Tagged: Monterey County

Windy Oaks Estate: “premium wines grown in unique terroirs…”

We discovered Windy Oaks when they opened a tasting room in Carmel Valley (yes, you’ve heard this before).  The winery is located in Corralitos in the Santa Cruz Mountains, overlooking the Monterey Bay.  While most of their wines are from their 30-acres of vineyards, where they produce Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Syrah, they also source grapes from Monterey County.  We found them interesting for what they have done with clones, making even a non-Pinot Noir lover stop to enjoy their wines.  But I digress.

From Windy Oaks: “Windy Oaks was founded in 1996 by Jim and Judy Schultze, when they returned to California after living overseas for 7 years in Australia and Europe. On a windy ridge in Corralitos, overlooking Monterey Bay, they planted their first three acres and produced their first vintage of Pinot Noir in 1999. Today, they farm almost 30 acres of Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Syrah.”

Windy Oaks was named “Winery of the Year 2018 by Rusty Gaffney, PinotFile, one of the most knowledgeable wine writers in the industry.”

Windy Oaks 2015 Night Owl Red GSM, Monterey County, 13.8% ABV, $28? (#8*)

The 2015 Night Owl Red has all the fruit and complexity expected of a GSM.

Today’s wine, the 2015 Night Owl Red, is a Rhône blend – a Grenache-Syrah-Mourvèdre (GSM) blended from 3 different Monterey County AVAs:  Arroyo Seco, Chalone, and Santa Lucia Highlands.  We would expect a GSM to be a bold wine, a bit leathery with dark fruits. 

My Review: A beautiful ruby red in color, this wine has bright fruit notes on the nose and palate, with a darker fruit finish and a bit of that bitterness or leather one might expect.  I found the brighter fruits made it very drinkable and enjoyable, while the finish would stand up to a good meal and leave you wanting more.  I don’t have notes on the exact blend for this wine, but I would expect it to be 40-45% Grenache, 25-30% Syrah, and 30% Mourvèdre.  There is not much publicly available information on this vintage; 2016 is the current release. 

Windy Oaks Tasting Room in Carmel Valley Village!

All of Windy Oaks tasting rooms are open:  at the winery, in Carmel-By-The-Sea, and in Carmel Valley Village.  Check here for the details: http://www.windyoaksestate.com/.  Please call 831-724-9562 for reservations and other pertinent info.

*Refers to wines tasted while Sheltering in Place on Sharon’s personal Facebook group “Sharon’s Central Coast (Monterey) Wine Blog” – including non-Central Coast wines.

© Decanting Monterey 2020

Bunter Spring: “There is no excuse for bad wine.”

We discovered Bunter Spring while wine tasting in Carmel Valley Village.  The tasting room was a bit mysterious – rarely open.  We finally caught them open and had an engaging conversation with Mark Bunter.  An older couple was in the tasting room – through them, we learned the “Spring” in Bunter Spring was a former Washington DC colleague of my husband!  We occasionally catch both Bunter and Spring in the tasting room.  One of our favorite Bunter Spring wine is the “Hippie Red” – 100% Syrah from Napa.  We opened this 2016 Cabernet Franc for Labor Day.  After a few emails with Mark, I discovered this wine is actually from the San Antonio AVA!

The Bunter Spring Tasting Room at 9 Del Fino Place in Carmel Valley Village.

From Bunter Spring Winery:  “Bunter Spring Winery is a family operated “garage” winery in the Coombsville AVA in the southeast corner of Napa Valley. We make small-lot wines for sale to friends on our mailing list and to a few restaurants and wine shops.  Bunter Spring was licensed in 2008, by Mark Bunter, after a brief (thirty years) internship in the wine cellars of people with names like Sebastiani and Mondavi.  It all started  in 1977 at Bill Cadman’s Tulocay Winery, just up the hill from Bunter Spring,  where Mark took on a volunteer  bottling line position.  Mark got interested in winemaking and  started making small batches of wine for fun in the family garage, with free grapes. After helping pick scrounged  “second crop” grapes from nearby vineyards for a few vintages, Dad Arnold (Arnie) helped plant a small vineyard on his own property (evidently, owning a vineyard was deemed the lesser of two evils).  Within fifteen short years, Arnie was ready to let Mark start selling the family Syrah instead of just giving it away.  We don’t rush things at Bunter Spring.”

Bunter Spring 2016 Spring Cabernet Franc, Monterey County, 13% ABV, $25 (#145*)  87% Cabernet Franc, 13% Petit Verdot

The 2016 Cabernet Franc comes from the San Antonio AVA!

Winemaker’s Notes from the Back Label: “These grapes come from the warmer, southern end of Monterey County.  Aged for eleven months in once used French oak barrels.  Smells and tastes of ripe red cherries, fresh spearmint, green tea, hardwood, and dark chocolate.  We bottled this early to capture its fresh fruit and lively tannins.”

