drink the good stuff!

2008 Littorai Vin Gris Pinot Noir Anderson Valley

noreply@blogger.com (vino girl) — Tue, 26 May 2009 01:21:00 +0000

Everyone is looking for a great rose wine as summer approaches and vin gris wines offer a lovely example. Vin Gris refers to very pale rose wines. They are made from grapes, such as Pinot Noir and Grenache, that are lightly pressed and the juice, or pulp, is separated from the grape skins before too much color is transferred.

The 2008 Littorai Vin Gris of Pinot Noir is a special wine and the first Vin Gris the winery has produced since 1997. Littorai Wines was founded in 1993 by Heidi and Ted Lemon and the name refers to "coasts" in Latin. True to its name, the Littorai wines are made from the coastal areas of Sonoma and Mendocino and Ted Lemon is very focused on wines that reflect the place in which the grapes were grown.

The 2008 Vin Gris from Anderson Valley in Mendocino is super pale, pretty, dry and elegant, with strawberry, rhubarb, citrus, and mineral notes as well as a savory herbal quality. Very small amounts of this wine are made and the Littorai wines are very rarely found in retail stores. You're in luck, however, because California Wine Merchants has a few precious bottles in stock. $28.99 -- while supplies last! ;)

Meandering with Meander Wines

noreply@blogger.com (vino girl) — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 21:05:00 +0000

Amy Aiken, winemaker and owner of Meander Wines, was in town this past week and we did our best to keep track of her wanderings about town, capping it off with a special pouring appearance at California Wine Merchants Thursday evening. Amy is a vivacious and inspired Winemaker and she brought some lively fun to our Thursday night tasting to be sure!

Earlier in the week Amy’s NY distributor, The Barterhouse, hosted a lunch at Eleven Madison for “power women in wine” (yep, that’s me people!). Amy presented her new 2008 Meander Wines Conspire Sauvignon Blanc at the lunch, as well as all three vintages of her enchanting Meander Wines Cabernet Sauvignon.

The Sauvignon Blanc has yet to be bottled and the lunching ladies were all honored to be some of the first to taste it. It’s a very pretty and unique Sauvignon Blanc. Conspire has more body than most Sauvignon Blanc and an almost creamy texture from sitting on the lees (basically the deposits of residual yeast and other sediment that develops during the wine making process.) The grassy aromas are intense and flavors are tropical, including pineapple, kiwi, and coconut. The wine paired delightfully with the Cape Cod Bay Crab Cake with Celery, Treviso and Anchovies that was served alongside. Amy also recommends pairing the wine with mussels prepared with Asian-influenced flavors.

You’ll have to wait until June to pair it with anything, however, as that is when it arrives in NY -- and at California Wine Merchants! The wine will sell for a little less than $30. If you are interested in knowing when it inbounds, send us an e-mail at info@cawinemerchants.com and we will put you on the “interest list” as production is limited.

The lunch progressed to the 2003 vintage of Meander Cabernet Sauvignon, the very vintage Winemonkey and I tasted with Amy years ago when we discovered Meander Wines in Napa. The juicy, fruity wine was drinking exceptionally well, especially after a bite of Grilled Tenderloin with Oregon Morels – yes, that’s good stuff! The 2004 Cab was probably my favorite; it has an alluring personality and a beautifully silky texture along with the sweet fruit. All of the Meander Cabs start out with a great pop of fruit, which is Amy’s intent. The 2005, the most recent vintage and the wine we have in stock at the store, was equally fabulous but different, with layers of mocha and mineral underlining the fruit. 2005 was a great vintage for Napa Cab and this wine will only get better with air and a little age.

With our ridiculously decadent dessert of Chocolate Tart with Caramel and Maldon Sea Salt, we were treated to the 2005 Meander Cabernet Sauvignon Morisoli Vineyard. The other Cabs are made from fruit from the Morisoli vineyard in Rutherford and the Lewelling Vineyard in St. Helena, whereas this limited wine is strictly from Rutherford fruit. There were only 40 cases produced and it’s pretty much all gone so I was super lucky to get a glass. The wine is very well structured, with great intensity of flavor and a velvety texture sometimes known as “Rutherford dust.” Overall, great food and wine and a satisfying experience!

You won’t find Meander wines at many retail stores and, in fact, before Winemonkey and I introduced Amy to The Barterhouse, you could not find the wines anywhere in New York. The Conspire label was created so that Amy can take advantage of any great fruit that might come her way. This year it was Sauvignon Blanc. Next year who knows…maybe Conspire Pinot Noir? We’ll just have to wait and see.

Cheers!

Ten California Wines That Celebrate Spring

noreply@blogger.com (vino girl) — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 18:43:00 +0000

2007 Preston of Dry Creek Sauvignon Blanc Dry Creek Valley; $22.99
JUICY: Grassy, melon, herbal, crisp, lean
Preston of Dry Creek is an organic family farm that subscribes to organic farming and minimalist winemaking, preferring purity of flavor and product while sustaining the environment. Sauvignon Blanc is their signature white.

2007 Wolf Family Sauvignon Blanc Napa Valley; $34.99
JUICY: Fruity, tropical, honey, fresh
Karen Culler, winemaker, has led the wine program on the estate since the first vintage in 1997. The Sauvignon Blanc comes from the long, narrow sloping vineyard that spans the Wolf Family property.

2007 Tablas Creek Vineyard Cotes de Tablas Blanc Paso Robles; $22.99
ELEGANT: Crisp, clean, peach, apricot, great texture
Tablas Creek Vineyard was founded by the Perrin family of Château de Beaucastel and Robert Haas, longtime importer and founder of Vineyard Brands. They chose the hilly Las Tablas district of west Paso Robles for its similarities to Châteauneuf du Pape: limestone soils, a favorable climate, and rugged terrain.

2006 10 Knots Passage White Wine Paso Robles; $33.99
JUICY: Tropical, pineapple, orange, rich, nice finish
There were only 98 cases made of this blend of 40% Viognier, 16% Roussanne, 16% Sauvignon Blanc, 16% Chardonnay, and 12% Marsanne. The wine was aged in both French and Hungarian Oak.

