It's amazing to me how many wine-growing regions there are in California, and in particular, how many I have not visited in the 25+ years I've lived in this state. While I know I'll never be able to visit even a fraction of all the wineries around, I would like to hit the major wine areas, however. So, after our last trip down to the LA area, I asked Mike to take 101 on the way back north and stop at Paso Robles for some wine tasting. I decided on trying the wineries on highway 46E because several of them were free, and they were conveniently located off the Freeway. I would love to try the wineries west of Paso Robles some other time.

I wasn't overly impressed with the area of Paso Robles we visited. It wasn't particularly scenic, the wineries were not that pretty or interesting and the wines were mediocre at best. This was a particular disappointment after the unexpectedly good wine tasting trip I had to Amador County. I was hoping that my negative preconceptions about Paso Robles' wine would have been similarly quashed.

The first winery I visited was EOS. The tasting room was located in a small Mediterranean style villa, with a very Southern California look, and included a very large shopping area. They offer a flight of 4 regular wines for free, or estate tastings for $10. I decided to go for the free wines.

I had their 2005 Novella Uno da Tavola ($20), their 2004 EOS Zinfandel ($18), their 2005 EOS Cabernet Sauvignong ($18 or $108 for a case), their 2005 Petite Sirah ($18) and their 2007 EOS Late Harvest Moscato ($22). In general I found the wines to be table quality. They appeared young and unsophisticated, lacking subtleties. None of them had even hints of oak (and I'm definitely an oak person). The Moscato was one of the lightest wines I've had. In all, I wasn't happy with the wines and wouldn't buy them even at half their price.

EOS sells their wines through supermarkets and BevMo - some are also available at Costco and CostPlus.

Our second winery was Chumeia Vineyards - a relatively new and small family winery (you can see the owners' home up in the hill) offering tastes from their steel-barrel room. Even so, it was pretty crowded and the lone attendant had to deal with 9 wine tasters on her own (and did an amazing job of keeping everybody content). Tastings are complimentary.

The owner is a winemaker but has a sister winery in Argentina (which made me eager to like them). Indeed, their not-quite dessertish Silver Nectar wine ($10) is made in Argentina (thus the cheap price). Steel, we found the wine too sweet for a regular white wine and not sweet enough for dessert, and saw little reason to like it.

That, unfortunately, was the case with the other wines as well. We almost spat out their 2006 Barbera ($35). It smelled and tasted like a fortified wine (and I'm not fond of spirits myself) and was somewhat piquant. I truly, truly disliked it - but the people next to me loved it and bought a bottle. According to the attendant, it goes well with tomato dishes.

I also tasted their 2006 Zinfandel ($14), the 2005 Estate Cab ($30), their 2006 Viognier ($16) and 2006 Chardonnay ($12). Once again I found the wines to have young, bold flavors, but not much in the way of finishes. They weren't for me. One of the big problems may have been, however, that all the wines were served much warmer than they should have. It was a warm day, so it's understandable, but I think I would have enjoyed them more a few degrees colder.

As of today Laura's Vinyard is no more. We visited it in its last day of existence, tomorrow the tasting room will re-open as Derby's. The wines will be different and you won't be able to taste any of what we had. That may not be a bad thing, as while we found most of the wines satisfying and easy enough to drink, none of them was particularly interesting or delicious. We'd drink them, but not seek them out.

We tasted their 2005 Chardonnay ($18), their 2006 Rosado de Syrah ($14), their 2002 Merlot ($18), their 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon ($20), Their 2005 Laura's Vineyard Cabernet ($26), their 2005 Petit Sirah ($22) and their 2003 Cabernet Franc ($24). Their white and rose could have used more fruit and more sweetness, their cabs, more oak (of course). None justified their high price. We wouldn't buy them.

The small tasting room is located in a double-wide mobile home and lacks charm. They do sell a few products, mostly t-shirts and oils, which seem to be popular with women named Laura and their friends and relatives :-). The attendant was quite knowledgeable and charismatic, and she will continue working there under their new name. Tasting was $5, you get to keep the glass.

We moved on to Eberle Winery, which has a nice picnic area with a view of rolling vineyards. They also feature a bronze statue of a boar (eberle means small wild boar) spouting water, which kids may enjoy. Inside, there is a large tasting room with a large shopping area - which Mike browsed as I wine tasted yet again. Tasting here is complementary.

I was happier all in all with the wines here - I'm not sure if this is because they seemed more balanced, more commercial or because I was tipsier by then. I've noticed that the more I drink, the more I buy.

