From
the Backpack ~ Strange and Unexpected
Normally
when I post something from the archives, it involves bringing
back an essay or article or such that had appeared on the In
My Backpack web site and was removed during one of the updates
or computer issues over the years.
Easy.
This
entry is a bit different though… in addition to appearing on
the site, it was part of the Travel
Trilogy project… or, more specifically,
Strange
and Unexpected: Backpack on the Road – Volume Two: California.
And
that means a couple of versions exist… somewhat specific, almost
definitive versions if you will… the work that was on the site,
and the chapter that was edited and potentially revised from
that piece and used for the book.
This
material was originally posted on January 5, 2008. It was later
published in April 2013. Some minor proofreading edits and adjustments
may have been made while bringing the material back to the site
in this posting.
~
~ ~ ~ ~
Just
for your reference… wine tasting.
I
am not experienced in tasting wines… and I don’t know that it
matters. The simple fact is (and it is a fact), tastes vary
from person to person. What you like, I might not. And honestly,
with such incredible diversity available, once you get away
from the most experienced of pallets, it don’t make no difference.
Good
wine… like good food… is to be enjoyed. And, in my humble opinion,
how you do so is up to you.
Out
here in the very heart of American wine production though, I
do want to pass along my thoughts when I have them noted… and
the thoughts from others in the group when I have those. I’d
like to say I’m doing this for you. Closer to the truth, I’m
doing this in part for us (so we know what we did or didn’t
like later on).
I’m
just not 100% certain it matters in the diary of the day though.
So, as I began doing with yesterday’s entry, I’m going to put
the wine notes at the end of each daily column, in a separate
section. If you want to read them, go ahead. If you don’t, they
won’t clutter the events from the day.
Day
three, Monday, October 22, 2007
After
eating breakfast at the hotel… a fine change of pace as I switched
my over medium with cheese and sausage order from yesterday
to scrambled with cheese and sausage… we are preparing for a
great introduction to California wines…
Beau
Wine Tours
We’ve
rented their Executive Limo Van to take us around for the day.
I’ve been exchanging information with Rose, and she has set
up an excursion that should bring us to five or six places.
The plan is to sample not only a variety of different wines,
but also to see different types of locations… small and large…
barrels and caves… vineyards, wineries, and estates… and get
a true flavor of the place. And, of course… the bonus of having
a designated driver.
Norm
arrives… he’s our driver and guide for the day. His wife comes
from the Old Saybrook area… so we have once again run into someone
with New England connections.
We’ve
got a drive of roughly 90-minutes ahead of us to get out into
the section of Napa Valley where we’ll be spending our day.
So here are some thoughts from the morning drive…
Cows
– Ok… this is a reach… but it really started gaining speed today
and it lasted for the remainder of our travels. You may have
seen some of the “happy cows” commercials. We certainly have.
So we started driving by some fields and there were the cows.
And Terry started wondering why they weren’t playing soccer.
Mike and I started yelling things like “Marco” out the window.
Nothing. (Get ready… recurring subject begins here… happy cows.)
BART
– Stands for Bay Area Rapid Transit. Never tried it… but saw
an interesting billboard at a BART stop. It was a “Be Prepared”
sign about earthquakes. Made me wonder if safety preparation
posters and disaster plans (like building evacuation and such)
are viewed a bit differently, perhaps more seriously, by people
living out here.
Highways
and freeways – Huge difference between the
two out here. See… basically… where we live in the northeast,
we don’t consider there to be much of a difference between the
two terms. Evidently though, the “free” part refers to being
free of stops and such. Something like that. And believe me…
as route 101 twists and turns and becomes city streets and then
goes over the Golden Gate Bridge and off through the hills and
towns… as it switches from six lanes to three lanes to one way…
you will see that there is a difference between the two concepts.
Looking into it more deeply, as far as what I can find, “freeway”
is a California creation, basically designed around the idea
of high speeds, controlled access, and being “free” of distractions
between the driving and the surrounding properties. Simplistic
definition? Absolutely… but more than enough for now.
