My tasting agenda has swung into high gear since my return from France (more on that soon), and the bottles are calling to me (except for a certain Riesling that’s raising its voice in a persistent manner): “Let’s go,” they say. “It’s getting crowded in here.”
Two wines that impressed me recently were made by Eric Johnson at Talley Vineyards, a family-owned winery located in the San Luis Obispo region of California’s Central Coast. I’m referring to the 2022 Estate Vineyard Pinot Noir and the 2022 Estate Vineyard Chardonnay, both of which I found stellar (and the dishes I paired them with were definitely improved by my doing so). A trip to the SLO region is on my planning calendar and I look forward to visiting and touring Talley.
When one sleeps surrounded by Chardonnay and Pinot Noir vines the essence of the fruit seems to slip into the subconscious. A final glance at the vineyard outside my room before retiring for the evening, moonlight allowing a view of the young light-green leaves, the cold air and ground working to strengthen the vines. Last night’s temperature fell to around 46. I closed the window and slept, warm under down.
Early morning mist fades away as the sun rises and warms the surroundings. The vines, the leaves, the tendrils – the tops of the trunks low to the ground, perhaps 1 foot or so in height where the green begins – appear fresh, confident even, their color uniform across the parcel. Buds are present, small, tight, promising. (Smudge pots and other weaponry against the dangers of frost abound – it’s late April in Burgundy, and though next week is forecast to bring warmer temperatures, farmers are worried.)
These vines are promise. And our tastings of various vintages this week bring to life the effort and fears and work and dreams that have been deposited into the surrounding vineyards. A 2020 Aligoté lively and fresh, a 2019 Pinot Noir flirtatious and tempting. A premier grand cru that made one’s eyes close with pleasure. That’s the promise.
I like 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.
Dusty Nabor’s journey into winemaking began with a carboy in his Ventura County, California, kitchen. A business associate with a passion for cult Napa wines had introduced Nabor to that rarified sector of the wine world, and he began frequenting events as a consumer. But this son of SoCal wanted to do more than drink wine. He wanted to make it as well.
“I got interested in wine right around when I became legal, back in the late 1990s, but I didn’t really learn much about it until around 2005 or so,” Nabor says, referring to that business associate’s influence on him. “I was always really drawn to the production personnel of the winery rather than the hospitality staff or ownership, and I wanted to know what they did. I wanted to make wine commercially.”
In 2014, Nabor made his way to a custom crush facility near his home, and laid the plans for his first vintage, two barrels of Cabernet Sauvignon harvested in 2015. “After a couple of years at the custom crush I decided to venture out on my own and opened my winery, in Camarillo, in time for the 2020 vintage,” he says. Dusty Nabor Wines was born.
Nabor’s stated focus is on Syrah, Grenache, Viognier, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon, and he and his partner Karin Langer source fruit from vineyards in Santa Barbara County, from the AVAs of Sta. Rita Hills, Ballard Canyon and Los Olivos District. (His production last year was around 1,500 cases, and he is anticipating 2,000 cases this year. The wines are sold mainly through the Dusty Nabor Wines mailing list — click here to add your name.)
Nabor is a self-taught winemaker, though he is quick to credit a few mentors, including Matt Dees, Nile Zacherle and Paul Frankel. And he taught himself (an ongoing process, as always) while working at his family’s business, 101 Pipe & Casing. The company was founded by Nabor’s father, Fidel, and the winemaker is the firm’s executive vice president. He’s worked there for 28 years.
In addition to Dusty Nabor Wines, he and Langer are behind Bolt to Wines and NSO Wines.
Another thing to know about Nabor is that he has raced cars, competed as a triathlete (he and Langer still do), played competitive poker and golf, and. . . well, the point is that he loves adventure and accomplishment.
Let’s see what Nabor has to say in Wine Talk.
James Brock: How has COVID-19 changed your work and life?
Dusty Nabor: COVID for us (Karin and me) has been extremely easy. It definitely was a tale of two pandemics. Those who were affected greatly and those who simply were not. For me personally, I didn’t know anyone whom I am close with that was affected adversely by the virus. We were also able to get vaccinated very early on due to our affiliation with the food and service industry.
Our lives have been set up in sort of an introverted way from the beginning. We do a lot of endurance sport training (triathlon, cycling, running and swimming) and those sports by their nature are very individual and solitary. We don’t need to be around large groups of people and usually are not.
Professionally, it was very similar. My day job was considered an essential business from the start of the pandemic, and the winery was as well. So income never stopped for us and the winery kept on going as usual. Also, the winery was started as if I knew the pandemic was coming.
We have no tasting room and the winery is not open to the public. All of our sales channels were done online or remotely. While others had to pivot to meet the demands of the pandemic, we just continued doing what we were already doing. Don’t get me wrong, all of this was by sheer luck. I had no idea this would be the case setting up the winery years ago.
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?
DN: Yeesh, this is a tough one for me. I’m terrible at food pairings. Three wines doing well right now. . .
A Chardonnay for your consideration.
Well, our 2019 Chardonnay from Spear Vineyards is really starting to hit its stride. It’s a Wente clone of Chardonnay and just needed a little bit of bottle time to settle in. It suffered a little bit of bottle shock after we bottled it last year, and it’s regained it’s form nicely. I’d pair it with pretty much anything, but I’d really like to enjoy it with a pear salad with some candied walnuts.
Second wine would be our 2018 Bolt To Wines Syrah from Ballard Canyon. This is a serious dead ringer for a Côte-Rôtie Syrah. It has all the hallmarks that we strive for in Syrah. . . bloody meat, iodine, some forest mustiness, a little cigar box and beautiful blue and black fruit. I’d drink this wine with anything savory.
Third would be the 2017 Jaimee Motley 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon from Peter Martin Ray Vineyard. What a wine. Just a gorgeous example of what Cabernet Sauvignon can be without any heavy-handed oak or mass extraction. Just flowers and tea and fresh berries. . . just lovely. I had this wine and paired it with a light pasta with red sauce and some “Beyond” meat sausage.
This Cabernet Sauvignon pairs well with red sauce and pasta, according to Dusty Nabor.
JB: If cost was no consideration, tell us the one bottle you would add to your personal collection, and why?
DN: I’d like to experience DRC. I don’t have the financial ability or enough friends who do to have been able to try it. I would like to because Pinot Noir is a joy of mine to make and I don’t feel like I’ve really experienced it without having some of the inaccessible grand crus of burgundy.
JB: What is your favorite grape variety, and why?
DN: Syrah. Always Syrah. I absolutely love Syrah because of all the magical expressions it has. I will die trying to create the perfect Syrah. . . I am a long, long way away.
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? Can be one of your wines, but need not be.
DN: Our 2019 Pinot Noir from Spear Vineyards in the Sta. Rita Hills, which was done 100 percent whole cluster. I’m dying to fast-forward into the future and try this wine 10 years down the road. It has all the structure of a brilliant wine to cellar. It has so much nerve and tension in such a great way. Once it starts to relax and unwind, I think it will be a very good wine.
Dusty Nabor and Karin Langer are partners in life, endurance athletics, and wine.
JB: Where is your go-to place when you want to have a glass or bottle (outside of your home and workplace)?
DN: Our local spot Boar Dough Tasting Room is our Cheers. Always great wines and fun people.
JB: If there was one thing you wish everyone would keep in mind when buying and drinking wine, what is it?
DN: If it’s an honest wine, made by a small producer, just keep in mind how much love, care and heartache went into that wine. Wine is a living thing and it goes through phases like any living thing. And they ain’t all great phases.
JB: What is your “wine eureka moment,” the incident/taste/encounter that put you and wine on an intimate plane forever?
DN: A 2007 Hundred Acre Kayli Morgan Vineyard, which I opened at Karin’s birthday six or seven years ago. My tastes have changed since, but I had no idea wine could taste like that.
JB: What has been the strangest moment or incident involving wine that you have experienced in your career thus far?
