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I’m In a New York State of Mind

Just back from a week in New York and my head is dancing with images of some of the most intense, and pleasurable, foods I have tasted in two years.

Rather than get into hyper-specific detail and a micro-review of whole meals, I will offer a review from 15,000 feet up – highlights. Think of them as potential leads, if New York is on your radar screen. 

Espresso at Ninth Street Coffee, in Chelsea Market

While the entire Chelsea Market is worth a two-hour visit, the must-try is the profoundly rich, exceptionally complex, espresso and cappuccino served at the Ninth Street espresso bar. Their Alphabet City espresso blend is custom-roasted by Chicago-based Intelligentsia, whose coffee I also adore.

Even though Carol, my wife, is an espresso Zen master, roasting her own espresso beans at home daily, she insisted we purchase a 1-pound bag of Alphabet City beans to see if we could replicate the flavor of their espresso at home. The good news: We can. We did. We do.

Ninth Street Espresso in the Chelsea Market, 75 9^th Av., between 9^th and 10^th Streets. 212-228-2930.

  

The Beast Master Pizza at Roberta’s in Brooklyn

Our son, Jason, who lives in New York and who is a culture vulture, cocktail connoisseur and accredited foodie, compiled a list of must-try restaurants before we got to New York. One of the top spots on his list was this quirky, hipster-style boite in Brooklyn. In a crazy neighborhood, hidden behind an unmarked door, Roberta’s serves up some mighty fine fare, including some of New York’s best pizzas. 

We asked our server what she thought was the best of the best, and she suggested that we order a former house specialty, which at present is not on the printed menu. We acceded and ordered the Beast Master, a rich, satisfying, delicious pie combining mozzarella and Gorgonzola cheeses with a tangy tomato sauce. Great crust. Great pie. One of the best I have had in two years anywhere, our trips to Italy included.

Roberta’s, 261 Moore St., Bushwick, Brooklyn. 718-417-1118.

 

The $29 prixe-fixe lunch at Del Posto

Want to live like a king for a day? Dine at this regal 1-star Michelin restaurant, owned by Mario Batali. The setting is stunning; calm, royal, hushed. The food is of the caliber of that coming out of a 3-star Michelin kitchen. The service is refined, thoughtful, precise; so polished, in fact, that you’d swear you are in Europe.

With add-on prices for specific appetizers, unctuous sea meats and extravagant wines ordered from a magnificent list of Italian wines, our $29 per head luncheon with tax and tip wound up costing more than $100 per head. Never mind, it was so good that we made an effort to return two days later to repeat the indulgence.

If I were scoring the meal out of 100, I would have ascribed 105 points.

But when we returned the next day to rebook a second lunch, we were snubbed by two men at the maitre d’ station who were cold and disdainful. You might expect their demeanor at a mortuary, but not at a restaurant where one comes to celebrate life, not bury it. Their posturing was such a turn-off, in fact, that we canceled our return visit.

Top marks to Mary Grace who oversaw our thrilling dining experience and to Josh Eisenhauer, a tremendous sommelier, who hand-picked several brilliant wines to pair with our fare.

 

The desserts? I can’t recall having better confections in Italy. Superb.

 

 

Without question, our best meal of the week, by a city mile.

Del Posto, 85 10^th Ave., New York. 212-497-8090. 

 

Eataly

Chef Mario Batali and his wine sidekick Joe Bastianich teamed up with Oscar Farinetti, the creator of Eataly, a Turin-based, Italian food hall, to open New York’s Eataly last year. 

There are stories on the street that in its first year of operation, the New York food hall will gross nearly $90 million. That’s a success even if industry guessers are off by $10 or $20 million.

Eataly is New York’s new, must-visit food emporium, replacing Dean & DeLuca, Balducci’s, and Macy’s basement as the city’s “in” food destination. 

There’s something like 35,000 square-feet of food hall here, encompassing multiple eating areas (each featuring different fare – beef, fish, pasta, salads, wine, etc.) with multiple espresso bars, a gelato grazing station, shelves of Italian packaged goods, kitchen equipment, wine and beer.

I ate twice at the Le Verdure station, which features delicious salads. On my first visit, the grilled salad of bitter greens (Scarola alla griglia), tossed with pine nuts and sweet currants, was finished with a generous snowfall of Parmigiano Reggiano and a splash of a tremendous aged Balsamic vinegar (so good, that we bought a bottle to take home). We returned later in the week attempting to repeat the pleasure, but alas, a different cook, with a heavier hand, turned out a salad that was oily, dull, not delicate, and only memorable in that we would not order it again.

Eataly, 200 Fifth Ave., New York. 646-398-5100.

 

Parm

Katelyn, our counter server.

Our son Jason and several NY chefs insisted we visit this new lunch diner, a sister eatery to Torrisi next door, operated by two talented chefs, Rich Torrisi and Mario Carbone, who have worked with Mario Batali and Wylie Dufresne.

Baked ziti at Parm.

Only hours before our visit, the New York Times published a food story raving about the meatball sandwich here. Our counter server, Katie, kept her cool, despite the crush of patrons clamoring to get in to the small diner to order the sandwich. Call it meatball madness; at one point, the kitchen actually called a 30-minute time-out to catch up with a backlog of orders. 

Parm’s version of mile-high pie, a three-tiered, Neapolitan ice cream confection.

We opted to order the Parm chicken Parmigiana, served on a soft roll; delicioso. We also loved the ultra-moist, sliced turkey breast sandwich. 

Parm, 248 Mulberry Street, at Prince Street. 212-993-7189. 

 

The Breslin, in the Hotel Ace

Guests literally pigging out – on suckling pig.

Everyone raves about the lamb burger at The Breslin, which has two entrances, one on 29^th Street and one off the lobby of the Ace Hotel.

At 5 pm, the hotel lobby becomes a riot of young people, swarming to hook up with members of the same, or opposite, sex, and who are drinking some of the most exotic cocktails I’ve ever seen, or tasted. The din at 5 pm is so loud, it’s easier on the ears to go outside for a conversation; Broadway is like a hushed library compared to the decibel level in the hotel lobby.

But about the lamb burger: Juicy, moist, served with the best French fries I had all week in New York. And if one can make such a declarative statement – this is quite simply the best lamb burger I have ever had. Served on a soft, tasty bun, oozing taste.

Many wonderful and unusual cocktails served here, too. Don’t miss ’em.

The Breslin, 16 W. 29^th St., New York, 212-679-1939.

 

Il Buco

Il Buco, the original location.

So successful was the first Il Buco, that there are now two locations.  We visited both but ate at the recently opened one, where there is also a take-out, deli counter offering a selection of fine Italian meats and cheeses. Before dinner here, I noshed on the tastiest taralli (circular, pretzel-like breadsticks) I have ever had, and sampled delicious culatello, a refined version of prosciutto, reputedly made from heavier pigs.

Melissa, the bartender at Il Bucio II, works fast, making some of the tastiest cocktails I had in New York.

Dinner was sensational, a stampede of dishes brought to our table, one after another. The next day, we reviewed our printed receipt and observed that we had been brought small plates that we hadn’t ordered or paid for, and had been charged for dishes we ordered and never received. But the food and service, cocktails and wine, were so good that we didn’t feel gypped in the least. In fact, we can’t wait to return to sit at a community table again and try the many other dishes, which we didn’t have room to contemplate.

Il Buco II , 53 Great Jones, New York. 212-837-2622.

And finally, some additional food-related, and non-food-related, photos from our week in New York:

Look! Up in the Sky! It's a Bird! It's a Plane! NO, It's Yowayowa!

For half-a-year, I have been enjoying a most original, deliciously visual site called Levitation.

A young Japanese photographer, Yowayowa, captures her own image in various stages of "flight," though what she is actually doing is jumping at the instant her image is captured.

I signed up for Yowayowa's RSS feed -- so whenever she posts online, I get an email with her latest photo. Yowayowa's are some of my most eagerly awaited emails and they ALWAYS bring a smile to my face, even sitting at my computer alone... her shots are original and whimsical.

Check out the site and sign up to receive Yowayowa's emails (she doesn't post too often... maybe once every two weeks; since last May, there have only been 16 emails).  

Go to:

http://yowayowacamera.com/

and have some laughs!

If you are interested to learn how "levitation" photos are often made, I discovered a useful backgrounder at: http://www.picturecorrect.com/tips/levitation-photography-tutorial/

Best Wines of the Year

Ready, gang?

Here’s my annual summary of the year’s best wine experiences. Not just wines, but best wine experiences. 

Often we open great wines, which score high marks for what’s in the bottle; but a great wine experience has as much to do with the person with whom you are enjoying the wine, or the setting, as the wine itself. 

My Best Wine Experiences, in chronological order for the year:

The first wine experience of the year to grab me by the lapels occurred upon opening a 1970 Unfiltered Robert Mondavi Winery Cabernet. The wine was made in Bob Mondavi’s forth year of production and it was the first year in which estate grapes were crushed.

My old friend Harry Grant, from Los Angeles, brought the wine to Napa Valley to celebrate our 41^st anniversary – of having met at the Thorn Tree restaurant in Nairobi, Kenya. The year we met was 1970 – the same vintage as this Mondavi Cab. Harry and I bonded as youthful travelers in search of the inconsequential, and we spent a year on extended safari, traveling all through southern Africa.

From left to right; Harry Grant, from LA, who gave me the ’70 Mondavi Cab, and Rob Fanucci, my winery partner at Charter Oak, with whom we drank the wine. Not seen: Ken Miller, another friend, also present at the dinner.

I took the Mondavi Cab to dinner for a winemaker’s night out; we invited Rob Fanucci, my partner and winemaker at Charter Oak winery and another good friend, Ken Miller. We dined at Cindy’s Backstreet Kitchen, in St. Helena, enjoying some of the best burgers of the year, which perfectly complemented the rich and elegant ‘70 Mondavi Cab.

The wine was pleasing and sweet upon pouring, not what I expected from a 41-year-old wine. As the wine rested in the glass, it gained body, weight and a silken texture; 20 minutes later, the wine was better than it had been upon pouring. 

Initial flavors: cedar, tea, soy and ripe, older red fruit. Everything became more accentuated as the wine sat in the glass. A remarkable dowager wine, still strutting its stuff. 93 points.

Best Wine Night of the Year 

This has never happened to me in 35+ years of drinking and rating wines; the serendipity of opening four bottles of wine – two whites and two reds – and finding each of them a perfect 100-point wine experience. That’s a 400-point night!

The setting: Rutherford friends Liz and Dave Berry came for dinner on a beautiful August night; Among the gems we pulled from our respective cellars were two sublime white Burgundies and two exquisite, perfect and perfectly aged Chateauneufs-du-Pape.

What we drank.

2005 Patrick Javillier Corton-Charlemagne, Grand Cru.

2006 Marius Delarche Corton-Charlemagne Reserve

White Burgundies don’t get better than this. The peculiar thing is that I have opened many bottles of these two wines and due to bottle variation, have never had what I would call an “Aha!” moment. How strange then (and how wonderful!), to open BOTH these wines and find them exhibiting 100-point perfection. Extremely elegant, beautifully textured, sublimely pleasing.

1998 Domaine de la Mordoree Chateauneuf-du-Pape

Wowie. Over time, I have opened bottles of this wine, to which I ascribed 98 and even 99 points, but not ever 100. This particular bottle, however, commands a perfect score. Close your eyes and it could be a sublime Vosne Romanee; it has balance, finesse, elegance, hints of garrigue, and a plush, lingering finish.

2000 Domaine de la Vieille Julienne

My last bottle of this exceptional wine. A perfect bottle, showing saddle sweat, leather, earth, and a myriad of ripe fruit flavors. The wine ends with a long, delicious finish. If I thought eternity were this sweet and alluring, I might consider signing up for the package.

Even after several hours in a decanter, this wine had tons of life left in it – behaving like a well-trained ultra-marathoner who dances into the 50-mile marker, with tons of reserve to get to the finish line at mile marker 130.

Let’s Not Forget the Italians!

It was a great year for whites. We found this extremely delicious, extremely rare white from Jermann while traveling in Capri in September. Very little of this wine is exported to the US, but I recently found it on the menu in our ‘hood – and even by the glass! – at Alex’s Italian Restaurant, in Rutherford, here in Napa Valley.

I knew Silvio Jermann when I lived in Toronto, Canada. In the late 70s, he said he was moving to Fruili, Italy, to start producing wines. We patted him on the back and wished him well.

Don’t think we needed to wish Silvio luck; the guy’s super-talented and makes some of the very best whites in all of Italy. Today, his family farms close to 250 acres of grapes.

There isn’t anything Jermann makes that I wouldn’t score in the mid-90s, including his sensational Ribolla Gialla, which he labels “Vinnae.”

This wine is filled with fresh, tropical flavors, hints of mango skin and sports lush tropical scents. Fully dry and fully delicious, too. A 93-pointer for sure. Hints of Riesling and Tocai Friulano in the blend add to the richness and character.

I loved this wine so much that before leaving Capri, where we discovered it, I hunted down the last three retail bottles on the island and schlepped them home.

May your New Year be filled with fun, good health, and many wonderful wine experiences.

It Started in Napa Valley… and Yes, She’s Bananas for Bananas!

The world’s most popular fruit – the banana – has a new, tasty fan club.

Courtney Dougherty

Food entrepreneur Courtney Dougherty is launching a line of fully baked, ready-to-eat-out-of-the-jar, banana desserts that will have you smiling at their intense banana-based flavors.

Rather appropriately, the dessert line is called Bananappeal. Everything Courtney makes is all-natural, preservative-free and as she uses no hydrogenated oils, all her desserts are trans fat-free.

Courtney has produced four varieties of Cheesecake in a Jar:

Bananas Foster

Banana Gingersnap

Banana Tiramisu

Banana Strawberry

The Tiramisu and Strawberry cheesecakes are gluten-free.

She has also produced four varieties of Frosted Cake in a Jar:

Banana Chocolate Fudge

Banana Peanut Butter

Banana Salted Caramel

Banana Toasted Coconut

The Banana Peanut Butter Frosted Cake

If you can stop at one jar in a sitting, you either have Absolute Will Power, or you may be comatose; in which case, see a doctor. 

Courtney’s Bananappeal desserts are so good that Williams-Sonoma may put her mixed four-packs in its late winter/early spring catalogue.

MMMMM, love it!

The frosted cakes are available in both an 8-oz. (1-2 servings) and a 4-oz. (single serving) size, while the cheesecakes are available only in a 4-oz. size. 

At present, you can order these sensational, fully baked, ready-to-eat desserts from Courtney’s website, www.bananapppeal.com. 

Pricing:

The 4-pack, 4-oz. frosted cakes are $29.95

The 4-pack, 8-oz. frosted cakes are $39.95

The 4-pack, 4-oz. cheesecakes are $29.95

The 4-pack, 4-oz. gluten-free cheesecakes are $34.95

Full disclosure

I was introduced to 27-year-old-Courtney 16 months ago by Napa Valley wine friends who asked if I could help her refine a culinary concept. 

(I have been a product development consultant to the food industry for 35 years and have brought to market many of the products in your kitchen cupboard – mostly the healthier ones.)

I offered to coach Courtney at no charge, thinking this was an ideal way to give something back to the food industry, which has been good to me. 

I was particularly eager to help Courtney for four reasons:

1. Bananas are on my own list of food-favorites. 

2.  I was captivated by Courtney’s bright, spirited entrepreneurial approach to business. 

3. I enjoy mentoring bright, young people.

4. I respected Courtney’s credentials and experience. She graduated twice – once from Cornell University's School of Hotel Administration, and then she graduated from the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone, in Napa Valley, with a baking and pastry certificate.

Courtney has great experience, having worked with the best and at the best; she has been executive assistant to Tyler Florence, famed chef and Food Network personality; she was a respected concierge at Napa Valley’s Auberge du Soleil; she helped launch three restaurants in the Bay-area and has been a pastry chef at two top-tier American restaurants, Tru, in Chicago, and Eleven Madison Park, in New York. (I know, I know… after all this experience you’d expect Courtney to be 75!)

After a lot of backing and forthing across the country, Courtney longed to return to the Bay-area to explore her banana passion.

Bananas, grown in more than 107 countries, are universally available, but until Courtney came along, no one thought of producing a line of banana-based desserts. And even more specifically, no one thought of baking them INSIDE a glass jar – so that for convenience, and sheer pleasure, the consumer can spoon Courtney’s fully baked confection out of the reusable, or recyclable, jar.

What’s more, we discovered as we worked together that the glass jars are a superb barrier against spoilage.

Even though there are no preservatives in Bananappeal desserts, and everything is all-natural, the shelf-life of these desserts, kept refrigerated, can be measured in weeks, not days.

(For the record: I have NO commercial interest, or investment, in Courtney’s business; I only guided and coached her, at no charge, to help her get her product line ready to launch.)

About the Fantastic Packaging

Courtney’s original desserts, I felt, required original packaging. So I suggested that Courtney contact Jenn White Topliff, my daughter, to see if she could develop something special for “Court,” as she is known. 

Jenn is a Bay-area graphic designer with many years of professional experience, having designed compelling packages for many big-name clients. (Check out her work at www.13creative.com) 

Jenn and I have often worked together as a dad ‘n daughter team, Jenn producing imaginative packages for clients for whom I have fixed, developed, or improved products. 

I figured Jenn and Courtney, who are look-alikes, would develop a great friendship as well as great packaging. Dad was right on both counts.

I am proud of Jenn’s highly original packaging, which plays on a 50’s theme – a time when mom made these kind of desserts for her family.

Courtney and Jenn ham it up – but there is NO ham in Courtney’s frosted cakes!

Good going Courtney and Jenn! I didn’t think that this story should go un-applauded on the napaman site just because I had a minor hand in directing Courtney or teaming her up with Jenn. 

Update: To commence commercial production, Courtney has just left the Bay-area, relocating in Denver, CO, where she will produce all her banana-based, jarred desserts.

Good luck, Court – to keep up with demand…  and to get through the cold Colorado winter! The Bay-area’s loss is definitely Denver’s gain.

Napaman is NOT a shill for Shawn Askinosie! I can’t help it if he just happens to make the world’s best chocolate.

My hero, Shawn Askinosie. He used to be a feared, and fearless, criminal defense lawyer; now is he a fearless chocolate maker, feared by century-old chocolate manufacturers whose quality he has eclipsed.

Long-time readers of napaman.com are probably aware of my vocal, even exuberant, support of Shawn Askinosie, who makes single-origin chocolate bars, or tablets, in his Willy Wonka-like factory in Springfield, MO.

Shawn buys cacao beans directly from farmers who nurture their plants in the Philippines, Tanzania, Mexico, Ecuador and Honduras; this ensures quality but, more importantly to Shawn, this ensures that ALL the money he pays for these organic beans goes to the farmers. Nothing is siphoned off by middlemen, or negociants.

I met Shawn four years ago and immediately fell in love with his chocolate, his work ethic and his story and proclaimed his chocolate “the best tasting in America. Maybe the world.”

Fresh back from Europe a few weeks ago, where I tasted many great chocolates, I haven’t changed my tune. Askinosie is still at the top of the heap.

For one thing, Askinosie is the only chocolate-maker I know who does NOT add vanilla, or vanillin, to flavor his chocolate; he may also be the only producer who does NOT add lecithin, an industry-used emulsifier, which other chocolate-makers add to give their chocolate a satiny, smooth texture.

Shawn doesn’t need to rely on chemistry to achieve greatness. His careful sourcing and his tedious attention to detail at the manufacturing level means he doesn’t have to add lecithin.

For this holiday season, Shawn has gone into cahoots with two of his favorite food suppliers to create two new dark chocolate tablets. He calls these CollarBARation Bars, because he has made them in a collaborative fashion. What works for him, also works for his pals.

CollaBARation Bar #1: Dark Milk Chocolate + Black Licorice

This is the most original chocolate bar I have eaten in a decade. AND I LOVE IT.

Shawn partnered with his Scandinavian distributor Martin Jörgensen. (Yes, Askinosie chocolates are a HUGE hit in Scandinavia! I guess they must find something to temper the taste of reindeer pate.)

As Martin owns a licorice factory called Lakritsfabriken, in Ramlösa, Sweden, Shawn has added Martin’s premium organic licorice (it’s gluten-free!) to his own ethereal dark milk chocolate, made with cacao beans from Davao, Philippines.

I am swooning from the taste of this new creation; the sensual melt of chocolate reveals tiny nibs of delicious, salty licorice, which slowly dissolve on the tongue.

A tweak of fleur de sel sea salt in the bar increases the length of the finish.

There are also tiny anise seeds in the bar, a sort of flavor booster to augment the licorice-ness.

This is one of those food experiences where the sum of the ingredients is 1 + 1 + 1 = 5. So maybe it turns out that Shawn’s not so hot at math, but he sure is one helluva chocolate-maker.

The bar is now available on the Askinosie website (www.askinosie.com) and, if you are reading this column in Sweden, you will find it at the Lakritsfabriken licorice factory in Ramlösa.

The 3-oz (85 g) bar is $10.

But wait, there’s more!

CollaBARation™ #2: Dark Chocolate + Coffee

If you are a coffee geek and have been to Los Angeles or Chicago, you doubtless know about one of America’s greatest coffees – Intelligentsia.

As Shawn has such a high regard for the purity and flavor of this coffee firm’s roasts, he has teamed up to make a CollaBARation Bar that is a mixture of dark chocolate from single-origin, organic, Davao, Philippines cacao and organic, single-origin coffee from La Perla de Oaxaca, Mexico.

Talk about intensity of flavor! Here is chocolate from the dark side, so dark, in fact, that it makes Darth Vader look like an albino. Here we have dark chocolate infused with darkly roasted, Mexican coffee.

This somewhat gritty bar has the texture of canvas. It is so intense and dark that if it were a weather system, you’d be preparing for a black funneled tornado.

The press release says to look for “creamy caramel and a crisp citrus acidity.” I don’t share this sentiment and didn’t detect any of these flavors. But I’d still  encourage you to get this bar if you need a caffeine, or theobromine, hit and if you love dark chocolate and dark coffee.

Available at www.askinosie.com and Intelligentsia stores in LA and Chicago.

The 3-oz (85 g) bar is $10.

Now You Can Rent a TEP Device in the USA!!

Two weeks ago, I waxed poetic about traveling in Italy with my favorite new WIFI gadget, Tep Wireless, which I rented for about $10 a day.

It permitted me to connect up to five WIFI-enabled devices (iPad, iPhone, laptop, etc.) no matter where I went, as it converts a wireless phone signal, which is virtually omnipresent, into a useful WIFI signal.

Go here to see the original story:

http://www.napaman.com/napamancom/2011/10/my-favorite-new-tech-tool-a-must-have-for-european-travelers.html

Now, just today, Tep announces that the same rental service is available in the US, in Australia, and in Hong Kong.

This is how all my Canadian friends should travel in the US -- with a rented Tep Wireless device. It sure beats the high cost of hotel WIFI and means you can use your Canadian-based phones (or your European-based phones for folks visiting from Eruropa...) here in the US for unlimited data (not voice -- data) for about $10 a day.

Sure beats the high cost of data roaming or of usurious hotel WIFI fees.

Nice going, Tep!

For additional information, go to www.tepwireless.com

 

 

Holy smokes! This restaurant reviewer makes Michael Bauer look like he’s anorexic!

An old friend from my Toronto days, Josh Josephson, breezed through Napa Valley a few weeks ago.

Josh Josephson

I was out of town, so I asked Josh, who fancies himself a fulltime restaurant critic, when he isn’t researching neurosurgical drug matters, to send me a list of where he ate, what he ate, and what he liked while in Napa Valley.

The guy ate at all the places listed below in TWO days, took all these photos, and posted all these comments on his own site, http://cookbookstoreblog.blogspot.com/2011/09/napa-restaurants-french-laundry-tra.html

I append Josh’s review in full. It is unedited and does not necessarily carry my full endorsement or agreement. But this guy pretty much knows what he’s talking about; for one thing, Josh has a serious passion for food, cooking and cuisine, In fact, he opened, with Alison Fryer and Barbara Caffery, Canada’s first cookbook store. Called "The Cookbook Store," in Toronto, it's still running strong 30 years later.

As well as being an optometrist actively involved with research. Josh is chairman of the Standards Council of Canada, Ophthalmic Committees (spectacle lens, contact lens, contact lens care, product standards, etc.). He is Canada's sole voting representative at all ISO meetings.

Most recently, working with a research neurosurgeon, Josh founded a pharmaceutical company that has developed a stroke drug, which prevents complications from a stroke; at present, it is in FDA clinical trials.

All the while, Josh still owns and operates Josephson Opticians, Canada's first high fashion optical chain, established in 1935, by his dad, David, who outfitted me with my earliest glasses.

Anyway, have a look at where Josh ate in Napa Valley, and what he had to say about each course. It’s like a condensed visual Zagat trip through the entire valley.

One more thing: those aren't misspellings below. Those are quaint Canadian spellings: "flavour, colour, etc." Hey, Blame it on Canada!

 

The French Laundry, Yountville, California 

The French Laundry is on any serious eater's hit list and probably the number one on anyone's list of important restaurants to eat at in North America. Finally, I made the list of reservations! There are only 2 menu's, one having everything including meat and fowl, the other, "a tasting of vegetables."

A friend and I, both certifiably NOT vegetarians, and unbeknownst to each other, and, for the first time at any restaurant in our experience, we chose the vegetarian option.

My friend is a highly experienced mangeur of both great rustic and refined cuisine, a Frenchman who lives in London, has a second home in Cap Ferat and a third on the Isle of Wight. Both of us were taken aback when we learned about our choices and realized that we chose this menu for the same reason. The courses and course descriptions were more interesting to us than the meat/fowl menu. We were not disappointed.

Perfectly rendered cheddar cheese filled gougeres.

Cornet filled with salmon tartar, red onion, creme fraiche. 

Medjule date puree, chopped roasted cashew and cilantro in advance of the carrot soup to be poured.

The carrot puree soup with a touch of peanut butter in the puree. The sublime sweetness of the carrot puree went so well with the sweet date flavour. I do not eat mellons. The carrot soup was the chef's menu substitution.

My friend's choice of compressed summer melons with crystallized ginger, lemon verbena and garden mint. 

Salted and sweet butter for the bread. The butters were redolent of field flavours.

Jardiniere de legumes d'ete with Australian black truffle coulis. A marvellous, memory provoking range of bright flavours and textures.

The presentation of the gazpacho ingredients before an emulsion of tomato essence is poured: toybox tomatoes, cucumber, garlic, cilantro and Manni extra virgin olive oil sorbet.

The gazpacho complete. Certainly one of the best gazpachos that I have enjoyed, with a bright tomato flavour complemented by the Manni oil sorbet.

My friend's choice of chawanmushi, dungeness crab, current tomatoes, bonito, tosaka seaweed and strips of nori.

Salad of black mission figs with petite onions, Piedmont hazelnuts, arugula, and smoked soubise. The figs added a heavenly dimension to this dish and worked well with smokey flavour of the soubise.

Degustation de pommes de terres, fingerling potatoes, red radish, petite lettuces and Australian black truffle. This was a sensational dish of earthy, complementary flavours.

Cranberry bean agnolotti with brentwood corn, filet beans and bean blossoms awaiting the bouillon.

The mangalitsa ham bouillon is added. Fabulous contrasting flavours from the bouillon and the perfectly cooked, delicate pasta of the cranberry bean filled agnolotti.

 

My friend ordered the hand cut farfalle with hen-of-the-woods mushrooms, eggplant, Spanish capers, meyer lemon, pine nuts and parmesan "nuage". He felt that the pasta was not cooked adequately, left the pasta over and ate the rest.

"Burrata" consisting of "pain de campagne" croutons, baby squash, Greek basil and charred padron pepper vinaigrette. Again, wonderful layers of flavours that worked so well together with the nicely contrastng textures.

Persian lime sorbet with mascarpone "panna cotta", graham cracker and toasted marshmallows. After this great dessert  I was so satisfied and yet there was more!

Dark chocolate "marquise", malt "anglaise", raison puree, cocoa "financiere" and muscovado sugar ice cream.

 My friend's selection.

 

Fabulous mignardises with various fillings.

"Coffee and donuts!" A coffee, chocolate pudding like consistency on the bottom layer with a thick rich milk foam on the top, accompanied by chocolate coated macadamias and the best "timbits" (for you Tim Horton people) you have ever tasted, sugar dusted crispy skinned dough balls with a soft interior...addictive!

Tra Vigne, St Helena, California

Tra Vigne is a an always jammed, people friendly place with a rather somber inside room and an arbored, leisure encouraging outdoor eating area. A good friend, former Toronto epicure, food writer Jim White, now a Napa resident, praised the bistecca fiorentina at Tra Vigne. I was glad he told me as the waiter did not announce this steak as a special and it was not on the menu. Further, when I did ask, I was advised there were only 4 of these 2.5 pound behemoths and he better get right back into the kitchen to make certain that he could reserve one. Our steak was confirmed and we ordered it rare.

We began with wood oven roasted, baked fig pizza, with Sister Mercy's black mission figs, gorgonzola, arugula and aged balsamic. Great, complementary topping flavours and a nicely thin, tasty, crispy crust.

Another crisp and well flavoured hit, the rosemary pizzetta with roasted head of garlic, cambozola cheese and Dickson Ranch "Regina" olive oil. The pizzas at Tra Vigne were the very best that I tasted in the Napa region.

The best wood oven roasted padron peppers I experienced in Napa and almost every resto offered some version of these peppers! Perfectly cooked, tossed with Napa's taggiasca olive oil, pleasantly crispy skinned and not over oily. The gold standard for me.  

A perfectly rendered rigatoni alla carbonara made with guanciale bacon, onions, organic eggs, cracked pepper and parmesan. This was a very rich tasting dish for which the critical elements were the richness of the egg and the properly reduced sauce.

Our wine of the night. Pardon the side view as I tried to rotate the image: A fabulous Whitehall Lane Reserve vintage 2003.

The rare steak, served with crispy skinned, roasted potatoes and  perfectly sauteed spinach with olive oil and chopped garlic. This steak was as good as the best bistecca fiorentina I have ever enjoyed in Florence. Great flavour, texture and juiciness. A "beef boys" ranking of 8/8 1/2/ 8 1/2 (all out of 10).

Bistro Jeanty, Yountville, California

This casual bistro owned by chef Philippe Jeanty is where one can experience classic examples of well prepared, rustic, French influenced cuisine with a contemporary twist. The cuisine also well represents local produce and a good selection of regional wines.

Warm lamb's tongue, with potato, frisee endive, small capers, copped chives, chopped tomato and chopped parsley, all tossed with a tart, creamy mustard vinaigrette dressing. A superb dish.

Our wine, a very good example of regionally made pinot noir, Red Dog Vineyard's Ancien vintage 2007.

Blood sausage, caramelize apple on mashed potatoes. I love blood sausage and with the caramelized apples and mash, this well executed dish, with it's sweet earthy flavours, smooth but coarse texture, really hit the spot.

