We enjoyed dinner at Franklin Square Wine Bar this evening. We are big fans and now they have kid night. $10 buys entertainment and dinner for your child. They also have many great wines available by the taste, glass or bottle. The table next to us was enjoying Four Thirteen - great choice of course. We decided to taste some things we hadn't had before....

• 2007 Esporão Blanco from Alentejo, Portugal. It was made with Antão Vaz. Never heard of this grape and very much enjoyed it.
  
• 2007 Berroia, Txakolina de Bizaia, Spain. It was made with 90% Hondarribi Zuri, 6% Folle Blanche, and 4% Riesling. I have had several Txakolina wines before and really like this one. Worth seeking out.
• 2007 José Palacios from Bierzo. Made with Mencia. We actually have some older bottles of this in the cellar. Very nice.
  
• 2005 Castillo de Ulver, vino de la Tierra Castiila y Leon. Also made with Mencia.

If you are in Oakland, have a child and want to join us one Monday night, drop us a line.

There was a huge debate on changes to EU rules regarding the making of Rosé. The EU was proposing that Rosé could be made blending red and white wine. The idea was to make wines more competitive. Today, the proposed rule change was rejected. In an interesting twist, the New York Times printed an editorial supporting tradition.

First, a little explanation. Rosés are not, as some people believe, a mix. In Provence, the most frequently used method for producing a true rosé is called maceration, a delicate process in which the skins of crushed red grapes are allowed to remain in contact with the juice for several hours before they are removed and the fermentation proceeds. The grape skins impart the light red color to rosé. Their quick removal reduces the tannins in the final product, making rosés more like a fine dry white.
FRANÇOIS MILLO, New York Times, June 7, 2009 Taking the Bloom Off the Rose

Of course, there are lots of other regulations for making Rosé. If you are interested in the AOC regulations for Tavel for example and you read French, they are published at www.inao.gouv.fr

I just had a great trip to New York and Connecticut this past week. I met a ton of our customers - consumers, servers, sommeliers and retail sales people. It is always great to talk to the people who sell and drink our wine. It is even better when they love the wine which they did!

Our friends at Ancona's Wine & Liquor mentioned they had blogged about Isabel's Cuvee on their The Last Great Glass blog. Looking for the post this morning (Donkey...), I ended up reading a ton of beer reviews. If you like beer, you should check out this blog - http://thelastgreatglass.blogspot.com/

We celebrated Tracey's birthday for a second time this weekend. We arrived at the beach early, as in 8:00 AM, to ensure we got the best possible spot at Heart's Desire Beach. (If you haven't been, go this summer. I think it is closing with the California budget cuts after Labor Day - marinmommies.com) When we got there, it was empty. The fog was in and it was cold. Having a beach to yourself (with a friend for Isabel to play with) is about as nice as it gets.

Around 11, as more people arrived, we opened more and more red wines despite our plan to focus on Isabel's Cuvée (our rosé). The reds worked better with weather - especially the Syrah's. Even 4/13 was a bit too bright for the cold beach.

Watching my daughter on the beach and everyone drinking red wine, I thought about how specific times and places are. The last time we were this beach, a white would have been perfect. On Saturday, the Syrahs were perfect.

As the 2008 Roussanne gets closer to bottling, I am struck by how influenced it is by the weather. The 2007 from Fenaughty was dominated by a mineral streak. The 2008 is more like cider with honeysuckle. I can still taste the vineyard but I think the weather plays a bigger influence. 2008 was warmer then 2007 and it was a shorter season. The minerality is there but not as pensive. To compare it to the beach, 2007 was a foggy day at a northern California beach. 2008 is a warm day at the beach in Santa Cruz...


Photo by Mega Leslie.

Come join me next Wednesday for a great dinner in Greenwich, CT. Details below:

MORELLO BISTRO AND HORSENECK WINES PRESENT FOR THE FIRST TIME

JARED AND TRACEY'S WINERY - otherwise known as the
DONKEY AND THE GOAT


These two fine people have a winery that is up and coming from California and you really have to taste their handcrafted wines.

The wines are going to be a surprise. The food will be matched perfectly and the evening with Jared (the owner will be exciting).

Please don't miss this; and it would be so wonderful for all of you to come and give Jared support. We have known him for over 20 years - before the wine dream became a reality!!

Call 869-8944 Horseneck for Reservations
Or call Ian at Morello Bistro at 661-3443 for Reservations

THE WINES ARE STUNNING AND THE EVENING WILL BE GREAT.

THERE WILL BE A $150 GIFT CERTIFICATE TO HORSENECK WINES GIVEN AWAY THIS EVENING FOR A LUCKY GUEST.

AS ALWAYS,

TERRY

As many of you know, our grapes from Mendocino came in with smoke 'taint' this year. The vines and grapes were exposed to smoke on and off for about a month. With extra careful handling, we have mitigated the smoke flavor and smell to the point where many tasters now like it.

All of that said, we have also been reading and talking with others about how to handle this and kept some wine untreated for experimenting. A few weeks back we learned of a ancient technique from Eric. He learned it from retired wine maker in the Beaujolais. The natural ingredients took some time to acquire (thanks Lisa and Emmons) and process. Our first trial was a success - amazing. The smoke on the nose is gone outright. The smoke on the palate is barely noticeable.

We will keep experimenting to perfect it...

Writing wine notes is hard. We always get a group of friends with great palates and even better descriptors for a round table tasting when we are trying to write out notes for our release letters. Tracey, having just returned from VA and DC, brought a note back from the Wine Kitchen - www.thewinekitchen.com - that I enjoyed and thought I would share it.