DN: Experiencing bottle shock of our first vintage, a 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon. A week after it was bottled it was absolutely terrible. I thought I totally messed everything up and it made me really doubt myself. A year later, the wine was very good. So now, we wait 18 months in bottle before releasing our flagship Cabernet.
JB: Your favorite wine reference in a work of literature?
DN: I’m a sucker for Sideways. I’m a SoCal kid, and that entire movie took place in my backyard and in the region I now work. I still think it’s a fantastic movie.
Every year, as Thanksgiving and Christmas approach, I am the recipient of requests for wine recommendations for the holidays. It’s a job I take seriously, as Thanksgiving is one of my favorite days of the year, for several reasons, chief among them being the food. Whether I’m making Mama Stamberg’s Cranberry Relish, Scooter’s Southwestern Dressing, brining and roasting a heritage turkey, ordering a smoked bird from Greenberg Turkey, or grilling lamb chops or a rib eye, what to drink with my feast is always on my mind. It’s not a small matter.
And then there’s Christmas (and New Year’s Eve and Day). Plenty of opportunities to try something new and to open and savor some of your tried-and-true favorites. It’s a wonderful time of the year …
My view on pairing wines with Thanksgiving and Christmas festivities is simple, and is aligned with what I often say: Drink what you find pleasurable. It really is that easy. You open a bottle of, say, Endless Crush Rosé of Pinot Noir, from Inman Family Wines — which is one of my recommendations this year — and snack on some cheese straws while drinking it. Perfect. The salty/spicy flavor profile of the delicious Southern staple (click here for a great recipe from Edna Lewis and Scott Peacock) marries well with the Rosé’s remarkable acidity, and all is well for you and your guests.
Now, you could as aptly open a bottle of Piquette from Noblemen Wines (another of my holiday selections this year) with those cheese straws, and I daresay your pleasure would in no way be diminished. Lively, low in alcohol, a great way to begin a day of celebration.
What I’m saying is this: Yes, there are a number of “rules” that most people are told they should (or must) follow when pairing wines with food, and some of them do have merit. There are wines that clash on the palate with salmon. I would not pair salmon with a boldly tannic California Cabernet Sauvignon (and here I am thinking of the 2018 Scattered Peaks Sage Ridge Vineyard Cabernet, which is also on this year’s holiday wine list). Neither would I drink an Auslese with a grilled rib eye or pasta with Bolognese sauce.
Gathering around a holiday table is one of life’s great pleasures, and wine plays a starring role. (Wikimedia Commons)
I could lay out a few more of these strictures, but you get the picture, and here is the main thing: Once you actually “taste” why a wine should not be be paired with a particular dish or type of food you can proceed to write your own set of rules. When that’s done, a certain sense of freedom opens and you are on your way to wine-pairing liberation. You will most likely not want to eat salmon and drink a Cabernet Sauvignon at the same time, but you will have the confidence to know which pairing rules apply to you.
So, on to my 2021 Holiday Wine Selections. As with previous years, this is a highly subjective and personal roster of wines, bottles that appeal to my palate and sensibilities. I am an eclectic consumer of wines — yes, Riesling is my true love, my passion, but you will find me drinking Albariño as often as Chenin Blanc; one day I crave Syrah, the next Cabernet Franc or a Barolo or Müller-Thurgau — and hope my approach appeals to you. (Of course, I would love to — and could easily — include many more bottles on this list, but space does not permit me that luxury.)
At the least, I urge you to never, ever paint yourself into a corner when it comes to what you drink. I’ve met too many people who profess to like Chardonnay only, or who tell me they drink wines only if they garnered “at least” 96 points from this or that critic. Such individuals are generally lackluster conversationalists whose culinary predilections mirror their wine dogmas. These people are best avoided.
To our list.
Sparkling and Rosé
I wrote above that a bottle of Piquette would be a great way to commence a holiday gathering, so that’s what we’ll do. I’ve chosen Noblemen Wines, a producer based in Kerrville, Texas, to supply our effervescent, low-alcohol (7 percent), refreshing, and thirst-quenching Piquette, and it’s a worthy and fun entry on the Sparkling and Rosé category. It will cost you $20 a bottle from Noblemen. Mourvedre and Teroldego skins, plus some added carbonation, are the ingredients behind this unfiltered offering.
I recently had the pleasure of tasting with Remi Cohen at Domaine Carneros, and the 2016 Ultra Brut ($48) from that California house is our next wine. Cohen, the CEO of Domaine Carneros, guided a small group through some excellent bottles on a rainy October afternoon, and I was not alone in picking the Ultra Brut as my favorite on the day (the 2014 Le Rêve Blanc de Blancs was no slouch, of course). Crisp and fresh, this Chardonnay (53 percent)/Pinot Noir (43 percent) bottling should stand beside your seafood tower, because it was made for raw oysters and butter-poached lobster.
Drink this sparkling wine with a bevy of oysters. (Courtesy Domaine Carneros)
A Champagne is next, the Charles Heidsieck Brut Réserve ($70), a vintage beauty of a wine whose finish will (should) stun you. I think it represents a great value in the rarefied world of Champagne. You can spend more, much more, on a bottle (say, $350 for a 2013 Louis Roederer Cristal), but this Heidsieck selection will more than satisfy your needs. It’s a blend of 60 crus, and it’s full of superb white fruits.
We go back to California now, and to the 2016 Frank Family Vineyards Brut Rosé ($55). You and your guests will love to look at this bottle, because the wine possesses a seducing, tantalizing coral hue. Brioche and raspberries dominate the aroma, and you’ll appreciate the crispness and minerality here. I opened a bottle recently and paired it with a room-temperature round of Brie, and you might enjoy doing the same. (And for those interested in the business of wine, here’s some news about a recent transaction involving Frank Family.)
This sparkling wine will pair wonderfully with fried crustaceans.
To round out this section, the 2020 Endless Crush Rosé ($38) from Inman Family Wines. Estate fruit from the Olivet Grange Vineyard, low alcohol (12 percent), and luscious flavors of strawberries and white flowers. This wine is one of my go-to Rosés, and I recommend it on a regular basis. Kathleen Inman is the winemaker, and her story is a good one … you can learn more about her here.
White Wines
The thoughts of most people gravitate toward white wines when they think of pairings for turkey, and they are not wrong. As you’ll see in these selections, however, turkey is not the sole food on the menu during the holidays. Oysters, stuffing or dressing, lobster, mushrooms, and caviar (to name but a few items) are also in the mix, and white wines are great with all of these things. Again, taste and taste, and come up with your own rules.
Let’s begin with a Russian River Valley Chardonnay that is a perennial solid choice. It’s from Jordan Vineyard & Winery, and the 2019 vintage sells for $36; older vintages are also available, and this wine ages gracefully. (I profiled Maggie Kruse, Jordan’s head winemaker, in Wine Talk back in 2019, and she’s now firmly in control of the estate’s program.) I sampled this vintage several weeks ago and would gladly pair it with a roasted turkey at my table.
A Russian River Valley Chardonnay that pairs well with turkey and chicken, not to mention quail and pheasant.
Washington State is the source of our next wine, and I’m excited about this one. It’s the 2019 Öömrang Estate Siegerrebe ($75), a lovely, delicate expression of the German grape. (Siegerrebe can be translated to “Champion Vine” or “Victory Vine” and its name refers to its ability to produce high yields.) This wine is highly aromatic, with a supple mouthfeel … and it’s fun to drink. I enjoyed it with a mushroom risotto, and if you’ve never tasted a Siegerrebe, don’t skip this one. (I’ll have a profile of the producer in the coming weeks.)
This is one of my favorite wines of the year.
Chenin Blanc is never a bad idea, and the 2020 Domaine Huët Vouvray Le Mont Moelleux Première Trie is an excellent idea. I’ve seen it offered for between $69 and $75 recently, and to be frank, anything from this producer is worth your time, attention, and money. Your turkey and stuffing will both pair well with this wine, and your guests will envy your taste.
