Sunflower Caffé Espresso & Wine Bar

First tasting of the new year! Starting the New Year with a bang - this tasting we have a total attendance of seven. A combination of winery owners, vineyard owners, sommeliers, massive point garnering winemakers, tasting room personnel and budding aficionados Eddie, one of the newbies, to the group that is, works the Westwood tasting room on the Sonoma Plaza and is pursuing becoming a Master Sommelier. He really brought it tonight. It was really interesting listening to Eddie give his reasons why he thought a wine had either age or type of oak or why he leaned towards a certain varietal or another. Tonight was tough though and most of the wines were not guessed, a great variety some eclectic varietals from around the world and some common popular varietals from our own backyard. The latter being the ones that stumped us the most! …in no way thorough in my note taking, next time I'll do better, promise. ok,  digging right in… color: light red, Crimson nose: aged a bit, licorice, brown baking spices in the mouth:dry, high alch.14.8, cranberry, raspberry , plum we thought maybe: 2005 Cinsault, Sonoma County Cab 2008, young Bordeaux, New World Rhone, Rhone varietal due the pepperiness, the verdict please: Arrowood 2001 Cab Sauv, - available a Wine Library for $34- man we were blown away - the SoCo Cab was closest but most everyone leaned towards a younger wine, 2001, crazy! This wine ages really well and I am stoked, I bought a Magnum of this exact wine at auction, its resting in my cellar now. 2. color: Ruby red  nose: I can't f*@^ing distinguish aromas! - DISCLAIMER: ...this was a personal statement, not at all reflective of the rest of the distinguished panel. As a matter of fact let this be a disclaimer for the rest of the my blogs, any less than reputable comments or in general poor taste will most definitely be mine and mine alone. I am pretty much the only uneducated jackass in the bunch, I'm just smart enough to know who to hang out with... in the mouth: green grassy, super tart, pomegranate,  unsweetened cranberry juice, young                our Guess: Pinot 2008, 14.5, 2009 Spanish Grenache (garnacha) ummm: I didnt make note of the brand…Bordeaux 2008, Lauguedoc $16 glen Ellen market - crap, at this point we start thinking new tasting group name, maybe, I dont know, Dead Pallate Tasting Group, seems appropriate. OK we'll blame it on hefty enjoyment over the holidays. . 3. color: crimson (boring overused descriptor), visualy old world dirty nose:super funky nose, in the mouth:  tart, dry , instead of mouthwatering mouth drying watermelon jolly rancher, bright firm acidity, molasses coffee, cherry, bitter finish, rich dark fruit, tomato beef stew, young unpleasant tannins, cherry cola & ginger star berry jam guess: Hungarian oak (not soft like French or earthy like American) odd varietal, Chile 2008 or 2009 , Napa 07 Zin, pinotage, 09???, , mediocre Barolo , funky so 2004-5 , Pinot Noir esque, NZ Pinot .         voila: Zeni Teraoldego Rotaliano 2006 - $27 Valley Wine Shack- OK this was a tough one after all what is that that Varietal anyway? The varietal it turns out is a distant cousin of Syrah.  Best guesser of the evening, Christian, he is the CEO of the new Moon Mountain Vineyards group (correct name?) was closest with "mediocre Barolo" - Christian was closest with all of the wines this evening. 4. color: deep dark red, the concentration of color makes one think…thick skinned grape (this tidbit came from Eddie) nose: a hot young thing (back to me on this one) in the mouth: sweet, no finish, prune, nice tannins, a bit of rs (residual sugar) because it's so fruity it takes away the possibility of older wine, French and American oak a bit of chicory flavor, nice glide in the mouth (due to sugar/glycerine), riper fruit so drink now, guess: New World California Zin, Zin a bit older 2003,4 or 5, Central Coast Pinot, Cali Rhone blend, GSM Paso Robles  2007                                                                                      itsa: Talty 2007 DCV Zin $38 at the winery 5. color: crimson, yadayadayada   nose: stinky funky nose in a good way ,nice tannins, earthy gamey leather, cigar box,really sexy nose     , peppery , 2009 Chateaunuef du Pape, honeycomb cereal, a familiar savory comfort wine, hint of pertrol, loved the finish, not much new oak guess:,  old world rijoa, Bordeaux, 2001-3 RRV or Petaluma Gap Pinot,  young Burgundy,  "the Gaminess pepperiness made me think Syrah  2005 central coast"  Old World French Pinot                                      one of the more delicious of the evening: 2007 Joseph Druhin Chorey-les-beaune Pinot $25 Whole Food Market. 6. color: rim variation "awesome f$#%ing food wine" this was actually not my comment, but it translates well, and,  I agree nose: licorice taffy nose    in the mouth: leathery, , sugary raisin, molasses, lingering tannins, weight on the pallets, a bit of oak. Italian tomato stewy thing, fresh, warmth 14.5, meat, cassis, leather, sweet, cherry blackberry pie, grilled meat blackberry with maple syrup nose, tobacco leaves, - new world structured wine guess: Zin, New World 2006 or Italian, 1998 Nebbiolo , 06 Syrah North Coast,  Ca 05 06 Syrah, New World Cab, 2003 GSM Paso Robles interesting: Masi,  Amorone 2001  originally $60 ish  - classic from the region - I ended up with this wine for the evening, had it with Chicken in a spicy tomato broth, great match. Local winemaker Michael Scorsone spent time in Italy making Amorone, him out over at Adobe Road Winery. 7. color: very light straw color                                                                               nose: honeyesque, floral  in the mouth: slight pertrol, nice acidity, oily viscosity, it's ripe, honey peach vanilla  guess: Rhone white, Viognier Santa Barbara area 2007, Viognier, French Viognier, Rhone White blend, young Pinot Griogio or a New World Chenin Blanc, Italain PG 2009, blend of Chard Semillon Vig, Santa Barbara ta da…Navarro Vineyards, Chenin Blanc, 2009, $13 at the winery key take aways: spice and peppery without ripe fruit lean towards Rhone varietals Hungarian Oak = puppy shit, I can't remember if that was aroma or taste? rim variation = the greater the color variation the older the wine

