 Pierce Ranch Vineyards' tasting room is within slingshot distance to Cannery Row and bucket list hotels right on the Monterey Bay. I've had the chance to taste there a few times, but was eager to pick up some wines again. The Iberian varietals are a welcome change from the California rinse-and-repeat varietals you often see. These wines are terrific on their own or with food. Anticipate personality! Just before the SIP, I messaged Josh and let him know I was in the area and hoping to come by for a tasting. He pinged me, and fast forward, there was a glass of Pierce Ranch wine in my hand as my husband and I were chatting it up with his amazing staff.  Owner, Josh Pierce, is often sharing and pouring his wines at Monterey County Vintners & Growers events, such as: trade tastings, winemaker tastings, and more. His tasting room is a relaxing place to savor the wines and enjoy a leisurely chat with a friend. While I've featured Josh's wines a way back, I do love the chance to taste current vintages. Here's a look at my tastings.
While we're waiting to get back to the tasting rooms, Pierce Ranch Vineyards (Link) can be found online, with available curb-side pick up. ------------------------------- Health to you and yours! Shondra Savadkohi ----------------------- Do you have wine questions during SIP? Or do you wish you had your own wine guide? CalWineJaunt.com offers Personalized Wine Consulting for your shelter-in-place wine needs. 
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The Annual Silicon Valley Wine Auction offered a collage of wines from the region. Winemakers from Corralitos to the Peninsula gathered to pour their wines. The commonality? All the wines were made with grapes sourced from the Santa Cruz Mountain AVA. Enjoy the tour!  Hosted at: Montalvo Arts Center, Saratoga.  Thank you, Santa Cruz Mountains Wine Growers Assoc., for the invitation to cover the 2019 SVWA! I volunteered for the Santa Cruz Mountain Winegrowers Association (Link) for almost four years. During that time, I cut my teeth on SCM varietals. These local wines became the foundation for my wine palate. Without meaning to, I often compare and contrast the wines from other regions to my local wines. Some SCM wines are smooth, some silky, others light, others hearty. Producing wines that are tannic, to raw, to elegant in palate, the region is a wine playground within reach of the beach and the nation's tech capital. ----------------------------- A toast to your collage of wines! Shondra Savadkohi Looking for wines in Monterey County? Read on...   World renown for its superior Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, Monterey County is home to Carmel-by-the-Sea. The coastal village is laced with quaint paths that lead to dining, sea vistas, and wineries. As I walked to the Sunset Center, the slight crunch of the pathway gravel greeted my ears and I was eager to try other varietals from the region. At the Annual 'Monterey County Wine Trade Tasting,' hundreds of Monterey County wines were poured...all with a passion to share the wines of the region. Highlights of my tasting afternoon... Kori Wines 2018 Sauvignon Blanc, Griva Vineyard. White peach gives way to tall-grassy notes, with hints of ocean saline. I am always drawn to a winery that produces Sauvignon Blanc, one of my favorite wines. It is versatile, fresh, and pairs with the California Coastal food lifestyle. 'KORi' Wines is the partnership between Santa Lucia Highlands grape/citrus grower Kirk Williams & his step-daughter Kori Violini. (from their site.)  Holman Ranch 2016 Brix Pinot Gris Estate Grown, Camel Valley. The floral notes, and ever-so-slight sweetness would cover a gathering of palates. Light on minerals, it gives a hint of dairy and graham then meets up with tropical flavors.  Drench Wines With 4 Styles of Sangiovese, Emily Hunt is a winemaker to take note of. She's new to the Monterey wine scene and is gifted with creativity in spades. All of her pours were a blend of 75% Sangiovese and 25% Petite Sirah. What's so special about that? Well, she offered a Rose' and three different styles of red wine—all made from the same blend of grapes. All of the fruit arrived to Emily at once. But she used different production methods and timing to achieved wines with completely different flavor profiles. That's a gutsy undertaking! Some wines were on the skins for 4 hours, others for 6. Some soaked with the stems. One was aged more, another less. Emily's wine mentor and the fruit hail from the Napa area. But her wine is Monterey style through and through.  Hahn Family Wines 2017 Pinot Gris, Monterey County. Soft green melon and fresh floral notes round out this slightly sweeter yet pleasing wine. This white wine is food-friendly without any heavy dairy on the palate.  Testarossa Winery: Winemaker, Bill Brosseau, shares his craft. Testarossa offers wine tasting in their Camel Valley and Los Gatos locations. My light write up offers a peek at the Los Gatos tasting room...'Testarossa, Wine for Collectors & Beginners.'  Windy Oaks Estate 2015 Grenache, Santa Lucia Highlands. This coastal grown 100% Grenache offers a pleasing light to mid-weight mouth-feel. A bit of acidity offers a base for foods, but the wine fitting on its own. Fruit forward, but not jammy. This family winery is located up Hazel Dell Road, in the Corralitos area. The vineyards cover almost 30 acres. You'll find their tasting rooms in Carmel-by-the Sea and the Carmel Village. Pierce Ranch Vineyards 2017 Verdelho, San Antonio Valley. Embrace currents of honeysuckle and soft citrus in this white wine. Josh Pierce offers wines that are like a treasure chest. Each one is subtle, then opens up to an arc of flavors and character. Hands down, when I serve Pierce Ranch wines to my guests at home, they always garner a comment of praise! Other wineries to check out...