weekly wine journal

Weekly Wine Journal | Best of 2014 List

Weekly Wine Journal best of 2014

2014 was another great year for The Weekly Wine Journal.  Traveled to Napa for the Taste of Howell Mountain again this year.  Also attended the Arizona Wine Grower’s Association Festival on the Farm at South Mountain.  Dined at a lot of nice restaurants with great wine lists and also met a lot of wonderful people in the wine industry.  It was very difficult to choose the best of the best, but after much consideration, here it is, the list

Best Red Wine

TIE:   CHATEAU NENIN 2005, POMEROL  / ALTAMURA 2007 CABERNET SAUVIGNON, NAPA VALLEY

This year for the first time there is a tie.  Both of these wines were exceptional.  Beyond exceptional, truly great.  And for completely different reasons.  If you can find either of these wines prepare to have your mind blown.

Best White Wine

PAUL DOLAN 2013 SAUVIGNON BLANC POTTER VALLEY, MENDOCINO COUNTY

This is an interesting one.  Paul Dolan underwent some big changes recently, but the quality still remained.  This wine shows that California can produce Sauvignon Blanc that people who don’t like Californian Sauvignon Blancs might like!

Best Wine Restaurant

EDDIE V’S PRIME SEAFOOD & STEAK, SCOTTSDALE ARIZONA

This restaurant has an extensive wine list, with a good range of wines from affordable to “Hey let’s buy a few $3000 bottles of wine!”  Known for their seafood, it turns out their NY Strip and Rib Eye are easily the best I have ever tasted.  And that’s saying something considering how much steak I eat.

Best Wine Tasting

TASTE OF HOWELL MOUNTAIN, ST HELENA, CALIFORNIA

Year after year The Taste of Howell Mountain wins best wine tasting.  There is just simply not a better collection of high end wines for such an affordable price, AND a friendly laid back atmosphere

Best Winery Experience

RED CAP VINEYARDS, ANGWIN, CALIFORNIA

Red Cap Vineyards does not have a tasting room and is not open to the public.  I was invited there as a friend and guest and really had a blast hanging out with husband & wife owners Tom & Desire Altemus.  Also present was social media/marketing manager Michael.  I spent the afternoon sipping wine chatting listening to stories, telling stories and getting ridiculous with some Grappa made by Rebekah Wineburg.

 

 

 

6th annual Festival on the farm

The 6th Annual Arizona Wine Grower’s Association “Festival on the Farm”

Festival on the farm

Saturday November 15th, 2014.
Wine in the desert? You Bet!

Set amongst the 100+ year old pecan groves on The Farm at South Mountain, the event will feature over 30 Arizona wineries, wine education seminars, and a live auction.  The idyllic setting is the legacy of Dwight Heard (yes, from the Heard Museum).   In addition to tasting Arizona wines, guests get a chance to meet and greet the wine makers and principals of the various wineries.  The intimate and casually relaxed atmosphere is a great way to really get to know the wines, the people and new friends!

In addition to the tastings, the festival offers educational seminars and tastings.  You might get to taste some rare wines, as the wine makers often bring wine from their personal collection, not available to the public.  Last year Maynard James Keenan of Caduceus Cellars brought a few bottles of his ’08 Judith, which had long since sold out even at it’s initial offering of $100 a bottle.

Later in the afternoon the live auction becomes the center of attention.  The real live auctioneers are very entertaining even if you’re not bidding.  If you’re bidding you could walk away with some truly amazing steals.  In years past wine maker dinners, wine collections, and amazing vacations have fetched top dollar.

If you’re looking for something more intimate you should check out the Arizona Wine Grower’s Association Awards Banquet.  This event is held the Friday night before the festival.  For $75 you’ll get to taste this year’s Arizona Republic Wine Competition winners paired with amazing dishes at Stone Grove at the Farm at South Mountain.  Stone Grove is located right next to Quiessence restaurant, nestled in  very back of the farm.  Arizona wine makers will be on hand for guests to mingle with throughout the night.  Only 100 tickets are available for the Friday night event.

