VINOGRAPHY: a wine blog
Wine and food adventures in San Francisco and around the world
~ Recently in Red Wine Category ~
2007 J. Rochioli "River Block" Pinot Noir, Russian River Valley
It took me a long time in my evolution as a wine lover to truly understand the amount of money and sweat and energy that goes into building a world class winery over decades, even centuries. Many wine lovers early in their education (and in their earning power) are often flummoxed by prices for wines that start to head north of $80 or $90 per bottle. Should they pursue their love of wine long enough to really learn (and see for themselves) what kind of work goes into some of the world's best vineyards, and to taste the wine that... continue reading 
- Posted by: Alder on July 2, 2009 9:46 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Red Wine , Wine Reviews
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Giacomo Conterno Barolo and Barbera: Italy's Greatest Wines?
Because of our deep history with wine, the standards by which we judge today's efforts must be placed within the context of tradition. While we can judge California Pinot Noir on its own merits, we cannot understand or evaluate it completely without reference to Burgundy, its ancestral home. Burgundy will always be the benchmark for Pinot Noir, as it has been for centuries. Just as there exist regional benchmarks for grape varieties or wine styles, there also exist some individual wine producers, and even individual wines, that manage to define the uppermost limits of quality or the epitome of a... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on June 27, 2009 10:07 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Red Wine , Wine Reviews
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2006 Hourglass "Blueline Estate" Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa
There is no single recipe for greatness when it comes to Napa wine, but starting with a great plot of land can take you a long way. The only problem is, a lot of people don't necessarily know a great plot of land when they see one. Sometimes these plots of land can be hidden in plain sight until the right person comes along to notice. When Jeff Smith's father moved the family to St. Helena in 1964, he wasn't thinking about wine, he was thinking about real estate development. He was also thinking about the tiny trickle of tourists... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on June 17, 2009 9:55 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Red Wine , Wine Reviews
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2005 Lieff "Auberge Road Vineyard" Cabernet Sauvignon, Rutherford, Napa
There are people who start wineries and work for a long time to get to the point that their names become synonymous with good wine, regardless of whether their names are on the bottle or not. And then there are those who you wonder at how they managed to avoid having their name on a wine bottle for as long as they did. Robert Lieff has a long history with wine, and with Napa Valley in particular. How he has managed to only just now end up with his name on a bottle, is in part a testament to his... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on June 15, 2009 9:45 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Red Wine
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2006 Hall "Exzellenz" Sacrashe Vineyard Proprietary Red Wine, Rutherford, Napa
The pleasures of childhood call to us as adults. The tug of nostalgia is so great that we so often find ourselves indulging in little things that remind us of our early years, and in some cases we throw ourselves passionately into the pursuit of the things we have lost. Kathryn Hall lost the vineyard that was her childhood playground. Despite having managed the vineyard for nearly a decade, letting it go after her father's death was the right thing to do. But her memories of growing up among the grape vines in Redwood Valley, coupled with her enduring love... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on June 13, 2009 11:57 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Red Wine , Wine Reviews
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Flowers Winery, Sonoma Coast: Single Vineyard Pinot Noirs
I love the places where wine grows in spite of the adversity heaped upon it by the place, the climate, and the geology. I also love the places where wine grows despite all conventional wisdom to the contrary -- the places everyone else avoided, but where visionary winegrowers and winemakers have staked their claims and bet their futures. Often times these two types of places are one in the same. Call them extreme vineyard sites. The places that most people would dismiss as infeasible for making wine, for one reason or another. Some of these places stay extreme, and the... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on June 2, 2009 11:18 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Red Wine , Wine Reviews
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2006 Jack Larkin Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa
The allure of Napa is legendary, even clichéd. The wine country lifestyle, or whatever you want to call it, combined with the love of wine has inspired countless people to sell everything they own and head to Napa to try and live their own personal wine dream. There must be people who simply flounder and fail in these endeavors. Like many of the unfortunate, their stories never surface for most of us. We tend to only hear about those that succeed in turning their dreams into reality. Yet I continue to be astonished at just how many people seem to... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on May 30, 2009 10:46 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Red Wine , Wine Reviews
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2005 Peacock Family Cabernet Sauvignon, Spring Mountain District, Napa
I have a hard spot in my heart for peacocks. Spending summers with my father in Sonoma County as a kid, we had a neighbor with a bunch of peacocks that would wander over towards our house and hang out in the trees nearby. Beautiful birds? Yes. But they also have an incredibly loud, piercing call that at 5:00 AM makes you wonder what peacock stew tastes like. I recently learned what Peacock wine, er, rather Peacock Family wine tastes like, and we won't hold the bird's reputation against Christopher and Betsy Peacock, because the wine they're making from their... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on May 16, 2009 9:33 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Red Wine , Wine Reviews
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2003 Adagio "Premium" Malbec, Lujan de Cuyo, Mendoza, Argentina
Every time Spring rolls around, I find myself thinking wistfully of Argentina. I spent a wonderful three weeks there a few years ago just after the harvest eating, drinking, and generally appreciating everything about the country. Now, especially as our family budget gets tighter, I reminisce about amazing dinners for $25 and great bottles of wine for $15. So I dug through my notes a little just for nostalgia's sake and found a really nice wine that I discovered while I was there, but didn't end up writing about for some reason. I had asked the sommelier at Cabaña Las... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on May 5, 2009 10:38 PM
- Filed under: Red Wine , Wine Reviews
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Outpost Wines, Napa: Current Releases
To the casual visitor or inexperienced wine lover, Napa may just be a name on a bottle, or a vision of vineyards stretched between Highway 29 and the Silverado Trail. But like many wine regions, Napa is only a word on a map and an official designation for a group of winegrowing regions that, at times, seem to have little in common. The extreme variations of climate, soils, and topography among the various sections of Napa County make the subdivision of the region into separate AVA's (American Viticultural Areas) an inevitability. The variety of terroirs represented by these 14... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on May 3, 2009 10:59 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Red Wine , Wine Reviews
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2005 François Blanchard "Violoncelite" Cabernet Franc, Touraine, France
Perhaps some of the most interesting wines in the world are made by cranks, crackpots, and wackos -- iconoclasts that keep time to their own secret rhythms and make wine in ways that often make sense only to them. You might say that I'm a collector of such wines and winemakers, in the same way that young boys collect baseball cards. And today I'll add another to my growing menagerie of eccentric visionaries that make extraordinary wine. François Blanchard is a jazz musician who one day found himself the owner of his family's (somewhat decrepit) wine estate and decided that... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on April 25, 2009 11:04 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Red Wine , Wine Reviews , Wines under $20
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The World's Best Kosher Wine?: Tasting The Covenant
The more stories I hear about how some wineries get started, the more I tend to think that by far the best way to start a wine brand is almost by accident. Ten years ago if you had told wine writer Jeff Morgan that he'd eventually be making the best (and most expensive) Kosher wine in the world, he would have probably fallen off his chair laughing. At that point, his exposure to Kosher wine consisted of the seven consecutive years he wrote (what he says was) essentially the same story on Kosher wine for the Wine Spectator. I'm not... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on April 9, 2009 10:20 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Red Wine , Wine Reviews
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1999 Washington State Cabernet: Perspectives and Tasting Notes
This past weekend I had the opportunity to attend Taste Washington, the state's annual showcase of its wines. My ratings for the more than 200 Washington wines I tasted will take some time for me to transcribe and tabulate, and will be posted here on Vinography later this week. In the meantime, however, I thought I'd share my tasting notes from one the seminars I had the opportunity to attend during the first day of the festival, a look back at some top Washington Cabernets from 10 years ago, and a comparison with their recent 2006 vintage. Moderated by Bob... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on April 5, 2009 11:12 PM
- Filed under: Red Wine , Wine Reviews
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New Cabernets from Napa
When I was a kid, I wanted to be an archaeologist or an exploratory marine biologist. I had dreams of discovering lost civilizations or new species in the oceans or jungles. I never quite managed to fulfill that dream, but I have managed to channel some of that passion into the discovery of new wines. In the past few years, there has been an explosion of new wineries in Napa. Other than the market forces that made making Napa wine pretty attractive, and therefore something people wanted to try, I'm not entirely sure what might be responsible for this serious... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on April 2, 2009 10:42 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Red Wine , Undiscovered Wines , Wine Reviews
