Napa and Sonoma trip: Hanzell Vineyards

Date: Wed, Mar 3, 2010 Wine Tasting

In 1948, James D. Zellerbach, a former US Ambassador to Italy, acquired 200 acres on the Mayacamas slopes above the town of Sonoma and founded Hanzell Vineyards, Hanzell as a contraction of Mrs. Hana Zellerbach's name. Five years later, the Zellerbachs planted 6 acres of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir — now the oldest Pinot Noir and Chardonnay vineyard in the new world — and in 1957, they created their first vintage.

We met with Estate Educator Ben Sessions at the historic winery building that the Zellerbachs built in 1956 and modeled after the 12th century press house at Clos de Vougeot in Burgundy. Ben Sessions is the son of Bob Sessions, who was winemaker and general manager of Hanzell Vineyards from the 1973 harvest until his retirement in 2001. After a tour of the original Zellerbach vineyard and after admiring the wonderful view overlooking the Sonoma Valley, we visited the old winemaking facility in the historic winery and finally sat with winemaker Michael McNeill to taste a sample of the Hanzell Vineyards production.

The historic winery building


Hanzell's former winemaking facility, now a tasting room


The original Zellerbach vineyard at Hanzell Vineyards
There were two glasses of Estate Chardonnay from the 2006 and 2007 vintages and a glass of 2006 Estate Pinot Noir. The 2006 Hanzell Vineyards Chardonnay had a bright golden color and a nose of ripe pear and spiced apple aromas. On the palate, it was boldly creamy and nutty with a ripe, fruity finish. In comparison, the 2007 Hanzell Vineyards Chardonnay was young and big but not as polished and slightly more unbalanced.

The 2006 Hanzell Vineyards Pinot Noir had a medium garnet color and a sweet black cherry nose. The palate was full-bodied, rather oaky with tannins and an earthy finish. More powerful than elegant, it was not my prefered style of Pinot Noir, but maybe the wine was simply too young.

After admiring one more time the sunset over Sonoma Valley, we were driven to one of the guest houses hidden in the vineyard where we would spend the night, a well deserved rest as we had more scheduled visits the day after.

Related post:
• Napa and Sonoma trip: visit of Quintessa

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Napa and Sonoma trip: visit of Quintessa

Date: Fri, Feb 26, 2010 Wine Tasting

Time flies so fast that I haven't had the time to blog about a trip to Napa and Sonoma that I did before the holidays. The trip was particularly interesting as it was organized by a friend that works in the restaurant business. Thanks to him, we enjoyed a VIP treatment at the wineries and even stayed overnight as guests at one of them.

Our first meeting was at Quintessa on Silverado Trail in St. Helena. It's a beautiful 280 acre property that includes a valley, a lake, a river, five hills, four microclimates and numerous soil types. 170 acres of vines are planted to the classic Bordeaux grape varieties: Cabernet Sauvignon (129 acres), Merlot (26 acres), Cabernet Franc (7 acres), Petit Verdot (4 acres), and Carmenere (4 acres). Thanks to the diversity of the microclimates and soil types, 40 different wines lots have been defined from 26 different vineyard blocks.

We were welcomed by Niesa Granger from the Quintessa Hospitality team, who had prepared for us some wine samples and documentation.

We first tasted two 2008 Vineyard Block Cabernet Sauvignon barrel samples. One was from the cool Bench block. The wine had a rather closed nose with lush, sweet berry flavors on the palate. The other one was from the Cruz del Sur block, a warm area without much water. The wine was very different with a more expressive nose and enticing minty and cocoa aromas.

We also tasted the 2005 and 2006 Quintessa. Quintessa is a meritage blend of multiple vineyard blocks. Fruit from each block is harvested, sorted, and fermented in either oak or stainless steel tanks. Then each block wine is aged separately for up to two years in French oak barrels. Finally, the components are brought together to create the final Quintessa blend.

The 2005 Quintessa had an fragrant nose full of minty and tobacco aromas. The palate was rich, full-bodied with sweet tannins and a peppery finish. The 2006 Quintessa looked more tight with toasty oak aromas and firm tannins, definitively too young to be drunk now but promising.

