Although Fernwood Cellars has only been in existence a short time the land has been in Matt Oetinger's family for over 130 years. His great-great-grandfather established a luxury hotel called Redwood Retreat in a secluded valley off Watsonville Road. The hotel boasted tennis courts and an outdoor swimming pool, and maintained its own vegetable gardens, orchards and vineyards. Though a fire burned down the main building in 1908, the resort remained open until the great depression forced its close. The family moved to San Jose and for over 50 years the area was abandoned to nature and the occasional trespassers.

In the 1990s the family returned and restored some of the remaining buildings. A new 8 acre vineyard was planted, and Matt went to study biology at Davis. On graduating he got a job as vineyard manager at Clos LaChance and started making wine from the family vineyard. Fernwood Cellars was launched in 1999, with the aim of making wines solely from fruit that Matt manages. As a result almost all the wines are technically permitted to be called estate, though not all carry that designation. The winery produces around 3000 cases annually.

2007 Chardonnay, Vanumanutagi Vineyard, Santa Cruz Mountains
Sourced from a neighbouring vineyard that was one home to Robert Louis Stephenson's family, all the blocks are named after his novels.
Nose shows green apple and persimmon. It's rich and buttery, with sweet apple pie and tropical notes. Doesn't show as much of the butterscotch/caramel notes than marred previous tastes. 90

2006 Merlot, Small Vineyards Selection, Santa Cruz Mountains
Sourced from 5 different domestic vineyards. Smoky, earthy nose with some plum. Dry and tight, showing some bretty barnyard character and minty notes with plummy fruit on the finish. 88+

2007 Zinfandel "Oetinger Reserve", California
A 50/50 blend of estate fruit with fruit sourced from his father's vineyard in El Dorado.
Nose has spicy raspberry, with porty notes. Dry, very tannic and oaky with some brambly fruit. Time may help. 85

2007 Estate Syrah, Santa Cruz Mountains
Spicy black berry/cherry nose. Smooth, rich mouthfeel. White Pepper, blueberry and black cherry fruit. Lots of acidity. 88

2006 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, Santa Cruz Mountains
Nose shows smoky oak, tobacco and some blackcurrant. In the mouth there's sweet fruit backed by some earth and chewy tannins, with a good finish. 89

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While the east coast has been shivering under a blanket of snow, over here in California it's been an early spring time. We had several gloriously sunny days last week - then the weekend came and with it the rain. Hardly ideal conditions to visit a vineyard, but some of the wineries of Santa Clara Valley are only open one weekend a month.

Martin Ranch is located near the end of Redwood Retreat Road. The ranch and its estate vineyard sit astride the 600' contour which normally marks the border between the Santa Cruz Mountains and Santa Clara Valley AVAs, but when the application was drawn up it specifically included the Redwood Retreat area, along with the noted Bates Ranch just a few hundred yards away.

The estate vineyards were first planted by Dan and Thérèse Martin in 1993. Most of the early crops were sold to Santa Cruz Mountain Vineyard under the name "Harvest Moon", but the Martins kept back a small amount. Then in 2002 they began producing wine commercially and swiftly grew to around 3500 cases, with additional fruit being purchased from some local Santa Clara Valley vineyards.

Though the Martins work together they maintain two distinct labels aiming to reflect their individual personalities; JD Hurley (named after Dan's favorite uncle) and Thérèse Vineyards.

Weather permitting, the winery is an ideal family destination; there's a play area at the back and ample picnic space. They offer a generous 35% discount on any wines purchased for immediate consumption.

The tasting fee is $10 for 6 wines. There was also a flight of 2oz pours of three other wines for $8. On this occasion Dan was also offering barrel tasting of three forthcoming wine club releases.

