St. Louis Eats and Drinks With Joe and Ann Pollack

This Week's Wine: November 25, 2009

 

Well, here we are again --Thanksgiving is upon us and we haven't bought wine yet. The good thing is that all wine stores are open and bulging at the seams with good values at good prices. Another good thing is that the Beaujolais Nouveau hype seems to be mostly behind us. All the stories were mainly arranged for television, which truly buys into hype in a big way, as long as there are pictures to accompany it. But tales of fast planes like the Concorde and speedboats and such, getting the bottles to the restaurants just before midnight, were so much malarkey. The wine has been around for several weeks being distributed to retailers and bars.

There's less of that these days, and wine shops are carrying less of it. Some local outlets have only one or two different winemakers.

Beaujolais Nouveau, by the way, is from the 2009 vintage, so it has no aging of any sort except a few weeks in the bottle. It is made in the Beaujolais region, which borders on Burgundy, and is made from Gamay grapes, or is supposed to be. It is light of body, easy to drink and will not improve with age. Drink it by New Year's Eve, or certainly by George Washington's birthday, or mine, which occurs earlier in the same month. It does go well with turkey, and it is inexpensive. But you probably can get a better wine for the same amount of money.

But for the sake of continuity, I did sample a few. A couple arrived on my doorstep a week before the magic day (the Thursday before Thanksgiving).

Georges Duboeuf makes a Beaujolais Nouveau and a Beaujolais Villages Nouveau, which is a little better and a dollar more expensive ($11 against $10). The Villages has good flavor and balance, pleasant flavor and is a worthy drink. Its cousin has a floral nose, a flavor of strawberry and a short finish.

Joseph Drouhin, a veteran winemaker like Duboeuf, offers a $10 Nouveau that is more reminiscent of cherries than strawberries. It shows medium body, not much finish and some tannins that are not very well balanced. Laboure-Roi, another long-time producer ($11) brings an aroma and a flavor of cherry jello and was sweet on the palate.

All right, so what would I recommend for the Thanksgiving table? My first recommendation is to visit your wine-seller, tell him (or her) how much you want to spent and ask for a French Gamay or a California (or Oregon) Pinot Noir that's on the lighter side. You'll end up with a wine that will be excellent with your meal, and a tab of less than $15.

Something more specific? Well, I tasted an excellent Robert Mondavi Pinot Noir recently, though it did cost $24, and for the white wine fancier, a Mondavi Fume Blanc ($18) that is superior with fowl. A pair of value wines from Bogle, each $11, included a 2007 Zinfandel and a 2006 Petite Sirah. Dry Creek Vineyard has a Sonoma County Heritage Zinfandel, at $18, that will be fine company on the dining room table.

-Joe

This Week's Wine October 21, 2009

 

There's a great deal of bargain-hunting in wine shops these days. Only bankers, brokers (stock, not ticket) and professional athletes can afford the really good stuff. The rest of us are scrambling. But thankfully, with some winemakers and wineries also feeling some financial pressure, there are good values on shelves and lists.

While I know there are other bargain opportunities out there, I've enjoyed some recent tastings, at a dinner with David Mirassou, scion of the Napa County-based winery that posts a legitimate claim to being the most venerable of the California winemaking families, and with some samples from Bogle, the long-time Sonoma County producer of tasty wines at the lower end of the price scale. And Dan Kravitz, the Brooklyn-born (in a neighborhood very close to mine) wine importer who lives in Maine and whose headquarters are in Virginia, was the host at a Wine & Cheese Place tasting that displayed 10 wines from France, Spain and Argentina at $16 or less.

Kravitz works with smaller properties in Europe and South America, and had some excellent examples. Foremost was a 2007 Boniface Apremont ($16), made from the Jacquere grape, a new experience for me. The white grapes grow only in Savoie, in the French Alps, and the light wine displayed a slight, lovely tingle on the tongue. There's an aroma of flowers, with a hint of mint, and the flavor has a bit of pepper and some lemon behind that. Producers recommend it with fish, but I see it equally promising as an aperitif. I can't recall tasting wine from Jacquere grapes, but I'd be happy to drink it again.

Another interesting offering was an '06 IA Garnacha, 100 percent Grenache from Spain ($10), with a nice smoothness and pleasing raspberry overtones. A similar wine from Kravitz' own estate in France called Domaine Cabireau Serge and Tony ($15) is a little richer than the Spanish version even if it is a year younger, and its name is less complex than the wine. Serge takes care of the vineyard and Tony is the winemaker. Among his Argentine wines, an '07 Sauvignon Blanc from Alfredo Roca ($8) had a charming mineral quality and a nice touch of citrus, and an '06 Cabernet Sauvignon ($11) with the proprietary name of Altura 1024, for the 1024-meter (about 3300 feet) altitude of the vineyards, was a deep, hearty red that called forth images of roast beef or T-bone steak.

French Cotes du Rhone blends of Syrah, Grenache, maybe some Cinsault, or Mouvedre, or Carignan, depending on the winemaker's prererence, show up in several of Kravitz' wines, like a French Terre de Mistral ($13) or a Spanish Cuvee des Galets ($13). They do not have a lot of finesse, but they're hearty and they make excellent companions to a simple meal of pizza, pasta or hamburgers.

Pierre and Henrietta Pellier emigrated from France in 1854, bringing cuttings of Pinot Noir and other grapes from their own vineyards and replanting them in California's Monterey and Santa Clara valleys. They made wine, and their daughter, also Henrietta, married Pierre Mirassou, a neighboring grape farmer. With 155 years of winemaking experience behind them, the Mirassous are among the California pioneers; about three years ago, Mirassou became part of the Gallo empire. David Mirassou, the sixth generation of the family, is a spokesman who, like many winemakers and their families, go on tour after the harvest, selling and talking and drinking their wine, which sells in the $12-13 range.

Mirassou talked about five of his wines over dinner recently, starting with a crisp, tasty 2008 Sauvignon Blanc that showed considerable acidity and tartness. An '07 Chardonnay, about half aged in American oak, the rest in stainless steel, was light but with a pleasing flavor, and using steel helped reduce the big, buttery flavor which many like and as many dislike, finding it overpowering.

Three reds were more successful. An '08 Pinot Noir was young but fruity, though it's hard to tell how longer it will improve. Best of the group, in my opinion, was an '06 Merlot with grapes mainly from Paso Robles and Lodi, and a little Zinfandel and Syrah for added complexity. Soft and rich, its flavor opening and becoming tastier with every sip. It's a splendid value. Almost as good was a 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon , also with grapes sourced from Paso Robles and Lodi, where hot summers build the sugar content and bring bigger black currant flavors and more body to the wine.

Another six-generation wine family, the Bogles of Clarksburg, make some of the most drinkable inexpensive wines in California. Farmers since the mid-19th century, the Bogles are late arrivals in wine, starting in 1968 when Warren Bogle and his son, Chris, planted the first 20 acres of grapes.

