A Guy, a Girl, and a Bottle

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We are back with our 11th wine podcast and today we visit the Pelican Ranch Winery (http://www.pelicanranch.com). This winery located in Santa Cruz, California is our first visit to a truly ‘virtual’ establishment, as they do not own any vineyards. Rather, owner Phil Crews purchases grapes from all over California and makes wine from within this quaint shopping center. Don’t fret about the lack of vineyards though, as Phil makes an amazing variety of wines with very small lots, making these wines all that more special. (Who else is going to have a bottle of Pelican Ranch Winery in your hometown?) Brought back by listener feedback, here are the time codes to help your ease your navigation:

00:00 Scott Sigler Intro
00:13 Pelican Ranch Winery Introduction
03:08 Interview with Owner Phil Crews
10:58 Pelican Ranch Winery Background
14:58 2004 Chardonnay, Los Carneros, Mitsuko’s Vineyard
19:46 2003 Chardonnay, Santa Cruz Mountains, Bay Laurel Vineyards
22:35 2004 Pinot Gris, San Lucas, Valley Vista Vineyard
25:36 2000 Spectrum Rouge, California Red Wine Blend
29:13 2003 Pinot Noir, Santa Lucia Highlands, Sleepy Hollow Vineyard
32:00 2003 Pinot Noir, Santa Cruz Mountains, Remde Vineyard
34:04 2004 Viogneir, Russian River Valley
35:56 Wrap-up and summary of visit
37:53 Accident Hash Promo
37:58 The Sway - Happyman

The pelican ranch Winery is about 31 miles from central San Jose. (Allow at least 45 minutes to an hour to get there however as you traffic on highway 17 can be busy at certain parts of the day). Due to it’s proximity to Santa Cruz, we suggest stopping buy on your way to the local beaches, or take the kids to visit the very interesting The Seymour Center at Long Marine Laboratory located just down the road. The center has the largest blue whale skeleton on display, anywhere worldwide, Arching 87 feet in length and rising 18 feet above the ground, it is a sight to behold.

The wines that we sample are:
2004 Chardonnay, Los Carneros, Mitsuko’s Vineyard, $21.00
Winmakers Notes: This wine is revered Los Carneros (The Ram in Spanish) sub district of the Napa Valley. It is extremely rich with a beautiful straw-color and generous fruit accompanied by notes of pear and apple. The creamy texture accompanied by vanilla and tasted oak accent a hint of butter from the complete malo-lactic fermentation.

2003 Chardonnay, Santa Cruz Mountains, Bay Laurel Vineyards, $20.00
Winmakers Notes: This wine is from a small vineyard off Summit Road in the Santa Cruz Mountain AVA. The signature of this vineyard mountain apple and flint and the other provides citrus and mineral. The fermentation in 100% new French Oak adds a nice toasty quality and additional complexity has been derived from sur lie aging.

2004 Pinot Gris, San Lucas, Valley Vista Vineyard, $15.00, 70 cases produced
Strong aromas of bananas (yes, Bananas!) complement other scents of dried fruit in this wonderful wine. We both really like this particular wine and Lori contemplates yet another purchase…..
Winemakers Notes: Fruit from this wine was obtained from a Monterey County AVA first planted in the early 1970’s. The warm summer days and cool summer nights, with temperatures that can vary by 60 degrees F, contribute to the signature of this wine - rich tropical aromas and full flavors.

2000 Spectrum Rouge, $18.00
This wine is interesting as it is comprised of three different grapes, each aged separately in different oak barrels for varying lengths of time. This treatment, along with the fining (see below) makes this wine a very delicious chemistry experiment!
Winemakers Notes: We have created a Rhone-Style blend with a California signature. A bold step was taken in the making of this wine as it combines 43% Zinfandel (from Eldorado), 43% Syrah (from Paseo Robles), and 14% Chardonnay (From Dry Creek Valley). This unusual approach has created a wine full of aroma and flavor with a mouth filling tasted. The flavors included pepper and spice from the Zinfandel, berry and cedar from the Syrah, and a hint of apple and vanilla from the Chardonnay. The rich fruit and flavors were retained by minimal treatment including egg white fining, and very light filtration. We find this wine accompanies a variety of foods yet it is also pleasant to drink on its own.

