Willamette Valley Pinot Find (under $40)

I love a lot of the Oregon pinots. They usually showcase the varietal and are balanced (or even have acidity at all.) Picked up this wine recently at Hi-Time Wine Cellars in Costa Mesa and it simply made me smile. All the components of a lovely pinot were there - the berries, earth, delicate oak and integrated alcohol - and my husband and I had sipped away the bottle before we knew it. Here's the info if you want to check it out :)

Anne Amie, 2009
Pinot Noir (in all its glory!)
Willamette Valley, Oregon
Vineyards: 41% Anne Amie Estate, 28% Boisseau, 11.5% Gran Moraine, 8% Rainbow Ridge, 5% Alloro, 4% Louise, 2.5% Zena Crown
Clones: P4, 114, 115, 667, 777, 828
Oak: aged 10 months in French oak, 21% new, 20% 1 year, 59% neutral
Soils: Willakenzie, Laurelwood, Ritner
Alcohol: 13.9%

Cozy Fall Cabernet

Thanksgiving came to an end. I'm completely turkey and pinot-ed out and left with a craving for a sultry cab, reserve gouda, roaring fire and spanish guitar.

Popping a Fontanella Family Winery 2009. Premiere Napa Valley. Auction 15 Lot 124, Melanson Vineyard, Cabernet Sauvignon...Bottle 14 of 60. Not exactly sure what every detail means (except that this juice sounds pretty darn special) but also not in the mood to be a student tonight...just ready to drink something intense and tasty. That I got...

- Stains the glass a brickish purple

- Red rose on the nose, prettypretty

- Dense fruits: red and black but not pure jam, acidity is present with a youthful freshness

- Some oak on the finish, alllllllmost too much (others would hardly detect but I'm supersensitive to wood in my wine)

- Very silky tannins

- Leather, leaves, and a mellow dustiness/extra dimension

- Pleasant grip on the finish

- Ubercab

L'Aventure Wine Tasting

Stephan Asseo, Bordeaux transplant and L'Aventure's owner and winemaker, restored my faith in balanced, disciplined Paso Robles wine. Prior to this trip, I had very high alcohol, low acidity, jammy, and generally klunky encounters with (benchmark) wines from this region. However, I always approach a new wine with an open mind and I was ready to be pleasantly surprised.

When we arrived at L'Aventure's tasting room at 10am Saturday morning (opens to the public at 11am), Stephan was sweeping the stoop outside his tasting room. The sign of an artist...we were in for a treat.

He greeted us humbly and then told us the story of his search for the right piece of land in California. His winemaking techniques are old world. His vines are (relatively) new. Plus, he has the freedom to work with any varietal, as the wine laws here are much more flexible than those in France. 

As we learned more about his style, I honed in on his focus around harvest time. It is not on the brix level (sugar level) of the grapes or, more generally, the ripeness of the fruit. Stephan picks his fruit when he believes the tannin to be ripe. Tannin is the skeleton that gives red wine its structure and ultimately connects, and supports, every other element. Choosing to harvest when "the tannin is ripe" is not a technical decision at the mercy of a number (like picking at "x" brix, or sugar, level in the berries). It's based on taste, experience, and the 6th sense of man who grew up in one of the most remarkable wine regions in the world. Ripe tannin sets a wine's "tannin" skeleton in perfect alignment. The fruit, alcohol, and acidity work their magic to fill it out. The result is a work of art. An integrated, disciplined, and memorable wine. I almost forgot to mention...it tastes fantastic. Like all of the wines at L'Aventure.

The Estate Cuvee had to be my favorite, but I also enjoyed his Estate Cote a Cote and Estate Cabernet Sauvignon. Buy and drink or hold:

http://www.aventurewine.com/

Judge Hutnick

I had my first experience judging wine today at the Orange County Home Wine Competition. Local wine makers made submissions to the following categories: red and white (single varietal or blend), fruit, and dessert. I judged 21 sangioveses and 8 barberas. At the home wine level, I was looking for

1) balance of fruit, acid, alcohol, and tannin

and

2) the wine to exhibit the nose and flavor profile of the varietal*

My panel agreed that there were a handful that achieved both - some more gracefully than others. We tasted and scored for three hours with no major breaks. My sense of smell and taste became fatigued around the 25th wine, so under 30 wines in 3 hours was about right to ensure fair and consistent results. I'm glad I was assigned to judge local expressions of varietals I normally only drink from Italy. It really made me appreciate what a talented winemaker can achieve (close to) anywhere in the world.

Thanks to all of the friendly people who said hi to the "new judge" and made me feel so welcome. And to the Miller family who showed me the ropes, Jan for the picture above, and John for his jacket. Hope to see you all next year!

*(we had one sangiovese that was well made wine that tasted great...but it tasted like zinfandel)

2004 Allegrini Amarone

I had the pleasure of pouring this Italian star of the Wine Spectator Grand Tasting in Las Vegas last night. It's a well-structured, elegant expression of Amarone with a driven mid-palate due to their refined drying technique. The control the humidity so there is no rot, which can cause impurities. The result of this meticulous harvesting and raisinating process results in a wine with lower alcohol (it's still 15%), lower residual sugar, and softer tannins - the focus and balance Franco Allegrini's (winemaker) Amarone Della Valpolicella Classico is so clear when tasting the competition. The only 2004 that's left to buy is what you can find on the shelves, so pick up a bottle while you can still find one! Thanks to all of the repeat visitors, I love to see people enjoying the wine I'm pouring, especially when you have five first growths in the aisle over.

Routines

I struggle with the right balance of routines. While at times I think they can build discipline and foster steady improvement, I also fear the comfort zone they can create. In a perfect world I would try a new form of exercise every three months, buy assorted foods at the grocery store, and explore one of the many places I haven't been to in Southern California on the weekends. But going for walks and bike rides, eating cereal, apples, bell peppers, and shrimp cocktail, and spending every weekend going to my favorite spots in Corona Del Mar makes me happy. 

And that's great. 

But I look back to times in my life when I broke away from a routine or regimented lifestyle and recognize the extreme benefits that these deviations brought to my life. A few examples are transferring high schools my sophomore year, studying and working in London my junior year in college, barely breaking even every month during my first job at Deloitte Consulting in New York City, and leaving Michael and Las Vegas after two years to spend a month in Champagne and Burgundy discovering my passion for wine. Throughout these experiences I was challenged, humbled, inspired, exhausted, exhilarated, sad, and happy. I'm still getting to know Newport Beach and Orange County, but am aware it is going to be very easy to get into a comfortable routine here. I ask of my friends to help me when this happens. It's healthy to get your ass kicked every now and then.

Morning

I've always kept a journal, but privately. As a new "blogger", I'll do my best to appropriately use this new technology to stay in better touch with family and friends...and more actively experience the (scarily) strong bond more and more humans have with computers. I'm heading out for a morning walk around Ocean Avenue in Corona Del Mar. It's two blocks from my house here and one of the most peaceful/exhilarating moments of the day. For at least ten breaths I will consciously inhale the sweet ocean air to beyond my lungs capacity. Then slowly exhale with restraint - a proper balance of patiently coming to the end of this ultra-sensory breath and beginning the next one.