Rogue Valley, Oregon: A Little Wine With Your Shakespeare

The recently held Wine Media Conference (WMC) 2021 brought wine writers to Eugene, Oregon, this year, and as always, the excursion prior to the main event was a highlight, providing an in-depth discovery of one specific region in the state. Along with about 25 other wine writers, I chose to take a closer look at Southern Oregon's Rogue Valley, about which I knew very little. 

About three hours by bus from Eugene, the Rogue Valley, along with neighboring Applegate Valley, sits just above the northern California border in Oregon. The destination town for the wine media was Ashland, Oregon, home of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival and the gorgeous old Ashland Springs Hotel, where we stayed. Dating from 1925, and originally known as the Lithia Springs Hotel, this nine-story hotel boasted that it was "the tallest building between Portland and San Francisco," and brought European elegance to the area, known for the gold rush, mineral springs, and the Chautauqua lecture series, which were an educational/self-improvement movement popular in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries (they are still on-going in NY State). The facility for the Chatauqua meetings became the present-day facilities of the popular Shakespeare Festival. Tudor-style themes dominate the town as an homage to Shakespeare.

The hotel was refurbished in the 1990s with a "cabinet-of-curiosities concept based on education and travel," per an Architectural Digest interview with its owners Doug and Becky Neuman. I was personally intrigued by the hotel's lobby with its magnificent display cases of the aforementioned curiosities (see photos below).

The Ashland Springs Hotel has a "cabinet of curiosities" design inside, and a beautiful art-deco exterior.

Rogue Valley Wineries

At a reception in the Ashland Springs's beautiful cobblestone patio and flower garden (which replaced a pool during restoration), several knowledgeable representatives of Southern Oregon organizations extended their hospitality and welcome to the writers. Among them were Lanessa Pierce, author of "What to Do in Southern Oregon;" Gina Bianco, Executive Director of Rogue Valley Vintners; Bob Hackett, Executive Director of Travel Southern Oregon; Dana Keller, Director of Food & Beverage at Rogue Creamery; Chris Spirko, GM/CFO of Sharffen Berger chocolates; and representatives of 10 area wineries.

Following are the wineries, and their wines, in the order they presented, with just a few notes on each. Each wine was paired with cheese, chocolate, or a delicacy from Lark's, the restaurant in the Ashland Springs Hotel.

Hummingbird Estate: 2020 White Pinot Noir, a white wine from a red grape, retails at $32 a bottle. Hummingbird has a tasting room and Bed & Breakfast on their property, and they also produce three different wines in a can, a growing trend.

Dwell Wines: Based in Applegate Valley, Dwell is a woman-owned winery, and her plans are to open a  tasting room in January 2022. The wines are made at Barrel 42, an off-premise facility. We tasted their 2020 Rose of Pinot Noir. 

Coventina Vineyards: The 2017 Chardonnay, priced at $20 a bottle. The name is from the Celtic for purification and regeneration. Their wines are also made off-premise at Barrel 42.

Irvine & Roberts: 2018 Estate Chardonnay, $35 a bottle. Winemaker Vince Vidrine explained that he does one early pick of grapes which produce crisp clear juice, and one later pick, which produces a richer, rounder juice with high sugar, and he combines these in barrel for this estate wine.

Foris: "Meticulously crafted. Amazing Affordable." This phrase comes from their Web site, but everyone at this event was floored by the $20 price tag on the very good 2019 Foris Rogue Valley Pinot Noir. Founded in 1974 by Ted Gerber, an early pioneer of the west side of the Rogue AVA, the winery has 40-year-old vines featuring the heritage varieties of Oregon: Riesling, Gewurtztraminer, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Noir, and Chardonnay. Like Barra of Mendocino (see story here), Gerber owns his land and chooses to pass on the concomitant savings to his customers. 

Naumes: 2018 Barbera, $40. This was paired with Rogue Creamery Caveman Bleu Cheese, which would taste good with just about anything, in my opinion, but the Barbera was delicious with it. Naumes also produces sparkling wines, a growing category in Oregon.

Quady North: 2018 GSM (Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre), $25. Herb Quady is the son of the Quady wine family, known for their sweet red and white wines made from Muscat grapes in California's Central Valley. The family purchased Oregon property and Herb now makes Rhone-ish and Loire-ish style wines (his words). Quady noted that the Mourvedre in the Rogue is lighter in style, but still maintains the "funk" that is its hallmark, and that the Syrah is the "glue" in his GSM that does well in just about every vintage.  

RoxyAnn Winery: Claret is RoxyAnn's signature red wine, and the 2017 Claret is composed of 40% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon, and the rest Cab Franc and Malbec. The winery is on the site of one of the oldest orchards in Oregon, dating back to 1908 as the Hillcrest Orchard, which is on the National Registry of Historic Places. The propety has 3 VRBO properties, and features a 120-year-old horse barn tasting room, which is open 7 days a week, and is also "kid friendly."

Weisinger Family Wines: While Eric Weisinger's father, a pioneer of the Rogue Valley, felt Gewürztraminer was the future of Southern Oregon when he first began growing grapes, it didn't quite turn out that way, and the son was pouring his 2018 Tempranillo for us wine writers. This grape is the easiest to grow on their property, says Eric, and since he is a self-proclaimed "lazy winemaker," that suits him fine! (There will be more on Weisinger in a future post, as they hosted an in-depth tasting for WMC 21 attendees.)

