To say this has been an interesting week would be a gross understatement. My wife Laura and I learned we would be joining a group from the International Food, Wine & Travel Writers Association (IFWTWA) on their Eastern Caribbean Cruise about two weeks prior to departure. Late Friday evening we arrived in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida to board our ship the following morning. When we awoke it was 43°, pouring rain and windy. We both remarked the beginning of our Alaskan cruise had been far warmer. The Eurodam is a lovely ship, about two years old now (a baby by nautical standards) and carries approximately 2200 passengers. We set sail under stormy skies about 6:00 pm with the ports of Grand Turk, San Juan, St. Thomas and Half Moon Cay Bahamas lying ahead of us. We quickly began meeting members of our group – Leigh Cort who specializes in historic inns of the south, Chef Jean Read more »
If you look closely, you’ll notice the cougar at Cougar Winery is wearing a San Diego Charger’s cap. There’s your first clue. Next, you’ll notice Radio Margaritaville playing not so softly in the background. This isn’t your parents’ winery. Welcome to Cougar!
Cougar has recently become my favorite winery to visit in the Temecula Valley and there are plenty to choose from. For starters, I don’t think you’ll find a better pourer anywhere than Jamie Schmutzer. Her passion for wine shines through in everything she does. If you’re lucky enough to have her pour for you and you’re not smiling when you’re done, check yourself into the hospital. Clearly there’s something wrong with you. Mike, Kim and Joey are exceptional as well. Any one of them will be glad to give you a tour of the winery, show you the tanks and the crusher/destemmer and Read more »
I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention Steve and Valerie Andrews from Oak Mountain & Temecula Creek. They were some of the first winery folk we met way before we started WINEormous. They are genuine, no-pretense people and Steve’s wines continue to get better with each new vintage. Kimberly and Buzz Olsen at Tesoro have Read more »
Steve & John Thornton
In my last post I reflected on the incredible events that have happened in the few months since we launched WINEormous. I had intended that to be an all-encompassing story, but what has happened to us in the Temecula Valley alone deserves its own focus. WINEormous began as a concept. It would be a blog with stories focusing on wineries and the people who make them run – owners, winemakers, pourers, folks on the bottling line, all of them. We are blessed that there is so much material in our own backyard. At last count there were more than thirty wineries in the valley with more on the way. I’ve written about seventeen of them, so I have my work cut out for me.
When you’re new, you start with a blank canvas. Getting your foot in the door can be a daunting proposition. Linda Kissam was instrumental in opening many, many doors for us. She now serves as executive director of the Fallbrook Area Visitor’s Bureau and is the former executive director of the Temecula Valley Winegrowers Association. When I first approached her about lining up interviews with some of her clients, she delivered in a big way. I thank Linda for setting up stories about Thornton, Orfila, Keyways, Oak Mountain, Temecula Hills, Villa di Calabro, Briar Rose, Ponte, Tesoro and Fallbrook Wineries for me. I have her to thank for putting me in touch with Vine Times magazine, a publication for which I now contribute. She arranged for me to attend a luncheon with members of the International Food Wine and Travel Writers Association of which I am now a member. I’ll be joining Linda this coming Saturday for Read more »
It’s been a hell of a year. Until early May, I was selling real estate, or at least attempting to. In March, my then fiancée, now bride, Laura and I spent the weekend in Paso Robles with our dear friends Denny and Jodi Jones. If memory serves me correctly, it was the 5th visit there for Laura and me in about a year’s time. We took Denny and Jodi to one winery after another, introducing them to winemakers we had met and to some phenomenal wines, too. At the end of the weekend, Denny told me what an incredible experience they’d had. He told me I ought to think about taking people out and giving others the same experience we had shared with them. That started the ball rolling. I had been writing a blog on a real estate web site for about two years, sometimes writing about real estate, but more often about travels, wine and life in general. My brilliant wife suggested I started a wine blog and do what Denny suggested and start taking people to wineries. The seed was planted. The name WINEormous popped into my head and we both liked it. We chuckle sometimes when we hear wine descriptions that talk about pencil shavings and the like. We love a good nose on a wine, we love to swirl the glass and let the wine open up, then savoring the mouth feel and picking up the fruit. That’s when I came up with Read more »
Our three day visit to the Napa Valley was simply magical. We wound up our road trip on Halloween and kicked off the morning with a visit to the historic Chateau Montelena. After we saw the movie Bottle Shock we knew we needed to pay a visit to the Chateau. Signs of the movies are evident everywhere, and on the counter you’ll see displays of DVDs signed by Bo Barrett packaged with bottles of their Chardonnay, the wine that beat the French in Paris. The Chateau is spectacular, the grounds are breathtaking. Jade Lake boasts Chinese architecture and two picnic islands reserved for wine club members. Two types of tastings are available; the current release tasting for $20 or the library tasting for $40. We were provided the current release tasting and found the Chardonnay, Cabernet and Zinfandel to be noteworthy. After our tasting we strolled around Jade Lake, feeding the ducks and swans and soaking up a gorgeous fall day. 
Envy Winery
Our next appointment was at Frank Family Vineyards, formerly Hans Kornell Cellars, but we had some free time and decided to make a quick stop at Envy. We had hoped to visit a winery we weren’t familiar with and Envy fit the bill. The owners of Envy have been making wines for many years, but the tasting room has been open for just a few years. It’s intimate, stylish and has clean lines. Our server was friendly and attentive and we were sorry we weren’t able to spend more time there as we enjoyed our experience (including the group in Halloween costumes at the tasting bar!) and the wines were excellent.
