Virtual Rose Tasting with Catavino

There's still time to join in the fun of Catavino's Virtual Wine Tasting event for April: Iberian Rose vs. ? Rose. Between now and April 30, see if you can find a Spanish or Portuguese rose. Wine critics and drinkers alike agree that the Iberian peninsula is producing some of the very best dry roses in the world, and Gabriella and Ryan of Catavino would like us to see what we think.

After whining that Spanish rose would be hard to find in LA, I found a surprising range of Spanish roses for under $10 at BevMo. And lots of French roses for about the same price. So, too, Mendocino and other California rose. If you want to drink along with me, here's what I'm going to be tasting and reporting on between now and April 30: the 2005 Cortijo III Rioja Rose Garnacha ($9.99); the 2005 Bonny Doon Vin Gris de Cigare ($10.99); the 2005 Grand Plagniol Rose ($9.99). If you live in California, all these should be easy to find at your local Beverages & More. So pick up one of these bottles and drink along with me, comparing notes and seeing how different roses from different reasons stack up.

For Gabriella's brief, click over to Catavino for the details. And best of all, you certainly don't need a blog to participate, since they've set up a forum for our tasting posts. I will post my notes over there, but put a post here, too, with a link to the full range of responses.

It's spring. Time to think pink, and fire up the BBQ!

Winery Watch: Brutocao Cellars

This is the third in a series of posts highlighting California family wineries. You might not be familiar with them--yet--but they produce wines that speak with the voices of this state's people, places, and history. They are worth seeking out. These posts will be longer than most posts on the blog, but I hope you will find them perfect for leisurely weekend reading and internet browsing. Have fun! To read previous posts in the series, click here.

In Renaissance Venice, two things were prized above all else: family and land. (Allegory of Venice by Carpaccio) Venice didn't have much land to speak of, and what little there was seemed constantly at risk of being washed into the Adriatic, but the city's rulers knew that land was important. Most Venetians have a deep yearning to own something --anything -- permanent and lasting to hand down to their descendents. The ghosts of the city must smile every time they think of Brutocao Cellars, where a Venetian family married into a family of Mendocino County farmers and put down deep roots into the California soil. It was Venice's two obsessions--with family, with land--that kept Venice strong, century after century. And its what makes Brutocao Cellars wines so special today.

Len and Marty Brutocao lead a family effort to make wine that is a homage to their Italian heritage and a testament to the hard work started by Marty's father, Irv Bliss, when he bought land in Mendocino County back in the 1940s. (picture of Len and Marty Brutocao courtesy of Brutocao Cellars) Folks were just starting to think about planting and cultivating wine grapes again after Prohibition, but not many were thinking of the remote reaches of the Northern California coast. But Irv Bliss thought this land could yield some fine wine, and he was proven right.

Beginning in 1991 with the help of family and friends, and later with the help of Fresno-native and UC Davis graduate winemaker Fred Nickel, the Brutocaos began putting out some lovely examples of California wines made with Italian and Bordeaux varietals. (picture of Fred among the barrels courtesy of Brutocao Cellars) Farming over 475 acres of choice land and planting more than 12 grape varietals, the Brutocaos paid attention to the best traditions of winemaking. To honor these traditions, they chose the Lion of St. Mark--the symbol of Venice--to mark their wine bottles and name their wine club.

Brutocao Cellars is also interested in starting new traditions, and they are part of a group of Mendocino Winemakers who collaborate on the Coro Mendocino project. Operating under strict production rules like a European DOC, eleven Mendocino wineries (Brutocao Cellars, Dunnewood Vineyards, Eaglepoint Ranch, Fetzer Vineyards, Golden Vineyards, Graziano Family Wines, McDowell Valley Vineyards, McNab Ridge Winery, Oracle Oaks Winery, Pacific Star Winery and Parducci Wine Estate) make a special, ultra-premium wine with Zinfandel at the core and other varietals added in unique proportions that reflect the special characteristics of each particular vineyard. "Coro" means "chorus" in Italian and Spanish, and the name Coro Mendocino reflects winemakers' efforts to harmonize all the individual, strong voices coming out of the county's vineyards these days.

