Wine Wednesday Part: Quatre

  Hello hello to all my blog readers out there.  Tonight I have one winery and two tasting rooms to tell you all about.  On tonight's menu I am featuring:

Patz & Hall Tasting Salon, the physical winery is located in Sonoma, and their tasting room is located in the corporate region of Napa.  If I still worked in the area, I would frequent the Salon weekly.  What's unique about this particular tasting Salon and winery is they only bottle and grow Chardonnay, and Pinot Noir.  As I mentioned in a pervious post, both Chardonnay, and Pinot Noir are thin skinned grapes that grow best in a cooler climate setting, making Sonoma and the Carneros region perfect for these grapes.  I also got the pleasure of meeting one of the owners, Heather Patz.  One of my good friends, is also the tasting associate.  I tasted a total of eight wines here, below listed in order.

#1 Dutton Ranch Chardonnay, Carneros 2009
      -This is considered their "welcome" wine, it had sprits to it, very chilled, and generally good for a hot day, and oh my, was it HOT!

#2 Hudson Vineyard, Carneros 2009
      -Not too much to say.  We all know I am not a Chardonnay fan, me, I am more of a Sav Blanc kind of girl. 

#3 Lee & Larry's 50/50 Chardonnay, Carneros 2009
      -This was my FAVORITE of the whites.  So good, it's a cuvee of two different vineyards in Carneros.  The growers decided to blend the fruit of two ranches together to create this lovely blend that I really enjoyed. 

#4 Zio Tony Ranch, Chardonnay, Russian River 2008

Now for the Pinot Noir

#1 Burnside Vineyard, Pinot Noir, Sonoma Coast 2008

#2 Jenkins Ranch, Pinot Noir, Sonoma Coast 2009

#3 Pisoni Vineyard, Pinot Noir, Santa Lucia Highlands 2009
      -This was considered a more full body Pinot, and Pinot's are usually lighter in flavor, but this one was outrageous.  I was not my favorite at all.  To be honest, worst of the day.

#4 Gap's Crown Vineyard, Pinot Noir, 2009.  Unfortunately I didn't get the region.
      -This was my FAVORITE wine out of the Salon.  I really enjoyed this one, I even had an extra glass.  It made my mouth water, and I love a wine that makes my mouth water with every sip.

The second tasting was at an actual winery.  This particular winery has gone through a few name changes in the past year or so.  Formally known as Kirkland Ranch, Valley Gate Vineyards, and now known as Reata. Their name changed today, 9/29/11.  Yesterday when I was there, it was Valley Gate Vineyards.  Their last tasting is poured at 4:30, I arrived in the tasting room at 4:33pm and was limited to one wine.  Being me, I chose the 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon, and really enjoyed it.  It was the best red of the day, even better than the glass of Gap's.  The tasting associate gave me a bottle and said "here, refer people".  I would have done the same if I wanted to get the hell out of work.  I really don't know what to say though, just because since they changed the name does that mean the wine will be different?

#1 Valley Gate Vineyards, Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley 2006
     -Love.

The third and final stop for the day was Back Door Cellar on First Street
in Napa.  I had to pay $10 to taste 5 wines which isn't too bad.  The theme at Back Door Cellar is "wines that don't have tasting rooms".  So all of the wines I tasted were smaller, family owned wineries.  I was also given some white cheddar crumbles, and pita chips which was good in between each wine, plus I was hungry.

#1 Two Old Dogs, Sauvignon Blanc, Napa Valley 2010
      -I liked this one.

#2 Grow, "Ruhl Vineyard" , Chardonnay, Mt. Veeder, 2009
      -Too sweet for my taste.

#3 T-Vine, Napa Valley, Grenache 2008
      -I'd never had a Grenache before, but I found this to be a refreshing red.
#4 Banshee "Mordecai" California 2009.
      -This was a really good blend of Syrah, Sin, Cab, Grenache, Petite Sirah, and Mouvedre.  I usually don't like California mixes but this was really good.

#5 Corsair, Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley 2008
      -This was a first ever released case, and I am happy to be part of the first consumption.  It was tasty too, a bit on the sweet side but still good.

