Bonny Doon delights...!

Last night while hanging out at Main Street Wine Bar in Tiburon and sipping Champagne, the topic of my blog came up in conversation. If someone asks me what I do, wine-blogging is part of the answer.

When I started my blog in 2009, my premise could be easily summed up in a single sentence—review the experiences at various tasting rooms around the Napa Valley and attempt to visit all 450+ of them. I now blog about whatever wines please my palate, including current releases, dusty older bottles from my “cellar” (a fancy word for the storage unit at my sister’s place where I keep my overflow), and international selections that I come across in my pursuit of something worth savoring.

In describing my review-style last night, I mentioned that I don’t publish anything negative about a wine. My blog is a collection of recommendations and personal favorites. It’s not that I can’t write objective wine reviews, it’s that I don’t want to. To be honest, they can be a bore to read. I’m a storyteller who prefers happy endings. If you read about a wine on sipswirlsavor.com, it’s because I thoroughly enjoyed it and I hope you will too!

So, speaking of what I’ve enjoyed recently…

There has been a lot from Bonny Doon in my wineglass. With an appetizer of smoked salmon and avocado on toast last month, I enjoyed the brightness of the 2011 Le Cigare Blanc ($28/bottle). A blend of 62% Grenache Blanc and 38% Roussanne, this wine smells fresh with vivacious acidity, grassy notes, lemon curd, and a finish redolent with lime peel. It is very refreshing and would pair beautifully with fish, shrimp, or light salads.

With crispy pork cutlets, the 2010 Le Cigare Blanc Reserve ($50/bottle) was outstanding! This blend of 56% Roussanne and 44% Grenache Blanc reminds me of an opulent Chardonnay with a rich vanilla character and yellow apple and citrus flavors. A golden straw color in the glass, this wine is allowed to undergo malolactic fermentation. Full-bodied but decidedly balanced, this wine can hold up to heartier fare and anything creamy. Less than 500 cases produced!

A Rhone-style blend that changes vintage to vintage, the 2008 Le Cigare Volant ($38/bottle) is a delicious wine with bright raspberry notes and a white peppery finish. A week after enjoying the Blancs, this pretty ruby-colored wine was a smashing companion to rabbit, but you could also pair it with duck, roast turkey, or spicy sausage. A balanced blend of 45% Grenache, 30% Syrah, 13% Mourvèdre, 7% Cinsault, and 5% Carignane, this medium-bodied wine of about 3K cases has gentle tannins and lovely depth.

The 2008 Le Cigare Volant Reserve ($65/bottle) was a little too smoky for my preferences, but my dinner companions thoroughly enjoyed it. An empty bottle is always a good sign.

One of my favorite Bonny Doon wines is the Vin Gris deCigare ($16/bottle). This pale pink wine smells like wild strawberries and offers mouthwatering flavors of watermelon, strawberry, and citrus. With exciting acidity, this dry rosé is made with both red and white grapes, primarily Grenache and Grenache Blanc. This wine pairs significantly well with spicy foods like Mexican food. The screw-top closure is key for picnics and more!

The "Le Cigare" wines were received for review purposes. Please purchase yours from the Bonny Doon website. As always, I look forward to your thoughts. Please post comments on my Facebook page. Thank you and cheers!

Recommendations from the Rhone Rangers Tasting

When I think of wines from the Rhône Valley, I think of juicy Grenache, meaty Syrah, and complex GSM blends. But the first wine that wowed me at the 16^th Annual Rhône Rangers Grand Tasting event in San Francisco this past weekend was a white wine. It reminded me of how tasty the white Rhône varieties are—and with the weather warming up, this was a helpful reminder!

When I arrived at the Fort Mason Pavilion on Saturday afternoon, I didn’t have a plan of action. The wineries were organized alphabetically so I started at Andrew Murray and strolled down to Davis Family Vineyards, a booth that was crowded and a winery I'd never heard of before.  

I was very impressed with the Davis Family 2009 “Cuvee Luke” ($26/bottle). Named after their grandson and sourced from vineyards in the Sierra Foothills, this refreshing white is a classic blend of Marsanne, Roussane, and Viognier. It is opulent yet balanced with ripe fruit flavors and lively acidity. The Davis Family Tasting Room is in Healdsburg and also offers quite a few red wines including Pinot Noir, Zinfandel and Syrah.