2007 La Sirena Moscato Azul Napa Valley; $35.99
JUICY: Tropical, crisp, clean, great as aperitif or with fish
The name "La Sirena" means "the Mermaid " in Spanish and Italian. Winemaker Heidi Peterson Barrett chose it because she was looking for something fun and magical (like wine) and because she is a scuba diver as well as a winemaker. This is a dry style Muscat Canelli from Calistoga and only about 600 cases are produced.

2004 Schramsberg Brut Rose Cuvee de Pinot Noir Sparkling Wine; $36.99
Elegant: Clean, frothy, creamy, fresh cherry & strawberry
The origins of Schramsberg Vineyards began in 1862, when immigrant Jacob Schram bought some acreage on a hillside in Napa Valley. Jack and Jamie Davies brought the property in 1965 with the ambition to produce world class sparkling wines. Their youngest son Hugh carries on the tradition today.

2007 Halter Ranch GSM Rosé Paso Robles; $16.99
JUICY: Strawberry, tangerine, fun & fruity, refreshing acidity
Halter Ranch is a new winery with a rich history. Located on Adelaida Road, on the west side of Paso Robles, the property dates to the 1880s. The vines are planted on steep, south-facing slopes reaching 1800 feet in elevation; only 385 cases of this wine were produced in 2007.

2006 A.P. Vin Clos Pepe Pinot Noir Monterey; $54.99 ON SALE FOR $35.74!
BOLD: Ripe berry fruit, lush style, excellent acid balance
This incredible vineyard sits in the heart of the Sta. Rita Hills and is meticulously cared for. Part of the land is planted with harvested olive trees while the other twenty-four acres of this 28 acre vineyard are planted with some of the most prized Pinot Noir fruit in California.

2006 Monticelli Brothers Mario Sangiovese Atlas Peak; $25.99
ELEGANT: Black cherries, silky smooth, sweet spices, earth
In the tradition of the owner's Tuscan heritage, they set out to make a Sangiovese that would have made their Nonno proud. The Mario Sangiovese is bright and fruity, like an Italian Chianti should be. As is with most Italian varietals, Sangiovese's delicate flavor makes it a wonderful accompaniment to food, especially pizzas and pastas.

2005 Ampelos Cellars Syrache Proprietary Red Santa Barbara County; $32.99
JUICY: Cherry, earth, silk, nice acidity
Ampelos is a Greek word meaning "vine" and Ampelos Cellars cares for their vines by promoting biodynamic farming and environmentally responsible practices in the vineyard. This wine is 27% Grenache and 73% Syrah with only 538 cases produced.

Ten Great Wines Under $20

noreply@blogger.com (vino girl) — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 18:23:00 +0000

2006 Cannonball Cabernet Sauvignon California
Price: $15.99
Winemaker Dennis Hill makes a splash with this delicious California Cabernet. Most of the fruit comes from the Dry Creek Valley, with a small portion coming from Paso Robles. Cannonball Cabernet is 82% Dry Creek Cabernet with an additional 11% Syrah added to give the wine a jumpy mouth feel.

2007 Fleur de California Pinot Noir Carneros-Los Carneros
Price: $18.99
With an enthusiasm for the red wines of Burgundy and confidence in California's potential for producing world-class wines, Francis & Kathy Mahoney established Fleur de California. The wines are made in a bright, approachable style. Ken Foster serves as winemaker.

2007 Familia Mayol "Lujan de Cuyo" Malbec Mendoza
Price: $18.99
100% Malbec. At Familia Mayol they choose grapes from Luján de Cuyo, the oldest and most traditional wine growing area in Mendoza and the first DOC for Malbec. Steve Clifton of Brewer-Clifton in Santa Barbara, CA is the consulting winemaker.

2006 Vinum Cellars PETS Petit Sirah Clarksburg
Price: $15.99
Vinum Cellars is a collaboration of winemakers Richard Bruno and Chris Condos, who first became friends while they were students at UC Davis. They share a fondness for the more obscure grape varieties. A portion of the profits from the sales of this wine is donated by the winery to the San Francisco SPCA.

2006 Wildhurst Vineyards Reserve Chardonnay Lake County
Price: $15.99
A superior Chardonnay for the price with lots of melon fruit and an elegance that comes from the balance of weight and acidity.

2008 Angeline Sauvignon Blanc Russian River Valley

Price: $16.99

Angeline wines are made in the heart of the Russian River Valley and are part of the Martin Ray brand. Angeline was named American Value Brand of the Year in both 2006 and 2007 by Wine & Spirits magazine.

2006 J. Wilkes Bien Nacido Vineyard Pinot Blanc Santa Maria Valley
Price: $17.59
Owner Jeff Wilkes worked for 18 years with Bien Nacido Vineyards, so he knows this vineyard inside and out. In 2001, he decided to venture out with the goal of making world class Pinot Noir and Pinot Blanc under his own label.

2007 Mahoney Vermentino Las Brisas Vineyard Carneros
Price: $16.99
Mahoney Vineyards is the culmination of 35 years of experience growing and producing wines in the Carneros region spanning the cool southern reaches of the Napa and Sonoma Valleys. The wine is carefully crafted by Francis and Kathy Mahoney in small quantities from the very best of their 160 acres of estate vineyards.

2007 Tutu Pinot Grigio Napa Valley
Price: $15.99
This is a venture by partners Rob Lawson (winemaker) and Jeff Smith (Hourglass Winery). Production is about 1500 cases. A Pinot Grigio with lots of flavor!

2006 Verdad Rose Grenache Arroyo Grande Valley
Price: $15.99
Verdad's mission is to make small amounts of delicious wines using Spanish grape varietals. This wine is composed of 90% Grenache and 10% Mourvedre.

All available at California Wine Merchants.

