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Joel Gott Sauvignon Blanc California 2019

12:25 am 24 Jan 2021

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Chapter 52: THE BEST OF SUMMER WINES AND A PREVIEW OF BIG REDS OF THE FALL

Other than simply toughing it out through the misery until October blows in from somewhere north of Calgary, lucky folks from the Southwest often head for the hills–or rather mountains–or the cool ocean breezes if they have a choice. Speaking of which, there are much worse places to hang in the brutal summer months than Sonoma and Napa, California, where I recently found myself with my lovely significant other for a long weekend that blended (pun intended) my dual loves of Shelby cars with great wines in the idyllic setting of northern California. Hey, somebody had to be there!

Chapter 32: PASO ROBLES: THE FUTURE OF CALIFORNIA WINES

First, a few fun facts about Paso Robles before your wine brain rejects my hypothesis out of hand: (1) The town is pronounced “Pass-O Roe-Bulls” by the locals, and its name is derived from the Spanish phrase El Paso de Robles, meaning “the pass of the oaks;” (2) Paso boasts the oldest continuously operating winery in Central California, the York Mountain Wine Co., which dates back to 1882 (making it just slightly older than your humble Wine Bargain Sleuth) and is now owned and painstakingly operated by Bill and Liz Armstrong, the proprietors of Epoch; (3) Paso Robles can boast of the first (dating to 1983) and the largest (614,000 total acres) American Viticultural Area (“AVA”), which has now been subdivided to 13 smaller AVA’s as of 2014; (4) Zinfandel is the region’s heritage varietal, dating to the early 1880’s, but the majority of Paso’s plantings are actually Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and other Bordeaux varietals; (5) A large volume of Paso’s grapes are actually blended and released under Napa Valley labels; and (6) Paso is the fastest growing AVA in California, with 32,000 vineyard acres and more than 270 bonded wineries (up from 75 just ten years ago!) ranging from nationally distributed, mid-size to boutique in size.

Turley Juvenile Zinfandel 2013

When I think of the Turley Juvenile Zinfandel 2013, I think of elegance and balance, with a pleasant but not overpowering nose of cherry and strawberry, followed by a hint of spice and a touch of green pepper, followed by a lovely and lengthy smooth finish. The winemakers at Turley have the reputation of being one of California’s foremost Zinfandel experts, and this bottle should quickly convince a wine sleuth that they are not just whistling Dixie on their mass-production Zins.

An Epic Rhone Blend from Epoch

One such world class wine is the 2010 Epoch Estate Blend Paderewski Paso Robles, a unique, Rhone-style blend of Syrah, Grenache, Mourvedre and Tempranillo grapes. This unique red, from grapes more often associated with European rather than domestic wines, is best described as a rich and fruit-forward wine which at the same time manages to be quite balanced and complex, with a lovely acidity that makes it food-friendly.

CHAPTER 24: CAN WINE IMPROVE YOUR HEALTH?

Let’s get to the bad news first: Wine is decidedly not a panacea that magically fixes otherwise substandard health. However, many medical studies have suggested and in some cases concluded that moderate consumption of wine may be a factor in a healthy lifestyle. Before you take this statement as a green light to tip back a magnum per night and automatically become Mr. or Ms. Health, most of such studies are also quick to conclude that in no circumstances does excess alcohol consumption, in wine or otherwise, improve one’s health. There’s always a catch, isn’t there?

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