Greece is the word.

I have enjoyed quite a few Greek wines in my time - mainly in Greece. On my last fortnight long sojourn on the Greek Island of Ithaca (landing on Cephalonia and taking a ferry to Ithaca), Thud and I polished off quite a bit of local wine with our evening meals. If we purchased a commercially bottled wine it was usually made from the Xinomavro grape.  However, when eating at the family restaurant of one of Thud's acquaintances  we imbibed in the village-cooperative's wines - grape variety unknown.  Each participating grapegrower's fruit is harvested and vinted with his neighbour's grapes.  The resulting wine is usually served, at the local tavernas, in litre carafes and offered to diners ice cold, straight from the refrigerator.  And they pair perfectly with Greek food. Shocker!
I purchased this bottle of Boutari, 2010, Moschofilero just out of curiosity.  How would the wine hold up to a California February, versus a summer on an Ionian Island?  It wasn't a bad wine, but it wasn't a great wine either. It was a little light and citrusy, a smidgen heavy on the acid and a tad perfumey, but it made a fairly decent aperitif.  The Moschofilero grape is native to Greece, hailing from the Mantinia region of the Peloponnese.  A winsome, pink-skinned grape it reminds me a bit of Pinot grigio to look at.  I think at $10, I may just buy it again.  Maybe.

Happy St. Trifon's Day: 2013.

Today, I did a bit of spring cleaning, well, sort of.  It's almost time to start pruning Vinoland, but first I had to perform some maintenance on my pruning shears. A sharpening stone, some wire wool, oil and plenty of elbow grease quickly brought my trusty secateurs back to their former glory.  With some tender loving care, my Swiss-made Felcos should last me for the rest of my life.
I love pruning and I think I do an fairly decent job, but my skills are relatively limited.  I am no where near the skill level of someone who prunes for a living.  So it goes without saying that I won't be entering the 12th Annual Napa Valley Pruning Contest, which is being held next week.  But, may St. Trifon cast his beneficence over the secateur-wielding contestants who do enter.

An Englishman's home...

...is his castle.
Good bye old house, you served the family well.  Farewell, I'll miss you. Sigh...

Ripped from the headlines.

Headlines can be alarming if taken out of context.  At first I thought this article, in today's Napa Register, was advocating the removal of wine-grapes to make way for other crops.  For a brief moment, I had visions of the vineyards at TWWIAGE being ripped out and planted over to spuds. But fear not, banishing Vitis vinifera from the county of Napa is not the type of agricultural alteration the reformers in the article have in mind. Phew!
A group of local chefs, growers, residents and local government officials (including the Napa County Agricultural Commissioner, Dave Whitmer) have banded together to form a Local Food Advisory Council whose goal is to advance a more sustainable approach to the local food system.  I'm all for promoting local produce, for me it means fresher and tastier food on my plate.  But let's also continue to promote wine-grapes, those precious little berries that bring in a whole lot of revenue.

Carnitas and tequila?

Carnitas and tequila?  That was Vinomaker's proposition to me earlier in the week.  How could a Vinogirl refuse?
Well, I'm always up for carnitas, but the tequila?  I think I'll pass. Besides, there was plenty of great wine on offer at the 'Carnitas and Tequila' event at Mi Sueño Winery this afternoon.  Dead pig - with tortillas, frijoles, pico de gallo and spicy sauce - was available in abundance, as was a plethora of Cabernet Sauvignons, Syrahs, Pinot noirs and red blends.  Rolando Herrera is not only the proprietor of Mi Sueño, but he also is the winemaker for a butt-load (technical term) of other wineries, amongst them Baldacci, Coho, Longfellow and Spotted Owl.
What a pleasant way to spend a couple of hours on a sunny, January afternoon.  Olé!

Shroom for one more fungus?

