2019 Morgan Cotes du Crow’s

This wine was one of my August wine club selections from the wine shop in town.

Morgan Winery was founded in 1982 in Monterey County; their tasting room is in Carmel, California.  This wine is sourced from their vineyards in the Arroyo Seco and San Lucas appellations of Monterey County.

This Rhone-style blend has a dark ruby red color, and a heavy consistency that sticks to the edges of the glass.  The flavors are raspberry and cherry, along with a light woody tannin.  I opened it on Tuesday, and enjoyed a glass, then got pulled away by life for the next two nights.  It was still delicious on Friday!

This wine was aged in French oak barrels, with 15% new oak that added a hint of spice to the flavor of the wine.  It is not your standard GSM blend, as it contains Tempranillo instead of Mourvedre, but it works for this wine!  The blend: 52% Syrah, 44% Grenache, 4% Tempranillo.

If you have a chance, check this wine out!  You won’t be disappointed.

 

4 Chicks and a Little Bitch: The Presidio & Coit Tower

Day 3, Wednesday, March 28, 2018

After we went to the Sutro Baths, we still had plenty left on the agenda.  We saw the Legion of Honor Museum when we drove by it, and one day I want to visit – but that will have to be a different trip.

We were ready for lunch, so we went over to the Magnolia Gastropub in the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood.  Oh wow, this place was good.  I had the Bombay Bubbles IPA (YUM!) and the Fried Chicken sandwich with a salad. It was soooo delicious!

My beer at Magnolia

 

My fried chicken sandwich

We did some window shopping and Lelani tried on some clothes at a cute little boutique.

I found a dinosaur!

After that we went to the Presidio at Fort Point. Fort Point was built between 1853 and 1861 to protect the San Francisco Bay at the height of the gold rush.  It was designed in the Army’s Third System style, a style adopted in the 1820s, and was the only Fort west of the Mississippi River to be built in this style.  It was in use as an active fort up through World War II, although it never fired a shot at an enemy.

When the Golden Gate Bridge was being constructed in the 1930s, there was discussion of tearing down the now obsolete fort, but fortunately the bridge’s Chief Engineer Joseph Strauss saw the historical significance of the fort and designed an arch that would allow the bridge to be built over the existing fort structure.  I am so glad it could be saved.  Unfortunately the fort is currently only open Fridays through Sundays, so we weren’t able to go inside.  The interior is certainly on my list of places to see!

Fort Point

The pier at Fort Point

The Golden Gate Bridge at Fort Point

The Golden Gate at Fort Point

Fort Point and Golden Gate Bridge

A Presidio Cannon

We walked along the water and climbed the steps down and up from the parking area – that was quite a workout!  We considered walking across the bridge, and I definitely want to do it sometime, but we were worried that all the traffic and the people might be too much and too dangerous for a puppy.  Next time – another thing for my bucket list!

We headed to another area of the Presidio for a late afternoon glass of wine at Sessions restaurant.  I had their happy hour white (twice…); the Ressó 2017 Garnacha Blanc – it was delicious!  I also had two oysters on the half shell, because at happy hour prices of $1.50 each, who wouldn’t?!!  Well, someone who doesn’t like raw oysters, but…  They were amazing!

My wine at Sessions

We sat at their outdoor seating, and it was so nice to just sit outside on a glorious, sunny, hot, March San Francisco day.  Those adjectives don’t normally go with San Francisco, and certainly not in March, so we really soaked it in!  And the folks at Sessions allow dogs in their outdoor seating, you just have to take the dog in through the side door on the patio, so we could linger for a while.  Our server even brought Shaka dog biscuits and a bowl of water!

Our last sightseeing stop of the day was up at Coit Tower.  I had been twice before and loved it each time, and so had Lelani, but the girls had never been.  It was too late in the day to go up to the top (if you get the chance to you should), but we had enough time to do a circuit of the bottom part of the tower.  That’s where (most of) the murals are.

Coit Tower

The murals…  Coit Tower’s murals were painted in 1934 as a part of a Public Works of Art Project, the first of the New Deal employment projects for artists during the Great Depression.  They were painted in the Social Realism style, and depict commerce and industry subjects.  Interestingly, I learned while fact-checking for this blog post, that there are more murals on the second floor that are largely closed to the public.  However, you can see these murals, which depict recreation, if you take a tour (there are some free and some paid tours available).  How did I never know this?!  Yet another reason to visit Coit Tower!

A mural wine shop!

