Michael-David Wines Seminar Tues, Jan. 19

Posted by Bottle Report on Jan 19th, 2010 in Event Coverage, Featured Articles | 2 comments

Event: The winery that brought you 7 Deadly Zins, Earthquake Cab and 7 Heavenly Chards conducted a tasting seminar Tuesday night with representative Josh Brett explaining how many of the interesting names came to be.

The evening's presenter and educator, Josh Brett, of Michael-David

Interesting names or not, the wines were excellent, each with distinctive flavors and styles. The three Zinfandels presented tonight demonstrated how deliciously different the same varietal can be. This Lodi winery takes advantage of the warm days and cool nights in the Lodi area to produce ripe grapes, that produce soft tannins and resulting wines that are very drinkable. Lodi has more acres under cultivation than Napa and Sonoma combined.

This family winery gets its name from the first names of the owners, Michael and David Phillips who represent the fifth generation of growers in Lodi. The have several of their children working at the winery as well as their wives. One son, who is in charge of operations, writes poetry for the back label of each wine.

The flagship wine is the 7 Zins now reaching 225,000 cases a year, the second most selling Zinfandel in the US.

With names like 7 Zins and Lust the jokes were flying left and right. Lustwas the first of a line of seven Zinfandels each representing the 7 Deadly Sins. This one was followed by Gluttony the same year. This line is limited to production runs of 600-900 half cases (6 bottles). Lust comes from The West Side Vineyard in Lodi and is aged 22 months in French oak. This is unusual for Zinfandels according to Brett, “Not many Zinfandels are aged in French oak.” Some tasters detected a hint of tobacco mixed in with the oak.

Gluttony is aged 22 months in American oak that had been air-dried for 30 months. Sloth is from Mendocino County and should be ready for release in about 3 months. Then will come Greed, from Napa Valley grapes, followed by Envy, made with Sonoma grapes. Each will show different expressions: some big, some small, some spicy, some deep red, some black. The line of 7 will show the diversity of the Zinfandels grapes in the region.
Where: Vineyard Wine Market (map), 4414 Evans to Lock Road, Evans, GA. (706) 922-9463

When: Tuesday,January 19, 2010, 7-9:30pm
Cost: $20.

Here are the wines presented:

Incognito Viognier 2006
The winery won an award for best Rhône White Wine 2000 with its first wine using Roussanne grapes from another vineyard. Although selected a winner one judge said it was a Rhône varietal but not Roussanne. After some research, including DNA testing, they found in fact it wasn’t Roussanne but a rare clone of another Rhône varietal, Voignier. So, the name Incognito was born– a grape disguised as another grape. This Viognier has honeysuckle, spice, apricot and citrus flavors.

7 Heavenly Chards 2007
This is a 100% Chardonnay. The 7 Heavenly refers to 7 virtues that can cancel out the 7 Deadly Sins. A nice play on the 7 Zins name, which is the winery’s big seller. The 7 actually stands for 7 different French oaks that the wine spends for short periods of time. The result is slight oak with flavors of tropic fruits, pineapple, apple, citrus, mango and a nice creaminess.

7 Deadly Zins 2007
This is their flagship wine, recently scoring 90 points from Robert Parker in August. They produce 225,000 cases a year which represents two-thirds of their annual production.

The name comes from the wine being made with grapes from 7 “old vine” vineyards. Old vine grapes have thicker skins which can produce more tannins. They also “struggle” to survive, using very little water. By providing only enough water to survive the vine’s roots growing deeper in the soil result in a grape that produces a heavier juice with more character. But older vines yield less fruit which make them more expensive. Unlike many terms that have legal meaning in regards to wine, “old vines” can mean anything. Typically old vices refer to vines older than 50 years. Some in use by Michael-David are more than 100.

This blend of Zinfandel use grapes that are over 50 years and some over 100. When they started producing the first Zinfandels David found he liked the blend of the 7 grapes they had, rather than one of any of the 7 alone. It is rounder in the mouth, more friendly. Remembering his Catholic School Days he decided say why not call it 7 Zins. First vintage was in 2000 with only about 500 cases made and sold regionally in California and the Southwest. It’s now the second best selling Zin in the U.S.

Josh said “We pay more per ton for our grapes because the vineyards must follow the rules we set. There’s lots of stuff behind the scenes that goes into making good wine.

Petite Petit 2007
This was first produced in 2005, starting at 500 cases and growing to 20,000 cases annually. Mainly available in restaurants and independent shops, it has dusty plum flavors with a nice long finish. The label is rather wild to say the least. It features elephants and other odd stuff. But if you look close you can see bottles of their major series of wines. There is also an homage to the movie “Pulp Fiction.” (I’ll let you Google the net to find what that is!). Josh added, “We don’t make a Merlot or Pinot Noir. This wine fills that niche.”
Grapes: 85% Petite Sirah, 15% Petit Verdot

Windmill Olde Vine Zin 2006
The Windmill line had 5 different varietals. Each of these wines come from the property their family homsteaded 150 years ago. It is named after the windmill located on the 160 acre property. They make 10,000 cases a year for the 5 Windmills.

Earthquake Cabernet Sauvignon 2006
Several tasters indicated this has a very oaky, almost smoky flavor. Spicy with a fruit flourish at the start. It was named Earthquake because the first vines were planted in 1906, the year of the great San Francisco Earthquake. Plus it has 15.5% alcohol content so if you drink a whole bottle the Earth beneath your feet starts to shake.

Lust Zinfandel 2006
The tasting notes for this wine say “This Zinfandel has a soft texture and decadent mouthfeel, and the flavors are of creme de cassis, caramel cream, melted milk chocolate, tangerine zest,
and cinnamon-spiced gingerbread.

6th Sense Syrah 2007
6th Sense Syrah was popular in the tasting room at the vineyard. It’s standard shape bottle didn’t really matter there. But when it started selling around the country new packaging was created, with th e new bottle more in the bottle style of a Syrah. Tonight they were able to show examples of both the old and the new.

Note: As mentioned before each back label has a poem by Kevin Philips, this one on the back of the 6th Sense Syrah.

I smell with one nose, an ancient black rose,
a memory lingering, briefly exposed.

I see with two eyes, through shadows and lies,
a secret revealing, wrapped in disguise.

I hear with my ears, three fallen tears,
echoing softly, heightening my fears.

I taste with my tongue, my panics begun,
four sides enclosed, melding as one.

I touch with my hands, a sinister plan,
five fingers discerning where I do stand.

I sense with my mind, a thought so unkind,
I’m trapped six feet under in a bottle of wine.

2 Responses to “Michael-David Wines Seminar Tues, Jan. 19”

Michael says:

January 19, 2010 at 9:50 pm

This was an extraordinary event. Great folks and wine. Roger and staff along with the reps were the best. A well put together event. Five ***** stars.
Josh Brett says:

January 20, 2010 at 9:07 pm

Thanks to all of you who participated in this event and tasted through the Michael~David portfolio of wines! Wine is both a a passion and a part of our history and we try to have as much fun with it as possible!

If anyone has any questions or comments for me, please feel free to reach out for me at JBrett@MichaelDavidWinery.com. You can also check out our website at http://www.MichaelDavidWinery.com to find out a little more about us and our wines.

Also, if anyone has plans to be at the Hilton Head or Charleston Wine Festivals, please stop by the Michael~David booth to say hello!

Finally, please continue to support your local wine shops like Vineyard Wine Market. Roger and his team work hard to find little gems, good values and smaller production items and add a personal touch along with some of their own knowledge that the larger retailers just can’t compete with.

Thanks again,
Josh