2020 Revisit Wine Co. Spring Shipment

Greetings members and subscribers! We are pleased to bring you another offering of amazing boutique wines from the Central Coast. We are honored to be able to find hidden gems just for you, and it is so rewarding to learn more with every experience. If you have any favorites from previous shipments and want to “revisit” them, just let us know – we still have a few in stock!

Reminder – if you are looking for a great thank-you gift for your business clients, we can put together a nice wine package for you!

Grimm’s Bluff 2015 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon
• Owner: Rick Grimm
• Winemaker: Paul Lato
• Happy Canyon AVA

Grimm’s Bluff 2016 Reserve Sauvignon Blanc

• Owner: Rick Grimm
• Winemaker: Paul Lato
• Happy Canyon AVA

Flying Goat 2013 Pinot Noir, Bassi Ranch Vineyard
• Owner: Norm Yost and Kate Griffith
• Winemaker: Norm Yost
• San Luis Obispo AVA

Happy Canyon is an up and coming AVA in Santa Barbara County. You may remember our Fall 2019 Shipment of Grassini Vineyard? We heard so much great feedback from you about those wines that we decided to feature a neighbor of theirs, Grimm’s Bluff! We were lucky enough to spend a few hours with Rick Grimm and Jeff Chaney out at the breathtaking ranch (just check out the photos!) So many things about this vineyard impressed us. The Grimms bought a beautiful piece of land and wanted to do everything top-notch. They have a top French biodynamic consultant, Phillipe Coderey, who not only ensures that their grapes are planted to perfection, but also helped them create an organic, certified biodynamic estate vineyard, with no chemicals used on their vines. I’ll explain more about this in a future blog post. They also hired Paul Lato as their winemaker, who has a stellar reputation in California winemaking. You can really see, smell, and taste this attention to detail in these wonderful wines. They are still very small production, so we were really lucky to get these for you.

The Estate Cabernet Sauvignon received 92 pts. from Matt Kettemen, who specializes in Central Coast wines at Wine Enthusiast. His tasting notes: “Rich but subtle aromas of red fruit are lifted by ample baking spice and a rocky minerality on the nose of this bottling. There is solid grip to the sip, where more lush purple and red-fruit flavors meet with touches of crushed graphite, roasted coffee bean and fine oak. Chalky tannins carry into the finish.”

Winemaker Notes on the 2016 Sauvignon Blanc: “Light straw yellow with a greenish hue. Now is complex and nuanced, with notes of grapefruit, melon, and gooseberry. Evolving after a little time in the glass, it is clean, refreshing and delicious on the palate. The wine is fine and complex, with gentle notes of lemon grass, lime zest and a touch of flintiness. The wine finishes clean and long, asking you to have another sip.”

Our third wine features a producer from the Lompoc Wine Ghetto. Have you heard of it? Lompoc is of course home to the famous Sta. Rita Hills, and the “Ghetto” is an industrial park full of great winery tasting rooms! Many of these are very small producers you will not have heard of.

One of these special producers is Flying Goat Cellars. Flying Goat specializes in Pinot Noir and Sparkling Wine (sparkling wine is rare in Santa Barbara!) and when a winery puts all their efforts into just a couple varietals, the result is delicious! Norm Yost is one of the pioneers of Sta. Rita Hills winemaking, launching Flying Goat Cellars in 2000. Norm sources his grapes from a variety of excellent vineyards to create many different Pinots. The grapes for this wine were sourced from Bassi Ranch Vineyard near Avila Beach in San Luis Obispo County, where the coastal climate and conditions are very similar to the Sta. Rita Hills. We found this wine to have a delicious balance of smooth, rich fruit with gentle tannins and some nice complexity. For food pairing, Norm suggests, “The texture with layers of this wine pairs well with pork and a Pinot reduction sauce or turkey with homemade cranberry sauce. Enjoy the flavors that linger on the palate with this full-bodied wine.”

Thank you for your support, and we wish you the best in 2020!

Cheers! Mike and Mary

2019 Fall Shipment - Rare Opportunity

Greetings members and subscribers! We hope that you have had a wonderful summer and enjoyed some delicious wines! We’ve been hard at work figuring out our Fall shipment and have some amazing selections for you. We’re working on some great info for you, including a “Locals’ Guide to Wine-Tasting in the Santa Ynez Valley” which you will all receive when it is complete. If there is any other wine-related topic you’re interested in, let us know – we are here as a resource for you!

