The Pio Cesare winery was founded in 1881, by the man himself, Pio Cesare, in Alba. If you appreciate Barolos and Barbarescos, you certainly know the name. The fifth generation of the family is now involved in the business, and I am comfortable stating that —barring a climate catastrophe — the 10th generation of the family will one day make great wines under the label.
The family that makes wine together stays together …
I wrote Barolo and Barbaresco, but a few days ago I drank a Chardonnay from Pio Cesare, the 2016 Piodilei Langhe DOC. It’s a barrel-fermented wine from the Il Bricco vineyard in Treiso and the Colombaro vineyard in Serralunga d’Alba. The Il Bricco vines were planted in 1980 (the very first Chardonnay planting of the winery).
I loved this wine. It’s a serious Chardonnay, with an elegant, long finish. Apples cooked for three hours at low heat, wet speckled stones, flowering lime, almonds … those things and more struck me while drinking the Piodilei. A profound and refreshing creaminess is also evident.
A serious Chardonnay
This Chardonnay begins fermentation in stainless, then is moved to French oak for eight months. Six months of bottle-aging then follow. It represents what the family says is “our desire to produce a white wine with the same body, complexity, and aging potential of the great reds historically produced in the area.” They met their goal with this wine.
It comes with a $50 suggested retail price, and you can enjoy it now, or hold until 2022. I would happily pair the Piodilei with a mussel risotto.
Rolando Herrera’s story has been told many times, and it is certainly a tale worth knowing. What follows is a summary, a relaying of the highlights of a life, because this piece is about the 2016 Mi Sueño Syrah (Napa Valley). First, the man behind the wine.
The story can begin when the Herrera family moves to Napa, in 1975, relocating from Michoacán, Mexico. Rolando’s father takes a job in a vine nursery, and the 8-year-old Rolando enters school. In 1980, the elder Herrera, ready to retire, returns to Mexico, taking his family with him.
In 1983, Rolando and his brother move back to St. Helena. Rolando said that he missed the American way of life and the beauty of the Napa Valley. He enrolls in high school and work nights and weekends as a dishwasher at Auberge du Soleil.
In 1985, Herrera starts working as a cellar rat at Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars, where he learns the craft of making wine from Warren Winiarski. Three years later, he is named cellar master at Stag’s Leap.
Lorena Herrera is the co-founder and co-owner of Mi Sueño.
Chateau Potelle is Herrera’s next stop. In 1995, he joins the winery as assistant winemaker. In 1997, he marries Lorena Robledo, and that same year the couple launches Mi Sueño Winery with 200 cases of Chardonnay made from fruit purchased from Lorena’s father. It was an instant success.
This summary does not do justice to the Herrera tale, which is nothing short of an archetypal American success story. Rolando went on to work at Vine Cliff Winery (beginning in 1998) and at Paul Hobbs Winery (beginning in 2001), and in 2003 he and Lorena founded Herrera Vineyard Management.
Before we get to the 2016 Syrah, a few more notes about Mi Sueño:
The 1999 Mi Sueño Los Carneros Chardonnay was served at the Bush White House at a state dinner honoring the president of Mexico, Vicente Fox.
The 2006 Mi Sueño Russian River Valley Pinot Noir was poured at the Bush White House during the 2008 Cinco de Mayo celebration.
President Barack Obama’s first state dinner, honoring Mexico’s president at the time, Felipe Calderón Hinojosa, featured the 2006 Herrera Rebecca Cabernet Sauvignon. (In 2004, the couple founded the Herrera portfolio, starring single-varietal and single-vineyard bottlings named after their children.)
Rolando Herrera knows how to prune vines.
In 2004, Rolando began devoting all of his time to Mi Sueño, and in 2016 he and Lorena purchased a property on Mount Veeder, where they plan to construct a winery and a tasting room.
The 2016 Mi Sueño Napa Valley Syrah
To the Syrah: 2016 was a great growing season in Napa Valley, marked by moderate temperatures in July and August and an increase in heat closer to harvest. The fruit was in great condition when it was picked, in mid-October.
This 2016 Syrah (Coombsville AVA) was aged for 20 months (50 percent new French oak); it is 100 percent Syrah, and the fruit came from the Cortese Vineyard. Alcohol is at 14.5 percent, and 290 cases were produced.
If you like Syrah, you will want to buy a bottle of this wine; if you are not overly familiar with Syrah, this bottle a good one to add to a Syrah tasting panel. You will certainly note the peppery characteristic here, white pepper to be exact. Vanilla and black fruit are also evident.
I opened this bottle immediately upon taking it from a 55-Fahrenheit environment, and sampled it shortly thereafter. Dark purple color in the glass, and the tannins are soft, even supple. (I left the bottle uncorked for the rest of the day, until dinner, and the tannins grew a touch softer.) With the elapsed time since the cork was pulled, subtle notes of bay leaf and cola emerged.
A rack of lamb goes well with the Mi Sueño Syrah.
Pairing this wine is going to be fun. I plan to have at least one bottle at the table come Thanksgiving, because I think it will marry perfectly with the smoked turkey we’re ordering. Lamb is another way to go with this Syrah, which is what I did on the tasting day, a rack crusted with panko and Parmigiano-Reggiano. You can order this Syrah directly from the winery, or inquire at your favorite merchant.
I love to talk about wine with people who share my passion for it. We open bottles, we trade stories about travel and soil types, terroir and residual sugar, and we talk of taste and food and restaurants. We recommend wines to one another, we drink, and we learn a lot.
