W.O.T.W

Cline Ancient Vine Zinfandel, California 2008

Cline Winery located in Sonoma County has been making wines since 1982.  Continuing to think ahead of it's peers, in 2000 Cline Cellars started Green String farming - naturally and sustainably and avoid chemical pesticides, fungicides, and fertilizers that are generally used in everyday farming. Fred Cline believes the most efficient methods towards retaining healthy vineyards is by employing the use of organic cover crops, compost teas, crushed volcanic rock and oyster shell, natural mined sulfur and sheep grazing.

Once each year Cline reduces the vineyard cultivation and degradation by providing their soil with organic matter to help retain soil structure, water infiltration, and microbial activity. Composting throughout our vineyards with nourishment derived from natural products such as grape pumice, vine prunings, and other mature organic material that we mix and nurture all year, helps to improve the texture and depth of the soil and also provides needed sustenance to the vine. "Compost Tea" is added to the vines via drip irrigation and also applied directly to the leaves. This tea contains molasses, fish emulsion to increase nitrogen content, rock dust, microbes and other nutrients.

Cline, known for it's amazing Zinfandels, is puttings all it's resources to good use in this 2008 Ancient Vines Zinfandel.  Cline’s 2008 Ancient Vines Zinfandel draws primarily from Lodi and Oakley.  Thirty-five percent of this Zin comes from our oldest, most historic and shyestbearing Zinfandel blocks in Oakley, Contra Costa County. Grapes were planted by Italian and Portuguese immigrants in the sandy, phylloxera-resistant soils more than 100 years ago. These ancient, dry-farmed vineyards consistently produce fruit of stunning concentration. The lots that we hand-selected are the result of sensitive farming practices, the singular Oakley terroir and aunique cooling band of air that fl ows from the San Joaquin and Sacramento Rivers. Zinfandel from Lodi (63% of blend) was acquired from historic vineyards along the delta waterways. The remainder of the blend is selected from prized vineyards in Mendocino, Sonoma, and Lake County.

Next time you light the grill or slather up that rack of ribs grab a bottle of the AV Zin!  Cheers!

W.O.T.W

Wine of the Week...inspired by the warm days, the smell of the charcoal, and long evenings; Jermann Pinot Grigio.  No, I'm not talking about that cheap sweet stuff from Cali.  I'm talking about an amazing depth of flavor, richness, minerality, elegance, balance, & longevity of the most well made Pinot Grigio from Fruili Italy.  Located in the Northeastern portion of Italy, Fruili is know for it's sophisticated whites and dynamic reds.  Jermann Winery is situated in the Province of Gorizia and dates back 1881 and is now run by Silvio Jermann.  Silvio meticulously monitors all the tiny vineyards throughout the area and currently makes 3 different red wines and 9 different white wines. Vintage Tunina a Sauvignon and Chardonnay blend as well as Red Angel a 100% Pinot Noir are two of Silivio's flagship wines. Pinot Grigio however seems to be the most popular(at least in my house).  Respectful of the terrain and natural slopes, Silvio shows the true characteristics of Pinot Grigio and the land it grows on.  Predominantly marlstone and sandstone soils, this Pinot Grigio is rich and round with a backbone of minerality.  This is a Pinot Grigio for that consumer that likes a good Chablis or dry Alsacian wine.  Maybe not your style if you drink Pinot Grigio by the gallon!  Jermann Pinot Grigio might cost a couple bucks more than what you expect to pay for a PG but trust me, its worth the extra!

What are you drinking with your Mom?

There are many Holidays and many occasions worth celebrating but none more important than the one occasion in which we celebrate the group of people who hold us all together. Mothers!  No matter how frustrated, angry, or separated we can get with our moms over the course of the year, Mothers Day is the one day we can put all of this behind us. For some we celebrate this wonderful occasion over brunch.

What makes brunch so fun?  Is it the poached egg smothered in a buttery creamy goodness?  Is it maple glazed ham with cheese grits and home fries?  Or is it the endless selections of libations?  All of the above!  Champagne, mimoa's(the blood orange ones at resort are awesome) bellini's, screwdrivers, bloody's, or one of my favorites a glass of rosé will be spread across tables this Sunday.  So matter what your drink of choice is this Mother's Day, make sure mom's glass is full because it's a 24/7 responsibility to make sure the world goes round.  Cheers to you mom!

W.O.T.W

Wine of the Week comes from Rioja and Bodegas Ramon Bilbao.  Founded in 1924 in the famed Rioja region, Ramon Bilbao has been committed to following the family standards and viticulture practices of the region.  Showcasing Tempranillo, its environment, and aging requirements Bilbao wines are one of the purest expressions of Rioja. 

Even though they make a handful of different wines, I am going to focus on the 2007 Limited Edition Tempranillo.  The wine comes from the best region within the Rioja, the Alta region.  With only 963 barrels produced, the wine spends 15 months in a combination of French and American oak with an additional 12 months in bottle before released.  Ripe black fruit with an exotic wood spice makes me think of the wonderful spice rubbed flank steak fajitas I had the other night.  Not a ton of wine made, but can be found around town.  Oh, and by the way you can find it under $20!  Typically a wine of this quality with such a small amount produced at that price can be a challenge to find.

