New York City Wine & Food Festival - Day 2 Wine

At Sunday’s Grand Tasting at the New York City Food & Wine Festival we returned to wines – and in particular those that we hadn’t tasted previously. For there was a large sample of California wines that we are well familiar and enjoy often: La Crema, Murphy-Goode Winery, Chalk Hill Winery, Carmel Road Winery, and Concannon Vineyard. Two California wineries that were present and who we hadn’t tasted before were Wente Vineyards Estate Winery and Zaca Mesa Winery. Wente Vineyards was founded over 125 years ago and is currently the United State’s oldest, continuously operated family-owned winery. That’s five generations of family winemakers. What makes this winery also appealing to us is their integration into the musical environment. Not only do they host several excellent concerts throughout the summer (proceeds are contributed to the Livermore Valley Education Foundation), but 5th generation winemaker Karl Wente is a musician himself and recommends music for download. As for their wines, we tasted their Merlot and Cabernet (both were very good), but particularly liked their Riesling and Sauvignon Blanc. The wines were acidic and refreshing with excellent fruit flavor – just the type of white wines we enjoy. Zaca Mesa Winery also poured and excellent white wine: their 2007 Viognier, Estate Bottled Santa Ynez Valley. This wine was just as good as the excellent Viognier produced in Virginia – at half the cost. It has a little acidity but more texture and some vanilla flavors.

This weekend we discovered Prosecco; this Italian grape is very popular in its homeland and is starting to make a presence in the states. Our friends at Danny DeVito's Premium Limoncello recommended blending their Limoncello with Prosecco and fortunately the grand tasting had a few samples. There was the Lunetta Prosecco, the the Nino Franco Prosecco “Rustico” distributed by Vin di Vino, and a couple from Mionetto. The Lunetta is a nice sparkling wine with some peach flavor as is the Nino Franco Prosecco “Rustico” but the best was the Mionetto Prosecco Brut. I believe this wine retails for under $15 and is a bargain. It has a soft lemon flavor but is rich and the tail is somewhat nutty.

Vin di Vino also poured several other interesting wines. The Casa Silva Carmenere Reserva was a good wine in which good wines from this grape are difficult to find. The Loimer Gruner Veltliner LOIS was a really good white wine – citrusy and acidic. Finally the Cusuman Benuara was the first of several nice Sicilian wines that we tasted. It is a blend of Syrah and the indigenous Nero d’Avola, very smooth with a slight peppery finish. This wine also tied in nicely to two we sampled from Corvo winery in Sicily. The Corvo also consists of Nero d’Avola and is a medium bodied wine marketed to pasta and pizza lovers. We liked it straight – the cherry flavors and smooth finish. Corvo also produces an excellent white in the Corvo Bianco, made from the Insolia and Grecanico grapes. This is another food friendly wine – slightly acidic – but fruity. Plus they cost around $10.

Touchstone Wines introduced us to a few low priced wines, starting with the animus – a Portuguese wine from the Douro River Valley. It is a dry wine, medium bodied, and very smooth. From Germany they were pouring the Erben Riesling and the Erben Pinot Noir. This was our first German Pinot and it wasn’t bad. The Riesling matched our tastes exactly – it was made dry, but full of the typical Riesling fruit flavor. We also liked the Leonard Kreusch Rieslings and their Piesporter – also affordable at around $10.

There were also several nice French wines, starting with the Lansen Champagne. The black label brut was awesome – and apparently they also produce a nice rose. Chateauu D’Esclans was pouring several still rose wines made from their winery in Provence. Their entire portfolio was excellent but our overall favorite was the Garrus – made from 80 year old Grenache vines and Rolle. There were several excellent Bordeaux wines offered by Bernard Magrez Grand Vignobles. There was the Chateau Saint Genes – a complete Bordeaux blend, the Saint Emilion Grand Cru from Le Cadran du Chateau Fombrauge and the Les Douves du Chateau la Tour Carnet from Haut Medoc. In addition, the company was pouring an awesome Spanish wine, the Paciencia – 100% Tinto de Toro. This is a full bodied earthy wine. The final French wine that stood out was the Chateau D’Aussieres from Les Domaines Barons de Rothschild. It is a Rhone blend of Syrah, Grenache, and Mourvedre – full bodied with a strong cherry flavor and a smooth finish.

We wish we could have tried more, but with a flight home waiting, we had to cut our tasting short. The New York City Food & Wine Festival was a great event, next year we will try to attend more of the smaller events. But until then, there’s always South Beach.

New York City Wine & Food Festival - Day 1 Spirits

This past weekend we attend two days of the New York City Food & Wine Festival, a northern replica of the popular Food Network South Beach Food & Wine Festival. This festival ran from October 9th through 12th – four days of wine, spirits, and food demonstrations. Most of the events occurred in the modernized Meatpacking neighborhood in Chelsea – a district of outdoor cafes – resembling European urban areas. There were food parties, regional wine tasting, seminars, champagne parties, and the ShopRite grand tasting.

As usual for a Food Network event, several of their personalities were present, and on the 11th we stumbled upon our personal favorite Alton Brown - partnered with Rachel Ray – imparting food advice throughout the day at the Comix Kidz Korner series. As the pictures attest, kids and parents lined up early to see one of the four sold out shows. In a neighboring park we also visited a local farmer’s market sponsored by Greenmarket, where the fresh produce was shipped from Geneva – in the Finger Lakes. We sampled several of their inexpensive juices and were glad to see that they also carried Anthony Road wines. Today they were also giving food demonstrations – and advertising a charity dinner at the end of the month: The Taste of Greenmarket n the October 29th. In route to the grand tasting we also passed the Food Bloggers station – a nice courtesy to the online community.

The ShopRite Grand Tasting is a collection of food created from the city’s best chefs and wines and spirits distributed by Southern Wine & Spirits of New York. Maybe it was the sight of the Wines of Puerto Rico when we entered the Pier or the Maker Mark’s station at the entrance of the tent; but we decided to stick to spirits for the entire day. And what a spectacular array of spirits. It started with an excellent Serrallés Don Q Grand Anejo rum paired with steamed yucca on plantain leaves prepared by Hilton Caribe San Juan Lemongrass chef Mario Pagán. Accompanied by bartenders dancing to Latin music – we had a second sifter and a cocktail. The party had started.

The bartenders at Maker’s Mark were creating several cocktails from traditional Maker’s mark bourbon, the new r(i)1 rye whiskey, rum, and tequila. The Highland Nector was very popular – for me – the Bourbon County Crisp. Later in the day we had a chance to sample the r(i)1, which is being targeted by Beam Global Spirits and Wines to younger consumers. It’s a good product – slightly sweet and spicy – that we’d be happy sipping neat – but it was really good in the NYC r(i)1 Sour. We soon had a chance to taste our favorite vodka of the day – and there were several good products from Russia and Sweden. But the Norwegian Christiania vodka was what they advertised: “The World’s Smoothest Vodka” – at least today in New York. The vodka is made from organic Trondelag potatoes and Norwegian water vodka and the mixture is distilled six times before being charcoal filtered. All based on a 400 year old secret recipe originating in the court of Christian IV. Monarchs had the best life. Why did we like it? It is slightly sweet – and incredibly smooth: no burn at the finish. This is vodka worthy of a sifter. The same is true for the Whitley Neill Gin. Normally not fans of gin, this version is very appealing. It is a made with nine botanicals – including fruit from the Baobab tree (“The Tree of Life”) and Cape gooseberries. Johnny Neill has combined his family’s love for Africa with London Dry Gin to create a gin we can enjoy – more citrus than juniper. In fact the Baobab fruit has 6 times the vitamin C than an orange.

