lgsjr – Page 17 – Power Tasting – The Wine Tasting Experience

Foppiano Vineyards

If you’d like to have a glimpse of what Sonoma County used to be while still tasting wines that might appeal to more modern tastes, Foppiano vineyards is a winery to add to your list. One reason it’s like what Sonoma County once was is that Foppiano was there back then. It was founded in 1896 by Giovanni Foppiano, an Italian immigrant from Genoa. To the present day, there are many Sonoma Country wineries with Italian names; in this case, the Foppiano family still owns and runs it.

Foppiano’s winery. Photo courtesy of Sonoma County Tourism.

The winery is a little bit out of the way although it’s easy enough to find if you start in downtown Healdsburg. Just head down the Old Redwood Highway and there it is. (It’s tougher to find coming off Route 101.) It’s hard to miss, with “L. Foppiano Wine Co.” written in big letters on the side of their production building.

The Foppiano orange tree, in full (sour) fruit.

Foppiano is located in the northeast corner of the Russian River Valley, although it doesn’t feel that typical of the region. The general image of Russian River is of winding lanes through the forest and alongside vineyards. Old Redwood Highway and the roads that feed into it are straight as an arrow and the landscape is open and flat.

Foppiano’s tasting room. Photo courtesy of TripAdvisor.com.

Foppiano’s tasting room is housed in a little white clapboard house with a huge orange tree outside. (They’re happy to let you take any oranges that fall, because they’re terribly sour.) The building backs up to their factory, so the overall impression is “rustic industrial”. The impression is softened by the vineyards that surround the buildings. The tasting room is a bit dark with a simple bar, lit by big windows that overlook the vineyards.

As is often the case with smaller Sonoma County wineries, Foppiano produces an extremely wide range of wines. There are Sauvignon Blancs, Chardonnays, Pinot Noirs, Cabernets Sauvignons, a Cabernet Sauvignon, a Zin, a Rosé, some sparklers and even a Carignane. With that many varietals, it is unlikely that all of them will appeal to all tastes.

However, there is one varietal for which Foppiano is best known: Petite Sirah. A hybrid of Syrah and Peloursin, this grape was developed in France but is now largely grown only in California. Many use it as a blending grape to provide color and depth; Foppiano began bottling it as a varietal in 1967. Their Petite Sirahs are dark, unctuous and deeply flavorful. Prepare for blue teeth if you try some. In our opinion, even though their wines are drinkable on release, they really need several years cellaring to knock of some of the rougher edges.

With 125 years of history, Foppiano has certainly seen a lot of changes, both in their vineyards and in the life of Sonoma County. For most of those years, they produced jug wines and in tribute to those days, they still sell half-gallon growlers of Petite Sirah. We see Foppiano as a bit of a throwback to a slower, less frenzied time when the roads of the county were filled with tractors, not tourists. As the song says, these are the good old days, but it’s pleasant to visit the good older days, too.

Visiting France, Visiting California

If you, like us, are from the East Coast, getting to either California or France is roughly the same hassle. Once you have to get to the airport and wait for your plane, the difference between a six-hour and an eight-hour flight is not all that big a deal. However, when you get off the plane in California, you’re still in the USA. Everybody speaks your language and most things, aside from the vineyards, are just like home. You can’t say that about a trip to France.

If the only purpose of your trip is wine tasting, the overall experiences of the two sectors of Wine Country are roughly equivalent. The most famous regions – Napa/Noma, Burgundy, Paso Robles, Bordeaux, Santa Barbara, the Rhone Valley – will offer you many wines you might have heard of, if not already tasted. While California has some out-of-the-way wine producing areas, such as Temecula or Amador County, wine is made almost everywhere in France. And some of the less familiar locales, including Alsace, Beaujolais and the Languedoc, make world-class wines.

Lyon is known as the culinary capital of France.

It’s when you want to do something other than tasting wine tasting that France excels. Yes, we love San Francisco and Los Angeles but they’re not Paris or Lyon. There are few if any California experiences that can top a stroll along the Seine or eating onion soup at a sidewalk café. Of course, it helps if you can speak French but honestly, it’s not essential. Most French people can and will speak English. They have the reputation for being arrogant and snobbish (as do New Yorkers) but we’ve never experienced any problems. (The nose in the air attitude of Parisian waiters is as much a part of the show as anything else.)

