Archive for August, 2009

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1994 Geyserville: Tasting Notes (and a new web-only offer!)

August 31, 2009

Just a quick note to let you know, in case you haven’t checked in on our website recently, that there is a brilliant “From Our Reserves” web-only offer on the 1994 Geyserville that’s just gone live! (You can find the info by clicking here).

 

I had the opportunity to taste this Vintage from the Vaults fairly recently, so I thought I’d post some tasting notes, in case you were on the fence about considering this wine:

1994 Ridge Vineyards Geyserville

Notable for having the least alcohol of these first three vintages (I tasted this wine alongside 1992 and 1993 vintages), yet showing comparatively slightly more heat, or should I say warmth, essentially in the form of a long, warm, chest-filling finish. Not obstreperously so, not by any means, and I think I probably wouldn’t have noted it at all, save for the fact that I was tasting in context. But again, I did notice it as a structural component. As to the other architectural contributants, I would say that tannins have receded to a point of extreme subtlety, dare I say, gentleness, while the vibrancy on offer from the acidity is still youthfully prevalent; quite pleasantly so, in fact. And as is often the case with Geyserville, I find that the fruit is taking somewhat of a comparative backseat here, with the aesthetic emphasis being more on the secondary and tertiary layers of herbs, spices, and a fundamentally tempered rusticity . Overall, this makes for a slightly leaner, more elegant offering than either the ’92 or the ’93, but conversely, this vintage also begs for food pairing in perhaps a more insistent fashion than do either of the other two vintages; higher-fat-content dishes in particular will benefit from pairing with this wine: cheeses such as triple cream Bries or Goudas, cream or butter-based sauces, meats such as duck or sausage, or coconut-milk-based curries.

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Posted in Food & Wine Pairing, Tasting Notes, Varietals & Blends, Viticultural Salmagundi, Zinfandel | 1 Comment »

The Essence of Essence

August 31, 2009

There is a lot of excitement about Essence wines around these parts lately, for reasons that will soon become clear …

And in that spirit, we convened another RIDGE In The Round Session this past weekend (the wrap-up will be in a follow-up), to have a look at an Essence. Not the Essence that was causing all the excitement, mind you; that’s something else. Which will soon become clear …

But in the meantime, back to our Essence. Or should I first ask, “Hands up for who knows what an Essence is?” Well, from my office deep below the Halls of Monte Bello, from which I can scurry, gopher-like, through a myriad of tunnels that allow me to pop up anytime, anywhere, on the Monte Bello property (running the risk, of course, of being whacked in the head with a rubber mallet!), I can’t see any raised hands, so perhaps I better offer some explanation first…

And who better to explain than Paul Draper himself, who has written the following:

What classifies a wine as an ESSENCE?

  • The wine was vinified from grapes that were intentionally left to hang on the vine for an extended period of time.  During this added length of time, the grapes concentrate the flavor and sugar by on-the-vine dehydration.  Typically the sugar, when picked, exceeds 35oBrix. (Although this is impossible to measure due to the soak out effect of the dehydrated berries.)
  • The fermentation typically stops naturally at an alcohol content between 10.5 – 13% v/v with substantial residual sugar remaining (generally 6-10+% w/v).  The combination of high alcohol and residual sugar content creates an intolerable living condition for saccharomyces cerevisiae (and most other microbes, including acetobacter) due to osmotic pressure within their cell walls. This allows the wine natural stability from future spoilage while aging. 
  • Generally this natural stability allows for bottling without filtration, and therefore occasionally one may find sediment in such bottlings.
  • The typical attributes for essences are: unctuous ripeness, jam, plum, raisin, candied fruit.  The palate tends to be amazingly thick, heavy, viscous-syrup, dense exotic fruit definition, and spicy.

Sugar is a natural preservative to allow for extended bottle aging.  An essence, 30 year old, will still have amazing depth of flavors, color, and richness.  The complexity increases as the essence takes on caramel- like flavors as the primary sugar combine into more complex polysaccharides.   

After perusing this document with the rest of our esteemed staff, I made my dramatic flourish, unfurled my cape in the brisk winds, and reveled in the collective gasp as its silken black-and-crimson folds fluttered beautifully above the offering that suddenly, magically appeared in my trembling yet sure hand; an Essence!

