Retired Firefighter Turned Winemaker

Earlier this year I was fortunate enough to attend an epic tasting through 6 decades of Charles Krug Vintage Selection Cabernet Sauvignon in Napa. We started with a 1964 vintage. Did I say epic?

I caught a ride from the airport with Ray Hanson, owner of Destiny Wine Tours. As we chatted it up on the drive from SFO to Napa I learned about his past life as a firefighter and how he now makes wine from the cabernet sauvignon growing on his property.

He was so kind as to give me a bottle to try which I feature in my Memorial Day wine column for the Fort Myers News-Press, "Gina Drinks." Since I have a limited word count, I wanted to share an excerpt from our conversation during our ride.

Not only does Ray talk about his wine, but what it was like as a retired fireman, to go through last year's devastating fires. Take a listen:
 

Summer Series: Fabulous Franciscan

Every summer it's the same drill, finding some good white wines to accompany seasonal foods and also feel good going down in high temperatures.

I was doing some research on medal winning wines for an upcoming story when I came across the latest releases from Franciscan. The 2014 vintage from Napa has been highly anticipated and thought to be a great year. From what I've tasted here, I'm excited to try more.

Equilibrium (under $25) is one of the signature bottlings from Franciscan Estate and the 2014 is extraordinary. With a beautifully floral nose, the crisp wine had citrus, peach and honeysuckle for a full range of flavors on the palate. This complex blend is sauvignon blanc based, with a little chardonnay and muscat to round things out.

Empty bottles equal a good tasting

The 2014 Sauvignon Blanc, in the $20 range, is made from grapes that are harvested from several sub-appelations in Napa Valley, fermented using a variety of techniques, then blended together for a great marriage. The result is a fresh wine with lime and lychee and a finish full of minerals and citrus.

Both of these wines are refreshing accompaniments to fish, summer picnic foods or simply sipping on their own. Be sure to buy several of each, as you will almost certainly want more once the bottle is empty.

An Evening With Elizabeth.....

It all started at my Christmas tree trimming party when I pulled out a 2009 Elizabeth Spencer Rose. I had been saving it to share with some friends who visited the winery in Napa with me a number of years ago. Since several of us were together that night I thought it the perfect time.

However, it wasn't chilled and we had long since moved past the rose' stage of the night. Instead, we planned for an Elizabeth Spencer tasting after the holidays, with the goal of gathering as many vintages as possible--a grand tasting of sorts.

We began the evening with some bubbly and then dived in to my bottle, the oldest and proof that most roses are meant to drink, not age. As soon as we opened it, I could tell it was past its prime as it smelled like a fortified wine, sweet, nutty but not the kind you really want.

Disappointment that I let that one sit too long, then excitement we had several more bottles to go.

Next up was a 2011 pinot noir rose that was quite pleasant, with good fruit and acidity, however, it lacked the freshness we were expecting. Good thing we saved it from the perils of sitting in the cellar much longer.

The idea was to keep the tasting as close to a vertical possible but since the 2012 was a grenache rose, instead of a pinot noir, we skipped over it briefly. When it finally made the round it was full of raspberry and reminded me of a Necco Wafer Candy.

The 2013 pinot rose was the vintage that really hit the spot with bright acidity and red fruit like strawberry.

Moving right along in the Elizabeth Spencer portfolio, a 2012 Chardonnay was pulled from the ice bucket. While it smelled a touch oaky, it was crisp and tropical, with flavors of pineapple; a favorite for sure.

Up next came the reds and a 2007 Zinfandel. For a zin it was quite mellow; another one that was on its way out. The fruit was still intact but we were gentle with it in the glass, afraid it would disappear with any spirited swirling.

The 2010 Mendocino Cabernet was a beautiful color and a lovely way to end. The wine was a bit chalky, again a bit of that Necco Wafer Candy, with juicy raspberries.

If you are like many of us at this tasting, and have set aside some wine for a special occasion or to share with a special group, do some spring cleaning in your cellar. You might be surprised at what has been tucked away, forgotten about and is now in need of being uncorked. Nothing is worse than having to dump a precious bottle that was soooooo delicious and had so much promise when you bought it--because you let it rest for too long. Cheers. 

Wine Wednesday: B Cellars

Happy Wine Wednesday! What's in your glass today? I had four little yummies in mine from B Cellars in Napa. I couldn't pick just one, so here is a quick overview of all four.

