A wine buying guide for the curious wine enthusiast.
As you enter Sonoma county from the south on California 121, one of the first wineries you encounter is Cline Cellars, and there could hardly be a better introduction to the Carneros AVA.
Even as a young teenager, Fred Cline learned to make wine from his grandfather, Valeriano Jacuzzi (yes, he of the hydrotherapy tub, as well as many other innovations). With a $9000 inheritance from Valeriano, in 1981 Cline founded the eponymous Cline Cellars in Oakley, California.
Berry Bros. & Rudd is a family-run British merchant founded in London in 1698. Since then, the company has grown from a small coffee shop into an international business with six offices worldwide.
The company started out selling coffee, and then diversified into cocoa, tea, snuff, spices, and other exotic goods, becoming one of London’s most fashionable grocers. Its West End location and close proximity to St James’s Palace also contributed to its growing popularity.
No.3 St James’s Street
Today, the company offers an extensive range of wines from Bordeaux, Burgundy, the Rhône and Italy. Berry Bros. & Rudd has been the official wine supplier to the British Royal Family since the reign of King George III. They received their first Royal Warrant of Appointment in 1903 when they formulated a ginger liqueur to revive Edward VII from cold car journeys, still sold as The King’s Ginger. Queen Elizabeth II granted the company her royal warrant in 1995, and Charles, Prince of Wales granted his in 1998.
The company also offers wine investment opportunities, wine storage, wine tastings, event,s and educational courses.
From 1923 to 2010 Berry Bros. & Rudd controlled Cutty Sark Scotch whisky, whose yellow label is famous the world over.
Once Berry Bros. & Rudd decided to try their hand at gin, it took a team of spirit specialists 730 days to refine and create No. 3 Gin.
Dr David Clutton – the only person in the world with a PhD in Gin.
Each batch is presided over by distiller Dr. Clutton, who starts by weighing and blending the six botanicals (grapefruit peel, orange peel, coriander, cardamom, juniper berries, and angelica root) in the recipe. They are then added to the still and steeped for over 16 hours in pure grain spirit. The next day, the distillation begins and lasts over seven hours. The ‘heart’ of the distillate is then collected. Finally, No. 3 is diluted to 46% ABV (the producer claims this is “the ideal amount”), and bottled.
No. 3’s unique 100-year-old, brick-encased copper pot still in Holland, the home of gin.
This gin opens with crisp and fresh grapefruit, with forest-like juniper. The piney juniper continues on the palate, correctly, supported by floral notes and hints of spicy cardamom. There’s plenty of citrus ‘zing’ complemented by the gingery spiciness of the coriander. It all ends with the earthy dryness of angelica. The whole package is quite smooth and balanced. But remember that 46% ABV, and drink responsibly. This is high-octane stuff, and that smoothness can fool you if you’re not careful.
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Although we are all now preoccupied with the health crisis created by COVID-19, eventually that will subside. Concerns over sustainability and responsibility in regards to the environment are never-ending, however.
The single biggest contributor to a bottle of wine’s carbon footprint is the glass bottle itself, which represents 29% of the carbon footprint of getting that wine to you. Add in the impact of other packaging such as case boxes, as well as transport, and the total burden increases to a total of 51%.
To address this issue, UK-based Garçon Wines invented patented, eco-friendly, flat wine bottles made of recycled polyethylene terephthalate [PET], which have the profile of traditional wine bottle shapes, but are lighter and more energy- and space-efficient than round, glass bottles of the same volume. Garçon Wines’ bottles also lend themselves to innovative transit packaging, which amplifies the single- bottle environmental benefits.
PET, which has rapidly become one of the world’s preferred packaging materials, is lightweight, shatterproof, resealable, reusable, and infinitely recyclable*. PET plastic bottles often have the lowest carbon footprint of competing products, and their production results in up to 70% less greenhouse gas emissions.
Amusingly, these flat bottles were developed originally to facilitate the delivery of wine into UK homes via the letterbox, by inventors and wine-retailing entrepreneurs Santiago Navarro and Joe Revell. They set out to improve consumer convenience, cut the costs of failed deliveries, and help to reduce the near 1 million kilograms (2.2 million pounds) of carbon emissions associated with deliveries in the UK.
