Perlis Picks: Historic Vineyard Society 2018 Year in Review and Upcoming 2019 Events

January 19, 2019 by Michael Perlis Leave a Comment

This week, we’ll take a break from our Sonoma trip series to share with you the recent information received from the Historic Vineyard Society.

Karen and I have been fans of this organization for some time. Spearheaded by Mike Dildine, the HVS team of Bob Biale (Biale Vineyards), David Gates (Ridge Vineyards), Mike Officer (Carlisle Winery), Tegan Passalacqua (Turley Wine Cellars and Sandlands), Morgan Twain-Peterson (Bedrock Wine Company), Larry Piggins (Photography), Emily Rasmussen (HVS Executive Director) along with special consultant Joel Peterson (Ravenswood Winery and Once & Future Wine) do the important work, with YOUR help, to preserve California’s historic vineyards.

Here’s their latest news:

It’s hard to believe, but another year has come and gone! We at the Historic Vineyard Society have had another eventful, productive year, and we’re incredibly grateful to all those who joined us for our various events and tastings over the last twelve months.

The Year in Review

In February, a panel of HVS growers and winemakers gathered for a two-part event at Cadet Beer & Wine Bar in Napa: first, a private tasting of several wines with a panel discussion on historic vineyards, then an open-to-the-public tasting where locals had the chance to taste a selection of wines from historic vineyards.

In April, HVS hosted a magnificent, never-before-seen gathering of wines from California’s oldest vineyards. The tasting took place at Press Club in San Francisco and featured 30 wineries and 70+ wines across dozens of historical sites, from Cienega Valley Riesling to Contra Costa Carignan, Calistoga Petite Sirah and numerous eclectic field blends. The event sold out at 250 guests and was a great success.

In June, HVS Board members once again participated in an educational tasting for students in the UC Davis Viticulture and Enology program, working to spread the good news of historic vines to the next generation of the wine industry.

November marked another new event for HVS: a tasting at Sonoma’s Best Mercantile in the town of Sonoma. Keeping with the theme of the store’s name, this tasting featured wines from the oldest vineyards in Sonoma Valley: 100 attendees had the opportunity to taste wines from Monte Rosso, Old Hill Ranch, Pagani Ranch and Bedrock Vineyard.

What’s New for 2019

Upcoming HVS Events:

February 6th, 2019: HVS returns to Cadet Beer & Wine Bar in Napa, showcasing a selection of old-vine wines from the Russian River Valley to the Cienega Valley. More details on our website here.

June 8th, 2019: Save the Date for our 2019 Vineyard Tour & Dinner! After a year off, we’re excited to announce the return of this beloved HVS event. The 2019 Vineyard Tour and Dinner will take place high above Sonoma Valley at the beautiful Monte Rosso Vineyard on Saturday, June 8th. Tickets will go on sale in mid-January. We hope to see you there!

HVS on the Web: Be sure to follow HVS on social media to stay up to date on the latest HVS announcements and see behind-the-scenes photos from events and historic vineyards.

Facebook: Historic Vineyard Society

Instagram: @historicvineyardsociety

Twitter: @historicvineorg

Ways to Support HVS

Donate! Perhaps the most obvious answer, but we can’t overstate how much we value all your contributions. As a reminder, your tax-deductible donation directly supports historic vineyards through education, research and vineyard-related events. Help keep these precious vines in the ground!

Shop using AmazonSmile, where .5% of every eligible order will be donated to HVS. To get started, visit smile.amazon.com, then search for and select Historic Vineyard Society. Every penny counts!

Once again, we can’t thank you enough for all your support of HVS. We look forward to another great year to come.

Best wishes,

[Signed by]

Mike Officer

Bob Biale

Tegan Passalacqua

David Gates

Morgan Twain-Peterson

Mike Dildine

All donations will benefit the Historic Vineyard Society, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of California’s oldest living vineyards. For further information, contact the Historic Vineyard Society at (707) 494-1667 or info@historicvineyardsociety.org.

