Marsanne + Roussanne + Viognier

The Rogue Wine Region is really coming of age thanks in large part to small local wineries that are beginning to develop a fanbase far and wide. One of them is COWHORN, which has already been invited to pour at the James Beard House in New York and at Fortune magazine's Most Powerful Women Summit in Los Angeles a year ago. With rave reviews of its early releases, COWHORN is already earning ratings of 89 and 90 points on second leaf wine.

At the same time, the world is slowly waking up to the many benefits of winemaking the Biodynamic way. The Wall Street Journal just published a report by Will Lyons, who admittedly made “no claim to understand how biodynamics works” but found that Biodynamic® wines “are marked with a purity, silkiness and concentration rarely found in other wines.” COWHORN is currently the Rogue's only certified biodynamic and organic vineyard and winery.

Bill and Barbara Steele are doing something very right out at their little wilderness winery, and we're grateful to have gotten our hands on a case their 2009 Spiral 36 Rhone-style white blend. Spiral, as it's called by fans, sold out fast in its first year and is off to an even better start this year. The Oregonian recently published a stellar review of Cowhorns' 2009 Spiral 36 by respected wine columnist Matt Kramer.

"This is one of Oregon's finest dry whites, bar none," write Kramer. "Get it while you can." Thanks Matt! We did, and we agree!

» Read Matt Kramer's review in The Oregonian

Pinot lovers rejoice! The 2009 vintage of Summer Jo's Pinot Noir is now available exclusively at our restaurant.

This very pleasant pinot, made with grapes grown right here in the Rogue Valley, is the perfect way to swill your way through the fall and prep your palate for the richer reds of winter.

As the sun sets sooner, Summer Jo's Pinot Noir is the perfect companion for a warm meal on a cool evening.

The August 2010 issue of Wine Spectator names Summer Jo's as "one of the world's best restaurants for wine lovers." Our extensive list features wines with local terrior and global divsersity, offering an exceptional depth and breadth of choices. Whether your palate prefers rich reds or dry whites, there's a good chance that you'll find the perfect wine on our list by the glass, bottle, and case if we're not sold out.

I often say that pairing wine to food is not a science but an art: personal taste dictates what an individual likes and doesn't like. With that said, though, I could further the science versus art comparison by noting that invariables like proper methodology, technique, and the mechanical aspect of actually creating the work in question have to be considered, too.

What that translates to as far as the legendary "perfect bottle" for the holidays is that you aren't gonna make gold from lead. A mediocre, or even worse, a flawed bottle, will not contribute its proper share of joy to the festivities. And that's the best advice I can give: drink the good stuff! Splurge!

There's the catch, though. How do you know? Just ask. Ask everybody. The folks who buy wine for the many retail shops and beverage departments in the area must have some way of knowing what to stock, just like the Meat Department guys know to stock up on turkey. And that's by experience. They have been studying and experimenting so as to find out what wines are logical on a basic level, meaning that the grapes were grown in a favorable climate, the chemistry aspect of the winemaking was sound, and there were no external contaminates that would spoil the wine.

They also try to determine what wines are well-made. It's the same as with cars. It's true that an '85 Yugo can get you to the wine shop, and probably even back again, but most everybody would rather take the trip in the Bentley. The odds are that wines made from the best quality fruit, by the most talented winemakers, will provide a more enjoyable experience. So indulge a little. Unless you're just looking for a quick buzz to take the edge off of cousin Olga's voice. Then you're on your own.

Those retail buyers are also searching for wines that give a good bang for the buck. Whether it's by jumping on bottles from an unknown but up-and-coming winery or region, or by snapping up the last few bottles of the previous vintage at a discount, your friends at the wine shop spend a great deal of time pursuing the bargains. They are tasked with pleasing their customers, after all. They've done all the footwork for the rest of us. So show some trust. Listen to their opinions.

So let's talk about me. I'll be happy to give my totally biased, subjective opinions. When faced with the task of putting that one perfect bottle of wine on the holiday table, I instead put lots. I mean, that's the point of the holiday, right? We are celebrating the bounty provided to us by our own hard work, and also the contributions of others, who introduce to us different customs and ways to celebrate. So I don't worry about having too many bottles open. Besides, it's just proper that there are leftovers of wine to go with that turkey sandwich.

