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Channeling Jura for a rooftop getaway with a bottle of Savagnin and friends #Winophiles

Oct 16, 2020

I had ordered my bottle of wine from the Jura a couple of months ago and forgotten about it. Only once before have I had a wine from this region. At the time we were investigating “Godforsaken Grapes” from France, which took me to the Savoie, near the Jura for a Jacquere from Apremont. You can read about that in “Though the Mountains May Crumble…Apremont and some Alpine Pairings”

The Jura

Chalon Département Jura Franche-Comté France photo by Richard Semik Adobe Stock — View from the Jura photo by Alexander Gutkin Adobe Stock

The Jura is often lumped in with Savoie, but the region is actually North West of Savoie. This region sits on the border to Switzerland near Geneva. If the word “Jura” reminds you of Jurassic Park, there is a reason for that. The Jurassic geological period was named for these mountains where the limestone strata from this period were first identified.

Another interesting fact: Louis Pasteur was born in this region. Famous of course for discovering that microbes were responsible for making alcohol sour, he created pasteurization to heat and kill bacteria. He is also responsible for creating a vaccine for rabies. For more on how Louis Pasteur impacted the history of wine, check out this piece that our friend Lori, from Dracaena Wines collaborated on with writer Joey Casca a few years ago Heros of Wine: Louis Pasteur (1822-1895)

” A bottle of wine contains more philosophy than all the books in the world.”
Louis Pasteur

The Côtes du Jura

The Jura wine region is 50 miles long and never more than 4 miles wide.

Within the region you will find 4 AOCs

Côtes du Jura, which covers the whole region.

Arbois in the north of the region where half of the wine is red and they focus on the grape poulsard.

L’Etoile named for starfish fossils that are found locally. This appellation is only for white wine and much of that Chardonnay.

Château-Chalon the hilltop village where they only allow vin jaunes.

Update* These are the Geographic AOCs. There are 3 more AOCs for Products: Crémant du Jura for sparkling wines, Macvin du Jura for this liqueur and Marc du Jura, for the regions brandy.,

The region has taken a beating, with phylloxera, WW1 and then railways that made it easier to get wine from Languedoc. By the 1960s the region had less than 1000 hectares of vines. Today there are approximately 2000 hectares.

Savagnin the grape & the wine

We focused on one grape, Savagnin. While most often this grape is used to make “vin jaune” a late harvest wine made with a technique much like Sherry, except without the fortification, they do make dry wines in 3 styles.

Ouillé

In my research, I learned the term “ouillé”. This French term refers to topping up a barrel, which is what you typically do when you are aging a wine. So if you have a wine, made in the manner which most of us consider normal, by topping the barrel up as it ages to keep the exposure to oxygen down, in the Jura the bottle will say “ouillé”. If it is made in this method in the region of Arbois (which is a smaller region within the Jura) it is call “naturé”.

These wines are light and elegant with floral and citrus notes with notes of anise.

Savagnin

When the wine is “non ouillé” or not topped up it will just be labeled Savagnin. Savagnin spends 2 or 3 years in oak and is not topped up. The wine mixes with the oxygen and develops oxidative flavors; think dried fruit like dried apples, ripe soft cheese with notes of white pepper. It pairs well with Comté cheese which is a specialty of the region. It is suggested that you decant this wine for at least 15 minutes before serving.

Vin Jaune

This is the big daddy of the region, the wine they are most known for. The famous Château-Chalon perched on it’s cliff only produces “vin jaune”. Vin Jaune translates to “Yellow Wine” or “Golden Wine” and the wine is indeed golden. White wines as they age and are exposed to oxygen darken.

This wine, like the Savagnin we spoke of above, it aged without topping up or “non-ouillé”. This wine must be aged for at least 6 years and 3 months in oak barrels. But what makes this different from Savagnin, in addition to the length of barrel aging is that over time a layer of yeast forms on the top of the wine. They call this “le voile”. (If you know anything about Sherry, you might be familiar with this technique for Manzanilla and Fino Sherries that mature under their layer of “flor”.)

Here is another case of gross looking mold making delicious wine (like the noble rot botrytis). These wines become concentrated and they will have nutty flavors and savory tones of ripe cheese as well as bright acid and citrus notes. They are immensely interesting. Check out this list of notes potentially found in a Vin Jaune.

“Flavors in Vin Jaune can include ripe Camembert cheese, green and golden apple, candied orange peel, lemon and lemon peel, ginger, nutmeg, curry, vanilla, sandalwood, almond, hazelnut and walnut. There’s a touch of rancio, a wine term often used with Cognac that describes the mix of woodsy, earthy and musty flavors.”
Amateurgastronomer.com October 10, 2011

Domaine Benoit Badoz Côtes du Jura Savagnin 2011

Benoit Badoz 2011 Savagnin from the Cotes du Jura

Our wine, was the middle style a Savagnin.

The details:

100% Savagnin
Aged in Oak barrels for more than 3 years.
Region Côtes du Jura AOC
Aging potential 25 years

Domaine Benoit Badoz was founded in 1659 and Benoit is the 10^th generation vintner at this family domaine. Located in the heart of the region in the town of Poligny, they have 10 hectares of vineyards. This wine, the Côtes du Jura comes from vineyards around the town of Voiteur (19 km away), which is very near to Château-Chalon.

What to pair with a Savagnin?

I did my research, pulling tasting notes to find complementary flavors. Then I dug deeper. I admit that I often look to Fiona Beckett for ideas. Her site offers such a range of suggestions depending on the age and style of the wine as well as the region. Often there are local specialties she will recommend, as well as other pairings that could be from anywhere in the world. It was here that I settled on my pairings.

I had planned and shopped for our dinner but hadn’t really thought it through when an opportunity arose to enjoy the sunset on the roof with a friend. We don’t see each other as often as we would like, but social distancing outside watching sunset seemed perfect.

We began with a cheese plate with Comte, the well known cheese of this region, plus walnuts, green apple, and thinly sliced fennel. Dinner included seared scallops, lobster ravioli in a brown butter sage sauce, and a spinach salad with apple, fennel, and bacon with a lemon vinaigrette.

Comte, green apple, fennel, and walnuts with a Savagnin from Benoit Badoz in the Cotes du Jura

Rooftop in the setting sun with a Cotes du Jura, delicious pairings, and friends. — Comte, green apple, fennel, and walnuts with a Savagnin from Benoit Badoz in the Cotes du Jura

Our Savagnin and how it paired

I will admit, that I am writing this after our tasting, and some of the things I learned came after tasting the wine. We did not decant it. I suppose I should have read that, but you know, I enjoy the journey and in fact, Michael caught brighter citrus notes as he first sipped this saying it felt crisper at the start. As Michael poured, my friend RuBen commented that he could smell it from across the patio!

We stuck our noses in. This was interesting! RuBen wrinkled his brow. Wine tasting is pretty new to him. Sandlewood? Yep…I might not have picked that up, but he had been smelling candles recently. I got bruised apple and spices. We all kept sticking out noses back in the glass, trying to pull out notes.

With the Comte cheese, it was heaven. RuBen wanted a sauce of the wine to dip the cheese in. (hmm…could I do a reduction, like with a balsamic?). With the green apple slices? YUK! That was a cry from around the table. With the fennel it was a mixed batch, Michael and I found it interesting, RuBen said it made the wine concentrate to the center of his mouth and disappear (I picture a black hole collapsing onto itself. I should taste with RuBen more often. He comes up with fantastic tasting notes!)

We moved on to dinner. Nice with the scallops, the brown butter sage sauce and the lobster ravioli pulled out the funkier notes in the wine, which I liked. I also thought it went well with the salad, something about the bacon and the lemon vinaigrette contrasting with each other and melding with the wine, was really nice.

We continued to sip, the sun set, the conversation moved to different subjects and we watch the stars come out. Mars was actually glowing brightly in the sky not too far from the strip.

Good wine, good food, good friends, great conversation. Thanks Jura for a little rooftop getaway, we almost forgot about COVID for a while.

The French Winophiles

I’m excited to see what the rest of the Winophiles have tasted from the Jura! If you are reading this early enough, join us on Saturday October 16^th on Twitter! We will be there at 8 am Pacific time discussing the wines of this region. Just follow and use the hashtag #Winophiles to join the conversation!

Camilla from Culinary Adventures with Camilla will share “Seafood B’Stilla + Domaine Rolet Arbois Trousseau 2012“
Christy from Confessions of a Culinary Diva is talking about “Jura in the Afternoon“
David from Cooking Chat will be sharing “Slow Cooker BBQ Chicken Thighs with Jura Wine“
Gwendolyn of Wine Predator is “Exploring Flavors of Jura Food and Wine Take Two: Trousseau and Melon”
Linda from My Full Wine Glass will be heading “Back to the Jura (virtually), for Crémant this time around“
Nicole from Somm’s Table will be “Jurassic 5: An Intro to the Jura and its Main Grapes (#Winophiles)“
Payal from Keep the Peas is sharing “Sherry? No, Jura“
Pinny from Chinese Food and Wine Pairings is “Sipping Tissot-Marie Crémant Du Jura and Snacking Fried Pork Skin“
Susannah from Avvinare shares “Discovering Delights from Jura Region”
Terri of Our Good Life pours Sparkling Jura for Celebratory Moments.
Wendy from A Day in the Life on the Farm will serve up “Bourride served with a Chardonnay from Jura“

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

Sources, resources and further reading.

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.

Regenerative Agriculture at Tablas Creek – a meaningful way to farm #WinePW

Sep 11, 2020

It’s harvest and the group of writers at Wine Pairing Weekend (#WinePW) this month are led by Gwendolyn Alley of Wine Predator. She sent us an Invitation to re/consider Harvest and how global warming will change what we eat, drink and plant.

The way I enjoy harvest since most often I must do it from afar, is through the social media and blogs of my favorite wineries. When I stopped to consider wineries who have upped the ante on making great wine and taking care of the planet, Tablas Creek was the first to come to mind. They also provide great harvest coverage. You should really check out their blog, where they share in-depth information on how the harvest and the vintage went, complete with grapes, and lots of data.

In addition, they recently got their Regenerative Organic Certification.

Tablas Creek

Tablas Creek is a joint venture with the Perrin family of Château de Beaucastel from France’s Rhône Valley and the Haas family of Vineyard Brands. Founded in 1989 in Paso Robles, the winery was certified organic in 2003 and got their biodynamic certification in 2017. So why do this new certification?