An Albariño hailing from Lodi is next, from Mettler Family Vineyards. The 2020 vintage was recently released, and you’ll likely find it and the 2019 for the grand price of $20. Buy them both if you can, and you’ll have no regrets. The Mettler family has been farming grapes in the Lodi AVA since the late 1880s, and have been selling their fruit to other producers for a long time. And, they make their own wine, obviously. I like their Old Vine Zinfandel as well, but this Albariño speaks to me in an eloquent and fun manner.
This Albariño, from Lodi, should be on your holiday wine lineup.
The Riesling on my 2021 list is from New Zealand, the 2019 Eden Valley Dry Riesling ($18) from Pewsey Vale. Previous vintages of this wine have been mainstays in my inventory, and for the price it is something I recommend by the caseful. Some of the fruit in this wine comes from vines planted in 1961, and the people behind Pewsey Vale run an exacting program. I will be drinking this wine for years to come, happily. If you are serving a piquant green bean casserole this holiday season pair this wine with it.
Red Wines
On to the reds, and a few bottles that will appeal to those seeking wines to pair with turkey, steak, lamb, ham, and other festive foods. As with wine rules, no one should feel fenced in when it comes to holiday menus. If you want to cook a leg of lamb for Thanksgiving, do so. Some of these reds display lively acidity, others are suited for heavier dishes, but they are all quality bottles that you won’t regret opening.
William Allen’s approach to winemaking is to my liking.
First up, the 2019 Two Shepherds Pinot Meunier ($40). This wine, made by William Allen, the founder of Two Shepherds, is on my list this year because it’s a wine that will pair well with turkey, ham, and roasted vegetables. If you drink Pinot Noir, try this wine. We’re talking 13.5 percent alcohol and layers of complexity, an easy-to-drink, well-made bottle. Allen is an iconoclastic crafter of wines, and if you find yourself in Healdsburg, be sure to visit his warehouse winery in nearby Windsor. You’ll enjoy conversing with him, trust me.
Joel Aiken is the man behind our next wine. In 1985, he was named lead winemaker at Beaulieu Vineyards, becoming the youngest person to hold that position at the historic estate. He was winemaker at Amici Cellars from 2009 to 2015, and founded Aiken Wine Consulting in 2009. He has also held positions with Provenance, Acacia, and Glen Ellen in California, and Navarro Correas in Argentina. His 2018 Scattered Peaks Sage Ridge Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon ($125) is a serious wine that I’ll serve with a grilled rib eye this holiday season. It spends 22 months in French oak, possesses a richness that I love, and will, of course, age with aplomb.
Seavey makes stellar Merlot.
We’ll stay in California for one more wine, and that is the 2014 Seavey Merlot ($85), a beautiful expression of this grape. If you are planning to prepare a pork roast this holiday season, drink this wine with it. The tannins will amaze, as will the lush mouthfeel. Seavey Merlots are among my favorite Napa wines, and I advise you to take possession of several bottles and age at least two of them for a decade or so. Jim Duane and Philippe Melka made this.
On to Italy. I chose this wine after sampling the 2018 vintage recently, and, at $15 a bottle, there’s no reason to not buy La Valentina Montepulciano d’Abruzzo DOC by the case. I also added it to my 2021 Holiday list for those who will be grilling or smoking meats between now and the end of the year, say, lamb chops, pork butt, or brisket. Uncork this wine and enjoy an uncomplicated yet satisfying pairing for your meat dishes.
Let’s close the red section with, yes, a Pinot Noir, one with elegance, great acidity, and wonderful depth. The 2018 ROAR Rosella’s Vineyard Pinot ($70) is a worthy companion for your turkey, and will also pair wonderfully with game birds (pheasant, duck) and wild boar. The Franscioni family knows from wine, and this bottle demonstrates that well. Give it 20 minutes to breathe after you pull the cork.
That’s a wrap. The wines on this list represent diverse styles of winemaking, and everyone should find at least one bottle on it to their liking. I’ve forgone the normal “stick to wines with just the right amount of acidity” holiday advice here, not because I disagree with that statement, but because I want to recommend wines that pair well with more than turkey. We are a diverse nation, and our holiday tables hold more than poultry, something about which we should be proud and grateful.
Ask for these wines at your favorite merchant, and order directly from the producer if possible.
And one final note: At the end of your Thanksgiving and Christmas meals, toast yourself, your great taste, and your guests with Amaro Averna.
Ilove 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.
The tasting was scheduled for 10 in the morning, on a Saturday, so the drive to Los Olivos from Los Angeles began a little after 7. At that time of the day traffic is usually light — weekend bonus — and the journey was relaxed and pleasurable. I never tire of driving along the Pacific, seeing the sun rise from the waves and the rolling hills glide by.
I was headed north to meet with Greg Brewer, of Brewer-Clifton, diatom, and Ex Post Facto, at his label’s tasting room in Los Olivos. I was familiar with his Brewer-Clifton wines, and appreciated their purity, but had never sampled diatom or Ex Post Facto, so was looking forward to the encounter.
Brewer, who was named Winemaker of the Year in 2020 by Wine Enthusiast magazine (one of the categories in the publication’s Wine Star Awards), is a product of the Sta. Rita Hills AVA. When one discusses wine with him, the soils and vineyards and geography of the appellation come to life, and tasting with the Los Angeles-born former French instructor (UC Santa Barbara) is a sensuous and intellectual tour of the region.
“The winemaker of the year award is much more about the Sta. Rita Hills than it is about me,” he told my tasting companion and me as we tasted the 2018 Brewer-Clifton Chardonnay. “The people here, the land and the environment, those are the stars.”
The Sta. Rita Hills AVA is the source of some lively, vibrant Chardonnay.
Brewer founded Brewer-Clifton with Steve Clifton in 1996, and diatom, focused on “starkly raised” Chardonnay, was born in 2005. Ex Post Facto, dedicated to cold-climate Syrah, followed in 2016. In addition, beginning in 1999 and continuing through the 2015 harvest, Brewer co-founded and served as winemaker at Melville Winery.
Brewer, whose labels became part of Jackson Family Wines in 2017, began his career in wine at Santa Barbara Winery, in 1991. He worked in the tasting room, and soon discovered a passion for production, a passion that continues today.
Greg Brewer and James Brock post-tasting in the Brewer-Clifton tasting room, located in Los Olivos, California. (Photo by The Brockhaus)
Conversing with Brewer was a refreshing experience, one that took me back to my Eastern philosophy classes and seminars. Ego; the self; humility; chop wood, carry water; process; the razor’s edge: those words and phrases came to mind on that Saturday morning as we talked about the appellation and its attributes and Brewer’s approach to winemaking (and life). He’s someone I would gladly sit with over a three-hour meal.
A Chardonnay of intense purity.
In addition to the Sta. Rita Hills Chardonnay, the tasting lineup included the 2017 Sta. Rita Hills Pinot Noir, the 2016 diatom Machado, the 2017 Machado Pinot Noir, the 2018 Ex Post Facto Syrah, and the 2009 Brewer-Clifton Mount Carmel Chardonnay. All show sense of place in a remarkable manner, and demonstrate Brewer’s method, which, though highly personal, has been honed to ensure integrity and longevity no matter what life brings.
“I could be hit by a bus, and our wines would live on,” Brewer told me, referring to the way he has trained others on his team to make these wines.
Here’s Brewer in Wine Talk:
James Brock: How has COVID-19 changed your work and life?
Greg Brewer: The pandemic has, as with many, caused me to become quite nostalgic and increasingly sentimental. I have embraced this opportunity to reignite direct correspondence with our community as a means of intimate connection during times of quarantine and lack of social interaction. While I hope that the outreach from me has been welcomed by them to remain engaged, I have also benefited greatly, as the exercise has been very nourishing and restorative for me.
While initially resistant to virtual events, I quickly dove into that platform, which proved to be very rewarding. My initial hesitancy was rooted in a fear of not connecting as well as in person, yet I quickly realized it was far from inferior and simply different. There can be tremendous intimacy and comfort when interacting in this manner, particularly when all participants are as focused and vulnerable as possible.
