Living in Exciting Times

A Life Sketch of John Ammon Powell Which He Dictated

2011-04-24T18:34:00.000-07:00

Note by Michael Leonard: This text is from a transcript that was given to me by my father that was typed by his relatives from a hand written account by John Ammon Powell.

I John Ammon Powell, was born in Pisday, Ill. Nov. 27, 1844, the fourth child in a family of nine. My father, James Powell was born in 1809. He was from North Carolina. My mother was Jerminah (Jemima) Wimmer Powell, she was born in the state of Indiana.

My father was a partaker (victim) of the Missouri persecutions against the Latter-Day Saints. At one time he refused to sign a petition against the Mormons. In consequences of his refusal the mob used violence against him, cursed him, and struck him on the side of his skull with the barrel of a gun. After a long sick spell, he recovered, but even after his recovery the left side of his body remained paralyzed.

My parents arrived in Utah, Oct. 13, 1852. We came in the company of Captain Robert Wimmer. We went directly to Ogden and lived there until 1854. My father drowned in the Weber River west of Ogden, July 2^nd,1854. I was then I my tenth year. After the death of my Father, my Mother disconnected with the location and moved to Springville, Utah. My Mother endured many hardships.

From the time I was thirteen years old I managed an ox team. For years I hauled timber and cordwood from Lamb’s canyon to Salt Lake City. I went to Kamas Valley in 1858 and took up a homestead. At that time there were only two houses in the Valley. I built the third house. It was for my Mother. I cut and hewed the logs and laid them into the wall with my own hands, without any assistance. It was big, comfortable one room house.

I was at that time fifteen years old. Mother lived in the house two years. Later I built another log house near my mother’s. It was a great improvement over the first one. I was married January 13^th, 1863, to Hannah Matilda Snyder. My first two children were born in Kamas. The third house I built in Kamas was better than the first two, but the fifth house I built in the Valley was the best of all.

The Black Hawk War drove us out of Kamas. Everybody had to move, so I moved to Lamb’s Canyon, where I could work and not be troubled by Indians. I never had any particular trouble with the Indians; although I met them in dangerous moods. In 1861 while I was in Kamas Valley cutting hay with a mower (scythe or cycle) where a band of fifty Indians formed a circle and camped just above where I was working. They had scalps of seven white men hosted on poles and were firing shots and yelling.

I went to their camp, but they did not pay much attention to me. The squaws where singing whiles the men were circling around the camp with the several scalps as belonging to two of my friends. At another time while cutting wood in Lamb’s Canyon I happened to glance up just in time to see an Indian pointing a gun at me. One day while hunting Elk near Woodland Lake near Kamas I was tracked by and Indian. I hurried to camp, dodging behind trees here and there. Finally I spied the Indian in an open clearing and beckoned him to come here (to camp).

When my partner arrived in camp the Indian left. There were about 12 other Indians going through the canyon that day and we felt relieved when they were gone. I stayed in Lamb’s Canyon, East of Salt Lake City about 3 years, after which I moved to Salem, Utah. I married Sarah Jane Shields Plumb, January 6^th, 1870. My wife Matilda passed away in 1877, leaving six children, three girls and three boys; the oldest boy twelve and the youngest six months. My wife, Sarah cared for the family most faithfully.

Regarding my experiences as a huntsman, I may relate my first experience an encounter with a bear. It was in Lamb’s Canyon. One morning at day break I saw a bear’s big track in my path. I looked around and saw him standing on a ridge and shot; the first shot missed him, the second shot grazed him and stunned him. Then he went off into the timber. The next day I saw the bear in the same location and shot and killed him. This was my first bear; I was fourteen years old. In the course of my hunting I have killed eleven bears.

In Dec. 1878 my brother Abe Powell, Caleb Rhodes, Robbie Snyder and little Johnnie P. Powell Jr. and I went on a deer hunt beyond Mt. Nebo. It proved to be a bear hunt of fatal consequences. We went on to a rough part of the woods east of the three peaks of Mt. Nebo; here we made camp for the night. Next morning at breakfast Abe said, “I dreamed I was in a fight and had my stomach cut out. I don’t like dreams.” I said “I dreamed that my wife Matilda came to me and beckoned me out of danger. After eating breakfast we hurried away from camp. The snow in the ravine where we were hunting was deep and clean, not a track of any animal whatsoever.

Presently I hear my brother call. I was probably about 300 yards away from him. I knew something was wrong by the way he called. When I got to him I found he had been scalped by a bear. Both eyes had been clawed out and where hanging on his cheeks. Sightless and in agony he had bumped into a pole. I found him sitting at the bottom of the pole with his arms around it. I took off my shirt and bound up his head, put his eyes back into their sockets, and then he asked me for a drink of water. He told me to make a fire and melt a pot full of snow over the coals, which I did. I carried him about 75 yards away from the place of the accident.

Then he told me to go back and get his gun. When I found his gun and returned he asked me if he had cocked it. I told him he had not. He said you see the bear knocked me down before I had time to cock it. The bear was on a little tuff, or bank above Abe, and no doubt waiting for him to come along. As Abe passed by the bear attacked him so suddenly that it was impossible for him to protect himself. Abe said that after the bear knocked him down he went over and tried to break the gun by biting it and clawing it. Then it came back and rushing and attacked him, tearing his eyes out.

We arrived in camp about three o’clock that morning. My brother asked what time it was. We did not have watches with us be we looked up at the stars and approximated the time. He said, “I will die about daylight.” At daylight he fainted away, when he revived and I attended to him; Caleb performing the ordination. After a while Abe again sank into a coma and died.

The next summer while hunting in the same mountains I killed a bear and I am of the opinion it was the same on that killed my brother. I had great adventure from time to time with my friends while deer hunting.

In April of 1879 we went to Price. Here I freighted while the D&R,G Railroad was being built. We loaded a Tucker and unloaded a Green River. We carried hay, grain and camp provisions. I covered about 15 miles a day. On Jan. 10^th, 1882, I married Roseltha Allred in the Endowment House in Salt Lake City. During 55 years my chief occupation as been farming, and stock raising. In Price I built five different types of Ranch Houses. There were simple and plain log houses. Later on I built brick homes in Price. I also purchased three brick houses in Salt Lake City.

In my home building experience in Utah I’ve erected five houses in Kamas, two in Lamb’s Canyon, two in Salem, five ranch houses in Carbon County, three brick houses in Price. It was well with me that I was a builder, for I had three families. My first was the mother of six children, my second wife was the mother of fifteen children and my third wife was the mother of ten children. My wives where united by a bond of sisterly love. My message to children and grandchildren and those to follow – “Be lifters and builders and not leaners. Let your deeds speak for you.”

