Dolce Far Niente…As sweet as the name.

“Il dolce far niente” - how sweet is doing nothing?A visit to Far Niente Winery has you picturing yourself doing just that as you bliss out at the fairytale property. Located between St. Helena and Oakville, Far Niente is a little slice of heaven and offers the ideal tour and tasting if you are looking for an intimate yet impressive tour that includes a great tour and guide, impressive and historic grounds, beautiful, lush, sweeping landscaping, a fabulous wine and cheese tasting, and even a visit to the carriage house with collector autos. The experience begins by driving up to the gated property along a long tree-lined road, so pristine that you feel as though you might be a character in The Truman Show, having thewinery door opened for you by a waiting doorman, and a sign welcoming you and your guests by name in the foyer. What I found incredible was that the winery itself is actually an old barn built in the 1800s, although it now looks more like an ivy-covered European Chateau. The 125 year-old building was built from assorted rubble, and after the center of the 3-story barn was rotted out in the 1900s, it was reinforced and given a complete faceliftwith the intention of lasting at least another 125 years. The building is beautiful, with three fireplacesand one of the tallest free-standing spiral staircases in California, which you can climb to the top floor where you’ll find a tranquil “office” that overlooks acres of Oakville vineyards and had me drooling!

The property reminded me of Wonderland – shadows reach across pristine gardens cast by different types of trees and bushes, brightly colored flowers of all sorts, peeping out from rocks and pathways, a beautiful pond with a fountain, and a charmin

g gazebo, bordered by 120 acres of cabernet grapes. The pizza oven, outdoor kitchen and expansive lawn make the winery ideal for events, which can be hosted at Far Niente, although individual picnicking is not allowed, much to my dismay.The tour takes you down spiraling stairs to the second floor, which houses the barrel tanks, and into the wine caves – which stretch two football fields long!! When you first look down the rows of stacked wine barrels, you think that you must be looking into a mirror- the underground cave labyrinth is that expansive! My favorite part of the
tour was a visit into “Dolce” – where the botrycized sweet Dolce Far Niente wine, made of Semillon and Sauvignon grapes is stored – each barrel makes 600 half bottles of the liquid gold dessert wine and it can be aged for over 20 years, turning from a golden blonde to a deep amber honey color. After a charming stroll through the grounds and a visit to the carriage house, which houses a dozen gorgeous collector cars and branded Far Niente boats, we finally got to taste the acclaimed Far Niente Wine. Each wine was paired with a delicious gourmet cheese and is described below:

• 2008 Estate Bottled Chardonnay: Made in the French Style, this chard was delicious and juicy, with good acidity. It tasted of apple, lemon and vanilla – like an apple pie that has been sprinkled with lemon juice and vanilla and has not yet been popped in the oven to cook. I liked that this Chardonnay had a hint of buttery flavor, but was not overwhelmed with butter and oak as some New World Chardonnays are.
• 1998 Cave Collection Cabernet Sauvignon: This wine had a bit of Bordeaux funk on the nose, and it tasted the way a Cab made in the Bordeaux style should taste – like the soil the grapes came from. I found this Cab to be rich and earthy, with meaty, smoky, even spicy flavors, and a little spiced plum. This wine would be excellent for food pairing.
• 2007 Estate Bottled Cabernet Sauvignon: This Cab was far more fruit-forward than the 1998 Cab – with big red-fruit flavors and toasty, buttery vanilla notes-like buttered toast with red berry jam – I’d drink this cab on its own or with food – festive, juicy and comforting.
• 2005 New Release Dolce: There is no better way to describe thisdessert wine other thanliquid gold. It is perfectly balanced, sweet without being too viscous, and hints of honey, apricots and orange blossoms make it the perfect nectar.

Live the sweet life and stop by Far Niente – and don’t leave without a bottle of dolce to remember how sweet life can be.

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The Smaller The Bubbles the Better The Sparkling Wine...

"The tinier the bubbles the better the sparkling wine". I have heard this on more than one occasion and decided to find out why some sparkling wines are finer than others and how to get that CO2 to dissolve and escape the bottle, making a celebratory pop. It turns out there are several methods of making sparkling wine.

