Preview: Knights Bridge Wine Dinner at Blue Ginger

On Tuesday, April 24th 2012 Blue Ginger in Wellesley, MA is hosting a paired wine dinner featuring Knights Bridge Winery. The event costs $145 inclusive of tax and gratuity. Click here for details and more information.

I sat down with Knights Bridge Managing Director Timothy Carl to preview the wines slated to be poured at the dinner and learn more about the winery. I hadn't heard of Knights Bridge until recently. For some reason, when I first heard the name Knights Bridge I immediately thought of the well-regarded-as-a-value-play Beringer Knights Valley line-up. The Beringer wines are good, but a better comparison for Knights Bridge would be Peter Michael whose vineyards are a stone's throw from Knights Bridge's 120 acre estate north of Calistoga in the slopes of the Mayacamas mountain range.

Tim is one of those guys who lives in many circles. PhD in genetics. Harvard Fellow. Consulting experience at McKinsey and Putnam Associates. Quartermaster in the US Navy. Chef. UC Davis-education in winemaking. The guy loves to learn.

In 2005 he left Boston to return home to northern California and he's now bringing that experience, backed by 6 generations of winemaking, to the relatively new endeavor that is Knights Bridge. Their first officially released vintage was 2006 and they currently produce 1,200 cases.

When I asked him how he plans to get the attention of today's fickle wine consumers he said, "By making the absolute best wine possible." For him, everything comes back to that: Producing the best balanced wines they can.

We started off with a 2009 Pont de Chevalier Sauvignon Blanc. French for Knights Bridge, it's their second label. It was aged in stainless steel and neutral oak barrels (previously used, in this case for Chardonnay). I thought it was golden and sunny yet balanced nicely by racy minerality and acidity. Green apples and lemon zest. Tasty. 120 cases produced, $40. 89/100 WWP: Very Good.

Next up was the 2009 Knights Bridge West Block Chardonnay. This wine was chosen, along with wines from Screaming Eagle, Harlan, Colgin, Staglin, Peter Michael and others, to be poured at a reception at last year's G-8 summit at the Louvre. After tasting the wine I can see why it was included in this illustrious company.

The wine weighs in at 15.5% alcohol but you'd never guess it. Light golden in the glass, it's tremendously round and creamy yet beautifully clean and elegant. Complex aromas and flavors that seemed to change each time I tasted it. Most notable were roasted pear with coconut cream pie in the background. But approached from a different angle when tasted with food, zesty citrus aspects came forward. Quite a wine. 200 cases produced, $65. 93/100 WWP: Outstanding.

Timothy explained that the Knight's Valley AVA is unique in it's ability to produce both great Chardonnay and great Cabernet Sauvignon. This, he said, was due to diurnal temperature swings greater than 50F in the summer along with cooler micro climates where Chardonnay can excel.

The winemaker for both the Chardonnay and the Cabernet Sauvignon is Jeff Ames. Jeff has served as an assistant winemaker to the highly regarded Thomas Rivers Brown and has helped produce wines for Schrader, Maybach, and and Outpost as well as his own label Rudius.

The first Cabernet we tasted was a 2008 Knights Bridge Cabernet Sauvignon produced from mountain fruit from their estate vineyards in Sonoma (the Bridge in Knights Bridge is named for the "bridge" of sorts their property forms between Sonoma and Napa). The wine was aged for 28 months in 100% new French Oak and weighs in at a moderate 14.5% alcohol. The wine snuck up on me a bit. At first it presented itself as a "nice", pleasant, smooth Cab. But it built power on the mid-palate as it rested in my mouth and finished with a brawny, delicious chocolate-laced finish. 300 cases produced, $115. 92/100 WWP: Outstanding.

Next up was the 2008 Knights Bridge Beckstoffer Dr. Crane Cabernet Sauvignon. It was aged for 21 months in 100% new French Oak and is 14.9% alcohol. The Dr. Crane vineyard is just west of Tre Vigne restaurant if you're familiar with the area and is known for its rocky soils which tend to produce wine with small berries and scorched earth characteristics. It was quite a bit more tannic than the Knights Bridge at this stage, but also more complex and powerful. 135 cases produced, $135. 92/100 WWP: Outstanding.

The final wine we tasted was the 2008 Knights Bridge Beckstoffer To Kalon Cabernet Sauvignon (pronoucned "tow-kuh-lawn" and Greek for "highest beauty"). To Kalon is arguably the most sought after vineyard in America - especially amongst those who sell their grapes to other producers. The only domestic wines Wine Spectator has ever rated 100 points came from this vineyard in the form of Schrader's 2007 MM-VII and CCS bottlings.

Also aged for 21 months in 100% new French Oak, the grape clusters were destemmed and cold soaked for 24 hours then fermented on skins in tank. The wine is massive with explosive notes of blackberries, mocha, cinnamon, and chocolate covered espresso beans. Chalky, mouth-filling tannins support a long flavorful finish. Quite spectacular. 110 cases produced, $135. 94/100 WWP: Outstanding.

