Dover Canyon Winery

How to Smoke a Duck: Viognier-Saffron Smoked Duck

2008-07-05T08:37:22-07:00

The Fourth of July is a quiet day for wine touring . . . people are usually heading to the beach or the lake with kids and grandparents in tow, so Dan and I made our first cooperative smoked duck. I have used the Weber smoker before to smoke duck, and I have a total of four smoked ducks under my belt (literally). But this was Dan's first time to be involved in the process. Although it turned into a Chinese circus ("You're in charge!" he kept saying. "But I totally disagree with the way you are doing this.") the duck survived in all its smoky, juicy radiance. Our cooperative recipe goes something like this . . .

The Pepper Rebellion

2008-06-15T13:03:23-07:00

Zinfandel is a challenging wine to grow, to produce and to enjoy. It is an intellectual wine, layered and complex, with a fruit and spice dichotomy. It is a winemaker’s wine, full of mystery and challenge . . . and fun. It is the James Dean of wine. Write a brief treatise on why zinfandel is deserving of respect, or in support of its peppercorn qualities, publish it on your website, blog, or an online forum and we will list you as a member of the Pepper Rebellion.

Zinfandel: King of the Gypsies

2008-06-10T10:30:29-07:00

For many years now, zinfandel has been considered the bastard child of the wine world, a pretender to the throne, incapable of elegance or intrigue. Zinfandel is recommended as a pairing for pizza. Pizza! Tomato sauces and rustically charred meat. Wine critic Robert Parker recently said online that blending zinfandel with syrah gives zinfandel a "nobility" it wouldn't otherwise have. I would like to introduce you to the "new" nobility—wines that are a favorite of chefs and gourmands, wines which are intellectually stimulating, vibrant, and satisfying. Wines with charisma, balance and intrigue. In our next post, we will launch The Pepper Rebellion.

Quick Bright Things

2008-05-20T20:32:41-07:00

I learned that our visitor is a long-tailed weasel. She had shiny chestnut fur, a black brush at the end of her tail, a black and white mask and a bright white blaze on her head. Our pretty weasel ran across the picnic area toward us, and bounced around the flower tubs outside the French doors, completely ignoring the curious humans and dog on the other side of the glass. Finding no food, she bounded away toward the lavender and rosemary bank along the driveway, and slid like a squid into a gopher hole.

Feiring's Fantasy: Alice Feiring Saves the World from Robert Parker

2008-05-11T09:00:00-07:00

Initially, the book appears to be a series of personal essay-adventures, in which learning and self-challenge would be explored, and a journalistic series, in which open-minded and fair coverage of an issue should be stressed. But Feiring relates only adventures which confirm her mindset, and her journalism is ill-informed and biased. I think she may have taken on a tiger by writing a provocative book that tackles processes she doesn’t understand and has not taken the time to research.

Spring Wine Club Shipments

2008-05-10T09:46:36-07:00

Spring wine club shipping is finished! We completed our roster in record time this year, getting all our scheduled shipments out by April 30th, and with more organization and attention to detail than ever before. I keep a running debrief dossier each shipment, with notes on how to improve our performance and service. Pick up requests will be held at the winery until May 31st. If you have not heard from us yet or received your shipment, please email the winery.

Keeping Things Lively . . .

2008-05-05T08:21:08-07:00

On Tuesday, April 28, I was upstairs in the winery office processing shipping labels for our Alaska and Hawaii wine club customers. Rebel Rose and Mr. Stubs were sleeping peacefully at my feet. Dan was in the creekside wine barn, perched on top of the barrel stacks, taking lab samples, when a 3.9 earthquake hit us. The earthquake, located directly beneath us, began as a typical rumble and shake but instead of tapering off in two seconds, it kept building . . . I ran down the stairs, fighting for real estate with Rebel, who was also thundering down the stairs but reluctant to leave my side. Mr. Stubs just clung to the carpet upstairs. The phone was ringing with concerned calls moments later. It took a full hour for my heart rate to return to normal, but we didn't leave the building and continued to pack your wine shipments!

