Made it to Riverbench Vineyard & Winery!

I was immediately impressed with the turnout (all ages and backgrounds) and the desire to learn from the other attendees. Jim Stollberg, Vineyard Manager for Riverbench and owner of Maverick Farming Company, led us into the vineyard first. Jim was the perfect tour leader. He’s extremely knowledgeable and down to earth, allowing attendees to interrupt with all kinds of questions about what goes on in the vineyard during the spring. He talked about bud break (which is in full force at Riverbench), pruning styles, and how to protect your fresh, new buds from frost.

This bud already has all the fruit inside it for 2011 harvest!

Did you know that by turning on sprinklers during frost, the freezing of the water droplets creates heat which in turn protects the fragile buds from being frozen? I didn’t!

Jim also talked about the importance of getting SIP Certified and how it challenges them to become a cohesive company working together towards a common goal of sustainability and promoting a healthy environment.

Listening attentively!

No vineyard tour is complete without a wine tasting of the final product. Jim stuck around and chatted with all the guests as we sipped Riverbench’s fabulous Pinot Noir and Chardonnay on the patio. It was the perfect day and I loved all of the intelligent questions and education. Everyone left confident that they had learned something new!

Lining up to taste some fabulous wines!

Stay tuned for the next Vineyard tour with CCWGA at Laetitia Vineyard on May 21 from 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM. RSVP with John Burke, Executive Director for CCWGA.

**SIP hats are available for purchase for $15! Email info@vineyardteam.org to purchase yours today!

Of course, a wine from SIP Certified Tolosa

The evening was great, filled with holiday fare including Beef Wellington, Creme of Chestnut Soup, and Bouche de Noel for dessert. We brought a tasty bottle of Tolosa Syrah for the meal and watched the cooking in action from first row seats at the counter. I’m even going to use my schooling and bring the Smoked Salmon Brushetta to Christmas dinner!

The meal

Oh, and the best part…leftovers.

Featuring Central Coast Wine & Cuisine!

SIP Certified vineyards and wines were in abundance at this event. Ancient Peaks, Baileyana, Chamisal, Claiborne & Churchill, Edna Valley Vineyard, Laetitia, Saucelito Canyon Vineyards, Tangent, Tolosa, Wolff, and Zocker were all showing off the SIP seal. We were pouring a great Baileyana Syrah that was highly sought after and received a lot of enthusiastic feedback on the SIP program.

The SIP Gals

See you at next year’s Harvest Celebration!

Photographer Steven Gould in action

The artist's point of view

After two days of arranging, tweaking, shooting, color correcting, evaluating, and selecting we are thrilled with our picks!

Final pick

Staging the scene

Seeing the SIP seal

The photo shoot was no easy task but the models were great and the photographer showed each and every one in their best light. See more pics in our online gallery!

Here are some SIP wine tasting highlights …

Ancient Peaks: ’09 Sauvignon Blanc (which just won Best of Sauvignon Blanc at the Mid State Wine Competition) had honeydew notes with crisp acidity, definitely a good summer wine, $12. ’07 Oyster Ridge Cab-based blend showed wafts of violet and dark fruit with elegant tannins and balance, a beautiful wine, $50.

Pomar Junction: ’08 Viognier had nice honey and pear aromas, soft mouthfeel but enough acid to balance it, $25.

Saucelito Canyon: this pre-release showing of the bright ’09 Sauvignon Blanc (a gold medal winner at the Mid State Fair competition) offered crisp, citrusy flavors – made in all-stainless, it’s a wine that fans of New Zealand Sauv Blancs will love, $17. The ’08 Backroads Zinfandel and ’08 Estate Zinfandel were very different wines, with the Backroads showing a softer style and bright red fruit and the Estate true to form as Saucelito’s bold flagship Zin. Drink the Backroads with apps or on its own, $19, but the Estate really begs for an equally bold food pairing like grilled steak, $30. Add some chimichurri sauce to that steak, however, and you might want to reach for the ’08 Tempranillo, a beautifully balanced spicy interpretation of this increasing popular varietal, $28.

Among the wineries pouring was SIP-certified Baileyana/Tangent, matching their 2008 Tangent Albariño with seared ahi. The 2007 Baileyana Grand Firepeak Cuvée Reserve Pinot Noir was also available, but the staff (rightly) recommended the Albariño as the best pairing with the ahi. This was the only fish dish served, so it stood out nicely, especially with the accompanying wasabi drizzle and picked ginger that pleasantly woke up your taste buds without trashing your palate, and Baileyana/Tangent tied for third place with the judges (disclaimer – I was one of them).

The Albariño had very crisp, balanced acid which really showcased the fish, plus there was just enough sweetness to stand up to the wasabi. The Pinot showed beautiful dark cherry notes and hints of smoke – a good wine to pair with other grilled items such as lamb, and Pinot is always a good bet with paella!

Hahn Family Wines gives out seed packets with the same mixture as the wildflower/cover crop they use in the vineyard.