Leek and melted goat cheese tart. A melt in the mouth, intensely leek flavoured, thin crispy crusted delight. A perfect tart.

Bone marrow, sauce bordelais. Remarkable quality marrow, not too fatty/oily, perfectly cooked to be somewhat firm in texture. Wonderful flavour. 

Pied de cochon, lightly breaded, deep fried, crispy skinned, perfectly spiced and accompanied by a whole grain mustard sauce and tasty, crispy frites.

Lemon meringue tart with a shortbread crust, accompanied by a lemon orange sauce !! Just look at this mile high piece of indulgent pleasure! It tasted as good as it looked.

Armagnac soaked prunes over rich vanilla ice cream. These liquor soaked prunes were as good as I have enjoyed anywhere.

Oenotri, Napa, California

Oenotri has an ambitious menu and that attracted me to try the restaurant. The menu is rustic but sophisticated. 

To begin, the wood oven pizza disappointed. This pizza was topped with peppers, pancetta, red onion, aglio rosso and wild arugula. The toppings were very good, tasty and the dough had a nice flavour. However, the dough was too soggy in from the outer crust. The texture was almost bready and had an unpleasant stretchy/doughy texture.

Brentwood sweet corn, grape tomatoes and Blue Lake beans. This was a bland dish with no distinguishing element. The corn was sweet but not sweet enough.

These padrano peppers were strangely textured, rather oily and almost slimy. The aioli was spicy and had a nice creamy texture.

This was a good salad with Marin Roots mustard greens. roasted eggplant, Jimmy Nardello peppers, a slow cooked Tully Dolci egg and pecorino sardo. A very tasty salad with intriguing flavours. The wonderful tasting egg was perfectly cooked but did not seem a great complement for this dish.

Bucatini alla carbonara with pancetta, Tulli Dolci egg, coarsely ground black pepper and pecorino romano. The pasta was perfectly cooked and the black pepper a very good accent for the rich addition of the Tulli Dolci egg. However, the sauce was slightly too salty.

Wild nettle fidei pasta with wood oven roasted san marzano tomatoes, eggplant, Jimmy Nardello peppers and pesto Genovese. Again, the pasta was perfectly cooked and most of the flavours of this dish were good, especially the strong eggplant flavour. However, the dish may be too complicated with too many things happening. The pesto flavour component was a bit too salty and perhaps a bit overwhelming.

Perfectly cooked donuts had very good flavour and good texture with a crispy skin. The mascarpone sauce was a good tasty complement.

Lunch at Rutherford Grill

Lunch at the Rutherford Grill is said to be the time that many vintners and area farmers attend.    

It was certainly a convenient place to eat in the area that we were tasting wines.

We began with a wonderful coarsely ground, flavourful house made Italian sausage (no photo). This was probably one of the 2 best things I ever ate at the Grill in the 2 meals that I had there. It was juicy and had a mild fennel flavour. It was very juicy without being fatty.

Colcannon mash with a nice mild bight had good flavour and a texture that was pleasantly coarse rather than boringly creamy. That was the accompaniment of the tasty, oak wood roasted, rotisserie chicken. The problem was that is was a bit dry. Only the thigh section had any reasonable moistness (I am reaching here).

The burger arrived perfectly medium rare, as ordered. It was juicy, but too much of that juiciness was the fatty component. The fries were crispy and ok.

Dinner at Rutherford Grill

I ordered roast beef with high expectations. The owner of the Grill is reputed to be the owner of Huston's Steak House and apparently this resto is his "baby". He should know beef. The menu read well: slow roasted, roast beef.  I  asked if i could get my beef medium rare to rare, on the rare side. I was advised that my request should be no problem. It arrived as you see below: medium. It was tough and the texture a bit dry too. It was too well done for me to enjoy, so I asked to have it returned to the kitchen and I reordered the beef. The waiter was very gracious about my request.

In the meantime, I enjoyed the artichoke grilled over a wood fire. The artichokes had been basted with garlic butter loaded with finely chopped garlic and served with an extraneous sauce resembling remoulade, which after tasting, I ignored. This dish was one of my 2 favourite dishes in the 2 meals at the Grill.

While I was waiting for my beef, I had oak grilled pork ribs which were sided with the house made BBQ sauce. The ribs were a bit too "fall off the bone" done, but they were tasty from the wood smoke. They arrived with very good crispy french fries and a very good, creamy dressed slaw made with chopped parsley and chopped cabbage 

My Second serving of roast beef arrived. Remarkably, not to my liking, again: medium to medium rare, on the medium side. The beef was on the tough side and a bit dry tasting too! Clearly my server is no judge of what degrees of doneness should look like....and he should be as he is the quality controller of what is put in front of guests. The beef in this restaurant was a sincere disappointment. On the beef tasting scale we have established among our serious amateurs and professionals (the "beef boys") I would give it a rating of 53/4 /4 /4 (taste, texture and juiciness, on a scale out of 10). The horseradish sauce was not particularly enjoyable and the "au jus" a watery stock that a good piece of beef would make completely redundant. The potatoes were as I described before, for me, the only edible food on the plate!

Mustard's Grill

We began with a very tasty tomale made with sweet creamy corn, wild mushrooms, and accompanied by pumpkin seeds and a terrific tomatillo, avocado salsa.

Lightly breaded, crispy, very tasty onion rings were accompanied by a nice house made ketchup. They are great when they are fresh and hot.

The dungeness crab cakes were good but the salad dressing for the greens was really very enjoyable, a raspberry, canola oil, vinegar molasses vinaigrette. I have never had canola oil taste so good.

This was my half of the fabulous Don Watson lamb burger which arrived perfectly cooked as ordered, medium rare to rare, and what a great burger, my favourite item ordered. The burger was very juicy and had a light smokey flavour. The bun was also perfect, a crispy skin with a soft interior that did not fall apart as one ate the burger. Arugula and sliced onion were added to the burger. The fries were crispy and tasty but were over salted and frankly inedible. 

I had high expectations of the wood smoke oven cooked Sonoma duck. Unfortunately, the smoke flavour was overly strong. I suspect that apple wood or pecan wood was not used but would have been preferable. The meat was a bit too dry. The duck was accompanied by local beans, grilled sweet potatoes and mustard fruits.

Dessert was a terrific, intensely flavoured plum orange sorbet and pleasingly not too sweet. There was a very nice lingering after taste, an experience often lost in the quality of most restaurant sorbets.

Hurley's

We began with lightly breaded crisy mix of calimari, rock shrimp, red onion and cauliflower florets accompanied by a caper remoulade.

The best dish of the night was the lovely, crusted, savory onion tart, which contained caramelized onion with rosemary, applewood smoked bacon and goat cheese. Frisee lettuce and sliced cherry tomato were on the side.

The main was a tamarind and chipotle glazed portion of buffalo short ribs accompanied by a ginger and scallion risotto, and baby bok choy.

Bardessano Hotel Restaurant: Brunch

The Baldessano is a very attractive, modern and cleanly designed hotel that is so respectful of a natural habitat. I ate outside on a lovely, clear skied, sunny morning.

This was one of my very favourite meals in Napa. Pork cheek confit hash, wilted spinach, roasted root vegetables, yellow and green zucchini, crispy "Little Farm" potatoes all topped with a sunny side up egg and served with a house made, somewhat bland fresh tomato tasting ketchup (which I only tasted). What a great dish, alone, worth the drive to Yountville all the way from the Silverado Country Club! Wonderfully integrated flavours, each component perfectly cooked and all bound with a rich, highly reduced sauce that really helped to make this dish. Two varieties of toast accompanied this dish, rosemary flavoured sourdough toast and a whole wheat toast. Mclelland's lovely butter was served on the side along with very good house made preserves of blackberry jam with such bright flavours that made one want to eat more.

Oxbow Market: C Casa and Pico Pico Bar

My friend Jim White, now a native of Napa, highly recommended a sojourn to this market full of different food a craft purveyors. At certain times of the week there is also a farmer's market that I did not make.

C Casa

C Casa specializes in creatively made tacos with very wholesome, tasty ingredients. I just had to order 3. I began with a rotisserie duck taco with baby spinach, orange wedges, goat cheese, cilantro and serrano salsa. This delicious taco went down quickly! Then, a pork carnita taco with cabbage slaw, mildly seared pineapple, avocado and serrano salsa. I loved the fabulous flavours and textures. This taco did not last long either! Finally, a spiced lamb taco, with goat cheese, avocado crema, mint, jalapenos, garlic aioli and micro greens.This last taco was my favourite!

Pica Pica Bar

Still hungry, I wandered down to Pica Pica Bar. Their display looked very appetizing. I enjoyed a "maizewich" of grilled sweet corn bread "pernil", a wonderfully spiced, slow roasted shoulder of pulled pork, with sliced tomato, sliced avocado and a garlic aioli.

The patacones also looked so enticing, fried, crispy crusted plaintain tarts one filled with chopped avocado and chicken breast salad, another with spiced beans, chopped raw onion, chopped cilantro and chopped tomato and the third with shredded pork, avocado and chopped tomato. Despite the fact that by this time I was stuffed, I enjoyed finishing them all!

My Favorite New Tech Tool - A MUST-HAVE for European Travelers!

My iPhone was tireless and my Tep tool was wireless

Every time that I have previously gone to Europe, I have had to turn off my iPhone and keep it on Airplane mode for the duration of my travels.

Otherwise, I could run up a roaming data bill of $2,000 for a two-week vacation, as many irritated AT&T customers report they have unwittingly done.

But now there’s a new service in Europe that let’s you connect to the Internet for data wherever you go, for however long you want, and it’s not expensive.

The Tep Wireless Wifi device

Tep Wireless is a British-based data service that rents a pocket-sized Wifi device for between $8 and $10 a day, depending on which country, or countries, you are visiting.

You turn on the playing-card-sized Tep device and it picks up a wireless phone signal in the country in which you are traveling; it then converts this signal to Wifi for up to five of your own devices (cell phone, iPad, tablet, laptop), permitting you to surf the web and send emails to your heart's content. There are no additional roaming fees, and no fear of returning to America to face a $2,000 roaming data charge.

What you get in the Tep Wireless kit they courier to you: An electrical charger, a car charger (an optional fee) and the Wifi device itself.

Remember, this is for data transmission only and not voice, but you can always get voice for free by using Skype on your Tep device.

Tep Wireless has even taken a page out of Netflix; they courier you the device (along with a wall charger and an additional car charger, if requested) just prior to your international departure and provide a free, postage-paid, return mailer.

No hassles, nothing to take back to a store, no late fees, and no nonsense.

Me using my iPhone in Italy last week – thanks to Tep (data only); I checked the stock market daily, called up Google maps repeatedly to get un-lost and located some tremendous, off-road restaurants, thanks to Tep.

One more positive note: the cost of Wifi in Italian hotels has gotten expensive; in one Rome hotel, the posted rate was 15 Euros ($20) per day per device. For two travelers each with a cell phone and maybe an iPad or laptop, between them, this could easily run up to three devices x $20 each per day = $60 a day to have Wifi at the hotel only.

By contrast, I took my Tep Wireless device every where I went – even in remote outback areas -- and only paid a total of $10 a day, which enabled me to hook up as many as five devices for the one flat daily fee. That’s a substantial savings and a whole lot more coverage in Wifi-speke. Thanks, Tep!

Interested in learning more? Go to www.tepwireless.com

Brassica opens – Cindy Pawlcyn’s newest restaurant

 

Two things can be said about Cindy Pawlcyn: 

1. She sure as hell knows how to cook
2. She sure as hell knows how to throw a party

Nearly 800 guests took up Cindy’s invitation and attended the pre-opening bash of her newest restaurant, Brassica, in St. Helena, last night. 

Napaman was present but the crowd was so dense that it was impossible to raise a camera to get any meaningful shots. Hence the skimpy visual coverage. 

The name Brassica, of course, is ironic as it is Latin for the family of plants known as mustards. And it is Cindy, who for 28 years, has been the gale force behind Mustards Grill, which has been one of the valley’s best restaurants for this entire stretch of time. And still is.

Brassica is located in the space, which we all knew and loved as Go Fish, also a Cindy operation. But the sushi bar and seafood-driven menu ran their course; it’s thought that visitors to our valley want heartier fare to go with their killer Cabs. But we sure had some tasty dishes at Go Fish. May she R.I.P. 

Brassica’s menu leans on the zestier fare of the GMR – Greater Mediterranean Region; on the menu, I note the use of za’atar to flavor eggplant fries, and the introduction of lamb kebabs, Greek cheeses, and middle eastern tabouli.

Appetizers were offered last night but servers couldn’t keep up with the size of the crowd. A proper commentary on the food will follow in the weeks ahead in this space. Keep a-lookin’. 

Brassica 12

On the wine side, Brassica introduces a new concept called Brassica 12. The restaurant will highlight a dozen different, small-production Napa Valley winemakers who don’t have tasting rooms. Their hard-to-find wines will be showcased by the glass and bottle, and the selection will rotate.

Guests will be able buy individual bottles for home consumption, or buy a Brassica 12 12-pack (that’s NOT a typo! That’s a Brassica 12 12-pack!) for take-out.

Brassica, 641 Main St., St. Helena. 707-963-0700. Reservations suggested.

 

It must be August – I just attended Spottswoode’s Annual Garden Party

There are many wonderful annual major wine events in Napa Valley, to which I look forward, including February’s Barrel Auction and June’s Wine Auction.

But sweet, smaller, perfectly orchestrated wine events are no less compelling.

In particular, I look forward to Spottswoode’s late summer garden party, held each August on the front lawn of the family’s estate. 

I’m actually embarrassed to say how many times I’ve attended and written about this event, but if you search the napaman.com archives, you’ll find numerous references and alluring photos.

Orlando Torres serves gazpacho shots, offered to guests at the lawn party. This year, Knickerbockers’ Catering, from St. Helena, provided tasty salads, cheeses, and breads to soak up the many poured wines.

My two favorite wines of the afternoon were the 1998 Spottswoode Cabernet, poured from 6-liter bottles, and the unctuous, memorable 2003 Spottswoode Cabernet. 

Two of the cheeses served to winery guests

Commenting to one of the winery’s team about the 13.5 percent alcohol in the 1998 Cabernet, I mentioned how wonderful it was to drink a wine with such low alcohol. I added that I miss those days of lower levels of alcohol. 

By contrast, today’s Napa Valley fruit-bomb Cabs often have more than 15.5 percent alcohol, which diminishes their food friendliness, as well as how much of them you can drink at one sitting. 

One of the winery’s staff told me that there is a move afoot in the valley, and certainly at Spottswoode, to make wines with lesser amounts of alcohol.

“We are making an effort to get the alcohol down,“ I was told. “The fact that (wine critic) Robert Parker has handed over the reins from personally rating California Cabs to his associate Antonio Galloni, means that wines will now be praised for their balance, not their bombastic imbalance.”

In short, Parker loves large, fruit-forward, higher alcohol, scratch-out-your-eyes wines from the new world. Galloni, by contrast, who rates the wines of Italy, Chablis, Champagne and Burgundy is thought to have a palate that enjoys – and scores more highly – wines of balance, and lower alcohol.

We’ll have to see. But a universal truth is that winemakers everywhere will bend their winemaking ways to achieve high Parker scores, so if the new kid on the block likes them more sotto voce, that’s likely the way producers will try to make them. Nothing sells a wine like a good Parker rating.

If you want to be invited to Spottswoode’s next late summer garden party, you’ve got to become a good, and regular, customer, as I have been for the past nearly 20 years.

Poured today:

The 1998 Spottswoode Cab is at the top of its game. It will not get any better, so if you have some in your cellar, drink up. This is a truly tremendous wine from a cantankerous vintage. 94 points.

The 2003 Spottswoode Cab is, in a word, gawjus. What a stunning beverage, filled with ripe fruit and mature grape flavors. The wine exhibits a glorious middle palate of many flavors and an equally engrossing texture. 96 points.

One More Awesome Source for Killer Single-Malt Whisky

 

I just discovered one more incredible source in the UK for rare, hard-to-find, single-malt whisky.

You may have seen my two earlier columns on single-malt Scotch, based on two weeks of (highly dedicated) research in Scotland.

Missed them? Go to

http://www.napaman.com/napamancom/2011/07/for-10-days-napaman-became-hamish-the-scotsman-in-search-of-the-worlds-greatest-single-malt-whiskies.html

and also see

http://www.napaman.com/napamancom/2011/07/scotch-whisky-is-the-new-black-.html

Anyway, the pretty, crystal bottle pictured above was secured by my newest whisky friends, in Yorkshire, UK. Their business is called The Whisky Vault.

This is a family venture, run by dad Philip Hawley and his two sons, Richard and Thomas.

Philip, who works in construction by day, decided in May 2008, to turn his passion for single-malt whisky into a business.

Contact The Whisky Vault, tell them what you want, and there’s a great chance that they’ll find it. One of their clients called looking for the rarest Ardbeg whisky ever made, The Lord of the Isles, a 25-year-old whisky, which I had the rare pleasure to taste in Scotland at the distillery in Islay.

In short: it was one of the three best whiskies I’ve ever tasted; sublime, sensual, arousing, ethereal.

Think of The Whisky Vault as the Google of Whisky World – just query them, looking for something rare and obtuse… and they’ll have the answer and get what you’re looking for!

That pretty glass bottle above, by the way – it’s the most expensive whisky sold by The Whisky Vault to date – a 57-year-old Macallan single-malt, in a Lalique crystal decanter. Philip found it for a client who paid $17,600 for the bottle. That’s $676 an ounce. But don’t count ounce prices if you intend to contact The Whisky Vault.

(For the record: The 57-year-old Macallan was assembled from two casks, the first a 1950 American oak sherry butt, the second from Spanish oak sherry butts originally filled in 1949, 1951 and 1952. Only 400 decanter-bottles were produced.)

“We have a large network of customers in Taiwan, Singapore and Japan as well as in Europe and we have never lost a shipment to the US,” notes Philip in an email exchange, commenting on his reliability.

Philip says that he has many rare, Pre-War whiskies, too, including a blended whisky from 22nd December 1885, supplied to "The refreshment department" of the Houses of Parliament. (See image directly above.)

Looking for a rare single-malt Scotch? The Whisky Vault is the first place to start your treasure hunt.

Their web site: http://www.thewhiskyvault.com

Happy treasure hunting.

 

The Best Gift you can Buy a Wine-lover!

 

 It’s the 2007 Stags Leap District Wine Box, a superb collection of 18 different wines from one of my favorite Napa Valley appellations. 

The Stags Leap District winegrowers have produced a mixed case like this for many years, and I have often bought the collection as it’s an easy way to get some of the top-favored, top-flavored, top-rated, wines in Napa Valley without having to careen from winery to winery.

A tremendous shot from Stags Leap District, taken by my friend, Steven Rothfeld

The 2007 collection is considered one of the best Stags Leap Wine Boxes ever assembled, according to Nancy Bialek, the association’s executive director.

In her own words:

“The 2007 wines are generous in aromatics and texture. The vintage opened with cool weather and early growth. A mild April turned into a hot May and June, with grapevines blazing through bloom and the first phase of development.

Late summer heat punctuated the start of harvest. The 2007 vintage … has unusual depth and complexity.”

What all this means is: A superb vintage with bright, youthful, fleshy wines.

Another amazing shot in Stags Leap District, taken by Steven Rothfeld

Here’s how Elizabeth Vianna, winemaker at Chimney Rock Winery and Vice President of SLDWA, sums up the vintage:

“The 2007 harvest will go down as one of the great harvests of the decade for Stags Leap District. The fruit concentration is amazing.”

The Stags Leap District Winegrowers didn’t provide napaman an easy, one-tasting-pours-all way to sample the 2007 wine collection to provide readers with detailed tasting notes on the 18 wines; the best that I could do was visit several Stags Leap District tasting rooms.

Chimney Rock Winery, 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon, Ganymede Vineyard

I like the way winemaker Elizabeth Vianna explains her 2007 effort:

“We experienced a dry spring, which is the first thing we need to grow great grapes. We like vines to stress early so that they focus their attention on the fruit. One of the parameters of quality is the size of the berry. Most of the color and flavors in wine come from the skins; the smaller the berries -- the greater the ratio of skin compounds to pulp – results in a better concentration of flavor and color.”

“The average Cabernet Sauvignon berry in 2007 was nearly 30 percent smaller than in the previous two vintages,” Elizabeth says. Which explains the concentrated flavors in her 2007 wine.

Only 500 cases of the estate Ganymede were made and they are all gone now, save for bottles in the 2007 Stags Leap District Wine Box.

The wine is delicious, exhibiting gorgeous ripe fruit notes and flavors. This wine has a pedigree in balance and finish.

Regusci Winery, 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon

Some 3,000 cases were made of this $53 wine, a blend of Cabernet (92 percent), Merlot (6 percent) and Cab Franc (2 percent).

The Cab has a warm and inviting nose with scents, and flavors, of red currant-bordering-on-cranberry. Has attractive floral notes on the nose and exhibits medium length on the palate. Well structured. I like the alluring middle palate. 

Cliff Lede Vineyards, 2007 Poetry

Probably the most expensive wine in the 2007 collection ($150), though it definitely delivers; coffee, dark ripe fruits on the nose with a hint of animal and an identifiable green scent toward the end of the sniff.

On the palate, juicy notes, a l-o-n-g finish, flavors reminiscent of dark plums with a sunburn. Needs to be cellared - big time.

Silverado Vineyards, 2007 SOLO

In the old days, this wine at Silverado was simply labelled their Stag’s Leap District offering, made exclusively from estate fruit. But the label was confusing with other house labels, so they created a new brand, Solo, to better register the essential elements of the beverage: made from one SOLO vineyard and made exclusively with one SOLO grape, Cabernet.

In 2007, Silverado made 1,400 cases of this exquisite wine which begs to be drunk now, but which will cellar for 10 years and then magnificently enthrall your palate.

At Silverado, I spoke with Jen Withrow, one of the extremely pleasant tasting room staffers; she encouraged me to try the 2000 Silverado Stag’s Leap District Cabernet – the same wine offered in the 2007 collection, only seven years older, and now, fully aged 11 years.

Of all the wines I previewed for this Stag’s Leap District Wine Box story, nothing approached the beauty, balance and majesty of this striking older wine. In fact, the 2000 Silverado Stag’s Leap Cabernet is one of the best wines I’ve tasted in months. It’s simply gawjus. Easily a 97-point wine.

Anyone who was smart enough to buy this upon release has a majestic wine in his, or her, cellar.

Come to think of it: the 2007 Solo Cab is $90 at the winery today. For $20 more you can buy the fully aged, 2000 Cab from the winery library – actually, a much better value!

Photo by -- who else? -- Steven Rothfeld

The Appellation Collection is the only offering in the country, comprised entirely of Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon from a single appellation and a single vintage. Each of the Association's 18 member wineries is represented in the collection.

The Collection is limited to 200 cases. You can order it starting October 15^th.

Photo by him again, Steven Rothfeld

The Collection contains one bottle each of the following Stags Leap District wines:

Baldacci Family Vineyards, 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon

Chimney Rock Winery, 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon, Ganymede Vineyard

Cliff Lede Vineyards,  2007 Poetry

Clos Du Val . 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon

Hartwell Vineyards, 2007 Estate Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon

Ilsley Vineyards, 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon

Lindstrom Wines, 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon

Malk Family Vineyards, 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon

Pine Ridge Vineyards, 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon

Regusci Winery, 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon

Robinson Family Vineyards, 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon

Shafer Vineyards, 2007 One Point Five Cabernet Sauvignon

Silverado Vineyards, 2007 Solo

Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars, 2007 Fay Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon

Stags' Leap Winery, 2007 The Leap Estate Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon

Steltzner Vineyards, 2007 Estate Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon

Taylor Family Vineyards, 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon

Terlato Family Vineyards. 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon
 

 

The 2007 Appellation Collection of 18 wines costs:

$1,450.00 per case. 7.75% tax applies to California sales and various states by law.

To order:

Online as of October 15 at www.stagsleapdistrict.com/appellationcollection

“Scotch whisky is the new Black!”

 

The nose is “floral, marshmallow, freshly washed damp linen,” and there are hints of kiwi fruit, sweet persimmon and talcum powder.”

 Sounds more like a collection of highly scented items in my grocery cart than an expensive single malt Scotch whisky, but that’s exactly what’s being described.

If you thought wine writers and winemakers were verbal deconstructionists with wine… you should see what whiskyheads write about beverages in their field.

The description above is about Balblair 2000, a newly released Highland Scotch whisky, which the editors of Whisky Magazine liked (was it the “talcum powder” finish?).

Like wine writers, columnists and editorial staff at Whisky Mag ascribe points to every whisky, Bourbon, or Finnish, Irish, even Canadian, distilled spirit they review.

I found Whisky Magazine on my travels in bonny Scotland this month and really enjoyed the stories and editorial content. The magazine takes one’s appreciation of alcoholic spirits to a whole new level. Napa Valley Cabernets are so…. so… 2010 by tasting note comparison! Scotch whisky is the new Black!  

You can subscribe to the journal at www.whiskymag.com as I have. A one-year subscription costs $44.95 and includes eight issues.

I also wanted to comment on three great sources for rare Scotch whiskies, which I discovered in my travels this month in Scotland and Ireland (where I spent 24 thoroughly rapturous hours on my way back to bonny Napa Valley). 

All three stores secure really rare single malt whiskies from time to time and claim to ship thousands of bottles annually to America without any being lost, or broken.

Three great sources for rare whiskies:

 

 Dufftown Whisky Shop

1 Fife St., Dufftown, Keith, Scotland.

www.thewsd.co.uk

Speak to Michael Lord who can tell you about every one of the 600 different whiskies in his store.

 

 

 Royal Mile Whisky

379 High Street, Royal Mile, Edinburgh. 

www.royalmilewhiskies.com

Contact Tom, or Sean, or Chris, the store manager. All of them are knowledgeable whiskyheads and each one has a strong opinion about any particular whisky about which you may inquire.

 

Interior of the Celtic Whiskey Shop.

Note: In Scotland, they spell whisky “whisky,” without the E. In Ireland, they spell it “whiskey,” with the E. In both nations, they pronounce it “whess-key.”

Celtic Whiskey Shop

27-28 Dawson St., Dublin 2, Ireland

www.celticwhiskeyshop.com

Speak to Michael, Al, or store owner-director Ally; they are extremely friendly (isn’t everyone in Scotland and Ireland?) and rare whiskeys often come into their possession, but don’t stay for very long.

I asked them for a short overview: “We stock more Scottish malts and blends than anyone else in Ireland. We also act as importer and agent for numerous Scottish whiskies, which has made us one of the main spirits wholesalers in Ireland.

We are agents for Cooley Irish whiskeys, but stock pretty much every brand of Irish whiskey. As such, we have more than 100 different Irish whiskeys on our shelves.”

The only other thing you need to know to be a knowledgeable “whess-key” drinker is how to say “cheers!” when you clink glasses. It’s “Slainte!” which is pronounced “slant-CHA!” 

There! You’ve just finished Scotch Whisky 101 and are considered a fully trained, soon-to-be-loyal, "whess-key" drinker.

For 10 days, napaman became… Hamish the Scotsman, in search of the world’s greatest single-malt whiskies!

I just returned from ten days in Scotland, tracking down the world’s greatest single-malt Scotches. Locally, they refer to them as “whisky,” pronounced “wess-key.”

We called our family’s “wess-key” treasure hunt “The 2011 Single-Malt Scotch Safari."

As there are 400 producers of “wess-key” in Scotland, no matter how hard we tried, we were unable to visit all of them in our ten-day safari.

But we didn’t do poorly.

On our 1,000-mile safari we visited four of the country’s five major whisky-producing regions: Islay, the Lowlands, the Highlands and Speyside.

 

Are you starting to see a similarity among these producers of peat-smoked whisky on the island of Islay?

Initially, we visited distilleries on Islay, a small island reached by ferry, off the west coast of the country. The nation’s most peaty, smokiest, single-malts are produced here.

The stills at Laphroaig, on the island of Islay (pronounced “EYE-lah”)

Then we headed north to the Lowlands, to the Highlands and onward to Speyside, where some of the nation’s best-selling single-malt brands are produced.

After 900 years, or so, the Scots have pretty much figured out how to turn barley, water and yeast into the magic elixir we call Scotch.

They start with barley, which they wet to encourage germination. This sprouting process is critical as it converts the grain’s starch into sugar.

Many producers, especially the eight on Islay, dry their malted barley over smoky fires fueled with dark chocolate-colored clods of dried, boggy earth, known as peat. This stains the beverage with a smoky richness.

Tossing peat onto the fire at Lahproaig, the only distillery we visited where we saw the actual peat-drying process in action. We even got to throw bricks of peat onto the fire.

The dried, malted barley is then washed three times with fresh water (the water in Scotland is some of the tastiest I ever drank) in vessels called “mash tuns.” The soluble sugar in the barley dissolves and the sweetened water, called wort, is collected; yeast and heat are introduced, initiating a bubbly fermentation. If carefully managed, this produces a muddy liquid that is really an 8 percent (alcohol by volume) beer without the presence of hops.

Distill this fermented mixture twice and you produce a clear, colorless liquid called “new-make spirit.” Transfer the spirit to a used American (bourbon) or Spanish (sherry) oak barrel, age it for at least three years and voila! - you have young whisky.

For spirit newbies, single-malt Scotch is a whisky:

1. That is distilled in Scotland in a copper pot still at a single distillery
2. Is made from only one grain – barley – which is malted (germinated)
3. Is matured in oak casks in Scotland for not fewer than 3 years

Best Overall Distillery Tour

At Laphroaig. The tour here is equivalent to the one given at Robert Mondavi Winery in Napa Valley, which remains the best, basic, essential winery visit for first-timers to wine country.

Laphroaig offers a sensational visiting experience; it was the only distillery where we saw an active malting floor and the actual peat-drying process.

Visitors are encouraged to sign up and join 380,000 individuals from 150 countries, who call themselves “Friends of Laphroaig.” This has been a very successful marketing campaign; Friends are given a lifetime lease of one square-foot of land at Laphroaig and in exchange, for letting Laphroaig use your land, they pay you an annual rent  -- a free, wee “twee” dram of Laphroaig. To collect your rent, however, you must visit the distillery. Details at www.laphroaig.com.

Most Generous Single Malt Tour

Oban. One of spirit giant Diageo’s smallest distilleries, this sweet discovery in the heart of downtown Oban (pronounced “OH-bin) is a must on any tour. While the tour is concise, our guide Patrick gave a thoroughly enjoyable tour. It was here that we tasted two of our top whiskies.

Best Single Malts Tasted on our Single-Malt Scotch Safari

+ 25-year-old Ardbeg Lord of the Isles. A symphony of flavors in a wee glass; Christmas cake, sherry, molasses, treacle and salt taffy come to mind, in both scents and taste. An extremely elegant, alluring, rich malt whisky with a long and stunning finish. If one ascribed points to malted whiskies the way we do to wine, this would be a 100-pointer.

