Day 2 in Wine Country - a Night in Our House

Hello Everyone!  We are still continuing on our recent wine adventure in California (actually we’re not still in California, although we wish we were!).  After finishing up a day of tasting and a “snack” at Juanita Juanita over in Sonoma, we headed back towards St. Helena to the Wine Country Inn.  Our first two nights in the valley, we stayed at the Chateau, an inexpensive hotel in the northern part of the town of Napa, just at the edge of Yountville.  We usually try to stay as inexpensively as possible, rationalizing that we’re really not in the room all that much.  But this night we were staying at the Wine Country Inn due to its close proximity to our wine dinner later that evening.  When we arrived at the inn just around 5 PM, there were several people gathered around a tasting table enjoying some wine.  It’s not uncommon in wine country for an inn to offer an evening wine tasting to its guests, and the Wine Country Inn takes it a step further by bringing in a different winery each evening to pour their wines.  That night, Cuvaison was pouring wines for the guests.  We have had Cuvaison’s wines in the past and they are noted for their sustainable farming practices in the Carneros area.  They are particularly known for their Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, and the cooler climate of Carneros really helps these varietals shine.  We thought that this complimentary wine tasting in the Inn was a great perk offered to guests.  Another thing to recommend the Wine Country Inn is that they will willingly offer to be complimentary chauffeurs to transport you to dinner to a number of different restaurants in the area, so that guests can enjoy their wine and don’t have to drive.  We inquired about this for our dinner at the Silverado Brewing Company, and while they were more than willing to drive us, they pointed out to us that our destination was just next door, a short walk.  We were definitely in a great location for our dinner.

Since we only had a short time before dinner, we decided to pass on the tasting and relaxed in our room for a bit before our Casa Nuestra wine dinner that evening.  Our room was nicely furnished with a fireplace that was packed and ready to go with wood, paper, and matches at the ready for the cooler evenings.  We also had a nice patio that overlooked some gardens and vineyards, and the pool and spa were just down the hill.  Unfortunately for us, we weren’t sure we would have a chance to enjoy many of these amenities, since clouds and cool weather had moved in and rain was in the forecast for later that evening and early in the morning. 

The rain did hold off before dinner, so we made our way through a nice pathway that cut through the Freemark Abbey Winery, and were almost immediately on the doorstep of the Silverado Brewing Company.  The Silverado Brewing Company was founded in 2000 by Michael Fradelizio and Ken Mee, both of whom have worked in wineries before.  We’ve often heard it said in Napa Valley that “it takes a lot great beer to make good wine,” and this place is helping to fill that need.  (We had heard a similar statement from Mike Gilly, our “wine guy” at Blanchards in Jamaica Plain, while at a tasting put on by Frederick Wildman.  It’s pretty common for the wine guys to pour the wine, but drink the beer.  Even we can get “wined out,” and like to have a beer or margarita to break up the wine tastings.)

If you’ve read our past blogs, you’ll remember hearing about the Casa Nuestra winery.  We first discovered Casa Nuestra on our trip to Napa Valley in 2005, and have really enjoyed being connected to the winery and being members of their wine club.  Casa maintains a fairly small wine club, which often has a waiting list.  But by keeping their club at a small size, you get great service, and are treated like members of the family. Each of our wine club shipments comes with a smiley-face on the box, great wines, informative notes, a recipe or two, and a nice note from Stephanie. 

Coming down the driveway at Casa, you pass by the vineyards and arrive at the small tasting room.  There is a good chance that you’ll be greeted by Trigger, Buster, and Bubba, the Black Lab reception staff.  Likewise, both Nava and A.P., who make up the weed abatement staff (and are honored as such by Casa’s Two Goats Red wine, the subject of one of our earlier blogs) are likely to be in the nearby field.  (We are also looking forward to meeting the newest addition to the staff, Romeo the cat.)  We love the comfortable, laid back farming environment, and on top of that, they really know how to make great wine!  During one visit, Stephanie pointed out the amount of volcanic obsidian that is all over the place, and we found a few nice pieces in the parking lot to hang onto as souvenirs.  It is this volcanic quality of the soil at the St. Helena estate which is just one of the unique components of the wine. 

