paso-robles
Not All Meals Are Gourmet – But All Deserve A Good Wine!
Photo ©Michael Kelly
I generally write about wines that can be purchased commercially, whether at a winery or wine shop. This wine we were given by a friend, Steve Alaimo in Paso Robles a week ago while staying at “The Guest House”. He is the proprietor of the Via Paloma “The Guest House” that we frequent when in Paso Robles. He provides a bottle of either his Zinfandel or Cabernet Sauvignon in the room when staying there. It is not a commercial wine, but one that is from his small vineyard on his property. He is an amateur winemaker and has been making wine since 1991 in the Los Angeles area as an enthusiastic hobby. When he moved to Paso Robles in 2009, he sought advice from various wine consultants on how to improve his winemaking skills. He subsequently joined a home winemaking group in Paso Robles called “Wines & Steins” a social and educational club.
The previous year he provided us with two different bottles of his 2018 with one being very good. Steve the winemaker, calls his wine Via Paloma, with Paloma translating to “dove”.
This year Steve provided us with a 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon and last evening the weather was nice before the next atmospheric river forecasted for the next nine days, so at the last minute decided to BBQ hamburgers. Grabbed the wine out of the cellar and it was significantly better and a step up from his previous vintages. When I called and asked what had changed besides the “terroir” his explanation was basically a new American oak barrel was used in fermentation. He normally makes one barrel of Zinfandel and one barrel of Cabernet Sauvignon. If I were rating this wine it would be 90 or 91 points.
Photo ©Michael Kelly
The wine had a nice deep red coloring on the eyes and medium-heavy viscosity. On the nose a tad reserved but still dark fruit was evident. On the palate a mixture of blackberry and plum were the dominant flavors. Secondary flavors of vanilla pipe tobacco sprang forth. On the finish it was bold and structured with velvety tannins. Steve’s crafting of his Cabernet Sauvignon took a significant leap in quality from my perspective. Nice going Steve!
Photo ©Michael Kelly
Had the wine with a BBQ’ed burger and steak fries. It was a wonderful match “on the fly” and very complimentary to each other. I don’t know what I enjoyed more, his wine or conversations with him when visiting or over the phone.
It is a great bonus staying at his guest house with his wine and would recommend “The Guest House” on a Paso Robles visit.
Slainte,
Michael Kelly
https://californiawinesandwineries.com
s_alaimo@yahoo.com “The Guest House”
2021 Donati Family Vineyard Petit Verdot
Photo from Donati Family Vineyards webpage
Background
This story unfolded from Donati’s participation in the 6th Annual International Cabernet Franc Competition on March 5th. They won Best of Category in the $56-$70 California Category and Double Gold Medals from the Professional Judges. They also received a Silver Medal from the People’s Choice Judges. This price category included wines from Lodi, Santa Maria, Paso Robles, Alexander Valley, Napa Valley and Temecula and perhaps one of the toughest categories in the California portion of the competition. This was their second year participating.
Photo ©Michael Kelly
While attending the #CabFrancMasters in Paso I contacted Donati Wines to arrange a visit as I did not know the winery. We agreed to meet on Monday after the event and what a fun, delightful and engaging visit pursued with winemaker Briana Heywood. Her background prior to joining the Donati Family was at J. Lohr Vineyards & Winery for almost 10 years as an enologist and previous experience with a variety of wineries.
Photo ©Michael Kelly
The Wine – “Wine is bottled poetry” – Robert Louis Stevenson
Photo ©Michael Kelly
During the visit with Brianna we sampled various wines from their award winning lineup. We left with two of their wines, one being Petit Verdot. Petit Verdot is best know as a blending wine for Bordeaux style wines. It was used consistently in Bordeaux as it was a late ripening grape varietal. It struggled to reach full maturity and when used in moderation (1-2%) for blending produced generally produced wines that were overly tannic and caused the vineyards to decline. More recently however Petit Verdot has had a resurgence due to plantings in warmer climates like California, Australia and Spain. The warmer climates allowing the fruit to fully ripen and provide a distinct character for the varietal. Providing a very drinkable wine full of body, tannins and structure.
