Mercer Canyons 2014 Red Blend, Horse Heaven Hills

When the Little Dragon is in town, she demands fruit forward wines. This red blend from Horse Heaven Hills fills the bill – and then some.

Going Up The Canyons

Our daughter is a vegan baker with a heavy dose of wanderlust. If she’s not cooking at a Colorado ski slope, or exploring a Central American country, she’ll pop in for a visit.

She recently did so. While she isn’t as fiery as her mother, the Green Dragon, she can be demanding. She also is developing a love of wine.

Her appreciation of premier cru wines from Bordeaux will come in time. Right now her taste runs toward wines that are easy to drink and to understand.

Recently to pair with an organic, vegan, funky, Bernie Sanders approved meal, that she prepared, she wanted a red wine. I uncorked this bottle of 2014 Mercer Canyons Red Blend.

H³ = Satisfaction

We’re huge fans of Washington State wine. What’s not to like? You can expect bold flavors, innovative winemaking and a great price point. In particular, the Horse Heaven Hills AVA produces some of the state’s most highly rated wines. The area is near the Columbia River and benefits from steep slopes and tempering winds.

Mercer Estate Wines produces a range of wines from Horse Heaven Hills. Last year we sampled the Sharp Sisters blend from Mercer Estate Wines and really enjoyed it. That is from the Mercer Estates line, which is in the middle of the top shelf Mercer Reserve line and the entry level Mercer Canyons label.

I don’t like to make blanket statements – but in this case, I will: If you buy a wine from Horse Heaven Hills, you’re going to like it. The fruit is just that good.

The Mercer Canyons Red Blend is no exception to my audacious statement. The grapes come from Mercer’s Spice Cabinet and Dead Canyon vineyards in Horse Heaven Hills. This is rich fruit in the Washington tradition. The dappled sunlight of the site allows the grapes to fully ripen and develop deep flavors.

This is a grab-bag of great grapes: 59% Merlot, 16% Syrah, 10% Grenache, 7% Sangiovese, 6% Petit Verdot and 2% Viognier. Yes, Viognier is a white grape. Adding a dash of Viognier enhances the aromatics and is in the Rhone tradition where it is common to add to their Syrah-based wines.

Little Dragon was pleased with the full flavors of the Canyons Red Blend. For a wine that costs $13.99, there is a lot going on in the glass. Black cherry dominates with spice flavor notes. The wine is aged in a combination of French and American oak for 12 months, adding caramel and smoke complexity. The wine undergoes malolactic fermentation, adding to the full mouth feel.

I sensed a smidge of sweetness to the wine, due I’m sure to the lush fruit flavors. This is a wine that will appeal to a large segment of wine lovers – especially those whose faces begin to shrivel when sipping a bone dry wine with heavy tannins.

This wine is a fine accompaniment to a light meal of pasta, pork or beef. It’s Little Dragon approved for drinking all by itself too.

Full disclosure: This wine was received as a marketing sample.

Blue Rock 1999 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, Alexander Valley

Maybe that’s what Dionne Warwick had in mind when she sang the song, “That’s What Friends Are For.” And by “that” we mean incredible wine – like this standout Cabernet from Alexander Valley.

We Get The “Blues”

One of our favorite bottles is Baby Blue, a Bordeaux style blend from Blue Rock Vineyard in Sonoma’s Alexander Valley. I don’t think we have every had a bad wine from Alexander Valley – and Blue Rock keeps some pretty nice company.

Blue Rock’s 100 acre estate is located next door to the iconic Silver Oak winery. Blue Rock is named after the soils found in the vineyard, which contain a high percentage of Serpentine, a blue colored rock high in magnesium. The soil contributes a unique flavor profile to the wine.

Although we love Baby Blue, it is still the “baby” and the big daddy is the Blue Rock Estate Cabernet.

Entering The Way Back Machine

What’s more fun than opening a bottle of great wine? Opening a nicely aged bottle of vintage wine.
We were treated to just that as we paid a visit to tasting team members The Cabernetor and Glorious T. While Glorious T had the food covered with aplomb, The Cabernetor was determined to live up to his name – and he certainly did.

He emerged from the cellar with a 1999 bottle of Blue Rock Cabernet Sauvignon. Although typos are not unknown in the blog – this is not one! This was an 18-year old bottle of premium Sonoma Cabernet.

Napa Cabernets and maybe California Cab in general, are sometimes criticized as being a bad match with food. They can come on way too strong with heavy handed tannins that overpower a meal. Not so with Blue Rock.