As I find ultimate identity through my work, there is really no differentiation for me on any level between personal and professional. For the mere attempt to segregate the two would lessen my core devotion to the craft and industry.
“Gentle hands and pure intent … “
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?
GB: Everything is appropriate, worthwhile and timely. I gravitate towards wines raised by gentle hands and pure intent, and am particularly inspired when one has the confidence to explore an aesthetic which is singular and relevant. Brander Au Naturel Sauvignon Blanc and Captûre Tradition Sauvignon Blancare excellent examples of that ethos for different reasons. Larmandier-Bernier Champagne is another reference point that comes to mind. All three are singular while maintaining a very specific point of view and not alienating others. Unique and inclusive. Deliberate and still very aware of surroundings.
If a certain wine and dish are pleasurable, they will always make a good pairing. Composure and pleasure eclipse the stress that can frequently accompany a pursuit to replicate expected and almost cliché pairings. The alignment of dynamics can be great, as can be exploring contrast. It closely resembles any other personal relationship. As soon as one embraces the risk and fear of an atypical rapport, the world opens up to myriad possibilities that may have otherwise been overlooked. Gender, race, sexual orientation, careers, hobbies, favorite colors and zodiac signs. If one is confined to a cage, there is never a chance to engage with the other animals.
Brewer: My hope and goal throughout my entire career has been to help others feel more comfortable with wine.
JB: If cost was no consideration, tell us the one bottle you would add to your personal collection, and why.
GB: While I ultimately love all wines, there is really nothing I envy. There is a time and place for everything, and I fear that seeking something out would lessen the relationship I would have with the object. Who am I to have something in my keeping when it might offer more pleasure to someone else? Many of the wines that I have possessed have been very valuable to me and their subsequent consumption has been the best way to honor them. Such would include last vintages from inspirational mentors who have since passed away or last vintages from colleagues whose families have asked me to finish their work upon their sudden passing.
JB: What is your favorite grape variety, and why?
GB: I don’t subscribe to the notion of favorites, but were I to work with only one grape, it would unequivocally be Chardonnay. I cherish its purity, nobility, and its capacity to convey place.
This wine reveals itself in a patient manner.
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?
GB: From our collection of wines, I would suggest diatom Chardonnay. It is not only something that wouldn’t be expected, it is by far and away the longest-lived wine that we steward. As it is raised in a virtual vacuum, it is very slow to unveil what lies beneath, and as such would hopefully be compelling for someone at year 10, 20 or 30.
JB: Where is your go-to place when you want to have a glass or bottle (outside of your home and workplace)?
GB: My wife and I both work long hours every day, and a “go to place” outside of those two venues is somewhat foreign. My ideal scenario would be for us to stand in our home together with nice glassware and sexy deep house trance music — preferably with female vocals.
Greg Brewer is a philosophical creature of the Sta. Rita Hills AVA. (Photo courtesy Brewer-Clifton)
JB: If there was one thing you wish everyone would keep in mind when buying and drinking wine, what is it?
GB: My hope and goal throughout my entire career has been to help others feel more comfortable with wine. There is a tremendous level of fear, apology and permission that accompanies many individuals’ relationship with wine. It makes me sad and I always turn myself inside out to try to assuage that insecurity in others.
The word “should” has been imbedded in millions of questions posed to me about wine, which is tragic, really. When should I drink this? What should I drink it out of? What temperature should I, etc.? The fear abridges the ultimate understanding and pleasure that wine can offer. It is an extremely primitive and elementary beverage that has essentially been around as long as water and fire. People can quickly recognize they know WAY more about it than they realize it as soon as they link the fundamentally simple elements of it to other areas of life with which they have more confidence. Music, fashion, art, design, gravity, a teeter totter … It’s all virtually the same once you allow it.
JB: What is your “wine eureka moment,” the incident/taste/encounter that put you and wine on an intimate plane forever?
GB: There are two that stand out that both occurred quite early in my career, which I suppose is obviously inherent based on the question! Sorry!! ;). One was tasting a 1987 Williams-Selyem Rochioli Pinot Noir for the first time, and the other was 1987 Calera Jensen Pinot Noir. In addition to the monumental nature of both wines, the setting and company elevated the experience to a different level. Both were beautiful lessons that the environment in which something is experienced plays such a vital role to every aspect of the experience. No matter how coveted the object or experience, the enjoyment will prove meaningless if one feels uncomfortable, distracted, or under duress.
JB: What has been the strangest moment or incident involving wine that you have experienced in your career thus far?
GB: I don’t think anything has been that strange, ultimately. Fun coincidences, synergies, and surprises, but nothing that seems too far outside of this realm.
Baudelaire had a special relationship with wine.
JB: Your favorite wine reference in a work of literature?
GB: The poem, “Enivrez-vous” by Charles Baudelaire. I love the notion of arresting time through wine, poetry, or virtue. I love how those elements can suspend time, which is not only something we all possess in equal measure, but the one thing that is the most fleeting …
Enivrez-vous (Paris Spleen, 1864)
Il faut être toujours ivre. Tout est là: c’est l’unique question. Pour ne pas sentir l’horrible fardeau du Temps qui brise vos épaules et vous penche vers la terre, il faut vous enivrer sans trêve. Mais de quoi? De vin, de poésie ou de vertu, à votre guise. Mais enivrez-vous. Et si quelquefois, sur les marches d’un palais, sur l’herbe verte d’un fossé, dans la solitude morne de votre chambre, vous vous réveillez, l’ivresse déjà diminuée ou disparue, demandez au vent, à la vague, à l’étoile, à l’oiseau, à l’horloge, à tout ce qui fuit, à tout ce qui gémit, à tout ce qui roule, à tout ce qui chante, à tout ce qui parle, demandez quelle heure il est et le vent, la vague, l’étoile, l’oiseau, l’horloge, vous répondront: “Il est l’heure de s’enivrer! Pour n’être pas les esclaves martyrisés du Temps, enivrez-vous; enivrez-vous sans cesse! De vin, de poésie ou de vertu, à votre guise.”
Be always drunken. Nothing else matters: that is the only question. If you would not feel the horrible burden of Time weighing on your shoulders and crushing you to the earth, be drunken continually. Drunken with what? With wine, with poetry, or with virtue, as you will. But be drunken. And if sometimes, on the stairs of a palace, or on the green side of a ditch, or in the dreary solitude of your own room, you should awaken and the drunkenness be half or wholly slipped away from you, ask of the wind, or of the wave, or of the star, or of the bird, or of the clock, of whatever flies, or sighs, or rocks, or sings, or speaks, ask what hour it is; and the wind, wave, star, bird, clock, will answer you: “It is the hour to be drunken! Be drunken, if you would not be martyred slaves of Time; be drunken continually! With wine, with poetry, or with virtue, as you will.”
Arthur Symons (1865-1945) translation, as quoted by Eugene O’Neill in Long Day’s Journey into Night
Ilove 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.
It was a good virtual tasting, the one with Saracina Vineyards in which I participated back in early April. We opened a few bottles, including a 2019 unoaked Chardonnay that I liked very much, and the conversation was witty and engaging.
Alex MacGregor, the winemaker at the Mendocino County-based estate, a man I had never met before the tasting, is now someone with whom I want to share a table, a table reserved for a long meal, because the conversation would, I am confident, be a wide-ranging, eclectic, gratifying adventure. And the wines we open would be just as moving.
MacGregor is a fine conversationalist, an individual who knows how to convey a lot without relying on the feeble crutch of logorrhea. (In addition, David Ramey had a hand in teaching him winemaking, so there’s that.)
He’s a Canadian, and he fell into wine while working at a restaurant in Toronto, one with a stellar list. (His career in the Canadian city included stints at Olivier’s Bistro and Le Select Bistro; he also worked under Héctor Vergara, Canada’s only Master of Wine at the time.) And though he hails from Canada, Mendocino is his home, the land in which he thrives. He made his way to California in 1989 and took a job as an enologist in the Dry Creek Valley. In 2001, John Fetzer and Patty Rock founded Saracina Vineyards, and MacGregor was hired as the first winemaker there (Ramey was consulting with Saracina at the time).
