D.O.C. WINE BAR LOMBARD

“There is truth in wine, but you never see it listed in the ingredients on the label.” …. ― Josh Stern

I learned years ago that preparing a complicated dish so as to impress a diner is easy. You need training or practice, preparation time, the best ingredients, money and the right tools.  But to prepare a simple course, so as to elevate it to impressive levels is the mark of a talented chef.  Few people care enough to do it, or know how.  Chef Paul at D.O.C. wine bar in Lombard does both.

We began our afternoon with a charcuterie (D.O.C. calls it “The Butchers Plate) of

Brie & Apple Bruschetta

Roasted Pepper and Goat Cheese Bruschetta   

Asparagus, Prosciutto & Reggiano Bruschetta

Strawberry, Mindoro Blue, Balsamic Bruschetta

Cowda Gouda Cheese

Comte Gruyere Cheese

Pate Forestier

Smoked Duck Breast

Everything on the “Butchers Plate” was skillfully prepared and arranged.  If you’re not overly hungry, this 8 item plate is enough to share and satisfy.  At $26, it earns the “Mizer” award for being wallet friendly. And you’re guaranteed to like your selection because you choose it from a list of 9 bruschettas, 14 cheeses and 10 cured meats.  The cheese selection, by the way, is excellent.  It is all too common to be offered a cheese plate with offerings no more exciting than common supermarket cheese.  Not so at D.O.C.

From my table toward the bar area

On Sunday, the wine flights are half price (a “Mizerly” recommendation). But a look-see on their web page shows there seems to be something special every day. The flights are grouped by taste descriptor, particularly helpful for novices. We began with “Apples & Peaches” and “Apricots & Oranges.” Actually, we began this flight before the charcuterie.  Apples & Peaches was a sampling of a “Blanc De Pacs” from Spain, a Gruner Veltliner from Austria and a California Chardonnay. The “Apricots and Oranges” was a sampling of a Piedmont Moscato D’Asti, an Australian Dry Riesling and an Oregon White Blend. I enjoyed the variety of offerings. If you’re new to wine, these flights are a great learning opportunity. If you’re a seasoned oenophile, you’ll enjoy - if not new varietals – new labels.

 

 We moved on to “Pears & Melon” for her (a Vouvray from Ch. Moncontour), an Italian Pinot Grigio and a New Zealand Pinot Gris.  The Pinot Gris was so similar in its profile to that grown in Oregon (yes I sipped hers) that I knew this was going to be fun.  For myself, I chose “Red & Black Cherries” which was a Willamette Valley Pinot Noir, a Spanish Grenache and a California Merlot.

D.O.C. is a wine bar after all and one that lives up to its self description. I’ve visited more than one wine bar and left disappointed. How long are bottles kept before being discarded?  What about selection? Can we explore more than the Chardonnay-Chardonnay-Chardonnay-Pinot Noir-Chardonnay offerings?

D.O.C.  offers 8 wine flights, each containing 3 different wines. Malbec and Carmenere and Zinfandel, oh my! Blends & Blancs , and Chablis to please!

O.K. enough silly attempts at poetry.  D.O.C. has an excellent wine list that any experienced wine lover will enjoy. We were done with the flights. My companion chose a glass of Chardonnay. I was enjoying the quiet expertise of our server Paul, and decided to test him. I asked him to bring me a glass of wine that he thought I would enjoy (based on my red wine flight).  He returned with a 2009 Alexander Valley Meritage (Farrier Wine Co. California), a blend of 51% Cab Sauvignon, 40% Cab Franc, 8.1% Merlot & .9% Carmenere. Paul’s instinct was spot on!  The modest but enjoyable red blend offered black currants, blueberry and violet with soft tannins and a lingering finish. 

Private room for parties

With just a little room, but a lot of curiosity left, I ordered the “Filet Duo” Signature Slider plate: two mini filet sandwiches with reggianno crema and roasted red peppers. Paul knew we wanted to share and returned with sufficient plates. The Sliders come with a choice of sides. We chose roasted asparagus. Remember my comment about preparing a simple course so as to elevate it? The sliders in the reggianno crema were perfectly done and tender. I expected them to be delicious and they were. But it was the asparagus that impressed because, after all, it is the side that is so often slighted.  Chef Steve’s preparation elevated and impressed. The stalks were as tender as the tips, yet crisp throughout. Every piece, every section equally cooked and seasoned so to delight the senses.   

D.O.C. Wine Bar in Lombard in conversation friendly.  Seating is available in the bar or dining room. Parties can be held in the private room and bar. Our server (Paul) was wine knowledgeable, attentive without being intrusive and timely in anticipating diner’s needs.  In complementing his service to management, I was assured all the servers are knowledgeable about wine. Looking at the faces of other patrons as we left, everyone seemed to be happy, and the manager was likely correct.

