Husch is a small family owned winery in Mendocino’s Anderson Valley.  The winery was founded in 1971 and is the oldest in the Anderson Valley.  The setting is one of our favorites with a tiny rustic tasting room in an old farmstead and a lawn with picnic tables on the mowed grass or on the deck.  It is calmly romantic and the staff is always delightful.  They produce a couple dozen wines with their estate Mendocino grapes so there is plenty to taste.

While Anderson Valley is well known for Pinot Noir there are many varieties produced in the valley and nearby AVA’s.

We purchased a half dozen bottles of wine and enjoyed each with various foods.  The 2010 Sauv Blanc was big for peaches and aromatics.  Really a delight.  The 2007 Cab Sauv was aged 14 months in French and American oak and is a big Cab but with soft tannins and a nice long enjoyable finish.  We did a comparison tasting of their 2008 Special Reserve Mendocino Chard and the 2009 Vine One Anderson Valley Chard. Both are French Oak aged and are big tasty Chardonnays with great aromas and finish but distinctively different.

Husch is a great place to enjoy a wine picnic on a warm sunny Anderson Valley afternoon.

- Jim

Corison Winery is located just south of St. Helena on Highway 29 in Napa Valley.  This is the most crowded section of road in all California wine regions because it is where many large and famous wineries are located.  Visitors often overlook the small wineries along this route but there are real treats here.  Cathy Corison’s winery is one of them.  You taste in the working winery with barrels stored all around you.  Nothing fancy.  I even caught Cathy doing her own weeding of the very limited landscaping.  It is a superb old-time winery experience among the big high traffic wineries.

I dropped by to interview Cathy for our Discover Napa Valley Wine Region video and picked up a bottle of her 2002 Napa Valley Cab for our wedding anniversary dinner.  Still a bit of a tannin bite when first opened but with a little air it opens nicely as a full bodied Cab but not heavy. The nose is almost delicate and softer than most Napa Cabs. Light oak. Very refined and upscale taste. Cathy’s Cabs are in the $75 and up range.

We paired it with lamb chops, mashed potatoes with caramelized onions and broccoli then followed up with a selection of Lindt chocolates, raspberries, and apricots.  At the end of the meal the bottle was empty.  Very nice!

I first met Cathy a few years ago at a wine blogger’s event.  She was pouring her Cab next to those of other  well-respected Napa Valley vintners.  I was impressed with her style and deep knowledge of the local earth.  She has been working this area for decades and seems to know every row of Cab in the Rutherford area.  Cabernet Sauvignon is her whole focus.  A visit to Corison Winery will put you deep into the Napa Valley Cabernet experience.

- Jim

Roth Estate doesn’t have a tasting room of their own and such wineries are usually outside of our scope.  However, this family owned winery is related to Lancaster Estate on Chalk Hill Road so when wine distributor Wilson Daniels offered to let us try some of their wines we agreed.

I’ll start with their 2009 Sonoma Coast (basically west Russian River Valley) Pinot Noir.  It opened for us with a BIG raspberry nose and a medium body with gentle fruit and a mild finish.  We prefer the more intense, well, intense for Pinot, Santa Cruz Mountains Pinots but a big raspberry nose is a hit with us.  Unfortunately the nose died down quite a bit on the second and third days but the flavors stayed fresh.  We pumped the air out and used argon to remove the oxygen to store it overnight.

The wine was aged in French oak for 18 months but the oak is in the background.  It is 100% Pinot as most Pinots are although we tasted a Lake County Pinot last night that seemed to be blended with Syrah of all things.  The price point is $27 which is probably about right but we would prefer bigger flavors for that price.  A LOT of people prefer the mellow Pinots and this wine should appeal to them.

The Roth 2010 Alexander Valley Sauvignon Blanc is a medium body wine with a very light color, big nose full of flowers and citrus, and that New Zealand type of grassiness that we enjoy.  Recall that the 2010 harvest was late due to cool weather but had that grape killer hot spell in August.  In spite of the challenges this batch of Sauv Blanc did very well with the longer hang time.  There is no oak here, just the fruit, and the acidity is comfortable for the varietal.  Suggested retail is $16 which is reasonable but a bit on the high side.  We sampled this wine with friends over a chicken dinner and the reaction was favorable.  The finish was decent but longer would be nice.

We tried the Roth 2008 Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon for desert with friends after dinner.  It is a medium body Cab with plum aroma and soft tannins and a light oak backdrop. The finish lasts a while which for us is critical in all wines but especially for the big reds.  I expected a bit more oak since the wine is aged in French and American Oak for 18 months.  Maybe there is more there than met my palate after dinner.

I love big oaky Alexander Valley Cabs.  This wine is not that robust and should appeal to a much larger market.  It is softened with 17% Cab Franc and Merlot.  The suggested retail price of $28 is spot on. It doesn’t have the complexity of other AV Cabs but it is drinkable right now and smooth enough to pair with most dishes such as red meats and pastas and good conversation.   Good wine and I consider it a buy.

