Tierra de Malbec

I recently returned from my trip to South America. As some of you know, I left at the end of February for Argentina to work the harvest. I worked in the Lujan de Cuyo region, southeast of Mendoza at Viña Cobos. This winery produces around 150,000 cases annually and focuses on Malbec and Chardonnay. Viña Cobos is a partnership between Paul Hobbs of California and the Marchioris, an Argentine couple. Viña Cobos has five different brands: Cobos, Bramare Vineyard Designation, Bramare Appellation, Cocodrilo and Felino but is most famed for their Cobos line.

Harvest came fast and early for us at Viña Cobos. Due to the frequent rains, we were forced to take everything off the vine all at once in order to avoid losing the crop to botrytis and mildew. We finished receiving grapes an entire month earlier than expected. Because of this early finish I had some time to explore and travel. I spent some time tasting in Lujan de Cuyo and Uco Valley in Argentina and then crossed the Andes over to Chile and did some tasting in the Casablanca Valley.

My favorite wineries I tasted at in Lujan (Argentina) were: Tierras Altas and Finca Decero

...in Uco Valley (Argentina): Clos de los Siete and Andeluna

...in Casablanca (Chile): Kingston

Overall a majority of my favorite wines came from Clos de los Siete. The winery that had the best hospitality was Tierras Altas and the best lunch I had was at Andeluna.

Some of the other wineries I tasted at were Cruzat, Finca de Decero, Septima, Belasco, Salentein, Achaval Ferrer, and Casas del Bosque.

Napa Trip #2

I recently visited Napa a couple weeks ago. It was my second time and my mom's first. I had such a great time introducing her to the "Wine Disneyland" I fell in love with. We spent three days between Napa and San Francisco. On Day 1 we visited Domaine Carneros, Opus One, Cakebread, Robert Mondavi, and Silver Oak. For lunch we stopped at The Pear, skipped dinner, and had dessert at Bouchon Bakery. The Pear was okay but not my favorite place. Bouchon was amazing! The macaroons are heavenly. I died a little bit when I bit into the pistachio mac. Bouchon Bakery is a must stop. It is the famed Chef Thomas Keller's bakery and if you don't know already he's kinda like a BIG DEAL (Google The French Laundry!).

On Day 2 we had breakfast at Oxbow Public Market. We had breakfast tacos at C CASA and coffee from Ritual. Uhhhmazing! Literally don't think I could get tired of this combo. Everything in the Oxbow Market is of the highest quality and supports sustainable agriculture. C CASA serves fresh, gluten free Latin cuisine using only local, seasonal ingredients. Ritual coffee serves the most velvety soft coffee I've ever had. This stuff is not bitter at all. Their menu is very simplistic and focuses on the quality of the coffee, no artificial sweeteners needed here! It kicks Starbucks ass easily. Oh and the barista's are so friendly and sweet and do a damn good job. Getting back to the wine here...we started our day off at Joseph Phelps and we had an amazing tasting. Our wine educator was so sweet and knowledgeable. It was such a pleasurable experience; everything from the scenery to the wines were beautiful. We took home a bottle of their 2012 Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir and 2012 Sonoma Coast Chardonnay. The remainder of our lineup consisted of Rombauer, Failla, Chateau Montelena, and Sterling. I really enjoyed visiting Chateau Montelena. Their history is so rich and they really are iconic and a status symbol for what California wines can be. Our wine educator Kevin was very engaging and the property was gorgeous. We had to take a bottle of their Chardonnay home for keep sakes. For dinner we met up with my old college roomie and her grandma at ZuZu. We all ordered different tapas and shared so we could all try different items on their menu. Everything was great! My favorites were the spaghetti squash and the chicken croquetas.This place is always busy so I recommend going in earlier in the evening to avoid the wait.

On Day 3 we checked out some of the shops in the oxbow district and by shops I mean bakeries...My mom is super into baking so we had to try something from each place. She bought some treats at Model Bakery and I got this cookie because it was just so cute!

Here are my Favs from this trip:

Favorite Dining Experience: Oxbow Market

Best Winery for Wines: Joseph Phelps

Most Beautiful Grounds: Chateau Montelena and Domaine Carneros

Best Sweet Spot: Bouchon Bakery

Canned Wine?

