Ridge Vineyards is a winery that has fascinated me for much of the time that I’ve been interested in wine. Their wines, methods, and story are all a compelling source of interest for oenophiles.

Ridge’s history dates back to the late 1950s, when the property the winery and some of its vineyards reside on in Santa Cruz was purchased by a group of Stanford researchers. At the time, this didn’t include the Monte Bello vineyard, which was not purchased until a few years later. In the meantime, Dave Bennion and the rest of his partners had begun holding back some of their grapes to make wine themselves (the rest were sold to other wineries) and were becoming increasingly interested in using all of the harvest for their own wines.

In 1969 they hired Paul Draper, and the rest, as they say, is history. Draper became their chief winemaker and has remained at the helm ever since. The 1971 Monte Bello Cabernet Sauvignon that he led the making of was part of the historic Judgement of Paris in 1976, where it came in 5th. Over time, Ridge became one of the leading proponents of vineyard-designated wines, particularly with the range of single-vineyard Zinfandels the winery began releasing in the 1970s. The winery, led by Draper, also become a strong advocate for making wines with minimal intervention, allowing the grapes and their natural terroir come through.

While their wines are all excellent, it is this commitment to “natural” methods of winemaking that I find the most fascinating about Ridge. In a market favoring big, bold, often highly alcoholic red wines from northern California, Draper has continuously produced wines according to his own specifications. His restrained use of American oak, low yields, natural fermentations, and devotion to letting the unique characteristics of a specific site come through in the finished wine are all reasons that Ridge wines are both so compelling and so unique.

Draper’s note on the back of the label for this 2008 Estate Cabernet sums it up nicely: “The distinctive character of the world’s great wines has always been determined by their site – not by man.”

I really enjoy reading about Ridge Vineyards and the work that Paul Draper has done there. You may as well, so here are links to a few good resources. Most are interviews with or profiles of Draper, but at this point he is nearly synonymous with Ridge itself:

• “History and Philosophy of Winemaking at Ridge Vineyards, 1970s-1990s.” This extensive interview with Paul Draper is one of a series of oral histories that were collected by UC Davis.
• “Letting a Grape Be a Grape.” Very good profile of Draper and Ridge by the always interesting-to-read Eric Asimov of the New York Times.
• “A Non-Action Approach to Winemaking.” Another brief profile by Asimov.
• “Paul Draper.” Profile of Draper by Wine Spectator writer James Laube.

Tasting Notes
This 2008 vintage of the Estate Cabernet Sauvignon was produced from 66 tons of grapes harvested from 34 acres of vineyards, resulting in 24 parcels of this wine. The grapes are all from the Monte Bello vineyard in the Santa Cruz Mountains, where the grapes for the famed Monte Bello wine are also grown. This bottling includes 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot, 3%, Petit Verdot, and 2% Cabernet Franc.

The wine itself is a deep, black red. The nose has notes of black licorice, raspberry, cherry, oak resin, and an undercurrent of vanilla. The palate’s texture is soft and supple with medium tannins supporting dense flavors of tart black cherry, rich plum, tobacco and a healthy dose of spicy, resinous oak. The lingering finish is rich with tart, dark fruit. All in all, this is a big wine that deftly blends rich fruit flavors with tart ones and has a strong current of oaky flavors running through it.

On the label, Eric Baugher (vice president-winemaking) writes this note about the vintage:
“A severe winter ended In early February, leaving the vines short of water by late August. Moderate summer weather ripened the small crop during the first three weeks of October. Color and tannins extracted rapidly from the small berries. Parcels that make up the Estate Cabernet consistently produce wines that are more accessible and elegantly structured than those dedicated to the Monte Bello. Typically, we reduce pump-overs and press early, balancing tannins to fruit.”

The opportunity to taste a straight, grain scotch whisky – with no malt whisky included – is very rare. You almost never see such a whisky bottled on its own, and if you do it’s going to be an unusual, and limited, bottling from an independent bottler. Since I joined the Society several years ago, I’ve seen a couple of bottlings come and go. But outside of that, during the number of years that I’ve had an avid interest in scotch, I’ve run across only a very small handful.

The reality is that, of the many millions of gallons of scotch grain whisky that are produced each year, nearly all of them go into blended whiskies. And so, in the end, while grain whisky is drunk in phenomenal proportions by whisky drinkers every year, most of us know next-to-nothing about the grain whisky distilleries themselves. While malt whisky distilleries each have their own unique brands and stories, grain whisky distilleries quietly and anonymously (to most whisky drinkers) do what they do best, producing oceans of relatively neutral grain whisky to fill the needs of whisky blenders.

