Sangiovese Archives | Crushed Grape Chronicles

Italian grape variety

Angullong in Millthorpe – Wine, Welcome to Country, Indigenous Dances and bush Tucka in Orange NSW

Oct 13, 2020

Last spring, we found ourselves in Australia for the Wine Media Conference held in the Hunter Valley. Well really, last fall for us in October, but it was spring in Australia and the Southern Hemisphere.

After the conference, we attended one of the sponsored post-conference tours to the Orange wine region. You might have seen our overview of this trip “2 days in Orange? Too little time for this beautiful Australian wine region!”

After arriving in the Orange region, our first stop was at Angullong Cellars in the village of Millthorpe. Our group was set up in the garden behind the historic bluestone stable that is now their tasting room and we were greeted with sparkling wine.

History of Angullong

Angullong was established in 1950. This family-owned wine company has vineyards on the southern lower slopes of Mount Canobolas. This ancient volcano is the highest point in the region. If you head west, everything gets lower and flatter out to West Australia. Ben told us the next highest peak to the west is in South Africa! The Angullong property has steep undulating hills that quickly descend to meet the Belubula River.

Ben & his brother James are the third generation of their family managing this property that at one point grew wheat and raised cattle and sheep. They still raise cattle in addition to growing wine grapes on the 5000-acre property.

Ben greeted us in the garden, welcomed us to Millthorpe, and filled us in on the Orange region.

The Orange Wine Region

The wine region is named for the city of Orange, and vineyards must be at a minimum of 600 meters (1968 feet) above sea level. They sit just west of the Blue Mountains. This area is considered “Central West New South Wales” or the “Central Ranges”.

Originally known for its orchards of apples and pears the region has now added wine grapes. Over the last 30 years or so around 30 vineyards have been planted in the area, of all sizes.

The region is known for having all 4 seasons. But at the time we were there, the region was in a drought. This is the drought that led to the horrible fires in January. They are in better shape than areas east of them, as we could attest to driving in from the Hunter Valley, where dams are empty, and lakes are dried up.

Currently the Orange region was green with blossoms on the trees and the bright green of trees just leafing out. Spring was in the air.

This is considered a cool climate region to the altitude. Most of Australia’s other cool climate regions are in maritime climates to the south.

They get a bit of snow. In fact, there had been snow on Mount Canobolas the previous weekend. It was brief, and high on the Mountain. Spring at this point had sprung with the vineyards in bud burst. During the summers temperatures can get to the high 30’s typically (100-102 degrees Fahrenheit).

With a long winter and late budburst, their growing season pushes into late summer and fall. The fruit ripens in late summer and then has a long slow ripening into fall that gives them better color in the reds and allows the grapes to retain their natural acidity as well as intensity of flavor.

The Angullong Vineyard

Angullong Vineyard in Cellar Door in Millthorpe, Orange NSW

The Angullong vineyard straddles the Orange Region and the Central Ranges with vineyards from 550 meters to 650 meters (1800 to 2100 feet). The vineyard is about 30 km from Millthorpe in Panuara and is one of the larger vineyards in the area with 200 hectares (almost 500 acres) of vines.

The property is diverse with a good supply of water due to being on the Belubula River. They have a high-security water license that allows them to pump out of the river, which is a very fast-moving river.

Climate change

While they have only had grapes here for 20 to 30 years, crops have been grown here much longer. Farmers say cereal crops have come forward almost a month (a day per year) over the past 30 years.

“As farmers in Australia, we are on the receiving end of the global damage.”
Ben Crossing, October 2019

Angullong Cellar Door in Millthorpe

They moved their tasting room into this old bluestone stable about 10 years ago.

Angullong Vineyard Cellar door in Millthorpe, Orange NSW Australia

Angullong Vineyard converted stable into Cellar door in Millthorpe, Orange NSW Australia

Ben Crossing and brother James in picture Angullong Vineyard at the Cellar Door in Millthorpe, Orange NSW Australia

Angullong Vineyard converted stable into Cellar door in Millthorpe, Orange NSW Australia

Angullong Vineyard Cellar door in Millthorpe, Orange NSW Australia

Welcome to Country

At this point we stopped as Michael Newman gave us a First Nation welcome in the Wiradjuri tongue which he then translated to English.

He began by teaching us the greeting “Yamandhu marang” which translates roughly to “are you well?” He gave us a traditional Welcome to Country greeting. This begins with extending respect to the Wiradjuri elders as well as beyond to elders of other nations that call this area home.

He then spoke his welcome in the Wiradjuri tongue, then at the end translated for us.

“Ladies and gentlemen, young men, young women, and distinguished guests, First I want to pay my respects to Wiradjuri elders both past and present. By acknowledging that I pay my respects to other elders of other nations here today, I want you to remember, you are on Wiradjuri land today.
Our people lived and cared for this land for a long time. Our people have lived and danced for a long time on this land.
Our land the Wiradjuri land is known as the land of the three rivers, the Lachlan, the Murrumbigee, and the Macquarie. You must respect and honor, all people, and all part of country.
Give honor, be respectful, polite, and patient with all, then the people will respect you. Hold fast to each other, empower the people, respect everything living, and growing. You look after the land and rivers and those land and rivers; they’ll look after you.
Ladies and Gentlemen, it’s wonderful to see that our footprints are side by side in the soil on Wiradjuri land, that indicates that our people are walking and talking together, so let’s work together to make everything good for all people.
So ladies and gentlemen my name is Michael Newman, I’m proud to be Wiradjuri, I’m proud to be on Wiradjuri land, I thank you very much and Welcome!”
Michael Newman, Proud Wiradjuri Man

Indigenous Dances

We then moved into our welcome through dance. The indigenous dance troupe performed several dances.

Welcome Aboriginal Dance

The first dance symbolized the indigenous peoples first meeting with the settlers. Wary of these new people they would begin spears drawn, checking the new people’s energy, and seeing what kind of respect they had for the people and the land. The greeting went well, and the spear were stuck safely into the ground.

Dances to tell the story of a people

These dances told us about the history of the Aboriginal people, and welcomed and cleansed us. A fire was lit, in the traditional way and gum leaves were put on it to create the smoke which was used in a cleansing dance. The dancers used branches to wave the smoke out to cleanse the area and the people and sang out to the ancestors to join & bless us.

This is a reminder of how we are connected. The earth is the Mother, and the trees are part of the earth, so when the elders pass, they return to the earth and so they are part of the trees and these branches. This theme of being connected with the land continued. The next dance began on the ground to connect their souls to Mother. The dancers jumped up to draw in our energy and connect that to the earth, this earth that they then paint their bodies with. The earth and ochre, the original paint has been used by people around the world for thousands of years.

We move to a bit of creation story, To a dance symbolizing 4 animals that connect to their creation story. They begin with Goanna the ancient one (monitor lizard) who has been here since time began. They then move to the kangaroo, and the emu who both move forward, which is important, as these are two very different animals, but like all of us, they move forward together. Lastly the echidna who when confronted, digs in and stands his ground.

Mother Earth Dance

The next dance was introduced by reminding us of the drought. There are places in New South Wales that have been without water for over a year now. Rivers are empty, and while the country is always dry, none of the elders have ever seen the rivers run dry before. The rivers here are a life source and not just for the aboriginal people. Mother is suffering, her energy pulled out but not replenished.

This dance sends vibrations into her, to let her know that we are here, and mean her no harm. They then request a bit more energy of those of us there, pulling that back and returning it to Mother. Typically this dance is done on dirt (they were on grass here). The idea is that the dance kicks up dirt from Mother, uniting her with Father in the sky. This dance is their Mother Earth dance.

Personal stories through ancient dance

The last dance The Eagle gives respect to the dance troupe leader’s totem. It creates a spirit connection with his Grandfather, whose shares the eagle as his totem. He says that often when he dances it, his grandfather will call him and say he felt it.

These connections, to history and heritage are so important. These stories remind us that however different we are, we all move forward together.

Indigenous Cultural Adventures – and Bush Tucka

Gerald tells us about the Indigenous foods we are about to taste here in Millthorpe Australia

Kangaroo, Emu and Crocodile on the menu at Angullong Cellars — Gerald tells us about the Indigenous foods we are about to taste here in Millthorpe Australia

Gerald Power of Indigenous Cultural Adventures speaks next, they have set up a spread of bush tucka for us to enjoy.

Gerald introduces himself, beginning with his Mob. He is from far North Queensland the Djiru Mob with is from around the Whitsunday area and the Kanaka who were South Sea Islanders brought to Australia in the 1800s. He is part of the Vanuatu people as well as Aboriginal.

He explained that we were now going to tuck into some of the animals the dancers had portrayed. These are foods that the people on this land have consumed for over 60,000 years. They share their journey because the aboriginal history is not taught in the Australian system, so it must be shared by people like Michael Newman, the dancers like Luke and his family and Gerald with the food.

We tasted bites of Emu with Warrigal Pesto on Wombok, Emu Kofta w/smoke bush tucka dressing & Johnny Cakes, Crocodile with Lemon Myrtle Sweet Chili Sauce, and Kangaroo skewers with bush tomato relish and paired them with the wines.

Ben Crossing and the wines of Angullong

Vineyards in Orange are relatively young. 30 years ago when the vineyards were being planted, there were a lot of alternative varieties available, so the region is planted with more than Chardonnay, Cab, Shiraz and Merlot. Here you will find Vedelho, Pinot Grigio, Savignon Blanc, Tempranillo and Sagrantino among others.

When they started their vineyard, they contracted with some big wineries like Southcorp which is now Treasury. They sold grapes to them for the export market, but always had their own small vineyard with some alternate varieties.

