Author Archives: Maurice

  1. Dr. Seuss Of Wine: A Wine Maker Saw a Drop of Dew

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    You may not believe it,saw a drop of dew
    But here’s how it happened.
    One warm fall morning…
    A wine maker saw a drop of…Dew!

    Because he saw the drop,
    he started to harvest.
    Because he started to harvest,
    he picked the grapes.

    Because he picked the grapes,
    they went into a bucket.
    Because they went into a bucket,
    the skins got damaged.

    ———————————————————————————————————-
    leak-barrel
    Because they got damaged,
    juice began to leak.
    Because the juice leaked,
    it was time to press.

    Because it got pressed,
    Winemaker, Joly
    dropped in the yeast,
    it got bubbly.

    ———————————————————————————————————-
    joly kick Because of that yeast
    a wine was made.
    Because it was made,
    Joly took a sip.

    Because he took a sip,
    Nick Joly, kicked the tank.
    Because of that kick,
    another yeast fell in.

    Because it fell in,
    the juice turned brown.

    ———————————————————————————————————-

    Because it turned brown
    he called Mr. Crowne
    and offered a price
    to buy that juice. money

    Because he bought the juice,
    Mr. Crowne,
    Bought a barrel.

    Because of the purchase,
    he ran out of money.
    Because he ran out of money,
    He removed it from barrel.

    Maybe too soon, but…
    he bottled it up
    Because he bottled it up
    He could now make money.

    ———————————————————————————————————-

    Because he could get money
    from a sucker downtown.
    And because it was a lot,
    He drove straight to town.
    wine-shop
    He gave a good price
    to a shop that was down.
    Because of that price,
    the wine began to sell.

    Although it was selling…
    the wine did not compel.
    Everyone, Everyone started to think,
    the shop that was down,
    sold them a bad drink.

    Because of the bad smell,
    they said “we’re not paying”.
    They went on cellar tracker
    and gave it a bad rating.

    ———————————————————————————————————-
    closed
    Because of cellar tracker,
    nobody would buy.
    So the shop closed
    and the owner sighed.

    Because the shop closed,
    it’s true, it’s no lie,
    no one downtown
    could ever buy wine.

    ———————————————————————————————————-

    And this made people
    Run far, far away.
    And as far as I know,
    Not a soul lives there today. runaway

    And that’s how it happened.
    Believe me. It’s true.

    Because…
    Just because
    A wine maker saw a drop of dew!

  2. Want to learn about Riesling? The Riesling Seminar

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    Riesling Seminar
    riesling seminar

    In support of the Summer of Riesling 2013 I created a Riesling seminar for those that want to learn about Riesling. It discusses Riesling throughout the world. We offered this seminar for our Prime Cru members and our staff. The turn out was not the greatest, for some reason people still do not understand Riesling. However, those that were in attendance have a better appreciation for the under rated grape. One at a time we will change people’s perception of Riesling as being only a sweet wine. Those that did attend were excited to learn about Riesling and all its diversity.

    Although I did not go into detail about Riesling from Canada, Washington State, Oregon, New Zealand or Chile; these regions should also be on your radar for Riesling. Master sommeliers all vow their love for Riesling because it makes them look good when they pair wine and food. It is one of the few grapes that expresses razor edge acidity along with a pleasant electrifying fruitiness. It brings two of the most desired characteristics of wine into one glass. For this reason you see Riesling all over Michelin star restaurants’ tasting menus.

    Riesling is the most understood grape. Even in its homeland of Germany, the grape has been deemed as merely a sweet wine. It might be a result of marketing the Blue Nun label all over the world, however; that is a wine of the past. Today more and more people are becoming familiar with the different levels of sweetness. For those wine drinkers who enjoy drinking Burgundy and all its primer crus, you need to try Chartas from the Rheingau, Grosses Gewachs from the Mosel and Erest Lages from Rheinhessen. Riesling is diverse and complex. It is not your grandmas wine any more.

    I hope you enjoy the Riesling seminar and drink more Riesling!

  3. Centennial Cabernet Sauvignon & Baily Winery

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    Baily Winery

    A few months ago David Cohn, owner of the Cohn Restaurant Group  asked me to meet with Phil Baily of Baily vineyards, one of the first wineries in Temecula.  David had met Phil at the Family Winemakers tasting in Del Mar.  The two were talking about potentially bottling a special wine for the Cohn Restaurant Group, a Centennial Cabernet Sauvignon.   David was interested in creating a wine that would commemorate the 100 year anniversary of Balboa Park in 2015 along with the Cohn Restaurant’s Group 30 year anniversary.  David wanted to create a wine that would stay true to San Diego, so we obviously chose to look for a winery in Temecula.

