Two Valleys, Six Wineries, New Rules

New rules: 
1.  When offered a choice between the "classic" tasting menu and the "reserve" tasting menu, always choose the reserve.  (Except if you are visiting your 4th winery of the day - in that case, it doesn't matter what you drink).
2.  Always "accidentally" leave your credit card at home when wine tasting.  This serves as a blessing in disguise when you have had too much to drink and have been nearly talked into joining the wine club.
3.  Always have something diplomatic to say about the winery you visited previously.  This way you don't self-select as either a snob or an idiot.


Since our last winery blog, we have been to six wineries (and doubled our taste count on the tasting meter ->).  While we aren't in the business of writing advertisements for wineries, we had good experiences at all six of these and thought we'd give a brief description of each and why we enjoyed them.


Lambert Bridge Winery - if you want a single stop that presents gorgeous grounds, exquisite wines and true wine experts in the tasting room, you must visit at this lovely winery and you will probably join their club, like we did.  Better start saving those pennies.


Arista Winery - a uniquely designed winery with Japanese garden and pond, providing a lovely place to stroll while sipping some really nice wines.  If you are lucky, the winemaker will be in the tasting room pouring wines himself.


Porter Creek Vineyards - after feeling a bit like a trespasser on a hippie farm, brave souls (who have made it past the 14 year-old shepherd guard dog) can enjoy some fantastically made organic, biodynamic wines in a casual and intimate tasting cottage.


Rosenblum Cellars - recommended to us for their famous Zinfandels, the tasting room is a stone's throw from Healdsburg plaza, full of eager tasters and knowledgeable winery staff, and if you look closely and ignore the store signs, you might recognize the exterior as the police station in 'Scream' (the original).

Dry Creek Vineyard - one the post-prohibition pioneers of Dry Creek Valley, DCVineyard offers a wide range of varietals and gives the option of tasting a representative selection or a flight of a single varietal.  We tasted the Sauvignon Blanc flight, which was surprisingly diverse, including a great Musqué! 


Quivira Vineyards - home to pigs, goats, and other farm-y things, the winery manages to present a tasting atmosphere that is lovely, sophisticated and garden-like.  It is evident in the style of the wines, grounds and conversation, that Quivira is committed to preserving the farming roots of the region. That's not to say that they aren't also committed to (and successful at) creating great wine!

Two Girls and Lots and Lots of Barrels

First, we would like to apologize to our loyal readers for the break in postings.  Denise and Marissa took back-to-back vacations over the last two weeks (alas, the demands of wine tasting and blogging required a break!)  

Since we claimed we would drink a whole barrel of wine, our resident Sommelier-friend suggested that we do a cooperage tour to actually learn about the barrel-making process.  As you may know, most wines are aged to some extent in oak barrels - in this region both French and American oak are primarily used.  

So last week we visited Winemakers' Cooperage in Cloverdale, CA and were treated to a fantastic tour by one of the owners, Quinn.  Decked out in neon yellow vests and protective eye-wear, we joined a group from our friend's restaurant.  The whole hour+ was chalk full of education.  We learned about nearly every aspect of the cooperage process, starting with the age of the trees and which parts of the oak logs can be used for barrels down to the different degrees of barrel toasting specified by wine-makers.  When you think about the biological make-up of the logs, the shape of the staves (slats of wood), and the direction of the wood grain, it's an art-form in itself to deconstruct a log, knowing it will directly impact the flavor of the wines later stored.   We were also struck by how traditional the process is.  All stages of constructing and seasoning the barrels seem to be done by an actual person, which was interesting considering how many modern tools and materials are available.  For example, the barrels are constructed using dove-tailed slats for the heads, which are fitted into grooves with a flour/water paste; a man still moves each barrel over fire pits while tossing oak chips in to keep the fire at the right temperature; and the hoops are in many stages, hammered by hand into place.  This is not to say that there aren't gigantic machines everywhere that aid in the process (making sure the hoops are at the right height, routing out the grooves for the barrel heads, etc.)  But the manual aspects of the construction really stood out as an illustration of the commitment to wine as an art-form and not just a commodity.  Winemakers' Cooperage had at least a dozen guys at a time actually building barrels (this is their slow season) and cranking out a mere (yet impressive) 40 barrels a day.