Like me, the Bogles prefer red wine, and four 2009 releases from the 2007 vintage demonstrate their skills in offering well-made wine at $11 a bottle, except for the Merlot, which is just $9. Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon and Petite Sirah, from grapes grown in the Bogles' own Clarksburg neighborhood and in Lodi or along the Central Coast, are wines with elegance and backbone.

The Zin, from vines 40-80 years old, is rich and dark, mellow and round with hints of pepper and spicy chocolate in the finish. Ten months in American oak give it tannin and a touch of wood, but also indications that the wine will age nicely. Cabernet Sauvignon, with 14 months in American oak, is certainly drinkable now, and should improve for 5-7 years. A plum nose tickles the palate. Bogle has long made a specialty of Petite Sirah, first producing it in 1978, and using grapes from Lodi and its home territory of Clarksburg. Blackberries are noticeable in the aroma, and leather and oak in the flavor. It's a wine that shows individuality and the winemaker's skill. Merlot, lush and mellow, also is a winner.

-Joe

This Week's Wine, October 4, 2009

I'm now 21st-century-qualified in terms of wine writers. I took part in a webinar last week, didn't spill any wine, followed directions and instructions, tasted six wines, asked a question and received an answer. I didn't see the pictures that came as a visual aid, but later discovered that the problem was in the transmission and not my fault.

Webinar? That's a made-up 21st-century word combining "worldwide web" and "seminar," and though I'd heard about this particular apparition, I had managed to avoid participation until now.

Montes, the 21-year-old Chilean wine producer that has been expanding to other parts of the world, showed off wines from three different countries and three different grapes, which took it out of the ordinary wine-tasting experience. Aurelio Montes Sr. and Jr., the father-son team who are the winemakers, were visible as they tasted, talked and answered questions from those of us on the other side of the computer screen.

Grapes from the Colchagua Valley of central Chile offered a 2007 Montes Alpha Carmenere ($23) and a 2006 Montes Purple Angel ($65), based on the same grape. The former includes 10 percent Cabernet Sauvignon, the latter eight percent Petit Verdot. Carmenere is a red grape, very similar to a Merlot, and is the subject of many stories. One is that after it was planted in Chile, it was thought to be a Merlot, and treated as one, but more scientific tests proved that though it was similar, it was not identical. It is of French origin, though very little still grows in France, and it is a vitis vinifera, like the classic French wine grapes. "Lost grape" legends abound.

Both wines are rich and dark in color, with the Angel's hue a little deeper because of the Petit Verdot. The Alpha, harvested fairly late in the Chilean autumn (our spring in the Northern Hemisphere), comes from grapes that receive little water. It shows a little black pepper in the aroma, good spice on the palate, would benefit from another six months of bottle age before drinking, a tactic to allow the tannins to soften a little more. It would be an excellent wine with barbecue or grilled meats.

The Angel, a year older, is a more elegant wine, with splendid acid-alcohol balance. Both wines spend a year in French oak barrels, but the extra year of bottle age has softened the tannins to the point where the wine is closer to perfect maturity. Hearty notes of plums and red fruit roll through the mouth, and the finish is long, smooth and elegant. It's an outstanding wine, and probably will improve for another decade.

Montes expanded across the Andes Mountains into Argentina a half-dozen years ago, settling in the Mendoza area, home to most Argentine wineries. The area, with a Continental climate, is warmer than the Colchagua Valley in Chile, and fruit is grown at higher altitudes. Warm winds and plenty of sun combine for a long growing season, just right for the Malbec grapes that are the mainstay of Argentine wineries, though many other varieties are grown there, too.

The proprietary Argentine label, Kaiken (pronounced Ky-ken), is the Indian name for a Patagonian goose that flies across the Andes and lives in both Argentina and Chile. We tasted a pair of 2007 Malbecs, the Reserve ($14), a 90-10 blend with Cabernet Sauvignon, and the Ultra ($25), 100 percent Malbec.

The Malbec is a bit lighter and more delicate than the Carmenere, slightly lighter in color as well, with berry influences in the flavor. It would work very well with roast lamb, or with churrascaria, the South American barbecue that involves several different cuts of meat grilled on skewers.

Montes moved into the Napa Valley in 2006, sourcing Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah grapes from growers in Coombsville, at the San Pablo Bay end of the Carneros region, and from Yountville, farther north. Coombsville is a cooler area, with breezes from the bay and through the Petaluma gap to the west having a major effect. Yountville, on the Napa Valley floor, with its higher summer temperatures, creates more tannin in the grapes. Some grapes are from the Knight's Valley area of Sonoma County, bordering on Napa, and the wine was made at the Artesa Winery in Carneros.

Douglas Murray, a founding partner in Montes, explained the California adventure this way, "To create our own Napa wine has long been a cherished dream as the Napa Valley is the wine jewel of the New World's Northern Hemisphere." Napa is only the beginning for Montes, however. The winemakers also are working with Paso Robles growers, farther south, and will have StarAngel wines next year to go with NapaAngel, which is making its debut this year after three years of age, 18 months in French oak, 18 more in bottle.

The Napa wines are expensive, too. NapaAngel, 90 percent Cab, 10 percent Syrah, is priced at $55, and the Aurelio's Selection stamp brings the cost to $90.

They're very tasty, too, aged long enough to be extremely smooth and drinkable, though they will improve for a decade or more. The addition of Syrah makes the NapaAngel more approachable now, with a hint of tannin and a big, plummy nose. Aurelio's Selection has a dark cherry aroma and hints of the same fruit in the flavor. It's delicious, with a solid structure, excellenct acid-alcohol balance, considerable complexity and a long finish. Both are fine companions to beef, or to game.

And the Montes folks aren't finished with their expansion mode. Europe is next, with a first outpost planned for Spain or Portugal.

-Joe

This Week's Wine, September 6, 2009

The little ATV bucked and coughed, dug its tires into the grass, spun left, moved between rows of grapevines They were heavy with fruit turning from green to yellow and gold in the August sunshine. Hank Johnson braked, took a couple of sandwich-sized plastic bags from his pocket, handed one to me.

"We’re going to pick some of these Vignoles grapes," he said, "and check them for sugar content. When I pull over to your side, take a grape from the closest bunch-just reach, don’t inspect-and take them in a regular order. Front, back, top, bottom, right side, left side as we go from bunch to bunch. I’ll do the same on my side."

Johnson is the owner and sometime tasting-room host at Chaumette Vineyards, one of a half-dozen or so Ste. Genevieve area operations that recently joined the burgeoning number of Missouri grape-growers and wine-producers. The property, on the gently rolling hills of Ste. Genevieve County, includes vineyards, a large tasting room and a fine restaurant whose porch offers some lovely views-not dramatic like the Rockies, but green (thanks to our glorious summer), warm and attractive. Johnson also has some handsome houses for sale or rent. And since wineries have become family destinations, there’s a spa, too.

In the vineyard, Vignoles and other white grapes like Chardonnay and Chardonel, ripen first, followed by red grapes like Chambourcin and St. Vincent. Norton, which brings forth a rich red wine, is usually last, sometime in October.

