Wine Peeps

It all began on April 8th of this year; a road trip through 23 states covering 12,360 miles. Since then, I’ve posted 16 times from the road as we visited almost too many wineries to count in search of that next great bottle. Obviously, I hope that you have read all of my posts from the road and that they have helped you find some new wines to try. But in case you haven’t read all of them yet, you will find links at the end of this post.

Along the way, we made some discoveries I’d like to recap.

Best new type of wine for us:
Port. We found good Ports in California, New Mexico, Texas, Missouri, Colorado, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington, but our favorite was the NV Mount Pleasant Tawny Library Port from Missouri of all places.

Most promising of the newer wine states:
Texas, Kentucky, Missouri, Colorado, and Idaho.

Best of the wine regions we were visiting for the first time:
Central Coast of California and Lake Chelan County in Washington State.

Top Winery Discoveries (wineries we didn’t know before this trip):
Lincourt Vineyards—Solvang, CA
Mount Pleasant Winery—Augusta, MO
Watermill Winery—Milton-Freewater, OR
Stephenson Cellars—Walla Walla, WA

Honorable Mention Winery Discoveries (wineries we didn’t know before this trip):
Siduri/Novy Wines—Santa Rosa, CA
Andrew Murray Vineyards—Los Olivos, CA
Williamson Vineyard—Caldwell, ID
Nefarious Cellars—Chelan, WA

I hope you have enjoyed traveling with us by reading our posts during our road trip. If you are curious about any of the sights we saw in addition to our wine stops, leave a comment and I would be happy to share those highlights with you as well.

Previous Road Trip posts:
Sonoma and Napa (April 14)
Central Coast, California (April 18)
Arizona (April 25)
New Mexico (May 2)
Texas (May 9)
Tennessee and Kentucky (May 16)
Mid-America (May 23)
Ballpark Wine (May 30)
South Dakota (June 6)
Colorado (June 13)
Idaho (June 20)
Eastern Oregon (June 27)
Walla Walla, Day 1 (July 4)
Walla Walla, Day 2 (July 11)
Spokane (July 18)
Chelan (July 25)

As we continued our cross-country road trip, we stopped in Milton-Freewater, Oregon, at a couple of eastern Oregon wineries. What a contrast it was between the western Oregon wineries we have visited in the past and these two eastern Oregon wineries. We didn’t have to pay any tasting fees, the attitude of the winery tasting room personnel was friendly and very hospitable, and neither winery produces any Pinot Noir. In a nutshell, it was a great day in wine country, despite the dreary, rainy weather.

Our first stop was at Watermill Winery. Our bubbly hostess, Kelli, is a member of the Earl Brown extended family, owners and operators of the winery as well as a huge apple orchard operation. They have been growing grapes for others for a number of years, but 2005 was their first vintage for their own winery. They are currently producing about 3,500 cases per year and growing. Of the seven wines we tasted at Watermill, our two favorites were the 2005 Watermill Reserve Syrah and the 2005 Watermill Syrah.

Our next stop was at Zerba Cellars. The Zerbas were in the nursery business for 20 years, so they understand basic agriculture and the importance of the grape in producing good wine. They produce about 6,000 cases per year. Marilyn Zerba was our gracious hostess as we tasted seven of their wines. Our favorite Zerba wine was their 2006 Zerba Malbec, although it was a bit pricey. Close in quality and better in value in our opinion were the 2005 Zerba Merlot and the 2005 Zerba Syrah (Port style).

The wineries in this area are located very close to the Washington state line and are in the Walla Walla Valley AVA.

Here’s a breakdown of the Eastern Oregon wines that we tasted. Under each Quality heading, the wine name will be listed along with price and QPR rating. Wines in bold type received a QPR rating of 5 bangs for your buck (out of 5).

Quality: 4 stars (out of 5)
2005 Watermill Reserve Syrah, $35, QPR: 4
2005 Watermill Syrah, $28, QPR: 4

Quality: 3.5 stars (out of 5)
2005 Watermill Cabernet Sauvignon, $24, QPR: 5
2005 Zerba Merlot, $28, QPR: 4
2005 Zerba Syrah (Port style), $28, QPR: 4
2006 Watermill Viognier, $14, QPR: 3
2006 Zerba Malbec, $38, QPR: 1

Quality: 3 stars (out of 5)
2005 Zerba Cabernet Sauvignon, $30, QPR: 4
2005 Watermill Estate Midnight Red (Bordeaux blend), $30, QPR: 2
2006 Watermill Sauvignon Blanc, $16, QPR: 2
2005 Zerba Syrah, $28, QPR: 2
2006 Zerba Estate Rose (Sangiovese), $18, QPR: 2

Quality: 2.5 stars (out of 5)
2005 Watermill Chances R (Merlot/Cab), $18, QPR: NR
2006 Zerba Viognier, $18, QPR: NR

Have you ever visited Eastern Oregon wineries? If so, what was your experience there?

As we continued our cross-country road trip, we visited three Idaho wineries, one in Glenns Ferry and two in Caldwell, Idaho. They all produce their wines exclusively with Idaho grapes, and we found some pretty good wines at each stop. Our first stop was at Carmela Vineyards, in business since 1988. They produce about 10,000 cases a year, almost all sold in Idaho although they will ship out-of-state. Our favorite wine at Carmela was their 2004 Carmela Reserve Merlot.

Our next stop was at Ste. Chapelle Winery, Idaho’s oldest and largest winery, a part of the mammoth Constellation Group when we visited but was purchased last week by Ascentia Wine Estates. Out of the five wines we tasted at Ste. Chapelle, our favorites were the 2004 Ste. Chapelle Winemaker Syrah and the 2004 Ste. Chapelle Ice Wine Sauvignon Blanc.

