This was another really fun and informative tasting for me of the currently-available CASTLE ROCK CA. wines available through Winebow Imports. Jody Jackman our local rep for CASTLE ROCH brought Chris Poulos the CASTLE ROCK rep by to taste these wines with me and I have to say that I see and understand perfectly well why these wines have been so successful over the last 5-10 years. And while most of them have come from California soil some have also come from that of Washington State.
CASTLE ROCK does not own any vineyards : instead they go around and offer to buy certain lots from certain vineyards or growers. At least that is how it all started years ago I believe. Since then I am sure that it has become a bit more regulated? Perhaps not : perhaps their strength is always in having a bit of the upper-hand and not letting anyone know for sure what they might offer to buy and release under their own label? That would be to their advantage in some ways and yet it could also leave them with little or nothing to bottle of a certain wine that has been very successful to them in the very recent past?
The important thing really is the overall strength and quality of everything that they have bought, made and bottled under their own name. It's always so consistent and usually made in a very popular and appealing style to most Americans. The other thing, too is that they keep their prices down considerably and always offer value to the retail store and restaurant and then to the customer as well that either drinks it in the restaurant or takes it home to enjoy with their neighbors, family and other friends and business associates. Everyone wins : that a winning combination I would venture to say in my humble opinion.
We tried six wines on this afternoon of July 27th, 2010 from CASTLE ROCK : 1) the 2008 California Mendocino County Sauvignon Blanc, 2) the 2008 California Central Coast barrel-fermented Chardonnay, 3) the Oregon Willamette Valley 2009 Pinot Noir , 4) the 2007 California Russian River Valley Petite Sirah, 5) the California Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel ( $13.49 ), and the 6) California Napa 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon.
As I look over this line-up I cannot think to myself that they have orchestrated it beautifully and bought and offered all the right grapes from the right regions impeccably here. I am only unsure of where the best Petite Sirah comes from in California : is it the Russian River Valley? I am not sure about that one. Otherwise I know that they have chosen extremely well for both flavor and value.
I like this picture above : I can't wait to see the wine splash into the glass. We all get a glimpse of it through the green bottle neck as the light pours through it from our store ceiling bright lights. But we all know that this glimpse is simply a tease : that it will ohhhh look so much more brilliant and mesmerizing once poured into the awaiting Reidel wine-tasting glass. Everything is poised and set and waiting and ready. It's like the moment before the contact, before the kiss. It will be special, it will be worth it.
This next observation of mine will not be well-received but I will voice it anyway as I think that things like this need to be stated as often as possible. I am disappointed with CASTLE ROCK that they took the wines away from the smaller importer LVDH in Maryland that started to distribute them years ago and also did quite an excellent job doing so. This really hurt them when this happened and set them back I am sure ( though they are still very much still here and working hard and selling lots of wine today ). As a result it took me awhile to come around to buying them again. If it had not been for the persistence and the high regard that we hold for Jody Jackman our wine rep for Winebow I am sure that we would not have bought them again without special requests from customers as there is quite a lot of excellent wine for us to buy these days with us all floating on an ocean of wine these days.
I really liked the 2007 California Dry Creek CASTLE ROCK Zinfandel and that we have for sale now at $13.49 a bottle at Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits ( 3423 Connecticut Avenue N.W. Washington D.C. 20008 Tel:202-363-4265 sales@clevelandparkwine.com www.clevelandparkwine.com ) where I have managed the wine department for over ten years.
I will talk with Jody this week about offering more of these wines in October as we get into a bit of cooler weather and people start to think of the holidays, too.
Jody and Chris Poulos came by on Tuesday afternoon, July 27th to taste these six wines with us. I learned from Chris that there are only seven people in all employed by CASTLE ROCK : that is indeed a small operation and a very successful one at that.
For more photos go to : chatart.blogspot.com to check those additional ones out in the last blog that I posted in July, 2010.
I got along really well with Chris as he was once a practicing artist himself. I am still very much a practicing artist and on this occasion I quickly whipped off a few portrait sketches of both Jody and Chris that you will see here later at the end of this blog. It was quick and fun and I had a blast. It was nice to be able to speak to a fellow artist : someone that understands better where I may possibly be coming from and headed towards?!? I get the impression that the answer to this last question/exclamation is " yes ".
