Paul Dolan

Hmmm...Moon phase is a waxing crescent.  I wonder what that portends for my activities tonight?  I think I'll consult a biodynamic calendar.  Now, where did I last see my biodynamic calendar?  Can't...seem...to...find...it...anywhere.  Oh well, best log on to Paul Dolan Vineyards web-site.  Ah, here it is:  Fruit day, and, oh what luck...a favorable day to taste wine!

Well, I just happen to have a bottle of Parducci 2009 Pinot Noir (coincidentally enough produced by one of Paul Dolan's labels) right here.  Who's to argue with the Bilodynamic calendar?  Ah, not bad.  A surprisingly delicate Pinot Noir-like character.  Nice red fruit with a hint of vanilla and smoke.  Not bad for a $14.00 bottle of Pinot Noir.  But then, I have rarely been disappointed by any of the modestly priced, sustainably produced Parducci wines.

Since we are on the subject I might as well tell you all a little about Paul Dolan, the mastermind behind the Parducci empire.  Super green and sustainably produced Parducci wines are just one child in Dolan's corporate family.  But before I introduce the rest of the clan, let me back up a little.  Paul Dolan grew up with wine in his blood with Rossi and Concannon family connections.  It was, in fact, his winemaker uncle Ed Rossi who in the early 70's inspired Dolan to write a paper on the wine industry as part of his college business and finance curriculum.  This look back into his family legacy was enough to cement Dolan's move towards winemaking and in 1975 he enrolled in the Enology program at Cal State University, Fresno.  From there he went on to make wine for Fetzer, where he worked for 27 years, including 12 as president.  With Dolan at the helm Fetzer became a leader in organic viticulture and sustainable business practices; two principles that continue to be central in all of Dolan's ventures.

His commitment to not only grow grapes and make wines sustainably, but to run his business sustainably is one thing I love about Paul Dolan.  The man is firmly committed to a holistic business concept which has as a central tenet that the progress and wealth business creates will still be there for future generations.   Dolan believes that in such a business model economic profit cannot be the only measure of success.  To codify this concept he has initiated his e3 action plan which is shorthand for a "tripple bottom line," consisting of economics, environment, and social equity.  Here are Dolan's views on sustainable business summed up in his own words:

A sustainable business should be a whole business, like a whole person.  It must have integrity.  It must have a moral center.  It must be connected to its values and the greater world.  It must aspire to do what is right, not just for the bottom line, not just from a legal standpoint, but from a moral and ethical standpoint.  It’s not only accountable, it’s responsible.  


When winemakers are serious about this kind of a holistic business philosophy underlying their work in the vineyard and winery, it inspires confidence in me that their aim in choosing sustainable paractices is more than just a fashion statement, and truly part of a commitment to produce the best wine possible.
In 2004 Dolan Partnered with like-minded Tim and Tom Thornhill to form the Mendocino Wine Company, parent to their current range of brands headed by Parducci, their original 2004 acquisition.  Under Dolan and the Thornhills Parducci has come to represent the pinnacle of sustainable practice, priding itself on being the first carbon neutral winery.  The winery relies 100% on green power in including solar energy.  There is also a huge emphasis on water conservancy and wetlands conservation, as well as earth friendly packaging.

This firm commitment to sustainability also carries over to the grapes which are grown in the estate's own 100% organically certified vineyards, as well as sourced from locally owned family farms.  All partner vineyards are also certified either Biodynamic, Organic, or Fish Friendly.  In the vineyards there is no use of chemical soil amendments, weed control, or pesticides.  This includes the use of wildlife corridors which encourage natural predators, and bug farms to attract beneficial insects.  Cover crops are grown between vines to enrich the vineyard and prevent erosion.  Dolan's practices in general avoid any practices which harm the environment or deplete the soil, including bioengeneering, ionizing radiation, or GMOs.