John Ammon Powell
Died December 14, 1928
2495 South 5th East
Salt Lake City, Utah

Note by Michael Leonard: John Ammon Powell was married to Sarah Jane Shields Plumb Powell and they are the parents of Zoe Ellen Powell who was married to Leopold Leonard who were the parents of my father Max Gene Leonard.

Here is a link to some history of the Powells: http://www.carbon-utgenweb.com/settlers.html
and here is some history of the Leonards: http://www.carbon-utgenweb.com/history13.html

Incidents in the Life of James Powell, and Robert Wimmer

2011-04-24T16:10:00.001-07:00

Note by Michael Leonard: This text is from a transcript given to me by my father that was typed by his relatives from hand written accounts by the authors of the accounts.

Incidents in the life of James Powell as related by his Wife after his death

One day while we were living in Caldwell County, Mo. We were visited by what might be termed a mob, composed of the following persons: Arthur F. Wethers, John Gardner, Riley Sanders, Clark Ellis and Philon Ellis. They requested my husband to join the forces against the Mormons. He told them that if they had no Federal Authority to molest them he could not go. They replied warningly, “If you do not join us we will kill you.” Following this they went in the direction of my father’s home. Fearing for the safety of our small daughter, who at the time was at my father’s place, we followed them, little knowing what might occur. As we were about to overtake them, they stopped and ordered us back. My husband said we were going after our little child.

At this remark three of the men sprang from their horses, and one a Mr. Wethers, caught up a stick and struck my husband between the shoulders, causing him to turn around and grapple with Wethers, who then shouted for help. Gardener shot at my husband, missing him, and not wanting to endanger a fellow posse man, Gardner then used his gun as a club and struck him on the head several times. I ran for help, but as the posse left I ran and lifted my husband’s head, thus relieving his pain as best I could until my mother and two sisters came to my assistance. They were Latter-Day Saints so they immediately administered to him by laying on of hands. After they had administered the ordinance he arose and walked to my father’s house about two hundred yards away.

When the men left they gave us warning that if we were not out of the place by the time the sun was a yard high the next morning they would return and kill all of us. Thinking that these fiends might return and carry out their hellish threats we decided it was best to leave. We packed up our things in the wagon and started that very night for Huntersville (a town about four miles away). We arrived there the next afternoon after driving all night through wooded country; being followed by the posse who were determined to see us well out of the country.

Upon our arrival in Huntersville we were immediately surrounded by a crowd of about three hundred men. They asked what he had in the wagon. They then asked if we had anything done for him and if we were Mormons. We had done very little for him and neither one of us was a Mormon, and had never heard a Mormon preach. One of the men then told us to go to a certain vacant house. Arriving there they took my husband out of the wagon, laid him on a door and the Doctors performed an operation on his head. They cut his scalp in four parts, drew down as far as his ears and forehead. Then thinking we would tell the posse they left him in this condition.

During my husband’s illness nearly one fourth of this brains were taken out. The Doctors were showing them to some persons who were present, when my husband requested to see them. They were handed to him. He seemed to scrutinize them closely and then threw them into the fire, remarking, “There is a miracle for you” (A man holding his own brains in his hands and then throwing them into the fire and living to see them burn).

We were transferred to the Doctor’s office where we remained for nine weeks and by the time he was able to walk around the office we were moved about a mile and a quarter out of the town. While we were staying at this place he complained of a severe pain in his head. I prepared to go for the Doctor, but he objected saying I could do just as well. I worked at the wound in his head until I could work my fingers the whole length of it and removed pieces of bone from the size of a grain of wheat, to a piece one inch long an inch and a half wide, about sixty pieces in all. Of this fact there are many who can bear witness. Previous to this the Doctor had also taken out about fourteen pieces.

We moved from this place to a house still further out of town, and during our stay here we were presented (by ten men) with a written agreement saying that if we would agree to leave, the state would support us. This we refused to do. I told them I was an American Citizen and knew my rights and I wanted those men who had ruined my husband to be dealt with according to the law and justice, but they said it couldn't be done.

My husband and I walked. I carried my three year old daughter in my arms and led a heifer. It rained six days in succession and when we arrived at Salt Creek, it was very high. I got a man to take my husband and child across in his wagon. He refused to take me, but I was determined to go and just as the wagon entered the stream I managed to get on top of the bows, and in this way I got across without any of them knowing it.

We traveled on until we arrived at Mt. Hope, Adams Co. Ill. Where my brother Robert Wimmer lived. (We lived with father). After we had been there some time our little girl died. We remained in Mt. Hope about eighteen months, then moved to Green Plains, Hancock, Ill. From there we moved to Nauvoo, where we staid until the Saints were driven out.

We then moved to Harris Grove, twenty miles north of Cainsville and from there we came to Salt Lake City; arriving on Oct. 1, 1852. We traveled on to Ogden, about forty miles north of Salt Lake City; where we made our home. We owned a farm on the opposite side of the river, and one day when my husband was crossing over, he was caught in a fit and being alone he fell into the river and was drowned. His body was found the next day and was buried.

By Jemima Wimmer Powell
Springville City, Utah, Feb. 1860

Incidents in the life of Robert Wimmer brother of Jemima Wimmer Powell

I Robert Wimmer, son of Peter and Elizabeth Shirley Wimmer, was born in the state of Pennsylvania in the year A. D. 1805. I moved with my father to Cincinnati, Ohio, in the year 1808, when Cincinnati had not more than 550 inhabitants. From there I moved to Gold Vain 11 miles west, and from there 5 miles still west. Here Father opened a large farm in the timber.

Here I got my first pair of pants. I wore long shirts. I expect I was ten years old before I owned a pair of pants or shoes. My mother had to make all our wearing apparel out of flax, tow and wool. Wool was carded by hand and spun on a little wheel. I can well recollect when the women made their dresses out of four yards of yard wide home made cloth. They made their skirts wide enough to run in. They made our shirts out of flax. Domestic cotton was not then worn. The women said it was so hard to wash, they would rather make linen than wash cotton cloth. You could hear the buzz of the little wheel in every home.

My father was called to war in 1814 under General Harrison and left my mother with four little boys in winter time. It was a hard winter too. There was a mad dog that came and drove us up on the loft and kept us there 30 hrs, when a neighbor man came in and rescued us from danger.

About the year 1820 my father hired me to an Indian trader and took me to Andersontown, twenty five miles north of Indianapolis, on the White River, a Delaware Indian Village. I became a great favorite with the Indians and they offered a very high price for me in horses. My father got uneasy about me and took me home. One, Ben Davis, and his squaw followed to steal me, but kept watch. Some of the Delaware Indians have silver ornaments, such as broaches. Half moons hung down their back. They wore large nose ornaments. They had the rims of their ears cut.

