SanLuisObispo.com: Wine

The Grapevine: Hard-to-find New Zealand syrahs and rieslings will reward your efforts

Tue, 13 May 2008 19:45 PDT

New Zealand is best known for sauvignon blanc, with pinot noir a close second. (I’ll tell you more about pinot noir next month.) But there are also some treasures waiting to be discovered from the country’s vineyards. Two that I’m particularly excited about are syrah from Hawke’s Bay and riesling from Waipara.

Hawke’s Bay syrah

Hawke’s Bay on the North Island is New Zealand’s largest red wine-producing region. The area is best known for its wines based on merlot and, to a lesser extent, cabernet sauvignon. But based on the syrahs I’ve tasted from the area —and admittedly, there aren’t many at this point —I think that grape variety holds tremendous potential.

The Grapevine: Trefethen Family Vineyards also has made a name for Napa Valley

Tue, 06 May 2008 23:05 PDT

When Kaiser Industries executive Eugene Trefethen and his wife, Katie, purchased the old Eshcol Ranch property north of the city of Napa in 1968, half of the valley was planted to something other than grapes, and there were fewer than 30 wineries there. But vineyard acreage was increasing steadily, and the Trefethens started replanting their ranch, which had been a mix of grapes, fruit orchards and walnuts, to wine grapes.

Forty years later, Trefethen Family Vineyards has the distinction of never having used a grape from outside the estate, although “there certainly were times when we should have,” jokes John Trefethen, Eugene and Katie’s son. And the winery has, over those years, remained true to its vision of creating wines with what John’s wife, Janet, calls the three B’s: balance, brightness and beauty.

A school project

The Grapevine: Wente’s small-lot wines are bolstering its reputation for quality

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 21:50 PDT

Change has been a recent theme at the venerable Wente Vineyards in the Livermore Valley. Winemaking is now in the hands of a member of the fifth generation of Wentes to work in the family business. And the winery is gaining notice for its relatively new “small lot” and Nth Degree wines.

But this spring, the family is also looking back, as it celebrates the 125th anniversary of the winery founded by C. H. Wente in 1883. Today Wente Vineyards, formerly known as Wente Bros., is the oldest continuously operating family-owned winery in the United States.

Wente and Krug

The Grapevine: Clairborne & Churchill burnishes its name with pinot, spicy whites

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 23:03 PDT

In a valley best known for chardonnay and pinot noir, Claiborne & Churchill is something of an oddity. Sure, Clay Thompson produces both of those wines, but his Edna Valley winery is best known for its aromatic whites, especially riesling and gewürztraminer.

There are several reasons for this, Thompson says. When he and his wife, Fredericka Churchill, former teachers, founded their winery in 1983, they made their wine at Edna Valley Vineyards — one of only three wineries in the valley then—and they wanted to differentiate themselves from their host winery, which was best known for chardonnay. Riesling and gewürztraminer grapes were available in the valley, and “we were always very fond of Alsace,” the French region known for both grape varieties, Thompson says.

A place on the map

The Grapevine: New Zealand winemakers give a salute to sassy sauvignon blanc

Tue, 15 Apr 2008 23:05 PDT

Although New Zealand’s wine industry has diversified considerably in recent years, sauvignon blanc is the grape that put the country on the world’s wine stage. It still accounts for nearly half of the wine-grape acreage in New Zealand.

Sauvignon blanc is grown in half a dozen regions on the North and South Islands, but I think it reaches its best expression in Marlborough, in the northern part of the South Island. At its best, Marlborough sauvignon blanc is pungent and vivid, with fruit flavors that range from citrus to honeydew melon to passion fruit and often an herbal or grassy component. It’s a style that has become extremely popular with American wine drinkers: About three-quarters of the New Zealand wine sold in the United States is Marlborough sauvignon blanc, according to Jim Robertson of Pernod Ricard New Zealand, whose wineries include Montana, which sells its wines here under the Brancott label.

Soaring demand

The Grapevine: This collection of flavorful reds will fit just about any budget

Tue, 08 Apr 2008 22:59 PDT

Inexpensive red wines abound on store shelves. But a cheap red is no bargain when it’s thin, astringent or vegetal. Last week, I told you about some tasty whites selling for $15 or less. This week, some recommendations for those times when you prefer a red.

Merlot

Many consumers who buy inexpensive merlot are looking for something lighter and less tannic than cabernet. Trouble is, a lot of low-priced merlot is harsh and astringent — precisely the opposite of what those consumers are looking for. But here are some easy-to-drink choices.

