While I’m most certainly ashamed at my infrequent posts lately, I was downright thrilled to be invited back to another wine bloggers tasting at Ridge Vineyards this past weekend. Unfortunately, the sun does not shine when I go up on that mountaintop, but luckily there wasn’t any hail this time.

The tasting was on Sunday, so the tasting room was open. Given that, we conducted our tasting upstairs in “the barn”, fittingly so as we learned that the theme of the day was a bit of Monte Bello Ridge history. The Estate wines produced by Ridge come from various old school wine properties along the mountain. Ridge has just released the first vintages of some special bottlings, the Beta release, of wines produced from blocks on three original family properties on the mountain, including one from the family who had built the very barn in which we sat. These wines were the highlight of what we would taste.

I won’t go too far into the history itself (but I will share this link), although it is quite fascinating to think about how in the world these people built barns, wineries, and planted vines on top of this ridiculous mountain without a car to get to the top! I suppose the view beckoned to them as well, and beautiful it was. The Torre family barn was actually where the first 8 vintages of Ridge wine were made.
After whetting our palate with some delicious 2008 Estate Chardonnay, we started with the 2009 Klein Cabernet Sauvignon. (Unlike most Ridge Estate wines, these wines are solo varietals, rather than assemblages). Up on Monte Bello, cab tends to be elegant and not as tannin intense as merlot, which goes against what we typically think about these two varietals. This wine proved that this is absolutely true. It was a bright purplish-red and had a fruity nose. It had strong acid and mild tannins. There was some fruit, sour cherries, and it was very fresh and readily drinkable now. A very good food wine, so rare in a California cab.

Next we moved onto the 2009 Torre Ranch Merlot. Continuing to prove the differences in the varieties grown on the mountain, this full red wine was much fuller on the nose, had less overt fruit and a bit of leather. There was a lot more structure than the cab, very sturdy. Lots of tannins, black pepper and a long finish. It was only when I drank it immediately following a strong soft cheese that the flavors were tamed back down to that typical smoothness that is characteristic of merlot.

Feeling clever, this was when I took my first opportunity to sit down at one of the vintage typewriters that tasting room manager, and the day’s organizer, Christopher Watkins, had brought in from his personal collection. A little something to take us back to the time of these original families. I typed up this tasting note:

Last of the new trio was the 2009 Perrone Cabernet Franc, a grape which also tends to have high acid on Monte Bello Ridge. The wine was very fragrant and complex, with no one scent jumping out at me. I could taste the acid and it had great tannins. It wasn’t fruity, but had much more earth and minerals than the other two. The wine was even a little smokey. It drank very nicely, and like the cab, I could happily drink this wine now. We wondered how these wines would age, especially this one as it loses its acidity.

We’re only halfway done with the tasting! Next up a short vertical of the Estate Cab, 2003, 2004 & 2005. A great example of how “the same wine” can really vary from year to year. The 2005 tasted years younger than the other two. They were very pleasant and easy to drink, in fact the 2004 had such an amazing nose, perfect balance and good mouthfeel, I could easily sit and drink and drink that wine! The 2005 needs more time. A lot more.

Lastly, we ended as we did at the last tasting I attended, with a mystery wine pulled from the personal Ridge wine library of one of my fellow bloggers. I am absolutely terrible at blind wine tasting, especially for older wines given how few opportunities I’ve had to taste them! My notes go as follows: Toasted nose, mild spice cabinet, no fruit, no clue! Has acid and structure, but not overwhelming tannins. I guessed an Italian varietal (no doubt influenced by the mystery wine being Sangiovese last time) from the late 90’s. It turned out to be the 1994 Monte Rosso Zinfandel (which is Sonoma Valley fruit) that Ridge produced that one and only time. I’m giving myself credit for the Italian varietal part (since Primitivo=Zinfandel) and at least I landed in the right decade!



Can’t wait until next time. There is hardly a better way to learn about, and experience, wine than in such a beautiful place practically in my backyard (and up a mountain).

My educational wine blogger credentials would most certainly be revoked if I didn’t write about my most recent educational wine experience. A couple years ago when I hosted my wine club I thought it might be fun to have us all blind taste the same varietal from California against the same from an unusual wine producing state (which, incidentally, is every state in the union). I spent hours pouring over winery websites in Arizona, Ohio, Michigan and Missouri. In the end it wasn’t feasible or usually possible for me to actually get my hands on any of it as most of these places wouldn’t ship to California. Not a huge market for midwestern wines here, I guess.

But, Myles and I recently had the pleasure of spending a long weekend in Phoenix, Arizona (without the kids!) and some good friends of ours suggested we meet for dinner at a restaurant in Scottsdale, FnB. Not only was the place a culinary masterpiece (Fried green tomatoes. Pasta with bacon. Yes!), but the wine list was the most intimidating I’ve encountered in a while. Every last wine on the list was produced in Arizona. Finally, I was getting my chance to try wines from my former home state.

I had fully intended to study up on Arizona wine beforehand, as I was aware of this curiosity, but alas, I went to dinner completely blind. Now the only AVA in the state is called Sonoita, which is in the Tucson area. And I thought there were grapevines near Williams, which is where you get off the I-40 to head up to The Grand Canyon (I’m still unclear on if this is true). When it came time to order drinks everyone at the table looked to me (I was apparently wearing my “wine expert” shirt that night). I took some guesses and we all ordered a glass of something different.

Most of the wines on the list were from Cochise County, which is the very southeastern corner of the state. I’m completely unclear whether or not these wines were also from the Sonoita AVA, I couldn’t find a map of what that area is, only a description that it is south of Tucson (Cochise county is southeast of Tucson). And because we ordered by the glass I never saw any bottles. So, who knows!

At any rate, here’s what we tried: 2009 Carlson Creek Sauvignon Blanc, Cochise County. 2010 Page Springs “Mule’s Mistake”, Cornville II. 2010 Arizona Stronghold “Dala” Cabernet Sauvignon, Cochise County. 2009 Pillsbury Roan Red, Cochise County. They were all pretty good, easily drinkable and none overpowered the amazing food. When it came time for me to order a second glass (the “Roan” red was my first glass), I ordered the clear winner of the evening: Mule’s Mistake. The waiter said it drank like a pinot noir, and he was absolutely right. Of course, there’s barely any pinot in it (it’s 56% Barbara, 11% Pinot Noir, 10% Grenache 10% Cabernet Pfeffer, 10% Counoise and 3% Viognier). Also turns out that Cornville is in neither the Sonoita AVA or Cochise county- but near Sedona, Arizona, which is north of Phoenix.

