Dallas Wine Chick

Can’t Drive 55!

This was the photo that I got from my lead footed husband as he made the solo drive from the Portland Airport to join me on a tour through Prosser, Red Mountain and Yakima.  I was lucky enough to have one of the top experts, Margot, and her husband, Dave,  show us Washington “wine o’clock” style.

You see, John didn’t join me until after #wbc10 was over. He’s a bourbon boy from the South and while he has a strong appreciation of wine and a collection that reinforces that point, seven days of wine tasting would render him to a state where he would want to poke his eyes out with a fork.  For the sake of our marriage and my enjoyment of the experience, he arrived late on Sunday. 

Unfortunately he missed out on some wonderful experiences.  Our first stop was family-owned L’Ecole. The name, L’Ecole Nº 41 is French for “the school”.  The winery is located in district 41 in historic Frenchtown, a small community outside of Walla Walla that was named for the many French Canadians that settled there in the early 1800s. 

We arrived at the converted schoolhouse that serves as the tasting room and were greeted by Jamie, a fun new friend who hosted us for a fantastic vertical tasting of library wines.  We began with a refreshing glass of the 08 Estate Luminesce ($19) that I loved, but alas, it was completely sold out.  We then tasted the 99, 03 and 07 Apogee from Pepper Bridge Vineyard and the 03 and 07 Estate Perigee from Seven Hills Vineyard.  I personally loved the Apogee – especially the earlier vintages that tasted of earthiness, black cherry, cassis and notes of chocolate.  The evolution in the glass was noteworthy and I left with a case of my own to taste test in the future.

Our next stop was to Va Piano Vineyards to meet Winemaker Justin Wylie.  Its motto: “Chi va piano, va sano e va lontano.” The translation is “He who goes slowly, goes safely and goes far” – an old Italian saying and the winery’s approach to living. This recommendation came from Greg Kassanoff, who owns Pioneer Wine here in Dallas.  We started with two Brunos Blend I and VI wines, one Sauvignon Blanc and one red blend as well as the Semillon.  Father Bruno Segatta, who Justin met during his time at Gonzaga University, is an artist and selfless priest.  Father Segatta inspired Justin to give back to the community. When the Bruno blends are sold out, Va Piano donates a portion of the proceeds to a charity of Father Bruno’s choice.  We tried two Syrah’s – the 07 Syrah and 08 Estate Syrah, which were inky black, spicy and fabulous.  But it was the 07 Cabernet that made me a card carrying member of Va Piano’s wine club.  At $38 a bottle, it rivaled some of Napa’s heavy hitters currently in my cellar.  Let’s just say that I cancelled my Far Niente membership because I liked it that much (the rule in my house is that if I add a wine club, I must cancel a wine club – actually my husband made up this rule after one particular Visa bill).

The next day, we made a brief stop at Airfield Wines where my favorite wine was the Aviator ( $30). It was a big Bordeaux style blend and since my cousin is in process of finalizing his clearance to be a fighter pilot, I loved the history of the winery.

The next day we headed to visit Alexandria Nicole Cellars.  Because Margot and Dave were wine club members, we were given VIP treatment and access to the back room, where we tried more than 16 wines on their tasting list – we even showed restraint as they have 21 varietals.  My favorites included the 07 Jet Black Syrah, 09 Rousanne, 08 Quarry Butte (ah Quarry Butte…), 07 Cabernet and 08 Crawford Viognier.  We also had the chance to sample some older vintages – the 03 and 05 cabernets and merlots from Alexandria Nicole’s enomatics system.  Again, the evolution in the glass and the changes over a two-year period were notable.

Then it was time for lunch.  I was excited to finally meet Scott who has been a long-time friend on Twitter, but I wasn’t prepared for the red carpet that was rolled out by my new Washington friends.  We went to eat at Tuscany and were met by Coop, Sara and Kevin.  Coop brought a bottle of his not yet released 08 Pinot Gris and it paired perfectly with the delicious food.

Mark your calendars for the debut of Cooper Wine Company’s Red Mountain grand opening on Sept. 11.  If his Bordeaux-style reds rival the Pinot Gris, you won’t be sorry. 

