WE'RE OFF TO SAN DIEGO AND PASO ROBLES

We leave today for San Diego.  Probably will go to the zoo, some rank as #1 in the world.  Here is another video of how to visit the zoo.  There is also a hop-on-hop-off trolley system, with a stop at our hotel, the Marriott Marquis.

But our primary purpose for this trip is Paso Robles to taste Petite Sirah.  We have relatives in the San Diego area, and four of us will drive from San Diego to Paso Robles, then back a few days later.

• The cities are 332 miles apart, a drive of 6 hours without stopping.  
• If you're a fan of this blog, you know by now that my favorite wine is Petite Sirah from Paso Robles.  There is a lot of history going back more than half a century.

• 
  I tasted a very early version of this wine when it was not yet bottled.  I was spending a summer at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in the early 70s and knew a colleague whose last name was Concannon.  
• James Concannon founded the company in 1883.  He imported vines directly from Chateaux Margaux and Château d'Yquem.
• His son, Joe, kept the company going during Prohibition by making sacramental wine, which also served as a mechanism for providing wine in general.

• 
  They released their first Petite Sirah in 1964, but mostly to blend with other reds.
• Grandson Jim Concannon is known as The Father of Petite Sirah.  He is to the left at the age of 80, with his son John.

• 
  With the University of California Davis, Jim successfully created Concannon Cabernet Clones 7, 8 and 11 from original Bordeaux vines, and these clones are today responsible for about 80% of cabernet sauvignons grown in California today.
• Read about Concannon Vineyard.

Here is a quote from Wine Business that surprised me:

(In the mid-60s) there were fewer than 250 wineries in California. In fact, at the time, wineries were in decline and would continue to dwindle. From a high of 470 in 1940, the number of California wineries fell to 232 in 1965. Hard to even imagine now, when in California alone, there are 3650 wineries: double that and you get the nationwide total.

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  From Wine Folly:  6 Fast Facts About Petite Sirah:

1. History: Petite Sirah (or Durif, the grape’s original name) was created by botanist Francois Durif in Montpellier, France, around 1880. The grape is a cross between Syrah and the even rarer Peloursin. It was imported to America by Charles McIver in the mid-1880s, where it got its new name: Petite Sirah.
2. Serving: A slightly cooler temperature (65ºF or 18ºC) will deliver more floral and mineral aromas along with Petite Sirah’s characteristic bold fruit.
3. Decanting: Petite Sirah, with its high tannin, is the perfect red wine to pour in a decanter and let it evolve for 2–4 hours (if you can wait!).
4. Aging: This warm-climate grape often loses too much acidity and fruit within the first seven years to make it a contender for longer-term aging. That said, a few producers (try Napa and Sonoma) have made some outstanding wines that will age 10–20 years. If you’re looking for this, check that the acidity and fruit are in balance with the tannin (they will be big but in balance!).
5. Value: Looking for good value? California’s Central Valley (like the Lodi AVA) offers some of the best values from $10–18.
6. Antioxidants: Petite Sirah is one of the deepest, most opaque red wines with very high levels of anthocyanin (an antioxidant). Similarly colored wines to Petite Sirah include Tannat and Sagrantino.

To end, some entertainment gossip:

• Taylor Swift broke another music industry record with her latest album, The Life of a Showgirl.
• Sold the most during the opening week. More than 4 million sales, just in the USA.
• Eclipsed Adele's 25 from a  decade ago.
• This is Taylor's 15th album to go to #1 on the Billboard 200 chart.
• Beatles had 19.
• 
  Katy Perry and former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was seen canoodling on the singer's yacht this weekend, squashing rumors that their affair had fizzled out.

• 
  They have both been married once, not to each other.
• She is 40 years old and he is 53.
• She is on her Lifetime Tour, which will end in December.
• She is worth around $360 million, he close to $100 million.

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THE FINEST RED WINES

The wine world knows that France, Italy and California produce the best red wines.  The top two wine producers switch between Italy and France, with Italy now #1.  #'s 3 and 4 also change, with Spain today producing more than the USA.  Australia is #5.  China is rapidly rising, and is affecting wine prices in other ways, too.  Interestingly enough, though, world wine production is dropping, and  is lower than 1961.  Some blame climate warming.

• 
  Today I will focus on the best red wines.  Some day I'll talk about the finest white wines.
• France:  Bordeaux and Burgandy.

