Dry Creek Valley Passport Weekend

What is it?   

This is an annual open house of wine, food and music put on by a Dry Creek winegrowers group.  It's two days with about 50 wineries participating.   Food-wise the wood-fired pizza ovens were all the rage and that's just fine by me!

Ferrari-Carano's cellar

Wineries Visited

We were with a group of eight so we decided on visits semi-democratically.

Over the two days we stopped at Amista, Armida, David Coffaro, Dutcher Crossing, Ferrari-Carano, Lambert Bridge, Martorana, Mazzocco, Quivira, Raymond Burr, Ridge/Lytton Springs, Rued, Sbragia, Seghesio, Teldeschi, and Truett Hurst.  Yes, that's a lot.  I sampled only red wines and dumped a lot.  Trust me.

We wanted to get into Rafanelli first thing Sunday morning but it was already too busy.  That place is nuts!

Highlights

Armida - The heaven and hell displays are fun if you haven't been here before during an event.  This place is party central.  I overheard one of the staff saying to another, "This year if there are women taking their shirts off this afternoon let me know!"  The 2009 Parmelee Zinfandel out of the barrel was my favorite (since there were no naked women yet).

David Coffaro - An audio/visual system not to be missed.  Highlight for me was in the parking lot--the fully restored to stock '69 Chevelle SS red convertible--gorgeous.   Loved the 2007 Block 4 red blend wine also. There's a subtlety in his wines missed or not appreciated by some people who prefer the blam! in your face knockout punch of fruit and alcohol.

Dutcher Crossing - I know the fried shrimp encrusted in coconut can't be good for you but this weekend isn't about diet anyway.

Ferrari-Carano - The gardens are always impressive making this a real destination winery.  This is the first time I've been in the cellars and this is equally impressive.   So was the 2007 Alexander Valley Cabernet at $27.

Lambert Bridge - 2007 Forchini Zinfandel was great but from a vineyard with a good Italian name like Forchini how can it not?

Martorana -  A new winery from a family that's been growing grapes for others for many years.  The 2007 Dry Creek Zinfandel was the standout but all were nice wines.

Mazzocco - This is Zinfandel central as they had many single vineyard Zins to sample. They retail from about $20 to $60 -- something for everybody.  They had a Moroccan-themed party with great food.

Quivara - The grounds in front of the tasting room are full of raised beds growing vegetables and they even have a chicken coop.  The 2006 Anderson Zinfandel and 2007 Petite Sirah were standouts.

Raymond Burr - I forget about this winery for some reason but they make great Cabernets.

Rued - They went with a farm theme with hay bales, twangy music and dressed in flannel shirts and cowboy hats.  For the owner,  however, it appeared to be his everyday clothes as he's a long-time grape farmer who decided to make his own wine a few years ago.  Rued is well-known for their Sauvignon Blanc.  I loved the 2007 Zinfandel.

Seghesio - This was our last stop on Sunday and the place was hopping!  The food selection was sausage, ribs, and pizzas.  Seghesio can throw a good party like a number of others were doing this weekend but I really respect their practice of hospitality.  They really treat people well and they pay attention to the details.  Maybe it's the Italian blood in the family as you never leave hungry!

Teldeschi - They win for the best music with a semi-loud band playing everything from modern country to ZZ Top.  Their wines are what I call "old style Dry Creek" in that they are definitely not fruit-forward high-alcohol wines but need some aging and food to show their best.

Truett Hurst - Another fairly new operation with lots of fruit-forward Zinfandels with the Red Rooster Zin my favorite.

The rib tent at Seghesio

2006 vs. 2007

Several wineries had the same wines from 2006 and 2007 to compare side-by-side.   In every case I preferred the '07s.  The '06s seemed a little dull and uninteresting compared to the balanced fruit of the '07s.

2007 is probably the best year since the 2001 vintage.

Sustainability

Sustainable farming (and its wacky offshoot Biodynamics) is really taking off with organic farming, growing other crops, plus raising free-range chickens (we saw chickens at two wineries).   Even a lot of the table service for the food was recyclable materials rather than plastic.   Green is catching on.  "Thank you" to the farmers and owners.

Speaking of Sonoma Valley ...

(See previous blog post for more on SoVly)

Chardonnay at Kunde 4/17/10

We made a few stops with friends in Sonoma Valley on the 16th -- Valley of the Moon, Kunde, Ty Caton, Muscardini, and Enkidu.

Ty Caton, along with Audelssa, are my two favorite small producers in Sonoma Valley.   Audelssa was written up last June "A new find in Sonoma Valley."