For a wine that was a “mistake”, I was incredibly impressed. And upon learning that it sells for only $18 a bottle on the winery website AND they ship to California... I think I’ll soon have some Arizona wine in my cellar!

In an effort to enable us to open the next German wine, as I can’t open it until I write about the last one, I’m writing this post! It’s really hot today, so I’m going to make this somewhat brief as the laptop is hot and I’m wearing shorts, an unfortunate combination.



This time I had another spätlese, wine made from grapes of the same ripeness as the last one, however, this time it was from the Rheingau. Some Rheingaunian trivia: this area is also along the Rhine river, as is Mosel, in an area where the river stops flowing northward and instead flows westward for about 30 kilometers (that’s about 18.6 miles). Most of the vines are located along the right bank of this stretch up the south-facing slopes of the Taunus mountain range.

The vineyards here make up only about 3% of the total acreage in all of Germany, yet the wines from some producers here are internationally known. Riesling truly is king here, making up nearly 80% of the wines here. Apparently there’s also a good deal of pinot noir, although after the atrocious cold climate pinot noir from Canada we had a couple years ago I’m afraid to try another. Obviously Germany and Canada are different places, but that wine was so awful it has turned me off from all pinot noirs grown in areas that also produce icewine.

Unfortunately, I didn’t enjoy this spätlese as much as the Mosel representation, which is particularly unfortunate given that this one was $35.99 and the other $18.99. It was a great wine, don’t get me wrong, but had less acid and more body. The Mosel spätlese was still refreshing despite the residual sugar, but this one coated your throat with its sugar.

It had some teeny, tiny bubbles floating in the light yellow color of the wine. There was a powerful butterscotch and honey aroma, with a hint of flowers. Definitely a sweeter wine with a medium body. Had that slight effervescence, which unfortunately doesn’t last to day 2-- or 3. It was heavy enough that it was hard to drink a lot, thus taking us 3 nights to finish the whole bottle, although I still wouldn’t classify this as a dessert wine.

After my last post I decided that despite my crazy busy schedule I could certainly handle writing one blog post per week. So, the next week I dutifully opened the next German riesling, jotted down my tasting notes and then proceeded to be so busy, and subsequently tired, that I have failed to write the post for the last three weeks. So much for good intentions.

In the meantime Connor has started Kindergarten and my one part time job has shrunk to make way for part time job #2, not to mention the bazillion volunteer posts at the elementary school that I signed up for; I can’t help but want to. (On a side note, I signed up to help pass out hot lunches brought in by the school lunch vendor. Each time I work I get Connor one free, locally-sourced, organic lunch custom made from a menu larger than at many restaurants-- but I realized the other day that I have volunteered to be the Lunch Lady.) Never fear, there’s a wine for that!

But first, my promised lesson on German wine regions, or Anbaugebiete in German. Many of the wines I picked up for this chapter of Give Me Grapes are from Mosel. That had me thinking that it must be the largest wine producing region in Germany. And I was thinking wrong. That would be the Rheinhessen. Its not even second! Mosel was until recently called Mosel-Saar-Ruwer. It runs along the rivers Moselle, Saar and Ruwer. Nearly 60% of the grapes grown here are riesling. (It comes in third in wine production, by the way)

Other wine regions of note are Pfalz (the warmest in Germany) and Rheingau (with a large concentration of top-producers). There are, in all fairness, nine other regions, but I’d never heard of them so clearly they aren’t important. Or perhaps, just lower in production and more rarely imported to the US. Strangely enough, the only region of these four that I don’t have a wine from is the Rheinhessen- K&L didn’t carry too many of them. Maybe those wines are so good they keep them all for themselves?


You’ll notice that most of the regions are clustered around a river (a recurring theme in European wine), the Rhine River, as well as its tributaries such as those named above. Germany is not a warm place, so it’s best to grow grapes near the water so that the sun reflecting off the water helps warm the vines and ripen the grapes.

My Mosel riesling for this post was a Spätlese, which you’ll remember means “late harvest”. I was expecting this to be a dessert wine, but was pleased that is was nothing of the sort. In fact, having just had the Kabinett the week before, which theoretically should have less residual sugar, I thought this wine was lighter and less sweet. It had a bit of effervescence, and I just love that in a slightly sweet wine. It was practically clear in color and upon first pour the little bubbles were visible. It smelled distinctly of riesling, and its heavy honeyed perfume really made me think it was going to be a heavy, sweet wine. But with those light bubbles and a little acidity, the slight sweetness was well balanced and the body was lighter than I was expecting. I wrote on my notes in all-caps: YUM!.

Onward across Europe! I chose Germany for our next country of concentration for multiple reasons. First, as I mentioned in my last post, we were visiting a brewery while on vacation. Technically, we visited two, although we only had a tour of one. (And who doesn’t think of barmaids, lederhosen, steins and Oktoberfest when thinking of Germany?) That one is Stone Brewing Co. in Escondido, CA. The tour was quite interesting, given all the time I’ve spent in wineries, reading about wine and the somewhat “intimate” knowledge I have about how wine is made. Connor was so fascinated by the bottling line that he shed tears when it was time to go. You may know Stone for one of its more famous beers: Arrogant Bastard Ale (we, affectionately, call it The Destroyer, for it’s large size and alcohol content).

I do not like that beer.


We started our visit by eating in the onsite restaurant (with almost the entire family- a small, intimate group of more than 30 people!). I cannot say enough good things about the food there. So delicious. And yes, I had a beer. Unable to know what I would possibly like, I did what any sensible wine drinker would do. I asked the waiter to choose for me by explaining “I’m a wine drinker...”. He did well, although it was a Belgian drink, not from Stone. And in case you’re wondering, we also visited Coronado Brewing Company for dinner, an island staple. I had the Orange Avenue Ale there. Nice and citrusy, not a bad beer for me!

But, I also chose Germany, The Land of Beer, because as the Northern-most country able to grow wine grapes, they produce mainly white wine (85%) and the bulk of that is Riesling. Now I think that riesling is arguably the best white grape out there as it is distinctive in its aromas and flavors, and does well as a dry wine, a semi-sweet wine and a dessert wine. What’s not to like? Plus, Germany offers wines in a wide array of styles running the gamut from dry to dessert.