2019 Angullong Sav Blanc

This is their biggest selling wine, and it leans a little riper in style to find more of those passion fruit notes. This is fresh and zesty $22 AUD

2019 Angullong Pinot Grigio

Pinot Grigio, or Pinot Gris, is being made into multiple styles in the Orange region. At Angullong they lean a bit more to the Italian style which is why they call it Pinot Grigio. They do several picks to get that acidity, then a few later to bring in the flavor. This wine has one a Trophy as well as several gold medals. . $22 AUD

2018 Angullong Chardonnay

Grown at the Angullong vineyard at about 600 meters, this Chardonnay is a modern wine with layers of citrus and stone fruit and balanced oak. $22 AUD

Angullong 2017 Shiraz Vionier and Angullong 2017 Tempranillo at Angullong Vineyard in Cellar Door in Millthorpe, Orange NSW Australia

Angullong 2015 Crossing Reserve Shiraz at Angullong Vineyard in Cellar Door in Millthorpe, Orange NSW Australia

Angullong 2017 Tempranillo and 2016 Sagrantino at Angullong Vineyard in Cellar Door in Millthorpe, Orange NSW Australia

Angullong 2019 Vermentino at Angullong Vineyard in Cellar Door in Millthorpe, Orange NSW Australia

Angullong 2019 Verdelho and 2019 Pinot Grigio and 2019 Savignon Blanc at Angullong Vineyard in Cellar Door in Millthorpe, Orange NSW

Angullong Rose and Chardonnay Pinot Noir Brut at Angullong Vineyard in Cellar Door in Millthorpe, Orange NSW Australia

2018 Fossil Hill Chardonnay

From the higher altitude Balmoral vineyard which sits at 850-950 meters, this Chardonnay has some barrel fermentation with 20% new French oak. You get more citrus with the higher altitude compared to stone fruits in lower altitude vineyards. $26. AUD

2019 Fossil Hill Vermentino

Vermentino is one of the alternative varieties that you don’t see grown often in this area. Planted on a rocky ridge with lots of sun, its thick skin holds up to the exposure and sunburn, without getting too phenolic. It requires some major canopy management to prevent too much sun in these high altitudes where the UV is higher. They have been using kaolin the clay-based product which coats the grapes to protect from sunburn and coats the leaves, so they reflect the heat and keep the temperature of the vine lower. While this vermentino gets pretty ripe it still holds its acid and has notes of nectarine. $26 AUD

As we got into tasting the Sangiovese, Ben’s wife Heidi came around with cheese biscuits made by Ben’s mom.

2018 Fossil Hill Sangiovese

They originally planted sangiovese back in 1998 and keep planting a little bit more, because it is so successful. They moved to Brunello clones which have more fruit intensity and use original Sangiovese now mostly for their Rosé. This wine is still a harder sell. Aussie palates are tuned to Shiraz, and that is only beginning to change in the past 15 years or so as they see an increase in imported wines. $28 AUD

2017 Fossil Hill Barbera

This is just the 2^nd vintage of Barbera made from vines they planted in 2010. Barbera is late ripening, but it has thick tannic skins. They are right on the margins for growing it here. Any cooler and it would not grow. This wine holds its acidity and is beginning to soften in the bottle. Ben suggests this wine would be great with a great big steak or perhaps some kangaroo. $28 AUD

2015 Crossing Reserve Shiraz

This Family Reserve is the highest of the 3 tiers of Shiraz they produce. This comes from barrel selections from low yielding vines that are dry grown. It is aged in first and second year oak, so it needs a little time. $48 AUD

Exports and the Australian Market

They export a bit to Germany, and they used to export to the UK, but since the Australian dollar and American dollar hit parity it’s hard to get things to the US. China is a big market for them.

There are pros and cons to the import market. While it exposes Australians to a wider variety of wines beyond, Cab, Merlot, Shiraz and Chard, it is still competition. It breaks Ben’s heart when he is in Sydney and see’s wine lists filled with imported wines.

Plan your visit to Angullong

After a wonderful afternoon, learning so much about the Wiradjuri culture and the wines of Angullong. We set off for our next adventure.

If you want to visit them, you can find them in Millthorpe, jusst 15 minutes from Orange. They are in the Old Bluestone Stables at the corner of Park and Victoria Streets. Be sure to call ahead for a booking. During these times of COVID appointments are necessary to keep their beautiful but small tasting room safe for everyone.

Phone: +02 6366 3444

Email: [email protected]

You can also visit the Links below for more details on Angullong, the Orange Region and New South Wales.

Sources & Resources

For more on our Aussie Wine Adventure, check out these articles!

Sangiovese by another name…like Morellino or Prugnolo Gentile. (#ItalianFWT)

Jun 5, 2020

We find ourselves in strange unprecedented times. I find it hard to focus on wine when there are so many more important things to focus on right now. My country is going through change, a change that is long overdue.

In addition we are still living with a worldwide pandemic and Italy was deeply affected by COVD-19. I want to show my support for the vineyards, wineries and people in general who were so affected by this virus and are continuing their recovery.

Amid standing for what we know to be right, there also must be self-care to keep us strong to continue. I join with the Italian Food Wine and Travel Group today in posting this piece. This is a community and communities are much needed now.

We paired these wines with comfort food. Perhaps you will find comfort in these dishes to gather at table and replenish yourselves to continue to fight for change.

The many names of Sangiovese

Sangiovese Grapes for Tuscan Wine *(photo by Stefano ShardsOfLife, Adobe Stock)*

Sangiovese. It is a grape most closely associated with the wines of Chianti. You find it grown throughout Tuscany as well as in the regions of Umbria, Marche and Lazio. At over 70,000 hectares (170,000+ acres) Sangiovese is the most planted grape variety in Italy. It is beloved and grown worldwide, but its home is Tuscany.

The Apennine Mountains running down Italy’s spine create many small isolated regions. As a result, the same grape may have a different name depending on the area. It is known as Brunello in Montalcino, as Prugnolo Gentile in Montepulciano, as Morellino in Maremma and as Nielluccio in Corsica.

Map of Italy *(map by Albachiaraa, Adobe Stock)*

Map of Tuscany with general regions of Vino Nobile di Montepulciano DOCG an Morellino di Scansano DOCG — Map of Italy *(map by Albachiaraa, Adobe Stock)*

Prugnolo Gentile in Vino Nobile di Montepulciano

Located South East of Florence the village of Montepulciano has been known for winemaking since the Etruscans. Wine here was a favorite of Pope Paul III who called it the “King of Wines”.

Rules of the Vino Nobile di Montepulciano DOCG

Minimum 70% Prugnolo Gentile (Sangiovese). The remainder may be Canaiolo, Mammolo, Trebbiano or perhaps an International variety like Merlot or Syrah. White grapes are allowed but cannot be more than 5% of the blend.
Maximum yield per hectare of 8000 kg.
Matured for 2 years, (3 for Riserva).
Subject to consistency tests by the commission
Vinified and matured within the Municipality of Montepulciano

Panoramic view from Montepulciano-Italy milosk50, Adobe Stock
Panoramic view of the medieval village of Montepulciano Tuscany Italy, Delphotostock Adobe Stock
Beautiful alley in Tuscany Oldtown Montepulciano Italy BajeczneObrazy.pl, Adobe Stock

This was one of the first 4 DOGCs put into place in 1980. It is interesting to note that there was a recent push to refer to these wines as Vino Nobile, dropping the di Montepulciano. There is a grape named Montepulciano which is grown in Abruzzo (Montepulciano d’Abruzzo) with which it could be confused. I remember sitting amidst a heated conversation in a session at an Italian wine event where they “discussed” this. It seems for the most part that it is referred to as Vino Nobile, these days.

Morellino in Morellino di Scansano

This DOCG is in the Tuscan province of Grosseto and within the region of Maremma. Sitting close to the coast of the Tyrrhenian Sea, this region south west of Florence is protected from the north winds and open to sea breezes.

Rules of the Morellino di Scansano DOCG

Minimum 85% Morellino (Sangiovese). The remainder may be other authorized red grapes in Tuscany including: Canaiolo, Ciliegiolo, Malvasia, Colorino, Alicante as well as International Varieties Merlot, Cabernet, Syrah and other red grape varieties.
Maximum yield per hectare of 9000 kg.
Riserva must be aged for a minimum of 2 years.
Vinified & bottled within the production area of the grapes (Exceptions for wineries that historically bottled these wines outside the area before the DOCG recognition.)

View of tuscan fields and hills in Maremma region, oscity, Adobe Stock
Talamone rock beach and medieval fortress at sunset. Maremma Argentario Tuscany Italy, stevanzz, Adobe stock
Maremma (Tuscany), landscape at summer, Claudio Colombo, Adobe Stock

On to the wines

Figli d’Italia Leone d’Oro Vino Nobile di Montepulciano 2013

Figli d'Italia Leone d'Oro Vino Nobile di Montepulciano. Sangiovese based wine from Tuscany

Figli d’Italia is the Order of the Sons of Italy, a fraternal organization for Italian Americans, founded in 1905. The lion on the label is the “Leone d’Oro” the Golden Lion, the organization’s symbol. They partnered with Votto Vines and Vecchia Cantino to produce this wine. I was unable to find the details on this particular vintage, but previous vintages have been 90/10, Sangiovese and Canaiolo.

On the nose I got sweet tobacco, eucalyptus, white and black pepper, black cherry, leather, clove, prune, and a little five-spice. It was dry with medium tannins, body and alcohol. The acidity seemed medium, but as we enjoyed this with food, we realized that it had bigger acids to go with the food, they just came across very smoothly. On the palate I got red and black cherry and spice.

This wine had a complex nose, with a lighter mouthfeel. The acid was cleansing rather than tart. Tannins went from suede to velour, coating and numbing the gums then gently dissolving. As it opened, we got more earth and leather notes. This wine sits at 12.5% abv and ran me $21.99

Terre di Talamo Morellino di Scansano Tempo Riserva 2015

Produced by Bacci Wines this wine is unfiltered and made from Sangiovese, known here as Morellino. The soils in the vineyard, are rock and brown clay.

The vineyard is in the far southwest of the region and has spectacular views of the coast, from the Argentario promontory to the port of Talamone. Go to the site, I’ve included the link below. The photos are spectacular.

This wine has a nose of sweet clove, walnut, black plum, rhubarb, coffee, berries, black cherry, with notes of iris and chocolate or cocoa. Again, medium across the board as far as tannins, body and acidity. It has a lovely long finish.

This was decidedly brighter than the Vino Nobile, perhaps because of its youth (it is 2 years younger), perhaps because of its proximity to the sea or maybe there was a little less time in oak (it only requires 2 years). It was fresh and beautiful with surprising depth. 14% abv and $18.99

Pairings with regional cuisine

I went looking for Tuscan fare to pair with these wines. After much searching, I settled on a cheese platter, Panzanella and a Tuscan Ragu with pasta.

