WINE PRESS Perry Creek Winery Gold Medal Wine Club Newsletter: Vol. 22 No. 02
erry Creek winery At an altitude of 1401 feet, PPerry Creek’s wines reach the top of their game.
Perry Creek’s winery offers an inviting, elegant setting to enjoy their premium mountain wines.
Operations manager and winemaker Stefan Tscheppe proudly presents the fruits of his labor.
Perry Creek specializes in Rhone varietals and Zinfandels, grown at unusually high altitudes in El Dorado’s Fair Play appellation.
GOLD MEDAL WINE CLUB - AMERICA’S LEADING INDEPENDENT WINE CLUB SINCE 1992 2009 ZINFANDEL Perry Creek’s ‘Altitude: 2401 Legacy’ 2009 Zinfandel is a special pre-release wine available exclusively for Gold Medal Wine Club members! This premium wine comes 2009 VINTAGE: from a remarkably high growing altitude of GOLD MEDAL SPECIAL SELECTION 2401 feet at Perry Creek’s own Fair Play - NEW RELEASE; ACCOLADES FORTHCOMING Farms vineyard in El Dorado County. Its unmatched spicy elegance and its rich complex body makes it the winery’s most LEGACY: treasured Zinfandel, carrying forward the ONE OF THE CHARACTERISTIC WINES OF century-old Zinfandel legacy of the El Dorado PERRY CREEK, PREVIOUS VINTAGES OF appellation. The wine is lively and vivid THE 2009 ZINFANDEL HAVE EARNED RATINGS with elegant aromas of dark berries, spices, AS HIGH AS 93 POINTS WITH PRESTIGIOUS fine smoke, and raspberry jam followed by DOUBLE GOLD MEDALS AND BEST OF flavors of dark chocolate, lush earth-tones, APPELLATION AWARDS. strawberries, coffee, and vanilla on the palate. This is what Perry Creek Zinfandel is all about! Since this 2009 Zinfandel has been pre-released to our members, the wine has not yet been rated by the top periodicals, but with a colorful history of ratings from past vintages we are confident it will garner what Just the facts: the wines have achieved in the past – 90+ points pH...... 3.52 and numerous Gold Medals. The ‘Altitude: Alcohol...... 14.8% 2401 Legacy’ 2009 Zinfandel is a beautiful Total Acidity...... 50 g/100 mL mountain-grown Zin that will pair deliciously Aging ...... 18 months in oak with gnocchi and pancetta mushroom sauce Cases Produced...... 625 (see recipe page). Aged 18 months in oak. Drink Now or Up to Year...... 2018 100% Zinfandel. Enjoy now until 2018.
erry Creek winery
It can be accurately explained that Perry Creek Winery of Fair Play (who couldn’t trust wines from a place with that name?), California has a dichotomous existence; something that could also be termed the winery’s past and present. In 1989, New York-born Michael Chazen spotted some property while driving to Las Vegas and was immediately Pbitten by the wine bug. He planted some 20 acres and built a winery that eventually reached more than 20,000 cases, no mere feat for a startup winery in the Sierra Madre Foothills during the early 1990’s. Chazen eventually planted more acreage but a nasty divorce and settlement forced Chazen into an absentee ownership position. He departed California for Florida and the winery was put up for sale just after the advent of the millennium.
Page 2 2009 SYRAH
Perry Creek’s ‘Altitude: 2401 Dark Forest’ 2009 Syrah comes from the winery’s own Fair Play Farms Vineyard in the El Dorado 2009 VINTAGE: Appellation. Situated at 2401 feet of GOLD MEDAL SPECIAL SELECTION elevation in the Sierra Nevadas, the Fair - NEW RELEASE; ACCOLADES FORTHCOMING Play Farms site is a uniquely high parcel and the Syrah comes from an outstanding block within the vineyard named Dark Forest. LEGACY: Here, the roots of a 500 year-old oak tree ARGUABLY PERRY CREEK’S TOP-NOTCH forest help compete with the vines for water SYRAH, THIS 2009 VINTAGE FOLLOWS A HEAP and nutrients, and in turn, promote some OF 90+ POINTED WINES WITH DOUBLE GOLD of the appellation’s finest grown Syrah MEDALS AND WORLD WINE CHAMPIONSHIPS grapes. The ‘Altitude: 2401 Dark Forest’ AWARDS. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! Syrah is a truly distinctive representation of terrior at the Fair Play Farms vineyard, and the winemaker terms the 2009 vintage “our best Syrah from the Fair Play Farms vineyard yet.” Velvety aromas of blackberry, milk chocolate, mint, earth and cherries are lively on the nose, and set the stage for intense flavors of fruit, exotic spices, caramel, dark nougat, and Just the facts: cassis on the palate. Ripe and juicy tannins pH...... 3.52 support the smooth elegance of this one-of-a-kind Alcohol...... 14.8% Syrah – we know you will enjoy! This special Total Acidity...... 0.50 g/100 mL pre-release wine has not yet been rated, but with Aging ...... 18 months in oak previous vintages earning 90+ Points and Cases Produced...... 775 Double Gold Medals, its reputation speaks for Drink Now or Up to Year...... 2019 itself. Aged 18 months in oak. 98% Syrah, 2% Petite Sirah. Enjoy now until 2019.