Besides Parducci, MWC's family of wines includes the smaller labels, Zig Zag Zin, Sketchbook, and Wines That Rock.  But you might say that Dolan's favorite child is the eponymously named Paul Dolan Vineyards, the company's premium biodynamic and organic label.  The label illustration alone, three cow's horns forming a circle, should tell you something about Dolan's commitment to biodynamic principles.  So, of course, should the inclusion of the aforementioned Biodynamic Calendar on the label's web-site, which has so recently come to my rescue.  Paul Dolan Vineyards produces organically grown Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc, and Zinfandel.  But the star of this show would seem to be Deep Red, a unique blend of Syrah, Petite Sirah, Grenache, and Zinfandel.  Deep Red is somewhat of a pet project for Dolan, made from estate grapes grown in the Dark Horse Vineyard, planted on an old family property.  You could say the Demeter certified Biodynamic Deep Red represents the acme of his dream to create a wine that represents the "unique expression of a carefully nurtured piece of land."

I have to confess, I haven't had too many opportunities to enjoy Paul Dolan's wines outside of the Parducci label.  I do have quite a favorable impression though of the Paul Dolan Vineyards Chardonnay which I tasted last summer, if memory serves me right.  Which, of course, means that I have some tasting homework ahead of me.  Alas, what a grueling responsibility!

I hope you have found reading about Paul Dolan as interesting as I have researching and writing about him.  Now go out and taste his wines and let us know what you think by posting a comment.  That little window at the bottom of the page is all yours for bearing your wine-loving soul...so go for it!

Starting Friday, and over the next 10 days I will be posting a series of short one to two minute videos which feature Paul Dolan outlinging the basic concpets of Biodynamics.  Very interesting and concise primer on Biodynamics.  So come back and check it out!

Quiz #2 - Variety is the Spice of LIfe

Variety is the Spice of Life
How's your varietal wine wisdom?

1. Petite Sirah is a crossing between:
Peloursin and Syrah Carignan and Syrah Durif and Syrah
2. Muscadet is produced from which grape?
Muscadelle Muscat blanc a Petits Grains Melon de Bourgogne
3. The principal grape used to produce Cahors is:
Tannat Malbec Negrette
4. Which grape variety has it's origin in Italy's Alto Adige?
Gewurztraminer Pinot Grigio Silvaner
5. Of the 13 permitted grapes in Chateauneuf-du-Pape, which is it's principal component?
Syrah Mourvedre Grenache

Quiz #1 - Historical Perspective

Quiz #1 - Historical Perspective

Here is your first ever semi-daily The Grapes of Rand Quiz.  Test your wine wisdom...enjoy!

1. Vitis Vinifera vines are believed to have originated around modern-day
Turkey Armenia Lebanon
2. The greates wines of classical Rome were
Dry, powerful reds Dry, acidic whites Sweet maderized whites
3. A wine produced in ancient Thasos for state occasions was unique for it's addition of
Bay Laurel and Seawater Dough and Honey Pine resin

Bonny Doon 2009 Ca' del Solo Muscat

Nice wine from Bonny Doon, ideal for sipping on the back porch on a warm summer evening with good friends and spicy asian dishes.    

How I Taste (oops)...How I Taste Wine

Cheers wine lovers!  Another exciting week of wine exploration is under way, and I'm looking forward to sharing some useful and hopefully entertaining stuff with all of you!  My vision is that most of the regular posts on The Grapes of Rand will continue to feature profiles of producers from around the world, as well as stimulating news and tidbits of knowledge about biodynamic, organic, and sustainable vineyard and winemaking practices.  But today I just want to give you all a bit of insight into how I approach wine tasting, so as you watch the videos and read my reviews you'll have a better feel for where I'm coming from.

If you have watched my videos you have probably figured out that my opinion of a wine can change quite a bit form the first dip of the nose into the glass to my final summation.  What you don't know is that I will often come back to the same bottle of wine the following day just to see how it has developed with air.  I do this because this process of change, even if sometimes for worse, excites me.  This living, breathing, mercurial, often elusive quality is one of the things that for me makes wine the sublime beverage it is.  This is probably one of the reasons I am drawn to minimally manipulated organic and biodynamic wines which, in my estimation, do a much better job than conventionally produced wines of displaying a wide range of characteristics imparted by unique soil and climatic conditions, and continue a much more dynamic, healthy, and less degenerative development even after they have been exposed to air.