Belle Fiore: This producer has the most opulent estate, comprising a French-style chateau with magnificent views of the Ashland area, and offers private tastings by appointment in their Italianate tasting room. They grow 15 different varieties and have three distinct labels, of which the Belle Fiore Winery brand is one. The 2016 Numinos wine, poured for us, is a Bordeaux blend, with 54% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Cab Franc, 9% Merlot, and some Malbec and Petit Verdot to round out the blend, which retails for $49.

Foods of Southern Oregon

Not to be overlooked or overshadowed were the food pairings for the above wines. Lark's chef prepared gorgeous small plates, and Rogue Creamery provided their award-winning cheeses. 

Another presenter was Chris Spirko of Scharffen Berger, the company known for producing baking chocolate. Spirko explained how this 25-year-old company was sold to Hershey 15 years ago, and purchased back from them in 2020. They are developing a "bean to bar" facility in Ashland, Oreg., employing 25 people, and at the time of this tasting in early August 2021 they were doing first trials of their products. Baking chocolate is a majority of their business, and they have partnerships with chefs and bakeries.

"Team Oregon"

Going into this excursion, I believed that as a Southern Oregon winery, it must be a constant thought that you are living in the shadow of your northern neighbors in the Willamette Valley with their world-famous Pinot Noirs and 700+ wineries. 

I was wrong. Per Herb Quady of Quady North, it's not a South vs. North mentality in the Rogue, in fact "I'm Team Oregon," he says. The Rogue Valley is a newer wine region, with more freedom and openness, with a youthful character, and presenting different opportunities. We certainly saw that in our visit with Cowhorn, with two women in their twenties as owner and winemaker (see my last post).

I also wanted to know what the signature wines of Southern Oregon are, assuming they were like Willamette Valley in this respect. It turns out that this is no signature wine, or signature grape, or even signature influence (i.e., French, Italian, Spanish, etc.). We sampled Sauvignon Blancs, Viogniers, Rieslings, Gewurtztraminers, Grenaches, Pinot Blancs, Chardonnays, Barberas, Cabernet Sauvignons, Pinot Noirs, Tempranillos, Mourvedres, Bordeaux blends, Carmeneres ... a veritable kitchen-sink of wines. 

And the wines are good ... no tasting notes to share, but I have a fairly trained palette and I know good wine when I drink it. And there is so much value wine, or bang-for-the-buck wines. Most of the wineries we visited sell direct to consumer either via Internet sales or wine club, so check them out via the links above.

I've also never seen a region that is so conscious of the environment, with the words organic, biodynamic, and sustainability on the lips of just about every owner/winemaker. The farm-to-table movement is also vibrant, with mouthwatering world-class food available. 

Southern Oregon deserves a closer look ... and possibly an extended vacation. In addition to the wineries and the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, there are lakes, caves, mountain trails, and much more to see. If you do go, see below for some important links. 

Until next time,

Cheers!

Important Links:

Travel Southern Oregon: https://www.southernoregon.org/

Ashland Springs Hotel: https://www.ashlandspringshotel.com/

Rogue Valley Vintners: https://rvv.wine/

Rogue Valley Wine Country: https://roguevalleywinecountry.com/

Rogue Creamery (they have tours): https://roguecreamery.com/

Scharffenberger Chocolate: https://www.scharffenberger.com/

Oregon Shakespeare Festival: https://www.osfashland.org/

For ideas on things to do with a family: https://www.whattodoinsouthernoregon.com/

Cowhorn Vineyards of Southern Oregon: Moo-ving the Needle on Biodynamics

This year's in-person Wine Media Conference finally landed us attendees in Southern Oregon. Postponed for a year due to COVID, the annual event never fails to impress and amaze, giving us the opportunity to dive deep into a wine region ...  usually one that I've never been to. Southern Oregon gets overshadowed by the northern Willamette Valley, known primarily for its Pinot Noirs. My Oregon Pinot Camp experience in the summer of 2018 opened my eyes to these beautiful wines, as well as the Willamette's Rieslings, Chardonnays, Pinot Gris.

But Southern Oregon is a different place. Sitting between two mountain ranges, the Cascades to the east and the Coastal Range to the west, it encompasses the Rogue, Applegate, and Umpqua valleys, extending from the northern California border up to the beautiful city of Eugene, which lies in Lane County and sits in the southern tip of the Willamette Valley. 

The wines of Southern Oregon are a world of different grapes from the Northern Willamette. You'll find Rhone varieties, Spanish varieties, Italian varieties and many more. In fact, the South cannot be summed up with one grape the way its northern counterpart can. At #wmc21 we were treated to Tempranillos, Mourvedres, Viogniers, Gewurtztraminers, Marsannes, Roussannes, Syrahs, Carmeneres, Chardonnays, Sauvignon Blancs, Pinot Blancs (one of my favorites!), Grenaches, and more. Additionally, there is an enthusiastic embrace among the wineries of biodynamic, regenerative, and organic agriculture, as well as natural winemaking. Yes, orange wines are plentiful here!

Cowhorn Vineyard & Gardens

Owner Katherine "Mini" Banks (upper left)  and winemaker Sarah Thompson (bottom middle). The "little homes" for Grenache are seen in the photo on upper right.

One of the highlights of the trip was a visit to Cowhorn Vineyard & Garden. This Biodynamic and Organic property changed ownership in April 2021, and is now owned and operated by Katherine "Mini" Banks, who put together a team of of young, energetic, forward-thinking vineyard workers. The team's enthusiastic and warm embrace of our group of wine writers was much appreciated.

