The World of Wine Event in Temecula

by Frank Mangio
Perception is a powerful influence on opinion and takes time, patience and evidence to change. In the wine world, this dynamic is stubborn and takes a strong and persistent communications effort for success.

For the past five years I have observed, researched and reported on the progress of Temecula Wine Country to convince the wine world that it deserves recognition as a quality wine making appellation that can produce fine wines, with grape varietals from anywhere in the world.

Another opportunity to steer public perception is at hand for Temecula Wine Country when the World of Wine 2010 is presented Saturday and Sunday March 6 and 7 from 10am to 4:30pm, with 25 Temecula wineries participating. The theme aims to show how these wineries can take old world varietals, barrel or bottle-ready and full of flavor, and showcase a tasting experience as good as any available. The wines are part of a self-guided tour, perfectly paired with gourmet food samplings. Ticket holders will receive a map of the Valley, a passport which allows access to the wineries and a souvenir glass.

The World of Wine comes to Temecula March 6 & 7. Rhone Valley wines from Thornton Winery are shown being poured.

Two names to know who have recently done well are: Callaway Vineyards &Winery and Briar Rose Winery. Callaway, with 40 years of winemaking, recently received a Gold Medal at the 2010 San Francisco Chronicle Competition for its 2008 Winemaker’s Reserve Late Harvest Cabernet, and a Double Gold Medal at the 2010 Florida State Fair Competition for its 2009 Special Selection Rose of Sangiovese.

“Taste the Enchantment” is the theme of Briar Rose Winery, operated by Les and Dorian Linkogle. Small lot, limited production, lush intense flavors have placed Briar Rose in a prestigious place in Southern California’s wine roll call of celebrity-style winemaking. Their new release Estate Collection 2007 Cabernet is worth looking for when the World of Wine Event comes around March 6 & 7. For more information including ticket orders, go to www.temeculawines.org.


Corks Popping at VINZ Lounge and Wine Bar
If you build it, they will come. Customers are filling up the lounge and wine bar that Vinnie Griffin recently built on Grand in Downtown Escondido. The vibes are happy and exciting as the music, food and wine fills the place with energy.

Vinnie works with several Central Coast wineries and has close relationships with the likes of Eberle and Cambria. The food packs the menu with a huge variety of choices. “Everything is homemade including the sauces and salad dressings,” he said.

Impresario Vinnie Griffin with a magnum of Cambria Cab at his VINZ Lounge and Wine Bar in Escondido.

“From Tapas to Lasagna to Beef Wellington, I cook my own creations. There’s something for everyone, and you can dine in our entertainment lounge or a quieter more intimate room.” The musicians and stage are close and personal. Jimmy Patton was jamming on a flemenco guitar with a latin samba duo that made for fun listening and dancing. Vinnie is already master-planning a European style outdoor garden with artisan Italian Pizzas to add to his German deli offerings. New wines are being introduced weekly with wine flights to pair with special menu items.

I had an Eberle ’07 Cotes-du-Robles blend of Granache, Mouvrede and Syrah, beautifully crafted by the pioneer winery in Paso Robles.

Vinnie is a well known veteran restaurateur in Escondido and his new wine bar and lounge raises the bar for fine food, wine and a fun time. Reservations for the dinner lounge on weekends are recommended by calling 760-743-VINO ( 8466).

Wine Bytes
§ Meritage Wine Market in Encinitas will be spotlighting Rhone Wines at their weekly wine tasting on Fri. Feb. 26 from 6 to 8pm. Check for pricing at 760-479-2500.

§ A Laguna Beach Winery Bus Tour is being planned for Sat. Feb. 27 from 9am to 6pm. Bus boarding at Del Sur Ranch House. Tour will include: Oaks Ranch and Laguna Canyon Wineries. Fee is $65. ea. Details at 858-759-2779.

§ The Pacific Coast Wine Festival is Sat. March 6 from 5pm at the Island Hotel in Newport Beach. This posh affair includes a sumptuous dinner, premium wine tastings, sommeliers and both a live and silent auction. Tickets are $250. pp. To purchase tickets or a table, contact 714-876-2364.

