My discovery of Sancerre

Barbara and I were on our first trip to France in the mid-90's. We were traveling with a couple of friends and an American couple who operated a barge in France during the tourist season. For a first time traveller to France, there were several benefits of booking this trip by way of barge. First, the owners spoke fluent French and could clue us in on French culture; Second, the owners were excellent cooks and enjoyed good food, cheese and wine;

During that first trip (that turned into many more over the years), I honestly don't know what I enjoyed the most. Was it the French scenery and culture; the endless selection of cheeses that I had never experienced before; or was it the introduction to French wine?

Certainly, one of the most memorable discoveries during this trip was of the French white wine known as Sancerre. The Sancerre Appellation d'origine contrôlée (AOC) region is located on the eastern part of the Loire Valley, across from another well known white wine region, Pouilly-Fumé. The white wine grape variety in this region is Sauvignon Blanc. Instead of a strong grassy, herbal characteristic that most California Sauvignon Blancs are known for, Sancerre's tend to reflect a more citrus, fruity characteristic, influenced by the marl (chalky white limestone) soil.

One of the benefits that I often overlook when working with wine, are the R&D opportunities. For my own Sauvignon Blanc project, I was looking for a good example of Sancerre to evaluate and was turned onto this Domaine Michel Girard et Fils by my friend Eric, owner of Rouge, Wine Cellar & Gifts. This wine comes from the village of Verdigny, that stylistically has the reputation for wines that are balanced, fruit forward with citrus notes and less grassy than those of villages further to the southwest and away from the river where the soil has less gravel.

This wine did not disappoint! Hints of grass, followed by a warm citrus nose of orange blossom and grapefruit. On the palate, there is a creaminess that must come from regular stirring and aging in neutral oak, with citrus flavors of grapefruit and orange along with some lavender honey on the finish.

I'm hoping that by the summer of 2010, I will be releasing my first Sauvignon Blanc from Inspiration Vineyards. Stylistically, I'm aiming high towards this style of Sancerre!

Thanksgiving and the French

Long after our Country's first Thanksgiving, we had a choice... or more importantly, the French had a choice. Support those upstarts across the pond with some financial aid and some troops to defeat the British - or - deny them the financial aid that was requested by one of America's first Francophiles, Ben Franklin and let them go it "alone". Well, we all know what choice the French made, and in so doing, we speak English today!

Just as our ties with France dates back to the colonies and later, to our country's founding; so does our admiration of wines from France. Look at Thomas Jefferson, probably one of our country's first wine geeks! If you live on the "other" coast then you know what I mean and are probably more familiar with wines that come from France than those of us who live in California, the cornucopia of wine; folks from around here tend to not understand or appreciate wines made across the Atlantic. Maybe it's because we just don't think about buying French... or maybe it's because our choices are more limited than they are in, say New York?

So for Thanksgiving this year, I solute the French! We are adorning our table with a nice bottle of Chablis from Meuliere - 2006 Chablis, Domaine de la Meuliere to be exact. So this isn't a grand cru; but hey - why serve a grand cru w/ turkey? I mean, we are just ordinary folk who enjoys affordable, good wines!

I came upon this bottle from one of my customers, Eric from Rouge Wine Cellar & Gifts in Creston IL. You see, Eric IS French. He's also one of the nicest guys I know who is passionate about wine; ALL wines; as long as they are well made and GOOD!

On the nose there is a sweetness of honeydew melons; on the palate, clean flavors of lichee, honeysuckle and an edgy finish that slightly tastes like granny smith apples. The acidity if firm, not overpowering... but unlike most California Chardonnay's, this wine is not oaky or buttery. What I like most about this wine is that if I close my eyes, it takes me back to my first time in Chablis France; very unmistakable!

Check it out - wishing you a wonderful Thanksgiving...

Cheers!

Day 1 - to blog or not to blog...

Being on the road alone selling wine provides plenty of time for reflection; especially when it's about the business that you own, and what you should be doing to help promote it.

For a couple of years now, I have been thinking about blogging. In fact, last year I made a very feeble attempt to create one, but never got around to spiffing it up, let alone adding content to it. Needless to say, it died on the day it was born. So why blog now?

One reason is because when I have time, I like to write. OK, so most of my writing is directed towards responding to emails, posting on Facebook and writing an occasional Tweet. However I do have an interest to write about the winery, the wines that I'm making along with observations and reviews about the wines and spirits that I regularly enjoy.

The problem is, writing takes time and a blog takes discipline; not to mention the fact that it also takes some creativity to put words down on virtual paper. So here I am, about a year or so later attempting to do something that I have never been able to do before... Consistently write about anything... in this case, about Inspiration Vineyards & Winery, including information about our wines, the vineyard, my daily life AND about the wines and spirits that I personally enjoy that inspired me to make this crazy career change in first place!

I'm almost done with Day 1 and my first post... before I leave, I thought that I'd create a list of topics that I promise to blog about in the coming days and weeks (and hopefully months...) All I ask (if someone out there is actually going to read this... and follow me...) is that you are patient with me at first, until I make the habit of writing a weekly and daily occurrence.

Upcoming topics - in no specific order...

• Winemaking at Inspiration - crazy insights to why I'm doing this; the life cycle of wine from grape to glass; and Living the Dream...
• Tasting Notes - Sancerre 101: I have a nice bottle of 2008 Domaine Michel Girard ready for tasting and reviewing; this leads to part two of this story, how is my own first attempt at Sauvignon shaping up in comparison?
• Tasting Notes - Chablis 101: I acquired a nice bottle of 2006 Domaine de la Meuliere for another review; part two will revolve around my thoughts about the differences between Chardonnay made in Chablis and the Chardonnay that I make from the Russian River, and why I believe that less is more when it comes to the use of French Oak when making these wines.
• Tasting Notes - Whisky anyone? I was given a bottle of Death's Door Whisky. Haven't heard of it yet? You will - and I'll be writing about and maybe include a recipe for the perfect Manhattan.