Showing posts with label Penny Lane Vineyard. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Penny Lane Vineyard. Show all posts

Saturday, February 20, 2021

Visit to Venge Vineyards and Nils Venge

Visit to Venge Vineyards Saddleback Winery, Penny Lane Vineyard and Rossini Ranch with Nils and Kirk Venge

A Unwindwine memorable retrospective. Back in 2002, wine buddy AJ and I visited Venge Vineyards Saddleback Winery down at the northern edge of the Oakville appellation south of St Helena and met with legendary winemaker Nils Venge

Nils in Penny Lane Vineyard

After meeting and touring the winery and Penny Lane Vineyard there in Oakville, we took wine maker Nils Venge to lunch at Tra Vigne, our favorite Napa Valley dining site of that era. Dining in the adjacent outside garden with the fountain and the oversize monstrous granite dining table was a highlight of many visits to Napa Valley. 

Upon arrival at Tra Vigne, as if we needed another legend sighting/meeting, we ran into Margaret Mondavi.

Nils Venge and Margaret Mondavi

 At lunch with Nils at Tra Vigna, we dined on the terrace with the garden in the background amidst the blissful sound of the fountain. 
Tasting Venge Reserve wines with Nils Venge

 Over lunch, we tasted Venge Family Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 1998 and the Venge Penny Lane Vineyard Family Reserve Sangiovese 2000. Nils was the first winemaker grower producer in Napa Valley to plant Sangiovese varietals and craft Sangiovese wines. 

After lunch, we drove up to the new Venge venture, Rossini Ranch, in Calistoga. There we met Kirk Venge who was stepping into and following the footsteps of father Nils. 


At the time they were deep into the development of the Rossini Ranch property digging the caves at the site. 

Nils, Kirk, & AJ in front of new cave
being dug at Rossini Ranch
 
Kirk was born in 1976 and raised in Rutherford, Napa Valley into a wine family and lifestyle. He earned his degree in Viticulture and Eonology at the prestigious University of California, Davis, graduating in 1998, and quickly set his sights on buying the Venge winery from his family. From this foothold he set out across the Mayacamas divide and set roots in Sonoma. 
 
Today, Kirk has acquired the namesake brand and business of Venge Vineyards upon Nil's retirement. He has succeeded in establishing himself as a leading winemaker, grower producer in Napa and has expanded his reach into Sonoma. His wines have earned high praise and he has vastly expanded the Venge portfolio and consults with many top brands in Napa as well as Sonoma County.  
 
In addition to his namesake vineyard and winery, Venge Vineyards, Kirk also founded Croix Estate in Sonoma County. In the spring of 2009, Kirk introduced the name "Croix" and a rough idea for property and an eventual winery in Sonoma. He released the inaugural vintage of Croix Estate in 2012 and opening of a new winery in 2018. From the Russian River site, Kirk focuses on estate Chardonnay and Pinot Noir but also produces a Zinfandel from the nine acre vineyard that dates back to 1904, and a GSM comprised of the Rhone varietals Grenache, Syrah and Mouvedre.  

 
Kirk also serves as consulting winemaker for several other producers including BCellars, Renteria, Promise Wines, Hunnicut, Trespass Vineyards, 11:11 Winery, Jax, and Macaulley Vineyards.

Visit to Venge Vineyards and Nils Venge

Visit to Venge Vineyards Saddleback Winery, Penny Lane Vineyard and Rossini Ranch 

A Unwindwine memorable retrospective. Back in 2002, wine buddy AJ and I visited Venge Vineyards Saddleback Winery down at the northern edge of the Oakville appellation south of St Helena and met with legendary winemaker Nils Venge

Nils in Penny Lane Vineyard

After meeting and touring the winery and Penny Lane Vineyard there in Oakville, we took wine maker Nils Venge to lunch at Tra Vigne, our favorite Napa Valley dining site of that era. Dining in the adjacent outside garden with the fountain and the oversize monstrous granite dining table was a highlight of many visits to Napa Valley. 

Upon arrival at Tra Vigne, as if we needed another legend sighting/meeting, we ran into Margaret Mondavi.

Nils Venge and Margaret Mondavi

 At lunch with Nils at Tra Vigna, we dined on the terrace with the garden in the background amidst the blissful sound of the fountain. 

Tasting Venge Reserve wines with Nils Venge
 
Over lunch, we tasted Venge Family Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 1998 and the Venge Penny Lane Vineyard Family Reserve Sangiovese 2000. Nils was the first winemaker grower producer in Napa Valley to plant Sangiovese varietals and craft Sangiovese wines.

