PERLIS PICKS: THE GARAGISTE FESTIVAL [Part Two]

August 11, 2018 by Michael Perlis Leave a Comment

Last week I gave you an introduction to the latest Garagiste Festival held in Santa Monica. Here now are some comments about the wines Karen and I enjoyed.

Ascension Cellars – winemaker Erick Allen continues to make consistently high quality wines from Paso Robles grapes. Primarily Rhone varietals, my favorites were the 2017 Siren Rose, the 2016 Enchantress Rhone White blend and the 2014 Trinity GSM blend.

Byron Blatty Wines – committed to making wines sourced from Los Angeles County vineyards, owners Mark & Jenny Blatty along with winemakers Steve Lemley & Nate Hasper (more on them below) are making some remarkable wines. The two wines listed in the program were poured recently at the Wine On The Roof event in Santa Clarita, so I didn’t taste those this time. But the other two that Mark Blatty poured were excellent as well –the 2016 Agenda (primarily Syrah with a little Tannat) and the 2016 Pragmatic (Malbec with small amounts of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot).

Caliza Winery – Carl Bowker has been making his small production Rhones in Paso Robles for about ten years now and he has certainly got it down. I tasted his wines recently at Hospice du Rhone but I did try his two 2017 bottlings this time, the Pink GSM and the Kissin’ Cousins White Rhone Blend. Both were delicious, as was my revisit of the 2013 Estate Grenache.

Domane Kreger – this winery is based in Lancaster, CA and sources grapes from Santa Barbara County and Paso Robles. I really liked their 2014 Syrah and 2013 Tempranillo.

Dusty Nabor Wines – Dusty not only gets my vote for coolest winemaker name but is making excellent wines in Westlake Village from Central Coast grapes. He was pouring several wines but my favorite was his 2016 Grenache from Paso Robles.

Hoi Polloi Wines – Doug Minnick is not only one of the founders of the Garagiste Festivals but is one of the owners/winemakers of this winery with a tasting room in downtown Newhall. They have the distinction of making Karen’s all-time favorite Rose and the rest of the wines are pretty great too. The 2016 “Blue Velvet” Syrah from the iconic Larner Vineyard was a standout for me.

Leverage Wines – Paso Robles gets a lot of love at Garagiste and here is another one, focusing on Rhones [which always works for me]. Excellent 2017 Grenache Rose and 2015 Trajectory GSM.

Marin’s Vineyard – This Monterey County winery specializes in Syrah and Viognier. They do a pretty nice Malbec too. We’re talking Southern Monterey County, so think Paso as opposed to cool weather styles.

Mastro Scheidt – sourcing grapes from Sonoma and Mendocino counties, owner/winemaker David Scheidt makes delicious Zinfandel, Cabernet Franc as well as a Super Tuscan blend of Sangiovese and Cabernet Sauvignon. And his Cabernet Sauvignons are pretty tasty too.

Monochrome Wines – I’m just going to say it: It takes balls to make only white wine in red wine country. Since I was focusing primarily on reds I almost skipped it. Fortunately, Karen insisted I try the wines. As usual…um, always…she was right. Especially loved the 2016 blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Marsanne as well as the 2016 blend of Marsanne and Chardonnay. They are pouring in Paso’s Tin City now and I highly recommend you check them out. We intend to.

Pulchella Winery – the men, the myths, the legends. Winemakers Steve Lemley and Nate Hasper put the Santa Clarita Valley wine scene on the map. Not ones to rest on their laurels, they just keep getting better, especially for me the 2015 Tannat.

Record Family Wines – with wines now being made by Jeff Strekas [of Onx] this Paso Robles winery is poised to break out big. The 2017 Grenache Rose was my favorite, but the others showed the capabilities of the family’s vineyard as well.

Stolo Family Vineyards – based in Cambria, this coastal winery produces wines more similar to Sonoma Coast’s style as opposed to nearby Paso Robles. The 2016 Estate Syrah and the 2015 Estate Hillside Reserve Syrah were both great examples of cool climate wines.

Sweetzer Cellars – An excellent example of consumers turned winemakers and named after the street they lived on in West Hollywood, I really enjoyed the 2017 Rose of Grenache as well as the 2016 Grenache from the Central Coast.

TLO Wines – good news for Bakersfield residents and those not far from there: TLO is opening a tasting room just for you. I especially liked the 2016 blend of Tempranillo, Syrah and Mourvedre as well as the 2014 Reserve Syrah.

TW Fermentation Co. – I’m admittedly more of a Rhone and Zin guy, but this Paso Robles winery is selling me on Paso Cab with the 2012-2014 vertical of Straight Cab as well as their 2014 Bordeaux blend.

Wildwood Oak Winery – it was nice to see some Lodi representation. Anita and Tony Matlock source their grapes from there; the winery is in Redlands. I enjoyed the 2016 “Dancing Queen” Syrah from the Abba Vineyard [get it?].

As I mentioned above, there were almost 50 wineries pouring so I if I didn’t mention a winery I probably didn’t get to it this time.

