With all this talk of low employment rates, the housing market trough, corporate buyouts of failing producers and the loss of joy in the wine world, it’s refreshing to see more passionate winemakers continuing to put everything they have into their dreams of making great wines they love.  However, in most cases you have to go to where they are to experience their hand-crafted, artisanal juice and do it soon after release due to the small amounts made each vintage.  This is also an opportunity to taste something that’s more likely to be hand made, not manipulated and totally unique.

One such opportunity to check out 7 of these “micro-wineries” will be in Santa Rosa this Saturday, February 4th from 11a – 5p for the first open house featuring custom crush clients of Inspiration Vineyards.  This is a unique opportunity try and buy these wines when you normally can’t since none of these wineries have public tasting rooms or distribution.  Plus, the winemakers of each will be present to tell you their story and talk about the wines.

Sign up here:  http://inspirationvineyards.eventbrite.com/

Experience the small lot, artisanal wines from:

• Colagrossi Wines
• Inspiration Vineyards
• Little Red Vineyard
• Premonition Cellars
• Simple Math Cellars
• Two Shepherds
• Wesley Ashley Wines

On hand will be some small bites and the Ultra Crepe truck if you’d like to pair your wines with some wonderful crepes.

Advance Tickets Includes $15 Wine & Food Credit

Upon check-in at the door, you’ll receive $10 back in wine bucks, redeemable on the day of the event at ALL seven wineries.  Additionally, by registering in advance on Eventbrite, you’ll receive another $5 back in wine & food bucks that you can redeem for either wine or food from Ultra Crepes.

I’ve had the pleasure of experiencing wines from 3 of these wineries and look forward to experiencing something new each time I visit.

We love to hike, camp, travel, kayak, cycle, you name it… and living (or visiting) in wine country affords many opportunities to reach out beyond the local vineyards.  Recently, we stepped up our camping style by adding a camper trailer to our arsenal.  As you get older things like the simple conveniences of an on-board bathroom and a real mattress starts to matter more.  We are really looking forward to exploring the many parks, vacation spots and other natural venues in and around Northern California.  Two weeks ago we were up at Salt Point along the coastline that led to crisp nature hikes along the cliffs with ocean, sea lions and abalone divers below.  This weekend it’s a 88 mile drive over to Amador County in the Sierra Foothills to visit the wineries near Plymouth, CA in the California Shenandoah Valley AVA.

This region exploded back in 1849 during the gold rush and there are still several seriously “old vine” Zinfandel vineyards around from that time.  History is always a fascinating thing and I am finding more and more that grapes and fine wine are often a part of the story.  As communities were built up in the area around the gold digging camps, the family vineyards were planted along with them to provide the beverage immigrants were used to accompanying their meals back home and probably also to help lubricate the evening’s stories of another day gone by without hitting paydirt.

The California Shenandoah Valley AVA (est. 1982) is known mostly for Zinfandel and took me back to a dinner we had at Bern’s in Tampa where I enjoyed a 1977 Ridge Zinfandel from said AVA and it was still singing, with obvious structure, significant fruit that hung tough through the meal.  Here are the trip’s mentionables:

Sobon Estates – established in 1856, it’s the oldest continuously operated winery in the area and the Sobon’s are the 3rd owner taking over in 1989.  It’s easy to tell their forte’ is Zinfandel simply based on the number they produce and several of their “old vine” zinyards go back 70-88 years old now.  I zeroed in on the 2008 Zinfandel “Rocky Top” – a decomposed granite site leading to more fruit, lots of raspberry and plum on the nose.  Medium level of tannins and smooth finish with just a hint of spice.  Lighter in color than many highly extracted Zinfandel I have seen, this was nice.  If you want bigger, more tannin and spice go with the Cougar Hill or perhaps the Fiddletown.

