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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As I noted recently, Generosa winery has been sold and will close permanently at the end of the year so I thought I'd take the opportunity to visit. The winery is located on Summit Road about 2.5 miles from Burrell School towards Highway 17. The property is on the north-east side of the road and enjoys great views across the hillside.

Parking is at the bottom of a steep drive, next to the old winery. Steps lead up to the tasting room which is surrounded by ancient redwood trees.

I re-tasted the wines and was surprised by the variation since last time. The Pinot Noir showed less acidity and more fruit, whereas the Sangiovese didn't show the oxidation that marred the last tasting.

Part of this can perhaps be attributed to the fact that the wines being poured in the tasting room had been decanted for around an hour, but an additional factor to consider is batch variation.

When wines are to be bottled the usual approach is to blend the individual barrels in a settling tank, but at Generosa the wines were bottled by hand straight from the barrel.

There was one additional wine, not previously tasted:
2004 Cabernet Sauvignon, Dorcich Vineyard, Santa Clara Valley
Brambles and pepper on the nose followed through on the palate but the weak finish lets it down. 86

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Generosa is Italian for generous; it's also the maiden name of winemaker Chris Gemignani's grandmother, and the name of the winery that Chris founded. He built a lovely property on Summit Road, with winery, tasting room and a guest house named Villa Generosa. Sadly Chris died in 2007.

Following his death the family were left with a significant stock of wines, both bottled and in barrel, and attempted to sell the winery as a going concern. However the poor economic situation meant a buyer could not be found, so earlier this year the family engaged the services of local wine writer and marketer Laura Ness to help complete the necessary legal paperwork and sell off the remaining stocks.

The tasting room and guest house has now been sold and since the new owners have no interest in wine this is the last chance to purchase these wines. The property will be open at weekends from Noon-5PM from now until Christmas for tasting, and after that any remaining stocks will be sold off to a wholesaler. All the wines are $30, with discounts available for half and mixed cases.

2005 Pinot Noir, Veranda Vineyard, Santa Cruz Mountains
There's some 'Pinot funk' on the nose along with wild strawberry. On the palate it's fairly typical of the Veranda Vineyard; lean and earthy with light body and bright acidity. 87

2005 Sangiovese, Alegria Vineyard, Napa Valley
There are notes of oxidation and maturity on the nose. It has good acidity with some pleasant cherry notes and a fairly nice rounded finish where the oxidation shows again. 81

2003 Cabernet Sauvignon, Dorcich Vineyard, Santa Clara Valley
Great nose showing liquorice, ash and hints of eucalyptus. It's got plenty of smooth blackcurrant fruit with some herbal notes. Medium weight with a good finish. 90

2005 Cabernet Sauvignon, Monte Bello Ridge, Santa Cruz Mountains
Late picked; allegedly from Ridge's Monte Bello vineyard. It shows lots of sweet raisin fruit, both on the nose and the palate. Lacks acidity and the finish tails away somewhat. Should perhaps have been blended with the Sangiovese. 83

2003 'Tuscan Wedding', Central Coast
Given Chris's Tuscan hertitage, it's not surprisingly that his signature wine was a "Super Tuscan" blend of French and Italian grapes. This example includes Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Sangiovese and Petit Verdot.
Earthy nose, showing a little barnyard at first. A rich blend, with the Syrah showing well. Notes of white pepper and redcurrant. 89

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Creekview is a 1000 case winery located in San Martin owned by Greg and Teri Peterson. Keen home winemakers for many years, they entered some of their wines in competitions and won several awards. Buoyed by this success they bonded Creekview Vineyards in 2005.

Most of the wine is made from purchased fruit sourced from the Santa Clara Valley, as well as the Ventana Vineyard in Arroyo Seco. There is a small estate vineyard, covering around 1.5 acres and planted with a wide selection of vines. There are several rows of VSP trained Bordeaux grapes - Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. There's also some Syrah and a little Negrette, grafted with cuttings from the De Rose vineyard in Cienega Valley.

