Dessert Wine Discovery~Sweet as a “First Kiss”

We discovered Andrew Murray Vineyards (AMV) tasting room in downtown Los Olivos on our recent tour of California wine regions. As we walked in, my eye was drawn to a series of wines with whimsical labels with two people doing various fun activities. We quickly learned the wines are a special label for AMV called “Days Off”, dedicated to making wines from non-Rhone varieties (the AMV label specializes in Rhone varieties). Production is very limited and are available exclusively in the Los Olivos tasting room, or online. 

Those fun people on the label are “Stan & Barbara”, and each of the labels illustrates them spending their “Days Off” together. The labels usually illustrate them on romantic adventures, with a hint of nostalgia to remind us of simpler times when “we all worked less and enjoyed life more”. 

We had the opportunity to taste the ’09 “Lake Day”, which is a blend of Sauvignon Blanc (45%), Chenin Blanc (45%) and a splash of Riesling (5%), and the ’09 “Road Trip”, a super-Tuscan inspired red wine blended with 80% Sangiovese, 10% Syrah, and 10% Cabernet.  These were quite enjoyable.  "Lake Day" was very crisp and refreshing – perfect for summer, and the "Road Trip" was a heavier red without being overly bold – drinkable as I would say, ‘from ingredients to dessert’. 

Speaking of dessert – the wine that put a big smile on my face was “First Kiss”.  The label alone causes you to smirk.  Flirty, and brilliant, as Barbara’s phone number is that of the tasting room.  I typically do not care for dessert wines, as I find them a little too sweet for my taste.  This one was different.  While it is a traditionally crafted ‘port’ style wine dominated by the Touriga grape, the curveball is that they fortify it with cognac. There was a definite cognac nose, and had a mellow berry taste, making it not overly sweet, just simply delicious.  This balance makes it a perfect pairing with dark chocolate, or a nice stilton.  Price point is slightly above average for a dessert wine at $20/bottle, but it is well worth it for this rare dessert wine!

Check out all of the “Days Off” collection online, or if in the area, stop by the tasting room for a sample.  They currently have a promotion - mention you’d like the “tasting2fer” and you will receive two tasting for the price of one!

Cheers!

First impression: Santa Barbara Wine Country

We recently made our first trip to the Santa Barbara Wine Country. If our first impression was accurate, I'm sure we'll be making many more visits.

Our itinerary only gave us half a day for wine tasting since we were just spending one night en route to Paso Robles. We decided to focus our attention on the Santa Ynez Valley, which includes the cities of Buellton, Solvang, and Los Olivos. This area is perhaps best known for being featured in the movie Sideways.

Speaking of Sideways, our first stop was Alma Rosa Winery and Vineyards in Buellton. Their wine room was the first one that the characters Miles and Jack visited in the movie. In real life, we picked it based on a random Twitter recommendation (thanks, @brandyea!) and because their wines sounded good. They primarily focused on Pinots - Gris, Blanc, and Noir and most were to our liking.

Next stop was Bridlewood Estate Winery in Los Olivos. A friend of Sally's recommended this one and it didn't disappoint. Their grounds are beautiful with sweeping vistas of the Santa Ynez Valley and their spacious wine room is quite nice without being over the top. They source their grapes from vineyards throughout Central California, so they produce a wide range of delicious varietals. Our favorite was the 2007 "Six Gun" Syrah which was very smokey and would be perfect with Texas BBQ.

Sally outside Bridlewood Estate Winery

Our last stop was the Andrew Murray Vineyards tasting room in downtown Los Olivos. We also discovered them via Twitter (thanks, @gotrhones!). Stephanie, our host, took great care of us and introduced us to some terrific wine. They specialize in Rhone varietals like Syrah but also have some nice limited production wines like their "First Kiss" Port style wine.

Where there's wine, there's often olive oil. We stopped by Olive Hill Farm next door to Andew Murrary for a tasting. Wow! Their infused olive oils and balsamics were terrific. It was also a nice change of pace after tasting wine.

