Rudi Weist wines at Grunauer

4 wine makers from Germany came in the market today. because of the nature of the seminar I can not tell who they were but the following are the wines tasted.

Schloss Schonbrune Estate Riesling 2010.. light and refreshing

Fritz Haag Braunberger Trocken 2010 a village wine.. more on the spatlese level.. beautiful nose that turns a touch petrol. nice slatey nature that turns just a little salty..

Fritz Haag Braunberger Juffer Riesling Trocken.. 2010 single vineyard... slatey and light pineapple fruit on the front. very crisp

Pfaffenberg Scholls Schonbrun riesling... i think.. wet stone minerality.. lots of mouth watering acidity.. and nice finish

Zilliken Rausch Kabinet 2010  dry mineral mose, pretty golden color, slight fruit and a bit blunt finish

Weins Prum Grauccher Spatlese 2003.. honeysuckle notes on the nose, soft and mouthwateringly juicy.. beest of the day

Zilliken 2003 Saarberg Riesling Auslese.. sweet diesel on the nose, elderflower maybe.. long finish with just enough petrol

Haag Braunberger Juffer Riesling Auslese 2003 all diesel and a little popcorn butter on the nose,, creamy but not flabby.. green apple..again the petrol wasnt overpowering.

Paolo Saracco/ Bommarito

Having gone to lunch with Schramsberg the day before I had to miss the brunch at Coal Vines with Paolo Saracco but he was nice enough to come by the store

Saracco Monferrato Rosso DOC Pinot Nero 2008.. light rusty coloring, a slightly sweet fruit nose, a little barnyard on the back. good texture and a slightly sweet finish.. but overall not that interesting..

Saracco Moscato d: asti docg Muscato Canelli, the town where the grape first became popular. the wine was a little more cloying than expected... I was told because of the warmer vintage. pretty stone fruit on the finish.. not nearly as fizzy as some d'asti can be

Paolo tried to explain his technique and his english was workable.. he definitely has the passion for what he does

wine lunch with Fred Zammataro/ Schramsberg

Schramsberg is one of the success stories of napa valley. A young couple with small children move to Napa in the mid 60's to follow a dream and in the process make history. Taking over the dilapidated winery known as J Schram they reinvented sparkling wine for California. Nixon in China took Schramsberg due to a connect with John Erlichman and they never looked back.c

Mirabelle Brut.. non vintage chard and pinot blend.. light mouse.. pleasant

Mirabelle Brut Rose.. non vintage.. rose color comes from pinot noir that is made into still wine that they use on all their rose

2007 Blanc de Blanc ... white of white..chardonnay..

2007 Blanc de Noir white of red...90% Pinot. with 10 % chard for structure... hearty nose of dirt and mocha..

2006 Brut Rose.. favorite of the tasting... depth and character and lots of heart

2004 J Schram.. tete d cuvee.. best of the best on the best years.. light golden in color.. pretty depth of toast and mousse was soft...named for the original owner of the winery.

Alta Maria/Paul Wilkins/ Pinnacle

Alta Maria is a project in the southern central coast of california

Sauvignon Blanc 2010 grassy and sweetish on the finish.. pleasant wine but maybe too sweet

Pinot Noir 2010 a touch dirty on the nose. rough finish that is sweet and smoky

Native 9 Pinot Noir. garnet in color.. beautiful nose, unctious and structured. low yields show in the concentration of dark fruit.. long finish

Golden Barrel

Gone Fishin Riesling columbia valley 2010... sweet green apple.. ok acidity.. 2% residual sugar ok wine with an ugly label

Bauer Haus Spaten Riesling 2009 Rheingau... mouthwatering acidity.. not a sweet finish... a little mineral on the finish... but


Manzone Nebbiolo Langhe 2009  sweet perfume nose, dark cherry fruit almost medicinal and quick finish.

Manzone Barolo 2006 a hint of petrol and earth.. loads of fruit on the palate.. and long tannins.. good finish... lots going on

bernie and cynthia

Chateau St Cyrgues Rose.. Grenache and Syrah.. lighter pink color.. bitter with some dry fruit on the finish

Tarima Monastrell 2011.. a bit green on the nose, some chocolate and mocha on the rustic finish.. was hoping for better.. maybe a little time

Bedrock Sherman and Hookers Shebang Red NV (4h edition).. wine of the tasting.. juicy dark fruits.. long finish.. very tasty.. not surprised after the last few versions which were great

LaFollette was a winemaker for Flowers et.al.

Chardonnay 2010. North Coast.. mineral and creamy in that surlie aging way... not overly mouthfilling

Pinot Noir 2010 North Coast  light bodied.. with soft berry and cassis flavors..a finish of rhubarb.

private wine tasting with the purvis family and others

This session was based on Italian theme.

Scavino Carobic 1998 a little italian stink but not over the top. loads still of cherry fruit.. a little wax on the finish

Clerico single vineyard Barolo.. cedar and mint on the noe.. again loads of fruit with a lush finish

Barolo di Marchesi 1991.. served from magnum.. one of the most interesting wine noses I have encountered.. diesel and pepper.. almondy finish with some burnt rubber... didnt care for it like my fellow samplers did.

Sito Moresco Gaja 2008.. earthy nose but fruit on the palate.. Nebbiolo cab and merlot..

Summus Banfi 1999.. super tuscan with sangiovese and international grapes.. so it said on the bottle. dirty crayon again on the nose, some cab but again with the almondy finish.

Ca'Marcanda Magari 2005.. super tuscan also... showing more fruit and lush tannins.. better than the summus

Ruffino Serelle Vin Santo 2004... almond and marzapan.. thick but not overly unctious.. pretty... surprisingly light body.