¿Que Syrah? …Yolo County Syrah!

I’ve never been one for superstition or astrological signs, for that matter. This is probably due to the fact that my grandma owned the friendliest black cat in the neighborhood, or maybe because the act of opening umbrellas indoors was a frequent occurrence in my household since Mary Poppins was my biggest idol as a youngster. And, to this day, I still can’t distinguish the Big Dipper from the trillions of other tiny dots in a clear night sky…so the comprehension of the alignment of stars is just too far-fetched.

Yet, despite my inability to grasp on to superstitious beliefs, it seems that the stars have most definitely aligned for Rominger West Winery!

We’re pleased to announce that our Yolo County Syrah took the silver medal at the 2009 California State Fair. Woohoo! Our Syrah will now make its way into the awaiting palates of upwards of a thousand people—retailers, restaurateurs, wine agents, etc at the award ceremony on July 9th.

In addition to the State Fair win, Randy, a wine enthusiast and the composer of The Wine Whore blog, gave our Yolo County Syrah an 8.25/10 for overall enjoyability on his blog this past week! On his posting, Randy exclaims about our Syrah offering food-pairing suggestions, “I would consider this wine flexible and friendly towards most food. It would compliment peppered red meats, sausage, stews, and barbecue exceptionally well.”

Call it good luck, but more likely it’s just the sheer tastiness of our Yolo County Syrah. Gently crafted as a medium bodied, elegant wine with dark fruit and earthy aromas, silky, ripe fruit and black pepper flavors on the palate, our Syrah has a long sweet finish.

And, oh wait, you’re just in time for 4^th of July weekend! Purchase a bottle (or a case), because our Yolo County Syrah paired with some good ol’ fashioned barbeque is perfect for the holiday. Sit back with a glass of Syrah and watch as the fireworks drop sparks uncomfortably close to your seat…

Cheers,

Sara

Yolo Gold

Most of the winemakers I know are continually searching for great vineyard sites to work with. You cannot make high quality wines without first starting with high quality grapes. With this in mind, the goal is to find sites that we think will produce great grapes, collaborate with the growers to optimize the quality of the fruit, and then produce wines over many vintages; each time striving to improve the quality from the year before. That is the basic recipe for making notable wines.

Even when we find one of those great sites, there is no guarantee that the resulting wines will be extraordinary. Just as excellent farming will improve the fruit quality from a mediocre site; indifferent farming will ruin the fruit from a great one. To make extraordinary wines you need the combination of a great site, quality farming, and a thoughtful approach to the winemaking. In my experience, it is the relationship with the grower, where both the grower and winemaker are working towards a shared goal, that is necessary for successfully producing wines that ultimately express the quality of a vineyard.

This is why I feel especially blessed here at Rominger West as I have the perfect combination of terrific vineyard sites, great farming, and a collaborative partnership. Our two best vineyards, the Chapman Vineyard on the Rominger home ranch, and the Herren Vineyard in the Capay Valley, were both developed before Rominger West was founded, but both were collaborative projects where our intentions from the start were to produce unique wines that represented their respective sites. These wines were both planned to be blends produced by co-fermentation of different varieties of grapes, reminiscent of an old style ‘field blend.’

Many of you had the opportunity to enjoy the initial release of Chapman Vineyard Red Wine, the 2004 vintage blend of Syrah, Malbec, Tannat and Grenache. This is my favorite of all the wines that we have bottled so far, and frankly, a tough act to follow.

Unfortunately, due to the small number of cases produced, the 2004 Herren Vineyard blend of Syrah, Grenache and Mourvedre was, for the most part, a well kept secret. This vineyard, located just west of the town of Capay in the beautiful Capay Valley, is owned by Hans and Barbara Herren, and has been farmed from the start by the Romingers exclusively using organic methods. There have been some unique challenges at this site, but the 2004 wine showed the potential for creating something special.

Now with the release of the 2005 Herren Vineyard Red this past weekend, we finally have the opportunity to let a few others in on the secret. The wine is rich, elegant, well balanced with ripe fruit flavors and a silky feel in the mouth. This is one of the best wines we have ever produced and it will be quite a challenge to make it better next year. Fortunately, I love challenges.

Enjoy!

Mark

VINO LINGO

Since my fairly recent initiation into the big, wide world of wine, I still find myself scrambling to learn the lingo. For instance, I’m sure some of you were just as stunned as I was to learn that “cat pee” is a flavor descriptor used to describe certain wines and -- even more disturbing -- that it’s sometimes desirable! Don’t get me started on other wine tasting descriptors -- sweaty, corpulent and zippy…

This next vino lingo I learned in my wine class at U.C. Davis is really a doozy. I never understood what the “body” of the wine meant until very recently. The definition, quite simply is "the ‘weight’ of wine on the palate.” It also refers to the mouth feel, whether it is granular or smooth in texture, etc. It doesn’t refer to physical attributes such as the actual weight of the wine, as you may have assumed, but simply how the wine feels on your tongue.

Now, bouncing off of that, a wine body can be called “meaty.” This is also deceiving, since it doesn’t reference the taste of a burger but instead signifies a wine with a rich and full body along with noticeable tannins. In essence, because of the mouthful feel, the drinker has the impression that he's "chewing" the wine.