Winery,
vineyard and estate – Might as well bring this up here. (I’m
probably showing my limited experience again, but let’s see
if I can do this. For those of you that don’t readily know the
difference between these terms, like me before I went on this
trip, it does actually matter.) A winery is where they make
wine. Sounds easy, doesn’t it? The trick is, a winery doesn’t
necessarily grow the grapes they use in their wine. In fact,
many wineries buy all of the grapes they use and only make the
wine. Several grow limited quantities of grapes and purchase
the majority of what they use. And some wineries even make different
varieties of the same wine classification… say two or three
styles of zinfandels… by using grapes from different locations.
It all depends on what the wine maker wants to do, and whether
or not some blending is done. So where do they buy the grapes?
Well… of course… from a vineyard. It is at a vineyard that the
grapes are grown, but wine is not necessarily made. Many places
are in business solely for growing grapes and selling them to
others to make the wine. Which leads us to an estate… which
is, by a quite generalized definition, a place that does both…
grows the grapes and makes the wine. All of this actually becomes
a bit important during our travels, because when we had the
opportunity to talk to people and visit places, the name of
a facility sometimes offered a clue into how they approached
the process.
(Side
notes for the group… It is here that my notes mention something
that actually happened on day one. I’ve got a different name
listed for the Jack in the Box restaurants we were driving past.
A perverted and twisted name… full credit going to Mike. These
restaurants do not exist out by us in the northeast these days…
but they used to. After renaming them, Mike makes some comments
about stopping. Also, we put Louise in charge of the group travel
fund. The cash we all chipped in to for paying tolls, gas bills,
etc., was known as the kitty. Yeah… the kitty. But… umm… it
got renamed on this day. I’ll take the credit (or blame) on
this one. We also decided that Louise was keeping close tabs
on the funds, and was being tight with the finances. Let your
mind wander… you’re probably pretty close.)
We
cross out of San Rafael and into the San Pablo Bay area… specifically
Carneros, and, according to my notes, Sonoma. Instead of seeing
cows, we now spot some farms with sheep. Mike comments about
how he’d like to start a fire and grill some lamb. Norm, who
had been wonderful and very pleasant from the moment we met
him, officially joined our group as an accepted associate member
by saying: “I’m glad your use for them involves cooking them.”
More
cows.
We’ve
been discussing our agenda with Norm, and he’s thinking of making
a change or two based on our comments and discussions. We had
added in the desire to get some olive oil, and he has some thoughts
about where we might go. But, he lets us know that the plan
is always open for changes, since some of it will be based simply
on time, where we are, what’s convenient, and ultimately, what
we want to do.
The
clock is reading about 10:30am when we arrive at our first stop
of the day, Elyse Winery.
A
few very interesting things become quickly evident here. An
example… a couple of dogs greet us. Awesome… since all of us
have dogs and have no problems with them. Head-scratches are
offered… friends are quickly made. This is not the last time
we’ll see dogs wandering the grounds of a property.
Every
place is similar, and yet incredibly different. Some are a bit
more formal than others with their tastings, and several are
essentially “grab a glass and a place to relax” in nature.
Elyse
– According to my list, we tried nine wines at Elyse. And… I
can tell you that as a whole, the wine here was as good as any
we tried during the trip, if not better. All six of us liked
multiple labels, and the majority of our group (three or more
people) liked each one we tasted.
Otto
was serving us on this day, and he was fine overall. He smiled
at the right moments and laughed at our jokes. He answered all
of our questions and was, in general, friendly. But… well… we
admit it… we’re all amateurs when it comes to wine. Some of
us are a bit more educated as far as the process of producing
wine or with our pallets. But we are amateurs. So while maybe
-- just maybe -- it had something to do with dealing
with amateurs, all of us got the feeling that Otto was just
a bit too professional. Quiet. Dry. Hard to explain… and while
cold and distant might even work as descriptions too, those
could be too harsh… but as the day wore on, and our trip continued,
we met people that seemed ready to open up the refrigerators
and share the contents of their home with us. That didn’t happen
here. (And frankly… it doesn’t have to happen. It was simply
something we all noticed and all felt.)
We
ended up buying six bottles of wine… and the winner when it
came to number of bottles bought was a 2006 La Peche aperitif/dessert
wine. (Which is hysterical… because the first stop sees half
of our purchase as dessert wines, and for about two months Mike
has been in non-stop make fun of Bob mode for bread and dessert
wine comments. We will come back to this on day four, when he
commissions a poem for me. In fairness to Mike… when it comes
to purchasing the La Peche… Terry and I bought two bottles,
and Ellen and Richard bought one. So he didn’t contribute to
the bottles of this style.) A 2005 L’Ingenue was purchased by
Mike and Louise, and Terry and I. A single bottle of 2004 Le
Corbeau was bought by Ellen and Richard.
