Ascona Vineyard, Santa Cruz Mountains

Wine Spectator magazine recently published a series of reports on the 2011 vintage. Their report on California covers Napa, Sonoma and Paso Robles, but omits the area in between. So here is a provisional report on the 2011 vintage for the Santa Cruz Mountains and Santa Clara Valley.

Let's start by getting some boring science stuff out of the way.
Last winter saw one of the strongest La Niña events ever recorded. When this occurs the surface temperature of equatorial waters cools by several degrees, which in turn alters the path of the jet stream that crosses the USA. The effect usually fades in spring, but in 2011 it remained strong much later than usual. The jet stream remained farther south and blew more strongly. The effects were felt across the country, with many states experiencing near record highs or lows of temperature and rainfall.

In California the effect resulted in a spring that was colder, wetter and later than usual. The cold weather delayed budbreak, while rains during bloom affected 'set' - the formation of the grape cluster as flowers turn into berries. Yields were affected across the state, with many regions reporting 20% to 30% below normal, but the Santa Cruz Mountains vineyards were impacted more severely, particularly at higher elevations. Growers are typically reporting yields 40% to 60% below normal, with some vineyards being written off entirely.

Summer was long and cool without unexpected heat spikes; this increased risk of mildew - growers had to be diligent about spraying. Mary Lindsay of Muns Vineyard reported adding potassium to sprays to help boost vine health and encourage better and more even ripening throughout the vineyard. The cool weather did little to help the already late running harvest, and some light October rains brought an additional threat of botrytis. Paul Romero of Stefania Wine called it "a tough, unhappy year - 2010's work with 2008's yields ... larger berries than 2008 but close in quality [and] without the tannin issues".

On the positive side, the long, cool season and low yields rewarded those who had looked after their vines with crops of high quality fruit. Many growers report good balance of acids, fruit intensity and tannic structure, with full ripeness at lower sugar levels. Marty Mathis of Kathryn Kennedy Vineyards described their Estate Cabernet harvest numbers as "perfect as I have ever seen in my 30 vintages".
The expectation is for some elegant, balanced wines at lower alcohol levels. Bradley Brown of Big Basin vineyards said "Quality appears to be remarkable and for those who picked at the right time and maintained healthy vineyards, this could be one of the best vintages in a long time."

References:
http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/enso/feature/ENSO-feature.shtml
http://www.worldweatherpost.com/2011/06/14/u-s-had-most-extreme-spring-on-record-for-precipitation/#.TsfaBXKwXAg

Share |

Last weekend Paul and Stef of Stefania Wine asked for volunteers to help out at the Chaine d'Or vineyard in Woodside, so on a glorious Sunday morning I drove up to lend a hand. Chaine D'or is located close to the junction of 84 and 35 (Skyline). It's a pretty 2 acre vineyard on a south facing slope, planted in 1987. The upper and lower blocks are Chardonnay, with a block of Cabernet in between. It is laid out in rows running north-south at the top, gradually curving to almost east-west in the lower part. The vineyard uses the Vertical Shoot Position trellising system which originated in France and is now common practice, particularly up in Napa and Sonoma, but at the time its use in California was considered novel. In Chaine d'Or there is a single lower wire around 3' off the ground to which the vine's cordons are trained. Above it are two pairs of catch wires which are fixed (in some vineyards they can be raised and lowered, but not here) and at the top, around 7' up there's a single wire that the vine's tendrils can latch on to.
The rootstock is unknown; it was whatever the nursery had in at the time. Paul's guess was St. George since that was popular then, though the leaves don't seem to match.

View of Chaine d'Or vineyard looking south. Morning fog burning off the mountains.

I arrived a little after 9AM. The crew had already started; some had been there since early morning. We were tucking the vine shoots under the catch wires as well as removing suckers and shoots without any clusters. (The grapes are fed by the leaves further down the shoot; any shoots without fruit simply use up nutrients and water.)
As you can see by the first picture, left untouched the vines will grow in all directions and their tendrils will wrap around those of vines in the next row, making passage difficult. This also provides an environment where powdery mildew can proliferate. Once tucking is complete the vines can be treated by spraying with organic sulphur.

Finished rows of vines. Workers and tractors can move easily between the rows.