Shit Happens: The Exploding Fish Emulsion

2008-04-18T08:55:09-07:00

So there I was, kneeling down and holding the bucket as Dan tipped the drum over. We were unaware that over the course of the year, the emulsion had fermented anaerobically in its enclosed drum. Its contents had morphed into something even stinkier than the original contents.

The Pepper Manifesto

2008-04-01T07:00:00-07:00

We make zins with pepper. Unabashedly, unforgivably peppery zinfandel. We gather the finest Tellicherry pink peppercorns, white peppercorns, and fat black peppercorns and select them, blend them, coarsely pulverize them (to increase the surface area of unoxidized, fresly exposed peppercorn surface) and then add them to the wine while it is still in barrel.

Baby, you can light my fire!

2008-03-29T18:45:00-07:00

With the approach of warm weather, blue skies, spring bulbs and lambs, our thoughts turn to grilling. It’s time to dust off the barbecue and uncover the patio furniture. Here are our top ten tips for enjoying the season’s second favorite sport, and a couple of recipes for hearty snacks hot off the grill.

Rebel Rose, Ubermodel

2008-03-08T09:10:00-08:00

Last month photographer Craig McGill came by to do a photo shoot with our English springer spaniel, Rebel Rose, for his publication Wine Dogs. Craig knows the fast track to a spaniel's heart--biscuits! He took some indoor and outdoor shots and Rebel followed him eagerly and obediently, clearly fascinated by the magical biscuit camera.

2008 Paso Robles Zinfandel Festival

2008-03-07T08:54:56-08:00

The annual Paso Robles Zinfandel Festival kicks off this coming weekend, March 14-16th. We will be breaking out the spring releases for tasting (see below). As part of the celebration, we will be grilling lambsicle appetizers all weekend (from noon to 4 pm), spiced with our handmade lavender salt rub and wasabi herb rub, using fresh herbs from our garden. On Saturday, we'll also be serving some saffron-infused bouillabaisse. Fresh-baked coriander-spiked bread and Pasolivo orange-olive oil will be available all weekend for palate cleansing.

Spring 2008 Wine Releases

2008-03-07T07:55:36-08:00

Our 2008 Spring wine club selections will soon be available for pickup, beginning Friday, March 14th. Shipping will begin March 17th. The Spring selection includes: 2006 Old Vine Zinfandel, Benito Dusi Vineyard 2006 Tre Noce (66% zinfandel, 34% syrah, all estate grown) 2006 Syrah, Starr Ranch Other new releases include the 2007 White Bone (60% viognier, 25% marsanne, 15% roussanne) and the 2006 Carmenere, Colbert Vineyard. Visit our Current Releases page for pricing and links to our wine profiles. Please visit us soon to taste these limited releases!

A Paean Salute

2008-03-07T07:05:49-08:00

Zinfandel. Primitivo. Guttural pagan names that perfectly elucidate the robust, peppery, shamelessly lusty fruit of the zinfandel grape. March. The end of winter and cold feet, of leaving for work in the dark and coming home in the dark. It's almost time to dust off the barbecue; our hunter-gatherer instinct awakens and hungers for blackened, peppered steaks and grilled vegetables. This month is our paean salute, our end-of-winter bonfire, our celebration of everything wine symbolizes—good food, warmth, red berries and red lips, sunlight and firelight, and most of all, the mystery of earth's bounty and man's eagerness to preserve it.

February Notes and Reviews

2008-02-28T07:00:00-08:00

Hits for Inside a Wine Scam : Mary Baker, Winiarski Detektyw (Poland) That's a pretty cool link. You can call me "Winnie". Deregulator, written by our customer and friend Rick Henderson, editorial writer for the Rocky Mountain News in Denver, Colorado. ______________________________________ Damn Good Wine reviews the Dover Canyon 2001 Barbera, 2001 Syrah DeBro Vineyard and 2001 Fralich Vineyard (syrah/zinfandel blend): "It was Sunday late afternoon and I wasn’t sure what I was in the mood for, but it was definitely a big red. I blew the dust off a couple racks downstairs and grabbed a Dover Canyon Winery Barbera. Wait… the dust is leaving my brain and the distant past is racing back. I remembered that the good folks at Dover Canyon sent us the Barbara to taste. Sounds fair enough; not a bad recollection. So let’s begin the tasting. The only problem is that it’s now 2008 and the Barbera was a 2001 vintage. Better late than never guys? I was really enjoying this Paso Robles Barbera. It’s powerful, but not overpowering -- fruit on the nose, lots of dark berry flavor, long finish. The color is a dark burgundy. It’s full bodied and very well balanced ....

