Quivira Vineyard Walk

One of the highlights of the Wine Bloggers Conference was the vineyard hike on Sunday afternoon.  Of the three vineyard hikes available, I selected the hike at Quivira Vineyards.  Our hike was organized by Zephyr Adventures, and guided by Nancy, Quivira’s General Manager.

For those with ADD, or, for those who just don’t have the desire or capacity to read long, rambling articles, I provide the summary below for your scanning pleasure:

Quivira Winery and Vineyards – their team members, mission, stewardship of the land, and their wines absolutely rock!  The take away – visit Quivira the next time you’re in the Dry Creek Valley area.

On to the details…   I arrived at Quivira about 1:30pm on Sunday afternoon – sunny, 90-degree day.  My first impression of the Quivira was “wow” – the tasting room/winery was surrounded by immaculately kept grounds accentuated by colorful (and ‘alive’) wildflowers and vegetation.

Quivira gets its name from an old crazy European belief – way back yonder in the 1700 and 1800’s, the area we now call Sonoma once appeared on European maps as a mythical kingdom called ‘Quivira’ whose streets were believed to be paved with gold.  Now, that gold is in the form of grape vines that produce grapes used in some of the finest wines in the world.

Quivira was founded in 1981 and received Demeter Biodynamic Certification in 2005.  Located in the Dry Creek Valley AVA, Quivira has 93 acres under vine spread across four different vineyards.  Included in these 93 acres are Zinfandel, Sauvignon-Blanc, Syrah, Grenache, Mourvedre, Montepulciano, and obscure varietals like Counoise.  These 93 acres produce about 13,000 cases of Quivira wine annually.

The hike began with a walk through their Biodynamic garden which broke ground in Spring 2008, followed by a visit to one of three Italian bee hives on the property, a quick stop by their chicken coop, followed by a quick walk-by the weed abatement team – sheep.  The walk also included a stroll around the vineyards and along Wine Creek.  In addition to being good stewards of their land by practicing organic and Biodynamic viticulture, Quivira has also made a positive environmental impact by restoring Wine Creek that runs through the property.  This creek is home to aquatic life and vegetation, including spawning ground for wild trout. 

The vineyard walk culminated with a tasting of seven Quivira wines, all of which I liked (a rarity for me).  A few of the notables included:

Our tasting began with Quivira’s refreshing Fig Tree Vineyard 2008 Sauvignon Blanc.  This was a perfect starter after a hot hike.  The Sauvignon Blanc grapes used to produce this wine are from Quivira’s Biodynamic Fig Tree Vineyard – named for a 130-year old Black Mission fig tree on the property.   13.9% alcohol.  Crisp and lively wine with a nose of lemon and lime spritz that led to flavors of pink grapefruit.  $18/bottle. Fermented with native yeasts.

We then moved on to one of the nerdier wines I’ve had in a while – the Quivira Mourvedre Viognier 2008 Rose.  92% Mourvedre and 8% Viognier.  12% alcohol.  Only 50 cases made of this little gem.  Interesting nose of fresh rose petal, cherry and spice.  I got more cherry flavors in the mouth along with a raisin component.  Excellent. $28/bottle.  Fermented with native yeasts.

One of the highlights of our tasting for me was the Dry Creek Valley 2006 Zinfandel.  I believe they affectionately refer to this wine as Ruby Zin, named for one of the pigs that reside on the Quivira property.  A blend of 90% Zinfandel, 8% Petit Sirah and 2% Carignane.   Dark purple color.  On the nose I found ripe plum, cherry, mulberry, and a light earthy component.  In the mouth, flavors of pepper and dark berries matched the tannins well.  $20/bottle.  Fermented with native yeasts.

Overall, Quivira wines provide an excellent representation of their ‘place’ in Dry Creek Valley that can only be truly achieved via organic/Biodynamic viticulture coupled with low/non-intervention in the cellar and use of native yeasts for fermentation.

 

 

Quivira Vineyard

 

One of 120 raised beds in the Quivira Biodynamic garden.

One of 3 italian bee hives on the Quivira property.

Wine Creek

 

Weed Abatement

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Vertvs Organic Tempranillo

(Disclaimer:  I received this wine as a sample from Natural Wine Merchants.  The Natural Merchants Selections carries more than 150 organic or biodynamic wines.)

The Iranzo family has a deep history in wine making with vineyard ownership dating back to the 18^th century.   Located just off the Mediterranean coast near Valencia, Spain, produces this 100% Tempranillo with organic grapes.  Bodegas Iranzo was the first winery in Spain to receive the USDA National Organic Program accreditation.  The buildings that house the winery and cellars were constructed between 1916 and 1929, and have been classified as a Cultural Heritage site by the Valencian Government.