Who: The Recluse, A Donkey and Goat
What: Syrah
Where: Anderson Valley, California
When: 2006

What we thought.....
Like an elephant on a tightrope, huge flavors of blueberry and cherry are perfectly balanced with loose black tea and coca notes. The scent of violets and dried fruits round out this full-bodied syrah from a cooler region of California wine country.

Great note - wish I could write them like this.

Isabel's Cuvée is shown on a recent video on the WSJ. Too bad they aren't drinking it- it is tasting great.



We have also been getting lots of consumer feedback which we love. From a recent CellerTracker note by MrFroopy

Really really juicy, yet dry and delicious. More body than I usually like in a rose but this pulls it off with nice all around balance..
a tiny bit too much of that grenache sweetness on nose.. but that is my pet peeve.. would like a tiny more minerality, but this wine rocks.. one of the best
california Vin gris ever.

Grenache does have a sweet nose. I always notice it on our 13 series wine for the first two or three years.

I recently bottled the last of Isabel's Crazy Rosé . We made about 15 liters. It was basically unsulfured, unfiltered, aged sur lie (and lots of lees!) rosé. The nose smells of peanuts and sherry - we intentionally let the wine be exposed to the air. The body, pure grenache gris. People who have tasted it either love it or hate it. If you happen to come by the winery, ask for a taste.

We recently got a very nice review from Gary Vaynerchuk and Katie Lee Joel (Billy Joel's wife). Get all the details on Gary V's website - Wine Library TV

Isabel (our daughter) was thrilled with their comments but didn't think they should be spitting her wine...

Labels: Isabel, Rose

We had a great dinner this past Wednesday at Coco500 - a big thanks to Clay, Betsy and all of the staff that make Coco500 such a great place.

Grilled heart sounded like it might be tough. Turned out, it was great. The meat was perfect and the pollen added a really interesting touch.

The braised shoulder melted in the mouth. And the the buckwheat cavatelli was to die for.

The third course was heaven for a lamb lover. The loin was a perfect pairing for the Fenaughty.

And then, the cheese course. It was simply brilliant to pair the cheese course with our minerally, light Roussanne.

Writing about is making me hungry...

At the winery, we are now sold out of the 07 El Dorado Roussanne, 08 Isabel's Cuvée Rosé, 07 The Prospector Mourvèdre and 07 Brosseau Chardonnay. (We even sold our stash, except for a few bottles with bad labels and other defects which are perfect for us.)

That doesn't mean you can't try the wine. Here is an incomplete list of places with them in Northern California. Some may have already sold out as well.

East Bay:

• B Restaurant - Isabel's Cuvée Rosé and The Prospector Mourvèdre (Oakland)
• Franklin Square Wine Bar - Almost always has something of our - just ask (Oakland)
• Garibaldi's on College - Isabel's Cuvée Rosé (Oakland)
• Side Bar - The Prospector Mourvèdre (Oakland)
• Vine at Bridges - Isabel's Cuvée Rosé (Danville)
• Wine.com - Isabel's Cuvée Rosé and The Prospector Mourvèdre (Berkeley - block from the winery)
• Wines on Piedmont - Isabel's Cuvée Rosé and The Prospector Mourvèdre (Oakland)
• Wood Tavern - Isabel's Cuvée Rosé (Oakland)

San Francisco:

• Coco500 - Isabel's Cuvée Rosé, 07 Brosseau Chardonnay, 07 Tamarindo and others for the upcoming wine dinner.
• Epic - The Recluse 06
  
• Netty's Crab Shack - Isabel's Cuvée Rosé
• Maverick's - Isabel's Cuvée Rosé, Roussanne and The Prospector Mourvèdre
• Swirl - Isabel's Cuvée Rosé

Marin:

• Sausalito Yacht Club - The Prospector Mourvèdre (Sausalito)

Wine Country

• Bistro des Copains - Isabel's Cuvée Rosé (Occidental)
• El Dorado Kitchen - Isabel's Cuvée Rosé (Town of Sonoma)
• Mosaic - Isabel's Cuvée Rosé (Forestville)
• Valley Wine Shack - Isabel's Cuvée Rosé (Town of Sonoma)

Gold Country

• The Prospector - The Prospector Mourvèdre (Twain Hart)

If you do try any of these places, tell them we sent you. You can also sign up for the mailing list for next crack at these wines.

Our weekend was kicked off with a nice mention by the Wall Street Journal's
Dorothy J. Gaiter and John Brecher in Tastings "Grenache Enters the Spotlight".

There is also Grenache Gris, which still isn't recognized as a U.S. varietal wine on its own, but which is sometimes made into a rosé in the U.S. (Other Grenache rosés are made from regular Grenache.) A winery called A Donkey and Goat makes a tasty rosé from Grenache Gris, and the one we had in Santa Barbara, Curran Wines 2007, was remarkably focused and intense. The owner and winemaker, Kris Curran, says she made 100 cases of the rosé after tasting the Donkey and Goat version, deciding how she'd make it differently and buying cuttings from their source that were then planted for her.

On Sunday, our winery was featured at B Restaurant's Sunday dinner. We had a great meal with friends, celebrated 2 birthdays and talked to some really wonderful new customers.

What a great weekend!

Off The Vine recently posted reviews for both our Roussanne and Rose.

2007 Donkey & Goat Winery - Roussanne, El Dorado - 89
Fresh, and supple this wine offers notes of honeysuckle, citrus and pear. on the palate a creamy texture and nuanced mix of pear, more citrus zest and bread yeast. A long finish with a sort of lime-aid zip. We loved this wine. and wished there was a bit more to go around!

2008 Donkey and Goat - Grenache Rosé - McDowell Valley, Ca 89+
Wonderful salmon “think pink” colorgetsyou in the mood. This wine delivers sweet strawberry and floral aromas with an earthy minerality that reminds one of a fine Bandol from the south of France. With a refreshing acidity and good depth it should pair well with many foods. This is a winner!