The Big Sur. Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.

California and France both have attractions when it comes to natural beauty. There’s an unmistakable charm to the French countryside. The grandeur of some parts of California are matchless. The French Alps are stunning and Big Sur, Yosemite and the redwood forests are treasures. Centuries of wars have left scars across France; earthquakes and fires have done the same in California. If you’re travelling to see marvelous scenery (in addition to wine tasting, of course) both will offer you more than you can take in on any one trip.

You can get memorable meals in California. French Laundry and Spago are temples of gastronomy. But France! Yes, the French are justly famous (or infamous) for small portions of unknown ingredients with rich sauces. But there’s hardly a village in the whole country where you can’t get a perfectly roasted chicken that you’ll remember forever. We mentioned onion soup, but did we tell you about pâté? Or cheese? Or cassoulet? Or, or, or? On the other hand, if you’re in the mood for Mexican, Chinese or Japanese cuisine you’re going to do much better in California.

Altogether, it’s an individual decision as to which makes a more desirable vacation. If you feel more comfortable in familiar surroundings, choose California. If you like the exotic, France is a better choice. We’re in the latter category, but then we speak French. Either direction, you’ll taste great wines.

The Experience of Wine Tasting in Bordeaux and Napa Valley

It’s impossible to draw meaningful comparisons between wine tasting in France and California. They’re both too large with too many wine growing regions to be able to say anything about one place without having a counterexample from another. So let’s narrow the scope of the comparison to the two premier winemaking regions in each. That would be Napa Valley and Bordeaux, although the people of Burgundy might make a claim as well.

We suppose that there were people who traveled to both regions for wine tasting in the 19^th and early 20^th centuries. We can only speak to the wine tasting experiences of the last quarter of the 20^th century onward.

Let’s stipulate a few differences up front. They speak French in Bordeaux; their history goes back thousands of years and the restaurants all serve French food. In Napa Valley, they speak English (and a lot of Spanish); the history there is hundreds of years old and the restaurants there serve cuisines from all around the world.

Château Palmer in Margaux, in the Medoc. Photo courtesy of The Drinks Business.

Both are beautiful, but in different ways. Napa Valley has a broad lowland with mountain ranges on both sides. Bordeaux has three major vineyard areas: Macon on the left bank of the Garonne River, Pomerol/St. Emilion on the right bank and Graves/Sauternes south of the city of Bordeaux. It’s easy to drive the length of Napa Valley in a few hours. You need a few days to see all of Bordeaux.

Franciscan winery in Rutherford, Napa Valley.

Napa Valley’s wineries have evolved from farmhouses to what we term Napa Palaces. In Bordeaux they have real palaces, or at least châteaux. There are few if any rustic wineries left in Napa Valley. In Bordeaux many of the smaller producers don’t have the magnificent castles that the famous names have, although they all seem to call themselves Château This or Domaine That.

In our earliest travels to both, it was a simple matter of driving up to a winery and asking for a taste of their wines. If money ever changed hands it was only a few dollars; in Napa Valley they would throw in a free glass. There are still some places where walk-in tastings are available in Napa Valley. Those in Bordeaux are generally lower quality houses, mostly in the town of St. Emilion. The better Bordeaux tastings have long since been by appointment only. This trend was apparent in Napa Valley too, prior to the pandemic. Now it’s more of a general rule.

In Bordeaux, a tasting means blends featuring either Cabernet Sauvignon (Macon and Graves) or Merlot (St. Emilion). There are some whites, most based on Semillon grapes. Napa Valley tastings offer much greater variety: all the Bordeaux grapes, and those of Burgundy and the Rhône.

The wineries in Napa Valley are closer to one another. You can easily visit five or six wineries and not travel more than a mile. That’s just not the case in Bordeaux. On the other hand, traffic is much worse in Napa Valley (especially on Route 29) than on the main roads in Bordeaux.

So finally, which region makes better wine? That’s a question often debated at our dinner table and it has not yet been resolved. You’d better decide for yourself.