Our third stop was at Williamson Vineyards, where a fourth generation Williamson, Beverly, was our knowledgeable tasting room hostess. The Williamsons have been in the fruit growing business for generations and remain a large producer today but have only been growing grapes, mainly as a diversification measure, since the 1990’s. They are contract growers for some of Idaho’s best known wineries as well as produce an increasing amount of grapes for their own winery operation. We also had the opportunity to meet and visit with Beverly’s father, Roger, who is the winemaker for Williamson Vineyards. While we would not hesitate to recommend any of the five wines we tasted at Williamson, our favorites were the 2005 Williamson Syrah and the NV Williamson Doce Dessert Wine (Ruby style Port). I believe that Williamson is an up-and-coming winery that merits watching. I’d like to come back in five years and see the progress that they have made.

Note: A few days after these visits, we also visited another Idaho winery, Camas Prairie Winery in Moscow, Idaho, but we did not taste any wines. When we entered the tasting room, the owner was serving some other folks so we didn’t expect instantaneous service. But when he finished their tasting, he said he was going to pass them off to the checkout clerks, implying that he would then serve us. However, instead he went over to the checkout with them and continued to visit, totally ignoring us. But the straw that broke the camel’s back for us was when another employee came in, and instead of spelling him at the checkout desk or serving us, she waited on another customer who had come in after us. When that happened, we left. There are too many other wineries with good wine and good service to put up with that. I could not recommend Camas Prairie Winery to anyone.

Here’s a breakdown of the Idaho wines that we tasted. Under each Quality heading, the wine name will be listed along with price and QPR rating. Wines in bold type received a QPR rating of 5 bangs for your buck (out of 5).

Quality: 4 stars (out of 5)
2004 Carmela Reserve Merlot, $25, QPR: 5
2004 Ste. Chapelle Winemaker Syrah, $11, QPR: 5
2004 Ste. Chapelle Ice Wine Sauvignon Blanc, $20, QPR: 5
2005 Williamson Syrah, $18, QPR: 5
NV Williamson Doce Dessert Wine (Ruby style Port), $25, QPR: 5

Quality: 3.5 stars (out of 5)
2004 Williamson Cabernet Sauvignon, $25, QPR: 5
2006 Williamson Late Harvest Viognier, $22, QPR: 5
2004 Carmela Red Meritage, $17, QPR: 4
2006 Williamson Viognier, $15, QPR: 3

Quality: 3 stars (out of 5)
NV Carmela Cabernet Merlot, $10, QPR: 5
2005 Ste. Chapelle Winemaker Cabernet Sauvignon, $11, QPR: 5
2001-02 Carmela Merlot, $17, QPR: 4
2000 Carmela Cabernet Franc, $17, QPR: 4

Quality: 2.5 stars (out of 5)
2003 Carmela Cabernet Sauvignon, $17, QPR: NR
2006 Ste. Chapelle Winemaker Merlot, $11, QPR: NR

Quality: 2 stars (out of 5)
2003 Carmela Pinot Noir, $17, QPR: NR
2006 Carmela Semillon, $13, QPR: NR
2006 Ste. Chapelle Sauvignon Blanc, $9, QPR: NR

Have you ever had Idaho wine? If so, how did you like it? What was your favorite?

As we traveled through Colorado, we made several stops at wineries near Palisade, Colorado. We were impressed that each of the wineries we visited sold only Colorado grown grapes, offered complimentary tastings, had nice professional tasting rooms, and their wines were pretty good.

Our first stop was at Grande River Vineyards, Colorado’s oldest winery. Their production is about 8,000 cases per year, almost all sold in Colorado, although they can ship to Washington State. We tasted seven different wines with our favorite being the 2005 Grande River Syrah.

Our next stop was at Plum Creek Winery, a winery started in 1983 with production of about 15,000 cases per year, all sold in Colorado. Plum Creek will no longer even ship outside of Colorado, a shame since they have some good wines. We tasted five Plum Creek wines, our favorites being their 2006 Plum Creek Sauvignon Blanc, the 2006 Plum Creek Sangiovese, and the 2006 Plum Creek Cabernet Sauvignon.

Our final stop was at Graystone Winery, a Port house where we tasted three different ports. Our favorite was their Graystone Port III (2003 Cab/Merlot Ruby Port), a port that we believe will be even better with more time in the bottle.

In my opinion, Colorado is an emerging wine area that has good potential. They seem to be able to grow the popular international varietals and have a tourist base that is generally wine savvy. I’d like to come back in five years and see the progress they have made.

Since we tasted fifteen different wines, I have broken down the list into Quality rating categories. Under each Quality heading, the wine name will be listed along with price and QPR rating. Wines in bold type received a QPR rating of 5 bangs for your buck (out of 5).

Quality: 3.5 stars (out of 5)
2005 Grande River Syrah, $17, QPR: 5
2005 Grande River Late Harvest Viognier, $20, QPR: 5
2006 Plum Creek Sangiovese, $17, QPR: 5
2006 Plum Creek Cabernet Sauvignon, $17, QPR: 5
Graystone Port III (2003 Cab/Merlot Ruby Port), $23, QPR: 5
2006 Plum Creek Sauvignon Blanc, $11, QPR: 4

Quality: 3 stars (out of 5)
Graystone Port II (2002 Cab/Merlot Port), $23, QPR: 5
2003 Plum Creek Cabernet Franc, $12, QPR: 4
2001 Grande River Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, $35, QPR: 3
2005 Grande River Viognier, $17, QPR: 2

Quality: 2.5 stars (out of 5)
2002 Grande River Merlot, $13, QPR: NR
2004 Grande River Cabernet Sauvignon, $15, QPR: NR
2006 Plum Creek Merlot, $12, QPR: NR
Graystone Lipizzan White Port (2002 Pinot Gris Port), $22, QPR: NR

Quality: 2 stars (out of 5)
2006 Grande River Sauvignon Blanc, $10, QPR: NR

Have you ever had Colorado wine? If so, how did you like it? What was your favorite?

In recent weeks, we’ve reported from the road on winery visits in California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Tennessee and Kentucky. Today, I’ll report on our wine tasting visits in Ohio, Wisconsin, Missouri, and Nebraska.