Monday tasting group Blind tasting 12/19/11 Ok fellow wine lovers blind tasting #2 under wraps.  A small but excellent group of individuals fighting the good fight carrying on and all that jazz. Greg Nemrow - from the Audelssa tasting room - Ryan Hays and myself.  Four bottles in brown bags with corks pulled and we're off... The feedback/guesses (pre bag removal) followed by the unbagging: 1 - Platnum Gold color with a nose of; sweet oak ,  butterscotch  & hazelnut.  On the palate, smooth,  nice acidity, slight honey notes with hint of grapefruit.  New World Chardonnay Vintage 2007-9 - Honestly a very well made wine! it was : Cote Bonneville, Wa. 2009 Chardonnay $52 2- Ruby Red, big nose;cotton candy, cedar, molasses, Xmas holiday notes. Raisens, sweet, lt tanins, fig, BBQ sauce, Raisenettes meet Rasberry Jam, Old World Italian red wine. unbagged - Coturri,  Mendocino Ca. 2007 Primotivo  $28 3- Garnet purple, Coco, Raspberry ( I never knew it was spelled this way, with the "p" that is), light French oak on the nose. Smooth light tanin on entry cherry and blueberry fruits with baking spices ripe but not over ripe fruit. New World, Sonoma Coast 2008 Pinot (Someone guessed a light DCV Cab! - I wont reveal the name perhaps we'll blame it on to much partying the night before) revealed - Goldeneye, Anderson Valley 2007 Pinot Noir $55 4- Cranberry Red, aroma of Pastrami Smoke, Vicks Vapor Rub & Cranberries, on the palette; tannin prevalent but not overwhelming, a bit of clove, slight bitter finish, cannabis stem ( not a killer green bud flavor more like outdoor Sativa ) - Cab/Merlot blend another guess was SoCal coastal Syrah unveiled  - Macrostie, Carneros 2006 Merlot/Cab (96/4) $14 at Sonoma & Glen Ellen Market That wraps up the first 2 tastings in the first year of getting together. Clearly some of us will benefit immensely from this group, myself first and foremost.  Cheers, see ya all in the New Year!

