Rebel Rose

That's so true. And it's a logistical sales challenge for California artisans like ourselves, but at the same time, perfectly understandable. There's so much good and great European wine out there that is more accessible and affordable on the EC, particularly after transport, warehousing, delivery and other assorted US$ costs. But understanding the market is very key for me right now as I have to make a final decision about NY. It's been soft for us for three years and just when I have decided not to bother, I'm getting queries again from retailers and distributors. Nevertheless, we are so small that I want every bottle to be an ambassador for the winery (which is a whole other marketing discussion, maybe not pertinent to wine tastes) so anyway, I have decided against NY. Some EC cities really like the central coast style, however, so the WC/EC is a huge generalization of course. Raleigh is strong on big zins, syrahs, and viognier from the central coast, as are Atlanta and Chicago. At any rate, my original comments were simply meant to highlight what I've been learning on eGullet that's useful in my business, which is considerable, as well as what I'm learning about food and wine for sheer enjoyment. I do hope we can continue the discussion, however, because it is enlightening. I hope it's something we can also explore through Wine of the Week tastings. Chris, thanks for posting! I hope you'll join us in our discussions and wine tastings. And it's okay, Jim! I knew you were kidding! I still wonder what the customers thought though . . .

You are both right, and the Robert Parker scores and veracity thereof have been well covered in this forum. If you want to reinvigorate the Parker discussions I can refer you to the Bob-o-Links. It's amazing how much influence he has. It's been well discussed, however, and as a small producer we are grateful for his support. However, what we're looking for here is an honest discussion of each individual's personal taste. Your taste. What do you like when you sit down at night, after a hard day, with a friendly bottle of wine? Do you like a purple powerhouse? Are you drinking it in front of a fire with a murder mystery? Or do you prefer a lean and elegant wine with a fine meal and an even finer companion? (Next thread: I've invented a game of challenge (strip) chess to go with a late harvest or port wine. Just a thought.)

West Coast palate?? Jim Oh, now that's just painful!!!! So unfair!

Generally speaking: I get calls from West Coast customers who adore our biggest, in terms of alcohol, wines. At the same time, East Coast customers will generally criticize the high alcohol content. Here's a link to a previous discussion on the issue . . . I am definitely, no doubt about it, seeing a difference in tasting preferences. I don't feel that there is a right or wrong preference--just a stylistic preference. And much of it, I think, has to do with familiarity for the terroir and the winemaking style of a region. Here's a link to an interview with Stefan Asseo, a French winemaker who now makes wine in Paso Robles. Stefan was uncomfortable with the high alcohol styles here until he became accustomed to them. Now, Stefan's wines are--let me assure you--anything but shy, on any scale. Although I may be exaggerating when I say that East Coast people perceive California wines as being out of balance, I was recently at a ZAP (Zinfandel Advocates & Producers) meeting, and I brought up a question about this perception. Whoo! That ignited some hot responses from the winemakers there, so it was obvious that this is a common market pushback for them. The answer was vehemently clear. This is our style, and our translation of our terroir. So I've been feeling people out on these issues. We're not going to change our winemaking style at Dover Canyon, but I feel that understanding others' preferences prepares me to relate to them in terms of our style. And here's another thing: from my conversation with WC (that's West Coast, not Water Closet), I think we have a lower tolerance for VA (volatile acidity) than the EC. European, particularly Italian, wines have higher VA. (My sangiovese, which I produce under my private label, Cooke Cellars, has high VA.) But in general, Calipalates tend toward a cleaner style in terms of VA. So I'm wondering--and this is not an opinion yet, just wondering--if that's part of the Calipalate versus EC experience. I'm wondering if we're more accustomed to wines with higher alcohol, lower VA, and other qualities altogether, and that many WC's may have an entirely different palate.

Wow. Not only is the wine review romantic and unforgettable, but I'd say that Diane's got a keeper!

I'm ordering mine today from Mad Wine in Bellevue (Seattle), Washington. Kevin at Mad Wine says to let him know if you want the wine shipped immediately, because by Wednesday they tend to hold shipments until Monday due to potentially adverse weather conditions.

