Dallas Wine Chick

Corison Winery: A Sense of Place, Time and Terrior

Corison Wines are all about the time and place.  If you have paid attention to the evolution of blue-chip cabernets in Napa Valley, chances are you have consumed a wine that has Cathy Corison’s magic touch.  Cathy, one of Napa’s first female winemakers, started making cabernet in 1978; several years after getting her Master’s in Enology from U.C. Davis.  From 1980-89, she was the lead winemaker for Chappellet Vineyard.  She also made wine for Staglin Family Vineyard, York Creek Vineyards and Long Meadow Ranch.

In 1987, she decided to focus on her own wine and began making Corison after making a handshake agreement with three farmers, who still provide grapes for her Napa Cabernet.  In 2003, her venture was so successful that she stopped making wines for others.  She originally focused on “100 percent cabernet all the time” and she and her husband, William Martin, purchased the current winery property in 1996.

We were greeted by one of my favorite folks in wine, Hardy Wallace, who manages the tasting room and has his own wine that I’m dying to try.  We talked about Cathy’s philosophy that the winery should be a place to make wine.  Looking around, you see no big tasting salon and no branded merchandise underscoring her philosophy.  During harvest, it’s a three person production crew – Cathy, William and her cellar master – just the way it’s been for the past 15 years.

While Cathy originally started with just cabernet, she was quickly called to be on the wine dinner circuit due to the success of her wines.  Most wine dinners start off with a white wine, and since Cathy used to only make reds, someone else’s wines were usually served first.  After having to drink someone else’s white wine which was not up to her standards, she decided to start making the Corazón Anderson Valley Gewürztraminer.  The 2009 was bone dry with honey, floral notes and tropical flavors.  I now own six bottles.

We then tried the 2008 Helios Cabernet Franc, which had fabulous green notes with vanilla, spice and that chalkiness that defines a cabernet franc.  Cathy makes two barrels a year of this wine.  You may start to notice some Greek influences in the names as well as the fact that the Corison name is only branded on the cabernet which is 100% cabernet (a wine can be called cabernet even if just 75% of the grapes are cabernet).

We then moved into the Corison cabernet vertical line up made from grapes in the Rutherford Bench between Rutherford and St. Helena.  We tried the following:

-          2009 Napa Cabernet – full of berry, cocoa and promise of what magic would happen if you put this wine down for 20 years.

-          2005 Napa Cabernet – berry, fruit forward, cassis and lots of spice and cherry.

-          2001 Napa Cabernet – we actually opened a second bottle of this because it wasn’t showing the true potential and I am so glad that we did.  This was my favorite – it was balanced, earthy and full of blackberry and bramble.  This was truly a hallmark year and Hardy told me was one of Cathy’s favorite vintages.

-          2004 Napa Cabernet – full of flowers, plum, currant and definitely could use some more time in the bottle to show its truest potential.

Our single vintage Kronos line-up included the following:

-          1998 Kronos – elegant, smooth and ridiculously good.  My tasting note was “wow” and that summed it up.

-          2006 Kronos – this was a muscular wine with cassis, blackberry, allspice and chocolate notes.

-          2008 Kronos – cherry, blueberry, plum, allspice and chocolate were all prevalent in this wine.

We briefly had the chance to meet Cathy as her investors were in town and she was incredibly gracious.  If her wines could talk, they would have amazing, complex and unique stories to tell.  She definitely lets the vineyards speak for themselves.

An Evening at Jordan: An Experience for the Bucket List

When I started my blog a little over three years ago, I never expected that it could lead to an invitation from one of the best California wineries, Jordan Vineyard & Winery, to stay at their estate for an evening.  Due to a friendship with Lisa Mattson, Jordan’s head of marketing and engagement, we found that ourselves in the position of winning the wine bloggers lotto.

Approximately five days before we left, my husband tore his Achilles which meant he would be on crutches for the trip and many months to come.  It was touch and go until two days prior to our trip if he was going to be able to make it.  The stars aligned, the doctor gave him clearance, we were upgraded on the flight, and then American lost our luggage.  But more on that later.

We were met by Sean Brosnihan from guest services who showed us to our amazing suite that was stocked with fruit, water and a lovely bottle of Jordan Chardonnay.  Every detail was handled by Nitsa Knoll, director of hospitality.  Jordan, who absolutely has the art of customer experience down pat, also provided toiletries since they knew we had no luggage.

