A New Star is Rising in South America

Hi Everyone!  It’s been a while since we have written because our new venture, Pangaea Wine Bar, is getting going, picking up steam, and essentially monopolizing all of our already limited free time!  But as part of our exploration, we’ve been very fortunate to have the opportunity to experience new and unusual wines.  When you mention South America in the context of wine, it’s very common for either Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon or Argentinean Malbec to come to mind, or perhaps even Carmenere or Torrontes.  But as part of Rachel’s certification class at Boston University, she was introduced to a grape that we have had in the past but from a new country: Tannat from Uruguay.  Yes – Uruguay.

Tannat is a very tannic grape (the name being indicative) that originated in southwestern France.  Madiran is the ancestral home of Tannat, in an area very close to the Pyrenees in an area which feels the influence of the Basque as well as the French culture.  In France, Tannat is generally blended with Cabernet Sauvignon or Cabernet Franc, or used to make Rose or Armagnac (a brandy similar to those found in Cognac).

Tannat made its journey to South America in the 19^th century by Basque settlers, the most famous of whom is Pascual Harriague.  In fact, in Uruguay, the grape is often referred to as Harriague.   Tannat was introduced in California in the late 19^th century, but did not receive much attention until later in the 20^th century when South American wines came on scene.  Sonoma’s Geyser Peak makes a nicely balanced Tannat, but it is not be widely available.  The well balanced Tannat wines do have plenty of tannins and fruit, and can be easily decanted to soften it a little.  Tannins in Tannat wines are generally more firm than Cabernet Sauvignon, but Geyser Peak’s offering has plenty of fruit and spice if you allow the wine to open.  Tablas Creek has also embraced Tannat in Paso Robles.  Bodegas Carrau is a great option from Uruguay if you can find it.

We recently tried two different Tannat blends that we were able to find on the shelves during a trip to Florida.  (If you are ever in Fort Myers, you have to check out Total Wine on South Tamiami Trail – talk about a wine mecca!)  One of the wines was a blend of Tannat, Syrah, and a small amount (5%) of Viognier.  It was a very smooth, almost creamy flavored wine.  It was interesting and enjoyable in flavor, but not our favorite of the two.  The second Tannat blend that we had was a blend of 60% Tannat and 40% Merlot and was excellent.  The Merlot provided nice fruit and soft flavors to balance out the Tannat, while the Tannat itself added all of the structure and tannins to give the wine a nice long finish.  Because of the tannins, these wines have great aging potential.  If the tannins are too much for you, decant the wine and let it breathe a bit: it will open up.

So next time you stop by your store, ask about a Tannat from Uruguay, or from southwestern France.  You will be rewarded by a unique wine with powerful, and somewhat familiar flavors.

Drink what you like, like what you drink!

A Taste of the Aegean: Greek White Wines

Hello Everyone!  In a post a few days ago, we discussed some of the more common red wines and labels from Greece that you have hopefully been able to find in your local wine shop.  In addition to the red wines, we also mentioned the history and how we fell in love with Moscato di Limnos, a great dessert wine.

Muscat grapes are grown all over the world: Cyprus, Hungary, Croatia, Israel, France, Portugal, Italy, etc.  California also grows Muscat grapes, most often for white wine blends.  The Muscat grape is the basis for the sweet dessert wine Moscatel in Spain and Portugal.  Muscat Canelli is gown in Italy for use sparkling wines of Piedmont (think Moscato d’Asti), Peru’s Pisco, and many others.  It may be the oldest domesticated grape variety, and there are many theories that suggest that other vinifera grapes are descended from the Muscat varietal.  White Muscat, or Muscat Blanc, is cultivated in many regions in Greece and makes excellent dessert wines in a variety of styles: Muscat-based wines may be young or aged, and they may be used to make table wines or fortified wines in the form of Metaxa, the traditional Greek brandy.  Muscat is also used to make dry white wines.  Although our hearts are with Moscato from the island of Limnos, you are more likely to see dessert wines from the Island of Samos.  Rachel nearly got into an intense discussion with the gas station attendant when we lived in Jamaica Plain over which Greek island made the best form of Moscato.  He was from the island of Samos and insisted that Samos made the best Moscato, while Rachel favored the wines from the island of Limnos.  But in each case, the wine bears luscious flavors of apricot, fig, and honey.

In terms of dry white wine from Greece, most wines you’ll see in the U.S. are made from a grape called Assyrtiko, which is probably the second most well-known Greek white grape varietal.  Assyrtiko was first cultivated on the island of Santorini where it yields a nice dry white wine with citrus aromas mixed with crisp, earthy, mineral flavors resulting from the island’s volcanic soil. Santorini is also called Thera, and was formed as a result of one of the largest volcanic eruptions in history, 3600 years ago.  This volcanic eruption may have led to the collapse of the Minoan civilization on the island of Crete and some believe it destroyed legendary city of Atlantis. You’ll most likely see Sigalas, Hatzidakis, or Boutari as the main producers marketed in the U.S.  Assyrtiko can also be used together with the aromatic Aidani and Athiri grapes for the production of the unique, naturally sweet wines called Vin Santo (wine from SANTOrini), well known since Byzantine times.

Another wine to look for is the Amethystos White, which is a blend of Assyrtiko and Sauvignon Blanc, and maybe some Semillon from Macedonia.   Assyrtiko from Macedonia has a milder, fruitier flavor than the wines of Santorini.  Therefore, you’ll want to check the label to determine the origin and your preferred style. We like Assyrtiko on a hot summer day nice and chilled – it reminds us the sights, sounds, and smells of the Aegean where we spent our honeymoon.   

Moschofilero is the next most popular white grape that you may encounter.  It is produced mainly in the appellation of Mantinia in the Peloponnese region of Greece.  Wines made from this grape are more floral and aromatic than Assyrtiko, and has aromas of roses and violets with hints of spices.  It makes a great aperitif wine and we highly recommend trying it at a Mediterranean or Greek restaurant if you see it on the list.  We recently had the opportunity to visit Taverna Kyclades, a great Greek restaurant in Astoria, Queens, where we ordered a carafe of the house white wine - a Moschofilero.  It was perfect with our Greek salad, tzatziki, grilled shark, and lemon potatoes.  In the past we have purchased Cambas from Mantinia, but you may come across Boutari, Domaine Spiropoulos, Skouras, Gaia Notios, or Tselepos.

Another grape that might be more difficult to find is Lagorthi, currently undergoing a revival and planted mainly on mountain slopes in Kalavrita in the Peloponnese.  These wines have a very crisp acidity, which is the result of the higher malic acid content of the grape.  Like many of the Greek varietals, it has great aromas that combine peach, melon, and herbal flavors with citrus and mineral notes.

