Carneros Appellation Recommendations

Many people don’t realize how many fantastic tasting rooms there are halfway to Napa! Less than 30 miles from San Francisco, the Carneros appellation provides lots of places to whet your palate...

On a recent trip to celebrate a friend’s thirtieth birthday, our first stop was Gloria Ferrer. Sitting outside on the terrace is a wonderful experience on a clear, sunny day. Instead of ponying up to the counter, you can sit back and enjoy the views while the hospitality staff delivers your choice of a tasting flight or glasses table-side. I highly recommend the 2004 Royal Cuvée ($32/bottle). A blend of two-thirds Pinot Noir and one-third Chardonnay, this delightful sparkler offers citrus and stone fruit notes balanced by toast and rich yeasty aromatics. The 2007 Blanc de Blanc ($32/bottle) is also very pleasant with refreshing green apple flavors and crisp minerality!

Less than a mile down the road is the tasting room for Anaba Wines. I’m embarrassed to say that I’ve driven by this tasting room a thousand times as I speed up the Carneros Highway (Route 12) to downtown Sonoma or Napa.

With no appointment necessary, I popped into the Anaba tasting room last week a few minutes after 5 PM (yes, they stay open until 5:30!). The tasting menu features many vineyard-designate Chardonnay and Pinot Noirs as well as Rhône varieties and blends. I was very impressed with the variety!

I highly recommend the 2010 Anaba Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir ($32/bottle). It is a deliciously drinkable wine with lots of lovely dark fruit and subtle complexity. A blend of fruit sourced from the famed Gap’s Crown Vineyard and Sun Chase Vineyard (both sites are part of the Petaluma Gap), this Pinot is aged in 35% new French oak barrels. With a whisper of oak and silky dust-like tannins, you can enjoy this wine on its own, with salame and cured meats, pizza, roast chicken or even fish like salmon and tuna. This wine can be ordered direct from the winery, enjoyed by-the-glass at Restaurant Picco, or purchased at Main Street Wine Bar.

Other tasting rooms worth checking out in Carneros include Domaine Carneros, Cline Cellars, and Nicholson Ranch. There’s also Schug, Etude, and Acacia (which I haven't visited yet but they are on my list). Cheers!

Domaine Serene lives up to high expectations...

I think a birthday--especially one that ends in a zero--is a great reason to open wines that you are holding onto for a special occasion. This past weekend, I celebrated my 30th birthday with friends and here are the wines we celebrated with:

• 2003 J Vintage Brut, Late Disgorged, Russian River Valley ($90/bottle)
• 2008 Domaine Serene Evenstad Reserve Pinot Noir ($65/bottle)
• 2007 Chappellet Pritchard Hill Cabernet Franc($65/bottle)
• 2006 Merryvale Profile ($175/bottle)

 

It would be a shame to not open bubbles on one's birthday, and the 2003 J Vintage Brut from the Russian River Valley was an incredible wine to start the evening with. This sparkler, a blend of 49% Pinot Noir, 49% Chardonnay, and 2% Pinot Meunier, was dry and crisp with lively acidity. Toasted almond, pear, baked bread flavors with a citrus finish--very tasty! Although we enjoyed this bottle at my house prior to going to dinner, it would have been an inspired match to the seared ahi crudo and raw oysters that we ordered as our first course.

Of the red wines that we opened to pair with dinner at Picco Restaurant, the 2008 Domaine Serene Evenstad Reserve Pinot Noir from the Willamette Valley was everyone’s favorite! When I blogged about the Domaine Serene Yamhill Cuvée a few months back, I was very impressed with the wine and didn't think it could get any better than that. But the Evenstad Reserve, rated 94 points in Wine Enthusiast and 93 points in Wine Spectator, was a spectacular wine that is deserving of very high marks. It opened up beautifully with an elegant perfume and silky texture. In the glass, it was concentrated and powerful without sacrificing finesse. The palate offered effusive black cherry, ripe raspberry, sweet plum, and hints of licorice, herbs, and spice.  This wine was amazing on it’s own, but it paired perfectly with the Sonoma duck breast and leg confit.

The 2007 Chappellet Pritchard Hill Cab Franc was good, but I think it should have been decanted. It was still youthful with chewy tannins and a core of black fruit. It was a terrific complement to the Kobe Beef-style sliders with sautéed mushrooms, caramelized onions and blue cheese.

I was particularly excited about the Merryvale Profile. I conferred with a friend who works at the Merryvale Tasting Room in St. Helena and he said the 2006 vintage was drinking nicely. But as I found with a lot of the older vintages I tasted last month, the once-powerful 2006 Profile had mellowed considerably. It was almost too drinkable, if that makes sense. The tannins were soft and the fruit flavors were nuanced. I got more spice on the palate than anything else. I was expecting an extremely complex wine, but the cellaring seemed to have drawn out its complexities; for a 94-point wine according to Wine Enthusiast, [sadly] it didn’t wow me. 

By midnight, there wasn’t a single drop of wine left in any of the 14 wine glasses on our table. I had such a wonderful time and I'd say that the wines were enjoyed by all!

[This wines from J Winery and Domaine Serene were received as a sample from the winery; please click on the individual wines for links to the website for purchasing info.]

As good as it gets in Marin

There are many great restaurants in Marin, but with Restaurant Picco about a mile from my house, it's usually where I end up when I go out for dinner. The wine and cocktail selection never disappoints and the food is consistently delicious.