 

Coit Tower Industry

We headed back to our AirBnB for a bit of relaxing before we walked up the street to Zen Sushi for dinner.  This tiny, cramped restaurant had some excellent sushi!  It was a great end to a really good day.

 

2014 Domaine Le Clos des Lumieres Grenache

Thanksgiving weekend was full of good wine – chosen for me by the owner of our local wine shop.  I stopped by the shop the evening before Thanksgiving, and had him pick out an assorted case of reasonably prices wines.  And none of them, so far, have disappointed.  Unfortunately, some went so quickly at our family gathering that I didn’t catch a photo, didn’t get a taste, and I don’t even remember what they were!

2014 Domaine Le Clos des Lumieres – Grenache

Tonight I am enjoying a French Grenache Blanc, a white wine with flavors of pineapple, lychee and apricot, with a bit of minerality.  It has a velvety mouth feel.  It wasn’t chilled when I pulled it from the wine rack, and I actually think it was better that way, with the higher temperature of the wine releasing more of the flavors and aromas.

I could really find much about it online, so you’ll just have to take my word for it that it is a nice, everyday white.  Happy Monday!

 

A Trio from the Mixed Case

We have had several days, and several wines that went by pretty quickly.  Although I don’t have detailed notes on them, I still wanted to share my impressions.

Atteca Old Vines Garnacha – 2012.  This Spanish red is 100% Garnacha, and luckily I got to taste it at the wine shop when I bought the case.  It has flavors of red pepper and significant peppery spice.  But I only got a few sips because Jon stole most of the bottle – he loved it.  This is certainly a wine we will buy again – $14.99

H-Henriques – 2011.  This French wine from the Côtes du Roussillon region is 50% Carignan, 35% Grenache, and 15% Syrah.  When I first tasted this wine, I wasn’t a huge fan.  It tasted highly of alcohol, with very sharp tannins.  After letting the wine sit for an hour, it settled down a bit and it was much more pleasant, but it wasn’t one of my favorites so far.  Jon liked it quite a bit more than I did though. – $7.99

Scaia Corvina – 2012.  This wine comes from the Veneto region of Italy and is 100% Corvina.  Corvina was a new varietal for me, so I was excited to cross it off my wine century club list.  Sadly, there will be no check mark for me.  Jon snuck in while I was working my way through another wine over the course of a couple days,  and drank it all!  I never even got a sip.  Jon loved it though, so we will buy it again – and next time I’ll get some! – $10.99

Happy Wednesday Peeps!

Breaking out of a Wine Rut

I’ve been in a wine rut.  Our travel this year hasn’t been wine focused, so we haven’t sampled very many new wines during tasting room visits.  In looking at the wine we have around the house, most of it is higher end Washington wines and Oregon Pinot Noirs.  While I love Pinots, it isn’t every random Wednesday that I want to open a more expensive bottle.  And trips to the grocery store leave me wandering the wine aisles, not able to get excited about all of the wines I’ve had before, and uncertain about trying something new.

So I had an idea.  I popped down to the local wine shop this afternoon and told the owner that I had a challenge for him, should he choose to accept.  I have been pleased with all the recommendations he has given me before, so why not trust him again?  The challenge?  Put together a mixed case of wines I have never tried.

The parameters:

• Value wines – nothing over $15.00, closer to $10.00 is better
• No Pinot Noir (while I love them, we have plenty already)
• 8 or 9 reds, 3 or 4 whites.

That’s it – no other rules.  If he offered it, and it fit within the parameters, it went into the case.  Of course he accepted, because what wine aficionado wouldn’t?  Here’s what I ended up with.

My Mixed Case of Wine – my descriptions below begin with the wine on the left.

Scaia – 2013.  This wine is a 60% Garganega, 40% Chardonnay blend; an Italian wine from the Veneto region.  Garganega will be a new grape for my Wine Century Club efforts! – $10.99

Atteca – 2012 Old Vines Garnacha.  This Spanish red is 100% Garnacha, and is the one wine I have tried.  They were tasting it this afternoon, and I loved it.  I’ll be curious to see what Jon thinks!  – $14.99

Trentadue – 2012 Old Patch Red.  This red blend from the North Coast of California is 85% Zinfandel, 6% Petite Sirah, 5% Carignane, and 4% Syrah.  – $10.99

Oinos Les Cardères – 2012.  This red blend from the Corbières region of France is 50% Syrah, 25% Grenache and 25% Carignan. – $11.99

La Playa Block Selection Reserve Red Blend Claret – 2012.  Wow, that’s a mouthful for this red blend from the Colchagua Valley of Chile.  60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Malbec and 10% Cabernet Franc. – $11.99

