The Monterey River Road Wine Trail holds their annual Valentine’s Passport day, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. this coming Saturday, Feb 11. It’s nigh impossible to hit all 14 stops, so it’s important to have a strategy going in. With a bit of rain forecast this week, hills should be green with early spring growth. Regardless of time of year, the Santa Lucia Highlands are heartwarmingly beautiful, whether covered with the green, gold or red of vines, or the verdant dizziness of early spring.
Starting to the south, you can visit Scheid in Greenfield, where they plan to pair their syrah with a lamb meatball skewer with veggies, and as Sara Montcrief says, “Lots of chocolate, too!” Then it’s on to Ventana in the Arroyo Seco area, where the featured wine is the 2009 Rubystone (grenache and syrah Rhone-style blend), with Cowboy Butch’s food pairing of sausage made with Ventana grenache. Enjoy music, wine specials, a pre-release of 2009 Ventana tempranillo, and a special “Rubystone Lounge” for club members.
At Paraiso, near Soledad, you’ll be treated to their Souzao port and a chocolate fountain.
At Hahn, also near Soledad, Chef Brian Overhauser has some delicious tapas-style treats in store (free for Hahn club members; all others must have a Valentine’s Pass
port). Pork confit sliders with Royal Rose radicchio and Andy Boy fennel slaw should pair nicely with the silky 2010 Hahn Santa Lucia Highlands pinot noir. The gold medal-winning 2010 Hahn Winery GSM will splendidly set off the mache salad with wild mushroom herbed goat cheese crostini. Yum!! Can’t wait.
Wrath is essentially two tasting rooms in one for the day, as McIntyre will be pouring on the Wrath crushpad. Managing director Claire Marlin says it makes sense because they are practically family anyway. 
“Steve McIntyre’s company (Monterey Pacific) oversees all our farming and has been a trusted adviser for 20-plus years, so we were happy to share our space. This also makes it nice for Passport participants who can get two wineries in one stop.”
Talented winemaker Sabrine Rodems will be on hand to give both vineyard and winery tours, and Wrath will have two food pairings for visitors to enjoy. Schoch Dairy will have a representative offering cheese samples that go well with Wrath “Ex Anima” chardonnay, and Chef Brian Overhauser of Hahn will prepare a Santa Lucia lamb cassoulet to pair with Wrath “Ex Anima” syrah. This rich and savory dish, which incorporates braised Niman Ranch shoulder of lamb with Daily’s pork belly and Dibrova andouille sausage, will be served along with confit of whole-clove Gilroy garlic atop legumes with herbes de Provence. It should also pair brilliantly with the McIntyre 07 Mission Ranch pinot.
Wrath will offer wines by-the-glass — go for the spicy “Ex Vite” pinot noir — so you can relax on the patio and enjoy the view, if the weather cooperates, which it looks like it will.
Besides the pinot, McIntyre will be pouring their delectable 2010 chard and the 2009 Santa Lucia Highlands estate pinot, an elegant torch-bearing example of what SLH can truly achieve.
McIntyre’s Sales Director, Cheryl Warner, says you’re in for a special treat, as the multi-talented Steve McIntyre will be making a rare musical appearance. Seriously, folks, you already knew he was a rock star, you just didn’t know on how many levels.
Anthony Pessagno of Pessagno Winery near Gonzales says, “We are showing off our lovely 2008 Sleepy Hollow chardonnay to pair with food from the Babaloo Cuban food truck. Rich dishes to pair perfectly with our round, buttery, Sleepy Hollow chardonnay!” He says to look for discounts on certain wines that day as well. Babaloo was scheduled to be featured this past Tuesday on the Cooking Channel’s “Eat Street” series.
At the northern end of the trail, Ray Franscioni’s (below, right) place will be hopping with some new wines, including the brand-new 2010 pinot noir, 09 pinot gris, ‘09 chardonnay and assorted Bordeaux, as winemaker Dave Coventry says, “to break up the monotony!” I’m thinking he means the preponderance of Burgundian beauties at every turn, although I scarcely think such a fine selection could ever be monotonous. 
Don’t miss the pork loin with various seasonings grilled to perfection by Mike and Wendy Franscioni, keeping it “all in the family,” while the music of Guitar Friday makes every day seem like Saturday, especially this one.
At Manzoni, you’ll be treated to the delightful 2010 pinot (a must, at a great price point, too), 2010 pinot gris, 08 chardonnay and the new 09 syrah, which should do the customary Manzoni sausages proud. I’m really looking forward to trying that pinot gris. I’ve been tasting a lot of them from Oregon lately, and they’re missing that edginess that can make it such a grippy beauty.
At Boekenoogen, Garret (left) will pour and his Dad, John and his pals will be firing up the grill to create some fine eats. Among the wines you’ll be tasting are the lively, refreshingly unoaked chardonnay, a sumptuous pinot and darkly delicious Carmel Valley syrah, all great pairs with the fabulous grilled pork (right) and tasty tri-tip appetizers that are sure to make your mouth water. John promises club members a special pour.
While you’re there, be sure to buy a bottle or two of that most amazing 2008 Boekenoogen chardonnay. It has some nice bottle age on it now, and is oozing rich, ripe peaches, creamy pineapple, sensational acidity and perky passionfruit. If you haven’t tried it in a while, you’ll be amazed.
From the cellar
This week’s wine lineup includes a beautiful 2010 Clayhouse Estate Cuvee Blanc, a white Rhone blend that makes a fine 50-50 team of Grenache blanc and viognier. This appealing, well-made wine has a nose of honey, pear blossoms and honeysuckle, unfolding flavors like a spring bouquet, with sassy white currant, a generous dose of ripe melon, a touch of lilac, plump pear and a lush minerality that carries a flood of ripe nectarine, pineapple and creamy coconut across the palate. Oh, so NOT chardonnay: It’s for when you want something rich, not too ripe, but filled with fruit and depth. At $23, well worth a swirl.
Now, let’s go to the dark side, with the 2009 Lee Family Farms Rio Tinto ($16), a red blend made from classic Portuguese 
varieties, including Tinta Roriz (a.k.a. tempranillo), Touriga Nacional, Touriga Francesca and Alvarelhao. The latter is one of the most bizarrely different reds I’ve ever tasted: It reminds me of raspberry wheat beer. Fenestra in Livermore made it for a spell, sourcing it from the same vineyard as this wine, Silvaspoons, in Lodi. This wine has a dark heart, like peering into a cave. There’s a singularity here, with prominent baked plum, dried cherry, black tea and earthy smoked eggplant and soy sauce. It works splendidly with hoisin spareribs.
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