Wine Each Week: J Vineyards Brut Rose’

In 1986, the same year J Vineyards started making sparkling wine, Top Gun was the top movie. Perhaps fitting, J has been a top sparkling house for as long. Their Brut Rose’ is a non-vintage wine and I’ve has this for years and it never disappoints. Lively, dancing bubbles greet you followed by lemon- lime, strawberry, almond, Bing cheery, blood orange, and mango. It is a wine that fills the palate with soft flavors and aromas, ideally used with food given its breadth of expression. Made of Pinot Noir with 32% Chardonnay and 10% Pinot Meunier, the dosage is a mere 1.15% residual sugar so it stays a true Brut. This has a place on any table for any occasion.

ORIGIN: Russian River Valley, California

ALCOHOL: 12.5%

PRICE: $45/ 750ML

SCORE: 90 POINTS

J VINEYARDS

Summertime Rose’- The Livin’ and Drinkin’ is Easy

To borrow the above phrase from George Gershwin and tweak it a little, summer is ideal for rose’ however let me be clear, it’s for any night of any year (sorry about the rhyme, Mr. Gershwin seems to be floating in my ether right now).

So for your consideration, here are four rose’ wines to explore this summer.

The 2017 Tres Chic ($16.99) from Le Grand Courtage is light and summery, fresh cut strawberries, lemon-lime, red currants, guava and a balanced acidity. Made of Grenache Noir and Cinsault. The fruit is from Sud de France (South of France) in the Pays d’Oc region.

The Edna Valley Rose’ ($16/Tempranillo, Syrah, Grenache and Mourvèdre) takes the idea of the Tres Chic and puts a new world spin on it. It offers similar strawberry and lemon-lime notes, but with more minerality and deeper fruit flavors.

The 2017 Fleur de Mer Cotes de Provence Rose’ ($20) then accentuates the Edna Valley with a brighter acidity and strong minerality. The strawberry and lemon lime are quieted by the more floral notes of lavender and honeysuckle.

The culmination of all this finds its expression in the J Brut Rose’ ($45/Pinot Noir and Chardonnay), which combines all the best of the three wines listed above, but adds bubbles. What’s not to love? So check out any of these bottles and enjoy summertime livin’.

Sparkle & Pop: Wine and Popcorn for no Particular Reason

Food and wine pairings are to me the equivalent playing darts blindfolded. Sure there are some basic rules, but everyone’s so into finding the “perfect pairing” that we can lose sight of the simple joy of food and wine together. Yes, I love a big-boy Chardonnay and popcorn with a dab of goat cheese, even York Peppermint Patties with Ketel One Vodka (which I wrote about for The Hollywood Reporter), but the bottom line is not the ideal pairing, but the sheer fun of food and wine together and the company we share it with.

So J Vineyards based in Headlsburg, and Seattle based KuKuRuZa Popcorn….and go!

The J Vineyards Cuvee 20 Brut ($38) is always a winner. I’ve had this sparkler many times and it never disappoints me. The Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier are all from Russian River Valley. Designed as a  non-vintage to initially celebrate their 20^th anniversary, it’s actually become something of a stalwart sparkler. The nose is all bright crisp green apple and citrus. The acidity and carbonation have always been mild, which I appreciate in a sparkling –aggressive carbonation is like fighting with your beverage, no thank you. There are plenty of fruit notes here, from guava to tangerine to lemon-lime, but beyond that, it’s simply pleasurable to drink. The Brown Butter and Sea Salt popcorn is just that, no real explanation necessary. The butteriness mutes some of the tropical fruit notes of the wine, subduing them so that are compliment each other. And yes, this popcorn is exceptional all by its lonesome.