Whether you’re a sommelier or just getting into wine, there is no better event than this to experience what Arizona wine has to offer.

Visit azwinefestivalatthefarm.com for more information and tickets

It’s Playtime in Lake County!

It’s Playtime in Lake County!

The Playtime label is part of the Shannon Ridge family of wines, based out of Lake County.  The label produces only two wines, a red blend and a Chardonnay.  The fun labels are a tribute to pin-up stars from the World War II era, and each bottle features either red hair for the red wine or blonde hair for the Chardonnay.  I’m not normally sold on wines that rely on nifty labels, so I was a little skeptical but once I tasted the wines I was pleasantly surprised.

2012 Playtime, Red Wine, Lake County

playtime-redBlend: 61% Zinfandel, 20% Grenache, 11% Petite Verdot, 8% Barbera

Alcohol: 14.2%

Production: 1,250 cases

Retail price: $15.99

This is pretty interesting blend, and it works quite well together.  The nose is predominantly cherries with a hint of vanilla oak.  On the palate there’s decent ripe fruit, but enough tannins to stop this wine from being a flabby jammy run of the mill wine.  The mouth feel is silky and there’s a hint of peppery spice on the back end.

This would make a decent wine to serve with summer bbq fare, especially ribs or pizza or even a good meaty tomato based pasta dish.

 

 

 

 

 

 

playtime-blonde2012 Playtime Blonde, Chardonnay, Lake County

Blend: 100% Chardonnay

Alcohol: 13.9%

Production: 2,500 cases

Retail price: $13

Playtime Blonde is a straight forward easy drinking Chardonnay.  A citrus based aroma and palate with toasty vanilla oak and a little minerality make it more complex than I was expecting for a $13 Chardonnay.  Pleasantly surprised.

*disclaimer this wine was received as a sample review

Shannon Ridge Wines

Playtimewine.com

 

 

napa valley view

A Visit to Keever Vineyards

A Visit to Keever Vineyards

I was first introduced to Keever Vineyards by a gentleman named Chilli Davis at a wine tasting in Scottsdale, Arizona and was immediately hooked, the wine was incredible.  This past June while visiting Napa for the Taste of Howell Mountain Christine Piccin with Mackenzie Agency (PR) was kind enough to set me up with a private tasting (actually all the Keever tastings are private) on VERY short notice.  Because of intermittent cell service I missed the confirmation of my appointment but Olga Keever was nice enough to leave me a phone message.  I called back and a guy named Bill answered. He said he would wait for me.

Keever Vineyards, adding the personal touch

Keever Vineyards, adding the personal touch

I arrived an hour and a half past the original appointment time and was greeted by Bill.  Bill Keever, owner.  When I walked in the tasting room, which is actually a massive two story architectural marvel I noticed some wines set on the counter.  Then I noticed a big card which read “Welcome Tim!”

Bill took me on an extended tour of the building, the production facilities, the cave, the vineyard and back to the tasting room for more wine.  All along the tour I was able to ask questions and Bill answered freely.

Keever-vineyards-19One of the things I learned is that Bill graduated from Napa Valley high school and ended up becoming the CEO of Vodafone Asia region.  His base of operations for most of his time overseas was Germany and the Netherlands and it was during this time that his exposure to wine occurred in a big way.  They moved back to Napa in 1999 and Bill finally retired in 2003.  Eventually they came across some property right next to the Veterans Hospital right near Yountville.  If you’ve ever driven north on Highway 29 from Napa to St Helena, on the left hand side of the road just as you’re getting into Yountville there’s a big white building on the west side of the road, nestled up against the foothills of the Mayacamas range.  The property was actually a horse training facility complete with a small outdoor arena.  Bill said this was really convenient because all of the surrounding area has massive rocks in and on the ground that need to be removed prior to planting a vineyard.  Luckily this had already been completed and also the land had been leveled out nicely as well.