Tasting with Niesa Granger from the Quintessa Hospitality team

We ended our visit with a tour of the property. As we reached a scenic spot overlooking the lake, we stopped to have a sip of the winery's Illumination Sauvignon Blanc. The place was idyllic and it was quite unfortunate that we couldn't stay longer but we had to drive over the Mayacamas Mountains to the Sonoma side for our next appointment: Hanzell Vineyards.


View of the lake at Quintessa



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Tasting the Slovenian wines of Ivan Batič

Date: Tue, Feb 16, 2010 Wine Tasting

Last month, I was invited by Frank Dietrich of the Blue Danube Wine Company to a special tasting of Ivan Batič's wines at the newly opened restaurant Hibiscus in Oakland. Ivan Batič and his son Miha were present to talk about their wines and winemaking philosophy while we were sampling the restaurant's delicious Caribbean specialties.

The Batič winery is a 18 hectare estate located in the Vipava Valley, a narrow valley in the western part of Slovenia connecting the Friuli lowlands to central Slovenia. The valley is renowned for its quality wines, mostly white, as it enjoys a submediterranean to continental climate with dry and warm winds coming from the Adriatic sea. The valley grows a mix of indigenous, Italian, and international grapes.

For Ivan and Miha Batič, the best wines are made in the vineyard, not in the cellar. They pay the greatest attention to vineyard management and employ the same viticulture methods that were used hundred years ago. The vineyard is farmed organically, although it is not certified as such. Grapes are harvested manually and selectively, fermentation occurs with native yeasts, and wine is aged in Slovenian oak barrels, some of them older than one hundred years old.

White wine accounts for nearly three-quarters of the production. White grape varieties include the native Pinela, Zelen, Vitovska, and Rebula (known as Ribolla Gialla in the nearby Friuli) as well as Pinot Gris, Chardonnay, and Sauvignon Blanc. Red grape varieties include Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Cabernet Franc.

Opening the Batič wines


Ivan Batič


Miha Batič (left)

Here are my notes:

•2004 Batic Pinela: golden color, flowery nose with notes of pineapple, luscious and thick on the palate, rich aftertaste.

•2005 Batic Sauvignon Blanc Reserve: deep color, mineral nose, notes of citrus, some fullness on the palate and crisp acidity on the finish.

•2007 Batic Zaria: an amazing field blend of Pinela, Rebula, and Zelen. Orange color, mineral and herbal notes on the nose, dry, nutty on the palate, slightly oxidized character that reminded me of some of the white wines from the Jura.

•2005 Batic Rosso: a blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Cabernet Franc made only in the best years. Deep red color, forward nose with red berry aromas, full-bodied on the palate, tasty and well-balanced with some good acidity on the finish.

“You can open a bottle of Rosso Batič at any time, all you need is good company and time, as the wine keeps developing and growing in the glass,” recommends the winery website, “Should you choose to open a Rosso in the time of the old moon, a most special taste will evolve – the Rosso Batič taste.”

Related posts:
• The wines of Slovenia
• Wines of Germany and Eastern Europe class: Croatia, Slovenia and Romania

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For Beaujolais, a "Villages" is the way to go

Date: Tue, Feb 9, 2010 Wine Tasting

It is unfortunate that over the years, the wines of beaujolais have developed a negative reputation among consumers that tend to associate them with the sweet cotton candy and banana gum flavors of Beaujolais Nouveau. That's too bad because wines from the Villages appellation or one of the 10 Crus are definitively worth checking out.

Beaujolais Wine Region

Beaujolais is a large wine region located south of Burgundy, along the Saône River between the towns of Mâcon and Lyon. The Beaujolais AOC is the broadest appellation covering 60 villages, with nearly half of the crop being released just a few weeks after harvest and sold as Beaujolais Nouveau.

Beaujolais-Villages covers 39 villages located in northern Beaujolais. It is a more hilly region with soils containing more granite and schist. Due to better growing conditions, the Beaujolais-Villages wines have more complexity and depth.

The finest wines come from the 10 Crus of Beaujolais located in the foothills of the Beaujolais mountains. Seven of them (Saint-Amour, Juliénas, Chénas, Fleurie, Chiroubles, Morgon, Régnié) relate to actual villages. Côte de Brouilly is grown on the volcanic hillsides of Mont Brouilly and Brouilly is found in the flatter area around it. Moulin-à-Vent, a more serious wine with great aging potential, is named for the last remaining windmill in the Beaujolais.

