From Bordeaux to Meritage

Jan 15, 2008 |  WineBratSF (7) |  Events, Guest Bloggers, Wine Industry |  0 comments

As I eagerly anticipate Winter Wineland in northern Sonoma, I stumbled across an article about the history of meritage. Since I remember a quandary at a recent wine gathering, I thought I'd note that the Meritage Association is celebrates its 20th anniversary this week.

For those of you who might think that meritage is a fancy French term, like MareAhTage, think again. It's really a made up name for a down home blend, a combination of the works "merit" and "heritage". It was coined in 1985, when the feds only allowed the name table wine to be used on more low brow blends containing less than 75% of a single varietal; read: MUTT. That's right kids, Carlo Rossi could NOT be more than 75% concord grapes!

Since we are legally prevented from borrowing any existing wine terms (yeah well there is a reason we aren't real popular with the French you see) like Champagne or Bordeaux, the wine industry in the upstart New World - basically anywhere but Italy and France folks - decided we needed our own label for these new mixtures we like to plunk down on Thursdays with our pizza.

I'm going to be on the hunt this weekend, so check back soon for a report on the joys of Sonoma County meritage!

Events, Guest Bloggers, Wine Industry

0 comments

Livermore Wine Country

Nov 20, 2007 |  WineBratSF (7) |  Wine Tasting, Guest Bloggers |  0 comments

Ahhh Livermore. Windmills, tract houses, nuclear secrets, and…wine? Yep, it's true. Livermore has wine. Who knew! I don't quite know how this happened, but this city girl had never been to Livermore wine country.

Livermore Valley actually outdates Napa as the first wine region in Northern California, which began sometime around the Gold Rush. I guess if you were a European miner, you needed your juice to keep digging. There used to be over 50 wineries in the region, until the Feds put the kibosh on liquor sales with Prohibition in the 1920s. Now, there are about 35 wineries, although they don't all have tasting rooms open to the public and others are best ignored if you value your taste buds.

Our first stop was Steven Kent, by special request. Having never been, I was in for a treat. Steven Kent is on the main wine road, Tesla Road. After driving around in a giant circle in order to avoid both Lawrence Livermore Labs and the rows and rows of giant McMansions, we finally found the winery, much to the delight of the carload of wine lovers. They have a cozy setup, with a house on top, and a tasting room tucked underneath in a nice cool cellar.

The first wine was nothing to write home about, but the 2nd white, the Merrille Chardonnay (Price Search) was what everyone had come for. Now, not being a huge chardonnay kind of person, I didn't have any expectations but since I was the designated drinker (meaning I actually got out of driving), I did my part and took a sip. This was a very interesting wine. It was heavily oaked and very creamy, but wasn't bitter like a certain two dollar variety I will not mention. It had amazing vanilla and spice characteristics, which seem to be a Livermore Valley trend. Even though I was on the rebound from the big, butter whites of yesteryear, this was different enough to find myself enjoying the very generous half glass taste we were poured. The two reds poured were also tasty. For such large pours, the $5 tasting fee was happily spent.

After a poorly chosen detour to a small coop tasting room, we trundled down the road to the granddaddy of Livermore wine, Concannon. This is a big operation, having been in Livermore for over 100 years. I've known about this place for a while, buying their everyday line of Petite Sirah for weeknight drinking frequently. My two standout hits were the Livermore Merlot and the Reserve Syrah. Now, I don't' LIKE merlot! Call me Miles, but…anyway, the Livermore Merlot was very different than the Napa Merlot, and had a silky texture and fruity slightly sweet flavor which was absolutely yummy.

All in all, I would love to go back and explore some of the other wineries in Livermore, because it seems like there is promise in them vines. The prices are not unreasonable and the people are personable, which makes for a nice alternative to the traffic and overpriced tasting rooms of Napa.

Happy drinking!

Wine Tasting, Guest Bloggers

0 comments

Fall in Wine Country

Nov 10, 2007 |  WineBratSF (7) |  Wine Tasting, Guest Bloggers |  0 comments

There is something about this time of year, when the weather chills and the colors change…Wait. Strike that. Something is wrong with this statement! It’s late October and it’s still in the upper 70s? And you said global warming doesn’t exist.

Ah well, if you can’t beat it, join it. After enjoying this glorious late summer weather for the last week or so, some friends and I decided to take a day trip up to Dry Creek to enjoy a winery open house and stock up my sadly depleted cellar (ok fine garage). Much to my chagrin, the sunny skies were rudely interrupted by cold damp fog on Saturday morning, making me feel as gloomy as the weather. It was still cold when we arrived at J Vineyards (Price Search), and even colder upstairs in the event room where they were serving their ridiculously overpriced tasting menu. Note to anyone who enjoys the sparklers from this place: either join the wine club yourself, find someone who is a member (like I did), or only go there as a part of an event. I refuse to pay $25 for four sips and a few nibbles like the busloads of out-of-towners who don’t know any better. A tasting fee is fine, but a tasting rip off is not.

From there, we headed up Eastside Road to the Eastside Wineries Fall Fest. This event was new to me, and it was my favorite kind – where wine and food are passed out for free (yes kids, FREE! These things still exist occasionally) from smaller, lesser known wineries trying to encourage visitors. As we drove up the south end of Dry Creek, I am constantly awed that I live here. In the spring, it’s the waves of green and the new grape buds. In the summer, it’s the heat and the bunches of grapes hanging waiting to be picked. And, here we are, in the fall, where these intense flames of red, yellow and rust would make a northeast leaf chaser envious any day.

This is Sonoma County people! This picture was taken on the driveway to Walker’s Apple Farm in Sebastopol. If you want to know what a REAL apple tastes like, check it out!

By the time we got to a very crowded Mietz Cellars (Price Search), on Limerick Lane just south of Healdsburg, the sun had started to come out and we were not quite as chilled as we were earlier. Hmm could that be the sparkling wine and pinot from J having that effect? Mietz is a new winery to me and had some interesting offerings. I particularly enjoyed the Russian River Syrah, but they were too disorganized for me to buy, so we went across the street to Christopher Creek.

Christopher Creek (Price Search) is known for their zins, and rest assured I enjoyed several; surprisingly, the 2006 Sapphire Hill Russian River valley Chardonnay is what caught my attention. This is a light, fruity and fun chardonnay in the French style. I would challenge an ABC drinker to try this wine and then say “I don’t drink chardonnay” because it was GOOD! Not wanting to be left out of the fun, I left Christopher Creek with the chard and two zins, plus two tasting glasses and a spanking new wine club membership. All things considered $60 got me off lightly.

Since the days are shorter and the light is dimmer, this was all we had time for on this trip, but a couple of weeks later, it was time for another adventure. Of course, that is for another day. Happy drinking!

Wine Tasting, Guest Bloggers

0 comments