In Memory of Joe Zazzaro

"Buon Viaggio"

Joe Zazzaro

(January 27, 1936 to January 14, 2013)

We are saddened by the sudden death of our long-time friend, colleague, and fellow wine lover, Joe Zazzaro. Joe was a classy guy and top-notch media expert who helped Taste of Wine TV become a major online source for wine and food information on the west coast. Joe will be missed by us, and the many friends he made while on assignment for Taste of Wine.

Frank Mangio, Mike Bragg

Executive Producers

Taste of Wine TV

It’s OK Getting Stuck in Lodi

by Frank Mangio
In my Rock n Roll DJ days, I played everything I could get from Creedence Clearwater Revival, in my mind the best American band to come out of the 60’s and 70’s. When their song Lodi came out in 1969, it shot the group into the top ten and earned them the 2nd highest billing at the famed Woodstock concert in New York. It’s about a musician who sets out looking for “a pot of gold,” and winds up going from bad to worse, getting stuck in Lodi.

Now I can’t vouch for musicians today who try to make it big in Lodi, but what is burgeoning are the number of wineries in Lodi who are making a name for themselves with California style reds.

Lodi lies between the 5 and the 99, just north of Stockton and south of Sacramento. Lodi is less about Cabernet and Merlot and instead is dominated by Zinfandel, especially old vine, Petite Sirah and Carignane.  The soil is well drained sandy alluvial soil. When they say “old vine” in Lodi, they don’t mean grafted or transferred. Lodi’s 42,000 planted acres still sit on their own rootstock.

Camron King is Lodi’s Wine Executive Director, shown with Bob Lauchland, 

Chairman of the Lodi Wine Commission.

Lodi vines are tended by generations of farming families with old world roots.  Some could have settled in the much more famous Napa Valley a short drive to the west but chose this area more highly focused on everyday, tasty reds.

Lodi caught my attention when Cameron Hughes, a shrewd and successful wine entrepreneur who buys and bottles quality grapes from attractive wine countries, decided to turn to Lodi for his latest Zindandel entry, the 2011 Lot 381 Lodi Zinfandel ( $14.).  He describes his wine as “boisterously aromatic, with jammy raspberry, plum and baking spice aromas with hints of black pepper.”

In Lodi,  Zinfandel is the singular force for big sales.  Mostly likely the household name is Gnarly Head with vines that resemble wild bushes with intrepid old vines.  The 2010 is out ( $10.99) with 100,000 cases produced. Gnarly Head is but one brand from the Indelicato family, making wine in the Lodi area for more than 80 years.  Michael-David Winery is another name to know, maker of 7 Deadly Zins ( $16.), indeed a sinful blend!  Seven Lodi vineyards were chosen for this fast growing bottle, with over 200% growth yearly. Petite Sirah was added for spiced blackberry.  Visit www.lodiwine.com so you don’t get “stuck” when you visit.

Veladora a Candle that Lights up Rancho Valencia
 A 30 million dollar renovation has put a new face on the historic Rancho Santa Fe resort, Rancho Valencia.

Nowhere on the property is the upgrade more evident than the hacienda styled restaurant Veladora.
“Veladora means wooden candle in Spanish,” said General Manager, Simon Chen.  “Our treatment of the large, romantic wrought iron candles, is a source of great pride and beauty.” In a walk-through, I was struck by the quiet, elegant semi private areas of  Veladora, with colors like cobalt blue, orange, red and brown.  The décor suggested that the menu would be equally sensuous  and inviting…and I was not disappointed. Executive Chef Eric Bauer serves signature “Coastal Ranch” cuisine.  “The menu is Mediterranean inspired, with fresh seafood, meats and produce.  We use a wide variety of vegetables that will be exclusive to the entrée it compliments. We keep it different and exciting for the diner,” he said.

Veladora at Rancho Valencia Resort in Rancho Santa Fe.

Veladora and the nearby Pony Room, with small bites and a modern, fun design, bring interesting, naturally made wine to the table, in glass portions customized for the guest.  Over 430 selections are offered.  The Pony Room has a draft wine program of Cabernet and Chardonnay blends from Paso Robles and Lake County California, served in 100% Riedel Crystal.  Learn more at www.ranchovalencia.com.

Wine Bytes
Wines from Paso Robles will be spotlighted at Bacchus Wine Market downtown San Diego, Sat. Jan. 26 from 2 to 8:30pm.  A wine specialist will be on hand to guide you through Cabs, Syrahs, Zins and more.  $20. pp.  Call 619-236-0005.

Il Fornaio in the Del Mar Plaza hosts a Batasiolo Barolo Wine Dinner Thurs. Jan. 31 from 6:30 to 9pm.  Cost is $55.  a 4 course menu will be paired with the wines.  Call 858-755-8876 to RSVP.