Check out their site for great wine and food reviews.

Last night's Winemaker Dinner at Franklin Square Wine Bar in Oakland was a night of many firsts. It was the first time I'd ever been to the wine bar, but I dare say it will not be the last. What a cool little spot with some of the most energetic staff you'll ever see! Also, it was the first time I'd ever tasted goat. I must admit, after discussing the potentially cannibalisitic element of eating goat while drinking A Donkey and Goat wine, I was somewhat hesitant to dig in. But my tastebuds were so happy that I did, and I can only hope that the Donkey will someday forgive me for savoring his dear little friend.

And the wines, of course! This was the first time I sampled some of the finished and bottled--as opposed to barreled--spring releases. I thought I knew exactly what was in store, but I was quite taken by surprise! Compliments to Jake, the chef, for making such bold but happily-married pairings that really enhanced the individual wines. And the winemakers, of course, couldn't resist the opportunity to impose some experimental side-by-side vintage tasting. Comparing the Tamarindo Rousanne with it's (successful) experimental sibling, the El Dorado Rousanne, proved what a difference the extended lees contact on the latter made. The Tamarindo offered a refreshing citrus, while the Rousanne left long, rich taste of honey on the palate. Similarly, the singular addition of Counoise to make 2007's Three Thirteen into 2008's Four Thirteen transformed it, as one fellow diner vouched, from a 4 pm wine to a 9 pm wine. Indeed, when directly contrasted, the Three Thirteen flirts with fruit and the Four Thirteen shouts of spice. What a night of fabulous firsts for all!

Agent I is now batting for the other team. Check out THE DINNER to see a donkey beating a vulture. (Humane Society Approved.)

Watch the video at www.secretagentsofsyrah.com.

Every wonder what our Thirteen series is all about? Here is a short video to help you understand.

THE CRITIC is now live. The second video of our Secret Agents in action. Here we have a family affair (can you tell which actors are related). Plus I just LOVE Agent I duck-walking double time with a 500lb barrel of Syrah. Don't try that at home folks, he's a professional agent!

If you've not already check out Secret Agents of Syrah or join the Fan Page on Facebook or follow our agents on Twitter @agentsofsyrah.

Today we are launching SecretAgentsofSyrah.com. After hearing endless people in the industry to complain that it is hard to sell Syrah, we decided to do something about it.

Join the agency today! As an agent you will evangelize the value & quality of Syrah while helping the uninformed discover its beauty. As a bonus, you will help us save the world (or at least the wine drinking population) from drinking over priced, overly hyped, and average f!@#ing wines! Meet your fellow agents on Facebook where you can join the agency’s fan page or watch Agent P in action with the Director, colluding to show Mr. R, her date, the beauty of Syrah. Will she is able to turn MR. R???? .

Once trained, you can post videos of your covert ops as a Video Response on YouTube. The agency will select favorite videos to post on SecretAgentsofSyrah.com and those agents will receive a bottle of our Syrah. We will announce the grand prize winner at our Open House Party and award the winning agent a limited production, hand bottled 1.5 Liter Magnum of 2006 Fenaughty Vineyard Syrah.

This spring our wines are red, white and pink AND our most diverse to date. We have five new wines plus limited quantities left on two vineyard designate Syrahs. All are available for purchase at our online store (adonkeyandgoatwine.com/shopping) beginning MARCH 1st.

• 2008 Grenache Rosé, Isabel’s Cuvée, our much anticipated pink wine made from 90+ year old Grenache Gris vines in the Mendocino sub appellation of the McDowell Valley

• 2007 The Prospector Mourvèdre, our first ever 100% Mourvèdre bottling called The Prospector to reference the gold rush history of the El Dorado appellation

• 2007 Four Thirteen, our GSM blend "Thirteen" series with the addition of Counoise as the 4th of thirteen potential varietals

• 2007 Roussanne, a minuscule El Dorado Roussanne bottling where our experiment with extended lees contact produced a more opulent wine than Tamarindo, its sibling

• 2007 Brosseau Vineyard Chardonnay, a mere 75 case production of our Chablis inspired Chardonnay made with our ver jus blending (watch us on NBC’s In Wine Country http://www.inwinecountry.com/?cat=5970254&subcat=5038749&video=218 )

• 2006 Vieilles Vignes Syrah, the oldest Syrah vines in California (and all of North America) produce one of our most popular Syrahs from the same vineyard as our Rosé

• 2006 Fenaughty Vineyard Syrah, we firmly believe in El Dorado for Rhône and no wine illustrates our belief better than this gorgeous Syrah from the Fenaughty Vineyard

Our dance card for March is filling quickly but several events are still being confirmed. We will stay current at adonkeyandgoat.com/Tasting&Events.html. Today we can confirm a winemaker dinner on March 21st at FSWB in uptown Oakland and our spring release grand finale – our OPEN HOUSE PARTY on SAT MARCH 28th. Both are detailed as events here in our winery group (scroll down, look right). Beginning in April we start the road trips with NY, CT, VA, D.C. and more.

Jared and I sincerely appreciate your interest and support and look forward to sharing our newest creations.

Santé,

Tracey & Jared

*****For those that like scores…..

As 2008 came to a close both Tanzer and Parker weighed in on our wines:

November/December 2008, Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar
Focus on the Central Coast by Josh Raynolds

2006 Fenaughty Vineyard Syrah, El Dorado, 91pts:
Inky ruby. Classic syrah aromas of red and dark berries, violet, anise and cracked pepper. Juicy and fresh, offering vibrant blackberry and candied plum flavors, with a jolt of pepper on the back. Gains sweetness on the lively, long finish. I really like this wine's balance and precision.