Photo ©Michael Kelly
The Donati Family Vineyard Petit Verdot displays all the key components of this beautiful and often misunderstood varietal. First on the eyes, this wine is a lavish and royal purple in coloring contrasting from other varieties. In the glass, it has a medium-heavy viscosity. On the nose, aromas of violets and lavender along with plum and blackberry rise up to beckon your first sip. Once on the palate the essence of dark fruits, strong tannins and firm acidity greet the imbiber. Blueberry notes soften the impact of the tannins with a silky smoothness and flavor. On the finish, black pepper and spices and dried herbal notes and rustic smoky tastes linger. After the finish, you are struck with its full body, structural characteristics and tannins. Aging in oak barrels tends to soften the wine with a slight vanilla taste. Only 68 cases were produced and the wine lists for $56/bottle. The wine is 13.9% alcohol.
The Food and Wine Pairing – “Food without wine is a corpse; wine without food is a ghost. United and well matched, they are as body and soul: living partners” – Andre Simon
Photo ©Michael Kelly
This wine was chosen this evening to be paired with slow cooked beef short ribs. Many wines could be selected, especially for how the ribs are prepared and cooked be it braised or BBQ for example. Petit Verdot with its acidity and tannins complement the richness of beef. While the beef was cooked in red wine, the strong Petit Verdot continued to break down the proteins in the meat to enhance a more tender texture.
The recipe called for seasoned short ribs braised first and then transferred to the slow cooker. A sauce was prepared with onions, mushrooms, garlic, beef broth, oregano, thyme, rosemary and marjoram. Then in the slow cooker, red wine and the sauce were added with the meat along with bay leaves. It was cooked for 9 hours. When the meat was served it was so tender it fell apart with a fork. Accompanied by twice baked Russet potato. The food and wine pairing hit the target with the tannins from the wine standing up to the meat and the flavorful meat enjoying the dark fruit from the wine. Extremely simpatico!
The Winery
Photo of a small portion of the winery ©Michael Kelly
The winery produces both a larger scale commercial wine offering and very small artisan & boutique wines for direct to customer purchase and their wine club. They are located at 2720 Oak View Road in Templeton, California. Their tasting room is quaint and inviting and more like a family room atmosphere.
Photo ©Michael Kelly
Here is the lineup of some of their commercial and mass-produced wines. They are moderately priced for the consumer and Donati Family produces approximately 11,000 cases of these brands.
Photo ©Michael Kelly
They also have a fair number of varieties of wines for their club members and are sold only in the tasting room. These small artisan and boutique wines comprise a limited production totally roughly 700 cases. The tasting room is quaint and inviting to enjoy sipping some or perhaps all of their wines!
Photo ©Michael Kelly
A great visit meeting Brianna with her enthusiastic energy, bright smile and her knowledge of both the vines and making wine. While not one of the “major names” in Paso Robles AVA, they are getting noticed by wine aficionados and discerning wine drinkers. I will look forward to a return visit on the next trip to Paso Robles AVA. In the interim I have both a Petite Sirah and Cabernet Franc to be tasted and enjoyed in the coming weeks.
Sláinte,
Michael
Cabernet Franc Masters 2025: Wine Tasting Seminar on the World of Franc!
Photo ©Michael Kelly
I attended one of my favorite events of the year called Cabernet Franc Masters in Paso Robles (#CabFrancMasters) on March 16th. This is the third year that Kunal & Neeta Mittal have spearheaded this outstanding conference. It was held at the Cass Event Center starting at 10 am starting off with a Wine Tasting Seminar: World of Cabernet Franc led by Wes Hagen.
Photo ©Michael Kelly
This focused on global expressions of Cabernet Franc wines from around the world both seminar and tasting.
The overview of the session started out with Wes tracing the origins & history of Cabernet Franc, viticulture, geography where Cab Franc is produced, the wine profile characteristics and concluding with tasting Cabernet Franc wines from around the world.
A lot of details and ad hoc comments by the “professor Wes Hagen” on so many subjects regarding this exquisite grape varietal. I believe three are relatively important in comprehending this grape varietal by Wes.
The first is how Cabernet Franc genealogy can be traced via DNA studies. Below this chart shows just how prolific this grape is and its “off springs”.
Slide ©Wes Hagen
The second important factor is the versality and resilience of Cabernet Franc to adapt to various climates around the world. Very few grapes can withstand these temperature, wind and humidity variables.
Slide ©Wes Hagen
The third is a comparison between Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc in their key characteristics and differences.
