Exploring California Pinot Noir

This year, 2013, one of my resolutions was to explore more California Pinot Noir. That's not to say I am unfamiliar with pinot from California, I was afforded many tastes during the nine years I worked in the wine industry there. Most of the "cult" wines graced my glass at one point or another, and I even was on the mailing list for Radio Coteau and Sea Smoke over a period of several years.

As is wont to happen though, my tastes changed (I prefer "evolved"). Right around 2008/2009 I started seeking more pinot noir from Burgundy and Oregon. The typical reasons manifest in my story too; becoming tired with over-ripe and overly alcoholic wines, seeking something new, craving more acidity and red fruit orientation.

Now, with the successive cooler vintages in California, I am anxious to see what is coming from my former home. I hear breathless praise of higher-acid wines with structure and balance coming out of the usual suspects, and the wine forums are buzzing with ever present comparisons to Burgundy and even Oregon. The years 2009, 2010, and 2011 have all gotten praise from various quarters, and after enough of that hype, I decided I wanted to see for myself what was going on. As a blogger, I am enjoying tasting through all these wines, good and bad, and trying to present them to you, reader. Of note to any PR or marketing folks who read this blog, I am continuing to accept California Pinot Noir even as I scale back acceptance of other wines.

Here are some recently tasted examples of pinot noir from California:

2009 La Follette Sangiacomo Vineyard Pinot Noir: Big, brawny nose of tar, smoke, plum/blackberry, and black tea. Some alcoholic heat too. On the palate, very ripe with blackberries and cherries galore, anise, dark chocolate, and sweet plum flesh. Some pepper tickles the edges of the palate, thankfully reducing the abundance of fruit present. The finish is unfortunately a hot mess, literally. Alcoholic heat that stings as it goes down. Unfortunate, because without that, this is a pinot I can see a lot of people really enjoying. Pairs best with big flavors, like steak! $40 SRP. 15.5% abv.

2009 Gary Farrell Russian River Valley Pinot Noir: Muted nose with hints of forest floor, black cherry, and anise notes as a secondary aroma. Some wet-barrel smell came out with swirling. On the palate it's very light-bodied and somewhat bland, the strongest note is the anise. Subtle flavors of dried red currant, cherry, and pleasing minerality do show up eventually though. Nice acidity, keeping the body light and fresh. An easy drinking pinot noir but lacking in character. $32 SRP. 14.2% abv.

2009 Sojourn Pinot Noir Gap's Crown Vineyard Sonoma Coast: Nice red fruit on the nose, with raspberry, strawberry, and spices all balancing each other well. A hint of wood but not bad, as it enhanced the bouquet. There's a juiciness to the bouquet that I found very appealing, as if this wine is bursting with life. On the palate it's definitely young and still sorting itself out. More cherries and strawberries come out, some firm tannin, but a lack of acidity was somewhat disappointing to me. I was hoping for a more textural pinot, this one is smooth and soft, very easy to drink, but a little on the simple side. Still, I have a few more bottles so I'll check in with this again at a later date. $48 SRP.

2009 Sojourn Pinot Noir Russian River Valley: Opens with an intense, raspberry-preserve aroma that carries through to the palate. Hints of pepper try in vain to make themselves known but ultimately get washed out by the raspberry jam. The purity of fruit was itself exceptional, but that was pretty much the only thing going on in this wine. Acidity tarted up the back end but it felt tacked-on, and wasn't at all integrated. No subtlety or nuance here, just pure, hedonistic fruit. $42 SRP.

2010 Siduri Pinot Noir Santa Rita Hills: Shows some reduction on the nose but that blows off, revealing aromas of strawberry licorice, pepper, cherries, and spice. Very smooth on the palate with a fun, interesting savory note to temper the sweet red fruit. Flavors of cherry pie, baking spices, and bright red fruit. The finish is clean and tapers off gently. Overall this is a fun, delicious pinot noir from an excellent producer. $25 srp.

2011 Siduri Pinot Noir Sonoma County: Similarly showing a bit of reduction, which in this case blew off faster than in the Sta. Rita Hills bottling. Beyond that, plenty of deliciously tart red fruit, cherry Jolly Rancher, and a bit of wood. On the palate I found this somewhat plain but not lacking for sheer "yum" factor. Lots of flavors of ripe red fruit - think strawberry and raspberry - which themselves have great acidity. Beyond that though, there isn't much going on. $28 srp.