Sangiovese based wines from Tuscany with a cheese plate

The cheese plate was filled with all sorts of things to compliment and contrast with the wines: Asiago cheese, soppressata salami, pecorino romano cheese, prosciutto, apple, orange slices, cherries, dried cranberries, walnuts, blueberries, chocolate and basil. Hard cheeses are great with this wine and the Asiago was wonderful in the way that it brought out the floral notes.

Panzanella

This traditional salad is typically made with stale bread. Mine was fresh, but I crisped it up in a pan with olive oil. We added sliced grape tomatoes, seeded cucumber slices, thinly sliced shallot, red and yellow peppers and basil and tossed the lot with a vinaigrette. Make sure to let it sit at least 30 minutes to integrate all the flavors.

Tuscan Ragu

I had to vary my recipe, which called for dried porcini mushrooms, which I could not find. This was a simple soffritto (which is Italian mirepoix, just onion, carrot and celery, sautéed in olive oil) with prosciutto, ground pork, ground beef, tomato paste and sauce, nutmeg, salt and pepper. This recipe suggested some options for added umami including tamari or soy, Worcestershire and fish sauce. I had soy and Worcestershire sauces. At the end we added grated lemon zest to brighten it, tossed it with penne and topped with some of the pecorino romano.

The pairing

Both wines were lovely with perfect acid to pair with the foods. The Vino Nobile was a bit richer and seemed heavier, perhaps a bit more serious. While we enjoyed both, we both seemed to reach more often to refill our glasses from the Morellino di Scansano. It seemed fresh and lively with just the right complexity for our mood.

#ItalianFWT

The Italian Food Wine and Travel Group will gather on Twitter on Saturday June 6^th to discuss Sangiovese from around Italy. You can join in the conversation by following the hashtag #ItalianFWT on Saturday morning 8 am PST. Below you can find out more about other Sangioveses from around Italy that this group of writers have written about. I can’t wait to read them and find my next bottle to search out.

Cam of Culinary Adventures with Camila is sharing Piadina Margherita + Bucci Piceno Pongelli 2014
Terri of Our Good Life served up Spatchcocked Chicken And Sangiovese
Linda of My Full Wine Glass is talking about “A taste of Tuscany to chase away the pandemic blues”
Susannah of Avvinare is “Exploring Sangiovese di Romagna.”
Gwendolyn of Wine Predator is visiting “5 Sangiovese, 4 terroir, 3 producers, 2 regions, 1 country”
Cindy of Grape Experiences is sharing “Tuscan Wine and Food Classics: Ruffino Chianti Superiore 2017 and Paglia e Fieno (Straw & Hay)”
Jane of Always Ravenous is tempting us with “Tasting Tuscan Sangiovese Paired with Comforting Pot Roast”
Katrina of The Corkscrew Concierge is Exploring Sangiovese – Rosso di Montalcino Paired with a Summer Classic
Katarina of Grapevine Adventures is talking about Tuccanese – A Sangiovese From a Pugliese Perspective
Nicole of Somm’s Table is sharing three B’s with us today “Brunello, a Book, and a Boston Butt: Frescobaldi CastelGiocondo Brunello di Montalcino with Italian Braised Pork
Jennifer of Vino Travels says “Montecucco: Tuscany’s Hidden Gem featuring ColleMassari”
Wendy of A Day in the Life on the Farm thinks A Sangiovese by any other name is still a Dang Good Wine.

Sources and Resources

As always be sure to follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to keep up to date on all of our posts.

Robin Renken CSW (photo credit RuBen Permel)

Robin Renken is a wine writer and Certified Specialist of Wine. She and her husband Michael travel to wine regions interviewing vineyard owners and winemakers and learning the stories behind the glass.

When not traveling they indulge in cooking and pairing wines with food at home in Las Vegas.

A Stunning Sunset View at First Ridge Vineyard

May 5, 2020

It was sunset of our only full day in Mudgee New South Wales. We headed out to meet Col Millot, the Viticulturist at First Ridge Vineyard on the south east side of the Mudgee Valley. While viewing the sunset from their cellar door, we discussed Mudgee, the First Ridge Vineyard site, their wines and soils, as well as, how weather, climate change and drought was affecting them.

The drive to the cellar door at First Ridge Mudgee NSW Australia — The drive to the cellar door at First Ridge

The tree lined drive onto the property from Burrundulla Road is a welcoming entrance. It’s a moment of respite as you travel slowly through the dappled light through the vineyard and up to the cellar door.

Col opened up the cellar door for us. When I say, “opened up”, it’s a bit more than you might think. This building is the elegant connection of two shipping containers. The two red boxes that we saw driving up, transform as he opens the sliding metal sides exposing the windows that bring in the spectacular view of the vineyard. The interior is modern, but welcoming and the light at sunset was magical.

First Ridge has been a grower for 20 odd years. They sold, and still sell, fruit around Australia. In 2013 they made their first vintage of wine, and since then, keep 60 tons of grapes to produce the wines they sell here in the tasting room. The beautiful tasting room was built in 2015 and has helped to increase the interest in the wines.

Mudgee – the “nest in the hills”

Mudgee, especially from the vantage point of the First Ridge Cellar Door, does indeed look like a “nest in the hills”, it’s aboriginal name. That “nest” is the giant basin of an old volcano.

The region was colonized during the gold rush. As Col says, “where there is mining, there is alcohol”. In the 1860’s there were 400 hectares of vines growing here.

At the turn of the century, most of the wine here stopped. This vibrant area continued with mining and agriculture with cattle-grazing and food production. Wine didn’t make a marked come back until the 1990’s, when large wine companies encouraged people to plant more vines. Then in 2006, most of these companies decided to head back to South Australia, and people started pulling out vines. Since then, there has been a 40% decrease in the hectares of vines planted in Mudgee.

That’s not all bad. Wineries here are back to family owned and mostly boutique. The largest owner is the Oatley family, the rest are smaller, 100 to 200-ton size wineries.

This is a unique area that does a wide range of varieties well. While still less discovered than the Hunter or Coonawarra, people are discovering the region and seeing the wines are high quality.

The climate here is temperate with hot summers and cool nights that lock in the acid causing the wines here to age well.

First Ridge Vineyard

Soil

First Ridge Vineyard started in the mid 90’s. It is one of the highest vineyards in Mudgee, with the highest block at 600 meters. The soil here is rocky and volcanic, and these poor soils are great for the vines.

First Ridge Mudgee NSW Australia — Two shipping containers at the top of the hill hold a tasting room with a perfect sunset view, where we chatted with Col and a glass of their delicious Prosecco.

Col pointed out the block down the hill in front of the cellar door. At 22 years old, the trunks of the vines were just 2 inches in diameter. In more fertile soil down in the flats beyond here, these vines would be up to 6 inches in diameter by now. Here the vines have smaller bunches and berries and wonderful exposure.

The site has all types of rock and soil. The area was once an ancient riverbed and Col picks up a piece of siltstone that was found in the vineyard close to the cellar door. It has layers of fossils, of creatures and coral, vegetable matter and shell.

“This predates anything that has bone, it’s around 300 million years old.”
Col Millot, October 2019

This mud, from an ancient riverbed system is dense and heavy.

“You start to realize that we are very small in the scheme of things, when you look at something as old as that.”
Col Millot, October 2019

Above the vineyard you find quartz and basalt.

“So, you’ve got sedimentary and metamorphic rock all in one. It’s incredible. It’s very ancient land.”
Col Millot, October 2019

Why Italian Varieties?

Col said, he had tasted Italian wines years ago in McLaren Vale and found them very drinkable. They were much easier than the big Shiraz and Cabs that Australia was known for.

These grapes were already growing in Mudgee, thanks to Carlo Carino, an early winemaker at Montrose Wines. He brought sangiovese, barbera and nebbiolo and planted them here. Knowing they would do well, First Ridge Vineyard planted sangiovese and barbera back in 1998. Since then they have added, vermentino, fiano, pinot grigio, prosecco (glera) and Montepulciano.

The Wines

Col and I sipping First Ridge Prosecco, while he told me about the history and the soils of this place.

White Wines at First Ridge Vineyard

We started off discussing the Prosecco, which we had been sipping on as we spoke. Clean and bright with notes of lemon, it had a little sweetness on it.

“I was asking an old chap once, what style would sell the best. Is there a market for it being dry or sweet? He said, you make it too sweet you’ll lose half your customers. You make it to dry, you’ll lose half your customers. So, we try to find the middle ground.”
Col Millot, October 2019

This wine has won 3 silver medals in its first vintage.

We move on to the vermentino “It’s a beautiful grape. It’s a beautiful eating grape, it’s a beautiful grape to look at, it’s a beautiful grape to make wine with. It’s quite lean, quite minerally and quite salty. There is this saltiness about them. They are a delightful drinking wine”

They are also growing fiano which Col finds to be a bit more structured than the vermentino. He describes it as the most elegant and complex of their white wines. The last of their white wines is a bright pinot grigio. Col says it’s “like sticking your nose in a jar of pears.”

Rosé and Red Wines

They grow sangiovese that they also use for a rosé. To control vigor, they train these to on bud per spur. This gives them smaller berries and bunches. With just two bunches from each bud this keeps them to 6 tons per hectare with this vigorous grape. This kind of training also help minimize disease and intensify the flavor.

The Barbera is their flagship and it comes from the rough rocky block up the hill from the cellar door. It is low yielding at 4 tons per acre and was just converted from spur to cane pruned. The wines produce intense flavors of black cherry with beautiful aromas, silky tannins and a savory finish.

Lastly is the Montepulciano. It is arch cane trained and at 2 years old was looking to its first harvest in 2019.

Climate, water and drought.

Drought and water

We finish on the tougher subject of climate and drought. Col mentions that it has been hotter during the last 4 seasons that he has been here.

“We talk a lot these days about the warming and heating and there is no doubt there is changes in the climate. It’s getting hotter. The last four seasons here in Mudgee have been hot. But those minimum temperatures are still lower. The big difference this vintage was the minimum temperatures were higher and that’s the first time I’ve seen that here.”
Col Millot, October 2019

The Cudgegong River runs past the property, helping with irrigation. Due to the soil, they must irrigate, but the vines also have deep roots. This makes the vines are economical with water. They average a megaliter per hectare each year. Nonetheless, water is a concern.

