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With labor day fast approaching, it’s hard to believe summer is almost over.  If you live in northern California, you might think summer started only last week.  As today it’s already over 97 degrees in my backyard, I’m already thinking about what wine to pop the cork on this evening.  I want something fragrant, something luscious.  That can mean only one thing – aromatic white wines.

Viognier, Riesling and other varieties come to mind.  Definitely not Chardonnay and probably not Sauvignon Blanc.   These are my top choices:

Viognier – I love the Rhone wines, and it’s for the heady perfumed wines that Viognier, and other Rhone varietals have.  I have two choices for Viognier, Cold Heaven, made by Morgan Clendenen, with Santa Barbara fruit, and Skipstone Viognier, Makena’s Vineyard with Alexander Valley fruit.  Each has its own lovely flavors that linger on your tongue, like a delicious nectar.  Makes me think of biting into a really ripe peach, and the juices run down your chin.

I’m also in love with Sarah’s Vineyard Cote de Madone Blanc, a blend of white Rhone varietals Rousanne, Marsanne and Grenache Blanc that is just amazing.  It was included in my wine club shipment, and I want more.  It’s crisp and rich and easy to sip.

I met the Cinnabar winemaker, George Troquato at a wine event, and we got to talking about aromatic whites.  He told me about Cinnabar’s Picpoul Blanc, made with another white Rhone variety.  He was nice enough to send me a bottle, and I have to tell you it is fantastic! It’s fresh, with great acidity and alluring tropical and honeysuckle aromas.  You can buy it only at Cinnabar’s tasting room in downtown Saratoga.  I’m glad I live close by!

I’ve been drinking Qupe‘s Marsanne for a few years now, whenever I can find a bottle.  The fruit is from Santa Ynez Valley, and a little Rousanne is mixed in to round out the wine.  It’s lively and fresh, with bright citrus and pear flavors.  The Rousanne contributes to the plush mouthfeel.

I’ve also been a fan of Crios Torrentes, made by Susana Balbo in Argentina.  It’s a wonderfully aromatic white, with honeysuckle and jasmine giving off heady scents.  It’s medium bodied and also great for just sipping.

Perhaps we’ll have a late summer, so we can enjoy these wines for a few more weeks.  Cheers!

Since wine can be made anywhere these days, it’s no big surprise that Oakland, Berkeley and Alameda, CA (also known as the East Bay) are home to many urban wine brands, both established and start ups. So what if there are no vineyards in the city (that I’m aware of).  At this past weekend’s Urban Wine Experience in Oakland, the local wines were showing rather well, paired with bites from local restaurants. The public event was held by the East Bay Vintner’s Alliance.

I found a lot to like, and some really good values. There were many good Rhone varietal bottlings, and that made me happy, since j’adore Rhone wines. I might just need to do a little East Bay Rhone wine tour.

These are the standouts:

One of my last sips of the day was at Stage Left Cellars. It’s a fairly new player in the urban wine scene. Partners Melinda Doty and Rich Williams exited the corporate world and discovered “everybody needs an exit strategy.” Opening Stage Left is theirs. “The Go Getter” white is a blend of Rhone varietals – Viognier, Grenache Blanc and Rousanne. Just yummy, refreshing and very aromatic. They also make a beautiful Grenache, blended with a little Mourvedre to make a fruity wine with a little spiciness added in.

At Prospect 772 Wine Co. they were pouring “The Brawler.” Oh yeah, its a big big Syrah, but tamed a little by the addition of Viognier in the blend. The grapes are grown in the Sierra Foothills, and the wines are made by Jeff Cohn (winemaker at JC Cellars).

Speaking of Jeff Cohn, his own label, JC Cellars , poured “First Date,” a terrific and rich Rousanne and Marsanne blend.  “The Imposter,” was a bold blend of mostly Zinfandel, Syrah and Petite Sirah.

Rock Wall Wine’s Cabernet France was so fragrant and jammy, just a beautiful wine.  I love to see Cab Franc on its own.

Urban Legend wines have great labels, inspired by the cranes at the Oakland port. They have a good Sauvignon Blanc that’s crisp and has really bright acidity. They also make a Teroldego, a darkly hued red varietal from Italy that has big ripe black fruits. Definitely worth seeking out!

Over at R & B Cellars, owners Kevin and Barbara Brown are not only winemakers, they’re also jazz musicians. Kevin plays piano and Barbara sings. Hence the wine labels with musical symbols. They’re striking the right notes with a very nice “Serenade in Blanc” Sauvignon Blanc and “Swingsville” Zinfandel, and both are less than $15 dollars each.

