Tolosa Winery

Happy Holidays

From all of us at Tolosa we would like to wish you Happy Holidays. If you are staying or visiting the central coast please stop by the tasting room with friends and family. Here is our Holiday schedule:

December 24th: Open 11-2pm
December 25th: Closed
December 26th: Open all Day 11-5pm
***Plus we will be serving our SaturdayWine and Cheese Menu from 11-4pm**
December 31st: 11-2pm
January 1st, 2010: Open all day 11-5pm

Wishing you and yours a joyful season full of delicious foods and tasty Tolosa Wines!
 

Top 100 Wines of 2009

Recently Wine Enthusiast published their issue of their top 100 picks for 2009 and we are happy to see that our 2006 Chardonnay, Edna Ranch, Edna Valley was featured as #48! At 93 points it is a great wine for the price.

"Each year, the editors of Wine Enthusiast compile the list of their favorite wines of the year. While most featured have received high scores from our critics, many go far beyond the numbers assigned to them, either for their extraordinary quality-to-price value, their immediate drinkability, or their uniqueness. All are diverse and offer a window into the terroir from which they were made. " To read more on how Wine Enthusiast chooses the Top 100 Wines visit their website.

View the complete list of the Top 100 Wines of 2009.

Bonjour Baby!

Miraculously, memories of life in the sixties still remain. One of the more ubiquitous ones involved couples getting together for Fondue(and ice cold cheap Rose') parties and afterward, being treated to a torturous two hours, viewing slides of their most recent trip to France!
So here I go again, not learning a thing apparently and ready to tell you all about my recent trip to France. At least however, I'm sparing you the Fondue and slideshow and keeping it to just wine and cheese!
Wine
Cote d Or(Golden Hillside) covers only 37 miles, north to south and includes Cote de Nuits(mostly Pinot) and Cote de Beaune(mostly Chardonnay). Set in terraces, they run up from the roadside to almost 300 meters or so in altitude. As they rise, usually the value does as well. Draineage is key here, because it can get quite wet during the summer. Down by the road, you might find label indicating region(Bourgogne) which accounts for 50%of Burgundy's production, next up the slope perhaps the village label, (eg. Beaune) about 35%, followed by Premier Cru approximately 10%(usually, but not always, a hyphenated village/vineyard-eg. Gevrey-Chambertin) and finally Grand Cru coming in at about 5%. Grand Cru can be found with the vineyard name only and usually preceded by an article, such as Le Montrachet.
Ownership typically passes from generation to generation with perhaps only 2 acres or so to maintain. Family members can be seen puttering around on their 1.5 acre row/rows like a weekend hobby.
Rows are arranged 1 meter wide, vines 1 meter high and 1 meter between.
Yield, by California standards is surprisingly low. Sixty cases per acre(translated) is about average, with Domaine Romanee Conti Grand Cru, only approximately 9 cases!
On a golden sunny fall afternoon, I picked up my friend "shorty" a 25lb. mut I met the previous evening(while he was eating my leftovers at the corner cafe) and as payment, he enthusiastically led the way on a 3 mile tour the next day from Puligny(poo-lynn-e) Montrachet, where I stayed, to Mersault, the next village a few miles away. This is white wine country (row by row though, you would find red mixed in) and I found the wine in these two areas to be absolutely "haunting" in both nose and mouth. Keep in mind, I went into this absolutely preferring red and left the country with all whites-carefully wrapped in my underwear!

