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If Grapes Would Fight
The Duel.
How human. Or inhumane. Whatever way we want to spin it.
Yes, duels are the thing of the past. You walk on the street. You lightly bump into someone. You apologize. But the other man says that you didn’t hurt his shoulder. It was his honor which was hurt. And the only way to alleviate that pain is through the duel. Choose the day, the time, and the weapon – pistols are fine, or maybe you prefer the Épée. And be there, or else.
You and your witnesses show up at the agreed time in the agreed place. Your opponent will probably be there already with his suitors. Both of you line up, someone gives the command, you fight. One of you most likely will die. But this was expected. The honor will be cleared and not in pain anymore – for whoever will survive, that is. The end.
Oh, did I mention that those duels were not very legal for the most part even when they were very popular?
Now, imagine if those pistols would shoot grapes instead of bullets, and the only choice of weapon would be the type of grape? Let’s say, you will shoot with Cabernet Sauvignon, and your opponent with Petite Sirah, or maybe you will choose a Zinfandel and your opponent will load up with Syrah? I have no idea how the honor will be defended, but I’m sure nobody would die, and such a duel will be so much fun! I’m sure you have a good imagination – imagine the fully ripened grape hitting one of the opponents on the forehead, and splattering the juice all around, in the slow motion – that would be something to remember!
Okay, so grape shooting pistols are not on the market (yet?), but the grapes can duel all they want – if the winemaker desires.
Cue in Dueling Pistols – the wines weaved around the mystery of two men, raising guns at each other at the dawn. We don’t know how they ended up there, or how shootout ends, but it is not important, as we should rather pay attention to wines.
The two Dueling Pistols wines represent 50/50 blends of the grapes that meet each other only after the fermentation is done separately. In one wine, Cabernet Sauvignon and Petite Sirah fight for supremacy; in the second wine, Zinfandel battles Syrah.
Never mind all this fight and battle talk. The wine is all about harmony – you want all the elements of the wine to be in full balance, playing together to deliver an amazing experience. So how these two wines did?
2016 Dueling Pistols Red Blend Dry Creek Valley (15% ABV, $49.99, 50% Syrah, 50% Zinfandel, 18 months in French oak, 30% new)
Dark Garnet
Very intense nose, tar, tobacco, roasted meat, mint
Crisp acidity, tart fruit, much lighter on the palate than expected based on the smell, sour cherries, significant herbal component
7+ initially, needs time
8- on the second and third days, the wine is softer and showing more fruit.
2016 Dueling Pistols Red Blend Paso Robles (15.5% ABV, $49.99, 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 50% Petite Sirah, 18 months in French oak, 30% new)
Dark Garnet
Inviting nose of cherries and chocolate, with a hint of vanilla and licorice
The palate is smooth and gentle, well extracted, lip-smacking acidity, layers of flavor, velvety texture which makes you crave another sip even before you finished the first.
8/8+, very enjoyable
Here you are. A duel of grapes and even duel of wines. But – nobody got hurt, which is a great outcome of any duel, right?
Judging this fight, I have to say that Cabernet/Petite Sirah won this fight, at least in my corner. But you know what they say? YMMV, so go ahead, stage your own duel and have fun with it. Cheers!
P.S. These two wines were samples provided by Terlato Wines.
Enjoying The Wine In The Can
Let me start with the question: what do you think of wines in the can?
I’ve seen rather an interesting reaction in social media (both Instagram and Twitter) when I post a picture of the wine in the can. It ranges from “Hmmm” to “Really???” to “How you can even talk about wine in the can???” to “I can’t believe there can be any good wine in the can”. Mind you, this doesn’t come from uninitiated people – wine pros of different walks have a very similar reaction when seeing the reference to the wine in the can. And I find this a bit surprising.
