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CA trip thoughts

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Florida Jim

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CA trip thoughts

by Florida Jim » Tue Feb 26, 2008 1:59 pm

I just got back from a trip to the west coast. Brought home enough flu for both Diane and I but still had a good time.

Several items of interest:

Caparone is a 3,000 cases winery in the Paso area specializing in Italian varietals, although they also make cabernet sauvignon (fair), merlot (pretty green) and zinfandel (quaffable and 13.4% alcohol. Their nebbiolo was varietally correct, under 14% but showed a little VA; even so, I liked it. Their aglianico was also under 14% and showed the tannins typical of the grape. Best was their sangiovese which was about 13.5%, beautifully textured and typical of a Rosso di Montacino. All their wines were $14/bottle; 10% off for 6; 20% off for a case. Worth a taste.

I tasted the components of the 2006 Bevan Cellars, syrah and they show great promise. Much of the fruit is sourced from the Westerhold Vineyard in Bennett Valley. That fruit will go exclusively to Westerhold Family Vineyards wine starting in the 2007 vintage; 100% Alban clone syrah. IMO, this vineyard has a distinctive signature, both aromatically and in the mouth, and is planted with the grape best suited to let that show through in the wine. One to watch.

For those who enjoy big cabernets, the coming vintages from Bevan Cellars and Showket Vineyards (where Russell Bevan is now winemaker) are not to be missed.

The 2007 Dry Stack Vineyards (which will be renamed Grey Stack – thank the good folks at Dry Sack Sherry for that one) will be comparable to the 2006 in texture but will carry more citrus and grapefruit skin flavor. A dandy.

I visited a winery in the Paso area that charged $10 to taste three wines, all of which were 15.8% alcohol or more and one of which, a blend containing mostly grenache and zinfandel, cost $68 a bottle. Even though I like folks that are proud of their wines, this was patently absurd. And the wines were just as hot as you’d expect. Who buys this stuff?
And who puts up with this kind of arrogance? Not me.

I’m sure I’ve mentioned that I made a barrel of syrah last year; this trip gave us our first chance to taste it after being in barrel. I was pleased and hope it continues to come together – hopefully, another pretty Bennett Valley syrah.

Even with heavy rain, gale force winds and a sinus infection, a trip to CA wine country is always instructive. Thanks to all who were so kind to us.

Best, Jim
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Cowan Cellars
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David M. Bueker

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Re: CA trip thoughts

by David M. Bueker » Tue Feb 26, 2008 2:01 pm

Welcome back Jim!

I miss Russell. He hosted one of my first (and still one of the best) offlines back when he was in Minneapolis. And I think he still has a bottle of my '95 Baumard Paon. :wink:
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Re: CA trip thoughts

by Dale Williams » Tue Feb 26, 2008 4:11 pm

thanks for thoughts.
I'm not usually one for Cal-Ital wines, but the Caparones sound interesting (especially at that price).
So we'll assume your Syrah doesn't come in at 16% ? :D
Hopefully you'll make NY a stop on your wine road trip (do you still do that?) sometime after bottling your wine (one barrel doesn't sound like commercially available),
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Re: CA trip thoughts

by Florida Jim » Tue Feb 26, 2008 4:57 pm

Dale Williams wrote:thanks for thoughts.
I'm not usually one for Cal-Ital wines, but the Caparones sound interesting (especially at that price).
So we'll assume your Syrah doesn't come in at 16% ? :D
Hopefully you'll make NY a stop on your wine road trip (do you still do that?) sometime after bottling your wine (one barrel doesn't sound like commercially available),


I don't get to NY often, but if I do . . .
The syrah is 13.9% and will not be sold commercially.
Best, Jim
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David M. Bueker

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Re: CA trip thoughts

by David M. Bueker » Tue Feb 26, 2008 5:08 pm

Florida Jim wrote:The syrah is 13.9% and will not be sold commercially.
Best, Jim


With such low alcohol who would buy it anyway. :wink: (me...)
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Re: CA trip thoughts

by Florida Jim » Tue Feb 26, 2008 6:50 pm

David M. Bueker wrote:
Florida Jim wrote:The syrah is 13.9% and will not be sold commercially.
Best, Jim


With such low alcohol who would buy it anyway. :wink: (me...)


