Friday, January 01, 2021
Wednesday, December 30, 2020
Abdication.
Tuesday, December 29, 2020
Beatie.
Friday, October 30, 2020
Shiver me timbers!
Saturday, October 24, 2020
IneBrEEated.
Monday, October 19, 2020
Valdiguié.
I first became aware of the 2018 J. Lohr Estates Wildflower Valdiguié when I watched the wine being reviewed (well tasted, really) on a wine blogger's Instagram account. The blogger just loved it, couldn't say enough nice things about it, lauded its drinkability, fruitiness and its worthiness of being considered a 'summer red' wine. And he mentioned that it sold for about $8.99. I was intrigued, I don't think I'd ever had a Valdiguié, domestic or otherwise. I had to get my hands on some. So I purchased six bottles directly from the winery ($10.00 a pop). Then, about a week later, the J. Lohr Valdiguié (2019) appeared on an episode of Behind the Wines: host Elaine Chukan Brown and her guests just loved it. Great, methought, can't wait to try it. Valdiguié, a native grape of southern France, has been growing here in California for quite some time. However, it had been misidentified and was known as Napa Gamay. It took a French ampelographer, Pierre Galet, to definitively identify the (Gamay) grapevines growing in vineyards up and down California as Valdiguié. Sealed with a screw cap, my first impression of the Wildflower was that it was reduced, it was more than a tad pongy. Initially on the palate the wine was rather tannic and had a sour finish. Fruit? A tiny bit. The wine seemed awkward and I found myself struggling to describe what, if anything, was going on with this wine. I had just one small glass, and that was enough. Wanting to give this wine the benefit of the doubt, I tried it again the next night and it was delightful - had really opened up - all brambly aromatics, warm red fruits and a splendid balance of acid and tannin. Wow, love when that happens. A second bottle, more than a week later, paired with a pan seared, oven finished flat iron steak, was simply a joy. Everything in my glass was amplified; aroma, fruit, balance. Couldn't fault it. A third bottle last night, again paired with flat iron steak, proved once more that the Wildflower is a solid quaffing wine. Three bottles down, three to go.
Wednesday, October 14, 2020
Crushed AND destemmed.
Friday, October 09, 2020
Little gems.
Thursday, October 01, 2020
Happy 13th birthday V2!
Sunday, September 27, 2020
OKAY-dokey!
Saturday, September 26, 2020
My spectacular Syrah.
Thursday, September 24, 2020
Mike & Molly.
Sounds like a sitcom, but in this particular case it isn't. Instead, Mike & Molly Hendry is a really solid Zinfandel from an old head-trained vineyard (not far from Vinoland) in the Coombsville AVA. Mike Hendry is nephew to George Hendry of one of my favourite wineries, Hendry. Must be some good wine-DNA in the Hendry genes. The 2016, R.W. Moore Vineyard is my type of Zinfandel. Hailing from a vineyard that is 115 years young, on the nose this Zinfandel is clean and bright with brambly fruits and spice. In the mouth this wine is focused with candied raspberry, perfumey-blackberry, mulling spices, vanilla essence and acid. Yes, great acidity which balances the wine really well, so that it doesn't display any hotness on the palate. A lovely Zin. Like all Zinfandels, it's not a wine that I would cellar for an extended period of time. But why would I? This wine is one to be enjoyed right now.
Friday, September 18, 2020
Ash.
Tuesday, September 15, 2020
Grapey-miscellany and stuff, etc.
Yesterday morning, to give Vinomaker a hand, I spent some time rehydrating yeasts for the Pinot grigio and Orange muscat alcoholic fermentations. (Photo is of Cross Evolution.) Like a mad professor, Vinomaker is always experimenting with different yeasts, especially for the white wine grapes. It is rather interesting, and something one wouldn't necessarily have the freedom to do on a commercial scale. The varied yeast strains really do produce distinct wines. There were five batches in all and consequently the kitchen smelled like yeast for hours.
I also performed the first Syrah sugar sample of the season - 22.8 °Brix, not bad. The seeds are almost completely brown and the berries have good flavour. I ate quite a bit of the stuff as I walked through the vineyard sampling. Sun warmed grapes are the best snack.
This morning I watched a couple of webinars, one was eminently better than the other. Today's guest on Behind the Wines was Wink Lorch. Wink (what a simply brilliant name) who is English, is an expert and author of books on the wines and vineyards of Jura and Savoie. I can't remember the last time I had a wine from either French Alpine region, but it was probably in the Wines of the World class I took in 2012. The lively discussion on the history, pedigree and DNA of such grape varieties as Savagnin and Mondeuse was great grapey-geek stuff.