It’s been almost 5 years since I tried my first wine in the can. I don’t think I ever had a question “why wine in the can” (my first reaction was “wow, cool, something new and different!”) – my only question was “is it good?”. A can is just a different form of packaging – nothing more and nothing less. If you follow the subject of wine in the can, I’m sure you saw lots of different reasons and explanations to the question of “why” – “democratize wine”, “pinkies down”, “appeal to millennials” and blah blah blah. Whatever. I don’t think that simply putting wine in the can is the “magic bullet” for anything.
Of course, unique and different packaging helps to appeal to potentially a different category of consumers. But – the wine is binary. You either like it – or not. The proverbial question of the desire of the second glass is the key. Consumers might buy the can for the first time for its unique form. But they have to like it to come back and buy it again.
There is another interesting side of wine in the can in addition to the form factor. Making wine in the can allows winemakers to get ultimately creative, as you can work with a very small batches – and you can do truly uncommon things, such as finishing wine with beer hops or mixing Zinfandel with coffee – I’ve had plenty of oddly interesting concoctions, courtesy of Filed Recordings Can Club, the true pioneers of the wine in the can (Field Recordings Wine and Can club is the only wine club I belong to – because it never gets boring with Andrew Jones). Such a variety is also making it interesting for the curious wine lovers, who always have something new and different to try. And if you like something, you really want to run and grab it, while you can – the flip side of the small batch winemaking is that the wine is gone in no time.
Just to give an example, here are the notes for two of the latest shipments I received this year from the Field Recordings can club. The first one arrived just a few days ago, but I made an effort to familiarize myself with the wines quickly :). In case you are wondering, all these wines are priced at $5 per 375 ml can, so two cans would be somewhat equal to the $10 bottle of wine.
2018 Field Recordings Chardonnay Coquina VIneyard Rancho Arroyo Grande (12.1% ABV, 6 barrels produced) – fresh crunchy plums all the way, sprinkled with the lemon juice and some granny smith apples. Refreshing, round and delightful. Will make a beautiful summer day even better.
2018 Field Recordings Charbono Guglielmo Giovanni Vineyard Paso Robles (11.8% ABV) – how often do you drink Charbono (known in Argentina as Bonarda)? The producer recommended to serve this wine at the cellar temperature – I had it at a room temperature, and after 5 minutes in the glass (by the way, if you drink at home, feel free to use your favorite glass, you don’t have to drink from the can if you don’t want to) the wine was delicious – medium weight, supple dark fruit and spices, simple and easy to drink. Another winner for the summer day.
2018 Field Recordings Valdiguié Shell Creek Vineyard Paso Robles (13.7% ABV, one puncheon produced) – How about the Valdiguié grape? While typically found in the South of France, in Languedoc, the grape found its way into the US and was known for a while as Napa Gamay. I tried this wine at room temperature (too acidic and herbaceous, literally “leaf-forward”), from the fridge (much better than at the room temperature, good acidity, and underripe berries), and then at the “cellar temperature” (as recommended) – best, with excellent complexity, young berries, fennel, mint and lemon.
Here are the wines from the shipment earlier this year – note the completely different style of the labels – isn’t it fun? I tried only two of these so far, both superb:
2018 Field Recordings Dry Hop Chardonnay Pét Nat Paso Robles (11.5% ABV, 3 barrels produced) – ohhh, what a pleasure! Light fizz, dry hoppy notes, fresh apple, vibrant acidity, an impression of simply walking in the meadow – the can disappear in a few gulps, literally.
2018 Field Recordings Jurassic Park Chenin Blanc Santa Ynez Valley (11.3% ABV) – Chenin Blanc from Field Recordings never disappoints. This wine was made in two formats – a bottle and a can. It is yet something I need to try, but I have high hopes.
2017 Field Recordings Old Potrero Zinfandel Arroyo Grande Valey (14.9% ABV, 6 barrels produced) – this was mind-boggling. While I accept canned wines wholeheartedly, I still expect canned wines to challenge me – but there was nothing challenging about this wine. From the first smell and sip, this was an amazing California Zinfandel in its beauty – powerful, dense, loaded with blackberries, a touch of dark chocolate, lusciously layered and dangerous (we almost had to fight for the last drops). A wow in the can.