2008 JD Hurley Chardonnay, Santa Clara Valley
The last time I tried this wine I got a distinctly cider-y (as in "hard cider") quality to it, that I wasn't keen on. This time I didn't get that at all. Instead the nose shows crisp lemon and vanilla. It's tart and lightweight, with flavours of lemon curd and green apple, and not too oaky. 88

2006 JD Hurley Merlot, Santa Clara Valley
Sweet fruity nose; blueberry and smoke. Lots of rich black fruit and plums. 89

2005 JD Hurley Cabernet Sauvignon, Santa Cruz Mountains
Toasty oak and blackberry nose. Initially dry and tannic; a little thin with some black fruit and an astringent finish. 85

2006 Thérèse Vineyards Sangiovese, Santa Clara Valley
Bright redcurrants on the nose. Lovely rich fruit, good structure, tannins showing on the finish. Very nice. 91

2007 Thérèse Vineyards Syrah, Lester Family Vineyard, Santa Cruz Mountains
Very floral nose, with raspberry and redcurrant notes. Tight and tart with flavours of blueberry and chocolate. Good acidity and a medium length finish. Seems very young; should come together with time. 88+

2005 Thérèse Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon, Dos Rios Vineyard, Santa Clara Valley
The Dos Rios Vineyard is located at the entrance to Redwood Retreat Road, just off Watsonville Road. It's less than 4 miles from the winery, but on the other side of the AVA boundary.
Light berry nose. Lovely rich fruit; blackcurrant and blackberry. Smooth, with fine tannins and a long finish. 92

2006 Thérèse Vineyards Petite Sirah, Madeline Vineyard, Santa Clara Valley
The Madeline Vineyard is located off Day Road.
Nice nose - floral with some black fruit. Dry blackberry flavours, quite a lot of tannin and acidity. However there was a slightly medicinal note that I found offputting. 86

Then three barrel samples:

2009 "Cabbiolo" Rose
This is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Nebbiolo. The Cabernet is estate fruit - two rows that always ripen later than the rest and this year didn't quite achieved full maturity. The Nebbiolo came from another vineyard and had large berries with a low skin-to-juice ratio. Some juice was taken after the first day (a method known in France as saignée) and blended to make this wine.
Light pink colour. Floral, with strawberry and earth notes. Still slightly effervescent from the malolactic fermentation; light, sweet fruit (though bone dry) with mineral notes. Fairly simple but pleasant nontheless - a nice summer wine. 85-87

2008 Grenache, Santa Clara Valley
From a new, as yet un-named vineyard at the junction of Sunnyside and Watsonville Roads. This is the first vintage from these vines. The nose was fairly faint, which was not helped by being cold, but the flavours were amazingly rich; lots of redcurrant fruit and a long finish. Very impressive for a first vintage; one to watch. 92-94

2008 Malbec
I confess that between the Grenache and my kids distracting me this one didn't get much attention. I failed to note the AVA and simply wrote that it had a deep colour, a rich, plummy nose and was fairly light and dry. 88-90

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McHenry Vineyard is located within the Ben Lomond Mountain AVA, close to Bonny Doon. Four acres of Pinot Noir are planted on a sandy slope, 1800 feet above sea level. The vineyard was first planted back in 1972 and produced several award winning wines, but in the early 1990s it became infected with Pierce’s Disease. The family continued to produce wine, sourcing fruit from Carneros as well as Amaya Ridge in Soquel and the vineyard was eventually replanted around 1997-98 with four distinct clones.

The current trend in Pinot Noir that's popular among the critics seems to be for dense, rich, concentrated wines that some have nicknamed "Pinotfandels". McHenry's style is about as far from that as you can get. Many Santa Cruz Mountains Pinots are light in colour, but I think theirs are the lightest I've seen - I've had a darker Rosé. High acid, earthy notes, elegance and delicacy are hallmarks, with careful use of French oak; I don't think they'd be wildly out of place in a line-up of old-world wines.

Currently the winery offers two releases, both from their estate vineyard. One is the Estate Pinot Noir, the other is designated "Swan Clones". Both are available for around $25-$30 and are excellent value.

2006 McHenry Vineyard Estate Pinot Noir
Very light colour, even by the usual Santa Cruz Mountains standards.
Earthy nose with red currant and cherry. Lots of acidity at first, but as you get used to it the fruit shows through, with nice cherry notes. The tannins appear light, but there's enough there to indicate that it may benefit from cellaring. Light bodied at first, it seems to gain weight with air. Very good value. 91

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Have you ever pulled the wrong bottle from your cellar, and not noticed until it's too late?