At last check there was still some availability for the dinner Tuesday night. Give Blue Ginger a call if you're interested in attending: 781-283-5790 x18 
 
If that doesn't work out for you check out their wines at these (and other) restaurants and retailers in Massachusetts:

  • Flemings
  • L'Espelier
  • Morton's Seaport
  • Radius
  • Bauer Wine & Spirits
  • Gordon's
Next Steps:


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Wine & The Connected Consumer

Randall Grahm is one of the true characters of the American wine scene. A self-styled terroirist, intuitive branding genius and all around eccentric, Grahm has taken his Bonny Doon Vineyard on quite a ride over nearly the past 30 years. After setting out in 1983 to make great Pinot Noir in California, Grahm was drawn [...]

Wine & The Connected Consumer originally appeared on Winecast. Licensed under Creative Commons.

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Return to Woodrose Winery

Woodrose WineryWinery 2012 Woodrose has been one of our favorite growing wineries over the past several years.  This year?s visit provided some unexpected pleasures.  The last time we visited at Woodrose they were just completing construction on their special events building.  This time we found the center was done and open for business.  Tastings were … Continue reading »

Source: http://thegrapesaroundtexas.com/2012/07/03/return-to-woodrose-winery/

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New Direction for The Grapes around Texas

Well folks I took a little break ( almost 6 months ) from adding any new stuff to this blog.  Looked back at all the stuff I had written and was not happy with what I had done.  So I am not out or down, but taking a different approach to my blog. I talked … Continue reading »

Source: http://thegrapesaroundtexas.com/2012/05/29/new-direction-for-the-grapes-around-texas/

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Last Chance for Massachusetts Direct Wine Shipment Bill

Boston State House
Photo by James Trosh

A bill that would enable wineries to ship directly to Massachusetts residents appears to be down to its last out with nobody on in the bottom of the 9th inning. And 2 strikes against it with nobody interested in coming to the plate. With the end of the 2012 legislative season coming soon and lawmakers are focused on other action.

Sound bleak? It is.

From Free the Grapes:

HB 1029, a positive direct shipping bill, was put on a second ?extension order? in May for consideration later in the year. But industry representatives warn that the bill will be shelved unless it moves by the end of this month. There appears to be support for the bill if it can get a vote in the Assembly and Senate. But a squabble over unrelated bills stymies progress.
This situation should sound familiar to Massachusetts wine enthusiasts. It's the same thing that happened to HB 4497 in 2010 which would have similarly enabled direct shipments.

It's getting a little comical (in a tragic way) that the state still isn't in compliance with a 2010 Federal Court ruling that the state's current laws, which restrict shipments from any winery producing more than 30,000 gallons, were unconstitutional.

HB 1029 would bring the state into compliance with that court order, but more importantly it would bring common sense to a situation that's currently non-sensical.

The bill would address onerous restrictions currently in place that make it cost-prohibitive for carriers like FedEx and UPS to ship wine into the state. It would also outline how wineries obtain a license to ship directly and how they remit taxes to the state.

But most importantly, to me, it would prioritize the interests of the citizens of the state over wholesalers.

The tension in this situation lies between Massachusetts wholesalers, out of state wineries, and Massachusetts wine enthusiasts. But every citizen of the Commonwealth would benefit from direct shipments. Here's why...

When a wine enthusiast in Massachusetts wants to buy a specific wine directly from an out of state winery it's because that wine isn't available at retail in Massachusetts. Every bottle of wine sold in Massachusetts, whether it be at retailer or in restaurants, needs to pass through a Massachusetts distributor.

When a wine isn't available, the consumer doesn't substitute that wine with a similar bottle which is available from in-state retailers. The consumer usually decides to go to great lengths to have the wine shipped to a neighboring state with more sensible direct shipment laws.

Like New Hampshire. Which famously doesn't have sales tax, but shrewdly (and aggressively) collects 8% tax on direct wine shipments on top of charging wineries hefty annual fees for the right to ship to the state.

Did you catch what happened there? Our laws generated a nice bump of revenue for a neighboring state and inconvenienced Massachusetts residents. And every Massachusetts citizen lost revenue.

Making matters worse, Massachusetts retailers aren't allowed to ship wine out of state. Thanks to this restriction, state wholesalers are missing what could be a healthy boost in business. And every citizen is missing out on collecting excise tax as wine passes through the distributor.

All of this fighting is just about winery direct shipments. It doesn't cover retailer direct shipments which would be even more advantageous to Massachusetts wine enthusiasts, and an even larger source of revenue for the state.

Look at Virgina for an example of how this should be done. Since changing their laws to allow direct shipments they now enjoy a revenue stream of over $3 million dollars a year. Next time someone mentions a state budget deficit I suggest they consider this opportunity.

