Recommendations for a visitor from down under

Hi, new here. I'm visiting California in November for just a week. I'd like to try some good quality reds while I'm over, without spending a kings ransom. I know a little bit about Australian and New Zealand reds, but next to nothing about US wine labels, except the icons I've heard of (stag's leap etc).

What I'd like to try is a few wines that really represent the region. Of red wines, I think NZ is best known for its pinot noir, Oz for shiraz, and California for zinfandel and cab sauv... What zinfandels especially would you recommend for quality and drink-now appeal in the $20-$30 bracket?? I'm probably most interested in the zins as we don't grow the grape here.

Many thanks for the advice. I daresay this is a common enquiry, so sorry if the thread seems familar to many.

Welcome Mike.

If you are going to be in the San Francisco area, I suggest you visit Rosenblum Cellars at http://www.rosenblumcellars.com/

Robert Parker has it right: “Rosenblum is one of California’s most reliable producers of high quality as well as attractively prices wines,” Wine Advocate (Issue 172; Aug 31, 2007).

A great lineup of wines at the price points you are looking for.

Also, there are a number of wine tastings in both San Francisco and Los Angeles -- it would be worthwhile giving us your itinerary -- there might be a great introduction to wines of a particular region. For example, I visited San Francisco for a Burgundy wine tasting some years ago, and just by chance was able to attend an excellent survey of wines from the Foothills.

Here's a list of what Rosenblum, just one of many wineries, is planning in November:

November 1 Rosenblum Cellars Winemaker Dinner - Napa Valley Grille Westwood CA

November 9 2007 Masters of Petite Sirah St. Helena CA

November 10 - 11 Healdsburg Holiday Hoopla + Open House
Healdsburg CA

November 17 - 18
Holiday Hooplay + Open House
Alameda
CA

Regards, Bob

Hi Mike -

Whereabouts will you be staying while here and how much time can you devote to the wineries? If you can narrow the region down a bit for us, I'm sure we can give you some ideas of interesting wineries to visit.

And welcome to the board! I hope that you have a chance to share your impressions of California and its wines with us after your trip is done.


Mike

Hi Bick, glad you made it here! See, I told you a great bunch here.

If you're looking to try zinfandel or a zin blend, go for Ridge Geyserville, or Ridge Lytton Springs. May be slightly higher than your $30 limit - recent vintages for both are listed at $33 at their website - but well worth it.

Depending on where you are visiting in California, you could also pay a visit to either their Cupertino (Santa Cruz Mtns) or Sonoma wineries. See http://www.ridgewine.com for locations.

Have fun!

cheers,
al

[David M. Bueker]

I have to second the Ridge Geyserville/Lytton Springs recommendations.

You might also visit Eric Ross Winery, Glen Ellen, CA for Zins.
For Pinot Noir, three areas of note are Russian River Valley in Sonoma County, Carneros near the Napa-Sonoma Counties border and Santa Lucia Highlands near Monterey, CA. Saintsbury is a good representative of the Carneros region and Gary Farrell is worth a visit in the Russian River Valley. Morgan is one of the Monterey area wineries. You may be interested in Geyser Peak in Sonoma County. The winemakers are Aussies and they generally do a good job with Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon and Sauvignon Blanc.

Hi all and many thanks for all the advice. I'm going to be based in San Diego in fact - so I'm not going to be able to do much actual winery visiting unfortunately - that will have to be another visit. What I'm hoping though is that I can get some nice bottles of californian wine to drink while I'm in the state, as we get almost none imported to NZ.

I'll definately make a note of the suggestions you've given and try to find them. Presumably the likes of Ridge Geyserville/Lytton Springs, Rosenblum Cellars and the pinot producers mentioned are wines I can find in a good wine store?

Cheers, Mike

Right on. The Rosenblum and Ridge and Saintsbury wines should be widely available. The Gary Farrell might be a little harder to find but you can ask about other Russian River Valley Pinots. Geyser Peak is pretty widely available and Morgan perhaps a ltitle less available.