On the way out of Cincinnati, Ohio, we stopped at Ohio’s oldest and largest winery, Meier’s Wine Cellars. It was almost a replay of the wineries we visited in Tennessee, meaning that Ohio is not serious premium wine country. As the tasting room hostess explained, their customer base likes sweet, fruity wines so that is what they produce. We did our best to smile and taste about a half dozen of their selections, but there wasn’t anything I would write home about, so I won’t.

In Wisconsin, between Milwaukee and Green Bay, we stopped in the old historic town of Cedarburg to visit the Cedar Creek Winery. It was a fun visit in their tasting room because of the knowledge and friendliness of the tasting room hostess. While Cedar Creek and their sister winery produce a total of over 80,000 cases per year, it is virtually all sold in the state of Wisconsin. They can and do ship to about twelve states, but Washington is no longer one they can ship to, even though five of the wines they make are produced with Washington grapes. Sounds familiar, doesn’t it? Washington is happy to let them buy grapes but not to sell back wine produced with those grapes to consumers in Washington State. Once again, Washington’s reputation is suffering from these kinds of nonsensical rules.

While none of the wines we tasted made from Wisconsin grapes were outstanding, several were pleasant sipping wines at very reasonable prices that I would have purchased if they could ship to Washington. The visit was not all for naught because I was able to add several grape varieties to my Wine Century Club list: Seyval Blanc (white), Lacrosse (red), and St. Pepin (red).

In Branson, Missouri, we visited three wine tasting rooms to get a flavor for Missouri wines. While Missouri is primarily a sweet wine state, as have been most mid-America states, they do produce some decent dry wines as well. The most notable is Norton, a dry red varietal native to Missouri.

Our first stop was at the Lindwedel Wine Garden. We found out that Lindwedel is actually a wine retailer, not a producer, but they do sell several wines under their own label, the NV Lindwedel Norton and the NV Lindwedel Norton Port.

Next we visited the Stone Hill Winery tasting room. Stone Hill is one of Missouri’s oldest and largest wineries. We thought their best wine was a 2004 Stone Hill Norton. Other wines we tasted were a 2005 Stone Hill Port, a 2006 Stone Hill Chardonel (Chardonnay/Seyval Blanc blend), a 2005 Stone Hill Chambourcin, and a NV Stone Hill Cream Sherry.

Our third and final stop of the day was at Mount Pleasant Winery, a new and obviously well-funded operation out of Augusta, Missouri. Their Branson tasting room has only been open five weeks, but is it clear that they intend to be a serious player in the premium wine business in Missouri. I’d like to come back in five years and see what they have accomplished. They appear to be one of the few Missouri wineries having any success growing the traditional reds like Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot.

Our favorite of their wines was the NV Mount Pleasant Tawny Port. We also liked their 2001 Mount Pleasant Vintage Port and their 2005 Mount Pleasant Norton, although the Norton appears overpriced at $35. Other Mount Pleasant wines we tasted were the 2004 Mount Pleasant Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2004 Mount Pleasant Claret, and the NV Mount Pleasant Villagio (white blend).

The night after we visited the wineries we got a take-out pizza for dinner and took it back to our room to have a private tasting of three Missouri Norton wines. We blind tasted the NV Lindwedel Norton, the 2004 Stone Hill Norton, and the 2005 Mount Pleasant Norton. We easily agreed that the Mount Pleasant was our favorite, the Lindwedel was our second choice, and the Stone Hill came in third. This pretty well verified our preliminary rankings when we visited each of the wineries.

From our limited sampling of Missouri wines, it seems apparent that while Missouri has traditionally had a sweet and fruit wine emphasis geared toward tourists, there are now serious vintners trying to develop a premium wine industry with traditional grapes as well as the notable local grapes such as Norton.

From Missouri, we drove up to Nebraska and visited Nebraska’s largest winery, James Arthur Vineyards in Raymond, Nebraska. We tasted six of their dry red wines, all made from Nebraska grown grapes. None of their wines were from traditional varietals because of their cold northern location and short growing season. Although I did not classify any of their offerings as outstanding, two were pretty good, and we did add three new varieties to our Wine Century Club list: De Chaunac, Frontenac, and St. Croix.

Their best wine was a 2005 James Arthur St. Croix. Other wines we tasted were the 2006 James Arthur Frontenac, the NV James Arthur Reserve Rouge (St. Croix/St. Vincent blend), the NV James Arthur Nebraska Red (St. Croix/ St. Vincent/Foch blend), the 2006 James Arthur Game Bird Red (St. Vincent), and 2005 James Arthur De Chaunac.

Out of the four mid-America states in which we sampled wines (Ohio, Wisconsin, Missouri, and Nebraska), Missouri appears to be the most serious about premium wine production and the state with the most overall wine potential.

In order to keep these notes from being unwieldy as we tasted many different wines, I have broken down the list into Quality rating categories. Under each Quality heading, the wine name will be listed along with state, price and QPR rating. Wines in bold type received a QPR rating of 5 bangs for your buck (out of 5).

Quality: 4 stars (out of 5)
NV Mount Pleasant Tawny Port, Missouri, $30, QPR: 5

Quality: 3.5 stars (out of 5)
2001 Mount Pleasant Vintage Port, Missouri, $25, QPR: 5
NV Lindwedel Norton, Missouri, $22, QPR: 4
2005 Mount Pleasant Norton, Missouri, $35, QPR: 1

Quality: 3 stars (out of 5)
2005 Stone Hill Port, Missouri, $20, QPR: 5
NV Lindwedel Norton Port, Missouri, $25, QPR: 4
2004 Stone Hill Norton, Missouri, $19, QPR: 3
2004 Mount Pleasant Cabernet Sauvignon, Missouri, $40, QPR: 3
2005 James Arthur St. Croix, Nebraska, $17, QPR: 1
2006 James Arthur Frontenac, Nebraska, $15, QPR: 1