I hope this cleared up some misunderstandings! Next time you visit a winery, see if you can pick up notes of cat pee in the white wine. Or maybe you'll find yourself starting to chomp on a chewy red!

Cheers,
Sara

How To: Host Your Own Wine Night

Since my initiation into the world of wine, I've often persuaded friends to come over for an impromptu Wine Night. These nights are an attempt to catch up after weeks of midterms and essays with a quick bite to eat and glass of wine, but they often turn into our own mini wine tastings. And, I might say, we all leave feeling like wine aficionados. Since my most recent Wine Night, though it was improv, was such a success, I thought I’d share with you some of my ingredients for the perfect Wine Night.

Pick a theme: Ours was Mexican. Ole! We had ourselves a festive fiesta complete with red and green streamers hanging from the ceilings. And, if you feel so inclined (as I did) a sombrero really sets the mood.

Pick the vino: To complement my Mexican theme, I knew I had to select the perfect vino! Most people serve beer or a pitcher of margaritas with Mexican fare, so wine is not normally thought of as the bev of choice. However, wine can be the perfect addition to a Mexican meal. Though almost any wine will do, I’ve been told that an Italian Chianti, a California Zin or even Syrah will complement tacos, burritos and enchiladas quite nicely!

Pick the amigos: Invite your friends on the condition that they bring some wine to share with the group. If everyone brings a bottle of wine, your dinner can quickly transform into a wine tasting, as mine did.

Rate the wines: Hand guests index cards to jot down the flavors that they think they taste. You can even cover the labels to see just how badly some of your friends miss the mark! Share your thoughts with each other as you taste the wines. Have a nice Wine Night!

Bon Appétit!
Sara

Wine and Weather Pairing

On my slippery drive back from Tahoe after a brisk getaway a couple weekends back, I experienced the most intense déjà vu. As buckets of rain poured from the sky and my fear of black ice turned my knuckles white, I seemed to be mentally transported back to the dead of winter. And, then I remembered: It’s May! As I watched the crack on the windshield spread (the work of an angry Tahoe pine cone), I tried to envision summery days in Davis (though I’ll no doubt be pining for the rain once 100-degree days return).

Well, today I am biting my tongue because it’s 102 degrees in good old Davis. Be careful what you wish for I guess…

Anyway, because of the "bipolar" weather NorCal’s been having, I figured I’d offer up some wine tips for the warm days as well as the cold ones. Some people are famous for food and wine pairing, but I’m renowned among my peeps for my wine and weather pairing -- I’m a firm believer in pairing the drink to the degrees. After all, there’s really no feeling that compares to curling up in my recently purchased Snuggie with a glass of red wine, or lounging out by the pool with a crisp glass of white.

For the hot days: A frosty white or rosѐ will be perfectly refreshing during a scorching Davis afternoon. Chill a bottle of Sauvignon blanc and sit back with a spring salad or grab a glass of rosѐ and pair it with a fruit salad.

For the cold days: A smooth glass of red wine pairs just delectably with the cold weather, and, if you ask me, is even better than a cup of cocoa. Flip the channel to American Idol (Go Adam Lambert!), grab a blanket and a glass of Pinot noir and unwind.

Cheers,
Sara

Drink Up…The Economy’s Falling!

As a college senior, I’ve been mentally prepping to venture out into the ‘real world.’ And, lucky for me, I’ll be graduating during the worst economic climate since the Great Depression. Exciting, huh? Therefore, because of my meager “college kid income” I’ve been forced to make some minor cutbacks. For instance, I no longer buy a grande 2-pump peppermint latte, but now stick to drip coffee. My daily consumption of Diet Dr. Pepper has dwindled to an every-other-day affair. My wine consumption, however, hasn’t decreased one bit.

I'm not alone. It turns out that, while most Americans are similarly cutting back on treats like coffee and soft drinks, wine sales are holding steady as more people entertain friends at home. Sound good? Round up some friends, flip the channel to "American Idol" and sit back with a glass of vino! You might be surprised to discover what some goofy Paula Abdul-isms, a glass of tasty wine and good company can do for the soul! Tune in next week and I'll reveal how I am connected to Idol front-runner Adam Lambert by two degrees in the Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon game...

How has the economy flattened your tire?

Cheers,

Sara

Hey, I'm Sara!

What’s up, everyone? Since I’ll be writing here along with other R.W. peeps, I figured I’d tell you a little bit about myself. I was raised in Sonoma County, so in a sense I was born with an affinity for good wine. I moved to the small, delightfully-hippy town of Davis four years ago to begin schooling at the University of California, Davis. My degree at UCD is in American Studies. Lucky for me, it’s a versatile major (which is handy since I’ve changed my career path a few times). However, I really believe I’ve found my niche working in the wine industry. After taking an intro to wine course at UCD, as well as a wine appreciation class back at home, I’ve morphed into what my dad refers to as “a cork dork,” a person who unwittingly swirls and sniffs a plastic cupful of wine at college parties. I, Sara Popken, am guilty of that on one or more occasions. However, I really prefer fine artisan-made wines. Lucky for me, I recently began my gig here at Rominger West Winery in Davis, where I have access to some of the best reds, whites and rosés west of the Mississippi! Through this blog I hope to share ways to best enjoy Rominger West wines while also providing an insider’s perspective into running a small, sustainable and family-owned winery nestled in the wacky town of Davis, California.

Cheers,

Sara