With this in mind I suppose you could classify my wine tasting approach as progressive.  I rarely rely on first impressions as I form an overall opinion of a wine.  I may get very excited initially about the first waft of aroma drawn from the glass, but this will inevitably be moderated by how the wine progresses as I continue to smell and taste.  Some I suppose would argue that in wine analysis first impressions are generally the most accurate because they reveal the most dominant characteristics, but this is not how most people drink wine.  In the real world wines are generally enjoyed slowly over an extended period of time, so that how a wine changes both in real chemical terms and in terms of perception over time should be taken into account.

Enough with the theorizing!  Let's get down to the nitty gritty.  First of all, why do I assign a score to wines?  The answer to this is very simple.  Scores are simply a way for me to easily put a wine in a general category in relation to other wines I have tasted.  It is also a simplified way for me to archive my impressions of a wine for all you wine lovers out there in Winedom for future reference.  I will be the first to acknowledge that scoring wines is a very subjective exercise, but it is still the easiest way for me to communicate the perceived quality of a wine in relation to others.

One thing I want to make clear about my scoring system is that when I assign a score on a 100 point scale it is not in any way arbitrary.  I am really converting a score from my own sixteen point scale, which ranges from five to twenty, to a system that is more familiar to most people, and would correspond more nearly to scores we might see assigned by other wine reviewers.

So, this is how it works:  I assign a score between 1 and 4 to each of four attributes.  These attributes are Aroma, Taste, Structure, and Finish.  Rather than adding the scores for each of these attributes and combining them with an additional score for the overall impression of the wine, as is often done, I weight each of the four attributes according to what I believe to be their importance in the overall profile of a wine, multiply that weight by the assigned score, add the weighted scores for each attribute, and then divide that number by four for the final score.  If you are confused, relax, I will give and example below.

But first a few words about what the scale of 1 to 4 actually represents.  These are simply numerical values assigned to four levels of quality.

                               1.  Good with basic development, complexity and pleasure
                               2.  Excellent with  greater development, complexity and pleasure
                               3.  Memorable with heightened development, complexity and pleasure
                               4.  Transcendent with extraordinary development, complexity and pleasure

Now a word about how each attribute is weighted.  I assign the greatest weight (8) to the Taste, or how the wine translates once I put it in my mouth.  I am sure that many would argue that the nose or aroma is a wine's most important attribute, but I do not share this view.  As much as I am sometimes entranced and even transported by the aromas wafting form a great glass of wine, I am even more intrigued when a wine continues to elicit pleasure and emotion as it enters and rolls around my mouth; when a wine continues to change and develop and offer new nuances on the palate, and as it potentially combines with  food with which it might be paired.  I can't count the number of times I have been disappointed when a wine promises a beautiful complexity on the nose, only to fall apart once it enters my mouth.  The aroma, not far behind taste is weighted with the second highest multiplier (6), the structure (the wine's overall balance of tannin, minerality and/or acidity) is multiplied by 4, and the finish is multiplied by 2.

So here is an example to illustrate how it all comes together:

Rand's Riesling
               Raw Score   Multiplier   Weighted Score  
Aroma:        2 x             (6) =             12
Taste:          3 x             (8) =             24
Structure:    3 x             (4) =             12
Finish:         2 x             (2) =               4

Total Score:                                      52/4 = 13  (lowest score possible 5, highest possible 20)
(would convert to roughly 91 out of 100)

Note that the lowest score I will ever assign a wine is 5, which converted to a 100 point scale approximates to about 80.  The reason for this is that I am really not interested in scoring a wine that is so deficient in any one of the four attributes that it does not offer at least a basic level of pleasure.  There are too many really good wines out there these days to waste our time on stuff that is uninteresting or flawed.

