Cathedral Ridge 2007 Riesling – Oregon

Cathedral Ridge is a medium-sized winery in Hood River, Oregon. It has a modern tasting room and a good selection of wines to taste at no charge. This is simply a wonderful wine. Floral notes and roses on the nose. Tastes like a fresh honeydew melon. It’s a subtle, almost sensuous wine. The finish lingers and then softly fades away. Yes (House if it were widely available at retail.) $15

Bolla Bardolino 2005 – Italy

This is the Italian equivalent of a cheap Beaujolais, or of American box wine. As light and watery as an inexpensive Chianti – there’s not much of anything here. If you feel you just have to sample a little of everything, or if you love vapid light wines, then give this a try. It’s not undrinkable, we just wonder why anyone would bother. No. $8 on sale, usually $10.

V. Sattui White Zinfandel 2006 – California

V. Sattui is the ultimate height of Industrial Wine Tourism in Napa. A huge tasting room, tour busses in the parking lot, a giant cheese and gift shop, picnic tables on the lawn. Although we had enjoyed Sattui wines in the past, we needed to get out of this DisneyWine experience as soon as possible. We quickly bought a known-reliable White Zin to take with us to lunch (at Jack London State Park, not at SattuiLand). Nose is (surprisingly for a white Zin) distinctly of melon. The tastes are peaches, strawberries, a tiny bit of sweetness, and a tiny bit of acid. This is totally a picnic sipper, and well done. Yes. About $11-12

Wines for Comfort in the (Financial) Storm

It’s coming up toward the season for holiday dinners, sharing wines, and watching your portfolio’s meltdown. To help you make it through the financial storm, especially at this time of year, we present our suggestions for the best Financial Comfort Wines. These are wines that are soft and soothing, yet are also affordable (especially affordable). They have some depth to them, much more so than light, fruity, summer sipping wines. All are readily available and under $10 (either regular retail or so frequently on sale that you shouldn’t have any problem finding them for less than $10). Even an inexpensive wine can make you feel rich, or at least happy. (We have previously reviewed many of these wines – see our archives for specific reviews.)

REDS
Columbia Crest Syrah – Washington
Fruity, smoky, goes down easy.

Ravenswood Zinfandel – California
Full, dark, spicy, and fruity.

Red Diamond Syrah – Washington
Plums, black cherries, depth.

Bernard Griffin Cabernet-Merlot – Washington
Filling to go with winter stews and chilis.

WHITES
B&G Vouvray – France
A white with weight, but lots of character.

Columbia Crest Pinot Grigio – Washington
Fresh, yet depth to match with food.

A-Z Pinot Gris – Oregon
Smooth, easy drinking, but firm structure.

SPARKLING
Cristalino Rose Cava – Spain
Not big, not serious, just fun.

Chateau St. Michelle Chardonnay – Washington

To show how even less-expensive wines can change between vintage years, here are our observations of the 2005 and 2006 versions of this wine. We tasted these wines separately (several months apart), and wrote the second review without referring to our notes regarding the previous vintage.

2005: Nose of citrus and baked apple. The taste has a “little” everything – a little citrus, a little butter, a little oak. It’s too “white wine” without any good, distinctive flavor or character. Maybe/No. $10 on sale, usually about $14.

2006: Nose of apples and tangerine. Tastes of apple and a surprising amount of “buttery oak” for an inexpensive Washington Chard. There’s also a bit of spice going on in the flavors. A Yes for Francesca; Maybe for Ken (probably because of the oak). Same price as the 2005.

Our Favorite Cookbooks, Part II: Francesca’s Favorites

As usual I have waited until the last minute to write my “5 favorite cookbooks” article (Ken writes with ease and in such an interesting, creative way . . . not me, i have a tendency to try too hard with my limited writing skills and I’m too wordy), but since today I need to pick my “Wednesday night dinner” choices, this is perfect timing.

The Complete Vegetarian Cookbook
When Ken and I first started our romance together, I was a strict vegetarian (salmon once a year on my birthday) and he was still eating meat & chicken, supplementing with his love of fish & pastas. Our eating habits soon changed . . . I started eating more fish and he stopped eating meats. Christmas morning at my parents a few years ago, one of the presents to my mom was this cookbook. Ken and I immediately snatched it from her and began to look inside like two little kids. This cookbook offers a variety of creative main dishes, breakfast & brunch ideas, soups, pastas, casseroles, stir-fries, salads, and condiments. Accompanying this storybook of vegetarian cooking is an array of beautiful pictures to feast upon.

