Hello there blog readers! You may have stumbled upon this quaint website by chance for information-gathering desires, or have been reading because of my endless friends and family PR shout outs, or because you just love good ol’ American blogging, but whatever the reason I am hoping that you have learned a thing or two about wine! I am here to say though, that there is a supplement to this e-knowledge about wine. Palmeri Wines is holding tastings and pairing seminars by owner, Daisy Damskey. These adventures will be conducted in Geyserville, California so if location is not in your favor (i.e. you live in Europe), we are genuinely sorry (though not that sorry because you get to live in Europe). Our fun-filled, wine-and-food-pairing learning experiences are on Wednesdays and open to groups of up to six people. Appointments are required and we can be contacted to reserve space for personal and unique adventures in wine via email (nancy@palmeriwines.com) or phone (707-857-1890). If you tell us upon your reservation that you jumped on this opportunity because of the insightful blogs on Insight from an Intern, we shall extend to you our Wine Club discounts! Oh baby!

Prohibition was without a doubt the most sobering time in America’s history. The Prohibition of Alcohol lasted from 1920 to 1933 in the United States, making it illegal to manufacture and sell alcohol. There were of course, like all major addictive substances, banned use exceptions for medicinal and religious means. In fact, the religious use of alcohol during Prohibition is the sole reason why wine was able to stay afloat in Sonoma and Napa County during that time. There were certainly speakeasies that arose, which were clubs/bars that illegally sold alcohol, but it was the constant necessity for wine legally in the Church that allowed vineyards to be replanted and grapes to grow.

After Prohibition was repealed and Americans could legally get drunk again, more and more vineyards naturally started popping up in Sonoma County. The tides changed from the original Italian wineries to French wineries and then finally to rich-man’s-hobby wineries. Palmeri Wines popped up during the French infusion period. Our vineyards and growing techniques are in homage to the great Rhone-styled wineries.

Palmeri Wines is clearly in its first generation of delicious palate pleasing wine production, but nevertheless has ties back to that Prohibition era. The steady requirement of wine for the Church’s religious practices allowed the continued production in Sonoma and Napa County. This then supported the inevitable continuation and growth in the established wine-producing counties that ultimately became home to Palmeri’s vineyards, Van Ness and Stagecoach.

The Palmeri team and I are beginning a promotion to highlight our amazing wine growers. These are the people that go out (or pay people to go out) and grow the grapes that can then be harvested and crushed to the delicious fermented pulp that either sits in your cellar or compliments your meal. While researching the growing process and interviewing our special growers themselves, I became excited with my noggin-expanding results on the particulars of high elevation fruit. I am literally bursting with an overflow of grape growing information and thought I could pass on these tidbits of knowledge to whoever cares.

Palmeri Wines has been established as a quality producer of wines complied of grapes only grown in mountainous regions. Our slogan blatantly addresses that unique attribute in our product: “Crafting revolutionary mountain wines.”

The most distinct quality for mountainous fruit is that it is literally on a mountain and therefore rests on slopes. These slopes provide variations that are important in the grape growing process because they allow for vineyards to flourish in microclimates. For instance, the soil is often a composite of different types such as shale and volcanic rock, which creates diversification in the growth process and adds various nutrients, and therefore tastes, to the grapes.

The slope also provides a bit of a “ramp” for the naturally occurring fog to “speed down uncontrollably” and “crash” into the valleys below. Since the fog does not stay and linger like food stuck in one’s teeth, the mountainous fruit does not need to worry about frost that kills or weakens these precious circular balls of juice.

A major added bonus of a slope is that it keeps these grapes from turning into couch potatoes. Because the slope stimulates excellent drainage, the vines must work harder and “exercise” more to produce grapes. The fewer grapes produced are of higher quality because more nutrients are concentrated in fewer yields. The berry will be smaller, but packed with an intense flavor, which is perfect for our rightly-proportioned-and-not-corporate-sell-out-sized winery. We are making these grapes train vigorously and their Olympic-style results are noticeable in the full bodied explosion of taste.

Now I am not going to openly bash valley produced wine, because they most certainly create enjoyable vino (and I hear it is not “professional” to berate the competition and not let them get a counterargument), but if you want to revamp your taste buds and explore a different way of living, I’d purchase Palmeri next time.

