Wine Hero

It's not everyday you get to say you met one of your heros, but I did last week at the store.

I have spoken with Mr. Patrick Campbell on the phone. I have spent a day selling his wines with his daughter, Arya, in the Triangle. I have tasted his wines many times and felt like I really knew him, but I never actually shook his hand until last Tuesday.

Patrick Campbell is the owner and founder of Laurel Glen winery on Sonoma Mountain. Sure the wines are excellent. I won't even get into that part. Let's just say the wine part is a given. Patrick has played a major role in our wine culture today and most people don't even know his name. Ever so humble and kind, Patrick comes across as quiet and mild mannered. He established the Sonoma Mountain AVA (American Viticultural Area, the US wine appellation system); he fought the government when they proposed a more lengthy and perhaps even more unreasonable sounding alcohol warning on wine bottles. He is greatly responsible for getting it whittled down to the current warning you see today. In fact on his Counterpoint Cabernet bottling he has a statement regarding sulfites being naturally occurring in wine and a part of food for millennia. He is the only person with this statement on a wine bottle and the ATF is just itching to make him take it off. Patrick explained that he has never updated the Counterpoint label because if he makes the slightest change, it will have to go through re-approval and "they" will ban his sulfite statement. Way to give 'em hell Patrick.

Patrick describes his winemaking start this way, "I was born in Baltimore in 1947, grew up on the fringes of the southern California wine industry, and studied English Literature at Pomona College and Philosophy of Religion at Harvard University. I have a degree in neither viticulture nor enology. In short, I have the proper credentials for winemaking." Patrick farms his estate organically and started on top of Sonoma Mountain in 1977. He told me the grapes planted there were so incredibly inappropriate, Palomino in fact, but at that time matching vineyards and climate to the proper grape vine wasn't really discussed. He was the first American winemaker to go to Argentina to work with farmers and to bring the wine back home to the US for bottling. Bringing the wine back in bulk tanks as ballast for the ship below the water line ensures a proper temperature half way around the world and makes environmental sense due to the lack of shipping glass and boxes. To this day, he still stands for reasonably priced wine and thinks everyone should be able to drink well in the $10 range.

Patrick was also stricken by Polio as a child and walks with assistance. About three minutes after meeting him, you quickly forget, as he can be so engaging and his list of accomplishments include professional ocean kayak racing, concert Violist with several San Francisco Bay area symphonies, and winemaker making it seem like he has done much more than most people without the crutches. He has been a leader in the world of wine on so many issues that he received the first ever, Wine Industry Integrity Award. Today he is wrestling the legal system as an advocate for making wine shipping legal to all states.

I just love his wines and I'm never going to wash my hand again. - Salamanzar

For further reading check out the Press Democrat Article, and his website Laurel Glen Winery.

BLT Awesomeness

Wine Authorities sells a selection of artisanal bacons, which we store in a chest freezer called "Pork Knox" (thanks to Randy for the name). One such bacon is the North Country Smokehouse's Peppered Bacon. Hmm, such a bacon must be an ideal B.L.T. candidate, no?

We had all the makings this weekend at home - fresh tomatoes from the garden, fresh arugula from the garden (a twist on the lettuce), sourdough whole wheat bread and the bacon was thawed.

One culinary tip to share. If you want nice flat strips of bacon, bake it in the oven between two sheet pans to keep the bacon flat and even. I baked this batch at 375º F for 17 minutes. I like it a little meatier, so go a full 20 minutes if you like it crisp. A picture is worth at least 1,000 BLT dreams.

Salamanzar Guest Chili Judge

I was asked to guest judge the May 30th 2009 Bull City Chili Challenge at the Durham Farmer's Market this year. It was a great time and the chilies were excellent. Here's a video telling a little bit of the story. - Salamanzar

Salamanzar Guest Judges @ Bull City Chili Challenge from Wine Authorities on Vimeo.

3 minutes & 52 seconds that will change your life

Here is what we do in our free time to promote our love for Dry Rosé wine and the practice of Roséism.

Can you guess what this is?

photo: Justin Mott, NY Times
Is this picture,

A. An Exxon Oil Refinery?

B. A Dow Chemical Plant?

C. The Yellow Tail wine facility in Yenda, New South Wales?

Fired up About Fred

I recently finished the May 18, 2009 issue of the The New Yorker Magazine which features an article titled "Drink Up" by Dana Goodyear on Fred Franzia, the man behind Bronco Wines (Two Buck Chuck, Crane Lake, etc. [see below]) Wow am I fired up. You need to read this article if you are interested in the business of wine. The article abstract is here. If you register with New Yorker, you can read it all. I don't know Fred personally, but Dana certainly paints a less than flattering image of the man. Fred is a business man and makes no apology for taking advantage of others' difficult times. His coarse language and approach to the business of wine is a reality. If you drink his wines you may be shocked at who you are supporting. In June Wine News, Fred just announced he is releasing a new wine, "Down Under by Crane Lake" starting in July. The wine will retail in the $3 range per bottle and he is bringing this Australian wine to the US to show that Americans have overpaid for Aussie wines for too long. That article can be found here.

Bronco Wine Company Brands
Albertoni Vineyards
Alexander and Fitch
Almond Creek
Bad Dog Ranch
Bears' Lair
Black Mountain
CC Vineyards
Cedar Brook
Charles Shaw, AKA Two Buck Chuck
Chateau California
Coastal Ridge
Coastal Vines
Congress Springs
Crane Lake
Down Under by Crane Lake
Domaine Laurier
Domaine Napa
Dona Sol
Douglass Hill
Down Under
Estrella
Fat Cat
Forest Glen
Forest Hill
ForestVille
Foxbrook
FoxHollow
Grand Cru
Grove Ridge
Hacienda
Harlow Ridge
JW Morris
JFJ Winery
Laurier
Montpellier
Napa Creek
Napa Crossing
Napa Landing
Napa Ridge
Napa River
Oak Vineyards
Pacific Oasis
Quail Creek
Quail Ridge
Raymond Hill
Redwood
Rock Brook
Rutherford Vintners
Salmon Creek
Santa Barbara Crossing
Santa Barbara Landing
Sea Ridge
Silver Ridge
The California Winery
Thousand Oaks
Three Knights Vineyards
Trellis

-Salamanzar

Rosé Garden Erection Video

Each year we show our allegiance and love of dry rosé wine by building a rosé garden.  The garden usually blooms just before Memorial Day and comes down around Labor Day.  Our garden features pink wines from around the world coming and going all summer long.  Unfortunately, in the US many people still associate pink wines with sugary sweet flavors.  We are passionate for the drier versions - the best of a white wine with some of the qualities of a red wine.  Pink wines are food friendly, easy to drink in social situations, they don't weigh you down, and offer lots of bright acidity so you taste every sip.  Chill them like a white wine, but not quite as cold for serving.  A little warmer than fridge temperature lets all the grape's goodness come forth.  We like to think of ourselves as ordained clergymen in the church of rosé and preachers of "roséism," the practice of drinking dry pink wine.  More on our religious teachings to come.  (Wink, wink foreshadowing)  Without further ado, here is our video showing this year's Rosé Garden erection, err, construction! - Salamanzar

Wine Authorities Dry Rosé Wine Garden from Wine Authorities on Vimeo.