OUR AUGUST ROAD TRIP

Hello,

Dorianne and I took a 4100 mile road trip last month, with stops in some interesting wine locations, specifically, the Okanagen region in British Columbia and the Willamette Valley in Oregon. Here are a couple of highlights from the trip:

One was Summerhill Pyramid Winery in Kelowna, BC. Their specialty is sparkling wines. Like many of the 80 wineries surrounding Lake Kelowna, a 90 mile long glacial lake in central BC, Summerhill specializes in white grapes. Those who offer red wines (other than Pinot Noir, which can grow around the lake), grow their red grapes to the south, near the US border.

Summerhill ages their wines in a Pyramid - a unique feature that gets lots of attention. And yes, Californians, you can meditate in the Pyramid!

We had a fabulous Sunday brunch at Summerhill's beautiful winery. A number of Okanagen wineries have restaurants, and Summerhill's is excellent. A buffet featuring seafood and other items accompanied the sparkling wine very nicely. We sat on a patio with lake views.

We were joined by our hosts in Kelowna, Dr. Kenn and Rev. Deborah Gordon.

The Okanagen region is beautiful, but has a short growing season. The winters are mild by Canada standards, but not mild enough to provide a long enough season for most red grapes. Of course, Ice Wine is featured - which is harvested after the first freeze.

Summerhill is the largest organic winery in Canada. You can visit their site at http://www.summerhill.bc.ca/.

Later in the trip, we visited Oregon's Willamette Valley, the home of some of the finest Pinot Noir on the planet. We only had a short stop - a late afternoon and an early morning, so we visited only two wineries. The highlight was definitely Adelsheim Vineyards in Newberg. After a 5 hour drive, it was nice to have a tasting in their beautiful tasting room, then a picnic lunch (with goodies purchased that morning from Pikes Place Market in Seattle) and a half-bottle of Adelshien's 2006 Pinot Gris. Dave Page, in the tasting room, was both knowledgeable and helpful.

This was a nice, crisp wine with dominant pear and apple flavors that were a wonderful complement to our picnic goodies.

We also purchased some of Adelshein's 2005 Pinot Noir. This is their standard Pinot, and I found it to have the nicest character of the several we tasted. It's not that the higher-end Pinots were not wonderful - it's just that THIS Pinot was just as wonderful, if not more so. This signature wine can be found at better wine stores, at least on the west coast (where you can usually get it at Bev-Mo).

These are a couple of the highlights of the trip. One more was the Dreamgiver's Inn, the B&B just outside of Newberg, OR, where we stayed. Just 2 years old, the home is beautiful and the hospitality of owner Linda Kessler is just what you want. We highly recommend it.

'Till Next Time,

The Wine Saver

PRICE ALERT!

Hello,

Just a quick note to let folks who live near a Cost Plus World Market that they have Los Vascos Cabernet Sauvignon on sale for $6.99.

This is a great wine at an incredible price - see the archives for a review!

'Till Next Time,

The Wine Saver

WE'RE BACK - A TRIBUTE TO BEARITAGE

Hello,

We are back from vacation - with lots to blog about, including visits to the Okanagen region in British Columbia, the Williamette Valley in Oregon, and a few other choice tidbits.

But I'm not ready to list everything just yet, so I'll just make this entry a tribute to a really nice wine that will be pretty hard to find -

Bearitage, Lot #12, from Gundlach-Bundschu ($11.99), last produced a few years back. The label shown here is from an earlier release - Lot #12 is from 2001 & 2002 Grapes.

I used to drink this wine often when I lived in Florida, and the suppliers in Southern California have gradually run out.

I found a bottle at Bev-Mo, where I had not seen it for about 18 months. The bottle was just sitting there on the shelf. I took it to the register and it did not come up in the computer - apparently, it has been sitting there mixed in with other wines for quite a while.

Dorianne and I took the wine to a conference in Pacific Grove, CA in July, anticipating sharing it with a friend and fellow Bearitage lover from Ft Lauderdale, Tom Schon. Well, Tom had to cancel his attendance, and the bottle came back to Westlake with us.

Then, after our trip in August (4100 miles of driving), Tom came to LA for another conference, and he stopped by the house for dinner. We opened the Bearitage and it was excellent - a very lush wine, with heavy fruit - cherry mostly - and spice. It has an excellent finish - a really nice wine.

From the Winemaker:

WINEMAKER TASTING NOTES
Intense red currant and clove aromas with cedar accents lead to lush, mouth-filling flavors of red cherry and spice. Cabernet Sauvignon gives this lush wine its weight and firm structure, while the opulent Zinfandel fruit contributes the long, fruit-drenched finish. Bearitage may benefit from additional cellaring, but is ready to drink upon release.

If anyone knows where I can get some more, please let me know!

'Till Next Time,

The Wine Saver

WINERY VISIT

Hello,

We just returned from 10 days in Monterey/Pacific Grove, CA, where we attended the Religious Science International Annual Conference at Asilomar. A wonderful event.

