The Corkdork - Wine and Food Musing

Tasting in Calaveras County Part 3: Lunch in Murphys

Just a quick post on my last day in the Sierra Foothills. Only a few of my readers probably know that I worked in the gourmet store business in NYC throughout my college years, so I'm a sucker for a really good one when I travel. I Yelped Murphys, expecting nothing, and up came this gem. The Alchemy Market and Wine Bar is right as you drive in to town on Main Street.

The take out section is in the Market area, with lots of great salads, soups (we had great, spicy Bloody-Mary Gazpacho), dips, cheeses, and sandwiches. They make their own "rustic roll"s, which are actually not all that rustic, but absolutely wonderful. These wide, flat, soft rolls, are probably made from a buttermilk sponge and make wonderful sandwiches. Because Murphys is close to Diestel, they feature Diestel Smoked Turkey and their mild-but-smokey ham. I absolutely recommend stopping there for lunch, either in their lovely patio if you have the time, or eating at the cafe tables inside the market.

Within the market, there is also a wide selection of good local wines, some of which I didn't find anywhere else, like the Tanner Melange de Mer, 2004 (only 100 cases produced). Definitely worth a stop.

Tasting in Calaveras County Part 2: Chatom Vineyards

My second part of Calaveras tasting was really my first stop. My family, now and forever know as the chicken family, had just backed out of going down the Moaning Caverns after seeing just the narrow staircase down to the 165 foot decent, and needed to get back to what we know best...wineries. The kids sniff and laugh and eventually go off to play with the squidgee and leave the adults to taste and take notes. Not more than a mile from the caverns of claustrophobia lies a winery worth a visit: Chatom Vineyards.

Chatom boasts 65 acres of Chardonnay, Semillon, Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Zinfandel, Syrah, Brunello and 6 Portuguese varietals. Winemaker Mark Künz, formerly of B.R. Cohn and a ten-year vet of Matanzas Creek, clearly has a good grip on how to handle many these grapes. Out of these, some that thrive on heat and don't care too much about how cool they get at night, really shine. I bought 2 of each of my picks below. 

My favorites were:

2005 She WinesWhite, a blend of Semillon and Chardonnay had a lovely perfume to it, and a clean flavor full of melons and a healthy dose of oak. A steal at $12.00.

2005 She Wines Red, a blend of 34% Merlot, 27% Zinfandel, 15% Sangiovese, 14% Syrah, and 10% Touriga Nacional was another bargain at $12.00. While Merlot dominates the profile, the other grapes balance out the blend and offset the hot-climate nature of the Merlot and create a blend better than the component grapes. Clearly someone with a good nose for blending is at work.

Note: Both of the She Wines, originally an homage to their original female winemaker, Mari Wells, give partial proceeds towards Heart Disease Research and Breast Cancer Research.

2004 "Gitano" Sangiovese, this is a light bodied style of Cal-Ital and will work nicely with food. I often hanker for California Sangiovese as it has the scent of the real Italian style, but more fruit --more approachable for parties and guests that are not so familiar with Italian wine.

I know I try to always stay on the positive side, but the 04 Syrah was an absolute wood-bomb, and the reserve "Esmeralda" was a higher concentration of the flaws I found in the regular bottling. The Cabernet was also light and fruity and didn't much resemble a notable cab.

Tasting in Calaveras County Part 1: Milliaire

Calavaras County Visit Part One: Milliare Winery

After years of being called "Steve Miller" and probably suffering from an overload of Fly-like-an-eagle jokes, Steve Millier decided to spell his winery name with an "a" in the middle to end the battle once and for all.

After a long career as winemaker to others, namely David Bruce and Stevenot, Millier started his own venture with his partner, Liz, in 1983. They took over an old gas station in Murphys in 1990 and have transformed it into my kind of tasting room. Nothing but a simple tasting bar, lots of ribbons of every color from every county fair, and a few well-chosen namesake pieces of swag.

