Josh Cellar's Lodi Cabernet Sauvignon Benefits Volunteer Firefighers

When you purchase wine, and you know that a portion of the sale will benefit a group or Not-For-Profit organization that is special to you, it makes the wine taste better.

Josh Cellars is the second label for Joseph Carr. The label is to honor his father, Josh. Josh was a volunteer firefighter. Joseph goes one step further in honoring his dad’s legacy by donating $1 for every bottle sold from his Josh Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, Lodi to the National Volunteer Fire Council or other local firefighter charities throughout the country.

This donation provides direct assistance to volunteer fire departments. Helps in programs for training, recruitment, retention, health and safety, and more.

Volunteer firefighters give their time to save you. They go through the same kind of training a paid firefighter does only it’s their expense. It’s their equipment, their gas that is coming to put the fire out at your home, save you in a car accident and sometimes rescue your cat. My brother-in-law is a volunteer fighter who took it to the next level and became an FDNY and is now retired.

These guys put their lives on the line for you. The least you can do is purchase a bottle of Josh Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, Lodi and know that $1 goes to supporting the volunteer firefighters. Josh will not disappoint.

Josh Cellars 2020 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, Lodi $21.99 - Sourced from the Lodi region of California and aged in 25% new French Oak, this wine has aromas of cigar box, oak, coffee, and black cherry. The palate is soft and full of blackberry, blueberry, and dark berry with hints of vanilla that lead to a finish of coffee notes and drying tannins. Honestly, it’s a great everyday Cab.

Celebrate Earth Day with Veramonte Organic Wines

As Earth Day approaches it’s time for us to recognize the importance of the earth and what it gives us every day. Growing up, I didn’t think of anything about my surroundings and the impact we have on it, but I did know, not to swim in the Hudson because of the PCBs. I didn’t fully understand the effects of pollution of all kinds until I was an adult.

Fast forward to last year when the pandemic hit. All of a sudden there wasn’t as much traffic and the air quality improved, the sky bluer and you could hear nature more clearly.

Now let’s think about our soil. Each layer of soil contributes nutrients to the grass, flowers and vegetables you grow. It is reflected in what you eat and the beauty of the landscape you look at each day. It is so important to watch what we put into our earth.

Growing grapes is hard and growing organic grapes even harder but many wineries are opting for organic methods. It is better for the environment and we have to take care of the environment, just like we care for our children.

In celebration of Earth Day I am celebrating with Veramonte and applaud them for what they are doing to save the environment. Veramonte is located in the Casablanca Valley of Chile. They follow organic and biodynamic practices to ensure the best conditions for their vines to develop. The vines truly reflect the soil they are grown in.

What are some of the characteristics of an organic vineyard? Well, the soil is healthy. Many times the animals and insects that occupied the soil before humans began messing with it return. As the vine develops it is aided by all the natural agents of the environment.

Veramonte banned the use of pesticides to protect and care for the ecosystem. By eliminating the use of chemical fertilizers and herbicides the earth is more nourished, the soil regenerates itself, is healthy and reflects the true terroir in the grapes and wine. They incorporated the use of animals in the vineyard. They fertilize the land, mow the grass and aerate the soil with their hooves as they walk through the vineyard.

Veramonte Organic Sauvignon Blanc 2020 SRP $11.99 - This wine says summer in your glass all the way. Light straw in color with aromas of lime zest and white citrus lead to a palate of juicy grapefruit and white peach

Veramonte Organic Cabernet Sauvignon 2018 $11.99 - This Cabernet spent 8 months in neutral oak. The wine really expresses the terroir it’s grown in. Slight balsamic notes on the nose with red and black fruit and a hint of vanilla. On the palate, the wine was smooth with mouth-watering tannins, a mix of red and black fruit and a touch of herbs.

Thank you to Donna White Communications and Gonzalez Byass for providing me with samples of this wine.

Exploring Hess Collection Wines

My first experience with Hess Collection Wines was at the Wine Bloggers Conference in 2009 and I remember having lunch on their Mount Veeder estate with the goats. Now looking back, that was their first year with the goats, having purchased 24 goats in 2008 and they all turned out pregnant. I remember them telling us the story and we were eating with the offspring. Those goats play an important part of vineyard management during bud break. They help with the weed control, minimizing the use of the tractors and tilling. I totally enjoyed the wines then and still do so today. The only thing I do want to do my next trip to Hess Collection (besides taste the wine) is see the art museum, it is suppose to be amazing.

In the meantime, we can explore their wines. For this article we are going to visit the Hess Collection 2015 Napa Valley Chardonnay, 2015 Hess Collection Allomi Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley and Hess Collection Mount Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon 2014, Napa Valley. Next month we will explore some of the white wines of Hess Collection.

A little quick background on Hess Collection. Donald Hess came to California from Switzerland in the mid 1970’s. He wanted to expand his Swiss based bottled water company but instead fell in love with Napa Valley and the wines. He purchased 600 acres of land on Mount Veeder because he felt the best grapes grow on mountains, hillsides, ridges and bench lands. In 2011 Donald Hess retired and the fifth generation of Hess Family took the leadership rolls.