To my amazement, they were pruning already! And pruning in a most unusual manner. "Wheel Barrel"-ever heard of one of those? I immediately understood the origin of the term. A homemade sixty gallon oil barrel, welded between two metal bars-the back being the handgrip and the front anchoring a wheel. This is torched open on the top like a horizontal H and the flaps are pulled up as entry. They move slowly from vine to vine, pruning and depositing cut vines into a fire within the barrel, pausing occasionally to warm themselves over the crackling flame. In between, always time for a sit-down with a baguette and of course the ever present "ciggie"! All through the vineyards these little fires burned bringing the most pleasant aroma wafting in the air on a crisp, clear beautiful fall afternoon. Shorty "peed" on most every row and I never heard a complaint, so the rootstock must be quite hardy.
As the sun set the barrels were left smoldering at rows end. The owners were off in their battered Citroen(or bicycle) with no more than the shears they brought with them.
The next day I was driven to visit producers, usually in the four to six thousand case capacity, where again, I was reminded of the difference between old world and new.
All natural yeast, ML without inoculation (usually occurring naturally in the spring) some fining, but seldom filtering. What does happen here of course, is Chaptalization(addition of sugar to must). We have to remember that in Burgundy, with the same latitude as Boston, if it rains through mid August and must be picked before the BIG rain in late September, sugars can be a bit low. This explains the fields of sugar beets that no one seemed interested in talking to me about.
One winemaker barrel sampled me 08 and remarked that it was JUST going into ML....that would be about 15 months they waited. The next sample occurred in June. A different world indeed.
Tasting rooms as we know them don't exist. One's motivation for a visit to a producer is to purchase wine where the price is ALWAYS lower than retail. The village people come with their own bottles or the producer will have a stash of clean used ones as well. Potential customers visit, taste and buy. Simple as that. I'm glad this doesn't occur in Edna Valley, because I certainly wouldn't have a job.

Cheese
On another day, I left Puligny Montrachet to visit three sacred monuments. The first, the "Holy Grail", was Abbaye de Citeaux, near Nuits St. George. The Abbey was founded in 1098 and today, thirty monks tend their Montbeliard Cattle producing among other things the regions two most popular cheeses: Epoisses(e pway say) a soft bloom washed rind cheese and Brillat Savarin, the triple creme "king of cheeses" in France.
Later, I visited Epoisses itself and the Berthaut factory, followed by Brochon to see the Gaugry plant.
In France, a cheese course is offered AFTER every meal and BEFORE the chocolate, cigarettes and cafe. This is part of the "French Paradox". When they're not kissing, they're either eating, smoking or drinking wine. I never saw a jogger or an overweight person the entire trip.
Well that’s enough for now. If you're ever interested in some Fondue, I'll haul out the slide projector and really torture you!
-John Shakely
 

The time of year for recharging...

There's a period that begins sometime around Thanksgiving and continues till New Years that is a sort of hibernation time both for the wines and the winemaker. It's not as if there's absolutely nothing to do, but in contrast to the harvest period just completed there's not much to do. Checking ML progress and tasting and prepping for the winter bottling of the prior year's Chardonnays just doesn't occupy that many hours. This is the time of year to do the things that recharge your batteries. In my case that involves all my normal hobbies - reading, bicycling, and playing the banjo. Reading always has primacy being the oldest and deepest of my avocations. I have always been a bookworm, and winter's a fine time for curling up with a good read. Bicycling's a bit dodgier as the days are shorter, but a long lunch break allows time for a ride and the weekends are relaxed enough for a couple. Reigniting the cycling's a good way to stave off the holiday weight gain as well. What can I say about the banjo? When I tell people that's my instrument they almost always ask, "why?". But, it gives me lots of pleasure while engaging the brain in a way that only playing music can, and that's explanation enough.
Culinarily winter's one of my favorite times to cook. I tend to favor soups and stews this time of year. Here's a really simple, delicious and luxurious soup that sets off Chardonnay well.
Mushroom & Clam Soup
-sauté 1-2 shallots in butter till translucent on low heat - do not brown
- add 1-2T flour and cook for a few minutes until flour is beginning to color
- add 24 oz. clam juice
- add 12 oz water
- add 1 lb. of sliced fresh mushrooms
- bring to simmer and cook for 20 minutes
- puree with hand mixer or put mushrooms in blender with a little broth and puree and return
- add heavy cream to taste and top with minced chives or parsley 

Cheers,
Larry Brooks

GREAT PUMPKIN COOKIES

These are delicious cookies perfect for the Fall season and they pair great with our oaky 2006 Tolosa Chardonnay or for a little more spice pair them with the 2006 Tolosa Syrah!

GREAT PUMPKIN COOKIES

Pre-heat Oven to 350°

1 ½ cups margarine (3 sticks)
2 cups brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
1 egg
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 15-ounce can pumpkin puree
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
4 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice mix or cinnamon/nutmeg blend
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups quick cook oats

Beat margarine to blend and soften, beat in brown sugar, white sugar, egg, and vanilla.   Blend in pumpkin puree.  Slowly add flour, baking soda, salt and pumpkin pie spice.
 Add quick cook oats until blended – lastly add chocolate chips until incorporated.

