2004 Nepenthe Tryst Red

From the Adelaide Hills of South Australia, the Tryst Red is an eclectic blend, based on Cabernet Sauvignon, Tempranillo and Zinfandel. This combination works remarkably well, resulting in a fruit driven wine which is approachable and fragrant. Easy drinking wine for dining outdoors.

Notes from Wine Spectator: "Supple, open-textured and appealing for its dark berry and pepper flavours, melding together on the harmonious finish."

We served this at a small barbeque with hamburgers, hot dogs, and orzo salad.

2004 Ravenswood Zinfandel, Big River Vineyard

For most California wine consumers, Ravenswood Winery just outside of downtown Sonoma, is synonymous with Zinfandel. This is one of their Vineyard Designate wines that we acquired when we were members of their wine club.

This is a classic Zin from one of the oldest vineyards in northern Sonoma County's Alexander Valley. The vines date back to the 1890s.

This Zinfandel is a fruit bomb. Rated: 89-91. Full red-ruby. Bitter cherry, plum and licorice on the nose. Soft, sweet and easygoing. Enticing flavors of black raspberry, sweet cherry and milk chocolate. With aeration, this quickly gained in thickness and weight. Zinfandel in a merlot style.

2005 Treana Winery White, Mer Soleil Vineyard

We served this wine tonight while watching Barack Obama's acceptance speech for the Democratic Party's nomination for President.

Treana Winery is located in Paso Robles, CA, exactly mid-way between Los Angeles and San Francisco, in the heart of California’s distinctive Central Coast region.

Winemaker's notes:

"Treana White is a Rhône-style blend of Marsanne and Viognier, two varieties that thrive in California's Central Coast growing region. Fruit for the blend is sourced from the Mer Soleil Vineyard in the Santa Lucia Highlands just south of Monterey Bay. Cool maritime winds off the bay keep the vineyards temperate all summer long.

One of the coolest vintages in recent memory, 2005 offered ideal conditions for Viognier and Marsanne resulting in a wine of excellent balance and complexity. The 2005 Treana White displays elegant varietal characteristics; vibrant floral aromas of honeysuckle and jasmine are followed by ripe stone fruit flavors, hints of pear and honey overtones. Solid minerality lends complexity and structure. The mouthfeel is lush and full, while bright acidity cleans the palate offering ease and versatility to food pairing. The 2005 Treana White will age beautifully over the next decade."

This wine is a great price-performer. It is available at Costco, wine.com, and other retailers.

1999 Marimar Estate Pinot Noir, Don Miguel Vineyard

We served this unfiltered Pinot Noir as a red wine option while we watched Barack Obama's acceptance speech.

Picked up this wine as part of my initial wine club shipment. Marimar Estate in the Sebastopol area of Western Sonoma County is owned by the Torres family, one of the biggest names in Spanish wine. They also have a winery in Chile. Marimar Torres is the proprietor and winegrower.

The Russian River/Green Valley appellation where the winery is located in a perfect microclimate for growing Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Only 10 miles from the Pacific Ocean and 50 miles north of San Francisco, the site is influenced by the sea's cooling breezes and drifting fog.

We visited the winery earlier this year. They have two huge metal sculptures of their English Springer Spaniels on the hillside below a beautiful, modern tasting room building. Winston and Spencer insisted we join the wine club of their cousins.

Their Don Miguel Vineyard is named in honor of Marimar's late father.

I felt that this wine was near the end of its good drinkability years. I'm glad we enjoyed it now.

2004 Matrix Syrah, Grove Vineyard

We had a group of people over for dinner tonight and this was the red wine we served. Very unusual color, almost purple. Everyone who tasted this Syrah raved about it. Unfortunately, it was my only bottle of this particular wine and it was only sold at the winery.

Matrix Winery is located on Westside Road, just south of the town of Healdsburg in the Russian River Valley area of Sonoma County. Grove Vineyard is located just south of the city of Santa Rosa.

For appetizers we served shrimp cocktails, stuffed mushrooms, and cheeses. For the main course, we served BBQ brisket, Caren's famous baked beans, corn bread, cole slaw and watermelon. For dessert, Caren baked her pina colada cake.

See below for the white wines we served.

2006 Black Pig Albariño

This white wine is from the Rias Baixas Appellation near Galicia, Spain.

Tasting notes from Wine Library: "This is exceptional Albariño. This has just enough fat to match up to the beautifully crisp, vibrant and fresh finish. The fruit flavors are soft and complex, with notes of peach, pear, apple and mango. Notes of flowers, minerals and sea salt cap off the wonderfully dynamic and well made wine."

Great wine to serve with appetizers as it pairs with many foods and tastes great when well chilled. Our dinner party group drank nearly two bottles of this - I think they enjoyed it.