For those of you who have never been to Sonoma or Napa County, it is quite the eye candy capitol of agriculture. My parents live here full time and it is no wonder that I have a high probability of being a bounce back baby. In the summer, our dry season, the golden hills are splashed with green trees and everywhere you look there are vineyards. These vineyards are located on all land surfaces imaginable, which ultimately provides little room for other less prioritized land uses (such as cemeteries). There are different valleys, or American Viticulture Areas (AVA), that due to their unique microclimates, produce certain grapes very well and others (you may have noticed) not as well.

There are two different AVAs that go into producing Palmeri Wines. Our Napa Valley Stagecoach collection comes from Atlas Peak AVA which is very well known for its high appellation with southwest facing sun exposure. The characteristically volcanic soil provides rich, yet cooling conditions for nutrients in the hot, fogless, altitude. These circumstances are ideal for the production of cabernet sauvignon. The grape absolutely loves to grow here, just like germs love to grow in fraternity houses.

Our other grape growing location is Van Ness Vineyard in Sonoma County in the Alexander Valley AVA. This is also a high appellation vineyard and experiences considerable temperature fluctuations between the warm day and cool night. The traditionally warmer climate lends itself well for the production of Syrah, but absolutely zero production in the workplace because the beauty is so distracting and the temperature so enticing.

As for the actual growth and taste of grapes, location, location, location is vitally important. The lesser known contributors to palate pleasing wine are the agricultural techniques. The techniques may include planting, cutting, use of pesticides and harvest.

First off, there are multiple types of planting plans. Some plant in line with the route of the sun, while others prefer less direct sunlight and plant perpendicular to the sun’s daily course. Rows parallel with the sun receive light on the top of the vines, but typically hide those on the side. The opposite sun nourishment is true for those perpendicular where they receive more on the sides then on the top. There are also ways to figure out natural water pools underground so if planted accordingly, a vineyard does not need to irrigate much because the vines will tap into the natural resources.

As you drive by vineyards, you may notice that some are more unruly than others. Some feature looks similar to hair dos from heavy metal rock bands, while others are clean cut like prep school boys. This difference again adheres to which grapes receive sunlight at what times of the day. There is also the factor that if more grapes are grown per vine, the nutrients are spread out, creating quantity over quality in the unruly plants.

Some wineries still use pesticides to protect their grapes against rodents and diseases. It is our practice though, to use natural predators of rodents to limit the population of those annoying little buggers. We do not bring these natural predators into the vineyards, but do not “shoo” them away either. The main predator that can be found in Northern California is the rattlesnake. This highly poisonous snake is dangerous and annoying in just about any other situation then preserving a vineyard.

Finally there is the factor of harvest. During harvest some vineyards pay the workers by weight of grapes in a bushel while others pay hourly wage. This then gets into the battle of amount of grapes collected (whether they are good or bad) or taking forever to collect only the best. It is ultimately the vineyard and winery’s decision.

Hopefully this tidbit of insight isn’t too thought intensive- making you remember your agonizing school days where you are just bored to death and not even taking the little effort to skim because it is too excruciating. Knowing about the vine locations and types of agriculture is certainly not necessary to have in one’s readily available wine connoisseur handbook, but is interesting and paints a larger picture of all that is the wine country (I hope).

The most important thing to know about wine is how to open it. Without that knowledge, the enjoyment and necessity for wine at a shindig becomes quite obsolete. So here is a little “Opening 101” to help you hurdle that nightmarish obstacle to let the pouring being!

As most people who have taken a jaunt down the alcohol isle of any credible (or even mediocre to quite dodgy) super market/liquor store, one is sure to notice that there are indeed TWO types of fasteners that separate the good stuff from our eager mouths. These fasteners include the not-so-trendy-but-extremely-efficient twist cap and the traditional cork.