Fiction Red Wine by Field Recordings

"Heady aromas of blueberry pie, luxurious suede couches, ham paninis and unlit menthol cigarettes. Firm tannins anchor flavors of grilled meats, cherry cola, sweet carob and black licorice chews, all cased up together conveniently in a cigar humidor."

Vintage: 2013

Varietals: 31% Zin, 26% Tempranillo, 15% Mourvedre, 10% Grenache, 10% Syrah, 8% Touriga Nacional

Alcohol: 14.9%

Region: Paso Robles, CA

I was given this wine by my dear friend Jen of Field Recordings. They recently canned their Fiction Red Blend in October and it has experienced great success and acceptance with consumers. Although some may cringe at the idea of wine in a can, canned wine is becoming popularized and more accepted. It's a super convenient way to enjoy wine at music festivals, movie theaters, camping, boating, picnics, golf, and much more. This renaissance of wine packaging just goes to show that consumers are becoming more open minded in how their wine is presented to them. The millenial generation is largely responsible for this shift in the world of wine and this now allows winemakers and wineries more room to play with. 

My thoughts on this wine...

I first tried it chilled in the can and WOW I was impressed. The wine didn't have any kind of aluminum taste to it that some may expect. It was light, balanced, and easy to drink. I mean like dangerously easy to gulp down good...WARNING: You have to be careful with this one, it's easily chuggable and the can form fools you from remembering there's actually alcohol in there. Also, I liked that it wasn't overly fruity or sweet. This wine has medium acidity, some nice oak influence, and a beautiful magenta hue to it. I couldn't really pick up the nuances to it while in the can but when I tasted it from a glass I got aromas of blackberry, strawberry jam, dark chocolate, a subtle hint of menthol, and black licorice tipping into root beer territory. On the palate I tasted oak, Chinese beef (minus the broccoli), and baked berries.

Good job Field Recordings you did a fine job executing wine in a can. I recommend everyone give this canned wine a try. I don't think you will be disappointed. Until next time...Cheers!

-Alex

Delectable Wine App

"The Only Wine App Worth a Damn." -Vinography

I have been an avid user of Delectable for about eight months now and I absolutely love it! I use it to help me decide what to buy, keep track of the wines I've tasted, and organize my wine regions. Delectable also allows me to connect to other wine lovers with similar palates as mine. I can see what others are drinking and read their personal reviews. This app is super helpful and fun. I like to describe it to people as "instagram for wine". It is very social yet informational. You upload a pic of your wine label, rate and describe it, and others can like and comment on your wine. The regions feature is probably one of my favorite things about it. The app separates your wines into countries, regions, and sub regions. This allows me to see which regions I have yet to explore and inspires me to try wines from those regions I have unfilled. Go download this app now! You won't regret it. I promise! Follow me on Delectable at Alex Sanchez.

Trip to "The Motherland" aka Napa Valley

I know this post is long overdue but here it is anyways. Last month I had the pleasure of taking a three day trip to Napa Valley & Sonoma. It was my first time visiting. I was so excited I could hardly sleep the night before. I felt like a kid going to Disneyland for the first time. I went with my friend Emilie, also a Cal Poly Wine & Viticulture graduate who works as an Enologist (wine scientist) for Opolo Vineyards in Paso Robles.

On Monday we made it the following wineries in order:

-Darioush

-Stag's Leap

-Opus One

-Duckhorn

-Mumm

-Alpha Omega

On Tuesday we visited...      

-Domaine Chandon

-Caymus Vineyards

-Raymond Vineyards

-St. Supery

-Cliff Lede

-Peju

On Wednesday we drove to Sonoma and tasted at...

-Buena Vista

-Gundlach Bundschu

-R2

My favorite winery for the ambiance and customer service was Darioush.

This winery was founded by a Persian couple. The architecture is absolutely gorgeous. It looks like a Persian palace. The tasting area is very elaborate and has a vegas like grandness to it. However, I had a very intimate and welcoming tasting experience there. Our server was very warm, informational, and kind. We even received a private tour of the winery and underground cellar. Everyone there was so hospitable; it was the perfect start to our trip. I would HIGHLY recommend visiting Darioush. Beautiful winery and great hospitality!

My religious wine moment at Opus One...

