Monthly Archive for December, 2008

What is Negrette?

Published on December 28, 2008 in Joanie Hudson and Negrette. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , .

The wine currently garnering the most attention on our tasting list is one that is relatively unknown to California, the grape variety known as Negrette.  The vine is also sometimes called Pinot St. George in California but it is primarily grown in southwestern France in the region between Albi and the old town of Toulouse. 

It’s become instinctual to start to explain the grape right as it is poured in anticipation of the curiousity about this grape that is so rarely bottled on its own, let alone bottled at all in California. 

The principal appellation in France where Negrette is found is Cotes du Frontonnais, which requires that it be 50-70% of the blend.  Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah and Cinsault are among the few grape varieties that can also be blended in. 

The grape grows best in warmer climates, which is why we source it from Joughin Vineyard in Santa Ynez instead of planting it in our own vineyard in the cooler Sta Rita Hills appellation. 

It is a full bodied wine with a smooth finish that makes it drinkable in its youth.  Fans of Syrah and Cabernet usually are the most pleased when tasting this wine and are always intrigued by its obscure presence in the wine world.  I always recommend trying this wine with a spiced meaty dish that will pick up the peppery spiciness of the wine.  It’s a fun wine to bring along or serve at a dinner party and impress everybody with your wine knowledge of even the most obscure varietals. 

2005 Santa Barbara Winery Negrette Joughin Vineyard, $22


Joanie Hudson, Assistant Tasting Room Manager, Santa Barbara Winery

Post Holidays

Published on December 26, 2008 in Joanie Hudson. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , .

Happy Holidays!  While the season is coming to an end, you can still order your New Years gifts to arrive in time for the final stop on holiday road.  If you need a place to take the out of towners over the weekend, bring them into the winery for some tasting.  We are open everyday except for New Years Day.  

Our newest release (see posting below) is another stellar wine from the 2007 vintage.  The 2007 Lafond SRH Pinot Noir is a nice match with a variety of dishes, and has the structure to hold and develop over the next decade.  

Also, if you’re tired of cooking and being in the kitchen, the Bistro has a delicious selection of special winter inspired entrees that range from Beef Bourguignon to Gnoc N Cheese (a twist on Mac N Cheese with Chorizo and Wild Mushrooms).  Let somebody else do the work!

I hope everybody has had a happy, safe and fun holiday season!

Joanie Hudson, Assistant Tasting Room Manager, Santa Barbara Winery

New Release Lafond Winery

Published on December 24, 2008 in New Releases, Pinot Noir and Wine News. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , .

Lafond Winery SRH 2007 Pinot Noir

Rising in the middle of the western Santa Ynez Valley, the Santa Rita Hills are the distinguishing feature of our AVA, home of Lafond Vineyard and a wonderful area to grow Pinot Noir.

The long, very cool growing season of this area is exemplified by February bud break and September harvest, a long period for vine physiology. We feel this long growing season is what imparts the complexity of flavor and fruit intensity to our Pinot Noir. Winemaker Bruce McGuire chooses very specific sites in the vineyard for each of his Pinot Noir selections.

Several different Pinot Noir clones, some planted as early as 1983, add to the palate of flavor and texture from which to craft each Pinot Noir. In 2007, Bruce chose 8 clones from 18 vineyard lots (Lafond Vineyard and the nearby Arita Hills Vineyard) picked at ripeness over a four week period.

Vintage 2007 saw crop yields at 1.6 tons acre, about half of the avearge haul, with very good fruit concentration. Because of the very good quality, Bruce upgraded areas of the vineyard that are usually used for the supple Pinot Noir produced at sister winery Santa Barbara Winery for this bottling.

The intensity from this vintage will reward cellaring through 2016 with 2011 being a great year to begin enjoying this wine. The complexity of flavor found in Pinot Noir from Lafond Vineyard is a wonderful match with savory foods and a classic with grilled salmon or mushrooms.

Price: 27.50/750ml

To Order:

2009 Vintners Festival Promotion

Published on December 23, 2008 in Joanie Hudson and Special Events. 1 Comment Tags: , , , .

2009 Vintners’ Festival tickets are being sold on the Vintners’ Association website as a Holiday Promotion at 65.00 per person vs. after January 1st at 75.00 per person (85.00 at the gates). 

The annual festivities are held at River Park in Lompoc and accompanied by the best of Santa Barbara’s vineyards, vintners, and wine country cuisine.  The event will be held Saturday April 18, 2009 from 1-4pm.  If you know you are planning on attending, why not save a few bucks and take advantage of the promotional offering? 

Your ticket gives you access to the outdoor festival, numerous local restaurant tables, live music, and samples of current wine releases from the 100+ members of the Vintners’ Association.  It is always a really great time, and I have already marked my calendar!  Actually I think I have a Santa Barbara Vintners’ calendar that I just purchased from our winery that already has it pencilled in. 

See the events page at www.sbcountywines.com for more information and to purchase tickets.

Joanie Hudson, Assistant Tasting Room Manager, Santa Barbara Winery

Wine Spectator Vintage Report Card

Published on December 21, 2008 in Harvest and Joanie Hudson. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , .

There has been ample talk of schitzophrenic weather conditions for the 2008 vintage, and now Wine Spectator has released what they call their “Vintage Report Card” for the year.  I have written a little bit about the low yields and frost that occurred in Santa Barbara County, but had a relatively low knowledge for what was going on throughout the rest of California and the United States.  This article taps on areas that include the Central Coast, Sonoma, Napa, Washington, Oregon, and New York’s Finger Lakes. Each growing region receives a grade for potential and quality, focusing on first hand accounts from some of the region’s prominent winemakers and growers.  2008 was a “year of extremes” in the Central Coast.  From the hottest recorded day ever in Santa Maria (110 degrees F) to October freezes temperatures were all over the board. 