Pelassa Mario’s – 2012.  A red blend of 50% Barbera, 25% Merlot, and 25% Cabernet Sauvignon from the Piedmont region of Italy. – $12.99

H-Henriques – 2011.  This French wine from the Côtes du Roussillon region is 50% Carignan, 35% Grenache, and 15% Syrah. – $7.99

Gerald Talmard Chardonnay – 2013.  French labels are hard…  This wine is from the Mâcon Uchizy region in France.  – $11.99

Torre Gajo Pinot Grigio – 2013.  This wine is from the Delle Venezie region of Italy and comes in a 1000 ML bottle – extra!  – $11.99

Linen Sauvignon Blanc – 2013.  This Columbia Valley wine is produced by Bergevin Lane Vineyards in Walla Walla, WA. – $10.99

Scaia Corvina – 2012.  We are going to try the Scaia white wine, so why not the red?  This one also comes from the Veneto region of Italy and is 100% Corvina. – $10.99

Sagemoor Farms Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon – 2013.  This wine is produced by The House of Independent Producers (HIP); it is a second label for Hedges Family Estate in Benton City, WA. – $12.49

So there’s the line up.  I can’t wait to start sampling.

Have you had any of these wines?  Which one do you think we should open first?

 

Famille Perrin 2011 Réserve Côtes du Rhône

Tonight I’m drinking Famille Perrin 2011 Réserve Côtes du Rhône.  Jon picked it up somewhere and brought it home, and I got the last glass to go with my dinner.  It is a French Syrah, Grenache and Mourvèdre blend made with grapes sourced both from the company’s own vineyards as well as purchased grapes.  Grenache is the primary grape in the blend, making up about 50% of the wine.

Famille Perrin 2011 Réserve Côtes du Rhône

The wine has flavors of tart pie cherry, light tannins and smoke.  It is a fruit-forward, pleasant wine that tastes young, but is a great everyday weeknight wine.  The only thing I didn’t love was a weird flavor of pencil eraser on the finish – it was very brief though!  And no, I can’t explain how I know the taste is pencil eraser…

Overall, this wine is a good wine, and it was well worth the $7.99 price tag.

Harbinger Winery – Home on the Peninsula

After we sat like bumps on a log on Rialto Beach (we were literally sitting on a driftwood log!), we knew we had to begin the long drive back to our hotel in Sequim.

We got back on the road, and drove into the rain that had so kindly not come during our hike in the Hoh Rain Forest and our walk on Rialto Beach.  We were grateful for that, even as we were driving through the rain and approaching darkness.  I was also feeling the effects of our super-early wake up call, so some caffeine was in order – we grabbed a couple of caffeinated drinks at a small country store along the highway.

Soon enough, outside of Port Angeles, I saw a sign announcing a winery (I swear I can spot those suckers from miles away).  We had seen another sign when we were going in the other direction; of course we thought they would be long closed before we headed back that way.  But, as it turns out, it was only 4:30, a bit earlier than we had anticipated.  And Harbinger stays open until 6!

The outside of the winery is a big old warehouse (it used to be a logging truck shop), with these gigantic wooden doors concealing what is going on within.  When you open the doors, you have to turn around and pull them back closed, because this isn’t a door that will swing shut on its own.  Inside, you are greeted with a large tasting room decorated with wine barrels around the edges, a wooden tasting bar with bar stools on the left, and a living room set of a couch and chairs on the right.  In between are several tables and chairs who want a more restaurant feel.

The exterior at Harbinger Winery with those big wooden doors

The joint was jumping!  There were 4 men dressed in camo and overalls seated at one table, sipping red wine (one guy was having a beer) – they looked like the least likely wine lovers I have ever seen.  The couch and chairs were filled with two couples.  A man at another table was chatting up the server and obviously knew her well.  And another guy was going through their beer lineup at the end of the tasting bar.  While we were there, several people came and went.  Even though this was one of the busier tasting rooms we have visited, the two servers were on top of their game, serving promptly and remembering where each customer was in the lineup.  And they were friendly and chatty, making everybody feel welcome.

The Interior at Harbinger – it had cleared out a bit by this time.

You could choose to taste through their flight, purchase by the glass or bottle, or have a beer flight of northwest beers.  Even though they didn’t brew the beers themselves, they had a good variety of northwest beers that I hadn’t tried before; if I were local I would certainly do the beer flight sometimes.

The restroom at Harbinger is decorated with all of their labels from years gone by.

