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Gold Medal Wine Club Newsletter: Vol. 15 No. 9 Adler Fels Winery Edition In This Issue IIRREVERENTRREVERENT AADLERDLER FFELSELS SSUCCEEDSUCCEEDS BY BY BBUCKINGUCKING ADLER FELS WINERY ONVENTIONAL ISDOMS Page 1 CCONVENTIONAL WWISDOMS

THIS MONTH’S “Why?” “Who says it has to be done Why do you have to grow your own WINES this way?” “Has anyone tried it this way?” grapes to make great wine? Why do you Page 2 “It will probably work better if . . .” You have to be an enologist to make great can almost hear David Coleman’s brain wine? The answer to these and many other SPOTLIGHT PROFILES churning away, questioning, testing the questions David has asked along the way Page 3 conventional wisdom, wanting to find is, “you don’t.” another way. To the people who know INE IZARD David’s first foray into the wine W W David Coleman, that’s typically the way he Page 4 industry was while he worked as a graphic approaches just about everything. In the designer for a Santa Rosa ad agency. He wine industry, known to be somewhat FOOD FOR THOUGHT was in the right place at the right time Page 6 stodgy and conventional, that kind of when he bumped into Dick Arrowood, thinking borders on blasphemy. owner of Chateau St. Jean Winery. “I JUDGE-THE-WINES Why do you have to have wine labels asked him if he needed any design work Page 7 that are white and square and nondescript? Continued on page 4

REORDERS Page 8

“With Gold Medal Wine Club, The Road to Great Wine Begins at Your Door.” www.goldmedalwine.com The winery commands a panoramic view of the Sonoma Valley and beyond to California's dramatic coastline.

1-800-266-8888 Gold Medal Wine Club • 5330 Debbie Road #200 • Santa Barbara • California • 93111 Page 1 Gold Medal Wine Club features two wines each month from only the best small wineries of California. Featured wines include those which have earned medals in the top wine-industry competitions or have been highly rated by a respected national wine publication. On occasion we feature a wine which is of high medal-quality, but due to its very limited availability or by preference of the wine producer, may not be submitted to these venues for review. Each and every selection is a superb wine made in small quantities and with limited distribution. There are over 1,200 wineries in California producing thousands of different wines. Only wines fitting the above criteria are considered in choosing the featured selections each month.

2002 2003

A very impressive, concentrated wine that starts with This clean, fruity, appley, honey-and-oak bottling is intriguing scents of cassis, black cherries and dark chocolate just the ticket for thirsty Chardonnay lovers. If you love with a hint of oak. This same complex mix shows up in the the old oak-bomb-California-style Chardonnay, you’ll rich, smooth flavors with good continuity from front to be disappointed with this one. The Adler Fels Napa back. Light to medium tannins give it a nice backbone and Chardonnay has just the right balance of fruit and toasty with a balance of acidity that provides a supple texture and oak flavors to impress even hard-core red wine drinkers. pleasant mouthfeel. It has a long tasty finish that beckons Slightly rounded on the palate, firmed by nicely placed your palate for yet another sip. It’s one of those wines that’s acidity; well-balanced with the fruit never wavering and a hard to put the cork back in-you just want more. This is a finish punctuated by lengthy notes of apple and spice with polished wine that is showing its flavors in near full force an undercurrent of oak. Ready to drink now but will hold right now, so enjoy with pepper cheese and crackers before up for another couple of years or so. A great choice to pair dinner, a juicy cut of beef or lamb with dinner followed by with broiled salmon with garlic roasted potatoes. your favorite chocolate dessert. Then do it again tomorrow 100% Napa Chardonnay. night! 100% Napa Cabernet Sauvignon.

