Two Discoveries
/I spend a lot of time thinking about wine. But sometimes wine appears unexpectedly when I’m doing something else. Here are two delicious recent examples:
Dancing Crow - Lake County
I was minding my own business shopping for produce at the local farmer’s market one Saturday… and there was a table full of wine! Behind that table stood Stefan Cartlidge offering wine from Dancing Crow vineyards in Lake County. Stefan represents the fourth generation of his family to be involved in the California wine industry, and Dancing Crow is the latest venture of his father, Tony Cartlidge. Lake County is north of Calistoga and Napa County and comprises seven AVAs (American Viticultural Areas) surrounding Clear Lake. Using fruit from several sites, Dancing Crow’s range of wines includes a Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel and a red field blend from the Old Stake Vineyard, planted in 1901. But their flagship is their award-winning Sauvignon Blanc. I took a bottle of it home along with that field blend. Both were delicious and all are reasonably priced.
There they are… those dancing crows right on the label! [www.dancingcrow.com]
The story behind the name “Dancing Crow” is that when the vineyards were being planted, the position for each vine was marked with a thread of straw. Upon taking a break, the planters saw that a flock (a “murder”) of crows had discovered the strands of straw and appeared to be dancing among them. The crows stole the straw markers so the vine spacing work had to begin again… but at least they got a name out of it!
Caparone’s “keep it simple” philosophy even extends to their label design.
Caparone - Paso Robles
On a recent pass through Paso Robles, we stayed in a horse ranch barn that had been converted into a comfortable Airbnb. Our host had a bottle of wine awaiting us when we arrived and we soon learned that its source was right next door to the ranch. Caparone Winery began in 1979, making it one of the oldest producers in the area. For many years their wine was sold in Trader Joe’s markets, a relationship that drove considerable growth in their production. After a while, Dave Caparone and his son Marc decided to down-size production. Now they produce Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Merlot, along with three unexpected Italian varieties grown on their estate: Sangiovese, Nebbiolo, and Aglianico. These they offer through a wine club and at the winery building on San Marcos Road. The style is straightforward and restrained with moderate alcohol levels, no filtering or fining, and two years of barrel aging. The motto of the father and son is 'simple winery, complex wines' and that extends to their business model too. Every bottle is $20 and tasting is hosted by Marc in a utilitarian winery building on the property.
