On the Road with the Grape Guy

Report from - Jonata Tasting ... November 7, 2012

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Category: On the Road with the Grape Guy

Today it’s a tasting of one of California’s newest premier wineries, Jonata, with estate manager, Armand de Maigret.

Interesting notes on the winery …

Vineyard is all sand and was thought not to be conducive to growing good grapes, French flying winemaker and consultant Michel Rolland thought property would make a great golf course - (though he did decide to work with them).  Others thoughts it great for growing asparagus.  
NB: Other sandy vineyards around the word include Lafite (50%) and Vega Sicilia

They thought they would start with 10 varieties and then ripe out then graft back what is growing well ... turns out that all the varieties are doing well (here’s what they grow by acreage):  Cabernet Sauvignon (19), Cabernet Franc (12), Merlot (6), Petit Verdot (~5), Sauvignon Blanc (6), Syrah (22), Viognier (2), Grenache (1), Sangiovese (5), Semillon (2), Petite Sirah (2) … there are 82 acres planted out of 600 available.  They crop at around 2 tons to the acre, max is 2.2

Wines have to be perfect before they go in the bottle - at times they will not make the wine if it is not up to their standards.  Second label is called "The Pairing" – these are “barrels that don't behave properly” ... and those that don’t fit at all are sold as bulk.

Wines are all named - even if they could be labeled as a straight varietal ... thus Jonata can hedge their bets in case of a bad vintage with any one grape variety.

The name Jonata means "tall powerful live oak" and is pronounced Honata.

Their AVA is part of the bigger Santa Barbara ... smaller is Santa Ynez ... specifically, Ballard Canyon

(As for the wine, click here to see the reviews of 9 of the tens wines tried)

To read about more interesting adventures thru the world of wine check out the On the Road With the Grape Guy blog.

Report from - Wine Writers' Circle Tasting – Groupe Soleil Growers Champagne Tasting ... October 29, 2012

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Category: On the Road with the Grape Guy

When I first heard of “Growers Champagne” I thought the Apple Cider company from BC was branching out.  But then it was explained to me that Growers Champagne is just what it sounds like – Champagne (from the actual region in France) made by the actual growers themselves, instead of the large Champagne houses … these “growers” aren’t looking for consistency in the bottle from year-to-year, they want the difference of each vintage to shine through, as well as the characteristics of their own vineyard to show in the glass.  According to Stephen Cohen, owner of Groupe Soleil – an Ontario wine agent specializing in these Champagnes, there are over 5000 of these growers Champagnes being made and many are organic and biodynamic.  Groupe Soleil usually has 20-30 different kinds at any one time but in very small amounts.

Today we tried 6 of these particular bubblies – four of them are reviewed below: (to read about the four wines reviewed, click here)

To read about more interesting adventures thru the world of wine check out the On the Road With the Grape Guy blog.