Wineries Have Libraries?

Tuesday, April 4th

Yes! The term Wine Library refers to a winery’s supply of bottles from earlier vintages that are properly cellared and are no longer available for purchase. At Claiborne and Churchill, we like to reserve a few cases of our various whites and reds from older vintages, saving them for special events. Bringing out library wines allows our customers to experience the difference between a young and a mature wine. Sampling library wines also gives some of our club members a chance to taste what might still be in their cellar at home, and decide if it’s time to drink or continue to let the flavors develop in bottle.

So, guess what? We have a selection of Library Wines waiting to be tasted!

On May 5-7, 2017, we will be pouring our precious “wines from times past” each day with a different theme to each day of the weekend. Winemaker Coby Parker-Garcia is particularly excited about the 2007 Runestone Pinot noir. Coby emphasized that the 2007 vintage was a stand out year and that “a vintage like that comes around once in 20 years.” On the day that Coby and assistant winemaker Zack Geer were tasting all of the different Runestone Pinot Noir vintages, some of us were fortunate enough to take home the 2008 Runestone. Trust me, you do not want to miss out trying these incredibly smooth, delicately aged Pinot Noirs, along with the older Riesling vintages that are showing beautifully. For more information about the events for this weekend check out our website here or read below. Click here to buy some tickets and experience some brilliantly aged wines for yourself!

Friday: May 5, 2017 Winemaker Dinner with Chef Brian Collins of Ember Restaurant

Join us on Friday, May 5th, for the ultimate food & wine dining experience! Enjoy five gourmet courses prepared by renowned chef Brian Collins of Ember Restaurant. This elegant dinner will be hosted by our owners Clay and Fredericka Thompson and winemaker Coby Parker-Garcia in our barrel room. Each course will be paired with some of the best library wines from our collection.
$120 Cellar Club Members | $130 Non-Members  |  Purchase Tickets

Time: 6pm

Saturday: May 6, 2017 Wine Library Grand Tasting

Experience a tasting showcasing the best vintages of our library wines. You’ll have the opportunity to taste and purchase from among two dozen white and red wines which have been carefully cellared for several years.
$15 Club  |  $25 General Admission  |  Purchase Tickets

Time: 1-4pm

Sunday: May 7, 2017 Wine & Cheese Pairing (Featuring Library Wines)

“Wine down” on Sunday in our garden patio with a flight of library wines and a gourmet cheese plate by Fromagerie Sophie. Each cheese has been specially selected to pair with these stellar wines.
$18 Club  |  $24 General Admission  |  Purchase Tickets

Times: 11:30am | 1:30pm | 3:30pm

Cheers!

Wine Tasting: Why does it work?

Monday, August 1st

Wine tasting in California has evolved into an ever growing industry associated with leisure and tourism. Originating in Napa, it then spread to the Edna Valley in the early 1970s according to SLO Wine Country. Thousands of people flock to California wine regions each year to taste the wines produced.

So, how do you get the most out of tasting? Let’s talk about it!

Make sure you are tasting the wines in the best order. Generally, start with the whites, then reds, then finish with desserts. This makes sure the tannins of the reds don’t affect the taste of the whites. If you are tasting at a winery, they will have a tasting list to follow that will have the wines listed in the best order to taste. Follow these steps to get the best impression of the wine: swirl, sniff, sip, swish, and swallow or spit.

Anyone that  has been tasting before, is likely to know that. But scientifically, why does wine tasting work?

Even though it is titled “Wine Tasting” after our sense of taste, this activity uses almost all of your senses. Especially smell!

Before taking a sip, it is suggested to swirl around the wine and smell it to see the aromas the wine brings out. This can be just as much a part of the tasting process as tasting! Sometimes if you enjoy the taste, you will still be turned off because of the smell!

Now take a sip! The wine will hit your taste buds and immediately release a reaction, whether it is sweet or sour!

Then, it’s back to you sense of smell! People will say that they taste things like berries and cola when they try wine. However, we don’t get that reaction through our taste buds. It’s through smell! When you swirl your sip around in your mouth the aromas travel internally to your nose when you identify the flavors you think you are tasting.