Traditional Style: The French pride themselves on making Champagne in the “Traditional Style”, which is the most expensive and laborious style of making sparkling wine, but also results in the finest Champagnes, those best suited for aging, and the finest, smallest bubbles. While the style of making a sparkling wine is one contributor to its quality and character, the grape varietals used to make the base wine are also a major component to the final product. Champagne is made from Chardonnay, Pinot Noir or Pinot Meunier grapes. Once ripe, the grape juice is fermented into the wine base in tanks or barrels. This wine base should not taste especial

ly great (it is often dry and lacking flavor), and should be light, low sugar, and have neutral acidity. Come spring, the wine base can be blended with other bases of the same or different varietals to create a cuvee, or blend, which is then bottled. A carefully measured dose of sugar and yeast is then added to the bottles, giving off just the right amount of CO2 to induce the “second fermentation” in the bottle. The second fermentation produces bubbles and also increases the alcohol level from about 11% to 12.5%. Second fermentation causes the dead yeast (called “lees”) to settle, and the bottles are stored on their sides so that the maximum amount of lees makes contact with the wine as which gives it complexity and flavor. Now the Champagne sits and ages, allowing flavors to develop. The length of time it is spent aging in this stage

relies heavily on the producer’s ability to store it before it gets too costly or holds up storage of new vintages, but the longer the champagne can afford to be aged, the better. When the producer has finished aging the Champagne, an arduous process of removing the lees from the bottles must occur. The bottles must first be moved into an upended vertical position to get the sediment into the bottle neck with a quick shake (known as “riddling”). The bottles are then dipped into a bath of cold brine that freezes the sediment and allows it to be removed from the bottles as a frozen pellet (known as “disgorgement”). The bottles must then be topped off using a little of the same base wine and a small dose of sugar, (known as “dosage”). Finally, the Champagne is bottled under pressure and ready to be aged in the cellar or enjoyed!

In-Tank Fermentation:

As you read above, the traditional method is a costly and elaborate way of making sparkling wine and also truly suited only for Pinot and Chardonnay grapes. Other sparkling winemakers developed a less labor-intensive way to make sparkling wine by inducing Second Fermentation in large tanks rather than in the bottle. Once the second fermentation occurs in the tanks, the lees settles to the bottom and the clean wine is pumped off to be bottled under pressure. This method is used widely in Italy, especially on the Muscat grapes which make Italy’s tasty fumante.

Carbonation/Bike Pump Method: The most cost-effective and simple way to produce a sparkling wine is to simply pump CO2 into the wine tank and then bottle it under pressure. This method results in a nice (though short-lived) explosion of large bubbles when the cork is popped,

but produces the lowest quality of all sparkling wines. I’ll take a nice French Champagne over a cheap sparkling wine any day, but these brands can be wonderful for parties when mixed with orange juice for Mimosas or peach juice for Bellinis, since the added juice masks the quality and flavor of the sparkling wine. Not to mention, it will keep your costs down substantially when serving large quantities of

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Select Wine At a Restaurant When You're the Host

With so many great restaurants to choose from, every San Franciscan knows that a restaurant becomes a favorite from much more than the quality of the food. When you shell out the cash for the dining-out experience, you are investing in the restaurant’s aura, vibe, aesthetic and sensual qualities, the people who surround you, in short, the overall experience of the meal before, during and after the food has actually been consumed. And every great restaurant experience is a celebration that also requires great wine. Whether you are on a date, entertaining a client, hosting your family or friends who are visiting - inevitably, at some point, you will be faced with the daunting task of seizing the reins and ordering wine for the table. Below are some tips to look like a pro even if you’re not:

Step One: Before you even open the wine list, assess the needs of your fellow diners. Ask if everyone drinks wine and if anyone has an aversion to red, white or sparkling. In general, unless guests have already enjoyed cocktails in the bar, dinner is starting late, or the number of guests at your table numbers three or less, I’d recommend starting with a light sparkling wine (by the bottle or glass depending on your table size) to be enjoyed during appetizers and the first course. Most people love sparkling wine; it’s festive and light, and tends to pair well with crisp, salty appetizers.

Step Two: Everyone has a glass of bubbly and is browsing the dinner menu. Now is the time that you really begin to peruse the wine list to select the perfect wine to be served with dinner. Inquire about what your fellow diners think they will be ordering for their main course. Unless all guests have ordered fish and fowl, if one or more guests has ordered a red meat for their entrée, I’d recommend ordering a red wine to serve with dinner.

Step Three: Depending on the caliber of the restaurant, there may or may not be a sommelier available to assist you in your selection. If there is a sommelier, I always like to consult with them over the selection.

