I Heart Wagner Family of Wine's Wine

Here's the facts:
- International player with a passport, Woody, was coming over for dinner Sunday night.
- Beth was making salmon (allegedly) for dinner.
- I wanted to serve a nice Pinot, but didnt' have any.
- I wanted a bottle of Luli, but live in Corona now and neither Total Wine, BevMo or Albertson's carried it.
- Woody was already in Costa Mesa so I asked him to swing by Hi-Times and pick up a few bottles of Luli (and a few other things).
- Hi-Times was out of Luli.
- I asked Woody to do the "if I like this, what else would I like in the simalar price range?" thing.
- He showed up with this:

Meiomi 2010 Pinot Noir ($17.99)

I love it when a plan comes together.

But wait. There's more.

I shot Tom a pic of the bottle saying how much I dug it and he was quick to point out that I was drinking a Belle Glos (on a Sunday). Huh? Yup:

No wonder I liked it. Pretty much, ok, close to being just as good as the Belle Glos Las Altarus, but at a $20 discount. That's one expensive waxy top, Belle Glos. Turns out, Wine Spectator put it on its Top Value list and scored it at 87 points.

It was fantastic. Very rich. Super flavorful. Smooth finish. It went really well with the, um, fish. See, Beth didn't pay close enough attention to detail at the grocery store and ordered a few pounds of the pink, salmon looking fish, only to have me point out at home that she bought steel head trout. Hey, never hurts to try something new, right?  Honestly, I couldn't tell the difference.

Grade: A-
Beth's Grade: A

Here's what I've concluded from experience. Wagner makes delecious wine. They make these:

Maybe someone in marketing can explain to me why they wouldn't use just one label or name? I didn't know for a while that the makers of Caymus also made Belle Glos. Seems to me anyone that's had Caymus would be much quicker to pick up a bottle or case of Caymus Pinot knowing that it would be kick-ass, no?

Which reminds me, the week of our move, a few buddies and I went to The Blue Beet for rib night to have a, "I'm moving, and even though it'll only add 10-15 minutes to my drive to Newport,  this sounds like a good reason to go to rib night" night.

Johnny, fresh off a Napa visit which included a stop at The Wagner Family of Wine, brought this for dinner.

Yep, Caymus Zinfandel.

In typical Wagner Family fashion, it rocked. Ok, why do they get to use the Caymus label? I'm confused. My only mistake was not saving some to go with one of the best racks of ribs I've consumed.

Bottom line, I have good friends who drink good wine made by the Wagner Family.

My, What's the Opposite of a Bucket List? List

I'm home with a sick son. Again! So today seemed like a decent enough time, as he snoozes away on the couch, to go into depth on a question my long time (like, 24 years long) friend, Ben Hansen asked me.

First, a bit about Ben: Ben is the hugest sports fan in my world. I grew up looking at his dad's picture on the front page of The Arizona Daily Star's Sports page every single day, and still enjoy reading his column when I visit Tucson. Sports are in the Hansen genes. And with sports love and sports writing comes the want and need to list things. Everything. Ben and I used to do preseason NCAA Hoops Top 25 lists going back to 5th grade.

So, Ben responded to a recent Purple Tooth post and asked "What's your top 3 favorites?" I decided to take it too far. On purpose.

My Top 3 Favorite Wines:

1. Hansen 2004 Zinfandel 
I think this has everything to do with our visit to Hansen (more on that later), but this Zin was outstanding. Huge black cherry, earthy tobacco flavors. Really a wonderful huge Paso Zin. I wish I would have stocked up on it, not only to keep trying it, but to bring back great memories with great folks.

2. Williams Selyem 2005 Pinot Noir Allen Vinyard, Russian River Valley
This was the bottle that Johnny brought over last summer for dinner. It was such a beautiful Pinot, I almost don't believe it was a Pinot. So delicious. That was a great evening.

3. Caymus 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon 
2 1/2 years we were out in Atlantic City celebrating my mother-in-law's 70th birthday at one of my all-time favorite restaurants, Doc's Oyster House. I had previewed the wine list on-line and was excited to order a bottle of Dariush, only to find out that they were out. I remember texting Johnny from the table asking for his 2 cents on Caymus, Pride or Paul Hobbs, because he knows these sorts of things. He said to go with the Caymus. That bottle made a tremendous night even better.

