Tag Archive for 'Syrah'

Hedging Syrah at the Lafond Vineyards.

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Pierre
on July 26, 2008
in Hedging, Vineyard and Wine News
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The vines are hedged several times during the growing season to prevent the canes from falling over the training wires and shading the grapes. Both vertical and lateral canes are cut.

The photos show the vineyard from the upper northern shelf, the winery is in the background. Enrique, the vineyard foreman, is hedging the Syrah, our oldest block, planted in 1972 and still producing our finest Syrah. In the first photo this block stands out for the row spacing. In the 1970s we planted in 12 foot rows, because narrower tractors were not available. Today as we re-plant the old vineyard rows are 6 feet.

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Lafond Vineyards in the Santa Rita Hills

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Pierre
on June 7, 2008
in Chardonnay, Lafond Winery and Vineyard
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A view of the Lafond Vineyards taken today June 7, 2008. In the foreground our older vineyard on the north side of the Santa Ynez river And in the background on the south side of the river the newer vineyard and the winery. By clicking the image and enlarging it you can barely distinguish it up against the hills. In between our neighbor Hilltop Vineyards which supplies us with Chardonnay and some Syrah. The Santa Rita Hills have turned brown, as they always do in June, and the river, although there is a flow, is easy to cross with our tractors and ATVs. 
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New Release Santa Barbara Winery 2006 Syrah

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Pierre
on May 25, 2008
in New Releases, Syrah and Wine News
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Santa Barbara Winery Santa Ynez Valley 2006 Syrah
Winemaker Bruce McGuire is an early pioneer in blending Syrah grown throughout the west-east traverse of the Santa Ynez Valley. Because Syrah is proving to be the rare example of a varietal that can be grown in all the temperature zones found in our valley, blending vineyards becomes an intriguing endeavor.

The year after Bruce grafted the first Syrah in the Santa Rita Hills (1993) into our Lafond Vineyard, he noted the cool climate character of white pepper and complex lavender aromas were quite a bit more pronounced than even he had anticipated. Since these components are forward flavors, Bruce sought out Syrah grown in the warmer eastern end of the valley where the grape exhibits the jammy fruit and black pepper character experienced in the back of the mouth.

In 2006, Bruce crafted a blend of about two-thirds cool climate Lafond Vineyard and neighboring Hill Top Ranch in the Santa Rita Hills with one-third warm climate Joughin Vineyard near Los Olivos. Most of the wine aged in small 60 gallon barrels as Syrah benefits from ample barrel aging. “Our yields were below average this vintage, but flavor concentration is above average…really a great year for quality” notes Bruce. In the bottle, we will guess that 2010 will see full flavor development but 2012 could be the real target. Pair with rustic fare, grilled meats, and washed rind cheeses.
Price: 18.00/750ml
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Summer Pink

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joanie
on May 8, 2008
in Articles on Wine and Vineyards, Joanie Hudson, New Releases and Rosé of Syrah
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Mass market American “blush” wines that were popular in the 1970s are a far cry from the dry and refreshing Rosés being produced today in California, Spain, Italy, and southwest France.  These pink wines are not to be confused with the cloying sweetness of grocery store boxed wines.  The resurgence of dry style Rosés in California has resulted in the production of a variety of styles that are a playful alternative for the summertime.

But what makes these wines pink?  How are they different from red and white wines?  I hear these questions often.  Red wines get their deep color and tannin from being fermented on their skins to extract color and tannin.  White wines are produced by immediately pressing the juice off of the skin to minimize contact between the two.  The next step is to ferment the freshly squeezed grape juice (aka the must).  During Rosé wine production, the juice is left in contact with the red skins for a short amount of time (anywhere from one to three days) resulting in its characteristic pink color.  Fermentation continues as a white wine, usually carried out in stainless steel tanks.  Rosés can be made from any variety of red grape — Syrah, Grenache, and Pinot Noir are popular here in Santa Barbara County.

Rose wines possess characteristics of white wine, making them popular as temperatures rise.  Stainless steel fermentation results in pleasantly light and crisp fruit qualities.  They are extremely versatile — popular by the glass as well as to accompany summer meals.  I personally think that Rosé wines can e drank all year round, especially in California because they also complement a variety of fall and winter root vegetables.

Our 2007 Rosé of Syrah is the fifth vintage Bruce McGuire has produced with grapes from the Hilltop Ranch vineyard in the Santa Rita Hills.  It is made from 100% Syrah grapes.  Plump strawberry and orange peel aromas are emerging with an extremely refreshing mid-palate fruit explosion and crisp acidity.

