Watching the Wine Children Grow Up at J. Cage Cellars

 No Responses »
Nov 052014
 
Read Part 6 of  Starting J. Cage Cellars –  A Family Winery Series

Back at the end of September, we finished barreling our wines so they can mature and rest comfortably. Donna and I then headed back to Denver. A Halloween party invitation and the wonderful Pinot on the River event in Healdsburg were enough excuse to bolt from Denver for a long weekend back in Sonoma to taste our three J. Cage Cellars wines.

J. Cage Cellars

Conch getting J. Cage Cellars Pinot Samples

I recall watching Conch and Whitney when they were young kids participating in sporting events and wondering if they might develop into world-class athletes. Of course nearly every parent does when their child kicks that first soccer goal or in our case glided down the ski racing slopes of Breckenridge. I was sure Conch was destined for the PGA when he got a hole-in-one at age 13…. But alas… it didn’t happen. A parent can dream…and probably should.

The wines that we struggled so hard to get right are, like those soccer kids, growing up and it was a pleasure to taste them after a month of maturity. Conch samples barrels almost weekly and keeps me apprised. The whites are nice and crisp and should be ready for the summer patio season. But it’s the five barrels of Pinot Noir that I’m emotionally focused upon. Continue reading »

The Italian Wine Club Giordano Wines – Explore the World of Wine

 No Responses »
Oct 222014
 
 The Italian  Wine Club from Giordano Wines Offers Great Values for Wine Explorers

Bacchus and beery wine radioOver the past few episodes on Bacchus and Beery Wine Radio, Donna and I have been talking about getting bold and adventurous with your wine choices. That may mean trying a new variety, label or trying wines from a different country or region.

Wines from Europe can be confusing. Wines from the rest of the world are normally labeled by the grape variety and region such as Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa Valley; simple enough. Wines from most of Europe are labeled by their region, Burgundy, Bordeaux, Chianti and many others. The reason is that Europe has much stricter regulations regarding what grapes are allowed to grow in each region. Therefore a red Burgundy will be a most likely be Pinot Noir and a white Burgundy, Chardonnay. Bordeaux will normally be a red blend of mostly Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot (depending on the sub-region) and to a lesser extent, other varieties such as Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and Malbec. Chianti is predominately Sangiovese. Continue reading »

The Last Days of Winemaker Summer Camp

 No Responses »
Oct 082014
 
Read Part 5 of our Starting J. Cage Cellars – A Family Winery Series

 

IMG_2276It was the last few days of our harvest and crush for J. Cage Cellars. The Sauvignon Blanc and Viognier that Donna and I had watched over so closely during the last weeks of ripening were fully fermented and safely tucked into their barrels, resting until they are ready to share. Our Pinot Noir from Nunes Vineyard in the Russian River Valley of Sonoma County was nearly finished and ready for press. I, for the first time during this experience, was feeling down and a bit sad. But it took a winemaker friend to describe the emotion accurately.

The last two weeks had been filled with work in the winery. Both Donna and I found we were missing our time in the vineyard. Early morning, in the solitude of vines, grapes and sunshine, sometimes hidden by a thin layer of coastal fog was a time we learned to cherish. We would walk amongst the rows taking grape samples, checking for quality, sugar levels and overall ripeness. Different areas of the vineyard and different clones of the same grape variety mature at different rates, making choices challenging. We strived to get our first picks as close to perfect as possible, in order to create the hand-crafted wines we had been imagining for our own, J. Cage Cellars. Continue reading »

Learning to be a Winemaker – My Head is Spinning!

 No Responses »
Sep 212014
 
Read Part 4 of our Starting J. Cage Cellars –  A Family Winery Series

Much to my naive surprise, learning to be a winemaker (for our new J. Cage Cellars label) and seeking winemaking advice has turned out to be much like my first days of fatherhood and  seeking child rearing advice. Even the most artful winemakers hold deeply seeded conflicting opinions. As my friend Kurt Beitler of Bohème Wines told me, “Roger…What do you get when two winemakers are in a room together?…Four opinions.”

Learning to be a Winemaker I recall from my early days as a father asking different parents I respected about child rearing philosophies and techniques. As I found with winemaking, there was an inconsistency of heartfelt answers. Let the child bond by sleeping in bed with you. The child should learn independence by sleeping in another room. Let the child set their own schedule. If your child sets their own schedule, you’ll have an undisciplined child and you’ll get no rest…It’s all enough to leave your head spinning like the child, Regan, in the 1973 film The Exorcist.

Even though I had spent quite a bit of time reading about the art of winemaking, when the time came for decision making, I relied on a core group of respected winemaker friends who were happy to offer solid advice. I had assumed incorrectly, that since they produced wines in a similar style, their techniques would be nearly the same and I would have a simple plan to follow. I could not have been more wrong. Not only are many of their opinions deeply held, I was told that if I followed another’s advice…it could end badly. Like Regan…my head was and is still, though to a much lesser extent, spinning. Continue reading »

Page 2 of 2912345...1020...Last »