Quality: 2.5 stars (out of 5)
2006 Stone Hill Chardonel, Missouri, $11, QPR: NR
2005 Stone Hill Chambourcin, Missouri, $16, QPR: NR
NV Stone Hill Cream Sherry, Missouri, $16, QPR: NR
2004 Mount Pleasant Claret, Missouri, $19, QPR: NR
NV James Arthur Reserve Rouge, Nebraska, $14, QPR: NR
NV James Arthur Nebraska Red, Nebraska, $14, QPR: NR

Quality: 2 stars (out of 5)
NV Mount Pleasant Villagio, Missouri, $12, QPR: NR
2006 James Arthur Game Bird Red, Nebraska, $15, QPR: NR

Quality: 1.5 stars (out of 5)
2005 James Arthur De Chaunac, Nebraska, $12, QPR: NR

Our Texas wine tour consisted of visits to a couple of wineries just south of Lubbock, Cap*Rock Winery and Llano Estacado Winery. Prior to this trip, my only experience with Texas wines were with Texas Hill Country wineries west of Austin and one winery near Bryan/College Station. Quite frankly, those wineries had not shown me much. Our experience this time was much better.

Based on our experiences during this road trip, I would say that Texas wines are the best of Southwest wines, better than the wines in either Arizona or New Mexico. And as I guess should be expected in Texas, the tasting room personnel were super-friendly. We had to be careful to evaluate only Texas wines produced from Texas grapes because both wineries had some wines that did not qualify as true Texas wine.

Our first visit was to Cap*Rock Winery, where we received the VIP treatment for almost two hours from their winemaker, Alberto Marchetto, without him being aware that we write a wine blog. Cap*Rock has annual production of about 13,000 cases with most distribution within the state of Texas.

While their best wine by far was a wine made with imported Italian grapes, the 2003 Il Pralongo Amarone della Valpolicella, they had a couple of decent Texas wines, the NV Cap*Rock Palo Duro Canyon Red (a Merlot-Cabernet blend) and the 2005 Cap*Rock Cabernet Sauvignon. Other Texas wines we tasted were the 2005 Cap*Rock Merlot and the 2005 Cap*Rock Chardonnay.

Next we visited Llano Estacado, one of the oldest and largest Texas wineries, with annual production of about 150,000 cases. Their wines are fairly widely distributed, especially within Texas, and are also available through their online store. At Llano Estacado, we tasted six Texas wines; the best was a 2006 Llano Estacado Cellar Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon. We found a 2005 vintage of this wine, which might be even better, down the road at a beverage store for $16. We also thought very highly of their 2002 Llano Estacado 30th Anniversary Port which is only available at the tasting room.

The other Texas wines we tasted from their impressive lineup were the NV Llano Estacado Cellar Select Port, the 2005 Llano Estacado Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2006 Llano Estacado Cellar Reserve Chardonnay, and the 2006 Llano Estacado Sauvignon Blanc.

Here’s a recap of the wines we tasted in Texas, in our order of preference. All prices given are winery/tasting room prices.

2003 Il Pralongo Amarone della Valpolicella
Quality: 4.5 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 4 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Price: $49.50

2006 Llano Estacado Cellar Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon
Quality: 4 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 5 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Price: $22

2005 Llano Estacado Cellar Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon
Quality: 4 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 5 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Price: $16

2002 Llano Estacado 30th Anniversary Port (full bottle)
Quality: 4 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 5 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Price: $60

NV Llano Estacado Cellar Select Port (full bottle)
Quality: 3.5 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 5 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Price: $22

2005 Llano Estacado Cabernet Sauvignon
Quality: 3.5 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 5 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Price: $14

2006 Llano Estacado Cellar Reserve Chardonnay
Quality: 3.5 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 4 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Price: $22

NV Cap*Rock Palo Duro Canyon Red: 85% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Sauvignon.
Quality: 3 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 5 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Price: $13

2005 Cap*Rock Cabernet Sauvignon
Quality: 3 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 5 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Price: $15

2005 Cap*Rock Merlot
Quality: 2 stars (out of 5)
QPR: NR (not recommended)
Price: $15

2005 Cap*Rock Chardonnay
Quality: 2 stars (out of 5)
QPR: NR (not recommended)
Price: $15

2006 Llano Estacado Sauvignon Blanc
Quality: 2 stars (out of 5)
QPR: NR (not recommended)
Price: $9

Have you ever tasted any true Texas wines? What was your impression? Were they from Hill Country or West Texas wineries?

Before this trip, the only New Mexico wine I had tasted was the NV Gruet Brut Sparkling Wine which finished a close second in one of our tasting dinners. I was disappointed that Santa Fe does not seem to be as infatuated with New Mexico wines as was Sedona with Arizona wines. In fact, New Mexico wines and wineries were not that easy to find, and several hospitality professionals admitted that most restaurants and bars feature imported wines rather than New Mexico wines. We were able to visit the tasting rooms for Santa Fe Vineyards and Ponderosa Valley Winery. In addition, we tasted wines from two other New Mexico wineries, DH Lescombes and Black Mesa, in our hotel room that we picked up at a local wine shop.

I thought the best wines at Santa Fe Vineyards were their two Zinfandel Ports, the 2004 Santa Fe Vineyards Zinfandel Port (full bottle) and the 2005 Santa Fe Vineyards Zinfandel Port (half bottle). The other New Mexico wines we tasted at Santa Fe were the 2006 Santa Fe Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2007 Santa Fe Vineyards Chardonnay (no oak), and the NV Santa Fe Vineyards Tinto Del Sol Red Table Wine. Santa Fe Vineyards sells most of their wine through their tasting room and will ship out-of-state.

Ponderosa Valley Winery has been a grower for 33 years and has had their own winery for fifteen years. They produce about 4,500 cases a year, mostly sold through their tasting room and stores in the local area. They will also ship out-of-state. At Ponderosa, our two favorites were the 2004 Ponderosa Valley Merlot and the 2007 Ponderosa Valley Sauvignon Blanc-Semillon. The other wines we tasted at Ponderosa were the 2005 Ponderosa Valley Syrah, the NV Ponderosa Valley Light Port (half bottle), and the 2004 Ponderosa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon.