Joanie Hudson, Assistant Santa Barbara Winery Tasting Room Manager

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Lafond Winery and Vineyards

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Pierre Lafond
on January 10, 2008
in Lafond Winery, Open House, SRH Wines and Wine News
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Open House
Saturday January 26, 2008
From 10:00-5:00
2006 SRH Wines

This is an opportunity to try all three 2006 SRH wines — Pinot Noir, Syrah and Chardonnay — together. All these wines come from vineyards in the Santa Rita Hills district (thus SRH) and the majority from our own Lafond Vineyard. The wines are still young and will continue to develop with aging but with six months in the bottle we think they are already fabulous.
Manager Mirella Valdez, as always, will provide cheese, bread and some desserts to accompany the wines. With the recent rains the hills are green, the air is crisp and it should be a great day.
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New Release Lafond Winery 2006 SRH Syrah

Published
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Pierre Lafond
on December 9, 2007
in Lafond Winery, New Releases and Syrah
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 Lafond Winery 2006 SRH Syrah

The ‘SRH’ designation on the Lafond label signals Winemaker Bruce McGuire’s intent to blend a selection of vineyards located in the Santa Rita Hills AVA (American Viticultural Area). Located in the western end if the Santa Ynez Valley, Santa Rita Hills is a cold climate region where grapes benefit from a very long growing season.

After the bountiful 2005 harvest, the Syrah vines rested a little. Between the smaller harvest and Bruce’s strict selection criteria from within our vineyard and the neighboring Hill Top Ranch Vineyard, the production of the 2006 was down by 550 cases. The wine shows the beginnings of being a big Syrah needing time to integrate in the bottle to show off the concentrated fruit and intense flavors.

Bruce’s selection of seventeen vineyard lots from multiple Syrah clones has really paid off in a powerful expression of fruit from aroma to finish. He then aged the wine in a blend barrels to give the wine layers of complexity and texture. This Syrah shows the “cool-climate” character found in Syrah grown in the Santa Rita Hills. Flavors are marked by forward dark berry, violets, and terrific white pepper spice intensity.

This wine will nicely integrate in the bottle before early 2009 and will continue to be very impressive into 2012. One of our favorite wines for pairing with hearty fare and grilled foods, this wine is also fun to match with cheese such as Taleggio.

To order

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Lesson Learned

Published
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joanie
on November 24, 2007
in Joanie Hudson and Wine and Food Pairing
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With all of the stress of holiday entertaining, why add choosing the right wines for your meal to the list? Chances are your guests are not going to pay much attention to whether you chose to serve a 2004 Oregonian Pinot or a 2002 Russian River Valley Pinot. That being said, wine and food pairing is a challenging, yet satisfying task for which there are no right or wrong answers. Who is to say that you cannot drink Chardonnay with steak? Or Syrah with salmon?

Until I became interested in wine I probably would not have even thought twice about it or noticed the difference. I barely even knew what tannins were let alone why they complemented certain foods and not others. But as my wine and food knowledge grows with every successful pairing I have encountered I now understand why some people become obsessed with finding the “perfect” matches.

There is just so much to think about in making the decision that it can be incredibly overwhelming. And every time I think that I am making progress in my wine education I open a restaurant’s wine list and am discouraged by the vast amount of information about wine that I don’t know.

This Thanksgiving was the first that I have paid any attention at all to the wine selection. The main lesson that I learned is that the rules are flexible. There is no perfect wine for Thanksgiving, Christmas, or Hanukkah dinner. All that you can do is use the knowledge that you have about the food you are serving, follow some basic guidelines and do your best.

Here is where the “rules” get tricky… My Dad asked me to look at the wines he was trying to choose from to serve with our Thanksgiving dinner. I was expecting to be choosing from a selection of Pinots because that is THE Thanksgiving wine right. Well, I was not prepared to be choosing from a selection that included a Napa Merlot, a Sea Smoke Pinot, and a rustic Chateauneuf du Pape.

The Merlot and Chateauneuf wines were older vintages (2002) so the tannins had mellowed, making their earthy complexity a good match for our dinner. It is this type of thinking outside the box which makes rules so frivolous. The wines were excellent with the hearty meal and it was interesting to experiment with different varietals than I would have come up with off of the top of my head.

We also had a Virginia Chardonnay from Monticello that paired very nicely with our truffle butter mashed potatoes (though I wouldn’t know first hand because I cannot stand potatoes). My uncle brought a great Sonoma Pinot, which was interesting to taste side by side with the Sea Smoke Pinot, adding an additional element of terroir pairing experimentation to the mix. Why are they different? Which flavors in the dish are brought out by each of the wines?

So I guess what I’m trying to say is that food and wine pairing is a life long journey upon which you will discover successes and failures. But that perfect pairing will knock your socks off once you find it. Until then, my advice is to drink a lot of wine because tasting is the only way to learn.

This is not information that can be learned from a book, it is about your personal experience and sensory memory. Granted there are certain lessons that can be learned from outside sources, which is why I will share any great lessons or pairings I come across on our blog. Especially with Christmas right around the corner…

Joanie Hudson, Assistant Tasting Room Manager, Santa Barbara Winery

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