Well, I think the issue was to avoid the larger, more 'generic' production of Renwood Barbera for the more reserve offering, but of necessity, Wines of the Week must be reasonably available to a large audience. And the exercise in WoW is not just about finding good, affordable, and available wines (although that's a real plus!) as to compare our personal tastes. We're learning in this forum that East Coast and West Coast palates are very different, as well as personal tastes and previous exposures. So this is our way of comparing what we like, and why--which I hope will enrich all of our discussions in this forum. It's also an educational and functional way for initiates to learn wine tasting. As they walk through the winetasting with more experienced tasters, they'll have a chance to revisit the wine and look for the nuances or characters that other tasters have found. So, I recommend not blasting through the bottle in one night, but tasting it first and writing up your own opinion, then tasting it again later and looking objectively for what others may have found. All in all, the main purpose of WoW is to have fun!

Thanks, LElund! Don't give up on me yet. I ordered direct from Hess, and just got an email that my bottle shipped out today. So I'll be posting a little later this week. I ordered it 2-day Air, so maybe Wednesday!

No, I was huffin' and puffin' over that for months afterward. I finally mellowed out. But then his wife kept asking me if she could work in the tasting room, and as she heads up a tasting club in a nearby town, I decided to give her a try. She reps some arcane line of beauty products and at the end of the day I discovered she had been trying to sell vaginal stimulation cream (can I even say that here?) to my customers! Needless to say, I did not ask her to return. I wonder what the monthly wine tastings are like. Edited to get sort of back on topic: Truth is stranger than fiction.

From my stash of Ultimate Wine Geek stories: A few years ago we lost a dear friend and a good man in the local wine industry. We hosted a memorial gathering at our winery (which at the time was in a rented farmhouse with more space than we have now). It was attended by about 100 winery and vineyard people, who brought wine of course. It was an evening affair and we had a separate glass-enclosed porch with tables for the catered food, wine and glasses. The porch was candlelit and relaxing. The purpose of the evening was to share happy memories of our friend and to assure his widow and son, who was being thrust unprepared into the role of winemaker, that we would help them in every way possible. Much of the actual speech-making was happening in the brighter main farmhouse room, where we also had food and wine. I went into the sunporch at one point to check on the candles, cheese trays, etc. and here is this one gentleman, who is always pretty geeky anyway, working his way studiously through all the wines, while everyone else is sharing speeches in the main room. He's got a pad and a pen and he's swirling, sniffing, dumping and taking copious notes. I couldn't believe it. Our hearts were breaking, everyone's crying, and he's just there to take wine notes? He's a sweet guy, and I like him anyway, but in a "he-can't-help-it" kind of way.

Most of our broker/distributor reps use insulated carry bags with pockets for freezerbags, and place the wine in the trunk. If it's really, really hot out we could probably get away with putting it in the back seat with the bag zipped closed.

Yes, it is, but having an open container in the vehicle with you is prohibited. It has to go in the trunk, or if you have a truck or SUV, in the back.

Great ideas!! If I could have my dream show, it would be tours of California artisans--heirloom tomatoes, olive oils, the abalone farm in Cayucos, herb farms, nut orchards. But, mmm, no budget for travel. I think I'm leaning toward reality TV in the store. Follow shoppers around, peer in their baskets, and harass them, then follow one home and see what they do with their purchases. Or have comedy try-outs. Wanna be comedians bring their own food and cook it up while impersonating culinary greats. (You would have to have an approved list--Julia no, Jamie yes).

That's true. A real detox is a purge. I've done it before, and felt much lighter and energetic afterwards, but suffered from edginess and fatigue during the detox. January is a horrible time for me to do this due to various business deadlines, so I can't join in with a real detox experience. Thinking on it, the last time I detoxed was before I discovered valerian root, which has a wonderful calming effect on me. I even took it when I had stitches (pitting an avocado and missed) instead of painkillers or aspirin. I felt SOOO good. And now there's a valerian-mint tea. (Valerian is stinky.) If I ever work on a real detox again I'm sure I would rely on that tea to take some of the edge off. Tarka, do you have any special teas, beverages, vitamins, etc. that you rely on to help you get through the detox side effects?

Hmm, mm. Diet Coke and a Bloody Mary here. Not a good way to start a detox. I checked my calorie sources at FitDay.com and discovered that my alcohol intake is almost 50% of my caloric count. I will have to cut back on carbs and protein! (Just kidding!) I'm on the boat Monday as well. I need today for recovery and Sunday to gird my loins. Which require more girding lately. . . But it will be fish, chicken, more greens and vegetables, and grains. Sparkling water, sometimes flavored with cranberry or pom syrup, and only one glass of wine a day. All my vitamins, and one hour of exercise per day. Good thing we've got 16 oz. wine glasses . . .

