Swirl N’ Spit Gloria Ferrer Champagne Caves

Swirl N’ Spit

Gloria Ferrer Champagne Caves

by Daedalus Howell

Twenty years ago, world-wide sparkling-wine juggernaut Freixenet opened the sprawling Gloria Ferrer Champagne Caves on Highway 121, though technically, the popular winery and roadside attraction proffers neither Champagne nor, geologically speaking, caves.

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Swirl N’ Spit

Bartholomew Park Winery

by Daedalus Howell

The kid sister of wine juggernaut Gundlach Bundschu, stately Bartholomew Park Winery is nestled in the Sonoma hills on the site of a former women's prison — an odd but scenic locale for something that sounds like it belongs in a Henry James novel.
The warden and guards are long gone, and I was warmly greeted inside by a sage trio of wine women perched behind the counter. Kathy and Connie are veteran staffers recently joined by Mychal, to whom bits of their wisdom seem to drift, effortlessly, like the filaments of a dandelion. When I mentioned the local lore about a prison ghost at the winery, wide-eyed Mychal confessed to having just heard of it, Connie reiterated my query neutrally to Kathy, who effectively exorcised the ghost by nonchalantly saying, "She's gone." Public-relations lesson learned: there is no ghost. No worries, Bartholomew Park makes up for its lack of the supernatural with a bevy of preternatural wines.
Consider the 2005 Sauvignon Blanc sourced from San Lucas Vineyard in Monterey County; it's practically the summer solstice in a bottle. A sip of this wine, and you're a child running through the sprinklers, a flock of badminton shuttlecocks overhead and nary a weed underfoot. A pale blonde wine drenched in citrus kisses, it would pair well with a sundress and a mild sunburn (with just enough sting to prove you've been dancing in the sun). Serve poolside with a lawn chair and paperback.
Likewise, the 2002 Merlot, sourced from the Desnudos Vineyards (a former nudist colony looming over the Sonoma Valley), boasts hints of tobacco, brambly blackberry and the deepest black cherry — the breath of the wrong acquaintance whispering the right words in your ear at a party. It's a devilish wine, like the person you're not sure you're avoiding or saving for later and, made from 100 percent Merlot grapes, suffers no Pinot envy (curse you “Sideways!”).
I followed with the 2003 Kasper Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, an earthy, broad-shouldered wine with mature tannins and notes of currant, raspberry and, inexplicably, Fudgesicle, or more specifically, Fudgesicle on an Oak Stick. A pleasant, full-bodied wine, its closest rival on Batholomew's list is its older sibling, the 2001 Estate Vineyard Cab, which is marked by dark berry flavors augmented with notes of cooled espresso. Its suggested cellaring time is five to 15 years, but if you don't have a cellar, I suggest using the next best thing: a corkscrew.
Bartholomew Park Winery, 1000 Vineyard Lane, Sonoma. Open daily, 11am to 4:30pm. Tasting fee, $5. 707-935-9511.

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Swirl N’ Spit

Wilson Winery

by Daedalus Howell

There are endless permutations of ye olde "friends don't let friends [insert your clever verbiage here]" trope, but what friends should certainly never do is let their pals drink shitty wine. To wit, whenever someone suggests a wine to me, I patiently explain that our friendship hangs in the balance should I find their palate wanting. So it was with some trepidation that I visited Healdsburg's Wilson Winery.
Wilson, of course, is the name of a volleyball manufacturer, whose popularity spiked when one of its balls cameoed as Tom Hanks' desert isle pal in Cast Away. That a replica of this placid prop was grinning from a corner of the tasting room momentarily caused me to want to flee and forever bid my friends adieu.
The notion was permanently washed away, however, upon tasting the 2001 Sydney's Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon ($28), the snake-oil pitch for which could be "an elixir that buttresses the soul, raises the spirit and gives you moxie." I believed every sip. Its earthy aroma recalled the rich scent of baker's chocolate. Remember when you were a kid and discovered this lost treasure in the pantry only to bite into a brick of bitter? This wine completely makes up for it--put some in your inner child's ba-ba.
If paired with a grapefruit, the 2004 Blushing Flamingo Merlot rosé ($16) would make the perfect Breakfast of Champions lite. A fine rosé with exotic guava and melon notes to spare, it's a fine way to start the day, particularly when friends don't let friends dry out. This bird is merely a curtain opener, however, for the 2004 Tori's Vineyard Zinfandel ($26), which makes such an honest stab at divinity that the blood of Christ looks like Kool-Aid in comparison. This deep, creamy flush of blackberries, freshly roasted coffee and pepper is a French kiss direct from God. Only 336 cases were produced — shall we go in on some together? And do you have a truck? After all, friends don't let friends drink alone.
Wilson Winery, 1960 Dry Creek Road, Healdsburg. Open daily, 11am to 5pm. Tastings are $5; $10 for reserves. 707-433-4355.

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