Ty Caton's wines are maybe a bit expensive running mostly in the $30's and $40's but are very nice wines. They are a fruit-forward style but very well balanced with varietal character showing through. (I often find fruit-forward wines to be lacking varietal character and/or hot).

Most wines are estate grown on his property and are all small production--maybe 300 cases of each wine on average. The basic red blend at about $30 is a favorite.  My top pick this time is the Ballfield Syrah at around $40.  The alcohol level on the Syrah is high but it doesn't show.  It's got a nice spiciness to it that I like on Syrahs.

A short description I would use for Ty Caton's wines would be "rich and supple."

Sonoma Valley

Just a little mountain range away from Napa but a whole different world

Often overlooked with all the noise made about Russian River, Dry Creek, and Alexander Valleys perhaps because there's no single focus to Sonoma Valley wine.   (RRV = Pinot, DCV = Zinfandel, AV = Cabernet).

Where is it?

What Sonoma Valley has going for it is its location at the southern end of Sonoma County making it easy to get to from San Francisco and other Bay Area locations.

Sonoma Valley is in the southeast area of Sonoma County just north of Carneros and west of Napa Valley.  It runs just about from the town of Sonoma to Santa Rosa bordered by coastal mountains on both sides with State Highway 12 being the main road.

Sonoma to Napa

Trinity Road between Sonoma and Napa

Just over the mountain range to the east is Napa Valley.   Napa can be reached by traveling Highway 12 east from Sonoma through Carneros.   The adventurous can take Trinity Road/Oakville Grade offering a fantastic view of Napa Valley as you wind down towards the town of Oakville.


History

There's a bit of California history with the town of Sonoma being the northernmost Spanish mission and Buena Vista as one of the oldest wineries in the state.  The Sebastianis, Bundschus, and Kundes have been around a long time, too.


The Town of Sonoma

Lots of history, wineries, restaurants, hotels, etc.   The town square deserves a half-day browse.  It's a wine country town that hasn't gone "hyper-cute" like Yountville and Healdsburg.   Even though I'm a local I like going to Sonoma every once in awhile to stroll the town.   The town square can get pretty busy on summer and fall weekends.

 There are numerous wine-related events in the town during the year.   There are film festivals, the Fourth of July celebration, plus several wine tasting events on the square -- the biggest being the Sonoma Valley Harvest Festival

Infineon Raceway (aka Sears Point) is nearby.   Some of the events, such as the vintage car races, spill over into the town.

Gundlach-Bundschu Winery has an outdoor amphitheater with summer plays and movie nights.

Don't miss the Vella Cheese Company a couple blocks off the square.  This family has been making cheese from local cows for 80 years and it rivals any in the world.


What grows there?

The southernmost and the northernmost ends of Sonoma Valley are a bit cooler as they are less protected by the mountains so air off the water reaches these areas.   That's why so many different grape varieties are grown though SV seems best known for Cabernet and Zinfandel.


Where to have lunch

So if you want to absorb the alcohol mid-day here's some ideas of where to go:

Near the north end of the valley close to the town of Kenwood try the Kenwood Restaurant, Cafe Citti, or Vineyards Inn.  Kenwood Restaurant has the nicest atmosphere and is the priciest, Citti is an Italian diner with pasta to die for, Vineyards Inn specializes in Mexican food (this is where the locals go).

To the south in the town of Sonoma restaurants tend to change around a bit so I'm not as familiar with them. Most recently I've eaten at the Red Grape and it made for a really nice lunch.  The Girl & the Fig is highly regarded and priced accordingly.  If you just wish to fill up and not spend a lot you can try The Black Bear Diner or La Casa (Mexican). You can check out the internet buzz on other Sonoma restaurants.

In the middle the tiny town of Glen Ellen has a few eateries.

Wineries

All are very good, but some of my favorites, starting from the south, are:

Cline for the Red Truck (that's a wine)
Gloria Ferrer for bubbly
Gundlach-Bundschu Merlot
Arrowood for Cabernet
Audelssa for the Rhone blends
Kunde for the estate Cabernet
Ty Caton for the field blend Red
Chateau St. Jean for the reserve room tasting
Landmark for Chardonnay and Pinot Noir
St. Francis for Zinfandel

To do something a little different while visiting the wineries you might want to take the Benziger vineyard tram tour or sign-up for one of the many special tours Kunde offers.

More info

Regulating Tasting Room Hours

A front-page article in the April 12th Santa Rosa Press Democrat talks about county officials looking into setting limits on tasting room hours.   For years a 4 or 5 p.m. closing time was the norm but it's crept up as late as 7 p.m. now.

