A Guy, a Girl, and a Bottle

Today’s episode we visit the Picchetti winery (http://www.picchetti.com/), one of the oldest wineries in Northern California and have been continusously bonded under several names since about 1896. (Their California Bonded Winery number is #148 !). The Picchetti family was a great lover of birds, and one of the favorite - the Peacock - still roams freely about the grounds.

The winery itself is located on the edge of the Mid-Peninsula Open Space District (http://www.openspace.org/), and therefore many trailheads are very close to the winery, affording a great recreational opportunity in addition to the wine tasting.

The Picchetti Winery produces approximately 9000 cases of wine per year, including some from 110 year old Zinfandel vines. The wines we sampled are:

2004 Viognee $24.95 424 cases produced (Double Gold - 98 pts California State Fair)
Winemakers’ Notes - Enjoy this sophisticated wine, great for summer, with a floral nose and crisp, light palate. Serve chilled with creamy brie or oysters on the half-shell

2001 Leslie’s Estate Chardonnay $19.95 (Silver Medal) 546 cases produced
Winemakers’ Notes - In the Santa Cruz Mountains 2000 was a good vintage, but 2001 was even better. This wine is a good example of the potential that the region has for making high quality wine. Aromas of peach, pear, melon, and citrus blossom are abundant in this wine as well as a hint of butterscotch. The body is supple, and produces a long and pleasant finish.

2001 Red Pavone - $15.95 (Gold Medal - 90 pts Santa Cruz Mountain Commercial Wine Competition)
Winemakers’ Notes - Dark and rich this wine is blended for complexity with an emphasis on youthful fruit. It is primarily a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Cherry and raspberry fruit aromas are complimented with notes of leather, pepper nutmeg, vanilla and baking spices. The velvety tannins carry the fruit and spices through the palate to a long pleasant finish. This is a great wine for picnics, barbecues and cool fall nights. Try it with dishes with mushroom preparations. This is our second release of this wine and for those that missed the first. Pavone is peacock in Italian.

2003 Old Vine Zinfadel - Picchetti Estate $49.95 125 cases produced
Winemakers’ Notes -This wine, from our 100+ year old estate vines, is spectacular. No wonder this was the one vineyard area the Picchetti family kept in production through Prohibition for their family use! The deep color, full mouthfeel and exquisite balance of fruit and tannins make this a truly exceptional wine that we reserve for our Club Members. (2 bottle limit.)

Lastly we have a quick promo by our friends over at Accident Hash and some music from the Podsafe Music Network by Olivia Greer. You can check out her music on i-Tunes .

00:00 Quick Intro
00:47 Intro Music
01:16 Welcome Back - History
03:02 Midpennisula Open Space District
04:17 Winery Grounds Description
06:27 2004 Viognee
08:14 2001 Chardonnay
11:14 2001 Red Pavone
13:01 Old Vine Zinfadel
14:49 Tasting Room Details
19:17 Exit Music
19:40 Olivia Greer

Next week we vist the Thomas Fogarty Winery a Silicon Valley staple. Be sure to tune in!

As always, please let us know if you like what you hear, have suggestions, or would like us to review a particular winery. You can drop us a line at guyandgirl@gmail.com , or (206) 984-0257.

-A Guy

Guglielmo Winery

Join us as we complete our visit to the Guglielmo Winery (www.guglielmowinery.com) as part of their 14th Annual Harvest Festival & Grape Stomp. Part 1 of our visit focused on the history of the winery with a sound scene tour of the winery, courtesy of Steve Wilson of the Guglielmo Winery. Part 2 of our visit includes us checking out the festivities (A Salami Toss, Bocced up Bocci Ball, Whack a Walnut, and finally, the Grape Stomp. We also have a guest host, courtesy of my wife Pam, and music from the Pod Safe Music Network by Adrina Thorpe ‘Round the Bend’ . Check it out.

The wines that we sample in today’s episode are

Vintage: 2000
Appellation: Santa Clara Valley
Varietal Composition: 100% Petite Sirah
Alcohol: 13.5%
Release Date: April 2003
California Suggested Retail: $17.00

(Vintners Notes) Our Private Reserve Petite Sirah opens with aromas of violets, marjoram, clove and vanilla. The clove and spice aromas follow through onto the palette—where they are complemented by background flavors of blueberry. Approachable tannins and a nice acid balance give this wine a good mouthfeel. This Petite Sirah should be perfect for full-flavored fare such as grilled beef, leg of lamb, and game dishes.

WINEMAKERS NOTES
Produced from Petite Sirah grown in our estate vineyards surrounding the winery. This vineyard - first planted by our Grandfather some 60 years ago - produces Petite Sirah of unusual depth and character. After initial racking from redwood tanks - the wine was aged in small oak cooperage for two years. Although very enjoyable now, this wine should continue to gain additional complexities in the bottle for at least another 5 –8 years. The 2000 vintage yielded approximately 1,000 cases.

Varietal Composition: 100% Pinot Blanc
Alcohol: 13.5%
California Suggested Retail: $16.00

(Vintners Notes) Another limited bottling especially for our Guglielmo Wine Group, the 2002 Pinot Blanc was grown in the cool climate of Northern Monterey County. The 2002 vintage was fermented in small French oak barrels - giving it a very inviting vanilla-oak component that enhances the tropical fruit characters in both the aromas and the flavors. Serve this wine much as you would a Reserve style Chardonnay. It goes especially well with richly-sauced seafood (scampi!) or poultry dishes.

