I've Passed the WSET!

I am in the middle of Namibia at the moment volunteering with animals and was finally able to check my email.

I had the wonderful surprise of finding out that I have passed the WSET Advanced with Merit! I am so thrilled that all of the hours of hard work, studying, and of course tasting has paid off.

Now just a couple of more weeks until I'm exploring the wine regions of South Africa! : )

The California Wine Club

Earlier this week, I had a lovely visit to the California Wine Club offices in Camarillo. I had the pleasure of meeting with Jon Boring, the CWC’s Director of Sales and Marketing. Jon gave me a tour of the facilities as we chatted about the company and its core values. For those who aren’t familiar with them, the CWC is a wine of the month club that partners with small family-owned wineries and provides high quality wines to its members.

Jon’s parents, Bruce and Pam Boring, shared a vision many years ago of wanting to provide exceptional wine recommendations to those who are not aware of, nor have time to choose from, all of the different labels on the market. Their approach was to simply suggest wine to buyers as they would to a good friend. Over 20 years later that vision of theirs continues to grow in success.

Bruce stopped by for a few minutes to chat with Jon and me about the many pleasures of his job. He and his wife Pam frequently travel to wine country to meet with wonderful winery owners and wine makers, taste their wine, and hear their story. Many of these undiscovered wines are then placed in the hands of thousands of CWC members. In addition to that substantial exposure, these wineries are also featured in the CWC’s magazine Uncorked. Included in each shipment, these magazines allow club members to learn the histories and back-stories to the wines they are enjoying. The CWC has featured some of my favorite wineries such as Truchard Vineyards (who I’ve previously blogged about), Ventana Vineyards, and many others.

What draws me to this company the most is the fact that they only work with smaller, mom & pop wineries that produce superb quality wine. With all of the corporate giants and bulk wine labels flooding the industry these days, it is refreshing to find a company who shares my passion for finding good people that make good wine.

There are so many exquisite boutique wineries out there that produce, in my opinion, the best wines you can buy. Everyday people are bombarded by mass production wine on the shelves of BevMo, Costco, grocery stores, liquor stores, and even restaurants. Many are under the impression that seeing a familiar label that is famous for its production size is a good thing. Since the reality of it is quite the opposite, I truly appreciate companies like the CWC who aim to educate and introduce these limited-production wineries to its large network of wine lovers. These family-owned wineries are what keep California wines up to par with old world standards and are the ones worth keeping in business.

The CWC currently offers four different wine clubs for its members; the popular Premier Club, the Signature Series, the International Selections, and the Aged Cabernet Series. All four clubs are backed by the CWC’s 100% guarantee so matter what your taste or budget for wine is, you can rest assure that you are in good hands.

To find out more, check out the California Wine Club website.

http://www.cawineclub.com/wine-clubs.php

Happy tasting!

Sunday Funday in Paso Robles

Nothing but blue skies, radiant sunshine, and splendid wine; another perfect day in Paso Robles wine country. Beautifully located in the central coast of California, this region is an easy and scenic drive from almost anywhere in the Golden State.

Here are two of the wineries that I had the pleasure of visiting...

Ecluse Wines:

If I had to choose a winery to recommend for all levels of wine experience, it would be this one. This boutique winery conducts its tastings in a barrel aging room, allowing visitors to have a better insight to the wine environment than most typical tasting rooms provide. Towards the end, visitors are also given two different barrel tastings; both containing the same wine, demonstrating just how different the outcome of two different types of barrels can be.

The owner of Ecluse Wines, Steven Lock, is an utter joy to talk to. It was a pleasure to meet a winemaker who has come so far in the industry, but didn’t resist a chance to talk wine with me. Between the long list of exceptional wines and chatting with Steven, our visit to Ecluse went from minutes to a couple of hours without us even realizing it. That is the true sign of a great winery experience.

My Top Wine Choice: 2006 Ecluse "Rendition"

Not for the faint at heart, this powerful Rhone-style blend is 59% Syrah, 22% Grenache, 13% Mourvèdre. The complexity of this wine is beautifully well-rounded by its flavors of black cherry, blackberry, savory meat, tobacco, and black pepper. This outstanding wine has the finesse and length to be enjoyed for years to come.

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Penman Springs:

Our visit to Penman Springs is something I will not soon forget. The very moment we walked in, we were joyfully greeted by two extremely bubbly ladies; one of which being owner Beth McCasland. With so much energy and enthusiasm in the room, it almost felt like we were at a local comedy club. In addition to some vibrant personalities, the winery also offered cupcakes, delicious homemade brownies, and bread with olive oil to treat ourselves to as we tasted.

