I think I should work a harvest

Just occurred to me today as I was driving on the freeway that I should work a harvest.

I have been drinking wine, tasting wine, buying wine, and selling wine, but never thought before I should be making wine.

But why not? Perhaps now is the time to see and feel and learn and experience how wine is really made.

Not just a vineyard and cellar tour, but actually working.

Not sure I can get the time off to work an entire 2 to 4 weeks during harvest, but maybe start off in short chunks, a couple of days at a time (away from work).

My first thought was trying to go to Germany to work a harvest, where they make Spatburgunder, but perhaps it would be more practical to try California first. Closer. Can get there on a couple of days off.

So plans are in motion. For harvest 2008.

In other news, our Wine of the Month, 2006 Sedna Mendoza Malbec is in, all 30 cases. About 5 cases have already sold. I should be through all these by the end of the month. Only $7.99 a bottle, $95.88 a case. Great buy. An all-purpose red wine that is medium on the palate and light on the pocketbook. I bought a bottle for myself and Johan last night and had it with vegetarian pasta with cheese and it was great. Perfect for a weeknight meal. 14% alcohol. If it were 12.5%, I would have had a little more. But it worked just fine.

End of this month, we'll be going to Canada. I hope to visit at least one vineyard on Vancouver Island. It's a bit wet there but would it really be wetter than Oregon? Maybe. Perhaps now is the time to do some internet research on rainfall.

The fun thing about wine is there is always more to learn, be it about sales or marketing or geology and climate. It gives enough for a lifetime of learning. And socializing!

Cheers!

A great tasting of Rheingau Riesling & the next day, a great wine dinner with the E-Bob people of Long Beach

A couple of great wine events the last two evenings, and today, I am taking a day to just drink water and Jamba Juice.

First off, Wednesday evening went fantastically with Karina Stuhler leading the class through a tasting of 10 Rheingau Rieslings. She charmed the crowd with her deep understanding of German wines, dating back to when she was crowned Wine Princess in her home region of Franken. She also attended enology school and worked several harvests with Robert Weil before becoming their international spokesperson. She expertly handles questions about why the Robert Weil wines command such high prices, reiterating how German wines on the whole are values compared to First Growth Bordeaux and Grand Cru Burgundies.

The wines were stunning and absolutely delicious. My favorite of the night was the 2006 Robert Weil Kiedrich Grafenberg Riesling Spatlese. I just love that laser beam focus, like all the elements of the wine all aligning themselves in the same direction for the same noble purpose - to taste like nothing else tastes. The elements I picked up on were mineral (of a diamond-like quality, if there could be such a mineral taste), mango, peach, cherry, key lime, kiwi fruit, and apple. And the finish on each tiny sip is 5 minutes long.

Runners-up for the evening included 2006 Kunstler Hochheimer Kirchenstuck which had a rich golden color which I took to be a lot of botrytis. This wine showed aromas of chalk and nectarines, while on the palate, it was lush, honeyed, and minerally. Not the focus of the Weil wine but nonetheless very enjoyable.

I also enjoyed the two wines from Wegeler, both the Kabinett and Spatlese from Rudesheim. I thought they were full of delicious primary fruit and very easy to like. Owner Randy Kemner, who was not at the tasting that night, has called the Wegeler Rheingau wines the Monchhof of the Rheingau, ie. easy to like, enjoyable, fruit-forward wines with character.

The aged Wegeler Auslese 1992 did not show as stunningly as I hoped, and I didn't end up selling any of this wine, though I enjoyed it. It was golden and honeyed, with beeswax and just a hint of petrol. Maybe it didn't have as many nuances as other older Rieslings we have tasted before, such as the 1979 Karthauserhof.

Overall, the Rheingau tasting was a huge success.

Last evening, I attended a Long Beach off-line put together by one of the Parker board members, who is also a good customer of The Wine Country. The dinner was at the Starling Diner and it was fabulous! Eight of us convened to bring wines we could tell a story about. Johan and I brought Champagne since it was a wine region we visited during our honeymoon. We brought two of our favorites Non-vintage Agrapart Blanc de Blanc and 1996 Duval-Leroy Brut. Both Champagnes were delicious, and a great start to the evening. The Agrapart was crisp and fresh, but also had enticing yeasty notes, which I liked. The Duval-Leroy was more bold, with firm yeasty flavors balanced with good fruit, hardly showing its age of 12 years. Tasting this wine again made me want to buy the rest of what is remaining in the store - I think there are only 8 bottles or so...... maybe my name should be on them...

