Silkbush Mountain Vineyards

Earlier this year I met Dave Jefferson, the founder of South Africa’s Silkbush Mountain Vineyards.  We enjoyed a lively conversation about trends in the global wine market in a LinkedIn forum and then met at his local office here in California. His company owns multiple investment properties including vineyards and wineries in Napa and Sonoma.  At that time, he gave me two bottles of Pinotage from his Western Cape vineyards, a 2008 Lions’ Drift Pinotage and a pre-release of his 2009 Pinotage (same brand).

I’ve been intrigued by South African wine but know relatively little about it.  I was pleasantly surprised by the 2008 but blown away by the 2009–it is stellar wine.

Dave and his local partner, Anton Roos, and their multi-lingual and multi-cultural staff, farm 215 acres of vineyards under a dramatic mountain called, Sybasberg (Anglicized to Silkbush).  The location is beautiful and close to the popular wine tasting region, Stellenbosh. Dave has been to South Africa well over two dozen times since 1994 and if you are planning a trip or just curious, he has created a detailed resource for wine lovers, “Planning a Trip to South Africa“.*

Until I get to South Africa, I’ll settle for enjoying Silkbush’s Lion’s Drift Pinotage. The 2009 arrived in the U.S. in late October 2011 and is available through several retailers and distributors.   This is a wine that drinks well by itself and with food, in the evening or afternoon.  I would bring it to a party, a lunch date, pair it with appetizers or serve it at Thanksgiving or Christmas. It’s enticing; after tasting it for review, I found myself wanting to enjoy a full glass. If you want more detail, Palate Press published a very accurate flavor profile of the 2009 Lion’s Drift Pinotage.

*You can stay on the property if you are a VIP (wine journalist, distributor, retailer, etc.) or paying guest. For information about where to find Silkbush’s wine or to stay at Kingsbury Cottage, contact Dave Jefferson.

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It Begins in the Vineyard

I have repeatedly promised never to write anything negative on my blog but I feel compelled to save budding wine drinkers. I recently tasted Charles Shaw Chardonnay and for a few more bucks, you can do better. I promise. Two Buck Chuck was created as a consumer brand, just fermented grapes in a bottle, no winery, no family history, etc.  Making products for profit while not caring about quality is not unique to 2 Buck Chuck.  The good news is there are plenty of other brands that do care about quality, for just a few more bucks.

One label that is super easy to find is Cono Sur, from Chile.  Cono Sur imports 1.7 million cases to 65 different countries.  Cono Sur has wines under $10 as well as over $10, you can easily replace your Charles Shaw reds and whites as well as enjoy super Pinot Noir and red blends for under $30.

An added benefit, the company is run by an innovative group of people who care about the environment.

Our fruit is harvested in vineyards farmed in the spirit of organic management or sustainable agriculture, two comprehensive agricultural systems that allow us to take advantage of the healthy and clean environment. Cono Sur.

A few of my favorites…

Cono Sur, 2009 Bicycle Viogner Fresh, zippy, great aromas, serve cold. Widely available in the US (5,000 cases). The Bicycle brand sells for under $10.

Cono Sur, 20 Barrels Limited Edition Pinot Noir, Casablanca Valley 2009 Tried too many watery Pinots? This one is full, smooth & complex. New world fruit, old world wine making. This wine is around $20 USD, very inexpensive for Pinot Noir.

Cono Sur Vision Single Vineyard Block 68 old vine Pinot Noir, 2009 Cono Sur’s fruitier style. Cherries & soft tannins. (Around $15 USD)

Look to other producers to replace your 2 Buck Chuck, especially wines from around the world. Many of them are great quality, care about the environment and just happen to be inexpensive.

** no family trees, no dusty bottles, just quality wine is the tagline for Cono Sur Wines.

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Nieto Senetiner Vertical Tasting: 8 Vintages / 10 Writers

In April 2011, I was one of ten people invited to Argentina’s very first vertical tasting of aged Bonarda.*  It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience and writing about it makes me giddy all over again.  Even though being the first and getting the scoop so-to-speak that aged Bonarda is excellent, the story that I want to share goes much deeper.

There is no ambivalence about the chosen market position among top Argentina producers: they intend to deliver world-class wines.  They are dedicated to competing against the best of any country and region.  The wine is strictly Argentinean with Argentinean soil, sunlight, history, wine making practices and taste profiles.  Since 1991, when Argentina began allowing imports and exports, certain winemakers set their sights on the international marketplace.  They invested in quality people, facilities and began scientific experiments to root out the best combination of soil, rootstock, growing conditions, wine making and delivery to market systems.  Twenty years seems to be the magic number for these producers for the fruit of their labors has paid off.