The staff was so passionate about every wine that we tasted; it truly gave each wine its own story. I could easily sense how much pleasure the staff took with each sip of Penman Springs that we experienced. There are those who pour your tasting, walk away, and return to see if you are interested in making a purchase. At Penman, they pour your wine and then stay in front of you to join in your experience. Wineries as passionate as this are real treasures in the wine world.

Top Wine Choice: Penman Springs 2008 "Trembler Deux"

“Sugar and spice and everything nice”- this absolutely superb wine is a delightful blend of Petite Sirah, Petite Verdot, and Brandy. The palate presents a vibrant mix of blackberry and blackcurrant jam, nutmeg, brown sugar, cinnamon, and cocoa. The sweetness of this dessert wine is perfectly matched by its impressive elegance.

An Autumn Visit to Caldwell Vineyard

On a beautiful November afternoon, we made a visit to Caldwell Vineyard. Nestled in the hills of the Coombsville region, just east of downtown Napa, the drive up to the property was nothing short of breathtaking. Once at the top of the hill, the view of the valley was patterned with vibrant, autumn-colored rows of vines. Although many people favor the luscious green vines they see while visiting wine country in the summer, there is a special aura in the rows of red, yellow, and orange leaves that fill the landscape.

Unlike most wineries where you drive up to see a beautifully architected tasting room, we pulled up to the property only to think we had taken the wrong turn. We arrived only to see the winery workers throwing grapes into the destemmer, while others sorted through the grapes. In the midst of being convinced that we were in the wrong place, we were greeted by a man in a tan straw hat. Unsure if this man was one of the winery workers; I asked him where the tasting room was located. He proceeded to tell me that this winery has no tasting room, but then asked if I wanted to help out the workers. To my pleasant suspicion, this man was no winery worker, but John Caldwell himself.

After John laughed off his gag, he took us over to the destemmer to introduce us to the workers and tell us a little bit about what they were doing. For his top of the line wines, John uses some unique methods that are not only rare in this day and age, but expensive as well. First, the grapes are destemmed and sorted through a vibrating table to remove any raisins. Next, the grapes are hand-crushed by two workers at the far end of the sorting table. Afterwards, the grape must is put into oak barrels for fermentation.This is a very expensive alternative to machine-crushing and fermenting grapes in vats.

Another interesting part of John’s process is that he uses native yeast, as opposed to cultured yeast, for fermentation. Native yeast has a higher risk of spoilage and is highly unpredictable, but can also provide tastes and aromas that cultured yeast cannot. John has taken a considerably risky move and created some truly great wine.

After exploring the heart of his wine process, John took us over the tasting table that had been setup up outside overlooking the vineyard. A tasting at Caldwell is a tasting one does not soon forget. The table was beautifully arranged with plates of local farm cheeses, Spanish chorizo, and various breads. My absolute favorite of the cheeses was the Shropshire Blue cheese, which is pasteurized cow’s milk with vegetable rennet.

Next up, the wines arrived. In addition to the selection of Caldwell wines we were about to taste, we had another unexpected treat. Winemaker Drew Neiman (Neiman Cellars) was also there to join us with his bottles to taste. Both John and Drew conducted our informative wine tastings while telling us stories of their journeys into the wine world. John is quite the jokester, and with every story of his was a playful laugh at the end. His contagious positive attitude and sense of humor made our tasting session both intriguing and incredibly entertaining.

While John was in conversation with the others at our table, I spent some time getting to know Drew and his winemaking. I was extremely fascinated by the fact that Drew is a one-man operation and controls every aspect of his wine process. He pays precise attention to every part of the chemical process in which he creates his wine. When asked why he doesn’t use any assistance, he jokingly replied that if anyone is going to screw up his wine, it'd better be him.

After a few hours of wine and our enjoyable chats, we concluded our tasting. Although this might be the longest tasting I have ever been to, it went by much too quickly. Nothing is better than enjoying some remarkable wine in the presence of some genuinely wonderful people. Whether you are an experienced wine drinker, or a newbie to the scene, a visit to Caldwell is an experience that will leave its mark with you forever.

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My two favorite wines from this tasting…

Caldwell Rocket Science, 2008

This incredibly complex wine is full-bodied with strong oak, high tannins, and medium acidity. With strong aromas of plum, black cherry, and leather; this wine is powerful from the second the glass is in your hand. The remarkable combination of tastes includes black berry, black cherry, cloves, black pepper, licorice, tobacco, minerals, and forest floor. After the first sip, the only way to describe the experience is that this wine is purely Rocket Science.

