Wine Country: Peay Vineyards

Posted by | Posted in Grape Adventures, Wine Reviews | Posted on 11-23-2010

Nick and Andy Peay. Courtesy of Peay Vineyards.

Day 2, Part 2. Pinot Noir is my favorite varietal. And Peay Vineyards makes my favorite Pinot. So when I found out that my trip to Wine Country was going to coincide with Peay’s semi-annual open house at its winery in Cloverdale, I was pretty fired up.

The Peay story begins in the late-1990s, when brothers Nick and Andy Peay set out to make their own wine, from their own grapes, somewhere on the Sonoma Coast. They settled on a spot located just 4 miles from the Pacific Ocean on the northwestern edge of Sonoma County.

Andy and his wife Ami run the business and sell the wine. Nick and his wife Vanessa manage the vineyard and make the wine. Prior to launching Peay in 2001, Vanessa was the winemaker at Peter Michael Winery (earlier stints included positions at Château Lafite-Rothschild and Hirsch Winery). Nick was trained at UC Davis and is a veteran of Santa Cruz mountain wineries.

While the vineyard is on the “extreme” Sonoma Coast, the wine is made in northern Sonoma in a town called Cloverdale, in a facility that’s nestled a Chevron and a McDonald’s.

At the open house, the Peays were serving wood-fired pizza from Pangaea’s along with several different wines. We tasted seven: 2001 Peay Vineyards Estate Pinot Noir, 2006 Peay Vineyards Hirsch Vineyard Chardonnay; 2007 Peay Vineyards La Bruma Syrah; 2008 Peay Vineyards Les Titans Syrah; 2009 Peay Vineyards Estate Chardonnay; 2009 Peay Vineyards Pomarium Estate Pinot Noir; and a 2010 Cep (by Peay Vineyards) Rose.

The 2001 was a real treat – as the first Estate pinot that the Peays released was from the 2002 vintage. The night before the open house, Andy discovered about 30 cases of the wine in the Nick and Vanessa’s cellar, so he opened one up. Upon realizing that it tasted pretty good, he decided to bring several cases to the party. It tasted fantastic. Not as complex as one might hope for from a nine-year-old wine, but drinking very well.

The 2009 wines – especially the Pinot – were out of this world. Nick described the 2009 Pomarium as the best he’s made, and having tasted every vintage since the 2005, I can confidently say he’s right. All that wonderful fleshiness I’ve come to love from their wines – combined with great California fruit and Burgundian earthiness. I can’t wait to order this one.

Daily Wine News: It’s Not Unusual

Posted by | Posted in Wine News | Posted on 11-23-2010

Uploaded to flickr by The Marmot

Gregory Dal Piaz of Snooth.com looks at five unusual varietals worth cellaring. Of the five he discusses, I’ve only got one in my cellar. Looks like I have some shopping to do.

New York wines… made from fruits other than grapes.

Paul Gregutt tastes some sparklers from Washington and California. Some good recommendations.

Wine Drinker Stereotypes?

Posted by | Posted in Grape Adventures | Posted on 11-22-2010

Uploaded to flickr by Kyle May

A couple walks into a bar. A tasting bar, that is. The husband is a big burly guy, wearing a flannel shirt tucked in to a worn pair of jeans. He’s bearded and rugged, but jolly. The wife is a dainty thing with hair and make-up just right. With khakis, Keds, and a pink v-neck sweater, she’s the quintessential mom. Arm in arm with her husband, they bustle in out of the crisp fall air, looking around in wide-eyed wonder.

As they approach the tasting bar, I’m thinking I’ve got these two pegged. A hearty Cab Sauv for Paul Bunyan and a semi-sweet white table wine for the wife. I’d even put money on it.

So I’m smiling in anticipation, as the husband nods to his wife to order first. After scanning the selections, she delightfully exclaims, “Oh! I’ll have the Cab Sauv!” Ok, I say to myself, I’ll let this one slide because it IS fall, generally the season to shift to big reds.

As I knowingly start to pour two glasses of Cab Sauv, Mr. Bunyan stops me, sheepishly interjecting, “Actually, uh, do you guys have anything sweet?” A little taken aback, I stumble to say “Oh, sure! You’ll love our table white.”

This was my first experience at a winery’s tasting room — and it wasn’t unusual. Just about every day, customers completely surprised me with their wine preferences. And after a year of similar experiences, I did away with the stereotypes I had had.