You might be lucky enough to come across a few other white varietals, but the five we’ve talked about are the main grapes and may also be blended with others.  Overall, the wines are generally inexpensive and are very refreshing.  Next time you have seafood or are looking to change up your routine, try one of the Greek white wines.  After all, it is the nectar of the gods.

Drink what you like, like what you drink!

A note about Greek Red Wines

Hello everyone!  No wine blog would be complete without a discussion of Greek wines, and most definitely not our wine blog! While the Ancient Egyptians and Sumerians brought beer into the world, it is the Greeks who worshipped Dionysus (known in the Roman world as Bacchus) and brought us winemaking.  Several years ago if someone was asked about Greek wine, it was Retsina that often came to mind first.  Retsina is a white or rose wine that has been infused with pine resin – and mostly tastes like pine resin.  Retsina came about due to the process of using pine resin to seal wine storage amphorae for shipment and storage.  However, Greek wines have come a long way in the last 20 years or so, and are quite special to us.

We went to Greece for our honeymoon in September 2001, and one night we asked our Athens hotel for a recommendation of a good Greek restaurant.  We were recommended to try a restaurant in the Psiri section of Athens, called Krasopoulio.  It was a warm night, so we chose seats outside.  After scanning the wine list filled with unfamiliar wines with even more unfamiliar names, we settled on a bottle of red wine from the appellation of Rapsani, in the region of Thessalia.  The Rapsani region is at the foot of Mount Olympus in northeastern Greece, and is filled with history of Greek gods and winemaking.

Due to the temperature in Athens that evening, the Rapsani was brought out to us in a chiller with ice.  Particularly when the temperatures are warm, it’s important to be sure that the red wines are served cooler, even if they have to be put on ice for a bit.  The grapes used in this wine are Xinomavro, Stavroto, Krassato, with Xinomavro being the only name that was remotely familiar.  The wine was a deep, dark wine with good tannins and a very earthy flavor. It was fantastic complement to our authentic Greek dinner. 

For dessert, we got a special treat.  A thicker, clear liquid was brought out and presented to us with a small cake.  We were a little nervous at first, thinking that it might be some form of ouzo, which we hadn’t developed a liking for.  But with one sniff we were in heaven: it was a special Muscat from the island of Limnos.  We’ll talk more about the Moscato di Limnos when we discuss Greek white wines, but it was an amazing treat.  We were so happy with our experience at Krasopoulio that we ate at the restaurant on two other occasions.  On our third visit, the owner asked us how we came to find the place, since it was really unknown to tourists.  We told him about the recommendation and he invited us back into the main part of the restaurant to enjoy more Moscato di Limnos and Greek coffee as we chatted.  Our love of Greek wines was born.

There are seven diverse winemaking regions in Greece:  Macedonia, Epirus, Thessalia, Sterea Ellada, Peleponnese, the Aegean Islands, and the Ionian Islands.  Thessalia and Macedonia are in the northeast, closer to the Balkan nations of Albania, Bulgaria, and the Balkan Republic of Macedonia.  Epirus and the Ionian Islands are in the northwest, Sterea Ellada is the central region in Greece, and the Peleponnese is in the South.  The Aegean Islands stretch south and east of the Greek peninsula and include Santorini.  These seven regions yield more than 300 indigenous grape varieties, some of which have been cultivated since ancient times.

Our bottle of Rapsani came from the winemaking region of Thessalia, where Xinomavro is the predominant grape.  Xinomavro is also used to make full-bodied reds in Macedonia, particularly in the appellation of Naoussa.  The name of the grape means sour black, and these wines can be a touch rustic with aromas of olive, cedar, spice, and mint.  The acidity and tannin levels in this wine are naturally high, so these wines have good aging potential and also do well with oak aging.

Probably the most noble and flexible of Greek red wines is Agiorgitiko (meaning St. George’s), grown mainly in the Peleponnese region of Nemea.  Agiorgitiko produces red wines of deep red color, complex aromas, and a long silky finish, which are not as tannic as wines made from Xinomavro.  It is a very flexible grape and can be used to make both roses or oak aged red wines.  It is less acidic and has very balanced tannins.  Many producers are blending this grape with Merlot, Syrah, and Cabernet Sauvignon, and producing some very high quality blends.  Skouros and Boutari are the most common producers that you are likely to see as well; also look for Red Stag from Domaine Spiropoulos.

In the Aegean region, particularly Crete, Rhodes, and Santorini, Mandilaria is the primary red grape.  It is often blended with Kotsifali in Crete or Mavrotragano on the island of Santorini.  Aspa Argyros red is a great example of this wine and it is highly aromatic with aromas of leather, earth and dark fruit.

The last red grape that you are likely to come across is Mavrodaphne, which means black laurel.  Mavrodaphne is mainly found in the Peleponnesean and Ionian regions, and is often blended with the Korinthiaki grape to produce a fortified red wine also called Mavrodaphne.  This wine is very similar to a port, but is a bit fruitier.

As we mentioned earlier, there are over 300 grape varietals in Greece.  You may never see most of them, and might be able to pronounce even fewer.  Hopefully now if you see these names on the label in your local store, you’ll have a little better idea what you’re seeing.  Greek wines are continuing to improve so be sure to ask your local retailer for a great recommendation.

Drink what you like, like what you drink!

Coppola's Second Act of Wine

Hello Everyone!  We hope that you enjoyed reading about our trips to the different wineries in Napa and Sonoma and also learned a little bit so you can plan your own trip.  In recounting our last day in Wine Country, we talk about a visit with an old friend, answer a key question: how do you get your purchases back?

If you travel enough, you realize the world is a pretty small place.  Before leaving for California, we learned that an alum of Rachel’s college in Arkansas (Hendrix College), was living in Sonoma and had partnered with a friend to start up a winery called Verge.  We were not familiar with Verge so we looked them up and learned that they specialized in Syrah.  We had tried some exciting Syrahs lately so we were looking forward to the opportunity to visit.  Unfortunately, the owners were out of town at the time, so after a fun phone conversation with Jay (the Hendrix alum), we agreed to set up a visit on our next trip to Wine Country.

We were able to get a chance to meet up with another old friend, Corey Beck.   Corey is the winemaker for Francis Ford Coppola’s winery at the former Chateau Souverain winery.  We first met Corey back in the early 2000s at the Nantucket Wine Festival.  We wowed Corey with our knowledge of the different Coppola Diamond label wines and enjoyed some good conversation.  At subsequent Nantucket Wine Festivals, Corey was on the panel at different Cabernet Sauvignon symposia that we attended, and we always came away with some good information about winemaking in general and at Francis Ford Coppola.  We were happy that Corey was able to once again set aside some time to visit with us on this trip.