To bring this article full circle [see Part One], I haven’t read anywhere as to whether Jonathan Gold had an opinion about The Garagiste Festival. I like to think he would have approved. Not sure what he’d think of this article though. He was once quoted [tongue in cheek?] as saying: “Wine writing is what food writers do when their knees start to go.”

Michael Perlis has been pursuing his passion for wine for more than 25 years. He has had the good fortune of having numerous mentors to show him the way, as well as a wonderful wife who encourages him and shares his interest. After a couple of decades of learning about wine, attending events, visiting wineries and vineyards, and tasting as much wine as he possibly could, he had the amazing luck to meet Eve Bushman. Now, as Contributing Editor for Eve’s Wine 101, he does his best to bring as much information as possible about wine to Eve’s Wine 101 faithful readers. Michael is also Vice President of Eve Bushman Consulting (fka Eve’s Wine 101 Consulting) http://evebushmanconsulting.com/ and President of MCP Financial. Michael can be contacted at michaelthezinfan@aol.com or michael@evebushmanconsulting.com.

PERLIS PICKS THE GARAGISTE FESTIVAL: URBAN EXPOSURE [Part One]

August 4, 2018 by Michael Perlis Leave a Comment

Saturday, July 21^st was a great day that ended on a very sad note.

Karen and I had a wonderful time at the latest incarnation of The Garagiste Festival: Urban Exposure in Santa Monica and followed that with an early dinner at one of our new favorite restaurants, Lunetta, also in Santa Monica.

By the time we got home though, social media was blowing up with the sad news of the passing of Pulitzer Prize winning food critic Jonathan Gold.

Now, this article is not intended to be a tribute to Mr. Gold. Far better writers than I am, many who knew him personally, have penned heartfelt remembrances that you should seek out; his influence on the Los Angeles restaurant scene is incalculable and he will be sorely missed.

But it got me thinking that some of the traits that Jonathan praised in the restaurants he wrote about are also ones Karen and I look for in wineries: authenticity, creativity, risk-taking, passion. And nobody exemplifies these attributes better than the Garagistes.

The Garagiste Festival started in 2011 with its first event in Paso Robles, focusing entirely on the little guys – “the ultra- premium, hard to find, micro-wineries”. Since then, it has expanded to annual events in Solvang, Los Angeles and most recently, just prior to the latest L.A. event, an inaugural event in Sonoma County.

These wineries make less than 1500 cases per year, many much less. This means that in most cases, you won’t find them pouring in a tasting room. But where you can find them is at the Garagiste Festivals, where you will find the winemakers and winery owners pouring their own wines and telling their own stories. You’ll be able to sign up for their mailing lists and even order their wines at the events. Keep in mind that the productions are small and usually not available retail.

Each winery and winemaker has its own journey; some started as consumers, some as grape-growers, some are second generation in the wine business now doing their own thing. What they all share is that passion to make wine the best way they know how.

You should definitely sign up on The Garagiste Festival website for updates as well as follow our reporting.

Which brings us back to the most recent event held in L.A., specifically at the Santa Monica Bay Woman’s Club, with almost 50 California wineries pouring:

Alma Sol

Ann Albert

Ascension Cellars

Bellante Family Winery

Betwixt Wines

Brophy Clark

Byron Blatty

Caliza Vineyards

Cavelletti Vineyards

Cloak & Dagger

Cutruzzola Vineyards

Domaine Kreger

El Lugar Wines

Frisco Cellars

Golden Triangle

Gordenker Wines

Hoi Polloi

In Vino Musicas

Kaleidos Wines

Kitson Wines

LA Wine Project

Lavender Oak Ranch

Magna Vita Cellars

Malibu Ridge

Marin’s Vineyard

Mastro Scheidt

Metrick Wines

Monochrome Wines

Murder Ridge

On Your Left

Pulchella Winery

Record Family Wines

Siela Wines

Stolo Family Winery

Sweezter Cellars

Sycamore Ranch

The Blending Lab

Tlo Winery

Torch Wines

TW Fermentations

Vinemark Cellars

Volatus Wine

Wildwood Oak Winery

Next week’s article will report on the wines we enjoyed most this time around.

Michael Perlis has been pursuing his passion for wine for more than 25 years. He has had the good fortune of having numerous mentors to show him the way, as well as a wonderful wife who encourages him and shares his interest. After a couple of decades of learning about wine, attending events, visiting wineries and vineyards, and tasting as much wine as he possibly could, he had the amazing luck to meet Eve Bushman. Now, as Contributing Editor for Eve’s Wine 101, he does his best to bring as much information as possible about wine to Eve’s Wine 101 faithful readers. Michael is also Vice President of Eve Bushman Consulting (fka Eve’s Wine 101 Consulting) http://evebushmanconsulting.com/ and President of MCP Financial. Michael can be contacted at michaelthezinfan@aol.com or michael@evebushmanconsulting.com.

Perlis Picks: Lunetta Dining

July 21, 2018 by Michael Perlis Leave a Comment

It’s funny sometimes how things play out.

We were first exposed to Raphael Lunetta’s skills as a chef when Karen and I attended the Buick Discovery Tour at the Four Seasons Hotels in Westlake Village over five years ago.