In 1972, Tom and Sally Jordan shared a love for French food and wine and always dreamed of owning a winery in France.  A glass of Bordeaux-style Beaulieu Vineyard’s Georges de Latour Cabernet during a meal in San Francisco changed their mind and they began to research locations in Sonoma and Napa.  In 1972, the day their son John was born, they bought the Alexander Valley property and began to plant more than 200 acres of vineyards with the vision of making a first growth quality Bordeaux-style wine.

The chateau, which was completed one week before Jordan’s first harvest in 1976, was built modeled on a French chateau with the goal of being a place for winemaking and hospitality.  The Jordan’s brought in the famed Andre Tchelistcheff, who directed the architecture of the winemaking process and brought in Rob Davis to help with the winemaking.  More than 40 years later, Davis remains Jordan’s winemaker.  In 2005, John Jordan stepped in as CEO of the winery and began an effort to make the winery more eco-friendly which included installing hillside solar panels to offset 75 percent of the winery’s electricity usage, irrigating their grapevines with recycled water reclaimed from the winery.

Sean Brosnihan on the Jordan Patio

I talked before about customer experience – and this begins with the people, the beauty of the property and the pairing of food and wine.  After a tour of the breathtaking property, we stopped at a patio to try the 2010 Jordan Chardonnay, which is now 100 percent allocated to restaurants and only sold at the winery.  The wine is made with 100 percent Russian River Valley grapes and was made in an Old World style.  It was full of stone fruit, tropical fruits, slate, apple and had great minerality and acidity.

It was served with curried cauliflower with Maharaja spice and a Zarnicholi with cauliflower puree and green onion with caviar.  Who would have thought cauliflower and caviar would have been the star pairing with this chardonnay?  I bought several bottles to take home.

We then proceeded to tour the inside of the winery – the barrel room, the formal dining room and finally the secret passage door, which led to a VIP tasting room.  There we were treated to a beautiful cheese plate designed to go with the 2003 and 2008 Jordan Cabernet wines.  The 2003 was a beautiful Bordeaux style cabernet that was silky and beautiful.  The 2008 cabernet, Jordan’s most current release, was big, vibrant and soft with lots of cherries and plums.  Just lovely, but very different from the 2003 as the blends change year to year.

We returned to our room to sample the bottle of 2010 Jordan Chardonnay.  The winery even provided a driver to our dinner at Scopa, where we were lucky enough to meet up with Graham, the Wine Czar, who recommended a lovely Salina Bianco wine from Italy that I had not tried yet and matched perfectly with the seafood we ordered.  Our same driver was kind enough to haul our luggage up the 24 stairs to our room, when our luggage finally arrived 12 hours after we had landed.

The next morning, I had the chance to jog around the property and see the vineyards, olive trees and the fruit and vegetable garden that Jordan’s culinary team uses to prepare unique dining experiences on the property, before we were served a lovely breakfast.

If our experience was any indication of what the Jordan’s envisioned for their guests, I can say that it was the quintessential marriage of food, wine, and hospitality making the experience of Jordan stand out in my mind for years to come.

California and Rioja Wines: A Mix of Cellar Worthy & Tuesday Night Wine

The sample wines were multiplying again, so I invited over some friends and opened a variety of bottles from California and Spain.  I’ve found as the blog gets older, the wines are definitely getting better.  Today was no exception.

California

Cornerstone Cellars never disappoints.  We started with the Cornerstone Cellars 09 Cabernet Sauvignon from Howell Mountain.  I was lucky enough to have tried this before at A Taste of Howell Mountain in Dallas.  This was a gorgeous wine with lots of black cherry, currant, licorice, mocha, cinnamon and lots of depth and complexity.  These wines are consistently good – the grape and the region don’t seem to matter.  It is priced at $80, but it is cellar and special occasion worthy.  

Our next journey through California was the 2010 Matchbook Syrah from Dunnigan Hills, a winery that I was not familiar with before the tasting.  It was jammy and spicy with notes of raspberries, blackberry pie, plum and currants.  We were eating olive hummus and it was a fabulous match with the food.  At a suggested retail price of $16, this was a great wine for the price.

Spain

I continued my love affair with the Rioja region with wines from Basque Country. 

We started with the 2007 Bodegas Ruiz de Viñaspre, which is 100 percent tempranillo, with lots of berry, licorice, violets and mocha with candied fruits.  This was another very drinkable value wine for about $15. 

