Sept. 21 Grenache Day!

In honor of Grenache Day, a number of U.S. wineries have organized festivities from Santa Rosa to Paso Robles.

For those of you unfamiliar with grenache, the occasion is a great time to get acquainted with the wonderful wine. A lighter red, less full bodied than a Cabernet or Pinot Noir, it's often an everyday wine in Spain and France.

In honor of this great grape, find all the best organic and biodynamic selections from California in this post from 2011 right here (under $20) and over $20.

Featured are selections from Beckmen, Qupe, Tablas Creek, Horse and Plow (old vines, dry farmed - from Testa - one of my faves). A case of the latter runs $270 (at the case price) or $25 a bottle.

[Bonny Doon, despite much ballyhoo and its position as leading the charge for Grenache Day, does not have an organically farmed Grenache, alas. (It used to, but switched sources).]

Here's more about the festivities. Of the wineries listed on the release there, only Qupe and Tablas Creek are among those offering organically grown grenache. Qupe will be having special tastings in its tasting room in Santa Barbara County and Tablas will be celebrating in Paso Robles.

Grenache is associated with the former Aragon
whose former territory is shown above

You can read more about the grape on the Tablas Creek website here.

Although the Tablas Creek history, like many, claims French or Spanish origins, many now consider that Sardinia may be the source of this varietal where it is today known as Cannonau.

It has high yields and ripens late. A surprise to me - I learned on Wikipedia - it's widely grown in the San Joaquin Valley. It's usually blended in France with Syrah and Mourvedre and it constitutes the bulk (80%) of the famed Chateauneuf de Pape.

So find a bottle - go for the Horse and Plow before it runs out (this would be the most historic old vine choice) - or the Qupe - and raise a glass to this lovely light red!

A Massively Good Deal on Tablas Creek Beaucastel Blanc

Right now Tablas Creek is running a great special on its acclaimed Beaucastel Blanc from 2008. The full bottles are sold out, but half bottles are now on sale for 10% AND free shipping...YES. Go now.

The 2008 vintage got a 94 rating from Parker.

If you're not familiar with the history of Tablas Creek - and it is one of the most interesting origin stories of California wineries - enjoy this video with manager Jason Haas, son of one of the co-founders. 

Congratulations! Tablas Creek's Organically Grown Wines Win High Parker Praise

Robert Parker loves Tablas Creek. Probably it's from his long term love of all things Rhone - and his historical adoration of the Perrin family's Rhone wines.

(I'm not generally a Parker points person myself, but it doesn't hurt to bring it up.)

Click on the image to make the red wine scores appear and the image display larger

Parker's adoration has transferred to American soil, and the wines of Tablas Creek, perhaps the most outstanding winery in Paso Robles (and one of the very, very few in that area that has certified organic grapes). So hats' off to the fine scores Tablas Creek's wines have been raking in from the Wine Advocate of late, including the 6 Tablas Creek wines I am writing about in my app (the ones you can buy for $20 or less from retail outlets).

Whites

• Cotes de Tablas Blanc - 88 pts
• Esprit de Beaucastel Blanc - (1/2 bottle) - 90-92 pts
• Roussanne - 89-91 pts
• Vermentino - 90 pts

Reds

• Cotes de Tablas - 88 pts

Although the Patelin wines are also wonderful, they are sourced from a variety of vineyards including some that are not organic. I am sorry to see yet another organic brand source its affordable blends from non organic vineyards when hundreds of tons of organic grapes get blended into nonorganic wines. (Can't we figure out a better way to do this?) I hope Tablas Creek will look harder at sourcing Patelin with all organic neighbors.

(Other brands that drive me nuts about this - much more because they loudly proclaim their greeniness, whereas Tablas does not - are Benziger and King. If you're going to build a brand identity around organic or biodynamic, please don't dilute your brand by offering mostly nonorganic or nonbiodynamic wines. It may take awhile but people will notice. And, Note to Benziger - don't make us pay more for organic or biodynamic. Paul Dolan does this a bit too with his biodynamics.)

Kudos to Beckmen for putting only biodynamic estate fruit into its red Rhone blend - Cuvee le Bec - a continuing and now preferred alternative to Tablas' Patelin - that Parker also loves - and one that's priced under $20.

Family Winemakers of California: The Organically Grown Among Them

The folks at Urban Legend (proprietor Steve Shaffer on the left) have the SB as well as a Lake County Riesling with grapes that are in transition to being certified

Voss was new to me - this one's got newly certified grapaes

You can sample the Voss Sauvignon Blanc at Napa Wine Co., says Voss marketing and sales coordinator Crista Johnson. The grapes are just about to be certified (this is the third year on the path to certification).

