Tag Archive for 'Syrah'

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Lafond Winery New Release

Published on April 1, 2009 in New Releases and Syrah. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , .

2006 Lafond Vinyard Syrah

The Santa Rita Hills located in the western Santa Ynez Valley imparts a distinct “cool-climate” character to Syrah grown in the region. This character expresses itself with complex floral notes reminiscent of lavender and a spicy component highlighted by distinct white pepper notes. Our Lafond Vineyard Syrah represents select vineyard areas where the grapes exhibit the most intensity of flavor.

This concentration allows the forward, dense floral character and dark fruit to complement the spicy component of the wine. The 2006 vintage is a selection of the best 10 barrels from the least vigorous sections of three seperate vineyard blocks.

This was a moderate crop year in terms of yield and Winemaker Bruce McGuire liked the balanced canopy in the vineyard. The wine was then aged for 15 months in French Burgundy oak barrels. Bruce really liked the “great intensity” of the finished wine.

A fine choice for rustic, hearty fare and your favorite “stinky” cheese such as Taleggio from Italy or aged Red Hawk from California.

Suggested retail: 40.00
To order:

New Release Santa Barbara Winery

Published on March 22, 2009 in Grenache and New Releases. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , .

2006 Lafond Vineyard Grenache

After three decades of wine growing in Santa Rita Hills, Pierre Lafond and winemaker Bruce McGuire are still experimenting with unconventional varieties in this very cool growing region.

Following their successful introduction of Syrah to Santa Rita Hills in the early 1990’s, they are now releasing their third Grenache from Lafond Vineyard.

Planted in loose conglomerate (sand and rocks to four inches) in the warmest section of the vineyard allows the fruit to ripen to its full potential throughout its lengthy hang time on the vines.

Historically, Grenache has been grown in the Southern Rhone Valley of France as well as large areas of Spain where it is known as Garnacha.

Often used for blending, recent years have seen more Grenache bottled by itself as growers limit yields to make more flavorful wines highlighting the plump, mid-palate flavors that make this multifaceted wine so versatile with food. Its characteristic mouth “grip” is tannic yet plush.

Simple, easy to prepare foods are at home with this wine, and the summer of 2009 should see the tannins integrate with fruit to make a most enjoyable quaff. We anticipate this wine aging nicely through 2011.

Suggested retail: 26.00

To order:

On Blending

Published on March 16, 2009 in Joanie Hudson. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , , , .

There are a number of reasons why winemakers blend varietals together to create a finished wine.  Oftentimes, California winemakers create blends that are modeled after some of the greatest wines of France, particularly Bordeaux (called Meritage blends in California) and Rhone blends.  But sometimes when the grapes come in during harvest it is based on a decision to make the best of the fruit that came in.  Winemakers take the elements that they get from the vineyard, taste, test, taste, test, to sometimes create unique and fun blends that create a lot of buzz.  

Our winemaker Bruce McGuire has been very successful in blending different varietals that unconventionally produce the deliciously easy drinker, ZCS.  This blend of Zinfandel, Carignane, and Sangiovese has been done year after year, each time being comprised of different percentages of each varietal.  Each piece of the puzzle adds something unique to the finished wine.  And that is why we blend.  I always think of those cartoonish skits of chefs in the kitchen fervently dipping, combining, dashing, and sprinkling varying amounts of different flavors into their mixing bowl before pouring into a pan to go into the oven.

Here are a couple of excerpts and the full article of an article I came across on blending (‘The More Grapes the Merrier‘). Discussions on field blends versus finishing blends help to clarify some differences in the process and objective of blending:

Not too long ago, California wine makers’ main aim was to produce single varietal wines, taking pride in labeling those wines by the type of grape used to produce it. Quite different from their French counter-parts, who labeled their wines after the region the grapes were produced in.

The French realized long ago that blending grapes together would create a finished wine that had better flavors, aromas, and mouth feel, than if that wine was produced from a single grape type. Today, New World wine producers have found that by blending certain grapes together they can improve on the finished wine, creating more desirable flavors, aromas and complexity than a single varietal wine would have. 

There are a number of types of blending efforts a wine maker may choose to use. There is a field blend, which is wine that is produced from vineyards that have been planted with two or more types of grapes that will be harvested and fermented together to produce a blended wine. Ridge Vineyard’s Monte Bello Cabernet is an example of a quality field blend.