Blue Rock is food friendly and a showcase of winemaking artistry. It is one of the most popular wines in Sonoma and has taken home bushels of honors from critics. The aging takes it into a whole different dimension.

It is a blend of several different mature blocks of grapes and may include small amounts of Merlot, Cab Franc, Malbec or, as was the case in 1999, Petit Verdot. With age, the wine is as finely polished like the hood of a car collector’s classic Corvette Stingray. This is smooth sailing with no jarring flavors or high alcohol level – all is harmonious.

The flavors are rich and flowing with red fruit, blackberry and notes of mint. Aging is done in a mix of new and used French oak barrels, so there is structure – but after 18 years, all is integrated into a symphony of flavor.

So, there are a couple take-aways from this experience. First, Alexander Valley and Blue Rock Vineyard in particular, produce smashing Cabernet. Second, your “treasure” bottles of wine only have value when you bring them out and enjoy them. That our friends would do this was as nice a feeling as tasting the incredible ‘99 Blue Rock!

Dust off those bottles and enjoy them with your friends!

It’s A Gas! New Product Brings ArT to Wine Preservation

Spoiled wine sucks. ArT¹⁸ aims to bring the neutral gas blanket preservation technique to the masses at a reasonable price.

Searching For The Holy Grail

For wine lovers, preserving their favorite vino can be a quest that borders on obsession. The problem is that when you pop the cork (or twist the cap) and start pouring, you are exposing the wine to oxygen. That begins the oxidative process, attacking the high qualify molecules and promoting bacterial growth.

Ironic, isn’t it? As you open a bottle of robust red wine, you might put it in a decanter or use an aerator to help the wine “open up” by introducing oxygen. That same oxygen that helps in the initial experience, can take down a perfectly good half-finished bottle you are trying to save for another night.

The wine may taste stale or develop the odor of fingernail polish. We’ve tried various types of corks and other closures and devices that manually or automatically pump the air out of the bottle. We drew the line on one product that required you to insert a floating plastic disc into the bottle – it was designed to minimize contact with the wine. Maybe so, but we decided we didn’t want some funky piece of plastic floating in our bottle.

In general we’ve found that a red wine might last two or maybe three days after the initial opening, especially if it is refrigerated. A white wine can last longer, maybe four or five days if refrigerated.
The gold standard of wine preservation is Coravin, a device which allows you to pour wine without removing the cork and preserves the remaining wine with a blanket of inert Argon gas. However, the price tag of Coravin can exceed $300 –so for most of us, it is just wishful thinking.

Enter ArT¹⁸

We were recently introduced to ArT18 a product that promises to bring Argon gas wine preservation to wine lovers at a very reasonable price tag – a mere $9.99 per can. We were anxious to give the system a whirl.

Calling it a system may be a bit presumptuous. It is a can of Argon gas along with a cork. The cork isn’t necessary for the system to work and the ArT¹⁸ team specifies that it is for aesthetic purposes only. I misplaced their cork with the dozen or so we had floating around and ended up using the first cork within my reach.

When you first heft the can, you might wonder what’s up. The can feels empty – but indeed it is filled with Argon and can be used up to 130 times. I’m not sure how you tell when it is empty, but I still have more than 100 uses to go.

My initial test was with a bottle of Locations wine. This is a wine label that focuses on producing blends that are representative of an entire country. Green Dragon and I popped open a bottle of Locations I, which is the Italian blend. We each had a glass, maybe a tad more, and then I decided to give ArT¹⁸ a whirl.

To use it, you simply aim it into the bottle neck and give a one to two second burst. I then put a cork in it.

Fast-forward five days. I took part in an online tasting of Location wines. This time it was Italy – I, France – F, and Spain (E for Espania).  This was the ideal opportunity to contrast two bottles of Italian red, one five days old preserved with ArT¹⁸  and the other freshly opened.

The Verdict?

The ArT¹⁸ can proclaims that it can maintain the wine profile for weeks. Would this claim hold up? The first bottle had been sitting on my kitchen counter for five days. This, I felt, would be a true test. I already knew that my refrigerator can help extend wine life. But what about ArT¹⁸?

I sampled the just opened bottle – nice juicy berry flavors with blackberry and maybe light vanilla. I then sampled the ArT¹⁸ bottle. Whoops. The bottle had started to turn and I could taste the oxidation. My first effort was not a success.

