It's Wine By Me!

Musings, tastings and wine news from Alicia Cypress. Simply put, wine makes me happy, so I'm experimenting.

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I’ve Moved!!

If you follow me on Tumblr, or have itswinebyme.tumblr.com set as your bookmark for me, please move on over to my new site: http://itswinebyme.com.

All updates (and archives from here) are now over there!

Thanks for joining me on this Tumblr journey! It’s been pivotal in helping me develop as a wine writer!

(p.s. If new page looks the same as this page, clear your cache and try clicking again). 

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Scholium Project Debuts Its Natural ‘Commentary’ Into a Growing Market

(Stacey Khoury-Diaz and Janine Copeland of Dio Wine Bar hosted Abe Schoener of the Scholium Project for a wine tasting and discussion of natural wines.)

It’s a Monday night at one of the city’s newest wine bars and more than 20 locals have gathered around a bar with a renegade California winemaker to discuss spoilage and microbes in natural wines. If you think we’re in Brooklyn or Berkeley or even an international city like Copenhagen, Paris or London, you’d be wrong.

We’re here in Washington, D.C., the city not less than a decade ago where those selling wine were more intent on engaging clients like lobbyists or politicians who would seek out the most expensive Napa Cabernets or Bordeauxs as a means to impress.

But in the past few years, as D.C.’s food and dining scene grew (and as the lobbyists’ rules and bank accounts tightened), it makes sense that more diverse wine options would soon follow. A few key sommeliers started changing up their lists and introducing new regions and orange wine to the mix. Then in the past year, the momentum multiplied. 

So on a Monday night, Dio Wine Bar – which is also D.C.’s only wine bar focused solely on natural wines – became home for Abe Schoener’s D.C. debut. His wines have popped up in the city here and there, and he’s visited D.C. before (he’s a former professor from St. John’s College in Maryland), but this was his first sales trip to actively promote his Scholium Project wines.

Rather than just tasting the three wines he brought, this was a nerdy discussion in the context of eight additional wines. (The line-up included wines by Spain’s Celler Jordi Ilorens,  Beaujolais’ Julian Sunier, Loire’s Clisson from Jérémie Huchet & Jérémie Mourat and Champagne’s Charles DuFour.)

(Eight natural wines from around the world were poured along side three Scholium Project wines.)

This was a smart move. I’ve seen other wineries – like RdV Vineyards in Virginia -- provide tastings against similar wines from other regions. Not only does it give the tasters something to compare, but it’s a good teaching method and lends to a more memorable experience.

Several years ago the only people who may have attended something like this in D.C. were industry. Instead the sold-out event was comprised of enthusiasts, including those just learning about natural wines, and a few super-geeky types, like me.

While it’s certainly a sign of D.C.’s wine transformation, some of the participants noted it’s still difficult to find many of these wines throughout the city. Stacey Khoury-Diaz, Dio’s owner, suggested if consumers start asking for more of these wines, local shops and restaurants will begin to respond.

(Abe Schoener listens to some questions at the start of the chat.)

Capitalizing on the growing geekdom that’s here, this tasting was all about spoilage (and not necessarily in the negative sense of the word). Abe wanted to discuss the natural yeasty microbes which fight each other to eat the sugars and turn grape juice into wine during the fermenting process. He says that when the right microbes win, delicious wine is the result.

So when he was asked several times for his definition of natural wine, the closest he came to answering it was to suggest that the discourse in natural wine should not be focused on the means of production (everything from how to farm the vineyard, to more industrialized ways of winemaking), but rather on the chemistry of winemaking. For example, he’s placed his grapes under high pressure and used electromagnetic forces to create cross-flow filtrations in his winemaking process.

The more common answer from natural winemakers is usually about their yearn to translate the terroir (sense of place) into the bottle, their trials in avoiding filtering wine (not necessarily through scientific methods) and an argument over whether or not to use added sulfur.

But “scholium,” means “commentary,” and that’s what Abe was seeking to do when he first created the Scholium Project in 2006 after learning about winemaking during an internship at Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars and later from famed Napa winemaker John Konsgaard.

He says his wines can even been seen as his own commentary on some of the wines he enjoys, such as Cru Beaujolais and Edmond Vatan Sancerre. His wines are not supposed to be what you expect from California, yet they showcase some of the beautiful fruit coming from key vineyards and microclimates.

The three Scholium Project wines we tried included:

(2015 Scholium Project 1MN)

The 1MN Bechtold Ranch, a red wine made from 140-year-old Cinsault vines in Lodi, Calif.  This was a fresh and vibrant wine exhibiting beautiful and tamed fruit. A light-bodied wine  that indeed reminds you of something from Beaujolais.

(2014 Scholium Project La Severita Di Bruto)

And two Sauvignon Blancs – La Severita Di Bruto and the Prince In His Caves – which both come from Farina Vineyards on the east side of the Sonoma Mountain.  The vineyard sees very little sun – only around noon -- so the resulting wines are more in line with what you might expect from cooler climates.

The first had a very distinct smell of rotting produce – much like the spoilage Abe brought us here to discuss, but it eventually blew off and the palate revealed amazing acidity underneath a crisp minerality. If you’ve ever enjoyed a Vatan, you’ll understand and adore this wine.

The second wine, which spent more time on its skins during winemaking was a lusher wine with green vegetal flavors like asparagus and artichokes.

