The Sun Emerging from the Clouds in the Finger Lakes

Our last day wine tasting dawned cloudy and cool, and we were pretty disappointed that we really hadn’t had ideal weather for seeing the sought-after Fall colors but there were still two highly anticipated wineries to sample, so life was still pretty good. The first, Weis Vineyards, we had learned about from trying their wines at the Graft Wine Bar several nights before. They were excellent then and they were excellent today but more on that in a minute. Wies Vineyards in on the next lake over, Keuka Lake, the third largest of the Finger Lakes and the most unusually shaped.  It has a fork and two very large arms whereas the other ones tend to be long and thin…kinda like fingers which shouldn’t really come as a surprise given the name. Sometimes when you drive up to a place, you can just tell that it’s going to be good…not too corporate, just a little eclectic with a mix of buildings and friendly (Ashlee Weis met us in the parking lot). Weis checked all the boxes.

Wies Vineyards Tasting Room

Everything that morning was cast in monochrome shades of gray so yet again, no hint of the anticipated Fall colors.  The first view is a modern tasting and barrel room, juxtaposed with an old barn but once inside, the views from the tasting room are spectacular and as an added bonus …there is a foosball table at the lower floor of the tasting room but sadly, there was no one to play.

The Barrel Room at Wies Vineyards

Peter Weis, is a sixth generation winemaker who stumbled on the Finger Lakes region while travelling the US. He found nearly identical growing conditions to his home on the Mosel river in Germany and set down roots, first as a winemaker at Dr. Konstantin Frank winery for 10 years before setting out on his own with wife, Ashlee.  Between the weather and the time of the year there were few other guests so we had a fair amount of time with the knowledgeable Sherry, our “winetender”. Of course, we started with the whites and the standout for both Karen and me was the Winzer Select Riesling until we had the Terroir Slate Riesling which was outstanding and one of the best Rieslings we had on the trip. If you can’t tell by now, we have a soft spot for Rieslings and really enjoy it when we stumble across a really good one. With just 1% residual sugar (RS), it had outstanding balance. I was never a fan of sweet Rieslings and thought that they had to be bone dry with next to no residual sugar but having tasted several in the last few days with a small amount of RS, I’ve become a convert. That hint of RS really creates a balance to the wines that I didn’t even realize that I’d been missing. The Gruner Veltliner had definite citrus notes with Karen picking up more lemon while I got more grapefruit. It was good but we’ve come to realize that Gruners just aren’t one of our favorites. I don’t see us joining an all Gruner wine club but it’s still nice to experience wines that are so different from anything gown in California. The Cabernet Franc was also the best that we tasted on the trip. Stylistically they are so different from Bordeaux or California Cab Francs and I’m still trying to get my head around them. Karen definitely embraced the style more than I did. We splurged and bought a couple of wines from Weis knowing they would never make it back to California because the last two days of the trip, we were staying with friends and they have a capacity to drink wine that can only be described as awe inspiring.

Leaving Weis, we headed to the other side of Keuka Lake to Dr. Konstantin Frank Winery, arguable the father of Finger Lakes wine making and Peter Weis’s previous employer before setting off on his own. The weather was still gloomy when we set out but 10 minutes before reaching Dr. Frank, the clouds parted as we crested a hill and there was a stunning view of the long sought after color with lush green grass, vibrant vineyards and an unbelievable splash of autumnal oranges and reds from trees in the background. There was even a conveniently placed turnout so we stopped and just drank in the views for about 10 minutes. They were spectacular.

Brilliant Color in the Finger Lakes on the Way to Dr. Konstantine Frank Winery

Our final winery visit was to Dr. Konstantin Frank Winery. Dr. Frank was the first winemaker in the Finger Lakes to move away from native, North American wines and plant European wine grapes in the late 1950s. Frank, a Ukrainian immigrant to the United States, had a PhD in viticulture and after immigrating to the US, became convinced that cooler weather European wine grapes could not only survive but thrive in the Finger Lakes. Happily for us, his “experiment” was successful and became one of the principle factors in the emergence of Finger Lakes wines. Somehow, it seemed fitting to end with the winery that started it all.

Karen Wine Tasting at Dr. Konstantine Frank Winery and the “Wine Tree” with the Tastings

The winery tasting room is a well-oiled machine and we were quickly enjoying our first tasting, a Blanc de Blanc made in the traditional style of Champagne (Méthode Champenoise) and aged for 36 months. It was excellent and bore a nice resemblance to our tasting in the Epernay area of France where the best Blanc de Blancs are made…small bubbles and nicely balanced. It was a great start. Frank has an extensive wine list but our favorites were single vineyard Rieslings named Eugenia and Margrit (named after Dr. Frank’s wife and daughter-in-law). We both preferred the Eugenia but really, it was kind of like trying to choose your favorite kid…there’s no right answer because they were both very well made. Of the reds, the old vine Pinot Noir was our favorite until, after a quick discussion with the manager, we tried the Amur.

Amur Wine at Dr. Konstantine Frank

Amur, is a deep, full bodied red wine grape that comes from southern Siberia and is one of those rare wine grapes that is actually a different species than almost all western European wine grapes that make up the vast majority of the wines that are enjoyed worldwide. Amur has surprising depth and balance for such a cold weather wine grape. It should age nicely for a number of years. It has an intriguing depth of flavor, with ample fruit on the front, but possessing a strong tannic structure in the back. I don’t know what it is about this wine grape but it’s fascinating (if you are a wine nerd like me at least). We finally decided to bite the bullet and bought a bottle; weight limit be damned on our return trip. It was really starting to get cold when we finally flew back to California so we were wearing our heavier clothes and after some shuffling between our two suitcases, we squeaked in right at the weight limit. The Amur is now sitting in our wine cellar and we’ll let it age for a couple of years and see how it improves.

While we still have a few cooler weather regions to try in the US, the Finger Lakes will be exceedingly tough to beat. The scenery is stunning and the wines are great, especially if you like Rieslings and drier Gewürztraminers. Even the Gruner Veltliners were pretty good (although they still aren’t our favorite wines). We will definitely be back.

Several years ago, a friend sent us a few bottles of Riesling from the Finger Lakes area in upstate New York.

Stunning View from Standing Stone Winery in the Finger Lakes

We had really begun to appreciate some of the European Rieslings, but our local experience had been limited to the overly sweet ones that most of California makes…all residual sugar (RS), no crisp acidity on the back and very limited in what you could pair with them for a meal. These wines, from Wagner Vineyards on Lake Seneca, were a revelation, reminding us of some of the best we had enjoyed from both Alsace and the Mosel River region of Germany. Since then, the Finger Lakes wine region has been high on our bucket list to visit.

