Category Archives: Winery Visit

SOME AMAZING PINOT NOIRS

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On Saturday, I joined a group for a wine tour of four wineries in the Santa Rita Hills Appellation (LINK), near Santa Ynez, California. The four were: Tyler, LaFond, Margerum, and Ken Brown. I will blog about each separately, beginning with Ken Brown Wines (LINK). The Santa Rita Hills are located about 30 miles north of Santa Barbara. A unique geological area, they are on a circular land mass that separated from the North American tectonic plate about 12 million years ago. Since then, that circle of land has been turning about 1/4 inch per year, so that now, the mountain ranges and valleys run east to west instead of north to south. This provides a “chute” for cool breezes and moisture from the Pacific Ocean to come farther inland and created one of the perfect places on earth to grow Pinot Noir. The film “Sideways” (LINK) was filmed here (before the appellation was established), and the rest is, well, a rich history.

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Ken Brown is a legendary winemaker in the Santa Rita Hills area. He began at Zaca Mesa Wines. His first name is actually Byron, and after Zaca Mesa, he started Byron Winery in 1985, selling it to the Mondavi Family in 1990. He said that both of those wineries got to the level of 80 to 90,000 cases in annual production, and by that point, actually before that, it was no longer fun for him. The current annual production at Ken Brown Wines is just about 3,000 cases in total.

Along the way, Ken Brown has trained a number of winemakers in the area, including Jim Clendenen of Au Bon Climat and Bob Lindquist of Qupé Winery. His tasting room is in Buellton, CA, just off the 101 Freeway. It is very nicely appointed, with a corkwood floor that got a lot of attention from some of the women on the tour.

Ken Brown Holding forth about his Wines.
Ken Brown Holding forth about his Wines.

Ken was very expansive in describing his process of winemaking and each of his wines. We tasted one Chardonnay, five Pinot Noirs and one Syrah. My general comment is that his wines are amazingly well-crafted in a Burgundian style, not big fruit bombs like many California wines. In fact, some in our tour group thought his wines were not big enough.

I found them to be nuanced, balanced, and each had different characteristics. I just about fell in love.

The Chardonnay was beautifully made, and very oaky – not to my taste, but you could readily smell, taste, and see the quality of the wine. Several bottles of this were purchased by tour members.2015-02-07 15.43.28 2015-02-07 16.11.47

Each of the five Pinots, one a blend of two Santa Barbara appellations, the rest from Santa Rita Hills, two blends of vineyards and two single-vineyard wines, had a strong sense of place and a very nice blend of fruit, mineral, and spice.

I won’t go into all of the individual wines in detail – mainly because it is unlikely you will be able to get any! All are small production, and available only through the winery (LINK to wine shop site).

I purchased the 2012 Zotovich Vineyard Pinot Noir (LINK), a very complex Pinot; the 2012 Santa Barbara County Pinot Noir (LINK), his most approachable Pinot – fruity and very refreshing; and the 2012 Watch Hill Syrah (LINK), a rich fruit-forward Syrah with great complexity. If we were not moving soon, I would have bought more.

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If you are in the Santa Rita Hills area any time soon, put Ken Brown Wines on you list of places to visit, You will not be disappointed (unless you only like the big, big wines. Then you better stick to Paso Robles).

MY FAVORITE WINERIES AND VINEYARDS – Clos Pepe Estate

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Clos Pepe, owned by Steven and Kathy Pepe (the Spanish pronunciation, not the French), is a unique winery and vineyard for several reasons. Their wines, primarily Chardonnay and Pinot Noir grown and crafted in the Burgundian tradition, are one. The miniature heritage sheep who keep the undergrowth beneath the vines trimmed and the dogs that herd them are another. Their secondary labels, Axis Mundi, featuring wines crafted from fruit from other Central Coast vineyards are another.

But the main reason that Clos Pepe Estate is such a unique operation is the winemaker, Wes Hagen. Wes is unique among winemakers in a variety of ways – one of which being that he is as much, or more, of a philosopher than anything else. Oh, he crafts amazing wines – some of my absolute favorites – but it is the depth of knowledge about all things wine and wine-related (plus a lot of other stuff) that make being around him so entertaining and enriching.

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Jim Lockard and Wes Hagan at a recent charity tasting of Clos Pepe and Axis Mundi wines.

Visitors to the Estate (by appointment only) are greeted in the vineyard by Wes. Everyone gathers around a vine and he begins his very thorough presentation that includes the geological history of the Santa Rita Hills (a part of California that is separated from the North American tectonic plate and has been rotating at about ¼ inch a year for the past 12 million or so years, so that the valleys here run east and west rather than north and south. This makes for excellent conditions for cool-weather loving grapes like Pinot Noir and Chardonnay); the 6500 year history of wine and viniculture that began with a single vine in Kazakhstan – the ancestor of every wine grape vine on the planet today; the history and philosophy of Clos Pepe in growing their fruit and making their wine; a bit about the sheep and the dogs; Q&A time; THEN up to the owner’s home to taste (and purchase) some wine.

