It's Back! And it's better than ever! Joel Gott Zinfandel has been called "the poor man's Turley" because it offers surprising quality for a very reasonable price. Still in his early 30's, Joel Gott is one of the hot rising stars in California winemaking. (Now that could be a dubious distinction for those of us interested in wines with subtly.) However, at Guy du Vin we are fairly sympathetic to zinfandel fanatics and we can spot a winner when we taste one. This is another unbelievable value. A wine this good never lasts for long, so don't miss out!

When he's not making great wine, Joel keeps busy with at least four other businesses, including the Palisades Market in Calistoga and Napa Valley's hottest burger stand, Taylor's Refresher, where you can pay $20 for a burger and fries and eat in your car.

The California Zinfandel is sourced from vineyards throughout California, Napa, Lodi, Amador, Sonoma and Mendocino. Joel Gott is able to produce zinfandel with a deep red, purple color and sweet ripe tannins that exhibit richness and balance. There is good structure on the palate, sweet dark cherry flavors, and pepper spice aromas.
$14.65

The name - what does it mean? En Francais it means love seat, or a private conversation between male and female...suggestions of a late afternoon rendezvous sipping a luscious and inviting red.

Domaine de la Terre Rouge was founded in 1984 by Bill Easton and Jane O'Riordan Easton. As one of the founding members of the Rhone Rangers, Terre Rouge was the first to pioneer Rhone varietals in the Amador County region of California's Sierra Foothills. Bill has to be one of the finest practitioners of Rhone-style winemaking in California. We at Guy du Vin think as highly of him as we do Steve Edmunds of Edmunds St John.

This is Bill's Côtes du Rhône styled wine. Blending grenache, mourvèdre and syrah, this is the most approachable wine from Terre Rouge. It has concentration and complexity that is as good as and perhaps even better than a regular Côtes du Rhône. We find it more the equivalent of a Gigondas or even Vacqueyras. It has good color and lots of stuffing in a lovely, smooth-textured, soft-tannin style. Good value... it is almost too easy to drink (as if that's a problem). You'll love this little gem!

Winemaker Eric Hamacher founded Hamacher Wines with his wife Luisa Ponzi in 1995. Their objective was to handcraft high quality Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. In less than a decade Hamacher has become one of the most respected and sought after of Oregon's many great producers. The relatively small winery produces only about 2,000 cases a year.
 
Eric holds a degree in viticulture and enology from UC Davis, and has extensive winemaking knowledge gained from working 15 vintages in numerous wineries around the world. Each winery, be it Mondavi, Chalone or Etude helped shape Eric's wine making style, and pushed him further and further in his pursuit of the perfect Pinot Noir and, ultimately, to Oregon.

Here is the difference - and what a difference - Eric's 2000 vintage of Pinot Noir is his current vintage. In other words, he holds his wine back for a year or longer than anyone else before he releases his wine. All that extra time in the bottle means that we get to taste a wine that is closer to being ready to drink; that has really begun to develop in the bottle.

It is a vibrant wine with bright red fruits. Spicy plum and cedar notes trail the red fruit. Flavors follow what was shown in the nose but with substantially more weight. Mouth coating, sweet and supple with an extremely long finish. This wine is incredibly delicious right now, but you can continue to hold on to it for at least five or more years. My guess is that you won't be able to keep your hands off of it.

We don't offer wines from California that often, but once in a while we come across something that tastes so good we have to let you try it. You may have bought some of the Joel Gott Zinfandel that we wrote about a few weeks ago. Good, solid, value wines are what he specializes in.

When he's not making great wine, Joel keeps busy with at least four other businesses, including the Palisades Market in Calistoga and Napa Valley's hottest burger stand, Taylor's Refresher, where you can pay $20 for a burger and fries and eat in your car. Things like that make this country great - sort of.

The 2002 Joel Gott Sauvignon Blanc is a pleasant, unoaked, fruit filled, and juicy slurper! Loaded with flavors of citrus peel, pear, lemon and mineral characteristics. It has a nice touch of acidity on the finish. Good with food because of its acidic nature, which cleans the palate. It's one of those wines that makes those sunny, warm afternoons we've lately been experiencing even more inviting by making you forget all about that global warming stuff. This one goes down as easy as a melting polar ice cap.

Andrew Rich crafts wines using grapes from some of the Pacific Northwest's finest vineyards. Rich moved from Santa Cruz to Portland in 1994, after a six-year stint at Bonny Doon Vineyard. Andrew moved here with the idea of giving Rhône varietals a Northwest spin.

This is one of those rare Pinot Noirs that is priced like an everyday wine but drinks like it costs a lot more. Cuvée B is a very nice fruit forward, easy to drink wine with enough complexity to make it interesting and satisfying. Balanced, spicy with supple black cherry and raspberry fruit with just a hint of vanilla. Drink this one now and let your "babies" continue to develop in your cellar. This is a wonderfully svelte wine, the essence of great value in Oregon Pinot Noir.