September is California Wine Month

Forty years ago the world looked down its nose at American wine; today we have equalled or surpassed, in quality and reputation, countries with thousands of years of wine-making history. Americans are amazing! California has been at the forefront of this meteoric rise, ever since California wines stunned the world by beating French wines in the famous 1976 Paris Tasting. Sample a selection of red wine from the best of California and SAVE 50% with this week's Online Grapevine! 

 The first wine in California was produced in the chain of Spanish missions, initiated in 1769 by Father Junipero Serra, that extended 650 miles along the length of of the state. Later, as European immigrants, used to drinking wine with daily meals, came to the New World, many small home vineyards were established. Winemaking flourished during the Gold Rush, then was nearly eliminated between 1919 and 1933 with Prohibition. The years immediately after Prohibition saw the growth of cheap jug wine, but fine winemaking techniques and careful vineyard practices began to take place at wineries like BV, Souverain, Heitz and Mondavi, among many others. Choice soils, climates, and viticultural practices in California led to their domination in the 1976 Paris Tasting where the 1973 Stag Leap Cabernet Sauvignon won in a blind tasting over the 1970 Château Mouton Rothschild Pauillac Bordeaux, considered France's best red wine. The 1973 Château Montelena Chardonnay from CALIFORNIA won over the 1973 Domaine Roulot Mersault-Charmes Premier Cru. Investment and talent poured in, with the resulting explosion of great wine from Napa cult Cabs, to world-class Santa Barbara and Sonoma Pinot Noir, to award-winning Zinfandel (which many consider the quintessential American varietal) to...well, I think you get the point. American hard-work and innovation transformed our wine industry, so pour yourself a glass of California wine and toast to our success!
WEEK #4 WINE CLASS:
I missed wine class, but had the chance to try some hand-crafted wine in Santa Cruz. We had a lovely dinner at Christopher's on Lincoln in Carmel. The restaurant is casually elegant, with lovely food--nicely plated and delicious. The owner/chef came around to every table to chat with the diners, the waiter was not only humorous and affable, but very accommodating to my many culinary preferences. We had a crispy chili relleno stuffed with goat cheese, a marvelously light wild mushroom soup, freshly made pasta with seafood and a delicate tomato sauce, and my boyfriend had Muscovy duck with raspberry sauce. We tried the Cima Collina Hilltop Ranch Pinot Noir--made in Monterey by winemaker Annette Hoff--with rich flavors of berries and a bit of smoke and spice. We had a gourmet meal at a very reasonable price--I highly recommend Christopher's!
At Hoffman's Bistro and Patisserie in Santa Cruz, we had a salmon salad with a glass of the 2008 Ridge Lytton Springs Zinfandel--bold enough to match blackened salmon. Ridge Winery is in the Dry Creek AVA of Sonoma County, which has the cool mornings and hot afternoons to grow amazing Zinfandel redolent of cherries, berries and spice. Hoffman's was having a 50% off special that night, so we were able to taste the marvelous Lytton Springs Zin for just $18 for the half bottle!

From Shannon Ridge Vineyards and Winery, a recipe to pair with their 2007 Shannon Ridge Ranch Collection Zinfandel. Country-style ribs are slow cooked on the grill, then slathered with a spicy, sweet, citrusy BBQ sauce for a mouthwatering meal to complement their full-bodied Zin.

ORANGE PORK RIBS:
Pairs well with: Shannon Ridge Zinfandel
4 pounds pork country style ribs, individually cut
1 6-ounce can tomato paste
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon mustard
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon pepper
Combine everything except the ribs in a bowl and mix. Prepare grill for indirect grilling. Place ribs on grill and cook for about 60 minutes [turning occasionally to cook evenly]. Brush with sauce. Continue grilling until done. A couple of minutes before you remove the ribs from the grill brush on a heavy coating of the sauce. Watch ribs carefully to avoid burning.

INTERESTING CALIFORNIA WINE FACTS:

• If California was a country, it would be the fourth largest producer of wine in the world
• Over half the AVAs (American Viticultural Areas) in the U.S. are in California (107 out of 199)
• Napa Valley was NOT the first AVA; the first was Augusta, Missouri. Napa was the second designated AVA, in 1983.
• Sales of Pinot Noir jumped 45% during the year after the movie "Sideways", set in Santa Barbara County, was released.
• The vast majority of California's 4,600 vineyards and 3,000 wineries are family-owned and operated.
• More than 110 varieties of wine grapes are grown in California.
• The California wine industry generates 820,000 U.S. jobs.

