Feeling Creative? Wine Blogging Wednesday Needs a New Logo

Lenn Thompson of Lenndevours, the creative juice behind Wine Blogging Wednesday, has decided that it's time for a new logo for the internet-wide tasting event.

He has announced a Wine Blogging Wednesday Logo Contest, which will run until March 31, 2008. At any point during that time, please submit your logo idea via email to winebloggingwednesday@gmail.com. Once the submissions are in, Lenn plans to post them to Flickr and let everybody vote for their fave.

Official prizes? None so far, but Lenn points out that you will win the love and respect of the WBW community--for what that's worth. Have prizes you want to bestow? Let Lenn know and something can be arranged!

Winery Watch: David Coffaro Wine

An ongoing series of Friday posts highlighting California family wineries. You might not be familiar with all of these vineyards and winemakers--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. To read previous posts in the series, click here.

If your image of a person who buys wine futures is limited to rich men in cravats smoking pipes and reviewing Bordeaux and Burgundy en primeur catalogues, think again. People like you and me buy futures, too, and some of these futures are purchased from a winery and estate vineyard in the Dry Creek Valley that was started by David and Pat Coffaro. If you've never heard of the David Coffaro Estate Vineyard, that may be because they produce only around 5000 cases a year, and sell the vast majority of their wine through the "Crazy Coffaro Futures Program." But if you are a fan of luscious blends and interesting grape varieties at attractive prices, you need to know about this cult favorite among California wineries. (picture of the 2007 Dry Creek Valley Passport Weekend at Coffaro, from David Caffaro Estate Vineyard).

The Coffaros came to the Dry Creek Valley in 1978, and began planting a wide variety of grapes in their estate vineyards. These included not only the more popular plantings in the area (like zinfandel) but some varieties that are just beginning to catch the American imagination (like the Portuguese grape varieties Touriga, Alvarelho, and Souzao) and those that have yet to make much of an impression here but are popular in Italy. To get some hint of the range of grapes Coffaro grows, here's a vineyard map (to enlarge, click on the vineyard map here).


When you visit Coffaro, the free-spirit shown in the futures program and the planting scheme for the vineyard is also found in the tasting room, which is where you can find wine barrels, art, sports memorabili, a sofa, and a wide-screen for broadcasting various things during Coffaro events. The tasting room is a bar with a kitchenette attached in the corner of this vast space. Not surprisingly, tastings at Coffaro are fun and low-key.

And what great things there are to taste. Below are some of the highlights of my trip to Coffaro in November. Coffaro wines can be found through some retailers, but the best selection can be had when dealing directly with the winery. I've indicated the retail price of the wine were you to purchase it through the winery. As always, the price you pay may be higher or lower.

2005 David Coffaro Fresco Dry Creek Valley ($22). This has all the flowery and spicy aromas of a Portuguese red table wine, which lead into a plate of red and black berries with more spicy accents. 36% Alvarelho, 34% Peloursin, and 30% Cabernet Sauvignon from the Dry Creek Valley. Excellent QPR, and very interesting.

2006 David Coffaro Petite Sirah Dry Creek Valley ($28). Expressive petite sirah with aromas of cocoa, espresso, and cherry. 100% Petite Sirah, this has a good grip of tannins that hold on from the first sips of the wine all the way to the aftertase. A candidate for short-term cellaring, with very good QPR. (FYI: 2007 Petite Sirah futures available through 3/31/2008 for $17/bottle).

2005 David Coffaro Zinfandel Price Family Dry Creek Valley ($26). A meaty zinfandel, with aromas of thyme and blackberry, the flavor palate reminded me of lavender flowers and cherries. Lots of tannin thanks to the 13% tannat that has been blended in to the wine. A distinctive zin, and I suspect it will improve with age. Very good QPR.

2006 David Coffaro Carignane Dry Creek Valley ($25). A spicy red with good acidity and a nice meatiness. Blackberry fruit notes predominate the aromas and flavors, with spice coming into the finish. Good QPR. (FYI: 2007 Carignane futures available through 3/31/2008 for $17/bottle).

2005 David Coffaro Sangiovese Alexander Valley ($26). There is nice spice in this sangiovese, along with varietally typical cherry flavors and aromas. Smooth and balanced, with good and medium/heavy body. Good QPR.

If you buy more than 2 cases from any single vintage, you are eligible to join the Vintage Circle for Coffaro regulars that earns you a $2 discount per bottle on all futures, and 30% off of all bottled wines. Coffaro points out that this is not a wine club, but a way of saying "thank you" to their regular customers.

Should your travel plans take you to the Dry Creek Valley, be sure to stop in at Coffaro and have a taste of their wines. My guess is you will leave clutching all the information on the Coffaro Crazy Futures program.

The Wine Retailer Nobody Talks About

After wrestling with my conscience, and despite the certain knowledge that some of my wine-loving friends won't talk to me after I reveal this (especially not the ones who told me about it in the first place), it is time to let readers in on one of the biggest open secrets among wine geeks: Garagiste, the Seattle-based wine retailer who only sells wine futures to a mailing list. They have a website, but the only point of it now seems to be that you can sign up for the mailing list there.