2006 Three Thirteen, California, 89pts:
(a blend of syrah, mourvedre and grenache) Bright red. Spicy red berries and cherry on the nose, with suave floral, herbal and Asian spice qualities adding complexity. Fresh red berry flavors are framed by dusty tannins and given a tangy edge by bitter berry skin and peppery herbs. Fresh, brisk and refreshing, with good closing snap. Imagine a cross between pinot noir and high-quality Cotes du Rhone. Just over 92% of this fruit is from El Dorado; the rest comes from Chalone.

2007 Tamarindo Roussanne, El Dorado, 90pts:
(12.8% alcohol) Silver-yellow. Dried lime, pear and beeswax on the nose, with a suave floral honey undertone. Energetic citrus and orchard fruit flavors are complicated by smoky minerals and bitter pear skin. Becomes sweeter and deeper on the finish, which features juicy mango and white peach qualities while maintaining focus. This is lovely right now.

December 2008, Robert M. Parker Jr.'s The Wine Advocate, Issue 180

2006 A Donkey and Goat Syrah Vieilles Vignes, 88pts:
More fruit, a deeper, fleshier mouthfeel, and sweet tannins characterize the simple, but delicious, hedonistic 2006 Syrah Vieilles Vignes. This fruit-driven 2006 should be consumed sooner rather than later. The finest effort in this quartet comes from the limestone soils of the Chalone appellation.

2006 A Donkey and Goat Syrah Reserve Brosseau Vineyard, 89pts:
The 2006 Syrah Reserve Brosseau Vineyard offers up notions of crushed rocks, chalk, red, and black fruits. This medium to full-bodied effort is the most French-like of this trio (no doubt because of the limestone soils). It is a beefy, substantial wine with remarkable minerality and freshness. Drink it over the next 7-8 years.

Reasons you should love our Four Thirteen.



We have started making the full video and will post it when it is done.

Last night we had the pleasure of hosting one of our wine tasting groups. The wines and the company were great.

If you want to start a group, I have a few suggestions.

• Let one person pick the wines - either what to bring or they can just purchase them. We find the latter works best.
  
• Groups work best if the cost of the wine is split by the group - at least for the first few years.
  
• Do the tasting blind - much more fun.
• Talk about the wines - have people say which one is their favorite in a given flight.
  
• Keep flights to 3 or 4 wines - more than that is hard to track.
  
• Balance the serious nature with fun - one of the groups we left was so serious it wasn't fun. Wine should be fun - it is meant to bring you pleasure.
  

Last night, our first flight was Sauvignon Blancs from Alto Adige (SüdTirol) in nortern Italy. We had:

• 2007 Weingut Niklas Südtiroler Sauvignon
• 2007 Andreas Baron Widmann Südtiroler Sauvignon
• 2007 Niedrist Südtiroler Terlaner Sauvignon

All three wines were surprisingly good. Overall favorite was the Niedrist - classic Sauvignon Blanc flavors with excellent acidity and minerality.

All three were made and aged in stainless steel from what we found on the web though several in the group thought they could detect some oak. Several group members picked up the classical grassy and cat pee notes that one finds in "typical"Sauvignon Blancs.


The second flight was three different wines from a single producer - Garlider - which is also located in Alto Adige.

• 2006 Garlider Muller Thurgau
• 2006 Garlider Sylvaner
• 2006 Garlider Veltliner

The consensus of the group, with minor exceptions, was that the Muller Thurgau was the best of the three wines. No one really ventured a guess what these wines were. The noses each revealed intense floral notes with hints of apricot and a herbal note.

Our third flight was 2003 Piedmonte Nebbiolo.

• 2003 Germano Ettore Prapo Barolo


• 2003 Sella Lessona (80% Nebbiolo, 20% Vespolin)

• 2003 Elio Grasso Barolo Ginestra Casa Mate


• 2003 Castello di Verduno Barbaresco Rabaja

All four of these wines were showing extremely well. 2003 was a very, very hot year so they were much more open then one would typically expect from such a young wine.

The group's overall favorite was the Elio Grasso - some notes include dark fruit, spice, tea, coffee and chocolate.

Last up was a bottle of 1962 Chateau Suduirant Sauternes, Ancien cru de Roy. It was lovely.

We don't add nutrients during primary or secondary fermentation for several reasons. For purely philosophical reasons, we believe that one of the best ways to have the wine speak of the vineyard is not to add anything (our exception is SO2 but that might change). For practical reasons, we never learned how one handles nutrient additions since we trained under Eric Texier who shares our philosophy.

As we have learned more about world of additions (course work and industry seminars), we have also added a third reason, we aren't sure what it will help grow. Brettanomyces, for example, is a yeast which can thrive off nutrients which the Saccaraomyci don't devour. Adding those nutrients has always seemed counter intuitive. (If fact, it is often hard to keep Brett alive in the lab and for beer makers who want to utilize them for Lambics. Recipes for the agar, media which the Brett grows on, often include something rich in micro nutrients. See http://brettanomyces.blogspot.com/ for what looks like an easy recipe. Key growth nutrients are found in yeast extract and commercial yeast nutrients. )

Vitamins for humans may promote unwanted growths as well. The New York Times recently published a fascinating article on vitamins and their proven impact both beneficial and otherwise.

But some vitamin studies have also shown unexpected harm, like higher lung cancer rates in two studies of beta carotene use. Another study suggested a higher risk of precancerous polyps among users of folic acid compared with those in a placebo group.
Tara Parker-Pope - http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/17/health/17well.html

The article made me think that what we do (or in this case, don't do) for our wines perhaps is a reasonable choice of us as well.

Steve Lightner sent us this beautiful photo of his vineyards. A friend of ours in Burgundy claims snow is good for vines - helps keep the bug populations in balance. If he is right, they should be in check this year. (To see the image full screen, just click on it.)

