Lodi Wine Bloggers Conference 2016: The Missed Connection — St. Jorge Winery

My Friday excursion tag for #WBC16 in Lodi read “The Wine Abides” -- and as I waited with my group to board the bus to our undisclosed location, I realized I’d left my phone charge cord behind in the conference center. I ran back to retrieve it and when I returned the “Wine Abides” bus had up and left without me! Without a roster of who was on what bus it was impossible for them to know who should be aboard. But my missed connection had a very happy ending as I ended up on the “Souzão Berry Fields Forever” bus with wonderful small group consisting of Rachel of Three Strings Wine, Rob Frisch of Odd Bacchus, Josh from Josh Likes Wine, Andrew Pitt from Visit Lodi, Chris Kern of Forgotten Grapes, and Jo-Jo the Wine Guzzling Bear. (I think Jo-Jo blogs for Costo.)

Jo-Jo bellying up to the barre. 

Our destination was St. Jorge a winery focusing on Portuguese wines along with a few Italian varietals as well. Our hosts for the evening were Vern & Jenise Vierra, the owners of St. Jorge Winery since 2007. Jenise’s family heritage is Italian and Vern’s family was Portuguese hailing from the island of St. Jorge, thus the name of the winery. Together, Vern and Jenise have all the elements for a great reality TV show--like a modern Lucy and Ricky, they were a thoroughly engaging and highly entertaining couple.

The St. Jorge Estate was like a little slice of Portugal transported to the outskirts of Lodi. After a welcome glass of Verdelho along with some extraordinary Portuguese cheeses and traditional breads, we headed out to the vineyards with Vern.

Bounded by olive trees and oak groves the vineyard soils consist of shallow clay and sandy loam. The estate-grown varietals include Verdelho, Malbec, Tinto Cão, Carignan, Trincadeira, Alicanti Bouschet, Alvarelho, Touriga, Souzão, Tempranillo, and Petit Sirah. 

They also produce Cabernet Sauvignon, Maria (Mediera Port), Old Vine Zinfandel, Sangiovese, Sobremesa (Dessert), Syrah, Tannat, Vinho Cor De Rosa, Vinho Tinto Belo, and Vinho Tinto Doce.

With over 22 wines offered, you are sure to find one that suits your palate at St. Jorge.

It was dang hot out and I drank a lot of water. Perhaps too much water as it had the effect of flushing all the salt from my body of making me feel worse in the heat rather than better, and I struggled through the evening until my electrolytes finally balanced out. Note to self: Water is dangerous!

Vern Vierra in the St. Jorge vineyard

After the vineyard tour, Vern led us through a technical tasting in the cellar where we tasted a vertical of Verdelho including the 2011 Verdelho Seco from Silvaspoons Vineyard, 2014 Verdelho from Vierra Estate, and 2011 Maria also Silvaspoons Vineyard. 

We also took a mini liquid tour of Portugal and tasted the 2014 Trincaderia , 2013 Tempranillo,  2014 Touriga, 2014 Souzao, and 2011 Vihno Tinto Doce  (Port).

But that’s not all!

We then tried the 2013 Sangiovese (a personal favorite of mine), 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon, 2013 Syrah, and the 2013 Alicanti Bouschet.

Time for Dinner

Jenise Vierra, at left, our gracious host.

As the air temperature dropped to a balmy 92 degrees, we headed back outside for dinner alfresco in the courtyard with outdoor chandeliers, and elegant glass sculptures atop a long table artfully decorated with fresh cut grapes that I mistook for fake as they just looked too good to be true.

Not fake grapes, the real deal!

The Portuguese and Italian inspired meal was prepared on site by the long-time family chef Lucia Rogers. The menu was as follows: Gazpacho with a fiery kick of jalapeño paired with 2014 Verdelho; Filetto Carpaccio Salad with 2014 Souzao; Bacalao the traditional cod dish of Portugal with 2014 Trincaderia; Pappa Pomodori Ravioli with 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon; and Port infused Fudge Brownie with Armena & Raspberry sauce paired with 2011 Vinho Tinto Doce.

It was an evening of grand hospitality and wine, wine, and more wine!

