A Special Day at Chamisal Vineyards

It's been about a year since I first heard about Chamisal.  It began with a tweet to the Winery asking what made this little jewel special. My initial interest began because one of my favorite wineries, Seghesio, had just been purchased by the same group that owns Pine Ridge, Archery Summit and Chamisal.

The Chamisal entrance. A beautiful vineyard.

After an initial shipment of some recommended wines from Brooke that expressed the uniqueness of the vineyard, I've been hooked ever since.

One of the things that sets off the wines is the particular terroir. Specializing in Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, there's something about the soils that imparts what the vineyard calls the "Chamisal spice."

Overall, the Pinot Noir's are bigger than many I've had in the past.

But I digress.

When I had a business trip scheduled for the weekend in Santa Barbara, I couldn't pass up an opportunity to drive a couple of hours north and make my first visit to the winery. There are a lot of wineries and vineyards out in the market-place producing some very fine wines.  But it's not just the wines.

It's the people of the winery.

The tasting room, formerly the production facility.

That's one of the things that deepened my connection to Seghesio Family Vineyards. Not just the people that run the winery but the people that face the public day in and day out. They represent the personality of the winery.

And after a year of tweeting, email and online purchases, I finally had an opportunity to meet some of the great people behind the wines.

When I first suggested that I would be visiting the vineyard, I had some intriguing follow-up regarding what I might like to do.

Those of you who are regular readers of this blog know that I'm not really an "expert" just someone who likes food and wine. So when I was asked what I wanted to do, I left it wide open.

A left-behind cluster of Pinot Noir.

Then just a few days before arriving at the vineyard I received a tweet from Mike Bruzus the assistant winemaker at Chamisal. Now I'm really impressed. And a little nervous.

And this is why I choose to lover certain vineyards.  I'm really no one special but they pulled out the big guns for my visit.  Even Andrea Chan, the Director of Consumer Sales, came in on her day off to do a special tasting with me.

I arrived a little before 10 in the morning when the tasting room opened.  I was a little surprised to see the gates open but then with a recent heat wave, the winery was in full swing . . . even on a Sunday morning.

Chamisal is located in the Edna Valley near San Luis Obispo. This is a stunningly beautiful area of the country. Just about 10 minutes from the ocean and the Santa Lucia Mountains, this valley shows off why I am glad that I'm not facing the 40 degree weather back home in Chicago.

Inside the tasting room.

So instead of bundling up to go outside and rake leaves, here I'm sitting outside enjoying a private tasting with the very knowledgeable Andrea.

We started the tasting with the Chamisal Stainless Chardonnay. This is one of the most broadly distributed of the Chamisal wines. I've even found it in one of my local Costco's.

That's not to say this is a pedestrian wine. This is a great entry level wine. And for my sister-in-law it's one of the few chardonnays she can drink because the heavy oakiness of some gives her a headache.

Just off the tasting room this is a great place for a tasting!

But more than that, the stainless process allows the unique characteristics of each of the chardonnay fruit to really shine.

From there we progressed through a great selection of their white wines including the Estate and Califa Chardonnays along with the Pinot Gris. Here's where the special knowledge of Andrea really helped.

The Estate blends of both the Pinot Noir and the Chardonnay are made of a blend of all of the estate clones of each particular varietal. 

Some of the vines near the tasting room.

This approach gives you the opportunity to really taste what the vineyard is all about. Then the Califa wines are really the best of the best. Taking from some of the best barrels of the top two or three clones.

What makes the Califa wines unique is that every vintage has the opportunity to take on a different mix of clones and a different taste spectrum.

As a friend from work said after tasting the 2009 Califa Pinot Noir, it has a chance to change your life.

After finishing the tasting of the white wines we moved on to the red ones with a Rose of Pinot Noir. Now as I've mentioned before, I haven't always been a fan of the rose wines. Perhaps that's because the rose wines I've had in the past were cloyingly sweet. But of the various rose wines I've had recently, all have been quite good.

The same is true of this Rose. Served chilled this was a nice transition to the other red wines we would be drinking. Then we went to the stainless Pinot Noir. Like the rose wine, it was served chilled. A nice start to the red wine tasting. This was followed by the Estate Pinot Noir and the Califa Pinot Noir.

A map of the vineyard showing the various clones.

Both of these wines represented the unique characteristics of the Chamisal spice. As Andrea suggested, the spice is a little bit like a chinese five spice mix.

Following the Pinots we sampled some of the small lot wines that the winery produces such as their Grenache and Syrah and the Cinq a Sept and the Monologue.