No matter what, I'll pop the cork off some bubbly. Sparkling wine is the poster child for celebrations, so why not take advantage? A rosé will refresh the palate between bites and rejuvenate the spirit between ball games. It does pair especially well with pre-feast snacks, too.

Then I grab a couple whites and one or two different reds, with at least one of them being from the treasure chest. That's my way of giving to my loved ones (even Uncle Henry, who usually only drinks that stuff in the big jug and swears he "can't tell no difference, anyway"). And of course, myself.
So, what will they be this year? Suspense killing you yet?

How 'bout now?

For white, I'm planning on having a few sips of a wonderful local wine called Aromatique, from Cuckoo's Nest Cellars. It's a blend of Viognier and Gewurztraminer, and it's fruit-forward and floral and dry at the same time — it plays well with the sweeter stuff but also is good at sharing with the spices and herbs.

Although I'm a big Riesling fan, I'm going to push that aside (even though I do really enjoy them with the feast. The best ones are not too sweet, not too bitter — (kinda like cranberry relish) and instead do a Pinot Gris from one of the French big boys. I fondly recall a Zind-Humbrecht Rangen de Thann that was responsible for a wine epiphany moment experienced by a fellow guest. He was beside himself. He took the empty so he could remember what it was. I didn't tell him the cost (hint: get rid of price tags). I let him find that out on his own.

With reds, I go to both ends of the spectrum. I like a lighter-bodied red that is interesting enough on its own that I don't get tired of it. Yes, Oregon Pinot Noir from '07. There's a St Innocent White Rose Vineyard that I'm dying to get at. I think I'm gonna have to "quality test it" first thing. And then second thing.

The other one I'll set on the table is that particularly dense and powerful (translation: high alcohol level) American wine called Zinfandel. I'm drooling over how it will just work with a bite of balsamic-glazed sweet potato followed by some juicy thigh meat, but I don't want to waste any dribbling down my chin. The '08 Seghesio Sonoma Zin is rich but not raisiny, peppery but not harsh.

With dessert, I'm thinking PX. Sherry has such a bad reputation, due, I'm sure to its use as a prop in those old British dramas on PBS. But it doesn't have to be that way, dude! There's a Pedro Ximenez made by Alvear that I swear will take pumpkin pie to new heights. You'll be pouring it over the ice cream. It'll blow you away! I ain't lyin!

I'm very much looking forward to this year's banquet. Even if I have not a drop of wine, I'll still feel thankful to be among friends, sharing and helping with the festivities all I can.
But I'm not gonna wash any wine glasses. I always break the damn things.

—Thomas King

What Halloween would be complete without alcoholic beverages with scary names? Not talking about the bloody brain clot shooter here, even though that one does hold a soft place in my heart. Oo. Sorry. Rather, I refer to those wines that lurk on shelves and dwell in the dark corners of wine lists and that by their very presence strike fear into the hearts of serious wine drinkers. It’s virtually impossible to take some of these products seriously, where seriousness equates willingness to consume after spending real money purchasing said item.

Some I can’t take seriously because the imagery evoked is, well, weird. Vampire Red is certainly among the leaders here. Red wine, red blood. Wine that bites, undead creature of the night that bites... Does it have a bouquet of withered flowers and unconsecrated earth?

Then there’s the cat. Opaque black bottle shaped like an elegantly elongated feline in repose. Who knows what’s in it? Totally beside the point. We all know black cats bring bad luck, and in this case the misfortune manifests itself in the form of a wicked hangover if the wine is actually consumed.

Not all wines of this genre are this perilous, though. Some have what may seem like gimmicky names, but they really do have a neat backstory. And the wines themselves are of top quality. And although the Aussies are very well-represented here (think, among others, R Wine’s “Pure Evil”), Owen Roe’s “Sinister Hand” is my top pick in that category. The label shows a black and white woodcutting-like picture of a severed hand in an armored glove, accented with blood-red drops. It’s truly sinister! But the story behind the name is this: To honor his Irish roots, winemaker David O’Reilly dedicated the wine to an ancestor who was in a race with another boat to be the first group to touch land and therefore claim that area. He cut his own hand off and threw it ashore so as to win the territory for his clan. Now, that is truly legendary. The wine itself is a Rhone-style blend, with concentrated aromas, a rich mouthfeel and nary a hint of rotting flesh.

