Day 359 Drink: Folie à Deux 2008 Zinfandel

Folie à Deux Winery is located between Oakville and Yountville along Highway 29 near Mustards, a landmark Napa Valley restaurant. The winery's tasting room is open daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Folie à Deux 2008 Zinfandel is made from grapes sourced in Amador County. The wine pours a dark purple with ample fruit aroma. This is a soft and drinkable zinfandel. Moderate tannins and overall smooth character.

Day 357 Drink: Sapphire Hill 2006 Alexander Valley VLH Zinfandel

Sapphire Hill Vineyards calls Healdsburg, Calif., home. We stopped at their tasting room a couple of years back and this bottle has been safely stored in our wine fridge since that great trip to California.

Sapphire Hill 2006 Alexander Valley VLH Zinfandel pours a dark purple red and gives off a thick grape aroma. The wine is made from single vineyard
old vine zinfandel grapes. The flavor is unlike any other dessert wine you have likely had recently. The zinfandel grapes are left on the vine for weeks after the regular harvest, so the flavors become concentrated. At harvest the grapes were 33.5 Brix and the residual sugar an amazing 8 percent. The result is a wine with a big zinfandel body and a sneaky sweetness that keeps popping up throughout.

Day 299 Drink: Medusa 2006 Pig Pen Zinfandel

Medusa is a California winemaker that focuses on single vineyard old-vine Zinfandel. The operation combines the talents of some well-known wine names, including Rob Mondavi Jr., Lydia Mondavi, Patti McKiernan and Geoff Whitman.

Medusa 2006 Pig Pen Zinfandel is a smooth and flavorful zinfandel, leaning towards the lighter side for this grape. Inviting floral aroma that reminds you of summer. Full berry flavor, with a slight hint of cedar and a mild earthiness.

Tuesday Tasting: Finger Lakes Reds

Tuesday Tasting is a regular feature of Lyke2Drink that explores some of the best beers, wines and spirits on the market. This week we travel to the Finger Lakes region of Upstate New York to taste six reds.

From the full disclosure desk: I work for Eric Mower and Associates, a marketing communications agency (www.mower.com). We developed a program for the Finger Lakes Wine Alliance called the FLWA Vintners' Roundtable. This virtual tasting is conducted via conference call, linking winemakers and food and beverage journalists. Earlier this month I played host to a FLWA Vintners' Roundtable attended by several drinks journalists, including Sandra Silfven of the Detroit News, Sean Ludford of Beverage Experts, Christopher Davies of Wine Country International, freelancer Thomas Pellechia, and bloggers Rob Lane of the Finger Lakes Weekend Wino and Carlo DeVito of East Coast Wineries.

When the subject of red wines from the Finger Lakes comes up, most people – vintners included – immediately question whether or not the climate can support the longer growing period required to mature grapes on the vine. Marti Macinski, who runs Standing Stone Vineyards with her husband on Seneca Lake recalls the day that a neighboring grape grower, Jim Hazlitt, showed up with cabernet sauvignon grapes he was trying to sell. She turned him away because she was “convinced you couldn’t grow red wines in the Finger Lakes.” Luckily, Tom Macinski did not get that memo and ended up buying the grapes from Hazlitt. It was the start of Standing Stone’s successful Pinnacle blend.

Wineries in the Finger Lakes are extremely young compared to the classic red wine producing regions in France, Italy, Spain and California. Most of the vines producing vinifera reds are less than a generation old. The Upstate New York winters can be tough on the vineyards and the relatively short growing season means that for the most part the Finger Lakes will never be known for producing big red wines that have built the reputations of Sonoma and Napa vineyards. However, this does not mean that the wineries cannot make some very fine reds with plenty of character. These wines are stylistically on target and compare very well in matching food to wine with some of the top reds from around the world.

For this tasting we sampled six reds, four cabernet francs and two Bordeaux-style blends. Cabernet franc is a slightly lighter style cousin of cabernet sauvignon. The French love this grape for blending, but Finger Lakes wineries are finding that it is one of the red grape varieties that thrives in the region and can make a sophisticated wine.

Billsboro 2006 Cabernet Franc ($18): This wine is 83 percent cabernet franc and 17 percent cabernet sauvignon. This Seneca Lake vineyard came under new ownership in 2007 and this wine is from the first harvest under winemaker Vinny Aliperti. The harvest conditions were wet and the wine spent a short period on French and American oak before being declared ready. There is a solid berry note and dry finish to this red. Perfect to accompany a hunk of Tuscan bread and sharp provolone cheese plate.