D.O.C. has another location on Clark St in Chicago.

D.O.C. Wine Bar Lombard

http://www.docwinebarchicago.com/lombard/

326 Yorktown Center

Lombard IL 60148

(630) 627-6666

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BENZIGER FAMILY WINERY

“Drink a glass of wine after your soup and you steal a ruble from your doctor.”

………………..Russian Proverb

Bottom of sign reads "Demeter Certified Biodynamic Farm"

One of the more unusual tours I enjoyed in Sonoma was at the Benziger Winery.  But I hadn’t met with either the winemaker or the owners, which had been my routine.  Instead, before joining a Benziger public tour, I met privately with the Purchasing Manager. That’s what made the day unusual, and so rewarding. Among other things, I observed that the culture of biodiversity runs deep at the vineyard.  So deep, you might say it had deep roots; deep enough to permeate all departments and employees at the vineyard. Carrie, the Purchasing Manager, for example, took pride in explaining the Benziger family’s commitment to sustainable, organic and biodiverse agricultural practices. As a Master Gardener (since 1992), I found this interesting.  But it was even more interesting to note how much Carrie knew about these practices in her role as a Purchasing Agent, never having been involved in growing the grapes or making the wine.

No need for temperature modification in
their cellar. Temperatures remain even.
Saves energy & good for the wine.

 Biodiversity – the other “B” word at Benziger – is not a fad.  It started at the winery in the mid 1990s. In 2000, they became Napa and Sonoma county’s first such certified winery.   Benziger also earned the Natural Resources Defense Council’s “Green Growing Award” for water stewardship. Benziger’s commitment to biodiversity was initiated by a genuine sense that sustainable agriculture was good practice; a respect for the earth and a belief that such practices ultimately make for better product – that healthy vineyards make better wine.  While touring the grounds, I observed several different insectaries, areas in which plants of varying color and texture are grown to attract and retain good bugs (defined simply as those which prey on the bad ones).  Habitats are maintained to create welcoming areas for birds and owls. This is better appreciated as a wine drinker when you understand that, as a result, no chemical pesticides are used anywhere.  No poisons go on the grapes that eventually become the wine that you drink. No chemical soap is needed. No weed-killing herbicides are used that are absorbed into the soil that could be absorbed by the vines that nourish the grapes that make your wine.

One of the habitats. I call them "zones."

Sheep graze on weeds and cover crops and push nutrients like nitrogen into the soil. Their natural deposits are composted as are stems, leaves and other vegetative matter.  Compost is amended into the soil as organic fertilizer, or applied as “tea.”  If my notes are accurate, the vegetative matter alone amounts to 130 tons per year. Water is recycled through recycling ponds and wetlands instead of being wasted, saving 2 million gallons a year. The vineyards support colonies of bees, chickens, and even Scottish Highlander cattle all forming in harmony a self contained and self-sustaining ecosystem. 

Nonetheless, I drink wine, after all, for the enjoyment of it as I suppose you do. And bad wine made in a good way is not what I’m after. So how does Benziger taste?

Another "zone" with wetland area

Wine & Spirits magazine called their 2009 “Tribute” the “best cab blend in America.”   The same wine was awarded 93 points in December 2011.  Wine Enthusiast awarded 93 points to their 2008 “Tribute.” Their 2007 Tribute (consistency ranks high with the “Mizer”) also earned 92 points from Wine & Spirits saying, “Tribute has become one of Sonoma’s top cabernet blends.”  Wine & Spirits also awarded 93 points for their 2009 “Quintus,” referring to it as the year’s best Pinot Noir.  Their 2008 “Quintus De Coelo” Pinot Noir scored 92 points from Wine & Spirits (there’s that consistency thing again), and was named “Best of Class” by the San Francisco Chronicle. And their 2008 “Terra Neuma De Coelo” Pinot Noir earned 94 points from Wine Enthusiast. Four of Benziger’s wines were awarded Platinum in the 2011 San Diego International Wine Competition, earning them “Winery of the Year.”  Benziger’s 2007 Merlot, 2008 Signaterra Bella Luna Pinot Noir and 2009 Sauvignon Blanc also took Gold Medals in January 2011 at the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition.

Vineyard with "zone" lower left and  other vegetation front

I could continue, but, hopefully, you get the point.  Perhaps a point you are missing though is how all this recycling and responsible farming influences price. Corks, I learned from Carrie, add $1 to each bottle’s price. I also learned that Benziger’s corks are carefully selected to contain .01% or less TCA. (Corks used in Europe are often in the .04% to .05% range.  High levels of TCA in corks can result in spoiled wine). Corks and labeling also add significant costs to production. I was also surprised at how much can be spent designing a label. But one of the benefits of biodiversity is that it helps control cost over time.  And regardless of which wine you choose from Benziger’s large offering - from their entry-level offerings to their “starship” wines - you are assured that the grapes from which your wine were made carry a third party certification of green farming practices.

