Central Coast

2011 Aaron Paso Robles Petite Sirah

Most wine lovers agree that wine is to be shared and enjoyed with friends.  It’s so much fun to share some of my favorites, and I also love when friends do the same for me.

Last week I was introduced to a new wine, and I enjoyed it so much that I knew that I needed to blog about it!

Aaron Jackson is the owner and winemaker at Aaron Wines, located in the Paso Robles region of California’s Central Coast.   He’s a young guy who loves surfing and loves wine.  In fact, he knew at a very young age that he wanted to be a winemaker, and I for one am glad that he is!

The wine I had last week was his 2011 Aaron Paso Robles Petite Sirah.  As you probably know, Petite Sirah is NOT Syrah.  This is a common mistake made by many casual wine drinkers.  These two varieties do, however, share some similarities and perhaps some geographical history.  Petite Sirah vines have grown in California since the 1880s, and DNA research has suggested that this grape is likely Durif, a cross of the grapes Peloursin (an ancient Rhone varietal) and Syrah (another Rhone varietal), which was created in France in the 1880s. 

The 2011 Aaron Paso Robles Petite Sirah is Jackson’s flagship wine, and is a blend of his very best barrels of Petite Sirah.  The ’11 is a deep purple in color.  On the nose are blackberry, black currant, pepper and some leather.  The palate confirms the blackberry and black currant and has wonderful mocha flavors on the mid palate.  It has great complexity and yet is made in a pleasant easy to drink style.  After tasting this I was shocked to see that it contains 15% alcohol.  The wine is so well balanced that I would never have guessed that the alcohol is that high!

While I know nothing about Aaron Jackson’s surfing skills, I can certainly tell that he’s a darned good winemaker!  I also know that I will seek Aaron Wines out the next time I’m in Paso Robles.

If you’d like to learn more or purchase some of his wines go to: www.aaronwines.com

 

Calcareous Vineyard

If you read my blog on a regular basis you’ll know that I’m a sucker for the Rhone varietals.  The Rhone Valley in France is my wine heaven, but Paso Robles is an area that is doing fabulous things with Syrah, Grenache, Mourvedre and the rest of the Rhone grapes.

Lloyd Messer and his daughter Dana Brown, both experienced wine distributors in Iowa, founded Calcareous Vineyard in 2000.  They shared the dream of owning and operating a winery of their own and after researching many renowned wine regions around the world decided that California’s Central Coast was where they wanted their dream to come true.  They named their winery “Calcareous” after the Latin word describing the white colored lime deposit soil.  Their goal and motto has been to “Let the Soil Speak”, and you can taste it in their wines.

Sadly Lloyd Messer passed in 2006, so today Dana and her sister Ericka are keeping the dream alive!

I opened the 2010 Calcareous Vineyard Grenache-Mourvedre tonight, which is 57% Grenache and 43% Mourvedre.  After first pouring a glass the oak was overwhelming, so I decided to decant it for a bit.  Ahhhhh … what a difference an hour can make.

On the nose are plum, cherry, black pepper and cinnamon.  The palate confirms the aromas with the cinnamon even more pronounced, but in a good way.  I love it!  There is also some licorice there that adds to the overall taste and finish.  After giving it the time to decant, it is a well-balanced wine with some really fun things going on and a medium-plus finish.  I’m definitely going to be checking out more wines from Calcareous Vineyard!

If you’d like to do the same, here is Calcareous’ website:  http://www.calcareous.com

Zinfandel Tasting

Being a member of the Society of Wine Educators definitely has its benefits.  One of the perks is getting invited to some very fun wine events.

This past week I was fortunate enough to attend a Zinfandel Master Class as well as a Zinfandel tasting in Orlando at the Renaissance Sea World Hotel.  The Association of Zinfandel Advocates and Producers (ZAP) sponsored the event.  ZAP was founded over 20 years ago when a small group of passionate wine pioneers and some Zinfandel loving consumers came together because they believed that Zinfandel deserved recognition as a highly respected varietal that could compete with the finest wines around the world.  Today hundreds of producers and thousands of advocates are proud members of ZAP.

The Master Class was wonderful.  Three wine professionals from well-respected Zinfandel producers led us through the history of the varietal, as well as through their represented region and a blind tasting of various Zins from those regions.

First up was Doug Becket, owner of Peachy Canyon Winery in the Paso Robles AVA.  Doug’s easygoing personality and wealth of knowledge led us through the fascinating history of his winery and the interesting geography of the Paso Robles AVA.

Next up was Carol Shelton, Owner and Winemaker of Carol Shelton Wines.  This highly awarded winemaker expounded on some of the AVAs in Sonoma County, explaining differences in their terriors, which results in the different tastes of Zinfandel. 

The final speaker of the day was John Kane, the Winemaker for Rosenblum Cellars, one of the “big daddy wineries” in the Zin world.  Kane manages all of the aspects of wine production for Rosenblum, from the vineyard to operations, and is the winemaker for 62 wines each year!  His presentation focused largely on the Contra Costa County AVA, which lies within the larger Central Coast AVA.

Following the Master Class we were invited to dine with the speakers.  What great fun it was to drink their wines with lunch while hearing stories about that particular vintage and their struggles and triumphs in making the perfect wine!

Following lunch was a tasting of Zinfandel from 16 different producers.  My favorites truly did include the above wineries, along with Wine Guerrilla from the Sonoma Valley (Owner/WInemaker Bruce Patch is not only a fine winemaker, but also a very fun and personable guy) and Proulx Wines from Paso Robles.

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