They laid their dead on top of the ground near black posts with a cross near the top and built pens around them. I was at one of their grave yards one day. Seeing a considerable pile of tobacco, I slipped a piece. One of the Indians saw me and gave me a chase. He over took me and picked me up by the seat of the pants and back of the neck and threw me against a big stump and came very near to caving my side in. Some of the Indians would bury their dead in great logs, others upon trees. The trails or roads were very narrow, as they always grew one right after the other. Their trail some places was very deep for roads.

This story about James Powell, written in the hand writing of Jemima Wimmer, the story of Robert Wimmer, written in his own hand, were found in an old family record book of Peter and Elizabeth S. Wimmer in the possession of Robert Wimmer a grandson of afore mentioned Robert Wimmer. Compiled by Mary L. Powell (Blackburn) about 1930. Also present was Elizabeth M. Powell and Mr. & Mrs. Robert Wimmer & Robert’s sister, Mrs. David Huish.

Note by Michael Leonard: James Powell and Jemima Wimmer Powell are the parents of John Ammon Powell who was married to Sarah Jane Shields Plumb Powell and they are the parents of Zoe Ellen Powell who was married to Leopold Leonard who were the parents of my father Max Gene Leonard.

Here is a link to some history of the Powells: http://www.carbon-utgenweb.com/settlers.html

and here is some history of the Leonards: http://www.carbon-utgenweb.com/history13.html

A. Faustini 2006 Secret Veil Napa Valley Cabernet

2010-05-20T22:36:00.000-07:00

For my Wines of California class in the Viticulture program at Las Positas we each did a review of a favorite wine. I chose A. Faustini 2006 Secret Veil Napa Valley Cabernet. I like to try wines from small producers who create hand crafted small lots and I also like to try wines from vineyards at higher elevations. My choice for this report was a combination of both.

The wine is made by Antony Faustini who works as a Product Manager at Cisco, the world’s largest vendor for Internet equipment. Like many people in high tech Anthony yearned to explore his passion and took up wine making in 2005. A. Faustini Winery uses Crush Pad in San Francisco to process their wine and they are opening a tasting room in Napa Valley at a new shared facility near Yontville that will host several tasting rooms for small wineries. This strategy works well for producers who want to limit their expenses as they gain experience and grow production and build awareness for their wines. I made the trek on BART and Muni to their logistics center in San Francisco to pick up my bottle and got a look around. They had cases of wine to the rafters from many small lot producers.

I know Anthony as I also work at Cisco as a Product Marketing Manager. Anthony’s wife Michelle is a sales manager at Cisco and also my Facebook Friend. When she saw in my timeline that I was attending winery events she wrote to me about their wines. They also have a Facebook Fan page for their wines that I joined along with a few other Cisco colleagues.

In April Michelle wrote to me that Anthony was going to be pouring at the SF Vintners Market at Ft. Mason in San Francisco. The San Francisco Vintners Market is the first wine tasting and buying event in the Bay Area. Over 200 wineries from all over California were pouring their wines so I managed to wrangle tickets for myself and a friend Jamie (who is also taking the class) and we went and tried many fine California wines and met Anthony and tired his Hidden Veil.

I talked with Antony about his wines at the event. He said the wine was made from 100% Cabernet sourced from Ink Grade Vineyard, in the Howell Mountain AVA, and Beckstoffer Dr Crane Vineyard, in St. Helena. I asked Anthony why he didn’t make the wine a vineyard specific wine from Ink Grade Vineyard or at least a Howell Mountain AVA. He said that the Howell Mountain fruit was so intense that without blending it would not be approachable and would take many years to age. He wanted a wine that could be enjoyed sooner, so he blended with some valley floor fruit to mellow the wine. As a result of this blending from two vineyards in two AVAs the wine is labeled as simply Napa Valley, however given the large proportion of Howell Mountain grapes it had a lot of Howell Mountain fruit character.

When I tried the wine the Howell Mountain flavors were evident. It had a deep dark red color and an intense aroma. The tannins were prominent as was the fruit. If the tannins had been any more intense I might not have enjoyed the wine as much, so the blending worked. As it was the 2006 drank quite well in April 2010. The wine was specially processed in the “My Cult Cab” program at Crush Pad, which takes their custom wine service to the highest level. It begins with their top-end Cabernet Sauvignon sources includes special processing including rigorous fruit sorting to remove imperfect grapes, extra “saignee” (bleeding of juice) to concentrate wine, fermentation in new French oak puncheons and extended maceration. The wine was aged in new French oak, including barrel rotation and finishing barrels. The oak influence of this wine was apparent, but well integrated and added to the character.

Anthony didn't make the wine alone, although he was involved in the process and he sees to all the business details. For the wine making he worked with Kian Tavakoli as the consultant winemaker. Kian is a graduate of the viticulture program at UC Davis and as worked with Anthony since 2005. Kian most recently was the winemaker at Clos Du Val where he ran their Bordeaux varietals program - including their highly-acclaimed reserve bottling. Before joining Clos Du Val in 1996, Kian spent four years learning at art of Cabernet winemaking at Opus One and has over 10 years of winemaking, operations and viticulture experience. His experience showed in the quality of this wine as it was well balanced with fruit, tannins, acid and alcohol all working to create a great tasting wine.

The Howell Mountain AVA is an American Viticultural Area located within Napa Valley AVA. Howell Mountain is located in the Vaca Mountains on the northeast side of Napa Valley and overlooks the town of St. Helena, California on the West and Pope Valley on the East. Howell Mountain AVA was the first sub-appellation of Napa Valley when it was approved as a designated American Viticultural Area in 1983. Most vineyards in the Howell Mountain AVA are planted between 1,400 feet and 2,200 feet above sea level, well above the elevations in Napa Valley that are most affected by the cool fog and winds from San Pablo Bay. The mountain does get cool breezes directly from the Pacific Ocean, and the relatively high elevations result in a cooler climate than on the valley floor. The soil in the appellation is volcanic with excellent drainage. This makes for small berries with a high skin ratio, which is where the tannins come from, as well as the dark color and rich fruit flavor.

A majority of grapes for this wine came from the Ink Grade Vineyard, in the Howell Mountain AVA. The vineyard was planted in 1990 and spans 200 acres of mountainous terrain above Pope Valley on the East side. The Howell Mountain region produces wines that are richly tannic, with excellent acidity for aging. This is one of the most visually exciting vineyards as much of the vineyard is terraced and it is well-tended. The vineyard is planted to a quad trellis that produces about 2 to 2.5 tons per acre. This is also one of the more technologically advanced sites, using "stress modules" to determine ripening which enables you to do multiple picks during harvest to achieve optimal ripeness. The vineyards grapes go into some of the most sought after Bordeaux style blends being produced in California.

