On Sunday September 25th I joined a group of wine writers and bloggers for the 3rd edition of the 2011 Wine Blogger Tasting Series, one of the most sought after wine events hosted by Christopher Watkins of Ridge Vineyards at the Lytton Springs location in Dry Creek Valley.
I attended last year when we sat out on the crush pad and the temperature hovered around 90 degrees. This year the crush pad was in glorious use for harvest and we got to watch as the fruit came in and was hoisted into the de-stemmer. Then after tasting some carignane direct from the tap, we retreated to the barrel room where it was nice and cold.
The wines Christopher selected for the tasting were all small production library wines. Most came from stock with less than nine cases on hand. We tried wines from Monte Bello and Lytton Springs, some from vineyards I've never even heard of before.
I’m always amazed how well the Ridge wines hold up for years and years and years. I probably should not be surprised really since the age-ability of Ridge is it's common denominator. But I have very little discipline when it comes to cellaring wine and tend to drink things in the now rather then in the future.
Christopher reminds me of this crazy cool professor I knew in college who was obsessed with rare books, German literature and Swing music. His house was filled with shelves of classic and esoteric works of literature and old records.
He’d scan a shelf and pull a book out and say-- Oh have you read this? Do you know this work? Then he would read a passage aloud. Or he’d grab a record and say --You gotta hear this. He would play a piece of music and you would be so wowed by it. This professor was like a spirit guide to the volumes of written works that you just had to read. I'd leave his house with my mind slightly blown and a lengthy list of books I had to get my hands on.
Ridge events to me are so similar, Christopher is our "spirit guide” scanning the library wines for just the right passage, just the few phrases that will jolt you, change you, make you rethink all other wines. It's a sybaritic journey of wine and poetry and the simple pleasure of letting go and dropping into what's in the glass. I love these events it like a master class for bloggers who want to be challenged and stretched in the most wonderful way.
At some point in the day I always realize note taking is futile. I just put my pen or in this case phone down. Nothing I say will do it justice. So I just give in to the pleasure in the glass. I find it takes days to process it all. Ridge events are journeys that take you on a wild ride to the far corners of your palate and expectations.
We also had a special treat courtesy of Richard Jennings @rjonwine who brought a mystery bottle that we tasted blind then were asked to guess the vintage, varietal and vineyard designation. I guessed 92 based on absolutely nothing but the color and was not far off, but struck out, way out, on guessing the varietal and vineyard. It turned out to be a 1990 Barbera from Rancho Pequeno. It was lovely and wonderful of Richard to bring it along to share.
If you want a full account of the wines and tasting notes I suggest you check out the blogs of Richard Jennings @rjonwine or Fred Swan @norcalwine for full details.
Thank you Christopher (and Brandy) for a great day at The Ridge Master Class!
UPDATE--
Links to other blog posts from the day:
Martin Redmond -- Great re-cap of the wines we had with tasting notes.
Christopher Watkins -- Thoughts from our "spirit guide" Christopher and a groovy video.
I have been critical in the past of all these random Wine days like Chardonnay Day and Champagne Day and Cabernet Day. I fully expect to see 2% Milk Day at some point. We might as well just call them all Marketing Day, but they have some merit and I think the best events are ones like #PinotSmackDown where wine is tasted in person with the winemakers. Of course not everyone can organize or attend that type of tasting, but they are in my opinion a far more qualified way to promote a varietal.
I'm already a fan of most all of the wines, especially Mounts and Ridge, and I'm a member of the Quivira wine club. But there were several "new to me" wines including Baiocchi, Sheldon and Stage Left Cellars.
I was very taken with the Baiocchi Entre Nous 2009 a blend of 90% Grenache and 10% Syrah. This wine had a deep floral nose with a gorgeous earthy flavor, nice tannins and a lovely lingering finish.
I also really liked the Stage Left Cellars 2006 Grenache with 8% Mourvedre --a funky meaty blend of flavor with a nose that kept evolving each time I tried it.
From Grenache Day to Birthday
After the Grenache Day tasting it was time for the Main Event: William Allen's Birthday Bash, and it would not be his birthday unless the Fire Department was put on alert. Mr. Allen's affinity for all things wine and pyromania make for interesting events. Events that people talk about for days and weeks and months after they get released from the hospital.
Although there were no fire dancers this year, there was a bon fire large enough to cause locals to wonder if Burning Man had been extended and the Handcar Regatta was encamped on his back forty --the back 40 feet, not acres, as the Allen Party Farm is a marvel of compactness.