Driving up to the gates of the new Coppola Winery we could see that the winery was undergoing a transformation.  Francis did an incredible job restoring the Inglenook Estate in Napa into his flagship Rubicon Estate, and a similar transformation is going on at the former Chateau Souverain.  We followed the construction signs and drove through the facility until we came to the temporary tasting room.  We were greeted by Bob and Jill Jones, who work in the tasting room and who also have a very special story that we’ll talk about later.  Bob and Jill rang up Corey, who shortly came down to greet us and took us on a tour of the facility.  The original Souverain facility was built to be operated remotely and has a complex system of pipes and manifolds to move the wine around, which is quite unusual.  Corey also took us through the bottling line and packaging area where cases if wine were being wrapped for delivery.  We also passed through the state of the art lab and testing area, which of course was particularly interesting for Bryan due to his chemistry background.  There are many exciting things being developed at the winery and Corey showed us some new innovations that they are working on.  One thing we especially found intriguing was the wine dispensing system that holds a lot of bottles of wine, keeps it fresh for months, and is dispensed through a little pump, almost like a large coffee dispenser.  We had a great tour with Corey and it was a nice chance to catch up and talk about things since we last saw each other.  A real unexpected special treat came when Corey presented us with two bottles of his own C·Beck wine:  a Cabernet Sauvignon and a Petite Sirah.

After our tour, Corey had to get back to business and he left us in Bob’s capable hands to do some tasting. Early in our wine days, we loved both the Rosso and Bianco, which were nice blends that went very well with food.  We previously mentioned our familiarity with Diamond Label series, and the blue label Merlot is a particular favorite.  Coppola also makes a sparkling wine called Sofia, which is in honor of Francis’ daughter, Sofia Coppola.  The Sofia is a light and dry sparkling wine with nice fruit.  The winery has really stepped up their innovation when it comes to the Sofia because it is also sold in a little pink 187-ml can.  It’s hard not to love drinking this wine: popping open a little pink can that comes with its own little pink straw.  Our sister-in-law Amanda was especially entranced, so for Steve and Amanda’s last Christmas in Connecticut, we had a case of Sofia cans sent to their house for us to enjoy over the holiday weekend.  (Important note here – if you’re having something sent via UPS or FedEx, make sure you have the address correct, because it can be a little dicey if it’s misdelivered to a scary neighbor because you had the wrong house number.)

Back to our present day tasting: we started out with the Director’s Cut series, which are a relatively new label and can be great bargains.  During this tasting, we enjoyed the Director’s Cut Zinfandel and Cabernet Sauvignon.  Again playing on Francis’s background in filmmaking, we also tried a wine called Cinema, which is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel, Cabernet Franc and Petite Sirah, and was quite yummy. We were also intrigued by the Su Yuen Syrah, which was served slightly chilled.  We probably generally drink our red wines warmer than they should be, and so it was really nice to try the wine with a slight chill on it.  This is something that those of you especially in warmer climates should keep in mind, red wine should really be served around 63 degrees Fahrenheit.  With the bigger, tannic red wines this is especially important because the flavors can be more “biting” in your mouth at higher temperatures.

As we mentioned, we are pretty familiar with the Diamond Collection wines, so we tried some of the newer ones, starting with the Claret.  Claret is a term that was used frequently with the Bordeaux blends that were exported to England, and was a nice blend of primarily Cabernet, with 7% Petit Verdot, 4% Merlot, 4% Malbec, and 3% Cabernet Franc.   We were particularly interested to try some of the more unique varietals including Tempranillo, which is the noble Spanish grape, sourced in this case from the Navarra region of Spain, and the Alicante Bouschet.  The Alicante Bouschet is a traditional Italian grape varietal and is made from 85-year old vines from Lodi.  Alicante is also one of the few grapes that has red pulp in addition to red skin.  Following that it was time to try out some of the dessert wines, and Rachel got the tasting room in a buzz when she asked if there was any chocolate to have alongside the Petite Sirah Dessert Wine.  As it turned out, Bob did happen to have a Chocolate Wine Sauce, which is part of the Coppola fine food selection.  It was a marvelous match and the other patrons were very thankful for her suggestion.  After wrapping up an enjoyable tasting, we decided to purchase a bottle of the Director’s Cut Cabernet Sauvignon, the Cinema, and a bottle of the Petite Sirah Dessert Wine.

We mentioned earlier that our tasting room servers, Bob and Jill Jones, had a unique story.  They first met around 40 years ago as teachers in a local Catholic high school and were immediately drawn to one another.  The only catch?  Bob was a priest and Jill a nun.  Their love for each other was too strong however, and they were married 5 years later.   Things like this don’t just happen in Francis’ movies.

It was almost time to wrap up our visit and head back to Napa and then on to Oakland to catch our flight home, but since we were in Alexander Valley, we couldn’t resist the chance to head up the road to Silver Oak, which is famous for their Cabernet Sauvignon.  The winery is in a beautiful setting perched on a hill that looks east over the Alexander Valley.  They make both a Cabernet from Napa Valley and one from Alexander Valley in Sonoma.  Available for tasting that day were both the 2005 Alexander Valley and the ’05 Napa Valley.  We were also able to try the 2001 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, which also had some Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Petit Verdot in the Bordeaux style.  It was a quick visit and we were getting ready to wrap up our trip so we headed out and made our way back through Alexander Valley towards Napa.

We had some time for a late lunch so we stuck with our usual: Tra Vigne Pizzeria on Main Street in St. Helena.  Despite all of the other well-known restaurants in Napa Valley, it is one of our favorite places to dine when we go there.  Pizza is great after a full day of tasting and it goes so well with a beer.  It’s much like our Mexican and Margaritas combination: a really great palate cleanser.

After lunch, we had one last important stop before heading back down to catch our red-eye flight home.  We had purchased some two cases of wine over the last few days, and needed a way to get the wine home.  We’re a little militant about refusing to check baggage on a flight, even a nonstop flight, and in any event, it would’ve been difficult to fit two cases in our rollaboards.  We have found Stagecoach Express in Napa to be a really reliable shipper, and they specialize in shipping wine.  Stagecoach is usually our last stop before heading to the airport.  They provide the boxes and packing material for no-worries shipping.  When we stopped in, we were greeted as usual by Mr. Ed, the shop cat.  Mr. Ed is at least 20 years old, and specializes on sitting on the counter above the computer, a nice warm spot.  Mr. Ed is very talkative and somewhat cranky, but given our affinity for those of the feline persuasion, he was soon rubbing his head against our hands.  So we dropped all our wine, glasses, and special boxes from Trinchero, filled out the forms with the supervision of Mr. Ed and headed on to Oakland.

Another great trip had come to an end, with some visits with some great friends and tasting some great wines.  We’re already ready for next year!

A Visit With an Old Friend

When we were in Sonoma last spring, we had the opportunity to check in with one of our old favorites: Clos du Bois.  We have been drinking Clos du Bois wines for almost as long as we’ve been drinking wine, and it rarely disappoints. The winery has been through several ownership changes in the last few years, and has been part of large conglomerates Fortune Brands and Constellation.  Even though the winery has changed hands a few times and has been part of major corporations, it seems to still have its own personality and has not been “commercialized.”