Paso Robles: An American Terroir

2008-02-25T20:28:47-08:00

An extraordinary look at the soils and geology of Paso Robles. Paso Robles, An American Terroir is the result of ten years of study and exploration by soil scientist Tom Rice. Dr. Rice heads the soil science department at California Polytechnic Institute in San Luis Obispo, and their soil science program is understandably the largest and most popular in the United States. As the local "dirt guy," Dr. Rice has also done soil surveys for a number of local vineyards. The book is lushly illustrated with color photos, charts, graphs, diagrams and aerial shots. Paso Robles: An American Terroir is divided into two main sections—the first third of the book deals entirely with the geologic origins of the Paso Robles area, its soils, parent soils, geography, wind tunnels, water issues and climatology. It is densely factual, but attractively broken up by color art and photography, and Dr. Rice’s "prose cards."

Join us for a Live Chat on Thursday at Cellar Rats!

2008-02-20T10:28:27-08:00

Cellar Rats is a new online discussion forum, created and hosted by Dover Canyon. Our first live chat will start Thursday, February 20th at 6 pm Pacific / 9 pm Eastern. Guests are welcome, and registration in the forum is not required to enter the chat. Just go to Cellar Rats click on the colorful "Chat" icon at the upper right pick a chat name and you’re in! I have no idea what we’ll be discussing in this first chat, but one question is sure to pop up repeatedly: "What are you drinking tonight?" Cellar Rats differs from other online wine and culinary boards in that it was created specifically for the wine industry, with a focus on winemaking and wine industry trends. Not all the discussion threads are entirely serious. We have a thread on rattlesnake recipes, for instance, but I’ve had some trouble getting my hands on a snake! Everyone is welcome, and we hope to have a fun and lively discussion in the chat room. I hope you’ll join us.

Inside a Wine Scam, Part V: The Worm Turns

2008-02-17T14:34:52-08:00

At first, the callers are hesitant. “Hello, my name is . . .” “I’m a chef in the Midwest, and I sell gourmet products online . . .” “I’m with a skin care products firm in San Francisco . . .” “We broker handcrafted jewelry to catalog buyers . . .” After a stumbling start, they race to the finish. “We almost made a huge mistake.”

Inside a Wine Scam: Money Orders

2008-02-17T14:19:35-08:00

Diane Raubach at Security State Bank in Chehalis, Washington agreeably answered some questions for us about the safety of accepting money orders for internet sales. Question: Can Money Orders be cancelled even after the bank has made the funds available? Is there a time limit in which a Money Order can be cancelled? Or can it happen at any time?

A Viognier Valentine: 2001 "The Terraces" Dessert Viognier

2008-02-14T18:10:39-08:00

Many people decline to sample a dessert wine. "Oh no," they say, "I don't like dessert wines." "Oh," we say. "Well, we are offering tastes of our white chocolate and macadamia nut brownies with our 2001 Dessert Viognier." And then we hold up the golden-white morsels on a glass plate of deep blue. It's amazing what people will do for a brownie . . .

Inside a Wine Scam, Part IV: Who's in Your Wallet?

2007-12-30T11:13:35-08:00

In our last post, customer John Nelson asked me to run four stolen credit cards, accept the stolen funds, and then wire $2500 from our bank account to a Ms. Jeanette Springer. He requested a Western Union wire transfer. However, in order to receive the wire transfer a living, breathing person must show up, produce identification, and be able to identify details regarding the transaction. (In Alpha Trans’ full communication, they ask for our location address, the money transfer control number and the exact amount of money sent.)