(Again…
tasting notes as I have them documented can be found at the
very end of this essay.)
Havens
– Our second stop was literally moments down the road, at Havens
Wine Cellars. This was one of our favorite places on the trip…
one we likely will return to if given the chance… and only a
portion of that was the wine. Most importantly, the people were
simply outstanding, and a minor problem actually created a fantastic
visit.
We
arrived and were introduced to Connie. The tasting room was
more of a welcome room… a sitting room if you will. Six wines
were poured for us to try… a combination of two different tasting
menus. We were about two or three into the visit when Norm came
in and asked how we were doing. He then told us to take our
time. Evidently the keys were somehow locked in the van. (And
the delay would just open up all sorts of stuff.)
We
were having a good conversation with Connie, and had been joined
by Nicole during our visit. Following the news from Norm, Connie
offered to show us around and we began an informal tour of the
property. We got to watch them emptying out some of the tanks.
Mike and Terry each grabbed a rake and started working. We were
offered some wine-soaked oak chips. (Which we were told are
great for barbecues, and if there had been any way to get them
home we would have grabbed as many as they would have given
us.) Outside to where they were filling up some barrels, with
Mike and Terry getting their glasses filled straight from the
hose… and Richard chiming in that what was going in to the barrel
was better than most of what we buy at home in the stores. (He
was absolutely correct about that.)
We
had just a grand old time at Havens. Ordered 6 bottles of a
2002 Syrah (Napa Valley). And then, doors unlocked, we got ready
for lunch…
We
get in the van and Norm’s cell phone goes off. Between work
and personal phones, he has something like eighty-five things
that could be ringing… so Mike offers to help Norm retrieve
the phone from his pocket. (We are officially worried that Mike
and Norm are having too much fun together up front.)
Our
next stop is the Oakville Grocery. Boasting a history of well
over a century, the store is hardly the country store they advertise
on their web site. Oh… don’t get me wrong… it’s a gorgeous place,
would be highly recommended by our entire group and from the
outside it does have that little town feel that also captures
the region. (I know Mike could have spent hours inside this
place, and they actually had to wait for me and the sandwich
I purchased.) We found incredible things inside though. When
was the last time you wandered into a small country store and
ordered a Mediterranean Grilled Chicken sandwich? (I rest my
case.) The store features an amazing assortment of items, seemingly
geared exactly toward spending a sunny day in wine country…
wines, salads, sandwiches, chips, crackers, cheeses and other
knick-knacks.
We
packed up our purchases and made the first agenda change of
the day. The time we spent at Havens put us into a crunch of
sorts. We have reservations for a tasting at 2pm, and really
don’t have time for a full-blown picnic or a drawn out tasting.
Norm is heading over to Saddleback Cellars, which he thinks
has picnic tables for our lunch, and might do a tasting for
us while we eat.
Saddleback
– Interesting visit. They were expecting a large group of bicyclists,
and told us we could absolutely eat… and get served a tasting…
but that we might not get the 100% attention and service they
usually try to offer. The wines we sampled were excellent, including
Scarlett’s Rose, which took everyone by surprise. 9 bottles
were purchased here… 2 rose and 1 zinfandel for Mike and Louise…
1 pinot and 1 zinfandel for Ellen and Richard… and 2 pinot and
2 roses for Terry and I. I have notes on seven wines being tasted.
Lunch
was very good, and the setting was terrific. An interesting
thing happened here though… when the tasting fee was cut, but
not waived with our purchase. (Neither Elyse or Havens charged
us for the tasting when we made our purchases. And yet, at both
of these places, we ordered fewer bottles than we did here at
Saddleback. Hey… it’s business. I’m not saying they need to
charge or not charge anything. I’m just saying it was something
we quickly noticed and involved in a few whispers between our
group.)
Easily
one of the prettiest locations we visited today, Flora Springs
Winery and Vineyards was also one of the more confusing. Our
visit to this property can be summed up liked this… (and I have
been giving this a lot of thought…) Flora Springs is
exactly like that stunningly good looking woman that knows quite
well how attractive she is.