“…we’re in the grip of a pretty serious drought right now. There’s no doubt that we’re a bit worried about where it’s all going. It’s alright to have a river, but if there is no water running down it, you can’t draw from it.”
Col Millot, October 2019

There are cut backs on water entitlements in the region, to preserve water. Col finds they must be very careful with how they manage water in the vineyard. Luckily, at this point, he has found that it has not impacted the wines. They have no need to add sugar, acid or tannins. The wine is simply fermented, filtered, put into oak if needed and bottled.

Rain

Water comes into play in another way. Rain in late summer can be hard for the ripening grapes and it’s common to have high rainfall in February during harvest. With the drought the last 4 years, this has not been an issue. Col remembers seasons with much more rain. In 2001 they had 18 inches of rain in February and in 2008, 8 inches fell overnight.

This site is high enough and well-draining enough that the rain runs down through the vineyards into the headlands. It doesn’t sit in the vineyard and cause the fruit to swell, diluting the flavor in the fruit.

The Future of First Ridge Vineyard

At the time of our visit, in October of 2019, Col was feeling pretty good about First Ridge. The cellar door had increased interest in their wines. The wines were getting better every year. Tourism in 2019 had increased with more people traveling domestically due to the decline of the Australian dollar.

“I think people are just a little concerned about traveling and moving around as much overseas than they used to be.”
Col Millot, October 2019

As a result, people in Australia were exploring the wine country in their own backyard. Mudgee, which is 3 ½ hours from Sydney, through the Blue Mountains, had become a popular weekend destination.

Since then, they had a tough summer, dealt with the possibility of smoke taint from the fires and then like everyone had to close their cellar door due to Covid-19. They have stayed active on Facebook and Instagram. Like so many in the wine industry they are finding ways to stay connected with the people who love their wines. For now, you can order online from their online store until they are able to open again, and you can take in the views from their stunning cellar door.

More on Mudgee and First Ridge Vineyard

You can read more on First Ridge and Mudgee from Crushed Grape Chronicles through the links below.

You can also find great resources at the websites for First Ridge and Mudgee

As always be sure to follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and sign up for our monthly newsletter to keep up to date on all of our posts.

Robin Bell Renken I have always loved people’s stories. I spent a career in Theatre helping to tell stories, as a Stage Manager. Daily enabling artists to freely and safely tell stories through their art. Then I fell in love with wine. There are so many details, so many nuances, not just in the glass, but in the vineyard, the region and the people. As I met winemakers and vineyard owners and even the people in the tasting room excited to pour me a glass and tell me the story of this wine, I knew these were stories I wanted to share. I completed my study and became a Certified Specialist of Wine and continue learning daily as I meet and interview people in this industry.

When not traveling they indulge in cooking and pairing wines with food at home in Las Vegas.

Seth Kitzke on Kitzke Cellars, Upsidedown Wine and so much more.

Apr 2, 2020

After checking out the Syrah out back, Seth walked us to the vines out front. Here you walk between 2 vineyards, Kitzke‘s Candy Ridge vineyard and their neighbor Jim’s vineyard. (You can read our previous piece in the back block here.)

Boulders the size of VW buses!

Out front is where Jim’s old vine stuff is as well as a bit of geological history. Seth takes me to a spot where we can see a large piece of granite poking up through the ground. Jim found it while he was planting the vineyard and thought he would pull it out. As he started digging he realized it was bigger than he thought, approximately as big as a VW bus! So…he covered it back up. This large boulder was likely part of the Missoula Flood that rolled through the Columbia Valley at the end of the last ice age. With all that debris being swept down by the floods Seth says “Who knows what’s really under here?” He’s found decomposed granite before. It’s not common in Washington, it’s random, brought in by the floods. This boulder is chipped on the top. From the mower Seth tells me.

a large boulder just off of Kitzke's Candy Ridge Vineyard in Jim's yard — Boulders the size of VW Buses

Jim’s old vines

The Boulder sits next to a block of chardonnay that he believes is close to 30 years old.

Jim also has cabernet sauvignon & merlot. Seth says they get about 2 barrels of the old vine cab and one of the merlot. Jim originally planted these just to make wine for himself. He now sells to at home wine makers in smaller quantities. He’s been known to even crush the grapes and ship them to Portland for clients.

Cab Franc Pet Nat

We talk about the cab franc on the lawn. These plants get more water than the rest, due to the proximity to the lawn sprinklers. So Seth decided to make a Pet Nat from them. Pet Nat is short for petillant naturel, a light sparkling wine that has become popular (it’s a favorite of mine). It’s made by bottling the wine while it’s fermenting to capture the carbon dioxide, giving it a bit of effervescence.

Cab Franc on the lawn at Kitzke's Candy Ridge Vineyard — Cab Franc on the lawn at Kitzke’s Candy Ridge Vineyard

“I don’t want it (the cab franc) to go to waste just ‘cause it gets too much extra water. When I was looking at the acids, the pH was low. It actually worked out pretty perfect for it.”
Seth Kitzke, July 2019

They pick early and don’t thin this as much, so they get a heavier crop. He found the pH was low so that seemed perfect. He says it can be hard to get exact numbers on it, but he shoots for 21 to 22 brix.

Tasting with Seth Kitzke and more

Tasting with Seth Kitzke at Kitzke Cellars Candy Ridge Vineayard Washington — Tasting with Seth Kitzke at Kitzke Cellars

We did a tasting of both Kitzke wines and Upsidedown wines. Everything they do, with the exception of their Method Red is vineyard designate. The Method Red is a blend of cabernet, nebbiolo and either sangiovese or Malbec depending on the year.

Rescue rosé

Upsidedown Wines Rescue Rosé
Rescue Rosé notes fro Upsidedown Wine

We begin with discussing the Rescue Rosé which at this point is the only rosé of nebbiolo in Washington. This is 100% nebbiolo that was grown specifically for this rosé. They crop at a higher tonnage. Seth says they do the opposite of what they do with cabernet sauvignon. Here they water during fruit set, trying to get bigger clusters and bigger berries. More and larger clusters with more acidity is what they want, and they want to slow down the sugar accumulation. This is whole cluster direct press, no skin contact and Seth cuts off the press when he feels it’s starting to be too astringent. He notes that nebbiolo has thin skins, but those skins have quite a bit of tannin. His wine making technique is low intervention so he does not use bentonite for stabilization or fining agents which would pull out some of the astringency.

Color and thin skins in Rosé

It seems strange that thinner skins often give more color. “If you do something like a cab franc that has thicker skins…like Michael Savage, he does a cab franc he does a direct press and it has very little but it has thicker skins”. With nebbiolo, the skins are so thin that it really leeches out the color.

Savage Grace Blanc Franc with Ranier cherries at Red Willow

Here is one of those wonderful coincidences in the universe. This wine he was speaking of was Savage Grace Blanc Franc, which we actually tasted later that day, thanks to Jonathan and Mike Sauer of Red Willow Vineyard, we sipped this white cab franc at the Chapel with fresh Rainier cherries, watching sunset…

Seth is looking to make in a Provenće style rosé. To create that big luscious mouthfeel with fruit, but keeping it dry, they do lots of lees aging in stainless.

Why is it called Rescue Rosé?

At Upsidedown Wines they work with a different non-profit with each wine through their Give Back program. For the Rescue Rosé they work with the Humane Society.

The Syrah (artist series)

2016 Artist Series Syrah from Upsidedown Wine

Seth poured us a syrah, and warned us that it would need to open up. In fact, he swears that this syrah is best on day 3 after having been opened. That’s when it really comes into it’s own. This is from that east/west block of syrah in the back, closest to Candy Ridge. 100% syrah, they did 50% whole cluster in the 2016 vintage. Since then they have opted for 100% whole cluster. It’s neutral oak large format when possible, with lots of lees aging to create a style that feels like Northern Rhône to him.

He loves the sense of garrigue and crunchy red fruit of the Northern Rhône. Seth finds (similar to what we heard about cab sav from Justin Neufeld) that in Washington people are worried about picking early and getting too vegetal a flavor.) They pick this earlier and end up with a syrah that sits at 13.3%.

Oak, but not by choice

They have been integrating some new oak, not really out of choice. He is trying to switch over to 500 liter puncheons and you don’t find those available used. Those puncheons will just have to age and become neutral in his cellar over time.

The syrah was really elegant. Seth says if you pick early you get this coffee/smoky side that is really interesting. He’s not sure what to attribute that too. The spot where this block is, used to be where the neighbors orchard was and nearby was a big gravel pit. The soil there almost looks like asphalt, like black gravel that has been conglomerated.

Cab franc & labels

2016 Kitzke Candy Ridge Vineyard Cab Franc
Back label of the Kitzke bottle.

The cab franc has a great back label with lots of details. They use it on all of their Kitzke wines now. It actually shows you what pH the fruit was picked at. This wine was 92% cabermet franc. Typically it’s close to 100%.

This cabernet franc also has the Candy Mountain label. With the AVA on it’s way, he wanted to showcase where this sense of place in a timeless way.

The labels at Upsidedown Wine are a bit more fun. The artist series switches each year and they even play with bottle shapes.

This cab franc is one of Seth’s favorite wines from this vineyard. It has good acid, a very cab franc feel, but a rich mouthfeel with the fruit. Seth finds it hard to get the balance in Washington. He finds some Red Mountain cab francs to be big, grainy and really rich, without the green bell pepper spice that he loves in a cab franc. He notes also that at the really cold sites the cab franc gets too thing and the green pepper then just dominates. Getting the balance between these two versions can be tough.

’13 Monte

He pours for us the 2013 Monte Caramelle, which had been opened the day before. It is 66% sangiovese, 18% cabernet sauvignon and 16% syrah. It’s not a blend they do every year. This is their Super Tuscan style wine. Monte Caramelle, is Candy Mountain in Italian. This vintage was made by Charlie Hoppes from Fidelitas Winery. Seth worked with him to make the Kitzke wines in 2013 & 14 and then in 2015, Seth started to take the reins and adjust the wines more to his own style. The 2013 is inoculated and has a shorter fermentation period. With all of Seth’s wines now they are native yeast and 6-7 days to start fermenting with a slower cooler fermentation.