The Grapevine: These flavorful white wines should work with any budget

Tue, 01 Apr 2008 23:38 PDT

Money is tight for a lot of us these days, and that’s particularly true around tax time. Add to that the fact that we’re paying more than $3.50 a gallon for gas, and the idea of paying $35 for a bottle for wine becomes none too thrilling.

But you don’t have to cut wine out of your budget, nor do you need to resort solely to Two-Buck Chuck. I’ve got some suggestions for good-value wines costing $15 a bottle or less, sometimes a lot less. This week I’ll tell you about worthy whites; next week will be for the red wine lovers in the crowd.

Chardonnay

The Grapevine: Pinot winemakers caught up in a nature vs. nurture debate

Tue, 25 Mar 2008 23:28 PDT

Land or hand? That’s the way winemaker Grant Stanley of Quail’s Gate Winery in British Columbia described “the eternal question” of whether the vineyard or the winemaker is most responsible for the character of a wine. It’s also a question that provoked a lot of discussion at the two-day World of Pinot Noir, held recently in the San Luis Obispo area.

WOPN (participants say “whoppin’) attracts pinotphiles from around the country, who can’t seem to get enough of their favorite grape.

This year, they paired pinot with braised beef short ribs and blue cheese soufflé cooked by chef Bradley Ogden; elbowed their way through crowds to sample their preferred wines at two walk-around tastings; and considered wines from California, Oregon, Burgundy and even Switzerland and Tasmania at a series of seminars.

The Grapevine: After the NFL, family finds its next life in Paso’s wine country

Tue, 18 Mar 2008 18:38 PDT

Terry Hoage was an All- American defensive back at the University of Georgia and had a 13-year career in the NFL. But when he and his wife, Jennifer, started a winery in Paso Robles, he was hesitant to use his name on the label.

“I didn’t think people would take seriously a football player making wine,” he says. But after searching for another suitable name, he took the advice of a friend, who told him to embrace his past. Thus was born Terry Hoage Vineyards.

It made sense. The Hoages are hands-on owners who collaborate on the winemaking. Terry even built the winery, using old wood recycled from barns in his native Iowa.

The Grapevine: Once a domain of bargain wines, Chile branches into luxury market

Tue, 11 Mar 2008 23:55 PDT

If you still think Chile is all about $10 cabernet and chardonnay, you’re living in the past. Sure, there are still many modestly priced wines from Chile, but wineries are increasingly testing the waters of the luxury market. Think carmenere, cabernet and the like selling for $50 a bottle or more.

There are several reasons for this growth at the high end of the market, which gained momentum in the late 1990s. The main factor is a new emphasis on quality. Vineyards are being planted in cooler areas and on hillsides, both of which are more costly to farm. Yields are being reduced and grapes are being harvested riper. There’s more attention to quality in the wineries, too, with more meticulous sorting of grapes, gentler handling of the wines and use of better-quality barrels. Foreign investment has poured into the wine industry.

There’s no question that there’s some image-building going on, too. Chile is justifiably known as a reliable source of decent, inexpensive wines. If the country can gain some attention for its high-end bottles, that should help vintners also find an audience for wines in the $15-$25 range.

The Grapevine: What a difference a year can make with Napa Valley cabernets

Tue, 04 Mar 2008 22:59 PST

T ^heSanta Lucia Highlands appellation in Monterey County is best known for pinot noir and chardonnay, two cool-climate grapes. But the founding of the appellation actually was tied to heat-loving cabernet sauvignon.

Ask a wine lover what region in California produces the best cabernet sauvignon, and the likely answer will be “Napa Valley.” Napa has built its reputation as one of the world’s top wine regions largely on the quality of its cabernet. That image has allowed Napa’s vintners to charge top dollar, too: $100 cabs aren’t at all unusual, and one winery is now charging $750 a bottle for its hard-to- get wine.

I recently sampled roughly 130 Napa cabs and cabernet-based blends over two days during a big trade event in the valley. There were some excellent wines that showed why the area has gained its stellar reputation; I’ll get to those bright spots later on.

The Grapevine: Paso’s Vina Robles winery works quietly to make a name for itself

Tue, 26 Feb 2008 22:58 PST

Vina Robles in Paso Robles doesn’t produce the sort of in-your-face wines that would make it the darling of a lot of wine critics. You could even say that it has sort of flown under the radar.

The winery’s visibility with consumers got a boost last summer with the opening of its spacious hospitality center on Highway 46 East. I hope this will be the first step toward the winery gaining the attention and following it deserves for its well-balanced, finely crafted wines.