We left Tuscany and I had the chance to experience Fidelitas Wines in Red Mountain.  We originally planned to visit several wineries on Red Mountain, but were drawn in by Charlie Hoppes’ big red wines at Fidelitas Wines along with the hospitality of Marilyn and Cindy.  Let’s just say that another case of wine now has a home in Dallas that includes the 07 Red Mountain Cabernet Franc ($40), the 07 Jaguar red ($20), 2007 Champoux Vineyard Cabernet  ($60) and 07 Red Mountain Red ($50).   

P.S. Here is a photo of the not debuted yet packaging…

Our last and final stop was Sean Gilbert at Gilbert Cellars in Yakima where we tasted an array of reds, whites and a Rose’ of Mourvedre paired with cheeses, olives and Marcona almonds.  While I enjoyed every one of his wines, it was the 07 Cabernet Sauvignon ($28) and 07 Cabernet Franc ($32) that will be joining us in Dallas once the Texas heat has diminished.

Sean also talked us out of our dinner selection and sent us to an unmarked sports bar with a hunter complete with a scoped rifle as the signage.  Thankfully we trusted him and enjoyed a great dinner with a bottle of Gilbert Cellars’ Malbec.  We ended the evening hanging out with Margot and Dave in their room where we told stories and toasted a wonderful trip with a few special favorite wines.

Fleury Winery: Diamond in the Rough

I always ask industry people about “undiscovered gems” that I should visit the next time I am in wine country – the wineries that usually are small enough to sell direct to consumers because of their limited production, high-end wines and intimate tasting experience.  Fleury Winery in Rutherford is one of those places that a few industry folks recommended so during my most recent trip to Napa we visited the winery.  We began our tasting with a very nice woman who had worked at Fleury for three days, so based on the quantity of my questions; we were quickly reassigned to Michelle, the assistant manager.

It all begins with the story of Brian Fleury, a Bay area businessman and self-taught winemaker with a passion for wine and the means to produce it.  With only 3,000 cases produced at three vineyards in Rutherford, St. Helena and Howell Mountain, the tasting room has a rustic feel, but with unique artwork from Brian’s son and special touches from Brian’s wife, Claudia, an accomplished interior decorator who was responsible for Del Dotto’s new winery. 

Current releases include a Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir, a Zinfandel/Cabernet blend and three Cabernets.   We tried them all, so I’ll tell you about my favorites. The wine is pricey – the Sauvignon Blanc starts at $50 and the prices goes up from there.  That being said, these are wines that you could put down, but are entirely drinkable today.   The 09 Sauvignon Blanc was my husband’s favorite white wine of the trip.  Big citrus and grapefruit, but with a great balance and an almost floral nose.  The 07 F’in red was tasty – cherry, currant and a nice Bordeaux blend.  Priced at $85 a bottle, the design was definitely a conversation starter.  The 06 Lauren Bryce cab (named for Brian’s kids) was a lush, rich, fruit-forward cabernet priced at $85.  The one that made me do back flips was their signature high end wine – the 07 Passionne.  My tasting notes read as follows, “Oh.  My.  God.”  Priced at $150, you might want to pray to a higher power for discretionary income to purchase this wine, but wow – it was worth it!  We also barrel tasted the 08 Howell Mountain Cabernet and it was an inky black color with big fruit and a surprising balance for such a young wine.  I definitely have my eye on this one during release.

While I thought I was one of the first Dallasites to visit, it appears that Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, who is known for his wine collection among other things, beat me to the punch.  He’s a big fan and Brian did a custom bottle package for his holiday gift list one year.  

Because this column is all about wine experiences, I’d be doing you a disservice if I did not mention the bathroom.  It is outside.  In an oversized wine barrel.

Fleury was definitely a great find this trip.  Even with the $35 tasting fee, the staff is passionate and it is an intimate setting to enjoy some great juice from a whimsical winemaker with a great hand.

Say My Name, Say My Name: Unforgettable Thrills at St Supery

I never thought I would experience Six Flags like thrills on a winery tour  until I was invited by Rick Bakas from St Supery to visit Dollarhide Ranch.  Rick promised spectacular views and that he’d break out the VGS (very good shit).  He was right on both counts.