I found a couple of their wines - the 2005 Cotes du Robles ($20) and their 2005 Zinfandel - too blunt for my taste, but the 2007 Estate Chardonnay ($18) was refreshing and would go well with chocolate. I almost bought a bottle for their NV Full Board Red ($15), available only a the winery, which was a nice, balanced, quiet table wine. Instead we went with the 2007 Muscat ($14), which we found fresh, not overly sweet and light. I think it'd be a good dessert wine for a summer day, and could even go well with appetizers. Let's see if we actually drink it (we're very bad about drinking sweet wines).

I was determined to visit five wineries on this trip - after all, taking 101 made our trip much longer and I wanted to make it be worth it - and I still had one to go to. Firestone has some vague (or not so vague) relationship with the tire maker and apparently with one of the "stars" of the TV series "The Bachelor". It also has a pretty nice tasting room. Tastings are $5 for 6 wines and you get to keep the glass.

Once again, I thought the wines here were nice. Not nice enough to buy, but perfectly adequate for drinking.

My friend Lola and I went on weekend trip to the Gold Country last weekend, and spent Sunday morning wine tasting in the Shenondoah Valley. We hit 6 wineries, had a wonderful time and discovered a new and fantastic wine growing and wine making region. Pretty much every wine I tasted was good to very good, at one of the wineries I found some of my favorite wines ever. I was astounded, because I thought that that little known region would produce sub-par wines, I was definitely wrong.

Another great thing about tasting in Shenondoah is that none of the wineries had tasting fees and most of them offered a lot of wines for tasting. Indeed, after the first winery I limited myself to tasting four wines per winery, as I wanted to be able to hit as many as possible without getting tipsy.

Amador County specializes on Zinfandels, though Sangioveses and Barberas are also quite popular. Most of the Zinfs I tasted were very good, hearty yet balanced, and in the future I'll look for Amador County when I go Zinf-buying.

Sunday night Kathy and I took our dad wine tasting in Livermore. He loves to wine taste and Livermore is the closest wine growing region to San Leandro. We hit quite a few wineries (Kathy, a non-wine drinker, was driving) and I took a lot of notes. It's interesting that many wineries are now charging for tastings - and not necessarily the better ones.

Our first stop was Bodega Aguirre, where tastings are $5. It has a very small, simple tasting room. It was already crowded when we arrived there at noon, opening time. There were cheese and crackers offered, but not much wine talk. Indeed, we barely heard any descriptions of the wines we tasted, their growing conditions or even information about the wineries during our whole trip. On the other hand, it we rarely found any pressure to buy anything.

Bodega Aguirre seems specialize in blends. I found most of them to be very light and watery, with very little complexity. I like hearty wines, however, and oaky ones in particular. Some of their wines, like the Estate Merlot Reserva ($32) were earthy, which I liked. My father, on the other hand, liked them in general and got a bottle of the 2003 Merlot ($18). Given the tasting fee and the fact that the wines didn't impress me, I don't think I'd stop there again.

We followed up with Boaventura de Caires winery, where tasting were free but they had only 2 wines to taste - a Cab (Boaventura de Caires 05/06 Platinum Label Cabernet Sauvignon) selling at $39 and a white table wine (BoaVentura de Caires 2006 White Table Wine) selling at $22 (they also offer splits and magnums). I liked the cab, it was smooth with a hint of oak. The white table wine was dry (I tend to prefer sweeter wines), but I also liked it. However, I didn't think either wine justified their price.

The winery was very cute and quirky, with an open and informal tasting room. Several types of cheese were available.

Next stop was Little Valley winery, a cute relatively new winery that offers both wines and flavored sparkling wines. Their California champagne was fruity, with hints of melon. I liked it. I also liked both their Chardonnay ($15) and their White Zinfandel ($9.50). They were easy drinking, non-challenging wines, perfect for summer afternoons. Their Tempranillo ($18) was also smooth, easy and flavorful, I'd definitely drink it. Finally, their 2002 Clark Vineyard Cabernet was very unusual, it tasted almost like brandy - though I was assured it had not been fortified. Not my cup of tea. I didn't like the flavored sparkling wines ($14), they usually taste fake to me, but I did find the whole tasting experience very enjoyable. I'd go back here again.

The White Crane has a small tasting room which was very, very busy. It's no surprise because not only there was no tasting fee, but the wines were very good. The 2006 Pinot Noir ($45) has a medium body but was full flavored, my father liked it too. The 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon was full bodied, oaky and smooth. I wasn't as happy with the 2006 Zinfandel ($44), but I didn't note why :-)

I'd probably stop at this winery again, though I'd pray that it wasn't as busy.

