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2007 KICKOFF EVENT - April 19, 2007 - Blind Tasting with Mao Lecours - Palo Alto

On April 19 the JCC Wine Group presented our initial 2007 event - a blind tasting at the Palo Alto office of Squire, Sanders & Dempsey LLP.  The program was organized and presented by  Ms. Mao Lecours, assisted by her husband, Eric Lecours. 

Both Mao and Eric are experienced wine educators.  Mao is one of the few Japanese individuals who has received the CWE (certified wine educator) qualification from the Society of Wine Educators in the US.  She has also translated a wine textbook into Japanese that is being used by the UK-based Wine & Spirit Education Trust and other wine education organizations.  Here in the Bay Area, Mao and Eric  operate WineStyleSF, and Mao also works with Vintage Wine Merchants in the Santana Row center in San Jose - http://www.vintagewinemerchants.com/.

For the evening's program, Mao selected four white wines (two Chardonnay, one Riesling and one Sauvignon Blanc) and four red wines (a Cab, a Pinot Noir, a Merlot and a Zinfandel), each of which she felt reflected typical characteristics of each varietal.  The whites and the reds were poured in separate flights of four each from bottles concealed in bags so that the audience did not know what they were.  Prior to each tasting, Mao provided some comments about the key appearance, aroma and flavor characteristics of each varietal, as well as how those characteristics vary depending on the place where the grapes are grown. 

Following Mao's comments, the participants were asked to taste each wine and guess both (1) the grape varietal, and (2) the place were the grapes were grown.  In the case of the whites, the possible locations were Alsace, Burgundy, California, Germany, New Zealand and the Loire.  In the case of the reds, the possible locations were Bordeaux (Left Bank), Bordeaux (Right Bank), Burgundy and California.  The wines were then revealed and much discussion ensued.  Here  is a list of the wines that were tasted as well as a list of characteristics that Mao handed out:

 

 

A prize (a very nice bottle of wine!) was given out for the person who had the most correct answers -- it went to Mr. Yoshiyuki Kinoshita from Marubeni Solutions America who had a very impressive showing.  There was no consensus as to the favorite wines, but it seemed that the Newton Chardonnay and the Etude Cab (both California wines and each the most expensive in its group!) had the most support.

Everyone had a very good time.  Mao and Eric also arranged for some light food to accompany the wines.

Here are a few pictures from the evening, including Mao and Eric Lecours at the start of the evening, the wines we tasted and the JCC WIne Group Committee -- Mike Moyle, Hitomi  Takahashi, Eric Marcks and our newest member, Hiro Miyagawa of ANA (who succeeded Kiyonori Ogawa who recently returned to Japan):

 

 

  

November 29, 2006 - Delica "O-Sozai" with Bruce Cass - San Francisco

On November 29 the JCC Wine Group presented a dinner at the San Francisco office of Squire, Sanders & Dempsey LLP featuring a selection of Japanese delicatessen dishes ("o-sozai") preparted by the Delica rf-1 store in the Ferry Building Marketplace in San Francisco - http://www.delicarf1.com/.   Mr. Shinichiro Ozasa, Delica's Director of Marketing, joined us for the evening to provide comments on Delica's operations and the dishes served.

The wines for the evening were selected by Mr. Bruce Cass of Bruce Cass Wine Lab - http://www.brucecasswinelab.com/.  Mr. Cass had made a similar presentation to the JCC Wine Group in Palo Alto in July which had been very well received and we were happy to have him join us again.  This time Mr. Cass faced the challenge of pairing wines with the spices and flavors Asian cuisine

The list of 6 courses and 14 wines presented are listed below.   It was a very interesting evening and it certainly appeared that all who attended had a great time.

