Monthly Archive for June, 2008

A Toast to Rocco Mediate!

June 17, 2008 filed in Current Affairs and Wine.
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Rocco_mediate_3Tuesday, June 17th, 2008
I’m a lousy golfer.  Sure, I enjoy my bi-annual tour of the links.  But for me the game serves two purposes – it’s either an excuse to enjoy time with friends, or a way to induce a good nap.  The announcers voices and the pace of the game are amazingly somnambulous.

As an untalented hack, I’m in awe of Tiger Woods, one of the most naturally gifted, driven men or women to ever play the game.  So sure, it’s nice to see him win the "Father’s Day" US Open at Torrey Pines, a course where I once shot a 79.  Though I must also tell you I shot much better on the back nine.

But I had to change allegiances yesterday.  I was rooting for the underdog, Rocco Mediate, once I read the accounts of Sunday’s tie with Tiger Woods.  He is a 45-year old professional golfer who has never won a major tournament.  He has been described as a "Palooka Golfer" and a "Journeyman golfer", but no derogatory description could mask his selfless love of the game that could be seen during his interviews.

"I’m just thrilled to be here" he said grinning from under his golf cap full of U.S. Open souvenir pins – "I just want to see what I’ve got when playing against Tiger.  I already know what he’s got.  What an amazing opportunity"… and such as that.  So its to Rocco’s amazing spirit that l ask you to lift your glass with me, in a toast to all "Palookas" and "Journeymen" regardless of their field.  May they rise to their own challenge, whatever it may be, with the class of a Rocco Mediate.

Toasting Rocco Mediate
I am breaking out some of my best stuff for this toast – three of my favorite Central Coast Pinot Noirs.  You may not automatically reach for Pinot when you’re ready to toast.  To each his/her own.  Just try these special wines and I think you’ll see why I consider them among the best toast-worthy wines California has to offer.

  1. Labyrinth 2005 Pinot Noir, Bien Nacido Vineyard, $31.00 – Produced in an elegant, food friendly style, this wine has the structure to age and the fruit to last the duration.  A journeyman wine that will surprise many in a sudden-death taste-off on the 19th hole.
  2. Au Bon Climat, 2005 Pinot Noir, "Knox Alexander", $45 – A wine for hedonistic pinot lovers, who enjoy rich with fruit and with a silky finish that lasts through tomorrow.  An homage to the Winemaker’s son, Knox, this is an assemblage of the best from the ABC vineyards within Bien Nacido – what better wine to feature at the end of a Father’s Day tournament?!
  3. Arcadian Winery, 2005 Pinot Noir, Fiddlestix Vineyard, $55.00 – I am so in love with this wine, I wish I could drink it everyday.  But as a Journeyman wine merchant, it is still a special treat, even with my discount.  A wine to enjoy today or for many years to come.  This is the current release from Winegrower Joe Davis, whose meticulous approach to every step of making wine is exemplified in his extended barrel and bottle aging prior to release.

Dtwm_color_web_optimized Cheers!
Dave the Wine Merchant
Dave@SidewaysWineClub.com or
Dave@TastesOfTheValleys.com

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Tom Seaver Pitching Wine? Hope it doesn't go "Sideways"

June 11, 2008 filed in Current Affairs, Food and Drink and Wine.
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Seaver2 Tuesday, June 10, 2008
In 1969 I was a young Cubs fan.  Games were broadcast from Wrigley Field on Channel 9 with memorable sponsors such as Hamms Beer, Harris Bank & Trust, Wrigley’s (of course) and a handful of other Chicago institutions.  When I couldn’t watch the game, Jack Brickhouse provided the soothing voice I listened to for the hours in which the game unfolded.  Baseball was my religion and Wrigley Field was my temple.

I watched a lot of games that year, and felt as if the intensity of my fandom could help my Cubbies cinch the National League pennant.  They would win and I’d walk on air for an hour, they would lose and I was no fun to be around.  Their rise seemed fated – they had a comfortable, multi-game lead going into the month of August.  Ohh, sure there was some young guy named Tom Seaver who was making news with the New York Mets, but they were in last place going into August, and I’d scratched them off the list of possible threats to my Cubbies.  Fans of the game know the rest – the Cubbies slipped, Seaver didn’t, and the "Miracle Mets" are a part of baseball history.

Now Tom Seaver is making history again.  At the ripe age of 63 he’s pitching the first release of his own wine label using grapes from his own vineyard located in a prestigious sub-Napa appelation.  I’m pleased to see him getting into wine, but I don’t plan to carry it in my shop.  It’s not because of his $65 price tag.  And it’s not because it’s from Napa and I focus on wines of the exciting Central Coast.  It’s because, as any self-respecting sports fan knows, you never let go of a good grudge.

