I had been waiting for this with bated breath for months. Pinnacle Imports, who carries some of the top Spanish brands along with a whole host of incredible wines from other counties, was throwing a big party in the park: "Pig & Pinot".

Along with a whole roasted pig, we had two special guests of honor.

At the forefront of Pinnacle's portfolio are two Pinot Noir producers: Brian Loring and Peter Cargasacchi. Brian and Peter each source grapes from particular world-famous vineyard sites each year, and make a wine with only the grapes from that vineyard site. 

 
Brian Loring, with the ears.

So Brian Loring makes a wine called Gary's Vineyard, Rosella's Vineyard, Durell Vineyard, etc. In fact, Brian even gets grapes from Peter Cargasacchi himself, and makes a wine called Cargasacchi Vineyard. Bottling single-vineyard wines creates wines that are incredibly nuanced-based and quite different from one another. They also can get kind of pricey, but are often very much worth it. They're all the rage for serious Pinot drinkers.

So what's another way that wine is made? Most wineries make wine from their own fruit, or source from multiple sites and blend that fruit with their own fruit. For example, in this process, fruit from many different vineyard sites in Sonoma County could be blended together. Maybe a little from Sonoma Coast, a bit from Russian River Valley, and so on. Wine like this can be great because it lets the winemaker craft a wine of averages. The different grapes from different places can be used in different amounts to create a product of evenness and balance. What's lost in this method, though, is a very true representation of the sense of place. All avid readers of my postings have seen me throw around this term time and time again, and I'll do it once more: this essence of the place (and I'm even involving all romantic conceptions tied up in this idea) is known as terroir. 

Single-vineyard wines are about terroir to the n-th degree.

The party lasted from 2-8pm, and there was plenty of wine to last the entire time. All of these Pinots were there:

2007 Cargasacchi, Pinot Noir — Santa Rita Hills

2008 Loring Wine Company, Pinot Noir — Russian River Valley

2008 Loring Wine Company "Shea Vineyard", Pinot Noir — Willamette Valley, Oregon

2008 Loring Wine Company "Durell Vineyard", Pinot Noir — Sonoma Coast -- 92pts

2008 Loring Wine Company "Rosella's Vineyard", Pinot Noir — Santa Lucia Highlands -- 93pts

2008 Loring Wine Company "Gary's Vineyard", Pinot Noir — Santa Lucia Highlands -- 92pts

2008 Loring Wine Company "Cargasacchi Vineyard", Pinot Noir — Santa Rita Hills -- 90pts

Though we wont be carrying these in Robust, I can special order anything into the store that you would like. All of the Pinots retail for around $42.

Along with all of the Pinots, we also had Peter Cargasacchi's 2008 Point Concepcion "Caponera", Chardonnay and his 2009 Point Concepcion "Celestina" Rose of Pinot Grigio. This is an awesome little rose, onion skin in color. Crisp, rich and dry. They had an entire Gatorade jug filled with it. Like the kind you see in football games on FOX on Sunday afternoons.

Since we were at one of the picnic sites in Forest Park, no glass was allowed. All of the wine had been transferred to plastic jugs, and then stickered with the corresponding label. It was a really funny experience to pour wine of that quality out of plastic containers.

By the end of the night the pig head somehow ended up on a stick - an erie Lord Of The Flies metaphor.  Once a head ends up on a stick, that's when you know it's time to go home.

The wines and food were exceptional, and it was tons of fun to watch Peter Cargascchi play Twister with some of the kids. Out of respect, I spared him the embarrassment and kindly withheld posting the picture ;-)

Until next time,

--Jayce

Greetings Friends of the Vine!

I recently was introduced to an interesting new way to open wine without a proper wine key from two friends, Hilary Musgrave Murphy and T.J. Birkenmeier (a.k.a. The Wise Buddha-hahahaha). Both Hilary and Birk, independent of each other, have encouraged me to learn this new technique.

Should this be the new wine service at Robust? Of course, I'll have to get just the right equipment.

Wine Cork Removal Technique

The French are always coming up with something new when it comes to wine! This came about because Airport security took away the wine opener. Now you arrive at the hotel and want to open the bottle of wine! Who needs an opener anyway!

Feel free to try this at home; I think I will too!

Cheers!

Stanley

As you recall, a few months ago, we asked our friends and guests to help us name Chef Mike Morton's latest sweet sensation. This plate of doughnut hole decadence is no ordinary bread pudding, although it is inspired primarily by the classic breakfast companions, Coffee and Doughnuts.

Now, after more than 500 submissions, the Robust "Unnamed Dessert" has finally been named by a dynamic duo, Matt Ryan and Liz O'Connor:

"THE COP STOPPER"

Matt Ryan claims his prize: Cellar Arts "The Robust Blend"
Cabernet Sauvignon Cuvee, Napa Valley and
Cellar Arts "The Luscious Blend" Chardonnay, Sonoma

Competition was fierce and there were many, many great ideas. We couldn't go on with the new menu without a few honorable mentions:

Do-Nut Pass Up! - Sunny McElwain
Bread, Bread Whine - Ken Abendschein
Caffeinated Cop Killer - Angela Ortmann
Holy Moly - Craig Biehle
Do-nut Ask; Do-Nut Tell - Diane Bordeaux
The TweetUp Sweet Treat - Elisabeth Cutshall and the #stlladiesnighttweetup Gals
Mt. Saint Heavens - Kay Cochran
The Pudding Hole - Jen Dooley
The Donut Bomb - Chris Reimer
La Robusto Dolce Vita -Jason Shipp
(Technically, Jason's didn't count since he lives in England, but it was a nice shot!)

I guess a little wine really does get the creative juices flowing!

Thanks so much to everyone who participated, especially Matt Ryan and Liz O'Connor.

Thanks also to Chris Reimer, Rizzo Tees and Ria Sharon, My Mommy Manual for helping me concept the idea!

A very special "shout-out" to Chef Mike Morton, whose amazing doughnut creation inspired us all!

Now dig in!

Arlene Maminta Browne