What Essence, you might ask? This Essence, says I:

03ZES0-L

From the back label, a wee bit more information:

 

2003 Zinfandel Essence, bottled January 2005

 

After a late start in spring, intense heat in early September ripened these grapes far beyond the norm. We first picked on September 20. Then—realizing we had a dessert wine on our hands—delayed the rest of the harvest for four days to gain even greater concentration. At these high sugars, the wine took four more days to show signs of natural-yeast fermentation. We pumped over daily for color and tannin extraction; by the eighth day, despite the remaining sugar, fermentation had come to a halt. We pressed, and just before racking to barrel, included the still-richer press wine. Ten months in air-dried american oak added spice to the intense black fruit. This is a delicious young wine, which will continue to develop over the next five to eight years. EB/PD (11/04)

 

Initial sugar at harvest 35.6% By Volume
Residual sugar in the wine 10.0% By Volume

 

 

And less than 300 cases of this wine made, can you believe it!

And on that note, I need to go write the RIDGE In The Round Wrap-Up (see next post, coming to a theater near you. Soon)!

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Posted in Vineyards and Oenology, Viticultural Salmagundi, Zinfandel | 5 Comments »

September Is California Wine Month!

August 31, 2009

A little message from California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger:

CaWineMonthLogo

 

 

Governor Schwarzenegger Proclaims September 2009

California Wine Month:  
Vintners and Growers Recognized for Agricultural Tradition and Contributions to the State

 

Sacramento, Calif. — Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has declared September 2009 California Wine Month for the fifth consecutive year.  Recognizing the Golden State’s vintners and growers for their more than 200-year-old agricultural tradition, positive impact on the state and national economies, and commitment to sustainable winegrowing practices, the proclamation praises the wine community’s many contributions.

            “Our wineries attract tourism and provide countless jobs for Californians.  Many are also committed to serving their communities and promoting socially and environmentally responsible farming practices,” said Governor Schwarzenegger in the proclamation.   

            California wine generates 820,000 jobs in the U.S., including 330,000 in California.  The state’s vintners and growers, along with California’s 80,000 restaurants, have helped make the Golden State a top destination for culinary travelers from around the world, attracting nearly 21 million visitors each year to its wine regions. 

“It’s a great honor to be recognized by the Governor and to receive his support for the September California Wine Month celebration,” said Robert P. (Bobby) Koch, President and CEO of Wine Institute.  “Our industry is a major economic driver for California, contributor to the important tourism industry and the world’s leader in sustainable winegrowing.”

The Governor is also an advocate for tourism and has given his support to a partnership between Wine Institute and the California Travel & Tourism Commission (CTTC) by appearing with First Lady Maria Shriver in CTTC’s TV spot promoting California as the “Land of Wine and Food.”  The spot will broadcast this September and October across the nation and in Canada.

Visitors to California can explore the state’s 2,800 wineries which produce 90 percent of U.S. wine.  Wine Institute’s consumer web site at discovercaliforniawine.com offers a database of California winery tasting rooms and a trip planning tool that provides maps and driving directions to the wineries.  The database allows visitors to search wineries by region, variety produced and by dozens of amenities, including winery gardens, picnic grounds and green winegrowing practices.

 “California is the fourth largest wine producer in the world.  With over 60 percent of the state’s winegrowers participating in the Sustainable Winegrowing Program, it is truly a model for wine regions in other states and abroad.   The program has won Governor Schwarzenegger’s top environmental award,” said Karen Ross, President of the California Association of Winegrape Growers, whose organization is supporting California Wine Month and with Wine Institute established the Sustainable Winegrowing Program in 2002.

            The discovercaliforniawine.com web site also features special events at wineries throughout the state during California Wine Month and includes a California Wine Month poster offer, the official proclamation from the governor and an “Insider’s Guide to California Wine Country.”

Retail and restaurant establishments throughout the nation are celebrating California Wine Month and several publications will feature special coverage of the state’s wines.
Retail/Restaurant Partners Celebrating California Wine Month (CWM)

Safeway, Von’s and Pavilions stores (Newspaper ads and in-store displays in stores nationwide)

Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board (Posters and shelf talkers in stores throughout the state)

Kimpton Hotels (Special wine promotions in all restaurants)

Beverages & More! (Posters in stores)

Costco (California stores) 

Roy’s Restaurants (Special wine promotions in all restaurants)

Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines (Special wine promotions on board all ships)

The Melting Pot (Special wine promotions in select restaurants)

Vino Volo (Special wine-by-the glass promotions in all airport locations)

California Wine Merchants (In-store tastings with vintners)

Gary’s Wine & Marketplace New Jersey (Three stores doing in-store tastings with vintners)

Grande Harvest Wines New York (In-store tastings with vintners)

Morrell & Company New York (In-store tastings with vintners)

Sherry-Lehman Wine & Spirits New York (In-store tastings with vintners)

Union Square Wines New York (In-store tastings with vintners)

Zachy’s New York (In-store tastings with vintners)

Cork Bar Los Angeles (Special California wine flights throughout September)

Media Partners

            Wall Street Journal — September 12

San Francisco Chronicle — August 28

Los Angeles Magazine — September edition

The Restaurant Standard (California Restaurant Association) — August/September Edition  

California Wine Month is also supported by several association partners including the California Travel and Tourism Commission, the California Olive Oil Council, the National Restaurant Association and the California Restaurant Association which recently conducted its second annual “Best California Wine List Competition.” 

