As seen in the Marinscope Newspapers: Pey-Marin a Primo Pinot Producer

Jonathan Pey in one of his blocks of Pinot at Corda Vineyard

I met with Jonathan Pey in the budding Marin wine growing region of Chileno Valley at Corda Vineyards where Pey-Marin sources their riesling and some of their pinot noir. The vineyard is 22 years old; 15 to 40 years old is ideal for most varietals. Pey-Marin has been managing their grapes from Corda for the past 12 years using organic methods such as compost, cover crops, and dynamic pest management including the use of beneficial insects such as lady bugs to fight pests.

Hand Picked Pinot in the Rolling Hills of West Marin, CA

The coolest part of the vineyard, for an environmentally conscious wine connoisseur like me, is it's organically, dry farmed.  The vineyard has drip irrigation lines, but not the permit to use them. The advantage of successful dry farming is putting the vines under lots of stress to reach their tap roots down towards the water table helps produce more complex wines. The downside of dry farming for a grape grower is the yields are lower which means they have less tonnage to sell than their counterparts who are using drip irrigation. Corda Vineyard averages about 2 tons/acre while many other pinot vineyards fall in the 3 to 5 tons/acre range.

Jonathan is a friendly and talkative winemaker who uses his 35 years of French vineyard management and winemaking expertise to craft wonderful wines with a touch of old world style. His wife Susan has dedicated her life to the wine industry as well as a wine writer for Bon Appetite and is currently a sommelier for Il Fornaio. In 1999 they started Pey-Marin together.

Riesling Grapes in the Morning Sun

Pey-Marin's 2011 "Shell Mound" riesling ($29) is grown entirely at Corda Vineyard using the rare neustadt clone. This dry, aromatic wine features scents of nectarine, citrus, orange blossom, and other floral notes. On the palate, I got more floral notes, nectarine, lemon, and a hint of minerals. This wine goes great with spicy foods as the high level of acidity, that rieslings are known for, will cut right through the spice and bring relief to a burning tongue while delivering refreshing flavors.

Pey-Marin's 2009 "Trois Filles" pinot noir ($39) is grown at several vineyards in West Marin with the majority hailing from Corda Vineyard. The wine was aged for 14 months on French oak barrels with 25% new oak. The long extraction period with a moderate percentage of new barrels balances the aromas of the fruit and the bouquet from the oak. The wine is a dark garnet color. On the nose there are layers of earth and spice with notes of sour cherry, raspberry, cinnamon, clove, and forest floor. On my tongue I tasted rich earthiness, bright cherry, raspberry, and cloves as well as some dark fruits and slight fresh leather notes. This is an old world style pinot that is more bouquet driven than fruit forward with a soft front to mid palate mouthfeel and bright acidity. This wine is ready to drink now, but will also age beautifully for several years.

Tight Bunches of Pinot Noir

Both of these wines encapsulate why Marin County is a wonderful place to grow cool climate wines. They also showcase what can be done with organic vineyard practices, dry farmed vineyards, and stellar winemaking.

Although they live in San Anselmo, their winery is located in Napa, but is too small to offer tastings or tours. Pey-Marin can be found at Insalata's, Il Fornaio, Marin Beverage, Whole Foods, Mill Valley Market, Ludwigs, and many other fine wine shops throughout Marin. They also have three other labels (Textbook, Forager, and Spicerack) that source their fruit from Napa and Sonoma counties.

For more information on Pey-Marin, call 455-9463 or visit scenicrootwinegrowers.com. 

Sunrise over the Chileno Valley, Marin County, CA

Awesome Wine Bar in San Anselmo

Published in the Marinscope Newspapers on 9/12 in section B1.  Something happened with uploading to the net, link will be posted at some point.

The newest wine bar in Marin is located less than a block from the hub in San Anselmo, Lincoln Park was opened on August 12th by renowned local chef Stephen Simmons. Much of the produce comes from Skywalker Ranch where Simmons has been the executive chef since closing the doors at Bubba's Diner in San Anselmo and working at a long list of other fine establishments over the past 30 years. Simmons describes himself as an old hand in the restaurant business and considers Lincoln Park a place to have fun with his creative side.

The white wines are arranged from floral to full-figured and the reds are listed from fruit forward to fat. There were five whites, five reds, a sparkling wine, two cold sakes, and 10 beers to choose from. The wines ranged in price from $6 to $11 for a 4 oz pour and $10 to $17 dollars for a small carafe. These are exceedingly great prices for a wine bar, let alone a wine bar in Marin. For $16 you can get three wines paired with little nibbles of almonds, cheese, and fruit. The wines and beers fit a variety of palates and come from small cult wineries and breweries. Six out of the ten wines and nine out of the ten beers are from Northern California which fits their buy locally philosophy.

I accidentally went for the two most expensive wines on the menu because I love viogniers and I wanted to try the Marin wine. Cowhorn's 2011 viognier/roussanne/marsanne blend from Oregon had aromas of honey, lemon, and citrus blossoms. On the palate, there were notes of lemon, mineral, pear, and slight hints of lychee. Kendric's 2008 pinot noir from Marin is a bright, fruit-forward wine with aromas of cherry, vanilla, earth, cinnamon, and hints of mocha. The pinot exhibited both stewed and sour cherries, dry earth, white pepper, and dark plum with hints of tar on the palate.