NOTE: Ok - We didn’t know what the H-E-Double-Hockey-Sticks Egg white fining was and rather than assume you did, we looked it up for you. Enjoy.
Egg White Fining (definition complied from several sources) - Fining red wines with fresh egg whites is a traditional method of modifying the wine’s tannin structure. Egg whites are principally made of the protein albumin. Proteins have a molecular structure that allows them to bind tightly with phenolic compounds, the large group that includes anthocyanins, which give wine its color and tannins, in turn giving wine significant parts of its mouth-feel. Albumin is particularly good at removing astringent tannins without affecting other desirable phenolic components. Vegan wines are made without animal by products as part of the fining process. (For more information on this, please see Wine Definitions.)

2003 Pinot Noir, Santa Lucia Highlands, Sleepy Hollow Vineyard, $26.00 140 cases produced
Intense flavors pack a punch both in the mouth and the nose. A more complex wine than the others at this winery, not for your faint of heart!
Winemakers Notes: This AVA, above the Salinas Valley floor, has a microclimate allowing long “hang times” to intensify flavors of Pinot Noir grapes. After crush there was a four-day maceration prior to fermentation. The contact between the cap and juice involved hand punch-down to insure gentle treatment during the extended fermentation. The wine was finished by a single careful rack and bottled unfiltered. We are pleased with its style - an overall bold character with flavors of fig, vibrant plum, raspberry and violet. It is deep in color and has a velvety feel on the palate. Additional complexity is derived from the vineyard location consisting of gently sloping, decomposed granite soils. Our first vintage from this vineyard was the 1998 release, whose structure remains intense (ask for library samples). We believe this wine will further evolve and gain complexity during extended cellaring.

2003 Pinot Noir, Santa Cruz Mountains, Remde Vineyard, $25.00 116 cases produced
Enjoyable, but may need more time to age.
Winemakers Notes: This is our second wine from the beautiful Remde Vineyard located high (550′) above the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds. A very gentle process was used in the making of this wine. After fermentation, the juice was lightly pressed and then transferred to French Oak. It was not disturbed until the final winemaking steps, which consisted of bottling it unfiltered. Sediment will develop over time but it will not detract from the wine’s traditional style - cherry and floral aromas with hints of strawberry and violets. The acid level, including pH is ideal, and will allow the many layers present to further evolve during cellaring.

2004 Viognier, Russian River Valley $25.00 46 cases produced
Our favorite! The best of lot. Great intense aromas, fruity but not sweet. Given that only 46 cases were produced, hurry up and get a bottle before they are all gone!
Winemakers Notes: Wine rich in style with apricot peach, pineapple, and other tropical fruit aromas. An extended maceration period was allowed after crushing and prior to pressing. Barrel aged for 6 months in French oak and 100% malolactic fermentation.

Once again, special thanks to the Podsafe Music Network for turning us on to this next artist, The Sway and their song is “Happyman”.

Pelican Ranch Winery
402 Ingalls Street #21
Santa Cruz, CA 95060
Phone: (831) 426-6911
Google Map

Tasting is available Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 12-5PM

That’s all for today, 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

Cheers!
-A Guy

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In this episode we visit the Byington Winery - www.byington.com - located just off Bear Creek Road above Los Gatos, approximately 16 miles from downtown San Jose. Founded in 1989 by Bill Byington the 95-acre Byington estate resides at an elevation of 2000 feet overlooking several acres of vineyards, forest and of course Monterey Bay. The winery has planted about 8 acres of the on site property (all Pinot grapes) and buys the remaining grapes from other Santa Cruz wineries to help make up their total production of approximately 10,000 cases. The winery has beautiful sweeping views of the Pacific Ocean and their onsite ammenities make for a wonderful place to have a picnic, play bocce ball on their public court, or have a wedding to remember. Be sure to check their website for more details.

The wines we sampled during our visit are:

2002 Estate Pinot Noir $29.00 about 400cases produced
Winemakers’ Notes - This is a wine with a very approachable tannin structure and mouthfeel and finish like a comfortable chair after a great meal. This is a Pinot that stands firmly on it’s own. This is a great wine to try with Lamb Daube!

