Really fabulous wine for any occasion ... gorgeous rose color, charred bread on the nose ... Elegant sparkler in the french style with crisp acidity, a long finish, and gorgeous color and aroma.

Very excited to visit Schloss Schonborn again this week as a student in the Masters of Wine education program.

The first time I went was on a trip sponsored by the German Wine Institute and the European Union for its Destination Riesling program. I remember being very impressed by the Schloss and our host Peter Barth, technical director.

Today the event was sponsored by the VDP Baden, a region known for its sunnier skies, warmer growing season, and red wines. The Baden wines represented included whites, mostly Riesling, and Pinot Noir. As was the case last year, the open tasting format allowed students (as well as Masters of Wine) to get a sense of the red wines in the area. Wines varied considerably, especially the Pinot Noir, depending on the style of the producer. Overall, my sense was that these wines had more overt new oak and a richer, riper flavor than other old world reds.

More about Schloss Schonborn

In Germany, the word “schloss” means castle or “manor house.” These are historic structures, many first built during the Roman times near the very best vineyards in the land. The idea was to create a grand estate to showcase the quality of the vineyards and the wine.

With wineries in San Ynez, California considered old at twenty, a 650-year-old winery seems very ancient indeed. Yet this is the age of Schloss Schonborn in Germany’s Rheingau region, which goes back to 1349. Owned by Paul Graf von Schonborn-Wiesentheid, it is the largest family owned estate in the Rheingau comprising some 125 acres (50 hectares) of top vineyard sites. The winery has recently been modernized with stainless steel tanks. Many of the wines produced here make their way to Asia and North America so look for the brand on your wine store shelf.

What makes the Riesling of Schloss Schonborn special are the south facing vineyards which face the Rheingau river, reflecting the sun and warming the vines. The family had been active in the Catholic church for centuries, hence their ability to get the best vineyard sites.

Visit the ancient, dust- and spider web-covered cellars and you realize that some of the very old bottles inside have survived the Napoleonic wars, the Franco-Prussian War, WWI, and WWII. Many of the bottles date from 1735, and our host, Peter Barth, technical director, describes that they have held up well over the last three centuries.

the Rheingau valley, the Domänenweingut Schloss Schönborn has long stood for premium wine culture.

Many of the vineyards along the slopes bordering the Rhine river have been part of the Schönborn family estate since 1349, which has been added to continuously since then. Several top sites were acquired in the 17th and 18th centuries, giving the estate a real boost. The estate now covers 50 ha, of which 90% are planted with Riesling. The remaining vineyards feature Pinot Noir and Pinot Blanc. The Schloss Schönborn wine estate is one of the founder members of the Association of German Prädikat Wine Estates (VDP) and has for many years been managing its valuable vineyards in tune with nature.

Weingut Schloss Schönborn
Contact: Herr von den Benken
Hauptstr. 53, 65347 Hattenheim
Phone: +49 (0)6723-91810, Fax: +49 (0)6723-918191
schloss-schoenborn@schoenborn.de

... so on the trip, our group will also be stopping at the winery of Weingut Markus Schneider.

According to the web site (a rather creative and loose Google translation) Schneider likes to make fresh, concentrated wine with more mineral than fruit and works on the principle ("less is more.)

Red wine - which is the focus of this trip - is mascerated for long hours and aged with oak. The soil includes loamy earth, clay, crushed stone, gravel, sand, loess, sandstone, limestone, and rock and has deep, diverse geological formations. Weather consists of warm days and cool nights, which is great for ripeness and high acidity.

Very excited to meet him and taste through his wines!
 

What can you say about an excellently turned out Chardonnay? I am sitting at a table in the elegant Lambs Club with Mr. Jose Antonio Galante, Chief Winemaker at Salentein Family of Wines.

Mr. Galante has an extensive history as a winemaker, having started at Catena Zapata which is credited for the currant quality and popularity of Argentine wine. He is extremely poised and well-spoken, and easily answers all of my technical questions about the wine.

Which brings me back to the Chardonnay. The 2010 is really delicious -- specifically it has incredible balance. There is a ripeness of fruit, and very concentrated fruit, which is balanced yet not overwhelmed by the 9 months of oak aging. It's a bit riper than a Burgundy and with more alcohol 14% yet is very Burgundian in style in its elegance.