In Wine Talk, I introduce you to friends, acquaintances, and people I meet as I make my way around the world, individuals who love wine as much as I do, who live to taste, who farm and make wine. You’ll appreciate their insight, and I hope you’ll learn something from them as well.
Another day, another Zoom Virtual Tasting … and an excellent one at that.
Joshua Maloney was the main attraction, along with wines from three brands for which he serves as consulting winemaker. They are highly enjoyable pours, and they represent great value. These are wines to purchase by the case and share with family and friends.
Here’s a rundown of what we tasted, after which we’ll get back to Maloney. (I’ll publish reviews of the wines on Mise en Place soon.)
Maloney, who has a degree in chemistry from Cornell, started out in the industry as an assistant winemaker at Heron Hill Winery, in New York’s Finger Lakes region. His next stop was Napa, and Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars, where he spent time as a lab technician and cellar worker. Estancia Estates was next — he was in charge of the Merlot program there — and in 2005, at 32, he moved on to Chateau Ste. Michelle, where his title was red winemaker.
Maloney has also added to his experience at Milbrandt Vineyards and Wahluke Wine Company, and boasts more than 100 90-plus scores (thus far) for his wines. In addition, he has a single-vineyard project that intrigues me: “Each year I will contract one acre of Cabernet Sauvignon from a grower and vineyard I respect. I will tailor the winemaking to accentuate the terroir of that site. I will document the winemaking here.”
Since 2016, Malony has worked as a consultant, and Aquilini Family Wines, the name behind the brands we tasted during the Zoom session, made a wise decision when it hired him. You can taste his experience in the bottle. Here is Maloney in Wine Talk:
James Brock: How has COVID-19 changed your work and life?
Joshua Maloney: I’m embarrassed to admit this, but the pandemic hasn’t affected me adversely, either professionally or personally. I’ve been working remotely since 2016, when I started consulting exclusively, and that work has actually expanded considerably over the last year. As far as personal impact, I’ve been able to spend a lot more time with my daughters (12 and 14), which I’ve enjoyed immensely. Please don’t ask them how they feel about that. I’ve always been a homebody, so not being able to go out and socialize in person hasn’t bothered me that much. Quarantine hasn’t been too difficult for introverts like me, which hasn’t received much press, probably because we’re introverts.
JB:Tell us about three wines you think are drinking well at the moment. What makes them worthwhile?
JM: I’m knee deep in harvest right now, so I’m not actually drinking much wine. Partly because of the old adage that “it takes a lot of beer to make wine” — but mostly because I try not to drink too much during harvest — I frequently get calls or texts at 4 a.m. with issues that arise during picking and don’t need my judgment clouded from the night before.
However, like most winemakers, much of what I drink is wine made by colleagues. Recently, I had some Chenin Blanc from Pacific Rim that was really enjoyable, very dry and crisp to the point of being almost austere, with very lively aromatics. I also had a Roussanne from Goose Ridge that impressed me, very rich and lush on the palate with ripe fruit character on the nose. One wine that I made for Aquilini that I’m also enjoying at the moment is the Be Human Rosé of Cabernet Sauvignon. I really like how this incredibly powerful grape can make a Rosé that is very delicate and perfumed.
Manfred and Elaine Krankl, of Sine Qua Non and more. (Sine Qua Non photo)
JB: If cost was no consideration, tell us the one bottle you would add to your personal collection, and why?
JM: Probably something from Sine Qua Non … I’m not sure which one, though. I’ve always been a big fan of these wines, but also of the winemaker, Manfred Krankl. The wines are incredibly expressive and powerful, and his approach to winemaking has been an inspiration to me.
JB: What is your favorite grape, and why?
JM: Cabernet Sauvignon, hands down. This grape can produce wines in such a broad spectrum of qualities. They can be simultaneously powerful and elegant, with complexity and layers that show pronounced characteristics unique to both the vintage and the vineyard in which they were grown. I also like the fact that it takes a practiced hand to bring out these qualities and frame them in an enjoyable fashion. With other varieties, one can be accidentally successful with application of technique and produce an enjoyable wine, but that rarely happens with Cab. Discipline, study, and attention to detail are required to show the best of what this grape has to offered. It’s not a grape for the faint of heart.
JB: How about one bottle that our readers should buy now to cellar for 10 years, to celebrate a birth, anniversary, or other red-letter day?
JM: Not a terribly specific answer, but any full-bodied red wine from Washington from the 2018 vintage would fit this bill. The 2018 reds are turning out to be some extraordinary wines with dense, rich tannins that will definitely allow them to age well.
JB: Where is your go-to place when you want to have a glass or bottle? COVID-19 has put a crimp on going out, but pre-pandemic, where did you go?
JM: I don’t really have a go-to place outside my own home, especially in 2020. But before this year, it would be most common for me to have a glass (or more) of wine at a friend’s house.
Most of my friends are in the wine industry, many of them winemakers, and it’s very common when winemakers get together for them to open an obscene number of bottles of wine, take a taste or two of each, then set them aside. It may seem wasteful to many to end the night with a dozen or more open bottles that are more than half full, but for winemakers that’s not the case. Wine cannot be truly enjoyed until it’s opened (although a case could be made for the anticipation also being part of the enjoyment). And winemakers, perhaps more than most people, enjoy the experience of learning about a new wine most of all. So for us it’s not a waste, but an amazing gift to have another like-minded person with whom to share so many new experiences.