Our day started with one of the most in-depth tours of a vineyard property I've had, led by Banks and winemaker Sarah Thompson. We learned about the the #500 (horn manure) and #501 (horn silica) preparations for biodynamic farming, which Banks says are the most critical for creating, maintaining, and enriching the soils in a vineyard. The #500 spray is a "tea" preparation created from the rich hummus made over the winter months in the horns of cows buried in the ground, containing nutrient-rich cow dung. This tea is spread on the vineyard soils in the spring during bud-break. The #501 spray is a silica solution made from ground up quartz and water. It's sprayed onto the vines, giving them a light-reflective coating, which helps with photosynthesis and disease prevention, among other good things.

In the vineyard, we saw "happy" vines (see photo below), or "Dr. Seuss vines," as Banks describes them. This is due to the head training favored by the vineyard, which they believe makes the vines self-sufficient as their roots need to go deeper to "ground" themselves. Thompson and team use natural sissal twine to help stabilize the vines when winds come in, which occurs daily late in the afternoon in Applegate Valley. These winds are brought in on a natural funnel off the ocean, which is about a four-hour drive away. These winds were especially helpful this summer to help blow out the fire smoke that was invading all of Southern Oregon in August, due to the horrific wildfires to the east of Cowhorn. 

Of particular interest was the "little homes" vine management project that Thompson and Banks are testing, whereby the stray vines are tucked into the main part of the plant (see image above), which they believe signals to the plants that they have enough sunlight. They will see over time if this creates more or less sunburn on the vines and how the vines will react to this system in a rainy year. I hope to revisit this issue in a couple years.

One of Cowhorn's goals is to become completely dry-farmed. They currently irrigate, and have sprinklers in the vineyards for frost mitigation. Their watering is done at long intervals, as they want the grapes to be "stressed" to be healthier. 

The vineyard also features an asparagus field, which in April through June produces about 1,000 pounds per week. The asparagus ferns are harvested after growing season and re-seeded for the following year's crop. Additionally, lavender fields attract a variety of pollinator bees, and blackberry bushes and oak trees (brought back to life since new ownership took over) round out the polyculture estate that Cowhorn is creating to reach their biodynamic, self-sustainable goals. The future goals, in order to make the property into a closed loop, is to house employees on the property and have the farm animals reside there as well. Currently the cow manure is brought in from Rogue Creamery an organic creamery nearby that produces Rogue River Blue, which was named World Champion Cheese at the 2019/2010 World Cheese Awards in Bergamo, Italy, a first for an American cheese. This was probably the best cheese I've ever eaten.

Cowhorn currently has 117 acres of vineyard area, not all of which is planted, with 90% planted to Syrah, and the remaining parcels planted to Viognier, Marsanne, Roussanne, Grenache, Mourvedre, and Tempranillo. 

Asparagus ferns sway in the wind (top left); lavender fields attract pollinating bees (top right),
and happy Grenache vines reach for the sky (bottom).

The Wines ... and Lunch

The above-mentioned Rogue Creamery Blue wrapped in Cowhorn Syrah Leaves with Crips was the first course in the splendid luncheon provide by Chef Kristen Lyon of Jefferson Farm Kitchen. This luncheon was served with several Cowhorn Wines which, because of the recent change in ownership, are the offspring of the previous owners, which Banks has inherited. There will be more wines coming from new winemaker Sarah Thompson, which she says will likely have less new oak and more whole-cluster fermentation. 

(clockwise from top left): Cowhorn's 2020 Grenache Rose; Mini Banks doles out barrel samples
of the 2019 Syrah; lunch overlooking the vineyard; the barrel room.

We sampled the following wines:

2020 Grenache Rose -- tasted as beautiful as it looks in the photo above!

2014 Reserve Viognier -- luscious and lovely.

2014 Grenache -- lively, youthful, full of fruit and acid.

2020 Spiral 36, a Rhone style blend of Viognier, Roussanne and Marsanne -- class Rhone white blend, crisp and fresh, with mouth-coating viscosity. $28 retail

2019 Reserve Syrah, as a barrel sample -- I see the potential for this once bottled (which was to happen August 10th, right after our visit) and aged for another year. Lovely fruit popping through.

While I did not get pricing for most of the above wines, and the Cowhorn site does not list these, I was told by Mimi that the 2019 Estate Syrah will be about $50 and the Reserve will be about $75. 

Cowhorn is a winery to watch going forward. Banks and Thompson, along with co-owner Grant Gustofson, make a dynamic team, and with Raj Parr consulting, you know good things are still to come. If you are going to Oregon, plan a visit, but be sure to make an appointment, as that's the only way to get in. Hours are listed at www.cowhornwine.com.

Important links:

www.cowhornwines.com  -- to purchase wine and make an appointment

www.roguecreamery.com -- to purchase some of the best cheese in the world!

https://roguevalleywinecountry.com -- Rogue Valley Wine Country website

https://www.southernoregon.org/ -- Travel Southern Oregon website, for other things to do and see

https://www.southernoregon.org/attraction/wine-hopper-tours/ -- to help you get around while doing your wine tours

https://www.biodynamics.com/preparations -- to learn more about biodynamic sprays and manures

Until next time,

Cheers!

 

Barra Family of Mendocino: 65 Years and Going Strong

Mendocino County, in Northern California, is a land of great natural beauty, with small towns and meandering country roads. As a wine region, Mendocino is less pretentious than say Napa or even Paso Robles, having maintained some of its hippie vibe. It's a wonderful place to grow vines, as I discovered during a visit to the Fetzer-Bonterra winery as part of the 2017 Wine Media Conference. The lovely rainy day I spent in "Mendo" was eye opening and had a lasting effect on my view of biodynamics and sustainable farming.

