I've been rediscovering Berkeley lately, and will report on lots of great local restaurants. Do stay tuned.
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Having read and reviewed dozens of wine books since launching this blog back in 2008, I’ve become pretty up-to-date with most of the wine books available. As I’ve found, wine can be an endlessly scientific subject, yet at the same time, it can also become endlessly philosophical. With wine, there’s much to discuss, and as the world of wine continues to expand, the literature dedicated to this subject is bound to increase accordingly. For the true wine nerd, I’ve been mulling over my list of the “top 10″ most indispensable wine books, which I will divulge near the end of the year (and decade). Rest assured, “The Winemaker’s Dance” by Jonathan Swinchatt and David Howell will definitely occupy a spot on this list.
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As someone who blogs extensively throughout the Napa Valley, picturesque vineyards are part of my daily commute (sad, I know). Having seen so much of Napa so many times, however, it’s become increasingly easy to take the local landscape for granted — to mindlessly follow the car in front of me — paying less and less attention to the valley’s natural surroundings. But there are also many moments when I might view the Napa Valley through renewed eyes. After all, even the most jaded Napa resident can’t help but marvel at the yellow fields of wild mustard in the springtime, or the array of stunning fall foliage that adorns an old vineyard during its waning days (often a sign of red-leaf virus, but beautiful nonetheless). In truth, the Napa Valley remains picturesque on any given day, with moments of added brilliance throughout the year. But despite providing great fodder for vacation photos, the fact is, the scenery of the Napa Valley is simply the middleman in the equation, merely the conduit between the earth and the glass.
As the concept of terroir – the “taste of place” — continues to gain recognition among American wine drinkers, the inquisitive connoisseur soon learns to look beyond the landscape and, instead, learns to look to the earth itself for answers. These wine-fueled meditations on terroir can sometimes lead to several fundamental questions regarding the Napa Valley, the primary question being: How, exactly, was the Napa Valley created? In many ways, asking this question is an attempt to understand the very essence of Napa Valley wine (heavy, man). In “The Winemaker’s Dance,” authors Swinchatt and Howell reveal many of the mysteries behind the formation of the Napa Valley, offering an enlightening view of California’s tumultuous geological history. Of course, Swinchatt and Howell’s book is not casual reading by any means, although the authors do perform the admirable task of making geology eminently approachable for the lay reader. With that in mind, “WMD” does become somewhat heady at times. But even by reading just the first chapter of the text (which offers a broad overview of the last 140 million years in Napa), the reader can at least grasp some of the main geological bullet points.
For those who wish to explore more deeply, “The Winemaker’s Dance” is replete with geological information, supported with plenty of helpful pictures and illustrations throughout. In its later chapters, the book broadens its scope to include discussions on farming practices and modern winemaking techniques. For those who can visit the Napa Valley in person, the book also provides two chapters that are essentially self-guided tours, explaining the terrain as one drives north along either Highway 29 or the Silverado Trail. “The Winemaker’s Dance” is honest in its approach, and the authors readily admit that the link between terroir and taste is not yet supported by any hard, scientific evidence. Even so, the book does offer a unique perspective, giving the beauty of the Napa Valley a proper backstory. If you ever intend to become truly serious about Napa Valley wine, “WMD” is required reading.
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Despite its spike in popularity over the last several years, Pinot Noir remains rather uncommon here in the Napa Valley. With the exception of the Carneros District — which is the coolest and southern-most region in the Napa Valley — Pinot Noir proves ill-suited for our warm Mediterranean climate. But even if this fickle Burgundian varietal could somehow become more adaptable to Napa, Cabernet Sauvignon has long staked its claim here in the valley, and no other varietal can ever muster a challenge for the crown. Since capturing the world’s attention with the Judgment of Paris in 1976, not only is Cabernet the main event here in the Napa Valley, it’s practically become the only show in town. Searching for Pinot Noir in Napa remains a fool’s errand, no questsion. That is, unless the discussion involves Failla Wines in St. Helena.
