Pulling The Cork

Pulling The Cork on The Skybar™

By Drew Matich

Late last year, I was supervising the final mix of an “In Plain Sight” episode, and Jack Levy (my amazing sound supervisor and wine partner-in-crime) came bounding into the room with the latest Frontgate (read: cool-but-usually-expensive-and-mostly-unnecessary-household-gadgets) catalog.  He opened to the page showing this new wine contraption, which up to this time I had only seen when I go out.  Curiosity (as well as my early-adopter tendency) was killing me, but the $999 price tag was killing me more.  So I waited.  

Had I known that one would arrive as my first wedding gift after proposing to Sue (see my last article about my Priorat trip), I might’ve proposed sooner.

The skybar™ Wine System is a 3-chamber wine dispenser and preserver.  Think of it as the love child of a Vacu Vin (on steroids) and a soda fountain.  Or a hi-tech keg for wine geeks.  Each of the 3 chambers holds a bottle of wine, and is independently temperature-controllable (anywhere from 45° - 68°F).  At present, I have a San Gimignano Vernaccia in Chamber 1 (chilled to 52°), a Nicholas Cole “Camille” Bordeaux blend in Chamber 2 (62°), and a $10 QPR Alentejo blend from Portugal in Chamber 3 (62°).  Upon uncorking and fitting of an airtight “Bottle Pour Assembly” (essentially an airtight ciphon that slides with the bottle into the mothership), the skybar creates a vacuum in the bottle and chills it to the desired temperature.  The skybar website touts that a bottle can be preserved for up to 10 days.  So far, I can vouch for 6 days; the first bottle I tested was a $15 Bordeaux Superiore, which mellowed very nicely over the 6 days, much as it might have had it been decanted for a few hours.  By the time this bottle coughed out its last few air bubbles on day 6, there wasn’t even a trace of spoilage.

Taste & Talk With Budge Brown of Cleavage Creek - Part 3

Today we conclude our conversation with  Budge Brown of Cleavage Creek wines.  This Taste & Talk with Budge is part of our month long attempt to raise awareness about breast cancer, early detection and how to fight this aweful disease.  After losing his wife Arlene to breast cancer Budge decide to make a difference and donates 10% of the gross sales of his wines to breast cancer research, awareness and in some cases to help cancer patients directly. 

Budge is an amazing man and it is truly an amazing story.  You can catch up by watching part 1 and part 2 of our Taste & Talk with Budge Brown. 

We are going to taste two of Cleavage Creek's wines over the weekend to share with you next week in video tasting notes and over the weekend we are going to share Budge's Story - In His Own Words.  In today's final segment with Budge he shares what we can do to help him make a difference and he gives some practical advice to women and the men who love them if they should find they have breast cancer.

Before we share the video I want to do something I don't normally do.  I want to encourage you to go to Cleavage Creek's website and buy some wine.  Doing so puts you in position to directly help in the fight against breast cancer as Budge gives 10% of the gross to fight breast cancer.  You get something you love and you are helping to make a difference.  It's a win/win situation really.  As of this writing I have not tasted any of Cleavage Creek's wines so I can't tell you directly how good any of them are but how can you go wrong with a winery that has won so many award AND is making such a difference? 

Now, on to the third and final part of our chat with Budge Brown.

Taste & Talk With Budge Brown of Cleavage Creek - Part 2

If you're wondering why we are pink please click here.

It's National Breast Cancer Awaraness Month (NBCAM) and PTC has gone PINK to help raise awareness.  Throughout the month we will also be brining special posts, PTC TV episodes and special Taste & Talk's connecting wine, NBCAM and the fight against breast cancer. 

Today we are sharing the second part of our conversation with  Budge Brown of Cleavage Creek wines.  Budge is a very successful self-made businessman and farmer and, based on what I have learned and read about him, a fascinating man. He enjoyed 48 years of marriage with his wife Arlene.  When she lost her battle with breast cancer in 2005, he was devastated.  Devastation turned to anger.  Anger lead to action.  Budge Brown is mad as hell at breast cancer, and he’s determined to do whatever he can to help find a cure for it.  He doesn’t want what happened in his life to happen to anyone else and Budge agreed to join us on Pulling The Cork’s Taste & Talk so we can share his story to raise awareness about Breast Cancer.  Budge and Cleavage Creek donat 10% of their gross from sale of their wine directly to help raise awareness, help real women who are battling breast cancer and to research to help find a cure. 

In part 1 of our conversation Budge shared a little about his wife Arlene, her fight with breast cancer, his motivation for starting Cleavage Creek and some really great information about the nearly $56,000 he has donated in just two vintages.  Today Budge shares the uniqueness of the Cleavage Creek label which features women cancer survivors as well some information about his vineyards, wine making philosophy and future plans for Cleavage Creek.  Please join us for more of our special Taste & Talk with Budge Brown of Cleavage Creek. 

Taste & Talk With Budge Brown of Cleavage Creek - Part 1

If you're wondering why we are pink please click here.

