Zepaltas Wines

So we spent an afternoon with my fellow winemakers Kevin Kelley & Justin Lattanzio tasting our wines from the last 3 vintages at the W.E.Bottoms Vineyard. We got together with the owners of the Vineyard to discuss & review the state of the vineyard. We tasted, talked and discussed all of the ways that we can improve farming, and make better wines.

We started off tasting the 2005 version from Zepaltas, Lattanzio & Salinia. The 2005s were hitting on all cylinders and they are entering their windows of drinkability. All of the wines definitely reflected the vintage, but it was interesting to see what each winemaker came up with. 2005 was clearly a great vintage in the Russian River Valley. All of our wines share the same vineyard profile, and the power of 2005 was evident. This vintage should be remembered in our minds as one of the best.

On to the "controversial" (well maybe not controversial, but lots of debate on) 2006 vintage. it was a year of higher yields in the Valley. Clusters were larger, the growing season was nice and cool like 2005, but with the added yields i don't think that fruit in general was allowed to ripen evenly. I don't think that flavors, sugars and tannins crossed the finish line all at the same time. The resulting wines are in no way bad wines, I think they are very underrated. They are pretty, floral and petite. It is debatable whether 2006 pinots will improve with age or should be drank sooner rather that later. Part of me thinks that the wines will be neat as old wines-7 years plus to ponder and go with food. The acid, pH numbers tell us that they should be stable wines, but is the power of flavor there? All of the wines from the 3 of us were neat wines, but they probably will not turn the heads that 2005 did, but who knows?

We tasted our 2007s last. For obvious reasons they tasted "young." The wines have been in bottle just 5 months so they have not completely regrouped yet. I believe that the framework is there for these wines to be as good or if not better than the 2005s. Great acidity, great depth of flavor, and much more complex. I am noticing that i get more 'minerality" in the flavor profile than in years past. I will say that the zepaltas version will need a while to come together, but overall i am very pleased.

We had deep discussion with the owners as we tasted the wines. We are on the same page for going fully organic in the vineyard. We believe this site can only get better at producing amazing fruit, and we all look forward to the next vintage.

OK, now that I am officially one of these blogger guys, I now hold the license to be an expert on anything I choose!

My prediction for the game is:
Cardinals 35-31. Kurt Warner will lead a late rally to win. I think that the Cards will dominate the first half offensively, the the Steelers will get on a roll in the 3rd & 4th quarter, but in the end the Cards will pull through with a signature drive ending with a Larry Fitzgerald catch for a TD. Anquan Boldin will be pouting in the corner.

ULTIMATE RECIPE SHOWDOWN
We are gearing up for Super Bowl Party my lovely fiancee' Anna has created some great snack for the game. One thing in particular that will be the hit of the day (sorry Polamalu) will be her deep fried Potato and Chorizo Tacos served with some fresh green tomatillo salsa.

Try this at home kids:
1. Make some mashed potatoes. You can do them from scratch, but if you are strapped for time you whip up some instants!

2.Fry up some spicy chorizo in a pan- the soft stuff in the tube. the kind that separates all the fat juice and looks all gnarly in the pan.

3. Take a small corn tortilla and paste some potatoes and a spoonful of the chorizo on top of that.

4. Fold the tortilla in half and seal shut with a couple toothpicks weaved in between the layers.

5. Get your vat of lard boiling and fry these babies up until they are nice and crispy, YOU MUST USE LARD! NO HEALTHY OILS ALLOWED!

6. Eat them with some green tomatillo salsa and guacamole. Homemade is the best of course.

7. You will now be the MVP of the party, and everyone will envy your skills.

Ryan