Solano Cellars East Bay Winemaker Pair-Off

I had the opportunity to participate in yesterday’s East Bay Winemaker Pair-Off held at Solano Cellars in Berkeley. Five small but prominent East Bay garagiste winemakers showed their wines, which were paired with delicious cheeses, duck pastrami, glazed venison, and other tasty tidbits. Several of the wines were absolutely delicious, and all were great values. This entry continues the International Wine Review exploration of East Bay wines that began with our December 11, 2008, posting on A Donkey and Goat Winery: Berkeley Garagiste.

Two Mile Wines of Berkeley, CA, showed their 2008 Central Coast Viognier ($25), my favorite white wine of the Pair-Off. It has a gorgeous varietally correct nose of white peach perfume and is beautifully balanced on the palate with a brisk acidity unusual for a Viognier. They also presented their 2006 Jacob’s Landing Cabernet Sauvignon/ Merlot ($30). The fruit for this 65/35 Cabernet/Merlot blend comes from Dickson Napa Ranch. It has an herbal cedar nose reminiscent of Cabernet Franc, but the rich, full-bodied palate is more traditional in character. This goes to show one doesn’t have to pay $50+ to get a good California Cab.

Eno Wines, also of Berkeley, showed a food-friendly, fruit-driven 2006 Pinot Noir “Never Say Never” Santa Lucia Highlands ($32), which also includes some Russian River fruit. But the highlight for me was winemaker Sasha Verhage’s 2005 Syrah, Las Madres Vineyard, Carneros ($25). This Côte-Rotie style wine is fermented 10% whole cluster and aged 16 months in 20 percent new barrels. It is opaque ruby purple in color with blackberry and cedar on the nose and a delicious, smoky palate of blackberry, cedar and black pepper. It finishes long with a distinct black raspberry note and quite gripping tannins. I can attest that this is an excellent food wine, too, as later in the evening my friends and I shared a bottle over restaurant Postino’s famous Coda di Bue (brasato of short ribs) in Lafayette.

Winemaker Chris Brockway of Broc Cellars specializes in Rhone varietals, and he showed two good examples at the Pair-Off. The 2006 “Vine Starr” ($25) is a blend of mainly Zinfandel and Syrah with small amounts of Mourvedre, Petite Sirah, and Graciano. It paired beautifully with duck pastrami. However, it was the 2006 Ventana Vineyard Grenache “Cassia” Monterey ($24) that captured my attention with its nose of earth and dark cherry that carries over to a beautifully balanced, medium-weight palate. Chris ages this wine in 300 liter French Hogs Heads, so the wood is subtly integrated with the fruit.

Edmunds St. John, also of Berkeley, showed an interesting white blend, the 2008 “Heart of Gold” ($23) blend of Vermentino (59%) and Grenache Blanc (41%) fruit from El Dorado County. It has a perfumed citrus nose and is clean on the palate with good acidity and a long, flavorful finish. Winemaker Steve Edmunds also showed his 2007 “Bone-Jolly” Gamay Noir ($19) from Witters Vineyard fruit, also in El Dorado County. At 3400’ elevation near Placerville in the Sierra Nevada foothills, Witters Vineyard is one of the highest altitude vineyards in the state. Edmunds St. John is the only California producer currently working with the Gamay Noir Au Jus Blanc. The wine is delicious and reminiscent of a first-class Beaujolais. It has a slightly candied nose of raspberries and a very flavorful, medium weight palate. This wine is lovely just to either sip or, better yet, to combine with a nice, healthy California brunch.

Finally, Aubin Cellars showed two Pinot Noirs from the Russian River Valley and a Syrah sourced from Columbia Valley fruit. The 2005 Verve Syrah Columbia Valley ($28) has good varietal character and shows unusual finesse, but the delicious nature of the Pinots drew most my attention. The 2005 Verve Pinot Noir Russian River Valley ($35) revealed earth and forest floor on the nose and on the palate, where tasty dark cherry fruit also came to the fore, finishing long and complex. The 2006 Verve Pinot Noir Russian River Valley ($35) includes fruit from Aubin Cellars’ new vineyard. It is quite different from the 2005 vintage, with lovely purity of fruit and minerality on the palate. It was one of my favorite wines of the entire Pair-Off.