“As we are facing a climate emergency and existential threat, we urgently need to be making changes to products to slash their carbon footprint. Flattening the wine bottle saves space and making it from recycled PET saves weight and energy,” said Santiago Navarro, CEO and co-founder of Garçon Wines.
To bring their unique product to the U.S. Garçon is partnering with Amcor, a global leader in developing and producing responsible packaging for food, beverage, pharmaceutical, medical, home- and personal-care, and other products. The company is focused on making packaging that is light-weight, recyclable, and reusable, and made using a rising amount of recycled content.
“We know today’s wine consumers are looking for a unique experience,” said Beth Rettig, vice president of spirits, wine and food, Amcor Rigid Packaging. “Amcor’s concepts are sleek, modern and perfectly matched to today’s lifestyle requirements for convenience and sustainability. PET bottles are unbreakable, beach- and pool-friendly, and the designs are only limited by the imagination.”
A 2018 Dow Packaging Innovation Awards Diamond Finalist, Garçon Wines’ flat wine bottle is expected to become widely available in the U.S. in the second half of 2020.
*With existing technologies including chemical recycling.
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Grenache is one of the most widely planted red wine grape varieties in the world. It ripens late, so it needs hot, dry conditions such as those found in Spain, where the grape most likely originated.
Cline’s Big Break Vineyard is named after a levee that collapsed over 80 years ago, flooding the surrounding local farmland near Oakley. The vineyard itself has extremely sandy and well-drained soils, and is cooled by breezes from the San Joaquin and Sacramento rivers. The century-old vines are dry farmed and head pruned.
The juice for this Grenache was fermented at moderate temperatures in stainless steel tanks, using a selection of cultured yeasts. After 10 days of gentle “pump-overs” and near dryness, the wine was drained and pressed from its skins. This Big Break Grenache was minimally handled and aged for 12 months in new, medium-dark toasted French oak (approximately 38% new) before bottling .
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by Spirits Contributor Neal Kotlarek
LEAF Vodka is sourced from two unique American waters. These water sources give LEAF vodkas their signature tastes.
LEAF Vodka made from Alaskan glacial water has a pure, smooth taste with a hint of sweetness, while LEAF vodka made from Rocky Mountain mineral water offers richness and complexity, lending a warm and savory impression on the palate. Both expressions are distilled five times, are made with USDA Certified Organic non-GMO wheat, and are unflavored. The difference is in the water, which constructs two distinct tastes for different taste profiles.
To date, LEAF has won over 20 awards since 2014 including multiple Double Gold and Best in Show awards from a variety of organization, including the San Francisco World Spirits Competition, the San Diego Spirits Festival, TheFiftyBest.com, the SIP International Consumer Tasting Awards, and the Ultimate Spirits Challenge among others.
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Cheryl Indelicato is part of the third generation of the family that owns Delicato Family Vineyards. Delicato offers wines under such brands as Black Stallion, Bota Box, Gnarly Head, La Merika, Massimo, and others.
Although born into the wine business, doing odd jobs at the winery as a little girl, her parents insisted that their children graduate from college and gather outside experience
by working 
elsewhere for at least three years before coming back to the family business, if they wished to do so.
Accordingly, Cheryl earned a Registered Nursing degree in 1985 and a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business in 1989. However, the family wine-making enterprise kept its hold on her, and she returned to the fold in 1990, working in various facets of the business.
All the while, she dreamed of creating her own wine brand. “I have always wanted to create my own wine with a style and flavor profile that appealed directly to women,” says Cheryl.
Cheryl began the project, called HandCraft Artisan Collection, in early 2010 when she teamed up with veteran winemaker Alicia Ysais to develop a wine that would be fruit-forward, distinct, and easy to enjoy—similar to the field-blend wines that Cheryl recalled from her family’s dinner table. The line includes Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvingnon, and Petite Syrah, as well as the more rarely seen (for California, at least) Pinot Grigio and Malbec, featured below.
