Smith-Madrone and a Lesson in Seduction

Has old-school become the new new-school? Perhaps that doesn’t make any sense, but it’s something I realized on a tour of Smith-Madrone yesterday.

The Vineyards

A winding ascent from Santa Rosa (or St Helena) leads to the Spring Mountain District of Napa Valley. The hillside provides a commanding view of the valley, along with good wine. It is here that Smith-Madrone is located – a small old winery in the midst of its own vineyard. The winery was founded in 1971, well before Spring Mountain became an AVA in 1993.

Upon arrival, I was greeted with a tour of the beautiful grounds and an energetic pup. Vineyards and madrone trees sit side-by-side in harmony on the hillside, and I became very excited to find out what these hillside vineyards are capable of producing. As much as I’d love to have roamed the vineyards, it is the fruits of their labors which brought me here, and no time was wasted in discovering them.

Looking down the valley

The Wines

In the winery the brothers Stuart and Charles Smith (not the “rockstar”) poured generous amounts of their current releases and a couple of tank samples. We tasted the 2007 and 2009 Chardonnay, both made in a classic oaked style, which I am slowly growing fond of as the rest of the world slowly becomes entranced with stainless chardonnay (boring!). The 2009 was in tank and ready for bottling, but the 2007 was clearly in a better stage at the moment, which is why it’s the current release I suppose. It is here that we got into a philosophical discussion that still has me thinking.

A few ounces of 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon was poured into my glass, and over the next few minutes I began to understand why people go berserk over Napa cabernet. Mondovino became the subject at hand, in a manner of which I don’t recall. There is a scene in Burgundy where an old vigneron is bashing high alcohol, “new world” wines — claiming they seduce immediately but don’t leave a lasting impression, much like topless dancers (that part isn’t in the movie).

The Smith-Madrone Cabernet Sauvignon is not one of those wines. The alcohol reads 13.9%, and the wine is beautifully balanced and exactly what cabernet should be. I don’t know what the professionals have scored this wine, but it doesn’t matter; it’s not a fruit bomb, but it is fully ripe and highly seducing, just not immediately. They sent me out with a bottle which I was looking forward to cellaring, but to make a long story short it was consumed that night at a restaurant in St Helena and very much enjoyed by all. R.I.P., sexy Cabernet; you are already missed.

A Fish Out of Water

Riesling and Napa Valley are two words I never expect to hear in the same sentence (like complex and pinot grigio), but alas, there does exist at least one tasty Napa Valley Riesling. I wouldn’t venture to place it quite on the pedestal with Poet’s Leap or Tantalus and the rest of the best of the Northwest, but it could be placed on a slightly shorter, rounder pedestal. They did mention that at one point in their careers they used some skin contact on the Riesling. I’m tempted to seek out a bottle of this, because we all know about my unhealthy obsession with skin contact.

The Rest of the Story

Stuart and Charlie have been making wine significantly longer than I’ve been drinking it, and I think they know what they’re doing at this point. It’s somewhat ironic that there exists a significant wave of young winemakers who insist on all-but-eliminating technology and everything California has taught us about winemaking from the process. I can’t argue with the wines nor with their experience level, but I am in this wave, so all I can really say is that they have a point. But old-school is the new new-school, and I’m sticking to it.

Dazed and Canadian

Across the 49th parallel in British Columbia lies the Okanagan Valley; and while in proximity to Washington, in actuality it is worlds apart (separate ways). The Valley is tall and skinny, stretching from the relatively warm south to the cooler north on the banks of Okanagan Lake. Besides the natural beauty of the valley, there are over 120 wineries from which to chose. Unfortunately I only had two days in the area, so I fell a few short of the total.

The Naramata Bench

The normally sun-drenched Okanagan was wet for much of the trip, as most of the Pacific Northwest has been since seemingly eternity. Mudslides aside, I spent most of day one on the Naramata bench, a gradual west facing slope on the south east bank of the lake. The Naramata bench is it’s own subregion of the Okanagan Valley and there are certainly a lot of wineries to choose from.

The morning highlight was the stellar 2008 Lake Breeze Seven Poplars Chardonnay. This came as a relief after some underwhelming wines earlier in the day, and it was mostly uphill from there. The other two winos in my party had heard of a place called Foxtrot, which is as elusive as it sounds. Their dedication paid off, however, and we got an appointment after lunch. This was the highlight of the trip, and it deserves its own blog post, so I’m giving it such.