Now I knew that I would have a difficult time when it came time to leave. We ended the tastings with the vineyard's desert wine . . . their Floreale of Pinot Gris. The fruit for this wine is still on the vines and it will be for a little while yet.

After the tasting Mike took some time from his busy schedule to show me around the vineyard. By the time I arrived at the vineyard most of the Pinot Noir had already been harvested.

One of the differences between Chamisal and other wineries is the way they treat their vines.  They've taken to growing the Pinot Noir vines in way that provides shade at high noon and a lot of sun in the cooler morning and evenings by taking off the leaves that would shade the grape clusters.

Some of the clusters still on a few of the later ripening Pinot vines.

This approach helps create the bigger, bolder Pinot Noir wines for which Chamisal is known. We then drove down several rows to the Chardonnay grapes.  These will be harvested very soon.

Now here's where I experienced my first first of the day.  I tasted wine grapes directly from the vine. Much sweeter than any table grapes, the grapes also didn't have any seeds.

Field lesson #1: the weather at the time the berries are set determines whether or not there will be any seeds.

Chardonnay grapes just days from harvest.

Who knew?

As we drove around the vineyard looking at the various clones and the change in the soil as we went.  Part of the vineyard is made up soil with a high clay content.

Part of the vineyard has more of the ancient ocean seabed mixed with the clay and other parts of the vineyard consist of more of the volcanic rock from the Morros.

A view from Morrito where one of Chamisal's small
production Pinots comes from.

These various soils bring a unique flavor to the various wines that Chamisal produces.  Within this little winery, there are several micro-climates. This makes growing the grapes a little more challenging.

As we were making our way around the vineyard we met up with Robbie Robbins.  Robbins Family Farms produce some really fine Olive Oils and import and bottle balsamic vinegar as well.

After a brief visit, he was off to deliver some of his product to one of his local distributors.

Part of the winery is in a bit of a depression where the fog from the ocean has a tendency to linger. This means that the grapes in this part of the vineyard ripen a bit later than the others in different parts of the vineyard.

It was here that Vineyard Lesson #2: I got a lesson in knowing how to tell when the grapes are ready to be picked. Take the grape and press it against the roof of your mouth and taste the juice, then look at the seeds followed by chewing of the skin.

You can see the volcanic influence of the soil here. 

When the skin isn't chewy but melts, the grapes are ready to harvest. At this point Mike declared that the grapes were about a week away.

Our last stop before heading into the winery was heading to the part of the vineyard where their Morrito (Spanish for little Morro) small lot wine is made.

The Morros or the Nine Sisters of San Luis Obispo are a series of ancient volcanic mountains.

Morrito is right in line with the nine sisters and could possibly be part of that ancient line of mountains. A theory that seems to be supported by the volcanic soil on this hill overlooking the rest of the vineyard.

An ancient oak standing guard over the vineyard.

An ancient oak tree right near the peak of the hill seems to stand guard over the entire vineyard. The views from this point of the vineyard are breathtaking.

Now for a brief visit to the winery itself. The vineyard recently received their Certified California Sustainable Winegrowing designation.

This designation provides for environmentally sound, economically feasible, and socially equitable practices.

As part of this practice the vineyard is rebuilding their retaining pond to recycle all of the water the vineyard uses.

Chardonnay being pressed before heading to the
fermenting tanks.

The goal is to eventually use the wastewater from the winery to then be used eventually to provide water for the vines.

Our first stop on the tour of the winery was to check on the chardonnay that's currently being pressed and being transferred to the fermenting tanks.

Unlike the pinot grapes which are destemmed, the stems are retained for the chardonnay processing. They're actually helpful in pressing the grapes as the skins are not part of the fermentation process.

Pinot in the midst of fermentation.

The stainless chardonnay will spend its aging time in the stainless tanks. The estate chardonnay is then aged in larger tanks so there's some oak.

As we moved into the winery we climbed a few stairs to check on the progress of the pinot fermentation. This was another first for me to peek into the fermentation tanks.

In one of the tanks you could see the spent grapes had risen to the top of the tank as the CO2 released in the fermentation process.  You could smell the difference between the various stages of fermentation.

Fermentation complete (CO2 forces the
grapes to the top.

A quick trip into the barrel room and then back to the tasting room so that Mike could get back to work. I was amazed that, even in the midst of a busy schedule, how amazingly clean the whole winery was.  I think I could probably eat off of the floor

Returning to the tasting room I now faced the difficult decision about the wines I would add to my collection from this great winery.  

Alyssa Larson, the Tasting Room Lead, provided some great guidance as I selected the wines. I even had a chance to re-taste a few of the wines before making my final order. I also decided to add Chamisal to my club wine purchases. And not only did I order my wines but Robbie Robbins left a few samples for me to take home.  