We’ll never escape silly names, even if we hide under the bed and we don't answer the phone. I suppose there’s a place for such diabolical marketing techniques if, at the end of the night, it encourages people to throw caution to the wind and conduct their own experiments. As always, I personally will celebrate Halloween with a Dead Guy... Ale.

-Thomas

So the whole harvest thing is kicking off again. What a cool time to
be here in Southern Oregon. This year there were two judged events that our
wineries could participate in. The first was World of Wine. 117
different bottles.

This year there were five judges who shared the duty of tasting and
scoring the wines. Three did reds, and two did the whites. These folks
were TOUGH!

Only seven gold medals, although quite a few silvers were awarded. Of them,
syrah and chardonnay were well represented. And it became clear that
the Bordeaux blends were more highly regarded than the straight
varietals.

The awards dinner was held at the gorgeous tasting room of Schmidt
Family Vineyards. The dinner itself was excellent and I got a chance
to chat with many of the people who actually make the product. The
best part of that was hearing the jokes they told about each other. It
caused me to think about the level of support enjoyed and actively
promoted by so many.

-Thomas King

The first Friday of each month we celebrate art, wine, and food. OK, we always celebrate wine and food, but First Friday is special. This First Friday, Stacy Denton from Flora will be displaying her beautiful bouquets of locally grown organic flowers. And Jonathan Barbo of Grape Expectations will be pouring Old World white wines paired with European cheeses. Don't miss it!

Plus, every Friday is Frugal Friday. In addition to our regular menu, we offer a special fixed-price menu every Friday night. For just $25 you can enjoy three delectable courses: your choice of soup or salad, a special Frugal Friday entree, and one of our popular desserts.

Big props go out to Summer Jo's wine director Thomas King for landing us in Wine Spectator's special August issue listing the world's best restaurants for wine lovers.

So whether you're looking for the latest and greatest wines coming out of Oregon and the Pacific Northwest or you're seeking something special from around the world, our world-class wine list will likely fit the bill.

Just let Thomas know what you're looking for, and he'll turn you on to some of the finest wines we've found.

We've partnered with winemaker Joe Dobbes to create a signature wine for Summer Jo's. It's a Pinot Noir, it's made from Southern Oregon grapes, it's a limited edition, and it's really good. We've been tasting it regularly as it matures, and Joe expects to put it in bottles in a couple of weeks.

Meanwhile, we're getting labels printed locally and we've assembled a team of FoSJs (Friends of Summer Jo's) to slap labels on bottles. Look for Summer Jo's Rogue Valley 2008 Pinot Noir at the restaurant and in our Wine Shop later this month.

— Nancy Groth

As the old guy once said, “I've forgotten more in the last fifteen minutes than you’ll... ever... what were we talkin’ about?”

It feels that way when I try to sum up what I’ve been doing the last while. It’s not because my brain is wine-soaked. I continue to be a champion of spitting, just not a champion spitter. My crimson-speckled shirtfronts bear testimony to that. But there have been so many chances to taste wine lately.

The first highlight for me was the wine and food pairing introducing the latest releases from St. Innocent Winery in Salem. Mark, the winemaker, toured us around his new place, had us sit down, and we tasted through eight ’07 Pinot Noirs and one Chardonnay. These were paired with Rabbit Terrine, Smoked Halibut, and Rack of Lamb. The moral of the story was that although the vintage was challenging for many, patience saved the day, and will continue to do so. Mark waited through the rain showers until the warm days returned and then picked his grapes. He got the ripeness that was needed. Others felt panic and came up with tanks full of underripe or waterlogged fruit. The early ’07 releases tended to be fairly light, even thin. In contrast, the St. Innocent wines we tried had plenty of body and massive mouthfeel, nice fruit and silky tannins on the back end. Still, Mark admonished that for his ’07 wines. “lay them down and they’ll reward you.” I invested heavily.

The other event that dazzled me was the tasting at the country club in Medford. The largest distributor in the area brought about a hundred wines to pour, many of them poured by the winemakers themselves.

It was a chance to have a head-to-head cage match -- only one winner -- challenge. In the one corner was the ’03 Silver Oak Napa Cab. His first opponent: Chateau St Jean Cinq Cepages ’03. The winner: Silver Oak, barely having to pull his cork. Better balance, more interesting aromatics, lengthier finish.

