Sonoma Landing Pinot Noir

It has been quite a while since my last posting. Looking back, my days are a haze of MANY different wines. Some good, most unmemorable.

It's not that I have been drinking BAD wine. No, no. I just become underwhelmed after I finish a bottle and I lose motivation to re-purchase, to re-try. The hunt for bargain wines is not an easy one (oh, what a tough life). At times you feel you have found something worth writing about, but you just get bored or tired of it over time. And then you forget... What's that wine we had? Oh well, onto the next!

Is new and fresh on your palate something to pursue, or reliable and predictable?

(this can be a metaphor for so many things)

I am at a point where I do want something that I can always turn to and KNOW that I won't regret opening and finishing. I choose you, Sonoma Landing Pinot Noir!

Light bodied, light tannins from the stems and skin to mellow out the fruit, and pairs wonderfully with a light meal of salad, fish, or something with gooey cheese (perhaps ALL of them together!).

My wine racks are stocked with a variety of wine, many that we purchased as single bottles. My wandering palate will continue to pursue the next greatest bargain. But as of right now, it's "interested" in the Sonoma Landing.

This bottle is usually offered on BevMo's 5 cent sale!

Groundwork Grenache - Santa Barbara

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A while back, I wrote about an unfortunate attempt at a bus trip to Santa Barbara wine country with Learn About Wine (through no fault of this company). A couple of months later, our trip, deemed the "Burning Bus Tour" (nice!), was rescheduled and we were on our way!

I would highly recommend anyone to take a trip with Learn About Wine. Professional, organized, informative, and fun!

The trip occurred in 2010, and a little more than a year later, we found ourselves digging through our wine collection, finding this bottle, the Groundwork Grenache ($20), and reminiscing... "Oh yeah, remember that?"

Actually BETTER than what I remembered. Fruit with a hint of spice, smooth and medium-bodied, chilled at 55 degrees to make it refreshing on a 100 degree day (*hint: we use a mini-fridge to store our red wines. We turned it down to "low" and it happens to be around 55 degrees! Much cheaper than purchasing a wine fridge.)

Then it all came back to us.... outdoor tasting, trying the excellent wines of Sans Liege, but the wine-maker raving about this particular bottle, his favorite, his passion, his label called Groundwork.

Just to let you know, Grenache is usually used as a blending grape along with Syrah and Mourvedre to create the lovely "Rhone" blend. It is brave and wonderful for him to venture this way. I appreciate it more and more with every sip (and a chug here and there).

To passion, uniqueness, and accomplishment... Cheers!

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Tre Amici - 2008 - Witch Creek Winery

Diversify your wine collection. Show some love to our wineries down south!

Witch Creek Winery, located in Carlsbad, sources grapes from Baja California, Mexico.

Last night I opened a bottle of their Tre Amici, and it exuded earthy aromas, inky-rich juices, and just the right amount of tannins.

Although, it doesn't give you a sense of San Diego or Mexico the way corona bottles do (you wouldn't imagine people relaxing on a hot, sunny, humid beach with this wine), but the wine does have a unique quality to it.

When you taste it, it's not Paso, or Napa, or even Temecula. It's something different, something special, something worth owning, and something DEFINITELY worth drinking.

In-and-Out and Zin? Best Date EVER!

Wine House recently reduced the price of Renwood Zinfandel Grandmere from $35 down to $15!

The winemaker describes:  "The 2005 Grandmère Zinfandel is a brick red color. The aroma of this wine is chocked full of vanilla, caramel, holiday spices, raspberry and hazelnut.  The flavors are deep and rich with layers upon layers of ripe fruit, toasted oak and spice. This wine is always about the best of the best and we are blessed with many Old Vine Zinfandel vineyards from which to choose each component of the final blend. Full flavored, generous and mouth filling are the words that we use to describe this wine."

 
Truly a perfect description of this well-crafted wine.

As soon as Danny read about this bottle, he picked up a bottle right away to surprise me with!

What better way to enjoy it than with a nice, greasy In-and-Out to bring out the flavors of the wine?

There was a lot of smackin', slurpin', and gruntin' in delicious approval.

It was the best date night EVER.

"Jammy" Triumph

"Jammy" is often used as ammunition against California wine... but it's what MAKES California wines.

Delicious.

Bridlewood (Central Coast) Syrah, 2006. Thick, jammy with lots of dark berry flavors, undertones of dark chocolate, and then a lingering light-peppery finish. 

This bottle is accessible in many retail stores, not only at the winery. I found it at the BevMo 5-cent sale one year and went to town!

