Category Archives: Wine Regions

Review of the 3Divas White Wine Blend from Montemaggiore winery

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3Divas, Montemaggiore
Appellation: Russian River Valley
Price: $25
Haydn gives it: 92pts
You can buy this wine: at montemaggiore.com

Montemaggiore continues to defy conventional varietals when it comes to its location in Dry Creek. Their red wine portfolio is missing a Zinfandel, but instead showcases what Syrahs and Cabernet Sauvignons can do in the valley. So it shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise that when Montemaggiore decided to make a white, the Sauvignon Blanc (Dry Creek’s staple white) apparently was passed over, as well as the classic Chardonnay. However, here’s a white wine that begs for the spotlight.

Sourcing grapes from the Russian River Valley, winemaker Lise Ciolino, blends a combination of  Viogner, Marsanne & Roussane, resulting in what she calls the 3Divas. While all three ladies work well together, each one seems to come out and sing at least a solo before the finish.

The nose of this wine displays more of the Viogner, with a bit of honey, butterscotch and a hint of pear. The mid-palate brings in characteristics of the other two—Marsanne & Roussane, with the wine displaying characteristics of melon and orange, along with a bit of light spice.

There is a little bit of oak in the wine, but it’s faint thanks to the neutral French oak barrels and no malolactic fermentation. It’s clean, refreshing and a great introductory wine (shh, don’t tell the divas) to a meal. It will warm up your taste buds and get them ready for heavier wines. An exceptionally well-made wine.

Cheers,
Haydn

Follow Haydn on twitter at @haydnadams

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Haydn Adams is the author of the book, Wineries Beyond Napa Valley: Dry Creek and Alexander Valley, an insider’s tasting guide to the hidden gems region. He also contributes to the Beyond Napa Valley Wine Blog, writes for vinvillage.com, and can be found roaming the hills of Sonoma County looking for the next hidden gems. You can contact him at haydn@beyondnapavalley.com

Review of Chelan Ridge 2009 Chardonnay

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Wine: Chelan Ridge 2009 Chardonnay
Appellation: Columbia Valley (but sold in the Lake Chelan AVA area)
ALC: n/a
Price: $16
Haydn gives this wine: 96pts
You can buy this wine: Give Chelan Ridge a call at (509) 687-4455. The website is on its way.

I had the fortunate good luck to be able to attend Chelan Ridge’s soft grand opening in August in Lake Chelan. The winery had literally just put up their large “open” sign outside of the winery. The gardeners were still landscaping the fairly steep driveway as we crept around to the top. It’s still getting a bit of polish, but overall, this winery is ready for business.

The winery is located in the Lake Chelan AVA, a new wine region encompassing parts of Lake Chelan, which is located about 200 miles east of Seattle, Washington. The Lake Chelan AVA is a sub-AVA of the Columbia Valley AVA.

Chelan Ridge features four wines, complimentary, as part of their tasting schedule. The tasting room sits atop, well, a ridge overlooking Lake Chelan. To the left of the winery are rows running all along the hillside. On the other side of the tasting room is the barrel room, where you can see the various oak barrels interspersed with the stainless steel tanks.

Among the wines, the Chardonnay was the most impressive (96pts). The wine showcased ripe granny smith apples that danced around the mid-palate along with honeysuckle and a bit of vanilla. The honeysuckle was also present on the bouquet of the Chardonnay, to which I must have spent a good minute or two simply smelling it. In addition, you can also find a bit of apricot upfront. The secret to this magical Chardonnay is in the winemaking. Lynn and Henry Munneke, winemakers and owners, chose to use a combination of 50% new French Oak and 50% neutral French Oak. But wait, there’s more. They blended the two in a stainless steel tank, stabilized it and then put it in bottle. The stainless steel prevents the wine from continuing to soak up the oak from the barrel, and allows the two to harmonize in essentially a cold bath.

In Lynn’s words, “We were striving to produce a delicate, fruit-forward Chardonnay, with subtle toasted oak”. And she nailed it. The Chardonnay, among all the intricate descriptive adjectives, is simply gorgeous. You can taste the delicate craftsmanship in the wine. This might be the wine that is leading the charge to a new Chardonnay day. The amount of light oak combined with the stainless steel tank makes the Chardonnay blossom to what it should be—a Chardonnay. Not a butterball oakmonster.

