Wine Road Podcast: Renae Perry from Papapietro Perry

 Episode 187 | Renae Perry from Papapietro Perry

We were joined in the studio today by Renae Perry from Papapietro Perry Winery in Dry Creek - and her lovely wine! Come along as we chat about awesome restaurants, different events held both in person and virtually by Papapietro Perry, and hear about their amazing Wine Club Member cruise! Pickleball skills may be required to join. 

Wine of the Day: 2020 Pinot from Russian River Valley

Vive la France at DeLoach Vineyards -- JCB Comes to RRV

I’m drinking wine while a conga line dances to the beat of Michael Jackson’s Billie Jean and snakes around large wood wine tanks embellished with disembodied legs and heads. All around me I see Libertines, silent sentries from the French Renaissance, their eyes glazed, mouths in half-pouts. It’s not a fever dream. It’s another night in the world of Jean-Charles Boisset.

Every time I get an invitation to a Jean-Charles Boisset event I know I’m going to enter a world of pure imagination dedicated to the proposition that wine wrapped around education and pleasure is the key to creating a memorable and satisfying experience.

Last week I attended an event to showcase the reinvention of DeLoach Vineyards in Sonoma. The property has been re-cast as homage to France, but with both feet firmly planted in the good earth of the Russian River Valley.

Now at DeLoach you can participate in a variety of experiences including a blending session to produce your own wine, a guided tasting of vineyard designates that highlight the particular soils of the local vineyards, or you can learn about the world of wine and mustard and even make your own batch on premise. The mustard experience is in partnership with Fallot Mustard of Burgundy France and includes a flight of DeLoach wine. There is also a very intersting new experience called the Taste of Terrior.

The Appellation Room
The vineyard designate tasting is held in The Appellation Room that features a gigantic relief map to help you pinpoint the exact place the vineyards are located and understand the influence of prevailing fog patterns. This is the kind of stuff I love, but even if you are not a geek about soils, I think its one of the most relaxing and comfortable places to just sit back and consider each wine at your own pace.

The Royal Barrel Cellar is an illuminating experience

The Royal Barrel Cellar
A companion to the Appellation Room is the Royal Barrel Cellar with an energetic vibe and the most electrifying lighting experience that makes it truly feel like Wonka-land. Here you can taste barrel samples and ponder the life force of wine fermenting all around you.

Theater of Nature
Wander around the manicured gardens and groomed grounds to The Theater of Nature, where you can take a self-guided interpretative walk thru biodynamic and organic practices. This experience is comparable to the one at Raymond Vineyards in Napa, but DeLoach has far better views. Yes, I’m biased, DeLoach is practically in my backyard and I’m partial to the Sonoma scenery.

Taste of Terrior
Just beyond the Theatre of Nature, past an old growth stand of redwoods, is the garden that produces the majority of produce used in all the dinners and events at DeLoach. The garden path wraps past a spotless barn area housing sheep and chickens and then leads up to one the most interesting new experiences – the Taste of Terrior.

At the Taste of Terrior guests can compare Boisset Family wines from famed regions of France side-by-side with locally produced Chardonnay and Pinot Noir wines. The point is not to debate which is better, France or Sonoma, but instead to elevate the sense of place each presents and educate the palate all in one stop. It’s one of the only places to offer such a tasting in the entire country. I did not partake of the experience that night, but I am anxious to go back and check it out.

JCB Winery Lounge
For those of you who have visited Raymond Vineyards in Napa and long for the Baccarat crystal tank room, the decant JCB Lounge, and the members only Red Room-- don’t despair-- you can capture a similar sensation at the exclusive JCB Winery Lounge at DeLoach.



Jean-Charles Boisset is more than the Willy Wonka of Wine – he is The Pied Piper of Pinot Noir, The Grand Poobah of Grand Cru, The Sultan of Sustainability, but most of all he is The Purveyor of Pure Imagination and Pleasure.

Back in the Libertines Cellar, the music pumps, our wine glasses glisten, and the conga line grows longer as JCB admonishes us to raise our hands for yet another round of La lala! La lala! La. La. La!  The scene is so deliriously euphoric it’s like a nerve gas of sheer joy has been pumped into the air.

The message is simple: Enjoy yourself, revel in the excess, give yourself over to the absolute pleasure of wine. It’s a command, an invitation, and in the world of JCB--a credo.

No matter where you visit; be it Raymond Vineyards in Napa, Buena Vista in Sonoma, or now at DeLoach, you will eventually be compelled to give in and release yourself to the wine, the place, and the absolute pleasure of experience— JCB won’t stand for anything less.

