Happy trails!

Exciting things are happening at Wine I Like! So much so that I'm taking the rest of April off from posting to concentrate on other things I have going on. I'll be attending the Wine Spectator Grand Tasting in San Francisco and then doing some Napa, Sonoma, and Mendocino wine tasting later this month. I look forward to posting on these excursions in May - until then, happy trails!

Sta. Rita Hills- here we grow again?

If you follow California Central Coast wine appellations, by now you've surely read about the proposed expansion of the Sta. Rita Hills AVA here in Santa Barbara County. Living close to the situation, it gives me a chance to put a face to a name, so to speak.

A sub-AVA of the larger Santa Ynez Valley, Sta. Rita Hills was established in 2001 to differentiate the cold, windy and fog-swept valleys between Purisima, Santa Rita, and Santa Rosa Hills running west-east between the towns of Lompoc & Buellton. Soils here contain diatomaceous earth in some locations and clay loam in others. The common markers of the wines here are earthy & well-structured Pinot Noir, bright mineral-driven citrus Chardonnay and dark savory Syrah.

The area in question for expansion is the eastern boundary along Highway 246. The hills here along the boundary take a turn southward effectively cutting off the upper valley of the AVA from areas east. From there, driving east toward Buellton the valley flattens and widens into the larger and warmer Santa Ynez Valley, where the grape varietals move away from the Burgundian and toward the Rhône.

The ownership of the Pence Ranch vineyard is petitioning the TTB for the change, contending that the site displays soils, climate, and varietals common to the AVA. That vineyard is located just over the hill along 246 east of the boundary. They grow Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, designating the AVA Santa Barbara County rather than Santa Ynez Valley. Two other vineyards- John Sebastiano just to the west and Rio Vista to the southeast straddle the boundary. None of the above vineyards were in existence at the time of the establishment of the AVA.

Wes Hagen of Clos Pepe Vineyards led the effort to establish the AVA and is the voice of the opposition to change it. The Sta. Rita Hills Winegrowers Alliance is also opposed to the change. The argument is that the southward hills dissecting Highway 246 at the east boundary is an essential line of demarcation for fog and the most extreme of the ocean influence, and that by redrawing the boundary further east into the “Buellton Flats” the natural geographic barrier is lost and the ability to further expand the AVA eastward into warmer areas is gained – potentially diluting what is one of the smallest and most unique AVA’s in California.

Similarly, an expansion of the Russian River AVA was approved in 2011. There, a huge business interest (Gallo) successfully expand an already huge AVA against vehement local opposition to include some of their vineyard holdings. The Russian River Valley is a great brand name but was already a huge area with different microclimates and a wide variety of wines produced. The difference here is that the business interests are much smaller, and the AVA is a sub-AVA of the larger Santa Ynez Valley. It would be like trying to expand the Green Valley AVA within the Russian River Valley, or the Yamhill-Carlton AVA within the Willamette Valley.

It’s an interesting dynamic. Personally, I tend to think conservatively about redrawing lines on such a finite area. Either way I look forward to get a better sense of both the pros and cons as the petition develops.

This bud break's for you and tasting at Curtis

Bud break is upon us in Santa Barbara County, most notably to the north in Santa Maria Valley, where early-budding Chardonnay is already greening up the vineyards. The Kendall-Jackson Chardonnay vineyards along 101 just north of Los Alamos are almost fully green.

Bud break at Bien Nacido, late-March 2013 

Further down Foxen Canyon Road in the Santa Ynez Valley, Rhône varietals at Curtis Winery are just starting to break.

Bud break at Curtis, late-March 2013

While at Curtis I tasted through a nice lineup of balanced and bright Rhône varietal wines. Most impressive to me were the 2011 Curtis Heritage Blanc, Santa Barbara County, with richly layered tropical and citrus notes along with honey and spice nuances. Among the reds the 2009 Curtis Rock Hollow Vineyard Syrah, Santa Ynez Valley is aged for 18 months in 40% new French oak and comes from their estate vineyard in Ballard Canyon. It shows an alluring complexity of spice, tea, earth, cracked pepper and brambly fruit that streamlines into blueberry and violet with subtle depth on the palate, finishing with firm polished structure and good length. Really a beautiful wine. Also the 2010 Curtis Reserve "GSM", Santa Ynez Valley (50% Grenache, 25% Syrah, 25% Mourvedre) showed an epic blend of meaty cassis, spice and blood orange fruit - layered, juicy and bright on the palate finishing with hints of clove and vanilla, firm silky tannins and good length - an outstanding wine. Click here for tasting notes on the current lineup at Curtis.

Wine freezing fallout, rosé tasted blind, & a nifty Mersault pairing

It's been a busy week at the world headquarters of Wine I Like! I think I bummed some folks out on Linked In with my wine freezing... My three commenters there seemed genuinely offended, although I'm not sure they actually read the blog post or checked the links. It's funny what gets people riled up.

Elsewhere, I participated in the latest installment of the Central Coast Wine Press Tasting Panel. We enjoyed  a couple of rosé wines tasted blind and paired with cheeses, charcuterie and pulled pork. One was Central Coast and the other Provence. The group opinions were mixed, but I definitely leaned toward the 2012 Domaine de la Fourquette Cotes du Provence Cuvee Rosee d'Aurore over the 2011 Carhartt Grenache Rosé Santa Ynez Valley. It was a contrast in styles - crisp, dry and aromatic newly released Provence vs round, full and luscious Central Coast with a year of bottle age. At any rate it was great fun with good folks. Click here to read Laurie's full notes on the evening.

Finally, I decided it was time to "close the deal" on a purchase I made from Wines 'Till Sold Out two years ago. I wanted to open my second and final bottle of 2007 Louis Latour Mersault-Blagny 1er Cru Château de Blagny ($37 each with free shipping), so I decided to search on Google for good Chardonnay pairings. What I found was a simple recipe of chicken leg quarters roasted in white wine, marjoram, cream & butter that was recommended for "medium oak-influenced Chardonnay" - the rich dark meat of the chicken alights the fruit and richness of the wine. It was a solid pairing and the wine showed well otherwise- Austere and nutty upon opening, it really came alive after an hour or two. Light gold in color with aromas of toasted almond, river rock and lemon zest. Bright citrus and stone fruit flavors framed with dried herb, mineral and nutty notes. Richly layered and brightly polished, with a full 45 second finish of spice, herb and citrus. It continued to improve until the end of the bottle. Very nice. Drink/short term hold. It was so good I didn't even have to freeze it!