The explanation for impressive opening styles on a twist cap is quite excessive, but the proper technique to create optimal awe within your audience during the act of opening a cork bottle is quite complex and extremely necessary. There are a plethora of tools available in a range of prices and functionality. First off, on the “executive” list, there is the automatic opener that simply requires the push of a button to demonstrate the depth of one’s pocket as well as pulls the cork from the bottle. The next “caste” of openers is typically styled with a metal screw and a means to gain leverage to extract the cork. These types of bottle openers are, in my opinion, the most impressive of them all because they are often times quite finicky and beg for that sweet spot. These openers really embody the “practice doesn’t make you quite perfect, but definitely makes you a little better” mentality. You must appropriately place the tip of the metal screw in the center of the cork in order to twist at the perfect perpendicular angle. Then there is the necessity for superb forearm and bicep strength to pull the cork out without having it break or splash wine everywhere. These openers occasionally contain little knives that are used as foil cutters or used to not-so-politely stab the cork after a particularly difficult extraction. The foil should be cut either right above or right below the little bump or “collar” near the top of the bottle’s neck. I prefer using a separate foil cutter that allows you to simply twist the top foil off in a neat and orderly manner. The tiny knife requires a bit more practice and patience and surely creates more excitement among the crowd, but the foil cutters do the same job (even if it is in a less riveting manner). The other major benefit of these openers is that they are versatile in the most excellent way. Most of these styles also supply a means to lift bottle caps for drinks such as beer. Now as you all know, this is strictly a wine blog, but every once in a while you might just find yourself needing that little release to your college years when you were at a much less sophisticated time of your life and would enjoy a bottle of beer. But remember, it is just one bottle of beer and then it is back to the wonderful wine! And if you really want to head back to those extraordinary moments of drinking in your college years, you can always show homage by opening that nice bottle of wine by wrapping a towel around the bottom of the bottle and patiently hitting it against a wall until the cork pops out. It works every time (after about ten minutes)!

This new found knowledge of which openers to use with a little technique can help get you ready to impress those best friends and uninvited neighbors at your next dinner party. And remember, always live by the mantra “fake it until you make it!” Although faking how to open a bottle a wine is a bit difficult so maybe just practice a few times before you build an audience…

It is time for a break in the ever-informative, stimulating-sensation, mind-blowing blogging about all that is, and most certainly is not, in wine and the wine industry. This tiny hiatus is so we can put the spotlight on the newest member of the Palmeri Wines crew. She goes by the name Fig and is approximately eight inches in height, weighing in at a whopping seven pounds. She’s a purebred mutt through and through. Mamma is a Boston terrier and father is a French bulldog, so culture class aside, these two purebreds (accidentally) produced a funky little adorable mutt! Fig is sister to Olive, a gorgeous rescued German shepherd, and cousin to Leo, an other rescue and a mixture of all that is lab. Fig is one last dose of shots away from being a social butterfly and just climbing that “ladder” around the vines and across the wine country.

Below are photos of the three musketeers in all their glory, working hard or hardly working, in the Palmeri Wines office. 

A personal cellar is a very interesting thing. By “personal cellar” I literally mean someone’s own personal collection of wines that they showcase and flaunt or store for memories and momentous meals. Personal cellars vary dramatically in size and contents. Some rich old man might have a cellar the size of a basement, while my college friend’s “cellar” includes the car because after it is brought home from the market, it is immediately consumed (you could say we like instant gratification). As for contents, the wine inside this rich old man’s cellar might include vintages pre-prohibition (if he is really old or really rich), varietals from all over the world, and dust-laden bottles of all sizes. My college friends carry only one bottle, right off the shelf, bottom of the barrel, boxed wine that is so “high class” is takes the varietal title of red wine. There are major differences between the two type of cellars described and that typically includes money and years of experience.

As a young wino, I am quite curious about the whole culture concerning cellars. In my newly acquired legality for fermented grape juice, I saw cellars to be pompous and borderline ironic. Pompous, because, well, just about everything in the wine industry has an air of snobbery. And somewhat-completely ironic because the point of wine is to drink it and not “lay it down” to look at and possibly drink in many years.  But whoa whoa whoa was I wrong! Not about the pompous side- there is still obviously some of that. But I was incorrect about the “letting it age” aspect- there are some myths and facts that make it worthwhile. The wine is constantly changing both inside the bottle and out. The different acids (i.e. lactic and malic) are interacting with things like tannins and sulfur dioxide and reactions are occurring that change the balance and taste. The “balance” is the differences in ratios between fruity taste, acidity, alcohol percentage, residual sugar and so on. The evolving interactions will provide an altered taste when opened the vintage year or ten years later and in some cases this may provide a fuller, more mature taste sensation.