Suckers are shoots emanating from the base of the plant.
In this case the sucker is coming from below the graft,
so the leaves are those of the original rootstock (left).
Compare size and shape that of the grafted Chardonnay.

Vineyard work is, like most forms of farming, pretty laborious. The essential tools are sunscreen and water; a hat is advisable and pruning shears come in handy.

The job was straightforward; feed the flexible shoots under the two sets of catch wires and point them at the upper wire. The shoots are flexible and rarely break by accident, unlike the brittle stems of many garden plants like tomatoes. It all seems very simple and relaxing; just you, the vines, a nice warm day and the constant scream of motorcycles tearing up and down Skyline; it sounded more like Laguna Seca than sleepy Woodside. The work doesn't seem particularly strenuous, but I certainly noticed the effects in my back and shoulders later that evening!

The vines were on the whole looking healthy; most of them are over 20 years old and a few are showing signs of common diseases, such as shoots with red, shriveled leaves.

Cabernet Sauvignon is a later maturing grape,
so it was largely unaffected by the weather;
the clusters looked to be in much better shape.

Sadly the Chardonnay crop appeared to be exceptionally small; it's doubtful that there will be enough fruit for a commercial release.

It may surprise some of  you to know that this year's crop is not determined by the weather at the time of flowering (though obviously that can have an effect) but by the weather the previous spring. That's when the buds which would produce this year's crop developed. Spring 2010 was particularly cold, with lots of late frost, and it's likely that Chardonnay yields across the state will be significantly lower in 2011.

We called a halt at around 2PM after a good 4 hours of work. We still hadn't quite finished; there were a few rows left, but Paul's day crew would take care of them the following morning.

Overall it was an enjoyable way to spend a summer morning, but for a deskbound computer geek like me it's hard to imagine doing this on a daily basis. The next time you look at a neatly manicured vineyard remember that it doesn't get that way by itself; spare a thought for the humble labourers, and raise a glass to them.

Share |

Following the visit to Varner (see previous post) our group called in at Chaine d'Or. Paul poured a few barrel samples of the 2009 and 2008 vintages.

2009 Syrah, Split Rail Vineyard, Santa Cruz Mountains Barrel sample
Since the beginning Stefania have been looking for a local source for Syrah, and have found an excellent one in the Split Rail vineyard.
The nose is savoury, with soy, smoke and black fruit. It's rich and intense; lots of black fruit and white pepper, with a touch of liquorice on the finish. Delicious, even at this early stage.

2009 Cabernet Sauvignon, Chaine d'Or Vineyard, Santa Cruz Mountains Barrel sample
The Chaine d'Or vineyard is in a particularly cool microclimate; as a result the wines are very strucured and take a while to come round. The 2009 has a nose that's somewhat old world, with earthy, meaty and forest notes, with some smoke. In the mouth it's tight with black fruit and lots of tannin especially on the finish. It's going to need at least 5 years.

2009 Cabernet Sauvignon, Crimson Clover Vineyard, Santa Clara Valley Barrel sample
The Crimson Clover Vineyard will replace Uvas Creek as Stefania's source for Santa Clara Valley cabernet. The vineyard is located in the same vicinity and is farmed by Paul and Stef. The nose is elegant and dusty; on the palate there's rich blackcurrant fruit with, biscuit and herbal notes on the finish. It's a big, rich
new world wine in stark contrast to the Chaine d'Or Vineyard.

2008 Cabernet Sauvignon, Santa Cruz Mountains Barrel Sample
This is the final blend, returned to barrel prior to being bottled. At the moment it's pretty tight; the nose was showing some earthy black fruit, but not much. There's the typical blackcurrant, eucalyptus and menthol from previous vintages, with good structure and a long finish.

If you're already on the Stefania mailing list these should be no-brainer purchases. If you aren't on the list then you should be; I don't know of anyone making better wines anywhere in California at this price point.

