African-American vintners and winemakers

The African-American community can rightly take great pride in the accomplishments of its members in recent decades in a wide range of fields. African-Americans are now a highly visible presence in the arts, the media and academia as well as corporate America. In the wine world, however, they are only beginning to make their mark.Out of 900+ wineries in California, for example, fewer than ten are owned by African-Americans.

+/- African-American vintners and winemakers

(2010 Vinity Buzet Rose 3L Box $32.99)

Although few in number, these producers have enjoyed phenomenal growth and  critical success over recent years; they should, I think, be given greater recognition than they are by both the regular and the wine press for the quality of the products they craft and for their perseverance in pursuing and realizing their dream. They have proved that there is room for everybody and that great winemaking, like anything else, isn't a question of color, religion or race, but simply a matter of skill, experience, knowledge and savoir-faire with a little help from Mother Nature.

Part of the problem has been the lack of information and wine education available about and directed toward the African-American community. In the last decade, however, significant efforts have been made to counter this lack. The year 2002 saw the creation of two associations to respond to the needs of the African-American community: The "African American Wine Tasting Society" (AAWTS) and "The Association of African American Vintners" (AAAV) which includes several  Californian wineries, including Vision Cellars, Sharp Cellars, Running Tigers, Black Coyote, Stover Oaks, Theopolis Vineyards and Esterlina.

I bought for the store a few wines produced by Vision Cellars, a winery established in 1995 and dynamically run by its owner Mac McDonald, one of the pioneer African-American winemakers, who realized his dream of making wine and proudly released his first vintage in 1997. Although based in Windsor, a town in Sonoma,  Mac produces a small quantity of a dozen different wines from various regions of California including: Mendocino county, the Santa Lucia Highlands, Russian River, Chileno Valley, and  Marin County.

We carry three of his wine at the store, two different Pinot Noirs and a white blend. The wines are very good, balanced, complex and well crafted, and I did not buy them because they were a novelty, something to have in the store to show off. No, I bought them because the wines spoke for themselves, showing great character and taste. In fact, it was only after tasting the wines, while talking with my sales rep about the winery, that I realized that the winery was owned by an African-American family. I'm proud to have their wines on the shelves, and I do enjoy the  reactions of people when I tell them the story of the winery. I invite you to visit the winery web site at www.visioncellars.com for more information.
Here are the three wines to discover available at the store:




2007 Vision Cellars White Wine (Blanc Gris) California $19.99
Vision's 2007 white is sourced mostly from Napa Sauvignon Blanc with a healthy splash of Pinot Gris from the Santa Lucia Highlands. Pale gold in the glass, it offers aromas of apple, citrus and tropical fruit that immediately greet the nose, joined by layers of grass and river rocks. Its mouth-feel is light and refreshing, with flavors of citrus, dried stone fruit and mineral vivid through the mid-palate. The fruity core is balanced by tangy acidity into a long finish that ends with crisp lemon and lime notes. Enjoy it on its own, or paired with light pastas, seafood and poultry.

2006 Vision Cellars Pinot Noir Gary's vineyard Santa Lucia Highlands California $49.99
This boutique Sonoma winery, established in 1995, is all about capturing the essence of the Pinot Noir grape. This is a single-vineyard Pinot sourced from Gary's Vineyard in the Santa Lucia Highlands; tangy and rich, it shows lots of concentrated cherry and cocoa on the nose and palate along with a long, spicy finish. Silky, balanced and delicious; only 252 cases produced.

2007 Vision Cellars Pinot Noir Coster Vineyard Russian River valley California $48.99
This dark, rich Pinot is sourced from Russian River grapes. Its nose is redolent of plump red cherries, cola, spice and mint. Fresh and smooth in the mouth, it has flavors of plum, cherries, caramel and spice that unfold on the palate, supported by fine tannins into a spicy, persistent finish. Less than 300 cases produced.
You can also see and order this wine directly on our website at  http://www.heightschateau.com/catalog/product_search_results.php/search=dmlzaW9uIGNlbGxhcnM=

–Dominique

Judy on Women Winemakers

Some time ago, I started to take note of the number of women winemakers I was encountering in my reading and research. I decided, on a whim, to keep a list, and today that list runs to more than 900 names, including those of winemakers in such unlikely places as Tunisia, Bulgaria, Israel and China. A few years ago, when I was invited to conduct a tasting for a group I meet with occasionally, I took "women winemakers" as my theme, and before I had a chance to present the wines one of the gentlemen in the group raised his hand and asked me what I hoped to prove; my answer was that I hoped to prove that I had nothing to prove! In the spirit of having "nothing to prove," then, let me introduce you to a few of my favorite women winemakers.

