4 posts tagged “wine”
The last time we went up to wine country was in June for the Days of Wine & Lavender festival at Matanzas Creek Winery. We're wine club members there and at Harvest Moon Winery and rather than having them ship us our wine, we make a point to drive up there and pick it up ourselves every quarter. Due to all of the activity of this summer, we were woefully behind on our orders so decided to head up there today. In between visiting each of those wineries, we stopped off at Manzanita Creek, where we proceeded to buy a case of zinfandel, talk with the wine maker Jack (a blue-eyed sicilian like Alan and his mom), and just drink a lot of great wine. We also signed up for their wine club. Oh, and we got to eat a petite syrah grape straight off the truck. Good stuff.
We were thinking of canceling our membership at Matanzas Creek but when we got up there, they were having a special tasting just for wine club members in the back of the tasting room and it reminded me what I loved about the place when we signed up about a year ago. So we picked up our shipment from July and picked out and paid for our October shipment since the next time we'll make it up there is probably December.
I would love to go to the Wine & Food Affair like we did back in 2005 (one of my favorite event experiences up there), but since it's the week before we leave for Italy, I very much doubt we'll get a chance. Manzanita Creek is participating this year and he was asking us about it since they hadn't done it before.
We also tried to stop off at Marimar Torres, but they were closed for harvest. A couple of places were, actually, including one of our old favorites Arista. I say "old favorites" because they no longer make zinfandel and are focused entirely on expensive pinots. Oh, we also stopped off at Gary Farrell for the first time, but I didn't like the environment (neither did Alan). While the setting was absolutely magnificent and the tasting room was gorgeous, the woman pouring our wine seemed to be a sycophant and was a little too hyped on "Gary." It was, "Gary, Gary, Gary" out of her mouth and just so ... unsettling. I like places that are a bit more down-to-earth and really just relaxed about wine making and drinking. She made a big production about it all. The wines were okay, maybe a bit too mellow for me. I started drinking wine at a time when berry bombs were popular and high alcohol content was the norm, so that's what I've grown to like. Subtle is not really what I'm looking for in a zinfandel, and all of their wines didn't really have a distinctive feature/taste. That is, except for the cabernet. It tasted like I was biting in to green olives and was just very unpleasant. It was to the point where I actually hated the wine and if I was at an event, would have drank water instead of it. It just sat that poorly with my tastebuds. So, showing up at Manzanita Creek was a welcome respite from the previous experience.
All in all though, a good day for wine. We're now up to 65 bottles. We've definitely come a long way from sitting out on the porch drinking boxed wine. Very far indeed.
If you could only save one thing in a house fire (thing, not person), what would it be and why?
Submitted by donnunn.
This is assuming pets are included in the "not person" stipulation, of course.
I used to say it was our wedding photos, but not so much anymore. I definitely think it'd be our wine. I wonder what Alan would say.
Speaking of wine, my new favorite is 2004 J Pinot Noir, Russian River Valley.
The Vineyards
J’s 2004 Russian River Valley Pinot Noir is an elegant composition of wines made from 100% Pinot Noir grapes sourced from our Estate Vineyards as well as from selected growers in the Russian River Valley Appellation.Processing
Our grapes are picked at night or in the cool morning hours to preserve freshness. The fruit is then carefully hand-sorted before de-stemming into a variety of open-top and closed-top fermenters. The must is given 3 days of cold soaking before fermentation is allowed to begin. Malolactic fermentation occurred in both oak tanks and French oak barrels. Our process allows us to craft a wine that is balanced, exhibiting layered complexity of flavors and aromas.Ageing
Malolactic fermentation occurred in oak tanks and French oak barrels. The wine aged for 11 months in French oak barrels, 30% of which were new French oak. A loose filtration process with no fining was employed before bottling.Tasting Notes
The 2004 vintage exhibits the full potential of our vineyards and the unique terroir of our region. The growing season in 2004 was relatively long and warm, with low yields, concentrating fruit flavors in the berries. As you pour the wine, Bing cherry and plum aromas burst forth. Hints of blackberry, violets, wild fennel, spicy cinnamon, and creamy vanilla round out the bouquet. The finish is full, long and silky with coffee, smoked bacon, warm spice and brown sugar notes.Harvest: August 17 - October 1st, 2004
Final Analysis: Alcohol 14.1% by volume
Bottling Date: January 2006
Cases Produced: 20,000
... a bottle of champagne and potstickers. Yes, I'm sacreligious like that, but this is how we roll.
The evening was further enhanced by the presence of Alton Brown and his Food Network special Feasting on Asphalt. Currently, I want nothing more than a biscuit. Alan is now convinced that when he hits middle age, he and his friends will make like Alton and hit the road on motorcycles in search of Good Eats. I told him that he's crazy if he thinks (1) he's going on a motorcycle and (2) he's going without me. Motor home, all the way, baby!
Kathy's post about her trip to Sonoma this weekend reminded me that we have SO MUCH wine to pick up. It's gotten to the point where our wine clubs are calling and writing asking if we have any intention of ever coming back. We also have wine futures that we purchased back in March that should be approaching pick up time. The one I'm most looking forward to is from Manzanita Creek. I *loved* their Lodi Zinfandel (they no longer make it since the vineyards were purchased by a developer and now tract housing sits atop where the grapes once stood), so I can't wait to see how their other zins turn out after some aging.
Maybe we can get up there this weekend.
