It’s not all that often that we hear anything beyond “who the winemaker” is anymore when tasting wines out of California.  I’m not saying that it never happens, but often I feel this ends up being the case when tasting some of the golden state’s more cult-styled wines.  After living almost 4 years in Oregon and spending half of that time traveling to and from the Napa region with Archery Summit’s sister winery, Pine Ridge, I learned to experience WINE more from the vineyard perspective – above and beyond just the persona of the winemaker.  Oregon to me was and still is more about the life of the ‘property’ vs. ‘the who made it’ mindset.  During those monthly work trips to Napa, I’d make time to taste the wines of the valley in my down time.  Tasting in Napa always ended up feeling like the selling points were more focused on the ‘celebretism’ of who made the wines, leaving the conversations few and far between when it came to the actual farming of the fruit.

Today, I honestly don’t feel that much different about the valley.  When visiting now, I remain loyal to the farmers and true land stewards I made friends with years ago and continue to visit their properties.  When I make appointments to visit outside the realm of my little wine families, I make sure I expend my energies with others who follow the same philosophies.  Why?  Because I’ve seen the silo winemaking teams and have experienced the cult-y snotty attitude that ends up leaving me completely bummed by my visit.

So when a recent Twin Cities wine rep asked me if I’d taste wines with cult-statused Winemaker David Long of David Arthur Vineyards, I grumbled.  I didn’t need another $300 Cabernet on the wine lists for whom I consulted.  I wanted the funky, unique, small batch farmers that were going to share their love for the land upon which they farmed.  Open wines with me that would not only impress my palate but share with me, a story.  Needless to say, when my appointment finally arrived- I was not as excited to meet Sir David as the rest of the ‘cult seething groupies’ that he had lined up to taste with earlier in his day.

With a huge smile upon his face and a style that reminded me of a Coloradoan city slicker, David greeted me with hands out stretched and an air of enthusiasm that I had not expected.  The rep reached out and poured our first glasses of Sauvignon Blanc.  And without even taking one sip of wine and most importantly, without contention, David, instead of launching straight into a full sales pitch – went right into ‘story telling’ mode.  Not the stories of flavors, point scores and attitude that I expected – yet, an initial story of his “tour bus” named Meritaggio.  Were these the first impressions of one of California’s most coveted winemakers?  Not really.  After all, this was a man who scored a whopping 99 points from the iconic 1997 vintage.  What was he doing with a hippie tour bus?  (Okay, it doesn’t exactly have the ‘dancing bears’ pasted all over it- so maybe not hippie-but I liked his FREE NATURED notion.)  A man whose property sat amongst the likes of Chappellet and Colgin and a man whose wines sold for more money than most pay for groceries in a week.  I started to think…were all my initial preconceived notions of this iconic Napa winemaker dead wrong?

Wine after wine, the stories went on.  Stories of when he first met his childhood hero, a 1967 Olympic skier.  Years after making wine, he met the skier and actually had the opportunity to converse with the Olympian.  Most importantly, finding that not only was he a fan of this skier, but that the athlete was a fan of his wines.  Describing the moment as ‘humbling’.  Stories with heart and pure enthusiasm.  The funny part, it was I asking for the information when it came to tasting the wines.

Why the names, why the grapes, why the plot of land and why on earth Sangiovese in one of his most celebrated blends ‘The Meritaggio’?

The Meritaggio came, he said, after trying a wine in the late 70s, maybe early 80s (he said he couldn’t remember – as was the case, he said, of many things now in his age) made entirely of Sangiovese.  A grape, he said at that time, he’d never heard of.  Infatuated with the grape’s backbone, intensity and flavor – he decided to throw into his Bordeaux blend, using it to replace the grape that he really wasn’t the biggest fan of…Malbec.  And the name, thought up by his brother in Chicago and announced one day in a phone call that simply stated the word: Meritaggio – then hanging up after the word declared.  The funny part, he said, was that the blend initially started out having a 1-2% of the grape blended in – now up to 19% he loved it so much!

At the end of the day ~ the wines, in one word: Lovely.  Really lovely.  Wreaking of Pritchard Hill dark briary fruit and dusty baker’s cocoa – the smells were all too familiar to the palate if you’re a lover of this dusty hillside.  Gorgeous aromas of wild blackberry, baked cherries and dark chocolate.  And with a mouth-feel smooth enough to crawl out onto and take a nap on.  Luxurious.

My own bratty, ill-conceived notions of a fancy pants’d winemaker – who once graced the cover of Wine Spectator for his 99 point wine – was after all, a horrible way to introduce myself to a portfolio of luxurious fruit and very cool down to earth guy.  David, as I ended up calling him by the end of our tasting, was my newest ‘down to earth, hippie lovin’ winemaking friend’.  And now one added to my small portfolio of wine family peeps, and one that I will be happy to introduce my family to when we visit the Napa Valley in a few weeks.  Bravo David, Bravo.  I applaud you for making wines with grandeur, and for living a life that goes above and well, beyond just WINE.

Now after many days of recovery under my belt, I’m finally able to share what was The Biggest Cabernet Day Ever within my household!

With a whopping 20 hungry, Cab lovin’ foodies in attendance and a backyard set only for the finest of September days – the 7 course feast that I designed and cooked with all ingredients pairing to Cab – was one that will most likely go down as legendary.

