Bargetto Winery, an American story.

 

So there I am drinking it a tasting room (stay focused now) in Santa Cruz and the owner of the winery steps behind the bar. With corked bottle of wine in hand he tells his staff to taste it and to have the other folks working there taste it when they can (continuing education).

Well surprise surprise, I could not keep my mouth shut and had to chime in. This lead to a great conversation, with non other than John Bargetto himself of Bargetto Winery. We talked and some more wine was poured and we continued the conversation and next thing I know I walk out of there with the book (Vintage Bargetto Celebrating a Century of California Winemaking) that John had had published about some of his family history.

After reading the book I am taken by this well written engaging story that is the great American immigrant story of multiple generations, experiencing success, failure and success again. A story of vision, luck, both good and bad and of a family tenacity to keep going when most would have quit.
 

'The history of the Bargetto winemaking family of Soquel, California is an iconic American story rich with history-one marked by hard work and determination, family love, occasional setbacks, vision and perseverance.'

The family history is full of fascinating stories including one when in 1924 (during prohibition) the Two Bargetto brothers decided to start a 'bootlegging' operation. Oh yeah those Bargetto boys were scallywags!
Don't take my word for it this is a great read that has a wine theme and one in wich you can still touch by stopping by and tasting their wine.

Stop on by the tasting room and get a taste, buy some wine and get your own copy of this great book and get to know a bit more about this historic winery and the family behind it. If you live too far away to get their in person order your own copy of the book here.
 

Happy tasting Adventures,

Cheers,

WineWalkabout

 

Santa Cruz Tasting Room 3535 North Main Street Soquel, CA 95073 (831) 475-2258 ext. 14 Hours: Open Daily 12:00 - 5:00

Monterey Tasting Room 700-G Cannery Row Monterey, CA 93940 (831) 373-4053 Hours: Sun - Thurs. 11:00 - 6:30 Fri - Sat 11:00 - 7:00

 

A tour and a taste at Halter Ranch Paso Robles

We always try to go to a new tasting room when in Paso Robles but sometimes there are other things to do besides tasting new wines. Like touring a facility we have not seen and then tasting some of our favorites. On a recent trip we had the privilege and pleasure to get a tour of the Historic Halter Ranch. The historic Halter Ranch Victorian farmhouse was originally built in 1885 and has the additional fun fact that it was the site of the first 'kill' in the 1990 film ‘Arachnophobia.’

On what was a rare rainy day in Paso we arrived at Halter Ranch. Due to the rain the tour skipped the walk to the production facility and winery. We got to drive on the super cool covered bridge. The bridge was built in 2009 by a company in Oregon to fulfill the fire department’s mandate of access to the new winery across Las Tablas Creek.

Arriving at the winery our tour guide 'T' talked about the vineyards and how they use 100% estate-grown grapes in their wines. These vines are all sustainably farmed on the Terroir of the Westside limestone soils. We then were ushered into one of the premiere winery's around.

After many many years of planning (well planned) and construction, this amazing new winery facility was finally completed. The Halter Ranch wine making team worked closely with the Architect to design a state of the art multi level facility. The winery utilizes gravity flow in every aspect of the wine making process.  Gravity flow allows the winemaker to handle the fruit in the gentlest way possible, with no pumping. This starts from right where the grapes are dumped into the de-stemmer at the top level then into the tanks, and ultimately all the way into the barrel.

Beyond gravity flow, the new building employs a wide range of environmentally friendly features from rain water harvesting systems on the roof, in the floors, and in drains around the exterior of the facility that retrieve more than 100% of total water used in the wine making process. The water collected beyond the needs of the facility itself are used to fill the vineyard’s irrigation pond. They even built in a means to use the cool night air in the hills to purge the hot air out and cool the winery without air conditioning. The architecture and construction spared no expense to be an efficient and functional facility but also one of substantive beauty.

After the winery we went into the caves. Not the dig a trench and cover type of cave (although they work) a real bore into the mountain type. The extensive maze of tunnels worthy of a Dwarf dynasty are mostly lined with barrels of delicious things to come.

When we emerged from the caves T directed us to our final stop. The beautiful Members Lounge where we had great views of the countryside and into the winery and we enjoyed a private tasting of Halter Ranches current premium release wines. Yum!