So, for today’s lesson we are going to cover the levels of Prädikatswein (Germay’s word for “wine’s of distinction”). (And, my apologies, but things are not working properly with forvo.com tonight and I cannot embed pronunciations of these awful German words!) These are important to know if you’re choosing German riesling, and while they will also likely dictate price, it is sweetness that I’m worried about. Also note two other things that you might see on a German wine label: 1) Tafelwein=”table wine”. A low designation, and rare in the U.S. anyway. 2) Qualitätswein bestimmter Anbaugegiete (and I thought French was hard!) or QbA. I saw a few bottles with this at Trader Joe’s. Save your money for the Prädikatswein- tons of selection under $20.

Here we go:
First, I want to mention wines labeled Trocken. These are dry wines, no residual sugar. Dry riesling? Yes, please. And then, in ascending order of quality, price and the ripeness of the grapes when harvested:
Kabinett= light semidry, normally ripened grapes.
Spätlese= medium body, late harvest.
Auslese= ”out picked”. Grapes are selected out from particularly ripe bunches.
Beernenauslese= “berries out picked”. Grapes are picked out individually. These wines aren’t made every year, and are, most certainly, dessert wines.
Trockenbeernauslese= Grapes are same as above, but are dried into raisins.
Eiswein= Very sweet wine made from grapes left to freeze on the vine.

We started with a Kabinett from Mosel. It was very light greenish-yellow in color. On the nose it smelled full, of lemon and a bit of sugar. With riesling, I feel like I can tell if it’s going to be sweet by how it smells. It actually was quite acidic, it was almost like it had tannins- I got that same feeling I do from tannins (but also Lemonhead candy), with a slight sweetness. I thought it seemed rather full in body with a creamy texture. A good wine, since I rarely meet a riesling I don’t like, but average.

Next lesson, where I promise to talk less about Southern California beer and more about German wine: German wine regions!

This past Sunday marked the one year anniversary of Give Me Grapes, and I celebrated by being so tired that I took the day off from wine and completely forgot to post anything! Oops. I’d been thinking all last week about the upcoming anniversary and what I should post in recognition of a year well drank. I won’t be moving on to a new wine region until August, so there are no new “learning wines” to post about. (July is vacation month, which has made June work month.)

But, never fear, while Sunday was a rare exception, I have certainly continued to drink, enjoy and learn about wine, albeit in a far more casual and hurried manner than in the past. A year ago I was a giant blob of a pregnant lady anxiously awaiting the birth of baby Evan, and the ability to move around freely. I was reading wine books like mad, a new one every couple days, and just dying to start drinking all the fascinating wines I was reading about. How much things have changed in that year.

Despite the insane schedule I’ve been barely keeping up with this month, I did find some time to have some enjoyable wine experiences. Several weekends ago we took a day trip up to Napa to spend the afternoon with my sister-in-law who was up there with her roommate. It was a perfect excuse to revisit Kelham Vineyards, the fantastic place we went while in Napa last October. This time it wasn’t pouring rain so we were able sit out on the patio. The weather, perfectly sunny and just a shade above chilly, couldn’t have been better. I could have sat out there, sipping wine, forever. With the same carefree attitude, despite having a sweet little newborn baby, winemaker Ron Kelham was pouring wine and his brother, the other winemaker, Hamilton, was cooking pizzas in an outdoor brick oven. Wine country doesn’t get much better than that!


As before, the wines are fabulous. I asked about a couple of their wines made from purchased grapes, a Santa Cruz Mountains Pinot Noir and a Sonoma Coast Dry Gewurztraminer. I love that they obliged. (They won in the end, we indulged!)

In stark contrast, we went from there to Mumm Napa. While I haven’t been able to get Myles on board, I really wanted to expand our selection of sparkling wines. While the place was crawling with corporate-ness, we tried their high end sparklers and I was quite impressed. I haven’t really had enough different sparkling wines to be a super informed judge, but in my mind, bubbles are hard to beat.

We ended our afternoon sitting on the back patio at Hope and Grace’s tasting room in Yountville. I wanted to return there following our first visit just over a year ago. They had a great pinot and I read online they had a riesling this year. Amazingly, the woman working there remembered me from before (guess not too many women come in to taste when 8 months pregnant?!). Have I mentioned yet that both the boys were with us? I love how much fun they can and do have visiting wineries!


So speaking of Santa Lucia Highlands (that’s in Monterey County, CA) pinot noir, where Hope and Grace’s great one is grown, last week was my monthly wine club meeting. We did a great tasting of 10 pinot noirs. Nine of them were from California, each from a different growing region through out the state: Anderson Valley, Carneros, Marin County, Russian River Valley, Santa Cruz Mountains, Santa Lucia Highlands, Santa Maria Valley, Santa Rita Hills, and Sonoma Coast. The tenth wine was a mystery, although the screw cap gave it away for us- New Zealand.

The wines in this lineup were, overall, really fantastic. I could have happily sat and drank a glass of most of them, which is not always the case with the wines we try. What was super difficult, however, was trying to guess which region each wine was from. I’m pleased to say that I was correct on two: Santa Lucia Highlands (thanks, H&G!) and Santa Maria Valley. One was horribly corked (turned out to be the Sonoma Coast representation), and my first wine from Marin County may be my last as it was my least favorite of the evening. The winner of the evening, was the Santa Cruz Mountains wine from Neely. It had a sweet aroma, almost like candied fruit, with some herbs. It had great balance and good fruit. This was the one I was still slowly sipping when we suddenly realized it was midnight!

As I did last July when Evan was born, I plan to open a bottle of sparkling to celebrate my baby’s first birthday next week. And then, we are going on vacation. Our first trip in more than a year and a half that isn’t centered around wine (we’re concentrating on the beach this time). Although, we are scheduled to visit one adult beverage producer... a BREWERY. Gasp!

Clearly I’m having some trouble keeping up. We’re only one day shy of a full month since my last post and it’s been weeks since I drank these last two Burgundies. I hardly know what to say about them!

First up, Meursault, where white wine dominates. There are no Grand Cru wines here, but many Premier Cru and the quality is apparently pretty even across the region.

The wine I drank, from Louis Latour, was lemon-yellow and had aromas of fresh straw, lemon and a little cream. It had a medium body and was creamy up front, but had a bitter acid on the back palate with a long finish.