We drove through about half of the vineyard’s rows, picking as we went. And we tasted a few, too. They were only slightly sweet, and the seeds, showed greenish centers on most, some turning to brown, which would indicate ripeness. To speed the ripening process, all growers remove some leaves from the vines, train others in a specific pattern, usually on wires. Johnson likes the Smart-Dyson ballerina style, which he thinks exposes the grapes to more sun, helping them ripen a little early. Some growers use the Geneva Double Curtain technique, which makes for a longer hang-time.

With Johnson’s sheep dog, Pooka, weaving back and forth in front of or behind or alongside the ATV, we drove back to the lab, where we squeezed the grapes in their little plastic bags to release the juice. Johnson dripped some on an optical machine, held it up to the light, watched a blue line creep up the scale. "Brix" is the term for the sugar content; in other words, if a winemaker tells you he picks at 25 brix, he is picking when the grapes’ juice is about 25 percent sugar.

The brix level was of concern, since the grapes were busy creating sugar rapidly while necessary acids lagged behind. A proper balance between alcohol and acid is crucial in the winemaking process.

Johnson, a retired insurance executive, and his wife Jackie, bought the property in 1990, planted grapes, opened Chaumette six years ago, with Norton, Vignoles, Chardonel, Chambourcin and Traminette grapes on the vines, along with some eastern European experimental varieties he’s researching as part of a state agriculture project, a search for a hardy vine that will produce wine grapes despite the vagaries of Missouri weather. And there are some vines here and there that any vineyard manager worth his salt will have in the ground as he searches for something special. That hunt has been in progress ever since man (and woman) learned to cultivate grapes.

The walls in the large, handsome tasting room show the Johnsons’ tastes, from grapes to fishing to grand opera, and also includes the Grapevine Grill, where chef Adam Lambay, formerly at the stove in some of St. Louis’ best restaurants, has taken over the kitchen and is doing lunch and dinner, with brunch on weekends, while Yvonne Lemire creates desserts and pastries. A more recent arrival is winemakers Mark Baehmann, who moved to Ste. Genevieve from Augusta, where he had been the winemaker at Mount Pleasant since 1992. We’ll discuss the Grapevine Grill fare at in the next week or two.

Wine samples, none from Baehmann until sometime next year, included several different Chardonels (the grape is a cross of Chardonnay and Seyval), a 2008 estate bottled Chardonel more in the Chardonnay style, with 10 months in oak bringing a slight buttery feeling, much like that found in Chardonnays from California. Another style, Dry Chardonel, is more like a Pinot Grigio, crisper, more acidic, with nice citrus notes.

Traminette, a cross between the classic Gewurztraminer and an obscure grape known as Johnes Seyve 23.416, certainly shows the heritage of the former, missing only the slight bubble the imports from Germany or France will carry.

A rose, made from Chambourcin grapes and called Spring Rose, displayed good floral aromas and tastes of cherry and raspberry, though I found it a little on the sweet side.

Three reds were excellent, with the ‘06 Chambourcin and ‘04 Norton both using 100 percent of the single grape variety. The Chambourcin, 15 months in Missouri oak, offers hints of leather and smoke in the aroma, dark plummy fruit on the palate. The Norton, with grapes sourced from Wayne Hurlbert’s vineyards in Washington, Mo., was rich and dark, with a long finish and dark hearty fruit from start to finish. Oak in this one, too, and on my dinner table, I’d decant the wines, or at least leave the bottles open open, for an hour or so before drinking. Putting Norton and Chambourcin together under the proprietary label Assemblage, and using grapes from different years created something better than the sum of its parts, with flavors from the Rhone Valley of France. Delicious.

-Joe

This Week's Wine, September 1, 2009

Want to win a medal for the wine you just made on your back porch?

Wait until next year and enter it in the annual Missouri wine contest-your odds are very much better than at your favorite race track. After all, the state of Missouri’s wine competition ended recently, with the grape and wine program handing out awards at its own little private picnic. Of 220 entrants, 160 won medals. In other words, 73 percent took home hardware to hang on a bottle. The breakdown was 42 gold, 54 silver and 64 bronze.

Counting medals is a little like herding cats. I counted 151 (and I don’t count very well) but then realized that a very fine wine like the Stone Hill 2007 Norton from the Cross J Vineyard had won three gold medals by itself, one along with eight others wines that earned gold in the Dry Red class, one for being the best Dry Red and one for being the Best in Show. So rather than going back and recounting, and risking compounding all my errors, we’ll just play it like it lays and take a mulligan later.

The competition has come a long way. I was a judge the first time the state had a wine competition, back in the mid-1970s, and three of us–the late Millard Cohen, a real wine expert and a grand person, the food editor of the Springfield News-Leader and I, then representing the Post-Dispatch-gathered in a building next to a cattle barn on the fair grounds in Sedalia. The aroma of cow was stronger than the aroma of wine, but we muddled through and picked some winners (not wieners, winners), though one of the state’s leading winemakers made a midnight raid on the judges’ quarters and erected barriers so we could not confer with one another.

Now there are 12 judges, representing almost the entire country, and they do not go within miles of the fair grounds. Of course, the Fair no longer runs the contest, or provides ribbons to the winners, or has any connection with the wine except to display some after the fact. You’d think that John Ashcroft, who wouldn’t serve wine at the governor’s mansion, was back in power. He’s now a big-time player as an influential lobbyist in Washington, and I wonder if he serves wine to those he is trying to lobby.

But the competition has fixed rules for medals. The best will win, but so will a lot of second-best offerings. If the judges are working on a 100-point scale, anything above 85 may be a gold. So nine dry red wines won gold medals, 15 won silver and 18 won bronze. That’s 42 medal winners in one category. Absurd.

In some respects, the competition proves the growth in numbers and quality of Missouri wineries. A total of 26 wineries earned ribbons, almost a third of the 91 wine-producers in the state. Stone Hill (Hermann), a perennial powerhouse, took home 28 ribbons, far more than anyone else. My guess is that it had more entries than anyone else, too. Others in double figures were Montelle (Augusta), 17; Augusta (Augusta), 16; Adam Puchta (Hermann), 14; and St. James (St. James), 11.

The rest of the medal-winners includes wineries that are both old and new, from familiar cities and towns and others you’d never expect: They included Blumenhof (Dutzow), 9; Hermannhof (Hermann), 6; Twin Oaks (Farmington),6; Les Bourgeois (Rocheport), 5; Mount Pleasant (Augusta), 5; Cave Vineyards (Ste. Genevieve), 4; Baltimore Bend (Waverly), 4; Native Stone (Jefferson City), 3; Stone Haus (Lee’s Summit), 3; Traver Home (Willow Springs), Durso Hills (Marquand), Chandler Hill (Defiance), Sugar Creek (Defiance), and Jowler’s Creek (Platte City), 2 each; Chaumette (Ste. Genevieve), Hemman (Brazeau), Cooper’s Oak (Higbee), Inland Sea (Kansas City), Meramec Vineyards (St. James), Peaceful Bend (Steelville) and Bommarito (New Haven), 1 each.