We can’t forget about the sense of sight either! This has to do with how the wine looks in the glass, but also so much more. As a kid, everyone was told not to judge a book by it’s cover, but you can’t help it! This also applies to wine labels. The better the label deign, the better the first impression. Tasters also judge the bottle by the winery it was made by and where they purchased it. There will be a better expectation for a bottle coming from a well-known high-priced winery than a bottle from your local grocery store.

The best way to make sure your sense of sight doesn’t influence your wine tasting is to use a black wine glass!

Who knew we had to thank our nose for so many of the details we pick up when tasting a new wine? So now it’s time to put this knowledge to work. Cheers!

Dinner On The Deck with Pinot Noir

Tuesday, July 19th

Last week the staff at Claiborne & Churchill came together for a fun evening. Clay & Fredericka hosted a Dinner on the Deck at their home. This evening under the stars was filled with some great wine, great food, and great company. We all enjoyed the opportunity to spend time together outside the winery. This event was dedicated to one of our favorite varietals, Pinot Noir.

Coby, our winemaker, led a tasting challenge.  Similar to a party example in our last blog post, we had to match the bottle of wine to the wine region provided. The regions to pick from were: Oregon, Santa Barbara, New Zealand, Burgundy, Sonoma, and San Luis. We had a great time and were truly stumped at some of the pairings.

2014 Marlborough Pinot Noir

Winery: TWR – Te Whare Ra

Region: New Zealand

This wine is a mix of two different vineyards in New Zealand. Harvest was in March of 2014 after what they call a “textbook summer.” It spends 11 months in French oak with 796 cases produced.

2012 Chorey-lés-Beaune

Winery: Tollot-Beaut

Region: Burgundy

The winery produced two cuvees that will be merged to form a blend the January before it is bottled.

2014 Pinot Noir

Winery: El Lugar

Region: Santa Barbara

The fruit for this wine is from Santa Maria and uses two clones: Pommard & Martini. It was harvested in August of 2014 and it spent 11 months in French oak barrels. It was bottled nearly a year later and 164 cases were made.

2012 Russian River Pinot Noir

Winery: Alysian

Region: Sonoma

This wine was made of six different clones from five different vineyards, which are all Russian River vineyards. Then, it spent fourteen months in barrel with about 30% of that being new French oak.

2013 Select Pinot Noir

Winery: Brick House

Region: Oregon

This ‘Select’ wine includes fruit from all of this winery’s Pinot Noir clones and blocks. After spending 15 months in neutral French oak, this wine was bottled in February 2015. They produced 535 cases of this barrel select wine.

2014 Classic Estate Pinot Noir

Winery: Claiborne & Churchill

Region: San Luis Obispo

The Estate Twin Creeks fruit included three clones: #113, 2A, and Martini from the Edna Valley. After harvesting September and early October 2014, it aged for 10 months in 35% New French Oak. This 29 barrel blend then was bottled in August 2015 making 787 cases.

All of the staff had a great time trying to match up these delicious Pinots with the region they originated from. After this tough test, we enjoyed a number of other great Pinots with dinner. Pinot Noir has had a home at Claiborne & Churchill for decades and we loved getting to see how other regions are utilizing this amazing grape.

Host a Wine Themed Party!

Tuesday, July 5th

Looking to do some entertaining this summer? We have all the details on how to host the perfect wine party!

Wine Tasting Party:

This is sure to be a fun night trying out a variety of red, white, and dessert wines. Start off the night by making sure everyone knows the right way to taste! To get the best sample, make sure to swirl, sniff, sip, swish, and swallow or spit. Then get to tasting! We suggest having two white, a rosé, three reds, and a dessert option. Even consider taking your party to the next level with printed wine tasting card from Club W here to track your tastings! Compare your favorites to your friends’ picks! Enjoy your top picks with some food to celebrate the rest of the evening.

Blind Wine Tasting Party:

Put your wine tasting knowledge to the test against your guests!  See who is the wine expert of your party! Pick a few varietals to highlight that are either all red or all white. Or, have two rounds: the white, then the red! Cover the bottle and give them a number to keep them straight. Then print out descriptions about the wines to help them guess the varietal. Don’t forget to find the corks so no one can cheat! Can your guests watch the wines up correctly? Maybe get come little gifts for the winners!

