Part II: A Wine Tasting With Georgetta Dane of Big House Wines

Hopefully you read my interview with Georgetta Dane, winemaker for Big House Wines. She was a great lady with an interesting background and produced all the wines I'm about to review.

This post is a continuation of the interview, as we tasted through the line of Big House Wines.

Big House is in the town of Soledad in Monterey County on California's Central Coast, just south of San Francisco. It's across from a jail, hence the name "Big House." The Winery's two flagship wines are their Red and White, both blends of Mediterranean varieties, which vary based on the harvest. These wines were launched by Bonny Doon, who sold the brands to The Wine Group, along with Cardinal Zin in 2008.

Apart from the fact that the flagships are blends, which is uncommon in our varietal craving country, another interesting feature of the wines is that they use micro oxygenation, a winemaking process in which oxygen is streamed into the wine as it ferments to soften it. Some feel this is cheating the traditional process (you would normally rack the wine, or move it from one barrel to the other thereby forcing air into the juice), but many others think it's a great way to improve wines by adding a measured amount of air into them to soften them. For mid-tier wines, it's just fine, personally.

Without further ado, let's get to it. Georgetta and I sampled MANY wines. The Big House Red and White, Cardinal Zin, and four varietal wines that have recently been launched by the company. Given that there are seven wines, I'll just give the Cliff Notes on each rather than going into my normal detail:

We started with 2 whites:

The Wine: 2009 Big House White
The Grapes: 56% Malvasia Bianca, 22% Muscat Canelli, 18% Viognier, 4% Rousanne
Cliff Notes: The grapes used for this wine are extremely fragrant, fruity, and floral varieties so the wine smells of melon, gardenia, pear, and peach. It's a big bowl of fruit and flowers. The palate is very soft, with lots of melon, pineapple, pear, and kiwi flavors. It also kind of tastes like honeysuckle and has a touch of sweetness.
Price: $9.99
Drink or down the sink: This is a very drinkable white, and great to keep on hand for a hot summer night when you need something light, cool, and refreshing. Georgetta's strength in harmonious blending is apparent here -- these varieties all share common threads but are generally not assembled, but this wine proves they should be! A great deal for $10.

The Wine: 2009 The Birdman Pinot Grigio
The Grapes: 82% Pinot Grigio, 8% Malvasia Bianca, 3% Muscat Canelli, 2% Viognier, 5% "other" whites
Cliff Notes: This is a refreshing, silky wine with a burst of peach, nectarine, pineapple, and apricot fruit on the nose and the initial palate. The finish is smooth, but there's a little prickle of lemony acid and a hint of spice that gives this wine a bit of umph and makes it refreshing.
Price: $14.99
Drink or down the sink: I like this better than the Big House White. It's got more flavor, I like the acid, and I found it very refreshing. As we enter the hotter weather, this is a candidate for porch wine, and you'll find me with a glass for sure.

We then had 5 reds....

The Wine: 2008 Big House Red
The Grapes: (there are 13, so I'll just list the top 4) 26% Syrah, 13% Petit Sirah, 9% Grenache, 9% Montepulciano
Cliff Notes: This wine smells Italian to me, even though it only contains smaller amounts of Italian varieties. It's a very light, simple red that would be good with a slight chill from time in the fridge. It had a blackberry character, with some sour cherry and very light tannins and acid. Although I liked this wine, I have to say that I was expecting a little more. I tried Big House Reds pre-acquisition and it had a little more flavor and body. Hopefully this wine suffered due to a poor vintage ('08 was hot) and the 2009 will be better.
Price: $9.99
Drink or down the sink: I would drink this wine, but, as I stated, with some time in the fridge. It's a nice porch wine for people looking for something slightly heavier than a Rosé. It went well with my salad, so I think it would be a versatile pairing wine as well.

