The geeks did it in Revenge of the Nerds. Straight-legged jeans made their way back into the mainstream just this season. Heck, even carbs are making a comeback. And now California vintners are doing it with Merlot.

You see, Merlot is the new anti-Pinot, the grape that will soon have all of us scratching our heads and saying, "but, I thought I didn't want any fucking Merlot."

Maybe you should re-think that last statement.

If Swanson Vineyards has its way, that's exactly what you'll be doing after they finish their current push to resurrect the struggling variety. With a game plan and website called merlotfightsback.com, Swanson is geared up for a tough fight.

And they just might win it.

Because you see, Merlot can be damn good! Just as is the case with most things that become uber-popular, Merlot suffered from over-production and reduced quality over the past two decades, a sad circumstance for those Cali producers doing it right.

"We're trying to set the record straight on a varietal which has been so misunderstood and maligned," explains Swanson General Manager Stuart Harrison. Along with winemaker Chris Phelps, Harrison has embarked on a nine city tour to re-educate Merlot bashers in the US.

Stops include Miami, Tampa and Orlando in wine-friendly Florida as well as Chicago, New York and New Jersey. West Coast cities on the tour are San Francisco, San Diego and newly wine-centric Las Vegas.

Although indeed much maligned of late, Merlot is one of the classic or "noble" grape varieties of the world. As the Swanson seminar reminds attendees, the bottle Miles, the ultimate Merlot snob, opened on his birthday in Sideways was a '61 Cheval Blanc - made from 50% Merlot. Touche.

But Swanson's not just doing it for love of the grape: Swanson is the largest single producer of estate-grown Merlot in the Napa Valley. And they've got the creds to do it right: Phelps has spent time at Petrus and Caymus, and Harrison's worked at Opus One and Stag's Leap.

Clearly, Swanson takes Merlot seriously.

I wish them the best of luck. I offer the tasting "How Merlot Got Its Groove Back" through my private events company, Your Personal Sommelier, but so far no one's asked for it. Which is a real shame, because it's very hip to be anti-establishment.

www.merlotfightsback.com

www.swansonvineyards.com

--------

Posted by Courtney at 09:00 PM • Comments (0)

Last Saturday I had the pleasure of attending the Rhone Rangers trade and public tasting at Fort Mason with my dad. He was in town for his birthday, and while my mother and sister went to lunch and shopped my dad and I followed the call of our palates to the Marina for some good tasting.

And, before I get started, let me also preface everything by saying that it was an absolutely GORGEOUS day in the city, the kind of sunny and warm sparkler that seems, at the time at least, to make up for all the merciless rain we've been pounded with this winter.

Here's a pic of my dad and me outside Fort Mason enjoying the simply beautiful bay mid-tasting.

Now, to the good stuff: we started off at the first table, where we tried Michael David wines from Lodi. (I tried to tell my dad it was useless to start at table 1 and try to move through them all, since it was virtually impossible at these kind of events to hit all the tables; nonetheless, and as I predicted, he wanted to stop at the very first table we saw.)

This is Franck Lambert of Michael David wines. He's French and from Avignon in the Rhone, which is why I asked him if he preferred the Rhone or American style of Syrahs. Pretty sure I already knew the answer before I asked him, I was amused to see him squirm as he tried to politely admit that he preferred his native country's reds, but that these, too, were also very good. Overall a very nice guy, and really tall, as you can see.

My favorite wines of the day were from Cline Cellars, where I loved the Viognier (no oak! Just some lees contact in stainless steel) and the Syrah. My dad was really into a Southern Rhone blend they make called Cashmere, which is soon to be available through Southern. This is Charene and Karl, their marketing and sales team. Really nice folks.

Bonny Doon. Leave it to B Doon to bring a freaking cake with a "Rhone Ranger" on it. Here it is. I really love these guys (and gals!).

I always enjoy their wines, and I particularly enjoyed a limited bottling they had on-hand that was either 100% Mondeuse or Carignan (sorry, again, don't have

my notes. Doh!). It was very concentrated and had a lot of stuff going on - more earthy than fruity - my style of wine. Here's a pic of Andrew & David, sales gurus for B Doon.