Close by, we found several of our favorite spirits from South Beach: Diplomatico Reserva Exclusiva 12 year old, Vizcaya VXOP Cask 21, and Moleca Cachaça. The first is Venezuelan rum distilled in copper pot stills, then aged 12 years in oak. It is sweet with nutty and vanilla flavors – and smoooooth. The Vizcaya VXOP Cask 21 is also smooth – but really different from the Diplomatico. First, it is made from distilled pressed sugar cane – not molasses – which gives it a lighter flavor – or should I say - less nutty. It has some vanilla – but more of a honey flavor – with some butterscotch. Another great rum. Finally, the Moleca Cachaça brought back memories of mohitos and caipirinha. Both Silver and Gold are double distilled – producing a smooth spirit – with little burn. Half of our team enjoyed the Silver in cocktails, while the other half preferred the Gold in a sifter. Either way – Cachaça is a coming attraction and there was a larger selection at this tasting. Cabana Cachaça and Sagatiba Pura Cachaça are also double distilled and are each good representations of the product.

At this point, the day became a constant stream of unique new products – starting with Danny DeVito's Premium Limoncello. In South Beach, we had seen Mr. DeVito pouring his liqueur, but the crowds were too large to circumvent. Absent Mr. DeVito, the crowds today were smaller and we were finally able to try this liqueur. Many of our Italian friends have mentioned sipping Limoncello on lazy afternoons, but we had never tasted it. Now, we are “experts”. Limoncello is made by soaking the outer yellow layer of the lemon (the zest) in water and sugar, than combing with neutral grain spirits. The final product is diluted to about 60 proof. DeVito's Premium Limoncello differs from the standard by using organic Sorrento Lemons – known for their aromatics and flavors. In fact this product is the only Limoncello to earn an IGP (Protected Geographic Indication) Designation and is certified kosher. Plus, the bottle includes a "scratch and sniff" lemon. They’ve thought of everything. The liqueur is all lemon – in the aroma, through the flavor – to the tail. It is a little syrupy – but not sugary gritty. Some tasted a little mint, others pepper. Regardless, we all enjoyed it. Harbew Imports recommended several alternatives to drinking it neat – including creating a spritzer using soda water or mixing with sparkling Presecco. (We would spend the second day sampling this Italian grape to find a worthy partner to DeVito's Premium Limoncello.)

Moving on, we came upon the world’s only distiller of açaí - VeeV Açaí Spirit. The spirit is actually distilled in Idaho – using water from the Snake River and the Brazilian “super” fruit: Açaí. The fruit is well known in health food stores because it contains 57% more antioxidants than blueberries and has 30 times more heart-healthy anthocyanins than red wine. VeeV Spirits dilutes 90 proof neutral grain spirits with açaí juice, small quantities of prickly pear and acerola cherry juice, and water to arrive at the final 60 proof product. The cherry is the most pronounced ingredient – but the entire spirit is very smooth neat. However, the Reum brothers are counting on it to become an alternative to vodka in cocktails. We think it would be an interesting alternative to rum in a mohito.

While tasting the VeeV Açaí Spirit we affably heckled a fellow taster “guzzling” Lucid Absinthe at the adjacent table. Little did we know that this was actually David Jones the CEO of Castries and the creator of Castries Peanut Rum Crème – one of our two overall favorites of the day. This is one liquor that we strongly recommend purchasing immediately. Even after a past visit to St. Lucia we had no idea that peanuts were such a large part of their culture and apparently homemade peanut rum liquor is quite popular. Mr. Jones and his partners became their endeavor in 2002 and for five years they toiled to create the precise formula and physical production. Released last year, the Castries Peanut Rum Crème consists of roasted peanuts, spices, Madagascan vanilla, cream and aged St. Lucian rum. Incredible. And versatile. We stood for minutes listing the alternatives to mix with the cream liquor: espresso, chocolate, grand manier…..or by itself. It is a nicely balanced drink – the peanuts, spices and rum intertwine without hindering the other. Well done.

The other liquor we strongly suggest purchasing is also a cream liquor: the Irish made Coole Swan. This time the ingredients are Single Malt Irish Whiskey, Madagascan Vanilla, and Cote D’Ivorie Cocoa, and heavy dairy cream. This product shows with quality inputs and persistence – 231 variations in the formula – affordable and great tasting liquor can be produced. The product is awesome – the vanilla is more prevalent than the chocolate – and like the Castries – the cream and rum balances each other. Named after the WB Yeats poem, The Wild Swans at Coole, we can envision, passing the time with Coole Swan.

There were a couple other interesting spirits such as Chartreuse liqueurs and Suntory Yamazaki Single Malt Scotch. The former is a brand of liqueurs produced by French Carthusian Monks that are famous for their digestive qualities. The Chartreuse is made from alcohol mixed with 130 plants – in which only 2 monks actually know the identity of all. The Green Chartreuse is drier than the Yellow Chartreuse but sips from both immediately calmed our stomachs. There are two versions of the Suntory Yamazaki Single Malt Scotch a 12 year and an 18 year variety. The whiskey is made outside of Kyoto – using pure water used in Japanese tea ceremonies. In each case the malted barley is distilled in copper stills where only the middle cut of the second distillation is used to make the whiskey. The spirit is then stored in one of three types of oak barrels: American Bourbon, Spanish Sherry and Japanese. Whiskey from each barrel is blended together – producing a unique flavor. Obviously the 18 year old is more full bodied than the 12 year – but both have a less peaty flavor than standard Scotch. The 18 year old also has more of a cherry flavor whereas the 12 year old has more of a honey flavor. This is the best selling whiskey in Japan – we will see how it fares in the States.

And we can not forget to mention the food – perhaps the best we had sampled in similar festivals. There was excellent white pizza from Bayard Catering, beet mixtures, pasta, chocolate – but are absolute favorite was the smoked salmon prepared by Jim Botsacos of Molyvos. Most salmon is too fishy for our tastes – but this dish had little fish flavor – instead it was slightly smoky – and fresh.

After a last stop at the Wines of Puerto Rico, our day was done. Where else could one find such a large variety of spirits and liqueurs in one setting? Coming next – the wines.

Note: visit Compass Tours to view all pictures.

Foodbuzz Publisher Community Launches

WineCompass.com is pleased to partner with the Foodbuzz Publisher Community, which officially launched this week. This online community offers over 20,000 new food and dining content each week. Members can search for restaurant reviews in their area, or recipes, or even search for blog content submitted by over 1,000 global food bloggers - including WineCompass. If you enjoy a particular article - "buzz" it to the top of the daily submissions. And like every community, members can personalize their content and create a friends directory to share articles and recipes. We will see you online.

Epcot International Food & Wine Festival

For anyone traveling to Orlando, or are looking for a reason to, Epcot at Disney has been hosting their annual International Food & Wine Festival since September 26. The event lasts until November 9th and integrates smoothly into Epcot's region theme. Want to try a Canadian wine - try the Chateau des Charmes Riesling or Ice wine. In addition, there's Polish Vodka, Bicardi run smoothies, as well as wines from Greece, South Africa, New Zealand, Austria, France, Italy, Australia, Spain, Argentina, Chile, Lebanon (Chateau Musar) , and even India.