Other wines that other members brought were fantastic - there was a 2005 Lucia Pinot Noir Garys' Vineyard from the Santa Lucia Highlands, which showed nice sweet fruit and reminded me that I do love Pinot Noir. There was also two older wines both from vintage 1994 - 1994 Angelus St. Emilion and 1994 Justin Isosceles Paso Robles. I surprised myself by liking the Justin Isoceles a lot - what a great wine! - and I don't think of myself as usually liking Paso Robles wines. But this Bordeaux-style blend was fantastic and not at all old-tasting, but instead smooth and rich and flavorsome. I developed a new appreciation for Justin and for Paso Robles, and also reminded myself that I also like L'Aventure wines from this region also.

It was a good reminder also to never write off a region!

Also very memorable about the evening was the great conversation and group dynamic. Eight people for a wine dinner is quite enjoyable. The company was interesting and fun-loving. I got to know people better and that simply makes wine and food perform its divine function!

Oh, the food - fantastic. I have been to Starling Diner before and had good meals and so-so meals - last evening they were ON! My appetizer of crab cake hit the spot - tender morsels of crab meat held together with a moist yet crisp crumb - and then the main dish took my breath away - a deliciously roasted half of duck - very, very nice. Rich but not too much so, flavored just right, with the doneness that didn't take anything away from this very nice fowl. I am a fan of duck when it is done right, and the last few times I have ordered duck, I haven't been this satisfied. This duck I enjoyed last evening was so good it reminded me of a great restaurant that used to exist but no longer does in Santa Ynez - the Cabernet Bistro, a tiny place owned by a French couple who specialized in duck. I was sad when this restaurant closed for no apparent reason. But that duck I had last night brought me back!

In conclusion, it was an exciting couple of nights for me and wine. Today, I'm taking a break, because reliving those last few evening will be enough to quench any thirst.

Good news

Good news: Fora agreed to do a hunter's wild game dinner with Spatburgunder in the fall. Like mid-October. Chef/owner Hans is interested. This is great. Good stuff!

Today I tasted some 2007 Rieslings from Germany - this time from Stefan Gerhard. With Stefan Gerhard. Very nice wines, in particular the dry and off-dry ones. All the wines, Spatlese Trocken to Alte Reben to Erste Gewachs to Kabinett were legal Ausleses, and they felt like it too on the mouthfeel. But good. Real good and clean. Though not high in acidity, if one could find a criticism (which I'm sure someone will!)

Pics to follow. With just Stefan Gerhard. This time I didn't weasle into the pic.

My fantasy Spatburgunder & Wild Game Wine Dinner

Smoked Wild Salmon & Trout on Bed of Mixed Baby Greens
2006 Furst Spatburgunder Tradition

Terrine of Wild Boar

2005 Furst Klingenberger Spatburgunder

Seared Foie Gras with Brandied Cherry Marmalade
2006 Becker Spatburgunder "B"

Seared venison loin with Walnut Crust, served with Pearl Onion & Chive Spaetzle
2005 Becker Sankt Paul Spatburgunder Grosses Gewachs

Dessert

$99 to $119 per person

If I can make this menu happen, that would be a lot of fun.

Mythical restaurant candidates:

Saddle Peak Lodge up in the Malibu Mountains

Fora just miles from my home

The Hobbit in Orange County (though I have not been there)

Delius, the tried and true restaurant

Finally, some pictures of Fritz Hasselbach visiting us at The Wine Country

I posted a while back about our very successful tasting with Fritz Hasselbach of Gunderloch when he was suddenly in town after visiting Canada where he consults from time to time, showing the British Columbians how to grow great Riesling.

Finally, here are the pictures we took when the tasting was over and the guests were filing out the door. Note The Wine Country friend, Jack, in the background.

Here's Fritz Hasselbach with The Wine Country owner Randy Kemner.