Lake Chelan currently goes everything from Cab Franc to Pinot Noir to Grenache. It’s still a young wine region, and it remains to be seen what varietals will thrive here. Aside from Riesling which is a likely shoe-in, with the cooler winters mixed with the lake-effect that keeps the area from a total freeze-zone, I suspect that various more resilient grapes, such as the Chardonnay will do well in the area. And great winemaking will only add to the splendor that is Lake Chelan and Chelan Ridge Winery.

And on a personal note, kudos to Lynn and Henry Munneke on their excellent winemaking and congratulations on the opening of your winery. I can’t wait to see how the wine progresses over the years. I was honored to be at your soft grand opening and to taste your wines.

Cheers,
Haydn

Follow Haydn on twitter at @haydnadams

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Haydn Adams is the author of the book, Wineries Beyond Napa Valley: Dry Creek and Alexander Valley, an insider’s tasting guide to the hidden gems region. He also contributes to the Beyond Napa Valley Wine Blog, writes for vinvillage.com, and can be found roaming the hills of Sonoma County (and Lake Chelan) looking for the next hidden gems. You can contact him at haydn@beyondnapavalley.com

Haydn’s take on the Lake Chelan AVA

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Question: What do you get if you combine the Rhone region of France, with Spain, Germany and the California regions of Dry Creek & Paso Robles? Answer: I have no idea. And that’s the case with Lake Chelan’s wines. It’s still too young to tell what varietal will be king of the region. However that’s not to say there aren’t great wines to be had. You just have to know where to look.

The Lake Chelan AVA is only a year and a half old, officially, and, like sampling wine out of the barrel, one can only give their best estimate to how it will preform once it’s been through bottle shock. That being said, a good winemaker & vineyard manager can give a pretty good guesstimation to what that wine will do. Here’s a recap of my three-day whirlwind tasting through Lake Chelan’s wine district.

It’s new & growing (in a good way)

I must have tried about 15 different varietals over a three-day tasting around the like. All of the Spanish reds were there: Tempranillo & Grenache. There were a few Bordeaux blends present (though the Petit Verdot was MIA), a few Italians made their presence around the sloping waterfront hillsides, and nearly everyone had an Alsacian, a.k.a, a Riesling. In addition, the Pinot grape also made a cameo, alongside a Sparkling. In my thirst (no pun intended) to figure out which varietal does the best per the climate, I came away still not knowing. I figure with a few more years, a few gems will begin to emerge.

Wines by the glass

What through me for a loop was that all the wineries I visited had their wines available by the glass. It was something I had rarely seen in a winery, let alone in all wineries. I took up the offer, and finished off my evening on the first night kicking back underneath the misters at Hard Row to Hoe (and with the mercury pushing 85+ at 6:00 at night, the misters were quite enjoyable). With most wineries offering beautiful vistas of the lake, it’s easily to indulge your taste buds while getting lost in a kodak moment.

Overall Impression

While it is a new AVA, certain wineries could have fooled me into thinking they have been around for a decade or longer (ok, for the record, Lake Chelan winery has been around for a decade). However with scenic vistas of grapes seeming to flow endlessly to the water’s edge, very hospitable staff members, and a myriad of varietals to choose from, Chelan ranks high on the desirability scale when choosing which AVA to vacation in. It is a drive to get to from the Seattle area (or anywhere else for that matter). But trust me. When you get here, you won’t want to leave. It’s just too gosh darn beautiful. Welcome to the big leagues Lake Chelan (AVA).

Cheers,
Haydn

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Haydn Adams is the author of the book, Wineries Beyond Napa Valley: Dry Creek and Alexander Valley, an insider’s tasting guide to the hidden gems region. He also contributes to the Beyond Napa Valley Wine Blog, writes for vinvillage.com, and can be found roaming the hills of Sonoma County looking for the next hidden gems. You can contact him at haydn@beyondnapavalley.com

Haydn’s Review of the Hard Row to Hoe Shameless Hussy Sangiovese Dry Rose

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Winery: Hard Row to Hoe
Appellation: Lake Chelan AVA (just established last year!)
Price: $22
Haydn gives this wine: 90pts
You can buy this wine: Hard Row to Hoe’s website

At least for me, when it comes to summertime, the rose wine jumps right up to the top. Along with those crisp whites (hello New Zealand), the cool and refreshingness of  a rose is hard to beat. And when wine tasting in a region where the summer temps are hovering in the 90s, something cold is almost always something good.