Ovid Experiment and Polaner Trade Tasting

noreply@blogger.com (vino girl) — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 23:24:00 +0000

To follow up on a past post on Ovid Wines, we were able to taste the ‘Experiment’, the wine from Ovid that will change from vintage to vintage, just last week. The current 2005 Experiment is mostly Cabernet Franc with some Petite Verdot and it is a silky wine with some nice pepper notes and more red fruit that the Ovid. The wine is distributed by Douglas Polaner here in New York and it was available at their Portfolio Tasting. We are still unsure of the price point for the Experiment but we hope to offer our customers the namesake 2005 Ovid very soon.

Some other California wines that stood out at the Polaner tasting were:

2006 Realm Cellars Dr. Crane: This wine just keeps getting better. 100% Cabernet from the Dr. Crane Vineyard. We just sold out of the 2005 and the 2006 is even better ─ if that’s possible. Mike Hirby is the winemaker and this one is worth the $100+ price tag. We still have the 2005 Realm Tempest and Realm Farella in stock, which are also supremely good wines!

2006 Maybach Materium: Again, we have sold out of the excellent 2005 vintage and (im)patiently await the 2006. Killer Cabernet and only 745 cases produced. With any luck we will carry it very soon! Another $100+ bottle.

We were impressed with Windgap Wines, the new project from Pax Mahle, formerly of Pax Wine Cellars. We particularly enjoyed the 2007 Pinot Gris from the Russian River Valley (crazy small production of 106 cases and about $40 per bottle) and the 2006 Syrah from Sonoma Coast (ridiculously small production of 89 cases and about $50 per bottle).

2006 Arietta H-Block is a blend of Cabernet Franc and Merlot. The Cabernet Franc is solely from the 2.3 acre Hudson Vineyards H Block and this is some well-structured, awesome juice. The 2006 is a particular head-turner. Yes, this is also over $100 and, yes, we sometimes have expensive taste. Guilty as charged.

2007 Carlisle Montafi Ranch Zinfandel: This just may have been the wine of the tasting. Okay, it was! Soooo good with tons of depth and amazing Zin character. Under 300 cases, under $50 per bottle, and, TA-DA, sold out!!! Depressing. On a brighter note, we have the 2006 Russian River Zinfandel and the 2007 Dry Creek Zinfandel in stock and they are both well priced for the excellent wine that is in the bottle ($40 - $50.)

2006 Larkmead Firebelle: A beautiful blend of the Bordeaux varietals and gets better and better with air. The 2005, which we have in stock, is a beauty too which is why we brought it in to the shop.

2005 Davis Family Cabernet Sauvignon: We were not very familiar with the Davis family wines and this pretty, juicy Cabernet made a great first impression. A great pop of red fruit and nice layers of classic Cab flavor! About $60 per bottle.

2005 Crocker & Starr Cabernet: Pam Starr is indeed a star and this Cab proves it beyond a reasonable doubt. We have the 2004 Stone Place, a lush and tasty blend of the Bordeaux varietals for $100.

Lest you think we are partial to uber expensive Cabs, we were also impressed with Fleur de California Vin Gris and Pinot Noir, Mary Elke Pinot Noir, and Westerly Sauvignon Blanc. All reasonably priced and delicious.

Cheers!

Ovid Wines First Taste

noreply@blogger.com (vino girl) — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 15:41:00 +0000

We were lucky enough to score an invite to the "first taste" of Ovid (pronounced AH-VID) wines out of Napa Valley -- and I was lucky enough to be the one to represent CA Wine Merchants (thanks Winemonkey!). The wines are made by sought after winemaker Andy Erickson (of Screaming Eagle fame) and the tasting was at Per Se (double score!) in the Time Warner Center over lunch. Ovid is made from a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, and Petite Verdot and is fermented in a combination of wooden and old-school concrete tank fermenters.

We sampled the first commercial vintage, Ovid 2005, which had been open for about two hours. The wine has great aroma intensity which makes for an intriguing first impression. The palate is rich, with dark red fruits, deep chocolate, graphite, earth, and some licorice. This is not an overblown fruit-bomb style and it has the acidity to prove it. I thought the finish was extremely long. Only 418 cases were produced and the only problem with it is, well, the price. You can expect to pay over $200 per bottle at retail and I can only guess the wine will go for over $400 at restaurants. But considering the 2005 vintage of Screaming Eagle goes for over $1,500 at retail, I suppose you can consider it a relative bargain!

All sarcasm aside, we moved on to taste a barrel sample of a 2007 wine that was made solely for the Premier Napa Valley Auction. Apotheca is a blend of Andy and company's favorite lots, all of which were fermented in concrete. This wine is super concentrated, WOW! Too bad it will not be available commercially because this stuff is killer. The way this 2007 juice is tasting can only mean great things for the 2007 vintage of Ovid.

Ovid will also be making a wine called the Experiment, which will change from vintage to vintage. We did not taste this at the lunch, however, this coming Tuesday we should be able to secure a taste and will report back. The first Experiment, 2005, is apparently a barrel selection of Cabernet Franc. Again, we'll let you know...!

The vineyards include 15 acres, 1,400 feet above Napa Valley, that were quite literally dug out of dense rock. The pedigree, from Andy Erickson as winemaker, David Abreu as vineyard manager and Michel Rolland as consultant, is very impressive. The wines are named after Ovid, the Roman poet, and his famous work Metamorphosis, which represents the metamorphosis of grapes into sublime wine. Some of the language on the bottle is a little 'puffed up' if you ask me, but this is a serious wine and you can expect to hear more about it.

Cheers!

Napa Valley Takes NYC By Storm

noreply@blogger.com (vino girl) — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 14:21:00 +0000

A long week of tastings coupled with friends in town and some crazy overtime play for Syracuse in the Big East Tournament (shout out!) makes for one broken down Vino Girl. That said, there were some good times, fabulous wines, and compelling people that certainly deserve some air time.