Mike Moyle - Chair/JCC Wine Group

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COURSE 1

Delica dish:  Shrimp croquette

1988 Hochheimer Hölle Spätlese Halbtrocken (Rheingau, Germany)

2004 Michel Torino Torrentes ‘Don David Reserve’ (Cafayate, Argentina)

COURSE 2

Delica dish:  Wasabi potato salad

2006 Drylands Sauvignon Blanc (Marlborough, New Zealand)

2005 Dom. Crotereau Quincy (Loire Valley, France)

2005 Ferrari-Carano Fumé Blanc (Sonoma County)

COURSE 3

Delica dish: Lamb currey/ burdock salad

2005 Fogarty Ventana Vineyard Gewürztraminer (Monterey)

2003 Abrazo Garnacha (Cariñena, Spain)

COURSE 4

Delica dish: Salmon sesame rice balls/ pork tonkatsu

2003 Lynmar Chardonnay (Russian River, Sonoma County)

2003 Tandem Keefer Ranch Pinot Noir (Green Valley, Sonoma County)

2004 St. Innocent Seven Springs Vineyard Pinot Noir (Salem, Oregon)

COURSE 5

Delica dish: Roast beef nigiri sushi

2003 Bahans Haut-Brion (Pessac-Leognan, France)

1990 Newton Estate Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa Valley)

COURSE 6

Delica dish:  Baked pear with fromage blanc

2004 Inniskillin Vidal Icewine (Niagara Peninsula, Canada)

Nonvintage Bonny Doon Muscat Vin de Glaciere (Santa Cruz)

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Some pictures from the evening: Our group and the results of the evening's labors...

September 30, 2006 - Lunch at Rue Lepic

Through the efforts of JCC Wine Group Committee member Hitomi Takahashi, on Saturday, September 30, our Wine Group was treated to a special lunch at Rue Lepic restaurant at 900 Pine Street on Nob Hill in San Francisco.   Rue Lepic is a cozy and romantic French restaurant owned by Ms. Michiko Boccara and Ms. Boccara prepared a wonderful assortment of dishes for the participants.

The wine for the lunch was selected and presented by Ms. Yuko Suzuki of Suzuki Marketing (see http://www.suzukimarketing.com/) who represents several California wineries in the distribution of their products in Asia.  Ms. Suzuki further contributed to the event by providing a description of her wines.

The lunch was paired with the following wines:

*Roederer Estate http://www.roedererestate.net/

ローデレール・エステート　アンダーソンヴァレー・ブリュット　

*Derbes Wines　www.derbeswines.com

ダービース　ロシアンリバーヴァレー　シャルドネ　２００２

* Clos du Val　www.closduval.com/JP

クロ・デュ・ヴァル　リザーブ・ピノ・ノワール　２００３　

*Silkwood Wines　www.silkwoodwines.com

シルクウッド　シラー　２００１　

*Stryker Sonoma　www.strykersonoma.com

ストライカーソノマ　モンテロッソ・ヴィンヤード　カベルネ・ソーヴィニヨン　２００１

Photo's from the lunch (click on photos to enlarge):

• Rue Lepic sign and entrance;
• Ms. Suzuki's presentation;
• A couple of JCC directors (Messrs. Azuma and Matsuoka) enjoying the event;
• Our lunch served under the watchful eyes of Ms. Boccara; and
• A happy group.

September 6, 2006 - Dinner at Incanto

Our Wine Group enjoyed a wonderful Italian dinner and introduction to Italian wines at Incanto in the Noe Valley section of San Francisco (www.incanto.biz).   Our Group was seated in the restaurant's private Dante Room which honors the memory of the famous Italian poet, Dante Alighieri.

During the course of the evening Incanto's owner, Mark Pastore, stopped by to tell us about the restaurant and even recited a portion of Dante's Divine Comedy (in the original Italian!), and Edward Ruiz, Incanto's Wine Director, provided us with some helpful information about the wines served to us during the course of the evening.

Our dinner was splendid (see menu below), and was paired with the following wines - two sparkling, one white and two reds:

• Bellavista Franciacorta - http://www.bellavistasrl.it/eng/home.php?UID=TX-6JUrHONKpbb-mTxVx5JmT19d
• Prosecco di Valdobbiadene Extra Dry N.V. Drusian - http://www.drusian.it/
• Roero Arneis Vigna Elisa 2004 Pasquero - http://www.langhe.net/paitin/
• Terre di Pietra 2002 Lunelli - http://www.ferrarispumante.it/home.html
• Furat 2000 Ajello - http://www.ajello.info/

Photo's from the dinner:

• Our  menu;
• Mural in the Dante Room depicting the moment when Virgil and Dante, on their ascent from Hell, see the starlight above;
• Edward Ruiz speaking to our Group; and
• A happy Group after dinner.

