9 Mile Road Winery

• June 2009

  Folks, here's the low-down on the June 20th winehiking adventure that Mark and I have planned: Our day will be a simple affair in which we'll enjoy a 4-mile hike, a potluck lunch and a wine tasting, all at Picchetti Ranch & Winery in Cupertino. Picchetti charges a $10 fee for... Read moreFolks, here's the low-down on the June 20th winehiking adventure that Mark and I have planned: Our day will be a simple affair in which we'll enjoy a 4-mile hike, a potluck lunch and a wine tasting, all at Picchetti Ranch & Winery in Cupertino. Picchetti charges a $10 fee for their tastings that is refundable on wine purchases; the hike is free. What's unique about Picchetti Ranch is that there's a hiking trail just outside the tasting room door! Let's meet at 9:30 a.m. Saturday, June 20th for a 9:45 hike. We'll journey along the Zinfandel Trail through a classic local mix of cool woodlands and sunny chaparral, with views of Fremont-Older Open Space Preserve and Stevens Creek Reservoir. Folks young and old find Zinfandel Trail to be an easy and enjoyable walk. From the trail, we’ll see an assortment of plant communities ranging from lush chaparral brush and oak woodland to picturesque madrone and bay forests. We’ll even see a stand of nutmeg trees! If you like, I'll be happy to help you identify many of the other wonderful plants and animals that live and grow along the Zinfandel Trail. And, as an option on the return, we can hoist ourselves uphill to admire a small plot of gnarly 112-year-old estate zinfandel vines planted by the original Picchetti Brothers! After the hike, we’ll share our potluck lunches on the Picchetti picnic grounds, then taste Picchetti's locally-produced Italian-style wines inside their charming brick tasting room. So pack your coolers and picnic baskets with tasty goodies to share - bonus points for homemade! ABOUT PICCHETTI WINERY Located on a historic ranch a short drive from Silicon Valley, Picchetti Winery is one of the oldest wineries in California, and is connected via the Zinfandel Trail to Stevens Creek County Park. Bring a picnic lunch to share on the Picchetti grounds and enjoy fabulous local wines, some from local 110-year-old vines originally planted by the Picchetti Bros. GETTING THERE Take Freeway 280 to the Foothill/Grant Road exit in Cupertino. Travel southwest on Foothill Blvd. 3.5 miles (Foothill Blvd. changes names mid-point to Stevens Canyon Road). Travel through a residential section, pass lower Stevens Creek County Park, then Stevens Creek Dam and Reservoir. After passing the entrance to the quarry, Montebello Road will appear on your right. Travel up Montebello Road 0.6 mi., and enter Picchetti Winery on your left. Park in the upper parking lot to your right, and look for my black Dodge Dakota pickup with its camper shell. Most likely I will be sitting on the tailgate sippin' a cup o' joe. If you're running late, my cell is 408.306.2848. ~russ    (hide)

  Forum post in the topic June 20 -- Snooth takes a... by winehiker

  
  
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  April 2009

  9 Mile Road Cabernet Sauvignon 2005

  Snoothrank: Starting at $11^.99

  I had this bottle at a wine bar in San Diego called 3rd Corner and all the ladies I was with loved it. I would have bought a case but we had the last bottle! A wonderful smooth taste.

  Wine review by Liza Schreier

  
  

• May 2008

  Hands up if you've had a wine from Monterey. Of the 850 wines that I've rated on Snooth, I've had around 15 from there. Pretty poor considering the size of the region and the quality of wines made there: 40,000 acres of grapes farmed, across 9 AVA'a along an 85 mile long valley with... Read moreHands up if you've had a wine from Monterey. Of the 850 wines that I've rated on Snooth, I've had around 15 from there. Pretty poor considering the size of the region and the quality of wines made there: 40,000 acres of grapes farmed, across 9 AVA'a along an 85 mile long valley with over 80 wineries calling the county home. Monterey was originally flat, until plate tectonics forced the landscape into the mountains of today. This led to all the fertile top soil collecting in the valley, making that area incredibly fertile (lots of lettuce is grown there). The wineries are generally situated along the narrow band between the fertile valley floor and the inhospitable upper reaches of the mountains. If you look at the image below, you can see that the valley acts like a wind tunnel. Hot air rises and moves out to see, where it descends and then the cool (wet in the morning) air gets blown onto the land as a 'land breeze'. By mid afternoon its a solid 30 miles an hour, before it calms down at night. These cool winds keep the temperature around 65 degrees up by the bay, where the growing season is incredibly long: wineries are often harvesting into November. Thanks to Brad Martin of Morgan Winery for allowing us to use this image. Down in Arroyo Seco it doesn't rain much. Around 6-8 inches annually in common (compare that to 30-40 in Napa). Due to this, and the alluvial soils, irrigation is a necessity. However, as a result, wineries can control exactly how much water the vines receive. Because of the cool conditions and the long growing season the resulting wine is very Burgundian: high acidity, lots of minerality. However, different than Burgundy, the wines tend to have a more youthful fruit forward, clean fruit expression. I attended a Monterey Pinot Noir tasting recently and here are the four wines I tried: Morgan Winery Double L 2006 Pinot Noir ($62) - A real family owned winery, founded in 1982 they didnt event have a tasting room until 2007! Made from 11 year old vines, this is the only organic winery in the appellation. The grapes come from 12 clones across 8 rootstocks giving them a lot of diversity. Its grown on poor soil, with dense plantings. Rich powerful nose of cherry and leather, very fruity in the nose. A very powerful wine, firm tannins, still young and tight, but with a lot of potential. Very mineral, very acidic. (Snoothrank: 4) J. Lohr Fog's Reach Vineyard 2006 Pinot Noir ($35) - J Lohr originally planted pinot noir in the 70's, but ripped them out after 5 years. Apparently they were old clones and back then no one really knew how to grow pinot too well. In 2002 they replanted 4 dijon clones on 2 rootstocks giving 8 different combinations. This is their first release of this wine, so i was excited to taste it. Yields were 3 tons per acre, and they did an early morning harvest, the grapes were indoors by 10am, and then they did individual berry (rather than whole cluster) sorting. The wine opens with a slightly hot nose, but its very fruity too: cherry and pomegranite. Starts slowly on some very soft tannins with some minerality. There's more body on the finish, including some minerality and raspberry. Still its a softer pinot than the nose suggests. Finish is nice, if a tad tight. (Snoothrank: 3.5) Carmel Road Monterey 2006 Pinot Noir ($19) - 30,000 cases made. Estate grown coming from 4 vineyards east of highway 101. Opens with a touch of alcohol on the nose, followed by lots of leather and cherry and a surprising amount of minerality. Its very Burgundian in style throughout. In the mouth this wine has notes of cherry and a hint of spice and lots of nice tannins on the finish, with a hint of vanilla. What intrigued me most was the persistent minerality throughout - from the nose to the finish. Pair with spaghetti bolognese. (Snoothrank: 3.5) San Saba Vineyards 2006 Pinot Noir ($28) - The grapes come from the 4 major dijon clones (115, 667, 777 and pommard 4) which were planted 5 years ago. Opens with a light elegant nose, with some light earth. Its very fruity too - bright strawberry tase. Ultra light wine that has soft persistent tannins. The strawberry persists to the finish. A bright youthful, yet elegant wine. Aged 9 months in 50% new oak. 600 cases made. (Snoothrank: 4.5)    (hide)

  Forum post in the topic Monterey Pinot Noir by Philip

  
  

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