I’ll Drink to That!

About 40 miles south of Monterey, lies the wine region know as the Santa Lucia Highlands, an area as yet, somewhat undiscovered by the wine tourists. But, thankfully, winemakers know the region and are making  beautiful Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, as well as some Syrah. The area provides the weather conditions suitable for both the Bugundian varietals as well as those from the Rhone region, reflecting the styles of the cooler northern Rhone.

Most of the vineyards of the Highlands are planted on the elevated terraces of the Santa Lucia Mountain Range overlooking the Salinas Valley. These vineyards take advantage of the morning sunshine while still experiencing the cooling fog and ocean breezes coming off nearby Monterey Bay and are perfect for growing Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. The slightly warmer, more wind-protected canyons and slopes provide an area more suited for Syrah to flourish.

The area is small with about 46 vineyard properties comprising approximately 5,900 acres under cultivation. The wineries are family owned  and most have a long history in agriculture in the area. Their goals are passion driven with the desire to make small amounts of great wine.  Indeed case production, for the most part, is low, and I found the quality of the wine to be quite high. These producers have a strong sense of the land and are innovators in all areas of production. New clones, trellising systems and farming techniques are constantly being explored, and many are employing sustainable, organic and biodynamic regimens in their vineyards.

This week I attended a tasting event sponsored by The Wine Artisans of the Santa Lucia Highlands. This event not only provided me with the opportunity to taste wines from a region I was unfamiliar with, but I also was able to meet and talk with many of the owners and winemakers themselves. This is where their passion and knowledge of wine making shines, and their enthusiasm is tangible. Dan Morgan Lee of Morgan  excitedly enlightened me about the dozens of clones he is experimenting with and how he farms organically to protect the land.  Joe and Penny Alarid of Tondre lovingly described their family and the multiple generations participating in “the dream”. Chris Weidemann the self-proclaimed “pilgrim” of Pelerin Wines, spoke soulfully of his journey into winemaking. And let’s not forget Gregory Peebles, the wholesale manager representing La Rochelle Winery that day. He speaks about wine with such enthusiasm and passion, that one is compelled to buy whatever he’s sellin’.

And then there is the wine. I was not disappointed on this day. For the most part I was quite impressed with the range of styles represented by the Pinot’s and the quality of all the wines I tried. I’ll list here a few of my favorites, and encourage you to get to your favorite wine store and seek out some of these gems from the Santa Lucia Highlands.

• August West - Pinot Noir, “Rosella’s Vineyard” - 09 - $42 (315 cases)
• Boekenoogen - Pinot Noir, “Estate” - 07 - $40
• Hahn SLH Estate - Chardonnay, “Estate” - 07 - $25
• Lucienne - Pinot Noir “Lone Oak” - 07 - $50
• Morgan - Chardonnay “Double L Vineyard” - 09 - $36
• Pelerin - Pinot Noir, SLH - 08 - $36
• Pisoni - Lucy Rose of Pinot Noir, SLH - ‘10 - $18.00
• Novy - Syrah, “Garys’ Vineyard - 08 - $33
• Tondre - Pinot Noir, “Tondre Grapefield” - 08 - $40 (500 cases)
• Tudor - Pinot Noir, SLH - 06 - $40

I’ll Drink to That!

The year was 1981 and we had decided to get married in September of that year. Temple Beth Hillel in North Hollywood, California would be the location, chosen because other family members had been married there and spoke highly of the Rabbi…Rabbi James Lee Kaufman, fondly referred to as just Rabbi Jim. That would be the beginning of a long relationship with this temple and its beloved Rabbi.

Rabbi Jim went on to marry others in our family and preside over all rites of passage including bar/bat mitzvah, baby namings and britot, home blessings, and burials. No matter when we called or what was required, Rabbi Jim was there. At one such event held in our home, after the formalities were over we offered the Rabbi something to drink. He replied that a glass of wine would be nice. I asked, “what kind” and he answered, Cabernet, if you have it. Ah…a “cab guy”, I thought, and went to retrieve the best bottle I had. (Sorry I don’t remember what it was, but he seemed to like it. )

The year is 2010 and the results of the San Francisco Chronicle are in.  Willowbrook Cellars Pinot Noir, Kaufman-Sunnyslope Vineyard, 2008 has been awarded a medal. Kaufman-Sunnyslope Vineyard named after its owner…..In 1994 Rabbi Jim and his wife, Sue, thinking they would like to someday retire in Northern California, purchased a then un-planted 6 acre parcel in the prestigious Sonoma Mountain AVA. They originally planted the site to Merlot, then grafted over to Pinot Noir in 2007. Their first Pinot harvest of 3.5 tons in 2008 was sold to Willowbrook Cellars to be used in a single vineyard designated wine.