Vegetarian Planet
“350 big-flavor recipes for out-of-this-world food every day” . . . filled with little tidbits about some of the more unknown, hard to find, obscure ingredients.

Horn Of The Moon Cookbook
I happened upon this cookbook when planning a self-catering-accommodation vacation to Vermont to enjoy the autumn colors. In addition, we have a border collie whose name is “Moondoggie” and I seem to gravitate to anything with the word “moon” in it. Nonetheless, this is a wonderful little cookbook. The recipes (which come from the restaurant of the same name in Montpelier, Vermont) are quite simple using basic ingredients, yet fun and inventive.

Café Paradiso Seasons
Each chapter is devoted to a particular season – late spring, summer, autumn, winter, and early spring (with a chapter on outdoor cooking as well). At the beginning of each section is a list of the fruits & vegetables grown during that time of year. The pictures are deliciously enticing, the preparation instructions are incredibly vague, but the end results are very tasty and I love challenging my experience in the kitchen.

Moosewood Restaurant Simple Suppers
We have several Moosewood restaurant cookbooks, and this one is definitely my favorite. Excellent every day recipes for a wholesome, well-balanced diet . . . down-to-earth cooking fun.

(See Part I, Ken's favorite cookbooks, on this previous entry.)

Snoqualmie Riesling 2006 – Washington

Lots of nice floral nuances on the nose. Tastes of honey, with some definite sweetness and a touch (not enough) of acid. A tangerine and pineapple aftertaste. Ken Maybe, Francesca Yes. $8

Buyer Beware: Grape Trickery at Beringer, BV, Redwood Creek, Mark West

We used to claim that some of the best affordable Pinot Noirs came from big producers such as Beringer. But the Beringer Pinot we loved was from California. Then Beringer began sourcing grapes from France, and later from Italy. We liked those wines less (France) and a lot less (Italy). So we sorta gave up on Beringer Pinot.

Last night, we opened a Redwood Creek Pinot we were familiar with and it was completely different from our previous bottles. What happened, again, is that the winery stopped sourcing grapes from France and it’s now Italian. A similar experience happened with a BV Pinot a few months ago.

BV is now owned by Diageo; Beringer by Beringer Blass; Redwood Creek by Gallo; and Mark West by Constellation. (At least they were the last time we looked. Huge beverage companies trade wineries like commodities nowadays.) All are just little parts of big wine conglomerates, and the factory wines they are producing more-and-more taste like it.

In our opinion, if a winery is going to completely change the source of its grapes, it needs to produce a completely different label highlighting that fact. As it is, maybe the less-knowledgeable (or rushed) consumer will be fooled and just buy a bottle of cheap Pinot and be satisfied enough to buy it again. But our guess is that the quality and flavor fluctuations will turn off many customers – like it has for us.

We don’t want to scrutinize every label, especially of a wine we’ve had before and enjoyed. So guess what, Beringer, BV, Redwood Creek? We’re just gonna buy someone else’s wine next time. Guess this just gives us a chance to try other new and potentially interesting wines.

Our Favorite Cookbooks

Not too long ago, we got to discussing our favorite cookbooks. As much as we invent and create, we still enjoy collecting and using cookbooks. We even have our Wednesday Night Dinners, where we randomly choose a recipe from one of our cookbooks. (Of course, we always seem to add, subtract, spice differently, or adapt almost any recipe we try. Truly, as I type this, Francesca is making a zucchini risotto that was originally a carrot risotto in the cookbook.)

Ken’s Favorites
(Next week, look for Francesca’s reviews of her favorite cookbooks.)

The Complete Asian Cookbook
If you want just one cookbook covering just about everything Asian – Thai, Japanese, Burmese, Indian, you name it – this should be on your shelf. Authentic recipes, often requiring hard-to-find Asian ingredients that may not be available outside larger cities. Nonetheless, a great book.