2005 Tablas Creek Bergeron

Tablas Creek is a California central coast (Paso Robles) winery renowned for their Rhone varietals. They were founded by the Perrin family of Château de Beaucastel in France and Robert Haas from the U.S..

We have a number of bottles of different Tablas Creek varietals and we enjoy them all. This wine was only available to wine club members.

Bergeron is the name for the Rousanne grape in France's Savoie region, where it is known for producing crisp, bright wines. The 2005 Bergeron is exotic in the nose, and balances clear pineapple and lychee fruit in the mouth with good richness, fresh acidity, and a touch of oak. A treat with shellfish such as the shrimp we served.

We got a lot of comments about this wine. People fell in love with it from the first sip. Good thing that I have a bottle from the 2006 vintage still in the cellar.

2005 MacPhail Pinot Noir, Sonoma Coast, Sangiacomo Vineyard

Yet another great Sonoma County Pinot Noir (seems like our cellar has gotten loaded with them). MacPhail Family Wines is a small producer that makes outstanding Pinot Noirs from various vineyards in Sonoma and Mendocino counties. There were only 255 cases of this wine produced, nearly all of it sold to their mailing list and to a select group of restaurants.

From Wine Enthusiast magazine: "Made from Dijon clones, the wine shows a brilliant purity of cherry fruit, with rich, earthy complexities of mushrooms, forest floor, cola and balsam. Bone dry, it has an elegantly silky quality that cries out for the best foods." Rating - 93 points.

We served it with Teriyaki Barbeque Chicken Breasts, Snap Pea Salad with Sesame Oil Dressing, and Rice with Green Onions.

2004 Chardonnay, Carneros, Sangiacomo Vineyard

Another wonderful wine from Doug Peters out of his warehouse winemaking facility just north of the town of Sebastopol in Sonoma County.

Winemaker's notes: This delicious, beautifully balanced chardonnay reflects both its Burgundian vinification and its Carneros single vineyard terroir. On the nose the wine exhibits fragrant floral and tropical fruit aromas. On the palate, the wine showcases creamy meyer lemon, honeydew, pineapple, and vanilla notes, followed by light mineral, caramel and butterscotch notes on the seamless finish. This sumptuous golden blonde chardonnay is drinking beautifully now in its youth, and will continue to mature throughout the course of the decade.

Doug's description is "right on."

91 Points-Wine Enthusiast Magazine
Highly Recommended-Appellation America, November 2006

Served this with a light dinner of salad and flatbread pizza.

2005 Williams Selyem Russian River Valley Pinot Noir

This is the Williams Selyem 25th Anniversary vintage. From the winery's website: "The Pommard clone predominant in this blend is reminiscent of blackberries, plums, cloves, black truffle, cola and crème brûlée. The rich and broad tannins accentuate blackberry-plummy fruits and complement the creamy, silky, yet fat finish and concentrated berry/spicy flavors."

Bottom line - this is a really, really good Sonoma Pinot Noir. 3,308 cases made.

We had the wine with a light dinner of cheeses, fruit, marcona almonds, salami, and bread.

2005 Turley Zinfandel - Duarte Vineyard

Had several friends over to watch the Olympics on television. Slow cooked a pork shoulder on the BBQ to make pulled pork sandwiches. Side dishes of cole slaw and mac and cheese. Caren made a "pina colada" cake for dessert.

This was one of two wines we served. From a vineyard in Contra Costa County. Turley is one of the premier California Zinfandel producers.

Critic review - "Dark red. High-toned, fruit-driven aromas of dark cherry and raspberry. Dense, sappy and sweet, with a candied, liqueur-like character to its red berry and spice flavors. Offers an enticing sugar/acid balance." I agree. Excellent Zinfandel that wasn't overly spicy. Paired well with the BBQ sauce on the pork.

Consistently rated at 90 points and above by all the wine critics and members of Cellartracker.

2006 Leonesse Cellars Viognier

From Temecula Valley, about 100 miles southeast of us in southern Riverside County. We've been members of their wine club for several years. Nearly impossible to find their wines outside of the Temecula and San Diego area.

This Viognier is fresh and inviting, offering aromas of honeysuckle and orange blossom typical of this varietal. Caren likes the nose on a Viognier. Blended with 18% Roussanne, this wine is bursting with layers of apricot and melon before a crisp, clean and refreshing finish.

This was the white wine we served for the Olympics party.

2005 Lewis Cellars Ethan's Syrah

Made from cooler-climate vines, this Syrah from Sonoma County grapes is similar to a good Rhône wine. Smoky fruit, white pepper and wildflowers fill the nose and flavors of violets and bacon dominate the palate. 300 cases produced.