Just when we thought we'd seen it all! Jordan Kivelstadt rocks the wine world with his newest company Free flow Wines. He created a system to deploy and dispense wine in kegs. Good for the environment, good for your wallet! When you think about it it makes perfect perfect sense, we started out, drinking wine outta barrels, right? We have been drinking beer outta kegs for ions, so why not wine? Jordan not only has his own brand Silvertap for the system but he's also attracted such renowned names as: Ampelos, Alma Rosa, Au Bon Climat, Baileyana, Beringer, Boony Doon Vineyard, Chateau St. Jean, Copain, Crossbarn by Paul Hobbs, Francis Ford Coppola, Foppiano, Gunlach Bundschu, Hendry, King Estate, Lioco, Pali Wine Co., Palmina, Parducci, Paul Dolan, Pushback Winery, Qupe, Saintsbury, Santa Barbara, Sheldon, Simi, Skylark, Tallulah, Tangent, Trenza & Zocker. Thats one hell of a client list! Jordans family has a beautiful vineyard in the Bennett Valley originally farmed by Phil Coturri, now taken care of by Bacchus Vineyard Management. In other words, always in good hands. As if not busy enough Jordan has 3 wine labels, Qualia, Dog Daze and Pavo. Everything Jordan does is first class and this venture is no different, congratulations Jordan and thanks for making the world a better place and for lowering the cost of my next glass of wine!

Monday night football

...well it was playing in the background but the focus was wine. Ah yes, wine, its creeping into our lives more and more. We can never get enough of a good thing and wine tasting on a Monday night is a very good thing.

I received an invite from my friend Ryan Hays of Kilter Wines, to join him and some other folks for a wine tasting group he was firing up. How could I refuse? Even better the first get together was to take place in the Audelssa tasting room, my first time there. Great looking space & super comfortable located in downtown Glen Ellen complete with a big ass TV and of course a wine bar. We were joined by 2 others this evening Sean Kircher from Orin Swift - you know they have that little label "the Prisoner" - and local winemaker Erich Bradley from Sojourn and Audelssa. Onto the good stuff the wine...

All bottles were brown bagged, not as in we were getting ready to roll down the street with some Thunderbird for for cheap high, but as in a blind tasting. Highly recommended for anyone to do, results are really interesting, its amazing how much a label can bias our opinions.

The premise for this tasting group is to keep our palates sharp & educate ourselves. By means of guessing things like; varietal, vintage (a rough range really), location (Paso Robles, Sonoma, France etc.)

• Trimbach 2008 Riesling Reserve from Alsace - The nose Petrol and a fruitiness that reminded me of Gewurz & Viognier. I didn't expect the flavor AT ALL I was expecting a fruity more viscous wine. This was super dry and citrusy, a bit like a Satsuma Orange that's currently in season. $19.99 at Bottle Barn in Santa Rosa.
• Saldo 2010 a red blend mostly Zinfandel - Not a huge jammy California fruit bomb, very young but well balanced with good acidity. Berry notes with rose petal and leather, what a combo! It will be interesting to see what this tastes like given some time. A nice daily drinker. $28
• Robert Craig 2009 Affinity Mostly Cab - Light oak, dark red fruits nice mouth-feel, hint of something green on the nose. A nice smooth Bordelaise style wine, not too bombastic. Like the Saldo it needs to lay down for awhile to really hit its stride. $52.98 on the Snobby Wine Club
• Tablas Creek 2005 Tannat - Nose; big prune like aromas, high alcohol, chocolate and mint (reminiscent of Junior Mints), the color is inky dark reminded me of Petite Sirah, this was the toughest one to guess the varietal of, in fact no one did. A big juicy mouthful, ripe tannins and a bit smoky. $40
• Chateau de Pibaron 2005 Bandol Rouge (mostly Mourvedre ) - A bit of the old world stinkiness on the nose is what I was thinking but more appropriately said: slight Brett on the nose smoky; notes of leather and dark fruit; unctuous texture with significant unresolved tanin on the finish. Hold until 2016. $48 bottle barn.