Hold the phone! My testing wasn’t over. I had three nice bottles of Locations wine and that was beyond the capacity of me and the Green Dragon to finish in a day – so I “gassed” the bottles up. This time I made sure to give it a full two-seconds.

The next day, we had an impromptu wine tasting at our house. I had a couple of whites and a reserve Cab France. I set out the Locations wines, but was ready to grab other bottles if these had gone bad. I opened the trio of bottles and the wine was as fresh and aromatic as when I opened them the previous day.

This obviously wasn’t the same as our five-day test – but normally there would be some degradation over a 24-hour period, especially when the bottles are sitting on the counter in a 74-degree kitchen. This made me wonder if during my initial test I didn’t give a long enough spritz.

My conclusion is that ArT¹⁸ can indeed have a significant impact on wine preservation. By placing an inert blanket of Argon gas between the wine and air, the wine gets a degree of protection. ArT¹⁸ won’t replace Coravin. Coravin is a more ideal process, with the cork firmly in place the whole time, the effectiveness of the Argon is increased. For $9.99, however, this is a very affordable entry into a scientific method of preserving your vino.

Another interesting claim is that the aromas are preserved as well as the flavors. Also of note is that the ArT¹⁸ system can be used for coffee beans, spices and other items that benefit from reduced oxygen exposure.

Why does this all matter? Ryan Frederickson, the GM of ArT¹⁸, points out that this will allow consumers to explore higher price point wines. It also allows you to enjoy wine by the glass without the fear of the remainder spoiling.

ArT¹⁸ will continue to undergo testing here at Vino-Sphere world headquarters and we’ll provide an update on what we find. We’ll just have to wait until we find an unfinished bottle of wine – a rarity around here. Initial results are positive and at about 8 cents per use, I’d encourage you to purchase and experiment yourself.

Full disclosure: We received this product as a marketing sample.

San Simeon 2016 Sauvignon Blanc, Paso Robles

It’s always time to celebrate when a winery launches its first vintage of Sauvignon Blanc. Even better when the vino is coming from Paso Robles…

3… 2… 1… Liftoff!

The Riboli family is no newcomer to the wine business. They started making wine in California in 1917. The enterprise has grown from the initial winery in Los Angeles to multiple brands.

The San Simeon label focuses on two diverse California regions: Paso Robles and Monterey. They recently recorded a first, with their debut vintage of a Sauvignon Blanc.

Batonnage Complexity

The 2016 vintage of San Simeon Sauvignon Blanc is a great example of why Paso Robles is proving to be an ideal home for whites – not just robust reds. The grapes come from a San Simeon estate vineyard, specifically the Margarita Vineyard. The hillsides are steep and the warm days and cool nights of Paso Robles enables Sauvignon Blanc to thrive.

In 2016 the weather was almost perfect, with a long growing season that provided great “hang time” enabling the grapes to develop more depth of flavor. Fourth generation winemaker Anthony Riboli paired with French-trained winemaker Arnaud Debons for this vintage. They use traditional techniques in crafting the wine including long, cool fermentation in steel tanks to preserve the delicate flavors of this white wine.

After fermentation, 10% of the wine was transferred to neutral French oak barrels and batonnage was used. Batonnage is the stirring of the lees (dead yeast cells and grape solids) to add texture and depth. This is a step that adds life and character to a white wine.

In The Glass

The San Simeon Sauvignon is a natural partner for seafood and the winery specifically mentions swordfish. Outstanding! Also suggested is Pesto Di Basilico, a traditional Italian dish of basil pesto over linguine. The bright acidity and liveliness of the Sauvignon Blanc pairs well with the aromatic garlic and basil characteristics of the dish.

We tried this as an after dinner wine sans food. Like with Riesling, acidity is the key to a vibrant wine or a ho-hum experience. The acidity here provides a nice crispness to the wine without being jarring. There are hallmark flavors of pear and lime in each well-balanced glass.

The price point for the 2016 San Simeon Sauvignon Blanc is $18.95, a very good value. San Simeon also offers two other whites at the same price, a Paso Robles Viognier and a Monterey Chardonnay. If you’ve only quaffed Paso Robles reds, this is a prime opportunity to expand your wine horizons.

Full Disclosure: This wine was received as a marketing sample.

Montessu 2013 Isola dei Nuraghi IGT, Sardinia

Looking for a perfect pairing for your Easter meal? Try something different – like a wine made with Carignano…

Learning To Love IGT

Chances are the initials IGT mean nothing to you. Or perhaps you think it stands for International Gaming Technology – not on this blog! IGT is Indicazione Geographica Tipica in Italy’s wine hierarchy. It’s a level below the prestigious DOC but above the simple table wine.