For more information on DeLoach and to make appointments for the many experiences go here--
http://www.deloachvineyards.com/

Related Posts:
Back to The Future at Buena Vista 
Opulence? JCB Hez It! -- A Visit to Raymond Vineyards in Napa Valley
The Theater of Nature at Raymond Vineyards: Growing Wine Tourism

Russian River Valley Neighborhoods: No SUBstitutions

Got Dirt? 

Four Wine Guys, a Critic, and a Dog Walk into a Bar....

This past Saturday I attended a seminar on Russian River Valley Neighborhoods to learn about the characteristics and defining qualities of the wine region in which I live. The seminar was presented by the Russian River Valley Winegrowers Association as part of Pinot Classic weekend.

The Neighborhoods seminar took attendees on a guided tour through the Russian River Valley “sub” region vineyards of Middle Reach, Laguna Ridge and Green Valley via our olfactory senses and palates. The Green Valley appellation is a big one so it makes sense it might be a prime candidate for some slice and dice, but creating new AVA’s can be quite a political and thorny issue for everyone involved. And apparently there is no such thing as a “sub” appellation, so the areas discussed were called neighborhoods, which is the very clunky and clandestine way to say “sub” AVA. 

"It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood." -- Mr. Rogers

Mike Sullivan of Benovia moderated the panel with Mark McWilliams of Arista representing Middle Reach; Michael Browne of Kosta Brown representing Green Valley, and Rod Berglund of Joseph Swan representing Laguna Ridge.

Also on the panel, Steve Heimoff, who penned a definitive book on the region: A Wine Journey along the Russian River; and although the handout said he was from Wine Enthusiast, Heimoff is currently working for Kendall-Jackson. The final member of the panel was Heimoff’s little dog Gus. Gus did not say much, he was certainly cute, but looked to me like his name should be Schnapps.

Dirt and Fog

As with any wine region weather is a crucial element and fog in particular is a big deal for Pinot. I can vouch for the distinct fog patterns that are unique to the RRV area and how it changes with the seasons. I marvel at how clearly defined the band of fog is that enters from Petaluma Gap to the south of the Sebastopol Hills vs. the slow hang and creep of the Middle Reach fog banks as compared to the “fill and drain” of the fog in the Laguna Ridge basin.

Despite varying winemaking protocols terroir trumps all and our goal was to see if we could detect the varying degrees of silt, sand, and clay soil characteristics of each neighborhood in the wines. The Russian River Valley Winegrowers are creating a searchable knowledgebase of the region to establish a baseline and common language to track and determine patterns of the neighborhoods and define what characteristics of terroir are expressed in a given region.

Green Valley – Higher acid and bright red fruit, soils defined by silt and loam.
Middle Reach – Rich, powerful, fruit driven, deepest soils.
Laguna Ridge -- Earth and spice, mix of silt, sand, and some clay.

“Great wine drinks great at all ages.”– Mark McWilliams

Taste Blind Smell the Love

We were presented with nine Pinots to blind taste-- three each from vineyards in Green Valley, Middle Reach and Laguna Ridge. There were also jars of Franciscan, Alluvial, and Goldridge soils. The Alluvial and Goldridge smelled amazing, both emitting deep dark and complex aromas, but my jar of Fransican had barely any scent at all.

The Alluvial soil smelled so good, I suggested to Virginie Boone, seated next to me, that we add some water to the sample jar and do mud pack facials while we tasted through the rest of the wine samples. She wisely declined.

Tasting blind really helped me to focus in on the characteristics of each neighborhood rather than the style of the producer. I was able to guess a few of the wines, such as Kosta Browne and Arista, but I based those assumptions mainly on the vineyard name and location, which were big giveaways.

I also correctly guessed the Laguna Ridge wine from Goldridge soil. The moment I smelled the wine I had a hunch it was Dehlinger. A taste confirmed it in my mind. It was revealed at the end of the session to indeed be Dehlinger. {This rarely happens to me, so chalk one up for my blind tasting abilities!} No other Pinot I’ve ever had tastes or smells or drinks quite like Dehlinger.

Here are a few of the quick notes and impressions I jotted down for each wine:

Middle Reach Vineyards (all 2012)
Little Hill/Rochioli: Distinctive nose of chalk, rich earth and powdery rose with bright fruits and good acidity.
Harper’s Rest/Arista: Deep rich flavor and brambly notes with firm tannins.
Allen Vineyard/Williams Selyem: Subtle, elusive nose, with chalky, dusty earth and bright intense fruit with long dry finish.