2003 Pinot Hastings $30.00
A very delicatble boquet opens this wine, setting the stage for something wonderful. Hints of black cherry, perhaps even some raspberry(?). Delicious, especially if paired with red meat.

2002 Alliage
$24.00, 4950 cases produced
Our FAVORITE! This is Byington’s largest production wine by far. Alliage is a true blend at 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Cabernet Franc, and 9% Syrah. The Cabernet Sauvignon lends the structure, the Cabernet Franc brings the delightful aromas, and the Syrah adds the depth and finnesse to make this wine a must when visiting.

Winemakers’ Notes “Alliage” is the French word for alloy. And just as a purposeful blending of metals produces an alloy that is greater than the sum of its parts, Alliage is the result of multiple blending components to arrive at a wine far superior to its separate parts.

We feel that Byington is one of those wineries that is a *MUST* on your visit to the Santa Cruz mountain wineries. Even if you don’t drink wine, the views and picnic ground are well worth the trip.

The music that we feature in this episode is by The Lascivious Biddies and the song is “Betty. Check them out at http://www.biddies4ever.com.

Special thanks to Scott Sigler for introducing today’s episode. Visit his website at http://www.scottsigler.net for a couple of awsome podiobooks.

As always, please let us know if you like what you hear, have suggestions, or would like us to review a particular winery, please drop us a line.

-A Guy
guyandgirl@gmail.com

Skype - aguyandgirl

Subscribe to our podcast at iTunes!

OK - After getting over a few technical delays, we are back on track and gearing up for a great fall season. The audio quality for this podcast is a little low, as it turns out one of our microphones died during the recording process. Our audio Engineer Tom Krymkowski did a great job with what we gave him, but there was only so much he could do. We decided to release the podcast as is, rather than leave you high and dry for a whole week. We hope you like it. Regardless of the quality of the recording, the Savannah-Chenelle is one of our favorite wineries thus far. Very family friendly (we both have young kids) and very scenic. Check it out if you are in the area.

00:00 Intro
01:01 Savannah-Chenelle
01:40 2003 Estate Chardonnay
05:13 2001 Pierre’s Ghost Red Table Wine
10:27 2001 Pinot Noir, Armagh Vineyard
11:45 2001 Pinot Noir, Laetitia Vineyard, Arroyo Grande Valley
14:12 Review of tasting room
16:05 Aroma Wheel
17:33 2002 Pinot Noir, Russian River Valley
20:17 2001 Estate Cabernet Franc
24:45 2001 Estate Zinfadel
27:23 2002 Syrah Port (Yummy!)
29:50 Wrap-up and summary of visit
31:37 Exit Music
32:11 Accident Hash Promo
32:16 The Reverse Engineers - The Same Path

On this trip to the Santa Cruz Mountains, we visit the Savannah-Chanelle Winery (http://www.savannahchanelle.com/index.html) located in Saratoga, only 14 miles from central San Jose. The Savannah-Chanelle Winery was originally founded in 1892 and currently sits on about 58 acres, comprised mainly of Pinot, Cabernet Franc, Zinfadel, and Chardonnay vines. Anthough they produce several different varietals, they are well known for their Pinot’s. Some of these vines date back as far as 1910, and the Cabernet Franc is reportedly the oldest stock in California. The winery is nestled in the hills of Saratoga at an elevation of 1200 feet in the Santa Cruz mountains. On site there are numerous picnic tables and a generous grassy area suitable for picnics. The wine shop sells cheese, meat, soft drinks, as well as other wine related nic-nacs. This is a very family friendly environment and kids are welcome, with a multitude of books and a few games to keep them occupied while you sample wines. During the weekends, a pianist adds to the atmosphere by providing background music.

The wines that we sample are:
2003 Estate Chardonnay, $28.00
This is an Estate wine, grown from a vineyard that was planted in 1976. The rare use of Hungarian oak brings a unique character to this wine.

2001 Pierre’s Ghost Red Table Wine, $9.00
This is a blend (70% Syrah and 30% Zinfadel) and “shows a fusion of its indiosyncratic components”.
This wine is named after the founder - Pierre Pourroy - who according to legend lurks in corners and checks up on his wine-making operation from the grave. It was this Red Table Wine, that his nephew Robert Pourroy was making when we was overcome by CO2 when punching down the grapes and fell into a vat, eventually drowning in 1942. Needless to say, the BODY of this wine is excellent.

