Corks Crew September '12 - Pinot Piñata Party

At the first wine party, we decided that subsequent Corks Crew themes should be chosen at the end of each event, when we are especially imbibed. The August Corks Crew theme: "Spherical Spearable Bubbly Brunch" very well highlights our ability to come up with confusing and fantastic themes. That theme was so fantastic, that I forgot to take pictures or notes. The synopsis of that event - bubbly wines taste good, and so does breakfast food. Domaine Chandon Brut Classic was the favorite wine of the afternoon.
At the end of that event, we came up with the theme for September: "Pinot Piñata Party." Simple theme, bring a red Pinot, and take a whack at the piñata. This time around we were a bit more wine-focused. Everyone sat inside with the AC (too damn hot that day), drank each one together, discussed their thoughts, and rated the wines on a 100 point scale. Nine people participated in the ratings. Here are the results, in order of the most to least liked, with some of my tasting notes:

'10 Laetitia Estate Pinot Noir - avg. score - 90.6 (high 98, low 85)
Good balance and variety, not amazing but very solid.
'09 Cold Heaven "Nevertell" Pinot Noir - 88.8 (high 91, low 80)
Bright and fun, shifting flavor intensities, sweet and friendly. 
'08 Ampelos "Rho" Pinot Noir - 86.6 (high 93, low 82)
 Exuberant, a bit silly/rowdy, quality notes, monochromatic finish.
'11 Hahn "Nicky Hahn" Pinot Noir - 85.9 (high 96, low 75)
Silky with kick, not that well-built, moderate quality.
'10 Castle Rock Pinot Noir - Mendocino County - 85.7 (high 89, low 80)
Big and upfront, lots of nice acid kick.
'10 Cave Des Onze Communes Pinot Noir Valle d'Aoste - 84.4 (high 91, low 78)
Crazy petrol nose, big sweetness tempered by earth and mush, watery back.
'07 Attilio Ghisolfi Langhe Pinay - 81.6 (high 88, low 70)
Mature darkness, fun tartness, moderate lengthy finish, a bit bland.

Some very interesting takeaways. Big ups to Laetitia - that was a solid wine. I'm familiar with Cold Heaven, but only knew about their viogniers - which are very good. A large number of the wines were from California Laetitia, Cold Heaven and Ampelos are all from the Santa Barbara area, Castle Rock from Mendocino, and Hahn is a California designate. With all those young fruity wines, the two Italian wines were rather panned by the tasters - but it would be curious to see what people would think if those wines stood on their own. It was a hell of a party, people dug the opportunity to do side-by-side comparisons.
Next month's theme: Wine and Ceviche Pairing

September '12 Local Visit - D'Argenzio Winery

D'Argenzio is a Sonoma-based winery with a unique idea: since one brother lives up in Sonoma and makes wine, and the other brother lives in Los Angeles and has retail space, why not operate two tasting rooms? It's a pretty unique idea, and one that I think is pretty clever. LA's a big ass place, and there are tons of wine fans here, so why not create some brand loyalty from afar? After hearing good things from coworkers, a friend and I decided to check it out one evening.


D'Argenzio Winery ($10 tasting, wines $30-$36)
'06 "Old Vine Cherry Block" Pinot Noir, '06 Pinot Noir, '08 Super Tuscan (Sangiovese/Cabernet Sauvignon/Petit Sirah), '10 Barbera, '09 Zinfandel, '06 Petit Sirah
All of the wines are sourced from Sonoma vineyards, some in the Russian River Valley, some in Dry Creek. Right out of the gate, I was impressed by the Old Vine Cherry Block Pinot Noir. Bright nose, mature color, subtle kick. The second Pinot did not perform as well, sweet - which was a less desirable characteristic that showed up to some degree in all of the wines. The Super Tuscan was a easy sipper with a variety of flavors, though I felt it was too chewy for its profile. They were kind enough to let us try the new Barbera, which was created by the son of the LA-based owner. We dug it - it was young and promising. I was fond of the Zinfandel - it was also sweet, but well balanced, some complexity, and not overpowering. The Petit Sirah was overtly sweet, and was bland on the back end.
It's a neat space, lots of old-style wood, with lots of attention to the decor. There are music nights frequently, thought while we were there, we were the only visitors. We were attended to by Anabel, the Tasting Room Associate, and Richard, the brother that lives in LA and decided to open up the tasting room. They were excited to share wine and talk about where to get great food in LA.
It's a nice opportunity to participate in the tasting room experience in town and not have to hoof it two or more hours away. The staff is knowledgeable, and the space is well maintained. I wasn't blown away by the wine, but a few - the Cherry Block Pinot and the Zinfandel - were quite nice. I'd recommend the place for folks looking for a nearby experience, but I wouldn't seek out their wine while up in Sonoma.
Experience B- / Wines: C+

