Barrel 27 Winery

2006 Barrel 27 Grenache Central Coast "Rock and a Hard Place"

Inaugural release: This wine is a stunningly beautiful, with a medium ruby-black color and a captivating nose of sweet raspberry milk chocolate, hibiscus, logan berry, cranberry and caramelized sugar beet. On the palate, the wine shows the same pure red fruit characters filled out with notes of black tea and orange rind with a hint of vanilla. Soft and rich, with beautiful, broad mid palate, the wine's fruit and spice notes continue to build through the long, long finish. Less than 200 cases made. $19.95/btl

2006 Barrel 27 Pinot Noir Santa Rita Hills Zotovich Family Vineyard

Barrel 27's second Pinot Noir release showcases Santa Rita Hills' excellent Zotovich Family Vineyard, which formed the core of the 2005 Central Coast Pinot. A dense dark red color is followed by a captivating nose of sweet red and black cherry, rose petal, dried strawberry and kirsch, with notes of cinnamon, red plum and cocoa adding layer after layer of complexity. Broad and filling on the palate, the intense red fruit characteristics are elevated by the wine's superb acidity and fine, integrated tannins, all of which lead to a long, pure finish. More classically styled than Barrel's first Pinot Noir release, this is a finesse driven Pinot of remarkable elegance and complexity. Only 300 cases produced. $31.95/btl

2007 Barrel 27 White Wine Central Coast French Camp Vineyard, Paso Robles "High on the Hog"

2nd vintage of this awesome Rhone-style white blend - 42% Viognier, 34% Roussanne, 24% Marsanne. A straw gold/brass in color, with an intense, sumptuous nose of honeycomb, Meyer lemon zest, marzipan, lemongrass and wet slate, with secondary notes of jasmine, Kaffir lime, petrol, paraffin, and bacon fat. On the palate, the wine is lush and weighty, dominated by flavors of lemon drops, slate, petrol and honey, followed with hints of lavender, cured ham and mint all of which intermingle and integrate through the long, uplifted finish. Almost baby-oil like amounts of glycerin capture the masses of fruit and exotic aroma and flavor components, while the wines excellent acidity keeps the whole package lively and fresh and lifts the wine through the long, focused finish. $13.95/btl -

BUY THEM HERE

Bottle Shock Smash Hit Sound Track

No, they didn't come out with a sound track CD from the movie Bottle Shock, but if they had, the line up would have gone a little something like this:

Un Bel di Verdremo - Maria Callas and The Philharmonia Orchestra
Toulouse Street - Patrick Simmons
Toulouse Street - Doobie Brothers
Stand Back - Allman Brothers Band
Spirit - Doobie Brothers
Rock Steady - Bad Company
Listen to the Music - Doobie Brothers
Le Temps Des Cerises - Scottie Haskell
Jump into the Fire - Harry Nilsson
I Need You - America
Drivin' Wheel - Foghat
Drinkin' Wine Spo-De-O-Dee - Stick McGhee
China Grove - Doobie Brothers

Nice mix for that drive up valley. I don't know why more people aren't talking about the sound track, some original. I really enjoyed everything about this movie which came to the downtown Napa theatre last Friday. I laughed out loud (the samurai sword scene) and cried (the scene where the winery owner found all his wine BROWN) and would highly recommend going to see it while it's here.

Blogging the Train

Yes, we were thinking of taking a train across the USA and blogging it on the way, kinda like a Travel Channel for the Internet - YouTube style videos, GPS, etc. I'm on the test run, going from Napa Wine Train Station to the  Hanford/Lemoore Station on the San Joaquin Valley Train. It's nice! I have a great bus driver that doesn't mind talking to me all the way down to Martinez. 

Really helpful people and especially patient with old ladies like me. Now arriving in Antioch. Nice day, by the water. We have that bay breeze thing happening. I might have to move cars, there's an overwhelming smell of cheap men's cologne. Guys, when you ride public transportation with other people, PLEASE lighten up on the scents.

Orchards, grapevines, a lot of agriculture in this valley. This time of year, the corn is REALLY big, up past the windows in some places. Real estate by the tracks isn't always attractive. Only certain kinds of people can live by railroad tracks. That's why it makes sense to have agriculture by all that noise, but as you get closer to city centers, you look into where backyards go to die.

So I call this guy in Chicago, at the Amtrak media relations department and I asked permission to blog the train. He was so nice to me, even giving me his number and telling me to call if I need anything, sent me a letter of introduction in case anyone asked for it while I was underway and live blogging. Yep, we'll be blogging our way across the USA! I want to have maps, with pins online. What a way to go.

Fresno Station, WOW! I didn't realize how hot it was out here until I got off the train for a smoke. The train is cool, air conditioned, so menopausal old ladies can ride in comfort, gazing out on the hot fields. And before you know it, it's time to disembark. My trip just flew by. I have never encountered an unfriendly Amtrak employee, they're all just so nice that it must be a requirement. Even the passengers seem nicer than the general public, babies and children really love to ride the train.

And! For your viewing pleasure, we're going to have a train video on YouTube with footage from trip. Stay tuned, I'm also going to post more on the return trip. This is just a practice post for when we're REALLY bloggin the train.

I must mention the snack car lady, she's a very nice lady that smiled easily and is more than willing to provide you with anything that she can.