Photo Courtesy of Bonterra

Bonterra loosely translates from Italian as good earth.  Bonterra Winery’s good earth seems to bring out the best in their grapes.  I can not remember a time when I was more pleasantly surprised by a group of wines.  Added bonus…they are $13.99 for whites and $15.99 for reds, have a lovely fresh label and are widely available in the states and overseas.

I first opened the 2009 Chardonnay and thought, wow, this is lovely.  I like to keep Chardonnay in my fridge for a week to enjoy a small glass with Hubby in the evening after work.  I’ve experienced other organic wines turn ugly quickly even though I always use a VacuVin, but the slight changes that occurred with Bonterra’s wine were not unpleasant in the least. I am very picky about Chardonnay and I really love this wine. It has all of the elements of a thoughtfully-made, restrained Chardonnay: 70% of the fruit went through malolactic fermentation in French and American oak. It was then blended with 30% fruit from stainless steel tanks and finished off in neutral oak. For me, that is a winning combination; the malo cuts out the bitter acidity that I find nasty in “naked” Chardonnays and grapes from the the stainless steel tanks keep the wine from being overwhelmed by oak flavors.

I was also thoroughly surprised by the delightful 2008 Merlot.  Blended with a bit of Syrah, Zinfandel, and Carignane, it’s a very special wine in that the grapes were subjected to a rare 50-year frost with a long growing season which resulted in (low-yield) concentrated fruits. Events like this showcase a winemaker’s ability and palate. Winemaker Robert Blue turned a potential disaster into a must-try Merlot.

The winemaker’s handling of Bonterra’s 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon is just my style. It’s a food friendly, flexible Cabernet Sauvignon.  Folks who don’t want a tannic big red wine, this is your Cabernet Sauvignon. It has plenty of structure and flavor but I found that it pairs nicely with basic Mediterranean or Italian food. I would even recommend a high-quality pizza and salad with blue cheese. A non-stuffy Cabernet Sauvignon – nice!

Bottomline: The fact that the winemaker is making fabulous wines from organic farming is interesting to me as an oenophile and it’s fun to show others what organic wines can be, but you don’t have to be “into organic” wines to enjoy these refreshing, flavorful and delicious food friendly wines.  

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Because I love tasting wines from around the world, I have purchased many  Chilean wines (as well as received samples).  My big news is that I am blown away by how much the quality of Chile’s red wines has risen just in the last year. The first time (2009) I sat through a Carmenére tasting, I ended up recommending a Sauvignon Blanc to my readers. Even though I’m a huge fan of Chilean whites* and Pinot Noirs, I was less than enthusastic about Chile’s effort to promote Carmenére as their signature grape.

Don’t get me wrong, Carmenére is no backwoods weird varietal; it enjoys a fine pedigree. Here’s a fun fact from Wine.com: Carmenère is yet another grape that was eventually exiled from the Bordeaux blend. In the late 1800′s, Carmenère was brought over to Chile from France, and it never turned back. For a while, Chilean growers thought this grape was Merlot and labeled their wines as such. But in the early nineties, thanks to DNA testing, vineyards were revisited and the grapes correctly labeled, and Carmenère was discovered to be the backbone of many Chilean wines. 

Without further commentary, I’m happy to recommend the following Chilean Carmenéres. Happy shopping!

• Santa Carolina Reserva de Familia, Carmenère  2009 ($10)
• Natura, Carmenère 2010 (Made by Emiliana) ($10) This wine is organic, I’ll be writing a post about organic wines soon.
• Paso Grande Valle Control, Carmenère 2010 ($10)
• Montes Alpha Colchagua Valley Carmenère 2008 ($15)  Montes Alpha makes consistently good value wine.
• Margues de Casa Concha Carmenère 2009  ($16) Made by Concha y Toro, another big name and easy to find.
• Carmen Gran Reserva, Apalta Carmenère 2009 ($17)
• Novas Limited Selection Carmenère / Cabernet Sauvignon ($15) This is what I call a Saturday night wine – complex, smooth, drinkable now. Very nice wine.

Most of these wines are widely distributed thus easy to find. I hope you enjoy them.