Before you start laying down every bottle you purchase, there are some major myths that need to be busted! For instance, a wine that is out of whack from the get go is going to be just as appalling in ten years. Also, not all wine is prepared, or even meant, for aging. Acidity and alcohol percentage play a vital role in the cellar-or-not-cellar decision. Higher end wines are typically made for laying down. On the other hand, cheap wine now may not even be cooking worthy in a couple of years. Palmeri Wine is made with high mountain fruit and therefore contains the ability to produce high quality at a young age- immediate open and instant satisfaction, and even into the tertiary period after it has matured (unlike my college bank account) to greatness.

When storing your increasing collection of only the finest of fine wines, remember to keep the bottles stored on their side or upside down. These two positions keep the cork moist and therefore airtight so their aging process will not get disrupted by an unintended smelly “puberty” of corked wine. The upside-down position may not be the sexiest position to display your awe-inspiring collection, but opening something that was stored upright can only be characterized as horrific.

So remember that your personal stocked cellar should included some serious quality over quantity because that yucky stuff is going to get ghastly (male locker room style) in a couple of months and even those underage drinkers yearning for some alcohol are going to turn it away.

OH! And did I mention that we are having a steal of a deal for our library wines!?! You can’t find a more perfect tall dark glass of yummy-ness for such a price! These wines will be delicious to open now and just as palate pleasing in years from now! Click here for more información.

The next stop on the “boss, sorry we’re not sorry that we are gallivanting on your dime” field trip around Sonoma County was M.A. Silva Cork Processing Company. M.A. Silva is a company that originated in Portugal and deals with creating those cylinder shaped things that are positioned between you and some satiating liquid. I have never really thought much about corks: I saw them as an obstacle (especially when I forgot the corkscrew at home) and would hold a tantrum kindergarten-style when it broke in the bottle or left the wine smelling moldy and inedible. Man oh man has my appreciation grown for those tiny tree bark samples!

The process to get the cork from the trees in Portugal to the bottles in your esteemed wine cellar includes manual labor to cut the bark off (the bark must have grown on that tree for at least nine years to be of optimal thickness), months to allow the bark to “season” outside (AKA summer vacation before going into the factory in the fall), and numerous sessions of steaming and sanitizing and dusting and sensory testing to make sure the cork will not ruin or alter the taste of the wine in any way. Members from the winery (often times the winemaker) will come in and taste test samples of wine that were soaked with different types of corks to see if any adaptation in the wine occurred. The types of corks to choose from include natural cork which is literally just hole-punched out of the bark and conglomerate cork which is the ground up mixture of all the stuff not used to make the natural cork. The “refrigerator clean out compilation” of cork makes the conglomerate cheaper, but equally as well FDA approved. The cork type is then selected by the winery and the “wash” is determined. The wash means different staining colors for the cork: natural brown, white, and in between. Most wineries use white or in between because they cover up the imperfections or “acne” on the cork and obtain optimal aesthetic approval.  Next the winery’s label is inked or fire-burned onto the cork. Finally the cork ends its journey at the bottling site for the winery and is suctioned into its new home.

After that riveting odyssey through the nooks and crannies of the cork making industry, next time I open a bottle of wine with a cork (because I decided to be classy and left the screw top in the cellar), I may pause a moment, in commemoration, for the road/ocean trip that the little naturally produced stopper was on. After that moment of silence, I will surely go back to my utter enjoyment of that fermented grape juice.

Yesterday, the Palmeri team stationed in Sonoma (the owners, Kerry and Daisy Damskey, are still frolicking on the other side of the world), decided to go on a little fieldtrip, wine country style.  First stop on this non-supervised, no-waiver-signed, writing-off-all-expenses tour was TastingRoom.com. TastingRoom.com is a business that sprouted a few years ago from an extraordinary idea developed by the brilliant man, Tim Bucher (and although it is always good to brown nose the big man, in this case it is complete sincerity). There are hundreds of wineries in Sonoma and Napa County that produce delicious wines for quite the pretty penny. TastingRoom.com has taken these wines and in a very intricate procedure decanted wine from their traditional 750mL bottle to small 50 or 100mL bottles that accurately reflect the tastes and properties found in the traditional size. This then allows the consumer to enjoy a little sample of the good stuff before making the intelligent commitment to buy some delightful wine.