The article also touches on something that I have been very curious about, and that is the effect of smoke from the numerous California fires that burned through the year.  Though fires did not directly threaten vineyards, “smoky skies affected the solar conditions for months… vines weren’t getting full sunlight.”  See the below article for more details on the vintage’s report card.

Wine Spectator

Joanie Hudson, Assistant Tasting Room Manager, Santa Barbara Winery

Stages of Post-Harvest Production – Whites

Published on December 18, 2008 in Joanie Hudson. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , .

While we here in the Santa Barbara Winery tasting room are catching Christmas fever from all of the card writing, gift wrapping, label making, packing, and shipping we have been doing over the past week, the production staff is just basking in their post-harvest December glow.  The wines are in different stages of aging and fermentation. 

This year we are focusing on Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, and a new player, the zestful and exotic dry Orange Muscat.  The Chardonnay is just finishing malolactic fermentation (ML).  It is during this secondary stage of fermentation that malic acid, which is the acid that you find in apples is converted into lactic acid, which is the acid in milk products.  This step of the Chardonnay winemaking process helps to round out the mouthfeel and make the wine a little bit softer.  

The Sauvignon Blanc is aging in stainless steel tanks.  2% of it is in barrel also going through ML to give it added depth. 

Orange Muscat is currently being filtered.

The wines are coming out of their adolescence and becoming real wines.  While the 2008 wines start their life, the winemakers are busy cleaning barrels to get them ready for oak aging. 

Joanie Hudson, Assistant Tasting Room Manager, Santa Barbara Winery

 

Holiday Rhones

Published on December 11, 2008 in Joanie Hudson and Wine and Food Pairing. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , .

Thanksgiving has passed, but the holidays are just now stepping into their full stride.  The rest of the holiday season gives us a little bit more flexibility in terms of menu planning and wine selection.  While traditional Thanksgiving dinner consists of roasted turkey, creamy potato mash, stuffing, and cranberry sauce year after year, December is full of opportunities to entertain in a variety of styles for a rotating audience.  It becomes more about seasonal cooking (think hearty warming dishes).  Techniques of braising, roasting, and slow cooking transform Farmer’s Market produce into much softer and more cooked versions of their summer selves.  Back in the days before heating systems people used to slow cook their meats throughout the entire day because the warmth from the oven would help push out the winter chill.  

While my family plays Alvin and the Chipmunks Christmas carols on repeat we are typically in the kitchen chopping herbs, making salad dressings, and preparing for dinner.  Go to wines include sparklers and Rhone reds.  These structured wines go so well with December evenings, with nuances of herbs, smoke, meat, and richly baked fruits.  Syrah, Grenache, Mouvedre, Petite Sirah, and Counoise are among the varietals that come from France’s Rhone Valley – split up into Northern and Southern Rhone.  In the North, Syrah is king, while the South’s Chateauneuf du Pape blends are Grenache-based.  

Syrah grows very well in Santa Barbara County.  Cool climate styles from the Sta. Rita Hills lean towards a black spice character while the warmer Santa Ynez produces wines with a distinctly jammy fruit character.  We produce a few different Syrahs between the Santa Barbara Winery label and the Lafond label.  Current releases under the SBW label include 2005 Santa Barbara County Syrah, 2006 Santa Ynez Valley Syrah.  From Lafond, the 2006 SRH Syrah and the 2005 Lafond Vineyard Syrah are available as well as the 2006 Syrah Grenache blend.  SBW also produces a Grenache, a Grenache Syrah blend, and Petite Sirah.  

Check out this Wine Spectator article on “Holiday Entertaining – Rhone Style” - 

http://www.winespectator.com/Wine/Features/0,1197,4736,00.html

Joanie Hudson, Assistant Tasting Room Manager, Santa Barbara Winery

The Vineyard in December

Published on December 9, 2008 in Lafond Winery and Wine News. 0 Comments Tags: , , , .

A photo of the Pinot Noir Block from the the picnic area Tuesday December 9, 2008. Leaves are gone and a recent rain is encouraging the growth of the ground cover that we planted after harvest. Pruning has not yet begun and although we have had some cold days, and especially nights, all leaves have not fallen off the trees.
Click image to enlarge:

New Release Lafond Winery & Vineyards

Published on December 8, 2008 in Lafond Winery, Pinot Noir and Vineyard Designated Wines. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , .

Vineyard Select
Lafond Winery Arita Hills Vineyards 2006 Pinot Noir

Nestled in the Santa Rita Hills of the western Santa Ynez Valley, and across Santa Rosa Road from our Lafond Vineyard, Arita Hills Vineyard is located in prime Pinot Noir country.

As we continue our relationship with Arita Hills Vineyard, Winemaker Bruce McGuire will seek out specific areas within this vineyard that exhibit elevated concentration and complexity due to soil, exposure and clonal selection.

The 2006 Pinot Noir was harvested from the upper slope of the vineyard in a section where the vines tend to produce small clusters and berries due to difficult growing conditions. Bruce blended two clones,115 and 667, a selection he felt made a full, lengthy wine.

This was a lower yield year than 2005 marked by a late harvest date (2.5 weeks later than 2005 and a month later than “normal”). These young vines still show more perfumed character than the more established vines in our vineyard, but we are seeing more complexity of flavor as the vines become established. In this wine’s youth, a little “air time” via decanting will help the flavors marry.

Bottle aging through 2013 will be beneficial. The complexity and depth of flavor make this Pinot Noir a great match with savory foods such as Copper River salmon, hearty mushroom dishes and stewed meats.
Suggested retail 48.00/750ml

To purchase: