by Christina Waters | Mar 8, 2007 | Home, Wine |
As wineries all over California are busy retrofitting their vineyards in order to pass Demeter biodynamic certification, the Fetzer family’s Patianna winery is already making killer wines that would make Rudolph Steiner proud.
Biodynamic techniques rule at the Mendocino estate where proprietor Patti Fetzer and winemaker Mike Lee are turning out wines as good for the earth as they are good for the connoisseur. Biodynamic techniques —which stress meticulous attention to seasonal and lunar cycles, hand management of vines, companion planting and artesenal composting — yield wines rich with the unique terroir of the land on which they are made. Here’s my favorite new example: Patianna’s much-praised 2005 Sauvignon Blanc. This gorgeous white wine weighs in at medium alcohol and major complexity, loaded with crisp tones of lemon, sage and mineral essence. It’s also got one of those very sexy, very easy-to-use screw-tops. I’ve preferred this grape to the oft-flabby chardonnay for many years. Patianna’s version will make a believer out of you. Available at Shadowbrook’s Rock Room lounge. And at Shoppers Corner for just under $17.
by Christina Waters | Feb 8, 2007 | Wine |
I remember over-hearing my uncles trying to outdo each other with the rallying cry: “I’ve got a bottle of Hallcrest in the closet.” Uncle Harold always made points when he played the Hallcrest card. That was the first time I heard the name, which was the family code for classy red wine. Well, that was the old Hallcrest, the experimental gleam in the eye of Santa Cruz Mountains proto-winemaker Chaffee Hall, and the wine was fabled — a tradition continued under the steady eye of current winemaker, John Schumacher. A visit to the Hallcrest winery on Empire Grade (a few blocks up the hill from downtown Felton), is a step back into the old west, complete with horses in the meadows just below the redwood-framed vineyards.
The Hallcrest I’ve recently fallen in love with — and which makes edible poetry joined with rare lamb loin and a ripe Camembert for dessert — is the winery’s 2002 Santa Cruz Mountains Pinot Noir. An exquisitely clear, ruby-hued wine, weighing in at 14.1% alcohol, from Ciardella Vineyard grapes grown on slopes facing Corralitos, it expands into a bouquet of plums and black cherries. The structure holds from the first sip to the last drop in the bottle. For well under $20 it is a liquid treasure. Go get some.
by Christina Waters | Feb 1, 2007 | Food, Home, Wine |
Discovering wonderful wines may not be the answer to world peace, but it helps vamp for time until that day arrives. My house red for the past year has been the sensuous 2001 Carignane from River Run Vintners. Made by the skillful, non-invasive hands of J.P. Pawloski, this glorious bouquet of spice, licorice and berries goes with everything. Pawloski is an auteur, and the proof is in every glass of his fabled red wines. Each time I visit Staff of Life Natural Foods I grab a few bottles. Until this week. OMG! I called J.P. to find out if this was truly the end of my favorite Carignane. Alas, it was true. “We’re all out of the 2001,” he admitted.
J.P. told me that he could put his hands on some of the 2004 vintage of this exceptional varietal, made from vines planted near Aromas 95 years ago! “The zinfandel is even older,” he added, pausing for effect. “Those vines are 115-years-old.” Guess that’s why they call it “old vine zin.” So now you know what to look for. A fairly non-descript, burgundy and silver label. Affordable prices – $10ish. Low alcohol — the Carignane is 13%. Sensational drinking. You can chat with J.P. yourself — there’s no reliable web site — by calling the winery at 831/726-3112.
Wine Bonanza:
Go immediately to this Santa Cruz Mountains Winegrowers Association link – SCMWA – nd consider the possibilities for The Ultimate Winemakers Dinner, February 27, involving fine local wines, and their winemakers followed by a dinner at the Shadowbrook. But not simply a dinner, dinner. A major dinner. Consider starters of golden chanterelle and truffle soup. (more…)
by Christina Waters | Jan 4, 2007 | Wine |
Let me hear from you in 2007, a year which has already seen an interminable series of expensive symbolic rituals – i.e. the various post mortem rites for Gerald R. Ford, (paid for by your tax dollars) whose funeral lasted longer than his presidency. Is it just me or do you think Ford’s uncanny resemblance to Homer Simpson might have compromised his legacy? Okay, maybe not. At any rate, talk to me!
And check out my profile of Pacific Cookie Company CEO Larry Pearson in the GT Weekly.
by Christina Waters | Dec 13, 2006 | Wine |
I give you two local reds, both roughly $16 a bottle, supple and complex enough to redeem even the driest roast turkey.
We love the Ridge Vineyards 2004 Three Valleys blend, from Paul Draper, whom the San Francisco Chronicle recently dubbed winemaker of the year (and many would agree). At 14.1% alc. it’s robust without aggression. The exquisitely balanced blend of zinfandel, carignane, syrah, petite sirah and grenache fills the cup with blackberries, cloves, brown licorice and a hint of gunpowder. The nose is abundant and this wine also loves pasta and lamb. . . . From Hallcrest comes a disarmingly delicate Pinot Noir, Santa Cruz Mountains 2002, Ciardella Vineyard, also weighing in at 14.1 % alcohol. This is a bright, ruby-colored vintage of extreme clarity, and loaded with pomegranate and plums, with a light licorice back. A beautiful wine with seafoods and, of course, that roast turkey.
by Christina Waters | Dec 10, 2006 | Wine |
Our new house white wine is Southern Right Cellars from South Africa, a crisp dry beauty with a complex middle and a very precise finish that sells for $10.99 at Shoppers. This appealing wine is made one mile from the Atlantic Ocean in the stony shale soils of the Hemel-en-Aarde Valley. On African soil the grape takes on a noticeably complex character. Each sip offers a bouquet of lime, tangerine peel and wild gardenia with a flinty dose of mineral energy. With each bottle sold, a contribution is made by the winery to conservation of the rare Southern Right whale. An enlightened alternative to high alcohol, flabby oak chards.
Our favorite full-bodied, goes-with-everything red wine is the remarkable 2001 Carignane from River Run Vintners. Fueled by grapes grown in Corralitos, this is one appealing varietal — brilliant with cheese, soft enough for salmon and albacore, and intriguing enough to simply sip all by itself. You can find it at Staff of Life for around $10 and at the winery.
Don’t miss the chance to sample hard-to-find wines from the area’s celebrated-but-tiny wineries at the new, one-stop-shopping wine store – VinoCruz. The brainchild of Jeffrey Kongslie and former Barney’s buyer, J-P Correa, the sparkling new enoteca is located in Abbott Square off Cooper Street (in the Museum of Art and History building, just behind Annieglass). Open Mon – Thurs 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Fri-Sat, 11 to 8 p.m. and Sunday noon to 6 p.m.
