Friday, April 29, 2011

Tablas Creek Industry Party

The hottest ticket in town the other night was the Tablas Creek Industry Party. A party for folks in the wine industry so that we could see their amazing new tasting room as well as taste through their new releasees. Too fun!

So here we go. Here's a shot of the new tasting room as well a shot looking out on their gorgeous patio:



So when we walked in, we first met up with Charlie who was working behind the tasting room bar. I asked him, "Hey Charlie, when did you start working here?" he answered,"2pm today!" Good God! But then I found out that Charlie was an old pro. He actually worked for Four Vines way back when. That's of course the company I work for now - although we switched the name to Cypher. But if you've worked for Four Vines with all the "trial by fire" weekends, you can work anywhere!

So Charlie started us off with the Vermentino - one of my favorites. I'll touch on the wines here but am saving the details for an upcoming blog. For now, let's have fun with who was there at this exclusive event :)

So here's our guy Charlie - pouring wines for boyfriend and I:


As we ventured to go out to the patio, we ran into the hottest chef in Paso - Chef Jacob, of course! Chef Jacob makes the food for Cass Winery as well as caters different events in the area. I hadn't seen Chef Jacob since the Windfall Farms Industry Event so it was quite the treat to chat with him. Here we are:


Then we were wandering around looking for more wine, when I found my friend Alex who works for Tablas Creek. She was in one of the "private" side rooms that they set aside for wine club or larger parties. So we basically had her all to ourselves, chatting about the wines, what was going on in her life and the new expansion at Tablas Creek. Here's my dear glam girl looking as gorgeous as ever:


Though she looks sweet, be on your best behavior around her. If you misbehave, she has a hammer behind the bar that she's more that willing to kick you ass with- so watch out! :) - HA! (just joking, of course - private joke.)

So after the wine, salad and pizza, we had to call it a night - but not before we got a shot of one of the most famous tasting room managers in the area - John Morris. He's the wizard of Tablas Creek - keeping all running from behind the curtain. This man is a wealth of information about Tablas Creek, Rhone varietals and the general area. Tablas Creek would not be the same without him.


Congrats to John, Jason  and everyone at Tablas Creek for the gorgeous new tasting room! Kudos to you! & thanks for the fabulous party. Can we do this again next month please?

Friday, April 22, 2011

My Visit to Edna Valley - Chamisal & Kynsi

So yesterday - on my one day off - I had to do a few errands in San Luis Obispo. But I was determined to make the most of it. So, after the errands, boyfriend and I headed to Edna Valley to do some wine tasting. All for educational purposes, of course!

But before I start....on April 15th, while working at Cypher, a couple (who are in our wine club) came in to taste on their way to their house on the coast. He is a cpa so I said to him, "It's tax day! Why aren't you working??" - HA! Of course, as he said, any of his clients who wanted to do their taxes had done them already. Now he was on vacation time and needed a well deserved break. We were chatting about lots of things including wineries in Edna Valley. Chris and Michelle specifically recommended Chamisal as they are wine club members there too. So that's why we headed straight to Chamisal when we entered SLO wine country. But I digress.......

So we get to Chamisal (think Sham-wow! for pronunciation) to see the most quaint and adorable tasting room. Jen, who is a lab technician for Chamisal was pouring for us. Here she is!



So we went through the wines - good God are they amazing! I have to say I've been to many wineries and Chamisal - in my not so humble opinion - is one of the best. We started off with the stainless steel chardonnay which was a beautiful, creamy version of stainless steel chard - nothing like I've ever had before. Then came the Califa Chard which is a blend of their best barrels and best clones. Simply incredible. It had a gorgeously smooth/velvet feel with hints of butterscotch and carmel. By this point Dana and I were in awe when Jen brought over the....

Califa Pinot Noir. This may well be the best pinot I've tasted in my life. It's one of those wines where you have to stop talking to folks and just focus on the wine to take it all in. I savored every drop and was secretly hoping that Jen would just come by and pour more for me!

