The wine slump.

Do you ever get into a wine slump?

To me this is along the same lines as a food slump. I sometimes get tired of everything I'm eating. Nothing sounds good, and nothing new or different easily comes to mind.

There's a great lyric to a song from the band Nada Surf that describes this. The song is called 'Fruit Fly' and its lyrics vividly illustrate depression from the perspective of the writer's mundane observations and subsequent thoughts in observing fruit flies in his kitchen.

"Left straight right straight
I can't find a reason
I know I'll keep going but
I can't find a reason
Nothing looks right
Nothing smells right
And I can't land"

These "slumps" that I speak of are probably rooted in some form of anxiety or depression. The world has seemed particularly dark and bleak to me recently... Elections cycles are great to remind me of how dysfunctional we can be as a society. Storms, heatwaves, and droughts are constant reminders of the fragile world in which we live.

Personally and professionally, I'm feel like I'm in a bit of a purgatory. I know, I know I should just be happy to be working. Whatever.

So the wine slump... I love tasting different wines. And despite the awesomeness of moving to an area among vineyards and winemaking, my tasting regimen has suffered since getting to my destination. Before I got here I had a career in wine -- equal parts exhilarating and exhaustion. Lots of exposure and learning, but lots of stress and headache. There was no time to do the blog. Now my career is outside of wine. I've tried to move the passion for wine into a hobby by getting back into blogging, and through part-time winery work here in the Santa Ynez Valley.

Something is missing though. I'm aimlessly looking for forced exposure to new and exciting wines. Everything seems stale. I'm trying to find my way back into that exhaustion and stress. Maybe a new wave of inspiration will strike and the blog can fill the void. Short of that, all that I have to offer right now is this meandering reflection of my non-inspiration.

By the way, when mired in a wine slump and food slump, high quality store-bought sushi (thanks El Rancho Market!) and Gruet Blanc de Noirs are a good start in climbing out!

Oh yeah, check out Fruit Fly... it's a great tune.
 

THE SEARCH IS OVER! (for your next "interesting white")

Renegade Wines is one of the more unique wine stores that I've been to. It’s like the underground speakeasy of wine shops – unassumingly located in a warehouse complex in Santa Barbara. They offer a smart selection specializing primarily in California and French wines – as well as little idiosyncrasies like maybe or maybe not being there when you drop by (they’re sometimes off making local deliveries). But when you can get in the door, you’re sure to have an interesting conversation about wine and be turned on to some cool stuff.

Last week was their monthly Friday tasting, which featured Spanish, French and Italian wines from an area wine distributor. While there was a nice assortment of quality wines at attractive price points throughout the selection, what really stood out to me was a vibrant white from the Apulia (the heel) region of Southern Italy. This Apulia white comes from the Verdeca grape, a varietal native to Southern Italy that shows vibrant mineral and acid alongside its fruit despite it thriving in the warmer climates of Southern Italy.

While Apulia may not have the same caché that Italy’s regions to the north and northwest have, it does produce more wine than any other region in Italy. It is known more for its reds than whites – namely the juicy reds made from Primitivo and the more structured reds made from Negro Amaro. And while whites take a back seat to reds in almost every region of Italy (with the exception of Pinot Grigios from Alto-Adige and Friuli-Venezia Giulia), I believe that Italy is a treasure trove for those wines you often see listed as “interesting whites” on wine lists and in wine shops.

Masseria Li Veli’s 2011 Askos, Valle d’Itria IGT comes from eastern oriented 1000+ feet elevations in the Salento region of Apulia, between the Ionic and Adriatic Seas. The maritime location allows for a cooling evening influence tempering the hot dry summers. It comes from 32 year old vineyards and calcareous & sedimentary soils. Fermentation is on the skins and takes place in cold temperature-controlled tanks with malolactic fermentation inhibited.

