So it`s Friday, what is ready for the wine-weekend!!!

I will have you all licking your lips this time......Roy Hersh is in town and I get to taste some `83 and `03 Ports from Fonseca, Gould Campbell and Dows. $125 Cdn so will be thinking of you all!!!
Apart from this very tedious (!!!) event, planning on something from S Africa. Maybe Forresters Chenin Blanc?

I'll be traveling to Florida for the weekend to help celebrate an aunt's 90th birthday, so I'll be packing a small assortment of my home made to share with relatives.

I am meeting some friends for dinner Saturday night, so I plan on bringing the following:

Stags Leap Wine Cellars Fay Vineyard 1997 C.S.. Awesome Cabernet-it was just drinking beautifully.

Verite Le Desir 1998 (mostly Merlot) This was simply perfect at the winery tasting last month.

Deux Amis Ruud Vineyard Zinfandel (Dry Creek, Sonoma). Just for something different.

It's a bit of a "celebration" for one friend-of her new job-and to "remind" her not to lose touch-so it deserves some favorites from my cellar.


I may bring a bottle of a lighter, fruitier wine, too. I'm thinking the Orrin Swift "The Prisoner" (A TRUE MELANGE of grapes.) or a bottle of Syrah/Grenache blend from a new Central Cost producer (Amphelos "Syrache")

I may also hit K&L Wine Store's Rhone tasting this weekend. Very enjoyable events, and it's an excuse to go to San Francisco!

I'm still continuing with a bottle of Robert Weil's Kiedricher Gräfenberg Riesling Spätlese 2004 that I opened quite a few days ago. It's going strong. I've never understood why young Rieslings keep open so well.

I've also decanted a Quinta do Pégo VP 2003.

Also a beer from the great Norwegian brewery: Nøgne Ø God Jul - Christmas ale.

Once again we might be opening up the Acacia Pinot Noir 1982 that I've been meaning to open up for many, many weeks.

Yikes. This is alot. I foresee a hangover somtime during the weekend.

Tonight 2000 Candido Cappello di Prete from Puglia, previously tasted in a wine bar in Ferrara (almost exactly a year ago!).

My wife and I will be going to a wine tasting at Whiteside's tonight. It's a free tasting sponsored by the Racine Wine Company and Roots Vineyard. I don't know anything about Racine, so I don't know what to expect.

Going to my first wine tasting at Binny's Tomorrow. Wines of the southern hemipshere. Interested to see what that turns out.

Not sure what I will be drinking at home. Nothing special, i'm sure. Probably something domestic. Will have to see what I decide to make for meals, then what strikes my fancy to open.

I'm finishing off a 1995 Savigny les Beaunes "Les Peuillets" that had been overlooked for several years, then contemplating opening the 1999 St. Innocent Shea Pinot Noir? Is it too early, Jenise?
Just received shipments of wine from Biale and Williams Selyem but need to let them rest a bit before opening any.

Mount Mary Quintet and Penfolds 707 vertical with 6 vintages of each from 86-96 tonight, then a very quiet day of recovery on Sunday

I've a strong hankerin' for a Bordeaux, so 1996 Chateau Fourcas-Hosten (Listrac Medoc) it'll be.

Dave Mo

[James Roscoe]

I finally had the Valpo I was supposed to drink last weekend. It's a little spoofy (2004) but it's good with chicken marsala takeout from the local Italian restaraunt.

Mount Mary Quintet and Penfolds 707 vertical with 6 vintages of each from 86-96 tonight, then a very quiet day of recovery on Sunday

Aaaagh, just a regular quiet weekend there Cam! I have heard so much about Mt Mary but not seen up here in lumberjack country!! Looking forward to notes on the 707 flight.

I will have you all licking your lips this time......Roy Hersh is in town and I get to taste some `83 and `03 Ports from Fonseca, Gould Campbell and Dows. $125 Cdn so will be thinking of you all!!!
Apart from this very tedious (!!!) event, planning on something from S Africa. Maybe Forresters Chenin Blanc?

