FWC in Pasadena

  Over 300 wineries attended the event. HotCosts was unable to make it to all the wineries on our list.  Here are the “finds” we uncovered:

Ackerman Family Vineyards -  This 16 acre winery is located in the eastern hills of Napa Valley, Stonehaven Estate.  We repeatedly over-heard visitors to their booth saying they were sent by friends to try their Cab - a must visit winery.  We tasted the 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon – their inagural release of 300 cases.  This wine is kept in medium-toasted new french oak barrels for 2 years and then stored for an additional 2 years in the bottle before it is released.  Reminds me of how Heitz Cellars releases their premium Cab.  The result is a nicely balanced wine with a dark berry nose followed by blackberry and raspberry palate.  Ends with a very long and smooth finish – an ultra-premium Cab!

Bourassa Vineyards - This Napa Valley winery is known for hand-crafted, small-lot premium wines.  We tried the 2003 Harmony(3) Bordeaux blend.  This wine won the gold medal at the San Francisco Chronicle’s wine competition.  This full-bodied wine showed lots of currants and cherry flavors. We also noted caramel scents on the nose. 

Ecluse Wines -  The vineyard and winery at Ecluse is on the westside of the 101 in Paso Robles, an up and comming region noted for creating nicely balanced Cabs and Rhone style wines.  We tried the 2005 Ensemble -Bordeaux style Cabernet Sauvignon and liked it.  Lots of dark berries and cherries on the nose.  The flavors continue in the mouth with a very smooth finish.  This wine received a 93 point rating in a blind tasting event called the Cabernet shootout. This event occurred weekly for 6 weeks with 32 wines tested per week.  The best of the best were then re-tasted in a final tasting to determine final scores.  This wine also won the best-in-class gold medal recently held by the San Francisco Chronicle’s wine competition.

More tasting and winery notes to follow……….

HotCosts to attend Family Winemakers of California Tasting Event

HotCosts will be attending the 2008 Southern California tasting held in Pasadena tomorrow.  This tasting event of California wines is the biggest in the world and showcases small, family-owned wineries.  With over 300 wineries in attendance, HotCosts has narrowed our search to those wineries which have expressed an interest in promoting their wines on our website.  Here is the initial list of wineries we will visit:

Ackerman Family Vineyards, Benessere Vineyards, Ceja Vineyards, Cinnabar Vineyards and Winery, Clark-Claudon Vineyards, Deerfield Ranch and Winery, Dutton-Goldfield Winery, Ecluse Wines, Fantesca Estate & Winery, Hagafen Cellars, Hans Fahden Vineyards, Inman Family Wines, Longboard Vineyards, Luccesi Vineyards & Winery, St. Supery Vineyards & Winery and  Tallulah Wines.  Notes of the event will be posted later this week.

HotCosts attends Tobin James Zinfandel Festival

HotCosts attended the 11th Annual James Gang Zin Festival sponsored by Tobin James Cellars on Friday, March 14th.  One of the premire events of the Paso Robles Zinfandel Festival, Tobin James made some nice changes for the event this year.  For example, in past years, you would wait on a hilly driveway if you arrived early.  Since most of us take tour buses to the event, we arrive early. This year, the early gang was moved to a flat driveway area just outside the tent entrance before the 7 PM official opening.  It was very cool of these guys to pour Merlot and Syrah Rose wines while we waiting for the official opening. Toby was out there to greet the crowd as well.  As always, he did a great job of story/joke telling with the gang.

    The wine poured included many of the best they offer including: 2006 Sauvignon Blanc “Sundance”, 2006 Chardonnay “Radiance”, 2006 Chardonnay “James Gang Reserve”, 2006 Syrah Rosé “Paradise”, 2005 Chateau Le Cacheflo, 2005 Sangiovese “Primo”, 2005 Merlot “Made in the Shade”, 2006 Zinfandel “Ballistic”, 2005 Syrah “Rock-N-Roll”, 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon “Notorious”, 2005 Petite Sirah “Black Magic”, 2005 Late Harvest Zinfandel “Liquid Love”, 2006 Charisma “Dessert Wine”, 2005 Late Harvest Muscat “James Gang Reserve”, 2006 Zinfandel “James Gang Reserve”, 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon “James Gang Reserve” and 2005 Estate Private Stash “James Gang Reserve”.

Along with 3 great bands playing through-out the winery, there were over 20 different food stands positioned in the 2 tents and tasting rooms.  Check out this Santa Maria style BBQ ala James Gang style:

        Many of the wines were strategically located close to the food stands that paired nicely with the wines.  Our favorite way to say goodnight was to pair the Liquid Love late harvest Zin with the brownies.   As always, these parties are for members of their wine club and HotCosts recommends this club to all.