After tasting that many wines, I was relaxed, and really hungry.  I enjoyed a nice meal in the presence of a good friend and had dinner at Zinsvalley.  Everything was great, except for the over powering bleu cheese pizza we got...We had to send it back.  I came home and fell right to sleep, being in the heat, and tasting wine definitely got the best of me.  I highly recommend hydrating with every taste, especially when the weather is warm out.  I now conclude this post, I need to get to my glass of wine.

Peace & Wine,

The hotter the grape, the better the wine.

Wine Wednesday Part: Trois

Welcome back to my third installment of Wine Wednesday.  What a coincidence, this is the third wine post, and I visited three wineries today.  I visited Etude, Domaine Carneros, and the Ceja tasting room in downtown Napa. 

    I stayed in the Los Carneros region today.  A brief history on the Carneros region is that it's reminiscent of the Burgundy region of France.  Most of the grapes grown in this region are Pinot Noir, and Chardonnay.  Both types of grapes have a thinner skin, and since the Carneros region gets wind breeze from the San Pablo bay, it's has the prime weather and location for these grapes to produce at its best.

      I started out with Etude Winery, and tasted six different wines.  Their wine tasting room was beautiful, it had a modern minimalist effect to me.

#1
Pinot Gris, Carneros, 2010
-Aged in all stainless steel.
      -I could definitely tell this wine was aged in steel, and not oak.  It was a very fruity wine, perfect for warmer weather, best chilled.

#2
Pinot Blanc, (ranch 15 mi W of winery) 2009
-Aged partially in French oak, and steel.
      -Immediately I got a taste of the oak when I tried this one.  I liked this one better than the first, although the temperature of the wine was a less chilled.

#3
Pinot Noir Estate, 2008
-Aged in French oak.
      -I wasn't too impressed with this wine, it gave a creamy bold after taste and wasn't soothing on the pallet.

#4 Deer Camp Pinot Noir, Estate 2007
      -I liked this one a lot better than the third wine I tasted.  I felt like this wine could go with just about anything.

#5 GBR, Proprietor Red Blend 2007
     -By far the nastiest glass I tasted all day.  To be brutally honest, I did not dig this one, I’ll leave it at that.

#6 Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley, 2007
      -This was my favorite wine from this particular winery.  It's a blend of seven different ranches in the NV.  Bottle price is $85, and as usual I like the most expensive wine before even knowing the price.

      After tasting six different wines, I felt pretty good.  I didn't get to the point where I was just "drinking" I was still tasting, with class. 

      From Etude I ventured to Domaine Carneros where I enjoyed four different types of sparkeling wine, and three different wines.  I liked their Merlot so much that I ended up leaving with a bottle.  Not to mention the views looking all directions are breath taking.  From the N terrace, there's the view of Artesa, another Carneros featuring local artists, and amazing wine, and spectacular views.  Artesa is viewable on the left side of the picture.

Of their sparkeling wines I tried

2005 Le Rev Blanc de Blancs, which was all chardonnay.
2007 Vintage Rose, blend of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir
2007 Vintage Brut Cuvee, also a blend of Chardonney and Pinot Noir
2007 Vermiel Demi-sec, definately the sweetest of the four, another blend.

Of their red wines I tried

2009 The Famous Gate Pinot Noir
2007 Avant-Garde Pinot Noir
2007 Avant-Garde Merlot

      All while tasting, I enjoyed a lovely cheese platter accompanied with dried fruits.  It was quite the pairing.  The three different reds paired with three different cheeses was quite exquisit.  My reccomentdation to anyone is find a good cheese and drink with it.  My most favorite was the Merlot, I left with a bottle I loved it so much.  I may be joining Domaine's wine club.  Ps: fromage d'affinois cheese is the best cheese in life!!!!! (thats: for modge daf enwahh). 

Upon touching back in the city, I hit Ceja tasting room, and tasted four different wines there.

#1 2008 Sauvignon Blanc, Sonoma Coast
#2 2008 Red Blend VDC
#3 2007 Syrah, Sonoma Coast
#4 2007 Pinot Noir, Sonoma Coast.  Wierd because this one I liked the most.
-I cant remember which one, but one of these wines were served at Obama's inauguration.

       At the end of the day, after tasting 15 different wines, I have come to the conclusion that 2007 is the best year for wine. 

Peace and Wine,

Don't be afraid to be cheesy.