JB: If there was one thing you wish everyone would keep in mind when buying and drinking wine, what is it?
JM: It’s not as complicated as you think it is. There’s always been a lot of gatekeeping in the world of wine, but there are no right or wrong answers anymore. In fact, there never were. Drink what you like, how you like, and pair it with whatever food you like.
JB: What is your “wine eureka moment,” the incident/taste/encounter that put you and wine on an intimate plane forever?
JM: Spring semester, my final year at Cornell (1995), Introduction to Wines class. A few weeks after the class started we got to the section on Burgundy, and the last wine we tasted was a 1959 Vosne-Romanée (sadly, I don’t remember the producer). I vividly remember having an emotional response to this wine, akin to chills up and down my spine. I had never had a reaction like that to food or drink before, but many times from music and art. I thought to myself, “If wine can make people feel this way I need to be a part of this world.”
JB: What has been the strangest moment or incident involving wine that you have experienced in your career?
JM: I don’t think I’ve had many strange moments or incidents involving wine, but I did have a notable encounter that set me on my current path. After college, I was struggling to find an entrance into wine production and instead flirted with a few different careers. During that time my paternal grandmother died, and I traveled with my family back to Upstate New York for the funeral service. During the wake, I was chatting with lots of relatives and family friends. Many were asking me what I wanted to do with my new degree in chemistry, and I inevitably started talking about wine. It turns out that one of the friends at the service had a son-in-law who was the head winemaker at a winery in the Finger Lakes. He arranged an introduction, and a short time later I was offered an assistant winemaker job, and the rest is history.
JB: What is your favorite wine reference in a work of literature or in a film?
JM:“Reamde”, by Neal Stephenson, has a very quick, almost throwaway reference to a dry Riesling from Horse Heaven Hills. I was almost giddy when I read that, because I know the author lives in Seattle and was probably thinking of a specific wine when he wrote that, and chances are I know the wine (or at least know of it). It made me feel a personal connection to the author for a brief moment.
A heatwave was upon us in downtown Los Angeles late last week.
Our apartment’s living room boasts a wall of windows — glass from floor to ceiling — and while the view is a fine thing to possess, the south-facing orientation becomes a heat trap, a condition heightened when the temperature hovers around 100 degrees Fahrenheit, as it did for two days last week.
A wine I sampled recently is ideal for the current heatwave (I would drink it on a cooler day as well, because the quality/price ratio here is solid). It’s the 2019 “Didyme” Salina IGT from Tenuta Capofaro. It has a suggested retail price of $26.
How much do you know about Malvasia di Lipari the grape? Well, according to Ian D’Agata’s Native Wine Grapes of Italy, it’s been produced since at least the first century B.C.E.; the esteemed botanist Francesco Cupani (1657-1710) mentions it in 1696, using the word malvagia. Sicily is its domain, and Carlo Hauner Sr., a painter and designer, is credited with popularizing it for modern palates. Hauner, from Milan, maintained a second home on the Lipari islands — situated off the northern coast of Sicily — and began producing wine there. (The wine made from the grape is known as malvasia delle Lipari).
“Malvasia di Lipari is immediately recognizable due to its very scrawny, elongated, cylindrical (rarely cylindrical-conical) grape bunch and small, round berries with thin skins,” writes D’Agata.
Malvasia di Lipari
This is a grape, D’Agata continues, that buds early, is susceptible to spring frosts, and is sensitive to oidium. It is an irregular producer, and it is low-yielding. It loves volcanic soil, but is not that vigorous.
At one point, this grape was in danger of becoming extinct, but Hauner Sr. and his compatriots have done more than enough to save it, and while it is not a household name in most wine-drinking parts of the world, it is available for purchase at a good numbers of retailers in the United States (inquire at your favorite wineseller).
Drink this wine with sautéed shrimp or a grilled fish.
To the bottle at hand we go. Tenuta Capofaro is owned by Tasca d’Almerita, and is located on Salina — the same island on which Hauner established his estate. Salina IGT is the appellation. Drink this slightly chilled — it was kept at 55 degrees Fahrenheit in the Eurocave, and I put it in the refrigerator for 20 minutes before uncorking.
The Didyme is slightly aromatic — apricot is evident — and I appreciate the way it expresses its volcanic terroir. Crisp, bright, marvelous acidity, and pleasant citrus blossoms are notes that come to mind. You will detect herbal activity as well … acacia perhaps foremost. The grapes used here grow at 20 meters above sea level, and the wine is aged for four months in stainless steel. Alcohol is at 13.5 percent, and residual sugar comes in at 2 grams per liter.
If you are curious about food-pairing suggestions, I know that sautéed shrimp (olive oil, garlic, red pepper flakes) go well with this wine, as would grilled fish or scallops. Drink now.
I am sampling other wines in the Tasca d’Almerita portfolio now — all of which are imported to the U.S. by Dalla Terra Winery Direct — and will be writing about them soon.
The fires continue in California, and the feelings of despair and hopelessness can at times (all the time?) overwhelm. Loss of life, property, personal belongings, historic buildings and wineries, crops and vintages … the still-burning Glass Fire, in Napa Valley, is but the latest conflagration to beset the state, and our collective psyche. As I am writing this, on the afternoon of October 1, it is 5 percent contained.
When I am channeling hopelessness about the situation, I flip the script and bring to mind the firefighters and other individuals saving lives, battling the flames, and helping people find safety. Their bravery and tireless work make me feel better. I also think about what I can do. And many others are asking about what they can do, as well.
