VinoWeek - Episode 52 - A Grape Glut = Bargains for Consumers

It’s been a tough couple of weeks for Californians. Bill and I can add evacuee to our resumes as residents of Sebastopol and many other areas of Sonoma County were evacuated due to the Kincade wildfire. Firefighters made their stand at the edge of the foothills as the fires moved downhill towards the densely populated town of Windsor. Many lessons have been learned since the Tubbs fire in the fall of 2017 and in the end the town was saved.

Restaurateurs in Sonoma County are struggling with business interruptions from planned power shutoffs and the recent fires. Many are absorbing the losses while other restaurant owners have elected to close. Heather Irwin of Sonoma Magazine writes a piece that explores how business owner are facing the realities of the PG& E public safety power shutdowns.

E.J. Gallo has just purchased Pahlmeyer, a high end Napa Valley Wine Brand. W. Blake Gray gives us some details about the buyout.

West coast grape growers are in the middle of a grape glut. The glut is putting a lot of pressure on wineries and growers and is forcing many to make some tough decisions. The pain that those businesses are experiencing is translating into some very good bargains for wine consumers.

Bill and I discuss these items and more in this week's addition of VinoWeek. Thanks to everyone for listening. Cheers!

photo courtesy of tenuta di bibbiano

We have four holiday wine recommendations this week. First up is a 2016 Chianti Classico from Tenuta di Bibbiano from the commune of Castellina in Chianti. Bibbiano is managed by Tommaso and Federico Marrocchesi Marzi, the fifth generation of a family that has owned the property since 1865. 100% Sangiovese the organically farmed grapes are hand harvested and fermented in stainless steel for about two weeks. After the wine is racked and pressed it spends one year in traditional concrete vats. This is a wonderfully enjoyable, fruity Chianti. The nose show loads of rich red cherry, earth, spice and garrique. On the palate more of that very distinctive savory-sweet, red fruit with delightful balance and it’s strikingly drinkable. I tasted the bottle over four nights using no nitrogen to preserve it. All I did was pour a glass each night cork the bottle and put it back in the fridge. It wasn’t until the third night that it started showing signs of getting a bit tired. This Chianti would easily compliment a variety of dishes on your holiday dinner table. 5,800 cs, 14.5 abv $18 Buy it here.

photo courtesy of tenuta di bibbiano

Trentadue’s Old Patch Red is a perennial favorite of mine. Trentadue is the Italian word for thiry-two. Leo Trentadue moved his family from a Santa Clara ranch where they farmed cherries and apricots in 1959, to Geyserville in the heart of Alexander Valley. He bought a 208 acre ranch that was planted mostly with plum trees, but there were also 60 acres of grape vines. Leo never pulled those vines up, he just planted more grapes. A decade later Leo sold 20 acres of his ranch to Pillsbury, a food company looking to get into the wine business. Through many boom and bust cycles that Pillsbury winery (formerly Chateau Souverain) is now in the capable of hands of Francis Ford Coppola. A wide variety of wines are made at Trentadue and the Old Patch Red (OPR) as the newly redesigned label signifies is their entry level red. The 2016 version of OPR wine has a newer fresher style to it. It doesn’t have the same grit and rough around the edges profile of past years. The winemaker Miro Tcholakov loves working with Zinfandel and Petite Sirah and the OPR shows he knows what he’s doing. 67% Zinfandel, 25% Petite Sirah, 5% Carignane, 3% Syrah the wine spends 9 months in 15% new oak. It has a deep ruby color, with a black cherry-cola nose, with loads of vanilla, oak and spice. On the palate it exhibits juicy black and red fruit. It’s sappy and slightly sweet and polished and finishes long with some nice spice as well. It’s sealed with a screw cap so it’s meant to drink now, but you don’t need to worry if you lose a few bottle in your wine stash because this one has some staying power. 5,972 cs, 14.5 abv $14 Buy it here.

Cellar Cal Pla 2016 Black Slate is a wine from the village of Porrera in the winemaking area of Priorat and is situated roughly an hour and 45 minutes southwest of Barcelona in north-eastern Spain. The importer is Eric Solomon who imports wine predominantly from France and the Iberian Peninsula. If you’ve listened to any of our podcasts you’ve probably heard me talking about the importance of finding an importer whose wines align with your taste and trying other wines that they import. I’ve learned that Eric Solomon Selections is an importer you can count on to bring in uncommon wines from unique places.

Bush vines in MAs-d’en -compte Priorat - photo courtesy of Eric Soloman Selections

Priorat is a wine region that was rediscovered in the early 1990s and one could make an argument that Eric helped bring the region its new acclaim. The regions stony soils are covered with black slate, called llicorella locally. Its steep terraced hillsides make it nearly impossible to farm mechanically. So here’s the formula. Organic farming, old vines 15 to 80 years of age, meager yields, steeply terraced vineyards that are hand farmed and harvested. Add to that a wine that is comprised of 50% Garnacha (Grenache), 40% Carinena (Carignan) and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, fermented in steel and concrete using natural yeast and matured for a year in 3 to 7 year old French and Hungarian oak barrels and you have a stunning example of a wine that exemplifies place over technique. The nose shows beautiful black and blue fruit, crushed rocks, spice and tar. On the palate black fruit, smoke and an earthy minerality. It’s full bodied and the acids and tannins are in perfect focus. The finish is deep and savory. It drinks really well as soon as you pop the cork but do yourself a favor and set aside a glass when you open a bottle and come back to it a few hours later. You’ll be glad you did. A remarkable value at $18 a bottle. 2916cs, 15% abv Buy it here.

photo courtesy of Eric soloman selections

wines to please you guests for the holidays

The 2015 By Clinet Pomerol is a special bottling by the Clinet Wine Group. This wine was created for near term drinking while you’re waiting for your $125 bottles of Chateau Clinet to mature. I try not to recommend wines that are difficult to find. By Clinet Pomerol will be hard to find in the U. S. although it can be found in European markets. About 10 to 30 percent of the Gran Vin Chateau Clinet goes into this wine and the rest of the blend is sourced from neighboring Pomerol properties. The average age of the vines is 42 years and the blend is 88% Merlot, 12% Cabernet Sauvignon. Black cherries, plums and licorice on the nose, in the mouth silky lush red fruit. The tannins are refined and the acidity gives the wine a nice lift all the while the fruit is ripe and sweet. Once I tried this wine I was immediately disappointed that I had only purchased four bottles. An incredible value at $45 almost a third of the price of Chateau Clinet.