Why so many medals? The laws of Commerce, I guess, and I’m sure winemakers and owners want lots of medals to display. If it were my choice, I’d have more classes of competition, with gold, silver and bronze in each category. I’d match Vidal against Vidal, Norton against Norton, rather than lumping all dry reds together, regardless of grape of origin. The organizers did the same thing for semi-dry and sweet wines, both red and white. That’s not quite comparing apples and oranges, but it’s close. I’d also limit wineries to one entry in each class, which would allow a winemaker to enter his best and prevent Stone Hill from entering enough Nortons from various vintages and vineyards to win six gold medals.

And as long as I’m rearranging the state government, I’d then send the show on the road, with a couple of buses emblazoned with banners, taking winemakers and other vineyard representatives around the state for several days, to towns large and small, stopping here and there for tastings and barbecues, letting everyone know that there are 90 wineries in the state, hiring employees and paying taxes and helping the economy.

Tom Uhlenbrock of the Post-Dispatch recently used the front page of a Sunday section for three successive weeks to write about wineries, two weeks for Missouri and one for Illinois, and he could have used another week to write about the new wineries in the western part of the state.

Unfortunately, the wineries don’t seem to care a lot, either. I was at Mount Pleasant last weekend as the winery, one of the nation’s oldest, marked its 150^th anniversary. Its Brut Imperial sparkling wine, not only a gold medal winner but a best of class, is a splendid wine, with a wonderful crisp dryness and a nice bubble, but I saw no acknowledgment of its honors. The Governor’s Cup winner, a 2007 Stone Hill Norton from the Cross J Vineyard, also is a glorious wine, rich and flavorful, with smooth plummy flavors and well-deserving of its accolades.

And the winners are. . . .

GOVERNOR’S

CUP: Best of Best in Class, Stone Hill (Hermann) 2007 Cross J Vineyard Norton

BEST

OF CLASS:

Sparkling Wine, Mount Pleasant (Augusta) Brut Imperial

Dry White, Montelle (Augusta) 2008 Chardonel

Semi-Dry White, Montelle 2008 Dry Vignoles

Sweet White, Stone Hill 2008 Vignoles

Dry Red, Stone Hill 2007 Cross J Vineyard Norton

Semi-Dry Red, Augusta Winery (Augusta) Reserve Red

Sweet Red, Adam Puchta Winery (Hermann) Riefenstahler

Blush Wine, Twin Oaks (Farmington) Two Brothers

Late Harvest, Stone Hill 2008 Late Harvest Vignoles

Dessert Wine, Adam Puchta Signature Port

Fruit Wine, St. James Winery (St. James) Strawberry

Distilled Spirit, Montelle Peach Brandy

GOLD

MEDALS:

Sparkling Wine, Mount Pleasant Brut Imperial; Stone Hill Golden Spumante

Dry White, Montelle 08 Chardonel; Montelle 08 Seyval Blanc

Semi-Dry White, Montelle 08 Dry Vignoles; Stone Hill 08 Traminette, Stone Hill 07 Steinberg

Sweet White, Stone Hill 08 Vignoles; Golden Rhine; Stonehaus (Lee’s Summit) Traminette; Augusta 08 Vignoles; Blumenhof (Dutzow) 08 Femme Osage, 08 Vignoles, 08 Valvin Muscat; Les Bourgeois (Rocheport) 08 Vignoles-Traminette

Dry Red, Adam Puchta 05 Norton; Les Bourgeois 07 Premium Claret; Chaumette (Ste. Genevieve) 07 Chambourcin; Stone Hill 07 Chambourcin; Stone Hill 05 Cross J Norton; Stone Hill 07 Cross J Norton

Semi-Dry Red, Baltimore Bend (Waverly) Last Minute; Les Bourgeois 08 Fleur de Vin

Sweet Red, Montelle Stone House Red; Stone Hill Concord; Adam Puchta Riefenstahler

Blush, Augusta La Fleur Sauvage; Stone Hill Rose Montaigne; Twin Oaks Two Brothers

Late Harvest/Ice Wine, Stone Hill 08 Late Harvest Vignoles; Augusta 08 Ice Wine; Montelle 08 Vidal Ice Wine

Dessert

Wine, St. James 06 Chardonel Dessert Wine; Stone Hill 06 Port, Cream Sherry; Montelle 05 Cynthiana Port; Adam Puchta Signature Port

Fruit Wine, St. James Strawberry

Distilled Spirit, Montelle Peach Brandy

SILVER MEDALS:

Sparkling Wine, Stone Hill 05 Blanc de Blancs

Dry White, Traver Home (Willow Springs) Vignoles; Stone Hill 06 Reserve Chardonel, 07 Chardonel, 08 Chardonel; Augusta 07 Estate Bottled Vidal Blanc; Adam Puchta Vidal

Semi-Dry White, Augusta 08 Seyval Blanc; Hermannhof (Hermann) 07 Vidal Blanc; Montelle River Country White; Blumenhof (Dutzow) 08 Rayon D’Or, 08 Missouri Weinland; Les Bourgeois 08 LaBelle; Stone Hill 08 Steinberg White; Stonehaus Vignoles

Sweet White, Baltimore Bend Sweet Beginnings; St. James 08 Vintner’s Select Vignoles; Augusta River Valley White; Montelle Himmelswein.

Dry Red, Adam Puchta Vintner’s Reserve Norton; Stonehaus Chambourcin; Stone Hill Hermannsberger, 06 Chambourcin, 05 Estate Bottled Norton, 06 Estate Bottled Norton; Cave Vineyard (Ste. Genevieve) 07 Chambourcin, 07 Norton; St. James 08 Chambourcin; Blumenhof 07 Original Cyn; Stone Hill 06 Cross J Norton, 05 Estate Bottled Norton, 06 Estate Bottled Norton; Mount Pleasant Norton, Cabernet Sauvignon; Augusta 06 Estate Bottled Chambourcin, 06 Estate Bottled Norton

Semi-Dry Red, Montelle River Country Red; Stone Hill Steinberg Red

Sweet Red, St. James Country Red; Durso Hills (Marquand) Durso Red

Blush, Adam Puchta Rose; Montelle La Rosee; Cave Vineyards Grotta Rossa; Les Bourgeois Pink Fox; Stone Hill Spumante Blush, Pink Catawba

Dessert Wine, Native Stone (Jefferson City) Norton Port; Stone Hill 05 Port; Augusta 05 Vintage Port; St. James 05 Norton Dessert Wine

Fruit Wine, Augusta Blackberry, Raspberry; Montelle Strawberry; Hemman (Brazeau) Blueberry.