Perlis Picks: Stone Edge Farm Estate Vineyards and Winery

January 12, 2019 by Michael Perlis Leave a Comment

Let me make this perfectly clear: I have nothing against Cabernet Sauvignon. While our own personal wine journey has taken us primarily down the Zinfandel and Rhone paths, we definitely recognize Cabernet’s place in the pantheon of great wine grapes. Most of our wine trips tend to focus on our favorite varietals, but we have no aversion to expanding those choices. So when our friends gave us a certificate for a tasting at Stone Edge Farm Estate Vineyards & Winery we were happy to do just that.

Stone Edge Farm actually owns three vineyards – Stone Edge, Mount Pisgah and Silver Cloud, which are managed organically by the renowned Phil Coturri.

The Stone Edge Vineyard property at the base of Sonoma Mountain was acquired by Mac and Leslie McQuown in 1995. The property has the distinction of having been owned by Nicholas Carriger, who came to Sonoma from Missouri in 1847. When he planted here, he became the first American to grow wine grapes in Sonoma Valley.

Mac McQuown had his own distinction, not only as a very successful businessman and entrepreneur, but also in the wine industry, having been a founder of both Chalone and Carmenet wineries.

Winemaker Jeff Baker, who was also a partner at Carmenet, joined the McQuowns with his Mount Pisgah Vineyard in the Mayacamas Mountains. Eventually they formed Stone Edge Farm Estate Vineyards & Winery in 2004.

The Silver Cloud Vineyard is in the Moon Mountain District just north of the Mount Pisgah vineyard, up in the Mayacamas Mountains where Sonoma County borders Napa County. The tasting room is on the Silver Cloud property and it is aptly named, being at a high elevation seemingly close to the clouds. It’s a long, winding and narrow road; they recommend you hire a driver. Please don’t go all the way up there without making an appointment first.

Karen and I had plans to head into Napa (more on this in a future article) so we chose that morning to pay Stone Edge Farm a visit.

We parked and were met by Philippe Thibault, Stone Edge Farm’s Director of Hospitality, who gave us a tour of this amazing mountain property and led our tasting.

Stone Edge Farm makes three wines: a Sauvignon Blanc a Bordeaux blend called “Surround” and their flagship Cabernet Sauvignon.

We tasted the 2016 Sauvignon Blanc [actually an 80/20 blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon], two vintages of the Surround blend [2009 and 2014] and the 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon.

My impressions were that these wines are designed to showcase the fruit but to not overpower the palate. Sometimes wines are referred to as “food wines” because they just don’t stand on their own and need food to make them work. That was not the case here. The wines all drank beautifully on their own but the experience was definitely enhanced by the charcuterie that was provided.

The Cabernet Sauvignon in particular made a special impression. I am not one for complicated tasting notes, but I did comment specifically about the mouthfeel of this wine, the way it magically spread across my tongue and then dissipated. I actually said “…like a cloud” before I remembered we were at the Silver Cloud Vineyard.

As I’m sure you’ve noticed, the name is Stone Edge Farm. The entire operation is built around sustainability and includes 16 acres that are organically farmed just west of downtown Sonoma. There is a 30-seat private dining room called Edge where their culinary director pairs the Stone Edge Farm wines with seasonal dishes.

Just to wrap up – Thank you so much Philippe Thibault for being such an engaging host. This is definitely a winery to check out when you are looking for an elevated experience, both in location and in wine. But remember: Make an appointment!

Stone Edge Farm Estate Vineyards & Winery

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: Zialena

January 5, 2019 by Michael Perlis Leave a Comment

An Irishman, an Israeli and a Korean walk into a tasting room.

While this may sound like the opening line of a bad joke it is actually how I found out about Zialena.

The Irishman and his Israeli wife are friends of ours. They were visiting Sonoma County with their friend, the Korean gentleman, when their driver suggested they go to a fairly new winery that they had not yet heard of.

They enjoyed their experience so much that they gave me the Tasting Room Manager’s business card. When we were planning our trip a few months later, I reached out to Reece Channell to schedule a visit.

When we drove up the long winding driveway to the modernistic winery and tasting room in Alexander Valley, I thought at first I was at the winery of some wealthy dabbler with a vanity winery project; the place looks that cool.