At the time Chef Lunetta was helming his restaurant JiRaffe in Santa Monica. After meeting him at the Westlake Village event and trying his food, we vowed to make it in to his restaurant but sadly never did. Ultimately we heard that he had closed it after a very long run.

Then in 2017, we got word that he had opened Lunetta All Day in Santa Monica [in the space formerly occupied by Josie’s]. We had still not made it in to check it out when we received the invitation to the media tasting to introduce Lunetta Dining and The Moon Bar.

While Lunetta All Day is a fast-casual restaurant serving breakfast, lunch and dinner [yes, all day], right next door Lunetta Dining and The Moon Bar [together known as Lunetta At Night] hit all the right notes of “elevated cuisine”, “handcrafted cocktails”, “local ingredients” and “farm to table”. These are not just buzzwords here; that is evident.

At the media tasting, we got to sample a number of tasty treats, including beef carpaccio, avocado gazpacho, wood-grilled maitake, crab cakes, loup de mer and rack of lamb.

Sample cocktails were served as well, although we focused on the wine. Sommelier and Beverage Director Kristine Bocchino has put together a great wine list from which we got to try the Picpoul from Forlorn Hope [Calaveras County], the Mourvedre Rose from Liquid Farm [Happy Canyon], the Brut Sparkling Chardonnay from Ferrari [Trentino. Italy] as well as the Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Syrah blend from Perinet [Priorat, Spain]. But these just scratch the surface of this list that has a lot of gems on it at a variety of price points.

The media event exposed us to an amazing array of food and libations as well as to Lunetta’s great staff, but of course it was nothing like what a diner will experience upon going there. Karen and I enjoyed the food soooo much that we followed up with a dinner – Saturday nights are especially great for getting out of the Santa Clarita Valley and seeing what the rest of the LA area has to offer.

We shared the grilled nectarines [with manchego and prosciutto] and the wood-grilled Spanish octopus. Karen ordered the New Zealand John Dory. I couldn’t pass up the rack of lamb special.

Preparation and service were superb. This was one of the best meals I’ve had in a long time. Everything was delicious. Hard to pick highlights but here are a few: The nectarines and prosciutto were both generous portions and neither ingredient overshadowed the other. And the octopus – I consider myself somewhat of an octopus aficionado and this was possibly the best I have ever had; extremely tender but not mushy at all, great flavor without being overtly charred. The rack was amazing, again one of the best representations that I have had of that classic as well.

The open kitchen is a nice touch. Not obtrusive but there if you wanted to watch Chef Lunetta and his team in action, or even better – snag a seat at the Chef’s Counter. Somehow, the chef managed to spend time in the dining room as well, making his guests feel welcome. This place is definitely in our rotation; it should be in yours as well.

Lunetta Dining & The Moon Bar

2424 Pico Boulevard

Santa Monica, CA 90405

310.581.9888

www.LunettaSM.com

Perlis Picks: Taste The World

July 7, 2018 by Michael Perlis Leave a Comment

Every two years, trade and media has the opportunity to “taste the world” with distributor and importer Henry Wine Group. In a large ballroom at the Westin Bonaventure filled with wine and a small section devoted to spirits [covered by Eve in a recent article] we got to sample literally hundreds [if one were so inclined] of offerings from a wide variety of domestic and international producers.

Upon entering the event, we were provided with a wine tasting glass and a 158 page book – I told you there were a lot of wines to taste! Here were some of my favorites…

Ancient Peaks – I always love the Renegade and the Oyster Ridge blends, and the 2015 and 2014 of these, respectively, were both excellent.

Andrew Murray Vineyards – Another old favorite, one of the wineries that first got me into Rhones. The 2016 Enchante did it for me today.

Dashe Cellars – They’ve expanded their fun carbonic maceration line and continue to make great Zinfandels, including my usual favorite Todd Brothers Ranch (2015 this time).

Elizabeth Spencer Winery – I wasn’t really familiar with this Mendocino based winery but getting introduced to their delicious 2016 Grenache solved that problem.

Joullian Vineyards – One might not expect great Zinfandel and Cabernet Sauvignon from the Monterey Peninsula, but this winery in the Carmel Valley belies that notion with their 2013 ‘Sias Cuvee’ Zin and 2014 Estate Cab.

Mettler Family Vineyards – I liked all three of the wines this Lodi winery was pouring – the Estate Cabernet, the “Epicenter” Old Vine Zinfandel and especially the Estate Petite Sirah, all from the 2015 vintage.

Mundovino – This importer had a whopping 10 tables at the event. Admittedly, I tend to focus on domestic producers but I wanted to try some Argentinean Malbec. I tasted some very impressive wines from Catena at all price points, especially the 2014 Catena Zapata Alta Malbec and the 2015 Catena Zapata Argentino Malbec.

Pestoni Family Estate Winery – Another new to me winery, I enjoyed everything they poured – 2016 Rutherford Sauvignon Blanc, 2015 “1892” Field Blend and the 2013 and 2014 Howell Mtn Cabernet Sauvignons.

Saucelito Canyon Vineyards – Great Zinfandel from the Arroyo Grande Valley? You better believe it. Their 2015 Estate Zinfandel comes from a vineyard that was originally planted in 1880.