+ 30-year-old Brora and 32- year-old Oban, distilled in 1969, bottled in 2002, tasted together at Oban. We were extremely lucky and got to taste both these sensational “wess-keys” with Oban general manager Mike Tough.

I had never tasted either of these aged whiskies. Tasting them side by side was an exceptional treat. We’re talking two perfect, 100-point whiskies, each a gorgeous expression of the masterful art of whisky making.

Whisky blender Bob Dalgarno, at Macallan, generously offered to share a whisky from my birth year, when he learned that we are food and wine writers; he pulled a sample from a cask of whisky that has been aging – and continues to age – since 1946.

+ 1946 Macallan, cask sample, the oldest Scotch whisky I have ever tasted – 65 years old! 42% alcohol at cask strength today, and still ageing in American oak, once used for sherry and then filled, once only, with Macallan whisky before the 1946 spirit started ageing in the barrel.

Bob drew a cask sample for us to taste, but showed us a sample that had been bottled some time ago.

If you have to ask the price of a bottle, you likely shouldn’t consider buying it. A second mortgage may be required on your home. The last bottle of 1926 Macallan, a 20-year senior to the ’46, last sold at the distillery for $32,000.

How happy was I to meet Bob!

Older is Not Always Better

At some point in time, matured cheese, matured Champagne, even matured whisky can be less thrilling than a younger expression of the same food or spirit.

Although we were thrilled to taste older, fully matured, whiskies on our safari, I realized, during our visit to Macallan, just how great – and special -- one of their younger whiskies is.

My family in the tasting room at Macallan

At Macallan, they lead visitors through an extremely generous whisky nosing and tasting; guests are permitted to taste five different whiskies, aged from 10- to 30-years of age.

And as good as they all were, my favorite is, was, and continues to be the benchmark 12-year-old Macallan. One expert taster has called the Macallan the “Rolls-Royce of 12-year-old Scotch.” After a week in Scotland, I’d have to agree. 

Best Single dish of the trip

Scrambled eggs and Inverawe Smoked Salmon at Pierhouse House, Port Appin.

In all my life, I have never had tastier, richer, more memorable scrambled eggs than the ones served at a wee Loch-side hotel called Pierhouse.

The locally caught salmon is smoked nearby and the scrambled eggs are farm fresh and fabulous, enhanced with a pinch of maldon (English) salt.

We haven’t stopped talking about this breakfast dish. Sometimes big, 3-star, over-hyped restaurants just can’t live up to such honest, simple fare.

Pierhouse Hotel and Seafood Restaurant, Port Appin, Argyll, Scotland. www.pierhousehotel.co.uk

Best Single Meal of the Trip

Lunch at 1-Star (Michelin) Martin Wishart, in Edinburgh. We breezed through a four-hour tasting menu of stupendous breadth and balance; if a picture is worth a thousand words, here are 5,000 words worth (no, not THAT Wordsworth!), of what we sampled at lunch. But there were many more taste treats, which are NOT visually represented here.

Best Whisky Store in Scotland

The Whisky Shop, Dufftown

That’s owner Mike Lord selling some impressive single malt whisky.

Okay, you ask, how do I know that it’s the best in all of Scotland? From what others tell me and from my own experience.

I walked in, asked owner Michael Lord for several rare, aged Scotches, which were on my Must Get list and he happily engaged me in conversation, while pulling the whiskies from his shelves.

Michael has more than 600 different whiskies on hand – even more than my favorite Scotch source in California, KL Wines.

Best Way to Visit Scotland

If you plan to visit many distilleries, you don’t need the aggravation of trying to remain sober or of trying to learn how to stay out of trouble while driving on “the other side of the road,” as they do in Britain and Scotland.

We contacted Classic Scotland, asking the ever-jovial and helpful proprietor, Stephen Wood, to line up hotel accommodations for our family, a van and a driver for a week.

Creating an entire itinerary, including requests to book several 1-star Michelin restaurants, wasn’t much more difficult than making a dinner reservation at a favorite restaurant in Napa Valley.

To contact Classic Scotland, go to www.classicscotland.com, or connect with Stephen via email at info@classic-scotland.com. Or call him on his free-from-the-US hotline, 866-464-7389

Our driver and guide, Jean Blair, her talents are “extraordinaire.”

Our assigned driver turned out to be a wonderfully friendly, thoroughly knowledgeable guide.

As Jean Blair does not book hotels, so you still need to contact Classic Scotland for this component of your trip; but Jean does lead independent walking tours throughout Scotland and can be contacted – and contracted – directly via her own website, www.travelthroughscotland.com.

Not long ago, Jean gave travel-guide writer Rick Steves a personal walking tour in Edinburgh for which he gave her a glowing report in his most recent updated Edinburgh commentary. Way to go, Jeannie!

Finally, this classic Scottish discovery:

You know you are in Scotland when you find these in a neighborhood grocery…

 

Welcome to Somerston, Napa Valley’s Newest Winery!

 

If you ever wanted to learn about the terroir of Napa Valley, Somerston Winery’s a good place to do it.

Napa Valley’s newest winery (it opened to the public yesterday) features more than 87 distinct growing blocks, five completely different soil types, multiple sources of water each with different mineral properties, and the ranch sprawls across a tall ridge, which joins two different valley systems.

Somerston, the creation of real estate developer Allan Chapman, has been seven years in the making. In 2004, Allan started acquiring land on Sage Canyon Road, ten miles beyond Pritchard Hill and Lake Hennessey.

The winery’s mail address may be St. Helena, but the isolated, mountainous location has as little to do with the tony town. If anything, visiting Somerston to party for an afternoon, is like heading out on a safari. Be sure to pack your water bottles, sunscreen and photo equipment.

Somerston owner Allan Chapman

Allan, born in Newcastle, UK, studied at Cambridge University and came to America via Vancouver. The bulk of his career has been spent in real estate and telecommunications. Allan says that he had no expectation that one day he would own a 1,626-acre winery in Napa Valley.

There are 17 different grape varieties planted between 800- and 2200-feet elevation at Somerston. More than 200 acres are planted.

After speaking with Allan, I understand how he thinks and why he’s been successful at business; it’s in his genes. Allan’s family operated and sailed giant clipper chips in the 1850s era in England.

“In those days, in England, the annual crop of Indian tea would run out before the next year’s crop was picked and delivered. As soon as the next new crop of tea was picked, whoever got it from India, or Ceylon, to England first, was able to charge five times more than the market price; consumers bid up the price of the newly arrived, new-crop tea,” explains Allan.

Allan’s family realized that if they added great billowing sails to transport boats, and built and sailed giant clipper ships, they could make the voyage from India to England much faster than others, landing the new-crop tea first on the shores of England and earning themselves a premium price for the tea. 

“My family was able to build a new sailing clipper each year with the profits,” says Allan.

I’m not sure the same rules apply in bringing new-crop Nouveau Cabernet to market in Napa Valley, Allan, so maybe don’t think about applying this strategy to your winery business….

Even so, to honor his family’s shipping heritage, many of the planted blocks and vineyards at Somerston are named after Allan’s family sailing ships.

Today, 1500-head of Dorper sheep, originally from South Africa, graze in the vineyards, eating weeds and keeping grasses short. “We call this organic fire control,” quips Allan, who is intent on ultimately getting full organic certification for the property. 

“At present, everything we do here is sustainable farming; in fact, we are building a solar power system, which will completely remove us from the outside electrical grid,” says Jim Provance II, a staff wine specialist at Somerston.

Even the sheep at Somerston get immaculate care and attention; they’re day-cared by a Peruvian shepherd who moves the herd to different blocks to keep them fed and the grasslands trimmed.

The winery occupies a site formerly known as Priest Ranch, named after Joshua James Priest, who landed in California in 1847 to stake a claim in the gold rush.

That’s the winery barn at a distance in the middle of the shot; above it tower the quarries where miners thought they would extract gold; instead, they found a source of bubbly, mineral-rich, soda, which was bottled and sold for its reputed healing properties.

Priest thought that bits of bright blue glass, which speckled on the property, indicated the presence of gold. But instead of gold, Joshua discovered a hidden natural soda springs on the property. The natural waters were bottled on the property and sold for their reputed healing powers.

While beverages bottled on the ranch today may lack health-curing powers, they contain alcohol, which will help anyone forget they have issues requiring medical attention.

In fact, three different wine brands are produced here: Somerston, Priest Ranch and Highflyer. Premium wines carry the Somerston label.

Among Somerston reds, the two I tried and liked are:

2007 Somerston Proprietary Red, a blend of 97 percent Merlot and 3 percent Cabernet Franc. $90. Only 150 cases made.

2007 Somerston Cab, which is 100 percent estate Cabernet. $120. 250 cases produced.

To celebrate the opening of the winery, Allan and his winemaker-partner, Craig Becker, hosted an all-day party Saturday.

Wine specialist Jim Provance II takes guests on zippy 20-minute rides through the vineyards

They offered rides on All Terrain Vehicles (ATVs), which scootered over the ridges and through the vineyards. They generously fed guests and looked after their beverage needs, too.

Now that the winery is open to the public, here’s what you need to know:

With a booked appointment, visitors get a ride through the vineyards, a tasting flight of three Somerston wines, complementary local cheeses and freshly made pate.

The cost is $50 per person. The ATVs make their 20-minute run through the vineyards three times daily -- at 11 am, 1 pm and 3 pm. To book space, call 707-967-8414. Or check details at www.somerstonwineco.com.

The winery is at 3450 Sage Canyon Rd. Set your GPS device to read “St. Helena” for ‘city.’

Can’t make it to the farm? Somerston also operates a tasting room in Yountville at 6490 Washington St.

Best New Dish of the Year… and it’s in Berkeley

Every once in a while, napaman leaves the Napa Valley homestead and wanders afield to find great food and wine elsewhere.

As former food editor and restaurant critic of the Toronto Star, the third largest newspaper in North America, I was trained to keep looking for The Next Best New Dish, and The Next Best New Super Chef.

Rarely was I able to return to a wonderful, familiar restaurant because so many new ones were crying out to be reviewed. 

Today, the luxury of not having a fixed newspaper deadline means that I can return to a restaurant as many times as I wish to indulge my senses. And I just returned to an earlier favorite, Café Rouge, in Berkeley. And the good news is that it is better than ever.

This shot, taken with my iPhone, does NOT do justice to this meatball stew

At the core of my pleasure this week is this dish:

Bill Niman Ranch beef meatballs, served in a stew of white corn and wilted collard greens, richly flavored with a complex salsa verde.

There is no question that this is my favorite new dish of the year.

  

If this were a wine I just discovered, I would go out and buy a case. Or two. I could never have too much.

The meatballs are juicy, tender, golf-ball-shaped and sized, yet cut-able with a fork; the pale white corn has been freshly shucked off ears; the collard greens thread through the soupy strew like seaweed, adding texture, flavor and color.

I spoke with the chef and, yes, I know intellectually that he has not added Zatarain’s spice mixture used in Louisiana for crab and shrimp boils, but the meatball stew TASTES like this might be a secret ingredient.

The stew is spicy, warm-to-hot in intensity, has great middle-palate draw, and a surly smokiness, which lingers, giving one’s palate a rare glimpse of what Nirvana might taste like.

IN SHORT: I LOVE THIS DISH.

Upon leaving Café Rouge, I was told that this dish is on the menu for two weeks as a seasonal special.

I implore the chef and his team to keep this dish on the menu for the entire corn- and collard-growing season. I simply cannot wait until next year to revisit this stew. PLEASE HIT THE COMMENT BUTTON, CHEF, AND TELL NAPAMAN.COM READERS THAT YOU’LL KEEP THIS EXCEPTIONAL DISH ON THE MENU FOR A FEW MORE WEEKS AT THE VERY LEAST!

If this were a wine I were rating, I would give it 100 points. You can’t have a more flavorful, more perfect, more mouth-filling, pleasurable experience. Not in public anyway.

 Café Rouge. 1782 Fourth St., Berkeley. 510-525-1440.

PS: Thanks to waiter Sean Arnold for answering to many of napaman’s seemingly pesky questions!

Double Your Pleasure… Double Your Fun…

Sounds like an old Wrigley’s Doublemint gum commercial, but in wine-speak, it refers to two of my favorite Napa Valley wineries, which have just joined retail forces. 

Harris Estate Vineyards and Jones Family Vineyards, both Calistoga appellation wine producers, have opened a dual tasting room in the tiny, tony town of St. Helena (population 6,000 … but 6,008 when eight visitors crowd into the new, small, designer tasting room).

The dual venture, which provides an extremely sophisticated tasting experience, is called Salon St. Helena. It’s on Hunt St., between Main and Railroad Avenue, where it shares space with Martin Design. 

Jake is spokesdog for Harris Estate and CRC (Chief Rabbit Chaser) of Jake’s Creek Vineyard, one of four Harris cuvees.

The Harrises and Joneses met at a luncheon last year hosted by Thomas Brown, consulting winemaker for both families.

“It seemed like such a natural thing -- for us to open a dual tasting room,” says Mike Harris, “since neither of us are permitted to conduct tastings on our respective properties.”

From left to right: Janee Delancey, Salon tasting room hostess, Treva & Mike Harris, Rick Jones & Stephanie Jones Bailey 

“Thomas is an extremely gifted winemaker,” says Stephanie Jones Bailey, daughter of Rick Jones and director of operations of her family’s wine business.

“Thomas is self-taught,” she continues. “He started his wine career at Turley, and went on to become winemaker at Schrader Cellars where he produced 100-point Cabernets. The guy’s a Cabernet wizard.”

Yes, quite the wizard. So much so that Thomas was named Winemaker of the Year last year by Food & Wine Magazine.

Thomas Rivers Brown

Today, Thomas Rivers Brown is the consulting winemaker of more than a dozen star Napa Valley brands, including Outpost, Casa Piena, Maybach and Revanna.

And let’s not forget Harris Estate and Jones Family wines, which I swooned over at a tasting at the Salon.

I tasted six wines, which are offered as a flight for $35. We’ll get to my tasting notes in a minute, but here’s what a wine writer colleague had to say about new vintages of Harris and Jones wines.

Wine writer Roy Piper

Roy Piper, whose palate and tasting judgment I respect, penned these notes in a recent column on wineberserkers.com:

2009 Jones Family Cabernet, Napa

Okay, if you like the Spottswoode/Gemstone styled combo of power and finesse, this is the one to get. Classical Napa style with juice red cherry and blueberry fruits,a really nice structure and smooth mouthfeel. Good balance. Medium-full body. This is the second straight excellent vintage of this producer. Voluptuous and sexy. Sourced from a single block. 95pts

2009 Harris "Lakeview" Cab, Napa

If I had to rank my favorite wines of the day, this was it. A wholly complete wine in every way, with power, balance, purity, complexity and nice long finish. Black fruits in the nose with stacked flavors and a good structure and grip in the mouthfeel. This has it all. Could use 3-5 years to get in the zone but is balanced enough to approach now with a nice decanting. Worth hunting down. The best wine from this producer I've yet had. 96pts

Stephanie Jones Bailey & her dad, Rick Jones

Rick Jones, whom I knew in my former days as a consultant to Safeway, was executive vice-president of supply for the grocery chain, where he worked 12 years. Upon retiring, Rick bought a vineyard in Calistoga and says that when he realized how good his fruit was, he decided to bottle it for his own label.

Rick is CFO of the family wine biz and his two daughters have specific responsibilities; Stephanie runs the day-to-day biz and her sister, Heather Jones Melvin, is director of special events.

Mike and Treva Harris and their wonderdog, Jake

Over at the Harris ranch (not to be confused with the steakhouse – no relation), Mike is the face of the business while his sweet and charming wife Treva (I can say these things because the Harrises are good friends) oversees bookkeeping and the backroom. Their wonderdog Jake, a black Lab, is responsible for chasing rabbits and catching Frisbees. (He’s not as successful at his job as Thomas Brown is at his – which is probably a good thing for wine lovers.)

Mike & Treva Harris

Mike, who was a pediatric dentist for 32 years in Milpitas, has a wicked sense of humor. He comes by it naturally; his father owned Tommy’s Joint, a landmark bar and performing venue on Van Ness, in San Francisco. Mike grew up with some of the biggest names in entertainment who paraded through his family’s night club.

Janee Delancey, tasting room hostess, and Presley

Everything about the tasting experience at Salon is chic. Including the hostess, Janee Delancey, who manages the tasting room and makes guests feel totally at home. Her onsite helper is wonderdog Presley.

If you’d like to have some snacks, or appetizers with your wine tasting, Janee can arrange to have tasty fare brought in from Cook restaurant next door.

“We’d prefer that groups and individuals book an appointment for tastings,” says Janee. “Our Salon isn’t big,” she notes. But the wines sure are.

The six wines served at Salon St. Helena.

2009 Jones Family Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc

The first white wine produced by the Jones Family, a beguiling, elegant Sauvignon Blanc, produced from fruit grown in Rutherford. Fabulous with food. $40. 92 points.

2007 Jones Family Vineyards The Sisters

A great $50 Napa Valley Cabernet, whose nose suggests smoke, and deep purple grapes. The addition of a small percentage of Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc add a touch of spice and complexity. What a lovely, approachable wine. $50. 92 points.

 2007 Jones Family Vineyards Estate Cabernet

Huge nose of fresh ripe red fruit, a gorgeous silk texture like that of velours; hints of tobacco and cedar and a long, lingering cherry finish. I really love this wine. I followed the word “wonderful” in my tasting notes with three exclamation marks. $110. 94 points.

2008 Harris Estate Vineyards Indulgence

The Harris’ first offering made with fruit sourced off the estate. The vines are young, the nose is tight and the wine, at this stage, is slightly angular. While made from 100 percent Cabernet, this is a blend of three different Cab clones. $95. 90 points.

2007 Harris Estate Vineyards Jake’s Creek Vineyard

A voluptuous wine, filled with red and black fruit flavors, a stunning middle palate and a great finish. Aged 20 months in new French oak. Bravo! $110.  93 points.

2008 Harris Estate Vineyards, Lakeview Vineyard

Whoa! This wine socks it out of the park! A stupendous achievement. The wine is filled with minerality and complexity. One of those “ Aha!”wines that make you slap your forehead with wonderment. $110. 94 points.

One of the take-aways from the tasting is how different areas within the Calistoga appellation produce different tasting wines. The Harris Cabernet vines are planted on the western side of the valley, the Jones’ Cab vines are planted on the eastern side of the valley. The wines are made by the same winemaker who pretty much uses the same barrels and winemaking techniques for all these wines. So what has changed most is the source of the grapes – east versus west.

After a rousing afternoon of tasting at the Salon, I’d suggest visitors dine at Cook, on Main Street, or at Cindy’s Backstreet Kitchen, around the corner on Railroad Avenue, or a few blocks south on Main Street at Tra Vigne. You will have a fun, fine dining experience and any of these restaurants, and if you’re really smart, you’ll bring some wine along from your Salon tasting for dinner.

Salon St. Helena is located at 1118 Hunt. St. Call Janee at 707-963-3193, or on cell at 707-328-1001 to book an appointment.

I Was On the Trail Last Week for Really Good Wine in….. Israel!

And I found it.

There are only a handful of wine-producing countries, which I’ve wanted to visit but missed the chance, and near the top of the list is/was Israel.

Friends have been telling me for years that they’ve had really good Cabernets from the Holy Land and now that I’ve just been, I can say, “Holy Smokes, they were right!”

It turns out that, according to guidelines, the practice of making Kosher wines isn’t all that different from practices, employed to make top-tier wines in Napa Valley.

Here’s what you need to do to make Kosher wine:

You can’t pick grapes from the vine until the fourth harvest.

Here in Napa Valley, most winemakers start to pick in the third year after planting, what we call “third leaf.”

No other fruits or vegetables may be grown between the rows of vines.

We pretty much observe the same practices here.

The Israelis insist that every seventh year, the vineyard must lie fallow.

This must mean leaving the fruit wither on the vine, because, for sure, they’re not tearing out their vines every seven years and replanting.

This appears to be one of the differences in the practice of making Kosher wine versus Napa Valley wine. Due to sheer economic realities, no one here can afford to leave his, or her, vineyard untouched every seventh year.

Another element, which we do not follow; to make Kosher wine, only a religiously observant Jew may come into contact with the grapes arriving at the winery.

There aren’t enough Jewish winemakers in Napa Valley to spread around the 500 wineries here, so methinks this valley’s not going to be turned into an all-Kosher wine zone.

Another area where there is often overlap: to make Kosher wine, all the materials used in the production – including yeasts and fining and filtering agents – must be certified Kosher. Often, these materials happen to be Kosher here just by happenstance. 

My wine travels in Israel

I tasted some sensational wines in Israel, traveling through the Upper Galilee and Golan Heights wine-producing regions.

Tishbi 

Golan Tishbi, winemaker at Tishbi Winery

If you want to meet one of the most dynamic, happy-go-lucky, entrepreneurs in Israel, head to Tishbi Winery in Benyamina, in the hills overlooking the coastal Plain of Sharon, south of Haifa. 

Yes, you may meet his mom and pop, but for sure, you want to meet their wiry, fiery, son, Golan, a fifth-generation Tishbi who has become the family winemaker. And a damned good one, at that.

The Tishbi family has been making wine since 1882, originally planting vines on the slopes of Mount Carmel, following in the footsteps of Bordeaux' Baron de Rothschild, who had a lot to do with the establishment of vineyards and a wine industry in the region.

Tishbi’s tasting room

Ever the promoter, Golan contracted with the fine Swiss chocolate producer, Valrhona, to become its exclusive distributor in Israel.

At the winery, to promote chocolate AND wine sales, Golan has invented a tasty, informative pairing – of six different Valrhona chocolates with six different Tishbi wines. The fact that these wines are Kosher is completely irrelevant to the experience.

The tasting chart, which visitors can use as they pair Tishbi wines and Valrhona chocolates.

When you’re finished the tasting, you can head over to Tishbi’s on-site bakery to buy some hot, homemade breads, or you can sit in the winery’s pizzeria area, where a fully trained chef turns out delicious pizzas in a gas-fired hearth. 

Or refill an empty jug you might have brought along with a pleasant, $5-a-liter, red Tishbi blend.

Adir

Walking into the tasting room at Adir, I felt as though I had magically been transported to a chic tasting room in British Columbia’s Okanagan Valley, or perhaps to that of one of Ontario’s newer wineries, Tawse.

The room is strikingly white, designer friendly, and the wines are delicious.

This Upper Galilee winery produces Cabernet, Cab Franc, Merlot, Chardonnay and a lush Syrah (which they insist on calling Shiraz for the marketing value).

I thought the best wine of my tasting here was the 2007 Plato (top-tier) Cabernet Sauvignon, produced from 22-year-old vines. The wine contains eight percent Syrah and was aged two years in 100 percent new French oak.

Dalton

At Dalton winery, I tasted the single best Israeli wine I’ve ever had, a stunning 2008 Dalton Reserve Cabernet, which was impeccably balanced, full of ripe, red and dark fruits, and in a word (noted in the my tasting notes), “delicious!”

I scored this beauty 93 points. 

In fact, I was so struck by this wine that upon returning home, I found a wine merchant in New York State who sells it for $31 a bottle and ordered some. You’d be smart to do likewise. The wine is $36 at the winery, so anything less from an American wine merchant is a bonus.

Naama Sorkin, winemaker at Dalton Winery 

The wines at Dalton are made by a talented female, Naama Sorkin, who learned her craft in Australia. She has been making the wines at Dalton since 2002.

Dalton produces about 75,000 cases of wine a year, 30 percent of which are white.

Summary

Here’s my thinking on Israel’s Kosher wine conundrum.

For starters, you’d never know these wines were “Kosherized” when you taste them. They smell, look, and taste like first-class wines coming out of other wine regions of the world.

In my opinion, Israel has suffered the same fate as Italy’s wine industry; that nation first exported pathetic, poorly made wines in straw-covered bottles (called fiasci). American consumers were initially taught to think of these wines as “Chianti.”

It took Italy 40 years to overcome this stigma; based on our earliest experiences,  we thought all Italian wines were this bad.

The same fate has happened to Israel’s wines. Our earliest experiences were wines that had been pasteurized (oy vey! Can you imagine heating wine to the point of boiling? THIS is going to win the mind, heart and pocketbook of consumers??).

Others grew up thinking that all Israeli Kosher wines must taste foxy and sweet like Manischewitz, made from Concord grapes.

It’s no wonder that we came away thinking Kosher wines are a bust.

I don’t know when Israeli winemakers started cleaning up their act, to follow universally accepted winemaking practices, but certainly, over the last ten years, they’ve matured these practices and are now making truly fine wines competitive with what’s being produced in other wine regions of the world. But,  by and large, the American consumer doesn’t yet know this.

American consumers have to catch up; our appreciation of Israeli wines is pretty much how we thought of Italian wines in the early 80s, before we collectively became aware that Italy’s wine industry had caught up to the rest of the world.

Today, we see single-vineyard Italian Cabs or Sangiovese blends, called Super Tuscans, priced at $300 and we don’t blink. We’ve come to recognize that the Italians KNOW how to make great wine and we accept this concept.

We’re about 20 years behind in our appreciation of what Israel is turning out. If you see a “Kosher” wine from Israel – don’t fight the trend; as a Jewish mother might say, “Try it…. You’ll like it!”

Spoiler Alert: Don’t Read This If You Are A Vegetarian!

Twenty-eight carnivores gathered at Tra Vigne’s Cantinetta, in St. Helena, last night to explore numerous ways to over-eat, consume gross quantities of red meat, raw and cooked, and to share a possibly not-healthy-to-humans, and most certainly a not-healthy-to-cows, experience.

Tra Vigne Executive Chef Nash Cognetti, who created the superb dinner.

The group assembled at 4 pm for the first-ever gathering of the Red Meat Club, an anti-establishment, red-meat-devouring, assembly of like-minded individuals.

We didn’t get up from our chairs until 9 pm; for five continuous hours, we were served different parts of the same 26-month-old steer, which, trust me, would have been happier to be “present in the moment” than be honored as the dinner centerpiece.

The event was hosted by Tra Vigne executive chef Nash Cognetti, and Michael Panza, from Biagio Artisan Meats.

Cost of attending the event was $100 per person, tax, and tip included. Guests could eat their weight in perfectly prepared viandes, all of them emanating from the same steer. 

House-made grissini, one of the few things served at dinner that did not come from the evening’s host cow.

Dinner was a delicious, six-course, sit-down affair. The single cow, which provided the dinner for 28 guests, was a pasture-raised steer from Lucky Dog Ranch, in Dixon, CA, about 40 miles east of Napa Valley. Terri Gililland, owner of the ranch, was present for the dinner.

Chef Nash received the entire left side of a steer for our dinner.

“According to scientists at the University of Nebraska, a cow’s left side is the tastier side,” said Andrew Tescher, whose job title is ‘steak wrangler’ at Lucky Dog Ranch. (He’s in charge of sales, as well as butchering.)

“Cows tend to rotate in circles, almost always turning right, which stretches their left flank,” added Tescher, explaining why meat cut from the left side of a cow’s carcass may produce tastier, juicier meat. It gets worked more.

Courses served to the hungry diners, each of whom were asked to bring at least one bottle of wine to complement the boeuf, included:

Head cheese.

As tasty as this course was, a joke naturally surfaced; a guest held out the large platter of sliced meat, offering it to me, asking, “Would you like some head….?”

The next course: Steak tartare, brilliantly prepared with tasty capers.

One guest commented that as delicious as the steak tartare was, “if you put it into a 450 F degree oven for an hour, it would make a killer meat loaf!”

The next course: A rich, flavorful Marrow Bone, cut lengthwise, for easier scooping.

Sorry no photos of the next course: Beef Soup, another one of the evening’s tastier courses, deliciously chunked with threads of brisket.

Next up: A mixed grill of heart, live and kidney

The culinary climax: Bistecca alla Fiorentina, the culmination of our five-hour meal; thick, perfectly grilled, juicy pink slices of porterhouse and bone-in, rib-eye steak.

Our fearless leader, Nash, standing atop the bar, addresses the single community table, explaining the menu.

One guest, to my left, daunted by the many unusual cuts of beef served (liver, kidney, brain…) suggested that the event be renamed for the squeamish, from “Red Meat Club” to something more appropriate:

“I think it should be called ‘The ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ Dinner!”

The Napa Valley Magnificent Seven Rode into Town….

The Magnificent Seven …. high-profile chefs Tyler Florence, Masaharu Morimoto, Cindy Pawlcyn, Michael Chiarello, Thomas Keller, Jeffrey Jake and Ken Frank

Well, to be completely accurate, the Magnificent Seven were already in town and it was us, a group of food- and wine-writers, who rode into Napa town yesterday to see them.

Let me explain.

The Napa Valley Destination Council and a group of dynamic chefs decided that what our valley needs is one more festival/event/fund-raiser to keep Napa Valley on the lips of America’s wine-drinking, food-loving public. Especially in an off-month, when visitor traffic starts to fade.

The original idea, which initially rattled around the brain of Bottega chef/owner Michael Chiarello, got some heft and support from the Culinary Institute of America; then a group of civic-minded chefs came forward  as did venue support from Silverado Resort & Spa. 

And that’s how the new festival was born, to be called:

Flavor! Napa Valley.

The four-day culinary circus comes to Napa Valley Nov. 17 to 20. There will be nine signature events hosted at Silverado Resort & Spa and at the CIA, in St. Helena.

Jeffrey Jake,Executive Chef at the Silverado Resort & Spa, will be anchor host chef for many of the planned event activities.

At press time, these are the participating, high-profile, chefs:

Michael Chiarello, Scott Conant, Tyler Florence, Ken Frank, Jeffrey Jake, Thomas Keller, Christopher Kostow, Masaharu Morimoto, and Cindy Pawlcyn.

Participating chef Masaharu Morimoto, from his eponymous restaurant in Napa town, Morimoto’s.

Napa Valley’s vintner community will also be represented, as you would imagine, showcasing their wines and two of the industry’s leading sommeliers will be on hand to lead seminars and discussion – Karen MacNeil and Andrea Robinson.

Proceeds will benefit the CIA’s Greystone Campus scholarship programs to support the development of tomorrow’s culinary and wine education leaders.

Promoters are hopeful that this will become an annual November, post-harvest event.

Either intentionally, or because planning is still “somewhat fluid,” as one insider told napaman, additional event details were not forthcoming at the impressive, and tasty, press luncheon, served to food- and wine-writers, at the Silverado Resort yesterday.

2011 Napa Valley Premiere Auction – Highest proceeds ever, $2,366,000!

 
Auctioneer Fritz Hatton gets the room a-rockin’.

Would you pay $2,083 for a bottle of fine Napa Valley Cabernet?

Ichizo Nakagawa, a Japanese wine importer, did at the Napa Valley Vintners’ Premiere Barrel Auction yesterday.