October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month and last week Pulling The Cork went pink to announce our efforts to raise awareness about breast cancer, encourage regular and routine mammograms and the importance of early detection.  We are doing our small part to raise awareness through many posts, interviews and PTC TV episodes highlighting where wine and the fight to find a cure for this disease intersect. 

As many of you know we have a regular series here at PTC called Taste & Talk where we sit down with wine makers, vineyard managers, winery owners and others connected to the wine business to get the complete picture about the wine that ends up on your table.  Today we begin a very special Taste & Talk conversation with Budge Brown of Cleavage Creek in Pope Valley, California.  Budge is a fascinating and incredible man whose personal experience losing his wife Arlene to breast cancer moved him to act against this ravaging disease.  Today, in part one of our conversation, Budge tells us about his wife Arlene, her battle with breast cancer, what he wants other women (and men) to know about this disease and how he uses his passion for farming and making wine to make significant financial contributions in the fight against breast cancer.  Please join us for this very special Taste & Talk with Budge Brown of Cleavage Creek. 

Taste & Talk 2008 Passaggio Chardonnay

Our Taste & Talk with Cindy Cosco (@passaggio on Twitter) of Passaggio Wines wrapped up yesterday.  It was really a great conversation and very interesting.  If you are interested in getting caught up you can check out Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3.  Trust me, if you missed it you want to check it out.  Cindy is a very interesting person and came to wine making from a unique place. 

I am actually a little bummed we are finished with our chat but Cindy has agreed to let us check in with her as she tends to her 2009 wines.  She is basically going to open up her wine making process to share it with you - the readers of PTC and the watcher of PTC TV.  Should be fun to follow along with her through the process of making her 2009 vintage. 

Today's episode of PTC TV is a review of the 2008 Passaggio Chardonnay.  Cindy is making her Chardonnay in more of a European or French style in that it is unoaked and she doesn't put the wine through malolactic conversion as so many other California Chardonnay makers do.  As always, our complete written tasting note is below the video.  We hope you enjoy this episode of PTC TV!

Please note:  Pulling The Cork received this wine as a sample from Passaggio Wines.

2008 Passaggio New Generation Chardonnay- USA, California, Sonoma
Wine was tasted at 56 degrees.  In the glass it was clear, pale straw in color with some gold toward the edge.  The nose revealed very robust and intense aromas of tropical fruit, grapefruit, green apple, pear and some florals.  The bouquet revealed a hint of minerality.  Overall a pretty complex aroma profile.  The mouthfeel was full bodied which surprised me for a Chardonnay that didn't undergo malolactic conversion.  There was a very lively and bright acidity with flavors of citrus, grapefruit, green apple, Bosc pear, mango and lemon zest with some honeysuckle and minerals underneath the fruit.  A very complex and layered flavor profile that was bursting with fruit.  Very crisp and refreshing.  The finish was moderately long with lingering flavors of green apple, pear, lemon zest and wet stones.  This is a surprisingly excellent wine for $13.00 a bottle.  So European or French in style versus the splinter pulling, butter stick chewing Chardonnays that have become all the fad in California. 

Highly recommend this wine! 50+5+13+18+7=93 pts (click here to learn more about what these number mean)

Taste & Talk With Cindy Cosco Of Passaggio Wines - Part 3

Cindy Cosco (@passaggio on Twitter) of Passaggio Wines is really interesting.  She first became interested in wine making watching her Grandfather make wine in his basement, she came to wine making from a law enforcement background, she gained valuable experience working at Chateau St. Jean, she is the lab manager at Crushpad and she is committed to making a wine that is reflective of her Italian heritage - a wine that goes well with food and family.  Throw in the fact that she is going against the California Chardonnay grain by making an unaoked Chardonnay without malolactic conversion and uses a Zork closure it becomes clear Cindy is unique in all the right ways. 

We spent some time chatting with Cindy for Taste & Talk here at Pulling The Cork and you can catch up with Cindy and our conversation about a wide array of topics by listening to Part 1 and Part 2.  We will be tasting and reviewing her 2008 Chardonnay in a PTC TV episode tomorrow but today we are chatting with Cindy about the reality of being a wine maker, the future of Passaggio including some new varietals, what wine she drinks when she isn't drinking her own, the aspects of her law enforcement background that help her in making wine, what cop shows on TV come close to getting it right and a few other tidbits. 

Taste & Talk With Cindy Cosco of Passaggio Wines - Part 2

Late last week we introduced you to Cindy Cosco, Lab Manager at Crushpad and Owner/Winemaker of Passaggio Wines.  We sat down with Cindy as part of our Taste & Talk series and in the first part of our conversation she shared how she became interested in making wine, her background in law enforcement in Virginia, making wine with her grandfather, her role at Crushpad, the origins of the Passaggio brand as well as her use of a Zork.

Today we're sharing the next part of our conversation with Cindy and she is talking about her wine making philosophy, her thoughts and feelings about making an unoaked non-malolactic processed Chardonnay, the vineyard source for her grapes and her embracement and use of social media.  In our next episode of PTC TV we will be tasting and reviewing her 2008 Chardonnay but before we get to actually drinking wine let's sit back and enjoy the second part of our chat with Cindy. 