The diversity of flora  in and around Vinoland never ceases to amaze me.  I don't think I could ever become bored with the aggregation of biota in my small part of the world.  Maybe, if I live to be 200, there will come a day when I could not care less about some new botanical specimen, or creature, that I sometimes, literally, stumble across.  But for now I am quite happy to revel in the wonder of it all; from that which is the tiniest Haircap Moss, to the colossus that is the Giant Sequoia.  Although, I must admit I know very little about trees.  I must rectify that.
My latest find is another fungus, which is growing under some sort of pine tree just outside the gates to a neighbourhood vineyard. When I first spotted these somewhat homely 'shrooms a few weeks ago, I initially thought they were dollops of deer poop.  However, I noticed that the dark, repellent looking mounds were coming up from beneath the pine litter, not deposited upon the surface. It was only when I got closer that I realised that the rather unprepossessing heaps were indeed plant life.  My eureka moment was confirmed by a total lack of interest on the Vinodogs behalf: the Vinodogs know and love their cervine excrement, in fact, my beloved dogs are experts in all kinds of scat.
Back in Vinoland, a quick search on the internet revealed the identity of the mystery mushroom, the Black Elfin Saddle.  Helvella lacunosa is the most common of all Helvella species in North America and is usually found, just where I found it, growing under Pinus trees.  And apparently, unlike the Common Roll-rim, the Black Elfin saddle is edible (when cooked).  Personally, having first identified this particular organism as animal fecal matter, I don't think I'm inclined to want to consume them - I'll stick with store bought, thank you very much.  Besides, even the Vinodogs turned their noses up at them, so they must taste like they look, ugly.

MLF.

Whilst I have been busy of late with activities that have frequently taken me away from Vinoland, Vinomaker has been hard at work down in Vinoland's cellar.  He has been filling his spare time with the fining and cold-stabilisation of the white wines he made last autumn and he has also been testing the red wines to see if they have completed malolactic fermentation (MLF).  MLF is over when all of the malic acid in the wine has been converted to lactic acid with the aid of malolactic bacteria.
The easiest way to assess whether or not MLF is complete is to perform a paper chromatography (PC) test.  PC is a relatively simple test which is done by placing tiny drops of wine, (and control samples of tartaric, malic and lactic acids), onto chromotography paper which is then placed in an eluting solution. The solute, which is rather smelly, wicks up through the paper separating out the acids from the wine samples by virtue of their differing molecular weights.  Each acid will move a characteristic distance up the chromatography paper thus making it fairly easy to identify the presence one of the aforementioned acids.
One could, of course, send samples of wine to a laboratory which specialises in these types of things for an enzymatic assay.  But where's the fun in that?  This is winemaking and having physical evidence of a small natural wonder, albeit in the form of a tie-dyed piece of blotting paper,  is one of the more entertaining aspects of turning grape juice into wine.

GRA 2.

It happens sometimes that Vinomaker will go down to the cellar, to fetch a bottle of wine for dinner, only to reappear with a bottle of something that neither of us can remember buying.  Or being given.  Or stealing.  Or having acquired in some other way.  Not a clue.  Last night's dinner wine was one such bottle.
The Traza, 2006, Graciano has a very informative label, so I'm not totally in the dark as to this wine's origin.  For instance, I know the name of the winemaker, David Sampedro.  I know it's 100% made from the Graciano grape and it's from the La Rioja region in Spain.  And that's just the front label: the back label is chock-a-block with info like, for example, this wine has seen "no oak".
In my Wines of the World class, I learned that the Graciano grape, of unknown origin (here we go again), only accounts for 1-2% of the total grape acreage in Rioja, where it usually blended with Tempranillo and Carignane.  Interestingly, Graciano has a slightly unusual growth cycle with a late bud break, so late ripening, and it's leaves turn red and drop off late in the season - which would have me thinking, virus!
Initially, the wine tasted a little metallic, but showed splendidly with food; nice colour extraction; nice tannin structure; nice fruity aroma; could have done with a bit more acid.  On the whole, rather enjoyable.  I'm left wondering if there is another bottle of this particular wine downstairs that I also don't know about.

A spot of gold.

Freezing temperatures are proving to be persistent; I'm enjoying the cold spell immensely, especially when walking the Vinodogs.
Not much happening with me.  Not at work, not in the vineyard - except some of my favourite weeds are starting to bloom.  Field marigolds have been blooming up in Oakville for over two weeks and I have enjoyed spotting them in various vineyards on my drive to, and from, TWWIAGE.  Here in Coombsville, 15 miles to the south, it is much cooler and these sunny little flowers are just thinking about making an appearance.  Infact, this is the one, solitary bloom thus far in Vinoland.  C'mon little Calendula.

White out.