(2016 Scholium Project The Prince In His Caves)

All three maintained significant structure and were well balanced -- values Abe strives for in everything he makes and are not necessarily a hallmark of many natural wines.

While some like to define natural winemaking as a throw-back to past methods, Abe actually sees this kind of winemaking as post-modern and a way of looking to the future. The traditional methods still used sulfur or as industrialization came along, took advantage of what was offered. But today’s natural winemaking, he says, points away from the traditional and away from what’s expected.

It’s those expectations that Abe’s wines have successfully avoided. And that’s what makes his wines absolutely fascinating to taste, and even more enjoyable to drink.

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This week, WineAmerica -- the industry trade group for American wineries released its first ever report showing the economic impact wine has the U.S. (linked from the headline and here).

Similarly, the Brewers Association for Small and Independent Craft Brewers, also released an economic impact report for their industry.

While pitting the two reports against each other wouldn’t be very fair -- as one accounts for an entire industry, and the other is only a slice, plus the data is from two different years -- I thought it was still worth noting the highlights in a single post to provide perspective on the gigantic size of these two industries.

When it comes to WINE: 

The wine industry’s total economic impact to the U.S. for 2017 is $219.9 billion (California accounts for  $71.2 billion. To see more state data see the chart on this Wines & Vines story, or you can individually look up each state’s details here. Pssst... journalists...  this is an amazing resource to give context to your future stories).

There are 10,236 winery facilities in all 50 states.

There are 677,629 acres of vineyards across every U.S. state, except Alaska.

The wine industry supports 1,738,270 American jobs, with wages exceeding $75.7 billion.

A total of $36.5 billion in taxes is generated -- more than $19 billion for the federal government, and $17.5 billion to states and localities.

In the world of BEER:

The craft brewing industry contributed $67.8 billion to the U.S. economy in 2016 -- a 21.7 percent increase from 2014.

There are 5,301 breweries in the U.S.

The industry accounts for more than 456,373 full-time jobs (a 7.5 percent increase from 2014).

Just like wine, the state with the highest economic impact is California with $7.3 billion (see all the state data here and here).

Cheers!

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Eating Through California Wine Country ...

A quick post to highlight three of the delicious stops that helped fuel last December’s trip. I try to keep It’s Wine By Me! wine-centric, but these were too good not to mention. As a solo traveler, these were also perfect for dining without a plus one, or two or three... 

FOR BREAKFAST OR BRUNCH: Boon Fly Cafe. Located on the edge of the Carneros Inn, on Sonoma Highway as you start to escape Napa, this is one of those places that on a weekend morning, you’ll be sure to see a line waiting outside to be seated. Fortunately, there was a single spot at the bar which I seized immediately. The food came out quickly, which is always appreciated when you have a full day of activities planned. More importantly it was delicious!

(Fresh melon mimosa with mini donuts. Coffee for good measure, too.)

(If I hadn’t already splurged enough, the Corned Beef Hash with spinach and jalapeno hollandaise was amazing. Note: they didn’t even blink when I asked for scrambled eggs instead of a poached one. In other words, the dish as prepared is probably much prettier than this pic.) 

FOR LUNCH: Redd Wood. This is the more casual outpost of the popular Redd in Yountville. Redd Wood is known for their wood-oven pizzas, which I’ve had before and are delicious, but a friend recommend stopping here for their pasta. On a rainy cool day after touring cold caves, how could I resist warm comfort food. I sat at the bar, ordered a glass of an Italian rosato, and began talking to the woman (a winemaker!) next to me. I was so busy chatting, enjoying the ambiance and the wine, that I didn’t realize it had taken longer than it should have for my pasta to arrive. The only tip-off was when the chef sent out a beautiful chopped salad I didn’t order as a “we’re sorry.” 

(I’ll let the picture of this beautiful chopped salad speak for itself.) 

Not very long after, the pasta appeared. Again, I’ll let the picture speak for itself. It was everything I wanted it to be and more (and so were the leftovers the next morning!).

(Gemelli with bolognese.)

FOR DINNER: Glen Ellen Star. One of the things I adore about this restaurant nestled in the tiny Sonoma County hamlet of Glen Ellen is that it’s perfect for a quiet meal with someone you love, but also has the perfect counter for the solo diner. You’re up-close enough to the open kitchen that asking a question of the chefs is a little too easy to do. Known for its beautiful wood hearth, I had heard good things about the vegetables, so I immediately ordered the cauliflower and then selected the brick chicken. Both were as amazing as they look. I topped the meal with some of their homemade ice cream and swore up and down I’d be back on my next visit.

(Cauliflower, tahini, almonds and sumac straight out of the wood oven.)

(Brick chicken, also from the wood oven).

[itswinebyme]

Recapping Napa/Sonoma in December

There’s never a bad time of year to jet across the country to visit California wine country, but one of my favorites is right before the holidays. Most harvest activities are over. The holiday craziness has yet to commence. It’s super quiet and if you’re lucky, the winter rains bring bright green cover crops in the vineyards just as the leaves – in their vibrant yellows, oranges and reds – start to fall to the ground (yes, there are seasons here!).