McIntyre visibly touted sustainablity and the SIP Seal in their handout, including noting that Steve McIntyre was a founding member of Central Coast Vineyard Team. Hahn Family Wines had the SIP seal all over their marketing literature, including seed packets containing the same wildflower/cover crop mixture that they use in the vineyard: five percent each of Bachelor Buttons, California poppies, Baby’s breath, and Persian clover, and 20 percent each of Crimson clover, Blando Brome, Buckwheat, and Rose clover. Philip Woodrow, director of marketing communications said “they are wildly popular. Last year we gave out over 2400 packets.”

Among the outstanding wines from SIP wineries and/or wineries using SIP fruit were … (prices are the suggested retail)

Hahn Family Estates: 2007 Estate Pinot Gris ($20) – nice acid with light peach, a good food wine or as an aperitif; 2006 Estate Chardonnay ($25) – smooth luscious mouthfeel; 2007 Estate Syrah ($27) – wonderful balance with a rich structure and hints of tobacco and meat, a classic varietal interpretation.

Hope & Grace: 2007 Hahn Estate Pinot Noir ($45) – very smooth with bright fruit and black cherry

La Rochelle: 2007 Paraiso Vineyard Pinot Noir ($50) – good balance with nice briar and plum

McIntyre Vineyards: 2008 Estate Chardonnay ($29) – beautifully balanced with elegant structure

Paraiso Vineyards: 2007 Eagle’s Perch Chardonnay ($30) – very rich mouthfeel, pair with cream sauces or even serve on its own as an aperitif; 2007 West Terrace Pinot Noir ($40) – earthy with nice notes of plum

the estate vineyard for Ancient Peaks Winery

Ancient Peaks Winery’s estate Margarita Vineyard is one of the latest to earn SIP (Sustainability in Practice) Certification in recognition of the vineyard’s numerous sustainable viticultural practices.

“We are proud to have met the rigorous standards of the SIP certification process,” said co-owner and vineyard manager Doug Filipponi. “This certification recognizes what we are doing to ensure natural quality in our wines, and it reflects our passion for being good stewards of the land.”

Margarita Vineyard stands alone as the southernmost vineyard in the Paso Robles appellation, nestled into the rugged Santa Lucia Mountain range just 14 miles from the Pacific Ocean . Margarita Vineyard resides on the historic Santa Margarita Ranch (where the CCVT annual Earth Day Food & Wine Festival is held), which was first planted to vines by Franciscan missionaries in 1774. The vineyard spans 996 acres planted to Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Zinfandel, Syrah, Sauvignon Blanc and other varietals.

Sustainable practices at Margarita Vineyard include deficit irrigation, natural cover crops, wildlife corridors, rotational groundwater usage and the use of compost tea in place of synthetic fertilizers. Stream and wetland health is preserved by the avoidance of tillage practices that might cause soil erosion. Vineyard pests are managed naturally by promoting habits for native predators, a program that includes 34 bat boxes, 471 bluebird boxes, 29 owl boxes and 13 predatory bird perches. No oak trees were removed in the planting of Margarita Vineyard, and wetland setback requirements were exceeded.

Ancient Peaks is a family-owned winery specializing in wines from the estate Margarita Vineyard, and is named for the tall peaks surrounding the estate vineyard which were forged by the collision of the coastal plates, geologic forces which give the vineyard five distinct soil zones—ancient sea bed, shale, sediment, granite and volcanic.

A longtime supporter of Central Coast Vineyard Team and the SIP program – some of Castoro’s vineyards are SIP certified, as well as being certified organic – Niels started as a local cellar rat back in 1981, when no one knew what a Paso Robles was. He and his wife Bimmer launched Castoro (Italian for Niels’ nickname: “Beaver”) in 1983, and over the years, it can certainly be considered one of the labels that helped put Paso Robles on the map as a stellar wine region.

Over the years, the Udsens quietly but steadily practiced responsible stewardship of their vineyards, and have clearly emerged as successful role models for sustainability and community leadership. To name just a few of their efforts: their employees are encouraged to recycle, there is no bottled water sold at the tasting room, the events room at the Templeton tasting room is largely powered by solar panels, and Castoro was one of the first wineries in the area to offer employee benefits.

Under the direction of Niels, Winemaker/Enologist Tom Myers, and Assistant Winemaker Mikel Olsten, Castoro Cellars has grown into a 60,000 case label (plus a thriving custom crush facility and mobile bottling service). Typically, there are about 15 varietals bottled, from the flagship Zinfandels to the more obscure varietals such as Cabernet Franc. Several blends and vineyard-designate wines are always on hand as well, but – despite the breadth of available wines – we’ve never found Castoro to be about quantity. All the wines are classic varietal interpretations, some with forward fruit if the grape and vintage suggest it, but the rest show veteran finesse and restraint in the winemaking process, making them wonderful wines to pair with food.