The fruit is from the Uca valley, a very high elevation, with alluvial and stony soils. They are hand harvested in the early morning, softly de-stemmed, and transferred to a hopper where they receive dry ice to ovoid oxidation and lower the temperature. The technical data might bore you, yet the important thing to remember is that a lot of care (in the form of stirring the lees, etc) was taken in the wine's production.

The Pinot Noir is also from the Uco valley grown on La Pampa Estates. Similar steps are taken to the Chardonnay, save that the berries received a slight "cold soak/semi-maceration took place for 3- 5 days, and pumping over, and manual trampling of the cap during fermentation. The wine was racked, with malolactic fermentation taking place in barrels. The wine was barrel aged 10 - 12 months and delicious with subtle cherry, vanilla, and a touch of tobacco. 

Two Malbecs followed, Killka Malbec 2008 and the Reserve Malbec, with the Reserve having a fuller mouthfeel and more intense concentration of fruit. The Reserve had a longer masceration period and was aged for 12 - 14 months in first, second, and third use oak barrels. 

Mr. Galante is a very talented winemaker, and for three decades has been a pioneer in Argentine winemaking.

More about Salenstein Family of Wines

Located in the remote upper reaches of Argentina’s Uco Valley on the eastern slopes of the Andes, Bodegas Salentein’s vineyards are planted at some of the highest elevations on the planet.

Salentein history began with the opening of its state-of-the-art winery and cellars just one year after its debut vintage. Like all the facilities on this near 5,000-acre private estate, this uniquely cross-shaped structure was built by regional craftsmen using local materials and incorporating indigenous architectural features.

Salentein’s assurance to the community has included initiatives to help pioneer wine tourism in Mendoza’s Uco Valley. Salentein is, in short, a wine destination like no other. Its location in the foothills of the Andes is spectacular. With a 125-acre nature preserve, the exclusive Posada Salentein guest house, and the landmark Chapel of Gratitude, it has much to offer the 20,000 plus domestic and foreign visitors it receives every year.

At the heart of Salentein is the Killka Center for Culture and the Arts (LINK HERE), which opened in 2006. Built as a tribute to the people of the Uco Valley, it is a divine showcase to the region’s arts, culture and cuisine. By 2008, Killka had earned the International Gold Medal in the “art and culture” category in the Best of Wine Tourism Competition, presented by Great Wine Capitals Network.

"Roasting a barrel is like roasting coffee," says colorfully-spoken winemaker and GM of Bouchaine Vineyards, Michael Richmond. We are talking about the influence of French oak on the 2008 Pinot Noir, and as is the case when wine geeks get together, the conversation turns to toast (not the kind you have at breakfast) and the importance of being on the same page with your cooperage.

We are actually at Daniel Boulud's DB Bistro on a sunny June day, and Michael is here to talk about the winery's excellent Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Bouchaine is the oldest continuously operated winery in the Carneros district, with roots going back before Prohibition.

I taste three vintages of Chardonnay (09, 08, 07) and am struck by the Meursault character of the 07 - it is very Burgundian with melted butter on the nose, and incredible elegance. Michael explains that the wines have some percentage - often half - of malolactic fermentation, depending on the vintage. There is 30% new French oak here, yet it blends seamlessly with the wine.

The Pinot Noirs (08, 07) are fabulous and very different because of the vintage. The 07 is more delicate, and perhaps for this reason the enticing sweet French oak on the nose (just 30%) is easier to detect than the 08, which has more substantial fruit and the same oak program.

The surprise at the end of the tasting is the sweet wine, made by Chardonnay grapes in a year with botrytis. Yet Michael realized that he didn't need botrytis to make the wine -- just leaving grapes to hang longer in autumn was enough to create this delicious sweet wine, with very balanced sugar and alcohol and delightful honeyed flavors.

I will keep you up to date with Bouchaine as i am a fan of their wine, which is very elegant and old world in style
 

Wow, talk about a wine education! While everyone else was enjoying the delicious wine at the Top of the List Tasting, I was attending three fabulous seminars with the luminaries in the wine world.

Santorini Beyond Greece
W&S senior editor Tara Q. Thomas lead an exploration of wines from the Greek island of Santorini with Kamal Kouiri, wine director of Molyvos and Scott Carney, beverage director of Junoon. The featured wines included Santorini's indigenous assyrtiko, the source of dry, mineral-driven, high-acid whites. Grand Central Oyster Barprovided delectable bites for pairing with the lineup.

The wines below were all fab: my favorites were the Gaia 2010 Wild Ferment, Gaia 2009 Santorini Thalassitis (intense nose with minerals and lime zest)m and the 2006 Sigalas.