Up next: Kenwood Artist Series ’04. This was much more of a knockdown drag-out. It ended with a split decision in favor of Silver Oak due to slightly more depth. Still, a worthy opponent. Beringer Lux Cab Private Reserve ’04 was so bulky and awkward he barely made it out of the locker room.

The final challenge: Chalk Hill Estate Cab ’03. Maybe Silver Oak was tired. Maybe the sun was in his eyes. But he never stood a chance. Right from the color in the glass, Chalk Hill gave him a schoolin’. Ripe, dense, complex, textbook finish. Delish. And about half the price. I invested, but not heavily enough. My supply is already gone and I’m searching for more.

On a more administrative note, Wine Club has a new Pinot Noir tier. One bottle a month of a small-batch memorable Oregon wine for $45.

Next, we’re still doing the Sunday “no stinkin' corkage night.” It’s time to pull that special bottle out of exile and enjoy it how it was meant to be enjoyed: accompanied by great food in a wonderful setting.

Also, thanks to our friends who poured all of that wine for us (and themselves!) at our anniversary party. I hope you all were able to eventually sleep it off. I wasn’t fazed. I was spitting.

-Thomas King, Wine Curator

We are in the enviable position of being able to source tightly-allocated cult-status boutique wines. Think Beaux Freres, Ken Wright, Black Cap. So we've decided to add a new tier to our wine club offerings. This will be our top-end tier: one bottle per month, $45, remarkable wines and remarkable value. And nothing but Pinots. If you're a lover of fine Pinot Noirs, you belong in our Boutique Pinot Noir Club.

Of course the club still has all the other tiers:
Explorer, 2 bottles of value wines from around the world, $19;
Redheads, 2 bottles of intriguing reds, $29;
Blondies, 2 bottles of intriguing whites, $29;
Connoisseur, 2 bottles of hard-to-find gems, $45.

Join the club »

-Thomas King and Nancy Groth

I imported an old California meritage that we had with dinner. The corkage penalty had me seeing stars. So this is what it's like, I said to myself, being on the other end of the equation.

See, I can support with crystal-clear logic the argument for restaurants charging corkage, the added charge for bringing your own wine. But I've always assumed that the restaurants in question weren't out to shamelessly gouge their guests.
Welcome to Sin City, pilgrim.

Not to say that Las Vegas alone practices this underhandedness. At the famed French Laundry Restaurant in Napa, corkage is $50 per bottle. And if the bottle you bring in is found on their admittedly voluminous wine list, it won't even be opened.

So again I pat our collective back here in Southern Oregon. Local wines are readily available, and corkage prices (for the most part) are fair.
Here is where it gets even better.

We think that our guests shouldn't be penalized for bringing their own bottle of nice wine into Summer Jo's every so often. Our Wine Club members already can enjoy their monthly selections corkage-free. But in order to spread the pleasure around even more, we're going to to institute a "bring yer own" night. So, effective this minute, Sunday night at Summer Jo's is the official "We Don't Need No Steenking Corkage" night. Just grab that dusty bottle you've been saving and bring it in. We'd love to see what treasures you have lurking in that darkest corner of your cellar. We encourage you to exchange samples with the couple at the next table. Come to think of it, we'd encourage  you to share a taste with us, too. And we'd be tickled to do the same!

Since I brought up Wine Club, I'll let you-all know that the selections for March will be available for pick up on the 27th. Normally, though, stop by at the end of the month and you'll find them waiting for you, lovingly bagged and accompanied by your very own custom Tasting Notes.

Since I brought up Tasting Notes, I must be honest. There are times when the sheer volume of BS that I present in Tasting Notes would make Bernie Madoff seem like a pillar of rectitude by comparison. No, no, just kidding. The temptation is there, though. These sessions have, after all, the purpose of showing the wines we select in the best light possible. What makes it easier for me is that I do believe in the wines we select. I don't have any purely subjective attachment to any particular bottle like, say, the winemaker would. Those folks are capable of launching a whole new category of fiction -- magical perception.

Although coming up with the blurbs on the backs of wine bottles would be an entertaining and challenging occupation for me, I'm afraid they'd have to let me go. I don't think the boss would let something like the following get any further than the editing department:

This wine has the color of Listerine "Classic," with an added greenish tinge that could possibly be nuclear in origin. The particulates suspended in this liquid shine in the light like the afterimage you'd experience by looking too long at a lit sparkler.