July 13, 2006 - Bruce Cass Wine Tasting in Palo Alto

On the evening of July 13, 2006, the JCC Wine Group hosted Mr. Bruce Cass of Bruce Cass Wine Labs (www.brucecasswinelab.com) at the Palo Alto offices of Squire, Sanders & Dempsey LLP.  Mr. Cass is a Stanford graduate who has been teaching wine appreciation classes in the Bay Area fo several years.  In addition to other accomplishments in the wine field, he is also the General Editor of the "Oxford Companion to the Wines of North America."

Twenty members of our JCC Wine Group gathered that evenings and enjoyed both Mr. Cass' presentation, as well as six courses and 14 wines selected by Mr. Cass.  For  each course  Mr. Cass presented at least two wines to highlight different characteristics that he wanted to highlight.  The food and wines we enjoyed are listed below.

It was a very pleasant evening and all those in attendance learned a good deal.  We hope to have additional programs featuring Mr. Cass in the future.  Those who are interested may find out more about the classes he offers in San Francisco on his website noted above.

Attached is a picture taken at the end of the evening -- members of our JCC Wine Group Committee with Mr. Cass (left to right: Eric Marcks, Kiyonori Ogawa, Bruce Cass and Hitomi Takahashi), and the results of our hard work that evening!

First Course

Pinot Gris - 2005 - Elk Cove Vineyards (Gaston, Oregon - Willamette Valley - www.elkcove.com )

Riesling Spatlese - 1994 - Uziger Wurzarten - Benedict Loosen Erben/ Weingut Urgiz Mosel (www.alter-klosterhof.de)

Pairing: Shrimp dim sum

Second Course

Sauvignon Blanc (Westerly Vineyards) - 2005 - Margerum Wine Co. (Santa Ynez Valley, California - www.margerumwinecompany.com )

Sauvignon Blanc - 2004 - Voss Vineyards (Rutherford, Napa Valley, California - www.vossvineyards.com)

Pairing:  Chili avocado soup

Third Course

Burgundy (Pinot Noir) - 2003 - “Les Millandes” Domaine Heresztyn/ Premier Cru (Morey-St. Denis, France)

Grenache (Garnacha) - 2004 - Tres Picos/ Borsao (Borja, Spain - www.bodegasborsao.com)

Pairing:  Mushroom and duck tart

Fourth Course

Zinfandel (Old Vine) - 2003 - Girard Winery (Calistoga, Napa Valley, California - www.girardwinery.com )

Zinfandel (Chiles Mill Vineyard) - 2003 - Green & Red Vineyard (St. Helena, Napa Valley, California - www.greenandred.com)

Pairing:  Spicy pulled pork on ciabatta bread

Fifth Course

Cabernet Sauvignon - 1990 - Pine Ridge Winery (Rutherford, Napa Valley, California - www.pineridgewinery.com )

Cabernet Sauvignon - 2003 - Cakebread Cellars - (Rutherford, Napa Valley, California - www.cakebread.com)

Pairing:  Roast beef

Sixth Course - Dessert

Sauternes - 2002 - Chateau Doisy-Vedrines (Barsac, France)

Olallieberry Wine - NA - Chaucer’s Cellars [Bargetto Winery] (Soquel, California - www.bargetto.com/chaucers)

Vin de Glaciere (Muscat) - NA - Bonny Doon Vineyard (Santa Cruz, California - www.bonnydoonvineyard.com)

Liqueur Muscat - NA - R.L. Buller & Son (Victoria, Australia - www.buller.com.au)

Pairings:  Cambazola and Gruyere (Swiss) cheeses / cheesecake/ flourless chocolate cake/ pecan pie/ honeydew melon

2006 Kickoff Events - May 31 at Vino Venue (SF) and June 1 at Vino Locale (PA)

The JCC Wine Group held two informal tasting events - the first on May 31, 2006 at Vino Venue on Market Street in San Francisco - www.vinovenue.net - and the second on the following evening, June 1, 2006, at Vino Locale just off University Avenue in downtown Palo Alto - www.vinolocale.com. 