When we heard about the Casa wine dinner, we were really excited to have the chance to attend.  This wine dinner is hosted each year by the Casa team as a celebration of the wines and a chance to share them with their extended family, the wine club members.  A good crowd had already gathered at the Silverado Brewing Company when we arrived.  Rachel was immediately welcomed by Katrina Kirkham, the wife of owner and co-founder Gene Kirkham, and presented with a glass of Tinto Classico, one of Casa’s field blends.  Bryan meanwhile made his way to the tasting table, and was greeted by winemaker Allen Price and the complete Casa Nuestra selection.  We find that one of the best ways to start a meal or happy hour is with a refreshing glass of white wine, and Bryan decided to try out Casa’s off-dry Riesling.  We love a nice chilled glass of Sauvignon Blanc during the warm days of spring and summer, but one of the best aperitif wines really is Riesling.  Casa’s Riesling is made from old vines on the St. Helena property and has less than 1% residual sugar, so there is a hint of sweetness to it, but it is well-balanced, filled with flavors of exotic fruits and finishes crisp and cleanly.

We spent the rest of the pre-dinner festivities chatting with Stephanie, her husband, and other members of the Casa family, and then settled into our assigned table for dinner.  We were seated with owner Gene Kirkham and his wife Katrina, in addition to well-known wine columnist Dan Berger, and other guests.  When we first met Katrina earlier that evening, she immediately mentioned that she had read our recent blog post about “Goats and Wine,” and that she enjoyed reading it.  Stephanie also told us that was why she had seated us at the same table as Dan Berger.  As humble wine fans, we were starting to feel a bit famous! 

The dinner started out with a few words from Gene.  He was asked to give some words about the winery, and he talked about the early beginnings and the concepts of field blends.  He told the story about how his family first acquired a vineyard with an assortment of plantings, not all of which were exactly known.  All they knew was that these vineyards made two types of wine: “a nice-a red” and “a nice-a white.”  We knew exactly what that meant, because Bryan’s grandmother had mentioned many times that her father always made a barrel of red wine and a barrel of white wine for everyday consumption.  Sometimes, all you need is that glass of “nice-a wine.”  After the initial welcome, the most unique wine of the evening was poured, a 1987 Chenin Blanc.  Yep, that was a 1987 Chenin Blanc – a 23 year old white wine.  As we talked about in a previous blog, Casa has been well-known for producing some top-notch Chenin Blanc, and without a doubt, to have one from 1987 is very rare.  The wine was a deep golden color, almost tawny, and had aged to develop flavors of apricot and honey, but yet still retained some of the acidity to hold it all together.  It really was a rare treat and a significant contrast to the 2009 Chenin Blanc, which was a pale, crisp wine with more citrus flavors.  This comparison made us think back to a statement by John Sharpe at New World Wines in Bermuda, that Chenin Blanc from the Loire Valley can be “dumb” wines in their early years, but after five years can really age to something quite special.  Casa’s Chenin is great drinking now, but we are thinking of holding these wines a little longer to age a bit and develop more.  This was really a great learning experience.  The two Chenin Blanc wines were paired with a Dungeness Crab salad with avocado, mango, watercress, cilantro, and a Meyer lemon Dijon Vinaigrette.  It was a yummy combination.

Next on the menu came a wild mushroom risotto that was paired with the 2007 Tinto St. Helena.  Tinto, as we mentioned in the past, is Casa’s field blend, with many different but complementary grapes.  We were also treated to a 1999 Tinto and again were impressed with the wine’s ability to age and hold its balance and acidity.  We talked about the Tinto in our blog about Goats and Wine, but the 1999 had developed more chocolate and cocoa flavors as well as deeper plum and blackberry flavors when compared to the younger 2007.  At the table, Bryan discussed with Dan Berger about the comparison with the South African Goats do Roam line, and the use of co-fermentation rather than blending the nine varietals that make up the Tinto.  The field blend of Refosco, Petite Sirah, Carignane, Zinfandel and others perfectly fit the earthy flavors of the mushroom risotto.

