Ata Rangi 2008 Sauvignon Blanc
Appellation: Martinborough
Alc: 13.5%
Price: $14-$20
Haydn gives it: 92pts
You can buy this wine at: K&L Importers

I was thrilled to discover this wine sitting unannounced on one of the shelves of a wine store. There it was, in a nonchalant style resting it’s head on one of the wooden racks. Either the store employee had no idea what they had in stock (probably the case, no pun intended) or they knew what it was and played it cool. Either way, the Ata Rangi 2008 is truly a gem. It’s one of the top wineries in the Martinborough region (no, not Marlborough), if not one of the top 10 in New Zealand.

On the nose , the wine displays it’s trademark Kiwi styles with a bit of lemon and grapefruit. There is a shallow tartness in play, though it starts to alter a bit on the mid palate, with a bit of pear in the middle. It’s soft and flavorful. At the end, a beautiful finish plays out by brining back a bit of the grapefruit.

The wine is balanced from beginning to end. The secret to this wine I feel comes in the fermenting process. 90% touched only stainless steel, but the remaining 10% sat in 3-year neutral oak barrels. That small amount of oak is enough to round out what could have been a lawn full of grass in your glass.

I originally purchased this wine for $20. However, after returning a week later, it was nowhere to be found. After calling around, I tracked the wine down at K&L in San Francisco. It is currently sitting in their Hollywood warehouse, at a price of $14.99. Wow. Now the only question remains, do I buy a half or an entire case?

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.

All the wineries, under one room, err, tent.

Review of ZinTopia
by Haydn S. Adams

The WInegrowers of Dry Creek held it’s first Zintopia—to highlight Dry Creek’s most treasured grape, the ZInfandel. Unlike PinotDays and other Zinfests, this event really honed in on the family winemaking aspect along with the down-to-earth feel that Dry Creek has.

While Zinfandel was the staple wine at the event (as it is in Dry Creek in general), other wines were featured. The whites, aptly being poured on yellow table cloths, could be found, with a majority pouring Sauvignon Blanc. The other, which was creative, was the “Unusual Reds”, featuring non-Zinfandel or Zin blends comprised of less than 75%. This suited such wineries as Montemaggiore well, as they are 100% Zin free. Or as Vince, owner said, “We dare to be different”.

Great food to accompany Great wine

Park Avenue catering did a fabulous job providing excellent food to pair with the wine. Meaty fish, a few different pizzas, and burger-style dishes were in order. The catering company even dolled out desserts towards the later half of the event. I was quite impressed, as well, at how the food was spread around. That led to less of a line bunched up buffet-style.

Erik Miller, winemaker from Kokomo Winery

The winemakers were there, and pouring

This is truly the hallmark of Dry Creek—family owned wineries with visible winemakers. With most wineries you’re more likely to find a portrait of the winemaker hanging in the tasting room than you are them in the flesh. Not the case with Dry Creek and Zintopia. Throughout the day you could mix and mingle with such winemakers as Eric from Kokomo and Steven Canter from Quivira. Vincent Ciolino from Montemaggiore could be found on the unusual reds, and Lou Preston of Preston vineyards could be seen either walking around sampling the wares or showcasing his organic vegetables in adjacent section of the event.

It was enjoyable chit chat with the very people who crafted the wines being sampled. And while at first you might find it intimidating to let your true feeling be known about the wine to the winemaker, on the flip side, it is quite fulfilling to tell him or her just how good their wine is.

Steven Canter, winemaker for Quivira

Overall great atmosphere

This has to be one of the best wine tasting events I’ve been to in a while. The crowd was large enough to feel cozy, yet I wasn’t needing to stand 3 deep in line to get a micro-pour. Everyone was upbeat, friendly and courteous. I had time to talk with many new winemakers whom I had never met, or even, heard of before. The winegrowers of Dry Creek did an excellent job of reflecting the feeling of Dry Creek in ZinTopia. And that was the keystone to why the event felt so great. I can’t wait ’til ZinTopia 2.0!