And finally, for my last Burgundy, I thought it appropriate that I try a Grand Cru. While I’m sure that it’s not the same as a DRC, it’s a Grand Cru Burgundy for only $55! This one is from Corton, and one of the top areas within it, Les Renardes.

This particular Corton-Renardes, from Domaine Marius Delarche, was ripe and fresh on the nose, with eucalyptus and a hint of raspberry. It was very smooth, as I expected a Grand Cru to be, with medium body. It was tangy and acidic, as undoubtedly it would improve with more bottle age, but the tannins were quite subtle. There wasn’t a lot of fruit, and it was a little green, but this was a 3-year-old Grand Cru Burgundy that we clearly drank too young. The sacrifices I make for the sake of Give Me Grapes!

Unfortunately, I drank these wines long enough ago that I don’t think I can fairly give them scores. However, these were, at least according to the labels, the best wines of the Burgundy bunch and why I saved them for last. They definitely were the best upon drinking them as well.

So, what comes next? First, I must think of ideas to make sure I don’t let one month lapses become the norm. But, I’m thinking it’s time to move to another classic wine region, outside France.

I have been shamefully remiss in writing about the wines that I’ve been diligently drinking. Turns out it IS hard to balance two kids, a part-time job, exercise, housework and well, life!

The Côte de Nuits is the area south of the Côte de Beaune, and this is red wine country. The red wines here tend to have darker color than those of Beaune. The wines also tend to be of consistently high quality.

I tasted the 2008 Côte de Nuits Villages “Le Vaucrain” from Domaine Louis Jadot. (If you remember your French label lesson from earlier, you’ll know this means that unlike the last Louis Jadot I had, this one is made from grapes owned by the famous negociant). This was one of the wines K&L offered at the Burgundy tasting I attended, so I’d had it before. I’d been wary of buying a villages wine for Burgundy, so finicky is the pinot noir grape, I was convinced there was no way it could possibly be good enough (read: good pinot noir cannot be purchased for under $20 from anywhere in the world). It was pretty good though, so I picked up a bottle.

The wine was a pinkish-red and slightly translucent. On the nose it was very fruity, red cherries and raspberries with a hint of baking spices. In true Old World style, however, the wine didn’t taste particularly fruity. It had some light red fruit, but was earthy, had good minerality and some light wood.

The Score: ★★★

Next up was Vosne-Romanée, the area of Burgundy I was most familiar with for various reasons. 1) DRC, 2) Myles and I’s first Burgundy we enjoyed at Village Pub last fall 3) DRC. DRC=Domaine de la Romanée Conti, arguably the most famous of all red Burgundy producers. These are the wines that fetch incredibly high prices (thus I will likely never taste them). Their two most famous wines of all comes from two small vineyards: La Romanée-Conti and La Tâche. See here for one of the crazier stories in the wine world lately- the criminal who decided to blackmail this famous winery by threatening to poison the vines used to make some of the world’s greatest wine!

I tasted the 2006 Domaine Ann-Marie Gille Vosne-Romanée. It was very light in color and had deep aromas of dark plums, dried cherries and a little smoke. It was brambly and earthy, but I couldn’t really place the flavors. I jotted down “dark and mysterious” as the best descriptor I could think of. It had a light body, but still very full flavor. I’m sure it’s no DRC, but was quite good.

The Score: ★★★½

I’ve sat here for several minutes unsure of how to start or what to write about Volnay. There are no fun anecdotes, tidbits, or trivia. So here it is: Volnay, they make wine there.

Ok, here are a few tidbits, although I must warn you they are pretty unremarkable tidbits. Volnay is often some of the lightest red wine of the Côte, soft and very fragrant. There are no Grand Cru vineyards there, but several Premier Cru vineyards that are highly regarded.

The 2008 Vincent Girardin Les Lieilles Vignes Volnay that I drank was in fact very light in color. I noted that is was more like a dark pink wine (fuchsia almost) that was translucent. On the nose were sweet cherries, and a fresh smell- almost like mint. I could also smell the alcohol, although I had just opened the bottle and at 13% ABV it’s by no means a monster. It had a light body, light, but firm, tannins and was quite earthy with an aftertaste of stones. Myles did not like it, I thought it was fine but not great.

So, there you have it. A wine from Volnay.

The Score: ★★★

I’m really behind here (I drank this wine something like 10 days ago). It took me a while to locate my tasting notes! As I always do before writing a post, I got out my hulking copy of the World Atlas of Wine and read the entry for the Côte Châlonnaise.

This is not the Côte d’Or and that’s precisely why I threw in a wine from this region. I wanted to see if the Côte d’Or is really that much better. And I think I’m going to just simply quote the wonderful, dry, British wit of Jancis Robinson and Hugh Johnson:

“So close is the north of the Côte Châlonnaise to the southern tip of the Côte d’Or that it is surprising that most of its wines taste so perceptibly different, like slightly undernourished country cousins.”

I couldn’t possibly think of a better way to describe the 2007 Antonin Rodet Chateau de Mercey Mercurey Rouge as compared to the wines from the Côte d’Or I’ve drunk since-- please stay tuned, posts will appear shortly. (By the way, Mercurey is one of five major communes here in the central strip of this area, the most "celebrated" of the region. ) It was a reddish pink, and light, color. It smelled very fruity and fresh, but also of dried cherries. It had a light body and soft tannins, but the acid was bitter and the wine was a bit green overall. Too vegetal and earthy, absolutely no fruit. Though drinkable, I’ve had many pinots from various places around the world that are better than this one.

The Score: ★★

Though it is part of Burgundy, Chablis is 100 miles north of Beaune (the upper end of the Cote d’Or) and is closer to the Champagne region. It was once a vast winegrowing region, and the main supplier of wine for Paris via the region's vast system of rivers. Although, the advent of the train blew that out of the water (pun intended).

It is a very cool region, and Chardonnay is the only grape here. The vines are very susceptible to frost during budbreak, although modern frost prevention technologies have helped to improve chances the crop isn’t lost. The region has a limstone clay soil that supposedly produces flavors in the wine that cannot be reproduced anywhere- a true expression of terroir. Most winemakers in the region favor unoaked wines fermented in stainless steel.

Typically the wines have very high acid, on account of the very cool climate, and often have flavors of stones and minerals. When the wines are young they are often a little green in color, but many of the best wines have the potential to age for decades.

