Herman Story - a winery you need to know

The Share the Bottle ethos is "shared bottles are the best bottles," which happens to be how we discover most of our wine. A friend shares a great bottle of wine with us, we end up visiting the winery to learn more, become hooked, and then tell you about it. One of our favorite wineries that we've discovered this way is Herman Story.

Sharing Herman Story wine with Gaby and SteveA few years ago, our friends Gaby and Steve shared some Herman Story wine with us. They had their own great story to share and wanted to serve the wine that went with it.

Gaby and Steve had recently made a trip to Paso Robles and went out for a day of wine tasting. There were several wineries on their itinerary, but they ended up spending their whole day drinking wine and swapping stories with Russell P. From, Herman Story's owner, winemaker, and sole employee.

Did I mention the wine was outstanding?

Of course we had to go, so we made plans to visit Herman Story when we made a trip to Paso Robles in 2011 (First Impression: Paso Robles Wine Country). 

We had such a great time that managed to take just one picture:

Hank, Herman Story's winery dog

Sally enjoying a bottle of On the Road at Antica TrattoriaWe learned there's a lot to like about this winery beyond the outstanding wines. It starts with Russell, who makes you feel like you are drinking wine with a buddy, albeit one who knows an awful lot about winemaking. When we visited his tasting room, we spent two hours chatting with Russell and his girlfriend, trying different wines and talking about everything from the wine industry to camping.

Everything he sells is the same price (currently $42 per bottle), and he pretty much sells out of whatever he makes. You can join the wine club, but there's a wait list, so getting your hands on a bottle feels like winning a prize. Despite the exclusivity of his wine, his casual approach is refreshing. The last wine club shipment announcement we received contained an offer to have him come to your house and pour wine for your friends as long as you let him crash on your couch.

You can also pretty much guarantee that Herman Story won't be on your local restaurant's wine list. Which, of course, is another great way to start a conversation and perhaps share a bottle.

Every bottle can't be a winner - even if it's wine you like

It’s always interesting to try a favorite wine a second time. Last weekend, Sally and I shared a bottle of 2008 Halter Ranch Cotes de Paso. The last time we drank this wine, we gave it rave reviews (“If you taste something good, don’t let it get away”) and I lamented not buying a second bottle after we enjoyed it at a restaurant. Sally later surprised me with another bottle as a present, but it was a bit of a mixed bag the second time around.

We drank the wine with a wonderful feast Sally made comprised of some of my favorites: French onion soup for starters, veal brisket with root vegetables for the main course, and tiramisu for dessert. The meal was incredible. The wine was very good, but it wasn’t on par with the first time bottle.

The first time, we gave the wine our coveted “ingredients to dessert” nod, meaning it was good enough to open while you were cooking and would still taste delicious by the time you got to dessert. Assuming you had some left, of course! The second time around, we felt it definitely wasn’t in this class. Even the tasting notes were a little different, with the flavor profile being pleasant, but a little less robust and refined than the first time.

It's even interesting to compare our flavor notes:

Bottle #1: cocoa, earthiness, and blackberry

Bottle #2: strawberry, apple, and raisin

I may now have to revise my earlier statement that if you discover an outstanding wine, you’ll need to buy two bottles. I now think you need three, just in case bottle #2 is a dud!

 

If you taste something good, don't let it get away!

I've recently had some outstanding wines, made a mental note to buy some later, only to find out that the wine was no longer available. The moral of the story? If you drink something you really like, buy it!

The latest was a 2008 Halter Ranch "Cotes de Paso" Rhone-style blend. It was a delicious blend of 41% Grenache, 30% Mouvedre, 18% Syrah, 7% Counoise, and 4% Cinsault. These types of wines are wonderful with food and pair well with a wide variety of dishes. 

The Cotes de Paso was what Sally would describe as an ingredients to dessert wine. You can open it while you are cooking and enjoy it without food. The wine will hold up through your appetizer, your main course, and even your dessert. Ingredients to dessert.

The wine's flavors were a nice mix of cocoa, earthiness, and blackberry. We enjoyed it with a burger topped with short ribs (yes, it WAS awesome) and short rib pappardelle at Cucina Urbana, one of our favorite restaurants in San Diego. It only cost $34, which was a steal for such a tasty treat.

Now, the sad news. The winery is sold out of their 2008. I guess I'll have to head back to the restaurant and see if I can pick up a bottle or two!

Le Cadet - Delicious, hard to find, and inexpensive!

Wine can be a real adventure.

We recently tried an outstanding French wine while enjoying a meal at the Smoking Goat in San Diego's North Park neighborhood. It was a 2010 Vin du Pays de Vaucluse Le Cadet de Montirius, which is a Rhone style blend of 50% Grenache, 30% Syrah, 10% Cinsault, and 10% Merlot. It is a smooth wine with light fruit and light tannins that pairs well with a lot of food.

It was good enough to merit a purchase so we set out to find some.

Unfortunately, none of our local wine shops carried the wine. A less-enthusiastic wine drinker may have given up the chase at this point but we were undaunted. Out went the All Points Bulletin: "Can you get this wine?"

A week later, success! Our new friend Karin at Bacchus Wine Market tracked down the Le Cadet. Bad news, they had to special order it so there was a one case minimum order. Good news, our price per bottle was $11.43 after our case discount.

Buying a whole case is a lot of wine, even for us, but that's where it pays to know people who love wine too. Our friends Amber and Paul agreed to split the case with us which made the purchase a bit more reasonable.

This little adventure contained many elements of a great wine story. We discovered it together while out on a date. It ended up being more exclusive because we had to track it down. The wine provided an opportunity to share a few bottles with friends. And, the price was very reasonable.

Grenache Greatness

Grenache is the world's most widely planted grape used to make red wine. It is used most commonly as a backbone to red blends, but it is sometimes made in to a stand-alone varietal ~ and Chalone nailed it with their 2006 Gavilan Grenache.

We discovered this wine on a visit to the Chalone Vineyard a few years ago. Chalone is located in Monterey County in the Gavilan Mountain Range, bordered by the extinct volcanoes of the Pinnacles National Monument. "With its spare, well-drained soils rich in limestone; limited rainfall and low crop levels" they produce full-bodied wines with unique flavors - this wine definitely held to those standards.

The 2006 Gavilan Grenache has similar color and texture as a pinot, but carries a bigger punch. At first sip, I was reminded of dark chocolate and raspberries - and then poof... a flash of spice to finish it off (a very pleasant surprise!). It's unique blend of 'sugar and spice' make it a great wine for smoked meats - think backyard bbq - but will also go toe-to-toe with food that has a bit of a kick.

Chalone produced only 1,648 bottles of this gem. I wish we had purchased more!