During the course of the dinner, we had some additional words from Gene, who introduced some of the alumni staff from Casa Nuestra.  It really is that special kind of place that even when people move on to work at other jobs/wineries, they still have a connection to Casa.  In fact one of the alums that we ran into was Chris Burton, who is currently with Trinchero.  Our dear friend Chuck Parker introduced us to Chris when he was working the tasting room at Trinchero in 2009, and had just returned from Afghanistan.  Chris had great news that he had just gotten engaged, and was due to be married in June.  Both being military guys, Bryan and Chris swapped a few quick stories and experiences.  (Bryan thinks that usually these types of stories are swapped over beers, but on this night, it was all about the wine.)

Later in the evening, Gene’s son Martin was asked to introduce both his mom Cody, who was for a long time Casa’s only support staff, and also the current staff at Casa.  All of these folks who put their heart into making wines to enjoy and create memories with were received with much applause.  The main course that evening was a classic pairing of Casa’s 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon and roasted filet mignon with chanterelles, asparagus, polenta, and crispy fennel.  There is nothing like a hearty Cabernet with all of the oak, earthiness, spices, vanilla, and cherries that has mellowed in the bottle, especially paired with an earthy dish such as the filet.  But of course the wine didn’t stop there; given that this was a wine dinner, there is always plenty of wine, and there was also bottle of the Cabernet Franc for the table to enjoy.  We love the earthiness and aromas that are in Cabernet Franc.  During the conversation and eating, we hadn’t noticed that Gene had slipped away from the table, only to return at the entrance in large dark sunglasses a yellow silk shirt holding a guitar.  Gene is a huge Elvis fan, and the Ghost of Elvis was now in the house.  We were treated to a short medley of Elvis tunes before Stephanie joined him in a duet of “Me and Bobby McGee” with some backing from the attendees.  It was a great feeling to enjoy the music and fun of the evening while sipping some of Casa’s 2009 Late Harvest French Columbard paired with Meyer Lemon Cheesecake.

We have always loved dessert wines, especially the apricot and honey flavors that develop from the Botrytis, which is also known as “noble rot.”  Late in the harvest season, the combination of cooler weather and moisture start the fungus growing, but then the weather dries out and a fuzz develops on some of the grapes, which transforms the flavors.  This is the noble rot.  If the weather maintains consistently wet or humid, another kind of botrytis (grey rot) develops and the bunches are lost.  The development of botrytised wines requires special conditions and intensive care, and therefore these wines are only produced in limited quantities.

The night truly was a special evening and reminded us of times when we have family get-togethers and the stories come out as well as the music from the likes of Abba and The Carpenters.  Good friends, family, wine, and music go together.  That night we did feel like we were in Casa Nuestra – Our House.

Drink what you like, like what you drink!

Rachel and Bryan Gavini

Of Goats and Wine

Hello everyone! We are excitedly planning our upcoming visit to Napa and Sonoma, and when we think about the area, one of the first things that comes to mind (other than wine!) is farming. Most winemakers will tell you that wine is made out in the vineyard. A good number of winemakers in Napa, and probably even more so in Sonoma, Mendocino, and other grape growing areas in California, view themselves as farmers first. Along with farming comes certain animals, and a very useful (and usually friendly) farm animal is the goat. For many vineyards, the goats are a great form of weed reduction (although if left alone, they can cause some havoc). We recently had two wines that feature goats in the labels: Casa Nuestra’s Two Goats Red and South Africa’s Goat-Roti. It’s more than just pretty labeling and marketing that goes into these wines. Both utilize interesting and highly complementary grape blends.

Casa Nuestra Winery

Before we get into the goats and wine, we would like to tell you a bit about our friends at Casa Nuestra. We first learned about Casa Nuestra winery during our visit to Napa in the fall of 2005. Carlos, the manager of the Ambrose Bierce House, our bed and breakfast in St. Helena, highly recommended it to us. Our best tip about visiting wine country – take advantage of the knowledge of the locals. One of the great things about visiting a wine region is that there are so many wineries you have never heard of, and without a spirit of adventure or a good recommendation, you might never discover them. Casa Nuestra was our first new adventure.

Casa Nuestra is a small winery, approximately 2000 cases produced annually, and sells all of its wine through its wine club, tasting room, and website. Pulling in the driveway, we knew that we had been directed to a hidden gem. We drove by the vineyards, saw the goats in the pasture, a black lab roaming around and just a few visitors – no huge crowds. This was definitely a working farm and winery. We met Stephanie, who is the assistant winemaker (and chief ambassador ☺), and after enjoying some great wines, we joined the club. Being a smaller winery, the staff gives each club member personalized service, and we even had their wines shipped to us while we lived in Bermuda. They really live up to the meaning of their name “Our House.”

