Christina Waters

A packed house of friends, family and wine club members greeted the unveiling of the chic, friendly new tasting room showcase for Vine Hill Winery varietals. Finger food catered by Kelly’s—divine wood-fired pizza topped with sweet caramelized onions and olives, plus cheese, chevre-stuffed red potatoes and charcuterie platters—was joined by a very long list of wines created by Sal Godinez and his team.

Architect Mark Primack and designer Lore James (also Vine Hill’s marketing director) shared the spotlight, and kudos, for their clever interior More…

If you need any further proof of John (Soif) Locke’s unerring wine sense, here it is. Last weekend Soif hosted former UCSC student-turned wine grower Kenny Likitprakong of Hobo Wines. Two days later I find that the SF Chronicle has named Likiprakong’s 2009 Ghostwriter Woodruff Family Vineyard Santa Cruz Mountains Pinot Noir one of the top 24 pinot noirs of 2011.

Grown from old vines from the Corralitos corridor, this earthy, spicy pinot is currently available for $45 in the Soif retail shop. I’m getting mine today. After I occupy a few banks.

From Birichino comes this wide open bouquet of spices, pepper and black cherries, Grenache Vielles Vignes 2010, Central Coast. At 13.5% alc. it moves all those bright fruit flavors deep into the center of your palate.

The brilliant cherry red wine spreads out horizontally and persists all the way to the end—to the end of that pork loin roast, or pizza, or cheese platter.

Retailing in the $15-$16 ballpark, this lovely wine (perfect for the holidays) is loaded with character and immediate appeal. Look for it at Soif, New Leaf and other enlightened wine shops.

Saratoga by Candlelight — that’s what’s in store for you if you walk off your Thanksgiving feast at the 2nd Annual Holiday Wine Stroll, Friday, Nov. 25, 4pm til 7pm.

You can walk through charming Saratoga, enjoying strolling carolers, take a carriage ride, hear live music by The Ones, take in some vintage tree lighting and sample the wares of 18 local wineries at stores and restaurants.

Bring a non-perishable food donation for 2nd Harvest Food Bank, and don’t orget to purchase your $5 raffle ticket for special dining and shopping offers.

Raise a glass to the holidays in Saratoga, a California surrogate of Santa’s own village. Christmas Village in the Valley!

Tickets are $40 til Nov 23; $45 thereafter; 408-867-0753.

The countdown is on for a December 2-3 opening of the area’s newest wine tasting room, lodged—logically enough—in the midst of a suite of popular tasting boites at Ingalls & Swift, aka Surf City Vintners by way of Kelly’s.

Arms still aching from a marathon session of sanding, staining and hauling barrel staves down to the new facility, Lore James—Vine Hill’s marketing director—was happy to give me a tour of the emerging tasting room.

“This is where I hope the entire Westside will come and spend their weekends,” she said showing me the clever zig-zag counter design that architect Mark Primack devised to aid in conversation flow and space sculpting. “A stainless steel top will be set in place along the wood top,” James explained.

The new wall sconces were one of her finds on a website called barlights.com. “I wanted something that would be rustic industrial, but not too industrial,” she explained. More…

My friend Mateo scarfed down two orders of the Cajun fried oysters while I took my time over this deeply comforting appetizer of sautéed fresh porcinis on toast dusted with parmesan reggiano and topped with a fried egg.

It was all the better with a glass of Birichino Malvasia Bianca, a creation of Soif wine buyer and resident oeno-maestro John Locke, who tells me that his young Birichino wine label will be including two pinot noirs—one from Central Coast grapes and another small batch from Santa Cruz Mountain fruit, along with a malvasia, vin gris and grenache—in its 2011 vintage.

More to drink. More to like.

Write this down: Palacios “Petalos” Mencia.

Now go to Soif.

Say out loud the words you wrote down.

Wait for a glass of scarlet wine to arrive.

Swirl, sniff and drink.

Be amazed.

Big Basin Vineyards winemaker Bradley Brown teams up with Chef Josiah Slone of Sent Sovi in Saratoga next week for a sparklling four-course dinner on Thursday, November 17.

Winemaker Brown will talk about the various wines served, and bring participants up to speed on the current harvest of 2011. The menu is blatantly mouth-watering, and includes smoked, cured and fried appetizer “bites” paired with a voluptuous meritage of grenache, syrah and cabernet. After a butter lettuce, shrimp and fennel salad course, Chef Slone will serve sonoma Liberty Duck with harissa dried cherry compote, destined to be perfection along with two of Brown’s award-winning 2009 pinot noirs. Then there’s a 48-hour short ribs with potato confit and smoked chard (the green veggie, not the white wine) course, joined by 2008 Odean Syrah/Cabernet, finishing up with a dark chocolate spice Marquise cake paired with two More…

Come out to Windy Oaks Winery and taste some of Jim Schultze’s Burgundian-style 2010 pinot noirs, at a pre-Halloween Barrel Tasting, this Sunday, October 30th from 1-5pm.

Sample new releases, Corralitos sausages, gourmet cheeses, and other special ‘treats.’ The best thing —other than the luscious wines —is that a portion of ticket sales ($15 adv/$20 on event day) will be donated to Second Harvest Food Bank.

The views at this spectacular winery are inspiring, the vineyards in their fall glory and the company will be filled with knowledgeable and inquiring wine buffs.

It surprised even me that of oh say a dozen vintages sampled last week of Le Cigare Volant—that sensuous blend of syrah, grenache, mourvedre and cinsault—I would find myself leaning into a glass of one of Randall Grahm’s white Rhônes. But I did. (See post below.)
The single vineyard—Beeswax Vineyard, Arroyo Secon, San Benito County—has yielded a formidable 2009 Le Cigare Blanc, made of 57% Grenache Blanc and 43% Roussanne, loaded with tannin and haunting violets and quince, possibly a hint of madrone, perfume. An autumnal green-gold in hue, this is a Byronic riff on central coast terroir. Well worth sitting down and spending some quality time with.

Try it at the Bonny Doon Vineyard tasting room, if you haven’t already scored some for your home cellar.