The online home of Mark “The Cork Head” Stuart, Certified Wine Professional, speaker/educator, judge, and columnist.
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Wow.
I really wasn’t in the mood to blog tonight, but when I opened and tasted the 2007 Dry Creek Vineyard Russian River Valley Chardonnay I just had to sit down and pound out a few paragraphs!
I must admit that I’m a RRV chardonnay honk, as I much prefer the characteristics that come out of this AVA’s best vineyards over her sometimes more heralded Napa and Carneros bretheren. However, I’ve had more than my fair share of really bad RRV chards before too. Read More
Going green is now more hip than ever, but Bonterra Winery has long believed in organic practices. In fact, their vineyards have been certified organic for more than 15 years.
Their grapes are grown without the use of any artificial fertilizers or synthetic chemicals to build a living soil that encourages natural pest/predator balance. By fostering the health of the soil, Bonterra believes the plant will in turn be healthier and therefore produce better fruit for winemaking. Read More
2007 Bonterra Viognier:
If the sensual texture isn’t enough to make you smile, the beautiful perfumed nose of orange blossom, apricot, and beeswax certainly will. A strong impression of stone minerality comes forward on the palate, making this wine act like a squeaky clean “old world” viognier.
Die-hard chardonnay fans typically find a bottle of viognier in front of them at some point and are amazed at how delicious they are. Bonterra consistently produces a superb quality example, and an organic one to boot. Read More
2006 Kenwood Zinfandel, Jack London Vineyard:
Characteristic ripe and under-ripe red berry aromas come together with the subtle use of oak and seasoned with a hint of clove spice. Tannins and acids are slightly elevated, but in balance contributing to a fuller body style.
Zinfandel ranks only behind cabernet sauvignon among red varietal plantings in California, with single vineyard Sonoma zins among the most important.
Try with a honey glazed ham dotted with clove and be very, very happy.
14.5% alcohol, 92 points.
I’ve seen this wine a number of places, including BevMo and Costco, priced between $15-$20.
2007 Girard Chardonnay, Russian River Valley:
When chardonnay stays away from the heat of the Napa Valley it retains an entirely different character. Acidity, oak, and fruit harmonize into a beautiful example of why the Russian River Valley is arguably the most important region for this varietal in the United States. Read More
CD-ROM author Barry Wiss, CWE, is a leader in the Society of Wine Educators, Vice President of Communications and Trade Relations at Trinchero Family Winery and helped write The Napa Valley Intensive course for The Culinary Institute of America. Yup…he’s qualified.
Basically it is a question and answer game. If you get the question correct, you move on to another random corner of the wine world. If you are incorrect, it spells out why. Multiple players may participate or one can study on their own. Read More
Big House Red
So I just got through tasting and reviewing the three Big House wines that were sent to me by the distributor. While writing my tasting notes a different thought process rolled through my head. Let me explain…
A few years and beers ago my pal Dale, the bartender at Latitude 32 Grill and Pub in Pacific Beach, CA recanted a story from the previous night where a well dressed woman sashayed through the door of this neighborhood pub and asked to see the wine list. Ever the clever lad Dale is, he went back to the office where he scribbled in large permanent marker three words on a coctail napkin. “RED”, ”WHITE”, “PINK”. I don’t think she’s been back.
After just two years business, brothers Daniel and Georges Daou might be on the cusp of producing what could be the first true cult wine out of the Paso Robles AVA.
Heady talk when you consider they have not yet produced, nor even harvested, their first estate crop. However, if past business success is any measure of future potential, these siblings with San Diego ties are going to wow wine enthusiasts for decades. Read More
Wine Style: Using Your Senses to Explore and Enjoy Wine, by Ed McCarthy and Mary Ewing-Mulligan. Wiley, John & Sons Inc. Publishing
Wine Style proposes the reader not look at wine by varietal or region, but instead by style. By doing so, the authors have simplified wine into four categories for red wines, four for whites and two each for rose and sparklers. Compare just these few categories against the massive wall of wine at your local retailer, and one can easily see the merits of this approach. Read More
This wine screams “Hey, I’m from Marlborough, New Zealand!”
Lime, passion fruit, and grapefruit flavors abound, plus the obvious and outrageous Marlborough grassiness and a hint of white pepper on the finish. The fruit and non-fruit features integrate seamlessly in what is an excellent example of the NZ style of sauvignon blanc.
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