WINE: Two little projects

By TIM DUGAN

In the name of shameless self-promotion and because I’m still trying to work past my harvest induced over-busy state of being, I’m going to dedicate today’s column to revealing two of my own personal wine projects. I should have other interesting things to say by next week, but right now these two little projects are taking up a lot of my cognitive wine energies.

When I got into the wine business eight years ago, it wasn't long before I began to dream about either making my own wine or starting my own wine company. Considering I had no money to speak of and didn’t know much about making wine, these were somewhat lofty ambitions. In any case, in the last few weeks, in the middle of harvest, and because my Irish luck tends to vex all of my plans, I was finally able to put the finishing touches on both my own wine and in a completely unrelated way, my own wine company.  So here is a brief explanation of my two nascent projects and then descriptions of the wines – a delightful Cabernet Franc and a great Pinot Noir.

Sforzando is a wine made by my friend Graham Palmer and me during the 2005 vintage. We managed to get some grapes from the Buttonwood Vineyard and were granted the ability to make a small amount of wine at their winery. Although Graham and I have at the present date both worked in the cellar at our respective winery jobs long enough now to know how to make a tasty wine, back then we were kind of flying by the seat of our pants.  But sometimes worry, luck, and care can make up a bit of the knowledge gap when it comes to winemaking.  And after a couple years of trying to finish the wine and get it bottled, we now have 2005 Sforzando Cabernet Franc. The name comes from a term in musical composition which is an instruction to play a note with sudden, strong emphasis – literally ‘forced.’ This might describe our pointed efforts to bring this wine to the public, but in no way reflects the kind of pleasure you will get from drinking it.

2005 Sforzando Cabernet Franc – Most people either love or hate Cabernet Franc, mostly because it has had a spotty reputation as a first-class varietal wine grape. This wine should more than please the die-hard Cab Franc lovers and make a few converts of even die-in-the-wool Cab Fran haters.  We blended just a little Syrah into the wine to give the fruit a little lift and the combination is pretty darn amazing.  The wine has a rich body and mouth-feel and showcases dark red and black fruit like cherry, plum and current. Mixed into the flavors are sexy mocha notes and a racy spiciness. It closes with a long chewy finish.  I really like this wine a lot and would probably feel the same way even if I didn’t make it. (65 cases produced) $25

Vin Vojaj is a wine company I started with my friends Dave Robinson and Karen Steinwachs in order to find really cool wines from Santa Barbara County and beyond and bring them to market under our own label. There really is a lot of exceptionally good wine out there that never makes it to the consumer in a reasonable way because there are many people in the wine business that are confused about how to sell the product that they spend so much time, money, and care making. Dave, Karen, and I all have a reasonable amount of both wine and marketing experience and we expect to find some real gems out there that we can bring to you in the coming months.

2005 Vin Voyaj Pinot Noir – Santa Rita Hills – This wine comes from a prominent vineyard in the eastern part of the Santa Rita Hills AVA. It is a very pretty wine with a perfect ruby hue, a medium bodied mouth-feel, and a nose of berry compote, cherry, cranberry and cola with a hint of toasty smoke. The flavors tend toward dark red fruit with a touch of cocoa and the finish has a pleasant and gentle amount of tannins. It is also selling at fairly reasonable price especially for Santa Rita Hills Pinot Noir of this quality. $36

I hope you all get a chance to try one of both of these wines in the near future.

Cheers!

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Sforzando Cab-Franc : 5/2/2009

I am looking ALL over for this wine! I enjoyed a glass at a restaurant as I was passing through SLO on my way to Santa Barbara and was hoping to take some home with me to the SF Bay Area on my way home on Monday. Any idea as to where I can get this luscious nectar???

patm0070@yahoo.com

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