the two syrahs I detailed yesterday. Get yourself one or more of these warm and sensuous beauties, grab a lucky friend, and enjoy your Autumn!

2003 Martella Syrah, Fairbairn Ranch
Ruby red color and bright acid, layers of rich, lively plum and cherry flavors. Moderately smooth tannins don’t bite. 14.8% alcohol.
16.5 winehiker points
$35 at BevMo and at michaelmartella.com; purchased at BevMo and signed by Mr. Michael Martella.

2005 Lost Canyon Syrah, Trenton Station Vineyard, Russian River Valley, Sonoma County
Dark purple color but bright and peppery with intense blackberry fruit flavors. Lovely mouthfeel and long finish. 14.2% alcohol.
18.5 winehiker points
$35 at lostcanyonwinery.com; purchased at the winery.

2003 Le Cuvier Syrah, Halter Ranch, Paso Robles
Rich purple color, intense blackberry and cherry fruit with a little yeast, a little earth. Voluptuous on the palate, fine balance, and an excellent finish. 15.96% alcohol.
17.5 winehiker points
Purchased for $30 at the winery, lcwines.com; may no longer be available.

2004 Esca Syrah, Napa Valley
Nice dark ruby color, full-bodied blackberry, herb and spice flavors, slight oak bitterness, moderate finish. Drink now. 14.5% alcohol (screwcap).
15.5 winehiker points
$23 at WineQ and at escawines.com

2004 Smith Wooton Syrah, Tanner Brothers Vineyard, Calaveras County
Deep violet color, black cherry and vanilla aromas, raspberry and white pepper flavor with a hint of figs and chocolate. Refreshingly fine balance, light to moderate texture, and a moderately-lengthy finish. 14.7% alcohol.
17.5 winehiker points
$28 at WineQ and at croze-cab.com

2004 Twisted Oak Syrah, Tanner Brothers Vineyard, Calaveras County
Deep purple inkiness with black raspberry and cherry aromas that carry through to its taste. A little tight on tannin but smooth mouthfeel. Plum flavors also, plus a hint of mission figs, cloves, and a little Brett at first that gives way to a nice smokiness. 14.3% alcohol.
16.5 winehiker points
$32 at WineQ and at twistedoak.com

~winehiker