Warming up with Terra Valentine

For my birthday two years ago, I visited Terra Valentine Winery on Spring Mountain. Curious about how my bottles of the 2005 Terra Valentine Spring Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon were ageing, I popped the cork on one the other day to pair with homemade risotto. As I stirred the risotto and slowly added chicken broth, white wine, cracked pepper, and parmesan cheese, I swirled and sipped my first glass of wine. The wine was very dry, with tannins that made me thirsty for water. The only aroma I detected was that of an almost medicinal-like smell that I wasn't sure I could appreciate.

During my tours at Chappellet, I routinely discuss the importance of serving temperature for wine. I talk about how serving a wine (white or red) at too cold of a temperature will mute the flavors and aromas of the wine. Sure enough, this bottle of 2005 Cab came straight out of my 59.6 degree cellar and I'll admit I was a little too quick to judge it.

After a bite of gouda, the wine tasted much better; the fat in the cheese quickly smoothed out the chalky tannins in the wine. And by the time I sat down with a big bowl of risotto, the wine had warmed up and finally revealed its true "colors". The medicinal aromas were replaced by notes of licorice, sage, cola and ripe cherry. The palate opened up nicely with bright flavors of juicy plum black cherry; the finish was long and fruity with a hint of espresso. Savoring my second glass, I was reminded by how much I love Terra Valentine's wines.

A beautiful day at Chappellet

When I took a tour of Chappellet Winery on Pritchard Hill back in March of 2009, I fell in love--with the property and its breathtaking views, my enthusiastic tour guide Candice, and of course, the amazing wines. To this day, it has been one of the most memorable wine tours I have ever had because it's an experience, not just a wine tasting. Most tours begin with a conservative splash of something white and then you walk around the winery with an empty glass. At Chappellet, you begin with a glass of Chardonnay inside the 41-year-old winery before heading out into the vineyards, a few more bottles of wine in tow.

As part of the tour, you walk through the crushpad, where there is a lot of action this time of year. And in the vineyard, you are encouraged to sample grapes off the vine. On the tour I took last year, Candice spoke passionately about the family history while she poured us the 2006 Merlot; she talked about the terroir as we tasted the 2006 Mountain Cuvee; she went into detail about the organic farming techniques while she poured us the 2006 Malbec; she told us about the grafting process as we sipped the 2006 Las Piedras Bordeaux-style blend; and the winemaking process was discussed at length, accompanied by the 2006 Signature Cabernet Sauvignon.

The wines I tasted then have since sold out with the help of some very significant scores from James Laube at Wine Spectator. The 2006 and 2007 vintages of the Signature Cab both received 94 points, and the high-end Pritchard Hill Cabernet Sauvignon was awarded 96 points for the 2007, 2006 and 2005 vintages. You'll never find scores in the Spectator for the Malbec, Petite Sirah, Zinfandel, Syrah, Las Piedras, or Cab Franc; just enough of these wines are made to go out to wine club members and are not nationally distributed.

Now I lead most of the tours at Chappellet, and it's just as fun to give the tour as it is to experience it as a consumer. Of the wines that I pour each day, my favorite is the 2007 Pritchard Hill Cab Franc.

Blended with 11% Malbec and 10% Cab, this is a Cab Franc that is juicy and lush with terrific structure. The powerful aromas of cherry, cola, and violet leap from the glass and open up to a full body of ripe raspberry and cocoa flavors intertwined with delicate spice notes. Velvety tannins give way to a finish that is long and smooth.

I tell my customers how versatile this wine is, but I like it so much, I am happy to drink it regardless of what I may (or may not) be eating. I hope you'll come visit us at Chappellet and taste this wine for yourself before it sells out!

Sip and be Merry

Since I began working at Merryvale Vineyards back in April, I have had little time to go wine tasting and therefore no new wineries to write about. After logging long hours at my desk as the Wine Club Manager, the only wines that I was drinking were the ones in the club shipments I was responsible for coordinating. Not that this is a bad thing; Merryvale produces a number of delicious and noteworthy wines.

In the almost five months I was employed at Merryvale, I immersed myself in Merryvale's diverse wine portfolio, including the 2006 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon (rich and velvety), the 2006 Napa Valley Merlot (tight and concentrated--needs more time), the 2007 Oak Knoll Cabernet Sauvignon (solid), the 2007 Cab Franc (too dry and earthy for my likes), the 2007 Hyde Vineyard Chardonnay (tropical fruit flavors and subtle oak), the 2009 Juliana's Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc (refreshing and fruity), and of course the legendary Profile, Merryvale's signature Bordeaux-style wine. The 2006 Profile is a beautiful blend with big tannins and a long shelf life. Although the 2007 Profile got 92 points from James Laube, it tastes under-developed and too jammy to drink right now.

I've never been much of a red Burgundy fan, but my favorite Merryvale wine is the $35 a bottle 2008 Carneros Pinot Noir. It's a light red hue in the glass, with aromas of sweet red berries, rose petal, and earth. Brandied cherry dances along the tongue, followed by mid-palate notes of herbs and spice. The finish is long and dry.

Being of light body and rich flavors, this wine is a terrific pairing with anything from pizza to paella. It also goes very well with dark chocolate.