As was our luck on this particular trip to California, the skies seemed to open up when we pulled into the Clos du Bois parking lot.  We were a little early, but after a minute, we saw someone dash out from the tasting room to quickly put out the “Open” sign.  This was our cue so we hurried from the car to the door in the pouring rain.  Once inside, we were greeted by George and began our tasting with the Sonoma Reserve Fume Blanc, from the Russian River Valley.  Fume Blanc is simply a marketing name for Sauvignon Blanc that was introduced by Robert Mondavi back in 1968.  Thinking it might be difficult to popularize the Sauvignon Blanc grape in the United States, Mondavi decided to put an American twist on a French name, and rebranded his drier white Sauvignon Blanc as Fume Blanc.  It continues to be one of Mondavi’s most popular white wines.  This Clos du Bois Fume Blanc was finished in French oak, so it was a little softer but still had good tropical fruit and grapefruit notes. 

Following the Fume, we tried the Sonoma Reserve Old Vine Carignane, which had a nice chocolate finish.  This wine was blended with 15% Zinfandel which added rich berry flavors to the wine.  This contrasted nicely with the Old Vine Zinfandel which had more dried strawberry and blackberry fruit flavors. 

The flagship wines of Clos du Bois are among our favorites from this winery.  Some of our first “big buys” when we were younger were the Briarcrest, the Marlstone, and the Winemakers Reserve Cabernet Franc.  The basic Cabernet was more of a regular buy due to its lower price point (at the time around $13), so it was really special when we were able to buy some of the reserve wines.  We carried around a 1994 Marlstone for years til we finally decided to drink it to celebrate the completion of our house construction in 2003.  The ’94 vintage was one of the best in recent memory in Napa and Sonoma, and it was drinking very well almost 10 years later.  We particularly loved our Winemakers Reserve Cabernet Franc, which at the time was relatively unusual in that it was 100% Cabernet Franc (not so unusual these days).  We were disappointed to learn from a rep at the Mohegan Sun Wine Festival that they ceased production on the Cab Franc a few years back. 

Back to our present day tasting, we started the reserves with the 2005 Briarcrest, which is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, followed by the 2005 Marlstone Meritage.  A meritage is a blend of the traditional Bordeaux varietals, and the blend in the Marlstone changes with each vintage depending on the quality of the different grapes that make up the blend.  The 2005 vintage is primarily Cabernet, with 5% Malbec, 3% Cabernet Franc, and 3% Merlot.  George also pulled out a 2006 Marlstone which has about 15% less Cabernet Sauvignon and also includes some Petit Verdot.  Both wines were full bodied, rich wines, with smooth tannis and dark berry flavors.  The blend in the Marlstone provides a smooth, more supple finish due to the balancing of the different varietals.

Since our primary experience with Clos du Bois has been their red wines, we were treated to a nice surprise when George brought out two dessert wines.  The first was Malvasia Bianca from the Russian River Valley.  Malvasia is a relative to the Muscat grape, and this wine had less than 2% residual sugar making it was more refreshingly sweet with lots of melon and honey tones.  This wine would be great for sipping on its own or with light appetizers, and we particularly loved its slightly spritzy fruit flavors.  The last wine, Fleur Late Harvest Riesling sourced from the cooler Santa Lucia Highlands southeast of Monterey, and a true dessert wine with 18% residual sugar and all of the classic apricot, honey, figs and ripe melon flavors.  This is truly an embodiment of Galileo's famous phrase: wine that is sunlight, held together by water.

You may not be able to find all of the wines that we’ve talked about here in your local stores, since some of the reserve wines such as the Carignane and the Fume Blanc are available only at the winery.  The standard Clos du Bois wines should be easy to find and represent a great value.  The reserves such as Briarcrest and Marlstone in particular are also readily available, and are highly recommended for your more special occasions.

Drink what you like, like what you drink!

Two Great White Wine Bargains from South Africa – Stellenryck Sauvignon Blanc and Ken Forrester Petit Chenin Blanc

Hello Everyone!  It seems timely with the World Cup of Soccer going on in South Africa to talk about some of the great bargain wines from the host country.  In one of our earlier posts, “Of Goats and Wine” we talked about Goat Roti, a red wine from well-known South African vintner Charles Back.  We have also always enjoyed the white wines of South Africa, particularly the ones that are made from either Sauvignon Blanc or Chenin Blanc.  Chenin Blanc is also known as Steen in South Africa (Steen is actually the Dutch word for “stone” and is also used to denote “castle or “fortress”).

Early in our wine exploration, we became acquainted with South African wines and enjoyed wines from such producers as Fleur du Cap, Brampton, Indaba, and Cathedral Cellars.  The wines had an incredible balance between New World and Old World styles.  The red wines have a special “smoky” flavor that reflects the terroir of South Africa.  Generally speaking, New World wines tend to have much more fruit and bold flavors, while their Old World counterparts tend to be leaner with more acidity in the whites and more tannins and structure in the reds.  To us, South African wines have really struck that delicate balance between the two.  It may be due to the fact that the wines benefit from a nearly perfect Mediterranean climate, with added cool breezes and ocean currents from Antarctica.  Therefore, the South African wine producing regions are cooler when compared to regions of the same latitude in the northern hemisphere.

In terms of Sauvignon Blanc, Old World representations are primarily found in wines from the Loire Valley and Bordeaux in France, and are really some special wines.  They have a racy acidity with notes of citrus and minerals with some grassy tones.  Some actually receive oak aging and malolactic fermentation to yield some very complex wines with good aging potential.  New World wines on the other hand tend to have more tropical fruit flavors, and in warmer climates some winemakers harvest the grapes a little earlier to preserve the acidity.  New Zealand in particular has made a name for itself by crafting a flavor profile with lots of zing, acidity, herbal notes, and gooseberry.  This style can be a little “over the top” for some and this is where the South African wines fit.  They have a good deal of the tropical fruit and citrus flavors that Sauvignon Blancs from California and Chile have but they also have the mineral flavors found in the French wines, and are toned down just a bit from New Zealand.

About 10 years ago, it was more difficult to find South African wines in local stores, but it seems that almost every store now has at least a small selection, mostly at good prices.  When we lived in Bermuda, we frequently enjoyed Zonnenbloem Sauvignon Blanc at a price of $12.99, which was an incredibly inexpensive wine for Bermuda.  There are many wines to choose from and the Stellenryck Sauvignon Blanc and the Ken Forrester Petit Chenin Blanc represent two great bargains.  They are well-balanced wines that you would expect to find at higher prices.