It turns out I was totally wrong, as the owners of Zialena have deep roots in the area, being one of those “becoming-rare-like-a-unicorn” families that Scot Bilbro alluded to in my previous article.

In fact, the Mazzoni family’s story in Geyserville goes back to the early 1900s when Giuseppe Mazzoni emigrated from Italy. He became a grape farmer and winemaker with Italian Swiss Colony. Giuseppe’s sons produced wine commercially until the 1970s (look for the old barn off the 101 with the Dr. Pierce’s sign on it) after which grandson Mike established Mazzoni Vineyards.

As often happens, Mike’s kids Lisa and Mark wanted to get the family back into the winemaking business, and Zialena (with Mark as winemaker and Lisa as General Manager) was born, naming it after their aunt (“Zia” in Italian) Lena. The winery and tasting room buildings that I found to be so cool were designed to showcase the family property as well as highlight the modern aspects of the winery itself. The centerpiece of the winery are several open-top concrete fermentation tanks which are emblazoned with what I had initially thought to be a starburst pattern but turned out to be the pattern of Zia Lena’s ravioli stamp, which is the logo of the winery.

Tasting is available in the tasting room or on the patio. As the weather was great, we opted for the patio and tasted through some of the current releases:

2016 Sauvignon Blanc

2017 Rose of Sangiovese

2014 Capella

2013 Zinfandel

2013 Cabernet Sauvignon

2015 Zinfandel

This was a very tasty selection. The Sauvignon Blanc and the Rose of Sangiovese were both very refreshing, the Sangio in particular picking up that grape’s complexity. The 2013 Cabernet showcases the fruit that makes Sonoma County my favorite destination for Cab. The 2014 Cappela is a true Zinfandel-based field blend that is an homage to the family history and is delicious.

Speaking of Zins, those for me were the shining stars, not to mention having an interesting story behind them.

It wasn’t until Mark and Lisa had already started making wine at Zialena that their father Mike happened to mention the Mazzoni clone of Zinfandel.

This is how Reece explained it:

In the drafting process of the vineyard map with varietals and acreage breakdown Mike mentions very nonchalantly “….. and this is planted with Mazzoni clone Zinfandel.” Both Mark and Lisa immediately ask, “Wait what? Mazzoni clone Zinfandel? What is that?” Mike then tells the story of how Duff Bevill of Bevill Vineyard Management came across Giuseppe’s original vineyard at the location of the Doctor Pierce’s barn. Eventually Duff came over to talk to Mike about it because he was the only family member who knew about the old home ranch. They decided to find out more about the Zinfandel on the property by taking bud wood to UC Davis for analysis. Sure enough Davis had not seen this Zinfandel before! It was then registered by Davis as the Bevill/Mazzoni clone of Zinfandel. It is a heritage pre-prohibition clone. Mark and Lisa are very proud to be the fourth generation to grow the clone and to make a 100% single vineyard, single clone Zinfandel out of it.

This story was especially meaningful to us, as we are deeply interested in California’s heritage grapes and vineyards.

Zialena has a bright future ahead. The current winery was only completed a couple of years ago (previous vintages were made at a custom crush), so one has to feel that as good as the wines are now, the best is yet to come.

Zialena

21112 River Road

Geyserville, CA 95441

Perlis Picks: Marietta Cellars

December 29, 2018 by Michael Perlis Leave a Comment

Recently, I wrote an article about Sam Bilbro’s Idlewild Wines. In the past, I’ve written about Jake Bilbro’s Limerick Lane Winery. But to truly attempt to grasp the influence of the Bilbro family on Sonoma County – indeed California – wine, one really needs to go back to where it started: Marietta Cellars.

Chris Bilbro, patriarch of the Bilbro clan, founded Marietta Cellars in 1978, naming it after his great-aunt. He bought the current winery property in 1990. Scot Bilbro took over winery operations from his father a few years back. He toured the winery with us on our visit, along with Jenifer Freebairn (Marietta’s VP of Sales and Marketing). Winery equipment is a curious mix of old and new equipment and that’s how Scot likes it. Production is now at about 65,000 cases annually and there are no direct-to-consumer sales. [So, why am I here, right?]