Drop by heaping tablespoons onto greased cookie sheets and bake at 350° for approximately 20 minutes.
Recipe by Tami Carija, Director of Sales and Marketing.

Please feel free to share your favorite recipes for the upcoming holiday seasons!
Cheers and Happy Hallooweeeeennnn!

If your looking for events, we've got them!

At one of our events last year we had a film team called "The Wine Crashers," they were set-up to crash wine events! With over 12,000 wine events yearly throughout the state of California there is always something fun going on in this industry!  Here at Tolosa we contribute a decent number of events to that figure and we continue to do so mainly because people are showing up and having a great time! We try to keep the events diversified, so there's really something for everyone. Whether you enjoy cracking your own crab with friends in the barrel room or if you just want to sit down and relax in the Heritage Room with wine and cheese, we hope you find the event that suites you best.

With the upcoming months if your looking to enjoy some fun wine events we've got them!

• Thursday October 29th, 5:30-8pm: CLIQUE Fall Fest featuring the Damon Castillo Band
  This event will be held on the Tolosa Patio with live music by the Damon Castillo Band and an authentic Taco bar with two types of meat, chips, homemade salsa and guacamole!
• Friday October 30th, 6Pm: Dinner at Et Voilà Restaurant with Tolosa
  Enjoy wine tasting and passed appetizers, then sit down for a 3-course meal for only $30! Tolosa wines will be available to purchase by the glass or bottle at a discounted rate!
  Call 544-Food for reservations. Menu on our Calendar of Events.
• Friday November 6th, 6pm: Winemaker Dinner at Tolosa with The Range Restaurant
  To kick off the Harvest Celebration weekend we're hosting a 5-course dinner in our Heritage Room with chef Jeff Jackson of the Range in Santa Margarita. View the menu on our Calendar of Events, but just a warning, once you see it you won't want to miss out!
• Saturday November 7th, 1-5pm: Harvest Celebration Grand Tasting at Avila Beach
  Visit www.slowine.com for tickets to the Grand Tasting with over 50 wineries and restaurants offering delicious local food and wine. For only $80 you get unlimited wine and food for two days, that's cheaper than going out for one night! The tickets give you free entrance to Open House on Sunday at the wineries.
• Sunday November 8th, 11-4pm: Open House with Mee Heng Low Noodle House
• Thursday December 17th, 4-7pm: Holiday Open House at SLO Wineries!

We also offer our weekly events; Tapas at Tolosa every Friday 5:30-7:30pm and Wine and Cheese every Saturday from 11-4pm. Menus for these are posted weekly on Wednesdays.

Okay well that's just a taste of all the upcoming events, so make sure to check out our Calendar of Events regularly for more information and we hope you can "crash" one of our wine events.

Cheers- Katie Noonan

Continuing Education by John...

Shut up and Start Talking!

For any of you who have had to listen to me recently, I’m now in the last step of my remedial education in cheese.  Having completed Cal Poly’s cheese making course, nurturing the left side of my brain, I felt I had to fill the right side with a “three-day intensive” in evaluation, sensory, pairing and presentation of cheese at The San Francisco Cheese School.

The evening prior, while climbing the grade home, I was startled while hearing the Prairie Home Companion’s Garrison Keillor say, “Have you ever noticed that you stop learning whenever you start talking?”  For me and essentially all this country’s politicians, this should give us pause to think about the benefits of sitting on our hands the next time we find ourselves in a meeting or a classroom.
For those that know me, I needed that message.

Wine and Cheese pairings have been the baby I have been nurturing since it was laid on my doorstep in the spring of 2007.  The baby has now grown to adolescence, not only from my formal education, but most especially from listening to my customers and watching their reactions carefully. 

So, off I drove at dawn.  For three days, I listened to three passionate women!

The first, was Sara Vincenzo, Brooklyn born and bred, who after landing in San Francisco with a graduate degree, wound up working behind the counter of a cheese store one day and  teaching customer seminars the next.  Her curiosity and passion led her to open a school in North Beach where she would search for equally passionate people to help educate the curious!

Enter Daphne Zepos who began in San Francisco’s Campton Place where she convinced the owner to buy a European styled cheese trolley.  Once bitten, she eventually wound up with Max McCalman at his Artisanal in New York where they eventually established a Master Class program in cheese.  Max, by the way, authored what I refer to as “The Book of God” - Cheese, A Connoisseur’s Guide to the Worlds Best (available for purchase in our tasting room).  Daphne now owns the Essex Street Cheese (import) Company in New York as well as a retail cheese business in Brooklyn of all places.