We came across Stellenryck in our quest for Sauvignon Blanc as a primary summer wine. We often see some of our favorite Sauvignon Blancs in the $12 range and so at a price of 8.99, this was an easy option to try.  The wine was nicely balanced as we had hoped, with plenty of zesty citrus and tropical fruit notes backed by the crisp refreshing acidity.  With a screw cap closure, this was a good wine at a great price to throw on some ice and have on a nice, sunny Saturday afternoon.  This is definitely a buy a few more bottles to have on hand for the warm summer days to come

Chenin Blanc is one of the most popular grape varietals in South Africa and is also considered to be one of the most flexible in the world.  It can be made into a sparkling wine, dessert wine, and into a wide variety of styles in still form that can age for some time.  Old World winemakers generally ferment Chenin Blanc at a warmer temperature (5 – 10 degrees Fahrenheit warmer) than the New World producers, which tends to impart the New World Chenins with a bit more of the tropical fruit flavors and aromas.

We picked up the Ken Forrester for a similar price as the Stellenryck.  As we’ve talked about above, the grapes for this wine were picked early and fermented at a lower temperature to balance the acidity and tropical fruit flavors.  Like Sauvignon Blanc, it has green apple and grapefruit flavors, however, the wine has more of a mouthfeel to it than Sauvignon Blanc.  It makes a great everyday drinking wine.

If you are looking for that refreshing “zing” without some of the more intense green flavors than you get from New Zealand white wines, then look for a Sauvignon Blanc from South Africa.  At a price of around $8 Stellenryck is a great bargain.  On the other hand, if you want a wine that has a little more body to have along with food on a nice summer day, then the Ken Forrester Chenin Blanc is a great choice given the price.

When is it too hot?

The other night, we were starting one of our favorite weekend rituals: prepping for dinner and opening up a bottle of “cooking wine” to enjoy while we were making dinner.  We were pretty excited about opening this wine – it was a Piña 2007 D’Adamo Vineyard Cabernet, from one of our wine clubs.  We joined the Piña wine club in 2005 because we were really in love with the flavors from the mountain fruit, sourced from Howell Mountain in Napa Valley.  Grapes grown on the mountains produce the intensely flavored wine that we love.  But when we popped open this bottle, we were disappointed to find that Piña is falling into the same trend as many California winemakers: stratospherically high alcohol levels.

It wasn’t always this way.  As little as 15 years ago, most wines usually checked in between 12 and 14 percent alcohol by volume.  With the exception of an occasional Zinfandel, it was rare to find any wine above 14% alcohol.  But in recent years, winemakers discovered the concept of hangtime, and someone decided that American consumers had a preference for intense, high alcohol wines.  In a way it somewhat makes sense, because many wines today are being produced for drinking now versus for long term storage: high alcohol wines tend to have fewer acids and tannins and so less structure for aging. 

High alcohol in wine is very simply a function of the ripeness of the grapes. Winemakers are looking not only at sugar levels in the grapes, but also something called phenolic ripeness. Phenols are the compounds in the grape that contribute the color, aroma, and tannins to the resulting wine.  These phenolics develop in the seeds, skins, and pulp of the grape.  At harvest time, winemakers typically measure both the sugar levels in the grape and the phenolic ripeness.  In warmer areas like Napa Valley, a grape can reach sugar ripeness, meaning it is ripe enough to achieve a certain alcohol level and become wine, but it might not be phenolically, or physiologically ripe.  The effect of this may be a wine that tastes a bit green or harsh – or basically unripe.  So, winemakers began leaving the grapes on the vine longer to achieve additional ripeness.  The key to “hangtime” – referring to how long the grapes stay on the vine – is a balancing of the sugar ripeness and the phenolic ripeness.  What we are seeing more and more however, are wines that are achieving monstrously high alcohol levels of over 15%, at the cost of the proper balance of acidity and tannins. 

If you haven’t ever tried one of these wines, the flavor is pretty distinctive.  If you’ve ever had a shot of hard alcohol, just think about how that felt going down your throat.  It’s very similar with a high alcohol wine.  Wines that are high in alcohol are called “hot,” and this is a reference to the tactile, prickly alcohol sensation in your mouth when you drink it.  Other than the fact that the “hot” sensation is not altogether pleasant, another problem is that alcohol is really all you taste.  It’s hard to distinguish the layers of fruit flavors and balancing tannins, all the complexity that should be in wine, if all you can taste is alcohol.

You might think that these types of wines would be so unpopular that winemakers would adjust their methods to try to achieve more balance in their wines.  However, these wines are achieving amazing scores from the likes of Robert Parker and Wine Spectator.  When we visited Napa Valley in 2005, we stopped at the Darioush Winery on the Silverado Trail, and were wowed by the incredible facilities: a jaw dropping Mediterranean style building with towering Greek columns out front.  Seeing how impressive the building and grounds were, we were really excited to try the wine.  But we were disappointed: even back in 2005 these wines were achieving alcohol levels well over 15%.  The only thing we could taste in the wine was the alcohol.  But Darioush was and continues to be very highly rated wine.  Not only are they highly rated, but they are also very expensive.  Darioush wines range between $45-$80 a bottle and Piña wines are regularly around $75 a bottle.  The Piña D’Adamo Vineyard wine that we mentioned earlier weighs in at a whopping 15.4% alcohol and is very highly thought of among critics.  When we tried this wine, we were disappointed that we could only taste the heat of the alcohol.  The Piña wine was particularly disappointing because this is seems to be a recent trend.  We took a look back at one of the first Piña wines we had ever tried, the 2002 Howell Mountain Estate Grown Cabernet.  You expect some higher alcohol levels from mountain fruit, and the 2002 weighed in at a very reasonable, and very pleasurable 14.2%.  After we opened the Piña, we headed down to the cellar to check out some additional Howell Mountain wines, to be sure that the higher alcohol wasn’t something that was inevitably associated with the mountain fruit.  We discovered that our Atalon wines, also sourced from Howell Mountain, were coming in at just over 14%, which proves that you can have mountain fruit with balanced flavors. 

There are many people who are militant about high alcohol levels, even more so than we are.  We heard about a wine shop in Sacramento which in 2007 banned all wines over 14.5% alcohol, and many other sommeliers and wine shop owners have followed suit.  We don’t feel that wines over 14.5% or even 15% should be automatically excluded.  Some wines, particular Zinfandels, have a higher natural sugar level and can handle the higher alcohol level.  Other grape varietals also can handle the higher alcohol because the winemaker is able to achieve the perfect balance between sugar ripeness and phenolic ripeness.  We appreciate more the winemaker and vineyard manager who are able to harvest perfectly balanced grapes and still maintain the layers of flavor and complexity.

A few years ago, we attended a Cabernet symposium at the Nantucket Wine Festival, and when the time came for questions, we piped up with the alcohol content question.  Most of the winemakers in attendance for the symposium, including our friend Corey Beck from Francis Ford Coppola Winery, reiterated their commitment to maintaining well-balanced wines.  We hope that they maintain this commitment.  