Vina Robles got its start in the late 1990s, when Hans Nef, a civil engineer from Switzerland, purchased land in Paso Robles with the goal of planting vineyards and producing wine. Nef, a wine lover, was a collector of fine Bordeaux. He planted three vineyards on Paso Robles’ east side.

The Grapevine: In Chile’s Casablanca Valley, cool is the operative word for whites

Wed, 20 Feb 2008 00:04 PST

Chile first made its mark in the U.S wine market with inexpensive wines, many of them red, from the country’s fertile central valley. Because of the valley’s deep soils and warm, dry climate, growers were able to ripen large crops, so it was feasible to turn out lots of low-priced wine.

As was the case when the wine industry matured in California, Chilean vintners have reached a point where they’re exploring new viticultural areas that are more suitable to particular grape varieties. In the case of grapes such as chardonnay, sauvignon blanc and pinot noir, the plantings have been migrating to cooler areas.

Cooler climes

Area vintners criticize proposed wine label rules

Fri, 15 Feb 2008 23:38 PST

With applications for smaller wine regions proliferating, the federal bureau that controls wine labeling is seeking a “comprehensive review” of how viticultural areas are defined.

Two proposed rules, spurred by a four-year effort to define a Calistoga appellation within the Napa region, could lead to misleading wine labels, local opponents say.

At issue is whether two wineries using “Calistoga” in brand names would be able to continue those brands without the minimum percentage of grapes from that area.

The Grapevine: Need a Valentine’s Day treat? Aged ‘Porto’ is sweet yet complex

Tue, 12 Feb 2008 20:05 PST

Chocolates are a nice touch for Valentine’s Day, but when I want something sweet to share with my significant other, I like to open a bottle of port. And one of my favorite types is tawny port.

Although vintage port, made only in the best years, is wonderful, it is not at its best when young. It should be cellared for a number of years, and how many of us have cellars? Tawny port (labeled “Porto” when it’s from Portugal, the birthplace of port), however, is ready to drink when it’s released. That’s because tawny is aged in barrels for varying periods until it oxidizes to nutty mellowness, with a brownish (tawny) color. You usually don’t even pay a premium to have the winery age it for you: Most tawnies are less expensive than vintage port.

Higher alcohol content

Grapevine: Chilly Marin County is not too cold for certain wine grapes

Wed, 06 Feb 2008 00:03 PST

Western Marin County looks like a backdrop for one of those “happy cows” commercials, and for good reason — it’s dairy and beef cattle ountry. Never mind that on a recent cold, rainy day, the cows probably weren’t too happy.

But amid the hillsides used for grazing, a few hardy souls are trying to revive a type of agriculture that flourished in Marin in the 1800s: wine grapes.

Grapes are thought to have arrived in Marin County with the establishment of the San Rafael Mission in 1817. Viticulture took off in the 19th century, but after the 1906 earthquake, Prohibition and World War II, vineyards were ripped out to make way for suburban development in much of the county.

The Grapevine: Expectation influences perception when judging wines, study says

Wed, 30 Jan 2008 00:17 PST

Blind tasting is an important tool for wine evaluation. When you taste blind — that is, you don’t know what wine is in the glass — you can’t be swayed by the wine’s brand or price. That’s why all the wine competitions I know of involve blind tasting.

As much as possible, I taste blind, too, as do many wine critics — though not all. These critics who don’t taste blind will tell you that they’re not influenced by knowing the identity of the wine. I would refer those people to a recent study from the Stanford University Graduate School of Business and California Institute of Technology.

Price will mislead

The Grapevine: Attractive yet difficult, viognier remains a winemaker’s challenge

Tue, 22 Jan 2008 23:54 PST

Viognier can be an extremely alluring grape. In France’s Condrieu appellation, in the northern Rhône, it can produce a glorious wine with an intoxicating fragrance, flavors of white peach, honeysuckle and mineral, and a silky, supple texture.

Why, then, are so many of the viogniers from California so clumsy? Some display the heat of high alcohol. Others are noticeably sweet. Some wines are both hot and sweet. Then there are the examples that taste more like chardonnay, with heavy-handed use of oak and the buttery flavor that comes from malolactic fermentation. (Note to winemakers: If you want to make a wine that tastes like chardonnay, use chardonnay grapes, please. Besides, chardonnay is easier for your customers to pronounce.)

I spent a recent morning in Cloverdale blind tasting about 80 viogniers (vee-oh-NYAY), most of them from California, at the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition. Admittedly, such a competition offers only a snapshot of what’s out there. A lot of top producers don’t enter wine competitions. Nevertheless, the results were pretty depressing.