Top 3 Go To Cheap Bottles:

1. Sobon Zinfandel Old Vines ($11.99)

2. Garnacha de Fuego ($6.99)

3. Monchhof Riesling ($13.99)

My Top 3 Favorite Wine Tasting Trips:


1. Paso Robles 2006
Beth and I teamed up with the Jansen's for our trip to Paso Robles (4 hours north) on Oscar weekend 6 years ago  (Crash won best pic). We had a blast. The highlight was the last stop on Saturday afternoon at Hansen's. We all fell in love with Bruce, the owner and winemaker, Tom and I fell in love with the Zin, so much that we joined the wine club, Beth was crying because Bruce's lovely wife reminded her of her late grandmother, and we got to join Bruce and some other people in the barrel room for a drinking fest where some stranger burped and blew it on the back of my head while we were listening to Bruce ramble about how he blends his Syrah. One of the grossest/funniest things to have happened to me.

2. Napa Valley 2005
The best advice I've ever received from anyone came from my mother-in-law.  While Beth and I were in San Francisco sitting outside an Italian restaurant talking about the day we had in the city and our plans to take our Alcatraz tour the next day, my mother-in-law said, "Why do you want to go see a prison? Go to Napa and drink wine." Wow, how close we were from missing out on something so amazing.

The next day we crossed the Golden Gate Bridge and over to Napa. We were there on a Tuesday (ah, the days of being off track!) so the tasting rooms were pretty empty. We stuck to the bigger names, trying wines we couldn't afford.

3. Paso Robles 2009
This was a bittersweet trip Beth and I took with Aimee and Travis. Sweet because we had a blast and came home with some great wine. But bitter because the 2009 Michigan football team was 4-0 heading into the weekend led by freshman, Tate Forcier. We walked into the first winery of the day, Whale Bone, only to have the guy behind the bar pull the game up on ESPN Gamecast for me. The only play I watched was Tate's OT pick, giving Michigan State the win. Maybe, just maybe I'd have had a tiny bit more fun had Michigan pulled it off.

3. (tie) Los Olivos / Solvang 2000
Aimee decided to come out to visit me in California so I decided we'd do something touristy; head up the coast, see the Hearst Castle and do a little wine tasting. This was sort of where my love for wine started. We did a bit of the Sideways trip before Sideways. We had a blast. I can't say I remember or even liked much of what we tasted. But being in beautiful wine country and getting to try 5-7 wines side by side really opened my eyes to what I liked and didn't, and just how different the same grape can taste when grown a few blocks away and made into wine by a different wine maker.


My Top 3 Tasting Rooms:

1. Darioush, Napa

Absolutely stunning. Not at all the chateau style I expected in Napa, but I was really blown away by the place. It was maybe more Vegas than Napa, but it definitely worked for me. Tremendous wine too.

More pics? Pics.

2. Minassian-Young, Paso Robles

The antithesis of Darioush. The husband seems more farmer than winemaker/owner and the wife is just the sweetest person in the world, they seem close to me in age and there's absolutely no arrogance or snootiness to either of them. Add to it that they make, or at least used to make, 4 excellent Zins priced under $25 and I'm a fan.

3. Bianchi, Paso Robles

My Top 3 Wine Trails:

1. Leelanau Peninsula, Michigan


I couldn't tell you much about the wine, but the view from the tasting room makes for not a bad way to spend a Saturday. Northern Michigan + Summer = Paradise.

2. Napa Valley
My favorite part of the Napa trip was when we were cruising on the Silverado Trail. Gorgeous.

3. Foxen Canyon Road, Los Olivos
This area just north of Solvang near Firestone and Fess Parker Wineries are pleasant on the eyes.

My Top Three Places to Eat While On A Wine Trip


Breakfast:
1. Paula's Pancake House - Solvang, CA
I'm not a huge breakfast guy, but I plan my departure to and from wine country around Danish pancakes at Paula's.

2. Wilson's - Paso Robles
This place hasn't been remodeled. Ever. Yet it's still in mint condition. Truly amazing.

248th. The Danish place across the street from Paula's - Solvang
For no reason one morning Beth says, "Can't we just try somewhere else?"
The answer forever will be, "No."


Lunch:
1. Moonstone Beach Bar & Grill - Cambria 
Sitting on a picnic bench 20 feet from the Pacific Ocean eating clam chowder out of a sourdough bread bowl does not suck.

2. Patrick's Side Street Cafe - Santa Yenez
Sort of not surprised to see this is out of business

3. Picnic Lunch at Justin (Paso), Bianchi (Paso), or Dofo (Temecula)


Dinner:
1. Artisan - Paso Robles
Fancy-pants place, but Bruce Hansen steered us right on this one.

