Iron Horse Wines Sparkle With Millennials

One of the highlights of this semester was the SSU Wine Club tasting with Iron Horse Vineyards located in the Green Valley AVA of Sonoma County.  Green Valley is a small special section of the Russian River Valley which has a cooler climate and more fog than surrounding areas.  Located just 13 miles from the Pacific Ocean, it is an ideal place to grow chardonnay and pinot noir.  Iron Horse is one of the largest of the 8 wineries in this appellation, and has become quite famous for its sparkling wines. 

The wine tasting was hosted by Joy Sterling, CEO of the winery.  According to one participant, “Joy has the most amazing charisma and was really able to relate to the students.”  Joy described the vineyards, winemaking, and told great stories about happenings at the winery. 

Six different wines were tasted, but the two favorites of the evening were a sparkling and a chardonnay.  Coming in first place with the most votes was the 2004 Iron Horse Classic Vintage Brut ($33) with a rich creamy mouth feel, citrus and a yeasty brioche finish with crisp acidity.  It is a blend of 75% Pinot Noir and 25% Chardonnay, and was aged 4 years on the lees.  Joy said it would pair quite well with sushi and other spicy foods. 

The second favorite was the 2007 Iron Horse UnOaked Chardonnay ($26) which had an intense minerality and a wonderful hint of mandarin orange.  Very fruity, but with good texture due to time spent on lees….and no oak!  Joy suggested pairing this was salad, shrimp, or pasta with white sauce. 

For more information on Iron Horse Vineyards and their wines, see:  http://www.ironhorsevineyards.com/

Millennials Love Pinot Noir from Anderson Valley’s Navarro Winery

If you haven’t visited Anderson Valley yet, in Mendocino County, you are missing a magical wine region of California.  About an hour’s drive north of the Sonoma State University campus (and 2 hours north of San Francisco) you will enter the enchanting Anderson Valley.  It is filled with rolling vineyards tucked into the hillsides and hollows of the valley, with many charming small family wineries.  Legendary for their highly rated pinot noir and chardonnay, the cooler climate of the Anderson Valley also sets itself apart by being one of the only wine regions in California to specialize in white Alsatian varietals such as Riesling, Gewurztraminer and Pinot Gris. 

Anderson Valley has nearly 30 wineries now, with some very famous names such as Goldeneye, Esterlina, Lazy Creek and Foursight (co-operated by one of SSU’s wine grads, Joe Webb).  However one of the most well known is Navarro Vineyards and Winery.  Jim Greaves, sales manager at Navarro, was kind enough to make the trip to SSU to share Navarro wines with the 40 Millennials who attended the most recent campus Wine Club meeting.  They tasted through a variety of rieslings, gewurtztraminers, chardonnays and pinot noirs – including the Navarro Select Late Harvest Riesling Dessert Wine.  

In the end it was the Burgundian wines that triumphed with the Millennials selecting the pinot noir and chardonnay as their favorites.  Navarro’s 2006 Pinot Noir is a light fruit forward pinot with plenty of raspberry, strawberry, spice and a pleasing acidity.  It was also a Gold Medal winner, and a great value at only $19.  The 2006 Navarro Chardonnay, another Gold Medal winner, is a dry white wine with notes of honey and pineapple; and a great value at only $10. 

I’ve personally visited Navarro on 3 different occasions and have always been impressed with the relaxed friendly atmosphere and the high quality of the wines at reasonable prices.  Another unique aspect of Navarro is the fact that they make grape juice from their wine grapes and sell it in wine bottles.  My 9 year old daughter fell in love with their gewürztraminer grape juice and begged me to buy a bottle for her.  She felt very proud having her own wine bottle at the Thanksgiving table that year.  For more information on Navarro wines, visit http://www.navarrowine.com/main.php

The Future of Wine – Chile-Lime Riesling?

