There is something about the scene of a wine tasting before it actually happens that just beguiles me. Perhaps it’s the symmetry of line; the glasses all in rows, the chairs all in rows, the napkins arranged just so, the bottles in a line … Or perhaps it’s more abstract than that; the viticultural Christmas Eve effect, the anticipation, the excitement … Maybe it’s just the clarity and cleanliness; everything in order, no drips, no bread crumbs, no devoured cheese wedges … Could be just the sheer effect of light; the we-are-just-like-birds-who-like-shiny-things phenomenon, sunlight playing off of all that dancing crystal sparkliness … Hard to say, really, but it’s a magical scene, one I love to visually devour … and present, of course. Maybe that’s really it, maybe it’s the collective widening of eyes as you usher guests into the room, the soft oohs and aahs, the almost museum-like stillness that temporarily overcomes even the most boisterous of groups … One feels good, I must say, to say “welcome.”
It is with great pleasure, pride, and excitement that I celebrate another voice in the great Carignane mission; enter Chiara Shannon, head sommelier at K&L Wine Merchants in Redwood City. Chiara has recently begun writing for the K&L blog, and with one fine missive, she has outed herself as a devout Carignane believer!
For those of you who would like to do a little digging into this blog’s own humble history of posts in defense of this oft-unjustly-maligned varietal whose star is in fact very much in the ascendancy (and some other contributions as well!), please feel free to enjoy the following links:
Do you know Caleb Mosley? If not, you should really find a way to meet him. He’s a pretty amazing cat. Particularly as he’s still so young, given the responsibility that rests on his shoulders. You see, Caleb is the Vineyard Manager for the Monte Bello Vineyards. Pretty heavy-duty. And it’s just plain rare to find someone his age who displays all the knowledge, skill, passion, dedication, and prowess that he does. But it’s not really any of that that will strike you; it’s the gravitas, the juju, the instinct, the old man mojo; it’s like coming across a 20-something kid with a guitar who can perfectly conjure Son House; not note for note, but the spirit. Caleb’s like that. He’s got deep, deep mojo.
Caleb Mosley, Monte Bello Vineyard Manager
And on top of that, he’s a really kind fella; very giving of his time, and very humble about his knowledge. So it was no surprise to me to get a call from him last week, asking if I thought the Monte Bello Tasting Room team would be interested in a pruning tutorial. He and the crew were going to be in the middle vineyards (the vines behind the tasting room) on Saturday, and he was offering to take the gang out. Needless to say, there were more than a few takers!
The Monte Bello Tasting Room Team
We met at Caleb’s truck, from which he issued gloves and clippers to all.
The Formal Issuance Of Gloves and Clippers
After a quick look at some rootstock, and a brief chat about grafting …
Rootstock
… he herded everyone up into the vines. As we moved past the merlot and petit verdot, Caleb talked beneficial crop cover, and integrated pest management.
Beneficial Crop Cover
Notepads were out, ears were glued. But as this was to be a pruning tutorial, we headed on towards the Cabernet Sauvignon, as it hadn’t been pruned yet.
First stop, MY vine! My beautiful VineWatch vine!
VineWatch 2010: The End
Caleb walked everyone through the tremendously high-stakes process of vine assessment; what to cut, what to leave. It might sound simple, but make a mistake, and the vine could suffer for years. Caleb talked everyone through identificative terminologies (cordon, cane, spur, head, shoot, tendril, bud, etc.), then broke-down our primary methodology: head-trained and cane-pruned. Once everyone got the rhetorical hang, it was time for action. Enter me and my vine. It was time to prune my baby!
"4488: A Ridge Blog" goes pruning!
That done, it was time to put the full gang to work. Everyone got their gloves on, their clippers in hand, and prepared for their marching orders. Caleb had everyone break into pairs, and gave each duo a vine.
If the 2011 Monte Bello just happens to be particularly, legendarily fantastic, make sure to thank a member of the MBTR team. They worked damn hard out there!
That said, and in all seriousness, I think this experience gave us all an ever-deeper appreciation for the knowledge base that resides within the heads and hands of our esteemed vineyard crew; they make in seconds key decisions that took us agonizing minutes to worry over, and their decisions affect production for years to come. Judging by the long and fruitful history of Monte Bello, they’re doing an amazing job!
Cheers to the vineyard crew for being so utterly, wonderfully brilliant, hard-working, and knowledgeable, cheers to the MBTR team for not only getting out there and getting into the trenches, but for being so dedicated as regards enhancing their own knowledges bases for the benefit of our guests, and special thank-yous to Caleb for his generosity, his wisdom, and his mojo.
The world lost quite a guitarist on the 6th of February. Gary Moore, formerly of Skid Row & Thin Lizzy, and possessor of a long and distinguished discography of his own, passed away in his sleep at the age of 58. I haven’t listened to alot of Gary Moore in the past few years, but there was a time where his stinging tone, wild imagination, and passionate guitar fury were a regular landing place for my young ears.