Distilled Spirit, Montelle Grappa Brandy

BRONZE MEDALS:

Dry White, Les Bourgeois 07 Solay; Inland Sea Wines (Kansas City) 08 Chardonnay;

St. James 06 Reserve Chardonel; Augusta 08 Traminette

Semi-Dry White, Hermannhof 08 Traminette, 07 Traminette; Jowler Creek (Platte City) Vignoles; Baltimore Bend Cirrus; Hermannhof 07 Traminette; Native Stone Lewis & Clark’s Sweet Discovery

Sweet White, Adam Puchta Vignoles (American), Vignoles (Missouri), Misty Valley, Adam’s Choice; Hermannhof 08 Vignoles; Peaceful Bend (Steelville) Whittenburg; Augusta 07 Vignoles; Cave Vineyard 08 Traminette; Montelle Stone House White; Twin Oaks Traminette; Blumenhof La Charrette

Dry Red, Twin Oaks Shady Oak, Chambourcin; Chandler Hill (Defiance) 06 Old Brick, 05 Norton Sauvage; Durso Hills 06 Norton; Adam Puchta Estate Bottled Norton, Hunter’s Red; Sugar Creek (Defiance) Chambourcin, Cynthiana; Traver Home Bear’s Den Red; Jowler Creek (Platte City) Chambourcin; Hermannhof 02 Norton; Stone Hill 03 Estate Bottled Norton; St. James 06 Reserve Norton; Augusta 05 Estate Bottled Chambourcin; Montelle 06 Cynthiana; Cooper’s Oak Winery (Higbee) 08 Chambourcin

Sweet Red, Baltimore Bend Arrowhead Red; Augusta River Valley Red; Twin Oaks Murphy’s Settlement; Hermannhof StagsWood Red; Native Stone Captain’s Red; Meramec Vineyards (St. James) New World Red; Blumenhof Devil’s Den Red

Blush, Blumenhof 08 Winegarden Rose; Stone Hill Dry Rose

Late Harvest, St. James 05 Late Harvest Chardonel

Dessert Wine, Bommarito Estate (New Haven) 04 Red Missouri Port; Twin Oaks Royal Ruby; Mount Pleasant Tawny Port, Vintage Port; Adam Puchta Anniversary Port

Fruit Wine, Adam Puchta Berry Black

Distilled Spirit, Montelle Pear Brandy

Judges:

Joyce Angelos, Kansas City; Glenn Bardgett, St. Louis; Jill Blume, Purdue, Ind.; Jean Burgess, Clermont, Fla.; Rene Chazottes, Los Angeles; John Damian, Watkins Glen, N.Y.; Bob Foster, San Diego; Doug Frost, Kansas City; Michelle Meyer, Basehor, Kan.; David Peterson, Romulus, N.Y.; Guy Stout, Houston; Chris West, Macon, Mo.

-Joe

This Week's Wine, August 25, 2009

The Wines of Texas Are Upon Us

In my sports writing days, I traveled to Texas a lot, covering college and professional football, which is the state religion of Texas. Basically, Texas was legally dry in those days, but people who could get into the Dallas Press Club could get a drink. So could members of countless other clubs, usually with a temporary membership fee of a dollar. Whiskey was extra, but many people carried brown bags with open bottles, paying several bucks for a glass of ice and a mixer.

Wine? What’s wine? Oh, that’s the stuff you drink in church. . . .

Try a Falstaff, or a Pearl, or a Dixie.

Times certainly change. A couple of weeks ago, I went to Dallas for a weekend of wine – Texas wine – and a lot of it was excellent. I’m part of a group of wine writers who think that California is not the be-all and end-all, though we believe a lot of excellent wine is made out there, and a couple of dozen of us were on hand, representing newspapers, magazines, television stations and blog sites from Virginia, Maryland, California, Georgia, Colorado and the District of Columbia, in addition to Texas and Missouri.

The Texas Department of Agriculture does fine work promoting the wine made in the state, helping grape-growers and wine-makers with expertise and other types of support, including a marketing department that is actively into the 21st century.

So I have a wine glass and a tote bag and a corkscrew that say Drink Texan Wine. Texas is fifth in the nation in wine production and its 190 wineries are a bit more than twice the Missouri numbers. The Spanish brought wine to Texas in the 17th century, and German settlers to the Hill Country revived the dormant industry in the mid-19th century, about 30 years after German immigrants brought grapes and wine to the Augusta and Hermann areas.

Both states took a beating from Prohibition, but Texas, hamstrung by a tangle of archaic liquor laws that make the cat’s cradle of Missouri laws look simple, took longer to re-establish its wine industry. It began to lurch forward in the 1970s, sped up nicely 20 years later.

Interestingly, both states owe a great debt to Thomas V. Munson, a leader in viticulture education and experimentation. A genius horticulturist, Munson taught a large group of Missouri winemakers, then moved to Texas and settled in Denison, where, almost single-handedly, he saved wine for humanity. He had found grape root stock in Missouri when he was here, took samples with him to Texas. He then exported the same stock to France, whose vines faced extermination by the phylloxera louse. With the classic vinifera grapes (Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Merlot and others) grafted onto Munson’s root stock, louse-resistant vines were produced, though eventually, about a century later, the phylloxera became able to feast on the Missouri stock, and another resistant stock was developed.

Munson, honored by the French government, which erected a statue to him in Montpellier, is considered the father of the Texas industry.

Texas is able to grow the classic viniferas in several parts of the state, and the development of drip irrigation made it possible to use acreage in the High Plains of west Texas and the Hill Country, in the central part of the state. They’re two of the eight federal Viticultural districts established in the state. That’s a few more than Missouri, but our state has Viticultural District No. 1, in Augusta. Napa is No. 2, but Lucian Dressel’s feat in acquiring that honor is all but ignored by Missouri for some reason.

Given the size of Texas, its various parts have the climate and soil – what the French call terroir – to grow all the classic vinifera grapes, the Bordeaux varieties mentioned above (though Chardonnay does not grow well in Texas), along with Malbec, Pinot Noir, Sangiovese, Syrah, Tempranillo and Zinfandel among the reds, plus the Pierce disease-resistant hybrid, LeNoir. The whites include a new hybrid, Blanc du Bois, developed at the University of Florida in the last 15 years, and a good selection for hot, swampy land around Galveston or southeast Texas, as well as Florida. Other white varietals planted across the state are Chenin Blanc, Gewurztraminer, various Muscats, Pinot Grigio, Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon and Viognier.

We tasted about two dozen wines, from all over the state and from dozens of grapes. Some were single-vineyard, estate-bottled wines, others were blends, often with proprietary names. Our task was to pick four winners, sweet white or rose, dry white or rose, sweet red and dry red, with winemakers selecting the category. Retail prices ranged from $12 to $40.

Those voted "best" were:

Dry Red: 2005 Tempranillo-Cabernet, Inwood Estates Vineyards, Dallas, $39.50: Dan and Rose Mary Gatlin use grapes from the High Plains, on the New Mexico border, and vinify in Dallas, but have made this blend of Tempranillo (65 percent) and Cabernet Sauvignon a glorious wine, almost black, with big fruit flavors, led by black currant, and a long, long finish with notes of chocolate. Perfect with beef on the grill.

