Star Chefs.com recently announced the 2009 winners for their Napa Sonoma Rising Stars Award. And Geoff Kruth, of The Farmhouse Inn and Restaurant in Forestville, was honored as the Star Sommelier in Sonoma County.

One of Kruth’s tips that the judges liked: When in doubt, serve champagne with soup. It provides a nice contrast in textures.

Kruth is a Master Sommelier, one of less than 150 throughout the world, and he founded the non-profit Guild of Sommeliers.

Other Sonoma County Stars include:
CHEFS: Eric Korsh and Ginevra Iverson, Restaurant Eloise
HOTEL CHEF: Jesse Mallgren, Madrona Manor
RESTAURATEUR AWARD: John Toulze, the girl and the fig, fig café, and Estate
SUSTAINABILITY: John Stewart and Duskie Estes, Zazu and Bovolo
MIXOLOGIST: Scott Beattie, bar manager at Cyrus Restaurant and author of Artisanal Cocktails

Check out this video of Eric Korsh just before he and wife Ginevra Iverson opened Restaurant Eloise in Sebastopol. (Guess which of his dishes a lot of people would choose as their “death row final meal.”)

And here’s a video of John Toulze right before he and Sondra Bernstein opened Estate restaurant in Sonoma.

 

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     Earlier this week I took a few bottles of wine to a friend--actually, she is my teacher but explaining the exact relationship would be a distraction from my point--who had expressed a fondness for both syrah and sangiovese.

     When I gave her the package of wine she plopped down in the middle of the studio and began examining each label, a look of delight on her face.  She reminded me of a child on Christmas morning, excited, eager, grateful.

     I felt a little sheepish.

     It is so easy, here in Sonoma County, to take wine for granted, especially if you work close to it, as I do. Samples arrive on my doorstep almost daily and sometimes I think, sheeesh, more wine.

     It is easy to feel overhwhelmed, especially when storage space is limited, as mine is.  And then there’s the recycling that the packaging requires, no small thing. And I have twice broken a toe rushing from one room to another and failing to see the cache of wine bottles behind the couch. Ouch!

     And so the look on my teacher’s face slowed me down a bit.

     Have I grown jaded, cynical?

     Maybe just a little but only temporarily, I promise.

     How lucky we are to live in this wonderful place, where the land gives us such an extraordinary bounty. I will never be able to drink all of the wines that find their way to me but I will never again take them for granted, not even briefly.

     And speaking of sangiovese, I have in general been disappointed with the varietal’s performance in California. But a couple of weeks ago I tasted DaVero’s   It is delicious, smooth, full and easy to drink, the best example of sangiovese I’ve seen in California.

Michele Anna Jordan

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     After I mentioned that I loved the Pellegrini 2007 Sauvignon Blanc in my Mouthful column last week I got a note from its maker, Kevin Hamel, thanking me for the comment. Sauvignon Blanc, he said, is still a hard sell in the market.

     This surprises me. Sauvignon blanc is one of the most refreshing white wines there is. It is generally a bargain and it goes well with a broader range of foods than the best selling white wine in the United States, chardonnay.  
This underscores how irrational wine preferences can be. I think so many people drink chardonnay because they are familiar with it and because it is easy to pronounce. It can be good, certainly, but too often it’s like sucking on acube of butter. A limited number of foods are enhanced by it.

 

     I was talking with John Ash the other day and he mentioned that he almost always prefers a bright white wine with good acidity.

     “Just like so many foods are improved by a little squeeze of lemon juice,” he said, “sauvignon blanc enhances almost everything.”

     It should be no surprise, then, that John is a partner in Sauvignon Republic, which just released its 2007 Potter Valley Sauvignon Blanc, the fourth wine in their international line up. The first release was from Russian River Valley. Next came Marlborough, New Zealand, followed by Stellenbosch, South Africa.

     The plan is to identify those regions around the world that produce the best sauvignon blanc and incorporate as many as possible in their line up. The team has been working on Sancerre in France but it seems the French haven’t quite grasped the concept yet. I hope they get it soon as I am eager to see what the Sauvignon Republic does with what is considered by many wine lovers to be the single finest spot for this varietal.

At $18 a bottle, these wines won’t break the bank, either.
The Pellegrini, at $15, is an even better deal.