I’ve traveled past this vineyard on Ink Grade Road which goes between Pope Valley and Angwin. It is a paved one lane road that is bumpy and is barely graded as it follows the terrain up and down the hills. The vineyard is visible from some places along the road although the hilly terrain makes it difficult to see. I went with my Mini Cooper club and we had a great time Motoring on this road, but I would only recommend it for the adventuresome driver. Just watch out for the Minis as we like to bend the rules and rule the bends.

The town of Angwin is in midst of the Howell Mountain AVA. It was named in 1874 for Edwin Angwin who ran a resort on the land the town now occupies. There are many wineries in the vicinity of Angwin as well as many vineyards. Angwin is home to a large community of Seventh-day Adventists, who founded a local private liberal arts college known as Pacific Union College. This is somewhat ironic as they don’t drink, or even dance, but they do keep a tidy town.

The Wines of El Dorado - A Visit to the Sierra Foothills

2010-03-20T21:11:00.000-07:00

When I think of El Dorado I think of the legendary bandito Joaquin Murrieta, called the Robin Hood of El Dorado in books. He is the real bandito of California who the fictional Hollywood character Zorro was modeled after. The story goes that Joaquin turned to robbing gold miners after he was beaten and his wife was murdered by a group of them. Joaquin is even said to have laid in wait along Arroyo del Valle in Pleasanton, which I see out my windows, waiting to waylay miners coming back to San Francisco from the gold fields.

In 1853 Harry Love, Captain of the newly formed California Rangers, and his posse, caught up with Joaquin and his gang, the Five Joaquins, who were suspected of killing at least 20 people, and shot them down. They only lasted a few years and it was all over. It wasn’t long before the gold ran out either and prospectors had to find something else to do. Some of them turned to planting grapes and making wine in gold country. There was a fair amount of Zinfandel planted and produced during the gold rush to satisfy the thirst of panhandlers for strong, sweet wine. After the gold rush with most of the miners gone it was tough going, and prohibition about ended it all, but in the last few decades wine making has made a big comeback in the foothills.

It’s said that Sierra Foothills Wineries attract a different kind of winemaker than other regions. Farming grapes in the foothills is difficult, and given that the region isn’t so well know the wines do not command high prices. The dedicated vintners in this area make wines that express the difficult climate and terrain of the region. What this means is that you can get bargains on wines with character. Which is why I was interested when I heard about the tasting in San Francisco of El Dorado wines at Postrio.

The El Dorado AVA is rugged, mountainous terrain. The thin, austere soils are ideal for Zinfandel which has been grown here since just after the gold rush. Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Barbera, Riesling and Sauvignon Blanc are also grown in the area and Sierra Foothills Wineries are known for producing wines from these grapes. So I knew I was in for some unusual wines at the tasting. The event was sponsored by the El Dorado Wine Makers Association.

El Dorado is just about a little over two hours from the San Francisco area. I’ve been up there exploring in my Mini Cooper and on my motorcycle but I’ve yet to go wine tasting. So I jumped at a chance to sample these wines in San Francisco. The event was put on by the Vinunderground a group of Sommeliers (educated wine geeks as they say), led by Mike Whipple. I met Mike when I got there and found him talking with Tom Merle, who runs a Meetup Group for wine fans and told me about this event.

Mike was saying how pleased he was to have it hosted at Postrio, a landmark San Francisco restaurant first opened on April 1, 1989 by Wolfgang Puck. We were treated to appetizers from their kitchen during the event. You enter from Mason Street through the pizza bar, past a lounge and descend a grand stair case to the main dining room where the event was held. As I looked down I saw over 20 tables with wines. I knew I’d never get to taste them all so I pulled out my brochure and started looking for what I wanted to try.

I couldn’t help but notice Postrio's unique art works from such artists as Robert Rauschenberg, and Roy Lichtenstein and blown-glass by Dale Chihuly. It was an impressive place with a lot of ambiance. But it was loud with wine fans enjoying themselves. While I was sitting in the mezzanine preparing my assault on the wines Rudy Simone was singing. She is a torch singer in the style of Billy Holiday. She was doing the old standards Billie and Judy Garland, with a lot of flair, accompanied by piano, and horns.

As I strolled around the room tasting wines I saw that Jim Preston from Winequesters was there. He has a iPhone and website that help you choose which wineries to visit. I stopped to chat with him about his work in documenting so many California wineries. He was doing video interviews with the wine makers and will be posting them soon to his site. I also met Jolaine Freitas Collins, charming woman who runs the El Dorado Winemakers association and helped to make this event happen. She told me that they are having passport weekends in April. Check out their website for details.

Okay, now about the wines. I made my way around the room and tried about 20 or so. There were a lot of good ones and there was no way I could do them justice in the short time I had and with an elbow to elbow crowd. I did get enough of an impression to know that I want to visit the area and go to the wineries and do some more in-depth exploration. Some wines that stood out were a Viognier from Sierra Vista Winery that was especially crisp and a spicy Zinfandel from Sierra Oaks Estates. The Grenache from Holly’s Hill Vineyards was like fresh squeezed strawberries. Granite Springs had a no oak Chardonnay that was especially creamy. I enjoyed the Petite Sirahs from Busby Cellars and from Mount Aukum Winery. This is only a partial list and I’m sure there were many other notable wines.

In all there were 24 tables featuring 24 wineries with about 4 – 6 wines each. Here’s a list of which wineres attended: Click Here. If you get the chance check out the wines of the Sierra Foothills. I know I'm going to be putting this wine tasting to good use since were are studying the Sierra Foothills at my Wines of California class at Las Positas College in Livermore where I'm in the viticulture program.

When Irish Wines are Smiling

2010-03-14T22:43:00.000-07:00

Today I was introduced to Irish wines. I didn't think there were any wines in Ireland but it turns plenty of Irish are making wines in California. The first of it's kind Irish wine and food tasting event called "When Irish Wines are Smiling" (see Facebook page here) was held at the historic Rutherford Grange Hall, a former gathering place for farmers, just a couple of doors south of the Rutherford Grill.

The event featured the wines of Irish owned, named and ancestry wineries from Northern California paired with Irish influenced food and Irish cheeses, as well as traditional Irish music and dancing. I was given a card for the event when I was tasting at Roche in Sonoma last weekend. They were there and it turns out they have an Irish background. I also heard about the event through Tom Merle who runs a Meetup group for wine fans and was going with a few people. Tom knows the event organizer and filled me in a bit on the event.

