decanted

sonoma

After gorging ourselves and drinking a ton, it was time to head across the bridge and north to Sonoma County to, well, gorge ourselves and drink a ton. We were there mainly to taste Pinot Noirs and we did find a few that were good if not great. Two private tours/tastings were set up by a friend of ours, Josh Miles (a sales rep at Martin Scott Wines). Josh, being a Burgundy specialist, knows a great deal about this particular grape, so we were very much looking forward to his recommendations.

First we drove to Windsor to meet with Kathleen Inman of Inman Family Wines.  Kathleen told us she thought the Russian River Valley was a great place to grow Pinot Noir and that she feels any Pinot-based wine needs a good amount of acidity to give it balance. Tim couldn't agree with her more about the acidity--some of the better Burgundies he has tasted have needed a good deal of acidity in order to balance out the wine and even contribute to its complexity. We tasted a Rosé, a Pinot Gris and two Pinot Noirs, eventually deciding to buy a bottle of 2006 Inman Family Thorn Road Ranch Pinot Noir. What we tasted was a lot of sour cherry and some other berry fruits along with some leather, but mostly just a very nice, fairly fruity, soft, balanced wine. At $52 a relatively good buy in our minds. In our book, worthy of a 6.0 out of 10.

Next up was Scherrer Winery in Sebastapol. Fred Scherrer gave us a grand tour of his wine making facility, fed us some delicious lamb burgers left over from an open house the day before and let us sample 10 or so different bottles. We were most impressed with his Rosé which unfortunately for us was sold out. Most of the wines we tasted were good not great, but we both felt Fred was very close to making terrific wines and we will keep him on our radar.

wine

We really, really like wine. And, let's face it, we both like to hear our own voices. We started decanted as a place to think and talk about wine, and maybe even help a friend or two who is looking for suggestions or to join our conversation. We plan to mostly discuss wine, but will occasionally throw in some curveballs, such as thoughts on our other favorite things (various liquid refreshments, candy, random foods). We'll use a scale from 0-10 for wine and will take value into account. That is to say, a wine may be given a bump up if it is a bargain, but good wine is good wine, and price will not greatly affect the overall score.

So, you know when you go to the liquor/wine store and look around and you're thinking you want to get something nice but you don't know what to get. So you talk to somebody and they ask, "How much do you want to spend?" And you say, "I don't know, $25." Some random bottle of red or white or pink is picked out for you and you ask a series of follow up questions that are more often than not affirmed (i.e., "Will this go well with my lamb dish?", "I don't like my whites oaky. It's not too oaky, is it?", or for some of the newbies out there, "Sooo, this is good?"). Then you get home and you open the bottle and you taste it and think that the guy at the store must have been high or lying or both because the rotgut you're drinking tastes like the bastardly combo of Manischewitz and the box wine you drink at church.

Or perhaps you know a little bit more about wine. You've drank some in your time and might even be able to describe a wine if asked to--as long as you don't have to use words such as unctuous or precocious. If handed a wine list with no prior knowledge of what might be on the menu, you could safely land on a nice Sancerre or California Cab. You may have heard of Robert Parker and might even pay attention if you hear a wine nerd talking to a sommelier or knowledgeable salesperson.

Then there are those of you who really love wine and devote a little too much time (probably) and resources (definitely) to the pursuit of your addiction. You might have heard of Eric Asimov and may subscribe to one or more publications devoted to wine. You can usually tell the difference between a Grüner Veltliner and a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc and maybe even correctly choose which Pinot Noir is from California and which one is from Oregon. Receiving the wine list at a restaurant is a joy and you often feel that it is your duty to take on this daunting task in order to heighten the pleasure of your fellow diners (and yourself).

Whichever category you fall under, this blog is a good place for you to visit. Whether you want to learn more about certain varietals, discuss differences in vintages, compare tasting notes or simply get a good recommendation for your next visit to the store, check back often because we do drink our fair share of wine.