A little bit about Regenerative Organic Certified (or ROC)

This organization was established in 2017 by people in various industries that were concerned about the planet and wanted to promote a system of regenerative agriculture. Companies like Patagonia and Dr. Bronner, to drop a couple of names that you might be familiar with.

On the ROC (Regenerative Organic Certified) website they share the reason behind the organization.

“We exist to heal a broken system, repair a damaged planet, and empower farmers and eaters to create a better future through better farming.”
From Regenorganic.org

I have been hearing the term “regenerative agriculture” quite a bit lately. Many biodynamic farms use this term. It is mostly used in terms of soil. Healthy soil is good for plants and the ecosystem and it sequesters carbon and goodness knows we could use a hand with that. Methods used include cover crops and not over tilling the soil.

Regenerative Organic Certified goes beyond this. They have 3 pillars: Soil health, Animal welfare, and social fairness. And before I go any further, I should make it clear that this is not a certification just for wineries and vineyards, this certification takes in all of agriculture and products from it, so farms, for produce or livestock or fibers.

Their motto “Farm like the world depends on it”. And well, it does.

Regenerative Organic Certification at Tablas Creek

In February of 2019 Tablas Creek was approached to be part of a pilot program for Regenerative Organic. After looking through the pillars, they realized that much of what they were already doing made them the perfect candidates for this. When they looked closely at the organization and what it stood for, they were on board.

Jason Haas, GM for Tablas Creek was gracious enough to take some time out of his day and talk with me about this new certification. I asked him if there were any requirements that were new to them, or anything that caused them to look differently at something they were already doing.

“There were a couple of things. One of the things is that…there were a lot of things that we were doing, but not measuring the results. Particularly a lot of the kind of carbon capture in the soil sorts of things with the flock of sheep and the cover crops and the rotational grazing and trying to leave sections that we don’t till, so we don’t till every section every year. We had pretty good confidence that this was the right thing to do and that it was building carbon, but we weren’t actually measuring how much carbon and how much moisture the soil was retaining and how that was changing year over year.
As part of the certification process, you have to submit this information and it has to be information that’s monitored regularly over the course of multiple years. So we’ve become a lot better about measuring the results of the things we were doing. Just because we had to. Though the whole reason that we were chosen by the Regenerative Organic Alliance to be a part of the pilot program is because we were doing most of this stuff anyway. It wasn’t because they were like “let’s take a chemically farmed vineyard and see if we can transform it into something different.” They had pretty good confidence that we were applying most if not all of the principals that they wanted to see. So, the measurement is one piece.
The other thing, that for us was really an eyeopener, were some of the audits that we had to do for our farmworker welfare. We know we pay our team a good wage, we know that we are careful about working conditions. But the sorts of questions that they were asking were like “How much input does your team have into the decisions that are being made on a weekly basis in the vineyard?” We were like, well? Not a lot most of the time. We are consulting with our Vineyard manager and then …directing the team. So we are like “Well, okay, this is one of the things that is an important part of this.” We are supposed to do weekly meetings, get the whole team together, and talk through what’s going to be coming up the next week and solicit their feedback. And there were several things that the team suggested, “well why don’t we do it this way,” that we’ve decided, that’s a great idea let’s do it this way. So it was being a little more mindful about incorporating the feedback of the vineyard team. So that was one of the eyeopeners for us.”
“That’s really the biggest thing I think behind the Regenerative Organic certification is that they are trying to set up essentially a framework within which you can be confident that the agricultural products that are certified Regenerative Organic are a part of the solution to that climate change challenge not contributing further to the problem.”
Jason Haas, September 8, 2020

They recently shared a video with an explanation of the Certification.

One of the things that you find with vineyards is that many people want to adapt to some biodynamic practices, but when they look in-depth at the background of biodynamics, some of the mystic stuff becomes a non-starter for them. The thing is, if you taste wines from biodynamic vineyards and wineries, in my experience, the quality is always high. In addition, as I’ve mentioned before, when I meet these people, I like them. They are people I want to associate with.

Many biodynamic vineyards owners stick mostly to the things they can measure when it comes to biodynamics avoiding the mysticism. Jason wrote a recent twitter thread about this, citing the science behind why the cow horn silica preparation has an impact on the vineyard.

“yes, biodynamics works, but I’m not sure that it works for the reason it says it works. There are a lot of things … in biodynamics, you are certainly attracting people who want to farm the right way, which goes a long way. This particular collection of techniques has proven basically to make good wine, but the stated reason behind why it’s supposed to work, in most cases sounds ridiculous. It’s nice to just eliminate the whole ridiculous piece of it and dive a little deeper into the science. “
Jason Haas, September 8, 2020

I asked if he thought this new Regenerative Organic Certification might be a gateway for biodynamic skeptics.

“I do, I think there will be a lot of people who are a little more science-based who maybe they have gone organic, but they looked at biodynamics and thought…hmm..”
Jason Haas, September 8, 2020

We also spoke a bit about the past weekend and the heat spike that caused them to only do their outside tastings until noon. I wondered how the vineyard fared and if some of their vineyard practices help them manage the impact.

“We had a couple of days that touched 110 which in my recollection, we have never seen before…
I do think that that wider spacing and the deeper root systems that result from that and from just the age of the older vines, it does help us withstand things like heat spikes in relatively good shape… I talked to Neil this morning and he said that he didn’t see really anything significant in the way of damage from the heat over the last few days. And I think a big piece of that is that the vines roots are down so far that they barely notice what’s going on at the surface. If the root mass is down 10 feet, that doesn’t get impacted by a couple days of 110 versus 100.”
Jason Haas, September 8, 2020

He did mention that with the temperatures now dropping to highs in the mid-90s for this week with cool nights that they expect to see harvest ramp up fairly quickly. This heat spike will likely compress the beginning of harvest.

*After this piece posted Jason shared a twitter thread with more of his thoughts on climate change for the wine industry. It is a worth read. You can find it here.

Lighter bottles – good for the environment and the budget

We spoke a little about packaging. They have added stainless steel kegs to their packaging which is great for restaurants. Once things come back, this will be great for them.

As to environmentally friendly packaging, Tablas Creek went to lighter weight bottles 10 years ago. I asked about the savings with that change. Often with new packaging, it can be more expensive as it’s not as available in the market. It seems in general, the lighter weight bottles are less expensive in many ways.

“…it was cheaper from the beginning. The bottles were cheaper because it’s just less glass, a big piece of it is just the raw materials. And then the transport was a ton cheaper. The average case was 9 lbs less of glass than the previous bottle, so it was ¾ of a lb per bottle less. That was cheaper to transport to us, it was cheaper to transport away from us, whether that was UPS or FedEx going to a consumer customer or whether it was even something as simple as because of the less weight of the glass we could fit 3 more pallets onto a truck, before we get to the trucks weight limit. So there were fewer trucks. It was a cost savings from the beginning.”
Jason Haas, September 8, 2020

Tablas Creek Pairing for Harvest

Typically when you think of harvest, you think of fall, of pumpkins and sweaters. Up until just recently our temperatures have hovered around 114 degrees and we had smoke over the Vegas Valley, as much of the West Coast has and is seeing.

Then the front pushed through bringing winds, which while they are terrible for the coast, did clear our skies and drop our temperatures.

We feel a little more fall like, but it’s still not sweater weather, so we are going with a white wine for harvest.

2018 Tablas Creek Grenache Blanc

As we open and enjoy this wine, they are getting ready to harvest this year’s Grenache Blanc.

Tablas Creek 2018 Grenache Blanc and notes — All the aromas and flavors from the 2018 Tablas Creek Grenache Blanc

The 2018 vintage was their 16^th bottling of this wine. Their site notes

“A classic Grenache Blanc nose of lemon pith, green apple peel, anise, and briny minerality. On the palate, very bright at first, with a burst of lemon on the attack, then sweeter flavors of sarsaparilla and tarragon, while the grape’s richness comes out on the finish, leaving on a long sweet/tart lemon drop note.”
Tablas Creek site 2018 Grenache Blanc

I did not get the sarsaparilla, but everything else was spot on with my tasting. This wine is bright, but round and feels like the perfect white for weather changes. That softness, making it okay for some long sleeves while enjoying a chillier breeze as fall begins to show itself.

This is an estate wine and it sits at 13.4% abv. Most of their Grenache Blanc goes into their White wine blends each year. Tablas is a winery in the Southern Rhone style, so they focus on blends. Luckily for wine geeks like me, they also like to do varietal bottlings, so we can see what each of the components bring to the blends. They fermented some lots in stainless steel and some in foudre (which gives the wine its roundness) and then blend before bottling.

This wine retails at $30 and they produced 1470 cases. It’s still in stock if you want to grab a bottle or two for yourself.

Pairing with fish and fennel

Fish with Fennel and 2018 Grenache Blanc from Tablas Creek Vineyard

I looked to the suggested pairings on their site and chose to work from a recipe they suggested for Fish & Fennel.

This is again one of those early fall cross-over dishes. It is light with citrus and fish, but the broth is full of warming savory notes. The fennel notes again leading me into fall with the promise of licorice candy and heavier baking spices on the horizon.

It was a perfect pairing to enjoy on the rooftop. We celebrated weather that allowed us to get back out here, as we had not been able to do dinner on the roof since June! We took in the sunset and the mountains and shivered a little, which was kind of delicious.

Sunset View over Mount Charleston — View of the Sheep Range Mountains

Wine Pairing Weekend #winepw

Continue the harvest conversation with the group from Wine Pairing Weekend on twitter this Saturday, September 12^th at 11 am EDT by following and commenting with the hashtag #winepw. Our discussion will encompass Harvest, climate change, vineyard practices, and of course some amazing pairings.

Here are the pieces by my colleagues on the subject!

Terri Oliver Steffes shares “Harvest Time at Twin Meadows Winery for Our Good Life” at Our Good Life.
Andrea Lemieux has “The Art of the Harvest” on The Quirky Cork
Lori Budd describes “Harvesting the Land While Overcoming Global Changes” at Exploring the Wine glass
Susannah Gold suggests ” Robert Biale Petite Sirah & BBQ, A Perfect Match” on Avvinare
Deanna Kang has “French Style Wines by the Sea from Windy Oaks (with 3 fab food pairings)” at Asian Test Kitchen
Nicole Ruiz Hudson on Somms Table shares “A Harvest at Forlorn Hope & Juicy Lucies”
Jane Niemeyer at Always Ravenous brings us a “Fall Harvest Dinner with Wine Pairings.”
Camilla M. Mann will be posting “Donkey & Goat: The Brandts Bring Natural Farming Philosophies Into the Cellar” on Culinary Adventures with Cam
Gwendolyn Alley at Wine Predator, we have “A Harvest Conversation at The Ojai Vineyard with winemakers Adam Tolmach and Fabien Castel”

More on Tablas Creek

We have been lucky enough to visit Tablas Creek Vineyard on several occasions and did a vineyard walk and interview with Jason in 2015. Here are some other pieces on this vineyard.

