THE NEW YORK TIMES WINE SCHOOL – ZINFANDEL

Wine Education, , ,

Last night, Dorianne and I got together with Richard Clark and Mary Stec to participate in the New York Times Wine School. The Wine School is a monthly look at different varietals written by Eric Asimov, the Times wine writer. The purpose is to take a deeper look at various varietals and to actually drink the wine, rather than just taste it. Richard, as I have mentioned in other posts, is the winemaker for the Conejo Valley Wine Co-op that Dorianne and I belong to.

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NYTimes Wine School on Zinfandel

We have done the previous Wine School varietals, usually two at a time, with Richard and Mary. We decided to do the Zinfandel, from July, on its own. Appetizers were gathered (baguette, prosciutto, goat and cheddar cheeses, smoked fish, and marinated peppers), and the main course – an AMAZING chicken mole with black beans and rice, was prepared by Mary (she and Richard used to import mole from Oaxaca in Mexico, so she knows her stuff).

Anyway, this is really about the wine. The Wine School always recommends three choices for the varietal of the month – wines that are likely easier to find in New York than in California in most instances. For the Zinfandel Wine School, Asimov recommended three wines: a Dashe Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel 2012 $21, Turley California Zinfandel Juvenile 2012 $30 and Ridge Dry Creek Valley Lytton Springs 2011 $35. Well, we didn’t have any of those, so we used two wines and had a back-up standing by.

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Our Three Wine Choices – the NYTimes Wine School on the iPad.

Our wines were a 2009 Grgich Hills $34, a 2009 Caymus $45, and a 2011 Moss-Roxx Ancient Vines $20, the latter remaining unopened.

Zinfandel has been in California since the early 1800’s and originally came from Croatia, where it is called tribidrag. I understand that it is also the same grape as primitivo in Italy, although there is some controversy about that.

Zinfandel, like all varietals, can show up in a variety of ways, influenced by everything that wine is influenced by – climate, weather, soils, sun and temperature, viticulture, wine making practices, ageing, etc. However, in general, the wine falls somewhere between Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinot Noir on the heavy to light red wine continuum. I find that Zin and Syrah can be very similar in tone and texture. It is normally great with meats and grilled foods. There are also some very interesting non-traditional Zinfandel blends showing up in places like Paso Robles.

The Grgich Hills and the Caymus were very different wines. The alcohol content was equivalent – 15.3% and 15.2% respectively, but the style was very different. The Grgich Hills was soft and elegant and the Caymus was big, bold, and heavy – definitely a Robert Parker kind of wine.

Fortunately, we opened the Grgich Hills first to have with the appetizers. It was a perfect complement to the prosciutto and cheeses and the other items. Elegantly balanced, the wine had spice notes, pepper, and fruit present. Delicious.

The Caymus was something else. Heavier, almost syrupy on the tongue, it was a fruit bomb. Fortunately, that was what the chicken mole required – something to stand up to the richness of the sauce and the greasy chicken. Richard preferred the Caymus to the Grgich Hills, I took the opposite position – although both are very good wines.

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The wines and the Chicken Mole made by Mary Stec.

The alcohol level of these wines made opening the Moss-Roxx unadvisable. It is resting back on the shelf as I write, waiting for another day.

Zinfandel has its lovers and its detractors. I am generally a fan, although I don’t actually drink that much of it. Our co-op made a pretty good Zin in 2010 and our just-bottled 2012 vintage includes a Zin-Merlot blend that should be interesting.

Let me know what your favorite Zinfandels are and what your best food pairing experiences have been in the comments section.

MY GO-TO EVERYDAY RED WINES

Wine Education, Wine Opinion, Wine Review, , , , , , , ,

As noted in my Philosophy of Wine entry, I drink wine almost every day with dinner. Dorianne and I drink 3 or 4 reds to every white or rosé, except in summer, when that ratio tends to be reversed.

I put reds into three basic categories – everyday, special dinner, and very special occasion. Everyday wines would run about $20 and under, special dinner from $20 to $50, and very special occasion from $50 and up. A bottle with a great story or one that is hard to obtain may put it up a category or two even though the price point is lower.

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Sharing some Wine with Friends.

Everyday wines are the mainstay of our consumption. These are generally wines that we buy from local retailers or online at sites like WTSO.com. Occasionally, they come from a winery. We also have our wine co-op wines that fall into the everyday category. We get about 8 cases from our co-op share each year, 6 of red and 2 of white. I will not include the co-op wines in these reviews, because you cannot obtain them. We had a 2010 Petit Syrah/Cabernet Sauvignon on Monday night from the co-op.

