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| With Dave Rafanelli and Avatar Sandhu @ Rafanelli |
When vineyard owner Avatar Sandhu graciously invited
me to the Passport event hosted by the wine growers of Dry Creek Valley
in Sonoma County on the weekend of April 26, I was less than prepared for
the festivities lying in wait for us!
When people on the West Coast of U.S.A hear the phrase
'wine country', they automatically conjure up images of Napa valley in
California. The less commercial, equally charming Sonoma County can definitely
hold its own against the wineries of Napa and the vineyard and winery
owners of Dry Creek Valley in Sonoma County are certainly no exception.
The sixteen mile long and two mile wide stretch of the
valley bottom is literally splashed with acres of vines, climbing up hillsides
and appearing around quiet country-road turns. The valley is confined
to the Northwest corner of Sonoma County, which has other notable wine
producing regions such as the Russian River Valley. Here in Dry Creek,
one can find an intriguing mix of small, single owner vineyards like Rafanelli
operating cheek-by-jowl alongside bigger operations like Ferrari-Carano.
But, what makes this event special for the locals as
well as the thousands of wine lovers it attracts, is the fact that the
vineyard and winery owners literally invite you into their inner sanctums
and going from one to the other, you will find the owners, blenders, family
members, serving selected wines paired with just the right food to the
endless crowds and taking the time to gladly talk about their wines and
wine-making operations to anyone who wants to know. Most wineries have
music, exotic dancers, and small shows etc that make the whole event feel
more like a festival.
However, be warned that the waiting list for this event
is up to three years, as of now! Passports are limited (4000 this year)
and are sold only through a lottery system. For $110 per person, you get
to visit over 40 wineries through the weekend and sample the best of Dry
Creek Valley wine, food and hospitality.
Paella…Pinot…Pedroncelli
Armed with my Passport and wine glass, I walked into Pedroncelli, the first
winery on our itinerary on Saturday, April 26. The air of festivity was
all too apparent in the gathering crowd as people moved from one station
to another, sampling different vintages that had been paired with a perfect
accompanying food item.
I started the day by accepting a taste of their 2007
Sauvignon Blanc (made with 100% sauvignon Blanc grapes) served by the
owner himself, John Pedroncelli. With a pale color, a hint of fresh grass
and citrus fruit in the aroma and a flavor of melons on the palate, it
was the perfect wine to taste on the already-warm morning.
Walking into the main section where the wine barrels
are stocked, I met with Montse Reece, the assistant winemaker at Pedroncelli's
and she introduced me to their flagship Zinfandel rose, Mother Clone,
which was refreshing, tinged with a hint of spice. Montse told me that
many of their wines were made from old vines, originally brought from
Italy in 1920.
Further on, a separate station was serving up Chef Mateo
Granados' bite sized portions of Paella paired with another of their personal
favourites, a 2006 Pinot Noir. (Incidentally, if you are a Zin or Pinot
lover, Dry Creek Valley is a must-visit for you!)
Ferrari-Carano
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| Wine tasting at Ferrari Carano |
Driving into the grounds of the Ferrari Carano Vineyards
and Winery, you almost feel like you've stepped into another country altogether,
France or Italy. The beautiful, Versailles-palace-like main house is,
of course, not open to the public but the surrounding five acres of stunningly
landscaped gardens takes you by surprise as there are literally thousands
of spring flowers everywhere you look, amid charming walkways, statues
and shady gazebos overlooking fountains.
Incidentally, the vineyard owners are not all about
cosmetic beauty but also take immense pride in their sustainable and bio-diverse
farming techniques and firmly echo the larger sentiment of Dry Creek Valley
grape growers, that 'Green is the new black.'
In the winery, after being served a delicious, perfectly chilled 2007
Fume Blanc paired with Goat Cheese, Leek and Swiss Chard Bruschetta, we
moved on to taste the 2005 Mill Station Chardonnay, which would have tasted
a lot better if it were chilled to the right temperature. Nevertheless,
it made an interesting mouthful along with the Apple Fennel Salmon Cakes
it was being served with.
The main food and wine pairings were laid out in their cavernous French
Underground cellar, amid rather aesthetically stacked barrels. (One could
well imagine attending a ball in this romantically lit room.) Starting
with their 2005 Zinfandel, paired with Chicken and Wild Mushroom Ragout
over Pasta, we moved on to their guest of honor that day – the 2004
PreVail West Face Cabernet Sauvignon; complex, layered flavors making
it a very expressive wine – that was more than perfectly matched
with Rhonda Carano's Braised Short Ribs with Six Spices.
My absolute favourite at Ferrari-Carano was, surprisingly, the dessert
wine, a 2006 Fior di Moscato paired with a Panna Cotta with Compote of
Roasted Strawberries – 'nectar' and 'ambrosia' were the words that
leapt to my mind at first taste!
Bella Vineyards and Wine Caves
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| Bella Wine Caves |
The carnival nature of the Passport event was literally
personified at Bella, where the front lawn was host to a whimsical miniature
circus from days past, with all the trappings (minus any live animals
though!), including exotically dressed acrobats and tight-rope walkers.
We were welcomed with a chilled glass of this family-owned vineyard's
2007 Dry Rosé (a blend of 50% each of Grenache and Syrah). This
would be an ideal summer-picnic aperitif, with a lively aroma of summer
fruits and just enough dryness for those who do not prefer overly-sweet
rose wine.