In fact, Mr. Nakagawa bought more than one bottle. He bought 60, bidding $125,000 for five cases of 2009 Scarecrow Cabernet Sauvignon, ironically labeled Toto’s Opium Dream: Scene II.

The bid was the highest ever for a single lot in the 15-year history of Premiere and helped propel the auction to raise $2,366,000, the largest sum ever garnered in the event’s history.

Yes, I know you’re asking, “What recession?”

What the room looked like to Fritz…

The results certainly bode well for wine sales in general as the winter auction tends to be a barometer of what follows in the general market.

Mr. Nakagawa was joined by more than 500 wine retailers, wholesalers and restaurant wine-buyers, who assembled from many countries in St. Helena to aggressively outbid each other for unique auction lots of mostly 2009 Napa Valley Cabernet wines.

As if Napa Valley hasn’t been cold enough this February, bidders whipped up the chilly air with their wooden paddles, pledging record sums for unique cuvees, most which won’t be released for at least a year.

Premiere Napa Valley, held at the Culinary Institute of America’s campus, is organized by Napa Valley Vintners, the non-profit trade association responsible for promoting and protecting the Napa Valley wine-growing appellation. The association represents nearly 400 local wineries, half of which produce unique wine cuvees for this annual auction.

Funds raised are used for marketing and promotional purposes in the year to come.

Biggest single lots

+ $125,000 for five cases of 2009 Scarecrow Cabernet Sauvignon. This works out to $2,038 a bottle, which may not be expensive compared to “futures” for first-growth Bordeaux wines, but don’t tell this to an unemployed car assembly worker in Detroit.

+ $45,000 for five cases of 2009 Schrader Cabernet Sauvignon called Double Diamond “B2 Bomber.” This works out to $750 a bottle. Mr. Nakagawa likely wouldn’t invite you back to his home if you if you brought such a cheap wine for dinner.

+ $38,000 for a five-case lot of Shafer Cabernet Sauvignon. The fruit for this 2009 Cabernet came from a single block called Sunspot, which forms the backbone of Shafer’s Hillside Select. This works out to $633 a bottle. Yes, I know, the auction prices are dropping dramatically; you’d expect to find wines in this low price range at your neighborhood Trader Joe’s, not at the NVV Premiere Auction.

2009 Vintage of Napa Valley wines

Premiere Napa Valley is really the first time each year that the trade gets a peak at the next-to-be-released vintage of Napa Valley Cabernet. It’s a collective chance to assess the vintage and determine how consumers will like the wines.

“Many winemakers say, ‘we picked before the October rains in 2009 and saved our crop,’” says Aaron Pott, winemaker of Pott Wine. “But I spent six years making wine in Bordeaux and can tell you that the Cabernet grape can take rain, and we made a great wine picking AFTER the rains.”

Napa Valley was struck by rain in October 2009. “Some appellations recorded as much as five inches of rain in one day,” says Aaron. Generally, wines from this vintage are considered winners.

Aiming to add some humor to the mix, Napaman posed a common question to winemakers, asking them to assess the quality of the 2009 vintage as though it were a celebrity.

The question I asked:

“If the 2009 vintage were a celebrity, who would it be – and why?”

I also asked each winemaker, or producer:

“Of the 11 vintages in this decade (2000 through 2010), name your favorite three.”

I figured that if there were uniformity in choice, napaman.com readers would get a sense of which vintages are worth hunting down in the secondary, or auction, market.

For each winemaker’s response, I have listed vintages chronologically, though often they listed their preferences in a different order. But still, these are their respective Three Favorite Napa Valley Vintages over the last 11 years.

Tom Farella, winemaker, Farella-Park Vineyards

 “2009 is the Katy Perry of vintages. The wine is forward, friendly, pretty, but not something you would accuse of being intellectual challenging.”

Favorite three vintages of this decade: 01, 05, 07.

 

Philippe Melka, consulting winemaker to 14 premium Napa Valley wines

“For me, 2009 is the Juliette Binoche of vintages. The wine is filled with lots of ripe berries, red fruit and has brisk acidity. But there is also a serious side to this wine. It is pretty, has great energy and is sexy – like Juliette.”

Favorite three vintages of this decade: 01, 05, 07.

 

Aaron Buoncristiani, winemaker, Roy Estate

“2009 is the Halle Berry of vintages. It is elegant, seductive, has beautiful color. In a word: stunning!”

Favorite three vintages of this decade: 01, 03, 08.

 

Robin Lail, owner, Lail Vineyard

“2009 is the Cate Blanchett of vintages. It is wonderfully complex, has a great sense of self and place, is extremely versatile, and glows with an inner beauty.”

Favorite three vintages of this decade: 02, 05, 07.

 

Jeremy Weintraub, winemaker, Seavey Vineyard

“2009 is the Scarlett Johansson of vintages. The wine is generous, voluptuous, and exhibits strength and power.”

Favorite three vintages of this decade: 01, 03, 07.

 

Mary Ann Tsai, co-owner, Moone-Tsai Vineyards

“2009 is the Anne Hathaway o vintages. The wine is elegant, new age, young, vibrant, shows finesse, power and structure. Besides, I think it has a long future ahead.”

Favorite three vintages of this decade: 05, 07, 09.

EXTRA: You read it here first! Mary Ann and her press attaché, Toby Baird, confirmed that the Moone-Tsai winery will open May 2 in the space previously housing Luna. Napaman will continue to follow this story; look for an update when the winery opens.

 

Todd Graff, winemaker, Frank Family Vineyards

“2009 is the Angelina Jolie of vintages. It is big, voluptuous, smooth, gorgeous, curvaceous, yet has strong backbone.”

Favorite three vintages of this decade: 05, 06, 09.

 

Rich Frank, owner, Frank Family Vineyards

“2009 is the Meryl Streep of vintages. It is big, strong, will stand up to anything, has great character and knows what it wants to be.”

Favorite three vintages of this decade: 00, 05, 07.

 

Aaron Pott, winemaker Pott Wine, as well as Blackbird Vineyards

“ 2009 is the Audrey Hepburn of vintages. The wine appears lean but it is very elegant.”

Favorite three vintages of this decade: 01, 05, 07.

 

Ryan and Nicole Hill, owners, Hill Family Estate

 “2009 is the LeBron James of vintages. The vintage shows well across all grape varieties, not just Cabernet. Like LeBron, the vintage is showy, full of potential – and it delivers. It’s hard to find a better player, or a better vintage.”

(Ed Note: If you don’t know LeBron James – he’s the hot, talented, point-scoring forward for the Miami Heat basketballers.)

Favorite three vintages of this decade: 01, 07, 09.

 

Jennifer Rue, winemaker, Livingston Moffett

“2009 is the Natalie Portman of vintages. The wines are youthful, filled with complexity, display inner strength and are multi-layered – like Natalie’s performances.”

Favorite three vintages of this decade: 01, 07, 09.

 

John Arns, winegrower, and Sandi Belcher, winemaker, Arns

“2009 is the Jim White – AKA napaman – of vintages! The wines exhibit zest and are full of life; they are vibrant, forward, powerful, even exuberant!”

(Ed note: Aw shucks, Sandi, you didn’t have to say that!)

Favorite three vintages of this decade: 01, 02, 07.

 

The day before

 

The day before the auction, Napa Valley Vintners and the Rudd Center for Professional Wine Studies at the CIA, typically host a wine-tasting event, allowing auction guests to sample Napa Valley wines from recent vintages. This gives participants a way to benchmark different vintages – and learn how the wines are aging.

My issue with this annual tasting is one of operations: in order to serve the hundreds of guests three different vintages (06, 07 and 08 were poured this weekend) from 12 different wineries, servers start by blending two bottles of a vintage to fill a large decanter… and then keep topping up the decanter with wine from a third, fourth, etc., bottle from the same vintage.

You could call this the “solera method” of wine tasting. What one tastes is really a blend of several bottles – something which gives a general impression, or overview, of a wine.

Obviously, this is not how professional tastings, or critical evaluations, are conducted, but the NVV has been unable to invent a better system to enable hundreds of guests to partake in such a tasting.

I must add this note about the best wines of the tasting, in case readers are interested in hunting down some tremendous unheralded wine. 

Tasters were presented three vintages of wine blind  from 12 different Napa Valley wineries. The decanters from a winery identified only as “Number 2” held my top-scoring wines. I tasted and swore these wines must be Shafer Hillside Select. They were delicious, thrilling, had texture, grip and a thoroughly engaging finish. Elegance, too.

How surprised was I to learn that the 2006 wine, which I rated 95 points, the 2007 wine, which I rated 96 points, and the phenomenal 2008 wine, which I rated 97 points, were all Bennett Lane Cabernets, crafted by winemaker Grant Hermann.

Grant Hermann, winemaker, Bennett Lane

Way to go, Grant! These were my favorite wines of the weekend, and the good news for readers is that they don’t cost like top-tier wines; you don’t have to have deep pockets like Mr. Nakagawa to enjoy them.

Atelier Melka

Napaman chose to attend a few of the nearly two-dozen open houses held at wineries and retail wine stores during Premiere weekend, which stretched into four days of revelry. 

Philippe Melka, a celebrity consulting winemaker in the valley, brought together eight winery clients for whom he made their Premiere auction lots. Hundreds of out-of-town visitors crammed into 750 Wines, in St. Helena, to make the scene, swirl, sip and spit.

At Hall Winery, also in St. Helena, 10 wineries assembled to pour their top wines and Premiere barrel samples. The place was a beehive of wannabe bidders.

It’ll be June before the dust settles around here and probably that long before Premiere bidders get the purple wine stains off their teeth – just in time for the year’s grand auction, the heralded Napa Valley Wine Auction in June, which raises millions for charity.

Napaman’s tip to the organizers:  Be sure to encourage Mr. Nakagawa to return for the event!

The Best Wine Tasting of 2011 – And It’s Only February!

A smattering of the 22 Chateauneufs-du-Pape we tasted

I can’t imagine a lustier, more anticipated, more engaging wine tasting this year than the one held in St. Helena last night, celebrating my favorite wine, Chateauneuf-du-Pape.

The event, held at 750 Wines and hosted by BP Wine, two top-notch St. Helena wine retailers, brought together Chateauneuf-du-Pape aficionados to taste wines and to meet Harry Karis, author of the most important, most researched, most detailed book ever written on the wine and the region. 

Author Harry Karis with his book

Harry’s 500-page tome, The Chateauneuf-du-Pape Wine Book, is the definitive work on the subject. Did I say definitive? I meant all-encompassing, all-knowing, all-seeing down to the molecular level, everything there is to know about Chateauneuf-du-Pape.

In addition to desiderata, the book includes profiles on all the major wine producers, a run down on ALL the properties in the appellation, a chapter on ALL the area soil compositions in the region, in fact, ALL of EVERYTHING about “CDP,” as I call the wine and the region.

“It took nearly five years to research and write the book,” says Harry, whose son Phil took all the photos and art-directed the book.

Harry, who when asked his age says “I am vintage 1956,” is a serial careerist, tackling one after another. Initially a musician (lead guitarist in a Dutch band), he became a chef and opened his own restaurant. Bored with this achievement, Harry went back to school and became a doctor, specializing in occupational health. This guy has had almost as many careers as we had bottles of Chateauneuf-du-Pape last night.

Along the way, Harry was bitten by the Chateauneuf-du-Pape bug.

“I had my first Chateauneuf in 1978, but it  took many years  to fully realize what a  sensational blend it is,” says Harry. “After I learned that many of the great Burgundy reds contained as much as 50 percent Chateauneuf-du-Pape (added for color and flavorful top notes), I gained a new respect for this wine.”

Harry opens wines at the tasting hosted by BP Wine and 750 Wine, in St. Helena

I asked Harry what was the oldest Chateauneuf-du-Pape he’s ever had:

“The 1890 Chateau La Nerthe. It was still singing! I could taste fresh red fruit, raspberries and strawberries, and there was a silken licorice finish.”

Try as hard as you will to extract a point score for any of the 6,000 wines Harry tasted while researching his book, he just won’t fall into that trap. “Wine is meant to be enjoyed not rated,” he says.

To thrill assembled tasters, Harry brought some exceptional, well aged CDPs. But before we began tasting, I asked if he was as enthusiastic about the 2007 vintage as wine critic Robert Parker, who called it “the single greatest vintage in modern CDP history.”

Harry says that he probably would prefer a 2006 CDP more than any 2007 – certainly for a good decade before the 2007s soften and integrate. “It is a bombastic vintage!”

Before the tasting, Harry and I got to discuss the world of CDP… 

 
… and generally goof around

Backgrounder

Before commenting on the wines served, for those unfamiliar with Chateauneuf-du-Pape, here’s the skinny on this exceptional wine:

+ In 1936, Chateauneuf-du-Pape became the first wine region in France to receive appellation controllee status.

+ How Chateauneuf-du-Pape got it’s name: More than 700 years ago, a series of Popes, seeking to withdraw from Rome’s military influence, moved their worship zone to an area around Avignon; in 1333, Pope John XII built a secondary residence nearby, calling it “Chateauneuf-du-Pape,” which simply means “new castle of the Pope.” The hamlet, in which the structure was situated, picked up the name.

+ While Picpoul, Terret and Clairette sound like three Shakespearean crones you’d expect to find stirring cauldrons in King Lear, they are, in fact, three of the 22 permitted varieties of grape, which can be used to make Chateauneuf-du-Pape. You likely know some of the more common grape varieties permitted – Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre.

+ Chateauneuf-du-Pape producers may blend any combination of the 22 permitted varieties; some producers, like Chateau Rayas, make wine from only one variety -- 100 percent Grenache. Others, like Beaucastel, Clos des Papes, and Clos-du-Mont-Olivet, make a practice of blending ALL of the main varieties.

+ Here’s a chart of the grapes permitted in CDP:

Harry’s Sez:

If he could only take the CDPs of a few producers to a desert island, what would they be?

“I love the wines which Julien Barot is making for Domaine La Barroche. I would also take Charvin wines, made by the talented Laurent Charvin, and some Chateau Rayas to prove how long great wines can age. And I’d also grab some Domaine de Pegau, because these are always great wines.”

I asked Harry what was the single best CDP he’s ever had.

“While I have had many superb wines, there has only been one wine, which came close to an Aha! Moment: The 1998 Henri Bonneau, Reserve des Celestins. I was drinking it with a friend; we opened the bottle and poured a glass for each of us. We took a sip and didn’t utter a single word to each other for five minutes. We sat there in angelic silence. We were stunned at how good a wine can be.”

 I asked Harry for his top three tips to best enjoy CDP.

 + “Only decant Chateauneuf-du-Pape if there is more than 10 percent Mourvedre in the blend. This grape tends to be funky and needs aeration. Otherwise, pour straight from the bottle.”

+ “Generally, in most vintages, the best age to drink a CDP is from ten years onward.”

+ “If your CDP has been at room temperature, place it in the fridge for 30 minutes before serving, to mimic cellar temperature. You’ll find the wine is fresher, brighter, more lively.”

The cursed “CDP August Effect ”

I asked Harry if I was the only person he’s ever met who believes there is a phenomenon, almost a curse, which I call “The CDP August Effect.” It has been my experience that every summer, when August comes around, the most balanced, elegant Chateauneufs-du-Pape in my cellar become awkward, gawky, imbalanced, some of them downright nasty wines.

Harry looked at me as though I were speaking a secret language. (It’s time, Harry, to pull out our Captain Midnight Secret Decoder Rings….)

I was startled by his reply:  “I have that identical experience!” Harry says that for him, the nasties start in July.

“I make a point of not opening Chateauneuf-du-Pape from the middle of July to the middle of September,” Harry said.

Harry’s experience is based on a sampling even larger than mine. At its peak, Harry’s cellar held 4,800 bottles of Chateauneuf-du-Pape, and it didn’t matter which house, or which vintage, he pulled from; during summer months, they all took an evolutionary step backward, regardless of how well they were stored.

The Tasting

Hosts for the CDP-tasting; held at 750 Wines (David Stevens, proprietor, far left), BP Wine host, Stefan Blicker, and right of him Harry Karis. At the far right is BP Wine co-owner Cory Wagner.

Host Stefan Blicker reviews two-dozen Chateauneufs-du-Pape served to guests.

Rather than give exhaustive tasting notes on two-dozen wines poured, let me concentrate on the top wines.

1949 Chateau Patriarche, Pere et Fils.

This wine, from a Beaune negociant, was the oldest CDP of the evening, and the oldest CDP I personally have ever tasted. Despite being 62-years-old (!), it still has fruit, life and personality. Call it CDP-lite; though partially oxidized, there are still hints of dried fruits, like prunes, raisins and fig, and a noticeable Virginia tobacco finish. Actually, a very “pretty” wine, considering the age.

1959 Roger Sabon.

OMG – this CDP! Don’t let the pale strawberry color fool you; this is CDP on steroids. Sweet, almost meaty, in the middle palate this wine displays a cacophony of fruit flavors and there is a l-o-n-g finish of mint and spearmint, which persists for a good 20 seconds.

1961 Chateau Cabrieres.

I know this sounds nuts: Although half-a-century old, this wine still tastes young, vibrant, and is thoroughly alluring. It grabbed my attention on each swallow, begging me to come back for another sip. Fruit and forest flavors mingle. There is a heap o’ cherry on the finish, both sweet and sour varieties, and I ended my tasting notes with this litany: “Stunning complexity, arresting flavors, exceptional wine.” Kinda says it all.

1978 Chateau Cabrieres.

They must have been doing something extra correct at Cabrieres to snag two of the top spots in this tasting; I used many of the same words to describe the ’78 as I did the ’61. As well, I noted this wine was sweet, lush, and hedonistic. Oh, and  truly sensational. Lots of berries, both black and red, tons of fresh fruit flavors, not dried or candied. What a package

The Book

Anyone who would like to learn more about Chateauneuf-du-Pape wines, or who plans to visit the region in southern France, needs this book. Period. It is the definitive tome on the subject (though I think I made this clear many paragraphs ago).

The book is $50 on amazon, and $79 just about everywhere else.

You can also buy the book on Harry’s Dutch website, www.kavino.nl

One other new toy: Harry has put his ENTIRE 500-page book, as well as a new summary guide, on a compact flash drive (pictured above), which you can transfer to your iPhone or iPad, so that you always have everything you need to know about Chateauneuf-du-Pape in your pocket or backpack.

The flash drive, available on Harry’s website, is $24.95.

If you Go to Canada… Bring me a Dark Chocolate KitKat Bar!

The Canadian KitKat bar

Hey, every once in a while, you find a GREAT commercial candy that hooks you.

My new, 4 pm, go-to favorite, afternoon pick-me-up is a cup of perfectly brewed English Breakfast tea and a few sticks snapped off a Canadian Dark Chocolate KitKat bar.

Note: I said CANADIAN Dark Chocolate KitKat bar, which has NO resemblance to the pathetic excuse of a candy bar made by Hershey in the US.

The American KitKat bar

Years ago, when KitKat rights were sold to North American chocolate-makers, Nestle secured the rights to make KitKat in Canada and Hershey got the rights to make the bar in America.

The formula for the two bars has never been the same but the taste difference now is now even more pronounced, given that both manufacturers have launched “Dark Chocolate” versions of the namesake bar.

The Nestle Canadian bar contains 70 percent by weight real dark chocolate. In fact, chocolate is the first ingredient on the label.

By contrast, “sugar” is the first ingredient in the US-made Hershey bar.

In taste, there is no comparison. The Nestle-made Canadian bar has GREAT snap, GREAT dark chocolate flavor, GREAT length. Take a bite, then have a sip of tea and you’re ready to go back or another bite. I really love the chocolate intensity of this snack.

Close your eyes, take one bite of the Hershey Dark Chocolate KitKat bar and you will ask yourself,” So where’s the dark chocolate?” The bar is too sweet, and despite the label claim, has no dark chocolate influence. As well, it has an edgy, chemical-like finish.

2011 Stockpile Strategy: If you are heading to Canada, stock up on Nestle Dark Chocolate KitKat bars while there. Even better, think about bringing napaman a few bars as a way of saying Thanks for this tasty tip!

 

There are People who Make Exceptional Chocolate…

 

 And there are people who make the world a better place to live.

Shawn Askinosie just happens to do both. Spectacularly well, I might add.

You have read in previous postings here about Shawn, who makes, in my humble opinion, the Best Chocolate in the United States. Period.

His Askinosie San Jose Del Tambo Bar from Ecuador belongs on a pedestal in the Chocolate Hall of Fame for its rich, sensuous mouthfeel and long, lingering melt-y finish.

If there were an American Idol of Chocolate, the program wouldn’t get past the season’s first broadcast – because there are no other contenders worthy of the title “Best American Chocolate Maker,” other than Askinosie.

You may know chocolate products such as those made by San Francisco’s brilliant Michael Recchiuti, but his are chocolate confections. Recchiuti is not a chocolate-maker; he buys someone else’s couverture chocolate to craft his bonbons and tablets. By contrast, Shawn Askinosie starts from scratch with raw cacao beans and makes chocolate.

In case you’ve been avoiding the gourmet chocolate aisle: Askinosie is a small batch chocolate maker in Springfield, Missouri, which only sources beans directly from farmers. This is a helluva mission statement to implement, as Shawn has found out.

You can read my earlier comments about Askinosie Chocolate here:

http://napaman.typepad.com/napamancom/2008/02/enlightened-abo.html

http://www.napaman.com/napamancom/2009/12/the-best-holiday-gift-you-can-give-a-years-supply-of-askinosie-americas-best-chocolate.html

http://www.napaman.com/napamancom/2010/08/askinosie-hey-hey-hazelnut-spread-best-new-chocolate-product-of-the-year.html

http://www.napaman.com/napamancom/2008/10/index.html

Until now, Shawn’s sources of single origin cacao have been: South America (Ecuador), the Pacific (Davao, in the Philippines) and Suconusco, in Mexico.

But now he has a new venture, a new bar, and a remarkably selfless NGO (Non-Governmental Organization)-type project based in Tanzania.

As Tanzania is my old stomping ground, I have a particular warm spot for Shawn’s new, Out of Africa project. As a foreign correspondent in Africa in the early 70s, I traipsed all over Tanzania during its ujamaa socialist period. (Ujamaa comes from the Swahili word for ‘extended family,” which spawned the nation’s social and economic policies at that time.)

About 18 months ago, Shawn got it into his head that he wanted to add a new chocolate bar to his line-up, sourcing cacao beans from Africa, home of much of the world’s cocoa. This meant finding a small farmer cooperative with whom he could work directly to source beans.

After a thorough review of many African countries where cacao grows, Shawn settled on beans coming from Uwate, a women’s’ farmer group in Tenende, Tanzania. He liked the quality of the beans and the caliber of the farmers.

This business exchange marks the first time any cocoa farmer in Tanzania has contracted directly with a chocolate maker, cutting out middleman and bean brokers. As Shawn says: “ We have to cut out the middle men and let the farmers earn the full, fair-trade payment for their crop and hard work.”

As much as he wanted to make great African chocolate, Shawn also wanted to “do the right thing” for his own community. He wanted young people in Springfield to learn about life on the other side of the planet, as well as get a sense of how a small business operates.

So he created “Chocolate University” to serve these ends.

As well, he created “Cocoa Honors,” a neighborhood program, designed to inspire teenagers about small business and social responsibility.

The Cocoa Honors Group

The outcome? Last August, Shawn led 13 Springfield high school juniors to the village of Tenende, Tanzania, to meet the Uwate cocoa farmers.

Shawn in Tenende, speaking to local students

The Cocoa Honors students had raised $15,000 in their own community to perform a service project in the Africa community. With the aid of Maji-Tech Engineering Ltd. on site, the students drilled a deep-water well in the village, providing potable water for Tenende’s 2,000 residents.

Shawn initiates the water pump, which his Cocoa Honors students helped build in Tenende.

But back to chocolate. Shawn’s commercial intent from the get-go was to develop a rich chocolate tablet made only with Tenende’s cacao; two weeks ago, after two year’s hard work, Shawn released his new Askinosie Tenende Tanzania Chocolate Bar.

It is 72 percent by weight dark chocolate, and the 3 percent cocoa butter comes from the same Tanzanian cacao beans – it’s not added from a batch of beans from some other country.

The bar is sweetened with organic sugar and, like Askinosie’s other bars, contains no lecithin and no vanilla. For what it’s worth: I’m not aware of any other chocolate maker in the world who can make this claim.

At the first sign of melting on the tongue, the Tanzanian tablet releases flavors of bright fruit, toasted tobacco and a sheen of mahogany; there follows a mixture of spice, dark ripe cherries, and tree bark with a hint of resin.

This is a very complex tasting chocolate, possibly Shawn’s most complex achievement yet. The Tanzania Bar ends with a mouth-coating dryness similar to how a too-young California Cabernet finishes, drying out the inside of one’s cheeks.

This is NOT sweet chocolate; this is NOT milk chocolate; this is not your namby-pamby Hershey bar.

Askinosie’s web site calls this “a mild bar.” I respectfully disagree with the chocolate maestro. This is a chocolate, which kicks you in the balls and says: “Pay attention!” I’d call it the Green Beret of Chocolates… It takes no prisoners!

The 85 gram bar is $8 online and similarly priced in gourmet food stores, which  carry Askinosie Chocolates.

Wanna kick in the balls? Place an order for Askinosie Tanzania Bar at http://www.askinosie.com

 

Mission Murals: Eye-Candy for the Soul!

 

 Last week, I recounted the story of taking Lisa Rogovin’s Saturday Food Tour through San Francisco’s Mission district. (http://www.napaman.com/napamancom/2010/11/mission-impossible-tasting-all-this-great-food-in-one-visit.html)

Part of the tour included a walk down Balmy Alley. Lisa, our food tour guide, introduced us to Patricia Rose, a talented muralist and Mission folk art historian, who shared the stories behind the many colorful murals, which adorn the walls, doors, garage doors and car ports of this neighborhood lane.

You don’t have to be balmy to enjoy the colorful murals on Balmy Alley, named after a successful racehorse. There are 40 colorful murals on this short city lane.

Muralists working within Precita Eyes, a community-based, inner-city, mural arts organization established in 1977, have now spent decades beautifying their ‘hood with large outdoor murals.

The community effort, led in large part by Patricia, is dedicated to bringing the story of human struggle to life in richly colored murals – to share concerns, joys and collective triumphs.

Patricia Rose speaks to our Mission tour group

Patricia leads independent cultural and historical walking tours of the Mission District on weekends, during which time she points out significant murals, describing their meaning.

Details for signing up:

Tours commence at 11 am Saturday or Sunday, and the fee is $12 per person, $8 for college students, $8 for seniors and $5 for teens.

To sign up for a mural tour, contact Patricia Rose at tours@precitaeyes.org or leave a message for her at 415-285-2287.

Make a point of ending your tour at the Community Art Store, 2981 24^th St. where they have a large collection of mural materials, including postcards, posters, T-shirts, maps, eco-bags and books. Your purchase helps fund community muralists buy paints for future projects.

I can’t think of a better way to express what you’re likely to see on a tour than to share what we saw on ours:

 

 

Mission Impossible: Tasting All This Great Food in One Visit!

 

Having recently returned from Rome, where I enjoyed a personal walking tour with a knowledgeable guide, I was ecstatic to take a similar – even tastier! – guided tour of San Francisco’s Mission district last week.

Background: I received a Taste the Mission tour gift certificate from a talented pastry chef, whom I have been mentoring and about whom you will learn more shortly, when her delicious baked goods are ready to be rolled out in America’s gourmet food stores.

The gift certificate entitled me and three others to join the amazing, knowledgeable and oh-so-pregnant Lisa Rogovin, on one of her 3-hour, Saturday-only, walking tours of San Francisco ‘s colorful, Hispanic-centric center, with no fewer than six gourmet food pit-stops.

This is Lisa:

She is as knowledgeable about food and the Mission as she is sweet and charming. Lisa could lead me on a three-hour tour of a fish-packing plant, or an abattoir, and I would be happy, because I would be in her company.

The fact that the Mission is so colorful, so filled with start-up and traditional food firms, is the Big Bonus on her Mission walkabout. (Pay attention: you are going to want to sign up for this tour! Details at the end of this story.)

In an email, Lisa instructed my family to meet the walking group “in front of Mission Minis.”

From the sound of it, I thought we must be meeting in front of the Mission’s Mini car dealership. It turns out that this is the home of the Mission’s exceptionally good, mini-cupcake maker. So much for napaman’s qualifications to stay atop regional food trends!

A young employee, Diego, works the retail counter at Mission Minis on Saturdays

The specialty flavors here are indigenous to the area; I really liked the mini-cupcake flavored with horchata, the modestly sweet rice drink loved by Latinos in the ‘hood. Bakers tweak  the sweetness with nutmeg and cinnamon.

Other original cupcake flavors include Aztec Chocolate, and Pumpkin Spice.

Mission Minis is at 3168 22^nd Street. Tel: 415-817-1540. Find them online at www.missionminis.com.

Then we walked on to Mission Pie, an exceptional corner store in the ‘hood, serving brilliant baked goods.

Lisa asked Karen Heisler, bakery co-founder, to speak to our group to explain the Mission Statement of Mission Pie. Looks like you can’t be in the Mission making Mission Pie without a Mission Statement.

Karen Heisler, co-owner and co-baker of Mission Pie

Karen said that the bakery only uses organic, heirloom wheat and hormone-free butter to make their tasty sweet goods (with emphasis on “tasty”).

Karen talked about the importance of relationships in the workplace and said that Mission Pie makes a lot of room for interns in the business “because whom you work with… and the business practices that you follow… are as important as what you produce… and how good you make things taste.”

One of the best things I tasted on the Mission Taste Tour – the fresh walnut pie at Mission Pie. $19 for a whole pie. A trip to the Mission is not complete without tasting this pie!

Mission Pie is located at 2901 Mission St. Tel 415-282-4PIE. Read more about the bakery’s environmental, social and economic initiatives at www.missionpie.com.

If we were down a quart of carbohydrates at the start of this tour, our tank was about half-full by this point on the tour.

Next stop: a restaurant and another bakery, housed in the same space.

Sign out front; the location is shared by two food businesses – Local Mission Eatery, serving tremendous sandwiches and hot fare, and Knead, a hands-on, artisanal patisserie.

Only open about six months, Local Mission Eatery is the brainchild of Yaron Milgrom, a New York transplant who did his university dissertation in New York on Jewish mysticism, then decided that what he really wanted was to move west and open a restaurant!

Regulars love the soups at Local Mission Eatery

The pastries at Knead are the handiwork of Shauna des Voignes, whose name you may recall from her stint at Ubuntu, in Napa Valley.

Mission Local Eatery and Knead Patisserie share space at 3111 24th Street. Tel 415-655-3422. Check hours and days of operation at www.localmissioneatery.com.

Now we’re walking onward, heading for a seriously good, seriously local, taqueria.

