2002 Hoage Vineyards "The Hedge" Syrah.

With the wife sidelined with an infection, I thought it the perfect opportunity to open something I knew she wouldn't care for anyway. (She's never been a huge fan of the high alcohol/high extract Paso Robles wines.) The 2002 Hoage Vineyards The Hedge Syrah, Paso Robles leads off with a dark, blood red color with a brownish tint extending out to the rim. French oak, licorice, stewed fruit, soy sauce and alcohol (16.5% stated) on the nose and palate as well as a hefty dose of cherry cough syrup. Fiercely acidic, the tannins are mostly resolved now. I think this wine is either at or perhaps slightly past its peak. If you have any of this in your cellar, I would recommend trying it now. I believe this was about $35 on release.

This was the first commercial release of this wine. Previous vintages were sold to the now-defunct Garretson Wine Company and bottled as Bulladoir Syrah from the Terry Hoage Vineyard. While Jennifer Hoage is now the winemaker, the first two vintages of this wine were made by Justin Smith of Saxum fame. Hoage Vineyards is now known as Terry Hoage Vineyards after reaching a legal agreement with Washington's Hogue Cellars. Paso Robles was flying completely under my radar until I heard of Mat Garretson (a fellow University of Georgia graduate) making a wine from a vineyard owned by former Georgia Bulldog All-American Safety Terry Hoage. And although Mat is now selling wine and spirits for a wholesaler in Minnesota and Terry's wines have gotten a bit too pricey for my limited wine budget, I'll always owe these two Dawgs a debt of gratitude for introducing me to Paso Robles; my current favorite California wine region.

Lightning Sucks!

Our house got hit by a bolt of lightning last Thursday night, Aug. 18. It was part of a storm that knocked power out to all of the neighbors' houses that we could see. When power was restored a few hours later we noticed a couple of things weren't coming back on like they should have. A week later, some of the items have been fixed or replaced while other things remain out of action. Off the top of my head, here's what I can think of:

Garage door openers - We lost two of these. Right now we're just parking the cars in the driveway and raising the garage doors manually when we need to. Gonna set us back about $350 to replace both. Update: I finally got around to installing one new garage door opener last week that my brother-in-law gave us.

iPod - Fried. It was plugged into a charger and took a hit. Wondering now if I should buy a new one or upgrade my crappy Razr phone to something that can hold all of our music. Update: Yes, I used this as inspiration to buy an iPhone 4 in November and I couldn't be happier with my decision.

Phone system - Our land line phone system is wasted. Took out the base as well as the two satellite phones. Going to cost about $75 to buy a comparable system. Probably replace this soon. Update: Ended up buying an inexpensive cordless phone set from Best Buy.

Air conditioner - Took out the programmable thermostat and the blower (?) in the condenser unit. An A/C company came out the next day and loaned us some temporary replacement parts to keep everything running. They are supposed to come out next week and put in the permanent replacements to the tune of about $600. Update: This turned out to be a rather expensive proposition. The condenser was okay, but he had to put a new electronic panel in the system as well as replace something (a heat pump?) in the heating system. Took a couple of trips out here, too, as stuff was installed as it came in from the special orders. Ugh.

Televisions - Thankfully, the TVs were spared. But we did have some damage to the satellite itself (fixed for free by DirecTV) and it fried the HDMI input on one TV. DirecTV repairman suggested trying the red/blue/green component cables and everything works fine now. Phew!

Computers - My laptop was thankfully spared. The kids laptop is out of service. Won't even turn on. They've only had it since Christmas. I wonder if it's under some kind of warranty? Update: Turns out the kids' computer was okay except for the input where the power plugs in. A local computer repair shop fixed it for about $25. Hooray!

Internet - I wasn't getting any power to the modem so my internet provider, Hughes Net, sent us a new one. 5-6 days later, the new one arrived, but it wasn't receiving a signal from the dish. After an hour with the customer no-service representative, he told me he'd have to send out a repairman (flat $125 fee) to manually investigate. They're supposed to call me back in 4-5 business days to set up the appointment. I'm thinking I'll be down 3 weeks. Epic suck and I'm already relishing the thought of dumping a pile of electronics on the counter at the Hughes Net office the day my 2-year commitment is up. Update: I was angry when I typed that. Even though the guy on the phone told me there would be charges involved in the repair, I was never billed for anything. So I guess it turned out okay after all. That being said, I'm still really disappointed with the satellite internet we get out here in the country.