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Merry Edwards Wines, Russian River Valley: Single Vineyard Pinot Noirs
Meredith "Merry" Edwards drives an SUV with a license plate that matches the title on her business card: Reina de Pinot. With far too few female winemakers in this country, claiming to be the Queen of Pinot might not involve much competition no matter what your real qualifications. But anyone would be hard pressed to find a woman winemaker in the Western Hemisphere that has more experience growing and making Pinot Noir than Merry Edwards. Frankly, there aren't many winemakers, men or women, that have been making Pinot in the state of California for more than thirty years. Edwards started... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on March 24, 2009 10:41 PM
- Filed under: Red Wine , Wine Reviews
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The Best Cabernet In Napa: Tasting Premiere Napa Valley 2009
One of my favorite events each year involves the opportunity to sample some of the best wines that Napa produces in a given vintage. At Premiere Napa Valley, an auction that serves as the world's most expensive "bake sale" to support the efforts of the non-profit Napa Valley Vintners Association, journalists like me get a chance to sneak a taste of hundreds of unique wines that are purchased by the nation's top wine retailers at staggeringly high prices. This year, as every year, 200 member wineries each crafted a unique auction lot of wine that in most cases represents the... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on February 25, 2009 10:17 PM
- Filed under: Red Wine , Wine Reviews
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Kapcsándy Family Winery, Napa: Current Releases
Napa has a way of turning modest dreams into major productions. Lou Kapcsándy and his wife Bobbie decided to retire to Napa mostly out of nostalgia for the picnics and wine tasting they used to do as a young married couple living in Sausalito. Forty years after the first of these romantic escapes, their retirement dream included only a little cottage with at most an acre or so of vines, so Lou could putter in the garage and make a barrel or two of wine from his backyard fruit. Three years after the family, including their son Louis, made the... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on February 21, 2009 8:40 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Red Wine , Wine Reviews
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The Best Zinfandel in California: Tasting ZAP 2009
In this tough economic climate, people are spending less on the discretionary side of their budgets. If you had asked me to make predictions, I would have told you that this would likely have led to fewer people attending this year's ZAP Zinfandel festival. Certainly market data are showing us that people are buying less expensive wines, and I would have thought that meant spending $69 for a chance to taste a whole lot of Zinfandel would be hard to justify. But the line snaking around the edge of the parking lot, and the crowds inside proved me entirely wrong... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on February 16, 2009 10:03 PM
- Filed under: Red Wine , Wine Reviews
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2005 Ladera Cabernet Sauvignon, Howell Mountain, Napa
I've been drinking wine for more than 30% of my life at this point, taking notes on wine for ten years, and writing this blog for five, but despite that fact, it's not exactly common for me to be able to say with certainty that I've tasted every vintage of a particular wine made by any one winery. Even those wineries whose inaugural vintages debuted since Vinography became a going concern I am generally not able to taste their wines with regularity every single year. But there are a few wineries whose wines I have been buying and tasting since... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on February 8, 2009 8:02 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Red Wine , Wine Reviews
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2007 Cooper Mountain Vineyards "20th Anniversary Reserve" Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley, Oregon
One of the great pleasures of wine appreciation will always be the process of tasting the wine of a single winery over a very long span of time. Tracking the products of a winery's labor over the years can be remarkably rewarding regardless of whether the experience is one of consistency, or of progress and change. I've only had the pleasure of tasting the last two vintages of wine from a little family winery in Oregon's Willamette Valley. Despite my recent introduction to Cooper Mountain Vineyards, I can almost taste the twenty years that came before this, their 20th vintage.... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on January 29, 2009 10:36 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Red Wine , Wine Reviews
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2004 Domaine de la Bouissiere Gigondas, France
The best known and highest quality wines of the world continue to get more expensive over time. This is a function of the increasing value of their brands, the increasing recognition of the regions they are grown in, and the rising demand for top tier wines. These price and popularity gains filter down from the most well known wines to those that are slightly less well known, producing the aggregate effect of price increases in most of the world's famous wine regions, at least for the wines that represent the upper end of the regions production. As a result, regions... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on January 17, 2009 10:14 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Red Wine , Wine Reviews
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2003 Smith Madrone Cabernet Sauvignon, Spring Mountain District, Napa
There are more legends, stories, fairytales, and fables than anyone could count which all involve some guy up on a mountainside somewhere. Sometimes a hermit, sometimes a wizard, sometimes a troll -- sometimes just an old man who went to sleep under a tree for a long, long time. No matter what the story, there's always something a little different about the guy on the mountain, something that is both scary and alluring at the same time. Stu Smith might be living out yet another version of one of these tales. The fact that Stu sports a big gray and... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on January 10, 2009 6:23 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Red Wine , Wine Reviews
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Two Hands Wine, Barossa, Australia: Current Releases
One of the things I love about the wine world is the way in which it rewards people with vision, initiative, talent, and above all, passion. I find it magical that someone can fall in love with wine, and decide that the most important thing for them to do for the rest of their lives is to make wine, and then actually make a living following that passion. Maybe the same thing happens in a lot of industries, but you just don't hear such stories about accounting. Or maybe we only ever hear about the success stories in the wine... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on December 24, 2008 8:45 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Red Wine , Wine Reviews
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2002 Bressan "Special Bottling" Pinot Nero, Friuli, Italy
I'm not entirely sure why some of the best wines in the world are made by people who are more than a little crazy, but there are enough wacko winemakers out there to make it clear that the connection between great wine and reclusive eccentrics is more than mere coincidence. Even more telling are the number of these "eno savants" (to perhaps coin a phrase) that live in Friuli, in northeast Italy. Once upon a time, there was no Italy, there was only the river Isonzo, winding its way down out of the Alps towards the Adriatic sea. From the... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on December 7, 2008 10:04 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Red Wine , Wine Reviews
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1996 J. Rochioli "West Block" Pinot Noir, Russian River Valley
To paraphrase Shakespeare, there are wineries that are born great, those that achieve greatness, and those that have greatness thrust upon them. To explain: some fantastic wineries are started by people who are superstars already, and it hardly seems to matter what they do -- these properties are destined for success. Some top wineries seem to come from nowhere, and indeed have greatness thrust upon them, when out of the blue, their wine scores highly somewhere and they are vaulted from obscurity to fame. The majority of the best wineries in the world, however, fall into Malvolio's second category through... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on December 6, 2008 11:55 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Red Wine , Wine Reviews
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2006 Jean-Paul Thevenet "Vielles Vignes" Morgon, Beaujolais, France
The wine industry spends a lot of time and energy fighting for the attention of global consumers. In particular, they've tried hard to market seasonally to consumers, but they just can't quite compete with the likes of Oktoberfest for beer drinkers. The best that the wine industry has been able to come up with sends even the most tolerant wine lovers running for cover every November, as the rollout of Beaujolais Nouveau reaches ever more spectacular heights of commercial bling. It would be one thing if the wine was even somewhat drinkable. But these days, what passes for Beaujolais Nouveau... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on November 26, 2008 10:49 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Red Wine , Wine Reviews
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2006 Williams Selyem "Hirsch Vineyard" Pinot Noir, Sonoma Coast
We don't have a Cru classification in California (we just have mailing lists and release prices) but there are a few vineyards in the state that would most certainly be at the top of the list. Their names are well known to those wine lovers who can afford the generally expensive wines they produce, and one of them is unquestionably the Hirsch Vineyard. First planted in 1980 by farmer David Hirsch, the Hirsch Vineyard is located on the mountain ridges above the northern California town of Fort Ross at 1500 feet above the ocean surface and 3.5 miles as the... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on November 23, 2008 9:40 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Red Wine , Wine Reviews
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2004 E. Guigal "Chateau d'Ampuis" Côte-Rôtie, Northern Rhone, France