However, I make it a point to visit their beautiful, mission-style winery in Santa Ynez whenever I'm in the area (which is quite frequently).

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$13 at your local BevMo

Fell in love with... Sonoma Pinot Noirs

Box Car 2008

An "in your face" Pinot.

Ravages the brain, trying to figure out the texture, tastes.

Cola, ripe cherries, oak... so much more! But who cares? It just tastes good and puts the biggest smile on my face :)

Bought a bottle during Wine House's Black Friday sale.

original price: $28

Black Friday sale: $15



Should've bought more...

Vina Robles - Red4 - Paso Robles

Table Wine.

Weak, quick finish, light-bodied, unimpressive.
Tastes cheap.

Technically, Vina Robles' Red4 is a "table wine", but I REFUSE to label it that way.

A Rhone blend - Syrah, Petite Syrah, and splashes of Grenache and Mourvedre - which is a hearty, medium-bodied wine with a soft, yet memorable, combination of dark fruit, cinnamon&spice, and the good ol' earth. The flavors and aroma have no notes of "cheap table wine"; you would think it's much more expensive than it actually is.

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Winery: Vina Robles
Location: Paso Robles
Wine Label: Red4
Price: $14

Ecluse - Cabernet Sauvignon - 07

To celebrate both of our birthdays, Danny and I decided to stay in, cook, and open up a "special occasion" wine... our beloved Ecluse Cabernet Sauvignon!

We had been holding onto this one, for it is our most expensive bottle at $30 (Ecluse is a small-production, family-owned, boutique winery in Paso Robles). 

Drinking this wine truly made us feel thankful for life, our senses, and our patience in keeping this bottle 'til it was "the right time".

Apparent fruit and minerality that show off the Paso Robles terroir. Tannins add to the structure but finish off smoothly. Every time I took a sip, I desired to hold and swirl it in my mouth as long as I could because I didn't want the sensation to end.

With this incredible wine, we had homemade pizzas (sauteed chicken+bell peppers on pita bread, marinara sauce, topped and baked with a variety of cheeses) and, of course, birthday cake (light pound cake with chopped fruit and fluffy white cream - which my amazing friend Jennifer bought me). The wine went perfectly with everything we ate.

Thank you Ecluse, for making our birthday unforgettable. We can't wait to return to Paso Robles to pick up more "special occasion" wines!

Milan Vineyards - Toganga Triad - 2008

Creating wine - the dream can be accomplished at the Camarillo Custom Crush Winery in Ventura County. Imagine walking into this crushpad and discussing your vision for your ideal wine with the winemaker. He suggests where to purchase grapes and reviews the best process of barreling with you, and in months to a year, your wine is ready for bottling with your own custom label! Best of all, it's all done at this Winery for you.

What I admire about this crushpad is that it promotes wine created from local grapes (Santa Monica Mountains, Malibu, and Topanga Canyon). Many new wineries are using this venue to get their labels off the ground until they can afford their own locations for barreling.

As you walk in the the Crush Winery, you may taste a variety of wines that are produced here.

We came across the Milan Vineyards' Topanga Triad, which was inspiring, complex, and flavorful. 65% Syrah and 30% Grenache exudes a lot of fruit with a nice round-off of earthiness, provided by the 5% Mourvedre, to finish off the taste. At $18 a bottle, we purchased 2 because we knew it would not be conveniently, readily available elsewhere.

Our local wines need more maturing, promoting, and aging but I'm proud of the direction they're heading.

Mandolina - Nebbiolo - Solvang

Solvang is a unique, pedestrian-friendly, Dutch town in the Santa Barbara area. Many are so excited to go, plan trips around seeing it, only to realize they're "done" with it after about 2 hours.

Fortunately, there are many other places to go around Santa Barbara - Downtown, Los Olivos, Foxen Canyon... but if you wanted to come all this way to Solvang, why not stay a little longer?

I suggest going to Mandolina (tasting room). They make their wines in "Italian" styles. Super Tuscans, Nebbiolos. Barberas. Last time I was in Solvang, Mandolina was the last stop on our wine trail, and as the saying goes, "After 3 wineries, you're not tasting - you're DRINKING." I did manage to walk out with tasting notes, and 6 bottles. 2 Super Tuscans and 4 Nebbiolos.

After coming home from the trip, I organized my wine collection and came across my 4 bottles of Nebbiolo. 4 bottles? I didn't even remember why I purchased this! I had to try it.

Light bodied, good balance of cherries and oak, not too much acidity but just enough to make me salivate. Easy to drink. Perfect for making any weekday a special day.