Ninety-eight percent of the area is planted with Gamay, a grape with a thin skin and low in tannins. Gamay ripened two weeks earlier than Pinot Noir and is less difficult to cultivate. It produces a light wine with a bright and fruity style.

I recently tasted the 2008 Beaujolais-Villages Louis Jadot that was sent to me by Kobrand Corporation. Maison Louis Jadot is the largest Negociant in Beaujolais that purchases grapes instead of juice or must in order to keep full control over winemaking decisions. Half of the wine is matured in oak barrels and the other half in stainless steel. The final cuvée contains up to 40% of declassified wines from the various crus of Beaujolais.

The wine had a bright color with red cherry aromas on the nose. On the palate, it was light-bodied and juicy leaving a clean and fresh aftertaste. Try it with a Frisée aux Lardons Salad, one of the classic Bistro specialties from Lyon.

Now for your February 14th dinner, why not share a bottle of Saint-Amour with your Valentine?

Related post:
• Visiting Fleurie in Beaujolais

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Wine and Neuroscience

Date: Wed, Feb 3, 2010 Wine Tasting

In his book Proust Was A Neuroscientist, journalist and author Jonah Lehrer has a whole chapter explaining the neuroscience behind our sense of smell and taste. He describes how Escoffier invented the veal stock, therefore the secret of deliciousness: the denatured protein from the bones, the burned bit of meat in the bottom of the pan are full of L-glutamate, which is now known as umami. Additionally, we enjoy food that smells good. According to Neuroscientists, up to 90 percent of what we perceive as taste is actually smell.

But our sense of taste and smell, says Lehrer, is greatly influenced by subjectivity. “Impressions are always incomplete and require a dash of subjectivity to render them whole. When we bind or parse our sensations, what we are really doing is making judgments about what we think we are sensing. This unconsious act of interpretation is largely driven by contextual clues.”

That's because the olfactory bulb is flooded with information from higher brain functions, like the memories of past experiences.

To illustrate this point, Lehrer describes a couple of mischievous experiments conducted by Frédéric Brochet, a cognitive psychologist at the University of Bordeaux. In the first test, 57 wine experts tasted a white wine and a red wine and were asked to describe them. Adjectives like "fresh, dry, honeyed, lively" were used for the white wine, whereas the red wine was found "intense, spicy, supple, deep." In reality, the two wines were identical, the red one was just dyed red.

In the other experiment, tasters were given two wines in two different bottles, one labeled as a cheap table wine, the other labeled as a Bordeaux Grand Cru. The Grand Cru was characterized as "woody, complex, and round" and the cheap wine as "short, light, and faulty". Here again, the two wines were the exact same mid-range Bordeaux.

“What these experiments illuminate” says Lehrer, “is the omnipresence of subjectivity. Our human brain has been designed to believe itself, wired so that prejudices feel like facts, opinions are indistinguishable from the actual sensation. If we think a wine is cheap, it will taste cheap.”

“Without our subjectivity we could never decipher our sensations, ” concludes Lehrer, “ and without our sensations we would have nothing about which to be subjective. Before you can taste the wine you have to judge it.”

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Blind Tasting of Bordeaux Right Bank wines

Date: Wed, Jan 27, 2010 Wine Tasting

Before the holidays, our wine tasting group gathered for a blind tasting of Bordeaux wines from the Right Bank.

The Right Bank is a large wine region that lies on the right side of the Dordogne river while facing the river downstream. It is made of 10 different appellations, including the prestigious appellations of Pomerol and Saint-Émilion. On the other hand, what we call the Left Bank is the region located on the left side of the Garonne river, north of Bordeaux. The Left Bank includes the Médoc and Graves districts.

The two banks differ mainly in soil composition. On the Left Bank, the soil is mostly gravels and wines are often dominated by Cabernet Sauvignon. On the Right Bank, the soil is made of clay, limestone and sand. Therefore, it is more suited to Merlot and to a lesser extent Cabernet Franc. Wines from the Right Bank tend to be fruit-forward with soft tannins and are more approachable than Left Bank wines when young.

Bordeaux Wine Region

We tasted six wines from the appellations of Saint-Emilion, Lalande de Pomerol, Fronsac, and Côtes de Castillon. Four of them were from the warm 2005 vintage. The others were from 2004 and 2006. Overall, we found the wines tasty and food friendly although still young.

