Denner

Paso Robles would be nothing but a roadside truck stop if not for the wineries and vineyards there. And it would be just a bit more than nothing if the wine wasn't any good. Fortunately, neither is the case.

I know there are people who pride themselves on finding those subtle little wines whose flavors and nuances are buried beneath the surface and are more difficult to detect than Waldo but I'm not one of 'em.

I like flavor. I like complexity. And I'm of the opinion that if I have to spend minutes trying to figure out the little essences that make a wine special, then it probably isn't very special and I'm diluting myself into believing that the price I paid for it was justified.

This is why I like Denner. They make great wines. They make flavorful wines. They make complex wines. They make several wines that age nicely. They make wines that I keep coming back to.

They make wines that taste like wine. These wines have fruit flavors without being overly ripe and obvious but generously enough so that I don't have to hunt and peck to taste them. These wines also finish nicely.

And the go great with food.

I'm not going to go into many details but the Ditch Digger, Dirt Worshipper, and Syrah are fantastic. And, although I tend to focus on reds more often than not, their Theresa and Viognier are wonderful.

For the person used to dropping $10-15 per bottle on wine, Denner might seem a bit pricey, generally falling between $30-45. But I've paid $70-80 on wine that isn't even in the same league as the Denner wines.

Of course, we're not talking about everyday drinking wines (although to drink them everyday would be a distinct pleasure). We're talking about wines for special occasions, friends coming over for dinner, Valentine's day, birthdays, graduations, etc. (College graduations that is)

Denner. It's one of the reasons that Paso Robles is much more than a truck stop. It's one of the reasons that I keep going back to Paso Robles.

Cheers!

Obsessed with Columbia Crest

I write much about the Columbia Crest wines. In this recessive economy, there's nothing like finding a really good wine for under $10.

I don't mean to disrespect those that make really expensive good wines, some of them great, in fact. But high price doesn't mean the highest quality.

Let's start with the ratings.... most of the Columbia Crest wines, year after year, garner between 85 and 90 points on Wine Spectator and Wine Enthusiast. Even that corporate guy at Beverages and More rates these wines in the same range. This includes the Two Vines, Grand Estates, and, of course, their consistently wonderful reserve wines.

How do they do it? Did they just pick a great location, start growing grapes, and hit the lottery?

They produce an incredible amount of wine. You can find them everywhere - groceries, discount warehouses, wine warehouses.... even Rite Aid!!!

And their wines drink like they came from small boutique wineries.

They're good. They're easy to find. They're affordable.

They make enough varietals to keep things interesting... Cabernet, Cab Franc, Merlot, Chardonnay, Syrah... name it, they pretty much do it. I just haven't found a Tempranillo yet.

The 2007 Columbia Crest Grand Reserve garnered 89 points from Wine Spectator. I thought it would get about 92... it's that good! I've not had a bottle of Cabernet under $10 with this kind of depth and complexity... yeah, like lots of flavors.

So, I've bought some. And I'm going to buy some more.

And I'm going to drink it. And I'm going to share it with friends. And I know they will love it too.

These guys know what they're doing up there in Washington State. Much more than the guys in Washington DC.

Cheers!

More on Fess Parker...

It's easy to disrespect any Hollywood personality who decides to make wine... dismiss their efforts as over the top or too commercial.

This is the reputation I've heard attributed to the Fess Parker wines. Big name - bad wine.

Perhaps this was once the case. I don't know. I hadn't tasted the Fess Parker wines until last year. I saw them around now and then but hadn't tasted them.

Now I have. And they're good. Some of them are really good. And a couple of them are flat out great.

During a recent visit to Fess Parker, we tasted several of their wines. A nominal $10 fee was charged and we kept the glass. A nice glass. Reidel.

The 2007 Chardonnay "Ashley" was nice.... the tasting notes matched our taste buds on this one.... and the 2008 Viognier "Santa Barbara County" was equally as good - a bit sweet, perhaps, but tangy enough for balance.

Then we tasted the Pinot. The 2006 Rio Vista was gentle but not wimpy. The 2006 Bien Nacido was fantastic... reminded me of some of the more stellar Pinot Noir we've had recently from places like Sea Smoke and Foxen.

The 2006 Syrah "American Tradition Reserve" had some of the bold and jammy quality I've come to expect from Central California Syrah - as I do with many Australian Syrah.... fortunately, this was balanced with a nice tight peppery finish and soft tannins. I can say the same for the Rodney's Vineyard Syrah, although it was a bit bolder with fruit characteristics that were a bit more ripe than the ATR... and delicious in its own right.

To top everything off, we tasted the Big Easy Syrah. Game Over!

The Big Easy was every bit the big ass Syrah from California. Big to the taste and Easy to drink. A great wine.

And a great place to spend a cool and sunny Saturday afternoon.

Cheers!

North of Santa Barbara...

Yesterday, Jan 30 2010, my wife, Eva and two of our daughters, Michelle and Serena, drove up past Santa Barbara to Highway 154 where we detoured onto the Foxen Canyon Road. There we stopped for a picnic at Fess Parker Winery and capped off the afternoon at Zaca Mesa Winery.

Fess Parker is a fantastic place for a picnic. The lawn is about the size of a football field with picnic tables, trees, and ample room to play catch with a football or just kick back.