Unfortunately, Chablis, the name, has been highjacked by many cheap wine producers outside the region and used to label any old white wine. The region is fighting back and trying to protect their name from this awful swill. My advice: if the Chablis is coming to you in a 5 liter box, steer clear.


The 2007 Hervé AZO Chablis half bottle was both creamy and a bit oaky on the nose and the palate. It was very acidic and light with bitter green apple and wood. Not too bad, though certainly not the best.

The Score: ★★½

After writing and nearly posting this post I realized that I had, in fact, purchased two bottles of Chablis, the second being the 2009 Château de Maligny Chablis 1er Cru "Montee de Tonnerre" for $26.99 at K&L. I remembered that I had intended to drink them back to back to compare a more standard Chablis to a premier cru. So much for good intentions. This wine was creamy with hints of flowers and wood on the nose. It had a creamy acidity, but fairly light mouthfeel. It tasted of lemon rind, sweet grapefruit and wet stones. Definitely worth paying for the premier cru!

The Score: ★★★½

Almost a year ago when I concocted my wine tasting plan (which eventually resulted in beginning this blog), I mostly noted various regions or appellations around the world that I wanted to try. I listed only a handful of very specific wines, but for the Santa Cruz Mountain region of California I wrote that I wanted to try the Ridge Monte Bello. I can guarantee you that I never considered the possibility of being invited to a wine blogger’s tasting and tasting a vertical of that very wine.

But that is exactly what happened, as last Friday I was invited to a private tasting at Ridge’s Monte Bello tasting room where I tasted three different Monte Bellos as well as several other fantastic Ridge wines. I’ve come a long way in the last 10 months in my wine education, as well as my collecting. I bought several bottles of Ridge (including a 2006 Monte Bello that I won’t be drinking anytime in the next decade!) last fall, as well as half a case of a special wine Ridge’s winemaker Paul Draper made for the Stanford Wine Program’s 30th anniversary. I had the opportunity to try the 1992 Montebello at my wine club’s holiday party last December. And well, needless to say, I was pretty excited as I wound up the mountain towards the tasting room.

On Thursday we’d had a pretty spectacular rainstorm, and things looked pretty rough around the edges on Monte Bello Road. The rain continued to fall as I went up and up. I hate driving, especially in the rain, on freeways, and mountain roads, but the wine beckoned.

I’ll gloss over the part of the afternoon where I felt a bit intimidated, surrounded as I was by people whose twitter following is more than two digits, who have wineries send them wine samples (samples! I’d be happy if they just sent me a coupon), and skip to the part of the afternoon where I settled in, sipped- and spat most of- the wine, ate delicious cheeses and thought to myself: perhaps I should seriously consider a full-on career change to the wine industry.

This is going to be a long post (!), but here was the afternoon’s lineup:

2009 Estate Chardonnay
A barrel-fermented, American oak aged, full malolactic fermented chardonnay with a creamy nose. Good acidity, very creamy with a pretty full body and- YUM! Outside of the white Burgundies I’ve been tasting lately, the most exciting chardonnays I’ve had are certainly coming from the Santa Cruz mountains. Shame on all the producers that made me shun the grape for years with all that awful over-oaking!

2008 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon
Red fruit on the nose, but soft. Again, good acid and certainly not as heavy as most CA cabs with soft tannins. A simple, and pleasurable, wine.

(At this point in the tasting it began to hail outside, which I recorded in my tasting notes).

2009 Geyserville
Besides the Monte Bello, I’d say Ridge’s specialty is zinfandel heavy “field blends”- I have several of these in my collection. This one was 58% zinfinadel, 16% carignane and 16% petit sirah. I got a little milk chocolate and some red fruit on the nose (I ♥ chocolatey zin). It was really tasty, smooth with raspberry fruit and wasn’t too heavy. I would be happy to drink this wine now, even though it clearly can, and probably should, age.

1999 Geyserville
The exact blend varies each year and this one was 74% zin, 17% carignane, 2% petit sirah and 1% each of two others that I missed and didn’t get down in my notes. It had a very earthy, perhaps a little funky, nose. But still had good acidity, tannins and the like. It seemed like it would go great with food, so this is when I started helping myself to the fresh bread and cheese on the table.

1985 Monte Bello
I missed jotting down the exact blend in this one (lesson learned for future tastings!). On the nose a little dried fruit, maybe cherries, and a bit of a soft herbal scent. The wine was very smooth with just a hint of tannins. Still had acid, some pepper and fruit. Also note, this ties for the oldest wine I’ve ever tried-thanks, Ridge!- and it was nice.

1995 Monte Bello
This one was 69% cabernet sauvignon, 18% merlot with the remainder petite verdot and cabernet franc. The color of the wine still looked pretty young. This was a strong wine (conversation amongst attendants commenced about what type of psychological therapy this brawny wine would seek versus the more supple 1985). On the nose, the wine was dense with pepper and spice. You could just tell it was going to be a powerful wine. And it was- strong tannins and structure, but balanced with acidity. The black pepper carried over and it had that chewy leather taste.

2005 Monte Bello
This wine, especially after the previous two, was obviously still young and fresh. It was a bit biting- strong and firm, but not overpowering. The tannins and acid struck a nice balance along with pepper and red fruit. I noted that the wine could obviously use more time, but was nice to drink now. Holding onto wine for a decade or two is still a concept I can’t quite grasp!

2004 Lytton Springs Syrah
This wine also contained 10% viognier and 8% grenache. After warning us that this wine is gone (literally the third and second to last bottles were poured into our glasses), many of us, myself included, found this to be a really fantastic wine. It had a much brighter nose than the Monte Bellos with lighter fruit. True to type it was peppery, but the viognier’s floral component was present as well. Really, really tasty- and went really well with the soft, stinky cheese I couldn’t stop eating.

2006 Lytton Spring Syrah
This was 92% syrah and 8% viognier. It had a richer nose than the ’04, more fruit and less pepper. The wine had lots of fruit and was very floral with a medium body. I also have in my notes “very sm”. I can’t figure out what that could possibly mean except that I must have again gotten distracted by eating cheese and gushing about this wine. This one hasn’t been released yet- it goes out to members next month. I can guarantee, however, that I will be reserving an allocation for our household. This was my favorite wine of the day!

