S.N.O.B. Wine Bar

While I was in San Francisco recently I had some time to visit the S.N.O.B. Wine Bar. I had heard lots of really good things about it, and so was excited to check it out. S.N.O.B. stands for Sonoma, Napa or Beyond and the wine list is very much a reflection of that, with an emphasis on local wines but some very interesting international selections.

SNOB is in an area of San Francisco that is currently undergoing redevelopment, so there is an eclectic mix of old and new businesses on the block. I wandered in at 4:00 on a Sunday and, for a while, had the place to myself, which was perfect. I was able to sample several different wines from the more than 40 they sell by the glass.

Veronica, the bartender, was spot on with each recommendation. She started by asking me what type of wines I like and narrowed down a couple of selections for me to start with. She picked a Meritage, which was an easy choice, but also a Zinfandel blend which was surprisingly good.

Finally, the atmosphere of SNOB is great. The bar is decorated in wine bottles and barrels, you almost feel like you are in a winery tasting room.

Overall, I highly recommend SNOB. If you are visiting San Francisco it is a few blocks away from the usual tourist areas, but worth the walk.

My last post on my trip to Alexander Valley.

I want to finish up with some more highlights from the Healdsburg Winery Walk.

Aside from Thumbprint Cellars my other favorite winery in Healdsburg was La Crema. The staff at the La Crema tasting room was magnificent, they were friendly, knowledgeable and a lot of fun. Of course, the wines were good as well.

They have 4 different Pinot Noirs, from 4 regions, each one with a unique taste and bursting with flavor. Their Syrah was excellent as well. The wine that really blew me away though was...their Chardonnay. Specifically, their 9 Barrel Chardonnay. The keep it in a separate room and each bottle is individually numbered. Normally, I am not a Chardonnay fan...but this was a crisp, refreshing wine barrel aged, but without a heavy oak taste.




Passalacqua was unique because of the location. It was in an industrial part of town, inside a warehouse. The wines, were good, especially their 2005 Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel. It is a blend of Zinfandel, Petite Sirah, and Carignane, making it a smooth wine with strong hints of raspberry, a very fruity Zinfandel.




Finally, we have Lake Sonoma. This winery had the largest tasting room of all the Healdsburg wineries visited. They had a very good Sauvignon Blanc and a surprisingly good Cabernet Sauvignon, which had an interesting blend of blackberry and plum aromas. Surprisingly, they also had a Port, I am not a big fan of Ports, and this was no exception, but a lot of other tasters seemed to like it.

My second (third if you count TSA rantings) post on the trip to Alexander Valley.

One of the great things about Alexander Valley is that many of the wineries have tasting rooms in downtown Healdsburg, in fact, they have even set up a Winery Walk (perhaps crawl, would be a better description, especially toward the end :)).

This gave us the opportunity to visit a lot of wineries in a short amount of time and also to check out some of the shops and restaurants.

One of my favorite wineries was Thumbprint Cellars. The lounge was warm and inviting and the wines were, overall, excellent. I also purchased what may be the best waiter corkscrew I have ever gotten from them. It is sturdy and perfectly balanced, with a good feel on the handle. Making it incredibly easy to open bottles (hey, a good wine opener is important, dammit).

The highlight of their tasting was the 2004 threesome. It is a blend of 50% Cabernet Franc, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon and 20% Syrah. It is an unusual blend, with very bold flavors. Normally in a red-blend a winemaker uses Merlot to help mellow the wine. With no Merlot the flavors of the three varietals are allowed to fully express themselves and you are left with a mouthful of different spices. An excellent wine.




One of the other wineries we visited was Toad Hollow. Sadly, a few days after our visit, the owner of Toad Hollow -- who was working the tasting room the day we visited -- passed away.




Williamson Wines is owned by an Australian couple, and Bill was working the tasting room when we visited. The winery has a heavy focus on red wines and I was especially impressed with a sneak taste we got of their Rouge Amoureux. It is a Meritage blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and Malbec. It was very drinkable, but feels like it will age even better and smooth out over time. It is not available yet, but I highly recommend it when it is released.

There is something about California wineries that inspires me. i think it is because so much of the area that surrounds San Francisco is so brown that the oasis-like lusciousness of Napa, Sonoma, Russian River Valley and Alexander Valley wineries stands in stark contrast to the surrounding area. Like this picture from Hanna Winery:



I spent a a weekend visiting wineries in Alexander Valley. Alexander Valley is famous primarily for its Zinfandel's, although Sauvignon Blanc does very there as well. I like Zinfandels because many of them pack a kick in the same manner that my beloved Cabernet Franc does. Finding a good, peppery Zinfandel is a real treat for me.

Hanna Winery had a great tasting room with a very knowledgeable staff. The highlights from this winery were their Sauvignon Blanc, which was much lighter both in taste and color than most Sauvignon Blancs I have tried, and the Two Ranch Red.

The Two Ranch Red is a blending of 8 different varietals, the current year is 2002 and after 5 years it has mellowed. The tannins are still present, but not overwhelming, a very enjoyable wine.





Next is Alexander Valley Vineyard, which is about 1/2 mile from Hanna Winery. Alexander Valley Vineyard is famous for their Zinfandels, they are, after all, the home of Sin Zin, Redemption Zin, and Temptation Zin.







The 3 Alexander Valley Vineyards Zinfandels serve as an interesting contrast of the different Zinfandel styles. Temptation Zin is a full-bodied fruity Zinfandel with hints of cocoa. Redemption Zin places more emphasis on the fruit, this creates a much more approachable Zinfandel, while still maintaining a full body. Finally, the most famous of the trio, the Sin Zin. This has a stong peppery taste, with a full-body that stays on your tongue for a long time.

Surprisingly, Alexander Valley also had a Viognier. It was good, but not remarkable, there are certainly better here in Virginia.

I spent the weekend in Alexander Valley visiting wineries around Healdsburg. Full updates will be posted this week, but I wanted to whine about airport security.

I shipped most of my wine back, usually buying three or four bottles per winery. There was one winery from which I only got one bottle. I didn't want to check my bag, so I wrapped the bottle up and tried to slip it past security...of course it got caught and I had to check.

All of which was fine, but I was at SFO, which has several places to buy wine. I asked the TSA reps what the difference is between my wine and the wine sold in the shops. Their response is that the wine in the airport shops is scanned.

I smelled BS, so I asked the owner of one of the wine shops if her wine is specially scanned before it is brought in...and, of course, the answer was no.