My Review:  Garnet with purple edges in the glass.  Warm nose of blackberry and dark plum.  Tart red fruit on the palate, with a lingering  blackberry and cassis finish.  I like this wine, but I think I am going to really like his 2017 Cabernet Franc from Carmel Valley (86% Cabernet Franc, 14% Cabernet Sauvignon), skipping the Petit Verdot!  September 2020

To buy their wines, check out their current releases and contact Mark by phone or email to order.  They ship within California and to Washington DC and Florida.  Last I checked, their tasting room in Carmel Valley Village had not reopened.  In better times, it is open on the weekends or by appointment. 

*Refers to wines tasted while Sheltering in Place on Sharon’s personal Facebook group “Sharon’s Central Coast (Monterey) Wine Blog” – includes non-Central Coast wines.

© Decanting Monterey 2020

The Endless Summer: From Iconic Surfing Movie to Beach-Worthy Wines

Did you know that the third Friday of every September is International Grenache Day?  Neither did we.  Our wine class picked Grenache for our September 17th class for that very reason.  Embracing that “One World” spirit, we presented wines from France, Spain, Washington State, Napa and Monterey.  That was kind of cool! I’m deviating from my planned order in honor of International Grenache Day!

We have a story for every wine in our wine room – this one is no exception.  Last Fall, Pacific Grove closed a block of the town for Salud Pacific Grove:  An Evening of Food and Wine.  One long table extended down the street.  Food and wines from our local restaurants and vintners were served family style.  Some of the stores were open and other wines were available for purchase.  That’s where we tried and purchased The Endless Summer red wine.  We didn’t learn its full story until much later. 

Salud Pacific Grove’s dining table stretched down Grand Avenue, with an awesome bay view.

Edible Monterey published this fascinating article that tells the whole story about how The Endless Summer wines came about.  In it, you will read about the making of this iconic surfing movie, learn that the Georis brothers were in the band (The Sandals) that provided the music for the movie, and how Walter Georis has long wanted to open a line of wines embracing the beach culture.  Some quotes from the article:  “We wanted to try something you could have on the beach,” enjoying a free lifestyle, Sanvido says. “It’s a little bit of a lighter style wine, fun and nice and vibrant.”

“Georis notes that the new wines are food friendly, reflective of the local terroir and veer from the ordinary when it comes to varietals—the white is made mostly from Chenin Blanc, the Rose, Syrah, and the red, 100% Grenache. Each varietal is made in small batches of 200-300 cases…Price-wise, at $30 per bottle, the new label falls between the wines made for the acclaimed flagship Georis Winery and Georis’s more casual Cowgirl Winery.”

The Endless Summer Tasting Room will open in the former Georis Tasting Room spaces right behind Corkscrew Cafe at 4 Pilot Road, Carmel Valley Village.

“…Meantime, Georis is especially excited about the beautiful Endless Summer bottles, each engraved with the iconic movie album art, and each made in a different gorgeous color, sealed with synthetic corks in even more hues. In short, a bottle you may not want to toss after enjoying its contents.”  This is so true!  A collector’s item bottle with a bright blue cork, in the case of the Grenache!

The distinctive bottle, flat on one side, is definitely a piece of art – from its beautiful surfing scene etching – right down to its bright blue cork!

2016 The Endless Summer Red Wine, Monterey County 13% ABV, $30 (#137*)

Winemaker’s Notes 2016 Vintage: 100% Grenache. The grapes are from a blend of vineyards across Monterey County. The 2016 was a wine that was affected by the Soberanes Fire. This results in a wine that is subtly and pleasantly smoky, accompanied by blackberry and plum. The tannins are smooth and well-integrated and the finish has lingering smoke. 

Winemaker’s Notes for the 2017 Vintage:  Aromas such as black cherry, strawberry, tobacco and subtle hints of mocha can be found on the nose.  A smooth palate with very subtle tannins leaves wine easy to drink accompanied by great spicy notes such as cinnamon and white pepper.  A medium bodied wine with great texture and complexity.  100% Grenache.  331 cases produced.

My Review: This wine is translucent garnet in appearance. I definitely detected smoked ham on the nose (my better half did not).  The palate was quite juicy and pleasant, but overwhelmed by the lingering smoky finish.  Would love to taste the 2017 and will hang onto this bottle!  September 2020

You can buy The Endless Summer wines on the Georis website or at the Georis Tasting Room. Not sure if The Endless Summer’s Tasting Room is open yet.

*Refers to wines tasted while Sheltering in Place on Sharon’s personal Facebook group “Sharon’s Central Coast (Monterey) Wine Blog” – including non-Central Coast wines.

© Decanting Monterey 2020

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