Shafer Vineyards – Shafer’s Cabernet Sauvignons are legendary and I wasn’t going to pass up a chance to taste them. Loved both the 2015 One Point Five Stag’s Leap and of course the 2013 Hillside Select Stag’s Leap as well.

Sinor-Lavallee – Bringing this list full circle, this is Ancient Peaks’ Director of Winemaking Mike Sinor’s own project. The Pinot Noirs were great but I was admittedly here for the Syrahs – the 2013 White Label – Bassi Vineyard, 2015 SLO/Estate and 2014 Black Label – Bassi Vineyard were all outstanding.

There was obviously a lot more I could have tasted [158 pages, after all] but I probably spent too much time catching up with various members of the trade who I’ve known over the years. My biggest takeaway from all this is that Henry Wine Group represents some excellent wineries. If you see their name on the label as distributor or importer, you can be assured you are getting quality, regardless of the price point.

Perlis Picks: Elevating Zinfandel

June 30, 2018 by Michael Perlis 2 Comments

You may ask…why does Zinfandel need to be “elevated”?

It wasn’t that long ago that Zinfandel was thought of either as a sweet pink wine made for mass consumption or as a highly alcoholic monster meant to get you where you want to go as quickly as possible.

Neither version was taken very seriously.

But in more recent years, Zinfandel has been produced as a serious wine, producing wines equal to or better than those made from the historically “noble grapes”. With wonderful wines made in a variety of styles, Zinfandel has certainly found its place in the wine world, which makes this “zin fan” very happy.

Still, there is some prejudice, as was evidenced by a seminar I attended several months ago wherein the speaker, discussing the wines coming from a particular region, expressed delight over the reduced reliance on Zinfandel, the clear message, at least to me, was to imply that it was of lesser quality.

The struggle is real.

As I mentioned above, Zinfandel wines can vary quite a bit, due to terroir, winemaker decisions both in the vineyard and the winery, as well as whether the wine is 100% Zinfandel versus including other varieties. My own observation is that Zinfandel vineyards, perhaps more so than those planted with other grapes, tend to be inter-planted with other varietals, especially when looking at the historic vineyards that were planted several decades ago.

This is all a build-up to an annual event that is very near and dear to my heart, WineLA’s annual Elevating Zinfandel tasting, this year held at the Montage in Beverly Hills. Karen and I had the pleasure of attending.

As usual, Ian Blackburn assembled a veritable “who’s who” of many of the great Zinfandel producers, mostly from Northern California:

Rafanelli Winery

Bedrock Wine Co.

Beekeeper Cellars

Bella Vineyards and Wine Caves

Brown Estate Napa Valley

Gamba Vineyards and Winery

Grgich Hills Estate

Hendry Winery

Kreck Wines

Lamborn Family Vineyards

Mauritson Wines

Quivera Vineyards

Rock Wall Wine Company

Seghesio Family Vineyards

T-Vine Winery

Turley Wine Cellars

Williams Selyem

Wonderment Wines

Each winery had a winery representative [winemaker or owner in most cases] pouring multiple wines, including special selections for VIP attendees.

[I’ll say it again – spring for VIP tickets for events when you can. Get in early, taste the special stuff, enjoy the food and beat the crowds.]

No duds in this list at all. Some of the standouts for me were…

Bedrock Wine Co. – This winery is on our must-have list for our personal cellar. It was fun to taste the 2012 Bedrock Heritage Wine against the 2016 Bedrock Heritage Wine. This is one of those field blends I was referring to above, with the Bedrock vineyard actually planted to 27 varieties, about 50% being Zinfandel.

Beekeeper Cellars – This is WineLA’s own Ian Blackburn’s winery. But, I don’t have to say I liked it if I didn’t. And I did, especially the 2015 Secret Stones from Rockpile. Rockpile is one of my favorite AVAs for Zinfandel, so no big surprise here.

Kreck Wines – A brand new winery based in Healdsburg. Both the 2016 Teldeschi Vineyard (Dry Creek Valley) and the Del Barba Vineyard (Contra Costa County) were excellent. Tiny production, so don’t snooze on this one.

Lamborn Family Vineyards – Napa Valley Zins are getting rare [the money’s in Cabernet] and Howell Mountain Zinfandel are perhaps even rarer. Lamborn does a great job and the 2010 Middle-Aged Vine bottling showed what a little bottle age on a Zin can do – good stuff!

Mauritson Wines – Speaking of Rockpile [see above], Clay Mauritson’s family has been a big part of pioneering the area. The 2015 Black Sheep from Rockpile was a great example.

Robert Biale Vineyards – another rare Napa Zinfandel specialist. Winemaker Tres Goetting continues to shine; the signature Black Chicken did it for me.

Rock Wall Wine Company – it had been a few years since we last saw Shauna Rosenblum and if anything her wines have just gotten better. Hard to pick a favorite here, but if pressed I’d go with the 2016 Alegria Vineyard from the Russian River Valley.

Turley Wine Cellars – Another winery that will always have a place in our cellar, Turley has possibly done more than any other winery to “elevate” Zinfandel. Christina Turley poured four different wines, but I have to give props to the 2016 Dusi Vineyard. Not only was this the only Zin from Paso Robles being poured, but it is typically our favorite of the Turley lineup.