Here are a few things you can do to help the citizens and organizations of Napa Valley; I am listing them in no particular order.
First, buy wine directly from the wineries of your choice. This is a no-brainer. Purchase by the case. Join a wine club or two. This is a direct way to benefit the people making the wine you love to drink.
If you want to donate funds, The Napa Valley Community Disaster Relief Fund is a great way to go. The 501(c)3 public charity is providing grants for services including housing and legal assistance, as well as cash assistance to homeowners and renters affected by fires.
Here are a few additional organizations you can consider (I will update this list as conditions change):
There will be an end to this fire, of course. But for now, people need our assistance. Let’s do what we can.
To close, I recommend this excellent piece, published in Wired. It is an awe-inspiring look at these fires and the men and women fighting and hoping to prevent them.
Nick and Adam Franscioni's great-grandfather came to California from Switzerland in 1886. You might have heard of their father, Gary, who began the family's wine adventure. (Richard Green Photo)
I love to talk about wine with people who share my passion for it. We open bottles, we trade stories about travel and soil types, terroir and residual sugar, and we talk of taste and food and restaurants. We recommend wines to one another, we drink, and we learn a lot.
In Wine Talk, I introduce you to friends, acquaintances, and people I meet as I make my way around the world, individuals who love wine as much as I do, who live to taste, who farm and make wine. You’ll appreciate their insight, and I hope you’ll learn something from them as well.
One thing (among many) to which I am looking forward when we can venture forth and mingle with those outside of our quarantine pods is meeting in person some of the individuals I have met during Zoom virtual tastings and seminars. Adam and Nick Franscioni are two of those people.
The brothers — and sons of Gary and Rosella Franscioni — participated in a Santa Lucia Highlands AVA gathering and seminar (virtual) to which I was invited, and their enthusiasm and dedication appealed to me immediately.
Adam is the vineyard manager at ROAR — the Franscioni family’s label — and Nick holds the position of winery manager. Adam graduated from the University of San Diego, and joined the family business in 2011, while his brother has a degree from USC and, following a stint in the consulting world, began working at ROAR in 2017.
ROAR was founded by Gary and Rosella in 2001 (Scott Shapley has been their winemaker since 2012), and the wines the family produces — Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Syrah, Grenache, and Viognier — need to be on your radar screen and in your inventory.
After the SLH virtual seminar, I knew I wanted to feature Adam and Nick in Wine Talk, and here they are:
James Brock: How has COVID-19 changed your work and life?
Nick Franscioni: Outside of our workplace, it completely shut down our market visits and tasting events. At work, it hasn’t had a significant impact, since our winery team consists of just three people and our vineyard team maintains a natural spacing of 6 to 8 feet per vineyard row. We are small but mighty!
The bright side is that we have spent more family time and meals together. Also, we have a new family member to welcome, and that has brought a lot of excitement for us. We are excited for my brother Adam and his wife, Tamara.
Rosella’s Vineyard is named after Rosella Franscioni, Nick and Adam’s mother.It was planted in 1996 and is composed of Arroyo Seco sandy loam. (Wildly Simple Productions)
JB:Tell us about three wines you think are drinking well at the moment. What makes them worthwhile? How about a food pairing for each one?
Adam Franscioni: My wife and I are always fans of Champagne, and we are enjoying Champagne Gonet-Medeville Premier Cru Brut, ( around $30 a bottle). We love the bang for your buck. It is so fresh and has beautiful apple crisp notes. We pair it with blue cheese or Salmon.
Next, the 2016 Walt Bob’s Ranch ($80 a bottle). Walt is a label of Hall Wines and Bob’s Ranch is their part of their estate fruit. They always make great wines and their Bob’s Ranch is no different. I am enjoying it with lamb.
And Jacob Toft 2017 Mary Jane’s Cuvée ($60 a bottle). Jacob Toft is small label located in Paso Robles, and the Mary Jane’s Cuvée is their GSM blend. The winemaker sources from great Paso Robles vineyards, and this wine is just fun. A lot of dark, red fruit and the tannins are beautiful. It’s a very complex wine. I usually enjoy this bottle with steak.
JB: If cost was no consideration, tell us the one bottle you would add to your personal collection, and why?
NF: My pick is very cliché, but I’m okay with that. Romanée-Conti. My reasoning is because it is consistently heralded as the most fascinating and desirable piece of history in wine. More important than the wine itself is the place that it comes from and the hands that carried it. I would take 1989 vintage as a birth year, please).
JB: What is your favorite varietal, and why?
AF: That’s a tough question, as I enjoy a lot of varietals, but I’d have to say Pinot Noir is probably my favorite because of it s versatility. It goes well with so many meals, yet you can find Pinot Noirs that can stand alone on their own. Whatever the social situation calls for there is a Pinot Noir out there to enhance the experience.
Rosella’s Vineyard is the source of some outstanding Pinot Noir. (Nick Franscioni Photo)
JB: How about one bottle that our readers should buy now to cellar for 10 years, to celebrate a birth, anniversary, or other red-letter day?
NF: A great family friend of ours is winemaker Adam Lee. Adam makes wines under several labels nowadays, and one of the most special Pinot Noir bottlings comes from our home ranch, Rosella’s Vineyard. He created a new label called Clarice in honor of his own family member. The 2018 vintage was very special in California and one that has incredible aging potential. After tasting this bottling, I am sure that it is bound to dance and delight for the next decade and beyond.