Fleming’s First Friday in La Jolla is Feb. 1 from 5:30 to 7pm.  Try 20 different wines from Italy.  For reservations at $25. each, call 858-535-0078.

Cakebread vs. Rombauer wines is the matchup at La Costa Wine Company, Fri. Feb. 1 from 5 to 8:30pm.  Cost is $35. to taste each winery’s best.  Call for details at 760-431-8646.

Low Calories, Seasonal Wines at the New Seasons 52

by Frank Mangio
I’ve known for some time now that the most vital district in San Diego County is that business and residential area between University City and Del Mar.  If you take a good look at a county map, it’s the geographical center of this vibrant part of Southern California.

It’s no surprise that stunning new restaurant formats have positioned themselves in two multi-faceted shopping centers in this dynamic consumer magnet. The first dining room we’ll visit is Seasons 52, with a front porch location in University Town Center.

Seasons 52 is a fresh grill and piano bar that provides a dining experience with no menu item more than 475 calories.  The Executive Chef at the UTC location is Steve de Barril who oversees lunch, dinner and snacking, from signature flatbreads to entrees that change weekly with seasonal and farmers’ market visits.

The Cedar Plank Scottish Wild Salmon is a favorite at the new Seasons 52 in the University City 

area of San Diego.

You must order the Scottish Wild Salmon on Cedar Plank.  The British Isles have some of the coldest salmon waters in the world. That and a vigorous spawning grounds, make this wild Scottish Salmon a delicious culinary masterpiece.

Two weeks ago, I revealed my Top Ten Wine Tastes highlighted by a Riesling discovery, the Selbach Mosel, Germany 2011,that fit with this Cedar Plank Salmon.  Seasons 52 has an award-winning wine program of over 100 selections, 52 of which are offered by the glass, in the restaurant and the wine bar which also offered mixed drinks.  It is the work of International Master Sommelier George Miliotes, one of only 180 in the world.  Miliotes commented he likes to find wine “before they become famous.  I love the Mosel River District. I visit as much as I can with a smile on my face,” he revealed.  Try a few sips before stardom at Seasons 52. Free valet parking all day.  Call 858-450-1252 for a reservation.

Davanti’s Introduces Rocking Piemonte Reds
Davanti’s Enoteca in Del Mar Highlands Center and Little Italy San Diego is no stranger to TASTE OF WINE.  Under GM Maris Laipenieks, the format of fresh, upscale small bite Italian, tested in Chicago, has been a hit in San Diego. We’ve featured them twice.  So when I got the call to taste a new lineup of Italian Piemonte reds, I made sure I was there on time.

It was Davante’s first wine dinner and Executive Chef Jaysen Euler collaborated with Italian Wine Importer Luciano Brussolo to put the passion on the plate for the packed house. Brussolo paraded out his heavy hitters and sparklers: wines like Soave, Gavi di Gavi, Barolo and Barbaresco.  But the wine with the buzz around the table was the 2010 Damilano Barbera d’ Asti DOCG ($15).  Barbera is the Chianti Classico of the north in Italy.

Maris Laipenieks of Davanti in the Del Mar Highlands Center, introduces Italian Wine Importer Luciano Brussolo and his family of Piemonte Wines.

This is a friendly, accessible red that makes any food taste rich and flavorful with its high acidity.  Barbera is best served at 65 degrees.  The coolness brightens the wine’s red berry texture and hints of vanilla. On this occasion, Chef Jaysen chose to go with a “Tartara Di Cervo” with the Barbera accompaniment: a venison, quail egg and frisee salad with truffle oil complexion. The wine is at home with other dishes as well, like cold cut appetizers, rich beef roasts and stews and medium aged cheeses.  For more on this wine and others from Piemonte, see www.viaswine.com.

Wine Bytes
PAON Wine Bar downtown Carlsbad has a Brown Bag “Blind” Tasting Jan. 17 to 23. Enjoy 6 tastings for $16. plus a bonus tasting. Call 760-729-7377 for times.

San Diego Wine Company on Miramar Rd. presents a Chardonnay and Pinot Noir Tasting Sat. Jan. 19 from 11 to 4pm for $10. Details at 858-586-9463.

80’s Prom Night is the theme for an event at Orfila Vineyards in Escondido Sat. Jan. 26 from 7 to 9pm. A DJ and music videos highlighted.  Wine, beer, snacks etc. available.  $10.  Call 760-738-6500 x22.

Exploring Wine is the subject of a series of lectures at San Diego State University Mondays JAN. 28 to Feb. 25 from 6 to 9pm.  Fee $299.  Find out more at 619-594-1138.