The second bottle was the 2007 Finca Monteviejo, which is from Viñedos y Bodegas de la Marquesa – Valserrano, a decades-old, family run winery.  The wine is 95 percent tempranillo and a 5 percent mix of graciano and garnacha. This was an earthy and intense wine with dried fruit, blackberry, currant, jam and chocolate.  Very well balanced and $42.

A Night with John Robert Eppler

In October, I had the chance to meet John Robert Eppler, the proprietor of John Robert Eppler wines, at a Howell Mountain Wine tasting in Dallas.  I was impressed with the Howell Mountain Cabernet that I tried and when I found out John had Texas roots, I asked him to host a dinner at Lakewood Country Club.  Happily he accepted and in less than 60 days we had set a date and a time.  John assured me that he’d bring several wines that you could only get at the vineyard and he definitely didn’t disappoint.

His mission is to produce wines that are rich, intense, and expressive from the terrior where they grow.  John’s passion for the wine industry began when his son’s grandfather, originally from the Park Cities in Dallas, served him a ‘61 Grand Cru Burgundy that changed his life.  “I never tasted anything that good before – it was a representation of the promise of wine.”

Then in 1974, he worked with the wine cellar of Neiman Marcus at the flagship store in downtown Dallas where Stanley Marcus told him that his first lesson was to learn to never say no, so he didn’t.  He went on to become a wine steward and sommelier in the area.  He attended a wine tasting in Austin and met a small producer of Burgundy whose passion for winemaking put him on the path to become a winemaker.  He went back to school for a degree and moved to California in 1986.  He produced his own wine for another 15 years until he started John Robert Eppler Wines. 

He classifies himself as a farmer first and is the only employee of John Robert Eppler Wines.  He produces about 3,500 cases of small production Zinfandel, Petite Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Fume Blanc, Chardonnay and others varietals.

We started with the 2009 Fume Blanc Rutherford, which had notes of banana, melon and other tropical notes, served with Iberico ham, olive oil and rye toast as well as ahi tuna, pate choux and preserved lemon.

William Koval, the executive chef of Lakewood Country Club and one of Dallas’ most accomplished chefs, had put together a menu that worked perfectly with the wines.

Photo courtesy of William Koval

Our first course was the shrimp pernod, saffron bisque, carrot, fennel, lobster and chive served with the 2010 Chardonnay from Sonoma.  The lobster in this dish sang with the wine with notes of lemon, minerality, melon and Old World style. 

Photo courtesy of William Koval

Our second course was the seared venison loin, sweet potato, chestnut, bacon, truffle, chocolate and blackberry gastrique.  Great pairing with the 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon from Howell Mountain, which was a nice dense red with blackberry, mocha, cherry and floral notes.   

Photo courtesy of William Koval

Our third course was the braised short rib, prime cap meat, marjoram potatoes, porcini, roasted onion and beef jus served with the 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon from Rutherford.  Big notes of cassis, blackberry, cedar and blueberry.  Very well balanced and definitely on my favorite list.

We then moved into two of my other favorite reds – the 2009 Cabernet Franc, with only 2 barrels made, and the 2006 Rutherford Reserve Cabernet.  These are collector wines and I adored both of them.

Photo courtesy of William Koval

We ended our dinner with the 06 Zinfandel Alexander Valley Late Harvest wine paired with olive oil ice cream, chocolate, basil, cranberry, nutella and hazel nut stuesel.  This was John’s “make lemonade out of lemons” approach when fermentation stopped on his Zinfandel grapes.  It made me sad that it might be his first and last vintage.

Wine Club Reunited: Spanish Heavy Hitters, White Flights, Napa Finds and Cajun Cuisine

Picture a group of very driven, professional folks that have a passion for wine, like to have fun, enjoy off the beaten path wines and make sure to not take ourselves too seriously.  The last part a total 180 from what you would expect a somewhat serious wine club to look like especially from a group representing a snapshot of corporate America.

We tried taking ourselves too seriously in the beginning where we voted members in, selected favorite wines and then tried to store them for the right period of time before opening and officially voting on our favorites. That all changed one fateful night of tasting Turley Zinfandels where we threw all decorum out the window and had an amazing time.  There may or may not be a YouTube video that you will never find capturing our version of MC Hammer’s “Can’t Touch This.”  Throughout the years, we changed the goal of the club to enjoying wines we haven’t had before while putting the emphasis on fun.  And, you know, I ended up learning and retaining a lot more knowledge.