Most pork tacos are called “carnitas,” as the pork for this style taco is fried. By contrast, the pork at Taquerias El Farolito is marinated – which makes a big difference in taste. This marinated pork treat is called “Taco Al Pastor” (the Pastor). From my vantage point, there’s another distinction from carnitas, too:  this is one of the best, greaseless tacos I’ve ever had. Worth a detour to The Mission.

Lisa Rogovin at “the Little Lighthouse Taqueria”

Then Lisa marshaled the troops and we were re off to another bakery.

Jaime Maldonado, whose family owns La Victoria Bakery, is in the foreground, cutting up different house-made pastries. That’s Lisa in the background.

La Victoria Bakery is the oldest Latino-owned business in the Mission. Jaime Maldonado’s dad started the bakery in 1951.

Of all the things, which our group was offered to taste Saturday morning, I thought the Walnut Pie at Mission Pies and La Victoria’s macaroon, were the tastiest items. In a word: outstanding.

If I were ascribing points, as one does to judge wines, the La Victoria Bakery macaroon is a 100-point food item!

The colorful kitchen at La Victoria

One of the signature items at La Victoria – empanadas

La Victoria Bakery is at 2937 24th Street. Tel 415-642-7120.

Then we’re onto something cold, original and delicious: Humphry Solocombe Ice Cream.

Apparently, everyone on the planet who knows anything about cult ice cream knows about this brand. The Mission location, site of production, is ground zero for Humphry Slocombe.

Flavors are as originally named as they are flavorful: I tried and loved

“Elvis, The Fat Years,” which has a banana-peanut butter base, and which is textured with Bacon Peanut Brittle.

I also loved “Secret Breakfast.” Flavored with bourbon, textured with ground crunchy cornflakes, this variety offers ice cream fanatics a natural way to start the day!

Other flavors tasted on our visit:

White Miso Pear

Blue Bottle Vietnamese Coffee

Chocolate Suicide

Humphry Slocombe is served in some Bay-area restaurants and there is talk of a second location opening soon somewhere in the city.

The ice creams are made with Straus Family organic milk. Ingredients, which can be sourced organically, are. They rotate through a long list of ice cream flavors here, serving a dozen at any one time. The store is open noon to 9 pm daily. Cash only.

Humphry Slocombe is located at 2790 Harrison Street. Tel 415)-550-6971. Visit their website for a list of all the freaky flavors; http://www.humphryslocombe.com/%7C_Flavors_%7C.html

No, we didn’t taste Jimmy The Corn Man’s Corn Whatever…. But I liked the sign and the eponymous reference to me (Jimmy!)

A joy of being on a photographic safari in the Mission with Lisa is the opportunity to see colorful signs and paintings, which pop out to speak to you. Like this and the next sign.

At least 10 minutes have gone by and we have not ingested any new tasty foods or colorful carbs; our combined group blood sugar count is starting to plummet. The group appears to be going into a crash landing of insulin resistance – quick, Lisa! Get us some immediate carbo-shock therapy … take us to nearby Dynamo Donuts!

Opened in 2008, Dynamo Donut and Coffee rotates daily through 30 different flavored donuts, which are fried in organic palm oil.

The only donut which never comes off the rotational menu is: Maple Apple Bacon, which has a cult following. The largest selling variety, it was featured in a recent episode of “The Best Thing I Ever Ate” on the Food Network

Dynamo Donut and Coffee is located at 2760 24th St. Tel 415-920-1978. Check out the full list of varieties at www.dynamodonut.com.

Patricia Rose, muralist and Mission mural historian

In addition to introducing the tour group to sensational food, Lisa introduced us to some fantastic eye-candy – the street art of the Mission.

Patricia Rose walked the group down Balmy Lane, detailing the art and history of some 40 different murals.

Rather than speed through them here, I will offer a visual inventory of what we saw in this space next week – it’s something visually delicious to anticipate.

The Information you’ve been waiting for:

If you’d like to take Lisa Rogovin’s Taste The Mission tour or give a friend a gift certificate, contact Lisa by email or phone.

The cost of Lisa’s Saturday-only Mission Food Tour is $75 per person, and the tour runs rain or shine, 11 am to 2 pm. Call Lisa at 415-806-5970 to book space. Or email her -- lisa@inthekitchenwithlisa.com. Or visit her website, www.inthekitchenwithlisa.com, to learn about other area food tours, which Lisa offers.

In Italy, It’s True What They Say….

.... All Roads Lead to… Rigatoni.

I just returned from two golden weeks in Rome where I had some of the best pasta dishes I have ever eaten, drank gloriously of the 2007 Tuscan Chiantis, gawked at life-like sculpture, and rubbed shoulders with 2,000-year-old cultural artifacts.

How good was the trip?

Well, for a brief spell last week, napaman thought of uprooting his life, selling the farmhouse and moving to Italy… to become… romaman! The city does that to you.

I suppose Paris does this to visitors, too, as does London. But these cities don’t have pasta like Rome, which is the clincher for me.

The secrets of a sensational trip to Rome:

1. Stay in Rome the entire time.

Forget the guidebook nonsense about including side trips (Amalfi Coast, Cinque Terre, etc.) when you go to Rome.

There is enough art, enough culture, a sufficiency of Roman ruins and enough great restaurants to spend two weeks in Rome and never get bored or find yourself retracing your steps.

2. Stay in one hotel the entire time.

Want to have a GREAT holiday? Stay in ONE place the whole time.

Don’t move around, and only unpack once.

We found a sensational site, www.tablethotels.com, created by designers and architects, which has a Relais et Chateaux sensibility. Tablet.com will help you find accommodation in cities around the world, but in Rome, it was like having a personal assistant.

Tip: Join Tablet Plus, which for $200 a year secures a membership with all kinds of bonuses, inducing free hotel upgrades, and free WIFI.

In Italy, where they charge for WIFI by law (talk about a powerful telecommunication lobby!), our Tablet Plus upgrade, saved us way more than $200 in WIFI charges alone, as well as scoring us an upgrade to a suite at no extra charge.

We stayed at Hotel Fortyseven, (via Luigi Petroselli 47) which also gets a positive thumbs-up recommendation from napaman. The hotel is central to everything; within walking distance of every major site except perhaps Villa Borghese and the Borghese Gardens; the rooms are clean, modern, and the concierge team is first-rate, able to book restaurants, get taxis, and resolve small matters in a moment. 

3. Do not rent a car.

The great thing about Rome is that you can walk just about everywhere.

Spanish Steps? Fountain of Trevi? Roman Forum? The Colosseum? The Vatican? Sistine Chapel? They’re all within walking distance of a central hotel like Hotel Fortyseven.

Most days, we walked seven to eight miles, walking off the previous evening’s carbo-load of sensational pasta.

It is easy to eat pasta two times a day in Rome. What is so fun about the pasta here is that Rome has several of its own shapes of pasta, most with which I was not familiar.

Salvatore Tiscione, chef at da Felice restaurant

This would include a somewhat wavy, long, extruded noodle called tonnarelli, which is tossed with butter, pecorino cheese and freshly ground black pepper to make the simple, yet delicious, dish called tonnarelli cacio e pepe.

Lazio, the province in which Rome is located, and of which it is the capital city, is sheep-heavy, so locals consume much more pecorino here than they do Parmigiano-Reggiano, the cow’s milk cheese of Emilia-Romana. 

The single best version of tonnarelli cacio e pepe, which I had in Rome was at a restaurant called (depending on your guidebook) Felice, or Da Felice, or even De Felice. But it’s located at via Mastro Giorgio 29, if this’ll help you find it.

Other food must-tries in Rome

Rome is ground zero for artichokes (when in season) and there is a constantly waged battle over which is better – carciofi alla romana (braised with garlic, mint and parsley, then drizzled with olive oil), or carciofi alla giudia, or Jewish-style artichokes, which are essentially deep-fried. 

Dal Bolognese

We have a love for Bolognese cooking; Emilia-Romana, the provincial home of Bologna, Parma, Modena, and Ferrara probably produces the best food in Italy. So when we learned that there is a restaurant serving Bolognese cuisine in Rome, we made a beeline for it.

The food is so good, so authentic, and so memorable at Dal Bolognese (Piazza del Popolo 1) that we actually ate here twice, ordering the IDENTICAL dishes a second time:

+ Brodo with tortellini

+ Taglionlini with Bolognese sauce (absolutely authentic sauce, tasting as though there might be ground pork, maybe some mortadella and/or liver in the effort)

+ Bolito misto - a plate of boiled, mixed meats, served with a stunning salsa verde and a version of mostarda di Cremona, a spicy-sweet compote of glazed whole candied fruits.

Or, to put these dishes in picture-speak:

Perilli

For sheer “do as they do in Rome” pleasure, include a visit to Perilli (via Marmorata 39), a family restaurant, which has been serving casareccia fare to locals since 1911.

The windows are frosted to keep prying eyes out; anyone passing would otherwise gawk at the food or the guests (Federico Fellini was a regular).

There is a series of appetizer plates to choose from; the pasta carbonara is exquisite, and the Romans at your next table are as likely to have the latest iPhone as you!

One of the great dishes of Rome is puntarella, a chicory salad splashed with an anchovy/balsamico dressing that brings the greens to life. The version at Perilli is memorable.

Sor Margherita

The receptionist at Sor Margherita, tells patrons that there is anything from a 20-minute to a 2-hour wait.

In the old Jewish quarter, visit Sora Margherita (Piazza delle Cinque Scole 30), a neighborhood restaurant since 1927. It is quirky for two reasons: there is no sign out front to announce its presence, and secondly, you can only dine here if you are a member of the Sora Margherita Associazone Culturale. (It costs nothing to join and everyone who signs dines!). The food is cheap, cheerful and the room is a hoot:

Roscioli

Roscioli (Via dei Guibbonari 21) is a great restaurant, a great wine store, a great retail food outlet. No visit to Rome is complete without at least one dinner here. Maybe two.

They make their own bread (possibly the best in Italy), their wine list is stocked from a nearby underground cellar (which napaman had the privilege to tour) and the menu selections so compelling, you just want to tell your waiter, “One of everything!”

Choose from three different aged Spanish cured hams (jamon)… choose from six different aged prosciutto… choose from salamis, culatello, and fiocco and other cured meats, which are made from free-range, heirloom pigs. Oh, the list goes on, and we’re still only on the appetizers.

Aficionados will tell you that Roscioli’s carbonara is the best in Rome. I cannot deny that it may be. But it may also qualify for World’s Best.

Organic egg yolks are tossed with aged guanciale, aged, farm-specific pecorino, and pepper from Sarawak.

Enoteca Corsi

Near the Pantheon there is a hole-in-the-wall restaurant, Enoteca Corsi (via del Gesu 87), where locals eat lunch. Period.

It is chaotic, quirky, wonderful and not open for dinner.

 

De rigueur: Go to the retail wine store next door (part of the same family operation), select a 13-18 Euro bottle of killer wine (I love their Chianti selection), and ask them to transport it to your table. The add-on cost to enjoy the wine for lunch is 2 Euros over the shelf price. You can drink like a king here on a court jester’s income.

The fare is fun; this is not yuppified, or cerebralized cuisine. It is just well made, fairly priced food. And sometimes, a meal is just that.

 

Sites

Okay, ‘Nuff about the food. There are sights to see in Rome and rather than go head-to-head with Rick Steves, rating top attractions, or telling you the hours of operation, or giving you the address, let me offer this shorthand version:

As a picture is worth a thousand words, here’s 33,000 words’ worth of my favorite things in Rome:

 

Colosseum

 

Vatican. St. Peter’s Basilica, Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel

Pantheon

Roman Forum

Villa Borghese

 Head here for the Bernini sculptures, including Apollo and Daphne.

They don't permit photos, so the ones here are "borrowed."

For all my life, I never understood sculpture, always preferring paintings to sculpture. But my visit to VIlla Borghese was a true game-changer, opening my eyes to what sculptors can achieve.

I am talking about Bernini (1598 - 1680). There are a number of his works on permanent display here. I stood transfixed before his "Apollo & Daphne," which depicts the chaste nymph being changed into a laurel tree as she tries to flee from the God Apollo. It is totally open-jaw, drooling, stare-time when you are in the presence of this sculpture. You can't believe anyone could ever chisel this setting out of a block of cold marble. It is so life like, so real.

The thing about Bernini is this: he freezes people in their tracks the way modern movie makers freeze a subject, then do a 360-tour of the frozen image (as in the Matrix). But Bernini did it 400 years ago and in marble, not with CGI (Computer Generated Imagery). Bernini makes the marble skin of a subject dimple the way real skin reacts to pressure; he gets the eyes, he gets the energy, he imbues the marble with virtual life-force.

I stood before Apollo & Daphne, and before Bernini's marble statue of David, who is set to fling his sling at Goliath, with my mouth agape. It was like hearing - and understanding - opera for the first time; I got the  same spine-tingling chill one gets when hearing Pavarotti perform Nessun Dorma from Turandot, or Ch' ella me creda from Girl of the Golden West - unforgettable.

 

Piazza Navona

 

 

 

Spanish Steps

And a few incidental shots, which I happened to snap and like:

 

 

 

 

 

And finally, a note about Federico Polidori

While walking the back alleys near the Pantheon, I came upon Federico Polidori's small leather shop. I subsequently found out that Forbes described Federico as "Rome's premier leather artisan for 30 years."

I asked  Federico, who is used to making one-of-a-kind leather bags, holsters for guns, quirky personalized briefcases, to make me a leather and canvass tote bag for use back home.

He has designed one-of leather goods for muckraker and author Carl Bernstein, and half-an-hour after I picked up my leather and canvass tote, Julia Roberts dashed into Federico's place to order a bag. It's that kind of place.

Here Federico and Roberta, his wife, display the bag which Federico made for me over the course of a week.

To contact Federico, email to: federicopolidori_holstermaker@yahoo.it

His artisanal leather shop is at Via Pie di Marmo 7-8, Rome. Tel: 06-67-97-191.

 

Visiting Chappellet -- Producer of Napa Valley’s Greatest-Ever Cabernet

 

View of Lake Hennessey, looking down off Pritchard Hill, site of the Chappellet Winery.

Three years ago, I had the chance to enjoy a bottle of what may be the single greatest Cabernet ever produced in this country, the 1969 Chappellet Cabernet.

At the time, I thought of rating it 103 points out of 100 – to be cheeky and to set the record straight that there are benchmarks… and then there are benchmarks.

The ’69 Chappellet was made by then winemaker Philip Togni, under the Medici-like wallet and watchfulness of Donn and Mollie Chappellet, owners of a 640-acre property, which crowns Pritchard Hill. One-hundred of these acres are planted with exceptional vines. 

You can read my earlier story about my 1969 Cabernet experience at http://www.napaman.com/napamancom/2007/05/1969_chappellet.html

The Chappellets have been crafting fine wines, largely Cabernet, from their crest on Pritchard Hill since 1967. Following Bob Mondavi in 1966, the Chappellets were second in the valley, since Prohibition, to get a permit to construct a new winery.

Unlike Bob, though, Donn Chappellet believed the best wines would be made from hillside vineyards. So he bought a hillside to prove himself right.

Cab at 1600-feet elevation. Chappellet’s vines run up to 1,800-feet.

I have long admired the wines from this property (Pritchard Hill is like a gold mine – it’s the mountain home of many fine “first growth” Napa Valley Cabernet producers) and I have never tasted a Chappellet wine I didn’t like. Or met one of the family members I didn’t like, either.

Mollie and Donn have six children. Sons Cyril and Jon-Mark and daughter Carissa are the hands-on winery managers today, having taken over many day-to-day duties from Donn, who is moving on in years.

Despite the generational transition, the winemaking here hasn’t skipped a beat. It’s been in the trusted hands of Phillip Corallo-Titus, who has been winemaker since 1990.

Candice Pannetier, director of guest relations, leads a winery tour, which begins in the cellar….

… and continues in the vineyard.

 

Some winery tours end with a tasting session in the cellar-temp barrel ageing room… and guests are given fleece-lined parkas to keep warm.

I joined a small group this week and walked the property and tasted current releases. Of the various wines tasted, these were the two knockouts, standouts, worth sharing:

Tasting notes

2008 Chappellet “Signature” Cabernet

Called the “signature” Cab, as it bears the signature of padrone Donn Chappellet.

The 2008 vintage, 77 percent Cab with a smattering of Malbec, Petit Verdot and Merlot, is, in a word: sensational. So focused, so balanced, so gotta-have-some-in-my-cellar impressive.

What’s remarkable about this wine is that it’s about a third of the price of the winery’s top cuvee, but it doesn’t drink like a third of the pleasure. There is a LOT of wine in this wine, which is seamlessly woven. An easy 93-pointer.

2007 Chappellet Pritchard Hill Cabernet

 How clever of Donn to trademark the brand “Pritchard Hill” in 1967, his second year of operation, forever precluding other mountaintop winemakers from using the geographic designation to describe their wines.

Someday, Pritchard Hill may become a sub-appellation of Napa Valley, but for the moment, it’s a trademarked descriptor, which you will only find on Chappellet bottles.

The 2007 Chappellet Pritchard Hill Cabernet is a stunning wine. It has the grace and sophistication of a European wine, yet the power and fresh fruitedness of a new world wonder; I love how Phillip Corallo-Titus has married these attributes.

At $135, versus $48 for the “Signature” Cab, is this wine three times as good? No, but only because the Signature wine is SO good. But for serious wine drinkers, this is a stunning wine, a more structured wine, which they are going to want to age in their cellar. Bravo Phillip, Bravo Chappellet team, 96 points.

Pssst.... Want to visit the winery? If you don't get altitude sickness… and like twisty mountain roads, then have I got a destination for you….!

Call to reserve space for the daily, 7-days-a-week, tasting at 3 pm. It’s $25 per person. Call 800-494-6379.

Or reserve space for the 90-minute tour and tasting, often led by the delightful director of guest relations, Candice Pannetier. The Double T, as I like to call it – Tour & Tasting – is $35 per person.

Monday to Friday, tour and tasting, by reservation only, at 10:30 and 1 pm.

Saturday and Sunday, tour and tasting, by reservation only, at 11 and 1 pm.

Book via email at toursandtastings@chappellet.com, or call 800-494-6379. Tours are limited to 10 guests.

Napaman goes to new heights to get the story! (1,600 feet elevation, to be exact - to Mount Veeder Winery)

True story: In my days in the food industry, I often visited supermarket buyers across America to encourage them to list food products, which I had developed. After work, my sure-fire way to close the deal was to take the buyers to dinner and if Magnificat, the glorious, rich, and balanced wine from Franciscan, were on the wine list, I’d order two bottles.

Without fail, the buyers were fawning over this wine by their second sip; bonhomie and all the great gabbing about wine and life, which followed, softened my sales pitch and inevitably, by the end of the evening, I closed the deal. Every time, Magnificat, one bottle or two, was my magic elixir. My food products always got listed in the stores… and I had the chance to enjoy one of Napa Valley’s most consistent, pleasurable wines.

So in one respect, when I was asked this week to join Franciscan for a day in the vineyards, and also to visit its sibling property, Mount Veeder Winery (both owned today by Constellation Brands), I couldn’t say no. I saw this as an opportunity to publicly thank the producers of Magnificat for all those highly productive dinners. And for another reason, it would give me a chance to check out the vineyards on Mount Veeder as we approach harvest.

Mount Veeder

It’s funny, when you wanted to get high in the 60s, you smoked pot. Today, in Napa Valley, when you want to get high, you just head up to the summit of Mount Veeder.

 

Most vineyards here are planted between 1,000 and 1,600 feet elevation.

Mount Veeder is the name of Constellation Brand’s winery here, as well as the name of the sub-appellation itself (one of 15 sub-appellations in Napa Valley). Winemakers have been growing richly intense, mountainside fruit here since the decade Abe Lincoln was president!

Due to its elevation, Mount Veeder wines have the longest growing season and lowest yields of any Napa Valley sub-appellation, according to Matt Ashby, vineyard manager at Mount Veeder Winery. Virtually all vineyard work is done by hand, owing to the rugged mountain terrain and extremely steep slopes.

Above the fog line and planted on shallow topsoil, vines here produce very tiny berries, intense with flavor. Mount Veeder is the only hillside appellation in Napa Valley, which adjoins the cooler climate Carneros, which benefits from the cooling influence of San Pablo Bay.

Matt Ashby, vineyard manager, Mount Veeder Winery

Matt and his winery colleagues invited a small coterie of wine writers (napaman included), to the top of Mount Veeder to explain how the 2010 vintage is progressing. Or is not progressing, as the case may more properly be expressed.

Readers may have heard that we had a cool summer in Napa Valley and that the harvest is “late” this year.

Late? According to vineyard manager Matt, “we may harvest later than ever before. Historically, the latest we ever harvested was November 5, but we might even be later this year!

Matt confirmed that there was a hot spell in August, which was tough on grapes, causing them to raisin, and start to shrivel. As well, there were too many ensuing cool days, which prevented the grapes from properly maturing.

“We lost 80% of our Petit Verdot,” says Matt.

Mount Veeder Winery maintains three ranches atop Mount Veeder, which account for 44 acres of vines.

To give us a sense of the decade’s wines, Matt arranged a tasting high atop the Mount Veeder crest.

Of four vintages poured, my favorite was the youthful, luscious, 2004 Mount Veeder Cabernet Reserve, a perfectly balanced wine containing Cabernet, Merlot, Malbec and Petit Verdot. I scored it 91 points.

In total, Mount Veeder produces 30,000 cases of wine annually.

After a visit to Franciscan’s Oakville vineyards, the group assembled for a casual luncheon at Franciscan, one of the prettiest wine properties in Rutherford.

The most pleasant food pairing of the meal: pan-roasted, day boat scallops served with the 2007 Franciscan Cuvee Sauvage, a wild yeast-fermented Chardonnay, which they have been making on site since 1987.

What a gorgeous wine, with authoritative weight in the mouth, fabulous length and beguiling charm. This barrel-fermented, lees-stirred, Chardonnay was aged in new French oak and put through malolactic fermentation, according to Janet Myers, director of winemaking at Franciscan since 2005.

I found the Cuvee Sauvage, whose fruit is entirely from the Carneros, to have a Burgundian finish. Scoring 91 points, the wine reminded me how versatile a great Chardonnay can be at mealtime; I thought it had sufficient weight to even be paired with a pan-roasted tri-tip, which followed.

Janet Myers, director of winemaking at Franciscan and Mount Veeder Winery

Should you wish to visit Franciscan, here’s what you need to know:

Open daily 10 to 5pm. No appointment necessary to taste in the Visitor Center. Seminars are daily by appointment; call 707-967-3830 to plan a visit, or email info@franciscan.com. Located on Highway 29 at the corner of Galleron Rd.

The Best Way to End a Large Dinner – Espresso Corretto

Rich desserts, cheese platters and decaffeinated coffee at the end of a big dinner are so… 2009.

Of all the ways to end a grande bouffe, the item, which I have long been compelled to order, is a “fortified espresso.” The beverage is called “caffe corretto” in Italy, where the concoction originated.

“Caffe corretto,” also called “espresso corretto,” simply means a “corrected” coffee. It’s a thimbleshot of espresso to which one adds a tablespoon, or more, of grappa, a digestive, or a flavored liqueur. It makes the coffee experience slightly sweeter and the “digestif” helps process all that food you’ve wolfed down.

Bitters such as Fernet-Branca, Branca-Menta, or Cynar, lesser known Italian digestive drinks, or popular liqueurs, can help settle your stomach after a big meal; the alcohol is a nice end-cap to dinner, and helps the flavor of the espresso linger. That’s a win-win-win in my gastronomic world.

Nash Cognetti, executive chef at Tra Vigne, in St. Helena, Napa Valley, agrees that it’s time to shine a spotlight on “corretto.” He’s recently put “espresso corretto” on his dessert menu: a shot of Illy café with a 1.5-ounce serving of your choice of rocket fuel – grappa, Fernet-Branca, Branca-Menta, or Sambuca.

Caffe corretto is thought to have originated in Naples, according to a food blogger named Barbara, who lives in that city and who writes colorfully about her Neapolitan life at http://theespressobreak.blogspot.com/2010/01/caffe-corretto.html

“The tradition of correcting coffee with alcohol very likely started in the 1800's during a time when coffee became an ubiquitous beverage in Naples thanks to the caffettiere ambulante or wandering coffee peddlers. These men yelled out to customers in the early morning hours:  "Vulite na tazzuella di caffe?"  They wore aprons and set up tables along the street replete with small burners, cups, saucers, sugar, and a bottle of rum.” Barbara continues:

“Today, at ten in the morning, I see quite a few men drinking caffe corretto before heading off to work. The portions are so small that the caffe has a bite, but not much more.”

Italians mostly infuse their ”caffe corretto” with grappa, Sambuca, or digestive liqueurs like Fernet-Branca.

Americans sometimes turn to whiskey, brandy, Baileys Irish Cream, Kalhua, or Scotch for blending purposes.

But the idea is to add just enough liqueur to the hot, concentrated, just-made espresso to fortify it, and give it a spine of flavor. You should still taste coffee in an espresso corretto; if you don’t, you have added too much liqueur.

Puzzled at how I might illustrate this short piece on espresso corretto, I had my “Eureka!” moment walking down a street in Seattle, WA, last month. In the window of a fabulous vintage poster shop was a dramatic, original poster for a carbonated Italian digestive called Chinotto.

I asked Michael Maslan, owner of Vintage Posters, if I might take photos of the vintage posters relating to my theme. He was plenty friendly, like everyone I met in Seattle, and pulled out several posters.

If anyone is looking for original posters on travel themes, Michael is a source. Contact him at oldphoto4u@aol.com. His store is at 109 University St., Seattle, WA, 98101. Phone 206-587-0187. Don’t be surprised if the store is closed when you drop by; better to make an appointment by phone. As the sign says in the window: Hours by Chance or Appointment.

If anyone is looking for an espresso corretto, head to your nearest Italian sports bar, Ital-taverna, or the next time you are in St. Helena, mosey up to the bar at Tra Vigne and ask Eileen to make you one.

Sonoma’s Newest Winery Makes an Offer You Can’t Refuse!

You expected something less from Francis Ford Coppola, The Godfather of film?

Coppola, who has spent 35 years proving he can also make award-winning wines (Niebaum-Coppola, now renamed Rubicon Estate, in Rutherford, Napa Valley), has just thrown down the wine gauntlet again.

Francis’ latest vision is of a slightly more rustic, slightly more fun, more casual, wine experience, which he has erected like a movie set in Sonoma County. In effect, he’s made the wine-thirsty public an offer it can’t refuse.

In 2006, Francis bought Souverain Winery from the Fosters group. He spent four years and millions of dollars to create what will become Sonoma’s definitive destination winery.

If you want live like Francis, here’s how you make such a dream come true:

In a rather large blender, combine the amusement parks of three continents –Coney Island from New York (where Francis spent summer days as a boy), Luna Park from Australia, and Tivoli Gardens from Copenhagen, Denmark; Pulse on High for 30 seconds. Pour mixture into a mould and let harden. What you get is Francis Coppola Winery in Geyserville, Sonoma County.

Here’s how the Director tells it himself:

“I’ve often felt that modern life tends to separate all the ages too much. In the old days, the children lived with the parents and the grandparents, and the family unit each gave one another something very valuable. So when we began to develop the idea for this winery, we thought it should be like a resort, basically a wine wonderland, a park of pleasure where people of all ages can enjoy the best things in life – food, wine, music, dancing, games, swimming and performances of all types. A place to celebrate the love of life."

The 1948 Tucker, from Francis’ movie, Tucker. It’s still space-agey modern, even though it’s 62-years-old – that’s how ahead of its time it was!

Sonoma County’s newest winery is a keen blast for the senses. All of them. Wines to sniff, movie props to see (including the 1948 Tucker from the same-named film and the desk from The Godfather, both moved here from Rubicon Estate), and the deafening sound of the Coppola bottling line, where guests can see Francis’ favorite wines being bottled and labeled.

On one of the public tours, guests visit the bottling line

Much of the credit for the grounds, and the movie set-like design of the winery, goes to Dean Tavoularis, who in real life is… a set designer. He met Francis during the production of The Godfather and went on to design sets for more than a dozen other Coppola films.

A guest sits beneath a mural painted for the movie Tucker

Dean, who oversaw the design of the courtyard and fountain at Rubicon, has just done the same for the pool and grounds at Coppola and – are we surprised? – has given design direction for many of the extremely original, extremely colorful, and extremely memorable labels gracing many of the Coppola wines, examples of which include:

The winery is so new that not all the finishing touches are in place; they are building a swimming pool on the grounds where children can splash while their parents sip wines; there will be bocce courts, out-of-door chess and backgammon tables, cabanas, even a spa on site. In short, everything for families except sleepover accommodations, which are plentiful in nearby communities.

The pool, still under construction.

There’s even a fantastic restaurant on the property, called Rustic, Francis’ Favorites, where guests can experience Francis’ favorite homemade dishes. Prices are reasonable, the fare is good, and service is excellent. When did you ever hear anyone say that about a restaurant, which has been open less than three weeks?

There are more wine styles offered at the tasting bar than there are styles paraded down a runway fashion show in Milan. Coppola produces more than 40 different wines here under no fewer than nine different brands, or labels. The selection is mind-boggling. You need a knowledgeable guide as we had, Neal Coats, to detail the many differences of the wines poured.

Wine guide Neal Coats

The fruit for all the wines produced here is purchased off site. The corporate distinction is this: Rubicon Estate in Napa Valley ONLY produces wine made from estate-owned vineyards; Coppola in Geyserville ONLY produces wines whose grapes are out-sourced.

All the Coppola Sonoma-made wines I tasted are well made and represent great value. And just about every one of the 40 wines made here is available for tasting at one of the tasting bars in the main hall.

More amusing wine labels:

Each wine is named after a Coppola experience – such as “The Director’s Cut.”

Others are part of a sweet family story. “A Votre Sante,” for example, is a brand, which Francis created in memory of his grandmother, Maria Zasa.

She was an Italian, born in Tunisia at the time it was a French protectorate. As such, she spoke four languages – English, Italian, Arabic and French.

Francis recalls that with each sip of wine she always offered a toast in French: "À votre Santé!" (To your health!). To honor this family tradition, Coppola has developed a pair of wines, one a Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir, the other a Chardonnay, crafted in the French style with Dijon clones and Burgundian winemaking techniques.

I found these wines to be graceful, light, pastel-like pleasures on the palate, lower in alcohol than similar wines to which we have become accustomed.

My favorite wine of the afternoon tasting happens to be the most complex, best-made wine at the property, the 2006 Archimedes. This Bordeaux-style blend is 76 percent Cabernet Sauvignon from Alexander Valley and 24 percent Cabernet Franc from Knights Valley. The wine, aged 24 months in French oak, is supple, richly textured, and has a sensual mouthfeel.

I scored one bottle 93 points, another bottle 94 points and bought some to take home, which tells you how much I really liked it.

How’d the wine get its name?