Perry Creek remained in that finally succeeded in buying status for several years until Dieter the entire place.” Juergens arrived on the scene and Since the Perry Creek became interested in the property. name was basically intact Juergens was already a property and came with the purchase, owner and grower in the Fair Play Juergens decided to go fast region who had even used Perry forward in resurrecting the Creek’s facilities for his first custom cozy winery. He bulldozed crush fruit from his own vineyards. a lot of the area around According to Juergens, “Perry the winery proper and Perry Creek manages 40 acres of prime vineyards Creek was exactly what I had been created a large area park located in the highly elevated Fair Play Appellation looking for, and maybe hadn’t that literally jumped out in El Dorado. realized it at that point. It had been at visitors. He also installed on the market for a while and there a new deck with sufficient space for was literally no movement. I knew events and made ample use of the that the price would be right and I existing river and creek to create an Page 3 idealistic destination for winery goers. winery. He is currently the head Perry Creek sprinted ahead under winemaker for Perry Creek, with its new ownership and the aggressive assistance from Scott Johnson as well. he Current annual production stands management team that was assembled. T near fifteen thousand cases, a level that Stefan Tscheppe was hired from Austria is comfortable for the small winery to Wine where his family had owned VINO continue producing at the standard of quality they are proud of. Wizard Perry Creek’s wines are also a product of a wide variety of opinions, 1) What is “free run” wine? a sort of wine-by-committee approach that seems to be working with amazing 2) What is the technical results. Practically everyone involved with the winery, from operations difference between crushing manager to vineyards manager, along and pressing in the with the tasting room manager winemaking process? thrown in for good measure, has a say in the final blends that become 3) What is the process of Perry Creek wines. racking in winemaking? “I firmly believe that everyone who Visitors to Perry Creek have fun stomping has a hand in developing the wines the grapes at annual harvest festival parties. See Page 7 for Answers. should also have a say in what becomes of our final blends,” stated Juergens. Tscheppe for many generations. “That way, everyone puts everything About The Winemaker Tscheppe serves as operations manager they have into the process and feels like they are part of the final product. With and assists on the winemaking team, Perry Creek’s diverse winemaking the awards that we have been able to bringing a wealth of knowledge to win, I would say that the process seems team of Garrett Buckland, Stefan Perry Creek in the high-end wine to be working quite nicely.” Tscheppe and Scott Johnson combine It isn’t all that often that established wineries receive a second chance at experience from Napa, Austria and “Perry Creek was success, but in the case of Perry Creek, the Sierra Foothills. They share a this time around seems to be quite vineyard driven approach, developing exactly what I had been rewarding. Cheers to Perry Creek, and looking for, and maybe their new signature style that is present a personality and character for in each and every bottle. hadn’t realized it each wine they produce while incorporating the at that point.” typicity of each varietal in every and international marketing facets of vintage. the business. Also joining the Perry Creek team was Garrett Buckland, a UC Davis Owner Dieter Juergens with graduate and winemaker that brought winemakers credibility and expertise to the boutique Stefan Tscheppe and Garrett Page 4 Buckland. The The Wine Dieter Wine Wizard Juergens Region The Sierra Foothills wine region is When owner Dieter famous for its Zinfandels and other fierce Juergens first discovered the Sierra Foothills, he was flavored varietals. The area that was home looking for a place to take to the famous California Gold Rush his banking customers from his base in Sacramento, setting in the 1840s also contains a great California. He found the area “to be beautiful beyond amount of complexity as far as soils and belief,” and when he compared the land value there conditions are concerned. Perry Creek’s to both Napa and Sonoma, much more potentially vineyards are situated in the Fair Play affordable. AVA Appellation, at around 2,400 feet “It wasn’t just the price for the land that attracted elevation, an excellent altitude that me,” Juergens confessed recently, “it was much more requires the vines to work extra hard to than that. The wineries in the foothills were much accomplish their mission. At this altitude, smaller, and the people who operated them were generally the accompanying low annual rainfall friendlier. When you consider the natural beauty El Dorado County has to offer and its historical significance, the combination was quite unbeatable.” Juergens bought his first property around the town of Fair Play with the intention of being a grower. When the possibility of purchasing Perry Creek from its troubled owner became a reality, Juergens literally jumped at the opportunity. He was a principal player in international banking, first with Wells Fargo and later with his own banking trust company in Sacramento. It wasn’t until the age of thirty that Juergens first became interested in wine. He first tried the sweeter German wines of his native country and then was forces roots deep into the decomposed introduced to California wines after coming to the granite soils, creating highly concentrated, United States in 1964. complex wins. The resulting fruit is also “Once I tasted the great wines that California able to exhibit optimal natural acidity, had to offer, I was permanently hooked,” he explained due to normal cool nights in these further. high altitudes. Even though the actual After acquiring Perry Creek, Juergens started fruit yield from mountain vineyards is amassing a management team that he felt could meet much lower than valley-grown grapes, his ultimate objectives. “Like most Germans, I am only the accompanying flavor intensity and interested in producing the finest possible product. complexity more than compensate for Take automobiles for instance. Germany produces the the lower yield. Mercedes Benz, Porsche and BMW, just to name a few.
