April Showers? No Problem. Cheer up at Wente's Winemaker Studio

Wente Vineyards is a family-owned winery in Livermore, CA known for their Chardonnay. They are also one of the oldest continuously-run wineries in the state of CA. and this year they are celebrating their 130th vintage. Wente is kind of like a Disneyland for wine-loving adults with a world-class restaurant, golf course and summer concert series. And in May they opened a new educational center called the Winemakers Studio where they are offering classes and interactive experiences to educate the consumer palate. The Brix Chicks got a sneak preview and here is what we found:

A Feast for the Senses
When you walk into the studio you notice flasks and perfume bottles where you can spritz various aromas to help you learn to identify some common ones such as melon, raspberry, butter, and chocolate. There are swatches of fabrics to exemplify different textures you will find in the palate of the wine (ie; silk for Pinot Noir, velvet for Cabernet Sauvignon) all perfect for us kinesthetic learners!  Wine videos are being played throughout the studio and you can also use the iPads which have apps especially created to help you learn about wine.


The Tap Room
Here is where you taste and buy their artisan wine line on tap which includes the Artisan white blend 2013, the Artisan Red 2012, Pinot Noir Clones 2012, and the outstanding Azul-Verde 2012 which is a blend of Cab Franc and Malbec. After you taste you can buy a growler and pick a wine to take home. You can reuse the growler every time you return. They also have a cheese-pairing course for each wine which I highly recommend. They show you how the flavors of the wine and the cheeses really work together.


Wine Aroma Seminar
This class really tests your olfactory abilities. You are presented with 10 glasses filled with water and an oil carrying a concentrated aroma such as grass, melon, toast, cherry, etc. You swirl and sniff and try to figure out what exactly you are smelling. As a wine-tasting veteran this was much harder than I thought it would be and I was stumped by a few of these concentrated aromas. Wente also makes a kit in which you can buy the aromas and have your own class. This was a good learning-experience for me.




Wine-blending Experience
Here you can be a winemaker for an hour and make your own blend of Bourdeaux varieties from the Wente Estate. There were barrels of Cabernet Sauvignon from 4 different vineyards, one Malbec, one Merlot, one Cab Franc and one Petit Verdot. The wine-ambassador guides you through the process as you taste each wine and experiment by blending wines from your favorite lots and finding the right aromas and flavors for your palate. You then bottle it, cork it, seal it with foil and label it.





The Xandria 2012 Cuvee. Well, it is mostly Cabernet Sauvignon from the Silva Vineyard and the Smith Vineyard blended with Malbec, Merlot and Petit Verdot. I would love to age my wine but don't think I can wait that long to drink it!


Overall I found this to be a highly educational yet hedonistic experience. The wines were delicious and the wine-educators were knowledgeable and fun. Thank you to Wente Vineyards for creating a unique wine country experience perfect for the wine veteran and for the wine newbie.



Located at the Estate Winery at Wente Vineyards, The Winemakers Studio is a fine wine studio that features unique educational experiences. Open Wednesday through Sunday 11-5PM. For more availability and same-day reservations call (925) 456-2385.Wente Vineyards, 5565 Tesla Road, Livermore. Experiences range from wine tasting to blending seminars, sensory evaluation and  food and wine pairings. $10-$125. For more information, visit www.wentewinemakers.com.

Dreaming of a sunny porch - Reflections on Booker 2010 Pink

Booker Rose

Sunny one day.  Rainy and cold the next.  I find myself dreaming of summer and something yummy to drink while idling away a warm afternoon.  But who has time to wait?

2010 Booker Vineyards Pink, Paso Robles, California, USA ($28)  Lovely pink color.  Dry and super food friendly.  This is a little ray of sunshine to cloak the winter gray.  50% Grenache and 50% Syrah meld into a synergy that is 120% delicious.  Xandria brought this back from her foray into Paso Robles and it makes me want to journey out there as well.  Owner Eric Jensen makes this wine to enjoy simply.  It sounds like the have a lot more out there to enjoy.  This is on the list of things they pour daily. So while it is raining here, they will be pouring there; on March 9th  at the tasting room, they will pour the 2010 releases.  More information you need to visit is listed here

Paso Robles is on my list to visit.  Hope to see you there!