Taste & Talk 2007 Seven Artisans Petite Sirah

We hope you have enjoyed our first Taste & Talk with Jeff Miller of Artisan Family of Wines.  Part 1, Part 2,  Part 3 and Part 4 of the interview can be found by clicking on each of the links and so far we have reviewed the 2008 Red Côte Rosé, 2005 Sly Dog Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon and the 2006 Seven Artisans Meritage.

We are now down to the fourth and final wine from Jeff and Artisan and today's episode of PTC TV is a review of the 2007 Seven Artisans Petite Sirah.  The video tasting note below includes some comments from Jeff about the vineyard where he grew the Petite Sirah, his approach to crafting this wine and some thoughts on the tannin and alcohol components of the wine.  The wine is 100% Petite Sirah, 14.9% ABV and there were 475 cases produced. 

As always the written tasting notes (taken over two days of tasting) are below.  We decanted the wine for 2 hours before the video tasting.

Please note:  Pulling The Cork received this wine as a sample from Artisan Family of Wines.

2007 Seven Artisans Petite Sirah - USA, California, North Coast, Suisun Valley
Decanted for 2 hours.  100% Petite Sirah.  14.9% ABV.  Very deep, dense and intense blue/purple and the color only diminished slightly as it got to the edge.  The nose was huge and intense with aromas of ripe blackberry, plum, blueberry and a touch of rose petals.  The bouquet was fresh ground black pepper, cinnamon and a hint of sage.  A pretty complex nose.  In the mouth this was full bodied and chewy with very firm and big tannins.  The tannins were very pronounced and typically mpoyh drying for Petite Sirah.  There was some good acidity which, if you aren't paying attention, could get overlooked behind the tannins - but the acidity is there. The flavor profile was ripe dark cherries, blackberry, plum, blueberry and briar patch with more black pepper, sage and some clove.  The finish was long with the 14.9% alcohol almost completely masked behind the fruit and spice.  Blacberry, plum, black pepper and cinnamon lingered. 

Day 2 - Now open for 24 hours, the aroma and bouquet were the same as Day 1 and almost as intense.  The flavor profile was the same with the fruit coming much more to front and becoming a bit more lush.  The big tannins were still very present but a bit more soft and playing in better harmony with the acidity and flavors than the previous day.  Still very full bodied with a long finish.

A complex wine that is spot on correct for the varietal with the acidity and tannin structure to age well for 10-20 years.  The big tannins may scare some off and this wine is not for everyone but for $17.99 this is another good value from Artisan Family of Wines.  Highly recommended! 50+5+13+17+8=93 pts (click here to learn more about what these number mean)

Taste & Talk With Cindy Cosco of Passaggio Wines - Part 1

Our Taste & Talk series got off to a great start with Jeff Miller of Artisan Family of Wines.  We wrapped that up last week (though we still have one more wine from Jeff to review) and we are moving on to our next conversation.

Today we are sharing the first part of our conversation with Cindy Cosco (@passaggio on Twitter) of Passaggio Wines.  Cindy is the Lab Manager at Crushpad, a custom crush facility in San Francisco, and started Passaggio Wines in 2007 with her first release of an unoaked Chardonnay.  Her most recent release is the 2008 version of unoaked Chardonnay which we will be tasting and reviewing in an upcoming episode of PTC TV and Cindy has plans to make some other varietals in the very near future, including a Pinot Grigio in 2009.

In the first part of our conversation Cindy shares a little about her background (she comes to wine from a very interesting place), making wine with her grandfather in the basement of his house as inspiration for becoming a wine maker, her role at Crushpad, the origins of the Passaggio brand and how it relates to her Italian heritage and her reasons for going with a new and innovative closure for her wines.  Today's episode and conversation with Cindy is really interesting so sit back, pour a glass of Chardonnay (preferrably Passaggio) and enjoy!

How To Taste & Talk Wine - What's The Score?

Sad to say it but this is the final episode of our How To Taste & Talk Wine series.  The series was meant to provide information on how to taste wine, the technique to taste wine, how to think about tasting wine and how to convert all the information gathered from that process into a detailed and informative tasting note. 

Today we are talking about how to score a wine.  It is pretty hard to find a wine on a retailers shelf, local wine store or online wine store that does not have a number attached to it from some wine critic or wine reviewer.  Most consumers really have no clue what those numbers actually mean other than the closer to 100 points, the 100 point scale being the most common, the better the wine should be - in theory at least. 

At PTC we use the 100 point scale because it is the most common and, in our humble opinion, the best way to convert What You See, What You Smell, What You Taste and The Big Finish/Overall Impressions of wine into a numerical score.  You can read about our scoring and tasting note approach here after you watch today's episode in order to put it into better context. 

We hope you enjoyed the How To Taste & Talk Wine series.  Take a look at the last episode on how to score a wine!