“Scot,” I said, “you are somewhat of a unicorn.”

Scot laughingly asked me “Michael, what do you mean?” even though I was sure he understood my point.

For many years, I have been an extremely vocal proponent of buying wine directly from small family owned wineries. “Don’t buy at big retail stores,” I’d say. “Support the little guys who are crafting their authentic wines by hand.” Now here comes Marietta Cellars, selling only to stores and restaurants through a network of distributors. And at 65,000 cases, while not a big winery in the corporate world, Marietta is definitely on the larger size of “small family owned wineries.”

Which brought me to my “unicorn” comment because off the top of my head I don’t know of any other family owned wineries that only sell wholesale.

Scot said that they were a “unicorn” in another way too. Families like the Bilbros, the Mauritsons and a few others are part of an ever shrinking group that has been farming the area for decades. While Scot in no way bemoaned the new blood that is coming into the region, he did acknowledge that families like the Bilbros are becoming more and more rare in Sonoma County.

As I said, no direct to consumer sales and therefore – no tasting room. But my writer’s card did get us an opportunity sit down with Scot and Jen to taste some of the winery’s current releases.

The largest production of the winery goes to the OVR series, which is most known for Old Vine Red but there is also an Old Vine Rose and an Old Vine Riesling. We tasted Old Vine Red Lot Number 67 which is a Zinfandel heavy blend. This wine was first produced in 1982 and doesn’t have vintage designations as it is a combination of grapes from different years.

As is a characteristic of Marietta Cellars wines, the OVR really over-delivers at its low price point – I’ve seen this wine for well under $20. My only complaint about this wine is it might encourage people to feel that this wine is so delicious why would they need to expand their horizons [i.e. pay more]?

My answer to them would be: the best is yet to come.

And that would be the next tier up, the Family series, each wine being named after a beloved member of Marietta Cellars’ extended family. We tasted the 2016 “Román” a Zinfandel (named after cellar master Roman Cisneros, who has been with Marietta Cellars over 30 years – one of several long-term employees), the 2015 “Armé” a Cabernet Sauvignon (named after Marietta’s husband) and the 2015 “Christo”, an intense Syrah-based blend named after Chris Bilbro himself.

All of these wines had great fruit and mouthfeel with long finishes, most notable to me in the Christo. But what I really got from these wines was a feeling of comfort. They are just really good tasting wines that you want to curl up and read a good book with or enjoy with a hearty meal.

These attributes carried over — and then some – to the top tier Estate series as well. As the name implies, this series showcases some of the special vineyards that Marietta works with. The 2016 Angeli Zinfandel (named after the family that settled the property in the late 1800s), the 2015 Game Trail Cabernet Sauvignon and the 2015 Gibson Block Syrah were all wines you just didn’t want to dump from your tasting glass. Especially that Syrah which was just amazing.

As I’ve said [too many times?], you can’t buy these wines directly from the winery. So, don’t go showing up on their doorstep asking for a taste. I suggest you use the Find Wine tool on their website to see where you can get your hands on some.

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 Ev 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: Idlewild

December 8, 2018 by Michael Perlis 2 Comments

It is hard to talk about wine in Sonoma County without the name Bilbro coming up.

I’ve written more than once about Jake Bilbro and the outstanding wines that he is making at Limerick Lane.

Did you know that two other Bilbro brothers also make wine? One of them is Scot, who is carrying on the tradition of father Chris at Marietta Cellars [more on him in a future article].

And then there is Sam. Sam actually hadn’t planned on making wine. He essentially grew up at Marietta Cellars but the thought of making what Sonoma County is known for like the Rhones and Zins that Marietta Cellars and Limerick Lane make or the Pinot Noir and Chardonnay which also tend to dominate the region apparently didn’t appeal to him. He had planned to do something else with his life.

