Hi everybody! When we last left you, we were wrapping up at the Olive Press and Jacuzzi Family Vineyards down in the Carneros region of the Sonoma Valley. Unfortunately, we were not able to try any of the Jacuzzi Family wines – having decided to move on to our next stop rather than hang around and wait out the crowds. We did have a couple of interesting personal experiences at Jacuzzi Family/The Olive Press however: we ran into a couple from Arkansas, Rachel’s home state, and Rachel recalled that at least a part of the Jacuzzi family settled in Arkansas, where the hot tub factory formerly was located. Just a few interesting connections before we move on to our next stop: Gloria Ferrer.
As we previously mentioned, until this visit, Gloria Ferrer was our only wine club in the Sonoma Valley. We joined the Gloria wine club during our visit in 2005. Back when we first met, Bryan was not a huge fan of sparkling wine/champagne, having mostly experienced the inexpensive bubbly that is served at weddings. However after a few visits to the Nantucket Wine Festival and trying various sparkling wines and champagnes, our tastes changed. One Nantucket Wine Festival tasting is particularly memorable, the year we met Bob Iantosca, the winemaker for Gloria Ferrer.
This day at the Nantucket Wine Festival was a day not atypical for May on Nantucket – sheets of rain, winds blowing 40 knots – the passing of a Nor’easter. The wine festival organizers had previously decided to move the tasting out of town, down to the beach at Brant Point. Our B&B was only about a half mile away, so we decided to walk down to the tasting that day. Needless to say, we were quite soaked, but in good cheer when we arrived at the Festival that Saturday morning. The festival organizers had arranged for a large tent to be set up down at Brant Point, and this particular day, it felt a little hairy inside the tent: quite chilly temperatures (the red wine being poured for tasting was a little on the cold side – however the Pierre Ferrand cognac table was quite popular), and winds blowing so hard that the tent poles were shaking fiercely.
After trying a few different wines (and the aforementioned Pierre Ferrand), we found ourselves at the Gloria Ferrer table. We had always liked the Gloria Sonoma Brut, and made a special point to locate their table at the wine festival. When we approached the table however, quite a different scene was taking place. The guy pouring the wine was a laid back, gray haired fellow who seemed that he would be just as at home on a New England fishing boat as pouring wine; the woman he was speaking to (festival attendee) was quite the opposite – she was basically berating him about the wines and his explanation of the wines. Needless to say, our jaws were hanging open as this lady spent a good 5 minutes ranting about the wines and his (as she perceived it) lack of knowledge about them. The fellow took all this abuse with good humor, and when the lady finally left, we expressed our sympathy to him as to the beating he had just taken. Come to find out, this guy who had been taking all this abuse was Bob Iantosca, the winemaker for Gloria Ferrer. We shared a few laughs with Bob, tried a few of his wines (sparkling and still), and left the table with an even stronger admiration for Gloria Ferrer and Bob Iantosca.
On our most recent trip, when we showed up at Gloria Ferrer winery on that cloudy Saturday morning, we introduced ourselves as club members and began our tasting. We started with a tasting of the Va di Vi, and the Blanc de Noirs sparkling wine. The Va di Vi is a recent release for Gloria Ferrer, and one that we have really taken to. The Ferrer family (Gloria and also the actor Jose Ferrer) are from the Catalunya area of Spain, and in Catalan, Va di Vi means, “It’s about the wine!” This is a wine made in the Champenoise style, with definite Spanish influence. This is a very refreshing sparkler, with the perfect balance of fruit and dryness. Va di Vi is a blend of the traditional Chardonnay and Pinot Noir that you usually see in sparkling wine, but with a touch of Muscat to give it a little hint of sweetness. This is a great everyday sparkler that is very refreshing and not at all heavy on the palate. It’s also a value sparkler at around $20-23, although the traditional Sonoma Brut is a complete steal at around $16 a bottle. The Blanc de Noirs is always a favorite as well: while Pinot Noir is not our favorite varietal, there’s no denying that it is a great component in sparkling wine. The Gloria Ferrer is predominantly Pinot Noir, with a small amount of Vin Gris. This is creamy sparkler showing nice smooth fruit hints.
As club members, all of our tastings were complimentary (actually, apparently you only get a couple of free tastings, but once our server noticed we were from Connecticut, she deduced that we probably were not coming to the winery every weekend, and that it didn’t make sense to charge us for the tastings). We also tried the Gloria Blanc de Blancs, which was 100% Chardonnay. This is an elegant wine but a bit on the dry side for our tastes, particularly after having just tried the Va di Vi and the Blanc de Noirs. Although Gloria is known more for its sparkling wine, Bob Iantosca believes in making quality still wines from the same grape varietals that go into the sparkling. He convinced the family to let him try out some still wines, and as a result, Gloria Ferrer produces some quality still wines, particular their Pinot Noir. As we mentioned earlier, we are not huge fans of the Pinot Noir grape. However, we do really like Bob Iantosca’s expression of the Gloria Ferrer Pinots, particularly the Rust Rock Terrace Pinot and the Gravel Knob Pinot. The Rust Rock in particular shows some deep black cherry and blackberry with a hint of oak and cocoa. This wine also sees French oak aging rather than American oak, which tones down the oak flavors in the wine and allows more of the fruit to shine through.