Isabel's Cuvee, named for our daughter, is about to be released. We bottled it last Saturday and, as Danielle blogged, it went well.

Our wines often remind me of our daughter. She is very independent, spirited, and can easily bring a big smile to my face and others.

We will let her friends parents try the wine at her birthday party in a few days. This year there will be two versions - the bottled version and a tiny bit left over from our gentle racking. A good friend named the un-racked wine Isabel's Crazy Cuvee. It has no SO2 and is a bit leesy. It is slightly darker and has a bit more body to it. If everyone likes it, perhaps we will bottle a bit next year.

Every year we host a holiday tasting for close friends and family. This year we were lucky to have Shay Sampson attend with her camera.

We don't heat the winery, so you can see we are all dressed for the 40 something degrees that it was inside.

Our open house is coming up. We expect 400 or so people. It should be warmer and lots of fun!

As our small team bottled around 200 cases of Rousanne and Rose this morning, I couldn't help but be reminded of a question posed by my Geography professor last semester: "Why haven't humans been replaced by machines?" Mostly, I was trying to figure out why we voluntarily squeezed into Caleb's truck of bottling gadgets for five hours, knees stiffening and shoulders tensing, on such a beautiful Berkeley weekend morning. My professor's overarching lesson had been that machines are inanimate, unintelligent, and susceptible to breaking down. Though I couldn't help but feel like a simple cog in the wheel as I systematically wiped off capped bottles and moved them down to the labeling station, I did feel like our team effort and rhythm was much more efficient than any machine. Although, I must admit that Caleb's rotating pourer and high-pressure capping machines that complemented our human assembly line did have a somewhat fascinating Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory appeal to them.

Our hands-on role in the bottling process also allowed us to personally say goodbye and gain some closure with our baby wines before sending them off to the real world. And I must say, the golden Rousanne and blushing Rose both look quite handsome. After the day's work was finished, we tasted their love child--the mix that was created in the pump as we transitioned from Rousanne to Rose. And the punchy result was surprisingly palatable. Perhaps we accidentally stumbled upon a new blend possibility?

Levi, of Vin Collections, was over a few weeks back to the winery looking through some of older wines books. He pulled out The Treasury of American Wine from 1971 and read us the following quote:

Some day I'd like to see a winery picketed - not by Cesar Chavez but by a consumer saying, "You've taken all the character out of your cabernet."
The Treasury of American Wine, Norman Chroman, Crown Publishers, 1971

One often hears how wines are too similar tasting - without character these days due to the late harvest or winemaker's desire to please influential critics. I guess this is nothing new.

Over a conversation filled with lots of wine, I mentioned that we got our 08 Isabel's Cuvee Grenache Gris Rose right. Our companion asked what that meant which caused me to pause and think about it. It means a few things:

• We picked at the right moment for our desired outcome - ripe but not to ripe.
  
• We managed the light smoke taint - taking the wine of the gross lees before barreling down.
  
• We knew how to provide the right environment for the wine to develop in without intervention. Barrels kept at around 70 degrees. Lees stirred only a few times.
  
• The wine, the yeast and the bacteria did their part in barrel.
  

I think the result are spectacular. It always amazes me how grapes and a little SO2 can make such a wonderful product.

Last night, thanks to a lovely friend, we tasted numerous Italian wines. Three stuck out in my mind for different reasons:

• Zuani vigne 2007, DOC Collio Bianco Zuani Societa Agricola. A lovely white that had an incredible nose that really appealed to me. The wine is a blend of TocaiFriuliano, Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio and Sauvignon Blanc.
  
• Rosso del Saprano 2005, IGT Sicilia, Palari. A blend of Nerello Mascalese, Nerello Cappuccio, Nocera, and Galatena from the slopes of Mt Etna. The wine showed finesse, elegance yet an earthly roughness on the edges. Pepper, cloves, dried thyme and dark cherries. We have a bottle or two of Faro, another wine made by Palari, that I am now tempted to open.
  
• Acinatico 2004, DOC Recioto della Valpolicella Classico, Stefano Accordini. Mocha, port and dark cherries. Round and soft yet lovely. Great way to end the night.
  

I would love to spend more time tasting Italian wines...

We had dinner with Sacha Verhange of Eno Wines on Saturday night along with his lovely wife and daughter. Over dinner, we enjoyed several interesting wines that are worth noting.

2006 Saint-Joseph, Rene-Jean Dard et Francois Ribo. Probably the most fascinating wine we had all night. It reminded me of a good Cote-Rotie as well as the wines of Raymond Trollat. I would guess that it was fermented with stems. I wasn't able to confirm my guess looking around on the web so who knows. I did find out that they release a Syrah in the spring following harvest - I would love to give it a try and will look for it. You can read a bit more about them at: http://www.wineterroirs.com/2004/06/dard_ribo.html The winemakers trained in Beaune so it was the perfect match for our other wines.

2000 Gevrey-Chambertin, Hubert Lignier. I really liked this wine - spicy and minerally. The balance was nearly perfect and reminded me what I really like in wine. Balanced and not over the top. I don't know anything about it and don't even know when/where we got it.

1999 Chambertin, Trapet Pere & Fils. Last time we opened a bottle of this, we were totally disappointed. This time, it was singing. Lots of dark fruit with a silky texture. We bought this bottle at the domaine when we were first dating. Grandmère Trapet led us around - we didn't speak a word of French and she, not a word of English. That said, we had a wonderful time as she told us about Napoleon's love of Chambertin and her love of Tracey's nail polish. The wine brought us back to that moment which made it nearly perfect.

A great evening and wonderful wines!

In a recent post on Proof, Iain Gately describes his hang over cure (which I won't ever try) and the struggle to explain in Spanish that he was not a sloppy drunk the night before...