The wines we tasted:

•2006 Château La Chenade: this is a small property in the Lalande de Pomerol appellation, north of Pomerol. The wine is produced by Denis Durantou of renowned Château L'Eglise Clinet in Pomerol. The blend is Merlot 80%, Cabernet Franc 15%, Cabernet Sauvignon 5%. Our notes: subtle mineral nose with caramel notes, tight mid-palate, some acidity, earthy finish. Finished in fourth position.

•2004 Château La Vieille Cure: from the Fronsac appellation, west of Pomerol. Americans Colin Ferenbach and Peter Sachs bought the property in 1986, bringing a fresh investment of funds to lower the yields, select better fruit at harvest time, and buy new oak barrels, and winemaking equipment. The château has 20 hectares planted predominantly with Merlot (75%), the remaining being Cabernet Franc (22%) and Cabernet Sauvignon (3%). Our notes: dark color, discreet earthy nose, wood and acidity on the palate, slightly unbalanced, not as good as the others with food. Finished last.

•2005 Château de la Dauphine: from the Fronsac appellation, Château de la Dauphine has 37 producing hectares planted with 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc. The average age for the vines is 33 years old. The wine is aged in oak barrels (of which 1/3 are new) for 12 months. The last few years have seen significant investment both in the building itself and the vinification areas. Our notes: dark color, attractive spicy berry nose, full-bodied, mint and vanilla on the finish. Finished in second position.

•2005 Château Rocher Bellevue Figeac: a Grand Cru in the Saint Emilion appellation. The wine is a blend is 80% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc. it is aged 15-18 months in oak barrels, 40% of which are new. Our notes: peppery, smoky nose, full-bodied on the palate, a bit tannic but well rounded, long finish. Finished first, the wine was the clear winner of the tasting.

•2005 Château Joanin-Bécot: from the Côtes de Castillon appellation, east of Saint Emilion and south of Fronsac. It is owned by the Bécot family of Château Beau-Séjour Bécot in Saint Emilion. The wine is a blend of 75% Merlot and 25% Cabernet Franc, aged in oak barrels 70% new. Our notes: forward nose with dairy and mineral aromas, young and tannic on the palate. Finished in third position.

•2005 Clos Kalinda Saint Émilion: this is the first Bordeaux wine under the Kalinda label from K&L Wine Merchants. It is produced by Château Sansonnet in Saint Emilion. The property's second wine (in France, Lasalle) was used as a base for the wine with also some Sansonnet in the blend. Our notes: subtle vanilla nose with sweet fruit aromas, good mid-palate, shorter finish, good with food. Finished in fifth position.

Previous blind wine tastings:
• Blind Tasting of Syrah
• Blind Tasting of Cabernet Blends from Washington State
• Blind Tasting of Pinot Noir from Los Carneros and Anderson Valley

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Two Sauternes for my husband's Foie Gras

Date: Wed, Jan 20, 2010 Wine Tasting

Every year, my husband likes to make a Foie Gras for our December 31st dinner and it's interesting to notice that as years went by, his recipe has evolved to the bare minimum. There is no Armagnac marinade and water bath anymore: first, the foie is deveined, seasoned with salt and pepper, wrapped tightly with plastic wrap with the ends tied like a sausage, poached 5 minutes in boiling water, and refrigerated for at least a couple of days. He serves the foie gras at room temperature on toasted bread, lightly sprinkled with coarse sea salt.

The poached foie gras tightly wrapped with plastic wrap


Slicing the foie gras

To accompany the foie gras, our friend Christophe and I had brought two different bottles of Sauternes that we enthusiastically compared side by side.

Christophe's was the 2005 Château Doisy-Védrines from an estate vineyard dominated by the Sémillon grape (approximately 85% Sémillon, the rest planted with Sauvignon Blanc). Like in the other Sauternes Châteaux, the harvest is labor-intensive, picking the fruit in several waves called tries to select the berries most affected by the Botrytis fungus. The wine is aged for eighteen months in oak barrels, 70% of which being new. The 2005 vintage was excellent in Sauternes with lots of heat and sunshine to ripen the grapes and foggy nights and mornings to promote the development of botrytis.