A magnificent facility that is way more than meets the eye, great hospitality and some crackin good wines. When in Paso Robles do not miss an opportunity to pay Halter Ranch a visit and take a tour, its a 'must do'. Tell em we sent you.


Happy Tasting Adventures,

Cheers,

WineWalkabout

 

Thinking about wine...

We have been giving some thought to what may be of importance to our readers. No, not how to pick the winning lotterey numbers, although that may indeed be worth looking into.
No, just about stuff to do with wine mostly. Like glasswear, does it make a difference? Long term storage, allergies and headaches and how to pick wine off a wine list at a restaurant. Tasting time management and how to pick three or four tasting rooms to visit in an area that may have two hundred or more. The keep you awake at night kind of things. There are quite a few more but you get the picture.

So if there are topics you think are worth talking about let us know and over the coming weeks and months some of these topics will be covered in a straight up kind of way thats informative and not too wordy, and we promise not to get too Poncy.

So for now we'll be flat out like a lizard drinking putting our collective and vast knowledge and experience to paper, er well keyboard.


Happy Wine Adventures,

Cheers,

WineWalkabout

Paso Robles Rhone Rangers 2015

Heading to Paso Robles is always an exciting time. The area is chock full of great tasting rooms filled with quality wines. To have an opportunity to taste a whole lot of these wines in one place is just too good not to do. The Annual Paso Robles Rhone Rangers event is a fabulous way to taste great wine and one not to be missed. Where else can you get so many top producers in one place for so little? Special thanks to Jason Haas for the hookup.

The wonderful Broken Earth Winery

Due to some poor scheduling on our part we again missed the morning seminar. The "Rhone Essentials" According to the website, the seminar gives you a taste of a top example of each of the principal categories of Paso Robles Rhone wines as you hear from winemakers and principals who have chosen the Rhone Ranger route in Paso Robles, and who are forging the area's reputation as California's "Rhone Zone". Next year for sure...

Broken Earth Winery ordered up a spectacular day for a crackin tasting event. With a few folks doing pre check in (bloody good idea) the entry time was the drinking er tasting time. That's what we call thinking ahead Rhone Rangers.

We headed on in to the massive barrel room that had been laid out in an easy to find what you were looking for layout and to their credit had a wonderful selection of wine tasting appropriate cheeses and bottled water and stacks of red solo cups (there were a couple wankers who still spat in the dump buckets).

One of the constants at an event where there are a lot of choices is where to start. There is the whites then the reds from left to right or one end to the other. On this day it was a completely different approach. It was straight over to a standard in the Rhone world to get a standard setting taste.

Ted the good time guy from Cass Winery

With a bar setting taste from Tablas Creek it was off on a mission to taste the rest (or at least as many as we could get to). The list was long and we were off to get our share. There were so many very good wines but there was also a few disappointments, but overall a great selection of wines to go taste. Check out the full list of Rhone Ranger wineries HERE. Pay them a visit and tell em we sent you.
The question is always asked, what were your favorites? Generally we skirt the answer completely because we never get to taste everything and are not comfortable just picking from what we tasted. We hate to think that someone deserving of praise was overlooked. This time we decided to mention a few from what we tasted that were standouts due to the combination of price and drinkability and mostly just because we liked them. Mostly because a counter thought is that why should no one gets praise because we did not complete the task. So here are some of the standouts from what we tasted.

2011 Alta Colina GSM
2012 Broken Earth Diablo Negro, Petite Sirah
2011 Cass Backbone Syrah
2010 Derby Wine Estates 'Fifteen 10' Red Rhone Blend
2012 Ecluse Wines Rendition
Four Lanterns Rosé
2012 Halter Ranch Cotes de Paso, Red Rhone Blend
2012 Hearst Ranch Vineyard Petite Sirah
2012 Austin Hope Grenache
2011 Law Estate Wines Sagacious, Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre
2011 Michella Vineyard & Winery Shameless, GSM
2012 Tablas Creek Cotes de Tablas
2010 Vina Robles Syree

Keep in mind this is the short list. Look, this event is one of the best values in tasting, well organized in a great venue (Broken Earth Winery) all kinds of well matched cheese from Vivant fine cheese. Never get caught up with trying to have fancy cheese at a big tasting, as most don't pair with many wines and will quickly overpower the more delicate wines. Great group of three cheeses to choose from again.
A crackin event to put on your calendar so you don't miss another one.