After being given some air -- and frankly, I'd be giving it open heart massage as well -- this substance gives off the rather distinctive vegetal aroma of rhino barf, with intoxicating counternotes of tar pit and what you'd get from an Old Faithful-like fissure as it expels some hitherto unknown gas vented straight from Hell's descending colon. The initial flavor of this effort reintroduces the Listerine aspect, captured in mineral oil viciousness seamlessly intertwined with tooth enamel-stripping acidity.
At this point the temporary blindness (a quality that alone should put this wine on the Government's list of unacceptable toxic waste) starts to subside, allowing one to fully appreciate the "finish" of this singular effort, a mouth filling, cloyingly artificial sensation not unlike that experienced after burping up Children's Nyquil while simultaneous chewing raw plantain. This is followed by a headshakingly persistent aftertaste reminiscent of rotgut tequila mixed with Tabasco sauce.
I like it!

-Thomas King, Wine Curator

One would think that there would be lots to tell after taking six weeks off to recover from New Year's Eve. Just a couple of things really raise their heavy head and stare at me with the expression of an old porch dog whose nap has been interrupted by screeching young-uns.

In an effort to experience complete sensory overload, I spent a few days in Las Vegas. The last time I was there I was barely able to go into the casino legally. It has changed. Back then the culinary pinnacle of the trip (depending on whether you count fifty-cent Heinekens as a culinary item or not) was the all-you-can-eat buffet that made J J North's look like a taco vendor cart. Nowadays, you can't help but bump into the Assistant Gard Mangier from the original restaurant location of Some Famous Chef From Back East who's now running the show here at the Flagship casino location, so that Famous Chef can spend more time counting the royalties he made on the TV show (even though they only shot a pilot). My point is, you have a bunch of talent that has moved to the desert. These guys set the restaurant up and then go back to home base. Even though the concept is solid, the ingredients that the Chefs are used to working with can sometimes be difficult to obtain. And of course, there are times that the execution can leave something to be desired. This came home to me in the guise of a seriously depleted menu ("no, we're out of that, too") and a Buffalo rib-eye that had to have been cooked on one half with some alternative (and possibly nuclear-based) cooking method, and then not cooked on the other. And then the $10 side of mashed potatoes ("well, it's enough for two people"). Ouch!

Which brings me to the essence of the trip. Sensory overload has its cost. Somebody gotta pay the light bill. How? On every wine list I perused, the prices were so unrealistic that I was forced to drink Martinis. Granted, if you really want a fire extinguisher-sized bottle of '82 'Yquem, then here's the place to get it. But for us mere mortals, paying $70 for a decent-but-low-end Oregon Pinot Noir makes that Buffalo steak stick in my throat. I guess I should be happy that there are Oregon wines on these lists at all. But if they are priced out of the range of what is comfortable for people to try on an unknown quantity, Beverage Managers are going to be stuck with a nice supply of older vintages.

So as I look at prices here in So. O., I feel lucky that wine is generally reasonably-priced. There's always a neat bargain to be had. And as always, it's my job to swim through them all to find the best ones. It's a dirty job, one that will require a Martini to get me started.

-Thomas King, Wine Curator

Summer Jo's Wine Curator Thomas King took a trip with Nancy and Mike to Willamette Valley wine country in January. It was fun, but productive, too. We did research for our wine list, glass-pour program, wine club, tastings, and for a new program we plan to launch this year: wine classes here at Summer Jo's. Thomas is excited about being able to share his knowledge of and enthusiasm for wine in this new way, and is working on the curriculum now. Stay tuned for dates and details.

Now is the time of year that the wine-world fortunetellers earn their keep. Wine Spectator magazine just released its list of the Top 100 wines of the year, and supplies of the top wines get snatched up faster than yours truly can break a wineglass. The prognosticators that were able to buy ahead of the demand are sitting pretty fat.

Yes, there will be blood, in the form of unrepentant price gouging, even though two basic criteria the Spectator uses to choose these wines is that they show value (as reflected by release price) and availability (based on the number of cases released to the public).

