Somms { gatherings } Take Sonoma SONOMA COUNTY WINEGROWERS THREE DAYS, 17 AVAS, 65 WINERIES, 32 SOMMELIERS. It was the eighth annual Sonoma Summit sponsored by the Sonoma County Winegrowers and Sonoma County Vintners. The AND SONOMA COUNTY VINTNERS objective, according to organizer and emcee, Evan Goldstein, MS, was “to explore different INVITE BUYERS FROM AROUND Sonoma County producing areas and learn about them in depth through their most articulate advocates and experienced leaders.” Carolyn Stark, Executive Director of the Sonoma County THE U.S. TO EXPERIENCE ALL Vintners, offered that “Sonoma exhibits a far greater variety of wine styles and grapes than you will find in most any other premium region. From the highly-regarded Chardonnays and SONOMA HAS TO OFFER Pinot Noirs of the Russian River Valley and Sonoma Coast, to the dense, flavorful Zinfandels of Dry Creek Valley, to the Petite Sirahs and other robust reds of Rockpile.” To the participating by Andrew Chalk / photos by George Rose sommeliers it promised a unique educational and fun-filled experience.

Thirty-two somms gathered for this year’s Sonoma Summit.

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Day One Day Two Day Three We travelled to Jordan Vineyard & Winery We were up early for a ride to MacRostie The Russian River Valley, Sonoma Coast, Winery for a long-table dinner in their Winery and Vineyards and a masterclass Carneros, Fort Ross–Seaview and Sonoma impressive barrel room, where the eve- in Chardonnay led by Bob Cabral of Mountain AVAs are are all home to iconic ning’s theme was “Bordeaux Varietals, Three Sticks Wines, Steve Sangiacomo of Pinot vineyards, and production styles Sonoma Style.” A first flight of Sauvignon Sangiacomo Family Vineyards and Simone vary greatly from producer to producer. Blancs illustrated the cooler microclimates Sequeira of La Follette wines. A tasting To deconstruct it all, we were treated to of the county. They exhibited the crispness and discussion of ten Chardonnays from a masterclass at Kosta Browne Winery and liveliness of the grape the 2013 vintage, from six AVAs, ensued. before being whisked off to Jackson Family but with more citrus fruit than one finds Cabral’s observed that most changes he’s Wines for a guided tour of their extensive in Old World examples. Jordan Winery witnessed have occurred in the vineyards herb and vegetable garden and a lunch. Executive Chef Todd Knoll served up an rather than the wineries, noting that canopy Ryan Arnold of Chicago-based restaurant Alaskan halibut poached in Jordan olive oil, management and site selection has with shaved abalone, grilled hearts of palm, received much more attention yuzu quinoa and estate citrus. The synergy than in earlier winemaking times. in the ingredients, earthy quinoa and meaty Later, over lunch at Seghesio fish, was impressive in its own right but the Family Vineyards in Dry Creek pairing with these tart wines elevated the Valley, we sampled a flight of 2013 abalone and halibut flavors on the palate. Zinfandels. The wines exhibited Next were two formidable flights of a diversity of styles, from opulent blends. Eduardo and fruity to spicy and dusty. Jenny Boloños, Sommelier at Terroni in Los Brost, Floor Manager and Wine Angeles, unabashedly likes French oak and Buyer at El Dorado Kitchen in hence applauded Jordan’s 2012 Cab. Abel Sonoma, applauded the austerity Muñoz, from Village California Bistro in Palo of the wines from Dry Creek— Alto, compared his two favorites—Peter specifically the Dashe CellarsVeteran Sonoma winemaker Bob Cabral, formerly of Michael Winery 2012 “Les Pavots” Estate, 2013 Florence Vineyard. Alexander Williams-Selyem and now with Three Sticks Wines. Knights Valley and the Laurel Glen Vineyard Joerger, Buyer for Cost Plus World (right) Vintner Joel Peterson of Ravenswood Winery 2012 Estate Cab from Sonoma Mountain— Market, which boasts 275 stores (left) and pal Wilfred Wong, Chief Storyteller with wine.com. noting that the former was a blend and had nationwide, found the deep dive more power and structure and the latter, into Zinfandel the “eye-opener” of the con- group Lettuce Entertain You and Brent Kroll which was 100% Cabernet Sauvignon but ference. “We saw such a range of flavors of D.C.’s Neighborhood Restaurant Group nonetheless smoother. and styles of wines,” he said. suggested to the group that wines from The highlight was presentations by Ed After lunch we visited the Rockpile AVA, lesser-known Sonoma AVAs are becoming Sbragia of Sbragia Family Vineyards, and a tiny appellation situated above 800 feet hot commodities, particularly as consumers Daniel Baron and Brad Petersen of Silver elevation, wedged into the northwest cor- have become more open to trying wines Oak Cellars and Twomey Cellars. One criti- ner of Dry Creek Valley. We climbed the outside their comfort zones. cal point that was brought to my attention outcroppings, got a feel for what it was like Overall, the three days presented a was that Sonoma’s Cabernet Sauvignon to work those steep, remote slopes, and packed program of education, fun and social- blends are often overlooked in discussions listened to winemakers Keith Overstreet izing—and for the 32 somms who attended, of Bordeaux varieties in California, which of Bruliam Wines, Carol Shelton of Carol there’s no question that they’ll return to tend to focus on Napa. Shelton Wines, Carrie Mauritson and their profession with Sonoma on their Emma Kudritzki Hall of Mauritson Wines. minds. Anthony Minne with Plum Market Collectively they agreed that lower tem- in Chicago really appreciated the chance to peratures and near-constant winds, coupled do comparative tastings of Sonoma wines with well-drained soils gives wines from along with producers. Jennifer Waggoner Rockpile strength and balance. Teddy Panos of Michael Mina Stripsteak/MM74 at the of La Valencia Hotel in San Diego found the Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami said that they Rockpile visit the single most mind-expand- were already big supporters of Sonoma, but ing event of the summit and said he plans the education at the summit would enable to add Carol Shelton’s Zinfandel to his list. her to present the wines more compellingly Organizer and emcee Evan Goldstein, MS, to her guests. during a Sonoma Summit tasting.

