Vacation Wine Finds

We recently returned from a trip to Hawaii, visiting Oahu and Kauai. Leave it to us to find a local wine shop in the small town of Koloa, on the south shore of Kauai. The Wine Shop is a great little gem not far from the Sheraton Kauai, where we spent an amazing week. For being on a small island, they had quite the variety. We enjoyed exploring the shop and learning about a few local wines and guessing the island price on high-end wines.

Until a few years ago, we had a tradition of hosting a New Year's Eve Party with our friends, with the theme, "Coast to Coast Champagne Toast". It was a fun event in which we served sparkling wine from each US time zone, starting at 9pm with east coast and finalizing at 2am with Hawaii. Yes, we somehow found a pineapple based sparkling wine to serve ~Hula O Maui from Tedeschi Vineyards.

The wine shop carried a few of their other wines, so we decided to give the red blend a try. The Ulupalakua Red can best be described as a good 'third bottle'. Unfortunately, it was not our 3rd bottle. It seems their pineapple sparkling wine is a far better selection, especially at 2am on NYE!

While there, the owners shared with us they were having a free wine tasting event on Saturday night. They were showcasing four 'big wines' and the deli next door was providing an assortment of snacks. We worked it in our 'busy' schedule and attended the event on Saturday night. The place was hopping with locals and visitors. Although we wouldn't define them as big, but enjoyable all the same, we tasted all four wines being served: Buena Vista Carneros Chardonnay, Mobius Cabernet from Sonoma County, Four Vines, and Peltier Station Zinfandel from Lodi. All were good, solid wines with a price point of $25 or less. While tasting, we munched on meats and cheese provided by the local deli and chatted with the wine distributor.

In addition to learning about the wines, we also learned a little about local liquor laws. Turns out, at many of the restaurants you can bring your own bottle, with a corkage fee. A good tip for next time! We also learned Kauai is one of the few places where you can actually take an open bottle out with you. Think that is one law we may not have to take advantage of too frequently!

The Wine Shop has been in business for 4 years, and we look forward to visiting them again on our next trip to Kauai ~ Mahalo!

Wattle Creek's tasting room in San Francisco

Sally and I visited Wattle Creek's tasting room in San Francisco last weekend. It was a great time as always, and our new friend Brandy shared a lot of great Wattle Creek wine. Free tastings are one of the perks of being a wine club member, though we bought a few bottles on our way out so I don't know how 'free' it really was!

Here are some highlights.

2009 Sauvignon Blanc. One of the few Wattle Creek wines you can get outside of the winery. This is 100% Sauvignon Blanc fermented in stainless steel -- not our usual style but this one is light on grapefruit with a very refreshing taste.  It's perfect to sip on the patio on a warm summer evening.

2006 Malbec. One of our favorite wines - it's 92% Malbec and 8% Cabernet Sauvignon. Deep fruit with complex, well-structured flavors, it goes well with many types of foods. It's also only available to wine club members -- another perk of being 'in'.

2007 Shiraz. Great tobacco smell and bold flavors with that smooth fruit finish you expect from a Shiraz.

2007 Petite Sirah. Lots of dense fruit up front with light tannins and alcohol on the finish.

2006 Cabernet Sauvignon. This is a very solid Cab. Let's this one breathe for at least an hour and you'll be rewarded with stick to your teeth deliciousness. Lighter fruit to start and then a smooth but bold finish.

Day 2: Three Perfect Days in Napa and Sonoma Valley

This is Day 2 of our recent wine tour to the Napa and Sonoma wine regions.

Wine

One our second day of tasting we made our way a bit North towards St. Helena and Calistoga before heading back into Napa. Here are the highlights.

Cade. This is a sister winery to Plumpjack and they also make very good Cabernet Sauvignon. The tasting is $10 per person, which was a steal considering the exceptionally good wine, the scenic view from the hills above Napa Valley, and the beautiful, modern tasting room. We both enjoy softer, drier Sauvignon Blancs rather than the acidic, citrusy style, and their 2008 Sauvignon Blanc was right on the mark for us. Their 2006 Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon was a classic Cab with dense, complex fruit on the mouth and wonderful soft tannins that will go nicely with food.

Cuvaison. We had to visit Cuvaison because they consistently make some of our favorite wines, their Pinot Noir was the winner of our recent 'Pinot-palooza' challenge, and they have a new tasting room in Calistoga to boot. Let's just say we started the day as members of only one wine club (Wattle Creek) and are now members of two. Here are our highlights from Cuvaison:

• 2008 S Block Chardonnay. We recently drank the 2006 version and 2008 really holds up with a nice balance of buttery oak and light acidity.
• 2007 Diablo Syrah. This is a very balanced Syrah that has a rather earthy taste throughout.
• 2007 Block F5 Pinot Noir. This may just be the Pinot to take the next Pinot-palooza title. Nice, delicate fruit and an earthy finish that works before, during, and after food.
• 2006 Brandlin Vineyard Zinfandel. Strong fruit upfront (and butterscotch?!) with a subtle pepper finish. This will be versatile with a lot of food -- a great pick to bring to a restaurant.
• 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon. Big fruit, big tannins, sticks to your teeth without blasting you with alcohol. Yum.

Foile a Deux. Their wine is all very drinkable, and their 'Menage a Trois' table wines are an outstanding buy. Their Menage a Trois red lists for $12, but we've seen it for as low as $6.99 a bottle. It makes for a great mid-week wine to go with all sorts of dinner.

Robert Biale Vineyards. The previous night we hung out in Silos Jazz Club for some wine and jazz. Keith, the manager, has a good eye for local wine and he introduced us to Robert Biale's "Black Chicken" Zinfandel. As the story goes, "Black Chicken" was code for Zinfandel during Prohibition when Aldo Biale took orders over their party line and didn't want the neighbors to know he was selling alcohol. It's a fun story and a fun wine. (Be sure to make an appointment if you visit.) They also feature other great Zins and a few other varietals.

Dinner
Barbeque and wine go together like peas in a pod, and the Bounty Hunter in downtown Napa does it right. It's a bit funky - their small room is part restaurant, part wine bar, and part wine shop all in one space, but it works. Come prepared to make some new friends, taste some wine, and have some awesome BBQ. (Their beer can chicken is quite the sight to see -- the whole bird comes out sitting on a beer can.)

2006 Wattle Creek Triple Play

Wattle Creek's Triple Play is a versatile, well-priced red blend that's really a Syrah with some uniqe characteristics that make it an 'all night' kind of wine. It has just a touch of sweetness on the mouth that makes it easy to open a bottle pre-dinner while cooking or enjoying an appetizer. The finish is very Syrah which makes it a great pairing with steak, pasta, or even a hot & sweet dish like chili or Italian sausage. Triple Play is very smooth without a lot of heavy tannins, so you'll be able to continue enjoying it over dessert if you have any left!

Last night, Sally and I enjoyed a bottle of Triple Play with an Italian sausage and chicken pasta dish. We each had a dish of ice cream for dessert and the wine still tasted terrific.

The "Triple" refers to the three grapes that are blended to make this wine: Syrah (the primary grape) plus a touch of Petite Syrah and a little Viognier. Viognier is a white grape known for its sweetness, so it is a little unusual to find it in a red blend, but Wattle Creek works their magic and makes it work. Really, really well.

The price point is around $25 and this is a great bottle to get from your local liquor store (BevMo carries it) or from Wattle Creek directly. Just save some for us!