Great Dinners from Life
Life magazine used to run a feature on Great Dinners, where the entire meal was presented – appetizer, soup, main, dessert, as appropriate. The recipes were compiled into this book in 1969. I can’t think of another cookbook that has so many successful recipes. Plus, the photos are gorgeous and inspiring.

Moosewood Restaurant Simple Suppers
The Moosewood cooperative has been running a successful restaurant for decades, and producing cookbooks for nearly as long. The food is mostly vegetarian, but the newer cookbooks (such as this) include some fish and seafood recipes. We own several Moosewood cookbooks, but this is my favorite.

Woman’s Day Encyclopedia of Cookery
Old. This 12-volume series was published in 1966, and despite its age is still an incredible reference. If you want to know the history of asparagus, or the basics of how to make a hollandaise sauce, this is great. Probably only available in used book stores or thrift shops.

Horn of the Moon Cookbook
This was a cookbook I resisted actually liking. I found several recipes that sounded good, but they always seemed full of Tofu or earth-hugger grains; or the spicing seemed just too wimpy. Well, consider myself chastised. As we always do in the kitchen, we modify a lot, but the recipes in Horn of the Moon have consistently been excellent.

Chipotle Mayonnaise Recipe & Bogle Petite Sirah

RECIPE
Carvers Restaurant in Durango, Colorado, is a wonderful casual restaurant and brew pub that serves (among other dishes) great sandwiches and burgers with a signature Chipotle Mayonnaise. Chipotles are smoked Jalapeño peppers, and usually sold in cans in a tomato-like Adobo sauce. (On a totally unrelated note, a friend of ours in Durango always gets strange looks from the Carvers waitresses when he orders a veggie burger with bacon.) Being friends with the owners, we were able to coax from them the Chipotle Mayonnaise recipe. Despite the fact that recipes can’t be copyrighted, we wouldn’t want to give away the exact Carvers recipe, so here’s our slightly modified version. (Besides, the original recipe calls for ingredients to make gallons of the stuff.)

• Chipotles in adobo sauce chopped very fine (2-3 chiles from a 6-oz can – the rest can be successfully frozen for later use)
• Tablespoon fresh crushed Garlic
• Tablespoon chopped fresh Cilantro
• 1/4 cup Olive Oil
• Tablespoon Honey
• Salt & Pepper to taste
• (Alternately, all ingredients can be added to a food processor to make this Chipotle base mix.)
• Mix Chipotle mix with your favorite Mayonnaise – start with maybe a cup of Mayonnaise for the above amount of Chipotle base mix.
• Add more or less Mayo depending on your heat tolerance and the strength of the Chipotles.

This is wonderful with any kind of sandwiches, burgers, nachos, other Mexican dishes, and even seafood cocktails. If you’re ever in Durango, stop by Carvers and try the original. The restaurant also has the best craft-brewed beers in the region. (Carvers was the second micro brewery in the state, opening just a few months after New Belgium, of Fat Tire fame.)

WINE
The most recent time we used Chipotle Mayonnaise was with some veggie/mushroom/cheese burgers. We accompanied it with....
Bogle Petite Sirah 2005 – California
We’d forgotten how much we liked this wine, and we hadn’t re-tasted it since we started writing these wine notes. Nose of dark cherry and pepper. Smooth, integrated tastes of boysenberry and spice. Just enough tannins to give the wine some weight. Very much along the stylistic lines of the Concannon we reviewed (and especially liked) previously. This, too, has that almost Zinfandel tone to it. House. $12

Scallop & Onion Stew

We’re back from a good trip to Scotland, and although we didn’t return with any Scottish wine, we did have one of the best dinners of our lives (Three Chimneys restaurant on the isle of Skye), had a couple of interesting whiskey tastings, and enjoyed randomly buying inexpensive wines from various market shelves. We also brought back a few books, including a Scottish fish cookbook.
Last night, we adapted a scallop and onion stew from the cookbook.

• Quarter large scallops, or leave tiny bay scallops whole
• Simmer in a little water and white wine until done
• In a separate pan, sauté finely chopped onion in butter until soft (not brown)
• Add a tablespoon of flour to the onions when done, and then add the scallop liquid
• Boil for a few minutes, then add scallops, about a quarter cup of cream, and a dash of Dijon mustard
• Heat (but don’t boil) the stew, and transfer to individual baking/serving casseroles
• Top each casserole with a mix of bread crumbs and grated Scottish cheddar
• Broil for a minute or two, just until the top begins to slightly brown and the cheese melts
• Serve with mashed potatoes (we used non-mashing red potatoes from our garden and they were great)

We paired this with a Mayacamas Sauvignon Blanc we previously reviewed, and it was an excellent match.