Neiman Cellars Syah, 2007

This is a full-bodied wine that is highly tannic, with medium to high acidity. Its inky plum color is enhanced with the distinguishing aromas of black plum, black cherry, and black licorice. Earthy, leather, tobacco, spice, black pepper, and black cherry are the tastes that stand out to me when I taste this wine. It is beautifully influenced by the oak it was aged in. Without a doubt, this is one of the most genius combinations of flavors and aromas I have ever had in a Syrah.

My Success!

I passed my exam and am now officially a Certified Specialist of Wine!

All of the hours of studying, stress, solitude, and emotions paid off. I couldn't be more happy and am excited to continue progressing in my wine career!

A Short Break from my Blogging

Hi everyone!

I just wanted to let you know that I haven't forgotten about my blog, let alone my passion for writing about wine. I will be taking a break from blogging while I am heavily studying to become a Certified Specialist of Wine through the Society of Wine Educators. My blogs will be up and running again mid December.

Wish me luck! :)

Truchard Vineyards

Throughout my years of following the wine industry, I have enjoyed veering away from the corporate giants and seeking more family owned and exclusive wineries. Available by appointment only, away from the main highways, Truchard Vineyards is precisely my kind of winery.

During my visit to Napa in July, I made sure to plan ahead and visit some of these wineries. Although Truchard is mostly available for appointments during the week, I was very excited that they were able to squeeze us in on a Saturday.

The property is located in the Carneros region of Napa Valley, along Old Sonoma Road. The driveway to the winery is a bit tricky to find and we had to turn around a couple of times and drive past again. Upon finding the property, we pulled up the driveway toward the tasting room and were greeted by a friendly little goat.

Our tour and tasting was guided by none other than the gracious Jo Ann Truchard, co-founder of Truchard Vineyards. She began our tour by pouring us a glass of wine and taking us out into the vineyard. The property is quite stunning with a small pond sitting at the bottom of the vine covered hills. We walked through the cabernet-filled slopes and the chardonnay flat lands. Jo Ann gave us each a bottle label to show us this exact scene where the inspiration for the label design came from.

She then took us into the intricate wine cave. Shaped with tunnels in all directions, we walked through and acknowledged the different brands and oaks of the barrels the wines are aged in. Wandering through the cave tunnels not only gave us some insight to their wine process, but also provided a nice cool break from the summer heat of Napa Valley.

We followed the path back to the antique barn-styled tasting room where Jo Ann poured us several of their estate wines. While we tasted, she enlightened us on how her husband Tony and herself bought and converted the Carneros property into a vineyard during the 70's and began making wine in the late 80's. And only those who have tried wine from Truchard would know exactly how well that has worked out.

Now on to the wines! Truchard is one of the few wineries where you can literally go down the list and fall in love with each one of their wines that you taste. Here are some of my favorites...

• Truchard Vineyards, 2007 Pinot Noir- This particular one has to have the most elegant and fresh strawberry aroma of any pinot noir I have tasted. I found myself taking extra time to just inhale the amazing scent before tasting. The wine has a great oak flavor with creamy bold berries. This wine has a notable amount of substance for being a pinot noir.

• Truchard Vineyards, 2006 Tempranillo- This wine has to be my favorite at Truchard. Being a fan of oak, this wine has an utterly powerful oak flavor to it that lingers. The deep colored wine provides the palate with a spicy, citrus, and peppery taste; followed by a bold bitter ending that is perfect to finish off each sip.

• Truchard Vineyards, 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon- Anyone who knows anything about the Cabernet Sauvignon grape would not expect this type of wine to be successful in a cooler climate area like Carneros. Truchard proves again that it knows no limits. This wine starts with an enticing aroma of sweet plum and dark berries. The bold taste consists of fresh oak, fruits, nuts, with a creamy gentle aftertaste.

• Truchard Vineyards, 2006 Roussanne- This wine is absolutely perfect for those looking to find a dessert wine that doesn't remind them of sugar syrup. Truchard's Roussanne has an impeccably natural honey taste that is dry and crisp, yet creamy. With its hints of citrus, this wine reminds me of sipping a cup of herbal tea with honey and lemon in it.

For anyone visiting Napa Valley's beautiful wine country, Truchard Vineyards is definitely a stop you'll want to make. With a gorgeous property, wonderful host, and incredible wine, you cannot go wrong.

http://www.truchardvineyards.com/