Winners of the 2009 California wine list competition included The Melting Pot in the category of restaurant companies with 10 or more outlets, The Firehouse Restaurant in Sacramento in the category of restaurant companies with fewer than 10 outlets, annual sales revenue $1 million or more per location, and California Café, Los Gatos, in the category of restaurant companies with fewer than 10 outlets, annual sales revenue less than $1 million per location.

            Established in 1934, Wine Institute is the association of more than 1,000 California wineries and wine-related businesses that initiate and advocate state, federal and international public policy to enhance the environment for the responsible production, consumption and enjoyment of wine.  Wine Institute members represent 85 percent of U.S. wine production and 90 percent of U.S. wine exports.

The California Association of Winegrape Growers (CAWG) was founded in 1974 with the mission to provide industry leadership to advocate public policies, research and education programs and trade positions that enhance the business of growing California winegrapes.  CAWG’s membership represents the growers of approximately 60 percent of California’s total annual grape crush.

            Join us in celebrating California Wine Month in September 2009.

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Posted in Press Reviews, Viticultural Salmagundi | Leave a Comment »

A Lil’ Name-Check In The News For Ridge! -or- A Lovely Article About Our Appellation!

August 28, 2009

Lovely article in the paper the other day about wine producers in the Santa Cruz Mountains; if you’ve not been to our region, this article might just give you that final push! Very nice nod to Ridge as well. An excerpt:

 

…”Among the 70 wineries, you’re probably familiar with Bonny Doon and its wacky labels. Perhaps you’ve been to a concert at Mountain Winery in Saratoga. And if you’ve heard of the 1976 Judgment of Paris, you know it was Ridge Vineyards, a Cupertino winery, was one of the wineries that beat out the French in a blind tasting of cabernet sauvignons that put California on the global wine map…”

(By Jessica Yadegaran
Contra Costa Times)

You can find the full article right here!

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Posted in Monte Bello, Press Reviews | Leave a Comment »

The Other Side Of Food Pairing? -or- Low Couture? -or- Junk Food Jeroboam?

August 26, 2009

All I’m saying is I admit I can get get a little carried away with the whole winespeak routine, the minutae of food pairing intricacies, the foodie obsessiveness, etc. So all I’m ALSO saying, is that sometimes, you just gots to have a lil’ Monte Bello with a plate of Yam Fries and Ketchup!

06CMB_YF

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Beneficial Insects, Anyone? -or David Gates At Geyserville, The Video!

August 25, 2009

If you’re the sort (and I know you are!) who’d be interested in hearing David Gates (our truly wondrous vineyard manager) discussing beneficial insects while traipsing through our rather lovely Geyserville vineyards, then this is just the video for you!

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Re: A To Z; Your Contributions!

August 24, 2009

Just got a great comment on my previous post, and it gave me what I think is a wonderful idea! After reading my A to Z, perhaps you’ve got ideas of your own? Let me know! From Roland Dumas, a brilliant suggestion for “O”:

 

O: Optima, the elegant sans serif font that makes Ridge labels so distinctive.

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The A To Z Of Ridge -or- Thanks Gourmet Magazine!

August 24, 2009

Well, I don’t have the issue in my hands yet, but I’ve just been alerted to the fact that Ridge gets a nice little nod in the September issue of Gourmet Magazine ! (Thanks to Amy Monroe for giving me the heads-up.) If you’re not familiar with itture, Gourmet does a wonderful feature every month in which they use an A-to-Z model for alerting readers to what they describe as ”Twenty-six useful, enduring, or simply fascinating food sites, trends, and other Web phenomena.” So, in the September issue, Z is apparently for Ridge Zinfandel! Most excellent …

And inspired by this alphabeticalizing of our Ridge-ness, I have decided to assemble my own personal lexiconically Ridgeified 26-item catalogue of oenophilically Ridgeish entries … Here goes!

A: Alicante Bouschet, a unique and interplanted varietal regularly appearing on stage at the Pagani Ranch Theater, a local company specializing in delicious plays about old-vine Zinfandel.