Vacation

We’re off to Scotland for the next 3 weeks. Visiting the Highlands and Islands; driving on the other side of the road; sampling a wee dram of Whiskey here and there. We are planning to get away from technology as much as possible, so we’re NOT taking a computer and don’t plan on any posting. Also, that means any comments to this blog won’t be moderated until we return. See you all again in late September.

For your enjoyment until then, here are a few of our totally biased “best of” entries from the past year:

Our House Wine List
Famous Fish Tacos
Wine Tasting Travel Tips
French Onion Soup
Teriyaki Salmon with Mushroom Risotto

Cambria Chardonnay Santa Maria Valley 2006 – California

Nose of ripe apples. Tastes definitely along the California profile, but some earthy notes. Nutty, crab apple. Some nice acidity, but not the minerals of a French Chard. And definitely some of that California buttery oak, but not overwhelming. Limited production, you probably won’t find it at retail (but available to the mailing list and on the website). Yes. $22

B.R. Cohn Woody White NV – California

This is a wild child. It opens with a nose of... honeysuckle? key lime? The tastes are grapefruit, floral, and maybe some mango. It somehow has an overall “tropical” feel to it, and is crisp and full (but not creamy) at the same time. Very unusual, and we like unusual. It tastes like the bastard love child of a Sauvignon Blanc and a Roussanne/Marsanne, although the label does not indicate what grapes are used. We try to evaluate wines without input from the winemaker, but will send them a note to see what this is made of. House (depending on availability)/Yes. $15

French Hill Petite Sirah 2005 – California

We discovered French Hill – in the Sierra Foothills of California – several years ago on a winter trip to Yosemite. We had a fine Cabernet Sauvignon and a wonderful Zinfandel Port which are no longer made. Yet the wines we found on this trip were still great. This opens with a full, deep nose of mixed berries and black pepper. Tastes are of a mixed bowl of berries, black pepper, smoke, and boysenberry. It’s rich and chewy, and with very dry tannins. This would be a great pizza wine. Yes. $28

Momokawa Silver Junmai Ginjo Sake

“Typical” sake tastes and nose. An alcoholy rice and honey profile. This particular sake has bits of baked apple and mushroom notes. Francesca called it “vodka with flavor.” We enjoy sake both cold and warm. We tried this cold, as the brewer recommended. A Maybe cold (not nearly as good cold as an unfiltered sake such as Pearl). Warm, it’s nice, but just another sake. About $10

Cartlidge & Browne Pinot Noir 2006 – California

Wonderful nose of cherry and chocolate. Tastes of cherry, maybe a little plum, pomegranate, and chocolate (the label says “anise” and we could maybe find that). Very smooth, with a soft finish. Yet as it spends time open, it weirdly develops some nice acidity on the finish. Yes. $14

B.R. Cohn Roadster Red Non-Vintage – California

Bruce Cohn is the long-time manager of the Doobie Brothers, and his winery tasting room is filled with musical memorabilia. His wines aren’t too bad, either. The tasting room was bright and lively, and the server knowledgeable. We generally shy away from inexpensive red blends, but enjoyed this a lot. It opens with a nose of blackberry, cherry, and spice. The tastes are smooth, with nice acidity and mild tannins. The primary flavors are roasted plum and dark blackberry. Cohn is into restoring old automobiles, thus the wine’s name. Yes. $15

Kestrel Lady In Red Non Vintage – Washington

Friends brought this over for dinner, having picked it up at Costco (which has been known to have some nice wines). To us, it’s just another red wine. Better than the “standard” of cheap reds (Trader Joe’s Two-Buck Chuck - aka “2 Buck Junk”), but still just a red wine nonetheless. This has been well-rated by Wine Spectator, but for us, it’s a Maybe at best. (We originally didn’t know what our friends paid, but having found out it’s $21 retail, we’d really not bother.)