Fox Run 2005 Reserve Cabernet Franc ($24): Trisha Renshaw, the assistant winemaker at Fox Run, presented this wine, made using a blend of 77 percent cabernet franc, 15 percent merlot and 8 percent cabernet sauvignon. The winemakers had high hopes for the vintage because of the great 2005 growing season, but when they tasted the cabernet franc in the barrels in the Spring the flavors were not quite right. Renshaw said they considered using the wine for blending, but at a later tasting they discovered it had morphed into a complex and deep cabernet franc. There is an oak and smoke note in the flavor profile that one of the tasting panel of journalists said had a bacon-like quality. There is plenty of ripe raspberry fruit in the base of this wine.

Hunt Country 2005 Cabernet Franc ($22): Winemaker Chris Wirth has been in the Finger Lakes for three years after having spent 15 years in Oregon and three years in California. Made with 100 percent cabernet franc grapes grown along Kueka Lake, this wine spent 12 months in oak barrels. It has a big zinfandel nose and firm tannins. There are appealing leather and java notes in the finish of this wine. A solid choice to go along with a pork roast or venison chop.

Sheldrake Point 2005 Cabernet Franc ($17): Winemaker Dave Breeden says this wine was an experiment because it blends 87 percent cabernet franc and 4.5 percent cabernet sauvignon grapes from the Finger Lakes with 8.5 percent cabernet sauvignon grapes from California’s Grass Valley. Sheldrake does not plan to replicate this use of California grapes in the future at its Cayuga Lake winery. The winery used 65 percent older barrels and 35 percent newer (three vintages or less) to age the wine because Breeden wanted the fruit to come through rather than the wood. The result is a dry, rich red with plenty of dark skin fruit notes.

Ravines 2005 Meritage ($25): Morten Hallgren is a native of Denmark who’s family owns a vineyard in southern France. He has spent time at vineyards in Texas and North Carolina before coming to the Finger Lakes. The 45 percent cabernet franc, 32 percent cabernet sauvignon and 23 percent merlot in this wine was sourced from vineyards across the Finger Lakes and aged in 75 percent French oak and 25 percent Pennsylvania oak. Hallgren achieved solid balance with this red. There is nice ripe fruit, good amounts of tannins and a a nice oak character in the wine. Great wine for a rib eye steak.

Standing Stone 2005 Pinnacle ($21): This blend of 89 percent cabernet sauvignon, 8 percent cabernet franc and 3 percent merlot from estate grown grapes was aged on Missouri oak. Usually, Standing Stone uses less cabernet Sauvignon in this blend, but the grape works very well in this wine. There are supple rich berry flavors to this wine, with firm tannins that make this feel very Old World in its structure.

The winemakers in this tasting noted that Bordeaux used to be the yard stick for red wines, but now California is the standard. This has changed the way many wine drinkers look at red wines, pushing them towards believing that the bigger the better. The reality is that great red wines can come in many styles, all flavorful and offering rewarding characteristics.

Charity Wines Rolling Out Wines Honoring Baseball Hall of Famers

Charity Wines is rolling out four new labels that recognize baseball heroes and help raise funds for charities.

Ernie Banks 512 Chardonnay, a 2006 California chardonnay, benefits the Ernie Banks Live Above & Beyond Foundation, which works to eliminate prejudice, support programs that enhance neighborhoods and relieve discrimination among various age groups and races.

Eddie Murray 504 Cabernet Sauvignon, a 2006 California cabernet sauvignon, raises funds to support the Baltimore Community Foundation, which makes grants to a number of charitable organizations including schools for at risk children.

Mike Schmidt 548 Zinfandel, a California zinfandel, benefits The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, which is working to find a cure for cystic fibrosis and to improve the quality of life for those with the disease.

Brooks Robinson Chardonnay, a 2006 California chardonnay, supports the Baltimore Community Foundation, which makes grants to a number of charitable organizations.

You can get more information on these wines and other sports personality labels at http://www.charitywines.com.

Comings and Goings in California Wine Country

A couple of announcements of acquisitions of California wineries crossed my desk in the last few days that are worth noting. For one, they involve hundreds of millions of dollars change hands. And, these moves indicate some major players are going to focus more attention on mid- and upper-range California brands.

On Monday, Diageo boosted its stake in the U.S. wine market with a $105 million acquisition of Rosenblum Cellars. Diageo is best know for brands like Guinness Stout and Johnnie Walker Scotch, but has significant holdings in California that including Sterling, Chalone and Beaulieu vineyards.