The entrance to Saracina Ranch, in Mendocino County, is a welcoming sight.
MacGregor’s enthusiasm and passion for old vines and family-owned estates is palpable, and there was definitely no reason for Marc Taub (of Palm Bay International and Taub Family Selections), who purchased Saracina from Fetzer and Rock in 2018, to make any changes to the winemaking personnel at the 250-acre property, which, by the way, is Certified California Sustainable. MacGregor is in charge, and I imagine he will be for a long time.
Let’s see what he has to say in Wine Talk.
James Brock: How has COVID-19 changed your work and life?
Alex MacGregor: It’s been unpleasant and stressful on both counts. I’m hopeful we will have learned from this.
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?
AM: I’m going local value here. Skylark 2019 Pinot Blanc Orsi Vineyard, Mendocino County ($20). Streamlined, austere in all the right ways. Shellfish city. It’s in limited distribution and direct from their website.
McGregor recommends Skylark.
Saracina 2019 Unoaked Chardonnay, Mendocino County ($20). Cleansing, pure, unadulterated Chard, stone fruits. Great value if I do say so myself. Pair with anything you want (maybe your significant other), though BBQ might be a stretch. It’s in distribution and available on our website and at the winery.
Boonville Road 2018 Mourvedre Alder Springs, Mendocino County, around $30? Super cool, nervy, slightly green, delicious. I’ve had a few bottles paired with owner Ed Donovan’s smoked brisket (his smoker has a license plate, that’s how serious it is). Amazing pairing. Available direct from the website.
JB: If cost was no consideration, tell us the one bottle you would add to your personal collection, and why.
Not much of this is made. If you can afford a bottle, and find one available, do not hesitate.
JB: What is your favorite grape variety, and why?
AM: Old-vine field blends, like Casa Verde in Mendocino County; Grenache, Carignane, a mystery red and French Colombard, head pruned, 76-year-old dry-farmed vines grown organically. Sum is greater than the parts, crunchy wines. (Plus no trellis or wires so I can walk in any direction I please,which suits me)
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?
AM: The 2019 Saracina Sauvignon Blanc Lolonis Vineyard will be neat in 10 years. Oldest Sauvignon Blanc in the country, planted in ’42. Tons of depth with acid and length. Our older SBs from this vineyard go to a great place with age.
A 2019, and at least one individual recommends that you cellar this until 2029. Give it a go.
JB: Where is your go-to place when you want to have a glass or bottle (outside of your home and workplace)?
AM: With my good friends John Lancaster (wine director at Boulevard) and Robert Perkins (artist, Skylark Wine Co.) in either of their dining rooms. They are both generous, knowledgeable and charming (most of the time). Raveneau, Leflaive, Chave, Huet, Alban, Sine Qua Non, Le Pergole Torte, Quintarelli, always great bottles.
JB: If there was one thing you wish everyone would keep in mind when buying and drinking wine, what is it?
AM: Buy more?
JB: What is your “wine eureka moment,” the incident/taste/encounter that put you and wine on an intimate plane forever?
AM: Sailing (floating?) down the Guadiana between Spain and Portugal, 1986. We would get our flagon filled at the local bodega after throwing anchor, mostly great fino, buy some fresh fish, good to go. Lovely, simple food and wine experience nightly. I remember it like it was yesterday.
Allen Ginsberg took this photo, in 1996, in North Beach San Francisco.
JB: Your favorite wine reference in a work of literature?
AM: Cliché: War, “Spill the Wine” Cooler: Lawrence Ferlinghetti, “Drinking French Wine in Middle America”
Bought a bottle of Vouvray and poured out its bouquet of the French countryside on the plains of Middle America and that fragrance floods over me wafts me back to that rainy hillside by the banks of the Loire Vouvray tiny village where I sat with rucksack twenty-eight years old seafarer student uncorking the local bottle with its captured scent of spring fresh wet flowers in first spring rain falling lightly now upon me-
Where gone that lonesome hiker fugace fugitive blindfold romantic wanderer traumatic in some Rimbaud illusionation-
The spring rain falls upon the hillside flowers lavande and coquelicots the grey light upon them in time’s pearly gloaming- Where gone now and to what homing- Beardless ghost come back again!
How to Paint Sunlight: Lyric Poems and Others (New Directions).
Ilove 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.
I was already planning to visit Bouchaine Vineyards this year (as soon as possible) when I heard about the falcons.
It was during a recent Zoom tasting with Chris Kajani, the estate’s winemaker and general manager, and the images of the raptors — I am a hopeless and indefatigable admirer of birds — transported me.
We tasted some delicious Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meunier with Kajani that day, who was stationed in Bouchaine’s well-appointed kitchen, and I was impressed with the wines and Kajani’s stories of her father’s wine collection, as well as the way she and rest of the Bouchaine team responded to the demands and challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.
This kitchen is usually full of activity.
Bouchine took the now-universal Zoom tastings to new heights, and featured chefs and cooking classes and dining, as well as live music and falconry demonstrations, all paired with Bouchaine wines, of course. (These programs continue today, and have proved popular with individuals, groups, and corporations.)
A Bouchaine initiative I find especially appealing is called B-Together, a collection of recipes and videos featuring chefs including Martin Slavin, Scott Warner, and Joey Altman (along with tours of the estate’s vineyards and some musical performances). You’ll find recipes for, among other dishes, Mongolian lamb, Serbian sun bread, Dan Dan noodles, and Shangai-style pork belly sliders.
And those falcons. In addition to scaring away pesky birds, the raptors, overseen by Kate Marden, owner of West Coast Falconry, star in demonstrations that visitors to the estate can experience.
“Falconry helps us maintain our commitment to sustainable farming, but it’s also just an amazing thing to witness,“ says Kajani.
Kajani has a background in biotech, the field in which her career began, but journeys to Europe worked their way on her already strong passion for wine — which had been kindled and nurtured by her Napa upbringing — and she enrolled at UC Davis and earned a master’s degree in viticulture and enology.
She began working at Saintsbury in 2006 as associate winemaker, and in 2013 became the winemaker there. In 2015, she moved to Bouchaine, accepting the position that she holds today.
This Carneros AVA estate was founded in 1981 by Tatiana and Gerret Copeland.
Bouchaine is one of the oldest continuously operating family-run properties in the Carneros AVA. Of the estate’s 87 planted acres, 46 are dedicated to Pinot Noir and 31 to Chardonnay; the remaining 10 acres grow Riesling, Gewürztraminer, Pinot Meunier, and Syrah.
Let’s talk to Kajani, and hear what she has to say about, among other things, sneaking a bottle of Riesling into a movie theater.
James Brock: How has COVID-19 changed your work and life?
Chris Kajani: Professionally, it was incredibly lonely. No guests at the winery, no travel to enjoy winemaker dinners with fans or at events, and a constant anxiety over the health of our team, our families, our community, and our industry. Personally, I was strengthened by family and community bonds. I drew, and continue to draw, a deep satisfaction from working with a team that is world class in the wine business.
Our team pivoted with grace and seized a moment to cultivate a robust virtual tasting program that has propelled our business forward. Bouchaine was one of the first wineries to introduce virtual tastings that offer guests a variety of different experiences, from a tasting of Pinot Noir blends versus single clones, to wine and chocolate or cheese pairings, and even virtual falconry demonstrations. Upcoming — wine and bourbon tastings, and also pairing Bouchaine wines with music selections from the Philadelphia Orchestra. Because of our team’s hard work we are hosting corporate and group virtual tastings multiple times a day, which has allowed Bouchaine to thrive throughout a challenging time.
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?
CK: 2020 Bouchaine Vin Gris of Pinot Noir ($29): Just released and bursting with guava, watermelon, and nectarine flavors. The bright acidity and tangy mouthfeel work with a multitude of dishes but sings with anything off the grill (scallops, chicken, salmon). It can be purchased on our website.