Wii - This is just flat-out bizarre. The Wii hasn't worked in a couple of months. No power. Nothing. But since the strike the damn thing magically works again! I was looking at the tv in the basement and out of the corner of my eye I see the light back on on the Wii. Someone cue the Twilight Zone music......

The electrician came out the next morning to assess the situation and tell us about all the water we found pouring into our breaker box during the storm. Thankfully, the water didn't cause any real damage. He dried everything out and told us where we should put silicone around some conduit outside. This was a really freak storm that blew in from the north. Storms here never come in from that direction. That's probably why we experienced the leaky conduit.

I think the kids lost their iPod dock/alarm clock, too. I figure we're looking at around $1500 to get everything repaired/fixed. Not the end of the world, but nothing to sneeze at, either. If anything, it'll just drastically cut into our discretionary spending for the next couple of months. So if you don't see many wine notes up here for a while, you'll know why!

I suppose we could file a claim with our insurance agent, but we've got a $1000 deductible so we'd still be picking up the majority of the tab. And I hate the idea of filing a claim over $500 in a day and age when insurance companies are just looking for reasons to drop customers. Nope, I think I'll hold off on the claim and wait until (hopefully never!) we need for State Farm to cover a catastrophic loss.

We're kind of bummed, but we're keeping it all in perspective as we've had friends and family members recently experience a lot more tragedy than a fried iPod or $200 bill from an electrician. In the grand scheme of things, this is nothing compared to a classmate losing a limb to cancer or losing a dear friend serving his country in the Middle East.

Seven wines from Paul Hobbs Imports

I attended a great tasting earlier this week featuring Argentinian wines that Paul Hobbs had a hand in making and/or bringing into the United States. Hobbs is the importer for the Pulenta wines and is the co-owner/winemaker for the Vina Cobos line-up. The wines were presented by Aaron Meeker of LDF; the local distributor for these wines.



2008 Pulenta Estate XIV Pinot Gris, Mendoza - Light in color with white flowers, pear and green apple aromas. Lean and tangy on the palate with mineral notes and considerable acid. Doesn't seem to have the tropical fruit concentration it had this time last year. About $17




2009 Vina Cobos Felino Chardonnay, Mendoza - Pale color with a buttery, yeasty, pear nose. The oak is subtle (about 1/4 of this is fermented in oak) but apparent; as is the acid and alcohol. Crisp, with a pleasantly bitter/flinty finish. Typical of the restrained style of Chardonnay that Hobbs is known for. $20

2009 Vina Cobos Felino Malbec, Mendoza - Deep color with buttered toast, raspberry and dark cocoa aromas and flavors. Firmly acidic with raspberry and cranberry flavors on the palate. Once again, typical of the restrained Paul Hobbs style. That being said, this bottle was considerably richer than the (hugely disappointing) bottle I had back in April. $20


2007 Pulenta Estate III Cabernet Sauvignon, Mendoza - Opaque color. New oak apparent on the nose. Aromas and flavors include wintergreen, black fruits and olives. Quite rich and tannic with an impossibly long, minerally finish. As this wine sits in the glass it develops a strong note of green tobacco. $26

2009 Vina Cobos Felino Cabernet Sauvignon, Mendoza - A thick wine with black currant and sweet raspberry notes balanced by earthier tones of black olive and green tobacco. I thought this was a little disappointing following the beautiful Pulenta Cabernet. $20

2006 Vina Cobos Bramare Marchiori Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, Mendoza - The most full-bodied and oak-driven wine of the evening. A very rich, smoky Cabernet with mocha and black fruit flavors and monster tannins just begging for a well-marbled steak. Tannins and acidic structure suggests further aging may be in order. About $45