Add in Peggy Smith, a legend and one of the founders of Cowgirl Creamery, and the equation is complete.  With all three parts, Sara was able to begin a three day seminar/lecture including:
Cheese History, Classifications of Cheese, Cheese Making, Cheese and Wine Pairing, Affinage Demonstration, Quality Control, Wine Pairing, and of course, Customer Service

All in all, I tasted 69 - ¼ oz. portions of cheese!  Some by traditional category such as “Fresh Bloomy Rind” and others by the source itself - the animal!  That was quite frankly the most interesting, having a tray in front of me with a vertical tasting of:  goat milk, goat yogurt, goat fresh and goat ripened cheese.  Then, on to Cow and finally, sheep!

So, I came back with three things: number one, a 30 point increase in my LDL; secondly, a lot to talk about; and thirdly, an invoice for a Christmas present from Brittney... a brand new “wire cut” cheese board.  She doesn’t know that yet, but in the meantime come and see me any Saturday from 11-4 in the Heritage Room, where I promise not to talk too much!

This time next month, yours truly, Mr. Knowitall, will begin his last learning session for the year when I visit Paris and Beaune in mid November, complete with a cooking course, a few visits to producers, and of course time in the Louvre.  Brittney will be hosting wine and cheese in my absence, and believe it or not, has a lot to say herself!
Yours Truly- Mr. Knowitall, aka John Shakley 

Harvest Update; It's raining

The storm that blew in this morning will drop about an inch of rain on us. It's a bit on the early side for a major winter storm, but after three years of drought rain is welcome. We have all of our Chardonnay and Pinot Noir harvested. These two varietals are the ones that are susceptible to damage from rot caused by wet conditions. Syrah and Grenache are the only two varietals left for us to pick and I'm not very worried about them. They tend to be pretty resistant to rot, especially the Syrah. We'll wait a few days for the ground to dry out and then start sampling again. I expect we'll finish up in another 10 days or so.
Larry Brooks

Fall Soup Recipe

The first chilly nights of fall are a great time to make and enjoy some soup for dinner. Here's a simple and very cheap soup that can be made with little effort and about an hours time before dinner.
2 cups finely sliced yellow onion (you can substitute leeks or large spring onions as well)
1 can beef broth
2 medium potatoes
1/2 cup grated Parmagan cheese
Sauté the onions slowly over low heat in butter until they are translucent - do not brown!
Add the can of broth and 2 cans of water
Add the peeled and sliced potatoes
Bring to a simmer and cook until potatoes are very soft - about 45 minutes.
You can then puree the soup with a hand blender or just smash the potatoes with a large fork.
Serve with the Parmaganno cheese on top - use real Italian Parmigiano - it's worth it!
This soup is the perfect foil for rich barrel fermented Chardonnay such as our Estate or 1772 (the soup costs so little you can splurge on the wine). It is one of the most perfect food and wine matches that I know of.

Harvest Update: Summer to Fall

Mellow weekend here. I was out of the winery by noon both days and had time on Sunday to cook the cellar crew breakfast, chilliquiles with fresh salsa. There is no more appreciative audience for a late breakfast than a crew that has been working since 5:00 am. Sunday, when we typically don't bring any fruit in is the only day when it's practical to cook breakfast as there are only 8-10 folks working including the lab staff. This weekend was for me the break between summer and fall. While the equinox may have been two weeks ago, fall really began this weekend with the first cold nights and cool windy days. The ripening will now slow dramatically as the vines are getting the signal from the cold nights that it's time to pack it in. The only fruit still on the vine are the Syrah and Grenache blocks. I'll probably bring in the fruit for rose a bit earlier than the red wine picks.
All of the Pinot is down to barrel. It looks very nice - a bit like '06 looked at this stage with dark colors and above average tannins. The first barrels of Chardonnay are dry and are being topped up. The later Chardonnay both barrel and tank are still fermenting. It looks good so far. The only wine that is truly done at this point is Pinot Gris. I've racked it off its fermentation lees and added some SO2. It's pale as platinum and very tasty.
The next week or two will be fairly easy, some vineyard sampling and fermentation monitoring and then there'll be another couple weeks of fermenting the Syrah and another vintage will be "in the barn"
-Larry