2001 Pinot Noir, Armagh Vineyard, Sonoma Coast, $28.00
A three-time award winner (2005 CA State Fair-Bronze Medal, 2005 SF Wine Competition-Bronze Medal, 2005 SF Chronicle Wine Competition-Bronze Medal), this wine brings aromas of ripe red bing cherries, wioth a hint of nutmeg and vanillia and a hint of cinnamon on the finish. Moderately earthy, and very delicatable.

2001 Pinot Noir, Laetitia Vineyard, Arroyo Grande Valley, $25.00
Flavors of cherry and Tobacco start this wine off well. Also a three-time award winner. (2005 CA State Fair-Silver,2005 SF Wine Competition-Bronze, 2005 SF Chronicle Wine Competition-Gold).

2002 Pinot Noir, Russian River Valley, $22.00
Deep rich color, “..in the mouth there is a burst of flavor arcing into a sublime finish. The mouth feel is Silky and Sensual, as it should be…” Bold, spicy and aromatic. A great pinot, and is Joe’s pick of all the Pinot’s that were available.

2001 Estate Cabernet Franc, Santa Cruz Mountains $28.00
Some of the oldest vines in all of California. The vines were planted in 1920. Sutble notes of Cedar and pine. Pomegranite and cherry undertones are also prevalent.

2001 Estate Zinfandel, Santa Cruz Mountains $28.00
Balanced with white pepper and jamminess. Oakiness scent is definitely prevalent.

2002 Syrah Port, $28.00
Winery Notes: Our first port after seven long, dry years. Decadent to the point of moral oblivion, this wine melts souls. In the glass, overwhemingly indulgent waves of Belgian chocolate and cherry fruit seem to some directly from some deep, dark place in the earth. On the tongue sinfully, silky expressions of berries, vanillia, carob, and sloe coat one’s mouth and make the outside world seem like a very silly thing indeed.

Anything that is “…Decadent to the point of moral oblivion…” needs to be sampled, caressed, and enjoyed, in our opinion!

Once again, special thanks to the Podsafe Music Network for turning us on to this next artist, The Reverse Engineers and their song is “The Same Path”. Influences of this band include Peter Murphy, The Fixx, and the Police.

Savannah-Chenelle Winery
23600 Congress Springs Road
Saratoga, CA 95070
Phone: (408) 741-2934
Google Map

Tasting is available daily from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. If you have the time, take a walk up the hill to the vineyards for a breathtaking view and a look at some old vine Zinfandel. Tours for 10 or more people are available for $15 a person, which includes an 18.5 ounce crystal bordeaux wineglass.

That’s all for today, 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

-A Guy

Audio Engineering by Tom Krymkowski, podmixer@mindspring.com

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In this episode we visit the Thomas Fogarty Winery, located just off Skyline boulevard in the hills of Woodside, CA. Dr. Fogarty, a successful surgeon and inventor, started the winery in 1978, but did not begin commercial production until about 1981. The Fogarty winery is well known not only it’s famous founder, but also many local companies hold Team Building excerises on the wonderful grounds. Weddings and private parties are also welcome. With sweeping views of the Silicon Valley below, it is no wonder that Fogarty Wineries remain a popular destination for the wine crowd.

00:00 Intro
01:47 Fogarty Background
03:04 2002 Estate Reserve Chardonnay
05:55 Santa Cruz Mountain Appleation Description and layout of property
10:07 2003 “Ventana Vineyards” Monterey Chardonnay
11:23 2004 Monterey Gewurtztraminer
18:00 2001 Santa Cruz Pinot Noir
20:18 Vineyard information
22:48 Exit Music
23:50 Accident Hash Promo
23:55 Paula Toledo

The Thomas Fogarty Winery produces approximately 15,000 cases of wine per year, and the property includes approximately 25 acres of vines (11 Chardonnay, 7.5 Pinot, 6 Merlot, 1 Sangiovese), at an elevation of about 2,100 feet. The wines we sampled during our visit are:

2002 Estate Reserve Chardonnay $45.00 about 302 cases produced
A complex chardonnay, but not in a buttery sort of way. Hints of pear, butterscotch and tropical fruits highlight this wine. Winemakers’ Notes - Straw in color, with a touch of honey and alfalfa on the nose, the wine appoaches with a texture that is immediately rich and subtle. With an essence of peaches and cream, this mineral-ladden-multi-layered wine shows through in the glass.