As part of her passion to make a positive difference in people’s lives, Cheryl created “HandCraft Cares” to support important causes with financial and in-kind donations. She is involved in a number of initiatives at the community level to increase awareness and early detection of breast cancer. Since 2012, HandCraft has contributed $235,000 to support breast cancer research, prevention, and awareness.
This Pinot gGigio underwent a cold-temperature fermentation and was aged entirely in stainless steel, for those of you put off by any oak. It is nearly colorless in the glass. But, no worries. The nose offers aromas of peaches and tropical fruit, with a floral background. In the mouth, the wine is medium bodied, with flavors of melon and key lime. It offers a nicely balanced, crisp acidity, and the finish is relatively short.
Enjoy this easy-going wine with Swordfish with Tarraogn Beurre Blanc, Tomatoes, and Black Olives; Chicken Marsala Burgers; or Crab with Bok Choy and Egg Stir Fry.
Deep purple in the glass, this Malbec delivers aromas of plums and blackberries on the nose. The ripe plum continues as you begin to taste, complemented by a hint of dusty cocoa. The wine has a medium body and a medium finish, accompanied by a fair amount of tannins, but nothing excessive. A good value for the price.
This wine would go nicely with Guiness Pub Burgers, Oaxacan Black Mole with Braised Chicken, or Slathered Mesquite-Smoked Ribs.
http://www.handcraftwines.com/
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Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc
La Crema Chardonnay
Kendall Jackson Vintner’s Reserve Chardonnay (hugely popular)
Yalumba Viognier
Cline Viognier
Roederer Estate Sparkling Wine [California] (I prefer it to Roederer Champagne [France], which is twice the price)
Cline Nancy’s Cuvee Sparkling Wine [California]
Mionette Prosecco Treviso Brut [Italy]
Nino Franco Prosecco Rustico [Italy]
Paul Jaboulet Aine Parallele 45 Cotes du Rhone
E. Guigal Cotes du Rhone Rouge
Louis Jadot Macon Villages
M. Chapoutier Belleruch Rouge
Chateau Thivin Cote de Brouilly
Legende Medoc
Castello Di Monsanto Chianti Classico
Ruffino Chianti Classico (I’ve consumed gallons of this with Chicago-style deep dish pizza over the years)
David Bruce Pinot Noir
Chateau St. Michelle Merlot
Markham Merlot
The Federalist Cabernet Sauvignon
Franciscan Cabernet Sauvignon
J. Lohr 7 Oaks Cabernet Sauvignon
Alexander Valley Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon
Bota Box Malbec (Bota is one of the most reliable box wine lines)
I can also recommend just about anything from Truchard, Clos Pegase, and Cline, although quite a few of the first two will exceed the $30 ceiling.
Last, but not least, Estancia Cabernet Sauvignon, perhaps the best value in a California Cab you’re going to find. Routinely available for $9 to $12 a bottle, and $32 per four-bottle box, I bought a case just six months ago for $6 a bottle.
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Sanford Winery, the first such operation in Santa Barbara wine country, was established when the Sanford & Benedict vineyard was planted in 1971. Botanist Michael Benedict and his friend Richard Sanford were committed to finding a cool-climate location with just enough heat accumulation to ripen, but not over ripen, wine grapes. A place where they could plant and grow grapes and craft wines, where they hoped the quality might equal the best of Europe.
Benedict began researching and touring the cool coastal regions of California in search of a site that would suit this mission. His pursuit took him to a unique part of the Santa Ynez Valley, to the property that would ultimately become the Sanford & Benedict vineyard. The area owes its magic to an unusual east-west mountain valley that runs from the vineyards to the Pacific Ocean. This passage allows a meteorological ebb-and-flow of air temperature between the mountains and the sea that is ideal for cool-climate varietals.( It was also this vineyard that supplied the cuttings for many of the surrounding vineyards that sprang up in the wake of its success.)
