Fiesta Italia, Where are You Buying Your Wine? A Half a Glass That’s Spilling Over and More in This Edition of Woody’s Whine!
Writing from the edge of the Russian River in Sonoma County
l like the “Whine” because it’s about good food and drink and has interesting tidbits.
Fiesta Italia – A Wonderful Wine Experience
We had a great day and got to try some new wines at the recently held “Fiesta Italia”, an inaugural event celebrating the strong Italian family heritage of grape growing and winemaking in Sonoma County and the NorCal region. The event featured a curated tasting seminar followed by an outside walk around tasting offering wine samples from 30 Italian family owned wineries.
The “Fiesta” was hosted by the Orsi Family Vineyards, located just west of downtown Healdsburg CA. Bernie Orsi is the winery’s founder but more importantly he is truly the public face and voice of winery – just ask him, although he admits that his son Mark, president of the winery, was actually the motivation behind the day’s event.
“He had been hoping to do some sort of an event for quite a while and we checked with some of our friendly competitor wineries and got a very positive response, “he offered. “We posted the event on social media and what do you know, we immediately got twenty people to sign up so we figured we had a good thing going and sold all 200 tickets,” Orsi smiled.
Bernie proudly stated, “We are quite happy to have been able to showcase 30 wineries today that all come from a strong Italian heritage.”
Our “Fiesta” day began with a 90 minutes seminar host by our friend and certified sommelier Chris Sawyer.
Sawyer noted that the early 1900’s brought an influx of Italians to California and Sonoma County who came from farming back grounds with some wine making experience as well as some who were apparently great merchants and started what eventually became the Bank of America.
“When the Italian families’ final got to Sonoma they discovered weather and soils quite similar to what they had farmed in the very regions they had just left,” Sawyer noted. “But unfortunately what they weren’t able to do was bring cuttings of the grapes from their home regions. It’s amazing to even consider the possibilities today of what varieties of Italian grapes that might be growing in Sonoma County”, he mused.
“Fortunately that situation has been corrected over time as the Italian families have put their heart and soul into developing the wonderful wines that they offer to us today and that’s why we have the wonderful Zinfandels, Barberas, Vermentinos and Sangiovese wines that go so well with our NorCal cuisine.” Sawyer gushed.
Barbera was one of the featured grapes of the seminar and has been a secret favorite grape of mine since back in the ‘70’s when it was just part of what’s called a “field blend” of whatever got planted or happened to be in the plot was harvested and vinted together.
Today it’s now a featured grape at many wineries and is quite successful in the Amador County foothills east of Sacramento. It’s not a bold flavored wine and not a tannic grape but is rather high in acid and that means it’s going to be in love with all types of different food, I think you’ll like it.
And speaking of wine and food, Shelley Lindgren owner of A16 restaurant in San Francisco and winner of the James Beard Award for Outstanding Wine Program and has been knighted by the Italian government was a member of the seminar panel and had some thoughts regards pairing wine and food.
“Of course on the restaurant side we take food very seriously and we’re always thinking about what we’re going to pair with it and there’s usually more than one option,” Lindgren stated.
“Our job is to know the wines and figure out what to pair with what you like. The great thing about Italian wines is there are so many grape varieties to choose from and so many directions you can take since over several hundred years or more the Italians develop specific grape varieties to go with the foods from the region where the grapes were grown.” She offered.
When asked about the trust relationship between a customer at a restaurant and the suggested wine selection Lindgren was quick to state, “At A16 we offer about forty wines by the glass or in half bottle carafes. We encourage guests of our restaurant to have the trust in us to offer them something they will like and will be a benefit to their experience.”
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According to a Recent Survey You’re Buying Your Wine at Costco
After placing a small request at the end of a recent column Wall Street Journal wine writer Lette Teague was surprised to find “… That Costco was the single most cited source of wine buys”, include her husband.