stunning view from the tasting room

stunning view from the tasting room

The next step in pursuing the dream was to find a wine maker.  Bill enlisted the help of a friend and well known Napa Valley consultant to find a top notch wine maker and eventually Celia Welch agreed to be their wine maker.  For those of you not familiar with Celia Welch she was named Food & Wine Magazine’s winemaker of the year for 2008.  She has been a consulting wine maker rock star for over 25 years.  She stated with Staglin and currently works with Kelly Flemming, Scarecrow, Barbour, Hollywood & Vine and others.   Celia has her own label, Corra wines as well.  Celia helped the Keevers with more than just the wine making, she was instrumental in the layout and design of the facilities as well.  In effect Celia manages them, not the other way around.

Inside the tasting room/house

Inside the tasting room/house

Bill poured me a glass of the Keever Sauvignon Blanc and we took a tour of the production facilities, which is one of the most pristine, clean and organized facilities I’ve ever seen.  It’s as if there has never been any wine made there, spotless.  This, in large part is Celia’s influence.  She is a stickler for sanitary wine making conditions.  This interesting interview from Wines and Vines goes into more depth on that subject: ( winesandvines.com )  The wine production area is gravity fed an interesting and unique feature.  All of the open top stainless steel fermentation tanks are not bolted to the floor.  They are movable.  The fruit comes in on a mezzanine level above the tank room and goes thru the de-stemmer and is sorted and all the good fruit is then dropped through a hole into a waiting tank beneath.  The tanks are switched out by forklift.  Rather than bring the fruit to the tank, they do it the other way around, by bringing the tank to the fruit.

production facilities

production facilities

Room for 100 of your closest friends

Room for 100 of your closest friends

Next, we headed into the wine cave.  Although not the biggest by any means, it extremely clean, and the tunnel itself is actually pretty wide.  In the middle it opens up into a big room where there is enough room for a table and 100 of your closest friends.  There’s even a wine vault at the end, with a little table for two behind the glass wall.

After the cave we walked back around the front of the property and took a look at progress of the grapes.  Bill laughed that his granddaughter loves to eat the little grapes, especially as they become ripe.

The vault

The vault

We ended up back in the tasting house and I sampled through the Keever Vineyards current offerings ( I’ll be posting these reviews in future updates).

If you’re into high quality Napa wines and cabernets in particular you should definitely look into Keever.  If you’re in Napa and want to visit be sure to make arrangements ahead of time as the vineyard is protected by a large gate, so you can’t just show up, all tastings are by appointment only.

Keever Vineyards Website

 

 

Napa’s Next Generation| Mike Anderson MTGA Wines

Napa’s Next Generation | Mike Anderson MTGA Wines

There’s a new generation of Napa wine makers emerging and while the wines they make do pay a certain amount of hommage to their heritage, they are also blazing a new path and a new name for themselves. One such wine maker is Mike Anderson. I discovered Mike through Instagram and then I gathered information through a series of emails

WWJ: How did you get into wine, what’s the back story?

Mike Anderson, MTGA Wines

Mike Anderson, MTGA Wines

Mike: I got back into the wine industry sort of haphazardly. Originally I had no desire to get into the wine industry but after graduating college I had a job offer at the tasting room at Raymond Vineyards just outside of St. Helena and since I didn’t have any other job prospects I moved back home to take the offer. After about a year I started taking some more wine-focused courses at the Napa Community College to get some more background on the science and numbers side of winemaking and winegrowing. By this point I had worked a couple harvests and was continuing to work on the hospitality side of things as well. In 2010 I was able to purchase a small amount Merlot, about one ton from just outside St. Helena, to give winemaking a decent shot. I ended up with two barrels and as the aging process went on I was pulling samples for friends and family to try. The questions that came up every time were, “What is the label going to be?” and “How much are you going to sell it for?” At that point I hadn’t even consider that but I got the ball rolling with permits and label design. Come July 2012 I bottled my first vintage, just over 40 cases of 2010 Merlot which I officially released the following February. Within three weeks I was sold out and looking to start gearing MTGA wines up further.

mtga-wine-bottleWWJ:  Forgive me if I’m mistaken, but are you related to Todd Anderson – Conn Valley Vineyards?

