by Christina Waters | Mar 31, 2008 | Home, Wine |
The pick of the week at Vinocruz just happens to be the mighty 2005 Santa Cruz Mountain Vineyards Pinot Noir, Branciforte Creek, which won Double Gold Medals in the recent San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition. Kudos to winemaker Jeff Emery.
Come test drive this amazing wine – loaded with blackberries, earth and spice. Voluptuous yet buttressed with enough acid to take you all the way home.
The Branciforte Creek Vineyard, incidentally, occupies the original site of the first European vineyards in this area, planted by Henry Jarvis in 1863. 2005 was a mighty year for Pinot Noir, in the Santa Cruz Mountains as well as in Burgundy. Get some now before it disappears.
And by all means get on over to Vinocruz for those Saturday tastings – 3-5pm. The deck is now open! Vinocruz, 725 Front Street, just behind Abbott Square and next to the Octagon Lulu’s. Open M-Th 11-7, Fri & Sat 11-8, Sun noon-6pm.
by Christina Waters | Mar 16, 2008 | Home, Wine |
Bonny Doon Vineyard has no peer when it comes to self-reinvention. The oenological shape-shifting continues with this week’s preview of the first all-biodynamically produced, Demeter-certified bottlings from BDV’s Ca’del Solo Vineyard in Monterey County. And there is much to like.
The immediate eye appeal, for one thing (see image). Note the fresh green graphic design on the Stelvin screw cap, quoting the crystallization image which now adorns all estate vintage labels. The 2007 Albariño visually proclaims its heightened sensitivity, an opening salvo of the new, improved, downscaled Empire of Doon. But that’s not all.
From the branding genius of founder Randall Grahm – a man who continues to set the pace when it comes to value-added consciousness – comes new labelling transparency. Not only are the grapes grown according to the terroir-nurturing practices of biodynamic farming, but the labels now list every last blessed ingredient (all of them benign, naturellement) involved in the making of these wines. To whit: “Indigenous yeast, organic yeast hulls, bentonite, tartaric acid.” How evolved of our local heroes! It would seem that no other winery is offering to let it all hang out, contents-wise. And this, once again, separates Grahm’s crew from the rest of the pack.
Marketing, schmarketing — how does it taste? (more…)
by Christina Waters | Mar 5, 2008 | Home, Wine |
Two recent visits to Soif put me in direct contact with flavor dazzle, starting with small plates of those addictive roasted Marcona almonds and crostini topped with tangy boquerones and aioli (shown left). An appetizer of fresh Dungeness crab salad joined by a mega-side portion of watercress added more Meyer lemon top notes. On another visit I shared a voluptuous side dish of Brussels sprouts (probably the first time “voluptuous” and “Brussels sprouts” have been used together in a sentence) with bacon. All wonderful. But best was the duck entree centerpiece of each of my two meals.
Duck is one of my passions and this particular version is everything you want a duck dish to be. Slices of rare, lean roast duck breast join succulent baby bok choy and plump whole shiitake mushrooms, all married by a velvety sauce of lemongrass and ginger. This is all magic, but even more so accompanied by an elegant 2005 Dufouleur Nuits-St.-Georges 1er Cru Pinot Noir from Burgundy ($6.75/taste). Sure the duck would also have been memorable partnered by a glass of the remarkable 2005 Leitz Riesling Spatlese, as suggested by le maison Soif honchos. But I’m pretty firmly committed to red wine with duck. Heaven.
Soif Wine Bar & Restaurant holds forth at 105 Walnut Avenue in downtown Santa Cruz – 831/423-2020.
by Christina Waters | Feb 13, 2008 | Home, Wine |
John Locke – not the British Empiricist philosopher but the mischievous Santa Cruz wine wonk – is setting a brisk pace in Soif’s upper room with his Sunday evening wine classes. After taking Locke’s high-powered wine and cheese workshop last fall, I was more than ready to dive into the oenological demimonde.
Why not begin at the beginning, I figured, and signed myself up for all three of Locke’s Wine Basics workshops. Twice a month a dozen of us are put through our tasting paces by the maestro, who introduced us to the crisp flavors of northern France, Germany and Austria last time. We learned about soils, about mineral tones, about just how to-die-for a Sancerre can be (more…)
by Christina Waters | Jan 23, 2008 | Home, Wine |
It was Capricorn Birthday night at the Ideal Restaurant, and I joined a small band of other January birthday boys and girls for the super dooper Prime Rib dinner — free to patrons with birthdays in that month. Do I need to tell you that the place was packed to the rafters with celebrants brandishing balloons and sparklers?
Amazing slabs of rare, rare, rare prime rib, served with mashed potatoes and sauteed veggies. I was impressed. But even MORE impressive was the flavor of a 1977 BV Private Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, opened by one of my party just for this occasion. Yes, that’s a 30-year-old wine, and it was still full of smooth spice, mouth-filling tones of cherries and varietal fruit and tons of tannin. Just kidding about the tannin, since the ability to age was due to using up most of the mighty cab’s tannic properties.
It was a seriously fine old wine and a tribute to the BV legend. Thanks Gary!
by Christina Waters | Jan 8, 2008 | Home, Wine |
It’s not everyday I’m faced with a wine made in Texas. So when my New Year’s Eve hosts offered me a glass of McPherson Viognier, I struggled to suppress a smug smile. What I tasted wiped that grin right off my face. A Viognier from Lubbock! And a good one. Who knew?
Okay, it might not give the Montrachet people a restless night sleep, but this was a very interesting white wine. Fruit-forward, but something more interesting as well. It had a rugged almost evergreen bouquet, like (trust me on this) Metaxa splashed with retsina. But it pulled back before it had gone that far and opened into some pears and geraniums. Really quite enjoyable. And it turns out the McPherson people have been insisting on making wine in Texas for a long time. The winemaker – UCDavis-trained Kim McPherson (who also makes wine for Cap Rock Winery) – learned about Texas-sized grapes from his father, an early Lone Star pioneer in viticulture. Next time you’re in Texas – you should give it a try.
