Winetripping Through the Mountains
Last week I met up with another blogger from 451 Press. Jenny from Coaching Cooking and I only live a few towns apart and so decided to go winetasting together.
What a good idea it was. We met up at Backyard Wineries in downtown Los Gatos. Only open a few months, this tasting room features the wines of Clos LaChance and Fleming Jenkins (Peggy Fleming making up one half of the pair of owners). Hours: daily, 11-6, tasting fees of $5 and $10 for 3 wines. Though I didn’t see it until nosing around the back room after tasting, my favorite thing was the table of wine glasses filled with different items, representing aromas in wine. There was coconut, vanilla beans, molasses, sage, cloves, and more. A homemade Le Nez du Vin (which, by the way, they had for sale, and which, by the way, I still want).
The few wines I tasted ranged from enjoyable to quite good, the last qualifier going to 05 Fleming Jenkins Rose’ of Syrah, 04 Fleming Jenkins Syrah from the Santa Cruz Mountains, and the 03 Clos LaChance Syrah from the Central Coast (of which I got more bottles than I needed, but they were splits at a really great price).
Next stop: Savannah Chanelle. My suggestion that we have a picnic lunch outside the rustic tasting room was something I’ve been wanting to do for a while now, though not necessarily in the rain. I’ve been there on several occasions, the first time when I couldn’t find Ridge and drove past Savannah Chanelle three times, finally taking that as a sign to stop. I also have a friend who works there part-time. But this particular day, a charming gentleman named Gabe was working the tasting room crowd. Italians always do make me smile… As for the wines, the 03 Estate Zinfandel and the 04 Syrah Port caught my fancy.
We finished up at Thomas Fogarty Winery–my first time to experience the wines from the other side of the bar.
*Edit: Thanks, Jenny, for a great time and for bringing yummy food, including that cauliflower tart…
Santa Cruz Mountains Wineries, Savannah Chanelle, Backyard Wineries, Clos LaChance, Fleming Jenkins
February 27th, 2007 at 2:57 pm
Oh yeah, there is a place in Monterey that has that. The table with things in glasses that are set out for customers to smell. It is really helpful to identify flavors. I like it when tasting rooms do that.
March 2nd, 2007 at 8:16 am
[...] Never a Wrong Time for Pink March 2nd, 2007 by Farley My day off this week, following the grueling time I put in on the assembly line, had me wanting to treat myself to something nice. A meal that fits the bill every time: a BLT and a glass or two of Rose’. Although this time I made it a BBT–bacon, basil leaves, and tomato. The wine was a 2005 Clos LaChance Rose’ that I picked up on my wine trip last week. The Pink-Throated Brilliant, as they call it, has a picture of that endangered hummingbird from South America on the label. It’s part of The Hummingbird Series, a less expensive line with each wine named after a different species. This particular one is made from Syrah and Grenache, and I found it crisp and full of strawberries and perfect with my tasty sandwich. [...]