The wine had a bright color with rich aromas of dried apricot and pineapple. The palate had a lighter body with a lively acidity and a smooth and elegant finish.

Mine was the 2001 Château Clos Haut-Peyraguey, an estate with 17 hectares under vine planted with Sémillon (90%) and Sauvignon Blanc (10%). The terroir is excellent for the appellation, characterized by north-east facing slopes and gravely and sandy soils on a clayey subsoil. The harvest is done manually in 4-7 successive tries to hand-pick the best botrytis-infected grapes. The 2001 vintage was highly rated in Sauternes, thanks to exceptional weather conditions and a speedy spread of botrytis on grapes that had the time to fully ripen.

The wine was opulent, with apricots, acacia flower, and honey aromas. On the palate, it was thicker and sweeter with a lingering finish of caramelized fruits.

So which one was the best with the foie gras: the livelier 2005 Doisy-Védrines or the more opulent 2001 Clos Haut-Peyraguey? I am sorry, I couldn't decide, they were both so good!


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An apple tart competition and a fizzy Moscato

Date: Fri, Jan 8, 2010 Wine Tasting

Our friend Christophe loves to make apple tarts. That's one of his specialties and he is pretty good at it. He makes a quick sweet pastry crust, arranges apple slices on top of it and bakes the tart until the apples are soft. That's a quick and easy recipe and we all love his tarts but our friend Jiyon thought that we should also try her own more elaborated recipe as well.

Christophe's tart

Her point was that the dough had to be made with very cold butter and iced water and it was important to use a pastry blender to cut the butter into the flour in order to avoid warming up the butter. When done, the dough had to be refrigerated for several hours before baking. And then, when the tart is cooked, she likes to brush the top of the tart with a glaze made of apricot preserve and Calvados.


Jiyon's tart

There were unanimous cheers for Jiyon's tart and everybody voraciously ate her/his slice. I thought the crust had a cookie-like crunchiness and was very tasty. I also liked the glaze on the apples but I found the Fuji variety that was used for both tart, too firm and not tart enough for my taste. For our next apple tart competition, I think we should use Granny Smith or even Golden Delicious.

Because it was New Year's eve, we drank a Champagne Nicolas Feuillatte Brut Rosé, a terrific dry Champagne Rosé with a delicate rose petal color and a lot of finesse, although the Champagne was much too dry to accompany the apple tart.

I think the Michele Chiarlo Nivole Moscato d'Asti that Kobrand Corporation had sent me before the holidays would have worked better with the dessert. Unfortunately, we had tasted the wine earlier in the evening and there was none left.

Made from the aromatic Muscat grape, Moscato d'Asti is a sweet, semi-sparkling wine with low alcohol content. Nivole, which means clouds in the local dialect, is produced by Azienda Vitivinicola Michele Chiarlo, a prominent producer in Piedmont. The fruit is sourced from a single south-southwest facing, steep hillside vineyard. Fermentation occurs using natural yeast and is stopped when the wine has reached an alcohol level of 5.5% using a sterile filtration to remove any remaining live yeasts. Then the addition of unfermented must adjusts the residual sugar level to 11%.

The wine had a pale yellow color and a fragrant nose of exotic fruits. The palate was light and fresh, slightly fizzy, with a definitive sweetness, leaving an aftertaste of honey and apricot. But the uncomplex sweet style of the wine didn't convince everybody: my husband thought it tasted like sparkling apple juice. Maybe he should have tried it with the apple tart.

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Bubbly for the holidays: Cava or Champagne?

Date: Mon, Dec 28, 2009 Wine Tasting

Just in time for the holidays, Kobrand Corporation sent me a shipment of sparkling wines that I recently shared with some friends and family.

One of them was a bottle of Champagne Taittinger Brut La Française. Founded in 1734 by Pierre Taittinger, the Taittinger Champagne house owns approximately 752 acres of vines, including vineyards in the renowned Côte des Blancs and Montagne de Reims. It is one of the three most extensive wine estates in Champagne and relies primarily on its own grapes for its Champagne production. Pierre Taittinger was a visionary well ahead of his time. He foresaw that the market would turn away from heavily dosed, sweet champagnes in favor of natural, elegant wines and thus defined the Taitinger style to be centered on the concepts of lightness and naturalness.