The Grapevine: Tablas Creek winemakers weigh the value of corks vs. screw tops

Tue, 15 Jan 2008 22:50 PST

Although some wineries, especially in New Zealand and Australia, have embraced screw caps for all or nearly all of their wines, most are moving more cautiously. In some cases, they’re testing the twist-off closures on a few cases of a particular wine and assessing the results before moving ahead.

Tablas Creek Vineyard in Paso Robles is one winery that has been performing such tests, starting with the 2002 vintage. The results led the winery to decide to bottle certain wines—the rosé, most of the whites and the counoise, for example — with screw caps.

The winery staff periodically tastes and compares the screw-capped wines against the cork-finished examples, and a couple of months ago I sat in. Winery General Manager Jason Haas poured a selection of such wines for me, managing partner Robert Haas (Jason’s father), and winemaker Neil Collins. The tasting was blind—that is, we didn’t know which wine was which.

The Grapevine: Chile’s Cono Sur makes a name for itself with pinot and whites

Tue, 08 Jan 2008 23:00 PST

When most consumers think of Chilean wine, they’re probably not picturing bottles of pinot noir, viognier and gewürztraminer. But in a land better known for cabernet sauvignon and merlot, pinot noir and aromatic whites are what Cono Sur does best.

Cono Sur Winery takes its name from the shape of South America, the “southern cone.”

The winery is part of the giant Concha y Toro group and was founded in 1993 to create innovative wines, with a focus on export markets. Its home base in the Colchagua Valley, about 80 miles south of Santiago, is probably best suited to the usual cab, merlot and carménère, so the winery draws from 2,200 acres of estate vineyards in a variety of growing areas with differing soils and climates. Winemaker Adolfo Hurtado says he’s aiming for a style of wine that’s fresh and elegant.

The Grapevine: Four winemaking trends to be on the watch for in the new year

Wed, 02 Jan 2008 06:45 PST

The start of a new year is an appropriate time to consider some of the wine trends we’re likely to see in the coming months. I’d like to tell you that there will be a huge shift away from wines that are all about power and alcohol, but I doubt that will be the case. Though I hear more talk about that, I’m still not seeing the evidence in the bottle. But here are four trends that I do see on the horizon.

Buying local

1. Domestic wines should look more attractive as prices rise on many imports.

The Grapevine: Rancho Arroyo Grande set sights on low-yield, high-quality grapes

Tue, 18 Dec 2007 23:48 PST

Gareth Conway says his family’s interest in wine “has just always sort of been there.” But the Conways didn’t pursue that interest in earnest until last June, when Gareth’s father, Christopher J. Conway of Santa Barbara, purchased the 3,500-acre property known as Rancho Arroyo Grande.

The Conways don’t have any experience in the wine business. The elder Conway is the founder of Mentor Corp., a breast implant and medical device company. But Gareth and his siblings, Gillian and Tom, are eager to take on the challenge.

Little has been reported about the future of the ranch near Lopez Lake, which has about 240 acres of vineyards and for which Christopher Conway paid “very close to the asking price” of $23 million, according to Gareth. But I recently visited with the three Conway siblings to talk about their plans.

The Grapevine: You need not be wealthy to give a truly great bottle of wine

Tue, 11 Dec 2007 22:53 PST

Buying a gift of wine can be daunting. Whether your purchase is a holiday gift or simply a nice bottle to present to your host at a dinner party, you probably want to stay within a budget without looking cheap. (Hint: Even if you don’t want to spend too much, forget the Charles Shaw. Unless your recipient has been living in a cave, he or she will know that you shelled out only $2.)

If you’re looking to make a big impression, you may decide it’s worth the money to spring for something extravagant. But there are plenty of options that are more modestly priced. And if you can’t find any of my suggestions, consult someone knowledgeable at a good wine store. A savvy wine merchant is a great resource.

Bubbly: Big spenders are likely to look to Champagne and high-end cuvees like the nonvintage Krug Grand Cuvee ($120). Pricey choices from California include the toasty, full-bodied 2000 Schramsberg J. Schram ($90).

Winning Wines

Fri, 07 Dec 2007 08:04 PST

Bands to roll through Paso’s Wine Attic

The Wine Attic, 1305 Park St. in Paso Robles, will have live music from 5 to 8 p.m. on select dates

throughout December. Dinners will be served while the bands play. Organizers suggest guests bring a coat and eat outside on the Tuscan Courtyard. Upcoming gigs include Dec. 15 with SLO Express, Dec. 22 with Dorian Michael Jazz Trio and Dec. 29 with Eloquent Quarter.