The profile is bright, full and lively – with floral, honeyed and tropical aromas. There are vibrant tropical and citrus flavors on the palate. It’s crisp with strong mineral notes, and fully textured with a juicy finish. It has the vibrancy for mussels, but the weight for heavier seafood pasta. It doesn’t need food though – it has plenty of pure bright tropical fruit to sit and enjoy. The retail is about $25, and it certainly hits the mark as a white bringing something special and different to the table.

If you can’t find the Masseria Li Veli Askos, do a little research on some other good options from the Verdeca grape in Apulia. It’s an obscure Italian white worth seeking out. 

A couple of palate refreshers

Last month I wrote about the new Dirty & Rowdy Family Wines project, and profiled the 2011 Yountville Semillon. As a follow up I’d like to give a couple of impressions on their 2010 Santa Barbara Highlands Vineyard Mourvedré.

The mourvedré is grown at high altitudes in the arid eastern mountains of Santa Barbara County (far away from the idyllic Santa Ynez Valley). Dirty and Rowdy produce it with whole cluster fermentation, native yeast, no temperature control during fermentation, and with light foot-treading. Aging takes place in neutral French oak.  

The result is a wine that runs contrary to how one might think of mourvedré. It’s dark in color, but with clarity that brings levity to the appearance. Think elegance rather than concentration – with aromas of lavender & herb, blue fruit and spice melding through into the palate. Vibrant floral fruit flavors accompany subtle underbrush and spice. With a silky and fine structure – it’s very pinot noir-like in feel; finishing with lingering peppery fruit. The acid is good and the wine has plenty of ripeness given a very modest ABV of 12.8%.

Not only is it an excellent wine, it’s interesting. Like the Semillon, it’s a definitely something different. I served it with baked salmon – the elegance, good acidity, and pure fragrant fruit flavors made it a great match.

It’s too late to buy this wine from the winery, so you might have to do some digging around for it. The retail is around $36.

Another winner is the 2011 Schloss Gobelsburg Riesling (Kamptal, Austria). This wine is a Terry Theise selection, from an ancient estate undergoing qualitative changes and offering good overall values.

This dry riesling is grown in Kamptal’s sandstone, slate and gravel soils. It’s light gold in the glass; with an expressive slate, citrus zest and lilac nose. It has vibrancy on the palate with appealing front-palate acid. There’s ripe citrus with mineral and spice depth, along with hints of black pepper. The palate presence is there throughout with good weight. The finish is tangy and juicy - very enjoyable. The price is nice as well at around $18.

Another defense of California Syrah

Tasting some memorable Syrah at Piedrasassi

In a blog post last week, Steve Heimoff critiqued California Syrah in general as having quality issues due to a lagging price point. Flaws such as brettanomyces and searing acid were listed by Mr. Heimoff as stumbling blocks to the varietal being on the top echelon of California red wine. And it was theorized that due to its price point being behind top reds such as Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinot Noir, producers are not making the necessary investments into production in order to make the best possible wines. In short, due to the market the grape doesn't meet its potential in the state.

It’s an interesting observation. Syrah’s greatest strength can sometimes be its greatest weakness. Its versatility as a grape – growing effectively in a variety of climates and locales – creates different profiles of wine that can be confusing to the average consumer. As a result, domestic wine tends to struggle in the three-tier system as distributors and retailers tend to gravitate toward things that roll quickly downhill. Throw on top the confusion people can easily run into about what is Shiraz? Petite Sirah?

Syrah seems to do best in the hands of producers selling directly to a consumer base that they can taste and educate on the wines. Or in the hands of sommeliers who can educate staff and guests on how versatile it can be with a menu; or how it expresses differently according to climate and terroir. Once the mysteries are unraveled, Syrah doesn't seem to have a problem attracting fans – both consumers as well as other wine critics.

