Anyway, I’m going to try and find an interesting and entertaining way to get back in to Wine but I don’t know when that’s going to be, so don’t hold your breath. Just hold your spot on the guest list by subscribing to the blog and you’ll be the first to know when the Wino articles and juices start flowing again!

Kamary Phillips • Indie Wino

It’s no secret that grape skin extract contains an incredible anti-oxidant, called Resveratrol. So, it almost goes without saying, because it’s pretty logical, that its highest concentration is found in red wine. Now, with that in mind, there’s no more delectable way to get your daily “anti-oxidant dose” as in drinking a glass of red wine, right?! Well, maybe. Read on.

Okay, I know some of you are wondering what the hell an anti-oxidant is and what it’s good for. I know because I was just like you before I wrote this, LOL! So, for the record;

An antioxidant is a molecule capable of inhibiting the oxidation of other molecules.

And what good is all that, you might ask? Well, inhibiting molecules is essentially a way to influence good health and life longevity. That’s all. The 60 MINUTES video below is a great watch, however focuses on a particular company pioneering this field.

Drinking red wine daily is a good thing. Yeah, sure–in moderation. There are a number of scientific and cultural studies supporting that frequent wine drinking (a glass a day) has positive health benefits. Europeans have known this for decades, with France leading the way statistically, in terms of healthy citizens. Wine drinking is an important part of the French culture and they have far fewer cases of heart disease and diabetes as the United States.

In our bodies, one of the bad proteins which causes atherosclerosis (heart disease) is called Endothelin-1. Scientific research has proven that consuming red wine stops this protein from developing, or reduces its presence if developed already. One particular study conducted with red wine consumption, saw that in 68% of participants there was a reduction in the development of that naughty Endothelin-1.

Grape Skins - Great Source Of Anti-Oxidants

Grape skins are filled to the brim with plant polyphenols and polyphenols are naturally produced by the grape to protect them from disease and this is what they do for us when they are consumed. Everything in moderation is the key, and only one glass a day should be consumed, although some will inevitably drink more. That’s a Wino for ya, ha! But if for some reason you are unable to drink red wine at all (and the point of living would be…?), it is available in supplement form.

Go ahead and watch the clip to learn far more than I can pass on in this article. At any rate, drink a glass of wine a day. What the hell, you’ve got nothing to lose and quite possibly more than just great taste and a good buzz to gain.

Wine on.

Kamary Phillips • Indie Wino

Anyway, pleased to help and would love to try some Passaggio Wine sooner than later myself. Had it? Comment and let us know your thoughts. Meanwhile, I’ll be blogging and tweeting about this action in all the usual places.

Wine on…

Kamary Phillips • Indie Wino

I’m very much a Wino on a budget and not ashamed to admit. Such is life. Such is my life. All the more reason that I can appreciate finding such a gem and on rare occasions. I’m quite certain this wine currently sells at RALPH’S for $4.99 for no other reason than the need to compete in our California wine market. It’s absolutely worth more. I would expect it to be between $12 and $15 under normal circumstances. Hey, I’m not complaining about the price, that’s for sure!

“Grapes, Sun, Wind and a dash of Daring…” That’s Black Swan’s Cabernet. A damn good deal. I’ll be checking out the Chard when I’ve got another 5′er to spare.

Wine on…

Kamary Phillips•Indie Wino

It’s no real secret that many wine producers are betting the future of wine on the Chinese market. This notion is growing just as much as, well, China itself is. It should certainly come to no surprise that the Chinese have discovered an appetite for Wine and of course they know how to make it. What DON’T they know how to make?




BEHIND THE GRAPE-WALL OF CHINA
My position on this subject is most certainly based Politically, Nationalistic, and Economical. As for the Culture, to each their own though I couldn’t imagine eating a lot of the things you see sold at markets.

Behind The Grape Wall Of China

Contrary to my other global, human counterparts, I for one am not a big fan of Chinese manufacturing, in general. I guess that’s because the majority of products I personally encounter in my daily life adorning a MADE IN CHINA stamp or sticker on it, are crap. Actually, CRAP.

So, if you’re listening CHINA, if your plan is simply to crank out bizillions of watered down, tasteless bottles of “Wine”, do the world a big favor and stay out of the vineyard. I’ve yet to taste a brilliant Chinese beer, for example, though I see them popping up everywhere here. Now that China has an official middle-class citizenship, no idea how big that is, production is clearly about quantity, not quality and we continue forking the money over. Well, not we. I’m truly am one of those guys to give an American product a chance first, followed by a German one. Vice versa when I’m abroad. Are there not enough Chinese people in China to market too? Oh, forgot, the majority are still poor by comparison.

