2012 vintage in photos

2012 was a new beginning. It was a culmination in a chain of life events that ultimately brought me to Santa Barbara County. Wine wasn’t really a part of it, although it definitely added to the excitement of the destination.

Among the myriad ways in which wine romances and symbolizes deeper things, to me the cycle of the vine is chief among them. There are new beginnings, struggles and challenges throughout a vintage. Crazy important decisions are made at crucial junctures. Mistakes are sometimes made and hard lessons are learned. Ultimately the cycle ends, people commemorate, and fruits of the labor move on to a whole new set of trials.

So with these things in mind, I’m commemorating my first year living near all things vineyard and wine. I've compiled photos taken throughout the vintage. Please enjoy!

Stolpman Vineyard, Ballard Canyon, Santa Ynez Valley- January

Rusack Vineyard, Ballard Canyon, Santa Ynez Valley- January

El Jalabi Vineyard at Alma Rosa, Sta. Rita Hills- February

Bud break at Clos Pepe Vineyard, Sta. Rita Hills- April

Evening Land Vineyard entrance, Sweeney Canyon Rd, Sta. Rita Hills- May

Spring in the Santa Ynez Valley- May

Flowering Chardonnay at Rita's Crown Vineyard, Sta. Rita Hills- May

Checking on Bratcher Chardonnay at Rita's Crown Vineyard, Sta. Rita Hills- May

Fruit set (Pinot Noir) at Bent Rock Vineyard, Sta. Rita Hills- June

Bent Rock Vineyard, Sta. Rita Hills- June

Smith Madrone Vineyard, Napa Valley- early July

Cab Sauv at Kronos Vineyard, Napa Valley- early July

Zinfandel at Ridge Lytton Springs, Dry Creek Valley- early July

Pinot Noir in veraison, Melville Vineyard in Sta. Rita Hills- late July

Pinot Noir in veraison, Santa Maria Valley- late July

Lynn Penner-Ash, pruning "shoulders" off the  Pinot Noir clusters, Willakenzie, Willamette Valley- August

Sunset overlooking the Willamette Valley, Willakenzie- August

Westside Paso Robles, Terry Hoage Vineyard- early September

Ripening Chardonnay, Cambria in Santa Maria Valley- September

Ripening Pinot Noir, Cambria in Santa Maria Valley- September 

Harvesting Pinot Noir at Clos Pepe- September

The crew at Clos Pepe harvesting Pinot Noir for Arcadian Winery

Down time

Happy Wine Wednesday! I'm taking the week off from blogging- catch you next week!

Something dirty and rowdy this way comes.

If there’s a single migratory pattern worth mentioning since the last US census, it would have to be renegade wine bloggers moving west to stake claims in the wine business. Whether in wine writing, social media, or winemaking, there are plenty of fresh faces and interesting projects.

And if one person blazed the trail, it would have to be Hardy Wallace. From the Dirty South Wine blog, to high profile social media work with wineries, to finding a home championing and then making minimal-intervention “natural” wine, Hardy’s smiling face and genuinely enthusiastic (yet sarcastic) wit have become something of a personal brand. All of this has culminated with the first release of Dirty and Rowdy Family Winery, a partnership of Hardy and fellow Atlanta ex-pat and food blogger/videographer Matt Richardson.

Their winery features aesthetics more akin to an indie rock band than a winery. A surreal cartoon involving a leopard, snake, weedwhacker and hedge clippers adorns the label. Artsy still life photos of people and winery scenes and iron skillet fried chicken are prominent on a website proclaiming them as “America’s #1 Winery.” As a Generation X’er informed by the counter-cultural and subversive aesthetics of 80’s hardcore punk, these are all things that I enjoy and appreciate. It’s kitschy and clever without undermining the integrity of the winery.

As for the wine, the varietals are Sémillon and Mourvedré. The first release features a 2011 Semillon from the Gamble Vineyard in Yountville in Napa Valley, and a pair of Mourvedré wines (2010 and 2011) from the Santa Barbara Highlands Vineyard in a remote eastern corner of Santa Barbara County.

I opened a bottle of the 2011 Dirty and Rowdy Sémillon, Yountville,Napa Valley ($28) to pair with rosemary roasted chicken. This is from valley floor silt soils. Fermentation was divided into to two native fermentations, one taking place in concrete egg and the other on the skins in open-top fermenters. Aging took place in neutral French oak.

In the glass the maceration on the skins showed in the rich and cloudy gold color. The bouquet presented a mélange of interesting expressions – running the gamut from dried floral, to white pepper & herb, to mushroom & earth, to frommage and then to citrus zest. Complex but wound tightly. It was surprisingly rich on the palate considering the low alcohol (+/- 12.5%), with crisp freshness along with mineral and earthy highlights accenting the floral fruit and spice. It had that nicely weighted gliding thing going on throughout the palate before finishing with fine tannin. Rich and complex and structured are the keys here.

This is serious Sémillon. If you ever pine for aged Hunter Valley Sémillon then sock this baby away for a bit and let it unfold- this could satisfy that urge. Or just open it and let it breathe and enjoy – it’s beautiful stuff, and an exciting new addition to the new wave of California wine. 

The everyday luxury side of Bordeaux

All I really want out of an inexpensive bottle of Bordeaux is something to remind me of how great the bottles are that either a) I can’t afford, or b) I have but can’t open. So when I opened a bottle of 2006 Château Listran from the Médoc, I hoped for just a little reminder of something special.

2006 Château Listran, Médoc

This is a wine that has some availability in the US. It was formerly imported by Palm Bay, and Winesearcher shows some amount remaining at retail between $16 and $19.

Classified as Cru Bourgeois, the estate is located in the lower elevation Médoc AOC north of the four famous communes of the left bank. They grow primarily Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot along with small amounts of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot in gravelly sedimentary soils from the Garonne River. With acreage under vine at the estate once as high as 875, a succession of owners have reduced the acreage under vine to as low as 55 acres today. Current production is approximately 200,000 bottles. 

The wine is vinified using traditional methods and is finished in tank, aging of 90% of the wines taking place in barrel (20% new) for 12 months. It is bottled unfiltered.

In the glass was a dense ruby color with emerging aromas of dried lavender and sandstone, along with cherry and raspberry fruit -- overall a really pretty ethereal elegance that was the highlight of the wine for me. The notes were consistent on the palate although not as striking, with the fruit still showing nicely. Medium bodied and angular in structure, it added hints of black olive and espresso through the mid palate before finishing with firm tannins. The flavor profile was very nice and it drank well overall, albeit with a short finish.

I opened it for simple steaks on the grill, and it worked very well as a dinner companion before putting half the bottle away under The Wine Shield for two days. The revisit two days later day showed more of the oak and less of the vivacity from the fruit and florals, although it was still drinking well.

So was it what I was looking for? The beautiful bouquet and flavor highlights were easy to like and served as a reminder of greater things. Another reminder was the value of this price point in Bordeaux. If not this wine again, I’ll ask for a recommendation from my local wine shop. There’s plenty out there.