Wine Pairing Party:

You can find so many things to pair with wine! Get your friends together to try some of them out. Using a paper tablecloth makes it easy to label all the food and show what wine it should be paired with. It may be hard to figure out what pairings to use with all of the options, but our favorite is pairing the wine with cheeses, meats, and other easy finger foods! This doesn’t take much prep leaving you plenty of time to spend with your guests. For dinner, you could also have a casual evening with a wine and pizza pairing! What about dessert? There are plenty of options for that as well. End the night by pairing wine with some sweet treats like, candy or chocolate!

Wine Art Party:

Art bars have become increasingly popular in the last few years. Guests are able to spend time together with a glass of wine while they follow the instructor to make their own work of art. Why not have your own art bar for a night? Get creative! Invite your friends over for a night of wine, art and fun. With some canvases, brushes, and paint, you are on your way to becoming Picassos! Easels can be expensive but you can make your own out of unused pizza boxes. Check out how here!

We may be biased, but we think the best party is a party centered around wine! Try out some of these parties with your friends!

Cheese Plates from Fromagerie Sophie (part II)

Wednesday, January 27th

2. 2014 Dry Riesling with Gorwydd Caerphilly

Claiborne & Churchill Dry Riesling, one of our most popular wines, is a surprising and satisfying complement to this raw cow Caerphilly from Somerset, England. Caerphilly is a mold-ripened, cow’s milk cheese traditionally eaten for lunch in old times by Welsh coal miners. Originating in Wales, it is now made primarily in Somerset, England. This cheese has rich, earthy, savory, and creamy flavors and a moist and slightly crumbling texture.

Fun Fact: It’s Alive!

With this cheese, make sure you taste the rind. You’ll note that the cheese appears to have a layered, varicolored appearance. In this semi-aged cheese, these distinctions in appearance and flavor come from proteolysis – the process by which proteins, under the rind, are broken down by enzymes. This happens from the outside in, giving the rind its musty, earthy flavor, and the cream just beneath rind an oozy, mushroomy quality.

3. 2014 Pinot Gris with L’Etivaz

The ideal pairing for our full-bodied, creamy-textured Pinot Gris, this unpasteurized cow’s milk cheese from Switzerland is not to be confused with “swiss cheese” (the bland one with the holes). This alpine cheese is famous for its smooth, creamy texture and robust flavor, achievable only in the alps, where it is made when the alpine cows are grazing on flowers in high, summer pastures. Today, L’Etivaz is still made in the old style, stirred in copper cauldrons over wood fires on the mountainside!

New Appellation, Old Style

In the 1930s, when the Swiss government pushed through new regulations on the production of Gruyère, several cheesemaking families broke away to preserve their traditions. Thus, we see the birth of L’Etivaz, a cheese named for the Swiss village where the co-op originated. In 1999, L’Etivaz was given the distinction of being an Appellation d’Origine Protégé, a status previously only granted to wine regions.

Enjoy these Pairings With Us

These pairings are a truly remarkable way to experience our fine wines and the incredible cheeses that Sophie and Paul have scoured the world for, bringing the best that Europe has to offer here to our little town on the Central Coast. Come experience these pairings daily at our Claiborne & Churchill tasting room, open daily from 11-5, and when you are done, stop by Fromagerie Sophie on Garden Street and pick up some cheese to pair with wines at your next gathering!

Wine Tasting Flight:
$12 (Free for Cellar Club)

Cheese Plate with Pairing Guide:
$12 ($9 for Cellar Club)

See our Wine and Cheese Pairing Part I here. Stay tuned for more cheese pairings!

A New Year, a New Look, and Two New Vintages

Tuesday, January 5th

 A New Year, a New Look, and Two New Vintages

Here at Claiborne & Churchill, we want to wish you all a very happy, healthy start to your 2016! In the spirit of celebrating “the new”, we have several announcements about exciting things happening at our winery in San Luis Obispo.

