Eating My Words, Washed Down With Wine
I’m always encouraging people to go to wine regions other than Napa. I do that because Napa can be overwhelming in the way it would be if you were being dragged along by a herd of cattle (especially if you’re claustrophbic as I am). However. A friend and I both had Wednesday off, and I was cheering for winetasting adventures. She lives in the East Bay, so it made sense to go to Napa. With that said, I immediately called two small wineries I’ve been dying to visit. The first was Venge Vineyards, and that’s Sadie, one of the two friendly greeters.
If you’re not familiar with Venge, it may be beacause they only make 3500 cases a year: 8 different wines. About two years ago, I first had the Scout’s Honor, a terrific Zinfandel blend (with Petite and Charbono)named after another winery dog. From the same family and winemaker of Saddleback Vineyards, these small productions are true works of craftmanship. And sell out too quickly, as the Sangiovese did. In addition to another Scout’s Honor, I went home with a Syrah, which Chris had us taste down in the caves, with Sadie by our side.
After a brief stop at Silver Oak, where the crowds were at half-force, we drove towards my most-eagerly-awaited stop. Roz laughed as I practically ran towards the doors at Robert Biale Vineyards. Every wine I had previously made me eager to try more. Plus, we were a tiny bit late for our appointment with Jon. He was knowledgable and welcoming, and the only bad thing I can say about him is that he wouldn’t let me buy any Black Chicken Zinfandel or Thomann Station Petite Sirah.
The cruelty to be able to taste and not take home. Alas, they were not released yet. Club members get the chance to order first, then ordinary people like you and me can put in ours. The Black Chicken will be available to carry out, cradled in your arms, in mid April. We were also lucky enough to try the Monte Rosso, which Jayme flew through and told us was just discovered to come from cuttings of the first Zinfandel to be planted. The first Zin in Napa was in the Oak Knoll District, and Biale is the only Zin producer in Oak Knoll (which I just discovered by reading his newsletter is the newest sub AVA in Napa). Put yourself on tha mailing list as I did, so you can have the chance to purchase these bottles. But if you get some and I don’t, be prepared to share.
Venge, Silver Oak, Robert Biale, Napa Valley
….Farley Walker
February 5th, 2007 at 3:47 am
Black Chicken? Seriously? Do you think that wineries are trying to copy the funky, humorous labels of Bonny Doon? It seems like more and more, wineries are going with goofy, humorous wine names in order to get more sales. Places that used to have sanitized labels with names that sounded like housing developments are now going with goofy names like, “Naked Biker” or “Anarchy Zin.” I don’t know if they are trying to appeal to a younger audience, copy the humorous style of Bonny Doon, or if they are just being rebellious because they can’t compete with the Turleys and the Opus Ones, so they don’t even bother trying.
February 5th, 2007 at 8:05 am
Ahren,
No, no, no. This stuff is amazing and they only have the one kooky name, which developed as a code name in the period following Prohibition when winemaking was dicey, and most people stuck to farming.
I’d definitely put it up against Turley. And Opus is overrated anyway.
February 5th, 2007 at 10:19 am
Oh, I’m sure their Black Chicken is very nice. It’s just that every time I go someplace, the winery has a new “funny” wine. Look at Meeker: Great wine. I love their Barbarian. But then they have dogs playing cards on the other labels. Or, look at Four Vines in Paso. All of their wine names are humorous and the tasting room glasses say, “Zin B**ch.” I think it’s a trend to be cool and goofy, and everyone seems to like copying the Bonny Doon style, because (let’s face it) they have shelf space in grocery stores nationwide. Cardinal Zin, with its Ralph Steadman label is front-and-center everywhere you go.
February 5th, 2007 at 9:17 pm
hey Ahren - some of us are just trying to be our own *%#&@! selves, and that just may happen to be a bit on the whacked side. I can’t do stuffy pretentious bull %@#$!
February 12th, 2007 at 10:26 am
[...] What I found was this: the winery was started by a couple from Minnesota and the winemaker is none other than Kirk Venge, with his father Nils acting as consultant. This was exciting news, as I’m a great fan of Saddleback and Venge wines. [...]