As to be expected the winery folks interviewed thought it wasn't necessary because they could "self-regulate" and it "would hurt business."  Another industry that can self-regulate.  Yes, as a matter of fact I am laughing right now.

The first tasting room I remember was Mayo in Sonoma Valley staying open until 6:30 p.m. when everyone else closed by 5 p.m.  Don't try to tell me folks are tasting at 6 p.m.  No, they're drinking.   Tasting rooms are not bars.  They should not be in the happy hour business.   Not too long after Mayo opened they had an inter-winery party one evening.  I asked the manager how the late closing was working and what kind of crowd she was getting.  She just rolled her eyes.

Will it hurt business?  Probably for those wineries open so late.  It's no secret in the tasting room biz that the late crowd is looser with their wallets.  I've tracked the time of day by sales dollars and the end of the day on weekends is pretty damn good.   And that's being open until 5 p.m.   I'm sure six would be even better and seven would be better still.

If a tasting room closes at 6 p.m. the folks who slip in the door at two minutes before closing aren't generally cut off but taste through a normal flight meaning they are there probably 40 minutes past the official closing time.  This means any regulation should probably be a "last call" type of rule rather than a closing time regulation, as last call at 5 p.m. is different from closing at 5 p.m.

In the "old days" when tasting was free the purpose was to sample the product to decide if you wish to purchase.  As there got to be more winery tasting rooms in a given area it turned into free drinking for some people so tasting fees came into being.    With these fees often ranging up to $20 and sometimes more many tasting rooms are all too happy to become a de facto wine bar.   That is, a drinking establishment.

Wine tasting should be just that.   Happy hour should be at a bar.  Wineries are not in that business I hope.

Press Democrat article

Diversification

Diversification is a risk management technique practiced by corporations.   That, and moving jobs offshore then wondering why there's no one in the U.S. to buy their products.   But that topic is out of my scope here.

Besides have the usual veggie garden plus apple and plum trees I recently planted three Zinfandel vines.  Even though the mailing list for the 2013 bottling is growing I decided to expand into other areas.

Jeez, I hope nobody thinks I'm growing marijuana

Today my hop rhizomes (rootstocks) arrived from Hops Direct in Washington State.   Can't have all my eggs in the wine basket!   It also is a coincidence my next door neighbor is a home brewer.   We'll call it a symbiotic relationship.

Before Prohibition Sonoma County had thousands of acres of hops.  Hop production has moved mostly up to Washington. You still see hop drying kilns in the area.  I don't plan on building a kiln because it turns out you can dry them in a warm oven (that will make the house smell good)!

I know nothing about growing hops or what kind goes in what beer but from reading up I've selected these two:

• Centennial - Similar to Cascade Hops that are really popular but with a bit more punch.  Good for making ales.  It's a dual purpose hop meaning it adds bitterness and aromas (some hops just do one or the other).
• Chinook - A higher acid and more of a bittering hop used for ales, IPA's, stouts and lagers.

Luckily, I have raised garden beds next to the south side of the house.  The plan is to plant them in the nice garden soil and train them up the wall.

Just trying to be self-sustainable.

Why I Hate Wine

There are a number of reasons I hate wine.   Here are ten that come to mind.  I'll probably think of more later as I've lost too many brain cells to have good recall.

1. I can't afford the good stuff.  Who's got $150 to put towards three-fourths liter of a beverage?  I deserve the good stuff don't you?   Makes you wonder if $3/gallon for gas is a steal.
   
   
2. What's with the spitting?   How in the hell are you supposed to spit your wine while you are eating?   Suppose you mistakenly chew and swallow your wine then spit out the food?
   
   
3. I like wine so much I'll drink more than I should and wake up dehydrated.   It's not my fault it tastes so good.   If only they fix the dehydration problem somehow then I could drink more tequila, too.
   
   
4. There are so many good European and South American wines I can't pronounce.   Can't you guys learn American?  How am I supposed to know how to say "Clos des Verdots Moelleux Bergerac?" Clothes-Dis-Vair-Dots Mole-Lou-X Burger-ack.   Jezuz, I don't even have any idea what this is--a Cab or what?
   
   
5. Wine snobs.  You know, those people who know more about wine than you which is pretty much everybody you want to impress.
   
   
6. Then there's the whole wine scene with the talking about malolactic and swirling to volatize your esters. Ever try to swirl your wine after already having four glasses?  I've ruined more shirts that way.  Spilling on someone else's shoes is even more embarrassing (if they notice before you walk away).
   