§ California Reds are the tasting theme for San Diego Wine Company’s next event on Sat. Feb. 27 from 11 to 4:30pm. $10. fee. Call 858-586-9463.

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.

Super Tuscans for 2006 are Super!

by Frank Mangio
In Italy there is very little rhyme or reason, only art and living with the heart.

In the history of Italian wines there has never been a greater style of winemaking than the “Super Tuscans.” They are those red wine blends that were first crafted in Tuscany in the early 1970’s as a rescue for wineries that were faltering due to mediocre Sangiovese grapes, mixed with white grapes, and called Chianti.

Super Tuscan is a silly name that no responsible winemaker would promote. It was a media term put together for U.S. consumption. But no matter, the elegant wines that were blended, and to this day still called “Super Tuscan,” are a masterpiece of wine art and genius.

One of the pioneers of this next-level of Italian wines was Piero Antinori, whose cousin had made the first wine that broke with tradition: Sassicaia from coastal Bolgheri with mostly Cabernet Sauvignon. Piero was the latest in an Antinori family of 26 generations and six hundred years of winemaking. It was a courageous choice, almost sacrilegious for its time, as the Italian government did not recognize any wine in Tuscany that was not 100% Sangiovese.

Antinori was driven to express the vast potential of wine, so he created Tignanello, mostly Sangiovese, but with perfect amounts of Cabernet and Cab Franc, and considered to be the quintessential “Super Tuscan.”


Piero Antinori, shown with his three winemaking daughters: Albiera, Allegra and Alessia at Villa Antinori, Tuscany,Italy.

After his initial success, Antinori later partnered with other like-minded Italian innovators to make the equally well-known Solaia, also from central Tuscany and mostly Cabernet; and the Guado al Tasso from Bolgheri, with Cab, Merlot and Syrah grapes, among others.

Not since the heaven-sent 1997 vintage has there been such promise and fulfillment as the 2006 “Super Tuscan” releases. With some patience and cellaring, they could surpass that seminal year. The growing season was long and even, with lots of sunshine. The wines are perfumed and richly endowed with the heritage of Tuscany.

Nowhere is the canvas of a “Super Tuscan” style so perfect as those wines expressed by the Anitnori name and legacy. Anitnori vineyards are now planted all over Tuscany’s finest districts: Chianti Classico, Bolgheri, Montalcino, Montepulciano and Orvieto, Umbria. To learn more about this traditional Italian winemaking leader, visit www.antinori.it.


Pizza and Wine
Americans spend about 32 billion dollars a year on pizza in restaurants. Half of that sum is picked up by the dumbed-down chains such as Pizza Hut and the like, with little more than a cracker-thin bed of pre-frozen dough, canned sauce, cheese and a mountain of “extras,” tossed about on the bed of sauce.

I bring it up only because of the exciting and delicious turn to high quality oven-fresh pizza restaurants that now comprise the other half of that 32 billion. Chefs are being trained to create pizza as a special dish with balance, texture and flavors that work together, right down to the flour that is used to make the dough.

Tomatoes, mozzarella cheese and sweet basil are the ultimate basic Italian ingredients, where pizza originated in Naples. These three ingredients with extra virgin olive oil and a touch of garlic is on the menu as a Pizza Margherita. Its crust is thin and soft and slightly charred from wood-oven baking.

Now that I have you salivating for pizza, next time you order one, forget the beer menu and go for a lovely red wine. Considering that the pizza you order is one that resembles a Margherita, without stacks of pepperoni, sausage and salami, I would suggest you pass on the Cabs and Zins and think central and southern Italian. You will want to consider varietals like Sangiovese ( Chianti Classico), Aglianico and Nero d’Avola from Sicily. West coast varietals to look for are: Syrah, Pinot Noir and Merlot.

All these wines have just the right acidity, to cut the richness of tomatoes, baked dough and cheese. All have rich, black fruit and are drink-now wines to keep the price in line with the meal.

Wine Bytes
Thornton Winery in Temecula is staging a unique Halloween Costume Dinner Dance Fri. Oct. 30 with a 7:30pm start. Five star cuisine, premium wines, dancing and gifts for best-dressed will add to the festivities. Cost is $85. ea. RSVP at 951-699-0099 or www.thorntonwine.com.

