Taylor Eason | April 24th, 2012
I’ve wondered whether the lack of mass success of the Viognier grape is because of the tongue-twisting name(pronounced VEE oh NYAY”) or some other reason. With its luscious, aromatic fruit, slight sweetness and sip-ability, you’d think it would be a girlie girl’s dream and be as popular with the chicks as Moscatos are now (more on that later). But, unlike Moscato/Muscat it’s tough to make Viognier well. Pick it too early in the growing season, you won’t get the pretty aromas and rounded flavors; pick it too late and you’ll get a wine that’s syrupy, flabby or has no acid at all. Some wineries get it just right though — Bonterra Vineyards in Mendocino County is one of them.
Read more: Wine review: Bonterra 2010 Viognier Mendocino County
Taylor Eason | April 9th, 2012
Kitchen sink wines can be a fascinating bunch. Winemakers tend to love making them since it engages their creative side, consumers love them since they’re generally less expensive and they have cool names that are great for grabbing you on the aisle. And then there’s usually a cool story behind the wine. Shannon Ridge, founded by Clay and Margarita Shannon, formerly sold their Lake County grapes to huge wineries like Trinchero and Kendall Jackson. But in 2008, they made a play to create their own, affordably-priced wine label. A virtually unknown grape region that grows outstanding Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon and Sauvignon Blanc, Lake County lies only about an hour north of Napa County in California. But the fruit sells for almost obscenely low prices. So the Shannons can sell all their Lake County wines under $25 and have something left over to buy dinner.
Read more: Wine review: Shannon Ridge 2009 Wrangler Red Lake County
Taylor Eason | March 12th, 2012
The 2010 vintage in Sonoma County was super cool. And I don’t mean it wore awesome shades and sported the latest fashions — but cold like in France’s Bordeaux region. The heat index just didn’t quite get high enough to ripen grapes to the point of super fruitiness with floral aromatics (like Dry Creek Vineyards’ 2007 SB). So if you like New Zealand style Sauv Blancs (like me) then you’re in heaven with the 2010 wines (read more about Sauvignon Blanc, including how to pronounce it). And you’ll also have something to look forward to in the 2011 vintage, which had similar weather in Sonoma County.
Read more: Wine review: Dry Creek Vineyards 2010 Sauvignon Blanc Dry Creek Valley
Taylor Eason | February 10th, 2012
I applaud the cojones that California winemakers are growing. Instead of blending in obscure red varietals that grow so extraordinarily well in this state (see Tempting Tempranillo), they slap grape names like Aglianico and Sangiovese on labels now. In a society that generally wine shops by comfort zone, that’s pretty daring. You may have heard of Sangiovese, the grape found in all Italian Chiantis, but Aglianico [ah LEE ahn EE co] is one of those sleeper grapes even most wine writers have to look up or study for the CSW exam. Aglianico is one of the world’s oldest wine grapes (think Romans swilling), originating in southern Italy’s Campania wine region near Naples. Amador County, with its dry, arid climate, mimics the weather in Campania so the fruit’s success there makes sense. That, and a slew of Italian settled there during the Gold Rush so the vines have been thriving there a while now.
Read more: Wine reviews: Terra d’Oro 2009 Barbera and Terra d’Oro 2008 Sangiovese Amador County
Taylor Eason | October 14th, 2011
I was a bit hesitant to write about Quivira’s Zin that I recently tasted blind, since I reviewed the 2008 vintage in April of this year. But I thought, what the hell, they deserve to get kudos twice in one year. These guys rock the Zinfandel. And, farming biodynamically, they’re stewards of the earth.
Read more: Wine review: Quivira 2009 Zinfandel Dry Creek Valley
Taylor Eason | September 20th, 2011
King Estate specializes in Pinot Gris and Pinot Noir, and that’s what I’ve been sipping on these past eight years since I met them. Still family-owned — like most wineries in Oregon — they’ve expanded their horizons with their other, more affordable (and still tasty) Acrobat Pinot Noir and Gris. I really admire what these guys have been doing.
Read more: Wine reviews: King Estate 2009 Domaine Pinot Gris and 2008 Pinot Noir
Taylor Eason | June 23rd, 2011
There’s a bit of a backlash with oaky/buttery California Chardonnays now. A newfound love of the unadorned version — labeled “Unoaked”, “Virgin”, “Naked” or “Stainless Steel” — can be witnessed on retail shelves and on restaurant wine lists. The taste difference between oak-aged and/or fermented Chardonnay and those that don’t see wood can normally be summed up in one word: minerality. Washington State’s Buried Cane is on to something.
Read more: Wine review: Buried Cane 2009 Whiteline Chardonnay (No Oak)
Taylor Eason | June 20th, 2011
Chardonnay has become the whipping child of the wine world — the veritable before-the-ball Cinderella or Joan of Arc. But this unfortunate rep has a reason behind it. There are a crapload of disgusting, woodchipped and buttered Chardonnays lining shelves of every American retailer. And, like Merlot before Sideways busted its ass, the quality level simply plummeted into the deep sea of average wine. Sweet-lovin’ consumers fleeing White Zin, after the populist mocked them, found solace in the softer, fruitier Chardonnay grape. It was comforting and easy to drink, like a cold bottle of Kendall Jackson on a warm summer day. But enter the un-oaked Chardonnay.
Read more: Rediscovering Chardonnay wine: The unoaked version
Taylor Eason | May 16th, 2011
Snoqualmie is owned and operated by the fine folks who bring us Columbia Crest and Chateau Ste. Michelle wines in Washington State. Per their corporate mantra, this is a good value wine that’s well made but there’s one added benefit to this brand: Snoqualmie practices sustainable and organic grape growing.
Read more: Wine review: Snoqualmie Naked 2008 Merlot Columbia Valley
Taylor Eason | April 11th, 2011
Dry Creek Valley grows some of the best Zinfandel in California and Quivira lies in the middle of it all. When I visited their biodynamically-farmed vineyards in Sonoma County a few years ago, I was pretty awed with everything they produced.
Read more: Wine review: Quivira 2008 Zinfandel Dry Creek Valley
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