As the videos on the Clos Pepe website show, Wes can tell a story, explain a concept, delve into science, and bring up Joseph Campbell without skipping a beat. He truly loves his work, and he continually studies in a variety of areas to keep his incredible mind occupied and productive.

Clos Pepe wines are beautifully crafted from vines on the 28 acre estate. A number of top California wineries also source fruit from Clos Pepe vineyards. Wes, ever the experimenter, yet aware of tradition, crafts Pinot Noirs in both the lighter, more elegant French tradition, as well as the bigger, bolder California style. They emerge beautifully and age very well.

Wine - Clos Pepe label

The Chardonnays are also crafted in the French style primarily, with a nod to what California consumers are looking for as well. Wes is given to grand descriptions of his wines (that prove to be very accurate). Here, is a description of the Chardonnays from the website:

The Chardonnays are naturally lean, mineral-laden and racy, but with more winemaking influence can exhibit richness and roundness: new oak, malolactic treatment, extended barrel aging. When young, the wines have austere structure and bright apple fruit with hints of tropical fruit and peach. Clos Pepe Chardonnay is crafted for both early enjoyment as well as cellaring for a decade or more. As the wines age they gain a hazelnut and mineral complexity, quite similar to Premier Cru Chablis and White Burgundy from great vintages. Try young Clos Pepe Chardonnays with oysters, fried chicken or barbecue. Older vintages can be enjoyed with sand dabs in a lemon cream sauce, firm cheeses, cream-based soups, or any kind of delicate seafood preparation. Clos Pepe Chardonnay seems to like 3-5 years from vintage date to fully integrate, and can last up to 10-12 years for those that appreciate full maturity and a bit of oxidative aromas and flavor.

Dorianne and I have Pinot Noirs from Clos Pepe in our cellar going back to 2007, and Chardonnays from 2010 on (hard to keep the Chardonnays on the shelf). We pull them out mostly for special dinners or to share with good friends. With every bottle, I think of Wes Hagen, the depth of knowledge that he carries into his winemaking, and those sheep. Beautiful wines and beautiful memories.

MY FAVORITE WINERIES & VINEYARDS: Broc Cellars Winery

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Chris Brockway’s Broc Cellars Winery is an unusual entry into the California wine scene. Housed in a small, old warehouse in a derelict (but recovering) section of Berkeley just off the 580 Freeway, it reeks of outsider and startup, which it is.

As it says on the winery website:

We are a ‘low wattage’ winery in the sense that we have very little modern equipment. Grapes are pitchforked whole-cluster into the fermenters, fermentation is allowed to happen spontaneously, all wines are basket pressed, with little/no sulphur used in our wines until bottling. True asphalt winemaking, in an urban winery.

And from Eric Asimov in the NYTimes:

Mr. Brockway casts a wide net to find grapes, often from odd little patches of unexpected varieties. He gets grenache, grenache blanc and cabernet franc from Santa Barbara County, and picpoul, a Mediterranean white grape, from Paso Robles. He finds zinfandel from Sonoma, carignan from the Alexander Valley and nero d’Avola and counoise, one of the 13 grapes permitted in Châteauneuf, from Mendocino. He buys valdigué, a grape once confused with gamay in California, from two sites in Solano County, and genuine gamay from the Umpqua Valley in Oregon.

At harvest, grapes are picked in the cool of night, and then he drives them back to Berkeley in his flatbed truck. “I’m on the road so much, sometimes I feel more like a truck driver than a winemaker,” he said.

Oh, and they have been written about at least three times in the New York Times, including a feature column by Eric Asimov in March 2014. This in addition to lots of local and regional coverage drew me to stop at the tasting room during a recent visit to the Bay Area. I was joined by a friend who was also in the area for a visit.

The tasting room is part of a larger room that houses barrels, tanks and other equipment. There are other sections of the building and an outdoor area that included a few concrete wine tanks. The tasting room itself is nicely furnished and well laid out. The staff member there, Craig Willimas (Chris Brockway was not there that day), was very knowledgeable about wine and about the Broc products. He was also a raconteur, regaling us with stories about his life as a private chef and journeys to New Orleans that involved costumes from the San Francisco Opera Company.

Broc Winery - Carol Carnes
Carol Carnes at Broc Cellars Winery Tasting Room
Jim at Broc Winery
Jim Lockard at Broc Cellars Winery in Berkeley.

We tasted six wines that day. Broc sources fruit from the Central Valley of California up to the Willamette Valley in Oregon. They tend to produce uncommon varietals, with the exception of their flagship 2009 Philary Syrah, their most expensive wine at $75.