Reviewers on Cellartracker think this wine needs more aging and that Lewis Cellars makes other Syrahs that are better. I thought this Syrah was quite good once the bottle sat opened for a while or you let the wine sit in your glass for a bit. I have another bottle in the cellar that I'll sit on for another year or more.

Brought this wine to Ed and Elyn's for their pool party and pot luck dinner of gourmet "small plates" food. Vienna hot dogs from Chicago, sliders made with filet mignon, pastrami pizza from Downey Pizza Company, ribs, Caren's mac and cheese (heavy on the cheeses), homemade sushi, crostini topped with fresh fig slices and gorgonzola cheese, a full cheese course, and six different gelatos. I know I left some of the foods out of this list.

2005 J. Rochioli Russian River Valley Chardonnay


A blend from three of Rochioli's Estate Chardonnay vineyards: 46% River Block, 44% Mid 40 vineyard, 10% Sweetwater vineyard. For people, like me, that can't get on Rochioli's mailing list that currently has a 5+ year wait, this is something that is available and is worth buying and drinking. Second wine we brought to Ed and Elyn's pool party.

• Color: Straw yellow.
• Aroma: Aromas of ripe apple, tropical fruit and a touch of spice.
• Taste: Rich apple flavors and a crisp acidity.
• 2150 cases were produced.

2003 Mueller Pinot Noir Russian River Valley - Emily’s Cuvée

Mueller Winery produces small quantities of Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Zinfandel, Syrah and Pinot Gris from the Russian River and Sonoma Coast regions of California. Their winery is located on Starr Road in the Russian River Valley.

The Emily’s Cuvée is produced primarily from pinot noir grapes from a single vineyard near the banks of the Russian River. From Wine Spectator which gave the wine a 93 rating and named it one of the Top 100 wines of 2006: "The wine has a deep, rich cranberry color. Fragrant rose petal and raspberry aromas turn elegant and stylish on the palate, with fresh, lively acidity and a sleek, rich aftertaste. Wonderful balance, finesse and delicacy. The finish sails on."

We had this wine at Citrus at Social restaurant in Hollywood with our friends Elyn and Ed. We ordered a variety of appetizers and main courses that we shared.

2005 J. Rochioli Rose' of Pinot Noir

From the famed Russian River Valley vineyards of J. Rochioli - makers of some of the best single vineyard American Pinot Noirs.

Fairly rich red color with a hint of orange. Nose of watermelon jolly ranchers. Tart on the palate with nice mineral on the finish.

Had two couples over to see the wine cellar and we served cheese and light snacks.

2006 Alta Vista Premium Torrontes

The region of Cafayate in Salta, Argentina is particularly famous for its unique microclimate, high altitude and excellent soil drainage, and is confirmed as the best place in the world to grow Torrontes. Some of the world's highest vineyards are located here at altitudes up to 2,000m above sea level.

With a bright yellow color and delicate floral aromas, this Premium Torrontes is fresh and lively with excellent balance and vibrant acidity. Great summer drinking wine.

2002 Ravenswood Zinfandel - Barricia Vineyard

From an old vines vineyard in the Sonoma Valley. Flavors of blackberries, raspberries, allspice, and vanilla. Wine Enthusiast rating 90 points. We have several bottles from this vintage and later years.

Served the wine with BBQ hamburgers and salad. Still adjusting to real American fare after our trip to Burgundy.

2005 Michael David Incognito Viognier

The Michael-David family of wines are from the Lodi, California area, near Sacramento. They specialize in several very popular, value priced wines. Probably their most famous wine is "7 Deadly Zins."

Incognito's grapes are grown in the Ripken Vineyard, east of the Carquinez Straits in the Sacramento River Delta. Warm days and cool evenings - reminiscent of the clone's native Rhone Valley - produce the powerful and intense fruit with a sultry body that characterizes this wine, making it unlike any other Viognier.

Pear and honeysuckle aromas open up into flavors of passion fruit, green apple and a lingering finish. It's a very good summer drinking wine. We had it with a large barbequed chicken salad.

2004 Fielding Hills RiverBend Red Wine

Fielding Hills Winery was started in 2000 by Mike and Karen Wade. It is located in the Yakima Valley of eastern Washington State, one of the hottest areas for new wines in the U.S..

This wine is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah, and Cabernet Franc grapes from their vineyard in the Wahluke Slope appellation. It has intense fruit flavors of blackberry and black cherry with great smoothness (i.e. light on the tannins). Wine Spectator rated it 90 points and Wine Enthusiast rated it 93 points. 142 cases were produced.

We served it with grilled sausages and an assortment of grilled vegetables.