The Wine: The Lineup
The Grapes: 44% Grenache, 41% Syrah, 15% Mourvèdre
Cliff Notes: Dark fruit like blackberry, plum, and black cherry hop out of the glass and into your nose, not to mention a good dose of cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, and pepper. This wine is delicious -- it's like a berry cobbler and a cup of coffee. Georgetta sites that this wine is three different angles coming together -- "it's a wife, a husband, and their funny friend (that would be Mourvèdre)" that blend seamlessly.
Price: $14.99
Drink or down the sink: This was hands down my favorite of the entire line. A wine with great fruit, complex flavors that isn't too heavy. This is a wonderful wine and a great example of what the Central Coast of California can offer for a great price.

The Wine: The Slammer
The Grape: 100% Syrah
Cliff Notes: Muted dark fruit, raisins, and bitter tannins with lots of saddle leather. The wine was slightly out of balance with a bit too much tannin and not enough fruit to weigh it out. It lacked a bit of the complexity that I enjoy in a Syrah.
Price: $14.99
Drink or down the sink: Sorry Georgetta, this would probably be a down the sink for me. My love of the Lineup outweighs my distaste for this wine, which I found lacking in plush fruit, spice, and general power that I like in my Syrah.


The Wine: 2006 The Prodigal Son (nice play on words since Petit Sirah was kind of cast aside in France as being too rustic, but has returned and been welcomed home in Cali. See the Wikipedia article to learn about the Prodigal Son and get the reference)
The Grape: 100% Petit Sirah
Cliff Notes: Georgetta described this wine as "dark, rich, and attractive" and she's right. Petit Sirah is a brawny wine, and this one proves that, but it also has a certain delicacy to it that I really liked. A simpler Petit Sirah than many I've had, this wine had nice chocolate notes and black, ripe fruit that burst forth from the glass into your nose and delivered on the palate. I liked the vanilla and caramel hints too -- this is from the American Oak the wine sits in for 12 months.
Price: $14.99
Drink or down the sink: For hamburgers on the grill or barbeque/grilling out, this is a great casual wine and should be on the list.


The Wine: Cardinal Zin
The Grapes: 80% Zinfandel, 10% Mourvèdre, 8% Carignane, 2% Petit Sirah
Cliff Notes: I had this wine years ago and remember it being a big, rich, spicy, fruity Zinfandel. That's the kind that I love because if you're going to be have something fruit forward go big, or go home. Although I liked this wine, I just didn't think there was enough brambly raspberry, blackberry, and ripe plum fruit. The wine fell a little flat for me. I didn't find it fruity enough, nor did I find it spicy enough.
Price: $19.99
Drink or down the sink: This is a good wine and a great pairing for grilled meats. That said, I think I'd rather drink "The Lineup" listed above than drink Cardinal Zin. Maybe they could use a little more Zin in future vintages? I think the wine would benefit.


All in all I was very happy with the wines that I tasted with Georgetta Dane. Big House makes some great values and make high quality stuff.

The reason for the press tour is the launch of the Big House Octavin, an octagonal box of wine that holds about 4 bottles and stays fresh for about 6 weeks. It reduces emissions by 55% and waste by 92%, so it's environmentally friendly and great for those of us who are frequent sippers and sometimes forget to stop off to pick up a bottle. I encourage you to try a few of these and let me know what you think! And for $25, you can be sure that I'm going to pop an box of The Birdman in our fridge for the hot Georgia summer that's inevitable... Readmore »»

Part I: My Interview with Georgetta Dane of Big House Wines

I've met a few winemakers in my time. They are a funny bunch -- some really down to earth, some completely snotty, some as dull as watching paint dry -- just like any other group of people.

The thing that has always been slightly hilarious and perplexing to me, though, is the marketing of winemakers as if they are celebrities. For instance, the large winery for which I used to work spent time and money making over winemakers, giving them new hairstyles and new clothes (and breath mints where needed) to make these half-artisan/half-chemist types into something their audience could relate to. I'm not sure this was the best use of time or funds -- as a public, I have a feeling we'd rather see them as they are and enjoy their wines based on the merit of their taste rather than some image the marketing department has conjured. May just be me though.