Here is what the experts think:

"A good value that will offer pleasure for another 6 years..."  Wine Advocate

"This lively red offers bright flavors of cherry, vanilla, smoke and spices, with a plump texture and just enough tannin for grip. Balanced and expressive..."  Wine Spectator

Gun Bun...

Yesterday I had the privilege to meet Jeff Bundschu of Gundlach Bundschu winery in Sonoma.  Not only are they the flagship winery of Sonoma but they are the oldest family owned winery in California(they just celebrated their 153 harvest & Jeff is the 6th generation).  Meeting with Jeff & having the opportunity to taste all of there 100% estate wines was extremely refreshing to know that no matter how corporate Cali gets there are still people who continue to do it the right way.

After a few minutes you could feel the passion that this family winery has and tries to portray through their wines.  Winemaker Keith Emerson also shares in the family's passion.  Having started his career at Gun Bun as assistant winemaker, he followed the path that lead him to time at Cakebread, Vineyard 29, & Robert Craig Winery.  In 2008 he jumped at the opportunity to work with the best fruit in Sonoma & to be with the Bundschu family.  

Since Jeff took over in 2000 he made the commitment to get back to his family roots.  Jeff cut production from 75k cases to 25k.  Sustainability, solar operated, & part of the Bay Area Green Business shortly followed.  Today the winery thrives.  As Jeff said, "Our goal year in and year out is to produce the best wines in Sonoma".  Having tasted everything....mission accomplished!  All of this passion is represented perfectly in the wines.  All the passion with still some to spare with Jeff's side project...the Huichica Music Festival.  The only Indie Rock Festival held at a winery.  Great wine and great music...sounds pretty sweet.

All in all, cool wines, cool dude, cool family and cool purpose.  Below are the tasting notes for their wines.  I am definetly a fan, so is Svet at 5 Points Bottle Shop.  Not only is the old school bearitage painted on the building but they carry all the wines.  Jump on the Gun Bun train!  The wines are worth visiting.

Follow Gundlach Bundschu @: Blogschu, on Twitter, & Facebook.

2009 Chardonnay:  Bursting with aromas and flavors of fresh meyer lemon, key lime, asian pear and granny smith apples. Round and lush with good weight, yet refreshing acidity and minerality. Long, mouthwatering finish of citrus with a touch of toffee and cream.  An ideal pairing for fish prepared
with citrus butter, oysters and all shellfish. 

2009 Gewürztraminer:  Fragrant orange blossom, sweet orange zest and white flower aromas with wisps of clove and coriander. Crisp yet creamy flavors of blood orange, white pear, lychee and kiwi fruit with a drop of meyer lemon.  Lush fruit flavors lead to a dry, vibrant finish that lasts for a long time. 
Wonderfully bright and fresh in its youth, this classic, dry Gewürztraminer will continue to develop richness up to fifteen years from vintage.

2007 Pinot Noir:  Layered aromas redolent of fresh strawberry and dried rose petal, with a touch of sandalwood. Silky palate of red and blue berries, white
pepper and a touch of licorice are wrapped in round tannins and linger on a long lively finish. Will continue to improve with three to seven
years cellaring from vintage date.

2006 Mountain Cuvee, 70% Merlot 29% Cabernet Sauvignon 1% Petit Verdot:  Fragrant aromas of anise, coriander and warm cherry compote. Dense flavors of raspberry and cherry laced with notes of orange pekoe and ultra dark chocolate lead to a long, chewy finish. A lush, fruit-forward wine intended to be enjoyed within five years of vintage. 

2006 Merlot:  A layered, brooding, complex wine with aromas of deep red cherry, strawberry, dried tobacco leaf and lavender. Enters soft, with black plum flavors that deepen into dark coffee, cocoa, smoke and earth and a smooth, velvet texture. Notes of minerality, dried sage and bright cherry
return at the finish. Delicious upon release, this Merlot will benefit from five years of cellaring from vintage and continue to age gracefully
for 10 to 12 years.

2006 Cabernet Sauvignon:  Dark purple color, aromas of violet, anise and lifted red and black currant. The lush, smooth entry leads to dark berry, cassis, shaved chocolate and espresso bean flavors. Big, smooth tannins give weight and roundness to the mouthfeel. The long finish is smooth with balancing notes of red fruit. Delicious upon release; optimal cellaring time four to 15 years from vintage.

Caaaannonbaaaalll.....

With all the sun and fun on the horizon, I thought I would have a little wine fun with Cannonball wines.  Cannonball Cabernet & Merlot take that free feeling of the "peoples dive" and apply that philosophy to winemaking.  Now you may think that a wine company called Cannonball is not very serious.  For the most part that is true.  The guys at Cannonball Winery view life like a cannonball, free spirited and doing everything they can to make a splash!  As far as wine goes, this is something they take very serious.  Passion, honesty, and quality is what makes there Cabernet & Merlot so delicious.  "We want every wine you taste from us to be a WOW wine.  If you're going to pay $12-60 for a bottle of wine, it better hold some WOW."