Francis the storyteller goes into high gear…

Archimedes was the Greek mathematician who, 2,000 years ago, established laws of physics, which are still viable today.

Francis’ grandfather Agostino so admired the intellect of Archimedes that he named his first son Archimedes. To honor his Uncle Archimedes, Francis created what I maintain will become the winery’s flagship wine.

Here’s what it looks like when a bottle of the inky purple majesty is decanted at tableside in the winery restaurant:

Nora Caffrey decants a bottle of Archimedes

Oh, and of course, you can buy that fancy-dancy decanter at the winery gift shop after you fall in love with it.

Corey Beck, Director of Winemaking

Winemaking responsibilities fall on the shoulders of a remarkably talented, extremely friendly young man, Corey Beck, who previously made wine at Chateau Montelena, in Napa Valley, and who has been working with Francis since 1998.

Francis’ vision at Coppola Winery was to create a total package for visitors – wine AND food.

So after an hour sipping wines, guests may get hunger pangs; head to Rustic, Francis’ Favorites, the triple-worded, on-site dining room. Sit inside, near the wood-fired parilla, or grill, which Francis brought back from Argentina, or outside, on a sunlight patio, overlooking rolling hills of vines.

Stoking the parilla with three kinds of hardwood

Our waiter confides that they experimented with all sorts of woods to fire the parilla, settling on a combination of mesquite, almond and olive for their high heat performance and flavoring characteristics.

Typical treats coming out of the kitchen:

A hearty appetizer platter for eight

Chicken Mattone, a variation of “brick chicken.” As Francis thinks the best version he ever tasted was at a restaurant on the outskirts of Rome, that chef’s recipe is what is followed here. Almost every waiter I asked “what is your favorite item on the menu?” answered “Chicken Mattone.”

Francis worked as a busboy at a Polynesian restaurant when he was at UCLA film school. He recalls that they served some habit-forming ribs, the secret of which was the balance of the sweet and savory elements of the sauce. He’s attempted to recapture his memory – and the dish – here.

The Rustic menu is large, the wine list favors Sonoma County wines in addition to offering all the Coppola wines. There is an ample beer selection and even the gins, vodkas and tequilas are highbrow and well thought out.

And leave it to Francis and his spirit-picking staff to offer the single best, single-malt Scotch made – the Ardbeg Uigedail.

When everything on the menu, when everything on the wine list, when everything at the winery is drilled down to this level of attention and perfection – you HAVE to have a great time here. Nothing is left to chance; Francis appears to personally be in control and HE will make sure that you are 100% happy when you leave his enchanted theme park for adults.

Or else…. Or else…  if you leave displeased, I suspect that Francis fears he might wake up one morning with a severed horse’s head in his bed….

Not just the restaurant is Rustic here; so are the vineyard views

Coppola tasting room open daily 11am to 6pm.

RUSTIC, Francis's Favorites (restaurant) open daily 11am to 9pm.

Francis Coppola Winery, 300 Via Archimedes, Geyserville, CA. 95441

Tel: 707-857-1400.

Or visit http://www.franciscoppolawinery.com

Thank God Helen Keplinger decided not to go to medical school!

Otherwise Napa Valley would have been deprived of one of its greatest young, dynamic (and did I say attractive?) new winemakers.

Keplinger – with a hard ‘G’, not like the soft ‘G’ in Berringer – and her husband of three years, DJ Warner, just treated me to a tasting of their first three vintages of Grenache and Syrah blended wines.

The Good News:

Keplinger wines are sublime, majestic, ambrosial, unforgettable.

The Bad News:

I don’t have enough exclamations in my computer to express how I really feel about them.

The tasting was arranged at 750 Wines, in St. Helena, one of the only Napa Valley wine merchants who regularly reaches out to napaman when they’ve discovered a new winemaker whom they think napaman.com readers would, in turn, like to discover.

Helen Keplinger pours while husband DJ Warner reflects on the wine he’s going to have to sell. Fortunately for him, selling Helen’s wines shouldn’t take a lot of work – production is limited and they will sell themselves by word of mouth.

Talk about discovery. At the tasting, not only did I score every one of Helen’s glorious wines 95 points or higher, I even placed a standing order to purchase a pair of every wine that she produces going forward; they’re just too good, too glorious, and too fairly priced to let an opportunity like this pass me by.

Helen has been making wine for 10 years. She has a wine degree from UC Davis, has assisted Heidi Barrett at Paradigm, has worked at Fiddlehead and Kenzo Estate and worked a vintage in the Priorat, Spain, which changed her life.

Returning to America, after working in Spain and traveling in France’s Rhone Valley, where some of the most wonderful Grenache-based and Syrah-based wines in the world are made, Helen started to look for terrain, soil, altitude, and weather conditions that would enable her to make outstanding Grenache and Syrah wines here.

 

 With a short pit stop to marry DJ, who had a career in technology and organic gourmet foods, Helen got back on the fast track to find “the perfect soil for Grenache and Syrah in California.” She found several sites, she says, which appeared promising.

The first success came from a block Helen found in Knights Valley, which Helen says has volcanic soils, an ideal balance of slate and clay, 1,000-foot elevation, ideal southwestern exposure and good protection from direct sunlight.

She is so into this subject, by the way, that slowing her down, or changing the subject, is out of the question. Even if you put your hand up in the air, like a grade school student asking a question, you are not going to get Helen’s attention; her eyes are focused far off in the distance, picturing the very vines of which she speaks.

I scored this first effort, the 2006 Keplinger Red Slope (80% Grenache, 20% Syrah), 95 points. The fruit is from 14-year-old vines in Knights Valley. The wine is lovely, lively, supple, has rich ripe fruit flavors and there is no hint that this is actually a 15.5% alcohol wine.

I don’t think I’ve ever put the words together “pretty wine” to describe a 15.5% wine, but this beaut merits the pairing. Upon release, this was a $40 wine, as is each premiere vintage for Keplinger labels. At the second vintage, the different wines each jump to $50, where they perch.

The 2006 Keplinger Kingpin Rows is a 100 percent Syrah offering from a 5-acre parcel in Knights Valley. There is a huge scent of Syrah here; new leather, saddle leather, a hint of soy sauce and then the thing rolls over your tongue like an elixir of velvet. Easily a 97-point wine.

Then we taste the 2007 Keplinger Red Slope and like the previous vintage, this wine has a kingly robe, exhibits perfect balance, is filled with juicy top notes and a proper tannic structure for ageing.

The 2007 Keplinger Kingpin Rows, again 100 percent Syrah, is ethereal, a majestic new world wine made in the tradition of old world Syrah. Easily 95 points.

 

Speaking of new world wines, the group around the tasting table got into a discussion, noting that there are really only a few American producers of Grenache whom we admire, among them Alban Vineyards and Sine Qua Non.

Syrah has had better success – and a better reception - in California; one of my favorites is Lagier-Meredith Syrah, made here in Napa Valley, which I have bought and cellared for years. (Just now am drinking their 2001 and 2002 Syrahs and am loving them.)

The fact that there are so few local producers who have made beautiful, balanced Grenache wines incited Helen to take action: “I decided to make Grenache-based wines here as good as the ones made in France,” she vowed.

DJ  Warner runs the business side of Keplinger, looking after sales and marketing.

In 2007, trying to expand her horizon, as well as her portfolio, Helen made two additional reds:

The grapes for 2007 Keplinger Caldera grew on vines planted in Aiken soil at 2450 feet elevation in – are you ready for this? – El Dorado, California.

Not familiar with what Aiken soil (very fine particle’d, volcanic soil) can do for a wine? Then your homework is to get some ethereal Grace Family Cabernet or Rudd Winery Cabernet and taste; now THAT is what Aiken soil can produce.

The overwhelming flavor release from the 2007 Caldera (66% Mourvedre, 26% Grenache, 8% Counoise) is that of a slice of warm toast, heavily smeared with very fresh raspberry jam. There is a l-o-n-g raspberry finish that goes on for a minute, making me think that this is like drinking Framboise liqueur sans any hint of sweetness. Easily 97 points. Maybe more.

The 2007 Keplinger Sumo will wrestle your taste buds to the ground. The fruit, from Amador, grows at 1700 feet elevation on extremely old volcanic soil. This wine is big, brawny, yet like all Helen’s wines, remarkably balanced. Who ever heard of Petite Sirah with finesse? A hint of tobacco lingers 30 seconds on the finish. 96 points.

From Helen’s quiver, she pulls a few more vinous-tipped arrows, her 2008 offerings, and fires away, the wines piercing my defense with a purity of flavor and a sensuality of texture. How do you make such ethereal UNfined wines? They have the texture of brilliant young DRC Burgundies, but taste new worldly as they are filled with ripe, juicy fruit.

2008 Keplinger Lithic is named after a geological term, which refers to the size of soil grains, the ones in which these vines are planted. There are hints of gunmetal, lavender and iodine, and lots of blue fruit in this Amador wine. 97 points.

2008 Keplinger Caldera. There is a hint of just-poured asphalt, a whiff of tar, then a fabulous crescendo of ripe fruit notes. Oooh, 96 delicious points.

Helen’s 2008 Keplinger Sumo, a brilliant blend of Petite Sirah, Syrah and a touch of Viognier could be called a “Ka-Doing!” wine, the cartoonish sound made when someone slaps his forehead, suggesting a total, overwhelming, knockout of pleasure over this wine.

This is 5-star-salute material, a rocket sled of flavors and power and yet this wine has – who’d a thunk it? -- poise. This could easily be called a 100-point wine, because you can’t put more wine into a wine and make it taste any better than what Helen has achieved.

Whatever you do, Helen, don’t give up your day job and don’t give a second thought about going to medical school; if you did, you’d sadden a lot of wine lovers who anticipate the many years of pleasure, which lie ahead, imagining the thrills of tasting successive future vintages of your stunning wines.

Keplinger current release wines are available at 750 Wines, on Adams St., in St. Helena. Tel. 707-963-0750.The premiere vintage of each new Keplinger label is $40/bottle and in subsequent years, the wines are $50/bottle. “That’s the marketing plan for now,” anyway, says DJ.

Spottswoode’s End-of-Summer Party already? I thought it was still July!

You can’t tell it’s late summer in Napa Valley by the maturity of the grapes or tomatoes – everything is about three weeks late this year.

So it was good that the Milliken family sent me an invitation to attend their Spottswoode Late Summer Garden Party. This favorite-of-mine, end-of-summer party is just about the only way anyone would know we’ve reached the end of August; by appearance, much of the valley’s hanging fruit thinks it’s still mid-July.

Beth Novak Milliken and John, her husband. Beth is winery president.

The annual Spottswoode affair, held on the front lawn of the family’s stately, 128-year-old, Victorian home is always a sophisticated, casual event.

It fact, the party has always reminded me of the fine parties I once attended at Wimbledon, during the tennis finals. The difference being that the wine and food at Spottswoode has Wimbledon parties beat by a score of something on the magnitude of 1 million - Love.

This year, the headline wine of the party was the stunning 2007 Spottswoode Cabernet, described by wine writer Robert Parker as potentially being “the finest Cabernet Sauvignon I have ever tasted from Spottswoode.”

Parker ascribed 99 points to the wine. Why in the world he couldn’t nudge the score to 100 is beyond me. Because that is what this silky, complex, balanced, beverage deserves. Nothing less.

The 2007 Spottswoode Cabernet shoots out of the gate with hints of bright birch beer (from the young oak tannins), then turns into a sensual stream of ripe berries and sunburned, dark fruits on the palate. “Luscious” only begins to describe this wine, and I wrote this word twice in the column of my tasting notes.

Another favorite wine of the event was the 2008 Spottswoode Cabernet, unveiled publicly here for the first time. “The wine was only bottled two weeks ago,” says Jennifer Williams, the winery’s talented winemaker. “It will be released next February or March.”

Jennifer Williams, Spottswoode winemaker

This wine has a higher percentage of Cabernet Franc than any previous vintage, which I can recall – 7.5 percent. This makes the wine a bit livelier and a bit more peppery than any Spottswoode Cab, which I have tasted at this bottle age. But it’s delicious, nonetheless. Easily a 94 or 95-pointer, and maybe more; it’s hard to tell with a wine that has just been bottled.

The bread, cheese, nut and fruit table

This year, the only rival to the exceptional line-up of eye-popping wines was the exceptional line-up of eye-popping food, specifically selected to complement the wines.

And who’s surprised at how good the catered fare is once we learn that it was prepared and served by panevino, the St. Helena food firm meticulously managed by the husband/wife team David Katz and Mimi Martin Katz.

Mimi Martin Katz and David Katz, catering chefs at the Spottswoode affair. Their food selections complemented the wines in flavor, balance, and finesse.

When David is not catering one of 200 local parties he plans each year, he is an instructor at the Culinary Institute of America (CIA), for whom he created the curriculum, and where he teaches, America’s foremost wine-&-food paring educational class.

David says that the only cheese, which pairs brilliantly with a young California Cabernet is the bandage-wrapped, Fiscalini Farms Cheddar from Modesto. So I bellied up to the bread and cheese table to try the pairing.

It was one of those “Eureka!” moments when you will forever associate a place with an event. I will now never forget that I was at the Spottswoode  garden party when I discovered my new favorite cheese. The bandage-wrapped Fiscalini Cheddar is nothing short of a showstopper. And David is right – it pairs with every single Spottswoode Cab with which I tried it.

For today’s event, Mimi prepared plates of perfectly cooked, toothsome, carnaroli risotto flavored with house-cured pancetta, heirloom tomatoes, and five-year-aged Parmigiano-Reggiano. I haven’t had a risotto this good since I was in Piedmont last fall.

The oldest wine of six served on the front lawn tasting was the 2000 Spottswoode Cabernet, last rolled out for one of these garden parties in August, 2007. At that time, I noted:

“The 2000 Spottswoode Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, made and poured by Rosemary Cakebread; this vintage Cab was for me, far and away, the single best wine of the party. Even better than the 1997, also made by Rosemary. Lots of up-front fruit, a gorgeous harmony of fruit and wood. The wine has a poetic mouthfeel, bordering on seductive. Oh how I loved this wine! 94 points.”

At this year’s party, the 2000 Cab was poured from a double magnum and while one would suspect the wine would taste relatively young from such a large format bottle, it actually tasted fully mature, already at its peak.

“It’s totally at its peak,” says Beth Novak Milliken, winery president. “I think it will hold its edge for three or four years, but it is time to drink up this vintage.’

My comments about the wine today: “Gorgeous, mature, like a perfectly aged first growth Bordeaux with a light veil of sexy fruit, which the Bordelais only wish they could impart to their wines.” I scored it 95 points, which is consistent with my notes of three summers ago.

As I was trying out a new full-frame Canon 5D Mark II camera for the first time, here are some shots of guests and servers at the event:

Panevino server Wendy Felix serves guests delicious lamb sliders. Major yum.

Only "Spott On!" members are invited to the Annual Spottswoode Garden Party. To become a member, you must purchase at least six bottles of Spottswoode Cabernet Sauvignon in the previous year.
 For details, or to join, phone 707-963-0134,
or email 
estate@spottswoode.com.

 

Postcard from Jerez, Spain

Downtown Jerez, southern Spain

The international writing assignment breezed into my inbox: “Give us an original story about a white wine, which goes with seafood.”

I gave myself an even greater challenge: Find a white wine other than Champagne (way too predictable), which complements most seafood dishes.

Taking the Indiana Jones approach, I grabbed my brimmed, soft fedora and a corkscrew (who needs a bullwhip these days?) and hit the road to find such a wine. 

 

Now that I am in the southern crescent of Spain, called Andalusia, where there are, in fact, bullrings, and bullfights, perhaps I should have brought along my bullwhip after all.

After an exhaustive parade through numerous bodegas (wineries) here, I have good news: I have found a single white wine, which complements just about every seafood dish imaginable.

In a word: Sherry.

I am referring particularly to the palest, most delicate, most ubiquitous, and least expensive type of Sherry – Fino. Proof that you don’t have to spend top dollar to experience Liquid Poetry.

 

Though not sparkling, Sherry is like Champagne in one respect: it is an ideal white wine to marry to all sorts of shellfish and seafood dishes. It’s great with oysters on the half-shell, great with grilled sea bass, great with a peppery seafood stew.

Unlike Champagne, Sherry is slightly fortified. Even so, it still qualifies as “wine.”

Sherry is always served well chilled, and by “well,” I mean extremely well, much colder than you would serve Champagne or other white wine. That’s the way the folks who make it in Spain serve it in Spain. They should know.

Jerez (pronounced “Heh-reth” by the lisp-endeared Spanish), is the Sherry capital of the world. I have just spent five days here, interviewing Sherry producers.

 

The Sherry industry association, which sets standards with respect to grapes, harvesting, production, bottling, branding, and what constitutes DOC (Denominations of Origin) Sherry, is the oldest wine trade group in all of Spain. The Consejo Regulador was established in 1933.

César Saldaña, director general of the Consejo Regulador

César Saldaña, director general, of the regional Consejo, invited us to his association’s headquarters in Jerez to explain the complicated way Sherry is made – using the solera system.

Phoenicians brought grapes to this region more than 3,100 years ago and even during the 500-year Muslim conquest of the area (700 to 1400 AD), wine, Sherry by name, was continually produced here. In fact, “Jerez” is a transliteration of what the ancient Moors (Muslims) called the city – Sherish.

When the Moors ruled Spain, they built architectural wonders, like the Alhambra, in Granada, pictured here

Sherry has changed styles over the centuries, as you might expect. The beverage we know as “Sherry” started being fortified in the mid-1700s, as exports ramped up; traders sought wines for long sailing expeditions. They discovered that fortifying a wine with additional grape spirits kept the wine from spoiling.

Today, only three grapes are permitted to make Sherry: Palomino, Moscatel, or Pedro Ximenes, which sounds more like the name of a Spanish TV comedian than a grape. All three are white grapes.

 

The chalky soil in this region is rich in limestone and calcium carbonate, which helps preserve what little moisture there is; vines of the three DOC permitted grape varieties, are forced to send roots deep into this cruel soil to reach the moisture. Scorching summer days produce grapes filled with high sugar content.

It takes clever winemakers to tame the fruit, grooming it into something palatable and delicious.

The grapes are pressed, fermented and the best lots are aged in American oak barrels where fermentation produces a particular “flora,” or micro-culture of yeasts, which transforms the liquid into a beverage with delicate, attractive, and nutty nuances.

A component of winemaking that is unique to this region is the maturation process. Every Sherry must spend a minimum of three years ageing in the solera system.

What the solera system looks like

“The solera system” is not to be confused with “the solar system,” though it is possible to make comparisons; both are wonders of nature… and you can’t explain either on a single typed page.

In Jerez, soleras are everywhere. This one is at Gonzalez Byass. The crest on each barrel head represents one of the countries in which GB Sherries are sold.

Here’s the Solera System for Dummies version: Sherry producers age their wine in a series of tiered barrels, mounted three, four or five rows high. The upper tiers are called criaderas (nurseries) because they hold the youngest wine.

Each harvest, when new wine is made, it replaces the wine in the top-tier barrels. But first, the wine previously held for a year in this top row of barrels is transferred to the row of barrels just below… whose wine has been transferred to the wine in the barrels immediately below… and so on, down to the ground level.

In this fashion, the wine on the bottom row, which has been housed the longest in this tiered apartment house of barrels, is now ready for blending, fortifying and bottling. Solera, by the way, comes from the Spanish word for floor, or suelo.

Solera at Lustau

It takes at least three years to make a Fino Sherry, as the wine drops down in successive years, from barrel row to barrel row, eventually hitting the ground tier.

In effect, a three-year-aged Sherry has a little bit of wine from each of three successive vintages. This helps winemakers produce Sherries of consistent color, taste and texture.

Please don’t start singing Man of La Mancha

The aged wine from the ground level of barrels is blended and fortified with distilled spirits. (You can technically call these spirits “Brandy,” as many textbooks do, but the term, to me anyway, suggests a spirit from France; the fact is that the distilled alcohol used to fortify Sherry mostly comes from grapes grown near La Mancha.)

Enough technical detail! This is not meant to be a primer on Sherry but is meant to introduce you to the wonderment of this beverage and the pleasures it can bring to the table.

I have visited numerous bodegas in Jerez and haven’t found a single Sherry I didn’t like. But irony of ironies, my favorite Sherry, Tio Pepe, is produced by the oldest and largest bodega here, Gonzalez Byass.

 

Gonzalez Byass offers the closest thing to a Robert Mondavi Winery experience. Like Mondavi, GB was an original, game-changing winery in its homeland, though Gonzalez Byass had nearly a century’s head start on Bob Mondavi.

 

As at Mondavi, Gonzalez Byass offers the region’s premier educational tour. To see grapes growing in Jerez and learn how Sherry is made, book the Premier Tour.

You even take a short ride around the property at Gonzalez Byass, while your guide explains how Sherry is made.

My impressions of GB Sherries were heightened by two events: an intimate, first-class Sherry tasting led by the industry’s most respected senior taster/blender, Antonio Flores Pedregosa.

Antonio Flores Pedregosa, the Sherry industry’s most revered taster/blender

This is what we tasted, to learn about the different types of Sherry

This was followed by a catered dinner in the Gonzalez Byass cellar, stacked high with many solera rows of ageing Sherry.

Table set in the cellar of ageing Sherries, at Gonzalez Byass

It also helped to sit at the multi-course, catered dinner with a director of the family-owned winery, getting his insider’s industry stories. Let’s be honest: Journalism may pay poorly, but it sure has its perks.

Barrels in the cellar of Gonzalez Byass, signed by celebrities, politicians and artists who have visited, including Winston Churchill, Steven Spielberg, Jean Cocteau, Orson Welles, and Picasso.

My take-away from Jerez is that Sherry, whether it’s the Tio Pepe, Fernando & Castilla, or Lustau brand, is a beverage of unique complexity and flavor.

 

Types of Sherries

Fino Sherry is the type I recommend to accompany seafood dishes. The pale gold wine has a taste of blanched almonds, fresh yeasty dough and the scent of pleasant herbs. Fino Sherry is an ideal complement to seafood, olives, or cured Iberian ham (or prosciutto – let’s not get too precious with the pairings!).

Manzanilla Sherry has a more prominent floral characteristic with hints of chamomile but it, too, would nicely complement many seafood dishes.

Amontillado Sherry is the result of blending two different types of Sherry (one produced “biologically,” one produced “oxidatively” – let’s not go into these distinctions here). Amontillado tends toward amber in color, and exhibits aromas of hazelnuts and tobacco. It is a great stand-alone aperitif and complements cheeses wonderfully. But I’m not thinking it goes so well with seafood.

Olorosso Sherry ranges from rich amber to deep mahogany in color. It is a warm, rounded, walnutty scented Sherry with sweet-ish top notes and flavors of toast, wood, and tobacco. Great with cured, or grilled, meats, but not a friend of seameats.

Pedro Ximenes is like treacle. Made from the “PX” grape, as locals call it, this Sherry sets the bar for sweet wine. Raisins, figs and dates jump to mind; the most recognizable scents are of honey, grape syrup and candied fruit. If 100 were the most sugary sweetness one could cram into a beverage, PX would rate 110 on the scale.

 

What is confusing to American consumers is that ALL these different styles of beverage are called Sherry. In the US, when we call a wine Cabernet Sauvignon, we kind of know what we’re getting into. Yes there may be bell pepper notes, or hints of blueberry, or the wine may be tannic, or oaky, but there is a bulls-eye, or target, of flavors, which define “Cabernet.”

 

Sherry, by contrast, is all over the place in colors, levels of sweetness, complexity of flavor and even in the process to make it  - “would monsieur like a ‘biologically’ produced Sherry or one ‘oxidatively’ developed…?”

In a world of short attention spans, having to go to school to learn about the confusing, complex and arcane methods of production to enjoy and understand the beverage is not going to win Sherry producers many Facebook fans.

 

The take-away from this story is: Fino Sherry is a wonderful beverage to complement most seafood recipes.

As noted, my favorite Fino is Tio Pepe (which means “Uncle Jack” – named after a helpful uncle of the original owner of Gonzalez Byass). It is delicate, nuanced and complements many Mediterranean-style dishes, not just seafood. It is available in most US markets and, best of all, is not expensive. Which makes it one of those win-win-win beverages, proving that you don’t need to spend a lot of money to drink good wine.

A potential encore benefit: Sherry may be good for your health, though no one makes such a claim on a bottle. Alexander Fleming, discoverer of penicillin, scrawled this on the end of a barrel of Sherry, ageing in the cellar of one Jerez bodega:

“If penicillin cures the sick, then Sherry resuscitates the dead.”

 Amen.

 

Another thing to like about Sherry; an opened bottle will keep for a month, or longer, if recorked and stored in the fridge.

If we have company to our home and serve prosciutto with chunks of Parmigiano-Reggiano as an appetizer, I often pull a previously opened bottle of Tio Pepe from the fridge. Each time, the Sherry remains bright, friendly and complementary to these foods. Thanks, Uncle Jack!

Charter Oak Zinfandel chosen TOPS out of 730 world wines!

To find out what wines "Millennials" (individuals in the 21-35 age group) enjoy, a worldwide competition was held in the Bay-area last month, bringing together Millennial winemakers and Millennial judges. The competition was called “The NextGen Competition,” short for Next Generation.

As I have been making Charter Oak wine with Rob Fanucci since 2002, two years ago, he asked me to come inside his family winery business and join him as an active partner. (Let’s get this potential Conflict of Interest relationship off the table…. But it has nothing to do with the story I’m about to relate.)

David pours wine at the annual Charter Oak ZinArt party, an infusion of good wine and good art, the latter produced by Rob’s wife, Layla Fanucci. Layla’s “Cityscape” oils are internationally shown and collected.

Over time, we have encouraged Rob’s son, David Fanucci, to help us make the wine and 21-year-old David is now Charter Oak’s official assistant winemaker, helping punch down fermenting wines, rack wines throughout the year and help prepare final blends. (That’s David in the first shot above.)

The rules for the NextGen Competion were that you must have a Millennial on your winemaking team – and as David fits the age-grade category, we submitted our 2007 Charter Oak Monte Rosso Zinfandel, which David had a large part in making and blending.

Twenty-four Millennial-aged judges – all of them wine industry professionals – assembled in the Bay-area in June and tasted through 730 wines submitted from all over the world.

Our 2007 Charter Oak Monte Rosso Zinfandel was chosen blind as THE NUMBER ONE WINE IN THE WORLD to be made by a Next Generation "Millennial" OUT OF 730 WINES IN THE COMPETITION!

You can read more about Charter Oak Winery at www.charteroakwine.com and you can read more about the NextGen Wine Competition at www.nextgenwinecomp.com.

Donny and August Sebastiani, recognized pioneers in developing innovative wines in America, served as honorary co-chairs of the NextGen event.

“For four generations, our family has produced quality value wines and now it’s our chance to take the wine business to the next level, says Donny.

Organizers of the NextGen Wine Competition say they intend to make it an annual event.

 From left to right: Hear no evil, Speak no evil, See no evil. The three monkeys at Charter Oak – David Fanucci, me, and Rob Fanucci.

Over at Charter Oak, we’ve had to put sand in Rob’s cuffs to keep his feet on the ground.

If you’ve never been to Charter Oak, in St. Helena, let me explain its microscopic imprint; there are something like 500 wineries in Napa Valley and we are pretty sure that Charter Oak is (proudly) the smallest of the 500.

Charter Oak’s secret weapon: we press all our wine in the near-100-year-old wooden basket press, formerly used by Rob’s grandfather, Guido Ragghianti, who taught Rob how to make wine 25 years ago.

We make all our wines (about 750 cases per year total) by hand, the old-fashioned way. Which explains why our Zinfandels and Petite Sirahs have a silken texture and an elegant balance, not typically found in these varietal wines.

Jim and Rob clown around (as usual). Our motto: “If you don’t have fun making wine, stay out of the cellar!”

To make an appointment to visit Charter Oak, call Rob at 707-963-2298. Rob says that if you mention you read this story in napaman, you’ll receive a 10% case discount. See, it pays to read napaman!

Her Fruits & Vegetables are the Best, even out of Season!

 Lisa Livoni, watercolorist

Let’s get potential conflict of interest charges out of the way:

I know Lisa Livoni.

I have purchased her gorgeous watercolors and love them.

I think she is one of the most talented watercolorists in Napa Valley.

And one more thing: I worked with Lisa last year in a common endeavor, a project called Local Color, in which we tried to get Napa Valley restaurants and wineries to buy her stunning, interpretative art.

Now, the general, art-loving, art-buying public will have a chance to acquire some of her newest paintings. Lisa’s colorful watercolors – mostly of fruits, vegetables, and flowers – are on view at Whiting Nursery, in St. Helena, from today through September 30. The show is called “A Brush in the Garden.”

For the first time ever, Lisa has produced large format paintings, some in the 3- x 4-foot range, significantly larger than the postcard- and letter-sized watercolor paintings, for which she is known.

“Marsha's Inspiration,” 34" x 47"  

“Painting is a very physical thing to me,” says Lisa. “This new larger size let’s me explore how I truly feel about what I am painting… and let’s me revel in my love of color.  I should have moved to the larger painting format sooner, but art is a personal, evolutionary process and I just wasn’t there.” 

"Red Flag," 34"x 47"

As she loves to garden, Lisa has turned to this theme for the watercolors in this exhibition. The words “joyful,” “colorful,” and “fresh” come to mind when viewing the collection.

Where’d she develop her sense of color and her near-compulsion to paint?

“I developed a serious interest in art as a child and feel that my earliest creative influences came from extensive family travel at a young age. This included three years of living in Japan.”

“Anne's Artichoke,” 34"x 47"

After graduating from the California College of Art, Lisa worked as a graphic designer for 23 years. Then, after designing some of California’s most iconic wine labels, she decided to become a fulltime, professional painter, which she has been for the last 10 years.

Lisa’s watercolor images have been exhibited at the I. Wolk Gallery, in Napa Valley, at the William Zimmer Gallery in Mendocino, in the Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento, and at the Napa Valley Museum, Yountville.

“Quince,” 40"x 35"

Images in the Whiting exhibit range in price from $300 to $5,000 per watercolor.

A reception for Lisa will be held Saturday, July 3, at Whiting Nursery, from 2 to 4 pm. Napaman readers are invited – see you there.

Whiting Nursery is at 738 Main St, St. Helena, corner of Charter Oak Ave. Open Mon. through Sat. 8:30 am to 5 pm, and Sundays 9 am to 5 pm. For information, call 707-963-5358.

Lisa Livoni

If you are visiting St. Helena and are not familiar with the local restaurant scene, be sure to stop at the best restaurant on Charter Oak Avenue, just across the street from Whiting Nursery.

I’m speaking about Tra Vigne, one of the valley’s landmark restaurants. The food, Italian by theme, has never been better here, thanks to the attentive touch of executive chef Nash Cognetti. For a reservation, call 707-963-4444. Tra Vigne, corner Charter Oak Avenue and Highway 29/Main St., St. Helena.