Without a particular mission (except any and all effort to escape my D.C. life), I set up shop at the bottom edge of Napa Valley – allowing easy access to downtown Napa, the length of Napa Valley and the roads leading to Sonoma (city, county and coast). By the time I turned in the rental car at the end of the week, the odometer had 626 extra miles on it.

(My trusty rental car was perfect for traversing highways and dirt roads. Here it is parked at Chateau Boswell) 

Here are just a few highlights:

My first stop after checking into the hotel, was a brief visit to  Cadet Wine Bar where local winemaker Rory Williams of Calder Wines was pouring flights. (Read more about Rory and his wines here). The small label focuses on local Napa varieties that have been there for decades but tend to get lost among the dense plantings of Cabernet, Merlot and more popular grapes. I tasted his Dry Reisling, Chenin Blanc and Charbono. All three were a nice a diversion from what’s typically expected in Napa. The Charbono was especially interesting. A bit brooding with dirty anise and dark fruit chased with black olives.

Complete with a “celebrity” sighting of one of the stars of the documentary Somm, Cadet was the perfect start to this trip.

In Napa Valley, I had only one formal visit set up – and that was to see Chateau Boswell, just off the Silverado Trail in St. Helena. While this boutique winery has been making wine since 1979, in the past couple decades it’s seen the addition of a beautiful cave and facility to make and store its bottles. It also recently added a new winemaker – Phillipe Melka (Food & Wine has a nice profile of him here). The winery was stunning. Behind big iron gates and beautifully landscaped grounds, the cave was cut into the bottom of a hillside that featured its Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc plantings.

(When Chateau Boswell’s cave was built under the vineyards, the owners ordered the builders not to disrupt the huge tree on their property.)

I sampled their Russian River Valley Chardonnay and 2014 Estate Cabernet out of bottle, and tasted a few 2015 Pinot Noirs out of the barrels. With a new winemaker now calling the shots, Chateau Boswell’s 2014 Estate Cabernet has pivoted a bit. Unlike previous years, the latest vintage blends in much more of the Cabernet Franc grown on the property (about 40 percent), giving it an elegant backbone. These wines work to strike a balance between having something that’s pleasurable now, yet can keep a structure to let it properly age. 

(Inside Chateau Boswell’s cave.)

My next set of visits, spanning a couple of days, were with winemakers I’ve come to adore during the past several years. 

In Glen Ellen, a tiny town in Sonoma County,  I visited Chris Cottrell of Bedrock Wine Co.  He first took me into the famous 140-year-old Bedrock Vineyard. The old gnarly vines were absolutely stunning, and with the cover crops blooming on this fizzy gray day, the experience just standing there left me nearly speechless.

(Bedrock Vineyard’s gnarly vines -- some still with a bit of dried-up fruit on its vines -- are especially stunning on this misty December day.)

I’ve been buying wine from Bedrock for a few years now and always appreciated their approach to seeking out old vineyards to make their wine. But what I didn’t realize is that they’re not just seeking good fruit. It’s a mission to help change the farming culture so that these vineyards don’t disappear or get replanted with some other crop (recently going so far as to buy a vineyard). Using science as the basis for sustainable farming techniques, the Bedrock team is eager to help these old vineyards become prosperous again. Along the way, Bedrock creates 30 or 40 different wines. We tasted through a half a dozen -- each one expressing beautiful California fruit with a balance of all those earthy morsels that transport you back to the vineyard.

(Inside Bedrock’s original tasting room next to Bedrock Vineyard. The team also recently purchased a historic building to build a new tasting room.)

While being outside in the vineyards is wonderful, it’s just as invigorating to meet with winemakers in their other natural habitat: inside the winery. That’s why visiting with John Lockwood at Enfield Wine Co. is always a treat. (to learn more, read this profile or listen to this podcast). He makes his wine at Punchdown Cellars in Santa Rosa, a custom crush facility which leases out space and equipment  to winemakers. This is my second visit to Punchdown and it’s always fun to see the racks of barrels, the fermenting tanks and to taste wine surrounded by people getting their hands dirty and doing the work. 

(Fermenting tanks at Punchdown Cellars, including some concrete eggs way at the end of the aisle.)

John set up his wines for me in a quietish corner and we went through most of his line-up. Whether it’s his Tempranillo, Pinot Noir, Syrah or Cabernet, his ability to translate each vineyard into elegant wines, made it difficult to not guzzle through each bottle right then and there. 

(Tasting through Enfield’s wines at Punchdown Cellars.)

From Santa Rosa, I drove to Sebastapol -- which also meant guzzling through Enfield was not a viable option. But the restraint was worth it so I could visit with Katy Wilson. And while she was named a winemaker to watch in 2013, four years later, I’d argue, she’s still important to pay attention to. I’ve met her a few times at tastings here on the east coast, where she often pours her own label with the help of her dad. We met inside Claypool Cellars’s tasting room – a renovated train car inside a business and shopping center. 

She makes wine for several labels including Banshee and Claypool, but it’s her own label, that I’ve always found swoon-worthy. Named for her grandmother, LaRue’s Pinot Noirs are some of the most delicate I’ve had from the Sonoma Coast. Katie creates wines that can still retain their power, yet showcase layers of refined complexity.

(Katy Wilson of LaRue wines mostly focus on Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir.)