Cannonball Caberent Sauvignon 2007, California: 85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Syrah, 3% Merlot - Aromas of fresh berries, spice, and pepper with a faint background of vanilla oak are very much reflected in the mouth. Full and rich with bright acidity, the berry and spice flavors are boldly presented along with racy, red fruit and vanilla-cherry on a layer of cocoa.

(66% Sonoma,19% Mendocino, 15% Napa, 3% other)

You can't go wrong with enjoying Cannonball with a big piece of quality red meat, a great burger, shortribs, barbeque.

Cannonball Merlot 2007, California:  The aromas reveal slowly and I find layers of cherries, floral, and vanilla-creme with a hint of red spice and walnut. In the mouth, the wine announces itself with an enthusiastic entry of cherry, pomegranate, dark berries, and toasty flavors.

Sourced 100% from Napa Valley, the majority of our Napa Valley fruit came from Oak Knoll District.

Merlot is making a comeback and we have some of the best sources in Napa. We hope you find this wine as impressive as we did. Dennis' notes are below, but the rest of us a t Cannonball are describing it as presenting generous amounts of “wow” and rich notes of blow-your-mind-away goodness ,with a strong hint of why-did-I-stop-drinking merlot? Special thanks to the movie,"Sideways", for making this moment possible.

Share a Splash!!

Bodega Goulart

Marshall Gastao Goulart, the leader of Brazil’s Constitutional Revolution in1932, while spending time in Mendoza purchased two separate 15 hectare properties and planted them with Malbec and Cabernet Sauvignon.  Some many years later his granddaughter Erika while looking through her Grandfathers things, came across the deed to this abandon vineyard.  After many years and countless hours, money, and sweat Erika and her husband relaunched Bodega Goulart.  Erika currently is producing 4 different wines that are meticulously made through sustainably farmed vineyards, hand harvest and sorted grapes, and help from Luis Barraud(consulting winemaker and partner with Paul Hobbs in Cobos) to produce some of the best wines from Mendoza.  With total production less than 5000 cases, the wines are not easily found but definitely worth the hunt! 

Erika's Notes:

• Torrontes 2009, Mendoza Argentina:  Torrontés is Argentina’s signature white wine varietal. It flourishes in the province of Salta and in the plains of Mendoza. There are several clones of Torrontés. We decided to plant the Medocino clone which is best suited for our climate and soils. The grapes are fermented at low temperatures in stainless steel tanks in order to preserve its lively fruit acidity and floral bouquet.

• Malbec 2010, Mendoza Argentina:  Goulart’s entry level Malbec offers some initial savory spice, leather and earth notes with an ever so slight floral lift lying over the top of a combo of red and darker red to almost black fruit on the nose. Think of dark raspberry, currant and darker blackberry fruit as the aromatic foundation of the wine which becomes more pronounced with aeration. The palate shows good concentration on its medium fuller to fuller bodied frame, with a suppleness to the texture that is accentuated by the wines softer, ripe tannins. Offering a fleshy mid palate and juicy, sweet dark red berry fruit flavors this has good structure and surprising persistence on the finish. Just now starting to hit its stride this should drink impressively over the next couple of years. A very good value for the money this will have a lot of fans for its engaging juicy fruit, fuller frame and structure.

• Reserva Malbec~Cabernet Sauvignon 2007, Mendoza Argentina:  The Reserva is made from old vines planted in two original vineyards and represents the best barrels from the cellar. Its bright blackberry aromatics and flavors combine well with an elegant and complex,aided by aging in French barrels for 12 months.  It is a blend of 60% Malbec and 40% Cabernet. 

90 pts Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar:  Aromas of blackberry, licorice, violet pastille and espresso. Sweet, spicy and intensely flavored with a creamy quality to the fruit but also excellent energy. Finishes with broad, serious tannins and excellent length. This offers terrific value.

• The Marshall Malbec 2007, Mendoza Argentina:  The Marshall pays tribute to the founder. These grapes are selected from the oldest vineyard rows on the Lunlunta vineyard in the Lujan de Cuyo. The Intensity of low yielding old vines produces some of the best Malbecs in the world. Its deep ruby red color and brooding flavors of blackberry and wild cherry yield a complex, yet elegant wine. Further dimension comes from aging in French Barrels for 18 months.

91 pts Robert Parker Jr.'s The Wine Advocate (JM):  The 2007 The Marshall “M” is 100% Malbec aged for 18 months in 40% new French oak. Opaque purple-colored, it offers up a nose of toasty new oak, cinnamon, allspice, violets, black cherry, and blackberry. On the palate it is rich, savory, and plush bordering on opulent. With excellent depth and grip, this substantial effort will evolve for another 2-3 years and offer prime drinking from 2011 to 2029.