Good Saturday morning! I’ve compiled a little list of the latest wine-related news I’ve been reading this past week. Hope this proves interesting, if not useful. Let me know your thoughts…
Panther Creek Cellars 2017 Lazy River Vineyard Pinot Noir
In my most recent, very generous allocation of Panther Creek Cellars wines, I received samples of each single-vineyard bottling of the winery’s estate Pinot Noirs. How does one choose which vineyard to taste from next? I simply went with the name. Let’s face it, we’re all quarantined/shut-in-place and *probably* feeling a tad bit more lazy than usual. Or is that just me?
Crystal Basin Cellars 2016 Reserve Mourvèdre
I came across Crystal Basin Cellars during an industry event—actually it was a bit more like an informal gathering—of grapegrowers and winemakers in El Dorado County. The topic of discussion was lesser known varieties that thrive in this portion of the Sierra Foothills. We tasted some really interesting (and delicious) wines that day. A lot of what you may call “rustic” reds actually have an excellent “cool-climate” expression due to the colder air that sinks down through the Sierras and settles along the vines in the foothills. Indeed, Mourvèdre, a fun, funky grape that can be as carnal as you like it from one terroir but as delicate as a flower petal from another, has found a good home here in El Dorado, maintaining its innate structure, achieving full phenolic ripeness, but holding on to the much needed acidity to lift the beautiful fruit flavors on the nose and on the palate.
Sonoma Family Meal Launches New Disaster Relief Fund Paying Restaurants to Cook for Those in Need
categories: Uncategorized
The below is a formal press release from Jordan Vineyard and Winery
SONOMA FAMILY MEAL LAUNCHES NEW DISASTER RELIEF FUND TO PAY RESTAURANTS TO COOK FOR THOSE IN NEED
Fundraising drive begins with $150,000 from John Jordan and the John Jordan Foundation—half of the investment needed to reach goal of $300,000
Santa Rosa, Calif.—Sonoma Family Meal, a disaster-focused non-profit providing chef-made meals to those in need, announces the creation of the Restaurant Disaster Relief Fund—a new initiative to help restaurants remain open for disaster-relief cooking by providing healthy, chef-made meals to those in desperate need of food. John Jordan, the owner of Jordan Winery, and the John Jordan Foundation have made a $150,000 investment in the fund, and the non-profits are teaming up for a match drive to raise an additional $150,000.
“With many businesses shuttered, demand for prepared meals is at an all-time high due to the Coronavirus pandemic,” said Heather Irwin, founder of Sonoma Family Meal. “If we reach our goal of $300,000 to fully fund this program, we will be able to pay at least 20 restaurants and caterers to produce up to 100,000 meals for thousands of seniors and families facing food scarcity over the next four months.” SFM hopes to put at least 100 restaurant workers back on the payroll, keep restaurants operational, support hard costs and create income to reopen in the future.
Gerard’s Paella in Santa Rosa, the Girl & the Fig in Sonoma, Chacho’s Catering in Windsor and Preferred Sonoma Catering in Petaluma are the first four restaurants operating as relief kitchens for the new disaster relief fund.
“These meals mean that our staff will have hours and normalcy in their lives right now,” said Petaluma caterer Amber Balshaw of Preferred Sonoma Catering. Her company is producing more than 600 meals per week for Sonoma Family Meal’s clients. The initiative also helps support small family farms and local food producers by purchasing their products for use in restaurants.
To make a donation, visit https://sonomafamilymeal.networkforgood.com/projects/96348-jordan-foundation.
To apply as a restaurant, visit https://www.sonomafamilymeal.org/for-restaurants/.
Wine Review: Panther Creek 2017 Kalita Vineyard Pinot Noir
This is a continuation of my tour of Panther Creek Cellars’ various vineyard sources. Today, we travel to Kalita Vineyard, located in the Yamhill Carlton AVA of Oregon, and planted entirely to Pinot Noir.
A bit about the vineyard from the Kalita Vineyard website:
Year planted: 2000
Varieties planted: Pinot Noir
Clones: Pommard, PN 114, PN 115, PN 777, all on grafted rootstock
Acreage planted: 22 acres
- A bowl-shaped site providing winemakers with the option to select grapes grown on hillsides facing South, Southwest or Southeast with elevations ranging from 400 to 800 feet.
- The soil is classic WillaKenzie soil.
- 22 acres of Pinot Noir with four different clones – Pommard, PN 114, PN 115 and PN 777 – all on grafted rootstock. Spacing is 4’x7′.
- A Certified Sustainable Vineyard by Oregon Live
- Managed since first planting in 2000 by Results Partners (currently led by Daniel Fey).
Now onto the wine…