Weekly Roundup for November 23rd, 2014: Natural Wine, Ancient Rocks, Knobbly Fruit & Thanksgiving
November 22, 2014
This week's Weekly Roundup is highlighted by a great thought piece on what makes wine "modern" or "traditional", and whether either of these have a relationship with the idea of "natural wine". We've included a couple of our favorites of the many Thanksgiving wine recommendations omnipresent at this time of year. And, of course, we check in with some members of our community who are doing cool stuff. As always, please share in the comments what you like, and what you'd like to see different.
The bounty of (our) harvest
- We kick off this week's column with a gorgeous photo from Artisan Restaurant. We've partnered with them on several dinners over the years, including one early this year which featured lamb from our property. Their photo on Instagram (above) of some knobbly bright yellow quinces from one of our trees caught our eye. We dropped some off there because we had many more than we had any idea how to use, and wanted to get them into capable hands. This photo isn't an isolated event; there's beautiful stuff worth following on all of Artisan's social media feeds. If you're wondering why we grow quinces (along with apples, pears, cherries, plums, peaches and apricots) they're a part of the increased biodiversity we've been working to integrate over recent years.
Something in the (ancient) water
Our neighbor Halter Ranch posted a great photo (right, or on the Halter Ranch Facebook page for a high-resolution version) of one of the fish fossils that they found in their rocks and integrated into their winery building. It's a great reminder that the soils that sit under our vineyards (and much of west Paso Robles) were deposited as seabed in the Miocene period (10-20 million years ago). These were lifted above the surface in the creation of the Santa Lucia Mountains quite recently, by geologic standards. My dad wrote a great blog piece about our soils' history in 2011, if you're interested in learning more.
The 2014 Harvest
- We've given our opinions on the 2014 harvest for the last three months. So, it was fun to read the Wine Spectator's roundup of what others are saying about California in 2014. There's even one of my photos in there! The take home message, for Paso Robles: "Notable concentration and depth across the board". Read more »
Is there a holiday coming up?
- Thanksgiving is the American holiday most dedicated to eating and drinking. Yet, many traditional Thanksgiving foods aren't naturally friendly to many of the most popular American wines, given their questionable affinity to oak and high alcohol. Happily, Rhones, both red and white, make classic pairings, and it's always a pleasure waiting for the pre-Thanksgiving wine columns suggesting Rhones as an accompaniment. I thought Laurie Daniel's Rhones for Thanksgiving column for the San Jose Mercury News was particularly good this year, and was pleased to see that our 2012 Cotes de Tablas ("bright fruit with savory notes of wild herbs") was one of her suggestions.
- We weren't mentioned, but I still really liked Eric Asimov's Thanksgiving recommendation that the wine you choose should "Refresh the Palate". He highlights versatility and energy as two characteristics to look for in your Thanksgiving wine, and recommends an eclectic mix. I'm not sure I could find many of the wines he and his panel recommend (there are rewards for living in New York City, after all) but I do know that I agree completely with his basic advice. Read more »
An event to look forward to
- This week, the Paso Robles Rhone Rangers announced the details of their 2015 Paso Robles Rhone Rangers Experience. In the last seven years, this event has become a showpiece for the Rhone movement here, and it's a remarkable value: just $85 for the full slate of events, including a nine-wine seminar (this year led by the Wine Enthusiast's Matt Kettmann), a vintners lunch catered by Chef Maegen Loring, a grand tasting featuring some 50 Paso Robles Rhone wineries, and a silent auction that benefits the Rhone Rangers Scholarship Fund. There's a $35 ticket for just the Grand Tasting, too. Details & tickets »
Food for Thought (Beverage for Thought?)
- Finally for this week I wanted to point you to a blog that is writing some of the most consistently interesting and erudite pieces in the world of wine today. Elaine Brown of Hawk Wakawaka Wine Reviews this week tackles the questions raised by the ambiguity inherent in the definition of "natural wine". We fall in her category 3 ("Wine growers and/or makers that use organic and/or biodynamic viticultural practices and/or less interventionist cellar techniques with few additives but do not define themselves with the movement of Natural wine") and are often dismayed by the reductive arguments on either extreme of the debate. Her conclusion -- that what matters is "if we’re trying to listen, and have a conversation" seems right on to me. Read more »