Yes wines from India. They were pouring Chenin Blanc and Sauvignon Blanc from Sula Vineyards. The winery is located northeast of Mumbai, Nashik - India’s largest grape-growing region. However noone thought about growing wine grapes there until Rajeev Samant quit his hi-tech Silicon Valley job in 1993 to determine why. He convinced Californian winemaker Kerry Damskey that the climate was similar to winegrowing regions in Spain, California, and Australia. After planting French Sauvignon Blanc and Californian Chenin Blanc in 1997, they released their first wines in 2000. We really liked the Chenin Blanc and will start looking for a local distributor.

The United States was represented by New York wineries, in particular, Fulkerson Winery and Merritt Estate Winery. During the short time we spent at the booth several participants were raving about Merritt's Bella Rosa - made from lambrusco grapes - and Fulkerson's Airship White - made from Niagara grapes.

There are also several wine and beer seminars. The Samuel Adams Brewery hosts several daily sessions in the America region. Throughout the event there are seminars concerning Bordeaux, Chile, Argentina, Italy, Australia, Sonoma, Mendocina, Napa - even Irish Mead. Plus there are numerous book signings, bottle signings, food paring, and music. Every day a talented artist performs in the America Gardens Theatre ending with Los Lobos November 8th and 9th.

However, the best experience for us at Epcot had nothing to do with the wine festival. We were stranded in "Germany" due to a typical heavy Florida downpour. Fortunately there was ample supplies of Spaten Octoberfest beer and Germany Riesling. Unfortunately the beverages were much more expensive than the low cost samples being served in the rain. We also stumbled upon the German Weinbar - which poured samples of several German wine styles including Riesling, Gewurztraminer, Lemberger, and ice wine. Make sure you examine the map showing the German wine growing regions. We were surprised to see Lemberger grown among the Riesling; we had assumed it would grow closer to Austria.

Needless to say, we had a great time at Epcot. Where else can you sample this diversity of wines, see Nemo and the Lion King, and race with GM. Fun for the entire family.

Holy-Field Vineyard & Winery: Cynthiana

This week we stayed in the Midwest and opened a bottle of Cynthiana from Holy-Field Vineyard & Winery. Located in eastern Kansas - not far from Kansas City - father and daughter duo, Les & Michelle Meyer, produce about a dozen varieties of wine from indigenous and hybrid grapes. And these grapes are quite unique: St. Vincent, Melody, Aurore as well as Vignoles, Chardonel, Seyval, Foch, Leon Millet, Chambourcin, and Cynthiana (Norton). The Cynthiana has been quite successful for the Meyer's; winning several double gold medals over the years plus the 2004 Jefferson Cup - which honors the best of the best among US wineries from all of America’s wine regions.

We tasted the release following the Jefferson Cup winner and quite frankly, were not really impressed. Even though the wine was aged 12-16 months in oak, the wine was still extremely young and acidic. And only a slight grape flavor. We've stored several purchased bottles in our cellar and after three years in the bottle, we retested the wine. What a difference. The wine has transformed into a good, full bodied wine. It is a little less spicy than the Mount Pleasant from last week, but contains the same rich cherry flavor. This spicy characteristic may be a Midwestern trait, because we have not tasted it with Eastern produced Norton wines. And there were just a few traces of the standard grapey Norton flavor. Once again, the wine could easily pass for a viniferia based wine. Now, if we only had an aged bottle of the Jefferson Cup winner; but this is defiantly one proof that Norton\Cynthiana wines need to age a few years in the bottle.

Mount Pleasant Winery - 2003 Norton

This past week we opened another bottle from our Norton collection, a 2003 from Mount Pleasant Winery. We had purchased this wine after it had won the 2005 Missouri Governor's Cup - at a premium of course. Mount Pleasant Winery is one of Missouri's oldest wineries, first established in 1959. It later became a casualty of Prohibition, but was re-opened almost 50 years ago by the Dressel family. And today, the Norton grape is as great a part of the enterprise as it was a century ago.

Their 2003 Norton is a dry, full bodied wine and surprisingly spicy - more like a Syrah than a Norton. Initially there was also only a slight grapey flavor and the spicy finish was dominant. However, as the wine was left to breathe, the spiciness subsided in favor of the grape flavor. We discovered this after opening the bottle pairing with a bowl of chili. Initially the spiciness from each offering contradicted each other and we set the glasses to the side. After dinner, we tried the wine again and found that "decanting" mellowed the wine where it was much more complementary to spicy foods. The wine worked in both scenerios; if you would like a Syrah styled wine - drink this Norton immediately. If you are looking for a more traditional Norton - full bodied wine - let the wine decant.

2nd Annual Spirits of Mexico Tasting Competition

This week The Polished Palate announced the results of the 2nd Annual Spirits of Mexico Tasting Competition which was held in San Diego from September 11 & 12. 70 spirits were blind tasted by a panel of judges with a rating system totaling a maximum possible score of 100 points. Only one brand constantly scored over 90 points by each judge: the El Perdido Reserva Extra Anejo, which received the Best of Show award.

From the press release: "In a field of 21 Blancos, Best of Category awards were given to (Tie) Tequilas Clase Azul Platino & Don Ramon Platinum. Out of 19 Reposados, Tequila Cristeros took home the Best of Category. Tequila Gran Centenario won Best of Category for the Anejos out of 18 entries. Of 5 Extra Anejos, El Perdido took home the Best of Category Award. Casa 1921 Cream won Best of Category for Flavors & Creams."

The Gold Medal awards are listed below:

Tequila Blanco: Clase Azul Plata, Corrido Blanco, Corzo Silver, Don Ramon Platinum, Don Tepo Blanco, El Perdido Blanco, Milagro Silver, Milagro Select Barrel Reserve Silver, Oro Azul Blanco, QV Blanco, Senor Frog’s Plata & Suavemente Blanco.

Tequila Reposado: Cazadores, Cristeros, El Perdido, Gran Centenario, Herradura, Oro Azul, QV, Senor Frog’s & Suavemente

Tequila Anejo: 374, Chinaco, Don Eduardo, Don Ramon, Don Tepo, Gran Centenario, Milagro Select Barrel Reserve, QV & Suavemente

Tequila Extra Anejo: Chinaco Negro, Corrido, El Perdido Reserva, Herradura Selección Suprema, Suavemente

Tequila Flavors & Creams: Casa 1921 Cream, Tanteo Chocoloate, Tanteo Jalapeno & Tanteo Tropical

Mezcal Extra Anejo: Beneva Reserva Especial, Scorpion Reserva 5 Year Old, Scorpion Gran Reserva 7 Year Old

Hill Top Berry Farm & Winery

We have a goal of visiting the several Virginia meaderies so we traveled to Nellysford in order to visit Hill Top Berry Farm & Winery - home of dozens of excellent honey and fruit wines. And we mean dozens - and there selection continues to expand as the proprietors craft new and interesting blends. The winery started a decade ago when Marlyn and Sue Allen became one of the first Virginia wineries to produce fruit wines from their local "pick your own" orchard and fields. The family's philosophy should be mandatory reading for all wineries: use your land to grow produce (grapes or fruit) that are best suited for your environment. In addition to the fruit, the family also had an apiary - hence the introduction of mead. As the three Allen sisters took over operations, they had more production hours to experiment with the mead and start producing other styles: cyser, pyment, and melomel.