That’s important to me because winemaking today has evolved so technologically that wines can be manipulated, their taste becoming a deception of their grape’s natural character.  Having tasted some of Benziger’s wines, I enjoyed recognizing the natural characteristic of the grape in each wine. If you like wine, you have to respect the grape that made it, and Benziger does.

In the months ahead, I’ll be posting individual reviews of Benziger’s wines as well as those made by other wineries I visited in Sonoma.  In the meantime

Cheers! (and stay tuned)  

……………………………………………. Jim

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               Shout Outs and Thanks to Carrie Duffield at Benziger                                                                                                                    
               and Cailyn McCaulay of www.TasteLive.com                                                                                

                                                                                  

Benziger Family Winery                                                                   

www.benziger.com

1883 London Ranch Rd

Glen Ellyn, CA     95442

(707) 935-3000

                                                                                                     

                                                   

                              

A MOST SPECIAL WINE

“Good wine ruins the purse; bad wine ruins the stomach.” ……. Old Spanish Saying

Once not long ago and very nearby, a man who had loved wine passionately since his youth, found himself in new and exciting circumstances.  He could now afford that “dream” bottle he had so long longed for. Although he had been buying wine since attaining legal age (actually even before) the responsibilities he had to his growing family made him shop carefully. Not that doing so was a problem because in doing so, he learned and studied and continued learning about wine.  But now, with his children grown and his obligations diminished, he could actually afford that “dream” bottle.

This was not just a good bottle, or even a very good bottle. It was not a collectible from a famous vineyard and year that was so old it was now undrinkable.  It was not a bottle from Thomas Jefferson’s collection of imported wines.  It was not history.  No, this was drinkable wine.  Wine he always dreamed of tasting. Wine made from the smallest percentage of the best vineyard’s finest grapes and from an exceptional year. This wine was a testimony to both the terroir and to the winemaker’s art.  It was made from free run juice, aged in 100% French Oak barrels.  This was, to him, the holy grail of wine. It cost more than almost anyone would understand, but he had wanted this wine, to taste this wine, the whole of his life

So after buying the bottle, it enjoyed the most prominent place in his cellar. This was not a wine to be enjoyed alone. He always knew that.  Good wine is only made better when shared. Of course, it would need to be enjoyed with another oenophile.  And it would need to be decanted, so time and planning for the event would be necessary. And it couldn't be drunk on just any day. No, this was definitely special occasion wine. But what occasion?

During the year, friends visited and he always offered a bottle or two.  He had several. He had many excellent wines. After all, his many years learning and studying and collecting provided him an excellent collection from which to choose.  But no day seemed special enough. He had, after all, only one bottle of this “dream” wine.  It could age.  It would get better. And he had other bottles. Excellent bottles.

One year became two.  He often thought about the wine, but that special day hadn’t presented itself yet. He would know when. And he enjoyed looking at the bottle when he visited the cellar.  Once he drank it, the magic would be gone.  He wouldn’t have the pleasure of looking forward to it anymore. This way, he also had the enjoyment of anticipation.  But he would drink it soon. He knew that really. It was just a question of when.

New Year’s Day was special for many, but not for him. Why waste such a special wine when people have often dulled their senses with overindulgence in cocktails?  No, this wine had to be planned for. Arranged. Anticipated seriously and with respect.  It couldn't be a birthday. Birthdays always involved many people. Some liked only white wine. Some didn't enjoy wine at all.  And cake? No way did he intend to pollute this rare and treasurable wine with the sugary taste of frosting. No, birthdays were no good.  He would think about this some more.  

And then, he died.

To your good health!
..............................  Jim

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KENWOOD VINEYARDS

So life's year begins and closes;

Days though shortening still can shine;

What though youth gave love and roses;

Age still leaves us friends and wine." …… Thomas Moore

Have you ever become bedazzled by a new acquaintance, perhaps someone with a little foreign mystery?  If you’re human enough to understand infatuation, perhaps you’re also honest enough to remember taking for granted an old friend during that infatuation. That’s why I was so happy to pour for Kenwood Vineyards in early September at Binny’s “Taste at the Track” and then visit the vineyard in October.  Everyone knows Kenwood. We’re old friends. But the world has become awash in wines from all over the globe. Pouring for Kenwood at the September event, and visiting the vineyard gave us a chance to re-bond, and it’s a friendship I’ll no longer take for granted.

Pat Henderson, Sr. Winemaker, shows me the grape sampling
from 5 vineyards and explains how to judge readiness for picking. 

