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

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.

Best of Show – Stein Family

A new discovery and overall best of show winner was Stein Family Winery. Josh Stein was on hand to personally pour his two wines— a 2009 Los Carneros Semi-Dry Gewürztraminer and his Just Joshin 2007 Tempranillo, from the Sierra Foothills. The Gewürztraminer was beautiful with honeysuckle and rose pedals on the mid-palate with a big of orange and lemon to round it out. A touch of residual sugar adds to this wine, kicking up the acidity a bit and making it a desirable wine for my next outing to a thai restaurant.

The tempranillo further illustrated that, to me, the grape is Cabernet’s baby sister. It ripe and ready to drink now, though you might want to wait a few years for the soft tannins to further settle. There’s a bit of blueberries and red berries mixed with a mocha aspect, further added by a dusting of dirt (terrior). Tempranillos have a higher bit of acidity, making it perfect for your next lamb shank dish.

Here are a few other noteworthy wines of the Crush Barrel Wine Market:

Aver Family Vineyard 2007 Homage (Syrah) – The wine is tasting beautifully right now. The tannins have somewhat resided and what you are left with is a medium spice coupled with a bit of vanilla and dark berries. It’s ready to drink now, though you could lay this down for another few years.

Ricardus Corculum 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon – Using a mixture of new French Oak as well and neutral, Ricardus Corculum has crafted a beautiful Cab. Blackberries can be found both on the mid-palate, along with a cedar plank spice and a bit of mocha. The wine is clean, with good, strong tannins. This is a wine that you’ll want to lay down for 10+ years.

R&B Cellars Fortissimo “Port” Desert Wine – A beautiful wine to finish off the wine tasting. I coupled this with a few chocolates from different tables to really get this port to shine. Tobacco, leather and plum can easily be found in this wine. It’s thick and leathery; simply beautiful.

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.

Route 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.

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.

Happy New Year, and enjoy,
Haydn Adams

Wine #10: m2 Zinfandel
$35 | m2wines.com

It has been rated as one of the top 12 Lodi wines of 2009, and I have to agree. Lodi is a strong player in the Zinfandel world, and while Lodi zins cannot can’t compare to those of the Zin capital of the world, Dry Creek, m2 Zinfandel is a very close runner-up and one of the best to come out of Lodi.

Wine #9: Meeker 2007 Carignane (Alexander Valley)
$26 | meekerwine.com

A beautiful, and often overlooked varietal.

Wine #8: Montemaggiore Syrah (Paolo’s Vineyard, Dry Creek)
$35 | montemaggiore.com

A gorgeous (non-Zinfandel) wine to come out of Dry Creek. Biodynamically farmed, this Syrah has a little hint of pepper and plum, and an overall balanced finish.

Wine #7: J Cuvée 20
$20 | jwine.com/

Can sparkling wine really age well? If you would have asked me that last December, I would have scoffed off the answer, period. But the J Cuvée has changed my thinking. This base sparkling of J’s has grown up over the past year and has become a formidable contender in the sparkling wine arena. A great price for a great sparkling.

Wine #6: Quivira Grenache (Dry Creek Valley)
$26 | quivirawine.com/

Ahh the Grenache. It’s one of my favorite varietals. Quivira makes a beautiful 100% Grenache, which is no easy feat since this grape is one of the subtlest around.

Wine #5: Rippon Vineyards Pinot Noir (New Zealand)
Price N/A | www.rippon.co.nz/

The southern region of New Zealand is the new hot spot for Pinots and Rippon Vineyards is leading the charge. This Pinot is a textbook example of the excellent Pinots currently being produced in the Central Otago region. Unfortunately, I have recently been having a hard time tracking down where I can get this one, which is why it didn’t rank higher on the list.

Wine #4: Tandem Pinot Noir (Sangiacomo Vineyards)
Price N/A | tandemwinery.com/

This is one of my favorite Russian River Pinot Noirs. It is a bit spicy (standard for a Russian River Pinot), but in a near-perfect amount. Beautiful.

Wine #3: 2008 Cakebread Chardonnay (Napa Valley, Rutherford)
$37 | cakebread.com

Another fantastic showing from Cakebread. The secret to this wine? Nearly 70% of the wine is aged in neutral oak so the butterball effect is gone leaving behind beautiful notes of pear, and a bit of cantaloupe / honeydew.

Wine #2: William Harrison Cabernet Franc (Napa Valley, Rutherford)
$45 | whwines.com

William Harrison, an excellent winery located near Rutherford in the Napa Valley, has delivered a near spotless Cabernet Franc.  This wine is simply gorgeous and well worth a try.

Wine #1: Archipel (by Vérité) (Alexander Valley)
$45 | archipelwines.com

Archipel has been and remains my favorite wine. I find the “California Bordeaux” to be a near perfect pair with my particular preferences for this style of Bordeaux.

It’s not everyday that the recommend food of a wine ends up on the bottle. But such is the case with the 2007 Mourvédre from Quivira (as well as the 2006 vintage). Each bottle by Quivira dawns a various animal that corresponds with the wine. With the Mourvédre, it has to do with the wild turkeys strutting their stuff around the Mourvédre grape. However, and I wonder how coincidental, that this wine would pair so well with Ben Franklin’s favorite bird.

The Biodynamically certified Mourvédre’s nose is spotlessly clean. No sharp spikes or jolts in the initial whiff. While some wines hit you right off the bat, almost yelling at you, this one whispers quietly, almost inviting you, no, more luring you to taste it. There’s a reason for that. In the words of Steven Canter, winemaker, “No new oak was harmed in making this wine”.