While there’s no shortage of bachelorettes and grannies that love their sweet whites, more often than you’d think, you get the big guys asking for it as well. On the same note, I cannot tell you how many Chanel-donning housewives came in, refusing all whites, opting for a big red.

So, should one be ashamed to choose a certain type of wine? Or worse, drink a certain type of wine to fit the mold? Absolutely not. After all, everyone’s palate is different, both in maturity and taste. Drink what tastes good — to you.

Wine Country: Talty Vineyards

Posted by | Posted in Grape Adventures | Posted on 11-22-2010

Talty Vineyards

Day 2, Part 1. Our trip to see Mike Talty didn’t just exceed expectations — it was the highlight of our trip.

The reason? Until 48 hours before our visit, I had never heard of Mike Talty or his winery. In fact, we were supposed to visit John Holdredge — one of my absolute favorite Syrah producers — that Saturday morning. But on Thursday afternoon, John called to (very graciously) cancel. When I asked where to visit instead, Holdredge asked if I liked Zinfandel — and then steered me to Talty.

It was a great recommendation.

Mike Talty’s story begins in the kitchen, with his father. The two enjoyed cooking and drinking good wine together — and by the late-1980s, Mike had grown especially fond of Zinfandel, so decided to try his hand at winemaking. It started in his garage. Then he started taking classes at the UC Davis Extension winemaking school. By this point, his hobby had outgrown his garage, and he started dreaming about owning his own winery.

In the mid-1990s, he decided to quit his job and jump full-time into winemaking as soon as he found the right piece of land. In 1997 — four years after his father’s unexpected death — Mike and his family found the perfect, six-acre vineyard in the Dry Creek Valley.

He named the vineyard after his father, William. Today, the 40+-year-old Zinfandel vines are head-trained and dry-farmed. And on the property, in a small building that triples as a winery, barrel room, and tasting room, Mike is making the best Zinfandels I’ve ever had. He’s also an incredibly nice guy.

We tasted ten wines — seven from Talty, and three Syrahs from Steve MacLaren, a part-time winemaker who helps out Mike and makes his own Syrah on the Talty property.

The Talty wines were as follows: 2007 Dwight Family ($30); 2008 Dwight Family ($30); 2007 Filice Connolly ($48); 2007 Filice Connolly ($38); 2005 William Talty Estate ($38); 2006 William Talty Estate ($38); and 2007 William Talty Estate ($38).

None of the Talty wines were thick or jammy – I’m always afraid of consuming cough syrup when I pop open a bottle of Zin. None were monolithic fruit bombs, either. And all would pair well with foods – these were lighter wines, with fantastic acidity at the finish.

The 2007 Dwight Family stood out the most unique – as the nose and palate were incredibly floral (lavenders, violets, and the like). It was light-bodied and elegant, yet still coated the mouth and had an extremely long finish.

The knockouts were the William Talty Estate Zins, especially the ’05 and the ’07. These were definitely the biggest Zins in his group – dark cherries, black fruits, some chocolate and vanilla notes – but like all his Zins, these remained elegant and would still work well with virtually any fare.

The MacLaren wines were also quite good. Like Wells Guthrie of Copain and other hot Syrah producers, Steve is clearly working to prove that New World Syrahs can be as subtle and nuanced as their Northern Rhone counterparts. And all were reasonably priced ($25-$35). It sounds like Steve could be a wine-maker worth watching.

Daily Wine News: You Talkin’ To Me?

Posted by | Posted in Wine News | Posted on 11-22-2010

Uploaded to flickr by rick.

Steve Heimoff takes a “meta” look at a new exhibit at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, “How Wine Became Modern: Design + Wine 1976 to Now.” The LA Times has more coverage. And Heimoff promises a full article on Wine Enthusiast’s website.

“For me, this wine is easily a 92 maybe 92 ½.” –Robert DeNiro, describing the 1991 Rubicon Estate Proprietary Blend.

Meg Houston Maker interviews Cameron Hughes for Palate Press. Still deciding if I should order some 2008 Lot 200.

Wine Country: Lewelling

Posted by | Posted in Grape Adventures, Wine Reviews | Posted on 11-19-2010

Day 1, Part 4. After visiting Mike Smith of  Myriad and Quivet, we headed to Lewelling Vineyards, where we met with longtime winemaker Dave Wight. (In case you’re wondering, the whole “Dave White meets Dave Wight” provided several seconds of entertainment.)

