Saturday, January 31, 2009

Sokol Blosser party.


The Sokol Blosser party was super fun! It's actually good to get out of the house and meet new people, something I don't do very often because I actually have an aversion to talking to people I don't know. Aversion or anxiety, I don't know. BUT my personality problems and neurosis aside (which I am working out with Dr. Carl Kugel in Santa Monica once a week) it was a great time!

I don't very often just give tasting notes, because it's SOOO boring. But maybe I feel like being boring today. So here they are:

Pinot Gris, Dundee Hills, 2007. Green notes on the nose, light and elegant and even though the alcohol was a surprising 14%, it was well integrated. Very pleasant, easy to drink and only 600 cases made. 

Pinot Noir, Dundee Hills, 2006. Sweet black cherry, sweet vanilla oak, light and refreshing with spices like nutmeg and cinnamon. Like eating a red hot. Lots of cinnamon. 6000 cases made, around $38 retail. 

Meditrina (the top pic) is a blend of syrah, zin, pinot noir and something else that I think I didn't write down. Sweeter fruit and more overt notes, not as elegant as the Dundee Hills, but this is the every day drinking wine. You can get it at Cost Plus!

Sokol Blosser is certified organic. I had a long talk with Allison Sokol Blosser (apologies if Alison is only one L) and she gave me the low down on their tres eco-chic vineyard operations. Biodiesel tractors. Solar panels that power 30% of the electricity they need for production. And as for the packaging - they use no foils because its a mined material. The paper for the labels is 100% post-consumer waste. They also believe in doing fewer shipments a year, but larger volumes when they do ship, in order to cut down on carbon emissions emitted during distribution. 

They were one of the first to be hit with phylloxera in Oregon in 1998 and have been replanting ever since. That's gotta be expensive?

We also tasted another little mildly sweet aromatic wine called Evolution. Muscat, gewurz, Chard and Sauv Blanc. Very floral, peachy and lightly sweet. Non-vintage. 

It really was a fun night - they served little bites with an Asian fusion spin to pair with each wine - and I shouldn't say little bites because we were stuffed when we left. 

What I like about Sokol Blosser is that it's hard to find good wine in grocery stores. And while they focus the high end wines (the 2 from Dundee) on restaurants, they need larger outlets for the 60,000 cases of the lower priced wines. They sell to Albertson's and Von's in Manhattan Beach and Long Beach, respectively, and to Cost Plus World Market. 

I asked how the recession had hit them and Allison told me that the restaurants were a little slow and she feels they are being hit the hardest, while her small retail accounts are doing very good. That's good to know. She's also doing more traveling, trying to keep her face out there, which is really all we can do in sales these days. 

Ok, well I'm off to a holiday party. Is that weird? It's Christmas in January.  

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Amy,
It was a pleasure to meet you and Peter. Thanks for taking the time to come to my little cocktail party. I totally agree that wine is way better than Manolos anyway. I can't even walk in heels that high (especially after having wine!).
Cheers,
Alison

Amy said...

Alison, It was really great fun! I try not to wear shoes at all - let alone high heels!!! Thanks for the invite and I hope we get up North to visit you at some point this summer!