Enter Covid in 2020 which, we can all agree, was a 10 out of 10 on the suckage scale. To date we have had to postpone or cancel two trips to Europe, and we were starting to go a little stir crazy (or at least I was). We wanted to travel but with the Delta variant surging through Europe, there was possible risk of turning an Italian vacation into two-weeks sequestered in an expensive quarantine hotel…again…very high on the suckage scale. We finally decided that travelling in the US was a safer bet. We’ve also wanted to see real Fall color for the better part of 20 years, and this seemed like a perfect opportunity to taste some really good wine and see the Autumnal color during the same trip. Canada had also just opened up to tourism and Karen has had Niagara Falls on her bucket list since she was young, so we were able to check a few items off the “Things to Do Before We Die List”.

We decided to start in Maine to see the coastline and then head to Boston and from there, set out due west to the Finger Lakes. Trying to guess when the Fall color will peak is only slightly easier than betting on futures in the crypto market but with 2 ½ weeks in both coastal and inland regions, we were bound to hit some color.

Enjoying the Sunshine (and Beer) in Maine!

We won’t focus too much on Maine and Boston other than to say, Maine is seriously cool with lots of small towns, stunning coastal views and really good microbrews (hey…man doesn’t live on wine alone, but a woman will…Karen does…she inserted that by the way). I assume the seafood was good because Karen seemed pretty content because every meal had “lobster something”. I, on the other hand, can’t stand seafood. My problem with seafood…it all tastes like it came out of the sea…funny how that works. I despise that flavor, but if she was happy, I was good with it. 28 years of marriage and I’ve got that one figured out at least. It’s about the only thing I’ve figured out though.

We drove to Boston in the middle of a Nor Easter, which made for crappy driving, minimal sightseeing and a number of wet days afterward.  Boston’s great…the weather on that trip…not so much and an additional quick hint for other travelers to the Boston area, avoid Salem anytime around Halloween.  It’s when the crazies come out, but we didn’t know that at the time we booked our trip.  When was our trip? on October 29th of course.  On the trip from Boston to Finger Lakes, it even snowed a little over the Berkshires which we think was their first snow of the year. We decided to make our base in the village of Watkins Glen. Some of you may know it as the home of one of the most famous racetracks in the US but it also sits in the heart of the Finger Lakes wine region and is a cool little town. There are quite a few waterfalls and hiking trails in the area and our plan was to hike in the morning and wine taste in the afternoon. Unfortunately, five days of rain put a damper on the hiking because the trails had turned to bogs and the famous gorge trail was closed for the season. We were able to visit a couple, but most were off limits.  Damn…I guess we would just have to taste more wine.

Montour Falls is Beautiful and Just a Five-Minute Drive from Watkins Glen.  It’s Illuminated at Night.

The first evening, we stumbled onto a local wine bar and restaurant called Graft, a curious name for an exceptional place. They have a broad selection of local wines and a super friendly staff. We got some great ideas of where to taste over the next few days, so it was a real find considering most of the places had closed due to a combination of covid and the slow tourist season. The menu also looked great, so we ate there a couple of days later. We weren’t disappointed so we would highly recommend it.

The next day, after going for our mandatory Covid test to get into Canada (which entailed 3 hours of driving…upstate New York is sparsely populated), we still had time to visit Lakewood Winery, one of the closer ones to Watkins Glen.

Ominous Skys Over Lakewood Vineyards with Karen and Lakewood’s Winery Dog, Cake Pan, Enjoying the “Inside Weather”

We had a great host, Terence, who was a sommelier in New York City in a previous life. We tasted a wide variety of wines, but the Dry Riesling and the Pinot Gris were the highlights. This was also the first time that we stumbled upon a recurring theme for the region. Many of the wineries use very different grapes than those used in warmer climates which makes sense given the harsh winter conditions and shorter growing season. Lakewood produced an interesting blend called “Long Stem White”. It’s made up of the ever-present Riesling and two unusual grape varieties, Cayuga White and Vidal Blanc. Cayuga White was hybridized at Cornell University, which sits in the town of Ithaca at the base of one of the Finger Lakes, and it is a frequent contributor to blends in the area. Vidal Blanc is very infrequently used in its native France but has found a home in the Finger Lakes. They also make a Lemberger, also known as Blaufrankisch, a German red wine that does well in colder climates. I’m still trying to get my head around it, but the real surprise was the Pinot Noir. It was light, well balanced and thoroughly enjoyable. Pinot Noir needs cool evenings to produce good fruit and unlike much of the East Coast that retains nighttime heat, the Finger Lakes area cools down in the evening, often into the low 60s or high 50s which is great for Pinot.

If you are interested in Finger Lakes wines, check out our upcoming series on a number of wineries in addition to an unexpected find in Ontario, Canada.

El Corcho Rosa: the Valle Girl Vino Tasting Room

The next morning we all started out surprisingly refreshed considering the late night street tacos followed by a considerable amount of tequila.   Some evenings are filled with bad decisions.  Late night tacos in Mexico however, are never a bad decision!  One of our party-members had done some research and realized that a restaurant with an international reputation for excellent breakfasts was located in the heart of Valley de Guadalupe, La Cocina de Doña Estela.  It was awarded the “Best Breakfast in the World” by Foodiehub in 2015.  Now…we understand that wine/food blogs and apps number in the thousands so I’m sure that there are hundreds of restaurants that lay claim to “Best Breakfast” but getting this title from an international organization is still pretty special.  Want more proof that this is the place to visit?  Doña Estela had a visit from PBS chef and host, Rick Bayless and I am pretty sure I saw an article about her visiting the Cordon Bleu in France but I’ll be damned if I can find it now.  All of us enjoyed our meal although I got overly “cute” and ventured way outside the breakfast realm and was a little disappointed after I saw the other meals.  Next time I’ll stick with the more traditional Mexican breakfasts.

After waddling to the car and heading back to take a break before indulging in yet another round of eating and drinking, we decided to head to an elusive Microbrewery we tried briefly to find the day before.  One of our cohorts had been in this area before and remembers enjoying the beer and had a rough idea where it was.  However, on the previous day, after 15 minutes of what appeared to be a fruitless search of roads leading further and further away from town we finally gave up.  Today, armed with a more reliable 4G connection and the name of the brewery, we had much more confidence, so like a treasure hunter setting off to find the Holy Grail…we started our journey…the only difference being that our “Grail” was beer.  25 minutes later and through some of the more remote areas and roads that looked like they were going to end in the hills, we stumbled upon our long sought after destination, El Chivo Gruñón or, The Angry Goat.