One of the greatest experiences that a wine lover can encounter is a wine that stops them in their tracks. I'll admit that I'm excitable in general, but there's nothing that gets me quite so giddy as a schoolboy as when I stumble across a wine that truly bowls me over. Such wines are the closest I get anymore to the emotions of that first passionate kiss in a new relationship -- they electrify me. While the world slows down to a crawl around me, all I want to do is stick my nose in the glass and inhale slowly.... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on November 18, 2008 10:36 PM
- Filed under: Red Wine , Wine Reviews
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2006 Blackbird Vineyards "Illustration" Proprietary Red Wine, Oak Knoll District, Napa
As you likely know, I make it my business to keep my eye on new California wineries, especially in Napa and Sonoma, as much as I can given the fact that I do a lot of other things besides write about wine. Whenever possible, I like to taste the first releases from these wineries. They are not always fantastic - some are good, some show potential, and some simply need to be written off as first efforts and retried again later. That's the thing about wines, just because they're not good now, that doesn't mean they won't be later, and,... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on October 16, 2008 10:29 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Red Wine , Wine Reviews
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Tasting the Red Wines of Simonsberg Ward, Stellenbosch, South Africa
Greetings from Cape Town, South Africa! I've come down to the Cape Winelands to dive deep into South African wine in a way that isn't possible in the United States. In most wine stores I'm lucky to find a handful of South African wines at most, and forget about restaurants, which often just have a single representative wine on their list, if anything at all. So I'm here under the imposing shadow of Table Mountain to attend Cape Wine 08, the biannual South African wine convention -- their equivalent of VinItaly or VinExpo. I'll be visiting a few wine producers,... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on September 23, 2008 3:43 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Red Wine , Wine Reviews
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1996 Walter Hansel Estate Pinot Noir, Russian River Valley
One of the greatest, though imminently forgivable, crimes perpetrated by a large number of even the most knowledgeable wine lovers consists of the tendency to consume great wines before they have had the opportunity to fully develop. Sometimes referred to as "infanticide," this practice varies in its levels of extremity depending on the category of wine. In my opinion, perhaps the most slighted of all categories in this respect is California Pinot Noir. While it may not have the aging potential of Burgundy (though we don't really know for sure -- no one has been making really serious Pinot Noir... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on September 20, 2008 1:27 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Red Wine , Wine Reviews
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2005 Gargiulo Vineyards "G Major Seven Study - 575 OVX Vineyard" Cabernet Sauvignon, Oakville, Napa
There's something really cool about seeing a young winery start to hit its stride. I've only seen a few newborn calves and foals in their first moments after birth as they learn to use their spindly legs, but it's hard not to feel a sense of pride when after a few minutes, they go galloping around in circles. I was first introduced to Gargiulo Vineyards at a wine bar in San Francisco a couple of years ago. I just happened to stop by for a drink, and April Gargiulo was on hand, pouring what was then her family's second release... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on September 13, 2008 5:16 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Red Wine , Wine Reviews
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1997 Staglin Family Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon, Rutherford
From the late 1800's to the first half of the twentieth century California represented a land of opportunity for many. In Northern California, this potential seems to have been realized in particular by Italian immigrants who settled North of San Francisco in great numbers, founding small towns up the coast and in the inland valleys. Drive Highway 1, Highway 12, Highway 116, and the Bohemian Highway North of the city and you'll pass old barns and homesteads, country stores, and several Italian restaurants that have been operating continuously since at least the Thirties. That these fiercely determined immigrants met with... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on August 28, 2008 4:56 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Red Wine , Wine Reviews
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JC Cellars, Oakland: Current Releases
In the Silicon Valley, business incubation is quite common -- larger companies often provide financial, operations, and moral support to smaller companies that they themselves have started, or outside start-ups that they believe have a good potential for success. This practice has become so normal that some companies have established entire business models based on incubation. Incubation has also become common in the wine industry, where the costs of all the equipment and supplies required to make wine can be an extreme barrier to entry, and a source of extremely high overhead for those who do take the plunge. Just... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on August 24, 2008 5:00 PM
- Filed under: Pink Wine , Red Wine , Wine Reviews
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2003 Meyer Family Cellars "Bonny's Vineyard" Cabernet Sauvignon, Oakville
Heritage plays out in many ways in the Napa Valley. There are only a few remaining families that have been farming in the valley since Prohibition, and even those that have tenures lasting more than three decades are increasingly being supplanted by new blood or corporate interests. Some of those families that have left the valley after decades often move on to other enterprises after cashing out on their vineyard investments. However, it's tough to abandon Napa Valley once you've lived and loved there for so long. Winemaker Justin Meyer moved his family to the Anderson Valley in 1999 after... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on August 14, 2008 11:18 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Red Wine , Undiscovered Wines , Wine Reviews
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2005 Hughes-Wellman Cabernet Sauvignon, St. Helena, Napa Valley
Good wine is rarely made by accident. So much can go wrong in the winemaking process that to get something that isn't complete dreck is a triumph, and those who are capable of creating fantastic wines are, despite their modesty and common protestations of "just letting nature take her course," truly talented artisans. While wines, and great wines in particular, are made with incredible forethought and planning, sometimes wine labels can spring up overnight as the result of an opportune conversation or new friendship. Such is the case with this wine, which may be the first and only vintage under... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on August 2, 2008 10:57 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Red Wine , Undiscovered Wines , Wine Reviews
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Vérité Wines, Sonoma: Current Releases
Formulaic is an adjective that is often leveled at some of California's top boutique wines and their winemaking. As if when you finally manage to afford all the components required to make a high-end wine, that somehow you just throw them together and, "poof" you've got yourself a $300, 94 point superstar. This stereotype is especially convenient for those who can't afford to drink such wines. I should know. I still can't afford to drink such wines, and while I've learned better now, about 10 years ago I believed that the only thing special about big name wines was how... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on July 21, 2008 11:34 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Red Wine , Wine Reviews
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2006 Baker Lane "Hurst Vineyard" Pinot Noir, Sonoma Coast
Some people seem to get into the wine business through sheer determination. After years of saving, scraping, dreaming and planning, vineyard or winery ownership is the fulfillment of many people's long held (if not hard earned) fantasies. And then there are those people who somehow seem destined for it -- people whose stories you hear and you think, how on Earth did you manage not to do this earlier? If Stephen Singer was going to fall into one of these categories it would most certainly be the latter. In 2003 he became the proprietor of a small winery called Baker... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on July 19, 2008 11:17 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Red Wine , Wine Reviews
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2005 Veramonte "Primus" Red Wine, Casablanca Valley, Chile
It's hard to believe that in the early 1990's less than 100 acres of vineyards were planted in Chile's Casablanca valley. In little more than two decades, this region of Chile has surged in growth and popularity, and is currently producing excellent wines that generally represent fantastic values on the world market. The region is currently home to more than 10,000 acres of vineyards. Back when the grape acreage was still in the triple digits Agustin Huneeus decided that the Casablanca valley was one of Chile's most promising wine regions, and that he needed to start making wine there. Not... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on June 25, 2008 10:18 PM
- Filed under: Red Wine , Wine Reviews , Wines under $20
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2005 Star Lane Vineyards "Astral" Cabernet Sauvignon, Santa Ynez Valley
There are those in the wine world who seek out (and often pay for) the best possible advice they can get. Winemaking and winegrowing are sciences as much as they are arts, and these days, there are plenty of experts to be had in both arenas. And then there are those in the wine world that no matter what the scientists, experts, and even their friends say, choose to follow their instincts. Call them pig-headed, call them eccentric, call them iconoclasts, there are certain people that will always walk their own paths when it comes to wine. Jim Dierberg seems... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on June 22, 2008 10:17 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Red Wine , Undiscovered Wines , Wine Reviews
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2005 Blackbird Vineyards Proprietary Red Wine, Napa
I make it my business to keep my eye on new California wineries, especially in Napa and Sonoma, as much as I can given the fact that I do a lot of other things besides write about wine. Whenever possible, I like to taste the first releases from these wineries. They are not always fantastic - some are good, some show potential, and some simply need to be written off as first efforts and retried again later. That's the thing about wines, just because they're not good now, that doesn't mean they won't be later, and, of course, vice versa.... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on June 3, 2008 11:43 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Red Wine , Wine Reviews