   
7. The French make great wine, but they are snooty about it and besides we had to bail them out of two wars.   Yes, their wine is good and their women are beautiful, but their cars suck.  I've never heard of a good Japanese wine so maybe autos and wine are mutually exclusive.  Oops, but then there's the Germans who can start wars, make good wine and build good cars.  But they lost the wars and the wine is white.   This is getting complicated...
   
   
8. I'm supposed to wait five-to-seven years before drinking this Cabernet?   Yeah, good luck.  The only consumable around my house that old is the chicken legs in the back of the fridge behind the beer.
   
   
9. The Wine Wheel.   That's the device listing about a hundred different things you are supposed to smell in your wine.   I don't know about you but I smell Zinfandel.  The last time I looked there were no raspberries in my Zin.  Some bees and earwigs maybe.
   
   
10. Internet wine forums like Robert Parker's because I have no idea what those people are talking about. That would be okay except I have people asking me for wine advice and education.  If this gets out I'll be seen as just another Chardonnay guzzler.
    

The only solution I see for this is to become a beer snob but I don't have the inclination to learn about all the different kinds of hops.   Besides I think beer geeks are a lot like wine snobs except they tend to be chubbier and have facial hair.

Why is Chardonnay so popular?

Growing Chardonnay Grapes 

By far the number one white wine grape grown in California is Chardonnay.   In Sonoma County there is 50% more Chardonnay grapes crushed than the #2 grape, Cabernet Sauvignon.  The #2 white wine grape, Sauvignon Blanc, has 15-20% of the tonnage of Chardonnay.
Why Chardonnay?

It will grow in a lot of places--in cool or warmer microclimates.   Chardonnay grown in cooler areas are more crisp and a bit acidic.   The Chardonnays most Americans are used to are heavier with tropical fruit flavors because of the warmer climate in CA as compared to most French vineyards.

Why it's Popular 

Chardonnay is popular with Americans who grew up on soda pop because:

• Malolactic fermentation turns the natural green fruit flavors into soft buttery flavors.
• Barrel fermentation.   Clos du Bois Winery popularized this in California.
• Oak barrel aged.  Fermentation and aging in oak barrels gives toasty flavors, creaminess, vanilla and other spices, and fuller-bodied wines.  That is, a lot more complexity at the cost of some fruit flavors.
• Residual sugar.   Leaving a bit of sugar in your Chardonnay to fatten it up is a wine making secret so don't tell anyone.   :)   I believe this is done by a very small percentage of wineries, but I believe it's a larger percent of Chardonnay sales.

And you can't forget the Judgement in Paris in 1976 where Chateau Montelena's Chardonnay beat out the French in a blind tasting by French judges.   See the movie "Bottle Shock" if you haven't.  Demand for California Chardonnay really took off after this judging in '76 much the same way the demand for Merlot increased after the French Paradox episode of "60 Minutes" in '91.

It's easy to understand this style of Chardonnay.  If you're consuming something new and different it works better if you have a frame of reference, that is something you've already experienced (Pepsi) to help you understand something new (Chardonnay).   Dry, relatively acidic wines are an acquired taste.   Softer (less acidic) and maybe slightly sweet wines just go down easier.  Chardonnay is just easy to drink and you don't have to think about it.

Styles of Chardonnay

Much of that extra processing of Chardonnay came from the French where the best Chards went through this, but their wines tend to be stark and acidic.  California Chards are already fruity and lower acid and don't necessarily need the extra processing.

In the last couple decades the California style is often over-ripe, over-oaked, heavy and syrupy.  You know, taste kinda like the Pepsi of wine.   Just recently a few wineries started making unoaked Chardonnay from cooler climate grapes. This newer style is in response to backlash against the heavy Chardonnays and growing "membership" in the ABC club (Anything But Chardonnay).

Of course, it's whatever you like.   Some of the most popular "butter ball" Chardonnay come from Rombauer and Sonoma-Cutrer.  The ones from Clos du Bois are a little less so and better balanced.  One of the more historic Chardonnays is from the Robert Young Vineyard.  There are a number of Chardonnays labeled as unoaked.  Often those labeled with the Sonoma Coast appellation won't be big and heavy either, as that is a very cool growing climate.

You don't have to like either the big, buttery ones or unoaked.   You can like both.   Also, there are plenty of Chardonnays in between the butter balls and the acidic, starker unoaked ones.   Unoaked Chards will come across more refreshing so I think if you are a Sauvignon Blanc fan you may find the unoaked ones more to your liking.