Jason Goelz makes two Cabernets from the Dorcich vineyard on Watsonville Road. One is a lighter, softer wine that's intended to be drunk now, whereas the other has rather more intensity, oak and tannin, and could really have benefited from another year or two in a nice dark place instead of having its cork untimely plucked and being consumed without so much as a splash decanting.

2006 Jason/Stephens 'Dorcich Estate' Cabernet Sauvignon
Nose shows smoke, meat and mint. Initially there's lots of tannin and some tobacco notes; the blackcurrant fruit comes out with time. Either leave it in the cellar for a while longer or decant it first. 88+

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Arata Winery and Orchards were wine wholesalers and orchardists based in Sunnyvale over 100 years ago. They purchased bulk wine from around the state and marketed it under their own labels.

In 1955 the Arata family purchased 18 acres in Saratoga, on which they planted apricots and plums. When those trees were wiped out by a severe frost in the early 1970s the family planted a vineyard instead. Their fruit was sold to other local wineries and the Aratas continued to purchase and market finished wines. Over the years Saratoga grew, and over half of the original estate has been sold. By the early 1990s a little over an acre of Cabernet Sauvignon vines remained; tightly spaced and head trained.

David Arata is now a lawyer in San Jose. Around 1994 he met Tom Leonardini of Whitehall Lane Winery in Napa. The two became friends and Tom agreed to crush the 1995 vintage for him. Though the harvest was small the quality was clearly there.

Since the Arata brand was already established as a 'jug' wine, the winery needed a new name. He chose Montallegro, after a 14th century church in Rapallo, near Genoa in Italy. (A small, stylized representation of the church appears on the label).

The vineyards produce around 2 tons, which results in a total production of up to 200 cases. The wine is available from the winery or from Napa Valley Winery Exchange in San Francisco. This bottle was received as a sample; it retails for around $40 to $60.

2006 Montallegro Cabernet Sauvignon, Santa Cruz Mountains
Opened and decanted. Dark purple in colour. The nose has earth, mint and blackberry. On the palate it's initially very tight, dry and tannic, but over the next hour or two it opened up to reveal lots of savoury blackberry and blackcurrant. I'd give it at least 3-5 years in the cellar, if not more. Fans of Mount Eden, or Kathryn Kennedy's "Small Lot" Cabernet should love this. 93

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The almost universally accepted rule is that larger format bottles age slowly, smaller format bottles age more quickly. The science behind this isn't entirely understood, but it seems to involve a long, slow oxidation process. Larger bottles have a far greater ratio of the volume inside to the size of the opening, so the ageing process takes longer. So the good people at Ridge thought it might be fun to open some older vintages from half bottles for a change, to see how they were doing.

First off though, the current releases:

2006 Monte Bello Chardonnay, Santa Cruz Mountains
On this occasion the nose was showing lemon thyme, nuts and a hint of smoke. Flavours of crisp, flinty lemon. As with most Ridge whites the oak is present without being unobtrusive, and there's a long, mouthwatering finish. 91+

2006 Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon, Santa Cruz Mountains
Deep red colour. Nose is herbal, with violets and blueberry. Bright blackcurrant and blackberry fruit, chewy tannins, medium finish. 91+

2006 Monte Bello, Santa Cruz Mountains
Unusually tight and more tannic than the last time I tasted. Smoke, blueberry and graphite on the nose. Some fruit but very closed, unyielding; didn't seem to want to give much away.

Now onto the main event: 1987, 1988 and 1993 vintages from 375ml bottles. I didn't make a note of the composition, but it's on the Ridge website for the curious.

1987 Monte Bello, Santa Cruz Mountains
Russet in colour, the meniscus is very pale, almost clear. Very mature nose - leather, cigar box, hint of Brett? Palate is earthy. Still some tannin left and shy blackcurrant fruit, hint of mint. Nice finish. A good example of a wine that's showing its age; should probably have been drunk by now. I bet the 750s of this are in fine form right now. 89

1988 Monte Bello, Santa Cruz Mountains
Brick red colour, menuscus less faded than the 1987.
Lovely nose - cedar, pencil shavings and smoke. It tasted a decade younger than the vintage; there was bright brambly fruit and a finish that was a little soft. 93

1993 Monte Bello, Santa Cruz Mountains
Also a decade younger than the vintage would suggest. Deep red-purple colour, almost opaque, partially due to a large amount of sediment. (The wines had all been decanted; I must have got the last pour.)
Some bricking evident on the meniscus, but youthful and fruity on the nose. Concentrated blackcurrant, mint and eucalyptus. Lots of acid and tannin. 94

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Last Sunday was apparently "Superbowl Sunday". Everyone was talking about their teams - the Colts or the Saints. I was more interested in a completely different team: Team Zin.