When I fell into bed with my partner I was happy: inebriated yes, wasted, no. Squiffy rather than sloshed, trashed or flayed.
Besotted - Etymologically, That Is

According to the post, Benjamin Franklin published common phrases for describing a drunk in 1736. I am going to try and use "He's Eat a Toad & half for Breakfast" as soon as possible.

Natural wine making is a hard concept to explain and many of our fellow wine makers get offended by the mere mention of.

Vinopis, a french winemaker's blog, recently posted two very interesting South Africa ads for Avondale winery. The ads try to explain, in an eye catching manner, why they make wine au naturel.

We plan our own ad campaign with naked yeast photos.

As the end of the year approaches, everyone in the wine world seems inclined to post their top ten, most surprising 20 or 100 best lists. I am not sure why the end of the year causes this behavior.

As I reflect on this year, my top ten list would focus on people I have connected or re-connected with over a bottle of wine. Friends from elementary and high school ( in Salt Lake, Raleigh and here), friends from previous jobs, friends struggling with life and friends celebrating life. Sometime just slowing down to taste the wine and talk is the very best thing.

Of course, I am happy when our wine makes a list like Gerry Frayer's - My top 10 whites of the year!(Arcadian,Saxon Brown,etc..).

With snow up in Tilden Park, it's no wonder the winery has been a bit chillier the past few days. Jared and I bundled up for lab work Monday night, as pouring rain intermittently echoed throughout the cellar. Jared let me choose the wine we would taste and asses for the night, and I decided on the Brosseau Chardonnay. We worked our way through eight barrels, and each one was surprisingly different. The first four were fermenting in older barrels, which gave them a floral lavendar and honeysuckle flavor. The next two barrels were only two years old, and so had a more toasted and oaky taste. The last two were only a year newer, but had a distinct nose and taste of vanilla.
Then Jared taught me how to stir the lees in the barrels. He handed me a long, crooked metal contraption with handles, and instructed me that it should only touch the wineto prevent contamination. This was quite the challenge as I attempted to climb the ladder, maneuver through barrels, and fit the stirrer through small barrel holes without letting it brush up against anything. At least all the dodging and stirring action warmed me up! Hopefully we see some warmer weather for the open house tasting we're holding on Saturday.

It is that time of year, when we get reviews. Reviews are funny things - sometimes they make sense to us. Sometimes, they seem like they are about different wines. (And sometimes they reflect that the reviewers don't read our notes like a recent review about our 3/13 that says it doesn't taste like a typical Syrah..)

So, some recent favorites. First from a customer (always the best ones):

WOW - just finished my first bottle of Tamarindo and am blown away. Balanced, clean, focused, luscious, and deeeeeeeeeeeelicious! Very well done indeed. Just a wonderful expression of one of my favorite varietals.

International Wine Reviews (http://www.i-winereview.com/) recent reviews.

Donkey and Goat 2006 Vielle Vignes Mendocino Ridge ($37) 92 A wine sourced from up to 100-year old high altitude field blends of Syrah and Petite Sirah. Exhibits an opaque ruby purple color and aromas of black fruit, minerals, black pepper and violets. Rich and flavorful spicy black fruit on the palate with a silky smooth mouthfeel, mature tannins with some grip, and a long satisfying finish. A terrific wine that will likely improve with age.

Donkey and Goat 2005 Syrah Reserve Brosseau Vineyard Chalone ($55) 91 Opaque ruby purple. Reveals aromas of high-toned black fruit and toasty oak. It spends 36 months in 2-year old oak barrels and is silky smooth on the palate with ripe concentrated black fruit flavors and black pepper notes. The wine reveals purity of fruit, elegance and balance with ripe gripping tannins on the finish.

http://i-winereview.blogspot.com/2008/12/donkey-and-goat-winery-berkeley.html

November/December 2008, Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar

Focus on the Central Coast by Josh Raynolds

2006 Fenaughty Vineyard Syrah, El Dorado: Inky ruby. Classic syrah aromas of red and dark berries, violet, anise and cracked pepper. Juicy and fresh, offering vibrant blackberry and candied plum flavors, with a jolt of pepper on the back. Gains sweetness on the lively, long finish. I really like this wine's balance and precision. 91 pts

2006 Three Thirteen, California: (a blend of syrah, mourvedre and grenache) Bright red. Spicy red berries and cherry on the nose, with suave floral, herbal and Asian spice qualities adding complexity. Fresh red berry flavors are framed by dusty tannins and given a tangy edge by bitter berry skin and peppery herbs. Fresh, brisk and refreshing, with good closing snap. Imagine a cross between pinot noir and high-quality Cotes du Rhone. Just over 92% of this fruit is from El Dorado; the rest comes from Chalone. 89 pts

2007 Tamarindo Roussanne, El Dorado: (12.8% alcohol) Silver-yellow. Dried lime, pear and beeswax on the nose, with a suave floral honey undertone. Energetic citrus and orchard fruit flavors are complicated by smoky minerals and bitter pear skin. Becomes sweeter and deeper on the finish, which features juicy mango and white peach qualities while maintaining focus. This is lovely right now. 90 pts

More reviews as they come out. Happy holidays!

I wanted to do a short post about my other job. As the winery grows, I have continued to work in the tech industry to allow us to focus on making our wine. A while back, a friend, Eric Marcoullier, asked me to work on a new project of his called Zentact. I agreed and started this past September. The team is great (all have worked here on weekends when we need them) and the product is great as well. We are launching our private beta today.

While I don't want to mix church and state, you can read more about it on our Zentact blog. http://blog.zentact.com/2008/12/great-coverage-today/

We always struggle with how to describe our wines. We often have a group of friends over to drink wine and tell us what they think and then Tracey takes up the difficult task of writing the notes (Writing Wine Notes).