Sweet Red: 2006 IV (Port-style Red), Sandstone Cellars, Mason, $40: Owners Scott Haupert and Manny Silerio, and winemaker Don Pullum, use only grapes from Mason County, southwest of Fort Worth, and simply name their wines in order. This delicious, rich, very Port-style wine is the fourth they have made (a fine dry red is simply called VI). With a year in barrel and a year in stainless, the Port has a wonderful richness, with chocolate and mint in the aroma, more mint and berries on the palate, coffee in the finish. A beautiful dessert wine.

Dry White: 2008 Pinot Blanc, Flat Creek Estate, Marble Falls, $34.95: Northwest of Austin, Rick and Madelyn Naber use Pinot Blanc grapes grown in the Hill Country appellation for this full-bodied delightfully crisp and well-balanced wine that shows a lovely touch of guava on the palate. A marvelous aperitif or excellent with broiled fish.

Sweet White: 2006 Madeira Blanc du Bois, Haak Vineyards and Winery, Santa Fe, $39.95: Owner-winemaker Ray Haak, who built the first winery in the Galveston area uses grapes from various parts of the state, and the Madeira was an overwhelming choice in its category, probably as close to unanimous as a group of wine writers can get. The wine is filled with aromas and flavors of peach and apricot, with a hint of honey on the palate. It’s glorious, the best wine I tasted among all the entries, though its powerful sweetness and high alcohol (18 percent) probably made it more memorable than if it were just another white wine.

However, I tasted a dry Blanc du Bois, also from Haak, and found it to be a pleasant table wine. Inwood also offered a 100percent Tempranillo that was delicious, a splendid companion to the 65-35 blend noted above.

A few other highlights included a beautiful rose from Cap Rock, just outside Lubbock in the High Plains, made of Ruby Cabernet and Sauvignon Blanc (95-5), would be a perfect match with Thai food and looks beautiful in a glass. Vino de Terra Alta, from Dallas winery Times Ten Cellars, uses grapes from the Davis Mountains appellation in the southwest part of the state is a complex blend of Tempranillo (37 percent), Syrah (33), Grenache (24), Cabernet Sauvignon (3) and Cabernet Franc (3). Last but not least, a powerful Sangria from LightCatcher winery of Fort Worth which starts with Merlot, adds peaches, brandy and apple juice for a wonderful flavor and a 16 percent alcohol.

The Texas wines I sampled were well-made, clean and flavorful, showing careful handling of the grapes. In their price range, and as table wines, they match wines made anywhere and are outstanding company for dinner.

-Joe

This Week's Wine, August 2, 2009

Because of an unfortunate scheduling conflict caused by the growing habits of grapes and the party-giving habits of winemakers, I missed the annual Stone Hill spring Norton festival a couple of months ago. That’s the time for an annual party when the winery holds a vertical tasting of the last 10 vintages of its premier wine, the estate-bottled Norton. The most recent to be released-usually on the day of the party-was the ‘06 a few months ago, and visitors also got to taste the 2007 and 2008, not yet bottled but aging happily in barrels.

 

Winemaker Dave Johnson has created some brilliant wines for Stone Hill, and while the Norton probably is not the best seller, it’s the flag atop the winery. Norton grapes, a native American that has been used for wine in the Midwest and along the East Coast for more than 160 years. Like many wine buffs, I think Norton produces the finest and most elegant of Missouri red wines.

 

Most Missouri wineries produce a Norton, and it’s usually the most expensive because it’s a wine that needs aging, so it’s at least three years from harvest to check-out counter as compared to whites that are drinkable a year or so after harvest. I think that most Nortons need another year or two before they start to peak. In other words, if I’m opening a Missouri Norton for dinner, I’d be looking for a 2004 or a 2003.

 

However, th e ‘06, from Stone Hill’s Kemperberg and Cross J vineyards, is a fine wine today and will improve over the next decade. With a color so dark red it’s almost black, its aroma is of plums and other dark fruit, often with a hint of leather, and its flavor shows blackberries. The comparison on the palate is with a hearty Syrah (or Shiraz, in the Australian nomenclature) and it’s a great companion to a steak or ribs coming off the grill, blackened just a touch at the edges. Excellent balance and a long finish.

 

After the fermentation process, the Nortons spend a year in barrels of French, Hungarian and American oak.

 

Looking to the future, the ‘07, to be released next year, is a wine with much promise. It has the deep earth tones and rich color that typifies Norton, and another year of age will soften some of its rough edges and lengthen the finish. The 2008 is a relative baby, hard and filled with sharp tannins, but many good things happen when a young wine matures.

 

While Stone Hill has the high ground in Hermann, Hermannhof has the riverfront in downtown, and Jim Dierberg has spent time and money in that area. In addition to the winery, which overlooks the Missouri River, Hermannhof has taken over the Festhalle, a few blocks west of the winery, as a bed-and-breakfast property and as the headquarters and registration area for a handful of old homes that have been turned into inns. The breakfast is served in the Festhalle, and registering guests receive a glass of one of Dierberg’s fine California Sauvignon Blancs from his Santa Barbara County vineyards and winery. The family also has opened a small brewery, Tin Ceiling, a block or so east of the winery. The various sleeping quarters are in old, well-restored buildings with elegant touches.

Interestingly, Dierberg-grown grapes are shipped from Santa Barbara to Hermann and made into a dry rose called Vin-Gris (gray in French, and a term often used for European rose wines), while California red grapes are made into a Barrel Select.

 

I tasted a few Hermannhof wines on a recent visit to Hermann, and was extremely pleased by the Seyval Blanc and Vidal Blanc, a couple of French hybrids that can be made into excellent white wines, with the former showing flavors like a Sauvignon Blanc, the latter lighter and more like a Pinot Grigio.

 

A first-rate 2004 Norton also was on the tasting table at Hermannhof, with all the Norton qualities but a little more delicate than the one from the top of the hill. I prefer the lusty quality of the Stone Hill version.

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CHOCOLATE WINE? READ ON: The Horton Vineyards, in the Gordonsville, VA, make a wide variety of wine, including a very good Norton which they call – of course – Horton’s Norton. Now the winery is making chocolate wine. It’s called XOCO, pronounced SHO-ko and made from a Portuguese grape called Touriga, along with what the winery describes as "chocolate essence."

-Joe

This Week's Wine, July 19, 2009

Remember the old movie musicals? Mickey and Judy and their pals, in the midst of a little friendly tap routine, would spontaneously decide: We’ll put on our own show. . . and we’ll invite all our friends. . . and we’ll do it in the barn. And suddenly, they were on their way to a Busby Berkeley-designed song-and-dance spectacular.

It was many years later, but a scenario can be written about Tim Murphy, Dale Goode and Dave Ready, sitting around over a glass of California wine. And they spontaneously decided: We’ll make our own wine. . . and invite all our friends. . . and we’ll build the winery where the barn is.

