MAY 2018 WINE CLUB Orison Pipa Red, Alentejo, Portugal

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Steven Hill
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1 2015 Orison Pipa Red, Alentejo, Portugal Orison Wines is a sweet story about two young winemakers, Filipa Fonseca and Daniel Orrison, who met while working harvest in New Zealand, fell in love, created their own wine brand and became husband and wife. They are both highly educated in other fields, considering Daniel has two degrees from William and Mary and Filipa has a degree in Food Engineering from the University of Coimbra in her native country of Portugal, yet they each followed their passion for wine on a quest around the globe to learn how to make it. After experiencing harvests and cellar internships in five countries at 17 different wineries for some of the world s finest estates like Harlan Estate & Bond Winery, Chateau Montelena, Domaine des Croix, Camille Giroux, Larkmead Winery, Pride Mountain Vineyards & Winery and Failla Winery, they have! Together with their fellow Portuguese friend, Ricardo Carvalho, the Orrisons founded Orison Wines in 2011 to bring the beauty and spirit of Portugal to the United States through wine. They named the label, Orison with only one r because the word has several literary references and means prayer and horizon in the contexts of writings by William Shakespeare and John Clare. In 2013, Filipa and Daniel started working with Luis Duarte, who is considered the Godfather of Alentejo with over 30 years of experience making wine and is largely responsible for the elevated reputation of the area as one of the fine wine growing regions of the world. He is also an excellent vineyard manager who supervises the farming of many of the best sites there, following organic and biodynamic principles, though without the complicated bureaucratic certification. The grapes for this Pipa (Filipa s nickname) come from one such 92 acre vineyard in the Alentejo appellation of Reguengos de Monsaraz. This 2015 is a blend of 42% Touriga Nacional, 33% Tinta Miuda, 15% Alicante Bouschet and 10% Aragonez (or Tempranillo as it s called in Alentejo) that was fermented in stainless steel and aged for 16 months in 25% new, 25% one year old and 50% seasoned French oak barrels. Aromas on the nose include violet, plum, smoked cedar and ground black pepper spice while the medium-bodied palate continues with flavors of more plum, crème de cassis and cherry liqueur though in an un-sweetened way. The finish shows a light structure along with fresh acidity and a subtle touch of vanilla oak spice. Suggested Recipe: Chicken with Lentils, Chorizo and Red Pepper Mixed and Red Selection $19.00 $16.15

2 2016 Skinner Vineyards Smithereens White, El Dorado County, Sierra Foothills, CA Skinner Vineyards was founded in 2007 by Mike and Carey Skinner after their son, Kevin, made an interesting discovery about their ancestors one day driving back to Santa Cruz from Lake Tahoe. Kevin and his wife, Kathy were following a different route home when they noticed the name Skinners on an old map near Placerville. After a little genealogy research, they learned that Mike was the great-great-great grandson of James Skinner, a Scottish engineer who came to the Sierra Foothills during the gold rush to try his hand at mining. It turns out, he was one of the lucky few who did indeed strike gold and was able to purchase land and establish a ranch along a well paved road that became the Pony Express Trail. In 1861, James, ever the forward thinking, enterprising gent, planted one of California s first commercial vineyards and used his engineering expertise to build a winery and a multi-story state-of-the art distillery. Once Mike and Carey realized the extent of James formidable influence in Skinners, they knew they had to buy property, plant vines and reclaim the family legacy. To honor James, they planted many of the varieties he had like California Mission, Zinfandel and Rhône grapes such as Grenache and Carignane, to which they added Syrah, Mourvèdre, Counoise, Viognier, Grenache Blanc and Picpoul to name a few. Hiring Chris Pittenger (whose Gros Ventre label rosé we featured in our April club) as their winemaker was their final task to complete the creation of one of the top wineries in Sierra Foothills. The Skinners thought of another fun way to honor James with the creation of white and red Rhône blends under the name Smithereens in reference to a miner s use of dynamite to blow things to Smithereens. This 2016 White is 37% Grenache Blanc, 29% Viognier, 26% Roussanne and 8% Marsanne that was aged for nine months in 77% seasoned oak barrels and 23% stainless steel. The nose is all about the classic stone fruit aromas these white Rhône grapes typically bring, as in white peach, nectarine and apricot, with a little added nuance of lemon and honey. Chris included a single barrel of skin contact Grenache Blanc which adds to the overall density of the wine and its almost mouth-coating, supple texture. Yet, the neutral oak and stainless steel prevent the wine from being cloying or rich, and those juicy stone fruit flavors abound on the medium-bodied palate which also play nicely with notes of Golden Delicious apple. The honey comes through on the finish of medium-plus acidity and the wine leaves an impression of something akin to crème brûlée or a vanilla and fruit custard, though not in an overly sweet way. As Chris says, the wine starts out broad and finishes with focus and persistence. Suggested Recipe: Lobster Risotto Mixed and White Selection $21.00 $17.85