A quick trip to El Chivo Gruñón

I’m not sure what he has to be angry about because once you get there, the tasting room has a cool, cave-like feel to it and there is a pizzeria attached, so it looked like a happy place to me, but if you look at the logo, I think the “Really Pissed Off Goat” is likely a more appropriate name.  Angry or not, the beer was quite good although a little heavy for a warmer afternoon but we were in February so their selection of ales, IPA’s and a porter (I think) were good choices for the season.  There is also a small pizzeria on site but having just eaten enough breakfast to feed a college frat house, we skipped the pizza.

On to what I considered the highlight of the trip, Valle Girl Vino Winery and El Corcho Rosa (The Pink Cork) wine tasting bar.  The winery and wine bar are owned by an energetic American, Sitara Monica Perez who was introduced by a mutual friend so we had an “insiders connection, once removed” if that makes sense. Sitara’s daughter Ava (pronounced like “Lava” or “Cava” if you like the Spanish sparkling wine) is a sommelier that leads wine tasting trips throughout the region and runs the wine bar along with wearing a number of  other hats.  These “Bad Ass Babes” (their words not mine so please don’t accuse me of being a misogynist) have a really cool place with outstanding wines and good food.  What more could you want?

The Very Friendly Guard Dogs of El Corcho Rosa, Buster, Lilly and Cindy

After being greeted by some really friendly winery dogs, always a plus in my view, Sitara set the six of us up and led us through her wines, each of which was very well made with each having a unique character.  I’m a big fan of letting the wine grapes speak for themselves instead of trying to create a uniform flavor profile which some winemakers do even if unconsciously.

We started with the Clever Girl Vin Gris, an unusual white wine that was an improvisational need when a bad harvest made it impossible to get any white grapes.  It was made from Grenache Noir with the juice having minimal contact with the skins (which is where the color for red wines comes from).  It’s tough to categorize as being like any other wine one will typically run across but it was really good so we were off to a great start.

Our Host, Sitara (in the middle) with Karen and Ken

Next up… two Roses, called La Travieasa (the word for a female Troublemaker in Spanish).  One was made from Grenache and one from Syrah.  They were both very good but given the minimal space in our bags, we opted for the Syrah.  It’s still in our wine cabinet at our cabin and I am just waiting for the right time to pair it with pork chops coated in a dry rub that I make.

La Traviaesa: One from Syrah and One from Grenche

On to the reds which were my favorite.  “La Vaquera “ (the Cowgirl), “La Dama Tatuada” (the Tattooed Lady),  and “La Atrevida” (the Bold One).  All three were good but we particularly enjoyed “La Vaquera”, a blend of Syrah, Grenach and Cabernet Sauvignon and “La Atrevida”, a Malbec with some serious depth unlike many of the light-weight imports that arrive in the US from Argentina (I think they keep most of the good stuff down there).  Sadly for us although great for Valle Girl, their Malbec was named best Malbec in Mexico so they were sold out when we got there but Sitara was kind enough to open a bottle for us to try.

Midway through the red we also decided to order some food so we got a couple of wood fired pizzas and a charcuterie tray, both of which were really good.  Sitara recently told me that they have since added an open air kitchen called “El Bocadillo”, which has a slightly expanded menu.

El Bocadillo at Valle Girl Vino

If you are in the mood to travel, but don’t have the urge to jump on a long plane flight until we completely emerge from the Covid mess, I strongly suggest a trip to Valle do Guadalupe.  It is close for most Californians, the food is good, the people are friendly and the wines are well worth a trip.  If you want suggestions, I suggest reaching out to Ava, who does wine tours in the Valle, but make sure you leave plenty of time for Valle Girl Wines.  You will not be disappointed.

If you missed it, check out part 1 or our Valle de Guadalupe Blog!

Wine Tasting in Mexico’s Valle de Guadalupe

There are some destinations that just seem to hang out on your bucket list for years. Mexico’s Valle de Guadalupe was one of those destinations for me. It’s almost unknown in wine circles so let’s provide a little context. Valley de Guadalupe is in Baja California, roughly two hours south east of San Diego, an easy drive from San Diego airport and about 30 minutes inland from Ensenada (Valley of Guadalupe for the gueros in the audience…if you don’t know what guero is, google it). I first heard about it five or six years ago, while on business in Guadalajara when we had dinner at a steak house. Aside from having arguably the best steak that I’ve ever eaten, they had an extensive wine list. I was the only gringo in the group and the only one with any knowledge of wine so after looking though the obligatory Californian, Argentinian, Spanish and French wines, I spotted a small section of Mexican wines. Hmmm…I’ve never heard of wines from Mexico and to the best of my knowledge, they weren’t well known on the world stage either. After talking to the wine steward, who did seem quite knowledgeable, I was assured that this region made some very good wines and in particular, some excellent Nebbiolos so we took the plunge. What the heck…I’m a big believer that wine is as much about new experiences as reveling in the old favorites so we ordered a very reasonably priced Nebiollo and you know what? It was excellent! Since that day, I’ve wanted to visit the region and I finally did with a few friends a number of months ago. (We actually tasted over Valentine’s Day weekend and this first part was written soon after returning but then Covid struck and all hell seemed to break loose so I have been quite remiss in getting this blog post up).

Unbeknownst to me, a good friend (a winemaker of course) has a friend, Sitara, who has a winery in the Valle. Corresponding with her provided an insider’s view of a couple of wineries that seemed to fit what we were looking for so in case I forget to mention it, thanks for the info Sitara.

Driving in the Valle is like taking a step back in time to the 70’s in California (or so I would guess…I couldn’t start drinking “legally” until the mid 80’s but I’ve heard quite a number of stories from those slightly more “experienced”). The region has been making wine for over 100 years so it is by no means a newbie to the wine world. Most of the wineries are smaller, often family run with a smattering of larger, “wine palaces”.

Wine Tasting at Retorno Winery

Our first winery was called “Retorno” or “Return” in English and was suggested because they have a Nebbiolo that was recommended by our new contact in the Valle. Fernanda, our hostess was great…engaging, funny and had an enthusiasm that is a must for a good host at a winery.

