One of the main reasons for launching Vintage Highway is to discover new wines to bring into Carpe Vino. In reality, much of the wine retail shops offer is introduced to their buyers through wholesalers: both giant distributors and smaller brokers. The potential for dealing winery direct is limited, though we are fortunate in California to be so close to the source of great juice.
The main drawback with this system is that wine reps are showing their customers the same stuff at the same time. And, in many instances, distributors saddle their staffs with quotas to sell specific wines, instantly creating markets for products they decide to push.
At Carpe Vino, we’ve always sought to differentiate our stock from others, especially the big box stores and huge wine retailers. . .and even the grocery stores which carry huge inventories that we just can’t match. Our strategy has always been to locate small production wines—hard to find, great wines at great prices—as a means of distinguishing our brand in the marketplace.
And to the extent we are able, we do seek to create relationships directly with producers, often resulting in access to “winery-only” vintages. That’s our sweet spot.
So, on my tour of Amador County, I had the specific objective of finding new wines to bring back for the racks at Carpe Vino. And, based on the region’s expertise in zinfandel, I imagined that is where my search would center.
The more I tasted, however, it became clear that my survey would focus on barbera, the Italian variety that actually ranks as one of my favorites. I appreciate barbera for many reasons—its greatest attribute being the fact that it can be enjoyed with just about any cuisine. It presents great flavors, bright fruit and when vinted with skill, perfect acid balance.
The basis for Amador County’s reputation for producing fine wines is firmly established in big reds. But in recent years, barbera has emerged as the flagship wine of the AVA, cemented by two “best red wine” golden bear winners over the past three years in California State Fair competition—Jeff Runquist in 2009 and Jay Wilderotter in 2007.
Since I relinquished the head buying responsibility at Carpe Vino several years ago to my son, Drew, I brought six barberas back with me for his evaluation. I made the corporate decision, however, that we would add Renwood’s Barbera after I consumed the sample bottle in my Airstream during my Amador stay. It is beautiful stuff and a California State Fair gold medal winner to boot.
Then I had a thought. . .why not invite some of our best customers and friends for a tasting, and get their insights?
Let the People Decide
So, we convened a panel of 13 tasters in the wine mine at Carpe Vino, and it was a blast. Chef Alexander put together platters of simple palate cleansers and we set up tables and stems in the Wine Mine. Invited guests were:
–Cesare DiLorenzo, owner of La Fornaretta, a fabulous Sicilian restaurant in Newcastle, CA. Cesare is a great friend, a true Italian, and an expert in the wines of his native country. He is unafraid to express his opinions, something I truly appreciate.
–Paul Burns, an owner of Ophir Winery in Newcastle, CA. Paul started as a home winemaker and was eventually seduced into launching a bonded winery. Practiced in Rhone wines, Paul truly enjoys wines other than his own.
–Ron Hart, a partner in Old Town Properties, which owns the Carpe Vino real estate. He has been a friend of the Moffats since the very beginning and he built one of the coolest wine caves in our part of the world. He understands and appreciates fine wine—especially pinot noir—and, best of all, he loves to share his prized bottles with friends.
–Janice Dreyer and Stacey Zeigler, a mother-daughter team who visit us every Friday afternoon—without fail. Janice brought us our first bottle of Bouchon Chardonnay, and, at last count, we’ve sold about 700 cases of the stuff!
–Bruce Cosgrove, Auburn Chamber of Commerce CEO and stalwart fan of Carpe Vino. . .no matter what.
–Great customers all: Mike Martin, Scott and Carol Davis and Ellen Macinnes (also my beloved).
–Staff. . .Gary, Drew and Chef Alexander.
The Wines
The tasting was blind; six bottles in numbered paper bags. Even I was clueless about the contents of individual bags.
The line-up consisted of: 2006 Borjòn (Amador), 2007 Cooper (Estate), 2008 Drytown Cellars (Shenandoah Valley), 2008 “R” Runquist (Cooper Vineyards), 2006 Stonehouse (Shenandoah Valley) and 2007 Wilderotter (Amador).
Instructions were simple. Tasters were asked to evaluate the wines and rank them 1 through 6, with 1 being the best wine of the flight. They were encouraged to note any impressions.
While we discussed the wines after each pour, there was limited “selling”, where tasters promoted individual wines. The tasting took about an hour because everyone was having a great time, or at least that was my observation.