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Somm Journal Feb/March_51-87.indd 72 1/28/16 2:18 PM Teams compete during the Iron Sommelier competition.

was to small-dice the potatoes and make them part of a bed of vegetables that made liberal use of caramelized onions. Fortunately, we had two secret weapons on our team. First, Katie Carter had been flown in, at enormous expense, to repre- sent Jean-Charles Boisset’s JCB collection, providers of the Russian River Rosé that made chopping vegetables seem such an easy chore. Seconded to our team, she managed our sautéed salmon filet dish to perfection. I was terrified it would be regarded The powers that be divided the somms into four groups: Red, as too “ordinary” to impress the judges who, by then, would have Yellow, Green and Blue. I was on Team Yellow. Given a list of ingre- tasted the dishes of all of the three lesser teams. Team Yellow had dients, and some planning time, our mission was to use the Santa its back against the wall. She executed a Sonoma sparkling wine Rosa Junior College Culinary Center kitchen to prepare a menu sauce (remarkably similar in conception to a Champagne sauce) of three dishes paired with Sonoma County wine. The judges that made it stand out. Second, Bruce Conard (of Trig’s Cellar consisted of not just mere mortals—Evan Goldstein, MS; Karissa 70 in Milwaukee) showed that six months of steadily blackening Kruse, President of the Sonoma County Winegrowers; and Michael snowdrifts each year can channel your time towards productive Salinger, head of the Culinary Center—but also megastar TV chef activity by producing sautéed duck breast like a pro. Other team of Zazu Kitchen + Farm, Duskie Estes. One wrongly placed E. coli members prepared vegetables and operated equipment. I made