This is a good time for a digression about personal tastes. We read the popular wine press, and often agree with many of the writers – especially Matt Kramer in Wine Spectator and John Brecher & Dorothy Gaiter of the Wall St. Journal. All writers have personal favorites, and despite trying to be impartial in their reviews, their own upbringing and taste preferences can (and do) color their recommendations. Remember that applies to us, too. Another Wine Spectator writer, James Suckling, seems to be on a mission to deify all Italian wines, while we seldom find anything beyond ordinary in almost all Italian wines, no matter the price. Our suggestion, of course, is to taste a lot of wines, and read a lot of wine writers and their reviews. Once you can say, as we did above, that you agree with a taster’s tastes, then you can begin to rely more on their recommendations.

Red Bicyclette Pinot Noir 2005 – France

Dry, French, and minerally. A little rustic. (You know, we just used that word – one we’ve seen in respected wine magazines – for the first time. We actually don’t have the faintest idea what it really means, but it somehow seems right for this wine. We think of maybe barnwood and hayfields.) A bit of plum on the nose. Similar to the Redwood Creek French/California Pinot we previously reviewed, but with a bit less fruitiness. Yes/Maybe. $10 on sale, about $13 retail.

Sauvignon Blanc & Steamed Salmon

DINNER
A friend mentioned recently that we haven’t been discussing food and cooking as much as we should. So... we’ve been playing with a new bamboo steamer. Food comes out crisp and moist (is that a contradiction?). The other night we put salmon (with a little mild teriyaki sauce) on one tray of the steamer, and some sliced parsnips on the other. The salmon was incredibly moist and tender, and the vegetables retained their flavor and texture and went well with the teriyaki. Japanese rice with green onions on the side.


WINE
Nobilo Sauvignon Blanc 2006 – New Zealand
If you’ve ever had a “typical” New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, you know the wine’s basic profile – this Nobilo could be the prototypical one. The nose is zingy, citrusy, with some grass and dried flowers. Somewhere underneath there is a hint of more depth with olive oil and herbs. (We make it sound like the nose is more dynamic than the taste. Remember that our sense of smell has a huge impact on our taste buds.) Drinking the wine, it has a clean grassiness and tastes of grapefruit and lemon, with bright acids and a tart finish. This and Brancott are our two favorite inexpensive New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs. House. About $12.

A-Z Pinot Gris 2006 – Oregon

This is a “halfway” Pinot Grigio. It’s not the Junior Chardonnay style, but neither is it dry and crisp. Floral and pear on the nose. Tastes more toward the crisp style (our preference), with notes of dried pears and ripe apples. Yes. $10

[Update: As previously mentioned, if we find a wine rated elsewhere, we will note those ratings – but only after we write our reviews. This received an 89 from Wine Spectator.]

Grgich Hills Fume Blanc 2006 – California

We were rather unimpressed with Grgich – a winery we’d heard so many positive reviews about, and whose Zinfandels we were just dying to try. The tasting room experience was unimpressive, and the Zins were just rather common (especially given our stated love of big, fruity Zins such as Turley or Ridge). When we visited, we liked this Sauvignon Blanc enough to buy a bottle, but when we tried it at home we were overwhelmed. We’ve said before that the tasting-room experience can color your impression of a wine, and this is a perfect example. This Grgich Sauvignon Blanc is near perfect. Nose of pineapple, wet grass, and straw. The tastes are a smooth grassiness (rather than the bright, tight grass of a typical New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc), with good acid and fruit balance. There’s a tiny bit of oak/spice, and tastes of pineapple and melon. This wine could be an aperitif or a dinner wine equally well. Truly exceptional. House/Yes (not a full House only because of the price). $28

[Update: As previously mentioned, if we find a wine rated elsewhere, we will note those ratings – but only after we write our reviews. This received a 90 from Wine Spectator.]