Its having these personalized tasting opportunities which make visiting wine country in December so special. The winemakers are generally relaxed and have the time to answer questions and discuss their passion. It doesn’t matter that the vines aren’t lush with leaves and bunches of grapes, or the sun isn’t shining, or if I’m standing in a tasting room with shoes still muddied from trampling through wet vineyards. That one-on-one attention creates the ultimate oasis. 

Now that it’s nearly October, it’s time to book my next December trip! Cheers!

[itswinebyme]

Crushing the Kronos Reveals Beauty of Consistency

(All 16 vintages of Corison Kronos Cabernet Sauvignon, with a few extra bottles thrown inf or good measure / photo by me.)

Right around the time my friends and I were sobering up from our 16-year verticle tasting of wines from Cathy Corison's Kronos Vineyard, Dave McIntyre of The Washington Post, wrote in his weekly column, he, too, had recently tasted through 16 vintages of a particular wine. He said the wines in the tasting were "postcards from time," and as one of his fellow diners told him: "I enjoy each wine less this way, but I learn more."

Those are easy assertions to agree with and capitalizing on the learning and the understanding of time, is exactly why a year after my tasting group wrangled 21 vintages of Corison Napa Valley Cabernet, we challenged ourselves to do it again, this time focusing on the Cabernet Sauvignon she made from her Kronos vineyard. (Ok, we may have did it for some bragging rights, too!)  

(A semi-demolished flight of Corison Kronos wines / photo by me.)

The Kronos Cabernet comes from 45-year-old vines that are grown on Cathy's St. Helena property. She and her husband farm the land, and since 1996 they have produced the single vineyard bottling of Corison Kronos Cabernet. The wines are more powerful than the Napa Valley Cabernet she blends from other nearby by vineyards. But true to her style, Kronos maintains her delicate signature style of winemaking, keeping the wines elegant and at a low alcohol level (about 13%). If you visit the winery for a tour and library tasting (which I strongly recommend), you'll exit the back barn-like doors and step immediately into the Kronos vineyard, located on the Napa Valley floor, stretching about 8 acres back to the Mayacamas Mountains. Unlike many of Napa's vines, this vineyard survived the 1990s phylloxera epidemic because the vines are on St. George rootstock, which is resistant to the tiny bugs. (For more on the vineyard, take a look at this profile Kelli White wrote in 2011.)

(The Kronos Vineyard is literally in Cathy Corison’s backyard. This is the back of the winery. / photo by me)

(Standing in the Kronos Vineyard looking out to the Mayacamas Mountains on a misty day in December, 2016. / photo by me) 

We modeled this year's tasting after last year's. There were a handful of flights with all 16 vintages of the Kronos Vineyard from 1996 to 2012. Each wine was poured blind, but each flight was loosely in chronological order from oldest to youngest. A few ringers were included in the mix including two pours from the same vintage – one from the top half and other from the bottom half of a magnum, and a few of the Napa Valley Cabernets were compared against the Kronos. We had two separate bottles of 2004, so those were poured in separate glasses, as well, making for an interesting lesson in bottle variation. 

Just like last year, there were no clear favorites, but together, the 16 vintages told a bigger story -- a consistent beauty was strung from bottle to bottle. It’s impossible to escape the violets, dust and undertones of herbal mints that at times mixed with some chocolate (Junior Mints, anyone?).

I hit palate fatigue before the final flight. Despite my best efforts to spit and snack on the cheeses and charcuterie we prepared, by the last flight, there was nothing but the violets, dust and herbal mints coating my throat (which is certainly not a bad thing!). But there was something magical going on in the early parts of the aughts. We were told that Cathy's favorite Kronos vintage was 2001, but 2002 and 2003 were slightly lifted from the pack for me. Whether that’s because those bottles had the right amount of age on it for my personal liking, or it was something within the vintages themselves, it’s hard to say.

It’s worth noting, however, that thanks to a very cool and rainy year -- and what Cathy has called a challenging year in the vineyard -- the 2011 bottle was the very definition of letting a wine speak for its vintage. It tasted significantly older -- maybe by a decade -- than its actual year. A bit darker and more savory than the others, but still elegant and restrained. Emanating from some of the darker more savory notes were dusty violets, which reminded one of my friends of Choward’s Violet Mints.

Having the opportunity to taste through almost all of the Corison wines -- both the Napa Valley and Kronos bottles -- is truly an honor. While it’s obvious that aging these wines only brings out more complexity, more structure and more textured flavors, the trouble will always be not popping the cork too early, as they are certainly just as enjoyable now as they will be in years to come. 

[itswinebyme]

Discovering Maryland Natural Wine

Earlier this week, Pineapple D.C. -- a networking group for women in the food community who want to connect with the “good food” movement -- hosted an interesting talk on natural wine with Lisa Hinton, the winemaker for Old Westminster Winery in Maryland.

That's right. I said Maryland. And I said natural wine.

I must admit, despite knowing that wineries exist in Maryland, it's not something that I've actively explored. Not to mention, I'm a bit skeptical when someone mentions natural wine in a region not heavily experienced with vineyards and wine. Good natural wines rely so heavily on its terroir.

(While there are a million definitions of natural, and much controversy within the industry, we can probably all agree that with "minimal intervention" – no matter what the definition of minimal may be – the wine must rely heavily on the quality of the grapes, which comes from the right kind of land and climate, right?)

Does that really exist in Maryland?