Rabbi Jim has been a part of Temple Beth Hillel’s clergy since 1973, and although he stepped down from his position as senior Rabbi in 2010, he remains active in the temple community. It is there where I caught up with him to find out more about his passion for wine and how it led to vineyard ownership.

Perhaps that passion is summed up best when he says, “I drink wine because it interests me…I like the way it evolves in the glass”. Indeed, he says that it is the nose of a wine that most intrigues him, and can sit with an empty glass for quite some time enjoying the changing bouquet coming from the residual wine…much to the chagrin of many an impatient waiter hoping to clean up a table. In fact, patience as well, is part of what appreciating wine means to the Rabbi. He marvels at the historical component that wine inherently offers, as so many wines go back to vintages of multiple decades gone by. Patience must be practiced by the winemaker as he conscientiously checks his barrels over the years and holds back bottles for further aging in the cellar. Patience must also be a discipline of the consumer/collector as he buys bottles and lays them down until they reach the optimum maturity. Then, and this is Jim’s favorite part as an olfactory sensitive taster, comes the patience required to just let the wine sit in the glass for a bit to gather its bouquet for presentation. The Rabbi has on occasion used the making of wine as a comparison when conducting marriage counseling, pointing out that both require patience and nurturing to thrive and have the best possible outcome.

Rabbi Jim’s first wine encounter was in 1980 with a bottle of Chateau Montelena 1978 Estate Bottled Cabernet Sauvignon. He began collecting California cabs in 1980, and his collection includes verticals of Gemstone and Garric. While Jim doesn’t necessarily drink wine every day, he really looks forward to opening up an older bottle periodically to see how it has developed. Rabbi Jim has shared his love of fine wine with his five children. One family tradition calls for celebrating a college graduation with a Double Magnum of 10-15 year old Joseph Phelps Insignia. He sighs and says the “kids” have become quite spoiled and when he tries to serve them some of his “homemade” cab they tend to balk and ask for the “good stuff”. Although he doesn’t drink much Bordeaux, he did indulge in a half bottle of ‘83 Margaux this last New Year’s Eve and enjoyed a ‘70 Chateau Mouton-Rothschild for his 25th wedding anniversary and has another cellared for their 50th.

Rabbi James Kaufman

Kaufman-Sunnyslope Vineyard is located in the North section of Bennett Valley in the Sonoma Mountain area and is planted to two Pinot Noir clones. The influence of the marine layer coming through the Cotati Gap keeps this section cooler allowing for a more exposed grape in the canopy without danger of sunburn. The fruit achieves fully developed varietal characteristics with ripe Brix, low pH , high malic acid, excellent skin color and great aging potential. 2009 yielded about 12 tons of fruit which was sold to Willowbrook, Paro Cellars and Malm Cellars, some of which will be bottled soon. In 2010, due to cold and fog in June and July, the site production was reduced to about 6 tons and was sold to three different wine producers.

The Rabbi and his wife might  build a home on the property someday…when he really does retire.

I’LL DRINK TO THAT!

This last Saturday was the second annual Pinot Days event held at the Barker Hanger in Santa Monica. The Grand Tasting featured over 90 producers from Pinot Noir regions from California, Washington and Oregon. More than 300 wines were available for tasting representing a wide range of styles. It never ceases to amaze me that in a hanger full of wine all made from just one varietal, that there can be so many different styles and flavor profiles. Something for everyone’s taste - that’s why I love wine!

Lisa Rigisich, (center), Pinot Days event founder

This year I had the opportunity to take one of the “regional tours” conducted by a winemaker from each region. I chose the Santa Maria Valley AVA and our tour guide was James Ontiveros of Native 9 Wines. A small group of us gathered as James drew a map and explained all about mountain ranges, coastal climate, rainfall, growing season and alluvial soils that make this AVA good for growing the temperamental Pinot Noir grape. James is a ninth generation Californian, and he and his family have been working the land of Santa Barbara County for a very long time.