We started with Casa’s Chenin Blanc, which was excellent. Later on a friend told us that Casa was the only North American representative at an international Chenin Blanc conference in the Loire Valley of France. Then came the reds. These are very powerful and intense wines; the Merlot drinks like an expensive Cabernet Sauvignon – and we totally loved it. They also make a Cabernet Franc, which has yummy fruit, spice, earth with plenty tannin to give it structure and finish, and a Cabernet Sauvignon which is also an intensely built wine. Casa’s Meritage is styled after the wines of the right bank of Bordeaux, using their Merlot as the backbone and blending in the right amounts of Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon. The result is a full-bodied wine with a balance of all of the flavors of each varietal and plenty of tannins for aging.

Now, on to a discussion of wine and goats. Casa Nuestra specializes in its field blends. In a field blend, the different grapes are planted side-by-side, and harvested and vinified together. There are nine different grapes that go into Casa’s field blends, including Zinfandel, Petite Sirah, Carignan, and others. Much of the field blends go into Casa’s Tinto Classico and Tinto St. Helena. Many also go into the Two Goats Red, a wine dedicated Casa’s weed abatement staff, their goats. The Two Goats Red is an intensely concentrated wine with a mix of berry flavors, good structure, and a nice finish. Often wines made with these blends can be a little rough or rustic. This one is one of the best that we have tried.

Goat-Roti

Goat-Roti is one of the higher end releases from Charles Back, the owner and vintner of Fairview wines in South Africa. The winery was started in 1999 as a side project for making wines blended from Rhone varietals. Charles Back’s Fairview wines are single varietal oriented wines while the wines of his Goats do Roam Wine Company are blends. Many believe that the names of these wines are a jibe at France, playing on such popular names as Côte-Rotie, Côtes du Rhône, and Côtes du Rhône Villages (the Goats do Roam company also produces a wine called “Goats do Roam in Villages” – pronounced just the way you’d think villages would be in English). But in reality, the name actually goes back to a story about the goats.

Goats were originally brought to Fairview Farms in 1980 with the goal of producing South Africa’s first goats’ milk cheeses. The project was a success and Fairview is considered a market leader in artisanal cheeses in South Africa. The goats still produce milk for the cheese, but most of the cheeses are produced from the herds of Jersey cows. One day, the door to the goats’ paddock was left open and being the inquisitive animals that they are, the goats found their way into the vineyards. Being smart as well as inquisitive, the goats found the ripest of berries from the best vines to snack on. That story has sparked a line of wines that include blends of Shiraz, Viognier, Pinotage, Cinsault, Mourvédre, Carignan, and Grenache. In addition to Goat-Roti and the two versions of Goats do Roam, the labels include Bored Doe and Goat Door. The Goats do Roam company makes red wines, white wines, and rosès.

The 2007 Goats do Roam Goat-Roti is a blend of 96% Shiraz and 4% of the white wine grape Viognier. This may sound like an unusual blend since Viognier is typically used to make floral whites. However, older Rhone vintages did blend some Viognier into its red wines. Similar to the field blending technique used by Casa Nuestra, this wine is made from co-fermenting the shiraz and viognier together. The resulting wine has pepper and cloves layered onto a dark berried flavored wine. The Viognier adds soft tannins and a small amount of floral character. The oak flavors in this wine are nice and gentle since only 10% of the barrels used for aging were new oak.

We noticed up front that both wines had a similar flavor profile. However, the Casa Nuestra Two Goats Red was a little more concentrated and intensely flavored. Both wines are considered “buy a case” for us given their flavor and value. We actually do buy the Two Goats Red by at least the half case. If you are comfortable ordering wine online and having it shipped to you, we heartily recommend checking out Casa Nuestra’s website (www.casanuestra.com) and picking up a few bottles. If this isn’t an option, check out the Goat Roti. Both wines are in the $20 -$25 range.

Drink what you like, like what you drink!

Rachel and Bryan Gavini