McGrail Vineyards could not have been more different. It features a large, brand-new tasting room in the style of those of Napa and Sonoma. Very elegant and slick. However, there was nobody there - they think because they are relatively new, but I wonder. Tasting are free and the wines are also good and more affordable than at other places. I found the 2005 Chardonnay ($28) to be very buttery and full bodied, I'd drink it. My dad would too. The 2004 Cabernet ($36) was smooth but full bodied, very nice to drink. I don't have notes on other wines, so that's probably all we tasted. Their wines are available at PW supermarkets in addition as at the winery.

After this tasting we took a break and went into town for some coffee (yes, we hit Starbucks, we couldn't find anything else). We probably hang out there for an hour or so. But we weren't yet done for the day, though we only hit a couple of other wineries.

I'd been to Tesla Vintners before. This is a pretty nice tasting room, also small, where you get to taste wines from a couple of other wineries in the region. They also have flavored champagnes, and we tasted the peach one ($14). It smelled nice, but the taste was a bit off-putting. I did like the Singing Winemaker Serzando ($16), made with malvasa bianca. It was very sweet and grapy (yes, grapy, it tasted like white grapes). I also liked the 2005 Mattern Ranch Zinfandel ($23). It was good, full bodied, meaty. Dad thought it was nice. The Ryhan Estate Vineyard Rouge Sang ($20), a red wine blend, was well balanced as was the 2005 Malbec ($25). I do wonder, however, if I liked the wines here more because by now I was quite tipsy. I think that Tesla has a $5 tasting fee as well, but I didn't put it in my notes.

Next was Crooked Vine / Stony Ridge winery, where I'd also been before, albeit quite a few years ago. It has a nice, large tasting room with barrels. There is a $5 tasting fee.

Here, again, I enjoyed the wines. I was the 2006 Crooked Vine Pinot Grigio ($16) nice, well balanced and summerly. The 2005 Harriet's Merlot ($22) had similar attributes, but lacked a finish. Daddy wasn't thrilled with it. He did like the 2004 Crooked Vine del Arroyo Cabernet Sauvignon ($38) which I found chocolaty. He was less impressed by the 2004 Crooked Vine Petit Syrah ($38) which he found unremarkable. Their 2004 Crooked Vine Cabernet Sauvignon ($32) had a medium body but lacked oak. In all, and given the tasting fee, I'm not sure that I'll come back.

Finally, we went to Murrieta's Well, where I'd also been before. I'd enjoyed their Chilean inspired wines before, but this time I found them weak and lacking. Their 2006 Semillon/Chardonnay ($20) was nice, with a medium body. My father says that (at least back home) semillon is a cheap grape used in cheap wines (a favorite of drunkards). The 2006 white meritage ($24) was somewhat bitter but mostly fine while the 2006 Zinfandel had a medium body and was quite tasty. I found neither the 2004 Touriga Francesca ($24) nor the 2004 Zarzuela ($30) to be fully-developed and was equally disappointed by the 2005 Red Meritage ($35). They may be wines you want to keep, however.

In all, I will probably give Murrieta's Well a try again. Their tasting room is quite pretty, though they had some of the coldest attendants.

So in all we visited 8 wineries - quite a bit for just an afternoon - and had a very good time. I think that Livermore wines are improving, and I look forward to going again.

My friend Lola loves Prosecco, Italy's version of sparkling wine, and she brought a bottle last time she came over for dinner an eternity ago. I liked it too, it was light and airy and fresh, so some time later I picked up a few bottles of disgustingly cheap Prosecco at Trader Joe's. I've had this one in my refrigerator for several months - and it came in handy today when I realized I had no white wine for the chicken recipe I was making for dinner.

The recipe only asked for 1 1/2 cups, so we had the rest with dinner. I was very pleased. It was simple and easy to drink, subtly peachy, perhaps a bit sweeter than other bruts. Very tasty, and it would have been even more so if it was a little bit cooler - I'd left the bottle on the counter after I opened it for cooking. I'll definitely get some more bottles, next time just for drinking.

Mike bought a couple of bottles of this wine last year when they were on sale for $20. He really seems to like it. I always feel guilty about drinking expensive wine (and for me, any wine over $10 is expensive) for the hell of it, but we don't have enough special occasions to actually drink all the bottles we have (yes, we should have more, but it's not always easy with 2 little kids).

Sunday night, however, I was making a Cameroonian Menu and my friend Arthur happened to drop by, so we invited him to eat with us. He's moving away soon, so I figured that merited a nice bottle of wine. Plus I didn't have any cheaper ones :-)

Anyway, I wasn't too kin on the BV Rutherford Cabernet Sauvignon 2003. It had a nice beginning, it was smooth and buttery, but then it just fell flat. There was nothing there. No middle, no finish.