Rhone at Home. This table was fantastic, because there is absolutely no marketing or sales going on whatsoever. The table is reserved every year for at-home winemakers like Joe and Sandy here who make wines using, you guessed it, Rhone varietals. One of the wines I tried here was alright, and the other had a mighty big dollop of volatile acidity (VA) emanating from the glass, but overall I loved these folks' charisma. Check out the wave breaking on Joe's shirt!

What else? Um, the outdoors. Here's another gratuitous glass shot from Fort Mason looking over the Golden Gate. I had to include it. It's becoming a tradition.

Some crowd gossip: look at this outfit! I absolutely loved it, but it also confused me. What was this guy thinking? The blazer, Levis and belt were fabulous, but the purse? Is that a man purse? It certainly doesn't look like any man purse I've ever seen. Maybe he's carrying it for someone? I really hope that's what was going on. But who would carry that bag?? Sorry, I diverge.

Copain Winery. By the time I got to these guys they were fresh out of wine and were packing up. I've of course heard of Copain, and know they're reputed to be very good, but don't recall any specifics beyond so was glad to see them and learn more. But the guys at the table were rather aloof. They had a bit of rose left on the table, and sort of reluctantly poured it for us, then replied to my inquiry about the winery, "well, if you've ever read any Robert Parker or major wine reviews you'll have heard of us."

And I thought, gee, isn't that what I'm here for? To learn more about you guys? They were just very self-satisfied and seemed almost amused I didn't know more about them. Pardon me, but, as someone fairly new to the wine trade, I don't have a commanding grasp of every renowned producer out there. I felt they missed an opportunity to be candid and friendly and make a good impression. By the way, the rose was damn good. Too bad they weren't.

Then a welcome change: Calcareous. Justin Kahler, the winemaker, was on-hand talking up the winery, and he was super friendly and offered lots of information about the naming of the winery, its history, location in the Paso Robles area, and of course the wines. He followed up with an email later and invited me to tour the winery if I'm ever in the area. Thanks, Justin.

All in all, a really nice afternoon. Here's a couple more gratuitous shots of the Bay. As my dad and I are sailors, we really enjoyed watching the regatta taking place, with the gorgeous spinnakers and tight tacks the boats were making right up next to Fort Mason.

Hope next year's as good as this. Ciao.

www.rhonerangers.org

--------

Posted by Courtney at 12:24 PM • Comments (0)

Name: Claire
Profession: Litigator
Hometown: Visalia, CA

How sneaky of me to feature my own sister as this week's HIP TASTE-r of the week! She's been an awesome help to me in jump starting HIP TASTES Events and has always been one of my best supporters. But, these are not the only reasons she's a HIP TASTE-r.

Claire has, like myself, been a staunch Pinot supporter for as long as we both can remember. I guess it's no coincidence since our dad is quite possibly the varietal's most die-hard fan. Much like him, she's almost always got a great bottle of California Pinot stashed in her cupboard for guests.

And, she's also been known to "hide the Pinot" much like our father. This may have originated with a highly complex game we used to play with the guy as kids called "Hide the Toy." The three of us would rally in the living room of my childhood home (where my parents still live) and, all seriousness, designate someone as the all-important "it".

Whoever was "it" would then contrive a super secret hiding spot for the chosen toy, usually something very small and discreet - perfect for hiding. Now, as adults, my sister and father have been known to hide their favorite bottle of wine from unsuspecting guests.

Whoever is "it" must reveal the Pinot only to those in our Circle of Pinot Trust - comprised solely of the three of us, of course.

My guess is that at this moment Claire is harboring a fabulous Pinot for us to enjoy together tomorrow while watching the Academy Awards. It's for feats such as this that Claire deserves this week's HIP TASTE-r of the week designation.

Here's to a great awards show with some great Pinot and, best of all, great family.

--------

Posted by Courtney at 06:23 PM • Comments (0)