Here's a photo of both the Califa (which means pretty one) Chard and Pinot:


So usually when I go to a winery, I take a sip or two of the wine, then dump the rest as I don't want to take in too much wine too quickly. But no way was I going to do that with the Chamisal wines! I savored every sip and drank all that I could! :)

Oh wait - who is that guy that just walked in who looks a little familiar? I look at him, he looks at me and we both say, "Where do I know you?" It was Chris, the wine club member from Cypher who told me about Chamisal! And his wife, Michelle was there too. They were with a few friends wine tasting for the day. My goodness, what are the odds that we would run into them at the place they recommended to me?

We had a ball chatting about Chamisal and a few other good wineries in the area. I was sure to tell Andrea, the tasting room manager at Chamisal that Chris and Michelle were the reason boyfriend and I were there today. And now I'm telling you today how good Chamisal is. Literally, you could buy any bottle from them and not be disappointed. Jump onboard to be wine club with these folks. You won't regret it.

Boyfriend & me with Chris & Michelle:


Andrea (the Chamisal Tasting Room Manager) & me:


We left with a bottle of the stainless steel chardonnay and are planning to open it on Easter with some seafood. Yay!


KYNSI WINERY

So we asked Andrea from Chamisal where she recommended we go next. "Kynsi!"she said. So off we went.

Kysin winery is a tiny production place - only doing about 3,000 cases a year. The story of their winery is a neat one. Here it goes:L

When the owners bought the property, it was overrun with gophers. I mean, REALLY overrun. So much so that when you walked, the ground might collapse beneath you from all of the gopher tunnels. The gophers were also tunneling beneath the foundation of the building and causing trouble there so you can imagine.

The owners were committed to not using poisons or traps, etc. They wanted to do something natural/sustainable. They found out that barn owls, when they have a nest, can end up capturing 40 gophers a night! Goodness. So they decided that they want to rescue some barn owls that needed a home. Well....barn owls are so territorial, they are always re-released at the place where they were found.   The rescue folks recommended that the folks at Kynsi just put up an owl box and wait to see if a pair would move in. So they did and sure enough, after a few weeks, a pair moved in! Soon they started a nest and had babies, and literally after just one breeding season, the gopher population was under control. Amazing how nature can right itself so quickly when given the opportunity to get back into balance. So in honor of the barn owls, they owners named their new winery "Kinsi" which is Finnish for Talon - the talon of the superstar owls :) Here's their label:



Kalya and Allison tasted us through their wines and we had so much fun! I really like the Hutash wine - a beautiful red....but I have to admit I forgot what grapes - oops! Actually, we had so much fun chatting with Kalya and Allsison that boyfriend and I lost track of time and I missed an appointment in Paso Robles. I can't believe I did that but at the same time we were having so much fun at Kynsi that we just didn't want to leave.

Here are our new BFFs - Kayla and Allison:



Great job Krynsi on choosing sustainable pest control for your gopher problems. As an advocate for rescued roosters for sustainable pest control, I salute you! :)


Thursday, April 21, 2011

Jamie & Pam

So last Tuesday when I was working at Cypher, a couple - Jamie & Pam - from Pennsylvania came in to wine taste. They were in the area for basically three days. So on day one, I met them. We chatted...all was great...and they took a bottle of the Peasant with them - which was a HUGE deal as they were only able to take a case back home with them on the airplane - so they were being darn picky! We also chatted about restaurants and other wineries in the area, so I recommended my other blog, "What's Hot in Paso" for them to look at. In fact, I think they were the first folks to see it!

Day #2. I'm working at "the other winery" (Robert Hall) when Pam and Jamie come in. It is SO great to see folks that you know - what a surprise for all of us!! We had a great time. I took them through the wine list - yada yada - but what I was thrilled about is that they took my advice on the restaurant they went to the night before and were so happy! So that made me happy :) On day #2, we were having so much fun and becoming good friends that I discussed meeting up on DAY #3!!! Here's where the fun starts.

So on day #3, my boyfriend, Dana and I met up with Pam and Jamie and we headed over to L'Aventure, a winery that I have been waiting eons to go to. Steffan (the owner/winemaker) had been tired of the limiting rules in France, and searched the world over to find the new location where he could grow grapes and make wine. He ended up choosing a location not too far off of 46W in Templeton/Paso which shows off how amazing our area is.