A beautiful shade of Pinot Noir.
2018 Bouchaine Pommard Clone Pinot Noir, Estate Selection ($65): All blue fruit (plum, blueberry) with hints of mocha and cigar tobacco. The Pommard clone showcases a lush creamier palate, a huge crowd-pleaser. Try with lamb chops, or cocoa/espresso-rubbed hangar steak.
The 2013 Domaine Carneros Le Reve Blanc de Blancs ($120): A favorite of Team Bouchaine. Their winemaker, Zak Miller, was one of my interns when I was making wine at Saintsbury, and he is gifted in the magic of crafting sparkling wine. We love the nutty character, texture, and play on beautiful fruit layers and ginger spice.
This one is worthy of cellaring until 2035, at least.
JB: If cost was no consideration, tell us the one bottle you would add to your personal collection, and why.
CK: I need a bottle of the 170-year-old Champagne that was discovered in the shipwreck off the coast of Finland in 2015. As a Champagne junkie, that would be the ultimate wine experience.
JB: What is your favorite grape variety, and why?
CK: Pinot Noir is my first love; I like the yin/yang of its character. It’s a shapeshifter — so intoxicating, yet fickle. Pinot Noir showcases layers of depth and intrigue, but it’s also thin-skinned. It grows more succulent over time and also has a legitimate reputation for being difficult. There is no shortage of personality in great Pinot Noir.
Chris Kajani working in a Bouchaine vineyard. (Photo by Bob McClenehan)
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?
CK: Pick a cooler vintage full of tension, texture, and bright acidity. The 2008, 2009, and 2010 Pinot Noirs from Carneros are gorgeous right now. For more current releases, try the 2018 Bouchaine Swan Clone Pinot Noir, Estate Selection, which is bright and graceful, but with an underlying current of strength and ageability.
JB: Where is your go-to place when you want to have a glass or bottle (outside of your home and workplace)?
CK: I love the Carneros Resort and Spa and spend as much time as I can on the lovely patio outside of FARM restaurant. FARM has an amazing wine list (thanks to the über talented Zion Curiel) and delectable food (Chef Aaron Meneghelli rocks) I am also devoted to Bistro Don Giovanni (Chef Scott Warner’s pastas and salmon!).
Bouchaine Vineyards, where the views are things of beauty.
JB: If there was one thing you wish everyone would keep in mind when buying and drinking wine, what is it?
CK: Drink what you like. Then find a local wine shop and link up with someone who can recommend wines based on what you enjoy. This opens up another exciting dimension of wine when you can taste what is happening across the wine world. And travel! Visiting wine regions brings not only the wine, but the culture, people, and history into your muscle memory when you open those bottles. Every bottle of wine tells a story; the more you know about where it comes from or who made it, the greater the enjoyment.
JB: What is your “wine eureka moment,” the incident/taste/encounter that put you and wine on an intimate plane forever?
CK: My dad’s wine cellar, circa 1990. Napa Valley showing off beautiful wines from the 1970s and 1980s.
JB: What has been the strangest moment or incident involving wine that you have experienced in your career?
CK: We snuck a bottle of Riesling into a movie once and during one of those quiet emotional scenes we knocked it over — with the entire theater listening to it roll down many rows (screw top, thankfully). The people that caught it handed it back to us and the entire theater cheered.
Unoaked and ready for a new season in the EPL.
JB: Your favorite wine reference in a work of literature?
CK: “In victory, you deserve Champagne. In defeat you need it.”
― Napoleon Bonaparte
Or when our 2018 Bouchaine Unoaked Estate Chardonnay was compared to Ted Lasso by R.H. Drexel – I fell on the floor laughing. So perfect.
Ilove 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.
The world of wine never fails to provide me with pleasure. Opening a bottle, walking through a vineyard, tasting a barrel sample, meeting a fellow traveler in l’univers du vin … the discovery and exploration never end.
The journey continued last month on a beautiful expanse of land in Santa Barbara County, a property that played a major role in the formation of the Sta. Rita Hills AVA. (If you don’t know the name Richard Sanford, go ahead and learn about him, because he is truly the “Godfather of Central Coast Pinot Noir.”)
Samra Morris: “I think that would be my guidance: Drink what you love.” (Courtesy Alma Rosa Winery)
We had driven up from Los Angeles, and Buellton was my destination, specifically the Alma Rosa Winery tasting room. I was there to meet Samra Morris, Alma Rosa’s winemaker since 2019, for a tasting and a tour of the estate. (Note: For those who may not know this, the small complex in which the tasting room is housed is a must-visit when/if you do visit the town. One of my favorite restaurants in California — Industrial Eats — is also located there, and its food alone is worth the trip, especially the beef tongue pastrami reuben and the white shrimp wrapped in pancetta.)
A beef tongue pastrami sandwich extraordinaire …
White shrimp, pancetta, garlic, butter …
We sampled a bit of Alma Rosa sparkling at the tasting room; it was a warm afternoon, and the wine was good. What followed was a 10-minute drive to the estate along a quiet, nearly traffic-free road, and then, beauty.
Alma Rosa’s 628 acres (38 acres planted to vines) spread from the valley floor to the top of the Santa Rosa Hills. The estate vineyard, El Jabali, originally planted by Richard Sanford in 1983, has been joined by four non-contiguous plots of Pinot Noir (55 percent), Chardonnay (30 percent), and Syrah and Grenache (15 percent), all farmed using sustainable practices.
Sanford and his wife, Thekla, sold the estate to Bob and Barb Zorich in 2014. Zorich is a businessman in the oil industry who now resides in Houston, Texas, but he and his wife both attended school at the University of California Santa Barbara and have a home in the coastal city. They were introduced to the Sanfords in 2013, and, upon discovering that the property was for sale, took a leap into the world of winery ownership.
A ride through Alma Rosa Winery is a feast for the senses.
When we arrived at Alma Rosa, Morris took us on a quick ATV ride to a vineyard planted with Syrah — no bud break yet. Along the way we spied a few turkeys. Bobcats, deer, and mountain lions are also denizens of the property, the latter rarely seen.
Vines and hills …
Back at the ranch house on the valley floor we tasted with Morris and Debra Eagle, Alma Rosa’s general manager. Both women are engaging, passionate about wine and the estate, and great ambassadors for the brand.
Morris was born and raised in Bosnia, and attended the University of Sarajevo, where she studied agriculture and food sciences, receiving bachelor’s and master’s degrees. She met an American in the U.S. Air Force who was stationed overseas, and they moved to California when his duty took him back to the states.
She interned at St. Supéry in 2014, and worked three harvests with Thomas Rivers Brown as a cellar intern at Mending Wall. In 2017, Morris began working as a lab assistant at Free Flow Wines, and by 2019 was a quality control manager there. She became Alma Rosa’s winemaker later that year.
Here is Morris in her own words.
James Brock: How has COVID-19 changed your work and life?
Samra Morris: I think Covid-19 has affected me more personally than professionally. As a winemaker, I have been fortunate to be able to go to work every day and enjoy my cellar duties. It was a good escape from reality and what is happening in the world. It gave me a sense of peace that I needed.
Personally, it affected me in that I didn’t have the opportunity to go home to see my family in Bosnia and enjoy my time with them. I had already been missing them a lot, so I was very disappointed when my flight was canceled. I’ve been very homesick recently, so I hope that by the end of this year we all get vaccinated and I have an opportunity to see my family next summer.
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?
SM: I will start with Alma Rosa’s 2018 El Jabali Pinot Noir ($68). It is a gorgeous Pinot Noir that represents our beautiful Sta. Rita Hills in the glass. You can purchase this wine through our website or at our tasting room in Buellton. I would pair this wine with red meats.
An estate Pinot Noir
The second wine is Alma Rosa’s 2020 Grenache Rosé ($30) from our Sta. Rita Hills estate vineyard. This rosé is beautiful, and salty strawberry notes and bright acidity make this gorgeous wine perfect to drink in the summertime. Growing up in Bosnia, we often took summer vacations on the Croatian coast. The salinity and acidity in this wine reminds me of the Old World Adriatic wines I loved from home. I would pair this wine with a light shrimp salad.
