‘09 Vines

If Uzi had his way, he would check in on “our” vineyards at least once a week.  And, actually, as the harvest gets closer he would be there everyday. While he is not able to go that frequently, the 5 of us did pile in the car Father’s Day weekend and drive up for a visit.  I think he likes to see the 2 guys who own the vineyards almost as much as he likes to check on the grapes.  And after meeting them for the first time, I can see why.  Chris Ritcey (Corona Creek Vineyard, Sonoma Coast) and Steve Beresini (Beresini Vineyard, Carneros) are providing us with grapes this year.  Each took our family on a private tour of their vineyards and resident farm animals. Both of them are super nice and down to earth.  

First stop:  Corona Creek vineyard, Sonoma Coast.  Chris Ritcey first led our kids down to see his sheep and feed them. One sheep, endearingly named #5, took a liking to us and the bucket of feed Chris gave us.  Then he took us on a tour of the vineyard and gave us a short lesson on the ripening of the grapes.

kids and #5

Uzi and Chris

Chris

Next we headed east to Carneros.  After a quick stop for brunch at the Boon Fly Cafe at the Carneros Inn (yummy housemade doughnuts,) we crossed the street to Beresini vineyard.  Steve came out to greet us, led us into the vineyard and immediately starting clipping the small, unwanted suckers he came across.  As Uzi has written before, Steve is always making wine in the vineyard.

Steve Beresini "making wine"

Beresini pinot 6/09

The berries in Carneros were a little bigger than the Sonoma Coast berries.  That may be an indicator they will be ready for harvest earlier or it may just be the clone.  Either way, the countdown has begun.  90 days (+/-) to harvest and counting…

 

Bins and Barrel Racks in Napa

  

We are increasing production this coming year, 2009, and purchasing some additional equipment–barrel racks, macro bins and barrels.  Uzi found some lightly used barrel racks and macro bins from a contact at Joseph Phelps Vineyards in Napa and made arrangements for me to inspect the equipment in person before purchase.   

My trip to Joseph Phelps reminded me why Napa is such a sought after destination.  Uzi and I tend to visit Sonoma or other wine regions more frequently than Napa.  A drive on Hwy 29 is like a trip down the wine aisle at a large grocery store–Beringer, Mondavi, Sutter Home, Freemark Abbey.  There are countless B&Bs, Auberges, tour buses and gift shops. Despite all that, the scenery this time of year in Napa Valley is spectacular.  The grape vines are lush, full and green.  There are mountains, country lanes and weathered barns amid the vineyards.  And once you get off the beaten path you can find less frequented, more intimate wineries.  

   

Unfortunately my business in Napa Valley this time did not include wine tasting or luxury accomodations.  I was there to inspect winery equipment–which passed the test–and camp with some friends.  Our big splurge was Taylor’s Automatic Refresher in St. Helena where you can enjoy Calera Pinot Noir in a proper glass with your cheeseburger and fries. A fine way by me to enjoy Napa Valley.

 

Appetizers and Pinot Noir

     

Blue cheese walnut spread

We kept the food at our recent Stomping Girl barrel tasting event super simple and Pinot Noir-friendly. We didn’t want to overpower the wine but did want to serve something–seems prudent to offer a bite to eat when people are drinking wine, even if it is small pours.  I served two spreads–my favorite go-to blue cheese spread and a new smoked salmon spread recipe–and water crackers.  They are both very simple, tasty and can be prepared ahead of time.

My blue cheese spread is, roughly:

• 2 oz. Pt. Reyes Original Blue Cheese (or other quality blue cheese)
• 6 oz. cream cheese, softened
• 2 oz. butter, softened
• handful chopped walnuts

Mix together cheeses and butter with hand mixer.  Toast walnuts in dry skillet over medium heat.  Stir cooled nuts into cheese mixture.  Transfer to small serving bowl.  Sprinkle a few walnuts on top and serve with crackers or sliced baguette.  Yum!  Many people have told me that although they are not blue cheese fans, they like this spread.  I myself can devour a crock of this mildly flavored spread in no time.

The smoked salmon spread was an Ina Garten recipe from Food Network.  I left out the horseradish–too strong for Pinot Noir–and slightly reduced the amount of sour cream.  The fresh dill was a nice touch and was not too much for the wine.

