“Gotta get off, gonna get, have to get … “
We hadn’t hit the Sonoma Valley in a while; that’s the wine region north of the actual city of Sonoma, and south of Santa Rosa, the gateway to Dry Creek and Healdsburg.
Kathy had a couple of things going on: It was the wine club release party at Cline, farther south of the Valley; but it was also the perfect opportunity to use our livingsocial coupon for a seven-course food and wine pairing up at the Mayo Family Winery Reserve Tasting Room in Kenwood, CA. We passed Cline on our way up Sonoma Highway 12, on our way to an elegant luncheon of small bites and complementary wines.
We actually arrived in town, courtesy the Lisa Marie, about 35 minutes before our reservation at Mayo, so we thought we’d stop in at Kenwood Vineyards’ tasting room a mere block (a “block” being relative in wine country). We hadn’t been here since we’d lived in San Francisco 14 years ago. Kenwood has big distribution, but I was not prepared for the efficiency at the tasting room, nice pricing and downright tastiness of the juice. I’m sure that you’ve seen the label on Safeway shelves worldwide, even the austere “Jack London” stenciled bottlings of the Kenwood portfolio. Turns out that a good part of the Kenwood vineyard holdings include a nice parcel of author London’s original ranch (the rest is a Cali state park), where the man behind “The Call of the Wild” and “White Fang” chilled to raise pigs (!), grow wine grapes, drink and maybe even scribble a few words.
Even without Kathy’s 20-pound-bond-printed-Inkjet-coupon offering free tastings for two as well as a 20% discount on any purchases, the return to Kenwood with the attentive tasting room service would have been a true highlight of the day. As Fang might have howled, “Arooooooo!”
On to lunch at Mayo, served by Executive Chef Clayton Lewis himself in a casual room with high chairs and elegant victuals on small plates, including a duck scaloppini with mushroom stuffing paired with a Valley Pinot Noir and a funky take on pot roast using beef cheek nestled in a potato “cupcake” served up with a regional Meritage comprising Cabs Sauv and Franc with Merlot.
A swell-egant lunch, replete with informative descriptors from chef, and, in addition, the livingsocial voucher offered us 30% on wine purchases. A Russian River Zin from the Ricci Vineyard? Fang howled an extra 10% yesterday afternoon, I gots to say.
So, Kath and I head back down 12 toward the Cline club release clambake, and, having another freebie printout tasting coupon for Valley of the Moon Winery (another joint we hadn’t visited since their new tasting facility was just under construction over a decade ago), we thought we’d stop in for a quickie.
The Imperfect Storm: three very nice folks behind the tasting bar who couldn’t seem to multitask pouring and retail (15 people along the rail seemed to flummox the trio; our genial original server abdicated to another, then she later ran her outstretched finger along the bar as if to silently ask, “Who needs a pour?” The digit smoothly passed our two empty glasses.) Additionally, two of the three behind the stick had been following different tasting rules; apparently one had been counting pours of the “Valentine’s Special Pricing” wines as part of the five complimentary tastes; the other was pouring them free as bonuses. Then, on our side of the bar, we had tasting room boors on the left and the right. You know what I rail about: These couples had plenty of space on either side of them; we just wanted a slice of the middle. Chick on the right reluctantly took her purse off the bar for Kathy; dude on my left was totally oblivious as I slithered in.
Dude-plus-one on my left finally left to ogle tasting room merch, enabling us to stretch ourselves out an extra elbow-width. Homes was replaced by another couple, the male of which was the most stereotypically obnoxious belly-up-to-the bar mofo I’d seen in a long time.
Now, we were surprised to see a couple of offerings on the shelves: Lake Sonoma Vineyards selections; and a Korbel private label brandy (retailing for $150!). When Homes bellied up proclaiming that he was a Kenwood club member entitled to free Valley of the Moon tastings, this particular vinous universe was unfolding as it, uh, did.
Kenwood, Valley of the Moon, Lake Sonoma Vineyards, hell, even Korbel have formed an unholy tasting room alliance, I guess. Like we’ve always said: The wine is one thing, but the tasting room staff makes it “your” winery.
Always thought that Korbel was cheapee sparkling; Kath and I had previously done a tasting at the winery and found out that Korbel has various bottlings that you will never find anywhere, one of which was served at a state function at the White House. It put Korbel in a new perspective for us, even though one can only seem to find the plonk at retail.
As for Kenwood, I don’t want to know if Jack London was loaded when he was pounding out “The Iron Heel,” but I’m proud to have tasted a bit of stuff from his joint. As noted, juice, staff and price was aces.
Valley of the Moon? Kath and I decided to blast off from that crater. Coupon offered a comp tasting and 20% off any purchase. Now, we always buy (“If things get hairy, you can always bail with a white” ™©) but, this time, we had no compunction to use the freebie coupon and not use the discount. Yep, we Moon walked. And felt bad. For about three seconds. Sometimes, it’s just plain liberating to not have to see that charge on the VISA bill in a few weeks.
Onward, heading toward our Oakley homestead, we stopped in to Cline for the club members’ release party. We love their wine club, especially since the family has such connection to Oakley soil and the superannuated vines growing in same. I had forgotten how jam-packed these events get, since we’d only attended one previously. Cline’s Pendulum Club has a boatload of members, and they all seem to attend. They open up the barrel room, pile in tables and seating for hundreds upon hundreds of their closest friends, and ring the perimeter with multiple tasting-Stations of the Cross. They’re great events, but after a chill tasting experience at Kenwood, an unrushed and civilized lunch chez Mayo Family, followed by an exhilarating lunar prison break, it was definitely time to pick up our club selections and head back CoCo way.
“Gotta get off, gonna get off of this merry-go-round … ”
To paraphrase Kanye, “Ammo let you finish, Dionne, but … ” there was a nice piece by Jon Bonné, wine editor of the San Francisco Chronicle on Sunday February 5, profiling vineyard manager and winemaker Tegan Passalacqua (who, we found at our Mayo lunch, is a friend of Chef Clayton). What was of special interest to Kathy and me was, despite Tegan’s managerial overview of almost three dozen vineyards, a few on his radar include CoCo sites that we have written about and tasted wines from: Evangelho, Del Barba and Salvador (the last of which we could never pinpoint, despite Larry Turley designating a Zin with this vineyard on his label; Jon’s article suggested to me that this was a site I’d actually visited: the abandoned business park with the dumped trash, and the couch that appears on Randall Grahm’s “Contra” label).
“Gotta get off, gonna get, need to get on where I’m bound … ”
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