Williams Selyem – Most people think of Pinot Noir when they think of this winery. But winemaker Mark Malpiede also makes great Zinfandel. Especially liked the 2016 Papera Vineyard [Russian River Valley].

As usual, we didn’t taste everything. If we had, we would have had more favorites, I’m sure.

Check out www.winela.com for other great events from WineLA.

Perlis Picks: Benom Wines

June 23, 2018 by Michael Perlis Leave a Comment

In a recent article, I wrote about Guillaume Fabre, who came from the South of France and created Clos Solene for his wife and fortunately for all of us as well.

BENOM As it turns out, Guillaume has a brother – Arnaud. And while Karen and I had initially met Guillaume at a wine festival, our introduction to Arnaud was indirectly related to one.

Back in 2013, we attended the Ojai Wine Festival for the first time. Karen came across a new winery that she insisted I try…Law Estate Wines. She was right, of course. The wines were great and we’ve been fans of Law ever since.

But that’s not when we met Arnaud.

A couple of years later, we were tasting at the new Law tasting room in Paso Robles where we met Arnaud for the first time when he conducted a tasting for us. Now, I’m no genius but even I could figure out when we met this tall young man from France with the last name Fabre, that he must be the brother of Clos Solene’s winemaker / owner Guillaume.

In my article about Clos Solene, I wrote about how Guillaume convinced the love of his life, Solene, to come to Paso Robles. Arnaud’s story is similar, as he found his soulmate once he joined Guillaume in Paso and met Chloe of L’Aventure Winery. His job as Sales and Marketing Manager of Law keeps him very busy, especially now that he and now-wife Chloe have a baby.

Busy as he is, the pull of making wine with his brother Guillaume has always been present. So, when Guillaume moved Clos Solene from its spot in Tin City to the new estate property, it was time for the brothers to see what they could do together.

Benom was born. Arnaud told us that focusing on Cabernet Sauvignon and Blends, they wanted to bridge their roots (Languedoc-Roussillon and Bordeaux) with Paso Robles, producing wine that reflects the style of a French wine with the richness and power of Paso Robles.

What does “benom” mean? Don’t try to look it up. It is the phonetic spelling of the French word “binôme”, meaning “a project together, a duo”. I’ve tried to allude to similarities and differences of the two Fabre brothers, such as how we met both of them and how they met their loves. The wines reflect this as well.

The 2017 Contrast is an almost 50/50 blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay, which is a very atypical blend. It is definitely not something you’d find in France or in many places, actually. It turns out that the natural acidity of the SB matches up perfectly with the richness of the Chardonnay.

Another blend is the 2017 L’Essor, 52% Grenache and 48% Cabernet Sauvignon. Did I mention this was a Rosé? When did you last or ever come across Cab in a Rosé? The Grenache was picked especially for this wine and the Cabernet is the bleed-off from their 100% Cabernet Sauvignon [more on this below]. This is an unusual blend that really works well.

Speaking of unusual blends, the 2015 Les Deux Frères is comprised of Grenache, Tempranillo and Cabernet Sauvignon. Even my very limited knowledge of French enabled me to translate this as The Two Brothers; and a fitting tribute to them it is as it was my favorite wine of our visit.

Finally, we tasted the 2015 Origin. This 100% Cabernet Sauvignon has everything the Cab lover could want – great fruit and aging structure. It is a beautiful nod to the Fabre brothers’ French roots with the power of Paso Robles. But, a sneak peek of the 2016 makes me think the best is yet to come.

It is going to be exciting to see what this project borne of brotherly love creates for the future.

Benom

3050 Limestone Way

Paso Robles, CA 93446

Perlis Picks: Hospice du Rhône [Part Two]

June 16, 2018 by Michael Perlis Leave a Comment

THE GRAND TASTINGS

Of course, the HdR event wasn’t all “work” [I use this term very loosely] at the seminars that I wrote about in last week’s article.

HDR Friday afternoon was the Opening Tasting and the Closing Tasting was held Saturday afternoon. The participants were the same at both, with the opening tasting focusing on older vintages and the closing tasting representing current releases. Wineries could only pour wines that were primarily made up of the 22 Rhône varieties. This was not only a great opportunity to taste an incredible number of fine wines, but to also interact with lots of winemakers.

I did not take notes on individual bottles and did not get a chance to taste at nearly every table – check out this list of participants and you’ll see why I didn’t make it to everyone. I also focused primarily on California producers as these would be wineries I’d be most apt to follow up with for in-depth reporting in the future.

Of those I tasted, these wineries poured my favorites…

Alta Colina, Paso Robles, CA

Anglim, Paso Robles, CA

Barton Family Wines, Paso Robles, CA

Bedrock Wine Co, Sonoma, CA

Caliza Winery, Paso Robles, CA

Carlisle Winery and Vineyards, Windsor, CA

Clos Solene, Paso Robles, CA

Delmas, Walla Walla, WA

Denner Winery, Paso Robles, CA

Donelan Family Wines, Santa Rosa, CA

Jeff Cohn Cellars, Sonoma, CA

Keplinger Winers, Napa, CA

Larner Vineyard and Winery, Los Olivos, CA

Law Estate Wines, Paso Robles, CA

Ledge Vineyards, Paso Robles, CA

Levo, Paso Robles, CA

Onx Wines, Paso Robles, CA

Paix Sur Terre, Paso Robles, CA

Saxum Vineyards, Paso Robles, CA

TOP, Paso Robles, CA

Turtle Rock Vineyards, Paso Robles, CA

Not on the list on the website, the wines of Santa Barbara’s Kunin Wines were also being poured. Seth Kunin passed away last year; I never met Seth and by all accounts my life is poorer as a result. Seth’s wines were being poured by his wife and his brother and they were delicious.