Grateful thanks to Vern and Jenise for hosting us and also to Mike Shinn, Director of Operations, for his assistance and the lively dinner conversation.

If you visit Lodi, be sure to stop in at St.Jorge. They are open Friday - Sunday from 11-5pm .

St. Jorge Winery
www.stjorgewinery.com

TOP TEN Reasons You Should Go to WBC13 in Okanagan

#10 The Fruit is Really Big

The fruit in Penticton is really big – and big fruit means good grapes. Peaches, Cherries, Apricots, Apples--it’s all growing in Okanagan.

#9 - The Food
Restaurants like Vanilla Pod at Poplar Grove Winery, Hillside Estates Winery Bistro, Lake Breeze Winery and the Hooded Merganzer are all run by innovative chefs that work in a supporting role with the bounty of the region, coaxing out the flavors of a dish with finesse and imagination not overpowering them.

#8--Sparkling and White Wines-- 
The Whites and Sparkling wines in the Okanagan are crisp, refreshing, and full of fruit and acidity. Standouts for me were the Blue Mountain Sparkling Brut non vintage made of Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Pinot Gris --a tart dry delight. Also wonderful was the creamy Sauvignon Blanc, the bright Pinot Gris and-- I can’t really believe I’m saying this -- my favorite their amazing Chardonnay-- soft and supple with great acidity and balanced fruit. More about these wines in my next post. Other top picks the Gewurtztraminer from Kettle Valley, Pinot Gris from Lake Breeze, and the Viognier from Laughing Stock.

#7 – The Conference Hotel --Penticton Lakeside Resort—

I don’t think WBC has ever had a conference venue as dynamic as this. The Penticton Lakeside Resort  is situated right on Lake Okanagan--you can see vineyards from your balcony. And if you are not on the lakeside you can see wine bottles in your mini fridge. But no matter what side of the hotel you are on, the conference meeting rooms, and public areas all have incredible views as well. (Oh, and did I mention there is an on-site casino??) Oh yes, trouble is just a short elevator ride away. Other big plus—The wifi is blazing fast and so are the elevators. You won’t grow old waiting for the elevators here.

#6 – Winemakers

Everyone says Canadians are polite. Well sure that’s true, but they never mention how much fun they are, and how smart and hospitable they are. They are all that too. Plus who doesn't love to hang out with winemakers. Eh?

#5 – The Red Wines

Yes indeedy, there are some rich reds to quaff in the Okanagan. One of my favorite reds was the Cab Franc from Tinhorn Creek--exceptional body, smooth with spicy sage notes. The reds here are surprising and very good--from Cabernet to Syrah to Pinot Noir to Merlot--which is widely planted and I think could be a contender for signature grape of the area.

#4 – The Stunning Views –

Okanagan has some of the most interesting geological history of any wine region in the world and the views to go with it. Morning, noon and night, the scenery is the star and there are few wine regions more stunning. 

#3 – Gewurztraminer Slushies!!!

If there is only one reason to go to Okaganan-- this is it! You may just start looking for real estate after you have one of these amazing concoctions at Kettle Valley Winery.

#2 – The Wine!!

Did I mention wine? Oh yes—You can’t have a wine bloggers conference without good wine and it’s plentiful here. The jury is still out on what exactly the signature grape of the Okanagan region is. Is it Pinot Gris, Gewurtz, Cab Franc, perhaps Merlot? It’s hard to say, there are so many great grapes grown here--something for every palate. You need to try them all and then cast your own ballot for Signature Grape of Okanagan.

And the NUMBER ONE reason you should go to WBC13—

—If you miss the 2013 Wine Bloggers Conference in Penticton –You’re an idiot!

There is lot to see and do beyond the conference. Biking, hiking, kayaking, stand up paddle boarding, and something simply called “the float” in the river channel between Okanagan Lake and Skaha Lake that does not involve root beer, but could if you wanted it to.

My recommendation for WBC13 in Okanagan-- Come early, stay late. You’ll be glad you did.

I’ll go in to everything I experienced on my WBC13 preveiw trip that was arranged by Travel Penticton and BC Wine in the next two posts. So don’t touch that dial.