Well, I had to miss the Roy Hersh event as I had to cover for a manager at one of the very busy Grills. C`est la vie!!. I did manage to nose the `63 Fonseca on my way in though plus an elderly Gould Campbell. Hopefully I can scrounge some notes from DeVines and post here!!! I understand they went for pizza with 4 vintages of Geyserville!!!! Must be nice.

Going up to Sonoma for a barrel tasting, post harvest event at the Roche Winery. If my hands aren't too occupied with a wine glass in one and goodies off the pu-pu platter in the other, I might even take a note or two!

Gary, I hope we do get some notes from you on the barrel tasting.

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Gary, I hope we do get some notes from you on the barrel tasting.

</td></tr><tr><td valign="top">Oh, JC, I think the barrel tasting says more over my personal tastes and lack of wine acumen than the wine itself. Actually, most of these wines, although some of them were only in the barrel for a week, I could almost have drunk right away, except perhaps for the '06 Pinot Noir which was understandably a little rough around the edges. It also didn't have that earthy, barnyard-ish character which I enjoy. I'm guessing that, after some time in the barrel and bottle, it will be an enjoyable lightweight.

The '06 Syrah was indeed the best. Despite everyone's saying how coarse and tannic it was, I did not find that at all, but it was good and chewy. It had yet to develop any kind of smokey, meaty syrah-like character, but it had good fruit and will benefit from a touch of oak.

The '06 Merlot was flabby in comparison to the Syrah, but after the Pinot Noir and Syrah which gently assaulted the tongue, this softer Merlot didn't really have a chance. Even though I'm not a fan of oak, this wine needs it.

Finally, the '06 Chardonnay was a citrussy, fruit forward, tinglingly acidic pleasure. Oak and butter will ruin this child. I'm curious to see what happens with this one and will watch for the release.

All the fruit, by the way, was from Los Carneros.

The whole affair was quite nice. There was a slew of other wines from the Roche stable. Especially nice was the '01 Pinot Noir which is ready to drink right now.

Mara Roche always puts out a nice spread and, to be sure, I go there for that as much as for the wine.</td><td>
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Gary, as a home winemaker who tastes everything I make from the fresh-pressed juice to the finished product, it is amazing how much wines change from the first racking (fermentation complete, gross sediment fallen out) to even a few months later. Things change from "grapey" to "winey". Thanks for posting.

Gary, as a home winemaker who tastes everything I make from the fresh-pressed juice to the finished product, it is amazing how much wines change from the first racking (fermentation complete, gross sediment fallen out) to even a few months later. Things change from "grapey" to "winey". Thanks for posting.

My first experience with buying "futures" was with Roche. My then still but now second ex wife and I bought half a case of the '97 Merlot after some copious and judgment-dulling barrel tasting.

We opened one bottle a year for the next six years. I'll tell ya' that in those first three years I thought we had wasted our money completely. The next two years' experiences were so so. In the sixth year, however, I thought we had bought liquid gold. And I don't even care that much for 100% Merlot.

It shows to go ya' that you live and learn. The little micro-experience taught me a lot about barrel tasting, aging etc. and so on.

The '06 Syrah was indeed the best. Despite everyone's saying how coarse and tannic it was, I did not find that at all, but it was good and chewy. It had yet to develop any kind of smokey, meaty syrah-like character, but it had good fruit and will benefit from a touch of oak.

Gary,
It's very unusual for a barrel sample, especially this early on, to have coarse tannins. As a function of size, small and large tannins aren't very astringent, so it takes a while in a wine's evolution to develop tannins large enough to be astringent. That's at least part of why many of the winemakers I've spoken to have said that barrel samples are so seductive to drink.

Mark Lipton

The '06 Syrah was indeed the best. Despite everyone's saying how coarse and tannic it was, I did not find that at all, but it was good and chewy. It had yet to develop any kind of smokey, meaty syrah-like character, but it had good fruit and will benefit from a touch of oak.

Gary,
It's very unusual for a barrel sample, especially this early on, to have coarse tannins. As a function of size, small and large tannins aren't very astringent, so it takes a while in a wine's evolution to develop tannins large enough to be astringent. That's at least part of why many of the winemakers I've spoken to have said that barrel samples are so seductive to drink.
Mark Lipton

Interesting that you say that, Mark. Bearing in mind that, as a German lit major, the closest I've come to chemistry is reading Goethe's "Elective Affinities," I have understood it to be just the opposite of what you mention.