I'm still looking for a bottle. Anyone know of a west coast online retailer that has it in stock? Meanwhile, here is an article in the Sacramento Bee on Peter Lehmann wines.

We will look forward to your safe return home! And in the meantime, I am enjoying your posts and pictures--not only for the connection to place, but also to the connection to a people who are undergoing such loss. Fried morning glory. For some strange reason, that gives me more of a sense of connection than anything else. I have morning glory in my yard.

Mmm, mmm. During the holiday weekend, a friend brought me a scosh of 1985 Warre's Port. I wasn't able to focus on the finer nuances of taste, unfortunately, as I was entertaining at the moment (or at least I thought I was ) . . . but oh my, it was good. He had opened it four days earlier for a date (lucky girl) and brought the rest to me. At first there was a whiff of over-the-top volatile acidity, but after I got past that, there was a pure citrus rind aroma backed up by roast beef, and flavors of golden raisin, pastry and caramel. Wow, we said, fruitcake in a glass! Who needs flour?

rhodegirl, good for you! I don't think the Wine Captain's courses have been discussed here yet, but here is a link to some previous advice on taking wine education courses.

Geez, I'm sorry, geo t! ::heel of hand thumping forehead:: I received some distracting family news this week and I am operating at a birdbrain level right now. (I'm usually a little more evolved.) And Brad's computer has crashed! What to do? The wine forum is so wild, so boisterous, unruly, so . . . so . . . intemperate! I am breathing deeply now having dealt with everything, and am, as a matter of fact, googling for the shiraz right now! Looking forward to trying it soon.

Just to let everyone know, we'll be moving on to a new Cupbearer and a new 'wine of the week' soon, but we'll also be leaving this thread open for discussion for awhile, as I know that several people have yet to taste their Renwood barberas! Feel free to pop in with questions and comments as we continue our 'Tasting Tag.' So far, our first Cupbearers are both on the west coast, but I am hoping that the Tag will begin to bounce back and forth over oceans and continents, giving us all a chance to participate, and to compare our tastes in wine.

Wow. What menu. Did you plan and execute this yourself? And where do you get your chanterelles? ::happy sigh:: Rondinella is a new grape for me. I've never heard of it.

Oh, dear. A friend brought this wine to a restaurant the other night to share, and I must admit I was less than impressed. It's the first time I've had a Clape, and the first time in a long time that I've tasted a Cornas. Is it just me? I thought the wine had decent acidity, but it was thin, practically watery, and the fruit was lackluster. Of course, said friend is known to store his fabulous wines in his garage in the summer. And when he arrived we were already well into a 2002 zin/cab/sangio blend called Italian Stallion (Eberle). The Cornas went well with the duck confit enchilada and the serrano ham hand roll appetizers ::shrug:: I ordered gruner veltliner with dinner, and the entire table followed suit, so I don't think it was so much that we were just into hearty reds . . . When is a Cornas at its peak?

Ah, I'm busted! I did know you made the wine, but I'm proud to have guessed the semillon! And do I get bonus points if I looked it up here? We thought maybe fous meant "nuts," so we were close!

I'd forgotten how fun it is to work the tasting room the weekend before Christmas. Everyone brings me gifts! Among them is this lovely bottle of white wine labeled Ceche' Chevrignon. What a mystery. Of course I had to open it right away! It was clearly a sauvignon blanc, with a very leesy and yeasty aroma, a little bit of a roasted asparagus aroma that was actually interesting and not unpleasant, ripe pineapple and strong fresh kiwi fruit, and a clean finish. My friend Sarah thought it was a little "woody" but we settled on kiwi fruit with the skin. A thicker, slightly ML mouthfeel, along with some deeper fruit notes and the strange name made us pretty sure that something else is blended in. I guess semillon. Dennis Sharpe of Alto Pomar Vineyard thinks it's pinot blanc. Jim Jacobsen of Jimmy's Vineyard suggests chardonnay. Jacob Raines of Full Circle Cellars and a visiting vascular surgeon refused to commit, but they liked it. There were swirls of yeast lees in the last few inches, so I'm guessing unfiltered, unfined, unstrained. All in all, we had a great time playing with it, and as you can see, we had drunk half of it before I had an opportunity to snap a picture. I hope it's not too high in alcohol!