Yet, we found ourselves in an industrial center north of Healdsburg in Geyserville, trying to track Sam down and find out what had changed. We circled around the center for a while, seeing other winemakers doing their thing, but couldn’t find Sam. I finally gave in to my natural disinclination to ask for directions and called him. He promptly flagged us down from the very back of the center where he shares space with a few other small wineries.

It was the middle of harvest and the winery was busy with workers as well as incoming grapes. We didn’t want to be in the way or take up too much of Sam’s time [we had actually pulled him away from his lunch] but we did chat for a little while about what he was doing.

The big question, of course, was what made him decide to go into winemaking after having decided that he wasn’t going to? The answer was Nebbiolo. One day, tasting an authentic version of this wine, Sam’s passion for Italian varietals was triggered, specifically those from Piedmont, and from that day forward he knew he wanted to make them. So Idlewild was born.

Piedmontese grapes such as Arneis and Cortese – for white wines—and Dolcetto, Barbera and Nebbiolo for reds are sourced from Mendocino County and turned into wine at that Geyserville industrial park. Until recently they could only be obtained via the winery’s mailing list or at a few restaurants. That’s changed though as Sam recently opened a tasting room for Idlewild just off the Healdsburg town square.

We knew that Sam needed to get back to work and we wanted to taste the wine and not only those just-picked Barbera grapes, delicious as they were. So we left Sam to his duties and headed down to that new tasting room.

Idlewild makes three “entry level” [for lack of a better term] blends: The Bee (white), The Flower (rose) and The Bird (red), as well as single-varietal bottlings of Arneis, Nebbiolo, Barbera, Cortese and Dolcetto. In the tasting room we got to taste the latest releases of the single-varietals as well as the rose. [Please note that we’ve tasted prior vintages of the white blend as well as we had purchased some as part of Idlewild’s fundraising efforts relating to the 2017 fires – all three Bilbro wineries participated in these efforts.]

I really like wines that are delicious and fun to drink [Who doesn’t, right? Duh.] I also really like wines that get your attention and require some contemplation. These wines do both, which doesn’t always happen. All of these wines are very tasty, well made wines with complex attributes. My two favorites were the Cortese and the Barbera. The Cortese is Sam’s version of an Orange wine [i.e. fermented on the skins]. I am a fan of Orange wines but I’ve found that some of them taste like, well, a mistake. Not this wine. It has just enough added complexity from the skin contact to make it an all-around winner. And the Barbera is just a great mouthful of berries and figs.

This is a great winery to check out, especially if you are interested in experiencing some out-of-the-ordinary California wines. Or, if you just like really good ones.

Idlewild Wines
132 Plaza St
Healdsburg, CA 95448

Perlis Picks: Jaxon Keys Winery

December 1, 2018 by Michael Perlis Leave a Comment

Karen and I were planning to revisit Santa Rosa / Sonoma County just a little over a year removed from our last ill-fated visit.

While working on scheduling appointments, I started thinking that maybe last time turned out the way it did because we were somehow being punished for not visiting our good friend and extremely talented winemaker Antoine Favero. I jest, of course, but I wasn’t going to take any chances either. Besides, we hadn’t seen Antoine in a couple of years so meeting up with him seemed like a great idea regardless.

We’d visited with Antoine a couple of times at Mazzocco in the Dry Creek Valley where the focus is on Zinfandel – and incredible Zins they are. But knowing that Antoine makes the wine for some of the other wineries in the Wilson Artisan Wines family, we asked him where else we might meet. Antoine suggested either Jaxon Keys for Rhone varietals or Soda Rock for Bordeaux varietals.

As Rhone varietals are right up there with Zins as my favorite grapes, I naturally said: “Jaxon Keys, please.”

Jaxon Keys Winery is at the southern end of Mendocino County. Lest you think that is far, the drive took less than an hour from our home base for this trip in Santa Rosa. Driving north on Highway 101, we passed Healdsburg and the northern edge of Sonoma County and found ourselves in the foothills of Mendocino County, then passing a few other wineries before arriving at our destination.

We met with Antoine in the private tasting lounge in the winery itself, separate from the tasting room. The lounge also houses the distillery but more on this later.