I hadn't met the folks at Canihan before either...they've got some pretty impressive awards under their belt

Looking forward to visiting Canihan soon - they're in Sonoma. That's Bill Canihan on the right.

Adastra of Carneros

The folks at legendary Calera have just started putting Certified Organic on their back label - Marta Rich shows it off with panache

Josh Jensen of Calera holds up a bottle of their Viognier (I can put their half bottles in my new app since they're under $20)

That would be Calera - for how many years now?

Bucklin and his infamous field blend map dating back to the mid 1800s

Richard Arrowood's Amapola Creek from Sonoma

Another label that I didn't know about and didn't know was organic - Audelessa - from Glen Ellen; Parker's a fan

Oakland's Aubin/Verve makes a Pinot Noir sourced from Oregon's Momtazi vineyard's biodynamic grapes

Greg Graziano from Mendocino has Eddie Graziano's organic Zin (but it's almost all gone)

And the always impressive Grgich Hills (completely biodynamic)

Mila Handley from Handley Cellars - I saw some newbies here getting blown away (and rightly so) by their sparkling rose (I agree - it's soooo good)

Spencer (of Elizabeth Spencer) and I had a brief chat about how do you know something is organic if it's from Italy...to be continued

The always wonderful Mike Dashe and I realized we both worked together at Apple long, long ago (a previous lifetime, to be sure) - I am a  huge fan of the wines he makes from McFadden's grapes

Corley of Monticello has some in transition wines

I ran into the wonderful former wine director of Fish Ehoud Amos, and his wife - they wanted to make sure I got a chance to try the wines from Stone Edge - definitely going to visit them soon (Sonoma/Mount Veeder) - that's Dorothy Moller-Racke, Stone Edge Farms' marketing director, on the right.

Stone Edge's Surround is a blend of four nearby vineyards (all certified organic)

Stone Edge's Cab

Jim Milone from Terra Savia pouring  - almost all of his wines are in my forthcoming app. Look for tasting videos to follow in later posts.

John Fetzer and Patty Rock from Saracina - their new Chardonnay is AWESOME and especially for $16

Saracina's inaugural articles was on display (2004)

Definitely the best dressed award goes to Jason Haas from Tablas Creek, who was doing a fabulous  job showing off their newest vintages (one of which made the Chronicle today) - he was kind enough to do some spur of the moment videos, too - of which later

Bonterra's Roussanne - Going Once, Going Twice...

Bonterra set out on the white Rhone path, a few years back, as the wave caught on, but the brand is now discontinuing its highly rated wine.

No less a wine critic than Hugh Johnson called it a star, but apparently the market wasn't ready for another new varietal and Bonterra's retained, in the department of new varietals, only its Viognier.

My advice: get a case of this lovely blend of 88% Roussanne, 6% Viognier, and 2% Muscat before it's all gone. It's $15 online.

You'll find it on the Bonterra.com web site.

I am including it in my new app now called Budget Guide to Great Organic Wines.

There's only one other organic Roussanne out there right now and it's from Tablas Creek, but it lists for $30.

Tablas Creek, founded by a great Rhone wine family (the Perrins) itself, has a nice write up about the varietal here.

The Summer of Grenache, Continued: $20 and Up

There seems to be some kind of a summer of riesling thing happening. But as for me, different drummer and all that, grenache has caught my fancy and I've been exploring the organically grown American options.

Earlier this week, I blogged about the impressive Under $20 category. Today, I'm forging onward in the Summer of Grenache to the Over $20 category.

I've got one more to add to the $20 and Under List:

• 2007/8 Estate Grenache, Beckmen Vineyards (originally $25/on sale for $19.99)

Beckmen's estate vineyards are organic, while the Purisima Mountain vineyard is biodynamic. The Purisima Mountain grenache is almost twice the price of the estate grenache and is no longer available from the winery. However, you can find a few last cases online.

Parker's understandably a big fan of Beckmen, which includes both this grenache and its biodynamic cousin. Parker calls the 2008 vintage (no longer available) a "very attractive bargain." I agree. I just ordered a case, since this appears to be the end of the line for the bargain priced estate grenache which I guess will have to be "Mature" and ready to consume. No waiting!

Parker's 2008 notes:

The least expensive Grenache and a very attractive bargain is the 2008 Estate Grenache. This displays more strawberry, red currant, and cherry notes, with some earth, lavender, and subtle herbaceousness. Dark ruby, medium-bodied, with nice texture, this is a wine to drink over the next 2-3 years. 

$20-$30 Price Range

• 2009 Cote de Tablas Paso Robles, Tablas Creek, $30 (elsewhere down to $25 online for 2009/$22 for other vintages)

Paso Robles-based Tablas Creek should, given its Rhone family ownership make a fantastic Grenache. After all, the winery was created and is co-owned by a famous Rhone producer, the Perrin family. So it's no surprise that it makes a lovely grenache-syrah-counoise-mourvedre blend that is a Cote du Rhone taste-alike.