August '12 Santa Barbara Trip - Slightly Off the Beaten Path

We headed up for the Ampelos member party. We've been members for a few years now, and they know how to put on an excellent party. Great food, good atmosphere at their vineyard, and of course, lots of wine. In addition to the party, I was interested in checking out a few wineries that we hadn't been to yet. Brewer - Clifton and Transcendence are two wineries that I've heard great things about, but every time that I was in Lompoc, I was at the Wine Ghetto, and didn't feel like heading a few blocks over to their tasting rooms. But we were able to swing over their this time. Also, we decided to stop in Santa Barbara on our way home for dinner, and were able to check out Au Bon Climat finally.

Brewer - Clifton (wines $30-$56)
'10 Chardonnay, '10 Chardonnay - Sea Smoke, '09 Chardonnay - Gnesa, '10 Pinot Noir, '10 Pinot Noir - Machado, '10 Pinot Noir - Cargasacchi, '10 Pinot Noir - Mount Carmel
Brewer - Clifton is a partnership between Greg Brewer, who is the winemaker at Melville, and Steve Clifton, who owns and runs Palmina. We've visited both of those wineries in the past and really enjoyed them, so we figured that their partnership label should be good as well. The tasting room is sleek and artful, though a bit chilly because it's connected to their storage area. They pour two different varietals of wine - Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Each type had a Sta. Rita Hills bottle (grapes came from a handful of vineyards), and then a few vineyard specific bottles. The wines were all excellent, but pricey. I'd say that the Gnesa Chardonnay is the best Chardonnay that I've had in the Central Coast, but at $52, that's a steep cost for one of my least favorite wine types. In their defense, my aversion to Chards is the "fat, buttery, caramel" style, since Brewer - Clifton only uses neutral oak barrels, the wines aren't sloppy bastards. They were quite tasty in fact. We definitely enjoyed the Pinots as well - but were once again cowed by the price tags. We were completely enamoured with the Cargasacchi Pinot. It was intricate and floral. As young as the Pinots were, they tasted excellent already. Cool place, quality wines, moderately high prices.
Experience: B / Wines: B+

Transcendence Wines (wines $16-$45)
'11 Chardonnay - Zotovich, '09 Pinot Noir - Babcock, '09 "Parea" (Grenache/Syrah) - Larner, '09 Syrah, Kenneth Crawford '07 Syrah
Transcendence is the philanthropically-minded winery from Joey Gummere, formerly of Kenneth Crawford Winery. Each year, Transcendence designates one of their wines as a fundraiser and donates 100% of the sales of that wine to a chosen non-profit. Being a career non-profiteer, I totally dig this model. The tasting room conveys a yoga/eastern thinking vibe - peaceful and welcoming. Our host - Steve - was an awesome dude. He was very mellow, friendly and excited to share wine. He was even kind enough to have us sample some young Grenache from a barrel that was aging in the warehouse connected to the tasting room. The wines themselves varied from pretty good to very good for me. The Chard and Pinot were solid, and I definitely enjoyed the two Syrahs (especially considering the $16 and $28 price points). The Grenache/Syrah blend ("Parea") was not for me - though everyone else in my group loved it - so I'm not sure what happened there.
Experience: A- / Wines: B