So next time you need a quick appetizer to impress your friends with, whip together one of these spreads (I recommend the blue cheese) and pop open a bottle of Stomping Girl Pinot Noir.  If you can’t wait until January 2010, our release date, I suppose another bottle of Pinot would work, too.  Cheers!

 

Stomping Girl Wines adds another stellar vineyard to our 2009 lineup

Stomping Girl Wines is happy to announce the addition of another stellar vineyard to our 2009 lineup, Corona Creek Vineyard in the Sonoma Coast appellation.

Corona Creek is situated in the area known as the Petaluma Gap. Vineyards in the Petaluma Gap benefits from the cooling effect of the morning fog, coming in from the Pacific ocean. The cool fog moderates the area’s temperature and prolongs the growing season, giving the grapes time to slowly reach full physiological maturity and develop robust complex flavors.

Corona Creek vineyard owners, Janet Seddon and Chris Ritcey have a unique vineyard and  one which we are very lucky to secure fruit from.  Their vineyard is only one part of their 20 acre farm, actually a very diverse farm where they grow olive trees, fruit and vegetables renowned for their high quality in the Sonoma area. I heard the tomatoes are especially prized and I can’t wait to try some.

They take a holistic approach to farming, which we appreciate. In the addition to the Owl boxes for gopher management, they have sheep for the purposes of weed control, the sheep are miniature and can’t reach the ‘yummy’ grapes above them. And of course, while the sheep are at it, they help fertilize the soil!  Cover crop between the rows provide for a natural way to introduce nitrogen to the vineyard.  Read more about Corona Creek  farming practices here.

Bees were buzzing by on one of my visits and Chris noted that they go from the cover crop in between the vine rows on to pollinating his Pluot orchard.  A complete farm.  I can’t wait to make wine out of Corona Creek’s grapes, from the Hillside Block.

 

Stomping Girl Barrel Tasting

Stomping Girl Wines had a great turn out for our first barrel tasting event featuring our ‘08 Pinot Noirs–Lone Oak Vineyard, Santa Lucia Highlands and Split Rock, Sonoma Coast.  The wines are developing fantastically with cherry and spice flavors coming through and nicely balanced on the  palette.  We also pulled a barrel sample of our ‘08 Las Brisas, Carneros, Pinot–it’s displaying nice cherry fruit flavors and a silky, velvety texture in the mouth.

Thanks to those who came, we had a great time.  And thank you to Maureen Sullivan for taking the photos!  Here is one review of the event.

 

Stomping Girl Wines adds Beresini Vinyard to 2009 lineup

 

Beresini Vineyard

We are very happy to announce the addition of Steve Beresini Carneros vineyard to our 2009 lineup.

Steve has a meticulously maintained small vineyard in Carneros that has been producing world class Pinot Noir and Chardonnay for many years by the likes of wineries such as MacRostie.  The vineyard was planted in 1989 making it one of the more mature Pinot vineyards around, even by Carneros standards.  Low yield and careful management of the vines produces superb wine. When Steve called to say he might have some fruit available for me I had to drive right over and see it. 

Stomping Girl will have three rows dedicated to us, two of the Pommard clone and one of the Calera clone. These 3 rows will give us only a tiny amount–maybe four barrels of wine.  And that is fine by us because we choose to produce small lots from grapes carefully grown by small family-owned vineyards.

Steve, who has been growing vines and making wine for more than thirty years, takes excellent care of his vineyard. He was the winemaker at one point at Niebaum-Coppola Winery and worked alongside the legendary André Tchelistchef, who consulted with Neibaum-Copola at the time.

While tasting his 2008 from the barrel, all Calera clone, we talked about his winemaking protocol. I tried to learn his winemaking secrets, what makes his wine so luscious and round, so aromatic and bright cherry red. He got a distant look on his face and reminisced about Andre, a mentor to him.  Then he said, “It’s really simple, it’s all starts in the vineyard, so when I walk around the vines and I’m suckering and pruning, I say to myself, ‘I am just walking around, making wine.’”

We are lucky to have this extra winemaker in the vineyard.