Inside a Wine Scam, Part III: "It Ain't TV, Lady"

2007-12-27T17:57:02-08:00

After some amateur sleuthing on Jeanette, I contacted the FBI regional office in Oklahoma. "What’s this all about?" snarled an agent. "Um, who am I speaking with, please?" I asked. "We don’t give out our names for security purposes," he said. Thoroughly intimidated, I didn’t want to point out that I was looking at their website, which lists at least a dozen names—including first names, last names, and middle initials, presumably to prevent inter-cubby confusion. Moving on, I explained the scam and the fact that a front man was operating in their area, and we might like some help observing or catching her. "This isn’t TV, lady," he sighed. "We have legal issues."

Inside a Wine Scam, Part II: The 'John Nelson' Letters

2007-12-21T07:00:00-08:00

Our next step is to write a response to Mr. John Nelson. Safety first. I won't worry about the scammers finding this post. Life is too short to be paranoid. But I will use an old email address and pose as a man. In fact, I am a poor, hard-working cellarman with a fledgling wine production, and any transactions or shipments must be processed through "my employer" or "a friend." Well, it must be business hours in Nigeria because I heard back from John in 17 minutes. He places an order for 15 cases of wine, 5 each.

Inside a Wine Scam, Part I: How the Wine Scam Works

2007-12-20T07:00:00-08:00

This isn't the first time a wine blogger or reporter has written about the Nigerian wine scam. There's a pretty funny riff on the 419 'advance fee' scam, written by Jack at Fork & Bottle and published by Alder Yarrow at Vinography. Ric at TORBWine holds the evil Nigerian forces at bay even though they want to order Dom Perignon. Nigeria is a poor country, but you've got to give them credit for hard work. FraudWatchers offers internet chat forums for victims and fraud watchers, but the moderators there also have a separate forum for scammers who post there. The subforum heading reads, "This forum is where all posts made on this board by criminal scammers (yes, they really are *that* stupid!!) are placed for the search engines." I got a kick out of Another Genius Scammer.

Inside a Wine Scam: 'John Nelson'

2007-12-19T17:32:14-08:00

Have you ever yearned to be a private investigator? A Stephanie Plum or Magnum P.I? Or an indefatigable investigative reporter? I do . . . I fantasize that if I could solve just one crime, hand over one perpetrator, I will have done my part for society. Recently, some small family wineries in our area were hit by internet identity thiefs. One small winery was innocently engaged in a fraudulent transaction for $80,000 and a pallet (56 cases) of their wine. Then another winery down the road from us also reported the loss of an entire pallet of wine in a fraudulent transaction. So when I got a similar email with shady details, I asked myself, what would Stephanie Plum do? And Kinsey Millhone? Greta Van Susteren? And I proceeded to snoop, lie, and cheat my way to answers with the best of the best.

Recent Mentions

2007-12-16T12:26:20-08:00

I have no idea where in the world this is coming from. Sweden? Denmark? And what the heck are they saying? Omatt Oimeksiannot "Juttujen tilaajaksi sopisivat kaikki yritykset, joilla on verkkosivuja, koska blogi elävoittaa sivustoa ja saa aikaa sivuille palaavia asiakkaita. Mainostaminen blogin avulla on siis aika edullista. Muutenkaan verkkomainonta ei välttämättä tule kovin kalliiksi varsinkin, kun vertaa sanomalehtimainontaan ja vastaaviin julkaisuihin. Pari hyvää esimerkkiä: Restaurant Girl ja Dover Canyon Winery."

Romance on a Swing

2007-12-13T08:31:47-08:00

In late October, sweethearts Josh Rosenstein and Carrie Mathewson pledged their love on our wooden swing. There has been a swing on this 100-year-old black walnut for at least 80 years, according to our neighbor Joe Barloggio. On a balmy fall afternoon, Josh proposed to Carrie against a backdrop of autumnal walnut leaves raining down like golden pennies.

1996 Roussanne: Peach Pie in a Glass

2007-12-10T21:56:51-08:00

I received a call from a customer recently asking about our 1999 Roussanne, Chequera Vineyard. So I ventured into the wine library, which is actually a damp underground root cellar below our 1921 farmhouse. After braving a flurry of startled frogs and rummaging around in the few whites left, I found a bottle of our 1996 Dover Canyon Roussanne, Chequera Vineyard.

