Making Wine

Looking for holiday gift inspiration? These 11 gift ideas — all Bay Area made or inspired — offer all sorts of ways to help your favorite foodie, spirits lover or outdoor enthusiast eat, sip and play. You’ll find chocolate subscriptions, Moscow Mule kits, java inspiration and even board games for hikers and s’mores lovers alike.

(Just remember, shipping delays are the new normal. Get those gifts in the mail quickly!)

EAT: Chocolate deliveries

Treat your chocolate fiend to a world of small-batch producers making dreamy, ethically-sourced dark chocolate. San Francisco-based Cococlectic, which is run by women and minority-diverse owners, is the only bean-to-bar subscription box that features all American chocolate makers, including ChocolateSpiel in Seattle, Black Sheep Chocolate of Bend, Oregon, and Mutari Chocolate in Santa Cruz.

The full-sized bars are vegan, non-GMO and fair trade and made using less than five ingredients, so your giftee can savor every rich bite while feeling good about the world. Did we mention the virtual chocolate tastings?

Details: Subscriptions start at $43 per month. Choose from monthly, quarterly or semi-annual options, as well as one-time gift boxes; https://cococlectic.com.

SIP: A DIY cocktail kit

Hanson of Sonoma, the family-owned distiller of premium organic vodkas, has cornered the local market on cocktail kits. Seriously.

The DIY Old Fashioned Cocktail Kit is one of several offered by Hanson of Sonoma. (Courtesy Hanson of Sonoma) 

They currently offer 10 mouth-watering options, from a DIY Old Fashioned Cocktail Kit featuring Bitter Girl Bitters to an Inked Vodka Tonic Cocktail Kit (the “ink” is trendy dried butterfly pea flower, which will infuse your bottle of Hanson Cucumber Vodka with a hypnotic violet hue).

Wanna go bigger for your cocktail lover? Try a gift set, like the Martini & Caviar ($200), which includes 30 grams of Thomas Keller’s Regiis Ova Caviar, or a tasting kit, like Chocolate, Mules & Vodka ($125). It comes with three Hanson vodkas plus six truffles from award-winning Yountville chocolatier Kollar Chocolates. Plus, all the lime, ginger beer and agave needed to make tasty mules. Did we mention the Boozy Popsicles Cocktail Kit?

Details: Cocktail kits start at $50 and can be shipped anywhere in California. Each kit comes with ingredients, recipe card and the option to add engraved glassware. https://hansonofsonoma.com

PLAY: Campfire story prompts

Mountaineers Books’ “Campfire Stories Deck: Prompts for Igniting Stories by the Fire” is the perfect gift to bust out on winter outdoor getaways. (Max Grudzinski) 

Your first trip to a National Park. The strangest thing you’ve seen on the trail.  A time you were in danger — but didn’t know it.

“Campfire Stories Deck: Prompts for Igniting Stories by the Fire” (Mountaineers Books, $35) is a collection of 50 cards that will inspire meaningful conversations in the outdoors, whether you’re hiking with friends, camping with family or hanging in the backyard with your boo. Many of the deck’s  prompts use nature to instigate conversation — that first encounter with a wild animal, for instance — or simply ask the reader to draw from coveted memories — your favorite beach experience — to foster connection.

All you need to complete the experience is a cup of something warm to sip, a s’more or two and access to the stars.

Details: The deck retails for $35 and is available via Mountaineers Books as well as Parks Project, which benefits the National Parks; www.mountaineers.org; www.parksproject.us

EAT: Alice Waters-approved jams and jellies

Baking mixes, jellies and jams, including this Strawberry Jam, are made with ingredients grown organically by the Homeless Garden Project in Santa Cruz. (Courtesy Homeless Garden Project) 

How’s this for a feel-good/give-back gift? The Homeless Garden Project, a Santa Cruz urban farm and nonprofit that provides transitional employment to the homeless, is selling a selection of its food products, including artisanal jams and jellies, all made using ingredients grown organically.

There are currently three to choose from: Classic Strawberry Jam, Smoky Pumpkin Jelly and Tomato Chipotle Jelly. And if you want to stuff an extra treat in your foodie’s stocking, try the Cheezy Kale Seasoning — organic nutritional yeast, kale powder, sea salt and organic krusted kale from the farm — to elevate salads, pizzas and popcorn. They also make a variety of teas and baking mixes, including a Chocolate Rosemary Brownie we’ve got our eyes on.

Details: Products are $6 to $16 and can be purchased at the Homeless Garden Project store, 1338 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz, or online at https://homelessgardenproject.myshopify.com

SIP: Mr. Espresso’s “La Vacanza”

Mr. Espresso’s “La Vacanza” gift box includes a box of Mr. Espresso’s Steeped coffee, 1 extra-large MiiR camp mug and Detours activity cards from Chronicle Books. (Courtesy Mr. Espresso) 

Coffee bags? Yes. After trying another brand — and tossing out the insipid, tea-like liquid — we gave Oakland-based Mr. Espresso’s “Steeped” bags a dunk and were more than satisfied by the light smokiness and caramel finish of the medium dark roast. Dare we say it had a nice, silky body as well?

Any coffee lover will appreciate La Vacanza, a gift box that includes one box of Steeped coffee bags, an extra-large MiiR camp mug with the Mr. Espresso logo and inspirational “Detours” activity cards from Chronicle Books. Beautifully illustrated, each card offers a mind-frame challenge, like “Photograph the tiled floors you see while wandering” or “Try a mode of transportation you don’t ordinarily use.”