You may even find you prefer Chards from a specific California appellation.  The main ones are Carneros, Russian River Valley, Sonoma Coast, Monterrey, and several in Santa Barbara County--Santa Maria, Santa Rita and Santa Ynez.

Alternatives to Chardonnay

Sauvignon Blanc has been the poor stepsister to Chardonnay forever.  Why?  It's more acidic (not as soft).  Consumed by itself without food it can come across as either "refreshing" or "tart."  Some winemakers have tried to "fix" this by making SB like Chard by giving it barrel time.

Viognier made some inroads in California but never quite caught on.  I believe it to be the typical problems with a new grape.  That is, figuring out where and how to grow it then how to process it into a wine.  Some of the first CA Viogniers I tried were oaky--made like Chardonnay.   This wine could really catch on once CA figures out the best way to make it and people figure out how to pronounce it.

Pinot Gris is the latest thing in white wines.  It's an easy drinking wine like Chard but not as heavy.  It's also a bit simple but that may be what people want for a warm day sipping wine.

Q: So what is the best white wine to have with food?
A:  A dry rosé  (yeah, I  know, it's not exactly white)

Three Decades of Change

I am all for progress; it's change I can't stand.

-Mark Twain

Having lived in Sonoma County for thirty years I can spot the changes to California wines and the tourist industry around it.   Most things have changed in that time as expected except for me, of course!

CA Wines

Obviously, they were a lot cheaper in 1980 as was everything else.   I'd say wine has pretty much tripled in price, but then so has a new car, and don't even start on housing costs.

When an acre of vineyards in Napa passed the $10,000 mark it was a big deal.   Several years ago it passed $100,000.   If you ask, "Why didn't you think to buy a couple acres back then?"   Well, I didn't have $20k then just like I don't have $250k now.   But it was a heckuva investment for somebody.

Most wines circa 1980 fell into two categories:

• Dry and tannic reds requiring several years of aging, but once they aged they were usually worth the wait.
• Whites were either Chardonnay or sweet and simple.

Then and today Chardonnay and Cabernet are king with a lot of Zinfandel in Sonoma County, too.  But thirty years ago the other varietals you found were Riesling, Gewurztraminer, French Colombard and Chenin Blanc in whites and Petite Sirah and Charbono in red.   Yes, there were others, but those seemed to be the big ones.   I know there's still Petite Sirah around, but not as much (percentage-wise anyway, not sure about acreage).

Zinfandel sales started to slide in the '80s.   Many vineyards would have been yanked and replanted had it not been for the rise of White Zinfandel.  Sutter Home and Beringer still make lots of White Zin but the grapes come from cheaper growing regions in the Central Valley of California now.

Pinot Noir?  Some but planted in the wrong places and most people didn't know how to make it.  Probably Pinot got treated like Cab or Zin in the processing.  It just wasn't very good.  Kenwood's Jack London Ranch in Sonoma Valley had Pinot planted--right next to the Cab, Merlot and Zin.  It was way too hot for Pinot.

Syrah?   No. Other Rhones?  Never heard of them.

Sauvignon Blanc was just starting to come into its own in the early 1980s.

Merlot was around, but mostly blended into the dry, tannic Cabs.   Merlot sales took off in the 1990s with the French paradox story on 60 Minutes that basically said you could eat all kinds of fatty foods and smoke as long as you had a couple glasses of red wine every night.

Remember, red wine and dark chocolate and you'll live forever!

Wine Making

Wine styles have definitely changed going from trying to copy the French to trying to sell wine (what a concept)!   Wines now are generally more fruity, less tannic, less acidic, less drying, and have more alcohol.   Is this better?   I don't know.

So what happened?  Most reds weren't too drinkable on release--they needed time to develop in the bottle.  Mostly they were just too tannic when young but boy did they develop some nice complexity a few years later.  But it was no secret that the vast majority of wine sold in the U.S. was being consumed within a couple days of purchase so why not make wine that soft and drinkable right away?

Early on this led to a bit of residual sugar being left in some wines.  Over the years vineyard and cellar techniques changed from picking the fruit riper to removing some of the alcohol during processing.  (Riper = more sugar = more alcohol).

I'm a believer in less is more.  The more processing required the less I'll probably like the finished product.  If you have to pick the grapes so ripe and have to add water back in then take out some of the alcohol then something is wrong in my opinion.  Not all wines are this way, just a small percentage.

