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. . .
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.
all solid wines