Beer Man in Wine Country

On occasion, Joe Canal’s staff members are able to go on trips to meet the producers of the items that we sell. Whether we travel to the great wine regions, or any other location, the trips are educational, great for team-building, and, of course, they’re fun.

Chris Spicacci, Beer Supervisor at Woodbridge, recently visited California on just such a trip with other Joe Canal's team members. Here's his report:

It was a clear Monday morning that we were on our way to the airport. I was a little nervous about flying, not having done so in over 15 years, but still very excited for my first trip to the West Coast.

After we landed and checked in at the hotel, we visited the Beringer Winery. What a nice place, with a lot of interesting history. We had a 2012 "Luminus" Chardonnay and a 2011 Cabernet Sauvignon, along with a "Nightingale" Sauvignon Blanc with dessert. We spent the night in the Simi house. Beautiful place, very roomy, excellent view. First time ever playing Bocce, which is a lot of fun.

The next morning, we stopped at Gott's Roadside for breakfast. Iconic place, delicious food.

Beringer tasting

Later in the day we visited Beringer Winery; tons of history there. We were taken out to the vineyards while discussing the history and origin of the winery. From there, we went to Franciscan for lunch. Best meal of the trip for me, a 3 course lunch. We sampled a 2012 Cuvee Sauvage Chardonnay and a 2008 Magnificat along with a couple of others. We were given a tour of the winery. They showed us where they make the wine, how they crush and process the grapes and it was thorough. Really nice place with great people.

Stag's Leap Manor House

Next, we visited Stag's Leap Winery. It was a very entertaining and informative tour, learning all of the history of the winery. We heard that the winery had supposedly been haunted. We tried their wine sitting in the front porch of the establishment. Very fun, but no ghosts.

That night, we finished up at the Hess Winery. What an unreal place. Donald Hess, the owner has a massive art collection on displays throughout 3 floors of the winery. He's been collecting paintings and pieces for over 40 years from all over the world.

"Throughout my 40 years of acquiring and building up the art collection my early, simple guidelines have remained unchanged. Even today, I rely chiefly on my intuition and on my own eyes, however I still find that several times waking up at night and thinking about a painting, a result of having been deeply moved by a particular piece of art, continues to be the best indicator for purchasing a new piece."

"I am certainly not influenced by fashionable trends, nor does it matter to me, how well-known and artist is. My main criteria is: an artwork cannot just be visually pleasing - it has to deeply touch me in such a way that during the week before finally purchasing the artwork I constantly think about it." - Donald M. Hess

Some of the pieces were just mesmerizing. Amazing collection. Makes me, someone not really not into art before this tour, really appreciate the craft.

The wines? 2012 Chardonnay 2012 Select Pinot Noir and a 2010 Mount Veeder 19 Block Cuvee were sampled with the meal.

Chateau St. Jean

The next morning we started with a tour of Chateau St Jean, including lunch. More of the same, great scenery, and great wine.

We had some time in the middle of the day, so we stopped at the Russian River Brewery. Best part of the trip for me, being super into craft beer. It was good to be able to try some some highly rated beer that isn't available in New Jersey. Better was being able to purchase some to bring back home.

We finished Wednesday night with a tour of the Clos du Bois Winery. Another nice place and, again, a lot of nice scenery. We sampled a 2012 Calcaire, Russian River Valley, and a 2011 Reserve Cabernet, Alexander Valley, among others.

Ferrari-Carano

Finally, on the last full day, we visited Sonoma Valley to tour the Ferrari-Carano Winery. Far and away, the most beautiful place we had seen. After a tour inside and out, we went down to the tasting room to try a number of different wines. Our tasting menu included a 2013 Pinot Grigio, 2013 Fume Blanc, 2013 Chardonnay, 2012 Reserve Chardonnay, 2012 Merlot, and a 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon. This was yet another great place.

Seeing that it was our last full day there, and we had an early flight to catch the next morning, we just drove back to San Francisco to spend the rest of the day there. We stopped at an In & Out Burger for dinner, and that was delicious. we did a quick little tour of the city on foot, visiting Fishermans Wharf, also seeing Alcatraz from afar. What added to the trip was the buzz of the people of San Francisco, due to the Giants being in the playoffs. We spent the last night just relaxing in the hotel, trying to rest up for the early flight.