Share |

When you look at the number of big wine events held in the bay area it seems like there's at least one or two every month. You wonder how the organisers manage to arrange things so that they don't clash. And then it dawns on you - they don't even try. Case in point, in two weeks it's Pinot Paradise. As a wine writer covering the Santa Cruz Mountains that's probably the cannot-miss event of the year. It's the only event of the year that focuses entirely on this one region, with most of the top producers gathered in one place pouring their latest releases. It's always challenging, but a lot of fun.
Meanwhile up in San Francisco the Rhone Rangers are having their annual grand tasting event at the Fort Mason centre at the exact same time. So local wineries that make both Pinot and Rhones - and there are several - have a tough set of choices (as do we consumers).
But if that wasn't bad enough the Wineries of Santa Clara Valley are holding their Spring Passport weekend then too.
And in typical contrarian fashion, Stefania are holding their Spring pick-up open house at Chaine d'Or in Woodside on Saturday 27th. So all in all, it's going to be a busy weekend. Whichever events you attend, please remember to spit!

Share |

I normally begin my posts with a brief overview of the winery in question, but for Stefania I've already said everything there is to say. Instead I'll start this one with a whole slew of disclosures: these wines were received as trade samples and were not tasted blind. Add to that the fact that Paul and Stef are friends, I've been a fan of their wines since release and have purchased every wine they have released to date.

Okay, so with that out of the way, what do we have? The Stefania Spring release comprises a brace of Santa Cruz Mountains Cabernet Sauvignons. One is a blend from several vineyards that Paul and Stef manage, together with a significant portion from Harvest Moon/Martin Ranch. As you'll know from my previous post this vineyard is located in a valley at the south-east end of the appellation.

By contrast, the other wine is from the Chaine d'Or Vineyard in Woodside. This is at the northern end of the AVA, not far from the historic La Questa vineyard and close to Summit Road. It's significantly cooler up there. So what we have is a quite interesting contrast. I therefore decided to open the wines side by side and drink them over two nights. The bottles were recorked but not refrigerated.

2007 Stefania Cabernet Sauvignon, Chaine D'Or Vineyard
Not decanted. On first opening all I got was oak; it took quite some time before the fruit started to show on the nose, along with some smoke. Similarly on the palate the first impression was of tartness, austerity and light weight. Over the next hour it loosened up to reveal complex black fruits - cherry, currant and berry with fine tannins.

On day two the nose had earth, oak and fruit right from the start. It seemed to have significantly more weight than before, good blackcurrant and black cherry flavours with fresh earthy notes. A light and elegant wine. I'd give this at least 5 years. 91+ $24

2007 Stefania Cabernet Sauvignon, Santa Cruz Mountains
Not decanted. This has a lot more fruit on the nose. It's smoother, fuller bodied and significantly more opaque than its sibling, with plenty of up-front black fruit. Over the next hour it seemed to tighten up; the tannins and oak became more pronounced.

On day two it was much the same story; some more smoke on the nose, brambles, blackcurrant and mint, good structure. Drinking nicely now, but will certainly last a while. 92 $40

Share |

Having opened two of the recent Stefania releases you knew it was only a matter of time before I got to the last one, the Chaine d'Or vineyard Chardonnay.

Chaine d'Or vineyard, pictured above, is located off Highway 84 in Woodside, to the east of Skyline Drive. It's a little over an acre on a cool southerly slope. The vines were planted a little over 20 years ago by Jerry and Anne Anderson in the grounds of their home. The Andersons made wine under the Chaine d'Or label for many years, but have now retired and the vineyard and winery is now managed by Paul and Stef Romero. The old Chaine d'Or label has largely been discontinued in favour of the Stefania label, though a few cases are still marked the old way for some older restaurant clients.

I don't normally decant white wines, but I did with this as it's so young and I wanted to see what the air did to it. Initially the nose was quite floral; with time it showed more of a lime character. On the palate it had lots of chalky minerality, flavours of green apple, hints of butterscotch and a creamy mouthfeel. I'm assured that it sees 75% new oak, but you wouldn't think so from the way it tastes. It continues to remind me of Cooper Garrod's Gravel Ridge Vineyard Chardonnay, and to a degree of Clos LaChance's Santa Cruz Mountains Chardonnay. While it's probably my least favourite of the Stefania range, it's a nice example of a Santa Cruz Mountains Chardonnay, and a pleasant change from the butterball style. 89