Such was the case with the Hard Row to Hoe Shameless Hussy Rose, made from the Sangiovese grape. When describing this wine, I realized all of the bad Freudian slips that could easily be derived from such a tempting name. Without going all the way (sorry, no pun intended) into their history, the cliff notes go something like this: It’s based upon a brothel whereby the only mode of transportation to get there was by boat, or row boat, in the name’s case.

This rose is made for the summer. It’s crisp, refreshing, and loaded with bright berries, including strawberries and raspberries. The nose is beautiful with images of red berries dancing around your nose. It would go great with crab cakes (no, not those crabs) and cool brie cheese on a sunny afternoon.

As a Lake Chelan wine tasting virgin, this was a great wine to taste what Lake Chelan can produce, be it in a Rose. Overall Hard Row to Hoe’s wines were balanced with a comfortable amount of tannins and acid to them. And while the Syrah was the wine that won out to sip out on their covered balcony with misters running at full strength, the rose left one of the biggest, um, impressions in my mine. I now need to go was my… glass.

Cheers,
Haydn

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Haydn Adams is the author of the book, Wineries Beyond Napa Valley: Dry Creek and Alexander Valley, an insider’s tasting guide to the hidden gems region. He also contributes to the Beyond Napa Valley Wine Blog, writes for vinvillage.com, and can be found roaming the hills of Sonoma County looking for the next hidden gems. You can contact him at haydn@beyondnapavalley.com

Review of Peju’s 2007 Cabernet Franc, Napa Valley

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Wine: Peju 2007 Cabernet Franc
Appellation: Napa Valley
Alc: 14.1%
Price: $45
Haydn gives it: 90pts

Much like the Carignane grape, the Cabernet Franc can be easily overshadowed by some bigger name varietals. Yet it’s importance and character is crucial in some of the best Bordeaux (blends) around. And while at times it can easily take a supporting role, the wine by itself is easily able to hold it’s own.

Such is the case (no pun intended) with Peju’s 2007 Cabernet Franc from the Napa Valley, grown at the estate’s Persephone Ranch Vineyard located in Pope Valley. The ’07 spent 16 months in barrel and then was given a chance to take a nap for a year. The wine was just released this month (July).

The wine displays lovely notes of tobacco, a bit of smoke, perhaps off of a wooded plank, as well as a bit of black currant. It’s dark, deep, and a tad mysterious due to it’s large tannin structure. Peju is suggesting the tannins will mellow out in a year. If so, the wine will start to roar right around Christmas time. I imagine that once the tannins settle, this wine will truly sparkle. It has a great potential to do so and can turn out to be one stellar Cabernet Franc. Cellar and drink within about 4-6 years.

Cheers,
Haydn

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Haydn Adams is the author of the book, Wineries Beyond Napa Valley: Dry Creek and Alexander Valley, an insider’s tasting guide to the hidden gems region. He also contributes to the Beyond Napa Valley Wine Blog, writes for vinvillage.com, and can be found roaming the hills of Sonoma County looking for the next hidden gems. You can contact him at haydn@beyondnapavalley.com

Review of the Kunde Estate 2009 Grenache Rose

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Wine: 2009 Grenache Rose
Appellation:  Sonoma Valley, Kunde Estate
Alc: 13.6%
Price: $13.00
Haydn gives it: 88pts
You can purchase this wine at:  Kune Estates

With the exception of San Francisco, it seems like summer is in full swing for most of America. And with summertime comes warm nights and cool drinks. At least for me, my whites department get a bit thin come August. And while I enjoy good crisp New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc like the rest of the kiwis, it’s the rose which is my go to drink this summer for cool wines.

Last Sunday I had the pleasure of discovering a new Grenache rose, from Kunde Estates, located in the heart of Sonoma. The rose is comprised is close to being called a blend, with it being made up of 80% Grenache, 17% Syrah, and 3% Viognier.

The first thing you’ll notice about this wine is it’s color. It almost glows with a deep and bright red, pushing a bit into the purple-violet area a bit. All of the a sudden, the Pinot Noir rose I had next to it seemed to turn more of a salmon color, but compared. For such an overall subtle grape, the Grenache, the color did not hold back.

This wine will make you smile. It speaks to summertime; fresh strawberries, a touch of raspberry along with a little watermelon. The wine is a tad sweeter than some of it’s dryer Grenache rose cousins, thanks in part to a bit of residual sugar.

Summertime and Kunde’s 2009 Grenache Rose are a perfect compliment. It will cool you down and delight your taste buds without breaking the bank with the beautiful price.