So when I had lunch with Georgetta Dane from Big House Wines/The Wine Group -- another big company -- I was, honestly, kind of wary. The wines are named so because the winery is across from a jail and the bottles feature very colorful labels. The web site is interactive and very marketing oriented. I wasn't sure what to expect. I was just hoping that I was going to have a pleasant lunch where I wasn't being told that Big House had better wines than Bordeaux, and Georgetta was a wild and crazy winemaker that everyone should love.

Wow, was I pleasantly surprised.

I arrived at the French-American Brasserie (great ATL restaurant, BTW) to find a young, attractive woman in great outfit (she had on a scally cap!) and a lot of class. This woman is cool, real, and smart as a whip. I loved her, and objectively, thought most of her wines were ridiculously under-priced and stuff that I would drink and recommend for casual sipping to anyone.


I didn't take a tape recorder, so I'll chunk this post out by topic and you can pursue whatever seems of interest...

Growing up in a USSR satellite and the role of wine
Georgetta is Romanian born, and while she was growing up, the country was a satellite of the USSR. Although technically the country had sovereignty, it was really behind the Iron Curtain and was, for all intents and purposes, part of the Soviet Union.

The wines of Romania have historically been made of native grapes. Sadly, during Communism the focus moved from these beautiful indigenous berries to hearty hybrids that could pump out nasty bulk wine to feed the drunken masses.

With the breakdown of the Berlin Wall, Romania (which has a lot in common with Western Europe. In fact, Romanian is a romance language, which Georgetta told me was close to Portuguese and Italian) was in the process of figuring out how to produce premium table wines once again. In fact, before Georgetta left Romania, she and her husband had a wine-related business focused on boutique wines, so it seems there is a glimmer of hope that in the post-Communist era and there may be some cool stuff coming out of that country in the future.

How did Georgetta get to the US and come to work at Big House?
With a degree in food science from a prestigious Romanian university and an entrepreneurial spirit, Georgetta found herself working for a winery in southern Romania. Things were going well.

On a fluke, Georgetta's husband, also a winemaker by trade, entered a lottery for a green card to the US, thinking he didn't stand a chance of winning. He did.

And a few weeks after Georgetta's daughter was born, the family packed up and moved to Monterey, CA, the only place in the US where they had a Romanian friend of a friend. Georgetta spoke no English, only a bit of French, and travelled with her husband and newborn around the world to her new life in a small apartment.

Arriving in the fall, right in time for harvest at Kendall-Jackson, Georgetta's husband started there and worked his way through the chain at several large wineries, exhibiting skill in the craft of winemaking. Georgetta got a job at KJ as well. Her ambition, smarts and creativity allowed her to shine. She quickly showed proficiency and a "je ne sais quoi" for blending wines. She was working at The Wine Group when Big House and Cardinal Zin wines were purchased from Bonny Doon Vineyards in 2008. She became the lead winemaker on both these brands.

What an American story!

Georgetta's winemaking philosophy
Big House Red and White are each blends of multiple varietals. Georgetta told me that at her first harvest, there were 42 grape varieties to choose from to go into the red and white blends (Big House Red & White).

That's an overwhelming number of wines to combine for most, but Georgetta relished the challenge. She has a very sensitive nose so that makes it easy for her to identify components that will combine in the recipe for a great product.

"Everybody brings something to the party," Georgetta says of her blends.

Georgetta's take on the differences between male and female winemakers
Georgetta cites that men and women can come at winemaking differently -- men view it as a science with precision and process, whereas women may view blending, especially, as more of an art. She joked that she tells the men at her winery "let me do the cooking!" which, given the value to quality ratio of the wines, seems to be good advice.

Talking Turkey: How does Georgetta feel about making wines at a lower price with kitschy marketing?
Maybe I shouldn't have asked this question, but I was curious and she was cool, so I did it (yikes, was that too harsh? I thought you guys may want to know this).

Her answer was simple: she loves wine, and she couldn't work for a conventional, staid brand that made the same varietals year after year. She loves Big House because it allows her expression -- she gets to throw in a dash of this and a pinch of that into her blends and it's different each vintage. She is a little funky and eccentric herself and feels the brand is a great match for her. She's quite proud that they are such great value for the money. Making Merlot and Chardonnay year after year with no degrees of freedom would seem stifling to her.