Share |

You know how I finished my last post on Stefania saying I'm definitely going to try to hold on to the 2007s for a little longer? That may prove to be harder than I thought. I collected my latest shipment a little over a week ago and have already got through three bottles of the 2007 "Haut Tubbe". On the nose it's slightly funky, with notes of lavender, brambles and pine. With air some eucalyptus showed. On the palate the tannins first appear soft, though on the final glass they were firming up. There's plenty of acidity and a complex blend of fruit dominated by blackcurrant and with hints of mint. Just kept getting better. My guess is that this blend has a larger proportion of Cabernet than the 2006, which I think was predominantly Syrah. Terrific value at $20, and I believe there's still a little left if you haven't already got your order in. 90. Recommended

Then there's the 2007 Uvas Creek Cabernet Sauvignon, which exemplifies the kind of quality wines the Santa Clara Valley is capable of producing, and is drinking really well with an hour or so in the decanter. The nose has brambles, oak, caramel and a hint of toasted coconut. It's got bags of lush blackberry and blackcurrant fruit with enough structure backing it up. On first opening there's a hint of citrus-pith bitterness on the finish which recedes with air. Should continue to develop nicely if only I can keep my hands off it. 92 Recommended

Share |

The Chaine d'Or winery is maybe 30 minutes from where I work, so when Paul Romero told me he'd be bringing in the last of his grapes I took a long lunch break to go up and see. By the time I arrived the heavy work was done and it was down to what may be the most important part of winemaking - cleaning up. Jerry was hosing down everything in sight (including the dog) while Stef was doing punch downs on the Syrah and estate Cabernet Sauvignon, as well as lab tests on the latest delivery.

Much of the wine is now through primary fermentation and is in the barrel undergoing the secondary malo-lactic fermentation. Since 2007 Paul has relied on wild yeasts with good results.

I got to taste my first barrel sample of the 2009 vintage - a Cabernet Sauvignon from the "Crimson Clover" vineyard. So far everything I've heard about the 2009 vintage has been positive; it was an easy year and has resulted in a larger than average crop of very good quality. The downpour in late October doesn't seem to have caused too many problems. Pretty much every winemaker I've spoken to has had good things to say about it, and before the cynics say "well they would, wouldn't they" bear in mind that they still have plenty of wine from previous vintages to sell.
The cab was a lovely dark purple colour; loads of fruit and some nice young, firm tannins - it tastes good now!

Crimson Clover is a 1.5 acre vineyard in the Santa Clara Valley near Morgan Hill. It's not too far from the Uvas Creek vineyard, from which Paul & Stef sourced some excellent fruit for their first vintages. Uvas Creek's owners now also own the Sycamore Creek winery and are using all the fruit themselves, so this will be the winery's Santa Clara Valley Cabernet from next year.

The winery has just released their fall offering; 2007 Santa Clara Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, 2007 "Haut Tubbe" and 2008 Santa Cruz Mountains Chardonnay. I'll post notes once I open them, but I'm particularly keen to try the Cabernet again, as the last time I had it, it was showing very well indeed. The Chardonnay is completely sold out; there may be some of the others left.

The "Haut Tubbe" is a blend of various small lots including Cabernet, Zinfandel, Syrah, Grenache and Mourvedre. Because it's sourced from both the Santa Cruz Mountains and Santa Clara Valley AVAs it has to carry the "California" appellation. I recently opened a bottle of the 2006 Haut Tubbe (my last as it turned out thanks to an out-of-date cellar listing, bad planning that). It had good fruit backed by lots of tannin; we had a glass each and put the stoppered bottle in the fridge. On the second day the tannins had softened considerably and the dry, brambly fruit was showing nicely. On the nose it was savoury, with grilled meat, menthol and figs. Clearly this is a wine that deserves cellar time. I'm definitely going to try to hold on to the 2007s for a little longer.

Share |

Paul & Stef were opening the Chaine d'Or winery for a guest from England and invited me to join them, to get a preview of the forthcoming fall releases.