More on Harvest

I did work one morning of harvest, picking Pinot Noir at the Clos Pepe vineyard in Santa Barbara’s Sta. Rita Hills. And just a couple years ago we traveled through the Yakima Valley just at the end of Harvest. You can read about those adventures here.

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.

Pour in the Alley Virtual Tasting with Garagiste and 2 Fascinating wines from Greg Brewer

Jul 24, 2020

I watched many Virtual tastings pop up and while I joined in on a few casually, I’d actually been too busy to do a proper Virtual Tasting. Then I saw a friend of mine post that he and his fiance got all dressed up and did a virtual tasting at home with a local wine bar.

Well, that had my attention. 1st “Local Wine Bar”?!! I live in Vegas and there are so few. The ones I was familiar with were on the other side of the valley. But this one was new. Garagiste opened this past year in downtown Las Vegas (no not Fremont street…the cool local section). It sits off of Main street at the corner of California and Casino Center. It’s in my favorite section of downtown, where the Majestic Theatre, ReBAR, and the Priscilla Fowler Gallery are located. It’s across from the delicious Esther’s Kitchen. How did I not already know about this!?

Pour in the Alley

The tasting was scheduled through Fergusons Downtown as part of their Pour in the Alley series. With the pandemic, this series needed to go virtual. Okay…Fergusons is another favorite spot of mine. They are a renovated downtown motel, that now has 2 restaurants, Mothership Coffee, and then lots of small businesses. It’s an incubator of sorts and it rocks! Great people looking to create a community space that supports each other.

As if I was not already sold on this tasting…it came with a cheese and charcuterie platter from another of my favorite spots Cured & Whey. Ding, ding, ding! I was all in. But wait…it gets better.

I go online and set up for the tasting. I’m excited because it’s a Zoom tasting and I’ll get to see my friends, Dean & Amanda, virtually too. Then I jot down the names of the wines and go to look them up. Turns out they are both by a winemaker I am familiar with in Santa Barbara. Greg Brewer was the winemaker for Melville for many years and created with a partner, Brewer Clifton. We had visited their tasting room in Lompoc. They made great wines from Sta. Rita Hills. So I’m extra pumped.

They pick up pack for “Pour in the Alley”, 2 bottles of wine from Garagiste, 2 Fergusons tasting glasses, our cheese and charcuterie from Cured & Whey, plus a tasting card and some other extras from Fergusons.

The night arrives. We set up on the computer and layout our spread. I see that it is part of a Winemaker series. Well, that makes sense, it’s wines from one winemaker. But no, that’s not all, Greg Brewer is actually there on the Zoom to discuss the wines.

This was beautifully put together. The folks from Fergusons, kicked things off and introduced everyone. They also stayed with us to help with managing any online questions. Mario & Eric were there from Garagiste to facilitate the conversation on the wines. Emily from Cured and Whey was there to talk us through the cheeses and potential pairings, and then Greg to give us details on the wines. As a big bonus his wife, winemaker Sonja Madjevski of Casa Dumetz dropped by!

Let’s start with the cheese by Cured & Whey!

"Pour in the Alley" cheese plate from Cured & Whey, laid out on a cutting board with bread, crackers and olive oil. — “Pour in the Alley” cheese plate from Cured & Whey.

Emily with Cured and Whey had put together a Spanish cheese and charcuterie platter for us and talked us through it.

We began with a Los Cameros cheese, which was made from 3 kinds of milk, goat, cow, and sheep. It is a washed rind cheese with olive oil and will tend to have an earthy flavor. Next was the 3-month manchego, of sheep’s milk. This cheese was young, creamy, and salty with notes of hay and fruit.

We move on to the Cana de Cabra, a bloomy rind goats milk cheese. The outside is softer than the center that will have mushroomy notes. For meats, we had Mortadella which is a thinly sliced pork sausage that many may interpret as fancy bologna and finally a salami with white peppercorns. The platter finished with almonds to cleanse your palate and Italian olives.

About Greg Brewer the Winemaker

Greg Brewer of Brewer-Clifton, online with us for the "Pour in the Alley" tasting of his wines. — Greg Brewer of Brewer-Clifton, online with us for the “Pour in the Alley” tasting of his wines.

Greg Brewer is from LA. In 1991 he applied for a job in Santa Barbara Winery’s Tasting room. He didn’t get it. But, the smells, the sounds…he was hooked. In 1996 started Brewer Clifton Estate with Steve Clifton. They started with just 12,000 dollars.

We found out he also worked at Sunstone (that stunning winery that most of you will now know as Jean-Luc Picard’s vineyard in the series “Picard”). You can read a bit more about this winery that we visited in 2014 in our 2014 R etrospect. Scroll down in that piece to July 2014.

In 2015 he and Steve Clifton parted ways, and in 2017 Brewer Clifton became part of Jackson Family wines.

The Wines – Diatom & Ex Post Facto

Diatom 2018 Chardonnay from Bar-M Vineyard & Ex Post Facto Syrah made by Greg Brewer

Diatom Chardonnay from Bar-M Vineyard

A diatom is a plankton fossil. It’s where we get the term diatomaceous earth. There is lots in of this type of earth in Santa Barbara’s Lompoc area.

Los Alamos is a magnificent and relatively unknown region whose sandy loam soil lends itself to fruit with a bit more flesh and weight – perfectly suited to the diatom model.

Diatom Bar-M is sourced from the stunning contiguous blocks of clone 76 Chardonnay planted over 20 years ago in the Los Alamos region of Santa Barbara County.

This vineyard sits near the junction of Alisos Canyon Road and the 101 if you know the area. This is one block from one clone, no oak, no malolactic fermentation.

Due to its weight, it can pair with quite a bit. Greg suggested tater tots (which at this point in the pandemic were in short supply, due to everyone wanting to put them in their waffle maker!),or french fries. Emily suggested a salmon Crudo or another fatty fish, perhaps grilled peaches with an acidic dressing. Pork belly or pork loin would be a good match. She found the buttery cheese with the wine made the acid mellow and the fat comes forward, which she really enjoyed.

Greg spoke of picking this early, pushing the envelope for pH. He did 6 separate picks over 3 weeks for this wine. the wine retains it’s freshness from the malic acid.

You get stone fruit, citrus and saline with lush white flowers (in a humid place). There is citrus blossom and some tropical notes as it opens up.

ExPost Facto Syrah

This idea for this wine came about in 2015 and he started making this wine, once he was with Jackson Family Wines. The name for Greg indicates a law that you cannot be held accountable for breaking, if it was not a law at the time. He finds this a bit naughty and deviant, which is what working with Syrah feels like to him. (He is by all accounts a Chard and Pinot guy).

These grapes are cool climate, and are harvested late. It is whole cluster primarily. With the generosity of fruit in Santa Barbara, Greg feels the stem inclusion helps to fetter the fruit note. It gives the wine structure and is evident in the mouthfeel. It ferments for 2 months (that’s a long time) and then is aged in 20 year old barrels (so super neutral oak).

Mario noted that this felt like a beautiful blend of a California and Rhone style Syrah with California fruit and the white pepper and sage brush of the Rhone. He mentioned a perfect pairing of grilled steak with char and a pepper crust with a drizzle of reduced port and garlic and then a bramble berry sauce. (Are you drooling yet?)

For me this wine had great acid, but was rich with smoke and garrique and a nice funk. You get a little of that olive tapenade in here.

Emily mentions that the Cana de Cabra is perfect with this wine.

At some point in here, Loki, our cat jumps up to say hello and then I disrupt things by adding a hello in the chat to Sonja, who has to lean in front of Greg to type a response. Ah the joys of Zoom. In addition, as the evening wore on, I looked at the Zoom pictures more closely. I got to meet my friends, Dean & Amanda’s, new dog. Then I realize other friends are there! Seb & Lori, fellow Zumans! “Pour in the Alley” really brings people together!

Full Disclosure – this happened in May – so what’s happened since?

The Big Rig Jig the sculpture at the entrance to Fergusons Downtown. Made of 2 18 wheelers held together by an s-shaped structure. — The Big Rig Jig the sculpture at the entrance to Fergusons Downtown.

The view as you sit in the amphitheatre at Fergusons Downtown with Mothership Coffee Roasters and the Big Rig Jig Sculpture as you look out onto Fremont Street. — The Big Rig Jig the sculpture at the entrance to Fergusons Downtown.

This glorious evening with Pour in the Alley occurred back in mid-May. Wow. Time flies when you’re stuck at home! Fergusons Downtown has continued to do their Pour in the Alley events, which include Wine, coffee, beer, and a variety of tasty beverages.

I have not had an opportunity to attend another Pour in the Alley event yet. But, I have escaped on a couple of occasions to sip at Mothership coffee.

Fergusons since they reopened have been following safety protocols. They have what I like to think of as a “concierge desk” at the front of the property. There is always someone there to greet you and direct you. They now also make sure you are wearing a mask, when you enter the property (they actually have artisan-crafted masks for sale there also). You can grab a coffee at Mothership and sit out in the amphitheater to enjoy it. The greeters, roam the property, politely reminding folks to put their mask back up after taking a sip. It is a space that feels safe and for that I am grateful.

As to Garagiste? Well they have become my go-to wine shop! You can order online and pick up and they do have tables outside where you can enjoy a glass of wine. I have been by several times to pick up wine. The last time I went to pick up my wine, I asked Eric if they had anything else interesting. He laughed “Everything we have is interesting, it’s what we do!” He’s right of course. He and Mario only pick things they find interesting for their list. You can’t go wrong with wine here.

I have not, since I have been staying in, had the opportunity to get over to Cured & Whey (great name for a cheese shop, right?). But…they are doing online cheese classes! This week they are doing a virtual “Ultimate Grilled Cheese” class. You order ahead, pick up the ingredients curbside and go online for a cheese and cooking class!

You know, if I have to live through a pandemic, I’m awfully glad that I have great local businesses like these to get me through.

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.