Milliare's wines run the gamut, from strawberry-sticky White Zinfandel (keep reading) to serious local red zinfandels, and some delightful whites. In particular, my favorites were the '06 Pinot Grigio which was crisp and light, The '05 Catherine's Cuvée Amador County which is a blend of Orange Muscat and Muscat Canelli in a distinctive blue bottle, and the '04 Old Vine Calaveras County Zinfandel which was excellent.

My advice is to stay with the red zinfandels and these whites, and don't venture off to their Pinot Noir, which was over-ripe and stewed or the light and raisin-y Cabernet. If you see one of their Zinfandels, either the classic-Amador style Clockspring Vineyards, or the Old Vine on a menu - grab it, as the price to value ratio is huge, being $18 a bottle, retail.

WBW#35 Passionate Spanish Wine: 2004 Jumilla Red Wine from Bodegas Juan Gil

For this month's tasty theme, Passionate Spain  Michelle and Kevin, are our hosts from My Wine Education.

This, gentle readers, is for me what Wine Blogging Wednesdays is all about. A broad and simple theme was chosen, and we bloggers are forced to stretch our knowledge base. I confess that Spanish wine is a weak part of my wine education. While I feel like I know enough to find a decent Rioja in a Spanish restaurant, and I do really love sherry, I know little about the lesser wine regions of Spain, how grapes popular in the world behave in her climate. I had this wine in my cellar, but had yet to try it, and knew little about it when I bought it, other than it was recommended by Prima and  imported by an impassioned driving force in interesting Spanish wines, Jorge Ordonez At around $11.00, this has to be one of the best values I have ever found.

This is made with 100% Monastrell (known in France as Mourvèdre and Mataro in California of old) from 40-year old vines in the shallow chalky soil of Jumilla, south eastern Spain. The yield is very small, around 1.8 tons per acre, and the wine is fermented as whole clusters. Jorge Ordonez claims that the grape performs better in Spain with the hotter weather than in France. I'm not totally convinced of his statement, but dollar for dollar, this Spanish version is much cleaner and has fewer flaws than any similarly priced Southern French wine I've tasted.

The color is very purple, almost the thickness of young Petite Syrah, colored all the way to the edges (exhibiting its' youth). If I tasted this blind, I would say it was a young Gigondas from a hot year. There is considerable smoke on the nose and fresh blackberry. Huge, mouth-filling fruit rounds it out.

I paired  this with a Spanish-inspired chicken with fresh fennel, peppers, garlic, white wine and lots of smoked paprika. It held up to the smokiness and the liberal dose of Spanish hot sauce.

Recommended.

Luna Vineyards "Canto" 2000 Napa Valley Red Wine

For this year's Forth of July celebration, we had only one guest, and since my son was still at summer camp, there were only 4 of us. So naturally, I wanted to pull a good bottle from the horded pile. This one didn't disappoint. We had a pretty simple summer menu, since it was HOT! For starters, a couple of dozen oysters from Hog Island with my special mignonette. Then a salmon crudo with avocado and cold cucumber soup. The main course was a simple grilled Tri-tip Santa Barbara-style (dry rub as well as soy, olive oil, and red wine vinegar), garilcky carrot salad, and potato salad. Strawberry shortcake for dessert.

Luna has a lot going for it. First of all, they have consistently made a nice Pinot Grigio for the last several years, and a juicy interpretation of California Sangiovese that I often crave. They also have a great location for any Napa visitor. Located at the foot of the Silverado Trail, off the Trancas Street exit of Rt. 29 on the left, Luna is an obvious first stop for anyone exploring the Silverado side of Napa. Styled like an Italian villa with a campanile-style lookout tower off the tasting room, it's a great way to get a little view, taste some first rate wines, and plan your day of spitting in Napa (or not driving).

The Canto blend is the flagship wine at Luna, and consists of wine from five different vineyard plots of Sangiovese, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Syrah, and Cabernet Sauvignon. I know that sounds like a mess, but the result is far better than it sounds. It has a tremendously complex nose, huge juicy mature fruit that is filled with licorice, blackberries, and plums. The finish lasts for a very long time. I highly recommend this, though it is on the pricey side. I bought it at the winery in 2003 or so when the price wasn't what it fetches today, around $65.00. The 2002 is the current release on the website.