The Trimbach and the Robert Craig were the most obvious wines of the evening. The Saldo and the Tablas Creek nobody guessed correctly and the Bandol was slightly elusive but Sean got somewhat close. Based on price point and enjoyability the Trimbach was the overall choice of the wines tasted. It drank like a $30 crisp white from the old world. It was my first Trimbach, though I have heard about the brand quite a bit. The Trimbach will most likely end up on my wine list next Spring.

49ers will be the background music at next weeks tasting, until then can anyone help us give the Monday Night Wine Tasting Group a better name?

James

End of summer sipping some Pinot Gris! Chilling on the back patio at the Sunflower Caffe have a cold glass of Pinot Gris with my friend and local business owner Lorene Reed - apologies to Lorene I see that her name is spelled wrong in the video editing, sorry Lorene! Lorene is a sweetheart, shes owns a great local company called Planet Organics that we provide wine for. Everyone at her company is great, they are always smiling so they must be doing something right over there. Checkout her web site, order up some organic products and a great bottle or two of wine. Their team will deliver them straight to your home, what a deal - now if we could only get them to deliver for the local restaurants, come on Lorene please!!!

                         CANCELLED EVENT!!

             evolve winery

 

6-8pm Complimentary splashes poured by this week's featured winery 
 

Please join us at SUNFLOWER CAFFE GARDEN WINE BAR, SONOMA PLAZA @ 6pm for some of the best of the best wineries pouring their latest and greatest! 

                               LADIES! YOU READY FOR THIS EVENT?

Sonoma Winemaker, Benjamin Flajnik from The Bachelorette  -   ABC's THE BACHELORETTE featured a Sonoma winery on the premier episode. WINEMAKER OF EVOLVE WINERY (Sonoma County), BENJAMIN FLAJNIK, featuring their latest wines! Celebrity event not to be missed!   

EVOLVE WINERY was founded by two friends who have always had a passion for unique wines. After drinking numerous bottles of Sauvignon Blanc on their roof deck balcony in San Francisco (just the warm days), it occurred to them that they needed to start making their own wine. It was an easy decision for Benjamin Flajnik and MICHAEL BENZIGER to use only the finest fruit from sustainable, organic, and bio-dynamic growers, as it’s important to taste the vineyard’s “true” identity. It is Evolve’s personal philosophy to enjoy life with great food, friends and of course, wine.

Date: Thursday, August 25
Time: 6:00pm-8:00 pm

click here to purchase wines!

SPOTLIGHT WINERY NIGHT! Every Thursday! 6-8pm Complimentary splashes poured by featured winery   GRAFF FAMILY VINEYARDS    click here to purchase!!! Please join us at SUNFLOWER CAFFE GARDEN WINE BAR, SONOMA PLAZA @ 6pm for some of the best of the best wineries pouring their latest and greatest! Every Thursday! See you there! Graff Family Vineyards The grapes for these wines come from the vineyards on the Chalone Bench within the Chalone viticulture area in Monterey, California. The wines are produced by winemaker Dan Karlsen and include Pinot Blanc, Viognier, July Muscat, Grenache, Mourvedre, and Consensus (a blend of Syrah, Mourvedre, and Viognier). A portion of the profits from the sale of the following wines benefit the Richard H. Graff Scholarship Fund for wine, food and hospitality education. Date: Thursday, August 18, 2011 Time: 6:00pm-8:00pm

Dan has a very Snobby selection of wines to choose from. This was a fun day, trying new wines I had never even heard of such as this one the Picpoul de Pinet. Picpoul actually means "lip stinger" which it is due to its high acidity. This is simply a great tasting, refreshing summer time wine, a fantastic alternative to Sauvignon Blanc. Certainly if you want to try something different than the usual supects grab a bottle of this to start your meal or as a patio pounder all by itself. This particular Picpoul de Pinet came from an import company called Return to Terroir owned by Raphael Knapp. Raphael is from France and has a great array of small producers he carefully selected. I had the pleasure of tasting through wines with Raphael on a different day than we shot this and we chose a couple of great reds from the Rhone area, a Cote du Rhone and a Châteauneuf-du-Pape. So if you're feeling stuck in a rut tasting the same old varietals all of the time this is one you should seek out, you wont be disappointed I promise.