Digging into Biodynamic farming with Rod Windrim of Krinklewood

Jun 16, 2020

Last October Michael and I visited Australia and while in the Hunter Valley, we visited Krinklewood Vineyard. Rod Windrim the Vigneron, took us on a walk around the property. Rod is using biodynamic farming methods in his vineyard and it was something I really wanted to discuss with him.

When we met him, he gave us a bit of the history of the vineyard. You can read about that here. It also includes a couple of videos from our visit.

Rod Windrim Vigneron, Krinklewood Biodynamic Vineyard

Varieties in the vineyard

Rod and I start our wander, heading out into the vineyard and he tells me about the varieties they are growing. This includes Semillon, Chardonnay, Verdelho, Shiraz, Tempranillo and a little bit of Gewurztaminer. They were growing Mourvedre, but it just wasn’t suited to the site, so they switched to Tempranillo, which does very well. The Gewurztraminer was added because he really liked adding it to the Verdelho to give it a slightly savory note, and he could not find a place to source it.

They produce some varietal wines and some blends. Their Wild White is a mix of all of their white grapes. The Verdelho was Rod’s alternative to Sauvignon Blanc. Not a fan of “Savy Blanc”, the Verdelho is his answer to a wine that Sauvginon Blanc fans find they like (even if they have trouble pronouncing it.)

With some varieties they must put in a bit of extra work to keep them healthy. With the Tempranillo it is important to keep the canopy open for the breeze to come through, because the big soft Tempranillo leaves are prone to downy mildew. The Semillon, which is so famous for botrytis in Bordeaux, they carefully drop fruit so that none of the bunches are touching. This again, keeps the bunches safe from mildew and disease.

Yeast

I ask if they use native yeast. His answer? They do both native & inoculated. They create a pied de cuve, which you can kind of think of as a sourdough starter.

“We culture our yeast with … the nicest bunches we can get, put them in small carboys then just leave it out of the sun so you get about 25 degree temp and just monitor it with a hydrometer until it gets down to about 6 baume and then shandy it into the…mix it in gradually.”
Rod Windrim, October 2019

Sometimes they have used cultured yeast, when the weather has been uncooperative and they could get good grapes to start the pied de cuve.

The beauty of the site

Krinklewood, biodyamic Vineyard, in New South Wales, The Hunter, Australia

The pond for irrigation at Krinklewood NSW Australia

The vineyard seems like it’s own universe, spread between Yellow Rock (the hills to the East) and Mount Isobel off in the western distance. Mount Broke and Mount Adams frame Drews Creek that feeds into Wollombi Brook. There are neighbors, but you don’t feel like there are.

“It’s heaven! I think being surrounded by mountains, it’s lovely. At night it gets that you can’t see your hand in front of your face. It’s wonderful for lying on the grass, looking at the stars”
Rod Windrim, October 2019

Willa! Our constant joyful companion on our wander at Krinklewood.

Here I must give a shout out to Willa. She was our constant companion joyfully playing on our wander. She is Rod’s daughter Carla’s dog.

Solar for energy efficiency

Rod points out the solar panels in front of us. They have a 15 kw set up here and another 10kw on the other side of the property.

Solar panels at Krinklewood Vineyard Broke in the Hunter Valley of NSW Australia — Solar panels at Krinklewood Vineyard

This leads to……

“we don’t want to rave about organics too much. To me it’s like telling someone you’re honest. The moment someone tells me they’re honest, hmmmm. We feel a little bit the same way about organic and biodynamic and also getting caught in sort of the thing I hate this “I’m more organic than you and I’m more biodynamic than you and all that.”
Rod Windrim, October 2019

But I have asked. This is not marketing or bragging, this is answering the questions I am asking. I like the fact that he is doing this because he believes in it, and does not want it thought of as a marketing ploy.

The Cosmic Pit where they bury the cowhorns for their biodynamic preparations at Krinklewood in NSW Australia

Flow forms for mixing the biodynamic tea preparations for in the vineyard at Krinklewood

Compost at Krinklewood biodynamic Vineyard NSW Australia

We pass the sheds with tractors and cultivators, the flow forms and stainless steel tank for making compost teas. There is a patch with buried cow horns and areas for making compost that has fencing so you can see the layers. These were built back when they did weekend biodynamic classes here with Hamish Mackay.

Influences and sources for biodynamic information

The farming here is just farming biology. Rod rattles off names; Arden Anderson who was a student of Carey Reams. Both do what is called biological farming. He also mentions Elain Ingham, a microbiologist and Philip Calahan, who got into the frequencies plants put out. I am grateful we are recording so I can look up there work later (I’ll include links in case you are curious, below). Rod did his research and he is quite well read on the subject.

I learn from him about biological coverage on leaves from compost teas that keep pests from attacking it. You can check the brix of the sap within the stems of the vines. If the brix are at 16-18, the plant is healthy and the pests won’t attack it. Pests, like predators, attack the weak and unhealthy. This is where Callahan comes in. He was monitoring the frequencies that plants give out and discovered that when they give out certain frequencies, the pests detect it and come running.

Unhealthy conventional farming cycles

There is a cycle that you might be familiar with, that happens in conventional agriculture. You add a fertilizer recommended from a company, nitrogen perhaps. The plants start growing fast. They send out all this soft new tissue and that attracts the pest who come to eat it. Then of course the company recommends a pesticide to kill off those pests. It’s a vicious circle. It’s also about quantity over quality. Add the fertilizer and you get bigger plants, bigger crop, but with less nutritional density.

Natural innovation to save a vintage

I ask about the pressures of summer rains when using biodynamic farming methods. Most of the regions we have seen using these practices are blessed with dry summers. Rod gets excited here. He has a story for me.

“We started using biodynamic preparations here in 2002. We got to 2008 and local contractors and colleges, when we said we’d survived another year, they were like “yeah, but it’s a fucking drought”. 2008 came and it pissed down raining the whole vintage. We had downy starting to break out. Lawson, that worked for me at the time was really awesome. We’d met up with some guys in the cotton industry that were heading toward organic. This guy was breeding a geni of fungi that predated on downy spores. So we got some and made a compost tea, we bred the numbers up and sprayed this out. We survived the vintage with downy and picked every grape on the property.”
Rod Windrim, October 2019

Downy Mildew (Plasmopara vitikola) is a fungal disease that affects a grape leaves. Common grapevine diseases and treatment. *bildlove, Adobe stock*

Downy spores are white on the underside of the leaf. The tea turned them a rusty red color. They hadn’t wanted to give up on biodynamics after working so hard for so many years.

“This wine writer rang me in March after vintage and asked how the vintage was. I said it was pretty tough. He said, so what do you mean? I said it pissed down rain, we got downy breakout. So he said you are going back to…I said No Way! We are convinced now, we can actually wave the flag, we’re biodynamic, cause we survived!”
Rod Windrim, October 2019

We walk around the back and he points out the Verdelho, the Shiraz, the Gewurz, Chard and Semillon that is next to the creek.

Irrigation

I ask about water and Rod says they have a dam and then drip feed. Here you have to irrigate or the vines would not survive. But they only irrigate to keep the biology healthy and breeding. They use the system to place biological food for the vines, like fish emulsion, kelp and molasses.

Soils

Soils here are sandy loam, which are great for white grapes, not so great for red. Red wines want those rich red volcanic soils to make powerful reds like those in McClaren Vale and the Barossa Valley. Here the reds are more akin to a big Pinot Noir.

Spraying biodynamic preparations with a recovery system

Tractor with biodynamic spray and catch unit at Krinklewood

At that point the tractor pulling a sprayer comes toward us. This sprayer has a recovery unit on it. This early in the year there is not as much foliage, so there is a cover on both sides to recover about 80% of what they are spraying. This keeps the spray from being wasted in the air or on the ground.

We spent quite a bit of time with Rod, so check back with us as we continue our walk and get into the winery for a bit of barrel tasting.

The truth of 2020

It’s worth saying that a biodynamic approach can help you through drought, it can help with the health of your vineyard, but there are some things that are beyond the help of biodynamics. Australia and the Hunter Valley were hit with major fires this year. Krinklewood, like so many vineyards in the Hunter, lost an entire vintage to smoke taint. Rod tells me they tested and after getting the results, they did not harvest. After that, they were hit by COVID-19, having their cellar door again closed down.

They have been able to reopen their cellar door, which is an amazing place to get away, enjoy the country, watch the peacocks (who roam and preen), and enjoy some amazing wine. I encourage you to go visit. It will do your soul good. You can taste and see for yourself the difference using a biodynamic approach can make in a wine. The wines here are really spectacular. Make sure you have room in the car to take some home.

Be sure to call ahead and set an appointment. They are appointment only on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, for the moment. Pre-book your tasting by calling 0265791322 or via email [email protected].

You can find them at 712 Wollombi Rd, Broke NSW 2330, Australia

If you see Rod, please tell him I say hello.

Sources & Resources

If you, like me, are fascinated with biodynamics and want to learn more, here is a list of the authors that Rod mentioned.

Krinklewood also has a page devoted on their site to their story with biodynamics that is well worth a read! https://www.krinklewood.com/biodynamics/

One other book, that I really need to pick up and read is The Future Makers -Australian wines for the 21s Century by Max Allen. I met Max at the Wine Media Conference. In his book, he looks at Australian winemakers and vineyard owners, and the directions the wine industry will need to take to combat global warming. He spent some time speaking with Rod about Biodynamics.

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.

Chardonnay: Nuances in expressing site – an example from the Yakima Valley

May 21, 2020

Chardonnay is one of the world’s most popular grapes. A noble grape, its parents are Pinot Noir and Gouais Blanc. We first see mention of it in the 16^th century in Burgundy.

You can find it grown all over the globe. From its home in Burgundy to Australia’s Hunter Valley. You find it in Italy, South Africa, Spain, Chile, Argentina, California, Oregon, Washington…Yes, Washington. We will get to that later.

The Different Styles of Chardonnay

These different regions bring in some of the differences in the wines. With wine grapes, flavors and aromas come from the variety, the location where it is grown (climate and soil) and then the winemaking. Chardonnay is incredibly adaptable.

Chardonnay can have aromas and flavors of yellow apple, citrus, tropical fruit, butter, vanilla, chalk, lime, white flowers, or stone fruit. Warm climates give you tropical notes, cool climates more citrus and pear.

The wine makers hand…

Here there are many variables. It can be as simple as when the winemaker chooses to pick, what the sugar levels are at. Then you can ferment in stainless or in wood. You can allow the wine to go through malolactic fermentation or not, you can age on the lees, you can filter or not filter….so many options that will affect the taste of the wine.