After lunch, we drove up to the new Venge venture, Rossini Ranch, in Calistoga. There we met Kirk Venge who was stepping into and following the footsteps of father Nils. At the time they were deep into the development of the Rossini Ranch property and were in the midst of digging the caves at the site.

Today, Kirk has taken over managing the operations upon Nil's retirement. He has succeeded in establishing himself as a leading winemaker, grower producer in Napa. His wines have earned high praise and he has vastly expanded the Venge portfolio and consults with many top brands in Napa as well as Sonoma County.


At the time they were deep into the development of the Rossini Ranch property digging the caves at the site. 

Nils, Kirk, & AJ in front of new cave
being dug at Rossini Ranch







L to R above - Nils in Penny Lane Vineyard, Nils and Kirk Venge at new Rossini Ranch Vineyard; Nils, Kirk, & AJ in front of new cave being dug at Rossini Ranch; Nils in winery, and with AJ at Penny Lane, Nils and Margaret Mondavi at Tra Vigne.

Wednesday, December 27, 2017

Venge Napa Valley Oakville Penny Lane Vineyard Sangiovese

Venge Napa Valley Oakville Penny Lane Vineyard Sangiovese 2010

With son Alec visiting from NYC, we were joined by his girlfriend Viviana for a holiday visit. When Viv is around we have fun serving wines from one of our favorite producers, Venge with its 'V' branding prominently displayed on the label/bottle. We just received this lot of Venge Penny Lane Vineyard Sangiovese that we acquired at auction and were eager to try it.

In Italy, Sangiovese is the most widely planted red grape variety accounting for approximately 10% of all vineyard plantings. It is most notably known for use as the only component of Brunello di Montalcino and Rosso di Montalcino, and the main component of the blend Chianti wines. In recent years it has gained notoriety in "Super Tuscan" wines like the well known highly regarded Tignanello. It became very popular blended with Cabernet and some of the other Bordeaux varietal grapes. 

We like to keep some Sangiovese on hand for serving with Italian food. Wines made from Sangiovese usually have medium-plus tannins and high acidity. Sangiovese's high acidity and moderate alcohol makes it a very food-friendly wine. It is ideally suited with Italian cuisine such as tomato-based pasta and pizza sauces with a Sangiovese-based Chianti.

Sangiovese can accentuate the flavours of somewhat bland dishes like meatloaf and roast chicken. A benefit of Sangiovese is that it accentuates herbal seasonings such as basil, thyme and sage that tend to compliment the herbal notes  of the grape. When blended with Cabernet, Merlot or Syrah, the Sangiovese blend takes on the character of those fuller-bodied reds and pair with heavier dishes such as steak and thick soups.

Young Sangiovese tends to have fresh fruity flavours of strawberry and a little spiciness. When aged in oak barrels it takes on the oak notes and well as even tar like flavours. While not as aromatic as Pinot noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, or Syrah, Sangiovese often has a flavour profile of sour red cherries with earthy aromas and tea leaf notes.

The well known Italian producer Antinori family promoted Sangiovese planting in America when they owned Atlas Peak Vineyards located in the Atlas Peak AVA in the foothills of Napa Valley. They found Californian Sangiovese could be more fruit-driven with floral notes than their Tuscan counterparts.

Nils Venge was an early proponent of Sangiovese in Napa Valley dating back to when he planted and produced Sangiovese wines while winemaker for Del Dotto in the mid to late nineties. We held some of those early vintages of Del Dotto as well as early vintages of Venge Sangiovese. Records show we held these label from the 1997, 1998 and 1999 vintages. We discovered and acquired those wines during our winery estate visits from that period.

Today, Venge produce another vineyard designated select Sangiovese sourced from fruit grown in the mountains on the Antinori family’s Antica Estate. They cite that this is one of just a handful of standing Sangiovese vineyards that remain in Napa Valley today. 

Venge Napa Valley Oakville Penny Lane Vineyard Sangiovese 2010

When I saw this label at auction, I eagerly bought the entire lot.  With limited production, it is not widely distributed and not generally seen here in the Midwest.

Wow. This exceeded my expectations and was bigger, brighter, and more expressive than what I remember or expected. It almost resembled a Syrah.

Dark inky colored, full bodied, rich concentrated extracted fruit, aromatic,almost intense black cherry and black raspberry with notes of tobacco leaf, tea and hints of tar on a smooth silky tannin laced finish. This was super with dark chocolate and begged for a spicy Italian pasta!

RM 92 points. 

This is a  blend of 90% Sangiovese and 10% Charbono.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1351287

The Cellartracker wine drinking window went out to 2016. Based on this tasting, I pushed it out to 2020!

http://www.vengevineyards.com/