“Wine Trees” at Retorno Winery

The first two wines that we really liked were the Parabola and the Palabra, blends of Tempranillo and Barbera. The Palabra also has a significant amount of Zinfandel in it. They were good values although I don’t remember the exact price. The star however was the Nebiollo. 36 months in oak barrels with another 24 months in the bottle made for a very smooth but complex wine. If you’re looking for a wine with a long palate, meaning you taste the fruit on the front of your tongue and different flavors all the way to the back of your palate and throat, this is a great wine for you. It was the priciest of the wines that we saw down there and a little more than we usually like to spend but it will be great with a good steak so we’ll set that one away for a special occasion.

Most of Our Crew Enjoying Wine at Sol y Barro Winery

Our second stop on day one was “Sol y Barro” (Sun and Mud), not to far up the road from Retorno. It’s in a group with two other wineries with a chain across the road and a guard taking names and types of cars down. I suspect they just did that because they knew we were coming. It sucks to have a reputation. Sol y Barro has an artist’s vibe, a cool pseudo wine cave and a great patio to sip on (of course I never saw it because I am a sucker for wine caves). Karen and the other ladies enjoyed it though. Our server spoke perfect “American” English, who as it turns out, grew up in Detroit but moved to the Valle as an early teenager.

Like Retorno, most of the wines were blends but surprisingly, the one that I found interesting was 2018 Malvasia, although I admit that I never did learn which sub-type of Malvasia it was. It was slightly off dry but had a nice acidity on the back making it a great food wine. Karen and I talked and agreed it would be the perfect complement to a pork dish I make that is kind of a riff on sweet and sour pork but with California inspired ingredients… ginger, garlic, slightly sweet wine and chicken stock, thickened with Apricot preserves and finished with butter. It’s pretty delicious and I can’t wait to try the two together.

Check out our next post which will be up in a few days where we deal with “An Angry Goat” and taste at one of the coolest little wineries you’ll ever come across.

Be sure to check out part 2 of our blog!

We’re back after a lengthy absence which we’ll get into at some future date and we finally have had time to start exploring new wineries again. The first on our list was Wargin Wines in Santa Cruz County.

Wargin Wines Tasting Room in the Quaint Village of Soquel

Their main tasting room is in Wastonville but they also have a small one in the quaint town of Soquel. This was the one that we visited.

We first met Mikael Wargin when he was the vineyard manager at Burrell School winery, about 20 minutes up Soquel-San Jose road. We’ve crossed paths a few times over the last ten years or so and have always wanted to try the full experience of his wines but just recently found the time. What we didn’t know was Wargin Wines offers one of the broadest selections of Italian wine Varieties in the Bay Area. A few of these are so rare that very few Americans will have heard of them including, I have to sheepishly admit, us. We’ve actually tasted twice recently at Wargin, once in June for Karen’s birthday with our son, Daniel and his girlfriend Esra and just last weekend with Jason, a good friend from Australia. The result…lots of interesting samples, a new wine membership (like we really needed one more), and about 40 more bottles that we don’t really have room to store. Oh well…life is full of sacrifices I guess. Our guide for the first half of the tasting was Co-owner Denise. Mikael was doing a radio interview for a small public station in Santa Cruz. At least that was the goal but we seemed to hear a lot more of the interviewer than the interviewee….hmmm. Mikael returned for the 2nd half of the tasting so we had “Dueling Wargins”.

One of the first things you will notice is the creative labels. We assumed they were done by a single artist but they have used several tattoo artists to create an eclectic and unique mix of labels.

The Lineup of Wargin Wines

We started with whites of course and the two that stood out were the Pinot Gris, the French (and original version) of Pinot Grigio and a very unusual wine we’ll get into next. Not a lot of California wineries make Pinot Gris, preferring instead to make the far more ubiquitous (and I guess marketable) Chardonnay. Wargin’s version was everything a Pinot Gris should be…crisper than a Chardonnay and without overwhelming the wine with the buttery and/or Oaky flavors so prevalent in many California Chardonnays. That’s fine if you like oak and butter but it’s nice to have something a little different as well. This is a perfect wine for fish or lean poultry, either grilled or seared with a light pan sauce. We bought a few bottles and Karen wanted more but they didn’t’ have enough local stock so we cleaned out what they had. Next up was one of the weirdest white wines I’ve ever had, called Grecco di Tuffo (or Grecco for short). Grecco is grown in a very small area in southern Italy on the back side of a single volcano (reportedly Mount Vesuvius). The folks at Wargin believe there is only one small vineyard planted in California in San Benito County where they get their grapes. If you were to pour this wine and didn’t know what it was supposed to look like, you would swear that it’s a Chardonnay that has gone bad. The color looks amberish-gold which is almost never a good sign for wines and the aroma…let’s just say it isn’t like any other white wine we’ve experienced, having a hint of a Madeira to it, which also isn’t usually a good sign. The taste however is something entirely different. It’s quite full bodied and has a viscosity that is rarely seen in white wines (or even red for that matter). I’d love to try and describe it in terms someone else would understand but I am at a complete loss to do so. It’s unlike any other wine I’ve ever had and, with the exception of Karen who just thought it was OK, everyone else quite enjoyed it. Dannny and Esra even joined the wine club because of it. I would treat this wine more like a red for serving temperature, erring on the warmer side rather than the cooler side.

Next up, the Big and Beautiful, and aptly named Italian red blend of Montepulciano, Sangiovese and Freisa. There is a bit of a yin and yang vibe going on with the Big and Beautiful. On one hand, the Sangiovese imparts a slight fruit forward flavor while the Montepulciano and Freisa give it a depth lacking in many Sangioveses. This was one of Karen’s favorites. After a quick sampling of a couple of Petite Sirahs which were good but I’m kind of over them, we tried the Aglianico, an ancient Italian wine grape thought to possibly have origins in Greece. This was one that I was waiting for and I wasn’t disappointed, but I kind of cheated because I had the Aglianico the first time we were here and guess what…it’s good, but of course that is probably not a surprise because I just told you I was eagerly awaiting this one. If you like full bodied wines, this is one to try.

