Sangiovese

Tonight we went to dinner at Prosecco in Toluca Lake and had a bottle of 2001 La Berta Sangiovese di Romagna Riserva Olmatello with our dinner. It was pretty good ... nothing outstanding, but it was a nice wine. Well balanced w/ the tannins and fruit as it got some air. Very fruity up front. But dinner was delicious. We go to Prosecco a few times a year and it is great every time.

Under $15 Costco wines

We did a little tasting at my work of five wines, all under $15, from our local Costco. They were:

2006 Whitehaven Sauvignon Blanc
2005 Cambria Chardonnay, Katherine's Vineyard
2005 Santa Barbara Winery Pinot Noir, Central Coast
2005 Andrew Murray Syrah, Tous Les Jours
2003 Chateau Souverain Cabernet Sauvignon, Alexander Valley

Everything was pretty good ... really like the Whitehaven and the Andrew Murray (go figure). The Pinot Noir was a little off to me ... but it was easily the most popular one at the tasting. I was pleasantly surprised by the Cab, I had read some bad things about it, but it was fine. And the Chardonnay was buttery, but not too much ... kind of what you'd expect out of a traditional California Chardonnay.

Overall, the tasting was great and I hope we're able to do it again @ work. :)

Petite Sirah

I've always loved a good Petite Sirah ... it's just unfortunate that not many are bottled, and especially not many cheaper ones. However, the wine we had last night, a 2005 Concannon Petite Sirah, Limited Release was only $10. It was recommended to me by the wine salesman in the wine department of a local store, How's. I opened the bottle and let it sit for about 30-45 minutes and then poured a glass that sat for about 20 minutes before I drank it. Very dark color with a bright red rim. Tons of fruit on the palate, mostly cherry and red fruits. Not a long finish, but overall a very good deal at $10.

A couple hours after finishing off the bottle we ended up at a friends house and I had a glass of 2003 Ferrari-Carano Chardonnay Reserve and a glass of a 2005 Pinot Grigio from Trentino that I wasn't able to get the producer of... both were pretty good. I prefered the Pinot Grigio to the Chardonnay.

Santa Ynez

After our brief trip to Paso Robles on Saturday we were in Santa Ynez on Sunday and went to a couple wineries. First stop was Beckmen (of course).

2005 Beckmen Sauvignon Blanc, Purisima Mountain Vineyard
2005 Beckmen Le Bec Blanc
2005 Beckmen Grenache Rose, Purisima Mountain Vineyard
2005 Beckmen Grenache, Estate
2005 Beckmen Grenache, Purisma Mountain Vineyard
2004 Beckmen Syrah, Estate
2005 Beckmen Syrah, Purisima Mountain Vineyard
2005 Beckmen Cabernet Sauvignon, Estate
2005 Beckmen Syrah Clone #1, Purisma Mountain Vineyard

Everything was really good as usual ... no surprises. We bought a bottle of the Clone #1 and two bottles of their 2nd label, 2005 Big Hands Syrah ... they weren't pouring it but it was just $12/each. I did learn that their 05 PMV Grenache is 20% Syrah and that they don't have to label it as a blend if it has less than 25% of the 2nd varietal.

After Beckmen we went to lunch at Patrick's Side Street Cafe in Los Olivos. Good food, service was a little lacking though. It was close to closing time so I just think they were bothered by us. Oh well though. Had a glass of 2005 Jaffurs Viognier w/ lunch ... rich gold color and the most sediment I've ever seen in a white wine. Good, but not great.

Then we went to Curtis Winery ... we had tried to go there once before but it was packed w/ tons of people so we left immediately. But this time it was definitely manageable. The tasting was $10 (and by taking the glass next door to Firestone you'd be able to taste there for free).

2005 Curtis Viognier
2006 Curtis Heritage Blanc
2006 Curtis Heritage Rose
2004 Curtis Grenache, "The Crossroad"
2004 Curtis Syrah, Vogelzang Vineyard
2004 Syrah, Ambassador's Vineyard

Everything was okay, nothing really stood out as being great and we did not buy any bottles. The winery is a sister winery to Firestone and gets all of their grapes from Firestone (except for the Vogelzang Syrah).