2008 Chardonnay, Chaine d'Or Vineyard.
Light, fresh lemon and peach nose. A rather creamy mouthfeel; lemon/lime flavours with a chalky mineral finish. The oak was present but not intrusive, and there's nice acidity. Reminds me of the Cooper Garrod "Gravel Ridge" Chardonnay. $24 89 Only 72 cases produced

2007 "Haut Tubbe", California
A blend of small lots from multiple vineyards; roughly 50% Syrah with the remainder Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel, Grenache and Mourvedre.
Nice dark colour. The nose showed dark fruit and toast. Good body with a rich, creamy mouthfeel. Spicy berry/fruit punch flavours and a medium finish. Recently bottled and just opened, it clearly needed air and put on weight in the short time it was open. Excellent value at $20. 91+ Only 94 cases produced.

We then moved on to some barrel samples:

2008 Pinot Noir, Santa Cruz Mountains AVA Barrel Sample
Lightish colour. Nose showed some Pinot funk and sulphur. As it blew off, notes of roses and cherry emerged. Palate showed tart cranberry and raspberry; 88+ now, will be interesting to see how it develops.

2008 Cabernet Sauvignon, Santa Cruz Mountains AVA
Blend of 80% Cabernet Sauvivnon (Chaine d'Or and Harvest Moon Vineyards) 20% Merlot (Elandrich Vineyard)
Barrel Sample, 1yo oak: Light, smoky, berry nose. Good flavours of blackberry blackcurrant and earth. 90+
Barrel Sample, New oak: More dusty oak showing on the nose. Palate was dry and tannic; tight with spicy bramble flavours. 90+
Both samples showed good acidity and structure. With 5 barrels made, total production should be around 125 cases. Note that because of the small crop all the 2008 Chaine d'Or Vineyard Cabernet will go into the Santa Cruz Mountains.

And to finish, some existing releases:

2006 Cabernet Sauvignon, Santa Cruz Mountains AVA
Appealling nose of blackcurrant and eucalyptus, plus a hint of menthol, follows on to the palate in spades. Like a liquid Halls blackcurrant mentho-lyptus (but in a good way). Good, fine tannins on the finish. Paul has noted that the eucalyptus component waxes and wanes from tasting to tasting and has an interesting theory on the cause. For the record, the moon is currently waxing gibbous. Either way, the wine is showing superbly right now but has plenty of fruit and structure to merit patience. 93

2006 Cabernet Sauvignon, Uvas Creek Vineyard, Santa Clara Valley
Faint hint of volatile acidity on the earthy, brambly nose. Showed nice black fruits and good balance. Drinking well now. 91

2007 Syrah, Eaglepoint Ranch Vineyard, Mendocino
Hints of candied plums, smoke and hay. Rich, black cherry flavour with notes of black pepper and a long, spicy finish. 92

Share |

I read a piece on wineconscience.com about irrigation. It points out that California is one of the heaviest users of water in the nation, and water is getting scarcer, so outlines what vineyards can do to reduce water usage.

One thing that it doesn't mention though is something that we can all do to reduce water usage: Rip up your lawn and plant vines instead as Paul & Stef Romero are doing. According to figures from the University of Florida:

Watering a half acre of yard “only once per week” equals 40,730 gallons of water a month or 488,760 gallons per year

40% of our drinking water goes to watering the landscape

A lifetime supply of drinking water for one human is 16,000 gallons, less than it takes for a month of lawn irrigation

Add to that the hassle of mowing the lawn, not to mention the environmental impact - gas powered mowers don't have catalytic converters - to grow a product that we can't even eat?

Share |

Up to Chaine d'Or for the Stefania spring release event. Chaine d'Or is located just off the 84 near to the junction with Summit Road. It's a great, winding drive through Woodside and some lovely wild countryside, with great views over the south bay. The winery itself is underneath a private house. There are no signs from the road; you have to know where to go. It's nicely equipped for its compact size. Paul and Stef Romero recently took over managing the winery and its 20 year old vineyard; around 2 acres, planted on a gentle slope to Chardonnay and Cabernet, with a few other Bordeaux varietals for blending.

2007 Pinot Noir, Santa Cruz Mountains $45
Sourced from a small vineyard in Corralitos near to Windy Oaks. Yields were very low in 2007 resulting in less than 2 barrels being made; as a result this has been sparsely allocated to mailing list members only.
Remarkably similar in style and profile to Windy Oaks. There's a light, floral nose with notes of tart cherries. The nose became more prominent after the wine had been open a couple of hours and had warmed up a little. Nice rich mouthfeel, with spicy flavours of cherry and cranberry, and a tart finish. No trace of heat despite the near 15% alcohol. Very good.