Jimmy Dean – Gone, perhaps, but not Forgotten

What’s Jimmy Dean, the singer and sausage maker, who died yesterday at the age of 81, got to do with Napa Valley?

Absolutely nothin’.

But as I had a personal connection with the singer-sausagemaker, for the sake of history, and accuracy, I need to share my story here.

(Dean is remembered for several things; certainly for his hit single, "Big Bad John," and for his TV program, "The Jimmy Dean Show," which was popular in the 1950s and early 60s. In later years, Dean became synonymous with the sausage company he started.)   

In 1985, while working at Loblaws, Canada’s foremost supermarket chain, where I was responsible for the development of the line of premium-quality, President’s Choice products, I was asked to join a meeting with Jimmy Dean; one of our corporate senior vice presidents wanted to get the rights to make Jimmy Dean Sausage in Canada at a meat processing facility, which the supermarket chain owned, called Z&W.

Brian Davidson, the roly-poly, always chipper VP worked hard to get Jimmy D. to come to Toronto for the meeting. Brian was always a Big Picture Guy, buying and selling companies and brands to enhance the Loblaws portfolio. (In his time, Brian bought and sold Weight Watchers twice, he tried hard to buy Boboli, he opened the door to eventually buy Thomas’ English Muffins… and he SO wanted to own the Jimmy Dean Sausage brand for Canada. Hence the importance of the meeting he set up with Jimmy D.)

The meeting was held in the shag-carpeted, window-lined, eighth floor office of the President of Loblaw International Merchants, Dave Nichol, who was a tall, imperious leader, admired nationwide for his marketing bravado. (I suggested naming the line of upscale products we set out to produce “President’s Choice,” specifically because Dave was already so well known as the on-air presence for the supermarket.)

Present at the meeting: Brian, Dave, Jimmy Dean and me.

Brian walked Jimmy Dean into the room and I noted that the Texas singer was one of the few people I’ve ever met who was head’s taller than Nichol.

Jimmy Dean wore a ring that was larger than a Las Vegas poker chip, shaped like the state of Texas, stuffed with dozens of sparkly diamonds.

He mentioned that he had come the last little distance to Toronto in his large yacht, and that he was in a hurry to get back on his boat. This was the sum of our chitter-chatter pleasantries. We got down to business quickly. Nichol didn’t like idle chatter, and you could tell that Jimmy D. didn’t either.

The meeting got off on the wrong foot, you might say; Jimmy D. leaned back in his expensive black leather, swivel chair putting his cowboy boots smack square on Nichol’s ultra-clean, 12-foot-long, glass conference table. No one had ever offended Nichol in his private lair like this. I could sense his hackles rise. Jimmy D. picked up on Nichol’s cue but didn’t say a word.

Nichol started badgering Dean with a barrage of questions, the kinds of things he would ask of any potential supplier, but he delivered them with his rapier sword intellect, much as he had learned to do as a lawyer.

“What parts of the animal do you use for your sausage?”

“How much fat do your sausages contain?”

“Where did you get the recipe for your sausages?”

“What spices do you use?”

Dean answered the first few questions kindly, then started to answer the remainder almost belligerently. You could tell the meeting wasn’t going well. But I had no idea how not-well it was going until Nichol pushed the sausage king.

“How many employees do you have?”

“How many varieties do you make?”

“Where’s your primary factory located?”

This question was the proverbial last-straw for Dean, who was not used to being interrogated as though subpoenaed by the House on Un-American Activities.

“Where’s your primary factory located?” Nichol repeated.

“Noneya,” Jimmy Dean replied.

“Noneya, Texas?” Nichol queried, rhetorically asking where this might be.

“No. Noneya fuckin’ business!” Dean replied. And with that, he got up, stood straight and tall, making his exit to the door and then ducked out, and under, the door frame.

Jimmy Dean – gone, perhaps, but not forgotten.

94574 – New Sauvignon Blanc named after Winecountry Zipcode…

… and like the post office, this wine delivers!

This posting has two conflicts of interest. I am hopeful that, as such, they cancel each other out, resulting in a balanced story.

For starters, the winemakers, Dave Berry and Henry Schlangen, are personal friends. They did not threaten me with bodily harm more than twice to say nice things about them.

Secondly, when Dave and Henry asked me what to name their new wine, I chaired three professional branding sessions and ultimately suggested the name, which they chose for their wine: 94574, the Zip Code for St. Helena, where the wine is produced.

For the record, they did not pay cash for my services and I am fearful that they forgot our handshake deal: I am due 50% of all future revenues.

  

By day, Dave Berry runs a steel business, and Henry Schlangen sells real estate, two professions, which don’t require a whole lot of passion to keep them afloat.

So the passion-seekers turned to a common pursuit, wine, and, two years ago, decided to produce Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay, two of their favorite beverages..

“Why dip your toe in the water when you can plunge in head first, not knowing – or caring – whether there are rocks or sharks in the water?” Dave asks rhetorically.

Henry Schlangen and Dave Berry, partners in 94574. When they’re not working on their wine project, Henry’s in real estate, David’s in the steel business.

So the pair bought into a 50-acre parcel along with a small group of investors; Dave and Henry get five tons of fresh, ripe, startling delicious Sauvignon Blanc from the San Mateo Ranch on Mee Lane, in Rutherford.

2009, their first vintage, was released Saturday at 750 Wines, on Adams St., in St. Helena. The stainless-steel fermented wine was barrel aged for a brief spell in neutral French oak and did not go through secondary (malolactic) fermentation.

Liz and Dave Berry are half the partner team of 94574. Genevieve, who is Henry’s wife, and Liz, above, are responsible for 94574 marketing and sales.

Here are my original tasting notes from my first bottle exposure to 94574:

Ahh, this is a striking, strident, Sauvignon Blanc with tons of character and joie.

The wine reminds me of a streaker running naked across a co-ed quad at a major northeastern university in the middle of winter; (A) because it can, and (B) because you can’t catch it.

Put another way: the taste and swallow, while ephemeral, linger in the mind for a long, long time, bringing smiles and a sense of prurient pleasure.

This wine has loads of personality. Look for a striking initial attack, then some fabulous, rich mid-palate fireworks, followed by a forceful, and delicious finish, which draws you back for more. 

Why don’t they make 32-ounce bottles of 94574? I must have had a short fill, because I found that I wanted more after my bottle was drained. 

My final tasting note may sound odd, but I detect honeysuckle, jonquils and even a hint of cumin on the end. And if YOU can’t taste it, don’t knock it – it's there!

392 cases produced. The wine retails for $18.

Genevieve and Henry Schlangen are the other half of the 94574 partner team. Genevieve works with Liz to promote sales.

Dave, Henry, Liz and Genevieve are keeping a low sales profile their first year in business. In addition to placing their wine at 750 Wines, 94574 is only on the shelf at Sunshine Foods Market in St. Helena.

As for restaurants, 94574 is being poured by the glass at Auberge du Soleil, which is one helluva coup for a frisky, first-year-out-of-the-gate wine. Good going, team!

Wanna know more about 94574? Be patient! As the 94574 web site isn’t ready for prime time, make note of it now for future reference: http://94574wine.com.

A Taste of Oakville – 41 times in a row!

Through these portals pass some of the finest wines… and today, some of the finest winemakers… in Oakville.

One of the valley’s highly sought, hard-to-get trade tickets is for the annual spring Taste of Oakville event, which brings together growers, winemakers, vineyard owners and the folks they’re all trying to reach – restaurant wine buyers, sommeliers, and retail wine merchants.

Napaman snagged a ticket and has the following commentary to share.

If the 2006 and 2007 mostly Cabernet Sauvignon-based wines poured today are any indication of things to come, the general wine-drinking public is in store for some mighty pleasurable drinking.

There wasn’t a dud among the 71 wines, poured by the 41 Oakville wineries on hand.

As I exited the event, held this year at the Robert Mondavi Winery, several colleagues approached, asking which were the standout wines, a typical reaction at this kind of tasting.

In truth, I no longer try to compare wines at this type of event; after tasting a few dozen wines, the only ones that stick out from the pack are aberrant wines, where the alcohol, or extraction, or oak, is so pronounced that the wine sticks out from the genuinely pretty, balanced, elegant wines.

Panelists who lead the morning MasterClass on “the commitment of ownership; From left to right, Paul Roberts, Estate Director, Bond, Ren Harris, owner Paradigm, Michael Weis, wine director, Groth, and Tom Garrett, winemaker, Detert Family Vineyards. The bowls in the foreground, filled with each winery’s respective soil, showed how soil composition changes across the appellation.

Oakville, at the epicenter of Napa Valley, is one of 15 valley sub-appellations. Oakville is a small-ish subsection but it carries a large and important historical mantle – it is where Robert Mondavi built his winery, shared his vision and created Napa Valley’s earliest and best wines, and on which the reputation of the entire valley was predicated.

Robert Mondavi Winery, site of this year’s Taste of Oakville event. Bob Mondavi would have been happy and proud of the number – and quality – of wines poured.

At the morning MasterClass, led by four of the appellation’s highly recognized wine producers (see photo with caption, above), we learned that global warming is here, it is hot and it has been scientifically recorded.

“Between 1960 and 2010 – that’s only 50 years – the average night time temperature in Oakville in the month of April, which used to be considered a cool month, has been documented by university scientists to have jumped 5.3 degrees Fahrenheit,” Ren Harris, of Paradigm, told the assembled group.

Them’s a lot of degrees over such a short period of time, in case you needed someone to interpret what Ren said.

Some 120 people were invited to the MasterClass session, which culminated in a tasting of four 2006 Oakville-made wines.

Several participants expressed concern about the higher degree of alcohol, which we’re seeing in many California wines today, due to higher levels of ripeness.

Paul Roberts, of Bond, answered this one: “I don’t want to appear as an ‘alcohol apologist’ but drinkers want freshness, brightness and minerality in their wine and when you make a wine with these characteristics in Napa Valley, you inherently get higher levels of alcohol.”

“Listen,” he continued, “when you look at some of the great old-world wines from Chateauneuf-du-Pape, there is so much complexity and minerality that the higher levels of alcohol – sometimes in the 16.6 range – are hidden. We don’t hear wine drinkers or wine writers railing against these wines; why do they single out California, or new world, wines for their sometimes elevated levels?”

“Our job is to make the best wine we can from the grapes we nurture and source; it is not to make a lower alcohol wine at the expense of diminished flavor, freshness, or minerality.”

Amen. I’m not gonna argue with this guy.

After the MasterClass, guests were joined by about 450 members of the wine trade in the Robert Mondavi barrel room. Way too many people for such a confined, narrow, angular space. That’s Bill Harlan, of Harlan Estate, in the foreground, and a multitude of glass-carrying, wine-seeking, pushing and shoving industry revelers in the background.

After the morning MasterClass, and after a sensational luncheon in Mondavi’s Vintage Room, guests re-assembled in the winery’s barrel room to taste through the wines poured by 41 wineries. 

Brothers John and Tom Garrett, respectively responsible for marketing/sales and for winemaking at their family’s Detert Family Vineyards. I’m surprised the brothers fit into this small space – these guys define TALL… in fact, when their feet are planted on the ground in Oakville, their cropped heads belong in another appellation with the hillside attributes of a cooler climate.

Estate Director, Paul Roberts, pours two of his 2006 Bond wines for the swelling crowd of professional tasters.

Upper tier of the Modavi barrel room, where the Taste of Oakville was held.

If you’re interested in learning more about the wines of Oakville, log onto www.oakvillewnegrowers.com

Swanson… this Renaissance Winery is making Renaissance Merlot

What do you do when you’ve been making great Napa Valley wine for 25 years but want to turn up the heat? You hire new talent and make even better wine!

At least that’s what Clarke Swanson Jr. has done at his eponymous winery in beautiful downtown Rutherford, population 450.

Clarke Swanson Jr. If the name rings a bell, it should, His granddaddy started Swanson TV Dinners and his father and uncle sold it nearly 50 years ago to Campbell’s.

As a neighbor of Swanson Vineyards, I have been to the property numerous times, but welcomed an invitation this week to spend a morning with winemaker Chris Phelps and owner Clarke Swanson Jr., along with a small coterie of local wine writers.

There wasn’t a real agenda to the get-together, other than to present us current wines and give us a sneak preview of the Swanson Sip Shoppe, a slightly less formal, retail room that is opening this summer next to the famed Swanson Salon, where by-appointment guests may enjoy Swanson wines paired with different foods.

For the record, the food pairings here are as friendly as the staff; no one goes home without a smile, and oh yes, purple teeth.

Winemaker Chris Phelps speaks with a small group of wine writers, assembled in the elegant Swanson Salon.

Winemaker Chris Phelps, who has been at Swanson seven years, is largely responsible for shaking up the winemaking practice. But then, you’d expect this from a wineman trained at U.C. Davis, as well as the University of Bordeaux and who then worked at Chateau Petrus, Dominus (Petrus’ Yountville property), then at Caymus, in Napa Valley.

Winemaker Chris Phelps 

Napaman Tip One

Chris is making a fabulous Pinot Grigio that is one of the most refreshing Napa Valley white wines that I have tasted in a long time. The fruit is a blend of Oakville, Oak Knoll, Carneros and even some Santa Barbara fruit, seamlessly blended in stainless steel. Read my lips: NO WOOD. The resulting wine is d-e-l-i- c-i-o-u-s, suggestive of spring flowers It would go extremely well with seameats, and has a lovely creamy finish. 91 points.

 

Napaman Tip Two

Are you looking for a way to recall which were the good recent vintages in Napa Valley? Let’s eavesdrop on Chris Phelps:

“’05, ’07 and ’09 were like Bordeaux vintages; we had longer, cooler growing seasons. The fruit had longer ‘hang time’ and the phenolics were allowed to fully develop. These are superior vintages across Napa Valley, if one can generalize.”

Salonnier, Shawn Quick LaRue, takes us on a sneak preview of the soon-to-open Swanson Sip Shoppe, a new ‘wing” on the winery.

Napaman Tip Three

The Merlot at Swanson is better than it has ever been. Merlot has been, since 1987, the bread and butter grape at Swanson. In fact, Swanson is the largest producer of Merlot in the Oakville Appellation and Chris suspects that Swanson may actually produce more estate Merlot than any other winery in Napa Valley.

I tasted the ’05, ’06. ’07 and ’08 (from barrel) Swanson Merlots and they just keep getting better.

As the 2005 Swanson Merlot contains 14 percent Syrah, the wine has a slightly herbaceous, purple-y nose, though it does exhibit lovely balance and textural elegance. 91 points.

The 2006 Swanson Merlot has more floral and cherry notes, and appears to be a softer wine. Possibly due to the absence of Syrah? Another solid 91 pointer.

The 2007 and 2008 Swanson Merlots are each a dinner winner, though exhibiting younger flavors and texture than any of the siblings above. But these wines will come around nicely in a few years. 91 points for each vintage.

Each of the Swanson Merlots retails for $36.

 

Napaman Tip Four

But it’s what Chris Phelps has done to the flagship wine, Alexis (named after Clarke’s daughter) that is the most pronounced wine revival, or reversal, here.

Alexis, first made in 1994, used to be a blend of Cabernet and Syrah. But Chris, who had some ‘splainin’ to do when he proposed removing the Syrah, has succeeded in producing some gorgeous wines.

2005 Swanson Alexis, which is 90 percent Cabernet, 10 percent Merlot, has scents and aromas far deeper than the color of this wine would suggest. Warm fruit aromas, gobs of spice, ripe fruit and lush richness. What a twist on “Napa Valley Cab”  – since it doesn’t taste as though it’s passed through the kidneys of a beaver. The wood is in HARMONY with the fruit. What a novel idea in a Napa Valley Cab. 93 points.

2006 Swanson Alexis. This wine’s composition is different; 81 percent Cab, 19 percent and the mixture shift is evident in the wine as it is softer, juicier, fleshier than the ’05. But still ‘loverly.’ 92 points.

2007 Swanson Alexis. Ahhh, this is the daddy! Wine of the month for napaman, a solid achievement, made with 90 percent Cab, and 10 percent Merlot. A stunningly good wine, delicious on the attack, right through to the swallow. There is a crème de cassis element in the middle palate. A fabulous, food friendly wine. 94 points.

Each of the Alexis wines retails for $75.

 

What has Chris done to cause these improvements?

“We are picking the fruit more ripe than we have in the past, but we are extremely aware of not letting the alcohol levels get out of check. Highly alcoholic wines are not refreshing.”

“For another thing, we’ve changed the level of toast on our barrels. We’ve cut way back, from heavy toast and toasted heads (the ends of the wooden barrels) to a medium toast.”

“We’ve also moved to screwcaps for our Pinot Grigio. No more corked wines.” (As far as napaman is concerned, Chris could move everything he makes, even age-worthy reds, to screwcap.)

It’s also evident that Swanson is engaging in some “alternate therapy” winemaking. Napaman spotted recent crop Merlot aging in small standard-sized, 225 liter barrels made of stainless steel, something I’ve not ever seen in a winery in this region.

Chris hinted that he’s conducting some ‘trials,” with them, but the nature of his short reply (so uncharacteristic of him!) leads me to believe that Swanson is experimenting. Which is a good thing, always the sign of a smart producer who refuses to accept commonplace methodology in an effort to improve the quality of core products.

To learn more about Swanson wines, go to www.swansonvineyards.com or call to make an appointment to visit the winery, 707-944-0905. To make an appointment to visit The Salon or The Sip Shoppe, call 967-3500.

Barolo - the town, the wine... and now the book

 

Barolo. It’s a town in Piedmont, Italy, population 646.

It’s a wine from the same region, made from the Nebbiolo grape.

And now it’s the name of a wonderful book, which is as memorable as the region and the wine. One swig of this book, and you’re hooked.

I was sent a review copy of Matthew Gavin Frank’s book, Barolo, and thought that I would motor through it in a day and give it brief exposure on this site, having fallen in love with the town on a visit last fall.

But once I started Barolo, which is a summary of Matthew’s six-month visit to the region, where among other things, he worked illegally at Luciano Sandrone’s winery, I put on the brakes and started to read it s-l-o-w-l-y, to make the pleasure last.

Matthew’s paragraphs are sweet and sticky like torrone, Piedmont’s hazelnut nougat. They’re like torrone in another way too: once you have a torrone bar, or a bag of wrapped pieces, you parse them out slowly, enjoying them one by one, over days, to make the mouthwatering experience last. The same goes for Matthew’s prose. His writing is rich and perfumed with similes. I found that I did not want to zip through passages, but, instead, preferred to slow down to enjoy every noun, thought nugget, and impression.

 Matthew at Sandrone’s winery

Matthew’s story about heading to Piedmont to work at Luciano Sandrone’s winery is compelling and rhythmic. There are hints of genius in the prose, reminding me of early Michael Ondaatje, whose marvelous book Coming Through Slaughter, the story of Buddy Bolden, may be Ondaatje’s single greatest, original work, written 34 years ago.

(In fact, I was so compelled to connect with Ondaatje, having read his book upon publication in 1976, that I secured the first interview he ever gave on CBC Radio, specifically to discuss the originality of the book.)

Author Matthew Gavin Frank in Piedmont’s vineyards

I feel somewhat the same about Matthew’s colorful, personal, highly detailed visit to Barolo. It is original, humorful, sensuous, and always thought-provoking.

Here’s how Matthew describes conigli arrosti, roasted rabbits, which he finds at a market stall:

“… roasting skinned rabbits, heads still on, teeth charred, eye sockets going black. Porcelain dolls trapped in a housefire.”

What a metaphor! Porcelain dolls trapped in a housefire!

Or his description of one of the region’s specialty cheeses, Toma:

“… [it] is a heavy cheese made of goat’s and cow’s milk that the locals claim has three main properties: ‘It satisfies hunger, quenches thirst, and cleans the teeth.’ I proceed to test the theory numerous times. Gamey. Viscous. Bechamel filtered through a gym sock. And I mean that in the best possible way.”

Matthew walks among the Nebbiolo vines in the Langhe

Peter Mayle (A Year in Provence, 1989) and Frances Mayes (A Year Under the Tuscan Sun, 1996), introduced us to a style of food and wine travelogue that has now become mainstream.

And while there are hints of mainstream life, Mathew weaving a tale, which includes hints of earlier jobs, such as chefing in Alaska, his focus here is to regale us with discoveries in Piedmont. Of which he does a remarkable job. The people he meets, dines with, and works with, jump off the page. His references to food and wine make me hungry, and no less thirsty.

 The Langhe, home of Barolo, shot by napaman last fall

Having spent several weeks in this very region last fall, I am aware of Matthew’s sharp eye for detail. As well, he has a professional writer’s grasp of cadence, and flirts with color, texture, aroma and taste with the best of our poet/writers.

In many respects, I sense that the 33-year-old writer owes less to Mayle and Mayes for style and more to Kerouac or William S. Burroughs. In my mind, Mathew is not so much a travelogue writer as he is quite simply a travel-rogue.

This young writer has talent, style, and let’s hope staying power. The world needs more Matthew Gavin Frank.

Another elevation of Piedmont, shot by napaman, fall of 2009

Matthew’s background: Born and raised in Chicago, he left home at 17, embracing a vagabond lifestyle around the stove. He ran a tiny breakfast café in Juneau, Alaska, sautéed fresh fish on a cooking line in Key West, FLA, served as sommelier at two restaurants in Chicago, and assisted Charlie Trotter with his Green Kitchen cooking demonstration at a Slow Food Nation event in San Francisco, in 2008. And in his spare time, honed his writing and poetry skills. Barolo is a brilliant synthesis of all this food, wine and writing experience.

About the book

One personal request if/when Barolo is released in paperback: how about a short “About the Author” profile at the back of the book, so we all know more about this young writer.

As well, let’s have a proper index. A good work of non-fiction like this, filled with so many references to places, wineries, and restaurants, which the average reader may one day hope to personally visit, is made far more useful with an index. This would enable a visitor to carry the book to the region, using it to look up the name of a restaurant, which Mathew may have loved in Alba, or hunt down the name of a local beverage, which he made sound so deliriously tasty (rosolio, on page 68).

 

Barolo, by Matthew Gavin Frank, published by The University of Nebraska Press. $24/95. Or go to amazon.com and find it for $16.47.

Her Wines are Like… Elvis on Black Velvet!

Celia Welch

I have previously used up all the exclamations in my computer to describe the wines made by Celia Welch. They leave one speechless, as they do exclamation-less.

There is something otherworldly about Celia’s wines, which are unlike any other in Napa Valley. The thing her wines have is TEXTURE. More than aromatics, more than attack, middle palate, or lingering finish, the thing that sets her wines apart from every other wine is quite simply T-E-X-T-U-R-E.

Celia’s wines are supple, elegant, hauntingly fresh, silken, velveteen, velours-like, satiny, sensual, and regal, reminding one of the color, and feel, of the robes of nobility.

In short, they have the swagger, the iconoclasm and textural impact of one of those images of Elvis on Black Velvet, which you used to be able to buy at a five-and-dime. Though today, her wines will take many fives and dimes to purchase.

 

I was fortunate to have a one-on-one tasting session with Celia last week as she prepared to release her 2007 Corra, a sensual admixture of Cabernets from Pritchard Hill (50%), Rutherford and Oakville (25% each). Like every wine, which Celia makes, this one has the texture of velvet, scents of vanilla, chocolate and ripe red and black fruits. There is nothing out of balance on the nose, nor on the palate. This is pure liquid poetry. In short, Celia’s wines are the potable transmission fluid of life.

As her wines have a bit of the textural juiciness, which Michel Rolland achieves in wines, which he claims to “micro-oxygenate,” I asked Celia if she follows his practice.

“No, I don’t micro-oxygenate my wines. Not for Corra, not for any of the wineries to whom I consult (of which there are six – but more about this in a moment).”

“The secret to make wines, which are not tannin-invasive, is simply to have patience. We are trained as winemakers to jump into the wine-making process at the drop of a hat; I prefer to stand on the sidelines and wait for the ideal moment to act.”

In this respect, she sounds a bit like famed French photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson, who spoke of “the decisive moment,” identifying the exact moment when to trip his camera shutter. Celia speaks, instead, of the decisive moment when to pick grapes.

“It’s what you don’t do that is important! In the fall, I taste grapes on the vine every day, sometimes two or three times a day, to determine their EXACT moment of ripeness. Then, when making the wine, I liberally pump over and rack often to further help soften the wine.”

The 2007 Corra, which retails for $125 and of which there are 350 cases, is a stellar wine. Like most of Celia’s efforts, this one is sure to get a high-90 score, likely in the 94-97 range.

 

Corra is Celia’s own label, named in honor of the Celtic deity representing prophecy and harvest. According to Celia, the deity came to earth in the guise of a crane – hence the image on the label.

“Being Irish, I turned to this name and image for inspiration,” says the winemaker.

You will find striking textural similarities in the wines, which Celia makes for six wineries in Napa Valley. I was fortunate last year to taste 2006 Cabernets from all these wineries together and concluded that if any of them were dropped into a blind tasting of Napa Valley Cabs, they would easily be spotted out as being Celia’s – her textural handiwork is evident in each of them.

The texture in Celia’s wines is like a large tattoo on the cheek of a pretty woman – you can’t miss it, even if you aren’t looking for it.

Celia’s client list (alphabetically):

D.R. Stephens

Fleming

Hollywood & Vine

Keever

Lindstrom

Scarecrow

Where’d Celia get her interest in wine, anyway?

“I grew up in Medford, OR. My father was a hands-on, home-winemaker. As a very young child, I was exposed to the intricacies of making wine,” she says.

Three generations of Irish in America: Marie Masyczek (Celia’s daughter), Celia Welch, and Jack Welch (Celia’s dad)

At a public tasting session last weekend, I was fortunate to meet Celia’s dad, Jack Welch, visiting from Bend, OR. I pushed for additional details on his home-winemaking practices.

“I had a neighbor in Medford who convinced me that paying $3 for a bottle of commercial wine was too much, so we agreed, in 1961, to start making our own! We planted ten different varieties on our property and they all did well, except for Chardonnay. We made wine for 15 years. I suppose this influenced Celia,” says her 90-year-old dad, Jack.

Weekend event

 

This past weekend, to honor the release of Celia’s 2007 Corra, 750 Wines, in St. Helena, hosted a small reception for what can only be called ‘Corraficionados.’

In addition to offering guests a taste of her 2007 Corra, Celia poured her equally stunning 2004 Corra, her first vintage.

Interested in trying 2007 Corra yourself? A few cases remain at 750 Wines. Speak with David, or Monica, at 707-963-0750.

2008 – It’s the Sandra Bullock of Napa Valley Vintages!

(This is Part 3 of a 3-part story about this weekend’s Premiere Napa Valley Barrel Auction.)

Fritz Hatton, auctioneer at Premiere Napa Valley, gets the room a-rumblin’.

Build it… and they will come.

That was the moxie shown by Napa Valley Vintners, the valley’s wine trade association, which represents nearly 400 wineries. For despite the lousy economic climate, they invited 500 important wine retailers, wholesalers and restaurant wine-buyers to attend their annual Premiere Napa Valley Barrel Auction, held today at the Culinary Institute of America’s campus, in St. Helena.

Buyers came from Japan, Canada, the UK, France, Austria, Germany, and, of course, America, to bid for one-of-a-kind-lots of premium Cabernet blends.

Napa Valley Vintners pulled off a stunning coup, auctioning 200 lots of wine, raising $1,917,800. Most of the wines offered were unique Cabernet blends from the as-yet unreleased 2008 vintage.

This is a 29 percent increase over last year’s $1,487,500 auction proceeds.

Funds raised at this winter auction are applied to marketing programs to promote and protect the Napa Valley Appellation.

You really have to admire the positive outlook of Napa Valley winemakers; the world is awash in wine, and many Napa Valley wines can be found at discounts at up to 50 percent in wine stores across the country… and yet … and yet… hope springs eternal in the vineyards and wineries, which dot this demi-paradise.

The group-think is that today’s increased auction proceeds (over last year’s) will send a the message to the wine industry that retail pricing may start to firm up. Thankfully, the 2008 vintage of Napa Valley Cabs is much smaller than normal, which means the soon-to-be-released wines will not flood the market.

Some wineries acknowledge that their 2008 harvest was down 35  to 45 percent from a ‘normal’ year. I can’t remember a time when winemakers were happy that they had less wine to sell. These are curious times, indeed!

Auction results

At today’s auction, the three highest bid lots were:

+ $37,000 for 5 cases of 2008 Shafer Sunspot Vineyard. This works out to $616 a bottle.

+ $33,000 for 5 cases of Ovid Block 1A Cabernet, which works out to $550 a bottle.

+ $30,000 for 5 cases of Lewis Cellars Premiere Blend, which works out to $500 a bottle, which in the context of the prices above, sounds like a relative bargain!

My favorite wine event of the year

Premiere, my favorite local wine event of the year, brings together colorful winemakers, juicy young wines and powerful wine merchants. The auction room, filled with fluttering paddles and bidding buyers, is like a young Napa Valley Cab itself – unrestrained, filled with promise, and heartily enjoyed.

Bidders crowd into a top-floor salon at the CIA and watch, listen, and raise their paddles as 200 wine lots are auctioned. Participating wineries donate a unique blend of wine in quarter-barrel (five-case), half-barrel (10-case), or full-barrel (20-case) lots.

The Food’s as Good as the Wine at Premiere Napa Valley

In the morning, members of the wine trade and press got to taste the 200 unique blends, which were auctioned in the afternoon.

 

The barrel room at the CIA looked, and sounded, like a beehive that had just been struck with a baseball bat; there was a frenzy of noise, of buzzing, of clinking of glassware, and of high-fives.

 

For many winemakers and wine-buyers, today was their first reunion since Premiere last year.

 

At noon, a tremendous buffet was served. The fare was  fabulous, perfectly prepared and presented. Hats off to the CIA for serving food that complemented the wines. Oh, and did I mention that there were a lot of them ?

This is a veritable group grape grope, as guests are permitted to reach for any of hundreds of different labels. Guests may return to the wine tables, or food tables, as many times as they like for refills, or for diverse taste trials. That anyone is awake for the afternoon auction is a testament to the professional tasting skills of the assembled guests.

  

I stopped counting bottles, which were opened for lunch, at 300… and some of these were $150 wines. Members of the Napa Valley Vintners group donated their wines, which serve as a transmission fluid – to make the luncheon and the afternoon run smoothly.

… and here’s looking at wines at the other end of the same table

2008 – what a glorious vintage

Premiere Napa Valley is really the first time each year that the trade gets a peak at the next-to-be-released vintage of Napa Valley Cabernet. It’s a collective chance to assess the vintage and determine how consumers will like the wines.

Last year, napaman posed a common question to winemakers, asking them to assess the quality of the vintage as though it were a movie star. The results were so telling, so colorful and so original, that napaman decided to repeat the exercise this year.