Mike:  That is correct. MTGA are my initials officially stands for Michael Todd Gustaf Anderson. The back story is that my dad wanted me to be Todd Jr and my grandfather Gus Jr. However my mother kindly intervened so I was named Michael after an uncle of mine. So the label is a “tip of the cap” to my family but also that story.

WWJ: Did you grow with vineyard life? What kind of work did you do as a kid?

Mike: I did grow up with vineyard life. It was, and still is, very much the family business. Growing up I experienced every aspect of the process from planting vines, harvest and other vineyard work, cellar work, bottling and so on.

WWJ: What did you study in college?

Mike: In college I studied criminal justice and sociology. This focus was largely because It was junior year and I needed to declare something. I didn’t have any real desire to pursue a career in those fields.

WWJ: Why did you decided to get back into the wine business and work at Raymond?

mike-anderson-mtga-winesMike: I started working at Raymond in 2008 between school years and when I was home for long holidays. At that time it was just for some extra cash. When I graduated in 2009 however it was one of the worst job markets on record, I had bills to pay so I was going to take a job wherever I could get one. It just so happened that Raymond offered me a position that I could start in as soon as I got home. From there Raymond Vineyards eventually became a part of Boisset Family Estates and I worked my way into the marketing department. At that point I was enjoying the wine industry thoroughly and was pursuing my own wine project.

WWJ: You make Merlot and Riesling.. which Conn Valley doesn’t make right?  Was this a conscious choice?  What other varietals are you interested in?

Mike:  You are correct, Conn Valley does not make Merlot or Riesling. I chose Merlot largely because there only a handful (if that) of great ones in the valley and I wanted to take on the challenge of convincing folks that Merlot could bring a lot more to the table. Riesling is one of my favorite varietals because of its versatility so when I was able to find a great source from the Sonoma Coast is ended being a perfect fit. As far as other varietals go I do wanted to get some Pinot Noir into the lineup and a Bordeaux style blend which will probably be more Right Bank in style. I have wanted to see what producing a sparkling wine would be like, because I am a sucker for good bubbles, but that is a little further down on the wish list right now.

WWJ: What is your current production?

Mike: As of today I am on the 2011 Merlot vintage; 138 cases were bottled in total. I have also just bottled up 41 cases of a dry Riesling from the Sonoma Coast. I continue to have a day job that keeps me busy during most of the week, MTGA Wines is what keeps me busy on my weekends.

These days you can find Mike managing the Clif Family tasting room, Velo Vino, in St Helena.

Keep an eye out for his wines, if you can find them!  Or contact Mike through his website (http://mtgawines.com ) to get on his mailing list.

Follow Mike on Instagram @MTGAWINES

Follow Mike on Twiter @MTGA_Wines

 

 

Weekly Wine Journal | 2013 in review

2013 in review

Here’s an excerpt:

The concert hall at the Sydney Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 27,000 times in 2013. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 10 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.

Click here to see the complete report.

Weekly Wine Journal “Best of 2013” List

Best of 2013

If you’ve been following the Weekly Wine Journal for a while, you’ll notice that there was no “Best of” list for 2012.  This was mainly a time constraint and not an oversight.  However, 2013 was a great year for the Weekly Wine Journal, too great of a year not to share a best of list! Highlights include a trip to Napa Valley and attending the Arizona Wine Grower’s Association awards banquet at Quiessence restaurant in Phoenix.  There were also a lot of fabulous wines and wine events.  The “Best of” list is a compilation of the best wines, wine bars, and restaurants from 2013.  The wines were not necessarily released in 2013, but were consumed in 2013.  The list reflects the best experiences in 2013.