Well, I think I have said about all I ever will on this topic, at least on this blog.  I would think that of anything I will ever post, this would invite comments, disagreements, questions, pontification, maybe even consternation.  If so, so much the better...bring it on!

'Til next time, keep it natural, and keep it interesting!

Of Flying Cigars and Terroirs

Without a doubt one of my favorite weird events in the history of wine has to be the 1954 passage by the village council of Chateauneuf-du-Pape of a law prohibiting the landing of flying saucers or as the french called them, cigare volant (flying cigar), on vineyard land.  This unusual law was evidently a reaction to the perfectly reasonable worry that flying saucers would damage the precious fruit of the vine, were they to touch down in the vineyards.  The prudence and foresight of this dictate is obvious when one considers that to date not one flying cigar landing has been reported anywhere in or near Chateauneuf-du-Pape, no doubt due to the stringent pentalty that any offending spacecraft will be immediately impounded!

Amusing as this story is, I find it quite fitting that the flagship wine made by one of the most idiosyncratic men in all of Winedom is named Cigare Volant in homage to this possibly strangest of all wine stories.  The ironically traditional label depicts a hovering spacecraft deploying it's death-ray, an eventuality I don't believe the Village council ever considered.  This label and the highly regarded Rhone blend behind it are two of the many, many brainchildren of übercreative and überdriven Randall Graham, self-proclaimed president for life of Bonny Doon Vineyards.

Graham's compelling story meanders through over three eventful decades only to end exactly where it began in 1979, with a quest to create something of "original beauty," and not just a copy of an idealized form.  In the beginning the mission was to create the perfect Pinot Noir, one that would be an expression of it's unique terroir rather than another poor attempt to re-create Burgundy in California.  To this end Graham, with the help of his parents, purchased property in an area known as Bonny Doon in the Santa Cruz mountains and an epic wine journey began.  Only, it wasn't Pinot Noir, but until then untried Rhone varietals that proved successful in the newly established vineyards.  The ever adaptable Graham saw an opportunity and ran with it, cementing his place in California wine history as one of the original Rhone rangers.

In the late 1980's, not satisfied with having lit a fire under California's ampelographical evolution with Rhone grapes, the ever restless Rhone Derranger, as Graham is wont to call himeself, began planting a bevy of Italian varieties inluding nebbiolo, barbera, dolcetto, freisa, and pinot grigi  in his Ca' del Solo vineyards in Monterrey County.  All this still driven by a quest to match grape to it's ideal terroir.

Over the next decade the Bonny Doon kingdom grew into what many, most significantly some influential wine critics saw as an increasingly unwieldy empire, including such value mega-brands as Big House, Pacific Rim, and Cardinal Zin.  It wasn't only Graham's innovative and experimental nature that led to Bonny Doon's incredible success, but an uncanny bent for unconventional, sometimes irreverent marketing, featuring often witty, sometimes sarcastic, always unique label art.

Not far into the current millennium the ever ready to evolve Randall Graham decided once again that it was time to move on towards better things.  In this case, however, better was not bigger, but smaller...much smaller.  The self-styled Taoist winemaker was ready to take a radical new turn in his "spiritual Journey," and so divested himself of his successful mega-brands including Big House and Cardinal Zin, spun off the Pacific Rim brand.  This change meant a significant drop in production from over 400,000 to 35,000 cases.  For Graham this latest incantation of Bonny Doon meant a re-focusing on his spiritual winemaking roots: a quest for wines that expressed a unique sense of place.  It is evident that Graham sees these exhaustive changes less as a radical shift away from, but a distilling down of knowledge and experience gained along an indispensable journey, evidenced by his continued employment of technical innovations such as microoxygenation, cryoextraction, and his almost fanatical faith in screw-caps, to accompany his passionate shift towards back to nature vineyard practices such as biodynamics and dry farming.

