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UPCOMING EVENTS
JUG SHOP
T.B.A.
OTHER LOCAL EVENTS
Wine By The Class:
Bordeaux with Rebecca Chapa
Tues. Feb. 15th
415.751.0247
Click for info
Regional Wines & Foods of Spain: Castile-Leon
Tues. Feb. 15th
So. Beach Yacht Club
510.444.0828
Click for info.
Wine By The Class:
Fundamentals of Taste & Smell
Wed. Feb. 16th
Fort Mason Center
Click for info.
Ultimate Cognac Dinner!
Sat. February 19th
Shanghai 1930 Rest.
415.806.4625
More info.
Firefly Events:
"The Many
Vineyards of Dutton Ranch"
Wed. February 23rd
Levende Lounge, SF
Info & Tix
6th Annual Whiskies of the World Expo
Sat. March 5th
S.F. Hilton
888.748.2400
Click for info.
Save the Date!
8th Annual Rhone Rangers Tasting
Sat. March 19th
Fort Mason Center
More info.
Barossa Valley Wine Auction: The Rare & The Fabulous
Fri. April 1st
Penfolds Winery
Overseas bids welcome!
Click here for details
Guardsmen Wine Auction!
Fri. April 29th
Westin St. Francis, SF
For tix call:
415.561.2700
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This week we have another piece by guest writer, Tony Poer.
Hopefully, many of you had the fortune to become
acquainted with him (or at least his wine expertise and tasting notes) from his days as a buyer for
Hayes & Vine Wine Bar. For those who don't know Tony, he is a rare individual in the wine industry--possessed of
a passion for wine, yet tempered (some might say enhanced) by a populist approach. Tony is now making his mark as a
consultant to the wine industry with his St. Helena based PoerWine Consulting as well as doing some free-lance
journalism. So, without further ado. . . .
U.B.O. Sighted at The Jug Shop! --by Tony Poer
Depending on one’s politics these days, it’s either lucky to be French, or
it isn’t. When it comes to food and wine, I see it both ways. The French
have their paradox, which allows them to eat
 buttery croissants for
breakfast, foie gras en croute for lunch, and steak frites for
dinner, while running only a minimal risk of cardiac arrest (lucky!), as
long as a few ounces of Beaujolais or Bordeaux get worked into the program.
But winemakers in those and most other French wine regions are required by
appellation laws to use established grape varieties in their wines. One step
out of line and it’s off with their heads (unlucky!!).
In California, we can have our foie gras – for the time being, anyway – and
eat it, too. If a grower plants her vines on the outskirts of Sebastopol or
in Carneros, it isn’t mandatory that they be pinot noir or chardonnay. The
same goes for Napa Valley, where the gentleman farmer who opts for carignane
over cabernet sauvignon may run the risk of being fired by his accountant or
left by his wife, but at least he knows his viticultural faux-pas isn’t
punishable by 10 years on Devil’s Island.
Witness Paul Draper at Ridge Vineyards. 30 vintages into it, he has yet to
be sent off to a penal colony for making one of California’s most celebrated
red wines, a field blend of zinfandel, carignane, and petite sirah called
Geyserville, from the Trentadue family’s vineyard of the same name. The
Geyserville bottling has, in recent years, given way to a growing number of
unconventional field blends and proprietary red wines that I like to
describe as “unidentified bottled objects.” Though far from complete, a
U.B.O. shortlist might include Spencer Roloson’s sleek, spicy Palaterra
blend; the Bucklin family’s everything-but-the-kitchen-sink Mixed Blacks;
the complex, brooding Prisoner from Orin Swift; Steve Ventrello’s
pan-European Parador; Carlisle’s massive Two Acres; and the ultra-funky,
Roman-numerated Pleiades (now in its XIIIth edition) from Sean Thackrey.
An exciting addition to this eclectic list comes from Saracina
 Vineyards,
the Redwood Valley-based partnership of John Fetzer, his wife
Patty Rock, and consulting winemaker Dave Ramey. Their 2002
Atrea Old Soul Red is a dense, aromatic blend of zinfandel, syrah,
petite sirah, and malbec, accessed from six sustainably farmed vineyards in
Mendocino County. The vineyards are in the Mendocino town of Hopland, where
the new Saracina winery is currently under construction.
“The ‘California-ness’ of our approach,” according to winemaker Alex
MacGregor, “lies in the fact that, with Atrea, we have the luxury of
experimenting to create a top-notch wine.” Proprietor John Fetzer adds, “We
want to produce wines that are equally well suited, in terms of style and
price point, for a casual dinner with family or friends or for a special
occasion.”
For the generation of U.B.O. enthusiasts weaned on Geyserville, combinations
of zinfandel, syrah, petite sirah, and other “mixed blacks” are no longer
unprecedented. But malbec is a curveball. “We worked on the Atrea blend for
eight months, and we finished with malbec because it just tastes good,” says
MacGregor, referring to this inky, juicy Bordeaux and Argentine variety used
sparingly in California. “It adds complexity, softens the tannins, and
contributes beautiful, dark color. Winemakers couldn’t do that in France.”
The ’02 Atrea is personality-laden; it smells like a cross between a table
of ripe blackberries at a farmer’s market and an herb garden in late
September, underlain by a foundation of freshly turned soil. With ample
aeration, the flavors move from black cherry and chocolate to Kirschwasser
and Tuscan prosciutto. It’s a sexy wine for sure, with medium tannins and an
appropriate streak of California gulp-ability. “Our proprietary wine-making
protocols,” as Fetzer explains them, “soften the tannins dramatically to
produce a wine that’s both complex and approachable.”
Getting back to the cardiac theme, Atrea takes its
unusual name
from atria,
the term for the two chambers of the heart. The Saracina team likes to
compare the wine to a child with an old soul. “It underscores the heart and
soul that go into our winemaking,” MacGregor explains. “Atrea has a
youthful, modern California flavor profile that’s accessible, yet
sophisticated.”
Fetzer suggests that “the Old Soul is intended to be enjoyed now. It’s a
food-friendly wine that doesn’t need to sit in the cellar for five years.”
This taster imagines that an herby wedge of Brin d’Amour cheese or a
sizzling plate of steak frites are perfect food matches for Atrea.
Potentially heart-stopping, too--unless one happens to be French.
2002 Atrea Old Soul Red (Mendocino) $24.99
Also from Saracina:
2003 Saracina Sauvignon Blanc (Mendocino) $19.99
Other Notable U.B.O.'s:
2003 Orin Swift 'The Prisoner' (Napa): $23.99
2003 Mayo Family 'The Libertine' (Sonoma): $14.99
Sean Thackrey Pleiades XIII: Sold Out
Click here to buy these wines!
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