Details: $47 plus shipping; https://mrespresso.com/product/la-vacanza-gift-set-2021

PLAY: Trails, a hiking board game

In Trails, players hike across iconic trails and national parks, spotting birds, taking photos and earning badges along the way. (Jackie Burrell/Bay Area News Group) 

This fun little game was designed by the same people who created the Parks board game. Both offer plenty of outdoor-inspired fun, but this pint-sized version is easier to learn, faster to play and petite enough to toss in your backpack. Players hike across iconic trails and national parks — the Pacific Crest Trail, the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, Joshua Tree National Park and more — gathering resources, spotting birds, taking photos and earning badges along the way.

The trails are represented by 6.5 by 4.5-inch cards illustrated with gorgeous art from the Fifty-Nine Parks project, and the playing pieces include little wooden hikers, resource cubes, badges and a bear.

Details: Trails ($20) is designed for two to four players, ages 10 and up, and takes about 20 minutes to play. A portion of sales benefit the National Park Service. https://keymastergames.com.

EAT: Red Boat Holiday Gift Box

This Red Boat Holiday Gift Box makes a perfect prezzie for fans of Vietnamese cuisine. (Red Boat) 

A bottle of fish sauce might sound like an odd present, but not if you’re a fan of Vietnamese cuisine — and especially not when the sauce in question hails from Hayward’s Red Boat. The sauce is Vietnamese-American, just like its creator, former Apple engineer Cuong Pham, who set out to make his own nuoc mam nhi when he couldn’t find the vividly flavored, first-press fish sauce in the Bay Area. The anchovies are caught and fermented with salt in wooden barrels at his facility on the Vietnamese island of Phu Quoc, then filtered and bottled at Red Boat headquarters in Hayward.

Pham’s fans include everyone from chef David Chang to food writers Ruth Reichl and Andrea Nguyen — and soon, the foodies on your gift list. This fun holiday box includes plenty of culinary inspiration, as well as the famous fish sauce

Details: Order the holiday gift box ($56), which includes fish sauce, nuoc cham dipping sauce, kho sauce, a Red Boat bowl, recipe booklet, notebook and tote, at https://redboatfishsauce.com. Want to add even more oomph? Tell your gift recipient you’ve pre-ordered Pham’s Red Boat cookbook, which comes out Dec. 28.

SIP: Blend your own wine

There are plenty of virtual wine tasting kits out there these days, but Paso Robles’ ONX Wines offers a different take: a blending kit that lets you blend your own signature wine at home. (ONX Wines) 

We’ve all gotten used to virtual wine tastings, but Paso Robles’ ONX Wines has taken the concept one step further. Yes, they do virtual tastings, and they will ship wine gift kits ($30) with five Rhone blend samples to your door, so you can taste along during your Zoom session. Now, they have blending kits, too.

The ONX Blending Experience kit sends you four straight-from-the-barrel samples, two samples with finished wines and the equipment wine lovers need to blend their own — pipettes, a cylinder. And a 90-minute Zoom session with a pro walks neophyte winemakers through the how-tos.

Details: The $48 blending kits are a great idea at any time, but they’re especially popular for virtual holiday parties with friends, family or co-workers. Find the kits at www.onxwines.com.

READ: Culinary curiosities

“Gastro Obscura” hails from the same team that gave us the endlessly diverting Atlas Obscura website and best-selling book. This one’s a food adventurer’s guide to the planet, from the backstory of Pad Thai (invented by a dictator) to the role of iceberg lettuce in “Titanic” (sound effects, who knew?) The book’s 500 entries delve into the strange, the delicious and the distinctly odd corners of the food world, from Spam to Zombie cocktails, San Francisco’s “Brownie Mary” and Victorian mustache cups. (The latter were designed to prevent gentlemen’s whiskers from dipping into their tea, old chap.)

Ever wondered about ice cream beans? Chernobyl’s exclusion zone cafeteria? Beer made from Chilean fog? (You’re wondering now, aren’t you?) This hefty volume will delight foodies, travelers and curious readers alike.

Details: Dylan Thuras and Cecily Wong’s “Gastro Obscura: A Food Adventurer’s Guide” (Workman Publishing, 2021) is $42.50 at https://books.atlasobscura.com or from your favorite indie bookstore.

In his first book, Livermore winemaker Steven Kent Mirassou explores life, love and six generations in California Wine. (Val de Grace Books) 

READ: Steven Mirassou memoir

Oenophiles love dirt. And not just the kind their beloved vines sprout from, but the heart-pounding drama that comes with making wine: rough growing seasons, business mistakes, the loss of cherished vineyards, the death of a partner. In his first book, sixth-generation California winemaker Steven Kent Mirassou spills it all with honest and deft prose.

You won’t find any boring technical wine notes in “Lineage: Life and Love and Six Generations in California Wine” (Val de Grace Books, $35).” Mirassou holds a masters degree in literature from NYU, and in addition to making the highest-rated wines ever to come out of the Livermore Valley — Mirassou’s cabernets and Lineage blends have fetched 100 points — this winemaker who started in sales uses his gift of storytelling to convey the literal blood, sweat and tears that connect him, and all of us, to something bigger.

Details: The hardcover is $35, and you can get a signed copy through Mirassou’s website, https://stevenkentmirassou.com. While there, pick up a special bottle of cabernet for your giftee, like the silky Mia Nipote 2019 Il Rinnovo ($50), a blend of cabernet sauvignon and petit sirah.

Oakland author Diana Helmuth’s new book is perfect for newbies or experienced backpackers alike. (Mountaineers Books) 

PLAY: A funny intro to hiking

Know an outdoor hopeful or urban adventurer? They’ll find priceless tips and belly laughs in the pages of Diana Helmuth’s new book, “How to Suffer Outside: A Beginner’s Guide to Hiking and Backpacking” (Mountaineers Books, $19). Helmuth, an Oakland resident and expert backpacker, writes with honesty and humor about modern hiking culture while offering a guide to all the basics, from gear and food to hygiene and clothing.