What the future holds for Bonny Doon is anyone's guess, but it will no doubt be compelling.  For the time being Graham continues his quest to create true wines of place by producing terroir-driven estate wines, a variety of traditional Rhone style wines, including the flagship Cigare Volant, and Italian varietal wines produced from his Ca' del Solo vineyards.  The good news is that Graham's journey is not hard to follow as this most open and engaging of vignerons is anything but secretive about his activites.  He candidly journals his experimentations on his website www.beendoonsolong.com, putting his characteristic cerebral humor and wisdom on display for all wine lovers to enjoy. The title of this informative website is also the title of his newly published autobiographical book Been Doon So Long, which you can find linked in the Literary Elucidations section of this blog.  Graham has also created one of the most entertaining web-sites for Bonny Doon Vineyards that has much more the interactive feel of an artsy board game than the informational site that it is.  I have found it quite entertaining, and have included the link for all you wine lovers out there, so you too can play: www.bonnydoonvineyard.com.

Chateau Puech-Haut Prestige 2009

Biodynamic red from the south of France.  93 in Robert Parker's book, but how will it stack up on the Grapes of Rand?

Some Clarifying, Dispelling, and Educating on a Sunday Evening

Ah, another quiet Sunday evening in the Sieger crib, just enjoying some quality time with my laptop, a crusty baguette, a bit of Forme d'Ambert, a few olives from Puglia, and a 2009 Naia Rueda:  100% Verdejo, not biodynamic, not organic, not great, but not bad.  I'm giving it 89 points.  This would definitely be a good match with grilled fish or crustacean.

My daily tasks I believe are in order.  Laundry, check.  Bike repair, check.  Dub playing on the Stereo, check.  Now all that's left to do is a bit of Clarifying, Dispelling, and Educating my fellow wine lovers on the subject of Biodynamic Wine.   Sounds like a daunting task, but thanks to some wonderfully concise information provided  by another iconic biodynamic producer from Alsace, this should be virtual child's play.  So, if you have only vague notions of what biodynamics is all about, or worse, loosely equate biodynamic farming with some kind of mysterious metaphysical ritual, hopefully some of those notions will be dispelled and we will have a bit clearer picture of the significance of biodynamic viticulture and it's benefits.  But before we dig into the nitty-gritty of the matter, let's take a quick look at the source of our enlightenment.

Clos des Capucins' (the vineyard soil of Domaine Weinbach) history goes way back, and I mean WAY back to circa 890, when the empress Richarde gave the land to the Abbey of Etival, who in turn gave part of the soil to the Capuchin monks.  These Capuchin monks then established the aptly named Domaine Weinbach (German for winestream) in 1612.  In 1898 the domaine was acquired by the Faller family and is run today by Colette Faller and her daughters who carry on a long tradition of passion for the wines of Alsace and an unrelenting commitment to delivering excellence.

Nature has endowed the vineyards of Domaine Weinbach with a variety of exceptional soils that are carefully matched to the grape varieties grown on them, as well as ideal topography providing optimal exposure to the sun.  As part of their commitment to producing wine that fully expresses the characteristics of the terroir,  the Fallers began converting their vineyards to biodynamics in 1998.  Since 2005 all of the domaine's vineyards have been cared for biodynamically, and since 2010 are both Ecocert and Demeter certified.

Here then is Domaine Weinbach's very cogent definition of Biodynamics and a brief explanation of how Biodynamic viticulture furthers their high quality standards.

Biodynamics is a farming philosophy formalized by the Austrian born philosopher and  scientist Rudolf Steiner in the 1920's and developed by Maria Thun. It takes organic viticulture as a beginning: the soils are worked and no synthetic chemicals  are used as fertilizers or pesticides. It goes farther then organics in the sense that it considers  a vineyard as a living organism. The soil (the earth is viewed as the mother) is not a simple  support for the vine but a living environment and a source of energy as much as its outdoor  environment is (the sun is the father). The primary principle is to upgrade the soil and the vine life in its natural environment and  increase the natural defences/resistance of the vine with the use of products made from  vegetal (nettle, willow, horsetail, camomile, achillea,…), animal (manure, compost) and  mineral (silica) origins. Secondly, the application of these products and the working of the soils at specific times  according to the sun and moon cycles are also key, there lies the "dynamic" part.

