Rebel Rose

I think a tip depends on how much time and information the pourers provide; $1-$5 would be fine . . . $1 for a speed tasting of say 5 1-oz. pours, with little discussion; up to $5 for some educational, fun discourse, warm hospitality, and recommendations.

Yes, I agree on the cool weather aspect. The zins are often leaner and have stronger pepper in cool vintages. Some people prefer that style; some people prefer the warmer vintage, more fruit forward style.

Well, I think the following quote is a clue that he will. One can hardly support an entire book on the subject without going into the chemistry, research and advances made on both sides. Still, dry-as-dust graphs don't sell books. People do.

Interesting article. I'll look forward to the book's release in October. George Taber is a member here and posted some interesting background commentary in The Judgment of Paris thread. From the brief quotes included in the article: I think much of the story will be over the closure controversy and the people who have driven, discovered, and resisted it. Sort of a Hatfield and McCoy history, but with wine instead of moonshine. If anyone can get their hands on an advance copy, I would love to see a review!

Jack Creek, Paso Robles This vineyard, owned by Doug and Sabrina Kruse, is directly west of Linne Calodo in Paso Robles, and is the most westward vineyard in the Paso appellation, outside of York Mountain. The vineyard itself is beautifully installed and maintained. Their frst vintages were produced under the mentorship of Matt Trevisan at Linne Calodo. Both the pinot and the syrah have a silk-on-katana profile. Jacob Toft, Paso Robles This young, new producer is making some great cab/syrah offerings under his own label, while working as a cellarman for Stefan Asseo at L'Aventure. Jacob has also worked for Dover Canyon and Garretson Wine Co. His wines have a very rich expression and medium oak. Booker Vineyard, Paso Robles Some of you may be familiar with Booker Vineyard from the Saxum releases you have enjoyed. These first estate wines were produced under the tutelage of Justin Smith at Saxum although he did not "make" the wines. These releases were bottled a little over a week ago. Owner/winemaker Eric Jensen double decanted them and brought them over for tasting. I loved the wines, but we both felt that at least one was still quite closed, so the wines were not submitted for Robert Parker's tasting the next day. 2005 Vertigo 80% Syrah / 20% Grenache Named for the high slopes of the vineyard, where these picks were sourced. Aromas of chocolate, plum, smoke and tobacco follow through with sweet fruit flavors of plum compote, and dusty tannins that linger softly. 2005 Fracture 100% Syrah, 100% Hilltop Named for the exposed, fractured calcareous soils on the vineyard ridgetops. An inky wine with plum, smoke, sage and roast beef aromas. Deep plum flavors and blue acids, grippy tannins, a chewy cherry skin and roast beef finish. If Ian McPhee were to offer his buffalo entree with bing cherry sauce, this is the wine I would want to have with it. 2005 The Ripper 80% Grenache / 20% Syrah This wine clocks in at some seriously high alcohol, but it is exceptionally rich and deep, particularly for a grenache. When tasting it in barrel, Justin Smith used the Aussie term for a delish big wine, and said, "It's a ripper!" Intriguing aromas of violets, sage, mace and coffee. The floral notes are quite evident at this point. Flavors of cherries, raspberries, candied fruit, mincemeat, and apricots with a bramble/cane finish.

Here it is . . . the thread of new wineries (or undiscovered and unsung older ones) with hot talent and cool wines. Let us know whose wines you have tasted that you're excited about. Tell us something about the owners or winemakers. How did you discover the wine? How much do they produce? Why do you like the wines? How can we find it? Do they have a website? There's only one rule . . . the winery must not have been scored by a major wine critic yet. Here's a tip from another thread:

Er, does Shane Wines have a website? Because all I'm finding online is a high school first baseman in VA named Shane Wines . . . Seriously, should we start a thread just for under-the-radar rec's? I have a few of my own!

Probably. Although at that point, I was trying to gracefully escape . . . I care, and I would like to have a little fun with it. I bet there are a slew of retailers out there with some pretty good tales.

Din, which unrated wines are you a fan of? I am always interested in learning about under-the-radar producers. Are they small production? Do they sell out quickly? John, I am sure you are right about the "mosts" and the "usuallys". But that's not what I am asking about here. What I'm asking about are the oddball, yet numerous, wine geeks who buy, own, and rate based almost entirely on scores. And for stories about them. What got me thinking about them was a protracted conversation I had last week with a professor from Florida. The prof kept asking me for my impressions on various wines he owns or wants to buy, some of which I have tasted and some of which I have not. He was particularly insistent about one vintage of Opus One (vintage forgotten . . . I think I was starting to tune him out). I didn't want to hurt his feelings by telling him that I would rather sit on a case of duck eggs than a case of Opie, so I asked him what he thought of the wine. He's never tasted it! John, don't go off on a 5-paragraph dissertation telling me that's his right. If he wants to be a social bully and bore people about wines he owns, the man's got a responsibility to at least taste his own darn wines. After that, I started asking him what he thought of his other wines (under the guise of not having tasted them) and he hasn't tasted most of those either! This guy has got a 1200-bottle cellar (I clearly remember as he repeated the point several times) of all high scoring wines, both French and Californian (no other regions, apparently) and he knows next to nothing about what he owns. That's inconceivable to me. I'd be ripping those foils off almost as soon as the bottles arrive! I didn't think to ask him if he considers his cellar a legacy. Maybe he does, although you would think if it were just an investment, he wouldn't be such an avid reader and follower of the wine scene. But maybe that's the answer . . . When I asked him what he normally drinks on weekends or with friends, he just replied, "Napa cab."