After everyone filled out their evaluation sheets, I removed the bags from the bottles to reveal the identity of each. The big surprise of the tasting was the Stonehouse Barbera, which was a brand unfamiliar to everyone in the room. The thing was, though, people either ranked it #1 or panned it. People either loved it or really didn’t care for it.
The results for the top three wines were very close: The Runquist Barbera was first, with 33 points; Stonehouse scored 38 and Cooper was so close with 39. . .a push in my opinion. Here’s what the people said about the top wines:
Cooper Barbera
Stonehouse: Darkest, bing cherry; complex aromas; fruitiest and smooth; nice bouquet, nice color, very earthy; deepest, densest color, wonderful food wine; loved it!
Cooper: Crisp acid, strawberry, earth; good structure; well balanced, ripe berry; nice nose, fruit forward; lots of berries, good nose, spicy sharp. . .nice; full flavor, bright fruit; lots of fruit, good finish.
The tasters have spoken, and soon we’ll be offering all of these wines for sale at Carpe Vino. Also, we hope to convene future panels to evaluate wines discovered on the Vintage Highway.
One thing that surprised me about the tasting was that the Drytown Cellars Barbera, best of class at the 2010 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition, did not finish among the top three wines. I’ve requested another sample bottle, and we’ll give it another try. It just goes to show, that on any given Sunday. . .
(Note: This is the third in a series of posts about my trip to Amador County, during which I parked my Airstream trailer at Cooper Vineyards for four days. I still have more posts to complete, so stay tuned for more winery reports. Click on any photo to enlarge it; if you’d like to comment, I’d love to hear from you.)
Perhaps I was an hour early; maybe he was late, but as I leaned against my truck in the parking lot of Jeff Runquist’s Amador winery and tasting room before its Saturday morning opening time, I sipped on a hot latte and tried to figure out the future of the huge concrete pad on the adjacent lot, obviously destined for a stand-up steel structure of some sort.
Anyone driving past could easily assume this unfinished construction project was simply an under-capitalized wine dream gone bust; another mournful casualty of an overactive vision crashing head on into the reality of an economy gone south. But they would be wrong, because this is Jeff Runquist we’re talking about—his property, his project, his next big move.
I made my appointment to chat with Jeff through his wine broker, so I wasn’t surprised when he failed to show. He lives next door, though, on a large parcel choked with out-buildings, so I wasn’t worried. And sure enough, his wife, Margie appeared and told me she was unaware that I was coming, even though she screens the more than 100 emails he receives daily.
Margie said that she and Jeff had been working on assembling a puzzle that had kept them busy until 10 p.m. the night before. So who needs a Wii in Amador? Soon enough, Jeff made his short commute to the tasting room, carrying a clear, unmarked bottle, probably a preview sample of one of his new brews.
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(Note: This is the second in a series of posts about my trip to Amador County, during which I parked my Airstream trailer at Cooper Vineyards for four days. I still have two more posts to complete, so stay tuned for more winery reports. Click on any photo to enlarge it; if you’d like to comment, I’d love to hear from you.)
Choosing my first stop ever traveling on the Vintage Highway was something in which I invested a lot of thought. Visiting Amador first was an easy decision because of all the AVAs in California, I truly feel welcomed and at home in the Shenandoah Valley. In terms of physical, natural beauty at all times of year, it competes with any wine region. And the wines produced there are stellar, as are the people. . . typically of hardy stock, ranchers whose ancestors farmed everything from hay to prunes to walnuts in addition to planting the early vineyards. These people are genuine and honest and display and ingrained work ethic that makes me feel like I really need to kick into a higher gear.
A knarly old vine at Renwood.
My icebreaker choice was Renwood Winery on Steiner Rd., a narrow country lane lined with owner-operated wineries and, directly across the street from what is widely acknowledged as the most celebrated of all zinfandel sources in California, the Original Grandpère vineyard owned by Terri Harvey. It had been years since I had tasted a Renwood wine, so it seemed like a reasonable place to start.
There is a back story, however, and it explains why my shop has never developed a relationship with Renwood: First, in the very early days of launching Carpe Vino, I spent a lot of time exploring the Sierra Foothills AVA because our strategy was to focus on our own appellation—even though, quite frankly, the foothills was (and still is) viewed sadly as a distant second cousin to the celebrated regions of Napa and Sonoma.