JB: Where is your go-to place when you want to have a glass or bottle? COVID-19 has put a crimp on going out, but pre-pandemic, where did you go?
AF:Spruce Restaurant in San Francisco. They have an amazing by-the-glass menu and their food is unreal.
JB: If there was one thing you wish everyone would keep in mind when buying and drinking wine, what is it?
NF: Think about what type of wines you enjoy, and more specifically what exactly you love about those wines. Whether it’s the fruit, the spice, the herbs, whatever … take note of those things you love to taste and that will help you find more of the wines you enjoy.
Gary, Nick, and Adam Franscioni during harvest. (Richard Green Photo)
JB: What is your “wine eureka moment,” the incident/taste/encounter that put you and wine on an intimate plane forever?
AF: It was December 2012 and I was at a Pinot Noir blind tasting amongst friends. Most people brought Burgundy and we guessed AOC’s until we were blue in the face. Most of the wines were young (2008-2010), so they weren’t hitting their stride yet. But one wine stole the show — it was a 1985 Chalone Vineyard Pinot Noir. I could not believe how fresh it was still tasting. We all thought it was Old World. It was so fun to see that California wine could age that well and it taught me about judging wines before tasting them.
JB: What has been the strangest moment or incident involving wine that you have experienced in your career?
NF: Well, at the ripe age of 10, I was visiting France with my family for a summer vacation and experienced my first barrel tasting, for which I was busy training my palate. We quickly learned that I could not hold my liquor after stumbling around, blowing out candles, and using “adult” words. Our French guide was notably courteous and asked that I be excused. My memory is hazy from that day, but it is a moment that no one else will forget.
The Sierra Mar Vineyard’s Island Block. The vineyard, planted in 2007, is situated 1,100 feet above sea level, and is marked by decomposed granite and gravelly loam. (Richard Green Photo)
JB: What is your favorite wine reference in a work of literature or in a film?
AF: “Sideways” has two moments that I appreciate. I loved the end scene in which Paul Giamatti’s character is drinking 1961 Chateau Chevval Blanc at what appears to be an In-N-Out. I found that so funny and, sadly, something I might find myself doing.
A thin skin, temperamental …
He also has a beautiful line about Pinot Noir in the middle of the movie. It still rings true to me: “It’s uh, it’s thin-skinned, temperamental, ripens early. It’s, you know, it’s not a survivor like Cabernet, which can just grow anywhere and, uh, thrive even when it’s neglected. No, Pinot needs constant care and attention.”
James Joshua Priest was his name, and he was a gold prospector. In 1869, he established Priest Ranch, in Napa Valley, 660 acres in an area then known as Soda Valley. (Priest, who died in 1896, at 70 years of age, had nine sons, and for a while marketed a spring water that came from his land, located on the eastern side of the Vaca Mountain Range.)
In 2004, businessman Allan Chapman bought the Priest estate, and David Ramey and Biale were among the first purchasers of grapes under his ownership. In 2006, Chapman added to his holdings with the addition of Lynch Vineyard (also known as Elder Valley), and the combined Priest-Lynch properties — 1,682 acres — were rechristened Somerston Estate.
Add this venue to your 2021 tasting schedule. (Courtesy Somertson Estate)
Winemaker Craig Becker had entered the picture in 2005 by buying grapes from Chapman. Becker is now the general manager and director of winemaking at Somerston Estate, having co-founded the Somerston Wine Company with Chapman.
Craig Becker, head winemaker at Somerston Estate, has at his disposal “fruit so distinctive that it requires only minimal processing.” (Courtesy Somerston Estate)
Which brings me to the two bottles of the headline: Becker and Chapman honored the legacy of Mr. Priest by founding the Priest Ranch Winery in 2006, and the 2018 Priest Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon ($50) and Sauvignon Blanc ($22) are those two bottles. I tasted them recently, and have added Becker’s portfolio to my “buy” list.
The Sauvignon Blanc is a wine I could happily drink every day. Crisp is a word often overused to describe a wine, but here it is more than apt. I chilled the bottle for 25 minutes or so, then poured. My initial taste was lively, refreshening. Becker produced some great value here. Light, pale yellow in the glass, bracing acidity.
This is a wine that deserves more recognition.
Some details: Stainless steel fermentation (100 percent) with native yeast at 60 degrees Fahrenheit, 1,480 cases produced, harvested on August 30 and September 4 and 10, released in June of this year. Drink this now, with sautéed or poached shrimp (I paired it with the latter).
The Priest Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon would be a fine choice to serve at a dinner featuring lamb as its main course (with a sparkling and the Sauvignon Blanc preceding it). I sampled this 2018 immediately following the Sauvignon Blanc, and the two provide an informative taste of Becker’s style: He respects each terroir at his disposal, and is unafraid to let them shine. He has confidence in his fruit, and in his ability as a winemaker.
The 2018 Priest Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon is priced well at $50.
This is a big wine, and while it is drinking well now, I look forward to revisiting it in a decade’s time. Deep, dark red in the glass, oak, licorice, and soil on the nose, cassis, evanescent lavender, mushroom, and dark cherry in the mouth. It comes in at 14.9 percent alcohol, and 5,880 cases were produced. It is 100 percent Cabernet Sauvignon, and was released on May 1, 2020.