Short-chain tannins exist in red wine during fermentation and after pressing. These short-chain tannins are (from what I have read) harder, bitterer, i.e. more astringent than the long-chain polymers which form while the wine ages. (Sometimes by means of extended maceration this polymerization is given a headstart.) These polymeric tannins are supposedly softer. Over time, then, the tannins decompose and make for a smoother, more palatable wine.

Since my chemistry is weak, we might be talking right past one another here. I will just have to go out and do more barrel tasting.

Thanks Gary for the notes. Is Roche a small producer? Do you know how many bottles they produce in a year?

Thanks Gary for the notes. Is Roche a small producer? Do you know how many bottles they produce in a year?

Roche is a smallish family-owned and operated winery located in Southern Sonoma. If you come in on SR37 and go north on SR121 (Carneros Highway, Arnold Drive), it's the first winery you run into. They do about 10,000 cases a year, most of it from from fruit grown on their Carneros estate. Their wines are OK, typical in price and styling for that part of the world. I like to go to their events because they are relaxed and the view from the estate is pleasant. The Roche family is very congenial. I really enjoy Mara Roche's little snack creations. If you ever need a quickie trip to wine country from San Francisco, it's a great starting point. Viansa, Cline, and Gloria Ferrer are a stone's throw up the road. It's funny. More often than not, I seek ambience when I go on my little treks into wine country. Roche offers that.

Here's a link to their website: Roche Carneros Estate Winery

Interesting that you say that, Mark. Bearing in mind that, as a German lit major, the closest I've come to chemistry is reading Goethe's "Elective Affinities," I have understood it to be just the opposite of what you mention.

Funny that, Gary. As a chemist, I have only a superficial appreciation of Goethe's writing.

Short-chain tannins exist in red wine during fermentation and after pressing. These short-chain tannins are (from what I have read) harder, bitterer, i.e. more astringent than the long-chain polymers which form while the wine ages. (Sometimes by means of extended maceration this polymerization is given a headstart.) These polymeric tannins are supposedly softer. Over time, then, the tannins decompose and make for a smoother, more palatable wine.

Gary, there's a very specific relationship between the size of the tannins and perceived astringency. In their smallest form, as protoanthocyanins, they have no perceived astringency -- that's what you'd taste in the juice straight out of the press. As the wine ferments and is exposed to oxygen, the tannins begin to polymerize, forming longer chains. It's those intermediate-sized tannins that have the greatest perceived astringency. From my discussions with winemakers, that point is usually hit not long before bottling typically. But the tannins continue to polymerize in the bottle, eventually falling out of solution as sediment. But even when they're still in the wine, the bigger tannins get less and less astringent. The best discussion of this that I've encountered is in Emile Peyraud's great monograph "THe Taste of Wine," on p. 77 in the English translation.

Since my chemistry is weak, we might be talking right past one another here. I will just have to go out and do more barrel tasting.

Absolutely, the more the merrier! And the next time you do, talk to the winemaker about how the wine evolves in the barrel, and see what they have to say...

Mark Lipton

Funny that, Gary. As a chemist, I have only a superficial appreciation of Goethe's writing.

Skip Goethe, except for Faust I and his early poetry, and read Erich Maria Remarque's "Im Westen Nichts Neues" (All Quiet On The Western Front), Günter Grass' "Die Blechtrommel" (The Tin Drum), anything written between 900 A.D. and 1400 A.D., and some Thomas Mann with a glass of port.

I think, despite my chemical ignorance, we're kind of saying the same thing with regard to the polymerization of the tannins, i.e short-chains eventually get long and then drop out of the wine. You have, however, suggested to me when exactly the tannins reach their greatest perceived astringency, i.e. what you're calling intermediate-size tannins. My practical experience is, at best, hit and miss. I never know how long something's going to have been in the barrel before I get to taste it. The wine could be anywhere in its chronological development. As I noted somewhere up there, everyone was chanting about the coarseness and astringency of the Syrah which had been in the barrel just a couple of weeks. I didn't find it all that astringent. This supports what you're saying.

And, of course, I will continue to collect data.