C.G. Di Arie – hadn’t planned on visiting this winery, but when I saw the sign on the side of the road I recalled having tried one of their Syrahs at Parish back in 2009 in Atlanta.  I am so glad we stopped by, because this little tasting property was nicely landscaped, comfortable and chill.  The winery itself is about 8 miles away where the winemaker, Chaim, (also the guy who created Cap’n Crunch) is often hard at work coming up with new blends.  Though I think these guys make way too many wines, there wasn’t anything I didn’t like.  The Syrah/Grenache-based 2009 Rose’ Di Arie was great to have with lunch in the picnic area.  We walked away with a blend called Interlude (40% Zinfandel, Shenandoah Valley, 25% Syrah, Estate Grown, 22.5% Petite Sirah, Estate Grown, 12.5% Primitivo, Estate Grown) – black cherries, plums, licorice and earth on the nose and palate, well-balanced with good acid to make this yearn for food… think lamb.

Terre Rouge & Easton - this place came highly recommended by many trusted sources and it didn’t disappoint.  Guided by the entertaining and equally knowledgeable wine domestique’, Doug Bellamy.  I promised him I wouldn’t talk about our chat regarding memories and experiences that are conjoured up when sniffing and sipping grape juice (we both played a lot of basketball back in the day), but needless to say we both agreed on the ability of wine to bring the mind to memorable experiences and senses.  The Terre Rouge half focuses on Rhone varietals where Easton focuses on everything else.  Once again I prove real men drink pink as I was drawn to the Vin Gris d’Amador, perhaps due to the insane heat we were experiencing this weekend.  This is a bleed of GSM (Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre) giving off expected strawberry and bright red fruit notes and crisp, biting acidity.  A little more mouthfeel to this one and a hint of holiday spice.  The big winner was the 2007 Syrah Monarch Mine Vineyard – boom! as in expression, not in size, spice, heat or other negative attributes.  This wine is aromatic full of black fruits, lavender, jerky and raspberries.  Great mouthfeel with weight all the way through and hint of pepper on the finish.  Finally, the honorable mention goes to the 2004 Easton Estate Zinfandel.

Back on January 2nd I predicted that 2011 would be the year of Syrah and if the Rhone Rangers organization has anything to do with it, every year will be the year of Syrah in addition to Grenache, Mourvedre, Petite Sirah… you catch my drift.  This weekend the wife and I embarked on our first trip to Paso Robles to accompany William Allen of SimpleHedonisms.com for a weekend of Rhone wonder.  Though many of my friends and readers know I am a Pinot man at heart, they may not know how much I am a lush for southern Rhone offerings including those from Gigondas and Chateneuf-du-Pape, especially.

The 4-hour drive south from Napa was easy and quite scenic as we whisked our way down I-680 then along US 101 through the Monterey AVA, passing by the Santa Lucia Highlands, Chalone and Arroyo Seco AVAs as well.  The morning of our travels, the mountains ranges were being hammered by some precipitation and with the temps hovering close to 41F on the highway, it was cold enough at the higher elevations to produce snow which provided a nice dusting and contrast on the horizon of green rolling hills with white caps.  Coffee, Jack in the Box breakfast, uninterrupted satellite Radio, and breathtaking farmland scenery… 4 hours flew by.

Our first stop was Alta Colina where we met up with William, Maggie Tillman, Amy Butler (Ranchero Cellars) and Faith Wells (Hospice du Rhone) for a vineyard tour and a tasting.  Funny how the rain finally decided to hit us when we pulled into the parking lot of the tasting room.  Not ones to be deterred from geeking about vines by weather, we piled (literally) into William’s FJ and bounded up the slopes.  Founding the property in 2003, their first vintage wasn’t until 2007 and now already boast an impressive list of Rhone varietals.  Some of our favorites included:

• 2009 12 O’clock High – named for the orientation of the rows, this aromatic white consists of 69% Viognier, 18% Roussanne, 7% Marsanne, 6% Grenache Blanc.  I’m big on floral aromatics and this wine comes through.
• 2009 Toasted Slope Syrah – this is a soon-to-be-released Syrah that will easily age for 7+ years

Next we sloshed onward to Carina Cellars where we met Nicolette and David.  They were pulling out all the stops throwing down some pairings of cheese, chorizo, craisins/goat cheese and chocolate with their wares.  There wasn’t anything I didn’t like, but these stood out and we ended up with more than just a few bottles.