The book, filled with checklists, resources and vivid illustrations by Latasha Dunston, is funny, relatable and great for any outdoors person on your list, from the casual walker to the experienced backpacker who can relate to both the struggles and magic of hitting a trail.

Details: The book retails for $19 and is available through Mountaineers Books as well as Amazon.

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Champagne is a strange anomaly in the wine world. On one hand it’s thought of as a luxury product, something we’re willing to pay a little more for to punctuate a special moment. On the other hand, we very rarely put it under the scrutiny we would another wine of half the price.

Most often it seems that we don’t really think of Champagne as wine, but as a celebratory beverage valued for its association with prestige. With most of the well known “luxury brand” champers, we are actually paying boutique prices for a quasi-industrial product.

From a wine lover’s perspective, Champagne has for a long time been poor value for money. The growth in popularity of what is called “grower Champagne” in the past couple of decades, mind the pun, has flipped the script on that. If you know where to look, there are some exceptionally good bottles to be had at relatively affordable prices.

Champagne will never be cheap, but if you’re keen on really good wine, in terms of bang for your buck, or pop for your pennies, grower Champagne makes this region worth another look.

READ MORE:
* Christmas taste test: Top 10 Champagnes
* The best Champagnes for under $100
* International Champagne judge Dr Tony Jordan says even good sparkling doesn’t compete

As a region, Champagne is dominated by what is called négociant wine production, in which the people who make the wine do not grow the grapes. Instead, one party owns the land and grows the grapes, and another, the winery or Champagne “house” buys those grapes from them, and does the job of making the wine. Grower Champagne, or as it is called in French law Récoltant-Manipulant (R-M) Champagne, designates that the people making the wine also grow the grapes.

Champagne as a beverage is a triumph of ingenuity against adverse conditions. Take a look at a map of grape growing regions and the thing that will strike you about Champagne is how far north it is relative to most places where wine is made. It’s cold. For a region where it’s pretty difficult to grow and ripen grapes, Champagne is able to produce fairly big volumes of highly marketable wine, year upon year.

The Champanois achieved this feat by developing a method of making wine that allows for the blending of wines from different vineyards and different years to balance the nearly impossible growing seasons with the manageable and great growing years. The addition of sugar to the finished product (the amount of which determines if your Champagne is designated extra-brut, brut, extra-sec, sec, or demi-sec, in order from least sugar added to most), and of course a remarkably reliable technique of making a stable highly carbonated drink, are all careful manipulations which offset the complications that arise from making wine in a place where ripening grapes can prove difficult.

The bubbly wine we know and love is an ingenious response to the region’s climate and geography.

Great innovations are of course not always used for good, and as the method of Champagne production became more advanced, the less the base product – the grapes and the still wine made from it – seemed to matter. For growers, high yields mean more income, and, especially for big houses, the quality of that fruit isn’t drastically important, as they have a recipe for a reliably pleasant product and increasingly large marketing budgets to make it appealing to consumers. Acidity, sugar, and bubbles of course make for a delicious drink, it’s why Coke is so appealing. But at Champagne prices, we should expect a lot more from our wine.

Fortunately, that’s what grower Champagne offers. These maverick Champagne producers value high-quality, carefully farmed fruit over volume. They have a common desire to make the best possible wine, usually at considerable economic cost to them in terms of labour-intensive farming and yield, while operating in the most marginal of climates. These wines are not only great to celebrate with, they’re world class. And the good news is that the prices are little, if any, more than the famous labels, which in terms of quality are fizzers by comparison.

Forget the big labels and put luxury where it matters, in your glass.

Here are eight greats to try…

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Roses de Jeanne, Vincent Couche, Lamandier-Bernier and Egly-Ouriet Grand Cru bottles.

Roses de Jeanne, ranges from $100 to $200 (from Truffle Food & Wine)

Cedric Bouchard, also based in the Aube, makes champagnes that defy conventions. His wines each come from single sites, from a single varietal, a single vintage, without added sugar, and his yields are incredibly low, especially for champagne where legal yield maximums are criminally high. First fermentation and ageing takes place in stainless steel tanks rather than wood. The idea is that there is a direct line between the place and time the grapes were grown and what’s in your glass. I sometimes think of them as the anti-champagne champagne, but they’re not only novel or unique, they’re extraordinarily good wines. They’re not always available, but contact John at Truffle Imports to find out how to get your hands on any and all bottles you can.

Vincent Couche, Chardonnay de Montgueux, Brut NV, $97 (Truffle)

One impact of the wine world falling for grower champagne has been the emergence of great wines from previously disregarded parts of the region, such as this one from the southern Aube subregion. Geographically closer to Chablis in Burgundy than to the famous grand cru vineyards of the north of Champagne, this stunner drinks like it – precise, detailed and delicious.

Lamandier-Bernier, Latitude, NV $98 (Dhall and Nash)

From the prestigious premier and grand cru area of the Cote de Blanc, the recent history of the estate reads like that of the top flight producers everywhere. A conversion to biodynamic farming, more time spent in the vineyards, and natural fermentations. It’s a formula that lets the stellar terroir shine through in mineral, bright and uplifting wines. These guys have a reputation that just gets greater and greater.

Egly-Ouriet Grand Cru, Brut Tradition NV $150 (Dhall and Nash)

Great winemaking takes focus and determination. Great winemakers can sometimes be pretty particular people. Francis Egly gives the impression that he is convinced that he makes some of the best champagnes out there. That could be annoying if he wasn’t entirely correct. It doesn’t get much better.

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The Vouette et Sorbée Chartogne-Taillet, J. Lassalle and Agrapart bottles.