At the end this two-hour discussion and tasting, Old Westminster Winery convinced me the answer is Yes.

Old Westminster Winery is a bit different than other small wineries I've been introduced to so far. It wasn't so much a love of wine that sparked the three twenty-something siblings to start making wine, but a love and loyalty for family. When their parents threatened to sell the farm they grew up in, the trio searched for a solution to hold on to the property in Westminster, Md., (about an hour northwest of Baltimore) and grow it into a viable business. Lisa graduated college with a chemistry degree, while her siblings focused on business and marketing.  After a bit of research, winemaking seemed like a  logical use of their combined talents.  

While they've planted and harvested grapes on their own property since 2011, Lisa said about 60 percent of their fruit comes from other Maryland vineyards.  In the future, that may change a bit thanks to the purchase of the Burnt Hill property in Clarksburg, Md. The land was sought out for its particular slope and soil composition.  

Lisa said they're planning on farming the land using biodynamic methods, in part because they believe in giving as much to the land before starting to take from it.

The winery has focused on making natural wines since its inception. Lisa said she defines that as low intervention wines that express both the place and time that they came from. She believes both natural and added sulfur are necessary in making wine to ensure it doesn't turn to vinegar, and acknowledges other winemaking techniques are needed from time to time to combat mildew, mold or other issues that can vary vintage to vintage.

Wineries in Maryland have existed for decades (I even once wrote about one for The Washington Post almost 14 years ago), but it's really been this century, when the numbers have increased significantly (take a look at the  Maryland Wine Association website, which counts about 70 established wineries between 1945 and 2014. You can see in this historical timeline, how the numbers of wineries have grown).  

Perhaps the growth is hinged on the increasing success of Virginia wines? Lisa noted that the mid-Atlantic has similar climate conditions as Bordeaux, which makes growing varieties like Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon viable. Old Westminster Winery has also had luck Alberiño (a white Spanish grape) and even bringing Barbera (an Italian variety) into their red blends. The Maryland Wine Association also noted Maryland can be compared to the climates of Portugal, Spain, Southern Italy and Greece (that would make sense why the Alberiño and Barbera do well!).

In Old Westminster's quest to make natural wines, its break-out stars are the pet nats. Wine writer Jon Bonné recently called their Albariño version an outlier among America's great pet nats.

During the talk, we tasted one made from Syrah grapes. The cloudy peachy pink juice's fruit rose above its effervescence backbone, making it a little too easy to drink. The other two wines poured that evening were the 2014 Anthem red blend, with a mix of Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah and the 2014 Channery Hill, which blends the same three grapes, with some Barbera. Both wines had a nice amount of dark fruit, a bit of anise and some slight minerality if you paid really close attention to what you were sipping. Channery Hill was slightly lighter with a bit more acid (I'm guessing we can thank the Barbera for that).

Old Westminster's production numbers per variety are low: No more than 100 cases of each wine are made. And most are sold through their wine club or people or visit their tasting room. Experimentation remains a top value for the young winery. For example, this coming vintage, they plan to leave their wines unfiltered. If it doesn't work the way they like, Lisa said, they'll go back to using filters next year. Their mission is to learn how to best express the Maryland terroir.

I asked Lisa if there are any winemakers or wineries that inspire their work, but she wouldn't answer with any specifics. She said while there are many wines she enjoys drinking, she knows attempting to mimic any of those traits would be futile to creating wines distinctive of time and place.  

[itswinebyme]

Hi! There Will Be More To Come!

I’ve fallen into the hole that no writer wants to fall into: plans to write a million posts, without actually writing a million posts. So this is just a note to say, I haven’t forgotten the blog: I still have plans to talk about my Napa trip last December, as well as veer off wine for a split second to talk about some delicious wine country restaurant finds. There’s also the follow-up tasting to last year’s 21-vintage salute to Cathy Corison wines (this year, we tasted through her Kronos wines). Plus a handful of other ideas swirling in my head! But before all of these, I want to tell you about an interesting winery I heard about last night, as well as the group of women who planned the event. So as they say, please stay tuned...

p.s. don’t forget my Instagram and Delectable accounts are always a good place to keep tabs on what I’m up to or drinking! 

[itswinebyme]

Tracking D.C.’s New Wine Bars

Wine in Washington, D.C., may be on the verge of getting an interesting moment. It makes sense. As the city's dining options have drastically evolved and gained national attention, the appetite for more diversity in wine is a logical next step.

The city has always had restaurants with reliable high-end lists, shops to find good wine and places to go have a glass with friends.

Restaurants like The Red Hen, Ripple, Proof, The Partisan, Le Diplomate and Tail Up Goat are great options. While wine bars like Cork, Vinoteca and Eno have served the city's millennial population well.

But seeking out geekier labels or getting exposure to something less mainstream can sometimes be a challenge if you don't regularly travel to New York City or actively follow the wine scene on social media.

There’s some renewed hope, however, that may change now that several new projects have recently been announced.

In journalism, we say that it takes three examples before you can start investigating something as a trend -- so now that there are three, it’s time to start keeping track of what’s to come.

Sebastian Zutant (of Red Hen and their sister restaurant All Purpose) plans to open a wine bar focusing on natural wine. He already does a lot of that at both restaurants, and has been a strong proponent of orange wines here in D.C. I haven't seen word yet on an opening date or location.