James Ontiveros of Native9 Wines

So with much enthusiasm James then escorted us off to our first stop on the “tour”. We would visit 6 wineries/tables in the next hour and a half, meet with their winemakers and taste their Pinot. Our tour took us to Riverbench, practicing sustainable farming, where I liked all three of their offerings, then on to Native 9 where we also tasted his Alta Maria label. The Alta Maria had more of a fruit forward profile, while the Native 9, which is whole cluster fermented, had a more intriguing and very unique profile with smoke coming through on the finish.  At the Hitching Post table we met Gray Hartley, who is co-owner along with Hitching Post restaurant owner Frank Ostini. Gray talked a lot about barrel influence on wine, which I found to be very interesting, and I enjoyed both of the vineyard designates he poured for us.

Gray Hartley of Hitching Post Wines

Ken Brown of Ken Brown Wines has been in the wine business for 34 years. To quote his website, “Most of my career has been spent pursuing the elusive traits that make great Pinot Noir”. Seems to me he has found them. This man knows his winemaking and the two elegant Pinots we tried that day are testament to that fact.

Ken Brown at Pinot Days

Ken Brown wine

Josh Klapper of La Fenetre hardly seems to need any introduction at all. His name and wine pop up at all the tastings, and write-ups abound. And for good reason. This very likable young winemaker has been recognized for quite some time in the food and wine scene and now is  is making some wonderful wine, negociant style, and in small  case production.  As we tasted through 3 vintages of Pinot, the ‘05 and ‘08 being my favorites, he spoke about how he loves the 2010 vintage, stating that it was great “stem vintage”. Josh was one of the winemakers at this event whose enthusiasm about what he does was surpassed only by his desire to share his wine with others.

Josh Klapper of La Fenetre Wines

Our last stop was with Joe Wagner of Belle Glos Wines to taste  his Clark and Telephone Vineyard Pinot, 2008. This big wine with great concentration of fruit and very soft tannins, offered brown spices like nutmeg and cloves with a bit of vanilla right into the finish.

Joe Wagner of Belle Glos Wines

Our Santa Maria tour was over but the day certainly wasn’t. There were many more tables to visit. Londer Vineyards from the Anderson Valley in Mendocino, an area I also like very much for their Alsatian whites, came through with a couple of elegant Pinots with plenty of soft fruit. Enjoyed meeting and talking at length with Rosalind Manoogian and her husband James of Fog Crest Vineyard and I tasted both of her Russian River Valley offerings including Fog Crest’s  inaugural vintage of their Estate Bottled Pinot. This small production Pinot, (75 cases), had lots of bing cherry and blackberry in the nose, cola and spice nuances and medium tannins.

James and Rosalind Manoogian of Fog Crest Vineyard

I especially loved listening to Greg La Follette of La Follette . Talk about enthusiasm! He was making the ins and outs of wild fermentation seem fascinating. His offerings from Sonoma and Mendocino were very interesting to me with complicated, yet well balanced flavors including bacon and smoke, which he attributed to the wild fermentation. A lot of information in a very short period of time left me hoping to have more time some day in the future to speak further with this knowledgeable winemaker.

Greg La Follette

La Follette Pinot Noir

So much Pinot, so many styles, wonderful group of winemakers - it all makes for a great way to spend a few hours. Thanks to the producers of Pinot Days for bringing us this opportunity to learn, taste and compare. Cheers!

To quote Sid Goldstein, author of “The Wine Lover’s Cookbook”, “Pinot Noir is, in a word, a wonder. It is a mysterious and seductive wine that echoes the smell of the earth from which it comes.”

Sometimes referred to as the “heartbreak grape”,  it is difficult to grow, and demands great attention both in the vineyard as well as the winery. It is the coveted grape of Burgundy, and currently widely planted in Oregon and California. Although I enjoy a bottle of Pinot every so often, I don’t drink a lot of it. Pinot Days, held here in Los Angeles for the first time last weekend, was a real eye opener for me, introducing my palate to many different styles of Pinot ranging from dry and austere to fat and juicy. I was happy to meet and learn from producers from many prime pinot growing areas including Washington, Oregon, New Zealand and California.

My Pinot adventure started with an impromptu winemakers dinner held at Upstairs 2, the restaurant that is, you guessed it, upstairs over the Wine House wine shop. I had received an e-mail from Lisa and Steve Rigisich, the producers of Pinot Days, informing us that they and several of the winemakers in town for the festival were going to put on a small winemakers dinner a few days before the festival and limited reservations would be taken on a first come, first serve basis. Well the dinner sold out in half an hour - we were among the 80 or so lucky ones that secured a reservation.