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Meteor Vineyard, Napa: Debut Releases
Barry Schuler may know a thing or two about running multi-billion dollar technology companies, but what he really wants to talk about, given the chance, is food and wine. The former CEO of AOL, Schuler often gets credited along with Steve Case (who preceded Schuler as CEO) for the company's success in the late Nineties. But while his colleagues and most of America's top technology executives were returning home at the end of their long days to comfortable suburbs near major metropolitan areas, at the end of the week Schuler was making his way back to Napa, California. Schuler may... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on May 11, 2008 7:24 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Red Wine , Undiscovered Wines , Wine Reviews
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Does Napa's Best Cabernet Live in Oakville?: A Recent Tasting
While often referred to as a single "place" when it comes to wine, Napa is hardly a single monolithic growing region. Each of its 14 established AVAs (American Viticultural Areas) lays claim to a separate identity, characterized by geology, microclimate, and different histories of production. The Oakville AVA has one of the most storied of such histories. It is home to the famed To Kalon Vineyard, purchased by H.W. Crabb in 1868, shortly after the installation of a railroad stop made the tiny village of Oakville spring to life. In 1876 Crabb's neighbor John Benson bottled his inaugural vintage of... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on May 4, 2008 11:08 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Red Wine , Wine Reviews
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2005 Piña Napa Valley "D'Adamo Vineyard" Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa
If one were to speculate on the wine market as a savvy investor might in the small-cap stock market, the game would be the same: follow people you know with good track records. In the wine world, we'd also have to include a corollary about betting on great vineyard sites, but leaving aside the raw materials, it's clear that most good wines don't happen by accident. They're made by talented people. Finding talented people in Napa isn't hard at first. There are a lot of them, many of whom have big brand names. When they start working for a winery,... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on May 2, 2008 11:48 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Red Wine , Wine Reviews
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2003 Pulenta Estate "Gran Corte VII" Red Wine, Mendoza, Argentina
Three years ago this week I was making my way around the top restaurants of Buenos Aires, ordering too much food, too much wine, and having a grand old time. I had come to Argentina, in addition to simply relax, to find out whether or not there was anything worth drinking made out of a grape called Malbec. The answer, of course, was a resounding "yes!" I managed to figure out why some serious wine lovers (and critics alike) had begun to quietly suggest that Argentinean Malbec was going to be the Next Big Thing. This wine was NOT one... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on April 16, 2008 11:09 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Red Wine , Wine Reviews
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Neal Family Vineyards, Napa: Current Releases
In some ways, if Mark Neal and his small winery, Neal Family Vineyards, didn't make fantastic wines, it would be cause for extreme concern. Neal has been working in the vineyards since the age of eight, and his family business, which was responsible for his early employment among the vines, has been managing many of Napa's finest vineyards for more than four decades. At this point, Jack Neal and Sons, which still carries the name of Mark's father, who passed away in 1994, is the single largest vineyard management company in Napa according to Neal. They manage well over 2000... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on April 10, 2008 10:11 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Red Wine , Wine Reviews
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2005 Domaine de Chateau Gaillard Saumur, Loire Valley, France
The Loire Valley is perhaps one of the most underrated and unexplored (by most Americans) wine producing regions in France. So often eclipsed by the bombast of Bordeaux, Burgundy, and the Rhone, if it is known at all, the Loire tends to be known for its famous Sauvignon Blanc from Sancerre. Yet the region, which is the largest white wine producing region in France, and the third largest winegrowing appellation (AOC) in the country, also produces many excellent red wines, chiefly from Cabernet Franc. The most dominating feature of the Loire Valley must be the river itself, France's longest and... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on April 2, 2008 9:20 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Red Wine , Wine Reviews , Wines under $20
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2004 Ridge Vineyards "Monte Bello" Cabernet Sauvignon, Santa Cruz Mountains
As Paul Draper was inducted into the Vintners Hall of Fame a couple of weeks ago in a ceremony at the Culinary Institute of America in St. Helena, his acceptance speech offered a simple exhortation to members of the wine industry in attendance: make great wines for yourself and for no one else. His suggestion that winemakers follow their own vision instead of chasing the critics or the appeal of the masses (though he did acknowledge that selling wine is important, too) was backed up by the quite confidence of a man who has been doing that for more than... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on March 27, 2008 11:58 PM
- Filed under: Red Wine , Wine Reviews
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1974 Charles Krug "Vintage Selection - Lot F1" Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa
Do you want to know a little secret? I'm probably going to catch hell for telling you, especially from my friend Jack who served this wine to me, and who let me in on the secret in the first place. But he should know better than to tell a blogger anything. So here goes: Pre-1980 California Cabernets are some of the best buys in the wine world right now. Sure, some of them, especially pristine bottlings of reserve Beringer, BV, Heitz, or Stags' Leap wines are going for hundreds of dollars per bottle, but with a little effort you can... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on March 14, 2008 11:56 PM
- Filed under: Older Vintages , Red Wine , Wine Reviews
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Kapcsándy Family Winery, Napa: Current Releases
Napa has a way of turning modest dreams into major productions. Lou Kapcsándy and his wife Bobbie decided to retire to Napa mostly out of nostalgia for the picnics and wine tasting they used to do as a young married couple living in Sausalito. Forty years after the first of these romantic escapes, their retirement dream included only a little cottage with at most an acre or so of vines, so Lou could putter in the garage and make a barrel or two of wine from his backyard fruit. Three years after the family, including their son Louis, made the... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on March 4, 2008 7:54 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Red Wine , Wine Reviews
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2004 Swanson Merlot, Oakville, Napa
People travel all sorts of roads to get to Napa Valley. Napa is a refuge for those who can afford to pay for their dreams (with both time and money), and is therefore a place that many choose to reincarnate themselves as winemakers or winery owners after quite storied careers elsewhere. It is also a place that some families begin new legacies for their younger generations. The Swanson family comes to wine, rather uniquely, through what some might consider the antithesis of Napa's California cuisine: frozen TV dinners. Yes, Swanson Frozen TV Dinners. If that four word phrase doesn't ring... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on February 14, 2008 11:28 PM
- Filed under: Red Wine , Wine Reviews
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The Best Zinfandel in California: Tasting at ZAP 2008
I never cease to be amazed at the power of Zinfandel. At the last major Pinot Tasting in San Francisco, I thought to myself that maybe, just maybe, Pinot Noir had unseated Zinfandel as the most exciting grape for the Bay Area wine drinking public. But who was I kidding. I simply just didn't remember the extent of the reveling hordes that descend on San Francisco's Fort Mason Center for the event known as ZAP. When I emerged for a breath of fresh air from the trade and media portion of the tasting, the line to get in to the... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on February 5, 2008 9:49 PM
- Filed under: Red Wine , Wine Reviews
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2006 Orin Swift Cellars "The Prisoner" Red Wine, Napa
I wish I knew how many wineries in Napa started as "just a guy who decided he wanted to make wine one day." There must be dozens of them. Maybe hundreds. These numbers shouldn't be allowed to devalue the effort and vision it takes to create a successful winery, but sometimes I scratch my head in bemusement at the audacity of so many people who simply decide to throw their lives into the wine business. While we don't really hear about the ones that don't make it, there are enough of them that have become wildly successful that "the guy... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on January 31, 2008 11:19 PM
- Filed under: Red Wine , Wine Reviews
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2002 Pietratorcia "Scheria" Rosso, Isola d'Ischia, Italy
The phrase "wine country" generally evokes a wide variety of mental images, largely derived from each person's individual experience in such landscapes. My mental image is most certainly the golden hills of Sonoma County from my summers spent as a child in Northern California, followed closely by the lush green hills of Tuscany in the springtime. I'd venture to say one of the least common pictures of wine country would be a tiny volcanic island, growing grapes within a stone's throw of the Mediterranean and interspersed with geysers and mud baths. Leaving aside the coincidence that Napa valley has its... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on January 14, 2008 11:10 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Red Wine , Wine Reviews
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2005 Storrs Winery Petite Sirah, Santa Cruz Mountains
I don't know who said it, but in the last few years I've heard it uttered that the Santa Cruz Mountains AVA is quite possibly the most underrated wine growing region in California. I'm not sure if I'm confident or encyclopedic enough in my knowledge of California wine to affirm that statement, but in my experience there's definitely something to that claim. The winegrowers and winemakers of the Santa Cruz mountains suffer from the same obscurity that a lot of winemakers in other AVAs do throughout the state, simply by virtue of not being in Napa or Sonoma. I also... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on December 12, 2007 11:46 PM