Verve wines from Aubin Cellars really charmed me. They’ve got a French Columbard, imported from France (Cotes de Gascogne). When have you ever seen French Columbard? Well it should be more often.  This is a great value too, at $12. Verve also makes wine with local grapes, a Carneros Pinot Noir and a Sonoma Mountain Syrah.

One final mention, loved the “Temptation” Rhone blend from Carica Wines, which is a GSM – Grenache, Syrah and Mourvedre mix. And only $25 per bottle. No wonder the winery is sold out of the current vintage (I did find some bottles online)

There were many, many good bites to go with the wines. But the one that stood out the most for me was the pulled pork sandwich and grits from Brown Sugar Kitchen. Fabulous! And a perfect match with the Urban Legend red wines. If you haven’t

been to Brown Sugar, just go ahead and go now, for their fried chicken and waffles!

Most of the East Bay Vintner’s wineries have tasting rooms — either shared or on their own.  Check websites for days and hours open or to make an appointment.  Think of going to the urban wineries as exploring a new, modern wine country.

It’s not enough for a winery to have a tasting room these days. They’ve got to offer an “experience” and make it unique. The folks at Kunde Family Estate understand this.  The winery is a 100% estate winery, on 1850 acres, with 700 acres of it planted to vines. It’s a beautiful property. If you saw Bottleshock, much of the movie was filmed at Kunde. The boxing ring is still there.

Sure, Kunde has a tasting room, and you can stand at the bar, or sign up for a seated reserve tasting. But the best way to experience Kunde is to get out of the tasting room for one of the best views of Sonoma wine country.

Fourth generation family winegrower Jeff Kunde’s always thinking of what’s next. I met up with him at the winery to see his latest project, the Mountain Top Tasting. It was Jeff’s idea to create this, by clearing out dense brush on a spot that offers spectacular views. We drive through the vineyards while going up higher and higher, until we’re there, at about 1400 ft in the Mayacamas Mountains. You pass through a rustic gate, walk down a path, and then suddenly, there’s a 180-degree view of the Sonoma Valley. Breathtaking? It’s beyond. Take a moment to enjoy the view:

Jeff says that seeing the valley this way helps his visitors get a real lay of the land. As you taste several wines here you can also see the particular vineyard where the grapes were grown. Kunde is known for Zinfandel, and you see the 100+ year old vines down below you.

You could spend all day here, and Jeff says sometimes he has a hard time getting visitors to leave. I understand. I could sit there all day with a glass of Zin and be very very happy.

You’ll need a reservation for the Mountain Top tasting, which for now is offered on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. The cost is $25 per person, which I have to say, is very reasonable.

But that’s not all. Kunde also offers two more out-of-the-tasting room experiences: an Eco-Hike and a Hike & Taste in the Vineyards.  Many of the Eco-Hikes, which are about 3 miles long through the Kunde ranch and vineyards (about 4 hours) are also Dog Hikes. Kunde has got to be the most dog-friendly winery around – they’ve got plenty of doggie snacks and a water bar for the dogs (of course there’s lunch and water for the dog walkers and owners, with a little wine tasting). Plus, a portion of the hike tour fee is donated to Canine Companions and the Sonoma County Humane Society. Another bonus – Jeff Kunde leads many of the Eco- and Dog Hikes. How many winery owners do you know who spend four hours with visitors? Pretty cool.

Everything comes down to choices and priorities. That’s why I’m not attending the 2010 Wine Bloggers’ Conference (WBC) in Walla Walla, Washington this weekend. The reason is perfectly clear: Wine Women & Shoes is happening in Napa, and there was no way to attend both. Yes, shoes win out over wine. In fact, I always compare what something costs to how many pairs of shoes I could buy. An $800 bottle of Screaming Eagle? That’s at least two or three pairs of shoes. Personally I’d rather have the shoes. Oh don’t get me wrong, I love wine and spend way too much money on it as it is. But shoes you can wear more than once, and perhaps even for years. Wine is a one time deal. Once you pop the cork, it’s gone. Anyway, that’s my reasoning. Anything to justify buying yet another pair.

No doubt I’ll be following the happenings and pronouncements from WBC. I’m hoping someone will finally reveal the secret to making loads of money by blogging. That would make the conference worth attending.

I’ll post about WW&S, which takes place at Hall Winery in St. Helena on Sunday, June 27. I’m going with a group of friends; our numbers keep expanding year after year. This is year four!

Last week I was at two wineries who have taken the wine tasting experience outside. What a great alternative to the crowded, standing room only, traditional winery tasting bars.