I was even more excited to taste these after learning Kirk Venge is the consulting winemaker. I'm a big fan of his wines at Venge Vineyards.

The Blend 23 is a mix of chardonnay, sauvignon blanc and viognier that smells floral but tastes a bit rich with honeysuckle and citrus. ($40)

The Blend 24 is a cab based blend made Tuscan style with sangiovese. Its a bit earthy with tobacco, cocoa and hint of blueberry. This would be consider B Cellars signature blend. ($55)

Blend 25 is also cabernet based but it is only blended with syrah to produce more robust flavors of jam and pepper. This one, smooth as it already is, definitely has good legs for aging. ($65)

The Synergy Cabernet takes grapes from three vineyards to produce this delightful wine with layers of flavor. The nose once again is a bit floral but the flavors are of cherry, spice and leather. ($65)

All of these wines are small production with intense flavors that will age well. B Cellars winery is about to move to a new location at Oakville Crossroads where there will be a daily Grand Pairing of food and wine for lunch. My reservation is in!

Wine Wednesday; NEW from Whitehall Lane

I've been a long time supporter of wines from Whitehall Lane in Napa Valley, California. So when I found out National Sales Manager Edd Lopez would be in Southwest Florida for a wine dinner at Cru tonight I was super excited. That is until I realized I couldn't go.

When I was invited to join him for lunch at Mereday's in Naples, the car on the roller coaster was back at the top of the track. Just as exciting, finding out Executive Chef and owner, Charles Mereday, is the former Executive Chef at South Seas Resort on Sanibel. I interviewed him when he first came to town. More on his new joint later this week, it is Wine Wednesday after all.

Whitehall Lane is well know for it's outstanding Cabernets among other things. However, they've never produced a blend with all of that good fruit, until now. Tre Leoni is a Cab based blend, made from estate fruit grown in Napa. Seven grapes flow together seamlessly in this new project. It's just being introduced to Florida this week.

Lopez said women were the inspiration for this wine. He used the words finesse and elegance, and that's all I needed to hear. I immediately smelled vanilla in the glass and tasted it too; along with plums and red fruit. There is a hint of cedar on the finish, it is fresh and darn good. Tre Leoni is already sold out at the winery so don't bother trying to order it. You can, however,  find it at Decanted in Naples and Mereday's will be serving it as soon as the delivery truck arrives.

Big thanks to Chef Mereday and his staff along with Heather from Opici Wines for pulling it all together. Happy Wine Wednesday! CHEERS!

Wine Wednesday: Delectus, its Delicious

The Delectus Bear Crossing Cabernet is so fantastic, it knocked me off my feet, literally.

I was fortunate enough to take a vineyard tour of Delectus while in Napa Valley over the weekend and thought it was the coolest thing ever to be drinking the Bear Crossing Cab, in the Bear Crossing Vineyard, while looking at the actual tracks from the crossing bears.

The wine is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon grapes, harvested from two vineyard blocks at the highest elevation on the ranch.

I found out just how high that elevation was when I took one too many steps backward. My feet slid down the dusty, gravely soil and I ended up flat, face first.

"MAN DOWN" but the wine was saved. At $130 a bottle you bet your ass I held on to that glass, for dear life. The only bit wasted was a splash on the side of my face, that gathered more dust as the day went on. It gave the appearance that the accident had been much worse. It was a great tale to relive and laugh about on the long flight home. But back to the wine....

The Bear Crossing started with lovely dark chocolate, oak and then a little dust, but that was just in my glass. It's drinking like a champ. Don't just buy one bottle, buy two. These wines have great aging potential.


Thanks to Unfiltered Unfined Wines for a fantastic time.

Happy Wine Wednesday. Cheers!

Thanks for joining me on the ground Tom!

Wine Wednesday, Chateau Montelena

It's Wine Wednesday! So excited to have Steve Hollister from Twisted Vine Bistro in downtown Fort Myers stop in for a visit. Especially when I saw what he was packin'?

Today we tasted a delicious, 2010 Chateau Montelena Chardonay (one of my favorite wineries). I thought it was especially appropriate considering the death, less than a week ago, of Jim Barrett. Barrett was the winemaker whose 1973 Chateau Montelena Chardonnay is credited with putting Napa Valley and California wines in general, on the international map. His story was the subject of the movie "Bottle Shock".