IN WHICH THE ALL CONQUERING TEAM YELLOW TRIUMPHS OVER ALL COMERS AT COOKING A MEAL TO PAIR Iron Sommelier WITH SONOMA WINE bacterium and there might be a vacancy at The Food Network. myself useful by staying out of the way. Each team had 45 minutes and, since space was constrained in We finished our dishes with four minutes to spare, only to find the kitchen, teams would enter with 15 minutes between them. that the team before us was such a disorganized rabble that they We were drawn to start last, and that was where our problems had not even sent theirs to the judges. Our plated dishes would began. Unlike Iron Chef (a pale imitation with an international get cold while we waited, surely dooming our hopes of victory. reputation), where you are given a specific ingredient, all that we Fortunately, disorganized rabble proved too kind a term for knew was that if another team used all of any ingredient then that our predecessors and, as announced at dinner that evening, Team ingredient was gone. So, technically, we could not plan our menu Yellow was all conquering, presumably leading to a lucrative TV without a contingency plan. contract with the Food Network (I am still waiting). When we finally entered the kitchen (after enough time to plan And, as expected, Sonoma County Chardonnay paired beauti- a month of menus for the Sixth Fleet) we did indeed find that a fully with our sauteed “Salmon Rosa” and Sonoma County Pinot lesser team had indeed finished up all the duck fat—ruining my Noir was a champ with sautéed duck breast. master plan to make the judges ovulate in place over my thrice- All conquering Team Yellow challenges the other teams to a cooked fries (loosely stolen from Heston Blumenthal). Our plan B rematch next year. Participating Sommeliers and Wine Buyers Ryan Arnold, Lettuce Entertain You, Chicago, IL Meghan Haley, Joe’s Seafood, Prime Steak & Stone Abel Muñoz, Mayfield Bakery & Café/Village California Josiah Baldivino, Bay Grape, Oakland, CA Crab, Washington, DC Bistro, Palo Alto, CA Eduardo Bolaños, Terroni, Los Angeles, CA Alex Joerger, Cost Plus World Market, Oakland, CA Elton Nichols, Canlis, Seattle, WA Jenny Brost, El Dorado Kitchen, Sonoma, CA Lexey Johnson, Brick and Mortar Kitchen, Houston, TX Teddy Panos, La Valencia Hotel, San Diego, CA Joel Caruso, Pizzeria Ortica, Newport Beach, CA Brent Kroll, Neighborhood Restaurant Group, Gary Sullivan, Montage, Laguna Beach, CA Andrew Chalk, SOMM Journal, Dallas, TX Washington, DC Jennifer Wagoner, Michael Mina StripSteak/ MM74, Bruce Conard, Trig’s Cellar 70 , Milwaukee, WI Max Kuller, Fat Baby Inc./Estadio, Washington, DC Miami, FL Ted Damianos, Marta, New York City, NY Jeff Lindsay-Thorsen, RN74, Seattle, WA Andy Wedge, Husk, Nashville, TN Jhonel Faelnar, NoMad Restaurant, New York City, NY Cosmin Marinescu, Wine Meats Cheese, San Wilfred Wong, Wine.com, San Francisco, CA Keith Fergel, Taylor’s Kitchen, Sacramento, CA, Francisco, CA Naureen Zaim, Eveleigh, Los Angeles, CA Maria Garcia, République LA, Los Angeles, CA Brian McClure, The Greenbrier, W. Sulphur Springs, WV Fahara Zamorano, Rose Café & Restaurant, Los Kayla Garcia, Pappas Bros. Steakhouse, Houston, TX Anthony Minne, Plum Market, Chicago, IL Angeles, CA Costas Mouzouras, Gotham Wines, New York City, NY Rania Zayyat, LaV Restaurant & Wine Bar, Austin, TX

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