Lovers of Pinot Noir had the golden opportunity to take part in the 4th Annual Pinot Days Festival in San Francisco during the end of June. Winemaker dinners, workshops and seminars were held on the days leading up to the last weekend of June. The Grand Festival Tasting was on Sunday, July 29th at the Ft. Mason Center’s Herbst Pavilion in San Francisco. This is where all the big daddy tastings occur like Family Winemakers of California, Rhone Rangers and the ZAP (Zinfandel Advocate & Producers). Within four short years Pinot Days has soared in popularity, mainly based on the commercial and marketing success of the varietal, but also due to the efforts and marketing genius of the founders. For "Pinot Geeks" and for those who want to learn more about this misunderstood varietal, Pinot Days is a must to mark on the calendar for next year. 

The Grand Festival Tasting is worth the admission to get a snapshot of the category in California, Oregon, New Zealand, Australia, France and Germany. With over 170 producers on hand, it’s not hard to grasp the diversity of this finicky varietal. What’s amazing is that Pinot Days is a non-profit with the commitment to raise money for those in need.

I had the opportunity to attend this year's Grand Tasting and am relieved to report back that I was still walking at the close of the event. Spitting should be mandatory because such a large crowd can get unruly! Large venues like this kind of remind me of sporting events where energy and tipsiness go hand in hand! Like any organized sport, you need a game plan to chart out who you want to see, but leaving room for make new discoveries.

I welcome your comments on your top picks, new darlings, overall impressions and disappointments. Below are my thoughts on the following categories.

Impressed by
- The check-in process for the trade was smooth in comparison to other venues of its size.
- Crowd circulation was relatively smooth with tables that were not too overcrowded.
- An amazing array of winemaker dinners, workshops and seminars were billed!
- A nice array of Pinots was poured in the mid-price range of $30 to $45.

Disappointed by or unimpressed by
- The lack of quality vintners from around the world! This needs to be a focus for next year!
- Samples were great, but the selection of more substantial food choices was limited. 
- There were not many value priced Pinots offered!
- I’m not into smear campaigns, but any new label charging $50 for five leaf, young vine Pinot. It’s not just about a business plan!

Favorite Winery Lineups (The whole range of wines poured was of excellent quality.)
Ancien Wines (Napa/Sonoma), Arcadian (Central Coast), Auteur (Sonoma/Oregon), B. Kosuge (Carneros, Sonoma), Benovia Winery (Russian River), Black Kite (Anderson Valley), Calera (Pinnacles), Copain Wines (Anderson Valley/Sonoma), Dutton Goldfield Winery (Sonoma), Flying Goat (Central Coast), Fort Ross (Sonoma Coast), Freeman (Russian River), Hartford Family (Sonoma), Hirsch (Sonoma Coast), Londer Vineyards (Anderson Valley), Peay Vineyards (Sonoma Coast), Robert Stemmler (Russian River), Scherrer Winery, Talisman Cellars (Sonoma/Carneros), W.H. Smith (Sonoma Coast) and Zepaltas Wines (Sonoma)

Most improved wine from initial release
I tasted the 2005 Donum Estate, Carneros (VF 94, $65) back in the early Spring 2008 and it was clumsy and closed. I re-tasted it at the event, and wow, like night a day with a hedonistic nose and sexy dark red fruit. Yum-yum!

Turnaround winery
Robert Stemmler has been reinvented with the 2006 releases and new ownership under Donum Estate Owner and Viticulturist, Anne Moller-Racke.

Best in Value (Unfortunately there were no $15 darlings, but the options opened up in $30 range.)
- Scherrer Winery Russian River Valley 2006
- Copain Wines - Tous Ensemble, Anderson Valley 2006

Winery to watch out for (Time to make a call to get on mailing list!)
Benovia Winery - The whole lineup. Owners have recently purchased the Cohn Vineyard. Sorry Kosta Browne!

The most Burgundy-terroir influenced lineup
Josh Jensen’s Calera Ryan and Mills bottlings came up in spades. It’s about the limestone baby. Don’t hesitate to age any of the Calera top crus; they will not disappoint after five years or so.