IGT wines includes those wines that have a typical style for the region. In some cases the looser regulations on grape varieties and production methods give the winemaker freedom to experiment outside the bonds of tradition. That’s how the world renowned Super Tuscans were born.

Sun Drenched Sardinia

Italy has two island wine regions: Sicily and Sardinia. Sardinia, surrounded by the Mediterranean and Tyrrhenian seas, basks in plentiful sunshine and high temperatures.

When we attended a dinner party with tasting team members Cabernetor and Glorious T, we brought along a bottle of 2013 Montessu IGT wine. It impressed as a tasty partner for a meal that included a variety of appetizers plus shrimp, beef and mushrooms.

Montessu comes from the southwest of Sardinia in the Sulcis Iglesiente region known for its brown, sandy soil. The warm, well-exposed terrain is ideal for great red wines. The predominate grape in Montessu is Carignano, also known as Carignan. It is mostly known as a blending grape, but in the Montessu it provides great depth and richness.

The climate in Sulcis Iglesiente is also optimal for international grape varieties. This bottle is packed with some of these international varieties, specifically Syrah, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. Each year the percentages of each component vary depending on the outcome of the harvest. For 2013, the winemaker had it dialed in just right.

Something For Your Easter Basket?

For your Easter dinner, you might plan on cooking up ham, lamb or maybe chicken. For lamb and chicken, the Montessu will be spot on.

On the palate the Montessu is full and rich. The tannins are soft, giving it an elegant texture that is food friendly. Unless your nickname is “the Cabernetor” a Cabernet Sauvignon would be too heavy for a typical Easter meal. In contrast, the Carignano blend of Montessu delivers ample berry flavors in a style that is a crowd pleaser with aficionados and newbies alike.

This comes highly recommended for a special occasion. If no special occasion is on the horizon, we suggest you invent one. Montessu has a retail price of $31.

Full disclosure: We received this wine as a marketing sample

Dry Creek Vineyard 2016 Dry Chenin Blanc, Clarksburg

Chenin Blanc is a grape that made its reputation in France’s Loire Valley. But there is one – and only one – American winery that has produced 45 consecutive vintages of dry Chenin Blanc…

French Goodness Finds A Home In California

Even before we knew much about good wine, we loved Chenin Blanc. That’s because we came to enjoy Vouvray, a French wine made with the grape. Chenin Blanc can produce some incredibly complex wines.

While South Africa produces a large amount of Chenin Blanc, much of it is high volume and low quality. That has unfairly tarnished the reputation of this sublime grape with some drinkers.

I was surprised to learn that family-run Dry Creek Vineyard in California has produced 45 consecutive vintages of dry Chenin Blanc. They are the only American winery to do so. The “dry” part of the equation is important. Chenin can be finished bone dry or as sweet as a dessert style. Our palate runs to the dry to off-dry part of the sugar spectrum.

Swordfish Surprise!

If you are like me, you’ve probably run into this situation before. Your spouse surprises you with a wonderful gourmet dinner entrée of swordfish skewers and you are in a quandary about which wine to serve. OK, actually it wasn’t a surprise – but rather a party for a group of friends. But it would have been nice if it was a surprise.

At any rate, I was still left with the question of what to serve with swordfish. Swordfish is interesting because it is “meatier” than the typical fish fillet. I had a bottle of the 2016 Dry Creek Vineyard Dry Chenin Blanc chilling and this turned out to be a spot-on pairing.

Our skewers had mushrooms, peppers and other veggies along with the swordfish chunks. It was served over a bed of couscous and accompanied with asparagus.

The Dry Creek Vineyard Chenin is done in the Loire style – meaning the accent is on fresh, bright flavors and no oak aging. The wine is fermented in stainless steel. That’s just how we like it.

It offers flavors of lime, white flowers and pear. This is a dry Chenin Blanc, but the acidity is low – so the overall effect is a full, juicy taste. There is no teeth-rattling acid.

I also had a nice bottle of Russian River Valley Pinot Noir on the wine list for the evening, but one of guests who was in from Minnesota couldn’t get enough of the Dry Creek Vineyard Chenin Blanc. As a result, I couldn't get enough either – literally!

Also tasty is the SRP for Dry Creek Vineyard 2016 Dry Chenin Blanc is a mere $15. This is a unique and delicious bottle and represents a sterling value.

Full disclosure: This bottle was received as a marketing sample.