We already talked about the Napa Valley Vintners tasting but it doesn't stop there. Next up was the Skurnik portfolio event which means tables and tables of great wines from all over the globe for tasting. We carry a great deal of wines in the shop from this distributor including amazing producers such as Ramey (known for reliably awesome Chardonnays and Cabernets), Peter Michael (focused on killer Chards and Cabs), Karl Lawrence (amazing Cabs for less-than-amazing prices), and Detert and Lang & Reed (the kings of Cabernet Franc).

I did discover some new things at the Skurnik tasting too including the Peay Syrahs, particularly a Syrah called Le Titans, and the Capiaux Pinot Noirs, especially the Widdoes Pinot Noir. The biggest surprise for me was the Turley Wines. I had always thought the wines were way over the top, particularly the Zinfandels for which they are known. I must admit that the wines were approachable, balanced, intensely flavorful, and enjoyable – but not over the top. My apologies to Larry Turley and wine maker Ehren Jordan for trash talking the wines for so long. (No, c'mon, I would never do a thing like that!)

The next day I was off to the Napa Valley Women of Wine & Vine Luncheon at Gramercy Tavern. (I know, I know, poor me, no rest for the weary, and all of that!) This was probably my favorite event of the week because I was able to speak to some fascinating women in wine in a more intimate setting. Guests included Linda Lawry of the International Wine Center, who taught me while taking the WSET advanced certificate, as well as female journalists, retailers, and sommeliers in the world of wine. The hosts were an impressive group of proprietors and wine makers including Cathy Corison of Corison Wines, Karen Cakebread (who is not working on Cakebread any longer but her own soon-to-be-released project), Paula Kornell of Oakville Ranch Winery, Elizabeth Pressler of Elizabeth Spencer Wines, Julie Johnson, owner/winemaker for Tres Sabores, Sharon Crull of The Terraces., and Jeanne Cabral , Director of Sales & Marketing for Heitz Cellar. Wow, what a lineup! We chatted (natch!), and had a few flights of their wines paired with some tasty morsels from the Gramercy Tavern kitchen. It was a very gracious group of ladies and there was much praise and even more sharing of ideas.

As if that was not enough, the icing on the cake was that when I returned to the store (At 3pm, which Winemonkey attributed to the fact that it was a 'chatty lady lunch'), winemaker Tor Kenward was on his way to pay us a visit. We adore Tor's wines (clearly since we have a whopping 8 skus!) and it was a pleasure to see him again, taste some of his wines, and have him sign some bottles (come on down, they are available at the store!). To cap off the day, husband and wife wine making team Mike Hirby and Schatzi Throckmorton (best name ever) came in to share their Relic Wines with us. We carry their Artefact Cabernet-based blend but all their wines were intriguing.

All that and the week ended with Winemonkey attending a Lieff Wines lunch, where they shared their Cabernet (which we carry) and previewed their new Sauvignon Blanc, which I was able to taste at the Vintners tasting and I think we both agree is an exceptional wine for a first bottling.

I swear I am getting tired again just reading this. Sorry to be long-winded, but there is more wine tasting fun to come next week so stay tuned!

Napa Valley Vintners Tasting NYC 03-10-2009

noreply@blogger.com (vino girl) — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 23:51:00 +0000

Given the nature of our shop, you would expect that we would be in attendance when the best Napa Valley Vintners appear en mass in New York; and that we were! We tasted through a lot of impressive wines at the Metropolitan Pavilion on West 19th Street yesterday when ‘Taste Napa Valley: New York’ came to town. One hundred wineries, big and small, were represented and overall the tasting was well done and well attended.

Our only real gripe was the thimble sized spit buckets. Seriously?! The buckets were frighteningly diminutive and it seemed like every time you put a wine in your mouth and swished it around – wooosh – a staff member would whisk the bucket away for a much needed emptying. This attentive service left you with the option of drinking the wine (a clear detriment when you have to return to work) or leaving it simmering in your mouth until the bucket reappeared. Not a pretty thought, aye? But I digress, so on to the TOP TEN of the tasting for us, in no particular order:

2006 Blackbird Illustration (86% Merlot with Cabernet Franc & Cabernet Sauvignon)
2006 Cliff Lede Cabernet Sauvignon
1997 Corison Cabernet Sauvignon
2005 Cornerstone Cellars Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon
2005 Lail J. Daniel Cuvee (Cabernet Sauvignon blend)
2006 Larkin Cabernet Franc
2008 Lieff Sauvignon Blanc
2005 The Terracess Petite Sirah
2005 Sequoia Grove Cabernet Sauvignon
2005 Twomey Merlot

Wow, and you thought Napa was not all about Cabernet anymore! It looks like from our notes that the Cabs reigned supreme for the most part ─ at least in our memory. It’s going to be a crazy week with Wine Makes galore in town and distributor Michael Skurnik’s portfolio tasting tomorrow. Stay tuned as we persevere through purple teeth and palate fatigue to bring you more favorites and other news from the “front lines”! In the meantime, check out our website for some of the Top 10 selections noted above!

Corison Winery: Wines with a Sense of Self

noreply@blogger.com (vino girl) — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 22:39:00 +0000

There has been some talk lately (see Vinography) about winemakers who apparently make wines they do not like to drink but that will garner high ratings, praise from critics, and lofty prices from consumers. We have heard stories of this nature in the past week from winemakers themselves, in fact, telling tales of wine-making neighbors that practically abhor their own wines.

In the face of all this negativity, we thought we would focus on a winemaker who clearly makes wine that she herself likes to drink, and that bucks the trend of the high scoring, high alcohol, over-the-top bottles coming out of California (and plenty of the world’s other winemaking regions) today.

Corison Winery is located in St. Helena in Napa Valley, California. It is there that proprietor and winemaker, Cathy Corison, makes two Cabernet Sauvignons (Corison Cabernet and Corison Kronos Cabernet) from valley floor vineyards between St. Helena and Rutherford. The vineyards are organically farmed and Cathy’s winemaking practices are exceedingly traditional in nature. She is not a believer in interfering with the story her grapes wish to tell, refraining from gimmicks and manipulations that endeavor to make a wine taste a certain “modern” way. Cathy’s wines have always been known for their elegance and consistency and when she talks about them there is an unmistakable passion in her voice. Her wines keep alcohol in check; the 2004 Cabernet has a mere 13.6% alcohol and suffers from no lack of body or flavor in comparison to any 15% Cabernet we have experienced.

