Wine Tasting in California's Shenandoah Valley

It has been almost 20 years since I lived in the East Bay of San Francisco. We used to drive through the little farming town of Lodi on the way to go backpacking in the Sierra Nevada mountain. I never really thought much of the area, and never explored it.

Now it is home to somewhere around 90 wineries. Restaurants and hotels are abundant, and the tasting rooms are crowded with wine enthusiasts that don’t want to deal with the high prices, and “upturned noses” in Napa Valley.

Michael David Tasting

I brought our wine club back to Lodi, since we had such a great experience three years ago (seethat blog here). Once again, we started our weekend off with a visit to Michael David Winery. Things have changed over three years. They have expanded their wine tasting and entertainment grounds, with a beautiful new tasting building. We were hosted by Joseph Phillips (his father is the "David", in Michael David - we met years ago at a wine pairing dinner). He poured a number of wines for our group, and based on the number of bottles and boxes leaving the property, there was no doubt the wines impressed. What is most impressive is that a winery of this size has been able to scale up, and maintain the consistent quality of their product. If you are in Lodi, this is a “don’t miss” tasting stop.

Outdoor seating at Pietro's

Since our drive from Southern California was about seven hours, it didn’t leave time for any other tastings on a Friday afternoon. We checked into the Hampton Suites Hotel. The rooms are well appointed, and priced very well. Why not spend your money on wine, rather than a hotel room?

We were able to get our entire group together for a family-style dinner at Pietro’s Ristorante. The homemade gnocchi and ravioli were a treat, and we left completely full.

Saturday, we gathered for the complimentary breakfast, at our hotel, then loaded into the limo bus I had chartered for the day. We used Nuemann Limo services, out of Sacramento. The 24 person bus would have been crowded if we used all the seats, but the 18 of us easily fit. I’d suggest 20 would have been the maximum.

The California Shenandoah Valley

Months before our outing, I had made arrangements to visit four wineries in the California Shenandoah Valley AVA. This tiny wine region is located in an oblong valley, just outside of Plymouth, CA. There are only about 27 wineries in the valley, but 42 in all of Amador County. It is rich with gold rush history, as are most areas along the Sierra Foothills. I had previously written about this area in a blog back. Check it out here. The area is known for their Zinfandel and numerous Italian grape varieties…and that is where our focus was for this trip.

The first stop was at the far northeast corner of the valley, at the oldest continuously operating winery in California, Sobon Estates. While Sobon has been around since 1989, the winery has been in operation since 1856, when D’Agostini Winery became bonded winery #2459, and is now an historical landmark. This corner of the valley is at the highest elevation, so cooler micro-climates. The tastings are free, unless you do the reserve tasting, which is $5, and you get to keep the glass. They have a very nice gift shop, friendly staff, and an old winemaking museum, that is free to tour. The wines are all well done, and priced very reasonably. The most expensive wine on the list is $28, with most less than that. We arrived at 10:00am, when they open. They are the first to open in the valley, so head here first to get things going. For many in our group, this was their favorite winery of the day. The quality and value of the wines made for many purchases. A few whites, but a lot of Zinfandel, Syrah, Petit Sirah, Barbera, and even a pleasant Rose.

Alicante Bouschet grape tasting

The next stop was only five minutes away at Cooper Vineyard. I had visited Cooper a few years prior, and loved their Barbera wines, so wanted to bring the group for a tasting. Our host was the grand daughter of Dick Cooper. She ran us through a tasting of about six wines, then took us out to the vineyard to taste Barbera, Alicante Bouschet and table grapes on the vine.

As we drove down Shenandoah School Rd, and headed back to the main road, to get to our next stop, we noticed a large Gourd and Fine Arts Festival that was going on at the Amador Flower Farm. Something to keep in mind for another visit to the area.

Vino Noceto Tasting Pavilion

Our next stop was at Vino Noceto, where I had arranged to have our box lunches delivered by the Amador Vintage Market. Everything had been delivered, and kept refrigerated for our arrival, and we have tables set up for us in the Pavilion area. After an enjoyable lunch, surrounded by vineyards (with beware of snake signs), we were introduced to Rhys Tappero, who is the local sommelier and wine educator for Vino Noceto. He took us through the history of the area, and the specific vineyards of Vino Noceto. We did tastings of Sangiovese from multiple different vineyards. It was interesting to see the differences in Sangiovese clones and vineyards. The stories of how the vine clippings made it to the 40 acres of vineyard were also interceding.

Scott Harvey - tasting in the barrel room

Our last stop of the day was just next door at Scott HarveyWinery. Scott was one of the founders of ZAP, the Zinfandel Advocates & Producers festival. So, as you can imagine, the winery offers a variety of Zinfandel, Primitivo, Syrah and Barbera. They also make a sparkling wine, in the typical Champagne method. Some of you may be familiar with Scott Harvey, but didn’t know it…he was the creator of “Menage a Trios” wines.

We boarded our wine limo, and headed back to the hotel in Lodi, arriving around 5:45. Our group purchase a lot of wine, and that took about 15 minutes to unload the limo and organize everyone’s purchases into individual piles along the side walk. My purchase for both Friday and Saturday included 26 bottles of wine, from 5 different wineries. The breakdown was: Zinfandel (5 btls); Sangiovese (6 btls); Barbera (4 btls); Rose (3 btls); Red Blends (2 btls); Port (2 btls); Alicante Bouschet (1 btl); Petit Verdot (1 btl); Sauvignon Blanc (1 btl); Moscato (4 cans)…..yes you read that last one correctly….four one-glass cans of sparkling Moscato.