• 
  More specifically, there are two blends of Bordeaux, the left bank uses mostly Cabernet Sauvignon and right mostly Merlot.
• Burgandy is almost always Pinot Noir, although White Burgandy is Chardonnay.

• 
  Italy:  Piedmont for Barolo and Tuscany for Brunello de Montalcino.
• California:  Napa Valley and parallel Sonoma Valley, Cabernet Sauvignon and red blends.

• 
  However, Australia can make a case for someday joining this group.  
• In particular, their Shiraz is prominent.

• 
  A  bottle of 1951 Penfolds Grange Hermitage Shiraz sold in 2021 for $157,624.
• Name change for Penfolds Bin 95 Grange Shiraz in 1990, the cheapest this bottle has gone is $490, with the 2019 now between $740 to $1000.

• 
  The latest available, 2020, can be had for $850.
• Penfolds from Wikipedia.
• Founded in Adelaide in 1841 by Christopher Penfold.
• In 1903 Penfolds was the largest winery in the Adelaide region.
• Their Grange 2008 received perfect scores from both Wine Spectator and Wine Advocate.
• Now operates wineries in Adelaide, Barossa Valley, Eden Balley, McLaren Vale and Coonawarra.
• In June 2012 released a limited edition run of 2004 Block 42 wine only sold in ampoules, each for $168,000.  A 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon of 750 milliliters.

• In 2013 was awarded "New World Winery of the Year" by Wine Enthusiast Magazine.

California makes 81% of U.S. wines.  We are all familiar with Napa and Sonoma, but Paso Robles and Santa Barbara are looking better and better.  Today I'll spotlight Paso Robles.  Why?

• I went to Stanford University from 1958 to 1962.  I drove by Paso Robles on Highway 101 at least 20 times during that period.  Never once did I stop, for I remember this town as dusty and without any attraction.

• 
  Surely they must have had a few wineries then, but fine wine-making did not arrive until the late 1960s.
• Paso Robles did not become an American Viticultural Area (AVA) until 1983, when it then had 17 wineries.
• There are now over 200 wineries in Paso Robles,which has become California's fastest growing AVA.

There is a second reason why Paso Robles is on my next visit list.

• It was in 1974.  I was working for the summer at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.  I recall living in an apartment adjacent to the vineyard of Wente Brothers.  

• 
  One day, a colleague came up to me.  Forgot his first name, but his last name was Concannon.  The two largest wineries in Livermore are Wente and Concannon.  

• 
  He indicated that his family had imported the first Petite Sirah into the country, and a particularly outstanding bottling was just made available for tasting.  His father, Jim Concannon, is today known as the "Father of Petite Sirah.

• 
  We went to his family garage and he poured me my first Petit Sirah.  I held a good enough face, but almost died from the taste.  In those day, mind you, 51 years ago, I was into Blue Nun and Lambrusco, sweeter wines.

I now bring you up-to-date on Petit Sirah.

• 
  An important root comes from France, and there it's called Durif.
• Charles McIver first imported the French original to the U.S. in the mid-1880s.
• Petite Sirah is an American grape varietal, far removed from its French origins, and is not a smaller-sized Syrah.  It could well now be the boldest and richest of all red wines, with high acidity and robust tannins, depending on the terroir, that is, where the grape is grown.  This is a small grape with large leaves. 
• Concannon provided the first modern Pinot Sirah, 
• However, it is only in the past decade that Petite Sirah doubled in production, and is now also grown in Washington, Arizona, Maryland, Texas and West Virginia.  Also Israel, Mexico, Brazil, Chile and Argentina.

• The wine is dry, full-bodied with an alcohol content of around 15%.
• Dominant flavors are plum, blueberry and black tea.
• Good with spicy dishes, most meats and a variety of cheeses.
• Can age for decades, because of high tannin and acidity.

Several Paso Robles wineries are known for producing the best Petite Sirah:  Vina Robles, J. Wilkes, San Simeon, Brady, Castoro Cellars, Sculpterry, Pali Wine and Aaron Wines.  Here is a good list of Paso Robles Petite Sirah wineries.  Google AI lists the best Petite Sirahs as coming from Paso Robles:  Vina Robles, Aaron, Dark Star, Midnight Cellars, Sycamore Ranch, Tobin James, Eberle, Le Vigne, Pianetta, Eberle, Le Vigne, Pianetta and Dubust.  Wine Folly provides another list of Paso Robles Petite Sirah companies. Vina Robles lists their current bottle at $58, so this is not a cheap wine.  In all my searches since before the pandemic, the only Petit Sirah I have ever found in Honolulu is Lohr's, for $25, and it is mediocre, if not worse.  I haven't yet tasted the finest Petite Sirah from Paso Robles.