INFORMATION ON PENTICTON:

Penticton & Wine Country Visitor Centre
Toll free: 1-800-663-5052
Email: visitors@penticton.ca

Photo Credits: All photos Marcy Gordon except for Pentiction Peach and Mountain biker -- courtesy of Penticton & Wine Country Tourism

The Five Stages of Wine Blogging*

{*The Five Stages of Wine Blogging are based on The Kübler-Ross model, commonly known as The Five Stages of Grief.}

Denial — "I am NOT a wine blogger. I'm a writer! This can't be happening, not to me!" Denial is usually only a temporary defense as the individual realizes they have an irresistible urge to write a wine blog.

Anger — "Why me? It's not fair! How did this happen to me? Wine blog judges are idiots!" Once in the second stage, the individual recognizes that denial cannot continue. Anger and jealousy issues arise. "My blog is just as good as Dirty Mouth Wine or Grape-a-Saurus and Sniff This! Why don't I have more readers and awards? I want an award! And why can't I have a crazy unpronounceable name like Yalder Arrow? I'm somebody toooo!"

Bargaining —  "I will post every day for a year if I can just get a trip to France and several cases of wine samples every month. I promise I will only blog on weekends and days that end in 'Y" and I vow to see my family more than once a week."  The third stage involves the realization that you might get some free stuff because of your blog, but maintaining a wine blog is a lot of work. This stage is more difficult for bloggers who have non-blogging spouses and actual day jobs.

Depression — "Hey, what's with all those other bloggers I see going on press trips? And where are my wine samples!?! How come I'm not getting all that free stuff? My blog is not the ticket to respect and credibility I once thought it would be." The sad realization you are not, and never will be, The HoseMaster of Wine sets in.

Acceptance — "I am a wine blogger. I attend conferences. I have business cards. I go on press trips. I get free wine samples." Admitting that you are a wine blogger is the first step to a normal blogging life, quickly followed by complete acceptance. "I am a slave to my blog. I am so depressed." 

NOTE: I started my blog because I wanted to attend the 2009 Wine Bloggers Conference and the sign-up page required you submit the URL of your wine blog. So I bought a domain and started a wine blog. Just like that. I had no idea where this ruse would lead. But I must say wine blogging has been berry berry good to me.

If you don't have a wine blog I urge you to start one today. You'll be amazed at how many people you'll irritate and annoy if you do. Plus, the 5th Annual Wine Bloggers Conference is in Portland, Oregon this August, and you need to have a wine blog to attend. Hope to see you there.

ADDENDUM:  The Portland WBC is sold out. But I hear Ron Washam is holding a poodle grooming and blogger de-programming seminar that weekend. Apply now by sending Ron a 500-word essay on why you deserve to live, along with your $1200.00 non-refundable deposit check.

{*The Five Stages of Wine Blogging are based on The Kübler-Ross model, commonly known as The Five Stages of Grief.}

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

Russian River Valley Vineyards

My Backyard Wine Road
Wine tourism is about more than wine, it's the food, the lodging and the people of a region that make it a complete experience. I live smack dab in the middle of one of the greatest wine regions in the world, and sometimes it's easy to take it for granted. Luckily I got a chance to see some places I was missing and gain a new appreciation for what's right outside my door.

On Day 2 of the Wine Road tour I met up with everyone for lunch at Corks Restaurant at Russian River Vineyards. I live less than 5 miles from the restaurant and I walk by several times a week on the trail that runs behind the vineyard, yet-- (repeat after me)-- I’d never been there! 

Food Bloggers vs. Wine Bloggers

I had to laugh when our host asked who would like some wine to start and no one replied. She set down the wine list and said order anything you like. Well, as the designated wine blogger I felt it was my duty to order wine for the table. I dare say for many of the bloggers, the amount of wine they were tasting over the course of three days was way more than usual.

That’s one difference between the food blogger world and the wine blogger world-- I’m positive a group of wine bloggers would never be given free reign of the wine list!