Bob Peterson is a professional chef and owner of The BBQ Boys in San Jose. A chance encounter with a Ridge Jimsomare Zinfandel from the 1970s turned him into a Zinfandel enthusiast and he began making wine at home.

Team Zin was bonded back in 2004. Initially the amounts that had been produced were so small that the wine was just sold to friends and other clients, and no real effort was made at marketing. Then came a couple of setbacks; most of the 2005 vintage was lost when a pump malfunctioned and medical issues meant there was no 2006 vintage.

The first wine from the 2007 vintage is in bottle and the winery is now open to the public on the first Sunday of the month. It's located in an industrial unit off Gish, not far from the junction of 101 and 880. Apart from the 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon, all the wines carry the "Inspirit" label.

2008 Zinfandel, Belloti Ranch, Alexander Valley
Barrel Sample, not yet bottled. Field blend: approx 84% Zinfandel, 13% Petite Sirah and 3% Carignan. Around 130 cases.
The initial nose had an odd chemical note, something like acetone or nail polish remover, which blew off after a few minutes to reveal vanilla and oak. On the palate it had good brambly, raspberry fruit. The finish was dry, with smooth tannins. Overall it's a tasty wine; I'd just be a little concerned about that nose and how it will develop.

2008 Ponzo Vineyard, Russian River Valley
Barrel Sample, not yet bottled. Field blend: approx 60% Carignan, 20% Zinfandel and 20% Petite Sirah. Around 145 cases.
Bob Ponzo's vineyard is used by some well known producers including Ridge and Nickel & Nickel. The fruit came from three rows that were not picked by the intended purchaser, and is primarily Carignan. The nose is floral, with shy black fruit and sweet oak. It's rich, with fairly concentrated black fruit and a long finish. The wine would probably benefit from 2-3 of years ageing before it peaks. 89-91

2007 Zinfandel, Oldini Ranch, Alexander Valley $26, 225 cases
13% Petite Sirah. Smoky nose, with raspberry and coriander seed. Dry and tight; concentrated raspberry fruit and some orange peel notes. Medium finish. 89

2004 "Discovery" Cabernet Sauvignon, Alexander Valley $22
Sourced from the Murphy Ranch Vineyard (as in Murphy-Goode winery).
84% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc, 1% Petite Verdot. ABV 13.6%
Nose is feminine and sweet, with some violets. Soft blackberry fruit with herbal notes. Dry, tannic finish. Good value. 88

2004 Zinfandel, Teldeschi Ranch "Heritage Clone" $22
15% Petite Sirah, ABV 15.6%
Smoky, earthy nose with some dried orange peel. Slightest hint of residual sugar; peppery raspberry and blackberry. Astringent, smoky finish. 87

2004 Zinfandel, Teldeschi Ranch "Late Picked" $26
Picked 2 weeks later than the "Heritage Clone", this has 16.2% ABV and 12% Petite Sirah.
The wines are similar, with this having more tannin and concentration as well as higher alcohol. 87

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In 1972 Rusty Ray lost control of most of his mountain and its vineyards to his shareholders and creditors. The winery became Mount Eden Vineyards, and today produces some of the finest wines in the state.

The family kept their house and a small vineyard lower down the mountain. With Ray's death in 1976 the land passed to his stepson, Peter Martin Ray. As you drive up the two mile dirt track that leads to Mount Eden Vineyards the first vines that you see, head pruned and sprawling, are the Peter Martin Ray vineyard. Planted in the 1960s there are around 5 acres in total of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Cabernet Sauvignon.