Reminders – If you would like to buy a particular wine varietal from us outside of our club shipments, let us know and we’ll see if we can source a great wine at a value for you!

Grassini Family Sauvignon Blanc
• Owner: Grassini Family, Winemaker: Bradley Long
• Happy Canyon AVA
Grassini Family 2015 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon
• Owner: Grassini Family, Winemaker: Bradley Long
• Happy Canyon AVA
Lumen Wines 2015 Pinot Noir – Santa Barbara County
• Owners: Lane Tanner/Will Henry; Winemaker: Lane Tanner
• Sierra Madre Vineyard (61%), Santa Maria Valley (39%)

We are honored that two renown families in Santa Barbara have partnered with us to bring you fabulous wines for the Fall Season. The first is the Grassini Family – and it is a true family business. The Grassini Vineyard and Winery is one of the most beautiful settings in the County, with acres of vineyards, a pond and a world-class wine facility. Although they are probably best known for their Happy Canyon Sauvignon Blanc, they generously offered to share their Reserve SB with Revisit Wine Club members. Happy Canyon is an up-and-coming AVA for Cab – it is one of the few places that gets hot enough to ripen Cabernet grapes – and the Grassinis were one of the first to realize the potential. Bradley Long, winemaker, came to Grassini after spending time at Nickel & Nickel and Fantesca in Napa Valley.

• Winemaker Notes: The Grassini 2016 Reserve Sauvignon Blanc matured for in a combination of new and neutral French Oak. The bright acid helps showcase flavors of pineapple and stone fruit, which are varietally "Sauvignon Blanc," while the barrel aging adds complexities of caramel and toasted coconut. The finish is soft and round, yet clean and refreshing, inviting another sip. While the oak influence is subtler in this 2016 Reserve Sauvignon Blanc than in previous vintages, the signature notes of crème brûlée will still shine through. 406 cases produced.

• Estate Cabernet Sauvignon Winemaker Notes: Bold, balanced and refined, this wine opens with aromas of dark fruit, cinnamon, and green tea, followed by a touch of smoke and espresso. Notes of blackberry and black currant greet the palate, along with a hint of cocoa. Flavors of rich dark chocolate, caramel, and vanilla are prominent in the smooth, lingering finish. 690 cases produced. 93 Points, Antonio Galloni, Vinous.

We also have the great pleasure of meeting and working with Lane Tanner, aka the “Czarina” of Santa Barbara County Pinot Noir. Lane started making wine in SBC in and has worked with a number of wineries before focusing on her own label, Lumen Wines. She co-owns the label with Will Henry, who is also well know in the wine business with his restaurant “Pico” in Los Alamos, and his wine business, “Henry Wine Group”. Lane specializes in handcrafted Pinot Noir and carefully selects her grapes from the best certified sustainably-farmed and biodynamic vineyards in the area, using the minimal amount of sulfites possible. They also pick their grapes earlier in the harvest season, resulting in wine that is livelier on the palate, deeper in complexity, and lower in alcohol. We have so enjoyed getting to know Lane and her husband Riki (winemaker, Labyrinth Wines). Note: 1% of Lumen Wine sales are donated to environmental causes.

Winemaker Tasting Notes: Wonderfully vibrant and energetic, with penetrating raspberry and rose petal on the nose, followed by undulating flavors of strawberry, thyme and sandalwood on the palate – all wrapped in a firm yet velvety texture. Long, vibrant finish with lingering fruit and minerality, accented by cardamom and anise notes. Well-matched with any wild game, salmon or bird dish, with power enough to cut through any hot curry or Szechuan fare. 1300 cases produced.

Cheers!
Mike and Mary

Center of Effort Tasting with Nathan Carlson

After enjoying Center of Effort wines a few times, we decided to schedule a tasting with winemaker Nathan Carlson, who has been making wine in the area for many years. Center of Effort is located in the beautiful Edna Valley. If you’ve never visited the Edna Valley before, we highly recommend it! It’s a laid-back hidden gem just east of San Luis Obispo with rolling hills and a small number of wineries throughout. After many years of operating in a small facility, the COE facility is undergoing major reconstruction and the new tasting room and hospitality center look to be amazing. In the meantime, we met Nathan to taste wines where the action is (which we like) – the warehouse where we saw many barrels and also those concrete “egg-like” vessels which are becoming popular.

