Breathless.

There was a semi-interesting article from The SOMM Journal being circulated around TWWIAGE last week.  Dr. Paulo Lopes, Research and Development Manager at Amorim Cork, recently published the results of research he has been conducting into the merits of cork as a wine bottle closure.  Without going into the nuts and bolts of the process of oxidation, the gist of the article was that cork does not breathe; the only oxygen that diffuses into wine is the air trapped in a cork's nooks and crannies.  In a nutshell, or a screw cap, perhaps, the article asserts that it makes no difference if a wine is stored upright or lying on its side.  Furthermore, the article claims that it is very "liberating" when wine-myths are debunked by science.  Aah, I feel so free now.
Dr. Dick Peterson, an early California-wine industry innovator, has always maintained, well, at least since the early 1960s, that sound corks do not breathe air.  Dr. P even has a great quote about the breathlessness of cork, "Show me a cork that breathes and I'll show you a bottle of vinegar."  I'm a little sceptical of the whole premise, but I'll trust the good doctor on this.
My illustrative photograph is of a sparkling-wine cork that came out of a bottle of Chandon étoile that I popped open last Friday night.  I had assumed that the cork had done its job and had sealed the bottle perfectly, and anaerobically.  (The article states that, "the classic mushroom shape of a sparkling-wine cork is formed by its contact with CO2."  Now that's interesting.)  This particular mushroom-shaped cork had managed to transfer something to the wine though, not air but 2,4,6-Trichloroanisole (TCA).  I reluctantly poured the entire, tainted bottle down the sink.  Hate when that happens.  Still, there is a happy ending.  Celebrating Vinomaker's birthday last night, a day early, I ordered a bottle of étoile at a restaurant and it was delicious.
So what does all this fuss about the oxygen transfer rate (OTR) of cork mean to the average consumer?  In my opinion, not much.  None of the information in the article is going to change anything about my wine buying/storing/drinking habits.  Some people just love to do studies and write definitive articles about their findings.  And it always helps when their findings reinforce the science behind the product they are promoting.  Ta da!
Oh, and Happy Birthday Vinomaker!

Happy birthday Vinomaker.

Yes, today is Vinomaker's birthday.  And, as is our tradition, we decided to go out and do a little bit of wine tasting.
Usually, I try to choose a winery that is off the beaten track, has an interesting backstory, or produces an uncommon varietal wine.  But today I chose to visit a winery that is slap-bang in the middle of everything that is touristy about the Napa Valley; Grgich Hills Estate on Highway 29, Rutherford.
Although Grgich does have an interesting backstory, the Judgement of Paris, I have never found their wines particularly to my taste. However, the 3 million people packed into the tasting room (alright, I'm exaggerating, it was only 2.9 million - and they were all soggy because it was raining), alongside me and Vinomaker, apparently disagreed. The tasting room is outdated (brown, stained plywood), the wines are mediocre (except for a truly awful 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon), but the flock of adherents are, seemingly, irrepressible.
All in all, I did enjoy the experience because it reminded me that there are a lot of different experiences to be had in the Napa Valley. Besides, where else could one find a cheery, be-bereted Croatian on a wine label? Vinomaker and I then drove over to Laird Family Estate and bought a mixed case of  some wines we could actually drink.
Dinner tonight is at Mustard's Grill, so I'm expecting to end the day with a happily overcrowded tummy.

The Spring Mountain District AVA.