Mike and Arthur said they liked it, but the bottle went unfinished.

I have nothing to say about this Chilean TJ wine, as I didn't actually drink it. It's a kosher wine, which I didn't realize when I bought it, not that it matters to me. In any case, I used this wine to marinate some braised short ribs I'm making today, so I wanted to remember what it was to let you know (and me) how the recipe turned out. I'm now off to throw away the bottle :)

It's time to update the list of wines I have at home, so I can check it next time I need a wine to match some food. Clearly I need to buy more cheap wines. And clearly I need more special occasions for the expensive wine.

Under $10 wines

Chateau Briot 2004 Bordeaux
Columbia Crest 2003 Two Vines Cabernet Sauvignon

Zonin Proseco Brut
Villar Carlotti Prosecco

Medium Priced Wines

2000 Atlas Peak Vineyards Sangiovese, Napa Valley

Piper Sonoma Brut

Better wines

2006 Bink Sauvignon Blanc, Randle Hill Vineyard (this, like the other Bink wines, we got at an auction for Girl's Inc - we paid $80 for all four)

2002 Casola Lopez Malbec (my cousin Betiana Lopez gifted it to me in Argentina)
2004 DeLoach Sonoma County Zinfandel ($35 or so, bought at winery)
2003 BV Rutherford Cabernet Sauvignon (I think $20, Mike likes it)
2001 Yorkville Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon (bought at winery)
A syrah we bought at Roederer and that's too high up in the closet for me to look at.
2001 Fife Meritage (was $15 at Safeway off $32)
2003 Bink Merlot, Hawks Butte Vineyard
2003 Bink Syrah Hawks Butte Vineyard
2004 Bink Pinot Noir Weir Vineyard

1999 Roederer L'Ermitage Brut ($45 bought at winery)

Sweet wines

Westover Port (someone must have gifted it to us, doesn't say which kind, must be around $20)
2005 V. Sattui Muscat (bought @ winery >$20)
2005 Navarro White Riesling ($29 small bottle)
Lustau Dry Amontillado Los Arcos Sherry

I bought this wine after we came back from our wine country trip and we were all enthused about wines. It was 50% off at Safeway (from $20) and it seemed like a good deal. I've been meaning to drink it every since, but after our initial enthusiasm with drinking wine, we kind of forgot about it.

Tonight I made a nice dinner and decided it was a good time to have some wine. Yes, I had made chicken and a white would have been more appropriate, but I didn't have any in the fridge and I wanted to open this wine once and for all.

I found it to not be a bad choice at all. The wine is definitely robust, but it didn't overwhelm the chicken. It has hints of black cherry and is somewhat chalky - the finish is pretty sharp. It's not an easy to drink wine, but it feels nice in a cold night - it warms you up.

Tonight we had this cheap Trader Joe's white wine. I'd bought it because I liked the off-shape frosted bottle. The wine turned out to be quite nice. It's dry, easy to drink and quite refreshing. I don't distinguish any particular flavor in it, other than wine, but it did become a bit buttery when drank with chicken (cooked in the same wine). In all I liked it and would buy it again as an all-around white wine.

I don't usually like Merlots, but I was seduced by this wine when we tried it at the winery. It's extremely smooth, with a great finish and all the oakiness you could want. It's not in the least alcoholic, with the medium tanins, one of the easiest drinking wines - and most satisfying - I've had. It went great with the food we had at Spettro (chicken marsala in my case), even though the food itself left much to be desired.

I would definitely like more bottles

This is the first time I've ever tried a Pinotage so it's difficult for me to know how Zarafa's compares to other wines of the same varietals. For me, it was a complete different experience in wine. I can't quite describe the sharp flavor with which its greets you. Wood? Dark chocolate? Dark chocolate covered wood? I read somewhere that it smells like band-aids and I have to say I agree, but the taste has me dumbfounded. Following that is a medium-to-light body, which disappears into nothingness. Am I drinking water? It does have a lingering flavor, somewhat sweet and plumy. But very earthy and leathery. Yes, I think that's the right word, leathery.

In all, it was a complete new experience in wine for me - though it did remind me of certain Argentine table wines. It's not an experience that I enjoyed tremendously, but it was OK and I will finish the bottle. Mike, OTOH, didn't like it at all.