There are some beautiful (and expensive) wine’s on the list at Corks--but I kept it modest and chose a lively Atascadero Creek '10 Sauvignon Blanc and a 2009 Charbono from Russian River Vineyards.  I personally love Charbono and you rarely see it on wine lists. During the meal we also tasted several of the selections from the Corks tasting room which they poured for us tableside.

Wine Speed Dating 
After Corks, it was on to Paradise Ridge Winery for a round of speed tastings with winery representatives and winemakers. This was not like the wine speed tastings I’ve participated in before at Wine Bloggers Conference where bloggers sit a tables of 10 and the wineries go from table to table and pour. Instead, this tasting was more like a true speed dating set up, where each winemaker or representative sat at a single table and we did a musical chairs, round robin, and met for eight minutes with each person one-on-one. This was similar to the timed meetings at travel media conferences where you spend 10-15 minutes with each tourism rep.

I really liked this format for wine, as you got to interact with the winemaker on a much more meaningful level and had time to taste the wine without a rush. I knew more than half of the folks pouring, but it was fun to see old friends and participate in the speed tasting.

I was very familiar with the wines from Paradise Ridge, Hart's Desire, Foppiano, Papapietro Perry, Topel, Alexander Valley Vineyards, Dry Creek Vineyards, Carol Shelton and Hook and Ladder. {By the way, I liked the Cab Franc from Hook and Ladder so much, I went out and bought a bottle in their new tasting room the very next day.}

New to me wines were: Amorosa Bella Wines, Calluna, West Wines, and Dutcher Crossing.

No one was engaged at the end of the "speed dating" session, but I was very impressed by the few bloggers that were not used to tasting through so much wine-- they were real troopers. As any wine blogger knows, a wine press trip can be grueling in terms of the amount of wines you taste. And it’s truly hard work to taste and make notes and keep it all together wine after wine after wine.

The Lone Wine Blogger
I missed Day 3 of the tour around Dry Creek which included many of my favorite wineries including Quivira, but I was honored to be the lone wine blogger on board and hope to meet up with my new food and travel friends again very soon.

Thanks so much to Beth and Tracy from the Wine Road and Marla from Wagstaff for a well organized and informative event that even this slightly jaded local found to be full of surprises and great discoveries in my own backyard. I promise not to take it for granted ever again!

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

Touring the Sonoma Wine Road --Part 1

RESOURCE LINKS:
Corks Resturant and Russina River Valley Vineyards
Paradise Ridge Winery
The Wine Road

Speed Tasting Links:
Paradise Ridge
Hart's Desire
Foppiano
Papapietro Perry
Topel
Alexander Valley Vineyards
Dry Creek Vineyards
Carol Shelton Wines
Hook and Ladder
Amorosa Bella Wines
Calluna
West Wines
Dutcher Crossing

How Did You Get Here? My # 1 Search Term of the Year.

As the year draws to a close it’s only natural to look back and reflect on what went down in 2010. I’ve had this wine blog for almost two years now and this year showed a marked increase in traffic to Come for the Wine. I’d love to think it’s because of my witty outlook and scintillating take on the wine world at large, but it’s much less honorable than that.

After reviewing my blog analytics for the year it has been revealed that the number one search term that brought people to my site this year was: “nuts and wine”. Nuts & Wine!!!

Apparently there are boatload of folks looking for information on nuts and wine and I seem to be the person to give it to them because about 60% of the people who come to my site with that search parameter stick around… for quite a while!

Nuts & Wine. Make of it what you will. I guess it’s not a complete random act that this search term delivers my blog as a result. After all, I did write a few things that do fit the category like: The Danger of Pine Nuts. And oh yeah my post called Pairing Nut's with Wine probably started it all. Or perhaps it was the Lamrusco incident that lead people to think I was nuts?

Go figure. I guess I will just embrace it. After “nuts & wine” the second most popular search term was “type of blogger” or “crazy type of wine blogger” which lead people to my most popular post of the year:

The Five Types of Wine Bloggers: What Kind of Wine Blogger Are You?

This post of course was a joke but you would not believe how many people took it as a serious treatise on the state of wine blogging. {well maybe it is} But Helloooo! Satire while grounded in the truth is still a parody, humor, and mirth! It’s amazing how many people don’t get the joke.