Rugged Oregon Wine Country is a Bountiful Land

by Frank Mangio
I’ve never met a Pinot Noir I didn’t like that came from an Oregon winery.  It is the American home for this complex yet smooth, velvety, delicate varietal.  I have talked to many wine aficionados who either have gone though this magnificent state or who will be making plans to go in the next year, to visit as many of the more than 500 wineries as they can.

After California, which produces about 90% of all the wine in the U.S., Oregon is one of the top three U.S. producers of wine.  The wineries are dotted along quiet, twisting roads with small family-run operations, most of them along the rugged coastline led by the Willamette Valley.

Pinot Noir is king and is compared to the grape’s origin in the Burgundy district of Northern France. Sunlight and heat are in short supply making for a fragile harvest, which seems to fit the Pinot profile. So is Oregon a “one trick pony” with just one star wine?  I put that question to a couple of star owners of the leading wine and beer shop in Bend, Oregon, twin sisters Michele and Melanie Betti of the Wine Shop & Beer Tasting Bar. They agreed that “no, Pinot Noir  has been the grape that winemakers have done very well with and they are known for that, but whites do well here, like Pinot Gris, Chardonnay and Pinot Blanc in the Willamette Valley.  In Southern Oregon, they make quality Cabernet, Syrah, Merlot and Tempranillo.”

Michele and Melanie Betti are owners of a leading wine and beer tasting bar in Bend Oregon.

I asked them how business has progressed since they opened 7 years ago. Melanie, who is the on-site manager, pointed out that “we opened only as a bottle shop, but found that our customers wanted the try and buy concept, so that we now have 6 different wine flights daily by the glass.  We serve wine in the world-class Riedel Stemware, fitting the glass to the wine.  We not only serve 30 plus wines, we now feature over 70 Belgian and other international beers with beer flights, plus ports, cider and sake.
We give our customers a European style experience, taking time to pass along knowledge and get to know the customer.”

Oregon’s winemakers are shooting for the high-end, focusing on customers that are willing to pay $35. or more a bottle.  If Oregon wines fit your taste, you virtually have to visit places like the Wine Shop and Beer Tasting Bar, winery web sites and plan a trip there.  Most wineries make just 1,500 cases of their wines, so they pretty much are not available at SoCal wine retailers.

In 2011, the Travel Oregon tourist bureau reported 1.5 million visitors to the state. The Bettis advise that Willamette Valley has 6 sub AVA’s, each one with its own exclusive taste characteristic.  They point out that “each of these sub-regions will give you a different tasting experience.  They are:  Chehalem Mountains, Yamhill-Carlton, Ribbon Ridge, Dundee Hills, McMinnville and Eola-Amity Hills.” Some wine names they recommend include:  Archery Summit, Domaine Druhin, Sokol Blosser, Bergstrom, Ayres, Ken Wright, Dukes Family and Cristom. Find out much more at www.oregonwine.org, and www.thewineshopbend.com.

ISOLA Revealed – Little Italy ’s New Pizza Favorite
Massimo Tenino is the owner of a recently opened Italian Restaurant in San Diego’s Little Italy where all menu items are baked in a wood-burning oven direct from Naples Italy.  It’s a bright fire-engine red cave that guarantees crunchy, smoky pizza, with one size, 12 inches, serving all.

From Anitpaasti and Bruschetta to 15 different pizzas, ISOLA with owner Massimo Tenino, bakes all his creations with simple fresh ingredients.

From the bread dough to the wines, ISOLA is a family operation.  “My Nonna’s name was ISOLA, a wonderful cook who inspired my passion for food and fresh, simple ingredients,” he said.  “ISOLA is proud to serve the savory ingredients from the vine and tree to the table.”

Tenino has a family owned winery in Piemonte, offering native grapes like Nebbiolo, Barbera, Barbaresco and Barolo, plus many other Italian made fine wines. See www.isolapizzabar.com.

Wine Bytes
Bacchis Wine Market in the Gaslamp downtown San Diego has wines from France Sat. Jan, 12 from 2 to 8:30pm.  For $30., taste 7 wines  from the major regions.  RSVP at 619-236-0005.

San Diego Wine Company on Miramar Rd. presents a Zinfandel Tasting Sat. Jan. 12 from 11 to 4pm. Charge is $10.  Details at 858-586-WINE.

Il Fornaio at the Del Mar Plaza celebrates Italy’s Friuli-Venezia District now thru Jan. 20, with special dishes and native wines.  Call 858-755-8876.

Encinitas Meritage Wine Market opens Rhone Valley wines Fri. Jan. 18 from 5 :30 to 8pm.  Check with the shop for pricing:  760-479-2500.

The biggest festival for Zinfandel in the world kicks off Wed. Jan. 31 and goes to Sat. Feb. 2, in San Francisco at the Concourse. Winemakers and executive chefs abound. Grand tasting 2 to 5pm.