During our we stuck to the mead products, except for one fruit wine: their Three Sisters Elderberry Wine. This fruit is too tempting and is a new release for the winery. Elderberry wines are full bodied and can be made in any style: from dry to sweet. Hill Top's is made off dry with a full fruit flavor - as good as any grape wine. As for the meads, five styles were available for tasting. We started with the Rockfish River Cyser (82% apple and 18% honey) which is made semi-dry. It was good, but the apple flavor overwhelmed the honey and quite frankly we were interested in mead. However, for those more interested in apple wine, this is a great alternative - and quite different from the standard apple offerings. We next tried the Perry and this dessert wine is awesome. First, its probably the first wine with pear as an ingredient that we've tried - then combined with honey - it has the perfect combination of flavors. The Pyment (grape\honey wine) was served next and this concord grape-honey blend is truly unique. The concord provides the grapey aroma while the honey flavors triumph at the finish. This year Hill Top entered several wines into the San Francisco Wine Competition and the later two came home with medals. We finally got around to their Blue Ridge Mountain Mead, which we had previously tasted at several earlier wine festivals. The wine is made semi-dry and has a strong honey flavor and aroma. The mead is usually in short supply because members of the Society for Creative Anachronism use it for their festivals. The final wine made the trip memorable and is one of the reasons we visit less familiar wineries - to find truly original wines and at Hill Top we discovered our first fruit ice wine: Pounding Branch Persimmon Melomel. Melomel is honey wine made with fruit and for this concoction Hill Top picked frozen persimmons from off Wintergreen Mountain. The melomel is advertised as "Southern Ice Wine" - so we were expecting a sweet wine. Of course we were wrong - the wine is as dry as any white vinifera wine. But with a very unique flavor - spicy with hints of honey throughout. The judges in San Francisco were also taken - awarding it a Gold medal. Unfortunately, Hill Top's inventory is extremely low, so hurry over to purchase. But there are other concoctions waiting to take its place on the tasting bar. The Lavender Metheglin (mead made with spices), Blueberry Melomel, and Raspberry Melomel will all be available very soon. Then there's the fruit wine we didn't have time to sample. Blueberry, blackberry, cherry, cranberry, peach, plum, raspberry, par, and cherry - you name it, they probably vinify it.

The Prevention of Farm Animal Cruelty Act

One of the pleasures of touring wineries is that suburbanites can escape their surroundings and enjoy a trip to the country. Most wineries, at least those in mid-Atlantic, are situated among family farms, where livestock graze peacefully in the pasture. In most instances it is a scene from Old McDonald's Farm; but sadly, this scenario is actually the exception and not the rule. Instead there is a hidden world of factory farming consisting of gestation crates and battery cages - where the animals are confined their entire life - unable to move or even roll over. The practices are more than inhumane and only exist because the majority of people have no idea of their use. The Humane Society of America is trying to raise awareness of this scandal and their chapter in California helped to initiate Proposition 2: The Prevention of Farm Animal Cruelty Act. This act will ban such practices in California and force these factory farms to treat animals humanely and with respect. Predictably, corporate entities nationwide are fighting this proposition with tremendous financial muscle. WineCompass normally tries to stay out of political arguments unless it involves the government trying to over regulate wine and spirits, but this issue is too important to sit on the sideline. We encourage all readers to visit the Humane Society of America and Californians for Humane Farms to learn more about this issue. You can also contribute financially at My.YESonProp2.com.

Old Dominion Brewery Closes Brewpub

The Old Dominion Brewing Company announced late last month that they were closing their popular brewpub. See their statement here. The brewpub was one of our favorite places to hangout for lunch, after a ride on the Old Dominion bike trail, or during Redskin's games (Redskin Park is practically across the street). Many regulars were concerned when Coastal Brewing (a partnership between Fordham Brewing Company and Anheuser-Busch) purchased the brewery last year that the new owners would start changing formulas or product lines. No one expected the worse - that the brewpub would actually disappear. According to the Washington Post, Coastal Brewing closed the pub because "But the pub wasn't drawing enough business to justify the cost of running it, said Casey Hollingsworth, vice president of sales and marketing at Coastal Brewing". Apparently their popular Dominion Ale, Dominion Lager, and Oak Barrel Stout will still be available at local grocery and beer stores, but no more stopping after work or on weekends to refill the growler. What a shame.

September 2008 Wine\Beer Festivals

The Wine-Compass.com event database currently shows about 1,000 upcoming wine\beer events in the United States and Canada. For those looking for wine festivals in September 2008, here is a short list of events in several states:

Arkansas
45th Annual Wiederkehr Village Weinfest - Wiederkehr Wine Cellars: September 27th

California
Winesong - Botanical Gardens in Fort Bragg: September 5th-6th
Mendocino County Fair Gold Medal Wine Pouring - Mendocino: September 12th-14th
Harvest Celebration - El Dorado Winery Association: September 13th-14th
Lafayette Art & Wine Festival - Lafayette: September 20th-21st
20th American Wine & Food Festival - Universal Studios’ Back Lot, Los Angeles: September 26th-28th

Colorado
15th Annual Telluride Blues & Brews Festival - Telluride: September 12th-15th
Colorado Mountain Winefest - Riverbend Park, Palisade: September 18th-21st

Connecticut
3rd Annual Foxwoods Food & Wine Festival - Foxwoods Resort & Casino: September 26th-28th

Kentucky
Kentucky Bourbon Festival – Bardstown: September 16th-21st

Maryland
Deep Creek Lake Art & Wine Festival – Garrett County Fair Grounds, McHenry: September 6th
Baltimore Crab & Beer – Baltimore: September 16th
Annmarie Garden Artsfest – Annmarie Garden, Sculpture Park and Art Center, Lusby: September 20th-21st
The 25th Anniversary Maryland Wine Festival – Carroll County Farm Museum, Westminster: September 20th-21st
Wine Fest at the Beach – Inlet Park, Ocean City: September 26th-27th
Uncorked Rockville Wine Festival – Rockville Town Square, Rockville: September 27th

Michigan
Paw Paw Wine And Harvest Festival – Paw Paw: September 5th-7th
Old Mission Peninsula Wine & Food Celebration – Wineries of the Old Mission
Peninsula: September 6th
Traverse Epicurean Classic – Traverse Epicurean Alliance: September 10th-12th
Grand Haven Salmon Festival – Grand Haven: September 19th-21st

Minnesota
Minnesota Wine & Food Festival – Carlos Creek Winery: September 12th-14th

Missouri
Norton Wine Festival – History Museum in St. Louis: September 6th

New Jersey
WineFest 2008 - Valenzano Winery: September 20th-21st

New Mexico
Annual Santa Fe Wine & Chile Fiesta – Santa Fe: September 24th-28th

New York
8th Annual Wine and Food Festival - Saratoga Performing Arts Center, Saratoga Springs: September 4th-6th
Hudson Valley Wine & Food Fest - Dutchess County Fairgrounds, Rhinebeck: September 6th-8th
Harvest Tour of Food and Wine – Keuka Lake Wine Trail: September 13th-14th
Harvest Fest – Niagara Wine Trail: September 20th-21st

North Carolina
The 34th Annual Grape Stomp – Duplin Winery: September 20th
Brewgrass Festival - Martin Luther King Jr Ballfield, Asheville: September 20th
Currituck Food and Wine Festival - The Cottin Gin, Jarvisburg: September 29th

