California Wine History Lesson

By Mike on June 23rd, 2009   Be the first to comment  

While on a quick trip to Southern California for Grandpa Benny’s 95th birthday party, we stopped by Mission San Juan Capistrano for a tour since my son Henry just finished studying the missions in school.

Besides simply enjoying the beautiful grounds and impressive ruins of the original church, we were also excited to pay homage to the site of the first vineyard and winery in Alta California.  The vines were planted in 1779 and first wine produced in 1783.  The audio tour mentioned that opinions on the wines produced at the mission ranged from “wonderful” to “awful”, which confirms that as soon as there were wines in California, there were wine critics.  I’m guessing even they asked for a second glass as there were obviously no alternatives available.

Here’s a picture of the exterior fermentation vat.  Think Junipero Serra ever lost a bet and had to swim in it?

exterior wine vat


Twitter is now officially cool with us.

By Mike on April 24th, 2009   1 Comment  

Just when we were starting to get into Twitter-bashing, we get Tweeted about by none other than “the girl & the fig” proprietor, Sondra Bernstein. Sondra knows a thing or two about Rhone varietals, so we take a Syrah shout-out from her as a meaningful compliment in whatever form it takes. The girl & the fig is a brilliant restaurant in Sonoma with great patio dining in case you haven’t yet had the pleasure. And thanks to Jeremy for catching this for us!

figgirltweet


Detecting aromas of new site?

By Mike on April 24th, 2009   Be the first to comment  

Here it is, the long rumored Jus Soli blog feature! When we say we’re going to do something, we get to it (eventually). You’ll be apprised of tasting events, get to read reviews of our wines (the only current posting in that category is recommended for those of legal wine buying age who do not possess overly delicate sensibilities), enjoy archived classics from the old site like “Winemaker’s Beer Proverb” and “Singing Wine’s Praises” and quite possibly learn more than you care to know about the ways we spend our time.  Thanks in advance for humoring us.

And of course there will be no shortage of shameless plugs whenever we win awards like our recent haul from the 2009 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition. Double Gold for our ‘06 Syrah, Gold for ‘06 Madder Lake and ‘07 Sauvignon Blanc and a Silver for our ‘06 Roots Red (Best of Class winner at the 2008 Sonoma County Harvest Fair and rumored to be deep in the running for Sweepstakes Red but apparently some people call that kind of wine “silver”).  

In fact, we’re going to name a category “shameless plugs” and write an entry right now about being Tweeted about or Twittered over or however you’re supposed to say that.


Five years of ZAP memories.

By Mike on April 23rd, 2009   Be the first to comment  

Believe it or not, 2009 marked our 5th year participating in ZAP’s Zinfest.  A few of our favorite memories:

Best question (from ZAP ’07):
“So where exactly are you in relation to the nearest Red Lobster?”
Answer:  The nearest Red Lobster to both the crush facility we use in Santa Rosa and our home office in Kenwood happens to be in Rohnert Park.  That’s 10.4 miles away from the winery (approximate travel time of 13 minutes), and 17.9 miles away from our home office (approximate travel time of 30 minutes).

Best use of complimentary baguette (from ZAP ’05):
Cell phone casing.  The handiwork of a young woman who strolled around the place loudly gabbing away on her bread phone.

Best mistranslation of our winery name (also ZAP ’05):
Soul Juice.  By a famous winery owner no less.  We’d use his name here but he’d probably sue us as he’s well known to be a frequent practitioner of the petty lawsuit.  Someday we’re going to get all famous and sue him just for fun.

Best overheard interaction from neighboring winery table (ZAP ’08):
A confidently tipsy woman walked up to the bearded winemaker next to us demanding to know “What’s with the Grizzly Adams beard?”  He simply stared at her without making a move to fill her glass until she said, “You’re not going to pour that for me, are you?” He shook his head, she walked away.

Oddest ZAP story from a good friend of ours (ZAP ’04):
When she casually mentioned how she somehow managed to lose both her sunglasses and her safety glasses.  Safety glasses?  We had no idea which follow-up question to ask first with that one.


Do we even need the bottle?