• 2009 Grenache Blanc – From the Tierra Alta vineyards in Santa Ynez, this white was refreshing, crisp and fragrant.  Sorry guys, this one is now sold out.
• 2007 Clairvoyant – This GSM (33/55/12) – awesome black and red fruits, deep color, mocha and spice.

After a brief stop at Bronco Burger for some much-needed nourishment (monster burgers – I recommend the ABC), we arrived at a business park and entered Barrel 27.  This place was happening.  Edgar was helping out behind the counter and has a great personality to make any tasting fun.  He makes his own wine, but was just helping out the staff today.  After tasting the lineup from Barrel 27 we had an opportunity to meet Russell P. From of Herman Story Wines and accompany him for a round of his juice.  This guy runs his operation solo (his website is no frills, yo) and has the goatee and untucked plaid shirt to prove it.  The wine is for real and is even better when shared with friends and some loud tunes in a dark barrel room somewhere.

This was just on Saturday.  On Sunday we attended a wine tasting seminar, lunch and Grand Tasting with the Rhone Rangers.  A post on this event is coming soon.  By the way, the answer to the question regading pronunciation from an informal survey is “Pah-soo Row-blays,” however a few “locals” claim “Pa-so Ro-bulls”, but I’m going with the first for now.  We’ll be going back soon.

This post was also published as a guest post on SimpleHedonisms.com

Much like the Lone Ranger and his sidekick, Tonto, worked to make the Wild West a safer place, the Rhone Rangers work hard to make the U.S. an affable place for the production and enjoyment of the winegrape varieties of the Rhone River Valley in France beyond just Syrah.  In furthering my quest for 2011 becoming the year of Syrah, I recently visited Paso Robles, the heart of the Rhone Ranger movement, and sniffed/sipped firsthand the dedication and adulation for all grapes of Rhone.  I even learned what Picpoul Blanc is.

The Rhone Valley in France is home to some phenomenal juice including the classic Syrah/Viognier co-ferment from Cote Rotie, 100% Viognier from Condrieu and Grenache-based blends from further south in places like Gigondas and Chateneuf-du-Pape.  If you are not already familiar with these types of grapes, here is an opportunity to expand your palate without having to travel far.  Yes, kemo sabes, the Rhone Rangers will be in San Francisco March 26 & 27, 2011.

Seminars

On Saturday, March 26th, there are 2 seminars overflowing with information on Sustainability, Organics and Biodynamics as well as a focus on Mourvedre as it leaps into the spotlight from its traditional blending role.  Both session will be moderated by SF Chronicle’s own Jon Bonne’ so you know it’s going to rock!

There will be a 3rd seminar on Sunday, moderated by Patrick Comiskey of Wine & Spirits Magazine, whom I had the pleasure of watching in action during my Paso trip.  You will not want to miss this as they talk about taking Rhone varieties to new heights and taste through 8 examples from participating winemakers like Pax Mahle.

Winemaker Dinner

Saturday wraps up with tastings from 15 wineries and dinner with their winemakers including Bonny Doon, Quivira and Tablas Creek just to name a few.

Grand Tasting

Finally, the entire weekend climaxes with a tasting of 500 wines from over 100 member wineries as well as gourmet foods from over 25 eateries.  Cigarette, please!

Chances are you have a favorite winery that is already a member of the Rhone Rangers.  So, let’s play a little game.  Take a look at the member list here and tell us about a memorable experience you shared at that winery in the comments below.  I will pick a random winner next Wednesday, March 9th at 9pm PST.  The winner will receive a free pair of Grand Tasting tickets ($90 total value).  So, what are you waiting for?  Kemo sabe, jump on it!

Syrah is a classic grape that, at one time, was made popular by majestic regions such as Hermitage and the Cote Rotie, located in the Northern Rhone valley in France, which are some of the most well-known Syrah-producing areas  in the world.  A classic Rhone Syrah will also have about 10% Viognier co-fermented with it.  The Syrah vine is very productive, performs well in even the poorest soils and tends to favor warm climates. The grape color is very dark due to the high level of pigments (anthocyanins) in the skins, which aids its ability to age along with oak maturation.  In Chateuneuf-du-Pape, Syrah is sometimes added to the Grenache to improve its ability to age.  Unfortunately, Syrah has lost its favor with the wine-drinking community recently based on the recent drop in sales and flattening of acreage (using California as a benchmark).  What is wrong with Syrah?