WINE CREDENTIAL HIGHLIGHTS

2002 VINTAGE: Gold Medal Special Selection— A special 2003 VINTAGE: Gold Medal Special Selection— A special offering by Adler Fels expressly for the Gold Medal Wine offering by Adler Fels expressly for the Gold Medal Wine Club! Once you sample the Adler Fels selections featured Club! Late-season bottling prevented the wine from being this month you’ll agree they are both medal-winning entered into this year’s competitions. As with its Cabernet quality wines. But due to late-season bottling it was not counterpart, this wine will be long gone by the time next possible to enter them into this year’s competitions. By year’s competitions are ready to roll. the time next year’s competitions roll around they will be LEGACY: Adler Fels’ specialty is white wine-Chardonnay, long gone. and Gewurztraminer in particular. Over LEGACY: Adler Fels rarely produces a red wine. But as the last fifteen years these whites have brought in buckets you will tell by sampling it, they only do it when the fruit of medals from wine competitions all over the country. is outstanding enough to produce a great tasting wine. Just the facts: Just the facts:

pH ...... 3.63 pH ...... 3.35 Total Acid ...... 573 g/100 mls Total Acid ...... 75 g/100 mls Alcohol ...... 13.6% Alcohol ...... 13.2% Cases Produced ...... 1,092 Cases Produced ...... 756 Aged in French & American Oak . . . 16 months Drink Now or Up to Year ...... 2007+ Drink Now or Up to Year ...... 2009+

1-800-266-8888 Gold Medal Wine Club Page 2 GGOLDOLD MMEDALEDAL SSPOTLIGHTPOTLIGHT

David Coleman niche business of wine packaging to start a winery! While the Some winemakers come to their design. His success in this field captured announcement came as a total profession out of a passion for wine, international attention, and over the surprise, Ayn supported the idea, some come about as a part of a next seven years he produced scores and before long, they had created family tradition, others find the of award-winning wine labels. architectural plans for their new occupation to be the culmination of winery. In 1978, while David was still a life-long dream, and then there is designing labels, he met Ayn Ryan a For the next couple of years David Coleman. The founder of native Californian who had grown David worked at the agency and Adler Fels came to the wine business up in her family’s vineyards under the then studied winemaking during the out of a love of design, of machinery, tutelage of her grandfather, Edward off hours. Meanwhile, he and Ayn and a simple curiosity about the Merzoian (founder of Elmco Vineyard purchased property in the Mayacamas process of winemaking. and Cameo wine label). Interestingly, Mountains high above the Sonoma It began in 1971 when David, her uncles were also in the business, Valley and started building their who had graduated from M.I.T. with having started Chateau St. Jean home. The design they envisioned a Chemical Engineering degree and Winery in Kenwood, California. was a castle-like motif, inspired by a design degree from the prestigious David’s extended stay in Germany David the “East Coaster” and Pratt Institute and Parsons School where he was stationed in the military. Ayn the farm girl from Porterville in of Design, moved to Santa Rosa, As the house was built and as the San Joaquin Valley, were married California to be the creative director winemaking became more a way the next year. About a year later while of a small advertising agency. Prior to of life, David and Ayn found at a business dinner with one of David’s this fortuitous move, David had themselves either tearing down and winery clients, David suddenly designed furniture, first in Chicago rebuilding, or remodeling to make announced he and Ayn were going and then in Laguna Beach. He way for more winery space. found the jobs boring and felt that Now that the Colemans have the agency might provide the creative cashed in on their success by selling freedom and challenge he was looking to Adams Wine Group, they can for. The agency was smack dab in the stop the vicious build and rebuild middle of wine country so it didn’t cycle and start to enjoy other passions. take long to land a few winery David now has more time for his accounts. It was here that David other passion: golf. Always the designed his first wine labels. innovator, David installed a Skilled at creating innovative golf tee on his deck, from bottle art that utilized a which he can pause every revolutionary new die once in awhile to drive a cutting and foil stamping ball or two into the process, he soon gained a canyon below. loyal following. Building Visitors are welcome on David’s reputation, to join him, and the the agency flourished, balls and clubs are capitalizing on the provided! Winery founders David Coleman and wife Ayn.

