Prince of Wine

iPOW-Organic and Biodynamic Winemaking-Antonio Bravo of Emiliana, Chile

princeofwine — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 06:26:58 +0000

I attended a recent tasting in Los Angeles hosted by the global wine powerhouse Banfi Vintners to showcase the wines of Emiliana and meet its winemaker, Antonio Bravo. We have all heard about the great gems coming out of South America and especially Chile and Argentina over the last decade. So what is so special about this lineup? Well the story here is the commitment by Emiliana to produce organic and Biodynamic wines on a large scale which requires an intensive amount of capital, backing and a long term vision. You cannot just press a button one day and say we are going to be organic and biodynamic winery. The other part of the story is the wine quality. I was impressed with winemaker Antonio Bravo’s passion for this endeavour and the wines I tasted ranged from everyday $11 fresh and vibrant wines (Natura) to seriously complex $90 wines (G). To view the full wine range please visit www.banfivintners.com and click on Emiliana under the new world portfolio. For the rest please watch the video clip! (Pardon the lighting as it was inside a restaurant). Cheers and share the POW!

Walid Romaya
Prince of Wine

iPOW- A few photos from our TV pilot shoot in Napa/Sonoma

princeofwine — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 03:24:28 +0000

I am sharing with you a few photos we took from the TV pilot shoot we just had in Napa/Sonoma, California. We had great time shooting at several wineries: Harvest Celebration at Bouchaine, Carneros, , visiting the stunning Palmaz Winery hosted by the warm and hospitable Palmaz family who cooked a traditional Argentinian Asado (BBQ) and some mouthwatering home made empanadas. Blending wine with a scion of a famous wine legend, Robert Mondavi Jr at Folio . Visiting Murphy-Goode vineyards and having a backyard BBQ with Hardy Wallace, winner of a social networking dream wine job, and tasting olive oil and Syrah wines at a biodynamic winery with the Ciolino family of Montemaggiore . We also did some food and wine pairing footage at Oxbow market in Napa, Hog Island Oyster Company , Oxbow wine merchant, Oxbow cheese company, Napa Valley wine train and Zin restaurant in downtown Healdsburg. Additionally we met with a great and talented wine label artist, Bob Johnson. Thanks to our great Crew!! The show is currently in post production and is being marketed to various TV channels domestically and internationally.

Walid Romaya
Prince of Wine
www.princeofwine.com

iPOW-Cortes de Cima Winery, Portugal

princeofwine — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 11:04:51 +0000

Make wine not war! An American girl meets a Danish guy, falls in love, sails to Portugal then makes wine….Meet California native (with some Portugese ancestors) Carrie Jorgensen of Cortes de Cima Winery in Southern Portugal, who with Danish husband Hans Kristian Jorgensen have staked a new Portugese wine frontier from their 130 hectare vineyard. In essence Cortes de Cima is a composite of a new world winery in an old world wine region. Started in 1988, the couple began by doing things a little different from the norm. Example, planting red wine varietals in a traditionally white wine area and using an untraditional ‘New World’ trellis system. When they bottled their first Syrah varietal in 1998, they were stuck on how to label it, since Syrah was still ‘illegal’ as a ‘Vinho Regional’ grape variety, so they called it ‘Incógnito´. For this chat Carrie let me try her 2008 Chaminé – pronounced: sha-min-E; translation: chimney which is named after one of their vineyard plots. Bottled 6 months after harvest, the non barrel aged wine displays a dense garnet color with abundant red and dark fruit notes with soft tannins. For detailed information about Chaminé and other Cortes de Cima wines please visit their website www.cortesdecima.com

Walid Romaya
Prince of Wine

iPOW-Wines of Portugal

princeofwine — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 07:46:16 +0000

An interview with Marcio Ferreira of Vini Portugal. For hundreds of years Portugal has been world famous for its sweet fortified wine jewel, Port. However, after its entry in the European Union in 1986 a quiet wine revolution has taken place to transform Portugal into a serious wine producer, making elegant, structured yet affordable dry wines. For in depth information about the various wine regions, grape varietals and wine routes of Portugal please visit viniportugal.pt This video also shows the occupational hazards of wine blogging!