Teague explains, “As any true oenophile knows there’s a big difference between “need” and “want” when it comes to wine buying. It’s hard for me to pass up a good deal and it seems downright irresponsible not to buy multiples of a well-priced bottle that I’ve tasted and liked”. Frankly I feel the same way.
One of the more unique responses was from a couple at a grocery outlet store on California’s central coast, who often buy six or so bottles of closeout wine priced between six and ten dollars each. In what may seem a bit risky to some they then taste the wines while sitting in their pickup truck in the store’s parking lot, then head back in to buy more of those that they liked. They might purchase as few as six bottles in the day and once bought fifty-six their weekly expenditures range from $75 to $100 dollars.
The overall general price range from the survey was an average of $150 to $200 dollars a week on bottles categorized at as “wine we drink at home”. Several people also responded that they drink more expensive wines from their home cellar. I can report that we fall into that category even though what was our cellar in Chicago is now a cooler in the kitchen as basements are fairly rare in California.
Teague admits to occasionally stopping at Costco (whose wines she occasionally reviews) and offers that she spends about $200 a week on wine at various stores and chooses bottles that cost between $20 and $25 dollars except for when buying champagne.
“I was glad to discover I’m not the only one whose enthusiasm for a particular wine as her rushing back to the store to buy additional bottles-although I’ve not taken to tasting my purchases in the store’s parking lot”, she concludes.
Best quote from the survey – “Costco it the best if you’re not mad at your money”.
I’d love to know if you “Whiners” fit into these survey spending numbers.
I wonder where Greg Baise shops?
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Here’s a short list of Costco wine buys from a few states
- Alaska: Louis Martini Cabernet Sauvignon $$
- Hawaii: Kirkland Signature Rosé
- Iowa: Kirkland Signature Sonoma County Old Vine Zinfandel
- Kentucky: Kirkland Signature Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
- Maryland: La Crema Sonoma Coast Chardonnay
- Montana & New York: Kirkland Signature Prosecco
- New Hampshire: Francis Coppola Diamond Collection Claret
- North Carolina: Chateau Ste. Michelle Riesling
- North Dakota: Kirkland Signature Champagne Brut
- Wyoming: Stag’s Leap Artemis Cabernet Sauvignon $$
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Half a Glass
Is the Wine Industry Being Wiped Out?
News Headline – Vintage Wine Estates Files for Bankruptcy
The portfolio includes over 30 wine, spirits and cider brands, a collection of luxury and “lifestyle” wines. The company owns and leases about 1,850 acres of vineyards and operates 11 wineries and nine tasting rooms. At the time of the filing, it employed more than 400 employees in 15 states.
“The corpse of a once-successful California wine business is being picked apart by vultures.
I look upon this feast of bones and say, huh – the California wine industry is still tasty.
It might sound counterintuitive, but the collapse of Vintage Wine Estates shows the strength of California’s industry. Wine writer W. Blake Grey.
“I have heard that the (wine) region’s most people know in the US are first Napa, second California, and third Sonoma,” Rob McMillan told Wine-Searcher. “The North Coast is one of the top grape growing regions in the world. There might be 400 real wineries in each county, and they aren’t all for sale. So when a winery comes up, it should draw interest from everyone with money who aways wanted to be in the wine business.”
“That there is interest in properties on the North Coast of California should not surprise anyone. Are there headwinds? Sure. Does that mean the industry will be wiped out? Absolutely not.”
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The Three Tier Aroma System Can Help You Choose a Better Bottle
The challenge is that essentially what smells like Meyer lemon to one person could be yuzu to another. Allspice may come across like clove to a particular individual, 
while mulberry to one could be blackberry to another.
This makes the world of wine aromas both compelling and frustrating. Certain aromatic conventions may be accepted for some wine types or grapes like for a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc or the black currant headiness of Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon but beyond those broad acceptances, there’s a near-infinite number of answers to the question of what you smell in a glass of wine.
