Culinary Philosophy

St. Francis Wine Educational Stories:

 

Roll out the Barrel, final verse
“The art of the barrel is what we will focus on in this article.  We have discussed how barrels influence and change the wines stored in them.  But I don’t want to overlook the barrel itself.  It is really a work of art.”    Read entire article>>

Roll out the Barrel, second verse
“This month we look at what is extracted from the barrel.  Modern research methods have identified well over 70 volatile compounds that can be extracted from oak into wine as the wine is aging in barrels.  Using a gas chromatograph/mass spectrometer, it is possible to isolate these compounds.  It is, however, much more difficult to understand what is going on in barrel extraction, much less control it.”    Read entire article>>

Roll out the Barrel, first verse
“I am often asked where all of the various aromas and flavors come from in wine.  The wine tasting sheet for the St. Francis 2002 Sonoma County Merlot reads: “red plum, cherries, nutmeg, vanilla, lively acidity…”  Do we “put” those flavors in?”
Read entire article>>

Kings Ridge Vineyard
“I had heard many stories about the St. Francis Kings Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon.  It was this wine that brought me to St. Francis Winery, first as a Patrons Wine Club Member and now as an employee.  I had a chance to sit down with Ron Sikorski, the owner of Big Oak Ranch (where our Kings Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon grapes come from) to set the record straight.”    Read entire article>>

Rockpile Red Wine
“What is “Rockpile”?

  1. a specific AVA (American Viticulture Area) within Sonoma County;
  2. the name of a vineyard owned by Rod and Cathy Park;
  3. the name of a red wine made by St. Francis Winery and Vineyards;
  4. all of the above.”
     Read entire article>>

 

2002 St. Francis Port
“Here is a bit of background on Port. Port is a fortified, sweet wine. We say fortified we mean that there is an increased alcohol content (usually 18% - 21%) achieved by the addition of neutral grape spirits or brandy of approximately 75% alcohol (150 proof). This brandy is added at a critical stage during fermentation.”
Read entire article>>

Petite Sirah
“Petite Sirah = Durif = …say what??”    Read entire article>>

Mourvèdre
“Okay, what to call this grape?  Mourvèdre (also called monastrell or bobal or esparte in Spain where it originated) is a very important grape varietal in Spain where it is second only to Grenache (garnacha) in total acres planted.  Over 250,000 acres of mourvèdre is planted in Spain compared to the 560 acres planted in California and 14,000 planted in France. ”    Read entire article>>

Upcoming Events

Cabernet Fever Winery Dinner
Saturday, March 8 - 7:00 pm Click Here
Barrel Tasting Event
Sat. & Sun. March 15 & 16 Click Here
Wine & Food Pairing
Daily at St. Francis Click Here

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