When Jeff Miller took the time to share Brutocao's line of wines with me at the Family Winemakers Event, it was clear to me that they are distinguished not only by the care with which they are made, and the traditions that the family draws upon, and the alliances that the Cellars has with other area producers. What distinguishes Brutocao's New World wines is that they have Old World soul. They are food wines--meant to be opened around a dinner table full of friends and family, with plates of food, good conversation, and lots of laughter. These bottlings contain the stuff that everyday wine culture in American should be based on, with their juicy fruit, complex flavors, and soft elegance.

Here are my brief tasting notes for my favorite Brutocao Cellars wines, with links back to the Brutocao website (soon to be launched in a jazzy new version, but the links will still work) so that you can order some wine for your own collection. My local wine store here on the Sonoma Coast stocks their wines, so ask your retailer if they can get some to have on hand when the yearning for some good wine hits you hard. It's also worth knowing that they have a second, value-oriented label, Bliss Vineyards, so keep your eyes peeled for that line of wines, too.

2004 Brutocao Quadriga Hopland ($24) A yummy Cal-Italian blend of sangiovese, primitivo, dolcetto, and barbera. Lovely red and black fruit aromas, are accompanied by warm, spicy notes and real structure as the flavors unfold and develop. This would be age-worthy, but you may not be able to wait its so good now. Possibly my favorite from the tasting, and there was a lot of competition! Excellent QPR.

2004 Brutocao Zinfandel Hopland Ranches ($22) This was an outstanding example of Mendocino Zinfandel with real complexity and depth. No wonder it won a gold medal at the California State Fair! Jammy blackberry aromas and flavors are complemented with cedary spice. Cracked pepper notes emerge as the fruit fades on the finish. Great value. Excellent QPR

2004 Brutocao Estate Bottled Cabernet Sauvignon ($20; also available in large-format 3L bottle for $100) Made from fruit harvested from the Hopland Ranch's Contento and Feliz vineyards, this outstanding cabernet has rich cassis aromas and flavors with a distinctive whiff of pencil lead shavings that made me think of Bordeaux. This wine is still young, and has a strong grip of tannins, so I'd age it a year or two to give it time for its flavors to shine. I'd save it for the holidays in 2008! Excellent QPR.

2003 Brutocao Merlot Estate Bottled Bliss Vineyard ($20) What a nice merlot. Juicy cherry and blackberry aromas and flavors are woven with spicy cedar notes that extend through the finish. Enough to make Miles turn away from his Pinot Noir, and a marvelous wine to pair with food, whether summer BBQ or autumn stews. Excellent QPR.

2005 Brutocao Chardonnay Bliss Vineyard ($16) The versatility of the Brutocao portfolio is exemplified in this chardonnay, where a touch of oak brings out the apple and pear aromas and flavors characteristic of the varietal. Soft vanilla notes accent this appealing chardonnay. Very good QPR.

2006 Brutocao Sauvignon Blanc Estate Bottled Feliz Vineyard ($14) Yet another find from Brutocao, this time a nicely-balanced, citrusy sauvignon blanc. Aged in stainless steel to preserve the freshness of its aromas and flavors, grapefruit and other citrus flavors dominate a flavor palate that starts out soft with melons and grasses. Very good QPR.

The extended Brutocao vineyard family not only produces great wine, they lead by example in showing us what a great thing it is when European culture (especially wine culture) meets up with American can-do spirit. They have opened cafes and bistros alongside their tasting rooms in Philo and Hopland, because they believe that wine and food are partners. They host bocce tournaments because they know that families and friends who play together, stay together. (photo courtesy of Brutocao Cellars) They hold chili cook-offs for the Tri-County Little League because they believe in the future of the area. And they know deep in their bones that wine, if made with this kind of passion and commitment, is as permanent and lasting as any Venetian could wish.