Cata de vinos de Bodegas Heredad Ugarte y Bodegas Eguren

El pasado Lunes 16 de marzo tuve la ocasión de visitar la Bodega Heredad de Ugarte gracias a la amabilidad de Josu Galdós, su responsable comercial en USA, y de José Luis Hilera, director de la bodega.

La trayectoria de la familia Ugarte en la elaboración de vinos se remonta a 1870 aunque es en 1989 cuando se inicia la construcción de la actual bodega en el municipio de Laguardia (D.O.Ca. Rioja - España).

Además de Heredad Ugarte, en Rioja Alavesa, también cuentan con una segunda empresa denominada Bodegas Eguren donde comercializan vinos de la Tierra de Castilla.

La Bodega Heredad de Ugarte es una instalación moderna con una decoración muy tradicional donde predominan la piedra y la madera. El subsuelo está horadado con numerosos calados donde descansan botellas y barricas. Es una bodega realizada con intención de recibir a los visitantes que se acercan a esa zona de Rioja Alavesa.

Sus vinos tienen el carácter tradicional de la zona, con frescura y facilidad.

La cata comenzó con los vinos de la Tierra de Castilla. El primero de ellos fué Mercedes Eguren Blanco Sauvignon Blanc 2008 ($12-€6), un vino con carácter del varietal, frutas blancas y de hueso, aromático, fresco y ligero. Un vino agradable para el aperitivo.

Continuamos con tres vinos tintos de la Tierra de Castilla:

Condado de Eguren Tempranillo 2007 ($12-€6); frutos rojos, frambuesas y grosellas envueltos en tonos de vainilla y especias. Fresco y ligero. Fácil de beber.

Mercedes Eguren Tempranillo-Shiraz 2007 ($12-€6), elaborado al 50% de cada variedad, con 6 meses de barrica. Aromas de frutos negros y rojos con tonos tostados y de chocolate. Fresco aunque mantiene una sensación ligeramente tánica (necesita algo más de tiempo en la botella).

Mercedes Eguren Cabernet Sauvignon 2007 ($12-€6). Fruta madura con notas de especia, pimienta negra, goloso. En boca se perciben ciertas sensaciones secantes de tanicidad que denotan poco tiempo de botella.

Tras esta primera tanda, continuamos con los vinos de Rioja:

Ugarte Cosecha 2007 ($11-€10); elaborado con 80% tempranillo y 20% garnacha. Al descorche aparecen aromas de reducción que van dejando paso a los tonos característicos del tempranillo, frutos rojos, con buena acidez. El final es bastante goloso sin perder frescura.

Heredad Ugarte Crianza 2006 ($14-€7). 92% tempranillo, 8 garnacha. Característico de los vinos tradicionales de Rioja Alavesa, frutal de media intensidad, con frutos rojos y un punto de cereza combinados con toques de madera y vainilla clásicos del roble americano.

Heredad Ugarte Reserva 2005 ($21-€12). 95% tempranillo y 5% graciano. Aún no comercializado. Frutos rojos con toques especiados y tonos tostados. Este vino evolucionará en la botellas.

Martín Cendoya Reserva 2005 ($40-€25). 80% tempranillo, 15% graciano y 5% mazuelo. Aún sin comercializar. Un vino con mayor concentración que los anteriores, compotado y de color más intenso. Al cabo de un tiempo aparece una combinación de aromas dulces y balsámicos. Goloso, con tonos de vainilla y canela.

Anastasio 2005 ($120-€97). 100% tempranillo. Comercialización prevista para Mayo o Junio de este año. Elaborado con uvas de la variedad tempranillo en injertos sobre viejos pies de cepa de pinot noir. Segunda cosecha de este vino. Color rubí intenso con matices violáceos aún de juventud. Fruta muy concentrada pero sin sensación de exceso por la buena acidez que lo compensa. Balsámico, hierbas aromáticas, toques de monte bajo. Final largo. Este vino permaneció durante 10 meses en barricas, mayoritariamente de roble americano.