So how do you choose your favorite everyday wines? I would begin with trial and error then move out from there based on a certain level of awareness that develops as to what to look for – certain varietals, wine makers, and price points. The trial and error comes first – you sample some wines. This can happen by purchasing at a retailer, or you can be a bit more creative.

When you are invited to a party, if they have lower priced wines, try some. See if you find any that you like and note the brand and varietal. In a restaurant, especially some chain restaurants, they will have inexpensive wines (at a markup no doubt) that you can try. Many wines under $15 is that they will stay very constant from year to year, so you are less likely to be surprised by a new vintage.

I like a variety of wines, so when I look for everyday wines, I am looking at a broad spectrum of wines, both domestic and international. You may be a Merlot or a Cabernet Sauvignon drinker, which narrows the field quite a bit. I like some variety and some signs of craftsmanship, even in my everyday wines. If you look around, you can find wines under $15, and definitely under $20 that have this quality. Here, you will find some variation from vintage to vintage, but that adds to the variety!

So let me start with two red wines that have, for me, been very reliable over time. They are under $15, both are imported, and each has a bit more to offer than the standard-brand or bulk wine product. The vintage will be whatever is currently available – it is unlikely that wine merchants are holding these for aging.

Wine - penfolds-koonunga-hill-shiraz-cabernet-sauvignon-south-australia-10248270
A Good One from Australia.

Penfolds Koonunga Hill Shiraz/Cabernet: I began drinking this wine in 2003. Penfolds is the flagship wine brand of Australia, makers of the legendary Penfolds Grange (which is near the very top of my bucket list) Shiraz wine. The Koonunga Hill label is second from the bottom in the Penfolds hierarchy – above the very pedestrian Rawson’s Retreat label. I have tried the Koonunga Hill Shiraz and the Cabernet as separate varietals, and find that the blending of these two grapes creates the most satisfying experience. The 2011 vintage is the most likely on to be on your retailer’s shelf. It is a 62% Shiraz 38% Cabernet blend (this will vary from year to year) and is 13.5% alcohol, which I prefer to the heavier levels of alcohol in may California everyday wines, which are usually just hot and not very well balanced. The Koonunga Hill Shiraz Cabernet is great with red meat and will hold up to BBQ sauces and spiced foods as well. The wine will age for 8 to 10 years, but this wine is not made to age, so drink it right from the shelf.

Wine - Los-Vascos-Cabernet-Sauvignon
From Chateau LaFite Rothschild in Chile.

Los Vascos Cabernet Sauvignon: I came across Los Vascos when I was living in South Florida and it came with a great story. A friend was the supervising flight attendant on a private Boeing 727 belonging to the CEO of a South American subsidy of a large US corporation. The CEO was really into wine – he would send my friend on the plane to Paris to load on first growth Bordeaux’s and Burgundies – you get the idea. At the time, the Los Vascos (from Chile) was retailing for about $7. My friend gave her boss a glass on a flight and he really liked it (probably a good thing for her career). He then began to serve it on his plane to his high-roller friends and did not tell them what it was. Pretty much everyone took it for a premium wine.

So what is this wine? Well, it is a large production wine from the Chateau Lafite Rothchild vineyards in Chile. There are a couple of reserve versions of the wine that come in at higher prices – from about $20 up to $65. Today, the basic Los Vascos Cabernet retails for $14 but can usually be had for $10 to $12 or less from a variety of retailers. The website recommends decanting for about an hour before drinking this wine, although I have never done this. You will find notes of ripe fruit, good structure, and hints of a variety of mineral notes – which most of us experience differently. This is a great wine with roasted and grilled meats.

All three of these wines are what I like in an everyday wine. A few others that I imbibe fairly regularly are Bogle Old Vine Zinfandel ($9 to $12); Norton Reserve Malbec, Mendoza, Argentina ($14 to $20); Luigi Pira Dolcetto d’Alba, Piedmont, Italy ($12 to $18); plus many more. You have probably noted that most of the wines listed here are imported. For some reason, producers around the globe seem to be able to get well-crafted wines made and shipped to the US at everyday wine prices. It’s a paradox.

There are lots of decent wines in this price range – ask your wine retailer to guide you to those undiscovered gems in the shop – everyplace has some of these wines. As always, once you find what you like, begin to branch out and explore wines like those.

MY FAVORITE WINERIES AND VINEYARDS – Clos Pepe Estate

Winery Visit, , , , , ,

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

Winery Visit, , , , , , , ,

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.

