Welcome to the Wine Buying Guide

As a wine enthusiast living in the San Francisco Bay area, I have the luxury of being able to head off to local wineries at a moments notice to taste or buy wines. As a result, my wine collection is a mixture of wine club offerings and limited release wines that I've picked up at the wineries and are usually available only at those wineries. I realize, however, that not everyone has that opportunity. Their source of wines is typically the local grocery or package store where they either buy an old standard, look for a recommended wine, or employ a hit or miss strategy for trying new wines. With the growth of the internet, online wine purchasing opportunities are now plentiful. The question, though, is what to buy. Yes, just about all of the wineries now offer their products through internet sales, but which of those wines are worth the effort and shipping costs? This blog is dedicated to providing information for wine lovers to assist them in their online buying decisions. As I visit local wineries, I will relate my findings through the blog to give readers an idea of what wines I find that I'd recommend to others. These are usually wines that I buy myself, or wish I could buy if I had an unlimited budget for wine purchases. Each entry will provide information about the location of the winery, varietals with which the winery specializes, the costs of the wines, website links, and my own recommendations. If they have had their wines rated by some of the better known reviewers, such as Robert Parker, I will mention that also, as well as the winery's own tasting notes, if they are particularly helpful or entertaining. To give you a sense of my tastes, I tend toward Pinot Noirs and Zinfandels. I've run across numerous other varietals that I enjoy, but I'm always particularly interested in Pinots and Zins. A good Cabernet Sauvigon or Chardonnay hits the spot, too. Favorites include Kunde Century Vines Zinfandel, Sonoma-Cutrer The Cutrer Chardonnay, La Crema Anderson Valley Pinot Noir, and Valley of the Moon Old Vine Zin. The trouble here is, unless you've visited the winery, you've probably not tasted these wines. There are many wonderful, small production wines out there and I hope to pass on my favorites through this forum.

Thursday, December 15, 2011

Cinnabar Winery

I don't know why it took me over a year of hanging around Saratoga before I finally visited the Cinnabar tasting room.  I'm sure I didn't expect what I found there.  The tasting room is located at 14612 Big Basin Way in downtown Saratoga (see the map link at the bottom of the post).  I've driven by there on the way up to the Santa Cruz Mountains at least twice a month for the past year.  I've never heard much about their wines from my friends, though, so I must have figured the stop wasn't going to be worth the effort.  Boy was I wrong.

I stopped in one free Friday afternoon on a whim, killing time until the evening.  The latest wine club shipment had recently been announced, so the tasting room was moderately busy.  The tasting started with their Mercury Rising Blanc, moved to the Santa Cruz Chardonnay, then through the reds and their late harvest wines.  Not only was there nothing in the tasting that I didn't like, most of it was very good.  So good, in fact, that I joined their wine club, the Alchemist Wine Society, on the spot.

Cinnabar is the ore from which mercury is derived.  Back in the "days of yore", the alchemists were attempting to create gold and silver by fiddling aorund with mercury.  That or finding the secret of eternal life (see Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone), in either case, neither succeeded.  The effort did provide a font of cool names of which Cinnabar Winery is taking advantage.  Case in point, the flagship of the latest shipment is a Dry Creek Zinfandel blend called Sorcerer's Stone.  Or maybe the Petit Verdot was the flagship, I can't decide, since both were fabulous.  Both wines are limited production wines and looking at their website now, I can't find either available for purchase online.

So let's talk about some of their wines that are available online and worth the effort to have sent your way.  The 2009 Santa Cruz Chardonnay ($30) is not quite the creamy/buttery Chard that my sweetie prefers, but she did find it to her tastes.  Here's what Cinnabar's website says, "This excellent Santa Cruz Mountains expression of classic chardonnay offers ripe pear and apple, combined with hints of citrus zest and sweet toasty oak, fill the nose of this wine. The palate begins with a touch of pineapple before moving into green apple and a creamy lemon curd with flashes of white pepper. During the finish, the lemon curd slowly drops away to let the green apple and vanilla peek through." 

The 2010 Mercury Rising Blanc ($20), a Sauvignon Blanc-based blend, is bright and fruity.  The website says, "Small lots were fermented in 50/50 stainless steel and oak barrels to accentuate the fresh-fruit qualities. Aromas of lime and gooseberry with flavors of lively melon and grapefruit make it a great choice for special occasions as well as every day enjoyment."

The 2008 Mercury Rising ($21) is a bordeaux blend which received 90 points from Wine Enthusiast magazine and was an Editor's Choice.  The website says, "Aromas of ripe black cherry, tobacco, black licorice and vanilla ready the palate for flavors of black fruit with nuances of smoky toasted oak. Creamy texture, medium-to-full bodied, fine grained tannins, finishing long with fruit, mocha and sweet oak."

My favorite, aside from the two in the wine club shipment, was the 2008 Santa Lucia Highland Pinot Noir ($42).  The Santa Lucia Highlands is quickly becoming my favorite growing region.  I've had a number of wonderful Pinots from the area and this one ranks right up there with the best.  Their description is, "Staying true to its noble ancestry, this pinot unfolds with fragrances of black cherry, raspberry, leather, lavender and smoke. It shows ripe dark fruit up front, grilled meat and sweet vanilla on the mid-palate, and a long finish of berries, minerals and toasted oak. All are supported by a structure of balanced acidity and rounded tannins."  When I go back, if the Sorcerer's Stone and Petit Verdot are sold out, this is the one I'll buy (again).

Subsequant purchases of their wine club releases are available to wine club members at 30 percent off.  Just for the record, when I go back, which will be soon, if the Sorcerer's Stone is still available, I will be buying more.  I've visited twice since I joined and bought an additional bottle both times, along with other purchases.

The Alchemist Wine Society ships two, four, six, or twelve bottles (your choice) in the odd numbered months (January, March, etc.).  Members receive a 20, 25, or 30 percent discount on wine purchases, depending on the level of your commitment, and a 20 percent discount on non-wine items.  Their website is http://cinnabarwine.com/ and tasting room hours are 11 am to 5 pm daily.  They also have a wine bar (The MUDD ROOM) that is open Fridays and Saturdays 5 pm to 8 pm with wine available by the bottle or glass and live entertainment Fridays 5:30 to 7:00.

The tasting room is easy to get to and well worth the stop if you are in the area.  Don't let a whole year go by before you drop in.
Posted by at
Labels: , , , , , ,
Location: Saratoga, CA, USA

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)