Walid Romaya
Prince of Wine

iPOW-Carlo’s Garage Winery, Pittsburgh, PA

princeofwine — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 07:53:19 +0000

A couple of guys making wine in Pittsburgh, yes the Pittsburgh, PA. The urban winery is located in The Strip District, a historical area with a heavy italian immigrant influence. It was also my first introduction to the Vidal Blanc Varietal, a hybrid white grape well suited to cold climates.

Walid Romaya
Prince of Wine

iPOW: A message from Prince of Wine to our viewers

princeofwine — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 08:06:40 +0000

I distinctly remember an August summer night two years ago when the core idea of the Prince of Wine germinated: Create a wine video blog to share my life long love of wine with viewers in an informal and non-intimidating way. The choice for wine blogging is huge. There are hundreds of good and active wine bloggers who are equally passionate about wine and who are becoming the alternative voice to the wine heavyweights of Wine Spectator and Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate. Hence I was not interested in publishing another wine blog but I felt that a gap existed for the general public who loved wine but was intimidated by all the wine language and the mystery surrounding it. My other love has been film so I thought it would be great to combine the two interests into a dedicated wine video blog. A year later, the site was launched on June 1, 2008. Since then it has been a great journey. I have met a great number of people who have encouraged me to push along and I am continuously humbled and amazed by how vast the field of wine knowledge is. Obviously the moniker “Prince of Wine” is a playful exercise in self indulgence and had I known everything about wine then I would have been the King of Wine or the Emperor of Wine!! The field of video blogging continues to evolve and I am always thinking of ways to send the message out without getting bogged down in the technicalities that inevitably arise. Social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook are overtaking many blogs due to the “immediacy factor” of posting. I have incorporated Twitter platform in our front page and I now find myself posting Twitter updates frequently about the lifestyle of wine. Things evolve continually. The newspaper industry is losing subscriptions in droves as readers flock to the web for news but now the social networking sites are creating a revolution within the web where blogs like newspapers are risking being outdated as they cannot match the immediacy factor. I carry a pocket video camera for capturing daily stories that I find hard to share given the current format of the website. Hence, beginning this week I am excited to announce the launch of the iPOW reports. The iPOW reports will be video posts about wine, food, travel and personalities that I come upon in my daily life. Think of iPOW reports as snippets of information about the lifestyle of wine that you will get just like you tuning in to your favorite TV station for the latest daily news. We will continue the Wine Review Shorts and there will be some overlapping of subject matter. We will continue to tweak, experiment and evolve and I thank you!

Walid Romaya
Prince of Wine

Wine Review Short #30: Ballentine Vineyards, Napa, California-56 Years of love in the Vineyard!

princeofwine — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 01:56:55 +0000

An interview with Van and Betty Ballentine of Ballentine Vineyards at the Family Winemakers tasting event in Del Mar California. I was immensely impressed by the story of Van and Betty with their commitment to each other as well as to their wines. They poured the vino to the public for tasting with the gusto and the excitement of winemakers half their age. Here is their story (as told by Mr. and Mrs. Ballentine):

Betty’s grandfather, Libero Pocai arrived in California in 1884 at the age of 22. He left the small city of Lucca, Italy to make his fortune, with dreams of returning home. Before a small sum could be amassed, his father died, leaving him little reason to return to Italy. He fortunately met Maria Cristofani and soon they married. Maria was also the daughter of an Italian immigrant family. They planned to stay in San Francisco, while Libero found work in the wood and coal business. But Maria’s health suffered and the family doctor told Libero to get her to the country. On April 18th 1906, the catastrophic earthquake of San Francisco encouraged them to make their way to the upper end of Napa Valley, near Calistoga. Libero knew he was destined to plant a vineyard, make wine, and raise a family. He had the foresight or the unbelievable luck to purchase 60 acres of the best possible vineyard land in the Napa Valley. It was purchased from the T.H. Steele family. The early deed to the land recorded that payment was made in gold coins.