Barra's two labels; vineyard shot courtesy of Barra of Mendocino

There are wine families in Mendocino with long, deep history in the region, including the Fetzer and Parducci families. Another is the Barra family, who have been growing vines in Mendocino since 1955, and producing their own wine since the late 1990s. The Los Angeles Wine Writers recently hosted a Zoom tasting featuring wines from Barra's two labels: Barra of Mendocino and Girasole.

The Barra estate, which is in its 65th year, is located a couple hours north of San Francisco, right off the 101 Freeway, and snuggled up against the Redwoods. Their 325 acres produce all of the varieties that go into Barra's wines. The Barra of Mendocino label represents their best of the best, says winemaker Randy Meyer, explaining that these wines are treated with kid gloves and produced in small volumes. Their Girasole (Italian for sunflower) label is  more approachable, that is, lower-cost, less oaked, more fruit forward, and using a screwcap. These are wines that "let the grapes speak," Meyer adds. Both labels use 100% organic, estate-grown grapes.

Charlie Barra, who passed away in 2019 at the age of 92, purchased the property in the 1950s and sold grapes to others before making the decision with his wife Martha to make their own wine. One big advantage to being an early entrant into California's wine business is that the Barra family owns both their vines and their winery. Carrying very little debt, they choose to pass affordable pricing on to their customers.

Meyer says that the current global climate change situation has benefited the Redwood Valley, where Barra is located. It is cooler than Napa and Sonoma, but with very little frost (in fact none in 2021). The area experiences a huge shift from day to night temperatures, known as diurnal swing, which is ideal for grape growing, as it allows the grapes to ripen in the heat of the day, but to cool off and retain their acidity at night. 

Additionally, even during severe drought, the Barra estate has deep ponds that provide enough water to irrigate their vines (they are not dry farmed) and, when necessary, for frost mitigation. Barra wines are OMRI (Organic Material Review Institute) certified. This private nonprofit determines whether or not a product qualifies as organic under the USDA's National Organic Program (NOP). Helping in the vineyards are osprey (to keep vermin away), owls, egrets, hawks, foxes, deer, bobcats and turkeys.

The vines are all hand harvested and sorted in the vineyard. Barra produces 40K to 50K cases of wine, plus they continue to sell grapes to other wineries. Shawn Barra, the son of founders Charlie and Martha, runs a custom crush facility called Redwood Valley Cellars, while daughter Shelley runs the marketing activities.

Winemaker Randy Meyer is a UC Davis graduate who started his wine career at Corbel and worked there for 23 years before moving to Barra in 2019. Meyer took the LA Wine Writers through a tasting of three Barra/Girasole wines, as follow:

2020 Girasole Rosé: This is a lovely blend of Pinot Noir and Zinfandel with acidic freshness and aromas and flavors of red fruit and a touch of sweet spice. Winemaker Meyer destems the grapes, and does direct press, but carefully extracts so it's not too dark (Zin can do that).  This retails for around $15.

2019 Girasole Charlie's Bend: This is labeled a "red wine" and was first produced for the 2019 vintage, in memory of founder Charlie Barra. This juicy, oak-touched red has Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Zinfandel, Petit Sirah in the blend, and features a tannic, chewy finish and flavors that conjur up the spice rack. This can be enjoyed youthful, no need to age it, and it retails for just $16.00.

2018 Barra of Mendocino Petit Sirah: This is Barra's flagship, having provided the winery more awards than any other of its wines. This small production wine is grown at Barra's highest-elevation vineyards and it's a "bomber" per winemaker Meyer. Petit Sirah is high in anthocyanins (dark pigment) and tannin, and it's a wine that's not for everyone, but paired with a rib eye steak with black pepper and blue cheese, it's a great pairing. This bomber wine, aged in French oak, offers spices like cinnamon and nutmeg, and retails for $26.

Where to Purchase

Barra's wines are not available everywhere, but can be found in California, Colorado, Illinois and New York. Most of their sales are in these four states, and the rest are sold in Barra's tasting room and through its wine club.

To order Barra's wines, go to https://www.barraofmendocino.com/

Until next time, Cheers!

Velenosi Marches On

One of the lesser-known wine regions of Italy is called Marches, or Le Marche in Italian. Not a super-well-known region outside of Italy to most people, it is nonetheless home to one of my favorite Italian white wines called Verdicchio. To my delight, more and more people are appreciating these sea-influenced, crisp and minerally whites, which are thirst-quenching summer wines. The Marche region makes other wines that are also worth exploring, including reds based on Montepulciano and Sangiovese, the main grapes in the neighboring and better-known regions of Tuscany and Abruzzo.

During the 2020 virtual Wine Media Conference in August, Velenosi, one of Le Marche's prominent producers, hosted a virtual tasting, providing four of their wines to attendees to try at home. The session was hosted by Lora Donadoni, aka The Italian Wine Girl. 

Before we go into Velonosi's lovely wines, let's take a closer look at Le Marche, the wine region.

Le Marche: Between the Mountains and the Sea

The Marche region stretches along the Adriatic coast of eastern Italy, and borders Umbria and Tuscany to the west, Emilia Romagna to the north, and Lazio and Abruzzo to the south. While the region touches on so many other regions, it has a distinct quality of its own based on its proximity to the sea and the mountains, as well as its soils and topography. The region features 15 DOCs and three DOCGs. The largest and most productive DOC is that of Verdicchio de Castelli di Jesi. 

Marche's location in Italy (see map) is part of the reason it has not became as well known as regions like Tuscany and Venezio, as it is off the main transport spine going up and down Italy. While the north has Venice and the south has Rome, there are no world-renowned cities in Le Marche.

