To the Left and in the Center...

of California is the Central Coast. Made up of seven coastal counties between Santa Cruz, 65 miles south of San Francisco, and Oxnard, 60 miles north of Los Angeles, the Central Coast comprises some 300 miles of coastline. The region includes half a dozen mountain ranges. It's also home to more than 100 wineries some of which were highlighted in the movie Sideways. (More on my thoughts of this movie on another posting.)

I’ll confess that I am not a Burgundy varietal lover, unless actually from Burgundy. Chardonnay and Pinot Noir are sometimes so overworked that I almost feel sorry for them – let them take a vacation, maybe they’ll do better after some rest. The French, with their meticulous growing methods and record keeping and their terroir, know what they are doing. But New World vintners don’t always allow the varietals to be what they should.

Campion 2005 Central Coast Pinot Noir
Brought to me to taste as a wine to offer customers during the holiday period, I opted out of putting it on my shelves. Campion is a small winery bottling a little more than 100 barrels of wine; all of which are Pinot Noir from a variety of Central Coast appellations. For a wine that would retail for about $34, I thought it showed poorly. It lacked rich red fruit and just sat on my palate. It seemed to be a Pinot Noir trying to be something that it wasn’t giving you nothing at all.

About my comments on New World vintners working with Burgundy varietals, you know there are always exceptions to the rule.

Stephen Vincent 2005 Monterey County Chardonnay
Well, now, someone at Stephen Vincent understands that Chardonnay should not taste like butter on an oak stick. Only 50% of the wine is barrel fermented and put through malo-lactic fermentation. This means you get a wine that has a little fleshy, creaminess but also has true Chardonnay flavors. There were tropical flavors to it with definite pineapple essence on the finish. For about $13, this is an incredible Chardonnay – a description I normally don’t use in the same sentence with Chardonnay.