{"id":274248,"date":"2010-07-21T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2010-07-21T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sdnews.com\/taste-of-wine-05-16-10\/"},"modified":"2010-07-21T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2010-07-21T07:00:00","slug":"taste-of-wine-05-16-10","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/taste-of-wine-05-16-10\/","title":{"rendered":"Taste of Wine 05-16-10"},"content":{"rendered":"

What\u2019s in a Name on the Bottle From Calistoga to Carneros, the going has gotten tougher for Napa Valley vineyards and wineries. \u00a0Since the 1880\u2019s the spotlight has been shining on this blessed land of Cabernet Sauvignon, to the point that it has passed the Cabernet homeland of Bordeaux France as the elite world-beating appellation for this most-requested red. \u00a0 \u00a0 As the wine world acknowledged this accomplishment and we came to pay homage and premium dollars at the altar of Napa Valley and its 300 or so wineries, two inflection points became game-changers: the recession, and a host of hustlers with cash to buy up over-produced \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 The Napa Valley Welcome Sign greets some 5 million visitors per year with 30 miles \u00a0of \u00a0brilliant wines. grapes along with the advertising dollars to flood the market with their generic wines. These broadsides have left the Napa Valley buckled but not bowed. Both the 2006 and 2007 Cabernet vintages are the best in a decade, and progressive winemakers that understand the need for change, \u00a0are determined to make wines that go to new heights of flavor and character. In \u201906 and \u201907, weather factors kept the crop under control so the emphasis was on quality, and not so much quantity. \u00a0This had the effect of somewhat limiting the vulture generics that prey on vineyards with too many grapes and production costs to cover. Generics, first launched a number of years ago to cash in on the Napa Valley reputation, with Charles Shaw, better known as “Two Buck Chuck,” This was really a wine processing company in a monster warehouse in Modesto that made box wine. \u00a0\u00a0A deal was made with Trader Joe\u2019s, a large “organic style” food chain and the rest is wine history. \u00a0Success breeds imitators so in rapid succession we got Beverages and More and COSTCO house brands, Barefoot Cellars and their drugstore\/supermarket high volume marketing, and lately, Cameron Hughes, a wine power broker with pencil-sharp margins that focus on the Napa Valley vineyards with big over-production problems. If price is your major consideration, then these generics will certainly please. \u00a0But be advised. \u00a0There is no way of knowing exactly where and what wine you are getting. \u00a0Aside from knowing what color the wine is, the rest of the story of that bottle remains in the hands of the wine lab that put it together. \u00a0For my money, I want to know the essence of that bottle of wine, which includes the history of the vineyard, the soil, the sub climate, the development of the harvest, the winemaker\u2019s credentials and the unique, natural qualities that single out that lovely essence in a bottle. \u00a0 Be cautious when you consider that next manufactured generic brand. Study the label. \u00a0Then, pay a few dollars more for an authentic Napa Valley wine with a name you can count on. \u00a0 New Winemaker in Town David Raffaele has arrived at Keyways Winery in Temecula Wine Country, as the new winemaker. \u00a0He comes from the nearby Maurice Car\u2019rie and Van Roekel Vineyards. \u00a0 After 3 harvests under one of the leading winemakers, Gus Vizgirda, Raffaele can now express his own ideas of grape cultivation of more a Mediterranean style, that he believes does extremely well in the Temecula Valley. Keyways is owned by Terri Pebley Delhamer \u00a0and is unique as the only woman owned and managed winery in Southern California. \u00a0 \u00a0 David Raffaele is the new winemaker at Keyways . \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Wine Bytes \u2022\tGolf \u00a0and wine mix and mingle evenings at Temecula\u2019s Pechanga Resort and Casino \u00a0every other Wed. with the next \u00a0\u00a0event Wed. May 26. \u00a0\u00a0Tastings, music, snacks, unlimited range balls and more. $18. pp. \u00a06:30 to \u00a08:30pm. \u00a0Details at \u00a0951-693-1819. \u2022\tThe \u00a0Westgate Hotel downtown San \u00a0Diego has an artisan chocolate and \u00a0Batasioli wine event Sat. May 22 from 5 to 6:30pm. \u00a0Taste Barolo, Barbaresco, Dolcetto and \u00a0Moscato along with Guanni Chocolates. \u00a0\u00a0Cost is $37. \u00a0More info at \u00a0800-522-1564. \u2022\tThe \u00a0legendary Napa Valley Chateau Montelena will be poured at Wine Encounter in \u00a0the Hillcrest area of San \u00a0Diego Sat. May 22 from \u00a07 to 9pm. \u00a0This winery, founded in 1882, was the \u00a0big Paris Tasting winner in 1976. \u00a0\u00a0$27. ea. \u00a0RSVP at \u00a0619-543-9463. \u2022\tThe \u00a0Robert Renzoni Winery in Temecula has a 2nd annual Spaghetti \u00a0Western charity fund raiser Sun. afternoon May 23. \u00a0Attractions include Italian buffet and \u00a02 glasses of wine, line dancing, gunfighters, music and prizes. Admission is \u00a0$35. for club members, $40. for non members in advance. \u00a0RSVP at 951-302-VINO. \u00a0 \u2022\tJust \u00a0Sangiovese is the next event at Bacchus Wine Market in the Gaslamp downtown \u00a0San \u00a0Diego, Fri. May 28 from \u00a04 to 9pm. \u00a0Taste Chianti, Brunello and Super \u00a0Tuscans \u00a0which all have the \u00a0Sangiovese grape. \u00a0Total of 6 \u00a0tastings for $15. \u00a0Call \u00a0619-236-0005. \u2022\tSan \u00a0Diego Wine Company has Wines for BBQ Sat. May 29 from 11 to 4pm. Tasting cost is $10. Details at \u00a0858-586-WINE. Frank Mangio is a renowned wine connoisseur certified by Wine Spectator. \u00a0He is one of the leading wine commentators on the web. \u00a0View his columns at www.tasteofwinetv.com . \u00a0Reach him at mangiompc@aol.com. VIVI BENE… ( Live Well )<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What\u2019s in a Name on the Bottle From Calistoga to Carneros, the going has gotten tougher for Napa Valley vineyards and wineries. \u00a0Since the 1880\u2019s the spotlight has been shining on this blessed land of Cabernet Sauvignon, to the point that it has passed the Cabernet homeland of Bordeaux France as the elite world-beating appellation […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":726,"featured_media":242682,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"11560","_seopress_titles_title":"Taste of Wine 05-16-10","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[11560],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-274248","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-la-jolla-village-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/274248","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/726"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=274248"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/274248\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/242682"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=274248"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=274248"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=274248"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}