Wine Outlook

Don’t get me wrong–I’m not unhappy it’s ZAP (Zinfandel Advocates and Producers) week in San Francisco. I’m just unhappy I didn’t get on the volunteer bandwagon in time and that I’ll be working Saturday during the big tasting.

The line-up:
Thursday (tonight) 6-9: Good Eats and Zinfandel Pairing
Fort Mason, where Zinfandel producers and restaurant chefs come together at this “informal dine-around food and wine extravaganza, long touted by guests as a ‘foodies’ dream come true. Savor mouth-watering Zinfandels paired with signature dishes in the spacious setting of the Herbst Pavilion. This glorious bounty is not to be missed.”
tickets $95 for ZAP members, otherwise $125—must be purchased in advance
Friday:Evening with the Winemakers-Benefit Live Auction & Dinner Sadly, this one at the Westin St. Francis Hotel at Union Square is sold out
Saturday: 17th Annual Grand Zinfandel Tasting
Trade & Media 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. (requires special ticket and badge)
NEW! Members Only Entrance Time 1 p.m. - 5 p.m.
General Public 2 p.m. - 5 p.m.
Silent Auction 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Walk about two pavillions at Fort Mason, sampling some portion of 260-275 Zinfandels (wow) and spitting as you go, if you want to make it home. Some nibbles will be provided, but I’d advise eating a large breakfast.
$49(ZAP members), $59(non-members), $69 at the door
few tickets available, so don’t wait

Check out the ZAP website for more info and to buy tickets. Pronto.

ZAP, Zinfandel Advocates and Producers

Don’t forget that Rosenblum’s tasting room will stay open one hour later this Thursday (closing at 7 instead of 6) to get that holiday shopping in before it’s too late. We had a good turn-out last Thursday and customers enjoyed light snacks such as cheeses, grapes, bruschetta, etc, and wines while they picked out their favorite bottles. Speaking of, I’ve got to start deciding which wines I’m going to take home with me–which ones to give as gifts and which one to drink with our meals. But that’s my problem! We’ll help you solve yours this week. And don’t forget you can give wine seminars as gifts, too.

gifts for wine lovers

Monday evening we had our holiday party at Foreign Cinema in San Francisco. Quite a charming place to which I’ll have to return and actually watch a film. A few of us girls took the ferry over and therefore got there a little early. That meant having to check out the bar downstairs, while waiting for our room to be ready. We had some tasty cocktails, though the wine list looked rather promising. Then it was onwards and upwards, in our balcony overlooking the rest of the dining area and bar. (more…)

After over four months of working at Rosenblum Cellars, I finally made it over to St. George Spirits, home of Hangar One vodka. The company actually shared space with Rosenblum back when we were located in Emeryville and then when we moved to Alameda. With their tasting room in what our reserve room is now–used for small events and private tastings, and also where my study group meets–they needed more room. Not too long ago, they moved onto the old naval base. After hitting up the Antiques By the Bay–held nearby on the first Sunday of the month– and scoring a few finds such as a shabby chic table and an old Betty Crocker’s Guide to Easy Entertaining, we went to sample some vodka and such. They pour a tasting menu of around 10-12 different spirits for $10, glass included. BK and I shared one menu and my three girlfriends split 2. You definitely don’t need your own; there’s plenty…

Some of my favorites were the White Tea Qi and the Hangar One Mandarin Blossom. Sadly, we couldn’t try the chipotle or wasabi vodka or the basil Eau de Vie as they aren’t currently available. But we had some other interesting goodies, including the smoked black tea Qi and a late-harvest viognier.

The hours are Wednesday through Saturday from 12-7 and Sunday 12-6. If you plan on trying to go to our winery and the distillery on the same day, I’d definitely share tastes and have a meal in between.

St. George Spirits, Hangar One vodka, Antiques By the Bay, distillery in Alameda, thiings to do in the East Bay

Or any day, for that matter. But I have to say, the Saturday crew is a pretty darn good one. Typically the busiest day of the week, we all work hard and work together. And of course, there have to be little breaks for quality control. As customers and yelpers attest, the Rosenblum Cellars tasting room is a super fun place to be and has been for a while now.