Carol is the most awarded winemaker in the US and that title is well deserved. She makes some of the best Zins I have ever tasted!!! In this video Carol talks a bit about her philosophy on making wine. Check it out, and be sure to stop by this week for a taste of her Killer Zins. See ya here!

• Rielle Wines Winemaker and co owner, Gabriella Gazzano, her training was "hands on" she did all the jobs in the winery, from scrubbing the floors to punching down the fermenting tanks to preparing the final blends for bottling. She even repaired the presses.
  
  Rielle Wines is named after ther youngest daughter. Both daughters have grown up in the wine industry. Cleaning tanks, running filters and pumps, stirring and topping barrels, doing lab work, sampling the vineyards, just like mom. It has definitely been a family affair.
  
  Gabriella worked for Fritz Winery making Dry Creek Zinfandels, Russian River Chardonnays, and Sonoma County Sauvignon Blancs and Dry Creek Cabernet Sauvignons.
  
  After 4 years at Fritz she moved over to the Napa Valley and assisted in producing outstanding ultra premium cult status wines for both the Pahlmeyer and Jayson labels, including Napa Valley Merlot & Chardonnay. Four years later she was back in the Dry Creek Valley as Vice President, Director of Winemaking for Pezzi King Vineyards where she produced (at last count) 15 gold and 14 silver medal winning wines. These included Burgundian style Russian River Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, along with Dry Creek Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah and Sauvignon Blanc.
  
  Her dream has always been to start her own winery.
  
  Gabriella's father emigrated from Italy to Northern California and brought a highly developed palate and knowledge of fine food and wine. Gabriella's childhood home revolved around the kitchen, her mother cooked all day preparing sauces, pastas, frittatas.... Her father imported parmesan cheese, olive oil, flour, Arborio rice, salami and prosciutto directly from Italy. Of course her family always enjoyed wine with their meals.
  
  So come enjoy some fantastic local wines with a meal at the Sunflower this Thursday, see ya there!
  

  ---

I love the Sherpas!

Carol Shelton and i tasting yet another great Erich Bradley wine, the Audelssa Cabernet Sauvignon. Mila and I fell in love with this Cab the first time we ever tasted it. All of the iwnes they make are fabulous, the other favorite Audellsa wine is their Summit, a Bordeaux Blend that will rock your world. I cant say enough good stuff about Erich, he also is a fantastic Pinot producer and owns another label called Sojourn Cellars.They have a new tasting room in Glen Ellen right across the street from Jack Londons old haunt, aptly called the Jack London Lodge Saloon. Its another great place to go get a sense of the history in our neck of the woods. Back to the wine, Carol as always gracicous with her time, loved this wine. She says in the video "Its an elegant Cab, not big and flabby like so many can be". We agree Carol, Erich never dissapoints, really one of the most consistent producers I have known. A super wine at a super price, you can find it on many of the local wine lists, enjoy!

First I gotta say, yes i know the begining of the video states Cabernet Sauvignon, but I noticed it after we posted it and I just didnt wanna redo it. Can ya forgive me? Hughes Family Vineyards has a lot to offer. Dawn Holden is the marketing person for Hughes and it was a pleasure to taste these beautiful wines with her. Starting off we tasted the Chardonnay from Russian River Valley Saralees Vineyard. Its an excellent Chardonnay made by the Hughes winemaker Reynaldo Herrera. I looked on their web site and the new Chardonnay is from Sonoma Coast, I wonder if they will also continue the RRV Chard or go only with the Sonoma Coast one going forward? I digress, Reynaldo owns his own label Mi Sueno and is doing a fabulous job with the Hughes wines. Former winemaker veteran Kerry Damskey made the Zin and Syrah we tasted and they too are fantastic wines. Reynaldo picked up right where Kerry left off and we are excited to see how he will handle the Syrah and Zin. Since the tasting they released a Rose and we are looking forward to seeing more of the Hughes Family Vineyards wines in the near future. So we did end up choosing the Syrah and it is now on our wine list and available on our Snobby Ass Wine Club web site. Dawn also poured at one our 1st Friday Artist receptions this year, it was a great opportunity for the public to taste through the Hughes Family portfolio. Join us for the next one and I'm sure if we ask nice enough we could get Dawn back for popular Spotlight Winery Night, every Thursday from 6-8pm, starting again this Thursday 5/5/11. Cheers!