David,
Funny thing . . .
There are 7 different folks making wine from exactly the same clone of syrah from the same vineyard in the same year - should make for an interesting retrospective - and Russell is making the lowest alcohol wine (13.7); who'd a thunk.
Best, Jim
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Re: CA trip thoughts

by Bruce K » Wed Feb 27, 2008 11:02 am

The syrah is 13.9% and will not be sold commercially.


What about shipped direct from the winemaker?
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Re: CA trip thoughts

by Mark Lipton » Wed Feb 27, 2008 11:34 am

Florida Jim wrote:
David M. Bueker wrote:
Florida Jim wrote:The syrah is 13.9% and will not be sold commercially.
Best, Jim


With such low alcohol who would buy it anyway. :wink: (me...)


David,
Funny thing . . .
There are 7 different folks making wine from exactly the same clone of syrah from the same vineyard in the same year - should make for an interesting retrospective - and Russell is making the lowest alcohol wine (13.7); who'd a thunk.


This suggests a great lot for a charity auction (HdR perhaps?): all seven Syrahs in a mixed "case," including the highly allocated Florida Jim cuvée.

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Florida Jim

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Re: CA trip thoughts

by Florida Jim » Wed Feb 27, 2008 11:38 am

Bruce K wrote:
The syrah is 13.9% and will not be sold commercially.


What about shipped direct from the winemaker?


If I understand the law correctly, I have to have a license to sell wine. I can make it for as long as I like prior to that.
Hence, if I decide to get a license in the future, whatever I have not given away of my 2007 will be for sale. If I don't, then give away is all that will ever happen.
And right now, I'm just not in a position to commit to doing this as an occupation. Who knows what will happen tomorrow . . .
Maybe more than you wanted to know, but I feel better with a full explanation.
Best, Jim
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Re: CA trip thoughts

by Bruce K » Wed Feb 27, 2008 12:10 pm

If I understand the law correctly, I have to have a license to sell wine. I can make it for as long as I like prior to that.
Hence, if I decide to get a license in the future, whatever I have not given away of my 2007 will be for sale. If I don't, then give away is all that will ever happen.


Well, you could decide to "give away" some to me and then I could make an appropriate donation to the Florida Jim Winery Startup and Retirement Trust Fund. :wink:

Of course, there are those pesky wine shipping laws, not that they have stopped some good, right-thinking folks from doing Internet and mail order business.

What I most want to say is that your wine drinking has been a role model for me, for better or worse, and now your venture into winemaking is giving me hope for what I might most want to do -- as a hobby if not a vocation -- if I'm fortunate enough to be able to retire in 10-15 years time!
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Re: CA trip thoughts

by Florida Jim » Wed Feb 27, 2008 4:12 pm

Bruce K wrote:What I most want to say is that your wine drinking has been a role model for me, for better or worse, and now your venture into winemaking is giving me hope for what I might most want to do -- as a hobby if not a vocation -- if I'm fortunate enough to be able to retire in 10-15 years time!


I'll make this short and we can take this to e-mail if we want to continue . . .
I have had more than 100 different jobs in my life. I have enjoyed almost all of them. I have been successful in a few.
But I have never known anything more personally fulfilling than winemaking.
I'm over 60 and hard work is, well, hard; I look forward to it.
Dream big, my friend.
Best, Jim
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Re: CA trip thoughts

by Bruce K » Thu Feb 28, 2008 10:02 am

Dream big, my friend.


Yes. We. Can.

Seriously, thank you for sharing your experiences and for your kind words. I look forward to following how your dream pans out. I'm a writer by profession and though I have on occasion been forced to eat my words, I've never had an opportunity to drink them. I can only imagine how fulfilling it must be to be able to drink the fruits of your labor.

I'm 50 right now and, as I noted earlier, have an least 10 and, in all likelihood, 15 or more years to go before I can embark on a similar venture but if and when this becomes a more realistic prospect, I would be very grateful to be able to tap into your wisdom. Thanks again.

-- Bruce

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