In addition to the litany of wines mentioned above, Wargin also makes…get ready for it…a third Petite Sirah, Freisa (delicious by the way, if you like full bodied wines with a nice tannic structure), Negrette, Montepulciano, a Zinfandel, and unusual red wine called Sagrantino which I haven’t even had time to research yet (although I think it comes mainly from Umbria, just south of Tuscany), two late harvest wines: Pinot Gris and Petite Sirah as well as a Chardonnay done in a “port style”. Between the Sagrantino and the Grecco, I need to create two more wine encyclopedia entries on the reference side of the web site so I’m not really happy with Mikael right now. I’m sure I’ll get over it the next time I drink one of his wines though, which coincidentally is tonight…Pinot Gris with Jamaican Jerk Chicken.

In order to get the full “Wargin effect”, I suggest making a couple of visits to have a broader selection of wines than you could in a single visit. They have a few tables situated conveniently right outside the tasting room, if you’re taking lunch, which I strongly suggest you do. The wines are very reasonably priced, with only two bottles more than $30 for non-wine club purchases. They have some great specials for wine club members which, in addition to the really good wines, are probably how they sucked us in. However, we are pretty easy marks when we have good wines, so I guess joining was a fait accompli. If you are looking for something besides all of the standard reds and whites, give Wargin Wines a try. You won’t be disappointed.

Tasting Room Location (yes…after more than five years and several hundred blogs, we finally figured out that if we blog about a winery, it helps to put the address as well…no one ever accused us of being fast learners).

For both wine locations, check for expanded summer hours.

Soquel Tasting Room
Wed, Thurs, Sun: 12pm – 5pm | Fri & Sat: 12pm – 6pm
5015 Soquel Dr., Soquel, CA 95076

Wine Tasting in Watsonville at Wargin Wines

Watsonville Tasting Room
Sat & Sun: 12pm – 5pm
11 Hangar Way, Watsonville, CA 95076

The Stunning Piazza Navona At Night

Rome…if it’s not on your bucket list, it should be. Of course, we were hitting it at the end of our trip which meant we had been travelling for the better part of three weeks out of just a couple of carry-ons, and walking 15 to 20 thousand steps per day on uneven cobblestone streets. Couple that with drinking aperitifs before dinner, Italian wine with almost every meal and of course enjoying the hell out of most meals, so we were getting pretty tired. Frankly, we were both ready to call it a day but then we got to Rome, the Eternal City. Rome is full of so much history that you could probably live there a lifetime and still not see it all. Ken is a huge history buff and got excited all over again. Karen rallied some but was still ready to be home. Each cool thing in Rome was matched by thoughts of being in her own bed at home. Three weeks is a long time to live out of a suitcase.

It was in Rome that we had “gullible tourist experience number three”. We had been warned about the taxi drivers in Rome overcharging and had even been told of their favorite tactic…not resetting the fare meter from the last ride when they pick you up. Despite all of my best efforts to see it when we got in, the Taxi driver was apparently a master magician as well as a part time race car driver because he managed to hide it from me rather effortlessly every time I tried to look, all while careening around Roman streets like a lunatic. Not knowing what the fare should have been when we reached the hotel and not having any proof to call BS, we paid it and found out two minutes later when we checked in at the hotel, the driver overcharged us by 25 euro, roughly double the rate that it should have been…more on this later.

If we listed all of the sites that we saw in Rome, wanted to see prior to the trip or learned about once we arrived, this post would take a week to write and by the time it was finished, there would be a hundred more blogs on Rome on other web sites. All of the famous places that you’ve seen in the movies, read about in books or heard about from TV…the Colosseum, the Circus Maximus where the chariot races took place, the Trevi Fountain, Vatican City, St Paul’s Cathedral, the Sistine Chapel, the Pantheon, Castel St’Angelo, underground ruins and miles of above ground Roman ruins….we saw it all over four days. Instead of turning this into a novel length post however, we’ll concentrate on the more unusual or underappreciated stuff that we saw and did.

We stayed at a small hotel which thankfully had really good air-conditioning. It was a warm summer in Italy and the further south we went, the hotter it got. We spent so much time in the sun that Karen’s normally medium blond hair was turning really light…almost white like it was when she was a kid….all with no added chemicals or mess. There you have it folks…if you want to lighten your hair naturally, just fly to Italy in the summer and walk around in the sun for a few weeks. It’s completely natural but perhaps a touch more expensive than “color in a box”. The hotel was just a couple minute walk from Piazza Navona which is a great location. Piazza Navona is pretty cool on its own and it’s only a 15 minute walk to the bridge leading to Vatican City. There are also underground Roman ruins right under the buildings bordering the Piazza so there is plenty to see in the immediate vicinity. The Pantheon is also only a 5 minute walk away.

Outside of the Pantheon with Most of the Population of Rome In Front

The Pantheon is not as well-known as many of the other historic buildings in Rome and I’ll be damned if I know why. The history is fascinating, the building is stunning and it is an architectural marvel that has been in continuous use for almost 1,900 years. Ken visited it twice because the first time, there were so many people packed inside, is seemed more like a winding line at the DMV than an historical building of stunning antiquity. A visit early the next morning when it first opened was much more enjoyable because the place was almost empty.

Sunlight Thought The Oculus In The Pantheon In Rome. Ken Was Fascinated By It.

One of the highlights in Rome was a walking tour with a great local guide through some of the lesser known areas of Rome that started ironically enough, at one of the best known, the Piazza in front of St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City. We walked on the lesser visited, western side of the Tiber river up to Parco del Gianicola. It doesn’t show up on very many “must visit” lists of Rome but it should because the views are fantastic. It’s also a great way to enter the famous and historical Jewish Ghetto of Rome where our local guide said that some of Rome’s best food is served. Our last stop on the tour was at a huge store called “Eataly”. We had seen a couple of these and thought they were just gimmicky tourist traps but our guide said the exact opposite was the case. The store that we visited was like a huge Whole Foods, specializing in all things Italian, from pasta and sauces, seafood and meat to beer and wine. It also had four different restaurants inside so we took our leave from the guide and had a couple of really nice pasta dishes. We hadn’t tried any local Roman wines and unfortunately, we weren’t overly impressed with any of them. Rome isn’t one of the acclaimed wine regions in Italy and now we know why. We had walked about 25,000 steps on hard pavement and cobblestones that day so we called for a taxi instead of walking home. Not wanting to repeat a mistake from day one, I asked what the fare would be and the driver picked up on the fact that we had been scammed. The fare was very reasonable and he was very upset because according to him, most of the taxi drivers are scrupulous and they are trying to eliminate the slime-balls like the first guy that overcharged us. He wanted the name but unfortunately, after seeing so many Luigis, Francescos and Peitros, we couldn’t remember it.