Once the sommelier has made it to your table, select a couple of wines in your price range that you are interested in and point to these wines on the list (usually a high price range option and a lower one). Telling the sommelier what your guests plan on ordering with dinner, ask which of these he or she recommends or if there is another comparable wine that he or she would suggest. This allows you to show the somm your comfortable price point without the awkwardness of discussing price in front of your guests. If there is no sommelier at the restaurant, light red wines, such as Pinot Noir, are a good safe bet and tend to pair well with most foods, fish, fowl or meat. Pinot Noir will enhance the taste of almost any food, is recognized and enjoyed by most and is flavorful and balanced yet not overpowering.

Step Four: Once your bottle of wine has been brought to the table, you will have the task of deciding whether or not the wine is acceptable. After observing the bottle and making sure that it is of the proper vintage, many people think smelling the cork is a good indicator of the wine’s quality. This act really tells you little about the wine, so take a look at the cork, place it to the side, and then focus your efforts smelling, swirling and tasting the wine itself. If the wines smells good, (no aroma of sulfer, mold or rotten egg) and tastes good, tell the sommelier that the wine is “healthy”. This is the universal indicator that gives the sommelier permission to pour wine for your guests. While every once in a while you may get a bad bottle of wine in a restaurant, keep in mind the only ethical reason to send a wine back is if it is truly tainted, (i.e. corked, oxidized, etc.). So is you are unsure whether or not you will like a particular varietal or style of wine, save your experimentation for your casual wine bar nights when you can order by the glass, not the bottle and err on the safer side when ordering a bottle for a group.

One last note: Restaurants tend to double or triple the wholesale cost of wine, so as often as possible, stick to the less expensive options on the list to avoid feeling like you were held up in a highway robbery when you discover what you could have purchased the wine for at the store. Wine lists, especially those in San Francisco, are selected with care and with the menu options of the restaurant in mind, so usually all options are going to be delicious and pair well with the cuisine and will be pleasantly drinkable at worst. And if you must have a truly special bottle of wine, it usually makes more sense to bring your own bottle (purchased wholesale, or previously cellared) and paying the corkage fee (which is usually between $10 and $30) as that is considerably less than the markup on the same bottle purchased off the list.

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Yountville Sommeliers Serve it Up

On August 1^st, two sommeliers from Napa Valley’s very own darling Yountville proved their deftness by scoring first and second place titles in the annual TOP|SOMM 2010 competition. Matthew Stamp of The French Laundry, and Jason Heller of REDD beat out ten of the country’s greatest wine minds (and noses?) as they competed for the national U.S. Sommelier Championship title. Stamp scored the highest on the written theory exam, accompanied by 185 fellow competitors at the Hotel Monaco in San Francisco, hosted by The Guild of Sommeliers Education Foundation. The competition consisted of the intense wine theory exam (modeled after the Court of Master Sommelier’s highest level examination, the Master Sommelier Diploma Exam) that reduced the pool of competitors to 50, followed by regional competitions that reduced the group to ten. The final ten (three of which were from California) also completed a service exam and a blind tasting of seven wines.

Read more at: http://www.guildsomm.com/News-Details.aspx?articleID=31

Go Yountville!

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What Makes Napa So Special?

Napa is a name that everyone recognizes in California and around the world. What may surprise you is that of all the wine grapes cultivated in California, less than 5% are grown in the Napa Valley. So, how did Napa Valley become known as one of the world’s premier wine producing regions even though it is only 1/8 the size of Bordeaux? Napa is ideal for grape growing and wine production because of its climate and its soil. Napa’s climate zone is classified as “Mediterranean”, which comprises only 2% of the earth’s surface! Napa's warm summers and mild winters allow grapes a long growing season, which enables to hang long enough on the vines to ripen to perfection. Napa weather is warm enough in the spring and summer that there is little danger of frost or freezing after the grapes appear on the vine. While the days get hot enough for the grapes to ripen and produce plenty of sugar, the summer evenings, blanketed by the marine fog that gets sucked into the Napa Valley by the Humbolt Current, allow the grapes to retain their acidity, leading to perfectly balanced wines.