As most groups go, life got in the way for awhile and we had not met in a few months.  When Peter and Jen revived the group, I was excited. I walked in with my Spiegelau glasses and no idea of what surprises were in store.

It turns out we were having a Mardi Gras theme with homemade Cajun food.  Our hosts wanted to do a Spanish red theme, but knew that it wouldn’t match the food, so another theme was added to go with the dinner.  We started with wines that would go well with spicy food.  Our first line-up included the following:

• Chateau Bonnet Entre-Deux-Mers Blanc 2011 – a blend of sauvignon blanc, semillon and muscadelle with grapefruit, minerality and a little hint of sweetness.  Great wine under $10.
• Chateau Guibon  2011 – lots of pear and melon with a nice balance from the blend of Semillon, sauvignon blanc and muscadelle.  This wine is led by the Semillon and is more muted than the first.  Another nice white under $10.
• Leyda Sauvignon Blanc 09 – lots of citrus with lime, grapefruit and green apple.  Great minerality and nice finish. Also in the $10 range and a great bargain.
• Villa Maria Reserve Wairau Valley Sauvignon Blanc 09 – lots of grapefruit, exotic fruit and grassy notes. 
• Merry Edwards Sauvignon Blanc 07 – I am a big fan of Merry Edwards wines – especially the Sauvignon Blancs and Pinots – this had the same minerality and citrus notes, but unfortunately had lost some its essence with time.

Then it was truly showtime – a line-up of highly rated Spanish reds, all from the highly-rated 2004, of which I have not had the opportunity to try.  Our line-up was:

• Bodegas y Vinedos Alion Ribera del Duero 04 – inky black with blackberry, chocolate, spice and some floral notes.  Incredibly rich and yummy.
• Baron de Magana 04 – priced under $20, this wine had notes of oak, blackberry, current and graphite. Very earthy.
• Bodegas El Nido Jumilla Clio 04 – it took some time in the glass for me to appreciate this big wine.  I tasted mocha, cardamom, cinnamon and something that was almost port-like.
• Vall Llach Priorat 04 – lots of blackberry, herbal notes, chocolate, coffee, peanut brittle, vanilla, minerality and spice.  I really liked this wine and it changed in the glass through the course of the evening.
• Numanthia ‘Termanthia’, Toro, Spain 04 – this was an incredible wine by one of the best Spanish wine makers out there.  It was complex with black and red fruits, eucalyptus and as smooth as silk.  My absolute favorite of the evening.
• Dominio Pingus Ribera del Duero Flor de Pingus 04 – definitely needed more decanting time, but had notes of cherry, chocolate, oak, smoke, sage, licorice and coffee. 

And if we hadn’t tasted enough great wines, one of our participants had just returned from a trip to Napa, so out came the Guilliams Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon 07 and Seavey Cabernet 09.  And that was a fabulous end to our evening and a foggy start to a Sunday morning.

First CultureMap Dallas Post – What Do A Cadillac Dealership and High End Wine Bar Have in Common?

My first CultureMap Dallas post about a Fort Worth Cadillac dealership … with a wine bar? Check it  out and click through so they ask me back to write.

Post Conference Tour: #WBC12, Carlton Without Handcuffs

And then it was over.  Just like that.  But thankfully my post trip was about to begin.  The town of Carlton, where I had spent the #cuffedincarlton wine tour trip, was willing to have a group of us back for a two-day excursion with some of my most favorite wine bloggers.  We were picked up by the rocking party bus from the Doubletree with Motown music, couches and comfy seating where we were transported to Carlton’s “Walk in the Park” event featuring more than 30 Oregon wineries.  The event brought together some of Yamhill County’s best wineries and gave me the opportunity to spend some extra quality time with some of the people behind my favorite wines. 

A special shout out to Ken  Morrison from K&M, who was such an avid student on how to Tweet and was kind enough to continue the crazy chicken legacy.  BTW, he and his partner, Mauro Hernandez, make some pretty rocking Pinots that I can’t wait to receive once the weather breaks in Texas and my shipment arrives.

Lynn and Amy generously hosted us at Republic of Jam for cocktails and fabulous appetizers.  It was so fun to see the store that has become such a destination point and their vision brought to life.   I loved the craft cocktails made with so many of their products; they were just delicious. 