Next Week: Red Head Ranch

What Style of Wine Consumer Are You?

Overjoyed to be on vacation and have access to high-speed internet for the first time in a week, I caught up on my blog reading and browsed through Wednesday's New York Times--always a high point for me, since it has Eric Asimov's wine column. I admire and respect what Asimov has to say about wine, and what he is doing to broaden the knowledge of wine in the US.

This week, Mr. Asimov had two different wine shops put together mixed cases of 12 wines, with a budgetary limit of $250, that are to be drunk with food. The purpose? To learn more about wine. You can read the lists over at his blog The Pour if you don't have a subscription to the NYT, where (if you do have a subscription) you can read the whole story "To Study Wine, Buy and Drink." At The Pour you can also read the 40+ comments that this buying strategy has engendered. By the time you read this, it may be 50+. In the comments section, fans applaud the mixed case as a brilliant, innovative strategy for learning about wine. Critics deplore the preponderance of French wine, and wonder why there aren't more US labels in the boxes that Chambers and Sherry-Lehmann put together for Mr. Asimov. Some urge new wine enthusiasts to set the budgetary bar lower, say at $150 per case, to avoid bitterness and recrimination when they discover they don't like Grenache. And through what magical rites do you find these wines, wonder some, without having a trusted retailer fill a box for you and without falling back on the dreaded 100-point Ratings?

I, on the other hand, wonder what the fuss is all about, since this is exactly how I buy and drink wine on a monthly basis. 12 interesting, unusual bottles for $250 total. Hey, it's good wine for --mostly--under $20! Where have I seen a blog like that? And as for how to find these treasures, do the readers of Asimov's column read any wine blogs at all--except maybe The Pour? If you want a magical rite, here it is: Go to my side bar. Say "hocus pocus." Click on one or more of the links under Wine Blogs Worth Visiting. Presto. Wine recommendations you can count on!

I started thinking that maybe buying a the mixed case is really an uncommon way to buy wine in the US. Perhaps I was warped from years of living in the UK, where the mixed case is something every merchant not only offers, but also advertises. (like in the advert from the UK's Majestic Wine Warehouse at the top of the post). They even put together mixed cases on themes like "Southern French Finds" and "Unheralded Whites" and so forth. You pop in to a store or order on line and presto, 12 new wines for you to try. How do you think everyday wine culture takes root and flourishes, folks? From what I see in Europe, it's seldom the result of peddling expensive chardonnay and cult cabernets in season and out. Variety is the spice of life! Drink widely. Try carignane!

Then again, maybe my love of the mixed case says something about me as a wine consumer. True confession time: I have a low, low boredom threshold. Picture someone you know with the lowest boredom threshold imaginable and then lower their boredom threshold by the power of 10. That's me. I would no sooner drink bottle after bottle of pinot noir (much as I love it) as I would bottle after bottle of wine made by one producer. But there are folks out there who are just the opposite. There are folks who buy wines by the case from a single maker, collect verticals of their favorite wines, and seek to become expert in specific regions, varietals, or producers. If I am a member of the Low Boredom Brigade, then they are definitely marching to the beat of the Pursuit of Expertise Squad. And more power to them. That's why the blogosphere is such an unbelievable resource for all of us.

What kind of wine consumer are you? Low Boredom Brigade? Pursuit of Expertise Squad member in training? A bit of both? Leave a comment and 'fess up about how you buy, drink, and enjoy your vino. Yes, you can even confess that you don't drink wine with food if you want. Your secret is safe with us.

There's More to Sangiovese Than Chianti

Do you love Chianti? I do, too. It was one of the first wines that caught my imagination, that made me think, oh, this is wine. Chianti is made with sangiovese, and this varietal makes up the heart of those smoky-sweet cinnamon and plum beauties. What's more, Chianti runs the gamut from simple, food-friendly table wines bound up in rush fiascos with a bit of rusticity to complex, expensive reserve bottlings. But the popularity and name-brand appeal of Chianti has been driving prices steadily upward recently. And if you like Chianti, you will probably like other wines made predominantly or exclusively from sangiovese grapes, such as Vino Nobile de Montipulciano and todays pick, Morellino di Scanscano.

