A Wine Couple and Their Twin Loves: Wine & Animals

by Frank Mangio
It’s not often you find someone who can tell you flat out what he loves about life beside his family, and then go about putting those choices together  to make the world a better place.

Skip Coomber and his wife Maureen established Coomber Family Ranch in 2009 after a long love affair with California style Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Cabernet Sauvignon.  A life-long love of animals also enriched their lives as they built a family together that included a house full of cats and dogs.  “At first we thought it would be fun to include our animals on the label,” Skip said.

Maureen and Skip Coomber enjoy a glass of their 2010 Private Reserve Rutherford Cabernet
with Maggie, their tennis ball loving bulldog.

“We chose our cats on the Chardonnay, horses on the Pinot Noir and dogs on the Cabernet.  The idea shifted focus to our favorite animal rescue and care facilities that we contribute to with time and money, so we came up with helping these organizations through restaurant sales and consumer sales on our web site.  Five percent of all sales revenue goes to animal welfare organizations. Buyers can name their favorite animal charities, or we provide a name.”

Coomber combs all of California for the finest grapes he can find.  The Central coast has provided him with a central location in Buellton for  a custom crush winemaking facility where his wines are produced, plus he provides this facility for others to make their wines, a very efficient way to do business for a smaller operation.  However, the jackpot opportunity for Coomber Family Ranch is his relationship with Andy Beckstoffer, part owner of the To Kalon Vineyards of Oakville in the Napa Valley, considered to be the crown jewel of Cabernet Sauvignon grapes. Beckstoffer’s To Kalon Cab grapes have been described in Wine Spectator as “opulent.”

The Coomber 2010 Private Reserve Rutherford Cabernet Sauvginon ($149.), made from To Kalon grapes, was awarded a gold medal at the recent Los Angeles International Wine Competition. To top it off, Wine Enthusiast reviewed this wine and awarded it 95 points, a classic score. The price range for Coomber wines starts at the 2011 Vintners Collection Chardonnay ($17.99).  It has a natural Chardonnay flavor with a refreshing mouth-feel of golden apple with a mild lemon aroma; definitely new world.

For a limited time, Skip Coomber is offering a 10% discount on any of the wines for sale on his web site coomberwines.com.  Just use the code “MANGIO” at purchase.  The 5% to animal organizations will still apply.

Storing and Serving Wines

Storing wines is selective at best.  Most buyers want to buy and consume a bottle of wine all in one magic moment. With white wines, no need to think twice.  Keep them in the frig. However, with reds, aging will bring out the flavor and body for peak performance. Cabernets, Syrahs, Malbecs and other French and Italian style reds will blossom in flavor with up to five years of  age in storage. Some other tips include:  store all bottles on their sides so the corks remain moist.

A wine storage cooler should have temperature control and be used only for red wines of heavy

body like Cabernet, Syrah , Malbec and Italian style wines.

 55 degrees is a perfect cellar temperature at the wineries.  The wines will feel at home with this temperature selection.

Keep temperature swings to a minimum and dark if possible. I like a closet or garage for my wine storage coolers.  Sunshine is not wanted in the wine world, when the wines are bottled. When serving wines, most wine tasters are surprised when I serve my reds at 60 to 64 degrees for brightness and less alcoholic flavor.  Serve white wine at 45 to 50 degrees to bring out the grape flavors and appetizing acidity.

Wine Bytes
Il Fornaio, with locations in Del Mar and Coronado , begins a new series of  Festa Regionale featuring a new dinner menu from a special district of Italy. January, from the 5th to the 25th, brings the diner the food and wines of Friuli, a rustic, peasant style of cooking, deliciously presented. Try the Filetto di Branzino alla Greca, a grilled filet of wild seabass with olives, capers and tomatoes.  For Del Mar, call 858-755-8876, and in Coronado, phone 619-437-4911.

San Diego State University is planning a wine immersion trip to Spain , in the Catalonia , Riojo and Basque regions, October 9 to 17, as part of its Professional Certificate in the Business of Wine program.  This is a private, guided experience in some of Spain ’s historic, traditional wine and food regions and a hands-on experience.  There will also be private wine classes daily.  Dining included, everywhere from ancient wine cave to medieval village to modern wine bars.  For more information, email wine@mail.sdsu.edu or visit neverstoplearning.net/winetravel.