Though it was clear that each stage of the cooperage process plays a particular and critical role in achieving the right wine-aging components, it was the toasting stage where our senses actually got to experience the effect of the oak.  The characteristics that we've tasted in many of the wines we drink were present in the air as we witnessed this process - including, vanilla, spices, smokiness.  It was pretty cool!

Our question of the week is: Do you have any questions for us?  Go ahead, ask us your barrel questions, test our listening skills.  We look forward to hearing from you.

Will Work For Wine

This past weekend we celebrated Wild Steelhead month at the 3rd Annual Healdsburg Wild Steelhead Festival. What does steelhead have to do with wine, you ask? Ha! You must not know Healdsburg! In Healdsburg everything has to do with wine. In particular, many local

wineries are instrumental in raising money and supporting causes. The Russian River, which runs through the town of Healdsburg and through the Alexander Valley and Russian River Valley wine regions, supports the largest spawning population of Central California Coast Steelhead, but its population is believed to have declined seven-fold since the mid-1960s. (For more information see NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service). Loss of habitat and water pollution are major threats to this species and the festival helps bring awareness of that threat to the greater community.

We're sure that in this case the cause was reason enough for the fishers of Sonoma County to gather - there were booths dedicated to water conservation, habitat protection, fishing equipment, arts and crafts for kids, actual steehead, steelhead art, and the list goes on. But interspersed throughout the plaza were also quite a few tables set up where, in exchange for red tickets (purchased from the festival organizers), you could taste a great selection of local wines. And this is, admittedly, what drew us in. A few favorites include Michel Schlumberger, Camellia Cellars, Simi, Quivera, as well as a few we weren't as familiar with but are definitely on our list (all to be visited at a later date). Of course there were also booths set up around the perimeter of the festival by some local restaurants - for us, worth battling the rain to try the special festival offerings. As non-fishers, it felt a little bit awkward to simultaneously support preservation efforts and consumption of the same fish. But we learned that the steelhead offered "two ways" by Dry Creek Kitchen was sustainably farmed. Still, "save the fish, eat the fish" was a mantra that came to mind while eating. After tasting the delicious steelhead cakes topped with steelhead roe we determined that the life of that fish was well served!

After tasting most of the wines, we were given the opportunity (putting it more accurately: we were lured) to stand in for our friends at the Camellia Cellars table while they took a lunch break across the street. Thank goodness for the band, whose lively tunes saved us from the freezing cold! The wine helped with that as well. We had a great time in our spontaneous roles as pourers (putting some of our new skills and wine knowledge to the test). It became apparent to us quite quickly that Chris and Bruce are beloved by this community when nearly everyone passing by asked where they were. Nevertheless, we did manage to pour every drop of the Camellia wine and with Steve's help we collected a lot of red tickets (don't mess with CC's friend Steve - no ticket? no taste!)

TOP 10 THINGS WE LEARNED AT THE WILD STEELHEAD FESTIVAL

10. Go to as many wine-serving festivals as possible - there is a good chance you will be hosted by the winery owner or wine-maker themselves;

9. Tuna is the "other trout" (according to the tuna-sandwich booth);

8. You can get a Polish Dog at John & Zekes if you know the right people (or maybe there's a password? We'll look into it);

7. If you hang around your friends' table hoping for free wine long enough, you will eventually have to "pay" for it;

6. There are two different ways you can make a steelhead out of nothing but a paper plate;

5. It is difficult to concentrate on the "nose" of a wine when your nose is freezing cold;

4. Even though it sounds impossible, soft, smooth felt on the bottom of shoes stops you from slipping on slimy rocks;

3. If you were born on or before February 6, 1989 you were allowed to drink wine at the festival (this is also rather difficult to believe, especially for the ladies who checked our ID's, telling us we "barely made it" when their count was off by 10 years);

2. It is possible to be sipping wine in the rain in a slicker in Healdsburg at 3:30pm and still make it to a black-tie fundraiser in San Francisco that starts at 5:30 without getting a speeding ticket (but we don't condone nor recommend our readers try this); AND, DRUMROLL PLEASE...

