UNCORKED WINE TRAVELS

Musings Along The Wine Trails

Best Kept Secret in Sta. Rita Hills ~ Spear Vineyards & Winery

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Quite by happenstance, the highlight of my recent wine trek to Sta. Rita Hills AVA was discovering Spear Vineyards & Winery off Highway 246 in Lompoc.  While tasting at a neighboring winery, it was suggested that I make an appointment at Spear for “a true vineyard tasting experience.”

Much to my delight, I was welcomed to the newly opened tasting room for a private seated tasting. Unobstructed views of the vibrant Chardonnay vineyard surround the eclectic tasting room, formerly a 1920’s dairy barn and creamery, complete with towering silo.  Needless to say, the views were nothing less than spectacular.

Even more of a surprise, was meeting the young and upcoming Winemaker, Kat Gaffney.  Instantly, Kat’s laid-back, unpretentious manner put me at ease and led to many questions about her burgeoning wine path.

Kat started as a harvest intern in 2011 in San Luis Obispo, later working as a “flying winemaker.” Chasing harvests from the northern hemisphere to the southern hemisphere led her to cellar ventures in New Zealand, Oregon and Santa Barbara County.

Ego aside, Kat’s elegant Old World-style winemaking philosophy is simply to allow the pure expression of the fruit to present itself, with minimal intervention.  The small lot wines are artfully handcrafted using small cluster fermentation.  Grapes are carefully processed via gravity flow rather than traditional mechanical pumps, which can damage and bruise the fruit.  Wines are then aged in neutral French oak barrels to retain the varietal characteristics.

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Spring Is An Ideal, And Uncrowded, Time To Visit Wine Country

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There’s an electricity in the air in early Spring when the vineyards awaken from dormancy.  Wild shades of vibrant green shoots emerge from the bare vines and stretch upward to the sun. Tendrils wrap around the staked guide wires and prepare for flowering.

Grape flowers are called the perfect flowers, as they self-pollinate, without the need for bees.  A few days after flowering occurs, fruit set takes place.  Fruit set is the actual formation of the grape seeds, which grow rapidly, forming mature grapes over the next 100 days.

Pruning and canopy management, is essential. Leaves or grape clusters are often removed during the growing season to allow for ventilation and for even ripening.   Some vineyard managers will thin or drop excess grape clusters in order to concentrate the juices.   [Read more…]

NEW BOOK RELEASE: Root Cause, A Novel by Steven Laine

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For some light “wine centric reading”, Root Cause, A Novel by Steven Laine, is an engaging  who-dun-it globe-trotting mystery with a twist.

The plot is fast-moving, sprinkled with historical wine antidotes and international intrigue.  Flying winemaker Corvina Guerra discovers her own family’s vineyard in Tuscany is infected with Phylloxera, a deadly plant louse which feeds on the grape roots.

Corvina fears that other vineyards around the world may also be threatened with devastation so she sets out to find the “root cause”.  In her travels, she meets wine blogger Bryan Lawless who joins her in a zany world-wide search for the perpetrator. 

Author Laine, a WSET Diploma Candidate himself, creatively peppers the pages with intense descriptive wine tasting notes and captivates the reader at every turn of the page.  Pour a glass of wine and let the wine capers begin…  www.stevenlaine.com

Discover the Hidden Wine Caves in Sonoma Wine Country

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Looking for something different on your next wine trip to Sonoma County?  Start at the far end of Sonoma Valley at Buena Vista Winery, California’s first commercial winery established in 1857 by Count Agoston Haraszthy.

Steeped in history, legend has it that migrant Chinese workers were trapped alive while digging the caves for the Count.  Hence, ghost sightings have been reported in the tasting room and in the cave after hours.

Tucked away in the Chalk Hill AVA, east of Windsor, Roth Estates Winery features a more modern cave setting.  Specializing in Bordeaux varietals, Roth offers a unique property tour ending with a reserve tasting in the cave itself.

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Vin Santo Reigns In Chianti’s Medieval Hamlet of Castello di Volpaia

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On a recent trip to Tuscany, I had the good fortune to revisit the medieval hamlet of Castello di Volpaia, rising five miles atop the Tuscan hills near Radda in Chianti  The fortified borgo (village) dates back to the 11th century and is most well-known for it famous resident clockmaker and namesake, Lorenzo della Volpaia, and of course, its Vin Santo.

Vin Santo translates to “Holy Wine”, and is a type of Italian dessert wine.  One theory on the origin of  the “Holy Wine” is referenced in the historic use in the Catholic mass, where sweet wine was preferred.  Another claim dates back to the Renaissance era when wine merchants peddled the sweet nectar on the streets of Rome.

Interestingly, Vin Santo can be made sweet or bone dry, depending on how the wine is finished. Typically, Malvasia or Trebbiano grapes are used to craft a white Vin Santo and in Chianti, the flagship Sangiovese grape is used to make the red or rose Vin Santo.

Grapes destined for the dessert wine production are harvested in September or October and are hung to dry in the warm rafters or laid on straw mats in attics for several months, allowing the moisture to evaporate and the sugars to concentrate.  Sometimes these wines are also called “straw wines”.

The longer the wines are dried, the higher the residual sugar content, and the sweeter the wine. It is not uncommon to let the grapes dry naturally and hang in the rafters until March before crushing and fermenting the grapes.

Vin Santo is aged and stored in small oak barrels, for a minimum of 3 years and often aged up to 10 years.  The color of Vin Santo can range from pale to dark amber, even neon orange.

Vin Santo’s flavor profile has nutty or raisin notes with honey and cream attributes.  In Italy, Vin Santo is traditionally served with biscotti for dunking.

 

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