Patz & Hall: Palate or Points?

Patz & Hall put on a focused tasting tonight at Patricia Hook's Firecliff Restaurant in Palm Desert. Three Chardonnays, three Pinot Noirs – all different enough to challenge a roomful of palates.

Founded in 1988 by four wine-dedicated friends Donald Patz, James Hall, Anne Moses and Heather Patz, Patz & Hall winery turns out single-vineyard Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs. Their wines are sourced from fruit grown in diverse terroirs centered in Sonoma yet tapping into bordering Napa with its Hyde Vineyard releases, Mendocino to the north and, with its Pisoni Vineyards wines, Monterey County's Santa Lucia Highlands to the south.

Anne Moses kicked off the tasting by introducing the premier of the winery's 2008 Sonoma Coast Chardonnay, an easy-drinking cool-climate chard with fresh stone fruit aromas and flavors braced by crisp acidity and minerality. Think fresh and food-friendly.

Next came our tasters' favorite: 2007 Chardonnay Hyde Vineyard. Rich with exotic fruit yet refreshing for its minerality and cleanliness on the palate, we enjoyed its elegance without overkill. As it turns out, wine critic Robert Parker agreed. He awarded this wine 94 points, the highest of all the Chardonnays tasted.

The last white was their 2007 Chardonnay Hudson Vineyard, a richer, more full-bodied chard with toasty oak and candied fruit. Not our style but still a Parker 93-pointer. Patz & Hall cognoscenti advised us to hold on to this one at least another year or so to enjoy it even more. We believe!

On to Pinot Noir after a bite of Patricia Hook's mushroom crostini that kept us going. We started off with the 2007 Hyde Vineyard, the Carneros vineyard site that delivered our favorite Chardonnay. Once again, it was Hyde: a deliciously full-bodied wine with dark cherry and wild berry fruits laced with cinnamon, spice and a savory finish. What, only 92 points? Who cares, we thought.

Next, the 2007 Pinot Noir Chenoweth Ranch. This beauty from the Russian River Valley was deep, with more brooding fruit and a spiciness that pushed this taster's envelope. The Spectator gave it one more point than the Hyde.

The closer was the complex 2007 Pinot Noir Pisoni Vineyard from Monterey's Santa Lucia Highlands. The full-on mouthful was rich with chewy black and red fruits, definitely the power-Pinot. The Wine Spectator agreed with its 94-point anointment.

Blind to prices and points, this taster favored the Hyde Vineyards' Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, but knew the Pisoni would win out when served with a perfectly paired pork tenderloin dish. Other tasters compared the spicy Hyde and Chenoweth Pinots to Zinfandel – Zinfandel?! Ouch. Goes to show it's all about your palate, your taste – points and tasting notes be damned.

Thanks to all who made this happen: Patz & Hall, Patricia Hook and her Firecliff staff, Patrick and the gang at LA Wine Company and all the interested wine lovers who took the time and pleasure to taste, compare notes and share.

You'll find Patz & Hall wines on better wine lists around the valley. Seek them out, try them all. There's not a mediocre offering among them. Treat yourself.

Wine Labels We Like

Last post we looked at wine labels that were light on facts but heavy on fun. Cute, but not very informative. Some wineries use labels to tell a story that can help you decide if what's in the bottle is right for your preferences or occasion.

Take a look at the back label of Zolo 2005 Malbec (click on the image to enlarge and catch the details). The snapshot plants you in the Mendoza terroir of this 100% Argentine Malbec. It's been aged for 14 months in new oaks, a tip-off to this wine's toasty flavors. In case you missed that clue, the description of the wine's aromas spells it out for you. Read on and you can picture the wine's deep color and imagine how your first sip will taste and feel.

Fans of this silky smooth and totally delicious Malbec know these wine words are accurate. The proof is in the tasting and, truth is, you can't know for sure until you pop the cork. Even so, if you enjoy this flavor profile, the label may help land this wine in your shopping basket. We snagged one of the last bottles at LA Wine Company for $15, a total steal for such a big, balanced wine.

Another type of helpful label tells you when and how to drink what's in the bottle. We saw this label on the back of an Austrian red wine at Johannes in Palm Springs.

At a glance, the three-panel graphic tells you the wine's ideal serving temperature of 18º C (64º F), how long to decant it (2 to 4 hours) and perhaps best of all, when this wine should be ready to drink (from 2006 to 2010). No subjective flavor descriptors here, just the facts. Very helpful, indeed.

Other winemakers use the label to express a philosophy, often about winemaking itself. Here, a bottle of Petite Sirah from Trinitas describes the winemaking family's spiritual connection to their wines.