Continuing on with my continuing series of automobile metaphors, if a dealer has a Bugatti for sale, and nobody else does, what should the asking price be? MSRP? IDTS (I Don’t Think So). To be not just the first one on your block to have one, but the only one on your block, is priceless, as they say. Jack that price on up! It’s braces for the kids time!

OK, let’s reel it in a bit here.

So, what happens if you’re trying to find, say, the most exciting sparkling wine on the list? That would be the Argyle Extended Tirage 1998, from Oregon’s Willamette Valley. Shouldn’t be a Grailesque quest, one wouldest think. There have been Argyle sightings in Grocery Outlet!

But here we’re talking about a luxury version that is, after all, ten years old. Now the important numbers come out. Number 17 on the list. 95 points. 640 cases for the world. 7680 bottles. Assuming complete parity, that’s about 150 bottles per state.

Compare this to another difficult-to-find sparkling: Louis Roederer Cristal 2000. It is a few years younger, but - here’s the kicker - it’s five times more expensive, got a lower score, and due to its being tightly allocated, is quite hard to find here in the Rogue Valley even though there are some 30,000 cases imported into the U.S.

So what chance do we have to find the Argyle? Actually, it is who you know. And where you are, too. The folks at Argyle are attuned to the fact that it’s the hometown crowd that has been cheering the team on from the beginning. The guys in charge at the winery make it a point to hold back more of all their upper tier wines for Oregon. After all, the crowd was in the stands during the ’97 season (average score: 87 points) and now’s the time to bask in the glow of a winning season (average score for 2006: 90.3 points).

Now, back to the previous quest. Where can you find this, the highest scoring American-made Sparkling wine ever? Not Grocery Outlet, so don’t even.

Stop on in to the restaurant for dinner! Take a look through the Wine Room. Choose something to have with dinner. Or before, if you see my angle. Decide if you want to take a bottle home of Number Ten (Seghesio Sonoma County Zinfandel ’07— 93 points, $25, 68,000 cases made) or Number 40 or 52, not to mention the others we don’t have yet but will try to get when they are finally released. There are around 325 different choices as it is, with very pleasant pricing. Wine Club members get corkage waived for all their selections, and can get past wines for a screamingly good deal. We can even tie that bottle up with a ribbon for you, and set you up with a gift certificate for a one-stop present buying experience. Black Friday, huh. I’ll take mine White or Red.

-Thomas King

If you're looking to get some late breaking news about the latest local harvest, prepare to voice your dismay. Frankly, I'd rather leave that field to the experts. I haven't yet caught the "magic of harvest" bug. Something to do with all those real bugs hiding out under leaves and whatnot. I would rather describe how much fun it is to participate in a subsequent step of the winemaking process.

It's part fortune telling, part show and tell. Barrel tasting can show a novice wine drinker the "missing link" between grape juice and Chateau Whatnot. A seasoned wine taster can tell what influence the winemaker will have on the finished product. The wine critics will predetermine the vintage's quality by sampling dozens of tastes of newly created wine, thereby adding to or depleting a winemaker's fortune.

But for everybody, barrel tasting is a must-do, mostly because it's just fun. But of equal importance is discovering a sense of provenance. Of looking behind the curtain and finding out that the wizard does have some magic in him. It's one thing to stand there in a comfortable, beautiful tasting room, sampling wine from fine crystal while gazing out at the vineyard. It's another to see origins. To descend into a dark, damp cellar and weave between walls of barrels, trying to keep up with the winemaker like you were characters in the latest Indiana Jones movie.

But do try to keep up. Winemakers love this part. They get to show the labors of their fruit, side by side, with as much pride as a proud parent shows when demonstrating the latest progress of a precocious child. Holding a glass in one hand and a "wine thief" (an object that bears a strong resemblance to the offspring of some gadget used on the set of CSI: and an industrial grade turkey baster) in the other, the winemaker will scale to the top of a wall of barrels, all the while providing data about the origin of the wood he's using as a handhold and how long it spent on fire. He siphons off some of the fragrant liquid and deposits it in your glass. You hold it up to the dim light and hear about what a great harvest it was, but that fermentation was "totally touch-and-go." Then you sniff and taste. The aromas are vibrant and the flavors are mouth filling. You shamelessly spit onto the floor, following the winemaker's lead.