Vertvs Tempranillo 2004

100% Tempranillo. 13.5% alcohol.  Just over 12,000 cases produced.  Dark ruby color with a nose of black cherry, leather and an earthy component.  In the mouth I noted more of the leather tastes along with licorice and dark berry.   

Although there were only 12,500 cases produced of this wine, I have noticed this one at many stores here in the Tidewater, Virginia area – particularly at our local grocery store, Farm Fresh, for about 12 bucks. 

 

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The Theory of Evolution

No, not the one associated with that Darwin guy…  Sokol Blosser’s Evolution.

I can’t believe I’ve had this blog, well almost blog, for a year now and haven’t written about Evolution until now.  This has been one of my ‘just drink and enjoy’ go to wines for quite a while.  Overall… Evolution is an ‘any night of the week’ wine that plays well with a wide range of food.  We paired this with spicy chicken fajitas last night and the combo was perfect.   

Sokol Blosser is based in Dundee, Oregon in the Willamette Valley area, was founded by Bill Blosser and Susan Sokol Blosser.  The couple planted their first vines in 1971, and their estate vineyards received USDA organic certification from Oregon Tilth in 2005.  (Since grapes to make Evolution are sourced from multiple locations including California and Washington, the wine is not organic.)

Sokol Blosser Evolution -  I picked this up for ~ $14US at Lets Talk Wine in Chesapeake.  12% alcohol.  The Evolution blend contains nine varietals – Pinot Gris, Müller-Thurgau, White Riesling, Semillon, Muscat Canelli, Gewürztraminer, Pinot Blanc, Chardonnay, and Sylvaner.  Initially, the nose is on the lime green side and is followed by abundant citrus and peach aromas.  In the mouth, the acidity is lively, but not to sharp, with flavors of pear, grapefruit and apricot.  I noted a pronounced creamy component tonight, while finishing the bottle.

If you haven’t already tried Evolution, be sure to look for it at your local wine shop or restaurant.  This wine seems to have fairly wide distribution here in the US – I’ve noticed it on wine lists in many states including CA, NY, MD and DC.  My travels take me to the Bethesda and Gaithersburg, MD area at least monthly and I’ve noted Evolution being served by the glass is several restaurants including Red Rocks at the Washingtonian Center in Gaithersburg.

As much as I enjoy Evolution, this is the only Sokol Blosser offering I’ve had.  I will be in Oregon in August and plan to arrange a visit to the winery to taste the rest of their wines. 

Although Matthiasson White still has ‘Favorite Domestic White of the Year’ honors in my book, Sokol Blosser’s Evolution definitely ranks near the top of the list.

Be sure to look for Evolution near you, and check out their blog for winery happenings and updates.

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Hoo-li-guh n

hoo-li-guh n     -noun:  a ruffian or hoodlum

Hooligan – a fitting name perhaps for the Grenache grape that has, in the past, been relegated to the production of cheap, low quality box wines and used as a blending grape. 

Rather than go with the standard and unexciting naming convention that many wineries employ, Kaz Winery exercises artistic license when naming their wines.  In the true spirit of exercising that artistic license, sometimes confused with being odd and abnormal, Kaz’s 100% Grenache wine is aptly named Hooligans.

Useless Wine Opinion:   The folks at Kaz employ a great deal of creativity with their website, logos, labels and wine names… but really fall off the wagon when it comes to their Ports – White Port, Blush Port, and Red Port.  Hmmm – not so creative dude.  Maybe have a ‘Name My Port Contest?’  (of course, a prize should also be given to the guy that thought of the contest idea).  This could create a little social media buzz if you framed it correctly…  just my genius opinion.

I picked up this bottle of Hooligans during my visit to Kaz Winery back in January (please visit my previous Kaz post to learn more about their family owned winery and excellent small-lot production wines).  I believe this wine came in right at the $35/bottle price point which seems reasonable since there were only a couple of barrels of this wine made.

Hooligans 2006 Grenache

100% Grenache.  13.6% alcohol.  This wine had a red bricky color with a nose of overripe plum and cherry with a slight aroma of red twizzler (maybe the aroma was something else, but I just can’t seem to articulate it clearly).  Light mouth feel with light tannins and flavors of cherry and herb.  This would pair well with lighter meats and I would even try it with Salmon.

I plan to return to Kaz Winery to pick up a few of their other offerings during my next trip to the Sonoma area in July to attend the Wine Bloggers Conference.

If you find yourself in the Sonoma/Napa area, be sure to visit Kaz Winery in Kenwood for a unique tasting experience.

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