February 14, 2002
Valentine's Day!Nothing spells romance like champagne. And maybe pinot noir is a close second.
Champagne is the one wine that's great for all occasions-before the meal, during, and after. I'm chagrinned to say it took many years for me to acquire a taste for champagne. When I got married on a sailboat in the Santa Barbara harbor back in the mid 70s, my beverage of choice that day was Carlsberg Elephant while everybody else was sucking down champagne. The marriage didn't last, but I still enjoy Elephant. And fortunately, I have also developed a taste for champagne, thanks to the old Mayfare Wines in Montecito where Chris Whitcraft would hold special wine tastings. By the way, I am on good terms with my ex-wife too.
Some of the best California sparkling wine I have tasted recently is produced right here in our own back yard-the Brewer Clifton Santa Maria Valley Blanc de Blancs and Blanc de Noirs. By the way, "blanc de blanc" refers to white from white (made from chardonnay) and "blanc de noir" means white from black as in red wine (made from pinot noir).
French-owned Roederer Estate in Mendocino County and Iron Horse in the Russian River region are also notable domestic producers of methode champenoise sparkling wine.
For real champagne from Champagne, it just doesn't get any better than Veuve Clicquot Brut. Or, for a real treat, try Veuve Clicquot's La Grande Dame! For the high-end champagne, I think La Grande Dame is vastly superior to the much-hyped Dom Perignon.
Charmat process and bulk process sparkling wines have had carbon dioxide pumped into the still wine and are really inferior beverages in my opinion. They are cheap and there is a reason. I would avoid them, personally. These beverages will always say Charmat or Bulk Process on the label; they must by federal law. Fine California sparkling wine made in the true champagne method will say "methode champenoise" on the label.
Many noted wine authors describe Bordeaux varietals-notably cabernet sauvignon-as wines of reason and red Burgundies-pinot noir-as wines of passion. Pinot noir is always a wine of rapture, I think, and especially when you are in love. And pinot noir just doesn't get any better than what is produced right here in Santa Barbara County!
MYTHS
Dispelling some wine myths. Myth number one-California pinot noirs do not age well. Myth number two-wine should not be stored upright.
Several weeks back I had some close friends over for dinner. I wanted to inaugurate my new crock pot with coq au vin. One of the couples who live both in Santa Barbara and here in Los Alamos brought a bottle of 1969 Mirassou Monterey County pinot noir. This wine they purchased in December 1973 for $4 at the old Brink's Vintage Shop in La Cumbre Plaza. It had been perfectly stored. When we opened it, the wine showed the youth of the 2000 vintage Lane Tanner syrah which the other couple had brought. The pinot noir was spicy, and very complex, showing hints of curry in the nose.
The second old wine was one I provided. It was a 1976 HMR Paso Robles cabernet sauvignon. The original HMR (Hoffman Mountain Ranch) west of Paso Robles will always be very special to me. The consultant to HMR was the late Andre Tchelischeff, the legendary winemaker at BV from the mid-1930s. Winemaker Mike Hoffman became a close personal friend, and I would consider Mike a major wine mentor along with Bob Lindquist and Chris Whitcraft. I noticed the bottle standing upright in a pantry off my utility room when I was pulling out some wine glasses. Although my pantry stays quite cool, the bottle had probably been standing upright there for four years-since I moved to Los Alamos. Going against all, logic, I thought the cork has probably dried out, but I figured "what the hell, I'll open the bottle. If the wine's bad, we can always dump it." But it was spectacular!
In an e-mail on the wines, one of my guests, Duncan Mellichamp said, "Your HMR wine was exceptional in the way it held its fruit. In that respect the two wines were completely different, the one showing what the benefits of age can be to provide much complexity, the other showing how a well-made wine can hold its balance, fruit, and varietal character for many years. Both provide counterarguments to the Lazy Acres wine column (one issue ago) in which the author argued that all wines should be drunk while young, even if a bit tannic and uneven.
BIG DOIN'S
- Friday and Saturday, March 8-9, the second annual World of Pinot Noir takes place in Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo Counties. On Friday you can attend seminars and luncheons at Santa Barbara County wineries. Friday night there will be a pinot noir dinner featuring Mark Franz, executive chef and co-owner of Farallon Restaurant in San Francisco, at The Cliffs Resort.
Saturday features seminars at San Luis Obispo wineries, a special seminar featuring wines of Domaine de la Romanee-Conti at The Cliffs. Saturday evening, winemaker dinners will be held at participating local wineries and restaurants.For more information, visit their website-www.worldofpinotnoir.com or call (805) 489-1758.
- Saturday and Sunday, April 20-21, the Santa Barbara County Vintners' Festival takes place at the Firestone Meadow near Los Olivos. The festival is a non-smoking event, held outdoors, rain or shine. Tickets must be purchased in advance and are sold on a first-come-first-served basis. No refunds.
For reservations or more information call (805) 688-0881 or e-mail tickets@sbcountywines.com.Independent wine columnist, Bob Senn, lives in the Los Alamos Valley and owns the Los Olivos Wine & Spirits Emporium.