Brent Kroll, who ran the wine program for Neighborhood Restaurant Group (which includes The Partisan), recently moved over to be General Manager at Proof. But soon after he started, he announced he's also planning to open his own wine bar.  Springtime in Shaw is what's been reported so far.

Just this week, news that Dio Wine Bar, will be coming to H Street NE. Stacey Khoury-Diaz  also plans to focus on natural wine, taking inspiration from great New York places for natural wine, such as Ten Bells and Rouge Tomate.  

There are also plans from The Dabney to open a wine bar in its basement.

It's going to be interesting to see if D.C. can handle this much wine, and whether these establishments will appeal to those of us hoping to tip the city's wine scene a bit in the geekier direction.

[itswinebyme]

Fun With Fizz

Since New Year’s Eve is always grounds to break out #allthebubbles, I decided to blind my friends with a duo recently sent my way.*  I wanted to see how the Brut Sparkling would compare with more traditional bubbles being brought to the party. That included Champagnes like Salon and Agrapart & Fils and some exceptional California bubbles like Ultramarine and Dirty & Rowdy’s Traditional Method Pinot Blanc. I only meant to blind them with the Brut, but in order to keep it a secret, I tin-foiled the label of the second bottle, too.

The 2013 Brut Sparkling held up exactly as you would expect a well-made sparkling wine to show. Its bubbles were interlaced with precise apple and citrus flavors made possible from its 100 percent Chardonnay fruit.The acidity provided an astute structure.  

But what garnered a lot of chatter and curiosity among the table-full of impressive wines (including a Ridge Merlot, Corison and Dunn Cabernets, a Quintarelli Valpolicella and a magnum of Lapierre Morgon) was a 2016 Pét-Nat Rosé Syrah (yes, you read that right, 2016! It’s meant to be drunk young). As one friend asked after the bottles were revealed: “Who knew Virginia could make a geek wine!”  But Early Mountain Vineyards near Charlottesville did!  

Everything from its simplistic contemporary and artistic label, to the cloudy salmon color moving through the bottle like a lava lamp piqued our senses and cerebral curiosities. 

Made as a Pétillant-naturel (commonly called Pét-Nat), the winemakers cap off the bottle before it finishes its fermentation process trapping the remaining carbon dioxide, creating those tingling tiny effervescent bubbles. You won’t find a cork in these bottles! The active fermentation still happening in the bottle also contributes to its cloudy appearance.

In this particular bottle, I tasted an interesting creaminess that I don’t usually associate with wine. Redish-pink fruit underneath pineapple flavors with a dash of bubblegum were apparent on the palate. The wine was neither sweet nor bitter. Just fun, drinkable juice that had us all happy to be swirling it around in our glass.

* Full disclosure: These bottles were sent to me as samples from the winery. I haven’t stated a sample policy on this blog yet, but I generally have not accepted them until now to keep all posts here as objective as I can. In the event interesting bottles are offered and worth exploring on this blog, I will share it with friends, and let their reactions speak for the wine as I’ve done here.      

[itswinebyme]

New Year’s Cheers

I’m long overdue for a post and have much to write about (including a recap from a week-long visit to Napa and Sonoma), but I wanted to get in here before the year ends to drop off this collage of some of my favorite wines from 2016. As easy as it is to bemoan the state of the world, it should be just as easy to keep thinking about the good moments. And that’s where wine fits in. Behind each bottle is a memory, a curiosity, something beautiful, a friendship, an experience. There’s talented artistry under each cork, along with a mystery and too often than not, a lot of smiles and laughter. These were only but a few of my highlights (and in no particular order). Thanks for joining me on this continuing journey, I promise to be back in 2017 with even more wine musings.  

[itswinebyme]

#ImWithWine: Election Night Pairings

If Tuesday night promises to be as topsy-turvy and obscenity inducing as the entire 2016 election cycle has been, then you're going to need something to drink to make it through a long night of news watching, punditry, state-by-state results and twitter streaming. 

But while campaign season is known as the race to the White House, you’ll need to think of this night as a marathon – so hold off on the hard booze right now. Thankfully, wine promotes just the right amount of anxiety-reducing and calming effects to let you make it through whatever may happen. Let's be honest, we’re all in need of *something* to soothe our souls. 

In a world of no-hangovers and no-limits, here’s how I might pair wines with election night. In reality, I’m just hoping to provide a little inspiration: 

Start with something light, low alcoholic and slightly celebratory. It's better to have some optimism at some point, than none at all. Consider a fun Pet-Nat. In my fridge, there's a 2014 Cruse Sparkling Valdiguie that has just the right amount of fresh fizziness and bright red fruit.  With energy running through its spine, it's lively and easy to drink.

If Pet-Nats aren't your thing – try a crisp dry white (I recently had a Lieu Dit Sauvignon Blanc which would work well). Bottom line: Now's not the time to be too serious with your wine. We've got a long night ahead of us! 

When results start trickling in and your heart starts palpitating, grab your favorite red – it could be anything that makes you happy – but seeing we're unsure of where this night may go, I'd probably stick with something not too heavy. A favorite Pinot Noir or Rhone-style wine might do. During the debates, I sipped a bottle of A Tribute to Grace Grenache. The combination of red berries and herbs warmed my soul despite the verbal jabs happening on the TV screen. At the very least, just knowing you're drinking something with the word "grace" in the name may psychologically bring about some calm.