Hood River

We get talking about other things. Seth has a busy week scheduled and is sad he couldn’t meet us in the Upsidedown tasting room in Hood River. I ask him how they ended up there.

“I love Hood River. I lived on Mt. Hood for a while 3 or 4 summers teaching snowboarding after highschool. I used to do the…I was a semi-professional snowboarder. I’d teach and work at the summer camp there in the summers and then winters I’d take off from college and go film videos. So Mt. Hood and Hood Rivers always been a spot for me.”
Seth Kitzke, July 2019

Seth looks at Hood River as a gateway to Washington Wine. Yes….it’s on the Oregon side, but people fly to Portland and head out to the gorge and that’s where the vineyards start. The Columbia Gorge AVA straddles the state line including both Washington and Oregon.

The Kitzke Tasting Room

For the Kitzke tasting room they wanted to be on the vineyard.

“we want to be able to walk you through the vineyard, we want you to come in the fall, you can taste a sangiovese grape you can taste the grapes and taste the wines and see the similarities side by side. That’s more of our style, cause we’re growers at heart.”
Seth Kitzke, July 2019

The benefits to making your wine near the vineyard

Seth lived in Seattle and didn’t want to do the Woodinville thing. He had grown up around the grapes and wanted to be close. He did his 2016 vintage in Seattle “everyday that the truck would bring the grapes was my favorite part. Unloading the trucks you smelled all the fresh cut vines, the dirt…everything. So you kind of felt like you were in the vineyard for a second.”

The downfalls to being so far from the vineyard…you schedule picks 6-7 days in advance and you don’t get to taste the grapes as often as you would like. Picking from the numbers doesn’t always work.

“if you would have picked off of just pH and sugars, in ’15, your wines would have been harsh and astringent and vegetal, because stuff would be 25 or 26 brix, but it would taste bad, the berries were not developed yet. It was so hot, a lot of people were picking at the end of August. If you are not there, tasting that, you don’t know that.”
Seth Kitzke, July 2019

On growing in the Gorge and natural vegetation

In the Gorge, it’s a cooler area, consistently windy and of course rainier. He notes that it is so much easier for people to be biodynamic and organic there because with the wind they have less mildew pressure. This year at Kitzke they had to do sulfur sprays every 10 days. They don’t use herbicides, as they are trying to get the natural vegetation to return.

“In our other vineyard you are really seeing it. We are starting to see a lot of sage and yarrow and stuff starting to grow back in the vineyard. I feel like even last year you could get a little more of that in the wine versus clean under rows and vineyard, planted by vineyard, planted by vineyard without any of that natural vegetation carrying through the vineyards.”
Seth Kitzke, July 2019

He notes people finding more aromatics in the wines depending on the local vegetation. Like the garrigue you get in wines from southern France.

More to Come…

We did speak to Seth more about a grenache he is making from the WeatherEye vineyard on Red Mountain. This is a fascinating project, more on that soon.

As always be sure to follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to keep up to date on all of our posts.

When not traveling they indulge in cooking and pairing wines with food at home in Las Vegas.

A Vineyard walk on Candy Ridge, Candy Mountain AVA with Seth Kitzke

Mar 31, 2020

It was July 2019 and we were on summer whirlwind trip called #thescenicroute. We had come from the beautiful Columbia Gorge region and were meeting Seth Kitzke at Candy Ridge Vineyard at Candy Mountain.

We pulled in and up to the Kitzke Cellars tasting room, on a Monday. Their tasting room is only typically open on the weekends, so we pulled up to a very confused looking gentleman. This was Paul Kitzke, owner of the estate and winery and Seth’s dad.

Seth had evidently not mentioned us coming and Paul was surprised to see people at the tasting room so early, not to mention with camera and recording gear. After a quick explanation, he warmed and looked to invite us in just as Seth pulled up.

Seth’s tasting room for his own brand Upsidedown Wine is in Hood River, where we had just been, but he was coming from a meeting somewhere else this particular morning. He had managed to squeeze us in to the middle of his day.

So where exactly are we?

Well, we are in the east end of the Yakima Valley in Eastern Washington. The area is near the Tri-Cities close to the city of Richland. Candy Mountain is just South East of Red Mountain the fairly famous Yakima Valley AVA that is winning high praise for it’s grapes and wine.

Washington AVA Map Courtesy of Washington State, with Candy Mountain AVA — Washington AVA Map Courtesy of Washington State, with the area of the Proposed Candy Mountain AVA penciled in.

We started in the vineyard with Candy Mountain in the background. The view is the same as the view on the sketch on their labels. The first thing I wanted to know about was the proposed AVA.

Candy Mountain AVA( it is now Official)

You know we get into proposed AVAs, we’ve talked about the proposed AVAs in the Willamette Valley and I was really curious about the proposed Candy Mountain AVA. When approved, it will be Washington’s smallest AVA at around 820 acres. Seth told us it’s been submitted and approved on the Washington State side and now they are just waiting on the Federal stuff. The application was “Accepted as Perfected” on January 24, 2017.

As of the date of this piece, the time for public comment had closed and it was just waiting. Likely it will be waiting a bit longer with everything slowing down right now. It’s a little confusing. I went to the TTB page and they are no longer listed on the “Pending approval” page, but they are also not listed on the “Established AVA” page. So they are sitting in limbo in between. As Seth put it “It’s sitting on someone’s desk somewhere in a stack waiting to get stamped.”

Details on the proposed AVA

The thing is, that this AVA which would be nested in the Yakima Valley AVA spills a little over the edge and they would need to expand the Yakima Valley AVA by 72 acres to adjust the overlap. *Update! My understanding is that the adjustment to the Yakima Valley AVA is complete.

The AVA is on the the southwestern slopes of Candy Mountain. Seth mentioned that the slopes here are south facing due to the the way the ridge and Mountain are oriented. Red Mountain AVA with it’s much larger 4040 acres, wraps around Red Mountain with vineyards Southeast facing, south facing and wrapping around to some that are south west and west facing also.

“…Candy Mountain doesn’t really have that option. It’s pretty much all directly south. You might have a tiny bit of southeast and southwest..”
Seth Kitzke, July 2019

Seth studied sustainability and tourism before getting into wine and like preserving ridge lines and views. He mentions that a hiking group that used to do “hike, wine & dine” events bought up the land that goes up to the ridge so that the views won’t ever get obstructed with a bunch of houses.

Candy Ridge Vineyard

Kitzke Cellars on Candy Ridge in the Yakima Valley AVA

The Candy Ridge Vineyard is the Estate Vineyard for Kitzke Cellars. They have another vineyard, the Dead Poplar Vineyard which is in the lower Yakima Valley directly across from (but not in) the Red Mountain AVA.

Here at the Candy Ridge Vineyard they are mostly growing Bordeaux varieties, Cab Franc, Cab Sav, Petit Verdot and then some Syrah in the back and some Sangiovese out front.

“The sangio is kind of an anomaly here. It’s all east facing all lyre style trained stuff, like a double cordon that comes up and splits, a lot more shade.”
Seth Kitzke, July 2019

Their neighbor Jim, is kind of the reason Seth’s parents started growing grapes. He has Merlot that was planted in 1982 as well as some other varieties that they get some of. Seth says that he is really the pioneer of Candy Mountain.

Cabernet Franc and Caliche soil

We walk into the vineyard and Seth points out Cab Franc that was planted in 2008.

Cab Franc by the Lawn at Candy Ridge Vineyard

“We kinda added as the wines proved themselves. My parents started gobbling up a little more of the square footage of the area, planting more rows…basically the yard was big and they were like “hey let’s plant some more cab franc.””
Seth Kitzke, July 2019

The cons of caliche soil

Previously all the cab franc was east facing out front and the back was just Petit Verdot and Cab Sav. But just because they had the space didn’t mean it would be easy. The front is rocky with floating basalt in the loam. In the back…well

“My dad called me a wuss, because I couldn’t dig the poles when we got up here. The caliche layer is like calcium carbonate, a really hard layer, like natural cement. He ended up bringing in our backhoe. When we had the backhoe in here it broke 2 teeth off the metal bucket on the backhoe. It shows you how hard this stuff really is.”
Seth Kitzke, July 2019

Caliche comparison at Kitzke Cellars — In the lower hand basalt, in the upper caliche. The caliche, while really hard, is so much lighter.

But there are also pros…

The caliche though, has is pluses. The berries on the cab franc in the back are tiny little stressed berries, where as the ones in the front get a little more size on them. Stress berries equal tasty wine typically. The Cab franc in the back has more shatter and natural stress from the caliche layer. But caliche is also porous.

They had a foot of snow as late as early March in 2019. Where as with basalt the moisture would evaporate, the caliche layer locks the moisture in and holds it. In early July when we were there it was the first time they had turned on the water this season. They were trying to get the canopies to shut down and focus on fruit. You can see in the video that the canopies were kinda going a little crazy.

Petit Verdot and new training systems

We moved on to the Petit Verdot. Seth was getting ready to implement a new training system.

“So you can see we are leaving some of the suckers low this year. This stuff is all around 20 years old and you are getting older and older wood on the cordon. So to preserve the vineyard and make it healthier longer I’m going to slowly start switching to can pruning, lower that way there are less cuts, less possibility for disease, or at least that’s what they say.”
Seth Kitzke, July 2019

This system keeps fresh wood which encourages sap flow. Vines produce less as they get older. Seth wants to keep these elderly vines as happy as he can. At 20 years old they only do one color pass at veraison. The vines tend to regulate themselves keeping to 3 to 3.5 tons per acre. 3 tons is Seth’s sweet spot for quality.

How to manage Syrah planted East/West

We walk back to the Syrah in the back. This is trained differently. When his parents first put these vines in they were not really thinking from a wine making standpoint. This part of the vineyard is all trained east/west. That sounds crazy to anyone who knows much about planting vineyards. You typically run north/south to get the best of the sunlight. Here with the east/west vines, you get sun on one side of the vine all day. So, what do they do?