And word on the street is that the Rosenblum Cellars tasting room in Healdsburg is getting funner all the time. One side of the room which used to be used for displaying merchandise is going to be turned into a lounge area, making it more comfortable and welcoming. You can get Zinfandel and football scores. I’ve even heard rumors of customers making balloon animals and singing along to bad 70’s music. Treats made with the wines and adults going back in time to draw while they drink and play paddle ball.

Unlike the Alameda location, where there aren’t any other wineries within easy walking distance, the Healdsburg location is right on the Plaza in downtown, with many other choices for tasting (Toad Hollow, Seghesio, Gallo, etc.) Plus, it’s right next to the Oakville Grocery, which is a great spot for lunch.

There are plenty of other places to visit in Russian River Valley, such as the Bubble Room at J Winery.

Rosenblum Cellars tasting room, Rosenblum Cellars tasting room in Healdsburg

When my best wine friend was in town, I knew I had to take her to Domaine Carneros. Not only do they make great sparkling wine (and KB and I love sparkling wine as much as the Rosenblum staff), but she would get to meet Kenny G. Now, you may know or may have read that Kenny G works four days at Rosenblum and the other three at Domaine Carneros. We went with two other friends, Trisha and Kelly, who also works with me. Of course, Kenny G treated us in style in the section he calls “Prime Time,” as it’s in the front of the beautiful Chateau on the terrace.

Wines can be purchased by the taste, flight, glass, or bottle. We did the sampler, which included the brut, the brut rose’, and the ever-delicious Le Reve. They serve food, and as it’s not good to drink on an empty stomach, we shared a cheese plate and the smoked salmon plate (ok, if you insist….). Sitting in the sun, sipping bubbly, snacking on dried fruit and cheese. I could get used to that pretty easily.

Good thing I enjoyed it, since Kenny G finally did talk me into joining their wine club.

Read more Kenny G adventures here.

Domaine Carneros, Kenny G

Kenny G always has lunch at the same place when he works at Rosenblum Cellars. It’s called Dragon Village and it’s a little place on Lincoln Avenue that you might just pass by if you weren’t looking too hard. He often brings those of us in the tasting room samples of their food. The funny thing is, he doesn’t even pay for it because he trades leftover wine for food. The funnier thing is that he’s become their marketing director of sorts, coming up with ideas for promoting business and even his own special dish: Kenny G Style tofu, white chicken, green beans, black bean sauce, and garlic. The owner, Jacky, took a bunch of pictures of the KG with his signature dish, putting them under the glass table tops and resulting in the sale of over 20 orders that first day to advertise it.

Chinese food isn’t just for lunch anymore. Kenny G has taken to going there some evenings, as they love him over there. The atmosphere improves dramatically when he’s roaming the restaurant, talking to customers, and sharing Rosenblum wine. If you see him, ask for the Kathy’s Cuvee Viognier which goes great with the spicy cuisine. (more…)

Kenny G, Dragon Village

What do hard-working ladies decide to do one random Friday afternoon? Go to Old Oakland and have themselves a leisurely, well-deserved luncheon. Plus, it was the day before Kathy Rosenblum’s birthday…and what better way to celebrate with everyone’s favorite 2nd mom? We went to B Restaurant, a cute little place overlooking the farmer’s market.

We ordered one bottle off the menu, a Allimant Laugner Cremant D’Alsace Brut Rose with which to toast. It’s a wine I’ve had several times before and always enjoyed the light crispness. A fun and slightly different bottle of bubbles. Cheers, for sure!

After that, it was all Rosenblum wines, especially Kathy’s Cuvee Viognier (so named for being the wine of choice for the birthday girl). We also had some of the Chateau la Paws Cote du Bone Blanc–a blend of Viognier, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Marsanne, and Roussanne. Both wines are extremely refreshing and full of tropical fruit flavors. The only complaint would be that it took quite a while to get them opened!