THE MEALS

Wine tastes great on its own, but ultimately it really shines as part of a meal – oft times for me as the star of the meal, but part of it nonetheless.

Lunch on Friday was devoted to Rose, with bottles of Rose everywhere being provided by HdR participants, along with food prepared by Chef Nick Nolan of Society Cuisine.

The Live Auction Lunch on Saturday featured dishes prepared by Martin Testa of Testa Catering along with lots of wine provided by the HdR participating wineries. The auction generated funds for the HdR organization to continue to provide these kind of events and to help Northern California Wildfire Relief…

In addition, the passing of two wine luminaries was addressed, Seth Kunin of Kunin Wines and Robert Haas of Tablas Creek, as well as the Person of the Year being announced – Jed Dunnuck of jebdunnuck.com.

The Farewell Dinner Saturday evening provided a wonderful time to reflect on the weekend that had passed so quickly. The four course meal was prepared by Chef Spencer Johnston of Danior Kitchen, featuring Southwestern inspired fare capped off with a delicious selection of meats [beef, chicken, chorizo and lamb] followed by dulche de leche cake along with strawberries and cajata. Not to mention the cooked grasshoppers which were a big hit at our table. And of course, the wines…it looked like all the bottles that had been opened at the tasting were sitting somewhere, along with plenty of full ones.

I can’t say enough about this event – hopefully you’ve gotten this far in my writing about it. From the organizers to the participating wineries to the attendees, from the seminars to the meals to the tastings, whether one bought a weekend pass or went a la carte, I can’t think of a more well run event or one with higher quality wines across the board. As we headed off into the night, I thought that I couldn’t believe it was over and that two years couldn’t pass soon enough. Kudos to all involved.

Perlis Picks: Hospice du Rhône [Part One]

June 9, 2018 by Michael Perlis Leave a Comment

INTRODUCTION

Over the years that I’ve been writing for Eve’s Wine 101, I’ve probably used the expression “if you only attend one event per year” often enough that it’s become almost a cliché.

Now I can say “if you only attend one event every two years, this is the one you should attend.”

GUIGAL

Hospice du Rhône is, per their website, “…a non-profit business league with the specific purpose of improving the business conditions of the grape growers and wine producers of Rhône variety wines and grapes throughout the world. We serve as an international vintners association, providing promotional and educational opportunities.”

Based on California’s Central Coast, HdR holds regular events at Blackberry Farm in Tennessee and last year participated in Découvertes en Vallée du Rhône in France’s Rhone Valley. Every two years, HdR brings it all back home to Paso Robles for a multi-day extravaganza to showcase wines made from Rhône grapes, not just from local wineries but from international ones as well.

I write a lot about Rhône varieties. Other than Zinfandel, the Rhônes are where my palate usually takes me. For a refresher, there are 22 Rhône varieties, called as such due to their origins in France’s Rhône Valley. Most well-known of these for the reds would be Syrah, Grenache and Mourvedre and for the whites Viognier, Roussanne, Marsanne and Grenache Blanc. If you’re interested, you can see the entire list here.

The most recent HdR event in Paso Robles took place April 26^th through April 28^that the Paso Robles Event Center. Attendees had options of attending seminars, onsite lunches, grand tastings, offsite dinners, or the onsite farewell dinner, in any combination. Most popular seemed to be the purchase of the weekend pass which gave the pass holder all seminars, both lunches, both grand tastings as well as the farewell dinner. Individual event tickets could also be purchased a la carte.

THE SEMINARS

The schedule of events covered by the weekend pass spanned Friday April 27^th and Saturday April 28^th. But the fun actually started on Thursday April 26^th with a group of seminars held at the nearby Paso Robles Inn. Not included with the weekend pass, these seminars could be purchased individually by those who were looking for a true immersion experience. Called the Focus 22 [after the 22 Rhone grape varieties] Master Classes, each of the three seminars focused on a different region producing Rhone-style wines.

Unfortunately, Karen and I were unable to attend the first two of these Master Classes, but they definitely looked interesting, featuring wineries and regions that I did not have much familiarity with.

The first was called Elevating Arizona: Height Matters, presented by Todd Bostock of Dos Cabezas WineWorks and Maynard Keenan of Caduceus Cellars and the second was The Rhône Rocketeers from Walla Walla, presented by Ali Mayfield of The Walls Vineyard, Billo Naravane of Rasa Vineyards, Steve Robertson of Delmas, Todd Alexander of Force Majeure and Dr. Kevin R. Pogue of VinTerra Consulting. Both classes were moderated by esteemed wine critic Jeb Dunnuck of JebDunnuck.com.