On his Fermentation wine blog, Tom Wark points out this retailer restriction:

The bill is in fact not a very good one. Under its provisions, consumers in the state would be prohibited from having imported wines shipped to them from out of state. That means no French, Italian, German, Austrian, Spanish or any other imported wines could be ordered by consumers since the bill does not allow out of state retailers to ship into the state. Rather, only out-of-state wineries would have the privilege.
I agree the bill doesn't go far enough. But it's a step in the right direction and one that Governor Patrick said he would sign if it came to his desk.

So let's do the right thing and get this bill passed.

Right now it's stuck in the Committee on Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure. When the committee heard arguments on it two years ago I was in attendance. This bill was just one item of many related to alcohol the committee was considering, and the speakers were primarily lobbyists from both sides.

I stopped by and talked to Representative Theodore Speliotis after the hearing. I think he was surprised to see a consumer at the meeting. I was disappointed there was no decisions or even meaningful discussion for the most part at the meeting. I explained to him my interest in receiving direct shipments of wine and asked him what I could do. He recommended I send him and others a message of support for this bill.

Our representatives needs to hear directly from us. So here's your call to action:

Visit the Free the Grapes website to send an email to Representative Speliotis and others explaining why you favor the direct shipment of wine.

Do it now. Thank you.


Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/WellesleyWinePress/~3/BXyybyXGmq8/last-chance-for-massachusetts-direct.html

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Thoughts from the AccessZone

“How the Internet Changed my Business” is a great introduction for some thoughts on the excitement of the Access Zone at the London Wine Fair last week. Not only is this something that we at Vrazon talk about a lot, but it was also the first session and one that we got some great feedback [...]

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheWineConversation/~3/NHZ6XAd3-aQ/

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Littorai Visit and Tasting Report

 
Littorai is a Sonoma based winery focused on the sustainable production of high end Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Founded in 1993 by Heidi and Ted Lemon, they seek out sites with outstanding potential then let those vineyards reveal their unique character in the wines they produce.
 
I visited Littorai a month or so ago and got a chance to see first hand what makes them special. When you talk about "off the beaten path" in Sonoma it has an entirely different meaning than in Napa. If you think a small mailbox with a family name is charming, try visiting Littorai. They take take it to the next level. Ask for a visit and you'll be greeted with directions and a gate access code for a property you'd never find on your own with no signage whatsoever.
Founder, owner, and head winemaker Ted Lemon can seem like the grown-up in the room when extolling the virtues of terroir driven wines, balance, and the potential for California Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. What resonated with me about his message is that he's not looking simply to emulate Burgundy in California. He's looking to embrace the unique characteristics and capabilities of each site and deliver wines that speak purely to that site.

 When I visited I met with assistant winemaker John Wilson who most recently worked with highly regarded Thomas Rivers Brown of Schrader/Outpost/Rivers Marie fame. He took me for a tour around the thirty acre site - only three of which is dedicated to vines in the form of The Pivot vineyard. The site is also home to Littorai's winery which is built with hay bale walls and features gravity flow wine movement.

 

 
We tasted through the Littorai Chardonnays first. Ted Lemon has a great line in the video embedded below along the lines of "Chardonnay's first duty is to make you forget red wine." These white wines were brilliant and delicious and made me think I should drink more white wine - especially Chardonnay of this style. They're flavorful and powerful yet elegant and light. Really pretty.

 The Pinot Noirs showed fabulously as well, each with different characteristics that rang true to the Littorai focus of letting sites speak for themselves. All of the Littorai single vineyard Pinot Noirs are made exactly the same way. The only difference is the site.

 My only complaint with the tasting experience is that it was a little chilly so it was hard to differentiate the Pinots as much as I'd have liked to. The room felt south of 55F and I like to taste Pinot in the low to mid 60Fs.

 
When I got home I had a chance to sit down and spend some quality time with a 2010 Littorai Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir. It was a beauty. Here are my thoughts on that wine:

 

2010 Littorai Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir
13.3% alcohol
$38

 Aromatically expressive immediately upon opening with rounded edges of strawberry and raspberry fruit, spice box, and tea notes. Elegant on the palate with a touch of acidity and tannic grip, it's a pleasure to drink.

 Serious, but not overly so. This wine succeeds in finding the intersection between being terroir-driven and letting the site speak for itself and revealing the California sunshine. A tremendous introduction to the producer.

 93/100 WWP: Outstanding

 Lemon was named winemaker of the year in 2010 by The San Francisco Chronicle. Check out this excellent piece by Jon Bonne.

 Check out this outstanding video with wine director Raj Parr of Sandhi Wines and Ted Lemon from Littorai:

  
(try if the video doesn't embed sucessfully)

 Littorai's wines can be hard to track down. You can do a wine-searcher.com search for retailers in MA that sell the wine but you won't currently find any. But check out The Urban Grape in Chestnut Hill if you're in the area. They've got a bunch of 'em. Case club?

 You can sign up for their mailing list by visiting their website: http://littorai.com

Question of the Day: Have you visited Littorai or tasted their wines? If so, what did you think? Either way, what are some of your favorite terroir-driven California producers?

 


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