A special thanks to Brooke, Andrea, Mike and Alyssa for setting up an absolutely wonderful day at an incredible vineyard. And to Robbie Robbins of Robbins Family Farms for the samples. I'm looking forward to trying them.

Wine aging in the barrel room. 

I can't wait for my next Mondays @ Mark's event where I'll definitely be introducing more people to these fabulous wines. 

But more than that, I've made some new friends in the Central Valley of California.  And that's the best part of enjoying wine and food.  I'd sure love to hear which wineries you've visited that not only make great wines but are great people.

Wine Country Treats or Day 3 of the Great Sonoma Wine Vacation

As the sun rises on day three in wine country I'm pretty excited about the day ahead. After a little work in the morning, I head down to Santa Rosa to pick up my brother and sister-in-law and move them up to the Dry Creek Inn for the rest of the trip.

As they checked into the hotel and Roxanne finished her work for the week, I began planning the day.  Our first stop would be Seghesio Family Vineyards.  I was looking forward to experiencing the family tables. 
I had spoken with Tony earlier on Thursday to ensure that all food issues were dealt with so I wasn't too worried there wouldn't be anything for them to eat.  So when we arrived, they were ready for us.  We were a little early so we took a quick look around the tasting room. They had a few new logo items that we needed to take home with us.

So while we were waiting, we started the current tasting of the day. While it may have been 5 o'clock somewhere, it was only a little before noon in California so we were doing a leisurely tasting.  While we normally split the tastings, since we had plenty of time we each had our own.

As the rest of the folks sharing the Family Tables with us arrived and caught up on the tasting, we headed back behind the tasting room for a brief tour of the winery.  This was something I wasn't anticipating. 

It was interesting tour through time. I found the history of the winery from bulk wine production to becoming a fine wine producer. With insights not only into the the successes of the winery but some of the challenges as well.

We made our way up to the dining room where Chef Peter delivered a perfect plate to match five wines.  We started with a arm corn salad with chanterelle mushrooms, arugula and romano beans which was paired with the 2009 Costiera Pinot Noir.  This was followed by a duck confit crepinette and a Santa Rosa plum compote paired with their newly released 2010 Monte Rosso Zinfandel.

Perhaps the most unusual pairing was the swordfish, fregola sarda, early summer veggies and a cerignola tapinade paired with the 2005 Omaggio.  If you don't think a red wine can complement seafood, think again.  This was perhaps my favorite pairing of the day.This was followed by hand-cut egg noodles, rock shrimp and a piquillo almond cream paired with the 2007 Aglianico.

The lunch concluded with an almond bite paired with the Dionigia Port.  All in all a very successful lunch.

After placing an order, purchasing some souvineer glasses and a quick thank you to the team, we were off for a day of tasting at some other vineyards.  First up was a trip back up to the Francis Ford Coppola winery for the view and a tasting. 

I found the Director's Cut Cinema to be my favorite.  Once again I'm finding myself intrigued by the taste and aromas of blends rather than the straight varietals. It's not that I'm not enjoying the zins, cabs and carignane's but there's something about the the winemaker's skills coming to play putting the right mix of grapes, appellations and vineyards. 

That's what's going on here with the Cinema. A little Cabernet Sauvignon from Alexander Valley, Zinfandel and Petite Sirah from Dry Creek Valley and some Cabernet Franc from Knight's Valley.These sub-appellations of Sonoma all bring something special to the party.

Having been invited to a party with friends that evening, I picked up a bottle of the Cinema to take with me.  After enjoying the view on the patio, we got back into the car and headed off to Bella Vineyards.  This vineyard boasts really beautiful views up in the Dry Creek Valley just north of Healdsburg.

Ok. You really can't go wrong with any of the views. this is such a beautiful area of the country.  For those of us landlocked in the midwest, it's a real treat to see the majestic beauty that is found in Sonoma and Napa counties. 

With a tasting in their cave, my brother picking up a bottle of wine here, we headed back to the hotel to freshen up before an evening out.

In our travels over the last few years to the Sonoma wine country we've made a few friends and this evening one of them was hosting a party at their home.  This spectacular evening with friends old and new was the absolute highlight of the trip.  Although, the primary purpose of our trip this time would begin bright and early on Saturday morning. 

The 9th Annual Zin & BBQ Festival at Seghesio Family Vineyards and I'd be helping out the winery team as they tried to knock off world class BBQ masters Chris Lilly and Dr. BBQ.  But that's for next week's blog post.  Until then, enjoy the company of great friends with some really fabulous wines and make a few memories of the summer of 2012 before it ends all too soon in a couple of weeks.