Wayne Donaldson is a year and two vintages into his own wine label Eonian. After about 20 years in the wine business, working in Australia and California, he “decided it was time to do something personal.” I first met Wayne in 2002, when we he was Vice President of Winemaking and Vineyards at Domaine Chandon, the sparkling wine house in Napa Valley, and we were shooting one of the very first episodes for the show I produced, In Wine Country, on NBC. I’ll never forget him showing us how to saber open a bottle of sparkling wine. It was the coolest thing I’d ever seen. A few years later we shot a story with Wayne going mountain biking on the grounds around Domaine Chandon, another super fun shoot. So when I heard he was launching his own wine label, I had to get the lowdown. “Eonian the name means…
DRINK – Urban wine
Since wine can be made anywhere these days, it’s no big surprise that Oakland, Berkeley and Alameda, CA (also known as the East Bay) are home to many urban wine brands, both established and start ups. So what if there are no vineyards in the city (that I’m aware of). At this past weekend’s Urban Wine Experience in Oakland, the local wines were showing rather well, paired with bites from local restaurants. The public event was held by the East Bay Vintner’s Alliance. I found a lot to like, and some really good values. There were many good Rhone varietal bottlings, and that made me happy, since j’adore Rhone wines. I might just need to do a little East Bay Rhone wine tour. These are the standouts: One of my last sips of the day was at Stage Left Cellars. It’s a fairly new player in the urban wine scene.…
DRINK – Wine Around the World #80sips
Do you know about Bottlenotes? It’s an online wine social media community, and totally unpretentious. Here you can share your own tasting notes, learn about and buy wine. They have a well-edited selection in their wine portfolio. You can also get The Daily Sip, the wine equivalent of Daily Candy. Bottlenotes also organizes wine tasting events, where you can meet up with other members and taste and talk about wine (yes in person!). Called Around the World in 80 Sips, it’s a great opportunity to taste wines you may not ever come across — like a passionfruit wine from Thailand. This event was held at Crushpad, the custom crush facility in San Francisco. Crushpad is relocating to Napa Valley, so this was probably my last time for visiting the city location. The tasting takes place amid all the barrels of wine aging. These wines stood out for me and should…
DRINK – Soulful wines
There are 100 point wines, wines that age beautifully and cult cabernets. But I’d rather drink a wine with soul — one that stirs my soul, one that is expressive and a delight to drink. Nothing’s better than discovering a new soulful wine. In this case, I found two! over dinner with friends at Wood Tavern in Oakland. The restaurant is a great place — always packed but it still feels so comfortable. And the food as it turns out is soulful too. On to the wines. The first, a Priorat, 2004 Joan Gine´ from Spainish producer Buil Gine’. I love Priorats, they are fragrant, fruity (think lush red cherry) with minerality and well-balanced and just delicious. You don’t see many Priorats on wine lists, but I always order it when I see it. The Joan Gine’ does not disappoint! It’s made from Grenache (Garnacha), Carignan and Cabernet Sauvignon. [retail…