We had dinner at the Horse Radish, well those did that didn’t have a pork allergy (Carlton definitely loves its pork products), but they gave me a really nice salad and I was able to sneak across the street for a great turkey sandwich that I snuck into the hotel James Bond style.  I was able to share a bottle of Retour, one of my favorite Pinot Noirs who is owned by a dear friend of mine.

Marcy and I were assigned to the Casa della Valle B&B where we met Eve and Joe, the sweetest and kindest couple that treated us like dear friends.  Joe is an avid collector of some of the most classic toys and xxx has a huge collection of antiques.  Marcy and I had a blast getting to know them, learning about how they decided to start a B&B and finding more about their collections.  We were so excited to have been assigned to the B&B so we could get to know such an interesting couple (and the breakfast absolutely rocked).

The next morning, we had a private tour with Ken Wright, who in my mind is one of the “father’s” of Oregon Pinot.  Because there have been really great discussions on other blogs by attendees of WBC12 about Oregon terrior,  I have no need to recreate my version, so I’ll just talk more about Ken’s point of view from that day.  He talked about the wines doing so well because all of the conditions are right for Pinot Noir and the depth and how where the grapes are planted matter.  He called others to task who are growing Pinot grapes on the floor of the valley making poor wines and hurting the Oregon wine industry.  Ken has earned the right to have an opinion. 

He talked about how nutrition is key to making great wine and the plant is the ultimate report card.  Ken told a great story about seeking out a farmer in Washington State who was responsible for growing a specific apple for the Japanese market who had 15-acres dedicated to doing only that.  Ken and his team visited the farmer who at the beginning of their discussion peeled one of his apples and took them on a tour of the vineyard.  When they returned, the apple had not aged a bit and was “freaking unbelievable.”  This further solidified that each plant must be allowed to take its fruit to the ultimate stage.  Microbiology and protecting the fruit is so important – not only for wine, but for the fruits and vegetables that we eat daily.

We tried two of his wines – the Ken Wright Cellars Abbott Claim, Yamhill-Carlton AVA, which was lush with stone fruit, cassis and spice.  Our next wine was the Ken Wright Cellars Carter, Eola-Amity AVA, which was much more mellow in nature with blueberry, cherry and plum.  Totally different vineyard, totally different terrior and elevation.  Cool experiment!

Our next stop was Lemelson Vineyards, a 160 acre, carbon-neutral facility, focused on producing certified organic wines.  The winery owns seven estate vineyard sites located in Yamhill-Carlton, Dundee Hills and Chehalem Mountain.  We started with a glass of 2011 Dry Riesling, which was full of tropical notes and was very enjoyable.  We then toured “the Starship Enterprise,” the winery’s gravity flow facility designed by Steve Cornish, who also designed Palmaz Vineyards (link).  After we climbed up the ladder of this high tech wonder with our glass of 2010 Tikka’s Run Pinot Gris, I didn’t time my ladder climb with the person ascending before me and ended up covered with Pinot Gris and a broken glass.  Lesson learned – make sure you get your timing right if climbing a ladder with a glass of wine in hand. 

Anthony King, the wine maker and his wife Kara, talked about the collegial community of winemakers in the region.  We then tasted some of the same wines aged in different coopers – such a cool experience and it becomes easy to see why a winemaker pays $1,100 for a high-end barrel – aromas, flavors, smells are all different.  We adjourned to the porch and had the opportunity to taste several wines (most of which I ended up ordering – you will find that was a common theme of this day).

• We tried the 2010 Thea’s Selection Pinot Noir (which of course I had to bring a bottle to @winebratsf , that was named after Dorothy (Eric’s mom), who wanted to be called Thea.  It was earthy, cherry and full of licorice.
• Our next wine was the 2009 Mt. Richmond Vineyard Pinot Noir, which was very floral with bright fruit.
• The 2009 Johnson Vineyard Pinot Noir was next, which needed some bottle time, but was full of rich notes and big fruit. 
• We moved to the 2010 Jerome Reserve Pinot Noir, which is made of a different blend every year, and was my favorite Pinot.  Big depth, dark fruit and a fabulous wine. 
• We ended with 2009 Oeneous Dessert Riesling with figs, which was a ridiculously fantastic match.

Our next stop was lunch at Cuvee, several tart flambées prepared by Chef Gilbert Henry, which happily did not contain all pork products.  The veggie and salmon ones made me very happy.  Belle Pente, Alexana and Carlo and Julia joined us for lunch and talked briefly about the wines that were paired with the lunch. 