I checked my tasting notes and I saw that the original price of this is $20. Then, I looked at the fine print. "Passport weekend: buy 6 bottles and recieve 50% off". Oh, that's why I have 4 bottles of this stuff!

While in Solvang, I'd also recommend visiting Mandolina's sister tasting room, Lucas and Lewellen, which focuses on more California style wines. (Yes, we brought home 6 of their bottles, too!)

Buttonwood - Cabernet Sauvignon - Santa Ynez - '05

Purchase at the Buttonwood Winery - case sale: $100!!!
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I don't cook. It's messy, and frankly, I'm not very good at it.

Now, imagine this scenario: I come home later than expected because of work. I'm tired and frustrated, so I relieve myself with a nice phone conversation with a friend, and as we are talking, I look through my wine collection and pull out this Cab. I uncork it and pour myself a glass while I'm listening to my friend go on about her day. I swirl my glass, take a sniff, sensing aromas of dark, ripe fruit and some acidity. I take a sip and the fruit becomes brighter, the tannins are present yet mellow, and the finish is soft, with a slight acidic kick at the end. At this point, I was not listening to my friend anymore; the only thing in my mind was that I wanted spaghetti and marinara meat sauce. So simple, yet the wine made me crave it.

I said good-bye to my friend and drove to Ralphs, where I bought Ragu premade marinara sauce, turkey ground meat, penne pasta, and fresh cut mushrooms. I brought it home and put it together, and it was AMAZING. Yes, this wine inspired me to cook. There was a specific flavor I sought that only I knew how to fulfill. After my meal, I relaxed on the couch with another glass, just by itself, and I decided it was an awesome day.

Donati - Merlot - Templeton (Paso Robles)

Don't get me wrong. I love me some fruit forward, full-medium bodied, over-ripe zin.

But opening up a mellow, earthy Donati Merlot after a "jammy" zin brought some relief to my palate and rocked my senses to sleep after a long day at work.

The next day, I noticed more fruit, but surrounded by oakiness. Wonderful balance. I just sipped and loved every minute of it.

The third day, more acidic qualities exuded. I should have finished the bottle the previous day...

(lessons of evolving wine... always finish the bottle if you're enjoying it - never assume it will be the same the next day) 

Price: This bottle is $27, but we bought it directly from the tasting room in Templeton, near Paso Robles, and the bottle came with a complimentary tasting. Currently, this bottle is out, but let this be a testament for wonderful Merlots!

Turnbull - "Old Bull" - Napa Valley

As my wine hobby grows, and I fantasize about immersing myself in the business. To learn details on how to get started, I sat through a Wine Business 101 lecture held by Ian Blackburn (LearnAboutWine).

Blackburn gave a lot of useful facts and anecdotes to clear up my questions, and I realized that I'd rather keep my day job and have wine remain as a hobby. I think I need that separation, I need that contrast. There is nothing like a great wine trip to look forward to to get you through the day. What if I had a career in wine? After all that stress would I really be looking forward to more wine?

It's true that there are plenty of people who build their lifestyles around wine and love it. Perfect example, our instructor, Ian Blackburn. His journey with the wine business has been a roller coaster, but his heights made staying in the business worth it.

To refer back to the class, we tasted plenty of wine, including a bottle of self-blended pinot noir (left over wines mixed in one bottle). But one that stood out was "Old Bull" by Turnbull winery. 

In response to the economy, Turn Bull released a bottle that the average person can purchase and enjoy ($19.99). The varietals are a mystery - a red blend with qualities of dark berries with a touch of cinnomin and spice. Full, easy to drink, and glamorous (Turnbull's reds usually begin at $35, and although the "Old Bull" is only $19.99, you still taste all the qualities that make Turnbull and expensive brand).

Maybe I'll change my mind about pursuing the wine business as my experiences deepen. 'Til then, writing about wine (for pleasure) is enough to keep the mind afloat.

Little Penguin - Pinot Noir - Austrailia

When I first started drinking wine, I only drank Pinot Grigio, partly because I was clumsy and I didn't want to show any wine stains.

Then, I moved onto Pinot Noirs as my palate shifted towards reds.

After discovering Temecula, I longed for heavier, more tannic reds, so I developed a stigma towards Pinot Noirs as I stereotyped them as too "light bodied".

How ignorant of me! After many trips to Santa Barbara, I realized that Pinot Noirs can be fuller, but its delicacies should be appreciated.

This takes me to the Little Penguin Pinot Noir. Bought at the BevMo! five cent sale, I came home with two bottles (one bottle is only $8.00), and the next day one bottle was already finished. The thing I noticed about this Pinot was that I could taste the whole grape cluster. Fruit forward taste. Stems and seeds in the finish. Flesh remains on your tongue. Cheap, excellent wine. In fact, last year, Wine Spectator included this bottle in their "Best Wines under $20" issue!