Kendall was such a dear, taking all of us through the wines. We got to meet Chandler too! He knows folks at Cypher Winery - such a small world!


We started with the rose - which I have been waiting forever to try! Really amazing. Bright, fresh grapefruit qualities within a dry rose. I literally cannot wait for the next hot day - I'm breaking this one open with seafood!

When I got to the Cote a Cote (GSM - 40 % Grenache, 40 % Syrah, 20% Mourvedre) I had to stop and take a breath. It was probably one of the best wines I have ever had in my life. Damn you, Steffan for making such a gorgeous wine that is worth every bit of the expensive price point! On a tasting room girl's salary, what is one to do??? "Will work for wine" might help :)

So here we are (all of us - Pam, Jamie, myself & my boyfriend Dana) outside of the L'Aventure tasting room:

Here we are, trying to capture more wine:


Onward we go, nothing will slow us down! Off we headed to Kenneth Volk Winery which is one of my absolute favorites in the area.

Kenneth Volk is an amazing winemaker who makes wines from obscure single varietals such as negrette and aliganico (say what?) Don't stress about it - just trust him. Believe me, it's ALL great wine.

We showed up to meet the sweetest goats and chickens. Kenneth Volk Winery is on the same property as Fat Cat Farms which is a nursery, but they also have farm animals - too fun!

When we finally left the goats to go to Kenneth Volk, I was thrilled to see that Tracie was pouring for us. Not only does Tracie work in the tasting room, but she is an amazing chef. Tracie really knows her stuff about the wines so based on that, I bet she's fabulous in the kitchen. Can't wait to try your cooking, girl!

So we tasted through a few of the the wines - whites, reds, all were fabulous - I of course had to walk away with the Verelho which is my favorite. But while I was getting ready to buy, Jamie and Pam jumped in to treat us to it. Awww, you guys! You're the best!! I feel so grateful to have met you - and am honored to be part of your Day #1, #2, and #3 in Paso. Too funny!


We're now "Best Facebook Friends Forever" - HA!!

Sunday, April 17, 2011

"Killer" the Dog

One of our wine club members, Richard, brought in the cutest dog in the world! I asked him what the name of the dog was and he said, "Killer." It cracked me up and I just had to post a photo - LOL!

Friday, April 15, 2011

Pussy Pours

So have you ever been to a tasting room and everything tasted fabulous - but then you brought the wine home and it didn't taste so great? My theory is that is tastes different because tasting rooms do "pussy pours" - meaning approximately 1 oz pours. These pours are small pours that you can swirl around in your glass, getting optimal oxygen in the wine for the best experience. Plus on top of that, you sip the wine slowly, taking in the whole tasting room experience.

So when you're at home, rather than pouring yourself a big glass of wine, instead pour small amounts, just as a tasting room would. I like to call these pours "high maintenance" pours as you always are needing to refill your glass and it is a bit of high maintenance work to keep up (carpal tunnel  due to wine pouring, anyone?) But over and over again, folks I tell this to insist that I use the name, "pussy pours!" And so it is. Now I just need to figure out a way to trademark the name "pussy pours" for the "Notes from the Tasting Room blog" - HA!

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Chris, Melani & the Barrel Tour!

Have you ever had the chance to have tons of fun on a workday? So much fun that you are *so* thankful to have the job you have? Well that was me this past Sunday! And it all happened because Chris & Melani stopped in.

Chris and Melani are from the L.A. area and came to Paso Robles to do some wine tasting. They were getting ready to head out of town, when they stopped into Cypher Winery. But that's when I hijacked them - keeping them there for the full tasting plus a barrel tour - we had a ball!




Speaking of the barrel tour - it is a lot of fun. When Chris and Melani were about to try the '08 Monarchy (our malbec and petit verdot blend) we popped out of the tasting to do the barrel tour, trying what is to become the '09 Monarchy. First we got to sample malbec in two different barrels. Our Californian malbec is grown on the Santa Margarita ranch and has a lot of fruit to it. Jammy blackberry and boysenberry notes - we call it merlot of steroids! Then we sampled two barrells of petit verdot. The petit verdot has less fruit and more tannin - but it gives the backbone to the malbec to make the big, bordeaux style wine. In fact one client had called the petit verdot the vampire wine. He said, "It will suck you dry!"

