Keep an eye out for the new look.  And thx for your great patience.

But the end of the night found us at the the incredible  515 (pronounced Five Fifteen).   And this place is simply special.  Great people, fantastic environment, and super fun and original events.  They have a truly independent vibe, and they’re undeniable masters of fine spirits and mixology.  Well worth your time.   Think of it as a must do when you are next in Santa Cruz.

Today I accepted a very kind invitation from The Wine Institute to co-speak/participate in an industry function titled “California’s New Generation Vintners & Growers.”  This event is co-sponsored by The Wine Institute and CAWG and is intended to “Showcase the new generation of vintners and growers, and to generate awareness, stories, blog posts, etc. about how this diverse and dynamic group of people is making its mark on California wine.”  Among other things, I will be participating in breakout discussions on one of four topics:

·     Next Generation—Passing the Torch

·     Evolving Wine Styles

·     Eco-friendly Growing and Winemaking

·     Hip & Trendy Marketing

We’re actually turning the trip into an incredible, old school style road trip with our branding guy, Joel Beukelman.  Together, Joel and I will be storming the California coastline for a week with grandiose visions of a social media/wine tasting extravaganza.  We’ll make several stops at key wineries up the coast, tasting way too many wines, chatting with industry types.  And we’ll be documenting the entire trip with real time posts to Twitter and the Miramonte blog.  So stay tuned!  Good times ahead.

Special thanks to The Wine Insitute and CAWG for their interest in Miramonte.  I’m looking forward to tasting some great wines, participating in the discussions, and learning a lot from my fellow vintners.  Cheers!

*CAWG:  California Association of Winegrape Growers.

For all that, there is one point of great pride I am compelled to share.  Of all the grapes I’ve seen and tasted across the valley in 2009, our Estate Syrah was the undeniable top performer.  I suppose anyone can make that claim — but in truth, it was Reinhard who first brought it to my attention.  It just had something special, that extra level of depth you’re always working toward and striving for.

I give Reinhard a great deal of the credit for that.  Under his direction we stepped up our vineyard management this year, cut our yields, and really focused on vine balance.  There was one point in the season when Ben Drake came up to me (after making a few passes in the vineyard) , and said, “God, but this guy is anal.”  But he loved it, because he knows what we’re doing and he wants to be a part of it.  Anyway, the resulting quality increase was impressive, and next year we’ll see even better results.

Winemaking is about the details, and that’s what we’re really focused on these days – the details of excellence.

In crafting The Tawny, we wanted to make a Port that had a strong sense of tradition, but a modern sense of style. Some wine drinkers today have a hard time warming up to Port or Port-style wines. Ports can simply seem a little too heavy and rich. So I felt our blend had to be classic, but stylish and approachable. A wine than anyone could enjoy.

We contacted various Port producers around California searching for base wines to work with. Over a period of several weeks we located and blind tasted over 70 lots of premium wines. Some of these wines were just down right beautiful, it was a truly amazing experience. But we were looking for something very specific, wines which would compliment each other beautifully in a blend, making a Port of style and grace.

We eventually settled upon three specific wines – Souzao, Touriga Nacional and Tinta Cao (64%, 28%, 8%, respectively). All from the 2000 vintage, all aged in redwood tanks for 3 years, and finally racked to neutral oak for 6 more years. Not surprisingly, all the wines came from Ficklin Vineyards. Ficklin has worked pretty closely with UC Davis since the early 40’s to plant, manage and perfect Portuguese grape varieties in Madera.

With those special base wines, we fashioned a focused but graceful Port blend, a mid-weight wine of elegant character and deft balance. The finished blend is what the traditionally the Portuguese would refer to as a Colheita – a fine Tawny port in which all the base wines come from a single vintage.

Bear in mind, although elegant, it’s still very focused and intense. This is the nature of fine Port. It softens nicely with a little air, and is best enjoyed in small doses. If you are new to this style of wine – allow it time to breathe, sip it gently, savor its depth of flavor, and enhance it with a bit of fine Chocolate. You won’t be disappointed.

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Tasting Notes: It shows dusty spiced cherry and plum character, honeyed orange peel, sweet mahogany, and a fine thread of nutty caramel. Notes of black licorice appear as well, especially at first opening – they soften and fade away with a little air.

Pairing: The Tawny pairs extremely well with all things chocolate and dark berry related.

*Interesting Fact: You may already know this, but by international agreement, the term ‘Port’ is no longer officially allowed on the label unless a wine was produced in Portugal, or a winery has been using the term prior to March 10, 2006.