This wine is for sale online.

Get ready for Wine Blogging Wednesday #35 with a Spanish Flair by July 11

Get tasting folks, and post by Wednesday, July 11 for this month's tasty theme, Passionate Spain  Michelle and Kevin, our hosts, have requested that we keep under $10.00 U.S., if possible, and their announcement page has lots of links and suggestions on where to look. I have seen an awful lot of inexpensive Spanish wine in my favorite haunts of late, and have been pretty disappointed with many of them, so I'm really looking forward to the suggestions we all get out of this one. Chin Chin!

Pinot Days 2007 Round-up

Corkdork Round-Up of Pinot Days 2007 Favorites & Surprises

I'm going to leave the in-depth play-by-play coverage to Alder at Vinography, and instead, do my best to give you what I felt were the highlights of a really good show. Yes, this one is a good show. It's small, focused, and manageable. When I first decided to cover this tasting, my first thought was to list my favorites by region but once I got there and was instantly comparing an Anderson Valley Pinot to one from Santa Lucia, all bets were off. That approach simply didn't make sense. So instead, I'm just calling out three categories. Overall Favorites, Affordable Treats, and Surprises (I always make a point to look under the rocks and see what I can find).

Overall Favorites:

Calera Wine Company
1998 Mt. Harlan Selleck $60 - still available and drinking very beautifully
2004 Mt. Harlan Ryan $40 - youthful but complex and elegant. Put this one down a few years for a treat.

Chasseur Wines
2005 Freestone Station $60 - Ripe but balanced. Winning pinot.

Dutton-Goldfield Winery
2005 Sanchietti Vineyard Green Valley Russian River $58

George Wine Company
2005 Nuptial Vineyard Russian River Valley $50 - lighter style but packed with explosive flavors

Hamel
2005 Sonoma Coast, Campbell Ranch, Anapolis

Hirsch Vineyard and Winery
2005 Hirsch Vineyards, Sonoma Coast $60 - explosive and round without being over-extracted.

Inman Family Wines - Kathleen Inman has to be one of the nicest winemakers there!
2004 Olivet Grange Vineyard - Russian River $42

Le Cadeau Vineyards
2004 Diversité, Le Cadeau Vineyard, Willamette Valley $45

Louis Latour
2005 Beaune Vignes Franches, Beaune 1er Cru $49

Michaud Vineyard - treated us to a small vertical 2001-2004
2003 Chalone Appellation $38

Native 9 Wine
2004 Rancho Ontiveros Vineyards - Santa Maria Valley - Great.

Papapietro Perry Winery
2005 Russian River Valley $42

Peay Vineyards
2005 Pomarium Estate - Sonoma Coast $50 - refined and delicious

Siduri Wines
2005 Van der Kamp Vineyard $42

Affordable Treats

Dutton-Goldfield Winery
2005 Dutton Ranch$35

Per Bacco Cellars
2005 Laetitia Vineyard - Arroyo Grande Valley $32

Scherrer Winery
2004 Sonoma County $30 A delicious expression of fruit. Let's hope Fred can keep this affordable.

Surprises

Clary Ranch Wines
2004 Clary Ranch Grower's Reserve Sonoma Coast $50

Clos Saron
1999 Home Vineyard Sierra Foothills - I didn't know anyone could make this fine a pinot in the Foothills

Harmonique
2004 Delicacé Anderson Valley - Round and uncommonly huge for Anderson Valley. Watch out for this.

Sojourn Cellars
2005 Sangiacomo Vineyard  - Sonoma Coast $48

Thorne Wine This is also a terrific value and great first effort!
2005 Thorne Pinot Noir Rio Vista Vineyard - Santa Rita Hills - $28

Le Clos Jordanne

2005 Pinot Noir (Reserve), Claystone Terrace, Niagara Peninsula DVA, Ontario, Canada - Who knew?