4 2015 Odonata Malbec, Silvaspoons Vineyard, Lodi, Ca Growing up in Sacramento, Denis Hoey was raised by parents who appreciated fine wines and allowed him to taste what they served at family meals. Those formative years developing his palate inspired Denis to pursue a career in wine, thinking he might want to own his own label someday. To that end, he took the practical step of studying business and earned a degree in Business Management from U.C. Santa Cruz in After graduating, Denis met Jeff Emery, owner of Santa Cruz Mountain Vineyard and soon became the production manager for the winery. Denis is clearly a quick study because that dream of someday making his own wine happened a short year later in 2005 when he founded Odonata Wines (odonata is the Latin word for the order of dragonflies and damselflies ). Over time, he continued to learn the craft of winemaking from Jeff and the fundamentals of vineyard management from Rick Anzalone who has been growing grapes in the Santa Cruz Mountains for 30 years. Finally in 2014, Denis left Jeff s winery to focus all his energy on Odonata and purchased the Marilyn Remark Winery in Santa Lucia Highlands in Monterey County where he now runs the business with his wife. Oh, and he also manages the farming of 10 acres of vineyards in Santa Clara Valley, Santa Cruz and Salinas. In addition to the estate vineyards Denis farms organically (but does not own), he also sources fruit from several growers in northern California including Lodi, where he has worked since 2008 with Ron Silva and his certified organic Silvaspoons Vineyard, from where the grapes for this 2015 Malbec come. After fermenting in stainless steel tank, Denis aged the wine for 15 months in 15% new French oak, 20% new Hungarian oak and 65% neutral oak of both kinds. He also employed weekly lees stirring for the first two months of aging which delivers a greater density to the wine. Aromas of blueberry, raspberry, mocha and loads of spice as Denis notes, jump from the glass on the ripe, inviting nose. The fullbodied palate is dense yet soft, packed with deep flavors reminiscent of blueberry pie and Mexican (semi-sweet) chocolate. All those elements flow onto the finish that ends with a light yet at the same time sturdy grip and a lingering essence of freshly dried sage. Denis recommends pairing it with a grilled ribeye, and we think it would also be delicious with a juicy rack of glazed pork ribs. Suggested Recipe: Blueberry-glazed ribs Red Selection $21.00 $17.85

5 2017 Ken Forrester Petit Chenin Blanc, Stellenbosch, South Africa Ken Forrester began his career in hospitality in 1977 working for Southern Sun, a prominent hotel group in South Africa. He soon transitioned to the restaurant industry and opened several successful eateries in Johannesburg, eventually becoming Chairman of the Federated Hospitality Association of South Africa. In 1993, Ken used that same energy and drive to restore a historic vineyard in Stellenbosch when he and his wife, Teresa purchased the Zandberg farm originally established in Teresa oversaw the renovation of the 1694 Cape Dutch Homestead while Ken rejuvenated the 100 year old vines which were primarily planted to Chenin Blanc. Given Ken s proven track record of success, it s no surprise he is known today as Mr. Chenin Blanc, having focused the majority of his efforts, with the help of the esteemed South African winemaker, Martin Meinert, on perfecting the art of producing world class Chenin (ranging from stainless steel-fermented to oak-aged versions). In doing so, he has also taken on the mantel of enthusiastic ambassador for South African wine and travels the world espousing the great terroir and potential of his beautiful homeland. The estate covers 36 hectares of vines which are planted primarily to Chenin Blanc of course, with Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz/Syrah, Merlot, Grenache, Mourvèdre, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot rounding out the mix. Mr. Chenin Blanc endeavors to improve the lot of our labour force by employing a significant portion of the local community to help farm the vines sustainably, doing every vineyard task during the growing season through to harvest by hand. He explains, if every community looked after their own, no one would go wanting. This is our Petit (Small) proposal, and each bottle represents a small change - for the better - in someone s life. The nose exudes vibrant aromas of green apple, kiwi and Anjou pear which echo on the light-bodied palate as flavors along with a splash of lime citrus. The finish is pointedly crisp with very bright acidity and the wine ends with minerality that recalls the essence of cool stream water flowing over rocks. Note Ken s comment regarding the aging potential: should last half an hour with the cap off and reach for the next bottle! Suggested Recipe: Arctic Char with Charmoula White Selection $17.00 $14.45

AVANT CHARDONNAY. The Wine: Tasting Notes: Serving / Pairing Suggestions: Technical Information: The Vineyard/Terroir: Accolades:

AVANT CHARDONNAY. The Wine: Tasting Notes: Serving / Pairing Suggestions: Technical Information: The Vineyard/Terroir: Accolades: The Wine: The Vineyard/Terroir: 60% Monterey County 39% Mendocino County 1% Santa Barbara and Sonoma Counties Monterey County fruit contributes lemony citrus and mineral notes; Mendocino County adds juicy