All of us at the SSU Wine Business Institute are very proud of Wine MBA student, Leah McNally, who won a scholarship to attend the recent WineFuture Conference in Rioja, Spain.  Leah was lucky enough to rub shoulders with Robert Parker, Jancis Robinson, Gary V., and other famous wine industry experts.  Fortunately for us, she has published a very insightful article on her experience at the conference….and what the experts predict on the FUTURE of WINE — including flavored wine, such as chile-lime riesling!!  Read all at http://palatepress.com/2009/11/winefuture-2009-la-rioja-spain/

Michel Schlumberger Wines Rock at SSU

The SSU Wine Tasting Club met recently to taste some of the magnificent wines of Michel Schlumberger located in the Dry Creek AVA of Sonoma County.  This winery specializes in Bordeaux varietals and organically grown grapes.  When I visited you enter through some very impressive gates, and are invited to go on a vineyard tour to learn how they farm organically.  Afterwards you enjoy an informal tasting of their wonderful wines.  You must call in advance to schedule an appointment, but the tasting and tour are definitely worth it! (http://www.michelschlumberger.com/) 

The two favorite wines of the 53 Millennials tasting at SSU were the 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon Michel Schlumberger Dry Creek ($40) with rich ripe plum notes and spices of cinnamon and nutmeg.  The wine was aged 24 months in 35% new French oak.  The second top favorite of the evening was the 2005 Estate Merlot Michel Schlumberger Dry Creek ($28) which is a big serious merlot with black fruit, cocoa and leather.  It was aged 16 months in French oak and includes a small percentage of some of the other Bordeaux varietals (Petit Verdot, Malbec, Cabernet Franc, and Carmenère). 

Two other fun facts about the evening with Schlumberger.  They announced that they are hosting a Halloween (Hallowine) Open House tonight (Oct. 29^th), and they also let attendees taste their 2006 Pinot Noir which is made from the ONLY pinot noir wines in Dry Creek!

Putting Pennies in Your Wine

Last night in my wine business class we evaluated 4 interesting wine from Greece and South Africa.  The last South African wine, a deep red pinotage with the distinctive red berry, greenstick, earth and spices that it is known for, also included a very strong smell of rotten eggs.  Immediately one of my students suggested we put a penny in our glass, and I agreed.  In less than 10 seconds the stinky smell had dissipated in the wine and we were able to evaluate it more fairly.  Looking around the classroom, I saw some puzzlement on the faces of other students, so I thought it would be useful to take a few minutes to explain why we put pennies in the wine. 

The stinky rotten egg smell was caused by too much hydrogen sulfide in the wine.  Sometimes this can form more complex sulfur compounds which are called mercaptans.  According to James Halliday & Hugh Johnson in The Art and Science of Wine (2007), “these can assume an ungodly range of totally unpleasant personalities: burned rubber, tar, rotten game, and rancid garlic…..while the taste always has a bitter, astringent finish to add to whatever particular flavor it may have.…It toughens and obscures the taste; in a recently bottled red wine it may be confused with tannins (p. 214.)”  NOTE:  It is important to differentiate sulfides and mercaptans from brett, which is yeast that gives wine a stinky barnyard and leather taste. 

So What Causes the Stinky Sulfur Smell?

 There are several causes of hydrogen sulfides and mercaptans in wine, but the primary ones are: 1) using too much sulfur in the vineyard to control powdery mildew, and/or applying it too close to harvest. 2) A second reason may be that the fermentation yeast did not have enough nutrients – in which case they produce more hydrogen sulfides.  It should be noted that some fermentation yeasts do this more than others.  3) A third reason could be that the wine did not receive enough oxygen during fermentation, and/or after  – with racking (or aerating the wine).  4) Finally if the wine is left to sit for too long on the gross lees, this problem can also occur.  

Solving the Problem 

The best way to prevent sulfides occurring in the wine is good viticulture and winemaking practices.  However, if it happens anyway, the first step in the cellar is to rack (aerate) the wine.  This often solves the problem as the sulfides blow away.  If the rotten smell is still present, then a small addition of copper sulfate can be added (according to legal limits).  This combines with the hydrogen sulfide to form copper sulfide which can then be removed by racking.  If none of this works, then the only solutions are to blend the wine with a non-smelly one; remove the off odor with expensive reverse osmosis, or discard the wine. 

If you are a wine consumer and you have just purchased a bottle of wine that has the sulfur taint when you open it, the first solution is to aerate it by putting it in a decanter and letting it rest for about 30 minutes.  If the bad aroma is still present, add a few clean pennies to the decanter.  This will often erase the smell.  If that doesn’t work, then pour the wine back into the bottle and return it to the retailer for a refund.