I...need...to...get...a...job!
Saturday, September 12, 2020
A short tale of a sherry-sipper.
The family friend who had been tasked with registering the newborn's birth, on behalf of my great-grandmother who was on bed rest, was unfortunately illiterate. Exactly one whole week had passed and the poor woman, unable to read or write, was not educated enough to catch the simple clerical error. So, according to officialdom the date of my grandmother's birth was the 19th of September 1903. In jest, sometimes my grandmother would insist upon the family observing both anniversaries of her birth.
I only ever knew my grandmother to imbibe alcohol at parties, usually Christmas and New Year's Eve. And her drink of choice was always a cream sherry, but just a sip. I'm sure more sherry went into my grandmother's trifles than into her glass. Her generation weren't big drinkers, they couldn't afford to be.
Today would have been my grandmother's 117th birthday. And next week she will have another 117th birthday: I will observe both. Long gone, but not forgotten, she was the best gran a Vinogirl could have.
Friday, September 11, 2020
Vendemmia: 2020.
Tuesday, September 01, 2020
Pandemic pedagogy.
In today's virtual tasting and discussion, wine writer and educator Elaine Chukan Brown considered some new trends in California wine. Well, not really trends, but rather innovations and explorations of, and in, grape varieties, growing regions and out-of-the-box winemaking. Ms. Brown's guests this morning were sommelier and author, Kelli A.White and San Francisco Chronicle wine critic, Esther Mobley. The discussion that ensued regarding the evolution of California winemaking was informative and thought provoking. The featured wines were; White Rock Vineyards, Claret, Napa Valley 2016; J. Lohr, Wildflower Valdiguié, Monterey 2019; and Mountain Tides, Petite Sirah, California 2018. Compelling stuff. And a fitting way to kick off California Wine Month.
Monday, August 31, 2020
Tasty grapes.
There is a retaining wall at the top of the PG block and Lizzie, Pansy, Maro, Annie, Rosie and Gracie seem quite content to sit there and snack away to their little hearts' content. The rachis in the photograph is picked clean, absolutely nekkid. Full clusters on the far side of the vine that they cannot reach are still intact. And I thought I had problems with the wild bird population. Hmmph.
I sampled anyway and the PG is at 23.2 °Brix; the grapes taste fabulous and, what's left of them, look great. Now, if I could train the chickens to poop only in the vineyard I may overlook their thieving of my hard-farmed crop.
Wednesday, August 26, 2020
Getting lighter.
I can't remember if they picked this vineyard last year (I missed the entire 2019 harvest in Napa), so this may be the first harvest for these young vines. Generally, harvest in the valley began a tad early this year, as it has been a nice, steady growing season. I'm wondering if FN decided to get the fruit in a little earlier because of smoke from the wildfires still burning a little to the north. I heard that a Merlot vineyard, halfway up the valley on the eastern side, was picked on Monday at 21/22 °Brix. Seems a little premature, but perhaps the owners/growers panicked a bit. Stay calm folks, there will be light at the end of 2020.
Monday, August 24, 2020
Kindling.
This grainy photograph is from happier times...and apparently, the topic that day was head-training/cane pruning. Dr. Stephen Krebs (centre back), my viticulture professor at Napa Valley College, unfortunately lost his home in the LNU Lightning Complex Fire. It was Dr. Krebs who was responsible for sparking my love of all things viticultural. And writing about my passion on Vinsanity. A good fire, as opposed to the bad stuff.
At his home on Pleasants Valley Road in rural Vacaville, Dr. Krebs, a more than keen gardener, had a huge vegetable garden. I always loved it when he'd go off-topic in class and instead discuss vegetable gardening. I remember one particular time when he brought in paper bags filled with cloves of assorted garlic varieties to share with the class. Sadly, his home was in one of the areas hit hardest by the wildfires ignited by dry thunderstorms on the 16th of August. I cannot imagine losing everything. Vinomaker and I came close in the firestorm of October 2017, but we were mercifully spared.
I am thankful that Dr. Krebs and his wife escaped unharmed, but it saddens me to think of all that he lost. He had a rather extensive book collection, a lot of them rare and out of print. He was always willing to let his students use his library for reference purposes, but it was not a lending library - the books had to stay put. I can't blame him, I wouldn't have let some of those titles out of my safe keeping either.
The books may be gone, but not before Dr. Krebs was able to communicate their contents to a multitude of wine industry peeps the length and breadth of Napa Valley. And probably beyond.