Mustard? Who knew?

After the harvest, when vines are getting ready to sleep away the winter a new plant is getting ready to bloom. This particular plant is used to incorporate nitrogen into the soil which allows an abundance of foliage on the vines, which in turn protects the fragile grapes from the sun during growing season. The plant I speak of is mustard! That right, mustard. Here in beautiful California it's amazing how the seasons are the complete opposite from the majority of the rest of the country... i.e. Being from the east coast, the summer months is when you get most of your rain and the grass is green. Here in wine country it is the exact opposite. In the summer months, the grass is dry and the plant life struggles to survive, where as in the winter, the rains are abundant and plant life thrives. Maybe this is why we produce some of the best wine in the world. For such a young wine growing region - in respect to the countries that have been doing this longer than we have even been around, we being the united states - I am thoroughly impressed with the progress we have made in the industry, and the attention that is paid to every detail. Who knew planting mustard in the winter would be such an important part of how the following year's crop will turn out?

Great wineries to visit

Today we visited four wineries, Graton Ridge ( Russian River Valley), Rochioli (Dry Creek Valley), Porter Creek ( Dry Creek Valley) and Hop Kiln (Dry Creek Valley) all of which were impressive wineries.
Graton Ridge was established in 2007, I believe, and has already won medals for a few of their wines, so to say the least it is definately an up and comer... I personally think the Zinfindel needs to sit for a while so the fruit has a chance to develop, but when it does, watch out. I would get it now before it becomes a library.
Rochioli is amazing... The tasting room only offers two wines at a time that they release every couple of months and today, I tasted a Chard and a Pinot, which were both fantastic. Don't miss this one! I think they are releasing a Sauv blanc and another Pinot in a few months and I can't wait to try them.
Hop Kiln has good wine, but nothing that really stood out and slapped me in the face. Very interesting story behind the building itself though - you should read up on it. "1000 flowers" was nice on the palate as wall as their "Big Red" Bordeaux blend.
Porter Creek was great. The welcome was warm, and the service was impecable, as well as the wine. Excellent Chard and Pinot - they also had a reserve Pinot that wasn't open unfortunately, because I'm sure it would have been great. Right down the road from Rochioli too. If your in the area, I suggest you kill two bird with one stone. Really good Viognier.
All and all, I would consider today a success for sure. These are four wineries/vineyards that I wouldn't miss if I were you. If you have a chance to visit, please let me know what you think.

Terminology

I don't claim to know enerything there is to know about wine. In fact, I don't claim to know shit about shit. What I do is simply, pass on previous experiences and knowledge that has been presented to me and hope I'm on the right page. For those of you that are interested in proper terminology and what not, here is a web page I would highly recommend visiting. It is imformative and I found it very useful... Enjoy! www.vinology.com/dictonary/

Why spend a ton of cash?

When we visit wineries, restaurants, spirit shops, etc. We tend to think that expensive wine = good wine... Not always the case. I'm not saying you don't spend more for a good bottle of wine, you just don't have to spend a lot more. I have had great wine for under $20 a bottle. I've paid $60 or $70 for a bottle that was shit. My advice to you is, know what your buying and don't let price be the determining factor. If you don't have a chance to taste it, it can be hit or miss, so choose wisely, meaning, buy what you know or have heard good things about... If you don't like it, learn from your mistakes and move on. I like to take chances, so I have been both pleasently surprised as well as extremely dissapointed. Entertaining guests? Go with what you know! Want to kick back and have a few glasses? Might as well try something new. Right?

BEER? Yeah, BEER!

The rules of wine have been established for many years now. People tell us what goes with what, how our palates will (or should) react to different varietals and different foods and so on and so forth. I know I'm not the only person, by any means, who has thought about this numerous times, but what about beer? Personally I think that brewing quality suds is just as interesting and important as producing a quality wine. Wine is put on a pedistal (as it should be) but why not beer? It takes just as much knowledge to grow quality hops as it does a great grape. Oregon is a great example... Many fine vineyards, but just as many great micro breweries. Maybe it's because wine growing regions are so limited and focused on local grapes as opposed to breweries which import hops from all around the globe. I'm not saying that people don't respect beer like they do wine, all I'm trying to say is instead of going wine tasting, maybe we should think about going beer tasting... My challange to you is, the next time you go out to dinner and the server asks you "and can I get you started with a glass of wine?" Ask him or her what they have on tap. Who knows? Maybe you'll find that a nice IPA pairs well with a jumbalaya, or that Boont Amber pairs well with a savory meat dish. Try it out and let me know what you think... Now that's thinking outside of the box. We should do it more often!

