Tight Squeeze: Wally's Napa/Sonoma All-Stars Draws Throng

Well, so much for the notion that wine-tasting is just for the elite (not that it should be).  Or the image of folks swirling their glasses and discussing a wine's virtues in hushed tones.  Sunday's annual event in Wally's tented north parking lot was more like a rave or a fraternity party: it was so loud and crowded, it was hard to talk with the winemakers or to even get to some of the wines.  So, a tremendous success from Wally's standpoint, but not the venue to appreciate wine-tasting.

It's a shame, because Wally's generally does a fine job with its major events and its $10 weekly Saturday in-store tastings (a very good place to schmooze with the winemakers or reps).  I've long been a fan of Wally's Central Coast Wine and Food Celebration and silent auction, which annually benefits the Michael Bonaccorsi scholarship fund that honors the Santa Ynex vintner and master sommelier who was felled by a heart attack in 2004 at age 43.  Of course, that event costs more ($125 versus $40 for the All-Stars), but includes great food; past events have featured Comme ça, Lucques, A.O.C., Tavern, Spago Beverly Hills, CUT, Bouchon, Osteria & Pizzeria Mozza, The Hitching Post, Artisan, Brothers' Restaurant at Mattei's Tavern, The Ballard Inn Restaurant and Jar.  At right is a list of other great wine events.  But I digress.

The All-Stars event included no food, other than two Cowgirl Creamery cheeses feverishly being doled out on crackers and bread snipets.  But there were plenty of pricey Cabernets, featuring Caymus, Chappellet, Chateau Montelena (of Bottle Shock fame), Far Niente, Gemstone, Kristine Ashe, Nickel & Nickel, O'Shaughnessy, Oakville Terraces, along with Joseph Phelp's Insignia and Pahlmeyer's Napa Valley Red (which are both mostly Cab).  But, I'm not a big Cab fan, or a fan of big Cabs; my palate may not be sophisticated enough, and my wallet certainly isn't.

So, given the crowd and the Cab, what did I like?  Well, there were a few other varietals, I met some nice people once it thinned out and we could talk.  And I learned a few things.  First, wine is becoming very international.  Even though this was the Napa/Sonoma All-Stars, I met the new winemaker for Lynmar Estate (Russian River, Sonoma), the very charming Bibiana Gonzalez Rave, who is from Columbia.  Lynmar, with a gorgeous tasting room and setting, does it right, setting out four separate stemware for their two Chardonnays and two Pinot Noirs.  It was here where my wife was converted into a Chardonnay drinker, because Lynmar's are unoaked and let the fruit come through.  You should visit them.  Strangely, it had been difficult to find their wines in local wine stores (we bought ours from New York - nice carbon footprint), but distributor Marco Campo from Chambers & Chambers assured me that he would address the issue.

Newton Vineyards The Puzzle (primarily a Cab/Merlot blend) was another example of the globalization of wine.  Poured by the dazzling Jeridan, this smooth, mouth-filling wine ($90, on sale for $80) is out of my league, but is part of the Moet Hennessey conglomerate.  Jeridan remembered me from Wally's Tent Sale where she was pouring Moet's Clos Apalta from Chile's Lapostolle Winery ($75, a Carmenere/Cab blend) that has earned very high scores from Wine Spectator.  What I found particularly intriguing, though, was that Moet owns wines from Argentina, Australia, New Zealand, Spain, as well as Chile and California (notably Chandon).  In fact, the cover of its 2011 Winemaker Tour handbook displays a map of the world.  French wine-making practices have borne great results in South America.  So much for small winemakers.

Orrin Swift's The Prisoner (a surprising Zin/Cab/Syrah-blend, $35, on sale for $31.50) has cult status, renowned for its bold, fruit-forward taste and catchy label, which features an etching by the artist Goya that the winemaker received from his parents as a teenager.    It is the creation of a (still) young man who was trying to figure out what to do in life (aren't we all?), and worked his way up from the bottom as a vineyard worker and intern at Robert Mondavi Winery.  Bit of trivea: the winemaker's name is David Phinney, not Orrin Swift (which is a combination of his parents' names).  Great story.  It gets a bit confusing, though, because as of the 2009 vintage, The Prisoner and Saldo (a mostly Zin blend, $28) is now owned by a small conglomerate, Huneeus Vintners, which also owns Quintessa in Napa Valley, Flowers (nice Pinot and Chard) in Sonoma Valley and Veramonte in Chile.  "Even though it was a sale, it's more of a collaboration," said Phinney, who plans to maintain control of production and winemaking. "It's two family-run businesses joining together."  This will give David access to a larger sales organization and someone with experience with big brands, as he continues to produce other wines under the Orrin Swift label.  Small guy goes bigger; hope the quality remains. 
       
Iron Horse small,is  independent, estate, family owned winery from Sonoma's Green Valley known for its mid-priced sparkling wines as well as its Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs.  Jennifer Hallock, its sales manager, was pouring two sparkling wines that was favored by some repeat revellers, its Pinot Noir-based Wedding Cuvee ($30, on sale for $27) and its Chardonnay-based Ocean Reserve ($40, on sale for $33).  Ocean Reserve is a special, limited edition sparkler created in partnership with National Geographic to benefit the ocean. For every bottle you purchase, Iron Horse will donate $4 to establish marine protected areas and reduce overfishing around the world.  Nice touch.

I'm not sure I'll make the Napa/Sonoma All-Stars event next year, unless Walley's finds a way to spread out the crowd (Hint: I know an event organizer who can help).  But, I hope you got a sense of what it was like, and if you don't mind crowds, love Cabs, then mark your calendar for next year.