1-800-266-8888 Gold Medal Wine Club Page 3 hundreds of other wine labels, David. He was not content to blindly carving out a huge niche business do things without questioning the and earning dozens of awards along process. He was used to breaking the way. One day in 1979, after seven traditional rules in design and he years of designing other wineries’ took that same philosophy and labels, he decided to design his own. applied it to winemaking. Out of this “Is there a reason why I can’t ‘design’ relentless questioning process came a award winning wines?” he asked number of innovations that helped WINE himself. David Coleman create high quality, distinctive wines. WIZARD Instead of looking for fertile wine producing land in Napa or One innovation was the creation 1) What is the species Sonoma to buy, David and his wife of a Variable Capacity Fermentation name for most all Ayn opted to purchase grapes and Storage Tank that features a wine grapevines?? bottle their first vintages out of the free-floating top that adjusts to the 2) What is eiswein? family garage. Their sprawling Tudor level of the wine inside the tank. It style home is fashioned after a utilizes a stainless steel lid designed 3) What is a crater? Besides German castle and situated 1,500 to move up and down inside the what you find at the top of feet above the Sonoma Valley. They tank, like a piston inside a cylinder, a volcano, that is. named their start up winery, “Adler to whatever height gives an exact fit Fels,” (German for “Eagle Rock”), and the best protection from oxygen. Continued from page 1 after a giant bolder located on the This innovation has totally eliminated done,” David recalls. “That was back cliffs near the winery. The facility is the need for pumped in nitrogen and in the early 1970s when decisions in a constant state of construction as CO2 that can impact the quality of about wine labels and package design they try to maximize efficiency. the wine. The original prototype meant simply which font to use for “Over the years we’ve built and used a gasket salvaged from the the winery name. It was pretty much remodeled so many times we’ve lost inside of a B-52 bomb bay door! all vanilla looking,” he says. track!” David quips. The gaskets and tanks are now manufactured commercially and have David has come to realize that David got the job and turned the become an industry standard. wine industry on its ear by unveiling he mostly loves the mechanics of a revolutionary label with a die-cut winemaking. Looking back, it turns Another unique procedure arch and gold foil embossing that out that what actually helped him initiated by David, addressed the way stood far above the crowd. “Why become successful in the wine the grapes that he was purchasing didn’t we think of that!?” was the business was not knowing very much were picked. Instead of using huge collective cry from other wineries. about winemaking. “I didn’t go into one or two ton gondolas that most From that point on, the wine this with any preconceived notions of wineries use, he insisted that grapes industry had a whole new attitude. how things had to be done; since I be picked and placed into shallow didn’t have any experience I didn’t cranberry bins, approximately 12 David went on to design know there were any rules,” said inches deep. The shallow bins

1-800-266-8888 Gold Medal Wine Club Page 4 prevent the grapes from being crushed under their own weight and substantially reduces oxidation. Once the grapes reach the winery, they are de-stemmed and placed in Coleman-designed drain tanks to separate the free-run juice for fermentation. Ultimately, the juice is sent into the temperature-controlled variable top tanks or oak barrels for fermentation. David Coleman checks on the progress of an aging barrel of Cabernet Sauvignon. David and Ayn have steadfastly refused to grow grapes of their own. there, and so many diverse micro because you grow your own grapes “Estate bottling is nonsense. There is climates in Sonoma County to take doesn’t mean they’re great. I have the more than enough good fruit out advantage of,” says David. “Just Continued on page 7

ANSWERS TO WINE WIZARD 1) Actually, the broad spectrum of wine varieties, red and white, almost all come from the same species of grapevine, Vitis vinifera. The different varieties are all the products of human selection, not unlike the various breeds of dogs, which are all still classified under the same species. This means that the different types could (and have) cross with each other. This is something generally discouraged by grape growers, who are interested in preserving a variety’s characteristics. Grape growers are further cautioned by the history of many well-meaning attempts at producing grapes with the best features of two varieties by crossing them. Often, this results in a very bland type of grape— a mutt, if you will.

There are a scant few varieties of wine produced from other species of grape, none of which are likely to spring to the mind of most wine drinkers. Perhaps most prominent is the American Concord grape and its more obscure kin, of the species Vitis labrusca, but this species is primarily used for table grapes and juice.

2) Eiswein is a German word, translating literally as it sounds — “ice wine.” This is a special winemaking technique, where the grapes are left to actually freeze on the vine, and are picked and pressed while at temperatures before freezing. This means that much of the water is left in the press as wine crystals, meaning the juice is extremely concentrated with sugars and acids. The resulting wine, which is always white, is sweet and refreshingly acidic. This is a costly process, and depends on a number of factors, particularly cold weather at the right time. Outside of Germany, this is sometimes imitated through the process of cryoextraction, where the grapes are picked and placed in a cold room before being pressed.

