Maurice’s Wine Cru went down for a few days..totally bummed!
It was a result of me not catching an important email from my server. Unfortunately, I lost all posts since October 2015. So if you are trying to find the best wines of 2105, the story on Rancho Guejito or the post on Tequila, they are long gone…frowning face.
Oh well nothing lasts forever.
I may have them saved elsewhere, so if you see those stories pop back up, you are not experiencing deja vu. It’s just me trying to put content back on to mauricescru. Click through it, re-read it, share it…I don’t care, just don’t get upset.
On another note, I plan on starting a new project. It is still a ways down the road, but should be pretty fun, Drink Up Cru. My friends at Wine Weirdos inspired me to create Drink Up Cru, a video channel featuring the wines, beers and spirits I bring into the restaurants at the Cohn Restaurant Group. I’ll try to keep it entertaining and informative in the mauricescru style. In the meantime enjoy their videos. The best are the twitter…30 second videos. Below are a few videos with mauricescru as a guest.
The common belief is that Washington State is known for apples, hops and onions. The wines of Washington State don’t even make a blip on the radar. People hear Columbia Valley and they immediately think we’re talking about Oregon. Wines from the northwest are not just Oregon wines. Washington wines are just as important. Over the next 3 months you will see a big push for Washington wines in San Diego. The Washington Wine Commission, a state government-run agency intended to promote awareness of Washington’s viticulture and enology is campaigning in San Diego. They are promoting Washington Wines via all media outlets. So if you are tired of presidential campaigns, grab a glass and vote for Washington State wines. I have partnered with the commission to help promote the wines of Washington. Think of me as a grassroots campaign manager.
Why Washington wines you ask? Washington wines are some of the most interesting wines. The region is very large with varied micro climates and soil types. Most people’s image of Washington State is rain and more rain. This is not the case in the wine growing areas. Washington State is a desert protected from rain by the Cascade mountains. The mountains create a rain shadow effect which leaves sun and more sun to shine over the valley. However, the mountains and the many rivers provide cooling which is ideal for grape growing. The winds blowing in from Idaho bounce off the Cascades and come swooshing across the valley helping the vines fight pests and disease.
I have spoken about Washington wines in the past, but this time I really want to talk about is what makes them so different. It is all about their soils. Millions of years ago ice glaciers melted and came rushing down from the Great Lakes through Washington State, an event known as the Missoula Floods. With them they brought rocks and sediments spreading them throughout the valley. These deposits left in the soils are the key to great grape growing in Washington. The winds also brought sand and silt which is constantly blowing in the valley. This soil structure allows for plantings of unique vineyards to show terroir and identity. The wines from a small vineyard in Walla Walla “the Rocks” is so unique that in a blind tasting the Syrahs can easily be picked out.
Talking about blind tastings, several years ago the moment of truth hit me. I was in Washington with 30 + other sommeliers and wine professionals blind tasting some of the highest rated wines in the world. We had Pahlmeyer, Caymus Special Select, Mouton, Clos Apalta and a few Washington wines such as Abeja and Cote Bonneville. We tasted Syrahs, Merlots and Bordeaux blends from around the world. Most of us picked the wines of Washington State as the superior wines. This event won my heart over and since then I have become a promoter of the wines of Washington. I am so happy to be on this campaign.
March is Taste Washington Wine Month. I am going to do everything in my power to spread the word and turn the good folks of San Diego to the overlooked region of Washington. All month-long, the Cohn Restaurant Group will feature wines from Washington at specially selected restaurants. We start the month on March 12th at Sea 180 Coastal Tavern where I will host a symposium and wine tasting with winemakers, winery owners, salespeople and the Washington Wine Commission. We will host wine dinners and lunches at Island Prime, 333 Pacific and Vintana. Bluepoint will run specials all month and host the winners from a local radio show’s contest for dinner. So much is happening, I hope you are part of the campaign. And don’t forget to vote WASHINGTON.
I grew up in Mission Hills, one of San Diego’s oldest neighborhoods. When I was a kid I would wake up at 4 am and ride my bike with my friend Manny and deliver newspapers up and down West Lewis Street. We would then, ride up and down Fort Stockton in search of new canyons. In the afternoon we would visit our favorite stores were Ace Drug Store, Sutter Market, Ibis Market & my former employer Fiori’s Pizza in search of baseball cards. In the evening we would ice block down the hills of Presidio Park. This is not the same neighborhood I remember as a kid. Back then I didn’t realize how much our neighbors liked wine! I was clueless. When they get together, they like to party. Every summertime Mission Hills holds concerts in Pioneer Park where the locals share their favorite wines. It is a great time for all. Now that I am an adult with kids growing up in this neighborhood, I thought I would give back and I found the perfect way to do so.