By Mike on April 23rd, 2009   Be the first to comment  

Here’s a totally different approach by a friend of ours, Kevin Kelley, for natural wine packaged in stainless steel reusable canisters.  Kevin worked at Copain Custom Crush back when we first started our label.  Very cool idea but you’re out of luck if you live too far outside Sonoma County.

Then perhaps Three Thieves Bandits in Tetra Pak packaging instead?

Both food for thought for future projects.


Bottle Shock

By Mike on April 22nd, 2009   Be the first to comment  

While much is said about the environmental impact of improving farming practices, one of the main environmental culprits in the wine business is bottle glass. The heavier the bottle, the more energy consumed in production and more fossil fuels needed to transport the wine from here to there. And unfortunately, it has become standard to equate heavy bottle glass with high end product. We at Jus Soli have always chosen the lightest glass that we think will perform the simple task of keeping our wine safe inside (a rare occasion where being cheap does equal being greener) and are always interested in developments on this front. Fetzer is having a puntless bottle (the punt is the heavy indentation at the base of wine bottles) made for themselves that might be a great option for some of our bottlings as well. Don’t be fooled by heavy glass, it doesn’t make the wine taste any better, it just adds to greater consumption of energy in production and greater volume of CO2 emissions later. Who wants to pay more for that?

Here’s a Napa Valley Register article by Dan Berger on the subject.


Green Notes, Two Definitions

By Mike on April 21st, 2009   1 Comment  

1) Used to describe underripe, vegetal aromas or flavors in wine.

2) Our new category of postings detailing ways to “green” our wine business now and in the future.

As evidence that we are not holier-than-thou types, here’s what we put on the back label of our organically farmed Sauvignon Blanc, “Considering all those ominous global climate predictions, we’re guessing that a crisp white wine will increasingly hit the spot.  Enjoy Jus Soli wines in any season, in any climate.”

We’ve had some interesting reactions to that so far and hope to foster some lively discussion with these postings, which will reflect our belief that a responsible business takes into account considerably more than just the bottom line.  After all, we need to believe strongly in what we are doing if we expect anyone else to feel that way.

Look for many more future “Green Notes” from Jus Soli. Second definition, that is.


Green Drop Playlist

By Mike on April 17th, 2009   Be the first to comment  

Originally from September 7th, 2008

Today, I was in the Romano vineyard just down the road from our Jus Soli home office making the last pass of the season dropping “green” clusters that weren’t keeping pace with their more advanced brothers and sisters. In a light crop year like this, it pains growers and winemakers equally to lighten the load even further but keeping balance in the vineyard is essential to a great finished product. After all, bad wine benefits no one. Neither does bad music. Here’s the shuffle playlist that kept me whistling while I worked:

  1. Think Africa — Seun Kuti & Egypt80
  2. Pick Up — Solex
  3. Bullet — Frank Black & The Catholics
  4. Break This Time — Alejandro Escovedo
  5. Postcards From Italy — Beirut
  6. Influence — Jurassic 5
  7. Who the F**k Are Arctic Monkeys? — Arctic Monkeys
  8. Words of Wisdom — Cedric Im Brooks
  9. Can’t Hardly Wait — The Replacements
  10. The Big Light — Elvis Costello
  11. A & P — Morning 40 Federation
  12. Biological Speculation — Funkadelic
  13. Play Tough — The Apples In Stereo
  14. Why I Stay — The Black Heart Procession
  15. The Southside Of The World — Bonnie “Prince” Billy
  16. Hey Baby — Stephen Marley Feat. Mos Def
  17. 65 Bars and a Taste of Soul — Charles Wright
  18. Crackwhore Blues — The Neckbones
  19. Tears Running Dry — Waldeck
  20. Everybody Loves Me — Alejandro Escovedo
  21. If Your Poison Gets You — Frank Black
  22. The Denial Twist — The White Stripes
  23. Trying To Conquer Me — Delroy Wilson
  24. Breakdown — Agent Orange
  25. Feel Good Inc. — Gorillaz
  26. Convenient Parking — Modest Mouse
  27. Mic Check — Rage Against The Machine
  28. Hot Toddy — Ralph Flanagan
  29. The Devil Never Sleeps — Iron & Wine
  30. Hypocrites — Bob Marley & The Wailers
  31. Black River Killer — Blitzen Trapper
  32. The End — Alejandro Escovedo
  33. Come On In (Live) — R.L. Burnside
  34. Blue Flowers On The Highway — Varnaline
  35. Temps Mort — MC Solaar
  36. History of Lovers — Calexico & Iron and Wine
  37. 10 Commandments — Prince Buster
  38. Postcard — Uncle Tupelo
  39. I Am Trying To Break Your Heart — Wilco
  40. Icky Thump — The White Stripes

All-time favorite review.

