#43 Go Wine Tasting

(T)

Anyone from a beach town knows, that when the sun is out it's time to head to the shore. So naturally, when the sun decided to shine in the middle of January here in the Bay Area, I had to find my way to the closest beach. Dragging one of my closest friends along, I made the drive from Moraga to Santa Cruz with a simple plan- to enjoy the beautiful weather and get our minds off of the stress that has come along with our senior year of college.

Everyone and their grandfathers were out surfing, a bunch of kids, along with a few kids at heart, were running around their neighborhood having a water gun fight, everyone seemed to be a good mood... this is what I love the most about a sunny day. After devouring the most delectable acai bowls we have ever eaten at Cafe Brasil, we drove about 5 minutes south to the charming little town of Capitola where we wandered around antique shops, boutiques, and the beach until we stumbled upon a tiny little shop that read, "WINE TASTING." We had to go in- I could check it off the list! A strange, plastic, halloween like figure standing next to the entrance, and giant wine bottles in the window labeled "POIZIN" greeted us as we approached. I wondered what we were getting ourselves into.

The tiny Armida Winery tasting room smelled like a combination of my top favorite scents... the sea breeze and red wine. For a reasonable price, we tasted six wines and had a fabulous evening. Each wine was distinctly different than the rest, full of flavor and very impressive. While tasting, we learned about wine crystals (below) and the benefit of 100 year old vines. Since older vines produce a smaller amount of grapes, a stronger amount of flavor is given to each grape, whereas a younger vine that produces a much larger amount of grapes can only create a certain amount of flavor within each grape because of the high grape count.

At the end of our tasting I purchased Armida's "Surf-zin", a special 2008 zinfandel for their Santa Cruz/ Capitola location and a phenomenal wine, I will definitely be going back for more. My mental tasting notes began to disappear after a few glasses, so Sebastian from Armida has kindly shared his tasting notes of their tasting flight below.

Armida's Capitola tasting room is just a few steps away from the beach, so we were able to enjoy Capitola's view of the sunset, one of the most beautiful ones I have ever seen. It was a perfect way to spend such a gorgeous day and wine tasting was definitely the "cherry on top". Cheers! - T

1. Pinot Noir- 2008 Durell Vineyard, Sonoma Valley

"From the acclaimed Durell Vineyard in Sonoma, this beautiful wine shows great complexity and concentration. Dried cranberry, cooked chantrelle, and cola in the nose, hints of cinnamon and vanilla mingle with delicate sweet oak flavors giving this wine a lush velvety mouthfeel with an amazingly long finish." (armida.com)

2. 2008 Maple Vineyard Zinfandel

"The Maple Vineyard sits up on a bench above Dry Creek Valley on the east side. The vines are all head pruned and dry farmed, making for an intense Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel. This wine is signature Maple Vineyards with tons of ripe fruit, cranberry, blackberries, and black cherry. 10% Maple Petite Sirah adds tons of dark color and structure to this blend. Sweet vanilla oak, cola, and cinnamon finish out this well balanced wine." (armida.com)

3. Zinfandel- 2007 Tina's Block, Maple Vineyard, Dry Creek Valley Tina’s Block is the oldest block on the "Maple Vineyard. The vines are 80 to 100 years old, head pruned, and dry farmed. Just a few acres in size, this is a true Italian field blend, meaning there is much more than just Zinfandel planted in Tina’s block. There is some Petite Sirah, Carignane, Mouvedre, and even a couple of Mission vines. These varietals add color, structure, depth, and make this wine truly unique. The nose is bursting with black plum, dark cherry, and dark maple syrup and has a structured, lucious mouth with tastes of vanilla, sweet oak, and amareno cherries. The finish is amazingly long, with hints of molasses and chocolate covered cherries." (armida.com)

4. 2006 Stuhlmuller Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon

"A classic Alexander Valley Cab the Stuhlmuller Vineyard offers a structured, complex, and elegant addition to anyones wine collection. This noise is full of cassis, cedar, sweet tobacco, and coco powder. The mouth is rich with sweet oak, dark chocolate, and black olive. The finish is long and lingering on this beautifully integrated wine." (armida.com)

5. 2008 Flora Ranch Syrah

"This is a Syrah for Syrah lovers! The color is intensely dark, the nose is smoky, meaty, with hints of black olive, and sausage. The mouth reveals a brighter side of this Syrah, showing violets and cherries." (armida.com)

"Wine crystals..."