Frog’s Leap Winery in Rutherford is one of the most beautiful places in Napa Valley. They are organic and sustainable, and the ground around the winery features a working garden and hen house (they sell to local restaurants) and pond. The red barn is a wine country icon.

The seated tastings are something fairly new for Frog’s Leap, so if you haven’t been in a few years, be sure to check it out next time you’re in Napa. The tasting is four wines, and you sit outside on the big veranda of the Vineyard House, with a terrific view. Reservations not necessary, but in the summer you might want to make one. Cost is $15 per person. Of course you can go on one of two daily tours for free.

By the way, here’s a feature we did on In Wine Country a couple years ago about Frog’s Leap.

Have you heard of Elizabeth Spencer Wines?

This is a fairly new winery, with what just might be the smallest tasting room in Napa Valley. It’s housed in what was the original Rutherford post office. The building is a mere 300 sq. ft. We also featured the tasting room on In Wine Country.

Now there is a very cool garden outdoor seating area, where you can sit, relax and enjoy your wine tasting.

For Cabernet fans, you might want to go for the Appellation tasting.  Elizabeth Spencer is best known for its Cabs.

The tasting takes place in an open air room, with a view of the garden patio.  The Cabs are paired with chocolate and other small bites. The regular tasting is $15; the Appellation tasting is $40. Reservations required for each.

What can you say about vintner Dario Sattui? He’s full of passion, whether he’s talking about wine, or his castle winery, Castello di Amorosa. Listening to his story at an event to mark the 125th anniversay of V. Sattui, he just comes alive telling his most improbable story of how he made it in the wine industry. Suffice it to say he went from sleeping in his car to running the wildly successful winery in St. Helena. He’s done it his way, from selling direct to consumers, to building on the east side of Hwy 29 so that it’s an easy right turn off as visitors drive through Napa Valley. He would even pay customers to sit at the picnic tables to entice people to stop in at the winery. He doesn’t have to do that now. Most of all, Sattui’s story is inspirational, and after listening to him talk, you feel anything is possible too.

Here’s a clip from the story we did on Sattui and his castle on In Wine Country

Conn Creek Winey in Napa Valley has a cool program where you get hands-on experience blending wine. It takes place it their AVA Room (American Viticulture Areas), where you step into the role of winemaker as you sample 15 single vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon wines straight from the barrel. These 15 wines are all from the 15 appellations, or wine growing regions, that are in the Napa Valley. Conn Creek uses many of them for its signature Cab blend, Anthology. Blending is a critical tool in the winemaker’s toolbox, because often a blend will turn out to be way better than a single vineyard wine.

These barrels are grouped according to flavor and body, going from soft and light to big and bold. As I taste and make notes, a few favorites pop out. Once I’d decided on the Cab components, I still had more decisions to make. One is choosing a blending wine to add spice. The “spice rack” wines are Merlot, Cab Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot. I decide to use Merlot and Cab Franc. I asked why wouldn’t you use all 15 base wines, and the answer was that it would be like using all 64 crayons in the big box — you would end up with black. I certainly don’t want a black, muddy wine. What I chose instead:

Conn Creek Rutherford estate: Love the big nose, juicy finish and silky texture [Supple]
Volker Estate Chiles Valley: So good! Floral nose, well-balanced, excellent [Complex]
Stagecoach Vineyard Atlas Peak: Nice complex nose, soft tannins [Complex]
Frediani Vineyard Calistoga: Ohh the nose is wonderful, brambles, cassis, black fruits, chocolate [Bold]
Merlot: Velvety
Cabernet Franc: Lovely floral nose

The next decision is how much of each wine to put into the blend. This is trial and error time. I went with the wines I liked the most in bigger percentages.

30% – Chiles Valley
30% – Stagecoach
15% – Conn Creek Estate
15% – Frediani
5% – Merlot
5% – Cab Franc

You add wines to a graduated cylinder, and then once you have 100% you dump the wine into a glass, then swirl, sniff and sip. Well, my blend wasn’t as good as I thought it would be. It was a little too fruity and that made it seem sweet.  While there is a wine educator on hand for the blending experience, the idea is really for you to do it on your own.  But I was happy that Conn Creek’s winemaker, Mike McGrath, dropped by.  He tasted my wine and immediately knew what was missing. Richness, in the form of earthy. He suggested adding some of the Newton Vineyard Mt. Veeder [Rich]. So I reworked my blend. Still not there. Now it was missing acid. I added a very small amount of Truchard Vineyard from Carneros [Soft] and it was amazing to me that it instantly made my blend taste really good. It’s like a light bulb went on. This blending is an art, and much harder than I expected. Here’s the “recipe” for my final blend:

20% – Chiles Valley
20% – Stagecoach
10% -Conn Creek Estate
15% – Frediani
5% – Merlot
5% – Cab Franc

Plus new additions:
5% – Truchard
15% – Mt. Veeder
5% – Petit Verdot

Now that I had my blend down, it was time to design the label. I’m no artist, so I went very simple — rolling hills and a sun. Once that’s done, you fill the bottle, cork it and slap on the label. That’s it — a bottle of wine you can take home to enjoy with friends and family.

