A Soothing Wine to Tame Your Inner Beast

I'm in the middle of nearly three weeks on the road.  As I write this post I'm 30,000 feet in the air somewhere over Nebraska (probably). After nearly two solid weeks on the road, I returned home last Thursday in need of something.

Not just anything but something really special. 

Since the dreaded fiscal cliff we just went over, our friends at the Transportation and Safety Administration decided to make life a little more difficult. Lines are longer. People are just a tad bit less friendly. Ok. Maybe not "people" but I know I certainly was!

By the time I got to the house on Thursday I was looking forward to that special treat.  Just before all the travels began, I received my shipment of Chardonnay from Pete and Cathy Seghesio's new venture -- Journeyman Wines.

I wrote about their new venture a few posts back in "Taking a New Journey through Wine" but I hadn't yet tasted their wine.

It arrived just as I was leaving town for California for a week and so the wine sat in the trunk of the car for a little over a week.  I was trusting that the trunk -- even if it was around 35 degrees outside would be warmer in the garage at the airport rather than in my 75 to 80 degree office.

While I normally prefer red wines, I was anxious to try this one.  After our visit to the Central Coast region, I also received a little more wine than I should have ordered. Now I have to get to drinking the wine. Actually, I've now had to take six shelves out of the wine cabinet to get all my wine appropriately stored.  Like I said, time to have a party and drink up.

 Back to some Chardonnay. I came home to a great meal of chicken breast, veggies and a baked potato. Some good home cooking that I longed for after nearly two weeks of being on the road.  I called ahead and asked Roxanne to open up a bottle of the Journeyman Chardonnay.

Over the last couple of months I've had some really delicious Chardonnays -- especially the Bacigalupi Vineyard Chardonnay made with grapes from the same vines that produced some of the grapes that made the historic Paris Tasting. (Read about it in my post "Experiencing my Own Bottle Shock".)

I had already tasted some of the Journeyman Chardonnay from the big green egg as it was in the middle of the malolactic fermentation so I had high hopes for the wine.

And I was not disappointed.

This is a delicious wine.  They say that music can soothe the savage beast but I'll tell you this wine soothed my inner beast.  After a week on the road dealing with grumpy travelers, losing my way through Philadelphia, narrowly missing a barricade trying to pick up a phone call on my blue tooth, this wine was just what I needed.

I'm hosting the next Mondays @ Mark's on Tax Day.  I think that I'll be doing a blind tasting between three of my favorite Chardonnays: one from Bacigalupi Vineyards, one from Chamisal (the Califa blend) and this wine.  I'll report back in a couple of weeks.  In the meantime, I'd sure recommend giving the Journeyman Chardonnay a taste.

In the meantime, if there's a wine you think I should try, please let me know.  I'd love to try something new.

Taking a New Journey through Wine

Over the last several years I've met some really great people in the wine business but none are any better than Pete and Cathy Seghesio. As some of you may know, after more than 100 years the Seghesio family sold their company to the Crimson Wine Group.

I wrote about that in one of my other blog posts called Musings on Engagement from 35,000 Feet.  Since that time the Seghesio family continues to be involved in the business. And for Pete and Cathy, they've added a few other ventures (adventures) to their lives.

Just this month, they've launched a new wine company:  Journeyman Wine.  A journeyman is someone who is learning a craft and is between apprentice and master.  In fact, you could say that many of the people for whom the Hands of Time wine I posted earlier this week were journeymen, too.

But this adventure began as a way for Pete to pass along the family business to his sons, Joe and Will.  Last summer during my visit for the 9th Annual BBQ and Zin event hosted by Seghesio I was blown away by an invitation to join Pete and Cathy at their home for a pre-event party.  It was during that visit that I had a tour of the new winery by one of the journeymen in this project, Joe.

He did a great job of explaining the process that they went through in creating their first wine, a chardonnay. But more than just a tour, we had an opportunity to taste the wine. It was delicious. It was an incredible evening with the family. Now the winery is no more than a stairway from the living areas. With some encouragement from Rachel Anne's, Pete and Cathy built the winery in their basement.  

Now if you don't know Seghesio Family Vineyards, you may not know that they don't make a chardonnay. What's even more interesting is that Pete's cousin, Ted, is the winemaker not Pete.  He's a winegrower. 

One of the things I've noticed in my trips out to wine country is how well the various vineyards work to not just increase their business but the business of all of the wineries in the area. They may be competitors but they're friends, too. And over the years, Pete has developed great relationships with winegrowers all over the region.

I love what Pete and Cathy put on their website regarding why they started this project.

Our Journeyman Project was envisioned with the belief that two of the best gifts we can offer our children are family traditions and the opportunity to learn from wise mentors. We are so grateful to our amazing friends and colleagues who didn't hesitate to become involved. They shared their skills, their vineyards, their wealth of experience and even a few treasured secrets. Without even realizing it, they taught us lessons of generosity and character that will last a lifetime.

 What a powerful experience. I'd really encourage you to go visit the Journeyman Wine website and work your way through it. There are lots of great photos and information all the way through it. And you'll have an opportunity to sign up for information on ordering the wine.

Personally, I can't wait to not only try this wine but to watch as Pete, Cathy, Joe and Will deliver new experiences and new wines year after year.