My Grudge Wines
Want good Bordeaux blends without the price of a Napa Cab?  Check these out.  Paso Robles has always been known for it’s Bordeaux wines, and now the Happy Canyon AVA is giving it a run for its money as well.  Try these great producers and let me know what you think:

  1. Buttonwood Farm, 2000 Trevin, Bordeaux Blend, $30.  The Bordeaux vines in Eastern Santa Ynez Valley grow in an area typified by warm days and cool nights.  This wine is the premium wine from Buttonwood, and with 8 years of bottle age is ready to drink tonight!  Forget about cellaring, we’ve done it for you.

  2. Happy Canyon, 2003 Piocho (Bordeaux Blend), $38.  Happy Canyon is the newest area to apply for AVA status in Santa Barbara County.  It is the farthest East, so the cooling Pacific breeze that makes most of the County so good for Pinot and Chardonnay, and so inappropriate for Bordeaux varietals, is thorougly warmed by the time it gets to Happy Canyon.  Though not cheap, this is a good value in Bordeaux blends!  Doug Margerum, winemaker.

  3. Cass Winery, 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon (Paso Robles), $42.  A blend with 10% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc, the miserly 750 cases of this wine produced by Steve Cass will sell through quickly.  Look for classic essence of Cabernet, with ripe berry, tobacco, pencil shavings and cigar box, but made more complex by its blending partners that bring a bigger nose and softer mouthfeel.  90 points, Wine Enthusiast

  4. Barrack 2005 "Brand" Bordeaux Blend, $42.  Deeply-colored blend of Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Cabernet Sauvignon, with Merlot taking the dominant role. Offers deep scents of plums, cassis, licorice, dark earth, toasty oak, and cedar forest. The tannins the wine will improve with four to five years of bottle age though you will never regret opening a bottle.  While not quite as dark and concentrated as the 2004, the 2005 offers an elegant expression of Merlot. The wine has a very fine nose with hints of blackberry, plum, oak wood, and currants. On the palate it is very diverse from front to back jammy fruit, hints of espresso, herbs, and tobacco. Only 200 cases produced!

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Cheers!
Dave the Wine Merchant
Dave@SidewaysWineClub.com or
Dave@TastesOfTheValleys.com

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"Just Bring Bob" – Wines of the 2008 Oyster Festival

June 3, 2008 filed in Dave's Journal, Food and Drink, Travel and Wine.
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Dscn02531 Saturday, May 30th, 2008
I got into the car as I heard David say into his cell phone "We have everything we need Gloria, just bring Bob!" Our long-time friend and loyal customer David Alabach was driving to Tomales Bay while cajoling guests waffling about attending his 9th annual Oyster Festival.  Flip-floppers surround every social event, not just politics.  But Gloria was fresh from surgery so her indecision was quickly forgiven.

Ninety minutes later we pulled into Tomales Bay Oyster Company to stake out tables.  Most of the group would arrive hours later, laden with chips, salads, desserts, and oyster accoutrement.  The luscious bivalves were already being pulled from their beds and sorted by size and type (top photo), so we decided an oyster brunch would be the very thing to begin the day.  The first of many bags was purchased and a grill was fired – though fresh oysters are great when raw, this annual event features the large oysters that are best for grilling.  When done perfectly, they taste like warm ocean foam, if you can imagine such a thing.

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Featured Wines
A number of people brought wines for the event, many purchased from my website.  Here is a listing of the wines as they appear from left to right in the photo here (click the wine name to purchase, or for more information):

  1. The first wine in front on the far left in is Buttonwood’s 2006 Rose ($16).  This is a refreshing wine intended for immediate enjoyment, and perfect for hot summer months.  A "missionary" rose wine, one able to convert even die-hard red-only drinkers still haunted by memories of sugary-sweet White Zinfandels from the 1980′s.  Speaking of Buttonwood… Sadly missing from our lineup was the Buttonwood’s Sauvignon Blanc ($14), which I think of as one of the best values from the Santa Ynez Valley, especially when paired with oysters!
  2. The next wine (front row, left of corkscrew) is the Trou de Bonde 2006 Grenache Blanc ($20)   A small-production white wine made from grapes mutated from the red Grenache, it serves a touch of minerality along with mouth-watering granny smith apple flavors followed by pleasant peach and melon.  This wine proved a popular match for the briny minerality of oysters!
  3. Rhone blend in plastic bottle with screwcap – This fun wine, created by Winemaker Andrew Murray for the Sunshine Brothers concert where no glass was allowed, was a sample only.
  4. Dscn02591(Center of photo, above, just right of the corkscrew)  Beckmen Vineyard 2007 Grenache Rose ($22)  This fun wine shows the usual ebullient Grenache in a dry rose wine replete with crisp acidic structure.  One of my favorite summer wines!  From the bio-dynamic Purisima Mountain vineyard of Steve Beckmen.
  5. Benjamin Silver, 2001 Cabernet ($24)  Cabernet is hardly an oyster wine.  But this proved a popular quaff after we’d had our fill of oysters and were seeking foods of greater depth and substance – like the grilled sausages with Dijon mustard.  This wine is at its peak now and offers a rare chance to enjoy an aged wine without requiring any patience!
  6. (Tall green bottle) Calzada Ridge 2007 Viognier ($35.95)  This is always our #1 seller during the summer months at Tastes of the Valleys.  With only 100 cases produced, our supply rarely lasts through the summer.  A most popular wine, with the bottle number stamped on every label.
  7. L’Uvaggio di Giacomo 2006 Arneis ($18)  “His…Arneis are among the best of their kind in the U.S.”  That’s how San Francisco Chronicle’s W. Blake Gray once described this wine from Winemaker Jim Moore.  This was also great with grilled oysters, especially with a simple squeeze of fresh lemon, which complimented its acidic structure.
  8. (Hiding) Costa de Oro, 2005 Estate Chardonnay ($21)  This is a moderately rich wine in the oaky tradition of California Chardonnay, though with enough acidity to avoid being flabby and boring.  Still, it’s not recommended for oysters, but for just about anything else this side of beef.  Only a small amount remains.

