International Albariño Day, 2017.

Happy International Albariño Day.  I'm sitting here, with a cup of tea, amusing myself with the thought of  the many Albariños that are, perhaps, being quaffed at this very moment in the different time zones across the globe.
The Albariño that I picked to drink with dinner tonight is already chilling in the fridge.  I have shared a glass, or two, of this particular Albariño, on a few occasions, with a neighbour who claims that the La Caña Albariño is his favourite all time Spanish Albariño.  And he was born in Spain, so who am I to argue with him.
The 2015 La Caña (Rías Baixas, Galicia DO) is a beautifully crisp, white peachy rendition of the Albariño grape, a grape thought to have been brought to the Iberian Peninsula by Cluny monks in the 1300s.  Hmm, monks.  I'm planning on being decidedly un-monkish tonight by not denying myself a glass, or two, of La Caña.

Customer Disservice.

Yesterday was International Albariño Day.  Yay!
A few months ago I began my search for an Albariño that I might not have tried before. Then, just recently, in the Napa Register, I read of a new wine label, Eighty Four.  Eighty Four is a new project by Elias Fernandez and Doug Shafer (of Shafer Vineyards).  It just so happens that they produce an Albariño, so I thought it would be a good candidate with which to laud the upcoming festivity.
I called Shafer to find out if the Albariño was available for sale to the general public (sometimes these faddy wines aren't).  I was helped (and I say helped in the loosest possible sense of the word) by a woman who answered my questions with one syllable words only. Okey-dokey. I supposed she was just having a bad day.
I had a similar experience when I drove up to Shafer on my day off.  I wasn't greeted upon entering the winery although there was a person in the reception area.  The gentleman, at a desk staring into his computer screen, only acknowledged me when I ventured, "Hello" in my cheeriest voice.  I told him what I wanted, handed him my business card, I made some idle chit-chat and then paid for the wine (no inter-winery discount at Shafer, by the way).  Our entire interaction was conducted with having barely any eye contact at all.  He was that disinterested, very bizarre.  I suppose all Shafer employees continually have bad days.
The wine itself went something like this; the wine was very yellow in the glass; strong lemon and candy floss (cotton candy) on the nose; first sip was a little briny; the taste was of pineapple chunks and apple tarts (two sweets, candy, from my childhood).  And the wine was very tart, like it had been acidulated with citric acid.  Now, I consider myself the 'Queen of Tart' as I generally like an elevated acidity in my wine, but this was a little over the top.  Overall the wine, whilst not unpleasant, seemed a little tired. It wasn't oxidised, but all that candied stuff going on just made the wine seem a little over-worked.
An average wine, served with bad customer service, sigh.  I can't get my $28.00 back, but I can make sure that I never spend another penny of my hard earned wages at Shafer.  If one feels inclined to waste some time, one can read the Register article here.  Enjoy.  Or not.

Happy International Albariño Day!

Today is the 4th annual International Albariño Day (IAD).  Who knew?  I didn't.  And I can't even remember how I heard about IAD, but I have had a Post-it note on the side of my laptop to remind me about it for almost 2 months now. Then I forgot, completely ignoring the Post-it note until yesterday afternoon when I decided I needed a domestic Albariño with which to celebrate IAD 2015.  And I knew exactly which domestic Albariño I wanted: a Hendry Albariño. After a quick phone call to the winery to make sure somebody would be there I headed over to Hendry Ranch (with Vinomaker and Vinodog 2 in tow).
Located on the benchlands between the Carneros and Mt. Veeder AVAs, the folks at Hendry have been farming wine grapes since 1939. The Hendry family grow 10 different grape varieties on 114 planted acres in the cooler climate, woodsy-westside of the Napa Valley. On arrival at the winery, I was greeted by name (it's the small things that make a difference) by Therese who I had spoken with on the telephone. Vinomaker and I were invited into the lab/office and Therese went off  to grab a fresh bottle of Albariño for us to taste.  In the lab, doing some research on a computer, was George Hendry the owner, farmer and winemaker.  George stopped what he was doing and spent some time chatting with me and Vinomaker about his vineyard and his knowledge (and Napa Valley history) of the Albariño grape.  When I told George that I wanted to purchase a bottle of his Albariño to drink on IAD, he smiled and said, "I learned something new today."  We all laughed.
And what did I learn yesterday, besides the vital statistics (clone 3 on St. George rootstock), of Mr. Hendry's Albariño vines?  Not much, but I was however reminded of something.  And that something was this: that on any given day in the Napa Valley one just might happen to chance upon a passionate individual, in a building that feels and looks like a real winery, who will be more than happy to take time and prattle on about all things grape with you, who walks the talk, and who then is eager to share his wine with you.   It wasn't about the ostentatiously grandiose, maniacally-marketed, gimmicky green-certified, artwork-crammed temples to all-things-bacchanalian.  The real Napa Valley is none of those things; it is about the dedicated farmer who painstakingly nurtures his grapevines in order to make the best vintage of wine that Mother Nature will allow.  A refreshing experience.
The wine?  The Hendry, 2014 Albariño (Napa Valley) is delightful.  With lemon, grass and a pineappley/passion fruit vibe the wine is crisp, clean and right on point.  This Albariño does not mess around on the palate, with well focused acidity it leaves the old taste buds wanting more. Good thing that Vinomaker bought 6 bottles.
Happy International Albariño Day to all!