I also like my signature photos that I do of everyone through my Reidel wine glass. It's my way of bringing many of the various elements and components together as they should be so that everyone can actually visually " see " the connections. They are tangible, they are real and they are important. We hardly ever " see " them or give them credit and that is a shame. This way it is easier to connect the dots and to be more appreciative and " in the know ".
I like this picture of both Jody and Chris. This was a really nice visit and a great time that the three of us spent together as I tasted these six wines and commented on them/life/food and wine/ history and art, of course.
Look at that curved/moon-shaped/lit band of golden wine color above : isn't it amazing!
Look at that garnet red curved band of wine color above : it's equally captivating, too. I like taking these more artsy photos : they bring a whole lot back for me that I was only able to focus on and click briefly before moving onto other things : so many things. Having these photos helps to bring it all back to life for me as I hope it does for you. Cheers!
I love the color of this Petit Sirah with the light infusing/filling it's every nook and cranny : wow, just liquid wine sunshine here!
Two tears of red wine joy on this Reidel wine-tasting glass above : I like it. It's feeling all the joy of the moment.
Here are the two quick portrait sketches that I did of Jody. I've been meaning to do Jody now for forever and I am sure that this is just the very first two of many.
I usually do quick portrait sketches of the wine owners and wine-makers that come to Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits. I like doing this : it's the one thing that I can do quickly and give them to show them my appreciation of them, their wines and their visit to see me and our store here in Washington D.C. I take pictures of them holding the sketches so that I have a record to remember some of the work that I do. I don't need to have the originals : I do them for Jody and Chris and all the others : it's my gift, personal and heart-felt.
I love showing the motion of wine being poured, the color, the cascade , the splash and the froth and the deep or clear or cloudy color and how the light bounces off it or filters through. I like seeing the color in the Reidel glass and I love seeing the labels on the bottles of wine from which it is coming. Again, I like showing the relationship between the two. It's vital : it's important.
Here's my one quick portrait sketch of Chris that I did just before Jody and he rushed off to their next appointment. I understand from Jody that Chris really appreciated this gesture on my part and that it helped to be one of the two really important/special moments for him here in our nation's capitol. That pleases me : that really means something to me. Thanks Chris, I'm glad you liked it.
I'm an artist and so a lot of my blogging has that point-of-view. They are more about the art and the visual aspects of these moments that I share with everything where wine serves to bring us all together in the first place.
I really enjoyed trying these six CASTLE ROCK California and Oregon dry red and white wines. I look forward to what they will do next : they always surprise me with at least one wine that I really quite like myself.
I will take a look at my notes at work this week. I am now how here in northern Virginia at 9:27 PM as I am watching " America's Got Talent " with my wife on Monday, September 13th, 2010. I'm enjoying it and it's inspiring me, too. I just watched Michael Grimm from Mississippi sing an old soul ballad without his guitar and boy he sure did sing it well. I'm glad that I have this blog to type between commercials so release some of the artistic spirit and enthusiasm that is coursing through my veins as I watch the show.
If you are interested in getting any of these six wines or any others that CASTLE ROCK makes just call us at Cleveland Park Wines and Spirits at (202)363-4265 and ask either Chris Barker or me ( Anthony Tony Quinn ) and we will be happy to quote you prices and get any of the wines that are still available to us.
Thanks again Jody and Chris, cheers, too, you are both welcome back anytime. TONY
P.S. : I just heard Jackie Evancho sing like an angle on " America's Got Talent " and I have to say that it blew me away into so many small particles of sublime joy and wonder and awe and gratitude and peace and pleasure and speechlessness that I was struck senseless and I am now just recovering. I wish that I could hear more right now of Jackie Evancho. I could listen I believe to hour after hour of her singing like an angle. And she's only ten ! Howie Mandel that judges on the show had one question for her just now : I am paraphrasing it : " Jackie, have you ever swallowed an adult whole?!? " She sure sounds like an adult angle. Her smile tonight and composure as well as her voice melted me and made me just feel so special having seen and just heard her sing. Thanks to you, too Jackie. Cheers, TONY
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