I figured the wines and food and Irish tradition were a nice combination and given St. Patrick's day was near and I'm always up for something different and it seemed like a fun event. Luckily I had a friend to was ready to drive so we headed out on a beautiful sunny day. I was just hoping that everything would be tasty and none would be green.

The event was put on by Andrew Healy, a native Irishman who conceived it as a tribute to people of Irish heritage who work in the wine and food industry in California. He and partner Becky Tyner own Small Lots Big Wines and he runs Three Rock Wine Company and consults with small wine producers.

Included in the list of participating wineries were O’Brien Estate of Napa, Sullivan Vineyards in Rutherford and Irish Family Vineyards of Murphys. McGrail Vineyards of Livermore Valley was there too. (It's a winery I've visited a few times and even poured in the tasting room. I live just down the road in Pleasanton and often see the McGrails at local events but this was the first I heard that they were Irish. I should have guessed.) The event drew participation from local Irishmen, including Bob Hurley, chef-owner of Hurley’s Restaurant in Yountville who was serving Gaelic food at the event along with Chef Kelley Macdonald of the Napa Valley Wine Train and there were plenty of tasty bites.

I didn't realize that so many wineries had an Irish connection but apparently throughout history as the Irish have immigrated throughout the world many have ended up working in the wine industry. The result is that there has been a tremendous Irish influence in wine making around the globe and many centuries-old estates in the French Bordeaux region have Irish names. In addition to the Napa Valley, labels from other wine producing regions carry links, at least in name or heritage, to Ireland.

The event turned out to be fun, with none of the reputed drunkenness that some St. Paddy’s parties are said to have. A live band played Irish music and children from a dance school did jigs and reels.

I enjoy Pinots and there were some good ones from Harrington Wines and Waits-Mast Family Cellars, both of which make small lot, single vineyard wines. There were plenty of other good wines and the event was a nice introduction to them. Here's a list of the wineries that participated. They are worth checking out.

Concannon Founder’s Day 2010

2010-03-13T21:54:00.000-08:00

I had a fun time today observing St. Patrick’s Day in Irish style at Concannon Vineyards for their Founder’s Day Celebration. The event was in honor of founder James Concannon’s birthday, on St. Patrick’s Day, in March 17, 1847.

I met a few friends there who are Livermore wine fans and we mingled in the new tasting room that Concanon built last year in a classic style out of brick. The tasting is room much bigger than it was and features special event rooms. Wine was poured, not beer, so I enjoyed a run through their offerings, which included Petite Sirah, Syrah, and Cabernet and a few others. They have quite a wide selection of wines and there were some bargains going for about $7 a bottle, but their small lots, which are quite tasty get in to the $50 range.

After a bit we meandered outside to enjoy music on the lawn with The Cooltones, a Big Band Jazz. They played songs that took me back to when I was quite young and listened to my Dads music, like “Days of Wine and Roses.” The grounds are nicely manicured in a park-like setting and fresh flowers that make it a pleasant place to relax on a sunny day. This day was still quite cold though with a chill breeze blowing so I wrapped up in a blanket like an old guy. Unfortunately I forgot to bring my 1992 Petite Sirah magnum for the bottle signing with 3rd and 4th generation vintners Jim and John Concannon, but I did get a chance to say hi to Jim, who is a regular in the tasting room and at Livermore Valley events held by the Livermore Wine Growers Association.

With a legacy dating back to 1883, Concannon Vineyards is known for its award-winning wines, as well as its historic role in the Livermore Valley wine industry. James arrived in Livermore after crossing the country in a covered wagon first settling his family in Oregon, then later in California. He planted the country’s first Petit Sirah vines in 1911. For half a century they were used primarily for blending. The winery bottled its first Petit Sirah in 1964 at the suggestion of a wine distributor who liked the flavor. Concannon is a supporter of this varietal and they hosted the Petite Sirah event in 2009. There are some nice old vine Petite Sirah vines behind the tasting room. Concannon also hosts the summertime Livermore Shakespeare Festival, which is featuring “Romeo & Juliet” this season.

James Concannon probably realized that the gravelly soil of Livermore provided the drainage needed for growing grapes with concentrated flavors and that the ocean breezes coming from the Golden Gate would deliver the cooling necessary to retain good acidity. Livermore Valley is one of the few regions with an east west orientation and favorable climate characteristics for wine growing and wines have been made since the 1840s, when California pioneers looking for outstanding vineyard sites began planting grapes in the region starting with Robert Livermore and later C. H. Wente, and Charles Wetmore who along with Concannon founded their wineries in the early 1880s. Concannon survived Prohibition by making sacramental wine for the Catholic Church and the vineyard has been designated a California Historical Landmark.

Tweetup at Wente Vineyards in Livermore

2010-03-09T21:48:00.000-08:00

This evening I checked out the tweetup at Wente Vineyards. A tweetup is an event where people who Twitter come together to meet in person. It's a novel concept, sometimes called meeting in meatspace. There is probably one going on near you. Click for the map to find out. Normally we connect with our friends online after we have met them. At a tweetup you meet the people you might only know virtually, in cyberspace. It’s finally putting a face to a name. Just as Twitter has evolved from "micro-blogging" to a news source, market research tool, customer service outlet, and communication channel, the tweetup has also evolved. A tweetup is a great opportunity to connect with the people in your network and share more than 140 characters at a time. Talk is often about Twitter, and social media and often there will be a featured speaker who talks on a social media topic or maybe there will be entertainment like tonight. Businesses often sponsor tweetups as a way to connect with customers. The event was put on by the Tri-Valley Tweetup.

My friend Carol and I went together. She drove and I navigated. It’s a plan that has proven to work, like when we went to Dark and Delicious in Alameda. Wente is close by for us as we both live in Pleasanton. I’ve been there for wine tasting and a winery tour. The event was held in the tasting room on Tesla in Livermore. When we got there we were both impressed with the newly landscaped grounds. Wente has done a great job creating a garden escape. When we got inside a musician, Suzie Brown was playing guitar and singing. She’s on Twitter @suziebrownsongs. People were mingling and of course trying the wine. Carol and I had a flight of 5 wines which a great way to find what you like. After that I got a bottle of Charles Wetmore Cabernet that we shared with the people we met.

The Wente tasting room staffers were friendly and helpful as they presented the wines. Our pourer mentioned that she liked the "Bottle Shock" movie and I got a little carried away giving her the low down as I'm reading "The Judgement in Paris". We met a few people including Rhonda Wood, a local wine maker at Wood Family. We found that tweetup’s can be fun and they get you off of the computer, if you use them all day at work like I do at work. There’s no substitute for meeting in person. What a concept. Of course having a glass of wine helps get the conversation going, whether it’s about technology or hobbies like wine tasting. If you are thinking of doing a tweetup check out this article by Nicole Nicolay @nik_nik, one of the organizers. If you use Twitter I’m @michael3900.