Laguna Ridge Vineyards: (all 2011)
Trenton Estate/ Joseph Swan: Full black berry and red fruit flavors with great acidity.
Goldridge/ Dehlinger: Soft and approachable with a slightly dusty floral nose. Distinct bright red fruit flavors and a lush full mouth feel. Complex and harmonious an expressive poem of Pinot.
Soul Patch/Davis Family Vineyards: Spicy and tense with good balance

Green Valley Vineyards: (all 2012)
Emerald Ridge/Dutton Goldfield: Floral nose with intense black and blueberry flavors –spicy mid palate and firm tannins
Keefer Ranch/Kosta Browne: Bright and delicious red fruit, medium tannins and nice level of acidity surfs a long wave of flavor to very pleasing finish.
Fog Dance/Hartford Court: Bright bold bowl of spicy cherries with a hint of sage, and eucalyptus notes with a long finish.

More information:
Russian River Valley Winegrowers

Touring the Sonoma Wine Road: There’s No Place Like Home!

Two weeks ago I had the pleasure of joining a three-day a press trip sponsored by the Wine Road of Northern Sonoma County. I was in the middle of a book deadline so, I could not participate in the entire three days, but since the tour took place practically in my own backyard, I was able to I pop in and out and meet the group around the area.

First off, I have to say what a great group it was (see Stacie Tamaki's list of participants here). I’m used to hanging out with travel writers and wine bloggers, but food bloggers are completely delightful in the most amazing ways. I should have known this already as I have a great friend who is a hybrid food/travel blogger and photographer-- and she is one of the coolest people I know. Food bloggers talk about completely different things than wine bloggers, (go figure) and they seem to have much better industry gossip too! Plus they are very well read--especially esoteric food mags named after fortuitous fruits. One in our group, Anita Chu is launching her own food themed magazine called Sated and I can’t wait to read it. I learned all sorts of things from the other participants and I could not have enjoyed myself more than if I hand picked the group myself.

The first stop of day one was in Geyserville at Williamson Wines. I'd never tasted their wines before and the visit was off to a great start when we were greeted by Jeff Hall and Dawn Williamson and handed glasses of “Fizz” their North Coast Sparkling wine made from 60% Chardonnay and 40% Pinot Noir. I found the Fizz peachy and toasty with good acidity--a very easy sipper.

Dawn Williamson hosted us on their back patio for a light lunch along with a selection of their Bordeaux and Rhone style wines including Entice Cuvee a red blend, Elate Grange Cuvee and Enchant Trinity GSM that was my favorite.

After lunch we tried a few more wines in the tasting room including the Frolic Viognier with some curried cashews. The cashews, while interesting on their own, interfered with my enjoyment of the viognier, which was just great alone.

Williamson Wines firmly believes wines that are meant to be enjoyed with food and the tasting room offers food and wine pairings by appointment. Call and go.

On to Alexander Valley to the eponymous named Alexander Valley Vineyards-- At Alexander Valley Vineyards we took a tour of the caves with Scott Mansfield where we tasted some barrel samples and compared the wines in French oak and American barrels.  I’m well acquainted with the wines from Alexander Valley Vineyards but I’d never been to the winery and it was fun to hear the opinions of the other bloggers, a few who had never tasted barrel samples before.

Next we drove over to White Oak another winery where I was familiar with their wines, but, you guessed it…I’ve never been there!  The main building hosts the tasting room along with an upstairs room offering stunning views of the valley. When you visit, keep your eye out for a super weird but oddly adorable brontosaurus covered in dried beans, that looks like it just stepped straight off a Pasadena Rose parade float. Out on the patio we chatted with winemaker Bill Parker while White Oak owner Bill Myer prepared some fresh caught salmon for us. A hunter at heart, Bill Myer seems to be on the hunt for the best wine he can make as well as a few trophy fish.

Our last stop of day one was at Relish Culinary Adventures in Healdsburg. Of course I know of Relish and have been to many events they’ve catered, but I’d never been to their home base where they host private events and have a fully equipped demonstration kitchen.

Owner Donna del Rey greeted us with glasses of 2011 Michel-Schlumberger Pinot Blanc and gave us a brief overview of what Relish is all about and then turned us over to Chef Ciara Meaney who guided us through four courses, each paired with two wines for us to contrast and compare.

We began with a goat cheese and asparagus tartlet paired with a Sauvignon Blanc and a Dry Riesling. I really don’t understand all the wine-paring professionals out there that claim asparagus can’t be paired with wine--that's ridiculous. There are plenty of wines that go great with asparagus and Dutcher Crossing Sauvignon Blanc is one of them.