Most Fruit-Forward Lineup
Belle Glos (Central Coast)

My Top Picks
2006 Ancien, ‘Mink Vineyard’, Napa Valley
2007 Auteur, ‘Ophelia’, Oregon and Washington Blend
2006 August West, ‘Rossella’s Vineyard’, Santa Lucia Highlands
2006 Benovia Winery, ‘Cohn Vineyard’, Russian River
2006 B. Kosuge, ‘Manchester Ridge’, Mendocino
2005 Donum Estate, Carneros (VF 95, $42)
2006 Flying Goat, ‘Dierberg Vineyard’, Santa Maria Valley (VF 92, $42)
2006 Freeman, Russian River Valley (VF 93, $42)
2006 Londer, ‘Paraboll’, Anderson Valley
2006 Hartford Family, ‘Fog Dance Vineyards’, Green Valley
2006 Robert Stemmler, ‘Nugent Vineyard’, Russian River Valley
2006 Stephen Test, Russian River Valley
2006 W.H. Smith, ‘Marimar Estate Vineyard’, Green Valley

That’s my snapshot! I look forward to your comments. Keep the Pinot flowing! Cheers!

   

I often get asked the question, “How do I learn more about wine?” The first thing I suggest is tasting as much as possible. Developing excellent sensory evaluation skills is paramount in wine education. Of course, the ideal scenario would be to travel to a noted wine region, make arrangements to visit an array of wineries, meet the winemaking staff, taste their selections and ask questions.

Unfortunately, many of us don’t have that luxury. However, your friendly retailer can offer the opportunity to expand your palate with regularly scheduled tastings. Boutique retailers and tasting bars are popping up everywhere, with all different specialties. With all these new opportunities, keeping yourself busy with tastings is a breeze!

Most retail tastings are open to the public and are quite reasonable on the pocketbook. Sampling a variety of wines in one venue is usually much more affordable than ordering a flight at a “shee shee” wine bar or restaurant. As a bonus, you get to take home a little education and in many cases have the opportunity to meet the import representative, winemaker or winery owner. If you’re lucky, the retailer might have a sampling of finger foods, cheese, bread and perhaps charcuterie.

May 1, 2008 marked an exciting new development for Vinfolio, Inc. as we launched our first in a series of public tasting events. This is not revolutionary, but for an online wine retailer, it is stepping out of the “e-box”, so to speak. Being exclusively online, we don’t often have the chance to meet and interact with our clients. This was the perfect setting to thank everyone for their loyal patronage.

Our downstairs neighbor, Coffee Bar, teamed up with us to co-host a “Global Discoveries”-themed event, featuring favorites from Cyrille Hanson’s “Tales of the Vine”. Twelve attractively priced gems from Europe and the Southern Hemisphere were showcased, generating tremendous excitement from attendees. It was the first time many had ever tasted an Italian Grechetto; Tempranillo from Toro, Spain; or a Montepulciano from Abruzzo, Italy, and senior staff members were on hand to field questions. Our first event was so successful that Coffee Bar’s upper lounge was packed to the gills; not surprisingly, everyone wanted to know when the next event would be.

We’re already busy setting up a more events for 2008 and the next tasting is coming up soon. Bay Area locals, save the date! We hope to see you on Thursday, June 12th for a tasting of California and Oregon Pinot Noir. More details to follow, but Doug Wilder, our California and Oregon buyer, will put together a lineup showcasing some of the brightest stars working with this ever-popular varietal. To learn more about the upcoming Pinot Event, contact David Ruvalcaba, Vinfolio Marketing Manager, at druvalcaba@vinfolio.com.

The Vinfolio Team hopes to see you at one of our tastings soon. In the meantime, don’t forget to exercise your palate on a regular basis!

