HandCraft Petite Sirah 2010

By Chris and Sherry Hardie
In the earlier days of the California wine industry, single varietal vintages were not the norm. Instead, winemakers would use
what they harvested fromtheir vineyards and mix them together in what was called a field blend.
That’s the inspiration for this new label from Cheryl Indelicato, a third-generation California winemaker.
The main grape variety is petite sirah (82 percent), but there is a blend of petit verdot, sangiovese, syrah and zinfandel to round out the field. The wine is oak-aged  to sixmonths.
The result is a big, bold, enticing wine with spice and fruit bouquet and full-bodied fruit flavors. It’s dark and chewy, with a long finish.
Sherry: “Medium-dry, fruity black cherry with a touch of leather.” 3-1/2 stars
Chris: “Wisps of leather and smoke, cherry, plum and blueberry.” 3-1/2 stars
Available locally for about $10.
Coming next week: Kendall Jackson Reserve Chardonnay

Middle Sister Sweet and Sassy Moscato

By Chris and Sherry Hardie
Moscato is one of the world’s most ancient grapes, but it has been rediscovered by many of today’s younger wine consumers.
Also called muscat, sales of the wine increased more than 200 percent between 2009 and 2011 and increased
78 percent last year, according to Nielsen data.
This label is part of the Middle Sister lines from California, which offers 10 different wines all devoted to the female in the center of the birth order.
Made with 84 percent moscato and a blend of other white grapes, this wine shows all the trademark signs of the aromatic grape. It’s a sweet wine that could pair with lighter fare or simply enjoyed by itself.
Sherry: “Honey, pear and touch of citrus” 3 stars
Chris: “Apricot, honey, pear and orange.” 3 stars
Available locally for about $9.
Coming next week: HandCraft Petite Sirah

Red Rock Reserve Winemakers Blend

By Chris and Sherry Hardie
Red Rock Winery features a label with stacked rocks – one of them red – a symbol of its belief that great wine is about finding balance.
That certainly describes this red California blend of merlot, cabernet sauvignon and petite sirah, which embodies the notion of a fruit-forward wine.
Displaying dark purple color in the glass thanks to the petite sirah, this wine shows lots of jam characteristics and is quite sweet considering its varietals. It’s very smooth with a full mouth of berry and soft spice flavors, a reflection of the wine’s malolactic fermentation.
Sherry: “Big and bold with fruity black cherry, raspberry and light touch of rose on the finish.” 3-1/2 stars
Chris: “A sweeter blend of raspberry, plum, cherry and raisins.” 3 stars
Available locally for about $10.
Coming next week: Middle Sister Sweet and Sassy Moscato

Mark West Pinot Noir Santa Lucia

By Chris and Sherry Hardie
Pinot noir is the signature grape of Calfornia winery Mark West, which claims the slogan “Pinot for the People.”
The popularity of pinot is certainly growing, as there were 32,000 tons of the grape crushed in 1990 and 156,000 tons crushed in 2009. Mark West’s pinot lineup accounts for about 10 percent of the entire U.S. pinot market.
This bottle from the Santa Lucia appellation came from an excellent grape-growing year and was aged in French oak. The result is what you would expect from a quality pinot: smooth, silky and lots of trademark cherry.
Sherry: “Dry and acidic with fruity raspberry and black cherry with a hint of cocoa.” 3 stars
Chris: “Silky strawberry and cherry with a bouquet of smoke and plum.” 3-1/2 stars
Available locally for $14.50.
Coming next week: Red Rock Winemakers Blend

Fetzer Gewurztraminer 2010

By Chris and Sherry Hardie
California winemaker Fetzer has been committed to sustainability for the past 28 years, making this a suitable wine for April to mark the beginning of Earth Month.
Fetzer calls itself “The Earth Friendly Winery” and uses organic practices in growing its grapes. Its wines are not certified organic, however, because it purchases some grapes from other growers. But it encourages customers to farm with limited chemical use.
Gewürztraminer is a German word that means spice grapes. The flavors are similar to a sweet moscato. This has less crispness and zest than other gewürztraminer wines we've sampled, but it's still a good choice for sipping on the porch during these early spring evenings.
Sherry: “Sweet with honey, pear and lime.” 3 stars
Chris: “Flavors of pear, peach and orange.” 3 stars
Available locally for about $8.50
Coming next week: Mark West Pinot Noir Appellation Series

Penfolds Thomas Hyland Shiraz 2008

By Chris and Sherry Hardie
Wine grapes, like clothing, seemto go in and out of fashion. Out of fashion was certainly the case for shiraz grapes in Australia until the latter half of the 20th century.
English doctor Christopher Rawson Penfold planted shiraz vines in 1844 and made fortified wines that he believed had medicinal properties. His son-in-law, Thomas Hyland, took over the company, which continued to make mainly fortified wine.
It wasn¶t until Penfolds developed its famous Grange wines in the 1950s, with cool fermentation and new oak barrels, that shiraz started to shine as a wine.
This shiraz, fromthe Adelaide region, is not as hot and peppery as some Australian versions we¶ve sampled, but it¶s fruity and quite balanced.
Sherry: “Medium-bodied and fruity with cherry, plumand strawberry.” 3 stars
Chris: “Flavors of raspberry, plum, raisins and cocoa.” 3 stars
Available locally for about $12.50.
Coming next week: Fetzer Gewurztraminer