Parker rated the current vintage a whopping 93 points. The winemaker says it's the winery's most intense Cote de Tablas Rouge ever, given the low yields in the harvest during 2009, the third consecutive drought year.

In past years Parker, who has been a fan of the Perrin's French wines for decades and Tablas Creek's as well, has consistently given various Tablas Creek vintages scores between 88 and 93; Vinography likes it, too, rating it 9 (out of 10) points. Parker's notes (reprinted from the Tablas Creek web site): 

Charmingly fruity, supple and fun to drink, exhibiting ripe plum, black cherry and wild berry fruit that’s smooth and layered, with a long, fruity finish. Grenache, Syrah, Counoise and Mourvèdre. Drink now through 2017

In previous months, the Tablas Creek web site featured this from Parker:

This California Côte du Rhône look-alike, made from 42% Grenache, 21% Syrah, 20% Counoise (which must be an all-time high for that varietal in a Rhône Ranger blend), and 17% Mourvèdre, displays the earthier side of Rhône Rangers. Spicy, dark berries intermixed with underbrush, forest floor, pepper, and soy are followed by a medium-bodied, earthy wine in contrast to the more fruit-driven 2007. Drink it over the next 3-4 years. 

I laid in a good supply of this lovely wine on a recent visit to the winery. I'm waiting awhile to drink it.


$30-$40

• 2009 Grenache 80, Cowhorn ($30)

Why do they call it 80? Because that's the number of days of frost this poor Rhone grape had to endure in southern Oregon, but endure it did. 

Cowhorn's got a great reputation for biodyamic wines. I'm looking forward to tasting it in person at the winery when I get up to the Oregon Shakespeare Festival later this summer. I'll let you know then how it's tasting.

• 2007 Grenache, Ampelos Cellars ($35)

I couldn't find any tasting notes on their web site or online but it's recorded here for posterity and for the sake of comprehensiveness.

Ampelos' estate wines are biodynamic.

• 2008 Grenache, Tablas Creek, $32 (sold out)

While we await the new release, here are Parker's notes from the last (sold out) vintage:

The same earthiness, underbrush and Provençal herbs/garrigue notes [as the Cote de Tablas] are found in the 2008 Grenache. It is medium-bodied, not as lush and textured as the 2007, but very well made.

• 2007 Grenache Purissima Mountain Vineyard, Qupe ($35) 

Before Qupe bought its own biodynamic vineyard (Sawyer Lindquist) in Edna Valley, it sourced its grenache from the Beckmen family's biodynamic Purisima Mountain vineyard. 

Qupe's now shifting over to its own Edna Valley vineyard so this may be the last vintage produced by Qupe from Purisima Mountain. 

$40-50

I find it rather amazing that this price category exists for grenache, but...it does.

• 2008 Adamo, AmByth Estate ($45)


In Paso Robles, one of the few other organic (actually it's biodynamic) wineries is Ambyth Estate, which also makes a very lovely GSM blend with a touch of counoise. The winery's tasting notes:


"...fruity, cherry-packed wine has strawberries and warm summer fruits with a dash of black pepper on the nose."

• 2008 Purissima Mountain Vineyard Grenache, Beckmen ($48/2007 is $39)

Robert Parker is a huge fan of this grenache as well, rating it 91 points:

More impressive, but nearly twice the price, is the 2008 Grenache Purisma Mountain Vineyard. This is an outstanding example of Grenache from the Santa Ynez Valley. Beautiful kirsch liqueur, lavender, spice box, and sweet black currants jump from the glass of this deep ruby/plum-colored wine. In the mouth, raspberries make an appearance in a rich, full-bodied, silky textured wine that is both hedonistic and intellectually pleasing. This is a super example of Grenache that should drink nicely for another 4-6 years. 

...This corroborates past performances over the last decade that Beckman is one of the best producers from Santa Ynez."

Five Great Summer Wines - Organically Grown, Under $20

My new book Drink Green: 101 Organically Grown Wines for $20 or Less will feature the best American wine values that are organically or biodynamically grown.

Here's a sneak peak at some of the world class wine listings:

1. Albarino, Verdad, biodynamic, $18
2. Tocai Friulano, Cooper Mountain, biodynamic, $14 (free shipping on $200+ orders)
3. Muscat Canelli, Barra, organic, $16
4. Vermentino, Tablas Creek, organic, $15 (older vintages available online)
5. Grenache Rose, Cowhorn, biodynamic, $19

To learn more about when the book comes out, sign up to receive blog postings via email. It's coming in May or June!