A tale of two Chardonnays

With all these variables that can affect the outcome of a bottle of Chardonnay, what if you eliminate a few. Would the wines then taste the same? We had a chance to investigate the nuances of Chardonnay with two vineyards in Yakima Valley. These vineyards sit in 2 different AVAs within the larger Yakima Valley AVA. DuBrul Vineyard in the Rattlesnake Hills AVA and Roskamp Vineyard in the Snipes Mountain AVA. While they are in two separate AVAs, if you were a crow you would have a 6 to 7-mile flight to get between the two vineyards. Standing in one vineyard, on a clear day, you can easily see the other.

Last year we visited with two winemakers we had met there before. Co Dinn of Co Dinn Cellars and Kerry Shiels of Cote Bonneville. The two both make Chardonnay from these vineyards that look across the Yakima Valley at each other.

Map Yakima Valley 2019 courtesy of WineYakimaValley.org

Co Dinn Chardonnay Roskamp Vineyard Snipes Mountain AVA

Co in Vineyard — Co pointing out DuBrul vineyard to the North

Co Dinn makes his Chardonnay from the Roskamp Vineyard on the Snipes Mountain AVA. Snipes Mountain sits in the middle of the Yakima Valley, an anticline in the Yakima fold belt. The north side is a gentle slope, while the south side is steep, with basement rock exposed.

His Chardonnay sits on the north slope. While that might be odd in most regions, you have much longer days in the growing season here and they rarely have trouble getting fruit to ripen. Keeping the Chardonnay on the north slope gives it the morning sun and keeps it protected from the afternoon heat. They have 3 blocks of Chardonnay here at Roskamp, the one Co pulls from is the most protected. It is planted to the Dijon clones 76 & 96 in a field blend.

These grapes, thanks to the sandy soil in Washington are own rooted. They keep the west side shaded and expose the east side. The vines need more protection from the southwest heat and wind. Soils here on the gentler north slope are deeper, you can see the difference in vigor between these vines and the syrah vines growing closer to the south side.

Co makes his wines in a very traditional way. His chardonnay is barrel fermented with full malolactic fermentation and ages 17 months on the lees. His goal? To really showcase the site.

“I believe that the ultimate expression of a wine is to capture the character of the site. You can make beautiful wines by blending but you lose specificity. I’ve decided to find these special places and to express them. For example, this place is very unique and so are the wines.”
Co Dinn, July 2019

Roskamp Vineyard 04 — The view of Rattlesnack Hills and DuBrul Vineyard from Roskamp Vineyard

Co points out DuBrul Vineyard across the valley to the North. The vineyard there is southwest facing. Theirs is the older clone.

Kerry Shiels, DuBrul Vineyard, Rattlesnake Hills AVA

Dubrul Vineyard with Kerry Shiels — Talking with Kerry Shiels of Côte Bonneville in her DuBrul Vineyard in Yakima

A few days later, we spent the morning with Kerry Shiels at DuBrul Vineyard. This site sits on a basalt upthrust. They have a south facing slope with a cutout that allows for southwest and southeast aspects. They sit high in the foothills of the Rattlesnake Mountains. This unique vineyard with its aspects grows quite a range, from Cabernet Sauvignon to Chardonnay to Riesling!

Mt Adams — Mount Adams, West of the Yakima Valley

The morning we visited the Mountains were out. When you looked to the West you could see Mount Adams to the south and further north in the distance Mt. Rainier.

We spent some time in the cool chardonnay vineyard. This was early July, and they would not pick the Chard until the beginning of September.

Kerry also does her Chardonnay in a classic style with a barrel ferment, full secondary, full malolactic. They keep it on the lees, and it spends about a year and a half in barrel.

“I have a friend who doesn’t like Chardonnay, she says “your chardonnay is good, I recognize the quality, it’s not my favorite grape. Which is fine, but it’s good enough that she says “If I’m going to drink Chardonnay, I’ll drink yours. But I’d rather drink coke”. If you like Burgundian styled classical age-worthy complex balanced Chardonnay, then you are going to like our Chardonnay.”
Kerry Shiels, July 2019

We look across to the South to Snipes Mountain and Roskamp vineyard.

“I think it’s really interesting how different that Chard taste from this Chard.
I mean they are different clones, but also the soil is different. Snipes is its own, geologically it’s totally distinct from this. It’s fun to see that sense of place.“
Kerry Shiels, July 2019

Similarities and Differences

So how did our side by side tasting go? It was interesting. Let’s run down the similarities and differences again.

Chard Pairing — Cote Bonneville 2015 DuBrul Vineyard Chardonnay and Co Dinn 2015 Roskamp Vineyard Chardonnay

Both were barrel fermented, with 17 to 18 months on the lees. They were both unfined and unfiltered and from the same 2015 vintage. Both come from the Yakima Valley, from vineyards just 6 to 7 miles apart. They were both made by winemakers with similar styles, both wanting to showcase the site.

They were Chardonnays from different clones, from 2 different AVAs (regardless of how near they are), the aspects were different with the Roskamp Chardonnay on the gentle North slope and the DuBrul on a South west facing slope. The soils and the microclimates (most definitely the microclimates) are different. Lastly, quite honestly, I don’t know what yeast they each used.

Tasting & Comparing

The Co Dinn Roskamp Chardonnay was plush and creamy with baking spice, whereas the Cote Bonneville was leaner and more elegant with not quite ripe pear notes and a lovely mineral note.

How much of this was the soil, the different aspect, perhaps the picking date? I don’t know, I just find it wonderful and amazing that two wines made from grapes in vineyards that look out on to each other, can be so subtly different.

I’m going to also mention that these are probably two of the finer Chardonnay’s that you will find in the Yakima Valley and they don’t come cheap. In fact, the Cote Bonneville may no longer be available. Pick up the latest vintage. They pride themselves on consistency and it is bound to be good.

The Wines and where to find them

Both of these wineries can be found in Sunnyside Washington, at about the mid point of the Yakima Valley. Both has beautiful historic buildings for tasting rooms and are well worth the trip. But, in these days, when travel is not so easy…you can order them online.

2015 Chardonnay Cote Bonneville SRP $50

Cote Bonneville, Tasting Room Sunnyside Washington

https://www.cotebonneville.com

2015 Co Dinn Chardonnay Roskamp Vineyard SRP $45

https://codinncellars.com/

Other resources on Chardonnay and the Yakima Valley

More on this region from Crushed Grape Chronicles

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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.

Flowers for Julien – Beaujolais in May #Winophiles

May 12, 2020

When I was studying to become a Certified Specialist of Wine, I used certain tricks to be able to remember different regions or appellations. When I tried to remember the Beaujolais Crus I used:

St. Amour loved Julien, he gave her Chenas, and windmills and flowers and took her to Chernoble with Morgan and Reggie to see Brouilly play in her Brouilly Coat.

Might sound silly, but this love affair with St. Amour and Julien stuck in my memory and helps me to always remember the Beaujolais Crus in order from North to south (for the most part). Brouilly was a really cool band in my thoughts.

AdobeStock 119473804 Vignoble Beaujollais jpeg — Vignoble-Beaujolais Map *(by Lozz, Adobe Stock)*

Now I will not profess a great love of Beaujolais. I mean, I love the fun and romance of Beaujolais Nouveau. It’s one of the first wines released each year, in November on the third Thursday of the Month. I remember, long before I fell in love with the details of wine, going with friends to a Beaujolais Day Party. It’s a fun wine, smelling of bananas and bazooka bubble gum, meant for crazy partying, NOT for contemplation.

But truly, other than Beaujolais Nouveau, the only Cru I have tasted was from Moulin-à-Vent. It didn’t float my boat. Now there are a few reasons this might have been, and I certainly should not write off an entire region for one bottle (we tell people this all the time), but there is so much wine out there and so many amazing regions, that given the choice, I would always opt for a different region, other than Beaujolais. So, the French #Winophiles diving in to Beaujolais this month…well it was time to give Beaujolais another try. I’m certainly glad I did.

Each month the French #Winophiles gather to ponder on a French wine region. Each will write a piece, tasting a wine, perhaps doing a pairing. They might reminisce on a trip to the region, or dive head first into research and daydreaming or planning a trip. You’ll find a list of those pieces at the bottom.

Then on the 3^rd Saturday of the month (this month it is May 16^th) we gather on Twitter at 8 am Pacific time (a much more reasonable 11 am if you are on the East Coast) and following #Winophiles you can join in on the conversation. Do you have a favorite Beaujolais? Or do you want to learn about the region? Grab a cup of coffee (or wine) and join us.

Beaujolais

Okay, let’s talk about where we are. First off, this is France. Beaujolais is the red-headed step-child region that sits south of Burgundy, on the West side of the Saône river. The region is just 34 miles long and 7-9 miles wide.

The Northern part of the region sits on Granite soils, while the southern portion is mostly clay.

A little about Gamay

Gamaygrapesonvineswithlushgreenleaves — Gamay grapes on vines with lush green leaves *(photo by Gaelfphoto, Adobe Stock)*

Gamay and Its Parents

Gamay arrived into this world in the 14th century, the result of a hookup between the elegant stately Pinot Noir and that peasant girl Gouais. Who is Gouais you ask? Well, Gouais at this particular time was the most widely planted white grape in Western Europe. They went their separate ways, but hooked up again in the 16th or 17th century resulting in another love child, Chardonnay. Gouais has almost disappeared. It is found in only a handful of vineyards today.

The Disinheritance

In 1395, Peter the Bold officially banned Gamay from the Côte d’Or in Burgundy. He called it a “disloyal variety” and even claimed it was harmful causing disease in humans. He gave the vineyard owners 5 months to pull it all out. And there was a lot to pull out.

Here’s the deal. Pinot Noir is bratty to grow and doesn’t put out a lot of fruit. Gamay on the other hand, is generous and easy. This was the time of the Black Plague, something we can all relate to a bit these days. As a result there were not many peasants available to tend the fields, thus not much food and wine, making for even fewer peasants. A vicious circle. Gamay was easy to grow and by adding fertilizer, like manure and grape skins, vineyard owners could produce large quantities of fruit, with less work.

Philip however, needed to keep up appearances and he wanted his Pinot, which was very respected. So, Gamay was disinherited from Burgundy. It kept its home in Beaujolais and today, the region is dedicated to this grape.