2003 “Ventana Vineyards” Monterey Chardonnay $26.00 about 260 cases produced
A “Big” Chardonnay, suitable for cocktails. Again tropical fruit is on tap as the primary elements that are noticed in this wine.
Winemakers’ Notes - The wine has a green/straw colored hue and loads of minerals, fresh apples and cream on the nose. The palette offers the tell-tale Santa Cruz Mountain minerality and stoniness as well as apple and pear flavors. This wine would pair fabulously with pastas with cream based sauces, seared scallops and fresh lobster.

2004 Monterey Gewurtztraminer $17.00
The winemakers favorite! All steel fermentation (no barrel aging) process allows you to enjoy the grape for what it is, without all the additional complexity that oak barrels can add. Although Gerwurtztraminer is normally known as a dessert wine, this one is suitable on its own or as an apertif. You must give this one a try! Winemakers’ Notes It is always delightfully dry on the palette, but full of tropical fruit, white flowers and spice, the hallmark of this beautifully crafted wine. The 2004 vintange produced some of our most striking gewurz ever with incredibly intense fruit flavors balanced by well integrated acidity. A perfect accompaniment to most fresh and exotic flavors.

2001 Santa Cruz Pinot Noir $25
Winemakers’ Notes This wine enraptures our strongest sense, the nose, with a rich invitation to savory red fruits. The first sip confirms this premise by offering a warm mouthful of almost sweet, strawberry-rhubarb compote. Set off against the structure and spice of this classic mountain fruit’s acidity and tannin, the wine closes with a real sense of place, here at home in the mountains.

I hope you enjoyed this trip to the Thomas Fogarty Winery. The music that we feature in this episode is by Paula Toledo and the song is “How Long”. You can visit her website at http://www.paulatoledo.com.

Incidently, according to Doctor Fogarty “There is now both epidemiological and biochemical evidence that wine consumption has health accruing benefits. The epidemiological evidence has been corroborated and redocumented in multiple additional studies.” You can’t argue with a prognosis like that, so be sure to drink up!

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.

-A Guy
guyandgirl@gmail.com
Skype - aguyandgirl

Every Wednesday from October 2005 through April 2006 at the Shadowbrook Restaurant 5pm - 8pm
Address: 1750 Wharf Rd, Capitola, CA 95010

Each week Shadowbrook will be featuring two to four wines from a Santa Cruz Mountains winery, offered by the bottle or glass. A representative of that week’s winery will offer tastings and information from a table setup in the restaurant’s Rockroom Lounge. That night all wines from the week’s winery, whether ordered in the bar or dining room, by the glass or bottle, will be 50% off the regular price. Featured wines will also be available in flights (about2.5 oz, also half-price), accompanied by complimentary appetizer.

The full schedule is as shown below. (Disclaimer - Schedule subjuct to change, refer to the Santa Cruz Mountain Winegrowers Association for complete information)

October
5 Glenwood Oaks
12 Bonny Doon Vineyards
19 Silver Mountain Vineyards
26 Trout Gulch Vineyard

November
2 TBD
9 Aptos Creek Vineyard
23 Cooper-Garrod Estate Vineyards
30 Salamandre Wine Cellars

December
7 River Run Vintners’
14 Ahlgren Vineyards
21 McHenry
28 TBD

January
4 TBD
18 Burrell School Vineyards & Winery
25 Santa Cruz Mountain Vineyard

February
1 Windy Oaks
8 Bargetto Winery
22 Fernwood Cellars

March
1 Cinnabar Vineyards & Winery
8 Windy Oaks
15 Naumann Vineyards
22 Alfaro Vineyards
29 Pinder Winery

April
5 TBD
12 Zayante Vineyards
19 Martin Ranch Winery
26 Hunter Hill Vineyards & Winery