Rosenblum Cellars produces more than three dozen wines in Californian and is best know for its zinfandel and other red wines. Dr. Kent Rosenblum will stay on as a winemaker and adviser.

Last week, Constellation Brands, which is based in Upstate New York, announced it was selling off its Almaden and Inglenook brands to the Wine Group of San Francisco for $134 million. The Wine Group already moves 40 million cases annually of brands such as Franzia, Corbett Canyon, Mogen David, Glen Ellen and Concannon Vineyards.

Constellation sells more than 100 brands and late last year purchased Clos du Bois, Geyser Peak and other labels when it bought Fortune Brands wine business for $885 million.

The deals mean that Diageo and Constellation will be more focused on growing premium wine brands. The battle for retail shelf space and slots on wine lists will certainly heat up in 2008.

Olives & Grapes at Pietra Santa

The Pietra Santa Winery dominates the Cienega Valley, which is about 25 miles inland from Monterey Bay. A Spanish mission-style winery building sits in the midst of a a 455-acre estate with grape vineyards and a grove of 5,000 imported Italian olive trees. The nearest towns are San Juan Bautista and Holister, Calif. Pietra Santa is one of only two wineries located in the Cienega Valley AVA.

We were invited to visit the winery as part of writers junket to see how olive oil is produced. We were the guests of the Blackburn family, which purchased the winery a couple of years ago. Winemaker Alessio Carni, who also is in charge of managing the estate olive oil business, hosted a tour of the vineyard, demonstrated the press and ran the group through an extensive tasting of the wines produced at Pietra Santa. The Blackburns, who have been farming almonds in California for many years, were gracious and friendly. It was interesting to pick the olives and see the manufacturing process, then go through a comparative tasting of various olive varietals.

The Pietra Santa Estate Extra Virgina Olive Oil is a blend of 59 percent Franoio, 11 percent Coratina, 24 percent Leccino and 5 percent Italian mix olives. The result is a fresh, somewhat fruity and creamy gourmet oil.

The vineyards at Pietra Santa were first planted ion the 1850s by Frenchman Theophile Vache. Carni, a native of Siena, Italy, has been in charge of the vineyard since 1998. “The limestone soil provides good drainage which helps our vines and we have the mountains and our valley that are perfect for grapes.” Carli says. “The key to great wine is letting the grapes show their true character.”

We sampled the complete Pietra Santa line during our visit, which included a lunch served inside the winery and a dinner at a 100-year-old home on the property. Here are some of the wine highlights from the visit:

Pietra Santa 2004 Sangiovese: Carli uses medium toast French oak barrels to produce a tannin-filled red that has Chianti-like characteristics.

Pietra Santa 2004 Dolcetto: Deep burgundy color, this dry red has ripe fruit and tobacco notes.

Pietra Santa 2005 Zinfandel: A rich deep wine. Medium-dry with cassis and leather notes.

Pietra Santa 2006 Gewurztraminer: Solid floral nose, good level of acidity and citrus flavor notes. Perhaps note as spicy as some gewurztraminers, but very refreshing.

Vache 2002 Pinot Noir: Deep purple from some whole berry fermentation, this wine was aged in French oak and has nice plum and pepper notes.

2003 Signature: A blend of cabernet sauvignon, merlot and cabnet franc, this wine is spicy with a good amount of oak. Nice ripe blackberry notes. Will likely age well for several years.

V-Twin Vineyards Hope Harley Riders Take Wines for a Spin

Harley-Davidson Motorcycle fans will be in hog heaven with the release of some biker motivated wines from V-Twin Vineyards, based in Sonoma County, Calif.

V-Twin 2004 Zin is the first wine from the virtual winery. The company plans to launch the Easy Rider Wine Club to attract collectors and allow members to post photos of their bikes and stories from the road.

V-Twin plans future releases to include River Run Chardonnay, Poker Run Cabernet, Redwood Run Zinfandel and Toy Run Rose.

Mike Ditka Launches Wine Brand

Mike Ditka, a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame and a Super Bowl Champion as both a player with the Dallas Cowboys in 1972 and as a coach with the Chicago Bears in 1985, now has his own wine label.

Ditka has five wines made in California that are now being shipped to retailers. A zinfandel-syrah-petite sirah blend carries the label Mike Ditka Kick Ass Red and will retail at between $40-$50 per bottle.

Ditka has become a brand outside of football. His name is on a successful Chicago steakhouse and on frozen pork chops, barbecue and steak sauces, and cheese spread. He also has a brand of cigars set to debut.