It’s been a good blogging year though and I have been very fortunate to get the opportunity to taste some amazing wine and meet some incredible people this year.

Highlights include events at:

2010 Diageo Chateau Estate Burgundy Tasting { I'm still thinking about the wines I had that day}

Meteor Vineyards

Willamette Valley

Hands on Harvest at Gloria Ferrer

In retrospect I have to say-- “Wine Blogging has been bery bery good to me.”* In fact I’m off to Portugal in the new year mostly because of this blog, so I can’t wait for that and look forward to blogging all about it in February. *{if you are too young to get that joke Google SNL-- Baseball has been bery, bery good to me}

I want to thank everyone who invited me to taste their wine this year and gave me so many great experiences to write about.

Happy 2011! Here’s to you and a new year filled with less nuts and more wine.

The Five Types of Wine Bloggers -What Kind of Wine Blogger Are You?

1. The Amateur Professional

Has an actual paying job in an industry other than wine but is a knowledgeable, studious and zealous blogger.

2. The Mad Libber

Reviews wine by using a rotating list of adjectives to describe the “nose” and “mouth feel”. Posts are identical with the exception of the photo. Writing style mimics a Mad Libs game.

3. The Know-it-All

Pompous and ingratiating, the know-it-all really does know it all; but it does not make them any less annoying.

4. The Wild Card

Crazy anarchist self-styled lunatic loves the “juice” for it’s higher power. Writes incomprehensible posts about harmonic convergence, interpretive dance and numerology that inspire the wine god within.

5. The Interloper

Cares little about wine blogging but pumps out enough posts to play the game and actively solicits wineries to send them samples.

Ridge Lytton Springs Wine Blogger Tasting III

This past Sunday Christopher Watkins, the Tasting Room Manager for Ridge Monte Bello, held a vertical tasting of Zinfandels from the Ridge Lytton Springs Library as well some select Cabernets from the vault at Ridge Monte Bello. This was an exceptional line up of wines and one might expect a formal setting and a hushed silence of reverence for the tasting. Instead it was serious amount of fun, a relaxed and casual day of tasting out on the crush pad at Ridge Lytton Springs. It was a scorcher the day we sat down to try the wines, but the crush pad stayed a cool 80 degrees in the shade. Hard to know if this temperature affected the wines on the palate, but I felt the heat made it slightly more difficult to capture the nose.

Chris assembled a terrific slate of writers and bloggers for the event and you can a find a full roster and links to the participant’s blogs here:

It’s great to sit with a group of enthusiasts to talk and tweet about wine on a high intellectual level. Okay, so that’s not exactly what happened at my end of the table. One thing about tweeting is that it makes initial interaction rather stunted. I was actually talking to Liza on twitter @BrixChix_Liza via tweets, even though she was sitting right next to me. Oh what a weird world we live in. Eventually we lifted our eyes off our phones and met our tablemates.

I had the pleasure of meeting David Tong and Richard Jennings among many others. Also in attendance was the notorious Ron Washam who pens The Hosemaster of Wine blog. Ron is an expert blogger baiter calling out the ridiculousness of bloggers and their antics in carefully crafted and parody filled prose, so I was expecting more of a general drubbing from him that day. But instead he merely threw out a few stale zingers and behaved himself for the most part. I think maybe it’s because the people at the table were serious about wine and serious about writing about it and sharing it with others, but for the most part don’t take themselves very seriously. So it’s hard to get your hooks into someone who agrees that what they do is not brain surgery for rocket scientists. Or some other fractured metaphor of false aggrandizement.

Maybe he was just caught up in the moment of sending his first tweet.

Oh dear, Ron tweeted, the world as we know it has ended. Anyway, enough about Ron, on to the wines.

The vintages we tasted included the Lytton Spring Zinfandels from 1987, 1992, 1993, 1996, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, & 2007.

The standouts for me included:

1992– Lavender notes and on the nose and good tannins

1993—A yeasty almost lemon cupcake-y scent with long finish. I was quoted as saying this made me want to have a cigarette and I don't even smoke.