In many ways, the land was golden. The vineyard’s soil was identified as bale gravely loam. It was the timeless result of alluvial deposits having their origin in rhyolitic rocks. It was difficult backbreaking work to plant a vineyard in this rocky soil. The gravel constantly interfered with the farming implements. A team of horses tilled the vineyard. Luckily, the rewarding attribute of the soil is that it is well drained and outstandingly adapted to grape vines. Libero planted a variety of wine grapes: Zinfandel, Merlot, Charbono, Petite Sirah and Gamay. He acquired the 115th winery bond in the state. Today, there are over 5,600 bonded wineries in California.

Libero named his winery after his family, L. Pocai and Sons. The winery produced, at its peak, about 50,000 gallons. At the prestigious California State Fair, L.Pocai and Sons won a gold medal in 1951 for Claret, a gold medal in 1954 for Gamay and a bronze medal for Zinfandel in 1947. The state fair wine competition began in 1947 and ran until 1959. For its time, it was the only visible accolade a winery could hold.

Libero had two sons, Frank and Henry. The boys took immense pride in helping their father in the vineyard and in the winery. They had little leisure time, but they were far from underprivileged. Both boys had a bicycle at a time when most families would have made one do. In 1910, their parents bought them their first car, to celebrate an exceptionally good harvest. Ironically enough, the next year a hard frost wiped out their entire crop. Henry never married but Frank married Anna Cavagnaro and together they had two daughters, Betty and Marie. Betty Pocai grew up in Calistoga and graduated from Calistoga High School. She went to Armstrong College, for an accounting degree. Back in Napa Valley, she worked for more than a decade at the Charles Krug Winery. Her father, Frank, and Uncle Henry continued to produce wines, until they retired in 1963 and closed their winery doors. Sadly, it was also the year that Maria Pocai passed away at the age of 94. The vineyards continued to produce grapes, which were in strong demand and sold to a shortlist of emerging Napa Valley wineries. The historic Pocai Ranch is the backbone of our Merlot program and the reserve wines called “Bg”.

Van Ballentine grew up in St. Helena. His father, John Ballentine emigrated in 1910 from his small farming estate in Omagh, County Tyrone, Ireland to San Francisco. His family estate was called Deer Park and it left a lasting impression on him. He lived in San Francisco for a decade before he moved to Napa Valley. Van’s mother, Ellen Gerhardt, was born and educated in Santa Fe, New Mexico. She came to California in 1921 and lived in Yuba City and the San Francisco area. She came to St. Helena in 1924 where she married John J. Ballentine. They had two children, Van and Helen.

On September 5th 1922, during Prohibition, when it was an illegal act to produce and sell wine, John purchased 160 acres and an old stone winery. The winery was built in 1891, by Emil Leuenberger, who was married to the daughter of John Sutter. The winery was the original Sutter Home Winery and remained so until 1909, when they sold it to three Italian families for only $25.00 in gold. The new owners were never able to make a go of it and when Prohibition started in 1920, they totally neglected the property. With a twinkle in his Irishman’s eye, John saw the abandoned winery as his possible pot of gold. He felt that it was both an idyllic place to raise his family and his opportunity to resurrect the winery. All he needed to do was wait. Prohibition ended in 1933. John Ballentine was one of the first to apply for a winery bond and received number 3595. He named their estate Deer Park. Luckily the vineyards were still producing grapes and the first vintage of Ballentine wines was 1933.

Van was a young child, but he pitched in to help. Since he was the youngest in his family he often was chosen to clean out the wine tanks. As a small boy he could easily squeeze through the small manhole opening. He followed his father, quite literally in his footstep, planting vineyards, pruning vines and making wine. They produced Cabernet, Zinfandel, Claret, Riesling and Sauterne. By age 14, he came full circle and now he was driving his father to San Francisco and delivering Ballentine wines to quaint Italian restaurants and city nightclubs.

Van entered the Navy in 1945 and returned to Napa Valley after his tour of duty. He continued to work with his father, developing a deep love for wine making and working the land. John and Van shared the winemaking duties as well as the management of the vineyards.

