The Daily Sip: From Wente Vineyards, a California original

One of the more unusual reds I’ve enjoyed form California recently is from a grape you’re not going to find all over stores shelves or restaurant wine lists. Although so-called Rhone varieties, particularly syrah and to a lesser extent grenache, are common in California now, only a handful of wineries offer mourvedre as a standalone bottling. So I’ve got to hand it to  Wente Vineyards, the venerable Livermore Valley winery east of San Francisco, for even bothering with mourvedre. True, just 201 cases of the 2007 Small Lot Mourvedre were produced, but if you can get hold of a bottle (most likely from the winery since the “Small Lot” line has limited distribution), you’ll experience a singular California wine.

Made with five percent syrah and in a  fruit-forward style that is unmistakably Californian, the wine has a grapey blackberry core that is punctuated by an array of herbs and spices and an earthy quality that is a signature of mourvedre. It received 10 months of aging in neutral oak, which keeps the wood influence restrained.  At the same time, it is softly tannic, which makes the wine accessible now but which also means that one should choose food pairings wisely. I would suggest grilled pork or chicken and vegetable pasta dishes. It was rather overpowered, I thought, by some pan-seared steaks we had the other night. In any event, this $35 wine is impressive and represents California with distinction and originality. Received as a press sample.

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Sips: great California chardonnay for $13

I give Wente Vineyards’ 2008 “Morning Fog” Chardonnay from California’s Livermore Valley near San Francisco Bay high praise for its balanced approach. For one thing, use of oak is judicious, thanks to the fact that only half the wine is fermented in oak, the other half in stainless steel. Don’t get me wrong; the oak is definitely there, but it frames rather than dominates as it does in so many California chardonnays. As a result, the delicious fruit in this wine is readily apparent, especially pear and lemon notes with touches of butterscotch and cinnamon.  I enjoyed it with an appetizer of fried clam strips drizzled with lemon (stolen, I will admit, from the plate of my 11-year-old son who finds them irresistible). With alcohol at a relatively modest 13.5 percent, this is a chardonnay that should have broad appeal, providing a middle ground for those who like their oak but also those who prefer a more restrained, Burgundian  approach. The wine is 97 percent chardonnay and three percent gewürztraminer, with 86 percent from the Livermore Valley and 14 percent from Arroyo Seco in Monterey County. Perhaps most surprising, the suggested retail price of this estate grown chardonnay is just $13, a fact that almost made my eyes pop out. I served it quite cold on a very warm summer evening this week here in the northeast.

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