Taittinger and Domaine Carneros

Champagne is a sparkling wine. If it’s really Champagne, the grapes are grown and the wine is made in the Champagne region of northern France. Sparkling wine made in California isn’t called Champagne, with a few exceptions. There are a few, such as Korbel and André that had been using the word historically, so they were allowed to continue using it. (Many of us had our first taste of sparklers that come from those two producers, but if you’re into wine tasting, you probably haven’t had any of their wines for decades.)

The Taittinger visiting facility in Reims, France.

Many of the better French producers have established wineries in California. Among them are Moët & Chandon/Domaine Chandon and Mumm/Mumm Napa. Taittinger in Reims developed Domaine Carneros in 1987, and the Napa Valley site is among the most visited wineries in the region. Although the two wineries have the same ownership, they are operated completely independently.

Domaine Carneros, surrounded by vines.

For the wine-tasting visitor, there is a broad comparison between the French and American wineries. The French winery is essentially a factory complex on an urban street. Grape vines are nowhere to be seen. The site was an abbey in pre-Revolutionary times, but nothing remains of it, except its cellars. Domaine Carneros is also a factory but it looks very much like a French château. In fact, it is modeled on (but is not a replica of) the Taittinger family manse in Champagne, nowhere near the factory. The California site is surrounded by vineyards and rolling hills, one of the most appealing vistas in Napa Valley.

The caves at Taittinger, showing the gate used by the monks in pre-Revolutionary Reims.

Both locations offer interesting tours. At Taittinger, they walk visitors through the caves where they age their top Champagne. You can see where the monks of the ancient abbey managed the wines in their time. Even better, you can see a section of the cellars that were dug out by the Romans when Reims was called Durocortorum. There’s nothing in California to beat that, but then a tour at Domaine Carneros actually gives you an understanding of how sparkling wine is made.

The tour at Taittinger concludes with a glass of Champagne; for an extra fee you can have Comtes de Champagne, their premier offering. The California tour includes a tasting of several of Domaine Carneros’ sparkling wines, including their top wine, Le Rêve (“the dream” in French). Better yet, even without a tour you can sit on their expansive veranda and order sparkling wine by the glass. Sipping while taking in the view is quite a treat.

Taittinger makes only Champagnes. Domaine Carneros also offers some excellent Pinot Noirs and have recently added a Merlot. These still wines are also available for ordering at the winery.

The question remains: Which winery makes the better wine? Domaine Carneros makes excellent California wines, but they’re not Champagne. And Taittinger is one of the most reputed houses in the Champagne region. If all you want is a loud pop and some bubbles, Domaine Carneros’ Estate Brut Cuvée will do quite nicely. On the other hand, if you want to celebrate with the real deal, stick with Taittinger.

Comparing French and California Wines

As mentioned elsewhere in this issue, we endlessly debate the relative qualities of French and California wines. The famous Judgement of Paris tasting in 1976 established the world-class status of California wines and created the false impression that California makes better wine than France across the board. Of course, the question of “better” is a foolish one; both make excellent wine (and some plonk, too).

If you’d like to play along with us in this game of comparing the two, it’s quite simple. Just go out and buy some Californian and French wines. Open them. Taste them. Reach your own conclusions. Here are some tips on how to make the most of it.

Photo courtesy of Salon.com

Ignore the extremes. If you have the wherewithal to compare Château Petrus and Screaming Eagle, don’t let us stand in your way. But what will that tell you? And don’t bother comparing Two Buck Chuck with a French wine for under five dollars. (Actually, we don’t know any.) The best idea is to choose wines in the range that you would normally buy or maybe a little more expensive, to give you a better range for comparison.
Avoid varietal mismatches. There’s no point to comparing a Zinfandel with anything made in France. The French don’t have that wonderful grape. Likewise, don’t look for a Savoyard Chasselas in California. You won’t find it.
Recognize your preconceived notions. If you know up front that you prefer, say, a Chablis to a California Chardonnay, there’s not a lot of reason to try a side-by-side test for your favorite. Rather, you might use the opportunity to ask your wine merchant to suggest California whites that most closely approach a real Chablis and see if you can tell the difference.
Consider price points. There’s no question that a $100 white Burgundy is going to be superior to a Castle Rock for eleven bucks. And you can say the same if the countries are reversed. For most people, the choices they make when they go into a wine store are based on what they’re willing to pay on that particular occasion. Interestingly, it might be better to try comparisons, over time, of wines at somewhat different prices. You may find that you prefer a $25 California Pinot Noir to a $40 red Burgundy.
Use the same glasses. It’s important that you use the same type of glasses for both the California and French wines. Believe it or not, the way a glass is made does affect the way wines smell and taste. The good folks at Reidel insist that there is a perfect glass for each varietal, but we’re a bit skeptical. The point for the purposes of comparison is that they be the same, affecting the wines for better or worse but equally.
Be honest with yourself. If you start out believing you prefer one country’s wines over the other, it’s hard to change your own mind. The best would be if someone else pours the two and doesn’t tell you (a blind tasting). Of course, the other person now knows which is which and may not be able to overcome his or her prejudices. Just try your best.

