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Tag: Spain

Aron Weinkauf has been a part of Spottswoode since 2006.

Spottswoode’s Aron Weinkauf Has Spain To Thank for His Life in Wine

June 23, 2020 / / 0 Comments

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. 

The COVID-19 pandemic has put me behind in meeting new people in person. Fellow writers, cooks and chefs, sommeliers, and, of course, winemakers. Aron Weinkauf (oh yes, he definitely has an appropriate family name!) is one of the individuals I look forward to meeting when next we are in Napa, and he’s the star of the latest Wine Talk.

Weinkauf is both vineyard manager and winemaker at the storied Spottswoode estate, whose team he joined in 2006 (as assistant winemaker). He is only the fifth head winemaker in Spottswoode’s history.

Weinkauf grew up in Nevada, where his family tended a vegetable garden (organic at that) and raised a variety of animals, including pigs, chickens, and horses. He went to school at Berry College, where he studied Spanish, a major that, though he did not know it at the time, put him on the road a career in wine.

During his junior and senior years at Berry, Weinkauf studied in Spain, where he learned to appreciate a glass of wine at meals. While working as a teacher after college, he volunteered at a winery in Nevada, and fell in love with the processes of growing grapes and making wine. Fresno State University was his next stop.

At the California school, Weinkauf, who was born in 1976, studied viticulture and enology, and he worked as an assistant winemaker at Ficklin Vineyards (which happens to be America’s oldest Port winery) while attending Fresno State. A stint at Paul Hobbs Winery was next.

And then came Spottswoode. Weinkauf oversees the estate’s 24 blocks, making some excellent Cabernet Sauvignon and Sauvignon Blanc — if you have not had the pleasure of tasting these wines, do something to change that. He also makes a Syrah, from Sonoma County fruit.

Let’s see what Weinkauf has to say …

Aron Weinkauf with Panda and Cachou: Every estate needs a dog or two.

James Brock: 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?

Aron Weinkauf: First, if you can still find a 2012 Spottswoode Sauvignon Blanc, try it. One doesn’t age Sauvignon Blanc that often, but I really love ours with a little age on it. They can be so nuanced and yet still so fresh and youthful. You can get current vintages and try them young and try and age one if you can. My wife makes a salad with grapefruit, lettuce, shallots, a mustard dressing, and then crab or abalone (or any fish/shellfish), that is pretty awesome with it. 

Next, a Keller or Emmerich Knoll Riesling (Trocken) with some Thai or southeast-Asian stir fry.  

Drink this wine, says Weinkauf: Good things come from Weingut Knoll. (Courtesy The Source)

You can get the above bottles online, or ask at your wine shop; the Spottswoode can be ordered directly from us. 

I am very anxious to try a few more Priorat wines, too. I just had one and was amazed. The overripe, jammy versions of the 90’s seem to have made way for some really beautiful, balanced styles now. I want to see if that is true. 

Finally, I would also get a bottle of the Spottswoode’s 2016 or 2014 Estate Cab. Both are exceptional vintages and in very good shape, in youthful places. The 2017 is also great, yet one is rewarded by drinking Cabernets with a little more age on them.   

Weinkauf likes birth-year wines, and this one, from Heitz Cellar (1976), is on his list.

JB: If cost was no consideration, tell us the one bottle you would add to your personal collection, and why?

AW: I’m a big fan of birth-year wines. It’s so special to open up those bottles to celebrate with friends and loved ones. For myself, a ’76 Heitz Martha’s or Fay. 1977 Taylor’s Port for my wife. My brother’s and sister’s years are still around, too.  I guess I’m lucky in that most are not considered amazing vintages in general, so hunting them can be more affordable. 

Aron Weinkauf wants you to know the stories behind the wines you buy and drink, including those of the people who make it and the places from which it comes. (Courtesy Spottswoode)

JB: What is your favorite grape, and why?

AW: I would say Cabernet Sauvignon. I work with it, always getting to know it more, and love how it grows in the vineyard.  It has a health, structure, and balance in the vineyard, and I see so many of its physical traits in the wines it becomes. We don’t always see how dynamic it can be, but it can be very much so, though always with a more tannic edge.

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? 

AW: Without a doubt I have to say Spottswoode Estate Cab. It’s from a special place, will age beautifully, and I’m proud of what we make. 

Buy this, and let it age.

JB: Where is your go-to place when you want to have a glass or bottle (outside your home and workplace)?

AW: At one point in time I would have told you Willi’s Wine Bar in Santa Rosa. It burned in the Tubbs Fire of 2017, and I now have two young kids, so if not work or home, going out is probably only going to happen with family or at a friend’s … and now socially distanced. (Note: Willi’s Wine Bar reopened, in a new location, in 2019.)

JB: If there was one thing you wish everyone would keep in mind when buying and drinking wine, what is it?