Finishing blends are the wine makers’ alchemy efforts used to create a perfect wine. Most of the wines produced in California will have had different varietals added to it to soften out tannins, extend the finish, add complexity, or to exemplify certain characteristics of the major grape that is in the blend. The great wines from Bordeaux are created by finishing blending.

See the rest of the article.

Our varietal blends (current releases as of March 2009):

2007 ZCS (Zinfandel, Carignane, and Sangiovese), 13.00

2005 Grenache Syrah, 22.00

** side note, unless a wine is labelled as 100% of the bottled varietal, small amounts of other grapes by law are allowed to be blended in.  A wine can be bottled as a single varietal is that varietal makes up 75% or more of the blend.

Joanie Hudson, Assistant Tasting Room Manager, Santa Barbara Winery

 

A little more on Petite Sirah

Published on February 26, 2009 in Joanie Hudson and Petite Sirah. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , .

Last night I attended the packed Wednesday Wine and Dine at Spiritland Bistro for which the night’s featured wine was Petite Sirah.  Everybody totes along a bottle (or two) of Petite Sirah (no rules, other than it has to be Petite Sirah).  I brought our two most recent, and only, vertical vintages of Thompson Vineyard Petite Sirah, 2005 and 2006. 

Craig Jaffurs of Jaffurs Wine Cellars spoke about the varietal between courses of wontons, venison riblets, and molten chocolate cake.  I wasn’t aware how rare it is to find the varietal outside of California.  Though it technically is a Rhone varietal, everything about it is American.  Jaffurs’ wife called it “Manifest Destiny in a glass.”  Big, plump, extracted, juicy, fruit forward… all of these adjectives demand some meat to go alongside the hearty glass of vino.  A cross between Peloursin and Syrah, has yielded a wine that can be found in hot spots all over California. 

If you have a bottle of the 2005 Santa Barbara Winery Petite Sirah at home, it is drinking very nicely right now.  It definitely benefits from some time in the decanter to allow it to open up…

Joanie Hudson, Assistant Tasting Room Manager, Santa Barbara Winery

What is Petite Sirah?

Published on February 22, 2009 in Joanie Hudson and Petite Sirah. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , .

As if trying to learn about all of the varieties of wine out there wasn’t confusing enough, consumers are slapped with different names for the same varietal (Syrah and Shiraz) and in the case of Petite Sirah, a similar name as a distinctive yet related varietal, Syrah. 

Petite Sirah is the offspring of Syrah, but they are in fact two distinct varieties (notice also the different spelling of Sirah and Syrah).  Petite Sirah comes from a cross between Syrah and Peloursin, with half of its DNA from one varietal and half from the other.  Recent DNA research at UC Davis determined that Petite Sirah is actually just another name for the varietal known as Durif. 

Today California and Australia are the two largest producers of the varietal whose sturdy vines thrive in a multitude of soil types.  Dry climates are preferred as the tightly packed grape clusters are susceptible to rot and mold if they get wet. 

Visually Petite Sirah produces very dark red wines, frequently described as inky, extracted, almost black.  Side by side comparisons of Petite Sirah and Syrah will really demonstrate this difference in pigment.  Lip smacking tannins are rich and structured, holding the spicy and plummy flavors in place for years in the cellar. 

A wonderful resource to learn more about Petite Sirah can be found at P.S. I Love You, a website devoted exclusively to the “promotion, education, and legitimazation of Petite Sirah as a noble varietal, with a special emphasis on its terroir uniqueness.”

2006 Santa Barbara Winery Petite Sirah Thompson Vineyard, 28.00

Joanie Hudson, Assistant Tasting Room Manager, Santa Barbara Winery

Last Day of Shipping for V Day

Published on February 11, 2009 in Joanie Hudson and Tasting Room. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , .

Today is our last day of shipping before Valentine’s weekend to get your gifts to you using our standard 2 Day 9.50 rate (Priority rates apply if you order tomorrow).  We are always saving that special bottle of wine for the most important days and important people in our lives (usually the two happen to come together).  Wine, for good reason, is a traditionally commemorative beverage that brings people together, to the table, in front of the fire, our out to a picnic.  What I am trying to say is that Valentine’s Day gives us that extra push that we sometimes need to open up nice bottles that we have been saving, and then replace them to be saved for the next occasion.  