Geyser Peak Winery: Master of Many Styles

One of our favorite wineries in California is the Geyser Peak Winery in Sonoma Valley.  Geyser Peak is a long time resident of the Sonoma Valley, having been founded in Geyserville in 1880.  Geyser Peak has benefited in the past several years due to a strong winemaking team.  Australian Daryl Groom (famous for GROOM Shiraz out of Australia) joined the team in 1989.  In 1992, another Aussie came to Geyser Peak: Mick Schroeter, who had worked with Groom at Penfolds.  Mick won a number of awards at Geyser Peak, and the quality trend has continued for two decades under these two men plus assistant winemaker, Ondine Chattan.  Ondine is now the Director of Winemaking, after Mick very recently decided to make a move to Sonoma-Cutrer.  We had tried a few of Geyser Peak wines before visiting the winery for the first time, and when we went to Wine Country in the fall of 2005, we were sure to make a visit.  We were aware of the Geyser Peak Sauvignon Blanc at the time, but we weren’t as familiar with the red wines.  Geyser Peak has a tasting room on its main floor, and upstairs is a reserve tasting room which overlooks the barrel room.  During our first visit, we decided to go upstairs to the reserve tasting room and try the library wines, all of which were rich, full-bodied red wines.

We made our second visit to the winery back in April, and found that the main tasting room was relatively quiet, particularly given that it was late in the day on a Sunday.  Junior was our tasting associate and we started off with one of our favorites, their Sauvignon Blanc.  We like it even better than the Block Sauvignon Blanc, which is Geyser Peak’s reserve bottling.  We first experienced their Sauvignon Blanc many years ago at the Nantucket Wine Festival.  Daryl Groom was pouring wine at the event, and at the end of the last day of tasting, he gave us a bottle to try.  At that time, many California Sauvignon Blancs were too soft and overly grassy for our tastes.  Sauvignon Blanc is a grape that shows its best potential in a cool climate, and now it seems that more and more winemakers are selecting the cooler areas in which to grow Sauvignon Blanc.  Geyser Peak has always produced a crisp and acidic Sauvignon Blanc at an amazingly reasonable price.  We have been fans since that first taste.

We are club members at Geyser Peak and as is the case at many wineries, this allows a fair amount of flexibility in terms of tasting.  After the Sauvignon Blanc came a new release, a Pinot Grigio.  In the past we had been hesitant about Pinot Grigio from California or Italy.  While Sauvignon Blancs can be too green and grassy if not made properly, too many Pinot Grigios in the past displayed a complete lack of fruit and were very dry and astringent wines.  Happily this trend seems to be changing as many Pinot Grigios these days show a nice balance of fruit and dryness.  The Geyser Peak was not an exception.  The wine showed prominent lemon and citrus flavors, but shined with a bright acidity and eminent drinkability.  We were intrigued to learn that small amounts of not just Sauvignon Blanc, but also Gewurtztraminer and Viognier had been added, giving the wine additional complexity and a bit of spice.  This wine is also amazingly affordable at the same price point as the Sauvignon Blanc, and we hope that it begins to make its way into all your wine stores.

At the top of our red tasting was the Malbec, which is only available in the tasting room and to club members, the Reserve Alexandre Meritage, and the higher end Kuimelis Cabernet Sauvignon.  Generally the reserve reds can be very intense but the Kuimelis has that approachable softness as if a little Merlot had been added.  This fruit forward character is characteristic of Cabernet from the Alexander Valley of Sonoma. 

Geyser Peak has a strong offering of Block vineyard Cabernets such as Kuimelis and the Ascentia Cabernet which we wrote about previously.  However, we are always impressed when a winery gets a little inventive and tries new things, and Geyser Peak does that with its Petit Verdot and its Tannat.  Petit Verdot is a traditional Bordeaux varietal and is usually found in meritage blends with Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot.  Petit Verdot is valued for the deeper color and aroma and spice flavors that it contributes to the blend, with notes of violets, cedar and tobacco.  Tannat is a much rarer find.  It’s grown in both southwestern France and Uruguay and is know for intense tannins and more woody spices such as rosemary.  The warmer climate of California allows Tannat to ripen more fully than it does in France, with more fruit to balance out the sometimes rough tannins.  Both were tasting great at the winery, and we look forward to receiving more of these unusual wines in our quarterly shipments.

Unfortunately for us that day, Geyser Peak was out of some of the limited release offerings such as the Tawny Port.  However, we did sample two great dessert offerings:  the Late Harvest Riesling and the Sparkling Shiraz.  Usually when we mention dessert wines such as the Late Harvest Riesling, a common response from people is that they do not like sweet wines.  But these wines are not syrupy or grapey sweet, but a natural sweetness such honeyed apricots and nectarines with a pleasing mouthfeel.  For us, a nice dessert wine is a substitute for dessert itself, but they do pair well with almost any dessert, from a fresh fruit tart to chocolate.  The Sparkling Shiraz is something very new for Geyser Peak and we were excited to try it.   This is not a rose sparkler but more like sparkling red wine.  It’s actually a Shiraz that undergoes a secondary fermentation using methode champenoise, where sugar and yeast (the “liqueur de tirage”) are added to the wine prior to bottling.  The result is a deep red wine with nice small bubbles and lots of berry fruit flavors with a creamy nuttiness from the contact with the lees, or the yeast (22 months).   This was a very unique (and tasty) bottle of wine.  We wrapped up our very thorough tasting with Junior, bought a Pinot Grigio, Sparkling Shiraz, and Late Harvest Riesling and headed for dinner in Healdsburg.

As we have mentioned before, there is nothing better than good Mexican food and a margarita after a day of wine tasting.  After driving around Healdsburg square several times, we happened on just the spot: El Farolito.  Often times we have found that Mexican food can be “dumbed down” especially with regards to the heat.  On this occasion, that was not the case at all.  We had a flavorful fiery meal that was one to remember for our last night in wine country.

Is Syrah really on the slide?

In one of our earlier posts about Syrah and Shiraz, we talked about how much we like wines made from this grape, but also about how the overproduction in some areas, namely Australia, has been dragging down the quality (Wine Spectre: You say Shiraz, I say Syrah).  Now comes the news that from a marketing perspective, Syrah has "crashed and burned" in the United States.

In Eric Asimov's column in the New York Times, he talks about the slide in the market for Syrah in the United States (NY Times: Is There Still Hope for Syrah).  Part of this slide he says is attributable to a lack of identity to the grape: the popularity and ubiquity of the Australian Shiraz led many American consumers not familiar with the spicy, peppery Northern Rhone style to expect the ripe and jammy flavors that are common in Australian Shiraz.  As a result of this confusion in identity, there is a lot of poor quality California Syrah out there.