Vouette et Sorbée, Fidele, NV brut nature, $142 (Salinity)

It says NV or non-vintage on the label, which normally means that like most champagnes it’s made of a blend of multiple vintages. In reality this comes from a single vintage. The new breed of grower champagnes have done away with many of the practices of conventional champagne making, and it’s a brave move to reject conventions that might protect your family business from the risks of a bad, or non-existent growing season. When visiting Bertrand Gautherot he told me that losing a year’s harvest was a price you had to be willing to pay if you wanted to do things right. That dedication shows in these exceptional and unique wines from another superstar of the Aube subregion.

Chartogne-Taillet, Cuvee St Anne, Extra Brut NV, $86 (Village Winery)

The Cuvee St Anne is the ‘entry level’ wine of this estate, which meticulously farms by hand and horse-driven plough. Unbelievable purity from a famed historical terroir where grapes have been grown since the seventh century.

J. Lassalle, Preference 1er cru, Brut NV, $75 (Glengarry)

Three generations of women from the Lassalle family embrace traditional winemaking techniques, their wooden press is the same as when the family started making wine in 1942 in order to challenge convention and make bold, full styles of champagne which echo the great whites of Burgundy.

Agrapart, 7 crus, NV $98 (Truffle)

For more than a decade now I’ve been recommending this to drinkers who look for the yeasty, toasted brioche aromas they enjoy in big brand champagnes. This has all of that, plus rich flavours of white peach and a salinity that make you want to drink more.

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Australia’s best known wine regions are set to be connected via a new flight route, giving wine fans a new tour map.

The Adelaide to Newcastle Qantas route, which will begin from March 2022, will connect those outside Adelaide – including the Adelaide Hills, the Barossa Valley, McLaren Vale and the Clare Valley – with the Hunter Valley near Newcastle, Australia.

The new flight path will be the only direct connection between the two destinations and will reportedly save more than two hours travel time compared with connecting through Sydney will mean that wine fans can travel from vineyard to vineyard with ease, making wine tours of Australia’s different regions much easier.

QantasLink CEO John Gissing told Micenet: “Adelaide and Newcastle are both gateways to some of Australia’s best wine regions and we think there’ll be strong demand on the route.”

Newcastle Airport CEO Dr Peter Cock added: “The Newcastle-Adelaide route is one of the most in-demand and searched for by our customers. We’re incredibly excited that we’re able to deliver another popular service for the region – our sixth new route in 2021.”

The Adelaide to Newcastle route, which opens up new options for groups looking to complete a multi-region wine tour, will offer 10 business and 84 economy seats on an Embraer E190 regional jet aircraft and is already in high demand among oenphiles.

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In the rear garage of Luzo’s Auto Body Shop, shelves are lined with squeegees, power washers and bottles of polish. But today, nobody’s buffing scratches off a Honda Civic. Today, half a dozen men are making wine.

In Fall River and New Bedford, more than one-third of residents claim Portuguese ancestry. Multiple waves of immigrants arrived here, dating back to the late 1700s when mariners came from Portugal’s Azorean islands to staff the booming whaling industry. To this day, many of these residents connect with their histories and homeland through the centuries-old Portuguese tradition of winemaking. And at Luzo’s, it is an annual custom.

Two men take turns pouring buckets of crushed grapes — a 50-50 mix of zinfandel and Alicante varieties — into the waist-high wooden barrel of a grape press.

Just before the barrel overflows, one man places a wooden disk atop the crushed grapes. He turns a metal crank. With each spin, the disk descends into the barrel, compressing the must. Within seconds, a spout at the bottom of the grape press starts to run.

As the first drops of grape juice splatter into a pail, cheers erupt throughout the garage. It’s like prospectors striking gold.

A man holds open his hands, covered in juice from pressed grapes.

Daniel Ackerman / WCAI

John Pinheiro owns Luzo’s Auto Body. He grew up on Faial Island in the Azores. Pinheiro’s father was the harpooner on a whaling ship in the 1930s and ’40s, but he’d return home to the family farm each fall when the grapes ripened.

Pinheiro recalls friends and family gathering at their adega — a small, countryside cabin — to crush the grapes and ferment wine. The ritual was accompanied by food and song.

But in the late 1950s when Pinheiro was 17, his childhood home was destroyed, buried in ash from a nearby volcanic eruption, along with his family’s farm and adega. They evacuated across the Atlantic to New Bedford. The transition was hard.

“When I left the island, I cried,” says Pinheiro. “If I could swim back when I first came here, I would have.”

New Bedford bore little resemblance to Faial. But Pinheiro’s father kept the winemaking tradition alive.

In 1967, Pinheiro’s father opened Luzo’s Auto Body. Ever since, the shop’s rear garage transforms into an adega for one day each fall.

‘A means to get us all together’

Today, Pinheiro and his collaborators press more than 1,000 pounds of grapes. As the afternoon wears on, more friends and family arrive bearing platters of Portuguese delicacies to share.

Andrew Medeiros, who runs Marvin Grain & Pet Supply, usually sells food for animals. But each October he stocks grapes to supply Pinheiro and other New Bedford wine makers.

Daniel Ackerman / WCAI

“Faial ribs! The famous beans and ribs — delicious!” exclaims Pinheiro as he examines the table of offerings.

Portuguese chatter mixes with the dribbling of grape juice, which the group will soon barrel for fermentation. More than once, they break into song.

The day will yield hundreds of bottles of wine, but the beverage is far from the main attraction.

“This is about friendship, tradition,” says Pinheiro’s longtime friend, Joe Cordeiro. “The wine is just a means to get us all together.”

Throughout the year, Pinheiro distributes bottles of his wine as gifts. The beverage is always a hit. “Sometimes,” says Pinheiro, “people try it and they say, ‘Where can I buy this’?” Pinheiro chuckles. At Luzo’s Auto Shop, the wine is not for sale.

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Event Co-chairs Adam Kaminer and Kelly Gottlieb (left and second from left), were joined by Marcelo Rouco from Ecosave (second from right), the event’s naming sponsor, and Federation’s Senior Development Officer Leah Wolf during the distribution of attendee baskets—complete with wine from Tulip Winery, a cheese plate, and sponsor giveaways.