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Haydn Adams is the author of the book, Wineries Beyond Napa Valley: Dry Creek and Alexander Valley, an insider’s tasting guide to the hidden gems region. He also contributes to the Beyond Napa Valley Wine Blog, writes for vinvillage.com, and can be found roaming the hills of Sonoma County looking for the next hidden gems. You can contact him at haydn@beyondnapavalley.com

The wines and the growers of Dutcher Crossing Winery

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A wine barrel is much more than simply the work of a cooper turning up the heat to medium or high on American or French Oak. It really comes alive when the wine comes into contact with it and stars its metamorphosis during those long months in the barrel room. However, while there is so much care and attention to the storage of the wine during that time, the real energy begins literally at the root level, in the fields. It’s here that the growers spend endless hours watching and cultivating the vines, making sure that the grapes are the best that they can be when they are finally cut, processed and their juices poured into the barrel.

At Dutcher Crossing, it was the growers time to shine this past weekend. The winery held a barrel and tank tasting complete with the growers themselves holding the wine thieves (the tool used to sample wine from a barrel). This was something I’ve very rarely experienced.

I found it immensely pleasurable to chat with the ones who tended to the very grapes that I now have in my glass. They were enjoyable to chat with, learning about how each one cared for the grapes in a different way, depending upon the conditions they were in.

I found it fascinating how the Bernier-Sibary Zinfandel was a true field blend— a replica percentage planting of the grapes. While that is the true definition of the term “field blend”, more often than not wineries are using it more in conjunction to simply indicate a blend.

Some of the wines surprised me, as was the case with the ’08 Cabernet Sauvignon. I would have guessed before even tasting that the tannins would have been charging towards my taste buds faster than a sports car. However, and to my enjoyment, the tannins were immensely subdued, to which the grower also concurred.

A great sampling of tank and barrel sampled coupled with scrumptious food made my wine tasting at Dutcher Crossing one I will not soon forget. If you’re in Dry Creek, take a trip north to Dutcher Crossing. The stories, if not only the wine, will surely excite you!

Cheers,
Haydn

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Haydn Adams is the author of the book, Wineries Beyond Napa Valley: Dry Creek and Alexander Valley, an insider’s tasting guide to the hidden gems region. He also contributes to the Beyond Napa Valley Wine Blog, writes for vinvillage.com, and can be found roaming the hills of Sonoma County (and at times, Napa Valley) looking for the next hidden gems. You can contact him at haydn@beyondnapavalley.com.

What does a 100pt wine taste like?

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2007 La Joie – 100 Points, Robert Parker, Jr.,
The Wine Advocate, February 2010
http://www.veritewines.com/wines/lajoie.htm

100. triple digits. The apex of the point system. Needless to say I was excited to sample what Robert Parker considers to be a 100pt wine. I’ve had a fair share of 98s and 99s in the past, but I’ve yet to sample a triple digit rated wine.

So was it worthy of 100pts you might ask? The answer is, I don’t know. To me, I’d give it a 95-96. It is a beautiful wine. The complexity of this wine is up there with the Saturday New York Times crossword puzzle. The flavor profiles consisted from wet leather and tobacco to a bit of blackberry and currants. To Robert Parker’s credit, he has had many more Bordeaux (blends) that I have had and with that I feel better in his decision to anoint the 2007 La Joie by Vérité with the highest rating a wine can be bestowed upon.

Apparently, and I’ve yet to fact-check this, it’s the first time a Sonoma wine has received a 100pt rating. If you’re quickly thinking about Ridge, that wine originated from the Santa Cruz highlands AVA, not from Dry Creek.

As Robert Parker suggests, and I’ll agree with him on this one, this wine needs to slumber in your cellar for a good decade, or longer. It’s made to go the distance. Overall I’m beyond satisfied with the way this wine tasted. It’s given me a good benchmark to which I’ll judge Bordeaux (blends) and other wines of this caliber. The tastes buds are happy.

Dry Creek Valley Passport Recap

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John Hart pouring wine at Family Wineries

What do surfboards, oysters and Spanish flags have in common? They could have all been found in Dry Creek Valley over the weekend of April 24–25th during Passport weekend. Dry Creek rolled out the red carpet again for this year’s Passport weekend. Over two days, nearly 40 wineries open their doors to a countless number of thirsty patrons anxiously awaiting a sip of wine and a delectable food pairing.