If rosé is not your cup of tea…er…wine…also
being served up as a welcome drink was a 2006 Dry Creek Zinfandel, an
old-vine style classic zin, big on fruit (100% zinfandel) but
nicely balanced.
The dim, cool wine caves were a welcome change after
the noise and heat outside, lit by candle light - not very practical if
you wanted to examine the color of the wine you were sampling but aesthetically
very pleasing!! Another zinfandel was up for sampling, the 2006 Belle
Canyon; ripe and fruity, with cherry flavors on the palate, this wine
comes from 15 year old vines planted to an old zin clone.
After having tasted quite a few zins by this
time, the 2006 Sonoma County Syrah was a bit refreshing with its smoky,
aromatic feel and bold, earthy spice flavors and as described by a fellow
wine lover, a rather 'brawny' syrah.
Zinfandel seems to be a favourite at Bella and the 2007 Late Harvest zinfandel,
with its deliciously sweet taste, smoothly balanced tannins and an obviously
ripe flavor, could easily substitute a decent dessert wine any day. At
Bella, it was accompanied by bites of decadent, rich dark chocolate……bellissimo!
A. Rafanelli
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| Lunch @ Rafanelli |
This fourth generation wine making family at Rafanelli
strongly believes in quality versus quantity. As the owner, Dave Rafanelli
says, the family is proud of 'the small but superior quality' of their
wines. Rafanelli's was the mid-point destination winery for most Passport
attendees; the reason being lunch!
The huge barn-like structure near the entrance of the
winery was converted into a massive buffet-style spread, with tables loaded
with traditional Italian dishes, enough to feed a small army. Upturned
wine barrels served as tables and Dave mingled happily with the crowd,
urging people to eat and drink and refilling glasses with a ripe, juicy
2006 Zinfandel or the more elegant, smooth 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon.
Mounts Family Winery
If you're familiar with what to expect while on a tour in wine country,
Mounts Family Winery will surely be a refreshing change for even the most
intrepid wine lover. As the name suggests, the simply, homely charm of this
140-acre ranch is very much like walking into someone's private home.
But don't let that fool you into assuming that there
is anything amateurish about the way they make their wine. One taste of
the 2006 Petite Syrah will be enough for you to sit up and take notice
– a fairly smooth, spicy, nicely jammy wine that had an intriguing
blend of rustic charm and just a touch of elegance. It was as unexpected
as the brightly adorned belly dancer who suddenly appeared gyrating in
the middle of the tented space where the food was being served!
Michel Schlumberger Wine Estate
After having devoted the better part of the day to the
Italians, the Michel Schlumberger Wine Estate takes you to the Alsace
region in France, where owner Jacques Schlumberger's family has grown
grapes and made wine for 400 years. This vineyard is unique in that it
is a classic example of how the French concept of terroir lends a stamp
of individuality to the flavor of a particular wine. The Estate's vineyards,
apart from being characterized by well-drained soils and excellent exposures,
are spread over differing elevations – hillsides, benchlands and
uplands. Winemaker and Vineyard Manager Mike Brunson uses his twenty-year
old experience to create the estate's award winning wines, that best reflect
each vineyard site's attributes. Mike, incidentally, is also very passionate
about the fact that this winery is entirely organic, but more on that
in a later article!
When I told him I had just sampled the Mounts winery
Petit Syrah, he immediately poured me a glass of their rather elegant
Syrah. Also available for sampling were Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir
and my favourite at Michel Schlumberger, a cool, delicious Pinot Blanc.
Almost completely colorless with a barely discernible hint of color, it
tasted much better than it looked. A bit on the dry side (which is how
I like my whites), it would be a perfect summer brunch wine to have with
any kind of cold cuts. More fun than elegant!
Raymond Burr Vineyards
Almost thirty years after being immortalized as Perry
Mason on television, Raymond Burr directed all his passion to the other
love of his life - wine. Along with his partner, fellow actor Robert Benevides,
he planted his favourite grape, Cabernet Sauvignon, in 1986. Like the
man himself was known to be, the wine is full of life, big and fairly
complex. Although I did not get a chance to taste it, their Port is very
well spoken of and even won a Double Gold at the Harvest Fair in 1996.
I did, however, taste the chardonnay which was undoubtedly the best one
for that entire day. One can sit under the shade of a beautiful old oak
tree for hours and sip in the sweeping views that surround the 14 acre
vineyard that is spread across a steeply terraced hillside.
Sandhu Vineyards
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| Sandhu Vineyards |
Our charming host for the day, the elegant Mr. Avatar
Sandhu, herded our 15-strong party back to his gorgeous 56-acre hillside
vineyard, in time for a private tour that would make up for our missing
the walking tour for the masses that was scheduled for the following morning.
Avatar holds the dual passions of environmentally respectful farming and
fine wine very close to his heart and personally led me through the rows
of vines, to demonstrate the new vertical vine growing techniques that
he is so proud of. He has lovingly developed this prime grape growing
property for almost 30 years and the Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Sauvignon
Blanc grapes grown here are sold to wineries throughout the Dry Creek
Valley, including Ferrari-Carano.
There is so much to say about Sandhu Vineyards and the
interesting people who live and grow grapes here that it will take a whole
other article. Watch this space for more on this engineer from Mushal
village in Punjab, India, who migrated to the US to follow his passion
of vine and wine.
The DCVW (Dry Creek Valley Winegrowers) Association
hosts this Passport event every year on the last weekend of April; for
more details visit www.wdcv.com.
Natasha Vohra
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