3) A crater, or krater, is the type of mixing bowl used during an Ancient Greek symposium, which, despite its current intellectual connotation, simply means “drinking together.” Because the Ancient Greeks considered it barbaric to drink wine undiluted, they would mix wine with water in the crater. However, a standard crater held 3.7 gallons, and three craters full would be consumed at even a temperate symposium for about twenty people. So, while the wine was diluted, each individual would consume more than enough to compensate.

1-800-266-8888 Gold Medal Wine Club Page 5 FFOODOOD FFORORTTHOUGHTHOUGHT

CHICKEN MARBELLA CASSEROLE ROASTED LAMB WITH JUNIPER BERRIES

Marinate 12-16 pieces of chicken overnight in the following: 2-1/2 pounds leg of lamb with bone in 1 tablespoon chopped carrot 1/2 cup chopped garlic 2 tablespoon chopped yellow onion 1/4 cup dried oregano 1 tablespoon chopped celery 1/2 cup red wine vinegar 1 cup red wine 1/2 cup olive oil 2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed 1 cup pitted prunes 1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary leaves 1/2 cup pitted green olives 11/2 teaspoons Juniper berries 1/2 cup capers 2 teaspoons Salt 6 bay leaves Fresh ground pepper, 4 to 6 twists of the mill 1-1/2 teaspoons Salt 1-l/2 teaspoons Black pepper 1) Put all ingredients into a heavy casserole. Cover and cook on top of stove at low heat for 2 hours, turning the meat every 45 minutes. Arrange chicken pieces in two large shallow baking pans 2) By now the lamb should have thrown off a considerable amount of liquid. Set the and sprinkle with: cover askew, and cook for another 1-1/2 hours at slightly higher heat. The meat should 1 Cup brown sugar now be very tender at the pricking of a fork. If there is still too much liquid, uncover 1 Cup Adler Fels Chardonnay completely, raise the heat to high, and boil it until it is a little more concentrated. At the end, the meat must be a rich brown in color. Bake at 350 degrees 50 - 60 minutes or until done. Reheats 3) Off the heat, tilt the casserole and draw off as much of the fat as you can with and holds well. a spoon. Serve with remaining wine. 4) Serve with a glass of 2002 Adler Fels Cabernet Sauvignon.

Continued from page 5

luxury of buying the fruit that I like from where I like,” he reasons. The fruit he uses comes from diverse sources throughout California depending of course on the type of wine he is producing. The Russian River area, Sonoma Mountain and the Sangiacomo ranches in Carneros are among his favorites.

The fruit selection and unique production methods have consistently paid off with Sweepstakes awards, Best of Class David has time to golf even if he still can't make it to the course! awards and barrels full of Gold

1-800-266-8888 Gold Medal Wine Club Page 6 JJUDGEUDGE-T-THEHE-W-WINESINES RRESULTSESULTS In this section we publish the cumulative, on-going tallies of the Judge-the-Wines Scoresheets which are provided in each delivery of wine and mailed back in by Club members. We believe it is fun as well as educational to think about and record the different characteristics of the wines you sample. No matter how acute you think your palate is, the person next to you will probably have a different thought or opinion about a certain characteristic of the wine you are sampling. It can also prove beneficial to record your impressions of the wine for reference at a later date.

Below are the most recent tallies of the Scoresheets returned. Gold Medal Wine Club specializes in featuring small-sized wineries and small-production wines. Depending on availability from the winery, all members may not receive every wine that is listed below. The Scoresheet results which are printed in green indicate the wine selections that as of press time are still available for reorder.

Trentadue 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon Trentadue 2004 Chardonnay

MEDALS:GOLD SILVER BRONZE MEDALS:GOLD SILVER BRONZE RESULTS: 93% 4% 3% RESULTS: 92% 5% 3%

Ledgewood 2002 Ledgewood 2002 Chardonnay

MEDALS:GOLD SILVER BRONZE MEDALS:GOLD SILVER BRONZE RESULTS: 90% 6% 4% RESULTS: 91% 5% 4%

Van Ruiten 2001 Van Ruiten 2001 Cab-Shiraz

MEDALS:GOLD SILVER BRONZE MEDALS:GOLD SILVER BRONZE RESULTS: 89% 5% 6% RESULTS: 93% 4% 3%

EOS 2001 Reserve Petite Sirah EOS 2002 Sauvignon Blanc

MEDALS:GOLD SILVER BRONZE MEDALS:GOLD SILVER BRONZE RESULTS: 94% 3% 3% RESULTS: 87% 7% 6%

The above wines were recently featured. Due to space limitations, the entire list of available wines is not listed. To see our entire inventory and reorder online, go to: http://www.goldmedalwine.com/member Indicates wine is still available