I had read that feijoada, a famous Brazilian sausage and black bean stew, went very well with Argentinian Malbec. Alas, I didn't read that until the last moment, and when I went to serve it the only Malbec I recalled having at home was the 2005 Black Mountain Malbec, Watson's Grove - a California wine. (Later I remembered that I had a Malbec I had brought with me from Argentina a few years ago). It's a cheap wine (about $6), but it seemed like the best option for dinner.

It wasn't bad. It had a medium body - as Malbec's tend to do - and a fruity finish. It improved magnificently with dinner, bring forward hints of oak and black cherry. All in all, a good but not great, table wine. But whoever said feijoada and Malbec went well together, was right.

Last night we opened the bottle of Vintner's Cellar Dolcetto we won at the "Day at the Casa" raffle a couple of weeks ago. We'd drank the other of bottle of wine we won previously. The wine itself was pretty good. It resembled a muscat in being golden and sickingly sweet, and it tasted of honey and fruit. It was a bit alcoholic, though, reminding me of a madeira. It had a smooth, yet bitter finish. We both liked it.

Alas, I'm puzzled as to what this wine actually is. I researched it on the internet, and dolcetto is a black grape from Italy. The wine it produces is dark red, as I confirmed by doing a search of images of dolcetto. This one, as mentioned, was golden colored. Still, the bitter finish is associated with dolcetto - was it for that, I'd just conclude it was a mislabeled muscat.

The wine was produced by Vintner's Cellar, a make-your-own-wine chain. It's labeled as a Vintner's Cellar wine, so I don't know if this means that they made it, or if the person who donated it made it there but did not use a customized label. To add to the puzzlement, Vintner's Cellar at least now does not offer dolcetto or muscat. Also, there is no Vintner's Cellar in this area, so this wine must have travel somewhat.

All that said, it was pretty good, and we are sure to finish it.

I opened this wine tonight and I have to say it tasted like ... chianti. Really, it had a complete chianti taste and aroma. It was easy drinking without being too light, a tiny bit sweet and fruity but with a slight tanic finish. It was easy to drink, and it complimented my TJ's gnocchi a la sorrentina perfectly. I daresay this is a good a wine to sip by itself, or drink with pasta, stews and probably even beef.

Update: I tried the leftover wine with a beef and potato curry, which was mildly spicy, and it didn't work out too well. The spice deprived the wine of its body, living it hollow with some bitterness around the edges. Not a good combination.

I also tried it with some milk chocolate treats (I'm not a big dark chocolate eater), and it also didn't go very well, the hollowness wasn't as pronounced but it was still there.

(note, the label on the picture is from 2003 Aquilda de'Oro chianti, I couldn't find a picture of the 2005)

In any case, at $4 a bottle (I think), this is a wine I'll buy again. A perfect (western?) table wine.

Two-bucks chuck chardonnay just won some award at some fair, and thus I wanted to try it. I read that sweet wine went well with spicy food, so I had it with the balti lamb tikka I made today for dinner. It was not a good combination. The lamb made the wine taste too sweet, an assault to my palate.

I tried it hours later and liked it more. It now tasted like semi-sweet white grape juice, with a sharp, bitter finish. It's still a bit too sweet to sip much of, but it is a sipping wine. For $2, it's very good.

Mike, however, didn't like it.

I bought this wine because "Katz" is Mike's name, not knowing absolutely anything about it, not even what kind it was. I wasn't planning on drinking it tonight, but I realized at a late hour that the recipe I was making called for white wine, and I had this one already chilling. Alas, only later I found out that many Qualitatswein are late harvest wines, more fit to be served as dessert than with a meal. Indeed, my first thought when I started sipping it is that this would make a good dessert wine.

The bottle does not indicate what type of Qualitatswein but it's not terribly sweet. Or rather, I thought it was very sweet when I opened it, but it mellowed out after dinner. It's very floral, with strong fruit overtones - peaches and apricots - and a very smooth finish. It's pretty good as an after dinner drink and I'd have it again.

Mike, OTOH, thought it almost tasted like a Chardonnay and he did not think it tasted like a dessert wine at all. Granted it was considerably less sweet that the majority of these. He thought it was easy drinking, and not that sweet.

I bought it at TJ's, and I *think* I paid $7-8 for the bottle.

If you are not convinced I'm not really into wine, you'll probably be after looking at my poor wine "collection". It's not really a collection as such, just a bunch of wines meant to be drank. I figured I'd blog about them here, so that I can remember how much I paid for each one of them and where I got it, so I can know which ones deserve a special occasion. And for me a $20 wine is a special occasion wine.