Last, but not least, you get to taste Conn Creek’s flagship Cabernet Sauvignon blend, Anthology and you can compare your results to the pro winemakers. Turns out the blend for the current Anthology is 76% Cab, 10% Merlot, 8% Malbec, 4% Petit Verdot and 2% Cab Franc. I didn’t get the breakdown of the Cabs blended — after all that’s their “secret sauce.”
Anthology is powerful yet smooth and rich.

When I got home, my husband wanted to taste the wine immediately, but we had to wait at least 40 days to let the wine settle and go through bottle shock. So he tracked it on his calendar. On day 41 he wanted to open it, but the dinner I had made wouldn’t be a good match. A few weeks later I was ready; we popped the cork. I was a little worried the wine wouldn’t be any good, so I was pleasantly surprised by the floral nose with a hint of vanilla. There was lots of dark red fruit, a little tobacco and mint. The tannins were there, but they were soft. I was happy with my wine.  And I want to do it all again!

Taking part in the blending experience at Conn Creek really shows that there is an art and a skill to blending wine. It also shows the diversity of Cabernet grown in Napa Valley — there is not a uniform taste or character. That in turn shows the influence of terroir on the grape. Being a winemaker for a day is a lot of fun, and its an activity you can share with friends or family.

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Livermore Valley is one of my favorite wine growing regions in northern California. It’s easy to get to and is not over run with traffic and tour buses (not yet anyway!) If you’re not familiar with this area, it’s south east of San Francisco, in what the locals call the East Bay. As in many wine regions, there’s an annual barrel tasting weekend, where you can visit the wineries, talk to the winemaker and taste barrel samples.

The first stop was at Bent Creek Winery, where they were not only offering samples, they were also doing a blending demonstration. You first tasted samples of Cab from barrels with two types of wood — French and Hungarian oak. There is a difference, one was rounder and softer (French oak) the other much bigger in tannins (Hungarian oak). Then you blended the two samples and the result — it tasted better than each wine on its own — is a good example of the art and importance of blending. Adding just a drop of Petit Sirah showed us how a small amount of another wine can make a huge difference in taste and texture.

On to Big White House and John Evan. I’d heard of BWH, but not John Evan. Turns out it’s a family operation — like most Livermore wineries — and Big White House Winery is the father’s label and John Evan Cellars is the son’s. Winemaker John (Evan) Marion was sampling the ’07 Les Amoureux that’s a 50-50% blend of Cab from a vineyard in Calistoga and their Livermore estate Cab. It’s smooth and powerful. They also offered a vertical tasting of Syrah, starting with the ’09 and ’08 in barrel. There’s a big difference between the two, with the ’09 having spent just about six months in barrel. It’s all fruit, not a lot of complexity yet. Then, you tasted the finished wine in bottle, the ’07 Syrah “Rapscallion,” which was fantastic. It’s a Rhone style Syrah, a little smokey, meaty, spicy and fruity.
All the label art is painted by John’s sister Laura Marion, who has a distinctive style. The photos show her artwork for “Les Amoureux” Cabernet and Roussanne bottlings; her paintings are on display in the tasting room.

Last stop was at Page Mill Winery. Here they were sampling the ’08 Walker vineyard Cab from Livermore Valley. It’s drinking really well right now.

The barrel tasting event happened to fall on the 3rd Sunday of the month, and that’s also when Page Mill holds its BYOB event. On the 3rd Sunday each month you bring empty, clean wine bottles and for $8.49 per bottle, the winery staff will fill, cork and label your bottle. Winemaker Dane Stark says the program is very popular. Well, for under 10 bucks you get a better wine than you’d find at the same price point in the grocery store. Dane calls this “Recovery Red.” If you don’t have your own bottles, no worries, you can buy them for a couple dollars from the winery.

It’s the beginning of the wine social season if you will — Premiere Napa Valley.  This past weekend trade and media descended on the valley to taste special barrel lots created by Napa Valley winemakers that are auctioned off on Saturday afternoon. It’s a chance to meet the winemakers and owners, and to network within the industry. There are winery open houses, dinners, wine and more wine.