Michele Anna Jordan

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There are a lot of little things about the wine industry that drive me nuts:  Overoaked sauvignon blanc, overextracted pinot noir, 17% zinfandel, screw caps that are harder to open than corks are to pull, cutesy names that marketers decide are women-friendly. Fruit flavored wines. I mean, Peach Chardonnay?  Please.
But there’s one thing that has really been bugging me lately and that’s web sites that require you to enter a birth date for access. Do they really think people under 21 can’t do enough math to lie? Most seem to have gone to a simple click to “indicate you are over 21” but there are enough that still require a date that I get pretty crankypants when I’m doing research. When I want information quickly--current releases, a retail price, the name of the winemaker, an address--I hate this little barricade, especially since there is no single format.  
So, web meisters, does it really matter if I’m born on January 1, 1900, December 31, 1910 or July 4, 1976, all dates I’ve entered? If the internet is all about instant information, how about we get rid of this little speed bump.
Now, after a very long work day, it’s time for an adult beverage and I have just the one. A sample bottle of Merry Edwards 2007 Russian River Valley Sauvignon Blanc ($29 retail) arrived this morning. I loved the 2006 and suspect I will be equally pleased by the new vintage, as other ‘07 sauvignon blancs I’ve tried from Russian River Valley fruit have been excellent.
And ya gotta love Merry’s web site:  There are no entry requirements.

Michele Anna Jordan

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At what point will we succeed in killing the goose that lays the golden eggs? Is there a chance that we won’t?
Much of the glory of Sonoma County is its geographic diversity and its pristine rural outposts, beautiful areas that look much as they did a century and longer ago.
There’s Rockpile, our newest appellation, located west of Lake Sonoma.
There’s Lakeville, on the southeastern edge of the county, an area that makes me think of Thomas Hardy’s fictional Wessex County.
There’s Two Rock west of Petaluma, the Sonoma Coast north of Cazadero and Knights Valley, tucked away north Calistoga.
All of these areas are threatened and constant vigilance is necessary to halt the greed that would transform the entire county into what we have watched our neighbor, Napa County, become, a monocultural playground for wealthy tourists.
Thanks to the Sonoma Land Trust, Lakeville has been saved from plans by the Graton Rancheria to build a huge casino and five-star hotel.
There is a battle raging over the proposed conversion of hundreds of acres of Sonoma Coast redwood forests to vineyards.
And now, Knights Valley is under siege. Actually, it has been for years, as wine baron Jess Jackson has increased his vineyard holdings and is seeking permits to build an enormous visitor and events center.
Jackson’s project is out of scale, it is at odds with the agricultural history of the region and it will destroy the serenity that is at the heart of Knights Valley’s appeal.
Some advocates of the project site Peter Michael Winery as a successful development in Knights Valley. Yet the estate is not visible from the road, it has no tasting room and although it has helped establish the appellation’s reputation for ultra-premium wines, it has not increased traffic or tourism.
Residents are uniformly opposed to the project but supervisor Paul Kelly does not appear to be listening to them. A hearing on the proposed project will be held next Tuesday, October 14, at 2:30 p.m. at the county offices in Santa Rosa.
The only thing that will save Knights Valley is public involvement and pressure on the officials who can green light the project.
Knights Valley has no tasting rooms, no gas stations, no markets, no restaurants, no souvenir shops. It is still, quiet and remarkably beautiful, as near a pristine region as you can find in the North Bay. There is a single two-lane road that winds through this agricultural land.
Yet once an area is developed there is no going back. The landscape always adjusts up, adding the facilities and services that an influx of new visitors makes so attractive to those with nothing more than profit in mind.
If you are not familiar with Knights Valley, you might want to check out the work of Millie Bisset, who lives there and whose oil paintings of the region will be on display at the Healdsburg Library through October 25.  
Knights Valley should be preserved as an agricultural area. Commercial development should be prohibited.

Some outstanding Knights Valley sourced wines come from: 

Peter Michael Winery

Beringer Alluvium

 

Michele Anna Jordan

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I confess:  I am an exuberant fan of Francis Ford Coppola. I love his movies, I love his willingness to take creative risks, I love his love of the pleasures of the table, I love his love of life. When he purchased Chateau Souverain in Geyserville in 2005, I was thrilled.
Yesterday, I visited what is now Francis Ford Coppola Presents Rosso & Bianco.  I had seen the plans for an extensive remodel but this was my first visit since construction began.  I was stunned by the progress they have made in just four months or so.
For now, here’s what you need to know.  The temporary quarters for the tasting room, open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday through Friday and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday, is one of the most pleasant places to visit in all of Alexander Valley. Nestled beneath a cool canopy of tall trees, a patio remains pleasant even during a heat wave. Tables and chairs allow you to linger, soaking up the gorgeous eastern view.
Inside, there are two long tasting bars and a small retail area. This temporary space is more than a lot of wineries have as their permanent quarters.
There are complimentary tastings of Rosso & Bianco wines. For $8, you can taste the gorgeous Francis Coppola 2007 Reserve Russian River Valley Viognier, one of the best I’ve seen from California, the FC 2006 Reserve RRV Chardonnay, the Director’s Cut 2006 Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir and the 2005 FC Reserve Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. Five dollars gets you tastes of Diamond Claret, Diamond Pinot Grigio, Diamond Alicante Bouschet and Sofia Blanc de Blanc.
The restaurant is closed during the remodel but food is still available, including nearly a dozen pizzas, a sandwich of the day, salumi, cheeses, olives, almonds, dried pears and fire-roasted bell peppers. Yesterday I had the pizza funghi e salsicce ($14); it was oh-so-very yummy.
To me, this is Sonoma County at its best, relaxed, informal, friendly and delicious.
Thank you, Francis, for choosing Sonoma County!
Phase 1 of the remodel, which will include the restaurant, the tasting room and the museum for Coppola’s extensive collection of movie memorabilia  will be completed sometime early next summer.
Phase 2, which will focus on the grounds and include a swimming pool with cabanas, an outdoor restaurant, a small band shell with seating for about 150 and bocce courts will open the following summer.