If you are in the area check out Wente Vineyards. Fifth generation Karl Wente @KarlWente is active in local events and at the winery as the winemaker. The winery was established by Carl Wente in 1883. Previously he worked for Charles Krug of Napa Valley which was later owned by the Mondavi family. In 1935 his sons, Ernest and Herman, introduced California's first varietal wine label, Sauvignon Blanc. The efforts of the Wente family, include pioneering night-time mechanical harvesting, have helped establish the Livermore Valley as one of the premier wine-growing areas of California. Wente also produced vine clones that were used to plant chardonnay in many California vineyards, helping to establish it as a California favorite. The Wente Estate is registered as California Historical Landmark #957.

Dark and Delicious - an Evening of Indulgence

2010-02-19T21:03:00.000-08:00

I've been a fan of Petite Sirah for some time. I live 5 miles from Concannon Vineyards, the historic family-owned winery that in 1961 was the first to release Petite Sirah as a single varietal, after using it as a minor blend for years. I'd heard of the Dark and Delicious Fest but last year I didn't manage to get there. I like to take BART going out of Pleasanton and the logistics were difficult. When my friend Tom Merle emailed that he had tickets all I needed was a ride and I was going. Fortunately my friend Carol offered to drive when I told her I had a ticket for her, so finally I was going to enjoy an evening of Petite Sirah and food pairing indulgence. It's good to have friends who share your interests.

We cruised out of Pleasanton and encountered only light traffic. I was thrilled about that as 880 can be the worst in the evenings. Before long we reached our exit and after negotiating the streets of Oakland we emerged from the Webster Tube and made our way through the Alameda Naval Station, past sorry looking empty base housing, to the Rock Wall Wine Company. While Carol drove I played navigator, which as easy as I had watched an in car video on Youtube provided by the organizers and Carols car had a GPS. The venue is an airplane hanger. A really large airplane hanger. It was quite a sight, like from a Scifi movie about aliens at Area 51, as it loomed up in the darkness, abandoned runways, behind and people filing in. The view of San Francisco skyline glimmering across the bay made it even more surreal.

When we arrive people were already getting started and the last of food was being brought in. I found Tom Merle and we and got our tickets. tom runs a Meetup Group for wine fans. Seeing the crowd meandering past the long rows of tables and all the good food made me want to get started. The room was divided into three sections, with long rows of tables running the width of the hanger, ready with wines and food. Another row of tables was at the end and tables with Silent Auction offerings at the other. It was almost daunting.

Petite Sirah is a grape varietal that doesn't get a lot of respect. Some people argue that it isn't a noble variety. Others debate about it's origins, although things are pretty much sorted out now. It is a clone from the Rhone, but not a traditional Rhone varietal. Like Zinfandel it isn't popular elsewhere, but it has a following in California and a cult like status, hence why we are here at the D&D. Compared to Zinfandel Petite Sirah has a smaller following and D&D is not a huge event like ZAP but I have to say I enjoyed it more. It cost less, there was a good selection of really tasty food and I had a fighting chance to try most of the wines.

I've tried a few Petite Sirahs over the years. It is certainly distinctive. It's been a blending grape for ages, in small amounts, adding color to Bordeaux/Meritage blends, incognito, as it isn't one of the accepted blending grapes for that style. It is a dark grape, with small berries and a high skin to pulp ratio, that makes concentrated and intense wines that will color your teeth. But back to the event.

There was a real mix of people and they were mingling and sharing thoughts on the wines and food. A few of Carol's wine loving friends where there having a good time. It's hard to evaluate wines in this kind of setting. It's more of an introduction. Getting some ideas to follow up on. With the noise and the shuffle I didn't keep detailed notes. I was there to enjoy. There were quite a few I liked. I enjoyed trying Stags’ Leap Winery, not to be confused with Stag's Leap Wine Cellars of "The Judgment of Paris" fame, but an historic place and maker of fine wines, that benefited from the notoriety of that event. I also liked trying Robert Biale Vineyards. I'd tried the infamous Black Chicken Zinfandel of Prohibition fame and the Petite Sirah was a similar good quality and tasty wine. A favorite that I still have a bottle of is Silkwood Wines. They have a vineyard in Modesto with a special climate that favors Petite Sirah and it's a good one. Jim Ryan of Concannon was there pouring their Heritage. I've tasted a few of their Petite Sirahs and the small lots ones are quite tasty.

During the event excellent live music was being played and people were dancing at one end of the hall while at the other end more folksy music was being played. People were casual and having a good time. While it was crowded it wasn't a crush like ZAP, but the crowd was similar, with a range of age and style. I had time to chat briefly with wine makers and food providers and got a few words on how things were made. A bit of a connection. Something to relate to. As people danced and mingled I made my way through the rows to try all that I could. Mainly I noted wines I want to go back to. Wineries I wanted to visit. There is such variety in Petite Sirah. A few wines were one dimensional. Fruity and alcoholic. Others were complex and intriguing demanding more attention. Plus the food created a real added dimension. The flavors might compliment or contrast and alter the experience. There were many other tasty wines at the event. Here's a list of who was there: D&D Page

My only disappointment of the evening was not winning a silent auction. There were some really nice lots. I wrote my bid on a few and went back and upped it, but others had seen the good values and got back in there and upped the bids again, in the last minute. In all it is a well put on event and as Arnold said in the Terminator, "I'll be back."

Volunteering at the ZAP Festival in San Francisco

2010-01-28T23:07:00.000-08:00

I’ve been a Zinfandel fan for some time. I mean what’s not to like about this California favorite? It is so versatile, ranging from jammy to elegant in the right hands. Until this year though I’d not made it to the Zinfandel Festival. I know, how could that be? I considered going last year but it seemed daunting, difficult to get a grip on. Almost 300 wineries attend, in two large halls, at the Herbst and Festival Pavilions at San Francisco’s Fort Mason, and it’s bit spendy at $59 for the Grand Tasting. Could I really taste enough to make it worth going? What would the crowds be like? How would I know what to try? This year I got a surprise offer from a friend to volunteer. It sounded fun, in a way. I’d be directing the attendees to their destinations for a few hours and afterwards I’d be free to join in and taste some Zinfandel; In fact, a lot of Zinfandel, if I wanted.

I was looking forward to the adventure so when Saturday came around we were on our way with a sense of excitement. Living out in Pleasanton taking BART is the best bet for getting to San Francisco for me. At Embarcadero we jumped on the F-Line and rode it to the end of the line. It’s a fun experience on the old time trolleys, that so many visitors like to share. After the stop it’s just a short walk past the aquatic center and over the hill to Ft. Mason. It was a sunny but cool January day but there were swimmers in the bay. Some people are hardier than I am for sure. I was planning to wet my whistle, but that was it.

