ShaferVineyards

The Best Of California Wine Country, 2010

by Michael B. Dougherty (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wine

Don't call it a "gift guide" (although you can certainly use it as such). Instead, this is our wholly unscientific, criminally biased, fervently defended and lovingly curated paean to California's wine country. Despite all the doom-peddling and sky-falling tales that seemed to dominate this year's coverage of the industry, the Napa and Sonoma regions continue to startle and surprise, competing on equal footing with any of the world's traditional or au courant wine terroirs. Check out our celebration of the highlights, and then let us know what we missed in the comments.

Tags: best of 2010, california, napa, Quivira, robert mondavi, Sequoia Grove Vineyard, ShaferVineyards, wine

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Shafer Vineyards Releases 2007 One Point Five

by Michael B. Dougherty (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wine

Napa Valley's Shafer Vineyards, recipients of the James Beard Foundation's 2010 "Outstanding Wine and Spirits Professional" award, recently released their 2007 One Point Five Cabernet Sauvignon.

Located in the Stag's Leap District of the region, Shafer has continuously produced top-rated Cabernets, Chardonnays and Merlots under the guidance of winemaker Elias Fernandez, and this release is no exception. Comprised of 99% Cabernet Sauvignon and 1% Petite Verdot, the 2007 spent 20 months in 75% new French oak and 25% one-year-old French oak barrels.

Aggressively jammy notes greet the nose and are followed by plum and musty barnyard scents. A pleasantly dryer alternative to the much-maligned "fruit bombs" of the area, the palate receives gamy flavors and lots of clove. The finish is short without being fleeting.

Shafer recommends pairing with everything from Ahi tuna to roast lamb loin, although I served the bottle with shrimp and mussels in a spicy tomato sauce over fresh linguine, to praise.

And while the name One Point Five may elicit thoughts of a software upgrade its provenance is actually a bit of a familial in-joke: Doug Shafer joined his father John in 1983, just two years after Shafer's initial release. It wasn't so much a new generation taking over as a son catching up to his father. Nearly 17 years later, that partnership has been recognized by the James Beard Foundation for its fecundity.

(750ml, $70)

Tags: 2007, cabernet sauvignon, doug shafer, james beard awards, john shafer, one point five, petite verdot, ShaferVineyards, stags leap, wine, wine review, wine reviews

Premiere Napa Valley Results Up

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wine, Auctions

Earlier this month I mentioned that the returns on the Naples Wine Auction were up by around $3 million. More good news in the wine auction world comes from Napa where the Premiere Napa Valley results were up by one third over last year. The 14th annual Premiere Napa Valley auction brought in a total of $1.918 million which was 30 percent more than the previous year. The 2009 auction brought in $1.485 million which was far down from 2008's record-setting total of $2.2455 million.

The 200-lot event took place last weekend and saw a more positive tone than last year's event with bidders snapping up cases of the 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon. Five cases of Shafer went to Winebid.com for $37,000. Another five case allotment from Ovid went to Capitol Cellars for $33,000 and Lewis Cellars sold five cases to Nakagawa Trading Company of Japan for $30,000. Nakagawa Trading for the second-to-the-top bidder spending $179,000 total on wines. Top honors went to Gary Fisch of Gary's Wine in New Jersey who spent $392,000 on 275 cases.

Tags: napa valley, napa valley wine, NapaValley, NapaValleyWine, ovid, premiere napa valley, PremiereNapaValley, shafer, ShaferVineyards, wine auction, WineAuction

Discussing The Global Economic Crisis Over $300 Wine

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Dining, Wine

We may all be cutting back, but at the White House dinner Friday night for foreign leaders to discuss the global financial crisis, the meal was anything but spare. The menu for around 24 global leaders gathered in the White House State Dining Room included, according to the AP, fruitwood-smoked quail with quince gastrique; quinoa risotto; thyme-roasted rack of lamb; tomato, fennel and eggplant fondue; a salad course of endive, baked Brie and walnuts; and a pear torte. What's raising some eyebrows though is one of the wine selections, the Shafer Cabernet Hillside Select 2003, which runs for around $300 a bottle, if you can find it. This wine was served with the main course while more modest wines such as the Landmark Chardonnay Damaris Reserve 2006 (around $40 a bottle, served with the appetizer) and the Chandon Étoile Rosé sparkling wine (about $30 a bottle, served with dessert) rounded out the rest of the meal. The President pays for his own groceries in the White House but state dinners such as this one are paid for with taxpayer dollars. It is perhaps some comfort in this case that at least two of those attending: President Bush and French President Nicolas Sarkozy are said to be teetotalers. Others in attendance included Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd; Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper; Chinese President Hu Jintao;German Chancellor Angela Merkel; and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

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Tags: shafer vineyards, ShaferVineyards, white house, WhiteHouse, wine