I am remembering Gary today, over a good glass of wine, singing along as he sings:
I would have done anything, to make you mine Sold everything to buy you a ring, stop drinking the wine
Rest in peace Gary, music fans around the world will miss you.
I tasted this wine not too long back, with Eric Baugher, in advance of the ZAP event, but I wanted to give it a re-visit in advance of tonight’s festivities (if you want to see the earlier notes for comparison’s sake, you can find them here), and in the spirit of Ginsbergian First-Word-Best-Word, I decided to pull out the ol’ typer, get the ol’ 8mm rollin’, and go free-style with my tasting notes …
And here, then, are the notes, just as you saw them going down live on the typer!
2008 Carmichael: Typewriter Tasting Notes!
And just in case you need a translation (I was getting a bit of a sticky key phenomenon there at the end …), here is a transcription:
2008 Ridge Vineyards Carmichael
Very brambly aromatics, fairly dense fruit concentration, quite plummy, but not cloyingly so; rather, just nice rich fruit … medium-weight legs that are surprisingly viscous as regards bowl adhesions … very blackish belly, with a gorgeous magenta limn … hints of some black herbs on the nose as well, perhaps even a hint of Panda licorice … super, super concentrated on the palate; juicy, but lively, strong with tannins, but bouncing with acidity … the petite sirah in the blend, even at 8%, lends a nice dark earthy layer to the mid-palate, and a reasonably approachable chalky-esque minerality …. pretty big overall, with a lot of lusciousness to spare, though it wears its 14.7% ABV well; it’s ripe, certainly, but not jammy, and the fruit profile is plum first, boysenberry second, with hints of Logan and Ollalieberry coming in third … I’m most impressed by the structure, as the architecture is really front and center; again, lots of tannin, good minerality, more than enough acidity, etc. … Overall, a rich, luxurious, concentrated, deeply flavorful zin that still manages the affectations of a lighter wine.
I am very happy to announce that our 2011 Wine Bloggers Tastings are set to begin! As with last year, we plan to host the event quarterly, with three taking place here at Monte Bello, and one up at Lytton Springs. We’ll be announcing dates as we go, but the first is now officially scheduled for Friday, March 25th, here at Monte Bello!
If you’re a wine blogger who either lives in Northern California, or will be in the area on said date, then please contact me and let me know if you’d be interested in attending.
If you’re not familiar with our Wine Bloggers Tastings, then here are a few links you might wish to check out:
You may have read Jon Bonne’s recent article in the San Francisco Chronicle entitled “Is Zinfandel a serious wine?” If you did (or even if you didn’t!), you may have noticed that this article sparked a rather fierce debate in the aftermath of its publication; it seems the topic touched quite a collective nerve! If you didn’t see the original article, you can click here to read it.
I watched most of the arguments from the sidelines, content to enjoy all the kind words about Ridge Zinfandel that cropped up in the various conversations. And thanks to all for that!
But I did wade into one thread, and with great pleasure, as it meant I was among the comments following an article by Steve Heimoff. If you’ve read anything by Steve, particularly on his blog, you’ll know he has a fantastic knack for not only provoking great responses, but attracting an astonishing caliber of respondents. No disrespect intended to Steve, but there are times when reading the comment feed is almost more instructive than reading the original article!
Anyhow, Steve took on the topic of Zinfandel’s seriousness, and I eventually threw my rhetorical hat into the ring. I reprint my initial response below, but I encourage you to visit Steve’s site and read both his posting, and the 40+ comments that followed. You can find it all here:
I wonder if I might address the question of serious vs. fun (for lack of a better way to frame the debate as it seems to be shaping up) by positing that one can be quite serious about one’s fun. I find that both Ridge, and Zinfandel, have fascinating histories specifically because of the way they have historically lived at some unique juncture point of high and low brow tendencies; when they succeed, they perform a marvelous integration of funk and sophistication, head and heart, technique and instinct.
Many if not all of our greatest artists throughout history were deadly serious about producing that which would ideally be entertaining to us; comedians who rehearsed jokes for 10 hours a day, composers who brought themselves to the brink of exhaustion at the piano, painters who drove themselves to the edge of madness at the canvas, writers who labored over every punctuation mark in every poem. As recipients of their artistry and dedication, we revel in the sensual enjoyment of their creations, be they light or heavy, fun or serious, playful or ponderous.
The point being, one can be serious about making a zinfandel that is flat out fun to drink. I am a proud employee of Ridge Vineyards because I think that’s exactly what Ridge does, and it’s something I wanted to be a part of. And we are certainly not alone in doing this. All the accolades, devotions, and praises evident in this comment feed alone attest to it. Cheers to zinfandel, and cheers, as always, to Steve for producing such effectively provocative writing. It’s serious work he does, but it’s alot of fun to read!
