Tis the Season...

...for slacking off. I know, naughty Jack will only be getting coal this year because of his failure to update his wine blog. So here I am, almost two days before zero hour, trying to show Santa I should be on the nice list. Thankfully I have 11 days away from the little whipper-snappers to try and rededicate myself to this site.

Let's start with some recent tastes. Last night was the 2005 Sebastiani Sonoma County Chardonnay. Whenever I have some looking for a value wine, no matter the varietal, I always point them towards the good folks at Sebastiani. Quality wine at an affordable price. With that in mind, I am not in love with this Chard. It's got good body to it, but too much butterscotch aromas and flavors, as well as a touch too much oak. I liked it, just not ready to commit to it.

If you remember, I lauded Rochioli for their Sauvignon Blanc back in August. My only problem was that I didn't have room in my luggage for another bottle, so the Pinot came home and the Sauv Blanc would hacve to wait for another day. Amazingly that day came last week. I was wandering through Cask N' Keg in Mystic, when behold, a bottle of Rochioli Sauvignon Blanc was eyeballing from across the way. The memories came flooding back and I just had to buy the bottle. I honestly didn't look at the price till I got to the register out of fear my conscious would tell me to return it to the shelf. When we opened it the other night, it only confirmed what I already new, the 2006 Rochioli Russian River Sauvignon Blanc is the greatest Sauv Blanc I have ever had. Body like a Chard, and smooth flavors of grapefruit and lime.

We also recently had one of Katie's stalwarts, the 2005 Ravenswood California Vinters Blend Zinfandel. Ravenswood's wines have not seemed as good to me since we tasted there and I was let down by the horrible service. This wine is thier standard fare and meant to be an easy drinking everyday type of wine. That's exactly what it is. It seems flat for a Zin, lacking any real punch or zest. It came across as almost watered down and so blah. But my palate is mine, and Katie's is hers. If she likes it, then she can enjoy it as much as she likes!

I'll try and stay diligent with posting this week, seeing as I have zero obligations outside of the Patriots and family (not in that order of course). Till next time..."Wine is constant proof that God loves us and loves to see us happy."--Benjamin Franklin

Sorry I'm late with Sonoma

I know, I know, I am a horrible person. I promised to write this post a week ago. I said stayed tuned for tomorrow's post on Sonoma. I apologize a thousand times to you. But until you become a teacher, you'll never understand just how busy the first week of school is. So on to Sonoma. Mike and I jaunted up there after a quick run to Starbucks. The first stop, downtown Healdsburg. Awesome little town, cute town square, beautifully renovated buildings, and like five or six tasting rooms within walking distance of downtown parking. Disadvantage, tasting rooms just aren't as cool, or for some reason as much fun, as being at the winery or vineyard. We ambled around the town center till Rosenblum was the first to open at 10:00.

Many of you may recognize the Rosenblum name. They have been making killer single vineyard Zins for years now. But you also might have tasted their non-vintage Vinter's Cuvee at my first A to Zin wine night. We ran the gamit of their wines before 10:45 and were simply amazed. Not only did they fail to produce a single "blah" wine, they had an awesome Rose for 6 bucks, and a Merlot I fell in love with! We decided to return at the end of the day to try their dessert and sweet wines.

Next we hustled up Dry creek Valley for an appointment at Ferrari-Carano. Stopping here is worth it for the gardens and architecture alone. The Caranos built a gorgeous Italian villa smack dab in the middle of Northern California, and pulled it off b-e-a-utifully. And while I knew most of the Carano story from the book, A Very Good Year, the tour was still informative and enjoyable. Their best wines, hands down, were their Italian varitals. Their Siena, a Super Tuscan style blend, was fabulous, and I brought home a bottle of their Sangiovese that knocked my socks off.

After our 2.5 hour stay at the Ferrai-Carano Palace, we hit a few quick spots in Dry Creek Valley. First off was Ridge's new tasting room in Lytton Springs. Their other location is in Santa Cruz, so I was excited about the proximity of this new watering hole. Unfortunately, I was somewhat disappointed. Ridge has a similar portfolio to Rosenblum, mostly Zin, but they also do some Cab and Petitie Syrah (which Rosenblum does phenomenally as well). Ridge's flavors just didn't jump out like Rosenblum's did. Next was Seghesio (pronounced sa-gay-c-o). Wow! Fabulous wines all around! Big shocker, they made great Zins from Sonoma area grapes. I also bought a bottle of their Omaggio. This is once again, a Super Tuscan type blend that was easily one of my favorite wines of the entire trip. It just had that special something that makes a wine dance on my tongue.

After these two, we headed south into the Russian River Valley, an area that is famous for Pinot Noir as opposed to Zinfandel. First up Rochioli. This winery is the New England Patriots of wineries, their waiting list for wine is at least seven years long and growing. The majority of their wines are small production and are only offered to the mailing list. If you decline to purchase wine for two years once on the list, you are scratched out and rights move on to the top of the waiting list. I signed up hoping that in seven years or so, I might actually have the money to buy more of their wine. I did come home with a bottle of their base offering Pinot, even though I was tempted by their outstanding Sauvignon Blanc. Farther down the road is Gary Farrell. Farrell is another legend in the Pinot world, much like Rochioli. However, I was nervous driving up their winding driveway because some advice. Someone had mentioned that since Farrell sold out the wines had been in decline. After tasting, Mike and I whole-heartedly disagreed. Their portfolio was perhaps the best of the trip. Everything we tasted we considered outstanding or good value. Their low end wines (still $30 or more a bottle) were excellent values in that price range. Their Pinots superb, their chardonnay, easily the best I have ever had. It is definitely worth a stop if you're in the area.

I think I'll break here and fill in the rest of the Sonoma details after a long weekend on Martha's Vineyard. Till next time..."Look I'll do it to myself. Nothin'!"--Malcolm (another inside joke for Mike) Keep laughin' buddy.