1934 thru 1950 were reported to be the most difficult 16 years in the wine industry. In 1934 there were only sixty wineries in Napa Valley, mostly small operations like Ballentine’s Deer Park. In the next 16 years, wineries started up and folded. The 1940’s ended with four years of near drought conditions. Grape prices fluctuated wildly, fine bottles of wine were still priced under one dollar. Bulk wine was being sold for fifteen cents to thirty cents a gallon.

John Ballentine decided to retire as the winemaker in 1959 and Ballentine Winery at Deer Park closed its doors. In 1979, the winery was sold to David and Kinta Clark. Van owned another vineyard site, which was purchased in 1949, at the base of Howell Mountain on Crystal Springs Road. This site was originally planted to Zinfandel, Cabernet, Petite Sirah and Syrah. To date, Van has worked more than 60 vintages in Napa Valley. His family winery and vineyards have always been the core of his working life. He knows the vines as an architect knows his building. He also became a vineyard manager for Christian Brothers, managing all of their northern Napa properties from the late 50’s to the mid 60’s.

To date, Van has worked more than 60 vintages in Napa Valley.

Betty and Van met as children. Betty was in a piano recital at the Tucker Farm Center and she still remembers catching Van’s glances. They were both from Napa Valley, both winery kids. They attended different schools but they shared the same farming experience. They have been happily married for over 50 years. They have two sons, Frank and Bill, and four grandchildren.

Today, Ballentine owns 100 acres of vines spread among the Crystal Springs Vineyard at the base of Howell Mountain, Pocai Ranch between the Napa River and the Silverado Trail and the Home Vineyard at the winery. After selling their grapes for many years to wineries; Cabernet Sauvignon to Caymus, Cabernet Franc to Rombauer, Zinfandel to Rosenblum, Ravenswood and Mondavi, Van and Betty decided to revive the Ballentine brand that Van and his dad worked at for many years at Deer Park. They started by having their grapes custom crushed for a small production in 1992. In 1995, they built a winery, behind their 100-year-old farmhouse. They revived the original bonded winery number 3595 issued to his father, John Ballentine, in 1933 after prohibition ended. Ballentine Vineyards produces red wines, perfectly suited to the Northern Napa Valley climate and vineyards. Our production is less than 10,000 cases of Zinfandel, Syrah, Merlot and with a future release of Cabernet Sauvignon, Petite Sirah and Cabernet Franc.

The 2005 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon is a big brooding wine with multi faceted nuances of dark fruit, vanilla, cedarwood and forest floor acting in harmony with well integrated tannins and a long finish. POW 92. $60 Retail. For further information about Ballentine Vineyards pls click on www.ballentinevineyards.com

Technical Details of the Ballentine 2005 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon
Varietal Composition:
92% Cabernet Sauvignon
4% Cabernet Franc
4% Petit Verdot

Harvest Date:
October 5th, 2005

Barrel Aging:
23 months in French oak barrels; 50% new French oak

Finished Alcohol:
15.3%

Cases Produced:
540

Walid Romaya
Prince of Wine

Wine Review Short #29: Chateau Clarke- Merlot taste with a Cabernet underbelly!

princeofwine — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 00:53:07 +0000

This is the last interview of the 2006 Bordeaux vintage. Here I am chatting with Mr. Eric Fourault of Chateau Clarke, located in the Listrac area of the Médoc, Bordeaux on the left bank of the Gironde river. The origins of the estate date back to the 12th century when the Cistercian monks of the Vertheuil Abbey planted the first vines. In 1818 the knight Tobie Clarke purchased the primarily Limestone (with some clay) land that would permanently bear his name. By the time Baron Edmond de Rothschild bought the property in 1973 the vineyard was abandoned and neglected. A replanting process took place between 1974 and 1978 and the result was a grape growing area totaling 53 hectares (about 133 acres).