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The hook here is quite simple: Failla is that rare Napa Valley winery that produces noteworthy Pinot. Of course, there’s an obvious caveat to this scenario: Failla’s grapes are sourced exclusively from Sonoma County, where coastal climates offer Pinot Noir a relatively cool growing season. For what it’s worth, sourcing fruit has always remained a common aspect of winemaking, and it’s not a trend that should be considered either positive or negative. It’s just how things happen to be. After all, many wineries in the Napa Valley will source their grapes from other areas throughout the county, whether they own these vineyards or not. However, the overwhelming majority of Napa’s purchased fruit is Cabernet, with Chardonnay ranking a distant second. What really sets Failla apart, therefore, is not only the fact that the winery focuses primarily upon Pinot Noir — it’s that Failla leaves Cabernet completely out of the equation, as well.
To be sure, any Napa winery that doesn’t feature Cabernet had better excel in other key areas. Fortunately, Failla winemaker Ehren Jordan has developed a deft touch with Pinot Noir, and Failla has thus carved its own unlikely niche in the heart of Cabernet country. Long before Jordan had launched the Failla label with his wife, Anne-Marie Failla, he had served as the winemaker for Turley Wine Cellars, a position he has held for 15 years now. The well-informed reader might note that Turley Wine Cellars is located just south of Paso Robles, meaning that Jordan will sometimes have to make frequent trips between the North Coast and the Central Coast, especially during key times of the season. Of course, none of this jet-setting would mean anything if Failla’s wines weren’t consistently terrific.
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Over the last few years, those who have been paying close attention to California Pinot Noir will acknowledge the importance of the Sonoma Coast appellation, which offers wines that easily rival those of the more famous Russian River Valley. I would argue that, vintage for vintage, Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir actually trumps Russian River Pinot Noir, at least among the top producers. Even among Failla’s portfolio, I much prefered the Sonoma Coast Pinot to the Russian River Pinot. That said, my favorite wine of the tasting was the 2007 Failla Hirsch Vineyard Pinot Noir, which for me was just slightly more dynamic than the 2007 Failla Occidental Ridge Pinot Noir, also from the Sonoma Coast. Personally, I enjoyed the additional element of fruit within the Hirsch Vineyard Pinot Noir, although the 2007 vintage had certainly been kind to each of these Sonoma Coast wines. I definitely wouldn’t kick the 2007 Occidental Ridge out of bed.
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Now that summer has finally arrived, this late sweltering heat makes me want to sip on some iced tea and listen to the Quiet Storm. What I mean is, I’ve been fostering very little motivation this week, but I do have some pictures from my excursion to the East Bay on Tuesday.
 The frankfurter with chili @ Top Dog, Berkeley. Sure, a generous mound of shredded yellow cheese might add some visual flair, but I also have to admire the red-monochrome guise of a stripped-down, no-nonsense chili dog. And here it is. Cash only, player. • • •
 The shrimp and pork pancake @ Huong Tra Restaurant & Deli, Richmond. For numerologists, this is the #5, and it's only an appetizer. Despite the generous portioning, however, I would actually opt for the spring rolls instead. But I had to see what this dish entailed (modest flavor, many napkins). • • •
 The sweet and sour catfish soup @ Huong Tra Restaurant & Deli, Richmond. I'm fine with the catfish being cut into steaks and left on the bone -- I can work with it. But the canned pineapple made me doubt myself, especially when everything else in the dish -- the tomato, the okra, the bạc hà -- was fresh. Is this simple home-style cooking, or just a shortcut? • • •
 The chicken tikka masala @ House of Curries, Albany. The sauce spooned over the basmati rice is pitch-perfect, but the garlic naan is truly next-level, both in flavor and design. Even better, there are four House of Curries locations throughout the California East Bay. • • •
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With the afterglow of last Tuesday night finally starting to fade, I still need to acknowledge the preamble to the evening, which was a blind tasting of 2007 California Pinot Noir. I had been anticipating this tasting for quite some time, and I had also exhibited tremendous patience in the process:  Back in March 2009, I had eagerly purchased Pinot Noir allocations from Kosta Browne and Chasseur, having finally earned a coveted spot on their respective mailing lists (these unclaimed allocations were the function of a sputtering U.S. economy, no doubt). At the time, slipping behind the velvet rope was extremely fortuitous, with California’ s 2007 Pinot Noir vintage earning considerable praise for its exceptional quality. Even in a bad economy, with these 2007s finally hitting the market in 2009, last year was certainly not the time to forfeit any allocations (unless, of course, you were actually facing foreclosure).