The grapes are mostly sold to local producers. Duane Cronin was one buyer; he produced many notable vintages of Peter Martin Ray Pinot Noir in the 1990s. Current purchasers include Denis Hoey's Odonata label as well as Frank Ashton's Downhill.

2006 Downhill Chardonnay, Peter Martin Ray Vineyard
Nose of baked apples, vanilla and caramel. Sharp acidity, nice fruit with mineral notes. Oak is evident without being too obtrusive. Needs time. 88 Listed at $23

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Photo by Richard Jennings
Local wine collector Ross Bott organises a wine tasting group that meets twice a week. Last Thursday's theme was a retrospective of Cabernet Sauvignons from 1984. Now my experience of older wines is limited, and that's putting it mildly, so I was very interested to try them; particularly when I saw the wines in the line-up.

Each taster brings 8 glasses. The wines are opened then bagged, and are poured using a measuring cup and minimal agitation. You are asked to rank them in order of preference, 1-8. This turned out to be much more difficult than I imagined.

The first thing that struck me was that the colours were all very consistent; wine #7 was slightly darker (although I got some sediment in that glass), but the others seemed identical; lovely warm brick red colours.

Another thing that became apparent was the way the wines continually evolved in the glass. One that appeared tight at first opened up after 30 minutes in the glass. The nose changed on each pass, and new flavours emerged. All the wines were very good and sound, without flaws or oxidation. I'd be pleased to have any of them in my cellar.

1984 Ridge "York Creek Vineyard", Napa Valley (12.9%)
Nose had a hint of volatile acidity, but that blew off. I decided to taste it last just in case. When I came back to it the VA seemed less obvious and was showing vanilla and rose petals.
The palate was surprising smooth, with light acid. The VA wasn't as evident as I feared, and was showing rose hips and currant. 90

1984 Rodney Strong "Alexander's Crown", Alexander Valley (13.8%)
The initial nose showed cedar and leather, with some brambly fruit. A later pass showed more of a meaty character.
This showed the most fruit of all the wines, there was a rich, concentrated blackcurrant note, backed by meaty (I wrote "oxo cube") and mushroom notes. 92

1984 Chateau Pichon Lalande, Pauillac (12.3%)
Nose showed a distinct bretty, underbrush character, with red cherry, smoke and caramel.
Seemed lightweight by comparison to the others. Some black cherry and blackcurrant fruit, with leather on the finish. I guessed this as the Ridge Santa Cruz Mountains. 88

1984 Joseph Swan "Estate", Northern Sonoma (12.5%)
This had a earthy yet perfumed nose with some brambly fruit.
It had good balance and bright acidity, with plenty of blackcurrant fruit. Cranberry showed later. A nice herbal, medium length finish. Really opened up during the tasting. 93

1984 Girard "Reserve", Napa Valley (12.5%)
Tart cranberry nose with musty notes.
Lots of acidity. Raspberry, brambly notes with some mushroom and a nice finish. 92

1984 Ridge, Santa Cruz Mountains (12.0%)
Funky nose (brett?) with dried herbs and leaves.
Palate showed lots of leather and cedar, but no fruit to speak of. I later tried it again after eating some bread and cheese and noticed some black fruit in the background. Earthy, herbal finish. I guessed that this was the Bordeaux. 87

1984 Mount Eden "Estate", Santa Cruz Mountains (12.8%)
This had the darkest colour of all the wines.
The nose had lively fruit with notes of pencil shavings.
Good acidity, nice tart blackcurrant and graphite, and an interesting finish. 89

1984 Ridge "Montebello", Santa Cruz Mountains (12.9%)
An earthy, smoky nose. This was the first wine I tasted; it seemed rather closed. The palate was tart and savoury but there wasn't much in the way of fruit. With time the raspberry, brambly fruit started to come out. Had the most tannin of all the wines. I marked it down because it wasn't as open as the rest; perhaps that should have been my clue. Several of the more experienced tasters quickly recognised this as the Monte Bello. Clearly still has plenty of life. 91

Wes Barton's notes are http://bartonorchard.blogspot.com/2010/02/84-cabernet-blind-tasting-2410.html>here.
Richard Jennings' notes are here.

