Ultimate California Wine Blog

Rios Wine Company, LLC is a bit of a hard find; located on a side alley off the main drag in Calistoga, you have to know where it is (or be willing to do a lot of stumbling around) to find it. The names from the three brothers, Manuel, Rafael, and Albert Rios, and their cousin, Jesus Hernandez. These are serious wine guys, with all four of them having started in the fields and working to the point where they could learn viticulture and start their own label.

It is still a small winery, producing only a handful of wines, two whites (a Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay) and two reds (a blend and Cabernet Sauvignon), under the name Solovino.

During my visit, I only tasted the Sauvignon Blanc and the blend. I found the SauvBlanc a bit thin on the entry but with detectable tropical fruit and grassiness. The sharpness of the entry rounded a bit but the wine was more tart than I care for, although the finish of green apple helped.

The blend, known as Mixto, is an equal blend of cabernet sauvignon, merlot and cabernet franc. This was a very easy-drinking wine with well-integrated red stone fruit and mild spice on the entry which blossoms to a darker cherry and hints of floral notes. This would be a great BBQ wine.

1334 Lincoln Avenue, Ste. B
Calistoga, CA 94515
707.942.1376

Meeting Scott Stelzle and Toby Meeder of Venteux Vineyards was definitely a highlight of the Rhone Rangers tasting. I think it was just because after getting bread crumbs all over their table, they still had huge smiles on their gregarious faces. At the tasting, I was told that Scott and Toby were one and the same as far as the business is concerned; each taking on duties of winemaking, cellar rat, sales, but the website depicts Scott as the powerhouse behind the production.

Venteux means windy in French and that name is derived from the blustery location of the winery and vineyards. The establishment is ten years old and produces twelve varietals, but is keeping the production under 2,000 cases. Most of the wines are 100% varietals, with an occasional blend thrown in for good measure. And if visiting the Paso Robles area, apparently they have a lovely little bed-and-breakfast available for visitors!

2007 Grenache – One of the first “swallow-worthy” wines I tasted at the event. A huge Wow Factor with a supple, round mouth feel. The elegant nose provided the classic chocolate and cherries, but well-balanced and integrated. Hints of spice brought out the finish. At $28 a bottle, this is on the border of not quite the $10/$15 bargain, but not the $40 splurge. Worth the price!

2007 Farmouse Cuvée – A Château-du-Pape blend of 60% Grenache, 20% Syrah, and 20% Mourvedre, a heady aroma of truffles greets the nose but the mouth is filled with dried fruit, dark cherries and dried plums. This is one of those rare wines that exudes the passion of the winemaker. $28

2007 – Tache le Verre Syrah –  The guys told me that “tache le verre” literally means “stains the glass” and while this is a huge, bulbous wine, all dark and inky in its heartiness, it is still smooth and very accessible. Having spent 20 months in new French Oak, this is a wine I would like to taste in ten or fifteen years. $35.

Throwing myself back into the reviewing of wines and wineries is going to be quite a process. While I used to be able to drive around the Napa and Sonoma counties, being a San Francisco-bound girl makes those trips a bit more cumbersome. To start, I will be relying on large tastings coming to the city and usually, to Fort Mason. This last weekend was Rhone Rangers, and while I did not get through nearly as many wineries as I would like, it was a great pleasure to meet new friends and taste through some lovely wines — not the least of which was Zaca Mesa. Eric Mohseni is the winemaker and with the exception of a Chardonnay, their website shows they are almost an exclusively Rhone varietal producer.

A few things that Eric told me during my tasting; he models a few wines after the Château-du-Pape legacy, they are all about sustainable practices in the vineyards, and Zaca Mesa does not source grapes, but grows it all themselves and have done so for over 25 years. They claim to have the oldest Syrah grapes in the Central Coast and are completely family-owned and operated.

2008 Viognier – Clean and lovely, elegant floral notes with a core of honey balances out bright stone fruit flavors.

2006 Roussanne – Eric was rattling off about the wine going into a tank first and then a neutral barrel, using 60% new oak, but I somewhat zoned out on the specifics as I became enraptured with hints of Turkish rose petals in the full-bodied, spicy offering. A touch of toasty on the finish, an elegant offering I could easily become attached to.

2006 Z Cuvée – Refuted to be the winery’s “quaffing wine,” this was a blend of Grenache, Mourvèdre, Syrah, and Cinsaut (this particular vintage, anyway), and shows a rich, warm nose of cherry, berry, and dried sage and tarragon.

2006 Z Three – An estate-bottled blend of Syrah, Grenache, and Mourvèdre, there is a rich unctuousness to this offering, with its dark, ripe tannins and liqueur-like berry fruit.

2006 Syrah – Aged in 25% new oak, this was the one wine which did not blow me away. A slightly tannic nose, there was a smokiness which I found a bit stronger than I care for and believe the inbalance is due entirely to its youth.

Zaca Mesa ~ 6905 Foxen Canyon Road ~ P.O. Box 899 ~ Los Olivos ~ 93441 ~ 805.688.9339

Open 10am-4pm daily.