Au Bon Climat Winery (wines $30-$45)
'08 Chardonnay, '04 "Hildegard" (Pinot Gris/Pinot Blanc/Aligote), '09 "Knox Alexander" Pinot Noir, '07 Pinot Noir - Nielson, '01 "Reservatum" (Sangiovese/Cabernet Franc/Merlot), '06 Petit Verdot - Bien Nacido
Jim Clendenen and his winery, Au Bon Climat, are an early institution to the Santa Barbara region. Jim's been involved in the wine industry since 1978, and created Au Bon Climat in 1982. Since then he's racked up numerous international awards and acclaim. The tasting room is in the busy State Street shopping area of Santa Barbara. We visited on a hot Sunday afternoon, and there was a weird vibe in the place. There were a lot of folks there, and I think that the staff were interested in bringing an end to the weekend. The place was very well decorated - hip and funky. I did not enjoy the wines very much. The whites tasted over-oaked to me, the reds were more preferable - especially the Pinots.
Experience: C / Wines: C+

There were interesting little hitches to this trip: such as getting bumped from our hotel and one of our friends having bronchitis on the trip, bad traffic, but that only seemed to highlight the brightness of the rest of it. Au Bon Climat was not as good as I imagined that it would be, but it was a gorgeous weekend and we really enjoyed Brewer - Clifton and Transcendence. It's my plan to continue to check out wineries that we haven't been to in the area, and I'm a bit afraid that we're going to have less quality experiences. Though this trip might be emblematic of future experiences - pretty darn good more often than not.

Corks Crew July '12 - BBQ Wines

A true pleasure of becoming a wine geek is being able to share and compare wine with friends. Over the past two years, we've come to realize that a handful of our close friends are also stoked on wine. It's a great pleasure to explore the world of wine with our friends, so we decided that it would be fun to create a monthly wine club to get together to chat about wine.
We had our first wine get together, with the theme of "Summer BBQ Wines."


The lineup of wines was pretty mixed, with a tendency toward Central Coast wines.
10 Star Lane Sauvignon Blanc - Santa Barbara
10 Rideau Roussanne - Santa Barbara
09 Tablas Creek Roussanne - Paso Robles
07 Ampelos Grenache - Santa Barbara
08 Domaine de la Pertruisane Le Naine Violet (Grenache) - Languedoc
09 Masút Pinot Noir - Mendocino
09 Tenlsey Syrah - Santa Barbara
09 Inama Carménere Piu - Veneto

N.V. Caprari Lambrusco - Emelia-Romagna 
N.V. Rosa Regale Brachetto d'Acqui - Piedmont

The big whiff of the night was the Grenache. It was way too sticky and sweet. A bad mix of overt flavors and high heat. 

The Tablas Creek Roussanne was very well received. It's an awesome wine - subtle, well built, and refreshing. 

We all enjoyed the Masút Pinot Noir - earthy, and nicely balanced.

The standout of the group was the Caprari Lambrusco. That was a crazy tasty wine. Just the right amount of sweetness, an interesting hint of sage. We were all huge fans. 

Drinking wine with friends is a great way to spend an evening. Our first venture into the "Corks Crew Wine Club" was quite a success. People were able to share good wine, eat good food, and enjoy each other's company. It was fun to discuss what qualities we found in the wines, and what we really enjoyed. We had such a great time, we even planned our next wine club theme - perhaps somewhat inspired by our inebriated state: "Spherical Spear-able Bubbly Brunch." It'll be fun to see what sparkling wines folks will try to pair with a Sunday brunch. 

July '12 Martian Ranch & Vineyard Tasting at Domaine LA

Domaine LA is a wine store in Hollywood, that I've been wanting to visit. I had heard good things, and based on their blog and tweets, they seemed funky and smart, with a preference for small and sustainable wines. With Domaine hosting Martian Ranch - a winery I've been interested in, it seemed like a good time to swing by.