After sampling, I made my own version of the '09 Monarchy. The '08 Monrachy is basically half and half malbec and petit verdot, with a touch of tempranillo.  So that's what I did - 25% of each barrel with a splash of tempranillo - it was a hit! I became winemaker for a day. Well, at least Chris and Melani were nice making me feel like I was a winemaker - HA!


Afterwards we hung out together, having some food (and a bit more wine......) before they got on the road. It was one of those instant connections that I will never forget, and I definitely am planning to stay in touch with them. In fact, my boyfriend and I are planning a trip down to L.A. just so we can see them again! 

Thanks Chris & Melani. You two are what makes my job fun for me.

Lots of love to you two!!

Sunday, April 10, 2011

Barrel Tours

So at Cypher Winery, we have a back - and very dark, spooky room - where we do barrel tours. Our last barrel tour showed off how different oaks affect the wines. For example, French oak adds the gorgeously smooth, vanilla quality - quite refined. Hungarian oak adds a spice or "kick" to the wine (think of a sexy salsa dancer.) Then American oak adds almost a harsh, vanilla flavor that  has quite the bite - but in the blend it helps add another layer of complexity. In this tour we had the most amazing wine - sexy mourvedre as a single varietal (fermented by carbonic maceration, but thats another blog post...) Anyway, I mourn the loss of the mourvedre, but sigh, nothing last forever.

Katie & Kevin from production at Cypher introduced us to the new barrel tour the other day - which is a sampling of 2009 wines that need a bit more time in the barrel. Though the wines are young and need more time, it's still awesome to be able to sample them and start to get an idea of how our winemaker starts to put the blends together. Let's start with a few basics on the barrel:


The top name is the name of the cooper, or the person/brand/firm that makes the barrel. The next line says E.E. which means it is Eastern European - specifically from Romania. The next line talks about the toast level which meaning the firing process for the barrel. They literally "fire toast" the barrel which helps add flavor to the wine - usually a nice carmel quality. So this barrel is MT - medium toast. But then the next letters read LTH which means "light toast head." This means that the sides (or rather round "top and bottom") of the barrel have a light toasting to it. Now usually, most barrels have either a toast head, or a no toast head quality. But Christian, our winemaker, is such a finicky dude, he had his coopers make a "light toast head" for his wines. This is one of those things that is unique to our winery, and shows the commitment to perfection.

So we got to taste through the wines the other day - learning about it all. The main part of it is that we have two barrel samples each of the malbec and petit verdot (which makes up our "Monarchy" wine) along with barrels samples of tempranillo & petit sirah. More on that but in the meantime, here's a picture of my adorable tasting room manager, Nicole, with a barrel sample at about 9:30 in the morning. We love you, Nicole!!!

Saturday, April 9, 2011

Wine & Roosters

So I haven't mentioned this before, but I actually founded a rooster rescue organization (or as my friend Sam says - a "rooster hoarder" organization - she pisses me off as it is probably true!!) where I rescue roosters from humane societies, and then adopt them out to good homes. We find homes where the boys can be boyfriends to hens, but we also adopt out rooster only flocks so that they can be a sustainable pest control team for vineyards, orchards & ranches. In fact roosters have a long history with wine country - and you can find out more on my website: greenroosteralliance.org

The reason I'm blogging about this is that the most fabulous sommelier - Ali from 15 Degrees C in Templeton - just adopted two rooster boys for her hens! I am so excited that these boys found such a fabulous home. Apparently, they were born under a old washer on a farm as the folks didn't know that their hen was sitting on eggs. So one day a little clutch showed up, but the folks couldn't keep all of the roosters. So I took the two boys in, and now they found a home with Ali. It's one of those happy endings where the brothers grew up together and get along really well, so I am so glad they get to stay together, yet now they have their own girlfriends!!

Thanks, Ali! The cocks thank you :)