It has been over a year since I last did a post on the American Viticultural Area (AVA) signs in the Napa Valley.  How did that happen?  I know I have been a little busy, but so busy that a whole year has passed, sheesh! To remedy that I offer up, for the reader's delectation, the Spring Mountain District AVA sign.
The Spring Mountain District (an area, not a peak) was officially established as an AVA in 1993.  Located on the eastern slopes of the Mayacamas Mountains, on the western side of the Napa Valley, this AVA encompasses about 8,600 acres on elevations that range from 400 feet, beginning down in St. Helena, to 2,600 feet at the top.  Up there, one feels like the Napa Valley is a million miles away.
Today is Vinomaker's birthday and so, as is our tradition, we decided to go winetasting.  Usually it is me who chooses which winery to visit, as a surprise, but this year Vinomaker requested that we visit Pride Mountain Winery.  Pride produces a lovely Merlot that we have both enjoyed over the years, but neither of us had ever visited the winery, so we loaded ourselves into the Vino-mobile and headed north.  Driving six miles from the valley floor, up through the Spring Mountain District AVA, to an elevation of 2,200 feet, over the Napa County line and into Sonoma County, an hour after leaving Vinoland and a half mile downhill into Sonoma County, we eventually arrived at Pride.
Pride's winery and vineyards actually straddle both Napa and Sonoma counties (there is a cobblestone-strip in the pavement outside the winery's caves that delineates the boundary).  An interesting fact is that Pride has to specify on their wine labels the percentage of grapes from each county.  And, of course, Pride has to make sure they pay the correct taxes to each county.
The tasting and tour at Pride was a really nice experience, in no small part due to the hospitable Nikki who hosted our small group of eight Pride-enthusiasts.  Vinomaker was a little disappointed that they had already sold out of their 2014 Viognier, (total production for Pride is approximately 18,000 cases a year), but Nikki assuaged Vinomaker's fear of going Viognier-less on his birthday by treating him to a tank-sample of Pride's soon to be bottled 2015 - he was delighted.
Great wines, nice facility, interesting history, genial host, wonderful drive up the mossy-ferny-redwoody-winding Spring Mountain on a grey, drizzly day.  Good fun.
Happy birthday Vinomaker!
Nine down, seven to go.

An urban winery.

Today is Vinomaker's birthday.  Whoo hoo!
I actually managed to get Vinomaker to take some time off work to go and do a quick wine tasting with me, something we haven't done for a couple years.  And we didn't even have to go very far, just a quick drive into downtown Napa.
St. Clair Brown Winery is located in a light-industrial area of the city of Napa.  Surrounded by sheet metal fabrication shops and auto repair businesses, St. Clair Brown is truly an urban winery.  Currently, the winery produces about 200 cases each of nine different wines of which Vinomaker and I tasted four (their 4 Wine Sampler).  The winery has a permit to serve food and I originally had intended to have lunch there, but with a fairly tight schedule we decided to just do a tasting.  The wines were all very pleasant; a 2011 Coombsville Chardonnay (a tad too oaky), a 2008 Coombsville Syrah, a 2010 Oak Knoll/Atlas Peak Merlot and a 2010 Oak Knoll/Atlas Peak/St. Helena Cabernet Sauvignon.  Our host, the son of one of the owners, was delightful, the wines exhibited a distinct winemaking style, the urban environment was fun and a chat with owner Laina Brown was interesting - an enjoyable experience.  The winery does not, however, offer complimentary tastings to the other wine industry folks.  Now, I'm not cheap, and I was only too happy to pay the $20.00 tasting fee, but I do believe it is a little short-sighted of St. Clair Brown. What better marketing/advertising is there than to make other winery personnel ambassadors of your brand?  It is my belief that a 2 fluid ounce pour can go an awfully long way in promoting a winery.  On to dinner.
Vinomaker had not been to R&D Kitchen in Yountville, so that is where I decided to take him for his birthday dinner.  R&D does have a rather limited menu, but I sort of like that about this restaurant.  More important to Vinomaker, perhaps, was R&D's 'wine by the glass' wine list. I just had one glass of Schramsberg Brut Rosé because I was driving, but Vinomaker had a glass of white wine and a glass of red wine.  The white was a 2013 Cowhorn Spiral 36 (Applegate Valley AVA, Oregon), a blend of Viognier, Marsanne and Roussanne, (the Marsanne really popped in this wine). The red was a 2012 Page Wine Cellars/Revolver Wine Company 'The Fury' Cabernet Franc (Napa Valley AVA), really nice, lots of dark berries, dried flowers and dried herbs on the nose.  And that's it: yet another anniversary of Vinomaker's birth done and dusted.  Oh, and Gung hei fat choi!
Happy birthday Vinomaker!