Rayun Syrah 2006 – Chile

Nice. A good touch of cedar on the nose. Tastes of cedar, pepper, and mint; dark but not too dark. Dry and just the right amount of tannins. Very smooth and well integrated for an inexpensive Syrah. House/Yes. $13

Mayacamas Sauvignon Blanc 2006 – California

Mayacamas is known for big, age-worthy Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, and (at least in the past) some monster Zinfandels. The winery is old (parts built in the 1860s), most of the winemaking tasks are still done by hand, and even some of the huge oak casks are from the late 1800s. On this trip to the tasting room (appointments necessary; and leave a trail of breadcrumbs to follow on the twisting, convoluted drive) we were intrigued with the Sauvignon Blanc. This is a big, rich style (more than 15% alcohol) – you’ll never confuse this with a New Zealand Sauvignon or most California ones. It opens with a huge apple and floral nose. The tastes are smooth, rich, and integrated. This, to us, is a very French white Bordeaux style. It has a long, delayed finish. It could easily be confused with a lightly oaked Chardonnay. This is the type of wine, and the type of winery, we want to support. Wines are still made rather like they were half a centaury ago – a good thing. Even if we weren’t in love with every particular Mayacamas wine, their traditional winemaking skill and care shine thorough. Yes. $30

Lost River Cedarosa 2005 – Washington

This Cabernet Franc and Merlot blend has a wonderful deep cherry nose. Rich character, earthy, with a “dark” taste. Spiciness and pepper on the finish. Very smooth and integrated. Yes. About $15.

Red Diamond Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 – Washington

A curious wine. When we like a wine from a winery we don’t know much about, we usually try other wines from them also. We really like Red Diamond’s Syrah, so decided to try this Cabernet Sauvignon. This has a nice, smoky, fruity nose. But then the tastes come on very soft, with some plum notes, almost like a Merlot, and it finishes with a bit of dry tannins. To test our taste buds, right after this bottle we opened a Columbia Crest Merlot-Cabernet, and the two wines tasted darn near identical. Maybe. $8 on sale, usually 12.

Tasting Room Notes

Tasting Room Wines & Tasting Notes
Wines sampled in winery tasting rooms always taste different than when you have them at home. The wines are usually at a different temperature than your preference (whites, especially, are generally poured a bit warmer than most folks normally drink them); the occasion is special; and you’re tasting several different wine styles over a very short period of time (reds and whites, sweet and dry, etc.). Thus, we generally try to only review wines we’ve purchased and then evaluated at home. Look for our Tasting Room Notes icon on these reviews, and on posts regarding wine tasting and winery visits.

Loxton Rose 2007 – California

We really wanted to like these wines a bit more than we actually did. We did like the Loxton wines, but we were hoping for just a little “more” from this winemaker who grew up in an Australian wine-growing family. The wine opens with a mild floral and berry nose. The tastes are quite dry, almost like a French vin de pays. This is nice, but just not a “lot” of anything. It’s to us a bit better slightly above refrigerator temperature. Yes/Maybe. $17

Small Winery Wine Prices

We’re back from our wine adventure, and will have lots of wines to review in the near future.

We were recently reading one of our favorite travel bloggers, who was mentioning a way to earn frequent-flyer miles by joining a particular wine club. He said something to the effect of: “I’d never pay $10 for a bottle of wine, but that’s up to you.”

We didn’t know what to think. He’s obviously not a wine drinker, for which we feel sad. Yes, there are a lot of great wines available for less than $10 (and we’ve reviewed many), but it’s highly unlikely you’ll find any from the small, unique wineries of the world.

On our trip, we found that, generally, the minimum price at a small winery was about $15 – which we thought was a bargain. These may not be quite “mom-and-pop” wineries (if such a thing can exist in today’s marketplace), but they make in a year what Gallo (or even Mondavi) makes in a day.

We want to support the small wineries, which is why we recommend that if you go to a small winery’s tasting room, if at all possible buy at least one bottle. You’ll generally find something fun, unusual, and possibly unique.

Old Zinfandel Vines, Napa, California

Wine Tasting & Travel Tips

We had a great quick trip to several wineries in California, Washington, and Oregon. We’ll post reviews of many wines and wineries in the future, but thought we’d start with some ideas about how to make the winery wine-tasting experience the best possible.

• Make some choices before you go. If this is your first trip to wine country, you might want to go to some of the big names – for example in Napa you might visit Mondavi, Sterling, and Beringer.
• Visit some smaller wineries. Even if you’re a wine-tasting newbie, take some time to visit several smaller wineries – at the smallest ones you’ll have a good chance that the winemaker/owner will be pouring in the tasting room, and you’ll have some great conversations.
• Make appointments. If there’s some place you really want to see (especially small wineries) make an appointment in advance.
• Don’t try to do too much each day. We found that three to four wineries in the morning, and another three or four in the afternoon, were more than enough.
• Buy some wine. Unless the wine just isn’t enjoyable, purchase at least one bottle of something you enjoyed at the tasting room. It will support the winery, and be a wonderful memory of your travels.
  