Il Pomodorino

If you love wine tasting and you love Italian wines (that would include us), you should definitely visit Tuscany. And if you visit Tuscany, you should definitely spend some time in Siena, a city where the best of the Renaissance seems to be just yesterday. If you go to Siena, you should definitely wander around at night. And if you want to have some fun while you’re wandering around, you should have some pizza at a restaurant called Il Pomodorino.

Il Pomodorino in Siena. Photo courtesy of Casa-Worldorgs.com.

Power Tasting is not in the business of restaurant reviews, so we’ll simply say that you can get very good pizza at Il Pomodorino. That’s a lot like saying you can get very good steak at Whole Foods. It’s true, but it’s hardly exclusive. There are a lot of places in Italy where you can get very good pizza and we’re not getting into the question of where to get the best pizza. But we’ve never had more fun eating pizza than we did at this spot in in Siena.

For one thing, Il Pomodorino is always full and everybody else seems to be having a good time. There are lots of families and therefore a fair number of children. Dinner times, by American standards, are rather late in Italy. We always wonder how the kids are going to make it to school the next day, but they do seem to make it. There are also young lovers out on a date, older folks still convivial after a half a century, and the occasional tourists.

Unlike many other places in history-rich Siena, there aren’t that many foreigners dining at Pomodorino. That may be because it’s a bit difficult to find the place if you’re starting from the center of town where most of the hotels are located. Getting there from the famous Piazza del Campo at the very middle of Siena necessitates walking through some pretty dark streets and back alleys. For the real Sienese, who mostly don’t live in the touristy areas, it’s not so hard to get to Il Pomodorino. For them, it’s just down the hill from the big stadium, so maybe the crowds at the restaurant are just post-game celebrants.

The atmosphere at Il Pomodorino just draws you in. When the other patrons hear you talking English, they’ll ask you where you’re from. No matter where you live in the States, you’re bound to find out that someone at a nearby table has a cousin living there. So you’re almost a member of the family already.

The view from Il Pomodorino.

While you can eat inside, you really want to join the party on the terrace outside. Perhaps even more important, you are treated there to a spectacular view of the heart of Siena. The dome and the roof of the Duomo (cathedral) and the Campanile (bell tower) are the most obvious sights, but the tiled roofs over the homes add to the viewing pleasure. Just below you is the home and shrine of Italy’s patron saint, Santa Catarina. So even if you’re not in a party mood, Il Pomodorino is worth it, just for the vista.

If you want to feel Italian and not just a visitor to Italy, we suggest you have a meal at Il Pomodorino.

Just Stopping By

For most people, travelling to Wine Country is a trip, one that often involves a flight and a rather lengthy drive. If you’re going to go through all that, you surely want to justify your exertions by visiting several wineries, if only to get a feel for what that region can make. However, some fortunate people live close enough to a wine-producing area that they can spend a few hours wine tasting whenever they want. Or they can just stop by a winery for an easygoing half-hour or so, with some nice wine to add to the pleasure.

If you happen to be among those happy few, you may already have taken advantage of nearby wineries. We have met some people in our wine tasting adventures who have told us that they live so close that they often hop on their bikes and come over on particularly pleasant weekend afternoons for a taste or two.

As residents of New York City, we can’t take advantage of “just stopping by” wine tasting. Even a trip to Long Island’s North Fork entails at least two hours on the expressway. But on a few occasions, we have had the chance to be the “locals”.

A vineyard in the Île d’Orleans.