Cheers,
Haydn

Review 2008 Sauvignon Blanc, Russian River, Shone Farm Vineyard, Signaterra by Benziger
Haydn S. Adams | Beyond Napa Valley Wine Blog

Appellation: Russian River Valley, California | Shone Farm Vineyard (single vineyard)
ALC: 14.1%
You can buy this wine at: signaterra.com/ (though it’s not up online for purchasing yet)
Retail price: N/A
Haydn gives it: 92pts

When one thinks of grapes that are grown in the Russian river, the default answer would be the Pinot Noir. It’s an ideal growing condition and this many wineries have concentrated their energies to that precious grape. But Benziger decided to excel with another grape from that region—the Sauvignon Blanc grape. And excel they did.

Before I go too far, I should disclose that Sauvignon Blanc is one of my favorite white varietals. While I do try to remain as impartial as I can on this blog, personal preference does come in from time to time. Staying completely neutral is something I just can’t do.

I’ve got 4 words for you—Quintessential California Sauvignon Blanc. The wine displays beautiful characteristics of a bit of citrus, especially grapefruit. The color is surpisingly clear, almost harking more to the light yellow of a Chenin Blanc or of a Viogner. This wine goes straight to the point, and is indeed very elegant.

The wine is brand new, having just been released May 1st of this year. It’s so new, I can’t even find a price on this wine. The sold-out 2006 was going for $26, so I’m guessing it will be right around that price point. It is higher for a Sauvignon Blanc than most out there, but the price is justified in the quality. One final note, that this wine is part of Benziger’s “Certified Sustainable Grape Growing Program”. I guess you can say it’s good for you, and the environment.

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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

2007 Scheid Sauvignon Blanc
by Haydn Adams | Beyond Napa Valley Blog

Retail Price: $18.00
Appellation: Monterey, California
Where you can buy this wine: Scheid Vineyards
ALC: 13.5%
Haydn gives this wine: 87 pts

There is something about Sauvignon Blancs that make me smile. Maybe it is the crispness mixed with a fair bit of acidity. For whatever reason, this Sauvignon Blanc does it’s job by providing textbook characteristics with some smooth qualities.

The color of this wine is a pretty light yellow. It picks up a bit of color from the 10% it hung out in 3-year-old French oak barrels. After about 2 years, barrels have lost their luster, so you’re not going to see any piece of oak here, even if parts did touch it for a little while. The remaining 90% of the wine underwent aging in stainless steel. A wise choice as this wine demonstrates some textbook characteristics.

The nose exhibits a strong sense of acidity, with images of ruby-red grapefruits. It is a sweet-acidic, not tart like a lemon. The nose is fairly strong, and even with only a little bit of wine in the glass, the aromas fill the space with a bit of intensity. a little honeydew can also be found on the nose.

The wine has a pleasant mouthfeel. For something this acidic, I was expecting a bigger bite. However, this is a good thing. As the grapefruit smell continues, the classic lemon component emerges. It’s as if it was hiding on the nose, but then comes out of it’s shell on the mid-palate. Another word I would use to describe the palate is exceptionally clean. Not jarring components, just refined and fairly smooth.

The finish was the most surprising, with the Sauvignon Blanc picking up a trace amount of honey with the grapefruit and lemon. I suspect that is from the 10% French Oak used to complete this wine. The grapefruit is carried throughout the wine all the way until the finish, yet it seems to pick up and drop off other fruits along the way.

A beautiful wine to enjoy on a bright and warm spring day. You could easily pair this wine with shrimp or crab, just make sure the seafood is more whiter in color. However, I would be very conent with just drinking this wine all by itself, as it does have enough stamina to stand on its own two feet.

Drink this wine now through 2012. Due to the screw top (a nice little nod to the kiwis) along with the stainless steel aging, this wine will most likely not change in the years to come. Just don’t wait to long until it turns to vinegar, or something worse!

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Haydn S. Adams is a wine author and reviews wines for wineries all over the world. He currently writes for vinvillage.com along with his own wine review site at www.beyondnapavalley.com/blog/.