Rome has so many museums that it’s impossible to see them all but one of the best is the Borghese Gallery. Its list of famous artwork is virtually unending and they do a good job of keeping crowds down by only accepting visitors with reservations. Walking sounded like a good idea until we got most of the way there and realized it was the hottest day of the trip and the gallery is up a pretty serious hill. At the top, just before entering the park where the Gallery is located, is an ancient Roman wall. No problem for the modern day Romans. They just built the road through the wall. It was pretty cool but getting across was also a bit like playing the video game, Frogger, with us as the frogs.

Roman Walls With Modern Streets. Building Them Was Probably Easier Than Getting Across Them

Our last day in Rome was spent visiting the obligatory tourist places, the Colosseum, the Arch of Tiberius and all the other ancient Roman sites. After a long walk back to Piazza Navona, we split a pizza, shared a last bottle of Prosecco and went back to pack and ready ourselves for the long journey home the next day.

Cathedral In Orvieto

The next morning we drove to Orvieto, a small hill town in Umbria that had been recommended by a number of people. It sits up on a volcanic hill that has been inhabited for at least three thousand years. It retains all of its medieval character due to an unusual agreement between the German and English armies in World War II. The Germans proposed declaring it a “free city” meaning every one leaves without fighting. Each army moved 20 kilometers away and commenced the battle, leaving Orvieto unscathed.

Our small B&B was near the eastern entrance of the city with a super friendly family running it that also had a small local eatery downstairs. After we got in, we were both hungry so we split a pizza downstairs and it was the best one we had in Italy. There’s nothing like eating at a local place instead of in a tourist area.

First visit was Pozzo-di-San-Patrizio, or St. Patrick’s well, a deep communal well built in the early 1500’s to supply water in case the city was besieged. What’s really cool is that there are two different, parallel spiral passages around the outside of the walls. The two different paths allowed mules to go down, fill up with water and then continue in the other parallel passage so there was never a problem with them meeting, while going different directions. The only problem is 248 steps….I think it will take me less time to write this blog post than it took to climb down and up.

pozzo-di-san-patrizio in Orvieto

Pozzo-di-San-Patrizio in Orvieto from Bottom of Well

Perhaps the coolest thing about Orvieto is how far back it goes. It was settled by the Etruscans in pre-Roman times. Its location, on top of a tall volcanic rock, means it was virtually impregnable during ancient times. To create more living space and have room for animals in case of siege, the ancients dug a myriad of tunnels under the city. There are more than 1,200 tunnels according to most estimates although some new technology for sensing them indicates that there could be closer to 2,000. We did a tour of part of the cave complex later that afternoon with about 20 other people. The good news…19 of the group believed in personal hygiene. The bad news, one didn’t… a very friendly Dutch guy who no matter how far away we strategically positioned ourselves, always seemed to end up right next to us. Front of the group in one cave and there he is. Slowly drift to the back and damned if he didn’t end up right next us again. You could actually smell him before you saw him.

Caves of Orvieto

Orvieto is known for its massive cathedral, particularly unusual for so small of a town. Surprisingly inside, it’s not as ornate as other ones we saw in Tuscany and Umbria but it was still seriously cool. I’m sure the 13th century architects were going for “really cool” when they first put pen to paper, so mission accomplished. That evening we had a dinner from a little neighborhood osteria on a small piazza with a couple of really good local musicians doing rock and what we assumed was Italian folk music. Italy is so cool!

We turned in for what we thought was going to be a quiet evening until we start to hear drum beats that were slowly getting closer and closer to our room. We finally got curious enough to look outside our window and saw a procession going down the street directly in front of our room.

Orvieto Night Time Procession

We never did find out what it was but the next days we saw various neighborhoods bedecked in local regalia, each area having distinct colors and patterns. Clearly they had something to do with the procession but being clueless tourists, we never learned what it was.

Neighborhood In Orvieto ‘Decked Out’

Another Neighborhood In Orvieto In Its Traditional Colors

The next day we wandered down the steep sides of the town to the lower region where the Etruscans created a Necropolis (Greek for “City of the Dead”). We’d call it a graveyard. It was really hot that day, so after a beer (or two) at the roadside stand at the entrance of the Necropolis, we walked back up hill and checked out the museum in another cave complex and then went through several museums attached to the Cathedral.

Tomorrow…off to Rome, the Eternal City!

The Folks from Karine Winery

We’ve had our place near Bass Lake for about 14 years and we thought we had tasted at most of the wineries in the mountains. Several weeks ago, we ran across a group in our favorite little Mexican Restaurant in North Fork that had a wine we hadn’t tasted, from a local winery that we had forgotten about called Karine. The name rang a bell but for the life of me, I couldn’t figure out why until Karen remembered having a bottle of their Syrah a couple of years back with our friend Stephenie. Our new-found wine buddies at the restaurant couldn’t say enough good things about the wine so clearly, more investigation was needed…oh, the burdens that we take on for our readers.

Karine winery is the love and toil of a young couple, Nick and Angeline DeHart and their almost two year old assistant wine maker, Emmeline Karine DeHart, clearly the driving force behind the entire operation. Nick grew up just down the road in Lemoore and Angeline was born and raised in Fresno. The couple met over beers at Fresno State where Nick was pursuing his degrees in Enology and Organic Chemistry and Angeline was getting her Masters in Special Education. Nick apprenticed in various areas in Europe such as Burgundy, Champagne, Alsace, and Tuscany earning an additional certificate in Switzerland. Fast forward four years and the couple were married in a vineyard. Both Nick and Angeline have roots in grape farming. Nick’s grandfather grew bulk wine grapes in the Central valley and Angeline’s family grew raisin grapes in the Fresno area so somehow, it seemed inevitable that after meeting over beer and being married in a vineyard, their life would gravitate to owning a winery. Unlike most wine makers however, Karine is a labor of love that they can indulge because Nick’s main job is consulting with a number of wineries, providing guidance for those who want to improve the quality of their wines. Karine, named after Angeline’s middle name (and now Emmeline’s), is a hobby and a passion for both rather than a necessity which means that the DeHarts can experiment with various Varieties and Vineyards in a never-ending quest for the perfect, pure, unmanipulated wines. If Karine makes a wine that is good but still below their exacting standards, they won’t sell it under their label but will sell it to other wineries. According to Angeline, “If it doesn’t knock your socks off, we won’t sell it”. I suspect most of Karine’s “failures” would be unmitigated successes for most wineries so it doesn’t seem to be a problem moving the wines that they don’t want to release. A big year’s production for Karine is around 300 cases. The couple are not interested in greatly expanding their production but would like the volume to increase just enough so that they can make their favorite wines every year instead of every second or third year.