SSU Wine Club Starts the Semester with Sebastiani Wines

What better way to start a new Fall semester on campus than with a wine tasting of Sebastiani wines.  For this first tasting, the room was filled to capacity with over 50 Millennials.  Julie Butler from Sebastiani’s Hospitality group brought 6 wines to taste.  Three were from Sebastiani Vineyards and Winery located in Sonoma, California, plus an additional 3 wines from Firestone Winery in Santa Barbara County.  You may not be aware that the 100+ year old Sebastiani Winery was acquired by Foley Family Wines in December of 2008.  Foley Family also owns 8 other wineries, including Firestone, Merus in Napa and several others in California and New Zealand. 

According to SSU Wine Club President, Matt Lapides, the clear favorites of the evening where the Sebastiani 2007 Chardonnay Sonoma County ($13) and the Sebastiani 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon ($18) — also from Sonoma County.  The Chardonnay was filled with rich tropical fruit notes and some light toasty oak; while the Cabernet Sauvignon was a dry red wine with rich texture and dark berry flavor.  The 82% cabernet was blended with small amounts of merlot, malbec, petite verdot and petite sirah to add complexity. 

Before she left, Julie reminded everyone that Sebastiani hosts Wine & Music Late Night Fridays for locals.  Each Friday from 7-9pm, Sebastiani offers free music and discounted wine and food for Sonoma County residences. See www.sebastiani.com for more information.

Tolosa Winery – A Favorite Millennial Tasting Room

(By guest author Pete Lobash) Tolosa Winery is located in San Luis Obispo (www.tolosawinery.com). I went here with some friends and had a great time. Tolosa has a tasting room some wineries would die for! Think of an extremely nice wine bar and then add even more. On entry of this tasting room I immediately noticed how modern looking everything was. In most tasting rooms a rustic or Italian look is sought after — yet at Tolosa it’s all about a contemporary look. This room really caters and attracts those from the ages of twenty one to mid thirties. I really liked the way the room felt, it was something that seemed familiar yet new. Even to this day I still haven’t been to a tasting room that has looked anything like Tolosa’s. They truly have something unique that can be geared more toward the Millennial generation.

Along with an amazing tasting room, Tolosa’s staff was phenomenal. The pours were more than generous, which I really enjoyed when it came to their unoaked chardonnay. The staff was extremely hospitable to me and my friends, catering to all of our needs. It was nice to have people that could pour wine and also carry on a conversation about any topic that arose. They were a very nice staff with a lot of passion for their job. Over all this winery is nothing shy of amazing and well worth another visit.

Elegant Napa Cabs for a Special Occasion

As a wine professor, my Millennial students often ask me for advice on buying an expensive bottle of wine for a special occasion.  Sometimes it is a guy who wants to impress a girlfriend, or a group of friends who want to buy a very nice bottle of wine for a wine-loving friend or family members.  Generally in this blog, we focus on more affordable wines, but there are times when you want to splurge and buy something really special. 

Fortunately during the second day of the Wine Blogger’s Conference, the Napa Valley Vintner’s sponsored a wine tasting at Quintessa Winery where we were allowed to taste many of the wine stars from this famous valley.  You may not know that Napa Valley now has more than 325 producing wineries….and some of the very famous ones were pouring their high-end cabernets for us.  Though it was impossible to taste through all of the wineries that attended the event, I did find a few stars that I wanted to pass on. 

Before I list the names, I do want to admit that my “last supper wine” – the wine I would drink if it was my last night on earth and I could only have one bottle –would be a big cabernet from Napa, Sonoma, or Bordeaux.  I really do adore big, red cabernets.  With that said, Napa Valley is known for its elegant and velvety cabs with smoother tannins compared to the bigger, more masculine cabs of Sonoma and Bordeaux.  Napa cabs are often more fruit-forward as well, with layers of concentration.  Both styles are wonderful, but sometimes for a special occasion the plush elegance of Napa is a perfect choice and usually always a crowd-pleaser. 