Happy Wine Adventures,

Cheers,

 

WineWalkabout

Great Wines of Italy with James Suckling

Heading up to San Francisco there was a sense of excitement in the car. The reason, the opportunity to taste a bucket load of top class Italian wines and get to say g'day to James Suckling. Having spent some time in Italy and simply falling in love with the food and wine and almost everything in general, this was a way to fall back into those lovely flavors at the James Suckling Great Wines of Italy event.

The location was the Generals Residence on the hill overlooking San Francisco Bay at Fort Mason. While parking in that area is always a bit of crap shoot we were early enough in our excitement that we managed to get a great spot.

What a great setup to taste world class wine (other than parking). The Generals residence has the most spectacular views of the San Francisco Bay from three rooms with continuous windows facing the bay and on what was a spectacular California winters day (could have been spring).

As we entered the tasting area the fist word to cross our lips was one made famous by Steve Erwin 'Crikey', as in Crikey where do we start! With a few hundred or so top notch wines it is a little overwhelming for the average taster. But then again, we are not average, and so it was flat out like a lizard drinking! With our designated driver and our in-house formally educated Sommelier Dave to keep us in check we dove in with the enthusiasm of kids in a candy store (lolly shop).

There were magnificent Barolos, intriguing Chiantis, magical Merlots and many other wonderful wines and even a couple we had not tasted before.

With ample and mostly appropriate nibbles, a simply awesome view, and some amazing Italian Wines, the afternoon was a crackin wine lovers dream.

There were as stated some wonderful wines. The one that overall caught our attention was from Cusumano. Their nero d'avola was a beautiful medium full bodied wine that checked all the box's. The Cusumano Sicilia Tenuta San Giacomo Sagana 2012 is a wine for wine lovers and we feel it is worthy of a rating of 8+ and ***. A great wine at a very reasonable price.



Taste the wine then create music to reflect what you tasted...

Why this wine over any number of other fantastic wines? That is a good question as there truly were a ton of fantastic wines. We are not sure other than perhaps it was that it stood out by being a little different than most as well as extremely good. Probably did not hurt that Maria Leone and Phoebe were very gracious.

Having some many great wines to taste has its drawbacks. The next couple weeks means a regular wine gets treated very critically.

An interesting and entertaining (if not a bit poncy) part of the event was when James and his mate with a violin Rob Moose, the awarding-winning musician, serenaded the crowd with his violin putting the taste of wine to music.



One of our favorites for best overall
value. We got the Message in a
 Bottle Sting and we liked it 7 and ****.

A first class event and we look forward to attending more in the future.  After a chat with James we are also excited that there may be an Australian version in the future (call us).

We also understand that  most of the wines are still available through California's top premium wine merchant, K&L, who co-hosted the tasting.

A top class event, gracious host, magnificent wines in a spectacular setting. Brilliant! Cheers James.

Happy Wine Adventures,

Cheers,
 

WineWalkabout

Great Wines of Italy 2015 - San Francisco - Event Video

 

Hearst Castle, a California Treasure.

 

Photo from the Hearst Castel website.

While enjoying an extended weekend in Cambria we took some time to go visit the world famous Hearst Castle. Oh what a magical place it is. On what was a beautiful California day in December (75deg) we ventured up the hill to the visitors center to start our adventure.
First off we headed for the ticket counter to get our wrist bands and tickets. Then we were off to watch a movie about some of the Hearst history via the movie 'Hearst Castle - Building the Dream'.

Don't miss the movie and don't sit too close to the screen. Also book ahead. We did just a couple days ahead of time and there were hundreds of tickets available for the regular tours and we were able to pick out tour time but by the time the big day had come almost everything was sold out.

William Randolph Hearst started building this fabulous estate on his ranchland in 1919. It overlooks the seaside village of San Simeon. He called the estate "La Cuesta Encantada" - Spanish for The Enchanted Hill.