Karine considers itself a “Garagiste” winery, a movement that is about experimentation and occasionally upsetting the status quo when tradition is holding back the quality of wines. The only qualification to joining the Garagiste movement is a willingness to think outside the box and the open-mindedness to not accept winemaking practices as religious doctrine that must be followed, even if there are better, more progressive techniques that produce better wines. Like all good winemakers, Karine understands that wine starts in the vineyard and the best way to produce exceptional wines is to have exceptional wine grapes that need little or no manipulation by the winemaker. In true Garagiste fashion, Karine makes wines that you either “Love to Love” or “Love to Hate”.

We had planned on tasting with the Karine folks the weekend before at the site of their upcoming winery location just outside of North Fork but mother nature threw us a curve by raining two weekends in a row…great for a rain starved California…not so great for outside wine tasting. We were also up against a deadline due to the imminent arrival of Emmeline’s little sister.

Karine Winery Future Site

Nick is currently experimenting with various wine grapes to ascertain which Varieties will work the best at their upcoming vineyard including Tempranillo (Tinta del Toro), Mourvedre, Petite Sirah, Charbono, Graciano, Grenache, Touriga Nacional, Cabernet Sauvignon, Viognier, Roussanne, Vermentino and Piquepoul. Karine wants to let the terroir of the vineyard really influence the wines and for terroir to be prevalent, that means the winemaker needs to modify the wine as little as possible. Oak, additional acid and a number of other techniques can combine to improve a decent wine but all of those techniques begin to mask the true character of the wine grape, something that Karine resists as much as possible. According to Nick, it will be decades until they understand the terroir of their vineyard, its characteristics and which Varieties really produce the best wine grapes in it. It will be their grandchildren that truly understand how to coax the best wine grapes out of the vineyard.

With a field trip clearly not in the works and in need of a venue, we volunteered our kitchen so Winery-Sage experienced a first… a wine tasting of some really special wines with the winemaker in our own home. Now I could really get used to this!

The first two wines were a 2013 Chenin Blanc and a 2013 Malvasia Bianca, both from Madera County’s own Freeman Vineyards. Candidly, I have never really been a fan on Chenin Blancs. The ones that I’ve had until just the last few months were slightly sweet, thin wines with no character at all. Another winemaker friend of ours produced her first Chenin Blanc this year and it was a very pleasant eye opener so we were excited to see what Karine had made of it. We weren’t disappointed. We’ve now realized that Chenin Blanc seems to be a victim of most California winemakers rather than a perpetrator. Karine’s on the other hand, was a full bodied gem, produced from local 40+ year old vines which sadly, have now been ripped out. Three months ago if someone would have told me that I’d be tasting five very good wines and my favorite would be the Chenin Blanc, I’d have assumed that they had recently escaped from a very “special” hospital. It was also one of Karen’s two favorites (the other being a Syrah that came later in our journey). I asked Nick which was his favorite. I think he believes that would be like choosing a favorite kid but I could tell he was proud of this one. There was virtually nothing added to the wine during winemaking…just the wine grapes and a little bit of nutrient to help the naturally occurring yeast do their job. The Malvasia Bianca was also quite good, with all of the aromatic characteristics typical of the variety but also having a little more body than most other versions we’ve had in California. Both wines were quite low alcohol for California wines, checking in at 11% and 12% respectively. At the end of the tasting we also tried a 2012 Viognier that Nick said had just passed its peak but hadn’t really started to degrade yet but it was starting to change character. If that wasn’t its peak, it must have been spectacular a year ago because it was a pretty damn good Viognier.

Karine Wines

The other two wines were red, usually my favorite but the first, Mourvedre is one about which I’m pretty ambivalent. Most that I have had are medium bodied, character-less filler. Karine made theirs in a Pinot Noir style, meaning it was even lighter than usual. Surprisingly what I thought would be just a slightly lighter, characterless wine based on past experience was anything but bland. The light hand of Nick allowed the subtleties of the grape to shine without being masked by an attempt to make it a deeper wine than Mourvedre should be. The result was a light red wine with a complexity that will tickle the taste buds rather than bludgeoning them. This was a perfect wine for a filet mignon…too bad we didn’t have any. The last taste, until the obligatory revisiting and re-revisiting etc…was a Syrah with a depth of flavor to spare. It was quite good but Nick said it really shines after being open for 24 hours. Sadly, the bottle never stood a chance of being opened and not finished in 24 hours, a fate that awaited several of the other bottles as well. Both the Mourvedre and the Syrah are also from Madera County, but these were from Love Ranch, a well-known local vineyard from which some of the best local winemakers source fruit. It’s great to meet folks that have a passion for wine that is greater than ours and based on the rapport that we struck up with Nick, Angeline and Emmeline, we’ll be sharing more wine and meals with them (assuming Emmeline allows the inventory to leave the winery of course).

The folks at Karine don’t have a wine club and look to sell their wines to local folks who will appreciate the character that are inherent in them. They are often sold out of various wines so don’t go in expecting to get a specific wine but based on our tasting, whatever is available will be a treat.

Winery-Sage is an online Winery Encyclopedia designed to help you compare wines, wineries, and regions by using a unique database. Cross-reference varietals and the wineries that produce them, as well as discover events sponsored by wineries and associations. We’re not here to sell you anything or pass you off to paid advertisers, just share the love for wine. Discover California wines at Winery-Sage.com.

Maccay Cellars Old Winery

McCay Cellars was recommended by the Lodi Wine Association and we really had no idea what to expect when we pulled up. The winery is located in a small industrial area which might put a few people off who are looking for the palatial estate with huge grounds, picnic facilities etc… Small wineries in humble buildings often produce some of the best wines though, as we learned in our previous trip to Lodi, several years before. Just a few days after we visited, McCay was scheduled to move into a new tasting room in Downtown Lodi so the industrial charm of the winery room is likely gone but I’m sure it’s been supplanted by a nicer facility to showcase the wines and these wines deserve a special showcase. Alan, the tasting room manager took us through a dizzying array of wines with each getting better than the last…quite a feat because the first one was really good.

McCay makes roughly 4,500 case of wine per year and Michael McCay, the Winemaker/Financial Planner likes to keep the production small so he can maintain control of the product. He makes what he likes so the majority of what he makes are Zinfandels and Rhone Varietals and unusual for Lodi, uses 100% native yeast fermentation. Native yeast fermentation means that instead of introducing yeast into the neo-nascent wine, the wine is fermented by the yeast that is already on the fruit when it arrives to be crushed.