The Shenandoah Valley is a great place to visit, and go wine tasting. Most places do not require appointments (unless you are in a large group) and tasting fees range from no fee, up to $10. The pours are generous, and the people are friendly. Most are farmers, and enjoy talking to you about what they do. This is was Napa Valley was like 25 years ago, or Paso Robles just 10 years ago. I encourage you to visit the area. It is much more that the typical Zinfandel that is grown in the Sierra Foothills.

Catch our follow up day in Lodi on my next blog entry.

 #WineBlog #WineTasting #WineTravel #Wine #WineEducation #FoodandWine #WineEnthusiast #wineExpert #WinePairing

California Family Winemakers Event 2017

It is spring time, and that means the annual return of the California Family Winemakers event in Southern California. This year, it was once again hosted at the Del Mar Fairgrounds.  The event is both a trade and consumer tasting, with an opportunity to not only meet the owners, winemakers, and distributors, but an opportunity to taste their wines. The gathering is also an opportunity to meet some of the smaller production wineries, alongside larger producers. This year seemed like there were less wineries participating. By my count there were 79 wineries in attendance, as well as cheese and bread stations sponsored by Kerrygold and LaBrea Bakery. 

The focus of the California Winemakers Event is to highlight family-owned wine producers from across the state. This year, there were a lot of the same wineries as in the past, but there were also eight first time attendees. 

As in my past attendance, there is no way to get to every winery, so I had a list of certain wineries I wanted to meet with. With my recent wine tasting trip to the Sierra Foothills, I wanted to meet with those wineries, as well as the newest wineries to join the event. 

As some of you are aware, for the last 13 months, I have been working with some business partners to acquire a restaurant. My original intent was to attend this event for the purpose of developing our wine list. Unfortunately, somethings just don’t work out. Our restaurant purchase fell through at the last minute (real disappointment after such a long process). So, once again, this year I attended as a media representative. As such, I was able to enter two hours before the general public.

My first stop was a C.G. D’Arie winery. I had visited their winery in the Shenandoah Valley last fall, and really enjoyed their wines. I was hoping to meet Chaim Gur-Arieh, in person, but he was attending another event. I did have a good conversation with his Southern California distributor, and tasted some wonderful wines. My favorites are still their Zinfandels, but they make very nice Barbera, Tempranillo and Syrah. Based on their recommendation, my next stop was with Vino Noceto winery.

Vino Noceto is also located in the Shenandoah Valley, of Amador County. The winemaker, Rusty Folena, was pouring wines. His tasting consisted of Barbera, Zinfandel, and Sangiovese. The focus here is on Sangiovese.  They even call themselves “California’s Sangiovese Specialists”. They produce seven different Sangiovese wines, from different clones of the grape. Each wine was distinct. This winery is definitely on my list for the next visit to the Sierra Foothills.

We wandered around, and tried a few wineries that seemed to be gathering a lot of tasters. But, nothing really stood out. We then stumbled upon Englemann Cellars. Bret Engelmann, the owner/winemaker was a first time attendee. What caught my eye was where his winery is located: Fresno, Ca. When I think of this area, I think Thompson Seedless, and raisin production. I guess I’ll have to rethink this area. Bret was pouring Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel, and his Bordeaux style blend (Cab Franc, Cab Sauv, and Malbec). His Malbec had a spiciness to it, that was more reminiscent of a French Cahors, but without the same earthiness. His Clark Ranch Zinfandel was nice and jammy.

Hawk and Horse Vineyards, from Calistoga presented a couple Cabernet Sauvignons, but what excited my palate was their dessert wine.  This was a dark, concentrated wine with aromas of chocolate, cassis and cherries. Nicely balanced.

My favorite Pinot Noirs of the tasting came from another first time attendee: O’Connor Vineyards. Here we tried three different vintages from the Green River area of the Russian River Valley. They are extremely small production, only about 300-400 cases per year. Their wines are more Burgundian in style, versus most California Pinot Noir. They are light, with nice acidity. The nose has some nice notes of cherry, spice and a bit of earth. For me, the 2014 vintage was the favorite.

We bounced around to a few other wineries, and then met Herve Brukert, owner of De Novo Wines, out of Oakland, CA.  Unlike some of the other winemakers in attendance, they do not own any vineyards. They purchase all their grapes. We tried a mix of Cabernets, and Pinot Noirs. We learned that Herve has a cousin in Alsace, France, and he imports wines for his cousin. Because this was a California wine tasting, he wasn’t allowed to pour the Riesling….but somehow, I was able to get a taste. Pretty nice.

We ventured around some more and tried the huge wines of Keenan. If you like big Cabs, and Merlots, this is your winery.  Another was Greyscale Wines. Here we met Jean and Larry Rowe, the owners.  If you like the “dusty” flavors of Rutherford Cabernet Sauvignon, then try their 2014 Cab. Very nice wine, and nice people too.

Following an afternoon of tasting, we headed down to San Diego, where we had dinner overlooking the ocean. Not a bad way to spend a rainy spring Sunday.

If you have never attended the California Family Winemakers Event, I would highly recommend it. They conduct tastings twice a year: one is Southern California and a second in Northern California. It is an easy way to taste a number of different wineries in a short time. The key word is “taste”, not “drink”.