APPELLATION SOCIETY COLLECTORS CLUB NOVEMBER 2015 \ GREETINGS, CLUB MEMBERS Harvest 2015 is behind us, and as you may have heard, it was one of the earliest in recent memory. That’s not a bad thing; in fact, some of the finest vintages come out of early harvests. And while the crop was a little lighter than the past few years, our cellar is filled with tanks and barrels of wine. Hats off to Gustavo, who was right on the money when he predicted the crop size back in July. Thanks to him we knew exactly what to expect. This month’s wine club selection includes the 2012 vintages of Tessitura, Petit Verdot and Cave 7 Cabernet Sauvignon. Enjoy! Michael Beaulac Winemaker, General Manager HOLIDAY ENTERTAINING TIPS With holidays just around the corner we know you’ll be pulling corks more often. Here are a few tips to sure the wine is the hit of the party! • For a multi-course dinner, expect to serve approximately one bottle of wine per guest. A good rule of thumb is to stock two reds to every white. • White wines should be served at approximately 52-55 °F, and for maximum enjoyment, reds should be served around 68-72 °F. • Almost any full-bodied red wine can benefit from decanting. With older wines, let the bottle sit upright for several hours, allowing sediment to sink to the bottom. Open carefully and slowly pour into a clear glass decanter, being careful to stop as soon as you see the sediment reach the neck of the bottle (use a flashlight if the bottle is particularly opaque). • When pouring, only fill glasses about halfway. This gives tasters plenty of room to swirl and enjoy the aromas. • Don’t forget to stock up. You never want to run out of wine at a party! VINEYARD UPDATE The vineyards are done for the year and the vines are losing their leaves. We’re going into maintenance mode, repairing trellises and pulling out vines that have been sickened by disease. We’ve finished seeding the cover crops, and now we’re focusing on erosion control, making sure we’re prepared for any big storms that come our way this winter. They say we’re going to have an El Niño year here in California; no matter what happens, we’ll be ready! Gustavo Aviña, Vineyard Manager CELLAR UPDATE Though it’s busy in the cellar, the dust has settled for the most part and it’s time to assess what Mother Nature gave us in 2015. This is a time of year when we really put our palates to work, tasting the young wines, predicting how they’ll evolve, and determining what steps to take next. Every lot is different, and though the analysis we get from the lab is critical, our final decisions are always determined by taste. Michael Conversano, Assistant Winemaker WINEMAKING UPDATE Although the bulk of harvest is behind us, there is still much to be done in the winery. One of the busiest people around here is Colleen FitzGerald, our enologist, who is in charge of analyzing every single lot of wine as it goes through primary and secondary fermentation. It adds up to dozens of analyses a day, and provides our team with critical information on each lot’s progress. Bravo Colleen! Michael Beaulac, Winemaker, General Manager WWW.PINERIDGEVINEYARDS.COM • ( 800) 400-6647 APPELLATION SOCIETY WINE SELECTIONS WITH CONSISTENTLY MILD TEMPERATURES THROUGHOUT SPRING AND SUMMER, 2012 WAS A STELLAR VINTAGE IN NAPA VALLEY, ALLOWING SLOW, EVEN RIPENING AND YIELDING EXQUISITE, BALANCED FRUIT. FOR YOUNG WINES, WE SUGGEST DECANTING FOR SEVERAL HOURS BEFORE ENJOYING. 2012 Cave 7 Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley $75 Member Price: $60 Intense aromas of red cherry and blackberry with wisps of spice, cola and cinnamon sugar toast. Flavors of raspberry preserves and red plum tart give way to touches of caramel, olive tapenade and tobacco leaf. The finish is supple and lingering. Pair with a hearty meal such as herb crusted rack of lamb or a bison burger with grilled onions. For a cheese course, try Comté, a semi-hard cow’s milk cheese from the Western Alps. VARIETAL: 100% Cabernet Sauvignon APPELLATION: Napa Valley ALCOHOL: 13.8% BARRELS: 35% new French oak, 18 months AGING POTENTIAL: up to 7 years 2012 Petit Verdot, Napa Valley $65 Member Price: $52 Dark fruit aromas of fresh raspberry preserves, blackberry, and cherry are intertwined with white peppercorn, cinnamon and caramel. Flavors teem with blackberry pie and fruit leather, fading gracefully into hints of creamy dark chocolate, cherry cordial and graham cracker that linger through the dense, long finish. Pair with this month’s recipe: Brown Sugar Pork Tenderloin with Balsamic-Fig Vinaigrette. For a cheese course, pair with Stilton, a semi-soft, cow’s milk, blue cheese. VARIETAL: 90% Petit Verdot, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon APPELLATION: Napa Valley ALCOHOL: 14.3% BARRELS: 68% new French oak, 18 months AGING POTENTIAL: 7-12 