The creek that gives the winery its name winds through the vineyard. To one side there's a block of tightly spaced head-trained Zinfandel. A small block of Merlot is planted on the far side; since it's only accessible by foot it's also head trained and tightly spaced. The grounds also include a wide selection of citrus, stonefruit and pipfruit trees.

The winery opens to the public on the third Saturday of every month. Tasting is free and there may also be live entertainment. On this particular Saturday it was unusually hot and humid, as a result some of the reds were served a little warmer than normal.

2008 Sauvignon Blanc, Ventana Vineyard, Arroyo Seco
This had a nice citrus nose, with lemon, lime and kiwi. Crisp and dry with flavours of grapefruit & lime. Pleasant, if a little simple. 86 $22

2007 Chardonnay, Dorcich Vineyard, Santa Clara Valley
Creamy vanilla and floral (honeysuckle?) notes on the nose. On the palate it was smooth and rich with flavours of baked apples and a long, creamy finish without being flabby or over-oaked. Very good. 89 $22

2007 Chardonnay, Ventana Vineyard, Arroyo Seco
Showed much more oak than the previous wine, with a nose of vanilla and apple. Flavours of apple pie and cream, and a shorter finish. 87 $25

2006 "Melody", Estate Vineyard, Santa Clara Valley
This Bordeaux blend saw almost 2 years in new French oak. The nose showed fragrant oak, brambles and smoke. The first impression it gave was hot, dry and tannic, but looking beyond that it showed good black fruits with a hint of mint and a touch of bitterness on the finish. At least 89, probably more under better circumstances. $38

2007 Merlot, Wilder Vineyard, Santa Clara Valley
Jammy, plum nose. Smooth and fruity with soft tannins that firm up on the finish. 88

2006 Cabernet Sauvignon, Dorcich Vineyard, Santa Clara Valley
Cellared in hybrid barrels, French, with American heads.
Lovely nose of spice, cassis & toast. Good, bright berry flavours with, a little smoke. Nice balance. Drinking well now. 89

2006 Syrah, Santa Clara Valley
Sourced from the Dorcich and Wolfenbarger Vineyards, this also contains some estate Syrah and small amounts of Negrette and Mourvedre.
The nose showed lots of smoke, black fruits, spice and black pepper. Concentrated fruit flavours with good structure and nice balance, and a long, smoky finish. Worth at least 91, maybe more; I'll let you know as I bought a couple. Recommended

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Sandy & Tom Moller purchased a 20 acre parcel in Gilroy, just east of the 101, in 1993. The land had previously been a prune orchard, but the trees were old and diseased and had to be removed. An early plan to grow Christmas trees was eventually scrapped in favour of growing grapes. Their 15 acre vineyard is planted with Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah and Petite Sirah.

In common with several other Santa Clara wineries, the winery hosts an open day on the third weekend of every month, with special events every 3 months to celebrate the solstices and equinoxes. However Satori is unusual - possibly unique - in that its events are particularly family friendly. There is a large children's play area and there are activities such as face painting. One slight word of caution though; there is a pool which is not fenced off.

Starting on July 11th the winery will open for tasting only every weekend. A tasting fee of $10 may apply, which is credited towards any purchase.

2007 Chardonnay of the Pink Ray, Monterey County $18
A rose made by adding a small amount of Petite Sirah.
Rather thin and acidic, with flavours of pears and crab apples.

2006 Estate Merlot of the Violet Flame, Santa Clara Valley $25 (80 cases)
Nose of bluberries, oak and smoke. Concentrated blueberry and plum flavours, with soft tannins. Drink now.

2006 Estate Petite Sirah Ha-Ha, Santa Clara Valley $33 (185 cases)
Nose shows lots of toasty oak. On the palate there's some decent black fruits and liquorice behind some fairly big tannins. Give it cellar time and see what happens.

2006 Ta-Da Syrah, Santa Clara Valley, $25 (75 cases)
75% Dorcich vineyard, 25% Estate
Blueberry syrup on the nose. Bright, soft blueberry fruit and a fairly quick finish.