Lewelling can trace its roots to 1864, when winegrower and horticulturist John Lewelling purchased the property. In 1950, his great-granddaughter Janice Lewelling Wight built a home on the property with her husband Russ, and turned it into an operational vineyard. Today, it’s one of the oldest continuously-owned family vineyards in Napa Valley. The estate is run by Russ’s three sons — Alan, Doug, and Dave — and since 1992, they’ve been making their own vineyard-designated wine. (Haley Wight — Dave’s niece — is the assistant winemaker, and makes her own wine under the Hayfork label.)

When we arrived at the property (after getting lost… twice), Dave took us on a brief tour of the vineyard, telling us his family’s story while giving us a brief viticultural lesson. We learned the difference between head-trained vines and vertically-trained vines, and heard about suitcase clones and vineyard pests. When it started getting cold, Dave took us inside to taste some of their 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon.

I was incredibly excited. I’ve had several different vintages of Lewelling, as it’s (typically) sold at Pearson’s Wine, a shop located just up the block from my office. I missed the 2008 offering, though, as it sold out in just 48 hours.

Dave opened both the Estate bottling and the Wight Vineyard bottling (the Wight bottling is selected from the best barrels), and both were absolutely stunning. Incredible complexity, all sorts of red and black fruits, anise, tobacco, coffee, vanilla. Lively acidity, lingering finish — just excellent. Plus, these wines were elegant. They weren’t nearly as big, bold, and modern as Mike Smith’s Cabs, but they were definitely Napa. The Wights weren’t trying to recreate Bordeaux in St. Helena.

Had any of these wines been for sale, I would have backed up the truck (with a slight preference for the Estate cab, as the differences were subtle enough that I couldn’t see justifying the price difference). Without question, these were my favorite Cabs of the trip — in fact, they were among the best Cabs I’ve had, period.

Daily Wine News: A Winner!

Posted by | Posted in Wine News | Posted on 11-19-2010

Cyrus. Uploaded to flickr by star5112.

Wine Spectator finishes up its top 10 wines of the year. Saxum’s 2007 James Berry Vineyard wins.

The Ray Walker of Bordeaux! A look at the Bostonian Philip Edmundson, who recently launched a winery in Bordeaux. Unlike Walker,  Edmundson still lives in the States — and has kept his day job at the helm of insurance company William Gallagher Associates.

Cyrus, the two-Michelin starred destination restaurant in Healdsburg, is (kind of) facing eviction!

Do California wines age? They do at Kalin Cellars. A really interesting read.

Brooklyn Guy Loves Wine interviews Neal Rosenthal, one of the nation’s most well known importers. (H/T: Eric Asimov.)

Wine Country: Myriad/Quivet

Posted by | Posted in Grape Adventures, Wine Reviews | Posted on 11-18-2010

The wine we didn't taste. Fortunately, I have a bottle of the '07 in my cellar.

Day 1, Part 3. After our truck ride with Tom Gamble, we headed to Envy Wines, where Mike Smith custom crushes for his Myriad and Quivet labels.

Wine nerds love Mike Smith because he’s one of us. Back in 2001, when Mike was living in Portland, Oregon, he started traveling to Napa Valley on the weekends to help out Thomas Rivers Brown (of Schrader, Outpost, and Maybach fame). Brown was already well known at that point, but agreed to let Mike help out because the two men got along well — and Mike was willing to work for free.

After his third harvest, Mike took the real plunge, moving his family to St. Helena to join Brown as a full-time assistant winemaker. Shortly thereafter, he launched his own label — Myriad Cellars — with his wife Leah. Around the same time, he created a separate label with a wine enthusiast from Massachusetts named Duane Mason (the two met while Duane was sampling Outpost with Thomas Rivers Brown). Together with two of Duane’s friends from Massachusetts — John Brooks III and Paul Mason — the men launched Quivet Cellars.

Mike was a real pleasure to chat with because his focus is so obviously on the wine. He’s not tied to any one type of wine making — with some syrahs, he’ll do whole cluster fermentation. With others, just 15 percent. He’ll use yeasts. He’ll water back. In other words, he’s honest (I suspect just about every winemaker has a couple of tricks up his sleeves). And he’s not rigidly tied to one school of thought. Rather, he tries to make the best possible wines — that are expressive of where the grapes are picked — with each vintage.