 Michele Anna Jordan

 

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I promised myself I wasn’t going to talk or write about a wine I discovered a few weeks ago. I wanted to keep it to myself so that when my finances improve a bit--there’s always the next book advance to anticipate--I’ll be able to snag a case or two.
But I can’t resist.
It has been a long time since I found a pinot noir that reminded me why I wrote a feisty little article entitled “Sex and a Single Grape” a number of years ago (more than a decade before “Sideways”). There has been a tendency among California winemakers to make dark inky overextracted pinot noirs. For one thing, they get more attention from the dudes who slap number and star ratings on wines. For another, they appeal to the market segment that prefers fruit bombs, the big and often high alcohol zins and syrahs and cabs that dominate the market.
One winemaker who will go unnamed even brags that his goal is the cabernization of pinot noir.
If I were queen of the universe, this would be illegal.
I am one of a few lone voices--Kermit Lynch is another and he has way more power and visibility than I do--making a plea for sanity, for honoring the true nature of this varietal. There hasn’t been much of it out there for a while.   There have been good pinot noirs, certainly, but none that I would call a reason for living.
Along comes Copeland Creek 2005 Pinot Noir. It is delicate, ephemeral and ethereal, with plenty of what I have come to call the pinot thing.
The pinot thing is the essence of pinot noir, the pinessence, if you will. It is unique to this varietal and it is as much an aroma as it is a taste. It is impossible to accurately describe it but once you’ve experienced it, you understand. And you want more. Lots more.
But when pinot noir is overextracted, the pinot thing is lost. If the alcohol is too high, the pinot thing is lost. It’s a sad thing, all those wasted grapes.
Don Baumhefner is a tender shepherd of this wily grape. Unfortunately, the 2005 will likely be the last vintage of Copeland Creek. The owner of the vineyard died and the new owners will take it in another direction.
Fortunately for lovers of true pinot noir, Don was able to buy back what remained of the vintages he made. Last I heard, he had about 800 cases of the 2005 pinot noir, which he sells for $27 a bottle. It is one of the best bargains around. He doesn’t have a web site but you can reach him at [email protected]
This wine is one of the most food friendly wines around. You can enjoy it with almost anything at all. 

For one of my favorite ways to enjoy it, check this out.

Michele Anna Jordan

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Jug wine isn’t what it used to be and I mean that in a good way. What’s on supermarket shelves may not have changed much since the days of Hearty Burgundy but here and there throughout Sonoma County, you can find outstanding wines in three-liter jugs.Preston of Dry Creek Jug Wine" align="left" />

Take Preston’s Guadagni.

Sold only at the winery on Sundays and limited to two jugs per customer, the bottle is filled and labeled on the spot, as you chat with the Prestons and nibble a few homemade olives.

Guadagni is a tribute to Lou and Susan Preston’s late neighbor, Jim Guadagni, known to locals as the Mayor of Dry Creek. Jim was Lou’s mentor and if you get him talking, he’ll share colorful stories, including one of the teenaged Jim guiding a walking plow behind a sweating horse, a jug of wine at either end of the field.

Jim grew zinfandel, carignane, malvoise and mataro. Today, malvoise is known as cinsault and mataro is called mourvedre but the blend that bears his name is as juicy, voluptuous and smooth as his family wine likely was.

Preston of Dry Creek, 9282 West Dry Creek Rd., Healdsburg. Open daily, 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. $5 tasting fee, refunded with wine purchase. Guadagni is $32 per 3-liter jug; it is sold only on Sundays; don’t even think about asking to buy it on another day.

– michele anna jordan www.micheleannajordan.com

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The temperature is soaring towards 100 degrees in Sonoma County - California Wine Country this week, and suddenly a glass of warm red wine isn’t very appealing. No, when it’s hot outside I prefer a cold wine--either a simple, clean white or even better, an icy dry rose.