The cuvée La Française contains approximatively 40% Chardonnay, over twice the percentage of Chardonnay used in the standard cuvées of most Champagne houses, the rest being Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier. Chardonnay contributes elegance, finesse, and crispness to the blend. Pinot Noir brings body, structure, and vinosity while Pinot Meunier adds fruitiness and roundness. The wine showed a bright golden color and fine bubbles rising from the bottom of the glass. On the palate, it was fresh and lively with toasty, yeasty aromas and notes of apple compote on the finish.

The other sparkling wine was a bottle of Poema Cava Brut. Cava is a Spanish wine produced mainly in the Penedès region in Catalonia, southwest of Barcelona. Under Spanish D.O. laws, Cava must be made using the Traditional Method with second fermentation in the bottle, and using a selection of grapes that includes Macabeo, Parellada, Xarel·lo, Chardonnay, Pinot noir, and Subirat.

The Poema Cava Brut is a traditional blend of 40% Macabeo,40% Xarel-lo and 20% Parellada grapes grown in the Penedès region. Each grape variety is harvested separately. Primary fermentation takes place in stainless steel tanks at 16-18ºC. The three varietals are then blended, the triage (yeast and sugar) is added and secondary fermentation begins in the same bottle at a temperature of 13-15ºC.

Low in alcohol (11.5%), the wine had a pale yellow color, aromas of peach and apricots and was light and crisp on the palate. My friends preferred the toasty, yeasty flavors of the Champagne but my father-in-low, who enjoys going to Spain on vacation, really liked the fruity character of the Cava.

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Tasting of Zinfandel and Zinfandel related grapes

Date: Thu, Dec 17, 2009 Wine Tasting

Considered America's sweetheart grape, Zinfandel was the theme of our latest wine club event. Our goal was to taste and compare different Zinfandel and Zinfandel related varieties from various wine regions, including Croatia, Italy, and California.

The story of Zinfandel is fascinating. It came to the United States in the early 1800s via the Imperial Nursery in Vienna, Austria, and quickly became a popular table grape in the Northeast. Then in the mid-1850's, it was introduced to California by a Massachusetts nurseryman who had joined the California Gold Rush. It thrived so well in the state's climate that by the end of the 19th century, Zinfandel was the most widespread grape variety in California.

For a long time, Zinfandel was California's mystery grape, but thanks to DNA profiling, it has now been proved that Zinfandel is a clone of the Croatian variety Crljenak. The grape was also imported to Apuglia in Southern Italy, probably by the Illyrians more than two thousand years ago. In Apuglia, the grape is called Primitivo because of its precociousness.

Here are the wines that we tasted:

•2006 Dingac Plavac Mali Peljesac: Vinarija Dingac is a Croatian winery located in the Peljesac Peninsula on the Dalmatian Coast. Plavac Mali, which has been found to be a cross between Zinfandel and the local grape Dobricic, is the main red varietal grown along the Dalmatian Coast. My notes: only 11.5% alcohol. Light red brick color, plums and prunes on the nose, light to medium-bodied on the palate, nicely balanced. Really easy to drink and pretty popular among the guests.

•2006 Bibich Riserva: The Bibich estate is located in Skradin in Northern Dalmatia. The wine is a blend of three local grapes (Babich, Plavina, Lasin) that are thought to be related to Zinfandel. My notes: 12.2% alcohol. Red berry color, spicy and peppery on the nose, medium-bodied on the palate, lively acidity, food friendly.

•2007 Vinosia Primitivo di Salento: Aziende Agricole Vinosia is a new winery from Campania founded by Mario Ercolino, winemaker at Feudi di San Gregorio, and his brother Luciano. The wine comes the Salento region, a sub-peninsula in the south-eastern extremity of Apulia in Southern Italy. My notes: 13.5% alcohol. Deep purple color, peppery, red and back berry on the nose, earthy on the palate, good acidity, licorice on the finish. My favorite wine of the evening.

•2006 Limerick Lane Zinfandel Collins Vineyard Russian River Valley: Limerick Lane is located at the eastern extremity of the Russian River Valley appellation and at the eastern end of the Dry Creek Valley appellation. The vineyard dates back to 1910 and some vines from that era are still in production. It is dry-farmed, relying on winter and spring rains to water the vines. The wine is stored for a year in a combination of French and Hungarian oak barrels. Each vintage uses between 25-30% of new oak. My notes: 14.6% alcohol. Medium red color, citrus and red berry on the nose, medium-bodied on the palate, herbal notes on the finish.