It was the Group's first time at Vino Venue which is in a very nice space close to  the Moscone Center and features a very convenient automatic wine serving system manufactured by the Italian firm Enomatic - http://www.enomatic.it/index1.html (see photo below).  When you enter Vino Venue you purchase a card which is loaded with the amount of money you wish to spend.  You then insert your card into the dispenser, press the button for the wine you wish to taste, and one ounce is dispensed into your glass.  Each wine has a set price-per-ounce, and the subject amount is deducted from your card.  It was very convenient system and gave those in attendance a good chance to try several different wines from around the world.  In addition, Vino Venue was featuring a relatively new winery named Peter Cellars that evening and we were also able to try the Peter Cellars wines that were being offered.  I believe all in attendance were impressed with their wines - I thought the Pinot Noir was especially good.

The next evening we were at Vino Locale in Palo Alto.  In contrast to Vino Venue with its urban setting and global focus for the wines offered, Vino Locale is in a quaint Victorian house on a quiet, tree-lined street, and features primarily the many fine wines which come from the Santa Cruz mountains (including Ridge) - see http://www.scmwa.com/. 

Our JCC Wine Group had been at Vino Locale in November of last year for a tasting focusing on wines from Ridge Vineyards.  That was a very pleasant evening, although because it was cool we stayed inside.  This time we enjoyed a  warm evening and were able to take advantage of Vino Locale's very plesant garden.  We tried a number of wines in the course of the evening that had been recommended by Randy Robinson, the owner of Vino Locale.  It seems that the Martin Alfaro 2004 Chardonnay from their Sleepy Hollow Vineyard was among the most popular - see www.martinalfaro.com.

Mike Moyle - Chair, JCC Wine Group Organizing Committee

Attached are a few photos from the events:

• Vino Venue entrance;
• Enomatic dispensers at Vino Venue;
• Vino Locale entrance;
• Our table in the Vino Locale garden (with Wine Committee members Eric Marcks and Hitomi Takahashi);
• Some of our JCC Wine Group members at Vino Locale.

November 3 Vino Locale Event

On the evening of November 3, members of the JCC Wine Group gathered at the Vino Locale wine bar on Kipling Street in downtown Palo Alto.  As described on its website (http://www.vinolocale.com/), Vino Locale ("local wine" in Italian) features wines from the Santa Cruz mountains, the range running between Silicon Valley and the Pacific.   It is an area that is sometimes overlooked, but which produces some excellent wines.  More information - including an very good map -  about the area's wineries may be found on the Santa Cruz Wineries Association website - see http://www.scmwa.com/map.htm.

One of the wineries located in the Santa Cruz mountains - just above Cupertino - is Ridge Vineyards (their Monte Bello facility - http://www.ridgewine.com/#home) and we were fortunate to have Shinji Kurokawa as our guest for the evening.  Shinji (who was the subject of an earlier posting on this site) is from Otsuka Foods in Osaka  (Otsuka Pharmaceutical is the owner of Ridge) and has been coming to Ridge for the last few years to assist with the harvest and general coordination.  Shinji kindly provided the group with some comments about Ridge's operations and the outlook for the 2005 vintage, and also brought some wonderful red and white Ridge wines with him to supplement those served by Vino Locale. 

In addition to the Ridge wines that Shinji brought, we also enjoyed during the evening:

-- 2003 Beauregard Trout Gulch Chardonnay - http://www.beauregardvineyards.com/;

--2002 Michael Michaud Syrah - http://www.michaudvineyard.com/index.html.

As a special treat, we enjoyed with our dessert several bottles of Ridge's 2003 Essence Zinfandel, a dessert wine that Ridge does not produce every year  and is only produced in very limited quantities.

It was a fun evening.  We were very well cared for by Mr. Randy Robinson, the proprietor of Vino Locale, and his staff.  Vino Locale is in a Victorian-style house, and one feels like one is at someone's home.  A very cozy place.

Some photos:

• The Vino Locale building;
• The group enjoying the evening; and
• The group at the end of the evening.