If you want, take it a step further and open up a bottle of Hope & Grace Pinot Noir. These California pinots consist of lush dark fruit and strong finishes. By this time in the evening, you can only hope with a little bit of grace, that your candidate will have a similar finish (see what I did there?).

For the next bottle, it’s time to get a bit more serious -- especially if you don’t know when the final results may be called. If the night is getting rocky, the absolute perfect pairing would be Dirty & Rowdy's Fred & Dora's Vineyard Petite Sirah, but the 2014 is still too young and a very heavy decant is needed. Take a look at part of its description from the Dirty & Rowdy site, and you'll see why it might be worth uncorking this on Monday and have it waiting: 

"If you keep with it for few hours or visit on day two, the gentle fruit begins to rise above the graphite and rocky sub-surface and you will discover that even gnarly soils have their lullabies."  

Perhaps the same can be said about the aftermath of this election season?

Or, for something a little more accessible, seek out a bottle with some age on it so that the tertiary flavors and earthiness rise quickly to the palate. You'll need those to help keep you grounded, while the older vintage will help hearken back to happier times when election day didn't quite feel like a doomsday event. 

Recently, I tasted some 1990s Napa Cabernets that would work wonderfully: Both the Dunn and Corison are beautifully made wines and prove that power and finesse can live in harmony in a single entity. 

Finally, when the results are in, you have but two choices: Pop some Champagne to celebrate and breathe a sigh of relief, or now's the time to reach for that hard booze – whatever it will take to get you through the next four years will do!

[itswinebyme]

Lioco Showcases Its Food-Friendly Wines

Twelve vintages ago, Matt Licklider and Kevin O'Connor began making vineyard-driven California wines, seeking lower alcohol and European styles to get away from the bigger-is-better approach that California had become known for. This was seven years before the In Pursuit of Balance team started widely promoting this style and there was plenty of uncertainties of whether local consumers would take to this style. For Matt, then a distributor of European wines and Kevin, the wine director at Wolfgang Puck's Spago, moving forward in this direction was a gamble. 

That gamble is paying off as Lioco wines can now be found as far away as Japan, and are distributed across 30 states within the U.S. The wines, which include Carignan, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Syrah are made of fruit purchased from distinguished vineyards from such places as the Sonoma Coast and Mendocino. With an intense focus on cool climate and picking early enough to retain the fruit's acidity, these aromatic wines showcase its terroir and are created to pair with food (although for any wine geek, these wines on their own provide quite a bit of intellectual fodder to enjoy on their own).

To show off the wines, Matt together with Andy from MacArthur Beverages hosted a wonderful four-course dinner at Black Salt in the quiet Palisades neighborhood (Did you hear that California winemakers? Matt hosted a dinner here in D.C.!! It was successful, you should follow his lead ;) )

Pairings included the Indica Carignan Rosé (Mendocino, 2015) with salmon tataki with pickled melons and citrus aioli (this is one of my favorite rosés and the pairing created a seamlessly fresh experience of flavors):

Estero Chardonnay (Russian River Valley, 2014 ) with Chesapeake chowder (during the dinner, Matt told us he saw the Chardonnay as that bit of lemon you squeeze over your fish):

Cerise Pinot Noir (Anderson Valley, 2013) with duck bolognese (our table of six snuck in a bottle of 2012 Lioco Hirsch Pinot Noir to try side-by-side. The Cerise was full of really bright fruit, while the Hirsch showed off its herbal spine ):

And lastly the Caleta Syrah (Santa Cruz Mountains, 2014) with braised beef short rib (I honestly can't tell you much about the pairing as the Syrah on its own blew us all away. This is not your typical California Syrah. At 11.9 percent alcohol, the wine can best be described as a yin and a yang: brooding and dense on appearance but with an elegant palate more reminiscent of the Northern Rhone):

I've been a fan of Lioco wines for a while, so it was a real treat to have Matt here in D.C. A big thank you to him, Andy and Black Salt for the superb evening! I was at a table with five other friends, and as is usually the case, combing good friends while sharing delicious wine and food, in the presence of talented individuals makes for an evening that will be impossible to forget! Cheers! 

(All photos by me)

[itswinebyme]

A Photo Interlude: Vines In Trentino, Alto Adige

While catching up on wine news today via Google, I stumbled on this Vice piece on how climate change is impacting the wine industry. It’s not a new story, but it’s always a good reminder at how the elixir that lubricates our meals, or our interactions with friends or becomes a healer in stressful times, is so closely connected to the earth.

But despite the getting-close-to-apocalyptic topic, there’s a stunning image half down the page. Clicking on the Flckr photo credit led me to  Mathias Liebling’s page, where I discovered another photo he posted (It’s worth clicking over to it so you can see it in its original size). 

Instantly, the vibrant rows of vines, with the lone vineyard worker, took me to a  happy place and provided a tiny reminder that there’s so many things bigger in this world than us. A rare moment of zen, if you will. Enjoy!  

(Photo of a vineyard in Trentino, Alto Adige, Italy by Flckr user mathias764)

[itswinebyme]

There are two trends NPR readers should know about when it comes to Champagne. First, that French sparkling wine is not just for special occasions anymore. Most people know this, but it’s a worthy and fun reminder that popping some bubbly on a Tuesday night is just as fun as popping it during a wedding celebration. The second, and one I’m a little more excited about, is introducing them to Grower Champagnes (see what I did there with the word “growing” in the headline?). 