I like to say that no one plans to make dry rose and holds aside grapes for that purpose (except Sola Rosa, a Sonoma County winery whose sole focus is dry rose). Rose in California is almost always the byproduct of “bleeding off” tanks.

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There are a lot of wineries in Sonoma County competing for you time, attention and dollar.  Every once in a while a winery comes up with a new angle on how to get you, the treasured consumer with credit card in pocket, in the door.  For example, the food-wine pairing angle is thriving, with Lynmar Winery a more recent addition, and St. Francis, Mayo and Kendall-Jackson still enjoying great success with their elaborate paired tastings.  While J Winery no longer offers their food-wine pairing to bar visitors, but it’s still available in the J Bubble Lounge.

Now a new visitor hook is popping up in Sonoma County tasting rooms, the blending seminar.

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The long awaited Pinot Noir project of Napa Valley’s Joseph Phelps Vineyards is underway, with a brand new tasting room open in Freestone in West Sonoma County.

In 1999, Phelps planted 80 acres of Pinot Noir and 20 acres of Chardonnay on three separate sites above Freestone in the Sonoma Coast appellation.

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Good question. While Passport to Dry Creek Valley is sold out this weekend, there’s still time to get in on the lottery for next year (or check out Craiglist for last-minute tickets for this year). And yours truly thinks Passport to Dry Creek Valley is the single best wine event weekend in Wine Country (unless you have $5k to blow on two tickets for Napa Valley Auction weekend).

For $110 per person, Passport holders get two days worth of wine, glorious wine, and food, glorious food. A significant portion of the ticket fees are kicked back to the wineries to put out a spread, and I do mean SPREAD. Chefs enlisted by the wineries comprise a virtual Who’s Who of Wine Country cuisine.

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Robert Young grew grapes for nearly 35 years before his family started to make their own wine under the Robert Young Estate Winery label in 1997.

Look around Sonoma County and you’ll find lots of examples of growers who start their own winery. Clay Mauritson’s family grew grapes for 130 years before he was the first to venture into winemaking in 1998 with Mauritson Wines in Dry Creek. Across the street, Tom and Tina Maple had been growing some of the finest old vine Zinfandel in Dry Creek Valley for more than 30 years before keeping a few tons of grapes for themselves in 2006.

And why not?

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This coming weekend (April 19-20) it’s “April in Carneros” time, a two-day event featuring food and wine at 20 Carneros wineries.

Carneros is unique among wine regions in these woods in that it straddles two counties, Napa and Sonoma. It’s also special in that both cool weather varietals like Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, as well as warm weather varietals like Merlot, can thrive here. Carneros has hot inland days but gets very cool and foggy in the evening from the Pacific Ocean by way of the San Pablo Bay.

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The historic Asti Winery quietly reopened to the public last week, with Cellar No. 8 opening a tasting room in the facility that was once the second most popular destination in California after Disneyland.

Cellar No. 8 at Asti Winery is owned by Foster’s, the Australian beverage giant. The winery has continued as a working winery, with Foster’s wineries Cellar No. 8 and more recently Souverain making their wines on the property. Cellar No. 8 is named for an actual cellar at the winery where red wine barrels were aged in the late 1800s.

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If having one tasting room is good, having two must be better. So it seems as SonomaUncorked is seeing a lot of double these days all over Sonoma County.

For starters, Kokomo Wines opened their first tasting room, the Kokomo Lounge, in downtown Santa Rosa’s Railroad Square last summer. Although Kokomo has some outstanding wines, the lounge has been slow to catch on, mostly because of that old real estate adage: location, location, location. The lounge is located just around the corner from the main drag of Railroad Square, but you wouldn’t know it unless you happened to park in front of it.

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Just when you think you know the lay of Sonoma County winery-land, a round of musical chairs gets it all mixed up again.

The former Belvedere Winery in the Russian River Valley will open soon as C. Donatiello Winery. Bill Hambrecht, owner of the winery formerly known as Belvedere, sold the Belvedere name to the same-named vodka company for an undisclosed sum (think 8 figures). Now he is teaming up with Chris Donatiello to start a new winery at the old location. Meanwhile, find Belvedere’s Sonoma County Chardonnay available at Bay Area Trader Joe’s for the fire sale price of $4.99 a ba-ba!

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Here in Sonoma County spring is definitely in the air. The heavy rains of the first part of the year have yielded to sunshine and temperatures nearing 70 degrees every day, and those circumstances make the grapevines very happy. Over the last few weeks they have awakened, first pushing out sap like a sleepy cat having a morning stretch.

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