   

A Visit to Ridge/Monte Bello

Through the kind arrangements of Sachiko Okamoto of Otsuka America, I had the opportunity at the end of September to visit Ridge Vineyard's Monte Bello Winery in the Santa Cruz Mountains above Cupertino (www.ridgewine.com).  Although I had prevoiusly visited the winery's new Lytton Springs winery in Sonoma Valey just outside of Healdsburg, this was my first opportunity to visit Monte Bello.   I was amazed at how close it was to Silicon Valley (only about a 40-minute drive from Palo Alto to the winery, although the last 5 miles is very much uphill on a relatively narrow road).

Sachiko had suggested that I visit the winery at this time both because the winery was in the middle of the harvest and because Shinji Kurokawa, who works at Otsuka in Japan on wine-related matters and has spend the last five years at Ridge durng the harvest, was in town.  Although everyone was incredibly busy, Shinji was kind enough to take me on a tour of the winery where I got a very good idea of the practicalities of the operation during the harvest and crush.  We also had a chance to both to sample some very recently crushed grape juice, as well as some of Ridge's famous Zinfandels and Monte Bello Cabernet from their barrel room.  Monte Bello's wine maker, Eric Baugher, also took some time out to spend with us. 

After the tour, we went back down the hill to the tasting room where we had a wonderful lunch on the patio with Wilma Sturrock, the President Emeritus of Ridge, including some wonderful 2000 Lytton Springs Zinfandel.  Another wonderful day.

Mike Moyle -- JCC Wine Group Committee Member

Some photos:

• Watch out for snakes!
• Tasting with Shinji Kurokawa in the barrel room
• Sachiko and Shinji in the Monte Bello vineyards (Cabernet)
• Wilma, Sachiko and Shinji at lunch
• View from Monte Bello

Another Trip to Healdsburg

In an earlier posting I had reported on a visit in mid-August to the Russian River area.  Just a few weeks later, at the start of September, I went back to that area, this time with a good friend, Jun Egashira, who was just ending a two-year assignment here in California and was about to head back to Konica Minolta in Tokyo.  Jun had become very interested in wine while he was here and had participated in some of our past JCC Wine Group activities.

Before the visit I had consulted with our friend, Tom Kisaichi, who, with his wife Rebecca, owns Maboroshi Wine Estates (www.maboroshiwine.com -- Tom is also the enologist at Michel-Schlumberger Winery in the Dry Creek Valley area of Sonoma County) about some interesting places to take Jun.  Tom suggested a number of wineries -- including Ferrari-Carrano (www.ferrari-carano.com) for their wonderful gardens, Preston (www.prestonvineyards.com) , Raymond Burr (www.raymondburrvineyards.com) and Lambert Bridge (www.lambertbridge.com), all in the Dry Creek Valley, for Syrah and Zinfandel tasting, and, further south in the Russian River Valley, Rochioli and Davis Bynum (www.davisbynum.com) for Pinot Noir.

Armed with those recommendations from Tom, Jun and I set out on a beautiful Sunday morning.  Our first stop was the town of Healdsburg where we had a great brunch outdoors on the patio at the BarnDiva Restaurant (www.barndiva.com) just south of the town square (Tom had also recommended both Zin (www.zinrestaurant.com) and Dry Creek Kitchen (http://www.charliepalmer.com/dry_creek/home.html) in Healdsburg).  We then continued on to our first stop of Ridge's Lytton Springs winery just outside of Healdsburg where we sampled a number of zinfandels.  We then drove on to Ferrari-Carrano where, as Tom had promised, we enjoyed the lovely gardens, and, in particular, the F-C chardonnay.

Ferrari-Carrano was as far north as we went.  We then turned south and headed for Rochioli.  Unfortunately, when we arrived we learned they were out of Pinot Noir for the year.  Still, it was a very nice tasting room.  We went on to Davis Bynum which, by comparison to some of the other tasting rooms we visited, has a very simple and rustic tasting area, but some wonderful Pinot Noir.

We had hoped to stop by Simon Levy Cellars in Kenwood (http://www.slcellars.com/) where Maboroshi wine is now offered for tasting and retail sale, but we unfortunately ran out of time.  Instead we stopped by Paradise Ridge Winery in Santa Rosa (http://www.paradiseridgewinery.com/).  In addition to their fine wine, Paradise Ridge also has a wonderful exhibit honoring Kanaye Nagasawa, who made his way to Santa Rosa from Kagoshima in the 1800's and  helped to establish the California wine industry (see earlier posting on this site regarding Nagasawa-san).  We were lucky enought both to get there just before the tasting area closed, and to find the owners, Walter Byck and Marijke Byck-Hoenselaars, pouring wine.  All in all it was a wonderful day in a spot so close to San Francisco (Healdsburg is only about one-hour north on 101 from the Golden Gate Bridge).

