One of the many winery visits was to Errázuriz in Aconcagua.  Errázuriz, as much as any Chilean wine producer, has actively sought out cool climate areas to create fresher wine styles. The hunt for cooler spots led Errázuriz away from its sunny Aconcagua heartland and towards the coast, where the climate is influenced strongly by the Pacific’s slow, shallow, and cold Humboldt Current.

The viticultural potential of the 2,587-acre Manzanar Estate near Concón, only 9.3 miles from the coast, was spotted by Errázuriz, which planted vines there in 2005.  It was an exciting place to visit and led to an article on Manzanar in Sommelier Journal.

ABOUT STUART GEORGE

Stuart George is an independent wine writer and consultant, and has contributed to publications in five continents including Decanter, FINE, Gilbert & Gaillard, Harpers, Meininger’s Wine Business Monthly, Sommelier Journal, The Tasting Panel and the Times Literary Supplement. In 2003 he was awarded the UK Young Wine Writer of the Year. The following five years, he worked as Tastings Editor and Staff Writer at The World of Fine Wine magazine (winner of Gourmand World Cookbook Award for Best Wine Magazine 2009, and Louis Roederer Award for International Wine Book 2010). Stuart was co-author of The Wine Box (UK, 2005), leading contributor to 1001 Wines You Must Try Before You Die (2008) and Editor for the sections on Austria and Burgundy of Wine Behind the Label (2011 edition).

Stuart continues to broker consignments of fine wines into London and Hong Kong auctions and travel extensively around the world, participating in international wine competitions and visiting wine regions.

Stuart started his wine career working for the wine merchant Haynes Hanson & Clark (UK) and completed the WSET Diploma program in Wine & Spirits in 2000. He studied English and European Literature at the University of Warwick.

While at the Vineyard we enjoyed the 2003 Dancing Bear Cabernet Sauvignon, full of spice and dark cherry and finishing with a thick coating of mocha and dark chocolate.  Dennis also graciously poured a 1981 Zinfandel that was certainly past its prime but still offered a fascinating window into the Cakebread’s winemaking philosophy over the years.

After lunch we went back to the hotel to prepare for the Gala Chefs Dinner on the Pecan Patio at the winery.  I won’t list them all here (go to Cakebread’s website for full details) but my favorite was the foie gras and chicken terrine with kumquat preserves and garden vegetables a la Grecque (lightly pickled).  It matched perfectly with Cakebread’s apricot- and peach-laced 2008 Chardonnay Anderson Valley, a wine from Mendocino County with class and distinction as well as a chewy, buttery finish.  Eight courses take a lot of time to present and discuss, particularly as each came with a different wine pairing, but eventually the dinner concluded and everyone went back to the hotel for an after-party at the bar.  I lasted until about 2:00 a.m., but I later heard that several of the chefs (who are a whole lot more used to such things than even I am) kept going until past 5:00 a.m.

People often ask me why I do what I do.  In large part it’s because of folks like Jack, Dolores, Bruce and Dennis Cakebread.  Like many truly successful winery owners and winemakers, they have such a deep appreciation for their customers, and such a love and zest for their work, that it’s easy to support them.  I feel honored and privileged to be able to attend events such as Cakebread’s American Harvest Workshop.  I hope I’m invited back again next year.

Friday dawned fresh and clean (albeit a bit foggy, not unnatural in this place at this time of year) and the group split up into those who wanted to golf with Dennis Cakebread and those who desired to float down the Napa River in a kayak with his brother Bruce.  Guess which one I chose.  However, I must admit that paddling was great exercise and the cool river water helped with the sweat.

Lunch was al fresco in the Foster Road Vineyard and I really enjoyed the Chardonnay Reserve 2008 from the Carneros portion of the Napa appellation.  Papaya and pineapple led to brioche and green pear on a high intensity, very long finish.  At the very last minute there was a burst of yellow apple that quenched thirst and made me want another glass.