“We’ll hang more fruit on the shady side, less on the sun side.”
Seth Kitzke, July 2019

Seth notes that in hot areas in Washington, syrah can get rich, ripe, jammy and high in alcohol. He wants to taste the terroir, not just the fruit. So they pick separately the sunny side and the shady side, with again, more fruit on the shady side. This allows them to really keep the alcohol down. We later tried a syrah in the tasting room that Seth said was picked at 23 brix and came out at 13.3% abv. Still it was phenolically ripe with time to develop without the sugar spiking. Rather than pulling out this vineyard, they found a way to work with it that really works for them.

More to come!

Stick with us. We spent a ton of time talking with Seth out in the front vineyard and then in the tasting room where we tasted through Kitzke wines and Upsidedown Wines and talked about all sorts of interesting stuff. You can read about that here. One thing we spoke about was the Grenache that Seth was getting from the WeatherEye Vineyard up on Red Mountain. More on that soon.

Tasting with Seth Kitzke at Kitzke Cellars Candy Ridge Vineyard Washington — Tasting with Seth Kitzke at Kitzke Cellars

In the meantime, some links…

As always be sure to follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and sign up for our monthly newsletter to keep up to date on all of our posts.

When not traveling they indulge in cooking and pairing wines with food at home in Las Vegas.

Corsica – An Island and it’s wines #Winophiles

Sep 21, 2019

Close your eyes. When I say Corsica, what comes to mind. Cliff side villages, overlooking the bluest of waters, sea breezes, perhaps a crisp white wine to take the edge off the heat?

Corsican village of Bonifacio on the cliff side

This island sits closer to Italy than France, but…it is French, although the people consider themselves decidedly Corsican. The culture blends Italian and French foods and language.

Red from the Mountains, White from the Sea – Wines of Corsica

Vermentino, the leading white grape of the island, may be called Rolle as it is in France or Vermentinu as it was on the bottle I picked up. Sangiovese is the prominent red, known here as Niellucciu.

Corsican wines are not so easy to come by, but can be really affordable when you find them. We searched around town, to no avail with our local wine shops and ended up picking these up at Total Wine, who had a selection from 3 producers.

Alba di Diana Corse

This wine from Domaine de Terra Vecchia is 100% Vermentinu (or Vermentino). $14.99 srp

The Estate is on the East Coast of Corsica facing the Tyrrhenian Sea that sits between Corsica and Italy. On the map above you can see the city of Aleria where you will find Domaine de Terra Vecchia. Vineyards here are between the mountains and the Etang de Diana, a lagoon where they harvest mussels and oysters.

vignoble corse à Aleria — Vignoble Corse à Aleria

Oyster production in Etang de Diane, the east coast of Corsica, — Vignoble Corse à Aleria

Vines were planted here in the 19th century on a little property on the edge of the Etang de Diana. Jean-François Renucci acquired the Domaine, replanted with Corsican grape varieties and converted the vineyard to organic farming.

Clos Sulana

The other wine we found is from Clos Sulana in the Centru di Corsica. Clos Sulana is located in the mountains around the village of Morosaglia in the Central part of Corsica. Vineyards here enjoy high altitudes at the foot of a chain of mountains with wide temperature variations.

Clos Sulana is produced by Domaine Vico. Their vineyards were originally planted in 1901 by Jean Vico. The family now has 49 hectares with soils of schist, basalt, granite and pebbles that sit between 850 and almost 1200 feet at the foot of the mountains.

The Clos Sulana Rouge is a Red wine made of 40% Niellucciu (the Corsican name for Sangiovese), 40% Sciaccarellu and 20% Syrah. Okay…”Sciaccarellu”, you ask? Well, it is a dark skinned grape grown primarily in Corsica, although you will find it in Tuscany where it is known as Mammolo. This grape has soft tannins, red fruit and a peppery note. The wine sits at 13.5 abv. $11.99 srp

Foods of Corsica

Local wild pork delicatessen, and corsican cheese,

Meats & Cheeses

Corsica is well known for its sheep and goat milk cheeses and cured meats. The cured meats here are made from the meat of free range pigs who live the life feeding on chestnuts (another important product of the island) and acorns.

Fish & Seafood

The east coast of the island, as I mentioned, has oyster farms. Other fish you find locally include anchovies & sardines, red mullet and langoustine. The island does have fresh water fish in it’s rivers so trout and eel can be found.

Stews & Pastas – Herbs, fruits and veggies

Soups and stews are popular with wild boar, chesnuts and fennel or veal, olives, tomatoes and herbs, always with a splash of wine in the pot.

Pastas are also popular (I mean…this is a stones throw from Italy). When it comes to vegetables, think mediterranean with tomatoes, zucchini and eggplant. You can readily find fruits like peaches, clementines and figs. Olives and olive oil of course are staples.

They have a group of herbs called “maquis”. This blend is of thyme, juiper, myrtle, oregano, basil and different types of mint. This is the scent of the island. They also have an AOC for honey, which carries the notes of the “maquis”.

Food Pairings

I searched locally for Brocciu, a non-lactose cheese that is a common ingredient in recipes. No luck. This is a fresh cheese and is similar to ricotta, so I used that instead. You will also find Tommette de Chèvre (a strong goat milk cheese), Corsu Vecchiu 9a semi-hard sheep milk cheese, Niulincu (a tangy cheese from the middle of the island) and ….Casgiu merzu (stand back, this is like Sardinia “rotting cheese” and comes complete with insect larvae).

Oysters

In my research on the Etang de Diana found that both oysters and mussels were farmed here. So it seemed a no-brainer to pick up 1/2 dozen oysters on the half shell to pair with a wine from a vineyard with a view of the Etang.

Sturzapreti

I found a delicious sounding recipe for Sturzapreti, a gnocchi like dumpling, with chard and brocciu cheese. The dumplings called for chard, brocciu cheese (for which I subbed ricotta), a potato, an egg, fresh mint and parsley. These ingredients get mixed up and then par boiled.

I’ll admit, my first batch made soup! It all disintegrated in the water. I was more careful with the rest. They then went into an oven dish, and I used beef stock to half cover them and topped them with emmental cheese. This baked until brown. The mint and cheese really was lovely and went well with the Vermentino.

Ingredients for Sturzapreti
Sturzapreti baked Corsican Dumplings
Sturzapreti baked Corsican Dumplings

Gnocchi with roasted zucchini, eggplant and sausage

We mixed the pasta and stew idea and did gnocchi with roasted zucchini and eggplant, tomatoe, thyme & sausage.

Gnocchi with roasted eggplant, zuchinni and sausage — Gnocchi with roasted eggplant, zucchini and sausage

Our charcuterie platter

We tied in the olives, wild boar sausage and peaches and added a bit to round out the platter with other things in the fridge and cupboard.

Cheese & Charcuterie platter with olives, peaches, blackberries, strawberries, emmental, wild boar sausage & almonds. — Cheese & Charcuterie platter

All in all this was a pretty nice tasting! The wines we picked up were Vin Corse. These were the most widely distributed of the wines from these producers and I would love to dig deeper into the higher quality wines from the island. The Vermentino was good with the food, but uninspiring on it’s own (I must admit to being very spoiled with good Vermentino).

The Red wine, again was good, for opening a bottle and having some food, but I am sure that this producer has some wonderful wines that have more depth and detail and I look forward to exploring those in the future.

The French #Winophiles!

This is just the tip of the island! The French #Winophiles have gathered to talk about the wines of Corsica this month. Head to twitter and follow #Winophiles to join the conversation! We will be live on Saturday September 21st at 11 am EST!

You can also dive into the pieces below for lots more on Corsican wines!

Camilla of Culinary Adventures with Camilla shares “Friday Night Pizzas + Domaine Poli Niellucciu Rosé 2018”
Cathie from Side Hustle Wino shares “Wines from Corsica? Of “Corse” (#winophiles)”
Martin from Enofylz Wine Blog shares “Mixiote de Pescado Paired with Domaine Petroni Corse Rosé”
Linda at My Full Wine Glass shares “Spaghetti and meatballs for a Corsican wine (#Winophiles)”
Gwen from Wine Predator shares “Corsica Rose with Salmon Crespelle and Currant Clafoutis #Winophiles“
Payal at Keep the Peas shares “Corsica: The Maquis, The Mountains, The Sea (#winophiles)”
Wendy from A Day in the Life on the Farm shares “Corsica; French with a lot of Italian Influence”
Cindy from Grape Experiences shares “Drench Yourself in the Sunshine of Corsica with Domaine Petroni Rosé Corse 2018 and Provençal Vegetable Gratin”
Nicole at Somm’s Table shares “Corsican Happiness: Domaine Giacometti Sempre Cuntentu Sciaccarellu with a Flavorful Seafood Stew”

As always be sure to follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to keep up to date on all of our posts.

Wine with friends – A California tasting & pairing

May 21, 2015

After our trip to the Central Coast, my friend RuBen asked if we wanted to do a wine & cheese party with him at his house. Well of course! RuBen is the hostess with the mostest and has a beautiful backyard. He also knows wonderful people, who are always a joy to talk to. So….RuBen planned the decor, the people and the over-all menu and I planned the wines and pairings. I spent several days going through and picking wines from our cellar and then finding interesting facts about each and pairing ideas. Here’s what I settled on…

Carhartt Pinot Noir

Carhatt Vineyards Sangiovese

Tablas Creek Vermentino

Tobin James Fat Boy

Margerum Rose

Laetitia Brut Cuvee

We needed to start with something bubbly, so we pulled out a bottle of Laetitia Vineyard & Winery Brut Cuvee. The winery is in the Arroyo Grande AVA which is just south of San Luis Obispo. We had recently done an Interview on their beautiful property with Heather Muran of the SLO Wine Association. Starting with bubbles is always a great celebratory way to start any event and it’s a great palate cleanser. This wine is made in the Champenoise method and the winemaker says his favorite pairing with this is potato chips! So…that’s what we paired it with. It was fun to talk to people about this wine and have people share with me their knowledge of sparkling wines.