(Note: On September 23, Becker issued the following statement concerning the 2020 vintage:
“Today we made the difficult decision to not harvest any fruit from our 1682-acre estate for the 2020 vintage. In mid-August, the Hennessy fire engulfed our property, burning nearly 1,400 acres of native grasslands and woods. We take pride in the grapes we grow, sell, and vinify and make no compromises. We stand unwavering in our long-term commitment to this property, our winery partners, customers, and distributors. Quality in our world of fine wine is paramount, and due to smoke damage caused by Northern California’s Hennessey Fire, we won’t be making any wine this year.On a positive note, while the scrub pine, madrona, manzanita, bay trees, and other shrubs did burn, about 98% of the oak trees on our property did not. We expect that the estate will regain its beauty with thriving oak woodlands and grasslands in a few years. We look forward to the 2021 growing season next year, producing high-quality grapes for our wines and those of our partners.”)
I know he wanted otherwise, but I wish Tony Vallone had taken my advice and spent his final years in Italy, with Donna, near his beloved Naples.
Whenever I would tell him about my wish, he’d laugh, get a wistful look in his eye, and repeat what he had been telling people for years: “They’ll carry me out of the restaurant, a fish in one hand, and pasta in the other.”
Tony Vallone: January 3, 1945 – September 10, 2020
Tony has left the building. He passed away early on the morning of September 10 at home in Houston. He was 75, and had reigned over his beloved Tony’s for 55 of those years. He was laid to rest today. An era in Houston has ended, and I am sad.
Vallone was my friend, and I’ll forever cherish the meals and conversations we shared, from the first time I sat with him, at lunch at his restaurant on Richmond Avenue — the occasion our initial interview for a piece I wrote marking the 50th anniversary of Tony’s — to casual evenings with him and Donna and Angela and Russ and Judy at home, to our final encounter, perched at the bar at Tony’s on a crisp September evening in 2019. I was preparing to leave Houston, and Vallone had invited me for a last supper at my favorite restaurant in that city.
I introduced Patricia Baglioni, whom I met in Florence, Italy, to Tony in 2014, and our annual repasts at Tony’s were something I looked forward to with relish.
At the bar that night we discussed, as we always did, many things, including politics and the arts and our families. He told me I was a lucky man — he was referring to Angela — and I replied that he was as well, because, Donna. We meant those things, because we knew we had been given second chances at love.
But above all, we talked food. Always food, and the preparation of it, and the joy of dining, in restaurants or with friends and family at home. We could discuss that forever.
Angela and Tony
We talked of Alfred Portale and the best way to prepare sweetbreads, we joked about the latest food trends, and we recounted our experiences at the tables of favorite restaurants in Manhattan. I told him about a dish I was working on for one of my Brockhaus dinners — a foie-stuffed morel — and he told me to make him one so he could consider adding it to his menu. He asked me to hold a Brockhaus event at Tony’s, which I did, back in 2017. It was an honor to cook in that kitchen, and to serve my food in his domain.
I miss Tony’s smile, and I miss sitting with him. I was honored that he solicited my opinion about the food coming out of his kitchen. One evening, he asked me to taste a sauce — if I recall correctly, it was what the restaurant was serving with beef short ribs during Houston Restaurant Weeks. I told him I thought it was lacking a bit of salt. He excused himself from the bar, where we were sitting, and walked to the kitchen. He came back a few minutes later and thanked me, agreeing with my appraisal.
I miss the softness in Tony’s voice, and the way the skin around his eyes would crinkle when we talked about this or that restaurant or an article about food or a restaurant review. I miss the way his hands grew animated when we discussed cooking. Never before had I enjoyed such engaging, profound, and respectful conversations about the culinary world. I hope I can find that again, because I need it.
Dinners at home …
Tony’s was my favorite restaurant in Houston, and I dined there often. I liked it for many reasons, among them that it reminded me of some of the places I missed in New York. Detail matters, and Vallone and his team rarely missed a beat. I felt comfortable there. To me, it was at the time one of the few restaurants in the city that could have been picked up lock, stock, and barrel and placed down in New York, or Paris, and be received with open mouths (and wallets) by the citizens of those dining meccas.
And I ate well chez Tony. Corona beans, and lamb chops from Colorado. A perfect artichoke salad and soft-shell crab. Halibut and salmon and Kobe beef and red snapper and pasta stuffed with duck and langoustines and a delicious Caesar salad and … so many dishes whose flavors I remember still, including one of my all-time favorite pasta dishes, Tony’s Bolognese Bianco, which will be on my final meal menu.
Tony’s, my home away from home.
I wrote the following in the piece I mentioned above, marking the 50th anniversary of Tony’s: Watching Tony Vallone preside over the perfect little world that is Tony’s — in my opinion, the best restaurant in the state of Texas and among the best in the U.S. — the concepts of order, harmony and zen mingle in my mind. Vallone, who celebrates his namesake restaurant’s 50th anniversary this month, conducts every movement at the Richmond Avenue institution with the grace of a consummate and controlled artist. If a dining-room chair is not where it should be, a nod from the 71-year-old puts it in place. If a guest is on the verge of making a request, Vallone is the first to anticipate it.
Vallone was an institution, a Mensch; he was among the very few to have owned and run a restaurant for 50-plus years, anywhere. He founded fine dining in Houston, and set the bar high in a city whose diners were more accustomed to steak sauce than Béarnaise.
Again, from the story about Tony’s 50th anniversary: My first glimpse of Vallone in his restaurant is something I recall often. I was walking across the dining room, and through the large (mostly glass) wall that separates it from the kitchen, this is what I saw: The maestro was wearing a dark-blue suit, and he was sitting in a simple chair in the kitchen, in front of the pass, one leg crossed over the other at the thigh, cell phone in hand. His face spoke of calm order, though all around him cooks and waiters went to and fro with haste, plates and cutlery and food in hand.