    First I had to meet with Phil and his daughter Kim, to make sure that they had juice that would be worthy of this venture.  There are  many wineries in Temecula, and so few good wineries in Temecula.  I was at first skeptical that the Baily’s would have juice that would be worthy of bottling for such an important wine.  When I sat with Phil and Kim I was pleasantly surprised with the quality of their Cabernet Sauvignon.  Phil explained that when he purchased the 20 acre Berenda vineyard, planted by Joan Handley in 1968 when UC Davis was experimenting in Temecula.  The vineyard’s soil is composed of decomposed granite, clay and sandy top soil.  It is at 1500 ft altitude and yields about 2.75 tons per acre.  Phil believes that the vines were planted with the Wente clone 7.  He says  the wine is a lot darker in color than any other Cabernet Sauvignon in Temecula and expresses a minty character.  It has never been affected by phylloxera, so these old vines produce concentrated fruit.

    Berenda Vineyard

    The Berenda Vineyard, 50-year-old vines

    The 2010 vintage was a perfect vintage for the Bailys.  It did not rain, which allowed for longer hang times.  The vineyard is located in an area where the Rainbow Gap brings a steady breeze in from Camp Pendleton on the coast.  This ocean breeze contributes to the longer growing season for the 50-year-old vines.

    I was impressed when I tasted the wines.  Phil asked me to come to the winery and help  him blend the wine.  Phil also uses Cabernet from his estate vineyard, La Sirena.  The La Sirena bears fruit which is more typical of Temecula, lighter colored and fruity.  I was pleased with the wines and decided to move forward and create the Centennial Cabernet Sauvignon.

    I took my General Manager, Jon Boyle with me to aid in the blending.  Together we met Phil and Kim at their medieval inspired winery off Rancho California road.  We took a tour through the vineyards to see the thick “tree trunk” vines of the Berenda vineyard.  We later drove to the wine making facility on Pauba Road where we had barrel samples waiting for us.  Our task was to come up with a wine for the Centennial Cabernet Sauvignon that would be worthy of commemorating two San Diego institutions.

    The blending of the Centennial Cabernet SauvignonCentennial Cabernet Notes

    We had barrel samples of Cabernet from the Berenda vineyard and La Sirena vineyard, Cabernet Franc and Malbec.  As we started the blending, we quickly realized that the slightest adjustment of any of the four wines really affected the wine.  We immediately decided not to use Malbec.  The Malbec dulled the wine.  The Cabernet Franc on its own was delicious.  In the blend is was important because it contributed in lifting the aroma and giving the wine a floral character.

    The two Cabernet Sauvignons were miles apart.  At first I thought if I used more Berenda Cabernet I would have a better wine.  The Berenda Cabernet had the structure, the tannin and acidity.  However, too much left an unbalanced wine.  The La Sirena Cabernet added the red fruitiness the juiciness to an already structured base, the Berenda.  The final blend consisted of 50% Berenda Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% La Sirena and 10% Cabernet Franc.  We all felt that we made a great wine.

    Centennial Cabernet Sauvignon

    The wine has a minty aroma with other aromas of violets, blackberry and raspberry.  On the palate, it is full-bodied, with a heavy mid palate of more blackberry fruit, plum skins and black cherry.  The tannins are firm and the acidity is lively.  The alcohol came in at 14.2%, however it is not burning and is well-integrated.

    We are excited to share this wine with all of San Diego.  The wine will be available at the Cohn Restaurant Group restaurants for $10 by the glass and $40 a bottle.  We will also be offering it retail for $20.15 (the anniversary year for Balboa Park).  If you want to know when this special bottling will be released, sign up for PRIME CRU WINE CLUB and get the newsletter for its release.

    Below is a short video about the making and bottling of the Centennial Cabernet Sauvignon at the Baily Winery

  4. The only Wine Trivia I needed to know, I learned in Kindergarten

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    wine trivia

    Every night I post wine trivia questions for my staff on a dry erase board.  Through out the night the employees place their initials next to the best answer.  I continue asking questions and tallying their scores, until the last question is placed and then the person with the most correct answers takes a bottle of wine home.  I do this because it keeps my employees thinking about wine.  It  might even trigger a conversation at a table.  It is just one of the ways I try to educate my staff and keep them thinking about wine.

    Another method is providing regular wine tastings.  This past Monday I decided to practice blind tasting with the group.  There were about 15 employees in attendance and each at a different level.  Some were hostesses just promoted to cocktail servers, others bus boys now working as server assistants and their were veteran servers.  The knowledge pool was all over the place.

    I handed out our Blind Tasting Grid, the same grids the Court of Master Sommeliers uses for exams.   When I started tasting with them I realized (more…)

  5. Wine Interviews with Dead Celebrities: John Lennon

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     wine interviews

    A wine interview with John Lennon.  “Imagine”, if you could to talk to John Lennon like it was “yesterday”, about wine.

    For sometime now, I have tried to get wine interviews with some of my favorite musician, movie stars and other celebrities about their wine habits.  I have found it very difficult to get past their fan clubs and PR firms to just get a basic questionnaire filled out.  So I have diverted to plan B.  I found it to be so much easier to hone in on my psychic abilities and interview those celebrities that have passed away.  It seems as though they are more willing to sit through the interview.  Most dead celebrities do not want to lose touch with their fans.  They are so desperate that they are willing to answer the questions of a lowly wine blogger in San Diego. (more…)