2008 Pinot Noir, Santa Cruz Mountains (Barrel sample)
The nose is very different from the 2007; more spicy (allspice?). It's showing more acidity & tannin now; good cherry fruit and nice spice. They yield in 2008 will be slightly larger, but not much; around 65 cases.

2006 Haut Tubbe $20
A blend of several small lots including Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel and Syrah.
Notes of mushroom and underbrush. Flavours of blackberry and raspberry with an earthy finish. Nicely balanced.

2007 Haut Tubbe $20 (not yet released)
The 2007 is a blend of primarily Syrah and Zinfandel. It's got a smoky, earthy nose; on the palate there's raspberry, plum and other black fruit. It's rich, with plenty of tannin and a smoky finish. Very good value.

2005 Chaine D'Or Cabernet Sauvignon $24
This has a very 'barnyard' nose; not Brett, but very funky. On the palate it has some nice blackberry/blackcurrant fruit, but the finish is lacking. Paul ascribes the nose to the inclusion of the 'press' wine; in future vintages he plans to reduce the amount in the blend.

Share |

I caught up with Paul and Stef Romero at a distributor tasting event in San Jose. (More notes from that event to follow.) They were pouring their latest releases, including their 2006 Santa Cruz Mountains Cabernet Sauvignon, sourced mainly from some smaller vineyards that they manage.

2007 Syrah, Eaglepoint Ranch, Mendocino
Having opened the 2005 last weekend; this was a good opportunity to try the other vintages. The 2007 sees a touch more oak than previous vintages; 1/3 as opposed to 1/4
It has a lovely floral nose, with black fruits. On the palate there's good fruit and a big twist of black pepper, particularly on the longish finish. Good acidity, nice balance.

2006 Syrah, Eaglepoint Ranch, Mendocino
A much brighter, fruitier nose than the 2007. On the palate there's more red fruits - redcurrants - than black. Nice finish, but less than the 07. While it's a nice wine, I prefer the 07.

2006 Cabernet Sauvignon, Uvas Creek Vineyard, Santa Clara Valley
Nose of blackcurrant jam on toast. Great, soft valley fruit - blackberry/blackcurrant, lovely rich mouthfeel and a good medium-length finish.

2006 Cabernet Sauvignon, Santa Cruz Mountains
Lots of mint and eucalyptus on the nose, backed by blackcurrant fruit. These come through on the palate too. The tannins are fine and soft, and the finish is longer than the Uvas. Great stuff.

Share |

2007 Black Ridge Pinot Noir, Santa Cruz Mountains
Nice nose of tart cherries. Good cherry and cranberry fruit on the palate, but lots of tannin and acidity. Worth getting, but leave it at least two years before opening.
2005 Stefania Syrah, Eaglepoint Ranch
I love the way this wine has developed. Lovely floral/herbal nose; Nice balance of black fruits and game with a touch of cedar. Continues to improve each time I try it; will I have any left by the time it peaks?
2007 Clos LaChance Estate Muscat
I rarely drink Muscat as I find them simple and uninspiring; I much prefer Sauternes or Tokaj. However I like to keep some around as I find it's the perfect compliment to a fresh fruit salad. This is a perfect example; the sweetness level and orange flavours match rather than mask the berries. A bargain on closeout for $3.

Share |

We had guests over to dinner last night. I was making Tournedos Rossini and wanted a nice cab to go with it, then remembered I hadn't tried one of these yet. It had half an hour in a decanter by way of an aerating funnel.

It has a floral nose of violets and a little smoke, as if there was some Petite Verdot in there (but there isn't). On the palate it's rich and meaty with flavours of brambles. The tannins are smooth, leaving a good finish. The label notes say it'll keep for up to 10 years; not around here it won't.

The wine won a Silver medal at the 2009 SF Wine Competition, which vastly under-rates it in my view.