Napa Valley also relies on its rich and varied soil for its grape growing forte. With over 100 soil varieties in Napa, Napa soil is so desired that it supplies half of the world’s wine soil orders each year. Napa Valley is only 4 miles wide and bordered by two mountain ranges: the Vaca Mountains to the east and the Mayacama Mountains to the west. The temperature varies greatly from one edge of the valley to the next. The Mayacama Mountains are lush and green with a plethora of varied foliage, ashy, volcanic soil and cooler weather. The Vacas are dryer and arid with Franciscan formation soils that are derived from the bottom of the ocean millions of years ago. Cabernet Sauvignon is one of the most popular varietals grown in the Napa Valley, making up 37% of Napa’s harvest, despite the fact that only 12% of California’s wines are Cab. Cabs love the well-drained alluvial soils found in the Napa Valley produced by the alluvial fans that drain soil from the tops of the mountains down to the valley floor. THese alluvial fans lead to significant differences in cabs grown on the hillside versus on the valley floor, where rich mineral deposits end up. One can also taste a significant difference in Cabs that are grown near the Mayacamas (cooler, earthier wines with more acidity and complexity) and Cabs that are grown closer to the Vacas (the warm, dry sun gives more cooked fruit flavors, and leads to wine with more sugar and higher alcohol levels).

Napa has become one of the world’s great wine capitals and has recently become the first Non-European country to receive its Geographical Indication status. Despite Napa’s perfect wine-growing climate and soil, Napa wines are internationally farmed to produce low yields. The Napa Valley Vintners 400 wineries produce only 10,000 cases of wine a year altogether! But the low yield creates a quality and demand that allows Napa to bring in $11 billion a year and provide 40,000 jobs! And Napa Vintners care enough about their workers that they voted instate a tax on themselves that goes towards providing affordable housing for their workers. As the second largest tourist attraction in California, following Disneyland, I’d argue that Napa is sure to prosper no matter what the economy does from year to year. So hop in your car, head north (only an hour from SF) and discover why Napa rocks!

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Can you Decant?

I spent the past Sunday in Los Gatos – a celebratory visit with my parents as well as a welcome escape from the San Francisco August winter weather. As my dad grilled up delicious bacon-wrapped filet mignons for dinner, we deliberated over the best wine to select for the meal, favoring a Spanish or Argentinean red. We settled on an intriguing bottle of 1996 Spanish Ribera del Duero from Hacienda Monasterio and I was given the honor of decanting the slightly dusty, exotic bottle, freshly plucked from the cellar. Careful not to over-handle the bottle and stir up any sediment, I prepared to uncork and decant.

How does one know whether or not to decant a wine and what is the purpose? The two main reasons to decant wine are to remove sediment and allow the wine to breathe. Older, red wines tend to need decanting, while young wines and white wines do not usually have to be decanted. Sediment forms in red wine when tannins and anthocyans (wine’s coloring agents) interact, forming large, complex molecules that eventually grow too big to remain soluble and precipitate as sediment. This is why high quality, concentrated red wines with more skin exposure tend to accumulate more sediment. The trick to decanting wine is to pour the wine into the decanter slowly, keeping the same side down that was down during the aging process so as not to stir up the sediment. Holding the decanter and wine bottle up with a white backdrop, a light, or as tradition goes- a candle, allows you to see the sediment when it starts to approach the neck of the bottle opening, which is when you should stop pouring the wine into the decanter.

Now the wine is safely in the decanter, where its rich color can be viewed through the clear glass and its aromas are being generously released into the air. This leads me to the second benefit of decanting wine. The decanter is shaped specifically to allow the maximum amount of surface area for air to hit the wine. While during the years of aging you don't want air getting to the wine, now that you're ready to drink it, air getting across a good surface area of a wine can bring out its aromas, and as you know from my last blog post, smelling the wine properly has much to do with your ability to taste the wine completely. How long should you allow the wine to sit in the decanter before pouring it? Generally 1/2 – 1 hour is a good amount of time to let the wine fully open up, and you will continue to see the wine flavors change throughout the evening as it continues to breathe. Never let the wine sit out for too long – if you expose the wine to air for too long, it will begin to turn to vinegar, so if you aren’t able to finish a wine you have already decanted, sealing it up and putting it into the fridge can help preserve it.

Back to the 14 year old Ribera Del Duero... Decanting this wine actually showed that it had little sediment , yet the decanter did wonders to release the wine's powerful bouquet. I got a healthy nose of red stone fruits, spices, and toasted coconut, yet when I tasted the wine, its subtle earthy qualities gave it a balanced elegance with the fruit and spices. A prefect compliment to the rich red meat and smoky bacon. This was a perfect wine for the filet and really repaid cellaring.

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