It's even hard to gather an abundance of information on Mache as a wine region -- several of my trusted sources do not even have entries for this region. For example, The Wine Bible skips right over Marche, listing only Verdicchio Bianco as "simple clean white wines in the region known as Marche." Similarly, World Atlas of Wine has no entry for Marche, just a small sub-section in the "Central Italy" chapter that mentioned Verdicchio and the "reds of Marche [based on the Montepulciano and Sangivoese grapes that] have been slower to carve out their identity."

Marche offers wine and so much more. While I have never personally been there, the presentation provided by Velenosi plus Internet research on Marche have whetted my appetite for a post-pandemic visit!

Marche has miles of pristine beaches with world-class resorts and seafood restaurants, historic medieval towns, Romanesque churches, natural preserves and festivities such as the Quintana Palio Joust (a medieval horse racing event). The joust takes place in the beautiful town of Ascoli Piceno, which is 12 miles inland from the Adriatic and in the southern portion of Marche, close to Abruzzo. 

Ascoli Piceno, Home of Velenosi

Ascoli Piceno is the home base of Velenosi, a "self-made winery," per the winery's literature, started in 1984 by Ercole and Angela Velenosi, with little capital or know-how. While they may not be one of the old families of the Italian wine world, today they produce 2.5 million bottles on about 360 acres of vines in Marche, plus an additional 40 acres in Abruzzo.

Velenosi's Ascoli Piceno vines are located on the fertile clay soils in the hills surrounding the Tronto river valley, where the Mediterranean climate provides warm, dry summers and mild, wet winters. 

Velenosi produces a large variety of bottlings, ranging from sparklings to whites, roses, reds and even dessert/sweet wines, as well as Bag in Box wines and olive oils. 

The sparklings are made from Chardonnay, Pinot Nero and the lesser-known Passerina, in Charmat and Traditional method. Still whites include Verdicchio, Pecorino, Chardonnay, Pecorino-Trebbiano blends known as Falerio Bianco, and Passerina. The Rose, or Rosata, is produced from the Montepulciano grape. Reds include Lacrima di Morro d'Alba, a specialty of the Marche, and the Rosso Piceno blends of Montepulciano and Sangiovese. Sweet wines are made with Moscato, Lacrima and Sciroppe di Visciole. 

The WMC Tasting

Four bottles, one white and three reds, were tasted during WMC, in the following order:

2019 Querciantica Verdicchio Dei Castelli Di Jesi DOC Classico 

The wine is 100% Verdicchio, and is grown in the hills of Castelli di Jesi's oldest areas.

This wine really hit the spot on the warm summer night of the tasting. As one fellow WMC attendee stated, it cut right through the humidity. 

Fermented at low temperature, this lovely, feminine white delights the palate with apples, stone fruit, and flowers, and just a slight vegetal note. It was chock full of minerals owing to the clay and limestone soils, with a distinct salinity that, in my mind, tasted of the Adriatic Sea.

Per Donadoni, this wine can age, and pairs well with oysters, crudite, shell fish, and risotto.

The wine retails for $15 to $20.

Querciantica Lacrima Di Morro DOC

This red is 100% Lacrima de Moro d'Alba [note difference in spelling on label vs town's actual name] which, per Wine Grapes, is a recovered local Marche specialty, brought back from near-extinction in 1985. The grapes in this DOC are grown near the town of Moro d'Alba in the northeastern corner of the Verdicchio di Castelli di Jesi zone of Marche.

Lacrima is also known as "red Gewurtztraminer" owing to its perfumed characteristics. It's name means "teardrop" in Italian, which is most likely based on the fact that when ripe, the grapes exude a small drop of juice.

And juicy this wine is, with strawberries and other red fruits, soft tannins and low acid, making it a good pairing with BBQ and Asian food. I really enjoyed this quaffable red, and served slightly chilled, the wine is even better, in my opinion. A delicious summer wine.

At under $20, this delightful red should be bought by the case.

Il Brecciarolo Rosso Piceno DOC Superiore

Il Brecciarolo is 70% Montepulciano and 30% Sangiovese (Rosso Piceno DOC requires a minimum of 35% and maximum of 85%  Montepuliciano and no more than 50% Sangiovese). Unlike the Velenosi's Lacrima, this blend has an unmistakable oak influence. It also has a rich palate of cherry, cocoa, red flowers, and some spicy notes. 

The "superiore" indicates that the grapes are derived from a smaller historic zone with lower yields than non-superiore Rosso Picino wines. 

Distributed widely in the US market, this wine has a ripeness and palate that tells me that if you like big California reds, you will love this wine. 

And the pricing is right at $15-$18.

Rosso Piceno DOC Superiore

This is the big boy of the Velenosi tasting. 

The same blend as the Brecciarolo, this wine is produced from 50-year-old vines, at an altitude of 2100 feet. This wine is even bigger and riper (think ripe plums and cherries) than the former, which is the winemaker's choice, says Donadoni. 

At 14.5% alcohol, and with distinct oak, this wine is not for the faint of heart. 

Again, if you have a California palate, you will love this wine, and it will hold up to the biggest, heartiest meat dish you can serve.

The wine is priced at around $50.

Resources for Velenosi and Le Marche

Once the world opens up for safe travels again, Le Marche will be a the top of my list of wine regions to visit -- for its wines, its cuisine, it's history, its natural beauty, and its off-the-beaten-path qualities. In the meantime, I will continue my armchair travels, using the following resources:

Learn more about Velenosi at www.velenosivini.com.

Check out Italian Wine Girl's blog at theitalianwinegirl.com.

And for general Le Marche, I found the following sites useful:

www.turismo.marche.it/

www.wonderfulmarche.com

www.flickr.com/photos/turismomarche

Until next time, Ciao!