By Mike on April 11th, 2009   Be the first to comment  

Groezinger’s May 07 Newsletter on our 2005 Sonoma Valley Syrah

“Holy Sh#%! This stuff is big and cheap and tastes way better than going down on Roseanne. Plus the package is way more attractive and will actually fit in your cellar. The vines are only five years old and are already producing fruit that rivals some of the most established Syrah vineyards in California. The wine is made by Tom Garrett who is Heidi Barrett’s bitch, the general manager of Revana Family Vineyard, owner of Detert Family Vineyards, partner in Jus Soli, and yes, a father and husband. Plus he has questionably long hair for someone who plays such a straight game, making us wonder how much pot he grows in Revana’s vineyard. Seriously though, this stuff is the honkey-tonk-donkey-donk-gimmee-the-funky-dunky-dunk of a Syrah. As for the flavor profile it is big and bad, giving up loads of spicy, earthy, roasted, meaty, peppered, herbed black currant primordial Rhone ooze and whoop-ass.”

If you find yourself in Yountville, drop in on Rick and Justin at Groezinger Wine Merchant. They might share more of their one-of-a-kind reviews if you ask nicely.


Singing Wine’s Praises

By Mike on March 15th, 2009   Be the first to comment  

When one spends hours a day with nothing but wine barrels and stainless steel tanks for company, fighting off loneliness and extreme boredom is a constant challenge. And while the droning pfffft-pffffft beat of a diaphragm pump can occasionally inspire bursts of brilliant rhymesmanship, a winemaker’s stereo is often his or her best friend. In fact, it can even be debated whether beer or music play a more important role in the winemaking process (read our thoughts on beer). So here’s a brief list of some of our favorite songs to listen to while making or consuming wine that also happen to be about, or at least make mention of, our favorite elixir.

roger-millerChug-a-lug
ROGER MILLER
The first verse kicks off with “Grape wine in a mason jar, homemade and brought to school”, and the chorus features the phrase “makes you wanna holler hi-dee-ho”, which we think would make a mighty nice slogan for Jus Soli wines. And to clarify that first line, we of course would never condone underage drinking and are certain that the school Miller refers to is some sort of post-graduate program, most likely in enology.

Why Can’t We Be Friends
WAR
“I seen you around for a long long time, I remember you when you drank my wine…” In an extremely tough call, gets the nod over War’s Spill The Wine by not being about spilling. A decision made especially difficult since Spill the Wine features all the crazy rambling about the “overfed long-haired leaping gnome”, which for some reason was one of the possible winery names suggested by our eccentric long-haired winemaker Tom. Translating into Latin didn’t do much for it either.

I Got Loaded
LOS LOBOS
“Tonight I might get loaded, on a bottle of wine, on a bottle of wine…” We just might.

bob-marleyWine, Women and Song
LORETTA LYNN
Easily beats out Whitesnake’s similar yet very different, Wine Women an’ Song.

Babylon System
BOB MARLEY
“We’ve been trodding on the wine press, much too long”. A song for those tiring harvest days. Bob understands.

Yesterday’s Wine
MERLE HAGGARD (WITH GEORGE JONES)
Melancholy tune by drinking song hall-of-famer Merle. Also brings light to the fact that the bottle of wine you opened last night might still contain a glass. If so, go now.

Sheep Go To Heaven
CAKE
“I just want to play on my pan pipes, I just want to drink me some wine…” The rest of the chorus is “Sheep go to heaven, goats go to hell”, which always makes for an interesting sing-a-long at Cake concerts.

linda-ronstadtWillin’
LINDA RONSTADT
“If you give me weed, whites and wine, and you show me a sign, I’ll be willin’ to be movin’…” That’s right, Linda over the original by Little Feat. No list is complete without a little controversy. But seriously, Linda’s version is outstanding and was always one of Harvey “Poppy” Wurtzel’s favorite songs for kicking off a road trip, despite being a questionable choice to sing loudly in front of the little ones. To their credit, his children Cory and Jesse did choose to sell the only one of those three vices permitted by law.