After our Goosecross excursion, we met a larger group at Dean & Deluca where we stocked up on provisions for our Dollarhide Ranch picnic.  Wine.  Check.  Glasses.  Check.  Food.  Check.  Rick piled in our disco tour bus appropriately named for the cheesy lights that were around the interior and off we went.

So picture two caravans with a total of 12 women going up a really, really, really steep hill. Or at least trying to. I mentioned a few posts ago how much food we ate over the weekend and the bus was having some issues due to the recent rain.  We got halfway up.  Then went down again.   And again.  Just when we resigned ourselves to hiking it up the hill, our driver gunned it and up we went.  The view was gorgeous and made even more so by a glass of the 08 Dollarhide Ranch Reserve Sauvignon Blanc ($37), my hands down favorite Sauvignon Blanc of the trip.

Then it was time for the picnic portion of our trip.  We gunned it down the mountain taking out several wine glasses and from the sound of it, a tailpipe.  My two friends in the back experienced zero gravity as they bore the brunt of the vehicle landing.  The weather did not participate due to the boggy ground so we weren’t able to have lunch by the picnic tables near the 150 year old oak tree. So we went old school — eating our lunches on the ground with another glass of the Sauvignon Blanc in hand.

We were supposed to venture back to the winery to barrel taste and tour, but we had such a great time at Dollarhide Ranch, we had to power through our tasting.  I wrote about the wines that I tasted during the last St Supery Tweetup including the St Supery Sauvignon Blanc, St Supery Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, St Supery Cabernet Sauvignon Rutherford, Virtu and Elu, so I’ll spend time on the ones that I had not tried before.

We tried many wines, but for the purpose of this blog and to not disclose how many we tried, I’m going to highlight a few.  We started with the 08 Semillon, which had a big peach taste with a nuttiness that I liked.  At $25, it was a very refreshing wine.  I am a big fan of “off the beaten path” varietals and I enjoyed the 06 Petit Verdot ($50).  It was a big wine with lots of berries, spice and earthiness.  The estate 05 Dollarhide Cabernet ($85) was another big boy that needed some age.  I tasted big flavors of black cherry, currant, vanilla tobacco, chocolate and mocha.

We were also indoctrinated to “Rickisms,” unforgettable colloquial sayings.  Because this is a family column (ignore first Rickism above), my favorite printable one is “drop my name and drop it like it’s hot.”  So for a great afternoon of wine tasting and an amazing view, ask for Rick, make sure you have unbreakable stemware and your vehicle has traction.

Dallas Wine Chicks take on Napa

We met early on a Thursday morning at DFW Airport.  As usual, I pushed the limits of proper airport arrival times and made my friends sweat a little if we were going to make the flight.  Luckily I had our trusted lead foot cab driver in play – because that’s the way I roll.  We were on our way to the annual Women for Wine Sense conference and  arriving early to taste wine on Thursday and Friday.

Our flight to Sacramento was uneventful (more on the way home in a later post). We arrived in Napa a little before noon and went to find our rental car.  A little over an hour later the four of us and the Buick were at Gott’s Roadside, formerly known as Taylor’s Refresher, with an ahi burger and a glass of wine in hand as we waited for the others to arrive.  This is living!  Unfortunately I made the choice to have some of the sweet potato fries which set off my downward spiral of not so healthy eating. 

We went to find our hotel at the Napa River Inn and Jen, my roomie, and I received our room assignment in the “bunker.”  While many of the Napa River Inn rooms had cute little balconies, flowers and a scenic view of the river, let’s just say that the Alamo might have been fought in ours. Although our men of Texas might have surrendered as we could hear the water dripping from the tub upstairs all night.   But, hey, who actually sleeps at their hotel in Napa anyway – it’s all about the wine.

And speaking of wine … ten of us made the journey to Rudd for our first tasting.  After a beautiful tour of their gardens and facilities, we got to sample.  We started with the 07 Rudd Russian River Valley Chardonnay.  It had a big lemon taste with notes of tropical fruits and floral.  It was made in a French style and retailed for $65.  Next came the Sauvignon Blanc from Mount Veeder which had a touch of semillon added.  At $50, I tasted guava, a little spiciness and it was made in the white burgundy style. 