Robert Parker has not published ratings on her wines since 1995 and really never awarded them with scores above the low 90s anyway. Wine Spectator has rated the wines intermittently and scores from that publication average in the mid-80s. In fact, the 2004 Corison Cabernet, which we drank here at the store recently and absolutely adored, received an 83 (!) from the Spectator. We respectfully (well…) disagree. We found the wine (as we always find Cathy’s wines) to be elegant and refined, with plum, cherry, and currant fruit and charming floral notes. This particular wine does not come cheap at $68.99 ─ but for a special bottle of California Cabernet it really can’t be beat. (Psst, it might just go on sale in March!)

Corison’s Kronos Cabernet (we carry the 2003 for $100) is a bit bigger and plusher in style, but still totes that fine line between power and elegance. We also stock the 1995 Corison Cabernet ($97.99), which was one of our very favorites when we tasted a mini-vertical of Cathy’s Cabs with her at the winery.

We carry a lot of great California Cabs in the store, but Cathy is the first winemaker that comes to mind when we think of someone who is dedicated to traditional winemaking, true to herself, and passionate about her wines.

Atticus John Cabernet

noreply@blogger.com (vino girl) — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 22:20:00 +0000

We were finally able to bring in the 2006 Atticus John Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa Valley! We discovered this wine at a tasting on Inauguration Day; it really stood out in the crowd and when we found out who was making it we knew why. This winemaker (whose name we have promised not to disclose) generally makes seriously profound wines with cult like followings that go for upwards of $100 a bottle. We’re happy to say that, thanks to recession pricing on the part of the winery, we are able to sell this wickedly delicious and exceptionally well-made Cabernet for only $28.99. Now that’s something to boost your spirits in this depressing economy!

The wine is 85% Cabernet, 13% Merlot, 2% Petit Verdot and only 929 cases were produced in this vintage. The fruit is from some of the most expensive vineyards in the valley and farmed by a famous vineyard manager (yep, sworn to secrecy here too). This is a rich, juicy Cabernet Sauvignon with concentrated fruit and notes of black cherry, espresso, chocolate, and just a dash of spice. It is undoubtedly the best bang for the buck Cabernet we have in the store and one of our personal favorites.

As you know if you have been in the store since we brought this stuff in, we are very excited about it. Oh, and although the name invokes chants of “Attica, Attica”, you should note that the name is AttiCUS and the story behind the wine has nothing to do with prison riots! ;) Cheers.

We're Baaaaaaaaaack

noreply@blogger.com (vino girl) — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 18:27:00 +0000

Okay, so this (see accompanying picture) is why we have been off the blogging circuit for soooo very long. Our wine shop, California Wine Merchants, has finally opened in Manhattan’s Financial District! After lots of New-York-City-style red tape and much wrangling with contractors and expeditors, the doors opened in November 2008 ─ just in time for the holidays and, uh, the recession.

Thankfully, people are still buying wine (albeit not expensive wine) and we have been benefitting from some good word of mouth from the business community in the neighborhood. If you want to find out more, check out our website at cawinemerchants.com. If you are in the NYC area, we would love to see you in person at the shop!

Moving forward, we’ll be trying our best to provide you with pithy retail anecdotes as well as inform you of the latest and greatest wine gems coming out of California. Lest you think us self-serving for chatting up the very wines we sell (we know, we get it) you should know we taste every wine that comes in to the store, at every price point, to ensure that it is a good ─ and varietally correct ─ wine. Point being, we really do think these wines are great, bang-for-the-buck gems, we’re not just saying that.

One of our latest additions is the 2006 Wildhurst Vineyards Reserve Chardonnay from Lake County, California. Are you kidding?!?! This is one ridiculously good Chardonnay for $15.99! We poured it at a tasting event and even people that claimed to despise everything that is Chardonnay (so-called ABC, anything but Chardonnay, people) fell for it. It’s juicy with citrus fruit, apricot, melon, good texture, and a clean finish. It has an elegance that comes from the balance of weight and acidity. The name Wildhurst evokes the spreading California native oaks that dot the vineyard acreage at the winery.

Drink up. Cheers!

Pressing Wine in the WinePod

noreply@blogger.com (vino girl) — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 15:32:00 +0000

Well, folks, if you have been following along with our WinePod adventures, yesterday was press day. Pressing extracts juice from the grapes by pushing down on them and squeezing the liquid out. (It's kinda like stomping on grapes, which is not done much anymore.)

The liquid that is squeezed out is called Press Wine, or Press Juice. Press Wine is basically the dregs of the juice which may contain remnants of seeds, skins, etc. It looks cloudy and is thicker than the juice that comes about naturally just by the weight of grape on grape. This natural, highly coveted juice, is called Free Run Wine. Sometimes wine makers choose to add some Press Wine to the Free Run Wine to add structure and depth but it is purely a matter of choice.

Winemonkey and I had a little trouble with our WinePod press, which is supposed to do all the hard work of pressing down the grapes and bringing up the dregs in the press basket. Alas, this was not to be as we seemed to have stripped a piece of the press. Instead, we pressed the wine manually -- which is to say by hand -- which requires some patience, a good deal of muscle, and a lot of paper towels to clean up the grape mess that results.

We did it, but not without trouble, and then siphoned the wine into two 5-gallon jars and two 1 gallon jars. The wine looks good -- a deep, dark Cabernet Sauvignon color -- and it tastes like, well, young wine! It is still a bit harsh (it is not through with Malolactic Fermentation, or MLF, yet which is the process of changing the harsh malic acids naturally present in grapes to softer lactic acids) and needs some ageing, but all in all we are pleased.