Nova Scotia
3rd Annual Nova Scotia Fall Wine Festival – Various Locations, Nova Scotia: September 4th-October 28th

Ontario
Niagara Wine Festival – St. Catharines: September 19th-28th

Pennsylvania
Gettysburg Wine & Music Festival - Gettysburg: September 6th-7th

South Carolina
Late Summer Harvest Fest - La Belle Amie Vineyard: September 13th
6th Annual Ballpark Festival of Beers - Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park, Charleston: September 20th

South Dakota
Wine Train into the West - Prairie Berry Winery: September 20th-21st

Virginia
Harvest Wine Trail – James River Cellars: September 6th
11th Annual Virginia Beach Neptune Festival – Virginia Beach: September 13th-14th
39th Annual Bluemont Fair – Bluemont: September 20th-21th
33rd Annual Virginia Wine Festival – Prince William County Fairgrounds, Manassas: September 27th-28th
Northern Virginia Brewfest – Bull Run Park, Centreville: September 27th-28th
Smith Mountain Lake Wine Festival – Lakewatch Plantation, Smith Mountain Lake: September 27th-28th

West Virginia
WV State BBQ & Bluegrass Festival – Lazy A Campground: June 6th-7th
Mountain Heritage Arts and Crafts Festival – Old Factory Antique Mall, Charles Town: September 26th-28th

Hinnant Family Vineyard 's 2004 Norton

We realized this week that we have an extraordinary inventory of Norton wines and decided it was time to start drinking some. We have been told that Norton wines age particularly well in the bottle so once in a while we will pull a random bottle and evaluate it. This week we drew the Hinnant Family Vineyard's 2004 Norton. This North Carolina winery is primarily known for its muscadine vineyard, but they branched out to Norton earlier in the decade. The 2004 vintage still retains the characteristically dark, dark crimson color and a grapey nose. But that's where any similarity ends. The grapey flavor has disappeared and is replaced with a blackberry\dark cherry flavor and an interesting spicy finish. The finish is long with the spicy flavor retained on the tongue. It reminds us more of a Syrah than a Norton. The thesis has its first confirmation: the Hinnant Family Vineyard's 2004 Norton ages well in the bottle.

Rose Bank Winery

After a day playing at Sesame Place, it was time for the adults to have some fun, so we ventured only a few mile north to visit Rose Bank Winery. A member of the Bucks County Wine Trail, the winery first opened in 1984 as In & Out Winery. Mike Selesnick owned and operated this venture until 1999, when he decided to retire to Florida. Dave Fleming, a neighboring produce grower, had been thinking about branching out into vineyards, so he purchased the property. This action probably saved the historic farm from development and Fleming renamed the farm after the original William Penn land grant: Rose Bank Farm. In fact, the property resides on a parcel of land originally deeded by William Penn to his daughters. The manor house was built in 1719 and is one of only 25 dressed stone buildings constructed in Bucks County. The existing barn was built in 1835, although Fleming lost half the barn in a fire a few years ago.

When Dave Fleming purchased the winery, he had zero experience growing grapes and wasn't even a wine drinker. Mike Selesnick worked with him for a year, while he learned all aspects of running a winery and vineyard, then remained as a consultant even after relocating to Florida. Mr. Fleming also earned a degree in Enology from U.C. Davis from a correspondence course. Since taking over, the product offerings and quality have increased and Rose Bank Winery was awarded their first Gold medal in the 2008 Keystone Wine Competition for their Mulled Apple wine. The winery and vineyard also follow organic practices, where manure is used for fertilization and nets cover the vineyard.

The tasting facility is located in a new building which also holds both the wine making and fermenting tanks. The winery also hosts weddings inside the tasting room or in the historic barn, depending on the size of the party. During our visit there were over a dozen wines available to sample. To satisfy their market, most of the wines are made semi-sweet or fruit wines, but we started with a few of their dry reds. The De Chaunac is a light bodied wine whereas the Chancellor Royale was fuller with an oakier finish. Both were good, but our favorite was the upcoming 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon. This is a full bodied wine - with some oak - and a flavorful, smooth finish.

We really liked their white wines, particularly the Vidal Blanc - the 100% varietal and the Nouvelle. Both are made from estate grown grapes and made semi-dry, the difference is that the grapes in the Nouvelle are pressed almost full cluster - just the stems are removed. We left with a bottle of each of these wines. We also liked their Cayuga - it has perhaps the most flavorful that we had previously sampled. The final white was the sweet Niagara - we loved the wine's aroma - a good representation of the grape. The same holds for their Concord, the best part being that its sweet - but not overly so.

Rose Bank offers several fruit wines, besides the aforementioned Mulled Apple. This wine suits as more for winter, but apparently others prefer it year round. The Cranberry was our favorite - but may not be for everyone because of its tartness. The others were fruitier and there's a fruit for everyone: Blueberry, Blackberry Strawberry, Peach, and Red Raspberry.


We enjoyed our visit and hope to return in the Fall to spend more time at the winery and to explore the Bucks County Wine Trail. The area provides examples of both American history and excellent produce.

Republic of Georgia & Wine

We wanted to send out a note of support for the citizens of the Republic of Georgia facing a brutal invasion from Russia. This small country is considered by historians as the birthplace of wine cultivation and is home to several indigenous grapes: Rkatsiteli, Akhasheni, Kindzmarauli, Tsinandali, Teliani, and Saperavi - among others. The Gori disrict, which is taking the brunt of the Russian attack, is a large grape growing region and we can only hope that the vineyards survive the conflict. If you would like to learn more about the great wine making tradition in Georgia visit the Georgian Wine House and Dozortsev and Sons. If you would like to donate to Georgian Humanitarian Relief visit WorldVision.

Wine & Food Magazine - Wine Snobs?

In the September issue of Wine & Food Magazine, Lettie Teague contributed an interesting article on vintages. The article examined vintages from different wine regions around the globe. However, at the end of the article she took a dig at many of us by writing that vintage doesn't matter for grocery store wine - so for those who purchase these wines, disregard the entire article. Maybe we are being overly sensitive, but from our many travels talking to wine drinkers, "grocery" store wines are what most people can afford on a daily basis. Including us; our price range is from $10-$15 for everyday table wine. And there are excellent wines in this price range - and from our experience vintages do matter for these wines. We've seen yearly differences between lower priced Virginia Cabernet Franc, Missouri Norton, Texas Lenoir, or a Washington\Finger Lakes Riesling - say Chateau Ste. Michelle among others.

She also takes the easy explanation and blames drought conditions on global warming when in fact the earth has cooled dramatically over the past eight years. Even if there were global warming - many scientists predict that that phenomenon would produce more rain because of increased evaporation. Instead, cooler conditions are more likely to produce drought conditions. At least that's what our meteorology guru Joe Bastardi writes.

Villa Appalaccia Winery

Another benefit that we found while attending FloydFest is that Villa Appalaccia Winery is located right next door, literally a five minute walk. On Sunday, we set aside enough free time to visit the winery and discovered that it is only one of only two wineries in Virginia to produce wine from predominately Italian varieties. One of the reasons is that their vineyard is planted in shale – not the good ole Virginia clay. The shale soil is closer to its equivalent in Italy – so the Italian varietal wines are closer to an Italian wine, than a Virginia wine. We also learned that this is a small winery - producing only 3,000 cases a year. To put in perspective – neighboring Chateau Morrisette produces 60,000 cases a year.