Last year I held a wine tasting to raise money for the local school, Grant K-8 at a neighbor’s house. Our generous friends the Mexican Vintner Marketing Alliance participated in the first wine tasting campaign and raised over $4,000. Eight wineries from Napa Valley, all Mexican-American winemakers participated in the event. The grandfathers of these winemakers worked as grape pickers and today their families own their own wineries. We had over 70 people in attendance. Since it was held in a private home we were limited on space. I had to turn away too many people.
This year I have decided to do another wine tasting, but at the famous and spacious Mission Hills Nursery. The Mission Hills nursery is San Diego’s oldest garden center founded by Kate Sessions. Toni and Tiger have kept the nursery active and remains a staple in our community. Tiger now has a child attending Grant which makes this venue a “no-brainer”. Toni and Tiger have generously offered their space to support the school. However, I have decided to keep it local this year.
My friends at Truly Fine Wines, Damon, Sabrina and Brian are going to pour wines from around the world. Truly Fine Wines is one of SD’s best kept secrets! They import German wines directly into SD and have a retail shop on Morena Blvd. Their German Wines are sold across the country and have a strong following within the sommelier communities of Chicago, New York and of course, San Diego. They are one of the few distributors that sell their niche selections on Amazon. Not only do they specialize in German Wines, but they also have an online store called My Cellar Master where people can buy a virtual sommelier experience. They work closely with America’s 1st Master Sommelier, Eddie Oesterland,also a SD resident.
Truly Fine Wines will pour wines from the Old World, France, Spain and Italy. They will also have a table featuring California wines. Their will be another area showing off the wines from South America. You adventurous types should find the German wine table where they will feature my true love, Riesling along with Pinot Noir and other grapes you probably never have heard of . Have I ever told you that my desert island wine is a German Riesling?
Sunday, October 18th 3-5pm I will be hosting the 2nd annual Grant-Mission Hills wine tasting event. Join me for a wine tour around the world with Truly Fine Wines! Truly Fine Wines has so generously offered to give back to the school 10% for any wine and 20% on any German wine bought. All wines will be sold by Truly Fine Wines. I look forward to seeing you there!
Several years ago I started the Wine-phabet, a series that explored the alphabet through wine. I tried to find fun and different wine terms that would be both educational and fun to read. I thought I would re-post some of the Wine-phabet in case you never had the opportunity to read it. I hope you enjoy it.
Dosage is the adding of sugar to Champagne to increase sweetness levels.
Here is a closer look at Dosage, you need to sing it to the tune of Eric Claptons “Cocaine”.
If the bubbles are dry and you gotta ask why; Dosage.
They fermented away, how do we make it stay; Dosage.
It’s not dry, It’s not dry, It’s not dry…Dosage!
They used to use beet just to make it sweet; Dosage
At 32 its a Demi-sec, I’m talking ’bout sugar content; Dosage.
It’s not dry, It’s not dry, It’s not dry…Dosage!
At 10 grams its a brut, a little less its extra-brut; Dosage.
If Blanc de Blanc won’t do, try the sweeter, Doux; Dosage.
It’s not dry, It’s not dry, It’s not dry…Dosage!
How come it’s not dry, when its extra dry; Dosage.
So what do I think? Brut, you should drink; Dosage.
The Cabernet family has deep ancestral roots. Cousins, brothers and sisters interbred creating off springs, some worthy of being kings and others lost in the king’s courts. The king is Cabernet Sauvignon…the principle grape of Bordeaux and California. Prior to its rise to greatness, it had been raised by two other great grapes…Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc.
Mother Sauvignon said to her husband, “My deary, look at his skin it is just like yours, thick and dark. In fact, he resembles you more than me!”
“Yes baby”, replied Father Franc. “But he has your personality, bright fruitiness and everlasting finish.”
As genetics would have it, each parent passed on his & her traits to their son, Cabernet Sauvignon. The outcome was a son stronger than his father and more adventurous than his mother. This led him to travel around the world and conquer hundreds of regions all the time making more and more winemakers his disciples. All other grapes bowed to him and winemakers foolishly treated the other grapes like him. Today they are learning that Cabernet is Cabernet…the king. Other grapes need to be treated differently and the king is only as strong as his court. So blending his cousins and friends with Cabernet has only made Cabernet more approachable and regal.