The food was very good, though. Despite their being out of my choice of pulled pork with skillet cornbread, I enjoyed the light preparation of halibut over corn, spinach, and tomatoes. I also got to sneak bites of Kelly’s duck confit sandwich and Shauna’s boxed chicken salad. All yummy.

Of course, as soon as I got back to the tasting room, it was all work for a busy Friday afternoon.

B Restaurant, Old Oakland, ladies’ lunch

Yep, Rosenblum Cellars is right up there. If you’ve been there, you know what I mean. But check out this article in The New York Times. It’s by Gregory Dicum, who seems to have this thing about Pinot Grigio, and he gets some help from blogging guru, Alder Yarrow.

As soon as I’m done unpacking, I plan to hit a couple of these wine bars, especially Yield.

Final installment in the first excursion to Paso Robles:

Saturday morning of the trip found us first at Turley, which opens at 9 am, for those eager to get a super-early start. (Their website doesn’t have any information, so I won’t bother with a link.) It’s actually located in Templeton on Vineyard Drive. Now, I had heard mixed reviews about the Turley experience, but I wanted to see for myself. First off, this is a prime example of the overlapping webs in the wine world which fascinate me. In this case, brother and sister all over the map. Also, Turley is one of the big names in Zin, so it was good research—with my working at one of the other big names in Zin… As for the wine: I found the first three from Dry Creek, Napa, and Contra Costa to be very mild. The two which stood out the most for me were the 2005 Rattlesnake Ridge—it reminded me of a Reuben sandwich without sauerkraut (because that’s how I eat them)– and the 2004 Pesenti from Paso and on the edge of being jammy.

That picture is the view from the front door of L’Aventure. Based on a co-worker’s recommendation, BK drove us quite a ways down gravelly Live Oak Road. Similar to the creators of Tablas Creek, owner Stephan Asseo chose Paso Robles as the perfect location to put his French winemaking skills to use. The production is about 6,000 cases a year and 90% is estate grown. Drawn to the beauty and intricacy of blends, I fell in love with the 2005 L’Aventure Côte a Côte, made from Grenache, Syrah, and Mourvedre, though I had a problem with calling it unctuous, as was in the tasting notes. It bothered me for days because I wouldn’t consider that wine ingratiating or oily in any way. Just lovely chocolate, fig, blackberry and light floral notes. I also liked the 2005 Estate Cuvee, which reminded me of floating down the river in Missoula with teryaki beef jerky. (more…)

Paso Robles, Turley, L’Aventure, 2005 L’Aventure Côte a Côte

Round 2 of the first day in Paso Robles began with Garretson Wine Company. Of all the wineries, this had to be the one I was looking most forward to. (Already familiar with Mat ‘Mr. Viognier’ Garretson’s wines, I really enjoyed the Cornbread Nation Cuvee back in December and various other ones I’ve had in the past. I also appreciate his nod to Southern and Irish roots with his choice in names and the fact that he’s another southerner who moved out West to pursue a wine dream.) Though it was a little hard to find—tucked away in an industrial area—it was worth the wrong turn. From a 2005 Roussanne called “The Limóid Cior” which means lemon honeycomb and tasting of fig, honey, nutmeg, and lime to the 2005 Viognier which BK aptly described as tasting of sweet potatoes (with cinnamon and marshmellows, I added) and peaches and honey, the whites were tasting quite nice on a warm day. And especially the rose’ which I had to buy: “The Celeidh,” truly a cranberry and pomegranate celebration of Syrah, Grenache, and Mourvedre. Of course, the reds weren’t bad, either. Though the Mourvedre was light on fruit, it opened up into clove, coffee, and chocolate. I also had to take a bottle of the 2004 “The Luascáin” Syrah, as I was drawn to the olive, cherry, and mocha. Overall, it was quite an experience, and one that I’ll gladly repeat when/if the sommelier ever comes to visit.