As Antoine knew that we were interested in focusing on the Rhone varietals that he makes at Jaxon Keys he set up a great sampling of what he does there with those.

We started with the 2017 Viognier, which we felt was a delicious take on this varietal, free from the mistake [in my opinion] that winemakers often make with Viognier – residual sugar. None here and we got to experience a clean, dry wine with plenty of fruit.

Then we moved on to the red Rhones.

We started with the 2016 Grenache, a tasty lighter style of this grape and perfect way to segue to the…

2016 Syrah – Antoine said that it’s the best Syrah he’s every worked with and that sure showed in the glass. My note just says “wow”.

We finished with a very interesting wine: the 2016 GPS is a blend of Grenache, Primitivo and Syrah. I’ve never tasted this particular blend anywhere else and I doubt if you have either. It turns out they work really well together.

While we tasted, Karen and I had the opportunity to chat with Antoine about the winery. The Wilsons acquired the property in 2009. Before that it had a long history, most recently as Jepson Winery, which you may have heard of. The Wilsons renamed it Jaxon Keys Winery & Distillery, after Ken Wilson’s grandfathers. Total acreage is about 1200, with about 100 acres planted. Production is entirely Estate at about 2500 cases. Antoine said that like many small wineries that own vineyards, much of the grape crop is sold to other wineries. Antoine took over winemaking and vineyard management duties at Jaxon Keys fairly recently and has found an ongoing challenge as the wines become popular to balance the needs of other wineries that purchase the grapes with making sure that there is enough wine for retail customers and club members.

Since we were sitting next to the historic still, it seemed proper to finish our tasting with some brandy. Renowned [and now primarily retired] distiller Hubert Germain-Robin consults on this side of the business and the brandy is made in a historic Alambic Pot still from Cognac, France using primarily the French Columbard grapes grown on the property. We tasted through three levels of brandy [5-7 years old, 7-10 years old, and 15 years and older]. I enjoy brandy but admittedly have little expertise in it. But this stuff was smooth and tasty. They also make some very high-end bottlings as well.

Our visit with Antoine was coming to a close; it was harvest and he needed to get back to his real work. He introduced us to Jessie in the tasting room because I really wanted to taste the Jaxon Keys Zinfandels. Admittedly, we had come for the Rhones but I am the Zinfan after all. Besides, I already knew that Antoine’s Zins are legendary regardless of the label on the bottle.

Of course, I wasn’t disappointed. Especially delicious were the 2016 Mae’s Block Zinfandel and the 2016 Brandy Barrel Aged Zinfandel. We bought some of each as well as that Viognier we had tasted earlier. We wanted to buy the other wines that we had tasted with Antoine, but he had apparently shared with us what were pretty much the last bottles available of these wines. That’s what happens with great small-production wines. We can’t wait to try the next vintage.

A comment about pricing, which I rarely discuss. I believe a wine should stand on its own, regardless of what it costs. I don’t feel it is up to me to opine on the business model of a winery. That being said, I need to say that these wines are remarkably underpriced for wines of this quality. When I expressed that opinion to Jessie in the tasting room, she said “Welcome to Mendocino County.” Indeed.

Jaxon Keys Winery & Distillery
10400 South Hwy 101
Hopland, CA 95449

The Passing of Kent Rosenblum

September 15, 2018 by Michael Perlis 3 Comments

Kent Rosenblum passed away on September 5^th, 2018.

Before there were the current big three of Turley, Carlisle and Bedrock [or whoever your favorite Zinfandel producers might currently be], there were the three Rs of Zinfandel: Rosenblum, Ravenswood and Ridge.

Kent Rosenblum of Rosenblum Cellars, Joel Peterson of Ravenswood and Paul Draper of Ridge Vineyards pretty much created the category of Zinfandel as an artisan wine. They paved the way for the quality and variety of amazing Zins that we now get to enjoy on a regular basis.

Karen and I have had the great pleasure of meeting one of the Rs, Joel Peterson of Ravenswood and also now Once and Future Wine Company, a few times.

Sadly, we never got to meet Kent Rosenblum and our lives are poorer for that. There are many moving tributes online and I encourage you to seek those out.