So we asked: “If your 2008 Cabernet were a movie star, who would it be – and why?”

Janet Pagano and Dana Johnson, partners/owners, Ovid Napa Valley:

“2008 was our Tom Cruise vintage. It was handsome and short!”

Doug Shafer, proprietor, Shafer Vineyards:

“Our harvest in 2008 was down 30 to 40 percent from a ‘normal’ year. I’d have to say that the only Hollywood star who mirrors the vintage – short and edgy – is Danny Devito!”

 

John Williams, proprietor, Frog’s Leap Winery:

“Our crop was down 20 to 25 percent in ’08, but the fruit was intense, polished and didn’t need a lot of direction from us – it just made wonderful wine. I’d have to say that for us, 2008 was the Morgan Freeman vintage – a polished performance, requiring little direction!”

 

Cyril Chappellet, proprietor, Chappellet Winery and Vineyard:

“The vintage and resulting wine was suave, elegant and very attractive – call it the Cary Grant of vintages!”

 

Traci Seville, Clos du Val Winery:

“2008 produced wine that is really sexy, lean, and classic – call it the Jennifer Aniston vintage.”

 

Genevieve Jannsens, wine director, Robert Mondavi Winery:

“Our 2008 wine shows complexity, superb talent, is perfectly poised and destined for greatness – the Meryl Streep of wine!”

 

Jon Priest, winemaker, Etude:

“Our 2008 Cabernet has a wonderful perfume. The wine is plush, showy, complete and oozes warmth. Without question, it is the Sophia Loren vintage!”

 

Paul Colantuoni, winemaker and Mary Rocca, owner, Rocca Family Vineyards:

“’08 is a fruit-forward, easily accessible, vintage for us. It is somewhat flamboyant, very pretty, fun-loving and very engaging – without question, it is the Sandra Bullock vintage!”

 

Daniel Bailey and Stephanie Jones Bailey, proprietors, Jones Family Winery:

“We love the classic structure of ‘08, the length and the memorable finish. You know what you’re going to get – this is the Julia Roberts vintage.”

 

Treva and Mike Harris, owners Harris Estate:

“This was our first year in which the wine was made entirely by our new winemaker Thomas Brown. As a result, the wine in 2008 is pure, lush, elegant and yet restrained – just like Grace Kelly.”

 

Tim Mondavi, proprietor, Continuum:

“We are high atop the valley and 2008 produced a strong, sophisticated crop, which makes me first think of Cate Blanchett. But the wine we’ve tailored from it is aggressive, edgy and one-of-a-kind, so I’d have to say, on reflection, that it’s really the Jack Nicholson vintage!”

 

Cathy Corison, owner, and  Joyce McCollum, assistant, Corison:

“We’ve produced a wine in 2008 that is cerebral, real, complete and expressive – everything that is Meryl Streep!”

For those who have never attended one of Napa Valley’s wine auctions, here’s what happens – bidders can raise the price on a wine lot to $37,000 in under a minute! This was the action on the lot for five cases of Shafer Cabernet. Although the hammer came down at the end of the clip at $34,000, a few bidders at the back of the room had their paddles raised and after I stopped taping, Fritz Hatton re-opened the bidding war and the price jumped from $34,000 to $37,000. Or $616 a bottle, if you care about details. For those who have never attended one of Napa Valley’s wine auctions, here’s what happens – bidders can raise the price on a wine lot to $37,000 in under a minute! This was the action on the lot for five cases of Shafer Cabernet. Although the hammer came down at the end of the clip at $34,000, a few bidders at the back of the room had their paddles raised and after I stopped taping, Fritz Hatton re-opened the bidding war and the price jumped from $34,000 to $37,000. Or $616 a bottle, if you care about details.

Forget the Olympics – we’ve got WINE!

(This is Part 1 of a 3-part, on-going story about this weekend’s Premiere Napa Valley Barrel Auction. Check back Friday night and Sunday for additional updates.)

Invitation to the Next Generation social event

Snow lovers have amassed in Vancouver, BC, for the Olympics, but no less enthusiastically, wine buyers have congregated here this weekend to cheer for their own favorite Gold medal favorite – Napa Valley wine.

 

More than 500 wholesalers, and retail and restaurant wine-buyers, are here to attend Premiere Napa Valley, a spirited annual trade event sponsored by Napa Valley Vintners.

While the highlight of the event is Saturday’s barrel auction of one-of-a-kind wines, for several days’ prior, guests are invited to a surfeit of parties, luncheons, buffets, dinners and barbeques, sponsored by appellation groups, or high-profile wineries.

 

Napaman has been invited to numerous functions, luncheons, and winery open houses. But with only one good arm at present (post-operative, rotator cuff surgery) napaman has had to be more selective than usual. Of the many Thursday events offered, I chose to attend one -- NG: The Next Generation in Wine. This informal, commercial group is composed of second- and third-generation winemakers, who are taking the reins from their successful families, aiming to keep California’s wine glut alive for at least another 25 years.

 

No fewer than 15 NG wineries assembled at the just-opened Farmstead Restaurant, in St. Helena to pour their newest releases. Farmstead is a stunning restaurant conceived by Ted and Laddie Hall of Longmeadow Ranch Winery, which also happens to be one of the wineries in the NG group. Farmstead opened a few nights ago.

Ted Hall, owner of Long Meadow Ranch, and owner of Farmstead Restaurant, which specializes in beef raised at – who’d a thunk it? -- Long Meadow Ranch.

Garrett Ahnfeldt of G Wine Cellars, made only 572 bottles of his 2006 Mt. Veeder Cabernet, which he poured at the Next Generation tasting. The wine is filled with loads of dark, ripe black currant and hints of chocolate.

 

Judd Finkelstein, of Judd’s Hill fame, pours several of his family’s wines. Napaman particularly liked the 2006 Petite Sirah made from 100 percent Lodi fruit; very spicy, juicy and jumpy.

 

Ryan Hill, whose family owns Hill Family Estate, is joined by Nicole Johnson at the Next Generation tasting; they made 365 cases of the 2007 Hill Family Estate Syrah, which Ryan says is produced from fruit grown “just behind the Walmart in American Canyon.” That’s some claim to fame! Even so, the wine is delicious.

 

Wesley Steffens of Vineyard Seven & Eight, on Spring Mountain, pours his family’s 2007 Cabernet, grown at 2,000 feet elevation.

 

 Michael, the dad (or “Before Generation”) and James, the 29-year-old son (or “Next Generation”) Stewart, producers of Stewart Cellars. My favorite wine of the event, the 2006 Stewart Cabernet boasts fruit from three local vineyards: Stagecoach, State Lane and Crystal Springs Vineyards. The wine retails for $62 but tastes like it costs $100. This is a luscious, supple, balanced, elegant wine. I underlined “sensational” three times in my notebook. Paul Hobbs is the consulting winemaker – his efforts show.

A general observation

I thought the comments of a French-schooled winemaker, who was present at the NG event, were relevant; I commented that many of the wines I tasted were lackluster, austere, lacked fruit or elegance.

The French-trained winemaker said: “I could have predicted it. The barometer is falling and there is a storm front moving in. It’s a known thing in winemaking circles in France that wines show poorly when a storm is moving in – the barometric pressure drop has a negative effect on wine.”

Call it poppycock if you like, but Frenchmen who believe in this weather effect happen to make some of the planet’s best wines. So who are we to deny that it might be true?

They (photo) shoot horses, don’t they?

Calistoga artist Tom Scheibal and two friends

One of the more bohemian, talented persons I know in Napa Valley, Tom Scheibal, has spent the past six months horsing around, so to speak.

Using pastels, feathers, wool, and whatever else he finds in his studio, the Calistoga artist evolved a series of mixed-media panels, of which the theme is WILD HORSES. (This would be a good time to turn up the volume of The Rolling Stones’ “Wild Horses…”). Many of the images are finished with a luscious, thick coat of clear acetate-like lacquer, which hardens, adding depth to the subject.

 

I was shocked to see how good the series is; Tom, who has become a good friend over the 13 years I have lived in Napa Valley, called one day last summer and said, “I think I am going to paint wild horses.” He announced his decision with the casualness of one who has just skimmed the newspaper, and decided to attend the 8 pm screening of a film. If Tom had earlier been ruminating on the subject of what to paint for months, it certainly was never shared.

I only knew Tom as a sculptor, who had studied in Brighton, England, and as a designer/decorator, who has filled many homes in Napa Valley with brilliant, original and eclectic art. He also designed lawn furniture, which he fabricated on a fairly large scale in Mexico. Until last summer, I never knew the guy had an innate drawing talent, too.

 

This week, in advance of his exhibition at Myra Hoefer Design, in Healdsburg, Tom asked me to photograph some of his newest works for his own portfolio; in a word, they are awesome!

In fact, I was so impressed by his output that I figured napaman readers would want to know about the Healdsburg exhibit, which opens Sunday, January 24 at 2 pm. Tom will be present.

Myra Hoefer Design is located on the town square at 309 Healdsburg Ave., Healdsburg, CA 95448. Tel: 707-694-2121.

 

I asked Tom what piqued his interest in horses, wild or not.

“I grew up next to a farm in Bellingham, WA, where they kept a herd of majestic Arabian horses. I’ve never forgotten these horses, though I have never actively ridden.”

Tom says that he has also been inspired by Robert Redford’s work to rescue wild horses; as such, part of the proceeds of the sale of images in this exhibition will be donated to several wild horse sanctuaries across the country.

 

Save the date! 3 of Italy’s top winemakers coming to the Bay-area…

Here’s a chance to meet, and have dinner with, three award-winning Italian winemakers, each a recipient of “tre bicchieri,” (three glasses), Gambero Rosso’s designation for Top Wine.

The event is billed as “A Tre Bicchieri Journey Through Italy,” and is being hosted February 25, at one of my favorite Bay-area wine stores and restaurants, PRIMA, in Walnut Creek.

(Am thinking that perhaps they should rename the place and call it DUO since it’s both a well-stocked wine store and a fabulous restaurant!)

The winemakers who will be present, pouring their wines:

Cristina Oddero pulls corks from her wines

Cristina Oddero, whom I visited just two months ago at her winery, Fratelli Oddero, in La Morra, in the Langhe region of Piemonte.

I summarized my visit by noting “Cristina produces liquid poetry.” Let’s hope she brings some of her stunning 2001 Mondoca Bussia Soprano, an ambrosial Barolo filled with truffle scents and ripe red fruit.

Felsina winery, in Tuscany

Caterina Mazzocolin, who makes the stunning wines at Fattoria Felsina, in Castelnuovo Berardenga, Tuscany.

Felsina Panorama

I visited her family’s winery a few years ago, and spent a morning with Caterina’s dad, Giuseppe. I was overwhelmed by the quality of reds coming off their property.In fact, if volume is any significance, the largest single selection of Chiantis in my cellar comes from the Felsina property. Their 04, 06 and 07 Sangiovese-based wines are thrilling.

Caterina will pour Felsina’s full line-up at the PRIMA tasting, including Cru Rancia, as well as Wine Spectator’s Number 13 wine of the year, Fontalloro. 

Winemaker Sabino Loffredo

Sabino Loffredo, from Campania, who makes the much ballyhoo’d Pietracupa, in Avellino, is the only winemaker at the PRIMA event whose property I have not visited.

I asked John Rittmaster, owner of PRIMA, to share a few thoughts about Sabrino’s wines, and what guests might expect at the event:

“Southern Italy is less traveled than Piemonte and Tuscany; and while many associate the Amalfi Coast and Napoli with Campania, to me it is the meandering hills around the towns of Avellino and Taurasi.  It is here where some of Italy’s purest, most lovely, whites are made in the shadow of grumpy old Mount Vesuvius and some of the oldest vineyards in the world produce dark, pungent Aglianico wines capable of aging effortlessly for decades. 

Sabino Loffredo’s Pietraculpa wines are some of the best made in all of Campania. The whites are intense, minerally and broadly flavored while Sabino’s Taurasi is a showstopper. His wines will add a distinctly southern accent to this evening’s journey around Italy.”

Highlights of the event

There are really two parts to the Tre Bicchieri  evening.

From 5:30 to 7 pm, you may hob-nob with the winemakers, taste their wines, and nibble on antipasti. The fee is $20 per person.

As well, or instead of attending the in-store tasting, at 7 pm, you may sit down to a fabulous full-course dinner, at which wines from all three producers will be poured copiously. The cost for dinner is $85 per diner, plus tax and gratuity.

Reservations are suggested for the tasting, but required for the dinner.

Sign up by emailing info@primawine.com, or call 925-935-7780 and speak with John.

PRIMA is at 1522 North Main Street, Walnut Creek, CAPS. I was so thrilled with the fall-color shots I took in Piemonte, near Cristina Oddero’s estate, two months ago, that I want to share them with readers.

One More Thing: The Langhe in fall may be the most beautiful wine region I have ever seen. If Wine Heaven looks like this, I won’t put up a struggle to go.

 

You’ll never read about Napa Valley in this magazine – yet it’s a must-get!

Business colleagues, with whom I recently worked, evolved the four-letter name of a new travel magazine -- AFAR. As much as I like the all-caps title, I also like the magazine, which is two-issues-old.

The magazine is such a bold experiment in publishing that maybe they should have chosen a five-letter word for the masthead instead: BALLS! Because that’s what it must have taken magazine founder and CEO Greg Sullivan to start a magazine venture at a time when many popular magazines are folding in the economic swamp – Gourmet, Metropolitan Home, Modern Bride among them last year, and Mcgraw-Hill just sold its money-draining BusinessWeek to Bloomberg.

What makes Sullivan’s move to start a new travel magazine even more preposterous are these two realities:

1. The editorial offices are in San Francisco, not media-saturated New York.

2. The editorially elegant magazine, filled with snazzy photos and alluring layouts, only features destinations OUTSIDE the U.S.

So you will never see a story written by napaman about Napa Valley in AFAR, or a story written by others about Mt Rushmore, Disneyland, or the Badlands of North Dakota, either.

But since other magazines look after these themes, Sullivan’s efforts may attract a xeno-keen audience. (If someone ‘xenophobic’ fears strangers, then someone who is ‘xeno-keen’ would have a love for -- and attraction to -- that which is foreign and exotic, to my way of thinking, and my way of wordsmithing.)

AFAR is what you would get if you threw copies of National Geographic, Food & Wine, and Travel & Leisure into a food processor and pulsed on high for 15 seconds.

The stories are largely functional, certainly make you want to go to the destinations featured and they tell you how to get there.

You have to applaud AFAR’s editorial idealism: No one on the team—no writer, editorial member or photographer – accepts free trips, free lodging or free meals.

On top of which, to offset the carbon emissions generated by flights taken to the places written about, or photo’d, in the magazine, AFAR donates to the Gold Standard Portfolio of Sustainable Travel International. For example, to generate all the stories for Issue Two, AFAR offset 21.62 metric tons of carbon emissions. Them’s a lot of emissions, but how else are you going to get to Russia, Sweden, Burma, Ireland, Netherlands, Ecuador, India, the Seychelles and Spain?

At this point, AFAR is published bi-monthly (6 x/yr). A subscription is $19.95 for one year, $34.95 for two years and $49.95 for three years. If interested, call 888-403-9001.

Napaman’s Best Wines of the Year!

And nearly half of them were not from Napa Valley.

Here are my favorite wines of the year.

If there is any thing to be learned from the list, it is that they are listed in an order which relates to how these wines surprised me and from which I had no expectation. And then BWAM!... poured from the bottle, these wines overwhelmed me for their sensuality, elegance, balance, harmony and overall achievement.

1998 Domaine de Pegau

Good friends from Calistoga, Barry and Lea, brought this perfect, perfectly aged, 11-year-old Chateauneuf du Pape to our home to complement Carol’s roast chicken dinner in the spring.

It was early in the year -- only March -- and it was a crazy thing to say in print, but I eagerly identified this as a probable candidate for Wine of the Year.

And as good as all the other wines on this page were, none brought the surprise, elegance, balance, maturity and pleasure to the dining table as this wine did.

A complete, compelling beverage, filled with fruit, earth, complexity and elegance.

A truly remarkable wine. And opened exactly at its peak – not one day too young, not one day too old. The vinous definition of Perfection. 100 points.

1990 Chateau Grand-Puy-Lacoste

This Bordeaux Pauillac, was served at a kick-ass dinner prepared by my sister-and brother-in-law, Shelly and Mike, in Toronto.

The wine was filled with focused raspberry and mature fruit flavors, which leapt from the glass in a way that I can't ever recall experiencing a Bordeaux wine. It was almost as if some other younger, fresher wine was in this bottle, and yet the provenance of the wine was documented and its origin secure.

There were hints of graphite, minerals and earth beneath the fresh fruit top notes; a very elegant, complex wine in near-perfect pitch and harmony. 98 points.

 2006 Ascheri Barolo, Vigna dei Pola

This was the top-scoring wine of a two-week trip through Piemonte, Italy, in November.

Produced by Matteo Ascheri under the expert winemaking care of Giuliano Bedino, this wine lifted me out of my chair and took me to a place no other Barolo did on my wine tour.

Call this “Beyond Barolo” and you will understand what this wine is about; other-worldly.

The 2006 vintage, which I tasted, is not yet released (which is why a different vintage label is shown above), and probably will only make its way to the US market by this time next year; but put this wine on your calendar for release a year from now and circle in red:

“Get this wine when upon release in the fall of 2010!”

Matteo says that the 2006 vintage for Barolo (made from the Nebbiolo grape) is the best vintage in the region in the last 20 years. It sure-as-hell shows in this wine, a near-perfect example of great fruit turned into great wine.

The wine exhibits fresh ripe fruit flavors, pronounced muscle, chewy meat, flowery scents, and rich fat, all wrapped in an elegant package, handsomely balanced. 98 points.

Collection of nine wines made by Celia Welch

One of my favorite winemakers in Napa Valley, Celia Welch (formerly Masyczek), poured nine of her handcrafted wines at an Acme Fine Wines (St. Helena) event in the spring.

Pictured above are some of the vineyard owners for whom Celia makes these tremendous wines, all which were available to taste at the Acme Event:

Hollywood & Vine, Scarecrow, Lindstrom, Keever, D.R. Stephens, Husic, Cornerstone, Fleming and (Celia’s own label) Corra.

Too much fun, too many wines, every one of them in the 95-98-point range.

(I guess I was being conservative; Parker just scored the 2007 Scarecrow a perfect 100 points.)

 

 

2005 La Vallentina Montepulciano d'Abruzzo

$55 on the menu of L’Altro Buco, a Vancouver, BC, restaurant, which I immensely enjoyed in the company of locals, Scott and Dina Naimer.

Sipping this wine reminded me of a bouquet of freshly cut jonquils at Easter time. Huh, a red wine? How odd. I have never before made this floral connection with any wine, white or red, but immediately upon swirling, and sniffing, the aromas – and implied aromas – were present.

So were other top notes – of fresh, fully ripe red fruits, lots of middle palate texture and a delicious bright finish. What a fabulous and inexpensive wine, largely based on Sangiovese 93 points.

The Ultimate Holiday Wine Gift!

 Vineyard Manager Jim Barbour

Ask a soil expert, climatologist, or biologist and they’ll echo in unison: “Great wines are made in the vineyard!”

But if you’ve grown up reading Wine Spectator, or other popular wine press, you’re likely to think that great wines emanate from the cellar, through the alchemy of an all-knowing, all-tasting, winemaker.

Over the last ten years, winemakers have even become celebrities; people collect the wines of specific winemakers, regardless of the vintage, regardless of the block where the fruit originates.

But in wine-country, the debate about whether great wines are made in the vineyard, or in the cellar, elicits a different response; here it’s understood that the unsung hero is the vineyard manager.

In Napa Valley, prominent vineyard managers include David Abreu, Davey Pina, Andy Beckstoffer, and Jim Barbour, all whom I know and whose respective grape-growing skills I respect.

One Napa Valley wine merchant, David Stevens, of 750 Wines, in St. Helena, decided to spotlight the skills of one of these unsung heroes and has assembled what can only be called The Ultimate Holiday Gift: The Jim Barbour Box.

 

This is a signature collection of 12 different wines produced by 5 different area winemakers, but ALL the grapes for these wines were managed, nudged, trimmed, even caressed, by Jim Barbour and his teammates Nate George and Jesus Rios.

 Photo by Jenn Ferrington. The Barbour Team behind the Barbour Box: Jim Barbour (center) and his partners, Jesus Rios (left) and Nate George (right).

I can't think of a time when a vineyard manager was celebrated as colorfully or as commercially.

Jim Barbour has personally signed each bottle in the box. And as there are only a few such boxes to be had, please stop hemming and hawing about what to get that special friend – or how to say thanks to napaman for all his fine wine and food stories this past year! NOW is the time to jump off your sofa, and call 750 Wines to reserve a box.

Jim Barbour at a tasting of the wines in his Barbour Box

Ask proprietor David Stevens for what he calls the “Vineyard Managers Studio Collection.” I call it the Barbour Box. Much easier to recall.

I will share details of the contents of the box below… but FIRST make that call to 750 Wines and stop wavering about what to get napaman for the holidays; you have found the perfect gift!

Each Barbour Box contains:

1. Barbour Vineyards, Cabernet Sauvignon, 2006

   Winemaker, Heidi Peterson Barrett; Vintner, Jim Barbour

2. Ashe Family Vineyards, Cabernet Sauvignon, 2007

   Winemaker, Philippe Melka; Vintner, Kristine Ashe

3. Casa Piena, Cabernet Sauvignon, 2006

   Winemaker ,Thomas Brown; Vintners, Carmen & Gail Policy

4. Chiarello Family Vineyards, Roux Old Vine Petit Sirah, 2005

   Winemaker, Thomas Brown; Vintner, Michael Chiarello

5. D.R. Stephens, Moose Valley Vineyards, Cabernet Sauvignon, 2006  

   Winemaker Celia Welch; Vintners, Justin, Don and Trish Stephens

6. GTS Vineyards, Diamond Mountain, Cabernet Sauvignon, 2006

   Winemaker, Thomas Brown; Vintners Tom & Nancy Seaver

7. Kelly Fleming Wines, Cabernet Sauvignon, 2006

   Winemaker, Celia Welch; Vintner, Kelly Fleming

8. Keever Vineyards, Cabernet Sauvignon, 2006

   Winemaker, Celia Welch; Vintners Olga & Bill Keever

9. La Sirena Wines, Cabernet Sauvignon, 2006

   Winemaker, Heidi Peterson Barrett; Vintner, Heidi Peterson Barrett

10. Parallel Napa Valley, Cabernet Sauvignon, 2006

    Winemaker, Philippe Melka; Vintners, The Chins, Doilneys,  

     MacQuoids & Sargetakis

11.Revana Family Vineyard, Cabernet Sauvignon, 2006

    Winemaker, Heidi Peterson Barrett; Vintner, Dr. Madaiah Revana

12. Wolf Family Estate, Cabernet Sauvignon, 2005

     Winemaker, Karen Culler; Vintners, Jane & Doug Wolf  

The case price is $1,500 plus tax and includes complimentary shipping, but napaman is happy to save you and 750 Wines any aggravation and personally offers to go by the shop and pick up your gifted holiday 12-pack.

 

“I am honored at being featured like this, but I am not normally in the limelight and I’m much more comfortable in the background,” says the 57-year-old Barbour.

Napaman caught up with him, 750 Wines owner David Stevens, wine blogger Roy Piper and St. Helena Star Business/Wine Editor David Stoneberg at a tasting this morning of seven of the 12 wines in the Barbour Box.

Jim Barbour has been planting grapes, and coddling them to ripeness in Napa Valley for more than 45 vintages. By now, he figures – as do his clients – that he must know what he’s doing.

Barbour’s dad, an insurance agent in San Francisco, decided that he wanted to get into the winery world, so he bought Sequoia Grove, in Rutherford, in 1962. Although only a child at the time, Jim was put to work on the 30-acre parcel.

“I got $250 to prune all 30 acres!” he recalls. “It seemed like a lot of money at the time.”

Initially, as a young adult, Jim thought he would become a parole officer; to this end, he enrolled in a police course in Chico, CA, but he only lasted a month into the studies when he realized what the workday of a parole officer would be like. (You can imagine how hellish it must be if you would voluntarily prefer instead to work your fingers to the bone in the vineyards in searing, 104 F degree heat…)

The parole system’s loss became Napa Valley’s gain; Jim graduated in plant science from the University of California, Davis, and got a job with a respected area vineyard management firm.

By 1990, Jim was set to go out on his own; his own earliest clients included Grace Family, Wolf, Pride, D.R. Stevens, and Revana.

Today, Jim and his two business partners farm 500 acres and supervise an additional 460 acres, bringing the total acreage of what they oversee to nearly 1,000. Them’s a lot of acres.

750 Wines assembled a small panel of wine writers this morning to see if they could identify a commonality among the wines in the Barbour Box.

Naturally, each winemaker will impart his, or her, DNA to the finished wine, but I must say that I did detect what I thought was a common element to all these 2005, 2006 and 2007 wines: the fruit is absolutely LUSH. The fruit appears to be as ripe as you can get it without going into sur-mur, or overripe, territory.

 

What we tasted this morning:

 Barbour Vineyards, Cabernet Sauvignon, 2006

Warm, ripe red fruit on the nose with a hint of cedar. You can just sort of guess that there’s a hint of Cabernet Franc in this bottle (turns out to be 3%).

Heidi Barrett makes this wine for Jim Barbour’s own label. This is a good expression of a tight, youthful ’06 Cabernet, with lots of purple fruit, ripe flavors and elegant balance. 92 points.

La Sirena Wines, Cabernet Sauvignon, 2006

For a 2006 Cab, this has quite a mature nose. Complex, with a hint of stewed fruits and raisins. Initially, there are lovely ripe blackcurrant notes, followed by a hint of cedar-y wood, then a series of intriguing twists along the swallow. And don’t forget the long finish. 93 points.

Keever Vineyards, Cabernet Sauvignon, 2006

Wow! Holy winemaking, Batman! This is a rich, textured (silk pajamas), eventful wine, made under the stewardship of Celia Welch, whom we have praised many times on napaman.com. This wine has all the telltale signs of her wizardry: a delicious attack, lush complex flavors, gorgeous balance, sensually elegant. But she had a head start using Jim Barbour’s cared-for fruit. 95 points.

GTS Vineyards, Diamond Mountain, Cabernet Sauvignon, 2006

Black ripe fruits on the nose; on the palate an amazing gradation of different fruit flavors with an exceptionally long finish. Very tight tannins. This beaut needs a few years to integrate and settle down. 92 points.

Casa Piena, Cabernet Sauvignon, 2006

Despite what the label proclaims, this wine appears to be slightly hotter than several of the other wines in the tasting; not obnoxiously so, but this young wine hasn’t developed time to give off complex aromas, so the perceived alcohol is easy to recognize. The wine has a gorgeous, round profile wound around a core with licorice-like flavors. 92 points.

Ashe Family Vineyards, Cabernet Sauvignon, 2007

This wine, limited to 50 cases, has never before been shown to the public; this Cabernet will be released in March, 2010. Of all the wines, tasted, it has the palest “nose,” giving off little more than ”classic Cab” aromas.

On the palate, the wine delivers a lush texture, has an excellent start and a beguiling finish. There’s a bit of spice hidden toward the back end and the faintest hint of cacao nibs. 94 points.

Wolf Family Estate, Cabernet Sauvignon, 2005

The only wine in the limited tasting from the 2005 vintage. The wine has a Cabernet Franc kind of nose, hinting at blue-ish fruit and high-end notes of coffee. Very alluring, very well structured, a hint of soy sauce and oh! – the Barbour-caressed fruit gushes on the palate. 92 points.

That’s it. What are you waiting for?

To order your own Barbour Box, call David Stevens at 750 Wines, in St. Helena, at 707-963-0750. As they say in K-Tel commercials… operators are standing by to take your order….

The Best Holiday Gift You Can Give! A Year’s Supply of Askinosie, America’s Best Chocolate!

Napaman was one of the earliest press aficionados of Shawn Askinosie’s silky-textured, hand-crafted, seriously decadent chocolates.

Shawn Askinosie, lawyer-turned-chocolate-maker

Now Shawn, a lawyer-turned-chocolate maker, has outdone himself with a new product option: A Year’s Supply of Chocolate, shipped monthly to anyone in the country.

Shawn introduced the C (for chocolate) Ration box about a year ago; it’s a handmade wooden box containing everything a serious chocoholic needs for the short haul: A month’s ration of mini-Askinosie bars (21 grams’ worth per day) individually wrapped for daily use. The Emergency Kit also contains four extra daily rations, I suppose for those occasional months with 34 days, or for those days which progress so slowly they seem like months.

In total, the Askinosie C-Ration box contains 96 individual mini-chocolate bars. Some are my personal all-time favorite bars, made with Del Tambo Ecuadorian chocolate, while others are made with Askinosie’s stunning dark Mexican Soconusco chocolate. Either way, you can’t lose.

After-Eight Dinner Mints are so… 2008!

We had a C-Ration box a while back, which lasted briefly in our home; I offered it at the end of Carol’s extravagant home-cooked dinners to guests, asking them to help themselves to an after-dinner chocolate.

A year ago, there was no where locally I could send guests to buy their own Askinosie bars, when they fell victim to Shawn’s sensual chocolates, becoming dependent on them.

My how times change! Today, any of our dinner guests who get hooked on chocolates in the C-Ration box, which I pass around after dinner, can find these superior chocolates – in larger format tablets, or bars - in many Bay-area Whole Foods locations as well as at our supremely well stocked, and well managed, neighborhood grocery in St. Helena, Sunshines.

What you find when you open the wooden box – a stamped message from the chocolate-maker.

What makes Askinosie chocolates so special is that, as far as I am aware, these are the ONLY chocolates made in the United States, which contain NO lecithin (usually added as an emulsifier) and NO vanilla. What you taste is unadulterated, single-origin, fair-trade, handcrafted, silken-textured, sensual chocolate. Do I make my point?

Break off a piece and let it melt on your tongue; resist the urge to chew. The melting fondant is primal chocolate, essential chocolate, the Mother of All Chocolates.

If you know how, or where, to get a richer, darker, deeper, more penetrating hit of chocolate, please share with napaman; as it stands, I think of Askinosie Chocolate as a Basic Food Group; like vegetables or fruits, one should have several pieces of Shawn’s chocolate everyday to constitute a healthy, balanced diet.

To help you live up to this chocolate regime, Shawn has several commercial options: You an order a single month’s C-Ration box online for $68.50 or you can step up to the plate and be a real mensch and give someone – or yourself - a full year’s supply of C-Rations. For $921.50, Shawn will send out one of these wooden boxes with 96 mini-bars every month, 12 times in a row, with delivery included.

Interested? Go to https://www.askinosie.com/p-47-c-ration-month-supply-of-chocolate.aspx to place your holiday gift orders – while Shawn still has time to fill them and deliver the first of 12 monthly boxes to your gift recipient.