Still alot of summer left and I’m just thrilled that Virginia is on the list this week. In for one and I for one like a little butter with my chard.
My husband and I are traveling to the San Francisco area next week for the first time. Vineyards, eating, and driving the coast are priorities for the visit. Any suggestions out there? I’ve been trolling through past posts for ideas. We’d also like to hear about recommended restaurants. Is the wine train worth the time and money? Anything else?
Since the chardonnay has gone through a partial malolactic fermentation, it’s going to be somewhat buttery, because malic acid is the component that creates this flavor.
Okay, have not received my allotment of “J” Jordan whites yet but I still need more whites in my fridgey…so i’m going out on a limb here woot. Now i have 14 bottles total on their way to a new home. Can i get them by august?
In Peter Wellington’s latest blog post, he speaks briefly about the surplus inventory of grapes in 2009. Quick, interesting, informative reading that might answer the questions here re price, QPR and to a lesser degree, provenance. Read down the short list of comments, too.
Hi, Tom Gamble, the farmer and owner here. The Chard has a soft palate but is not overly buttery. Thats not us. Rich would describe its fruitfulness. We have maintained enough acidity so the fruit doesn’t come off overripe or flabby on the palate.
Tom Gamble here, owner and farmer. Thank you very much for the order. Wine Woot has a the wine in inventory, so weather dependent you should have it soon.
Thanks again.
Hi, Tom Gamble here, owner and farmer, to expand on your correct summary. I am a third generation farmer in Napa Valley. I sell grapes mostly small lots to about 20 wineries. I started Gamble Family Vineyards to make a litte wine a few years back. We had some grapes last year that given the economy that didn’t sell to the ususal buyers (wineries with a much higher profile than me) So I decided to make wine out of the Chard, SB, and to release later, Merlot.
The SB is bright with acidity, in the mid palate range of SBs with citrus and some gooseberry flavors, not so tart as to be grassy and not so ripe as to reach the melon range.
The Chardonnay is as I mentioned in a previous post, not buttery so much as it is fruitful rich. Still plenty of acidity so its not ponderous on the mouth dulling one’s appetite.
hope you enjoy.
Tom Gamble
Hi, Tom Gamble owner and farmer here. I mentioned in a previous post that I grew these grapes and my winemaker for Gamble Family Vineyards made these wines. Because of the economy, some of the 20 wineries I sell grapes to, reduced their purchases.
The rest of the chardonnay that I sold from this same block went into $20-$30 retail per bottle. The same with the SB.
So, thats the back story. I had some extra grapes, instead of letting the birds eat them, I made wine.
Oh, and I went to different facility that charges less. I wouldn’t make a $30+ bottle there, but it was more than adequate, sanitary, professional, etc for the product here.
Elsewhere I posted some additional taste profiles.
Hope you will enjoy.
Tom Gamble
Hi Tom Gamble here. I am the owner and farmer of Gamble Family Vineyards and MSH wines which are being featured here. You can email susan@gamblefamilyvineyards.com and she can tell you how to visit us and see our vineyards. She can also suggest other small wineries and vineyards to visit, as well as restaurants in the valley. If you do take the wine train, do the lunch trip. You cant see anything at night.
Hope to see you.
Tom Gamble
Peter gives a pretty accurate account of 2009.
It cant be emphasized enough how the economy negatively affected grape sales. I mentioned in another post that wineries really cut back on making wine. A lot of grapes were left unharvested and other farmers bulked their fruit and will ultimately sell to third parties. The MSH wines being sold here I kept control of and had my winemaker make wine out of.( I posted about wine characteristics earlier.)
What is interesting is that 2008 was a shy bearing year for several varieties. There is demand currently by wineries (the large ones) for bulk and their brokers are out actively looking. I also store my case goods in a cooperative warehouse. Inventory is actually going down faster than I anticipated. Given this one anecdote, and one fact, I am wondering if supply demand isnt going to get into balance sooner than expected.