Prospecting for Oil: Pasolivo

2007-12-04T12:06:33-08:00

In the third installment from our October fundraiser--a weekend food and wine tour featuring private tours at Tablas Creek, Cayucos Abalone Farm, Saxum, L'Aventure, and a finale dinner at Villa Creek, we visit Willow Creek Olive Ranch, home of Pasolivo olive oil. I am seriously addicted to their orange and tangerine oils, made with oils pressed from citrus rinds and blended with olive oil. They also offer an estate oil, a California blend, a low production kalamata oil, and lemon and lime olive oils. Pasolivo was featured in Gourmet magazine, and sells almost all their oils via their private club and tasting room.

A Touch of Terroir: Tablas Creek

2007-11-27T19:46:32-08:00

During our October fundraising weekend, I took our guests to visit Tablas Creek. Tablas Creek Vineyard is a cooperative venture between the Robert Haas family and the Perrin family of Chateauneuf du Pape. The tasting rooms were packed as Saturday was also the date of their wine club blending party and barbecue. Nevertheless, we were warmly greeted by general manager Jason Haas, who guided us outside into the quiet of the herb gardens surrounding the crush pad and spent the next two hours entertaining us with stories of the winery and vineyard venture. Jason related the history of the winery and his parents’ search for the perfect site for Rhone varietals. After decades of visiting potential sites, they decided the Meditteranean climate and calcareous soils of west Paso Robles were the most likely place for the Rhone varietals they wanted to plant.

101 Uses for a Wine Tank

2007-11-26T08:45:23-08:00

Cleaning tanks is fun. When the weather isn't bitterly cold, at any rate . . . this month I would generally wait until the mid-morning sun hit the crush pad before shucking my shoes and socks and climbing into the tank. Our largest tanks are only 3,000 gallons and while they have safety railings around the top, there are no ladders inside. We place an empty picking bin under the tank door and main valve to catch the wash water so it doesn't schloop all over the crush pad while we are pressing. I climb into the bin and then slither through the 2-foot opening into the tank. There is no graceful way to do this. My front gets thoroughly smeared with grape goo, and I generally look around to make sure no one is watching first. The remaining grapes crunch beneath my bare feet and the sticky, cold grape gunk gets between my toes.

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

2007-11-21T07:00:00-08:00

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving Day, and we will be enjoying a day of rest and respite from everything except punchdowns . . . I will prune my roses and pull out the fall garden, plant some winter seeds, maybe even take a nap in the hammock. Dan will probably wash his Mustangs and Rebel Rose might get a bath as well! We have many, many things to give thanks for tomorrow--our beautiful farm, robust health, loved ones and friends, loyal customers who frequently become friends, our warm and supportive community . . . But one thing I can unequivocally add, because it's the real reason for our day of rest: "Thank God for football!"

Our Podcast Premiere: WineCast

2007-11-19T08:16:24-08:00

This week Dover Canyon was a guest on Winecast's Unfiltered podcast series, with hosts Tim Elliott and Jeff Lefevere of Good Grape, and guest Alyssa Rapp of Bottlenotes. Join us for an hour-long round table conversation as we discuss Alyssa's successful wine club, the 2007 central coast harvest, recent wine news, high alcohol in wine, the story behind our carmenere, online wine forums, and wine writer Dan Berger's latest commentary at Appellation America.

Abalone's Revenge: The Cayucos Abalone Farm

2007-11-19T07:41:49-08:00

In October, I arranged a fundraising dinner and tour of local food producers as a fundraiser for the eGullet Society of Culinary Arts & Letters. We started the day at the Cayucos Abalone Farm with a personally guided tour conducted by Brad Buckley. Perched on small bluff overlooking the ocean, the farm produces almost 500,000 abalone a year. They culture only red abalone, under the brand name Ocean Rose.