•2006 Ridge Zinfandel York Creek: Ridge Vineyards started harvesting Zinfandel from the York Creek Vineyard in 1975. Situated high on Spring Mountain and overlooking St. Helena and the Napa Valley, the York Creek vineyard has well drained gravelly loam soils and a cool, mountainous climate. The 2006 vintage is aged in a combination of new and used American oak barrels. The blend is 99% Zinfandel, 1% Petite Sirah. My notes: 14.8% alcohol. Deep color, red berry on the nose, medium-bodied, good acidity, juicy on the palate, well-balanced. A favorite among the Zinfandels from California.

•2005 Rosenblum Zinfandel Harris Kratka Vineyard: Rosenblum Cellars was founded in 1978 by veterinarian Dr. Kent Rosenblum and his wife Kathy. The winery works with over 80 unique grape growers and has an extensive wine portfolio of Zinfandel and Rhône varietal wines. The 16-acre Harris Kratka Vineyard is located just east of the Russian River in the Alexander Valley appellation. It is planted with half-century-old, head-pruned vines, 90% of which are Zinfandel, 5% Carignane and 5% Petite Sirah. My notes: blend of 75% Zinfandel, 15% Petite Sirah, 10% Carignane. 14.7% alcohol. Deep color, herbal, spicy on the palate, good finish, tasty.

•2006 Seghesio Cortina Zinfandel Dry Creek Valley: Seghesio Family Winery was founded by Edoardo Seghesio who emigrated from Italy in 1886. The family-owned winery flourished in the bulk wine business until the mid 1970s, producing most of the red wine made in Sonoma County. Then in 1983, Ted Seghesio, a fourth generation family winemaker, bottled his first wines under the Seghesio label. Nestled in the heart of Dry Creek Valley, the Cortina vineyard was purchased by the winery in 1957. The climate is both coastal and inland with coastal fogs in the morning followed by long hours of sunshine. My notes: 15.2% alcohol. Medium red, sweet red berry on the nose, intense, hot on the palate, somewhat unbalanced, too alcoholic.

For our next wine tasting, we'll be tasting the wines blind, so be ready for the challenge!

Previous wine club tastings:
• Drink Local Tasting
• Pairing wine and cheese
• Tasting the wines of the Rhône Valley

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A Moroccan-inspired Turkey Couscous and a Châteauneuf-du-Pape

Date: Wed, Dec 9, 2009 Wine Tasting

After Thanksgiving, we had a good amount of turkey left and also some of the broth that was used for the gravy. So looking for a recipe to accommodate the leftovers, we were inspired by that Moroccan-inspired turkey soup that we found on the Web. For the soup, we made more broth using the turkey carcass and then added onions, carrots, parsnips, zuchini, squash, and tomatoes, spiced with saffron, turmeric, cinnamon, and chile. When the vegetables were almost cooked, we stirred in a small can of chickpeas and diced turkey meat. We served the soup with couscous, harissa, and fresh cilantro leaves.

Cooking the vegetables in the turkey broth


Our Turkey Couscous

With the Couscous, we drank a 2004 Châteauneuf-du-Pape Château de la Gardine. The Château de la Gardine estate is located close to the town of Chateauneuf-du-Pape. The vineyard is made of different south-facing and southeast-facing lots overlooking the Rhône Valley. Some are covered with the famous stone pebbles that help hold moisture in the soil, retain heat during the day and release it at night. Planted white grape varieties include Roussanne, Grenache blanc, Clairette, and Bourboulenc. Red varieties are 60% Grenache, 15% Syrah, 12% Mourvèdre, the rest divided between Picpoul, Terret Noir, Counoise, Muscardin, Vaccarèse, Picardan, and Cinsault. The grape varieties are vinified together and aged in oak barriques.

The wine held well against the soup. Showing a nose of ripe black fruit, it was smooth, rich, and spicy on the palate. Too bad we finished the whole bottle that night! Anyway, we didn't have enough turkey leftovers to make more soup.