The goal is to achieve harmonious life conditions and better exchanges between the soil, the  plant (including root and foliage systems) and its environment based on: better soil quality thanks to the presence of a greater quantity and variety of bio organisms otherwise killed by herbicides and the absence of oxygen getting into the soil; deeper, thicker and healthier roots favoured by the work of the soil; better development of leaves and flowers (more efficient photosynthesis). The better exchanges that take place enable the soil and climate characteristics to be  transferred to the grapes, increasing the quality of their flavours and the expression of the  terroirs.

For us, biodynamic viticulture means respect of the environment, respect of the terroirs and of the grapes. A viticulture that respects life allows not only the vintage climate and the grape varieties but above all the terroirs to express themselves in the wines.
The benefits of biodynamics were never as obvious as in 2003 (extremely hot and dry vintage). During that year, the vines resisted incredibly well and the wines showed a natural balance and a surprising freshness.
Biodynamics may look esoteric. Yet it is easy to relate to homeopathy for humans. It also involves a great deal of good sense based on traditional peasant practices that were being lost in the new industrial world. It is interesting to note that our grandmother used some of the now fancily called biodynamic methods as well as the "astral" calendar to take care of her garden.


To conclude: The main motivation is to increase soil activity and thus stimulate soil/root/aerial system exchanges with the objective of producing better quality, terroir driven and aromatically complex grapes and wines. Biodynamics helps us care for and protect our vines not only for now but also for future generations.

Hopefully, fellow wine lover, this post has been as interesting and informative for you as it is for me.
I must say all this clarifying, dispelling, and educating has made me quite tired, and so once again I bid you adieu.  Until next time,

Keep it natural, and keep it interesting.

Gruet NV Brut New Mexico

Celebrating one week of The Grapes of Rand with a festive Sparkler from New Mexico!

Alois Lageder

Where does any corner of the World get off having fabulously eye-soothing hill-side vineyards amongst a backdrop of absolutely mind-blowing alpine scenery?  It seems almost a natural impossibility for word-class wine grapes to be growing in profusion among high alpine woodlands and meadows.  Yet, there they are, backed by the majestically craggy Dolomite mountain range; vineyards covering the unexpectedly warm valley floors and hillsides flanking the Adige and Isarco rivers in this northernmost region of Italy.  Not only is Alto Adige the extreme north geographically, but also culturally, having been part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire up to it's annexation by Italy in 1919.  The Germanic heritage of this little slice of heaven is evidenced by the fact that German is still the principal language spoken in most of the region, and is just as obvious in the area's culinary leanings.  Dishes here have a distinctly Austrian bent, featuring delectable smoked and cured pork products such as speck, both sweet and savory dumplings, a variety of sausages, and sauerkraut; foods that sound like the perfect candidates for crisp, fragrant dry white wines.

Which brings me to another question.  Where does any wine region get off offering such a compelling excuse to drink Pinot Grigio, which when grown anywhere else can be rather one-dimensional if not banal.  Here in the Alto Adige, however, it can make densely perfumed, smoky, racy wines of exceptional delicacy and elegance, rivaled in my view only by the Pinot Gris of Alsace.  I remember last summer taking part in many a poolside party and backyard barbeque inevitably flowing with the ubiquitous lean, vaguely peachy California Pinot Grigio, until one day I couldn't take it any more and headed to my favorite wine store in hopes of reassuring myself that somewhere in the world someone was still making interesting wine from this grape.  Aided by a bit of prior research I picked one of about a dozen prospective bottles, which happened to be the 2008 release of Alois Lageder Alto Adige Pinot Grigio.  That night a friend and I opended and sipped what was a reassuringly aromatic wine with alluring floral, spice and stone fruit aromas, bracing acidity, some delicate mountain herb notes and taught supporting minerality all at a very decent value.  Thank you Alois Lageder for restoring my faith in an entire grape variety!