The Jewish Federation thanked its largest donors and kicked off its 2022 JFund Campaign with a glimpse into the world of Israeli wine at its Oct. 19 Chai Society Donor Event. Not only was there a wine tasting led by Josh Greenstein, a New York-based representative for many Israeli wineries, but there was a special look at Tulip Winery. Located in Israel’s Kfar Tikva, Tulip employs dozens of people with special needs.

“Tonight is about showing appreciation,” said Amanda Kaminer, one of the evening’s co-chairs, along with Adam Kaminer and Kelly and Larry Gottlieb.

Adam Kaminer spoke about the importance of supporting Federation’s unrestricted fund. He said that the unrestricted dollars coming to Federation were like the trunk of the philanthropic tree that supports the branches and leaves of community giving.

The program also featured Jewish Federation President Harry Platt doing the Kiddish over wine and presenting a video on the Federation and its Areas of Impact and Federation CEO Jennifer Dubrow Weiss speaking about the 100th year of the Jewish Federation of Southern New Jersey. She noted that thousands of people from throughout the area count on Federation’s programs. She then introduced a video on Tulip Winery narrated by Amar’e Stoudemire, former NBA player, Israeli citizen, and winemaker.

Joshua Greenstein (bottom left), representing Tulip Winery, and event chairs Amanda Kaminer (center) and Kelly Gottlieb enjoyed a virtual wine tasting during this year’s Jewish Federation Chai Society donor event.

Josh Greenstein, the featured speaker for the evening, invited those tuning into the virtual program to open the bottles of Tulip wine they had received. The fifth-generation of his family in the wine business, Greenstein spoke about the wine scene in Israel. “There are about 350 wineries in Israel, and growing,” he said.

Talking about the history of Israeli wine, Greenstein spoke about winemaking 2,000 years ago, the modern period beginning with the Rothschild family in 1882, and up to today. “The joke I make is that Israel has been making wine for 5,000 years, and they just starting to get good at it,” said Greenstein. He mentioned that he would be showing three Israeli wines at an upcoming show. He added that Wine Enthusiast magazine published an article on Israeli wines. Wine from Israel, noted Greenstein, is not only for Jewish holidays.

Greenstein also offered wine tips and answered questions from people on the 85 cameras tuned into the event. He spoke about extending the life of wine once the bottles are opened, giving gifts of Israeli wine, and supporting the Israeli wine industry as a whole, including asking for Israeli wines in restaurants.

Israeli wineries, like many of the wineries in the world, have done well during the Covid pandemic, according to Greenstein. They are considered essential businesses.

Greenstein closed his talk by speaking about Tulip Winery, which employs 30-50 individuals with special needs on an ongoing basis. That number doubles around harvest time and the Jewish holidays. He lauded Tulip’s tag line, “We only put labels on wine, not on people.” He noted that Tulip wines are available at ShopRite and make great gifts.

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On Oct. 30, 2021, Jerry Matzdorf passed away at the age of 46 while holding the hand of his loving wife.

Jerry was born on July 15, 1975 to Arthur and Wanda Matzdorf. He graduated from Plymouth High School, class of 1993, and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee with his Bachelor’s Degree in Management Information Systems, class of 1999. He enjoyed his current employment with CertaPro Painters as a commercial sales associate, where he could utilize his favorite skill—making connections with people. He most recently represented the city he loved by serving as an elected city alderman. Jerry also served on the Board of Directors for the Plymouth Mill Pond Lake Association, was proud to be a Plymouth Chamber of Commerce Ambassador and would always be one of the first to volunteer for many special events throughout Plymouth.

He married his best friend, Angie, in 2019 and never stopped going on adventures including their most recent hiking trip to the Dakotas to celebrate their second wedding anniversary. Although they did not have enough time together, they filled their eight years together with a lifetime of memories.

There were few things Jerry enjoyed more than a good stogie and two fingers of whiskey, but if they needed to be named they would include riding his Harley all the way to Sturgis for the 75th Rally, extensive travel including a two-week honeymoon throughout Italy, a good game of sheepshead, visiting and renovating their new cabin “Up North” with his self-taught handy man skills, participating in the high school Junge Kameraden German Band where he grew his pride for his German heritage and a love for lederhosen, homebrewing and making wine while anticipating the end result, and being a huge history buff with a special interest in World War II and was looking forward to a future trip to Normandy with Sawyer.

He will be lovingly remembered by his wife Angie; children Sawyer Paape and Alison Matzdorf; parents Arthur and Wanda Matzdorf; brother Kevin (Sara) Matzdorf; nephews Beau, Reid and Jack Dalton; maternal grandparents Merlin and Doris Mae Ninmer; uncle Randy (Carol) Ninmer; cousins Adam and Lauren Ninmer; aunt Paula (John) Mahloch; aunt Gail Matzdorf; aunt Carol Flanigan; in-laws Charlie and Jeanne Paape; and brother-in-law Joey Paape (Sara). Jerry will be greatly missed by his many friends, extended family and his three spoiled dogs Lennon, Molly and Katie.

Jerry was predeceased by his paternal grandparents Willard and Lucille Matzdorff.

A visitation to celebrate Jerry will be held on Saturday, Nov. 6 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Suchon Funeral Home of Plymouth. Masks will be required. Though there are many opinions on masks and COVID, ours is that everyone will be safest if our family requires you to wear one during the visitation.

In lieu of flowers, a memorial fund has been established in Jerry’s name.

The Suchon Funeral Home is assisting the family. For online condolences, please visit www.suchonfh.com.

The family would like to extend their sincerest thank you to the paramedics with Orange Cross Ambulance, the doctors and staff (especially the ICU nursing staff) at both Aurora Memorial Hospital and St. Luke’s Medical Hospital for their exceptional care and compassion during this difficult time.