I discovered a scrumptious Grenache from Mounts Family Winery, another Healdsburg-based winery. Their 2010 Grenache ($30/bottle) is estate-grown in the Dry Creek Valley. It is medium-bodied and luscious with plenty of red fruit on the palate and a finish that tastes like strawberries and spice.

My next stop was for the famed 2011 Grenache Blanc ($24/bottl) from Two Shepherds Vineyards. Recently recommended by Jon Bonné in the SF Chronicle, it is a delicious and super-limited production sourced from the Santa Ynez Valley. Aged on the lees in a combination of neutral oak and stainless steel, this white wine is abundant and persistent on the palate with citrus. stone fruit, and excellent acidity. Winemaker and founder William Allen uses an Old World, hands-off approach as he gently “shepherds” the grapes from the vineyard to the bottle. His Grenache ($32/bottle) and Syrah ($35/bottle) come from Russian River Valley and are very tasty with bright fruit and delicate tannins.

The best Mourvedré I tasted was from Kenneth Volk Vineyards. From the Enz Vinyeard in Lime Kiln Valley (San Benito County), the 2009 Mourvedré is rich and succulent with notes of black cherry, licorice, and blueberry. If you’re into “heirloom” wines, definitely check this winery out—they produce wines that are not usually farmed in California, including Torrontes, Aglianico, Negrette, and Tempranillo.

As I approached the end of the alphabet, I arrived at Zaca Mesa, a winery in Los Olivos that I visited about eight years ago. From the vibrant 2010 Viognier (only $16/bottle!) to the tasty 2008 “Z Cuvee” ($20/bottle), the wines were just as enjoyable as I remembered them. Current winemaker Eric Mohseni even poured me a little something special—the 2009 Black Bear Block Syrah ($60/bottle), which stole the spotlight. It was powerful yet elegant with flavors of blackberry, plum, and licorice. The Black Bear Block was named for the black bears that live nearby; it is the oldest remaining Syrah vineyard on the Central Coast and was the first planting of Syrah in the Santa Barbara County. It was truly a grand finale!

If you didn’t make it to the Rhône Rangers tasting this year, I hope you can make it next year. It was a great event with so many fantastic producers. Thank you to the organizers and all of the participants! There are RR events coming soon to Los Angeles (June 23^rd) and Chicago (September 11-12^th).

Are you a fan of Rhône varieties? Who are your favorite producers of American Rhône wines?

Intro to WBC

The 5^th annual Wine Bloggers Conference was held this past weekend in Portland, Oregon. It was jam-packed with wine tasting activities, educational sessions, and socializing opportunities with the other 375 attendees. (I had no idea there were so many wine bloggers!) The hashtag #WBC12 was at the top of the Twitter Trends list all week long.

The conference didn’t actually begin until Friday morning, but when I saw that the Welcome Reception was planned for Thursday evening, I flew in early.

The preliminary event was more “overwhelming” than it was “welcoming” (but don’t read that as a complaint). I was expecting a low-key gathering with a few unfamiliar wines and a few new faces; there were about 50 different wineries pouring upwards of 200 wines (needless to say it was anything but low-key).

The event was sponsored by the Oregon Wine Board; the participating wineries were from all over the state.

The largest wine growing area within Oregon is Willamette Valley (the second and third syllables of Willamette rhyme with ‘damn it’), which was well-represented.

I’ll be honest, I’m not very familiar with Oregon wine-growing areas or it’s producers (which is one of the reasons I wanted to attend the WBC in Oregon in the first place), so I tried a lot of new wines on Thursday evening.

 

As I made my way through the room, I recognized the familiar face of Craig Camp, owner of Cornerstone Cellars (who I met at the Pinot Days event). The 2010 Stepping Stone Willamette Valley Pinot Noir ($30/bottle) was a fresh and lively wine with bright fruit flavors and good acidity. Tony Ryders is the winemaker for the Cornerstone Oregon wines, but I didn’t know that Tony also has his own label. When Craig suggested I check it out, I didn’t need much convincing. 