In our room that evening, we tasted a 2006 DH Lescombes Syrah and a 2005 Black Mesa Cabernet Sauvignon. Our limited sampling of New Mexico wines showed some promise but no great wines. I believe work needs to be done in improving the consistency of the wines and even more work needs to be done cooperatively in marketing New Mexico wines.

Here’s a recap of the wines we tasted in New Mexico, in our order of preference. All prices given are winery/tasting room prices.

2004 Santa Fe Vineyards Zinfandel Port (full bottle)
Quality: 3.5 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 5 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Price: $50

2005 Santa Fe Vineyards Zinfandel Port (half bottle)
Quality: 3.5 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 5 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Price: $20

2004 Ponderosa Valley Merlot
Quality: 3.5 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 5 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Price: $16

2007 Ponderosa Valley Sauvignon Blanc-Semillon
Quality: 3.5 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 3 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Price: $16

2006 Santa Fe Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon
Quality: 3 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 5 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Price: $16

2005 Ponderosa Valley Syrah
Quality: 3 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 4 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Price: $18

2006 DH Lescombes Syrah
Quality: 3 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 4 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Price: $15

2007 Santa Fe Vineyards Chardonnay (no oak)
Quality: 2.5 stars (out of 5)
QPR: NR (not recommended)
Price: $13.50

NV Ponderosa Valley Light Port (half bottle)
Quality: 2.5 stars (out of 5)
QPR: NR (not recommended)
Price: $20

2005 Black Mesa Cabernet Sauvignon
Quality: 2.5 stars (out of 5)
QPR: NR (not recommended)
Price: $21

NV Santa Fe Vineyards Tinto Del Sol Red Table Wine
Quality: 2 stars (out of 5)
QPR: NR (not recommended)
Price: $10.50

2004 Ponderosa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
Quality: 2 stars (out of 5)
QPR: NR (not recommended)
Price: $18

Have you ever had New Mexico wine actually made from New Mexico grapes? If so, how did you like it? What was your favorite?

This past Sunday we spent most of the day in the Sedona area looking for Arizona wines made from Arizona grapes because we had learned last summer that many Arizona wineries use California grapes in their wines. And that’s not what we wanted to taste. Our first stop was at the Art of Wine tasting room in Sedona. We paid a $15 tasting fee to taste what the tasting room host said were almost all wines made with Arizona grapes. After examining the bottles though, we discovered that only two of the six wines represented to be Arizona’s best were actually made with Arizona grapes, and we thought those two were the weakest of the six we tasted. The two Arizona grape wines were the 2004 Echo Canyon Cabernet Franc and the NV Sedona Red Wine.

Further down the street, we found a much more forthright sales clerk, Waynette, at Made in Arizona Wine and Gifts. She not only gave us the straight scoop on which wines were made with Arizona grapes and which were not, she also shared with us a copy of the Sedona Monthly magazine from November 2007 which had a nice article on Arizona winemaking. Based on that article, we visited two winery tasting rooms that had wines made from Arizona grapes, Oak Creek Vineyards and Alcantara Vineyards.

Oak Creek Vineyards is a six year old winery with production of about 1,000 cases per year, all sold through their tasting room or ordered by phone out-of-state. We tasted five of their wines, finding only one that we could recommend: the 2005/2006 Oak Creek Desert Flower Syrah. The other wines we tasted were the 2005 Oak Creek Viognier, the 2005 Oak Creek Sauvignon Blanc, the 2006 Oak Creek Zinfandel, and the 2005 Oak Creek Arizona Port.

Next we visited Alcantara Vineyards, a new winery on 87 picturesque desert acres with only 12 acres currently in production. Three of the five wines we tasted were produced with Arizona grapes, and they were the best true Arizona wines that we tasted. It’s a shame that their production is so small and their wine is only available through their tasting room. In our opinion, this winery has serious potential. Our favorite of their Arizona wines was the 2006 Alcantara Meritage (a Bordeaux-style blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot and a touch of Malbec). The other two we tasted were the 2006 Alcantara Mourvedre and the 2006 Alcantara Grand Rouge.

From our limited sampling of Arizona wines, we believe Arizona has considerable potential for red wines but not necessarily for whites. However, the sooner more of them start using Arizona grapes for their Arizona wines, the better off they will be. Today, their credibility suffers because many wineries and tasting rooms are not being completely upfront about what they are producing.

Here’s a recap of most of the wines we tasted in Arizona, in our order of preference. All prices given are winery/tasting room prices.

2006 Alcantara Meritage
Quality: 4 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 4 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Price: $30

2006 Alcantara Mourvedre
Quality: 3.5 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 2 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Price: $29

2006 Alcantara Grand Rouge
Quality: 3 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 3 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Price: $25

2005/2006 Oak Creek Desert Flower Syrah
Quality: 3 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 3 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Price: $24

2005 Oak Creek Arizona Port
Quality: 2.5 stars (out of 5)
QPR: NR (not recommended)
Price: $20

2004 Echo Canyon Cabernet Franc
Quality: 2 stars (out of 5)
QPR: NR (not recommended)
Price: $35

NV Sedona Red Wine
Quality: 2 stars (out of 5)
QPR: NR (not recommended)
Price: $30

2005 Oak Creek Viognier
Quality: 2 stars (out of 5)
QPR: NR (not recommended)
Price: $24

2006 Oak Creek Zinfandel
Quality: 2 stars (out of 5)
QPR: NR (not recommended)
Price: $24

2005 Oak Creek Sauvignon Blanc
Quality: 1.5 stars (out of 5)
QPR: NR (not recommended)
Price: $22

Have you ever had Arizona wine actually made from Arizona grapes? If so, how did you like it? What was your favorite?