The third bottle would be the 2017 Foxy Bubbles ($55) by Blair Fox Cellars, located in Los Olivos. This is a delicious sparkling wine, and I don’t need an excuse — an occasion or food — to enjoy a bottle of it.
JB: If cost was no consideration, tell us the one bottle you would add to your personal collection, and why.
I call it a perfect glass of wine. Also, this was the first bottle I had the opportunity to share with my family when I went home for the first time after moving to California, and while sharing this bottle with them we also shared laughs and good conversation that we needed to catch up after so many years apart.
JB: What is your favorite grape, and why?
SM: As a winemaker and as a wine drinker, my favorite grape to work with is definitely Pinot Noir. Due to its thin skin, tight clusters and late ripening, Pinot Noir can be a fragile variety that always challenges me as a winemaker. As a wine drinker I just love the aromas and perfume notes.
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?
SM: The one bottle I’d buy to cellar for the next 10 years is Saxum’s 2018 Paderewski Vineyard. This wine is spectacular, and it’s worth opening for your next major celebration.
JB: Where is your go-to place when you want to have a glass or bottle (outside of your home and workplace)?
SM: It would be somewhere I get to look at the ocean. We have so many beautiful places in Santa Barbara County where I can experience that. The ocean is so powerful, and looking at it while sipping wine is so relaxing for me.
JB: If there was one thing you wish everyone would keep in mind when buying and drinking wine, what is it?
There are so many times when people ask me what my favorite wine is that they should buy, and I always reply by asking them about their favorite wine and what they like to taste when drinking wine.
I think that would be my guidance: Drink what you love to taste.
JB: What is your “wine eureka moment,” the incident/taste/encounter that put you and wine on an intimate plane forever?
SM: I think when I made wines for the first time as a winemaker. It created a different relationship between me and wines, it became much more personal. I became more passionate and think of my wines in cellar as my babies. Having the wine that I made in a bottle and sharing it with friends, family, and our customers makes me so happy. I know that all of my hard work has paid off when I see smiles on their faces.
JB: What has been the strangest moment or incident involving wine that you have experienced in your career?
SM: The strangest moment involving wine that I have experienced in my career is my relationship with forklifts. When I first became a winemaker, I thought I would never be able to drive a forklift like a professional. One of the skills of being a winemaker, besides producing wines, is needing to be extremely handy in the cellar. At first it was a very daunting task, but every time I was on the forklift I became more familiar.
Now, I am so proud of my forklift skills and my forever connection to them! At Alma Rosa we use forklifts throughout the year, moving barrels and pallets of wine around the cellar and dumping bins of grapes into the press during harvest. When visiting the winery, you can often find me on the forklift.
JB: Your favorite wine reference in a work of literature?
SM:In Vino Veritas. It’s a phrase I learned while studying about wine at college.
Ilove 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.
Joe Nielsen has a wine story that I love. It’s the tale of how his journey as a winemaker began. The teenager was living in Lansing, Michigan, and in 2003 enrolled at Michigan State University, planning to become a doctor and enter the medical field.
At Michigan State, Nielsen was introduced to an exploratory winemaking program the university was conducting, but his age prevented him from taking classes in it. He was too young. He was not going to let that inconvenient fact stop him, however, so he took up the study of viticulture on his own, and received permission from his parents to plant some vines in the family’s 20-acre backyard. A career was budding …
He was eventually admitted into the program at Michigan State, and graduated in 2007 with a bachelor’s degree in horticulture. Next came a winemaking position at Black Star Farms, located in northern Michigan. In 2008, Nielsen moved to California for a yearlong internship at Merryvale Vineyards. Then, in 2009, at 23, Nielsen was named cellar master at Donelan Family Wines. In 2013, he was promoted to the head winemaker position at Donelan — and also finished the Executive Wine MBA program at Sonoma State University during that time.
Which brings us to the present, and Ram’s Gate Winery. Nielsen has been the director of winemaking at the Sonoma estate since 2018, and from what I’ve tasted recently — Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, reviews to come — he’s found a great home (and one that he is pushing to become 100 percent organic in the next five years).
The Berler Vineyard, source of some outstanding Cabernet Sauvignon.
Ram’s Gate is owned by Michael John, Jeff O’Neill, Paul Violich, and Peter Mullin, and their 28-acre estate is the ideal laboratory for the winemaker’s craft.
Here is Nielsen in Wine Talk.
James Brock: How has COVID-19 changed your work and life?
Joe Nielsen: I think COVID-19 has shown me how connected we are as a civilization and how globally we are all connected. Personally, I have traveled much less and enjoyed fewer great meals at restaurants, but overall I know personally I am very lucky. Professionally our job continues as grape-growers and winemakers, it is an agrarian process that does not stop for anything.
In addition, in the last year our team at Ram’s Gate has really grown our digital presence in order to connect with our consumers. I am finding myself participating in a lot of content creation for our winery, from long-form videos, to Tik Toks and Reels. I hope that through these social-media initiatives we have been able to educate and connect with people during this year.
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?
JN:2018 Ram’s Gate Estate Chardonnay ($75): I really love the way this wine is tasting. It was my first vintage at Ram’s Gate Winery, and it was my first chance discovering the estate terroir. What make’s this wine special is that in my opinion it is a study in the art of nuance and balance. We elected to do to minimal malolactic fermentation, and it is neither the heaviest or most alcoholic of our line-up, yet it is subtle, engaging, and elegant. Time in bottle has been terrific for this wine and we are currently serving it at our Tasting Hall, as well as selling it on our website. The wine is paired with Dungeness Crab Spaghettini and it is simply a dynamite pairing.
An estate Chardonnay
2017 Ram’s Gate Berler Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon ($115): This wine is the second vintage of what originally started out as a passion project between my wife and I. Prior to my start at Ram’s Gate, I began making this Cabernet from Berler Vineyard in Fountain Grove District. The vineyard is nestled up into the Mayacamas Mountains on the back side of Spring Mountain in Sonoma County about 1600 feet above sea level. The location continues to blow me away; it’s a Shangri-La oasis tucked away that is fairly exposed to the cool ocean breezes coming up through Santa Rosa.
The 2017 Berler captures my desire to craft wines that are timeless; this wine reminds me of the elegance and refined pleasure of old California Cabernet Sauvignons from the 1970s and 1980s. I recently tasted this wine, and I am thrilled with the quality and that many of the primary notes are so vivid still. I can’t wait to see how this wine develops with several more years in bottle. It can be purchased on our website. I would pair it with braised beef short ribs and honey-glazed carrots.
2011 Felsina Rancia Chianti Classico Riserva ($50): I love the wines of Italy and they make up a very large percentage of my cellar that I did not personally make. The wines of Chianti are rustic and delicious to me, with plenty of verve and focus on the palate. I tend to gravitate to wine regions where the cellaring time of the wines can range several decades; as a collector I like the notion that whether I open it tomorrow or in 10 years I’m going to find joy in that bottle. And it’s something I also strive to produce professionally. Felsina is a great producer, and ever since visiting, in 2012, I have been a loyal follower. I recently opened a bottle with friends and paired it with their homemade brick-oven pizza, a total must. This wine can be purchased on the K&L website.
JB: If cost was no consideration, tell us the one bottle you would add to your personal collection, and why.
JN: If cost were no consideration, I would want an unlimited supply of Smith Haut Lafitte Blanc. This is one of the most intensely texture wines I have ever had and I can’t imagine ever getting tired of drinking it.
JB: What is your favorite grape, and why?
JN: Hard to have a favorite when I enjoy making so many different varieties. Ultimately, the grape I am often the most passionate about is Syrah. It is such a complex wine that can be made in so many different styles. Not to mention, I think it is so transparent with terroir. We are looking forward to releasing our 2018 Hyde Vineyard Syrah and the 2018 Durell Vineyard Syrah in the next month.
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?