Mike took us through the full Quivet lineup and most of the Myriad cabs. We tasted six wines in total: the 2008 Quivet Las Madres Vineyard Syrah – Hulda Bloc ( $38); the 2008 Myriad Cabernet Sauvignon  – Rutherford ($48); the 2008 Quivet Cabernet Sauvignon – Kenefick Ranch Vineyard ($65); the 2008 Quivet Cabernet Sauvignon  – Spring Mountain District ($65); the 2008 Myriad Cabernet Sauvignon  – Spring Mountain District ($65); and the 2008 Myriad Cabernet Sauvignon  – Beckstoffer Vineyard Georges III, ($75).

I loved all of it.

The wow wine for me was the Quivet Las Madres syrah. The color was a deep purple, and the wine was huge — all sorts of ripe blue and black fruits, meat, and pepper. The wine coated the palate — but had ample acidity and elegance, and just a touch of oak. Mike could tell how much we loved the wine — he let us take the unfinished bottle home!

The Cabs were fun, mainly because Mike proves that big, bold, modern Napa cabs — in 100% new oak — don’t have to be monolithic. In fact, they can be incredibly nuanced. My favorite was the Quivet Spring Mountain. It was very similar to the Myriad Spring Mountain bottling, but tasted a bit smoother — it may have had a had a touch more acidity. The Quivet Keneflick Ranch (which is just a stone’s throw from Araujo’s Eisele Vineyard) was a bit different from the other cabs in the lineup — both brighter and lighter, yet somehow riper.

I’ve been on the Myriad list for a while now — and I’m glad to have joined the Quivet mailer.

Wine Country: Gamble Family (RS)

Posted by | Posted in Grape Adventures, Wine Reviews | Posted on 11-18-2010

Uploaded to flickr by Josep Ma. Rosell.

Tom Gamble’s vineyard provided a nice contrast to our first stop, at Spottswoode. While Spottswoode is just a short distance from the main road in St. Helena — and seemingly appears out of nowhere, immaculately groomed, in the midst of a subdivision — Gamble Family feels worlds away from Highway 29, at the end of several narrow, unkempt roads.

I tend to forget that winemaking is fundamentally an agricultural pursuit, but the Gamble vineyard really drove that point home. We sat on hay bales on Tom’s old truck as we toured the fields. Tom pointed out the differences in soil types across his property. We learned that Sauvignon Blanc did well in the wet clay soil in the flat part of his property (which is, coincidentally, at the geographic center of the Napa Valley). Tom grew his red grapes in the hillier, rockier parts of his vineyard. Row-by-row, he pointed out differences in the vines. The concept of terroir was cast in stark relief along one row at the edge of the property, where a four segment stretch of a trellis lay bare, the grapes unable to survive because of the rocky soil below.

Tom and his colleague Ania served us two Sauvignon Blancs first. David and I both agreed that the cheaper of the two — the 2008 — was our favorite. (We polished off a bottle of it the following day.)

Tom’s best red offering was his Paramount blend, which was outstanding. Perfectly balanced, with a terrific nose, subtle secondary characteristics, and great fruit.

The Gamble Old Vine Syrah had among the more interesting noses I’ve encountered, with what struck me as bacon, perhaps. I’d try it again, just because I remember it being unusual.

(See David White’s previous account of Gamble Family.)

Daily Wine News: Beaujolais Day!

Posted by | Posted in Wine News | Posted on 11-18-2010

Happy Beaujolais Nouveau Day! I’ve never cared for banana flavored wine, but marketers sure love this day. I hope you didn’t drink any Beaujolais Nouveau yesterday — the French would consider that illegal.

It’s official. The FDA has ruled that caffeine is an “unsafe food additive.” I’m with Loko. Friends have warned me that I should stop making jokes about lawmakers cracking down on the combination of Red Bull and vodka — they might take me seriously.

“Yeast, honey and — dare I say it? — a hint of manure.” Drinking 200-year-old Champagne.

Another look at the 2010 vintage. “Andy Peay from Peay Vineyards up in the Sonoma Coast says that though they picked all of their fruit, a lot of it won’t be drinkable.” Uh-oh. That’s my favorite juice!

This book sounds really fun. And the writer — Seattle restaurateur Peter Lewis — sounds like he’d be fun to grab a glass of wine with.

Tom Wark praises Terroirist! This is definitely news.