I sat across from Felix Madrid, the owner and winemaker of Carlo and Julia, who talked about naming the winery after his twin sons (now 23!).  At five, his child smelled one of the wines and remarked, “dad, this smells like perfume.”  A child after my own heart and probably a pillar in the family business.

Then we did a speed dating of sorts with a number of wineries.  I don’t think that Carlton understood how much we liked their wines and we slowed down the schedule when we insisted on buying at every stop.  We visited Carlton Cellars, Valley Emporium, Noble Pig (loved the food/wine pairings), Terra Vina, Mouvance and Troon (super interesting and non-traditional wines like meritage, zinfandel and port).  I would have loved another hour at each place.

Thank you again to the City of Carlton, “the wine capital of Oregon” for rolling out the red carpet and making this group of bloggers feel special.  Your town has so much to offer and I can say with certainty that I will be returning as soon as possible.

Domaine Carneros: Le Rêve and Pinot Noir Tasting

I received a welcome package recently from Domaine Carneros with a two pack of Le Rêve 2005 ($95) and Domaine Carneros Pinot Noir 07 ($35) to review.  I have always been a big fan of Domaine Carneros wines from all price points and find that they make delightful sparkling wine and pinot noir.

 The Le Rêve, the winery’s flagship blanc de blanc, was how I remembered it.  Lots of pear, lemon and toasted almond on the end with a fantastic finish.  While this is a splurge wine, it is definitely one that I will buy again. 

 The Domaine Carneros Pinot Noir was a strong, but elegant pinot with juicy red fruits like raspberry and cherry combined with cedar and chocolate.

Old World Cabernet Meets New World Chef: A Dinner to Remember

I know I’ve said this before, but I’m very lucky through this blog to meet some of the best storytellers, winemakers and chefs in the business.   I also get an opportunity through this blog and from my husband’s foodie love affair to eat some of the best meals in the city.  Because of that, it takes me a great deal to take pause.  My dinner at the Gaylord did just that.

When I was personally invited by Joanne Bondy, executive chef of the Old Hickory Steakhouse at the Gaylord to attend the Palmaz dinner, I was excited, but a little taken aback.  Most executive chefs of Joanne’s caliber aren’t issuing personal invitations to wine dinners. For those of you who aren’t familiar with Joanne, she received Esquire’s rating of 20 best restaurants in 2001 and cooked at the James Beard House in New York City three times.  And, this was the preview dinner for her October James Beard dinner paired with some of the best Napa cabernets out there.

While I’ve been to the Gaylord before, it was always around a special occasion brunch because my parents live in Flower Mound.  To this Dallas gal, it was a bit of a haul especially after having a few glasses of wine.  Get a cab, get a car, get a sober driver – this is definitely worth the ride.

Saddiq Mir, vice president of food and beverage at the Gaylord, kicked off the dinner by introducing Joanne and Florencia Palmaz.  Joanne cracked us up with stories about celebrating the tenth anniversary in 2011 at the winery with stories about Amalia Palmaz, the matriarch of the family, on a four wheeler with her Prada shoes.  She also described a paella pan so large that it was stirred with a boat oar and when it became dark, the guests used mobile phones to provide light.  Just classic.

I was lucky enough to visit Palmaz a few years ago and was totally impressed with the wines and technology behind the winery.  There’s a huge tie to Texas.  Julio Palmaz, a doctor by profession, was in process of developing a heart stint at University of California Davis but couldn’t get research funds so he moved to the University of Texas in 1984 to continue his research.  While in California, Julio and Amalia had spent the weekends visiting wine country in Napa.  After moving to Texas, they attended a wine festival in Poteet, Texas, where Amalia decided they would be moving immediately back to Napa after trying the wine if the stint was a success.

In 1986 that happened and they returned to Napa to buy one of the last pre-prohibition wineries which formerly was a brothel and had made no wines since 1912.  The home’s original owner, Henry Hagen, one of Napa’s first winemakers, produced award-winning wines in the 1800s at Cedar Knoll Vineyard and Winery, but Prohibition killed his business. The winery fell into disrepair and the vineyards were forgotten for almost 80 years until the Palmaz family saw their potential.

Florencia talked about the 28 years that they spent in Texas, how it felt like home and how Texas embodied “big thinking” and imagination.   She talked about the underground project that she, her sister and her mother embarked upon several years ago to make white wines when her father was set on only making cabernet.   They made only 50 cases with the understanding that the family would drink it all themselves.  They didn’t mention their project to Julio for eight months and even painted the barrels red.  Finally, he figured out the game and told them, “you girls are cheating on me – you can each play with one white wine.”  Having tried the three wines, I have to tell you how glad that I am that they did.