$25 Bottle
(No Vintners Notes at this time. Will be available in late September)

All the wines above are available at the Guglielmo Online Store

Next week we vist the Picchetti Winery, one of the oldest wineries in the valley. Be sure to tune in!

As always, please let us know if you like what you hear, have suggestions, or would like us to review a particular winery. You can drop us a line at guyandgirl@gmail.com , or (206) 984-0257.

-A Guy

Wineries, importers, distributors and restaurants are raising money for aid organizations and rebuilding projects
Posted: Tuesday, September 06, 2005
By Eric Arnold (Reposted with permission from Wine Spectator)

With government and Red Cross support now flowing into New Orleans as the floodwaters trickle out, the U.S. wine and restaurant industries are beginning to lend a helping hand to the areas of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama that were devastated by Hurricane Katrina.

One of the first to pledge its support was the Paso Robles Wine Country Quality Alliance, which set a goal of raising $100,000. The wineries and growers of this region, located north of Santa Barbara, began their efforts over Labor Day weekend, with some contributing their tasting fees, percentages of their sales or all income on certain days. A list of participating wineries and their events can be found at www.pasowine.com. All funds raised will be deposited in a special hurricane-relief account, and the alliance’s board will decide which organizations receive the contributions. Some wineries are making separate donations to the relief efforts of their choice.

Other organizations and businesses that are raising or contributing funds include:

• New Orleans-based Partners Wine Marketing Group, which imports and sells wine to distributors, is donating $1 for every case of wine it sells throughout the United States over the next year; the money will go to a yet-to-be-determined New Orleans rebuilding fund. The company is also asking its distributors and supplying wineries to do the same. The company, which imports Duval-Leroy Champagne, among other wines, intends to operate from Morgan City, La., until it can return to New Orleans.

• Oriel Wines, an international group of winemakers producing wines from several countries under a single label, is contributing 100 percent of its profits for the month of September to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund. More information is available at www.orielwines.com.

• Southern Wine & Spirits, the largest wine and liquor wholesaler in the United States, has established a $100,000 matching relief fund and is encouraging its 10,000 employees to participate. All proceeds will go to yet-to-be-determined private relief agencies providing aid to hurricane-affected people in Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi.

• Sonoma winery Hop Kiln will donate all net proceeds from its 100-year birthday party on Oct. 15 and 16 to the American Red Cross Hurricane Relief Fund. The event schedule and ticket information can be found at www.hopkilnwinery.com.

• The National Restaurant Association will hold Dine for America on Oct. 5. Restaurants across the country will be able to choose how they want to participate: making a donation for each guest served, contributing a set amount or donating all of their proceeds for that day. In the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, Dine for America raised more than $20 million from 8,000 restaurants for the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund, and hopes to exceed that total for the same organization this time. For more information, go to www.restaurant.org or www.dineforamerica.org.

• Share Our Strength, a hunger-relief organization, will host a Hurricane Katrina Relief Benefit in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 17, featuring top chefs from around the country. Each chef will be flown in courtesy of Delta Airlines and will prepare southern cuisine. All proceeds will go to several local organizations providing food and supplies in affected areas, including the Bay Area Food Bank in Mobile, Ala., Second Harvesters Food Bank of Greater New Orleans, the Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank, the Houston Food Bank and the North Texas Food Bank. For information on tickets, go to www.strength.org. The organization will also hold a nationwide Dine Out on Sept. 27, during which restaurants will donate portions of their proceeds from that day.

• Les Dames d’Escoffier International (LDEI), an organization that educates and mentors women in the culinary profession, is resurrecting its Kitchen Fund, which donated more than $60,000 to families of kitchen workers killed in the Sept. 11 attacks. The LDEI board of directors is soon to decide on how the funds raised for Katrina relief will be distributed, and is already accepting checks made payable to LDEI Kitchen Fund, P.O. Box 4961, Louisville, KY 40204. For more information on the group, go to www.ldei.org.

• The 13th annual Sonoma Valley Harvest Wine Auction included a special Big Bottles of the Big Easy lot, which earned a top bid of $24,000. In total, the auction raised $124,850 for the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund.

• New Orleans restaurant Commander’s Palace is in the process of setting up the New Orleans Hospitality Workers Disaster Relief Fund, for which it has begun to accept donations. The effort is being coordinated by the Greater Houston Community Foundation, an organization that helps connect donors to causes. Information on how to contribute will soon be available at www.commanderspalace.com. The site also features a link to katrina.guestbridge.com, a message board for restaurants affected by the hurricane.

Guglielmo Winery/ Tasting Room / Gourmet Food Shop
Location: 1480 E. Main Avenue
Morgan Hill, CA 95037
Located 20 minutes south of San Jose, 1 hour south of San Francisco & 45 minutes from Monterey.

We visit the Guglielmo Winery (www.guglielmowinery.com) as part of their 14th Annual Harvest Festival & Grape Stomp. Part 1 of our visit focuses on the history of the winery with a sound scene tour of the winery, courtesy of Steve Wilson of the Guglielmo Winery. We also have a guest host, and music from the Pod Safe Music Network by Adrina Thorpe ‘Fly Fly Fly’ . Check it out. Next week we bring you Part 2 of the Guglielmo Winery Harvest Festival, with reviews of their wines, the games, and more.

I have posted some pictures of the tour on Flickr (have you ever seen 100 year old redwood wine storage tanks?).
As always, please let us know if you like what you hear, have suggestions, or would like us to review a particular winery. You can drop us a line at guyandgirl@gmail.com . Thanks for tuning in.

Subscribe to our podcast at iTunes!

-A Guy

www.flickr.com GuyandGirl’s GNGNB Photos photoset