Bistro 39 at the Hilton Garden Inn San Diego/Del Mar presents a Local Harvest Winemaker’s Dinner Fri. Nov. 6 from 7 to 9:30pm. Only locally grown and caught entrees and sides will be served. Wines are from Salerno Winery in Ramona. Cost is $55. inclusive. Call for tickets at 858-720-9500.

The wine spotlight is on Temecula Wine Country for its Harvest Celebration Sat. and Sun. Nov. 7 and 8, 10am to 4:30pm. It’s a self-guided tour of the valley, with food and wine samples fro more than 20 wineries. Barrel and tank tasting are available. Cost is $89. for both days. Discounts apply for one day and other considerations. Full details at 800-801-9463 or access www.temeculawines.org.

One hour private Gondola rides are available weekdays 3pm to midnight at Loews Coronado Bay and hold up to six passengers. Blankets provided with complimentary appetizers. Bring your own beverage. $85 for each couple. Experience Venice though the canals next to the Loews Resort. To learn more, call 619-429-6317.

Grand Del Mar Uncorks Fall Wine Spectacular

by Frank Mangio

If you’re like me and most of the known world, a 249 room elegant resort, with a championship golf course and two French-Mediterranean eating areas cannot be your private residence. Not in your wildest of dreams.

But thanks to the Grand Del Mar, you can relax like it was your own, enjoy classic cuisine from Addison or Amaya, and choose from what I consider to be the best wine list in California .

I usually arrive early for a lunch, dinner or a meeting, and sit in a different focal point of the resort, enjoying the lush renaissance Mediterranean décor. At the Grand Del Mar, you will discover brilliantly carved architecture; a peerless work with moods of Morocco , Spain , Italy and France . Yet a closer look finds such simple amenities as a natural vegetable garden so the chef can indulge in the freshest of ingredients for his guests.

But I digress. This is a wine column and the Grand Del Mar is unveiling a wine spectacular for fall. So let’s get to it.

Peak experiences await the wine and food lover as Amaya, Addison and the resort lobby bar collaborate in a grand series of events.

On Thursday October 8 from 5:30 to 10pm , Master Sommelier Chris Blanchard, who supervises restaurant wine pograms in Los Angeles , San Francisco and the Napa Valley , will star in an Amaya winemaker dinner featuring Chapellet Wines. He will team up with resident wine director Jesse Rodriguez and Chef Camron Woods in a four course pairing dinner for $75. per person. The 2nd annual Winemaker Quintet at Addison is planned for Sunday October 25 with a reception at 6pm and dinner at 7pm .


William Bradley is the acclaimed chef at Addison.

It will be an inspired night with Addison ’s award-winning chef William Bradley, guest chef Lachlan Mackinnon-Patterson, Jesse Rodriguez and several guest winemakers, mostly from the Napa Valley . Cost is $270. per person. RSVP at 858-314-1900.

In the lobby lounge there will be wine tasting on Tuesday October 13 from 5 to 7pm with Sokol Blosser from Oregon ’s Dundee Hills. Fee is $20. The next night, Wednesday October 14, “Wines for Fall Feasts” will feature a cooking workshop, wine reception, take-home recipes and perfect food/wine pairings. Cost is $75. per person. To reserve space for this activity at the Grand Del Mar, call 858-314-2000. See the website at www.thegranddelmar.com.

Is Red Wine Giving You a Headache?

The most recurring whines I hear about red wine consumption is “it gives me a headache” and “it must be the sulfites.” It’s one thing to dislike something because it doesn’t agree with your taste buds. That is usually the reason some people don’t like certain foods. I respect and accept that.

I dislike asparagus. I don’t’ really know why but I don’t point the finger at its composition.

Sulfites are chemicals that are present in wines and the warning labels on American wines make it seem like this a major injection and should be feared. European wines have the same sulfites but their governments don’t mandate a warning label.