We did make it into town for the third Master Class, and I was definitely glad that we did. I suppose it would be technically incorrect to say that this class was also about a region that produces Rhône-style wines as we got to learn about the Rhone Valley itself: Romancing the Rhônes of Rhône Valley. Presented by Eileen Fabunan of Rhône Valley Wines along with Jeb Dunnuck, we got the opportunity to learn about the Rhône Valley and taste eight wines in total from both the North and South Rhône Valley. This was great for someone like me as I have had limited exposure to Rhônes other than those from California.

The HdR event officially kicked off bright and early Friday morning with Seminar One | South Africa’s Cinsault Renaissance. Moderated by Lauren Buzzeo of Wine Enthusiast, the presenters were Ryan Mostert of Silwervis, Andrea Mullineux of, Mullineux & Leeu Family Wines, Tremayne Smith of The Blacksmith and Danie Steytler of Kaapzicht Wine Estate.

Tasting through nine wines in various styles made from a grape that is usually [but not always] a blending grape in California was pretty interesting and gave additional exposure to a wine region that is still little known to many.

The second seminar on Friday was Seminar Two | A 6th Generation Crusade in the Barossa Valley. This seminar was moderated by Chuck Hayward of Vinroads and the presenters were Adrian Hoffmann of Hoffmann Vineyards, Paul Heinecke of Soul Growers, Russell Johnstone of RBJ Vintners, Chris Ringland of North Barossa Vintners Collaboration and Michael Twelftree of Two Hands Winery & Twelftree.

Karen and I used to drink a lot more Australian wine than we do now, so this was especially fun, made more so by the nine wines we tasted all being from one vineyard owned and managed by Adrian Hoffmann, a man as dedicated to growing great wine grapes as the winemakers making the wine.

Not to take anything away from any of the other sessions, Saturday morning’s first seminar was probably the one I was most excited about. Titled Seminar Three | Lost and Found: Old Vine Rhônes Across California, it was presented by Morgan Twain-Peterson, MW of Bedrock Wine Company and Tegan Passalacqua of Turley Wine Cellars and Sandlands. Tegan and Morgan are also two of the founding members of the Historic Vineyard Society, an organization near and dear to my heart and one that I have written about in the past. We got to learn about and taste through 10 wines from nine of these old vineyards. Some of the wines were made by Tegan, some by Morgan, but there were also wines made by Pax Mahle, Angela Osborne, Bruce Neyers and Ian Brand as well as two of my person favorites, Mike Officer of Carlisle and Joel Peterson of Once & Future Wines.

It was time for the final seminar of this year’s Hospice du Rhône event, Seminar Four | The Majesty of Guigal, kind of taking us full circle back to the Rhône valley and learn about this great winery and taste 11 of the wines made there.

Read more about the Paso Robles HdR event in my next article.

Perlis Picks: Epic Times at Epoch Estate Wines

June 2, 2018 by Michael Perlis Leave a Comment

In my last article, I mentioned that I’d next be writing about who went into the old Clos Solene spot at Tin City. Well, some technical difficulties have delayed that report, so this week you get…

Photo from Epoch Facebook page.

One of the benefits of living in Southern California, as do most of our Eve Wine 101 readers, is proximity to various wine regions. Santa Barbara wine country is just a couple of hours away, Paso Robles a little farther and a few more hours gets you to Napa, Sonoma and beyond.

Inevitably, once you do start visiting wineries, you’ll be presented with opportunities to join winery clubs. With so many wineries offering great wines, it is easy to get overwhelmed. How do you decide which clubs to join? For us, it is often, in addition to the wine quality, it is the feeling that we have a personal relationship with the people involved.

Epoch Estate Wines in Paso Robles is a great case in point. Karen and I first tasted the Epoch wines in 2010 when they were still being made at Denner. We had the good fortune to meet Kristen Darnell (née Carrillo), now Epoch’s Vice President of Sales and Personnel as well as newly hired winemaker Jordan Fiorentini. The wines were great, Kristen and Jordan were too, and the fact that the owners had purchased the old York Mountain Winery site to develop their winery [a place we had first visited in the 1980s] was icing on the cake. We were hooked.

A perk of being in a wine club is that members often get invited to special events. Recently, Epoch members were invited to the beautiful state of the art winery on York Mountain to attend not one but two events.

The first event, reserved for the top tier of Epoch members, started with a reception that included passed appetizers along with Epoch’s newly released white blend [Viognier, Grenache Blanc and Roussanne] and Rose [Mourvedre, Grenache and Syrah] wines. Both were excellent but the Rose is really something special. Just ask my wife Karen.

Then, we were treated to an elegant sit-down dinner in the winery, paired with the great Epoch wines.

The 2015 Sensibility [Grenache and Syrah] was paired with Manchego & Prosciutto. The 2015 Zinfandel [with a touch of Grenache] was matched with Grilled Quail and the 2015 Veracity [Grenache, Mourvedre and Syrah] with Wild Mushroom Risotto. Finally, the 2015 Estate Blend of Syrah, Mourvedre, Grenache, Tempranillo and Zinfandel was served with barbecued New York Strip with bone marrow butter and Roquefort whipped potatoes. The dessert table filled with petit fours and brownies topped off the evening, along with more wine to accompany them.

