Alex on The Road: Schedule Updates

Just a quick blurb on some updates for coming market visits. I’m very excited to be going to North Carolina in less than 2 weeks. From February 26th until March 3rd I’ll be in the Tar Heal State, spending time in Charlotte, Asheville, and Raleigh. During this time we’ll be hosting a few events and tweetups! Stay tuned to Twitter and Facebook as these details continue emerge, but expect a fun time with excellent wines. I’ll also be sure to get the word out via email to those in the area.

The following week I’ll be heading down to San Diego. There are a few highlights to this trip, starting off with a winemaker dinner on Friday, March 9th at Roy’s Hawaiian Fusion restaurant in La Jolla! Brian Lee, their managing partner, and myself have been hard at work crafting an excellent menu to match our exquisite wines with their incredible dishes. On my last trip to San Diego, I was able to dine at their downtown location and try the Butter Fish. Its light, elegant texture simply cries for our 2010 Cornerstone Cellars Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc. Also in the works, a pouring/tweetup event at We Olive in La Jolla. This olive oil/wine bar is often frequented by locals and has a great by the glass selection. Lastly I will be pouring at Family Winemakers located in Del Mar. This event showcases many of the small California wine producers, such as Cornerstone, that you have come to love.

I’ll then be making my way up to Pasadena via Orange County. I love the OC, though I find myself not being as familiar with it as I would like. Any suggestions for where I should grab lunch or dinner on a Monday night? Please tweet me, I’m ^ac @CornerstoneNapa. 

Alex Crown

Become a Connoisseur Today with our Exciting New Wine Club!

We are excited to announce the very first wine club shipment this February from our newest wine club, The Connoisseur Club. This club brings you the best of both worlds by combining both Stepping Stone by Cornerstone and our reserve Cornerstone Cellars selections. Best of all, you get a bit of everything Cornerstone for just $89 plus shipping and tax. Our first allocation includes a stellar sampler of some of our favorite wines: 2009 Stepping Stone by Cornerstone Syrah, 2010 Stepping Stone by Cornerstone Riesling, and our newest release of our classic (2008) Cornerstone Cellars Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon.

Current Stepping Stone Society members, which is a club we are no longer offering, are welcomed to make the transition to our exciting new club or they may continue under the old club format through 2012. If you are a current Stepping Stone Society member and would like become a member of The Connoisseur Club please contact us at 707-945-0388 or email amanda@cornerstonecellars.com.

Shipments include three bottles every February, April, September, and November. We are excited to finally have full-range wine club which includes our signature Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon and Willamette Valley Pinot Noir, which were previously unavailable in the Stepping Stone Society. Open up your cellar today to a wider range of what we have to offer!

Cheers,

Amanda DesForges

San Francisco Chronicle Tasting this Weekend

Wine Festivals and Large Wine Tasting events happen throughout the year, all over the United States.  Especially in California, it seems that for every variety, tasting competition, or wine region, there is an enormous Wine Tasting Event.  At Cornerstone, we try to participate in every one of these events.  We attend everything from Rhone Ranges and Pinot Days, to Family Winemakers of California. Definitely enough tastings throughout the year to keep us at Cornerstone Cellars fairly busy.  

On February 18th Cornerstone Cellars will be attending the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition Grand Tasting!  We are very excited to showcase our Gold and Silver Medal Winners at the event.  We will be showcasing the following wines.

Gold
2009 Cornerstone Cellars, The Cornerstone, Napa Valley
2009 Cornerstone Cellars Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon

Silver
2009 Stepping Stone by Cornerstone Napa Valley Cabernet Franc
2009 Stepping Stone by Cornerstone Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon


Here are a few tips to ensure you are making the most out of these events.

• Step outside of your comfort zone and try new wineries! You will be surprised as to how many boutique wineries are out there with some amazing wines
• Try new varietals from non-traditional areas.  This will expand your palate and help you grasp a variety even more.
• Check out the wineries that are familiar with.  Chances are they have a New Release, a Future or Library Wine open that you otherwise might not ever get to sample!
• Taste only what you want to taste. You do not have to taste through all of the wines at each table or you might be carried out of the building!

If you are attending the 2012 SFWCW, please let us know and be sure to say Hi and taste our wines with Amanda and Allison while you are there!

PS: It might be the only time in 2012 that we will be showing The Cornerstone at a public tasting, and will definitely blow you away.

Allison Zickfeld

Cornerstone Oregon Willamette Valley Pinot Noir 91 Points in Enobytes!

 

2009 Cornerstone Willamette Valley Pinot Noir 

Posted on 06 February 2012.