The resident sheep Rowdy and Hardy* did a little horn gnashing and a bromance love dance, but that was the extend of the provocative entertainment for the evening. The rest of it was good wine, good food, and great friends. (*not sure if those were the exact names of the Allen Party Farm sheep but if not they should be renamed immediately)
Although I have never met Zev Robinson, I feel as if I know him. We chat on twitter and always seem to be just one or two weeks behind each other in our travels. Many near misses, but I hope to see him soon at one of the screenings for his new documentary Life on the Douro. Robinson's film traces 300 years of history of the Douro wine producing region in Portugal featuring interviews with many of the key figures working in the region today. Here is a preview below.
I supported Zev's IndieGoGo campaign to raise funds for the film and I recently got an advance copy of the film. I toured the Douro this past February and it was great to re-live my visit and reconnect through the film with the people I met including Adrian Bridge, George Sandeman and Oscar Quevedo--all of whom I have written about previously here in this blog.
If Oscar Quevedo is not elected Ambassador of Portugal Wine, I imagine no one ever will. It would be hard for anyone else to match his enthusiasm. His easy charm and infectious joy for the wines of Portugal is so genuine. We were on the same bus at the 2009 Wine Bloggers Conference and after spending time with him and his then girlfriend Nadia, I vowed to visit the Douro and see his family's Quinta. I got very very close to that goal back in February but due to a scheduling sanfu, I missed the Quevedo winery by about 6 miles and 3 hours. Luckily Life on the Douro spends much quality time with the Quevedos and through the film I feel like I got to visit there after all.
I loved this film. It's a kiss on the lips to the Douro and the winemakers. If you have been to the Douro this film will deepen your experience, and if you have not yet been, this will be your tipping point to go and make your own discoveries.
The film premiered on September 6, 2011 as part of the Douro Film Harvest festival and plans are being made for screenings in North America and Europe over the next year including these dates in California.
It’s great when you get to do the things you love and even better when you get the chance to share it. Although I have this nifty blog about wine, the majority of my writing is travel writing and thus the focus on wine tourism in my blog. This year I was very fortunate to be selected for inclusion in the Best Women’s Travel Writing 2011, and now my love of writing, wine, and travel will converge in a special event.
On September 15th at 6:30 pm, I’ll be reading my story “In Lardo We Trust” at the newly opened Garagiste tasting room in Healdsburg. The event will include readings by fellow contributors Laurie Weed and Laura Deutsch with an introduction by editor Lavinia Spalding.
So come early, grab a glass of wine and enjoy a fun and inspiring evening of travel storytelling. Bring your questions about travel and writing too, as we’ll have a Q&A afterwards. Books will be available for purchase on site and of course all the great Cartograph and Stark wines are available by the glass.
What a day for Croatian Wine! I could never have predicted how a simple tweet would lead to one of the most fun, educational and incredibly delicious events I've ever had the pleasure of hosting.
Croatia has a wide range of grape growing areas but they are basically split into inland and coastal regions. Since the majority of the bloggers were unfamiliar with Croatian wines Frank decided to focus on the coastal region of Istria. And so for a few hours my deck in Sebastopol was transformed into an odd shaped yacht as we virtually cruised the Istrian peninsula and tasted wines from the countries many islands.
Frank proved to be a great guide on our journey as he led us through the tasting and provided extensive background information and details about the wines, winemakers and growing regions of Croatia.
Frank Dietrich leads the tasting
Early on the sun was bright and hot providing the perfect setting to taste the crisp and refreshing selection of whites:
CORONICA -- Malvasia--Istria 2009
KORTA KATARINA--Pošip--Island of Korčula 2008
KRAJANČIĆ--Pošip--Island of Korčula 2009
ENJINGI--Venje--Slavonia 2003
GRGIĆ-- Vina Pošip--Korčula Island 2009
A selection of the whites. The Grimalda was a special addition.
Previously I tried a different Enjingi Graševina, but this one was fuller bodied and more developed. All of the whites were outstanding, plus we tried a Rose from Korta Katarina that was a spicy delight. My favorite of the whites was the KRAJANČIĆ Pošip from the island of Korčula where apparently Marco Polo was born. Many of the wines we tasted were from Italian born winemakers and the connection to Italy is very strong historically as well. Below are some of my quick tweet impressions at the tasting.