One of these top producers, Nieto Senetiner, while delivering many exceptional wines (more posts coming), is a premiere producer of Bonarda.  Vitaculture practices are precise…high altitude (3,100′), cool climate, drop fruit for low-yields and no cover crop to let the sun reflect back onto the grapes.  Then, the real news, they age the wine.

The Nieto Senetiner Bonarda vertical tasting included wines from 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008.  My favorites? 2000, 2002 and 2003; this was the line where the wine had moved into a super-luscious category.  The hue and nose were beautiful and flawless.  2004 was distinct but similar to the 2003 and the 2005 held delightful promise.  In my opinion, the 2006, 2007 and 2008 need to lay down.  After the tasting, I took the 2000 and the 2002 to my table to taste with lunch.  Unfortunately, the 2000 died right there at the table (confirmed by my friend, preeminent wine educator, Karen MacNeil).  This is part of the whole aging experiment that I find so fascinating.  Jeff Mausbach, an American ex-pat and Argentina specialist said that he felt the 2004 and 2005 show strength not shown in the original 2000, so we still don’t know if 10 years is the limit for Bonarda. Parenthetically, after lunch the 2002 was still drinking well.

Current vintages are available for under $30  (750 ml).   You don’t have to be a collector to enjoy this experiment but you should have a wine refrigerator.  Depending on how much room you have, buy 6+ bottles, open one in the near future to see what it tastes like, then open them periodically over a decade.  You can do this with fewer bottles but you take the risk of a bad bottle, so it’s always a good idea to hold back 2 bottles for each year that you want to try an aged wine.  Continue to buy a new vintage every year and soon you’ll have a rare and large collection of aged Bonarda. Look for older vintages at Winesearcher.com.  To find a store near you that carries Nieto Senetiner wines, search at Winebow.

Note to trade, somms & journalists: The folks at Nieto Senetiner are considering taking this tasting on the road, so stay tuned.

* Bonarda wines can be lighter-bodied and fruity, full of cherry and plum flavours, with light tannins and moderate acidity. However with concentrated fruit from older vines, and especially when oak aged, Bonardas can also be big, fruity, dense and tannic wines with deep colour and fig and raisin characteristics. In most Argentine vineyards, Bonarda is one of the last grapes to be harvested. (Argentina Wine Guide)

Winemaker Notes & Awards

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Enjoying wine is like quietly watching a sunset, embracing the first warm day of Spring, or cozying up to a roaring fire in a comfortable chair.  Alana Gentry

Recently, Wines from Santorini sent me some Assyrtiko, a popular dry white wine from Greece.  It was a new grape to me and I didn’t know a thing about it. When I smelled it, I thought of warm baking bread. When I tasted it, I was transported to a white cliff overlooking the brilliant blue Mediterranean.  I felt the salt spray on my face and thought of the most perfect light scallops melting in my mouth.  I’m not making this up, for a wonderful brief moment I was no longer in my house.

When this experience happens, wine makers say that the wine has captured the terroir, the sense of place.  It’s like magic.  Maybe wine lovers fall in love with a region or a grape because they’ve seeking to recapture a magical moment. When I met German winemaker Bernard Huber, he described his favorite vintages with the phrase, “it’s like a dream,” now I know what he meant.

The bottle that gave me such pleasure? 2009 San Torini Winery Assyrtiko. They recently changed their name to Artemis Karamolegos Winery. It retails for around $20. Contact their importer for information.  I also enjoyed the 2009 Boutari Assyrtiko More Info & Purchase .

Planning a wine tasting trip to Santorini? Check out Wein-Plus Magazine.  Also, Karen MacNeil’s, Wine Bible provides an excellent description of Greek vine growing practices.

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Carmenere, Maipo Valley, Chile, April 2011

Chile is a fascinating sliver of land. I first paid attention to Chile when a friend introduced me to Isabelle Allende and her husband years ago.  The famous Chilean writer of the House of the Spirits and other novels, was reportedly influenced by Pablo Neruda, Chile’s Nobel Prize winning poet.  Neruda died many years ago, but I visited one of his fascinating homes in Santiago.