1. Do not attempt to swirl your wine if you are drinking out of a dixie cup.

Two Mike's, Two Jenny's, and a Brian

For our second excursion we ventured into Alexander Valley, passed quite a few lovely wineries and stopped right in the middle at Sausal Winery and Vineyards (AV). Sausal is known for their truly old vine zinfandel and their cats Sophie and Gypsy (you are alerted that the cats are on the premises when you walk in). We sighted both cats during our visit and tasted one of the two wines named in their honor. Jenny (history teacher during the week/knowledgeable Sausal tasting room employee on the weekends), was passionate herself about learning about wines and even recommended several classes for us to take. Jenny gave us a brief history of zinfandel vineyards in the area - Sausal boasts vineyards as old as 133 years, surviving Prohibition. The "youngest" zinfandel wine we tasted came from vines around 50 years old. It was a very interesting learning experience and we'd recommend Zinfandel aficionados make the stop at Sausal.

On Jenny's recommendation, we headed to Stryker Sonoma Winery (AV) next. The path leading to the tasting room takes you behind the facility, which looked a bit industrial and not so inviting, but then wraps around to an impressive tasting room and view. As we walked inside we were awed by the striking interior - gorgeous wood all around, stainless steel bar and floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking vineyards. We were greeted by Mike (self-titled, "Young Mike"), who introduces us to the other two guys, "Old Mike" and "Middle Mike" (who's name it turns out is actually Brian). Old Mike (who's name is actually Mike) and Young Mike (also an official Mike, verified by us viewing his driver's license - because at this point, as you can imagine, we are not trusting anything Young Mike says), were so fun and helpful that we spent the majority of our tasting time here. The Mikes were as informative as they were entertaining. When Denise divulged that she is from Minneapolis, Old Mike suggested that she must know his roommate from college, who may or may not have been Garrison Keillor (It is possible that Old Mike's roommate works with Garrison Keillor or sounds like Garrison Keillor - the story took a confusing turn when Marissa accidentally insulted Old Mike by erroneously misplacing Garrison Keillor's age in the "80-something" range... when he is in fact a mere whipper-snapper at 68).

In the midst of all of the fun, the Mikes gave us the best tasting lesson we've had so far and got us working on identifying the various "bouquets" and flavors we tasted among their wines. Our favorite wine at Stryker happens to also be our wine of the day, the 2006 Dry Creek Zinfandel (not on their regular tasting menu). Not our words but our sentiment: this wine was "subtle at first, well balanced... [with a] rich, velvety finish". We said it was "yummy".

After our heavy consumption of red wines in the afternoon, we took a sobering (in a good way) lunch break at Jimtown.

Refueled, rehydrated and palates cleansed, we headed to our final destination for the day. The tasting room at Hanna Winery & Vineyards (AV) is a beautiful, oversized casita-esque building on top of a hill, surrounded by Cabernet and Merlot vineyards. At Hanna, we were greeted by our second Jenny of the day. Jenny-number-two offered us the opportunity to taste anything we wanted from their vast selection of open wines and she supplemented our education with tasting room flare - an aerial photo of their Mt. Bismark vineyards and an ACTUAL lava rock ("these grapes have to struggle in the soil against the lava rock" etc.) At this point we were a little overwhelmed by the options so Jenny made some suggestions. The two stand-outs from the selection were the award-winning Sauvignon Blanc (which was a refreshing change from the Zins we'd been drinking all day) and the 2007 Elias Pinot from their Russian River Valley vineyards. Denise and Marissa were both quite pleased with themselves for identifying in the Pinot, distinct lavender and musky aromas ("new leather" according to the description, which we pinky-swear we didn't look at before guessing). Pats on backs for some progress!

