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Rocca Family Vineyards and Sycamore Cellars

Tasted three terrific wines that may be in our wine club: the 2007 Rocca Merlot, the 2008 Rocca Vespera and 2008 Sycamore Cellars Syrah.

Rocca is in the Yountville region of Napa and their '08 Vespera won Gold at the SF Chronicle Wine fest--it's a rich Bordeaux blend farmed organically that pleases the palate with chocolate and a hint of espresso. The same chocolate and coffee flavors are found in their fruit forward Merlot that paired well with our spicy dinner. Sycamore Cellars is located in Arroyo Seco (we're finding more and more great wine coming out of the Monterey area) and they farm sustainably. Their Syrah is smoky, with tannins that balance the fruit. I'm thinking it would pair well with a smoked brisket.

Pinot Party!

Last Friday, a few of us at Touring & Tasting had the opportunity to taste some wonderful Pinot Noirs with food pairings by our talented food editor, Tama. She made us a beautiful spread of smoked salmon, smoked white fish spread and mushroom pate.

As for the wines, before jumping into the Pinot Noirs, we took a detour to Arlebosc, France to try the 2009 Domaine Romaneaux-Destezet Vin de Pays Blanc. It was a very pleasant wine. This White Burgundy was not as acidic as some other French Chardonnays, and it tasted of pure, unadulterated grape.

 

Reluctantly leaving France behind, we jumped right into our first Pinot Noir. We began in Mendocino’s Anderson Valley, pouring a 2006 Standish Pinot Noir. It’s a lovely wine, great aromatics, fruity and robust. We enjoyed the undertone of herbs.
We then travel south to Napa Valley to try the 2008 Bouchaine Estate Pinot Noir. This wine doesn’t have the sweetness of the first two, it’s a graceful wine with depth and notes of cocoa. This Carneros Pinot Noir abounds in elegance.

Heading westward we found ourselves in Sonoma’s Russian River Valley. We poured C. Donatiello Winery’s 2006 Pinot Noir. This wine is in its prime. The earthy Pinot is multi-layered with a lovely complexity.

 

For our last two Pinot Noirs we must travel down state, as they are both located in the Santa Lucia Highlands.

The 2008 Pessagno Pinot Noir is deeply colored and has a pleasing tartness.

Our last Pinot Noir is the 2008 Somerston Highflyer. This Pinot is sweeter than the last few, with rich aromatics and highlights of bright cherry.

Not a single Pinot disappointed, and more than one left us pleasantly surprised. We thoughoughly enjoyed our West Coast tasting (with a stop in France, of course) and look forward to tasting a range of Pinot’s outside of California next time.

Have you tried any of the wines we tasted? Have you tasted any good Pinot Noirs lately?

Pinot Noir and Smoked Fish Treats

Last week, a few Touring & Tasting staffers tasted some lovely Pinot Noirs from the West Coast, including the Pessagno Santa Lucia Highlands Pinot Noir and Somerston Santa Lucia Highlands Pinot. It was a great way to compare the effects of terroir on the varietal and an excuse to break in my new smoker and make smoked salmon and smoked whitefish spread!

Salmon is a natural pairing with Pinot, so are creamy things like the spread or pasta with cream sauce, also mushrooms--which often complement a mushroom note in Pinot Noir. I also made a mushroom pâté with just a touch of sour cream, but mostly the full flavor of mushroom, thyme, onion and a hint of garlic.

What do you pair with Pinot?

Wine Song Wednesday: Honky Cat

When I look back boy I must have been green
Bopping in the country, fishing in a stream
Looking for an answer trying to find a sign
Until I saw your city lights honey I was blind 

-chorus-
They said get back honky cat
Better get back to the woods
Well I quit those days and my redneck ways
And oh the change is gonna do me good

You better get back honky cat
Living in the city ain't where it's at
It's like trying to find gold in a silver mine
It's like trying to drink whisky from a bottle of wine

Well I read some books and I read some magazines
About those high class ladies down in New Orleans
And all the folks back home well, said I was a fool
They said oh, believe in the Lord is the golden rule 

-chorus- 

They said get back honky cat
Better get back to the woods
Well I quit those days and my redneck ways
And oh the change is gonna do me good

You better get back honky cat
Living in the city ain't where it's at
It's like trying to find gold in a silver mine
It's like trying to drink whisky from a bottle of wine 

-chorus-
They said get back honky cat
Better get back to the woods
Well I quit those days and my redneck ways
And oh the change is gonna do me good

You better get back honky cat
Living in the city ain't where it's at
It's like trying to find gold in a silver mine
It's like trying to drink whisky from a bottle of wine 

They said stay at home boy, you gotta tend the farm
Living in the city boy, is going to break your heart
But how can you stay, when your heart says no
How can you stop when your feet say go

You better get back honky cat
Better get back to the woods
Well I quit those days and my redneck ways
And oh the change is gonna do me good

You better get back honky cat
Living in the city ain't where it's at
It's like trying to find gold in a silver mine
It's like trying to drink whisky from a bottle of wine 

Get back honky cat, get back honky cat, get back...

Pessagno Winery

If you're driving the 101 south of Salinas--maybe on your way to SF or our beautiful Santa Barbara--take the few minutes' time to get off at Gonzales and visit Pessagno Winery. The Gonzales area looks a bit bleak from the freeway, but there are lovely vineyards on the side of the mountains and a River Road Wine Trail. Pessagno wines are terrrific--their Santa Lucia Highlands Pinot is as good as the more pricey Russian River Pinots I tasted recently--and only $28 for a wine rated 92 points by Wine Enthusiast. Read about them here.