It’s Time for Wine: Simi, Continuum & Guilliams

Posted on | January 25, 2012 | No Comments

By Monty and Sara Preiser

“If God forbade drinking, would He have made wine so good?”
– Cardinal Richeleu

Simi is Excitingly Resurgent

From time to time over the past two decades the wines at Simi have been lauded as industry leaders. Yet for some reason there never seemed to be the consistency in production and business staff to remain on that lofty perch. In our opinion, the acquisition of the winery by Constellation, the engaging of Damy Tamburrino as General Manager, and the appointment of Susan Lueker as senior winemaker have solved the up and downs, and right now Simi is on a definite upswing.

Simi is an easy visit whether you are staying in Healdsburg, exploring the nearby area on U.S. 101, or coming from Napa and/or Alexander Valley. It recently celebrated its 135th year as the longest continuously operating winery in Sonoma, and Simi’s important role in supporting an atmosphere of experimentation that has drawn some of California’s best winemakers to study and work there is well documented. A tour, of course, is the best way to learn about all of this.

A huge plus if you visit on Friday or Saturday during season is the availability of possibly Sonoma’s best pizza, topped if you wish with local fresh produce and meat of choice. Antipasto and salads are just as delicious. Of course, you will want to accompany this feast with wines, and Simi’s selections are crafted for enjoyment on their own or as compliments to food. Try whatever looks good to you or what a staff member recommends, but we kept coming back to the 2008 Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel ($30), the 2008 Dry Creek Valley Petite Sirah ($34), the 2009 Russian River Valley Reserve Chardonnay ($28), and especially the exceptionally well priced 2008 Landslide Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon ($40).

simiwinery.com
(800) 746-4880

Continuum Estate — You Probably Read About It

Most of you probably saw Tim Mondavi’s picture on the front cover of Wine Spectator last October. We hope you took the time to read about his new project/winery, Continuum, which we had visited a few weeks before that article broke. Our host for the day was daughter Carissa, a lovely young woman with a bright future on the business side of the industry, and she made certain we were duly impressed with what is going on up there atop Pritchard Hill.

The estate is over 170 acres in total with about 60 planted to vine, the most recent plantings taking place in mid 2010. The shallow volcanic soils with good drainage sit at about 1300 – 1600 feet. Thus, the site sees little fog and experiences moderate shifts in temperature. All of this is highly conducive to the production of complex wines with intensity and depth.

Presently the Mondavis grow 54% Cabernet Sauvignon, 28% Cabernet Franc, 11% Petit Verdot and 7% Merlot. Understandably these are the four varietals that comprise the outstanding 2008 Continuum, with its chocolate (Sara says dark), spices, and graphite flavors interspersed among black cherries from start to finish. The tannins are such that good aging is assured. Click here to read more if you like from the Continuum website. As you may know from reading our material, we don’t usually recommend taking your precious time in wine country to visit a one wine winery, but Continuum is a definite exception

continuumestate.com
(707) 944-8100

Guilliams – The Undiscovered Jewel of Spring Mountain

You may not see much written about the outstanding wines that John and Shawn Guilliams make at 2,000 feet on Spring Mountain, but veterans of the Napa Valley and those who otherwise seek out stars-to-be know about Guilliams. We have been fans for over 10 years and, as a matter of fact, recently opened a bottle of their 1999 Cabernet Sauvignon at a special function in New York. It was superb, as has been every bottle John has made, as far as we are concerned. The current releases (though it is hard to know when the next vintage will be released), are the 2007 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon ($45), the 2007 Estate Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon ($70), the 2007 Estate Merlot, ($40), and the 2007 Estate Cabernet Franc ($45) – we have a bunch of the older ones and will stock up again when we get back to Napa in February.

Recently one of the winery’s newsletters described the rigors of the 2011 harvest, and concluded with an assessment (sensorial and educational) of what John and Shawn called, “the most beautiful fall colors we can remember in Napa Valley.” Sara and I wanted to share with you some of what they wrote. It both moved and taught us.

“During the summer the green of chlorophyll masks or dominates the yellow pigments in leaves. As the cooler temperatures and shorter days of fall cause the chlorophyll to decline, the yellow colors emerge. When sugars accumulate in the leaves because of the fall changes in the plant, anthocyanins (red pigments) can form and mask the yellow. If the leaf is more acidic, the red has a brighter hue. If it is brown, it contains tannin. For vineyardists, these colors can tell us about the health and nutrition of our plants. For winemakers, anthocyanins are the pigments that make our wines red. For all of us, these colors warm our souls with their natural beauty.”

(707) 963-9059

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It’s Time for Wine is a column published by wine writers and educators Monty and Sara Preiser that is featured on the Amateur Gastronomer.

Monty and Sara Preiser reside full time in Palm Beach County, Florida, and spend their summers visiting wineries and studying wines on the west coast where they have a home in Napa. For many years they were the wine columnists for The Boca Raton News, have served as contributors to the South Florida Business Journal, and are now the principal wine writers for Sallys-Place.com.  Monty and Sara also publish The Preiser Key to Napa Valley, the most comprehensive guide to wineries and restaurants in the Napa Valley, published every March, July, and November. In fall 2011 the Preisers released the first issue of The Preiser Key to Sonoma. Click here to read more columns by the Preisers.

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