In the "old days" what I considered the bad wine was usually too tannic and too astringent where now what I consider bad is usually too one-dimensional fruity and too hot (from the alcohol).   That is, in the '80s a bad wine was like sucking on a sweat sock.  Today it's like drinking a Dr. Pepper with a shot of tequila in it.

Are wines, in general, better today then back then?  I'd say yes as I believe the percentage of bad wines out of California is much lower than it was back then.   They've learned a lot!

Wineries

Of course there were a  lot fewer wineries and tasting rooms then--a LOT fewer.   Imagine driving through Napa with only a few stops available such as Mondavi, Louis Martini, Inglenook, Beringer, and Charles Krug?   And--hold on--no tasting fees in Napa Valley!   Somewhere in the mid-80s tasting room fees were invented over in Napa along Highway 29 because it was getting too easy to stop at a dozen wineries.  It was for crowd control and drunk control, now it's become a revenue stream.

In Sonoma Valley there was Kenwood and St. Jean.  Up in Dry Creek you had the old timers like Pedroncelli, Foppiano and Simi plus newer start-ups like Dry Creek Vineyards.

Around the town of Sonoma Buena Vista has always been there and Gundlach-Bundschu had restarted.  G-B was down a little, tiny winding road in the middle of nowhere with the tasting room sharing space with the lab in a corner of the cellar.   

When the wine train started up in Napa Valley, to much criticism, the Bundschus decided the train's guests needed a little Sonoma wine.  One day a few of them dressed as Western bandits and staged a "raid" on the train and poured G-B wines for the semi-startled tourists.   Imagine doing that now.  Somebody would probably think they were terrorists or some damn paranoid thing.

Kenwood Vineyards

Early on I became a fan of Kenwood Vineyards. In the early '70s three guys out of college purchased the Pagani Bros. winery and turned it into Kenwood Vyds.  At the old Pagani Winery you brought in your own jug to be filled from the barrel.  Your choice was white wine or red wine.  By the '80s it was rare to find anyone doing this but Valley of the Moon was one that still had this option.

Kenwood started an "artist series" program for their reserve Cabernet.  I believe it was retailing for about $25 at the time!   Their first label contained a nude figure on a hillside.  The feds must approve wine labeling and they said no.   The artist was P.O'ed and did another with a skeleton on the hillside.  After he calmed down he redid it with a blank hillside.   For the 25th anniversary of that first artist series they got the nude drawing approved.  Progress.  A few "Naked Lady" bottles got out into circulation and are valuable.  I've seen the skeleton label at the winery but don't know if any bottles got out.  This actually worked out well for Kenwood as they got lots of free publicity for this (and free is the best kind).

The '78 Charles Mingus label was even more fun.  I had it explained by winery staff that it is actually a picture of the vineyards out front of the tasting room.  It's so colorful because the artist smoked a joint, poked himself in the eye, then painted.   I can't vouch for this story but I like it so much it's worth repeating.

I had gotten to know the Kenwood tasting room manager and was able to visit their wine library a couple times and sample some older Cabs and Zins.   A really good experience at the time because I had nothing that old at home at the time.   Kenwood made about 20 wines then and all were available for tasting--for free, of course.    

Lake Sonoma at the north end of Dry Creek Valley

It wasn't there in 1980--just a Corp of Engineers wet dream!

Healdsburg


The biggest changes are probably to the town of Healdsburg.  Other towns have grown faster in population, but the downtown area of Healdsburg has really changed.  It was an old, slightly scruffy farm town.  More like Geyserville is now only bigger.  Watch out Geyserville, you're next!

The Healdsburg downtown is almost exclusively geared towards visitors.   About the only thing left as-is would be John & Zeke's, one of two old bars left.  Not that the change was bad, but I had an old-time resident tell me once, "I can't even buy a pair of underwear in Healdsburg anymore!"


ZAP

This yearly Zinfandel-only tasting in San Francisco is huge with hundreds of wineries and thousands of guests. I attended sometime in the '80s and remember a photographer wanting a good crowd shot so he called for everybody to gather around together to make the place look full while he took a picture.

A couple years ago I poured for a winery at ZAP and when leaving I looked around at the hundreds of guests streaming and and said to myself, "Wow, 90% of these people are drunk. I'm getting the hell out of here before they get on the road!"  Of course, I may have been one of those tipsy people in the past.

Wine Road Barrel Tasting

This started as a free open house where wineries let you sample wines from the barrels before they were bottled and you could by futures on them.   There were a few dozen wineries, mostly in Dry Creek Valley, participating.   Then it went to five bucks and they gave you a glass. A good idea so the small wineries don't have to wash glasses.   Then it was ten bucks.   Now it's $20 in advance; $30 at the door for a weekend that begins on Friday and runs through two weekends now.   It's hugely successful as far as the number of people attending.