The tasting room for Villa Appalaccia is located in a Tuscany inspired country house with a Bocce court on the premises. There is a large covered veranda available for drinking a bottle with cheese and bread – and in our case – to listen to the music emanating next door. Besides the Cabernet Franc, the wines were truly Italian: Pinot Grigio, Sangiovese, Primitivo, Aglianico, and even Corvina. We started with their Pinot Grigio and Pinot Grigio Reserve; the later is the standard Pinot Grigio where ½ the wine is fermented in steel then in the barrel. Normally we prefer other white wines, but both of these were very drinkable and refreshing – with a surprisingly fuller flavor than most versions we have sampled. We next tried the Simpatico, which was our favorite white and the one we consumed at FloydFest. It is a blend of Trebbiano, Malvasia Bianca, and Pinot Grigio that has citrus flavors and a spicy finish similar to a Gewurztraminer. At $15, this is an excellent everyday white wine.

Moving to reds, we sampled several wines that are produced no where else on the east coast. And if the winery produces the now sold out Rustico (made from the Corvino grape) in the future then the experience will be even more enlightening. We started with the Primitive – the Italian Zinfandel - which has a strong cherry aroma and smooth flavor. Although a little spicy at the tail, the wine is a toned down version from those produced in Lodi or Amador. Which translates to “very drinkable”. The Toscanello was next and this blend of Cabernet Franc, Sangiovese, and Primitivo is a medium bodied wine – smooth and drinkable now. The wine is aged in old French oak, with a small amount in 1-2 year old American oak. Our favorite red was the Aglianco – maybe the only 100% Aglianco wine made in the United States. This is a full bodied wine and Villa Appalaccia recommends drinking with “substantial” meats. The final red was the 2004 Cabernet Franc – one of the many excellent versions produced in Virginia. It has a huge cherry flavor – smooth with a low tannic finish. It was plainly evident that the red wines were the strength of this winery.

There were also two dessert wines, the Alba and Raspberry Beret. The Alba was very interesting because this year’s version – made from Vidal Blanc and Moscato – contains a strong minty aroma that disappears with the taste. Very interesting.... The Beret is for chocolate lovers – it blends seamlessly with a morsel. And we like anything made from raspberries.

We highly recommend a visit to Villa Appalaccia either as a planned trip, while attending FloydFest, or simply while driving the Blue Ridge Parkway. Otherwise you have to attend one of the many Virginia wine festivals – which account for almost 30% of all their wine sales. We look forward to next year’s festival – and a longer stay at the winery.

Chateau Morrisette

The FloydFest organizers selected the Château Morrisette festival parking lot as the general parking area for their festival. This made it rather easy to visit the winery during the event and we had arranged to meet one of the festival’s performers, Oneside, at the winery. The Château Morrisette’s birth occurred in 1978 when the Morrisette family planted the first grapes in the estate. It turned out to be another "hobby that grew out of hand" as the winery’s production and yields increased. Son, David Morrisette received a degree in enology and viticulture from Mississippi State University and returned home to become the winery’s first official wine maker in 1982. For the rest of the decade the winery’s production and variety of grapes increased and a new change ensued when the Morrisette family invited David’s former classmate Bob Burgin to become the primary wine maker. The wines continued to improve under Burgin, but eventually sales started turning flat. The solution: a change in marketing. The labels of several wines were changed to the “Dog” series in honor of the vineyard dogs and the family’s support for canine charities. Sales soared so the existing production facilities were expanded so that the winery now has capacity to age 130,000 gallons in stainless steel and 50,000 more gallons in oak. The source of grapes has also expanded to 150 acres of vineyards spread out across the commonwealth. Over the years Burgin transitioned to other responsibilities so the winery hired Dan Tallman, the former winemaker of Clos Du Bois Winery, as the head wine maker.

With the large Chateau, weddings, music events, and good wine – the winery is a popular destination. When we arrived, there were already a few visitors from FloydFest, a wedding was being organized for later that afternoon, and the area Kennel club was holding a meeting. Even with this large contingent of visitors, there was ample space for everyone and we headed to the tasting bar. Regrettably we did not get a chance to sample their Tannat or Petit Verdot, but for a $5 tasting fee, we sampled ten wines. That’s a bargain in itself. We started out with what turned out to be our favorite white, the 2006 Viognier. Made dry, this wine still had a fruity aroma and flavor. A lighter wine, the Independence, was next in the queue. This Traminette and Riesling blend had a grapefruit flavor and a spicy finish from the Traminette. Not bad. Our first red was the Liberty, a medium bodied wine made from Chambourcin, Cabernet Franc, and Petit Verdot. This was a very good everyday drinking wine, priced at $12. It’s full of black cherry flavors and a smooth finish. The 2006 vintage Chambourcin was next and this wine had a peppery finish – probably from aging in French Oak. I preferred this red to the 2005 Merlot, which just wasn’t full enough for our tastes. Getting a little sweeter – and spicier, we tried the semi-dry The Black Dog, a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Chambourcin, and Merlot. This is a very smooth wine and is the same formula as the Hokey Red. The Hokey White is based on the Angel Chardonnay, which we liked; the chardonnay grapes were either barrel or tank fermented and then a little Riesling and Vidal Blanc added to the concoction. Pineapple is prevalent in the nose and flavor. The winery’s most popular brand, Our Dog Blue, is a semi-sweet blend of Riesling, Vidal Blanc, and Traminette. We carry cases of wines to friends on our travels so are well aware of its popularity. A good picnic wine – and affordable at $10. The sweet American blend of Concord and Niagara was also a favorite – the winery markets it as a dessert wine – but looking around people were commenting as if it were a table wine. It’s fruity and grapey – the distinctive concord flavor prevalent. The final wine was the 2005 Frosty Dog, an ice wine styled wine made from frozen Traminette and Vidal Blanc grapes. This wine has a great honeysuckle aroma and a semi-honey flavor.

At this time, Oneside joined us and we headed outside with a bottle of Viognier. Front man Ned deBray had worked at a wine shop in his past and was well aware of the grape’s Rhone heritage. He had already selected the vintage Petit Verdot as a gift, without knowing how well the grape grows in Virginia. The band was in awe of the surrounding countryside and estate and we enjoyed the wine having a nice conversation. As one of Virginia’s largest wineries, they don’t need our help in convincing people to visit. There wines are also prevalent in local wine stores so you don’t need to travel the Blue Ridge Parkway to taste the wines. We will see them again at next year’s FloydFest.

Blacksnake Meadery

While attending FloydFest in southwest Virginia I wanted to take the opportunity to visit a few wineries and the first on my list was Blakesnake Meadery. The meadery had assisted us in an early article on Honey Wine and Colony Collapse Disorder so I wanted to pay our respects. Fortunately we called ahead and learned the owners, Steve and Joanne Villers, were also attending FloydFest, but they graciously arranged an early morning appointment. The couple started the meadery a few years ago as an excuse to spend more time in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains. Steve had many years experience home brewing beer – but a brewery was not commercially viable – neither a traditional vineyard. The next alternative: honey wine. They researched the process, purchased hives and started storing honey; all the while, keeping their 9-5 jobs a hundred miles away in Roanoke. On weekends they returned to the meadery to monitor the bees, ferment the honey, bottle the mead, and every other task required for a family operated business. Slowly the business grew to where today they possess 16 hives that produce close to 800 pounds of honey. Since approximately 2 lbs of honey is required for each bottle of honey wine – that’s about 30 cases worth. To increase their stock, they purchase varietal honey such as Tupelo and Sourwood. But their local honey should be excellent; the country roads leading to Blakesnake are lined with miles of wild flowers in which the bees feed.