As you can tell, I’m pretty excited about the canned wines I tried – but this is not my main point. I’m simply suggesting that you should look at the wine in the can not as a gimmick, but as a product made with a purpose. Are all wines in the can good? Of course not. There will be some which you will like, and some which you will not. But it is the same with the wine in the bottle – there are some which you like, and some which you don’t. Don’t be afraid of the wine can – just give it a try. And prepare to be pleasantly surprised. Cheers!
Versatility of Paso
Source: Pasowine.com
When a typical wine consumer hears the words “California wine” what is the first thing which comes to his or her mind? I would bet that in 9 out of 10 cases, the first thought is: “Is this wine from Napa?”.
Yes, Napa Valley is the king, but the California wine landscape is a lot bigger. Today, I want to talk about a different California wine region – one of the oldest, and probably, the most versatile – the region originally known as El Paso de Robles, “The Pass of the Oaks”, which today is typically called Paso Robles, and sometimes passionately abbreviated just as “Paso!”.
At the beginning of the 1880s, Zinfandel plantings appeared in Paso Robles. For a while, Zinfandel was really “it”, adding some of the most famous vineyards, such as Dusi and Pesenti at the beginning of the 1920s. At the beginning of the 1960s, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir arrived to the region, followed by first plantings of Syrah in the whole state of California in 1970s. From there on, the region (Paso Robles AVA was established in 1983) moved forward to collect numerous accolades of Wine Region of the Year, Best Vineyard in the world and others. Today, Paso Robles has 11 sub-appellations, more than 40,000 acres of vineyards and more than 200 wineries, growing more than 40 grape varieties, from Bordeaux greats to Rhone and to Spanish varieties – and did we mention Zinfandel yet?
“Versatility” is really the key word when it comes to Paso. First, there is a great diversity of the terroirs, with 11 well-defined sub-appellations (you can see them on the map), stretching from just 6 miles away from the Pacific Ocean on the west to the mountains on the east – and let’s not forget that while only 40,000 acres are under vineyards, the whole Paso Robles appellation is more than 600,000 acres, which is about three times of size of Napa Valley AVA. Such a great diversity of microclimates is very conducive to the wide variety of grapes made into the world-class wines all around the AVA. Let’s see how many times you will nod when I will mention some of the Paso Robles greats: Saxum Vineyards, making some of the best in the world Syrah; how about Zinfandel from Turley and Carlisle, some of the best of the best in the world of Zin; Tablas Creek – one of the Rhône pioneers in the area; Justin Winery, with their delicious Bordeaux blends – Isosceles, anyone?; Dracaena Wines – Cabernet Franc fanatics; Field Recordings – truly a personal favorite, making everything from Chardonnay to Pinot Noir to Chenin Blanc to Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc to Petite Sirah, Sangiovese and Valdiguié – and all deliciously well. So, how is this list to you?
Let me take this conversation one step further and share with you some of my latest discoveries from Paso Robles:
2015 Halter Ranch Grenache Blanc Paso Robles Adelaida District (13.3% ABV, $28, 80% Grenache Blanc, 14% Picpoul Blanc, 4% Roussanne, 2% Viognier)
Light golden color
Medium intensity lemon nose, hint of jasmine flowers and lots of granite with a touch of gunflint lots of minerality – on the nose, it is minerality driven wine.
The palate is acidity-driven, fresh, crisp, bright, lemon, a touch of grass, and a distant hint of plumpness – the wine will show differently as it will warm up.
Drinkability: 8, delicious from the get-go, lots of energy
2014 J. Lohr Hillside Cabernet Sauvignon Paso Robles (14.8% ABV, $35, 90% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Petit Verdot, 4% Cabernet Franc, 18 months in 60% new French oak)
Dark garnet, almost black
Licorice, sage, dark chocolate, coffee, roasted meat, minerality on the nose
The palate is savory, bright acidity, blackberries, more licorice, coffee, medium plus body, lots of energy in every sip, dark and concentrated.