Wine country began again as we approached the Central Coast region around Paso Robles on Monday afternoon. We planned to visit a number of tasting rooms in the area on Tuesday, but we decided to go ahead and visit the Edward Sellers Vineyards & Wines tasting room since it is closed on Tuesdays. I’m really glad we made the stop because they had some good wines, and Kendall, the hostess, was very informative, not only about their wines but about other wineries in the area.

We tasted five Rhone reds at Edward Sellers, and as a group they were very good, especially for a new winery offering only their second vintage. Our favorite was the 2005 Edward Sellers Le Thief, a Rhone blend of 59% Syrah, 23% Grenache, 13% Mourvedre, and 5% Cinsault. We were also very impressed with the 2005 Edward Sellers Syrah Selectionne. The 2005 Edward Sellers Cuvee des Cinq, a traditional Rhone blend may ultimately be their best wine, but it needs more time to mature. Right now, it comes up a little short of the first two for us. The other two wines we tasted were the 2004 Edward Sellers Grenache and the 2005 Edward Sellers Vertigo, a 70% Grenache blend. Edward Sellers looks like an up and coming winery with a bright future. Right now, their distribution is on the East Coast as well as direct through their tasting room, wine club, and online store.

After leaving Paso Robles, it was on to San Luis Obispo and the ostentatious Madonna Inn, an over-the-top inn that we last stayed in over twenty years ago. Amazingly, it is still in excellent repair and still as gaudy as ever—in a good way. Every room is different with its own theme and décor. This trip we stayed in the Matterhorn Room with a balcony overlooking the mountains.

Monday evening we ate another take-out platter in the room and had a private tasting with two wines in the same price range, the 2005 Novy Christensen Family Vineyard Syrah we bought last Friday at our tasting at Siduri/Novy in Sonoma and the 2006 Mollydooker The Boxer Shiraz from Australia that we brought from home. Once again, the Aussie was the clear winner for us, although both were good wines.

Tuesday morning we drove miles and miles west of Highway 101 in the Paso Robles area through hills and down winding roads before we saw any vineyards. We saw quite a few trees, lots of working cattle ranches, walnut orchards, and olive trees. I kept asking myself, “Where are the vineyards?” Finally we found some but not the grand expanse of vineyards I was expecting. Rather, we found a vineyard here and a vineyard there interspersed among the trees. It was different than just about any wine area I’ve ever visited anywhere in the world.

Our first stop was Justin Vineyards & Winery, where we tasted five wines. The tasting room was nice, albeit remote. Unfortunately, the host was not very knowledgeable and yet quite cocky. Their best wine was the 2005 Justin Isosceles red blend, but we didn’t think it was worth the price at $62. The other four were the 2005 Justin Sauvignon Blanc, the 2007 Justin Chardonnay, the 2006 Justin Orphan red blend, and the 2004 Justin Obtuse, a port-style dessert wine. Justin sells primarily through its wine club and claims production of 80,000 cases per year.

Our next stop was Tablas Creek Vineyard. We were looking forward to this visit because they have a good winery blog, but they weren’t pouring any Syrahs, only percentage Mourvedre blends, so we moved on. A tasting room in the middle of nowhere that’s hard to find, and when you do find it wants to charge a $10 tasting fee yet you can’t taste what you came to taste, does not hold my attention, no matter how good their blog.

Not too far from Tablas Creek was our next stop at Adelaida Cellars. The tasting room had a nice hostess, and they had a couple of decent wines. Our two favorites at Adelaida were the 2005 Adelaida Syrah and the 2005 Adelaida Reserve Zinfandel. The other wines we tasted were the 2005 Adelaida Roussanne/Grenache Blanc, the 2005 Adelaida SLO Pinot Noir, the 2005 Adelaida Version Glenrose Vineyard (Rhone blend), and the 2005 Adelaida Cabernet Sauvignon. Adelaida has about 15,000 cases annual production, mostly sold through their wine club and online.

Next we went to Linne Calodo, a relatively new winery with wines we thought were too pricey for the most part. We tasted four wines, all red blends: the 2006 Linne Calodo Sticks & Stones, the 2006 Linne Calodo Cherry Red, the 2006 Linne Calodo Leona’s, and the 2006 Linne Calodo Outsider.

After stopping for a picnic platter lunch, we visited Four Vines, a winery whose Zinfandels were already fairly familiar to us. We were blessed with a very knowledgeable host and tasted two of the best wines of the day, the 2006 Four Vines NAKED (no oak) Chardonnay and the 2004 Four Vines Phoenix (red blend), although we could only justify purchasing the Chardonnay. The other three wines we tasted at Four Vines were the 2006 Four Vines “Heretic” Petite Sirah, the 2006 Four Vines “Loco” Tempranillo, and the 2006 Four Vines “Anarchy” (Rhone Blend). Four Vines produces about 50,000 cases per year (30,000 cases of the NAKED Chardonnay and about 12,000 cases of their Old Vines Zinfandel). The rest of their production is small lot specialty wines like some of those we tasted at the tasting room. It’s obviously been a very successful business model for them.

Our last winery stop of the day was at Cass Vineyards and Winery. Carly, the hostess, was the highlight of the day’s tasting room visits. Friendly, knowledgeable and helpful with directions and suggestions, she is destined for marketing stardom in this business in our opinion. We tasted seven wines at Cass and one was one of our favorites of the day, the 2005 Cass Rockin’ One, a GSM blend. Other Cass wines that we tasted: 2006 Cass Viognier, 2005 Cass Grenache, 2007 Cass Mourvedre, 2005 Cass Syrah, 2005 Cass Cabernet Sauvignon, 2005 Cass Cabernet Franc.

After our last winery visit of the day, we set out to see if we could find an old friend from our registered cattle business days in Texas, Bill Twist. Sure enough, we found the old Twist Ranch and had a great visit with Bill Twist and Walt Nielsen, his son-in-law. Bill is one of the sharpest 91 year old guys you’ll ever meet. We caught him mowing his yard as we drove up. We also found out that Bill and Walt are now growing grapes on about 30 acres of their ranch, Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah.