Slide ©Wes Hagen
Once the above factors and others were discussed it was time to make the session empirical with wine tasting. Five wines were featured running the gauntlet of pricing from $25 to $90. The wines in order were the following:
Photo ©Michael Kelly
#1 – 2022 Domaine Brunet Cabernet Franc from Chinon, Loire Valley, France
#2 – 2021 Marco Felluga Russiz Superiore Cabernet Franc from Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy
#3 – 2022 Lieu Dit Cabernet Franc from Santa Ynez Valley, California
#4 – 2019 Chateau Haut Ferrand Cabernet Franc from Pomerol, Bordeaux, France
#5 – 2019 Zaha Cabernet Franc from Paraje Altamira, Mendoza, Argentina
Each wine was dissected in understanding its “terroir”, age-worthy status, key characteristics, it’s place in the market and based on location the ability to adapt to climate change. A lot of key and important facts on each wine were discussed. At the conclusion of the tasting a show of hands as to the preferred style by the attendees. While all the wines received votes the out right winner was the 2022 Lieu Dit Cabernet Franc from Santa Ynez Valley, California which goes for around $40 to $45.
Photo ©Michael Kelly
The concluding comments about Cabernet Franc were enlightening and timely. They were summed up in this slide:
Slide ©Wes Hagen
This was the third time I have had the privilege of listening to Wes and he covers this broad subject in detail, with humor and amazing side stories from his experience. He truly is a “professor” and provides a quick pace opportunity to learn about this varietal.
Slainte,
Michael Kelly
https://californiawinesandwineries.com
#CabFrancMasters
2020 Optio Grenache Revisited One Year Later – Still An Absolute Winner!
The Winery
Photo ©Michael Kelly
Opened this wine again this weekend. Originally met with winery owners Troy and Michelle LaMar one year ago on their 14-acre vineyard with nine acres currently under vine. The vineyard is located at the tail end of the Templeton district within the Geneseo District appellation. Their production is around 500 cases a year with the balance of the fruit being sold off. Their goal is to increase production steadily with club membership and getting the word out on their quality wines. They already have won many awards including for their 2022 Chardonnay, Las Vegas Global Platinum Medal with 96 points and their 2021 Estate Tempranillo, Las Vegas Global Platinum Medal also with 96 points! This is the little winery that not only could but has!!
Photo ©Michael Kelly
Troy is a general surgeon in Los Angeles and met his wife Michelle as she was a floor nurse at the same hospital. She is now in nursing education. Today with their son LT, they spend as much time as possible on the estate. Their winemaker is Aaron Jackson from Tin City with 23 years making gorgeous wines. Aaron’s background includes Four Vines, ONX and Saxum wineries. He earned his Wine & Viticulture degree from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and spent a year in Australia where he earned a master’s degree in Oenology.
Photo ©Michael Kelly
The winery today produces Chardonnay, Inmesceo (meaning blend together of Cabernet Sauvignon, Mourvèdre, Syrah and Petite Sirah), Grenache, Tempranillo and Petite Sirah. Had the opportunity to taste each one (a few with different vintages) and uniquely different was that each one was a solid and exceptional wine. Not a so-so or average wine in their offering. Rare and very much appreciated by their customers.
The name Optio comes from the Latin word meaning “choice” which has paid off for the LaMar family. Troy while in medical school his first day heard a professor quote William Jennings Bryan “Destiny is not a matter of chance; it is a matter of choice; it is not a thing to be waited for; it is a thing to be achieved.” Literally and physically, the little vineyard on top of the hill has climbed up it to achieve many excellent wines.
Photo ©Michael Kelly
More information on their wines and vineyards can be found in a previous story at:
https://californiawinesandwineries.com/2023/12/07/optio-vineyards-the-little-winery-that-can/
The Wine 2020 Optio Vineyards Grenache – “Wine is bottled poetry” – Robert Louis Stevenson
Photo ©Michael Kelly
This style of Grenache has old world structure with layers of rich flavors and juicy, rustic tannins. On the eyes, a very dark, blood red coloring with medium-full viscosity. On the nose aromas of plum, blueberries, new leather, and clove waft into the senses. On the palate you are awakened to a lively and enjoyable juicy cherry followed by a complex finish of fig, licorice, molasses, and black cherry with hints of spices and dried herbs. The finish shows the earthy minerality and earthiness of these grapes. They use 100% neutral oak barrels, and the wine is aged 17 months. Only 75 cases were produced. This is one of the best Grenache wines I have experienced! The current vintage is their 2022 and the price is $62/bottle. I can’t wait to try the 2022!
The wine made my annual list of Best Wines Tasted in 2023 and will again in 2024! I left the winery purchasing four bottles and wished I had purchased a few more!
Sláinte,
Michael