Frankly I think that anyone who loves food, as most members here do, will be the sort of person to walk into a wine shop and peruse it like an Asian spice store or bustling farmer's market. "Surprise me!" you'll think. Or you'll prowl the aisles looking for something different and inviting. "Seduce me . . ." But I think anyone who has enjoyed wine for a few years has a fair acquaintance with people who shop strictly based on scores. Of your acquaintances, how many rely 100% on the numbers? Do they collect only 85+ point wines? Only 90+ points? What is the psychology of buying wines strictly on scores? Should we design an intervention program? What would it be? How many have a cellar of 70% guaranteed wines, and 30% impulse purchases? How many purchase interesting and as yet under-the-radar producers?

Not a particular review at the moment, although I have seen it used frequently by Parker in the Wine Advocate, and by Laube in Wine Spectator. It was a question posed elsewhere, which got me to thinking that I have begun avoiding the term myself because so many people immediately associate it with cheap balsamic vinegar. To me, the phrase balsamic connotes inky, resiny, woody esters such as one would find in a very expensive balsamic vinegar--enjoyable, mouth-watering esters and volatility. Many fine Italian wines have volatile acidity (V.A.) of this type. But V.A. notes can vary widely, from deep, intriguing notes like this to some pretty blatant acetone (polish remover). So I think the phrase balsamic has a purpose, but perhaps it's becoming diluted by the sea of cheap vinegars on the market? Interesting how the food choices available to us can affect our language and perceptions in this way.

Yes, blue cheese (especially a double-cream Stilton) is always my favorite, but the other dishes sounded like amazing matches as well. I would also have had a hard time limiting the choices. At the moment I am planning a tempranillo tasting and getting very much carried away with the possibilities . . . Chocolate is often problematic in wine evaluation. In this case, I can see why some people would recommend it with the PX--if you're looking for the Skors Bar effect--but if you want foods to complement a wine and leave your senses free for further exploration of the wine, chocolate is seldom a good choice.

Amazing report, GB! Thank you so much for sharing your notes. I learned a lot from this, and could almost taste the food and sherries. How did the chocolate go with the sherries? Better with one than another? I have always found the sugars and oils in chocolate to be too cloying to show wine well . . .

Good for you! Never assume that someone with an opinion on wine knows their way around a kitchen . . . Did they ask how much bacon is in the omelette? What kind of bacon? How much cheese? What are the potatoes fried in? How much garlic? If the eggs are just the glue holding everything else together, then heck yeah, go for a rustic, country-style red. Maybe even a barbera, with some acidity to cut the cheese and eggs.

What does the term balsamic convey in a wine review?

I had a chance to try a delightful, small production sauvignon blanc this weekend . . . 2006 Dry Stack Cellars Sauvignon Blanc, Rosemary's Block, made by Russell Bevan. It was delightfully crisp and very citrusy, but with some deeper notes of orange rind and apricot.

Ho! Neither did I! But I just wiki'd, and it's a chokecherry. Comes in red, purple and black, all highly pigmented and very, very astringent. I can't wait to use this one on the wine geeks . . . "Ah, the colour reminds one of purple aronia, and the astringent tannins, also reminiscent of aronia . . ." Thanks, doviakw!

A nice article on how the abalone at this farm are raised and fed at NutraFoodies. Although I'm not too sure I could deal with this part . . . I guess I need to toughen up!

You're right--the yields are almost always lower, and the fruit is 'more condensed,' but the ultimate expression of that fruit depends on the varietal. So a petite sirah, for instance, would be very inky, with rich plum flavors, huge tannins and a ton of tobacco. An old vine zinfandel, however, will not be like an OV PS--it will have full on raspberry character, lots of black pepper, and bramble instead of tobacco. (Except for Sauret clone zin, which has a pronounced cigar box aroma.) Hah! That's right! Definitely not immature. I just find it disturbing that there is such a strong market trend overall for customers to think that all zins must be massive, purple, dense, rich, thick [add your own descriptor here] in order to be impressive. Zinfandel is going through a weird market phase right now, where everyone is complaining about the high alochols in zins, but one almost never hears praise of the lighter, more sprightly and classic zin styles. All the praise goes to the plus-size styles. And so we see more and more producers inclining toward that praise, and adding syrah, petite sirah, and alicante bouschet to their zins . . . I have been known to enjoy a big blue style myself from time to time ::cough, cough:: okay, frequently . . . but I'm beginning to worry that speaking up for the classic raspberry styles is like tilting at windmills. I lay most of the blame for that on distributor sales reps and retailers who are too lazy to explain zin. They just fall back on "Big! Brawny! Blue!" shelf talkers. "More Bang for the Buck!" Also, I know you like peppercorn in your zins . . . but there are a lot of people who want to like zinfandel, but absolutely do not like the pepper character.