The wine will sit in these jugs (pictured) for one week until we run another MLF test to see if the process is complete. Once that stage is over we can move the wine in to our freshly steam cleaned French oak barrel for ageing. We still have a little clean up to do today but we are almost there. Oh, and if anybody wants a giant pale of grape must (it's supposed to be good for your skin you know!) just let us know. We've got one! ;)

Cheers.

Wine Hilarity of the Day: Crap Wine

noreply@blogger.com (vino girl) — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 17:13:00 +0000

Vino Girl was catching up on the wine news this morning when she came across a hysterical little story on the website France24.com. I was drawn to it because it was a story about "crap wine", a term frequently used in wine circles to describe, well, crappy wine.

A wine from the Languedoc region in France, which has long been considered contemptible by more illustrious wine regions such as Burgundy and Bordeaux, has marketed a wine labeled " Vin de Merde," which translates literally to "wine of crap." This snarky tip-of-the-hat to the critics of the Languedoc's still under appreciated wines sold out within days. Seventy-five hundred more bottles are being marketed to keep up with local demand.

As the article points out, it is going to take more than this one success story to lift up the wine industry in the region, which has been floundering over the past 10 years despite marked improvement in quality. If the farmers keep at it, however, and retain the irony, who knows, the wine world may get more than a laugh out of it.

Wine At Your Fingertips

noreply@blogger.com (vino girl) — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 03:15:00 +0000

Please excuse this interruption of blogging as usual...

I have to admit to shameless promotion, but how often does a gal get the opportunity to say that her book is now available on Amazon.com? It's true, Vino Girl is a published author! I worked hard writing a comprehensive wine reference last fall and all that drudgery has finally come to fruition in the form of my first book.

Wine At Your Fingertips is published by Penguin Publishing's Alpha Books. I must say, they really kept on me to produce a thorough, well-organized, and concise reference on wine that includes everything from growing grapes and making wine to buying and collecting it. All the world's top wine regions make an appearance as well as all the big grapes. Check it out if you like!

Now, back to your regularly scheduled program....

Winemonkey and I plan on pressing the wine in our WinePod this weekend. Instead of basking in the glory of my authorship, I have been meticulously washing out our French oak barrel so that our wine can be siphoned in there without fear of overoaking. Stay tuned on that front.

Cheers!

On to MLF in the Winepod

noreply@blogger.com (vino girl) — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 15:19:00 +0000

Well, folks, we are now in a phase called Malolactic Fermentation; the cool kids call it MLF. It is admittedly a pretty boring phase for a wine maker, but a necessary step in the making of quality wine, particularly red wines. When the yeast has done its job and converted all the sugar in the grape must to alcohol, it is safe to inoculate for MLF.

This involves adding some bacteria (yum!) to convert the harsh acids naturally present in grapes (malic acids) to softer lactic acds. We have the temperature set on our Winepod between 74 and 76 degrees and we are letting the bacteria do its thing. At this stage it is important not to let too much air in to the Winepod which can cause oxidation. We gently punchdown once per day and then sparge the surface area of the grape must with nitrogen to prevent oxidation.

The wine is looking darker (a sign that MLF has finished is uniformly dark grape pips, or seeds) and it smells like, well, wine! The taste is very acidic and somewhat tannic at this point but we have some ways to go before it is ready for the spotlight. We are going to let the grapes sit for some extra time on the skins, called extended maceration, to develop some flavor and richness.

Stay tuned...

Adventures of the Winepod Continue...

noreply@blogger.com (vino girl) — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 17:01:00 +0000

Sunday:

Our fermentation has been kicking and it looks like it is about a day ahead at this point. We have been running warm since the get go (but within limits) and our brix took a solid turn down to 14 degrees. We have been punching down consistently and have added nutrients to keep the yeast gobbling away at the sugar and to keep fermentation on track. We raised the temp limits to 85F-90F as instructed for brix levels between 5 and 15. Our tastes indicate that we were moving along nicely. No off odors as best as we can tell and we are starting to notice the smell of alcohol. Acidity seems to be where we wanted it and overall color is looking good. We are still concerned that we will end up with a wine that is carrying a little more alcohol than we wanted, but we will just have to wait and see.

Monday:

A day later and we are over 88 degrees and down to 9 brix. As a side note, we have been vigilant about pulling out any MOG (material other than grapes; stems, leaves, etc.) that are readily apparent to us as we punch down the cap. We pulled a sample. The color is considerably deeper (looks like a Cab!) and the alcohol smell is more apparent. Otherwise, the nose is a little tight right now. The wine still tastes sweet but good and the acidity is more noticeable.

Tuesday:

When I did a punchdown this morning, the cap was not as high as it had been during previous punchdowns. The temperature was also up around 89 and the brix was at 5 degrees. I had remembered reading that when the brix was below 5 degrees it was time to lower the Temp setpoints. However, what to do at 5 brix? Made a quick call to Taylor to get his take and we decided to lower the set points to 75 and 80 versus all the way down to 72 and 75. We were going to be away all day at a wine tasting (yes, I know!!) so we were afraid to leave the temp where it was in case the brix was to fall under 5 degrees while we were out. We returned this evening to a Temp of 81 and 0 brix. We performed a punchdown and then reset the Temp to 72 to 75 degrees. After that the brix was reading from 3 to, currently 1. It looks like tomorrow we will test for residual sugar and see where we are at.

Wednesday

We are now at 75 degrees and -2 brix (officially alcohol!) so it is time to do a residual sugar test to see if the brix measurement on the Winepod is accurate. Off to another wine tasting, so will report on that later.

Cheers!

Routine Punchdown

noreply@blogger.com (vino girl) — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 19:17:00 +0000

I woke up this morning and was uneasy about the temperature of the Winepod, which had reached 78.7, above the upper limit of 78 Taylor had set yesterday. We are having trouble with our temperature control, which is 'auto on' but doesn't seem to start the cooling process or turn on the alarm without us tinkering with it. Seeing the temperature was higher than expected (although our brix finally moved -- to 23) I lifted the lid and WHOA, the grapes were all the way to the top of the Winepod. This was unsettling to me and all I could think about was that jingle "they plump when you cook em'!"