years 2012 Tessitura, Napa Valley $65 Member Price: $52 The bouquet opens with an array of red raspberry, cranberry and cherry, with spicy hints of tobacco, ground coffee and vanilla. The palate is plush amid flavors of red plum and currant, followed by hints of chocolate graham cracker and toasted oak balanced by bright acidity and silky tannins. This complex wine would be best served alongside a savory dish, such as duck Cassoulet or beef Wellington. For a cheese course, try creamy Saint- Nectaire, a French cow’s milk cheese. VARIETAL: 56% Cabernet Sauvignon, 33% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc, 1% Petit Verdot APPELLATION: Napa Valley ALCOHOL: 13.5% BARRELS: 38% new French oak, 18 months AGING POTENTIAL: 5-7 years METICULOUS CRAFTSMANSHIP • CONTINUITY • CLASSIC BALANCE COLLECTORS CLUB WINE SELECTIONS IN ADDITION TO 3 PRE-RELEASE WINES, COLLECTORS CLUB MEMBERS RECEIVE 3 LIBRARY WINES . BEFORE SERVING, PLEASE ALLOW THE BOTTLE TO REST UPRIGHT FOR A MINIMUM OF 48 HOURS FOR ANY SEDIMENT TO SETTLE. AS OLDER CORKS MAY BE BRITTLE, USING AN AH-SO OR TWO-PRONGED PULL IS SUGGESTED. 2004 FORTIS Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley $225 Member Price: $180 Dark garnet in color, this wine opens with sweet scents of black plum, maple glaze and violet potpourri that mingle with touches of tobacco, cedar and forest floor. Rich and opulent, the entry is followed by bursts of dried cherry, black plum and black tea, enhanced by hints of fruit leather, white peppercorn and spicy olive tapenade that linger into the smooth finish, supported by round acidity and firm tannins. Pair with Osso Bucco. VARIETAL: 74% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot, 9% Malbec, 7% Petit Verdot APPELLATION: Napa Valley ALCOHOL: 13.5% BARRELS: 75% new French oak, 14 months AGING POTENTIAL: Enjoy now 2006 Stag Leap District Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley $160 Member Price: $128 This brick red wine greets the nose with an enticing bouquet of potpourri, fresh blackberry preserves and black cherry that play with nuances of cedar and rose petal. Rich and intense, the juicy entry lifts the palate with supple raspberry, red plum and red cherry, intermingling with notes of lavender, dried sage and cassis that linger throughout the smooth, velvety finish, supported by a structure of rounded tannins and vibrant acidity. Pair with seared duck breast with cassis compote. VARIETAL: 87% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Malbec, 5% Merlot APPELLATION: Stags Leap District ALCOHOL: 14.1% BARRELS: 75% new French oak, 17-18 months AGING POTENTIAL: Enjoy now 2004 Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley $130 Member Price: $104 The nose of this dark garnet-colored wine leads with aromas of sweet black plum, red tea and cranberry that give way to touches of black truffle, forest floor and hibiscus. The palate is vibrant and supple, entering with notes of wild cherry, crushed blackberry and red pluot that swirl into flavors of cola and bramble, supported by bright acidity that lingers through the round, structured finish. Pair with a hearty beef stew. VARIETAL: 89% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Petit Verdot, 3% Malbec, 2% Merlot, 2% Tannat APPELLATION: Howell Mountain ALCOHOL: 14.6% BARRELS: New French oak, 17 months AGING POTENTIAL: Enjoy now WWW.PINERIDGEVINEYARDS.COM • ( 800) 400-6647 Harvest - From Vineyard to Barrel The grapes have been picked, sorted and gently crushed. Each lot has wound its way to a tank and the primary fermentations – yeast turning grape sugars to alcohol – are well underway. The vineyard crew breathes a sigh of relief. But in the cellar, the work is far from over. “The first few weeks after the grapes come into the winery are some of the most critical in terms of shaping our Cabernet Sauvignons,” says Winemaker Michael Beaulac. Newly arrived vineyard grapes. First there’s pressing, the process by which it rounds out the wine’s texture and helps to the red wine -- which to this point has been integrate the oak.” fermenting in tank -- is separated from the grape skins. Determining when to press the Pressing is actually a multi-stage process. First, wine is nearly as important as deciding when the “free run” juice – the juice that flows freely off to pick the grapes. It involves tasting and the skins because of the sheer weight of the fruit analyzing the juice from each tank every single day, measuring residual sugar and evaluating the tannin levels and characteristics of each lot. There is no formula; each vineyard and wine lot is different, though at Pine Ridge we do like to press when there is still a little residual sugar in the wine, letting it finish fermentation in barrel. “Most wineries put the wine into barrel after fermentation is complete,” says Michael.