Emilie and I were so excited to visit Opus. Our good friend from Cal Poly works there so it was a real treat to visit and taste with her. Once we arrived at Opus we were greeted by Morgan and given a glass of their 2011 vintage. This vintage is a blend of 71% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Merlot, 9% Petit Verdot, 8% Cabernet Franc, and 1% Malbec. Morgan gave us a tour of the winery and barrel room. It was amazing! The cellar was spotless. The floor was so clean you could easily slip on it. Oh and the barrel room...it was a sea of beautifully stained barrels. We ended the tour at the terrace and oh my gosh...that is where I had my moment! Just seeing how successful one of my fellow classmates was doing was so meaningful and satisfying. I felt a rush of emotions take over. It was such an exciting moment for me to have finally made it to Napa after all the years of wine education and deep desire to see it. In that moment I felt so much joy, love, and thankfulness. The best way to describe how I felt on that Opus One terrace is BLESSED.

Who had the best wines? Toss up between Caymus Vineyards and Alpha Omega

I was very impressed with Caymus. This was the first winery on the trip that I actually liked more than one or two wines at. Going into the tasting I already had my heart set on taking home a bottle of Clark & Telephone Belle Glos Pinot Noir with me but wow the Alturas Pinot Noir was delicious as well. I really enjoyed all of their wines from the Chardonnay to the Pinot and their flagship Cabernets. This winery does an excellent job making very clean, classic, elegant wines that showcases each varietal in an attractive way.

Alpha Omega was the perfect winery to end our day with. We sat on the patio in front of their gorgeous fountain. We had a very relaxing tasting. The wines were great! My favorite was the Reserve Sauvignon Blanc (I think it's the 2013 vintage). This wine was like no other Sauv Blanc I have ever tried. First, it's barrel fermented, which is very unlikely for a Sauv Blanc since most are always fermented in stainless steel. The oak imparted an incredible creaminess and mouthfeel without overpowering the fresh aromatics of the fruit. The wine smelled heavenly with beautiful tropical fruit on the nose. On the palate it was perfectly balanced with creaminess and acid and kept true to the citrus, minerality characteristics of a Sauv Blanc. This wine was orgasmic no joke.

Most interesting and fun tasting experience goes to Raymond Vineyards

I had a blast at Raymond! The winery has so many rooms for you to play in, we easily spent two hours here. We were able to take a peek in the Red Velvet Room (club member only room) and check out the JCB lounge. Each room had a different personality and showcased something special about the wines, soil, and the owner Jean Charles. We even received a tour of the cellar which is elaborately decorated with Vegas Showgirl mannequins. Not kidding. I loved the sensory station they had in one of the hallways and the gorgeous interior design. It was an experience like no other! Raymond is a must stop for anyone going to Napa.

Thanks for visiting my site. Let me know what your favorite Napa wineries to visit are in the comment section below.

Cheers!

Alex

Wine Flaws 101: Band Aid Wine

Although wine tasting is subjective and depends on personal preference there are definite wine faults which are not. Cork taint, excessive sulfides, volatile acidity (VA), brettanomyces, and oxidation are only a few. Most people are familiar with "corked" wine but an interesting wine flaw that is often unrecognized is Brettanomyces.

Wines containing Brett display aromas and flavors of band aid, barnyards, and medicine cabinets. This is caused by uncleaniless during the wine making process or a winery could unfortunately be stuck with the lingering Brettanomyces yeast in their cellar. Once the yeast has made home in a winery it is extremely difficult to eradicate.

If you have never smelled a wine effected by Brett or have trouble recognizing this wine flaw, pick up this bottle of Casa Especias 2011 Jumila and you will understand. It screams Brett! This wine smells like band aids and menthol and also has some beef jerky flavor on the palate.

I am not a fan of Bretty flavors so I would NOT recommend this wine for enjoyment. In fact I was extremely dissatisfied with this product and could not even drink it!  However, if you are interested in learning about Bretty characteristics this would be a great example to learn from.

Casa Especias 2011 Jumila Blend

Varietals: 40% Monastrell (aka Mourvedre), 30% Syrah, 30% Tempranillo

Alcohol: 13.5%

Region: Jumila, Spain

Price: $11.50

Retailer: BevMo! (It was on the 5 cent wine sale)