The mind tends to wander towards Burgundy when thinking about 30 year old Chardonnays; divine Montrachet or Corton-Charlemagne is evoked. There are few opportunities in California for the same experience. At a tasting a few years back, a small group of wine junkies and aficionados had the opportunity to try 32-year-old California Chardonnay and Pinot in a three-decade vertical tasting. The event was hosted by the dedicated staff of Hanzell Vineyards and Winery in Sonoma, led by Winemaker Emeritus Bob Sessions and wife Jean Arnold.

The vineyards of this enduring and historically important wine estate were first planted in 1953. It took four leaves (years of vine growth) before the fruits of labor came forth to set a new standard for California whites. The first release of Hanzell Chardonnay was in 1957, long before boutique hand-crafting was identified as a necessity for honed finesse and refined maturity.

So, back to the tasting. I enjoy youthful Hanzell, young here defined as having spent only 10 years in bottle. A 10-year-old Hanzell shows medium gold hue with floral and often complex tropical notes, and is full-bodied with great acidity and balance. These wines are big. After 20 years, looking at an ’86, the Hanzell Chardonnay still retains floral hints and more ripe tropical notes, taking on more concentrated butterscotch and honey on the nose. At 30 years, specifically in the ’75, the wines are still full and rich, with tropical notes and more toasted hazelnut and butterscotch. A richer, more lengthy finish also rewards the patience of a true collector, with the ’75 still showing. It doesn’t get any better than this. Contact the winery before your next trip to California Wine Country. The property is breath-taking.   

The 2005 Hanzell Chardonnay ($65) is now on pre-arrival at Vinfolio. We anticipate receiving four cases at the beginning of May. Enjoy!!

    

 

Wow…two GREAT tastings in the span of 4 days.The first, La Paulee San Francisco – Grand Tasting, a Burgundian extravaganza, was held on Saturday, March 1st. This tasting showcased some of the top producers of Burgundy and their wines, mostly from the outstanding 2004 (white) & 2005 (red) vintages. The wines were sublime – definitely worth seeking out for your collection. The wine was poured by top sommeliers from around the country, and the food prepared by the who’s who of the San Francisco dining scene. I’ve already made my reservations for La Paulee next year when it returns to New York. I can’t recommend this tasting highly enough if you’re a fan of Burgundy wines or just want to learn more about them. My standout red of the tasting was the 2005 Domaine Jacques Frédéric Mugnier – Musigny.  It was showing beautifully in its youth, but I can only imagine what this wine will evolve into over the next 10-30 years.  My favorite white was the 2005 Domaine Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey - Corton-Charlemagne.  My tasting notes were simple – Intense, Rich, Apple, Vanilla, Lime, Mineral – awesome now…long life ahead.

                                       

 

Four days later, on Wednesday, March 5^th, Gambero Rosso put on a tasting event of current release Italian wines at the Herbst Pavilion-Ft. Mason in San Francisco. The vintages covered 2000 through 2006. I’ve tasted many wines from the Tuscany and Piedmont regions from the great 2000 and 2001 vintages, and have been more than impressed with the overall quality. I was extremely excited to taste the 2004s and see firsthand if they measured up to the hype. Short answer…THEY DID! The 2004s that I tried had incredible structure and balance, and they should not be missed!  Some of my favorites that Vinfolio currently stocks are:

2004 Felsina Berardenga - Chianti Classico Rancia Riserva, IWC 95 ($37)

2004 Felsina Berardenga - Fontalloro, IWC 94 ($44)

2004 Pupille - Saffredi, WS 97 ($109)

2004 Querciabella - Camartina,WA 95 ($87)

2004 Sette Ponti - Oreno,WS 95 ($65.95)

The premise of the tastings is to better educate the press, trade and the public on the state of Italian wine, and the great strives that have been made in the last decade. The events will be conducted in an open walk-around fashion with seminars led by industry experts. The upcoming San Francisco tasting will mark my fourth "Tre Bicchieri" event I have attended, although this year marks the first ‘Roadshow.’ The venue has become much better attended with an expanded regional representation. Furthermore, the sheer number of wines to be poured has doubled. This is a must-attend event to really appreciate the menagerie of native varietals from unknown regions. Classic regions such as Tuscany, Piedmont and Veneto will be showcased, but you will also expand your horizons by tasting wines from ancient growing regions from all corners of the country and neighboring islands. Expect to taste wines with regional personality that display a whole lot of soul and pedigree, from easy sipping value whites to limited reserve wines that are rarely poured stateside, and are highly allocated to the American market. I don't know any other Italian tasting that will be more informative and flavorful than this event.