Some other details.

• Interestingly enough, Paso Robles is right in the middle of Highway 101, 210 miles away from Los Angeles and San Francisco.
• The best time to visit Paso Robles is October.  During this Harvest Wine Month, there are oodles of unique events, specialty tours, winemaker dinners and grape stomping.  Also, warm days and cool nights.

• 
  While I've had my transition embarrassments, I consider myself to now be an almost oenophile, having been through a period in Chaine des Rotisseurs and eleven years of cultivated imbibition at 15 Craigside dinners.  The final wine trip on my bucket list is Paso Robles.
• Chances are that until you read this posting, you never heard of Paso Robles. and had no idea there was a red wine called Petite Sirah.  I'll further state that, in time, and this will be soon, Paso Robles will overtake the traditional locations growing the finest red wines, and, further, the best red wine will someday be Petite Sirah.
• We just completed our next trip itinerary.  We are going to Paso Robles in October.  Details?  Read my posting tomorrow.

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BIG RED

There was a confirmed conjunction of Big Reds at Vino's Italian Tapas and Wine Bar last night.  There were at least three in evidence:

• Bruce Leibert
• Red wines with substance and guts
• Stanford alumni

This was an ancillary Chaine des Rotisseurs gathering featuring full flavored rustic reds from California.  Among the oenophiles were Big Red himself, Big John and a new couple from Santa Ynez, now relocated into Courtyards at Punahou next to Central Union Church, in that order:

I took more photos, but my iPhone appears to be malfunctioning.  But what can you expect from a 2.  Maybe I should get a 6 Plus.  For example, here is a fuzzy version of Don, Chuck and Bruce:

The three Big Reds featured were:

• 2009 Freakshow Petite Sirah "Heretic":  a big, black, brooding, masculine beast from Paso Robles
• 2006 R Wines "Amazed":  decadent, lavish, deeply flavored from 132 year old Carignane and Mourvedre vines from Napa Valley (right)
• 2011 Saxum "Booker Vineyard":  an almost impossible to get wine today, it is mysterious and provocative, from Syrah and Mourvedre grapes grown in Paso Robles.

Note that two are from Paso Robles and there is no Cabernet Sauvignon involved.  It was not unlike a nightmare for me, as nothing made any sense.  It was only a little more than half a century ago that I drove through Paso Robles at least a dozen times and can mostly remember a dusty town on 101.  Today, amazingly enough, Paso Robles has 200 wineries and you can stay at the Hotel Cheval if you have $315 to spare for the night.  That's a Mourvedre to the right.  Mourvedre?  Where have I been?

I can also remember my time at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory four decades ago when I had a Petite Sirah with a Concannon of Concannon Vineyards in  his garage.  While they might not have invented this grape, they were the first to bottle it in California.  Note that Petite Sirah and Petite Syrah are two different grapes.  In any case, I thought this Petite Sirah was awful.  Today, it is a treasured varietal, depending on the terroir.  However, Chuck Furuya could not recommend Concannon.

My end of the table so much liked the Saxum, that Harry and Bruce chipped in to buy another bottle of the 2011 for $185.  In a way, that was a bargain, for you can get it from dealers in the range of $100 to $275.  The 2007 had a rating of 98 and was named Wine of the Year by Wine Spectator.  Keep in mind, though, that the 2007 Saxum James Berry was #1 (left) once $500/bottle, is not available anymore, while the 2007 Saxum Bone Rock, rated 96, is still being sold for $150.

I might add that Bobbette and Don brought two heavy reds, one from Paso Robles.  Both were excellent.  I asked Bobbette what she thought of Mr. Lee, and she quickly responded that the group only had one b.  Well, they do have 2.  In 1957 they were between 11 and 13.

Oh, of course, there was food aplenty, with a wide assortment of appetizers:  fancy concoctions of poke, prawns, gnocchi, foie gras, etc.  Here is a shot of my foie gras ravioli, okay, but the temperature could have been about a 100 F higher:

I don't know if it was because of the inordinate volume of wine I consumed, but when I awoke, my blood pressure was ten points higher for both the diastolic and systolic.