       Mike Moyle -- JCC Wine Group Committee Member

Some photos: 

• The patio at BarnDiva in Healdsburg
• Tasting room at Ridge/Lytton Springs
• Jun and Mike with the Boar Statue at Ferrari-Carrano (one touches the nose for good luck!)
• Mike with Walter and Marijke at Paradise Ridge
• View from the deck at Paradise Ridge

Visit to the Russian River

This past weekend my wife, Nancy, and I had an opportunity to visit the Russian River to attend a friend's wedding in Guerneville.  The interactive Russian River Wine Road map at http://www.wineroad.com/maps/rriver.asp provides a good overview of the Russian River Valley area.

We took the opportunity to spend a couple of nights at the Ridenhour Inn (http://www.ridenhourinn.com/), a very nice inn located just off of River Road next to the Korbel Winery.  The inn's owners, Randi and Randall Kauppi, have also for several years operated a catering business (Oui Catering) out of Healdsburg, and the breakfasts served at the inn were fabuous.

On Friday evening after our arrival we had a wonderful dinner at the Farmhouse Inn also located on River Road (http://www.farmhouseinn.com/).  We had heard about the meals at the Farmhouse for several years, especially their cheese course, and we were not disappointed.  Dinner was served in a beautiful room and the cheese course at the end of the meal was wonderful.  Among other cheeses, they featured cheeses produced by Andante Dairy in Santa Rosa (http://www.andantedairy.com/home.htm) which were amoung our favorites.  We also learned that Andante Dairy's cheeses are offered at the Ferry Plaza Farmer's Market on Saturday mornings -- we plan to seek them out there.

We did not have a great deal of time on Saturday, but before the wedding in the afternoon Nancy and I drove up Westside Road (which, as its name suggests, winds along the hills on the west side of the Russian River valley) to Healdsburg.   Because Ridge Vineyards is one of the California wineries owned by a Japanese company (Otsuka Seiyaku), I had particularly wanted to visit their Lytton Springs winery (http://www.ridgewine.com/visiting/ls.tml) in the Dry Creek region just north-west of the town of Healdsburg (see map at http://www.wineroad.com/maps/drycreek.asp).  This is Ridge's second winery - the first, their Monte Bello winery, is in the Santa Cruz mountains above Cupertino.  Ridge has a very nice winery there which has been constructed in a environmentally sensitive fashion with solar panels and hay bales used as insullation in the walls.  We enjoyed samples of several of their Zinfandel wines and brought several home with us.

We then visited the town of Healdsburg which has a very nice town square with several shops and restaurants, including a branch of the famous Oakville Grocery where one can purchase many gourmet picnic supplies.  We also stopped by to see the new Les Mars Hotel (http://www.lesmarshotel.com/) which has been opened by members of the Mars family - famous for their candy.   It is a very stylish hotel, but with rooms starting at $495/night, not for everyone!   A well-regarded new restaurant named "Cyrus" is on the ground floor.

On our way back south to Guerneville we stopped at the Gary Farrell winery (http://garyfarrellwines.com/) and sampled some of their Pinot Noir offerings.  The winery is in a beautiful spot on a hill overlooking the Russian River Valley and their tasting room provides a spectacular view of the Valley.

Traffic on the way up to the Russian River on Friday afternoon was heavy and it would be best to avoid travel at that time.   However, coming home on Sunday it only took us one hour to drive from the Ridenhour to Sausalito -- it would be about the same amount of time to get from the Golden Gate Bridge to Healdsburg without traffic.  It was a most enjoyable weekend trip and once again I was reminded just how convenient and accessible the wine country is for us here in the Bay Area.

Mike Moyle -- JCC Wine Group Committee Member

Photos from Ridge Vineyards - Lytton Springs (click on photo to enlarge):

  

  

**************************Photos from Gary Farrell***************************