Steve Beresini and his vineyard

 

Bacon and Pinot

A few weeks ago I was making dinner for my parents. I was preparing pork tenderloin, brussels sprouts and roasted potatoes and they asked me what wine to serve…my Dad had referred to his Hugh Johnson Pocket Wine Book for some pairing ideas but Hugh didn’t specifically have a recommendation for pork tenderloin. He did have a great suggestion for Coq au Vin, however: “In an ideal world one bottle of Chambertin in the dish, two on the table.” One day I may be so lucky…but in the meantime, without Hugh’s blessing, I recommended Pinot Noir to go with the pork tenderloin. Pork and Pinot is usually a good match, plus I gotta plug Pinot Noir when I can.

So my brother brought over a couple of bottles of Pinot from his cellar and my Dad pulled one out, too. The Pinot worked lovely with the pork tenderloin. We drank 3 Oregon Pinot Noirs: Stoller Vineyards which was outstanding with the pork (and on its own for that matter;) Lachini Vineyards Estate which is an expensive bottle but unfortunately it had a slight, unintentional effervescent quality; and Erath, a commonly found and dependably good Pinot.

Back at my house we recently enjoyed a more unusual wine and food pairing. Bacon, eggs and Pinot. It was breakfast for dinner night at our house so we made mushroom and onion omelettes, bacon and French toast. There was an opened bottle of our house Pinot (Las Brisas Carneros) so I poured myself a glass. And surprise, surprise, what a match our Pinot was for the bacon! And the mushroom omelette too. In hindsight, the match is really not surprising. After all, a dish in the a la bourguignonne style incorporates lardons (bacon pieces,) onions and mushrooms cooked in a Burgundy red wine (Pinot Noir) sauce.

If you’ve had other food and Pinot Noir pairings–unusual or not–that have worked well for you, we’d love to hear them! And, by the way, if you find yourself in a bind not knowing what wine to serve with your food (or vice versa) Natalie MacLean has a great little Food & Wine Matcher gadget on her website.

 

Bud break at Sonoma

The vineyards are alive!  After a long winter dormancy, signs of life abound and the cycle begins again.

Bud Break in Sonoma

This is one of the most exciting times in the vineyards–the beginning of the next vintage. The buds popping up all over the place now will develop into canes which will  eventually bare the fruit. Don’t take my word for it, it is front page news in Sonoma. In between the rows, cover crops which supply the vine with nitrogen and other nutrients the natural way, are growing too.

Now is also a time of danger, for the young buds are susceptible to frost damage. Temperatures that dip below the freezing point cause frost that will burn the young buds. Everyone is watchful of the thermometers and are on alert. Vineyards on hillsides are less vulnerable because frost flows downhill, like water. Some vineyards are ready with a host of frost protection measures, from wind machines which circulate warmer air down with the colder air and increase the temperature, to heaters and overhead sprinklers. Some, like our grower, Chris, cut down the cover crop to allow the frost to flow downhill. It’s a trade off, says Chris, because the bees that made the cover crop their home and have been busy pollinating the pluots nearby will have to find a new home.  I am sure they will manage.  

Chris also has owl boxes around the vineyard.  The owls take care of the gophers which seem to come out once the cover crop is mowed.  Not all of these safety measures are 100% gaurentee but we do what we can.  In any case, this is an exciting time.  I have been getting updates on frost from my weather widget and from Chris.  A few more weeks and we will be over the frost hump and on to the next stage, bloom. In the mean time, 2009 looks like it is off to a good start.

 

Obscure Wine Lists

I have to admit I am not always comfortable being responsible for choosing wine from restaurant wine lists.  There are so many things to consider:  region, varietal, producer, vintage, price and, of course, what people will be eating.  So most often, I eye the wine list for something familiar.  We are Pinot Noir drinkers so I’m comfortable choosing a California or Oregon Pinot or a Burgundy.   There are other French wines I am familiar with (thanks to many trips there and to Kermit Lynch down the street) that I often look for.  And of course with the cornucopia of wines available from California, there are always other California wines on wine lists that I know and like.

obscure wine?