Paso Robles: Revisiting, Relaxing, and Discovering

Victor Abascal of Vines on the Marycrest with his song-title labels.

Early February on the Central Coast of California is not high season for tourism, but for my husband's birthday this year the entire family wanted a place to relax, sit by a fire, watch the Superbowl, and just chill and be with each other. We booked what sounded like a perfect three-bedroom "hacienda" situated amongst the vineyards of Paso just north of Route 46.

And perfection it was!

The house was far enough from the highway to be quiet and tranquil, with the owner's Woodpecker Hollow Vineyard of Zinfandel vines in our front yard, and a pasture with friendly grazing cows right next to the house. The backyard was a deep gully, which lowered the air temperatures quite a bit, keeping us in the winter coldness that I so love (our pipes froze over night!). In short, it was a nice change from bustling Los Angeles.

Our home for the weekend, called Woodpecker Hollow, featured a homey "hacienda" as well as a small vineyard and Australian shephard.

Any trip to Paso Robles must include some tasting room visits. My family (husband, two sons, daughter-in-law and girlfriend) agreed that if we could only do one, we had to visit the beautiful winery of our friends Victor and Jenni Abascal. I've watched their Vines on the Marycrest tasting room grow up over the years, literally, much like I've watched my two sons do the same. As a member of the VOTM wine club (called the "In-Crowd"), I've always had a supply of their wine in my wine refrigerator at home, and once my boys reached drinking age, they enjoyed the wines on various occasions, loving them as much as I do. They were most excited to meet Victor and Jenni and to see the source of all the good wines they had tried.

Victor is the winemaker at VOTM and Jenni manages the taste room; both share child-care of their two children. They make a great team, and have grown their label over the years into a recognized and respected one, and have been active in the local wine-growing community focusing on Rhone and Mediterranean varieties on their hilly 26-acres in the Adelaida district of West Paso Robles.

Originally planted as an almond orchard, the Abascals began replanting in 2004 with grape vines, including Zinfandel, Tempranillo, Syrah, Grenache, Mourvedre and Viognier. They also built one of the most beautiful tasting rooms -- a mid-century modern style building that is both sparely designed, but also homey, and featuring the coolest restroom I've ever visited!

(Top left, clockwise): VOTM's back terrace; the industrial/mid-century modern tasting room; Lucas and Diana (son and girlfriend) loved meeting Victor and Jenni; Beyond Belief sparkling wine; VOTM's sign welcomes guests.

We sampled reds, as whites were sold out at this time of year (and I love VOTM whites!). Our list included Sangiovese, which was our favorite with its medium body and notes of bright red fruit;  single-variety Syrah (the labels for single varieties differ from blends) ; "So What" Cab-Sangio-Syrah blend; and "Heart of Glass" and "Round Midnight" GSM blends. The first GSM is more Grenache based, with strawberry and raspberry notes, while the latter is more Syrah based, which is more meaty and peppery.

We also sampled VOTM's delicious "Beyond Belief" brut sparkling cuvée, a blend of Viognier, Grenache and Counoise, made in the traditional method. This bottling is a white sparkling, with very little skin contact, whereas the Rosé version, which we've received as part of the In Crowd, has longer skin contact.

My Valentine's dinner this year, which I shared with my close yoga friends, featured the Sangiovese and the brut sparkling cuvée from VOTM and the wines were a hit. It helps that the VOTM backstory is local to West LA-based group. As a teenager growing up in Culver City, Victor began experimenting with grapes when he planted vines on a hillside owned by the Marycrest nunnery. He ultimately was ordered to pull the vines, but Victor caught the wine bug.

He worked for many years in the music industry in LA, hence the song-title names on his blended wines, but ultimately made the move to Paso Robles. The winery hosts music concerts in the taste room regularly, and even sends a disc of music to the "In Crowd" wine club members with each shipment.

VOTM is a must-stop-in kind of place when visiting West Paso. Victor and Jenni will make you feel special.

Visit VOTM's Web site for more information and for tasting room hours: https://vinesonthemarycrest.com/

Tudor Wines: Old World Luxury Wines in Downtown Paso

Dan Tudor of Tudor Wines makes the Nacina Zinfandel wines from grapes grown by our AirBnB host, Randy Rogers, and we were interested in tasting it, so we visited his tasting room in downtown Paso Robles. 

Dan Tudor and his wine flight at his downtown Paso Robles tasting room.

But first we sampled Tudor's wines, which are not typically Paso varieties ... Pinot Noir, Riesling, Chardonnay and Gewurtztraminer. He makes both dry wines and ice wines.

Tudor, wanting to make 'old world' style wines, buys his grapes from Santa Lucia Highlands, with a goal of creating "world-class luxury wines."

And they are beautiful wines.

We sampled a flight of his Pinots from various vineyards and vintages, and each was gorgeous, with nuance and balance. It was clear that Tudor is meticulous in his grape selection and the Nacino Zin was also lovely, not overly jammy like some Paso Zins. The Riesling ice wine was gorgeous.

Dan Tudor is a great host, talkative and so knowledgeable about wine and all topics. Check him out when in Paso.

Visit the Tudor wines Web site for more information on both Tudor and Nacina wines: https://www.tudorwines.com/

Happy Birthday Bruce Nozick! Here with Will and Lucas, our sons.

Until next time,

Cheers!

More on Mudgee, Australia!

In my first post on Mudgee, I focused on Day 1 of my excursion with the Wine Media Conference to this gorgeous wine region and town. On Day 2, I visited several more wineries, and below are my notes on each.

