I made a recent trek to our neighborhood Italian deli to pick up some Orecchiette and some Mascarpone cheese.  While there, I browsed the shelves, because, well, that’s what I do there.  You never know what unique item you’ll find here.

And did I ever find a unique item!  They had gotten a small supply of MonteVina Teroldego in stock.  I had never heard of Teroldego, and so I picked up a bottle.

I got it home and we uncorked it that day.  It was a great wine, full of body and flavor.  Again, surprised that we had not heard of this grape before, I did some research.  Here’s what I found from a fact sheet produced by the winery itself:

VINEYARD & VARIETAL INFORMATION:
Teroldego is native to the Alto Adige DOC of Northeast Italy. It generally produces rather austere reds or more commonly used to produce rosé and sparkling wines; except in Rotaliano, a valley in the foreground of the Swiss Alps, and on Montevina’s Burke Ranch just outside of Plymouth. Our rocky shallow soil is similar to the gravelly plain of Rotalinoand the majestic Sierra Nevada Mountains stand in place of the Alps. It took a mere eleven years from the decision to plant Teroldego to the release of the first varietal bottling. Proving that patience, persistence, and wild ideas pay off, Teroldego has developed a huge following among Montevinians who aren’t afraid to drink something different.

Here are the tasting notes:

WINEMAKER NOTES:
Opaque and beet like in color 2004 Montevina Teroldego stains your tongue, your lips, and the tablecloth like India Ink. A bouquet brimming with stewed blackberries, black fig, and orange zest dominates the nose. A blanket of blackberry and pomegranate flavor is laced with Mexican chocolate, coffee, and sweet oak.

We LOVED it, and we’re going back to buy as much of it as we possibly can!

Popularity: 55% [?]

Day One, Winery #7: It was getting a bit late in the day by the time we made it to Kunde Estate Winery. (We found out that Kunde rhymes with Sunday.  Who knew?) The grounds of this winery are very picturesque (which explains why there were so many pictures that I took there). I am sure that there is a story to the cow in the picture below, but I have to admit, we didn’t really even question the presence of a cow at this point.
The staff at this tasting room really drove home the point that these people work on commission.  When it became apparent that we were not going to be pressured into joining their wine club, the gentleman helping us, Bruce, became much less interested in pouring us wine.  We nominated Bruce the “Used Car Salesman” of tasting room employees title winner, though we still enjoyed our wines:

1. 2004 Vallee de la Lune - Rhone style blend of Syrah, Mourvedre, Petite Sirah, Grenache, Zinfandel and Viognier ($23/bottle)
2. 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon - Gold Medal Winner, 2007 Sonoma County Harvest Fair ($22/bottle)
3. 2004 Barbera - Gold Medal Winner, 2007 Sonoma County Harvest Fair ($28/bottle)
4. 2004 Meritage 202 - Cabernet/Merlot blend ($40/bottle)
5. Century Vine Zinfandel Port

Popularity: 34% [?]

Day One, Winery #5:  By the time we hit Kenwood, our main focus was on lunch, not wine.  We called ahead to find out if they had food that could be purchased at the winery, and we were told that they had some sausage and crackers.  This worked for us, and so we left Ravenswood and make the trek to Kenwood with visions of alcohol-sopping food dancing in our heads.

As to the wines, we limited ourselves to only three tastes of their reserves, as follows:

1. 2004 Zinfandel (Reserve) ($25/bottle) - Winery notes - Blackberry, Dried Currant, Black Pepper & Licorice
2. 2003 Jack London Syrah ($$30/bottle) - Winery notes - Red Currant, Dark Chocolate
3. 2002 Cabernet Sauvignon Artist Series ($75/bottle) - Winery notes - Currant, Black Cherries, Plum

Popularity: 30% [?]

Day One, Winery #4: You might be able to guess from the above images snagged off of the Ravenswood website that this is absolutely our type of wine.  We drink Ravenswood often.  They sell a terrific Zin for around $10 a bottle, and it is a staple in our cellar.  We’ve also enjoyed their Merlot, being of the the reasonably priced, yet very drinkable merlots which are readily available.  And so we made sure that this winery was on our agenda.  The staff was professional, knowledgeable and fun.  We bought 5 tastes for $15 and got the glass thrown in.  Additionally, when we expressed an interest in more than 5 of their wines to taste, we were told, “That’s ok… we are very bad at math here”.  Our kind of place.

And here were the wines we tasted, which we loved:

1. 2006 Early Harvest Gewurztraminer, Sonoma Valley

2. 2005 Dickerson Valley Zinfandel

3. Teldeschi Zinfandel, Dry Creek

4. 2004 Barricia Zinfandel, Sonoma Valley

5. 2005 Belloni Zinfandel, Russian River Valley (78% Zin, 10% alicante bouschet, 6% petite syrah, 6% carignane)

6. 2006 Barricia Zinfandel, Sonoma Valley

Popularity: 32% [?]

Day One, Winery #3: Sebastiani is one of those solid, standby wine producers which we turn to often when in a pinch.  We honed in on their limited production, Reserve wines.  Solid and dependable, we will be more willing to order these wines in restaurants more often when seeking out a wine to go with our meals. Wines tasted:

1. 2004 Alexander Valley Merlot: Tasting notes provided by the winery - The aromas reflect the terrior nicely with Black Cherry and Blackberry fruit.
2. 2005 Sonoma County Barbera: The aroma is filled with anise, raspberries, vanilla smoke, and tart fuit with a smooth finish.
3. 2005 Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel: The spice of pepper, cinnamon, vanilla and cocoa melds with a finish of dry cherries.
4. 2004 Sonoma Valley Syrah: Deeply colored with touches of dried herbs and smoked game meats.

It was at this point that Greg proclaimed: “I believe I’ve reached the point where everything tastes good…”

Popularity: 31% [?]