Renovated Tasting Room

We opened our straw bale winery here on the Central Coast back in 1996, and since then, we’ve grown a lot! For the last few years, we have put some serious elbow grease into expanding our garden area to accommodate more guests, and now we have an updated tasting room to go with it! Our indoor renovation includes a new feature wall and rolling barn door, both made with reclaimed wood from our old dairy barn. We now also have large crystal tasting glasses, new lighting, and a beautiful, custom stone-topped bar. Be sure bring your friends — with an expanded serving area, it’s the more the merrier. Added bonus: Ladies, you’ll be more comfortable than ever. (The new bar has hooks where you can hang your bags and coats!)

Now that our garden and tasting room are all ready for 2016, we’d love to host your next private event. Contact Angela at angela@claibornechurchill.com for details and pricing.

New Website

If you’re reading this blog, you may have noticed that we recently overhauled claibornechurchill.com with the goal of making our website more usable, visually pleasant, and informative for you. Feel free to explore our site, and if you’re new to our blog, check out some of our recent posts to learn about the 2015 harvest, recent events, and more.

Guest House Available for Vacation Rental

One of the more exciting pieces of news we have is that next door, we’ve been hard at work remodeling a two-bedroom duplex cottage on our property. Soon, it will be available for vacation rental! If you are from out of town, staying with us will be a marvelous way to enjoy the heart of wine country here in San Luis Obispo. Centrally located, we’re only a five minute drive to Pismo Beach and a fifteen-minute drive to Cal Poly. Stay tuned for photos of the space and pricing information. Note: Club members will have access to a special, discounted price on accommodations!

New Releases

This holiday season, we released brand new vintages of two of our most anticipated wines: 2013 Runestone Pinot Noir  and 2014 Pinot Blanc. Be sure to come by our tasting room for a pour of each of these exciting vintages.

To all our readers, Happy New Year, and we hope to see you soon!

Claiborne & Churchill Wine Library Weekend

Wednesday, January 21st

Friday, February 20 | 6PM
Winemaker Dinner
Club: $75 | General $95

Kick off this exciting weekend on Friday with a gourmet winemaker dinner highlighting notable vintages of wines from our cellar. This will be a fun and educational dinner guided by our winemaker Coby Parker-Garcia and owner Clay Thompson. Enjoy six unique courses perfectly paired with Claiborne & Churchill Library Wines. *Limited Seating Available*

Saturday, February 21 | 1-4PM
Wine Library Grand Tasting
Club: $15 | General: $25

Experience a tasting showcasing the best vintages of our library wines. You’ll have the opportunity to taste and purchase from among two dozen white and red wines which have been carefully cellared for several years.

Sunday, February 22 | 11-4PM
Wine and Cheese Pairing
Club: $15 | $20

“Wine down” on Sunday in our garden patio with a flight of library wines and a gourmet cheese plate by Fromagerie Sophie. Each cheese has been specially selected to pair with these stellar wines.

The Wine Library Weekend is the perfect opportunity to taste and
broaden your palate with these rare and limited production wines!

PURCHASE TICKETS at WWW.CLAIBORNECHURCHILL.COM
or CALL US AT (805) 544-4066.

Claiborne & Churchill 2014 Holiday Wine Tasting Notes Video: 2013 Chardonnay, 2012 “Runestone” Pinot Noir,
2012 Clueless Red

Tuesday, December 16th

We hope you enjoy our Holiday Wine Tasting Notes Video by Owner Clay Thompson and Winemaker Coby Parker-Garcia.

2013 Chardonnay, Righetti Vineyard: Whether it’s rosemary-roasted Cornish game hen or butternut squash and pumpkin ravioli, serving up a glass of Chardonnay from the Edna Valley AVA is a guaranteed way to bring out the most in your meal. Continue reading here.

2012 “Runestone” Pinot Noir: After its 8 month absence, our limited production, barrel-selected Runestone Pinot Noir is back! Winemaker Coby Parker-Garcia selected 8 standout barrels from the 2012 vintage, which he blended together to create a remarkably elegant, yet complex wine. Contiunue reading here.

2012 Clueless Red: Starting with the 2008 vintage, we released a new blend with a “puzzling” wine label by the name of Clueless Red. It bore nothing more than a crossword puzzle. The puzzles and blends changed every year, sparking excitement with every vintage. Continue reading here.