2004 Pulenta Estate XII Cabernet Franc "Tardio," Mendoza - A late harvest Cabernet Franc from Argentina? You bet it is! Tawny red color with a complex array of flowers, vanilla, dill, caramel and apricot aromas and flavors. Very tawny port-like with medium sweetness, a medium body and a slightly greenish finish. Aaron claims this is a great partner with a salad with a vinaigrette. I would very much like to try it with some nuts, fruit and cheese (particularly a nice blue cheese). Pricey at $35/375ml

Patelin de Tablas Blanc

I spent a couple of quality hours with a bottle of 2010 Tablas Creek Vineyard Patelin de Tablas Blanc, Paso Robles last night. This blend of Grenache Blanc, Viognier, Roussanne and Marsanne represents a new niche in Tablas Creek's line-up as it is made from a combination of estate fruit and purchased fruit. The Patelin line (Rouge to be released this fall) will allow them some flexibility in years when grape yields are unusually high or low. Somewhat darker than expected, the nose reveals layers of floral, honeyed notes and a hint of brown spice reminiscent of nutmeg. The palate is dense with tropical, pineapple flavors and crisp minerality. Thick, but never heavy, it has a wonderfully rich texture with crisp acidity and a slightly bitter finish which adds balance and complexity. Quite a nice wine for about $20.

For dinner I cut up a whole chicken and pan-roasted the quarters. As the chicken was resting, I made a quick pan sauce with grape tomatoes (from the garden, of course!), fresh herbs, garlic and a splash of sherry vinegar. Absolutely delicious with the wine.

Mixed bag of wines....

Tasted a couple at work the other night. These are wines we're either featuring in our wine of the month club or running on special this month. Disclosure, I was a bit under the weather that night so my sniffer may have been a little off its game...


2010 Cline Ancient Vines Mourvedre, Contra Costa County - Inviting nose of blueberry and cinnamon spice. Quite tannic on the palate with tart fruit and road tar flavors. Medium-bodied. Seems a bit "hot," but that may be due to the temperature the wine was served at. Cool it off a bit and try it again.




2008 Peregrine Pinot Noir, Central Otago - Herbal, cherry, cranberry nose. Light-bodied with meager fruit, smoke and a hint of dill. Dusty tannins. Does nothing to convince me to drink more New Zealand Pinot Noir; especially for $30.

NV Bliss Schoolhouse Red, Mendocino County - Pretty color. Fantastic nose features Zinfandel-like fruit, licorice and a bit of chocolate. But the palate is distressingly light with modest leather flavors. Second label of Brutocao. Decent enough wine, but there are better $15 proprietary blends out there.

2010 Schug Sauvignon Blanc, Sonoma Coast

The 2010 Schug Sauvignon Blanc, Sonoma Coast is a truly outstanding effort. Pale in color, the nose is a cornucopia of lemon, honeysuckle (certainly from the Sauvignon Musque in the blend), ripe grapefruit and melon aromas and flavors. There's a fantastic richness on the palate that comes from sur lie aging in neutral oak, but there's plenty of acidity in there to keep the wine from becoming too ponderous. The pleasantly herbaceous finish just doesn't quit. This is my new benchmark for what domestic Sauvignon Blanc should taste like.

2007 Joseph Carr Merlot

The 2007 Joseph Carr Merlot, Napa Valley really over-delivers in the mid-teen price range. Pretty notes of plum, cherry and cedar on the nose and palate with additional flavors of black olive and a hint of bay leaf. The wine is aged in a combination of French and American oak, but the oak never steals the spotlight. Medium-bodied with a wonderful texture lacking that hollow mid-palate that plagues so many Merlots. Maybe the result of the addition of 10% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Cabernet Franc?

Grab Bag of Wines fom Last Week.....

It's always a good time when my father-in-law comes for a visit. He's one of the people responsible for sparking my interest in wine nearly 20 years ago and we still enjoy tasting wines together. Here are a couple of wines we had last week:

2010 Willow Crest Estate Grown Pinot Gris, Yakima Valley - Complex yeasty, smoky, melon aromas and flavors with bright acidity. Unfortunately, this bottle was marred by a slight spritz. Still, a great bargain at $12.

Two Pinot Noirs with pork tenderloin. The tenderloin was scored and marinated in somethiung resembling a thick Teriyaki sauce and then grilled just past medium.


