October Wine Club 2023

We've had some pretty good wine club months this year, but I think this month might be my favorite so far. This month we are featuring weird and scary varietals. Except for the Peacock level (nothing scary or weird about it-just a wine that isn't normally available and I'm a sucker for cool packaging).

It's not wine related but on 26 October we are having a tap takeover/reality TV costume contest at Bluebird. Stay tuned for more details.

Back to the business at hand, spooky and scary wine.

These two wine I've had picked out for a while, and they might be my favorite Indigo picks of the year. This month we have the 2022 Pfeffingen Dry Scheurbe.

Pfeffingen is the winery Scheurbe (Shoy-ray-bah) is the grape. We'll delve into the nitty gritty a little bit later but this German grape is a cross of Riesling with Silvaner (oooh another spooky varietal). I tasted this wine back in February and the flavors stuck with me. I'm really excited for you all to try it. The indigo red wine this month is the 2020 Two Mountain Lemburger. Right off the bat 🦇 it sounds scary because of the cheese-I personally really like the Lemberger wines coming out of Washington. They are generally a little more robust than your average Washington wine and this one has a touch of merlot in it. Again I can't wait for you all to try these wines.

The sapphire level this month features one winery we've featured in our wine club and on our wine list. The red wine is the 2019 G.D. Vajra 'Kyè' Freisa. Freisa is the grape, it's a close relative of Nebbiolo and has been described as mesmerizing. I'll do a deep dive into this grape in the next couple of weeks. We're close to home with the white wine selection and this month with the 2022 Cor Cellars 'Ago' Tocai Friulano, which their website describes as "elegant and supple". It's a distant relative of Sauvignon Blanc.

So far I hope I haven't scared you all off with these spooky and scary varietals. I wish I could have found a scary varietal for the Peacock level but I found a fun bottle that isn't widely available.

The peacock selection this month the 2021 J. Bookwalter GSM. This wine is generally reserved for the winery's wine club and we are lucky enough get a few allocated bottles. I know its not a scary varietal and one way I'm trying to justify this wine is maybe there are spooky and scary stories contained in the books on the lable. Most of all its a great wine that you wouldn't normally be able to get your hands on unless your a member of their wine club.

Over the next month I will go into more detail on all of these wines. It know you all have your favorite types of wines and I hope this month you enjoy these out of the ordinary wines.

September Wine Club - Peacock

The Taub family had colorful beginnings-Martin Taub and his brothers got into the spirit business soon the day after the repeal of Prohibition. About 80 years later Marc Taub, (third-generation president and CEO) discovered they were bootlegging brandy prior to Prohibition's end. They found a presidential pardon from Franklin D. Roosevelt that was issued in 1935. The family was successful in the spirits business and started a wine and spirits wholesale business in New York. In the 60's they family founded Palm Bay International which brought Italian wines into the US market. Moving forward Marc Taub is focusing on Saracina vineyard. Marc Taub bought the 400 acre Saracina estate from John Fetzer. Marc purchased the property soon after his father passed away and renamed it Taub Family Vineyards. The site is located in Mendocino and is the only site in Mendocino that has wine caves.

“My dad always said standing still is moving backwards,” Marc recalls. “We create our own potential. We run a family business that has spanned generations, and one that is intricately tied to other family businesses. The close relationships we hold in such high regard have created a greater universe of family that we cherish and those bonds are deep. As a result, the ideas of family and business are very much intertwined. Growing up watching my grandfather and dad, I never imagined doing anything else, and I know the same is true for my son, Jake. The passion runs through our veins. Our family’s history in this business has shaped our present and future.”

There is lots of love in this bottle of wine. It starts with hand-sorting and fully destemming the grapes. Native and select Bordeaux yeasts are used. The wine was aged in 75% new French oak for 18 months. Lots of blue fruits on the pallet. The flavors are lush and complex. Try this wine with our Duck (Roasted duck breast, spinach/garbanzo bean succotash, apricot chutney, hazelnuts.)

September Wine Club - Sapphire

The white wine for Sapphire wine club this month is the 2021 Crossbarn 'Sonoma Coast' Chardonnay. Early this year I was lucky enough to be able to attend a lunch and taste through an amazing assortment of Paul Hobbs wines from around the world. The barn pictured about is located in upstate New York on the 150 year old family farm.

“Farm life instills in one a deep sense of respect for family, a love of land and the joys of collaborative effort. Our Crossbarn wines are a reflection of these ideals and of our commitment to sustainable vineyard practices and gentle winemaking techniques. The "cross barn" was nestled in the middle of our one hundred fifty year old family farm in upstate New York. A favorite haunt for my siblings and me, it took on a life of its own and remains in our memories as a place of great mystery and adventure.” - Paul Hobbs

Along with Crossbarn winery, Paul Hobbs is also the owner and winemaker for Sebastopol winery and Paul Hobbs Winery in California, Hillock & Hobbs in the Finger Lakes, New York, he has international ties with Viña Cobos (Argentina), Crocus (France), Yacoubian-Hobbs (Armenia) and Alvaredos-Hobbs (Spain). Paul was an early pioneer in site specific varietals, it may have started when he was a kid on the farm and his father had him taste the same variety of apple grown in different orchards several miles apart, apparently the flavors made an impression and perhaps influenced they way he approaches winemaking.

This straw colored chardonnay hails from the cool Sonoma Coast AVA. This sassy chardonnay is crisp, yet hints of juicy pineapple and pear. The finish is refreshing and finishes clean. This lean bodied would pair beautifully with Oysters.

The red wine selection hails from Eberle winery. This month I am featuring the 2020 'Paso Robles' Zinfandel. Gary Eberle, the founder, went to Penn State University and studied biology, after graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Biology, he attended Louisiana State University for graduate work in cellular genetics. He earned a National Science Fellowship to Charity Hospital in New Orleans, it was there that one of his professors introduced him to the world of food and wine. It was Bordeaux from France that changed his trajectory - he enrolled in the Enology Doctorate Program at the University of California Davis. In 1973 he co-founded Estrella River Winery and a few years later he started Eberle in 1979 and produced premium, small production wines. He helped found the Paso Robles Appellation in 1983 and he was the first to produce a 100% commercially produced Syrah. The Zinfandel this month is hearty and elegant at the same time. Juicy blackberries and plums flavors are well balanced. There is also a hint of baking spices and tobacco. This banger will pair easily with a wide range of food - The Bad Dad Burger would be my first choice.