One of the other bloggers (whose name I didn’t note, shame on me) brought two “mystery” wines for us to taste blind. Uh-oh, novice at the table! No way I was going to correctly guess these wines.

Wine 1
I couldn’t quite place the nose on this one and the color showed age. It still had tannins but not very strong fruit. No matter how many times I tried this wine though, it just tasted like pretzels.

Wine 2
This one smelled almost like it was fortified, with hints of dried or caramelized fruit. It was a brambly wine, with some fruit, soft tannins and more pepper than wine #1.

No one was able to correctly guess the wines (I think it helped that Ridge no longer makes it), though I still felt like a amateur. Wine 1 was the 1997 Dry Creek Sangiovese (which also used some merlot that year) and wine 2 was the 1998 Dry Creek Sangiovese. Have to say, these were my two least favorite wines of the afternoon, and I don’t think it was just because they reminded me that tasting is currently the weakest link of my wine aptitude.

By this point in the afternoon it had stopped raining. I was purple-toothed, full of cheese and “real life” summoned me back down the mountain. The day was fabulously educational and fun- can’t wait to do it again!


I only gathered the cards of my immediate table mates, but here are their blogs: Barton Orchard, NorCal Wine, Uncorked (the K&L Wine Blog), and Wine Maven in Training. I'll post links as I find them from other attendees.

I really took Kevin Zraly’s advice to heart when I decided to purchase a Mâcon-Villages ( ) rather than a Pouilly-Fuissé to taste a wine from this region. Though not pricey by any means, he said the most Mâcon-Villages is pretty good and that Pouilly-Fuissé isn’t really worth the extra money. But its so fun to say!

Fortunately, I had the opportunity to taste both at the K&L Burgundy tasting. And neither could hold a candle to the wine from Puligny-Montrachet that I really loved anyway!

Mâcon is a region that produces almost entirely white wine. It’s warmer there than the Côte d’Or, but the wines are fairly solid. Or maybe I just think so because I’m finding myself so enamored with white Burgundy and its acidic un-oakiness! Near the southern tip of the region, just north of Beaujolais, is the Roche de Solutré.

Nice rock! It marks the end of the great growing region of Burgundy (or rather the end of the limestone plateau in which great Burgundy is grown). It is within sight of this landmark that Pouilly-Fuissé is grown.

I picked up a half bottle of Louis Jadot Mâcon-Villages for my tasting. It was fairly clear and golden yellow. It smelled like oaky chardonnay. I thought uh-oh, should’ve sprung the few extra bucks for the Pouilly-Fuissé! But, on second smell, I could pick up the acid underneath. Sure enough, the wine had a biting acid, but was also creamy, with a fairly heavy body and lots of minerals (i.e. stones).

The Score: ★★★

This also seems an appropriate time to interject a quick lesson on negociants, given that Louis Jadot is very well known and often seen outside France (like in Target, for example). So, I mentioned in my previous post that Burgundy is not a land of glorious château, but mostly rural farmland. Until fairly recently, especially in Burgundy, most French wine was made by negociants. They were the ones who made, bottled and sold the wine, but did not grow the grapes.

As I’ve mentioned before, vineyards have been split into very small parcels (law of equal inheritance) and so it was often the case that growers didn’t have the quantity of grapes or the financial means necessary for the equipment to make wine. Negociants bought the grapes, or must, sometimes even juice, produced wine, often with a “house style”, and sold it.

They were dominant until about 25 years ago when more small growers began producing their own wines. And many negociants have since gotten into the grape-growing side of things too. How do you tell when looking at a French wine label if it was made by a negociant or not? The key word is “Domaine”. It functions very much like the word Estate on American wines. So, this Mâcon-Villages said simply “Louis Jadot”. This means they bought the grapes to make the wine. However, if it said “Domaine Louis Jadot” that would mean it was made from grapes grown on land Louis Jadot owns.

Next lesson- what does Maison on a label mean?

The day before I was planning to head to K&L to buy the rest of my Burgundy (having already visited Draeger’s the day before), I received my newsletter in the mail from K&L. Guess what they were holding the very next day? A Burgundy wine tasting! I cleared my schedule.

The tasting was hosted by their Burgundy buyer that goes to France and meets with the winemakers of many of the wines they sell. He was incredibly knowledgeable and pronounced all the French words with an American accent. Made them seem less out of reach for my non-French speaking self!

The tasting was of 13 wines (!!), 7 white and 6 red. What was interesting about this tasting was that many of the wines were labeled “Bourgogne Blanc” and “Bourgogne Rouge”. That means the grapes could come from anywhere in Burgundy (much like a bottle of wine that says “California” could come from anywhere in the state). But, many of the vintages we tasted (2008 & 2009) were years that the economy was struggling. Our host said that many of the winemakers declassified their grapes so they could still sell their wine, but since he had relationships with them, he knew for a fact that many of the wines were actually from specific villages. Read: Wine Bargains.

At any rate, the most interesting thing I took away from the tasting was a further lesson on malolactic fermentation. It seems that most (if not all) red wines go through this, and some whites, especially Chardonnay, do too. This process takes the malic acid (like the tartness of a green apple) and changes it into lactic acid (like in milk). This is what gives Chardonnay its creaminess.

As California Chardonnay has become a bit over the top lately, some producers have specifically chosen not to put their wines through malolactic at all, or they stop it before it finishes, in order to preserve the natural acidity in the wine. These are the California chards I prefer.

All of the white burgundies I tried at the tasting had good acidity and all were noticeably better to me (in that I don’t like super creamy, or oaky, chardonnay) than most domestic examples. I was surprised when our host told us that all seven of the wines had been through a complete malolactic fermentation. Because it’s a fairly cool climate in Burgundy, the natural acidity of chardonnay grapes is quite high. Incomplete malolactic would be the winemaker’s nightmare!

Of course, my two favorite wines of the tasting were the most expensive. The 2008 Maison Jacques Bavard Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru “Champs Gains” was a five star wine. And at $54.99 would’ve been the most I’d ever paid for a white wine-- if I’d gotten it. I’m still thinking about it... The 2008 Maison Champy Chambolle-Musigny was my favorite red. A four star wine coming in at $46.99.

I also learned a bit more about reading French wine labels, and how to tell if the wine was made by a negociant or not- but this post is getting long. I’ll save that for a future lesson.

