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 [... read more ...]
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I've been rediscovering Berkeley lately, and will report on lots of great local restaurants. Do stay tuned.
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Gowan's Oak Tree, Anderson Valley, Highway 128. Although Mendocino County remains one of my favorite wine-tasting regions in all of California, I need to point out that Highway 128 offers much more than wine, and that the almighty grape is not the only show in town. The Anderson Valley excels in apple production, in particular, although the beginning of apple season still remains about two weeks away (yes, most current supermarket apples are actually from last year’s crop, just out of cold storage). Anyhow, when it comes to tasting the best of the best, the Anderson Valley is [... read more ...] The welcoming sign for Toulouse Vineyards, Anderson Valley. I’d spent most of the spring stockpiling some quality Napa Cabernets, taking advantage of the lauded 2007 vintage. But while these big reds gain some age and finesse, I needed a mixed case of white wine and sparkling wine to provide some relief from the summer heat. I suspect that the weather here in the Napa Valley could become very serious in the near future, and while most of June has been relatively cool by Napa standards, the end of the month did deliver a more realistic taste of summer, [... read more ...] Vineyard in repose, Mendocino County. You can say what you want about Napa. I happen to live there. But for me, Mendocino County is Northern California’s true paradise. I spent the better part of the day in the Anderson Valley today, driving past dozens of miles of vineyards that have all slipped into fall colors. All of Mendocino County looked like the photo above, at least along the winding curves of Highway 128. Outside of wine country, the landscape is dominated by moss, ferns, redwoods and oaks. In the winter, every shade of green is on display.
A road trip to Mendocino this week provided an easy to excuse to visit Toulouse Vineyards, which has quickly become my favorite winery in the area. Luckily for me, I happened to catch Toulouse at a great time — just a few days before a new vintage was slated to be released (although these wines were still available for tasting and purchase). I had last visited Toulouse in late March, and I found their wines to be the model of consistency. For me, Toulouse captured the very soul of winemaking: small, artisanal, exquisite. Even their rosé was [... read more ...] |
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© 2010 The Accidental Wino |
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