Martian Ranch & Vineyard ($10 tasting, wines $18-$22)
 '11 "Uforic" Albariño, '11 "Mother Ship" Grenache Blanc, '11 "Down to Earth" Grenache Rosé, '11 "Ground Control" Grenache Noir, '11 "G" Mourvédre
Martian Ranch is a new winery that's based in Los Alamos, slightly north of the Los Olivos/Buellton/Lompoc area. They're opening up their winery for tastings very soon. The very popular Full of Life Flatbread bakery and restaurant is also in Los Alamos, so that would be a solid plan to visit Martian for a tasting and then have dinner at Full of Life.
There's definitely a unique vibe to Martian Ranch. The winemaker and "only employee" Michael Roth poured the wines - and was down to share lots about the choices that he made when creating the wines. All of the wines that were poured were interesting, inventive, well constructed and fun. All of the wines that we tried were well-priced, especially considering the high quality.
The Albariño was my favorite of the day. It was bright and crisp, with long lasting acidity and a late showing of minerality. The Grenache Blanc was a kick to drink - initially it seemed very serious, but after a few sips its bright fruit flavors and vegetal notes broke through. It had a low acid back-end, which balanced the wine nicely. The Rosé was a study of contrasts. It was very light colored - with a beautiful salmon tint. The wine had a floral nose. It was very light, like a Sauvignon Blanc - but featured Grenache Noir qualities, such as strawberries and vegetal notes midway. A strange and neat drink. The Grenache was also a unique wine - perhaps the most unique of the group. Michael Roth talked about how it went through carbonic fermentation, so it's ready to drink much earlier than your typical Grenache. Right off the bat the wine was very herby on the nose and early taste, then gave way to more serious and dark fruit flavors. There was a good tannic grip, but also remained light. The Mourvédre also show quite a bit of uniqueness. Also young, it displayed a vegetal flavor, but a very interesting hint of walnut showed through. A neat feature of the Mourvédre is that it did not have any sulfates added, the intention is to drink it young. The reds were so interesting, I can't say that I loved them as a go to wines, but they were both flavorful and well balanced. 
I dig living in LA. On a beautiful Sunday afternoon, I can go to a cool wine shop like Domaine LA and taste the inventive wines of Martian Ranch and talk to the to the winemaker. Life sure don't suck.
Experience: B+ / Wines: B+

June '12 East Bay Pit Stop - Steven Kent/La Rochelle

Livermore is conveniently located when we drive up for family visits. After a long drive up I-5, swinging onto the 580 heading toward the East Bay, there's often a traffic slowdown that begins in Livermore. Many times prior I've thought: "there's wineries here, why not stop and take a short break?" This is the first time I've followed through on that idea. In reading wine blogs, I'd heard recommendations for Steven Kent Winery, so we decided to make that our inaugural stop.

La Rochelle Wine ($10 tasting, wines $24-$42)
'11 Santa Lucia Highlands Pinot Noir Rosé, '08 Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir, '08 Santa Lucia Highlands Pinot Noir, Pinot Noir - San Vicente Vineyard/Monterey
La Rochelle is a label within the Steven Kent Winery portfolio it focuses on Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, which are grown in cooler coastal climates, not in Livermore where the Steven Kent Winery is. Steven Kent Mirassou is related to the Mirassou wine empire that spans six generations. 
The grounds at the Steven Kent winery back right up to a vineyard, and the place has a Tuscan villa feel. When we visited, there was a wine bar set up on the front patio. The very friendly staff person at the patio bar explained our options:
a. Enjoy a choice of three tastings and keep the glass on the front patio.
b. Head to the Barrel Room and choose between a Steven Kent label tasting or a La Rochelle tasting for $10.
c. For $20 have a sit down reserve tasting of either Cabernets or Pinots, paired with cheese.
We chose the Barrel Room option, and decided that we'd go with the La Rochelle tasting. The Barrel Room, is set up like a stand up restaurant. We waited to be greeted by a host. After discussing which tasting we wanted, we were taken to our table-barrel. It's a dimly lit and quiet place. We were attended to by an odd woman, who would pour each glass of wine, state the seemly scripted description of the wine, stand staring at us for an uncomfortable moment, then wander off inexplicably. Aside from the woman on the patio, all of the staff that we spoke with were bland and strange. 
Since we had a flight of four Pinots, it was easy to draw commonalities between the wines. All were slight and calm, but had a high acid kick. These characteristics were nice, but since there was a lack of tannen kick, the profile was not well connected, and the wines all ran a bit hot - some more than others. The fruit tones weren't well distinguished, and tasted clumped together. The Sonoma Coast was the best of the lot. Prices were high for the amount of enjoyment that I got from the wines. 
Experience B- / Wines C+

June '12 Santa Barbara County Trip - Double Down

We've now been to the Santa Barbara Wine Country so many times that we've probably been to a majority of the wineries - and we have found several places that we really enjoy to visit. This time around we brought good friends who are also wine geeks, but hadn't been to the area, so we really wanted to show them some of our favorite places. So we figured we'd take them to the Wine Ghetto, and a couple of other other highlights in the area as well as check out a few places we hadn't been to before.

