DISCOVERIES GALORE : The Wine Country Is Closer Than You Think

The Central Coast Wine Festival, held in late August at San Luis Obispo, was such a success that the 1986 festival is assured. That’s good news, but the discoveries I made that weekend are even better. There were so many fine wines and bargains in Chardonnays, Cabernets, Sauvignon Blancs and others that I can only offer notes about them here.

The trip began with a Friday afternoon visit to Dick Langdon’s Union Hotel in Los Alamos, where he had arranged a impromptu wine tasting in the garden. (You have to see the place to believe it: Langdon covered an old stucco exterior with weathered wood from old barns, making you believe the building was built in 1880.) Guests included Tony Austin from Austin Cellars, Joe Carrari from his own vineyard and winery just down the highway in Los Alamos, and Mary Vigoroso from the Los Alamos Winery. Vigoroso brought a 1975 and a 1976 Cabernets, both $5. Carrari’s 1984 Santa Barbara County Chenin Blanc, which just won a Silver Medal, sells at an almost giveaway price of $2.99. But it’s his inexpensive, non-vintage red ($2.99) that you should look for. It won a gold at the Orange County Fair and is 55% Cabernet, 35% Petit Sirah and 10% Zinfandel, giving it a great nose. Serve it in a decanter and you’ll have guests asking, “What is it?” and holding out their glasses for more.

Austin, who began his local career as wine maker at Firestone, now has both his own winery and ambitions to make “elegant wines.” His 1982 Pinot Noir--Reserve is just that. The 1982 Sierra Madre Vineyard Pinot Noir is equally stunning, gentle, non-aggressive, translucent and aristocratic. Briefly, here are some of my discoveries at the festival. Use them as a guide when you take a trip to our own nearby wine country. Sanford 1983 Chardonnay and 1983 Pinot Noir were excellent. Morgan 1984 Chardonnay is the finest yet from this small winery, surpassing the legendary 1982 wine. Chamisal Chardonnay 1984 continues the saga of this Norman Goss family winery with successive connoisseur examples. Everyone stood in line to taste the Adelaida Cellars wines--attracted by the stunning label but captivated by the good wine. Edna Valley 1984 Chardonnay is outstanding, redolent of fine French oak-barrel fermentation.

Creston Manor’s Sauvignon Blanc is a medal-winner with each release; the 1984 just grabbed the gold again, and the 1984 Chardonnay got deserved accolades from everyone tasting it in this debut. Also well received was the the unique 1984 Pinot Noir “November New.”

Homeward bound on Sunday morning, I stopped to see Cary Gott, president and wine maker at Corbett Canyon Vineyards. Built by Jim Lawrence, this winery, with its beautiful vineyards surrounding its handsome Mission-style architecture, was sold to Glenmore Distilleries and expanded with ultramodern equipment and technology. Dynamically directed by Cary Gott from Montevina, it’s a soap opera scenario that could make “Falcon Crest” seem tame. The bottom line here is solid success in 125,000-case production and sales for 1985, moving toward a potential doubling of that figure. Their gold-medal winners in current competitions tell the true wine-quality story: 1984 Corbett Canyon Central Coast Chardonnay ($7.99), silvery pale wine, 80% barrel fermented, then into French oak before bottling; Corbett Canyon 1983 Amador County Zinfandel ($5.99), aged in French oak; Corbett Canyon 1984 Coastal Classic Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon ($5.99 each), in 1.5-liter bottlings; 1982 Shadow Creek Brut-Methode Champenoise sparklers.

WINE OF THE WEEK: Because Sauvignon Blanc is becoming so popular with wine lovers, it was the focus wine for center stage at the Third Annual Wine Symposium, held in August at the Kapalua Bay Hotel on Maui. A tasting jury of professionals screened 51 candidate wines; the 16 finalists were then tasted by the Symposium’s 200 guests. And the winner? Guenoc 1983 Lake County Sauvignon Blanc ($6.95). Estate grown from the impeccable vineyards on the Lili Langtry ranch, now owned by Orville and Eaton Magoon of Hawaii, the wine was made by Roy Raymond, a winery consultant from the Napa Valley. It’s a lovely wine, and I was pleased to be among those giving it first place in scoring.