*Chilean White Wine post coming soon~ I’m tasting a bunch of Chardonnays and Sauvignon Blancs this month.

Picture taken in Chile on the Wine Writer’s Trip sponsored by Winebow. I’m in the hat and that’s the famous Karen MacNeil who wrote The Wine Bible next to me.

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Mourvédre* and its cousins are a hot commodity in the USA right now.  Mourvédre is one of  22 grapes known as Rhone Varieties.  Fortunately you don’t have to go to France to taste these interesting wines.   American-made wines are featured at tastings sponsored by the Rhone Rangers each year.  The 2012 San Francisco Celebration of Rhone Wines featured 500 wines from 100 wineries mostly from California (lots of Paso Robles wineries).

The three most common white Rhone grapes grown in California are Viognier, Marsanne and Roussanne.  Marsanne and Roussanne are often blended together.  One of my favorite blends is Viognier with Chardonnay.  Popular Rhone reds are Syrah, Grenache and Mourvédre.

These grapes are naturally bold and flavorful. Like Petite Sirah, they are very distinct; for instance, if you taste rich honeysuckle nectar, it is most likely a Viognier.  Syrah is frequently paired with BBQ, rich sauces and meat while a lesser wine would be over-powered.  While an occasional full-bodied Syrah will find it’s way to my table, my favorite California Rhone wines are restrained the fruit ripeness is controlled and enough acidity is present to create a balanced wine that doesn’t leave my teeth purple or my tongue honey-coated.

Here are producers that I recommend:

Two Shepherds.  Winemaker William Allen is an on-the-move tech executive, a committed wine blogger, a marketing evangelist for Sonoma wine events and a darn good winemaker. His first bottling was in 2010 and he is quickly ramping up to deliver 2011 to meet demand. Tip: Get on his mailing list.

Inspiration Vineyards & Winery.  Jon Phillips’ wines are food friendly and terroir-driven. He makes a small amount of Chardonnay-Viognier (190 cases), bright, elegant Viogniers, a very French White Rhone Blend and several other varietals mostly from the Russian River/Dry Creek area. Tip: The tasting room is open Thursday – Monday, no appointment necessary and if it’s not during harvest, you’ll probably meet the winemaker.

Cline Cellars.  Drinking wine out of the barrel with Charlie Tsegeletos was a seminal moment in my wine loving journey. His enthusiasm for winemaking and wine education remains unbridled even after 30+ years. His 2010 Old Vine Mourvédre is a steal at $20 and his Mourvédre Rose is always a winner. Tip: Join the Pendulum Club, (the only club I belong to) the people are wonderful, the deals are great and the winery is a lovely home-away-from-home.

Hope Family Wines. Founder Austin Hope and winemaker Jason “JC” Diefenderfer make some great Rhone wines in Paso Robles. A larger winery with five very well-priced labels (Troublemaker, Treana, Liberty School, Candor and Austin Hope) has something for everyone. I especially like Troublemaker Blend 3, a red Rhone blend made from multiple vintages ($20).  Tip: Read more about Troublemaker online.

*It was about 10 years ago when I first heard the fun folks at Cline Cellars teaching people how to remember Mourvédre (here’s how to really pronounce it).

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I enjoy wine from all over the globe, but many German wines that I receive* are too sweet for my palate.  I’m always excited to get a Silvaner because the best ones are dry (the opposite of sweet) and pair perfectly with Springtime seafood and salads.  I served this 2009 Graf v (von) Schönborn with fresh white shrimp, cilantro, garden limes, chopped red onions and a little salt and pepper over broccoli/carrot slaw. The wine is light in body, low-alcohol (12%) with stone fruit and a bit of lime. Absolutely lovely and easy drinking.

When I visited Germany, I advocated to wineries that reaching more American wine lovers requires making their labels more user-friendly.  This producer gets it.  Here’s what the wine label would look like if the usual German “rules” were followed.

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MacPhail Winery, Dry Creek Valley, Sonoma County

Part 2.  Read the back story and meet the wine…

Interview with James MacPhail, Winemaker, MacPhail Family Winery 

When did you start making wine, what was your position and with whom?  I started making my own wine in 2001 (it was a Merlot).  I was working at Pelligrini at that time – and that’s where Merry Edwards was making her wine before she built her own place.  I worked for both producers doing everything and anything that was asked of me.  There really wasn’t a name for it.  I guess “cellar rat” is the closest thing.