All in all, I feel like this was a great experience. I was honored and grateful to take part in the trip. I gained a lot of new knowledge in wine, saw and toured many wonderful, beautiful places, and gained a new appreciation for wine that I've never had.

Greatest Hits

We routinely introduce you to new products. Given that some are available in limited quantities, we think it's important to get that information out as quickly as we can. That being said, we're also going to re-visit some of the items that we currently carry, as a reminder that we have the best variety and value in New Jersey!

With Valentine's Day coming up next Friday, a sparkling wine is a great place to start this review. We know that lots of sparkling wine will be opened on February 14, and we think you ought to start with a Champagne.

L. Aubry Fils Champagne has already established itself as a top seller, and it's a great value as well. This non-vintage Champagne rated 92 points from Wine Advocate, and is only $34.99 in the Bottle Club®. That great price point makes it one of our most affordable true Champagnes. Citrus and mineral notes take the lead with green apple and pear flavors in the background.  A slight ginger note takes hold on the finish.  Aubry has a dry, clean style that has a very attractive green apple juiciness that keeps you coming back for more.

From the Wine Advocate review: "This contains just one-quarter each Chardonnay and Pinot; 45% Meunier; and a mixture of Arbanne, Petit Meslier and Fromenteau (a.k.a. Pinot Gris). Nearly half of it is reserve wine, and more than half of that from a solera going back to 1998. If that sounds like a recipe for delivering complexity, you’re right and won’t be disappointed! Bittersweet perfume suggestive of gentian and iris mingles with intimations of fresh lime and sea breeze that in turn manifest themselves on a seductively silken palate in both juicy, vivacious exuberance and mouthwatering saliva-inducement. A scallop-like sweetly saline and mineral amalgam takes hold in a vibrant finish that leaves me caught between the urge to linger and the urge to take the next sip. This exceptional value by appellation standards is almost sure to prove worth following for several years, even if, sadly, few wine enthusiasts are likely to put that prediction to the test."  

A personal favorite is the Mocali Fossetti Rosso. As an everyday wine, this hits the intersection of quality, value and taste just about perfectly. This is 100% Sangiovese Grosso, the grape used to make Brunello.  This smells like a Brunello and even drinks like one, but the Bottle Club® price of $10.46 can’t be beat.

The 100% Sangiovese Grosso in fermented solely in stainless steel.  This is a deep hearty glass of Tuscan wine with wonderful freshness of fruit.  Made from all Montalcino fruit; it's an incredible value from this zone.  Sangiovese Grosso has thicker skins and smaller berries, yielding a more structured wine with deeper fruits, all that is present here with spiced aromas and dusty tannins.  A wonderful introduction to the wines of Montalcino.

Italian wines are all about Amore, and that's perfect for Valentine's Day.

Of course, the French know about love as well. If you want a very nice red wine for dinner, after the Aubry Champagne aperitif, the Pierre Henri-Morel Côtes du Rhône Villages Signargues is a great choice. Signargues is the furthest South of all the appellations in the

Côtes du Rhône, and consists of four communities.

This also scored 91 points from Wine Spectator, making it another great value at only $13.96 in the Bottle Club®. From their review: "An elegant style, with silky texture and pure, unadorned bitter plum, blood orange and singed alder notes all racing along through the rooibos tea-tinged finish, revealing a buried mineral accent. Drink now through 2016." Our team adds, "Very silky and interesting.  It keeps changing in the glass.  Enjoy with pork, chicken or beef stews."

Our posts haven't given enough love to our beer department, so we want to mention one of our newer beers, Miller Fortune. Chris Spicacci, the Beer Supervisor at our Woodbridge store, just enjoyed a 6-pack and had this to say: "Miller Fortune is a golden lager brewed in part with Cascade hops to give it a citrusy bite and caramel malt to impart an amber hue. The flavor is moderately bitter with hints of sweetness, resting somewhere between a full-flavored craft beer and a light lager. 6.9%ABV."

Miller Fortune is available in 12 ounce bottles, 6- or 12-packs, as well as 24 ounce cans. The 6-packs are priced at $6.99, the 12-packs at $13.49, and the cans are $1.79 each. Miller Fortune is about instigating whatever the night has in store.

We hope that our gentle reminder about Valentine's Day will be helpful. As always, if you have questions, please ask our store staff.