Wines by the glass.

This evening I took Vinomaker to a birthday dinner at Mustards Grill (close to Yountville, on Highway 29).  It's a great restaurant, the food is wholesome, innovative, beautiful to look at and always very, very tasty.  Mustards also has a really nice 'By the Glass' wine list which, as I have mentioned before, is Vinomaker's absolute favourite way of pairing wines with food at a restaurant.  So one glass of Alban Viognier, Truchard Roussanne, Turley Cinsault, T-Vine Grenache and Parador Tempranillo later (paired with roasted artichokes, crispy calamari, grilled rabbit and smoked duck), Vinomaker was one very happy diner indeed.
Happy birthday Vinomaker!

The Pear.

Tonight, to celebrate Vinomaker's birthday, we decided to try yet another new restaurant in downtown Napa, The Pear - A Southern Bistro.  The Pear is located in Napa's Riverfront complex in a space recently vacated by the ill-fated Tyler Florence Rotisserie.
Decorated with old musical instruments and bedazzled with strings of Mardi Gras beads, The Pear has a New Orleans thing going on.  Vinomaker was happy with his shrimp and grits with red-eye gravy and I had a nice meatloaf with mashed potatoes. The wine list was a bit sparse, especially the 'wine by the glass' options, but I did happen across a nice red.  The Joel Gott, 2010, Alakai is basically a GSM.  With 77% Grenache it could just have the grape variety name on the label, but Gott apparently decided to give it a proprietary name and simply designated it as a red wine.  It paired (or is that peared?) nicely with the meatloaf.
The food was good, but the restaurant itself is a little lacking in the ambiance department.  The tables are strewn about seemingly willy-nilly and the lasting impression that I took away with me was that the dining room is cold.  Of course, that might have something to do with being seated at the worst table in the place (despite having made reservations), right next to the entrance: not good on a cold night in February, so much so I had to eat with my coat on.  It didn't stop me from ordering the pear tart which came with vanilla bean ice cream for dessert though.
Overall, The Pear was a fairly good experience and we both decided that we'd eat there again.  Or at least Vinomaker will when they put hushpuppies on the menu.
Happy birthday Vinomaker!

The mole had been working very hard.

Today is Vinomaker's birthday. Whoo hoo!
For one of Vinomaker's birthday treats, as is tradition, I arranged for a winery tour and tasting for the two of us.  This year I thought I'd pick a winery closer to home, so I chose Palmaz Vineyards which is located in the recently minted Coombsville AVA.  So, this past Friday, we drove the 2 minutes up the road from Vinoland to Palmaz and entered through their vineyard gates to what turned out to be a fascinating visit.  Neither Vinomaker or I had ever visited Palmaz before, nor tasted any of their wines, so we had no idea what to expect.
The property, originally settled by Napa winemaking pioneer Henry Hagen, was the site of a winery called Cedar Knoll Vineyard Company which Hagen founded in 1881.  The Palmaz family bought and began restoring the original Hagen estate house and vineyard in 1997 - not a small, or inexpensive, undertaking as the site had remained abandoned for some 80 years.  A native of Argentina Dr. Julio Palmaz invented the Palmaz Coronary Stent, so he isn't short a bob or two.
The restored property, and new buildings, are spectacular.  The view from the area outside the tasting room is breathtaking, looking down upon Coombsville below us and to the south, and in the distance to the west, Mt. Tamalpais and the San Francisco Bay.  The 100,000 square foot winery is a massive feat of engineering.  Built entirely underground and spanning the equivalent of an 18 story building, I am afraid that any description I could attempt to make of this facility would not do it justice.  Fortunately, there is a short video on the Palmaz Vineyards website that gives you some idea of the enormity of this project - and they only produce 6,000 cases annually.  I can only conclude that a heart-stopping amount of money was spent to create this engineering marvel.
The food and wine pairing at the end of our tour was a lot of fun. Our host for the visit was pleasant and informed.  All in all, the two hours we spent at Palmaz Vineyards were highly enjoyable, even if I did feel a bit like a mole when I stepped back out into the daylight.
Happy birthday Vinomaker!

