Ranchero Cellars Paso Sampler
$54.99 + $5 shipping
CONDITION: Mixed
PRODUCTS:
1 2010 "Chrome" White Blend, La Vista Vineyard, Paso Robles
1 2010 Viognier, La Vista Vineyard, Paso Robles
1 2009 Carignan, Old Vines, Colombini Vineyard
CT links above

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Amy, why don't you start with an enological autobiography? You're a real Davis grad, right? You know how to use a carbodoser and drive a forklift.

stillmanbrown wrote:Amy, why don't you start with an enological autobiography? You're a real Davis grad, right? You know how to use a carbodoser and drive a forklift.

I know how to use a carbodoser, but I don't want anyone watching...

Really nice mix of wines which definitely has peaked my interest. I'm not familiar with this winery though, so I'd like to learn more.

How do I thank my first sucker? Thanks, jimjacks66!

redwinefan wrote:Really nice mix of wines which definitely has peaked my interest. I'm not familiar with this winery though, so I'd like to learn more.

Looks like they don't have my vintner voicemail up yet. It says...well, not much.

rancherocellars wrote:How do I thank my first sucker? Thanks, jimjacks66!

You thanked me by mentioning it here! It is my pleasure to be first sucker. Excited to try these. Always like Viognier and difficult to find Carignane.

Short version: these are really excellent wines with individual personalities, and they're quite rare. You should get them.
Long version: ask Amy those questions.

More about Ranchero Cellars: Launched in 2008, it has been a chance for me to explore and take risks with winemaking, using some different and potentially more risky techniques than I might if I were still working for someone else. It's a very rewarding project! I set out to make the best whites from Paso, and OLD VINE CARIGNAN, with which I am mildly obsessed, hence the YELLING.

Really small production, low alc. (for Paso), good acid numbers, low oak influence, Rhone varietals, immediate winery participation. Man, if I weren't on a B(aby)IWBM, I'd be in. I may still be...

Any thoughts from the Woot folks on how soon these would ship out? We're right in that dangerous time of year for Texas where we aren't yet in summer shipping, but the weather is getting hot. A couple more weeks, and we'll be in the cooking zone.

I'll ask the question... What are the drinking windows for these? Especially for the Carignane?

rancherocellars wrote:More about Ranchero Cellars: Launched in 2008, it has been a chance for me to explore and take risks with winemaking, using some different and potentially more risky techniques than I might if I were still working for someone else. It's a very rewarding project! I set out to make the best whites from Paso, and OLD VINE CARIGNAN, with which I am mildly obsessed, hence the YELLING.

No one ever got in trouble for yelling about Carignan.

kylemittskus wrote:Really small production, low alc. (for Paso), good acid numbers, low oak influence, Rhone varietals, immediate winery participation. Man, if I weren't on a B(aby)IWBM, I'd be in. I may still be...

What's a BIWBM? Does it have something to do with not drinking????

rancherocellars wrote:using some different and potentially more risky techniques

We like different and risky. Can you elaborate on what these are and why you do them?

I wasted some time, but needed to change my avatar. That other guy was wearing a skirt. I would never wear a skirt, unless the Swamp Siren forced me into it.

rancherocellars wrote:What's a BIWBM? Does it have something to do with not drinking????

My wife and I are having our first babe. Hence, Baby Imposed Wine Buying Moratorium.

redwinefan wrote:Any thoughts from the Woot folks on how soon these would ship out? We're right in that dangerous time of year for Texas where we aren't yet in summer shipping, but the weather is getting hot. A couple more weeks, and we'll be in the cooking zone.

I believe they'll ship next week. But you're right...that's probably more of a question for the woot folks.

kylemittskus wrote:My wife and I are having our first babe. Hence, Baby Imposed Wine Buying Moratorium.

Congratulations!

jimjacks66 wrote:I'll ask the question... What are the drinking windows for these? Especially for the Carignane?

You can drink them in your living room window, or your bedroom window, or even one of your friends' windows.

OK, I am interested

Stillman & Amy - last week, I popped the cork on one of Stillman's Chat. d' Abalone Grenache Blanc...wonderful floral notes of gardenias - an elegant wine that surprised me....from Stillman's website and videos, I never would have expected such subtlety. What does the Rancho Chrome have in store for us? Can you compare/contrast to the CdA?

The carignan - a red, correct? I am a bit thrownm off by the "the best whites from Paso, and OLD VINE CARIGNAN"...or are you making a white from the carignan?? How long do you think it needs in the cellar before it unwinds a bit?