The Sanford & Benedict Vineyard was named one of the five most important and iconic vineyards in California by Wine Enthusiast. It is known for both its historical significance and the continued quality of the fruit it produces. Sanford farms 51 acres of vines from the original planting, the oldest in the region. These vines were planted on their own root stock (vitis vinifera), and these “own rooted” vines have flourished for more than 45 years. The vineyard features calcium-rich clay loam soils with fractured shale and chert (a hard, dark, opaque rock composed of silica (chalcedony) with an amorphous or microscopically fine-grained texture), a result of the sloughing off of the top half of this mountain over one million years ago. Primarily planted to Pinot Noir, the Sanford & Benedict vineyard features more than 20 individual blocks and 11 different clones.
Sanford & Benedict Vineyard
The La Rinconada Vineyard was planted in 1997, and is adjacent to Sanford & Benedict. It is home to 20 vineyard blocks and 12 clones. The same soil and climate conditions make both areas ideal sources for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. The individual blocks of these two estate vineyards are farmed and harvested to make the most of their subtle variations in soils and microclimates.
La Rinconada Vineyard
The property in total is comprised of nearly 1,200 acres, with approximately 262 acres planted to vine. Much of the property remains undeveloped natural land, including a 127-acre conservation easement pledged to the Santa Barbara Land Trust. It is this balance of farmed versus unfarmed land on the ranches which helps in creating and maintaining a balanced ecosystem and an ideal growing environment.
Irrigation systems are fully modernized and variable across the estate to dramatically decrease water usage and increase water conservation. Cover crops and composting are utilized to support and promote microbiotic soil health, which in turn promotes the sustainability of the vineyards and the overall health of the vines. Mechanical tilling and cutting of weeds dramatically reduces the use of herbicides in the vineyard. Owl and raptor boxes have been installed and maintained around the periphery of the vineyards to create nesting sanctuaries for indigenous predatory birds that control vineyard pests in a natural and eco-friendly way.
These two estate vineyards are now part of the Santa Rita Hills AVA, which was designated in 2001.
The winery itself is located at Rancho La Rinconada. It was completed in 2001 and was inspired by traditional California mission architecture. The walls are constructed of adobe blocks handmade on site. The insulating quality of this material makes it ideal for a winery. With adobe walls thirty inches thick, there is no need for either heating or air conditioning. The cellar interior is 55º to 65º year-round, with no energy use.
The Sanford Winery
The Sanford Cellar
The lumber for the winery was acquired by recycling timbers from a turn of the 19th century sawmill building originally located in Washington State. After this building was purchased and disassembled, its 500,000 board feet of first-growth Douglas Fir was transported to Sanford. Along with the wood came the sawmill itself, which was utilized on-site to re-mill the timbers to meet construction needs.
The winery uses a unique and gentle system to move wine through the facility: a gravity racking system. Four 3600-gallon wine tanks are positioned on hydraulic lifts. The winery crew can move a 14-ton tank of wine below ground or 20 feet in the air. The crew then uses gravity to move wine from tank to barrel (or bottling) without disruptive pumping and agitation of the wine.
Winemaker and General Manager Trey Fletcher leads a veteran winemaking team at Sanford. He spent eight years at Bien Nacido Vineyards in Santa Maria, as Winemaker and General Manager, and has also held winemaking roles with Littorai Wines in Sebastopol. Next is Laura Roach, Assistant Winemaker, who joined Sanford in 2012. Her career began at Schramsberg Vineyards in 2008 as a Laboratory Intern. Two years later, she gained her Bachelors of Science in Viticulture and Enology at UC Davis, and was awarded the Confrérie des Chevaliers du Tastevin Scholarship to work abroad in Burgundy, France, in 2010. Through this exposure, she gained an appreciation for terroir and honed her skills for producing quality Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Cellar Master Auggie Rodriguez has been a part of Sanford Winery from the very beginning. (Rodriguez’s father was one of Sanford Winery’s first employees hired to help plant the Sanford & Benedict Vineyard. He worked on the estate for the next 20 years, retiring in 1991.) Rodriguez started working for Sanford in 1986 at the age of 16. While still in high school, he worked summers and weekends at the winery. Auggie attended the Culinary & Hotel School at Santa Barbara City College while continuing to be part of the production team and managing the cellar for Sanford. Erik Mallea, Vineyard Manager, comes from a northwestern Minnesota farming family. He majored in Biology and Geology at Oberlin College before heading west to start working in vineyards and wineries. Mallea worked for producers in Oregon, New Zealand, and California’s Central Valley before coming to Santa Barbara County. He started working with the Sanford estate vineyards in 2009 while completing his M.S. in Viticulture and Enology.