Tony in his element. (Photo by Jay Tovar)
That image of Vallone will stay with me forever. Now, when I cook, I’ll be cooking with him (he joins my maternal grandmother, Ida, in my spiritual kitchen brigade). I have lost a dear friend, and though I know I’ll feel the need to make my way to Tony’s the next time I am in Houston — Donna has decided to keep the restaurant open, and about that I am glad — I am not certain I want to be in Tony’s place knowing that he’ll never again grace its environs. Whenever I sit at my favorite table, I’ll long to see him make his way around the dining room, greeting each of his guests, and I’ll want to shake his hand. I’ll miss feeling his hand caress my shoulder.
Tony and Donna Vallone
Of one thing, however, I am certain. Very soon, I am going to cook a meal at home, and it is going to be in honor of my friend, of his life and legacy and struggles and successes. It will include pasta and a fish and lamb. We’ll open a bottle or two of something Italian; a Barolo will definitely be on the table. And with every course, I’ll toast Tony.
Bye, my friend. I’ll miss you for a long, long time. I’ll miss you forever.
I have always admired horses, and if I owned land enough would love to share my life with a few of them. One of my uncles raised cattle — Black Angus — and also always had a horse two around. They were my introduction to the equine world.
Since then, I have ridden on occasion, and I’ve attended horse shows and equestrian exhibitions. And I’ve been an avid fan of the Kentucky Derby.
I don’t know which year marked my first Derby viewing, but it’s must-see television for me. In 2013, I was in Louisville for the running, and neither inclement weather nor a haunted bed and breakfast dimmed my experience.
A day at the Derby, 2013 edition
This year, I will not be in Louisville for the Derby. I’ll be in Los Angeles, but the horses will be running and the television will be on and I’ll make a cocktail to celebrate the occasion. The foundation of that cocktail is already chilling in the refrigerator …
It’s a bottle of G.H. Mumm Grand Cordon, and with it I’ll concoct a (modified) Ken-Tiki Derby Julep (more on that soon). This Brut Champagne is 45 percent Pinot Noir, 30 percent Chardonnay, and 25 percent Pinot Meunier (residual sugar is 8 g/l). It is cellared for 30 months.
Lots of tradition in this bottle.
During the past several months I have tasted a number of Mumm Napa sparkling wines, including a Brut Prestige, a Brut Rosé, the 2013 DVX Rosé, and the 2011 DVX, and I’ve featured Tami Lotz, the Mumm Napa winemaker, in Wine Talk. I’ve also popped open a few G.H. Mumm bottles in that time, and not one of them was less than highly pleasing.
Here’s how I’ll make my Kentucky Derby cocktail:
Ingredients:
2 ounces G.H. Mumm Grand Cordon Champagne 1.5 ounces Aberfeldy 12 (the original Ken-Tiki uses Jameson Black Barrel) .5 ounces lime juice .25 ounces pineapple syrup 5 mint leaves
In a highball glass, combine mint, pineapple syrup, and lime juice. Muddle the mix, then add the Aberfeldy. Next comes crushed ice and a stir to combine. Pour Champagne over the top and add 3 dashes of Angostura bitters.
Storm the Court is my pick to win the 2020 Kentucky Derby. (Photo: Emily Shields)
My Derby tip, you ask? Well, if I was betting, I’d pick Storm the Court to win, followed by, in this order, Authentic and Ny Traffic.
I love to talk about wine with people who share my passion for it. We open bottles, we trade stories about travel and soil types, terroir and residual sugar, and we talk of taste and food and restaurants. We recommend wines to one another, we drink, and we learn a lot.
In Wine Talk, I introduce you to friends, acquaintances, and people I meet as I make my way around the world, individuals who love wine as much as I do, who live to taste, who farm and make wine. You’ll appreciate their insight, and I hope you’ll learn something from them as well.
Earlier this year, I received a few bottles of wine whose arrival made be happy. Very happy. I was excited because I had not had a taste of Argyle sparkling in about five years, and a bottle of it was in the box. It was a 2016 Vintage Brut.
A few days later, the bottle properly chilled, I opened the Brut. It was excellent, as I expected. If you are not familiar with Argyle, I promise that you want to get to know the winery and its offerings, which include — but are not limited to — Chardonnays, Pinot Noirs, Rieslings, and Pinot Meuniers.
Looking for a sparkling wine for your table? The 2016 Argyle Vintage Brut is one to consider.
The 2016 Vintage Brut is a continuation of what began in 1987, when Rollin Soles went on a mission to produce great sparkling wines in the Willamette Valley. In order to do so, he would need to grow outstanding Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.
More than three decades later, it is widely held that Soles accomplished what he set out to do. The estate program he envisioned and developed now encompasses more than 400 planted acres.
Rollin Soles, who grew up in the Dallas-Fort Worth suburbs, hangs out with some fine people. (Courtesy Rollin Soles)
Enter Nate Klostermann, who is the subject of this Wine Talk. He succeeded Soles as winemaker at Argyle in 2013, having been chosen by the man himself after serving as his trainee for eight years. Soles has good taste, and is a discerning judge of character, because Klostermann’s portfolio is full of noteworthy vintages.
The Knudsen Vineyard, in the Dundee Hills AVA, is planted with Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Petit Meunier.