Most important lesson of the day: Start with lighter (whiter) wines and move towards heavier (redder).

Wine Experience Ratings

Dear Readers,

Several people have suggested that we introduce a rating system to our blog. We originally thought about rating the wineries but felt it would be presumptuous of us to rate something we are admittedly novice to. But we understand it might be helpful for readers if we had a way of comparing the wineries on a more standard scale in addition to our anecdotal stories. So, we decided we would use a rating systems similar to that of Zagat and rate four different aspects our our experiences - emphasis on the word experiences - we aren't claiming to be experts at anything but being our wine-loving, education-seeking, fun-having selves!

Here are the categories we'll evaluate: (each rated on a x-out-of-5 bottle scale) Ambience - How was the atmosphere & setting? Experience - How much fun did we have? Education - Was it a learning experience? Wine - How did we like the wine overall?

Question of the Week

How can we get the most information out of a taste of wine (which is usually only a few small sips)?

Maiden Voyage into Dry Creek Valley

Today we went on our first "official" wine tasting excursion (prior wine tasting experiences in life are excluded from this project). We started late (around 2pm) and made it to two wineries before getting hungry, calling it quits and hitting up the General Store on Dry Creek Road for sandwiches. Robin, our Biggest Fan was along for the maiden voyage.

Our first stop was the Wilson Winery (DCV):

To our surprise and delight, Wilson is the site of fruition for our until-then-theoretical concept of the legs-wine-pourer (see Blog Glossary).

Legs was pretty and young and totally new at this - but she was also the sweetest tasting room volunteer we'd ever encountered. Devoting her Saturday to helping her mom (the actual, official, presumably knowledgeable pourer) work the tasting room for the day, she was enthusiastic and diligent about getting the answers to our questions (see Quote of the Week). Mom was super busy with a party of 18 (Robin counted 36 knee-high boots) but was available for our edification when we came up with our challenging questions, like "who is Carl" (of the "2007 Zinfandel from Carl's Vineyard"). Carl, we learn, is the father of the winery owner. In fact, all of their vineyards are named after Wilson family members. We like this! The scenery from the tasting room at Wilson was beautiful, the people were kind and the Zins were good*. We have vowed to get back to Wilson after we are a little more seasoned so we can make smart remarks regarding their wines.

*it is important to note here that Marissa doesn't think she likes Zinfandel wine, therefore, this is intended to be a compliment to Wilson.

Next stop: Amista Vineyards (DCV). Amista means "making friends" in Latin. The folks there lived up to the name. After the overipe bachelorette party moved to a special table in the back, we had the tasting bar and Ross to ourselves. Ross is delightful, knowledgeable and could make a 2-buck-chuck sound irresistible. Fortunately for Amista, the latter talent is not necessary at all. Since Ross passes on his enthusiasm for wine, and Amista in particular, to all who come by for a taste, we did learn that having a committed host with history at the winery makes for a more interactive and, therefore, rich experience.

A former chemist and home-chef, Mike (owner) pairs each wine with a suggested dish on the tasting sheet. Seeing as how we were getting hungry, Robin asked if there was any lamb in the back for us to enjoy with our Syrah. Ross did the next best thing and brought us special brownies from the kitchen - NO, not that kind of special - made with the Ilusión dessert wine. Marissa joined the wine club and Denise drank her whole taste of the port-style Ilusión** - all in all, a great 1.5 hrs spent there. The Amista 2004 Syrah was hands-down the winning wine of the day.

**it is important to note here that Denise doesn't think she likes Port and that Denise's Chef (DC) should be credited with teaching us that there is a difference between a Port and a port-style wine.

The afternoon concluded with yummy sandwiches and a review of our first day on the job.

2 wineries/26 tastes/1 new friend