The 2015 Russian River Valley Pinot Noir ($40) utilizes 10 different Pinot clones including one of my personal favorites, Swan. If you care about soil types, it sounds more like a law firm: Goldridge, Arbuckle and Zamora, but these represent 5 different estate vineyards. This is the kind of Pinot that non Pinot drinkers (aka, my wife) might like as it doesn’t exhibit cola flavors, has a food-friendly acidity, is smooth and drinks more seamlessly that other Pinots – less fussy and taste specific and is more generous with its dimension of fruit. There is red raspberry, pomegranate, boysenberry jam and pepper spice, all wrapped up in a silky texture. The Tuxedo popcorn is all chocolate, brown sugar and white chocolate and sea salt but nicely balanced and not overwhelming (well, perhaps a wee bit too much chocolate for me but I guess I’m abnormal). So…chocolate and Pinot, huh? Actually here, yes it works. More often than not red wines and sugar together come off as astringent and non-complimentary, kind of like Nancy and Tonya – if you don’t get that reference go see the movie I, Tonya). But weirdly the sugared nature of this addictive popcorn subdues both the fruit of the wine and the chocolate of the popcorn.

So there you have it. Wine and popcorn. For no other reason than…why not?

Sonoma-tober: October in Sonoma Wine Country

Many wineries offer food and wine pairings.

Everyone loves a celebration and wine regions are no different. Sonoma has declared October to be its month. Sleepy Sonoma - it’s routinely in the shadow of its muscular elder brother, Napa, and while the Napa Valley is the de facto region for Cabernet Sauvignon, the vast Sonoma Valley offers greater diversity of grape varieties, specific growing regions and price points.

Sonoma City Hall.

Sonoma County is notoriously large, in spite of the fact that just 7% of all wines made in California come from here, and any visit requires some planning to fully appreciate the region. From mega-large to boutique, to ultra premium to celebrity-owned wineries, Sonoma is known for its unencumbered pace set in a beautiful rustic backdrop. The Sonoma County Airport, also known as the Charles Schultz Airport (named after the Peanuts comic strip author and long time Sonoma resident) is the only regional airport with direct flights from Los Angeles and San Francisco.

At the biggest party in Sonoma, the wine auction.

It is Pinot Noir and Chardonnay that is the calling card for Sonoma. “If those high-end Napa guys want to try their hand making Pinot Noir they come to Sonoma first,” says Mark McWilliams, owner of Arista Winery in the Russian River Valley.

A Few Numbers About Sonoma County Wine Country

60 different grapes are planted in Sonoma.

17 appellations.

85 % of the wineries are still family-owned.

425 wineries operate in Sonoma.

60,000 acres of grapes grow here.

1812 – the first grapes went into the ground at Fort Ross.

54,000 – people are employed fulltime in the wine biz.

$5.2 – million dollars raised for local charities.

There is a staggering diversity of wines made in Sonoma and I’ve included a few below to give a sense of that diversity. This by no means is a comprehensive list, but hopefully gives you a taste of what Sonoma offers. The best thing is to check it out for yourself - SONOMA.

J Vineyards Russian River Brut Rose’

Made from Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier, the bubbles are light and bright and the acidity is ideal for a sparkler. This salmon colored wine is radiant strawberry, kefir lime, plum, rhubarb, rose water, raspberry with back note of tangerine and nectarine. This is a lively, vibrant wine ideal with a variety of foods. ($45)

Migration 2015 Russian River Valley Chardonnay

The Russian River Valley is the de factor growing area for Pinot and Chardonnay in Sonoma and this Migration shows why Chardonnay is so expressive here - great tropical fruit and nice acidity. There is kiwi, lime, lemon custard, graham cracker crust, nectarine, and honeysuckle. This Chardonnay saw time in stainless steel, new and neutral French oak. ($55)

MacMurray Ranch 2015 Pinot Noir

Actor Fred MacMurray started his own ranch in the 1940s, and today the ranch is home to wine grapes. This wine offers rounded flavors of black cherry, blueberry and mild strawberry, with a medium acidity running through it, complementing the side notes of boysenberry and plum, mild vanilla and an earthy finish. ($38)

Frei Brothers 2014 Zinfandel Dry Creek Valley: This is all Zinfandel except for 2% Petit Sirah and is an easy drinking Zinfandel without being a jammy one-trick pony. The barrel aging of this wine for 6-months helps mellow it out and give it some depth. You’ll get a mild acidity with plenty of blueberry compote, blackberry jam, rhubarb, macerated plum with backnotes of clove, vanilla and black pepper spice. ($20)