At present, the export sales to most countries are weak, but China will undoubtedly find their way to your dinner table. Let’s hope they at least adhere to wine making best practices. I’d hate to discover some strange, fancy new chemical being added for color and taste which causes children to be born with 5 limbs. You’ll never know, until you know. Bought any playthings for your toddlers that were made in China lately? DON’T.

Current figures do suggest that China is now the biggest export market for Bordeaux wine, ahead of the UK, though I don’t know the validity of those figures. For those who want to know more about China and about how wine is sold and understood in China, there is a special blog in that very subject. It is written by a Chinese journalist living in France, Jia Peng, so it is in French. Use Google Translate or something to understand the basics. It’s called Le Marché du Vin en Chine. I for one, am far too lazy.

No, with my limited funds I will continue to support Wines and winemakers I can trust and a bit closer to home. Any huge Chinese wine fans out there, feel free to send us a bottle of your best. I’ll review it along with another more experienced Palate and I’ll be happy to admit being wrong minded. Until then, I’m anti-Chinese manufacturing, no matter what the hell it is. Wine production should not be a mega-mass produced, numbers game. But that’s just me. What do I know, I’m just an American wino with European citizenship who doesn’t knowledgeably support any country that still executes it’s citizens on the streets nor respects the rights of animals. I could go on…

Viva Sonoma!

Cheers,
K.

Jakki from Temecula

Temecula Rancho California Road

I cannot lie…I haven’t tasted everywhere in Temecula.  Some places I will talk about that I haven’t tasted at in a long time.  However, in addition to the delightful (and some horrific) taste sensations I have experienced combined with what I can draw from the experiences of my fellow wine stewards, I believe I can give you all at least some good general guidelines to places to visit depending on what kind of day you would like to have in this little but very interesting wine valley.

Tour #1:  I will call this the “Bachelorette/Birthday Party of People who don’t really drink wine but go winetasting anyway” Tour.  Sometimes there are serious wine drinkers in these groups, but actually placing something delectable on one’s palate is really not the focus for these folks.  I base my advice on where to go on a few different aspects of the joint. Things to look for in this case might be:

- Large rooms (noisy drunk high-pitched voices more tolerable)
-Sweet wines/Champagnes (lets face it…the point is not to experience the perfect balance of tannins, oak and acidity)
-Food (there may come a moment when being able to sit and eat is essential).
-Gift Shop (for those ladies who find even the sweetest, softest wines unpalatable and are along for the ride or for the Moms who don’t want to hover while their daughter gets shit-faced).
-Places to sit.  So no one has to fall down.

For this tour I recommend in no particular order, Wilson Creek Winery (home of the famous (or infamous?) Almond Champagne), South Coast Winery (equipped with an entire hotel for serious partiers), Ponte Winery, Longshadow Ranch and Winery (this place is actually on every list and can accommodate any group), Maurice Carrie (great little farmers market on the weekends), and Mount Palomar (purely because they have a deli, which means quick food when you need it).

Not to say the mentioned wineries don’t have fabulous wines, authentic winemaking traditions and values, but let’s face it those aren’t high on the priority list for this tour.

Tour #2: This would be the “All around interested in wines but no specific agenda or palate tour”.  This is my personal favorite kind of group to deal with, because people are interested in learning, in stories, and are very open to trying everything.  The best wineries for this tour feature good examples of every wine genre’, an outgoing friendly staff, and a relaxed but still professional atmosphere.
Things to look for:

-A tasting list that is balanced and includes at least a few whites, reds and sweet wines.
-The servers must be friendly and not immediately seem wine-obsessed (even though many of us are) because this can be intimidating.  Servers must also not be “pour and walk away” types.  These are people who are looking to grow their wine spirit, if you will.  So sharing about wine in a way that seems inclusive is very important.
-A great wine club.  These are the people that will learn from being wine club members, and will remain loyal if their experience is great every time.

For Tour # 2, I would recommend the vast majority of wineries on the De Portola Wine Trail, which is a road that parallels the main drag about 2 miles to the south.  There are about nine wineries over on the less beaten path, and some of the best experiences and low key atmospheres are found at Frangapani, Oak Mountain (who also feature Avocado Oil Tastings), Robert Renzoni and Cougar.  On the main drag, try Wiens Family Cellars, Miramonte, Baily Winery, Cougar and Longshadow Ranch and Winery.  Vindemia and Doffo are also nice little places, but have limited hours so check first!

Tour #3:  The “I know wine, I have been to Napa/Italy/France (yadda yadda) so impress me”. This can be a great tour, or the absolute worst.  I had some people the other day who missed out on some great wines because they had already decided they didn’t like them before they walked through the door.  That honestly showed how little they actually know because while most grapes have distinct characteristics, there are no absolutes in wine making.  From the region, the ever-changing terrior, the weather for that vintage, any grape can be almost unrecognizable from its counterparts of past years, other regions, etc.  (I personally have fooled more than one fool who thought they “didn’t care for Merlot” by pouring it for them anyway unbeknownst to them). However, if this tour arrives with an open mind, friendly spirit and a honed palate they may really be the ones to get how special a wine region we have in Temecula.

