UWS Staff Visits Sonoma & Napa - Part 5

All of our managers and wine staff travel at least once a year to a wine-growing region somewhere throughout the world. Traveling is one of the many aspects of UWS that sets us apart from other wine shops. We know that by meeting the winemakers, walking the vineyards and tasting new wine from the barrel, we can see first-hand the passion that goes into each bottle. We can then convey this commitment to quality to our customers. Rather than having you just looking at a label and a score, we believe it is our responsibility to bring you closer to how the wine was made and the people who made it. We'll be sharing their trip reports with you here on the BottleBlog.

In October 2011, members of our staff including Shannon Spare from our internet department, had the privilege of traveling to California wine country! Here is the next installment of the trip, as told by Shannon.

Day 2
St. Francis

We arrived at St. Francis just as the sun was beginning its descent. We were so very fortunate to be treated to an evening with the President and CEO of St. Francis, Chris Silva. He was a very friendly, energetic man who was eager to show his appreciation for all we do together to sell St. Francis wines.

He brought us through the facility, and showed us the production lines, which were quiet for the day. All the machinery was impressive – and spotless! Looked like they could have been brand new out of the box, it was the cleanest facility we’d seen so far. One interesting piece of machinery was where the grapes were sorted – there was one machine that blew a sheet of air as the grapes passed through it, and anything that was lighter than a grape, such as a stem, jack or raisin, was blown away to be discarded. Pretty neat! He also brought us into their barrel room.



Our good timing from Benziger continued on to St. Francis, because just as we were pulling away to go eat some dinner, we stopped to watch the workers dump giant bins of grapes into a large stainless steel drum to be destemmed. It was so much different than the crush we witnessed at Benziger, and so intriguing how different winemaking techniques can be.



Once we arrived back at the main part of the winery, we tasted through some fantastic St. Francis wines, including Sonoma Chardonnay, Red Splash, ’07 Cabernet, ’07 Merlot, ’07 Claret, and two different Old Vine Zinfandels.


We sat down to dinner and had a wonderful evening of great wine, great food and great conversation. Chris really was the perfect host, engaging us in “icebreakers” that really lightened the mood and gave us the opportunity to get to know each other a little bit better. We enjoyed fresh tomato salad, roasted sirloin, and a berry shortcake with a glass of port. We took the port out into the vineyard, where we shared a toast and ate more grapes off the vine as the sun set. It was a perfect end to an absolutely perfect day.


We then loaded back up into our car and enjoyed the drive from Sonoma to Napa, through winding mountain roads, under the light of the full moon rise.

Champagne Cocktails

While you may not want to dilute a special bottle of Dom Perignon or Veuve Clicquot, these spins on an old favorite can add a unique touch to your New Year's Eve festivities.

Unless you're making a drink where the flavor of the Champagne really matters (like the Classic Champagne Cocktail), generally, inexpensive alternatives such as Cava, Sekt, Prosecco or California sparkling wine work well.

Always pour the mixers in first, then top off with Champagne to avoid fizzy overflow.

Mimosa
This one's a brunch classic. Increase the flavor by using a 1:5 ratio of freshly-squeezed orange juice to Champagne. Then add a splash of triple sec.

Kir Royale
The fancy cousin to the made-with-white-wine Kir, the Kir Royale consists of a dash of creme de cassis (currant syrup), topped off with Champagne.

Bellini
Invented at Harry's Bar in Venice, the Bellini is best when made with ripe peaches. If peaches aren't in season, try creme de peche (peach syrup). Use a 1:4 ratio of syrup to prosecco.

Black Velvet
This is an easy and strangely delicious drink with a 4:1 ratio of Champagne to black Irish stout.

Death in the Afternoon
Traditionally made from absinthe, a spirit now illegal in the United States, in a 0.5:5 ratio to Champagne, you can probably substitute pastis or another anise-flavored liqueur.

Poinsettia
For a holiday brunch, make Poinsettias: a 1:4 ratio of triple sec to Champagne, with a splash of cranberry juice added for color.

Nelson's Blood
Named for the British Admiral George Nelson, this makes a great, if slightly morbidly-named, party drink. The recipe calls for a 5:1 ratio of Champagne to tawny Port.

Moving on to the slightly more complicated ones...

