Pop Open These Wines!

by Frank Mangio

Traveling the length and breadth of California for the past 3 months of 2011 has brought me to over 60 venues, tasting over 1,500 wines. I evaluate all tastes on a 1 to 5 rating, from bad to excellent. Flavor, place and price are chief factors in the selections. Prices shown are suggested retail. These are my recommended Excellent 10:

Artesa Cabernet, 2005, Napa Valley 63%/Sonoma 37%. $15. A Cab blend of two world-class growing grounds… aged 2 years in French Oak.

Concannon Conservancy Petite Sirah, 2007, Livermore Valley, CA. $8. Incredible buy. America’s first Petite Sirah winery. Full bodied cherry flavor, rich to the finish.

Le Machiole Bolgheri Rosso, 2008, Italy. $32.99. A blend of 50% Merlot, 30% Cabernet, 15% Syrah and 5% Sangiovese. Dark, rich fruit with that Italian minerality that showcases this mama earth vino.

Markham Merlot, 2006, Napa Valley CA. $16. Merlot is very much alive and Markham deserves credit for this exceptional quality red.

Niner Twisted Spur Syrah/Merlot/Cab Franc/Petite Sirah, 2007, Paso Robles CA. $25.

The artistry of leading California winemaker Amanda Cramer is perfectly balanced fruit. Lovely complexity.

Ravenswood, a big crowd-pleaser at the recent Zinfandel Festival in San Francisco, is considered a pioneer in this varietal.

Ravenswood Zinfandel, 2008, Lodi CA. $16. Winemaker/owner Joel Peterson produces wines from many vineyards and makes over 800,000 cases of red wine. His major skill is presenting each wine as handcrafted with flavorful artistry.

Robert Mondavi Fume Blanc, Napa Valley CA. $ 11. Our only white wine entry, Fume Blanc was coined by the master himself. It has a slightly citrus quality to tweek the palate; same as Sauvignon Blanc. Racy and refreshing.

Seghesio Cortina Zinfandel, 2008, Sonoma CA. $35. The north end of Sonoma holds lots of gravely loam soil that the Seghesio Family added to their estate wines in 1957. Dry Creek is a timeless appellation where most of the Old Vine Zin vineyards live.

Sokol Blosser Pinot Noir, 2008, Dundee Hills, Oregon. $38. A marvelous example of an old world style of Pinot, in the best Burgundian tradition. This mystical growing ground is the stuff that the queen of red wines thrives in. Place it into a 16 month hibernation in old oak and you have pure Pinot, Sokol Blosser style.

Thornton Winery Syrah, 2007, Temecula Valley, CA. $24. The aroma and taste of the Rhone Valley, Thornton has captured what the Temecula Valley does best. Velvety tannins enhance big-bodied fruit with layers of berry and a touch of mocha.

Enjoy these latest release wines. My picks for the first quarter of 2011.

Getting Caught Up in the Wine World

Wine sales are recorded for last year and once again Chardonnay is the leading varietal with 2 billion in sales and 22% of total sales.

Cabernet Sauvignon comes in 2nd at 1.35 billion and 15% of sales, according to the International Wine Guild. Pinot Gris/Pinot Grigio is next, with Merlot holding on in 4th place and Pinot Noir 5th.

Chardonnay and Cabernet still hold on to

1st and 2nd place in wine sales in the U.S.

The fastest growing sales increases are coming from Riesling and Pinot Noir, with Italy’s Sangiovese coming in 3rd. Italy is the top importer, selling 30% of all imported wines.

Veteran San Diego Chef Jeff Rossman and his long-time restaurant in Hillcrest, Terra, have re-located to a sleek bistro style dining establishment on El Cajon Boulevard in La Mesa called Terra American Bistro which should be ready next month. Jeff will emphasize even more, his farm-to-table format. The décor will feature a “living wall” garden. He recently published “From Terra’s Table: New American Food Fresh From Southern California’s Organic Farms.”

China is the next hot market for wine. The monied crowd consider wine drinking to be Western, modern and cool. The sales in Hong Kong are double that of New York and London combined.

Check out www.wineanddinedeals.com, chock full of wine and dine news. It’s run by Ron James who used to do it for Sign On San Diego. You’ll find what you need for that next happy hour and more.

Wine Bytes

§ A Tuscan Night with Banfi Wines and dinner at Vigilucci’s in Encinitas is planned for Wed. March 23 starting at 6:30pm. Banfi will have a presentation by Educational Director Sharron McCarthy. Wines range from Pinot Grigio to Brunello di Montalcino. $65. cost. RSVP at 760-942-7332.

§ A Stags Leap Wine Dinner is planned for Thurs. March 24 from 6pm to 9pm at the Marriott Laguna Cliffs in Dana Point. Chef Erasmo has a 7 course feast accompanied by 6 different varietals of Stags Leap. Cost is $100. ea. Call 949-661-5000.

§ Mistral at Loews Coronado is presenting a 3,000 bottle wine cellar seminar event with an hors d’oeuvres reception followed by a 4 course dinner with paired wines, Thurs. March 24 from 6 to 9pm. $75. pp. Reserve at 619-424-4000.