2. The Hitching Post II - Buelton 
Sideways made this place even more popular, but it is a cool steak house.

3. Buona Tuvola Paso - Paso Robles 
This isn't the highest rated place in Paso, but every time we've been here, I've been impressed. Beth can't recall any of the 4 times she's been here. Wine tasting all day has that sort of effect on her.


Next Topic?

Alright, I'm listed out. Gotta plan my next wine trip.

Peace

We'll Be Drinking Big Whisky While We Dance And Sing

Dreaming Tree 2009 Crush (Red Wine North Coast) $14.95


This wine is backed by this guy:

So I ventured off to a new butcher shop, and we broke in the new casa with our first visitors. More on that in a minute.

A few months ago I had read somewhere that Dave Matthews had a wine label that had received decent reviews. Earlier this week, my buddy Dustin, who has a borderline creepy obsession with Dave, sent an email about having a case of his wines sent to me. Not as a gift, but Arizona has goofy shipping restrictions and he wanted to send it knowing that I could drive it over to AZ for him in a few weeks. I asked if he'd tried it but I concluded he was going with the 'ol, "Well, if it's good enough for Dave, it's good enough for me," approach. Maybe he was sold on the website, which is pretty cool: http://www.dreamingtreewines.com/AgeVerif.shtml

I looked online and none of my regular wine joints carried it. So there I am at Target at 9:00 AM this morning checking out patio cushions and I see this bottle on the end-cap across the way. Yeah, Target of all places. I throw a bottle in the cart and promised to review it ASAP, because inquiring minds want to know.

Now, about that butcher shop. Having had Beef Palace and El Toro Meats within striking distance of my last 2 residencies, I was a bit worried about where I'd be picking up my beef. Thanks to Yelp. Check that, huge thanks to Yelp, I discovered Hottinger Family Meats in Chino (about a 15 minute drive). With it's 5 star Yelp rating and nearly 50 reviews, I felt confident stocking up for the next few weeks. And with filet at $10.97 (no typo) vs the astronomical El Toro prices, I feel like the smartest man in the county. I'll use tonight's filets as an indicator and go ahead and say that I'll never go back to El Toro, thank you very much.

Our first guests in the new place were Beth's former co-worker, Ginger and her son, Jackson. Ginger's husband is out deep sea fishing for the weekend. So the goal for me is to next time be out with him and not home cooking steaks and pouring wine for the 3 of us. Not that I'm complaining, but I think I'd rather be fishing, that's all.

On to the wine. I opened it as I was cooking, having already had a glass or two of Sobon Zin. It seemed a little tight at first, very fruit forward and a bit dry. I think I was also paying way too much attention to it knowing it was "Dave's wine" and inquiring minds were anticipating my words of wisdom. Once it settled down, and I got busy cooking, then eating, it worked out to be a really enjoyable, solid bottle. It was big enough to accompany some solid steaks, that's for sure.
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Having watched a few Storyteller type interviews with Dave Matthews, I've always wanted to ask him what his proudest lyrics and songs were. If his music were to be discovered 250 years from now, what would he want heard? Upon close examination of the bottle, maybe I have my answer:
The Space Between.
Kidding.

In my opinion, DMB's best album, "Before These Crowded Streets," is on full display from the title of bottle, to "Crush" to the neck featuring lyrics to "Dreaming Tree."

Maybe I got a little too caught up in it, but I felt like I connected a tad bit to his songwriting that's meant so much to me the past 14 years. It was a nice night with nice friends and nice wine. Probably the exact way Dave intended it to be.

Grade: Solid B
Beth's Grade: B

Hello Luli

Luli Pinot Noir ($16.99) 

Crazy week. We've moved. We were all sick. Finally tonight, with the fam on the mend, a new grill and most of the important things located (camera cord to upload pics would be nice), I finally got around to cracking this Pinot from Hi Times. Quite some time ago I asked a guy working there for a recommendation for a bigger Pinot (I pointed to the bottle of LWC) at a smaller price and this ended up in my basket. Props to that guy for knowing his Pinots. Exactly what I had hoped to find, but didn't know existed. 

It had the characteristics of Pinots I love like without the certain something taste that I don't. With this, I got a lot of strawberry, raspberry, and, wait for it....cola. I swear this isn't me trying to sound fancy pants. Pinky-swear. Lot's of cola flavor, but in a really good way. 

This was by far the best Pinot I've had under $20. I'll definitely grab this again.

Grade: B+

Beth's Grade: B+