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ZAP are the Zinfandel Advocates and Producers - their annual Zinfandel festival is one of the biggest public wine events of the year. It was held last weekend in two of the old piers at Fort Mason in San Francisco.

I've never attended the ZAP festival before and was a little surprised by the scale of it; it's almost twice as big as Pinot Days, which means that parking is nigh on impossible, even for the morning trade only session.

Overall I was very impressed with the way the event was run. I particularly appreciated the bottled water and sourdough baguettes, though next year I need to bring a jacket with more pockets and perhaps a couple of spare arms to hold my wine glass, spit cup, programme and iPhone. On that note my only minor complaint was that I'd have liked to have seen some more free tables so that people can step away from the pouring to taste the wines.

Something that the organisers might like to consider is a way of colour coding the producers by region; at Pinot Paradise last year each winery had coloured balloons indicating the grape sources - Corralitos, Skyline, etc. This would be great at ZAP so that you can see from a distance which producers are from Dry Creek, Paso Robles, Sierra Foothills etc.

I didn't really take detailed notes - it's near impossible in that format; instead I posted a few brief impressions on Twitter if anyone's interested. Here are a few of my conclusions.

2007 and 2008 both seem to be excellent vintages. The 2008s seem very concentrated due to the lower yields. Ridge were pouring eight 2008s, all of them 90+ pointers in my view. The "Carmichael" was particularly interesting, it's from a block within the Geyserville vineyard.

2006 was clearly a weaker vintage, but I found a particularly nice one from Bradford Mountain at just $22. However I've not been able to find it at retail anywhere; most places are still carrying the 2005. And though the 2005 vintage may have been slammed by some critics I can recommend the 2005 Lion Oaks from Storrs.

I was pleasantly surprised by some of the offerings from Paso Robles, including Gray Wolf Cellars. Another surprise was a boxed Zinfandel from Bota Box. Priced at under $20 for a 3L box it was a light, fruity wine that's way better than anything else I've tried in its price range.

I don't like Zinfandel 'port'.

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A few events that you ought to be aware of in the coming months.

Dark & Delicious is an evening of Petite Sirah and various food pairings. While I freely admit that Petite Sirah isn't my favourite grape, there's no denying that there are some interesting ones out there - try Storrs, Sones or Aver Family for example - and it blends really well with Zinfandel as Ridge's Lytton Springs or Geyserville offerings amply demonstrate.
Here's a chance to try wines from over 40 Petite Sirah producers as well as food from 26 top restaurants and caterers.
Where Rock Wall Wine Company, 2301 Monarch Street, Alameda
When Friday, February 19th,| 6PM - 9PM
How Much $60 in advance, $70 at the door.

The 8th Annual Pinot Noir Summit features 40 top-rated Pinot Noirs in a blind tasting where the consumers are the judges. Professional tasters have already whittled down hundreds of entrants in blind tastings. Compare your scores to the panel and see which wine is voted #1 live. There are workshops and a closing ceremony.
Where Osher Marin Jewish Community Center, 200 N. San Pedro Road, San Rafael
When Saturday, February 27th, Noon to 8:30PM
How Much $125 for the full day, $75 for the reception and awards ceremony only.
You can also win tickets on Facebook

Pinot Paradise is on March 28th. Pretty much every Pinot Noir producer in the Santa Cruz Mountains Winegrowers Association will be presenting their current releases; expect a few barrel samples and older vintages too. There are also technical sessions in the morning and several wineries will be open for barrel samples on the Saturday.
Where Villa Ragusa, in downtown Campbell
When Sunday, March 28th 2PM-5PM
How Much $55 in advance, $65 at the door, $75 for a VIP pass, $55 for the Technical Session.

Monte Bello Assemblage Tasting
The tastings in March and May are for Monte Bello collectors only; the tasting in April is open to the public. This is a great opportunity to taste some of the individual components that will go into the 2009 Ridge Monte Bello before the blend is finalised. It's also a chance to taste some older vintages to see how they are ageing - the 1990, 1992, and 1994 will be on offer. (RSVP by April 12th is required to attend.)
Where Monte Bello Tasting Room, Cupertino
When Saturday April 17th, 11AM-5PM
How Much $30, or $15 for Ridge wine club members

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