Boutari 2009 Santorini
Boutari 2007 Santorini Kallisti Reserve (barrel-aged)

Gaia 2009 Thalassitis
Gaia 2010 Wild Ferment

Sigalas 2010 Santorini Assyrtiko—Athiri
Sigalas 2009 Kavalieros Single Vineyard
An older vintage Sigalas—2006

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Natural Wine in Restaurants
 W&S publisher Joshua Greene and Jean-Georges beverage director Bernie Sun discussed the natural wine movement  in restaurants with owner/winemaker Ales Kristancic of Movia and Jason Jardine, president of Flowers.

This was a fabulous seminar: Jason was a font of knowledge (lots of goodies for my MW studies) and Ales was passionate and entertaining. Lots of drama when Ales opened a bottle of sparking wine. D

Movia 2003 Goriška Brda Puro
Movia 2007 Goriška Brda Lunar

Nikolaihof 2009 Wachau Hefeabzug Grüner Veltliner
Beaux Frères 2009 Willamette Valley Pinot Noir

Flowers 2009 Sonoma Coast Camp Meeting Ridge Block 2 Pinot Noir
Flowers 2009 Sonoma Coast Sea View Ridge Block 33 Pinot Noir

West Coast Pinot Noir Stars: A Perspective on Pinot Noir

W&S senior correspondent Patrick J. Comiskey discussed various winemaking approaches to pinot noir with three acclaimed pinot noir producers—Merry Edwards of Merry Edwards, Jim Clendenen of Au Bon Climat and Harry Peterson-Nedry of Chehalem. Wines were paired with foie gras from Hudson Valley Foie Gras.

This was a rich, educational seminar. It was interesting to explore the styles. It was incredible to meet these winemakers, and though the seminar was not technical enough for MW purposes, it did shed light on the state of PNs in restaurant these days. Patrick was a fabulous moderator.

Chehalem 2008 Ribbon Ridge Ridgecrest Vineyards Pinot Noir (Ideal Winemaker Wine)
Chehalem 2008 Willamette Valley 3 Vineyard Pinot Noir (Ideal Restaurant Wine)

Merry Edwards 2008 Russian River Valley Pinot Noir (Ideal Restaurant Wine)
Merry Edwards 2008 Russian River Valley Coopersmith Pinot Noir (Ideal Winemaker Wine)

Au Bon Climat 2008 Santa Maria Valley La Bauge Au-dessus Pinot Noir
Au Bon Climat 2008 California Isabelle Pinot Noir

Porterhouse was the elegant venue for a tutored tasting of La Follette wine lead by winemaker Greg La Follette (formerly of Flowers, de Loach) who recently launched a new winery last year called La Follette.

The morning began with an introduction by vivacious Master Sommelier Evan Goldstein -- and then a tasting of both Chardonnay and Pinot Noir from his collection of site-specific bottlings from Sonoma and Mendocino counties ($30-$60 SRP).

Of the three Chardonnays were I preferred the  2008 La Follette Lorenzo Vineyard, which was very Meursault like and Greg said was due to the specific vineyard. The other two were very nice - the Manchester Ridge 2008 and the 09 Sangiacomo Vineyard.

Of the Pinot Noirs, my favorite was the 2008 La Follette Manchester Ridge Vineyard which was very floral and elegant. My vote for the wines NYC's geeks would love best was the 2008 La Follette Van der Kamp Vineyard, which comes from a volcanic site very high on a mountain. A very strong signature aroma and palate here.

During the presentation, Greg was a fountain of knowlege,  discussing the various measures he uses to make his wine as pristine as possible and true to the land.

scallops

During lunch, we were served four whites and four reds from Quivira Vineyards and Winery and older vintages from Tandem Wines and Torbreck Vintners (all distributed by Martin Scott).  We were encouraged to mix and match them with the starter of scallops two ways (pan roasted diver scallop with celery root puree, brown butter, capers, crisp parsley) and grilled driver scallop) and duck two ways (Magret Duck Steak with swiss chard, bacon, ginger, rhubarb confit, and confit of duck leg with heirloom bean and root vegetable casoulet, green peppercorn reduction).

My favorite wines with both scallop dishes were the 2007 Tandem Sangriacomo Vineyard Chardonnay and the 2009 Torbreck Roussanne/Marsanne/Viognier. The 2009 Quivira Fig Tree Sauvignon Blanc was exotic and delcious, however.

