Tell me what I should be looking for in California besides Cabs

WINE TALK
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Oregon. [berserker.gif]

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You may have lost me at the peyote analogy but I agree! I stumbled into the Menlo Park Trader Joes the other day to pick up a snack and was pleasantly surprised to see that they had a tasting room. The guy pouring clearly loved wine and everyone who came in to taste was also clearly a wine drinker. Walked out with a Boen PN for under $20 that is delivering killer value.

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I don’t think they are as popular with a lot of people on this site, but I really love a lot of the wines coming out of Paso Robles (I’m more into big, full bodied, fruit driven reds), especially their GSM blends and Rhone varietals and even their Tempranillo. From Paso, I really like:

  • L’Aventure
  • Torrin (also has great Pinot and Chardonay)
  • Epoch
  • Close Solene (for more “elegant” / French style wines)
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Jordan there are still a lot of the “east coast” driven European wines available in CA if you need them. You just have to find the retailers that have it. Paso wines are underpriced. A cab from Napa, 12 feet from a Sonoma Cab sells for double the price. Oregon and Washington have great value wines. With Macario Montoya handling the wine making at Educated Guess, you have a consistent Cab at $20 and P/N at $23. You want a big pinot for $20? Hunt down Luli. A sleek pinot for $20, Pike Road from Oregon. Spend just a little more and get a Sineann Oregon Pinot or if your dinner is too big for Pinot, try the Sineann Zin.

Don’t fall into the Trader Joe’s, BevMo trap unless you research the wines and prices. There is a local retailer near you that usually beats their prices unless it’s super mass produced, has a better selection of good wines and will special order wines for you.

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Jordan what area did you land in the Bay Area? That will help determine what area retailer to point you to.

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Shameless Plug for Harrington Wines in SF. Open House. This Sunday! 7/28/2019

Come join Ken Zinns, Wes Barton, Al Osterhead, Brian Harrington as well as myself and I imagine a few other berserkers on Sunday to try some exciting wines that break the mold.
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Harrington Summer Open House
HARRINGTON SUMMER OPEN HOUSE, Sunday July 28th, 1-4pm

Come on over to the winery in San Francisco for an afternoon of new wines and summer good times. At this one-day-only Open House, we will be introducing freshly-bottled 2018 wines produced from a selection of very unusual grapes. The lineup of white wines for this event includes: Falanghina, a skin-fermented Ribolla Gialla, Verdelho, Malvasia, Greco di Tufo and red wines: Trousseau, Corvina, Graciano, Gamay, a carbonically-fermented Negrette, Freisa, Mourvedre, Alvarelhao, Nebbiolo, Aglianico and Sagrantino. There will also be new bottlings of old school standards such as a stunning new Chardonnay from an excellent Santa Cruz Mountains vineyard, a classically supple Pinot Noir and a beautiful old vine Cabernet Sauvignon. As usual, there will be a table of older vintage library wines to taste. We will also be selling “mystery mix” cases of wine for $100/case. First come, first serve on those mixed cases.

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Sorry, I initially didn’t read your post closely, and the wineries I mentioned sell wines above your desired range. If you want great wine, you can go to K&L. Wonderful store. Also, JJ Buckley ships out of Oakland and has some amazing prices.

I think Tablas Creek makes some good Rhone style wine for $20 - $30. You also might be able to find some Herman Story

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Currently in Sunnyvale. I already go to Artisan Wine Depot.

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I visited Paso earlier in my wine journey and I don’t think I had quite developed the taste for that kind of wine yet. I had a tasting at L’Aventure and I think everything I tasted needed a lot more years to mellow out (was that what I was supposed to take away from the tasting?). Tablas Creek was nice, I think if I had a little more wine knowledge then I would have appreciated what they were doing with the Rhone blends more.

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Wow!

Awesomer than awesome.

I am so close but so far. Do you guys have an email list?

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Sounds like you still haven’t. Lol

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It is great to try California wines now that you have moved to the Bay Area, but you can find plenty of wines from all over the world in the Bay Area. Try stores like K&L (I think the closest one is in Redwood City) and the Wine Club.

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$20-$30 in California is not going to be easy. At least not if you want great wine.

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We drink a lot of the Cep wines from Peay.
Well, we drink a lot of Peay too.
Approximately $25 a bottle and delicious

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http://www.harringtonwine.com/
There is a link for the mailing list at the bottom of the page. Harrington does not have allocations. They seem to sell most of their wines through distribution and less direct to consumer. You can order wines directly off their website. I am getting an education every time I taste through these wines. So far from the California norm but so Delicous.

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Try K&L wines in Redwood City. Good staff that can direct you to great choices in your price range. West of Temperance is a producer of tasty stuff at a good prices. Take your time and be open as there is good wine everywhere.

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Some others to consider who produce many different wines in the 20-30$ price point are

Birichino from Santa Cruz
(Grenache, Cinsault, Malvasia Bianca, Pinot Noir, Zinfandel, Chenin Blanc, Carignane, and Mourvedre)

and Ian Brands three labels from Monterey (the winery is in Salinas, and their tasting room is in Carmel Valley) The variety of grapes they work with is as diverse as Birichinos.

Ed Kurtzman’s Sandler Wines are outstanding in SF
Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Grenache)

I will reiterate what others have pointed out. It’s hard to go wrong with Ridge, Mt Eden, or Rhys but those are mostly outside the desired price point. Mt Eden’s Domaine Eden label provide very good QPR. These three wineries are right in your backyard and very close to Santa Clara.

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Jordan, why don’t you reach out to Jamie Kutch and go taste his wines. He lives in SFO and I see his wines as some of the best anywhere. I also would recommend Ed Kurtzman, who makes Sandler and August West–terrific Pinot Noir and some other things that might interest you. His winery is in SFO and takes visitors. This is my advice, hope it helps.

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Zinfandel, Zinfandel, Zinfandel. Incredible old vineyards abound.

Start at Ridge. Visit their Lytton Springs winery just north of Healdsburg and taste through their wines. Most are $30-40. Their small-production single vineyard zins are all fantastic but Geyserville is the true star - beautiful young and even better with 10-20 years on it.

Bedrock’s Old Vine Zin bottling is reliably delicious at <$25; their more expensive wines are worth the occasional splurge. You can taste their wines in Sonoma proper.

Turley’s “Juveline” is a great value, and, again, their other wines are really worth seeking out. Carlisle you should also try. And don’t miss Rafanelli. Ravenswood is also a good choice for widely available, value-driven zin in your price range.

Pinot Noir has already been well covered here. Try some Russian River Valley Sauvignon Blancs. Hanna ($14) is a great value of the sparky fruit variety. Merry Edwards ($35) is a true classic.

Drive up to Sebastopol (don’t miss the ice cream at Screamin’ Mimi’s while your there) and taste through the Syrahs at Pax. If you like that restrained, savory, low-alcohol style there is more to be found in the Sonoma Coast and Mendocino County areas.

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My best advice is to try as many different wine varieties as possible. California is doing amazing things with less common grapes from France, Spain, Italy etc etc. You already have a sweet spot for Pinot Noir, give others a try. Here are a couple threads to help you out in your quest to try other wines other than Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Cabernet.

https://wineimport.discoursehosting.net/t/north-coast-wines-in-30-50-range/153175/1

https://wineimport.discoursehosting.net/t/seven-solution-tasting-bergamot-alley-7-22-2017/134876/1