Our tasting included

  • the 2013 Vine Starr White, a 100% Grenache Blanc ($30)
  • the 2013 Cassia Grenache(s) – ($27), a rosé blend of Grenache Gris and Grenache Noir from Mendocino County CA
  • the 2013 Valdiguié Green Valley Solano County ($24) – Valdiguie is a French varietal also known in California as Napa Gamay or Gamay 15
  • the 2013 Umpqua Valley Gamay Noir ($24) from Oregon grapes
  • the 2013 Nero d’Avola Mendocino County ($30)
  • and the 2009 Philary Syrah ($75), which is not normally part of the tasting, but there was a bottle open, so . . .

I enjoyed all of the wines with the exception of a Mouvedre that was not on the tasting list. The Philary Syrah was rich and big, but I didn’t think it was in the $75 class. I purchased three bottles: the Valdiguié, the Gamay Noir, and the Nero D’Avola.

Today, Dorianne, a friend and I tasted the 2013 Cassia Grenache(s) rosé. After drinking a lot of rosé this summer, this wine is the best. Beautiful fruit on the nose, perfect blend of fruit and minerality on the tongue, with a smooth aftertaste. And only 12.5% alcohol. This may be the perfect summer wine. The conversation drifted to splitting a case.

Wine - Broc - Grenaches Rose
2013 Cassia Grenache(s) Rosé

If you are in the Bay Area, Broc Cellars Winery is worth a visit. If not, order some of their wines from their website.

TASTING ROOM(s) IN THOUSAND OAKS – ALMA SOL

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Last night we were scheduled to meet friends for a tasting at a new tasting room in Thousand Oaks, CA, the next town over from us. They said meet at Alma Sol, but I made it Aldabella – another brand new tasting room just opened in the area. Thus began the comedy of errors.

Dorianne was judging cakes and a life cooking contest at the Ventura County Fair and was going to be a bit late getting home to make our 5:00 pm appointment. I texted our friends and let them know. They texted back that the wife in that couple was stuck in traffic and would be a bit late, too.

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Altabella Winery Tasting Room

Dorianne arrived and we shifted cars and headed for Altabella, located on Via Colinos opposite the Four Seasons Hotel in Westlake Village. Altabella Winery Tasting Room has a beautiful tasting room adjacent to a medium-sized warehouse winery. We settled in on a plush sofa and waited for our friends. We received a text that our friends’ GPS was acting up and they would be a bit later. So we sat. One of the owners noticed that we were just sitting their and ordered us glasses of their Syrah. The wine was nicely-crafted, acidic, and smoky. I liked it more than Dorianne did.

Then, a phone call. “Hi, we are here, where are you?” the voice at the other end of the phone asked. “We are right here – Altabella Wine Tasting Room.” “No, came the response, Alma Sol.” So, we said our goodbyes and headed over to Alma Sol Winery Tasting Room, arriving about ten minutes later. There are two winery-operated tasting rooms in the area and we each went to a different one. End of comedy of errors.

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John and Lisa Shaw – Alma Sol

We were greeted at Alma Sol by our friends, of course, and by John and Lisa Shaw, the owner-operators of Alma Sol. And then it all came back.

We had met John and Lisa at the 2013 Garagiste Festival in Paso Robles, a gathering of small producers. We recalled speaking to them, enjoying their wines, and, yes, hearing that they were going to open a tasting room in Thousand Oaks. Our friends used to work with John and Lisa at Sage Publications. So, old home week.

John was heading out to pour at a charity event, so he poured our first glass, a 2013 Sauvignon Blanc, chatted for a bit, and headed out. Lisa stayed with us beyond their scheduled closing time of 6:00 pm, and poured and poured and poured.

Alma Sol is 2014-08-09 18.44.38their operation from top to bottom. Their Cabernet Sauvignon grapes are sourced at Lisa’s family vineyard in Paso Robles and their other varietals from a number of nearby vineyards. All of their wines are very well-crafted – you can tell the winemaker’s touch, but the essence of the fruit and the terroir are present. They are a small production winery – almost everything is well under 100 cases of production – but produce a good variety of wines within that structure.

Their 2011 Cuevas Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon (Curevas is Lisa’s family name) received 92 points from Wine Enthusiast and won Gold in the 2014 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition. It was our favorite – very smooth with berry fruit on the nose and subtle lavender and leather notes as well. The wine has a nice mouth-feel and spicy after n
otes. It retails for $32 – a bargain.

We will be visiting their tasting room, which they share with another small producer, Sunland Wines, whose wines we will taste in a future visit. They are located at 1321 E. Thousand Oaks Blvd, Suite A-108, Thousand Oaks, CA 91362.

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Alma Sol Wines ready to pour

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