- Jim

We love visiting Clos Pegase in the upper Napa Valley off Silverado Trail. The owner’s pitch it as a temple to wine and art and we agree.  The Michael Graves designed building is both unique and beautiful.  The landscape art is is intriguing.  The wine fits our palate perfectly. 

We attended an event there a couple of years ago and shot some video that will be in our upcoming Discover Napa Valley video.  Fortunately part of the event was a slide show by the owner Jan Schrem about his huge art collection.  The show was in an intimate theater deep in the barrel caves.   If you have an interest in art this is a must see show – and winery.   The giant thumb sticking out of the ground is a Napa Valley icon and popular photographic target for visitors.  The art collection is displayed around the winery grounds, in the courtyard entrance, and inside the tasting room and barrel cave.  It will appeal to a variety of art tastes.

Wine distributor Wilson Daniels recently sent me a couple of bottles of Clos Pegase wines to review.

The 2009 Chardonnay is from Clos Pegase’s Mitsuko’s Vineyard in Carneros at the southern end of the Napa Valley near San Francisco Bay.  This is a popular area for Chard due to the cooler temperatures.  It is a malolactic wine aged 8 months in new and neutral French oak.   These grapes are from the 4th year of low rainfall and the vines were a bit stressed.

We paired the Chard with Trader Joes chicken salad nested in grilled endives and grilled turkey and ham kabobs on our patio on a warm summer evening.  The Chard has a big nose full of bouquet and aromas, full fruit with oak that compares with Rombaur.  My nose picks out soft banana tones, which I love, but many people don’t seem to get that aroma.  Whatever; you’ll find plenty to explore here and a very reasonable suggested retail price of $24.

Next up was the 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon.  The grapes are from several vineyards around the winery and were aged 18 months in both new and neutral French oak.  The winery is near Calistoga in the north and hotter end of Napa Valley.  This is the heart of one of California’s most famous Cab regions and home of the big Napa Cabs.  The lower rainfall stressed the vines and produced bigger favors than normal.

The tasting notes supplied by Clos Pegase speak of blackberry, plum, cherry, vanilla, baker’s spices and a hint of licorice.  OK, maybe.  We found a wonderful cherry chocolate with a big nose of aroma with refined fruits that open beautifully in the glass.  Could we detect the specific aromas in the tasting notes?  Yeah, sort of, but we actually don’t care.  Too much work for us.  What we tasted was a drop-dead terrific big Napa Cab with very modest tannins that followed up our light dinner as desert.  While a retail price of $43 is a bit much for our limited and stretched budget, remember that developing WineQuesters.com and our iPhone app Winery Quest cost us over $1M in time and money, this Cab is worth it.  It is a thrill to drink.

We pumped the air from the bottle and opened it the next evening.  The wine was a little softer but still excellent.  The flavors and aromas held up even without using argon gas to preserve them.  Nice.

- Jim

Two years ago I blogged about crashing a wine club event at the Heller Estate Vineyards winery high in the mountains above Carmel Valley.  That was one year after the huge Basin Complex fire burned into Big Sur and north almost to this winery.  The smoke blanked the region for a couple of months and of course the grapes were affected.   At the winery event I pleaded with the winemaker to bottle what we were tasting in the barrel, smoke flavor and all.

We recently visited their tasting room in the Village of Carmel Valley to taste the results.  WOW!  Sure, smoked wine is not as well known as say smoked salmon or cheese, but it is great!  You can still taste Cab but the smoke in their 2008 organic Cachagua Cabernet Sauvignon is up front and exciting.

We enjoyed drinking the whole bottle on our patio on a warm summer day and paired with only light munchies such as sausages.  We would like to buy more and pair it with roasts, salmon, etc. and see what happens.

I’ve heard that most of the other vintners in the area did their best to eliminate the smoke from their local 2008 wines but fortunately Heller decided to see if there is a market for a wine that needs to be explored beyond the frontier of wine tasting.  Last I heard there are only a few cases left.

- jim

The Creekview Vineyards winery is located near tiny San Martin between Gilroy and Morgan Hill south of San Jose. While the winery is occasionally open a good bet is to head into the heart of downtown San Jose and drop in on Tim in the Sherman Cellars tasting room. The only wine available in Sherman is Creekview.

Inside the little Sherman Cellars - Creekview Vineyards tasting room.

The tasting room is cozy and intimate. Tim is a wonderful conversationalist and really knows wines. He used to work in Napa and Sonoma tasting rooms. On a recent rainy Saturday the tasting room was moderately busy with both local and out of state tourists. Tim brought everyone in on the conversations and added extra interest to the tastings.

I enjoyed all the wines very much. They are the trademark Gilroy wines that are medium to robust with big nose and long finish – my thing. I came home with their 2007 Santa Clara Valley Cabernet and the 2009 Sauvignon Blanc with the grapes sourced from the wonderful Arroyo Seco area of Monterey County. These wines are full of flavor and a delight to explore. Their prices in the $20′s are reasonable for the quality.

- jim

Pellegrini Winery is part of the little group of wineries along Olivet Road west of Santa Rosa.  For a quick day trip this route is easy and convenient.  Pellegrini is by appointment only but don’t let that stop you from making a call.  The grounds and ambiance are nothing special but the family is welcoming and friendly.