When I arrived the Villers were waiting on their porch with their four current offerings ready: Sourwood Honey Wine, Bee Brew with Hops, Sweet Virginia and Meloluna. Blacksnake Meadery is located too far north for Sourwood trees to grow – but sourwood honey is a popular southern varietal available in neighboring Patrick County. As its name implies, it is a little sour and the wine is made bone dry at 0% r.s. Initially I was unsure whether I liked it, but slowly it has grown on me. Sometimes I cheat and add a little Barenjager; but alone – it reminds me a little like a hefeweisen, which leads into the next offering: the Bee Brew with Hops. Immediately this was my favorite – refreshing and clean. The concoction is made by boiling their wildflower honey with cascade hops and adding a small amount of carbonation from bottle conditioning. The result: refreshing pale ale. The aroma is awesome – pure hops. This may become the alcohol of choice after mowing the grass. And with the goal of being self sufficient, the Villers planted hops which snakes across their porch – adding more charm to their meadery. Next was the Sweet Virginia, made in the traditional mead style and diluted with mountain well water. This is a perfect mead – pure honey flavors and aroma – and not gritty sweet at 6% r.s. It also pairs well with food – we tried it with burgers and chicken – but the meadery recommends game. No matter – it’s good. Finally Blacksnake produces a dessert style mead at 12% r.s. – the Meloluna. This is great alternative to the pricey late harvest or ice wines and since it’s made in the same fashion at the Sweet Virginia, it’s the same wine – just sweeter.



Regrettably Blacksnake Meadery is isolated from major population centers, but for those travelling the Blue Ridge Parkway, the meadery is only a short detour. Blacksnake is also a member of the Blue Ridge Wine Trail so Blacksnake can be included in any tour of the local wineries and cider mills. We look forward to our next visit to Floyd – to listen to excellent music with mead. Thanks Jo and Steve.

Lexington Valley Vineyards

While passing through Lexington, we took the opportunity to visit another recently opened winery in Virginia, Lexington Valley Vineyard. The Hale family had been growing grapes on the property since 2000 and selling the produce to neighboring Rockbridge Winery. However, several years later, as time permitted – from commuting to the University of Missouri – they decided to proceed to the next stage and produce wine under their own label. The winery’s expertise is with Norton – which is not unexpected since Virginia and Missouri are the two most popular areas growing this variety. And with Mr. Hale’s work at U of M in Columbia, he has access to learn the techniques from several of the leading Missouri wineries. The other wines offered by the winery are white wines made from French-American hybrids. These grapes are hardy enough to withstand the Shenandoah Valley weather.

After driving along several winding roads, we were surprised to see several other vehicles already at the winery. For a Friday afternoon we thought that we’d be alone. But no, one group was just starting a tasting and another was lounging with a pitcher of Sangria on the deck. We started with their Vignoles, which is made dry – but contains a strong pineapple flavor with major acidity. It almost felt like a sparkling wine – and could be why it is the main ingredient in their homemade Sangria. This is a good – summer wine. Next was their Vidal Blanc – a little sweeter than the Vignoles – and with more of a grapefruit flavor. We still preferred the Vignoles. We next tried a very unique wine, maybe the only rosé styled wine made in Virginia using just Norton. It is made off-dry and recommended served chilled. It is fruity and when served chilled – refreshing. We liked this wine – basically in summer drink the rosé and in winter, the two Norton varietal wines. Speaking of these two, the Black Tie Norton is blended with Cabernet Sauvignon and was awarded a Silver Medal - 2007 Virginia Governor's Cup. It is a full bodied wine with spicy tannins – but the traditional Norton fruity taste. The 100% Norton is as full-bodied with a string black cherry flavor and a smoother finish than the Black Tie Norton. I guess being purists, we preferred the Norton over the Black Tie Norton – obviously others with a stronger wine pedigree disagree.

We stayed a little longer at Lexington Valley than we had planned – because it was so relaxing. When sitting on the deck, the vineyards spread out in the distance, with hawks flying overhead, honey bees buzzing among the clover, and humming birds feeding on the deck. We could have stayed for hours – drinking the Vignoles, Chill Rosé, or the Sangria. However, Floydfest was in full swing and we had to move on. Currently their wines are sold exclusively from the tasting room and they are not participating at the numerous Virginia festivals – there is no one available to cover the tasting room. We recommend a visit.

California Wine Tour Day 5 - Napa Valley

Being regular sparkling wine drinkers, we had neglected this style since our excursion to J Vineyards. We decided to head directly to Mumm Napa, where we knew a wide array of sparkling wines would await us. We had tried several of these wines at this year’s South Beach Wine & Food Festival and thought that many of their wines were great values priced at $20. In 1979 Guy Devaux was sent by the French Champagne house, G.H. Mumm, and its parent Seagram to seek a location to grow and produce sparkling wines using traditional Champagne grapes (Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier) and traditional processes: methode champenoise. He settled in Napa Vally and established Mumm Cuvee Napa, which became operational in 1986. Currently Champagne born winemaker Ludovi Dervin carries on this tradition, using only Napa Valley grown grapes and allowing the wine to secondary ferment in the bottle.

When we arrived the winery was quite crowded, but we were quickly seated on the patio. Their system for handling visitors is simple and makes the tasting process very personal. Basically you choose a table, and then the wait staff handles your wine order – answering any questions or suggesting flights. It’s like being at an outdoor café. Another nice policy is that they serve each wine with an associated coaster that contains the label of that wine. It makes it much easier to remember each wine. We sampled four wines, the Reserve Brut, Cuvee M Red, the Grande Annee, and the Sparkling Pinot Noir. Each of these wines retail for $30 and were excellent – flavorful with small bubbles. The Reserve Brut was as dry as its name suggests, but also fruity (white cherry) with a slight vanilla finish. It is a 60-40 blend of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay aged three years on lees. The Cuvee M Red is a unique blend of Pinot Noir and a little Syrah. This is a dark red wine, which tastes a little like a sparkling elderberry wine that’s a little spicy. The whole Pinot Noir berries are soaked for five days to extract the color and flavors, and then fermented with the skins pressed off after fermentation. A Syrah-based liquor is added to each bottle after disgorgement. The result is one of our favorite sparkling wines and one of the winery’s best sellers. The 2001 Grande Annee or “Great Vintage” is only produced when the winemaker determines that the grapes will age perfectly. The 2001 vintage is another 60-40 blend of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay and is aged 5 years on lees, then another 3 months after being disgorged. This is a complex wine, with honeysuckle aromas and a vanilla finish. The mid palette is a jumble of differing tastes. It truly deserves the Double Gold at the 2007 California State Fair Competition. The final wine was the Sparkling Pinot Noir, another red wine with a slight plum and cherry flavor. For some reason this was our favorite; it was quite out of the ordinary – like a true Pinot Noir with fizz. If you are unable to tour Napa, Mumm Napa’s sparkling wines are generally available throughout the country. They are extremely affordable and great values.