Logan Vineyard's unique winery and tasting room

Logan Wines

Logan Wines is the site of one of the most spectacular tasting room I've been in. This Danish modern building, located in the hamlet of Apple Tree Flat, is the height of style, while also extremely inviting and comfortable. Perched over the edge of a rather steep hill and overlooking Logan's vineyards, this is a visual delight, and the dramatic drive up to it only enhances the experience. As mentioned in my first post on Mudgee, the town and surroundings are so picturesque that TV shows are shot there; I saw this tasting room in an episode of one of my favorite Australian shows recently. 

The cool factor only increased for me when we met owner, Peter Logan, who epitomized the character of the region. Smart, personable, articulate and passionate about the wines and the vines, Logan graciously indulged us wine writers with his wine musings, pointing out that the vineyard behind him was being prepped for grafting of Tempranillo vines onto older Merlot rootstock (see photos below). Logan is at the forefront of the movement to bring new varieties into the region, and is producing wines from such grapes as Gewurztraminer, Pinot Gris, Moscato, Pinot Noir & Pinot Meunier, Semillon, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Riesling, Viognier, Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Cabernet Franc. He makes sparkling, still, rose, and orange wines.

Most of Logan's grapes are brought in from Orange, a wine region to the south and slightly east of Mudgee, where temperatures run slightly cooler; in fact, it's the coolest wine region in Australia and where the country's first Chardonnay wines were made. Logan's vines in Orange grow at elevations from 1600 to 2000 feet.

Logan's wines are a beautiful melding of new world pizazz and old world finesse. My husband and I were especially impressed with the Weemale Tempranillo. The Ridge of Tears shiraz (pictured below) is Logan's homage to his Scottish ancestors, using Shiraz grapes from Mudgee and Orange, grown on the best slopes, with low yields and produced with "hand-made" loving care to create Logan's signature style. This Shiraz is beautiful.

 This winery is well worth visiting if you find yourself in Mudgee.

(Top left, clockwise) Winemaker Peter Logan; Logan's posh tasting room; Ridge of Tears Shiraz; Merlot vines waiting for grafting with Tempranillo; inside the tasting room.

Moothi Estate

Moothi's 180-degree view cannot be beat.

Moothi Estate is a family-owned winery, founded in 1995, nestled in the Mudgee hills, and it's delightful. Moothi is another Aboriginal word for "nest in the hills."

The tasting room and outside terrace are a perfect setting for a long, languorous lunch and wine tasting. The winery's cellar door/kitchen features small bites and charcuterie platters (see picture below), and spectacular views. And the owners are lovely ... as welcoming as can be. They generously poured for us just about everything on their menu, which started with sparkling rose, and moved through Riesling, Pinot Grigio, Viognier, Chardonnay, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, a Cabernet-Shiraz-Merlot red blend called Mooth Rocks, a Shiraz-Viognier blend, and a fortified Shiraz.

All of Moothi's grapes are estate grown, and the cellar door, one of the highest in the region, overlooks the vines.

(Upper left, clockwise) Moothi's logo; Moothi Rocks Red Blend; wines on deck; delicious charcuterie platter from Moothi's kitchen 

Burnbrae Wines

Moving on to Burnbrae Wines, we were welcomed by Trine Gay, co-owner with her husband Andy, and one of their winery dogs. The couple took over the winery from Trine's father in 2014, and have created a cheery, youthful and inviting venue.

(Top left, clockwise: Owner Trine Gay; "book cover" labels; my husband Bruce with winery dog; cellar door reading; outbuilding for events; peppercorn tree; charming rustic doors (center).

Rustic charm abounds at Burnbrae, from the cellar door, to the grounds, to the outbuildings, creating a beautiful venue for weddings and other events. There's even the option to stay at the adorable "winemaker's cottage" on the grounds.  

The labels on Burnbrae's wines are designed like book covers, each telling a story that is linked to Burnbrae's past and present. For example, the "Twinkle Toes" Cuvee sparkling wine, which we were greeted with upon arrival, has a label that harkens back to the fact that the cellar door used to be a dance hall. The "Home Ground" Shiraz refers to the large peppercorn tree outside the front of the cellar door, which marks the site of the original winery.

Burnbrae produces a range of wines, including the above-mentioned sparkling white, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir (my favorite), Shiraz, Cab-Merlot blend, Pinot Gris, and a couple of different Rose wines, which are slightly spritzed and sweet, using the Moscato grape. The lineup is definitely youth-oriented, light, and fun.

Lowe Wine & Zin House

This place is special in that it's a winery, a restaurant, a wedding venue, and surprisingly, it's also all about Zinfandel. My first thought was 'Zin is quintessentially Californian ... not Australian!' I was definitely intrigued.

Our first stop was at Zin House, the restaurant, where we were treated to a gorgeous lunch prepared by Chef Kim Currie, wife of Lowe Wines' David Lowe. Served family style, in the gorgeous dining room that felt like an old farmhouse, the food was classy but not pretentious (see photos below). The foods were paired with Lowe's lip-smacking wines. I was overwhelmed by the generosity of our hosts.

For the last four years, Zin House has been awarded One Chef Hat from the SMH Good Food Guide Awards, which, as explained to us, is Australia's equivalent of Michelin stars. Very impressive.

Along with our lunch at Pipeclay Pumphouse at Robert Stein Winery, we were definitely eating in style on this Mudgee excursion, and Mudgee was living up to its reputation as a foodie destination.

The fare at Zin House, a One Chef Hat award-winning restaurant in Mudgee.