• Don’t be afraid to pour. Even the small tasting amounts can add up. You’re there for wine tasting, not wine drinking. The pour bucket is totally acceptable to use.
• There are no “bad” wines. A wine might not be to your tastes, but don’t say, “that’s awful.” If you need to express a negative opinion, just say that the wine isn’t your style.
• Be prepared to pay. Many wineries, especially in Napa, now charge for tasting. Some apply the tasting fee to purchases, others don’t. Also in Napa, be prepared for the “Disneyland” experience – at some big and popular wineries, it’s now become industrial tourism, with complimentary souvenir tasting glasses (after you just paid $10 for tasting), huge cheese and gift shops, and tour busses lined up outside.
• For the big wineries, go early. And at any time of day, if there’s a tour bus in the parking lot, go elsewhere, fast.
• Take a tour or two. We’d suggest taking one “big” winery tour, and a smaller one. On this trip, the big tour was at Benziger in Glen Ellen (Sonoma Valley), where the 45-minute tour goes through the vineyards, the production facility, and the cellars, ending with a tasting. Our small tour was just the two of us (the other three guests were late) at Mayacamas (outside Napa Valley). There, we witnessed what winemaking was like a half century ago – not much has changed, and that’s all for the best. Note that the small Mayacamas tour and tasting was free, and the big Benziger had a charge. Both were excellent tours, nonetheless.
• Explore not just smaller wineries, but smaller regions. We found several good wineries outside Hood River, Oregon, and wanted to spend a lot more time at the wineries in Amador County in the Sierra Foothills.
• Be enthusiastic and appreciative. You just might be offered a special wine, or be offered to taste the whole tasting list, rather than just the limit of four (or however many) for free.

Outside B.R. Cohn winery, Sonoma

Wine Country Traveling

We’re off on a short trip to the wine regions of Yakima, Washington; Hood River, Oregon; Napa/Sonoma, California; and the Sierra Foothills of California. We should have some fun new wines to review when we return (and will try to find time to post a bit along the way on our trip).

Masciarelli Montepulciano d’ Abruzzo 2004 – Italy

This starts with a nose of deep, black cherry. The flavors aren’t very fruity, but rather of briar and bramble, almost “woody,” but not in an oaky sense. There’s also a hint of mint. Puckery tannins, and some nice acids. Yes for Ken, Maybe for Francesca. $11

Columbia Winery Syrah 2004 – Washington

Nose of dark cherry and blackberry. This is one of the darker, smoky, peppery, and spicy Syrahs. We like both this style, and the fruiter style such as seen in the Columbia Crest and Red Diamond Syrahs we've previously reviewed. There is, still, some blackberry notes in this, as well as nice tannins and acidity. A Yes for Ken; Maybe for Francesca. $10 on sale, regularly about $17.

Columbia Winery Pinot Gris 2006 – Washington

Pinot Gris is the name more frequently used in Washington and (especially) Oregon than Pinot Grigio. Still, it’s the same grape, just like Syrah (California or France) and Shiraz (Australia) are the same. This has a buttery and citrus nose. It tastes rather “thick,” with grapefruit and some butter, and a tiny bit of nutmeg spice, with a smooth finish. Yes for Francesca, Maybe for Ken. $10 on sale.

Beringer Founders Estate Shiraz 2004 – California

Following our own advice, we began sampling other wines from a winery where we liked one particular wine. We really enjoy the Beringer Founders’ Estate Pinot Noir (California) – in fact, it’s one of our House wines. Yet we were disappointed with both this, and a Cabernet Sauvignon we reviewed previously. This does have some bold, zingy acids, and some green pepper and black pepper spice. It’s just not special enough, and not too well integrated. Maybe. $8 on sale, retail $13.
(Note: The Beringer Pinot has changed, to several different wines. It's now made from French or Italian grapes. We've sampled the French wine, and were ambivalent - good but not great. We haven't yet tried the Italian.)