gold medal spotlight medal gold Continued on page 7 Page 5 Gnocchi with Pancetta Duck Legs with Leeks, Mushroom Sauce Carrots, and Polenta food for thought
Pair with Perry Creek 2009 Zinfandel Pair with Perry Creek 2009 Syrah
Ingredients: Ingredients: 6 Russet Potatoes 4 duck legs (seasoned with salt and pepper) 2 1/2 cups flour 3 leeks (white and pale green parts), chopped salt, pepper 6 carrots, chopped Pancetta or any bacon of your liking, chopped finely salt 1 1/2 lb crimini mushrooms or white mushrooms, chopped coarsely thyme 1/4 cup chicken broth parsley whipped cream 1 cup white wine chicken broth Preparation: 1 cup polenta Peel the potatoes and cook until soft. While they are still warm mash them 1/2 stick of butter with a fork. Put the potatoes in a bowl and add 1 cup of flour and season with salt. Mix them well with your hands until the potatoes and the flour Preparation: stick together. Bring 4 cups of water to a broil. Add the polenta and simmer on low heat Move the mixture to a wooden board and add the remaining flour gradually. for about 1 hour. Stir occasionally, making sure the polenta does not stick Knead until the dough is smooth. Divide the dough into several pieces to the bottom of the pan. Finally add the butter and season with salt. forming rolls. Divide each roll into 1-inch pieces. Cook the gnocchi in broiling Preheat oven to 425. Heat olive oil in an oven proven skillet and add the water - they are done as soon as they appear on the surface of the water. leeks and carrots. Cook for roughly five minutes. Add the duck legs (skin Set aside. side down), thyme, and parsley, as well as the white wine and chicken Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the pancetta and cook until broth to the skillet. The duck legs should be half covered with the liquid. lightly browned but not crisp. Add the mushrooms - cook for roughly five Bring the liquid to a simmer and then move the skillet in the oven. After minutes. Pour in the chicken broth and cook until the mushrooms are soft. half an hour turn the duck legs skin side up. Cook for another 15 minutes If needed, add more chicken broth. Finally add the whipped cream. Raise the at 425 then lower the temperature to 325. Continue cooking for another heat and let simmer until the sauce is creamy. Add the gnocchi and serve 1 hour and 30 minutes. with salad.
Find these recipes and all of your favorites online at www.GoldMedalWineClub.com/recipes. We have a delicious collection of entreé recipes to pair with your favorite Gold Medal wines. Page 6 add a plus! bottle to your next wine delivery! Plus! wines are all highly-rated, very small production wines with availability too limited for all regular club members to receive. Only he Plus! Program participants receive these rare gems! T The Plus! Program automatically adds on a special wine to Wine each regular scheduled wine delivery, or as often as you like! Don’t miss out on another shipment! Wizard Join the Plus! Program today! Answers $18-$22 each delivery 1) Once red wine is done fermenting, the solids (grape This month’s Gold Series featured Plus! wine: skins and seeds) need to be separated from the juice. Autry Cellars 2007 Petite Sirah This naturally drained juice is the “free run” wine. In Gold Medal Winner + Silver Medal Winner general, the “free run” wine is considered the best, Just 125 Cases Produced! highest quality juice. Some winemakers will stop there, Learn more at: www.GoldMedalWineClub.com/plus or Call 1-800-266-8888 while others will then press the solids to extract the remaining juice and wine. This “press wine” is blended with the “free run” wine at the winemaker’s discretion.