I was pretty sure I should lower the temperature but I quickly got Taylor on the horn to huddle about what to do next. He helped me through changing the Set Temp Limits again (72/77) and we turned the Auto Temp Control on and off until it started cooling. Who knows how we did it but something apparently worked. Taylor suggested I punchdown to deal with that problem of the grapes looking like they were ready to escape. The grapes were so high that I lost a few over the top (not too many as I was going slow and steady) but the punchdown tool slid to the bottom of the Winepod quite easily. I mixed everything back up and by then the Temp had already lowered to 77 and the brix had dropped to 21.

My hands looked like I had been involved in a stabbing but otherwise everything seems back on track. I will wait for Taylor to later today to taste and make note of the aromas and flavors...

Well, the must is way up to the top of the Winepod again but Taylor was able to siphon out a sample for us. Once you get past the CO2, the aromas are still yeasty, berry, and some green olive. The taste is sweet berry and soft on the palate with only a small hint of that acidity we are going for. We did not detect any off odors at all.

In other news, we did some research and we have decided to punchdown a few times a day. Cheers!

WinePod Punchdown Day One

noreply@blogger.com (vino girl) — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 20:53:00 +0000

We were happy to discover that, when we pulled the lid off the Winepod tday, a cap had formed -- so we actually had something to punchdown on our first punchdown day! We could smell the sweet fruit and alcohol as soon as the lid had been removed. The cap resembled what I can only describe as pretty pink and purple worms congregating at the top of the Winepod. We checked the temperature (around 73 degrees) and the brix (still a hearty 26 - whoa!) and then prepared to integrate the cap into the must.

Punchdown was relatively easy, although it was difficult to tell at times when -- or if -- we had reached the bottom of the must with the punchdown tool. I tried not to take out my aggression, resulting from a two-touchdown defiicit for Syracuse in the Syracuse v. Penn State football game, and push down ever so gently on the cap. Taylor (aka Winemonkey) took over to finish the job, both of us proceeding as instructed in the punchdown video.

Punchdown took all of five minutes and then we were ready to sample our wine during its early fermentation phase. The hay we smelled a few days ago has fallen to the back for the most part and today we smelled a little bread from the yeast but also fresh, darker fruit, and hints of olives. We both took a small sip and agreed that the juice is still young and sweet, but less sweet due to the growing presence of alcohol. Taylor adjusted the lower set Temp to 72 from 70 as wine maker John Kelly did during his first punchdown day.

Now we are ready for the daily punchdowns until we reach 20 brix. The question remains....will we ever get down to 20 brix?!?!

PS: What this high brix level means is that we are destined to be making a high alcohol wine. Not our intention but we will see what happens.

Making Wine with the WinePod: Fermentation

noreply@blogger.com (vino girl) — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 00:49:00 +0000

Fermentation Day 1!

So, earlier today we revised our upper temp limit to 70 as we allowed the must to gently creep up in temperature to be closer to what we were looking for when we wanted to add the yeast. The yeast is going to turn our grape must into alcohol/wine.

We realize the Winepod has a heater element, but we figured it would be better to let nature do its job. There was no hint of a natural fermentation so we were comfortable letting the temp rise on its own.

Jen and I ran out for another bottle of Fiji water (which is what we used yesterday to add the acid) so that we could be sure that the water was the same and that there was no chlorine in the water, which is no good for the wine. After heating up 200ml, we cooled the water down to 102 (putting it somewhere between wine maker John Kelly's 104 and the the WinePod software recommendation of 98.6).

Once the water was at 102 we added in 2 packs (20g total) of GoFerm Yeast Extract to help the yeast along. Ten minutes of fairly anxious waiting and we then popped in not one but two packs of UvaFerm 43 (16g total). This is more than the WinePod software recommends, but we had to trust John on this end as it is one of the most crucial points in the process and we did not want to risk a stuck fermentation. This is when things don't get moving in the whole process of turning grape juice into wine. Additionally, John's notes indicated that there was very little yeast 'finger print' with this strain so we felt comfortable adding in the extra.

We reset our temp limits to 70-78 and pulled out 50ml of must for proofing with our handy wine thief and set it aside. The must smelled sweet and perfumey, very clean with no off odors. Jen noted fresh blackberry and some sort of flower note and I noted some hay/greener flavors which is typical at this point. Honestly, it is entirely reminscient of the aromas in a winery during crush.

After another 10 minutes of letting the yeast settle, we mixed everything together and transferred the (sanitized) Pyrex measuring cup to acclimate with the must before pitching in. Surprisingly, our must is very juice heavy and we were concerned that the measuring cup might tip over into the must before it had time to cool down. So we walked on eggshells around the Winepod and after 15 minutes we prepared to proof the yeast mixture with the must we previously set aside along with a pinch of sugar like John described in his notes. Most probably this is a combination of both the WinePod and John Kelly's methods, but one with which we were most comfortable. The initial proof comfirmed the yeast was active and ready to go. The proofing also dropped our yeast mixture temp down to 79.8 and we pitched the mixture in.

Now we cross our fingers and hope for the best!

Bubble, Bubble, Toil, and Trouble!

noreply@blogger.com (vino girl) — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 00:31:00 +0000

Prefermentation Phase in the WinePod:

Today, after worrying about our temperature for a spell -- it seemed a little too warm but was finally deemed "normal" -- we decided on our additions to the must.

Our first decision was to add slightly more TA (tartaric acid) than recommended based on some of our favorite California Cabs (okay, okay, so we are acid freaks by nature!). We mixed the TA with some quality bottled water and into the Winepod it went! After a good mixing to a chorus of "bubble, bubble, toil and trouble", we were on to the next step.

Moving forward we made an executive decision to skip the the oak, grape, and grape/oak tannin additives. We gave the thumbs up to the Lallzyme enzyme, which helps to deepen color, as well as the Booster Rouge and Opti-Red which promote weight and texture on the palate.