The next evening, open to all Epoch members, was a more casual affair with serving stations set up in the winery. The white blend and the Rose were available at the entry to the event along with various appetizers. The reds were paired as follows…

2015 Sensibility with two flatbreads – one wild mushroom and the other prosciutto and arugula.

2015 Zinfandel with bacon wrapped blue cheese stuffed dates.

2015 Veracity with Capicola and blue cheese skewers.

2015 Estate Blend with lamb sliders.

There was also Seafood and Chorizo Paella, which Karen really enjoyed with the Rose.

Although the events were markedly different from each other, they both really emphasized one thing to me. While the wines are delicious on their own, they really shine when they are paired expertly with the right dishes.

The other thing that always has struck me about Epoch is the amazingly nice people that work for them. Owners Bill and Liz Armstrong told me that this is the first requirement in their hiring process as almost anything else can be taught. Kudos on a job well done.

Perlis Picks: Clos Solene

May 12, 2018 by Michael Perlis Leave a Comment

It’s hard to believe that I’ve been writing about Guillaume Fabre, winemaker/owner of Clos Solene for almost nine years. Yet, he and his winery haven’t been the focal point of the article until now.

Karen and I first met Guillaume in 2009. In that article, I spent most of the time whining about events that provide tasting tickets as opposed to unlimited tastes of wine. In spite of that focus, we did taste some nice wines, including Clos Solene, about which I said: “An outstanding Roussane from Paso Robles.” [And yes, now I see the typo.]

My understanding is that this was the first wine released under the Clos Solene label. Guillaume had not yet made the full-time leap to his own winery, but was still working as assistant winemaker at L’Aventure in Paso Robles. Leaving his native France where he had grown up growing grapes and making wine with his family, Guillaume had come to Paso Robles to work with L’Aventure as an intern and fell in love with the Paso Robles area. Guillaume describes this as “un coup de foudre” – a bolt of lightning moment when he realized what the future in Paso Robles could be. This was the second such moment in his life, the first being when he met his future wife Solene, whom he convinced to join him in the New World.

My next article about Clos Solene was nearly five years later, in 2014, as part of a longer article about up-and-coming Paso wineries. My big takeaway about his wine was “in addition to the purity of the fruit being expressed, these wines were incredibly elegant.” At this point, Guillaume had just left the relative security of L’Aventure and was devoting himself full-time to Clos Solene, pouring at the collective tasting room in downtown Paso Robles known as Paso Underground.

Since that last visit, Guillaume has moved Clos Solene –twice!

Paso Underground is still there, of course, and definitely worth your time visiting, with four wineries pouring their wares along with all the other tasting rooms in downtown Paso Robles. But just a few miles south of downtown Paso is an area known as Tin City, with an ever-growing number of small wineries. Tin City is well on its way to becoming a day’s destination all on its own. And as Clos Solene’s popularity and production increased, having a private tasting room / winery made sense.

By the time we planned to visit him there, he had acquired the old Pipestone Vineyards property on Paso’s west side and was deep in the process of making changes to meet his vision of what Clos Solene needed to be. So we never did see him during that trip.

Although we did see Guillaume and taste the Clos Solene wines at a handful of events over the years, it took us another year [and about four years since our Paso Underground visit] to make the drive on a rainy Saturday morning into the hills and follow the long driveway to visit the property that Guillaume and Solene had acquired about a year before.

Sitting with Guillaume on the estate’s patio, as the rain stopped and the sky cleared, looking out over the property and sampling the current tasting room offerings, we got a chance to reflect on the last nine years and the plans for the future. As it turns out, everything has been in a state of evolution. That Roussanne we tasted nine years ago? That was the first wine under the Clos Solene label and it has evolved over time into Hommage Blanc, a blend of 80% Roussanne and 20% Viognier. The Rose has evolved as well, as Guillaume has focused on using grapes grown specifically for the Rose as opposed to bleed-off from grapes to be used for red wines. And then there are the reds. Every year, Guillaume has been perfecting these blends as well. One after another, these wines prove that Clos Solene represents the best of Paso. Some, like Harmonie, are pure expressions of Rhone varieties. Others, like Fleur de Solene, show what an artist like Guillaume can do without the restrictions of his native France, blending Rhone and Bordeaux varieties into true masterpieces.

Truthfully, we are fortunate to be able to taste a lot of really good wine on a regular basis, both as writers and as consumers. But, the quality of the Clos Solene wines is still the exception rather than the rule and it helps to remind us what drove us to this passion in the first place.

The future is exciting as well. Guillaume has always sourced fruit from outstanding vineyards, such as James Berry and Glenrose. But now with the new property, he’ll be able to produce wines from his own estate, controlling the process from beginning to end. It will be just like back home, but better. Production will continue to be very limited with some slight growth in production. Guillaume and Solene are working harder than ever, now with three little mouths to feed in addition to their own.

Karen and I joined the Clos Solene Wine Club to make sure we don’t wait four or five years for another visit.

[Are you wondering what happened to that Clos Solene tasting room in Tin City? Read about that in my next article.]