After a long day of skiing, Jason, Shannon and I headed over to Uncorked – a great little wine bar at the base of the slopes owned by a woman named Kali. Winemaker Doug Hackett was there pouring wines from his two labels, Three Families and Dogwood Cellars. Doug’s Three Families brand is great for simple everyday drinking whereas his Dogwood Cellars wine is more complex. Doug says Dogwood is “his baby”. Before we started the tasting, our friend André showed up unexpectedly. He said, “I’ve learned over the years that I want to be wherever Shannon is”. Shannon is known for his ability to find fun things to do, like wine tasting. Clearly he is a good friend to have!  First, we tried the 2007 Three Families Chardonnay- the only white that Doug makes. This bright wine is completely unoaked and has wonderful mineral characteristics. I think it would be a perfect glass to have before a meal. Next up was the 2005 Three Families Merlot. This wine spent 22 months in neutral French oak – it was fruit forward with a slight sour cherry finish. Doug poured us his 2004 Three Families Cabernet Sauvignon next. This is a simple wine, but it is so by design. I tend to like more complex Cabs, so this wine didn’t really zing me. With that said, this Cab is exactly what it was meant to be – a very approachable wine for Doug’s less formal, Three Families brand.

We moved on to the Dogwood Cellars wines. We tasted the 2003 and 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon. Both have the complexity and depth I appreciate in Cabs. Both vintages contain some Merlot. (The 2003 has 13% and the 2004 has 20%.) The 2003 has less fruit on the palate and hints of cedar and anise. The 2004 has firm tannins with cherry, cedar and white pepper on the palate. It is very drinkable now but Doug says it can be cellared for up to 10 years. The 2005 Dogwood Dry Creek Zinfandel was next. With 6% Syrah and 20 months in oak (50% new, 50% neutral) this is a really showy wine with flavors of chocolate and cinnamon. Doug surprised us with a barrel sample that wasn’t on the list, his 2007 Dogwood Dry Creek Zinfandel. Dense with flavors of cinnamon, allspice, rhubarb and white pepper, this wine is a Zin lover’s Zinfandel. Doug let us know that he sold a number of cases as futures. There are only 10 barrels of this wine, so place your order now! Since we enjoyed the barrel sample so much, Doug brought over a few more surprises for us. He poured us a barrel sample of his 2007 Dogwood Mendocino County Zinfandel – which tastes similar to the Dry Creek Zin but with more kick and spice. I would love to have this wine with gumbo. We all really enjoyed the wines from Dogwood Cellars, especially the Zinfandels. I’ll find out when the two Zins that we barrel tasted are scheduled to be released and post that information here.

When we got back to the house, we opened a few bottles to have with dinner – the 2005 Consilience Hampton Family Syrah (a new release) and one of my current favorites, the 2003 Ethan Syrah (bottle number 1341 out of 3575). I specifically brought this one for our friends André and Alina to try. André’s family has been in the wine business for many years and as you might guess, his palate is quite astute. I was especially interested in hearing his thoughts on the Ethan Syrah. It is made by second generation winemaker, Ethan Lindquist. His father is Robert Lindquist of Qupé, an award winning Santa Barbara county winery well known for its spicy and complex Syrahs. Clearly the apple didn’t fall far from the tree.  Another late evening enjoying wine, great food and friends – now THIS is my kind of vacation!

Anne, Andre & Alina

Anne, Andre & Alina