The continuing roller coaster of quality

The Beaujolais offers vine-covered panoramas of undulating hills, winding country roads, forgotten hamlets built upon wine cellars & unspoiled natives who like visitors. Beaujolais has everything a wine-loving tourist could desire, except good wine.
Kermit Lynch, “Adventures on the Wine Route”, 1988

In the 1980s when Kermit Lynch wrote this, he was lamenting the quality of wine at that time. The marketing machine that is Beaujolais Nouveau had made quality wine in Beaujolais of scant quantity. He spoke with people who remembered Beaujolais as a quaffable, amiable wine that went beautifully with the rich dishes of the region. These dishes worked up a thirst and made you go back to the glass again and again, which was why it was good that these wines rarely clocked in above 11 abv.

Adventures on the wine route by Kermit Lynch. 25th Anniversary Edition Published in 1988 *(photo Crushed Grape Chronicles)*

The winemaker Jules Chauvet, who Lynch spoke with at that time, was frustrated with chapitalization (the adding of sugar) to increase alcohol levels as well as filtering to make a clean and pristine wine that consumers in the New World were clamouring for, afraid of a little cloudiness in their wine.

It’s a little reminiscent of Philip’s earlier laments, n’est pas? Like so many wine regions, it seems as though Beaujolais has a continuing roller coaster of quality. However, my wines, though both over 13%, were balanced and didn’t seem to have been chapitalized. Perhaps we are back on a quality swing.

Lynch also quotes Jean-Baptiste Chaudet, who had been a leading wine merchant in Paris. Chaudet said:

The day the consumer demands a more natural product, the winemakers will be obliged to take up the methods of their ancestors.
Jean-Baptiste Chaudet, from Kermit Lynch’s Adventures on the Wine Route

We are that voice. I have heard that natural wines in Beaujolais are on the rise.

Carbonic & semi-carbonic masceration

When we are drinking Beaujolais Nouveau, we are drinking a wine made through carbonic masceration. What is that? Well first let’s discuss what it’s not.

Normally when making wine, you bring in the grapes and crush them, sometimes you let them soak on the skins, then you ferment them.

With carbonic maceration, you reverse this, fermenting and then crushing. You bring in the fruit, put it in a sealed tank and blanket the grapes with CO² so that an enzymatic process begins, which causes the berries to ferment inside their skin.

With semi-carbonic maceration, the weight of the fruit crushes some of the fruit on the bottom, which begins to ferment. The fermentation produces CO² which pushes the oxygen out of the tank and again, the berries ferment inside their skins. After 8-12 days they are then crushed and we proceed with winemaking as normal.

This technique can create notes of banana, candied fruit, pear, raspberry and sometimes even bubble gum.

Nouveau wines made in this method go directly into bottle, but the Cru wines will often see oak and some aging. There are also some Cru wines that are made without this method. Both of my wines used the semi-carbonic maceration method.

The Crus

There are 10 villages designated as Beaujolais Crus. From North to South they are:

Saint-Amour
Juliénas
Chénas
Moulin-à-Vent
Fleurie
Chiroubles
Régniê
Morgon
Côte de Brouilly
Brouilly

Below and around these villages you find the Beaujolais-Villages AOC and then Beaujolais AOC.

Styles of Beaujolais Crus

The wines of the Beaujolais Crus can broadly be divided into into three styles:

Lighter Styles
- Chiroubles
- Fleurie
- Saint-Amore
Fuller-Bodied Styles
- Brouilly
- Côte de Brouilly
- Juliénas
- Régnié
Age Worthy Styles
- Chénas
- Moulin-à-Vent
- Morgon

(I’ve seen several different versions of this break down. You will have to taste for yourself to see what you think.)

This brings us back to why I wanted to try 2 different Crus this time around. When I tasted before, it was a 2015 Moulin-à-Vent. I was tasting in 2019. This is a wine worthy of aging. Perhaps, it just was not aged enough? Or…it might have been stored poorly and as a result, when I got it home, it had lost something. Of course, I might have been having a bad day (maybe it was a leaf or root day on the biodynamic calendar?). Or, it might have just not been a good wine. Regardless, I was ready to try the other styles of Beaujolais Crus, picking a lighter style in Fleurie and a fuller style in Juliénas.

So a little more on these specific regions:

Fleurie

Fleurie, the Queen of Beaujolais, sits at a higher altitude, on steep slopes. The mount of La Madone towers above the appellation. Soil here is 90% pink granite. The wines are said to be lighter and more aromatic with notes of roses, iris, violet, ripe red fruit and peach.

Domain Lathuilier Gravallon

The estate our wine comes from has 15 hectares of vineyards in 6 different Beaujolais appellations. Two of these hectares are in the Beaujolais AOC, one in Beaujolais Villages and the remaining 12 hectares are in 4 of the Beaujolais Crus including: Chiroubles, Fleurie, Morgon and Brouilly Pisse Vielle.

The Domaine is not certified Organic or Biodynamic, but they do try to work in an eco-friendly way. They do not use chemical treatments or fertilizers, and use cover crops in some of their vineyards. The vineyards are located on slopes of between 20 and 40 degrees.

Wines are produced in a semi-carbonic method. After hand harvesting, and some de-stemming, berries do an 8-10 day maceration. After malo-lactic fermentation, some of the wines go into oak for 3-12 months. Wines are then lightly filtered and bottled.

Juliénas

Juilienasvillageatfall — Julienas village at fall *(photo by Alec, Adobe Stock)*

Juliénas takes its name from Julius Caesar. Vineyards sit between 230 and 430 meters. The region has ancient roman sites and the soils here are the most diverse of all the Crus with slate, diorites, sandstone and to the west, clay. Wines from this region have notes of strawberry, peach, cinnamon, violet, and peony.

Pardon & Fils

The Pardon family has been in Beaujolais since 1820, when the family-owned a vineyard at Hermitage in Régnié Durette. In the early 20^th century, they were marketing! Their wines appearing in many French cities, including Paris. They are primarily negociants.

They currently own vineyards in Régnié-Durette, Beaujeu and Fleurie, but produce wines from all 10 Crus.

On to the Wines

Domaine Lathuiliere Gravallon Fleurie Grand-Pre 2017

Fruit for this wine comes from a 1.91 hectare vineyard on granite soils. The vines average 50 years old.

Grapes here are hand-harvested, partially de-stemmed, and then vinified in the traditional vinification method of semi-carbonic maceration. They are vatted for 8-10 days under temperature before pressing. Cellaring potential is 3-5 years. So this is not a wine for long aging.

The nose on this was elegant, with cranberry and red fruit, then the wafting floral scent of violets. On the palate, it was red cherry and cranberry. This wine is generous, but carries itself with grace and elegance.

Suggested pairings: Duck, guinea fowl, quail, thin charcuterie, ham with parsley, veal, lamb and soft cheeses. This wine sits at 13% abv and the SRP is $22.99.

Pardon & Fils Les Mouilles Juliénas 2017

Les Mouilles is a climate located above the village of Juliénas facing south. These are clay soils and the wine can age for 5 or more years. The wine goes through semi-carbonic maceration for 10-12 days before pressing and malo-lactic fermentation. It ages 6 to 8 months in tank before filtering and bottling.

The nose on this wine was immediately earthier, with a little smokey meat on it. The red fruit was there as well as dried herbs, peach and a touch of cinnamon. On the palate this was darker and a little broodier than the Fleurie.

Suggested pairings were: Meat, creamy poultry, rare beef, smoked meats and brie. The Julienas sits at 13.5% abv and the SRP is $19.99.

Pairings

Soft cheeses with two Cru wines from Beaujolais

We chose to savor these wines over a cheese and charcuterie platter. We chose, brie, feta and a honey chevre, plus prosciutto, Italian sausage, cranberries, almonds and pickled cherries.

The wines went beautifully with everything. The simple pairing allowed us to really take the time to appreciate these wines.

Beaujolais from Fleurie and Julienas with Ahi Tuna

We went back the next day and did a simple pairing of Ahi Tuna Steaks with a salad. We did just a light drizzle of a ginger soy sauce at the end. This again was good with both wines, but I especially enjoyed it with the Fleurie, where it brightened the tuna and increased the floral notes in the wine.

The French #Winophiles

I only tasted from two of the Beaujolais Crus. Get ready to explore these and more with the other #Winophiles. They are bound to have exceptional wines and pairings!

Wendy from A Day in the Life on the Farm experiences “A Casual COVID19 Visit with Charcuterie and Chateau de Poncie Le Pre Roi Fleurie”
Camilla from Culinary Adventures with Cam pairs “Tuna Pâté + Joseph Drouhin Hospices De Belleville Brouilly 2016”
Jill at l’Occasion explores “Soil + Wind: Tasting Cru Beaujolais with Château du Moulin-à-Vent”
Payal of Keep the Peas is “Welcoming Summer with a Berry Delicious Brouilly”
Lynn at Savor the Harvest finds “Fleurie – The Princess Queen of Beaujolais Crus #Winophiles”
Jane at Always Ravenous explores “Cru Beaujolais: Tasting and Food Pairings”
Jeff at Food, Wine, Click enjoys “Cru Beaujolais at the Grill”
Linda at My Full Wine Glass discovers “Gamay and Granite – A Beaujolais Love Story #Winophiles”
Susannah Gold at Avvinare finds “Cru Beaujolais – An Endless Discovery”
Pinny at Chinese Food and Wine Pairing discovers “Cru Beaujolais – Cedric Lathuiliere Fleurie Paired with Frog Legs #Winophiles”
Nicole at Somms Table explains “Julien Sunier Régnié and a Focaccia Fail”
Lauren at The Swirling Dervish meets “Morgon de Jean-Pau Thévenet, One of the Beaujolais Gang of Four”
Kat at The Corkscrew Concierge is “Exploring the Differences & Pairing Versatility of Cru Beaujolais”
Martin at Enofylz Wine Blog considers “A Taste of Chénas, Beaujolais’ Rarest Cru”
Cindy at Grape Experiences, explores “The Wines of Fleurie – An Enchanting Introduction to Cru Beaujolais”
Terri of Our Good Life pairs Cru Beaujolais with Rustic Foods.
Gwendolyn at Wine Predator is Comparing Louis Tete’s 2016 Brouilly and Morgan Gamay from Beaujolais With Pairings.

Resources

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

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

Le Cigare Blanc 2015 – a pairing, a look back and a look forward

May 12, 2020

This wasn’t meant to be a post. It was supposed to be a quick dinner and a bottle of wine. So, I was a bit nostalgic when Michael brought up the Le Cigare Blanc 2015. We didn’t even really plan the pairing, we just knew it would be a white wine.