My quick tweet notes on the whites
As the sun dipped westward and shade creeped overhead we turned our attention to the Reds which included the following:
TERZOLO--Teran--Istria 2008
BIBICH -- R6 Reserva -- Dalmatia 2008
MILOŠ--Stagnum Plavac Mali--Pelješac Peninsula 2005
KORTA KATARINA--Plavac Mali--Pelješac Peninsula 2006
SAINTS HILLS--Dingač Plavac Mali--Pelješac Peninsula 200
MARA POSTUP-- Plavac Mali--Pelješac Peninsula 2008
ZLATAN PLENKOVIĆ--Crljenak Kaštelanski--Island of Hvar, Makarska 2008
Selection of the Reds
I enjoyed the Bibich R6 Riserva, Korta Katarina Plavac Mali, and the Zlatan Plenkovic Crljenak Kaštelanski which is considerd to be the original Zinfandel. But the wine that most intrigued me was the MILOŠ--Stagnum Plavac Mali--Pelješac Peninsula 2005. This wine had a very deep purple color with the scent of rosebuds and a slight briny taste. Maybe that explains the claim that this wine pairs well with oysters. Oysters and red wine? I need to do some first hand research on that, but I have a feeling it could be true.
The Saints Hills Dingač Plavac Mali image seemed well crafted, maybe too crafted? I can just imagine the eye rolling and the "there-goes-the-neighboorhood" effect this could have on the wines of Croatia. But I think attention is good and if it gets the peeps drawn in then I think it bodes well for all the smaller producers and gives them a greater chance to be discovered by an enthusiastic audience that will want to travel the wine roads in Croatia.
Paski Sir upper right corner
In addition to the wines we had a special guest cheese-- The Paski Sir from the island of Pag pictured in upper right hand corner. Nutty and rich it was a great complement to the whites we tried and also a few of the reds. One of the bloggers, Anthony Burich who is actually Croatian, brought an unmarked bottle of Croatian olive oil too. I did not get the chance to serve it, but tasted it afterwards and was impressed by its distinct spicy and herbal notes. Very bright and delicious. Thanks Anthony!
A few of the "off list" selections Frank poured.
At the height of the event I took quick look at Tweet Reach which indicated that over 375 tweets had been sent with an exponential reach of over 100,000 impressions! The hashtag went on the generate more than 400 tweets and many impressions beyond that, as the metric was based on only the last 50 tweets at the time. But over all it was pretty impressive for a deck full of wine bloggers to create that much buzz for Croatian wines in one day. The RTs were fast and furious. Another cool way to view the tweets is through Revist a real–time visualization of twitter messages around a specific topic which shows a dynamic flow of the tweets and the connections as they happened. Check it out here.
The excitement is building, the hashtag has been selected, the cheese has arrived, and the cards and letters keep coming in as the day draws near for the Wines of Croatia wine blogger tasting. For those who would like to follow along on Twitter on Sunday Aug 28th, the hashtag for the event will be #WoCroatia.
This week I picked up the Paski Sir cheeses from James at Sunshine Foods and it has been a struggle to keep from eating it before Sunday. I had a taste in the store and it is lovely. It's a sheep cheese and is similar to pecorino but with a salty nutty punch. Michele Buster was the first to source and import the Paski Sir from the island of Pag, and she arranged for me to get the cheese for the tasting. You can learn more about Michele and the cheese here in this article from the SF Chronicle.
Although the tasting is only a few days away we already have a post from WINEpiphany by Anthony Burich, one of the bloggers who will be attending. You can read Anthony's heartfelt post and excellent tasting notes on the Enjingi's Grasevina wine here.
In the meantime Frank of Blue Danube Wine Company, who will be presenting the wines has been preparing a list for the tasting. Here is a sneak preview.
1. CORONICA -- Malvasia--Istria 2009
2. KORTA KATARINA--Pošip--Island of Korčula 2008
3. KRAJANČIĆ--Pošip--Island of Korčula 2009
4. ENJINGI--Venje--Slavonia 2003
Graševina, Riesling, Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon Blanc, and Traminac
11. ZLATAN PLENKOVIĆ--Crljenak Kaštelanski--Island of Hvar, Makarska 2008
Plus there could be a few suprises! So follow the #WoCroatia hashtag on twitter and stay tuned for the post-tasting post.
Also, just to set the mood I’ve downloaded some Croatian folk music for the day. So barring any crazy weather or earthquake or wild locust attack, I think we are going to have a spectacular day of tastes from Croatia.
