During the time I spent in California, I discovered a lot of great wines and growing regions. One of my new favorites is the Anderson Valley in Mendocino County. The combination of mountain soils, dry climate and cool nighttime ocean air have made this the ideal spot to grow Pinot Noir with a more characteristic Burgundy style. And while I’m not very familiar with Dogwood Cellars, I really did like the wine. What I do know is they produced only 242 cases of their 2007 Pinot, the current release.
The 2006 Pinot Noir Anderson Valley went extremely well with our dinner which included grilled portobello mushrooms and a Chinese chicken salad. The color was lighter than expected in a California Pinot and the French oak aging gave it a nose of mushrooms, cola and a touch of spice, which was very pleasant. The palate had fresh flavors of strawberries and cherries with a smooth lingering finish. Despite the 14.3% alcohol, I didn’t get any heat on the mid-palate as I have with other high-alcohol wines. This was pleasant and well-balanced and yet another great example of the type of wine being produced in this area. Bravo.
The 2007 is priced at $40/750ml bottle retail. For total disclosure, I purchased this bottle for substantially less than that. Nonetheless, I would buy this wine again at retail price.
The first time I had a 14 Hands wine was at a restaurant. It was a really tasty Merlot and when I went to buy some in the store, I found out that they’re only carried in restaurants. That was over 5 years ago and over the years, I’ve been able to find their wine at the most unexpected times. This time, it was in Costco while I was shopping for party food. I looked at the label hoping to find out more about the wine, but there’s nothing about what is blended into it. I just know it’s from Washington State so that gives it some rather wide latitude.
The 2009 Hot to Trot is a bit young, but if you like fruit-forward reds and an easy drinking wine, this is the wine for you. A vibrant ruby red color is followed by aromas of blackberries and tart plums. It wasn’t overly complex with generous dark cherry flavors and just a touch of soft fruit tannins to add interest. The finish is rather smooth with a some chocolate overtones. It would be a great party wine and reminds me of another fruit bomb I’ve worked with in the past. Best of all, the price was only $8. 14 Hands is located in Paterson, WA so your local Costco may not carry this, but if you’re in the Seattle area, you should be able to find it.
Adding sugar to the must before fermentation is called chaptalization and is done in some cooler climate states to compensate for low sugar levels in the harvested grapes. Chaptalization increases the amount of alcohol produced and generally improves body and mouthfeel.
The other day I was attending an event at a local (read Woodinville) tasting room. While I was waiting, I was sampling some of the wine and overheard part of a conversation between a tasting room employee and someone else attending the event (and a potential customer). I’m paraphrasing here:
Customer: Your rosé is very dry. I like mine a bit sweeter.
Employee: That’s because we don’t add any sugar to our rosé. To make it sweeter, they add sugar to the wine. (spoken with true authority)
I cringed as I heard this, and later, when the employee was alone, I explained that they don’t add sugar to make the wine sweet. In fact, some states such as California don’t allow sugar to be added. I went on to explain the fermentation process and that grapes have sugar which is converted to carbon dioxide and alcohol. A dry wine has had all the sugar fermented and to make a wine semi-dry, the winemaker stops the fermentation when the desired level of residual sugar is reached.
Obviously, this was all news to them as they listened and learned, but it made me start thinking. The misinformation that this employee said will perpetuate that customer’s ignorance about wine. It’s possible that the employee just didn’t know and made this up or was told the same misinformation at some point and didn’t bother to check the facts.
One of the reasons I like going to a winery or tasting room is the opportunity to learn more about winemaking. I’m sure I am not alone in this motivation, but I realize that not everyone is as passionate about wine as I am. Working for a winery gave me the opportunity to learn more about winemaking. But it’s rare that I get to speak directly to the winemaker when I’m at a tasting room. Therefore, the tasting room employee becomes the representative of the winery. Shouldn’t they know a little about the products they are selling? Shouldn’t people working in the wine industry have, at the very least, a rudimentary understanding of how wine is made? Or are they just warm bodies? Thoughts?
During the time I spent in California, I discovered a lot of great wines and growing regions. One of my new favorites is the Anderson Valley in Mendocino County. The combination of mountain soils, dry climate and cool nighttime ocean air have made this the ideal spot to grow Pinot Noir with a more characteristic Burgundy style. And while I’m not very familiar with Dogwood Cellars, I really did like the wine. What I do know is they produced only 242 cases of their 2007 Pinot, the current release.