INTO THE WINE CO-OP VAULT

Wine Education,

On Wednesday afternoon, out of the blue, I get a call inviting Dorianne and I over to our Conejo Valley Wine Co-op wine maker’s home to taste a variety of wines made for the co-op from 1994 to 1998. The wines had been stored in a member’s cellar and he was no longer going to drink wine, so he was giving them to the current and former wine makers.

We arrived about 90 minutes later to find 28 wines lined up on a counter in Richard and Mary’s kitchen, with a few more bottles in the refrigerator. The wines, now 16 to 20 years old, were a mystery. Most had not been opened for over a decade.

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Part of the Line-Up.

So, we rolled up our sleeves and got to work.

Present were Richard Clark our current wine maker, his wife, Mary Stec; Dennis Weiher, the winemaker for the first 20+ years of the co-op’s existence; and John Trickett, an early member of the co-op who had helped make most of these wines. John is also the owner of the wines in question.

The wines ranged from Cabernet Sauvignon to Merlot to Zinfandel to Cab Franc to Petite Syrah to Freisa to Grignolino to Chardonnay to Semillon, to Riesling (in sweet and dry versions). There was even two kinds of Meade – regular honey Meade and a clover Meade.

Glasses at the ready, water, a bit of cheese and some crackers, dump and spit buckets, and we began.

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Getting Ready to Taste.
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First Glass.

We worked our way through, varietal by varietal, with relevant blends in between. The co-op wines are made Garagiste style, meaning in this case in a suburban driveway/garage. Fruit was sourced mostly in the Santa Ynez – Paso Robles – Los Alamos areas by Dennis and John. They were essentially experimenting with various wine making techniques in fermentation and storage. Because of this and for myriad other reasons, we did not know how much, if any, of this wine would still be good.

The first pass through, we came up with a few winners – three whites of five, a Chardonnay, a Semillon, and the sweet Riesling had held up very well – good color, nice nose, and drinkable to very drinkable. All but the merest trace of fruit was gone in most of these wines, but they had aged well.

The reds were literally all over the place. Three were nice right out of the bottle – especially a Cabernet Franc that would rate in the high 80’s to low 90’s; a Cabernet Sauvignon from 1997 was a winner, and a Merlot from 1998.. Seven wines were set aside to open up, and the other 16 reds were undrinkable.

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John Led Us Through His Co-op Library.

Then dinner – Mary had “whipped up” pasta pomodoro and a big bowl of clams, mussels and crabs in a light tomato sauce, and some cole slaw. The Cab Franc disappeared during the dinner.

We moved to the dessert wine and Meades after dinner. Mary brought out some homemade coconut sorbet to help us along.  The sweet Riesling was simply amazing – as good a dessert wine as I have had. It was balanced beautifully, with a very nice nose, viscous mouth feel and a very pleasant aftertaste; the bad news – only two other bottles left. The honey Meade, too, was beautiful – viscous, sweet, but not too sweet, and a very nice aftertaste. The clover Meade was poured over the sorbet and tasted from the glass – it was elegant – sweet and savory with a very nice mouth feel. Excellent.

This was a rare opportunity to explore and to realize that amateur winemaking can, indeed, produce nice, drinkable wines that will age. The co-op wines have improved over the years, as the winemakers have learned more about their craft. I can’t wait to taste the 2014’s in about 20 years.

WESTLAKE VILLAGE/ THOUSAND OAKS WINE WARS?

Wine Opinion,

Rumor has it that the Duke of Bourbon will be moving their considerable retail establishment to the Westlake Village/Thousand Oaks area in the near future. If that is so, they will join Wade’s Wines, the largest independent retailer in the area, along with Bev-Mo and the behemoth Total Wines and Spirits and Costco, which are already here. This is in addition to dozens of smaller retailers, grocery stores with large wine departments, and several new tasting rooms and custom crush operations.

I guess the question is, how much wine can one area consume? While Westlake Village is home to many wealthy wine consumers, bringing another mega-retailer to the area may well mean that some thinning out will result.

Total Wine and Spirits carries about 9,000 wines, and Wade’s recently expanded to carry about that same number, plus they added to their bar/tasting room. Bev-Mo offers several thousand wines and their famous 5 cents sale, which, due to the competition, is happening nearly every month. Costco in Westlake Village has a huge wine inventory for a Costco, but definitely not the selection of the other large shops.

It remains to be seen what kind of operation the Duke will bring to the area, but I assume that they will be in the same ballpark as the bigger retailers noted above. It will be interesting to see how all of this evolves. For a while, anyway, it should be very good for consumers, as the big boys will fight for market share with discounts. Wine lovers will likely be attracted from other areas to shop, taste, and explore what should be an amazing selection of wines and wine-related items.