Drinkability: 8-/8, softer and rounder next day, showing up some cassis.
2014 Treana Red Paso Robles (15% ABV, $45, 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Syrah, 17 months in French oak, 70% new)
Dark garnet with a purple hue
Concentrated cherry pit and some funk initially, noticeable green bell pepper – or was it corked?
The bright palate, good amount of savory fruit with licorice, blueberries and cassis, noticeable sapidity, medium to full body, good acidity, nice balance
Drinkability: N/R. This was not a bad wine, but there was an annoying component in the taste profile, which gave a borderline corked impression and was adding sharpness to the wine – also it didn’t subside. I need to try this wine again to have an opinion.
2014 Aaron Petite Sirah Paso Robles (15.6% ABV, $48, 88% Petite Sirah, 12% Sirah, 22 months on lees in 50-60% new oak)
Black color. Just black with a touch of dark garnet hue on the rim.
Nose most reminiscent of a nice espresso, with a touch of vanilla. Swirling opens up some blackberries and massive, colored legs (I always thought the color in the legs is the trait of Syrah, but apparently, Petite Sirah has the same).
The palate is dense, concentrated, roasted meat with some coffee and blueberries, nice pronounced acidity, velvety texture. Massive wine, but surprisingly approachable.
Drinkability: 8, would be amazing with the steak.
2015 Peachy Canyon Westside Zinfandel Paso Robles (14.5% ABV, $22, 78% Zinfandel, 11% Petite Sirah, 7% Alicante, 2% Tannat, 2% Syrah, 16 months in 30% new oak barrels)
Dark garnet
Pleasant aromatics, medium plus intensity, Chinese five spice
A touch of tobacco, good acidity, expressive tannins. Needs time
3 days later – wow, dramatic difference. I simply put this wine aside with a cork, without pumping the air. Significantly improved aromatics, tobacco, blackberries, hint of caraway seed. The bright and round palate, cherries, great interplay of acidity. I never thought I would say this, but it seems a lot more of an Italian Primitivo style also with the back end minerality. Happy wine for sure – I can finish the bottle by myself. Drinkability: 8 (day 3)
2015 Eberle Steinbeck Vineyard Syrah Paso Robles (14.8% ABV, $28, 100% Syrah, 18 months in 50/50 American/French oak)
Dark garnet
Closed nose from the get-go, the palate shows some dark fruit, a touch of vanilla, but not much more. Second day (just re-closed without pumping the air out) – what a difference! Dark fruit on the nose, supple berries on the palate, a touch of pepper, round, medium to full body, good acidity, overall delicious.
Drinkability: 8 (second day)
What do you think – did I prove my point about the versatility of Paso Robles? What are your favorite Paso producers and wines? Cheers!
My First Can of Wine
No, I didn’t lose it. The title of this post actually makes sense. To the date, I had the wine from the bottles of all forms and sizes. I had the wine directly from the stainless steel tanks and oak barrels. I had the wine dispersed by the machine. I had the wine from the keg. Yes, I had a boxed wine (and it was just fine). But – until yesterday, I never had wine from the can.
Yesterday I did. The Fall club shipment from one of my absolute favorite wineries, Field Recordings, included a can of wine. Not just any wine, but once again, one of my most favorite wines, Fiction (my personal wine of the year in 2011). When I saw a notice about the upcoming club shipment, which included a picture of the can, my first though was – hmmm, interesting. Really curious to try it.
Wine shipment arrived last week. After I opened the box, first thing I noticed was that the cans appeared a bit wrinkled. You know, when you hold the can of beer or any beverage, the surface is typically very smooth under your fingers – this was not the case, with the tiny, but noticeable ups and downs, the wrinkles (may be there is a better term to describe it, but I hope you got my point). Okay, it is the content what matters, right? It is obvious that the wine in the can is not intended to be stored or admired for the long time on the shelf – with its appearance it technically says “drink me now”.
