California Dreaming…Lodi continued

Cosentino Winery ( www.cosentinowinery.com )  now has a presence in Lodi.  They have been around for awhile and well known in Napa.  But they have recently bought Jewel Winery and Vineyards and are now making wine there from both Lodi grapes and other California grapes. 

California Dreaming…continued - Lodi

Now for our stop in Lodi, which has become another favorite location to visit.  Once again, this is an area of mostly smaller, family owned wineries that have a lot of personality.  The tasting room people are very enjoyable and personable and the wines are excellent.  I prefer this type of atmosphere to the big commercial set-ups that tend to be more austere.

This was our first visit to Borra Vineyards (www.borrawinery.com). 

California Dreaming……Paso Robles.

As 2009 went screaming by and my California tasting notes were curtailed by harvest, crush, and the processing of new wine, followed by the holidays, of course, I realize that I still have some winery reports to share. 

California 2009 – Tobin James Wines, Day Two in Paso Robles

You can tell that the folks at Tobin James (www.tobinjames.com) are into fun.  They have a completely Southwestern theme and they call themselves the James Gang.  There is an incredible bar-b-cue area outside that is actually difficult to describe.  Once again, Southwestern designs proliferate, as the huge fireplace, floor, surrounding brickwork, and even the tables and built in benches have Southwestern designs made with stone, ceramic and glass pieces.  It is truly a work of art.  They subtitle their wines with fun names like “Made in the Shade”, “Black Magic”, and “Ballistic”.

California 2009 – Some Food Finds

Unfortunately, unless you have the pocketbook of the rich and famous, exciting food finds are hard to come by.  We rarely have a dish in a restaurant that really turns us on.  But I have a couple tidbits to share and a recipe for something luscious.

California 2009 - Nadeau Family Vintners

Nadeau Family Vintners www.nadeaufamilyvintners.com  is a very tiny place with very big wines.  Their case production ranges from as low as 99 cases for one of their varieties to a whopping 250 cases for their highest production.  This is our second visit and we continue to be very impressed.

California 2009 – Justin Vineyards and Winery

Justin Winery, www.justinwine.com,  has a very attractive tasting room in addition to a dining room that is open nightly, bistro lunches on weekends and a great wine country place to stay, appropriately called The Just Inn.

California 2009 – Paso Robles – Adelaida Vineyards

Our first stop in Paso Robles was at Adelaida Cellars www.adelaida.com .  We have had a couple of their wines but never stopped here before.

The names of some of their wines are interesting.  There is a wine named Pavanne that is supposed to be named after a medieval dance.  However, my research shows

California 2009 – Vino Noceto Winery

Vino Noceto, www.noceto.com,  is a small family owned winery in Amador county in the Sierra Foothills.  Their first vintage was in 1990 at 110 cases.  They have grown to about 9000 cases now.  The largest part of their production is Sangiovese.  There are 8 listed on the tasting sheet.

California 2009 – Granite Springs and Latcham Wineries

First, for those who have been anxiously awaiting the information in this ongoing California wine travel blog, I apologize that the time between blogs has been long.  It has been a hectic time at the winery but I am back in the saddle(or at the computer) again.

On to a couple more of my favorite places in the El Dorado county section of the Sierra Foothills.  Granite Springs and Latcham Wineries are both owned by the Latcham family. 

California 2009 – Sierra foothills continued: Sobon and Shenandoah Winery and Vineyards

Located in Amador county, these two wineries are owned by Leon and Shirley Sobon and family.  The tasting room staff in both places consists of some of the friendliest and nicest people you will encounter.  This is a testament to the enjoyment of working for people like the Sobons, and the fact that these folks love interacting with the visitors and talking about the wine.  We never miss stopping to see them and taste the latest offerings.

California 2009 – Wineries of the Sierra Foothills – Part 1

This post begins our series of visits to wineries in California this year.

We never miss at least a few stops in the Sierra Foothills, about 45 minutes from Sacramento.  Several very fine wines and some very good friends always await us in this area.  The Sierra Foothills consists of 3 counties, Amador, Calaveras, and El Dorado.

Our first stop is at Boeger Winery www.boegerwines.com.  Boeger Winery is located in El Dorado county and, as mentioned in my blog from last year’s visit, is a family owned operation with Greg Boeger, the founder, now retired from making the wine, and son, Justin, taking over as winemaker, second generation.

California – Here we are! Wine and music.

This is the first of a series of posts regarding our latest trip to California.  They will include  judging, visiting wineries, and any other great information I want to pass on.
The day prior to judging the California State Wine Competition, there is always some manner of educational program for the judges.  This always takes place the evening before the judging begins.  This year, it was a rather unusual program regarding the influence of music on wine consumption.

California, here I come - again!

It's that time of year again.  I will be off to judge at the California State Competition.  As we usually try to do, we are taking a few extra days to visit some wineries.

Look for my posts regarding any new finds, tasting notes, and other information regarding our travels.  We expect to taste some great wine and meet some wonderful people.

Geez, I love this business!

Lodi Continued: Macchia Wines

Tim and Lani Holdner are the founders of Macchia Wines (www.macchiawines.com).  Tim was an amateur winemaker for a dozen years before he turned professional – something to which I can relate.  Their mantra is that it is “all about the grape”, and so they source fruit from several different vineyards in California, including the original “Grand Pere” vineyard in Amador county which is 140 years old.

Lodi Continued: Van Ruiten Vineyards

If you have been reading my Lodi posts, you will know that we tasted one of the Van Ruiten Wines when we started out at the Lodi Visitors Center, and we liked the wine we tasted quite well.  It was a Pinot Gris.  So we decided to visit the actual Van Ruiten tasting room to try some of their other wines. 

Lodi Continued: Michael-David Family of Wines

Michael and David Phillips are fifth generation winemakers in Lodi.  The Michael-David Winery(www.lodivineyards.com) was very familiar in name to us as we have had some of their wines elsewhere and remembering the names of them is quite easy as they are very catchy.  They have 7 Deadly Zins, 7 Heavenly Chards, and a line called “Earthquake”.  In addition to the tasting room, there is a farmer’s market with gloriously fresh looking produce, and a bustling café that came very highly recommended…a perfect place to have lunch.

Lodi Continued: Lucas Winery

The Lucas Winery (www.lucaswinery.com) is now 30 years old.  They are unique in that, while they do make a Chardonnay, the rest of their production is dedicated to Zinfandel.  We were greeted by Denise Lange, who is also associated with Lange Twins Winery in Lodi.  She was very knowledgeable and very enthusiastic about the Lucas wines, winery and Lodi wines in general.

Lodi Continued: Jessie’s Grove Winery

Our first stop at an individual winery here in Lodi is Jessie’s Grove Winery (www.jessiesgrovewinery.com), where we are greeted in the tasting room by a delightful young lady named Michele.  The tasting room is housed in an 1870’s building.  This is an old family ranch founded by Jessie’s father and established in 1868.  Lots of history here.  There is a museum on the property that has artifacts exclusively from the ranch, whose property once produced the largest wheat crops in California.

California Continued – An Unplanned Trip to Lodi

We had not expected to get freed up and have an extra day to tour wineries, but it happened.  So we decided to visit the Lodi area, yet another part of the California wine scene that we had never visited.  Mark Chandler, the Executive Director of the Lodi-Woodbridge Grape Commission, is a fellow judge and invited us to come see what is happening in Lodi.