Then on to the next sample. "This one," he says,  "is the exact same vineyard, the same fermentation, but I used a different type of barrel. Just wanted to see what would happen." And you do taste the difference! Better? Worse? It's hard to say. You do get it, though. This is the stage where the winemakers get to use their creativity. So many variables must be taken into consideration. It's like the guitar player who will only use a certain brand of strings. The sound isn't better so much as it is distinctive.

When you ascend to daylight again, maybe a bit wobbly from so many tastes, a piece of the puzzle has slid into place. It's exciting and contagious, the idea that you've gotten a look behind the scenes. You're in the club. It's like a combination of amusement park ride and extra "The Making of ..." documentary you find on the DVD of the latest blockbuster movie.

Juice should be in barrels within the next few weeks. Call up the winery and just ask when you could do some barrel tasting. Tell them "Indy" sent you.

-Thomas King, Summer Jo's Wine Curator

Yes, we're doing another Wine and Food Pairing on First Friday, November 7.
Fame is the theme: we're featuring wines from well-known winemakers, including Mondavi, E. Guigal, and Antinori. These are some particularly nice wines, and a very limited number of bottles (very limited) will be available for purchase in our wine shop.
Nancy, Joy, and I sat down recently to taste the wines and Joy has come up with some awesome appetizers that should pair beautifully with them. But I must warn you: come by for the Wine and Food Pairing and you might just decide to stay for dinner. -Thomas King, Wine Curator

The callus at the base of my finger is just now going away.

It formed last week because of the close–to-120 bottles of wines we opened for the judges of the World of Wine event.

Not that I have any reason to complain, because comparatively, my performance went smoothly. We showed up, yanked some corks, poured some vino, polished (and broke) some glasses, ate some food, and hauled some bottles to the waiting pickup.

The real heroes of the day were the three judges. There is no getting around the fact of the serious burden these three men bore. At this, our area's most prestigious and influential wine event of the year, every winery and winemaker's reputation and bragging rights were in the balance. I have seen, in previous years, where the minute the winners were announced, the winery's phone started ringing. Our local wine fans pay attention, and a best-in-show wine can become a local cult classic, with demand driving up the price. It can be quite financially rewarding for the winners.

The judges started the day at about 10:00am, with a pen, a pitcher of water, and a spit bucket in front of them. They were handed a sheet of paper for scoring the wines based on a 20-point system. They started by tasting whites, which were grouped into flights by varietal. They were told the varietal and vintage, but the winery name was kept, quite literally, under wraps, with brown paper bags sealed with masking tape.

After several minutes spent sniffing, slurping, and spitting each sample, the judges scored the wines. I was fascinated by the way Karl would do his spitting. He would shoot the wine between his teeth, like we used to do in swim class. After that, they discussed each entry and gave their scores.
Then it was time for the reds. By this time, Andy and I could have earned our own medal in the synchronized pouring event. It went on for HOURS! During this time, the judges battled palate fatigue and struggled to keep that delicate balance between objectivity and personal preferences.

Despite the responsibility, they succeeded in keeping the mood light by joking with each other and with us. Dick Erath, who is a true Oregon wine legend and pioneer, told the story about how he decided to leave the Willamette Valley for that other famous wine region: Wilcox, Arizona. Wayne, who is a true Master Sommelier, kept lamenting that there was no bronze medal awarded because of his overall regard for the wines from our area. It was encouraging to me that Southern Oregon is becoming a bigger, darker blip on the wine radar, as evidenced by Wayne's familiarity with the wines and the region's 45 wineries.

For my part, I was quite humbled by the sheer scope of vocabulary and descriptors that the judges used and how it was like listening to people holding a conversation in a language that I could only partially speak, yet still could kind of understand. It made me want to jump in and immerse myself so as to catch all the nuances of the dialog. It was a wonderfully educational experience, and I would love to be involved in next year's edition. And which of the 120 wines was my favorite? I don't know yet -- I was too busy breaking wine glasses to taste anything.

Thomas King, Summer Jo's Wine Curator

Back in January, us wine fans here at the restaurant put together a belated Christmas list that catalogued what we thought would be the best wine list in town. We wanted it to be a list that was interesting, regionally comprehensive, affordable, and complementary to our cuisine.