Valentine’s Day gifts that we have been selling this week include pink and red bowed woodboxes containing a bottle or two of wine, our dry style 2007 Rose of Syrah, Wine-filled chocolates, custom made gift baskets, and late harvest/dessert wines.  Every one of these items can be shipped to arrive in your hands by Friday if you order by mid afternoon today (Wednesday).  

Today we will also begin pouring our special Valentine’s Day tasting list for visitors to the winery.  This limited time selection will be poured through Monday the 16th.  Happy Valentine’s Day!

Joanie Hudson, Assistant Tasting Room Manager, Santa Barbara Winery

Lafond Winery & Vineyards New Release

Published on February 6, 2009 in New Releases, Syrah, Syrah / Grenache and Wine News. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , .

2006 Syrah / Grenache

After three decades of wine growing in the Santa Rita Hills of the western Santa Ynez Valley, Pierre Lafond and winemaker Bruce McGuire are still experimenting with unconventional grape varieties in our very cool climate growing region.

The knowledge gained since the first planting of six varieties in 1972 (one of the early vineyards in Santa Barbara County) has led to a focused approach in which varietals are sought out according to Bruce’s hypothesis on a grape’s potential to exhibit unique character when grown in our area. While this pioneering has led to short term trials like Cabernet Franc, it has also paid off with great success such as the introduction of Syrah to the Santa Rita Hills.

Grenache intrigued Bruce and Pierre for they thought it had the same potential as Syrah to show off spicy character expressed in a different way than the white pepper spice found in our cool climate Syrah.

The 2.25 acre planting has paid off in a distinctly bright Grenache exhibiting a hint of black pepper with cinnamon spice and dark red fruit flavors with a whisper of menthol. The blend of these two grapes yields a very pleasing full bodied wine that invites paring with a wide variety of foods. The wine should be fully integrated in 2010 to 2011.

Suggested retail: 38.00
To order: Wines

Lafond Winery New Releases Open House

Published on January 15, 2009 in Joanie Hudson, Lafond Winery and New Releases. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , .

Grab your favorite wine tasting partner and make a note in your calendar to stop by Lafond Winery’s New Release Open House on Saturday, January 24.  The excitement of a new release always has us eagerly popping the cork in the tasting room to welcome the new kid on the block.  How does it compare to the previous vintage?  Will I like it as much?  These questions can be answered on your first sip of your winter wine tasting day at Lafond.  

What winter?  Yesterday was a sparkling clean eighty degrees in downtown Santa Barbara so most likely you won’t be wearing your scarves and beanies next weekend unless there is a dramatic weather turn.  I will always be happy to give you an excuse to go wine tasting, and here is the perfect opportunity to enjoy our out of whack summer weather, taste an assortment of wines that are being officially unveiled together, and take the windy ocean-view 101 freeway trip up or down to our vineyard.

Buying wine at a winery is much more fulfilling than running down to a wine shop an hour before dinner hits the table.  The wine has a story behind it, an experience, a day trip.  Laugh for a second time about something you laughed about the day that you bought it, reflect on a beautiful day in the vineyard away from the chaos of any downtown city, away from your dogs barking, or to do list that grows even as you cross things off.  

So come try the new releases with a celebratory selection of cheese and breads.

Lafond 2007 SRH Pinot Noir

Lafond 2007 SRH Syrah

Lafond 2006 Chardonnay Lafond Vineyard

Lafond 2006 Pinot Noir Arita Hills Vineyard

Lafond Winery New Releases Open House, Saturday January 24, 10am-5pm

6855 Santa Rosa Road (Sta. Rita Hills)

805-688-7921

Joanie Hudson, Assistant Tasting Room Manager, Santa Barbara Winery

Open House at Lafond Winery & Vineyards

Published on January 10, 2009 in Lafond Winery, Open House and Wine News. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , .

New Releases
Saturday January 24, 2009
10:00am to 5:00pm

 2007 SRH Pinot Noir
2006 Arita Hills Vineyard Pinot Noir
2007 SRH Syrah
2006 Lafond Vineyard Chardonnay

With Cheese and Bread to pair with the wines