Wine Wednesday Part: deux

Thank you for stopping by Wine Wednesday Part: deux!  Tonight I am featuring a winery that just opened this past weekend here in the valley.  My lovely boyfriend had the pleasure cooking michelin star food at the event.  Let me introduce Shibumi Knoll, I have to say that this wine is one of the best glasses I've had in the past few months.  Better than the Georges de latour at BV.  "Shibumi is a Japanese word describing a state of being which most nearly translates to 'effortless perfection'".  I believe their slogan holds true, according to my pallet.  I love when a wine can get my mouth to water with every sip. 

Shubumi Knoll

Cabernet Sauvignon

Napa Valley

2006

as always Peace and Wine,

wine daily and fret less.

A-Z Allie!

A. Age: 25
B. Bed size: queen...would love a king
C. Chore that you hate: laundry
D. Dogs: i do not have one. But i would love a Labradoodle
E. Essential start to your day: COFFEE COFFEE COFFEE aka juice of the devine in my book.
F. Favorite color: Pink at heart.
G. Gold or Silver: silver
H. Height: 5’7″
I. Instruments you play: none.  used to play flute.
J. Job title: Front desk service rep. Soon to be Group Sales
K. Kids: None!
L. Live:  Where the days are short and the nights are long...out west out on the coast where the girls are really the most
M. Mother’s name: Dale
N. Nicknames: Al, is all i will say.
O. Overnight hospital stays: Never as a patient.
P. Pet peeves: When people make noises when they eat, ie: smacking lips, eating with their mouth open, taking too big of bites...Just thinking about it pisses me of, people who yawn with mouths open, continous pen clicling.
Q. Quote from a movie: "I totally paused"If you don't know google it.
R. Right or left handed: Righty.
S. Siblings:  Lil bro.
U. Ultimate Vacation: Hitting the Old World up passing through Italy, Paris, Amsterdam (all with a tour guide) at select destination hotels.  Then from there going to Cancun and live in a house for 2 weeks.  relaxing doing absolutly nothing, but eating, drinking, being lazy, laying out, exploring the beach maybe go snorkeling.  That's an untimate dream vacation.  I would love to swim with the dolphins too.  Naturally.
V. Vegetable you hate: Beets.
W. What makes you run late: Smoking.
Y. Yummy food that you make:Mojito Chicken sandwich.
Z. Zoo animal: Tiger.

Wine Wednesday Part: l'une

  

      I am starting a new weekly post on my blog, which will be on Wednesday's where I will be featuring wine from the surrounding area.  Tonight I would like to introduce Kenwood Vineyards, located in the Kenwood region of Sonoma County, CA.  Now I did venture out of my "Napa" box when I made this purchase, which was the exact reason why I got it.  I would like to experience my pallet with other wines from the area, not just limiting myself to Napa wine.  Granted that I did buy this from the grocery store, and not a fancy wine store, I will say that it IS possible to get a good wine at the grocery store.  I have learned that the most expensive bottle of wine isn’t always the best, and sometimes the less expensive bottles are the best little treasures one can ask for. 

Tonight’s First Wine Wednesday is:

Kenwood Vineyards

2008

Sonoma County

Merlot

Peace and wine,

And remember, the bigger the better, especially when it comes to wine glasses.



Another Thing

   I have decided to disown my brother.  I am now an official only child.  Was hanging out at my Dad's last night and my ex brother was there.  I said "ok goodbye" twice, and the only person to say bye out of the group was Huff one of my ex bro's friends.  I've dubbed Huff my new brother.  Shit, at least he has enough respect to acknowlege my leaving.  I am very offended by my own blood line, and quite frankly I'm done.  I am sick of people telling me they're there for me when they really aren't.  So, like that guy on that one movie says "Fuck you I'm out"!

Love,
Allie

Keep in Mind

Reach for the stars
And if you don’t grab em, at least you’re on top of the world

It's Almost That Time

      Where white gets the boot.  Poor white, so judged after the first Monday in September.  He must be one of the most saddest Monday's of the year.  Good thing I don't own any more white shoes, and I only have a couple white t-shirts.  I love white though.  Now it's time to embrace fall fashion for 2011.  The only thing is I need some serious skrill to even think about purchasing any new clothing.  Charge cards only go so far when you're trying to get by.  It's too bad there aren't any cool consignment shops in my town.  I would rather shop second hand in a town other than mine.  How embarassing would it be to be seen and recognized in someone elses old outfit.