As the meal progressed our place settings got a bit crowded with all the wine glasses and I had to give my fellow writers some good natured ribbing when a few in the front row knocked their glasses off the narrow tables. I’m sure I could have done the same, especially when taking photos with my phone. It always looks like there is more room at the edge of the frame.

Anyway, all the smashing glass added to a jovial atmosphere-- Oopla! Well maybe not for the people cleaning it up.

Rock Shrimp and Avocado Salad with Lemon Aioli and Baby greens--Paired with Dashe Cellars Vin Gris, Grenache Rose and Cellars of Sonoma Joseph Jewel Pinot Rose. My preference in this pairing goes to the Dashe which I felt supported the lemony quality of the dish best.

Crispy Duck and Wild Mushroom Risotto paired with Philip Staley Vino Tinto and Amista Vineyards Syrah. --Hands down winner was the Syrah here which for me was perfect play with the savory and fatty aspects of the duck.

Strawberry and Rhubarb Galette

Strawberry and Rhubarb Galette  paired with Forth Vineyards Late Harvest Sauvignon Blanc and Balletto Vineyards Vin de Paille. Both of these were great with this incredible dessert but my palate leaned towards the Balletto Pinot Gris which was just amazing and concentrated with rich flavors of pear and honey and wonderfully sweet without being cloying.

For an excellent round up of the event and beautiful photos check out Stacie Tamaki’s blog The Flirty Guide here.

Next Post:
Part 2--Touring Sonoma Wine Road: There's No Place Like Home!

RESOURCE LINKS:
Williamson Wines
Alexander Valley Vineyards
White Oak Vineyards
Relish Culinary Adventures 
The Wine Road

Roll Out the Barrel

Last weekend and this weekend the Annual Sonoma Wine Road Barrel Tasting Event is on. It's tons of fun, but I usually don’t go for two reasons: 1: It’s crowded. 2: It’s crowded. But this year we decided to do a very local barrel tasting tour and visit wineries less than 6 miles from our house.

First Stop: Joseph Swan Winery

Great offering of barrel samples including

2009 Zinfandel Mancini Ranch 2009 Zinfandel Zeigler Vineyard 2009 Syrah Trenton Estate 2009 Syrah Great Oak Vineyard 2008 Cabernet Trenton Estate.

Stop 2: Martin Ray

The folks at Martin Ray were in an 80’s mode wearing neon green, orange, and pink and offering free (temporary) tattoos. I liked the Sauvignon Blanc they poured in the tasting room and the Pinot barrel sample.

Stop 3: Graton Ridge Cellars—The 60s were alive and well at Graton Ridge and in addition to their medal wining wines the main reason to visit Graton Ridge is for the rainbow peace sign each visitor gets on entering the tasting room. Groovy man. The giveaways don’t get any better than this! The barrel samples I liked were the 2010 Russian River Chardonnay and the 2010 Bacigalupi Zinfandel

Stop 4: Dutton Goldfield

I am a fan of Dutton Goldfield wines, so it’s hard to believe this was my first visit to their new tasting room since they opened almost a year ago. I guess it’s like the Empire state building or Statue of Liberty, you take it for granted if you live there and drive by it all the time. The new tasting room is open and airy with a great patio set up out front perfect for relaxing in the afternoon sun.

Of the five barrel samples there, I liked the 2010 Fox Den Vineyard Pinot Noir from the Green Valley of Russian River appellation and the 2010 Morelli Lane Zinfandel Russian River Valley. The Morelli smelled like a Pinot and tasted like a Zin! It’s two wines in one.

In the tasting room Sarah Kelley poured us the lovely 2008 Dutton Ranch Chardonnay as well as the 2008 Devils Gulch Vineyard Pinot from Marin County and the 2008 Cherry Ridge Syrah (also Green Valley Russian River). We also tried the 2008 Sanchietti Pinot that I loved so much in the past. This wine is close to being sold out and I snagged a few bottles from the quickly dwindling inventory. I noticed almost everyone who tasted the Sanchietti bought some on the spot.

Hanging out by the Fork Food Truck

After the tasting it was time for some food and lucky for us Sarah Piccolo of Fork Catering Food truck and Jeff Tyler of Chicago Style Hot Dogs were both on hand in the parking lot serving up their specialties.

We got a Chicago dog with EVERYTHING and a Crab roll sandwich and a Mongolian Beef sandwich from Fork. Look for Tyler and Sarah next time you are out and about.

Sarah Piccolo of Fork

We made one last stop at Shane Wines and Kosta Browne which was not part of the Barrel Tasting Trail and I’ll tell you all about it on the next post!

Plotting Pinot

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