B: Barbera, as in the 1996 Ridge California Dry Creek Barbera, as in what I tasted with two very kind and long-time Ridge-o-philes in our picnic area one very happy weekend.

C: Cabernet Sauvignon, as in the star of our Monte Bello  Feature Presentation, now showing at a table near you.

D: Dry Creek Valley,  as in home to our Lytton Springs  vineyards, winery, and tasting room. Also, as in D is for Delicious, which is the word you use when you taste wines at Lytton Springs with Melissa, Sandy, and all the Lytton Springs staff. Who rock, by the way. The staff. At Lytton Springs.

E: Enology, of course! (See Oenology!)

F: Franc, as in Cabernet Franc, legendary Bordeux varietal, and regular content provider to the Monte Bello On-Line Journal of Wine.

G: Grenache. As in the new 2004 Grenache, the new November ATP shipment.

H: As in Harvest! Not so much about Neil Young’s album though, and more about really, really big trucks driving up Monte Bello Road full of really, really good grapes.

I: Inoculations. As in we don’t. Inoculate that is. (See Uninoculated Secondary Fermentation!)

J: Jimsomare, as in the Jimsomare Ranch, and the new 2007 Jimsomare Zinfandel. Colloquially known as the ZinJim.

K: As in K & L Wine Merchants, one of California’s finest wine retailers, and one of our favorite shops!

L: Lots. As in 80% of 36 lots being selected for the 2006 Monte Bello!

M: Merlot, also a great Bordeaux varietal, and also a regular and invaluable cast member of the Monte Bello Revue.

N: Nitrogen, super-important component in soil quality, regularly enhanced via beneficial crop cover.

O: Oenology, of course! (See Enology!)

P: Petite Sirah! As in Dynamite Hill. As in Particularly Potable on the Palate.

Q: Quinoa! As in,  the quinoa-and-grilled-vegetables-with-a-creamy-tarragon-and-dijon-marinade that I recently paired with the 2007 Santa Cruz Mountains Estate Chardonnay.

R: Racking, as in transferring wine from one vessel to another, accordingly separating it from lees and sediment. Not to be confused with Rocking. Which is what our wines do.

S: As in Secondary Fermentation. See Below …

T: Tanks, as in Tank Fermentation. See above and below …

U: As in Uninoculated Secondary Fermentation. See above …

V: As in Vertical Flight, as in tasting a lot of different vintages of Monte Bello  side by side!

W: Wine. Duh.

X: Xylem! As in the xylem of post-veraison berries. Duh.

Y: Yeast, as in Natural Wild-Yeast Fermentation. As in yummy.

Z: Zinfandel!

 

Posted in Barbera, Bordeaux varietals, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Food & Wine Pairing, Grenache, History, Lytton, Merlot, Monte Bello, Petite Sirah, Press Reviews, RIDGE Staff, Varietals & Blends, Vineyards and Oenology, Viticultural Salmagundi, Zinfandel | 4 Comments »

Jazz Birthdays And Six Degrees Of Wine

August 21, 2009

Ok, I’ll disclaim right from the start that I’m indulging in a bit of a stretch here, but let’s see if you’re willing to follow me …

Today is August 21st. Two legendary jazz musicians were born on this date, Art Farmer, and Count Basie.

ArtFarmercount-basie-crop

Count Basie, the legendary swing-master, band leader, and composer with that Kansas City style written into his DNA, and Art Farmer, seminal and canonical bop and hard bop trumpeter, who played with, among other luminaries, Horace Silver, Clifford Brown, McCoy Tyner, Gerry Mulligan, and more. Two jazz titans, indisputably.

And here’s the wine stretch, the gesture to connectivity, the six degree adhesion …

Meaning, each has quite a fine wine song in their respective discographies:CB_RecordCount Basie, during his tenure with RCA Victor, recorded a brilliantly sassy little number titled “She’s A Wine-O,” which featured the utterly immortal rhyme “She’s a Wine-O/She’s my mama, yo.”

And Art Farmer, in the company of his stunning guitarist Jim Hall, on the album Interaction, interactionrecorded a gloriously melancholic version of “Days Of Wine And Roses,” which was originally written for the film of the same name by Henry Mancini and Johnny Mercer.

Days_of_wine_and_Roses

And now, to try and work my way around to one of my other favorite topics, wine and poetry, I’ll happily note that the title for the film “Days Of Wine And Roses” came from a poem written in 1896 entitled “Vitae Summa Brevis Spem Nos Vetet Incohare Longam” by Ernest Dowson.