I’ll
pause for a moment.
And
now, allow me to explain.
I’m
not talking about an ego-driven, shallow, difficult woman that
believes everyone should cater to her because she’s beautiful.
I’m talking about a friendly woman that you could spend some
time with, enjoy being around, and you might even daydream about
bringing the relationship to another level… but there is also
something off-balance about her that suggests if you ever asked
her out on a date she would turn you down because she doesn’t
feel you’re good enough for her in a romantic way. Charming
and nice… but cool and superficial. Not bad to have lunch with…
ok to spend an afternoon with… but never someone that makes
you comfortable enough to relax around.
Make
sense?
At
Flora Springs you can just tell that they know they
have a special property here. And it’s a property that we truly
enjoyed seeing. The trouble is… there was this feeling underneath
everything -- from the way they acted to how they addressed
wine tasting fees to the results of how they shipped our order
-- that led me to believe they were charging us for the pleasure
of their company. In a way I did not experience again on this
trip, I felt like they knew they were special, and wanted something
extra for the honor of being seen.
Flora
Springs – We drive up the property, and wind up at
the wrong building. Signs are small and, even if there, seemingly
hidden. We ask a few people and eventually get to the main building
for our tour.
Upon
our arrival, we find out that an old oak tree that had long
served as the property’s focal point was blown down overnight
by strong winds. We are introduced to Margaret, who is our tour
guide and tasting server. We are poured our first wine of the
visit… a 2006 chardonnay… and led outside. All of us are suddenly
in the position of holding empty glasses. (It will make sense
why in a few moments, but in the beginning, it felt awkward.)
Justin
and Kirill are visiting as well, and they are part of the group.
We walk down into a few rows of grapevines, taste some of the
remaining fruit right off the vine, and eventually are led over
to the entrance of the property’s cave. We are told we will
be tasting from seven different barrels while in the cave (hence
the glasses we are still holding), ranging from a 2007 chardonnay
to deep reds. The cave area stores about 2,000 barrels.
After
a few minutes in the cave, we are brought back outside and to
a table, where the tasting is completed with three more samples.
As we left, Margaret pointed to a few trees, including a fig
tree in a courtyard, and invited Mike to go ahead and pick some
fruit. The video of Mike, Ellen and Richard looking over the
figs is hysterical.
Ok…
three things about Flora Springs to finish up… and perhaps deepen
the perspective for our experience…
Number
one… the water – We were given bottles of “Flora Springs”
water during the tasting. Here’s the message on the bottle:
“We invite you, as our guest, to enjoy our bottled water but
please remember that it’s the wine that pays the bills around
here.”
Number
two… the bills… I mean, the tasting fee – We bought five bottles
of wine here, including three bottles of the Trilogy. We were
considering buying more, but we had bought a fair amount already
today, and the bill still had the tasting fee included. So,
wondering if buying another bottle or two might waive the
fee… an exchange that basically would give us more wine… Terry
asked, and Margaret told her that she would have to buy a
couple of cases before it would be dropped. Yup… multiple
cases. (So maybe it isn’t the wine paying the bills…
it’s the tasting fees and visitors.)
Number
three… the delivery – Within about ten days of our return
home, wine had arrived at our house(s) from virtually every
location, and that included everything purchased on the first
day… except Flora Springs. So… I called. The gentleman I spoke
with on the phone looked for the order record, found it, and
mentioned that it was noted not to ship yet. But… Margaret
was on vacation, so he couldn’t find out why it said that.
He said he would ship it FedEx to us, and asked if someone
would be at our house on Wednesday of that week to accept
it. Terry was going to be home that day… so I said yes. No
shipment arrived on Wednesday. On Thursday night we came home
and found the tag on the door… an adult signature was required
(and an adult present for the delivery). So, on Friday night,
off I went to the FedEx offices during the hours listed for
pick-up, waited for the truck to return (because the guy was
running late), and picked up our box.
Read
these things over and I think you’ll see what I mean. Not waiving
a tasting fee? Well… most other places did… but it wasn’t exactly
worth complaining over that they didn’t. As I mentioned, this
is their business, and it is a business. Respect businesses
and professionals… I believe in that. However… they were willing
to waive it for an exceptional order. Problems with the delivery.