JN: From a cellar-worthy standpoint, I believe our Estate Pinot Noir is going to be one of those wines that continues to reward patience. It is an ethereal wine that continues to evolve long after it leaves the barrel. I have multiple different formats of the 2018 for this very case; it is the birth year of my son and I feel comfortable that we will be enjoying that on his 21stbirthday.
Joe Nielsen, who was raised and educated in Michigan, has found his home in California. (Photo by Dawn Heumann)
JB: Where is your go-to place when you want to have a glass or bottle (outside of your home and workplace)?
JN: Quite literally, outside of my home on my patio is a great place to have a glass of wine. Honestly though, my favorite place to enjoy wine is with friends, wherever that may be.
The tasting hall at Ram’s Gate Winery (Photo by Dawn Heumann)
JB: If there was one thing you wish everyone would keep in mind when buying and drinking wine, what is it?
JN: Wine continues to evolve, and not all wine will last forever. I’m guilty of this, too, but sometimes people hold onto wine well beyond its peak and miss out on all the fun. I love making wine that can age, but part of the joy is checking in, popping a bottle, and seeing where it is at. Cellaring is not an exact science, and it ultimately depends on a ton of factors. I drink wine that is often too young (side-effect of the job), and I also enjoy really old wines, but it is OK to drink them somewhere in between!
JB: What is your “wine eureka moment,” the incident/taste/encounter that put you and wine on an intimate plane forever?
JN: I have told this story so many times that it has become my “big fish” story, but simply put, my friend told me in college that I should not pursue medicine; rather, he insisted, I was destined for something interesting like being a winemaker. Being from Michigan, and seeing that winemaking was not a common profession in the area, it was such a strange comment that I had to “Google” it.
From that moment, I was introduced to an exploratory winemaking program. However, because I was underage, I was not permitted to apply. After some research, and with my parents’ blessing, I planted an experimental vineyard in their 20-acre backyard. While at school, I continued to lobby for entrance to the university’s winemaking program. Eventually, the faculty granted my request. For whatever reason, my first “Google” search was enough of a catalyst that, roughly 18 years later, here I am.
JB: What has been the strangest moment/incident involving wine that you have experienced in your career?
JN: That is a tough one … I can’t think of anything too strange. I suppose what is kind of strange is the ability to travel the world and taste wine with people who don’t speak the same language that I do. Despite that, we are able to have a meaningful exchange entirely based on gestures and sound effects — apparently there is a universal way to describe wine without the use of actual words.
(Bartolome Esteban Murillo, ‘The Marriage Feast at Cana’, 1672)
JB: Your favorite wine reference in a work of literature?
JN: Still impressed with the whole water into wine reference!
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.
A few days ago, I tasted two wines that impressed me: a Chardonnay and a Pinot Noir, both from Pfendler Vineyards. They mark the first releases for Erica Stancliff as Pfendler’s head winemaker, and if you like your Chardonnay with defines notes of spice, try this one. I tasted it again last night, and it held up — this time the apple and citrus notes were more pronounced. (Regarding the Pinot Noir, buy a few, because you’ll want to cellar some of these for, let’s say, five years or so — at least. It’s drinking well now, but — as Stancliff concurs — this one promises to enjoy the aging process. Total production was 200 cases, so best not tarry.)
I’ll have full reviews of these wines soon, but this Wine Talk serves to introduce you to Stancliff, whose background and pedigree are intriguing. She was raised in a family whose existence revolved around food (I can identify with and approve of that); her mother is Rickey Trombetta, of Trombetta Family Wines, and one look at the family’s website will make you hungry — and thirsty.
Erica has been the Trombetta Family winemaker since 2014, and she’s also served as the president of the Petaluma Gap Winegrowers Alliance since 2019. Her journey in the wine world can be said to have begun when she was 10; Paul Hobbs, who would become her mentor, was dining with the Trombetta family one evening and was impressed by Stancliff’s palate. He encouraged her to learn more about wine, and introduced her to vineyards in Sonoma and Napa.
She graduated in 2010 from Cal State Fresno with a degree in enology, and flew to an internship in Mendoza, at Viña Cobos (a Hobbs property), then worked the 2011 harvest at Rudd Estate. Enartis Vinquiry was next — she was there for two and a half years — and then moved to CrossBarn and Trombetta. In 2019, she added Pfendler to her CV.
I look forward to tasting what Stancliff does going forward at Pfendler, and a visit to Trombetta Family Wines is now on my post-COVID agenda.
Here is Stancliff, in her own words.
James Brock: How has COVID-19 changed your work and life?
Erica Stancliff: COVID has changed my everyday life in many ways. From wearing a mask everywhere I go (even in the middle of harvest doing punchdowns or walking to vineyards) to having my own personal hand sanitizer with me at all times. Interacting with people is a new adventure every time because you want to be respectful of everyone’s level of caution, and yet, some people aren’t cautious at all.
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?
ES: I’m a sucker for a killer Carignan, so I’m drinking the Delve 2018 Carignan, which I didn’t make, but good friends did. This is my feel-good wine that I usually have with chicken and mushrooms or a big salad. You can purchase it from the winery website for $27.
Stancliff likes this Carignan with chicken and mushrooms.
The 2019 Pfendler Chardonnay is so approachable early on — I like to pair that with seafood (tuna tartar or baked salmon) or lemon risotto. The wine is available from Pfendler’s website for $45.
The third wine that is drinking well at the moment is the 2015 Trombetta Gap’s Crown Pinot Noir Petaluma Gap. 2015 was a low-yield vintage in Sonoma County, which made the wines much more concentrated than normal, so after six years I think this wine is just starting to hit its stride. It pairs well with grilled salmon or pork. You can purchase it from the winery for $65.
A family jewel …
JB: If cost was no consideration, tell us the one bottle you would add to your personal collection, and why.
ES: This is a hard one! If cost was no consideration, give me a Joseph Drouhin Musigny Grand Cru 1988, France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits Pinot Noir — I love the producer and it’s my birth year.
JB: What is your favorite grape, and why?
ES: I will say as a winemaker my favorite variety to make is Chardonnay, and here is why: Chardonnay can be a blank canvas for a winemaker to impart their style on. The nuances of the grape and subtleties are what make it a challenge. Too much oak, too much acid … anything can throw the end wine out of balance or create a perception of heavy-handedness.
“That’s the purpose of what winemakers do: We want you to enjoy our wines!”
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?
ES: The 2019 Pfendler Petaluma Gap Pinot is going to be just hitting its stride in 10 years, and I would highly recommend keeping one bottle aside for a special occasion.
JB: Where is your go-to place when you want to have a glass or bottle (outside of your home and workplace)?
ES:The Barlow, in Sebastopol, has a great wine bar called Region; it has a ton of local Sonoma County producers and you can buy a taste or full bottle to enjoy on their patio.
JB: If there was one thing you wish everyone would keep in mind when buying and drinking wine, what is it?
ES: The beautiful thing about wine is that there is one for every taste and palate. It doesn’t matter about price or producer, as long as you enjoy it. That’s the purpose of what winemakers do: We want you to enjoy our wines!
JB: What is your “wine eureka moment,” the incident/taste/encounter that put you and wine on an intimate plane forever?
ES: My mentor is Paul Hobbs, whom I have known since my childhood. My biggest lightbulb moment was when we were walking a vineyard together when I was in high school right before harvest in Sebastopol. Watching his attention, care, and passion in the vineyard and asking him questions about harvest made the lightbulb go off for me when I learned about how much passion went into making something with your hands.
Paul Hobbs, mentor extraordinaire (Courtesy PaulHobbs.com)
JB: What has been the strangest moment/incident involving wine that you have experienced in your career?
ES: I have a few, but let’s go with this one: Harvest 2011, someone dropped their cell phone in a tank of fermenting Malbec. 20 days later, when we emptied it, the phone still worked. It was the weirdest thing …
JB: Your favorite wine reference in a work of literature?
ES: “In wine there is wisdom, in beer there is freedom, in water there is bacteria.” — Benjamin Franklin
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