Hannah and Her Sippers

I’m probably flogging a dead Riedel here, but sometimes the Contra Cost County/Oakley blog idea of being surrounded by vitis vinifera growing in the most outrageous places (120-year-old Zinfandel vines producing beside the Kmart?: talk about your Blue Light special) leads to the frustration of never fully knowing what amazing wines are being made from Grapes in Da ‘Hood.

So, last Sunday was an overdue trek to neighboring Brentwood to visit the winery and tasting room at Hannah Nicole Vineyards, pretty much the only local concern with working grape-erage used to make their own stuff, as well as an oh-so-civilized facility in which to sample it.

A few weeks previous, after a nice Sunday of yoga (Kath), swimming/sauna/steam (me) and multi-store groceries for the week chez nous, I chirped, “Hey can I buy you a glass of wine at Hannah Nicole?”

Kath responded that she was thinking the same thing, but that our last visit, although buoyed by the ambience and bottle purchase enjoyed while nestled in comfy chairs, was preceded by a tasting fee that would define any wine guide’s entry of “skimpy pours.” Damn! Because the stemware was so friggin’ elegant.

Enter livingsocial.com. Once again, Kathy gots the hookup to bargoons, and this one with Hannah Nicole was one to bite on.

We arrived at HN; Giovanni Mandala was creating a vibe with his acoustic guitar among the myriad im-vibers picnicking outside. Expecting a packed tasting room gangbang inside, I was elated to have Kath and me welcomed one-on-one with a smile and knowledge of the Web printout we were bearing.

OK, the pours were just as cheesy as we remember them, but our pourer had no probs letting us “revisit,” and the wines at Hannah Nicole are darn tasty. Part of the livingsocial deal was that we walk with a bottle, comp tastings and two stems. After das swirl, Kathy and I knew what to pick as “das bottle.” (Even splitting glass pours in an effort to double up on selections, we still had to jettison two selections from the menu.) Like many wine snobs, I elected to toss the two Rosé wines from our tasting itinerary. I am such an idiot.

Kathy and I purchased, and consumed, a deliciously refreshing bashful blend on the beautiful Brentwood grounds of HN.

Hey, so we discovered that the only varietally bottled wines in the Hannah Nicole portfolio not grown onsite are the Chardonnay (Napa), and this particular crazy Zinfandel.

We’re told that the Hannah Nicole 2009 Contra Costa County Zinfandel is crafted from fruit plucked one-and-a-half miles from our house. Rose and Laurel. (Hey, it ain’t just an intersection, it’s a label!)

Tasting notes can be all over das map:

The color is lighter than one might expect from old vines, and yet K thinks that I am nuts for smelling bacon fat on such a light frame.

Cloves on the nose, cranberry and allspice. There is fruit there, but it needs to hit that berry thing to match heft on the palate with a looooong finish.

Man, aren’t tasting notes the most bogus thang around?