One other observation after driving around Napa, Sonoma, and Mendocino the last week, A lot of vineyards are being ripped out in the middle of the growing season. That means no winery buyers.
whenever supply demand gets back in balance, Important sites like Wine Woot are going to be challenged to find the great quality to price deals they are currently providing the consumer.
I hope you will think MSH wines fit that Wine Woot mold.
Thank you for your thoughtful comments and the opportunity to respond.
Tom Gamble
If you are refering to the MSH label. The image of Mount St. Helena (MSH) that is at the head of the Napa Valley and dominates my daily view from the vineyard. The artwork depicting the mountain is from a 19th century drawing that I acquired.
Tom Gamble
Owner and Farmer
RobieReader enjoy your trip, I am jealous as I was out in Napa/Sonoma about a year ago for a wedding at Sebastiani. I did not do the Napa Valley Wine Train, so I cannot provide an opinion on that. Some of my favorite wineries in Napa were Frank Family, Cakebread (need an appointment) and Alpha Omega. Sterling has a fun aerial tram ride up and some terrific views but on that trip I did not enjoy their wines as much as other places our group visited. Also V. Sattui was a great place to get some lunch and enjoy it outside in their picnic table area. You can also grab some sandwiches at Oakville Grocery in Napa, which is a great lunch stop to break up your tastings.
From a Sonoma perspective I really enjoyed Ledson and Chateau St Jean. At Chateau St. Jean go for the reserve tasting which is in a separate tasting room.
As always fell free to stumble upon some wineries that you never heard of, as you are more likely to have more of a one on one personal experience there and potentially get to taste some additional wines that may not be on the normal tasting list, as well as getting a more intimate view of the vineyard and its wines. Not that going to Mondavi, Behringer or Krug is not an good experience (as they all have some great reserve wines, especially Mondavi’s spotlight wines), but wine tastings there are more of a profit center and not so much about the wines or an educational experience. Just one man’s view.
Enjoy yourself.
Ben
Tom, thanks for joining us and for your candor. Welcome!
Thanks for the information on the rationale behind this wine. Sounds like a nice deal-- wine from premium grapes at a very modest price.
In for one. Tom thanks for the background (it made the difference for me), very helpful. I realize I am beyond the rat deadline, but would be happy to if the deadline became extended.
Yeah, but now I’m kind of wondering, since these are the same grapes and the same winemaker as Gamble’s usual offering, is this basically the same wine one would pay $20-$30 for if it had a different label?
And why go to the trouble of starting a completely new label if it’s the same grapes and all that? Why not just make more of the usual wine?
Or were these lower-quality grapes from the same vineyard that would have otherwise been sold to Grocery Store Cellars outfit who walked out on the contract, and they just didn’t want them to go to waste?
Thanks for chiming in, Mr. Gamble, but I’m still a bit confused. 
Tom, Thanks for your comments. Sounds like some good white wines. I am in for two. Bill
Skip the wine train, you get views of peoples backyards with signs protesting the wine train. Decent food and decent wine but dining while moving is not the greatest experience. Bring a fat wallet for tasting in Napa Valley as most of the prestige wineries charge $20-$30 per taste flight. The large wineries charge around $10/taste for their grocery store wines and $20-$30/taste for premium or library wines. The tastings are usually 5 to seven wines. Sonoma Valley is less crowded much less expensive though more spread out.
I would stay away from most of the winery restaurants as they tend to be overpriced and mediocre. The winery delis with picnik areas are great.
The marin/sonoma coast is one of the best drives in the area with good eating along the way.
I prefer Sonoma and Healdsburg to Napa; smaller, more personal wineries. Hit up the Sonoma Market for a picnic lunch and bring it to a winery. Buena Vista is good for pinot noir, and Gundlach Bundschu has good whites & rose.
The good food is in the less touristy areas, but is damn good. Get burittos in the Mission, try Firefly in Noe Valley, and great Thai and Vietnemese food on Clement Street. If you’re up for a bit of a wait, put your name in at Burma Superstar on Clement and grab a drink across the street while you wait. Amazing food, my favorite place to bring visitors.
Ah, I love my city!