(pictured above) Joyce Vineyards, Scratch Wines (staff,) Josh Pierce of Pierce Ranch Vineyards, and Miguel Lepe of Lepe Cellars. Also, pouring, Rexford Winery. Thank you, Monterey County Wines, for the Trade Tasting invitation. For more on the following wineries, and dozens of additional tasting rooms, visit MCVG's site (Link.)  Big Sur Vineyards 2015 BSV Red Wine, Monterey County. Lenora Carey journeyed from being a documentary filmmaker to the owner of Big Sur Vineyards. With Ryan Kobza as winemaker, the first vintage was released in 2013. The Arroy Seco growing region provides the precise weather for BSV's olive trees, essential oils gardens, and vineyards.  Who Attended & Why? Instead of buying dozens of bottles of wine to try, the restaurant industry sampled and selected wines in one location to pair with their menu and and customers' desires. Grocery and market buyers seek out wines to stock and sell in their stores. Wine publicists and writers come to get a taste of what's current in Monterey. People are looking for crowd-pleaser wines. And for wines that exemplify a region. They also seek out the hidden gems. The unexpected wines that someone special will be looking for. ------------------------------- So here's to your everyday wines and the hidden gems for your special occasions. Shondra Savadkohi Coming up, the Monterey Winemaker's Celebration is a day of wine tasting for new wine fans and the devoted. For your tickets and more, visit my Wine News post...   “Every region is different. Every grower is different. It's always new out there.” John's role, as Grower Relations Representative at Coppola Winery, focuses on relations between the grape growers and the winery; which takes time and attention. Vineyards can be growing and selling grapes for on wards of 30 years. Coppola has been with growers for over 10 years. As with any relationship, the goal is to be honest and open. Coppola Winery fosters ongoing dialogues with vineyard teams about what kind of fruit they are looking for. It's a discussion not a monologue. “We want both sides to get what they're looking for,” John shared. Winemakers seek premier fruit and a good price per ton of grapes. Growers look for the volume to pricing they need to keep their businesses thriving.  The wine industry is a tight knit community. For John, it's about building and keeping the relationships growing between the winery and growers. In the vineyard, he can be an extra set of eyes and a resource for growers. Not a police. He keeps notes all year long on the health of the field: monitoring weather and bud break. He collaborates with the growers to look at pest management, pruning, vine balance, and fruit yields. It's about bringing the growers in so they are a part of the winemaking process. Coppola Wines looks for growers they can work with in California, and into Oregon. To visit Coppola wines, visit (Link.) Imagine you grow produce for a local restaurant for a living. Once the produce leaves your field, typically, the farmer doesn't have any say on how the produce is cooked, served, or tastes. But Coppola wines bridges the gap. Their “Grower Feedback Tasting” is a merging of strengths. The Coppola team and grape growers meet for wine tastings to share feedback; from the grapes to the glass. While typically hands-on and in the soil, John also focuses on the wine industry at large. I had the chance to talk with him at North America's Unified Wine and Grape Symposium, and at the national ASEV conference. When not in the field, John keeps tabs on current wine trends and knowledge, as well as the chance to collaborate with wine industry peers.  Tasters can find Coppola sparkling & still wines in a can, as well as traditional glass bottles. --------------------- Fostering relationships makes for a better family, and makes for better wine. From the soil to the production room, John, and others like him, play a supporting role in crafting your favorite wines. -------------------- A toast to those who build kinship! Shondra Savadkohi A bit of science helps wine enthusiasts find better quality wines. For more, visit my feature on the ASEV.  The Wine Blending Seminar at Scheid Winery was a chance to explore different combinations of wines & flavors.  If only school were this enjoyable! I had the chance to mix and pour wines at the Blending Seminar at Scheid Vineyards Tasting Room in Carmel. The evening was a chance for guests to try their hand at creating their own signature blend of wine. To top it off, the feature was published on Edible Monterey Bay Online (link to story.) "Guests introduced themselves. Then they started tasting each varietal. Next came the combining, and spilling, of wines. Then more tasting, as table-mates shared their concoctions with each other and chose a favorite wine. An eye catching name was a must!"  "Names flew across the tables as tasters tried to summarize their wines. Alliances quickly formed as judging began. Shouts and enthusiasm grew as the wine took hold of tasters and people cheered for their favorite wine." ------------------- A special thanks to Scheid Vineyards (Link) and Monterey County Wines (Link.) It was a wonderful collaboration! A toast to your wine journey--spills, new acquaintances, and all! Shondra Savadkohi For the full feature, visit my story on EMB.  |
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