Saturday (Highway 246, Lompoc Wine Ghetto)

Dierberg & Star Lane Vineyards (wines $22-$80)
Star Lane '10 Sauvignon Blanc, Dierberg '09 Chardonnay, Dierberg '08 Pinot Noir, Dierberg '08 "Drum Canyon" Pinot Noir, Star Lane '07 Estate (Cab blend), Star Lane '05 Cabernet Sauvignon, Star Lane '06 "Astral" (Bordeaux blend)
By now we are very familiar with Dierberg. It's a solid place to visit - the setting is beautiful and the Dierbergs are talented winemakers. On our previous visit we purchased four bottles of the '09 Sauvignon Blanc because we liked it so much. We had hoped the would still have some in stock, but unfortunately had run out. The '10 Sauv that we tried on this visit was good, but did not hold a candle to its predecessor. Our favorite this time around was the Drum Canyon Pinot Noir - which I believe is their new vineyard right next to the winery.
Experience B / Wines B+

Melville Vineyards & Winery ($10 tasting, wines $26-$52)
'09 Chardonnay, '11 Chardonnay - Clone 76 Inox, '10 Pinot Noir, '10 Pinot Noir - "Carrie's", '10 "Verna's" Syrah
We'd been to Melville once - on our very first wine tasting trip. On that visit, we really enjoyed Melville, but we were curious if we'd dig it the same as the first time, or if as our wine intake increased - thereby making us more discriminating tasters - we'd find that Melville wasn't as great as we had previously though. Lo and behold Melville is still awesome, perhaps even more so that we previously thought. The grounds are great, with an Italian villa style structure, looking out onto the vineyard. We'd brought a picnic lunch, and one of the staff offered to have us sit on the patio, enjoy our lunch, and he'd bring our tasting out to us - quite the solid dude. Totally dug the wines. Prices weren't outlandish, and the baseline Chard and the Syrah were impressive. The wines that are being sold are younger that wines sold elsewhere in the area as far as I could tell - Melville has confidence in the taste of their wines right away and also state that they will age well. Who am I to doubt their recommendation? Their stuff is on point.
Experience B+ / Wines B+

Arcadian Winery ($15 tasting, wines $30-$65)
'06 Chardonnay - Sleepy Hollow, '07 Pinot Noir - Fiddlestix, '06 "Jill's Cuveé Pinot Noir, '06 Syrah - Westerly/Santa Ynez Valley, '06 Syrah - Stolpman, '04 Pinot Noir - Pisoni, '06 Syrah - Purisima
Arcadian is one of the newest additions to the Wine Ghetto, though owner and winemaker Joseph Davis has been creating wine under the Arcadian label since 1996. The wines come from the Santa Lucia Highlands up in Monterey County, as well as in a few different places in Santa Barbara County.  Each bottle that we tried were single vineyard designates. The woman at the tasting room was super stoked on the Arcadian wine, and her abundant enthusiasm was worrisome and infectious at the same time. The wines are all well built - each having unique characteristics but also fitting within a restrained paradigm. We were able to taste a few older vintages - the '04 Pinot was fan-tas-tic. Arcadian's median prices are a bit steep for me, but they are definitely a good addition to the Ghetto.
Experience B / Wines B+

Samsara Wine Company ($10 tasting, wines $22-$46)
'11 Grenache Rosé - Windmill Ranch, '10 Pinot Noir, '09 Pinot Noir - Turner, '09 Pinot Noir - Kessler-Haak, Syrah - Verna's
Our first and only visit to Samsara was over a year ago, and we enjoyed it that first time - especially the Rosé. This second time around, we were really impressed with all of their work. Samsara is a small production winery, putting out less than 1000 cases a year. Chad Melville, the owner, is very interested in natural production, relying upon native yeasts, and does not fine or filter the wine. The dude in the tasting room - Lee - is a super fun cat to chat with. He's very mellow, but also very passionate about wine. He's happy to discuss Samsara and Santa Barbara wine in-depth. The wines are playful, though not obnoxious. All were good, though we most enjoyed the Pinot from Kessler-Haak.
Experience B+ / Wines B+