We arrived about 11:30 and the hall was already busy with trade people who were doing an early tasting session that had started at 10 am. Other volunteers were mingling at the door in their Hawaiian print style shirts, so we checked in at the back of the hall and were issued our shirts and then took our places at the front door, ready for the onslaught of press attendees who were already lining up out front and would be coming in at 12. I could tell the event was going to be huge. They say that about 10,000 people come to this event and I was starting to believe it as I prepared myself for the final wave of wine lovers coming for the public event at 2pm.

San Francisco has a lot of wine lovers and they like to get out and enjoy. But it’s not just San Franciscans that turn out for ZAP. Some people come from all far away and for the entire weekend of activities, which includes a Zin and Food pairing walk around event with noted chefs preparing tasty treats to go with their favorite Zin. There are also a series of seminars on Friday that take you through a tasting with commentary from the wine makers. It’s a good way to get to know Zin and learn to discover which Zin is the one for you. Another event is the Evening with the Winemakers which features a live auction for charity, a pre-dinner tasting, and a sit-down dinner with winemakers. This is your chance to indulge in wine while giving to charity, and have a tasty meal while a winemaker discusses their wines. I’ll have to try that one next year, but this year I was here for the Grand Tasting.

So far things were going well. People were orderly and a few asked directions, like where to check in, and get their glasses. After 19 years this event is figured out and it flows well. You enter the pavilion, at your designated time, depending on the group you are in, show your ticket, pick up your tasting glass, grab a bottle of water and a baguette and head in to the all to taste your favorite Zinfandel or discover some new ones. After 2pm when the doors open and public crowd comes in the event can get a little hectic as the crowd builds and some people are feeling the spirit of the occasion, but over all I’d say it was under control, although seeing guys in Hula Skirts was a bit much, but the ladies know how to dress for this event. Munching bread and drinking water is definitely a good idea to avoid any sudden effects of the wine. If you are going to taste more than a few picking up a spit cup when you enter is also a good idea. It’s hard to evaluate a wine if you are feeling the effects. Taking a swallow of water and a bite of bread between tastes clears your mouth and absorbs the wine you just tasted getting you ready for another taste. Otherwise the alcohol, tannins and acid in wine take their toll on your taste buds and linger, masking the taste of the next wine. You don’t want that to happen as you seek out your favorite Zin.

About mid-afternoon my volunteer shift ended and it was time to go tasting, so I got my ZAP glass and headed out in to the hall. With about 300 wineries pouring, ZAP is one of the biggest wine events in the world. There’s no way to taste everything, but some people seemed to be making a good effort. We were given a guide book and I looked through it and tried to find a few that I wanted to try. Long rows of tables lined the hall which seems bigger than a football field and I searched out the names, which were in alphabetical order.

It’s amazing how Zinfandel has caught on. It has a long history in California and it grown in so many paces. It was mainly produced by Italian immigrant families in areas such as Dry Creek, near Healdsburg, but also in the Sierra Foothills and to the south in Paso Robles. They made it mainly to drink with dinner, which is part of their heritage, and it was also produced for blending and made up the bulk of what was called “Hearty Burgundy” in the earlier years of California’s winemaking history. Zinfandel is considered a heritage grape of California, however it isn’t native. Using DNA researchers in UCD traced the origin to ‘Primitivo’, an Italian grape, but its history suggests an ancestry even further back to a grape which was originally grown in Croatia called Crljenak, which I can’t pronounce.

I saw some old favorites such as Robert Biale, which has quite a following, especially for their legendary Black Chicken. Even Chateau Montelena famous for the Chardonnay featured at The Judgment in Paris makes a Zinfandel and the popular Prisoner from Orin Swift is a Zinfandel. Of course Rosenblum, maker of the most Jammy was there as well as Rombauer, a favorite with "desperate housewives". In all fairness, it is not possible to give tasting reviews an event of this size. There is just too much to take in. So I just tried a few, and took some suggestions from my friend who got me to volunteer there. Judging from the crowd, which was definitely having fun I’d say Americans are clearly are taking to Zinfandel. There was lots of enthusiasm and the price didn’t seem to put people off. Some people are regulars and others like me were new but I think we agreed it was a great opportunity to sample the old and the new Zinfandel offerings, and find some new possibilities as well as reacquaint with old favorites.

Bringing a French Wine to Dinner in California

2009-11-26T22:01:00.000-08:00

For Thanksgiving dinner I was invited to the home of a friend who is from a big Italian family. They are an enthusiastic wine drinking family in the California tradition. They have wine with most meals, go to wineries for tastings and are members of wine clubs. They spend a fair amount of money on wine and I’d say they are well informed and immersed in California wine. I decided to bring a French wine, a Burgundy, just to see how it would go over. This wasn’t entirely my idea. I was taking the Wines of the World class as a part of the Viticulture program at Las Positas College in Livermore. and our instructor put us up to this little field experiment and we had to report back on our findings. He has a liking for European wines and had a few conceptions about California wine drinking habits.

The first Thanksgiving didn’t have wine, as grape vines were not cultivated until much later. It might have had beer that was brought from England, but at this dinner though we would have wine and lots of it. There were 6 men and 6 women including me at the dinner. Before dinner we had some California Chardonnays. They were oak influenced types, but high quality including Heitz, Chalone, Ferrari Carano. After a bit someone opened a Clos du Val Cabernet from Napa and a Dutton-Goldfield, Russian River Pinot Noir. Everyone just drank whatever they liked with the appetizers. The women seemed to mostly like the Chardonnays, but a couple of them were drinking the red wine. The men were in to the reds and were enjoying them while talking about going dove hunting in Argentina. One liked cigars and was enjoying a Romeo-et-Julietta with his wine. I winced thinking how the smoke would mask the taste of the wine but I was tempted to have a puff or two.

When we were serving the wine the first thing that I noticed is that they had small crystal goblets that were more open at the top and did not have a bowl to swirl the wine. The bouquet was lost in these glasses and they were chosen more for appearance. This is quite common as you can see from the wine glass selections as finer stores. Most people haven’t done a Riedel tasting comparison to learn how the glass affects perception. I have a Riedel tasting set so I’m particular and I notice that even wine bars and tasting rooms make poor choices in stemware that doesn’t present the wine favorably. At a winery and at a wine event I was served in a plastic cup and I cringed at the petrol smell and the lack of wine aroma. Another thing I noticed is that they weren’t using a wine in cooler. The red wine was on a rack in a small room that served as a bar and it was a bit warm. The Chardonnay’s had been in the refrigerator and were quite cold. This is also common, even with people who enjoy fine wine, but small changes in temperature affect the taste and wines should be served at the proper temperature. I like whites at 55 Fahrenheit and reds at 65.