AW: Now more than ever, I wish people would know the story behind anything they purchase. Who owns it, how it’s made, farming practices, the effort, labor, and passion that has or has not gone into what you’re buying. There are real people behind each — where we choose to spend our money is how we pick whom we are supporting.  

JB: What is your “wine eureka moment,” the incident/taste/encounter that put you and wine on an intimate plane forever?

AW: I was lucky enough to have studied in Spain. It was my first introduction to wine at the dinner table, and I loved it. I was lucky, too, that Spain makes some great wines and the people I was with would open good ones. Nothing collectible, just good table wine. 

JB:What has been the strangest moment or incident involving wine that you have experienced in your career?

AW: The making of the 2017 vintage wines. The heat spikes of 2017 were so extreme … we hadn’t seen anything like it, and every day brought something new and peculiar. And then to have the vintage punctuated by all of the fires … It was a wild ride for sure. 

Jawohl, Herr Goethe, life is too short to drink bad wine. (Johann Heinrich Wilhelm Tischbein, Goethe in der roemischen Campagna)

JB: What is your favorite wine reference in a work of literature or a film?

AW: There is a quote that I think Tony Soter mentioned to me, but many have heard it: “In winemaking we are all interventionalists, otherwise we’d be making vinegar.”

 On a truer literary basis, I must admit, an immediate reference did not come to mind.  So, I looked up a few things and followed those wormholes a bit.  

From Goethe’s play Götz von Berlichingen: “Wine rejoices the heart of man and joy is the mother of all virtues. ”

And from Groucho Marx: “I shall drink no wine before its time! OK, it’s time!” (I know, a little cliché, but I did have to look this up quickly. )

Want More Wine? Read On:

Alta Colina’s Molly Lonborg Wants a Bottle of Château Rayas
Mumm Napa’s Tami Lotz Talks Wine and Oysters
James MacPhail on Pinot Noir, White Burgundy, and Russell Crowe
A Very Proper Sparkling Wine
Talking With David Ramey
A Merlot That Your Snob Friend Will Love
French Couple Make a Sauvignon Blanc in California
A Perfect Afternoon Chardonnay
Terry Theise Talks Reisling
A New Wine Wonderland
Paris Wine Goddess Tells All
Rice Village Wine Bar Has a Cleveland Touch
A Texas White Blend for Your Table
A Pinot Noir Full of Flavor
This Pinot Gris From Oregon Pairs Well With Cheese
Willamette, Dammit!
A Value Rioja
Drink Pink!
Underbelly Veteran Goes for Grenache
A Man of Letters and Wine
Ms. Champagne Wants a Nebuchadnezzar
The Wine Artist Goes for Chardonnay
This American Loves Spain and Its Wines
Houston’s Wine Whisperer Has a Soft Touch
Blackberry Farm’s Somm Pours in Splendor
Mr. Pinot Noir: Donald Patz of Patz & Hall
A Cork Dork Wants to Spend More Time in Tuscany
Sommelier Turned Restaurateur Daringly Goes Greek
Texas Master Sommelier Debunks Wine Geeks
A Bottle From Gigondas Changed This Houston Man’s Life
Oil Man Falls in Love, and the Rest is Good-Taste History
Ryan Cooper of Camerata is a Riesling Man
Mixing It Up With Jeremy Parzen, an Ambassador of Italy
Sommelier at One of Houston’s Top Wine Bars Loves Underdogs

In Spain, By the Sea, I Dined Well

November 3, 2014 / / 0 Comments

Paco Perez in his Restaurant Miramar. (Photo courtesy four-magazine.com)

Paco Perez in his Restaurant Miramar. (Photo courtesy four-magazine.com)

I was in Girona for a few days and decided to drive myself to a little town not far away, to a place called Llançà, in and around which about 5,000 or so people live. My final destination was Restaurant Miramar, where Paco Perez and his team create beautiful (and delicious) dishes from local, stellar ingredients, including tuna, anchovies, sea cucumber, and pigeon.

I arrived in Llançà in the late afternoon, after a drive along the coast, a winding and invigorating journey. I parked near the sea, along a promenade, fishing boats, and families and couples wandering in the sunlight. As I am wont to do, I walked the streets of this town that was new to me, stopping in a bar/pub that advertised Paulaner on a sign hanging above its door. The proprietor spoke some German, and we talked about Fussball and food and politics.

Around 7:30 I made my way to the restaurant, which holds two Michelin stars, and ordered a Campari and Soda at my table overlooking the promenade and the water. I chose the tasting menu, which was comprised of 20 or so plates, ready for a long and enjoyable repast. I was not disappointed. A foie doughnut, a beautiful prawn, rouget, pigeon, much more, all done with sophistication and artistry. As the menu stated, “Simplicity is the greatest sophistication.”