There is also news on the wine bar and tasting room fronts here. The WineYard recently closed (one of my favorite places), citing package store competition from Total Wines and Spirits and wine bar completion from Bellavino and The Stonehaus as primary factors. The Stonehaus, a recent addition on the Westlake Village Inn property has been packed on two recent visits. The combination of indoor and outdoor seating and the very pleasant surroundings (including a small vineyard), make for a very nice experience.

On the tasting room front, two new tasting rooms have opened in the area – Alma Sol, sharing space with Sunland Wines in Thousand Oaks (see previous post about our visit there), and Altabella Custom Crush in Westlake Village. These join the Cuvee Terrace and J. Hamilton Wines in Westlake Village. There are apparently some others coming soon, adding to the wine-centric focus in this area of late. And all of this within a few miles of the emerging wine AOC’s in Malibu and the many tasting rooms there.

So consider Westlake Village/Thousand Oaks a new wine destination in California. Meanwhile, we will see how all of this shakes out..

SOME UNUSUAL WINES THIS WEEKEND

Wine Review, , , ,

We drank three rather unusual wines this weekend. On Friday, we attended a clambake with three other couples. The event was hosted by Richard Clark, our wine co-op wine maker and his wife, Mary Stec, at their home. In addition to fresh Maine lobsters, mussels, clams (including belly clams), Jonah crab claws, chorizo sausage, etc., etc., there were two very special wines (among several).

Wine - Italian White Label
The 1998 Praepositus Weiss

First, Richard brought a 1998 Abbazia di Novacella (Stiftskellerei Neustift) Weiss Praepositus out of his cellar. That mouthful is actually a northern Italian white wine that obviously from the part of Italy near Switzerland. The 1998 Praepositus Weiss is a white blend – I was unable to find the specific varietals included, although they grow Sylvaner, Grüner Veltliner, Kerner, Pinot Grigio and Müeller Thurgau grapes in the producer’s vienyards. The winery, Abbazia di Novacella, is a monastery.

The wine was very dry and lacked an strong sense of fruit, both on the nose and in the mouth. The color was golden yellow – the wine had aged well, and if anything, it seemed like it could use a few more years in the bottle, even though it was a 1998. Hints of earth and minerality showed. The wine was a good accompaniment to the seafood, and it lasted about ten minutes with four couples present.

Wine - Meursault Label
The 2010 Meursault

The second wine was one that I brought, a 2010 Pierre-Andre Les Cromins Meursault from Burgundy. Dorianne and I purchased the bottle at the winery north of Beaune, when we got lost. The welcoming sign of a chateau with a wine barrel with two bottle sitting atop it caused us to turn off of the road. We had a wonderful time exploring the caves beneath the chateau and tasting some amazing wines. A couple from Australia was there on an around-the-world trip, so we had a nice conversation with them.

The Meursault was, well, delicious. The nose was both fruity (pear, green apple) and herbaceous at the same time. The wine was very smooth and was a perfect accompaniment for those Maine Lobsters.

The next evening, we had to help Mary and Richard polish off all that seafood. Mary decided to make a cioppino – and she made a beautiful one! I scoured my wine cellar (actually located in about 6 places around the house – need to attend to that soon), for something red, Italian, and not too acidic to go with the tomato in the cioppino. I found a bottle of 2009 Marangi Negoramaro that I had purchased a year or so earlier from Wines-Till-Sold-Out. I was curious about the fairly rare Negroamaro varietal.

Wine - Marangi Negroamaro
The 2009 Marangi Negromaro

The wine is very dry, moderately tannic and acidic, herbaceous with hints of leather and dirt on the nose. The taste was more of the earth than the fruit. I went perfectly with the cioppino in my opinion. Dorianne preferred the Pinot Noir from Tolosa in the Edna Valley provided by our host. I recalled that Dorianne had not really liked the wine when I opened the first bottle a while back. She is consistent!

I am not sure if you can find any of these wines easily or at all. I thought I would share the experience, because it is fun to explore and to hear about the unusual.

What unusual wines are you drinking lately?

EARTHQUAKE HITS NAPA VALLEY

Uncategorized

Today, Sunday, August 24th, a 6.0 quake and several aftershocks hit the Napa Valley area near American Canyon. There is fairly significant damage and over 70 hospital admissions as of this moment.

For updates: http://news.kron4.com/

LATimes.com story on the effect on wineries: LATimes

These photos show some of the damage. Let’s pray for all affected and trust that the wine industry will emerge relatively unscathed from this event.

Wine - Napa Quake 2014
A Mess in the Storage Room – Unknown Location
Wine - Napa Quake 2014-SilverOak
Damage at Silver Oak Winery