We tasted through their flight, starting with the whites – a Viognier and a Rosé of Lemberger – neither wine was really my taste.  To be honest, I was a little worried at that point that I wasn’t going to be a fan of any of their wines.  But then we moved on to the reds, and wow – I was impressed!  Their Barbera was excellent, a great balance of light tannins and acidity.  El Jefe, a blend of Syrah, Grenache and Mourvedre had bold tannins and earthy flavors mixed with bright berries.  The Rapture was a great Cabernet Franc with big tannins and pepper notes.

Our tasting finished off with the Blackberry Bliss, a blackberry wine aged in oak barrels.  I really enjoyed it, but I was really surprised when Jon wanted a bottle as he normally doesn’t like sweeter wines.

Their grapes are sourced from several vineyards near Yakima, including Crawford Vineyard, Sagemoor, Elephant Mountain, Two Coyote and Piper; several are in the Rattlesnake Hills AVA, which consistently receives high reviews.  The blackberries and raspberries for their Bliss line of fruit wines are sourced locally, from Graymarsh Farm in Sequim.

We purchased the Barbera and the Blackberry Bliss – the Barbera is already long gone, but I can’t wait to open the Blackberry Bliss!  Our visit to Harbinger was a lot of fun – they definitely have a fun vibe and friendly staff.  If you have a chance, go pull open those big wooden doors!  Just remember to close them behind you!

Syncline 2010 Carignan Grenache

After the Thanksgiving gluttony yesterday, Jon and I had a light dinner tonight leftovers, paired with the Syncline 2010 Carignan Grenache blend.  Syncline is a Washington winery, located along the Columbia River Gorge along the border with Oregon.  They are family owned, and they purchase their fruit from some of the best vineyards in Eastern Washington.

This wine is made with fruit sourced from the McKinley Springs Vineyard.  The blend is 64% Carignan, and 36% Grenache, with a clear, dark, garnet color.  On the nose, I picked up quite a bit of blackberry and light tobacco.  However, this wine is light and fruity when you drink it, rather than having big, tannic, tobacco flavors.  There are medium tannins with flavors of blackberry and fresh plums.  It is a nicely balanced wine that everybody can enjoy.

Syncline Carignan Grenache – Same Wine, Different Year

I’m sure this wine is long ago sold out, as there were only 220 cases produced, and the blend varies from year to year, but you can’t go wrong with any of Syncline’s wines.  I wrote about our visit to the winery here, and if you have a chance to visit or try their wines, I would certainly recommend them.

The Post Race Wine Festival!

After I finished the Oregon Wine Country Half Marathon, it was time for the wine!  Never mind that it was only 10 am.  I had already been up for 5 hours at that point, and that totally counts right?  I had seen the sunrise, and sunrises are almost like sunsets, and a spectacular sunset calls for some wine!  Not to mention that almost 3 of those hours were doing high intensity exercise!  I was more than ready.

But where was my cheering section?  Where were my partners in wine?  Allysa and Bob were going to meet me at the end of the race and watch me cross the finish line, but I didn’t see them, and I couldn’t figure out where they were.  Carlton is not that big, so the possibility that they had lost me in the crowd seemed unlikely.  I texted Allysa that I was done!  I got a message back that the GPS had taken them on the scenic route, and they were almost there.  Oops…

So, while I was waiting, I got prepared.  I wandered around looking for water, and stumbled into a vendor booth where they were giving away cans of an all-natural juice/electrolyte/anti-oxidant/miracle drug concoction.  Score – sounds great!  I chose one in Nectarine and something else (Pomegranate?) and cracked it open.  Despite the fact that I had not yet imbibed anything alcoholic, I cannot for the life of me remember what the juice was, but it was tasty.

Now normally I might not wait for my friends – I would have just dug into the wine, but I had to pick up both my glass and the guest glass together, and my guest had to be present.  So, finally, Allysa showed up, and we were ready to taste!  And then Shelley showed up!  We picked up our souvenir etched Riedel wine glasses and headed over to the tasting area.  If you have ever been to Carlton, the festival was right outside in the parking lot of Ken Wright Cellars and the Carlton Winemakers Studio.  There were 29 wineries (Wow!) represented, most with tasting rooms in the immediate Carlton vicinity.