Last time I was in Coolsville it was for some zip line action and the release of Meteor Vineyard 2007 Perseid Cabernet. {You can read a full account of that visit here.} This time I went for a meteor shower viewing party and a pre-party vertical tasting of the Perseid Cabernet 2004-2007 and the Special Family Reserve 2005-2007.
The 2004 Perseid had not previously been tasted outside of the family. I almost felt like we would be sworn to secrecy after trying it and required to take an oath of Omertà--oh wait I’m probably projecting my own Sicilian family traditions here, not Meteor’s. No one at the table was in danger of getting whacked for speaking about the charms of the 04, well, not that I know of at least.
In addition to the pre-set verticals we tried the 2003 “Barry's Half Century” Estate Reserve, a special Birthday Blend created to commemorate vineyard owner Barry Schuler's 50th. The wine had a deep plum color, scents of tobacco and nutmeg, with chocolate, coffee and blackberry flavors. It was luscious and rich, a great birthday gift to enjoy for years to come.
I’ve tasted my way through a lot of Cabernets over the years and I'm always on the verge of declaring that I just don't like Cabernet all that much—and then I taste Meteor and it makes me reconsider. These Cabs always surprise and intrigue me. They are deep, earthy and grounding-- full of diverse flavors and scents like licorice, mint, cinnamon, clove, peppermint, chocolate, violets, leather, truffle, blackberries and plums. In the 2006 Special Family Reserve I found notes of caramelized toffee and smoky s’mores.
Meteor wines get to me in a way that is unexpected and completely fascinating. They keep me thinking about them for days afterward. It must be that Coombsville is Coolsville mystique in action. And it’s not just marketing copy to say something is truly different about Coombsville--official recognition of Coombsville as a distinct AVA is imminent.
I have a good understanding of winemaking, grape growing and the clones that are planted. But when I first taste a wine I don’t always need to know it’s personal history, I just want to be captivated. I’m curious to discover how a wine inspires me, because I think a great wine can be a catalyst to inspiration for all sorts of creative endevors.
That’s not to say the process is unimportant, quite the contrary, I love hearing winemakers describe it in their own words. It’s always interesting to hear what Meteor winemaker Dawnine Dyer and Schuler have to say. While Dyer might describe one of their clones or wines as full of feminine charisma, or a temptress; Schuler will counter with “This wine is a busty centerfold girl with a mighty rack and body that will suck you in and never let go.” (I paraphrase here of course.) But you can glean the general spirit in which it was said. Yet despite their different frames of reference, Dyer and Schuler are in full agreement that the clones they’ve planted possess all the right stuff to thrive in Coombsville.
From the tasting we headed outside where the party was in full swing with signature cocktails, spacey music to set the tone for star gazing, and tucked off to the side, a tarot card reader. As the sun set my appetite peaked and I practically inhaled a mini cup of bacon cheddar soup and a few smoked pork belly sliders with caramelized apple that naturally paired perfectly with the 2008 Perseid and Special Family Reserve. Then I got on line to have my cards read. I was relieved to see we only had to wait in line, not zip-line to the tarot card reader.
After dinner, carrying our glow sticks and wine glasses, we followed a path of tiny lights set down like a secret mini airstrip, that led us to the Lone Oak out in the vineyard. Under the oak, Cliff De Lacy, a NASA ambassador filled us in on all things celestial and where to scan the sky for meteors.
A dessert station set with was set to one end of the rows serving coffee and a Meyer Lemon Curd tart with a graham crust as well as a Brioche Chocolate Bread and Butter Pudding with chocolate sauce and sea salt. Both were a delight to enjoy in the moonlight.
In between the rows of vines were recliners and blankets from which you could settle in and watch the sky. It was like a sanitarium in the vineyard. As I lay there I half expected a masseuse to show up and knead my shoulders. It was quite cozy tucked under the blanket between the vines with little clusters of grapes above me and the rocky soil below. Something about lying down in the earth between the vines was extraordinary. It was as if you could feel the very essence of the vines seep into you. As I looked down the long dark row towards Mount George, I could smell traces of mint and fennel, sweet clover, hay and chalky earth. It felt fantastic and rather nurturing. Heck, maybe my true roots are more Druid than Sicilian! Or perhaps there is some kind of harmonic convergence going on between the Meteor vines and land in Coombsville.
Although the event was billed as a Perseid Viewing Party, I only saw a few meteors shoot across the sky. But the most brilliant stars of the night were all in my glass.
Thanks to all the Meteorites for a stellar evening.