Alois Lageder is a five generation family owned producer who pride themselves on their high standards in winemaking and what they call a sustainable, holistic corporate philosophy that adds back to the community more than just good wine.  Founded in 1823 by Johann Lageder on the outskirts of Bolzano, Lageder now produces a wide range of Biodynamic wines from carefully selected vineyard sites throughout Alto Adige under their Tenutae Lageder label, as well as the wines made principally from sustainably produced grapes sourced from other trusted local growers under the Alois Lageder label.  

Lageder's commitment to holistec practices begins in the vineyard and winery by ensuring the grapes that go into their wines are healthy and fully ripened, expressing the unique characteristics of each vineyard site.  In the winery they see themselves not so much as wine makers, but as "midwives who facilitate the birth of wines of great elegance, clarity, body, strenght, and authenticity.  Each wine, they insist, must tell a story: a story of the vineyard site where the grapes were grown, and a story of the human beings who were their caretakers.  

Equally impressive is Alois Lageder's extension of a holistic philosophy outside of the vineyard and winery.  Their efforts to promote ecological awareness, and support of arts, cultural, and music projects not only add back energy and life to the larger environment, but are also informed by a belief that all these activities synergistically enhance the enjoyment of wine.

As laudable as all this is let's return to our main focus here which, of course, are the wines.  Lageder offeres a wide range of varietal and single vineyard wines from both labels.  In addition to the already mentioned Pinot Grigio, the Alois Lageder label features wines made from Pinot Bianco, Chardonnay, Gewurztraminer, Sauvignon Blanc, and Muller Thurgau.  On the red side of the isle are the regional specialties Lagrein and Grauvernatsch, as well as Pinot Noir, Merlot, and Cabernet Sauvignon.  Wheeew..qhite the list!  The label also features single vineyard offerings of Riesling, Moscato Giallo, Pinot Bianco, Sauvignon Blanc, a Chardonnay-Sauvignon blend, and the very local red variety St. Magdalener.  The wines bearing the Tenutae Lageder label include Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio, Gewurztraminer, Pinot Noir, Lagrein, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and a number of interesting varietal blends.

Alois Lageders wines consistently garner excellent reviews and are definitely a star in the ever expanding firmament of naturally produced wines.  I encourage anyone who loves interesting wine to seek them out, drink them, and then share your experience so we may all be a little richer for it.  

Beckmen Vineyards

Stick around long enough, and you will quickly catch on to my love-affair with California's central coast wine country.  In the summer of 2007 I got in my car and drove due west 800 miles on a whim one day just to clear my head.  Where I would end up was anyone's guess.  Driving north along the coast from Santa Barbara towards Morro Bay, my intended destination for the night, I was inexplicably gripped by an urge to veer off PCH just past Goleta, and to head towards the oddly situated somewhat Disneyesque "Danish" village of Solvang.  I arrived in Solvang before dark, just early enough to wander the surreal cobblestone streets past endless rows of half-timbered gingerbreadish souvenir and pastry shops.  As weirdly captivating as I found this most kitschy of all California towns, I knew the next morning would find me rolling on to follow the myriad of intriguing little white arrows with vineyardy sounding names stenciled on them, pointing down winding two-lane highways.

As soon as I had driven past the last pseudo-Scandinavian motel, I know this would be one of those rare life-changing drives in the country.  Past white-fenced farms, eucalyptus-lined horse pastures, orchards, and small vineyards, and on into the rolling Santa Maria hills vineyards along the heart-stoppingly beautiful Foxen Road.

