The Top Ten Tasting Wines of 2016

by Frank Mangio
This past year was a fascinating one for the wine industry which has never been one to rest on past successes.  Great chefs have flocked to San Diego and brought with them menu formats that included great wines.  The urban winery format has multiplied in our large communities where one brand is served, made from grapes brought in from the best vineyards in the state. The wines of Baja Mexico are finally showing what they are made of ( I have one in my Top 10).  The list also includes 2 from Italy , 1 from Washington and 6 from California . An amazing 6 blends make up the majority of flavors, with 2 Pinot Noirs, 1 Chardonnay and 1 Sangiovese.  Prices can vary, but the ones shown are the best I could find after sourcing.  Wines are shown by alphabetical order.  All are ranked Excellent by my guidelines of flavor, body and value. (5 are under $25.)

Arcanum Il Fauno Blend , Tuscany Italy , 2012.  $20.  Here’s what’s called a “Super Tuscan” in the old country, but at a price that can’t be beat!  It’s a polished, flavorful red in a spicy, earthy style .  Made #19 in Wine Spectator’s year end top 100.
www.winesearcher.com

Columbia Crest H3 Les Chevaux Red Blend, WA., 2012.  $12. A  lively blend named for the horses that roamed Horse Heaven Hills in Eastern Washington . Dark, fruity, cherry flavors, with smooth tannins. Another low priced triumph for Columbia Crest.
www.columbiacrest.com

North County Wine Company’s Bill and Jim Tobin poured samples of their Top Ten recently and it included the Arcanum Il Fauno 2012 from Tuscany, a TASTE OF WINE choice.

Enlace Pinot Noir, Monterey CA , 2014.  $16.  The values keep coming.  This one fills a few bins at COSTCO.  Deep, inky red.  Fruit forward boysenberry sourced from several Santa Lucia Highlands vineyards. Long elegant finish.  www.liparita.com.

Fattoria del Cerro Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, Tuscany IT, 2012.  $21.  A rich handcrafted wine of Sangiovese clones.  Flavors peak with beef and sharp cheeses.  www.fattoriadelcerro.it

Frei Brothers Chardonnay, Sonoma CA , 2015.  $12. Russian River Chardonnay with quality way above its price.  Cool climate brings out the flavor of green apple and zesty orange with nutty notes. www.freibrothers.com

Ferrari-Carano Tresor Blend, Sonoma CA , 2012.  $38. Bordeaux style wine from the vineyard’s finest lots of Cabernet, Cab Franc, Petit Verdot, Malbec & Merlot. Dramatic sunset painting alone worth the price.  www.ferrari-carano.com

Lewis Cellars Alec’s Blend, Napa Valley CA , 2014. $62. A big powerful red with candied black fruit flavors.  Syrah, Merlot and Cabernet team up for this muscle wine.  Lewis’s all-Cabernet was awarded the top wine in the world by Wine Spectator.  www.lewiscellars.com

 The lovely wine and bottle design of Ferrari Carano’s 2012 Tresor

 Rafael Adobe Guadalupe  Blend, Baja CA , 2012.  $98. A south of the border red blend from 55% Cabernet and 45% Nebbiolo (yes, the legendary Italian grape from Piedmont , Italy ).  Small production and strong, luscious flavor reminds me of Italy ’s Barolo. www.adobeguadalupe.com

The Prisoner Blend, Napa Valley CA , 2013.  $36.  Launched in 2003, this was the first of the new breed red blends, with mainly Zinfandel to go with  Cabernet, Syrah, Petite Sirah and Charbono. Pure cherry and chocolate flavor.  Delicious!  www.theprisonerwine.com

Tolosa “1772” Pinot Noir, Edna Valley San Luis Obispo CA , 2014.  $60. A favorite appellation with its rolling fog into the vines.  Best grape blocks used to produce a wine of exceptional character. Aged in French oak.  Rich mouthfeel.  www.tolosawinery.com.

Dave Phinney – Mastermind of The Prisoner

by Frank Mangio
This is a story about “new world” wine in the Napa Valley and the meteoric rise of Dave Phinney, who had an idea about blending wine out of the box. You might say he released “the Prisoner” and freed him to hit a creative home run in the wine world.  But we digress.  The story started in 1995 when Phinney, confused about what he wanted out of life, took a friend’s advice and studied wine for a semester in Florence Italy .

Once graduated from university life, he set out to find work in a Napa Valley vineyard and found one at Robert Mondavi Winery in 1997. A year later he started his own winery, Orin Swift Cellars with 2 tons of Zinfandel, and not much else.