Cellarmaster-to-be Auggie Rodriguez (right) and family at Sanford & Benedict Vineyard in 1972
Today, the estate is owned, farmed, and overseen by the Terlato family wine empire. The Terlato family has been involved in the US wine industry for over 70 years with, the motto “Quality Endures.”
The 2017 Sanford Sta. Rita Hills Pinot Noir is a blend of fruit from the two estate vineyards: Sanford and Benedict (88%) and La Rinconada (12%). The vines were stressed in the midst of the sixth year of a severe drought. Fruit was selected from eight blocks of different soil types. The wine was then fermented in French oak barrels (25% new) for 15 months.
The wine is a deep, but transparent, violet red in the glass, with a nose of black cherry and cola. The dominant tart cherry notes and dusty berry flavors continue on to the palate; they are complemented by plenty of acid and supple tannins. It wraps up with a medium-long finish.
Serve this wine with Sauteed Duck Breast with Pinot Noir Sauce (just don’t squander this Pinot Noir on the sauce), or Salmon en Papillote.
This Rosé is a lovely pale salmon pink. Perhaps predictably, it is a more subtle version of the Pinot Noir above, plus aromas of cranberry and rose petal. The tart cherry flavor is backed up by strawberry. Shows very crisp acidity and good minerality. Fermented in stainless steel, followed by aging in a combination of neutral barrels and stainless steel tanks before bottling.
Drink this with Cider-Marinated Bluefish with Spicy Sliced Tomatoes, Grilled Tuna with Fresh Peach and Onion Relish, or Oak Planked Salmon Charmoula.
The color is pale gold, with a subtle nose of lemon and crème brûlée.
This makes the intensity of this racy wine on the palate all the more surprising; plenty of bright lemon and grapefruit notes supported by “just enough” oak, a bit of floral character, and that zippy acidity.
I suggest you pair this Chard with Chicken Breast with Artichokes and Mustard Sauce, Smoked Turkey and Roasted Red Pepper Sandwiches, or Seared Scallops with Fruit Salsa.
https://www.sanfordwinery.com/
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Steeerike Three! Yer Out!Major League Baseball’s 2020 season was supposed to open today. As of this writing, that’s been pushed out to at least mid-May due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Once the season does begin though, at Milwaukees’ Miller Park, home of the Brewers, the official brandy served at the ballpark will be Central Standard distillery’s North Wisconsin Brandy. Your opening-day celebrations can include an iconic Wisconsin-style brandy Old Fashioned made with a spirit produced right there in town.
North is the first-ever brandy produced by a Milwaukee company. Made at Central Standard’s Clybourn Street distillery, the small-batch brandy is aged and finished in their bourbon barrels. (By the way, North Wisconsin debuted as North 40, but was quietly rebranded shortly thereafter.)
“North is a recipe we’ve been working to perfect since we opened our doors more than four years ago,” notes Central Standard Craft Distillery co-founder Pat McQuillan.
Photo: J Matt
Photo: Mitchell Metcalf
Photo: Mitchell Metcalf
All well and good, and more than 40,000 people will be potential customers for North Wisconsin every game day. Unfortunately, the brandy is mediocre at best. It is pale amber in the glass, perhaps a sign of not enough time in those bourbon barrels (a quirky choice on its own). There are distinct whiffs of acetone on the nose, often indicative of a lower distillation temperature. The taste is hot and one-dimensional. And at about $20 a bottle, there are a number of better values out there, often at about half the price, including Korbel.
“Wisconsin is our number one state,” says Margie Healy, director of public relations for the California-based Korbel. “We export 385,000 cases a year, and 139,000 go directly to Wisconsin. That’s one-third of our total production.”