We have a home in Québec City, which is a fairly populous metropolis. But it’s also only minutes away from the Île d’Orleans, which is unquestionably countryside, the source of much of the fruits and vegetables for the city. It is also the home to a half dozen wineries. Many a summer weekend we drive over to the island in the middle of the St. Lawrence River to buy corn and tomatoes or just to breath some rustic air. It’s no big deal for us to stop by and try a glass or two at one of the wineries. To be honest, none of the table wines are particularly notable, but some of the ice wines (it gets awfully icy in Québec) are quite good.

Etude Winery. Photo courtesy of the winery.

A few years ago, business required us to spend a few months living in Sacramento, only an hour from Napa Valley in one direction and Amador County in the other. There were of course some weekends when we visited multiple wineries, with others when had non-wine reasons to be in Napa Town. The road back to Sacramento took us right by Etude Winery, one of our favorites, where we are members of their wine club. The servers became used to us stopping by for a few pours of their top wines, which we enjoyed in big Adirondack chairs on their terrace.

Finally, we once took a lengthy vacation in the Languedoc. When it was market day in the village of St. Chinian, we’d drive in for our pain and fromage. And as long as we were there, why not stop by a winery?

If you are or ever will be that close to Wine Country, make sure you just stop by a vineyard or two.

How to Have Fun While Wine Tasting

There is, of course, an elemental problem with this article. That is, if you don’t already know how to have fun, nothing we say is going to help. On the other hand, if you already think wine tasting is fun, then we are happy to provide some tips on how to add to your fun whenever you are in Wine Country.

Have a fun attitude. That advice may seem obvious, but there are a number of reasons to go wine tasting – having fun is only one of them. Your objective may be educational, which may be satisfying but isn’t necessarily fun. Or you may be in a buying mood. If you are tasting wines for the purpose of buying a case or two, you ought to be paying attention, not being devil-may-care.

Good times at Domaine Chandon. Photo courtesy of Haute Living.

Go where the fun is. Now this is a matter of taste. If you think it’s fun to be in a crowd, drinking more than tasting (not our idea of a good time) then go to a popular winery on a holiday weekend. This mostly applies to the major California destinations. We’ve never encountered a partying crowd in Europe, but we have in Australia and South Africa. In our experience, Domaine Chandon and Miner, both in Napa Valley, fit this bill.
Book a sit-down tasting. This alternative is a bit more restrained, but you still get to meet some (usually) nice people while you taste. Best of all is a tasting where the winery also gives you some bites of food so you can truly experience what the wine might taste like at your dinner table. Jordan Vineyard & Winery in Alexander Valley is our favorite in this regard.

Reims Cathedral. Photo courtesy of Viator.

Make time for a really nice lunch. In general, wherever fine wines are made there are excellent restaurants nearby. So instead of making the objective for the day to visit wineries, grabbing a quick meal in between, consider a day built around a lunch at a top restaurant, with a bottle of the local wine, of course. This describes wine tasting almost anywhere in Europe. We have particularly warm memories of meals on the square in Montalcino, in front of the cathedral in Reims and on Main Street in St. Helena. But, be careful how much alcohol you consume during the day.
Do something else. Just because you’re on a wine tasting trip doesn’t mean you have to only taste wine. If you’re near the shore, declare a beach day. This works in Santa Barbara, Tuscany and Languedoc. In some places in California, France and Switzerland, you can taste wine one day and go skiing the next. And almost everywhere has some interesting landmarks, sights and cities. Leave yourself some time to take them in.
Visit wineries for reasons other than wine. Some wineries are landmarks in themselves. Two examples are The Hess Collection in Napa Valley and the wine museum at Mouton Rothschild in Bordeaux. Winemaking is an art, so why not mix in some art with your wine tasting?

Paraduxx

Duckhorn Vineyards is one of Napa Valley iconic wineries, best known for its Merlots. In 1994, they began to expand the number of wineries and labels under which it produced wine, the names of which are all related to our little quacking friends. The first of these was Paraduxx (www.paraduxx.com) which today occupies a rather unique niche in the valley’s winemaking.

All their wines are blends, except their rosé. That in itself is not so exceptional; many wineries mix their grapes, but most stick either to Bordeaux or Rhône varietals. Paraduxx follows the Australian example: Blend anything with anything else and if it tastes good, bottle it. So you’ll find bottles of Paraduxx wines that contain Cabernet Sauvignon and Zinfandel, Syrah and Viognier (like Côte Rôtie) and even one made of Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot, Zinfandel, Petite Sirah, Syrah, Tempranillo and Merlot.