Cheap TJ wines

2005 Les Caves Joseph Bordeaux (bought 'cause it's similar to my last name)
2005 Black Mountain Malbec, Wastson's Grove
2005 Zarafa Pinotage

2005 Gladiatore Frascati (liked the bottle)

Zonin Proseco Brut
Villar Carlotti Prosecco
Piper Sonoma Brut (got as gift, $11)

Better wines

2000 Atlas Peak Vineyards Sangiovese, Napa Valley

2002 Casola Lopez Malbec (my cousin Betiana Lopez gifted it to me in Argentina)
2004 DeLoach Sonoma County Zinfandel ($35 or so, bought at winery)
2003 BV Rutherford Cabernet Sauvignon (I think $20, Mike likes it)
2003 Chateau Souverain Dry Creek Valley (was 50% off at Safeway, $20 original)
2001 Yorkville Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon (bought at winery)
A syrah we bought at Roederer and that's too high up in the closet for me to look at.
2001 Fife Meritage (was $15 at Safeway off $32)

1999 Roederer L'Ermitage Brut ($45 bought at winery)

Sweet wines

Westover Port (someone must have gifted it to us, doesn't say which kind, must be around $20)
2005 V. Sattui Muscat (bought @ winery >$20)
2005 Navarro White Riesling ($29 small bottle)
Lustau Dry Amontillado Los Arcos Sherry

I'm not a big fan of white zinfandel, call me a snob but to me it tastes very much like a wine cooler. That's not bad in itself, I like wine coolers, but they shouldn't go around calling themselves wine ;-).
But a bottle of Eagle Canyon White Zinfandel mysteriously appeared in my fridge (I assumed somebody brought it over some time and I just put it on the fridge), and I figured I'd give it a try tonight. I didn't dislike it.

The wine itself is nice. It's very floral and fruity, with strong hints of peach and of strawberry essence (the fake stuff, not actual strawberries), perhaps raspberry as well. It doesn't taste at all alcoholic, and it has a clean finish. The problem with the wine is that it's too damn sweet. It's almost like a syrup, or a dessert wine at that (though it lacks the substance and complexity of such wines). It's nice to sip, but you definitely can't drink much of it. That may be a good thing, though :) It also doesn't go well with cheese, at least not with brie, though the cheese did cut into the sweetness.

What I find weird is that I wasn't able to find out anything about the Eagle Canyon winery of Manteca. I can tell from a couple of sites that this is a cheap wine (maybe $5-6 a bottle), but I can't find anything else about it or its winery. Weird, eh?

In any case, I wouldn't buy it myself but I'm going to finish the bottle (not all at once, though :)

I first tried Beringer wine when I went wine tasting at their impressive operation in Napa many years ago. They give a great tour of their facilities - or at least they did back them - but their wine seemed inferior. Outside the winery, it's certainly affordable. Last night I wanted to drink some wine with our steaks (steaks two nights in a row, courtesy of Costco's large sizes), but I didn't want to open another bottle of expensive wine (and for me expensive is anything over $10), so I decided to open this Beringer bottle that somebody had brought us. It wasn't that great.

It didn't have much of an aroma to speak off, and the taste itself was very mild. Low on tanins with a bare hint of oakiness. It did improve when drank with the steak, assuming a complimentary role. I'd drink it again, but with food.

After our trip to the wine country, Mike and I seem to be getting into wines. We'll see how long it lasts. But we're happy with our half a dozen collection of good quality reds, 3 sweet wines and 2 sparkling. Not very much, specially if we start drinking it up. Alas, wine is not hard to find :)

Last night we opened a bottle of Tobin James 2002 James Gang Reserve Zinfandel. We had won it the previous day at a charity raffle.

It had a very strong fruity aroma, and was somewhat sweet, with a strong hint of plum. It was smooth, somewhat acidic, and really nice to sip by itself. It also went well with dark chocolate, marrying in your mouth. I thought it might be too fruity/sweet for the red meat we were having that night, but they went very well. The wine dried up and let the taste of the meat win over. Very good. Mike liked it too.

On our third day in the wine country, we tried the wineries in the Anderson Valley in Mendocino. I had never been to this part of California before and enjoyed the wine tasting experience very much. None of the wineries we visited were as beautiful as those we’ve been to in Napa, Sonoma and even the Russian River, but they were nice, friendly and relaxing experiences.

We started at Yorkville Cellars a small family winery that sells organic wines. It’s run by an English lady and it’s been there since 1986. They mostly sell at the winery, local shops and restaurants. We’d had organic wines before and had not been particularly impressed by them, so Yorkville pleasantly surprised us. The tasting room itself was small but featured a veranda with picnic tables and a view of the vineyards. They had a very friendly black lab greeting you. Tasting was complimentary and they gave us good sized pours.