Classic Champagne Cocktail
Soak a sugar cube in bitters, drop it into a flute, fill the flute with Champagne and garnish with a twist of lemon. This classic drink dates back to at least the mid-19th century.

French 75
There are a number of French 75 recipes floating around; the only thing people agree on is that it's a serious drink with serious ramifications. Here's the classic: a splash of simple syrup, a bigger splash of lemon juice, an even bigger splash (about an ounce) of gin, topped off with a glassful of Champagne.

These recipes originally appeared on foodnetwork.com.

UWS Staff Visits Sonoma & Napa - Part 4

All of our managers and wine staff travel at least once a year to a wine-growing region somewhere throughout the world. Traveling is one of the many aspects of UWS that sets us apart from other wine shops. We know that by meeting the winemakers, walking the vineyards and tasting new wine from the barrel, we can see first-hand the passion that goes into each bottle. We can then convey this commitment to quality to our customers. Rather than having you just looking at a label and a score, we believe it is our responsibility to bring you closer to how the wine was made and the people who made it. We'll be sharing their trip reports with you here on the BottleBlog.

In October 2011, members of our staff including Shannon Spare from our internet department, had the privilege of traveling to California wine country! Here is the next installment of the trip, as told by Shannon.

Day 2
Benziger Family Winery

Our next winery was Benziger. This was, without question, the highlight of my trip. The beauty of the grounds, the passion of the winemakers, the welcoming atmosphere, and of course the amazing wines were all just awe-inspiring.

Our tour guide was the dynamic Kathy Benziger, one of seven Benziger siblings that own and operate Benziger family winery. She greeted us with warm handshakes and hugs, and she and I exchanged some “girl power.” (I was the only woman in our band of travelers, so it was good to hang out with a woman for a while!) She led us into a dining room, where the table was set and salads were laid out, that we shared, family-style. We chatted about our stores, and she gave us a brief history of their family as we passed around roasted chicken, string beans and red-skinned potatoes and drank wonderful Benziger Wine. The meal was topped off with the best chocolate dessert I have ever had in my life – richness that melted in the mouth.


Our tummies full, we loaded into our tour bus and took a tour of the winery. Kathy explained the lay of their land and how it differs from other wineries. Benziger takes pride in their respect for the natural order of things, planting things that go far beyond grapevines on their property. Little coves of flowering plants, fruits, vegetables and trees called “insectaries” were alive with thousands of different species. We walked through one large insectary with our glasses of Signaterra Sauvignon Blanc, and ducked as hummingbirds flew by us, protecting their “turf.” We listened to the symphony of bees and other insects in the bushes. We shared fresh figs right off the tree – delicious!



We stopped at a hill’s peak and surveyed the land. The rolling layout of the property was spectacular. It sat in a “hole” at the base of a volcano, and there were so many different levels of vegetation. Truly a sight to behold.



Next, we drove to meet Kathy’s brother Mike, who was leading his team in the crush of their Syrah harvest. We were lucky enough to watch the process! They treat their fruit with such respect, utilizing gently vibrating tables to destem the grapes and sort out the “jacks” (stem remnants). We tasted the fresh grape juice, and let me tell you… Mott’s don’t have anything on Benziger!



After we watched the crush for a while, Kathy brought us down into what they call the “Earth Womb,” the man-made caves where they store their barrels. Another blast of that awesome damp aroma – I will never forget it!


After our eye-opening tour, we returned to where we had our lunch, and we tasted through various Benziger wines, including their Merlot, Sangiacomo Vineyard Chardonnay, a few from their Signaterra series, and the absolutely incredible Tribute Meritage, which was the “Wine of the Week” for me. The Benziger siblings use the best grapes from each year to make their “Tribute” wine, which is a “Tribute” to their mother and father, as well as a Tribute to their land. To see the family’s pride represented in such a fine wine was a really beautiful experience.



Sadly, it was time to say our goodbyes to Kathy, and we were on our way.

UWS Staff Visits Sonoma & Napa - Part 3

All of our managers and wine staff travel at least once a year to a wine-growing region somewhere throughout the world. Traveling is one of the many aspects of UWS that sets us apart from other wine shops. We know that by meeting the winemakers, walking the vineyards and tasting new wine from the barrel, we can see first-hand the passion that goes into each bottle. We can then convey this commitment to quality to our customers. Rather than having you just looking at a label and a score, we believe it is our responsibility to bring you closer to how the wine was made and the people who made it. We'll be sharing their trip reports with you here on the BottleBlog.