But perhaps a classic Wisconsin Old Fashioned will mask enough of those flaws for you to give it a try. Here are three recipes:
1 orange slice (never an orange twist)
1 maraschino cherry
1-1/2 ounces maraschino cherry juice
1 teaspoon bitters
1/4 to 1/3 cup ice cubes
1-1/2 ounces brandy
2 teaspoons water
1 teaspoon orange juice
3 ounces lemon-lime soda
In a rocks glass, muddle orange slice, cherry, cherry juice and bitters. Add ice. Pour in the brandy, water, orange juice and soda.
1 orange slice
2 cherries and their juices
1-1/2 ounces brandy (or about one shot)
dash of bitters (1 dropper full – 10 drops)
1 teaspoon of sugar
Collins mix, or 50/50 or Squirt soda
ice cubes
In a cocktail glass muddle sugar, orange slice, cherries and bitters, add shot of brandy and stir. Add ice to fill the glass, then top it off with Collins mix, 50/50 or Squirt soda.
Press is short for Presbyterian, and refers to finishing the drink with club soda. So for a Press, simply substitute club soda for the sweet soda in either of the recipes above.
Listen to my podcast about brandy, Cognac, and Armagnac here.
HALL wines hail from five estate vineyards: Sacrashe (Rutherford), Bergfeld (St. Helena), Hardester (Napa Valley), Atlas Peak Estate, (Atlas Peak), and T Bar T Ranch (Alexander Valley). From these 500 acres come classic Bordeaux varietals: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Sauvignon Blanc. In each vineyard, small-vine farming is employed to produce low-yield, high-concentration fruit.
The winery is dedicated to environmental responsibility. Only natural products are used for weed and pest control, and the vineyards are certified organic. The farming operations use 50% bio-diesel fuel to reduce carbon emissions.
The St. Helena winery qualified for the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®) Green Building Rating System, and was the the first in California to earn LEED Gold Certification.™
Finally, A portion of all business profits is donated to charity via the Craig and Kathryn Hall Foundation.
Photo: Mark Buckley
Photo: Urban Daddy
Photo: Jody Resnick
Photo: Vadim Lazar
Craig Hall, with his wife Kathryn, is the co-founder of Hall Wines, and this wine is one of his pet projects. It is a blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon and 35% Merlot from a number of Hall’s growers throughout Napa Valley. It was aged in 60% new French oak for 22 months.
This big, bold Bordeaux-styled red blend has a nose of black fruits, black cherry, raspberry, earth, and a touch of smoke. It offers a palate of blackberry, cherry, plum, and chocolate. There is good acidity and plenty of tannins. If you like a tannin punch, drink now. If not, wait a year or two. Either way, let it breathe for about an hour after decanting. The finish is long and concentrated.
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Ball of ConfusionLet’s clear up some confusion right away. This column is about the Benziger Family Winery of Sonoma, not the Beringer winery of Napa. But people often make this mistake, as Chris Benziger can attest to.
In the early 1980s, the Benziger family migrated west from White Plains, N.Y. to start a winery in Sonoma. Winemaker Joe Benziger learned his craft by making large production wines for the Glen Ellen brand, but eventually decided that his future lay with a series of small, artisan wines, sustainably produced.
Photo: Shannon Kelly
Photo: Sean Cuevas
Depending on location, every Benziger vineyard is certified sustainable, organic, or biodynamic, using the most up-to-date green farming practices. But, just what does that mean? Green, sustainable, and organic are words that are often used rather casually. At Benziger, they try to be more precise. Their third-party certified-sustainable vineyard program emphasizes environmentally-sound growing methods, such as biodiversity, soil revitalization, and integrated pest management. Their growers are required to participate in sustainable farming. Organic grape growing avoids the use of synthetic chemicals and uses natural methods like crop rotation, tillage, and natural composts to maintain soil health, as well as natural methods to control weeds, insects, and other pests. The winery itself is certified organic, too.