San Francisco Tre Bicchieri Tasting
Wednesday, March 5th 2008
Herbst Pavillon - Fort Mason Center
Doors open for Press at 3:00 p.m.
General Admission 4:00 to 8:00 p.m.

Vinfolio has showcased several noted ‘Tre Bichieri’ winners in the past. Like Gambero Rosso’s mission, we also strive to secure and promote the best from Italy. A barrage of wineries has won multiple times over the years, and we are committed to sourcing these estates from both private collections and the Western European market.   

Below is a list of estates that we have had the pleasure of showcasing both their older and more recent releases.  

Piedmont: Gaja, La Spinetta, Elio Altare, Dominco Clerico, Giacomo Conterno, Matteo Correggia, Roberto Voerzio, Conterno Fantino, Aldo Conterno and Bruno Giacosa.

Tuscany: Fattoria di Felsina, Marchesi Antinori, Poliziano, Tenuta San Guido, Tenuta Fontodi, Isole e Olena, Tenuta dell’Ornellaia, Querciabella, Casanova di Neri, Castello dei Rampolla, Montevertine and Tua Rita.

Veneto: Allegrini, Romano Dal Forno and Giuseppe Quintarelli.

Last night Food & Wine celebrated the 10th anniversary of its American Wine Awards at the de Young Museum in San Francisco. Awards honored participants in the following categories: Winery of the Year (Long Shadow), Best Wines $20 and Under (seven selections), Wine Importer of the Year (Kermit Lynch), Best Wines Over $20 (eight selections), and Winemaker of the Year (Robert Foley). The event also featured food pairings from local restaurants and top chefs.

My favorite two wines of the evening were the 2006 Westerly Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc ($19) from Santa Ynez Valley and the 2003 Calera Pinot Noir Selleck Vineyard ($60) from Mt Harlan. The Sauvignon Blanc was among two white wines awarded in the category “Best Wines $20 and Under,” while the 2003 Calera Pinot Noir Selleck Vineyard was one of six red wines awarded in the category “Best Wines over $20.” Below are some of my notes as well as F&W’s recipes for suggested food pairings:

2006 Westerly Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc
This Sauvignon Blanc really impressed me for its intensity and complexity of the nose; it has a strong minerality and vibrant grapefruit aromas that might lead one to mistake it for Sancerre. The grapes here are sourced from the Happy Canyon in the southern portion of Santa Barbara’s Santa Ynez Valley. The wine’s vibrancy is likely derived from the Canyon’s contrast in diurnal temperatures, warm days and cool nights, which create a concentration of flavor in the grapes. The acidity on the palate gave me a pleasurable pucker as well as the long lasting flavors of citrus, limestone, and floral notes. This well-priced Sauvignon Blanc would pair excellently with the following foods:  

    * Grilled Antipasto with Garlicky Bean Dip
    * Frisée Salad with Baked Goat Cheese and Bacon
    * Provençal-Style Lemon Sole

2003 Calera Pinot Noir Selleck Vineyard
Josh Jensen’s Pinots never fail to catch my attention. This Pinot was no exception with its subtlety on the nose and palate, as well as its multi-layered texture displaying bright red fruits (cherry, plum, and currant) and sweet spice (cinnamon and cloves). As I have found with so many of Calera’s Pinots, this wine will surely age well for over a decade providing increased nuance and complexity to its bouquet as it develops over time. Below are F&W’s recipes for food pairings, my favorite being the Roast Guinea Hen. I think a Calera Pinot-Guinea Hen combination would be a great alternative to the typical Thanksgiving turkey dinner. Let me know if you try it!