What's not so successful for the wineries are two things.   One, sales are not what they used to be.  Futures are a thing of the past.  It's now a big party.   And two, because of the party atmosphere they have to watch for drunks and people generally getting out-of-hand.   There have been no major problems, like a traffic death, but this is a ticking time bomb.

The last time I worked the Barrel Tasting was in downtown Healdsburg.   There are a dozen wineries within a couple blocks.   Mid-afternoon on a Saturday I finally got a break and stepped outside.   It looked like Mardi Gras!   Roving groups of folks whooping it up having a good time.

I later talked with a relative of the Healdsburg brewpub's manager.  Apparently it was a bad night for them, as he had to toss out several groups that were obviously intoxicated.

Sonoma County

Napa, Sonoma and many other grape-growing regions in California are known to many people.  Thirty years ago it was just Napa.  When working in wineries in the '80s and '90s I occasionally had folks tell me they were in Napa when we were actually in Sonoma Valley.   They didn't know the difference as California wine country equaled Napa.


Of course, this is all based on what I remember from thirty years ago.  I make no claim to the validity of my Zinfandel-clouded mind.

Oh no, another barrel tasting!

The first two weekends of March hosted the Wine Road Barrel Tasting Event with well over 100 wineries participating from Russian River, Dry Creek and Alexander Valleys.   This weekend was Sonoma Valley's turn.   I made a few stops on Sunday.

Enkidu

They have a small tasting room in Kenwood with their production done in a Sonoma warehouse.  This is the first time I've had their wines.  They seem to be mostly about Syrah and Petite Sirah though my favorite was the Bedrock Zinfandel from a nearby 120 year old vineyard.  As with most old Zin vineyards this one is field-blended with Petite Sirah, Alicante Bouchet, Carignane and God knows what.

Kunde

One of the bigger facilities and it was a popular stop for folks.  I've had their wines many times, but this was the first time I've been in their caves--what a huge maze of tunnels!   But the aisles are narrow with wine barrels up both sides.  I wouldn't want to be the one maneuvering a forklift hauling barrels through there.  

They were only pouring a few or their many wines.  The Rhone blend, Vallee de la Lune, stood out but I have a thing for Rhone blends anyway.

This is a good stop if you want something besides the regular wine tasting.  They offer special tour/tastings with everything from a hillside mountain tour with one of the Kunde family where you can bring your dog to a "Bottle Shock" tour showing you where scenes from the movie were filmed.

The Kunde family has been on the same large ranch for many generations.  They were recently in the news for selling off ("partnering" they called it) a percentage of the hospitality side of the business, but not the vineyards, to a marketing firm.  The recession is hurting everyone.

Little Vineyards

It's a little family (four kids actually) with a little tasting room where one of the sons had his little jazz band playing (ok, I stop the "little" jokes now).  This was my first experience with these nice wines.   The red blend, Band Blend Track 4, at $17 retail is a great deal.  I bought several.

Just one more... Since the name Little Feat is already taken maybe the band could be Little Feet (used for stomping the grapes)?  Okay, I'll stop.

Loxton

An Aussie winemaker specializing in Syrah and Cab/Syrah blends (imagine that)!  I hadn't  been to their facility before but have had their wines a couple times previously.   Besides the Syrah, the Hillside Zinfandel was also good.

St. Francis

I'm quite familiar with their wines but we had to stop for the triple chocolate brownies.  They had a '09 barrel sample Zinfandel from the vineyard of Mike Lee, the original owner/winemaker from Kenwood Vineyards.  Good stuff!  They didn't know yet whether it would be a vineyard-designated wine or blended in another Zin.   Hopefully, it will be on its own.  

Only problem was when I bellied up to the bar with one other couple and four staff members behind the bar I couldn't get waited on.  At least the cellar staff with the barrel samples was nice.

VJB

VJB was founded by an Italian family who immigrated here to first open a restaurant in Santa Rosa.   The winery's name is the initials of a son who passed unexpectedly in his 30's.

My first tasting here in a long time and they have some nice wines.  The Montepulciano stood out. It's an Italian-style red at $50.  The Dante, a Cab/Sangiovese blend, was also well done and retailing for a more reasonable $32.