Drop It Like Its Hot

According to a December 2010 report by Wines & Vines, sales of Syrah wines have slowed further from the previous year, “down by 9% in the recent four weeks, and the same over 52 weeks.”  At the Unified Grape Symposium at the beginning of 2010, Nat DiBuduo, president, Allied Grape Growers had this to say about this honorable grape: “Syrah: Don’t plant Syrah, especially on the coast. Many wineries no longer make Syrah as a varietal. Demand is coming from use as blender.”  Really?  In the search for some kind of explanation, Erin Davis received this reason from Steffanie Aglim of Aglim Winery in Paso Robles: “The variance of styles of Syrah found in California tends to confuse customers.”  Again, I ask, really?  Maybe.  The point here is that Syrah, and especially Shiraz from Australia, has become a huge, jammy, hot and spicy wine overpowering the unique identifiers of this variety such as olives, game, lavender, rosemary, blackberries and raspberries.

If you look at the graph you can easily see the flattening of the acreage curve in CA since the middle of the decade after a huge growth spurt to start the decade due to demand for Syrah surging in the 90′s.  Unfortunately (or fortunately), there is more supply than demand now, so consumers should be able to find great deals as wineries try to clear inventories.

Eric Asimov of the NY Times asked in June, 2010, “Is There Still Hope for Syrah?”  And I say Yes.  Let’s make 2011 the year Syrah re-emerges from the ashes.  Who’s in?

Recent Discoveries

This past week I came across a couple of Syrah producers to add to my list of favorites:  Hamel Wines and Longboard Vineyards.  Kevin Hamel’s 2001 and 2002 offerings that included fruit from both Russian River Valley and Dry Creek Valley.  The aromatics and flavors were commensurate with those from grapes grown in cooler climates (in this case RRV, realizing DCV has a warmer climate), which I think is becoming the key for good Syrah.  While there are still white pepper or other spice notes on the finish, none of these wines were hot or jammy.  The acid level is perfect to allow these wines to age so well, and the fruit still shines through along with gamey and earthy aromas.

The other discovery was Longboard Vineyards, my new neighbor in Healdsburg.  Actually, I am the one who is new to the neighborhood, and I can literally walk less than one block to the tasting room and enjoy some fantastic Syrah.  They have 3 varietal offerings and one blend with Syrah as the main player.  The 2006 Maverick Syrah is made from a vineyard in Carneros and was very round (already!), balanced with a hint of white pepper on the finish.  The 2006 Dakine Syrah from Russian River Valley is also phenomenal and expresses more fruit.  It was here I ran into friend and fellow blogger of Winelog.Net fame, Ward Kadel, who exclaimed how Longboard is one of his favorite wineries to visit, specifically for the Syrah.  Now that’s saying something.

I personally jumped into the world of Syrah back in 2008 when I produced a barrel of what I like to think as a Rhone-like version at Crushpad.  The fruit was sourced from the Alder Springs vineyard in Mendocino, was bottled just this past May and it is already tasting fantastic, though it will most certainly get better over the years.

Only the Beginning

Watch for more from the Rhone Rangers as William Allen, of SimpleHedonisms.com, plans to work more closely with them in the coming year.  Support them if you dig Syrah and join the cause to educate consumers.

I had the pleasure of meeting Darek Trowbridge of Old World Winery the first week into my move to wine country and he is also dedicated to the old world style of winemaking and especially using classic Rhone varieties.  I really like the 2005 Rockin R Ranch Syrah at only 13.7% ABV and using Mendocino fruit.

In March, 2010, we stopped by Wind Gap wines in Forestville where Pax Mahle is dedicated to making more elegant and authentic styles of classic varieties including a Syrah from the Sonoma Coast (more cool climates!).

Please comment below if you think you know why Syrah is on the skids or to show your support for this classic grape and the trend of cooler climate styles.