- Filed under: Red Wine , Wine Reviews
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Jack Tastes Old...Wines
The generosity and collegiality of wine lovers remains one of the tiny miracles of wine for me. I am constantly impressed by the willingness to share their treasures that bonds so many lovers of wine together. Some people seem to get a particular joy from providing others the opportunity to try wines that they would not normally be able to enjoy. In my experience, one should always have a policy of providing friends with the chance to share their best bottles with someone who appreciates them. It's an important service, and one that I'm proud to perform. I happen to... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on November 27, 2007 11:25 PM
- Filed under: Older Vintages , Red Wine , Wine Reviews
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2004 Caymus "Special Selection" Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa
To say some wines need no introduction is both a truism and also a disservice. There are indeed some wines, that through hard-won success, have built themselves into a globally recognized brands. These wines have names so well known that they can become synonymous with luxury, greatness, or even a type of grape. Yet the power of a brand also means that many people only know it superficially, sometimes even second hand. Caymus Vineyards may need no introduction, because the phrase "Caymus Cabernet" is legendary at this point. Like Silver Oak, Caymus is a name that will be instantly recognized... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on November 12, 2007 10:45 PM
- Filed under: Red Wine , Wine Reviews
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2003 Meyer Family Cellars Syrah, Mendocino
There are some California appellations that need no introduction, others that will ring a bell for experienced wine lovers, and only a select few that nine out of ten people will likely never have heard of. Up until a few years ago, the Yorkville Highlands was one such appellation. These days, it's hard to tell whether it still languishes in obscurity or is gradually making its name known to lovers of California wine. Every time I meet a winemaker or winery marketing person from the area, however, after telling me where their grapes are grown, they always briefly pause,... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on November 3, 2007 5:39 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Red Wine , Undiscovered Wines , Wine Reviews
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1997 Colgin "Herb Lamb Vineyard" Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa
There are several tiers of wines that can legitimately and confidently wear the name tag: HELLO MY NAME IS: Cult Napa Cabernet at any party they happen to attend. The top tier is populated by Screaming Eagle, a single wine that practically invented the phrase "cult Cabernet." Below the hysterically unattainable pricing and scarcity of the Eagle, however, there are several wines which clearly deserve the moniker, and which tend to get consumed a bit more often, if only because in doing so, a wine lover isn't drinking a the equivalent of a San Francisco monthly mortgage payment. That's not... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on October 14, 2007 11:02 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Older Vintages , Red Wine , Wine Reviews
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2005 Kindred Wines "Amber Ridge Vineyard" Pinot Noir, Russian River Valley
The Northern California wine scene is like a giant spreading metropolis. I think I read a few days ago that a building over 20 stories is completed in Shanghai every 12 days or something crazy like that. Northern California wine country is experiencing its own boom of expansion, and wineries big and small are popping up all over. One of my greatest joys is looking through the nooks, crannies, and back-alleyways of this boomtown for brand new wines that have a great future ahead of them. While the search is fun, finding them can be exhilarating -- an adjective that... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on October 5, 2007 10:50 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Red Wine , Undiscovered Wines , Wine Reviews
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2001 Raphael Cabernet Sauvignon, North Fork of Long Island, NY
Like many wine lovers, I enjoy exploring the wine regions of the world from the comfort of my own kitchen table. Night after night I open a bottle or two and experience little bits and pieces of the world -- snapshots of places and times captured in flavors and colors and aromas. Some of these explorations don't offer much return on the investment. There's a lot of wine out there, and much of it is below ordinary in quality, especially from wine regions that often carry labels such as "up and coming." I take extra care and effort to try... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on September 24, 2007 9:41 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Red Wine , Wine Reviews
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2005 René Noël Legrand "La Chaintrée" Cabernet Franc, Saumur Champigny, Loire Valley, France
Lots of people I know have a "house wine" -- some bottle that they buy in much larger quantities than any other wine and also consume in much larger quantities. A house wine is the inexpensive, drink-with-anything, because-I'd-just-like-a-glass, it-doesn't-matter-if-I-don't-finish-the-bottle, what-goes-with-day-old-pizza wine. In my opinion, every wine loving household should have one. For a lot of people this is clearly the place that Two Buck Chuck holds in their kitchen. I personally prefer to spend between ten and fifteen dollars on my house wine, and I'm constantly picking up random bottles at that price point just to see when I'm going... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on September 7, 2007 5:04 PM
- Filed under: Red Wine , Wine Reviews , Wines under $20
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1970 Chateau Gazin Pomerol, Bordeaux, France
It shows a particular breed of idiocy that the American public has turned its nose up at a grape as the result of a flippant line in a clever but unremarkable movie. While we have thousands of Americans who now hate Merlot, there are still thousands more who think nothing of throwing down a couple of thousand dollars for a bottle of Petrus after a winning streak in Vegas. I'm also willing to bet that there's a good portion of that latter crowd who don't even know that they're drinking Merlot. Those of us whose wine tastes aren't easily swayed... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on August 31, 2007 11:58 PM
- Filed under: Older Vintages , Red Wine , Wine Reviews
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2005 Bodegas Colomé "Estate" Malbec, Salta, Argentina
Once upon a time, I went to Argentina looking for the good wine. Frankly I couldn't understand what all the fuss was about when it came to Malbec. Most of the ones I had tasted here in the US were mediocre. Only a select few rose to the level of excellent, and none to the level of amazing. Yet there was a long stream of proclamations from various people (you know, the ones whose opinions "count" when it comes to such things) that Argentinean Malbec was the next greatest thing. Scratching my head, I traipsed off to Argentina looking for... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on August 27, 2007 11:37 PM
- Filed under: Red Wine , Wine Reviews
- Comments (18) - TrackBacks (0) - Permalink
2003 Girard Winery "Artistry" Bordeaux Blend, Napa
You can often tell just how much someone loves Napa wine from their familiarity with the sub-appellations or American Viticultural Areas (AVAs) that divide the larger Napa Valley into select, smaller sections. Many consumers have heard of the Stag's Leap District, and possible Rutherford or Oakville, but there are more than ten other AVAs in the Napa Valley. AVAs are not enough for some people, however, especially those that pursue the most expensive and difficult to acquire wines of Napa. Discussions of the finer points of these wines rarely begin with appellations or AVAs. Instead they invoke individual vineyards... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on July 25, 2007 10:15 PM
- Filed under: Red Wine , Wine Reviews
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2001 Enrico Santini "Montepergoli" Rosso, Bolgheri, Tuscany
When I think of Italy as a wine producing country, I tend to think to think of it as ancient. It is the home of thousands of indigenous varieties of grapes, and people have been making wine for centuries, sometimes in the very same spot for dozens of generations. This is certainly true in many of the most established and famous of Italy's wine regions. What I tend to forget is that there are other wine regions which are relatively new, in which the standards for what is good and what is not are still being defined by every new... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on June 27, 2007 6:59 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Red Wine , Wine Reviews
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Lang and Reed Wine Company, Napa: Current Releases
All of us wine lovers inevitably discover, in the course of our explorations, our own secret wineries. These are the wines that we hold close to our chest, revealing them to those with whom we share only our choicest of morsels, which often include such things as parking spaces, hole-in-the-wall restaurants, and great movies and books. As I'm in the business of sharing great wine with readers all the time, I can't really afford to hold much back. But I'd be lying if I told you I had reviewed or written about all my most favorite wineries around the world.... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on June 25, 2007 11:02 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Red Wine , Wine Reviews
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2001 Domaine Joseph Roty "Fontenys" Gevrey-Chambertin, Burgundy, France
I'm a sucker for curmudgeons and iconoclasts in the world of wine. Perhaps these eccentric winemakers play into my romantic notions of the mystery of wine, which I pray never to lose despite my increasingly rational and commercial view of the wine industry. There's just something seductive about a winemaker who does things his own way no matter what anyone says. Joseph Roty's family has been making wine in roughly the same spot in Burgundy for 11 generations, which means that they've had plenty of time to settle into their own ways of doing things. While some winemaking families can... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on June 20, 2007 10:16 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Red Wine , Wine Reviews
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Wolf Family Vineyards: Current Releases