Being a great pioneering winemaker was only part of who he was. He was clearly a good friend to many as well as, most importantly, being a wonderful husband, father and grandfather.

We’ve been fortunate to meet Kent’s daughter Shauna Rosenblum of Rock Wall Wine Company as she carries on the family tradition. Our condolences go out to her and to the rest of Kent’s family and friends.

More from ZAP [Zinfandel Advocates & Producers] – used with permission, including the photo:

A bright light has gone out in the Zinfandel community. Beloved husband, father, grandfather and Zinfandel pioneer, Kent Rosenblum died unexpectedly at his home in Alameda early September 5. He was 74 years old.

A founding board member of ZAP, Kent served continuously on the board since the organization started in 1991 and was president in 1997. Throughout the years, Kent was an enthusiastic champion of ZAP’s mission. He was a tireless advocate, always dreaming up new ideas and generously hosting ZAP events (remember Good Eats & Zin!). Most recently, he was working on a new membership passport initiative that will be unveiled this fall. There is so much more to say about Kent’s contributions. He was a leader by example and his was a life well lived.

Heartfelt wishes and remembrances are flowing in by the hundreds and hundreds from all over. Kent touched countless people, not only with his winemaking, but his charming wit, compassion and exuberance were infectious. He created a lasting legacy in the Zinfandel world that lives on with his winemaker daughter, Shauna at Rock Wall Wine Company.

We are deeply saddened by his passing and extend our sincerest condolences to Kent’s wife, Kathy, daughters Shauna and Kristen, his brother Roger, sister Pamela and his granddaughter, Skylar. He was a devoted friend and will be missed dearly.

Rebecca Robinson
Executive Director

Perlis Picks: Hoyt Family Vineyards

September 1, 2018 by Michael Perlis Leave a Comment

Have you heard of tiny houses? There’ve been a few television shows about them. My wife Karen occasionally watches them and I’ll sometimes lift my head up from wine-related Facebook conversations to see what’s up.

Basically, people downsize to a minimum level of possessions and space requirements in order to live in very small residences, simplifying their lives in the process. Now what that minimum level is varies from family to family depending on their own situation. The whole idea has never really appealed to me; for one thing, what to do with the wine?

But, to stay in a tiny house in a vineyard on the west side of Paso Robles? Heck yes, that is very appealing.

The first episode of DIY Network’s “Cabin Brothers” featured the development and construction of two tiny homes on the vineyard property of Hoyt Family Vineyards. The “brothers” are twins John and Ron Daniels [formerly of the show “Redwood Kings”] and their company Daniels Wood Land is conveniently based in Tin City just south of downtown Paso Robles.

The cabins/homes have all the amenities – two bedrooms [one is a master with a queen size bed and the other is smaller with bunk beds], a shower and full kitchen. Our vineyard view cabin gave us a full frontal view of the beautiful vineyard – just be careful not to give a full frontal view to the vineyard workers; this is a working winery, after all. In case you’re wondering, you also have satellite TV and Wi-Fi.

But all this would mean nothing to me if the wines didn’t measure up.

For a little bit about how that started, we have to begin in…Malibu.

Carol and Stephen Hoyt moved to Malibu and planted their Chardonnay vineyard on their property in 2001. Carol, a self-taught winemaker, made her first wine with purchased Cabernet fruit while waiting for the first Chardonnay grapes to be ready to harvest in 2004. Since that time, Hoyt Family Vineyards became known for producing delicious Chardonnay from Malibu.

But we all know that there is more to wine than Chardonnay, yummy as it is, and in 2011 the Hoyts purchased 86 acres on the west side of Paso Robles in the very highly regarded Willow Creek District, with neighbors like Booker, Tablas Creek and most recently Clos Solene [in other words, a pretty darn good neighborhood], to expand the estate offerings of Hoyt Family Vineyards. After much work [some still ongoing] on the vineyards, which now consist of two adjacent properties totaling 140 acres with 30 acres planted, they now also produce Tempranillo, Cabernet Sauvignon, Viognier, Grenache and Petit Verdot.