Photo: Etienne van Gorp
Organic is an evolutionary step up from sustainable. After that, many Benziger growers move on from certified organic to certified biodynamic. Animals and beneficial gardens play an important part in biodynamic farming techniques. Benziger relies on sheep for the removal of overgrown cover crop, and they replace the need for mowing, disking, and spraying herbicides; they aerate the soil while continuously depositing nutrient-rich fertilizer throughout the vineyard. Olive trees also support the health of the estate.
Even thought deceptively transparent in the glass and light bodied, this Pinot packs plenty of flavor. The immediate sensation is that of cola, followed by juicy fruits, especially strawberry, and subtle spices. The acidity and tannins are in nice harmony.
Invite some friends over and serve this with roast chicken with endive and potatoes, baked fish with sorrel béarnaise (Pinot Noir often works with fish), or lentils with vinaigrette.
This dark-ruby colored wine is very much in a Eurorpean, rather than California, style. It is quite dry, with zippy acidity. There are flavors of rich berry, cocoa, and mocha, with a hint of cinnamon. Seamless tannins play a supporting role.
This hearty red will go nicely with paté with herbs, steak with shallot sauce, or braised short ribs with carrots.
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First, let’s talk about brandy vs. cognac. Brandy is a liquor distilled from wine and aged in wood. (Brandy can be made from fruits other than grapes as well, but that’s a story for another time.) Cognac is brandy that specifically comes from the town of Cognac and the delimited surrounding areas in western France. (The one which has the most favorable soil and geographical conditions is Grande Champagne.) So, all cognacs are brandy, but not all brandies are cognac. For more detail on cognac, click here.
Until the early 1900s cognac was shipped in barrels. The long sea voyages had a profound effect on the quality of the cognac. When cognac started to be shipped in bottles, many felt something had been was lost. Hoping to recapture that quality, Estonian-born Swedish entrepreneur Olev Keltes established the Kelt Cognac company in 1987. He began his career with the study of the distillation of cognacs as well as madeira, rum, and aquavit. It was this study that led him to rediscover the lost secret that quality improved in spirits that were aged in barrels on a long trip at sea . It is this maturation at sea that sets Kelt apart from other cognac houses.
Kelt continued to expand on this idea, and sent his cognac on its first sea voyage in 1990. The cognac world looked on, many with skeptical eyes. After the voyage, a tasting session was arranged with some of the top names in the cognac industry, and it was with some surprise that the experiment was hailed a great success.
Subsequently, an optimum route around the world was established, and one which all Kelt cognac now follows. The aim of this travel around the world (tour du monde) is to produce cognacs similar to those of the past, where many cognacs and eaux-de-vie were subjected to this epic oceanic journey.
As a reviewer and source of reliable information, I am supposed to be as objective and unbiased as possible. But not today. Keenan wines have long been some of my favorites. If you need impartiality, please come back soon. If not, read on.
Certain that mountain-side vineyards in Napa Valley could produce world class wines, in 1974 Robert Keenan purchased 180 acres in the Spring Mountain District at an elevation of 1700 feet. Located on the eastern slope of the Mayacamas mountain range, Spring Mountain District gained recognition as an American Vineyard Appellation (AVA) in 1993. The low vigor soils unique to the region were known to create a stressful environment for vine growth, setting up perfect conditions to encourage vineyards planted on the steep, rocky, mountainsides to produce wines of great concentration, structure, and pure varietal flavors.
The original acreage Keenan acquired included the crumbling Peter Conradi Winery, founded in the late 19th century and one of the first pioneering properties established on Spring Mountain. Peter Conradi had originally planted the vineyards to Zinfandel and Syrah, but they declined when the property was abandoned during Prohibition, and by the time Keenan arrived in 1974, none of the original vineyards were producing. Keenan cleared the estate of tree stumps and rocks, extended the original vineyard acreage, and replanted the property to Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay. He built a new winery using the existing stone walls from the old Conradi building, and brought in Keenan Winery’s first harvest there in 1977.
Like many such operations, the winery is a collaborative affair. Keenan’s son, Michael, took over leadership of the estate in 1998. As a young boy, he was eager to learn about winemaking and began honing his winemaking skills “on the job” under the leadership of his father, as well as renowned winemaker Joe Cafaro. Michael Keenan works in concert with General Manager Matt Gardner, Cellar Master Aristeo Garcia Martinez, and Assistant Cellar Master Ricardo Segura. Matt has been with the estate since 1995. Together, they establish winemaking protocols, aging, and the finished style of Keenan wines.