    * Fresh Shell Bean Soup with Pistou
    * Roast Guinea Hens with Cumin-Date Sauce
    * Grilled Broccoli with Anchovy Dressing

What happens when a group of people attend a blind tasting and taste the same wine but come up with some very different opinions on what that wine could be?  A few weeks ago some of the Vinfolio wine staff and I attended an informal wine tasting where all the wines were tasted blind and we used the recommended WSET approach to tasting.

The first 3 whites set the tone and after we started going over our general thoughts about aromas, flavors and structure some of the first responses were “wait, are we talking about the same wine”?  We even had to double check the order to be sure someone didn’t switch their glasses.  We were tasting a set of 3 different Chardonnays grown in different parts of the world, but one wine (2005 Marc Colin St Aubin En Remilly 1er Cru, $33) sparked a debate because some thought it had to be New World with its toasty-oak notes and lush fruit, while others pointed to a restrained use of oak and good acidity so that it had to be from Burgundy.  Could some White Burgundies taste like New World Chardonnay or vice versa?

We did have some variation in the type of glass used which can have an effect on the way the aromas are brought out but in this case it wasn’t a major factor.  I think it had more to do with the individual experiences of each person at the tasting.  While some had tasted more wines over many years in the wine business, others had less experience but were still able to communicate the main attributes of the wine and use that ability to accurately identify the wine.

Each person builds their olfactory memory (the ability to recognize things by their smell) and their wine palate differently.  This is why it is important to taste the wine and not just drink it.  Each time you taste a new wine, it is an opportunity for you to work on building your palate.  If you are able to pull out a few descriptors on what you smell (fruit, flower, spice or oak), or how it feels on your tongue when you drink it (lush, acidic, tannic or sweet), just by thinking about it for a few minutes as you taste will help you remember what you did or did not like about that wine and you’ll remember it next time.

Building up your wine tasting skills is not just for figuring out what you like, but also how to identify flawed wines.  How do you know when a wine is corked or flawed?  Well, we had a few of those at our tasting too.  Two out of our twelve wines were flawed/corked so we were in the statistical average that 10% of the wines you try may be corked.  As much as we all had varying levels of ability to identify the aromas and structure of the wine, we were all pretty adept at spotting the “off” wines.  You don’t have to be an expert to know when a wine has gone bad, your nose will tell you so.  Think of wet cardboard, musty basements and general stinkiness that just won’t go away.  The real test is the taste and when you get some very harsh effects (acidic, bitter), you know that something is wrong.  If you are in a restaurant having a great meal, you certainly don’t want to drink (nor pay) for a flawed wine, and if you are unsure, you can always ask the sommelier for a second opinion.  

We continued through our tasting moving to a couple of different red varietals (Grenache, Carignan and Cabernet) that proved to be hard to pin down (such as the 2003 Marti Fabra Seleccio Vinyes Velles, $18) because they showed some variations in the basic qualities we had come to expect from those varietals.  We draw from our own experience but we know that other factors – climate, soil, new winemaking techniques - will make us think twice.  We loved the challenge and we were surprised by an older Cabernet from Chile (1997 Carmen Cabernet Sauvignon Gold Reserve, $60) that showed the elegance and structure of an Old World wine.  

We enjoyed the wines and had some surprises, but the goal was to really work on identifying the wines properly using a structured format, past experience, newly acquired knowledge and sometimes our “gut feeling.”  We started off tasting, but in the end, we drank.  The best advice I ever received in all my wine tasting adventures was, “taste as much wine as you possibly can.”  I try.

On Saturday, June 9th I attended the fourth annual Golden Glass tasting event at the Fort Mason Herbst Pavilion in San Francisco.  This lively wine tasting event featured seventy Italian producers showcasing 130 Italian indigenous & regional wines, complimented by culinary delights from leading Bay Area restaurateurs and food producers. This educational event was a fundraiser for the Slow Food USA organization promoting biodiversity and the campaign to “Buy Fresh, Buy Local.”