But, in reality, many of these grain whisky distilleries have interesting and compelling histories of their own. And, as it turns out, their whisky can be pretty interesting in its own right.

North British Distillery is a good example. It was founded in 1885 by Andrew Usher who had begun experimenting with the blending of whisky in the 1840′s, and in the 1850′s had released arguably the first blended whisky, Usher’s Old Vatted Glenlivet. By the 1880′s, Andrew Usher & Co. were competing with the Distiller’s Company, and so in order to secure a consistent supply of their own grain whisky, North British Distillery was founded in Edinburg. After two years of construction and outfitting with the latest equipment, the distillery began operations in 1887, and quickly ramped up production, distilling 3.6 million gallons of whisky a year beginning in 1888.

Prohibition hit the distillery hard, with production falling to as little as 1.2 million gallons in 1932, and it wasn’t until 1955 that production reached the 1914 level of 2.5 million gallons. Since then, the distillery has been stable and production has steadily increased to the stunning figure of 16 million gallons per year today. And with the closing of Caledonia Distillery in 1988, North British remains the only grain whisky distillery still operating in Scotland’s capital city today.

Today, North British is one of just 7 operating grain whisky distilleries:

• Cameronbridge
• Girvan
• Invergordon
• Loch Lomond
• Port Dundas
• Strathclyde

Its grain whisky features prominently in several brands, including the Famous Grouse, Johnnie Walker, J&B, and Cutty Sark. And, as with this one, the occasional bottling of straight North British whisky from an independent bottler. In this case, the bottler is Master of Malt, a retailer and independent bottler located in the UK.

Tasting Notes

This is a single-cask, cask-strength whisky that was distilled on January 22nd, 1991 and aged in a first-fill bourbon cask until being bottled on the 14th of October, 2011. It was bottled at 54.1%.

The whisky’s color is a pale, green-tinted gold. The nose has notes of coconut, lemon, and vanilla. Adding some water brings out notes of mint and lime. The palate has an oily, cocoa butter texture, with rich flavors of coconut custard, creme brûlée, and white chocolate, underscored by a slight, citrus astringency. Alongside those flavors, the overwhelming impression is of a very smooth and gently powerful whisky. The relatively long finish brings the same spectrum of soft, sweet flavors.

All in all, the flavors are very reminiscent of bourbon and American oak, especially with those vanilla, coconut, and cocoa butter elements.

I’ve never had a straight grain whisky before, and certainly never a single cask, cask strength one. But I have to say, this is pretty interesting, and pretty good. Very dessert-like; creme brûlée with a dollop of coconut whipped cream on top. Enjoyable, with all that sweetness minus the cloyingness that a bourbon can have. I would be very happy to have a bottle of this in my whisky cabinet.

Note: This sample was graciously supplied to me by Drinks By The Dram.

White wines from the Jura are truly something special. In the oceans of wine out there, the emphasis of this strikes home with me more each time that I taste one. Unfortunately, that remains a relatively rare experience, as finding these wines is difficult. In 2006, the Art Of Eating featured Jura wines in a fascinating in-depth article. This was the first time I’d heard of them, and at the time finding them was all but impossible. But slowly, and I believe partly as a result of the interest sparked by this article among a small group of wine drinkers, certain shops in Boston began carrying more of them. Even Vin Jaune could be found if you were especially fortunate.

Of late, I’ve found that these wines are harder to find, which is a real shame because they can be so utterly fascinating. Wines from this region simply aren’t like wines made anywhere else in the world, and the best of them are truly sublime. Of course, I’m speaking here largely of the whites, which are the Jura’s calling card. The reds, made largely from Pinot Noir, Poulsard, Trousseau are nowhere near as impressive, often light in body and flavor. But the whites can be amazing.

Vin Jaune is the white that the Jura is most famous for, but many of their other white wines, typically made from Chardonnay or Savagnin, can be very delicious and feature many of the same qualities that Vin Jaune does. This all owes to how these wines are produced. The combination of the Savagnin grape (unique to the Jura) and their method of aging wines sous-voile (also unique to the Jura) produces white wines like no other.

The production of Vin Jaune requires the use of 100% Savagnin and aging the wines in barrel for at least 6 years, during which time the barrel is never topped up, allowing it to develop a thin film of yeast on the surface of the wine. The result is that the wine oxidizes very slowly during those 6 years, developing the characteristic flavors of walnut, butter, coffee, honey, apple, and cocoa.

Other whites from the Jura do not have such requirements. Yet, nonetheless many are made in a similar fashion, often both using the Savagnin grape and aging sous-voile. The distinction between these and Vin Jaune would be the duration of aging, which is closer to 1-2 years.