Look no farther than Lodi for a fun February getaway

Looking for the perfect place to unwind your post holiday Blues?  Look no farther than Lodi How do you get there? Read on.  To me, Lodi was a land of heat and Zin I had always meant to visit, but had never quite gotten around to going.  Shame on me!  Turns out, Lodi is a magical place of delicious farm fresh food, delightfully diverse wine, and dedicated people who bring the best of place forward for the rest of us to enjoy.

Old Codger

One of the reasons I put off visiting was the "Shangri La" nature of how to get there.  My friends in Sacramento said it was "20 minutes. 45 minutes. 2 hours" away.  My friends from San Francisco said it was "1 hour, 2 hours. 5 hours" away. Turns out, it is an easy hour and 45 minutes from the East bay and a fun drive.  I left the gritty flat lands of Oakland, zipped through Contra Costa suburbs and quickly found myself on an implausibly bucolic highway, with covered bridges and dappled shade between stretches of authentic farmland.  With more levees and water than mile markers, the road wended me toward the Lodi Wine Commission's Lodi Wine and Visitor Center.  There we met our Wine Sherpa,  Randy Caparoso, who graciously shepherded us through a great experience in Lodi.

Parking Lot or Vineyard?  Good taste says vineyard

Randy's knowledge is as deep as his patience, and his love of Lodi is infectious.  One of the first places he took us was to see old zinfandel vines tucked into light industry.  Many thanks to all of us who drank copious amounts of white zin in the 80's, 90's, and Oakland Art and Soul Festivals, because we created market conditions that saved many old vines.  It didn't hurt that the sandy soil of the area is inhospitable to phylloxera and so, many grand, old codgers are still bearing fruit and bringing wine to our tables.

Parking lot to fork #fresh

Speaking of tables, with the produce of the Central Valley fresh at hand, the food is amazing.   Traipsing around vineyards builds up your appetite.  Pietro's Trattoria is a must stop destination for the nexus of local wine and farm-to-fork cuisine.  In fact, they take it one step further and if you are lucky, you will get parking lot-to-fork tomatoes from the rich Lodi soil straight to your salad.  Their kitchen garden makes freshness easy. Pietro's pasta is tender and made from scratch, as are their sauces, which are hauntingly authentic.  The eponymous Pietro and his wife, Amelia Murdaca opened this family-style restaurant in 1957.  Today his son Jim and his wife Annette continue the tradition.  Their son, Peter is already active in the restaurant and will make sure their authentic family recipes continue. A comfortable patio at Pietro's is a  natural spot to hear stories and try wine as you dine al fresco.

Here are some favorites from our lunch:
Sidebar Kerner '14

100% Bacchus

Made by David Ramey with national distribution around 100 cases.
This German variety is a pale clear gold.  Floral aromas and touch of smoke in nose. Amazing fresh mouth feel bracing acidity Lime pith in mid palate and finish

Holman Cellars is a producer in Napa. These Bacchus (bah-KOOS) grapes came from an enchanted glen in Lodi: Mokelumne.  We tried Holman's  2015 Uncharted Bacchus. This 100% Bacchus grape based wine was a medium gold and star bright.  Lovely acidity that jumped out of the glass and a nice color from oxidation

2014 Nimmo Made by Markus Niggli.  This Kerner Gewurtztraminer Riesling Bacchus blend spends time in oak. It gets blended before it is co fermented.  An interesting process that develops into a fascinating wine with sage on the nose and a touch of Chinese 5 spice on the palate along with an overall freshness and minerality. Nimmo is an acronym Markus used to find his way home while on an internship in Scandinavia.

2013 Borra Vineyards Heritage is a field blend of 70% Barbera, 10% Carignane, 10% Petite Sirah and 10% Alicante Bouschet.  This is a true expression of terroir.  Field picked  and co-fermented, these grapes produce a wine with warm welcoming primary aromas with deep black spiced fruit underneath.  Driven by the barbera acidity, it is earthy and delicious.  Yields are low at less than a 1/2 ton an acre, but the results are luscious. #worthit

 The name "Heritage" Steve Borra told us, was inspired by his memories of his dad.  He described a scene of his dad who always had a dry salami hanging by a barrel in the basement.  He would funnel wine from the barrel to bottle and drink deeply of his field blend.  The love makes it taste better, I think.

Along the way we would encounter many great stories and a levee full of delicious wine.  For Bloggers attending the 2016 Conference in Lodi, you are in for a treat.

Many thanks to the Lodi Wine Commission, Charles Communications and all the producers who hosted me on this wonderful wine adventure