It is white with frost this morning.  The temperature is down to a rather chilly 27° F and everywhere looks so pretty.  I love it.  However, the past two mornings the Napa Valley experienced very heavy fog.  Not the marine fog (advection fog) that the nearby Pacific Ocean bestows upon the Napa Valley in the summer months, thus ensuring that Vitis vinifera thrives here, but radiation fog; damp, dense and with rather poor visibility.  Or 'proper' fog as I call it when speaking with my family about the vagaries of Bay Area weather to better differentiate it from the marine layer. I love foggy mornings too.  Morning weather like today's evokes childhood memories of walking to school cloaked in a thick fog - alone, but surrounded in the gloom by other neighbourhood kids heading in the same direction as me.  I really looked forward to those rare mornings.  Yes, rare.  Contrary to most American's beliefs, the English do not live in a constant pea soup.  Now, instead of school children appearing from out of the murk, it is the apparitions of leafless trees, skeletal vines and the yellow hint of the burgeoning mustard crop that loom in the near, but hidden, distance.  And I'm not walking to St. Augustines anymore, I am driving to TWWIAGE.

First Bubbly of 2013.

I'm having a bit of a slow beginning to 2013 (except for work, housework, cooking etc., that never slows down), so forgive my lack of posts.  Haven't been out in the vineyard and I've barely drank any wine.  And the only bubbly I have had so far this year was a bar of Cadbury's Bubbly which arrived in a care-package, just before Christmas, from Blighty.  Notice I wrote was:  like 2012 it's history.  Very nice it was.

Spurred on for 2013.

The fair weather continues, so this afternoon I was able to take my traditional New Year's Day walk through Vinoland's vines.  My little promenade, with the Vinodogs in tow, allowed me to make a quick assessment of what I need to do, coming up here shortly, pruning-wise.  This time last year I was hoping that 2012 would be a better growing season than 2011, and it was.  In fact, it couldn't have been any better if it'd tried, so I'm hoping for more of the same in 2013.  Greedy? Absolutely.
As Vinoland's Cabernet Sauvignon vines mature my job becomes simpler.  Of course, it has taken me several years of pruning to convince the young vines' canes and spurs to go exactly where I'd like them to go. And now, for the most part, each vine is beginning to exhibit the ideal model, or at least how the ideal vine exists in this pruners mind.  Thanks little buddies.
A happy, healthy and fruit of the vine filled New Year to everyone.

Wishing you a bubbly New Year!

Although I advocate the consumption of Champagne and sparkling wine at any old time, there is no denying that imbibing in a glass, or three, of something bubbly on a special occasion heightens the enjoyment of that particular festivity.  So as I embark on my annual New Year's Eve bubbly tasting, I want to raise my glass and wish you all a happy and safe New Year and the continued enjoyment of your favourite wines, the nectar of the vine, all the way through 2013.  Cheers!

No recipe for living.

The past two days have been really nice weather-wise, especially today, with temperatures in the mid 50s and lots of pleasant, albeit wintry, sunshine.  I have spent as much time as possible outdoors with the Vinodogs, performing miscellaneous garden chores, e.g. pruning Vinoland's rose bushes - all seven of them. Northern California experienced a rather moist autumn which has resulted in abundant weed activity and lots, and lots, of mushrooms.  I think this year's fungi goings-on are the most I have ever seen.  I like to admire all the different types of mushrooms with their different forms, the way they age, the fairy rings they create, but that's it.  I am content with the entertainment garnered merely by observing their fun-guy life cycle.
Each and every mushroom season the Bay Area news outlets report of at least one fatality from somebody eating poisonous mushrooms, making it necessary to tack on a reminder to mushroom foragers about the dangers of consuming unidentified, or, more often than not, misidentified 'shrooms.  When these to-be-avoided woodland fungi often come with names like Poison Pie, Sickener and Deadly Conocybe, the average person could probably assume that there is a need for some caution when perhaps considering whipping these things up into an omelette.  I could be being a tad cynical when I say that maybe it's just Darwinism at work - except that this year, a caregiver at an old people's home, near Sacramento, killed four residents when she served them up Death Angel mushroom soup.  Like some modern day Typhoid Mary, the caregiver has been banned from working with and preparing food for the elderly ever again. Good call.
The past couple of months I have spotted many a mushroom popping up all over Vinoland, including the varieties Meadow Mushroom, Artist's Fungus and Sulphur Shelf.   However, the majority of the mushrooms in Vinoland seem to be of one species, Paxillus involutus, the Common Roll-rim which, yes, can be fatal if ingested - otherwise they merely destroy red blood cells and cause renal failure, that's all.  The Paxillius are rather large, fleshy mushrooms and it isn't too hard to imagine them chopped and tossed into a stir-fry and paired with a nice Nebbiolo.  I, for one, am not looking to make a little mushroom concoction my last supper. I'll just admire them from afar.