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Pick a bottle of wine and read the label at the back. It will have information about the grape, flavour notes and ageing process, but in most cases there are no clear details on whether it’s vegan or vegan-friendly. One would assume that ‘no animals were harmed’ in making wine, but that’s not the whole truth. “In the process of filtration, just before the wine is bottled, animal proteins are added to clarify it,” explains Rohan Nihalani, founder of the Mumbai-based Morgan Beverages that retails premium wines. Animal proteins include egg whites, casein extracted from milk or isinglass which is boiled fish bladders. They quicken the filtration process especially in commercial wine-making, adds Nihalani.

Let’s take a step back. Traditionally, wine was made in small batches and it was a slow process. The liquid was allowed to rest for months so that the sediments could settle at the bottom and the tannins could mellow. But, commercial bulk production meant time-saving solutions and animal proteins meet this purpose. 

Vegan-friendly wines, says Nihalani, use a chemical named bentonite instead of animal-derived products. It doesn’t affect the look, aroma and taste of the wine in any way. The other non-animal-derived products include silica gel, limestone and plant casein.

To know if a wine is vegan, as per PETA, look for the stamp of approval from BevVeg! which is a certification company specialising in beverages. The certified vegan logo from vegan.org is recognised widely too. A wine which is considered vegan-friendly implies it will not be certified, but the manufacturer has specified that is vegan.  

Also read | Diwali gifting guide: For those who want more than mithai

Here is a list of vegan and vegan-friendly wines available in India:

1.Pinot Grigio Rosé, Paladin
The salmon-hued dry Italian rosé is perfect for the festive season. It has fruity and floral notes of violet and forest berries. 
Available on MorganBeverages.com

2. Reveilo Wines
A year ago, the Nashik-based Reveilo wines introduced a collection of vegan wines with a variety of red and white options. The intense ruby-coloured Sangiovese pairs well with Indian dishes. 
Available in wine shops and thewinepark.com

3. Yalumba, The Y Series
This luscious wine from South Australia is not only vegan, but also follows sustainable production practices. The Shiraz with spicy notes and ripe tannins will make for a perfect festive gift. 

Available on thewinepark.com

4. The Daily Dose, Cabernet Sauvignon, 2016
The single-vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon is a fruit-forward wine from Maharashtra. They label has a quirky illustration of the wine-making process which has proven to be a crowd pleaser.
Available on thewinepark.com

5. Boekenhoutskloof, The Wolftrap White 2019
The white wine from South Africa has a complex flavour profile with hints of pineapple, peach melba and stone fruit. A touch of oak gives it a well rounded finish.
Available on thewinepark.com

Also read | Why wine maestro Rajat Parr has become a farmer

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Colorado Mountain Winefest returned to Riverbend Park in Palisade over the weekend.

Winefest, voted the best wine festival in the U.S. by USA Today in 2017, stretched across Saturday and Sunday. The event was organized by the Colorado Association of Viticulture and Enology (CAVE) and featured 35 wineries and vineyards, 24 vendors and live music. Capacity was capped at about 2,500 guests, and both days sold out by August.

The new format, which was announced last year, was meant to accommodate social distancing and limit potential spread of COVID-19.

Previously, the event was only on Saturdays.

“We don’t know if this format is going to stay or not,” said Cassidee Shull, executive director of CAVE. “Once we’re done, we’re going to survey guests and winemakers to see what worked and what didn’t.”

Last year’s Winefest was canceled because of COVID-19, which dealt another blow to wineries desperate for revenue. CAVE substituted the celebration of wine with a scaled-back week of events and specials, but it couldn’t fill the hole.

Though the format changed, Winefest was much the same.

Friends clinked glasses of wine together for Instagram-worthy photos and walked through the crowd to try wines from across the country.

John Cowperthwaite has been to seven Winefests. The owner and winemaker of Black Arts Cellars in the Ken Caryl neighborhood of Littleton said the event is part of a festival circuit that gets his brand out there and his bottles in new customers’ hands.

He began making wine for fun in 2004, and the hobby evolved into a calling. He’s a wine devotee and falls for just about every blend he makes. His latest favorite was a syrah that just about sold out by 1:30 p.m. Saturday.

While any business is good business, the new format was a mixed bag.

Because there were fewer guests and wineries stretched over a two-day period, Cow- perthwaite said they were still seeing about the same number of guests as they normally would. The new format also gave them more space and shorter lines.

On the other hand, it brought uncertainty.

“It’s hard to gauge how much product we need to bring from the Front Range. This weekend is hit or miss for weather. It could be a 74-degree day or a 95-degree day. If it gets too hot, then we have to be careful about how we’re storing the wine,” he said. “If it gets too hot, then the wine’s taste isn’t nearly as good. And this is all we have. If the wine goes bad, then we’re done for the weekend — that’s it.”

Some guests, however, were digging the format.

Isabelle Liuzza won Saturday tickets through work and had her mom fly out from St. Louis for the weekend.

Liuzza had heard of Winefest before, but this was her first experience. She thought there was ample space and plenty of options.

“I think it’s a great idea because it isn’t as crowded. People can decide which day they want to go on and can have flexible travel plans,” Liuzza said. “Not to mention, it also gives you an extra day of recovery after drinking lots of wine.”

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September 1, 2021

Deep dive into the vineyard’s winged worker

By Sophia McDonald

The falcon above Blakeslee Vineyard in Sherwood circles intently, riding an air current and occasionally flapping her long wings before diving toward earth. She plummets not toward an unsuspecting songbird or rodent but to the leather-clad arm of Alina Blankenship, a master falconer and owner of Sky Guardian Falconry. Blankenship has called the falcon back for a reward during its long day doing its job: flying over vineyards and other agricultural sites to provide a natural, humane form of pest control.