Tastings are available by appointment at the vineyard property, which is especially convenient if you are staying there. But we wanted to check out the new tasting room in downtown Paso Robles. Located just north of the busy park square, the Hoyt Family Vineyards tasting room is a wonderful addition to the downtown tasting room scene. It is now literally possible to spend a day (or more) tasting wine strolling around without ever needing to drive into the surrounding countryside, should you so choose.

We went through the whole lineup of wines, which I am pleased share with you here, including the winery’s notes:

White

Hoyt2Hoyt Sparkling Wine: Our newest addition, a sophisticated Methode Champignon sourced from Sonoma County. Light, crisp and refreshing. Perfect for a celebration or a Sunday morning. Dry, with notes of pear and apple, delicately tickles your fancy.

2015 Chardonnay: Our newest release! We have taken our Malibu estate grown Chardonnay through 100% malolactic and aged it in new and used French Oak. This is the wine that put us on the map! Crisp, with hints of oak and butter this Chardonnay’s acid is well balanced on your palate and could look forward to it aging beautifully, if you can wait, but we don’t think you will want to! It is our classic “Drink it all day Chardonnay”! Case Production 325

Muscat: For those of you who expect this wine to be overly sweet, we have a surprise for you! Made with no residual sugar, this Muscat presents itself as beautifully dry with a fragrant nose of citrus, clean and crisp. This is a onetime wine from our estate with a small production, get it before it’s gone! Case Production 30

Rosé

2017 Pinot Noir Rose: Sophisticated and elegant, best describes our estate Grown Pinot Noir Rose. This Rose, already turning heads and making a splash, claimed 99 points, double gold and best of class from the California State Fair. Notes of strawberry, and citrus make this perfect for the summer or for that matter anytime.

Red

“Dylema” Our fun red blend. Originally created for the Malibu Chili cook off, this has become a house favorite. A Cab based blend with a little bit of everything else thrown in. Smooth and easy on the palate, we were hard pressed as what to call it, so we named it after our kids, Dylan and Emma. Enjoy our “Dylema”. GOLD Medal Winner

Grenache: Our first Grenache! And we are delighted with its lovely gardenia and soft smokey pepper and burnt Cherry undertones. Case Production 80

2012 Tempranillo: Fruit forward, well balanced. The velvet feel rolls in your mouth, with magical notes of black currant, blackberries, blueberry, vanilla and cooking spices. Very limited production of this hand picked estate fruit. Case Production 55

2013 Petite Sirah: Our 2013 Petite Sirah is totally amazing. Big bold fruit, beautiful legs, rounded mouth feel, we think it’s like “sex in a bottle”. Very limited production, and we feel it will be winning Gold Medals- we expect nothing less!

2012 Cabernet Sauvignon: Already winning Best of Class by the San Francisco Wine Chronicle, this is our favorite Cab yet. It’s unbelievable round mouth feel, is chewy, fruit forward, leggy and lovely. A sophisticated Cab, very limited production, this wine won’t last! Case Production 96

These are very well made wines. The awards they are getting, such as the one from the Chronicle, are about as legit as they get. The Rose really knocked us out and the Petite Sirah is aptly described as amazing. As you can see, production is tiny on many of these so blink and they might be gone. But whatever they are pouring next will be sure to please.

Thank you to Nancy Hoffman of Hoyt Family Vineyards for hosting us at the property and at the tasting room, as well as giving us a whirlwind vineyard tour and pointing out the best places to enjoy a glass of wine at sunset. She is a joy to work with – don’t believe just me; check out the reviews on Airbnb. https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/23712572

So, am I ready to give it all up and move into a tiny house? Probably not. But I would definitely stay again in a tiny cabin in a beautiful vineyard, especially this vineyard and this winery: Hoyt Family Vineyards. You should too.

Hoyt Family Vineyards

Tasting room:

1322 Park Street, Paso Robles, Ca. 93446

Vineyard:

2015 Township Rd, Paso Robles, Ca. 93446

Cabins:

2110 Township Rd, Paso Robles, Ca. 93446

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.”

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.