This week, when Allie Mitchell of Rudi Wiest Selections comes to town with Karina Stuhler of Robert Weil, she will bring a sample of Gunderloch's biodynamic Riesling from a Nierstein vineyard, and we'll see if we want to bring in a bunch of cases of that. Hopefully it will be good! We've had some customers looking for 2005s, and we've pretty much sold out of our 2005 Rieslings.

Spatburgunder 2008

Back in December, we have an annual Wine of the Year taste-off, where the staff determine which wine deserves the merit for Wine of the Year. 2007's Wine of the Year happened to be my pick, an Oregon Pinot Noir called Quiotee's Lair 2004 from White Rose Vineyards. In my write-up of this very Burgundian-style Pinot, I said, "Yes, this year I voted for an Oregon Pinot Noir, even though I was thinking Spatburgunder. But that's okay, because 2008 will be the Year of the Spatburgunder."

Now we are three and a half months into 2008, and the Spatburgunder campaign is well under way.

I had to wait till 2008 because most of those great German Pinot Noirs that I had experienced were not really available in our store in 2007. No sense in promoting something that really wasn't there.

But now, finally, I have nine Spatburgunders in the German department, something completely legitimate! And we had a tasting of all 9 of these wines on Friday March 21.

Before the tasting even started, there was a positive energy about the wines. What happened was that 20 people had signed up for this tasting. At 20 people, we were not at full capacity, but we could not just open 1 bottle of each wine - we had to open 2. But what that also meant was that my fellow coworkers could taste each of the wine (we had enough wine so everyone could taste!)

This was fortunate because I don't think anyone else in the store knew what these wines were like. They noticed that at least two of them high high price tags - what was justifying these copycat Burgundies from Germany of all places to be $100? I'm sure in people's heads they are thinking "I can buy a real Burgundy for less."

I even got a question, "Are these sweet?" No, they Pinot Noir, they are all vinified dry.

Six of my coworkers, and the owner of the store got an opportunity to taste through all 9 Spatburgunders. The results were extremely positive. Especially flattering was the fact that Samantha, the Burgundy buyer, who has visited Burgundy a number of times and has a special place in her heart for these wines, said that these are lovely wines and very solid and very good, and very Burgundian. Yeah!!!

Owner Randy said they had come a long way.

Later, during the tasting, the customers in attendance were equally giving these wines the love. There was much love for Spatburgunder! Comments heard during the tasting included, "This is like a Grand Cru Burgundy but for half the price!" "This wine has that haunting Burgundian aspect." "This is better than a Bonnes Mares." Okay, maybe they were name-dropping a bit, but basically, they loved the wines!

Here are the 9 wines we tasted, in three flights of three, in this order:

1. 2005 Heger Pinot Noir

2. 2006 Meyer-Nakel Estate Spatburgunder

3. 2004 Rebholz Spatburgunder Spatlese Trocken Tradition

4. 2005 Furst Estate Spatburgunder

5. 2005 Furst Klingenberger Spatburgunder

6. 2005 Furst Centgrafenberg Spatburgunder "R"

7. 2006 Becker Estate Spatburgunder

8. 2006 Becker Estate Spatburgunder "B"

9. 2005 Becker Sankt Paul Spatburgunder Grosses Gewachs

What I found online about the wine I had last evening

WS 90pts. - Winemaker Notes - The 2005 Le Serre Nuove dell’Ornellaia’s strong point is the equilibrium it achieves between bouquet and structure. Its color is bright, and at the same time deep and intense. The younger vines contribute fresh fruit accents to complement the spicy minty notes provided by the more mature vines. A sip stimulates the entire palate, with the ample entrance of the Merlot, which extends, supported by the structure of the Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc, and amplified by the freshness of the Petit Verdot's tannins.

Ah, so! No Sangiovese at all. I think we were expecting some. In fact, it is a Bordeaux-style blend predominant in Merlot (which I think I was right about!) Also, young vines. I prefer old-vines.

Given all this, I think for the money I would prefer to spend it on an old-school type of Italian wine, a Barolo, a Brunello, or a Vino Nobile de Montepulciano, or an Aglianico del Vulture, though these might be more expensive than the Le Serre Nuove.

And if I wanted a Bordeaux-style blend, I think I would prefer a Bordeaux.