This was the kind of scenery that makes you glad to be alive, to find a new purpose, and to want to figure out how to put down roots immediately, right then and there.  At the very least, it was the kind of place that makes you decide that come hell or high water you will be back, and back I came.  Four months later my brother and I rolled back up the pacific coast highway for a spectacular week of camping on remote beaches, gallery hopping, sight-seeing, and some incredible eye-opening wine tasting in and around the ruggedly scenic, sage infused Santa Ynez Valley.  The wines we tasted on this trip were principally from the warmer valley floor vineyards, and Santa Maria hills, mostly delicious, delicately fruity Rhone varietals and luscious tropically scented Sauvignon Blanc.

It wasn't long, two years to be exact,  before I returned with my girlfriend at the time for a second round of sampling the produce of the central coast vineyards, discovering the fabulously alluring Pinot Noirs and bright, delicate Chardonnays of the Santa Rita Hills.  But these wines are material for another day.


Today we will take a look at Beckmen Vineyards, a producer named Food & Wine's "Most Promising Winery in 2000," and in 2007 as one of he "Top 100 Wineries" by Wine and Spirits magazine.

When I first visited Beckmen in 2007, they were just a year into the process of converting to all Biodynamic farming methods in their spectacular 365 acre Purisima Mountain Vineyard, and therefore the wines I tasted had not yet benefited from the meticulous and intensive procedures that have presumably influenced their current crop of wines.  I must confess I have not tasted Beckmen's wines recently, but they are definitely on the agenda for an upcoming video episode.  For Tom and Steve Beckmen, proprietors since the early 1990's,  biodynamics is more than anything else a reflection of their commitment to the highest quality possible.  What impresses me is that their commitment to Biodynamics was not a knee-jerk image-making ploy, but was instituted only after careful small-scale testing before implementation throughout the vineyard.

According to Steve Beckmen, the results have been quite impressive, with healthier vines that have produced wines which "achieve the purest possible expression of the Purisima Mountain terroir."  Steve feels that they are now producing their best wines ever, and I am looking forward to proving him right.

The grapes grown by Beckmen are a veritable catalog of Rhone varietals red and white, including the esoteric Counoise, one of the minor blending components of Chateauneuf-du-Pape, as well as Sauvignon Blanc and some Cabernet Sauvignon.  Single varietal labels produced include Syrah, Grenache, Grenache Blanc, Marsanne, Roussanne, and Sauvignon Blanc.  A wine which looks particularly enticing to me, and may well appear in an upcoming video review is the well-reviewed 2009 Couvee Le Bec, a blend of Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre, and Counoise with aromatics described by the producer as cherry pie, currant, pomegranate, and layers of lavender, licorice, cranberry, sandalwood, and white pepper.  May I say...YUM!

Weekend Challenge

Hello wine lovers!  Another great week has come to an end.  Time to kick back, relax and revel in the joys of summer with family and friends, and hopefully enjoy some nice wine while you're at it.


For those of you who watched the first video episode, thanks and look forward to many more to come.  As we move forward and settled in, the pace should pick up a bit and we'll be tasting some amazing wines!


Starting Monday you can also look forward to a daily post featuring a natural wine producer from a different part of the world each day and, of course, the video posts will continue every Thursday.  We'll also start putting together a section of reviews by major wine writers and critics as an easy access reference.


And just to make the weekend a little more exciting, I'm throwing out a challenge to all you wine lovers out there to pick up a bottle of biodynamic or organic wine over the weekend for your summer drinking pleasure, and then tell us about it in a comment.


Please keep the comments coming and suggestions are always welcome.


Enjoy your weekend, keep it natural, and keep it interesting!
Rand

Zind Humbrecht 2007 Gewürztraminer

Welcome fellow wine lovers!  Firsts are always exciting, and I'm glad to have you along.  Sit back, buckle in, and enjoy the ride as we explore the exciting world of Biodynamic, Organic, and Sustainable wines.  Oh, and don't forget to put in your two cents' worth.

Today we'll be tasting a nice Gewürztraminer from Zind Humbrecht, one of the pioneering biodynamic wine producers from the Alsace in France.