2006 Hallelujah Cabernet Sauvignon, Walla Walla Valley $30 (590 cases)
Fruity nose - Vimto & smoke
Rich sweet fruit - blackcurrant and toast. Soft crisp finish

2006 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon of the Blue Hand, Santa Clara Valley $30 185 cases
A cab for Zin lovers. Toast & berry on the nose, flavours of blackberry, raspberry, chocolate and espresso.

2006 Oh-So Zin, Fratelli Vineyard, Santa Clara Valley $25 (160 cases)
Nose of black raspberry and gooseberry. Extracted flavours of raspberry, espresso and smoke. Drinking well now.

2006 Estate ZenZin, Santa Clara Valley $28 (110 cases)
A soft, sweet raspberry nose. Palate shows strong raspberry flavours, with firm tannins on the finish. Currently rather tight, this should continue to develop over the next 2-3 years.

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At the bottom of Monte Bello Road is the scenic Picchetti Ranch, owned by the Mid-Peninsula Open Space District. This 308 acre ranch has over 3 miles of trails. It's also home to California Bonded Winery number 148 - Picchetti Winery.

Over a centuary ago Vincenso and Secondo Picchetti began farming Zinfandel, Carignane and Petite Sirah on this land and founded the winery. It had a turbulent history; following Prohibition some of the vineyards were replanted as fruit orchards, but it wasn't a very profitable enterprise and wine production eventually stopped again in 1963.

The winery was re-opened in 1982 as Sunrise Winery and in 1998 the lease was purchased by Leslie Pantling who changed the name back to Picchetti Winery. The winery produces about 9000 cases a year, with fruit mostly sourced from vineyards in the Santa Cruz Mountains and Santa Clara Valley. The tasting room is open daily from 11AM to 5PM. For $5 you can taste 5 of about 15+ wines, with the charge refunded with purchase.

We called in on the way back from the event at Ridge. Personally I've always found Picchetti's wines a bit hit and miss but there's usually some good ones. We concentrated on the wines from local vineyards. I didn't take much in the way of notes.

2006 Viognier $25
Nice, floral character.
2006 White Pavone $23
A blend of Chardonnay from Santa Cruz Mountains, with Viognier and Gewurztraminer from Santa Clara Valley. Slight sweetness. Very fruity and intense. A good accompaniment to spicy food. Recommended.
2005 Leslie's Estate Chardonnay, Santa Cruz Mountains $29
A nice, balanced wine. Quite oaky and buttery/creamy but with good acidity holding it together. Recommended.
2005 Rose of Syrah, San Benito County $20
Fairly lightweight, with a bitterness on the finish that I didn't care for. Not Recommended.
2005 Merlot, Santa Clara County $27
An easy drinking Merlot, gentle on the oak, with a dusty finish. Fruit sourced from the Dorcich Vineyard in San Martin. Recommended.
2005 Syrah, Santa Clara County $33
Didn't care for this at all. Lots of acidity overpowering the fruit. Not Recommended.
2006 Red Pavone $29
A Bordeaux blend - Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, together with an Italian varietal called Lagrein. A pleasant wine with a peppery flavour but I couldn't justify the price tag.
2005 Quarry Hill Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, Los Altos $33
This is a smooth, supple cab from a vineyard in the foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains. While pleasant it's not a particularly stunning bargain; I'd go for Mount Eden's Saratoga Cuvee at around $25 every time.
2005(?) Montebello Cabernet Sauvignon $45(?)
The fruit was sourced from the Vidovich vineyard, up next to Ridge; Picchetti have been buying fruit from them since the first harvest in 2000. I've been drinking Vidovich Monte Bello Road Cabernet Sauvignon by the case since I discovered it last year, so it was interesting to compare; this had way more depth and concentration with an interesting eucalyptus/mint note on the finish. Recommended.
2004 Bellicitti Vineyard Zinfandel, Saratoga $30
I'm afraid I didn't care for this. There was just too much residual sugar for my liking. Not Recommended.
2006 Port $37
A combination of Zinfandel and Petite Sirah. I'm not a huge fan of domestic Port and this didn't really do anything to sway me.

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