There are certainly organisms that are helpful in the process of making wine — the yeasts that cause fermentation being the most obvious example. But there are plenty of critters that are not so helpful. Throughout the year, voles, gophers and other rodents may disturb soil and make it harder to grow commercial crops; while starlings, robins and other birds love to munch on juicy, ripe grapes.

To help keep these nuisance birds under control, some vineyard owners have either brought birds of prey to their sites during harvest or encouraged birds to live on the property year-round. An additional benefit to having these winged beauties on site is their ability to delight wine club members and provide educational opportunities for community members.

Blankenship has been using her falcons professionally for five years now; her business partner, Justin Robertson, has engaged in this practice since 2010 through a company called Max Yield. A person who aspires to a career in falconry-based avian abatement can’t just go out and buy a bird of prey. They have to complete a two-year apprenticeship with another master falconer, carrying on a tradition that began in the Middle East. Once a person has completed their apprenticeship, they can apply for a license — in Blankenship and Robertson’s case, from the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife — to own a raptor.

Lila, a gyrfalcon waits for a signal from Justin Robertson of Sky Guardian Falconry. ##Photo by Kathryn Elsesser

“Falconry was known as the sport of kings and dates back almost 4,000 years and is the oldest field sport known to mankind,” says Blankenship. But in addition to hunting and recreation, the birds can be used to scare other winged creatures out of places they aren’t wanted: warehouses, shopping malls, downtown areas and places where people grow food.

Because the threat of being eaten by a bird of prey is very real to smaller birds, they scatter quickly as soon as one of Blankenship or Robertson’s falcons enter the sky. The challenge? The smaller birds aren’t scared off for long.

“The birds are smart enough to figure out that when my falcon is sitting on a pole, he’s less of a threat than when he’s flying, and he’s less of a threat than when he’s hunting,” Blankenship explains. She likens it to a robber thinking about holding up a store at the mall. If that person sees a security guard one time, they know they’ve found a good target. If they see the guard sitting by the same door all the time, they’ll find another door.

“If you see that security guard chase down a robber and shoot him, they’re going to find another mall,” she says. That’s the threat her birds pose when sailing through bright blue skies.

To keep birds from eating vineyard crops, Blankenship has to spend an entire harvest season — which can be four to six weeks when she’s working with grapes — flying the birds to give the appearance that they’re looking for food. She works dawn to dusk, seven days a week to make sure predators don’t settle in. “It’s a pretty arduous job for a falconer to maintain those hours,” she says. “But it is what it is. You cannot protect a jewelry store on Monday, but not on Tuesday and expect to have anything on Wednesday.”

Susan Crum, owner of Tanager Vineyard and a master falconer since 2019, is able to keep falcons on the property year-round. She learned about the tradition through spending time in the Middle East during her career in the U.S. Air Force. The hunting part of falconry didn’t appeal to her, she says, but the birds did.

In 2011, Crum worked her first harvest at Tanager, located in the Yamhill-Carlton AVA and under a long-term vineyard lease with Ken Wright Cellars. It was a late year, and birds ravaged the crop. “My career was in the Air Force and the security forces, and it bothered me that something was stealing from right underneath my nose,” she says. “I was talking to Ken, and he mentioned they were using bird of prey in California over vineyards.” She completed a two-year apprenticeship with Kort Clayton of Portland’s Integrated Avian Solutions in 2014, after which she was able to get a license to own falcons.

“We’ve been protecting the crop that way ever since,” Crum says, who now has four birds. “It’s been very successful.” When starlings or other pests see the shadow of a falcon overhead, “it’s easier for them to leave and dine somewhere else. It’s like seeing a flying scarecrow that can actually kill you.”

Falconers use different birds with different personalities and abilities depending on what needs to be done. “Robins cause the most problems,” Crum says. Her Peruvian aplomado falcons are great at flying through the vineyard rows to chase them away. 

At Sky Guardian, Blankenship and Robertson own 30 raptors because “we need the right golf club for the swing,” she says. “Each species and each individual has its own specialties and capabilities. A different bird is employed when there is a flock of 30,000 starlings than when there are a handful of robins hiding in the rows.”

Besides her falcons, Blankenship enjoys taking her Harris’s Hawk into the field. “It doesn’t behave like a hawk should, according to the local birds. He’s nimbler and he has the ability to scare and confuse them. The surprise element is why I use the Harris’s Hawk.” Blankenship has also taught some of the birds to fly with drones so they can work together to defend crops.

Agave, an aplomado falcon, at Sky Guardian Falconry. ##Photo by Kathryn Elsesser

From vineyards and other agricultural companies that can’t or don’t want to hire an avian abatement company, Blankenship consults with them on ways to attract raptors to the site permanently. Outside Eugene, King Estate has done just that. Managers have put out nesting boxes to provide areas where owls and other birds feel welcome. The winery has also partnered with the Cascades Raptor Center, a local wildlife rehabilitation center, to release raptors on the property.

Ray Nuclo, director of viticulture for King Estate, appreciates raptors’ help in deterring birds for the three or four weeks around harvest. “We also want to utilize their predation of various moles and gophers and voles,” he adds. “Voles have been a really big problem throughout the Willamette Valley the last three or four years in a number of crops, including grapes. That’s more of a year-round battle.” 

As a scientist, Nuclo is remiss to say for certain that having resident raptors helps with pest control. However, “it certainly can’t hurt, and they need a place to be released and the idea is it must be helping,” he says. As a Biodynamic farm, King Estate is not supposed to bring outside inputs onto the farm, so any help with pest control is much appreciated.

Owners Scott and Annie Shull at Raptor Ridge Winery also work to support birds of prey on their Chehalem Mountains estate. “(We are) a sustainably-focused winery, and as such, we encourage our birds-of-prey neighbors to live here and provide natural balance to the environment,” says Wallace McKeel, national sales manager.