Odds and ends we picked up. Just a bit… well… pompous. (Wonder
if Otto ever worked here…)
We
started our departure from Napa with one last goal in mind…
olive oil. While driving, we asked Norm about a couple of places
we wanted to visit or had heard about. Specifically… Sterling
Vineyards and Castello di Amorosa. Norm was ok with both of
them, and suggested that if we were driving up to Calistoga,
we might also want to consider Schramsberg Vineyards.
(We
ended up calling on Tuesday to make reservations at Castello
di Amorosa (which for many places are recommended (and may be
required)). We didn’t go to Schramsberg because of other things
(Friday’s tour diary… day 7… will cover that), but wanted to
note the referral.)
Jacuzzi
– We wind up at the Jacuzzi Family Vineyard… but a funny thing
happened. The Jacuzzi property is in Sonoma. So we ended up
having a relatively short ride… but still enough time to settle
in to our seats and drift off a bit after an active day of walking
and drinking. So by the time we arrived, although it remained
unspoken, it was fairly evident that none of us were really
up to a wine tasting here. We had crashed.
A
section of this gorgeous, new property is dedicated to The Olive
Press. I’ll be honest… I never thought I would wind up at an
olive oil tasting bar. I did… and it was really good. (Thank
you Jackie for serving us and taking care of our orders.) The
property itself is still being landscaped a bit (or appears
to be). Actually, the doors haven’t even been open a year yet.
We
drove back to the hotel and Norm dropped us off. Outstanding
day, wonderfully chauffeured by Norm.
Too
tired to really travel, we went across the street to eat… at
La Collina Ristorante Italiano. The meal was very good. The
trick was how tired we all were… and while hungry, none of us
seemed interested in a full meal.
Mike
had a lamb shank that he described as awesome. In fact, he wants
to go back, and wishes we had while there just so he could order
it again. I know someone ordered the gnocchi al pesto (I think
it was Richard), and I ordered a really good pollo battutto
al funghi e pignoli. Beyond that… I honestly have no clue. Good
food… nice end to the day… all of us worn out.
~
~ ~ ~ ~
Elyse
Winery
|
|
Wine |
Thoughts |
Did
we like it? |
|
|
|
2005
L’Ingenue
(Naggiar Vineyard)
|
Dry
white wine… smooth… very nice |
Yes…
everyone liked this wine. |
|
|
|
2005
Chardonnay
(Wild Horse Valley)
|
Smooth
and felt long… nicely developed… good overall |
My
only note is that I did like it, but I seem to recall
most people thought it was simply ok. However, most of
the group here prefers reds, and chardonnay is not regularly
a particular favorite for any of us, so I’m not 100% certain
it was well liked all around. |
|
|
|
2004
Le Corbeau
(Hudson Vineyard)
|
Very
light for a red wine… fruity… I sensed cranberries and
raspberries |
My
notes not only said I liked it, but there is a side note
saying that I liked it that is separate from the place
I noted likes/dislikes. So… I must have really liked it.
Richard and Mike both liked this wine. Ellen noted that
it was mild, but that she liked it too. |
|
|
|
Zinfandel
(Couzins)
My notes don’t have a year listed, but the Elyse web site
says 2005 was the first year, and that would fit the years
we tasted. |
Excellent
aroma… very dry… didn’t find it as pleasant |
Terry,
Ellen, Richard and Mike all liked it |
|
|
|
Zinfandel
(Korte Ranch)
Again, my notes don’t have a year listed. The Elyse web
site says 2005, and that would fit the years we tasted. |
The
entire group found this zinfandel to be sweeter than the
Couzins label… smooth taste |
I
thought it was ok overall. Mike and Richard enjoyed it. |
|
|
|
2005
Zinfandel
(Morisoli Vineyard)
|
|
Everyone
except Louise liked this wine. Richard made the comment
that to this point (sixth pour of the visit, first place
of the day), it was the best wine he had tasted. |
|
|
|
2003
Cabernet Sauvignon
(Morisoli Vineyard)
|
Strong
flavors… bitter finish |
Terry
and I didn’t like it. Richard, Ellen and Mike did. |
|
|
|
2005
Petite Sirah
(Rutherford)
|
Dry
and short |
Three
of us didn’t like it (Bob, Terry and Louise). But, Mike,
Ellen and Richard all enjoyed it. Richard’s comment was
that he liked it “quite a bit.” For Mike it was his favorite
of the tasting at Elyse. |
|
|
|
2006
La Peche |
Fruit
came from 3 different places… incredible aroma… no, no…
“awesome” aroma in my notes… peaches… apricots… tropical
fruits… very, very good |
Everyone
liked this wine. |
Havens
Wine Cellars |
| Sad
2012 note… it appears that Havens has gone out of business.