What we ended up with was an eight-page mini opus that we truly believed was the best in town. From Chilean Carmenere to Greek Makedonikos to just a nice Merlot, we thought that we had made it easy to find the perfect wine for the occasion. While putting this thing together, it was of equal importance to us that there be a high quality-to-price ratio. It's easy to find an exceptional wine for $100. We were much more interested in finding wines that exhibited the quality of a Charles Heidsieck with the price of a Charles Shaw.

So even though it's a dirty job, we strive to taste every wine we put on our list. Between the two of us, that can add up to some 30 new wines in a good week. But before I start seeing e-clamourings to let you’all ease our burden by getting in on these tasteathons, I'll outline the procedures that you’ll be adhering to.

First and foremost, you must spit! It can be a pretty challenging rule to follow, especially when sampling an exceptional $100 wine, but in order to maintain a degree of continuity, you always spit.

Second, take copious notes. Describe the nose, the flavors, the mid-palate sensation, and the finish. Then, decide if it’s good!

Keep in mind the difference between quality and personal preference. While it’s true that we dislike being shackled to the whims of the wine press, we have to trust their judgments (for the most part) when it comes to evaluating wine quality. But, we still use the various entities’ scores as a starting point rather than an absolute, and make our own call. So it’s really the two-edged sword love/non-love relationship with these magazines.

What I'm really getting at is that along with thousands of other restaurants worldwide, we submitted our list to Wine Spectator Magazine, and for the seventh consecutive year, we’ve been awarded the Award of Excellence, showing that our Christmas wish list has matured into a year-round gift to all of you.

Cheers!

Thomas King, Summer Jo's Wine Curator

So this is blogging. Until very recently, I would have to agree with my spellchecker, and insist that “blogging” isn't even a real word. But I guess my parents said the same thing about “groovy.” So, like the curmudgeons of every generation, I can either bitch about the concept or turn it to my advantage. Or I could do both at the same time. I could bitch about the topic dearest to my heart, aside from “Obscure 19th Century Spanish Novelists.” That will come later. For now, I stick with wine. Wine is all too often dismissed by lighthearted folks who just want to have fun. The pomp and ceremony that is an almost inseparable component of the wine drinking experience just naturally puts a damper on drinking games and other varieties of good, clean fun.

With that being said, our approach to wine here at Summer Jo‘s is: Wine is fun to drink! It tastes good (ideally!), the aroma evokes different descriptors and even personal memories, and it’s even good for you. That’s not to say that wine should be taken too lightly. It can taste better, worse, or just different depending on what food you eat with it, or even how long you wait before you pour your second glass. It becomes a totally different animal. Malbec, for example, is like the Standard Poodle of the wine world. You might believe it’s kind of goofy and playful, but it might just give you a nip if you stop paying attention. So, to keep wine playful instead of menacing, we promise that we’ll think about all that technical stuff so you, our guests, can just get right to the fun part – drinking it.

Our dedication to our wine program starts in the kitchen. As our chefs start to work on the new season’s menu, the wine guy is right there with them. As a plate’s evolution progresses, he’ll draw inspiration from the aromas and colors of this new dish, and “Yes!” a wine pairing has begun. But that’s not the end. Changes are made to “tune” the dish so that it more completely meshes with the wine. It’s more realistic to do it that way rather than telling the winemaker to change his wine. We’ll try doing that later.

spirithousepinotnior
All winemakers are on board with the notion that they want their product to be shown in the best light possible. That’s why we applaud the movement wherein many wineries are going to screwcaps, an old invention that’s been given a name makeover (“Stelvin Closure”) and upsourced to a higher price point (I think the price champ here in Oregon is Argyle’s 93-point Spirithouse Pinot Noir at about $75. Compare that to $4.99 for Good Ol’ Thunderbird). We feel screwcaps can be an improvement over the traditional cork when thought of in terms of wine quality. Screwcaps don’t contaminate wine with a type of bacteria that makes wine smell like moldy cardboard or worse. Winemakers, and us too, know that nobody will order a second glass of Chateau Moldy Cardboard. Unless they’re in training for “Fear Factor”.

For our part, we’re using a bottle storage system that constantly keeps the wine at the right temperature and humidity, away from temperature fluctuations, strong light, and vibration. All those things are bad for the longevity of fine wine. So go home and move those bottles you have stacked on top of the refrigerator.


Thomas King, Summer Jo's Wine Curator