Tablas Creek 2014 Vermentino

Next we moved onto a white wine, but I didn’t want to do a typical Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc. Instead we did a Vermentino from Tablas Creek Vineyards in Paso Robles. This winery is known for their Rhone Varieties, and while Vermentino is a little out of the Rhone (although it is grown there under the name Rolle) it is a variety of grape that thrives in the soils and climates you find at Tablas Creek. It is bright and minerally and we put a jar of wet stones next to it for people to smell. It was amazing to see people dip their nose into the glass then into the jar and watch the look of realization and surprise come across their faces. People always think that tasting notes sound so snooty with the wild things sommeliers say they can smell in a wine. Having it right there and smelling it opened their noses to trying to smell other things in the wines! Vermentino pairs great with many things, but unlike so many other wines, it is great with green vegetables, so we paired this with a pesto.

Margerum 2014 Riviera Rosé

Onward now to a Rosé. Rosés are coming back into vogue and you find them popping up everywhere. While you can find rosés made from Pinot, Zinfandel, and even Merlot…I love a Rhone or Grenache Rosé best, with a little watermelon and strawberry on the nose, but dry. That is what we got with the Margerum Wine Company 2014 Riviera Rosé. This Rosé is Grenache with a little Counoise and Cinsault. The Grenache for the most part is done in the saignee method, then a bit of Counoise and Cinsault are added as well as a little barrel aged Grenache. As Rosés notoriously go well with anything pink, we paired it with a prosciutto.

Carhartt 2012 Pinot Noir

It was time now to go a little darker. We pulled out a 2012 Pinot Noir from Carhartt in Santa Barbara. The Carhartt’s are the same Carhartt’s you think of with work clothes. The family owned a ranch in Santa Barbara where they raised cattle for years. Mike Carhartt and his wife Brooke planted grapes on the land and now it is a family affair with son Chase studying wine making and assisting in the process. This particular wine is not grown on their estate but comes from Riverbench Vineyard up in the Santa Maria Valley where they grow some amazing Pinot Noir. We paired this with cheeses; goat cheese, gouda and baked brie!

Carhartt 2012 Sangiovese

We continued with a little more robust red with a Carhartt Sangiovese. This wine was estate grown and smells of cherry, fig, cola, all spice, sweet oak and rose petal. I had a fresh burrata from the Downtown Summerlin Farmers Market that paired perfectly with this!

Tobin James 2009 Fat Boy Zin

I must admit that we don’t drink alot of big reds these days. Most are just a bit too big to pair with a meal. At one time we were members of the Tobin James wine club and we have a bunch of great big fat Zins from them, that I have not yet opened. So…here was an opportunity to open one and see how it was. Did it mellow with age or would it have gone flat and passed it’s peak? We opened a 2009 Tobin James Fat Boy Zin. It is an over the top Zin that Tobin says is “like the best friend you had as a kid; big brash and maybe slightly obnoxious, but always loved!”. This is definitely big with the alcohol level sitting at 15.8%. But indeed, this big boy was loved by many at the party. We paired this with Smoked Gouda, but truly this big Jammy Zin would go best with bold bold BBQ.

Carol Shelton 2008 Black Magic

We ended the eveningstepping a little further north, with a late harvest Zin by Carol Shelton her 2008 Black Magic from Sonoma County. Late harvest wines are those that are left on the vine to let their sugars develop and often they will leave them to raisin on the vine concentrating the sugars even further. This dessert wine screams for chocolate and indeed we paired it with that, but also with a lovely Stilton. The sweet wine and the savory cheese are a perfect combination for finishing an evening.

This was an amazing evening with around 20 people just mingling talking about the wines and whatever else came up and meandering around RuBen’s beautiful backyard with little seating areas tucked here and there. We enjoyed the wine, the company and conversation as the sun set and the stars came out. Yep, wine with friends…what could be better?

Wine Party with Friends

Ballard Canyon, Santa Barbara’s newest AVA

Mar 30, 2014

Ballard Canyon is the newest of the AVA’s in Santa Barbara County, established in October of 2013. This relatively small AVA encompassing only 7,800 acres sits at the center of the Santa Ynez Valley with Los Olivos to the North East and Solvang to the South. It produces Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Grenache, Roussanne, Sangiovese, Sauvignon Blanc, Syrah and Viognier. Syrah accounts for almost half of the planting.

ballard canyon ava

Ballard Canyon runs North-South, which protects it from the winds coming through the transverse valley than runs through the Santa Ynez Valley. Happy Canyon is thought of as the warmest part of the region with daytime temperatures of 102, but it also drops to 48 overnight. Ballard canyons highs are a little lower, but their nighttime lows are also a little higher, this allows the grapes to stay warmer over night and warm up more quickly in the morning.

There are 18 Vintners and growers in the Canyon and 6 wineries: Larner, Stolpman, Rusack, Saarloos & Sons, Jonata & Beckmen.

The first vines were planted in this area in 1974 at the Ballard Canyon Winery. Today this property is Rusack Vineyards. The 17 acre estate was replanted in 2003 with varieties of grape that would capture the character of Ballard Canyon. It is now planted in Sangiovese and Syrah primarily with bits of Savignon Blanc, Semillon and Petite Sirah. Everything is farmed in small lots.

The Rusack’s bought this property in 1995 and in 2013 hired Steven Gerbac to be their winemaker. In addition to their Ballard Canyon property, the Rusack’s have a newly planted vineyard on Santa Catalina Island (but that story is for another day).

The winery is set back in on the property and you follow the winding drive through the old oaks to their tasting room. They have a lovely redwood deck on the front of the tasting room with tables and great vineyard views. It is shaded by the oaks so it makes the perfect spot for a picnic.

Larner is on the southern end of Ballard Canyon. When Michael and Christine Larner purchased the land in 1997 it was nothing but sage and chaparral with Texas Longhorns on the property. Now the 34 acres of vineyard include 23 acres of Syrah, 6 acres of Grenache and smaller plots of Viognier, Malvasia Blanca and Mourvedre. For a number of years they sold fruit to wineries, but in 2009 they began making their own.

Michael Larner is also the instigator behind the Ballad Canyon AVA. In 2010 the vintners in Ballad Canyon gathered to coordinate an event on Syrah. Michael got them together again after the event and recruited Wes Hagen of Clos Pepe to help them develop plans for creating the AVA.

You can visit the Larner Tasting room is located in Los Olivos. They hope eventually to have a beautiful tasting room on their property in the old Ballard General Store. (again, another story for another day)

Tom Beckmen purchased a 365 acre hillside property in 1996 that is now Beckmen Vineyards. With elevations of up to 1250 feet, this property would become the Purisima Mountain Vineyard. Tom & his son Steve farm this property and they are certified biodynamic. They vineyard is planted with seven clones of Syrah that fill 18 blocks, five clones of Grenache that fill 8 blocks and smaller plantings of Counoise, Grenache Blanc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Rousanne, Marsanne, Mourvedre and Sauvignon Blanc. The soils here are clay and clay loam with a limestone subsoil, which while typical of the soil in Rhone, is a rarity in California.

Their tasting room is at the winery and is south of Los Olivos. Take a picnic and enjoy the views from one of the three gazebos at the duck pond after your tasting!

Stolpman was founded in 1990 by Tom & Marilyn Stolpman. This vineyard in the limestone hills was turning out fruit for cult wines like Sine Qua Non & Ojai Vineyards, until in 1997 they started producing their own wines. Their winemaker Sashi Moorman (who also works with Sandhi & Evening Land) joined them in 2001 and works closely with the Vineyard Manager Ruben Solorzano. They have experimented with high density plantings and dry farming. They produce Syrah, Roussane, Sangiovese, Sauvignon Blanc with limited plantings of Grenache, Viognier, Petite Sirah and Chardonnay which they mostly use for blending. Today Tom’s son Peter manages the vineyards and winery.

Stolpman’s Little Red Cottage tasting room in Los Olivos

You can find their tasting room in Los Olivos on Alamo Pintado, in their little red cottage. The cottage has fables. One says it was moved here from Arroyo Grande in the early 1900’s. Another claims it was built from scrap lumber from an old military barracks. Regardless the Stolpman’s have filled it with a great staff and designed a Tuscan inspired bar. Plus they have a picnic area under the persimmon tree out front. In the summer they even have a farm stand with local produce.

Jonata (pronounced Ho-na-ta, which is the Chumash word for “live oak”)has an 84 acre vineyard with sandy soil planted in Syrah, Sangiovese, and Sauvignon Blanc.

When they originally bought the property the French vineyard expert they brought in found only 5 acres of land on the 600 acre property that he felt were suitable to growing grapes. Matt Dees joined them in 2004 as their winemaker and Ruben Solorzano is their vineyard manager.

Here there is extreme detail in the growing. Each shoot and cluster is individually manicured. Lots are separately pulled from each distinct part of the vineyard and put into different barrels or tanks before blending. Well known French wine expert Michel Rolland comes in to check aging potential before bottling. As a result of all of this extra attention and the fact that if a vintage doesn’t live up to their standards, they simply won’t produce a wine from it, these bottles can run up to $125 per bottle. Their 2010 La Sangre de Jonata Syrah was given 97 points by Wine Advocate.

A little back story. This winery is owned by Stanley Kroenke, a real estate developer who owns the Dever Nuggets and the Colorado Avalanche. He is also one of the leaders of the consortium that purchased Screaming Eagle.

Wines here are only sold through the mailing list. http://jonata.com

Windmill on Saarloos & Son’s Windmill Ranch Vineyard

Last but not least I will mention Saarloos & Sons. Their Windmill Ranch Vineyard lies within this AVA.

Saarloos & Sons is a family business that is 4 generations in the making. Each of their releases is unique and is never duplicated. Their goal is to capture the year in a bottle and bring you a high quality wine that they name in honor of a family member. They have a 250 year plan, thinking not just for the next generation but for the next 50. Their goal is “Honoring + Preparing” and their wines are heartfelt and unique. Their winemaker and resident chronicler is Keith Saarloos. Check out the blog for amazing vineyard videos and for philosophic posts on life, family and farming (amongst other things).

And head to their tasting room in Los Olivos. If you are lucky, Brad will be there and will fill your glass and your spirit as he passionately talks about the wines and his family that made them.

And…have to mention, if you are there on the weekend, try the cupcake pairings!