Craig Camp may no longer reside in the Willamette Valley but his presence undoubtedly still exists in the wines he is making with Tony Rynders, formerly of Domaine Serene for the California winery Cornerstone. This 2009 Pinot Noir is another great example of how the vintage has been way underrated. With just a little over two short years from harvest, this wine has settled into a smooth well-produced package that exemplifies the vintage. 2009 may have not received the accolades the 2008’s did but in time these wines just may surpass the opulence the much ballyhooed previous vintage has already obtained. This Willamette Valley wine expresses aromas of raspberry and blueberry with a hint of fresh ground cinnamon stick. On the palate, flavors of dark berry and hazelnut are offered up with a vibrant acidity that is balanced by well-integrated tannins. The finish is plush, pleasant and long enough to make this a memorable wine to savor alongside a braised lamb shank elegantly prepared for an intimate Valentines dinner. If your retailer or favorite restaurant does not offer this wine, get it online. I would get it soon because this one will not be around for long.

Rating: Excellent (91) | $50 | 13.9% ABV

Link to original article

Valentine's Day at Cornerstone

Valentine's Day has always been a hard holiday for me to grasp.  Behind the Hallmark holiday there is always pressure if you are in a relationship to give the best gift, make sure you are showing your mate the utmost love and affection possible.  If you are not in a relationship there is always the disheartening feeling of a holiday without a loved one.  

But honestly, regardless if you are in a relationship or not, Valentines Day does not just have to be about you and your romantic partner sharing this one day out of there year.  There are best friends, silblings, parents & grandparents that all need a hug and a Hershey’s Kiss on this Celebration of Saint Valentines.  

At our Yountville tasting room we are getting into the spirit with red roses and a tasting menu that, regardless of your relationship status, you will regret to miss.  We have paired three of our Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignons with three artisan chocolates from Anette’s Chocolate, Napa Valley that are absolutely delicious.  

Bring your husband, your girlfriend, significant other, partner your best friend, your sister, your grandmother or anyone else that you would like to say “I love you” to and treat them to one of the most delectable tasting flights you'll ever find!

Allison Zickfeld

Foodie Paradise

The last few weeks I have been in food heaven. Dinners at Bistro Jeanty, Cole’s Chop House and Alex Restaurant have all been superb, exceeding my expectations.

Bistro Jeanty would have to be one of my local favorite restaurants. Its location across the street from the tasting room here in Yountville makes it extremely convenient. The food is always great, staff friendly and attentive, and the fact that they do dollar oysters from 3:30 - 6:30 pm always helps. A dish that always stands out in my mind there is their Foie Gras. The fact that California is banning the dish effective July 1st, 2012 only adds to my desire to consume the succulent, lush, mousse over toasted crostinis. Bring on the glass of Cornerstone Oregon Pinot Noir.

Cole's Chop House in Downtown Napa prepares one of the best steaks I’ve had in the Napa Valley, although on my most recent visit I indulged in the roasted New Zealand rack of lamb. Winemaker Jeff Keene was dining in the group that night and he remarked instantly that the aroma from the meat brought him back to his youth. Jim, Cole’s wine director came over to check on us during the course of the meal lamenting that the lamb was his go to dish. Cooked to nothing greater than a perfect medium rare, I indulged in a glass of the Cornerstone Cellars Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon.

Just a few days ago I dined with some friends from Bistro Jeanty at the new Alex Italian Restaurant, located in Rutherford. Nick Ritchie, their current chef, was the former chef at Bottega. I have heard rave reviews about the establishment and felt compelled to give it a go. Ritchie’s approach is to take a more intimate look at the dining experience. His innovative dishes are crafted from start to finish with the idea that only a select few patrons on any given evening will be able to try them. He hit the nail on the head. The octopus salad and pork cheeks were the outliers of the evening. Texturally they were incredible. Octopus is notoriously difficult to prepare as it has a tendency to become rubbery. Fork tender, I was able to enjoy every bite with ease. The pork cheeks were awfully flavorful and would be enjoyed with a glass of Stepping Stone Cab Franc. After trying them I wish more chefs would incorporate them into their menus.

After the last two weeks I’m going to have to cut back. Who am I kidding? Redd Wood just opened up the street. Their pizza wont eat itself. I’m a foodie at heart.  Now to go for a 75 mile bike ride.

Alex Crown

5000 Wines

I saw a comment recently from a wine writer noting that they tasted over five thousand wines a year. I could only think how sad. Was this some sort of punishment? Did someone commit a crime? What a pity to turn such a pleasure into such a grind.