In the tasting room and winery itself, Michael’s wife and Artistic Director Jennifer Keenan ensures that visitors enjoy the full experience of the winery through her creative and playful interior design and sumptuous event design. She is responsible for the classic Keenan image and created the unique label design for the brand.
The Keenan’s son, Reilly, predictably has been immersed in wine culture from a very early age. He became a member of the team at age sixteen, and works during grape harvesting, hosts tastings for visitors on the estate, pours for wine events, and is the dedicated point person for many consumer and trade events.
Under Michael Keenan’s supervision, the vineyards have been systematically replanted to increase grape quality. The program focused on increasing soil health throughout the vineyards, using superior farming methods combined with organic compost and cover crops. Matching each varietal clone to its optimum location, every acre is sustainably farmed and planted with specially selected rootstock. In addition, close attention has been given to row orientation on each site, combined with efficient irrigation. The winemaking team takes a conservative approach, to encourage the varietal flavors to stand out in each bottle of wine.
Keenan Winery produces four wines exclusively from grapes grown on the Spring Mountain Estate: Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve, Cabernet Franc, and a Merlot Reserve from the Mailbox Vineyard. Keenan also offers wines produced from estate fruit blended with grapes grown in carefully selected Napa Valley vineyards: Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel, and the Mernet Reserve, which is a proprietary blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Cabernet Franc. The Summer Blend, an annual spring release, is composed of mostly Chardonnay and blended with small amounts of Viognier and Albarino.
This wine was produced exclusively from grapes grown on the Keenan Estate located in Napa Valley’s Spring Mountain District. The fruit was hand-picked then, after de-stemming, the must was inoculated with Montrachet yeast and fermented in stainless steel tanks. The wine aged in French and American oak barrels for twenty months.
A dark plum color in the glass, this Cabernet Franc has a nose of blackberries, black currant, and a hint of leather. This is followed by tastes of bing cherries, and a bit of cedar, cocoa, and dust. There is snappy acidity and somewhat recessive tannins, all wrapped up in a medium to long finish. Let this wine breath for two hours for maximum enjoyment.
Serve with Chicken Vesuvio, Rabbit with Mustard Sauce, or Beef Tenderloin with Bordelaise Sauce.
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If you love beer like I do, here’s a way to make it even better! Like an aerator to wine, Fizzics micro-foam technology dramatically improves the flavor, taste, and mouth-feel of any carbonated beer (bottles and cans). The Fizzics DraftPour is lightweight and durable. You will be the hit at any party or tailgating event.
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By Spirits Contributor Neal Kotlarek
The Ukrainian Khortytsa [Hor-Ti-Tsa] Distillery opened in December 2003. Although relatively new to the US market, is well-known globally, with distribution in over 87 countries.
It was named among the world’s best distilleries at the 2014 New York International Spirits Competition. Only 19 of the world’s leading distilleries were recognized with this honor.
The distillery is located in Zaporozhe near Khortytsa Island, a sacred place in Ukraine – considered to be the cradle and heart of Ukrainian national pride – and is one of the country’s seven wonders. For the purest water possible, the distillery uses a filter process containing schungite (a unique natural mineral), and is further enhanced with special birch and alder-tree charcoal and quartz sand sourced near the Ural Mountains.
Production capacity is 16 vodka bottles per second. The total volume in the alcohol cellar of the distillery is 1,000,000 liters, or 264,000 gallons. The company employs 1600, and is the dominant vodka in Ukraine.
Currently, there are four items within the Khortytsa line imported to the United States: Khortytsa Platinum, which is the most popular; Khortytsa Ice, specially formulated to be frozen with the bottle turning blue when chilled; Khortytsa Honey Pepper, which adds a spicy zing to a variety of cocktails; and Khortytsa De Luxe a “super premium” vodka for connoisseurs.
https://khortytsa.com/en/home_en/
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