Each table was set for 8 with a “winemakers chair” at the head of the table - winemakers would be rotating to a different table with each course so we would have the opportunity to speak with a number of them before the night was through.

Our first course was a salad of Arugula, Frisee and Belgian Endive with Duck Confit and a Pinot Noir Lingonberry Dressing. With that we were poured 2007 Inman Family Russian River Valley. Owner, winemaker and all around lovely lady, Kathleen Inman, also shared with us her 2006 Olivet Grange Vineyards Pinot Noir. Both were my favorite style - dry, earthy, elegant and well balanced with bright natural acidity. The second estate wine served with this course was the  Suacci Carciere Wines -  Suacci Vineyard - 2007.

The second course was a wonderful dish of Wild Mushroom Crusted Halibut with a red wine sauce. Mushrooms are so delicious paired with Pinot Noir and the first of two wines served with this course was the Lachini Vineyards Cuvee Giselle - 2007, Chehalem Mountains, Washington. Ron Lachini explained to us the intricacies of  bio-dynamic farming techniques and the reasons he and his wife chose to go that route. Oddly enough his wine had a very strong grassy aroma. Both his and the Willamette Valley Vineyards, Tualatin Estate 07 paired nicely with the fish.

Next up was Grilled Free Range Veal Chops with Herbs du Provence and Veal Demi-Glace.  The first wine poured was a Fess Parker Winery - Ashleys Pinot, Santa Rita Hills 07. This was one of the biggest pinots I have ever had, having even Syrah like qualities.  I figured this one would pair nicely with the chops, but obviously it did not behave like a Syrah and it flattened with the food.  A better choice was the 07 C. Donatiello Winery - Maddie’s Vineyard. Still a bigger and bolder style of Pinot than I normally choose, it held it’s own with the grilled meat and potatoes.

The dessert course was two cheeses served with fig bread and candied walnuts. Ana Keller of Keller Estate joined us at our table for this course and shared with us her family’s history in the wine industry. I enjoyed her 07 “El Coro” , a fleshy wine redolent of cherry, plum and currant flavors mingled with spice and tobacco. Also enjoyed with this course Perception Wines Russian River Valley 07.

This would have been a nice enough event by itself, but it was just a prelude for so much more Pinot yet to come.

Trade tasting gets under way

The festival was held at Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, a venue I had visited once before for the Make-a-Wish annual winetasting fund raiser. It’s big and roomy offering plenty of elbow space for thirsty tasters. So much Pinot, so little time as there were over 75 wineries represented and the walk around trade tasting was a mere 2 hours. A quick perusal of the offerings and off we went. A couple of  producers had Chardonnay or Pinot Gris tucked away under their tables and I was glad I had a bottle of SanTasti palate cleansing beverage with me - yes you really can go back and forth from red to white with optimum enjoyment and appreciation. Highlights for me included:

Carr Vineyards & Winery: 07 Pinot Noir, Three Vineyards, Sta. Rita Hills and 07 Turner Vineyard, Sta. Rita Hills

Clouds Rest Vineyards: Tried and enjoyed 4 vintages from Sonoma: 02,03,04,05

Bouchaine Vineyards: 2006 Carneros

Demetria Estate: 2006 Cuvee Sandra, Sta Rita Hills

Kindred Wines: 2007 Pinot Noir Amber Ridge Vineyard, Russian River Valley

Papapietro-Perry: 2007 Russian River Valley

Kindred Wines,member of SFWA

Besides tasting some very interesting wines and meeting the creative men and women behind those wines, it was nice to catch up with friends. Eve Bushman of Eve’s 101 and Denise Lowe, the “goddess of vino”, were on hand for a photo op.

Denise Lowe, Xochitl Maiman and Eve Bushman catch up at Pinot Days in Los Angeles

At 1:00 sharp Los Angeles Pinot fans, and there are thousands of them, converged on the festival, not letting the approaching storm keep them from the task at hand. I left with a new appreciation for this intriguing grape, respect for the fortitude of those who make the wine and a strong craving for a steak. However, one of my favorite recipes to go with Pinot Noir is this one shared by Chef Douglas Keane of Cyrus in Healdsburg, CA. Kathleen Inman likes this one too.

Truffled Red Wine Risotto with Parmesan Broth

I’LL DRINK TO THAT !