+/- Women winemakers

Winemaker: Stacy Clark, graduate of UC Davis, winemaker at Pine Ridge in California's Napa Valley for more than 25 years
wine to try: Pine Ridge 2009 Chenin Blanc/Viognier @ $13.99

Winemaker: Dorina Lindemann, native of Germany, trained oenologist, co-founder with her father, industrialist Jorge Bohm, of Quinta da Plansel in Portugal's Alentejo region
wine to try: Marques de Montemor 2008 Tinto @ $15.99

Winemaker: Arianna Occhipinti, natural winemaker from Vittoria, Sicily, trained under her uncle at the COS Estate and at university in Milan, making her own wine since 2004 (when she was 21)
wine to try: Occhipinti 2008 Frappato @ $34.99

Winemaker: Belinda Thomson,  a "flying winemaker" from Australia (Crawford River), making some of the best white wines from down under and, since 2007, in Spain
wine to try: Shaya 2009 Old Vines Verdejo @ $14.99

From the Still to the Bottle: The White Lightning Revolution

      Like many bars, restaurants and imbibing businesses around Brooklyn, Heights Chateau has experienced a Moonshine Renaissance, if you will, going from zero to doubling our selection in un-aged spirits in 2010 and again in 2011. Is it the economy or the tremendous influence of New York's TUTHILLTOWN DISTILLERY that has created a clear spirits revolution during the last couple of years?

+/- From the Still to the Bottle: The White Lightning Revolution

      Colin and David of KINGS COUNTY DISTILLERY have done an amazing job to help change Brooklynites' perceptions of Moonshine, although people still come in and look at the bottles with a mixture of fear, respect and curiosity. I'm here to tell you that only a small amount of bravery is really necessary (I need more for my daily commute than trying any of the clear spirits we have). Although not overflowing with the caramel vanilla creaminess of an average aged bourbon, these spirits have their own charms; the flavors are pure and clean, as corn whiskeys are allowed by law to be bottled without aging in oak and the others (barley, rye, oat, et al) see very little aging. As is the case with wine, oak aged spirits can cover impurities or poor vintages, but due to the nature of Moonshine, you are allowed access to flavors that become the base of aged spirits.

      One of my favorite clear sprits in the store is RYE DOG from Cheryl Lins' Delaware Phoenix Distillery that truly challenges the misconception that clear sprits have uninteresting flavor profiles, as the first thing you'll notice about RYE DOG is the potently delicious smell of Rye literally jumping out of the glass. Smooth on the palate, even at 100 proof, this is a creamy and bright white dog! Cheryl also makes two small batch absinthes that are also on the cutting edge of what New York distilleries are putting out there.

     Due to the nature of moonshine, most of what is on the market today comes from smaller distilleries in interesting areas of the country, including New York, Utah and Wisconsin. We stock almost 10 American white spirits, all listed below, and I encourage you to use them as base in your next Whiskey Sour, Manhattan, spiked punch bowl or simply as a reliable spirit in your flask.


ENJOY!

KENTUCKY
Buffalo Trace White Dog Mash #1 | 125 Proof | 375 ml $15.99

NEW YORK
Delaware Phoenix Rye Dog | 100 Proof | 750 ml | $62.99

Finger Lakes Distillery's Glen Thunder | 90 Proof | TWO SIZES AVAILABLE: 750ML | $22.99 + 375ml | $12.99

Kings County Moonshine 80 Proof | TWO SIZES AVAILABLE: 375ML | $36.99 + 200ML | $19.99

Tuthilltown Hudson New York Corn Whiskey | 92 Proof | 375 ml | $30.99

NORTH CAROLINA
Catdaddy Carolina Moonshine | 80 Proof | 750 ml | $20.99

UTAH
High West Silver Oat Whiskey | 80 Proof | 750ml | $41.99

VIRGINIA
Belmont Virginia Lightning | 100 Proof | 750 ml | $36.99

WISCONSIN
Death's Door White Whiskey | 80 Proof | 750 ml | $35.99

Contemporary Israeli Wines

     The Holy Land has had a contentious relationship with the planted grape vine. Religion has played a strong role in wine's position in daily life. Under Islamic rule grape growing and winemaking was deemphasized. The Jewish return to the Holy Land has changed all this. Baron Edmond de Rothschild of Chateau Lafite de Rothschild reintroduced French grape varietals and founded the Carmel Cooperative Winery in the late 1800's.

+/- Contemporary Israeli Wines

     Today Israel has over 200 wineries. Grape growing spans the hillsides and mountains in the north to the desert and forest in the south. Winemakers are utilizing modern winemaking technology including drip irrigation and flash pasteurization techniques. Plantings are progressing in earnest in the cooler growing climates at higher and higher elevations. The Golan Heights, Upper Galilee and Judean Hills are producing wines that are currently recognized by international wine critics.

     Holiday time is approaching and we thought this was the perfect time to introduce modern-day Israeli wines. The following two wines come from an historic land from which many of the most important Western religions trace their origins.

Teperberg Terra Sauvignon Blanc 2010  $18.99 http://www.heightschateau.com/catalog/product_detail.php/pid=5692~subid=566/index.html

This wine comes from Shomron, the coastal plain below Haifa. The grapes are grown in limestone soil and are influenced by the cool Mediterranean winds; the result is classic Sauvignon Blanc, clean, crisp and refreshing

. 

Dalton Reserve Shiraz 2007 $32.99http://www.heightschateau.com/catalog/product_detail.php/pid=5693~subid=565/index.html

This Shiraz is sourced from vineyards in Galilee in the far north of the country, extending south from the border with Lebanon, where some of Israel's highest mountains are found; it is a deep, rich wine with vibrant notes of pepper and other spices.