While Savagnin is perhaps the grape that the Jura is most notable for, Chardonnay is also widely grown, and just as often treated in the same fashion. This wine from Domaine Rolet is a great example of this. It is from grapes grown in the the l’Etoile appellation (also home to the excellent Domaine de Montbourgeau), but they also grow grapes in the Arbois and wider Cotes du Jura appellations. Domaine Rolet is a family-owned winery, tended to by the four Rolet siblings, and overseeing 60 hectares that include the 5 typical Jura varieties: Chardonnay 34%, Savagnin 21%, Poulsard 21%, Trousseau 10%, and Pinot Noir 13%.

The label on the wine has a small statement reading:

La constitution geologique du sous-sol jurassien fait du Revermont une terre de predilection quant a l’obtention de vins blancs secs d’un haut niveau. Celui-ci, privilegement le cepage Chardonnay restitue bien toute la delicatesse du terroir de l’Etoile.

“Revermont” refers to the ridge of hills that runs north-south through the l’Etoile appellation, and throughout much of the Jura generally. L’Etoile is the second smallest appellation in the Jura, covering 160 hectares. It gets its name from the small star-shaped fossils of pentacrines (extinct relatives of starfish) that are found in the soil. This is an appellation well-known for its oxidized wines, both Vin Jauneand other whites. I’ve had several whites and a Vin de Paille from this appellation and all have been excellent.

Tasting Notes

The wine is a ight, greeny gold with auburn tints.  The nose is bright and promising, with notes of apple orchard, pear, and hazelnut. On the palate, the wine is soft and smoothly textured, with dense flavors of poached pears, brioche, vanilla, and walnut, all ringed by a nutty acidity. Much more full, well-textured, and layered with flavor than the nose indicates. The finish is lingering, with notes of pear and walnut.

This wine does a great job of walking a tightrope between the soft and supple texture and fruit-driven flavors of Chardonnay, and the nutty, sweet acidity characteristic of many Jura whites. It’s really enjoyable, and the flavors continued to develop as the wine warmed. Highly recommend…

In the small (yet growing) group of small Scottish distilleries, Kilchoman is perhaps the tiniest. But what else would you expect from a distillery that is only 6 years old, is located on the small island of Islay off Scotland’s southwest coast, and was built on a farm (Rockside Farm)?

I still remember learning about Kilchoman back in 2004, before the distillery had even begun to produce its own whisky. Kilchoman, founded in 2001 by Anthony Wills, was the first new distillery on Islay in 124 years, and they didn’t begin distilling until 2005, after several years of acquiring and installing equipment and hiring staff.

At the time, I was heavily into Islay whiskies, the smokier the better, and so after having fully explored all 7 of them at the time (Bowmore, Bruichladdich, Bunnahabhain, Laphroaig, Caol Ila, and Lagavulin), the thought of one more Islay distillery was really exciting. Unfortunately, their whisky was many, many years away, and so was really nothing more than a figment of our (and Anthony Wills’) imaginations.

In 2006, I did end up getting my hands on some of Kilchoman’s whisky, after they’d released a small batch of 50ml bottles of their new make spirit. What surprised me most was how smooth and very drinkable it was, while still being satisfyingly smoky.

Fast forward to 2009, and Kilchoman released their first Scotch whisky (as the younger whisky couldn’t properly be called Scotch because it was too young – whisky must be aged at least 3 years in oak barrels to be called Scotch), a 3-year old finished in Oloroso sherry butts. They followed this up with another 3-year old, released in (and accordingly named) Summer 2010. Their most recent release was the “100% Islay”, a whisky distilled from barley grown on Islay and malted at the distillery itself.

This last whisky is indicative of the unique path that Kilchoman is taking. They are not only small, they embrace being small. They strive to take advantage of some of the unusual opportunities available to them on account of their size, such as malting some of their own barley, and to capture Wills’ vision of “a small farm distillery that used only local ingredients, malted its own barley, and would benefit from the iconic Islay pedigree.”

Today, Kilchoman produces 100,000 liters a year, up from 40,000 in 2006. They produce a smoky whisky, with the malt measuring 20-25ppm phenols, accomplished by virtue of 12 hours of exposure to peat smoke before the malt is finished drying via indirect oil fire. The young whiskies are quite drinkable, which may have something to do with the shape of their stills. According to stillman Tony Rozga, “[the stills] are a great shape with lots of space to help the vapours calm down before they hit the condenser.”

What with all the good reviews that I’d read, and this being my first chance to taste aged Kilchoman whisky, I was pretty excited to try this dram.