Once inside the tasting, my tasting options were quite daunting. I, however, attempted to explore the room according to traditional tasting order beginning with sparkling wines, followed by the whites, and finishing with the reds (a method which was often foiled, of course, by sudden discoveries, but I can say that at least I tried). What I found most refreshing was that most of the producers were unfamiliar to me and thus provided lots of opportunity to try something entirely new. The four tables represented 17 of Italy’s wine regions grouped by the North East, North West, Central, and the South & Islands.

After considerable tasting, the following wines were my noted favorites:

• 2006 Pedres Vermentino di Gallura Jaldinu (Sardegna) – A crisp white that refreshes the palate and would a great starter to a summer meal. A good value too!
• 2005 Cantine Gran Furor Ravello Bianco (Campania) – Perhaps I am biased because I honeymooned on the Amalfi Coast, but this local blend of 60% Falanghina and 40% Biancolella really caught my notice. It was both elegant and simple, displaying flavors of citrus, green apple and almond.
• 2001 Fornacina Brunello Di Montalcino Riserva (Toscana) – In additional to the riserva, their regular Brunello was also excellent. Both wines showed classic Tuscan Sangiovese characteristics including dark cherry fruit, earthy tones and a long finish. The riserva had me coming back for more.
• 2001 Castello del Terriccio Lupicaia (Toscana) – This classy Supertuscan combined Terriccio’s best Cabernet and Merlot grapes to create a high caliber blend. The sensual, velvety texture of wine on the palate was riveting as well as the rich, dark berry fruit. The flavors here justify the existence of “cult” wines.
• 2004 Oasi degli Angeli Kurni (Marche) – This was an ultra dark, dense red wine made from old vine Montepulciano grapes grown in the Marche region. The flavors were more complex than expected from what is often considered a “rustic” grape. I was impressed by the wine’s concentration and amused by the name “Angel’s Oasis.”
• 2001 Milziade Antano Sagrantino di Montefalco “Colleallodole” (Umbria) – What first caught my attention was the drama of two Italian men pouring their dark wine through multiple decanters to make the flavors just right.  This kind of aeration makes sense since Sagrantino is known as one of the most tannic varieties found anywhere in the world. When finally able to take my first sip, I knew that I had found something special. The flavors were complex with definite blue chip appeal and a tannic structure to allow for long aging.

It would be remiss to ignore the alluring flavors from the local restaurants. These three were my most memorable treats:

• Kuleto’s warm, freshly made mozzarella balls drizzled in olive oil, with a salt garnish. – Wow, this cheese just melted in your mouth! This bite-sized starter was definitely a crowd pleaser, reminding me of the power of simple, but authentic Italian cuisine.
• A16’s roasted pork – A perfect pair with the red wines and scrumptious in its flavor.
• Quince’s peach soup – This dessert-like “soup” had the purest fruit flavor that I have ever tasted. It was the perfect palate cleanser and an excellent example of high quality flavor extracted from local fruit.

In conclusion, despite finding quality in all parts of the tasting, my favorite wines came from Italy’s central and southern zones - a kudos to the upcoming South! Furthermore, if after reading these wine reviews, you wish to continue your exploration of Italian wines, you can try some of the comparable selections I have chosen from Vinfolio’s inventory (by regions central to south):

Toscana
    2001 Banfi - Brunello di Montalcino ($50)
    2001 Poderina - Brunello di Montalcino Poggio Banale ($95)
    1990 Antinori – Tignanello ($199)
    2004 Brancaia - Il Blu ($72)
Umbria
    1998 Caprai, Arnaldo - Sagrantino di Montefalco 25 Anni ($74)
    2001 Fiorita Lamborghini – Campoleone ($49)
Lazio
    2005 Monastero Suore Cistercensi – Coenobium ($15)
    1998 Falesco – Montiano ($49)
Abruzzo
    2003 Ronchi, Umani - Montepulciano D'Abruzzo Jorio ($15)
Campania
    2001 Feudi di San Gregorio – Serpico ($79)
    2001 Montevetrano ($82)
Basilicata
    2003 Notaio - Rosato di Aglianico del Vulture Il Rogito ($17)