The quality of entertainment, amenities and just plain ‘ole fun was over the top. Here is a few snippets from the event:

Surfboards and Snowcones at Michel-Schlumberger Winery

One of the best shows of the day came from the Michel-Schlumberger winery. I love the surfboards that lined the pond in the central courtyard. To further round out the Mexican / Southern California theme (at least that is what I’m calling it), the Carlos Herrera Band played a beautiful latin-style of music. You can hear the music at the bottom of this post.

One of the great parts of Passport weekend is that you’re able to explore new wineries that you had either overlooked or either just haven’t gotten around to coming back to in a while. I’d been to Michel-Schlumberger about a few years ago, but just haven’t make it back since, and so I was excited to try their wines.

Michel-Schlumberger is the only winery in the valley that grows Pinot Noir within the AVA. I was shocked to hear that such a tepid grape can survive the triple digit heat that Dry Creek throws at it. However it does and what resulted was a ripe cherry component mixed with a little bit of pepper (I think there’s osmosis going on with all of the Zins that surround it). But none-the-less it was a very well balanced Pinot Noir.

But the pièce de résistance came with the snow cones topped with either Pinot Blanc or Syrah. On a day where the mercury was pushing past 80, a snow cone was a welcomed sight. To top it off with wine was magnificent. The Syrah tasted splendid on the snow cone and I had the pleasure of listening to the band play all the while soaking up the warm sun and relaxing on the veranda of Michel-Schlumberger

Zinfari at Bella

Bella took thirsty patrons on a zinfari. The winery transformed their wine cave into an African safari, complete with monkeys (not real ones) hanging off of light fixtures. The staff was dressed in safari gear; white shirts and full brimmed hat. An African ban played out on the main lawn while patrons consumed lamb kabobs and sipped rose.

The food & overall entertainment

Everywhere you turned was a food waiting to be sampled. Aside from drinking your way through the wine country, you could now eat your way through as well. Gourmet food pairings abound at nearly every turn. Many wineries had multiple selections for each of their wines—a mini multi-course amuse-boush food pairing if you will.

Jubilation was in the air in Dry Creek. Smiles were abundant and the sun was out in full force. All of the wineries put on a star-studded event. While I do spend quite a bit of time in Dry Creek, this weekend was exceptional. It was quite comical watching cars and limos invent parking spots along the side of the road to get to a few wineries with smaller parking lots. I can’t wait to do it again next year.

Cheers,
Haydn

Here are a few more pictures from the day along with a video of the Carlos Herrera at Michel-Schlumberger winery over passport weekend in Dry Creek.

Barrel tasting with winemaker Kerry Damskey at Dutcher Crossing Winery.

Wine tasting at Kokomo Winery

Review of the 2008 J Viognier, Hoot Owl Vineyard

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2008 J Viognier, Hoot Owl Vineyard
Appellation: Alexander Valley
Alc: 14.3%
Price: $30
Haydn gives it: 90pts
You can buy this wine at: J Winery

Ahh the Viognier. It’s an often overlooked grape—with the Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay’s of the world commanding so much attention. It’s one of my top picks for whites when I’m out and about (granted I can even find a viognier on the wine list).

The J Viognier is a beautiful and delicate wine. It lightly dances on your taste buds as you consume it. On the nose, you will find a hint of peach and cantelope, with a twist of citrus to go with the two fruit. There is a minor about of acidity here that helps to round out the wine.

On the mid-palate, you continue to find cantelope, but with an additional mix of tropical fruits to go with it. A small hint of kiwi can also be found. The finish is eloquently smooth and luxurious.

This wine went both well with food, and on it’s own. This is a sipping wine for when you aren’t in a hurry. On second thought, this wine is for when you are in a hurry, since it will make you slow down. Don’t rush this white—it’s meant to be savored.

The Viogner is a beautiful contributor to J’s always impressive lineup of whites, including their sparklings. If you’re going to serve food with this, I’d recommend a light salad with an oil-based dressing with at least one kind of nut tossed in. Adding the small mandarin oranges would also pair will with this wine.

At $30, it comes in at a fairly high price for a white. That being said, savor this one and pull it out when the time is right. As for every day drinking, go for the J sparkling, since every day should be a day to celebrate.

Cheers,
Haydn

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Haydn Adams is the author of the book, Wineries Beyond Napa Valley: Dry Creek and Alexander Valley, an insider’s tasting guide to the hidden gems region. He also contributes to the Beyond Napa Valley Wine Blog, writes for vinvillage.com, and can be found roaming the hills of Sonoma County (and at times, Napa Valley) looking for the next hidden gems. You can contact him at haydn@beyondnapavalley.com.