I loved my few hours with Georgetta and thought she was terrific. I thought it would be a little overwhelming to post my mini-reviews of the wines here, so I've posted it in the next post. Please click on that one to learn about the wines!

For more information on Big House, please see their site: http://www.bighousewine.com/
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Wanna Go For a Ride? Hop in the White Truck 2007

Admittedly, I'm a wine thrill seeker. When it comes to wine shopping, I'm like one of those people that needs to skydive or bungee off a cliff to feel alive (I'm so wannabe Bella from Twilight!). I love to try something I've never tried before and I usually shun the super popular wines. But after our awesome Halloween party (partly awesome because I got to listen to the Monster Mash 7 times) we had a bottle of White Truck 2007 left over so I decided to give it a whirl.

You know, it wasn't half bad.

Although California is not known for its blends, leaving that to the Europeans and Aussies, Cline, the producer, does a nice job on this. For a cheap wine, I'd give this a whirl. Why? Let's break it down...

The Wine: White Truck
Where It's From: California (the wine notes say it's from Lake County and the Central Coast)
The Grapes: Sauvignon Blanc (56%), Chardonnay (22%), Pinot Grigio (11%), Viognier (11%)
Vintage: 2007
Price: $8.99


Color: Rub a dandelion on the inside of your arm. Look at the color. There you go.

Smell: There is a whole lotta scent on this truck (sadly, there's no gasoline smell in it...guess that would be too ironic for them!). Initially, the wine smelled really grassy, figgy, and grapefruity. It was also kind of like green vegetables. I waited a few minutes and put my mitt around the glass to warm it up a tad (cold wine is less aromatic) and shaazam! new scents appeared before my very eyes (lesson: don't over-refrigerate your wines please). Now it was more like white flowers, vanilla, and thick apple butter (so southern of me, I know). Ah, the scents of a child borne of Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay. I was able to impress M.C. Ice greatly with this blind guess -- we had not looked at the wine notes yet.

Taste: This was a really easy wine to drink. The overwhelming sensation was apple paste (I think wine snobs call this flavor quince, which is a Mediterranean/Persian tree fruit like an apple or pear but that needs to be cooked. It's heavier, less mealy, and awesome as a jelly). It was also a little like cilantro and green bean -- but when you get them from a farmer's stand and they're fresh. The wine tasted more like flowers than it smelled -- honeysuckle and other white little blossoms. That was the normal stuff.

There were some weird things with this wine too. Like the distinct sour note that M.C. Ice and I described to each other as sour cream or Parmesan cheese rind. Strange, but happily it was funk-a-licious, not funk-ass. The other weird thing about this wine was that it was creamy and thick and round. This usually means the wine went through a second fermentation, called malo-lactic fermentation, but the wine notes say it didn't get that treatment so I assume that it's either the aromatic, low-acid Viognier giving some bounce or the fact that this wine is pretty good on the alcohol (13.5%) which our mouths/brains translate as creaminess. Given the burn as it blazed its way down into my belly, and the small ring of fire it created once there, I'd say it's probably the latter.

Food: Be careful what you pair with this wine. I think for its sour cream-like notes, I would recommend it best with Mexican food or something like Indian or Thai where there is spice and cream mixed together. I think grilled chicken or fish could do better and be enhanced by something with less going on. I would not pair this with Chinese or sushi or anything soy-based, because even though I haven't tried it personally, I think the savory/salty thing in soy would be nasty with the sour cream/green bean funk of this wine. Maybe I'm wrong -- happy to amend this post if so.

Drink or Down the Sink?: Drink. This is a good wine for 9 bucks. For those tiptoeing into the world of Sauvignon Blanc, this is a good place to start because it's a mild version of what the grape should could be. It is a pleasant wine, it's kind of interesting and it's a good buy for the money. Would I drink it at someone's house? Yes. Will it be a regular in my rotation? Probably not -- I like something a little more pure. Should it be in yours? Try it and see...and remember that while I'm saying it's not on my shortlist, I've got a proverbial plane to jump out of for my next wine thrill... Readmore »»