Sulfites present themselves in the fermentation process, but are so minor (about 1o milligrams in a typical glass of wine) as to be barely perceptible. They in fact aid in the preservation of wine flavor and should not be pointed to as a problem. Indeed, if you have dry-mouth or a headache from red wine consumption, you ought to be looking at the alcohol level and the vintage of the wine you selected. A 2 year old Cabernet is loaded with strong tannins, a compound in the skins which controls taste, structure and preservation. Aging mellows out the tannins and makes the wines live longer. That 2 year Cabernet should take on more beauty and lusciousness when it’s 4 years old.

An alcohol level approaching 15% or more has a cocktail effect on the wine and will make you feel it, perhaps with a headache. Most wineries are lowering their alcohol level to 14% or below, mostly due to food and wine pairings that enhance taste. This is more and more the trend in homes and restaurants.

Look at the label before buying that next bottle of red wine. Select more years and less alcohol. That headache may not be there the next time you taste your next bottle

Wine Bytes

* Vino 100 in San Marcos has wines from around the world as their theme for a tasting on Fri. Oct. 2 from 5 to 9pm . $15. pp. More info at 760-591-9113.

* Delicias Restaurant in the Village of Rancho Santa Fe presents Open That Bottle Night on Wed. Oct. 7. This is a nation-wide “BYOB” event started by the Wall Street Journal wine columnists. Free corkage fee. Enjoy California fresh cuisine from Chef Michael Knowles. Call 858-756-8000 for an RSVP.

* Valley View Casino in Valley Center combines Art, Music and Wine for a free Festival, Sun. Oct. 11 from 11 to 6pm . Gourmet wine vendors will be offering tastings. Check out their site at www.valleyviewcasino.com.

* The Vintage, Farewell to the Swallows in San Juan Capistrano , has its 13th annual celebration on Sat. Oct. 17 from 6 to 10pm . It’s an Italian style party at the historic Mission . Fine food and wine, casino tables for play fun and live entertainment add up to the best time in SOCAL. Produced by the San Juan Capistrano Chamber of Commerce. For tickets and information contact the chamber at 949-493-4700.

Vigilucci’s Sparks the La Jolla Wine & Dine Scene

by Frank Mangio

Daniel Brunner, the manager of the 7th Vigilucci’s restaurant in San Diego County, this one a palatial villa in La Jolla, likes to show the personal wine collection of Roberto Vigilucci. It’s in a private dining area, and contains lovely Italian collectables like Gaja, Sassicaia, aged Antinoris and Amarones.

The wine list for patrons is only a little less impressive with a lengthy collection from the most popular varietals in the world with the emphasis on Italian.
The latest triumph for Roberto is at Fay and Propsect and is described as serving “the finest steaks, fresh seafood, chops and pasta,” for lunch and dinner. A different risotto of the day distinguishes the cuisine by chef Giorgio Coverde.
Our evening’s risotto dish incorporated beef tips, tuna, scallops, shrimp and mixed vegetables, simmered in a light tomato cream sauce.

Roberto was brought up on his mother’s cooking in their Tuscan kitchen, and when his travels brought him to San Diego County, he saw a need for authentic Tuscan cuisine and opened the first Vigilucci’s in Encinitas in 1994. Today, in addition to Encinitas and La Jolla, you can find a Vigilucci’s in Oceanside, two in Carlsbad, two in Leucadia as well as Vigilucci’s Catering. But none of the others compares with the magnificence of the La Jolla location. I was struck by the authentic Murano glass, used as hanging lighting over the tables. The bar area, at once intimate yet dramatic looking in its showcase presentation, is home to a lively happy hour from 4 to 6pm with complimentary appetizers.

Daniel and the District Manager, Maurizio Carbone,( shown in accompanying photo) introduced me to a striking wine from Campania, the 2005 Terradora Aglianico. The Aglianico grape is red with the highest rating in the Campania area, a long stretch of terroir that touches Naples and the Mt. Vesuvius volcano that is still active. Almost black in color, it tasted a lovely chocolate, earthy flavor. It’s another under-the-radar Italian wine, still inexpensive for the quality of taste. For more on Vigilucci’s, access the restaurant’s website at www.vigiluccis.com.