Tonight I got picked up by Donna, Elsie and David Ikegami, and they took me to Le Bistro:

I ordered three appetizers, starting with an excellent corn, greens and potato chip salad:

I would show you the escargot, Caesar salad and apple tart, all fabulous, but I forgot to take those photos.  A truly excellent meal with great company.

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WINE SPECTATOR: THE PRE-EMINENT WINE AUTHORITY

Last week I enjoyed some excellent wines at a Wine Spectator dinner, hosted by the Kahala Resort in Honolulu.  Among the gifts was the 40th celebration of their magazine.  

Inserted within this issue was the very first copy 11-page edition dated 15 April 1976:

• One article featured Concannon's Muscat Blanc as a delight.
• A couple of years earlier--so that would be 1973 or so--when I was spending the summer at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, living adjacent to one of the Wente Brothers vineyards, I was asked by a co-worker, a Concannon, to help him taste an early bottling of a Petite Sirah his family had begun to experiment with.  My recollection was that they were the very first to grow this grape in America.  Those were the days I drank Lambrusco, so my reaction was that the wine he served me was terrible!  Today, Petite Sirah is the paramount wine grown in California.  Where this grape has particularly flourished is Paso Robles, located nearly 200 miles south.  In the period of the late fifties and early sixties I must have driven through this city a dozen times, never once stopping for anything.  Sure, the first grape was planted here in 1797, but I doubt if there was even one winery with a tasting room in 1960.  Today, there are more than 200 wineries.  Try finding a cheap Petite Sirah today from Paso Robles.

• One article from France touted the healing power of wines.
• It was reported that California produced 273 million gallons of wine in 1975.  Forty years later, California produced 638 million, 85% of the total U.S. production.
• How quickly things can change, for Yellow Tail from Australia zoomed from zero bottles in 1999 to #1 wine import to the U.S. in 2003...then in 2005 the #1 brand sold in the entire country, ousting Kendall-Jackson and Beringer.
• Wines are produced in all 50 states of the Union, with California #1, Washington #2 and Oregon #3.

Wine Spectator began publishing in 1976 from La Jolla, California by printing 3,000 copies, and began making strides in 1979 when Marvin Shanken (New York) took over.  They now report a world-wide audience of 3.5 million, and are best known for their 100-point rating scale.  Here are a few highlights from their 15 November 2016 issue:

• Robert Monday and Baron Philippe de Rothschild met in Hawaii in 1970, where they concocted what became Opus One in 1979.  The cost was $50, then more than three times the price of expensive California wines.  For at least five years I then proceeded to purchase several Opus Ones, then they became too expensive.  A typical 2013 now sells for $280.

• Chateau Margaux sold in 1982 for $38, Chateau Le Pin Pomerol for $23.  In recent auctions, that Margaux went for $774, the Pomerol for $9,800.  (The minimum price for a  2015 Pomerol today is $1707, while a 2015 Margaux can be had for a bit more than $500.)
• Georges Duboeuf in 1982 had the brilliance to hype up the first bottling of wines from Beaujolais.  Cases were sent by the Concorde, and Ivana Trump welcomed them at the Plaza Hotel.  Thus was born Nouveau Beaujolais.
• Donald Trump bought Kluge Vineyard and Estate in 2011 and renamed it Trump Vineyard and Estate.  He does not drink alcohol.

Not from Wine Spectator, but I found the following from the International Business Times to be interesting:

• Top Ten Grape Varietals Worldwide
• Cabernet Sauvignon
• Merlot
• Airen (white from Spain)
• Tempranillo (red from Spain)
• Chardonnay
• Syrah
• Garnacha Tinta
• Sauvignon Blanc
• Trebbiano Toscano
• Pinot Noir
• Top Ten Wine Producing Countries
• France (21%)
• Italy (16%)
• Spain (12%)
• USA (9%)
• China (6%)
• Argentina (5%)
• Australia (4%)
• Chile (3%)
• South Africa (3%)
• Germany (3%)
• Russia (2%)

Let me close by providing six reasons why you should consider drinking wine:

• Preserves your memory
• Burns calories in your body for better weight control
• Boosts body defenses
• If you're female, guards agains ovarian woes (like preventing cancer)
• Again, more for women, but drinking wine leads to higher bone mass

But if you're male, drink wine anyway, for wine should increase your life expectancy.

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