2) Crushing is the process of gently squeezing the Dieter Juergens grapes and breaking the skins to start freeing the Spotlight, continued from page 5 natural juices. Often times, wineries use mechanical cursher/destemmers that will also remove the grapes If I was going to produce wines, I wanted them to be just like the from their stems during the same process. In traditional greatest cars.” winemaking, grapes were crushed by trampling them The rest of the story is now becoming part of the Sierra Foothills with bare feet. Pressing, is the act of applying pressure wine history. With the top-notch team in place, Perry Creek has to the solids (grape skins and seeds) to further extract juice and it is not always a necessary act in winemaking. already exceeded its earlier counterpart in terms of wine quality and consistency. 3) Racking is the process of siphoning wine from one A great deal of the quality aspect comes from the fact that much container to another in order to leave the solids, or lees, of the grapes used for Perry Creek come from Dieter Juergen’s home behind. It is often done many times throughout the vineyard that he labels Fair Play Farms. winemaking process, starting with during fermentation “When I first saw the Fair Play property,” Juergens continued, and continuing throughout the aging of the wine, before “I was amazed with its natural beauty. Then I remembered most of the it is bottled. Racking promotes more clarity and less sediment in the finished wine. finest German vineyards were located at high altitudes in rough soils so I decided that the area would make an excellent vineyard site. So far, we have been quite happy with the quality of the grapes we have produced. My winemakers absolutely believe that true quality in wines begins and ends in the vineyards, so we do our best to produce the finest fruit.” he art of Juergens is still in banking, but admits to spending each Friday, T fine wine Saturday and Sunday at the winery. He can usually be found in the Perry Creek Tasting Room behind the counter pouring wines for French Wine was painted by contemporary visitors and customers. oil painter Elin “This gives me an excellent chance for consumer feedback,” he Bogomolnik who added. “I get the first hand reaction to our wines and pass it on to my enjoys mixing cubism, winemaker and consultant. Whenever changes need to be made, we abstract, modern and have a head start on what people are really looking for.” expressionism styles.
Page 7 the grapevine
How to identify wine aromas like a pro! When “I have to tell you last year I stumbled tasting wine, did you know your sense of smell is actually the most important? Wine experts upon Gold Medal’s website just browsing can describe wine aromas including fruits such as lemon, peach and berry, spices such as around looking for a wine club gift. pepper and nutmeg, vegetables or herbs, and even smoke or earth. Some of these scents come from chemical compounds in the grapes, while others are developed during fermentation and The quick processing and ease of the the maturation process of aging of the wine. While it’s easy for some of us to pick up on these website and customer service was great, distinctive scents, many of us have trouble identifying them and just smell…well, wine! Here’s a hence is what brought me back to great way for you to become more accustomed to these scents, and make it easier for you to Gold Medal. The presentation, accuracy pick up on them when you’re evaluating your next wine: make your own wine aroma study kit. of delivery and the product that is offered As suggested by Wine Spectator magazine, grab a couple bottles of inexpensive, neutral whites receives 5 stars…you can definitely know and reds (perhaps a Pinot Grigio and Merlot) and pour 12 small glasses of each wine. Add each of the following ingredients to its own glass and allow to soak for a couple hours. that for the next occasion once this For the whites: lemon slice, grapefruit slice, pineapple juice, melon (chunk of cantelope), expires next year, as a customer I will peach slice, pear slice, green grass, honey, vanilla extract, nutmeg, and liquid smoke. For the definitely be back!” reds: crushed strawberries, jam, crushed cherries, mint extract, diced green pepper, ground –D. Melchiorre black pepper, powdered cocoa, ground coffee, tobacco, vanilla extract, and liquid smoke. Swirl and sniff….can you identify them? Have fun!
The Gold Series features wines from only the best small wineries of California. The selected wines have earned medals in the top wine-industry competitions or have been highly rated by respected national wine publications. On occasion we feature a wine of high medal-quality with very limited availability that may not be submitted to these venues for review.
The gold medal wine store Reorders Distinctive, expressive, and unforgettably elegant, Perry Creek’s high altitude wines have a personality all their own and it is our pleasure to bring these specially selected, pre-release features to our Gold Series members this month. For a limited time, these wines are exclusively available to Gold Medal Wine Club, and offered at the incredible savings of up to 50% OFF! Order soon, because with a savings like this, you know these Save up to 50% wines will not last long! off Winery Direct
Retail Price Club Price Club Price New Perry Creek Winery Winery-Direct 2-Bottle Members 4-Bottle Members And Multiple Series Members
2009 Zinfandel* $28.00/btl. $15.00/btl. Save 46% $14.00/btl. Save 50% 2009 Syrah* $28.00/btl. $15.00/btl. Save 46% $14.00/btl. Save 50%
2 bottle minimum, per wine, per order New If you are also a Reorder Online: www.GoldMedalWineClub.com 2-bottle member of Toll Free: 1-800-266-8888 Fax: 1-800-266-8889 another Series, you are now Gold Medal Wine Club – 5330 Debbie Road, Suite 200 • Santa Barbara, California 93111 eligible to receive the 4-bottle member prices above! *Availability is extremely limited Note: Shipping and tax (if applicable) not included in the above prices. Call for details.