Sunday, May 25, 2014

Bardessono

After a wonderful tasting yesterday at Coturri Winery, Jen and I continued the journey with our senses at Bardessono's restaurant in Yountville, Lucy's Garden. Bardessono is one of two LEED Platinum certified hotels in the country. So Lucy has to hit a high bar. And, I have wanted to try it for some time.

The restaurant, like the hotel, is very cool in design. Sharp lines and a monochromatic color scheme set the tone, however, warmth is achieved with natural additions, such as a beautiful natural wood table running through the middle of the restaurant, reflecting pools on the patio and glimpses of softness spread throughout.

We decide to sit on the patio where the breeze and 80 degrees mingle to create a perfect al fresco experience. Jen and I discuss our disappointment lately with waitstaff as a very pleasant and accommodating waitperson approaches. We eye her with suspicion as we suspect, due to our cynicism, her demeanor won't last. To our surprise it does! Our experience with the service is exceptional. We are greeted and treated as if we are very welcomed throughout our entire experience -- which lasts a little while after they close. We didn't know at the time because everyone remained friendly and welcoming. Our waitperson helps us choose wine, explains each dish and leaves enough space so no one feels crowded.

The food at Lucy's is phenomenal. They have a garden where many of the vegetables are grown on site. Not only are they raising and meeting the bar but they are competing with a very stellar list of restaurants already claiming space in what is becoming a mecca of fine dining in Yountville, least of which is The French Laundry taking top billing. But, this was a truly magical experience. The Riesling was a star with the oysters and the cheese.

What a celebration!

http://www.bardessono.com/

Coturri Winery

It's time to tell you about Coturri Wines. I visited Tony Coturri at his winery in Glen Ellen, Sonoma yesterday with Jen Lee. This was a highly anticipated visit for me. Tony is well-known for always being a natural grower in California, since the 60's, he's also considered a pioneer of natural wine in California. He's been farming organically and making wine naturally since the 60's.

We know we have arrived at Cotturi because we confirmed the address not because of the big signs directing us to the entrance. It is a long trek to the farm and if you don't know where you're going you won't get there. And, when you do you might think there's been a flood. Boxes, barrels, carboys, growlers, buckets are strewn about as if someone was in a rush to get it out of the cellar. There is a folding table in the middle of it all and a few bottles waiting to be tasted.

Tony begins, as you can imagine, without much thought to the order of things, but it doesn't seem to matter. The order and the natural chaos of the world is all in the bottle. Each varietal; Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Pinot Noir and his hallmark, Zinfandel's dance and sing telling you a story of the time they were born and what's happened since. Before we leave I ask if there is a wine I should not leave without? Tony disappears into the cellar and returns with a bottle and smile, a Petite Sirah which he proclaims should not be ignored. And, it won't be.

It's a pleasure to drink Tony's wines. They are alive. They are spirited. They can be bombs of berry and soil. They can be adventures. But they are not unstable or unbalanced. And that goes for the man too. He is easy to talk to and very intuitive. He is sensitive and warm. He is, as his wines are ... sometimes rough around the edges but giving and fully present.

It's this poetry in a bottle that sends me back on the road again and again recapturing the delight I find in celebrating with others this tremendous life. It is also this poetry that underscores love and heartache. Jen mentioned to me a touching anecdote on our way to Coturri that her two favorite topics in life are wine and love. They are not mutually exclusive, especially here.

Tony unearthed some rare 1990 Pinot Noir from Sonoma Valley. Jen and I tried it and both were blown away. I am sipping some now. It's inspiring. It makes me feel as if I am truly enjoying the moment. The taste of earth is what jumps from the bottle when you pull the cork -- and then as it opens over time (and I suspect it will continue to open to tell more tales overnight) -- brighter fruit begins to surface and the two linger in a type of harmony.

What a wonderful discovery.
http://www.coturriwinery.com/

RAWfair

I attended Isabelle Legerons' RAWfair in London a few days ago with Philippe. It was overwhelming. I have been researching 'natural' wines in California since Philippe introduced me to this way of wine making months ago and it's been eye-opening.  Eye-opening because most domestic wine producers are either not willing to share their wine making practices or what's actually in the bottle or just not willing to talk about the subject. It isn't surprising given it can be a very touchy subject. If there are wine makers in the U.S. practicing natural wine making techniques they aren't proclaiming it on their labels or in stores either for fear possibly of being 'categorized' and therefore, diminish their marketing appeal or just misunderstood.

At the RAWfair there were two domestic wine producers and they both were from neighboring appellations in Oregon with very similar varietals. But, on this day, the sun was shining in London and the hall filled with a world full of natural wine makers. Natural wine reflects what's happening to the earth in that part of the world and natural wine producers express this history by being shephards of the land, fruit and time. The result is a unique wine still living. The fruit a bearer of what the land provided. The wine a true expression of what mother nature has brought to the yield that year. Tasting through the RAWfair is a journey from one country to another, a glass is all you need to visit.


What is Natural Wine?

What is natural wine? If you ask this question to U.S. wine producers you're likely to get any number of responses ranging from a lengthy explanation to a defensive rant. It's a complex question for a winery to answer. It can open up a very big can of worms. And, natural wine makers would be pretty happy about that on many levels.

Natural wines at their most basic are farmed at least organically and are made without any additives. So, if a farmer isn't adding chemicals at the farm and wine maker isn't adding any chemicals in the cellar what is going on? Life. Naturally.

There is so much thoughtfulness going into the production of wine through this process it isn't surprising modern wine producers have taken advantage of the latest technology on the farm and in the cellar. However, what's in it for the consumer?

Modern wine making practices have made wine producers scientists. The bottle you buy is going to reflect that science. The consumer will have a consistent drink. It will last on the shelf. It will have alcohol, sulfites, yeast -- and any number of other additives in your glass. But you won't know it because the FDA doesn't regulate that or require wine makers to tell you.

Natural wine producers don't add chemicals. They farm the land according to organic and/or biodynamic practices -- and by hand. They harvest grapes with care and thought. They mature their wines with the least amount of intervention. They produce wines that vary from one vintage to the other but reflect the year they were made and they location.

As I said, it is a complex topic for this industry. It is complex domestically and it gets even more so when you add in that Europe and other countries have been coming back to the idea of the original natural wine practices of ancient times for some time.

And, what's more... they are good! They are interesting. The are living. They are a true celebration of the earth and location. I am inspired by the people who make them and the results they yield.