[Jenise]

Mike,

I'll add my reccomendations to the pile re Ridge's Zinfandels. So what if they cost around $35--that's cheap considering the fact that these wines are not good wines, they're icons. Icons don't usually come so cheap.

As for reccomending others--well, without knowing your palate preferences (extracted vs. restrained, traditional vs. modern, etc), it's hard to make reccomendations. California is a big place with myriad micro-climates that all manage to have found at least one grape they excel with (though regrettably, not so much the areas near San Diego, don't let anyone talk you into wasting your time on Temecula wines), so though you may know of the cabs and zins, top notch pinot noirs and syrahs are also produced. The good news is that availability throughout the state is excellent, and you won't be deprived even as far south as San Diego. Your best bet is to hook up with a good wine store: one I'd reccomend is The Wine Bank, which is not only a class-act retailer but also a wine bar, so you can taste onsite as well as buy take-home wines. I'm sure they'll have some Ridge--there are very few wines one can feel assured of finding in any good wine store due to the limits of production and transportation, but Ridge is one.

Here's a link to the store I reccomend:

http://www.sdwinebank.com/wines_spirits.html

Much as I adore both Geyserville and Lytton Springs, given the original request I'd suggest that he pick up one of Ridge's other Zins: Ponzo, Pagani Ranch or Dusi Ranch. They'll usually be a bit cheaper and also require less aging. While the two flagship "Zins" are two of my absolute favorites, they are less typical of California Zin than the others. Rosenblum's wines are also a decent choice, though they rarely excite me in the way that Ridge's wines can.

Mark Lipton

Mike, I would second the Rosenblum recommendation, and for a completely different interpretation of zinfandel I recommend that you try the Nalle zins from the Dry Creek appellation. Many zins are full blown with high alcohol, and I think you will find the Nalle to break with that trend. I also endorse the Ridge zins although they are usually mixed with some petite syrah, and sometimes are not technically a zin as the amount of zin falls below 75%. Still, I've never had a bad one.

As for reccomending others--well, without knowing your palate preferences (extracted vs. restrained, traditional vs. modern, etc), it's hard to make reccomendations.

If I had to choose a style preference, I'd say I probably go for more restrained, elegant (traditional?) style wines on the whole (which may be a because I've had a lot of cooler climate wines from NZ) - but having said that, I'll happily enjoy a big Aussie shiraz from the Barossa, so long as its not just a fruit bomb, but has some acidity balance and good structure to support it. My tastes are quite broad at this stage I guess. My interest in wine was only really kindled a few years ago, so I'm still on a bit of an adventure trying whatever I can get my hands on.

Bob Parsons was right - you're all very friendly here! - he suggested I pop over from the Auswine forum with this question... glad I did, I've got a good short list going.

Just to stretch your list a bit -- try some Petite Sirah from Foppiano, or the "Heritage Clone" Zin from Dry Creek Vineyards (that's the cheap stuff, and IMO their best quaffer). And Dry Creek Vineyards' Chenin Blanc is the best CB in the state IMO. You ought to be able to get it for about $9.

If you can find anything from Edmunds St. John, try it. Hard to find in a store, and a lot of fun!

And I'll throw one more idea into the hat here, Mike. If you can get a recommendation from someone on a good wine bar (and if you have the time to visit) that would allow you a chance to taste through a variety of offerings. Unfortunately, I don't know of any in San Diego, but maybe someone else around here does. Or perhaps a good local contact or hotel concierge could help.

Anyway, hope it's a great trip.

... I'm probably most interested in the zins as we don't grow the grape here.

Um, Mike - we do, but not much. Kemblefield has a pretty good drop. Also Stonecroft. Both in Hawkes Bay.

Welcome to the forum.

Cheers,
Sue

If you drop into First Glass Wines and Spirits in Takapuna you can pick up a Ridge Zin and a few others at reasonable prices. And if you come in at 7pm on a Wednesday night you can partake in the best tasting event in Auckland. There are regularly 60-80 people there to taste the 12 wines that are served.

Check out First Glass