Napa is increasingly the province of large established wineries with pedigrees that are as long as either their mailing lists or the lines at their tasting rooms on summer weekends. This, of course, is not exactly a fantastic thing, especially when it is accompanied by rising prices for wines bearing the appellation designation. Luckily, as in many other places around the country, Napa is also seeing a resurgence of small, family-run vineyards. The rise of such vineyards alongside the consolidation and increasing corporatization of the wine industry may at first be counterintuitive. How is it that both can be happening... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on June 16, 2007 10:42 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Red Wine , Wine Reviews
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2004 Spring Valley Vineyard "Frederick" Cabernet Blend, Walla Walla, WA
I'm ashamed of the city I live in. Really. I'm normally so proud at the wine sophistication of San Franciscans. Collectively we support dozens of great wine stores that carry an amazing range of wines, hundreds of restaurants with corkage policies, and we provide a home base for some of the best wine tasting events in the country. So imagine my surprise when I walked into a very large and very prominent wine store (which shall remain nameless) today looking for a bottle of Washington State Cabernet, and there were only two extremely inexpensive ones on offer. That's not what... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on June 13, 2007 10:17 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Red Wine , Wine Reviews
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2004 Shafer Vineyards "One Point Five" Cabernet , Stag's Leap District, Napa
Winemaking is often a family affair, especially in Europe where the wine often simply carries the family name and where it is made, sometimes for centuries. The winemaking family tradition is alive and well in the United States as well, and just as in Europe it is not at all unusual for the reigns of the winery to be passed from father to son, generation to generation. Of course, that transition between generations is not like a passing a volleyball, or handing off a relay baton. Sure there's a point at which the older generation steps back into "retirement" but... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on May 31, 2007 10:54 PM
- Filed under: Red Wine , Wine Reviews
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1993 Williams Selyem "Rochioli Vineyard" Pinot Noir, Russian River Valley, Sonoma
It's not every day that I get to tell the majority of the wine world that they're dead wrong, so forgive me if I savor this a little. There is a widespread belief in critical circles that California Pinot Noir does not age well. Like all blanket stereotypes there is some truth to this, especially among those wines that are made in the lush fruit-driven style that is popular these days. And furthermore it may be true that California Pinot Noir can't age as long as Burgundy can (though we're about a decade away from even being able to put... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on May 23, 2007 10:22 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Older Vintages , Red Wine , Wine Reviews
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Belle Glos Winery, Napa: Current Releases
So let's say you're a winemaker. You have a winery in Napa. You've been making Cabernet for maybe 50 years. You've made a lot of it. You've won a lot of awards. You made more Cabernet. You've made so much Cabernet, in fact, for so many years that your name is nearly synonymous with Napa Cabernet. What happens, then, when one day you decide that you want to make Pinot Noir? In 2001 Chuck Wagner, proprietor of Caymus Vineyards faced this precise problem. Caymus Pinot just doesn't quite roll off the tongue like Caymus Cab, now does it? To be... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on May 12, 2007 11:10 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Red Wine , Wine Reviews
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2004 Quixote Winery "Quixote" Petite Sirah, Napa
It seems to me that as people get older, especially those who we might consider accomplished and successful, they might feel a bit more license to lighten up or to stir the pot, having already proven themselves a bit to the world. I certainly plan on being a bit more frivolous, eccentric, and quirky if I can afford to in my old age. Napa is filled with a generation of winemakers that could easily rest on their laurels. Over the past thirty years, this group of men and women have created an industry, and most have made their own fortunes.... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on April 17, 2007 9:37 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Red Wine , Wine Reviews
- Comments (5) - TrackBacks (0) - Permalink
2005 Toucan Wines Zinfandel, Arroyo Grande, California
I find out about the wines I review here on Vinography in a lot of different ways. Most common are the large tastings that I attend regularly. I also try to go tasting in wine country whenever I can, making special efforts to stop by new wineries or those to which I've never been. Of course, I also get sent a lot of wine in the mail, from people known and unknown, and I do my share of reading wine magazines. This particular wine, however, I discovered long before it was even harvested and bottled for the first time.... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on April 14, 2007 1:16 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Red Wine , Undiscovered Wines , Wine Reviews
- Comments (4) - TrackBacks (0) - Permalink
2004 Dover Canyon Winery "Alto Pomar" Red Blend, Paso Robles, CA
Some wineries are small because they are new. Some wineries are small because they simply can't be successful enough to get any bigger. And then there are some wineries that are small by choice. Small because that is the only size that makes sense to them. Such wineries are some of my favorites because they are usually the product of interesting people with interesting stories, strong feelings and philosophies, and a commitment to some specific vision for what wine is. Oh yeah. Sometimes they also make great wines. Dover Canyon Winery in Paso Robles is the deliberately small creation of... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on April 3, 2007 9:21 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Red Wine , Wine Reviews
- Comments (5) - TrackBacks (0) - Permalink
2003 Grgich Hills Estate Merlot, Napa
Visitors to Napa Valley, even those on their first trip, have a hard time missing the Grgich Hills winery, which sits prominently on the west side of Highway 29, its flower beds almost pushed right up against the edge of the blacktop. Of course, when the winery was established in the late 1970s there was a lot less traffic on that same highway, and founder Miljenko "Mike" Grgich was a young man. But despite his youth, this Croatian-born immigrant did not lack for experience or acclaim. Indeed, it was partly based on his success as the winemaker for the 1973... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on March 17, 2007 3:24 PM
- Filed under: Red Wine , Wine Reviews
- Comments (1) - TrackBacks (0) - Permalink
2003 McPrice Myers Grenache, Santa Barbara County
There's a whole new generation of winemakers in California that is only just now starting to become visible to the general public. This group of talented young vintners and their small labels have remained well below most people's radar for two primary reasons: they generally only make a very small amount of wine and many are only winemakers at night and on the weekends -- the rest of the time they have day jobs. That's right, you may be sitting one cube away from a boutique winemaker and not even know it. McPrice Myers didn't get his start as a... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on March 10, 2007 1:17 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Red Wine , Wine Reviews
- Comments (4) - TrackBacks (0) - Permalink
2005 Baker Lane "Hurst Vineyard" Pinot Noir, Sonoma Coast
Some people seem to get into the wine business through sheer determination. After years of saving, scraping, dreaming and planning, vineyard or winery ownership is the fulfillment of many people's long held (if not hard earned) fantasies. And then there are those people who somehow seem destined for it -- people whose stories you hear and you think, how on Earth did you manage not to do this earlier? If Stephen Singer was going to fall into one of these categories it would most certainly be the latter. In 2003 he became the proprietor of a small winery called Baker... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on March 4, 2007 8:41 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Red Wine , Undiscovered Wines , Wine Reviews
- Comments (0) - TrackBacks (0) - Permalink
The Best 2005 Napa Cabernet: Tasting Premiere Napa Valley '07
Who wouldn't want to shop around at this bake sale, especially if there were free samples of everything? I joined nearly 1000 winemakers, restaurateurs, and retailers this past weekend at Premiere Napa Valley, the event which the Napa Valley Vintners Association affectionately refers to as their bake sale. As opposed to Auction Napa Valley, an event whose sole purpose is to raise money for charity, Premiere is a combination of celebration and fundraiser for the Vintners Association. Premiere also happens to be the ultimate Napa insider event -- a place where winemakers and some of their best customers get to... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on February 27, 2007 10:15 PM
- Filed under: Red Wine , Wine Reviews
- Comments (6) - TrackBacks (1) - Permalink
Domaine de Nizas, Languedoc, France: Current Releases
I can't tell you how many times I've heard friends say "I can't really afford French wine." Even after I suggest that there are plenty of French wines under twenty bucks, they're still liable to complain that they can't really afford "good French wine." Whenever I have that conversation I find myself wishing I had a backpack full of wines from the Languedoc handy. I'd whip out a bottle and a corkscrew like a gunslinger from the wild west and set them straight once and for all. The Languedoc has been the historical home to most of France's low-end table... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on February 25, 2007 8:59 AM
- Filed under: Red Wine , Wine Reviews , Wines under $20
- Comments (16) - TrackBacks (0) - Permalink
2004 San Sakana Cellars "Los Madres Vineyard" Syrah, Carneros, Sonoma
There are only a few people who wake up one morning after a long professional career and decide that they want to become cabinetmakers. In fact there may be less than a few. But there's something about the pull and the passion of wine that inspires people every day to quit their jobs, or come out of retirement, and become winemakers. It used to be that most of these people had been harboring lifelong dreams of making wine, and after a lot of hard work and savings, they bought an estate in Napa or Sonoma and set about living a... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on February 17, 2007 5:14 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Red Wine , Wine Reviews
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NV "The Big Red Monster" Red Table Wine, California