On the second day of our wine country trip, we headed to the Russian River Valley. I'd been there only a couple of months before, when my friend Lola treated me to a wonderful girls-weekend-out for my birthday, and I was eager to go again. I found the wineries in the Russian River Valley more relax and more friendly than those in Napa, and I was there purely for relaxation (OK, and wine tasting too).

Last time, the helpful manager of the West Sonoma Inn, where we had stayed, had recommended we go tasting at the wineries on Olivet Road. We hadn't managed to do it, but it made sense to try them on our way from Calistoga. So there we headed.

This week Mike and I took a mini-vacation to the northern California wine country. We spent three days wine tasting, in Napa, the Russian River Valley and Mendocino. Of necessity, we visited only a few wineries, but you can read my notes from them. Alas, I'm in no way a wine connoisseur and I'm completely unable to taste any of the dozens of flavors experts can discern in wine. Berries? mango? licorish? I can't find them. So don't take my reviews too seriously. In reality all I can say is what I liked and what I didn't like, which may be very different from what you like. I tend to like full-bodied wines, neither light or heavy in tanins and with a well defined oakiness (which I didn't find at all in this trip).

Anyway here is my report from Napa. Reports from the Russian River Valley and Mendocino will follow.

A couple of weeks ago, my sister Kathy and her friend Anna were in town and I decided to take the girls winetasting. Once again we headed to Livermore as it's significantly closer to us. It was quite fun, we visited several wineries and had lunch at one of them. Anna became exposed to a few new wines, even found one she liked, and while Kathy didn't try anything (she's not a wine drinker) she said she enjoyed herself.

Once again, I was not impressed by the quality of the Livermore wineries. I am not a wine connoseur by any means, and I'm mostly a Cabernet Sauvignon drinker - that's great if you're in Napa, not that great if you are in Livermore where Cabs don't a abound. I prefer complex, smooth, oaky flavors, and these were rare. In all, my impression was that the wines were young and simple, generally easy to drink but not fun or interesting. I didn't find any wines that attracted me. Most of the wines are only available at the winery and at local grocery stores.

The guide below is mostly for my benefit, so that I can remember the experience and decide where I want to go back in future trips.

We started at Garré Winery with lunch at the Café Garré (good sandwich, OK pastas) before tasting. I found their wines easy drinking but unremarkable, often lacking complexity. Their Nonna's Reserve, a combination of Merlot, Barbera and Cab Frank was particularly disapointing, it tasted mostly like cab frank but was very shallow. A 2000 Merlot was very melow, but had a sharp finish. The wine tasting room itself is very plain.

I was happier with the wines at Cedar Mountain, perhaps because they were tasting cabs. I wasn't too excited about the 2002 Cab which was easy to drink, but didn't have much depth, but loved their '98 Cab which was very well balanced - but way overpriced at $50 a bottle. A '99 Duet, a combination of Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon, was more reasonable at $22, but tasted younger and less refined than the cab. The tasting room here was also plain, but the people were very friendly and very much into wines, which made the wine tasting more fun.

Ríos Lovell charges a $4 tasting fee (you get to keep the glass) which is worth it given the quality of their wines and the friendly attitude of the attendant - who let us taste wines not in the list. In general, I found their wines to be much more finished, more balanced and substantial than those at the other wineries. I really liked their '2001 Reserve Estate Chardonnay ($14), it was somewhat tanic and oaky and not too sweet. Anna enjoyed their '2003 Viognier ($16) which tasted like an explosion of flowers and had a sharp, yet nice, finish. She also liked their 2001 Barbera ($18), an easy drinking yet nice wine. I wasn't impressed by their Cab, which was in need of tanins. The tasting room was one of the larger ones, and had a nice store. I'd go back here again.

Tesla Vintners offers wines from 4 local wineries, the tasting room is very small and crowded but cute and it offers some cool novelties for sale that I hadn't seen elsewhere. The server looked like a grandma and was quite pleasant and there is a grassy area outside and even a little playhouse for children to play in. If I ever came winetasting with the kids along, this would definitely be a spot. Here we tried the flavored champagnes by Little Valley winery. They are a gimmick, of course, but I rather liked the almond one - though I'm not sure if enough to drink a whole glass of it. The other wines we tasted were fine, easy drinking but not sophisticated.

Livermore Valley Cellars is a small, family winery behind a new McMansion housing development. We wanted to like the wines, many of them inventive mixes, but we didn't. Most of them were shallow, tasted too acidic and lacked finishes. The woman serving them to us also gave us a weird vibe.