I was completely incorrect when I thought I was “punishing” myself with Bordeaux. Its hard, true, to remember all the appellations and especially all the various classifications systems. And there are more grape varieties allowed. But next up is Burgundy, and its complexities make Bordeaux seems like child’s play. I have a pretty good memory and a knack for memorization (at least in the short term), but there’s just simply no way I *need* to memorize everything about Burgundy. Not to mention learning how to pronounce everything!


So, I’m going to do the abbreviated version. Burgundy For Dummies, if you will. Luckily I’m far more excited about these wines. I think I’m really gonna like Burgundy.

So, first, the basics. Burgundy ( in French) makes both red and white wine and they one make one of each. Red Burgundy is Pinot Noir and White Burgundy is Chardonnay. (Ok, this isn’t entirely true. Beaujolais is part of Burgundy and they grow and make wine from the gamay grape. But, no one calls wine from Beaujolais Burgundy, they call it Beaujolais, so I doubt this will cause any confusion). Easy enough, right?

Burgundy is in Eastern Central France and made up of several sub-regions. Chablis is actually fairly removed from the rest of the region, closer to Paris, and makes only white wine. The Côte d’Or, the most famous area of Burgundy, which is actually divided into two regions, Côte de Nuits and Côte de Beaune, and makes a mix of red and white wine, Côte Châlonnaise which makes red and white wine, Mâconnais which makes almost all white wine and Beaujolais, 99% red wine, and I will not be covering it in this upcoming series. I have my limits.

Next big difference between Bordeaux and Burgundy is that in Bordeaux wines were always from “Château French-Word” and it was the château themselves that were classified in all the various systems. Burgundy is far less glamorous, there are no sprawling mansions. This is farmland. In Burgundy it is all about terroir, so naturally it is the vineyards that are classified. And thanks to our friend Napoleon, who after the French Revolution called for a law of equal inheritance for children, there are a TON of vineyards. In general, it seems that quality is highest from vineyards at the top of the hill, and it goes down from there to the base.

There are two classifications for Burgundy, Grand Cru and Premier Cru (often written 1er cru on labels). All Grand Cru Burgundies must say “Grand Cru” on the label and there are only 32 of them, so when you see one you know it’s the real thing. There are 400+ Premier Cru vineyards, so we won’t be discussing those in detail.


So, since there are more than 110 appellations and 1,000 vineyard names one must know in order to be an expert, I turned to my buddy Kevin Zraly and his book for my following “Graphique de Bourgogne” (that would be Chart of Burgundy). Memorize this and you may pass for a somewhat intelligent life-form when it comes to the wines of Burgundy. (Pronunciations provided when available).

Côte d’Or:

Côte de Beaune (70% red wines 30% white wines) 8 Grand Cru Vineyards
Important Red Villages:
Aloxe-Corton
Beaune
Pommard
Volnay

Important White Villages:
Aloxe-Corton
Beaune
Meursault
Puligny-Montrachet
Chassagne-Montrachet
Best recent white vintages: 1996*, 2000*, 2002*, 2005*, 2006*, 2007, 2008

Côte de Nuits (95% red wine) 24 Grand Cru Vineyards
Important Red Villages:
Gevrey-Chambertin
Morey-St-Denis
Chambolle-Musigny
Vougeot
Flagey-Échézeaux
Vosne-Romanée
Nuits-St-Georges

Best recent red vintages for Côte d’Or: 1999*, 2002*, 2003*, 2005**, 2006

Côte Châlonnaise
Important Villages:
Mercurey
Givry
Rully

Chablis (white wine)
Best recent vintages: 2002*, 2004, 2005*, 2006*, 2007, 2008

Mâconnais (white wine)
Quality levels, basic to best:
Mâcon Blanc
Mâcon Supérieur
Mâcon-Villages
St-Véran
Pouilly-Vinzelles
Pouilly-Fuissé
Best recent vintages: 2004*, 2005*, 2006*, 2007, 2008

And here’s what I picked up for this little jaunt through the ‘Gold Coast’ (Côte d’Or translated, by the way). I realize these following wine names may be largely unintelligible, I promise to get more detailed in each wine’s post!

From K&L:

2008 Domaine Delarche Corton-Renardes Grand Cru $54.99
2007 Louis Latour Meursault 1er Cru "Goutte d'Or" $39.95
2009 Château de Maligny Chablis 1er Cru "Montee de Tonnerre" $26.99
2007 Antonin Rodet Chateau de Mercey Mercurey Rouge $18.99
2008 Domaine Louis Jadot Côte de Nuits-Villages "Le Vaucrain" $23.99

And, since they have such a good selection, though not better prices, I also picked up a few things at Draeger’s, an upscale grocery store in downtown San Mateo with an amazing wine department.

2008 Louis Jadot Mâcon-Villages (half bottle) $8.99
2007 Hervé AZO Chablis (half bottle) $13.99
2006 Domaine Anne-Marie Gille Vosne-Romanée $37.99
2008 Vincent Girardin Les Vieilles Vignes Volnay $38.99 (wow click the link to see how much better prices are at K&L!

Myles and I hosted wine club this month, which is always fun because that means I get to pick the theme! Our group is pretty serious- we have a CSW and several members that have been collecting wine since I was many years shy of legal drinking age. I decided this was a great opportunity to explore parts of France that aren’t considered “classic”, quick and dirty.

I coined the theme “unglamorous” because we were decidedly NOT drinking wines that are highly sought after and outrageously expensive. All but one of the bottles were under $20. And, I also chose wines that were made from relatively unknown grapes, indigenous to these specific regions of France. I get to check off ten more grapes for Century Club!

There are, in my mind, four unglamorous areas of France: Savoie, Jura, Provence and Southwest France. is in the Eastern part of the country, near the city of Lyon. It’s a mountainous region that produces far more white wine than red. is in the remote hills north of Savoie and grows a lot of the Burgundy grapes, pinot noir and chardonnay, and has always produced a lot of sparkling wine. Provence (which is otherwise known as glamourous, though not for its wines) is the southeastern corner of the country, situated on the Mediterranean Sea. It is most well known for rosé wines. Southwest France is reserved for the southwestern portion of the country near Spain. Here the Bordeaux grapes reign, and Cahors and Gaillac are some of the most well known, and historic, regions here.