However, there are a great many high quality California Syrahs as well.  The Syrah made by Ehren Jordan at Failla, mentioned in Asimov's article, is an amazing wine with herbal pepper flavors that is a perfect food wine.  Qupe, another winery mentioned in the article and also in our original blog, is still a powerhouse when it comes to Syrah.

The key to quality Syrah in California, as Asimov notes in his article, is a cooler climate.  It is only in the cooler climate such as you find in the Rhone Valley of France that the spicy, peppery, herbal flavors come through.  We agree with Bob Lindquist of Qupe, that just because you can get the grape riper doesn't mean you should get it riper.

There are a great number of quality California Syrah available.  We encourage you to look for one from a cooler climate (if you aren't sure of the area, ask your wine store consultant) - one tip is to look for a slightly lower alcohol content, around 13.5%, which indicates a lower degree of ripeness.  We would suggest checking out wines from Cline Cellars, which we've written about in previous blogs and which specializes in Rhone varietals.

Syrah in the true Rhone style is a unique wine that can be enjoyed on it's own in that it does not require food, but can be paired nicely with a wide variety of foods due to it's savory and spicy flavors.  When you are looking for a hearty red wine without all the wood and tannins, look for a nice cooler climate Syrah.

Continuing the Wine Journey Along the Silverado Trail – A Small Winery, Huge Wines

Hi everybody!  We’re about to wrap our recounting of our trip to California, and when we last left you, we were still “swimming” along the Silverado Trail, having just left Steltzner, still in the pouring rain.  We were hoping to get over to Sonoma Valley that afternoon but had one last stop to make before continuing on: Lava Vine Winery in the northern part of Calistoga. 

We first stopped at Lava Vine in 2009 upon recommendation of our friend Stephanie Trotter-Zacharia from Casa Nuestra.  Upon checking out the place, we found a small and welcoming tasting room, where we met the owner, Joe Cabral.  Joe and his wife Jill initially purchased property in 2000, in the Franz Valley in Calistoga.  The Franz Valley property was unique in that it was mostly planted with Portuguese grape varietals.  In California, the majority of wineries make Port-styled wines from Zinfandel or Petite Sirah rather than the Portuguese grapes.  Joe and Jill began their winemaking journey with a Port wine, which is still produced.  In 2004 they began to also grow Petite Sirah, Syrah, and Cabernet Sauvignon with partner Nile Zacherle.  The Lava Vine tasting room opened in 2008 nearby on the nearby Silverado Trail, and is a very enjoyable experience.  On our visit last year, we spent some time talking to Joe and learned about their organic farming practices (the vineyard is planted to steep slopes, and organic weed control is used (the “wooly weeders” Phoebe and Francis keep things under control, and it is then the job of Joe and team to keep Phoebe and Francis under control). Last year, we purchased a bottle of the Syrah, the Port, and a bottle of their yummy olive oil.  This visit was just as successful.

The theme of this day of tasting has been the pouring rain, and apparently it was raining even harder just outside Lava Vine’s door, as we skipped across the parking lot lakes to enter the tasting room.  We were cheerfully greeted by Steve, the assistant winemaker and began our tasting with the Viognier.  (Steve is a graduate of the Fresno State wine program, and apparently there is a bit of a rivalry between Fresno and UC Davis, which produces a great many winemakers – Steve told us that there is a saying that the Davis grad can take the pump apart, but you need the Fresno grad to put it back together).

Back in the late ‘90s when we were charter members of the ABC club (Anything But Chardonnay), we were tasting some really nice Viognier.  The grape has a similar profile with round, tropical fruit flavors, but usually has more balanced acidity than many California chardonnays.  This Viognier was definitely a winner with tropical fruit, honeysuckle, and some citrus, with just a touch of vanilla.  We also tasted some crispy minerality, which along with the fruit and vanilla flavors, made this a very enjoyable wine. 

We also tried the Syrah, Petite Sirah, and the Cabernet Sauvignon. The Syrah was a hit; it had intense black cherry flavors with peppery pop that we love and is often lost in many Syrahs.  The Petite Sirah was a deep inky rich wine which comes from a small production, dry-farmed vineyard, contributing an intense earthy fruitiness that we love.  The Cabernet is made from mountain fruit with fine tannins and a dark fruit and chocolate flavor profile.  We finished up with a little taste of the port, which paired perfectly with the chocolate we were offered with the tasting.  We were once again very impressed with the wines and the care that goes into hand-crafting each one.  So we also joined the Lava Vine wine club and look forward to our quarterly shipments.

At this point we decided that we should make our way over to Sonoma by taking the road through Knights Valley up into Alexander Valley.  The drive was beautiful despite the on and off rain.  We drove along the beautifully wooded trail, along winding roads lined with trees dripping in Spanish Moss.  It was hard to believe that we were still in California.  But in just under hour we had arrived in Geyserville, ready to make our final stop of the day at Geyser Peak.

Continuing the Wine Journey Along the Silverado Trail – New Wines at Steltzner

Hi everybody!  When we last left you, we had just pulled out of the Clos du Val winery, still in a driving rainstorm.  We were going a little bit on the fly, since our original plans to go to the Sonoma Coast had been derailed by Mother Nature.  So we decided to make our next stop at the Steltzner Family Vineyard.  Dick Steltzner has been farming in the Napa Valley since the 1960s, and spent many years as a vineyard manager, growing grapes for other wineries, before finally establishing his own winery in the Stags Leap District.  Steltzner grows more varietals than the average winery, including Malbec, Sangiovese, and Pinotage in addition to the usual Cabernet and Merlot.  Pinotage is an especially interesting choice; it is a grape of South Africa created from the crossing of Pinot Noir with Cinsault, and is rarely grown in California.  On this visit we were unable to try the Pinotage, but there were plenty of other options for us.  After coming in from the rainstorm, we started out with a sunny glass of Allison Rose.  Allison Rose is a rose of Syrah, and is the first rose produced at Steltzner.  The story goes that Allison Steltzner, Dick’s daughter, wanted to make a rose, and Dick finally agreed with the condition that Allison’s name had to go on the label (not the Steltzner name).  We think this rose is a big hit – it’s a dry rose with lots of fruit, but with enough body to stand up to most meals, especially good barbeque.

We tried several other wines, including the Sangiovese.  Sangiovese is the noble grape of Chianti and Brunello in Italy, but has not traditionally performed well in California, with a few exceptions.  Steltzner is one of those exceptions.  We also learned that Steltzner was soon releasing its first even Pinot Noir, which had been a request by the winemaker and finally granted by Dick.  After sharing a few stories with the tasting associate, she remembered that we were the only people at last year’s Vineyard to Vintner event to take advantage of Steltzner’s one time only free shipping offer.  There is nothing like being a unique guest to ensure a nice time in the tasting room, and we were able to try most of the wines being poured that day.  We have always loved the variety and quality of the wines; so being true to ourselves, we joined the club.  As a result of joining, we were recently able to try the new Pinot Noir.  We aren’t typically huge fans of Pinot Noir in general, but this wine was definitely an exception.  The grapes for this wine were sourced from Hendricks Vineyard on the Sonoma Coast, in the Petaluma Gap.  The Sonoma Coast is a cool maritime climate, and receives the cooling breezes that Pinot Noir loves.  The wine is more Burgundian in style than California, but with a fuller body and richness of flavor that we loved.  This wine is only in limited production (441 cases) but makes us yearn that more Pinots were made in this style. 