2011 Siduri Pinot Noir Russian River Valley: Very funky at first, showing cola and stem aromas mixed with black cherry and spices. Plenty of ripe fruit starts things on the palate but those flavors are quickly balanced out by some complex wood and spice notes, and an earthy black peppercorn flavor that I was thoroughly enjoying. Lots of funk shows on the palate too but not in a bad way, it fits into the complex nature of this wine. Delicious stuff for under $25 srp.

2011 Hahn Winery Nicky Hahn Pinot Noir California: Pours a beautifully vibrant ruby color in the glass, a testament to its youth. The nose is full of ripe, jammy cherry preserves, baking spice, some woodsy aromas, and a touch of earth. Cherry jam dominates the palate, providing a soft, rich mouthfeel. The baking spices come out to play a little bit on the finish, which in itself is nice if a bit short. 100% pinot noir, according to the data sheet I have. 14.5% abv. $14 retail.

2010 Garnet Vineyards Pinot Noir Carneros: Loads of raspberry and strawberry aromas followed by a bit of white pepper spices. I think there's a bit of funk here too, some nail-polish remover came out as the wine warmed up. I think this pinot is very varietally correct on the palate, with light red fruit, peppery spice, hints of earthy funk, and lots of acidity. The finish is medium length, tapering off nicely, however, the bottle was open about five hours before the finish got to be any reasonable length. It might need a bit of age or an hour in a decanter before it shows all its facets. 13.5% abv. $19 retail.

2009 High Flyer Pinot Noir Santa Lucia Highlands: Immediately I noticed the alcohol on this wine, which seems to fight with intense red fruit aromas and spice. There's a bit of volatile acidity but to me it adds an interetsing facet. Plenty of spicy red cherry and raspberry on the palate, along with a healthy dose of oak. I liked the finish here, after about four hours, because it was so smooth and gentle. Overall, a solid bottle of pinot noir from a producer I've never tasted. $36 srp.

The Siduri wines were the most complete out of any on this list, which just goes to prove that price doesn't always matter. I will contend though that it does matter to some extent whenever you deal with a grape as finicky as pinot noir. Still, the rest of the wines showed themselves quite well at their price points. Admittedly I struggled a little bit with the Sojourn wines, given their critical acclaim, but I suspect I need to get used to that style and perhaps better understand the regions which they come from.

If the above list is any indication, 2013 will be a fun year for me as I continue to explore California Pinot Noir. Keep checking back through the months as I will keep posting whenever I get a nice sample size of wines to taste.

Many of these wines were samples for review purposes.

Beau Carufel

House of Jerky and Their Jerky Lineup!

While most of my blog is devoted to wine reviews, I do occasionally try to add in other things that interest me. You may have noted the beer blogs I've posted over the past months as well as various blogs detailing my often-futile attempts in the kitchen. In keeping with that theme, here's a blog about jerky. Most Americans are fans of jerky, and I'm sure everyone has had the common varieties you find in supermarkets and convenience stores. I grew up eating the stuff during Cub Scout and Boy Scout trips, and I must admit that it did help me get through flight school during late night sessions in the simulator and long cross country trips in a Cessna 172.

The other side of the jerky coin is the gourmet jerky, from purveyors like House of Jerky. This is the top quality stuff, made with natural ingredients, no added chemicals, and often using old family recipes instead of big factories. I was sent a huge sampling of the various kinds of jerky that the folks at House of Jerky make, and got to taste through them over the past few weeks. Both beer and wine were paired in an attempt to draw some conclusions as to the nature of these pairings. Last year I introduced the San Diego Wine Mafia to my favorite jerky pairing, featuring pinot noir and beef jerky. Here I'll explore other varietals and other kinds of jerky.

Since I want to keep the listing concise, I'll just list the kind of jerky, what I liked it about it, and what wine and/or beer would pair well with it.