The Grapevine: Books are another way to toast your oenophile

Tue, 04 Dec 2007 22:38 PST

This year, not many “important” wine books have crossed my desk. But there are a few volumes worth considering, either as gifts for someone else or as an addition to your own bookshelf. There’s also one memoir that I found particularly entertaining. So for a few ideas, read on.

Important update

“The World Atlas of Wine” (Mitchell Beazley, 400 pages, $50) is one of the essential references in my wine-book library, and this year the sixth edition has been released, the first revision since 2001. This edition of the atlas, by Hugh Johnson and Jancis Robinson, includes greatly expanded sections on New Zealand, Australia and Spain. The Napa Valley gets more detailed treatment this time around, and for the first time there’s a separate section on China, where wine production and consumption have increased at an astonishing rate. This is an outstanding reference book for anyone with a serious interest in wine.

The Grapevine: Two new ways that allow wine to breathe offer mixed results

Tue, 27 Nov 2007 22:51 PST

When the holiday gift-giving season rolls around, wine gadgets and paraphernalia can look tempting. People can be pretty picky about the wines they drink, but who wouldn’t want an infrared wine thermometer or an electric beverage chiller?

I, for one, would not. I have enough stuff to cram into my cupboards and drawers. But there are some products that are getting a lot of buzz lately that had me intrigued: glassware or other devices that purport to aerate your wine so that it will open up more quickly. No pesky decanting

or waiting around for your wine to “breathe.”

The Grapevine: SLO’s Chuck Ortman celebrates 4o years of wine grape harvests

Tue, 20 Nov 2007 23:51 PST

This fall marked Chuck Ortman’s 40th wine harvest. That long career has taken him from cellar rat to “wine-master,” from small wineries to a big one and now back to a small one: San Luis Obispo-based Ortman Family Vineyards.

Ortman, who turned 68 Tuesday, didn’t start out in the wine business. But he decided that working in commercial art “wasn’t really what I wanted to do.” So he left it behind and joined Heitz Cellars in the Napa Valley as a cellar worker.

Ortman took a few courses in winemaking at the UC Davis, but most of his training was on the job. After a few years working under Joe Heitz, Ortman left to join Spring Mountain as winemaker, and then he went on to work as a consultant at such wineries as Far Niente and Shafer.

Wine Notes: From a mountain to a cellar

Fri, 08 Jun 2007 07:39 PDT

You would think Steve Goldman had it made as a future winemaker.

His father, Max Goldman, owned the York Mountain Winery in the early 1970s, when it was one of only three wineries in the Paso Robles area. But the young Goldman didn’t embrace winemaking then.

“I was in a winemaking family, and I was raised in that same lifestyle,” he says now, “but I never thought I’d become a winemaker.”

If you’re grilling steaks, these Paso cabs won’t let you down

Wed, 09 May 2007 16:11 PDT

As summer approaches, you may be thinking about throwing a nice steak or piece of tri-tip on the grill. One of these Paso Robles cabernets would be a delicious companion.

Peachy Canyon Winery, best known for zinfandel, also makes a couple of good cabs. The 2004 Peachy Canyon Old School House Cabernet Sauvignon ($25) is easy to drink, with bright black cherry and cassis flavors accented by notes of anise and spice. There’s enough tannin to stand up to something meaty, but if you want something with even more structure, there’s the 2004 Peachy Canyon DeVine Cabernet Sauvignon ($40). It starts out with round black cherry flavors and notes of tobacco and cedar, then the tannins really kick in. Best to give it some air before you drink it.

Over at Zenaida Cellars, also along Highway 46 West, you’ll find a tasty 2002 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon ($22) with some nice savory overtones. It also offers black cherry fruit, hints of anise and cedar and firm tannins, and it’s attractively priced.

The Grapevine: Spottswoode is spot-on with powerful cabernets

Wed, 09 May 2007 16:12 PDT

Jack and Mary Novak purchased a historic Napa Valley wine estate named Spottswoode in 1972. Jack, a physician in San Diego, “wanted to stop being a doctor and drive a tractor,” says his daughter, Beth Novak Milliken.

The old St. Helena estate, established in 1882, had a huge garden, a beautiful Victorian house and a pre-Prohibition vineyard. In 1910, the estate had been named “Spottswoode,” after the owner, whose last name was Spotts. The Novak family started remodeling the house and restoring and replanting the vineyard. They sold grapes to wineries including Shafer and Duckhorn.

Then, in 1977, Jack Novak died of a heart attack at age 44. Mary, who was left with five children, decided to keep the business going. Finally, encouraged by some of the people who bought her grapes, she ventured into wine production. The first Spottswoode wine was made in 1982, the 100th anniversary of the estate.