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.

Monday, December 19, 2011

La Crema

I've mentioned that I have a preference for Pinot Noirs.  There are many good Pinots out there and some really good producers, but by my experience to date, I'd have to say that La Crema is Pinot Mecca.  I've been a member of their wine club for a couple of years now, visit their Healdsburg tasting room regularly, and have yet to be disappointed. 

I've talked with friends about our favorite Pinots and occasionally one will react to my listing La Crema as my favorite with praise for their Sonoma Coast Pinot ($24) that one can find at most retailers.  Truly, it is a wonderful wine, as is the Sonoma Coast Chardonnay ($22) that is widely available.  When I ask if they've been to the Healdsburg tasting room and sampled their other wines, they always say "no", not unexpectedly.  If they'd tasted the other Pinots available through the tasting room, the Sonoma Coast Pinot would not have been the first wine they talked about.

In addition to the Sonoma Coast pair, La Crema produces Pinot Noir and Chardonnay pairs from the Los Carneros and Russian River regions.  They also have a pair labeled "9 Barrels" from the Russian River region made from the best nine barrels from a given year that most closely represent the characteristics of that year and growing region.  9 Barrels is La Crema's top-of-the-line, and a lofty one it is.

Since this site makes recommendations about wines that I like at a particular winery, let's start by saying that I like everything that I've tasted at La Crema.  All of the Pinots are wonderful, as are all of the Chardonnays.  Their Chardonnays, however, have some slightly different characteristics, which make some wine drinkers prefer one over another.  I like them all, personally, but my sweetie, the buttery/creamy lover, prefers the Los Carneros (2008 retails for $30).  She did like the 9 Barrels from the last vintage, too (which is sold out now...the 2009 vintage will be released in February 2012).  The appellation series Chardonnays are a larger production wine (2000 cases of the Los Carneros, 5000 cases of the Russian River, compared to 225 cases of the 9 Barrels) and can occasionally be found at local retail outlets (San Francisco area).


Melissa Stackhouse, La Crema's winemaker, says of the Los Carneros Chardonnay, “The aromas and flavors of this release convey a pure expression of the Los Carneros terroir. Look for bright lemon zest and subtle clove, layered with caramel and nougat tones. Fresh flavors of melon and apricot are enveloped by a juicy mid-palate, with an intriguing interplay of oak spice and minerality on the finish. The texture is very concentrated, yet supple and balanced.”  Winemaker notes on the other wines can be found on La Crema's website at http://www.lacrema.com/. 

Of the Pinots, again the 2008 Los Carneros ($40) is a great choice, but the 2010 Russian River ($40) is as well, and La Crema has an 2009 Anderson Valley Pinot ($50) that is the equal of the other two, if not better.  Again, production levels are relatively high (1900 cases of the Los Carneros, 5800 cases of the Russian River, and 2700 cases of the Anderson Valley), and they can occassionally be found at local retail outlets.  La Crema also has a limited production Pinot called Shell Ridge ($50).  They produced 372 cases of the 2009 Shell Ridge, which is available only through the tasting room store.  The 9 Barrel Pinot is wonderful, but at $90 a bottle I typically have to settle for the Los Carneros or Russian River, if that can be considered settling.

The La Crema website also has other varietals available, a Viognier, a Pinot Rose (the 2010 is sold out...keep an eye out for the 2011), a Riesling, a Pinot Gris, and a Syrah, each of which are worth buying if you have a preference for one of those varietals.

The La Crema tasting room is located at 235 Healdsburg Ave,
Healdsburg, CA just a couple of door down from the Healdsburg Bar and Grill and very close to the square.  It is worth a visit just to taste the wines, but a stroll through the town is also enjoyable. 

You have a choice with the La Crema wine club, mixed, reds only, or whites only.  They ship three bottles, four times a year.  Average cost per shipment is between $70 and $110.  Members get a 20 percent discount on wine purchases (except 9 Barrels where a 15 percent discount applies) and 25 percent discount of purchases of a case or more.  Tasting are free to members and their guests.
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Location: Healdsburg, CA 95448, USA

1 comment:

  1. UnknownJanuary 28, 2013 at 10:29 AM

    Lot's of great La Crema related info in your post. I recently tried the 2011 Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir and loved it. I can only imagine how good the others must be. The Sonoma is easy to find out here in Connecticut. I'll have to keep my eyes out for the others.

    Cheers!

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