Following are 4 of my favorite wines from Saturday’s tasting.  I’m including the winery websites, because they are not always that easy to find – even in fine wine shops.  You will NOT find these in a regular grocery store.  The nice aspect about these wines is they drink well now, but can also be aged in proper cellar conditions: 

2006 Quintessa Rutherford ($140) – a jewel of a wine with opulent rich fruit that glides across your tongue like velvet.  Deep layers of ripe plum, cassis and spice.  Smooth tannins, well-balanced even though it has a high alcohol, and with a very long finish. www.quintessa.com 

2006 Spottswoode Estate Cabernet Sauvignon ($135) – lovely fragrant nose of dark berries and carmel.  More tightly woven with firmer tannins, but a velvety plush texture.  Very well balanced with only 14.1% alcohol; nice acid.  Hints of mocha and cedar on the finish.  www.spottswoode.com

2006 Far Niente Estate Bottled Cabernet Sauvignon Oakville ($125) –rich black depths; very dark berry with hints of forest floor and tar notes.  A more serious and complex wine with incredible concentration of flavors.  This wine needs food – ideally a succulent filet mignon or grilled Portobello.  Very long finish. www.farniente.com. 

2006 Ehlers Estate Cabernet Sauvignon St. Helena ($45) – this wine is a good value for the price, because it has all of the velvety texture and depths of the other three, yet is not as complex.  It has very pleasing red berry and plum notes with pretty spices, including some cedar and herbs.  What’s cool about this winery is they are non-profit and donate all proceeds to heart research.  www. ehlersestate.com

Millennials Analyze Wine Blogs – Inspired by the Wine Blogger’s Conference

Right now I’m at the 2009 Wine Blogger’s Conference at the Flamingo Hotel in Santa Rosa, California.  It was while I was at this same conference last year that I was inspired to launch a wine blog research project with the Millennial students in my Bus 305W class.  We divided into 8 teams of 5 students each and I gave them the list of Alden Yarrow’s Complete List of Wine Blogs available at  www.vinography.com. 

Next step was to divide up the wine blogs alphabetically by team so we ended up with a random sample.  In the end, the 40 Millennials analyzed 222 blogs.  These were then categorized by type of blog, and then a statistical analysis was run on the number of wine brands as well as the amount of advertising on the blogs.  Though the data is still being analyzed, high level results show 9 major types of blogs, with the most common being “Wine Reviews & Ratings.”

The 8 teams of Millennials were then asked to create their own wine blog for the class, and it was fascinating to view the type of blogs they created, as well as the creativity that went into developing their wine blogs.  The range of blog types/topics they created included:  visiting Sonoma County tasting room; the pros/cons of different capsules and closures; travel and wine in Northern California; everything good about chardonnay; wine ratings; and general wine education topics. 

They were also asked to create an online wine commercial which were presented to the whole class.  They ranged from the very funny to the poignant to the rather strange.  Following are links to several of these clever commercials: 

THE CHARDONNAY EFFECT:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K89608MdPH0

PRICELESS:  http://group2spring09wine.wordpress.com/

DRINK RESPONSIBLY:  http://www.viddler.com/explore/erikweisz/videos/2/

In the end, the Millennials said they enjoyed the project; especially learning how to create a wine blog.  It is interesting to note though, that before the project started only 4 of the 40 students admitted to reading wine blogs; however after the project more said they would now pay attention. 

And so as I continue to enjoy participating in this year’s Wine Blogger’s Conference, I can only be grateful to everything they taught me and look forward to learning more new tips this year – as well as tasting many great wines!

Ross Valley Winery – A Millennial Favorite Tasting Room

(By guest author, Angela Atkinson)  One of my favorite winery tasting rooms is a small, locally owned and operated winery in downtown San Anselmo.  It has provided customers with some great wines since 1987. The winery has a warm and inviting tasting room in the front, but behind the scenes in back is where the alchemy happens – truly a very cool place. The tasting room has a large vaulted ceiling giving in an open and spacious feeling while still feeling welcoming and unique. There is a small retail area with bottle openers, stoppers, and art from local artists.

At the Ross Valley Winery, Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, and Sauvignon Blanc, and more are sold at reasonable prices.  The nose and palate of the various wines provide a unique combintation of fruits, floral and spices combining to catch the pallet in a rare and uncommon pleasure — though, of course, they are all made of wine grapes.  Nothing else added, except for a little oak on the reds.  Ross Valley Winery also mades a Meade, which is comprised of honey, and a Port, which is fortified with grape spirits.

Paul Kreider, the owner and winemaker, is a walking encyclopedia of wine and winemaking. After devoting the better half of his life to making wine, he has begun offering his knowledge to his apprentice in hopes of teacher her some of his tricks. Her wines are also rare and delicious engaging all of the senses to create drinkable art.   I really like this winery and encourage my friends and family to visit.