Tras la cata disfrutamos de una agradable comida donde tuvimos ocasión de comprobar el maridaje de los vinos con alimentos tradicionales de Rioja.

En la fotografía:

José Luis Hilera, Miguel Reinares y Josu Galdós

The Excellent Wines and Super Values of Bottega Vinaia and the Cavit Collection

This past week i-WineReview Editor Don Winkler and Publisher Mike Potashnik lunched at Eric Ripert’s West End Bistro with Andrea Faustini, winemaker for Bottega Vinaia and the Cavit Collection in Trentino, Italy and Massimiliano Giacomini, Export Manager. The luncheon was arranged by Cavit importer, Palm Bay International.

Cavit is one of northeast Italy’s largest producers of wine. It includes 11 wineries that joined forces in 1957 to collectively improve winemaking and marketing. Cavit has had a long relationship with one of Italy’s most important center’s of viticultural research, the Instituto Agrario provinciale at San Michele all’Adige. Institute students frequently intern at Cavit’s wineries, and Andrea Faustini is himself a graduate of the Institute. The estate-bottled Bottega Vinaia wines are sourced from a select group of family-farmed vineyards in the Trentino region.

Our luncheon got off to a magnificent start with the elegant sparkling wine Altemasi Riserva Graal 2000 ($36). Given Andrea Faustini’s winemaking experience at what may be Italy’s most famous sparkling wine maker, Bellavista, we had high hopes for this wine, and we weren’t disappointed. Produced by the metodo classico Italy’s version of the methode champenoise, the Graal 2000 is a rich and tasty sparkler made of 70% Chardonnay and 30% Pinot Nero. Spending 48 months sur lies before disgorgement, it offers a rich creamy palate of ripe fruit flavors, hazelnuts and nuances of toast. It reveals moderately high acidity and a rich elegance on the finish. It was also terrific with some Kumamoto oysters on the half shell some of us had for starters.


Our next two wines consisted of the Bottega Vinaia 2007 Pinot Grigio ($18) and the 2007 Estate Bottled Pinot Noir ($20). Both wines were beautifully made. The starbright Pinot Grigio showed floral aromas an minerality on the nose and a lovely, round texture in the mouth that is not often found in Pinot Grigio. The Pinot Noir was one of our favorites of the tasting; it’s produced from Dijon clones and has fresh dark cherry and raspberry aromas that carry through to the medium weight palate. This easy drinking wine has good acidity, excellent balance, and is a great value. The Pinot Noir was divine with the restaurant's tasty roast salmon.

The bigger red wines of the tasting consisted of two relatively unknown 100% indigenous varietals--the 2004 Teroldego Rotaliano ($20) and the 2005 Lagrein, ($25)—and a Bordeaux blend. Both the Rotaliano and Lagrein showed pleasant and tasty plum and black fruit flavors and were silky smooth on the palate. The Lagrein, which spends 12 months in old barriques, was especially noteworthy for its depth of flavor. Our favorite of the big reds, however, was the 2004 Quattro Vicariati ($25), a juicy blend of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon and 30% Merlot that displayed perfumed black cherry, cassis fruit and smoke on the nose and a silky smooth and richly textured palate black fruit with licorice notes. This is a beautifully balanced wine that spends 18 months in medium toast French oak barriques and may be the best value of the portfolio.

The final wine of the afternoon was a superb 1997 Arele Vino Santo ($90) made of 100% Nosiola, Trentino’s only indigenous white grape variety. Only 50 hectares of this varietal remain in the Trentino area. This lovely Vin Santo is amber in color, with aromas and flavors of dried apricot and is a perfect accompaniment for rich desserts and creamy cheeses. The Nosiola grapes are traditionally dried on mats until Holy Week in the spring, at which time they are made into wine. Hence the name Vino Santo, or the Holy Wine of Trentino.

These are all versitile food wines and authentic expressions of the Trentino region.