An Aside

There is a lot of wine available at these events.  You have to be smart enough to control your intake -- someone apparently didn't.   On Saturday, at a winery to rename nameless, as the employees were leaving at 5 pm a slightly frantic sweet young thing came up telling them she'd "lost" a girlfriend a couple hours ago.  She had just sent her boyfriend to find her (that sounds like trouble).   She was afraid maybe her friend had passed out in the vineyards somewhere.  Oh well, I guess she eventually showed up.  Maybe she was in the bathroom.   Maybe she didn't go back out wine tasting Sunday.   And the sweet young thing was standing around with an unzipped fly while she's telling her tale.

Bud Break!

No, not like this

In some places the first real sign of Spring might be apple blossoms, or tulips, or where I grew up, it was the ice flowing out of Lake Huron.   Ugh.

In Sonoma it's bud break for the grapevines.  After a week of warm, sunny weather things are bustin' out.

March 19th in Sonoma Valley

These old vines along Madrone Road in Sonoma Valley aren't budding yet.  Maybe they're pruned later?  Maybe the old guys just take longer to get moving.

This is the time of year the vineyards guys have to worry about frost.  You can't lose those tender buds.  Wind, water, and heaters can be used to prevent damage.

Wine Bias

We all have it.

Hating all (region) (varietal). Fill in the blanks, like California Chardonnay or Italian wines.   Or how about wine from Idaho?   Ewww, that can't be any good.

Some will only drink Cabernet from Napa and it has to cost over $75.   Some people are easy to talk out of their money.

Wine out of a box?   Yuck.

Some people still think only the French can make world-class wines.  It's amazing this one is still around.

Screw cap means it's a cheap wine. As does a synthetic cork (but less so).   The natural cork is a horrible closure but for some reason it's considered the best.  I guess it's tradition.

Buying a wine because you like the label. Nice colors, nice design. Makes you wonder how Dehlinger sells out!

Is the foil covering the cork necessary? No, but it looks good.

Is the punt in the bottom of the bottle necessary? No, but a flat bottom signals cheap.

Chianti! That's that stuff in a straw-covered bottle.  I drank that in college then put a candle in the bottle.

Small family wineries are better than corporate wines.  Except that Clos du Bois, Simi, Hartford, and Arrowood are all owned by the big guys.

How about organic or biodynamic wines? Can they be as good as "regular" wines?

OK, so wine biases could sometimes be turned around into wine preferences such as, "I prefer French Chablis" or "I prefer the Cabs out of Napa." But it's hard to justify preferring real corks to synthetic corks as there's no data to back up natural cork as being better than synthetic.

Wine Road Barrel Tasting

This Springtime ritual has grown into a major drink fest especially in Dry Creek Valley.   We went out on the last Sunday of the event to a few small, local wineries in the Russian River Valley that are new to me (except for Russian Hill).  All were good finds.

Old beer truck at Robert Rue Vineyards

The barrels were all empty unfortunately

Inman - A really small operation in a rented warehouse space but they are moving to a new facility with a tasting room.  We sampled three different Pinots.   The Russian River blend was very good and at a great price.  The Thorn Ridge had great body and needed some time in the bottle yet.   The Olivet Grange was outstanding.  The vineyard-designated Thorn Ridge and Olivet Grange were a little pricey running in the low $50s but are exceptional wines.

Robert Rue - A small producer of what I'd call traditional Sonoma County Zinfandel--the way God meant it to be.   It's a very old vineyard and a field blend along with Carignane, Alicante Bouschet and Petite Sirah.  The 2007 had great structure and fruit but no where near being ready.   The 2005 and 2006 were outstanding and screamed out for a plate of cheesy, garlicky ravioli.   Damn fine Zinfandel.

Russian Hill - This winery is already well-known to me because it's been one of my go-to wineries mostly for Pinot but also for Syrah.   I had discovered Russian Hill on a Barrel Tasting weekend several years ago.  Very good wines at a fair price; can't ask for more.

Windsor Oaks - A huge estate with a mile-and-a-half dirt driveway.   Total wine production isn't very high but they make a lot if different wines.  We sampled a Pinot, Malbec, Zinfandel and a Tuscan blend (mostly Sangiovese).  All were quite nice.  Prices were mostly in the $30s which is okay for Pinot but maybe a bit high for Malbec and Zin but the quality was very good.

Days like this remind me why Sonoma County is the best place in the world for wine grapes.   Within a few minutes drive I'm drinking world-class Pinot Noir then the best Zinfandel on the planet.  Not to mention top-of-the-line Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Sauvignon, etc. all within a short distance.    No where else is this possible.  Mother Nature and lots of hard work make this happen.