Three wines, three very different labels. Let us know about labels that make you want to drink their words. Or not.

Cute Wine Labels, Pretty Bottles

Have you ever bought a wine because the label or the bottle was just plain irresistible? What about Antinori's white wine that came in a green, fish-shaped bottle complete with scales? We'll admit it if you will too.

Wine buyers aren't immune to clever marketing ploys. Fact is, some wine label designers are pretty savvy cats who work the label or bottle design as prime wine-selling real estate.

A label's design can raise or lower a wine's shelf-appeal, regardless of what's actually in the bottle. At their best, clever or beautiful labels can trump a wine's price barrier and trigger sales. A dull label on a terrific wine might cause shoppers unfamiliar with the wine's quality to bypass it in favor of one with a snazzier label. On the other hand, a label with fetching colors, captivating design or sex appeal can land the sale – after all, you might subconsciously figure, how can you not enjoy a wine whose label promises so much?

Lately, a couple of messages-in-a-bottle worked their subliminal magic on us. We were hooked by one look at the label of Mad Housewife 2007 Chardonnay. What better bottle could we bring to girlfriends' weekend on Balboa? Or, as the winery asks on its Web site, What's Domestic Bliss Without a Little Wine?


In the glass, Mad Housewife was drinkable but hardly complex. Fruity flavors of apples and pears were mixed with a moderate amount of oakiness. With only a $4 price-tag, the goofy front and back labels alone gave us our monies worth in pleasure.

More recently, we couldn't resist a Languedoc wine in a pretty green bottle. Made from the obscure Picpoul grape, the 2008 Coteaux du Languedoc Picpoul de Pinet takes root from fruit grown in clay and limestone soils known for producing light white wines that pair well with the region's marine-based cuisine. Of course, we didn't know any of that when we saw Pretty Green Bottle that hot day. Instead, it had the come-hither look of a thirst-quencher. At around $9 at LA Wine Company and with Patrick's endorsement, we took the chance.

This time, what was inside the bottle mattered. The 100% Picpoul delivered clean flavors of juicy apple and green melon with refreshing acidity and enough complexity to keep our interest. Choose it as an aperitif or enjoy it with light summer fare or shellfish. At 12.5% alcohol, you'll stay cool through the dog days of August.

What pretty bottles or cool labels have you come across this summer? Did the wine deliver or was it just a pretty face? Either way, we hope it was fun.

Vacation Wines

Wine memories are especially sweet when you discover a winner while on vacation. Once home you might hunt down that wine, relishing the chance to savor it once more and relive a special part of your vacation experience.

We discovered such a wine a few years back at the Ahwahnee, the historic hotel right smack in the middle of Yosemite Valley. Wanting something truly special and memorable after a great hike, we chose an exotic-sounding Petite Sirah by Jeff Runquist, a producer unknown to us at the time.

Runquist was winemaker at J. Lohr winery before setting out on his own. We shoulda known as their Cabernet Sauvignon has long been a favorite house wine.

Grapes for Runquist's varietal Sangiovese, Barbera and Z, the winery's flagship Zinfandel flourish in Amador County, the heart of Gold Rush country. Runquist also sources grapes for Pinot Noir from Carneros, Cabernet Sauvignon from Paso Robles and Petite Sirah from an island in the Sacramento River delta.

We were hooked by the Petite's deep color, powerful aromatics and bold flavors bursting with smoky, rich black fruits. When we told our friends at LA Wine Company about our find, they told us how much they liked Runquist's Barbera. The hunt was on.

Since that Yosemite visit, we've tried many other Runquist wines — they don't disappoint. Wine critics share our enthusiasm, attested by the gold rush of medals racked up by their expanding wine portfolio. Runquist wines will always be special and worth seeking out anytime we venture into a wine shop with a deep collection of California gems. Can't wait to find their Primitivo.


On a visit to Yosemite last month, we were saddened to find no trace of Runquist's Petite Sirah on the Ahwahnee's wine list. Sure, we saw some great wines but not the powerhouse etched in our memories. As though in consolation, the wine list had progressive elements with descriptions of key varietals to help Yosemite's peripatetic diners pair wines to the majestic dining room's food. Progress, we suppose.


Let us know about wines you discover this summer on vacation. Will it be a racy Vermentino on a romantic terrace off the coast of Sardegna or an unlikely gem from your favorite So Cal getaway? Hold on to hope as you attempt to track down your finds – after all, we're in wine-happy California. You just might find that glorious wine in an unexpected place and revisit a special time with every sip.