The food is fresh, lively, and intricate. The ingredients are nearly 100% local and organic. The wagyu slider was sourced from Skywalker Ranch and the chicken from Marin Sun Farms. I had the wagyu slider and the steamed mussels with fennel. The slider was one of the best I've ever had. The meat was tender, juicy, lightly seasoned with black pepper, and topped with white cheddar on a ciabatta bun. The mussels were amazing as well. The menu which consists of appetizers and desserts ($6-$12) changes often and is written on a large blackboard in each room. A picture of the menu is posted on their Facebook page almost every day.  (Unfortunately, I forgot to take pictures when I was there the first time so I don't have any pics of the food.)

The space is divided into two rooms. One room has a marble bar top with shelves of reclaimed wood, an old typewriter, and early 20th century radio for decorations. The other room has high backed leather booths with tables. Classic relaxing jazz was playing lightly in the rooms while the patrons sipped their wine and gossiped. The staff was friendly and knowledgeable. Both rooms were pretty full, on the Tuesday evening that I dropped in, with mostly women in their 30s and 40s and a few couples. Everyone left with a smile on their face; I overheard many well deserved complements to the staff and the chef.

I highly recommend Lincoln Park for the food, wine, and atmosphere.

Lincoln Park is located at l98 Sir Francis Drake in San Anselmo and is open Sunday - Wednesday: 4:30 pm - 10:00 pm and Thursday - Saturday: 4:30 pm - 12:00 am . For more information, call 453-9898 or visit lincolnparkwine.com.

Question for the readers:  What is your favorite wine bar and what makes it special?

Stubbs Vineyard - Organic Grapes At Their Best

In April (this took awhile to finish and still feels unfinished), I had the opportunity to have a glass of wine and chat with Mary Stubbs of Stubbs Vineyard at her home far above the vineyard.  Mary is a friendly, intelligent, lively Marinite with passions for the organic movement, the environment, wine, art, and her family. Mary is steeped in knowledge from her winemaker, Don Goldfield, and her former vineyard manager Mark Pasternak.

She grew up in Mill Valley and graduated from Tam High. After working in San Francisco and falling in love, Mary and her husband bought this ranch in West Marin in the 1980s. They have two sons and a daughter. In 1996, after taking some courses on vineyards and figuring out which clones would be best for their soil and microclimate, Tom and Mary planted 6.4 acres of Pinot Noir and 4.6 acres of Chardonnay.

The Benefits of Dry Farming a Vineyard Organically

I recently watched Portrait of a Winemaker featuring John Williams of Frog's Leap Winery in Napa Valley. This is part of Sonatas of the Soil Volume One which is directed by Deborah Koons Garcia. Deborah directed the widely acclaimed The Future of Food which focuses on genetically modified foods. Her latest documentary, Symphony of the Soil, premiered last weekend.  I'll have a much shorter post about it in a couple of days since it isn't directly related to beer, wine, and/or spirits.

Having talked to many winemakers and vineyard managers while working in the industry, having family in the industry, being a wine writer, and going wine tasting, I can safely tell you that every winemaker/grape grower can talk about their product well and why their method is better than the rest. With that being said I think John Williams is a straight shooter and they have put forth a solid segment with strong historical, viticultural, and visual reasoning.

Good Earth California Pale Ale

After years of IPAs and powerhouse stouts, I'm finding myself branching out into more and more styles of beer.  As IPAs get hoppier and harsher I find myself reverting towards smoother beers.  In the winter I mostly imbibed porters, softer stouts, and brown ales.  Now that it is getting warmer I'm trying out the pale ales.

Yesterday I went for a ride on my new Globe Daily 02  over the golden hills and through redwood groves with a meandering creek and vibrant green ferns.  On the way back I stopped at Good Earth (yes this is my new favorite store) for some groceries.  Since nothing goes with biking quite like a good beer, I picked up a 22oz bottle of their California Pale Ale ($4).  The beer is made across the street at Iron Springs Pub and Brewery.  For my non-local readers, I highly doubt this is sold anywhere else.

A Taste of Stubbs Vineyard - Organic Grapes At Their Best

A couple of weeks ago I had the pleasure of having a glass of wine and a chat with Mary Stubbs of Stubbs Vineyard.  The write-up of our conversation is taking on a life of its own as it spirals into the struggles of organic vineyards (both physical and perceptions) and a couple of other topics.  I decided to post my tasting notes of the Pinot Noir while I try to figure out where I'm going with the rest of it.

Mary poured me a glass of her 2004 Pinot Noir from Marin County ($44). The wine exhibited scents of sour cherry, earth, cinnamon, ginger, lavendar, and licorice. On my palate the sour cherries and cinnamon continued while the ginger became spicier and the earth tones became darker and were joined by hints of black pepper and cloves. The tannins were silky and the finish lingered. The wine had a good level of acidity which enables it to age very well.  This is truly a wonderful Pinot Noir of the Burgundian style by which I mean it depends more on its structure and bouquet than bright fruit aromas. 

I am looking forward to tasting more of their wine at the 8th Annual Marin County Wine Celebration on June 23rd.

Photograph courtesy of Sanae Burries.