This will be the fifth in a six-part series of articles on the First Sip wine event held in Lodi, CA November 14-15, 2009. This and the last article will be coverage of the wineries visited the second day of the event. Wineries visited: Van Ruiten Family Winery, Michael-David Winery, Jessie’s Grove Winery, and Berghold Estate Winery and Vineyards.
Van Ruiten Family Winery
This is a great winery in the Lodi Appellation. My husband and I have been wine club members of theirs in the past and will probably rejoin soon. They certainly know how to put on great and fun events and this was one of them. Their theme was the 60s.
They had two bands, lots of food, and excellent wine all tied up in a nice bow for the holidays with very friendly people and vendors present.
Three generations of the Van Ruiten family now take part in the winery and farm with over 1,000 acres of grapes with only the very best used for their own wine. The wine and the family now working there are all the product of a Dutch immigrant named John Van Ruiten destined for America after WW2. The first vines planted by the Van Ruiten family were Zinfandel and most of these old vines are used to this day. The family wanted more than to sell their grapes to others and became winemakers in 1999 and opened their winery in 2000.
Van Ruiten Family Wines
Wines Tasted
2007 Chardonnay. This wine has won two awards, a Silver in the ’08 World Wine Championships for Best Buy and a Bronze Medal at the 2009 San Francisco Wine Competition. It is a very pleasant wine, it has a buttery taste that I prefer and is great with any poultry or pork dish, cheese plates, salads, light pastas, or just to sip on. This goes for a very reasonable price of $13.99.
2007 Old Vine Zinfandel. This is a nice well rounded Zinfandel. It is one of my personal favorites. One thing that I found about good Zin is that you can appreciate it when it is young or aged. Although it has tannins at this young age it goes down smoothly with a fresh fruity taste with a bit of spice. I tasted a bit of chocolate and coffee as well. Others agreed, while others tasted a strong blackberry. This wine would go with any meat dish. I think I am going to try it with a Chateaubriand roast to really mix things up a bit and put pairing to the test. This wine took the wine world by storm as well with five awards so far. Among them, “Best Zinfandel in America” the Wall Street Journal awarded this wine with Double Gold. I guess they like it, they really like it! I certainly do. This wine is currently selling online for $22.99.
2006 Cabernet Sauvignon. This wine is also an award winner bringing back Gold, Silver and Bronze from various competitions. It is a nice Cabernet and one of the few I tasted over the weekend. It is an interesting wine and will only get better with age, but is just fine now. It goes down smooth and has a nice aroma. I tasted cherries, currant, spices, and a bit of a woodsy taste that probably comes from the oak barrels. This wine is priced just right as well at only $16.99. I would have this with any steak or roast. It would actually go very well with chocolate, more on that below.
Foodie Notes
Cheese. They had cheese, all kinds of cheeses from Fiscalini Cheese Company out of Modesto, California. John Fiscalini was there handing out his cheese to very willing guests, especially those with Chardonnay that went very well with the cheese, crackers, bread, salami, and fondue. For more information their link is: Fiscalini Cheese Company.
Olive Oil. From Cecchetti Olive Oil Company, in business for about two years now, had their Extra Virgin Olive Oil with Balsamic Vinegar for dipping bread. The ’07 Old Vine Zin went well with this. The EVOO was a nice taste, not very heavy tasting like most with lots of flavor. For more information, their website link is: Cecchetti Olive Oil Company.
Guacamole. Alebrijes Mexican Bistro supplied some very good guacamole. I was told it had pomegranate seeds in it for the holidays, nice choice. It was served in tortilla chip shells. This was also good with the ’07 Old Vine Zinfandel. Their website is: Alebrijes Mexican Bistro
Pies and Brownies. Ripon, Ca based The Pie Company supplied the sweets. I had a chocolate brownie that was pure heaven with the Cabernet and before we left I grabbed a pumpkin pie with whipped cream that was to die for. The Pie Company does not seem to want to got public as their business plan does not include a known website, phone number, or address. They mainly seem to cater to some restaurants in the area and in this case to Van Ruiten. It is a shame too as these are very good pies.