Here, for your gustatory pleasure, my meal.

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The meat. The wonder.

Percebes, and We Were Late for Lunch at Asador Etxebarri

May 19, 2014 / / 2 Comments

Inside this building an inspired master presides over a fine kitchen.

Inside this building an inspired master presides over a fine kitchen.

Food and cooking (and culinary subjects in general) constitute a large part of my reading diet. Magazines, food sections, web sites, books … all are fair game. In a recent issue of The New York Times I came across this piece, about something that was part of a meal that holds a place among my all-time favorite meals: percebes. 

Asador Etxebarri was the place, and we were on our way to San Sebastián, having left Barcelona that morning. Colby and Kim were in one car, and Angela and I in another. We were equipped with a GPS unit, so were not worried about making it to our lunch on time. That turned out to be misplaced confidence, because the name of the village in which Asador Etxebarri is similar to another village in the region, and the latter is the one our BMW’s GPS unit selected. We should have insisted on a Mercedes. (Editor’s note: A reliable source insisted that I include the following statement: “And I should have just paid attention to my driving and followed Kim, who was piloting the car ahead. In addition, I should have not argued with Angela when she expressed little faith in my sense of direction.”)

We arrived at the village early and waited on Colby and Kim – our favorite traveling companions – who were on their way to the “right” village. We ordered some wine and sat in the sun in an old square, watching schoolchildren play and dogs chase one another. Colby and Kim never arrived. We called them. They were at the restaurant. We were not. And we were going to be late.

What to do? Well, what we did was walk at a brisk pace to the car while Colby asked if it was possible for our lunch to be delayed, to allow us time to arrive. The manager assented. Kindly. I then attempted to program the village’s name into the GPS system, but it was not cooperating. We called Colby, told him of our dilemma, and he was informed that a young American was staging in Extebarri’s kitchen. The young cook came to the phone and gave directions to Angela, who then relayed them to me.

Traffic was heavy, lots of trucks – we were driving through a semi-industrial area. Hungry, expectant, we drove for about 40 minutes, ending up in a small and beautiful village. The village we thought we were in hours ago. We parked, walked a short distance to the restaurant, and, it turned out, nirvana.

Colby Walton, who was very happy to see us.

Colby Walton, who was very happy to see us.

Colby and Kim were happy to see us, Colby nursing a … was it a Campari? The dining room, upstairs, was sunny, spare, welcoming. The staff welcomed us, laughing a little.

We joined the punctual ones at our table and I was given the wine list; the waiter was aware of our mishap and intuited that I would want wine. A Txakoli is what I ordered. A bottle, which the four of us drank while we looked at the menu.

A menu for the ages.

A menu for the ages.

For those who know nothing of Asador Etxebarri, I have two words for you: Wood and Smoke. Victor Arguinzoniz is the man behind that pairing, and he uses them both to create  beauty. Take a look at the menu shown above and you will see that he grills everything, a method of cooking that imparts flavors of the different varieties of wood his staff collects from the area, including oak and vine cuttings. (He even created a special “cooker” in which he smokes caviar.)

Victor Arguinzoniz and I tour his kitchen.

Victor Arguinzoniz was a gracious host, and I loved his kitchen. (The pulleys behind us are part of his grilling regimen.)

Our meal began, and it was a highlight of our eating tour that trip, which included El Celler de Can Roca, Mugaritz, Akelare, and Arzak, among others. The percebes followed a smoked goat butter, a smoky and creamy opening course that I can taste even today, a few years later. Grilled peas, anchovies, egg followed. And one of the best pieces of beef that man ever cooked. (I asked for the bone, and we took it to the apartment we were renting in San Sebastián; I later trimmed it of all remaining meat and fat and used it in a ragù.) (The photos that follow take you on a brief tour of our tasting menu. Enjoy.)

Colby, Kim, Angela and I spent three or four hours in Asador Etxebarri, and could have spent far more. After our lunch we took a short walk around the restaurant’s environs, admiring the green landscape, the quiet, and gained some insight about how geography and surroundings affect the way one cooks. But we had an appointment in San Sebastián, so once again hit the road and headed to the coast. Much awaited us.

A restaurant with a view.

A restaurant with a view.

Percebes, before the tasting.

Percebes, before the tasting.

The meat. The wonder.

The meat. The wonder.

A chef smiles.

A chef smiles.

Cheese flan

Cheese flan

Palomos prawns

Palomos prawns

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Grilled peas

Grilled peas

The place in which it happens.

The place in which it happens.

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Egg and mushroom

Egg and mushroom

Baby octopus

Baby octopus

If you like beef, this it is.

If you like beef, this it is.

An environment in which to create beauty on the plate.

An environment in which to create beauty on the plate.