Armed with a list of grapes we were to taste and their descriptions (from the Oxford Companion to Wine and included below), we set off the see if we could match the grapes to the wines (which we tasted blind). Easier said than done. Here’s what we tasted:

Wine 1- From Jura
Caveau du Mont July Bugey Cerdon Rosé $15.99
It was a light orange colored sparkling wine made from poulsard and gamay (which was the one red grape we’d all had before). It was pretty sweet and very fruity. A great appertif and one of the favorites of the evening. Poulsard is a relatively rare grape of the Jura region, it is dark and has adapted to its very particular climate and soils. Produces lightly colored wine with a distinguishing perfume. Gamay, most well known for being the sole grape in Beaujolais, it is the most planted red grape variety in the Savoie.

Wine 2- From Savoie
2009 Domaine Frederic Giachino "Monfarina" Vin de Savoie Abymes $12.99
A light and refreshing wine with good acid and a little citrus, though not as polished as I prefer wine in this style (think Alsatian Riesling). Made from Jacquere, a common white grape in the Savoie that produces lightly scented, essentially alpine dry wine.



Wine 3- From Southwest France
2008 Clos Lapeyre Jurancon $14.99
This wine smelled like a white rhone style wine and tasted a bit tart with a hint of vanilla. It had an acidic backbone, but was just a bit odd. Made from , a white grape that looks similar to, but is not petit manseng (and has an unfortunate name!). Provides generous yields and produces wine that is less elegant, less rich but still powerful. (*A sight to see, by the way, a French wine with a screwcap!)

Wine 4- From Provence
2008 Saint André de Figuière "Valerie" Côtes de Provence Blanc $15.99
I thought this wine had very little nose, but was powerful in flavor and tasted of lanolin (from the semillon). A blend of three grapes, rolle, an aromatic and crisp grape that is often blended with southern French varieties such as Viognier, Rousanne, Marsanne and Grenache Blanc; semillon, and ugni blanc, which is also known as Trebbiano in Italy. It is France’s most planted white grape variety. Extraordinary high yields and acidity, it is “undistinguished”. Or, one might say, unglamorous.

Wine 5- From Savoie
2009 Domaine Frederic Giachino "Altesse" Roussette de Savoie $14.99
This wine had a great nose, smelling of sweet peaches and honey. It tasted very much like a white rhone. Made from , Savoie’s finest white grape variety, once known at Roussette. Produces relatively exotically perfumed with with good acidity and is worth aging.


Wine 6- From Provence
2009 Château Miraval "Clara Lua" Côteaux Varois en Provence Blanc $15.99
My favorite wine of the evening. A little floral with minerality and a bit of sweetness on the nose. This wine also had bite. I probably liked it so much because I’ve found myself really enjoying the relatively new vintages of grenache blanc from California. It was a blend of grenache blanc and rolle. Rolle was the only grape that made its way into two of the wines for the evening.

Wine 7- From Savoie
2009 A et M Quenard Chignin Mondeuse $24.99
This wine smelled sweet in a plastic way. It was odd. Made from mondeuse noire, which is one of the oldest and most distinctive red grapes of the Savoie. Wines are juicy and peppery with powerful flavors and colors and do not respond well to oak aging.




Wine 8- From Southwest France
2008 Château Cahuzac Fronton $10.99
This wine was a bit unfortunate. It smelled funky. We even noticed that after dumping what remained in our glasses a scent lingered. One of B.O. Yep, don’t want to drink any more of that! Made of negrette, a black grape variety that produces supple, perfumed and flirtatious wine best drunk young. Sometimes described as having a slightly animal (sweaty human?!), or violet, flavor, unsuppressed by heavy oak aging.

Wine 9- From Southwest France
2008 Domaine Tres Cantous "Le Duras" Gaillac $15.99
This wine was skunky on the nose. It had lots of acid with an herbal kick. I wrote in my notes “not very tasty”. Enough said. Made from , perhaps the oldest vine variety still used in the once-famous red wines of Gaillac. Produces deeply colored and lively wine with a full body. Vines that bud early give the wines good structure and acidity.

Wine 10- From Southwest France
2006 Domaine Berthoumieu "Charles de Batz" Madiran $19.99
We all thought this wine smelled like cabernet sauvignon and had the tannins of a young cab. Turns out we were onto something, it was 10% cab. The other 90% was tannat, a distinctive, tough, deep black-berried vine variety. Inherent astringency leads to it often being blended with Cabernet Franc and some Cabernet Sauvignon and wood aging. Madiran is its noblest manifestation. This was the only red from the evening I would drink without complaint.

So, there was have it. Four French regions, 10 news grape varieties. I promised the group I’d choose a less obscure theme next time I hosted! And a valuable lesson for me: Stick to the glamorous regions in France for red wine!

Woohoo! My last Bordeaux! I’ve been saving the “best” for last. This wine, the 1994 Château Langoa Barton, is a third growth, thus the highest classed growth wine I bought for my Bordeaux “lesson”, the most expensive at $50, and the oldest. Exciting stuff.

is a small commune on the left bank with the smallest production of the four well-known areas of the Médoc, three-quarters of which is produced by classified Château. It has the highest proportion of classified growths. The only thing dragging this area down is that it boasts not one first growth. Even so, it’s excellent land for wine grapes, it seems.

Being an older wine, it was dark brick. On the nose it smelled of dried cherries, fig, cloves and anise. A very pleasant nose. It was still quite acidic and VERY earthy. I could taste the wood, but the earth and leather were prominent. There also was none of the bacon taste I’d gotten from other older Bordeaux. (Bacon only for unclassified wine?). It had a light body and went well with food. Unfortunately, I wasn’t bowled over. I still liked it, but I’m no Bordeaux convert.

The Score: ★★★½

There’s certainly been a lot to learn about Bordeaux and undoubtedly there’s a lot of really great wine there (much of which I’ll probably never get to drink!). But, perhaps the biggest thing I’ve learned about Bordeaux is that while I appreciate its food-friendliness, low alcohol and the subtle nuances of each individual appellation, and I didn’t dislike any of the wines I tried, in the future I’m likely to choose a California Cabernet over Bordeaux. I’m not into fruit bombs or super high alcohol so there’s a lot of wine from California that I just don’t like. But, I'm going to continue to go out of my way to find those wines that are more of an old-world style. And you just can't beat being able to buy wine that's local, from the tasting room you visited at the winery. In the end, if I’m choosing a red wine to drink with my food I probably won’t choose cabernet (or merlot) at all.

Bet you can't guess which French region I'll do next!