They are not long, the weeping and the laughter,
Love and desire and hate;
I think they have no portion in us after
We pass the gate.
They are not long, the days of wine and roses:
Out of a misty dream
Our path emerges for a while, then closes
Within a dream.

So today, in honor of all these tremendous talents, I’ll play “She’s A Wine-O” and “Days Of Wine And Roses” in the tasting room, and I’ll raise a Riedel of Ridge Monte Bello to the heavens, and I’ll thank the great mojo maker of the world for wine, for jazz, for dreams, and for the short but so beautiful time we have to be alive. Please feel free to join me. Cheers.

Posted in History, Monte Bello, Tasting Rooms, Viticultural Salmagundi, Wine & Poetry, Wine and Jazz | Leave a Comment »

Wonderful Article About Petite Sirah (featuring our Dynamite Hill PS!) -or- A Fine Line On The Vine -or- Go Tell It On The Mountain!

August 20, 2009

For those of you interested in Petite Sirah, there is a wonderful article that was just written by Laurie Daniels for the Bay Area News Group (it ran in, among other publications, the San Jose Mercury News and The Contra Costa Times). In her article, Daniels covers a lot of historical ground about this unjustifiably oft-overlooked varietal; tracing its roots from hybridized Syrah and Peloursin (to become Durif), to its slow rise to prominence in North America via a small but ever-expanding cadre of California loyalists. She notes the formation of P.S. I Love You, a Petite Sirah advocacy group of which we are a proud member (check out the new social network portion of their website here!), and documents the 7th Annual Petite Sirah Symposium tasting that was hosted by P.S. I Love You recently at Concannon Vineyards.

I am particularly happy to see Laurie Daniel’s recounting of her experiences with the Symposium tasting, because it appears she is quite a fan of one of our Petite Sirah offerings; our Dynamite Hill Petite Sirah. She writes that it was a “standout in the tasting.”

Personally, I couldn’t agree more when it comes to praising the 2004 Ridge Vineyards Dynamite Hill Petite Sirah; much has been said and written over the years about the somewhat perplexing inapproachability of a great many solo-varietal Petite Sirahs, and while the very characteristics that often pose challenges to the uninitiated (deep, dark, inky hues; rich, dense, concentrated lo-tone dark fruit notes; chalky, near-granular, lip-to-tooth adhesive tannins) are the very same traits that drive its devotees wild, approachability remains a key factor in the potential success and embracing of this singular varietal. Which is why I find the Dynamite Hill both a delicious, and important, contribution to the Petite Sirah canon. Without sacrificing any of the key architectural components of varietally-appropriate Petite Sirah, the Dynamite Hill manages to be that much more supple, that much less muscular, that much more aromatically complex, that much less mouth-coating, making for, in the end, both a wonderful point-of-entry into the world of Petite Sirah, and a sophisticated, delicious end-destination as well.

To my mind, the secret of its success in no small part lies in the methodogical attention to detail deployed by our winemakers in crafting this wine. Take a look at Paul Draper and Eric Baugher’s descriptions of how this wine was brought to bottle, and I believe you’ll see just how carefully and meticulously this wine is crafted:

2004 Petite Sirah Dynamite Hill
bottled August 2006
100% Petite Sirah

An early start to the growing season ripened the petite sirah at York Creek several weeks early. Dynamite Hill was harvested within two days, and the grapes destemmed, but not crushed. When berries remain whole in the fermentor, the seeds-which provide roughly ninety percent of tannins-are encased in skin and pulp, so extract more slowly. Limiting circulation of juice over the cap also helped moderate (to a degree) the structure of this classic petite sirah. After a natural (uninoculated) primary and secondary fermentation, a small amount of the first press was added, and the wine racked to air-dried american oak barrels for twenty-two months of aging. A third of the barrels were new, and two-thirds four years old. (The sheer size of the wine demanded a higher percentage of new wood.) Deep, dark, and complex, the exceptional 2004 Dynamite Hill will benefit from five to ten years of bottle age. EB/PD (4/06)

 

I apologize if I appear to be on the stump here, but I really believe in this wine, and in this varietal, and I’m happy to see it getting its due, inch by inch, row by row. Thanks to Laurie Daniels for highlighting this unique varietal, thanks to P.S. I Love You for its tireless support of, and advocacy for, this unique varietal, thanks to all the producers out there crafting wonderful wines from this unique varietal, and thanks to my own hometown heroes Ridge for making the Dynamite Hill Petite Sirah!

Should you be interested to find out more about the 2004 Ridge Vineyards Dynamite Hill Petite Sirah, please click here.

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Posted in Petite Sirah, Press Reviews | Leave a Comment »

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