Columbia Winery Cellarmaster’s Riesling 2006 – Washington

Just as there are two Stag’s Leaps in California, there are two Columbias in Washington. Columbia Winery is less well-known than Columbia Crest, but produces some very nice wines. This Riesling has a wonderful honey and mildly floral nose, and the tastes are honey, pear, and melon. This is frankly sweet (not overly so), yet without quite enough acidity to balance the sweetness. It’s almost more of a dessert wine. Still, a Yes wine. Probably about $15.

Vin du Lac of Chelan “Les Amis” Riesling/Muskat 2005 – Washington

This is a 67% Riesling and 33% Muskat blend. It has a wonderful floral nose of honeysuckle and tangerine. The tastes are soft and creamy (not in an “oaky” sense), but with just enough acid for balance. We’re tasting pansies, honeysuckle, honey, lemon (that little acidity), and a hint of melon. A new House wine for us. This goes to show that you can’t judge a winery by one wine – we didn’t much care for the Vin du Lac Chelan “Grisant” Pinot Gris (we gave that wine a Maybe/No), but this Riesling/Muskat is great. And cheaper. $11 on sale, usually about $17-18

Francois Pinon Vouvray 2006 Cuvee Tradition – France

This is a "bigger" French Loire Vouvray. It offers sharp, distinctive Chenin flavors, and some weight and substance. As with the B&G Vouvray (which is one of our house wines), this is not one of those sometimes soft, limp American Chenins. Nor is it the minerally type often found from South Africa. It’s different from the B&G, but both are what we think a good French Chenin should be like. Yes. $18

Vin du Lac of Chelan “Grisant” Pinot Gris 2006 – Washington

This was a challenging one for us. Fresh from the fridge, this tasted like the bastard love child of a Riesling and a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. While we like both Rieslings and Sauvignon Blancs, this wasn’t a spectacular combo. As the wine warmed a bit, it developed flavors of grapefruit and a “creamy” citrus. The nose is floral, citrus, and buttery. Francesca liked it more as it opened up in the glass, while for Ken this went more toward the Pinot Grigio style he doesn’t much care for – sort of like a Junior Chardonnay. If your tastes run toward this style, worth sampling. Despite our tastebuds, this is still a well-made wine. Maybe/No for us. $15 on sale, usually $22.

Jason (Pahlmeyer) Pinot Noir 2005 – California

Pahlmeyer is known for its “industrial strength” reds (Cabernet, Merlot, and red blends) and Chardonnay. We understand this is only the second vintage for the Pinot Noir, and it’s a stunner, yet different from many other Pahlmeyer reds. This opens with a big nose of cherry fruit, and the tastes continue with more of a fruit-bomb of cherry flavors. This is surprisingly high in alcohol for a Pinot (yet not so for a Pahlmeyer), yet has nicely balanced tannins and acids – very smooth and integrated. About $65. Yes.

Artichokes, Shrimp Cocktail & Chenin Blanc

WINE
Covey Run Chenin Blanc 2005 – Washington
This is one of those wines that are two-wines-in-one. The first is when the wine is cold from the refrigerator – the nose is mild, just a hint of apple. The tastes are a little too much like many inexpensive, ethereal (typically California) Chenins. Yet once this wine warms and opens in the glass, it becomes almost like a Vouvray – tastes of honey and melon. And the tangy zingy-ness it has when cold disappears and becomes a mild natural sweetness with a nice, mild acid balance. It definitely smoothes out as it warms. Yes (bordering on House). $8


DINNER
Steamed Artichokes & Southwest Shrimp Cocktail

• Pan braise fresh peeled and deveined shrimp in tequila, chili oil, rosemary, and garlic. Chill.
• Mix ketchup, mayonnaise, crushed garlic, finely chopped onion, finely chopped chipotle chili. Chill.
• Serve warm artichokes and cold shrimp. Dip artichokes in either melted butter or cocktail sauce.

Turley Dogtown Zinfandel 2002 – California

This opens with strong cherry on the nose, as well as a little blackberry. The tastes are incredibly smooth and integrated, with black cherry, a hint of spice, and a wonderful transition to a long, lingering finish. Francesca called this a “whoomkph” wine. Lots of power and balance. Oh my, Yes. Probably around $50 if you can find it.