Dateline: Santa Rosa, May 4, 2012 - Continuing the travels of The Helmet (TH) through the motherland (see The Berserker Helmet goes to Napa - - - with photos allowed thanks to our fearless leader. - WINE TALK - WineBerserkers for days 1 and 2)
May 4 dawned with clouds in the sky but no rain as TH saw the day before. The trip to Sonoma was uneventful. TH arrived at the Siduri warehouse in the not-so-picturesque industrial area of Santa Rosa. TH tried a handful of wines at Siduri/Novy. Due to the generosity of Adam Lee (who took time out from a computer disaster that saw at least one Dell tech arrive with replacement parts while we were there), TH was one of the first to try the recently bottled 2011 Four Mile Creek White – a fascinating blend of Gewurztraminer, Viognier, Sauvignon Blanc and 5% Chardonnay for extra body. A steal of an aromatic, fruity summer white for only $12 a bottle. The Gewurz Lychee, the guava from the Sauv. Blanc and the back end spice from the Viognier are all evident. The wine may not be cerebral, but it’s fun and a nice summer white. Adam, always the playful one, posed with TH in front of his stack of barrels, smiling despite the fact that his computer had transformed itself into a boat anchor while we were there.
Then on to Carlisle for a meeting with the man himself – Mike Officer. There was nothing in bottle to taste, but Mike went from barrel to barrel letting us taste many of his wines in their infancy. Blends were not yet complete, but the barrel tastings themselves presage another GREAT year of Carlisle wines. Mike, following the lead of President Kennedy at his inaugural address, is not the hat wearing type, but he still showed TH the barrels in storage. Unfortunately, the photographer goofed and the photo is a bit out of focus, but odd things have been known to happen in the winery.
A brief aside on Mike Officer – gee this guy knows a lot about wine. I have learned a lot about wine from a lot of different people, but we spent over an hour with Mike in his picturesque warehouse location in the industrial neighborhood and my knowledge went up by leaps and bounds. The difference between different manufacturers of French oak barrels and the effects of different types of grain on the flavor and aging process. The different and independent routes taken from Croatia for one grape that became primitivo and another that became zinfandel. Weather patterns throughout the region. The wonders of old vine vineyards and the need to protect them. The incredible number of varieties (I think he said 35) randomly mixed in to some of the field blends in his wines and his willingness to pay for genetic testing on some of them to figure out what they are (including one that even the testing company with the genetic database can’t figure out). And, last but not least, where to get the best roadside Mexican food in California. But more about that later after a stop at another new find courtesy of Jeff Shaeffer at Siduri.
Before leaving for Carlisle, we had asked Jeff where we should go for the one extra slot we had that afternoon if there was only one place to visit in the area. He suggested another new winery nearby called Benovia and he called ahead to make arrangements. After two consecutive tastings in industrial warehouses, TH really enjoyed the trip to Benovia, which took less than 10 minutes. It brought us to the middle of vineyard country down a gravel road that you would never find by yourself. TH was so happy, he jumped on the Benovia sign for a photo op.
Two chardonnays, one steel and one oak aged, both showed the character of the fruit in different presentations without being obscured by excessive new oak characteristics. Then a group of pinots from different vineyards throughout the county, each with different flavor characteristics but none with that pinot funk cola flavor that I am coming to like less and less. A very nice new find off the beaten track.