Hip Tastes Blog

Family Winemakers: Spreading the California (Wine) Love!
filed under: Events

Here's the latest story by my fabulous intern, Taylor Price, as she discusses her recent wine redezvous at the 2009 annual Family Winemakers Tasting. Enjoy, and be sure to check out her other stories on Sangria and Pinky Vodka!

In Taylor's Words:
A few weeks ago, I had the great luck and pleasure of attending San Francisco's 19th annual Family Winemakers Tasting at Fort Mason. Family Winemakers of California is an association which represents and gives voice to California's family-owned wineries. The annual tasting is a time for these winemakers to showcase their extensive and often extraordinary work to both professionals in all aspects of the wine business and passionate wine consumers. 359 wineries poured at this massive event, making it no easy task to explore the vast selection in only a couple of hours! Nonetheless, I arrived excited and determined to taste as much as possible while on the hunt for hip, fabulous wines!

It would be a vast understatement to say I came out of this monumental tasting experience with a new list of tasty favorites and a deeply profound respect for California winemakers in general. Besides holding the title as the largest showing of California wines in the world, the level of quality and presentation at the Family Winemakers Tasting was for the most part, simply outstanding. Being a fairly inexperienced newbie to the massive tasting scene, I didn't make it much higher than the "L" section in my two hour time frame. NOTE: many activities in San Francisco require a max of two hours enjoyment due to horrendous street parking and ticket-happy parking officers. Be warned!
In order to share the wine love (because we could always use more wine love!), I'm including a list of some of my favorites from that day along with brief tasting notes. Enjoy!

B Wise Vineyards (Sonoma Valley)

B Wise Vineyards was founded in 2002 by owner, Brian Wise. Though they may not have been around for long, their selection is quite impressive. I tried the Trios 2006, which is their proprietary red (49% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Syrah, 17% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc, 2% Petite Verdot) and the Brion 2004, a Cabernet.
The Trios was wonderful. The blackberry and cherry really popped along with a balanced, rich spiciness. It was one of those wines you want to keep tasting in order to fully appreciate all the flavors. The price is $19/bottle, which I think is a fantastic deal! The Cabernet was notable as well, although I was not as impressed as with the Trios. Very, very rich, with intense dark berries and a long finish...basically everything you want in a Cab. However, for the $52.50/bottle, not sure I'd want to splurge.
Overall I really loved this producer. Great quality wines and happy people- a winning combination!

Black Cat Vineyard (Napa)

I was first attracted by the name, and then by the beautiful wines. The whole production at Black Cat Vineyard is owned and run by Tracey Reichow, a former investment banker turned winemaker extraordinaire.
I thought both her 2005 Family Cuvee (which is a mix of Cab Sauvignon and Syrah) and the 2006 Syrah were excellent. The Cuvee was absolutely superb. Both are $42, which is pricey, but could definitely be worth it for a little splurge on such lovely wine.

Bodegas (Paso Robles)

The production at Bodegas is fully run by owner and winemaker Dorothy Shuler. I was attracted to her table by her love of Spanish wines, which she makes exclusively at Bodegas.
Some were all right, others very nice. I loved the Tempranillo, however. Full bodied and bursting with dark berry fruits, this was quite an enjoyable wine

Krupp Brothers Estates

I was immediately attracted to this table by their adorable labeling-very jazzy, almost art-deco style. Krupp Brothers Estates was founded by Dr. Jan Krupp, a Stanford taught physician with a passion for wine. Along with his brother Bart Krupp, Dr Krupp's wine estate has been flourishing since 1991. It is interesting to note that the Krupp Brothers Estates includes three different vineyards-one being the renowned Stagecoach Vineyard. They use a combination of grapes from all three in many of their wines. My favorite that I tried was their wine called Synchrony (a blend of 46% Cab Franc, 40% Cab Sauvignon, 2% Malbec, 2% Merlot). Incredibly earthy, with beautiful ripe fruit flavors and a long finish. It's a nice robust wine for a robust meal.

Lagier-Meredith (Napa)

First off, it should be known that Lagier-Meredith is completely run by Stephen Lagier and Carole Meredith, a winning team if I say so myself! They describe themselves as a "small mountain vineyard" and have no employees, no partners, and do absolutely everything from the planting, the harvesting, and the actual wine production on their own. Yes, even the harvesting! Truly astounding.
This winery's extraordinary selection was definitely one of my top three favorites of the day. Absolutely AMAZING Syrah! I cannot stress this enough. The 2005 Syrah was out of this world good with an elegant spiciness and long finish. Tasted like velvet. It's something I wouldn't even want to have with food as it's so unbelievable on its own. I would pay the $48 price tag for such a good wine in a heartbeat. It tasted straight out of France-definitely had a noticeable Euro style to me and it would be difficult to notice much of a difference between this and an elegant French Syrah. Their 2006 Syrah is also amazing, but I really think the 05 blew everything else out of the water. Definitely could not bring myself to spit at this table.

Lail Vineyards

Lail Vineyards boasts some gorgeous wines, the most outstanding being their Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet. The 2008 Blueprint Sauvignon Blanc is super crisp, with intensely beautiful floral notes. I loved it. Impress your dinner guests with this one.

Lynmar Estate (Russian River Valley)

Lynmar Estate was founded in 1990 by Lynn Fritz, a former expert in humanitarian relief efforts. His original focus has always been on Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, a formula he now has down to an art form.
The 06 Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir was excellent. Everything a Pinot should be...depth, red fruits, just the right amount of oak, very balanced.
The 06 Syrah was my favorite syrah of the day! Quite a hefty task after tasting so many excellent Syrah wines! (I wrote "AMAZING!!!! BUY IMMEDIATELY" in my notebook). It had a smokiness to it I loved with its deep fruit flavors. One of those complex, mysterious wines you just can't forget. The price is $36/bottle-I think a great price for such a refined wine. This one was also incredibly Euro style to me. Truly brings out the best that CA wines have to offer.

Littorai (west Sonoma)

Littorai Wines was founded in 1993 and run by Ted Lemon, a master vintner who began his training apprenticing in wineries throughout Burgundy. The Sonoma Coast Pinot was exquisite with a smoky, spicy nose and extremely refined taste. Complex and lush, it will only get better with time. If you're looking for a great Pinot for a special occasion, this is an awesome choice.

NOW, let's go out and support our astounding California winemakers! Cheers to that!
Taylor

Posted by Courtney on September 10, 2009 09:30 AM