We had some wonderful restaurant experiences there, including CASSANOVA in Carmel, FANDANGO in Pacific Grove, and THE FISH WIFE, also in Pacific Grove. I highly recommend them all when you visit. Both CASSANOVA and FANDANGO have extensive wine lists - CASSANOVA has 5 pages of half-bottles alone!

On the drive back down to Thousand Oaks, we made our annual stop at the LAETITIA and BARNWOOD tasting room, and for the first time, we stopped at DOVER CANYON winery in Templeton, just south of Paso Robles.

We had a Dover Canyon wine called "Bone Lore" at a tasting in Monterey earlier in the week, and were intrigued enough to stop on the way south. After a lunch at McFEE'S GRILL on Main Street in Templeton (another great restaurant), we drove west toward Dover Canyon Winery.

The location is very picturesque, with orchards and vineyards on the property, a quaint farmhouse, and a modest tasting room. Dover Canyon specializes in Zinfandels. There were three whites and nine reds on the tasting list (2 of the reds were reserved for wine club members only).

Dorianne and I bought bottles of the 2004 Viognier, a very nice white wine, with tropical fruit flavors and a very nice dry finish. Only 8 barrels were produced. We also purchased some of the Bone Lore, a Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, and Syrah blend - smooth and very nice nose and flavor.

At Laetitia, where we are members of the wine club, we tasted a number of wines from a large selection of reds, whites, roses, and sparkling wines. We purchased two nice whites, a 2004 Barnwood Sauvignon Blanc, a real bargain at just $8 per bottle, and their 2005 Laetitia Pino Blanc, a wonderful white wine at just $18 ($14.40 for wine club members).

Laetitia is available at select retailers, such a Bev-Mo, and Dover Canyon is available at a few selections (listed on the website) and through the winery. Their web sites are: http://www.dovercanyon.com/ and http://www.laetitiawine.com/.

'Till Next Time,

The Wine Saver

A TRIP TO MICHIGAN

Hello,


Last week, Dorianne and I flew to Traverse City, Michigan, at the top of the state, to pick up our daughter from camp. While there, we took a day (my birthday, in fact) to drive out to the Old Mission Peninsula and visit some wineries. I must say that the experience was better than I expected.


First of all, the area is beautiful. It's green, it's surrounded by lakes, there are cherry orchards, vineyards, and rolling countryside. Beautiful. And, you could not see the air, which is nice for someone from near Los Angeles.


Second, the wines were very nice. We visited three wineries, Brys Estates, Bowers Harbor Vineyards, and Peninsula Cellars. Each was charming, set in a beautiful location, and had some nice wines. The best, in our opinion, was Brys Estates. They have obviously put a lot of capital into their operation, with 24 acres under cultivation, a state of the art tasting room and winery, and a very knowledgeable staff.



It was a great trip, and I recommend it to anyone who likes beautiful countryside, nice wines, and by the way, very nice dining. We took some pictures, but I don't have access to them right now - I'll post some later.


Tomorrow, we leave for 10 days on the Monterey Peninsula where we will attend a conference. I'm sure there will be some excuse to have some wine. Stay tuned.


'Till Next Time,
The Wine Saver

THE FINAL WHITE WINE

Hello:

The final white wine at the White Wine Tasting was:

2005 Andrew Murray Enchante, 50% Rouanne, 50% Marsanne ($22).

The wine was brought by Brad & Karen, who also brought the Dutcher Crossing Sauvignon Blanc.

The Enchante represents an unusual blend of grapes for the Central Coast of California. I have been to the winery, and Andrew Murray is one of the more serious winemakers in the area. They make a very nice product. Their website is http://www.andrewmurrayvineyards.com/.

So to the wine.

The nose was noted as being crisp, with pear, apple, peaches, and a hint of oak.

The taste was noted as complex, with mineral, honey, pear, butter, peach, honeysuckle, and jasmine.

The wine was rated #1 by two people, then #2, #5, #6 - it is a wine that makes a definite impression.

Again, the final bottle opened, a 2005 Murphy-Goode Fume Blanc, was tainted and undrinkable. Again, I note that this is a very nice wine, one I have reviewed on the site before, and an excellent everyday white wine.

So thanks to Dennis, Diane, Brad, Karen, Marge for joining Dorianne and I for the 4th festivities.

'Till Next Time,

The Wine Saver

From EL BLOGGO TORCIDO

A wonderful statement about drinking wine . . .

FIVE STARS

Tell me what you ate with the wine.
Tell me how the wine made you feel.
Tell me how it smelled.
Tell me what memories the wine evoked.
Tell me what senses were engaged. Tell me what flavors excited you.
Tell me how it connected you with the people who made the wine, the people that grew it, the people who thought to share it with you.
Tell me about your friends, tell me about your family, tell me about the lover you shared the wine with.
Tell me about their passions.
Tell me about your passions.
Next time you make love, tell me how it rated on a five star scale.
Q.E.D.

http://www.elbloggotorcido.com/2007/06/five-stars.html

'Till Next Time,
The Wine Saver