News:Leeward Winery, at their open house last weekend, unveiled two tasty new releases--wines to check out for sure.
Speaking of the Santa Maria Valley in Santa Barbara County, in other news, Robert Mondavi has just purchased the 750 acre Sierra Madre Vineyard from Dale Hampton, Douglas Kramer, Robert Schultz and John Cushman.
- First is Leeward's 1994 Central Coast Chardonnay which retails for $11. One of the owners, Chuck Brigham tells me the fruit for this wine came from the Edna Valley of San Luis Obispo County and from Monterey County and that the wine was mostly barrel fermented.
- The second new release is the winery's 1994 Bien Nacido Vineyard pinot noir. Bien Nacido Vineyard, east of Santa Maria in Santa Barbara County is getting a well-deserved reputation for its world class fruit, especially the pinot noir. This newest offering from Leeward is $14 according to Chuck. And $14 for any pinot noir these days from the Santa Maria Valley is a veritable steal!
In addition to the Sierra Madre Vineyard acquisition, the winery also purchased a 360 acre property near the small town of Garey in the Santa Maria Valley. With these acquisitions, Robert Mondavi Winery now owns 1700 acres of vineyard land in the Santa Maria Valley.
Events worth noting!
A number of events such as winemaker dinners are scheduled in conjunction with the festival.
- Wednesday, May 1, 6:30 p.m., the Shoals Restaurant in the Cliff House Inn will host a winemaker dinner with Greg Brewer of Sunstone Winery. Cost is $65. The Cliff House Inn is located at 6602 W. Pacific Coast Highway. Call 652-1381 for reservations or additional information.
- Saturday, May 18, noon to 5, the wineries of Paso Robles hold their annual wine festival in the park in downtown Paso Robles. Tickets are $20 and you can order tickets over the telephone by calling the Paso Robles Chamber of Commerce at 238-0506.
Futures file:
- Sunday, May 19, Brander Vineyard near Los Olivos in Santa Barbara County holds its annual fundraiser for Santa Barbara's Cottage Hospital children's services, the Bouillabaisse Festival. This food and wine event has become one of the premier fundraisers on the Central Coast. About twenty-five restaurants will be participating, and owner Fred Brander is again inviting other producers of dry rosés to pour at the event. This year's lineup of wineries include Phelps from the Napa Valley, Bonny Doon Vineyard from Santa Cruz and Hart Winery from Temecula.
Tickets are $45 in advance and $50 at the door. For more information or to make reservations, call the winery at 688-2455.
What's hot?
- Sunday,June 9, noon to 5, the Ojai Wine Festival takes place at Lake Casitas. Tickets are $18. Wineries from throughout California always participate in this event, in part because Lake Casitas offers such a splendourous venue. For more information, call 1-800-648-4881.
My fave! Or the true confessions of a closet Rosé Freak! A great rosé, if well made, can be a treasure to behold, and as a palate pleaser can stand up with the best of the chardonnays, pinot noirs and cabernets.
- I spoke to Nancy Brock, the assistant manager of Trader Joe's on Victoria Avenue, and her current fave is Trader Joe's chardonnay for a mere $4.99. She tells me it's rich and medium bodied with "hints of vanilla and butteryness" with a clean finish. Although it doesn't say so on the label, she tells me it's barrel fermented and comes from a major producer. Trader Joe's has quite a coterie of fans and supporters, and is good for the California wine industry because it gets a lot of people drinking wine who might otherwise feel intimidated. The intimidation factor is a curse for the California wine industry because the whole idea, it seems to me, is to get more people off of soft drinks and into wine. If the potential wine drinker feels intimidated by the idea of drinking wine, he or she won't make the conversion and will continue to slurp down the Pepsi or the Coors Light.
- Nosing around the Ventura County turf as I'm starting to do, I've been hearing good reports on a restaurant in Ojai called Suzanne's Cuisine, so I called them up and spoke to Sandra Shinall, Suzanne's daughter and business partner. Sandra's current hit pick is Camelot Vineyards chardonnay from Santa Barbara County. She tells me this chardonnay is real big, oaky and buttery with tropical flavors "so typical of Santa Barbara County chardonnays."
They are selling the wine by the glass for $5. Suzanne's Cuisine is located at 502 West Ojai Avenue.
Adam and Helen Tolmach of T Ojai Vineyard have just released their first vin gris, the French term for pink or rosé wine (literally meaning neither white nor red). The wine is a blend of 75 percent of the saignée (or bled off juice) from the Roll Ranch syrah grown near Ojai, and 25 percent mourvedre from Paso Robles. They made 140 cases. This is a seriously delicious wine with hints of strawberry in the nose and a touch of peppery zest in the finish. A perfect summertime quaff. And just $10!
Bob Senn writes The Independent's monthly wine column, "Grapevine," and owns the Los Olivos Wine & Spirits Emporium.