Great Food Follows Great Wine

Last weekend was the Santa Barbara County Vintner's Festival with wine tasting, gourmet food samples from local chefs and live music. Touring & Tasting was there handing out free magazines and flyers for our huge warehouse wine sale this Saturday.

The wine biz in Santa Barbara County generates half a billion dollars a year. Though the region is among the oldest wine growing regions in the country, pre-dating Napa Valley, the explosive growth and world-wide recognition of Santa Barbara County wine has only happened in the last 30 years. Wine production began in the 1700s as Spanish mission builders, like Padre Serra at the Santa Barbara Mission, planted grape cuttings from Mexico to create wine for their own use. Wine continued to be produced just for local consumption for the next three hundred years or so, with at least one exception (from the Santa Barbara County Vintner's Association, along with an historical tidbit): "In 1884, Justinian Caire imported grape slips from France and planted a 150-acre vineyard on Santa Cruz Island. His prize-winning wines were shipped to San Francisco for bottling. A grapevine planted in 1842 on a farm in Carpinteria grew to monstrous proportions. In fifty years, it had a trunk measuring nine feet around, an arbor covering two acres and an annual yield of ten tons of grapes!" (the average wine grape vine produces about 12 lbs.) Though winemakers worked in obscurity, they were constantly refining their techniques and improving their wines. In the 1960s, the esteemed agricultural department at UC Davis tested the terroir of the Central Valley and declared it ideal for viniculture. A primary factor is the Transverse Ranges which run east/west rather than north/south like the Sierra Nevadas. Because the Transverse Ranges (the Santa Ynez Mountains, the San Rafael Mountains and the Sierra Madre in Santa Barbara county) run parallel to the coastal wind, they funnel cooler air and fog from the ocean inland, allowing more "hang time" for the grapes to develop flavor and acidity to balance sweetness. In the hot Central Valley of California, grapes ripen fast and can develop a brix level that is too high, creating excess sweetness or  alcohol content and, in some cases, hindering fermentation due to the excess sugar (die-off of the yeast). Often the flavors don't develop fully, which is why most Central Coast wine production is for the bulk market.

Some of the early vineyards and wineries in Santa Barbara County were Rancho Sisquoc, Edna Valley Vineyards (precursor to Lucas & Lewellen), Brander Vineyard, and Firestone. A turning point came with the Paris tasting of 1976 when two northern California wines unexpectedly won over exalted wines like Château Haut-Brion and Château Mouton Rothschild. Suddenly, California wines were center stage and Santa Barbara wines began to capture the attention they deserved. Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Sauvignon Blanc are among the varietals that have won international medals, 90+ point scores and "best of class" awards. The majority of the 21,000 acres and 110+ wineries in Santa Barbara County are family owned and operated and their hard work has transformed the Santa Ynez Valley into a bustling international destination, helped in no small part by the 2004 movie "Sideways", and has livened the city of Santa Barbara with great restaurants and high-quality, affordable wine lists. Great food follows great wine! I haven't tried many of the wines poured at the Santa Barbara County Vintner's Festival (see list of wineries), but one finds many recognizable names from the highly acclaimed Sea Smoke Cellars and Jaffurs Wine Cellars to popular by-the-glass local favorites like the Qupé Syrah and Sunstone Merlot.

What's So Special About Napa Cabs?

It's been over 30 years since the Judgment of Paris wine tasting put Californian Cabernet Sauvignons front and center on the world's stage. If you haven't read the history (or seen the romanticized film Bottle Shock), European winemakers and afficionados used to look down their noses at American wine. Were they surprised when the Stag's Leap Wine Cellars 1973 Stags Leap District Cabernet Sauvignon beat out classified Bordeaux Estates like Château Mouton Rothschild, Château Montrose, Château Haut-Brion and Château Léoville-Las Cases in a blind tasting conducted by French wine experts!

Since then, Napa winemaking has grown (in stature and in physical dimensions) to become an internationally recognized wine powerhouse. Year after year, stellar wines have cemented Napa's reputation. The quintessential Napa Cab is layered, complex, but with texture and structure to allow the aromas and flavors reveal themselves.

Interestingly, only 9% of Napa Valley is planted in vineyards. Despite its huge reputation, Napa wines represent just 4% of California's wine production--a reason, besides the taste, that Napa wines sell at a premium.