After trying a few other sparklers and still wines (including the still Rosé of Pinot Noir), we decided to take our leave. We consulted our map, and decided to head into the town of Sonoma to the winery of Ravenswood. We’d bet most of you have heard of Ravenswood, which is particularly known for their Zinfandel. We last visited Ravenswood on our last trip to Sonoma in October 2005, and it was somewhat of a surreal experience. Ravenswood is one of the earlier opening wineries in Sonoma, and so we showed up right about 10am, before we were scheduled to meet up with our friend Marc Cuneo at Sebastiani. As we drove past the misty fields prior to turning up the drive to Ravenswood, we actually saw ravens hunting in the fields below. We also noticed a sign in walking up the path to the winery warning us to stay on the path, as there might be rattlesnakes on the hill. We were a little surprised to learn that they were actually serious about that! So good tip, make sure you stay on the paths when you visit any wineries in the hills!
It wasn’t quite as dramatic when we visited Ravenswood 5 years later in 2010, but it was still fun nonetheless. There was a nice and enthusiastic crowd in the tasting room, some of whom were gathered around the roaring fireplace. We sidled up to the tasting bar with Uncle Bob (not to be confused with the band Unkle Bob, whom we also like). Uncle Bob is a Connecticut native who was living down in Florida when he visited the Sonoma Valley for the first time a few years back. He fell in love immediately, and so he picked up and moved out to the Valley with no plans and no prospects. Many years later, he’s still in love with the Sonoma Valley. We exchanged a few Connecticut moments with Uncle Bob, and commenced to tasting their wonderful Zinfandels, as well as their Vintners Blend Cabernet and Merlot, and Rachel’s favorite, the Petite Sirah. One wine in particular is a favorite, the Ravenswood Icon, and we apparently got a great deal on it a few months back. The Icon blend varies each year, but the 2006 vintage contained a blend of Zinfandel, Petite Sirah, Carignane, and Alicante Bouschet - the Native Sonoma Mixed Blacks. This was a big powerful wine, and if you can find it for a decent price, be sure to pick it up!
In looking through all the Ravenswood materials, we noted that Ravenswood is having a “Tattoo Coming Out Party” on July 17th, and that if you have the Ravenswood logo inked on your body, you are entitled to free tastings for life! Although we did not have a Ravenswood logo tattoo (actually the Morrigan ravens of Celtic mythology), we do have a very similar symbol, the Faerie Cats of the same Celtic mythology. When we mentioned this to Uncle Bob, he called out the Boss Lady for a final determination, and upon reviewing our tattoos, she announced to the tasting room that we had “Free Tastings For Life!” Much excitement ensured in the tasting room and a great time was had by all. In tasting the wines, we did inquire about joining the wine club, but found that Ravenswood does not ship to Connecticut. Oh well, we thought, as we do get great distribution for Ravenswood in Connecticut, and we always have a fantastic time in the tasting room.
When we were wrapping up our tasting with Uncle Bob, we realized we were getting a little hungry, and Rachel in particular was craving some authentic Mexican food. Uncle Bob recommend that we check out a place called Juanita Juanita not far from there, a dive, he warned us, but good food. Oh, and one other thing to recommend them, they actually printed the diners’ checks on the back of old Ravenswood labels. He’d already had us at “authentic Mexican food,” and the “dive” characterization only made it sound yummier. So we headed back towards Arnold Drive (same road that Viansa, Cline, and Gloria Ferrer were on), and found Juanita Juanita. This place looked like a little diner, and so we cozied up to the bar and started off with some hot and crispy chips and some green salsa and some Negra Modelo draft beer. Even though it was getting a little later in the afternoon and we had plans for dinner, we couldn’t resist the big yummy burritos with all the different sauces they had lined up on the bar. We finished up our late lunch, received our (inexpensive) check on the back of a Ravenswood label, and headed on our way.
Although we had a much longer than expected day in the Sonoma Valley, it was quite satisfying. But the day wasn’t over yet! We still had our Casa Nuestra wine dinner to come that evening. So we headed to our B&B for the evening, to get ready for the Casa dinner. Stay tuned for more details on the Casa Nuestra dinner and our meeting with the “Ghost of Elvis”!
Drink what you like, like what you drink!
Rachel & Bryan Gavini
Rachel & Bryan Gavini
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