Medals in competitions year after year. Their efforts have also caught the attention of many corporate and private investors over the years wanting to ride the accolade train. “I was recently offered a buyout price I couldn’t refuse,” David told us earlier this year. Alas, he finally succumbed to temptation and sold the business for an undisclosed sum believed to be well in excess of $10 million to Adams Wine Group. David continues to work with the new owners as a consultant. “I’m not out of it entirely,” he says, “But now I can look at things a bit more objectively and with a lot less stress!” cartoonbank.com ©

1-800-266-8888 Gold Medal Wine Club Page 7 TTHEHE GGRAPEVINERAPEVINE Comments from us and Club members CALIIFORNIA CHAMPAGNE MONTH IS HERE!! Every year at this time we present our popular annual California sparkling wine special feature. The art of producing small, handcrafted lots of sparkling wine is a rarity these days in California. The sparkling wine market is now dominated by industry giants that typically churn out mass-market sparkling wine by the tens of thousands of cases. S. Anderson Vineyards is a tiny producer of several elegant, méthode champenoise sparkling wines. The featured 1999 S. Anderson Napa Valley Brut was aged on the yeast for 51 months to develop its wonderful complexity and texture. Don’t miss out on this year’s special California champagne treat! Winners of this month’s Grapevine drawing are Doug & Margaret Roberts! “I never win anything, this is great!” Margaret exclaimed. The Roberts have been Gold Medal Wine Club members for over two years and now vow to send in their Scorecards each and every month. Your BONUS half-case of San Simeon Pinot Grigio is on its way!

[The Trentadue 2003 Cabernet [The Trentadue 2003 Cabernet [The Trentadue 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon is] “A supple, mouth-filling Sauvignon is a] “Wonderful wine, Sauvignon is] “Nice, full of fruit. It wine with a full plum flavor.” flavor explodes all over your palate. should age well and improve.” —Robert D. Gilburg, Score 47 Highly recommended!” —Joe Gruba, Score 45 —Joseph Mauro, Score 54 [The Trentadue 2004 Chardonnay is] [The Clos Fontaine du Mont 2003 “More like a good Burgundy. Thanks for [The 2002 Graziano Zinfandel is] Chardonnay is] “Light and crisp. not being over-oaked.” “Outstanding in every way. My wife’s Went well on a hot night!” —Ron Bouchard, Score 49 new most favorite wine! Thank you!” —Mike Kuntz, Score 49 —Michael Boswell, Score 52

Maximum score is 55. Members who send in their wine ratings on the provided Scoresheets are eligible to receive a bonus half-case of any Gold Medal Series wine that is in stock if your name is drawn. Drawings are held each month. (Maximum of one Scoresheet per wine per membership)…GMWC

REORDER Adler Fels Winery founder, David Coleman built his winemaking career by separating himself from the pack. His contrary style has made him one of the most intriguing and original winemakers in California. Even with two classic like Cabernet and Chardonnay, Adler Fels has managed to craft memorable wines from Napa fruit, no less, at prices that are hard to beat. We are predicting a very quick sell out of these wines. Retail Price Club Price Club Price ADLER FELS WINERY Winery-Direct 2-Bottle Members 4-Bottle Members

2002 Cabernet Sauvignon ** Half Case-6 $102 $75 (27% Off ) $69 (32% Off ) Napa Valley Full Case-12 $204 $139 (32% Off ) $129 (37% Off )

2003 Chardonnay** Half Case-6 $90 $66 (27% Off ) $62 (31% Off ) Napa Valley Full Case-12 $180 $125 (31% Off ) $109 (39% Off ) Reorder Hotline: 1-800-266-8888 Reorder Faxline: 1-800-266-8889 www.goldmedalwine.com/member **Availability is Extremely limited Note: Shipping not included in the above prices. Call for details.

1-800-266-8888 Gold Medal Wine Club • 5330 Debbie Road #200 • Santa Barbara • California • 93111 Page 8