The land of Chile is doubly fascinating when you discover it’s diverse wine regions.  Grapes are grown at the high altitude sunny slopes of the Andes, next to the cool hills of the Pacific Ocean and on the edges of the waterless desert. In terms of  public awareness, Carmenere is to Chile as Cabernet is to Napa.  But in fact, Chiles’ many microclimates support ideal growing conditions for Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc, Merlot, Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon.

Chile’s most popular exported variety is Cabernet Sauvignon.  It’s easy to find in the USA and has an excellent value to quality ratio.  TerraNoble makes a Cabernet Sauvignon Gran Reserva ($18.99) that is food friendly. The 2008 was shy and pretty on the nose unlike big Cabernets that leap out of the glass like ghosts of dead grapes. The TerraNoble winemaking team aims for fresh, modern, elegant wines with fruit flavors that highlight each variety.  The Gran Reserva achieves it. There are many winemaking styles in Chile, so my recommendation (as always) is to purchase some and try it.

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Is Petite Sirah still the cult wine it’s rumored to be or is it morphing into something else? It’s an enigmatic grape, still fairly scarce (only 9,000 acres grown worldwide), and while Petite enthusiasts and winemakers are equally smitten, the general public hasn’t caught on…yet.

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My Petite Sirah checklist has evolved over years of tasting.  As a newbie, I thought 1) they are all around 15% or more in alcohol; 2) when they are young they are too in-your-face (not in a good way); 3) I have to use my brain to pair them (unlike a Merlot) and 4) they mostly cost over $20 a bottle.  After ten years as a PS fan, now I know, 1) many Petite Sirahs are actually 13.5 but if they are well balanced, who cares if they are 15? 2) The best ones are not released too soon and it is definitely a grape to cellar; 3) after so many years of pairing, I relish a challenge and 4) even though most Petites are $20 and up, I’ve never thought of them as expensive because they are such hard-to-get unique wines and there are several larger producers like Bogle that sell for around $10.

Consistent with it’s current multiple personalities, Petite Sirah can be paired with lots of different food depending on winemaker style, terroir and age.  I’ve enjoyed easy-drinking Bogle with tri tip, mushrooms, Worchester, red pepper and brown garlic rice.  In 2007, I wrote enthusiastically about a memorable pairing of a 2004 Guenoc Petite Sirah with apple bourbon pork chops.  The ’08 Harney Lane reminds me of popcorn.  A winemaker recently told me that a Chef shocked him by creating a perfect pairing of mint chocolate chip ice cream and a brownie with his Petite.  He said it was one of the best pairings he’s tasted in a long time.

This is one reason Dark & Delicious is my favorite event of the year, every vintner is paired with a food station, the way I think all tastings should be.  One of the best pairings this year was BBQ pulled pork on a rice crisp with micro-greens by DK Catering.  I did not expect the rice crisp to work but it was the true genius of the pairing.  Another surprise winner was a special paella from Venga Paella Catering paired with Berryessa Gap’s field blend with 86% Durif (Petite Sirah’s other name).  The winemaker is a UC Davis researcher who believes strongly that it’s all about terroir so he does very little “tinkering” to make signature and expressive wines.  Berryessa Gap also advocates pairing food with Petite and has an annual Paella party in May.

Many Petite producers have recipes on their web sites and grilled meats are popular.  Smoking Loon suggests trying a burger with a Balsamic reduction sauce with their Petite.  My pairing trick for unfamiliar wines; look up the winemaker’s notes online or on the back of the bottle and then create a menu that reflects some of the descriptors, e.g. blackberries, smoke, cinnamon, etc.  I also open the wine while I’m cooking, taste it and adjust my recipe accordingly.

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Erste Lage Tasting, Germany 2010

To enjoy wine, the story begins and ends with each individual’s palate. So why do we endlessly analyze, score, judge and discuss the merits of individual wines and varietals?  For me, wine challenges my intelligence, involves all of my senses and creates a never-ending conversation.

My initial relationship with wine was simple–I liked it or not. But then, the wonder of wine crept up on me: I found myself on a ladder of discovery.  I moved from liking it to wanting to try more so I went wine tasting in search of wine to love. Then I learned about the million details that impact how grapes become wine. I met winemakers and liked their stories, so I added intangible meaning to the mix. I soon was faced with a hobby that has so many intricacies that it takes a life time to master.

Amid discovering and learning,  I still know what I like and what I don’t. I go through 3 phases with a wine:

• how does it smell & taste upon first sip?
• how does it taste after it sits in the glass or decanter?
• how does it taste with food?