When did you start your own label?  2002

When did you partner with Hess? If you mean when was I contacted to be the winemaker for Sequana, that would be in the spring of 07.   If you mean when did Hess and MacPhail Family Wines come together, that would be June of 2011.

 How did that come about?  For 2007, I was on the list to be interviewed for Sequana. I went over with 3 bottles of my Pinot – no resume – and met with Dave Guffy.  We hit it off.  I got a call the next day and was offered the position.  If you mean 2011, that happened at the Taste of Vail event with CEO Gary Bulger – over a beer.

What are your favorite things to do when you are not making wine?  Sleep in, be with my family, go places and relax and soak up the sun.  Swim.  Go out with friends and try new places.

Do you have any goals or dreams in the winemaking business that you have yet to meet? If so, what are they?  I’d love to make wine in Argentina, do more research about this business; I’d like to teach.  It’s a never-ending quest.

Thanks James (& Kerry!), I finally got the answers to my burning questions. Regarding Argentina, interesting…everyone knows it’s my favorite place in the world (besides home). 

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MILESI don’t know. It’s the heartbreak grape. Difficult to vinify. For me, it’s a metaphor for the process of art. You struggle and suffer against seemingly insuperable microclimatic odds, and only when everything comes into a … perfect confluence can you really alchemize something transcendent. And it doesn’t happen often. But, forsaking money, and with no apparent concern for one’s well-being, like artists, true artists, Pinot vintners persevere for that one preternatural moment. Which, when imbibed, is then only but a memory, nothing really tangible, like a book, or a painting, or a movie, admittedly. But … unsurpassable in all other sensory delights in that one sublime, albeit ephemeral, moment. From Rex Pickett’s new play, Sideways.

I wrote a press release about Rex Pickett’s involvement with the 10th Annual Pinot Noir Summit. During our interview via Skype, we chatted like old friends for so long that we found ourselves adjusting our screens in our offices because the sun had went down.  When we finally hung up, we had decided that I would interview him onstage at the Pinot Summit event. We also agreed that it would be fun to do the same thing (new topics) at the Wine Blogger’s Conference in Willamette Oregon later in the year. Rex’s book, Vertical, highlights a road trip to a Pinot Noir festival in Willamette Valley.

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Insider Tips for Finding & Enjoying Great Pinot Noir

• Pinot Noir is best when it is grown in a very specific place proven to have ideal conditions. If it says “California” on the label, pass it by, even if it is $12 and seems like a bargain. It’s not, it will disappoint you. Here are two Pinot Noirs under $20 that you can easily find.
• Because the grape is so sensitive to growing conditions, it’s a lot of fun to explore the different AVA’s that are known as good Pinot Noir growing areas.  There are many famous Pinot places that we’ve all heard about; currently, my favorite AVA’s are  Sonoma Coast,  Santa Ynez Valley and Sta Rita Hills.
• You’ll find a lot of wineries source their grapes from only a few regions while their wineries are in another place altogether. To taste lots of Pinots all in one place, I recommend Pinot Noir-specific events. San Francisco’s Pinot Summit is very civilized and fun; only 350 people, approximately 44 top wines (selected from over 400 entries).  I interviewed Sideways author, Rex Pickett at the 10th annual tasting and it was a blast. In addition to enjoying world-class Pinots, I like this event because the rooms are large and comfortable and the event is very creatively designed.  You can also spend the night at a fab downtown San Francisco hotel and keep the party going.
• Explore Pinot Noir from other countries. When I was in Germany on a Pinot Trio tour (Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris and Pinot Blanc), the vintners’ apologized for pouring wine younger than 15 years old.  Here in the states, aging Pinot Noir is quite rare.  I’m also a student of Chilean Pinot Noir which I find vastly more interesting than their prominent grape, Carmenere.

10th Annual Pinot Noir Summit, Girl with a Glass & Sideways author, Rex Picket.

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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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