Klostermann was born and raised in rural Wisconsin, and has a degree in food science from the University of Minnesota. The hobby of home brewing sparked an interest in wine, and he took a job at Falconer Vineyards — located in Red Wing, Minnesota — an experience that cemented his career path.
I like Klostermann’s approach to winemaking; he loves to experiment (skin soaking, mixing ripeness levels, whole cluster), and he’s making wines that will last.
In addition to the Brut, I also sampled the 2018 Argyle Nuthouse Pinot Noir, and the 2018 Nuthouse Chardonnay, both of which are drinking well. (I have another bottle of the Pinot cellared away.) My next Argyle tasting will be Riesling-centric. I look forward to visiting the Willamette Valley next year, and Argyle will be on the itinerary.
Let’s see what Klostermann has on his mind.
James Brock: How has COVID-19 changed your work and life?
Nate Klostermann: The daily operations in the winery have slowed down a bit in terms of pace and spacing with bottling and disgorging, but we have been lucky in that we have such a spacious facility, we’ve been able to keep good distance from each other. We’ve been tasting and blending wines outdoors more recently, which has brought a new and interesting aspect to the interpretations of the wines. No more travel, public tastings, or wine dinners, but the Zoom tasting experience has been positive in that we can interact with more tasters across the globe.
JB:Tell us about three wines you think are drinking well at the moment. What makes them worthwhile? How about a food pairing for each one?
NK: 2009 Argyle Extended Tirage Brut ($80) — Disgorged one year ago, this wine is really coming together, highlighting the freshness of recent disgorgement with the deep and complex palate of extended lees aging. I like to drink this on its own to feel the different levels on their own, but I would pair with grilled prawns.
2018 Argyle Nuthouse Riesling ($30) — I love the depth of the 2018 Riesling vintage; it really builds power and length with incredible acidity. We’ve been experimenting with extended barrel aging on our Riesling in the last five years, and I think we’ve hit the sweet spot of freshness and depth at about 11 months of aging. It’s a great food wine; I always gravitate to Southeast Asian, as it can pair with so many foods from there. We’ve developed an annual tradition of including a food pairing only for the Riesling in the tasting notes since 2003 — this year I’ve chosen Cao lầu from Hội An, Vietnam, a rice noodle dish with pork and greens.
2018 Pray Tell Chardonnay ($40) — Fresh, vibrant, subtle spiciness, incredible length, and purity. This is very small production, made by a wonderful husband and wife duo in McMinnville whom I adore. Their wines are both serious and playful, and are a treat to get your hands if you can catch them in time. My favorite pairing with this wine is Oregon Dungeness crab with lots of melted butter and flaky sea salt.
JB: If cost was no consideration, tell us the one bottle you would add to your personal collection, and why?
1979 Krug, Clos du Mesnil. I’d love to try any of these Clos du Mesnil wines from this era, but 1979 was the first vintage of this bottling and I feel would be an incredible glimpse into the historical style of blanc de blancs, which is my favorite style of Champagne.
JB: What is your favorite grape, and why?
NK: Chardonnay is my favorite grape because there are so many beautiful expressions throughout the world, both with still wine and sparkling wine.
JB: How about one bottle that our readers should buy now to cellar for 10 years, to celebrate a birth, anniversary, or other red-letter day?
NK: I would recommend the 2018 Nuthouse Pinot Noir to lay down for 10 years. With incredible balance of depth and freshness, it also has firm structure from the Eola-Amity Hills that will age gracefully and provide tension for many years to come.
Pinot Noir and Argyle are a great team.
JB: Where is your go-to place when you want to have a glass or bottle? COVID-19 has put a crimp on going out, but pre-pandemic, where did you go?
NK: My favorite two places to drink and explore Champagne are in Portland: Ambonnay and Pix Pâtisserie/Bar Vivant. They have incredible curation and a selection of wines at great prices from the two most passionate Champagne heads I know.
JB: If there was one thing you wish everyone would keep in mind when buying and drinking wine, what is it?
NK: Sparkling wines should be drunk more often than just on special occasions and celebrations. Incredibly versatile and food friendly, they should be enjoyed year-round and with foods of all kinds.
JB: What is your “wine eureka moment,” the incident/taste/encounter that put you and wine on an intimate plane forever?
NK: My “aha moment” was when I started as an intern at Argyle in 2005, tasting a freshly disgorged 1995 Extended Tirage Brut. I was young and was just starting to learn about sparkling wine. I was blown away by the time invested, precision, love, and purity that went into it. Explosive freshness, deep complexity — the idea that you could make a wine like this for a living got me hooked and has kept me continually engaged in the exploration of long-aged sparkling wines.
JB: What has been the strangest moment or incident involving wine that you have experienced in your career?
NK: The strangest/most challenging moment in my career was the harvest of 2013. The fruit was right on the edge of ripeness and Mother Nature opened up a deluge of rain upon the Valley. Some say that we got 8 inches in one weekend. It was my first harvest officially being in charge. Grapes were exploding on the vine and juicing out on the trucks. We had to drink a lot of whiskey to get through it. Thankfully, we were still able to make some excellent prestige wines that year, despite the challenging vintage.
Townes Van Zandt: “Now I’ve seen the light and heard the word And I’m staying away from that ol’ dirty Thunderbird A message come from heaven radiant, and fine, All I drink now is communion wine Six days a week”
JB: What is your favorite wine reference in a work of literature or a film?
Townes Van Zandt, Talking Thunderbird Wine Blues. Favorite songwriter of all time … playful, dark, brilliant
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