2003—Interesting salty soy like quality. Umami as Chris says. Perhaps would make for a good sushi Zin.

2005—Hints of green pepper and fruit forward with a touch of grapefruit. Me likey very muchy.

2007—Full lush and worthy of an animal sacrifice on the BBQ.

We also tasted Cabernets from Ridge Monte Bello 1991, 1992 & 1994.

I thought all the Monte Bello Cabernets were complex and multi-faceted, but the 1994 had the perfect aligning of the planets for my palate.

We discussed foods that would pair well with the wines and came up with everything from tempura to guinea pig. We also theorized that if wine had been aboard the Apollo 11 moon launch they might never have left the capsule for the first moonwalk. Imagine what might have resulted. —

“That’s one small sip for Man and the rest of this Zinfandel from Monte Bello for Me. Huston, I’m staying here in the capsule and drinking this Monte Bello. It’s literally out of this world.”

How we got on to the subject of space travel is probably my fault, but that’s the fun of tasting. Everyone has a unique frame of reference to call upon in describing wine.

Here are a few screen shots of what others had to say:

You can search twitter for the hashtag #Ridgewines and read more of the tweets that where unleashed during the tasting.

Thanks to Christopher and also to Brandy Alexander (yes, her real name) for organizing and hosting the event.

The Accidental Wine Blogger

NOTE: I cut this section below from my post on the Wines of Burgundy because it did not seem relevant to the story. But then this morning I awoke to see twitter all a twitter about the latest wine blogger bashing. So I thought I’d include it here separate from the original post:

I guess this goes without saying that I write these posts for my own enjoyment and don’t expect to influence anyone about anything, but I think any journey worth taking is also one worth sharing. I say this because I got a “Who do I think I am?” response from a person at the Burgundy event when I told them I have a wine blog. I responded to them by saying --“Why do you care what I write unless you believe it in some way diminishes what you do? I don’t let anyone define me so why would you?” The person just stared at me.

It’s not like anyone but my friends and family are reading this? Right? Anyway I thought it was funny and I suggested they actually read my blog so they could rest assured I was not someone to fear, nor was I corrupting or influencing the wine buying public. Hey, we’ve got Wine Spectator for that. Just kidding. I subscribe to WS and find it very entertaining and informative. I’m not dissing them. Cue Rodney King—”Can’t we all get along…?”

Full Disclosure: Last year I moved to Sonoma County and decided to learn about the vineyards that are all around me. Through twitter I met some local people and attended a live twitter tasting at Estate in Sonoma. I had a great time and became friends with many of the people I met there. Although I am mostly a travel writer, I started my “wine blog” a year ago because I wanted to attend the Wine Blogger Conference in Santa Rosa and you had to have a blog to register. So overnight I became a wine blogger. The title of my blog, Come for the Wine, is actually taken from the title of my book about my adventures (and major misadventures) when I lived in Italy and the full title is Come for the Wine, Stay for the Surgery. (Although it might as well be titled: Eat Red Meat. Drink Red Wine.)

After I started the blog I really embraced the oppourtunity to learn all about all aspects of wine in the area I live. In the process I’ve met some life long friends and had more fun than I could imagine thanks to the generosity of the local wine blogging community. I don’t write reviews really, I just write about what I find interesting and fun. But it never ceases to amaze me how hopped up people can get over wine bloggers. My experience noted above was kind of a shocker. I don’t take my self that seriously so I was surprised anyone else would. But I do take learning seriously and I learned a tremendous amount in the last year because of my blog. In one year I’ve been to tastings both live and on twitter, picked grapes at crush, visited crush pads at the peak of harvest, toured wineries and vineyards, blended a bottle of Cabernet, learned about the scents in wine and wine barrels, tested different types of wine glasses, met winemakers and sampled a lot of great wine. Having a blog gives me a chance to filter and distill what I experience and an outlet to share it with anyone who is interested.

So am I a wine blogger? I don’t know. I think of myself as a writer (a travel writer mostly) with a blog, and right now it happens to be about wine. But if I keep this up I might have to admit that yes I am a wine blogger --The Accidental Wine Blogger. Hey maybe that should be the new name for my blog!