Anyway, the results are sometimes a bit over the top. Serious Eats held a contest for the most over the top description. The comments are pretty funny though I don't agree with all of them. Bacon Fat and wet slate are two examples that I think are very accurate descriptors that others think are mere pretentious.

Found via the NYTimes Well blog.

We had a great Thanksgiving in wine country with our good friends and their family. We came back Friday and held a casual open studio open house on Saturday and Sunday.

It was a great success! Instead of our normal party, this was just a simple wine tasting with art from our friend Jane Fisher and barrel candle holders from me. Mine are very simple and we have a few left - $20 each. They are just staves - no varnish, stain or anything. I like how the wood looks after years of red wine. (Email me if interested, I have no idea how to ship these nor photograph them as you can see. That said, one customer did a great job - check out her photograph and description at gigegy: Indie Holiday Shopping Series 2008: Studio Style )



As we read the news these days, we are very thankful for all of our customers. The wine business is suffering with this down turn. Matt Garretson, who makes very interesting and exciting wines, decided to call it quits - http://www.garretsonwines.com/. Sean Thackery has been experiencing what we have - great orders from mailing list customers but reliable distributors not being able to order. Mr. Thackery wrote this in a recent email to customers:

The Chicken Little Discount. While orders from the Winelist
haven't been much affected by all the recent turmoil, two of the
wholesale distributors I sell to are delaying buying anything from
anyone until the sky stops falling. This is exasperating, since in
the meanwhile, I have harvest bills & a payroll to meet; so I can't
see any good reason not to offer their allotments to the Winelist
instead, & at the same (wholesale) price. This is an unheard-of
discount: 33 1/3%. It applies only to the 2006 Andromeda and 2006
Sirius, and only through the end of this year, or until we've sold
through these particular allotments, whichever comes first. As I
would hope those of you who have tasted them will agree, these are
pristine examples of what those wines should be, and will age
splendidly. Thus my bills get paid, and those of you built of stouter
timber than my offending distributors, can stock a larger supply of
some (in my opinion) truly remarkable wines at an otherwise
unobtainable price.

At the same time, this morning I saw that the Hong Kong Auction on Black Friday was considered a big success beating the estimate by roughly 20% - www.reuters.com. Hopefully this is a sign of better time ahead in the near future. In the mean time, we are offering free shipping on our available wines for our mailing list customers and their gift giving needs through the end of the year. Not on the list, just join.

In early October, we mentioned that we had smoke taint with our rose. It is gone and we have learned a fair amount on how to deal with since then including:

• Smoke taint or flavor is in the eyes (or perhaps mouth) of the beholder. As the The Wine Spectator reported, some people consider it a mark of the vintage/terroir, others as an issue.
  
• Rain, despite the research from Australia, seems to have a huge impact on the smoke. We picked our Perli Vineyard both before and after 3 inches of rain - different plots. The plot we picked after had nearly no perceivable smoke flavor.
  
• Letting the gross lees fall out minimizes the smoke flavor. We do this by settling in tank after pressing the fermented reds.
  
• Adding smoke free lees also minimizes the smoke flavors.
  

Once we are finished with malolactic fermentation, we will re-taste everything and see if we need to do anything more.

Clive Barnes passed away yesterday. He was a great critic of both dance and drama - I can remember reading a review of his where he was up front saying he didn't understand something and felt, as a result, he could not judge it. Or as the New York Times described him today:

Prolific and influential, he nonetheless maintained a consistently skeptical attitude toward criticism in general and his own in particular. “The job’s impossible,” he once said, “and one must pray that one will be only moderately incompetent.”

NY Times, 19 November 2008 on the death of Clive Barnes

We should all strive to be so intellectually honest.

Last night was a somewhat atypical one for a Berkeley winemaker and his Cal student intern.  Jared and I poured three wines at the Paradise Lounge in San Francisco as part of the third night of San Francisco Wine Week's festivities.  The lights were dimmed, the music was bumping, and we quickly learned to appreciate our quiet serving nook in the corner of the club.  And luckily, our relatively isolated location did not stop eager guests from visiting our table.  We poured the 2006 Fenaughty Syrah, the 20o6 Vieilles Vignes, and the 2006 Three Thirteen.  Some short periods of decreased traffic flow allowed Jared and I to individually wander and sample some of the other purveyors.  However, time constraints and the sheer abundance of offerings that spanned two floors prevented us from covering too much ground.  Overall, a good night, and the vibrant energy of the club left us both exhausted by closing time.

It has been quite a year and, as always, I am both relieved and a bit sad. Relieved that I don't have to think about punch down Sunday morning nor Sunday evening for another year. Sad that the harvest rituals are over.

Of course, the end of harvest means that ski season is here. Alta and Snowbird in Utah are both open - Alta only for the weekend. Our good friend, Greg Neville, skied Snowbird yesterday. It sounds like it was a great day and this season will be something else. I am already dreaming of spending the day skiing and then dinner at Greg's restaurant in Salt Lake - Lugano's. If you go, ask for our wine!

We will be pouring tomorrow night as the first ever SF Wine Week event. The event is from 6 - 10 at the Paradise Lounge in Soma. I haven't been to the Paradise in at least 4 and half years - before Isabel was created.

It will be interesting to see how the event turns out. I like the goal - attract a different crowd to a wine event.

SF Wine Week
Wednesday, November 12th
The Sommelier Party, 6-10p
Paradise Lounge
308 11th St
San Francisco, CA

With harvest, comes three times a day punch downs of our reds. We handle this with our great intern team and ourselves. The 550 L puncheons are not hard to punch down, just a work out. Our 4200 L (4 plus tons of fruit) wood fermentor is a different story. The first two to three days when fermentation starts, it is nearly impossible to punch down using the punch down tools.