Next, we headed over to our motel, the Hadsten House in Solvang. This is a great example of how Solvang is changing for the good. The Hadsten House is a motel, but has been renovated to be more luxurious like a nice wine country hotel. The room also included a free breakfast buffet and complimentary wine tasting at many area wineries.

Dinner was at a farm to table restaurant in Solvang called Root 246. We were seated in a lounge-style area that featured enormous overstuffed chairs and created a feeling of privacy and coziness. And, the food was absolutely fantastic! Sally had braised short ribs while Jeff had "shake and bake" chicken. Yum!

Jeff enjoying a big chair at Root 246

The next morning, we left our hotel and drove off to our next wine adventure in Paso Robles. Our time in the Santa Barbara Wine Country was short, but we are already thinking about our next visit. 

2006 Espiritu Dessert Wine from Cuvaison

It's no secret that Cuvaison is one of our favorite wineries since they make so many great varietals. Last night, we opened a bottle of their 2006 Espiritu Dessert wine. It's a port-style wine made with Petite Syrah grapes and fortified with brandy that makes a delicious combination. The wine maker's notes suggest this wine could age for many years, but there's no way we could wait that long - this stuff is good!

The trick to a good dessert wine is balance, since there are many flavors happening at once. There's sweetness, the alcohol, the fruit, and in port-style wines there's also brandy. Espiritu does a great job of achieving great balance -- not too sweet with very nice fruit. Lesser quality port-style wines can taste like too much caramel, too much alcohol, or too syrupy.

One note -- in our haste to drink this wine we paired it with a bowl of ice cream. It wasn't a great match, so we first enjoyed our ice cream and then enjoyed a glass of Espiritu. A good rule of thumb when pairing dessert wine with food is to pick a dessert that isn't quite as sweet as the wine. Fortunately, there's plenty left in the bottle to get it right the next time we have a glass!

Day 3: Three perfect days in Napa and Sonoma Valley

This is Day 3 of our recent wine tour to the Napa and Sonoma wine regions. Napa Valley can get a little crowded on the weekends, so we like to head over to nearby Sonoma Valley which features a lot of great wineries, more reasonable prices, and fewer people. Gotta love that combination!

Wine

Valley of the Moon. Our first stop of the day was terrific. Their tasting room is a two-fer: you can taste Valley of the Moon wines and Lake Sonoma Winery wines. It's interesting to compare and contrast the two styles. Linda, our host, played along and poured several of the varietals side-by-side, so we could blind taste them and try to guess which was which based on the descriptions. Lots of fun! The stand-outs for us were the super refreshing 2008 'So Co' Pinot Blanc that was very crisp and would go well with lighter foods. We also enjoyed their 2007 'So Co' Sangiovese. Sangiovese is a very versatile red wine, and this one had a nice oaky finish that will allow it to go well with pasta. Finally, we really enjoyed the Lake Sonoma Winery 2007 Dry Creek Zinfandel which has 94% Zinfandel and 6% Petite Syrah to give it some bigger tannins and a little complexity.

Benziger. Plan a trip here if words like "organic" and "biodynamic" ring your bell. You may also want to try Benziger if words like "really good Pinot Noir" and "big, big Cab" resonate with you. Either way, they make good wine. Our favorites were their 2007 Giusti Vineyard Pinot Noir which had deep fruit and a very Pinot earthy finish. Their 2006 Gordenker Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon was a BIG cab that hits you with lots of fruit (without being too jammy or showing too much alcohol) and smooths out on the finish. Their 2006 Port was made from late harvest Syrah and Petite Syrah and has a nice balance: not too sweet and not too tawny (think caramel).

Artesa. There's a lot to love about Artesa, from their sweeping vistas, to their beautiful tasting room, to their outstanding wine. Even with a large Saturday afternoon crowd, our wine host, Marie, was very attentive and informative. We particularly enjoyed their 2005 Tempranillo and their 2005 Cabernet Franc. Tempranillo tastes like a Spanish cousin to Sangiovese, though a bit bolder. It is a well-balanced red without too much fruit or too much tannin, and would go well with a variety of richer foods. The Cabernet Franc has a lot of deep fruit on the mouth and finishes softly (for a Cab Franc). Yum.