All that was asked of each guest was to bring one bottle of Cabernet – from any region and really, from any pricepoint.  The menu was sent out ahead of time so that each guest had time to find just the right Cab to pair to their favorite course.  Instructions beyond were to tin foil your bottle so that the wines were initially served blind, leading each guest to form their own opinions of the Cabernets before unveiling their favorites.

Appetizers included my first handmade Parmesan Tuile – super easy to put together and really, very pretty – with a gorgeous array of chopped Heirloom Tomatoes and fresh chives that sat atop the crispy Parmesan crisp.  The wine that really paired best here was a nice, juicy, yet slightly tomato paste-like Cab from Chateau Ste. Michelle ‘Cold Creek Vineyard’ – Columbia Valley, WA. Next, came a recipe that I sort of put together last minute, including fresh fall figs, wrapped in Italian  Prosciutto, grilled and topped with a honied goat cheese.  YUM.  Not bad for a last minute throw together!  Wildly, the round sumptuous Plumpjack Cabernet from Oakville, CA hit the figs and the goat cheese perfectly.  Notes of blackberry, roasted fig and chocolate melded magically with the crispy, yet juicy wrapped figs.

Heading into a full plate of herb encrusted lamb lollipops – the appetizers warmed the palate up for what was about to come.  My husband, acting as head Grill Master for the nite, charred the pops just right leaving the lamb a beautiful juicy red on the inside – a perfect medium rare.  Here, one of my favorite Italian producers, Villa Cafaggio, made the pairing round out this enormous plate of gamey goodies with the producer’s single vineyard, Cortaccio, made exclusively from 100% Cabernet grapes.  The herbal notes of the wine and rich, chewy tannins instantly made friends with the fatty insides of the lamb, leaving us all licking our lips for more.

Course three included a simply cut eggplant round – which I rubbed with a pink sea salt and slathered with a delicious worcestershire, garlic, honey marinade – grilled and topped with fresh Parmesan.  Again, the Italian  (“What Grows Together, Goes Together”) Cabernet, a heavenly pairing with the herbs, marinade and Italian cheese.

Course four was, and could sincerely be, the most impressive course of the nite – a course made by my friend Jennifer – was a hand-built three layer Duck Confit Salad.  Fresh stewed fruit, arugula and the sweet notes of the confit’d duck breast were mouth-watering.  One of our household favorites, made the pairing complete – Ladera Vineyards Cabernet, Napa.  Notes of raspberry, earth and spice rounded out the plate splendidly leaving only the fresh notes of the salad’s arugula to cleanse the palate.  Delicious.

Course five – a very simple, yet strikingly decadent course – included fresh center cut Ahi steaks, which I rolled in pink and black peppercorns, and then quickly pan seared leaving the centers of the fish a brite cherry colored rare temp.  The topping – a lemon and parsley herbed compound butter – made this dish a succulent plate.  Without expecting this to occur, I think the best Cabernet pairings here were the South African wines brought to the party.  Both full Bordeaux Blends, seemed to fill the peppery cracks to the tuna, leaving only the fresh briny notes of the fish to appear.  Again, immaculate!

Course six – I guess you could say, was my main plate – and really, quite pretty again – was a simply salt n peppered flank steak grilled to another perfect medium-rare, accompanied by salt roasted beets topped with goat cheese and caramelized balsamic onions.  C’mon!  This was an amazing course…  The beets, which I swore took over two hours to roast, along with a plate full of two hour slow sauteed onions were both great sides to the grilled flank.  The pairing- an earthy, raspberry centered Cab from St. Emilion, Bordeaux.  I feel, aged just right, to pair – the wine paired wonderfully to the rare sides of the beef and the sweet sides of the roasted beets.

My favorite wine unveiled at this point of the evening – a 1984 Chateau Montelena Cabernet.  With a bit of decanting, this wine turned out to be the favorite of the nite.  The nose youthful and lively with scents of fresh rose petals and dark cherry fruit led into a round, supple mouth-feel of kalamata olive and briar patch fruit.  With just a slight ‘over the apex’ palate – the wine was rock solid!  Perhaps enjoyed best at its tipping point, I would guess a year to two ago, I was most impressed with the longevity and complexity of this Napa Valley Cabernet.

Last, but certainly not least, came a decadent multi layered flour-less chocolate torte.  My recipe left instructions to serve as one layer – yet I thought if I were to really take this dinner party over the edge – I might as well layer the cakes with a rich chocolate ganache.  The best part?  Each slice was topped with crumbled blue cheese and paired to a lovely Chilean Cab, Ecos de Rulo.  Notes of boysenberry, chocolate and syrup rounded the glass as the dessert melted perfectly upon the palate.  Again – splendid!

The party went on into the late hours of the nite as more bottles made their way to the table from the piles of wine that were brought.  A nice candied Washington Cab called Sweet Spot was the last I remember tasting of the evening.  It seemed to fit the last bites of the chocolate torte left on my plate and all at once, became the mantra to the memories of a fabulous evening with friends.  My life – One Sweet Spot .  Filled with friends who love food as much as I do, appreciate the wines I pour and love up on food/wine pairings almost as much I do and just simply, make me smile.  Happy Cabernet Day, to me!