Sideways + Merlot = Bad wrap

These days it seems as though everyone is influenced by what other people have to say, even fictional characters. Well, I am proud to be one of those people that like to form my own opinion... ie. When the movie Sideways was released a few years back Merlot got a bad wrap because of the fact that the main characters ex-wife enjoyed drinking it, there fore he refused to. This is a fact: The sale of Merlot plummited because of that movie. Now, I personally have had good and bad experiences with merlot just like any other varietals I have encountered, but there are great merlot's out there, and I encourage you to try a few.
I guess what I am trying to get at is, some people just need to make up their own fucking minds as opposed to listening to what everyone else has to say! What do you think?

My favorite bottle of wine?

Today I helped my better half with a project at the restaurant she manages, Nectar at the Hilton Sonoma wine country in Santa Rosa. When all was said and done, her General Manager was very pleased and asked her to ask me what my favorite bottle of wine was. I was stumped, that is a question that is not easily answered. I must have tasted thousands of wines and liked hundreds of them, loved a percentage of the ones I liked, but couldn't quiteput my finger on "The One". I don't even think it's possible. Sometimes you want white, sometimes red, sometimes a cab and sometimes a zin or on a nice summer day maybe a chard or Sauv blanc. There are so many options that I couldn't make up my mind.
I have come to the realization that I personally don't have a favorite bottle, vineyard, varietal or taste... It's all about that particular moment. So when she ask's me again tomorrow I'll have an answer, until then I don't know. Do you?

The importance of "laying it down"

Every once in a while we come across a bottle of wine that stands out among the rest, we go home and a few days later open it up and it's gone. What some don't realize is that particular varietals, especially zins and cabs, cabs especially, can take a significant amount of time to peak. Some longer than others of coarse, but the goal is achieving peak drinkability. So, the next time you purchase an 06' or 07' cab, syrah, zin or any other big red, consider laying it down for a while. The fruit rounds out, the acidity becomes more balanced and the tannins are toned down in most cases. Remember, life is too short to drink cheap wine, but not cheap beer...

Advice for my east coast Chefs

Wheather or not you are in charge of wine buying, you should look into a few Sonoma county wines that will not be distributed much longer and you can get at a great price, Here they are,

1 Michel-Schlumberger, Dry Creek Valley, Syrah 2006
2 J Vineyards, Russian River Valley, Zinfindel 2004
3 Robert Young Estate Winery, Alexander Valley, Cabernet Sauvignon 2004
4 Sbragia, Dry Creek Valley (Gino's Vineyard), Zinfindel 2006
5 Stryker, Alexander Valley (OZ), Zinfindel 2007 ( Will become library, Buy now unless you wan't to pay twice as much four years down the road)

Sbragia and Stryker do not distribute but are worth buying for your own personal stash

Bottle Shock

Great movie! Based on a true story and I have visited the vineyard"Chateau Montelena" and it was crap! When we walked in everyones nose went straight up in the air like a bunch of snooty bitches. We walked out and never went back. Save yourself the trip and go somewhere else... Anywhere else!

Carol Shelton Wines

Maple vineyard, which is in Dry Creek Valley, is where Carol get's her grapes for one of the best zin's I have had in a long time. On top of producing great wine, she is also an amazining photographer and artist. The tasting room is small and tucked away and an appointment must be made. If your in the area, don't miss this one. Check out her wines and artwork at Carolshelton.com

Appelations make a difference

For those of you that don't know, an appelation is a particular wine growing region that is known for the grapes grown in that particular region as well as the soil, microclimate and elevation. Recently I have taken an interest in the Rockpile Appelation because of the fact that I have not had a wine(especially the Zin's) that I was not completely satisfied with. It is in Northwest Sonoma County, north of Dry Creek Valley and West of Alexander Valley. The Elevation is 800' - 2400' and the majority of the grapes are grown on steep slopes with volcanic and clay soil, which in my opinion makes for a deeper more complex wine with mild to firm tannin's, balanced acidity and BIG dark fruit perfect for pairing with a wide variety of meat dishes. To all of you aspiring Wine Snobs, check it out. Google Mauritson Vineyards. "Cemetary" vineyard is my favorite! Which is in the Rockpile AVA. Look up why it's called Rockpile as well, interesting story!

Gloria Ferrer

All I have to say is ringing in the new year with a few bottles of Gloria's Blanc de Noir is a great start to the new year. Can't wait to visit her tasting room, heard great things! Any input?