I Like Beer
TOM T. HALL
The song complains about how “The water was clear and tasted like beer until sometime turned it all into wine” followed by a rousing bummed “Awwww…” from the whole band. Gets nod over Hall’s nicely titled Old Dogs, Children and Watermelon Wine because frankly, watermelon wine doesn’t sound very tasty.

Hole In The Bucket
SPEARHEAD
“What’s gonna happen if I give the man a dime? I don’t want to pay for another brother’s wine.” This one’s for the anti-wine contingent currently wasting time deep within our winery website.

Outdone
UNCLE TUPELO
“Some people turn to tomorrow, and some a bottle of wine”. The young Jay Farrar, Jus Soli’s unofficial musical representative, telling it like he sees it. We just caught his show in Petaluma the other night with guitarist Mark Spencer accompanying. Wow.

lightnin-hopkinsWine Spodee-O-dee
LIGHTNIN’ HOPKINS
“We gon’ have some fun ‘fore the sun goes down, you got the bottle jus’ pass it around.” Even the classic bluesmen get a little silly sometimes.

A Little More Wine
SAVOY BROWN
“I just got time for a little more wine.” Familiar sentiment, great song from the short-lived (with original lineup) and under-appreciated British blues scene band. Often followed by, “Hey, you know what, I still got time for a little more wine”.

Cold Water
TOM WAITS
“Scrape up a little money to buy a bottle of wine.” Sneeze and you might miss the wine reference but it sure is nice to have Sonoma County’s own Tom Waits on our list, and this selection is considerably less scary  than the Black Rider’s desire to “drink your blood like vine”.

dean-martinLittle Ole Winedrinker
LEFTY FRIZZELL AND DEAN MARTIN
Since Dean seems right at home on a list like this, we included his version along with Lefty’s original. We’re pretty sure that’s Dean in the picture (although definitely not wine that he’s drinking).

All Along The Watchtower
JIMI HENDRIX
Before you Dylan fans freak-out (even though Jimi’s version is better), look at the next entry.

Stuck Inside of Mobile With the Memphis Blues Again
BOB DYLAN
“She said all the railroad men just drink up your blood like wine”. Again the scary drinking blood thing, but it’s such a great song with such a great title.

Time Between Bottles of Wine
WAYLON JENNINGS
Since Peter named his dog after the man, we figured we better sneak Waylon in here somewhere. And while there is no such standard measurement of time, we try to keep it under 15 minutes.

canned-heatGoing Up The Country
CANNED HEAT
“I’m going where the water tastes like wine. We can jump in the water, stay drunk all the time.” And then a wild flute solo ensues. Need we say more?

Man No Sober
STEEL PULSE
“In and out of discotheques, in and out of wine bars…” And you thought reggae songs were only about ganja.

Sangria Wine
JERRY JEFF WALKER
“It’s organic and it comes from the vine, it’s also legal and it gets you so high…” Odd catchy little song on the same album as Walker’s version of the hilarious Up Against the Wall, Redneck Mother.

billy-joelChampagne and Wine
OTIS REDDING
A seduction song from Otis. If you’re out of champagne, may we suggest Jus Soli Zinfandel? No need to thank us, just doing what we can to improve all facets of our customer’s lives.

Scenes From An Italian Restaurant
BILLY JOEL
“A bottle of red, a bottle of white, it all depends on your appetite”. Yeah, we know it’s long and cheesy, but pre- Christie Brinkley Billy Joel is good cheesy, right? On second thought, maybe it’s just bad cheesy. Forget we ever brought it up. The back album cover is pretty cool though. Check out Billy’s tie and fro.

Red, Red Wine
NEIL DIAMOND
Just kidding, we’re going with UB40’s version.

Songs that we didn’t include for obvious reasons:

ted-nugentBitter Wine
BON JOVI

How Does The Wine Taste
BARBARA STREISAND

Good Friends and A Bottle of Wine
TED NUGENT

 

Archived from Jus Soli the website 1.0 (or maybe 1.2.9 is more accurate)


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