Disco Bay Redux

So Kathy gets a telephone call a couple of weeks back from the Discovery Bay Golf & Country Club, reminding us of their upcoming semi-annual wine tasting event.

We blogged about it last November, and the April event the other day was no less interesting: 17 tables of distributors, winery reps and even a winemaker or two pouring hundreds of selections from their assorted portfolios of brands and labels at all price tiers. And with $20 event admission for DBGCC members, it’s an absolute bargain at $25 for nonmembers like Kath and me.

The tasting is held at the clubhouse, set smack dab in the center of the golf course, which is in turn ringed by expensive homes in this gated community. We drove up to the gatehouse, told the sentry that we were here for the wine event, and were granted access to the road leading to the clubhouse, noting the dozen or so speed bumps and numerous “Golf Cart Crossing” signs along the route.

It was a beautiful day and we were some of the first in line, so after paying and obtaining wristband, tasting glass and program listing the wines being poured at each of the 17 “Stations of the Cross,” we made a beeline outside to secure a table on the patio, whence we could plan our tasting strategy.

We began with a round of white wines and a couple of bubblies, including Mumm and Perrier Jouet, before filling up our plates with a nice array of finger foods. In no time, the clubhouse was packed, and patio chairs were starting to migrate from one table to another as large groups made their way outside. Both inside and out, the crowd seemed to be predominantly country club members: lots of air-kissed greetings, über-tanned retirees, questionable facelifts, age-inappropriate clothing and married couples instantly splitting up to form separate tables for men and women, at which to chew the fat.

Country club living is pretty trippy, man: Kath and I have attended this event three times now, and this last time, for the first time, we actually saw a table of older gents, obviously members, at the table beside us flag down a busboy to order a round of beers! Here they are, surrounded by an ocean of wine for which they paid to taste, and dudes sign for Corona on their food & beverage tab.

Between the people-watching and the broad spectrum of wines being poured, the Discovery Bay Golf & Country Club Wine Tasting is always a fun event for us; we really do look forward to it every spring and fall. And this time, the folks at Diageo were actually pouring a Rosenblum Zin made from grapes from our ‘hood. The “Carla’s Reserve” is from that vineyard over by the Kmart in nearby Antioch. You may remember from a previous post of ours that the plot is managed by Oakley businessman and grower Dwight Meadows, who also manages Jesse’s Vineyard, located a stone’s throw from our house. “Carla’s” is named for Dwight’s wife.

We just so happened to discover a bottle of the 2006 Rosenblum “Carla’s Reserve” Zinfandel hiding in our own cellar, separate from our “locally grown” stash of wines (which is down to one bottle). Must have been misfiled due to clerical error — our gain. The ’06 Carla’s is indeed showing a nice bit of age approaching its half-decade. The vibrancy of a whippersnapper has matured in color to a deep black, dull garnet hue. On the nose, I detected earth and cinnamon notes on frame of plum and cranberry. The Ocean Spray cran/blueberry vibe continues in the mouth with a touch of soil acidity on a long, long finish. An adult effort from olde tyme vines.