Wednesday may have been our best day in wine country so far on this road trip. The beautiful hillside vineyards along the Central Coast coupled with many good wines made for a great day. We started off in Santa Maria with a visit to the scenic Cambria Winery & Vineyards. There we tasted four reds and one white wine. Our favorites were the 2005 Cambria Syrah-Tepusquet and the 2004 Cambria Estrella Syrah. We also tasted the 2006 Cambria Julia’s Pinot Noir, the 2006 Cambria Bench Breaks Pinot Noir, and the 2005 Cambria Late Harvest Viognier. Cambria produces about 250,000 cases a year, mostly oaky, buttery Chardonnay in which we had no interest; however, their Pinot Noir has enough production to also be available at retail stores. All the other wines are available through their online store.

Our next stop was Foxen Winery & Vineyard. There we tasted five wines, our favorite being the 2005 Foxen Williamson-Dore Vineyard Syrah. The others we tasted were the 2005 Foxen Chenin Blanc, the 2006 Foxen Chardonnay, the 2005 Foxen Sangiovese Volpino, and the 2005 Foxen Merlot. Foxen produces about 10,000 cases annually, mostly Pinot Noir, with the other offerings in small lots sold at the tasting room or online.

Next we visited the Andrew Murray Vineyards tasting room in Los Olivos. Andrew Murray specializes in Rhone reds and does an excellent job if the wines we tasted are any indication. Our favorite was the 2005 Andrew Murray Syrah Santa Ynez Valley. A close second in our estimation was the 2005 Andrew Murray Syrah South Slope. Other wines we tasted were the 2005 Andrew Murray Syrah Brave Oak Vineyard, the 2005 Andrew Murray Syrah Roasted Slope Vineyard, the 2005 Andrew Murray Syrah Zee Clones, the 2006 Andrew Murray Syrah Tours les Tours, the 2005 Andrew Murray Esperance (GSM), the 2004 Andrew Murray Enchante (Roussanne/Marsanne), and the 2006 Andrew Murray Viognier. Andrew Murray produces about 9,000 cases per year, the vast majority of which are Syrahs and Syrah blends. They sell primarily through their wine club and online. I would suggest that any serious red wine lover consider their wine club.

Down the street from Andrew Murray was Consilience Wines. They were probably the weakest lineup we tasted. The two best offerings at Consilience were the 2005 Consilience Syrah “Rodney Shull Vineyard” and the 2005 Consilience Petite Sirah. The other wines we tasted were the 2006 Consilience Viognier, the 2006 Consilience Grenache Blanc, the 2006 Consilience Pinot Noir, and the 2005 Consilience Grenache.

Further down Grand Avenue in Los Olivos was the Daniel Gehrs Wines tasting room. We tasted seven mostly undistinguished wines. Their best offering was a Daniel Gehrs 10yr Tawny Port. The others we tasted were the 2005 Daniel Gehrs Fireside (Ruby) Port, the 2005 Daniel Gehrs Syrah, the 2005 Daniel Gehrs Zinfandel, the 2006 Daniel Gehrs Vixen Vivant Dry Syrah Rose, the 2006 Daniel Gehrs Riesling, and the 2005 Daniel Gehrs Unoaked Chardonnay.

While we were in downtown Los Olivos, we stumbled upon the filming of a made-for-TV movie, Generation Gap, taking place at the Country Market where we were buying lunch. We were told it is a Hallmark movie. So if you’re watching TV this fall and your eyes do a double-take, yes, it’s us.

Moving on to the Solvang area, we visited Blackjack Ranch Vineyards and Winery which gained notoriety in the Sideways movie. We tasted seven wines at Blackjack with our undisputed favorite being the 2004 Blackjack Maximus Syrah. The others we tasted were the 2003 Blackjack Billy Goat Hill Merlot, the 2004 Blackjack Harmonie (Bordeaux blend), the 2005 Blackjack Double-Down Syrah, the 2005 Blackjack Allusion Cabernet Franc, the 2004 Blackjack Pinot Noir Alix de Vergy, the 2005 Blackjack Chardonnay Wilkening Vineyard, and the 2005 Blackjack Chardonnay Blackjack Ranch Vineyard Reserve. Blackjack produces 6,000 cases per year, mostly sold through their tasting room and also available online.

Our final stop of the day was one of the best, Lincourt Vineyards. They may have had the best combination of red and white wines of any winery we’ve visited so far on our road trip. Our favorite of their wines was the 2005 Lincourt Syrah Santa Barbara County. The other wines we tasted were the 2005 Lincourt Pinot Noir, maybe the best Pinot we’ve had on the trip; the 2006 Lincourt Sauvignon Blanc which according to LaGayle, who prefers New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs, is the best domestic Sauvignon Blanc she has tasted; the 2006 Lincourt Chardonnay, pretty good for an oaky Chard; and the 2007 Foley & Phillips Dry Rose.

Wednesday evening we had another take-out meal in our room and had a private tasting between the 2004 Ravenswood Southeastern Australia Shiraz that we bought in Sonoma and one of our all-time favorites, the 2002 Peter Lehmann Shiraz. While the Ravenswood was pretty decent, especially for the price, the Peter Lehmann was still our pick of the evening.

Wednesday concluded our California wine tour. While we always enjoy visiting Sonoma and Napa, our Central Coast tour was a special treat because it was our first visit to the area to taste wine, it is so beautiful in its vineyard settings and quaint small towns not yet overrun by tourists, and the high overall quality of its wines, especially the Syrahs and Syrah blends. If you haven’t been to the Central Coast, you ought to do it before the thundering herds arrive.

In coming weeks, we’ll report again as our road trip continues and we taste wines from other regions of the country. Stay tuned!