Food

We found an awesome place for lunch called Sage Fine Food and Provisions. This is really just a fancy deli that has tasty sandwiches made with fresh ingredients and a variety of salads. It's directly across the street from Gloria Ferrer (which we did not enjoy - it's really a wine bar rather than a tasting room). Dinner was at Brix in Napa. The ideal time to go to Brix is in the Spring or Summer, when you can stroll through their vegetable garden while you wait for your meal to be served. It's a different experience in the winter, but the food is outstanding California Bistro fare and the service is always very professional and attentive.

Day 1: Three Perfect Days in Napa and Sonoma Valley

Sally and I have just returned from our annual tasting trip to Napa Valley and the surrounding regions. This year, we spent two days tasting in Napa Valley and one day in Sonoma Valley. As always, it was a terrific trip with lots of great wine, food, and adventures!

Wine
We spent most of Day 1 tasting at wineries in the town of Napa.

Jarvis. It's worth the trip up here for the tour itself! They are located in the hills east of downtown Napa and you can get some impressive views from the grounds. The entire wine-making operation is located in caves dug into the mountain, so it is a very unique experience. We half-expected Oompa-Loompas to appear while we were on our tour because it has many Willie Wonka's Chocolate Factory qualities. Their wines are incredibly flavorful and delicate and the wine maker has clearly paid a lot of attention to detail. This comes out in the taste and the price ($90+ for most of their wines).

Details: $40 per person for a 1.5 hour tour. Call 1-800-255-5280 ext. 150 or book online.

Cosentino. We visited their Napa wine room (they are also in Lodi) and enjoyed some big, very drinkable wines. Our favorites were the '07 Napa Chardonnay (crisp without being too acidic, very nice for every day drinking), a '06 Sangiovese (smooth and well-balanced to go well with a variety of meals), the '07 Zinfandel ("the Zin", jammy and yummy), '06 Estate Zinfandel (peppery taste with a smooth finish, a good pair with 'earthier' food), and the '05 Cabernet Sauvignon (a solid cab with soft tannins that would go well with food).

PlumpJack. Their Estate Cabernet Sauvignon is a special treat. We always stop by for a bottle of their current release when we are in Napa.

Jessup Cellars. We got a hot tip (and a coupon for a free tasting) from the Napa Valley visitors center. What a great experience! We were offered a cheese plate as we walked in and were invited to sit down at a table. Their wine room has a lot of small tables in different nooks and corners and everything is surrounded by art. Our host sat down with us and explained the wine as she poured and we tasted. The highlight for us was definitely their '06 Zinfandel Port, which was sweet with a pepper finish. Yum!

Lodging
We stayed at the Napa River Inn. This place is a real gem. It's located in the heart of downtown Napa, so there are many restaurants within walking distance (important after a long day of wine tasting). Their service is excellent and the rooms are comfortable and nicely appointed. Spend a couple extra bucks to upgrade from their standard room and you'll get a fire place and/or a balcony (we had both). Their complex also has two restaurants (Celedon and Angele), a wonderful bakery (Sweetie Pies), and a wine and jazz club (Silos).

Food
Breakfast: We always start our days in Napa at Sweetie Pies for three reasons. First, their light pastries and coffee is outstanding. Second, its a good source of scoop since many locals drop by in the morning and are happy to share some tips. Third, we get a free breakfast with each night's stay at the Napa River Inn.

Lunch: Our lunch was at another favorite stop - Oakville Grocery in Oakville. Their deli is amazing and the bistro tables and picnic tables scattered around the grounds are a great way to enjoy a light meal while taking in views of Napa Valley.

Dinner: We dined at Ristorante Allegria, which offers good "comfort" Italian food at reasonable prices and is stumbling distance from the Napa River Inn. Their service is always warm and friendly and their bar will serve up your favorite cocktail or a nice glass of wine. What's not to like?