Another comment on a forum noted that the writer first scored the wine 88 points , but that it had mellowed into a 89 point wine after about thirty minutes. It improved by a point? I could only think how sad it is to force flavors and aromatics into one point increments. Again pleasure becomes a grind.

While I was attending a wine faults seminar by the University of California at Davis the professor passed off the answer to a question as obvious when someone asked the equally obvious question. “Professor I’ve noticed that the sample with the VA was very strong at first, but now that I’ve gone back to it several times and it gets harder and harder to pick up,” said one of the winemakers in the seminar. The professor almost off-handedly commented that was just how your nose worked. It could take twenty minutes or so before it reset itself.

So, as the Ph.D. from Davis noted, if you get a nose-full from a a wine loaded with VA or Brett or a long line of wine faults you will be severely disabled aroma-wise for a signifiant period of time. Then there is simple palate fatigue on top of that.

What does this mean? It means that the people that taste five thousand wines a year or those that nudge a wine by a point after a half hour are just kidding themselves. It can’t be done, we’re humans not machines. Your senses lose the ability to accurately judge wines even after just a dozen or so. The idea of defining the difference between 88 and 89 points as a relative quality value is simply a joke. Mother Nature did not give us the tools required.

This, of course, extends to all the major wine publications and wine competitions. What they claim to be doing can’t be done. Fact and end of story.

In addition to the fact that they’re totally inaccurate as an indicator of quality, marathon tastings and pointy nit-picking just take the joy and pleasure out of wine. They are also a slap in the face to the intellectual side of wine appreciation.

One thing I appreciate about wine bloggers over the traditional wine press is that instead of pounding through dozens of bottles and pumping out points, most take a more thoughtful approach. Wine blogs are full of tales of wines at the table, which is the only place you can really get to know a wine. Wine writing about the experience of the true pleasures of wine tells you more than any point ranking or gold medal ever can or will. There are so many good wine blogs out there these days that they cover more than enough wine to fill anyone’s needs. What you won’t find in the blogs are reviews of Screaming Eagle or Lafite, but let’s face it, if you’re buying those wines you don’t really care about reviews anyway.

My mind keeps drifting back to the person tasting more than five thousand wines a year. It sounds so terrible to me. I’m more than happy tasting a few hundred or so a year. It also means I get to enjoy wines that I really love more than once. I think it often takes a few bottles, consumed over a period of time with different foods, before you really know a wine.

I doubt there are actually five thousand wines in the world that I want to try. Someone else will have to take that punishment for me. No thanks.

Craig Camp

Cornerstone at Pinot Days LA - via The Now and Zin Blog

"The Oregon section of the hangar was quite busy.  The crowding around these tables indicated there was a lot of interest in Oregon Pinot.  Napa vintner Craig Camp poured his Cornerstone Cellars Oregon Pinot, the product of his partnership with winemaker Tony Rynders.  Their 2009 Willamette Valley shows beautiful sour cherry flavor with tea on the very long finish."

Check out Now and Zins account of Pinot Days LA!

Cornerstone Winemaker Dinner at Bardessono Feb. 17th

Cornerstone Cellars Winemaker Dinner with Jeff Keene

Friday, February 17th, 2012

5:30-8:30pm

Cornerstone Cellars and the Restaurant at Bardessono proudly present an evening of life, laughter and luxury paired with Cornerstone’s vintage, vineyard and variety. Enjoy a special 5-course tasting menu drawn from Lucy’s Garden by Chef Victor Scargle, inspired by the wines of Jeff Keene. With locally produced and critically acclaimed artists combined, this collaboration is sure to create a meal which will be spoken of for years to come. The evening will begin with a pre-dinner reception offering Cornerstone Corallina Napa Valley Syrah Rosé along with hors d'oeuvres followed by a five course wine paired dinner. Special pricing on Cornerstone Cellars wine purchases can be made after dinner. The dinner menu and wine selections are:

Dungeness Crab Salad

lucy turnips (hinona kabu and tokyo), celtuce, thai curry coconut sauce

2010 Cornerstone Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc

Sauteed Black Bass

sunchoke soubise, caramelized onion jus

2010 Stepping Stone Napa Valley Riesling

Crispy Liberty Farms Duck

garden kohlrabi, mustard greens forbidden rice sauce a la orange

2009 Stepping Stone Syrah

Pan Roasted South Texas Antelope

matsutake mushrooms, herbed faro apple brandy jus

2009 Stepping Stone Napa Valley Cabernet Franc

Double Pairing:

Chocolate Torte & Poached Pear Stuffed with Blue Cheese

2008 Cornerstone Howell Mountain Cabernet sauvignon

Alex on the Road: San Diego Round 2