The last two wine stops were quick ones, as the final hour approached. We saw that cave on the left there as we drove up to Eberle Winery. It had been recommended by a customer in the tasting room and rightly so. Producing about 30,000 cases, all Paso Robles fruit, my favorites were the 2005 Cass Vineyard Roussanne with its rose petals, toasted pinenuts, and cream, and the 2005 Sangiovese with cherry cola and vanilla. The 2004 Steinbeck Syrah was nice but needs more time. The final winery that day was Tobin James Cellars, which was packed even at the late hour. The picture on the right shows the fun front porch, and that attitude continues inside. It looks like an old saloon, and there are even video games for the kids. The staff is entertaining, passing out stickers with the Tobin James star emblem. At that point, I was suffering from palate fatigue, but I did call my good friend Val, who loves their Zin, only to find out she had been there the day before. Small world!

The day was complete with a delightful meal in downtown Paso Robles at Villa Creek and the need to rest up for more winetasting the next day…

Farley Walker

Paso Robles, Garretson Wine Company, Eberle Winery

I’m going to have to jump out of order to report on my dinner at Astaria, as there’s a need for urgency. It was a happy surprise the other night to find out all bottles of wine are half off through July. So if you live in the Bay Area, definitely try out this Mediterrenean restaurant soon… We had two very nice split bottles, an app, and two great entrees for a little over $100. That picture was our appetizer of chorizo and corn pancakes with prawns mole. The mole was maple-syrup infused, and it made for an extremely interesting combination with the corn, onion, and avocado salsa. The NV Veuve Clicquot Brut Yellow Label was refreshing with pear, apple, lemon, and biscuits, though maybe not the best pairing ever. The shrimp were fairly spicy and overpowered the bubbles too much. (more…)

Astaria, NV Veuve Clicquot Brut Yellow Label

I had such a wonderful time winetasting in Paso Robles— just as everyone said I would. The weather wasn’t too hot, the people were friendly, and the wine was good. What more can you ask for? We tasted at nine wineries in all and had one really nice meal. Arriving very late Thursday night, BK and I woke up early for an attempted hike on Friday and then the tasting extravaganza began.

The first stop was Peachy Canyon Winery. We actually went to the newer location, which was unintentional but a good thing because it’s not nearly as busy as the original, according to our very helpful tasting room associate. Only one other couple was there during our half hour, so we got plenty of attention and information. While I enjoyed the Viognier and some of the reds quite a bit, my favorite by far was the 2005 Westside Zinfandel. I was drawn to the very pretty strawberries, vanilla, and spice and could see why it’s their flagship. I usually try to purchase smaller production wines when visiting the source, but I couldn’t walk away from this bottle. After that, we went along to Justin , where we discovered there are guest quarters, and very nice ones from the looks of it. My mom would have loved the bathroom, with its rooster motif…. My wine pick here was Deborah’s Delight, which was a light dessert wine of 2/3 Viognier and 1/3 Orange Muscat. It displayed nice notes of honey, peach, and honeysuckle. (more…)

winetasting in Paso Robles, Peachy Canyon Winery, 2005 Westside Zinfandel, Justin, Deborah’s Delight

Our friend, the tax man, invited a few of us to Le Colonial a little while back. I’d never been there before and almost walked right past it in the alleyway. But I’m glad I made it to this dimly lit Vietnamese restaurant. The wine list had plenty of choices (including many split bottles) to make my choice that much harder. But with a need for a red (for me and my Irish friend) and a white (for the gents) due to our choices in entrees… I had a time making a decision. However, I was pleased with both bottles AND with the fact that the server had me taste them both as I had ordered them! (more…)

Le Colonial

Readers and drinkers, it’s gonna be a long day. After the tasting room closes, we’ll be counting wine for the end of the month. That’s right–no getting away from inventory for this girl. At least it’s not every day, though!

Much later this evening, I’m heading down to Paso Robles, to secure an early start in the morning. I’ve had some fantastic suggestions but haven’t even had time to look and see when those wineries are open. I’m hoping to get a map in the very near future to make some specific plans.

In the meantime, here’s a link to my last Jackson Free Press column on Zinfandel, which I actually began before I even knew I had the job at Rosenblum.

When I get back, I’ve got to get working on my next column, that new writing project, and catch up on older posts, including the fantastic meal I had last night.