After these packets were thoroughly mixed in to the must, we checked the aromas (smells like young grape juice!) and flavors. Everything seems right on and, although certainly not ready for a nice, juicy steak, our Cabernet is surely on the way to stardom.

Also, due to our temperature problems from earlier where we never got our must down below 55, we did a quick temperature limit update after reading Westwood wine maker John Kelly's process. With the imminent addition of the yeast and John's experience, we felt that turning the alarm off and letting the must settle in to a higher temperature was not going to hurt anything. We lifted our lower set point to 61 degrees and the moved the upper to 68 degrees. (John went 62-72)

Next stop Fermentation!

Making Wine With the WinePod!

noreply@blogger.com (vino girl) — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 13:50:00 +0000

Winemonkey and I are now officially wine makers! We are making wine using the latest technology in home wine making - the WinePod. As part of a project called Club Ferment, we will be using Cabernet Sauvignon grapes from the same California vineyard to make wine in the Winepod along with about 25 other wine makers across the country. We all start the process on the same day and will follow along with the other wine makers' progress through the internet.

Yesterday, 9-10-09, we received the Cabernet Sauvignon grapes for our first Winepod wine making adventure. The grapes were in great condition, especially considering they were shipped frozen from Californ-I-A!

The first step was to calibrate the brix sensor (fancy talk for adjusting the device that measures the sugar content of the grapes) and then we were on to sanitizing everything and anything that will touch the precious juice. This reportedly takes 20 minutes but, let me tell you, it was a long and labored process -- particularly considering the Winepod is in my home office and not in a winery with water supplies, hoses, etc.

We then opened the grape pails and did a little hand sorting which entails picking out leaves, stems, and under ripe grapes -- there weren't that many -- to prevent off flavors and insure the best quality end product. It was then time to pour the grapes into our trusty Winepod. We added a small amount of sulphur along the way to prevent from spoilage, secured the lid on the 'pod, and set the temperature between 50 and 55 degrees.

Now....we wait. Fermentation today so stay tuned for more Winepod wine making excitement!

September is California Wine Month

noreply@blogger.com (vino girl) — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 20:21:00 +0000

Although you will have to wait until later in the month to revel in the opening of California Wine Merchants in Lower Manhattan, you can get a jump start on appreciating the good juice from the sunshine state at California Wine Rush.

In case you didn't know it, September is California Wine Month in New York. The Wine Institute is celebrating by throwing a tasting at Espace in NYC on September 10th. The tasting is open to the public for $40 from 5pm to 7pm.

Wines from every region in California will be represented and shown off in various categories including female winemakers (female is all the rage these days don't ya know), Organic & Biodynamic wines, family operations, classics, and unexpected surprises. Taste a little, learn a little, and catch the California wine bug!

Tickets can be reserved on the Local Wine Events Website. Espace is located on 42nd Street between 11th and 12th. Hope to see you there. Cheers!

Love for Cali Cabs

noreply@blogger.com (vino girl) — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 15:02:00 +0000

We’re happy to see that good old California Cab is getting some love these days – from the New York Times no less! This happens to be pretty good timing (Eric, you could have waited a month) for the opening of our wine store, California Wine Merchants, in Lower Manhattan.

The shop has been an all-consuming project for Winemonkey and myself; witness the absence of blog entries of late. Actually, we’re sorry to say that blog entries have diminished considerably for the last 8 months or so as we toiled away securing liquor licenses, engineer drawings, and building permits with the help of lawyers, architects, expeditors, and the like. We are now beginning our final approach and are set to land in the Financial District (FiDi as the cool kids call it) in late September 2008. Visit cawinemerchants.com to see the transformation of the space from a fiesta-colored empanada cafe (the former tenants) to a warm and welcoming boutique wine shop.

We hope to introduce NYC to amazing, small production juice we have discovered in California – and that previously did not make it out of California – as well as some brands that had been allocated to restaurants only. We will also pay homage to the famous faces that put California wine on the map, including big names like Beringer, the so-called CA cult wines, and fine and rare offerings. You’ll be sure to find some of the balanced, restrained Napa Cabs mentioned in Eric Asimov’s NY Times article such as Clark-Claudon, Continuum, Corison, HdV, Heitz, Seps, and Spottswoode to name a few. In short, THE GOOD STUFF. ;)

We’ll keep you posted and hope you will stop by when the doors open. Cheers!

The Prudish French?

noreply@blogger.com (vino girl) — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 15:39:00 +0000

The French are now putting 'wine on the internet' on the same level as 'pornography on the internet.' Since when are the French so prudish and, how shall I say this, so incredibly moronic?

By default, wine was not legally able to be sold via the internet in France. Proposed new laws put an explanation point on that notion and further specify that government approval must be sought from any sites marketing wine on the internet -- with the exception of winery websites. Even with government approval, these sites can only be frequented during certain hours of the day.

Hmmm, isn't that the idea of the Internet; that you can access information (or whatever it is you are looking for) anytime, anywhere? What is the point of "closing the door" on someone just because it is, say, 3am in France? I could go on but it feels ridiculous to give this mind-bending legislation more air time.

For more information, succinctly told, visit vinography.com and decanter.com.

Sante!

Prosecco Enters American Lingua

noreply@blogger.com (vino girl) — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 17:43:00 +0000

The latest edition of Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary contains the word ‘Prosecco’ among other epicurean-leaning words. The people at Merriam-Webster keep an eye on words that creep into the American vernacular over the years. This time around, prosecco, the obviously popular Italian sparkling wine, made the cut along with soju, Korean vodka distilled from rice, and edamame, the ever fashionable soybean treat. Does this say something about America’s growing interest in artisan foods and fine wines?

Fear not! These gourmand related terms join such Americana champs as wing nut, Texas Hold ’em, subprime, kiteboarding, and mental health day. Not to mention our very own American princess, Paris Hilton, is a Prosecco spokesbimbo. All is right with the world. (Please refer to Merriam-Webster.com for precise definitions. )

Cheers!

PS: Edamame goes pretty well with Prosecco if you ask Vino Girl! ;)