Interesting question. Most of the Four Vines releases are blends, and as they frequently contain percentages of syrah and petite sirah would naturally be more of a "blue fruit" style. We also have 2 releases of zin/syrah and zin/ps this spring and I would classify those as "blue" as well. Four Vines tends to be oakier / we tend to have more licorice. If I were to pick a wine of ours that is solidly in the "red" camp I would volunteer the Cujo zin and the Benito Dusi Old Vine zins. (BTW, my son is the cellarmaster at Four Vines, so I have several of the Four Vines' black "Zin Bitch" T-shirts I use as nighties! )

What makes a wine complex? I found myself pondering this question this weekend with a friend. We were drinking a popular but very extracted style of pinot. He loved it / I was okay with it. It was an excellent wine, very delicious, but not what I would order in a restaurant to go with tuna tartare and a cheese fondue. As it turns out, we were grilling gorgonzola-stuffed prawns and cube steaks, so it was a good match. As we discussed the wine, I pointed out that while I found it delicious--and dark--I didn't think it was complex and interesting. "What do you mean?" he asked, shocked. "You and I just listed a long stream of flavors associated with this wine!" And so we had--blue and red plums, cherries, cola, chocolate, root beer, tobacco, and a hint of dried apricot. But then I found myself explaining, although I'd never really thought about it before . . . that I look for contrasts in a wine. Bright and dark flavors. And this wine was all at the brown end of the flavor spectrum. There was nothing to give it any lift, tension, or contrast. So no matter how many descriptors we came up with, the wine was still, to me at least, not complex. In the act of trying to explain what I was looking for, I came to know something about myself that I hadn't recognized or verbalized before. What is your definition of 'complex'? And to keep the discussion from becoming too ephemeral, I hope some of us will post notes on specific wines, and explain why, or why not, that particular wine could be called complex.

More and more, I think some consumers are expecting increasing levels of concentration and "blue fruit" flavors in their red wines. Zinfandels are frequently expected, by consumers from the lowest to highest orders of experience, to be dark, cabalicious, blue, and yet still retain their distinctive black pepper character. In my experience, in the extremely extracted styles, the darker, often sweeter fruit actually competes with the pepper. One of zinfandel's key characteristics has always been its versatility with food. I don't drink a lot of syrah and other "blue fruit" wines frequently because I usually pair them with rich cuts of meat and roasts, mashed potatoes and other sweet carbs. Especialy in summer when we eat more garden-based dishes and grilled stuff, we enjoy zinfandel. I also think it sad that many people expect an old vine zin to be a heavier, richer, more condensed version of the zins produced from younger vineyards. I don't think of the purple-fruit styles of zinfandel as "classic." To me, these styles are more "nouveau," having only been around for 15 years or so, which is not long in the history of California zinfandel. A "classic" zin is one I would describe as being more brick-red in color, or at least with edgings of brick, with red fruit and strong black or white pepper, some pleasant herbaceousness, and in a good zin, additional layers of flavors like tobacco, apricot, sage, coffee, etc. In an old vine zin, I would actually expect the zin to be more "classic," with stronger pepper and sage, and an obvious bramble/cane character. Personally, I would be disappointed with an old vine zinfandel that mimics a purple-fruit style. In fact, if it did, I would suspect small additions of petit sirah or other inky varietals, which producers sometimes fall back on in colder vintages in order to meet consumer demands for consistency. That's a shame, because the cooler vintages are actually the ones where the spice and bramble characteristics are more evident. Has anyone else observed a recent trend toward "blue" zins? What do you look for in zinfandel?

Is anyone here a subscriber to Free the Grapes!? Do you find their newsletters useful and informative? Has anyone used their form letters to write in regarding wine shipping legislation? I don't subscribe, as I receive all this news via industry announcements. But we're encountering so much confusion and frustration from customers, that I am thinking about printing up postcards with the Free the Grapes! address. Also, for those of you in problematic shipping states, you can subscribe to the Specialty Wine Retailers newsletter for updates on pending action and legislation regarding shipping rights for wine retailers. There is some confusion about shipping privileges, as most states will now permit wineries to ship wine in (pending paperwork and sometimes outrageous fees, of course) but will not permit retailers to ship.

Did anyone attend events at this year's Hospice du Rhone in Paso Robles? I had tickets to the luncheon, auction, and grand tasting but unfortunately not able to attend . . . I did attend a private offline event on Friday night, but as we were busy grilling, I was unable to snap pictures. An 8' square table was completely covered in bottles, another table (and benches) with side dishes, and both grills were busy all night. Too much fun. I had a very impressive sauvignon blanc from Dry Stack Cellars, produced by Russell Bevan. It was a crisp, citrusy style that I really liked--full on acidity, but with some elegant, deeper notes of orange peel and apricot. For the auction, Robert Parker donated a fabulous lot: Minimum bid for this lot was $20,000, and it sold for $62,000!

Has anyone read this yet? I just ordered my copy today . . . Romancing the Vine: Life, Love, and Transformation in the Vineyards of Barolo Recently listed as a James Beard Award winner.