Finally, we went back to Concannon, where once again I noticed that their new syrahs are almost undrinkable while their older ones are quite good. This is one of the prettier tasting rooms in the valley and it has a nice grassy area outside, so while I'm not crazy about their wines, it makes a nice stop.

We spent part of today, our 11th anniversary, winetasting in Livermore - our closest winemaking region. The wines were generally pretty good, though not remarkable, and the wineries cute and modern. In all we had a great time. We made it to four wineries, apparently all I can take before getting too tipsy.

Concannon Vineyards, our first stop, seems to specialize in Syrah. Here we learned what a difference a few years aging can make. The 2000 Syrah was completely undrinkable for me - it was too tannic and acidic. The 1995, on the other hand, was quite pleasant. We found the other wines to be OK but unremarkable. I probably liked the Cab most of all, but it tasted just like your run of the mill $10 Cab (though it was probably more expensive than that). On the plus side, this winery has a very nice tasting room.

Stony Ridge Winery, our second stop, features not only their wines but those of Crooked Vine Winery, owned by the same people. Here we met some new wines for us like the orobianco (nicely drinkable) and the nebbiolo (id). But the Malvasia Bianca, a not-too-sweet dessert wine, was by far our favorite. If we only ever drank the dessert wines we bought, we'd have bought a bottle.

Our third stop was Steven Kent which was featuring Tamás Estates wines. All the wines here were nicely priced, completely drinkable but not too interesting. In a way, these are the perfect wines to serve at a party. They are sure to not offed anyone, beginners won't find them too challenging and wine lovers won't find them too cheap.

Finally, we went to Murrieta's Well, a very cute "boutique" winery owned by Wente. Murrieta is trying very hard to be different by offering unique blends and not-very-common grapes. It has a Chilean winemaker that comes a few times a year to select the grapes and do the blending. You have to pay $5 to taste six wines here, and is probably worth it as they were by far the best wines we tasted in Livermore. Of the two white I liked the "Los tesoros de Joaquín" Chardonnay & Semillon blend the best. It was a smooth yet bodied wine that I could imagine would be perfect for sipping before a hearty meal or drinking with bread and cheese. Of the reds, I liked the Tempranillo quite a bit as well, specially for the price. It was smoother than a cab but probably as satisfying. I also really liked the Sarzuela, a mixture of tempranillo with other grapes, though probably not enough to justify the difference in prices. Murrieta's pride and joy, the Red Vendimia, surprisingly didn't do much for me, even though it's a blend of cab and other varietals that I like.

Sunday afternoon we took my father wine tasting in the Russian River region. We'd previously taken him to Napa and Sonoma and wanted to go somewhere new. We started late so we only hit four wineries, but it was a very pleasant (if long) trip. The region is very pretty, the wineries are much less busy than those in Napa or Sonoma and they are more generous with their wines, I think you could taste an average of 7-8 wines at each winery we went to. Hint for next time: eat before we go.

We only hit four wineries:

Martinelli Winery was our first stop and it had by far the best wines we'd ever tasted at a winery. They were also the most expensive at $35-50 a bottle. The artisanal wines are hand-made (that is to say, without the use of heavy machinery) and they were all very smooth and non-tanic and yet quite complex. These are the types of wines you can sip for hours and still enjoy every minute of it. We were particularly fond of the Sauvignon Blanc (and we're not white wine drinkers), though my dad's favorite was the Giuseppe & Luisa Zinfandel. We'll have to go and get a bottle sometime to gift him.

Suncé Winery, our second stop, looked more like a house than your typical winery. It's very small, and run by a Croatian winemaker who was also our host at the outside wine tasting. We weren't so fond of the wines. We found them generally shallow and not interesting. An exception was the Mariage a Trois, a mixture of cabernet, zinfandel and syrah, which I liked enough to buy a bottle.

By the time we arrived at De Loach Vineyards I was already a bit tipsy, and much more than that by the time I left. The winery has been recently sold to a French company that is planning to turn it organic in time (we wish them luck!). The wines were very much every-day wines, easy to drink, not too tanic, but not too complex either. Some of them are sold at Trader Joe's and I would definitely buy them there.

After lunch and sobering up quite a bit, we headed to Korbel, where we got to taste some of their new (and sold only to wine club members) red champagnes. They were interesting as a novelty, but we didn't find them particularly succesful. They were too shallow as red wines and the bubbles retracted rather than added to the experience. We did really enjoy several of their regular champagnes, however. The Korbel Non-Vintage Blanc De Noirs was particularly excellent and I will definitely buy it and serve it in the future.

In all we had a great time and this is certainly a region worth visiting again.