 

Grapes to Glass

wine education with

Chris Sawyer

Bubbles

 Damm, who doesnt like bubbles?!

I know I sure do, but I must say, as with so many things, there are good and there are, well lets say, not so good. Keep looking and I guarantee you will find bubles that will absolutely thrill you.

 

Chris Sawyer as always thrilled and amazed at this Grapes to Glass. The bubbles we tasted were all between $19 & $30 and easily sourced at most your local grocery stores or wine markets.

What we tasted:

LaMarca - Prosecco

Approx retail: $17

Refreshing, gets the palette going. Great spring n summer time.

From: Northern Italy, near Venice.

Nose: very nice, attractive, flowery

Taste: mineral, peach, melon, honeysuckle,

Alchohol: 11% - drink up!

An excellent Aperitif.

Pairs well with: Sushi

 

Gloria Ferrer - Blanc de Noir (mostly Pinot Noir)

Approx retail: $20

Amazing vineyards. Over 20 diff clones of pn n chard. Drank em under the table for the cuttings.

Nose: cherries. Red fruit.

Taste: creamy, cherry, lemon

Pairs: duck and a wide array of fish

 

Gruet - Rose  

Approx retail: $15

New Mexico, more skin contact to give it the pink color.  High elevation.

Nose: Cranberry plum a bit more closed nose.

Taste: cranberry, very dry

Pairs well with: meat accompanied with fruit compote & chutney , ham, pork

 

Schramsberg – 2007 Blanc de Blanc (Chardonnay only)

Approx retail: $36

President Nixon took this to china in the 60’s, made it famous. Great winery based in Napa Valley. Now they source fruit from many different areas, as we know Napa is not good for Pinot Noir in general.  They have a great tour in the Diamond Mountain AVA.  Chris Sawyer “One of my go to wines can serve this with just about anything.”

Nose: Sweet lemon & lime

Taste: Dry and Crisp, green apple, honeydew melon and lemon custard

Pairs well with: Ceviche, Lemon Chicken and Thai Curries

 

Cool stuff to know:

Brut= Blend

Blanc de Blanc = Chardonnay

Blanc de Noir = Blend, mostly Pinot Noir

Rose = Blend, with the rose color coming from leaving the Pinot Noir juice on the skin longer.

Le disgorged = Bubbles that were left on the yeast longer. Gives more texture and body, delicious!

 

Prosecco is the grape not the region. It is also not restricted to a certain region as in France where it for it to called Champagne, it must come from a specific area. Typically a lighter body

“Only for Celebrations” not true!

Sparkling wine in general goes well with salty foods & oysters, grilled meats, salads with vinaigrette.

Bad pairing: cake and bubbles. As in birthday celebrations, don’t make that rookie move!

Compared to still wine bubbles are usually non vintage unless the vintage is exceptional enough to claim that vintage.

Grapes used to make bubbles are usually the first grapes picked of the season - usually mid august. The reason for this early harvest is so the fruit is less ripe so its tart. Winemakers want high acid to produce bubbles.

A simple overview of making bubbles:

First a master blend of wine is made.

Fill up 95% of the bottle then drop a sugar cube & yeast then cap it. This creates the second fermentation, the bubbles.

 

How to be a pro at opening your bubbles:

Remove foil top.

Locate spinner on the cage.

Spin 5 ½ times, exactly.

Keep thumb and cage on. Turn cork pull out gently. Don’t pop – although I know its fun and I still do it often, that’s the kid in me.

 

By law 3 varieties used in champagne France; Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier & Chardonnay

Sparkling Wine - US

Champagne - France

Sec - german bubbles

Cava - spainish

Prosecco - Italy

 

Korbel has many different varietal bubbles in addition to the norm such as Pinot Gris, Riesling etc,

Ultimate temperature to serve it is mid 50's.

