California Wine Tasting With Wise Villa Winery

Sierra Foothill wineries produce some delicous wines and Syrah is one of the wine grapes known to produce delightful wines in the region. Yes, the foothills of Placer County produce some wonderful wines with a little "altitude" if you would. I would like to introduce you to one from Wise Villa Winery.

Just a few weeks ago while going through my wine storage I discovered that I still had one of first vintage Syrah laying down. I Still remember a few other wines that I purchase during my visit with Dr. Grover Lee winemaker and the owner of the Estate and Kevin Luther the winemaker. It was a wonderful experience in the barrel room doing some barrel tasting with the owner and the winemaker that visit. 

Since Wise Villa's first vintage with their first released in 2009, Wise Villa Winery has been a family owned and operated winery, estate vineyard, and more recently a Tuscan-style bistro located in the heart of the Sierra Foothills.  Wise Villa is in the wine Appellation of Placer County and they have continued to please many a wine-lover since my first vist nearly 9 years ago.  Wines Villa's grapes are meticulously grown using organic and sustainable practices. During harvest the folks at the winery go a step further by triple sorting and then implementing whole berry cold fermentation to produce balanced wines with natural fresh fruit character. 

Awhile back I was doing some customer direct marketing and pouring a wine from Bogle, Bogle Phantom.  Like any wine, you can’t please everyone with any one wine. The fact is our taste preferences are as individual as we are. Bogle Phantom is a “proprietary red wine” from Bogle Vineyards in Clarksburg, California, USA. I enjoyed my visit to the Bogle winery in Clarksburg AVA just across the river from Sacramento and manage to take the long way out. So, when you visit, unless you want to explore, remember to head back the way you came. If you don’t you will see a lot of farm and vineyard and eventual end up at a river ferry crossing with no choice but to take the ferry, or turn around. I had come this far so I took the ferry across the river, to see what I could see.

While Bogle doesn’t reveal the blend composition, “proprietary red wine” they do say the vineyard source is Amador, Clarksburg, and Lodi.  Phantom is aged 24 months in one and two-year-old American oak. On the bottle, underneath the title of the wine reads: “Mysterious and Hauntingly Seductive”
Bogle describes this wine as follows:

“As you pour it from the bottle the glass just might remind you of the dark recesses of the cellar you sense a presence, hear footsteps.  Why is it these things only happen when you are alone?  In the shadows, a glimpse of muddy boots and old blue jeans…  the lurking legacies of hard work and determination left by those who have come before you.  We are proud to carry on the traditions of our founders with this unique red wine.  A deep ruby apparition that personifies the true spirit of the Bogle.”

Paso Robles Wines are really getting noticed by winelovers. Bold Cabernet Sauvignon, layered Primitivos are some of the delightful wines you will discover there.  Maréchal Vineyards Primitivo is an Italian variety with roots in Croatia, and it bears the same DNA association with Zinfandel. Like Zinfandel, Primitivo is perfectly adapted to the growing conditions of Paso Robles. However, it is the naturally favors and elegance over heaviness—a quality that inspires Josh Marshall Winemaker, to make his Maréchal Vineyards Primitivo. The Primitivo fruit is hand-picked at peak maturity while carefully avoiding any over-ripe qualities. The winemaking approach borrows from European tradition, favoring evenness over aggressiveness in matters such as oak influence and tannin profile. 

TASTING NOTES
Maréchal Vineyards Primitivo is distinguished by it-weight tannins and balanced acidity offer a long, round finish.

What's the difference between Primitivo and Zinfandel?

While Primitivo and Zinfandel are genetically similar, they are quite different grapes and produce distinctive wines. Talking with winemakers that grow and produces both wines, and others we learned how they are totally different clusters of fruit and different berries too.

What is the difference?

Monterey Wines are some very enjoyable wines along California's Central Coast. Today we take a look, and taste of De Tierra Vineyards – 2019 Russel Vineyard Rosé

First, What Is Rosé?
Rosé is a dry wine that is bright and refreshing wine that is different from a red glass of wine and sharing some traits with some dry white wines. Rosé has become more popular in the United States over the past few years. Recently in California with so much heat during the warm months of the year many are opting for something cooler for their glass. Rosé also happens to be the perfect wine for sipping in the park or at a backyard barbecue as well as sit down dinners with friend with a variety of foods. Suffice it to say, rosé has become incredibly popular, still so many of us don’t know how rosé is made or where some of the most consistent rosés comes from. Have you heard of White Zinfandel? White Zinfandel is indeed a rosé wine, made in the rosé style, it just happens to be an incredibly sweet rosé.

Kings River 2015 Chenin Blanc
During the 1960’s and 70’s here in California Chenin Blanc was a popular wine. If a wine glass contained California Chenin Blanc in the 1970s or ’80s, the chances were high that it was poured either from a jug of nondescript blended wine or a bottle of semisweet, inexpensive single-varietal Chenin from a North Coast producer. Chenin Blanc was one of California’s first popular white grapes, planted throughout much of the 20th century. It became popular in bulk blending juice, which was labeled as California Champagne or Chablis resulting in an inexpensive, palate-friendly single-varietal wine with residual sugar. Both versions were typically lackluster, with some exceptions. Once found in cheap blends, the grape is gaining popularity among boutique producers. Some 50 years later there only a handful of wineries in California make this wonderful crisp and delightful wine that originates from the Chenin Blanc grape. Over the past decade, artisanal winemakers have launched a new California wave of limited-production Chenin Blanc wines from the Central Valley, Sierra Foothills, Mendocino, Santa Barbara, and are striving to change the reputation of California Chenin Blanc for good. Kings River Winery in Sanger California produces a genuinely nice bottle that we will review here in California Corks’ “Zip Sips”

Chenin Blanc Acidity and Adaptability