Frank Family was just down the road and we had an excellent experience there. We had been told to ask for tasting room manager Dennis Zablosky. He was busy when we arrived, so we were sent to the sparkling wine bar where we began our tasting. As famed sparkling wine producer Hans Kornell previously occupied the property, they have an advantage in the production of bubbly. Laura loves sparkling wines and we were both happy with what we tasted. We moved to another room and another tasting bar where we sampled a few still wines before being invited into Dennis’ office. Remember, this was Halloween and once again we encountered several folks in full costume in his office. Dennis is the perfect host. He held court at his desk as he poured us several of the Frank Family reserve wines and shared stories with us. He told us about receiving a customer’s last will and testament years ago and thinking it must have been a mistake. She told him to open the package and read section two. Her will stated that she be buried with a bottle of Frank Family Chardonnay, her favorite wine.
Dennis Zablosky (and friends)
Frank Family front porch
It was lunch time and we drove by a barbeque place that smelled so good we had to turn around. i can’t remember the name, but it was tasty. Here’s a peek.
Our last stop on our incredible journey was a Duckhorn Vineyards. Again, the weather was as close to perfect as I can imagine… sunshine and 70s with a gentle breeze and a touch of Autumn in the air. Somehow they were expecting a group of twelve, but it was just the two of us. Tom gave us a tour of the winery and then brought us into a private tasting room where he proceeded to knock our socks off. Five bottles of wine had been decanted and we tasted elegant Cabernets and Merlots as well as some offerings from sister winery Paraduxx. Artisan cheeses accompanied the wines to perfection.
I can’t imagine a better trip, but trust me, I’m busy planning one. Thanks for coming along with us. I hope you enjoyed the journey.
Duckhorn Vineyards
Tom with Duckhorn decanters
Duckhorn Tasting
It had been more than a few months since I last visited Ponte Winery. I stopped by last week for a tasting, lunch and a visit with Winemaker Robert Cartwright. As you can see, Ponte is all dressed up for the holidays. Owner Claudio Ponte was there and I visited with him briefly before Robert and I strolled over to he tasting bar. Robert is extremely proud of the wines he makes. His Sangiovese and Barbera were both bin fermented and went through an extra 15-20 days of maceration after fermentation to add color and depth. The extra steps show in the quality of Robert’s wines.
On my last visit we enjoyed hors d’oeuvres on the patio, so this time I was looking forward to a full meal. While Robert and I visited, I sampled an amuse-bouche of tomato sage hummus on crostini, followed by black mussels with spicy Italian sausage, garlic and a white wine tomato sauce. Robert had lobster mac and cheese for lunch and I opted for the lamb loin chops with summer squash and potato pancakes, sautéd apples and mint pesto. The food was excellent and the setting was sublime – outdoors looking out at the yellow and gold in the vineyards.
We covered a lot of ground as we enjoyed our meals. Robert told me the focus at Ponte now is on renewing the vineyards. Their old vine Zinfandel, planted in 1967, will be re-trellised as will an additional four acres of grapes. He wants to pay more attention to sustainability, using more organic material. Although his vines see very few pests, they are controlled with organic pesticides. He wants the quality of fruit to best the finest possible. He says that making a conscious decision to plant the right varietals for this climate – Rhône and Mediterranean grapes in particular – is critical. Certain grapes, like Nebbiolo, aren’t suited to the Temecula growing conditions, yet some growers are trying to grow them. He believes they’re far better suited to places like De Luz or Fallbrook where it’s a bit cooler.
His goal is to use cutting edge techniques in his wine making, and he doesn’t hesitate to pick other people’s brains for advice and inspiration. He visits with Briar Rose‘s owner and winemaker Les Linkogle often, commenting that he’s cutting edge without even knowing it. They have purchased a new de-stemmer and berry sorter at Ponte. He has made a commitment to quality and to stepping up. South Coast Winery has won the Golden Bear Award as the state’s best winery two years running and he says that can’t help but push you to do better. Robert’s not concerned with the valley’s quality winemakers, his concern rather is with those who don’t take the extra steps needed to produce quality wine. To that end he offers his services to other winemakers who may want use his tanks to make their wines. So far he’s had no takers. “Everyone here is out here to help everybody.”
He pays attention to what’s going on at other wineries, and has praise for folks like Robert Renzoni, noting his passion for making quality wines. He says he expects good things from Vindemia, already winning awards before opening. Not that he wants to steer traffic away from Ponte, but he says he’d like to see more folks visiting the wineries on the De Portola trail. The mountains are beautiful and places like Leonesse and Keyways are producing good wines. Robert believes ambition and drive are important, but also feels passion is the difference between a so so wine and a great wine. He thinks those who are in it strictly as a business are doomed to fail. “We’re a destination. It’s got to be an experience.” Restaurants are a big part of the experience and he notes places like Callaway and Wilson Creek are doing a great job to that end, including pairing the right wines with the food they serve.
Claudio Ponte has a commitment to excellence and demands it from those who work for him. Cartwright says “I hit a home run when I got the job here. The company allows me to grow and try new things.”
Claudio Ponte
Ponte is a believer in social media. You can find them on Facebook and follow them on twitter.
Robert Cartwright