You wouldn't believe the sort of stuff I get in the mail. Consumers are blissfully ignorant of the incredible amount of marketing dollars spent to push wines, not at everyday people, but specifically at journalists. In the last couple of years I've gained a certain amount of visibility in the wine world, and as a result, I receive a pretty steady stream of heavy boxes with "Adult Signature Required. 21 Years or older" stickers on them. Many of these simply contain a few bottles of wine and a letter from a winemaker urging me to try them. But many of... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on February 13, 2007 10:36 PM
- Filed under: Red Wine , Wine Reviews , Wines under $20
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2002 Astrale e Terra Syrah, Atlas Peak, Napa
There's Napa and then there's Napa. For a lot of wine consumers, this four letter word is just synonymous with high quality California wine. For the slightly better informed the word might conjure up images of the broad valley alongside of Highway 29. Those who truly know Napa, however, will tell you that unless you're talking about the Town of Napa, Napa is not one place it is many different places. This phenomenon is not uncommon amongst the world's bigger appellations, and here in the US we've got some of the biggest. Napa is a name that is draped over... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on February 7, 2007 10:51 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Red Wine , Wine Reviews
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2001 Domain Marcel Deiss "Burlenberg" Pinot Noir, Bergheim, Alsace
Alsace, the oft-contested and much-coveted skinny strip of land between northeastern France and its neighbor Germany is an odd and unique place. Like several other such zones around the world, it has been a part of so many different countries and empires that it enjoys a sort of twilight zone atmosphere, where place names reflect one language, spoken words another, and family histories often both or none of the above. Alsace is also a unique landscape sculpted by both rivers and volcanic events, but bearing the unmistakable and essential traces of a more ancient geological past as the bottom of... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on January 17, 2007 10:24 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Red Wine , Wine Reviews
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2005 Segue Cellars "Segue" Pinot Noir, Russian River Valley, Sonoma
People have asked me many times if I ever think about making wine. Its something that I would love to do eventually, if only for the opportunity to learn a lot of things about wine that just can't be learned from books or purchased bottles. I'm sure I'd also appreciate good wine even more after struggling to make something passably mediocre in my first attempt. Eventually I know I will need to make wine because, honestly, how can I sit here and criticize the efforts of winemakers without knowing what they go through? This lack of hands-on knowledge must... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on January 16, 2007 10:35 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Red Wine , Undiscovered Wines , Wine Reviews
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1961 Hospices de Beaune Emile Chandesais "Cuvée Rousseau Deslandes," Côte de Beaune, Burgundy
I will never be able to taste all the wines out there, no matter how hard I try, just as I'll never be able to travel to all the places I want to go in the world. Wine offers a landscape of exploration seemingly as varied as the world around us, and just as likely to offer up surprises and treasures to those who are intent enough, or lucky enough, to find them. Great wines sometimes just sneak up on you. They are like precious gems, or veins of gold. Many of the main sources are well known and consistently... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on November 14, 2006 10:41 PM
- Filed under: Older Vintages , Perfect 10s , Red Wine , Wine Reviews
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2002 Altair Bordeaux Blend "Grand Cru," Cachapoal, Chile
Most of the wine that arrives on my doorstep does so predictably. I get a call or an e-mail from some PR or marketing person who wants to know if I take samples, I explain my policy, and then a week later I get a box with some bottles and some technical datasheets and depending on the quality of the wine, maybe a refrigerator magnet or two (if you know what I mean. This bottle of wine, however, arrived most unexpectedly, and mysteriously. As opposed to the usual UPS delivery, it arrived via a special international courier service, with no... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on October 4, 2006 11:41 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Red Wine , Wine Reviews
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2000 Poggio di Sotto Rosso di Montalcino, Tuscany, Italy
We all have those special bottles. These are bottles of fluid that is somehow more than wine -- a miraculous mix of wine and memory that are created in some of life's most fantastic moments. This is one of those bottles. Early on in my relationship with Ruth -- the Spring of 2003 -- we took a trip to Tuscany. It was one of those perfect vacations that most people dream about. Perfect weather, fantastic food, gorgeous scenery, you name it. It was an early test of our relationship, and the beginning of her love affair with wine. At that... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on September 4, 2006 10:04 PM
- Filed under: Red Wine , Wine Reviews
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1988 Chateau de Beaucastel Chateauneuf-du-Pape, France
Wine, when at its most triumphant and expressive, nearly defies description. Some people speak of "perfect wines" which is always a problematic moniker, because the appreciation of wine is always contextual and always subjective. But there are some wines that have a magic to them -- from the instant they touch your lips to the residual memories that linger for days after their consumption. These wines bafflingly seem to be more than the sum of their parts, as if someone added two and three and got six -- they shine brighter and deeper than it seems possible for a simple... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on August 29, 2006 10:39 PM
- Filed under: Older Vintages , Perfect 10s , Red Wine , Wine Reviews
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2004 Radio Coteau "La Neblina" Pinot Noir, Sonoma Coast, CA
As many of you know, one of my favorite things about the way the wine world works today is how anyone can get their hands on excellent fruit and make great wines without even having a winery or vineyard of their own. These boutique estateless wineries are now quite common, and some of them are making some pretty incredible wine. I've been hearing about Eric Sussman for quite some time. His winery, Radio Coteau is not only a perfect example of this sort of winemaking operation, it seems to be founded precisely to capitalize on the potential that exists for... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on August 9, 2006 10:29 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Red Wine , Wine Reviews
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2004 Arista Winery "Harper's Rest" Pinot Noir, Russian River Valley, CA
I first learned about Arista Winery late last year when I had the opportunity to taste what the winery called it's "first commercial release." They had made some wines before, under different ownership and with different fruit, but the winery had recently been revamped, and its owners were aiming for a fresh start. And quite a start they got. Their initial wines were excellent across the board, and their new tasting room, set back among the oaks and rock outcroppings in the rolling hills near Healdsburg, was stunning. The winery has just released its "second" vintage under the new ownership... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on July 16, 2006 9:28 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Red Wine , Undiscovered Wines , Wine Reviews
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2003 Bokisch Graciano, Lodi, CA
There are endless stories of winemakers (and those who dream of becoming winemakers) spending their careers and lives waiting for the chance to finally buy a piece of land in Napa and start their own label. Markus and Liz Bokisch did just the opposite. It wasn't necessarily that they wanted to flee Napa. Markus was having a fine time as a viticulturalist working for Joseph Phelps, and in particular in his role on what Phelps called the "Le Mistral" program. Markus' job was to scour Northern California for out of the way growing areas planted with old vines bearing Grenache,... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on July 5, 2006 9:05 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Red Wine , Wine Reviews , Wines under $20
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Carter Cellars, Napa: Current Releases
Every good wine has a story behind it. I've never found one that doesn't. Sometimes it takes some work to find the story, but it's always there. In addition to loving to drink wine, these stories are what keep me coming back to favorite bottles and seeking out new ones. Once upon a time, there was a guy named Mark Carter. He liked to build stuff and to drink wine. We'll come back to the wine in a minute, but as far as building things goes, Mark, in particular, liked old Victorian homes. He grew up in one, and spent... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on June 23, 2006 11:52 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Red Wine , Wine Reviews
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Gargiulo Vineyards, Napa: Current Releases
There's something really cool about seeing a young winery start to hit its stride. I've only seen a few newborn calves and foals in their first moments after birth as they learn to use their spindly legs, but it's hard not to feel a sense of pride when after a few minutes, they go galloping around in circles. I feel the same way after my recent tasting of current releases from Gargiulo vineyards. They're starting to make some very good stuff. I was first introduced to Gargiulo at a wine bar in San Francisco a couple of years ago. I... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on June 21, 2006 7:10 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Red Wine , Wine Reviews
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2001 Vignerons du Quercy "Les Hauts Lastour" Red wine, Coteaux du Quercy (Cahors), France
Ask anyone in the wine business, or any serious wine snob what the top five most salient "issues" are in the world of wine and chances are good that somewhere in those top five will be some variation on rising alcohol levels. That wines are getting more potent worldwide is an unassailable fact. Since the 1970s (a time when alcohol levels remained pretty much unchanged from their historical values for the past century) the average potency of wines has risen several percentage points. That doesn't sound like much, but when you look at it in relative terms for some wines,... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on June 14, 2006 10:56 PM