2009 Block Nine Caiden's Vineyard Pinot Noir, California - Dark cherry flavors and aromatics with sweet herbs lurking in the background. Seems a touch alcoholic, but not enough to be a distraction. Another outstanding value that clocks in around $12.

2006 Yering Station Pinot Noir, Yarra Valley - More fruit forward than most of the Pinots that I've had from Down Under, but still quite herbaceous for my palate. Quite a bit of cherry/menthol cough syrup. Very acidic. Not my cup of tea.


2008 Quinta do Alqueve Fernao Pires, DOC Ribatejo - Having never even heard of the Fernao Pires grape, I had no idea what to expect from this one. Color of a typical Sauvignon Blanc. Quite peachy, floral and buttery on the nose with rich, buttery, minerally flavors following through on the palate. Hint of melon. Considerably richer than I thought it would be. Slight, pleasant bitterness on the long, oily finish. This was a really fun wine that mt father-in-law picked up for $6 or $7 at Binny's in Chicago.


2007 Coopers Creek Chardonnay/Viognier, Gisborne - A blend of 75% Chardonnay and 25% Viognier. Beautiful color. Nose of ripe apple, peach and flowers. No noticeable oak. Slight buttery note on the palate. Sweet, rich fruit. Oily texture, hint of match stick on the finish. Holding on nicely for a wine of such modest upbringing. Refreshing summer quaff. How can New Zealand get Sauvignon Blanc so wrong (simply too herbaceous for my palate) but continue to make such nice wines from Chardonnay, Viognier and Gewurztraminer?

2008 Koehler Viognier, Santa Ynez Valley - Something of a one-trick pony. Beautiful nose of ultra-ripe apricot, but that's about all there is. The Palate is quite rich and oily with the aforementioned apricot flavors. Quite bitter on the finish. You can definitely feel the 14.7% alcohol on the finish.

Wednesday night's dinner was spatchcocked chicken stuffed with a fresh rosemary and sundried tomato butter smoked over cherry and apple wood. In a word - stunning. Accompanied by a home made sundried tomato risotto and grilled asparagus. We opened a couple of Pinots to accompany:


2008 Raptor Ridge Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley - High-toned notes of sweet/tart cheery and herb with a touch of skunk/road tar. Rather light on the palate with sour cherry flavors and assertive acidity. Not a very good showing for this bottling.

2009 Pietra Santa Pinot Noir, Cienega Valley - Beautiful, Grenache-like aromas of sweet raspberry and underbrush. Medium-bodied with more raspberry, herb and spice flavors on the palate. Bit bitter on the finish. Not exactly a typical Pinot Noir flavor profile, but tasty nonetheless.


2009 Montepeloso A Quo, IGT Toscana - Starts off with some really weird briny/green peppercorn/wintergreen aromas. With some air, most of that blows off and you're left with some interesting raspberry/wintergreen aromas that follow through to the thin, tart palate. Rather alcoholic. This blend of (mostly) Sangiovese and Cabernet is getting some really nice reviews in the press, but it didn't click with me at all. Certainly doesn't speak of Tuscany. A very disappointing $25

2008 Cupcake Vineyards Petite Sirah, Central Coast - Call me crazy, but I really like this wine. Warm blackberry and blueberry aromas punctuated with fresh-cracked black pepper. Medium-bodied and spicy on the palate with more of the aforementioned dark fruits and some light chocolate flavors. Everything you could want from a sub-$10 "burger wine."

2008 Alexander Valley Vineyards Sin Zin Zinfandel, Alexander Valley - Makes no attempt to disguise the 14.4% alcohol. Deep color. Alcoholic, briery, raspberry nose. Copious raspberry and pepper on the thin, acidic palate. About $12

2009 Dona Paula Los Cardos Malbec, Mendoza - Pretty, plummy, spicy entry level Malbec with plenty of pepper and fruit on the palate. Nice acid and tannin provides balance.

2009 Four Vines Old Vine Cuvee Zinfandel, California - Continues to impress with its blueberry and raspberry flavors and bright, peppery texture. Despite the decadent fruit, the wine in nicely balanced by the tannin and acid. Just a hint of oak. Really over-delivers in the $10-12 price range. Perfect with spare ribs off the smoker.