I’ve been thinking about Bonny Doon and Randall Graham quite a bit lately. I had just seen his tweet about writing his last DEWN club letter and being a bit emotional.

Randall sold Bonny Doon back in January of 2020 to WarRoom Ventures. So the tasting room is gone…the beautiful one across from Bonny Doon beach in Davenport California. All of those amazing wines, some made in carboys, the festive and clever labels and art… The club shipment, going out next month, would be the last.

Le Cigare Volant at the Bonny Doon Tasting Room

The new owners will continue with just 4 wines, the most popular of course. the flagship red Rhône blend Le Cigare Volant; Le Cigare Blanc (the later version based on Vermentino); Vin Gris de Cigare (a Rhône varietal rosé); and a 100% Picpoul. They will just make a lot more of each of these wines.

It feels like the end of an era. Randall, the original Rhône Ranger, has been making beautiful, quirky wines with Bonny Doon since he founded it in 1983. It’s the playful while scientific exploration that I will miss most. Interesting varieties, made in interesting ways. I discovered it all too late in my wine exploration and was not able to sample nearly enough of these wines.

But let’s get to the…

Le Cigare Blanc 2015

Le Cigare Volant Blanc 2015 from Bonny Doon — Le Cigare Blanc 2015 from Bonny Doon

This wine is 55% Grenache Blanc, 39% Roussanne and 9% Picpoul. The grapes hail from the Beeswax Vineyard on the Central Coast, in the Arroyo Seco region of Monterey County.

This wine was a full yellow/gold color and when first opening the bottle and pouring, I got notes of Petrol, or lanolin. It came off a little like a Semillon, quite honestly. As it opened, I got notes of Asian Pear, Lime Pith and citrus fruit. It was dry, full and had a long finish.

While I enjoyed the wine, I felt it was missing something. I sincerely feel that we opened it in a closed phase. The tropical notes from original tasting notes I read, had all disappeared and that Roussanne had yet to blossom into the wonderousness that it will eventually become. So… more sadness. It’s the only bottle I had. I will not have the opportunity to taste this again when it has matured a bit, and I missed the chance to taste it when it was younger. That’s the thing, wines change…the world changes. So, I will just sit and, like Randall writing his newsletter, be a little emotional about the fact that this bottle is now gone.

Pairing with Tumeric shrimp & poblanos

I had already started our dinner from Sun Basket, which was Turmeric-mojo shrimp with roasted carrots and poblano. I was a bit skeptical of this dish as I prepared it, but it came together and was really good!

How was the pairing? It was fine. The food was good, the wine was good. Sometimes that has to be enough. I have a feeling I will be pretty stingy about pulling out bottles of Bonny Doon from the cellar to drink from now on. It’s okay, I will sit patiently and wait, while Randall works away at Popelouchum, his new (well new as in started in 2011) project in San Juan Bautista, building a vineyard from scratch. At Popelouchum he is propagating new vines and putting together a New World Grand Cru. I know it will be worth the wait.

More on Bonny Doon

We’ve written about Randall and Bonny Doon before. Here’s a list of some of our other pieces you might want to peruse.

Sources & resources

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 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.

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

Lowe Wine – 2015 Nullo Mountain Riesling

Apr 9, 2020

While visiting with David Lowe at Lowe Wine in Mudgee NSW Australia, David poured us a glass of his 2015 Riesling from Nullo Mountain. In addition to the Tinja vineyard where the winery is located and where we were sitting, David gets fruit from Orange as well as from a unique vineyard outside of Rylstone.

Rylstone

Rylstone is a town within the Mudgee Region about 45 minutes Southeast of Mudgee. This heritage town is the gateway to the Wollemi National Park and the Bylong Valley.

Nullo Mountain

If you continue past Rylstone and head north east you come to Nullo Mountain, a high mountain plateau. It is here that you will find Louee’s Nullo Mountain vineyard. The vineyard is 4.45 hectares growing Riesling, sauvignon blanc, pinot noir, pinot gris and Nebbiolo.

“This is from a vineyard in Mudgee that is organic and bio-dynamic. It was a vineyard that I semi-leased I suppose, it’s a Riesling and it grows at 1100 meters (that’s 3600 feet!). So we are climatically in the Pfalz region of Germany.”
David Lowe, October 2019

Managing Acidity in high altitude vineyards

1100 meters is quite a difference from the approximately 470 meters that the Tinja Vineyard sits at. David turned to organic and biodynamic winemakers in Pfalz including Bürklin-Wolf to learn about how they handle riesling at this altitude.

David explains that with high altitude sites, you must deal with acidity differently.

In most of Australia and much of the west coast of the United States you have warm to hot climates which translates into wines with little acid that need to be ameliorated. (Ameliorate is defined as “to make better, but in wine it is more specific. To ameliorate a wine is to add water to the unfermented must.) It’s different in cooler climates.

“Acidity has flavor and fruit, so you have to manage the acidity and sugar balance. So we’ve made this wine. We keep it 4 years because as a young wine it’s a bit acidulous, and it’s developed it’s own texture in time with age. People are responding to the fact that it’s a fresh clean limey wine, but the bottle age is just a bit more complex. We’ve taken the edge off the acidity. That’s volcanic soil grown 70 km from here. So we are climatically in Germany, 70 km from here.”
David Lowe, October 2019

Lowe Wine 2015 Riesling Nullo Mountain back label Mudgee NSW Australia — Lowe Wine 2015 Riesling Nullo Mountain back label

This wine was beautiful and bright and David expects it will mature and develop over the next 20 years.

More to come…

We will continue our conversation with David, diving into the drought, soils bio-dynamics and more.

Links for more details…

If you want more information on Lowe Wine you can check out some other pieces we have written below. We will also give you the link to their website as well as a link to Visit Mudgee, where they have great information on this entire region, including Rylstone!

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.

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.

The Valley Grove Vineyard and the future of Armstrong Family Winery

Mar 25, 2020

The Valley Grove Vineyard

It was a lovely afternoon in the Walla Walla Valley and Tim & Jennifer walked us around the property. (You can hear the crunch, crunch of the gravel under our feet in the video). Their Valley Grove Vineyard is located just north of Walla Walla Washington.

From the Blue Mountains to the Ocean

We walked down to where they hope to build their winery. Tim pointed out the tree line, which is the property line. It is also where the creek flows. This creek flows into the Walla Walla River, then into the Snake River and eventually into the Columbia River. Then the Columbia carries this water through Portland Oregon and finally out to the Pacific Ocean. The creek is fed by the Blue Mountains, which we can see in the distance. Over the course of a year the creek rises and falls pretty dramatically. Rain or snow melt will see it rise 5 to 6 feet beyond where we see it now.

The vision for the future

Where the winery will be…

The winery will be built in this area facing the Blue Mountains to the west. They will landscape and add some more vineyard. The idea is to include a porch where people can take in this view. There will be grass. It will be a place where people can wander and take in the splendor. (Oh dear…yes, I have been binging West World)

The park

We walk on to the pond, the area they like to call The Park. It is a man made irrigation pond. Already it is beautiful, with lavender around the edges and some fish. They will landscape here and picture dinners and maybe a band. (They have Wednesday night Jazz at their Walla Walla tasting room, an event we will get to later on this day).

History on display

The bare cliff wall below the Audrey block at Amstrong Family Winery's Valley Grove Vineyard — The bare cliff wall below the Audrey block at Amstrong Family Winery’s Valley Grove Vineyard

We walk on beyond a bridge that straddles the creek and turn to see this amazing exposure of soil, a cliff or ledge of sorts, beneath the Audrey block of Cabernet. Here you can see the layers of wind blown loess that the roots are growing through, and eventually the layers of ancient riverbed.

Nature won't be kept down. A couple of reborn volunteers in one of the pulled up blocks at Amstrong Family Winery's Valley Grove Vineyard — Nature won’t be kept down. A couple of reborn volunteers in one of the pulled up blocks

We walk to another old vineyard patch. There are a few straggly vines popping up. This used to be a vineyard but with winter damage they determined to pull it up. Still, vines struggles to continue, trying to come back. Eventually they will plant vines here again. They are pondering on Cab Franc, or Riesling or perhaps Gamay. While there is not much of any Gamay planted in Walla Walla, Tim things it might do well. It’s cold hardy and you can harvest it early to make a lighter red or rosé.

The historic barn

The Historic Barn at the Armstrong Family Winery’s Valley Grove Vineyard
Built in 1895, the barn is on the Historic Barn Register

As we walk to the barn, Tim tells us why he feels the so important.

The thing about it is that it kind of connects this site to the history of this land. This is agriculture and it has been agriculture. It’s just really neat to have that history here and be able to tell the story about how, it wasn’t grapes, but people have been farming here for a really long time. We like the historical character that that barn brings to the property and how it ties us to the history.
Tim Armstrong, July 2019

The barn dates to 1895 and they do have it registered with the Heritage Barn Register. Considering the shape it is in, it is probably beyond repair, as far as actually turning it into a usable building from health department standards. Barns were not built for those kind of things. Still the historic character of this building and it’s iconic presence on the property…they will keep it for it’s historic character.

The vines are older than they look

We walk on to the Emily block of Cabernet which you drive past to arrive at the house and cottage. The vines here are almost 20 years old, but by looking at them you would not immediately know this. When they bought the vineyard, there was some extreme winter damage and the vines needed to be retrained. They have spent the last few years doing just that.

The vines were cut back to the roots, the new shoots grew to become the trunk and now after 3 years they were going to get their first harvest in 2019. This is different than planting new vines, the grapes have the advantage of a root system that has already had time to dig deep.

When you look closely you can see that the base of the plant is pretty big. Where it enters the ground the base is about 1 foot in diameter. Tim pointed out the suckers at the bottom of the vines.

This is the grapevine basically saying “I’ve got tons of energy in my root system, more energy than the canopy is currently supporting based on the trunk size.” So it is just pushing up suckers. We’ve been through here to clean this up once this year, an we’ll go through to clean it up again, here in the next couple of weeks.
Tim Armstrong, July 2019

Clones and canopy management

This is all clone 4 cabernet. Clone 4 is the Mendoza clone which was imported from Argentina. This clone is noted for it’s typicality, the herbal character that Cabernet Sauvignon is known for.