La Cereza Shines Silver

Temecula, Calif. / Feb. 1. 2008

Wine drinkers seeking to explore new and exciting worlds in the vast cosmos called the wine industry often find themselves overwhelmed by the seemingly infinite amount of wines available to them. Add to this conundrum a whole slew of promotional schemes by labels including point systems, critics’ reviews and shelf talkers…all aimed to assuage possible buyers to purchase their bottle of wine instead of the one next to it. Is your head spinning yet?

Well, just like any other competitive market, wineries have the ability to have their products rated objectively each year during a handful of annual wine competitions. One of largest of which is the annual San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition. Located at the doorstep of Napa Valley, wineries that earn medals during this wine competition consider it a huge feat, a right of passage, so to speak, in the wine world.

La Cereza Vineyard and Winery, located in Temecula Valley, is now the proud bearer of that title after winning silver medals in the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition for both their Sangiovese and Tempranillo red wines.
Judged next to wines from appellations long-recognized for excellence in red wine-making like Napa, Sonoma and Central Coast, La Cereza considers these awards a great honor as well as a testimony to their desire to produce high-quality wines capable of competing with the best.

The earning of a silver medal for their Tempranillo varietal is especially exciting for the Spanish-themed winery, as this grape is considered to be the quintessential Spanish grape, used to make the world-famous Rioja red wine.
“The choice to produce this wine here denotes the foresight of our winemaker to acquire tempranillo grapes from Guadalupe Valley,“ said Buddy Linn, owner of La Cereza. “This fruit is extremely high-quality and the outcome has been a very consistent and exceptional wine.”

La Cereza’s silver medal award for their Sangiovese is also remarkable, considering it’s the first year that the winery has ever produced this unique Italian varietal.
La Cereza winemaker Gus Vizgirda said he has long been honing in on his winery’s potential to produce excellent wines from Mediterranean grapes such as Tempranillo and Sangiovese.

“We have a very unique winemaking style here in the (Temecula) Valley and particularly at La Cereza,” said Vizgirda. “It’s based on the fact that we have a terroir here that is very similar to the Mediterranean, so although we may not be producing wines like the ones you’ll find up North, we’re confident and proud that we have a style that’s totally different and the quality is just as good.”

Hot Wines and “Fruit Bombs”

by Frank Mangio

Wine has long been a civil drink for just about as long as history. It can be found in most adult gatherings as people sip wine, exchange pleasantries and use wine as a catalyst for occasions from a small family gathering to large elegant weddings. To underline this cultural tradition, the latest worldwide retail sales figures show wine increasing to 27 billion dollars compared to 18 billion in 2000.

What started out as a whisper has now mushroomed to grab more ink in the trade publications: the alcohol content of certain California wines is starting to creep up. What really caught my attention was a letter to the Wine Spectator from the respected and widely known vineyard owner from Napa, Andrew Beckstoffer.

I walked and tasted Beckstoffer grapes a couple of years ago, in the Dr. Crane and To Kalon vineyards off the 29 near Oakville. They were perfectly balanced with hang-time orchestrated for under 15% alcohol in red wines. Lately, wines from a number of California appellations have been bottled too “hot,” are lighting fires on the palate, and are clearly “fruit bombs.” These wines are not made as a complement to food, but are made to appease certain influential wine critics who drop strong hints that these higher alcohol, overripe “fruit bombs” will automatically get higher ratings.

Beckstoffer in his alert letter said “I really don’t think that veteran winemakers want to make these wines. I believe they are pressured by new owners to get scores ….we need wines that compliment food and present the subtleties of our various terroirs and regions.”

A fellow columnist of mine and a long-time wine writer, Robert Whitely, co-incidently wrote on this very subject last week. He wondered aloud whether consumers who are running up sales of these type of wines, really want wines with high alcohol, so he put the question to his constituents. He found out that he touched a nerve with his readers. “Never in my 17 years as a wine journalist have I seen such an outpouring from readers on a single subject. A majority of readers who responded are fed up with the high octane wines” he declared. Many readers decried the fine print, tucked-away information on alcohol content on the label. Some feared that if the trend continued, wine would be just a bar drink and not for family and special occasion table consumption.