A flaw such as brettanomyces that's listed in the blog post comes from uncleanliness in the cellar, and it doesn’t discriminate by varietal. Acidity is a virtue in California wine, not an problem. The best examples of California Syrah have a juicy acidity built around the fruit and depth. And is Syrah any more uneven in quality than Pinot or Cab in California? There are plenty of flabby overripe Pinots and Cabs, up to the highest price points.

The quality of Syrah in California is the least of its problems. There are plenty of great options in all price points and of varying styles. Value is excellent as well – I believe that one can consistently be amazed by California Syrah at price points well under those of top Cab and Pinot.

Here are four excellent California Syrah wines that I’ve had over the last few months that represent excellence, variety and value.

Tercero 2007 Thompson Vineyard Syrah, Santa Barbara County- From steep south-facing hillsides in the Los Alamos Valley of Santa Barbara County. 25% whole clusters. Lots going on. Bitter chocolate, cassis, cracked pepper, blueberry aromatics. All that and more pure fruit on the palate- blue and black. Smooth and round and polished- a pretty wine with fine balance. A full finish with peppery fine tannins. Excellent stuff. $30.

Cambria 2009 Tepusquet Vineyard Syrah, Santa Maria Valley- Loamy soils. Destemmed and cold soaked for 7 days. Pressed off at 2-3 degrees brix with fermentation finishing in barrel. Purple black opaque appearance. Primary notes of black olive, tomato skin, lavender and peppercorn. Ripe notes of cassis and black cherry forward on the palate. Round and polished with nice balance. Fine tannins and juicy acid on the finish, along with lingering fruit. Nice wine and very nice QPR. $22.

Piedrasassi 2009 Rimrock Vineyard Syrah, San Luis Obispo County- From cool-climate coastal southern San Luis Obispo County (around Nipomo). 100% whole cluster. New and neutral French oak. Aromatic savory fruit nose. Amazingly bright and vibrant with electric acid and pure fruit along with spice and long earthy depth. Firm structure and long finish. A great wine. $56.

Copain 2009 Les Voisins Syrah, Yorkville Highlands, Mendocino Co- Vineyard blend coming mostly from schist soils. Aging in neutral French oak. Plump aromatics of black pepper, black olive, marinating beef, violet and plum. Pure fruit and savory depth on the palate- seamlessly woven with fleshy feel and fine firm tannins and full finish. Deft balance. Excellent. $34.

A day in the cellar

Thanks to Joe Davis and Chris Bratcher for the generosity of their time and for their teaching and sharing spirit. I was able to work a day of crush at Arcadian Winery this weekend - my first day of meaningful time in a working winery.

First was a session of pigeage through the various fermenting lots of Arcadian and Bratcher Pinot Noir. This is the traditional foot-treading (as opposed to punch downs) of the grapes submerging the cap of skins and clusters back into the wine. It’s like jumping into quicksand, with the cap quickly giving way to the fermenting juice below. And with about 5-10 minutes in each bin churning about 3 feet worth of wine, it’s hard work. Also depending on the stage of fermentation, it may either be hot or cold on the bins.

The most difficult part of the whole thing though is pulling yourself out of the fermenter, and balancing yourself back onto the ladder without touching the floor, before moving on to the next fermenter. At about the time I got into a groove with all this, I got an audience of guests visiting the winery!

Later it was sorting the previous night’s harvest (Clone 115 from Clos Pepe for Arcadian) of Pinot Noir going into the destemmer. This is looking for poor clusters to sort out- botrytis or green berries. It’s also looking for good looking clusters to separate out and put into the fermenter whole. The free-run juice from the sorting table, and the juice and skins from the destemmer, goes on into the fermenter. The best-looking bins of grapes were spared the de-stemmer and shoveled into the fermenter whole-cluster.

Below are a few pictures I took. Unfortunately no action-shots of the pigeage, but you can get an idea of what I was jumping into.

Getting ready for the pigeage

Taking a break on the forklift while Joe entertains guests

Part of the prior night's harvest

Clone 115 going into the destemmer

Cold-soaking clone 115 pinot noir