I was doing some research for the Strange and Unexpected
series when I learned of this. I do not know what happened
to the staff… what happened to the property… what happened
to the wine. But I will share our thoughts from the tasting… |
|
Wine |
Thoughts |
Did
we like it? |
|
|
|
2006
Albarino
|
Nice
fragrance |
I
thought it was ok, but not great. |
|
|
|
2003
Merlot
(Napa Valley)
|
The
entire group felt it was a bit mild
Ellen, Richard and Mike – special note with their names
about how mild it was.
|
Terry,
Ellen, Richard and Mike all enjoyed it. |
|
|
|
2002
Syrah
(Napa Valley)
|
|
Terry,
Ellen, Richard and Mike all enjoyed this wine, and it
showed in the purchases… with all bottles of this label. |
|
|
|
2002
Merlot
(Carneros (Reserve))
|
Seemed
a bit short |
Terry
and I both liked it, but Terry didn’t enjoy it as much
as the Syrah (2002 – Napa) |
|
|
|
2002
Syrah
(Hudson Vineyard) |
|
Terry
liked this wine, and in fact, everyone liked it (Louise
and I didn’t try it) |
|
|
|
2004
Cabernet Sauvignon
(Estate)
|
Terry
felt it was strong |
|
Saddleback
Cellars |
|
Wine |
Thoughts |
Did
we like it? |
|
|
|
2006
Pinot Grigio
(Oakville)
|
White
wine… smooth |
Yes.
Notes reflect names of Louise, Terry and Bob, with a side
note of all listed |
|
|
|
2006
Chardonnay
|
Bob
– smooth, good aroma
Terry – good
Louise – liked the scent
|
Yes,
by all |
|
|
|
2006
Viognier
(Clarksburg)
|
Long…
sweet… fruity… peaches and honeysuckle |
Bob,
Terry, Ellen, Richard and Mike |
|
|
|
2006
Vine Haven Scarlett’s Rose |
Merlot
grapes |
Louise
has a special star next to her name on this one, Bob,
Mike, Ellen and Richard are also noted as liking this
one |
|
|
|
2002
Merlot
(Napa Valley)
|
Mike
– mellow |
Bob,
Terry and Louise liked it. |
|
|
|
2003
Cabernet Sauvignon |
Long…
smooth |
Bob,
Terry, Mike, Ellen and Richard all liked it. Louise is
noted as not liking this one. |
|
|
|
2005
Old Vines Zinfandel
(Napa Valley)
|
|
Again
Bob, Terry, Mike, Ellen and Richard all liked it. Louise
is noted as not liking this one. |
Flora
Springs |
|
Wine |
Thoughts |
Did
we like it? |
|
|
|
2006
Chardonnay
(Napa Valley)
|
|
Liked
by all |
|
|
|
Trilogy
|
Long…
smooth… fruity |
Liked
by all (ordered by all) |
|
|
|
Wild
Boar Chardonnay |
Drier…
less fruity aroma |
Liked
by all |
|
|
|
Out
of Sight Cabernet Sauvignon |
|
Louise
didn’t like this one, but the rest of the group did |
The
Olive Press
Jacuzzi Family Vineyards |
|
Item |
Thoughts |
| |
|
Sherry
Balsamic Vinegar |
Outstanding…
kick at the end |
| |
|
| Blood Orange
Olive Oil |
The name implies
it… good |
| |
|
| Koroneiki Extra
Virgin Olive Oil |
Mild |
| |
|
| Arbequima Extra
Virgin Olive Oil |
Also mild |
| |
|
| Limonato |
Good,
nice lemon/citrus flavor (follow-up note, Terry and I
have used it to cook chicken cutlets and it was delicious) |