Reviewing 2012 and the Top Ten Tastings

by Frank Mangio
In 2012 America solidified its position as the world’s largest wine consuming country in the world (beating the French, again).  Sales at COSTCO, the number one seller of wine, reached 1.4 billion dollars as the membership discounter amped-up its square footage with more premium wine offerings.

The West Coast had it finest harvest of wine grapes in over a decade in 2012.  We predict that when the red wines are showing on the shelves starting in 2014, buyers are going to buy them by the case (cheaper by the dozen).  Another prediction:  Francis Ford Coppola, the movie director turned winemaker in Napa Valley, will remake the old, cheapened Inglenook wine name into one of the most favored wine brands in the world.

My Top Ten Tastes include three from Napa Valley, one of the world’s best growing grounds for red wine, at the best prices I could find.  Other areas are: Sonoma,  Italy, Germany and Spain. The ten are treated equally on an excellence scale from 1 to 5, weighing flavor, body and value.  The list is alphabetical, all were rated excellent and does NOT indicate rank.

Alto Moncayo Garnarcha, Borja Spain.  2009.  $52.  Bold, ripe and ripping with muscular texture.  Bursting with ripe berry flavor. This old vine Garnacha, a twin to the French Rhone Genache grape, is elegantly laced with a smoky white pepper accent.  www.wine.com

Angelini Agricola Sangiovese, Marche Italy. $17.  A rich landscape of farming northeast of Tuscany, Angelini captures the essence of the Sangiovese grape, a full-bodied, dry red.  Hints of cherry. leather, vanilla, oak and tobacco. Aged a minimum one year. Perfect pasta wine. www.angeliniwine.com.


B Cellars Sangiovese Napa Valley 2010.  $45. Remarkable minerality normally found only in Tuscany, Italy.  Ripe Strawberry with hints of vanilla.  Not as acidic as some.  Bolder skins of Syrah are integrated for skin color and tannins.  www.bcellars.com.

B Cellars Napa Valley owner Duffy Keys, left, lives in Rancho Santa Fe  and appears at wine dinners at Dolce Pane E Vino, welcomed by General Manager Steve Flowers.

Dr. Loosen Riesling Kabinett, Mosel Germany 2010.  $20. Found at the newly remodeled Rancho Valencia in Rancho Santa Feand The Grand Del Mar, this Riesling has stunning fruit forward, perfectly proportioned sweetness of peach, to balance citrus qualities. Harvested from the steep slate slopes of the Mosel District. www.drloosen.com.

Ferrari-Carano Tresor Blend Sonoma CA. 2009.  $52.  Mostly Cabernet in a Bordeaux Blend from “dry” farmed, low-yielding vines on higher elevations, Tresor produces a dense, black well of color, with vanilla and cedar tones.  Aged in French oak for 19 months.  www.ferrari-carano.com.

Jordan Cabernet Sauvignon, Sonoma CA.  2008. $52. An Estate Cab with start to finish high quality control, matching the best of Bordeaux.  Silky and elegant with ripe plum accents.  www.jordanwinery.com.

Keenan Merlot Napa Valley CA.  2009.  $36.  Winemaker Michael Keenan’s favorite wine…”goes with everything I eat.”  From the Spring Mountain area of Napa Valley, above the fog.  Intense black cherry, blackberry and cassis.  Coffee bean notes.  A BIG Merlot.  www.keenanwinery.com.

Lewis Alec’s Blend Napa Valley CA.  2010.  $60.  All mountain blend of 70% Syrah, 25% Merlot and 5% Cabernet.  Big high horsepower wine with chocolaty finish.  High octane 15.5% alcohol nicely balanced.  www.lewiscellars.com.

Selbach-Oster Kabinett Riesling Mosel Germany. 2010. $18.99.  The lead white wine for the upscale restaurant chain Seasons 52 Fresh Grill, and hand selected by their Master Sommelier George Miliotes

Miliotes describes this discovery as fruity to slightly sweet with a perfect baked apple finish.  As in most Rieslings, only 9% alcohol guarantees to bring out the juicy  refreshment as only a German Riesling is capable of doing; like a kiss of a wet stone. Slate soils high on Mosel banks inject this layered-in minerality.

Miliotes added: “I was drawn to the Mosel River district of Germany.  This Riesling is my poster child for our old world wines.”  www.winesearcher.com

A Seasons 52 Fresh Grill appetizer is the Artichoke and Goat Cheese Flatbread with two Selbach-Oster Kabinett Rieslings from Mosel Germany, a Top Ten Taste.

Tomassi Amorone Valpolicella Classico Verona Italy. 2007. $79.  The Tomassi family has been making this timeless wine for 112 years. Includes Corvina, Corvinone, Rondinella and Molinari grapes from the region. Grapes are dried for 4 months prior to pressing, then aged for 3 years in large Slavonian Oak.  www.tomassiwine.it.