Things to look for:

-Good freakin winemaking.  Bottom line.  First and foremost.  Big place, or little place, family owned or corporate owned, doesn’t matter.  That winemaker just needs to know his stuff.  Period.  With that said, my personal experience has been that the best wines are at places where the winemaker is also the winery owner or at least part owner and it’s a labor of love and a lifestyle, not just a business.
-Also helpful:  Knowledgeable but smartly humble staff.  It is great when we know our stuff but even better when we can actually be smart enough to stop and listen. This is often how I have learned about wines.
-Correctly priced wines:  For these folks, it doesn’t matter if your wine costs ten bucks, or a hundred bucks, so long as the taste and quality justifies the price.  The higher priced wines most often are the best tasting, but that often isn’t why they are more costly. The most intensely flavored, more complex wines come most often from grapes that have the lowest yield per acre.  In other words, everything     good at work in a vineyard (soil, minerals, sunlight, canopy, etc) is concentrated in fewer, maybe smaller berries so there may be a lot less juice to ferment but its far more interesting and concentrated.  And thus, you get a lot less wine from your land and therefore it is more costly to make.  Anyway, these people typically know all this stuff.

My suggestions for this tour are of course mostly the boutique wineries, which currently include Briar Rose, Doffo, Palumbo, and Gordon Baccus.  Also serving high end, seriously good wines that may appeal to these honed palates are Wiens Family Cellars (fruit forward but big and balanced reds), Leonesse, Hart Winery (very highly oaked reds), Oak Mountain, Frangapani, Robert Renzoni, and Longshadow Ranch and Winery.

Hope this gives anyone who comes out this way at least a general framework to begin from….the rest is up to you!   Cheers and see you on the Wine Trail…..

Peace, love and vino!

J.

Sommelier Jodi Fritch

Every once in a while I abuse this forum to get up on my soap box. This morning being one of those times. At this time I would like to remind everyone that wine is a business. Free tastings are never really free.

The whole reason that wine retailers and distributors and suppliers provide free tastings is so that consumers (and hopefully customers) can try the wine, determine what they like, and make a purchase. When wine is poured at a tasting someone has to pay for the wine, and the people that are there pouring it. This is a cost of doing business that we all have become accustomed to. After 7+ years in this business, what I have not become accustomed to is the number of people who think that a free wine tasting is a way to get their drink on, for free, before going on with the rest of their evening, the number of requests that I receive to do free tastings, and the countless requests for donations of wine.

Almost every wine retailer that I do business with is just like everyone else in this economy, struggling.

So, I humbly request that we all remember what these tastings are for and try to behave with a little more grace at these free wine tastings. Here are three basic tips to help:

1. Sample each wine thoughtfully

2. Ask questions of the representative pouring the wine

3. If a wine does not suit your taste, ask for other recommendations

Sommelier Jodi Fritch

The other day I came across the statement “taking the mystery out of wine and making it fun.” For some reason this statement became stuck in my head, like a bad jingle. For days, I walked around wondering why I could not let this statement go, and then it occurred to me . . . the mystery is what makes wine fun for me.

Wine is a journey of discovery and like any learning experience, there are going to be some mistakes along the way, but that’s okay. I can tell you that after several years in the business, I still pick out bottles that are less than stellar, although far less often that I used to.

Someone once told me that the most important thing you can ever take to a wine-tasting is an ‘open-mind.’ Especially during the summer months, when the weather heats up, I encourage you to embrace an open minded approach to wine. There are so many delicious white wines from more obscure varietals that pair with summertime foods beautifully.

I recommend this approach: Instead of buying two bottles of your favorite Chardonnay the next time you are at the wine store, pick up your usual and commit to picking up a bottle of a white wine that is new to you. Invite some friends over and share your new discovery.

Another great idea is to plan a ‘summer white’ event. We used to hold a dinner at the restaurant at the end of summer. We served five courses paired with only white wine. I find that it is always a surprise to even the most serious wine drinkers how well white wine can pair with so many dishes.

To help you get started, these are some of my favorite ‘off-the-beaten-path’ white wines for summer:

Fiano (Italy) – aromas of honey, almonds, and dried fruit.

Greco (Italy) – rich, fruity flavors, with hints of smoke and pine nuts

Muscadet (France) – citrus fruit flavors with hints of mineral, toast, yeast from sur lie aging (the wine is aged on its yeast cells) crisp with lovely acidity,

Torrontes (Argentina) – aromas of stone fruit and dried hay, a perfect summer patio sipper.