Best Red Wine: Chateau L’Arrosee, 2005.

wine bottle

Weekly Wine Journal’s Red Wine of the Year

Chateau L’Arrosee  was acquired by Quintus SAS, a subsidiary of Domaine Clarence Dillon in October of 2013.  The merger will bring 28 hectares of prime vineyard under Quintus management and we should hopefully see a continuation of the L’Arrosee label.  This wine is absolutely fantastic.  I had this on new year’s eve, and I just new fairly early into the bottle that this was my “wine of the year”  This wine is still young.  It is BIG.  Complex.  A very nice balance of fruit (plums cherries) and minerality and terroir.  I only wish I had more of it, I’d love to continue to experience it throughout its life cycle.  See the links at the bottom of this article for more info on the Dillon family acquisition of this brand.

Best White Wine:  Sand Reckoner, 2012 Malvasia Bianco, Cochise County, Arizona

sand-reckoner-wine

Weekly Wine Journal’s “White Wine of the Year, 2013”

This wine hails from Cochise County, Arizona.  Wine in Arizona?? you might be saying.  Yes.  And it’s damn good.  This wine has a beautiful nose of flowers,melon, and sweet lemon zest. and you’d expect it to be sweet but it isn’t.  The palate is medium bodied, ultra crisp, clean and very dry.   This wine did not undergo malolactic fermentation and was aged in neutral oak.  It’s 100% Malvasia Bianca, 13.6% alcohol and $28 a bottle.  Only 72 cases were made.  See the links below for Sand Reckoner contact info.

Best Buy and Hold: Charles Krug, 2010 Estate Selection, Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley

charles-krug-2010-estate-selection

The Charles Krug Winery does not always produce this wine.  In an interview I did with Peter Mondavi jr, he said that if the fruit/wine is not up to standard they’ll just skip a vintage or two.   This wine is still extremely young, but it is showing nicely right now and surprisingly approachable.  The nose on this wine is explosive, over the top and never ending.  I actually had a glass of this wine on a Monday night and 4 days later on a Thursday night I brought out the remainder of the bottle at the end of a wine tasting and this wine completely blew away everything that was being served.  Even after 4 days of being open!

Best drink now: Altamura, 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley

Processed with VSCOcam with c1 preset

This wine is ready to drink NOW.  Beautifully smooth and refined.  Huge and dense.  The color is black, but reddish brown on the edges.  Pair this with Prime Ribeye only.  Again, I wish I had more.

Best wine under $10:  Vina Eguia 2007 Rioja Reserva, Tempranillo, Spain.

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This wine retails for about $10 and I regularly find it at Costco for $7.99.  This is a ridiculously good value.  It’s a nice fruit forward every day drinking wine.  I’d stock up on cases of this for entertaining if I had the space to store it!

Best Wine Restaurant: Smith & Wollensky, Las Vegas

Old school steakhouse, new school wine list.  The prices are a bit high, you can expect to pay about 3X’s retail for wine, but that’s Las Vegas.  The service is great, the wine is served in appropriate stemware and actual wine list is extensive.

Best Wine Tasting:  The Taste of Howell Mountain, St Helena, Napa Valley.

Where else would you get to taste 40+ Howell Mountain wineries?  No where that’s as nice as the garden in front of the carriage house at the Charles Krug Winery in St. Helena thats for sure.  If you’re planning a trip to Napa in the summer months I highly recommend planning it around this event.  See below for more info.

Best Winery Experience:  TIE:  Failla, Napa Valley | Anderson’s Conn Valley Vineyards, Napa Valley.

