Category Archives: Wine Types

Let’s Get Fizzacle!

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Sure, bubbly is boss on New Years and even at celebrations like birthdays and anniversaries, but why not add its charming sparkle to silly-sweet St. Valentine’s Day? I can’t think of a lustier toast … except for maybe Bedrock’s ravishing Ode to Lulu rosé, or a sinful zinfandel, or ….

Here’s my go-to list:


NV Domaine Chandon étoile Sonoma-Napa Brut, $40 As crisp as the February fallen snow yet buttery and full like a fresh baked croissant, this American bubbly enlivens your senses with juicy strawberry, orange, and vibrant apple notes. chandon.com

2003 Roederer Estate L’Ermitage Brut Rosé, $70 Louis Roederer Brut champagne, France, is one of my favorite bottles so this second release of the limited pink version really puts the rosy in my cheeks. Opulent and deep: think fresh peach, strawberry, white mineral, hints of sweet bread dough and ripe red fruits. Embrace the splurge. champagne-roederer.com

Moet & Chandon Rosé Imperial, $120 She’ll love you for this girly-pink Valentine’s gift set that’s just as gimmicky as the greeting card driven holiday—and perfect for the lady who has everything. Fleshy body, with intense flavors of cherry, white pepper, and red fruit that dance on your tongue with youthful freshness. Yes, Scarlett Johansson in a bottle!  moet.com.

J Cuvee 20 Brut, J Vineyards, Russian River Valley, $20 What do you get when you mix almonds, apples, peach and stone fruits, toast and tiny bubbles with a lingering clean finish? Hello Valentine: a well-crafted classy sparkler with a civilized price that pairs well with spicy dishes and companions alike. jvineyards.com.

Jaillance Brut Crémant de Bordeaux Cuvée de l’Abbaye, $19 Elegant honey-hued with a rich bouquet of sweet almonds, white flowers, and marjoram; notes of pear, stone fruit, and brioche on the finish. Crémant is the fine dry sparkling wine produced in France outside of the champagne region. You’ll even have enough dough left over for that box of chocolates. jaillance.com.

Red, Red Wine

If seeking something bolder to go with your Valentine’s feast, consider:

Caminada Winery Malbec, Uco Valley Mendoza Argentina, $11 This off-the-beaten path selection with a jazzy label is sure to seduce over a lingering dinner for two. A ruby red hue, spicy sensory notes, and flavors of vanilla, cherry and plum put this juicy Malbec in the running for an affordable option that pairs well with grilled meats and tango partners alike. caminadawines.com

Zinful Sips

Our list of super California zinfandel wines is long but here are a few you can rely on: Lambert Bridge, Ravenswood, Ridge, Dutcher Crossing, Seghesio. Many of them are from Dry Creek Valley where some of the very oldest vines produce the hippest and happiest wines.

Cheers!

Robin

Favorite quotes:

* The right time to drink Champagne from Madame ‘Lily’ Bollinger: “I drink my Champagne when I’m happy and when I’m sad. Sometimes I drink it when I’m alone. When I have company I consider it obligatory. I trifle with it if I’m not hungry and drink it when I am. Otherwise I never touch it — unless I’m thirsty.”

*Age does not protect you from love. But love, to some extent, protects you from age.

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 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.

Zinfandel and Dark Chocolate

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Chocolate is one of the most sensual foods out there in the world. And if you were to say it were to have a liquid counterpart, wine would be it. But with so many wines and so many chocolates out there, pairing them can be harder than one might imagine.

One great combination is Zinfandel and dark chocolate. The medium to dark berries coupled with a bit of spice / pepper (you don’t want too much pepper) are natural compliments to the almost bitter dark chocolate. Pick your Zins from well-known Zinfandel regions, such as Dy Creek, Paso Robles or Lodi. Remember to not have too much pepper on the tongue or the taste of the chocolate will be muted.

When picking out a dark chocolate, try to stay near or above 70%. Too light and the intensity of the chocolate won’t match the strength of the wine. Good friend, and fellow blogger, Kelly Staples of dogs2cents.com (a great read about the life of Lucy in wine country), recently paired a Pezzi King Zinfandel from Dry Creek with blueberries and dark chocolate. The fruit forwardness of the wine and the ample tannins mixed extremely well with both the fruit and the chocolate. Much like a decanter is used to amplify the wine’s notes, so to does the chocolate. A simply Zin turned extraordinary with the help of one extra component.

Have you tried Zinfandel and Dark Chocolate? If you, what’s your take on it? I’d love to hear from you on either the comments here or through twitter @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 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.

Review of the Route 128 2006 PeLu Rouge, Opatz Family Vineyard

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Route 128 PeLu Rouge bottleRoute 128 2006 PeLu Rouge, Opatz Family Vineyard
Appellation: Nestled in a mountain pass between Alexander Valley and Anderson Valley
Alc: 14.8%
Price: $34
Haydn gives it: 90pts
Total production: 1 barrel
You can buy this wine at: route128winery.com

PeLu Rouge, Opatz Family Vineyard

PeLue Rouge’s name simply comes from the names of the two owners— Lorna (Lulu is her nickname) and Pete. The husband and wife tag team opened up Route 128 a few years back in the Alexander Valley on the main street of Geyserville. A delicious wine, it is silky smooth with hardly a touch of tannins to speak of. There is a bit of blackberry mixed with a bit of black pepper, but it was as if the pepper’s strength had been turned way down to be a little bit more than a garnish rather than a main course. At a total production of 1 barrel, I don’t expect this wine to be around for too long. At that small production, and the beauty of the wine, it’s going to go fast.

Lulu explained to me, on a recent trip to their tasting room, that by giving it a proprietary name, they were able to be more flexible with the blending. They wanted this label to change up yearly, and by giving it the proprietary name, they were allowed to do that. This years’ blend is a co-fermentation of estate grapes, 65% Syrah, 25% Zinfandel & 10% Viognier. All three work together extremely well. While I wish all wines could stay the same forever, I also will be looking forward to the next vintage of the Lulu Rouge.

Keep up the great work, Route 128.

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.