This wine had a floral nose, a little citrus on the tongue and some steel rather than that buttery, oaky bomb that is signature of many CA Chards. It's still creamy and very food friendly. Twisted Vine has it both by the glass ($22) and by the bottle ($85). Stop by for some of the best food and wine you will find downtown Fort Myers. Plus Steve and his wife Denise are extremely fun hosts with great wine events!

Sippin' the Saint

I'm having wine country withdrawals after sipping on a bottle of this delicious Sauvignon Blanc and reliving my trip to St. Supery, in Napa Valley. I was fortunate to be part of a small group, treated to a special tour of the winery's Dollarhide Ranch; to see firsthand where the grapes come from.

The property was beautiful, the weather perfect and it was one of those amazing moments in time; a place to go back to when my soul needs some rest. I also gained a new appreciation for the wine, sipping it under the shade of  lush trees, while looking out over the rolling vineyards. Just a little bit of heaven. I decided that seeing is believing for this blog. My first video edition is here:  


If you visit Napa, you need to visit St Supery! You can often find fun events on the lawn outside of the tasting room, the staff is warm and friendly and the wines are a wonderful treat.

From Cab to Coffee....

It's great to see small, locally owned businesses thriving. Congratulations to Bennett's Fresh Roast on your three-year anniversary! We celebrated the occasion Friday with a jam-packed wine tasting at the world famous coffee shop, downtown Fort Myers. My favorite wine of the night was the Sequoia Grove Cabernet from Napa.

It was nice and dark with intense black fruit and a little tobacco. Some California Cabs will knock you over but this was nicely balanced and very drinkable! It'll cost you $35-$40 retail.

As I was drinking the wine I recalled visiting Sequoia Grove's Tasting Room in Napa some 15 years ago. I remembered it being quaint and friendly so I went online to do a little reminiscing. At first I was disappointed to read that the facility had been remodeled. Disappointed because so many in Napa are abandoning their small, cozy tasting rooms; remodeling them to look more trendy and austere. But as you can see by the photo, the new tasting room appears to be quite warm and inviting.

Funny how Bennett's coffee shop can be turned into an inviting tasting room too! Over the years I've been accused of being biased towards Bennett's. After-all, I've had a 20 year friendship/partnership with owner Bob Grissinger. We are all biased towards our friends and the people we love. However, history and friendship aside, Bob and Frankie have made Bennett's Fresh Roast a place like very few others in Southwest Florida. The attention to detail, unique products, the great staff and of course the amazing donuts and coffee.You'll discover a new love for donuts after tasting his hand cut, from scratch varieties. And I bet you've never had coffee the way it is really suppose to be made and served until you've had Bennett's. See for yourself and if don't agree, then you can call me biased. I wont be holding my breath :-)

Goin' Back To Cali

I love a little old school LL Cool J, "Goin' back to Cali, stylin', profilin'...". We worked as hard as we could to be "stylin" in our rented 12-passenger van as we checked into the Avia Hotel in downtown Napa. The Avia is a new boutique hotel on First Street that is within walking distance to great restaurants, bars and tasting rooms.

I don't know if it is inherent because I am a woman but I care about the small things. Like the cozy bed with fluffy down blankets and the fireplace at my feet that lit with the flip of a switch. I loved the big bathroom with lots of counter space and the random tub in the middle of the room with a tray of bath products.....aaaaaahhhhh.

Enough daydreaming, lets get back to the business at hand; WINE! I mentioned there was a tasting room within walking distance to the hotel, Ceja. The Ceja family came to the US from Mexico in the 60's to pursue their winemaking dreams. They now own 113 acres and produce wine that has earned them various titles including "Hottest Small Brand of 2007".

A typical tasting is $10 for four pours. We enjoyed: a 2007 Sauvignon Blanc that was full of guava, papaya and lychee; a 2007 vino de Casa which was a delicious blend of Pinot Noir, Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon, full and balanced with ripe plums; a 2007 Pinot Noir that had layers of menthol and dried fruit; a 2006 Sonoma Syrah that exploded with pepper and blackberries, a comfort food wine. Only 575 cases were produced and we bought one of them.

The wines we tasted ranged in price from $20-$40 and all were well worth it! However, it's really hard to find Ceja in Florida. Sorry for the tease. Join the wine club.

The tasting room also offers gourmet foods, cozy seating and engaging art work. In addition Ceja hosts a Salsa night at the neighboring Bistro Sabor on Saturdays. Very cool place to visit.