While cruising Highway 29, we frequently passed an interesting line of trees bending over a driveway with a chateau inspired building in the rear. Our curiosity was finally relieved when we drove under the Sycamore tress into Peju Province Winery. Without even tasting the wines Peju became one of favorite destinations. The grounds are awesome, with multiple fountains, sculptures, gardens, and even a small creek. We toured the estate for at least 45 minutes before venturing inside the tasting room, which itself, is housed in a pretty cool building: the Peju Tower. The building is composed of stucco and stone and interestingly, the posts and beams are made of lumber salvaged from old Midwestern barns.

In the early 1980’s, Anthony Peju and his wife Herta Behensky (HB) decided to enter the wine industry and searched for the appropriate location throughout California. They found the perfect location in Rutherford, purchasing an estate of vineyards that included 60 or more year old Cabernet Sauvignon and French Colombard. Location was the key, since the estate bordered the existing Robert Mondavi, Inglenook and Beaulieu enterprises. They then turned to creating the proper tasting room that they envisioned as well as creating the fantastic landscaping we saw today.

Upon entering the tasting room, we were greeted by very friendly hosts who help facilitate a trip to the bathroom during a bad potty training episode. They were completely understanding. Afterward we were guided into the main tasting area where a large stained glass window greeted us. This magnificent window was created a century ago and depicts “the three Greek graces in a beautiful garden”. Whatever that means. Our official tasting was in the Uluru Room, or The Addition, which shares the stained glass window with the main tasting area, but also has a quartzite tiled floor and silk lamp shades. A very unique look.

We started out with a nice Estate Bottled Chardonnay from grapes grown in the Persephone Vineyard. The wine was aged in French Oak which gave it texture but not a buttery finish. The wine was quite refreshing – but not as interesting as their Provence, a proprietary blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Zinfandel, Chardonnay and French Colombard. This is the type of unique wine that makes wine touring interesting – since it is probably not stocked in many retail stores. The wine is dry, yet fruity and refreshing which explains why it was the wine of choice for a few couples picnicking in the gardens. And after the tasting, this was the most popular wine purchased by our fellow visitors. After the Provence, we moved to the full-bodied Bordeaux reds, starting with the Estate Bottled Napa Valley Merlot. Even though the wine was aged 16 months in oak – it is a very smooth and fruity wine, probably due to the extra 10 months aged in the bottle. From this tasting and a few previous, it’s nice to see Merlot still prevalent among established wineries. The Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon was also aged a year and half in oak and is a full-bodied wine. It has an intense dark cherry flavor with a slightly spicy finish – we describe a lot of cabs that way, don’t we. In any case, we like this wine, but even more the Napa Valley Cabernet Franc. It had a stronger cherry flavor and seemed smother than the Cabernet Sauvignon. In sum, the wines are excellent – another winery where each offering was suburb. Add in the architecture and you have one of our favorite places.

After a fulfilling late lunch at Taylors (try the meatball sandwich and coconut milk shake), we explored the back roads of Howell Mountain in order to allow someone to sleep in the car. After an hour driving, we got the urge to visit another winery before the 5:00 o’clock closings. While driving from the Silverado Trail to Route 128 we came upon a sign for Silver Oak Cellars and charged ahead. And found a construction site. Actually, the winery is being completely reconstructed after a fire destroyed the historic dairy barn where the winery was located. The new winery\tasting facility is expected to be completed by the end of the summer. In the meantime, the tasting room is housed in a temporary – but spacious – trailer. Upon entering the facility we found a very different enterprise than those we had visited earlier.

Over thirty five years ago Ray Duncan partnered with Justin Meyer (then the winemaker at Christian Brothers) with the idea to make wine from a single variety: Cabernet Sauvignon. And not just a typical Cabernet that’s tannic content requires several years of aging. They wanted to produce a wine with “fully developed flavors and a velvety soft texture on the day it is released for sale”. In order to do so, they purchased vineyards in two premier appellations (Napa and the Alexander Valley) and developed a partnership with a Missouri cooperage to ensure a steady supply of high quality American oak. Over the years they manipulated the blends within the appellations and between new and used oak to produce duo of wines that evidently have a large following. Mr. Meyer selected Daniel Baron to succeed him as winemaker and eventually sold his shares back to the Duncan family. With several years working experience in the Bordeaux region, Mr. Baron’s experience further contributes to the Silver Oak Cellars philosophy.

We were both relieved and surprised to find only two wines awaiting us in the tasting room. After a day of tasting, we were starting to tire of wine, so we figured we could handle two more. On the other hand, we have never visited a winery that had this few offerings. Interesting. We started with the 2003 Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, made from 100% Cabernet Sauvignon from several Alexander Valley vineyards. The irony of finding an Alexander Valley wine in Napa the day after traveling specifically to Alexander Valley and finding mostly Napa grown wines was not lost on us. The wine is aged in 50% new and 50% once-used American oak barrels for 25 months, and then spends another 15 months aging in bottle. The wine has a full black cherry flavor that lasts throughout – from the nose to the tail. This wine is a fine example where wineries should serve beef cubes while tasting – it must pair well with beef.

The 2003 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon was actually a Bordeaux blend of 78% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Franc, and 2% Petit Verdot. The wine is blended than aged in 100% new American oak barrels approximately 25 months, and then spends another 20 months aging in bottle. No need to store this wine; drink immediately. This is a smooth wine that is probably worth its steep price ($100). It is neither fruit forward or earthy, but rather a nice combination of the two. Even though this wine appears a little spicier than the Alexander Valley wine, it seems to be more drinkable on its own – without a meal – and even during a hot day. We enjoyed this wine – an instant classic. And good luck to Silver Oak Cellars on this reconstruction.

After leaving Silver Oak, we decided to drive once more along Route 29 near Rutherford, before finishing our last day in Napa. Along the way we noticed that Alpha Omega Winery was still open. Why not one more. The winery is a little over a year old and the permanent tasting facility is still under construction. We walked around the front after our tasting to examine the new facility and it will be impressive – particularly the large deck\patio that overlooks the lake. For now, the temporary tasting area is located next to the fermenting tanks. Who cares, the wines were great. Winemaker Jean Hoefliger has crafted wines in several styles that we really enjoyed. Unfortunately, we lost our tasting notes of the session – probably left behind in the rental car. The rest is based strictly from memory.

Alpha Omega was offering two white wines, a few red wines, as well as a rosé styled wine – finally a few white wines to finish our trip. Both the 2007 Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc and 2005 Napa Valley Chardonnay were very nice; both refreshing with the Chardonnay fruity not “oaky”. The Sauvignon Blanc will be very popular once the deck is finished – we can envision spending an afternoon basking in the Napa sun. The 2007 Napa Valley Rosé was a hit – a dry wine with a strawberry flavor and an acidic finish that popped in the mouth. It’s nice to see this wine style being offered along with the full bodied reds. As for red wines, we tasted the 2004 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, and 2005 Napa Valley Proprietary Red. The Cabernet Sauvignon was jammy, while the Proprietary Red was earthier – but they both were very drinkable now. We were also privileged to sample the 2006 Napa Valley Proprietary Red in the barrel. This will be a great wine – already smooth and earthy. We were ready to drink directly from the barrel all day. We will keep an eye open for when this wine is bottled.

After a long week of tasting, our trip was over; time for fireworks and sleep in order to catch an early flight in the morning. Thanks to everyone we met for their hospitality and for making this a wonderful experience. As always, see the Compass Tours section at Wine-Compass.com for pictures.