The 2006 vintage is comprised of 70% Merlot and 30% Cabernet Sauvignon. The prevalence of Merlot in this Listrac vintage reflects more of a right bank St Emilion than a left bank Cabernet Sauvignon prevalent wine. Aromas of black plums, cassis and cigar box lead to a palate of soft ripe fruit with underlying freshness and structure suitable for carrying itself for the long haul. A serious wine but without the pretense and the fuss of the more prestigious classified growth neighbors. Decant for over an hour prior to drinking. This wine will pair well with rosemary garnished pepper crusted grilled lamb chops, aged shropshire cheddar and semi dried black figs. A great bargain at average US retail of $23 (POW 90).

Technical tidbits:
Appellation : Listrac Médoc
Number of parcels : 45
Area planted : 53 ha
Production : 150 – 250 000 bottles per year

Grape varieties planted (percentage of area planted):
Cabernet Sauvignon : 48%
Merlot : 42%
Cabernet Franc : 8%
Petit Verdot : 2%
Type of soil : calcareous Eocene and calcareous clay
Harvesting : by machine/the entire crop is hand sorted prior to pressing; the entire crop is hand sorted on ground sheets
Vinification : traditional in thermoregulated stainless-steel vats – long maceration
Maturation : in new casks (60 – 100%) for 12 – 18 months
Pasting : With egg white

Walid Romaya
Prince of Wine
www.princeofwine.com

Wine Review Short #28: Chateau de Rayne Vigneau- Meet the Noble Rot!

princeofwine — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 00:44:36 +0000

My interview with Alessia Amighetti of Chateau de Rayne Vigneau, a 1st growth of the Sauternes area from the 1855 classification. The Chateau is located in the Sauternes region of Bordeaux where primarily sweet wines are produced. Founded in the early 17th century, the Chateau was acquired in 2004 by CA Grands Crus, a holding company that owns several other Chateaux in Bordeaux. A typical Sauternes is a blend of Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc. Botrytis Cinerea is the”Noble Rot”, which is a fungus that forms on grapes left on the vine for a late harvest. In wet conditions the Botrytis actually rots the grapes and renders them unacceptable for wine production. However, it is the dry conditions that create the perfect environment in fall/winter for the grapes to develop their raisin like character and for Botrytis to take hold. In the latter case the rot is deemed “Noble”!. There are several Chateaux in Sauternes that historically have skipped a vintage altogether when the conditions were deemed not worthy for the Chateau’s label to be affixed to the bottle. As late fall and winter approaches, the grapes begin to shrivel and lose moisture which in turn increase the residual sugar. The Botrytis also contributes to removing the moisture in the grapes leaving a higher percentage of sugars, fruit acids and minerals.

The 2006 wine from this estate is a nice pale gold effort with flavors of honeysuckle, lime, peach and marzipan with a smooth texture, vibrant acidity and a medium finish (POW 89, $38 average US Retail). It is perfect for a classic pairing with foie gras, or stilton cheese, or as a dessert wine. If you want to be adventurous, try it with fried chicken, trust me!

For further information please click on raynevigneau.fr

Walid Romaya
Prince of Wine
www.princeofwine.com

Wine Review Short #27: Chateau Chantegrive, A baby by Bordeaux’s standards!

princeofwine — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 01:45:33 +0000

My interview with Mr. Baron De Luz of Chateau Chantegrive. A relatively recent arrival in the Graves, Bordeaux scene (1960’s), this Chateau produces affordable and respected wines. Led by founder and Mr. De Luz’s father in law Henry Leveque, the estate has grown to over 100 hectares and is now one of the largest estates in the Graves and a member of the renowned Bordeaux trade group Union des Grands Crus. The Graves area is said to be named after the gravelly soil which retains heat during the day and radiates it at night causing the fruit to mature earlier in the season than other areas of Bordeaux. The Chateau produces a white wine composed of 50% Semillon and 50% Sauvignon Blanc. Aromas of honey, peaches and apple pie yield to the right balance of acidity and fruit. This faintly yellow wine has just enough freshness without being a lightweight (POW 87). The red wine is comprised of 50% Merlot and 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, has a medium body, forward fruit of plums, cherry and red berries with the right amount of tannins for a short to medium hold. (POW 88). For further information about Chateau Chantegrive please visit http://www.chantegrive.com/

Walid Romaya
Prince of Wine