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Now that the 2007 vintage was finally approaching its third year, my goal was to pit some of the most lauded producers head-to-head in a blind tasting (my rule of thumb for California Pinot is to drink them between three and seven years from the vintage date). For me, the wait was finally over, and I was interested in unveiling the best of the best, to see if these mailing-list wines could rise above some of my more “accessible” favorites. With that agenda in mind, I pulled three selections from my own personal stash: the 2007 Kosta Browne Russian River, the 2007 Chasseur Joyce Vineyard, and the 2007 Papapietro Perry Leras Vineyard (the latter selection is not a mailing-list Pinot, yet). Alongside these three wines, my friend Geoff Harner of Mosher Imports added the 2007 Cobb Coastlands, the 2007 Radio-Coteau Savoy, and the 2007 Capiaux Widdoes.
We invited a few other people to evaluate these wines, including a sommelier (Jean-Marie), an enologist (Dianne), and a veteran of the Napa Valley restaurant industry (Andrew). My strategy was to assemble a panel of folks who each offered various wine-related backgrounds, but who might also evaluate the wines through different criteria. Rather than having just one critic hand down an edict, I like the idea of tasting by committee, as I feel it provides much more insight than a single person’s opinion. The task at hand was simple: Each member of the tasting panel ranked the wines in their order of preference, with a “1″ representing the favorite and a “6″ representing the least favorite. Just as in golf, low scores are good scores. I’ve circled the top choices for each individual in red, along with the lowest aggregate score. I’ve only put my own scores (“Yours Truly”) on record, and I’ve left the other four opinions (“The Field”) anonymous. Here’s how it all shook down (click the chart for a larger view):
Depending on how you slice and dice the statistics, two wines emerged as the favorites: The 2007 Chasseur “Joyce” (which claimed the lowest aggregate total) and the 2007 Papapietro Perry “Leras” (which scored the second-lowest aggregate, but which also received three first-place votes). The “Leras” proved quite divisive, in fact, scoring near the very bottom among the folks who did not choose it as their overall favorite. One aspect that is revealing, however, is that all five first-place votes were awarded to the same three wines with the lowest aggregate scores. These three — the Papapietro, the Kosta Brown, and the Chasseur — should boast the broadest appeal. Frankly, I was a bit relieved to discover that the mailing-list selections (the Chasseur and the Kosta Browne) held their own among the flight, although I also suspected that the Papapietro Perry would prove formidable. I have raved about that wine for the last couple years. No surprise that it was also my personal favorite last week. CKGRX29EXX84
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 L-I-V-I-N: 2001 LeRoy Vosne-Romanée, 1983 Chateau Latour, 1990 Domaine Weinbach Cuvée Ste. Catherine. Wine tasting can sometimes be counter-productive to blogging, at least in the short term. Pictured above, three reasons why I’ve been mostly absent from the internet this week. This handsome trio in the photo capped an epic Tuesday evening, which began with a blind tasting of 2007 California Pinot Noir (Kosta Browne, Papapietro Perry, Chasseur, and three others; my full report to follow next week). Before this throw-down of mailing-list Pinot, I had already spent the entire day touring Napa wine country with my friend Jean-Marie, who is currently visiting California from Europe. It had been a pleasure to host someone who shares my same passion for wine, but with an Old World perspective. Jean-Marie’s last official gig was a three-year stint as lead sommelier at Restaurant Gordon Ramsey in Chelsea (that’s a three-Michelin joint, for those keeping score). On Tuesday, we visited Ehlers, Failla, and Stony Hill, along with a couple others (my choices, also for those keeping score). As for the three heavyweights in the photo above, they were supplied by the one Geoff Harner of Mosher Imports. Each wine was terrific, as was expected. Along the way, bottles of Schramsberg Blanc de Blancs were expertly sabered by Dianne. Ah, Napa.
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