Comment about your favorite off the beaten path white wine. I am always looking for new recommendations.

Jakki from Temecula

It wasn’t all that long ago that I was up in the Santa Maria area for the Santa Barbara Vintner’s Festival. It was a wonderful event held at the grounds of the Firestone Winery with something like 90 wineries represented, and 60 chefs! Sounds like a wino-foodies dream, doesn’t it? And while we did enjoy the day immensely, we quickly learned there was something putting limits on our desire to indulge…and that was a lack of diversity. While some of the wine was amazing….it was nearly ALL Pinot Noir! There was a Cab here and there, and a splattering of other sips I have since forgotten, but for the most part Pinot ruled the day.

I mention my sad experience from about four years ago because although I have been visiting the lovely Santa Barbara area (the wine region is fairly huge, and includes but is not limited to Santa Maria, Los Olivos, and Santa Ynez valley) for its wine country since the early nineties, this experience made me all the more appreciative of the relatively tiny wine valley I now call home. One of the greatest things about Temecula’s wine country is what people in the know call “microclimates”. (We are talking about those folks who know a lot more about vines and soil and climate, and the sum of all the parts called “terroir” than little ol’ me. I am just passing on what I’ve gathered over the years from listening to them). I guess what that means is that we have out here in our valley many different diverse ecological sects, which apparently vary enough to support grapes that benefit from those differences. I am not saying that every type of varietal grows well here, but I will say that it seems this somewhat complex landscape does allow for some good stuff from many wine regions.

The big boys…the most well known and historically identifiable grapes, the most common of the Bordeaux berries, are the ones I honestly have the hardest time with out here. I am sure that some of the locals will hate me for saying that, but this is my personal truth. If you have a better story, bring it. So, anyway, good Cabernets, while possible, are what I have found the least of in Temecula. That goes for Merlots as well. That doesn’t mean you won’t find an outstanding Cabernet at the right winery if you are there at the right time. I have heard more than one senior winery associate say that Cabs are pretty hearty and do just fine in our arid little valley. I can only speak from what has hit my own palate, however, and the little bit of wisdom I have gleamed from quite a few years working in different wine houses. The Bordeaux region is damper and colder on average than So Cal….and that’s just how it is….

That said, some of the other lesser known or lesser produced wines from that region, such as Cabernet Franc, and Petit Verdot are quite often robust, interesting and all around impressive. I’m not sure why these varietals from the Bordeaux region handle heat and gravely, loam soil better than their more popular counterparts, but I will say when you get to Temecula and you see one on a tasting list don’t pass it up.

Then there are the varietals from many other regions that excite me and can be made into some of the best wines I have ever had the pleasure of consuming. No joke folks….the best….The Rhône’s love our soil, our climate, our everything. Syrahs are heavy, sometimes peppery, sometimes screaming out with vanilla but almost always jammy. I personally took one 2007 Temecula Syrah to a gathering with some Los Angeles wine snobs present ( I worked in the restaurant business in LA long enough to have residual friends who still work for high end joints that brag an impressive wine list). I didn’t tell anyone what I had in my brown bag, and waited until the first glass had been consumed for the most part. Then, casually, I moved about the room with bottle in hand, covertly covering the label with my palm. The nearly black elixir swirled and pooled in the bottom of glass after glass, and then, I waited. I didn’t have to wait long either, as the “m-mm’s”, and “oh, my’s” emanated from my guests. It was very satisfying to tell them it was a wine from Temecula…and not even a Reserve at that.

So, my “put that in your pipe and smoke it” Syrah was an example to my friends that we can make at least one kind of great wine. But there is so much more, and Grenache, Mourvedre (which actually hails originally from Spain), and Cinsault vines thrive and meet their true telos in good ol’ Temec. The Spanish ones love us as well….try finding a Tempranillo that isn’t brilliant in this town, unless she’s from out of town. The Mediterranean types…..well, those are amazing too.

I think that the best thing about this wine region, aside from its accessibility, might just be the huge selection of wines you will find here. Not that every winery knows what to do with them….which seems to be the biggest challenge. Maybe I need to tell you exactly where to go for what….so looks like there’s some research in my future!

Peace, love and vino!

I may be finding a way back into Wine-dom and go figure, it may be an Australian wine at that! I’m interested in a Social Media and/or Event Marketing gig. Naw, we’re not talking big money but quite possibly big passion and in the long run, life is short baby! Enjoy it while you can.

Which leads me to ponder; Has anyone tried Razor’s Edge Wine before? I haven’t found it yet in my local market. I’d love some opinions on the product if anyone has one/some. Don’t be shy!

I made this clip simply out of inspiration.