When I’m doing what I call a quick and dirty evaluation of wine, I score on a scale of 0-5.  I get an initial impression by smelling and leaving the wine on my palate for a minute or so then spitting.  A 3 means it has potential and I’m curious about the wine maker or terroir.  4 means the wine fairs the best in the group, and it either needs a bit more time or better tasting (pairing) conditions.  A 5 means I’ll buy it on the spot if possible.

If you think wine is complicated, it is. But it’s not complicated to know what you like. Just keep tasting~ sometimes you have to taste a lot of wines, before finding the ones you love.

Just for fun, here’s some tasting notes from a tasting of 329 wines in Germany. (The + – and / symbols mean good, bad or neutral on the nose.)

These are notes for German Pinot Blanc.

nose +, straight from the barrel, wine is not ready yet, it’s not bottle shock. 0

nose+, neutral, boring 2

nose/best but doesn’t rock my world; more like what I wld expect 4

These are notes for Pinot Noir.

boring, waterly, 1

nose + cherries; balanced, light Pinot like Oregon;  3

long lasting finish, full bodied; I’m home . 4

too light; after taste too acidic. 2; The One changed this wine A LOT – made it much more interesting; toned down the after taste & let the fruit out; black cherries were not present before. 4  (I was testing Andrea Robinson’s The One glass)

These are notes on some German wines you’ve probably never heard of… FRÜHBURGUNDER AHR GROSSES GEWÄCHS 2008

strong fresh tobacco smell; hard cherry candy; could be intg with food or really bad. Complex though which turns me on.

nose is cherry/sonoma coast PN; perfectly acceptable–getting closer to Cal PN. 3

LEMBERGER WÜRTTEMBERG GROSSES GEWÄCHS 2008

smells like Chinese food but calmed down quite nicely.big Christmas spice ; cloves–quite an interesting wine. Brand new varietal to me. The One rounded it out made everything much more subtle; harder to pick out the flavors but more true to what the consumer will taste if you serve this wine now. 4 for curiosity.

a light pee smell; then complex; wine lacks character (now that’s what tired tasters write!) much gentler then the first one–but pretty cool. 4

Ludens cough drop smell; nasty candy.

needs to sit/age; sort of like a syrah. 3

nice everyday wine–better than Zinfandel; not complex but layered. 3

tight but the biggest wine I’ve tasted in Germany. Full bodied–I give it points just for being there for me. 3 (Note: Germans like to make really acidic wines so they will age, after tastings hundreds of highly acidic wines, I was craving bold smooth fruit.)

Photo from my new friend who was on the Wines of Germany Media Tour with me, Mariusz Kapczynski, www.vinsifera.pl

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Have you noticed that Petite Sirah is a well-known grape but not a popular one?  I’ve never overheard anyone requesting a glass of Petite Sirah in a bar, and I rarely see it on a wine list.  But I have seen it in many blends.  In fact, Clark Smith, a leading authority on the enhancement of wine structure says, “the best Zinfandels have Petite Sirah in them.”

Why is a grape that is so popular as a blending grape not wildly popular as its own varietal?

There are clues to the answer.  Notably, until 1997, it was a bit of a bastard grape, suffering from a lack of legitimately proved parentage. Luckily, a U.C. Davis researcher determined that indeed, Petite Sirah is in the same league as Cabernet Sauvignon and other grapes with French parents (important distinction in the wine world).  PS parents are Peloursin and Syrah and another name for PS is Durif, which is French.

So now that its pedigree has been established, why is it still not a popular single varietal?

It seems that it’s just a matter of time. I’ve learned to appreciate that wine is an ancient craft so while the modern era rushes forward, there remains a pedantic commitment to prove a grape’s worthiness before collectors and oenophiles will embrace it.

It was only 1992, when California producers founded a trade association and started keeping records on Petite Sirah growers/producers. It doesn’t seem to matter that the grape was planted in California as early as 1878; it faces challenges similar to newly discovered varietals .

The exciting news is that there is a renaissance of intellectual curiosity about Petite Sirah.  Growers in  the hot, dry, California climes of Livermore Valley, Lake County and Lodi as well as some cooler areas are sharing information about their techniques, failures and successes.  They are mostly making 500 cases or less and selling them directly to winery visitors and club members.  Interesting, that the grape’s relative under-appreciation may just establish a cult following.

Taste & Learn in California by joining the mailing list of PS: I Love You.

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