This is when you get a good feel for the vintage.  Here, the 2008 reds made their debut.  There were many issues with that growing season, including frost and fires.  Yields were low.  Winemakers who’ve been holding their collective breath can breathe a sigh of relief.  Almost everyone I talked to is very pleased with the wines.  To me, they are restrained but complex, with long finishes.

PNV is also about buying wine.  All the auction lots are exclusive to the Premiere Napa Valley “brand.”  Retail and restaurant buyers and distributors bid on the lots during the charity auction.  By the end of Saturday’s bidding, all 200 lots sold for a total of roughly $2 million, 29% better than last year’s tally.  The highest bid was $37,000 for the Shafer Vineyards lot.  Is this a sign the economy is turning around and wine sales will recover lost ground?  Let’s hope so – I’ll raise a glass to that!

Instead of a “best of” or “top 10 list” I decided to highlight the wineries and wines that should be on your radar.  The 2008 reds won’t be released until 2011 at the earliest.

Anomaly Vineyards – these folks changed their wine the Thursday before PNV, a brave move.  Went from blend w/ 60% Cab to 100% cab.  Kudos for following your instincts.

Arietta – a beautiful 100% Semillon with floral aromatics

Ashe Family Vineyards – a new winery with debut releases.  Also had a 100% Sauvignon Blanc, nice and refreshing.  Phillipe Melka is the winemaker.

Blackbird Vineyards – incredible Merlot based wines.  more to come in another post

Black Coyote Chateau – a first time showing at PNV.  Rich layers of flavor – a beautiful wine from Atlas Peak.  Well done!

Chimney Rock Winery – a fabulous wine from the fabulous winemaking team of Elizabeth Vianna and Doug Fletcher.

Dyer Vineyard – really loved this wine, a 100% Cabernet Franc.  Very very aromatic.  From Bill and Dawnine Dyer (look for one of Dawnine’s other wine projects, Meteor Vineyard)

Emblem Wines - Rob Mondavi, Jr. and Michael Mondavi are behind this label.  The lush Cab is all Rutherford fruit.

Gemstone Vineyard – I’m a big fan of Paul and Suzie Frank’s Gemstone wine.  Elegant and complex.

Hourglass – love the violets in the nose

Juslyn Vineyards – Carolyn and Perry Butler’s second PNV is smooth and elegant.  This is also the team behind the Footcandy shoe boutiques.

Tierra Roja – All of Linda Neal’s vineyard management experience is now captured in her own label.  A lovely wine.

Tuck Beckstoffer Wines – my first time tasting Tuck’s wines.  Track down Mockingbird.  More on these wines in a future post.

Venge Vineyards – rich and velvety.  Kirk Venge’s family is rooted in Napa Valley.

VinRoc Wine Caves – this winery is located in the up-and-coming Atlas Peak appellation of Napa.  It’s a wine worth seeking out and discovering, especially if you like rose´

The Mendocino Crab & Wine Days festival is a great event in that you’re eating local Dungeness crab and drinking local Mendocino County wines with it.  I tasted many of them as a component of the wine competition for the Crab & Wine Days event.  The same five judges in the the crab cake cook-off sipped and spit 48 wine entries.  Our mission:  choose the wine best paired with pure crab meat.

In the blind tasting lineup there were only white wines, except for one sparkling Rose.  Lots of Chardonnays were entered, but many were over-oaked or butter bombs.  The top three wines were #1 Graziano Chenin Blanc; #2 Navarro Vineyards Gewurztraminer; #3 Yorkville Cellars Sauvignon Blanc.

At the public crab and wine tasting, my favorite discoveries were the wines from Toulouse Vineyards, and the wines from Elke Vineyards. I almost don’t want to tell you about Toulouse because he’s a small producer and he sells out quickly.  Owner/winemaker Vern Boltz is a character, as I found out at his tasting room.  Loved the Gewurtz and both his Pinots — the reserve just rocks!  Please save a few bottles for me!

Mary Elke was one of the few vintners pouring a pink wine, a Rose of Pinot Noir.  I just loved it, lots of strawberry fruit character.  Her Chardonnay is unoaked and fabulous, clean, crisp and fruit-forward.  Love those unoaked Chards!

A People’s Choice award was also given for wine.  It’s not an apples to apples with the judges; we tasted the wine with just crab meat, while the people tasted wine with crab cakes.  Also the public vote was for best overall winery, not just one wine.  The choices were #1 Toulouse Vineyards; #2 McNab Ridge Winery; #3 Maple Creek Winery.  All are worth seeking out either online or through your local wine merchant.