Jon Rimmerman, the brain behind Garagiste, buys wine direct from producers all over the world and then announces it is for sale to list of wine lovers so enthusiastic that it sometimes takes less than 5 minutes from the time the email gets sent for them to sell out of a wine. Yes, I said 5 minutes. Just you try getting some limited production demi-sec Vouvray from Garagiste--you'd better type fast. Wines on offer through Garagiste range from $10 bargain finds to wines that are many thousands of dollars, and they appeal to every consumer niche from Aussie Shiraz-lovers to those who like obscure old world bottlings from the South of France.

The thing to remember before you go on a wild buying spree is that Garagiste ships wine twice a year--in November/December and in March-ish--and they stockpile your order in between in their storage facility. Then they ship it to you by the case over the course of several weeks. Because these wines are futures, there is no guarantee exactly when you will receive them. Some of the wine I bought in May still hasn't arrived in the warehouse, never mind at my house. Still, the wine that I have received has been in perfect condition, and they back everything with a limited guarantee--although if you buy lots of wine, I'm not sure how you could open it all and test for cork taint in a week. Still, it pays to do a careful inspection of the bottles to check for seepage, label stains, and popped out corks. I've never had a problem, but you want to exercise all possible caution.

If you don't check your email regularly, Garagiste can be an exercise in frustration, since several calls for orders go out every day and the wines will most likely not be available for more than 24 hours. Usually, they are available for far less time than that. However, if you like weird varietals and are an intrepid drinker, you can get some genuinely wonderful wines. Recently, I picked up a Nerello blend from Sicily's Mt. Etna appellation made by Frank Cornelissen that is hot pink due to the significant amount of sediment that the winemaker leaves in the wine. This is not something you're likely to find at BevMo. You will see some reviews of Garagiste wines on the site in upcoming weeks that I purchased to fill in my Wine Century, so you can be your own judge as to whether Garagiste wines are likely to be of interest to you.

Should you take the plunge, KEEP TRACK of your purchases because a bottle or two here or there really adds up over the course of six months and you can find yourself having uncomfortable discussions with your bank manager and/or your loved ones to explain how you spent so much money on so much wine that now has no where to live and must be arranged in colorful "displays" on every surface in your house.

You can head over to the website to sign up, but don't expect much information there. It's all done by email. "You've got mail" never tasted so good.

A Red from Friuli: Schioppettino

Last week wine bloggers pulled the corks on a variety of white wines from the north-eastern Italian wine region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia. This week, I turned to the red side of the wine spectrum, and opened a bottle of wine made with the Friuli indigenous grape variety Schioppettino.

Schioppettino gets its name, some say, from the fact that when it is bottled young, the wine completes its fermentation in the bottle and can get slightly fizzy. "Schioppettino" means "little crackle" in Italian, and probably refers to the sensation of snap, crackle, and pop that you get when you drink this wine. Some, however, say the same "little crackle" comes from the Syrah-like pepperiness that you can taste on your tongue. Schioppettino is also known as Ribolla Nera, and can be traced back in the records to at least the 13th century.

The 2005 Ermacora Colli Orientali de Friuli Schioppettino is made from this indigenous rarity. (K & L Wines, $14.99) When I opened it and poured the first glass, the characteristic fizz was there and I have to say I didn't quite know what to do with it in a dry, red wine. It wasn't as fizzy as lambrusco, but it was definitely there, prickling away at your tongue. When it first opened up it had a funny smell of bandaids, pine and cherry. The bandaid mercifully blew off, leaving pine and sour cherry. The cherry sweetened up in your mouth, and turned to a happy, Bing cherry note in the aftertaste. I drank this over two nights to see what would happen to the fizz, and it wasn't until the last dregs of the last glass on day #2 that the fizz disappeared.

This wine, for all its strange qualities, does fit the wine's varietal profile and at just under $15, represents very good QPR for those who are Schioppettino fans. For those who aren't, you may feel this wine is a tad overpriced for a simple, quaffable red. I'm glad I had it for my Wine Century, and that I will be able to recognize it if I ever see it on a wine list, but I'm not sure I'll be ordering a case any time soon! Schioppettino experts, I'm looking forward to your reactions to this post, along with any tips about aging the wine, decanting, etc., that you may have.

Wine Blogging Wednesday #41 and #42

First, Jack and Joanne from Fork and Bottle, have posted the impressive round-up of tasting notes from WBW #41, which focused on the whites of Friuli-Venezia Giulia. People clearly had a wide range of experiences with these hard-to-find white wines. Some loved them and will be drinking more of them, others found the bottles they could get their hands on quite ordinary. Still, the turnout was great and many WBW tasters drank several different bottles, and tried some new Friuli grapes, so do head over to the round-up and then on to the web for the full details.

Second, Andrew from Spittoon will be the host for WBW #42 in February. He asks us to drink an Italian red. Any Italian red. Whew, you're thinking. That's not rough. Wait for it. Then you need to review it--in just seven words. This should be seven words that make a sensible sentence, wine name and other data not included. Confused? Head over to Spittoon for full details. Taste your wine and post your notes (and photographs!) by Wednesday, February 13.