We then moved on to the big reds and the bigger price tags.  The first was the Rudd Crossroads Cabernet, their second label cab.  Big berry, a touch of tartness and currant were the things that I tasted.  The next wine was the Oakville Estate Propriety Red at $125.  A friend described this as “cut with a fork good.”  I concur.  Finally, we tasted the group favorite – the Edge Hill Mixed Blacks, which was a blend of five varietals.  I tasted vanilla, chocolate and it had a great balance.  For $100, this was my personal favorite of all the reds.

Our next stop was Ad Hoc in Yountville.  As always, our dinner was amazing and they accommodated the vegetarian and a few others who preferred fish over meat.  We brought several bottles of the Edge Hill Mixed Blacks which wonderfully topped off to the meal.  At that point, the girls on Central Standard Time needed to go back to the bunker and get some rest.

A Small Town Boy from Iowa Turns a Hobby into Wine Magic

I had the opportunity to attend yet another wonderful wine dinner that Lakewood Country Club hosted for its wine locker members.  Co-owner Gary Luchtel from Surh Luchtel joined us for a wonderful four course dinner prepared by Executive Chef William Koval.  Poor Gary drew the short straw and ended up seated next to me.  For the next three hours, I proceeded to pepper the poor guy with questions that he handled with incredible patience and good humor.

A small town Iowa boy who followed an attractive exchange student to California, Gary told me his story about the wine hobby he and Don Suhr shared that began in 1990 and became a career in 1999.  I always am intrigued when I see people who have made their passion a success.  However, Don gave me a new perspective when he stated, “you know you lose your hobby when it becomes your job.”  Hmmm.

Suhr Luctel has grown and now  produces 4,000 cases of ten wines – Pinots, Bordeaux varietals, Cabernet, Zinfandel and Viognier.  He and Don serve as the only two employees of the winery and their focus is on making good wines at even better prices. While they source grapes from high-end growers all over California, they also own Fortanati Vineyard, which produced the Viognier that has become a new favorite of mine.  More on that to come later.

During the cocktail hour, we sampled the 07 Surh Luchtel Pinot Noir from the Sonoma Coast.  Cherries, spice and earthiness in a glass that retails for $32.  The other wine served was the 06 Surh Luchtel Mosiaque.  This wine priced at $31 was a Bordeaux blend with lots of blackberry and stone fruit.   I’d like to try this wine in a few years as I feel age would make it very different than it is today.  These two wines were paired with passed appetizers of mini crab cakes with tomato jam and lobster sauce; black peppered beef, arugula and parmesan and pork shumi with karashi mustard.  The appetizers and wine matched well.

Our first course was a soup of spring green garlic cream with fresh peas, morels and seared rabbit loin.  This was served with the 08 Surh Luchtel Viognier from Oak Knoll in Napa.  An unlikely pairing in my mind, but I can’t find my way around a kitchen.  It was a fantastic match.  The wine is my new favorite Viognier.  It is produced in stainless steel barrels, but after the primary fermentation, they add a partial malolactic fermentation to bring out the creaminess of the wine.  The combination of the minerality, crispness, apricot, white peaches and pepper make it one of my top new summer wines and it is a great find for $28.   

The next course was a seared long island duck breast with a Japanese sweet potato, cardamom, mango, shitake served with star anise duck sauce.  This was served with the 06 Surh Luchtel’s Gary’s Vineyard Pinot Noir from Santa Lucia Highlands.   This was a very expressive and big Pinot with a taste of berries and cherries.  It was a wonderful match with the course.  It is priced at $50.

Our dessert course was served with the 05 Surh Luchtel Stagecoach Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa.  The fresh fruit almond cream pastry and pistachio almond ice cream – especially the ice cream – worked well with the Cabernet.  This was also a big wine with blackberry, cherry, currant and hints of chocolate.  Priced at $40, this wine would evolve for another 5-7 years with cellar age.  The bonus of the night was the glass of 63 Taylors Port that Clubhouse Manager Tony Zaranti poured at the end.  It topped off a great evening of fun, friends, food and wine.