Smoked goat butter

Smoked goat butter

Sea cucumber

Sea cucumber

Here's the wood that produces the smoke.

Here’s the wood that produces the smoke.

So Long, Can Fabes

January 3, 2014 / / 3 Comments

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A new year brings with it an ending, or even endings. We look forward to the days and nights that stretch before us, but we also, if we are so predisposed, think about what we are leaving behind, be they people, places or things.

During this first week of 2014 I am doing my fair share of wondering about what lies ahead, making plans, writing down goals and intentions.

And I’m thinking of people and places that are no more, especially these three: Marcella Hazan, Charlie Trotter, and El Racó de Can Fabes. Each made an impression on my life, and made me a better cook.

I never met Ms. Hazan, but she did comment on several Facebook posts of mine, asking questions and giving her opinions in a straightforward and probing manner. I did meet Trotter, when he cooked at a dinner in Abu Dhabi that I attended. Two monumental individuals, Hazan and Trotter. They influenced more people than they would ever know, and made my life richer. Our world is poorer without them.

El Racó de Can Fabes, a fabled restaurant, closed its doors forever in 2013. One day in September 2012 I was in a rental car, having left Barcelona headed to France. It was nearing lunchtime and I spotted a road sign indicating an exit for Sant Celoni. Sant Celoni … The name meant something to me, but I could not place it. I slowed the car, my brain all the while attempting to make the connection. It did about two minutes later: Sant Celoni is the village that is home (was home) to Can Fabes. I exited the highway, then pulled over and keyed the words into my GPS. About 15 minutes later I was parked near the restaurant; it was around 12:30, and I walked to the entrance, hoping that they would seat me without a reservation. They did, and that afternoon has been with me constantly since. (See photo slideshow above.)

You might be aware that the building that housed Can Fabes belonged to the Santamaria family for more than 200 years. You might also know that it had operated as a restaurant for 32 years and earned its first Michelin star  in 1988, seven years after Santi Santimaria opened it as a casual bistro. It was awarded a third Michelin star in 1994. Then, as it sometimes will, life dealt a cruel hand. Santimaria died of a heart attack while at his restaurant in Singapore; he was 53.

Regina Santimaria, his daughter, took over, and made a valiant effort to keep Can Fabes open. Losing a man as original and vibrant as Santimaria, however, is, in my opinion, a fatal blow. The restaurant lost one of its Michelin stars, the global economy fell apart, and things were grim in Sant Celoni.

Today I leafed through an online catalogue for an auction of Can Fabe possessions that took place in December 2013. It included plates and glasses and cutlery and pots and pans. But what one could not bid on, the item that created the magic that was Can Fabes, was Santi Santimaria’s soul, and it was nowhere in that catalogue. It was, however, in the meal I had in Sant Celoni that day, and it will be in me forever.

Mon Oncle, or, a Wine Bar Opens in Girona

November 10, 2012 / / 4 Comments

I left Barcelona with wine on my mind and in the trunk of the car. I was headed to Girona, a city Angela and I had visited in 2011 (we had a reservation at El Celler de Can Roca). This time I was going to visit friends who lived there. They were opening a wine bar, and I thought it would be fun to observe their work and give them some help. I had taken a train from San Sebastien down to Barcelona, and, after a few meals and a night at Camp Nou seeing Messi & Co. work their magic, I rented a car and headed toward the ocean. (I did make one stop, for lunch, at Can Fabes, more on which later.) (Update: Here is the story of my afternoon at Can Fabes.)

Girona is a beautiful city, with a small river running through it. It is not far from the French border, and its people are fiercely independent. I had my trusty GPS unit, and had programmed into it the village in which my friend and her husband lived, about 20 minutes outside of Girona. They own an amazingly beautiful bed and breakfast in which I stayed one night during my visit, and I recommend it highly.

They were not home when I arrived, so I called and arranged to meet them in Girnona, near Mon Oncle, the name of the soon-to-open wine bar. It is in a building in a large open square, in the old district; in other words, a perfect location. Plenty of space for outdoor dining, for sitting and enjoying wine with friends.

When I reached the square, after a stroll along the river, Mon Oncle was abuzz with activity; Axel, one of the owners, was helping affix a sign to the building’s exterior, and his sister, Marie, and her husband were inside unloading supplies and going over inventory. I had not seen Axel since 2005, and the last time I saw Marie was in New York in 2002. We greeted and I told them I was available for work. We toasted with beers and I started helping ready chairs and tables for the square. Mon Oncle’s opening night was two days away, and cases of wine and water and beer were stacked inside the restaurant, ready for the open-house crowd that would gather to celebrate.

What occurred two days later was magical, and perfect. Hundreds of people showed up (even a group of drummers), and they drank and dined and danced and, in short, created the perfect atmosphere for the premiere of Girona’s newest wine bar.

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