That afternoon I attended a vertical tasting seminar for the Dancing Bear Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon, a special, Howell mountain vineyard purchased in the late 1990s by the Cakebreads for the express purpose of producing a reserve-quality red wine.  While I found most of the bottlings very good, my favorite was probably the purple-red 2006, bursting with dark chocolate, red cherry boysenberry and ginger.  The tannins were huge on this monster of a red wine, but they finished very clean and smooth, boding well for the bottle’s long-term aging potential.

After the seminar we joined the other 500 patrons of this spectacular event at a Grand Chefs’ Tasting, where more than 50 of Cakebread’s past invitee chefs collaborated on numerous small bites to accompany most of the winery’s current lineup.  There were lots of oysters, scallops and quail for the white wines and all sorts of duck carpaccios, lamb sliders and chocolate souffles for the reds.  After all of this I went back to my hotel and slept the sleep of the righteous, although I later heard that a few of the crazier chefs closed down the Westin’s bar late that evening.

There’s really too much going on this weekend to cram it all into a single column so I’ll relate Saturday’s happenings in the next edition.  Suffice it to say that things only get better.  Stay tuned!

The Cakebreads knew they wanted to do something special at the 25th anniversary of their “thank-you” festival for their favorite local purveyors of artisanal products.  Sure, northern California is a mecca for foodies (and winos, for that matter), but this family has been in the Napa Valley for decades.  They’ve seen all of the changes to daily life in this once bucholic place including those of the local food movement.  Dolores has long been an advocate of local produce, and her garden at the winery is justly famous among food cognoscenti.  So it was only natural for them to invite all of the chefs who’ve participated over the past quarter century back to the winery for a grand bacchanal.  They figured that perhaps one third of them would show up.  Almost two-thirds actually did, a tribute to this family’s ability to inspire loyalty and a sense of community among a group (including media) that is notoriously independent.

So on with the show.  Tonights cocktail hour was just the beginning.  I’ll show you much more over the next few days.  And for those who want to experience some of the Cakebread’s magic, check out Wine On The Road’s upcoming tour of Napa February 10-12, 2012.  We’ll be having dinner at Cakebread Cellars as part of that event, by the way.

Click here to read the entire article on Unfiltered, Unfined

Also check out this video of Frederic Drouhin discussing the elements of Burgundian terroir:

“I’ve recently finished almost two weeks of Chilean and Argentine wine tours…This week I’ve been crossing Chile, a country that is approximately 4,500 kilometers long and only 200 kilometers wide at its widest point.  Such strung-out terroir means this is a land of contrasts, sandwiched between the Andes Mountains and the Pacific Ocean.  Most valleys run east-west with large temperature and humidity gradients between hills and sea, and Europe’s influence on language and culture means that the winemaking is a fascinating mixture of Old and New World.”

Click here for the rest of this article, first published on Unfiltered, Unfined.  Also take a look at the following video of Dennis Murray, Director of Montes Winery in Colchagua, Chile, showing off the local terroir from a bird’s-eye location perched on one of the hills of Apalta:

We continue to forge ahead with Wine On The Road’s Tuscan tour, set for May of 2011 (for more information check out Wine On The Road.  Here’s a video of Donatella Ferrucci, General Manager of Castello di Ama in Chianti Classico, one of our featured stops in Tuscany.  She’s explaining one of the more fascinating permanent art exhibits that grace the landscape at Castello di Ama:

If you’re interested in coming along next May please email me at benweinberg@wineontheroad.com. The tour is filling up fast, so don’t delay if you want to join us. Ciao bella!

Dolcetto vineyards in Dogliani

I’ve just finished my European wine adventure, and what a trip it’s been!  First came Tuscany, where I finalized preparations for Wine On The Road’s May 2011 tour (see Wine On The Road Tasting Through Tuscany and Wine On The Road in Tuscany Redux).  Last week it was Piedmont’s turn, where I’m planning a tour to take place later in 2011 (see Wine On The Road In Piedmont Redux).

The passion of the winemakers who want to participate in our tours is staggering, just check out this video of Gaia Gaja explaining the history of her family’s wine labels down through the years.

If you’re interested in coming along next May please email me at benweinberg@wineontheroad.com.  The tour is filling up fast, so don’t delay if you want to join us.  Ciao bella!