That was 1985, and as the Murphy-Goode Winery, still with a sense of humor in its approach, nears its silver anniversary in Sonoma County with a new management structure that puts the veteran Jess Jackson in command, a full line of outstanding wines and a great p.r. move in a public search that offers a dazzling internship, with the winner to be announced in the next few days. Murphy-Goode is looking for someone to move to Sonoma County for six months – at $10,000 per month – and perk up wine sales or good gossip about the winery on social networks.

The winery hosted a recent tasting in St. Louis, with some superior nibbles from the kitchen of Sasha’s on Shaw and a handful of first-rate wines, most of them in the $20-$30 range, a few closer to $50.

Dave Ready Jr., who grew up in Dad’s winery and is now the winemaker, was on hand to chat about his wines. . . .

  They’re fond of hearty reds at Murphy-Goode, which has a number of vineyards in Sonoma County’s Alexander Valley, and a pair of outstanding 2004 wines in the All-In Claret and the Terra a Lago Cabernet Sauvignon. The former, a Bordeaux blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (68 percent), Merlot (19.2) and Petit Verdot (12.8), draws its name from the French tradition of using everything in a given vineyard to blend a wine, and from the Las Vegas poker tradition of pushing all one’s chips into the middle of the table. It’s aged in new French and American oak for 18 months, resulting in a big, rich wine with overtones of mint in the aroma and blackberries on the palate. It’s a wonderful companion to rare roast beef or a thick sirloin. Since the BATF forbids a specific grape name on a label unless the grape makes up three-fourths of the blend, the Murphy-Goode group decided on the proprietary word, Claret, a term the English have used for centuries to describe Bordeaux wines.

Similar, but more concentrated and more expensive, is the Terra a Lago, 100 percent Cabernet Sauvignon from Alexander Valley grapes. It’s ready for drinking today, but it will improve for 4-6 years in the bottle, as the tannins soften and the ancillary flavors expand. Ready described the wine as showing "aromas of sweet oak and vanilla that lead to rich flavors of blackberry, bay and thyme." Without the softening aspect of Merlot, this wine still shows hard edges and considerable oak, but it’s elegant as a companion to beef.

Ready also is very proud of his Zinfandels, led by his ‘06 Liar’s Dice (apparently a favorite winery game, along with poker), with a four-percent hit of Carignan ("it adds some structure to the wine," says Ready) to go along with Dry Creek and Alexander Valley Fruit, the former adding hints of black raspberry and black currants, the latter, some from 80-year-old vines, brings blackberry jam. The wine is nearly black in color, dark and flavorful in the mouth, long in the finish.

White wine fans will appreciate the lovely, silken mouth feel of Murphy-Goode’s 2008 Sauvignon Blanc, called "The Fume," a delightfully crisp, citrus-y wine that will be a fine accompaniment to oysters on the half-shell, especially those from Bodega Bay and other areas where the Pacific Ocean is Sonoma’s western border. Mostly fermented in stainless steel, which keeps the fruit forward and the lightness soaring, with a little in barrel for depth, it’s a wonderful companion to seafood and a fine aperitif for sipping at poolside.

-Joe

This Week's Wine, July 5, 2009

I was a young wine writer and David Stare was a young winemaker when we met over lunch at Zoe Houk’s first restaurant in Lafayette Square. Yes, it was a long time ago, but Stare, who established Dry Creek Vineyards in 1972, was talking of his dreams. He had bought land in the Dry Creek Valley area of Sonoma County and was enthusiastic about the potential of his vineyards, his grapes and, eventually, his wines. A civil engineer by training and trade, he was leaving that career behind to start a new one. His vineyard, founded in 1972, was the first new vineyard and winery in the Dry Creek Valley since Prohibition ended in 1933.

He’s an emeritus owner now, with his daughter, Kim Stare Wallace, and her husband, Don, in charge. Dry Creek has been a success, with additional vineyards purchased, lots of good wines made and sold, lots of medals and awards won.

Through the years, I’ve drunk a lot of Dry Creek wines, beginning with the Fume Blancs (dry Sauvignon Blanc) and Chenin Blancs with which he made his reputation. But in the last few weeks, I’ve tasted some amazing Zinfandels from the winery, and as a long-time fan of Zins, I was just blown away.

There are single-vineyard Zins from the Beeson Ranch and Somers Ranch, both from 2006 and both from Dry Creek Valley. Each is 100 per cent Zinfandel grapes and priced at about $34. There’s an ‘06 Old Vines Zin (84 percent Zinfandel, 16 percent Petite Sirah), with vines at least 80 years old, from Sonoma, at $28. My favorite, an amazing value at $18, is a 2007 Heritage Zin from Sonoma County, an 87-13 blend with Petite Sirah.

All are special. All are big, rich and luxurious. The Heritage is glorious, mingling fruit from the Russian River and Dry Creek Valleys. Almost black in color, it shows a rich, plummy aroma softening into chocolate and a flavor of blueberries mingling with a touch of oak. It’s a spectacular wine, and the blend of Petite Sirah adds to the dark richness. It’s surprisingly ready considering its youth, and it might be marked as a Mozart of wines

The "old vines" designation marks vines at least 80 years old, some from the Beeson Ranch, which dates to 1882. The wine has some of the same tendencies in the nose and on the palate as the Heritage because of the fine addition of Petite Sirah, with blueberries predominant.

Both Beeson and Somers Ranch wines show cardamom in the aroma, a warm touch of oak on the palate, hints of various kinds of berries here and there. Splendid.

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A PAIR OF PINOTS, ALL IN THE TERROIR: Winemakers take extra pains with Pinot Noir because they know that making the wine can be tricky. Besides, the best ones always are compared with the great French Burgundies, which come from the same grapes.

We’ve enjoyed a couple of California entries recently, an interesting tasting because although they’re a year apart in vintage, the grapes all come from the Carneros region of Napa and the wines have similarities in flavor, mouth feel and body. I guess it’s natural, given the terroir. Both wineries are in Napa County, though in the northern part, the opposite end from Carneros, which borders San Pablo Bay and includes acreage in both Napa and Sonoma Counties.

The 2007 from Truchard (about $35) and the 2006 from ZD (about $40) are both delicious, with dark cherry notes on the palate. The French always consider terroir the most important factor in wine, and perhaps they’re right. And wasn’t there a long-ago song about 40 million Frenchmen not being wrong?

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AND A FEW WHITES FOR THE SUMMER: On a warm summer day, chilled white wines serve a vital purpose, and we’ve tasted some delightful, relatively inexpensive Australian entries recently, along with a California offering that’s a little more expensive, but brings elegance to the table. It’s from Truchard, mentioned above, an ‘07 Carneros Chardonnay ($30) that shows excellent body and balance, a light, deft hand with oak for a lovely finish. A fine companion to a trout or a chunk of halibut fresh from the grill.