In order to keep these notes manageable as we tasted 80 different wines, I have broken down the list into Quality rating categories. Under each Quality heading, the wine name will be listed along with price and QPR rating. All prices given are winery/tasting room prices. Wines in bold type received a QPR rating of 5 bangs for your buck (out of 5).

Quality: 4 stars (out of 5)
2005 Andrew Murray Syrah Santa Ynez Valley, $25, QPR: 5
2005 Lincourt Syrah Santa Barbara County, $20, QPR: 5
2006 Four Vines NAKED (no oak) Chardonnay, $14, QPR: 5
2005 Andrew Murray Syrah South Slope, $30, QPR: 4
2005 Edward Sellers Le Thief, $30, QPR: 4
2005 Edward Sellers Syrah Selectionne, $32, QPR: 4
2004 Blackjack Maximus Syrah, $48, QPR: 3
2005 Cass Rockin’ One, $42, QPR: 3
2005 Foxen Williamson-Dore Vineyard Syrah, $44, QPR: 3
2004 Four Vines Phoenix, $64, QPR: 1

Quality: 3.5 stars (out of 5)
2004 Ravenswood Southeastern Australia Shiraz, $10, QPR: 5
2005 Adelaida Syrah, $26, QPR: 4
2005 Cambria Syrah-Tepusquet, $19, QPR: 4
2005 Lincourt Pinot Noir, $30, QPR: 4
2005 Andrew Murray Syrah Brave Oak Vineyard, $28, QPR: 3
2005 Andrew Murray Syrah Roasted Slope Vineyard, $34, QPR: 3
2005 Andrew Murray Syrah Zee Clones, $34, QPR: 3
2005 Adelaida Reserve Zinfandel, $35, QPR: 3
2005 Cass Syrah, $36, QPR: 3
Daniel Gehrs 10yr Tawny Port, $44, QPR: 3
2003 Blackjack Billy Goat Hill Merlot, $40, QPR: 3
2006 Lincourt Sauvignon Blanc, $16, QPR: 3
2004 Edward Sellers Grenache, $25, QPR: 2
2006 Four Vines “Heretic” Petite Sirah, $40, QPR: 2
2004 Blackjack Harmonie, $35, QPR: 2
2005 Edward Sellers Cuvee des Cinq, $42, QPR: 1
2005 Justin Isosceles, $62, QPR: 1
2006 Linne Calodo Sticks & Stones, $65, QPR: 1
2005 Cass Cabernet Franc, $42, QPR: 1
2004 Cambria Estrella Syrah, $48, QPR: 1

Quality: 3 stars (out of 5)
2005 Cambria Late Harvest Viognier, $16 (375 ml), QPR: 5
2006 Andrew Murray Syrah Tours les Tours, $16, QPR: 4
2006 Cambria Julia’s Pinot Noir, $20, QPR: 4
2006 Justin Orphan, $18.50, QPR: 4
2004 Justin Obtuse, $26, QPR: 4
2005 Daniel Gehrs Fireside (Ruby) Port, $36, QPR: 4
2005 Adelaida Version Glenrose Vineyard, $26, QPR: 3
2005 Consilience Petite Sirah, $24, QPR: 3
2005 Daniel Gehrs Syrah, $20, QPR: 3
2006 Lincourt Chardonnay, $18, QPR: 3
2006 Cass Viognier, $15, QPR: 2
2005 Cass Cabernet Sauvignon, $42, QPR: 2
2005 Consilience Syrah “Rodney Shull Vineyard”, $26, QPR: 2
2005 Daniel Gehrs Zinfandel, $24, QPR: 2
2005 Blackjack Double-Down Syrah, $26, QPR: 2
2005 Edward Sellers Vertigo, $30, QPR: 1
2006 Linne Calodo Cherry Red, $55, QPR: 1
2006 Four Vines “Loco” Tempranillo, $40, QPR: 1
2005 Foxen Chenin Blanc, $20, QPR: 1
2005 Foxen Merlot, $32, QPR: 1
2006 Consilience Viognier, $22, QPR: 1
2005 Blackjack Allusion Cabernet Franc, $30, QPR: 1
2004 Blackjack Pinot Noir Alix de Vergy, $48, QPR: 1
2007 Foley & Phillips Dry Rose, $20, QPR: 1

Quality: 2.5 stars (out of 5)
2007 Justin Chardonnay, $19.75, QPR: NR
2005 Adelaida SLO Pinot Noir, $18, QPR: NR
2005 Adelaida Cabernet Sauvignon, $30, QPR: NR
2006 Linne Calodo Leona’s, $48, QPR: NR
2006 Four Vines “Anarchy”, $40, QPR: NR
2007 Cass Mourvedre, $28, QPR: NR
2006 Cambria Bench Breaks Pinot Noir, $48, QPR: NR
2005 Foxen Sangiovese Volpino, $30, QPR: NR
2005 Andrew Murray Esperance, $22, QPR: NR
2004 Andrew Murray Enchante, $22, QPR: NR
2006 Consilience Grenache Blanc, $24, QPR: NR
2006 Consilience Pinot Noir, $30, QPR: NR
2005 Consilience Grenache, $28, QPR: NR
2006 Daniel Gehrs Riesling, $19, QPR: NR
2005 Blackjack Chardonnay Blackjack Ranch Vineyard Reserve, $35, QPR: NR

Quality: 2 stars (out of 5)
2005 Justin Sauvignon Blanc, $15, QPR: NR
2005 Adelaida Roussanne/Grenache Blanc, $27, QPR: NR
2006 Linne Calodo Outsider, $45, QPR: NR
2005 Cass Grenache, $28, QPR: NR
2006 Foxen Chardonnay, $32, QPR: NR
2006 Andrew Murray Viognier, $25, QPR: NR
2005 Daniel Gehrs Unoaked Chardonnay, $18, QPR: NR
2005 Blackjack Chardonnay Wilkening Vineyard, $38, QPR: NR

Quality: 1.5 stars (out of 5)
2006 Daniel Gehrs Vixen Vivant Dry Syrah Rose, $20, QPR: NR