Happy Christmas: 2012.

Happy Christmas from all the denizens of Vinoland.
I hope everybody's day is filled with family, friends, food and good wine.

A treat for St. Nick.

No milk for Father Christmas this year.  Tonight when I go to bed, I will be leaving out a bottle of Anchor Brewing Company's Christmas Ale and a plate of freshly baked mince pies for the jolly old elf.  The 2012 edition of Anchor's Christmas Ale, with it's Araucaria heterophylla adorned label, was really quite hard to find this year, but I still don't mind sparing one bottle for my favourite, red-suited visitor.
Now, I just have to figure out how to keep V2 away from the mince pies.

Still here...

...and still drinking bubbly.  Let's get this party started!
I'm ready for Christmas.  I just have a few more things to wrap and my mince pies to bake.  But basically I don't have to do anything else except enjoy myself, starting right now with a glass of something pink and bubbly (it's the only civilised thing to do whilst tossing a green salad). And whereas some folks scorn the use of flute, or tulip, shaped glasses for any sparkling wine, I happen to love this particular flûte à Champagne with it's flared rim.  No doubt there are naysayers who would like to point out to me that I am missing out on  lots of wonderful aromas, but the glass is so delicate and fine it really does feel like I am drinking the stars! Besides, it's not like it's going to be in the glass for very long now, is it? Nope.

Red sky at night...

...red sky in the morning, Mayans warning?
On this the winter solstice, I was pleased to see that dawn in Vinoland was a rather spectacular affair.  A camera lens does not do it justice.  The ensuing rainy morning did not deter me from heading north, out of Napa, to go and do some sparkling wine shopping.  Joined by quite a few of my co-workers (and with a quick tasting thrown in), quite a bit of the bubbly stuff exited chosen winery - a 50% discount will bring people out en masse.
Afterwards, whilst running some errands I learned that I had scored the highest in my Wines of the World final - a whopping 98%, whoo hoo!  That, along with a mixed case of Mumm Napa Valley's finest bubbly, made Vinogirl one very chuffed vine-nerd. It was a good day.
Now, if the Mayan's are to be believed, I really should drink all 12 bottles before midnight.  Or maybe I'll save some for Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, Boxing Day...

The end of Wines of the World is nigh.

Tonight my Wines of the World class came to it's conclusion (on the eve of the end of the world), as ordained by Dr. Krebs in his class syllabus.  The Mayans (nice folks, once) may have other ideas for tomorrow, but tonight I had a final to take.  The written portion of the exam, I knew, was going to be fairly routine, but the blind tasting component was the cause of a little consternation for me.  Six, brown-bagged, anonymous wines loomed large on a desk in the corner of the classroom...argh!
Unlike the results of the written exam, my classmates and I were given the identity of the mystery wines when we had finished taking the final. Unfortunately, I only managed to identify 4 out of the 6 wines.  The Riesling, Gewürtztraminer, Pinot noir and Sherry were really quite easy to identify.  A light, citrusy wine I identified as an Albariño was in fact a Facelli Winery, 2011, Washington State, Fumé blanc - oops!  And a nondescript, thin to medium bodied, vinous red wine which I identified as a Merlot turned out to be a Red Bicyclette, 2005, Syrah - damn French! On the whole I think I did alright, as I overheard some of my classmates bemoaning the fact that they only scored 2 or 3 out of the six - and they're budding, young winemakers.
Wines of the World, what a terrific class.  It's been a great semester, I learned a lot and I had a lot of fun to boot.  But then again, I have had fun in every class I have taken that was given by Dr. Krebs...he even managed to make Vineyard Soils entertaining!
Thanks Dr. Krebs.

I woof Christmas!

Father Christmas, that's Santa to my colonial cousins, is not the only person who sports a red kit!
Merry Christmas from Vinodog 1.