Tasting Notes

This was a small sample graciously supplied to me by Drinks By The Dram*. It was bottled at 46%.

In the glass, the whisky is a pale, shimmery, white gold. The nose is beautifully smoky with lots of charred wood and smoke accompanied by notes of burnt sugar, peppermint, and white chocolate. The palate is rich and warm, earthy and very smoky, with sweet vanilla and brioche. On the finish, the bite of young whisky rears its head, but doesn’t overshadow the cloud of smoke that slowly gives way to a subdued sweetness.

On the whole, this is pretty smooth for such a young whisky, with flavors that are unabashedly smoky, and balanced by a nice combination of mint and chocolate. It very much makes me look forward to an older version of Kilchoman, and I wouldn’t argue against some of that Oloroso finishing they used for earlier releases.

*Drinks By The Dram is actually a pretty neat online whisky shop. I’d seen their site a year or so back and was impressed that they were offering single drams of whisky (e.g. 3cl bottles) for sale, in many cases whiskies that were rather rare. At the time, their selection was good, but today it’s pretty downright impressive. Lots of hard to find bottlings and lots only released in the UK are available by the single dram, which is especially beneficial for those of us here in the US. For a modest cost, we can sample whiskies otherwise unavailable to us. For instance, this and this. Exceptional whiskies both, extremely rare, and bottles prohibitively expensive. But a single dram’s worth is a great opportunity for a whisky lover. They’re definitely worth checking out.

I’ve long been a fan of Zinfandel, and of Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel in particular. I’ve tried Zinfandels from all over California, including those areas where I think it grows best (Paso Robles, Alexander Valley, and Rockpile Road for instance). But in the end, I always come back to Zins from Dry Creek Valley.

The Zinfandels made in this appellation exhibit a degree of character that isn’t quite there in other Zins, however good they may be. I often identify this as a brambly, earthy, rustic element that makes the wines just breathe a sense of place.

Now, there may be a certain degree of romanticism to this belief of mine, but then half the joy of wine is it’s romanticism, isn’t it? A given wine conveys to us its own meaning, a meaning undoubtedly imbued with our own thoughts, expectations, and beliefs. Great wine or not, we enjoy it for reasons beyond merely what’s in the glass.

But I tell you, Zins from dry creek valley really are unique, and delicious too. And this example from the Hobo Wine Company is no exception.

Who is Hobo Wine Company you ask? Good question, and it’s the first question that popped into my head when I saw this bottle. It was a gift from a good friend whose taste is entirely trustworthy, so I figured the wine had a lot of promise. But nonetheless, it was a complete unknown to me. It turns out that the Hobo Wine Company is the name of winemaker Kenny Likitprakong. Begun in 2002, the label was his first foray into winemaking under his own “name”, after having worked in various wine-making capacities at a handful of California wineries.

Initially, Hobo Wine Co. made all of their wine from purchased grapes, establishing relationships with growers throughout Sonoma County. A few years later in 2006, he began leasing vineyards in both Dry Creek Valley and Santa Rosa. Since then, the company’s vineyard holdings have increased incrementally, as has production. Whereas initially Hobo Wine Co. put out a Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel and Dry Creek Valley Port, today the range of releases is somewhat broader, with a year-round lineup that includes two more Zinfandel bottlings and two Cabernet Sauvignon bottlings, alongside special small-lot releases or single-vineyard bottlings.

Their approach is typical of many smaller, more craft-oriented winemakers nowadays, with an emphasis on minimal intervention, selective use of natural yeasts, and a light-handed use of (both French and American) oak.

So the back-story was a good one, but how would the wine stack up? I mean, when it comes to Zins, my expectations are somewhat high…

Tasting Notes

The wine pours a dark, inky purple. The nose is ripe with notes of blackberry and black currant, dark earthy mint, and more subtle notes of French oak and vanilla. The palate is a balanced blend of flavors both earthy and sweet, with ample tannin to boot. In fact, it’s more balanced than the richness of the nose would have you expect. Flavors of sweet and tart black and red berries dominant, with a dark coffee element thrown in for good measure. The tannins dry out the palate and lend a gripping oakiness to it. Over time in the glass they soften, but never fully go away. The finish is medium-length with black fruit left on a drying palate.

I was surprised at how tannic this wine was, and felt that either a) it could have been aged even longer, and b) it should have been opened much earlier. In fact, we kept a couple of glasses worth for the next day, and the tannins had softened considerably by then, making for a much smoother drinking experience. All in all though, a very tasty wine, and I’d be game for looking into more of their wines if I see them in the future.