We began the reception with the 2010 Palmaz Riesling “Louise” from Napa Valley.  It was tropical, off dry, fruity but not too sweet.  Fabulous, but very hard to get.

Our first course was creamed mussels with roasted fennel and paprika seared octopus paired with the 10 Palmaz Chardonnay “Amalia.”  It was a match made in heaven.

Our second course was chapa style vegetables and morcilla with a goat cheese vinaigrette paired with 07 Cedar Knoll Vineyard Co. Cabernet Sauvignon which had nice citrus, tropical fruits and minerality.  It was a very well balanced wine that worked well with the course.  While the wine could age for years, it was very smooth.  I tasted big berry, mocha and it was well structured.

The entree course was grilled Tenderloin with chimichurri, wild mushrooms and peas.  I tasted blackberry, spice and leather in the 07 Palmaz Cabernet .  It was fabulous.

Our dessert course was a dessert wine paired with a family recipe from Amalia.  Her Dulce de Batana and Port Salute Tart combined with the 10 Palmaz Muscat Canelli “Florencia.”  A perfect close to a perfect dinner – simple, fresh and light.

Our dinner table had a very lively conversation about when toasting, you must look each person in the eye individually.  I’m not sure if the ten years of bad luck will happen, but I’m not willing to take a chance … here’s looking at you.

Side note: The Old Hickory Steakhouse is up for best steakhouse.  Do me a favor and click here to vote.

The Power of Stemware, Openers and Blind Pinot Tasting

What was evolved into a group with the “tongue in cheek” name, The Dallas Wine Mafia,  recently met this month for round two of #BBWT.  The theme was Pinot Noir, which was less enthusiastically embraced by one of our members and we set out to try to prove him wrong.  What we didn’t know is that the theme turned more into the art of opening a bottle combined with the power of drinking wine out of the right glasses. 

We gathered at Kozy’s, which is one of my favorite restaurants with no corkage charge.  They could not have been more hospitable and the organic menu of fish, game and chicken was a nice match with the wine.   For some reason though, that night the pop music was turned up and hearing the notes of “Party Rock” made me laugh.

I always try to bring an “off the beaten path” wine and today it was my friend Lindsay Woodward’s.  Lindsay is the owner of Retour, a newish winery that makes one wine, pinot noir, and blows it out of the water.  Lindsay’s creation was going to be my secret weapon.

But before I jump into the wines we tasted, I must make mention of the art of opening my bottle.  I was the last to arrive and the other wines were open.  One of the group had this super space age looking automatic wine opener that immediately ripped the cork in the Retour to shreds.  The chaos that ensued between several members of the group and the waiter to open the wine was comical.  Between a coffee filter, a knife and an old fashioned wine opener, we avoided floating cork and the day was saved.

The wines we tried included the following:

• Four Graces Pinot Noir 09 (Oregon) – lots of terrior and black cherry.  I think I would have enjoyed this more if we gave it more time to open. ($26)
• Acrobat Pinot Noir 10 (Oregon) – cherry and a vegetal flavor to it.  I enjoyed this one. ($20)
• Kings Estate Winsor 08 (Sonoma) – cherry cola taste to it and interesting texture ($32)
• Bearboat Pinot Noir 07 (Russian River) – originally chosen because the label was annoying, this had some good balance and surprised us as being a good wine ($24)
• Decoy Pinot Noir 10 (Napa) – very full in body, bold, black cherry, spice ($28).  This was one of my favorite wines of the night.
• Chandon Pinot Meunier  09 (Sonoma) – the zinger of the night. Obviously a different grape than the Pinot Noir we tasted and we all knew “one of these things were not like the other.” ($32)
• Nuitts St Georges Premiere Cru Burgundy 08 (Domaine Henri Gouges Close, France) – this was caramel in a glass.  Over the dinner, it opened up very nicely and teased it what it would be with a little more decanting time.
• Retour Pinot Noir 06 – Big notes of cherry but with an elegant bouquet that had a lavender note to it ($55).  Voted by the majority as the favorite of the night.

I also happened to bring a six pack set of Spiegelau wine glasses, which showed how much glassware can make a difference in showcasing the nuances of a good wine.  I loved watching the reactions of some of the group discover this for the first time.