For the duck I liked ALL the reds -- with my favorite match being the 2006 Torbreck RunRig Shiraz. and runners up the 2001 Torbreck RunRig Shiraz (3% Viognier) and the 2001 and 2006 Torbreck The Struie Shiraz.  

What was fun during the lunch was having Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg, writers of Becoming a Chef and many books on food and wine pairing, at the table with me. It was fun to compare tasting notes together.

Thanks to Master Sommelier Roger Dagorn of Porterhouse and Porterhouse owner/chef Michael Lomonaco for arranging such a great food and wine pairing with lunch.

Fabulous wines and a very educational talk.

Lincoln Center was the place to be for Manhattan fashionista's ... and wine afficianados.

For the second season in a row, Kim Crawford Wine will be the exclusive wine sponsor for Mercedes Benz Fashion Week at Lincoln Center. The brand,  known for celebrating individual style, is hosting the Kim Crawford Wine Bar in the main lobby of the tents and by sponsoring a number of exclusive events with designers. 

The crowd in the lounge was, of course, super fashionable ... men as well as women (though women had to suffer in six inch heels) and the wines were delicious.

crawford card

Kim Crawford served up Pinot Noir and Sauvignon Blanc by the glass, and gave away sleek looking business cards that described the flavors in the glass.

Very chic place to be between shows!
 

Have you tried a themed tasting? In studying for my MW (Master of Wine) program, I typically ask wine stores to send wine blind (wrapped in bags) to try them with a friend before dinner and deduce what they are. Just recently, I decided to ask the stores to create "themed" tastings, which is more similar to the MW program in which students are given 12 wines grouped into "themes" and asked what the wines are.

A psychic would have little luck on these tests, as naming the correct answer will gain few points. It's all about the argument of "why" a wine is believed to be a certain varietal from a certain region.

So tonight we had one of our first themed tastings of three Pinot Noirs. The clerk wrote that one is from California, one from Oregon, and one from Burgundy. They were labeled A, B, and C and in the end A was Clairborne & Churchhill 08 from the Edna Valley (CA), B was Montinore Estate 09 from Wilhamette Valley, and C was Bourgogne "Les Charmeux" 07 from Henri Prudhon and Fills.

We are cautioned against making an assessment before taking careful notes on the wine, so I repressed my thoughts until the final analysis, and took the extra step of comparing them against one another.

I am pleased to say that I made the correct choices, with "C" chosen for Burgundy because of several reasons yet mostly the way the light translucent color belied the incredible power and muscle, with the wine also having a certain finesse and elegance the others didn't.

"B" was chosen for Oregon because of its dark color and assertive nature, and also a "tobacco" sort of characteristic I associate with Oregon, along with other factors too technical to mention.

"C" was California because, though very delicious, seemed as if it had been a bit "overdone" with slightly too much oak, too much intensity, too much of whatever the producers did to "enhance" the grape's natural flavors.

Quick! When you think 'Carneros' what varietal comes to mind?

The appellation was officially created in 1983, as its cool climate is excellent for creating Pinot Noir and Chardonnay with a Burgundian tone of delicacy and finesse.

Recently I've tried the 2009 Saintsbury Pinot Noir which is dark purple with a bit of violet in terms of color, and on the nose, med + intensity, with an aroma of ripe sweet berries, black and red, purpe flowers, and no overt wood. On the palate, the wine is dry, acid is med, tannin is med with a finish of black pepper, spice, berries.

Overall this wine is exceptionally elegant and well balanced, its long finish showing quality, with good intensity of fruit, and good complexity of flavor to pair with salmon or pork.

Now the Chardonnay is also extremely well balanced, a deep straw in color with a rich nose that hints of ripe apples, and the complexity of flavor that develops with stirring of the lees (the dead yeast cells that add richness and body), and maturation in a percentage of newer French oak. An excellent choice with white fish, and can stand up to chicken or fish with a more substantial sauce.

On the Saintsbury website I read that Saintsbury's founders Dick Ward and Dave Graves came to wine with scientific background, Dave with a degree in biology from the University of California at Santa Cruz and Dick with a degree in structural engineering from Tufts University in Boston. They met in 1977 while attending graduate classes in Enology at U.C. Davis. With the release of Saintsbury’s first 2000 cases of Pinot Noir in 1981 and by committing to pursuing high quality California Pinot Noir, the founders put themselves in the forefront of a movement that would eventually catapult California wines, Carneros Pinot Noir and Saintsbury onto the world wine stage.