After a Chenin Blanc Taste, admittedly not my favorite white wine although this one was pretty good, we had two different Viogniers, a 2015 and a 2016. Both had nice acidity which is rare for most California Viogniers. Ken liked the 2015 but Karen liked the 2016. Both were quite good and neither possessed that overly perfumed aroma so often associated with Viognier when grown in a hot a climate.

Next came mind blower number one, a Cinsault made from 132 year old vines, which Alan indicated are the oldest known Cinsault vines on the planet. In California, Cinsault is rarely grown and even when it is, it’s usually used in Rhone style blends. It’s far less rarely used as a Varietal. It was everything you want in an old vine wine, complex, smooth and intense. It’s rare that we buy wines when we are blogging because we have a perpetual storage problem. Our temperature controlled wine closet only holds about 250 bottles which seemed like a lot when we first built it. Now…not so much. We usually have six to ten cases at any given time sitting out in the house. It’s not really a problem in the winter but in the summer our house can get pretty warm because we don’t have air conditioning (truth be told, we rarely need it), but on the days it does get hot, we’re scrambling to find the coolest corners or closets. Anyway, to make a short story long which apparently I’ve done, we loved the Cinsault and picked up a bottle. It was followed by a Rhone style blend which was also excellent.

The Quirky Tasting Room At McCay Cellars

Next, came the highlight…the Zinfandels…six of them. To be honest, I’m not as big a fan of Zin as I was years ago. My tastes have changed, much to Karen’s chagrin because she still enjoys them. If all Zins tastes like McCay Cellars Zins though, I’d become a huge fan all over again. We started with the Faith Zinfandel, crafted with fruit from 102 year old vines. It was spectacular…quite possibly the best Zinfandel I’ve ever had. It was followed by Jupiter which was also very good. Karen preferred it because it had just a little more fruit than the Faith. The Trulux Zinfandel came next, which Alan indicated was the flagship wine of McCay. It’s probably getting a little trite to say but it was very good as well, being the smoothest of the three so far, although I felt the old Vine Faith had more complexity. Next up, the Rous Zinfandel, made with fruit from 108 year old vines…and what a shock…it was good too. It was perhaps the most fruit forward of the Zins that we tried but it was by no means, one of the overly sweet, jammy Zins often produced in California. It was followed by the Bonotto (made from mere 77 year old vines) and then the Contention Zin. The Contention was really special, having spent 48 months in the barrel which imparted a real smoothness.

We also tasted a Tempranillo…good…and Petite Sirah….also good…and a blend of Zinfandel, Tempranillo and Petite Sirah called Bruella Road. Guess what…they were good too. I wish I had bought a bottle of the Bruella Rd. because I found out later that weekend that my grandparents once owned a house on Bruella Rd., in the little town of Victor.

Candidly, I’m a little irritated with Mr. MacCay because it gets a little bit boring writing “Good”, “Special” or “Spectacular” after every wine and it probably gets a little tiresome reading it as well. Seriously, if you’re in the Lodi area and you want to wine taste, this is one of the “must visit” wineries. Not only are the wines exceptional (see that…I worked in a different adjective), but the staff is very friendly and the prices are very reasonable for wines of this quality.

Oak Farm Winery

Our tasting trip started with a visit to the Lodi wine grape commission, a great facility with a knowledgeable staff and a broad selection of Lodi wines. If you have time for only stop in Lodi, this is your place. Not only can you taste a wide variety of Lodi wines but there is a restaurant and spa located next door. They’re not affiliated with the association but it’s pretty damn convenient if you’re in need of a meal. We were here to drink wine though so no hot stone or mud bath treatments for us.

In addition to recommending a number of local wineries, Wendy, the wine association director, gave us a quick overview of an intriguing program called the “Lodi Native” project, an experiment where six well regarded local wineries are creating completely vineyard authentic wine. No manipulation of the wine is allowed, for example, adding yeast, acid, water, strong new oak flavors etc…just winemaking in its basic form, pure and simple. This is a growing trend in the wine industry which uses the native yeast and little to no additives. It allows the fruit to come forward without the sometime heavy hand of the wine making getting in the way. If you want to learn more about this “back to basics” method of making wine, here is a link to the Lodi Native web site.

Our first stop was Oak Farm Winery, a newer facility and that is really just beginning to learn the characteristics of it newer facility, having opened just three years before. A number of their vines are also quite young so they aren’t really showing what their potential will be. Our tasting guide was Sierra, the young assistant winemaker who recently joined the winery. Oak Farm doesn’t specialize in any particular type of wine so they are happy to make wines originating in various regions of France and Italy, Spain and the lower regions of the Alps. They make roughly 20,000 cases of wine per year so they are just emerging from the boutique winery niche.

Oak Farm Tasting Room

Karen and I thought the 2016 Albarino was the best of their wines which won best in region at the California State Fair, Commercial Wine Competition. We have a real soft spot for Albarino so having one for our first tasting of the day is always a great way to start. They also make a couple of unusual wines. Fiano a fragrant white wine grape of the “Campania” area of Italy and one we’ve never seen (or heard of for that matter), Cortese – pronounced “Cor- Tay-Zee, also from Italy although it hails from South Eastern Piemonte, Italy (that’s Piedmont to the English speakers among us), a region in the Northwest of Italy surrounding Turin, just west of Milan. The sometimes fickle Northern Italian weather rarely produces ripe Cortese fruit leading to its reputation as a somewhat boring wine grape in Italy but the warm predictable California seasons are a perfect incubator for it.

Oak Farms Cortese was grown in Clarksburg, which is quickly becoming known for growing a number of less common wine grapes. We love trying new Varietals but I dread seeing one on a tasting menu because that means extra work for creating a Varietal Encyclopedia entry on the information section of the web site…and the more obscure the wine grape, the harder is it to find information on it. Anyway, here is the brand new entry for Cortese.

Oak Farms favorite red blend, called Tievoli (backwards for “I love it”), is made from 70% Zinfandel with smaller portions of Petite Sirah and Barbera. They are also making a 100% Petite Verdot although it wasn’t available to taste yet.
If you’re looking for a good place to have a picnic and enjoy a bottle of wine, Oak Farm is a great setting. It has generous lawns, a large patio and a number of picnic tables.