Jalama Wines ($10 tasting, wines $26-$40)
'09 "Giallo" (Pinot Gris), '08 Pinot Noir, '10 Grenache - La Presa, '10 Mourvedre, '08 Syrah - La Presa, '08 Syrah - Paradise Road
Last year, Jalama was the winery that we were seeking out that drew us to the Wine Ghetto. It's one of two wine labels that are operated by Marc Cargasacchi, the other being the brand new Joseph Blair. We had hoped to visit both during this trip, but Marc was not available that day to run the Joseph Blair room, because a tractor broke down or something. So we had a fun time visiting with Christy at Jalama and plan on visiting the other label in the future. As before, the Jalama wines were very good. The Mourvedre was very fun to drink, and the La Presa Syrah really knocked my socks off.
Experience B / Wines B+

Sunday (Alamo Pintado Rd., Los Olivos)

Rideau Vineyard (tour, wines $18-$35)
'10 Viognier, '10 "Siempre" Albariño, '09 "FDL" Grenache, '07 "'FDL' Chateau Duplantier" (Syrah/Grenache/Mourvedre), '10 Riesling
I'd heard good things about Rideau from a few friends, and had planned on going at some point. So when Rideau ran a deal on Travelzoo I grabbed it. The deal was for two people to go on a tour, have a tasting and wine lesson, a cheese pairing, and a bottle of wine to boot. Our guide for the tour was the fantastic Shay. He took great pleasure in telling the history of Rideau, showing the vineyard and the winemaking area. During the pairing, he shared a lot of knowledge about wine appreciation and patiently answered everyone's questions. The force behind Rideau is Iris Rideau, who has had a long and successful career in the financial sector. She appreciated the Santa Ynez area, and was interested in restoring the old adobe bunkhouse that is now the winery. Shay toured us around the grounds, spending a lot of time discussing grape-growing, and a bit about the winemaking process. Rideau focuses largely on Rhone varietals. Their wines are well built - tasty and restrained - but lack excitement. Dug the Grenche most - did not enjoy the Riesling. Most of the wines were affordably priced. The grounds are quite nice, there is a large shaded lawn in the back with tons on seating for picnics. I'd recommend a visit, especially if you can get Shay to be your guide.
Experience A- / Wines B

Stolpman Vineyards ($10 tasting, wines $19-$68)
'10 Viognier, '09 "L'Avoin" (Roussanne), '10 Grenache, '10 "La Coppa" Sangiovese, '08 Sangiovese, '10 Syrah, '10 "High Density Hilltops" Syrah, '10 "Angeli" Syrah
The previous two times that we visited Stolpman, we've really enjoyed ourselves - somehow this time was even better. It was a lazy Sunday afternoon, and when we walked inside, an employee named Tom asked if we'd prefer to enjoy our tasting on the front patio. It was a beautiful day, and being able to enjoy Stolpman wine while watching folks passing by on the street was a fantastic way to spend the afternoon. Tom was a tremendous host, he was excited to discuss the wines and was able to answer my numerous in depth. I wasn't a huge fan on the whites, they were good wines, but they didn't tickle my fancy. However, the reds were all a hit with me. The Grenache was a really interesting wine - it was wispy slight, but still had a firm structure. The "Angeli" Syrah was awesome - Angeli is Stolpman's reserve wine. What's neat about their wines is that the wines that we were being served were young and could use some aging, but were good to drink right away.
Experience A / Wines A-

This trip reaffirmed our enthusiasm for the Santa Barbara region and likely made converts out of our first-time visiting friends. On each trip we take to the area, there is at least one or two places that really do a fantastic job of ensuring that we have a great time. The staff at the different wineries are often so friendly and passionate about the wine that it's impossible to not get caught up in the excitement. This time around, every place that we went to we had great conversations with winery staff - Lee at Samsara, Shay at Rideau, and Tom at Stolpman were standouts. Between the excellent people and the delicious wine, how doesn't one become a wine geek?