The Mourvédre is not an easy wine to quickly pick up. Cabs and Pinots (both old-world and new-world Pinots) have a distinct characteristic. Yet the Mourvédre is a little of a hodgepodge when it comes to flavor profiles.

On the nose, you’ll find hints of molasses and plums (I know it doesn’t visually sound appealing, but go with me here). And behind those are blackberries and even a little blueberries. The taste continues when you get the chance to answer the beckoning whisper of this Mourvédre. The plums continue on as the blueberries get bigger, and the sweetness of the plum gets a bit earthier. It’s as if the plum ripens from sniff to taste. There’s some meat in this wine. While you could drink this solo, I’d recommend a good, big cheese or say, a turkey!

Leave the job of paring big red meats to the big boys: Cabs, Syrahs and Bordeaux / Bordeaux blends (of course all dependent upon the sauce). Mourvédre’s sit comfortably in the middle when it comes to heaviness. Pinots (New World), Grenaches and Beaujolais would round out the lighter side. So it makes sense that a fairly meaty bird would compliment well with a fairly meaty wine. I can almost smell the turkey, lightly paired with the cranberry suace and a little bit of gravy round out this pairing (can you tell I’m starting to drool over the idea that Thanksgiving is less than a month away?).

This wine’s just a baby and it took nearly a day to fully open up. Decant, decant, decant, and then wait a while. The wine’s begging you to drink it—take your time and you’re patience will pay off.

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

A staple in the Napa Valley, Cakebread recently released a new Chardonnay into their wine portfolio. The 2008 Napa Valley Chardonnay (they also make an Anderson Valley Chardonnay) was recently bottled and is now available to the world.

The beauquet on this wine is beautiful. I’m delighted that the acidity is a bit higher than what you’d normally expect out of a California (let alone a Napa Valley) Chardonnay. The butter bandit, if he is there, is hiding out on the nose. My initial thought when I took a quick whiff was apples and pears, with a little butter, but not much at all. I imagine this well-balanced nose is due to the nearly 10% of the wine going through a stainless steel fermentation.

The mid-palate displays the typical butterness sensation, but without the characteristic oakiness. The butter is still very mild and melts easily on your tongue. A slight amount of tannins, however they are very very weak. This is partially due to the fact that Cakebread ran the wine through both neutral & new french oak. The oak is needed, but it’s not over the top.

If you’re looking for a great Chardonnay to have before dinner or with a good friend, this wine is for you. You can easily drink this solo, or with food. Closing my eyes, I could see a Fettuccine Alfredo, or any other dish with a cream sauce; possibly cooked oysters with a clam sauce. The small amount of acidity is what works with the thicker sauces.

This wine could use a little more time to lay down. The small amount of tannins present will dissipate in about 6-8 months I’m guesstimating. However, the wine is still ready to drink now.

Enjoy,
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

Appellation: Sonoma Coast, California
ALC: 14.2%
You can buy this wine at: fortrossvineyard.com
Retail price: $16
Haydn gives it: 89pts

I discovered this wine from a personal invitation from co-owner, Linda Schwartz. I was told by a friend that I had to try their Pinotage. I had had it in the past, and apparently said that I gave it less than a favorable oral review, so I was out to try it again and see what I thought of it. It was in the e-mail correspondance that I found out that she was pouring her wines down the street from me, and I ought to stop in and give it a swirl. I happily agreed to meet her and try a bottle or two.

I will get to the Pinotage in a later review, I promise, but that night one wine really stood out—the Rosé. I knew it was the shining star that night because when I surveyed what I wanted to try again, rosé was the first thing uttered out of my mouth.

On the nose, you’ll get the default strawberry components, but dig a bit deeper and you’re bound to get a bit of watermelon as well. Smelling this wine, images of fresh watermelons being picked right off of the vine came into vision. Just fresh, fresh watermelon.

The wine, made in a dryer style, is very silky to drink and lingers for a while after. I’d serve this wine knowing it is going to take a bit to finish. Call up a good friend you haven’t seen for a while, break out some cheese from Whole Foods and kick back on the balcony. Remember to put it on ice as this wine is served cold.

Overall, the wine is delightful with a great balance of fruit coming out on the palate as well as crispness in a bit of acidity. I wouldn’t cellar this one for more than the summer as it is ready to drink now, and summer is just round the corner.

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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

Appalachian: Monterey
Alc: 14.4%
Haydn gives it: 86pts

Summer is right around the corner. It’s the time to dust off the picnic basket, find a park with a bit of light shade and uncork a Rosé. The rosé for me has been my answer to drinking a cool red wine in the summertime. With temps out here in Marin hitting 90-95 degrees in the summer, the chilled whites seem to get billing in addition the Rosé.

The rosé in the spotlight today is the Scheid Vineyards 2006 Rosé. This wine is plain and simple, with a great basket of strawberries in the palate, the nose and just about everywhere else. There is a sweetness to this one, so think about pairing it with a dryer or coarse cheese to balance it.

Aside from the strawberries, the rosé is a wonderful palate cleanser. While this wine comes in at 14.4% when it comes to alcohol content, which is fairly high for the rosé market (yet on par for California standards), the abundance of alcohol is light and at first I had this wine pegged at around 13.2 – 13.5%.

The rosé did its trick— it was opened on a warm spring time afternoon, sitting outside on the balcony with a great friend. I was also happy to see a screw top, as the past few wines have been corked.

The 2007 rosé by Scheid is made from Syrah grapes with a kick of Cab. The best part about this wine is 1) the alcohol content lowered to 13.4% (I tend to lean towards the lower alcohol content on a hot day, as you’re already losing hydration from the heat, and a high alcohol content furthers the feeling of intoxication) and 2) the price point of $16.

You can buy this wine directly from Scheid’s vineyard at: scheidvineyards.com

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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