My search back in 2002 took me directly to Amador, where I it seems gems could be found at every stop along the wine trail. While we were welcomed warmly wherever we went, our reception at Renwood was, to be charitable, “chilly.” In retrospect, I can understand why: Renwood is perhaps the largest producer in the county—upwards of 120,000 cases per year—and I’m sure the tasting room, overrun by 40,000+ visitors annually, deals daily with wannabees claiming to be in the wine business. Still, my less-than-civil encounter there offended my Midwest sensibilities, and, as a result, we’ve never found room for Renwood at Carpe Vino.
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January 29, 2010
(A note to readers: I originally planned to post a blog entry every night during my trip to Amador, but the Internet service at Cooper Vineyards was down during most of my visit. So, since some of this post was written after my return to Auburn, you’ll find references that may appear to be out of sequence.)
I’ve been thinking, planning, spending, working and scheming to get out here, and it is everything I imagined. . .at least Day One, anyway. The only limitation is time; despite my impression that my sojourns into wine country would be leisurely, it seems as though I’ve had the hammer down since I woke up Thursday morning.
Just packing up Moose, my eight-month old Italian Greyhound, is logistically complex. He’s staying with a co-worker from Carpe Vino while I’m in Amador County, my favorite sub appellation of the Sierra Foothills AVA (www.amadorwine.com). I even made a checklist: Kibble, turkey patties (he sneers at dry food), crate, baby gate, treats, dog bones, toys, leash, harness, jacket and, just in case, a spray bottle of doggie deodorizer.
Before loading my truck, I made an early morning run to Raley’s to get provisions for a dinner I’m planning Friday night with my beloved, Ellen, and our friends from Volcano, CA, Adam and Meg Gottstein. Then, it was back to the house to pack the truck before racing over to Carpe Vino to meet my son, Drew, who had agreed to help me retrieve the Airstream where I have it stored—the KOA campground on Hwy. 49 north of Auburn. We hooked up with no issues and I drove back to Old Town to drop Drew and Moose off at the shop. I parked the Airstream in front of the California Club next door, and it shone brilliantly in the early morning sun. . .no matter that much of its luster will not be revealed until I have the aircraft aluminum skin polished to perfection next month. Before heading out on for the first time on the Vintage Highway, I walked up to the Old Town Dessert Café and Reese Browning made me an extra hot latte for the road.
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Home base. . .Carpe Vino in Old Town Auburn, California
The idea behind Vintage Highway has percolated over the last year or so as my interests in wine, traveling and cool vehicles co-mingled and marinated somewhere in the back of my head. The underlying problem was how to devise a plan that would enable me to pursue all of my interests simultaneously and legitimately on behalf of my business: Carpe Vino, a wine shop, wine bar and fine dining restaurant in Auburn, CA.
First, Some Deep Background. . .
For the last couple of years I’d been toying with the idea of purchasing a small travel trailer, but the only brand that has ever appealed to me is Airstream. Unfortunately, as far as my budget was concerned, they are simply unaffordable. An entry level Sport model can easily approach $35,000, and I was not prepared to invest that much money in something I wasn’t sure exactly how I would use.
A shiny new Airstream Sport
The underlying issue, however, is I am not a camper. I am not the kind of person who embraces roughing it, though as a transplant to Northern California from Chicago, now living at 2,700 feet in the Sierra—virtually off the grid on 23 acres of tall pines—daily I feel the wonder and the sense of being small in such a remarkable place. Yet after a publishing career of incessant traveling, I have the expectation at day’s end of a fully stocked bar and great food on premises.
My true passion. . .my source of a major buzz. . .has been riding motorcycles. I’ve always had two or three in my garage, anchored by a big Harley touring bike. Since I re-entered motorcycling in 1988, I’ve owned eight, including four Harleys. Right now, I’m down to a pair bikes: a 1999 Triumph Trophy (900cc) and a 2007 Vespa LX150, which is perhaps the most fun ride I’ve ever owned. I’ve toured all over the country, but as I grew older, it became more and more challenging to stay upright for 700 miles at a pop. Last July, though, during a much anticipated trip to Paso Robles on my Harley Road King, a new reality was undeniable. As I approached 60 years of age, the miles were taking a toll.
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This blog will follow my monthly trips into wine country across California, Oregon, Washington and, some day, around the country. As the owner of Carpe Vino, a wine shop, wine bar and fine dining restaurant in Auburn, CA, I have direct access to the leading wineries and winemakers in the business. I’ll be traveling the back roads of wine country to find the true gems, small production wines made by truly passionate people. In my nightly blogs on the road, I’ll tell their stories and describe what I’ve seen, learned and tasted.