Off the beaten track.

Today is Vinomaker's birthday. Whoo hoo!
Yesterday, for what is fast becoming a birthday tradition, we went wine-tasting. I got to pick, as a surprise for Vinomaker, the winery we were going to visit. We have both enjoyed wines from this particular producer in the past, but had never visited the winery...so I decided to remedy that. Vinomaker's 2011 birthday tasting was to be at Truchard Vineyards.
Literally situated in an unexpected corner of the Napa portion of the Los Carneros AVA, the Truchard family farm some 270+ acres of vineyards that are planted to at least 10 different varieties of grapes. There are no signs heralding the presence of this unassuming winery - just a standard issue United States mailbox tricked-out with the winery's logo. As it was a cold, rainy day we did not get to tour the vineyard, only the caves, but we did get to taste most of their wines. The wines were all well-crafted and very enjoyable, however they were just a little too cold. The tasting room is in a barn-like building and it was very chilly. At one point, I thought the poor lady next to me (from New York as it happens) was in danger of becoming hypothermic - I don't know any CPR so I helpfully, in my mind, suggested that she just drink more wine. Inexplicably, the New Yorker decided not to try Truchard's delicious late harvest Roussanne. Alas, she missed out on a wonderfully balanced dessert wine with a sublime acidity that ensured that the wine wasn't cloyingly sweet. Her loss!
Tonight we are eating out at a downtown Napa restaurant that we haven't tried before - it'll be another surprise.
Happy birthday Vinomaker!

Eyed by an eagle.

Today is Vinomaker's birthday. Whoo hoo!
As a birthday treat, I arranged for a tour and tasting at Stagecoach Vineyards. We both have enjoyed Krupp Brothers wines for some time now (especially Black Bart's Bride a viognier blend) however, it was the vineyard itself that I was particularly interested in touring. With 500+ acres planted high along the eastern edge of the Napa Valley, Stagecoach Vineyards can boast the largest mountain planting in the county.
Vinomaker and I were greeted by a very pleasant young woman who was to be our guide on the drive through the vineyard. As we passed by vine variety after vine variety, our guide recalled the history of the area and regaled us with tales of the abundant wildlife in this almost sanctuary like setting. The first settlers were Germans who had cleared the chaparral, on what was indeed an old stagecoach route, to plant their own grapevines. Sharing this rugged land with the winegrowers are many wild animals including; bobcats, mountain lions, and rattlesnakes. Around last harvest time she herself encountered a lone black bear, hungrily eyeing the ripening grapes.
Standing on a rocky outcrop, overlooking Oakville on the valley floor below was a bit of a thrill for me, I have to tell you, but the highlight of the tour was undoubtedly happening upon a Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos), it's feathers a wash of gold. Perched atop a 20 foot pole (erected for that purpose I believe), this magnificent creature was totally unperturbed as Vinogirl moved very close and snapped away below him. I suppose if I was at the top of my particular food chain and had a 7 foot wingspan, I too would be unconcerned with the noisy oddity below me.
Happy birthday Vinomaker!

That damned, illusive pimpernel.

Today is Vinomaker's birthday. Whoo hoo!
He's 29, or so he says. (The only thing that is 29 around here is the highway that runs north/south on the west side of the valley.)
The Vinodogs bought their dad a hat each which was very sweet of them. He got some other great gifts too, including a weather station from Family OTW.
The best pressie though, was a University of California book called 'Weeds of California'...1800+ pages, in two volumes, of every weed you could ever wish for. Or maybe not.
There are some pretty weeds, like Scarlet Pimpernel (Anagallis arvensis), blooming in the vine rows right now. However, there is one that I know only by its foul odour which is not dissimilar to dead, rotting fish. Lovely.
I can identify most other weeds in the vineyard but seeing as new ones seem to appear all the time, this publication will come in very handy. Train-spotting at its finest.
Happy birthday Vinomaker!