Gascon - Malbec - Argentina - '08

Back in April 2009, I won a wine contest...

Where: Trader Joe's Westside, Sepulveda at Palms

Prompt: In 75 or fewer words, review and recommend your favorite wine from those offered at your Sepulveda/Palms Trader Joe's and be eligible for a $50 gift card!

What I Reviewed: Gascon Malbec '08, retail $9.99


What I submitted:

On a lazy Sunday afternoon, I poured myself a glass of Gason Malbec. I was mesmerized by the sunlight radiating through the deep plum color. The pleasant, balanced aroma of dark berries and chocolate seduced my lips, inching to the rim of the glass. As I sipped, the initial light texture sprouted into tannins, which provided an enjoyable earthy finish. Nibbling on chocolate with the next sip, all that was left was a sigh.

Looking back at my writing, I cringe. I'm proud that I won first place, but I'm not proud of what I wrote. But that feeling just comes with writing; there's always room to edit. First of all, it was difficult trying to fit my ideas into 75 words - I must have went through more than 10 revisions. Second, reading this description again, it sounds like I threw up a Wine 101 dictionary. I just needed more space to show my personal connection with the wine without sounding like a generic commercial (can you tell I'm self-critical?).

However, this experience DID start me off into writing about wine, and I'll only improve with time, experience, knowledge. And even though I'm not truly happy with what I had written, I stand by the Gascon Malbec when I say it's truly a nice, drink-at-any-occasion wine.

The Wine House - no risk buy guide!

The DILEMMA: "Danny, what bottle should we open up next?"

The Costa De Oro Tempranillo? Nope - at $27, that needs to opened on a special occasion...
The Ecluse Cab? Nope! That was $30!
The Castoro Primativo? Do we really want to open a Paso wine? We traveled so far to pick them up...

Once in a while, we get to a point where we can't manage to open up any of our bottles because we had splurged on them, or traveled some distance to get them. On a lazy Saturday, Danny and I ran out of cheap good wine to open and lounge with.

"Wanna go to Ralphs?"
"No"
"Wanna go to BevMo?"
"No"
"Wanna go to Trader Joe's?"
"No"

Here's the problem with going out to buy cheap wines blindly: what are you really basing the purchase on? The price? It doesn't matter if the bottle is cheap. If you don't like it, you just wasted money. What about the descriptions? Of course the stores will make it sound appealing... rhetoric! Points? Everyone has different opinions on wine - it's all relative.

In my experience, blindly picking bottles at stores is the worst way to buy. Sure, you stock up on cheap wines that you don't feel bad about opening at any given moment, but you only find "diamonds in the rough" occasionally. Most of the time, you will spend criticizing the wine, checking off which ones you will NEVER buy again. I don't mind paying up for a bottle that I know will be excellent and meaningful, but I WILL stress out about how I'm forced to finish a bottle which I cannot stand. What a waste of time and money! Plus, if I'm going to continue working out my liver, I'm going to give it the good stuff.

As Danny and I conversed about what to do and where to go to buy good, cheap wine, we remembered that the Wine House has a dispensing tasting room!

 

http://www.wineaccess.com/store/winehouse/newsletter.html?newsletter_id=129521

This is how it works: You go to the customer service desk in the back of the store and purchase a tasting card and put money on it (between $10-$20). Then you go to the tasting room, insert your card, and choose a wine to taste. Each tasting price varies (from $1-$6, depending on how much the wine costs), and whichever taste you choose, the cost will be deducted from your card. After this trial and error process, we found two bottles that we definitely wanted to purchase...


What we bought AFTER tasting:

2008 MAN Vintners Pinotage South Africa

Retail: $7.99

This red has a LOT of fruit and drinks smoothly - almost with a bacon fat aftertaste... in a good way! Perfect to bring to a party, or to lounge on the couch with. Don't judge it by the twist top. It's a good, solid wine that will deliver!

2008 Boekenhoutskloof The Wolftrap Red Wine Western Cape

Retail: $9.99 

More oaky and peppery than the above MAN Pinotage, but still has fruit present. Would be a great wine to enjoy with a meaty meal! Long, slighty tannic finish.  

Plungerhead Old Vine Zinfandel, Lodi

Retail: $11.99 

A delicious, mouthwatering burst of fruit. Smooth and easy to drink! Would pair well with smoked, tangy BBQ or a juicy burger! Great crowd-pleaser for any party. 