Per Nathan, the “Center of Effort” wines are created from the best locations, blocks, and lots in the vineyard. To expand their line, COE has recently launched another label titled, “Effort” which are also excellent wines but at a lower price point. Stylistically, Effort wines exhibit a more approachable, fruit-forward style, bringing diversity and dimension to our portfolio. We started our tasting with a 2017 beautiful light peach colored dry rose’ of Pinot Noir followed by:

2016 Effort Chardonnay: Notes of citrus and nice minerality with bright acidity. Fermented by native yeast and aged in new French oak barrels. A great deal for $24/bottle. We took a bottle of this home.

2014 Center of Effort Chardonnay: A refreshing mineral note joins with notes of pineapple and guava. Fermented in 30% new French Oak, concrete, and acacia wood vessels. Interesting things to note: acacia wood barrels – never heard of this before! Does add an interesting flavor.

2016 Effort Pinot Noir: Per Nathan, this wine uses the best of COE’s blocks and barrels. A recent review by Matt Ketterman, Wine Enthusiast, described the wine as having baked black cherry, vanilla, raspberry, rose petals and a touch of licorice light up the nose. The lightly poised but intensely focused sip reveals a wild combo of fruit and spice, with sage, bay leaf, thyme and fennel laced through black cherry. It’s like walking through the Central Coast scrubland. We took a bottle of this home with us. It’s a great deal for $27.

2013 Center of Effort Pinot Noir: This wine includes 15% whole clusters per Nathan. For more info on “whole cluster fermentation” click here for a Wine Spectator article. Tasting notes from Nathan have this wine showcasing a classic Pinot Noir nose of orange peel and Montmorency cherries, this wine expresses the land in which our vineyard lies. The palate is mid-weight with ripe plum, cocoa dust, and a balancing freshness. Earthy notes of new leather and faint campfire lead to a lengthy finish.

Nathan is a very down-to-earth winemaker who made the tasting experience comfortable and informative. He is also working on bringing some Rhone varietals to the COE portfolio.Other great wineries to try in the Edna Valley include Kynsi (fantastic Pinot Noir), Chamisal – beautiful scenery. Talley has a beautiful estate with a grassy area for groups and kids, and an outdoor tasting area, in addition to a farmer’s market.

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It’s Stormy in the Santa Maria Valley…

STORM WINES

As we search for special wines to bring to our club members, we ran into Ernst Storm and his family at a Los Olivos community function.  We struck up a conversation and arranged for a visit to his winemaking facility near Presqu’ile Winery to learn more about Storm Wines.  Upon arrival, we were warmly greeted by his boxer, Jake, who we’re told also has a passion for wine.  Ernst was kind enough to spend time with us tasting through a number of wines.  What struck me is, as with many other winemakers in the Santa Ynez Valley, his authentic style, both personally and in his winemaking.  There is no BS here…the focus is on selecting great vineyards, guiding the process, and letting the grapes shine.  Of course, his Sauvignon Blanc is well-known and a favorite in the area, with refreshing citrus and acidity.  We also had the opportunity to taste the very limited production Grenache Rose’, an excellent dry wine from Demetria vineyard, and a series of excellent Pinot Noirs:  the SBC Pinot, The Presqu’ile Vineyard Pinot, the John Sebastiano Vineyard Pinot, and my personal favorite, the Duvarita Pinot, made with three Dijon clones.  Duvarita is a small, family-run vineyard in Lompoc off La Purisma Road, known for biodynamic farming practices.  The balance of fruit with earthy undertones was excellent.  We finished with the Slide Hill cool-climate Syrah from Edna Valley, which is owned by the same folks as the Duvarita Vineyard.  We’re really enjoying the cool climate Syrahs that we’re seeing in the area, such as this one, which was very well-balanced with dark fruit, dried herbs, and pepper.

We look forward to featuring Storm Wines in an upcoming Club shipment soon! For more information, please see www.stormwines.com