Far, far to the south of Chianti--but still in Tuscany--lies Scansano, a town in view of the Tyrrhenian Sea. They cultivate morellino there, a strain of sangiovese grape that goes into wine that has many of the earthy and sweet characteristics of a good Chianti at a fraction of the price. The 1998 Cantina Cooperativa Del Morellino di Scansano "Vigna Benefizio" ($14.99, Colorado Wine Company; ) was an outstanding example of an older sangiovese with excellent QPR. A robust deep ruby color blended towards brick-redness at the edges where the wine touched the glass--a classic indication of an older red wine. But the age of this wine did not diminish the aromas of black cherry, cassis, and herbal aromas, nor did it blunt its full flavor palate. Even more surprising, there was still lots of acidity in this wine, so much so that when it was first opened you got the merest hints of spritziness, which abated as soon as the wine was poured. As you drank this wine you felt that you could smell and taste the sun-drenched fields of the Maremma region, and that acidity brought to mind open vistas of ocean and salt spray.

Morellino di Scansano wines, like Chianti, are excellent with grilled meats and tomato-based pasta sauces. Their earthiness, combined with just the right amount of acidity, stands up to this traditional Italian fare. We had it with a North Beach chicken and pasta dish that had spinach, mushrooms, a tomato ragu, and spoonfulls of ricotta cheese to stir in at the table. Unfortunately, the recipe isn't online but you can find it in Brian St. Pierre's excellent cookbook, The Wine Lover Cooks Italian.

You probably won't be able to find this vintage of Morellino di Scansano, or this exact maker, but you will be able to find a bottle of Morellino in good wine shops if you look for it. Easy to find brands include Fattoria le Pupille and Cecchi, and Terry Hughes of Mondosapore reminds all of us to keep our eyes peeled for other importers, like Poggio Argentiera, too. These bottlings provide a good value way to begin exploring the world of Italian wines and native varietals, so remember: Sangiovese. It's more than just Chianti.

Spring Into Albarino

Albarino has caught the American imagination. The US is now the #1 importer of wines made with this grape, as reported in an article recently in the SF Chronicle. The article also suggested that Albarino was the perfect wine for spring, and having just opened my first Spanish white, I cannot agree more.

I was tipped off to this wine by Sonadora at Wannabe Wino, who gave me a list of good Spanish whites to try out when I posted my New Year's Resolutions. Heavily planted in Spain's Rias Biaxas region in northwestern Spain, it is also planted in Portugal where it is known as Alvarinho. American vineyard owners and winemakers (including Qupe and Babcock) are just beginning to explore the potential of domestic plantings of the varietal.

The 2005 Vina Nora Albarino ($13.99, Colorado Wine Company; available through many other merchants for under $15) is light gold in color. It has characteristic varietal aromas of sweet honeysuckle and orange blossom. Its flavor profile is predominantly citrusy, with bracing acidity and a dry finish. Somehow, this wine managed to be both round and fresh, which is indeed the perfect combination for spring, with meals that include ham, roast chickens, and salmon popping up on many tables. These foods can quickly wash out a wine that has no body, but Albarino was a good match. All considered, I thought this had very good QPR, and would definitely become one of my go-to wines in the store.

I am trying to expand my regional cooking knowledge along with my Iberian wine knowledge, so we had this with a quick version of cataplana, a traditional Portuguese stew made with pork and clams. Here mild Italian sausage is substituted for the traditionally slow-cooked pork in the dish. You need lots of good bread to sop up the flavorful sauce, and once you toss together a green salad you are all set for a meal that makes you feel you are have a spring dinner al fresco, even if you are not.