Napa Valley Winery Exchange

Last week Chris and I, with friends Brad & Kim, visited San Francisco and Napa Valley.  As such, the next few blog entries will shift the focus off of my usual Ontario winery reviews to recount our exploration of the region that made new-world wine famous across the globe.  Since Canadian customs only allows each adult traveler to bring two 750 ml bottles back into Canada, we planned this trip carefully, intending to only buy wines that are not available (or rarely available or available but really expensive) in Ontario.  One tool that helped us accomplish this was the LCBO app for iPhone, which we used to check inventory levels of different wines across the province.  (Note: the search engine in this app isn't very "smart" so check your spelling carefully before concluding that a wine isn't sold in Ontario.)

For some perspective, consider that there are just over 80 wineries in the Niagara region and that it's taken me a year and a half to blog approximately half of them.  As such, what proportion of Napa's 450+ wineries could the four of us realistically visit in just 3 days?  Solution: the Napa Valley Winery Exchange has shopped most of the region's boutique wineries (and some of the larger ones too) to bring together a collection of wines that generally are not sold outside of California.  It's a small storefront near the not-so-desirable Tenderloin district of San Francisco with limited  hours (10-6 most days), but for wine tourists it is an absolute must-shop while you're in town.  It's well organized inside, with shelves divided by varietal and with professional reviews, tasting notes and ratings beneath most wines.  Perhaps the best feature of the NVWE, though, is its staff.  On one hand, they really know their stuff; you can give a fairly detailed description such as "cocoa and eucalyptus with no tobacco" and they know which bottle to recommend.  On the other hand, if you're not as wine-literate, they will coach you through easy questions, beginning with "red or white?"  Below is a look at the 3 bottles we purchased from this store.  Each photo links to more information about the wine.  However, just like in Ontario, the smaller wineries don't seem to spend much time maintaining their websites! 

Anderson's
 Conn Valley Vineyards
2010 Right Bank

Limerick Lane
2009 Zinfandel
Block 1910

John Robert Eppler Wines
2009 Cabernet Sauvignon
Howell Mountain

New Vintage Festival (Ridgepoint Wines)

After a disappointing start to the day, the people at Ridgepoint Wines really turned things around for us.  It had set up an area for passport holders and staffed it with a very knowledgeable and friendly host. I loved the little tidbits of information I picked up during this visit.  For example, the cabernet sauvignon grape is actually a cross-breed (most likely accidental) of sauvignon blanc and cabernet franc.  We also learned that a wine's eventual % alcohol can be approximated by its brix level divided by 2.  Sometime during our lesson, we managed to taste 2 red wines accompanied by venison sliders.  Carrie and Chris were a little hesitant to try venison, but were later glad that they did.  

The first wine, the 2009 Monticello Rosso (translation = "little hill") is an odd blend of some lighter reds and even a white.  (Sorry - I didn't record the exact blend but then couldn't find it on the winery's website later.)  It is served chilled, is very drinkable, and not at all dry.  Its fruity / berry flavor has an obvious Italian influence, like many of Ridgepoint's wines.  At $15 per bottle, this wine is good value.  It doesn't require food, but would go well with lots of antipasto dishes.  Although the venison was too big of a flavor for it, the wine picked up both the taste and the smell of the burger's tomato. 

The second wine, the 2007 Meritage, sells for $25.25, low for an aged Ontario red blend.  I enjoyed the musky smell of cigar smoke / wet leather.  Most of the flavor comes early and up front, though, and the finish is both short and weak.  I described the wine as poorly structured, because I experienced the whole taste at once and mostly in one part of the mouth.  Chris described it as too tannic.  Our host agreed with Chris on that note, suggesting that it would benefit from 2-3 more years of aging. (Apparently I can only detect tannin when it's either really young and chalky or really old and silky, recognizing nothing in between!)  This wine went very well with the venison, holding it's own against both the strong flavour and the fat content.  It was one of those mutually beneficial pairings where the combined flavour of the food and the wine is somehow better than either flavour on its own.

We will definitely return to Ridgepoint, probably for lunch, and to try their more unique wines.  As I mentioned, there is a strong Italian influence, and the winery actually grows and bottles its own sangiovese and nebbiolo, which I didn't think was possible in Ontario.  It also offers a white Cab Franc / Cab Sauv blend for $18, $4 cheaper than Hinterbrook's Franc Blanc. 

Cuvee at Strewn

The first time Chris and I visited Strewn Winery, we determined to return to taste its higher end wines.  So when it advertised it would be serving three of its Terroir wines, we made it the 4th stop of our Cuvee tour route.   Of course, we had already tasted 14 other wines before arriving, so the memories are fuzzy and the tasting notes nearly illegible.  (I'm noticing that my choices for quality pictures got pretty slim as the day went on too!)  The wines consisted of three different years of the "Strewn Three" red blend of cabernet sauvingon, cabernet franc, and merlot.  Strewn does not make this wine every year, depending on the growing conditions and the quality of the harvest.

2005 - The sommelier student who served us accurately described the nose as 'cigar box' - rich, thick, sweet and smoky.  The wine is exceptionally dry, but without tasting at all of chalk.  Its taste and body do not live up to what its nose promises.  Its finish was a tad too short and its brick-like colour suggested that it had passed its prime.

2007 - Jeff absolutely loved this wine!  According to the place mat (pictured left), "Aromas of plum and a minerality are found on the nose.  Flavours of cherry mingle with raspberry and plum on the palate.  Supple and silky tannins add to the full round character.  This wine from a stellar vintage year can be enjoyed now or allowed to develop through 2015."

2010 - Based on the description alone, I knew this wine was for me!  "Cedar, maraschino cherry, vanilla, eucalyptus and spiciness on the nose.  Maraschino cherry plays in the flavour with chocolate and a hint of tobacco and a desirable leather.  Structured tannins are well integrated.  Drinking well now but can cellar up to 2016."  The description is bang on, and I bought 4 bottles at $33 each - two of which were for other people.

In addition to the advertised tastings, we were also offered a sample of the pre-release 2011 Meritage.  When it is released this August / September, it will be a good buy for $19 / bottle and we'll definitely look for it again.