Dscn02561Mark Kurlansky’s book, "The Big Oyster, History on the Half Shell" was available for perusing, though most found it difficult to read and shuck at the same time.  We were disappointed to learn that oysters contain very little of nutritional value, and that one need eat many dozens to meet even the most minimal of daily requirements.  We tried, nonetheless, making our way through an estimated six bags (@ ~36/bag) plus unknown numbers of clams and mussels.

Dscn02661_3 Our friends Jeff Prather (Oxbow Wine Merchant) and Kari Auringer (Winemaker, Wildside Cellars) kindly shared a bottle of 2002 Sancerre from Cotat that proved once again why Sancerre is the classic oyster pairing (I assume it is available at OxBow Wine Merchants, likely in the $40 – $45 range).  They also eschewed the host’s plastic cups in favor of their own glass stemware – it wasn’t Reidel, but it wasn’t Solo Cup either.

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Cheers!
Dave the Wine Merchant
Dave@SidewaysWineClub.com or
Dave@TastesOfTheValleys.com

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Safety From the Storm

June 2, 2008 filed in Wine.
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Economy_graphMonday, June 2 2008
The Bad News - global warming, credit crisis, rising oil prices, housing starts down, ongoing war in Iraq, foreclosures up, nuclear arms in Iran, home prices falling, rumors of war in Iran, falling GNP, rising gas prices, Hillary, global warming.  Ugh.

The Good News – Fine wine sales are up 7% over this time last year (Wine Business Monthly). 

In discussing my idea for this posting, I was asked "Why is it good news when people drown their sorrows in wine?" 

Frankly, this angle on the issues simply hadn’t occurred to me.  While there are those who may react to bad or devastating news in a bottle of Thunderbird, I doubt many are doing so with fine wine.  I suspect the increase in fine wine sales is because, when bombarded with news that the sky is falling, people seek the company of friends and family.  In days like these, people take care of their mental health by rediscovering the spiritual salve of a shared meal and good conversation.

More and more people are entertaining at home instead of eating out at fine dining restaurants.  This bodes well for wine merchants, who can help people select a wine that best honors the meal they are planning as well as the guests they’re inviting.  It’s much easier to spend lavishly on a nice bottle or two than to take guests to dinner.  And our ultra-premium wines remain a relative bargain when compared to these fundamental food items (all data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics web site):

Item             2005      2008 Increase
Avg. bottle of pinot in our portfolio $           32.01 $      34.02 6.3%
Gallon of unleaded regular gas $             2.28 $        3.44 50.9%
Loaf of white bread $             1.00 $        1.37 37.0%
1 lb. ground chuck $             2.50 $        2.83 13.2%
1 lb. tomatoes, field grown $             1.71 $        1.77 3.5%
1 lb. coffee, ground roast $             3.24 $       3.44 6.2%
CPI             195.3        207.3 6.1%

As you can see, the price of premium pinot noir in our portfolio has essentially followed the inflation rate from 2005 to 2008, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.  And while gas leads the pack as we come out of the first third of the 2008 inflation race track, bread and meat are not far behind.  Along with wine, coffee and tomatoes remain surprising bargains – good news for our vegetarian and caffeine fiend friends.

Though the BLS doesn’t offer data on the cost of fine dining, anecdotal recounts indicate that, even when cooking for one, home-cooked meals are about half the cost of eating out.  As this particular story indicates, meals at home cost less than prepared foods, even when said food comes from inexpensive restaurants and take-out places.

Enjoy life.  Wrap yourself in an evening of good friends and good wine and let the good times roll.  It’s still an affordable alternative.

Inflation Busting Wines

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Cheers!
Dave the Wine Merchant
Dave@SidewaysWineClub.com or
Dave@TastesOfTheValleys.com

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Today’s Quote
"Sorrow can be alleviated by a good sleep, a bath and a glass of wine."   
~ St. Thomas Aquinas (1225 – 1274)

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