Vines running North to South in the Valley Grove Vineyard in the Walla Walla AVA

Vineyards here run north south, so canopy management is pretty straight forward. The morning side of the vines will have the leaves thinned to allow the grapes to soak up the sun. On the afternoon side, where the sun will be much hotter, they allow the vines more sprawl, leaves covering and protecting the bunches of grapes from sunburn.

Other sources

While this year they will make their first estate wine from the Valley Grove vineyard, they have been making wine since 2010. In that time they have connected with several vineyards where they continue to source fruit. They are making wines that are both Walla Walla AVA as well as Columbia Valley AVA.

Tim tells us about Discovery Vineyard in the Horse Heaven Hills.

they have this amazing vineyard site that sits up above the Columbia River, literally on the bluff above the river, looking into Oregon. It’s just this gorgeous site with the wind coming up the river all day long.
Tim Armstrong on the Discovery Vineyard in Horse Heaven Hills, July 2029

In addition, they pull fruit from Walla Walla’s Seven Hills Vineyard. Seven Hills is one of the 1st commercial vineyards in Walla Walla. From the Yakima Valley they source from Dineen, outside of Zillah and Sugarloaf. The Bogie’s blend we tasted with them on the patio is a Syrah/Cab Franc blend that comes from Elephant Mountain. (add the link to elephant Mountain)

Visiting them

While they work toward building their winery on site, they work out of a Walla Walla custom crush facility. But don’t worry, there are lots of ways to experience their wine. They have tasting rooms in both Woodinville (outside Seattle) and in Walla Walla. The Walla Walla tasting room is charming with a great staff and Jazz on Wednesday nights.

If you want to see the barn and the beautiful Valley Grove Vineyard, you can book a stay at the Armstrong Vineyard Cottage. This beautiful vacation rental on the property has two bedrooms and a wrap around porch, a full kitchen and a fireplace. You are likely to meet Bogie, their beagle or the resident cats, while you take in the breathtaking views.

Winery tasting room Located at 14 W. Main Street in Walla Walla

Armstrong Family Winery

The Walla Walla Tasting Room is located at

14 W Main St
Walla Walla, WA
509-524-8494

If you are interested in staying at the guest house check out this link https://www.armstrongwinery.com/visit/guesthouse/

You can see more on the history of Armstrong Family Wines here

The Woodinville Tasting Room

19151 144th Ave. NE, Ste. I
Woodinville, WA 98072

Armstrong Family Winery – The Journey to Washington

Mar 18, 2020

We were driving through rolling hills of fields of wheat for as far as the eye could see. This is the Armstrong Family Winery’s Valley Grove Vineyard. It is their home and an oasis in the wheat fields.. You’ve seen it. It’s popular for car commercials these days, and for good reason. It’s spectacular, and eerie. The vastness makes you feel at once both immense in this wide open vista and extremely small.

Armstrong Family Winery Barn at the Valley Grove Vineyard built in 1895 with clouds above — The Historic Barn at the Armstrong Family Winery’s Valley Grove Vineyard

So this is wine country? You wouldn’t guess that from the scenery. We were driving North out of the city of Walla Walla Washington, past the penitentiary and into the open fields of wheat. Finally, we turned and came upon a green patch. Turning in, we crossed the creek to a spot of green with trees, vineyard, a house and cottage and a spectacular historic barn.

We sat with Tim & Jennifer Armstrong on their back patio overlooking the Audrey block of cabernet sauvignon.

Armstrong Family Winery

It started in Chicago

Neither of them were really into wine to start with. It wasn’t part of their lives, even as young adults (I can relate to this personally). When they got married, Tim had a little interest in wine. He had been to New York and someone poured him a glass of Opus One (lucky guy).

Well, this hooked him on Bordeaux wines and soon enough he was spending a good bit on wine and investing in Bordeaux futures! His pragmatic wife Jenifer asked “Hey, do you know what you are doing?” He found an online class from the UC Davis extension that they both took.

They literally would mail DVD’s
Jennifer Armstrong, July 2019

Yep, they are a little dated by this. They sat in their Chicago bungalow learning about wine and Tim realized that this was his calling. He had grown up in Wisconsin surrounded by farms, and while the family didn’t farm he had a propensity for mechanical things. That and his love for wine…he’d found his bliss. Jen was skeptical, but supportive.

A bottle of Merlot

How did they decide on Washington? Here’s the story. It all kind of started with a bottle of Merlot.

So when we were in Chicago, we were buying mostly Bordeaux, getting progressively geekier about those wines and paying a lot of attention to the wine that we were drinking. One day Tim came home with a bottle of Walla Walla Merlot. It was a Walla Walla Vintners bottle.
Jennifer Armstrong, July 2019

They had been thinking about wine making and researched different regions. Virginia & North Carolina, came up since they were near to Jen’s family. They thought about New York with the Finger Lakes region. With Tim in the technology industry, the Bay area was an idea, but that bottle of Walla Walla Merlot….

We tasted it and were kind of blown away. It tasted like the Bordeaux that we had fallen in love with.
Jennifer Armstrong, July 2019

What blew them away? Tim says this bottle was new world fruit with the structure and earthiness they loved about Bordeaux.

It really was striking this balance between old world wines and the California west coast wines that we had gotten to know.
Tim Armstrong, Armstrong Family Winery, July 2019

Armstrong Family Wines start in Woodinville

So now Washington was a viable option for them. They spent a couple years doing research and paying attention to the region. When an opportunity to move to Washington for Tim’s job came up, they made the move. This was the opportunity to be a part of a world class wine region. Something you can’t do in Napa or Sonoma without coming in with a large fortune. In Washington it is still possible to own a small vineyard and make wine, without being a millionaire.

Tim flew to Seattle and a friend told him he needed to check out Woodinville. He was blown away. Here people kept their day jobs and moonlighted as winemakers! It occurred to them that they could pursue this and get started right here.

They moved out in 2010 buying grapes even before the furniture was delivered. They met people at a wine shop and then a brewer/winemaking supplies company who referred them to people in the warehouse district where they bought a couple hundred pounds of grapes.

Immersive education and a fast track to winemaking

Tim arrived on Jennifer’s birthday in October around 7:30 am to pick up the grapes. Well, the grapes were not there. While he waited (until 4 pm) for the grapes he had them put him to work. He had his first experience in a commercial winery that day. Waiting for those grapes, he helped out, cleaning things and shoveling grape must.

The next summer he called John Patterson of Patterson Cellars in Woodinville. Tim told John he wanted to make some wine and work with him. John tried to talk him out of it. He was unsuccessful. In 2011 Tim & Jen contracted 6 tons of grape and made their first vintage. So the 2010 home batch they started…by the time it was ready to bottle, they were bottling it in a commercial winery. Fast tracking for sure.

Tim dove into classes with the WSU extension as well as South Seattle Community College. As the business evolved they signed a lease at the end of 2012 and opened their own space in 2013. 2013 they did their own crush, in their own facility in Woodinville. By 2016 they had 52 tons of grapes in that tiny spot. They had upgraded equipment, but it was just Tim, Jennifer and Jennifer’s Dad doing it all.

They played the winery tetras game, which was more difficult in this area. The Warehouse district tasting rooms were open all day, so you couldn’t utilize outdoor space in the parking lot until late at night. They pulled 10 all nighters that harvest. They determined it was time to make a change.

The Walla Walla spell

They fell for Walla Walla. It’s easy to do. A drive through town will have you enchanted and you won’t ever want to leave. So they didn’t. They found a small vineyard north of town that was for sale and their fate was sealed. With a vineyard, a house, a historic barn, a creek, a guest cottage…it was perfect.

Not that it was easy. The spot was originally out of their budget. They kept their eye on it and eventually the price came down. Sadly it went under contract just before they got to it. Their disappointment only lasted a day, when a friend in the industry told them the contract fell through. They drove up from Seattle immediately and the rest is history.

The Valley Grove Vineyard is 22 acres with 2 blocks of cabernet sauvignon. They had to do some retraining of the 17 year old vines and pulled their first harvest in 2019. They now have 2 tasting rooms, one in Woodinville and one in Walla Walla, and they have plans for the winery they want to build here on site.

Our conversation didn’t end there. Join us as we talk about the history of the vineyard, and their plans for this beautiful spot just outside of Walla Walla.

For More information

Want more information? You can visit their website or read the other pieces we’ve written about them.

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.

Wine Making

The Jura

The Côtes du Jura

Savagnin the grape & the wine

Ouillé

Savagnin

Vin Jaune

Domaine Benoit Badoz Côtes du Jura Savagnin 2011

What to pair with a Savagnin?

Our Savagnin and how it paired

The French Winophiles

Sources, resources and further reading.

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Tablas Creek

A little bit about Regenerative Organic Certified (or ROC)

Regenerative Organic Certification at Tablas Creek

Lighter bottles – good for the environment and the budget

Tablas Creek Pairing for Harvest

2018 Tablas Creek Grenache Blanc

Pairing with fish and fennel

Wine Pairing Weekend #winepw

More on Tablas Creek

More on Harvest

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Pour in the Alley

Let’s start with the cheese by Cured & Whey!

About Greg Brewer the Winemaker

The Wines – Diatom & Ex Post Facto

Diatom Chardonnay from Bar-M Vineyard

ExPost Facto Syrah

Full Disclosure – this happened in May – so what’s happened since?

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Varieties in the vineyard

Yeast

The beauty of the site

Solar for energy efficiency

Influences and sources for biodynamic information

Unhealthy conventional farming cycles

Natural innovation to save a vintage

Irrigation

Soils

Spraying biodynamic preparations with a recovery system

The truth of 2020

Sources & Resources

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The Different Styles of Chardonnay

The wine makers hand…

A tale of two Chardonnays

Co Dinn Chardonnay Roskamp Vineyard Snipes Mountain AVA

Kerry Shiels, DuBrul Vineyard, Rattlesnake Hills AVA

Similarities and Differences

Tasting & Comparing

The Wines and where to find them

Other resources on Chardonnay and the Yakima Valley

More on this region from Crushed Grape Chronicles

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Beaujolais

A little about Gamay

Gamay and Its Parents

The Disinheritance

The continuing roller coaster of quality

Carbonic & semi-carbonic masceration

The Crus

Styles of Beaujolais Crus

Fleurie

Domain Lathuilier Gravallon

Juliénas

Pardon & Fils

On to the Wines

Domaine Lathuiliere Gravallon Fleurie Grand-Pre 2017

Pardon & Fils Les Mouilles Juliénas 2017

Pairings

The French #Winophiles

Resources

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