Time for Official Woot Answers regarding warm weather wine shipping methods, zone skipping, etc . . . I've been meaning to email Mortimer, but if there are answers available here . . .

jimjacks66 wrote:I'll ask the question... What are the drinking windows for these? Especially for the Carignane?

The Carignan is still in the stage where it's getting better every time I taste it. There is plenty of acid in this wine, and plenty of tannin, and I think it will go for at least 5 more years. However, I wouldn't be alarmed if you wanted to drink it now...besides, how else will you know if you like it and want to get more? : )
Chrome and Viognier both get richer with age. I like that on the Vio, but I always like the crisp youthfulness of the Chrome. You should probably drink Chrome this summer. Vio could go another year or 2, or not. Whatever you prefer.
P.S. I am having a really hard time with these captcha things.

rancherocellars wrote:
P.S. I am having a really hard time with these captcha things.

The captchas go away eventually. I can't remember if you have to verify your account or buy something first, but one of the woot mods could probably use their magic and make them go away for you right now.

Thanks! I think Amy's whites have a little bit more 'weight' than the CdA - partly because of a more western, mountainous vineyard location.

stillmanbrown wrote:Time for Official Woot Answers regarding warm weather wine shipping methods, zone skipping, etc . . . I've been meaning to email Mortimer, but if there are answers available here . . .

They don't do any of that fun shipping stuff until summer shipping rates are in effect which they aren't yet, hence my concern since sometimes it take 2-3 weeks for shipping to initiate.

Good q's Greg. Swilly's CdA is a fave of mine, and I recently traded him some Chrome for some of it...they are really distinct wines due to vineyard location, vinification styles, and that magic touch that Stillman seems to bring to all of his wines. GB is an amazingly subtle variety with a lot to offer. Floral/gardenia is a good descriptor - I think these wines have that in common. Chrome, due to the addition of some fermented-on-the-skins Viognier, has a little more richness and texture, I think. It suggests rather than demands shellfish. Old vine Carignan is a complete departure from my white wine style. It's not pink, though that may happen in the future - this is a RED wine. A big one, but not without finesse. I'm a girl, after all....
It is pretty tightly wound when it's first bottled, but it's getting softer every day. Plenty of structure though....get 2 and drink one now and one next winter. : )

kylemittskus wrote:We like different and risky. Can you elaborate on what these are and why you do them?

Well. I don't inoculate my fermentations, for one. The Viognier that fermented in Concrete went 79 days and never got above 16C. Or somewhere in the low 60s F. My Davis-educated brain would worry about that, and restart it, but instead I decided to let the wine tell me what to do for a change.
Also, I didn't destem the Carignan. I believe this is how they do it in Roussillon, but I'm not really sure. It's how I did it. Stem tannin helps stabilize the wine, plus the flavor is really spicy and fun. I would never do these things if my job depended on it. It would be about making sound wine, not interesting wine. P.S. these wines are sound, anyway.

kylemittskus wrote:My wife and I are having our first babe. Hence, Baby Imposed Wine Buying Moratorium.

Congrats, but I'm confused since I thought having a baby meant you need to speed up your wine purchasing instead of going on a moratorium ;)

If by 'magic touch' you mean MSG and biodynamic velcorin . . . I deny and/or confirm everything.
In retaliation I'll just mention that when I asked my friends a few years ago what to name my next big party, you're the one that came up with "Wet Zeppelin" - which is now associated with utter mayhem. Guilt by co-fermentation? Goodnight!

Yeah, yeah, yeah. "Computer Problems". Sure it is!


Upcoming Woot Wine Gatherings…All The News for the week of May 14th.


May
5/19: CyberPub Cellars 2011 Rogue Rhone Bottling- NEWEST Thread!

June
TBD: NYC #20 Interest Thread
TBD: SoCal #19 @ Sparky's Wine Lockers

July
7/23-25: RPM's History Tour, Part 1
7/25-29: RPM's History Tour, Part 2
(Dates set. There is room on both tours for more people!)

Pending
TBD: NorCal #12: Volcanic Terroir and/or Eastern European Finds
TBD: NoVA/DC #26: Theme TBD
TBD: Arizona Verde Valley Winery Weekend
TBD: Dallas #11

Looking for some helping hands:

• South Florida Interest Thread
  
• NorthEast Florida Interest Thread
  
• Missouri Interest Thread
  
• Central NC Interest Thread
  
• Albuquerque Interest Thread
  
• Lake County/Chicago Interest Thread

Dear woot staff: Those are some really nice bottle shots! Can you send them to me? Please?

kylemittskus wrote:We like different and risky. Can you elaborate on what these are and why you do them?