Master winemaker Dave Phinney is living the Napa Valley dream, when  in 2003 he created the now-famous blend The Prisoner at his Orin Swift Cellars winery, which has reportedly sold recently for 100 mlllion dollars to E. and J. Gallo wines.

He spent the next few years making wine for others as well as himself, experimenting with the way the wines tasted and looked, with mixing and expressive labeling.  It hit him in 2003, when he added together “mixed blacks,” like the old Italian immigrants who came to Napa Valley used to do.  He made Zinfandel the major varietal and added it to the standard traditional “black” blends of Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Petite Sirah and Charbono.  He called it The Prisoner from the label he chose, an etching of a prisoner drawn by the famous artist Goya.

At first, the Prisoner produced just 385 cases in its first vintage.  It caught on quickly as the new world’s newest and tastiest blend, and eventually went to 85,000 cases in 10 years.  The last vintage of The Prisoner made by Phinney before he sold the name is the 2013 vintage.( $45.)  It has 44% Zinfandel with 20% Cabernet and 16% Petite Sirah, and the rest Grenache and Charbono.  Alcohol content is a hefty 15.2%.  It is a deep ruby red hue with aromas of black cherry and plum and roasted coffee beans, with a long finish.

It had me going back for more.  I was captivated. Without The Prisoner, Orin Swift and Dave Phinney went international with old vine Grenache made on 200 acres in the French Langedoc region as well as Napa Valley Cabernet brands like Mercury Head, Papillion and Palermo. Mannequin is a Chardonnay based brand and Abstract is a red blend mainly with Grenache.

Locations is a value brand lineup from places around the world. Look for a single large letter on the label. Most recently, this story  shot skyward when E. and J. Gallo, the legendary  decades-long  jug wine bottle company from Modesto, announced that it had acquired Phinney’s company, Orin Swift Cellars,  for a reported 100 million dollars. Phinney will remain in charge.  Learn more at orinswift.com/information.

Antinori Wines at La Gran Terraza USD
Antinori, as most of us know, is one of the iconic Tuscan wines to know.  His family has been making wne since 1385. I learned about Italian wines from Piero Antinori and Wine Spectator when I first began TASTE OF WINE in 2005.  At a recent wine dinner at the University of San Diego ’s posh La Gran Terraza, the next chapter of Antinori was revealed by its Business Manager in Southern California , Alessia Botturi.

Alessia Botturi of Antinori Winery of Tuscany with La Gran Terraza manager
Luis Rosas as they display the Tormaresca wines.

It is the Antinori Tormaresca brand from the Puglia district of Italy.  Tormaresco means watchtower in Italian and they were built to keep away feudal empires from conquering Puglia , now more known for its Primitivo, a grape that closely resembles Zinfandel in California. The Tomraresca Toricicoda 2013 ($20.97) is closest to what we call Zinfandel.

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention Antinori’s legendary Tignanello, one of the first and best “Super Tuscans,” pioneer wines that were the first in Italy to blend the Sangiovese grape with other varietals. ($95.)  They now command very high prices, and are not made unless the vintage is among the best.  Details about La Gran Terraza and other wine dinners can be found at lagranterraza.com.

Wine Bytes
Vittorio’s in Carmel Valley off the 56 will be presenting a Cakebread Cellars wine dinner, Thurs. Aug. 25th at 6pm.  This well respected Napa Valley winery will be paired with Vittroio’s splendid dinner menus featuring Beef Wellington and Cakebread’s Cabernet. Cost is $59.50 pp. RSVP at  858-538-5884.

Decoy Dockside in Lake San Marcos has its Sneak Preview special event for the new restaurant, Sat. Aug. 27th from 6 to 10pm.  Cost is $100. ea.  Enjoy complimentary welcome cocktail, appetizers, chef demos, live music and a fireworks spectacular.  RSVP at 619-236-8397.

Live at Lake Henshaw at Santa Ysabel, a food, wine and music festival across from the Roundup Grill.  Date is Sun. Aug. 28th from 11 to 5pm.  Cost is $30 to benefit Shelter to Soldier.  Music by Steelhorse Country. Wine from Ramona Ranch Winery.  Tickets by calling 760-782-2729.

California State University San Marcos is offering its next course in the Certificate for Wine, Beer and Spirits, starting Sept. 8th and emphasizing craft beer.  Fee is $269.  More info at csusm.edu/el/wbsq.