- Filed under: Red Wine , Wine Activities , Wine Reviews , Wines under $20
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2003 Azienda Agricola Ajello "Furat" IGT Red Blend, Sicily
I learn things drinking wine all the time, and some of what I learn is even the sort of stuff that I missed in history class. For instance, I had no idea that at one time Sicily was a part of the Islamic empire of that ruled north Africa for a few centuries. But here we have a wine, and a lovely one at that, whose name "Furat" speaks volumes of history. Asad ibn al Furat was a Mesopotamian, but emigrated to what is now Tunisia in the beginning of the 9th century. He distinguished himself as a religious scholar... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on June 11, 2006 11:16 PM
- Filed under: Red Wine , Wine Reviews , Wines under $20
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1999 Louis Bernard Vacqueyras, Rhone Valley, France
Why people still argue about global warming is beyond me. The only proof I need are folks like the Inuit, whose boots are now squelching mud where permafrost used to be, and the grape growers of France's Southern Rhone whose weather is getting much less volatile and quite a bit warmer. Most American wine drinkers, even those who consider themselves wine aficionados can't be bothered to keep track of the historically variable weather and subsequent harvest quality in the winegrowing regions of France. Heck, I read all about it, but I can't always remember half the time whether it was... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on May 30, 2006 6:14 PM
- Filed under: Red Wine , Wine Reviews , Wines under $20
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2003 Puccioni "Old Vine" Zinfandel, Dry Creek Valley, Sonoma
On our recent trip to Mendoza, Argentina, we visited and tasted wines at a number of wineries that the locals referred to as "renovated." I've forgotten the specific term in Spanish, but they were referring to the increasingly common practice of new owners re-opening long shuttered wineries in the area. New owners (occasionally descendents of the original founders) were reviving old vineyards, remodeling or rebuilding old winery facilities, and generally building on the shoulders of a huge, vibrant wine industry that dried up around the same time that Prohibition was putting the final nail in the coffin of a similarly... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on May 21, 2006 5:20 PM
- Filed under: Red Wine , Undiscovered Wines , Wine Reviews
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2002 Paloma Merlot, Spring Mountain District, Napa
Today is Wine Blogging Wednesday. What's that you say? It's actually Friday? Listen, don't ask me why, all of a sudden, we're being asked to blog about wine together at the end of the week. I just work here. Today represents a collision of two blogging phenomena on the web. The original food blogging collaborative Is My Blog Burning, and the wine tasting event which was inspired by this event, Wine Blogging Wednesday. Jointly celebrating Wine Blogging Wednesday #21 and Is My Blog Burning #26 as the Fabulous Favorites Festival today, wine bloggers are being asked to cook and blog,... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on May 19, 2006 10:05 PM
- Filed under: Red Wine , Wine Activities , Wine Reviews
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2001 Macari Reserve Merlot, North Fork of Long Island, NY
I love the experience of gradually getting to know an new wine region. The more wines I have from Long Island, the more intrigued I am. Many of them are not great, which is typical of emerging wine regions, but every once in a while, you get a wine that shows the promise of a place, and the dedication and hard work of the folks who believe in it. New York has played host to vineyards for about as long as European's have tried to live there. At first, European vine varieties were planted on the island of Manhattan itself,... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on May 16, 2006 11:19 PM
- Filed under: Red Wine , Wine Reviews
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1995 Hau Xia Cabernet Sauvignon, Changli of Hebei Province, China
I've been wanting to try Chinese wine for a year or so, as I've followed the increasing growth of the Chinese wine industry and the growing popularity of wine in China. On a business trip to LA a couple of weeks ago, I happened to eat a rushed meal at the bar in a restaurant with an extensive by-the-glass list, and what should appear on one of the pages but this little gem. When I placed my order, the bartender raised his eyebrow, and said "Oh, adventurous, aren't you?" I don't normally take that as an encouraging sign, but I... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on March 15, 2006 7:49 PM
- Filed under: Older Vintages , Red Wine , Wine Reviews , Wines under $20
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1997 Movia Pinot Nero, Brda, Slovenia
Anyone who has ever visited the far Northeast of Italy knows that things get a little wonky up there when it comes to languages, geography, and political affiliations. One town will speak perfect Italian, and you'll find risotto on every table and then a few kilometers away, another town will speak German and serve you knockwurst. Such diversity is actually quite entertaining and makes for a really interesting variety of food and, as luck would have it, wine, too. At the broadest level, the winemaking region of Northeast Italy is known as Friuli, which along with the Trentino Alto-Adige is... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on March 12, 2006 9:21 PM
- Filed under: Red Wine , Wine Reviews
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2000 Pride Mountain Vineyards Syrah, Sonoma
Wine is so gorgeously shareable. Bottles just beg to be drunk not by a single pair of lips but by many, and one of my favorite things to do is pop a cork when friends come over. Many of my friends are not wine collectors in any sense, and I have most of them trained to bring flowers or dessert so I can have an opportunity to share a nice bottle with them. Some of my friends who also happen to be winemakers on the other hand, tend to bring special bottles themselves, and should we ever take the time... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on March 8, 2006 6:02 PM
- Filed under: Red Wine , Wine Reviews
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2003 Naggiar Vineyards Sangiovese, Sierra Foothills, CA
The Sierra foothills is one of California's most under explored, and perhaps, underappreciated winegrowing regions. The Sierra Foothills AVA (American Viticultural Area) is the third largest appellation in California after the Central Coast, and the North Coast. It encompasses entirely the AVAs of Shenandoah Valley, El Dorado, Fair Play, Fiddletown, and North Yuba, and overlaps with Amador and Lodi. In other countries in the world, the foothills of major mountain ranges are often the primary and most famous winegrowing regions, but in California they take a back seat to some of the valleys. Certainly Napa and Sonoma are more consistent... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on February 23, 2006 5:47 PM
- Filed under: Red Wine , Wine Reviews , Wines under $20
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2002 Holdredge Pinot Noir, Russian River Valley, CA
There is a whole class of wines in Napa and Sonoma that represent dreams in the process of being realized. These small efforts are usually what I like to call "estateless" wineries. Such wineries are the work usually of one or two individuals (surprisingly often a husband and wife team) who have made tentative but substantial steps towards a goal of becoming winemakers. Often, these people are doing this work in addition to their day jobs -- sourcing fruit after hours and on the weekends, taking classes in winemaking in the evenings, requesting a couple of extra days off work... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on February 14, 2006 7:50 PM
- Filed under: Red Wine , Undiscovered Wines , Wine Reviews
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1997 Clos Des Truffiers "Hommage a Max" Syrah, Coteaux du Languedoc, France
One of the things I love about being a wine lover is the connection that can be made between more academic and intellectual learnings about wine (names of varietals, appellations, winemakers, techniques) and personal sensory experiences. We wine lovers, with enough practice and attention, can literally taste what we have learned over time. One of the things that most interests me is the transformation and expression of a place over time. I won't get into a deep contemplation of terroir here, but leave the discussion at a simpler place: it's delightful to taste the evolution of a wine region --... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on February 12, 2006 4:18 PM
- Filed under: Red Wine , Wine Reviews
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2002 Southern Right Pinotage, Western Cape, South Africa
I like underdogs -- the scrappy runts of the litter that have to struggle to survive, the desperately pitiful teams that make up in spunk what they lack in talent. I also have a soft spot in my heart for those folks who are stubbornly persistent in the face of lousy odds and prevailing common sense stacked against them. This may be part of the reason that, despite never really having one that I've enjoyed, I keep trying Pinotage whenever I get the chance. Pinotage is the sort of red-headed stepchild of the wine grape world, brought into the world... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on February 4, 2006 11:59 PM
- Filed under: Red Wine , Wine Reviews , Wines under $20
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2003 Bacio Divino " Pazzo" Red Wine, Napa
I'll just get this off my chest right away. Most California Sangiovese is crap. I'm convinced that this is a really difficult climate to grow it in -- while California may be a Mediterranean climate we just don't really cut it when it comes to Tuscan varietals. The few places that I think it might be reasonably to grow Sangiovese -- Amador County or Lodi -- have a history with other Italian varietals such as Barbera, but very few people, it seems, have tried to grow Sangiovese. All of this by way of saying that anyone who tries to do... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on January 28, 2006 11:21 PM
- Filed under: Red Wine , Wine Reviews
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2003 Akarua Pinot Noir, Central Otago, New Zealand
I remember a time not too long ago when I wasn't really convinced that New Zealand could grow good Pinot Noir. This wasn't because the Kiwis weren't making some stunning examples of this varietal, it was because most of what I had encountered up until that point was fairly crap -- green, woody, simplistic Pinots that didn't have the depth or complexity that I was looking for. But I continued to hear from People Who Know that there was some good stuff out there, so I kept looking. Then one day I had some wines from Central Otago, and... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on January 21, 2006 6:30 PM
- Filed under: Red Wine , Wine Reviews
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