Grower champagnes are smaller producers who grow their own grapes and produce their own wines, unlike the big Champagne houses (think Dom Perignon, Krug, Veuve Cliquot, etc.) who usually purchase and blend grapes from different vineyards in order to create a consistent product from year to year.

To effectively tell this story, I interviewed  David White (of Terroirist.com fame) about his new book But First, Champagne. The book pairs the history of Champagne, with easy-to-understand explanations of how its made and how to drink it, while profiling important producers in the region. As he told me about the grower champagnes:

“Most of these growers, who only account for about 5 percent of overall Champagne sales, eschew consistency in favor of singularity.”

That 5 percent statistic astounds me. The way the wine community talks about a lot of these producers, it feels like that number should be bigger. Instead it underscores how niche those of us obsessed with wine can be. And all the more reason, a broader audience should learn about these delicious wines.

Read the rest of the interview, perhaps while sipping some bubbly, or perhaps as a friend did while listening to the latest Tiny Desk concert with Joshua Bell (which surprisingly sounds better in this video than it did in person).

Cheers! 

[itswinebyme]

A Little Bit of Chianti Comes to Washington

Last week I had the honor of meeting and having dinner with a man who leads his family’s 120-year-old winery. Among the highlights was this passing comment:

“Italians don’t drink very much wine,” Andrea Cecchi said in his thick yet soft-spoken Italian accent. “Only at dinner,” he paused for a bit, “and lunch." 

There were three of us sitting at the table with him and it made us chuckle. To Americans, that sounds like a lot of drinking, but we understood what he was trying to say. Wine drinking in Italy is very much a part of the meals and embedded in their routines – whereas here in the U.S., we’re more prone to drink before dinner, at dinner and then maybe again after dinner.  We’ll find just about any excuse to  uncork a bottle. 

But it’s probably a good thing that Andrea sees Americans as drinking more wine: It’s his business. Together with his brother, he oversees Cecchi Winery, located in Castillino – one of the four municipalities located entirely within the Chianti region. It started four generations ago in 1893 and since the early 1900s, the winery has focused on bringing their wine to international mass markets.

Some of their finest wines come from the premier Chianti Classico DOCG, which on Sept. 24 celebrated its 300th anniversary as the world’s first designated wine region. To celebrate, Andrea was here in Washington, D.C., to present a magnum of his family’s Cecchi Riserva di Famiglia Chianti Classico to the Italian Embassy.

Producing wine from these historic grounds was a visible sense of pride to Andrea, as he pointed to the black rooster – the official designation that the wine is from Chianti – on the label of a few of the bottles he brought for us to try.

During dinner we tasted five of his wines: Two from Chianti and two from Maremma, which is southwest of Tuscany (and Florence) and along the Mediterranean coast. Maremma is its own separate wine region, but it’s a common place for Chianti producers to buy more grapes in the years when their Chianti vines don’t yield enough fruit.

The Cecchi Winery is among the leading producers to recognize Maremma’s value not just as a place for extra grapes and started bottling a line called La Mora, which includes a Vermentino and a Sangiovese. They were bright food-friendly wines with wonderful acidity. The Chianti Classico we tasted had more of the rustic charm I associate with traditional Italian red wines, while the Chianti Riserva improved upon the Classico with a beautiful depth. All four wines I’d certainly seek out again and would want to enjoy with a table full of friends.

The fifth wine, called Coevo, is a blend of both regions and composed of Sangiovese, Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot and Merlot. It’s dark and brooding with big fruit and big silky tannins that give you a refined elegance. With only 13.5 percent alcohol, it stays true to its old-world traditions yet takes on a new world appeal. And that’s the reason Andrea and his brother began producing this wine. Coevo, which Andrea said translates to "contemporary,” symbolizes their efforts to be a wine of the present among the international market with an eye to the future.

This modern thinking, however, isn’t just about a single bottle of wine. It’s in the fabric of the company itself. A quick glance at their website shows off their modern facilities, their sustainability efforts and their work in helping the entire Chianti region innovate.

After four generations, naturally Andrea and his brother’s children are destined to carry the company into the future. Right?! No, said Andrea. Only one of them is currently interested in being in the wine business and Andrea said there’s no pressure for the others to join.  He’s satisfied that the fifth generation is secure.

“In Chianti, we have a lot of dust,” he said, motioning a sweeping gesture off his shoulders to emulate how it can settle in one place. To be successful, he explained, they need managers who aren’t part of their family, but can work closely with them to help wipe away that “dust” and keep the business moving in a forward direction.

[itswinebyme]

New blog post alert! I originally started writing this for this blog after a couple friends asked me how I know so much about wine. But then the kind folks at the Pouring Points blog at the the Napa Valley Wine Academy liked the idea -- so I expanded it and voila! 

The truth is -- I’m still learning. But I discovered through reading, being active on social media, finding like-minded friends and ultimately building my confidence levels, it wasn’t too difficult to do. So here are some of the tricks and resources I’ve used to jump start my journey. If you’re just starting out, I hope they’re helpful to you, too!

(Click on the headline of this post or click here to read the post.) 

Cheers!