Tantalus

A drive up the west side of the lake brings one to the largest city in the valley, Kelowna. Probably most famous for the filming location of 2006 zombie movie Fido (not to be confused with its prog musician homonym, Phideaux), Kelowna is also home to its own group of wineries. Where there’s wine there’s food, and a dinner at RauDZ in downtown was worth the wait (it was quite a popular place). Besides the great food they had a high end selection of local wines available by the glass; but unfortunately no enslaved zombies to speak of.

The bar staff told tales of a stellar riesling being created by Tantalus Vineyards, and this seemed worth seeking out. A short drive from the city lies the estate with 40 planted acres. A very modern white building dominates the center, and it feels very much like something out of the movie Sleeper, only there is no orgasmatron inside.

New Zealand borne winemaker David Paterson (in a good mood after their football team managed a draw) was serving as the tasting room host, and this proved to be the other highlight of the trip. Besides his 2009 Tantalus Vineyards Dry Riesling, which can easily compete with the top Rieslings of Washington (if not smash them), he also had created a duo of pinot noirs worth noting. At $30 the 2008 Tantalus Vineyards Pinot Noir is one of the most fairly priced pinot noirs I’ve ever come across. Oh, oh, and it turns out there is an orgasmatron inside, only it’s disguised as a Canadian riesling.

Blue Mountain Vineyard

After Tantalus I was feeling some pain in the pocket book, but one more stop had to be made. About a 60 minute drive from Kelowna landed me in one of the most stunning settings I’ve ever seen. This is Blue Mountain Vineyard and Cellars, another appointment only stop but worth the effort just for the view. Their wines were impressive, too, and the pinot noir solidified my belief that this is the grape of the future for the Okanagan.

The region as a whole is still learning, and with time they will figure out their ideal grape varieties, much as Walla Walla is still doing. So far it seems pinot noir, chardonnay, and riesling have the lead. Unfortunately NAFTA doesn’t apply when it comes to wine, so it makes sense that the southern end of the valley is creating California style Bordeaux reds to satisfy that market.

The Okanagan Valley just may be the most beautiful wine region in North America, and the wines should not be overlooked either. Unfortunately the wines are basically impossible to find in the US, but knowing what can be done with pinot north of the border will surely bring me back in the future — or maybe I’ll just move to Canada as I so often threaten. I wouldn’t mind having a pet zombie, afterall.

Columbia Crest: Wine Factory?

Noble Rot: I Dub thee Prince of Portland Wine Bars

The latest Terroirists covert sneak invasion of Portland led me to a wine bar showing some serious promise. The first moment of intrigue comes by way of the bar entrance. You have two choices: you can take the stairs up four flights, or if you’re a pussy, you can take the elevator (I took the elevator). It almost feels like an exclusive club, you leave the elevator and are presented with a fairly unremarkable glass door. This door leads you into an amazing view of downtown Portland.

This view conveniently has a fully stocked bar and a so-so wine list attached to it. The ambiance is paramount in this place, very relaxing, very chill and low lighting. The wines I chose left me a little unsatisfied. I had a flight of three white wines from Alsace produced by Dopff and Irion. One was a blend of Pinot Gris, Riesling, Gewurztraminer, and Muscat, and it kinda sucked. The next wine was a Gewurztraminer which had a good nose and ultimately sucked less than the first one. The third was my favorite, and it was a Pinot Gris which was a little surprising but it too sucked, but just a little less than the other two. I would probably rate these wines around 82 through 84, so sucked may be a little harsh; but none of these wines blew me away. I’ll repeat that: none of these wines blew me away which is really disappointing because they were from Alsace.

Lackluster wines aside I had a pretty kick ass time there; you show me a cute bartender and I’m sold. They also have one of my favorite beers on tap which really helped. Overall I think this is a great place to stop if you’re in Portland. They have a diverse bar, a pretty decent wine list, and what smelled like great food. Noble Rot, I dub thee prince of Portland wine bars, but you’ve got a lot of work to do to dethrone the king.

You can check them out at http://noblerotpdx.com/