After watching the movie, it was off to wait for our turn to get on our scheduled bus to take the 5 mile bus ride up the hill. The views going up the hill in all directions are spectacular. Not just the scenic California Coast but also the views as you approach the Castle. There is also a large population of wildlife to see. We recommend sitting on the right side of the bus for the ride up the hill.  The view is spectacular no matter where you are sitting but the right side seems to produce the most picture opportunities.

At the drop off you start to get a feeling for just how big this amazing place is. Climbing the stairs and looking up at this impressive building is breathtaking.

As you start the tour (Grand Rooms Tour) you gather around the fountain in front of the Casa Grande as the tour guide tells of parties and famous guests that attended the Castle. You can almost feel the vibe from this time gone by. How amazing it must have been to be invited to stay at the Castle with Hearst.
 
As you enter the grand social room on the ground floor of Casa Grande just as William Randolph Hearst’s guests did decades ago for cocktails, conversation, and to meet their host, you experience the massive room with all its historic Renaissance and Baroque tapestries and masterpieces, just as if you were invited (without the libations).

Wandering through this amazing building it is hard not to be left in awe at all the amazing detail as well as the amazing grandeur.



Roman Pool

At the end of the tour you are let loose onto the property to wander around and imagine you were there as a guest and enjoying the views and the splendor of this magical place. You can see the guest houses and the amazing pools, both of them. The Roman pool is just as it sounds and the Neptune pool is just the perfect place to be on a hot day with friends and some wine and food. Wait, we cant do that now. Got lost in thought there for a moment.
The Neptune pool went through a number of remodels to make it bigger and even more impressive over the years.

Look, if you have been to Hearst Castle you know how amazing this place is and if you haven't yet been, put it on the bucket list as its a 'Must do'.

Happy Wine Adventures,

Cheers,

WineWalkabout

 



Don't be the 'Wanker' at the Wine tasting

Or as you (if you are the one) may have heard a little later during a tasting event 'oh come on you bloody wanker, fair go' . For our USA friends it would translate to 'oh come on you dam douche let someone else have a go'.
Recently we had a couple of back to back large tasting events that were very good other than there were some that needed a refresher on manners. What makes this worse is that these events were filled with primarily industry and media types with some experienced punters mixed in to the crowd. In other words, people that really should know better!

While at these larger type events there are a lot of stations pouring, there are also a lot of tasters. So while a little waiting is to be expected, standing behind some wanker who is wind bagging their knowledge or opinion to the poor trapped individual who is pouring, is not what most are there for. Especially the pourers. Even more especially us! Well it is mostly about us...

Go ahead and ask a pertinent question or two about the winery, or the wine, but don't engage in the spewing of dribble about the history of the bung hole, or the story of some great wine tasted at some magical event that was way better than this (because self-importance is endearing). No one cares to hear that, and those waiting behind you are plotting your demise, Ya bloody raw prawn!
 

So the message here is keep your inane stories to yourself and be considerate of those around you, get your taste and some info from the pourer, ask a quick question and step aside ya ponce!

Another pet peeve is, and this is a bit of a organizer issue as well, is the bloody lamas who reach in around you and spit in the bucket. Now we know that spitting is an accepted and somewhat required practice at these events, but be a little couth about it and stop it ya bloody drongo's.

Some of you are not that good at it either, and crickey does the little missus spit the dummy when we come home with wine stains on our crotches. Organizers need to double or even triple spit buckets and not just in front of those pouring, but away from the wine station so that the spitter can get their wine ask a question and move away, access the wine and then safely spit it out. As an added suggestion make the tables with the spit buckets taller as well. This one change to the regular system would help with a number of issues.

While there are a few more things that we find annoying, sharing these two has made us feel better. So enough belly aching and being grumpy (he hates when we imitate him) and on to more great wine adventures!

Happy Wine Adventures,

Cheers,

WineWalkabout

#WW Hearst Ranch Winery 2011 Petite Sirah

While enjoying a little R&R in the Cambria area on the California Coast a trip to Hears Castle was planned. Arriving in the area early we looked for something to kill some time. Oh look just across the road on the beautiful San Simeon bay is the old Historic Sebastian's General Store where low and behold was a wine tasting room. It is the tasting room of Hearst Ranch Winery.
What were we to do? As if...