I’m happy for that because Kenwood truly has been a loyal friend throughout; consistently producing superior wines at each price level.  Proof of that is in the vineyards’ history of collecting so many “Winery of the Year” medals for value. The winery offers nine white wines including Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Gewurz, Moscato and a sparkling wine. The red list contains Pinot Noirs, Merlots, Zins and Cabs equaling nine more. Two whites (a Sauvignon Blanc & Chardonnay) comprise a separate offering of “Reserve Wines.” This is matched by an additional offering of “Reserve Reds” that include Pinot Noir, Merlot, Zin and Cabernet Sauvignons. Prices range from $6 retail to $75, with substantial discounts for club members.

In the lab checking the brix

I visited the winery later in the day, and the October weather was just a little cool; enough to drive up my taste for reds. I enjoyed a 2009 Sonoma County Merlot ($12 - $14 retail) and happily sipped raspberry and plum with notes of chocolate and oak in a medium-rich mouth feel with soft tannins and a balanced finish.  The wine is aged for 20 months in French and American oak. I’m still amazed that such a quality is available at such a price.

Still in Merlot, I tasted the 2009 Jack London label. It spends two additional months in oak.  Grapes for this series are from vineyards exclusively leased by Kenwood and located above the fog belt in the Sonoma Valley. Cool nights assure long hang time and fruit that develops intensity.  The wine is more structured and offers additional notes of plum and fig with a hint of licorice. Value speaks for itself with retail prices averaging $20-$22.

A look into Kenwood's Library, seldom opened. My thanks to
"Hutch" (Tour Guide Extraordinaire).

Another branch on the merlot tree can be enjoyed with Kenwood’s 2009 Reserve Merlot. Unlike the two above, which contain 4% and 3% Cabernet Sauvignon respectively, the reserve is 100% merlot. As with the other wines it is fermented in temperature controlled stainless steel tanks to develop fruit. The reserve then ages for 21 months in 100% French oak to develop a rich profile that provides raspberry, plum and white pepper. It’s priced the same as the Jack London.

Sonoma County Merlot & Cab

Jack London

Tasting wines in a laddered approach is fun. It also gives you an opportunity to better define and understand your palette’s preference. With Kenwood you can do that also with Cabernet Sauvignon.  Begin with Yulupa, move on to the Sonoma County label, continue with the Jack London and the Reserve label and even progress to the Artist Series.  At this last rung on the ladder, you will be enjoying limited production wine from dry farmed vineyards. Two vintages are available: 2006 and 2007. In either vintage, the wine is a blend of mostly Cabernet Sauvignon, ranging from 78% in 2006 to 93% in 2007. But in either year, the juice is made from a small and very select percentage of their choicest grapes. The juice is fermented and aged by vineyard. The finished wines are settled, racked twice and aged in select barrels. For 2006, the barrels chosen were 88% French/12% American oak. Winemaker Patrick Henderson used barrels of 82% French/18% American for the 2007 vintage. Both vintages were aged for twenty eight months in wood, with the best lots then being selected for flavor, balance and ageability before being blended.  Each vintage was further personalized in  blending to develop the wine’s potential to its fullest. So in 2006, the blend included 9% Malbec, 7% Cabernet Franc and 8% Petite Verdot.  For 2007, the Malbec was reduced to 4% and 3% Merlot was added. After bottling, both vintages enjoyed a year and a half of bottle aging before release.  This is seriously good wine. And at $75 ($56.25 club price) it is an exceptional value as a special occasion or gift wine.  Drink now, but know that you can age these wines a decade – if you can wait that long.

"Cheers!" (The Mizer)

2007 Artist Series

No single review can include all of Kenwood’s wines, and I don’t mean to ignore their whites. Suffice to say that in April of this year, Kenwood Vineyards captured two awards of only ten wines to be awarded in the 2012 Pacific Coast “Oyster Wine Competition.”  A total of 101 wines from various wineries were entered. Kenwood’s 2011 Sonoma County Sauvignon Blanc and 2011 Russian River Valley Pinot Gris were awarded in the same year; their Sauvignon Blanc having been awarded seven times in the competition’s 18 year history. (It generally retails for about $10!). The2011 Russian River Valley Pinot Gris (a.k.a. Pinot Grigio) was rated 91 points by Wine Enthusiasts and “Best Pinot Gris”/Double Gold at the San Francisco Wine Competition in June of 2012.

For “everyday” or “special occasion/gift wine,” and whatever your budget, Kenwood offers wines at each price point that offer exceptional value.  In an economy where “box wines” are getting attention, value is often taken to simply mean low price. Fortunately for lovers of good wine, Kenwood has never confused the issue. Whether it’s a wine labeled as a Sonoma County or an Artist Series, the juice inside the bottle will be hard to match for quality and taste.

   

Cheers!

………………….. Jim

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Kenwood Vineyards

kenwoodvineyads.com

9592 Sonoma Hwy

Kenwood, CA 95452-0447

707-282-4273