These “flights” or samples typically come in packs of six for the 50mL or four for the 100mL. They range from flights of reds or whites to food pairings to varietals to specific areas (Sonoma County, Spain, the world). Honestly I see no downside to this ingenious wine business maneuver- I can buy tastes of wine from wineries local or far away and sit at my house alone (or with friends if I decide not to be an alcoholic) and enjoy the splendors of wine tasting without being hassled to join wine club or sensible because I have to drive after. So next time you plan an expensive trip out to the wine country, go online to TastingRoom.com and order a couple of flights and then just crank up the heat in your house, turn on the dehumidifier, and close your eyes and you’ll be in Sonoma County, kinda.

P.S. Shameless plug: Kerry Damskey (owner and winemaker for Palmeri) is one of the “tasters” and deciders on what wine Tastingroom.com sells!

Many wineries love to boast about their awards and accolades. And I can’t really say that I blame them. If I were to make a huge investment over several years that costs a fortune, I would most certainly put the wine bummer sticker equivalent of “my child is an honor student” everywhere! Most wineries are too classy to slap that accomplishment right there on their label, but you will undoubtedly find them on their website, facebook page, and twitter account. Before getting too awestruck with these fancy recognitions (like three double golds and five golds), it is important to understand what goes into a wine competition.

Most competitions are funded by newspapers and magazines and have different criteria. The preliminary conditions often include wines that are local or smaller than 100,000 cases a year or in a particular price range. They are then separated into their varietal: sauvignon blanc, chardonnay, pinot noir, zinfandel, cabernet sauvignon, and dessert, to name a few. The panel of judges then has blind tastings of all the entered wines. Wines are not just “discovered” for their greatness by chance, but must submit a sample in the call to entry for each competition. The deciders of a wine’s goodness-factor typically come from multiple backgrounds to increase the credibility of the collective decision. These backgrounds include renowned winemakers for wineries not entered, wine writers (to get the competition some publicity, obviously), marketing gurus, and professional wineologists (not really sure who those people are or what they do, but it sounds like the most fabulous profession ever!) The wines, vis-à-vis the blind tasting, are then awarded on the competition’s respective scale. These may be points or metals. Good wine is typically above 80 points, great wine above 90 points and surely only wineries giving kickbacks or sexual favors to the judges receive over 95 points. The metals usually range from bronze to double gold. I would drink bronze, but only after a few glasses of silver. To impress the coworker, definitely serve gold. To repent a wrong-doing or to suck up to the boss/in-laws, double gold is a must.  Therefore, know the situation you are entering when serving or gifting a wine so you can appropriately adhere to the social wine guidelines (or not if you are trying to snub someone).

Since I am shameless in giving a shout out to the delectable wines of Palmeri, here is a plug to our great achievements! As you will see, most are rated in double gold and gold or 87 points and higher, so hopefully you have made some mistakes that need apologizing for or are trying to clime that social ladder:

2012 Orange County Fair Wine Competition:                                                               Gold – 2006 Van Ness Syrah

2012 Dallas Morning News Wine Competition:
Silver – 2006 Stagecoach Cabernet Sauvignon
2012 SF Chronicle Wine Competition:
Double Gold – 2008 Stagecoach Cabernet
Gold – 2006 Stagecoach Cabernet Sauvignon

2011 SF Chronicle Wine Competition:
Gold – 2006 Van Ness Syrah
Gold – 2007 Stagecoach Cabernet Sauvignon
Silver – 2006 Stagecoach Cabernet Sauvignon

2010 Orange County Fair Wine Competition:
Gold – 2006 Stagecoach Cabernet Sauvignon
Silver – 2005 Stagecoach Syrah
Silver – 2004 Stagecoach Cab/Syrah blend

Wine Enthusiast , April 2010
94 pts – 2005 Van Ness Vineyard Syrah
93 pts – 2005 Napa Valley Stagecoach Vineyard Syrah.
93 pts – 2003 Van Ness Stagecoach Vineyard Syrah.
87 pts – 2003 Cab/Syrah
These wines a re delicious and we are glad they agree!

For our 2003 Cab/Syrah:
Double Gold, Riverside Wine Competition
Double Gold, Taster’s Guild