Yesterday, the Broken Leg Syrah started to ferment. It is in the big guy, our affectionate name for the 4200 L tank. This morning around 6 AM, I tried to punch down using the tools. Within seconds, I realized that I wouldn't be able to without tremendous effort.

So, I decided to do it the old fashioned way. I quickly washed my legs, sprayed them with alcohol and jumped in and stomped. The grapes are getting warm with fermentation - around 70 degrees. The air was closer to 55 creating a wonderful contrast. It was a great way to start out the day.

I've discovered the reason red wine remains relatively undisturbed during the fermentation process.  The sugary, sweet initial grape juice is delicious, and obviously the finished wine is the grand endpoint, but in between those stages this Syrah should be tasted more to satisfy curiosity than to be enjoyed for pure taste alone.  The nose has grown deeper and almost damper, emitting a sharp odor that could you make you dizzy if you take too strong a whiff.  Just a tiny sniff gives you a mouthful of dry tanginess.  Only after a few moments to let the taste linger does the tart fruitiness from last week's tasting come through.  It's almost as if the Fenaughty Syrah is asking to be left alone for a while, to let its flavor develop and mellow out.  The power behind this grape so early in the fermentation process seems to guarantee a complex and strong final flavor.

A lively, fast-working crowd of volunteers sorted, stomped, and crushed the Syrah from McDowell Valley on Sunday, in celebration of Jared and Tracey’s fifth anniversary. It takes some devoted winemakers to celebrate their marriage working on a mighty 4 tons of grapes! First planted way back in 1894, the vines providing these big juicy grapes are from some of the oldest Syrah vines in California. But they still seem to be going strong—it took all afternoon and many busy hands to get the Syrah in barrels.

Sunday was also my first, long-awaited stomping experience. Because the barrel was nearly as high as my head, I needed to hop up a ladder in order to get in. Cold, plump, squishy purple grapes greeted my bare feet and soon my whole legs as I sunk deeper and deeper with each movement. My strategy was to move as quickly as possible in order to be most efficient, keep warm, and avoid sinking all the way to the bottom. It was actually quite a workout, which felt good after hours of standing next to the sorting platform. I kept hoping Isabel would help me out, but she was too busy tricycling around the lot to help me with the dirty work. Luckily, I brought my strong-legged Ultimate Frisbee teammates to stomp the other barrels. Finally, I knew the job was done when purple juice started seeping up over the top layer of grapes. I hope Jared and Tracey were able to wrap up quickly and actually relax for the remainder of their anniversary celebration!

The Fenaughty Syrah (15 Brix) just looks and smells too good at this point to wait for the finished product before tasting. So, we won't. The nose itself is very potent and earthy, and almost knocks you on your feet. The sweetness of the grape softens the otherwise grassy or tree bark aroma. The initial taste is also earthy, but quickly smooths out, leaving a lingering flavor of tart, sweet cherry. At this point, the wine would nicely complement a hearty rack of lamb, or even a blueberry pie!

Labels: Syrah

After all our hard work sorting and crushing the Lightner Syrah three weeks ago, I was glad to see the results of our efforts Saturday morning.  We pressed the Lightner Syrah and the Mourvedre, and it was my personal first encounter with a wine press.  The machine itself was an old-fashioned one, slowly pushing down on the goopy grape mush until deep purple juice trickled out.  As glasses of pressed and non-pressed Syrah were passed around for sampling, I had the opportunity to notice the fuller more complex flavor that breaking down the fruit creates.  

Since we were dealing with smoke taint, we tried several thing outside of our norm with the rose.
Some interesting things we learned:

• The skin contact had a huge influence on the smoke in the juice - what we press the day it came in was great, 36 hours of free run seemed to have some smoke, 36 hours of skin contact plus pressing had a huge impact.
• PH was impacted by skin contact outside of ranges that many consider normal. 36 hours on the skin moved PH from 3.2 to 3.7. We don't understand why.
• Yeast hulls seem to help. We did this as an experiment and word traveled fast. When we called the producer, they already knew we did and asked for our thoughts.
  
• Smoke taint might be considered a benefit. Several of our helpers liked it.

For the reds, we have saved lees and will continue to save them. Our plan is to take the reds with smoke taint off of their lees and replace them with smoke free lees. That way, we get the benefit of the lees without the risk. I will write more about that latter.

Yesterday was a very busy day at the winery. With our rush to get as much of our ripe fruit in as possible before the rain, we picked nearly a ton of Lightner Grenache, four tons of Fenaughty Syrah and nearly a ton of Hog Pen Syrah (our new site at Perli vineyard). And I almost forgot, a few hundred pounds of Counoise which we blended in to our Lightner Grenache.

We followed our normal plan of action. Fruit arrived Friday evening and was cooled down over night to 40°F (4°C ). Saturday morning, the core team arrived around 7. We punched down everything already in the winery, got the pump ready to rack the BBQ sauce flavored rose (more about that in another post) and set up the sorting line. First up was sorting .75 tons of Fenaughty syrah for our whole cluster fermentation. We put this in the bottom of the large tank to help minimize the roughness of punch down on the stems. The other 3.25 tons went into the tank de-stemmed. After the Fenaughty, we did the Grenache and Hog Pen Syrah into puncheons.

Because of the light in the winery, it is always hard to take a good picture. Here is the team sorting Grenache yesterday.




We had foot stomper break up the grapes yesterday. We don't use a crusher - just feet when we want a bit more broken up grapes. (On a side note, we do sterilize the feet. )




Our super stomper, Karen, talks about the challenge of foot stomping 4 tons of Syrah. (Yes, 8,000 pounds.)



We had a hugh team yesterday including many new friends! With the help of team, we were able to finish crushing before lunch. Thanks to all of you!