Share |

My friend Paul Romero has an apprentice. A student at Princeton, Rajiv Ayyangar is spending his summer vacation working as a cellar rat and general dogsbody. He's started documenting the experience in his blog. I hope it works out for him, and I look forward to reading more about his experiences.

I've spent a couple of days here and there working with Paul in the vineyards. It's a total contrast to the high-tech life; it's hard slog, but strangely enjoyable and peaceful. I'm planning to take a day off in August to help with the bottling too. And one of these days I intend to make my own barrel of wine.

Share |

If it wasn't for Paul Romero, you wouldn't be reading this. A few years ago I began following Paul's postings on the Wine Spectator forums; his enthusiasm for the Santa Cruz Mountains made me realise that it was foolish to spend so much of my time and money in Napa when there was a world-class AVA on my doorstep. Thanks to him I was introduced to several local enthusiasts, read the few available books on the area and started my two Web projects. So when Paul announced that he was officially launching a commercial winery I was one of the first to sign up.

Stefania is named after his wife, business partner and "muse". The first vintage was 2005; they released a Syrah from Eagle Point Ranch in Mendocino and a Cabernet from Uvas Creek in Santa Clara Valley. Through hard work and good fortune (it seems that the harder they work, the luckier they get) Paul and Stefania now manage several small vineyards around the SCM/SCV AVAs, including the former Matteson (now Woodruff) vineyard and recently took over operations at Chaine d'Or, following the retirement of the owner, Jerry Anderson.

You won't see Stefania's wines reviewed by the professional critics. It's not that they doubt the quality of their product, they simply don't want to draw the attention of the "points chasers". They would rather build a client base that comes back each year because they like the wines, which makes a lot of sense. Their mailing list already has a waiting list.

This spring they have released their second vintage of the Syrah as well as a red blend named "Haut Tubbe". The Syrah is amazing; it has an amazingly floral nose backed by dense, spicy fruit. A light touch with the oak and softer tannins mean that although I'm sure this will age nicely I very much doubt that it's going to have the chance. Well priced at $35

The "Haut Tubbe" is a blend of small lots from various vineyards. Although the main component is Cabernet Sauvignon that was footstomped by partygoers (including yours truly) there is also around 20% of Rhone varietals (Syrah, Grenache and Mourvedre) mostly from their (housing) estate vineyard, and it's those that really show the most. The wine has plenty of tannin, so I probably won't be popping mine any time soon, though I think it would be interesting to try it in a blind tasting alongside other local "California" designates, such as Cinnabar Mercury Rising, Fogarty Skyline, Roudon-Smith Claret, Silver Mountain "Oscar's Wild" etc. $20.

Small quantities of the wines are available from local restaurants and at Unwined in San Jose, but the bulk is sold to the mailing list. If you're not already signed up, you should certainly look into it.

Share |

February 23rd is the Wall Street Journal's Open That Bottle night. I wasn't going to participate; it's not that I don't have any "that" bottles, it's just that I'll open them on my schedule thank you very much, and most of them aren't ready yet.

But there's one wine that I have been putting off trying; being the cheapskate that I am I was hoping to get a taste of someone else's rather than sacrifice one of my own. It's the 2005 Stefania Uvas Creek Cabernet Sauvignon. Uvas Creek Vineyard is in the Santa Clara Valley AVA, in San Martin. Winemaker Paul Romero has been enthusiastic about the potential of this vineyard for a while, and this is his first release. Uvas is Spanish for grapes, and was named by the early explorers who discovered grape vines growing wild in the area.

I've had a number of Santa Clara Valley AVA wines, but up to now few of them have really fired me up. Cronin made some interesting Merlots in the late 90s from San Ysidro and Martin Ranch are making some quality wines from their estate vineyards including a gold medal winning Syrah, but for the most part they've been fairly uninspiring. However as I said in the introduction, I think all that is about to change in the coming years.

If this is anything to go by, we are in for some treats. It's a rich, full wine with bags of fruit and tannins. I should have decanted it, but I didn't plan ahead and there wasn't time. The only issue was a slight bitterness on the finish, like the pith of an orange, but that became less pronounced as time went on so I'm confident that with bottle age or decanting that will go away. I don't plan to open any more for quite some time. Kudos to Paul and Stef for an excellent maiden release from what was a tricky vintage.

Share |