Tag: california wine


Feb
2018

Bonny Doon Vineyard 2016 “A Basque-ette Case” Red Blend

categories: Booze, Wine

I first met Randall Grahm at one of the annual Rhone Rangers events in San Francisco, after which he was kind enough to invite me to his Davenport tasting room and take me through a full line up of his — then — current releases. I was enthralled, not just with Randall’s obvious passion for wine, but his innate ability to teach about wine and pass his passion forward. That first one-on-one meeting will always be a special memory for me.

The thing about Bonny Doon Vineyard wines is that there’s, well, a lot of them — reds, whites, pinks, even oranges and more obscure colors — the common thread being Rhone varietals and Rhone-style blends. As a young winemaker, Grahm sought to recreate the great wines of France here in his native California home, but soon realized that one cannot make French wine if one is not, in fact, in France. So now the very core of his Rhone-style wines is the idea of vins de terroir — wine that speaks of its specific place and time. He’s constantly experimenting with new-to-California wine grape varieties to see if and where they’ll thrive — and if he finds a vine’s sweet spot, rest-assured a wine will soon follow. He also plays with the idea of Rhone-style blends. This eclectic mix of Iberian grapes Tempranillo and Graciano along with the well-recognized Rhone grape Grenache Blanc was, for me, a new concept — and one I couldn’t leave behind in the tasting room.

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Feb
2018

Shafer Vineyards 2014 Relentless Syrah

categories: Booze, Wine

Sourced from the rugged terroir of the Vaca Mountain foothills, the consistency of quality fruit the Shafer family harvests year after year is, indeed, persistent, continuing, nonstop, never-ending, interminable, unceasing, endless — relentless. But, as proprietor Doug Shafer says, the “soul” of this wine comes from the winery’s long time winemaker, Elias Fernandez, whose tireless attention to detail seems to create a new level of quality with each vintage. “And so Relentless emerged as a testament to both a person and a place.”

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Feb
2018

Shafer Vineyards 2015 TD-9 Bordeaux Blend

categories: Booze, Wine

Founder John Shafer wasn’t always a wine country cowboy. At 50 years old, Shafer left his business shoes and commuter trains behind in Chicago, trading them in for a pair of boots and a TD-9 tractor. Without a green thumb to speak of, he picked up his family and purchased his first piece of Napa Valley property. On that property were old sheds and ancient farming equipment  — among them an International Harvester tractor from the 1950s. One of his first challenges was learning how to drive the rickety old beast — but he loved every moment of it.

The TD-9 proprietary red blend is made each year with that same spirit — making the best of what you have and enjoying the process. “Any time you try something new, you take a gamble,” says winery president and John’s son Doug Shafer. “But the story of TD-9 is all about risk-taking and a sense of adventure – it was there at our founding and it’s part of our DNA today.”
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Jan
2018

Georgós Wine 2015 IOS Rosé

categories: Booze, Wine

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again — rosés are hard for me. Oftentimes, the popular rosés found in grocery stores tend to appeal to the mass market — cloyingly fruit forward to the point of a high perceived sweetness. But the Greek grapes used for this rosé were pretty much made for rosé. Added bonus? Seasoned winemaker Robert Rex is the master mind behind this wine. So while the wine may present a much “too” pink color and an extremely fragrant nose, rest-assured that this is a dry wine that even picky pink drinkers like myself can enjoy. (Double extra bonus points: California residents can find this bottle of Georgos Wines at your local Whole Foods.)

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Jan
2018

Georgós Wine 2014 ITHAKA

categories: Booze, Wine

When we think of Greek wine, we often think “Old World.” We can’t help it — the phrase “the drink of the gods” directly points to the mythos of this culture. But Georgos Zanganas had a different thought. When he came to Sonoma he immediately fell in love with its bucolic beauty — who could blame him? What he didn’t love, however, was the obvious lack of Greek wine varietals available to him. So he asked himself, why not combine his history and culture with his new California life. And so it is that Georgos Wine was created — old world grapes blended with new world grapes; old world winemaking tradition combined with new world techniques; old ideas revitalized and re-defined to meet the modern wine drinking world.

About the Wine: The name ITHAKA is named after an ancient Greek island, said to have once ruled by Odysseus, the legendary Greek king of ITHAKA (and a hero of Homer’s epic poem the Odyssey). The name is a nod to the noble grape of Sonoma — Cabernet Sauvignon — with which the wine is made.

The Georgós Wine 2014 ITHAKA is made from a combination of 15% Agiorgitiko grapes — sourced from and produced in Greece — and 85% Cabernet Sauvignon grapes sourced from Sonoma County . All grapes are hand-picked, hand-sorted, and gently pressed. While the Agiorgitiko was picked and produced in Greece, the final blend was created in Sonoma, California. The wine aged in combination French (55%), Hungarian (20%), and American (25%) oak barrels (35% new).

13.5% ABV

Flavor Profile: Open the bottle of the Georgós Wine 2014 ITHAKA and breathe in the aromas of plump blueberries — skins and all — along with a very light background of a kind of gamey umami. On the pour this Greek wine is very sanguine: a rich, ruby-red on the pour. It settles into the glass quite dark, with an impenetrable maroon center that fades out toward a dusty rouge, which fades out even further to a rose petal pink at the ultimate perimeter.

Initial aromas are actually quite floral from the glass, reminiscent of roses still hanging on the bush. You can still smell that bit of gamey umaminess along with the dust of dried tree bark — any berries as well as acidity linger quite delicately in the back. So swirl and awaken the raspberries, cranberries, vanilla essence, blood orange zest and hints of nutmeg.

The palate is quite soft with plush, cotton-like tannins. The acidity is present but maintains a calm and level presence from start to finish. Dominant flavors are of eucalyptus tree bark, raspberries, cranberries, raw cacao, hint of anise, dessert-like spices, and a finish reminiscent of candied cinnamon.

What was most pleasantly surprising to me was how well rounded, balanced, and light this Cabernet Sauvignon-based wine was.

Food Pairing: I paired the Georgós Wine 2014 Penelope’s Spell with a herb-crusted lamb rack, golden beetroot and goats cheese salad, and a green pea purée. The earthy sweetness of the beetroot brought out a bit of the earthy, somewhat soily elements that were hidden behind some of the fruit notes in the wine, yet simultaneously highlighted the brightness of the cranberry notes. The lamb, with its thready texture and innate juiciness, brought forward some of that hidden umami initially sensed on the nose, as well as brought forward some darker fruit flavors (like plum and currants) not originally defined on the palate when sipping the wine on its own.

More Info: I received the Georgós Wine 2014 Penelope’s Spell as a sample for review. (Cheers Alexa!) Retail: Currently Unavailable. For more in formation about Georgós Wine and to purchase available wines directly, please visit the Georgós Wine website.

BriscoeBites officially accepts samples as well as conducts on-site and online interviews. Want to have your wine, winery or tasting room featured? Please visit the Sample Policy page where you can contact me directly. Cheers!