Wine Without Borders

2007-11-17T11:48:56-08:00

The Specialty Wine Retailers Association is expanding their outreach and efforts to coordinate and change ridiculous state shipping laws. Recently, they started a blog . . . Wine Without Borders

A Shepherd's Morning

2007-11-16T18:59:40-08:00

During harvest one morning around 7 am, I was in the office and Dan called me outside. "Uh huh," I responded lethargically. "No, really! " he called. "You've got to see this!" From outside the wine barn we watched in amazement as a flock of sheep trotted down Vineyard Drive. They were almost 10 deep across the road. Men strolled behind them, whistling and swinging their jackets; border collies barked happily, dashing back and forth and keeping the sheep from straying off the pavement. Some of the sheep wore bells and we could hear their languid clanking as the sheep, most white-faced, some black-faced, trotted obediently down the road.

2007 Harvest Wrap Up

2007-11-15T21:16:00-08:00

It's been a busy eight weeks--harvest started in early September, but then a heat spell and cooler weather following the heat delayed further picking until October, when it all began coming in at once! In the meantime, we were also packing and labeling hundreds of Fall 2007 wine club orders. Some vineyards, including Dusi and our estate vineyard, were picked in several different passes so we could bring in the fruit at its peak of ripeness and balance. With only a few weather hiccups, we enjoyed warm days and cool autumnal breezes throughout harvest. (None of those grueling late nights and freezing temperatures we remember from recent El Nino vintages.) Dan kept the fruit coming in at a steady pace so each day's work could be accomplished in a reasonable amount of time--which meant 10 hour days for me, and 12-14 hour days for Dan.

Harvest Hiatus

2007-11-11T16:21:23-08:00

A lot has been happening during the last month. Fruit has been coming in fast and furiously over the last 3-4 weeks. We've been crushing, fermenting, punching down, pressing, and cleaning . . . cleaning . . . cleaning. We'll be posting a harvest wrap up next, and we have a podcast interview with Winecast going online this evening, with a whole line up of exciting announcements and articles to come. Those of you who subscribe via Feedblitz and other feedburners are about to be blitzed with articles, photos, stories and comments. We have lots of news. Stay tuned!

"Soils are the skin of the earth . . . "

2007-09-06T15:29:15-07:00

I have the privilege of reading a draft of Dr. Tom Rice’s forthcoming book, Paso Robles: An American Terroir. In a casual discussion about the manuscript, Tom said a fascinating thing . . . "Soils are the ‘skin’ of the earth." And if you stop to think about that, it’s true—like our skin, soils need oxygen, moisture and nutrients to thrive. And like our skin, sometimes moisture and nutrients are supplied by the layers underneath, and sometimes applied on the surface. Like our skin, our soils are alive with microflora. Conversely—just as soils can become arid, our skin can become so parched that no outside intervention will cure it; only the deep moisturizing supplied by our inner water and nutrients can restore it.

Harvest Begins!

2007-09-06T14:32:33-07:00

A quick vintage update: after a week or more of blistering hot weather, temperatures are cooling down at night to the mid-fifties, and today is very windy and cool, sweater weather. However, vineyards all seem to be getting ripe at once! Harvest begins tomorrow, with arrivals of cabernet franc, petit sirah and possibly zinfandel. Emails and faxes from growers are coming in daily. Dan is also getting ready for bottling, so as fast as he is emptying barrels, fruit will be coming in to fill them. As many of you already know, we are open to the public Thursday through Sunday. On the days we are closed, Monday through Wednesday, we will be very busy with harvest duties, our September bottling, and wine club packing. If you wish to stop by on those days to pick up your wine club, you are welcome to do so (and we'd love to chat for a bit). However, please make an appointment 24 hrs. in advance.

Countdown: Viognier, Carmenere, Old Vine Zin

2007-09-06T14:09:59-07:00

We have limited quantities of the following wines available. With two busy weekends ahead of us, we anticipate these wines will sell out in 10-15 days. Today's report:

Dover Canyon Profiled in BusinessWeek

2007-09-06T09:31:49-07:00

Business Week magazine is featuring Dover Canyon Winery this month in their quarterly magazine, SmallBiz. The article, Make Some Noise, is part of a special report on small businesses making creative use of Web 2.0 to reach their audience. The article points out that over 660,000 small businesses in the U.S. use blogs or podcasting to communicate their messages. Five of those small businesses, including Dover Canyon, are profiled in the article.