Ryders gained experience and notoriety at Domaine Serene before branching off on his own. Under the name of Tendril Wine Cellars, he produces super small quantities of Willamette Valley Pinot Noir. The 2009 White Label Pinot Noir ($48/bottle) showed red berry fruit flavors, with a hint of white pepper and rose petal; silky smooth and delicious. The 2010 Tight Rope Pinot Noir ($64/bottle), only about 50 cases produced) will be released later this year, and it is the kind of Pinot that will benefit from a little aging. It is rich and powerful with flavors of cassis, violet, and spice. Contact the winery directly for availability and purchase info. 

Red Hawk Winery was represented at the table right next to Tendril, otherwise I might have missed the value-priced Pinot Noirs they were pouring. The 2009 Grateful Red Pinot Noir was only $15; light and very easy to drink! The 2010 Estate Pinot Noir ($22/bottle) was more complex and concentrated with ripe, juicy red fruit flavors. Yum!

From there, I jumped across to the Cowhorn Wine table. As a big proponent of Rhone varietals, I was eager to taste their Grenache. The 2010 Cowhorn Grenache ($30/bottle) was lush but balanced, offering aromatics of plum and raspberry with ripe strawberry flavors underscored by savory spice. The Syrah was quite delectable as well.

Another Syrah that I really enjoyed was the one poured by Big Table Farm. The 2009 Syrah ($48/bott) with a picture of silverware on the label (drawn by the winemaker’s wife) was bold and full-flavored, with intense flavors of blackberry, cinnamon, and black licorice.

I also enjoyed the Domaine Drouhin and Brooks wines before the event started shutting down. It was a terrific tasting and a wonderful introduction to so many fantastic Oregon wineries. I’ll post more about the Wine Bloggers Conference over the next couple of days. Stay tuned!

A refreshing rosé on a hot day...

It might not officially be summer yet, but the weather is certainly appropriate for my favorite summer beverage--French rosé.

With the temperature in the mid-80's today, I chilled a bottle of the 2011 Saint Roch Les Vignes Côtes de Provence Rosé, which I purchased at Whole Foods this morning. And it was on sale for $12.99! The regular price is $15.99.

The light pink hue of this wine might make you think it is either sweet or will be lacking in flavor, but neither are true. It is dry (meaning the wine has very little residual sugar) with robust, fruity flavors.

A blend of 50% Grenache and 50% Cinsualt, the Grenache shows itself in the aroma of the wine with an attractive perfume of wild strawberry. The palate demonstrates a playful combination of ripe watermelon, playful peach, and juicy strawbery--the ultimate fruit salad. There is a slight essence of lime that lingers in the finish.

This is a delicious rosé, and other than being the ideal refreshment for a hot afternoon, it pairs nicely with seafood, cheese, and summer salads.

T-Vine is dee-vine

Wow, it's the last month of the year, and it has proven to be a very busy one already. It's only Wednesday, but I feel like I've already put in a week's worth of work. With our December Wine Club fully processed and the online orders from our holiday promotion racking up our daily sales, I told myself I deserved to give my eyes a break from the computer screen and have a nice lunch.

A new wine on the menu at the Rutherford Grill caught my eye. It was the T-Vine Monte Rosso Cabernet Sauvignon from Sonoma County for $11 a glass. With such positive and mouth-watering memories from our tasting at the T-Vine winery in Calistoga, I ordered a glass to wash down my burger.

It was a youthful and juicy Cab that will probably be better in a year, but it was tasty and left a lingering hint of blueberry on my tongue. 

The T-Vine winery itself is far off the beaten path, thus they don't get many visitors (which is a shame, because their wines are delicious and exciting!). Without a formal tasting room, Matt and I hung out in the barrel room one morning this past summer and tasted barrel samples of the Grenache, Zinfandel, Petite Sirah, and Syrah.

 

My favorite wine (and the reason for our trek up

 to Calistoga) was their Grenache, which I was introduced to at Mustard's, where it was on the wines-by-the-glass list last year.  If you happen to come across their Grenache, it's a steal for the quality and drinkability ($30 a bottle; the Monte Rosso Cab is $50). 

This is a big and ballsy Grenache, with the tannic structure of a Cab but the finesse of a Merlot. It is heavily perfumed, with a full body of dark, ripe fruit and sweet oak. This is a wine that will hold up to any steak, lamb, or chop, but it is polished and complex enough to be enjoyed on its own. 

Surprisingly, the 2007 Grenache and the 2006 Zinfandel are sold at the Whole Foods in Napa. I need to add these to my grocery list!