I met a friend at Picco last night; over the course of three hours, we ordered 5 dishes and 5 glasses of wine to share. 

To start, I opted for a glass of the 2009 Willamette Valley Vineyards Pinot Gris. It was crisp and clean with flavors of pear and green apple. Although refreshing and tasty on it's own, it was the perfect accompaniment to our first course of kampachi crudo and risotto with wax beans and peppers.

Meanwhile, my friend enjoyed the Italian 2010 Ceretto Blange Arneis--a slightly sweet white wine with stonefruit flavors and a medium body.

When the trio of sliders arrived, I quickly ordered a glass of the 2009 Bueyes Malbec from Argentina. Dark and juicy, this approachable red has been on the wine list for a while and I love it! It's also great with the thin-crust pizza served next door at the Pizzeria. 

The Malbec also paired nicely with the hen of the woods mushroom (a meaty mushroom grilled and served in a citrusy beurre blanc sauce). 

The luscious 2008 Lambert Bridge Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel was such a wonderful match for the rich, pungent cheese plate we had in lieu of dessert. For $14.95, the four-selection cheese plate with marcona almonds, fruit and grilled bread, this is the best cheese plate ever.

Why would I go anywhere else when Picco is as good as it gets?

Great wines by the glass

As always, I had a great time at the bar at Picco last night (restaurantpicco.com) with a friend.

And as always, I started with a glass of pink bubbly.

The Simonnet-Febvre Brut rosé from Chablis is a darker, more magenta hue than most rosé, but it's very dry. With essence of strawberry and delicate bubbles, it was the perfect aperatif. It accompanied the avocado bruschetta perfectly.

My friend, who is just beginning to explore the wonderful world of wine, wanted something more fruit-forward and slightly sweet. The bartender, Luke, poured her a taste of 2010 Ceretto Blange Arneis from Alba--she loved it!

We also ordered the risotto, which featured beet greens, sweet corn, and lemon gremolata. To pair with the pasta, I wanted a Chardonnay. The wine list offered one from Napa and one from France. I opted for the 2009 Bouchard Chardonnay from Burgundy. It was a delicious and elegant example of Chardonnay.

True to it's Burgundian roots, this Chard was a light straw color in the glass with good acidity. It offered subtle notes of green apple, pear and mineral. It had none of the oaky or buttered popcorn flavors, which have become synonymous with Napa Chardonnays; for this reason, I typically avoid Napa Chardonnays. It's called "cougar juice" for a reason. (haha) 

When Luke asked if we would like anything else, it was hard to say no. I could easily have enjoyed another glass of the Bouchard!

Picco is my vote for "Best Restaurant in Marin"

As far as I'm concerned, Picco is the best restaurant in Marin! It has been my favorite restaurant for the past couple years now because the food is fabulous, the service is extraordinary, and the wine list is great.

I was introduced to this cozy neighborhood restaurant in Larkspur 2+ years ago when my sister started working there as a server. I've been to dinner there many times since, by myself to have a drink and a bite at the bar, to meet friends, and with groups. It's the perfect date place, but really, it's appropriate for most occasions and pretty much any night of the week.

(As a side note, the name is Picco - not "Piccos" as people have a tendency to say.)

Most of the dishes are smaller portions designed for sharing. One meal can feature many different dis

hes, flavors, and styles of cooking. Although the restaurant is coined "Cal-Italian" for its signature risotto which changes nightly, the menu is quite diverse; Chef Jared adds new seasonal dishes frequently. There are many seafood options (raw and cooked), lighter options (salads and simply prepared vegetables), some dishes with more of a home-style flair (like the cheesy cauliflower, which could double as mac n cheese), the homemade pastas, and the heartier main courses (like the porterhouse steak).

I went to Picco with my boyfriend and another couple a few weeks ago. We loved everything we ordered, including the avocado bruschetta (which luckily is on the menu almost year round), the hamachi crudo, the broccoli di ciccio with lemon and olive oil, the gnocchi with sausage and swiss chard (to die for), the quail with mushrooms, and the beef sliders topped with blue cheese and sauteed onions.
That particular night, we took in our own wines, which our server Matt was happy to open for us. The first bottle we enjoyed was the 2008 Patz & Hall Hyde Vineyard Pinot Noir. The Pinot had delicate fruity aromatics and a medium-plus body with ribbons of currant and raspberry. It was very easy to drink, and before we knew it, we had polished off the bottle

Our friends had gone wine tasting in Sonoma earlier that day and were happy to grab a bottle from one of their wine club pick-up selections, a Ledson Cabernet Sauvignon. It was the perfect pairing with the beef sliders and the quail.

That being said, I normally order a glass of wine or start with a cocktail when I go to Picco. Bartenders Dustin and Luke are very inventive with the mixed drinks. The wines by the glass selection changes often and features an International selection of delicious wines. I always have trouble deciding [on one glass] because there are too many terrific options [so I usually have two glasses}!

Picco is a cozy neighborhood restaurant, and although the servers are personable and friendly, the service is also professional. The entire staff are wonderful people (and I'm not just saying that because my sister Kelley works there, haha)!

The food, the service, the ambiance--it's consistent and consistently amazing! No wonder they are always packed.

www.restaurantpicco.com