Most of the produce used at Zin House is sourced right from the property, and is organic, as are the wine grapes from the estate vineyards. Like the best Zin vines in California, the vines are old, bush trained and untrellised, unirrigated, low-yielding, and in this case organic (certified) and biodynamic. Robert Lowe is passionate about his winemaking, calling it "slow winemaking," which I interpret as quality. His wines are lovely, and who knew you could get great Zin in Australia?

Lowe is a fifth-generation Mudgee, descended from the first English settlers in the Valley. He has been in the wine business since birth, basically. He's passionate about Zin, after having spent time in northern California, in his "formative years," learning from California wine pioneers, and he also worked alongside Australian legends Len Evans and Murray Tyrrell. He seems to have wine running through his veins, and he's also humble and approachable. I so enjoyed my conversations with him at his winery.

(Upper left, clockwise: Robert Lowe, winemaker; Zinfandel paver (the entire alphabet populates Lowe's cellar door garden); the wine; Zin vines;  tasting the Zin in the garden outside Cellar Door; winery dog; bush vine Zin vineyard; one of the views from inside the Zin House restaurant; the cellar door (center)

Final Thoughts on Mudgee

Mudgee is a wonderland to me, with dozens of small, artisan, family-owned wineries tucked in and around the valley and rolling hills. And the wines being produced are wonderful. The town of Mudgee is really cool, with shops, eateries and hotels, and just about the nicest people I've ever met. All of these things make Mudgee a wonderful destination for weekend travelers.

If you are traveling to New South Wales, Australia, I urge you to check out both the Hunter Valley and Mudgee. You can get to them easily from Sydney, via train, car, or plane. On the journey, you can experience the Blue Mountains, Australia's version of the Grand Canyon; they are stunning.

Special Thanks

I want to say a giant Thank You to Mudgee and its people. Also, cheers to the following organizations and business who welcomed Wine Media Conference 2019 attendees:

Mudgee Wine and Country Tours: https://mudgeewinetours.com.au/ Ben, our driver, was the best driver a visitor could ask for, making sure we saw wildlife, stunning vistas, and historic markers, even if it meant pulling to the side of the road spontaneously to shoot a picture of a road sign!

(Upper left, clockwise): Ben of Mudgee Wine Tours; Mudgee road sign; beautiful old vines in Mudgee; the comfortable Mudgee Tourist Bus; my husband Bruce with Cara George of Visit Mudgee Region; my fellow WBC19 travelers.

Cara George, CEO of Visit Mudgee Region:  https://www.visitmudgeeregion.com.au/partner-services/meet-our-team/cara-george. A wonderful human being and great host, who made sure we stayed on schedule but also gave us the time we needed at each stop on our tour.

My fellow Wine Media Conference attendees who made the Mudgee excursion extra fun. It was great sharing the wine geek moments with all of you.

Until next time,

Cheers!

Book Review: Root Cause, a Wine Thriller

I love wine, and I love a good mystery novel. Put the two of these together and I'm ready to curl up with my cat and dog on my couch for a good long read.

I recently came upon a copy of Steven Laine's Root Cause, a "wine-soaked" mystery, according to Kirkus Reviews. This lengthy -- 359 pages -- mystery/thriller is suited to the wine geek as well as the average mystery lover, but it's the former who will get the most out of it.

Laine knows his wine, and tends to show it in his writing. I found myself nodding in agreement with him as he described the various wine regions, grapes, and vinification practices that supported his fun-packed and informative wine mystery. My years and years of wine studies came into play as I hungrily read page after page of this engrossing mystery.

The book's main protagonist is Corvina Guerra, an Italian "flying winemaker" who grew up in the vineyards of her parent's home in Italy. Of note, she's named after the core Italian grape variety used to produce Amarone, the full-bodied wines of the Valpolicella region of Italy. Like the grape, she is both down to earth and richly endowed with vitality along with keen street and book smarts. Her professional and personal lives, however, are at a crossroads, as her marriage is on the rocks and her job with Universal Wines is not on solid terroir. She begins to suspect that someone is intentionally infecting the world's top vineyards with the phylloxera (playfully called Philomena in the story) aphid, a treacherous louse that nearly destroyed the vineyards of Europe in the 1850s when it was imported on American rootstock. American vines were and are immune to the disease, but European vines were eaten alive by the pests, and it was only the grafting of European wines to American rootstock that saved the wine industry from near extinction in France and other regions. Corvina's boss at Universal Wines is not easily convinced that she should travel the world tracking the 'root cause' of this nemesis of the vineyard, but of course she does.

Corvina eventually teams up with the dashing, debonnaire Bryan Lawless, a flawed but lovable wine writer and "Master of wine, but not quite" (he was somehow kicked out of the program but we don't get full details on that), who immediately displays the sharp wit and skill that have served him in the sometimes cut-throat world of  luxury wine, as well as the shoot-from-the-hip impulsiveness that has led him to be blacklisted from it. It's the classic bad boy-good girl team-up that may or may not be romantic, but definitely makes for a crack detective duo.

The journey to find the culprit or culprits who are spreading the destructive pest in the world's vineyards is thrilling, with Interpol eventually getting involved as the protagonists make swings through Singapore and the vineyards and wineries of France, South America, South Africa, Napa, Italy, and Portugal. At times the book is written like a travelogue, and considering Laine's background as an International traveler working in the high-end hotel business, it works really well.  I was on the edge of my seat ... mostly because my wine geek side was fascinated with Laine's real-life experiences of these vineyards and wineries which shined through on the pages.

The final solution is satisfying, though a bit bizarre, and the chemistry, or should I say 'blend,' of Corvina and Bryan, left me thirsty for more wine capers featuring these two intrepid oenophiles.

Root Cause is available at Amazon.com.

Until next time,
Cheers!