Even though you probably can’t find the Steltzner Pinot Noir, we highly recommend that you try the Steltzner Claret.  The Claret is fairly widely available, and is very reasonable for its price in the range of $16-20.  The Claret is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Cabernet Franc, using grapes from both Steltzner’s Stags Leap vineyards, and other vineyards in Napa Valley.  This wine has dark fruit and cedar, with nice tannins to balance it.  We highly recommend you check it out!

Drink what you like, like what you drink!

Bryan & Rachel Gavini

Stormy Weather, Great Wine – a Quest for Primitivo at Clos du Val

Hello Everyone!  We’re continuing to talk about our wine journey through California’s Napa and Sonoma Valleys.  After a great dinner at the Silverado Brewing Company with Casa Nuestra friends, we got up early to enjoy some of the amenities of the Wine Country Inn before heading out to start the day.  Even though the day dawned cool and rainy, we decided to enjoy a soak in the Inn’s hot tub and enjoy a hearty breakfast before starting out on the wine trail.  The Wine Country Inn serves up a fabulous breakfast buffet, complete with lots of homemade treats and a waffle-making machine, and it’s a great way to pad your belly before a day of wine tasting. 

Our original plan for the day was to catch up with our friends Chuck and Leslie Parker and head to the Sonoma Coast.  We had been very excited about this idea, neither of us having ever been to the coast, but the weather wasn’t cooperative.  It had turned windy and rainy and it was likely that our potential view would be shrouded in fog – not to mention the gusty winds – so we decided to save the coast for another visit.  Instead, we headed down the Silverado Trail to Clos du Val in search of a taste of their Primitivo.  When we showed up at the parking lot in the driving rain, we initially thought that the winery was closed, but the sign said assured us they were indeed open, so we skipped across the lot to the door to the tasting room.

Clos du Val was founded in 1972 by Frenchman Bernard Portet, and its wine qualified to represent the United States in the famous Judgment of Paris in 1976.  While we lived in Bermuda, we frequently purchased the Clos du Val Zinfandel and enjoyed it very much.  We later discovered that the Zinfandel is available to the export market only.  (We made this discovery while at wine tasting in Nantucket, during which we insisted to the guy pouring for Clos du Val that we loved their Zinfandel, while he insisted that they didn’t sell a Zin.  He stared at us in disbelief (probably thinking we’d had a bit too much wine already), but then we all connected the dots and learned that it was only for export, and we all had a good laugh.)  He then told us that Clos du Val was beginning to make a Primitivo, Zinfandel’s cousin, and that it would be available the following year.  The relationship between Primitivo and Zinfandel is similar to that of Syrah and Shiraz.  Same grapes; different interpretation by the winemaker, and Primitivo tends to be made on the drier side rather than fruitier.  Before we left for California, Rachel contacted the winery to find out if the Primitivo would be available for tasting during our visit.  It was not on the standard tasting menu, but we were advised to just ask for it when we arrived, and they would gladly pour us a taste.

We were greeted in the tasting room by a gentleman named Fred and proceeded to share a standard tasting (as we’ve mentioned before, we frequently share a tasting; Clos du Val also has a reserve tasting option).  We made him aware of our quest for the Primitivo and he said that he would gladly pour us a sample at the right point in the tasting.  Fred started us off with the Ariadne, a blend of Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc made in the French style of white Bordeaux with some subtle aging.  The wine was bright and fresh, but more full and round than a typical unoaked Sauvignon Blanc.  Bernard Portet is really a master of balance and the wine was perfect.  Sometimes the combination of oak aging and the addition of Semillon can really fatten up a Sauvignon Blanc but this was far from the case.  After some discussion, Fred insisted that we try the Chardonnay since we indicated that many are just too over-oaked and buttery for our tastes.  The Clos du Val had much better balance, with crisp acidity to balance out the more tropical flavors, but the Ariadne was still our preferred style in white wine.  Next came the Carneros Pinot Noir; again we had some discussion about our feelings of Pinot Noir (generally not a favorite of ours).  Fred assured us that the Carneros Pinot Noir was different.  He was right.  On this trip, we began to explore more Pinot Noir from Carneros, and it seems to be more Burgundian in style, which we like.  Pinot Noir requires a cooler climate than California has in many areas, but the Carneros region receives cooling breezes from the Pacific through San Pablo Bay, and so it is a region well suited to Pinot.

Fred also gave us some wine tasting tips.  He explained that it takes three tastes of wine to fully get the flavor:  the first cleanses your palate, the second gives you a good taste, and the third taste shows you everything that the wine has.  We took that tip with us for the rest of the trip.  Since we were having an interactive and engaging tasting, Fred suggested that we compare the Reserve Pinot to the Carneros Pinot.  It’s always fun to do, and we often tend to land on the side of the non-Reserve.  It’s not about price; it just happens.  We really enjoyed the acidity in the non-Reserve Pinot Noir. 

Fred was a font of information on many fronts, and it’s always great when we learn new things while tasting wine.  Fred explained that the difference in the shape between a Bordeaux wine bottle (including Cabernet and Merlot) and a Burgundy (Pinot Noir) bottle is more than just stylistic – the shape of the bottle serves a purpose.  The Bordeaux bottle has a distinct neck and a high shoulder, whereas a Burgundy bottle has a gently sloping shoulder.  A Burgundian-style wine tends to have little to no sediment in the wine; conversely, the Bordeaux varietals generally do, and the bottle is shaped so that the shoulder will catch much of the sediment as the wine is poured. 

Following the Pinot Noir came the much-awaited Primitivo.  It was just as we had hoped: it had many of the flavors of Zinfandel but a drier wine.  We also tried Clos du Val’s Merlot and Cabernet, which were excellent as usual.  Fred then mentioned that Clos du Val had also made a Petit Verdot, and he gladly poured it for us.  Petit Verdot is a Bordeaux grape varietal but it’s rarely made into a single varietal wine.  We are always anxious to try it whenever we see it, and this one did not disappoint.  Nothing at Clos du Val disappointed that day.  We thanked Fred for sharing his knowledge and experience, purchased the elusive Primitivo and rare Petit Verdot, and headed back out into the rain.

The morning had only started, but we’d already had a great visit with Clos du Val, with some great wine and great company.  We were looking forward to the rest of our day – rain or shine.

Drink what you like, like what you drink!

Rachel & Bryan Gavini