Talking about cans, I had two other interesting observations. First, the can was 500 ml in size (somehow based on the picture I was expecting the full 750 size). And then instead of the short story which appears on the bottle of Fiction, the can’s “back label” contained the following tasting note: “Heady aromas of blueberry pie, luxurious suede couches, ham paninis and unlit menthol cigarettes. Firm tannins anchor flavors of grilled meats, cherry cola, sweet carob and black licorice chews, all cased up together conveniently in a cigar humidor. Drink tonight“. An interesting description, don’t you think? As I also got a bottle of Fiction, I was relieved to see the old a familiar story on its back label…
Okay, let’s get to “it” – let me tell you what I though about the wine. 2013 Field Recording Fiction Red Wine Paso Robles (14.9% ABV, $10 for 500 ml can, $18/bottle, 20% discount for catalog members; 31% Zinfandel, 26% Tempranillo, 15% Mourvedre, 10% Grenache, 10% Syrah, 8% Touriga Nacional) – in a word, the wine was delicious. It took about 10 minutes for the wine to open up and round itself up in a glass (I didn’t dare drinking it straight from the can, I think it would eliminate half of the pleasure – but feel free, of course). I didn’t find grilled meat or suede coaches in the wine. But it had beautiful, ripe blueberries and sweet cherries, some vanilla dusting and may be a touch of mocha and sweet oak, all impeccably woven into a tight bundle of pleasure, sip after sip. This wine was on par with all the previous releases of Fiction, sans the aromatics. I couldn’t find the mind-blowing aromatics the 2010 Fiction was showing, but nevertheless, this was a silky smooth and delicious wine which I would gladly drink again. But I would honestly prefer to pour from the bottle. Drinkability: 8-
Did you have the wine in the can? What do you think about the wine you had and the concept as a whole? Cheers!
Daily Glass: 2009 Chorus Effect by Field Recordings
I have a question for you. Have you ever experienced a special bottle “today is the day… or not” effect? It is when you have a bottle you want to open, but you can’t decide if today should be the day, or you need to wait a bit longer? I’m not talking about special bottle which. let’s say, bears vintage year of your son or daughter’s birthday – those are easy, you only contemplate once a year whether to open the bottle or not. I’m talking about more of an everyday, reasonably priced wine, of which, let’s say you have only one bottle, and you know that you can’t get another one – this is the case in point.
Ever since I was blown away by the bottle of Fiction by Field Recordings (here is the link to my post about that experience), I wanted to try another wine made by Andrew Jones – Chorus Effect. I had the bottle for about half a year in “to use in the near term” place, and I can’t even tell you how many times I was in the “today is the day” mood, and … nope, I guess it was not.
And somehow it happened that the day was finally today, and the bottle was open ( one easy move, you know – those screw tops are perfect for easy opening).
This 2009 Field Recordings Chorus Effect Koligian Vineyard, Paso Robles ($26, 15.3% ABV, 249 cases made) is a Bordeaux-style blend – you can see the exact composition on the picture of the back label.
The wine had beautiful purple color, bright and fresh. Nose was showing sweet cherries, plums and a touch of spices. But the palate… If Fiction, which I mentioned earlier, had absolutely astonishing nose, this wine had the same on the palate. This was a textbook study of a red wine, all in one sip – not the Bordeaux specifically, but the red wine overall. Sweet cherries, ripe plums, blueberries, tar, sweet vanilla, licorice, violet, chocolate, pepper, tobacco, eucalyptus – you could easily taste each and all. At the same time, the wine was balanced, with soft tannins, without any jamminess which can be often observed at such high alcohol levels. I’m not sure if I’m ready to rate it – I really want to see what will happen with this wine tomorrow – but for now, I will put the Drinkability at 8-, mainly due to the alcohol burn which was not noticeable at the beginning but showed up couple of hours after the bottle was opened.
Did you open your special bottle today? Will be glad to hear your story. Cheers!
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