In October 2011, members of our staff including Shannon Spare from our internet department, had the privilege of traveling to California wine country! Here is the next installment of the trip, as told by Shannon.

Day 2
Rodney Strong

We awoke early on Wednesday morning, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed (somewhat). We hopped in the car and, after a short pit-stop at Starbucks for some much-needed coffee, headed to Rodney Strong for the day’s first tour.



We were greeted by our tour guide, Leo, who had been with Rodney Strong for about a year and absolutely loved his life. He offered us a glass of Sauvignon Blanc and we toured the massive facility, including the steel fermentation tanks and enormous barrel room.



We took a brief stroll through the vineyard, and he explained how they use a refractometer to measure the sugar in the grapes to know when to harvest them. (I discussed this in detail in an earlier blog post, entitled Brick by Brix.) Since the sugar in the wines is what gets converted to alcohol in the fermentation process, the sugar content of the grapes will allow the winemakers to get a rough estimation of what the final alcohol content of the wine will be. It was definitely interesting!

We returned to the tasting room where we tasted through some Rodney Strong Wines. We tasted four Cabernets, a Meritage, a Pinot Noir and a Chardonnay. My favorite wine at Rodney Strong was the 2007 Rockaway Vineyard Single Vineyard Cabernet. It was very fruity and bold, and I wished very badly for a bite of good steak to enjoy with it!


We thanked our gracious host for the wonderful tour and were on our way.

UWS Staff Visits Sonoma & Napa - Part 2

All of our managers and wine staff travel at least once a year to a wine-growing region somewhere throughout the world. Traveling is one of the many aspects of UWS that sets us apart from other wine shops. We know that by meeting the winemakers, walking the vineyards and tasting new wine from the barrel, we can see first-hand the passion that goes into each bottle. We can then convey this commitment to quality to our customers. Rather than having you just looking at a label and a score, we believe it is our responsibility to bring you closer to how the wine was made and the people who made it. We'll be sharing their trip reports with you here on the BottleBlog.

In October 2011, members of our staff including Shannon Spare from our internet department, had the privilege of traveling to California wine country! Here is the next installment of the trip, as told by Shannon.

Day 1
Kunde

The next winery we visited was the amazing Kunde Estate, one of the largest family-owned wineries. We met our tour guide, Mary, and were greeted with a glass of Sauvignon Blanc to start our tour. Mary loaded us into a bus and we began our long ascent to the top of their mountain for our tasting.



On the ride up, we passed some notable locations on the vineyard. We saw a grapevine that was over 120 years old, and it was just awesome - very thick and gnarly – looked like a little oak tree. Next, we passed the boxing ring that was made for the movie Bottle Shock, starring Alan Rickman and Bill Pullman. Further up the hill, there was a clearing with a beautiful tree canopy, and that was where the movie star Seth Rogan was married only a week or two prior to our visit.




Once we arrived at the top, we got off the bus and walked to what was the most beautiful view of our trip. High atop the mountain, we could see the entire Sonoma Valley, all the way to Oakland and even a bit of San Francisco (if we squinted just right). We tasted through many wines up here, including Voignier, Barbera, Century Vine Zinfandel, and a Kunde staff favorite wine called “Red Dirt.” Although all the wines we tasted were delicious, in such a fantastic setting with such appreciative company, any wine probably would have been amazing. It was truly good to be us at that moment, and we all sat in the sun and soaked it all in.



We then loaded back into the van and headed back down the hill, where we walked through Kunde’s demonstration vineyard, in which many varietals of grapes were planted in rows right next to each other. It was really neat to see the grapes growing, and to pick them and eat them right off the vine, and to taste the different varietals one after the other to really experience the differences and the similarities.


Mary then brought us down into the cave, where their barrels are stored, and gave us a tour of the cave and a taste of wine that was aging in oak. The smell of the cave (and other caves and barrel rooms to follow) is one that will stick with me for a long time. It’s a beautiful musty, fruity, oaky aroma, and the temperature is quite comfortably cool.


This ended our tour of Kunde. We drove back to the hotel and enjoyed some cheese, crackers, and a bottle of Kunde Red Dirt as we sat outside while the sun set. We walked to a cozy restaurant, where we enjoyed more wine and delicious food.