Wines from Australia offer many good values, and many good wines, too, and most Aussie winemakers don’t take themselves very seriously, always a pleasant trait. Old Bridge Cellars, which brings a number of wines across the Pacific, offers a quartet of inexpensive values, including a pair of contrasting Chardonnays, a lightly sparkling rose from Muscat grapes and a Verdelho, a white grape that has been the primary ingredient in many Portuguese wines.

The sparkler, a 2009 under the label of Innocent Bystander Moscato, is only 5.5 percent alcohol (similar to a beer). It seals with a crown cap, is a very light pink in color and has a charming light fizz, the style called "frizzante" by Italian winemakers. It’s a blend of Muscat Gordo (65) and Black Muscat, is refreshing and bright, and is $12 for a quarter of a liter (about 12 ounces). Goes down fast and easy.

An unoaked Chardonnay arrived with the Omrah label of Plantagenet wines, an ‘07 ($15) from Western Australia, fermented in steel tanks with a lot of time on the lees. Citrus and minerals in the aroma, more citrus and a fine level of acid on the palate. Fine for quaffing, or with raw shellfish. The 2008 lightly wooded Stump Jump ($11), named to honor a 19^th-century Australian plow that was designed to literally climb stumps that then did not have to cleared, an endeavor that took up a lot of time. The grapes are from the famed McLaren Vale and Adelaide Hills of South Australia, and about a quarter of the fermenting wine spent some time in older French and American oak. Melon in the aroma, peach and citrus on the tongue, none of the butteriness that over-oaked American Chardonnays possess but a hint of firmness and some backbone that are pleasant.

And the Verdelho, a 2008 ($11) also with Stump Jump on the label, is crisp and light, closer to a Sauvignon Blanc than to the Chard, but still with some tannin in the flavor from the fact that half of the wine matured in oak casks for six months. There’s a floral aroma, with a hint of figs, and the palate shows good acidity, with mineral notes and some citrus. A nice change from the other whites we drink in the summer.

And before we leave Australia, we have a couple of 2007 entries, $12 apiece, from McWilliam’s, a Southeast Australia winery that’s part of the Gallo group. A Riesling was the perfect complement to spicy Asian meals, its hint of sweetness crossing perfectly with a fiery curry, and the Chardonnay showed a little oak for backbone and balance, but was mostly light and crisp.

Lots of good wine to enjoy with summer meals.

-Joe

This Week's Wine June 28, 2009

We’ve always been great fans of California’s Sonoma County, and not just because of its wines. We like the fact that it’s a little more relaxed than Napa, just across the mountains to the east. We are awed by Sonoma’s fertility and the great abundance of crops in addition to grapes. We enjoy fact that it extends to the Pacific Ocean on the west, and it is close to Bodega Bay, where succulent oysters grow.

It’s home to dozens of wineries, and on a recent visit to the area, we stopped at Clos du Bois, in the town of Geyserville, to taste some wine and visit with winemaker Erik Olsen, who is responsible for nearly two dozen different labels. Clos du Bois works on four levels – 10 Classic Varietals, all under $15; a half-dozen examples of the Reserve Series, all with area designations and all but one under $20; three Proprietary Series offerings, delicious and delicate and more expensive, of course; and eight regarded as limited releases, sold at the winery and including several that may some day move into one of the other categories.

Olsen, relaxing in the Sonoma sunshine on a glorious day, has been at Clos du Bois only a half-dozen years, but is a winemaker of great experience and a broad academic base that includes a B.S. in fermentation science from the University of California-Davis (a school that produces winemakers the way Notre Dame or USC produce football players), a master’s in food science from Cornell University, in the heart of the upstate New York wine country, and an M.B.A. from the University of Washington. He made wines at Robert Mondavi and Simi in California and Chateau Ste. Michelle in Washington before moving to Geyserville.

The winery was deeply involved in sustainable agriculture before Olsen arrived, but he has extended and deepened that culture in the four appellations – Russian River Valley, Dry Creek Valley, Sonoma Coast and Alexander Valley – that provide most of the grapes for Clos du Bois.

"It all starts in the vineyard," he said, looking toward the bright green vines that stretched for what seemed like miles. And sustainability also starts in the vineyard, with a program that recycles 90 percent of solid waste, including grape-processing waste, which is composted and mixed into the soil that feeds the vines. Vineyards are irrigated with a drip method, and waste water from the winery is recycled and rerouted to the vineyard, where cover crops encourage the growth of "good" insects, whose meals and recreation come from catching and devouring "bad" insects.

Winemakers are about as trendy as teachers or physicians, so Clos du Bois is not the only winery to ride the sustainability track. Good farm practices may not necessarily produce great wines, but they don’t hurt the process, and sampling nine of Olsen’s wines was a treat. All are easy to recommend, but four were true standouts, three of which will improve with a few years more of bottle age.

The exception is a 2007 Rose, a beautiful, bright, light-hearted wine for summer. Olsen’s blend is slightly different from many winemakers; he uses 70 percent Syrah and 30 percent Merlot, which adds considerable color and makes the Clos du Bois rose a little darker than most. At the same time, the Merlot adds a lot of flavor, so the wine is brisk and easy to drink on a picnic, but with more flavor than many of its counterparts. And at about $12, it’s a real bargain.

Olsen’s ‘06 Alexander Valley Merlot (about $20) is another winner, with some Cabernet Sauvignon adding a little structure but with the Merlot’s fruit extremely forward, its richness underlined by black cherry and spice. A similar ‘06 Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel (about $16.50) is a remarkable wine (Olsen likes to blend a little Petite Sirah into his Zins), showing blueberry in aroma and flavor, and a backbone that makes it a delight with pulled pork or ribs from the barbecue. So is his 2005 Marlstone Cab, an Alexander Valley Meritage, aon the expensive side at about $50, as are all Meritage wines. This rich, delicious offering, with plum and dark cherry overtones, is primarily Cabernet Sauvignon (89 percent), blended with Malbec (5), Cabernet Franc (3) and Merlot (3). Once again, there is softness from the Merlot, and a fine structure throughout.

Clos du Bois also turns out a delicious Riesling from the Santa Lucia Highlands ($12); a splendid Carignane ($22) from the Alexander Valley, a little hard but with some delicate edges that are fascinating; a fine, barrel-fermented Chardonnay called Calcaire, from the Russian River Valley, always a source of good Chardonnay grapes ($25); a bright Pinot Noir from the Sonoma Coast ($25); and a well-aged Tempranillo, from a Spanish grape that produces a hearty red from the Alexander Valley, softened by the addition of some Cabernet Sauvignon for softness ($18). A treat from Erik Olsen and Clos du Bois.

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ON THE LOCAL WINE SCENE: Mark Baehmann, winemaker at Mount Pleasant Vineyards (Augusta) since 1992, has moved to the Chaumette Vineyards and Winery in Ste. Genevieve. Baehmann, who made wines for Chaumette’s 2000 vintage, when the Ste. Genevieve winery was　just beginning, is bottling the 2008 wines now and will be more deeply　involved as he turns to other projects.