 

Chris Sawyer had dinner with Max Reidel. Max said “We are gonna move away from flutes” Flutes are the best visual presentation bubbles. But after all the fruit is Chard and Pinot so we are gonna move towards more of a burgundy style with a bigger bowl.

Gonna = going to

You can age sparkling wine. As it ages the bubbles slightly dissipate and more of the varietal characteristics show. Aged sparkling wine is something everybody should try at least once.

A bubbles  in America snapshot:

“Carneros AVA produces some of the best bubbles in America.”

Carneros - Domaine Carneros, Gloria Ferrer

RRV -  J Vineyards

Anderson Valley - Roederer

Santa Barbara - Laetitia Estate Wines

Oregon – Soter, Argyle.

 

Number one country to consume sparkling wine, Germany.

 

Grapes to Glass

Wine Education with Chris Sawyer

Food Friendly Cabs

<---Special guest Bart Hansen, owner winemaker Dane Cellars, named after Barts son.

Barts has wine history with Kenwood Winery, Benziger and Lassiter with whom he is still with.

Dane cellars - 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon. Fruit sourced from 2 vineyards. One from Southern end of valley, rocky sunny all day long & the other is from up valley near Glen Ellen. This wine is a good marriage of these two vineyards.

Nose: Blackberry, Cherry

Taste: Allspice, Cocao

Pairs well with: Sturgeon with a soy sauce marinade. Duck.

Audelssa 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon - Mountain Terraces Vineyard. 1700-2800' elevation, on a good day you can see San Francisco. Erich Bradley is the winemaker. Volcanic soil. New tasting room in Glen Ellen. Extreme farming.

Nose: Dark berry fruit. Chocolate. Earthy "moon dust"

Taste: Beautiful, full, smooth, balanced and subtle.

Eat with: More of a red meat wine. Filet not lamb but good beef. Not big and flabby its elegant.

 

Dane Cellars Jack knife 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon. Sonoma Valley Mayacamas side above Kunde Winery. Mountain fruit.  Larger berry

Nose: Cassis

Taste: Good fruit flavor with balanced tannins. Bigger body. More spice. Leather,& tobacco flavor.

 French oak.

Gold harvest fair

Double gold San Francisco.

 

Charles Creek – 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon. Won best of class harvest fair. Sonoma Valley.

Kerry Damsky winemaker

Nose: Dark Fruits, Dusty, Spice

Taste: Berry, Dark Chocolate, Caramelized Oak

Pairs with: More flavorful cuts of Beef or Lamb Loin

90% mountain terraces. These owners and landmark are related to John Deere. 

Special notes:

Napa valley is commonly noted for Cabernet Sauvignon – in Napa there is one more set of mountains between it and the ocean therefore hotter evenings creating riper fruit. Hence the big fruit bombs in Napa. Hence the fact Pinot Noir doesn’t grow well in Napa – Carneros being the exception.

The Sonoma difference, the ocean -  provides cooler evenings, therefore shutting down the ripening process and preserving the acidity, which is super important in wine making.

Bordeaux is near the ocean, hmmm.

Smaller berries mean a lot in cab, the ratio of skin to juice, more skin to juice than in larger berries so a more tannic wine.

French Oak very commonly used in Cabernet Sauvignon.

Silver Oak - infamous for Cabernet Sauvignon,  uses American oak.

go figure...

Past vintages in a snapshot:

2007 genius!

2008 frost 25% lost

2009 also great.

2010 trying, a tougher vintage due to heat n rain spikes.

Food for thought: At the time, the 1997 vintage was considered amazing, 1998 not so much so. However, now some 1998 wines are showing great. So you never really know.

Pursuit of balance: Mt. Eden winemaker "My definition of balance how the first glass tastes compared to the last" i.e. How does it taste from when it is first open to after it’s been open for it bit. Does the wine evolve in the glass and bottle or is it one note, flat? Bottom line, everyone’s opinion is just that.

Note : avoid 2010. Back up 2009 - just kidding, or maybe not, what are you gonna do?

Quote of the evening: "What’s my favorite vintage, the one in my glass”