Storing Wine for the Right Time to Taste

by Frank Mangio
“No wine before its time” is a truthful quote that has lived through the ages and has served wine lovers well in their quest for vintage-flavored wines. Certainly there are many professional storage companies out there that would be happy to store your best cases of cab for a hefty price, but I will pass on that and instead concentrate on home cellaring and storage.

First, here’s why you need to wait for the right time, especially for reds with strong bodies like: Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah/Shiraz, Cabernet Franc, Barolo, Barbaresco, Brunello, Sangiovese, Zinfandel, Malbec, Merlot and a countless array of blends. They need time to mature. Tannins need to soften and mix into the harmony of tastes provided by the fruit, sugar and alcohol.

Whether it be a small rack on the floor of the dining room, a temperature-controlled cooler that holds 20 to 200, or a room with hundreds of precisely crafted racks with a tasting table, some rules apply for all.

However many bottles are in your collection and whatever the quality and value, keep a record of the date of purchase, cost of each bottle and where it was purchased. I always rank each wine with a simple but effective 1 to 5 (bad to excellent ) ranking, adding to my core list of wines that I love.

Store wine on its side. That way the cork does not dry out (assuming it has a cork top.)

Keep wine at a consistent temperature, ideally about 55 degrees when storing, but don’t be concerned if it is “room temperature” ( 72 degrees). What matters is the temperature is virtually the same day to day.

Keep your wine out of direct sun which can push up the temperature especially in an “afternoon” setting. The stages of maturity are accelerated and are rushed through to a sour state, turning it into cooking wine.

The final rule is really meant for breaking and is the most controversial. When is a wine that’s been stored ready to drink? Wine lovers can debate this for hours. I have let more than a few wines sit too long, only to open them and shriek in disgust at the sour, vinegar-like taste.

Most red wines start out with a tight berry-like flavor, then over the years become velvety soft and more complex to the taste. It’s like some magical mystery moment when the wine becomes perfectly balanced. I personally gauge that moment as five years after the vintage or harvest year on the label. But if you must…it’s not going to hurt if you drink it when you buy it.

So You Want to Own a Vineyard
Over the years I have talked to a ton of owner/operators of vineyards and wineries about their decision to get into the wine business as growers and bottlers. A good number came from families that had been doing this for generations and in far away European countries. More than a few have come from careers that have been as far from farming as you can get, especially the technology and engineering industries.

Most of the reaction I got from that subject is “I wanted to do something I love.” Then, when the day to day operations are brought up, I found that it is a consuming and expensive love.

Recently the Wall Street Journal found a couple who were willing to lay it out for readers. They have a 38 acre tract near Santa Barbara that they bought in 2004 for 1.5 million, including a tiny “fixer upper” house. When they planted their vines, they soon found out that capital improvements on things like a well for irrigation sopped up many more hundreds of thousands of dollars. By their account, maintaining the vineyard takes upwards of $8,000. an acre annually.

The typical yield of grapes is about 2 to 4 tons per acre, which they can sell for about $4,000. per ton to neighboring wineries. They plant mostly Pinot Noir which is in high demand, as long as the harvest is kind to them. Unfortunately, the ’08 harvest was plagued by frost early on and almost wiped out their crop. They only harvested 3 ½ tons total. In this business, as small operators, they have to wait until somebody else comes along that wants to “do something I love,” and buys them out at a handsome profit. In the meantime, they don’t drop their day jobs.

Wine Bytes
Bacchus Wine Market & Tasting Room downtown San Diego has an Italian Wine Tasting, Fri. Jan. 22 from 4 to 8:30pm . You will be tasting Montepulciano, Gargenaga and other lesser known varietals. Cost is $15. Call 619-236-0005.

Vino 100 in San Marcos presents its Blind Tasting fun on Fri. and Sat. Jan. 22 and 23 from 5 to 9pm . Fee is $10. pp. Details at 760-591-9113.

Wilson Creek in Temecula Wine Country is hosting a Slow Foods Charity Dinner Sat. Jan. 23 from 6 to 8pm . Food is local and sustainable from 5 wineries. $125. ea. RSVP at 951-296-7427.

Meritage Wine Market in Encinitas has a special Women of Bordeaux Wine Dinner on Thurs. Jan . 28 at the Fairbanks Ranch Country Club, highlighting the exceptional 2006 vintage of French wines. Five women winemakers will appear. Get pricing and time by calling 760-479-2500.