So when we went to dinner at A Cote, a Rockridge French/Mediterranean-inspired small plates restaurant known for their selection of wines by the glass, I didn’t think I would have trouble selecting a wine.   But as I scanned their extensive wine list I got nervous.  Greece, Portugal, Hungary, Croatia, Slovenia…the Republic of Georgia!  Italy was well-represented but I have to admit as much as I enjoy them, I don’t know a lot about Italian wines.  The French wines on the list, except for a few, were relatively unknown to me.  And there was a tiny box at the bottom with 3 California wines listed.

This is where a wait staff experienced in wine is important and the bartender on duty came to my rescue.  When we asked him about a light, crisp white to start off the evening, he pointed us to the Codega/Rabigato, Niepoort, Tiara from Duoro. I know that Duoro is known for Port, the opposite of light and crisp, and one summer I got completely burned out on cheap vinho verde, so I was a bit skeptical. The waiter kindly brought us a taste of it and it was nice.  I was actually in the mood for a cocktail anyway but Uzi ordered a glass of it.  We were both pleasantly surprised with the Portuguese wine.  It was fresh and crisp yet creamy; perfect to start the meal with and one of the least expensive wines on the menu.  Thank you, bartender, for encouraging us to get out of the rut and try something different. 

Bartenders and wait staff always seemed pleased when customers order something out of the ordinary (in this case, considering the wine list, that was not hard!) especially if it based on their recommendation.  When possible they will often offer a taste of it, if you are unsure.  Try it next time you’re out, you may “discover” a new find.  I may even go back and forgo a cocktail for the Saperavi, Vinoterra from the Kakheti Valley, Republic of Georgia.  

 

Beautiful Sonoma County

Most of the time, we start a trip with a destination in mind. Usually we have an idea why we are headed that way and what to expect. We look forward to that destination, we almost rush to get there.  The anticipation building as we get closer, we reach our destination and our expectations are either met, or not.

But, sometimes the best trips are the unintentional ones. Such as the one I had last week on the way back from visiting som growers in  Sonoma Coast.

On my way back I was planning to stop at another vineyard in Carneros for  a visit.  The fastest way would have been to hop back on highway 101 and be in Carneros in 15 minutes.

Instead, I took the backroad, Old Adobe Road, east of Petaluma and headed south to Carneros.

The countryside was green with yellow fields of flowers here and there. The recent rain had allowed the outbursts of yellow and some pink.

A few minutes later,  I came across a herd of goats, mowing the tall grass in a vineyard. I stopped to take a picture of that. Since I had to make a u-turn to get to the side closer to the goats, I was facing the other direction.

Then I noticed that the farm stand I passed on my way over was really just a couple of hundred yards away and it was getting close to lunch. So I headed back there.

Anything to eat? I asked, meaning any prepared food I can just grab.

The amused farm girl/cashier looked up and pointed at the abundance of greens, pickled beets and freshly laid eggs.

As if on cue, another woman came in carrying a basket of eggs she had just collected from the chickens in the back. “Come, I’ll show you the chickens,” she said. “What are you doing doing this way?” she asked as we heading back into the chicken coop. “Visiting some growers and their vineyards.” I said.  I handed her my card and she busted out in Hebrew, said her name was Heela, and proceeded to  tell me about her brother’s Bar Mitzva’s picture with Yitzak Rabin in Israel.  Heela, was very proud of her chickens, almost as proud as she was of her daughter who works in Washington DC.

Heela is an artist, a paint maker using natural ingredients, such as egg shells. Perfect place for an artist.

I took a dozen eggs and a jar of pickled beets and left behind a bottle of wine. Hannah, the farm girl/cashier was listening to some Spanish music I hadn’t heard in 20 years when another woman came in breathless–the goats have gotten away and are on the road. Hannah would have to go get Pedro to get them back. With that, I left. Out in the parking log, the Bee keeper was showing a photographer with a big camera his bees while explaining what type goes best with what crop. On the highway, the woman’s friend was trying to keep a lone goat from getting to the pavement. Idyllic.

By the time I got to Carneros, it was way past my appointment time. I didn’t care. I was somewhere else. High on natural Sonoma county beauty.

If you want to visit some of the nicest people in Sonoma and get the freshest organic eggs straight from under a chicken, visit Green String Farms on Old Adobe  Road. I highly recommend taking the backroad from Petaluma to Sonoma/Carneros. No destination, just the Old Adobe Road.