Van Ruiten Family Winery, 340 West Highway 12, Lodi, CA 95242 Phone: 866-334-5722 E MAIL: info@vrwinery.com. For more information and tasting room hours click the link to their website at Van Ruiten Family Winery.
Photo Journal of Van Ruiten Family Winery at First Sip 11-15-09
Michael-David Winery
This was one of the first Lodi Appellation wineries to price their wine over $50 and made it work. The reason for this is a nice wine, but more importantly good marketing. The wine priced at over $50 is their Rapture Cabernet Sauvignon. My husband and I were also members of their wine club a while back, so we had a chance to try all their wines, but I like to change out memberships now and then so I can add other wineries or we would be members of over 100 wine clubs!
The winery’s name Michael-David comes from the first names of the Phillips brothers. Michael is Owner/CEO and David is Owner/President. Both have extensive background and education in farming and wine making.
Phillip's Farms Fruits and Veggies Inside Café and Wine Tasting Room
What is now the winery, started out as Phillip’s Farms which grew vegetables and fruits, of which part of the latter were wine grapes, and per their website, the family shipped throughout the country during the Prohibition with strict instructions “how not to have the grapes turn into wine”. Hmm, now was that actually telling them how to make wine? Just a thought. The Phillips family have been farmers in Lodi since the early 1800s. The Phillip Farms opened a café in 1972 that also became their fruit stand. This café still exists within the winery’s tasting room and you can always buy fresh fruits and vegetables, along with baked goods and a few other items. The café is home style cooking at its best for locals and visitors alike for breakfast and lunch.
I have heard many stories about how they named their wine, but was told by the wine tasting room personnel that they wanted their wines to have biblical names from their Catholic upbringing.
Wines Tasted (some wines were not on the tasting menu)
Earthquake Petite Sirah. This was an interesting wine. It had a vanilla and coffee taste. Personally I do not like Petite Sirah that much, but this got my attention. Like most of the wines tasted at the event this was a young wine and this one had tannins that I think will make it age nicely. This is a full bodied wine. It would go well with heavy semi-hard cheeses, a Gorgonzola would make an interesting pairing that I will need to try out to confirm. This wine would also go well with most meat dishes. This was selling for $28.
2007 – 7 Deadly Zins. This Zinfandel was made from grapes of seven different vineyards and is well blended with a nice aroma. This like many of the Zins tasted in Lodi, has a peppery and fruity taste. I did taste a bit of chocolate, but my husband did not. This would be good with chocolate in my opinion, just like a Cabernet. My husband and I enjoy it with grilled steak and would also be good with some fish. This wine sells for $17, which is a nice price point.
2006 Incognito Viognier. Now this is a keeper. We like Viognier when looking for something a bit sweeter than a Chardonnay, usually for lunch dishes, like salads, fish, quiche, etc. It is also very nice with grilled chicken. This wine should be tried when you go wine tasting or just order online, it is only $16 at the winery.
They did not have their pricer wines out for tasting during First Sip. We have had them in the past and still have a few at home. Among the higher priced wines are: Rapture, the Cabernet I mentioned earlier and at the winery sells for $59. To be truthful, I do find this overpriced. This would be an excellent wine priced in the high $30s, but there are just too many better Cabs over $50 comparing grapes to grapes. The other is Lust, a Zinfandel at $59 per bottle. I would say the same thing here. It is a very nice Zin but not at $59, I would say this wine would set itself apart in the $30s. The other is Gluttony Zinfandel at $59. I do not need to say more. All of these priced in the $30s would be excellent wines that set themselves apart from the rest in that price range, but that is not what pricing is today.
Foodie Notes
They had an assortment of bites for First Sip guests, like chocolate chip cookies, popcorn, pie and cake bites, macaroni and cheese, among other things. These were all very good with the wines we tasted for the day (please see photos below).
Michael-David Winery, 4580 West Highway 12, Lodi, CA 95242. Phone: 1-888-707-Wine. E-mail: vintage@lodivineyards.com. Their website is: Michael-David Winery.
PHOTO JOURNAL OF MICHAEL-DAVID WINERY
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