Black Pepper Wild Boar Jerky - This is a chewy, earthy jerky with the spicy pepper notes meandering throughout. A salty/sweet kick at the end just begs for something interesting like and off-dry riesling from Oregon, or a rich, tannic syrah from Washington. Either way, you better prepare your mouth for an epic adventure of taste and flavor.




Black Pepper Venison Jerky - Lean, gamey taste with spicy pepper bursts at the edges of your tongue. Great texture and the heat from the black pepper carries on for a while. Bring me some Chocolate Stout or a Paso Robles zinfandel for this awesome stuff. And also please bring me some salty potato chips to complete the palate pleasing trifecta.

Sweet and Spicy Beef Jerky - This reminds me of the stuff from my youth, the sweet is great because it shows first, but the spice is powerful and demands something equally strong. A nice oak aged Porter would do well, as would a sweet gewurztraminer or Spanish grenache. My experiments with India Pale Ales and cabernet sauvignon didn't go well and the pinot I tasted simply wilted under the jerky attack.

Hot Beef Jerky - While the previous beef jerky was spicy, this is HOT stuff! It's definitely beef jerky, there's a sweet, earthy flavor there behind the wall of spicy hotness. Bring on the sweet riesling's, nitrogen conditioned stouts, and port wines. Basically though, this is in a class by itself and perhaps needs a pear or apple cider. My friend Becky suggested a red like barbera or carmine, they're worth a shot too.

Black Pepper Turkey Jerky - One of the drier jerkies that I received, also one of the saltiest. I think this would pair exceptionally well with Champagne or sparkling wine. Perhaps one that has some residual sugar, a demi sec or extra dry instead of a brut. There's a mild pepper flavor that's incredibly pleasing, making this one of my favorite samples out of the entire box. Try it also with a big, hoppy IPA and you'll be happy as can be.

Black Pepper Beef Jerky - The driest of the jerky samples, so I think that the barbera I mentioned earlier would pair extremely well with this one, also a full bodied amber ale like the Calico from Ballast Point. There's  hardly any pepper here, instead, a nice mix of salty, beefy flavors with a hint of sweet right on the finish. Honestly this might be the most versatile jerky in the package.

Teriyaki Turkey Jerky - Moist, tender, sweet teriyaki flavors along with the poultry flavor of turkey. Wowie, so damn tasty! I want that strong IPA now or a big California cabernet that's bursting with berry notes and oak. One of those usually-nasty fruit bombs would absolutely kill it in a pairing here. Also, I had some Willamette chardonnays last week that would rock too, like the 2008 Estate from Johan especially!



Natural Style Beef - Another dry jerky, but oh my goodness is this one good! Pure beef flavor, like eating dried filet mignon. Give me an American Pale Ale with this or crack a bottle of Chateauneuf du Pape, from a year where they didn't screw it up with too much extraction. I also found that this paired exceptionally nicely with a Russian River Valley pinot noir, surprisingly good in fact.



Black Pepper Buffalo Jerky - If I have one gripe about this one, it's just too dry. I loved the texture though, the gamey buffalo meat and the pepper complement each other so well, and there's just this crazy-cool hint of cocoa powder in there too. Give me a bottle of Cana's Feast merlot please! That and leave me in peace to just enjoy some awesome flavors in my mouth.



Teriyaki Beef Jerky - Perhaps the most straightforward jerky in the amazing sampler pack, but also the one that brought me back to childhood. Nice thin sheets with a sweet teriyaki sauce that kept the beef moist and chewy. A hint of nuttiness on the mid palate was very pleasant. Since this took me back to childhood, so too will my wine (in a way). I'll take a bottle of Gary Farrell Russian River Valley Pinot Noir please. My dad sold Gary's wines down here in San Diego until the winery was gobbled up by a conglomerate, so I grew up with cases of this stuff around the house. I suspect it was my first domestic pinot noir ever.


I just tasted through ten different jerkies for you all, feel free to tell me what a committed, awesome author I am. What sacrifice, all to please and entertain my readers!

Kidding aside, the samples sent to me by House of Jerky were all outstanding and I cannot urge you enough to go to their website and check out the selection. I want to thank Janie for reaching out to me and sending these sampler bags along. You can follow them on twitter @HouseofJerky and Janie is truly one of the more engaging people out there.


Beau Carufel