Label note: The tiger on the label signifies the three different generations of the Hess family.

Hess Collection 2015 Chardonnay $22

This Chardonnay comes from the Su’skol Estate Vineyard in Napa. It is located in one of the coolest growing regions in the area. The vineyard is named after the native Su’skol people who used the area as a meeting place and valued the areas resources for fish and game. The vineyard is on a site of ancient seabed with shallow, sandy soils that Chardonnay grapes love.

Tasting notes: An elegant complex Chardonnay that has been aged 9 months in barrels. Layers of apple, pear, honeydew melon and pineapple seductively work their way through your palate. Enjoy this next to fireplace and have a romantic evening.

Hess Collection 2015 Napa Valley “Allomi” Cabernet Sauvignon $32

This comes from the 210 acre Allomi Vineyard that has 35 six different Cabernet clones which add to the dicersity of flavors in the wine. The wine has 92% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Petite Sirah and 2% Petite Verdot and was aged in oak for 18 months. Twenty-five percent of the oak was New American oak.

Tasting notes: A complex wine full of dark fruit, back cherry, currant, tobacco, vanilla, cocoa, nice integrated tannins.

Hess Collection 2014 Mount Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon $65

This comes from their estate Veeder Hills Vineyard. This cineyard has steep slopes and elevation ranges from 600 to 1,120 feet with sedimentary clay and shale soil. The berries are small with intense fruit flavors. The wine is a blend of 81% Cabernet Sauvignon, 16% Malbec and 3% Petite Verdot aged for 22 months in barrels with 80% in New French oak.

Tasting notes: Strong aromas hit your nose as you decipher the layers of black fruit, plum, leather, blackberry and cassis. Strong layers of black fruit on the palate, a very robust wine, strong and powerful with polished tannins that integrate nicely but stand their ground. Some nice mocha spice on the finish.

2 Value Priced Wines from Montes Wines

I have tasted Montes Wines before and I am always amazed at the great quality coming Aurello Montes. It all began for them in 1988 when they realized their dream of crafting wines in high quality than the current standards and using sustainable methods.

This particular tasting was of their 2015 Montes Cherub which is a Rose of Syrah and 2013 Monte Twins which is a Malbec/Cabernet Sauvignon blend.

Both of these wine retail for about $15.  They are a great value and taste good too!

The labels were designed by Ralph Steedman who also designed the labels for Flying Dog Beer. The story behind the angels are that Co-Founder Douglas Murray always believed angels protected him.  He wanted the angels to protect Montes, so he put the angel on the label.

The 2015 Montes Cherub Rose of Syrah smells like summer.  That is what I thought of when I first smelled the aromas. Very ripe fresh berries and hints of watermelon, black currant and rose petals. Not to mention the deep dark pink color that comes from the pressed grapes.  In your mouth think Jolly Rancher.  Red raspberry begins to come through on the palate and the wine has a very long finish with a hint of tartness.  This wine is not sweet with only .4% residual sugar. This wine will pair well with salmon, tuna tartar, to name a few.

The 2013 Montes Twins is a Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon blend that is 50/50 each.  47% of the wine was aged for 10 months in first used French oak barrels.  The wine was a bit tight when first opened. You need to let it breathe for a few minutes to get the aromas and juices flowing.  Once the juices are flowing I smelled aromas of sweet spices, blackberry with some tobacco and cedar notes.  There were quite a bit to tannins on the palate and the wine was a bit fruity but well balanced.

Montes Wines are a wine brand to look for and watch.  Good things are yet to come.  Perhaps some more blending of the wines.

Here's a video to watch from Periscope that I did of the tasting.  I promise I will get better at it.

 

Getting Barefoot!

Yes I know Summer is over, but there is still no reason to put the socks on yet.  I recently got Barefoot with Barefoot Cabernet Sauvignon.

Let me give you a little background on Barefoot Wine.  It began by accident in the mid 1980's but the name goes back to 1965 and a former newspaper reporter Davis Bynum who had a passion for wine and started a winery in Berkeley in the 1960's. In 1973 Davis moved to Healdsburg where he would become one of the pioneers of the Pinot Noir movement. In 1974 he stopped making Barefoot and the name ceased.

Fast forward to 1985 and enter Michael Houlihan and Bonnie Harvey living in Somona.  Bonnie was hired by her friend Mark Lyon a winemaker to handle his office.  One of the problems she uncovered was that one of his client owed him money for his 1984 crop of grapes.  Yes 300 tons of grapes weren't paid for. Bonnie figured Michael could assist Mark in getting part of the money. Unfortunately the client was in bankruptcy and taken over by creditors.