For us, it involved a football, a picnic basket filled with assorted cheeses, cold cuts, salad... and wine glasses.

Of course, we supplemented our experience with a shared tasting from the winery and purchased a bottle of 1999 Fess Parker Syrah - a wine that has mellowed over the years and turned from a fruit bomb into a peppery wine with nice acidity and fruit to perfectly compliment our picnic.

The folks at the winery were their usual hospitable and fun selves! Not only did we taste some of their newly released Pinot Noir (delicious wines) and their Syrah (delicious also), we got to keep the glass. Well, Michelle got the glass.

From there we drove up around the bend at Zaca Mesa and stepped past the very fun concrete chessboard... about the size of an average kitchen and into a very festive and full tasting room, where we enjoyed some more very delicious Syrah (2003, 2005, and 2006 Estate) as well as a fantastic Grenache!

After hanging out on the patio and playing half a chess game, we drove away with smiles on our faces through that beautiful countryside, culminating with some very tasting and budget-friendly sushi in Goleta.

This isn't so much a review, as you can see, as much as it is just a reflection on a great afternoon. Watching my wife and our girls laugh, talk, discuss 'boys', etc etc... was pure joy.

The wine was just an accessory. And a good one at that.

Cheers!

Regional favorites...

I love trying new wines. I wander aisles at various stores - grocery and wine warehouses - looking at labels, reading the tasting notes, ratings, etc... and comparing prices...

The underlying question I usually have is, how much great wine can I get for the least possible price?

This line of thinking clearly eliminates such gems as Insignia and Opus One. But it also eliminates such wimps as Charles Shaw and... well, plug in most under $4 bottles of wine here.

I also look at where the wines are from and I find that I have favorites from general areas, new world specifically, that I enjoy frequently and trust for quality while remaining somewhat within my budget.

For your amusement (and possibly mine as well) here's a short list. This is always subject to change and just happens to include wines that I'm thinking of now....

Washington State - Columbia Crest
Oregon - Ponzi
Napa Valley - Mondavi
Sonoma - Rosenblum
Paso Robles - Denner
Santa Barbara County - Sea Smoke
Lodi - Michael David
Chile - Concha Y Toro
Australia - Mollydooker

Of course, there are many more from these areas that I really enjoy.... but these are what come to mind today....

Cheers!

Que Syrah Shiraz....

... whatever will be will be... etc etc...

This is the feeling I get when drinking wine... good wine... tasty wine... wine that says 'drink more'... no, not to get drunk.

It just tastes so good! Note that I left out the f-word for those of you who like the movie Sideways. I still don't think Miles knew much about wine.... hence his ongoing dislike of Merlot and Cab Franc.

Anyway.

Last week, while visiting an old friend (and former boss - how many of you can say that!) we found, in his son's cellar, a 2006 Mollydooker Shiraz...

Temptation and a love for wine as it is, we opened it. And drank it. And wanted more. It's good... really good. The 2007 is good too. The 2008... haven't tried it. Want to.

Monday this week, I opened a 2006 Columbia Crest Shiraz. It was $7.99 at Bevmo. Good incentive. Columbia Crest wines are very reliable.

The CC Shiraz is tasty... a bit of pepper on the finish.. almost a white pepper, I think... and a caramel mouth feel...

Then, tonight, we open a bottle of 2005 Zaca Mesa Syrah. I've written about this before. It's good. Really good.

It reminds me of some of the best in Australian Shiraz that I've had... deep dark fruit... black licorice... cocoa... and a black peppery finish laced with soft tannins.

Never mind.

It's freaking good. Like the Mollydooker. Like Henry's Drive. Like Andrew Murray. Like Denner.

So, whether you speak Syrah or Shiraz... doesn't matter. Give these wines a test drive and you'll find yourself casting away the day and relishing in the sensations that only a yummy wine like these can deliver.

Cheers!

Charles Shaw and other cheap wines....

Keith Richards had a band in the 80's called "Keith Richards and the Expensive Winos"... makes me wonder... does Expensive Wino mean that they only drink expensive wine or does it mean that they are expensive musicians who happen to be winos?

I'm a wino. I love wine. Can't freaking stand Charles Shaw.... I try it now and then and find myself taking a sip and pouring the damn bottle out. I won't even cook with it. Won't pour it on anything except the drain. It's awful. With one exception - the Chardonnay. It's not awful. It's not good, but it's not awful.

Usually, cheap wine has no character. But it has alcohol. If the objective is a cheap buzz, then I guess it works. But I'd rather drink much less quantity of good wine than more quantity of bad wine.

Bad wine gives me a headache. It doesn't go well with food. Hell, it makes reading a book painful. It's distracting, not enhancing. Bad wine sucks.

Most cheap wine is bad wine. Then again, some expensive wine is also bad wine.

Now and then, something comes along that is really good and really cheap. But not two dollars cheap. Five dollars.... maybe. Seven or eight dollars, reasonably possible.

My favorite wines in the bang-for-the-buck category usually are priced between $10-20... there's some great wines in this category.

I'd rather drink one good bottle that costs $24 than a whole case of Charles Shaw at the same price.

And, if only Charles Shaw is available?

Pass the Sierra Nevada Pale Ale.

Cheers!