For dinner I wanted to compare the French Pinot with one from California. I served a 2006 Jean Fournier Marsannay les Longerois and suggested they opened a 2006 Talbott from Sleepy Hollow Vineyard, Santa Lucia Highlands, Monterey that was standing by. They also opened a Heitz Cabernet and a Frank Family Cabernet. People were drinking the reds and the whites with dinner. They didn’t seem to be paying attention to food and wine pairing. In America I think it is a drink what you like culture. In Germany where I grew up the wines would have been paired with the dish as they would be in England, where my mother is from, and in Italy and France where we often visited. The Cabernets were quite extracted and could overwhelm light turkey meat. Even the Santa Lucia Pinot was an intense wine when compared to most Burgundies. Not that they were bad wines. They were well made and quite tasty and I sampled all of them.

I chose my wine because Marsanny is an important appellation in the Cote de Or for Pinot Noir and representative of the region. The red wines of Marsanny are deeply colored and have the structure to age. Being a 2006 it was still fairly young. This wine was from old vines, vinified entirely with whole clusters and matured half in new barriques. I got it at The Wine Steward in Pleasanton, my local wine store. It had aromas of ripe black cherry, a nice density and a roasted meatiness and chalky minerality with cherry fruit and a long finish with well-integrated tannins on the palate. However compared to the other reds at the table it was relatively light weight.

When I asked my friends about the French wine they commented that it wasn’t so fruity., that it was kind of thin. They also commented on the high acid and said it seemed tart. Some of us drank the French wine along with the Talbott Sleepy Hollow. It had a rich deep-garnet hue, with an intensity of a young wine. I noticed aromas of ripe fruit including cherry and plum and floral aromas. There was some hint of oak and a bit of spiciness. The dinner guests commented on how this wine was nice and fruity, but also commented on a slight hotness from alcohol, which is common with California Pinots. They also commented that the acid was mellower than with the French wine.

The dinner conversation was mostly family news and travel conversation and about hobbies more than the wine. I didn’t really expect people to reveal all about wine at Thanksgiving. Most people like to drink wine. They don’t necessarily want to evaluate it, unlike me, taking classes and reading books and hanging out with wine geeks and being handed assignments by inscrutable instructors. I’ve found it can be difficult to get people to talk about the wine beyond commenting on if they like it. Wine is a complex subject. The result was pretty much what I expected. In California we like wines that are more like cocktails and we drink for the flavor experience, more than for the food pairing.

Blending Wine at Concannon’s Bordeaux by the Bay Event

2009-11-21T16:05:00.000-08:00

I got to play wine maker for a couple of hours at the Bordeaux by the Bay event at Concannon Winery in Livermore. The event that features their Bordeaux blends is a tradition for 35 years, but it had a new twist this time – a blending seminar, open to the public, like me. Becoming a winemaker appeals to many of us, and the room was full.

Concannon is one of the oldest wineries in California established 1883 and is a Registered Historic Landmark. The renovated tasting room is over 100 years old. This year, the winery had its 126th consecutive harvest, as it stayed open even during Prohibition, by producing altar wines for the Catholic Church. We were hosted in a private event room in the new brick event center. Our host was Jim Ryan, the Concannon estate manager and the event featured Julian Halasz, Concannon’s winemaker, originally from Hungary, and previously the wine maker at Garre in Livermore.

We were Julian's assistants today, ready to blend a Bordeaux style creation of our own. Before me was a full bottle of Cabernet and four small bottles of different red wine, Merlot, Malbec, Cabernet Franc and Petite Verdot, the traditional Bordeaux blending varietals, and since this was Concannon, known for their Petite Sirah, we had just a bit of that to add more color if we chose. The only requirement was that we had to use at least 75% Cabernet in our blends, so our wine could be labeled as a Cabernet and not a Meritage or simply a red blend. Cabernet was to be the backbone of our wine. Other varietals were supposed to soften, complement, or intensify the wine to suit our taste.

We had empty glasses and beakers, which we were going to use to make our blend. We had a cheat sheet that showed milliliters in percentages, to aid us in tracking how much of each type we were using. We also had a table full of bread, cold cuts, cheeses, nuts, and dried fruit to go with our wine. I sampled some of the berries and other fruits to compare with the wines to help me identify the flavors and I tried the nuts and cheeses to see how they paired with the wines.

“There are two schools of thought about food and wine pairing,” Jim Ryan shared with us. “Personally, I don’t subscribe to the ‘sweet foods for sweet wine’ notion. It’s just taste matching. I prefer contrasting flavors, like salami, pastrami, and cheeses. Each has a different fat content, and can be perfectly paired with tannic reds.” Jim explained that while nuts have their own tannins, walnuts are the highest in content, cashews the lowest, and pecans in the middle, so they can be paired with different wines for added enjoyment. Dried and fresh berries as well as chocolate/nuts confections provide complementary flavors.

I was seated next to Emma Krasov, a wine writer from Russia who writes for the San Francisco Russian Weekly. For a little history Jim Ryan brought out some bottles from the museum display, one with Russian Cyrillic script. It was a signature wine of Georgia, formerly of the USSR called Rkaziteli and apparently favored in the Dictator Stalin. “They put Cyrillic letters on the label and couldn’t understand why it wouldn’t sell in the middle of Cold War,” Ryan joked with us. He also told us the winery never shied away from experiments. It won its first gold medal at the 1936 California State Fair for Sparkling California Burgundy, which was probably Zinfandel or Petite Sirah. It was certainly a novelty or an perhaps an oddity.

Julian told us about the characteristics that each varietal added. Merlot ripens a bit earlier than Cabernet and softens the wine. Malbec adds dark color and tannins. Petit Verdot ripens later and adds tannins, color and flavor. Cabernet Franc is lighter and adds finesse and peppery spiciness. America’s first Petite Sirah was bottled by Concannon and first released in 1961. Three to seven percent of it adds more intense color, blackberry/blueberry flavor, and earthy quality to Concannon’s famous Cabernets. A little know secret commonly used in California and the reason why Concannon produced so much of it. They sold it to other wineries before finally deciding to bottle it as a single varietal at the suggestion of their grape distributor who liked it so much. There are still some old vine Petite Sirah on the property.

I tasted each wine and did a little blending and tasting. Then I did a little more tasting and blending and a bit more food sampling. After the trial and error session, Julian bottled up our personal blend and we got to take a bottle home. I left feeling just a little bit more informed about this whole processes, but not quite ready to make my own wine release.