Pillegrini Family Vineyards in the Russian River Valley.

We found their wines to be a very good value.  Their Carignan from old vines in the Redwood Valley in Mendocino to the north was a special delight.  If you haven’t tried Carignan, normally a softer red wine, then this is the place to get started.  For a long time Carignan was a blending wine but fortunately it is available as a varietal in a few wineries.  The Pellegrini old vine Carignan has a full flavor and aroma profile but soft and gentle.  We buy Carignan wherever we find it and this one is memorable.

We also recently enjoyed their Cloverdale Ranch brand 2006 Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon.  It is a traditional Alex Valley full-bodied Cab with lots to explore but at a reasonable price point.  For good and affordable wine drop by Pellegrini.

- jim

Christopher Creek Winery is just south of Healdsburg in the Russian River Valley. It is a small family owned winery with a tiny and rustic tasting room.  We’ve found that the family and staff are a delight to be with and very helpful.

The winery and tasting room at Christopher Creek Winery.

The picnic area is basically in the parking lot and would not be our first choice for a picnic.  Too bad because the setting is nice with beautiful hills to the east and a view of the Russian River Valley.

Christopher Creek has a nice selection of affordable wines. This is one of those few wineries where we see many cases going out the door.

One of our purchases was their 2005 Dry Creek Valley Cabernet Sauvignon.  This is not a robust Cab.  Everything about it was soft but not timid or dead.  There is good nose upfront, a pleasant body with cherry, and a finish that didn’t fade away too fast.  We found all their wines to be very drinkable and a very good value.

- jim

1978 was the last year of a drought in California.  The vines were stressed as were just about everything living in California then.  A massive fast-track water pipe project that took up lanes of the Richmond Bridge saved Marin from drying up.  Times were tough but when that vintage’s bottles were opened starting about 1980 we realized that the Cabs were real treasures.

Jordan's palacial estate winery above the beautiful Alexander Valley.

I especially like the Cabs from the Alexander Valley and around Gilroy and bought cases of them. Yes, in them thar days you could afford a case of Jordan or Silver Oak Cab and still have money left over.  There were no tasting fees even at Silver Oak.  It all existed in a galaxy far, far away.

I think the last time I had Jordan’s 1978 Cab was in a hot tub high above Napa Valley in the mid-1980′s.  David (David’s Jewelers in St. Helena) and I crawled under his house and found a broken case of Jordan 1978 Cab. The bottles were lying in the dirt and scattered about.  It was more of an archeological scene.  We headed to the hot tub to share it with our naked wives.

I noticed Jordan on Twitter last fall (@jordanwinery) and asked if they had an old bottle of their fabulous 1978 Alexander Cabernet laying around.  They still have a small stash of magnums in their library collection and had one left available for 2009.  $400.  Ugh, but I wanted to share it with my wife.  She has heard me bragging about Jordan 78 Cab for 15 years and she needed to try it.  I drove up to Jordan and bought it.

Our engagement anniversary is more special to us than our two weddings (Vladivostok, Russia and Anchorage, Alaska).  I proposed to Katya in front of the Parthenon in Athens then taught her how to sail through the Greek Islands on a charted boat for a week.  That’s another wine story but back to Jordan.

Our bottle of 78 Jordan Cab in Katya's table setting design with our Greek dinner.

For our 15th engagement anniversary on April 15 this year (special date, I was a CPA) we decided to open our precious bottle of 78 Cab.  Katya brought home a Greek dinner from a local restaurant and we sipped the Jordan Cab with it. The old spicy Cab was still there, beautifully preserved, but the tannins were softer.

We tasted the wine for the next three days and it was wonderful each time.  I injected argon inert gas into the bottle each day and that worked very well.  There was no sign of oxidation.

I’m telling this story because it is a decent story.  DO NOT BUY ALL OF JORDAN’S 1978 Cab and leave none for me!  Try some other years or just dream but don’t act.  Get it?

- jim

There are a lot of wineries to explore and discover in the Russian River Valley. It is tempting to only hit the biggies. However, there are little quiet sleepers throughout the valley. One of these is the River Road working winery on the west side of the valley near Graton.  This is a little family owned by appointment only winery so call before visiting.  They want visitors so don’t be shy.

The River Road Vineyards winery.

We visited during the recent Wine Road Barrel Tasting event and of course River Road had several barrels open for us. They also poured their finished wines.  We enjoyed their whole collection but came home with their 07 Cabernet Sauvignon, 09 Sauvignon Blanc, and 08 Hopkins Chardonnay.   Nice to find some special whites.  The Cab seemed more robust in the winery than at home but the soft nose is full of fruit, the medium body should work for almost everyone, and the light refined finish did linger around for a while. Not big wines but not wimps either.

A big draw are the wine prices. Here you find very nice wines in the teens and twenties. Tasters walk away with cases.  Combine that with no tasting fee and this is one of the better wineries to stock up for the long haul.

The tasting room is TINY so don’t bring a crowd unless they want to hang around outside. Tasting at River Road is a wonderful experience with the family pouring their wines for you.

- jim