Saarloos & Sons tasting room in Los Olivos

Over the upcoming Vintners Spring Weekend you will be able to taste many of these wines at the Grand Tasting on Saturday April 12^th. In addition, Steve Beckmen will be leading a Vineyard Hike with with wine at the Purisima Mountain Vineyard on Friday Spril 11th. Larner will be pouring wines at the Barrel Toasting Seminar and Tasting at the Buellton Bodegas on Friday evening. Also Friday evening Beckmen and Larner will be pouring at the 90+ Wine & Dine event at the Fess Parker Doubletree Resort in Santa Barbara. Beckmen will also be pouring on Sunday at the Farm-to-Table Picnic at the Fess Parker Ranch.

2013 Spring Vintners’ Festival at the Mission Santa Ines

Visit http://www.sbvintnersweekend.com for all the Spring Weekend Events or http://www.sbcountywines.com for anything you want to know about the Santa Barbara County vineyards or wineries.

Wiens Reflection Vertical, wine tasting and pairings

Aug 13, 2013

Wine is terrific, and when you pair it with food you can take it to another level. Learning how to taste, decant and pair can be an exciting adventure.

The journey today is with a Vertical of three vintages of Wiens Reflections red blend. There are differences because of the actual blends (they use different varieties of grapes each year), differences because of the climate in each year and then differences because obviously the older vintages have aged longer! We taste the wines right out of the bottle and then decanted and watch as the flavors evolve. Then we pair them with meats cheeses and other foods and the flavors change again, enhanced (or not) by contrasting or complimentary flavors in the food. It’s an exciting journey, join us and then try a tasting of your own! See original Post.

Reflection Tasting in Vertical from Wiens Family Cellars

May 1, 2013

Wiens Family Cellars was having a Vertical tasting of their Reflections red blends and we couldn’t go…so we put together a vertical of our own. We had the 2008, 2010 and the 2011. These are of course blends, so they are all a little different, so this a little different from a typical vertical. Typically you would have a single variety of grape or a fairly set blend that you would be comparing from year to year. You would get the differences in the climate and season that affect each year’s harvest. You would also be able to see how the wine ages. We were able to do those things, but the field for comparison was a bit more wide open. Let me take a minute to give you the breakdown on these three vintages.

2008 Reflection is 30% Sangiovese, 28% Barbera, 28% Merlot, 14% Petit Verdot with Alcohol 15.1 and Residual sugar .6%
2010 Reflection is 63% Sangiovese, 14% Cabernet, 14% Syrah, 9% Zinfandel with 14.5 Alcohol and .5 % residual sugar.
2011 Reflection is 42% Sangiovese, 20% Merlot, 14% Zinfandel, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Primitivo, 2% Montepulciano, 2% Cabernet Franc, 2% Dolcetto with 12.5 Alcohol! and .2 residual sugar

So as you can see this blend is Sangiovese based, but that’s about where the similarities end. This makes for a brilliantly exciting tasting! At the winery they are doing “Reflections of the Decades” and they are tasting 6 of these wines, 2006-2011. We somehow can’t find the 2009 so I must have already enjoyed it! At the winery they are doing a decade theme starting with the 60’s for the 2006. I perused their pairings and then went back to the suggestions with the wines. We picked up some Spanish meats and cheeses (yes I know, I could have picked up Italian!). We did a tasting upon opening and then let them breathe for a bit and tasted each with the meats and cheeses. For the pairings we went a little out of order and cooked them for each course. I know it sounds tough, but…we have Trader Joes. So here’s the run down for the pairings:

2010 Reflection with a goat cheese and basil pizza, to which we added a little sage and thyme.
2008 Reflection with Eggplant Parmesan
2011 Reflection with meat lasagna and a spinach salad.

Then we had chocolate cake for dessert and tasted it with all 3.

We found that the wines opened up quite a bit over the course of the evening. I had e-mailed the winery to ask decanting recommendations. Bob was kind enough to get back to me and suggested decanting the 2010 and 2011 straight down into a decanter on the counter top to add as much oxygen as possible. For the 2008 he suggested carefully pouring it down the side of a tilted decanter to give it some space to gently open up. Thanks Bob! Unfortunately, I do not yet own a nice decanter. So…we took the advice the best that we could. We opened up the 2008 and gently poured into glasses and let it air. The other two we got the aerator out and poured them through to add oxygen. On to the tasting!

Falkner Winery and Pinnacle Restaurant

Mar 7, 2013

Driving down Rancho California Road in Temecula Wine Country, there is lots to look at. Beautiful vineyards, wineries on all sides, but you won’t be able to miss Pinnacle restaurant. The rounded building sits on the hill top on just past Calle Contento Road. The windows and patio will have you wanting to turn in and take in the view from the other side! So make the turn and take the steep drive up to this stunning building. Before you get there, you will find the winery and tasting room tucked into the trees behind the restaurant and I encourage you to stop in here and do a tasting before treating yourself to lunch and the view from Pinnacle.

Falkner Pinnacle

The tasting room is open daily from 10-5 and the restaurant is open from 11:30- 3:30 for lunch. If you get there after 3:30, never fear the gift shop at the tasting room offers food items to purchase and create a picnic to enjoy out on the picnic tables in the tree lined area outside.

You will find great lends such as their Amante which is a Super Tuscan style red with Sangiovese, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon. They also do a Bordeaux style Meritage with Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc.

The winery was founded in 2000 by Ray and Loretta Falkner. They opened the restaurant in September of 2006 and that gorgeous view is 1,500 feet up on the hilltop. New to me as I researched was the “Wine Cave” below the restaurant. This VIP room is a barrel shaped room with windows all around to see the barrels and case good that the winery has. This space seats up to 20 people and is available for special events.

Pinnacle Lunch

Michael and I tasted here on our very first trip to Temecula and then returned to have a stunning lunch paired with their wines on a later trip and the restaurant was busy! When the weather is nice the patio is lovely for lunch.

They offer a monthly Wine Appreciation class with their assistant Winemaker and in-house sommelier. This is a four hour class that includes lunch and is great for both novices and experts. You should plan ahead and register in advance for these classes that happen on the second Saturday of each month. They do have Public Tours available each weekend at 11 and 2 that are $10 per person.

Until you have a chance to get out to the winery and restaurant, you can enjoy a little at home by viewing their MAC and ME cooking classes online with Chef Mike. Learn how to make Prosciutto wrapped asparagus at home or a wide range of other delicious things.

Frangipani, a piece of paradise on the De Portola Trail

Mar 6, 2013

Frangipani…for me I immediately think of the musical “South Pacific”. Frangipani is the word they use for plumeria the island flower that I grew up making leis with in Hawaii. So…I envisioned a tropical paradise. I thought, this winery must be owned by someone creating their own paradise. Well…it’s a bit simpler than that. The owner/winemaker is Don Frangipani. He has however created his own piece of paradise here on the De Portola Wine trail.

We stopped by Frangipani on our final morning in Temecula on our last trip. They had Sunday Brunch advertised on their website and it seemed like the perfect way to wrap up our trip.

Frangipani Dog Frannie

We were greeting in the parking lot by “Franni” dog and greeter. After getting a good scratch he led us to the door. We were early (as usual) and it was pretty quiet when we arrived. JoAnn Frangipani, Don’s wife set us up with Mango Mimosas with their house sparkling and pointed us to the buffet. There were fresh muffins and pumpkin bread as well as bagels with lox. The cook made us fresh pulled pork benedicts and we enjoyed the granola fruit parfaits while we waited for that to finish. Several groups came in while we were there.

Frangipani Patio

They have an outdoor patio with a great view and bocce ball courts. JoAnn says the patio stays pretty full in the summer. We didn’t taste here as we were getting on the road to head home. I look forward to coming back, tasting and enjoying the patio. The atmosphere here is warm and friendly and JoAnn immediately makes you feel welcome and at home.

Frangipani View

Don began working with wine in 1995 at Cilurzo Winery in Temecula. He opened Frangipani in 2003. He loves red wines and mixes classic French varieties of Petite Verdot, Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc with old world Italian styles. They grow Cabernet Franc, Malbec, Petite Verdot, Sangiovese, Grenache and Petite Sirah on their estate.

Sangiovese

History of Angullong

The Orange Wine Region

The Angullong Vineyard

Climate change

Angullong Cellar Door in Millthorpe

Welcome to Country

Indigenous Dances

Welcome Aboriginal Dance

Dances to tell the story of a people

Mother Earth Dance

Personal stories through ancient dance

Indigenous Cultural Adventures – and Bush Tucka

Ben Crossing and the wines of Angullong

2019 Angullong Sav Blanc

2019 Angullong Pinot Grigio

2018 Angullong Chardonnay

2018 Fossil Hill Chardonnay

2019 Fossil Hill Vermentino

2018 Fossil Hill Sangiovese

2017 Fossil Hill Barbera

2015 Crossing Reserve Shiraz

Exports and the Australian Market

Plan your visit to Angullong

Sources & Resources

Share this:

Like this:

The many names of Sangiovese

Prugnolo Gentile in Vino Nobile di Montepulciano

Rules of the Vino Nobile di Montepulciano DOCG

Morellino in Morellino di Scansano

Rules of the Morellino di Scansano DOCG

On to the wines

Figli d’Italia Leone d’Oro Vino Nobile di Montepulciano 2013

Terre di Talamo Morellino di Scansano Tempo Riserva 2015

Pairings with regional cuisine

Panzanella

Tuscan Ragu

The pairing

#ItalianFWT

Sources and Resources

Share this:

Like this:

Mudgee – the “nest in the hills”

First Ridge Vineyard

Soil

Why Italian Varieties?

The Wines

White Wines at First Ridge Vineyard

Rosé and Red Wines

Climate, water and drought.

Drought and water

Rain

The Future of First Ridge Vineyard

More on Mudgee and First Ridge Vineyard

Share this:

Like this:

Boulders the size of VW buses!

Jim’s old vines

Cab Franc Pet Nat

Tasting with Seth Kitzke and more

Rescue rosé

Color and thin skins in Rosé

Why is it called Rescue Rosé?

The Syrah (artist series)

Oak, but not by choice

Cab franc & labels

’13 Monte

Hood River

The Kitzke Tasting Room

The benefits to making your wine near the vineyard

On growing in the Gorge and natural vegetation

More to Come…

Share this:

Like this:

So where exactly are we?

Candy Mountain AVA( it is now Official)

Details on the proposed AVA

Candy Ridge Vineyard

Cabernet Franc and Caliche soil