Failla

Failla

Both Failla and Anderson’s Conn Valley offer intimate and unique tasting experiences.  Faila’s tasting room is really a little farm house with only enough room for 8 guests at a time.  You’ll have to pay close attention to find the place as it’s only marked by a white mailbox with “Failla” written on it on the east side of Silverado Trail north of the intersection at Deer Park road.  Call ahead for tasting reservations, you can’t just show up.

Inside the wine cave

Inside the wine cave

Anderson’s experience involves a stunningly beautiful drive into the heart of Conn Valley.  The road is tiny and winds through the hills, you should allow extra time to get there as it’s difficult to drive faster than 20mph most of the way.  Once there, you’ll go inside the wine cave which is dug into

Tasting table in the cave

Tasting table in the cave

the hillside.  Deep in the massive tunnel is a little alcove with a round table, with enough seating for 8.  Call ahead to see if winemaker/owner Todd Anderson will be there.  If he is, you’re in for one hell of a wine tasting!

Honorable Mentions:

It was very difficult for me to choose the best and I really feel that there are so many wines that were really amazing this year so I felt it appropriate to add Honorable mentions.

Caduceus Cellars, 2010 Anubis | | Cameron Hughes Lot 500 | | Anderson’s Conn Valley 2008 Eloge | | Robert Craig 2010 Affinity | | Robert Foley 2009 Cabernet, Howell Mountain | | Buccella 2010 Cuvee Katrina Eileen

Links:

Dillon acquires L’Arrossee

Sand Reckoner Vineyards website

Charles Krug Winery website

Altamura Vineyards website

Taste of Howell Mountain website

Contact Failla

Contact Anderson’s Conn Valley

Arizona Wine Festival | Saturday November 16, 2013

Festival at The Farm celebrates success of Arizona’s wineries

 

Photo from the Festival on the Farm at South Mountain 2011

Photo from the Festival on the Farm at South Mountain 2011

PHOENIX – The Arizona Wine Growers Association will celebrate another year of rising national acclaim by raising a glass with the public on Saturday, Nov. 16, 2013, at The Festival at The Farm. Set among the pecan groves of Phoenix’s intimate The Farm at South Mountain, the fifth-annual festival is a way to sample the best wine from across Arizona, all in one place. 29 local wineries
will be in attendance. The festival is from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., and is limited to 1,000 guests. Advance tickets are available through midnight on November 14 at $65. Tickets can be purchased at the gate for $75.

The festival will include an exciting live auction, scheduled for 3:00 p.m., featuring 21 amazing lots from outstanding Arizona wineries including a private wine class for 20, chef-winemaker pairings, vacation packages, one-of-a-kind wine tasting experiences and even a personal wine cellar stocked with Arizona wines. Also on Saturday afternoon will be a special event featuring panelists from several renowned Arizona wineries including Maynard Keenan of Caduceus Cellars.

The seminar, AZ Terroir: Taste the Difference, will begin at 1:45pm. Winemakers and growers from each of Arizona’s three distinct regions will discuss which grapes are doing well and how the terroir is influencing the flavors of the wine.

Wine Maker Interview | Peter Mondavi

Wine Maker Interview | Peter Mondavi

Last month I had the chance to sit down and interview wine maker, Peter Mondavi. Yes, Peter Mondavi, nephew of Robert Mondavi, son of Peter Sr. Mondavi and owner of the Charles Krug Winery in Napa. He brought with him the latest offerings from the Charles Krug Winery and we sampled them over dinner at the Phoenix City Grille, in Phoenix Arizona. After dinner, and a wide ranging conversation I conducted an interview based on some of the topics we had talked about. I’ve broken the interview down into three smaller parts for youtube consumption.  I will provide wine reviews on the wines we tasted in some upcoming posts.

Part one:
http://youtu.be/PvM5wIwi-RY
Part two:
http://youtu.be/IgiDw9-ddHU
Part three:
http://youtu.be/ZLGx_AOOuWc