Enjoying an outdoor wine tasting at Paraduxx.

The people at Paraduxx want to make visiting their winery a fun experience. Of course, they want you to come and taste their wines. But they’d also like you to bring your kids and your dog. (Both need to be well-behaved but only fido needs to be on a leash). They invite you to relax under trees or umbrellas in their courtyard or on their veranda and stay a while. [Our description of Paraduxx is based on pre-Covid experience. We sincerely hope that this, like so much else, returns to the way it was in before times. Today, dogs are still allowed, but no person under 21 years of age.]

The setting at Paraduxx would seem to lend themselves to people who are more interested in a pleasant day out, including good wine to be sure. A picnic would be perfect, but Napa County’s rules limit the number of wineries that allow picnicking. However, they do sell plates of charcuterie.

The tasting room at Paraduxx.

The sort of experience offered at Paraduxx may not be to everyone’s tastes. For our part, we never bring children or pets with us and our objective is to gain a serious understanding of the wines offered by each producer we visit. And for those like us, you can enjoy wines outdoors or in the winery’s well-appointed tasting room.

One tasting feature we like at Paraduxx is that they pour you glasses of all the wines on offer, provide you with tasting notes and then they leave you alone to enjoy them. A server will stop by periodically to answer any questions you may have. He or she usually uses the occasion to urge you to stay a while. There is, however, a feature we are not as fond of. They ask you to pay for your tasting as you enter, before tasting their wines. Of course, we recognize that wine tasting in Napa Valley is a commercial enterprise, but it still feels wrong to ask you to pay ahead of tasting and it leaves a bad impression.

The fun atmosphere at Paraduxx does not preclude serious wine tasting. Come try their rather individualistic wines and have some fun too, if you wish.

Domaine Paul Autard

There are many wines that show the skill of the winemaker. There are only a few that demonstrate the artistry of a winemaker. Today, especially in America, rich people or corporations own wineries; they hire winemakers. It is difficult to be both an artist and an employee.

When a person owns the vineyard, makes the growing and harvesting decisions and then produces the wine, he or she has the means to express creativity, individuality and style in a bottle. To experience such artistry, we recommend a visit to Domaine Paul Autard (http://www.paulautard.com/, in French only).

Jean-Paul Autard. Photo courtesy of the winery.

The winemaker is Jean-Paul Autard; Paul was his father. Jean-Paul took over in 2005 and the vineyard was soon mentioned among the best of Châteauneuf du Pape. Today, Autard makes four Châteauneufs: a white and three reds, foremost among which are La Ronde and Juline. There is also a Côtes de Rhône and, true to tradition, some local wines unavailable in North America.

Interior of the winery. Photo courtesy of the winery.

The Domaine is not actually in the town of Châteauneuf du Pape but just outside it in a hamlet called Courthézon. It’s not hard to reach, just a short drive away from the main town. In our experience, the winery is nothing like what we Americans are used to. It’s a large farmhouse, where Jean-Paul and his family make, store and sell wine. It is not set up for visitors in the way we find in California, although you can expect a pleasant welcome. When we visited, it was Madame Autard who welcomed us and chatted amiably with us (in French, of course). After a tasting, we asked some rather specific questions about the winemaking technique and distribution back home, so she called out “Jean-Paul, please come. We have visitors.”

We then had an interesting conversation and offered him to visit us when he was next in New York (an offer never taken up, alas). It was not so much that we had a unique experience (although we did) but rather that the man is as approachable as is his wine. We make no guarantee that you will have a similar experience if you should stop by, but we do think you will enjoy the wine.

Domaine Paul Autard has been making wine since 1924, a talent passed down through the generations. This continues today. Jean-Paul is communicating to his children, Jules and Pauline, “une somme précieuse de connaissances, d’observations et le travail de la vigne” (“a precious sum of knowledge, observations and work in the vineyard”). The winery’s flagship wine is Juline, derived from his kids’ first names.

When we visited, the Autards gave us a corkscrew with the Domaine’s name and logo on it. To this day, we use it to open his (and other people’s) wines. Each glass of Paul Autard comes with an extra dollop of memories.