“I feel like we have a burden of terminology in wine speak, and I think it’s overwhelming to consumers who are still struggling to identify basic smells,” says Kelli White, education director at the Wine Center at Meadowood. “I think when we layer too much terminology and categorization, it starts to sound like you’re studying for the LSAT instead of enjoying a beautiful glass of wine.”
Primary aromas
- What: Fruity, floral, vegetal and herbal notes prominent in younger wines
- From: Grapes
- How: Generally derived from the grape variety/varieties used
Secondary aromas
- What: Oak (like baking spice, vanilla, char), dairy (butter, cheese, cream), autolytic (like bread, dough, yeast)
- From: Winemaking process
- How: Often a result of winemaking techniques employed, like yeast strains and fermentation temperature
Tertiary aromas
- What: Animal, earthy/woody (like truffle, mushroom, forest floor), dried fruits and florals, confectioned (like honey, praline, preserves), tobacco, coffee, chocolate, leather
- From: Age
- How: A product of wine maturation and evolution
“Identifying these aromas in wine can support you in discerning what you like and don’t like. If every time you identify tertiary aromas, you don’t like the wine, maybe you prefer young, fresh wines. Vice versa, if you heavily prefer wines with secondary and tertiary factors being the dominant character, you may prefer vinous wine with age.”
Cristie Norman, lead sommelier, Wynn Las Vegas and president/cofounder, the United Sommeliers Foundation
Food&Wine
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Budget Hamburger Reds
Here are some more read wines to match with a burger. The wines are rich, fruity and smoky buoyed by crisp acid; they can stand up to a burger’s protein and fatty juices.
Coppola Rosso, NV, $10.50. Jammy fruit — strawberry, boysenberry and plum — coupled with a kick of cracked black pepper and a dollop of vanilla. This charmer won’t disappoint.
Bogle Vineyards Essential Red Blend – $11 A vibrant red that has layered notes of blueberry and blackberry and a lingering finish. Impressive.
Pedroncelli – 2022 Sonoma Classico Dry Creek Valley Red Blend – $24 A snappy red with notes of black cherry, raspberry and cracked black pepper. Good with a Portobello burger. One of our favorites.
Sebastiani – 2018 Sonoma County Merlot – $18. Earthy, with notes of cranberry, white pepper and a kiss of vanilla.
Decoy – 2021 California Zinfandel – $25. Snappy notes of blackberry, plum and cracked black pepper.
Seghesio – 2022 Sonoma Zinfandel – $26 A Zinfandel with aromas and flavors of blackberry, black currant and cherry.
7 Deadly Zins Lodi Old Vine Zinfandel $10 A juicy Zin with snappy spice. Notes of cherry, blackberry and pepper – Great for the price.
Gnarly Head Old Vine Zinfandel – $10 A brambly Zin with notes of blackberry, plum and toasty oak – Great for the price, one pf our house wines.
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Wine Spectator Wine of the Week
Dry Creek Sauvignon Blanc Dry Creek Valley 2022
92 points • $25 • 18,884 cases made
Fragrant, with notes of lemon basil and lemongrass up front, showing hints of celery seed that complement the generous core of pear, peach and lemon-lime flavors. Reveals hints of tropical fruit and fresh-grated ginger on the crisp finish, where the wine gains momentum. Drink now. From California.—MaryAnn Worobiec
It’s one of our house favorites.
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I don’t drink wine because I believe it’s reducing my mortality risk. It brings me joy, and that’s enough.
Esther Mobley, Senior Wine Critic, San Francisco Chronicle
That’s My Whine and I could me wrong…
My recipes for Marinated Boneless Pork Chops and Charred Romaine Hearts with Bacon and Yogurt-Herb Dressing are in fact right here. Enjoy!
Woody Mosgers, cooks, custom caters, writes, drinks, matches wine and food and offers wine country tour information and planning in Santa Rosa Sonoma, CA.