Michael found himself in a room at this winery with wine in tanks and it had nowhere to go.  Ding, Ding...Michael suggested that the wine in the tanks gets bottled and given to them for payment.  The next thing they had 18,000 cases of wine. In short that was the beginning of Barefoot Wine. (For the complete story I suggest you read "The Barefoot Spirit" by Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey.) Today Barefoot is owned by Gallo.

I have to admit, I've never been a huge fan of the Barefoot wine. When they reached out to me, I thought I would give it a try with an open mind. I really wanted to try this with my daughter, who I think would have enjoyed this wine, but our schedules never worked out.

I tasted this with Melanie in mind and do think it was a good wine her.

The Barefoot NV Cabernet Sauvignon is made with grapes from Argentina.  Aromas of red fruit and red berry jam filled the glass. The wine was very fruit forward and full of jammy flavors with a hint of clove and vanilla on the finish.

Barefoot Cabernet is fairly inexpensive as a normal bottle will run you about $5.99 and a 1.5 liter will run approximately $9.99.

Finally Found a Carmenere Wine I Like!

Carmenere is a grape that originated in Bordeaux, however it's rarely found in France and is the signature grape of Chile. I've tasted many wines made with the Carmenere grape and have never found one that I truly liked.  Many times they have a green pepper aroma and taste to them and personally that turns me off.  I've seen lots of debates over the "green pepper" and everyone is entitled to their opinions, as their palate dictates, but it's just something that isn't for me.

Until I tasted these Carmenere wines and I was excited after the first taste, I really like them. The Cabernet was a pleasure on the palate as well.  I immediately called in my husband to taste, telling him to keep an open mind. We both had the same favorite (you'll see which one below) and he was very impressed.  It didn't stop there. We were having dinner guests that evening, we smoked a leg of lamb and invited them for the taste test before pairing with the lamb.  We didn't tell them anything except a little about the grapes and the wine was from Chile.  After tasting all three, their favorite was the same as ours.

Now a little about the wine region.  Rios de Chile's philosophy is to achieve maximum balance in each vine, always looking for the quality and identity of the wines.  It is a true reflection of the Cachapoal Valley's diverse terrior which is home to most of their estate vineyards.  The Cachapoal region is primarily known for red grapes.  It stretches eastward into the Andean foothills and produces elegant well balanced Cabernets and red blends.

Rios de Chile 2011 Carmenere D.O. Central Valley, Chile - Aromas of plum, red berries and spice. Beautiful smooth mouth feel with flavors of cherry, plum and fresh blackberry with a beautiful black spice finish. No oak on this wine as it was aged in stainless steel.  SRP $9.95

Rios de Chile 2009 Reserva Carmenere D.O. Cachapoal Valley Chile - Aromas of plum, vanilla, cloves, pepper with a slight hint of green pepper. Aged in oak for 8 months the wine shows expressions of plum, black cherry, vanilla and black spice on the palate with soft tannins. I would suggest to drink this wine now.  SRP $14.95

Rios de Chile 2010 Reserva Cabernet Sauvignon D.O. Cachapoal  - Nice red color with a touch of brick on the edges.  Aromas of black fruit with hints of tobacco and some dried herbs. This wine was also aged 8 months in oak which lends itself to firm but soft tannins on the palate.  Accompanied by flavors of black cherry, tobacco, hint of green pepper and soft black spice on the finish.  SRP $14

I served all three of these wines with a smoked leg of lamb. While all three of these wines paired well with the lamb our favorite wine of the evening was the Rios de Chile 2011 Carmenere.

**These wines were a sample sent to me by their PR agancy.

Hanging with the Priest

What kind of wine do you open when  you are faced with a Super Storm heading your way?  Something that can pray with you for no damage and the electric to stay on.  We were lucky, we had no damage, but the lights did go out for a day, which is nothing compared to what happened south of me.

What did we open?  A 2009 Priest Ranch Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. Hanging with the Priest during a storming night we were.  Maybe that saved us.

Priest Ranch is part of the Somerston Wine Company which encompasses three wine brands, one of them being Priest Ranch.  Priest Ranch wines represent the diversity of the Somerston property. The Cabernet selected for this wine comes from 11 different hillside blocks on the ranch which is planted with 72.2 acres of Cab.

At harvest, the end of October, beginning of November 2009, the brix level clock in at 26.8. The grapes were cold soaked for 8 days then fermentation began with indigenous yeast. Only the free run juices were used and malolactic fermentation occurred in the barrel.

The wine spent 20 months is the barrel.  50% was new French Oak land 50% was neutral French Oak.  The wine was bottled in April 2011 land released in November of 2011 with the alcohol clocking in at 14.9%

This wine was a perfect pairing for the perfect storm.  Aromas of vanilla, black cherry and blackberry with hints of oak filled the glass. The wine was very nicely balanced with lots of black fruit and black current expressing itself.  A soft finish with a slight hint of black pepper. (I paired this with a beef stew I made in the crockpot, knowing if the lights went out, the generator runs that outlet)

There were 220 cases of this wine make and it retails for $40.

**I received this wine as a sample from the winery's PR firm