More importantly, we tasted cheap wines that we did NOT like, and therefore ended up not purchasing. If we had just bought blindly, we probably WOULD have picked up the bottles, and then be disappointed. We saved money, AND brought home bottles that were a great price and we KNOW will enjoy. My next dilemma.... which of the three bottles to open up first...

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The Wine House
2311 Cotner Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90064-1803
(310) 479-3731

google directions

Galleano - "Beaver Run Ranch" Syrah - Mira Loma (Rancho Cucamonga)

It's wonderful to have found a reliable, reasonably priced winery here in Southern California. Galleano Winery is a historic landmark in Rancho Cucamonga, and if you're looking for great red wines under $20 that are NOT mass produced, make the trip, taste (you get up to 5 free), and purchase wines to bring home or to give as unique gifts. Galleano's reds are excellent and can only be purchased at the winery.

One thing people do not know is that Cucamonga vinyards sell their grapes to Temecuala wineries. Temecuala's vines are fairly new, so when they feature bottles as "Old Vine" and mark up the price, check the location - it'll probably say "Cucamonga Valley." Why is this significant to know? Because you can get these prestigious "Old Vine" wines directly from Galleano Winery for about half the price!

One that particularly stood out was their Syrah (retail $9.75). Beautiful dark red, rich color. A dusty nose that reminds me of a cellar. Overly ripe red fruit, that some would refer to as "jammy", but I would describe it more as "mature" because the fruit, while present, is not overbearing. Finally, a subtle oaky finish that provides a nice contrast to the fruit.

I couldn't stop pouring myself glass after glass. It just drank so easily and pleased my senses with every sip. My hands did manage to let go of the stem and onto this keyboard so I could blog about it...

Galleano Winery

4231 Wineville Avenue
Mira Loma, CA 91752-1412

google directions 

SF Chronicle's Best Cabernet's $20 or less

Click on the link below for the full article:

Linkk: The Chronicle Recommends Cabernets $20 or Less


My choice from the list:

Avalon '07 (Napa) - $15

  I can never say "no" to chocolate covered cherries. Excellent - an affordable "weekend wine", and a perfect pick-me-up "weekday wine"! 

Cline - "Cashmere" red wine - Sonoma - '08

Retail price: $16.99

When drinking red wine, you may notice grittiness on your tongue, notes of grape skin and seeds in your mouth, and a sensation to smack your lips at the end of the sip. Those feelings are "tannins."

Tannins of wine are similar to the bitterness of coffee, the hoppiness of beer, the stinkiness of cheese.

An acquired taste. Something you eventually learn to appreciate.

Too much of the above qualities shows carelessness in the craftsman. Just enough reminds what specialty food is taken, is enjoyed.

I once went to a food tasting in which I had a chocolate that eliminates tannins. True. Unrefined, unripe tannins can sometimes make a wine undrinkable, but you need to feel the tannins to understand the craftsmanship, or carelessness, of the wine maker.

So this leads me to describe Cline "Cashmere" red wine.  SMOOTH Rhone Blend (Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre). The ripeness of red and dark purple fruit without the heaviness or viscosity. Instead, soft and light on your tongue. The winemaker really took time to experiment and make the absence of tannins possible.

This does not mean I dislike tannins - it adds a layer (or two) of interest on the wine. As for my coffee, I drink it black. Don't even get me started on why I can't stand Coors Light. And, hey- I like stinky cheese.

But it's cold outside, and I'm going to turn on my heater, curl up with a blanket on my couch, and warm my mouth with some "Cashmere".

Havens Wine Cellars - Merlot - Napa - 05

"There are two clear choices with California Merlot right now: Splurge and buy the best, or search for reliable values. Unfortunately, Merlot's middle ground is tougher terrain, because too many merlots in the $20-$40 price range offer only so-so quality." - Tim Fish, Wine Spectator, November 2009 issue

In response to Fish, I found a wonderful Merlot in the $30 range. Even better, it's on sale for $9.97 at the Wine House!

This wine is certainly hearty. Hints of V8, red meat, and pepper but smooth enough for me to lounge with. I tried the Haven's Syrah, which had some of the same scents and flavors, but it was rough. You HAVE to eat a steak with that one; you couldn't just sit and enjoy a glass of it like you could with this Merlot.

But why NOT have a steak with this wine? Amazing with food, enjoyable on its own, with complex flavors that continue to stimulate your senses. Therefore, put your negative preconceptions of Merlot aside (note: Sideways is NOT a wine bible!) and stock up on this bottle while the prices are down.

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refer to blog entry The Wine House - no risk buy guide