Wine Blogger Conference 2008 - Day 1

Here I am at the Wine Blogger Conference in Santa Rosa and we have JUST started the mad dash of tasting with wine makers!

Wine 1

We are talking with David Cole from James David Cellars about his new wines, and we're talking about his 2007 Muscat. You think Muscat, you think sweet. Not with this one. This is as dry as it comes - RS is only .17. Smells sweet, like dripping honey, tastes nice and dry - just my style. Why does he use Minnesota over Missouri oak? It's better. Christina from my table agrees, but for other reasons she's from there.

Wine 2

BOHO Vineyards - eco-friendly, beautiful packaging (think Cost Plus World Market meets California Winery). Their goal is to keep their footprint small, but their wine impact big. We're tasting their Central Coast Chardonnay - light on oak, crisp on the palate, pale yellow in color. I've been surprised by some 3L wines, but this one didn't knock my socks off. Could be because I'm not a white-wine-lover but I'm trying to be unbiased!

Wine 3

Jeff from Twisted Oak Winery has just joined us to share The Spaniard, a blend of Tempranillo, Graciano, and Granacha. Just took my first sip - it has a twang to it - my wine knowledge doesn't cover which varietal that could be.  The bottle is beautiful - and I mean the glass itself. Strong, tall, heavy - hmmm sounds like me. Just kidding. 

Wine 4

Dark Horse Dry Creek Zin is up next. The winemaker is exactly what a winemaker should be - proud of his wine, rough around the edges, plaid shirt, pushing the envelope. His wine matches his style - bold, forward, and spicy. Now that's what he is - and his wine - spicy.

Wine 5

Paul and Katherine from Small Vines Winery is here to pour us their Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir. They are all about the terroir - they want us to taste every inch of those vineyards and someday I hope to be able to sniff and sip that out. This wine is what I believe Pinots should be - bolder in color and in fruit, small production (525 cases), passion, tour-friendly, willing to share all of their knowledge. Will definitely be looking them up to get one of those tours - I love that stuff.

Wine 6

Cupcake Chard is next, and oddly enough, it smells like cupcakes. Power of suggestion? Who knows. I've seen this wine in Cost Plus and was attracted by the label. Knowing how Cost Plus works, it had to be from one of the big suppliers - and it is. This doesn't deter me, hey I work for one of those big guys. Guess what - they're giving us REAL cupcakes. Yep, real cupcakes. Ok anyway, about the wine. It's sweeter than I'd normally like, but I guess for the right wine lover, this would be a great summer wine.

Wine 7

Kanzler Pinot Noir - no label yet it's so new. We're getting straight-from-the-barrel wine here, and this is awesome. Three people, 420 cases of their Pinot, again one of my favorite Pinots. Round, supple (and I use that word only scarcely because it's a sort of icky word), delicious. I guess the alcohol will be steep on this guy - is that why it's so hot in here? -  but I'm not judging. When this wine is released, I'll definitely have to hunt it down.  

Wine 8

Alright - I'd buy it because the name is great - bink. Syrah is her flagship wine, which in France is called "black ink" hence "bink." You gotta love a good story. It's a virtual winery, so no visiting, but I will be emailing her to chat more and taste her Syrah. Her Pinot Noir is what she offered, and it was delicious. I must love Sonoma Pinots...the good ones anyway.

Wine 9

Lionheart Wines - what do we have here? A Roussane. I've never had a Roussane. It's light and airy, not a wine that I would necessarily choose off a list of shelf. Think a hot day on the deck - nice and refreshing. It's an old world grape - made in somewhat the old world style.- old world, not what you'd expect here in California. trpoical fruit, smooth without being flat, and has enough acidity to pair with foods - this would be great with 

Wine 10

Sean Minor Four Bears Winery (their four kids - nice). They're shooting for wines under $20 - always a good thing. It's an easy Cab, has some kick on the nose, but mellows about halfway on through, and it now has hints of marshmallows (maybe it's just me?). This would be great with a juicy hamburger - it's heavy without being overly tannic, and has enough complexity to drink and to pair with food. By now, the winemakers are getting their shpeals down, we're movin fast. 

Wine 11

Yellow + Blue - this is one of the ones that I wanted to see. It's a 1L Tetra like the Bandits, easy to pour and a small footprint. We're tasting a Malbec - I love Malbecs...let's see what it tastes like...Not quite what I expected - a little soft. It's easy though which makes it perfect for a Tetra pack. This is a great step into the wine world - eco-friendly packaging, great price point, and I just got the 1L - it's organic! I'm cutting it a little more slack because of all of its pros, but it either needs a little bit to breathe or it's not quite my style.

Wine 12

Next up is Bonterra. I probably shouldn't blog about this one since the company I work for makes a direct competitor. Ok, I will anyway. We just had our first corked bottle, but they grabbed another and now we're back on. This is a single vineyard wine, and tastes dusty but smooth. I try not to overuse too many descriptors but there's only so many ways to say "smooth" right? I'm blogging about a different wine every 5 minutes, so I'm a little stressed. I'll try harder to use the thesaurus part of my brain. With this wine as a single vineyard, it's better than I expected, as is the fact that it's a blend as well. Merlot, Cab and something else...I'm moving fast here. Sorry.

Wine 13

Clos La Chance - a Cab from the coast directly west of San Jose. The wine name comes from her mom's maiden name, and the hummingbird on the label started as her mom's thought that they're cute to her dad's resignation that it was ok because they're actually aggressive birds. I guess that makes everything ok - an aggressive bird. Smells fab - let's taste. This is one the best wines I've had today - it's juicy, it's robust, it's from a family. It's only about $30 retail - makes it that much better.

Wine 14

I guess there  isn't a wine 14. That's good. My hands hurt and as much as I tried to spit, I think I may have swallowed a little more than planned. Good thing we'll have dinner soon.