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With those leftover cranberries, make Cranberry Cocktails

Date: Thu, Dec 3, 2009 Wine Tasting

After Thanksgiving, there was an unused bag of fresh cranberries in the refrigerator so we decided to make some cranberry cocktails. We adapted a recipe found in the current Sunset magazine that looked particularly delicious. This was fun to do and the drink was fruity and refreshing after the big Thanksgiving meal that we had the day before.

Chilling the drinks in the snow


A glass of Cranberry Cocktail

Our Cranberry Cocktail recipe: combine 1 part tequila, 1 part cranberry juice, 1 part fresh cranberries, 1/2 part triple sec and ice cubes in a blender. Add a splash of lime juice. Blend until smooth then strain liquid through a fine strainer. Pour into glasses with a sugar-coated rim and a lime wedge. Enjoy!

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Warm up with a glass of 2006 St. Francis Red

Date: Wed, Nov 18, 2009 Wine Tasting

It's dark and cold outside and I have a bottle of wine that should warm me up: a 2006 St. Francis RED that was recently sent to me by Kobrand Corporation.

The wine, made by St. Francis Winery, is a proprietary blend of 48% Merlot, 28% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Syrah, 3% Zinfandel and 6 % Mixed Blacks (Cabernet Franc, Grenache, Alicante, Malbec), from Sonoma County.

“RED is for all red wine lovers who simply want a tasty bottle of wine with a fun package at a great value. It's my job to worry about clones, soil conditions, vintage and Vinification” says St. Francis Winemaker Tom Mackey on the winery's website, “so that the consumer doesn't have to. We've created a dependable, versatile wine — No lessons needed &mdash uncork and enjoy.”

The St. Francis RED is made to be fun: if you buy the wine by the case, each bottle comes with a different red patterned label. If you buy only one bottle, you can pick and choose the label you like the best.

The wine has a deep color and a nose of spiced cherries and sweet berries. On the palate, it is full-bodied, fruity, juicy, slightly tannic with a peppery aftertaste. For a retail price around $10, it's a steal.

The RED website has also some hearty recipes that should go well with the wine. I noticed their Braised Short Ribs recipe that looks delicious and perfect for the season. Just make sure you have enough braising sauce to pour over your mashed potatoes!

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Harvest Festival in Montmartre

Date: Thu, Nov 12, 2009 Wine Tasting

Last month, I was lucky to be in Paris just in time for the harvest festival in Montmartre. The Montmartre hill used to be a small village completely covered with vineyards. A temple dedicated to Bacchus, the god of wine, was built there by the Romans. But in the early 20th century, the vines were completely devastated by the phylloxera epidemic, as well as urban development. Fortunately, in the early 30s, a group of artists petitioned the government in order to resurrect and replant a 1,556 square meter parcel of land called Clos Montmartre.

Clos Montmartre

The Clos Montmartre vineyard is planted with 27 different varietals (primarily Gamay and Pinot Noir), and produces around 1500 half-liter bottles each year. It's the only remaining vineyard within the city limits of Paris. After harvest, the wines are sold at auctions, the proceeds going to local charities. Those who have tasted the wines say they are decent enough, although the bottles, with labels designed by local artists, have now become collectors' items.

Sadly, the Clos de Montmartre vineyard is not open to the public. There were a couple of special visits organized by the City Hall during the harvest festival but they were all sold out by the time I inquired about them. Moreover, there was no tasting of Montmartre wine during the Festival.

Nonetheless, the small streets around the white dome tower of the Basilique du Sacré Coeur were lively, with stalls selling regional food and wine everywhere, and street performers attracting crowds in front of the Basilique.


A stall selling produce from Chablis


Have a plate of oysters with a small tasting of Muscadet

We had a nice time talking to Marie-France and Philippe Bec, owner of Domaine de Bayelle, a small wine estate located in the medieval village of Caux in Languedoc. We tasted their 2006 Coteaux du Languedoc Pézenas Cuvée Luména, a blend of Grenache and Syrah from Pézenas, a sub-appellation of Coteaux du Languedoc. The wine had a dark garnet color and an appealing nose of forest berries and dried herbs. The palate was round, medium-bodied, not overly complex but tasty. The Becs recommend to drink the wine with a Ragoût d'Escoubille, a hearty Languedoc dish made primarily of pork, sausages, wild mushroom, and olives.


Marie-France and Philippe Bec from Domaine de Bayelle

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