How about "...whole-cluster pressed directly to a concrete pyramid that resembles a Martian ship..." [website re Viognier]. Sounds like "pyramid power" - almost as different and risky as "biodynamic"!

teebodo wrote:How about "...whole-cluster pressed directly to a concrete pyramid that resembles a Martian ship..." [website re Viognier]. Sounds like "pyramid power" - almost as different and risky as "biodynamic"!

I have to admit, I am a little fascinated with the pyramid shape. However, I assure you it has nothing to do with "pyramid power" - it's because of the extremely small surface area of wine in contact with air at the top of the pyramid. And I suppose I also like the square base, which makes it easy to move around and position. I'm not sure I should have used the word "risky." Though I wouldn't want to fall off the top of that pyramid.

Amy, first of all I would like to thank you for your immediate participation, and welcome to the wonderful world of woot. Any friend of Stillman's is a friend of ours (as scary as that may seem).

I am very intrigued by these wines. All are pretty low alcohol compared to most Paso wines that we tend to see on here. Did you take any special care to achieve this or was that just the result? With all three at 2.0 g/l or less in RS, I would consider all of these dry wines (though thankfully not bone-dry); given that and the PH, would you consider these "old world" or "new world", or just different?

On to the Carignan, or is it Carignane? The only other time I have seen this varietal I have seen an "e" at the end, are there spelling variations for this one? How old are the vines these are sourced from? How does that compare to other old vine Carignan(e), if there are any? I will admit that this one intrigues me the most out of the three as it it is a varietal I do not know much about, and any "old vine" is a good vine. Do you (or Stillman) know anything of Twisted Oak, as that is the only other Carignan(e) that I have purchased, and was wondering how this would compare. Eljeffe is nearly as twisted as Stillman, so I just assume they know each other!

With that being said, I am a very strict space and monetary budget after way too much recent buying, but this one sure looks difficult to pass up. Once again, participation may push me, and about 50 more people over the edge.

Thanks.

North316 wrote:Amy, first of all I would like to thank you for your immediate participation, and welcome to the wonderful world of woot. Any friend of Stillman's is a friend of ours (as scary as that may seem).


.....

Thanks.

Thank you, and I have received a quite warm welcome as a new wooter. So Stillman may prove useful for something other than sneaking me in the back door at punk shows....
Low alcohol: I am just not someone who seeks out extreme ripeness. There are other, more interesting ways to coax the native flavors out of a grape. White wine especially should not be weighed down by excessive alcohol. And while I do admire the wines of the old world, and strive to achieve the elegance that they do, I believe all wines should have a sense of place, and in that sense, these are definitely new world wines. The Carignan (French spelling) is the most unapologetically Californian of all the wines, however.
The vines at Colombini are about 85 years old, which is fairly consistent with Carignane's popularity in the beginning of the 20th Century. The variety came to California via Sardinia...but that's a story for another time. I'm not familiar with Twisted Freak, but as a lover of Carignane I will now seek it out! Excited!
Lastly, while I understand monetary constraints, I really don't get the space issue. Perhaps you aren't drinking fast enough? : )
Big Questions For 6 AM!

Winedavid39 wrote:hi Stillman.

There is some chatter about this topic over at world of wine.woot if interested.


i'll start by saying that the number one factor (regardless of season) when it comes to shipping wine.woot wines is product integrity.

By that we mean that the wine, when it does arrive, is received in very good condition and that it can be trusted.

It is important to convey that just because the added summer shipping price has not yet been introduced doesn't mean we aren't taking additional precautions in certain regions of the country. We are. Candidly, it means that we can still deliver wine in good working order within the baseline cost structure. and yes, this may be an obvious comment, but cost is the second most important factor as it can impact the wine.woot price.

After shipping wine in all myriad conditions these past (um 6 now..) years, we've really gotten pretty good at it. However, despite the skill set that we feel we've honed over the years, problems can and do happen. The truth with wine is that in most cases "cooked" or frozen wines display unmistakable evidence when exposed. In almost all cases, protruding corks or wine leakage will occur.

if you receive wine that shows signs of extreme exposure please please please contact service@woot.com for a replacement. We insist. Historically, our return/replacement reships are incredibly low relative to the industry. From what we've seen, the best by far.

in any event, this is a cool set of wines offerred now. and check out the early winery participation (and the Stillman guest appearance to boot)! Welcome !

Thanks, I figured you had a lot of options, just wanted to hear from y'all. I will check out the wow.w forum -