After Curtis we drove back into Los Olivos and went to the Los Olivos Cafe for dessert ... a fresh fruit cobbler (strawberry and apricot) and a creme brulee. mmmmmm. Then back home....

Paso Robles

We drove through Paso Robles on Saturday and decided to stop for some wine tasting :) The first stop was Justin ... hadn't been there in a long time and have really enjoyed it in the past so it was an easy choice. The tasting was $5/each and included 5 wines.

2006 Justin Sauvignon Blanc
2006 Justin Chardonnay
2005 Justin Cabernet Sauvignon
2005 Justin Syrah
2006 Justin "Deborah's Delight"

Everything was pretty good ... nothing really blew me away, but we bought a bottle each of the Chardonnay and Syrah. The Deborah's Delight was their sweet dessert wine ... it was really good, but I couldn't justify spending $50 for a half-bottle of it.

Up next was Tablas Creek (which was also $5/each, which they took off of each bottle purchased). I'd had a couple of their wines before and liked them ...

2005 Tablas Creek Grenache Blanc
2005 Tablas Creek Espirit de Beaucastel Blanc
2006 Tablas Creek Rose
2004 Tablas Creek Cotes De Tablas
2004 Tablas Creek Mourvedre
2003 Tablas Creek Espirit De Beaucastel
2003 Tablas Creek Espirit De Beaucastel
2005 Tablas Creek Cotes De Tablas Blanc
2004 Tablas Creek Vin De Paille
2004 Tablas Creek Tannat

Everything here was fantastic. We ended up getting a bottle each of Cotes de Tablas, Cotes de Tablas Blanc, and the Rose. We tried the Tannat at the very end ... super tannic and could keep for decades. They bottle a lot of different varietals that nobody really bottles on their own, such as Tannat, Counoise, Vermentino, Picpoul Blanc, etc..... I'd love to join the club for this place, but we can't really afford it right now.

On our way out of town we stopped at Hug Cellars ($5/each that is waived if you buy wine). I'd heard of Hug before but I don't specifically remember when or where. It was a warehouse winery ... they just buy grapes and don't own any vineyards.

2005 Casa Mireles "Romanze"
2004 Hug Cellars Syrah, Central Coast
2005 Hug Cellars Syrah, Paso Robles
2005 Hug Cellars Syrah, Cedar Lane Vineyard
2005 Hug Cellars Zinfandel, Paso Robles

Everything was really good ... I guess they are also known for their Pinot Noir (probably how I'd heard of them), but they weren't pouring any. We bought a bottle of the Cedar Lane Syrah. It was a tough choice between the Paso Robles one and that ... but we settled on the Cedar Lane.

It was the first time in probably 10 years I had been to Paso Robles for wine tasting. It seemed much more spread out than Santa Ynez ... but I really liked the feel of the wineries we went to. If only it was just as close as Santa Ynez we would go more often.

Foxen Syrah

Last night we barbequed up a "beer can chicken" and opened a nice bottle of wine to celebrate it being a Saturday. Thank god for weekends. We chose a bottle of 2003 Foxen Syrah William-Dore Vineyard. We wanted something big and forward and figured this would be up to the challenge. And it was, it was really hot w/ alcohol on the nose and palate though. I was too lazy to decant the rest of the bottle and we just let it sit in the bottle and the glass for an extended period of time. It calmed down a little with the added time, but it never really got to the point where I'd recommend the wine as being fabulous. A litttle let down w/ Foxen, I've got to get back to the winery and try their other wines. We're on the waiting list for their wine club, have been now for over a year at least, and am wondering when I will get any sort of communication from them about getting on or whether we even on the waiting list. Makes you appreciate the wineries who are in contact w/ their customers ...

Koehler Viognier

Being that it's summer I'm more eager to try the white wines that we have. Last night we opened a bottle of 2005 Koehler Viognier, Santa Ynez Valley to go along w/ a salad we had for dinner. The bottle started off a little warm (probably around 55º) and it was a little harsh, but with the bottle on ice it improved. However, I must say that after the bottle was empty I felt like it was time for real wine, ie red wine. :)

I'm excited for the summer and to drink more white wine, but it does lack a little in enjoyment for us. Maybe that'll change, maybe not. I think it's more because my palate tends to enjoy wine as wine, not as something to be paired w/ food.