The Band at the Wine Festival

Here’s the list:

Anne Amie Vineyards

ArborBrook Vineyards

Argyle Winery

Carlton Cellars

Cathedral Ridge Winery

Cottonwood Winery of Oregon

Denison Cellars

Duck Pond Cellars

Elks Cove Vineyards

Ghost Hill Cellars

Ken Wright Cellars

Kramer Vineyards

K&M Winery

Left Coast Cellars

Lemelson Vineyards

Lenne Estate

Luminous Hills Winery

Monks Gate Vineyard Estate

Omero Cellars

ROCO Winery

Scott Paul Wines

Seven of Hearts

Solena Estate

Stag Hollow

Stoller Family Estate

Stone Griffon Vineyard

Torii Mor

Walnut City WineWorks

Wildaire Cellars

Each winery was tasting between 1 and 3 of their wines, with 2 being the norm.  I didn’t write down any of my impressions, and I must admit I found it somewhat difficult to pay particular attention to the wines (call it fatigue or adrenaline or whatever), so I won’t be giving you any tasting notes here.  Post half marathon wine tasting is an interesting experience, as I learned…  I will say that there wasn’t a bad wine in the bunch.  I tried to focus on wineries that I hadn’t visited before, but unfortunately there wasn’t time (or stamina) to try them all.  I did sample Arborbrook, Cottonwood, Duck Pond, Elks Cove, Ken Wright, K&M, Lemelson, Lenne, Luminous Hills, ROCO, Seven of Hearts and Solena.  I feel like I didn’t even scratch the surface!

Allysa, Shelley and I had a great time, and I made sure to have some big glasses of water in between tastes to rehydrate – I just filled my wine glass with water to make sure I would drink the whole thing before I started tasting again!  Ken Wright was one of my favorites, of course, and I loved the Pinot Gris from Solena Estate.  Lenne had two vintages of their Pinot Noir to sample, you could taste the robust, earthy 2010 next to the more fruit forward, elegant 2009.  Seven of Hearts was sampling a GSM – Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre blend that offered something different than the Pinot Noir so many Willamette Valley wineries specialize in.  I think the server was a little surprised that I knew the blend in GSM though – I’m sure the half-marathon types aren’t necessarily wine connoisseurs too.

In the grassy patio area of Carlton Cellars, a band played for the crowd, and you could sit and rest your tired feet if you needed to.  We stayed until noon, when the festival was wrapping up, and then we wandered over to a small bakery/sandwich shop on the main street of Carlton to get some much needed food.  I ordered a Reuben sandwich that was delicious!  I had an orange juice too, to get some vitamins and anti-oxidants.  Shelley had a BLT without Dijon mustard, but unfortunately the dry baguette bread didn’t lend itself to a lack of condiments.  Allysa and Bob enjoyed their sandwiches too, but I can’t remember what they ordered.  We sat in the sunshine and soaked up some rays, and then Allysa told me she would do the race next year!  Yay!

Allysa and Shelley – Waiting For Lunch

So, hopefully, next year, we will have a big crowd of friends all coming down to test ourselves and then try some wine.  Perhaps this is the beginning of an annual tradition!

2008 Michael Florentino Miscolato

Tomorrow is Cabernet Day!  But tonight I’m not drinking a Cab.  For two reasons – Cab is not a favorite varietal of mine, and we are still working on the bottle that Jon opened last night.  It’s a red, at least, a blend, but it doesn’t even have any Cab in it.  I doubt I will drink Cabernet tomorrow either.  I’m a terrible follower of Cabernet Day, apparently…

Tonight, I’m drinking the 2008 Michael Florentino Miscolato Red Blend.  Michael Florentino is a small, boutique winery with a tasting room in the warehouse wine district in Woodinville – the first vintage was 2007.  They make wine with several grapes that are not frequently seen in this area, both as blended wines and single varietals.  Their approach is to create fruit forward wines with balanced tannins and light spice.  Right up my alley!

Michael Florentino – Their Labels Look Like This

The Miscolato is blended with two thirds Grenache and the balance a mixture of Tempranillo, Syrah and Counoise.  It is a rich Bing Cherry color, and on the nose you get heavy aromas of earth and smoke (I didn’t really pick up any fruit on this one).  When you taste it, you get the same flavors of earth, smoke and a little spice, but it is balanced with the flavor of plums and black raspberry.  This wine packs a punch at 14.6% alcohol, but you don’t feel overwhelmed by the alcohol when you are drinking it.  I had mine after dinner, and the tannins are light enough and well balanced so you can drink it without food.

This was our only bottle, purchased at the 2013 Anacortes Wine Festival, but if you find your way down to Woodinville, they are certainly worth a visit.  Although sadly, you might not find the 2008 Miscolato, as they only produced 112 cases and I think they are already sold out.  But they have a Cabernet!