A really cool place and a nice tasting room was to be a predictor of a great tasting experience. With friendly staff and a nice range of wines it sure hit the spot.

At the end of the tasting a selection of wine was purchased and the other night for dinner one was opened. Over the years we have not been the biggest fans of this particular variety but in recent years there seems to have been a move to make it a more approachable wine.

The wine we opened from Hearst Ranch Winery was their 2011 Petite Sirah. This was one of the best Petite Sirahs we have had in a long time. Here is what the winery says about how their wine tastes.

2011 Petite Sirah releases seductive blueberry, coffee, blackberry and dried violet aromas with each swirl in the glass. The flavor profile is driven with black fruit and blueberry, wrapped up in a raspberry, clove and fine grained tannic finish.  

This is a sexy siren of a wine will just simply seduce you. Once you have tasted it you will just not be able to get enough and before you know it you will be a wreck of remorse lying on the floor! Ok maybe a bit exaggerated but just to be clear, we warned you that you will fall under the spell.

To discover this wine was a **** purchase was just amazing. Rating it 7+. With a price that makes it a great weekly winner and a taste that makes it a great go out dinner wine this one is a must have in the wine fridge to cover you for almost any occasion.

Happy Wine Adventures,

Cheers,

WineWalkabout

The end of an Era on HWY 68

As I opened the envelope from a local winery I was assuming it was word of an upcoming release. Sadly no it was not. It was a letter telling me that the tasting room on HWY 68 was closing and they were consolidating to their Soledad winery location.

A business decision to be sure but the deck at Ventana Vineyards tasting room on HWY 68 was to be no more. 

I, we, us have enjoyed many a tasting here and oh so many meetings where extra bottles have been purchased to libricate our brains. It was such a great place to meet up with friends or to simply enjoy some nice wine in a lovely location that was pretty darn convenient.

A super place to grab a taste and buy a bottle to take next door to Tarpy's (no corkage) and have a great dinner was also a nice bonus.

As the melancholy settled in my thoughts ran to, what's next. Surely they can't just settle for a remote winery location that has only reasonable foot traffic on weekends.

At this point I don't know what the future holds but the wines deserve more.With a lineup of good reasonably priced and with some great ones tossed in there, there must be a better option. 

I'm sure at some time in the future one will prevail. I plan to talk with the decision makers to find out and share the future plans of Ventana, while in the meantime I have to reassess the weekday drinking er meeting places available. 

I head out to the Ventana tasting room this holiday Monday to just taste, get a glass and sit in one of the best places to enjoy a beautiful day in Monterey. 

So after a couple decades of pouring wine in this amazing spot a new dawn arrives where this is no longer available. It's not a pleasant thought that I won't get to have this simple pleasure any more. 

Stay tuned. The story continues.

Happy Wine Adventures,

Cheers,

WineWalkabout

#WW Wrath 2012 Swan / 828 Monterey Pinot Noir

So here we are at the beginning of 2015 and what a crackin wine to start the year. Oh, and yes it has been said one should not start a sentence with a coordinating conjunction. So where were we. Wrath Wines crackin 2012 Swan / 828 Monterey Pinot Noir.

It has been awhile since a Wrath wine has been consumed, not because they are not enjoyable but there are just so many wines and so little time. After opening this one to have while preparing and having dinner we were reminded of just how lovely their wines are.

This bright pretty to look at wine has an enticing nose of cherry, both red and black as well as some floral notes and just a hint (just enough for interest) of that funky forest floor that can often be in your face but not in this one. On the palate the cherry theme continues with some other blue and black fruit flavors to tantalize the taste buds in this very nicely balanced wine. Simply put, this is a lovely wine to drink and and let linger for a while with its lovely finish.

This wine has 20% whole cluster fermentation and equal parts Swan and 828 clones, aged for 10 months in French oak barrels of which 22% are new.

With all this babbling as you would deduce a rating of *** and 7+ should be no surprise. 

Head on down to the tasting room on River Road Wine Trail or in the Carmel Plaza and taste the range, just don't miss this one.

Happy Wine Adventures,

Cheers,

WineWalkabout