The site is naturally a prime nesting and hunting location for red-tailed hawks, peregrine falcons, ospreys, bald eagles and other raptors. It’s also home to birds such as barn swallows, which eat mosquitos and other bugs. To attract them, the winery has put up nesting boxes around the property, much to the delight of the local birdwatching groups that enjoy spending afternoons on the winery’s appropriately named “Flight Deck.”

The birdwatching at Raptor Ridge occasionally goes beyond natural sightings, too. The winery has partnered with groups such as Wings over Wine and the Portland Audubon Society for special events. “In 2016, we were the site of a red-tailed hawk release, and in 2019, a rehabilitated barn owl was returned to the skies at Raptor Ridge,” said McKeel. In May, the winery held an educational “meet and greet” with several birds. Guests enjoyed a picnic lunch and had a chance to interact with the birds one on one.

This ability to learn more about the world’s natural processes — whether they harm or help create the wine people like to drink — remains an important part of Blankenship’s mission as a falconer. “It’s so impactful for guests at the winery,” she says. “It changes everything with how they think about nature and these birds.”

It can also affect the way they think about wine. “I like people to remember, when they open a bottle of Tanager Pinot Noir, that the Pinot security was done by two falcons,” says Crum. “I consider that to be special.”

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By Kate Frey

At the bright-white, Spanish-style Castillo de Feliciana (Castle of Happiness) Winery tasting room in Milton-Freewater, surrounded by profuse beds of fragrant herbs and brilliantly hued flowers, beer is brewing.

It joins an array of friendly, approachable, Spanish-style wines and a very popular sangria on draft and is the latest creative effort of winemaker/brewer Chris Castillo, who even as a child noticed breweries.

He describes the billowing steam and rich smells emanating from breweries in his homeland Pacific Northwest and seeing the strenuous efforts of the hardworking brewers in an industrial landscape that seemed cool and mysterious.

Growing up, Castillo said, he described himself at heart a naturalist who loved the natural world and biology. As a young adult, not knowing quite what he wanted to do, he took a “safe” route in college and majored in biology.

His father was a dentist, and there was a family expectation that he would become one also. The benefits were many. When it came to applying to dental schools, the realization that being a dentist was not something he wanted to do hit him “like a ton of bricks,” and it was hard to tell his parents.

After graduation, Castillo took some time off to try and discover a path forward, and while in a bookstore, saw a book on home brewing and bought it. After a read through, he was hooked. Here was a way to connect his interest in biology with art and science.

With a newfound interest in beer brewing, he looked for jobs in breweries and got his first start as a temporary worker at Pike Brewing Company in Seattle bottling beer.

Next came a cellar worker position at Maritime Pacific Brewery in a Ballard, Washington, neighborhood. There he lived his early impression of breweries, and in the chilly cellars he washed kegs, moved heavy equipment and scrubbed floors among the wholesome odors of cooking grain.

As there wasn’t the possibility of moving from what Castillo describes as “the theater of going from hand to mind,” he next found an open brewer position at Mac & Jack’s Brewery in Redmond, Washington. There, as they brewed 20 barrel batches (one barrel is equal to two full-size beer kegs), over two years he learned how to make beer on a production level.

Still, he found himself looking for what else was out there that involved fermentation.

At the same time, his parents, Deborah and Sam, both wine enthusiasts and his father a hobby winemaker, started a winery in the Walla Walla Valley. His father had been making wine in the household garage and had progressed to wines that were increasingly good.

Castillo approached his parents about taking a couple years off to participate in the Walla Walla Community College Enology & Viticulture program. After the first harvest in the program, his parents’ winemaker left for another opportunity, and they asked if he would like to become the winemaker for the winery.

Castillo told them, “I’m here to do it, so let’s go for it.” An ensuing stressful few years learning how to make and sell wine commenced. He’s since garnered “double gold” in the Seattle Wine Awards for his 2014 Tempranillo “Reserve” and 2015 Estate Malbec, as well as “platinum” in the Sip Northwest Best of the Northwest publication for his 2016 Graciano.

After his first few years into winemaking, Castillo notes he “missed brewing quite a bit and had to keep the brewer in me hidden,” though he kept brewing for his own use at home. He says, “Many home brewers have thoughts and aspirations to make and sell their beer.” His wife, Emily, suggested he get a tap going at the winery.

Now he is busy with the grape harvest for about three months, and adding beer production in the slower months will allow him to keep his passion for creation flowing. He describes how many brewers and winemakers tend to specialize in one beverage or another, and he feels lucky to be able to engage in both.

Winemaking has influenced his beer brewing and given him a thorough understanding of how important water quality, chemistry and pH are to the brewing process as well as cleanliness of the winery and equipment in making a quality product.

He really likes the balance of art and science involved in winemaking and brewing and that each beer and wine uses basic ingredients, yet each brewery and winery’s products and flavors are so different. He believes there is always room for another because of each business’ differing philosophy, ingredients and product flavors.

Castillo envisions the new beer offerings as something wine tasters will enjoy beginning or finishing tasting with or that will appeal to beer enthusiasts. The first release will include a pale ale brewed with imported European malts and fruity Yakima Valley hops and a refreshing golden ale, brewed with lightly kilned malts and Cascade hops.

In the pipeline is also a beer produced with all local ingredients, using local, organic-certified malt and Walla Walla hops. He plans to have fun with it and see where it goes.

The first brews were launched this summer at the tasting room, at 85728 Telephone Pole Road, Milton-Freewater, where there is comfortable indoor seating and lots of outdoor seating on the patios.

Lawns with a small pond cool the air against a background of the grand Blue Mountains standing poised in the distance.

The castle of happiness beckons visitors.

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