J Vineyards celebrates its sparkling roots while looking to the future with varietal wines!

J Vineyards celebrates its sparkling roots while looking to the future with varietal wines

BY JOHNATHAN L. WRIGHT • JWRIGHT@RGJ.COM • FEBRUARY 9, 2011

It's last fall in Sonoma County's Russian River Valley, and it's raining. Biblically, torrentially raining. A pray-for-the-harvest rain. The kind that soaks in quick and deep like petite sirah.

But inside the visitors center at J Vineyards & Winery near Healdsburg, Calif., there's a party in full flower.

Ranks of vintage and Cuvée 20 brut whoosh by on trays. Flutes of brut rosé blush in the Bubble Room, J's sleek pairing space. At the tasting bar, beneath soaring panels of painted steel, a trio shares a bottle of creamy, biscuity '99 Late Disgorged brut.

All of which is to be expected. For 20 years, J has made its name with bubbles, and for some drinkers, the winery's iconic bottle -- a golden J brushed against cool green glass -- has become nearly synonymous with domestic sparkling wine.

But there are other pours at this party: crisp, gently honeyed pinot gris; nicely finishing Russian River Valley chardonnay; and a cluster of pinot noirs from J's nearly 275 vineyard acres.

In fact, even as J's image continues to be strongly shaped by bubbles, it has devoted significant resources in the past several years to expanding and promoting its varietal wines.

"Sparkling is what brought us to the dance, but there are other opportunities in the vineyards," said George Bursick, J's vice president of winemaking. "The future for J is in the varietal wines."

New brand

In 2008, J acquired three new varietal vineyards and sold three vineyards previously devoted to sparkling wine.

In 2009, the winery debuted new labels and the J Vineyards brand to distinguish the varietal wines from the sparklers.

Northern Nevada wine merchants carry the '08 Russian River Valley chardonnay, '09 California pinot gris, the '07 and '08 Russian River Valley pinot noirs, along with the Cuvée 20 and brut rosé sparkling wines.

And Bursick, whom J founder and owner Judy Jordan brought on board in 2006, has a local connection. For many years, he was winemaker at Ferrari-Carano Vineyards and Winery, owned by Don and Rhonda Carano of Reno.

The 100 percent barrel-fermented chardonnay is lemony and peachy and flecked with spice. The wine, Bursick said, "is more Montrachet in style, more delicate, than I did at Ferrari-Carano."

Bursick's California pinot gris, crafted using grapes from three appellations, is rounder than an Oregon-style pinot gris, owing some of that character to its vanilla flavors and to Bursick's enthusiasm for mouthfeel.

Pinot and more

J produces several pinot noirs, but only the floral, berried Russian River Valley release is distributed locally. For the vineyard-designate pinots, you'll have to visit J's tasting room, one of the most stylish in the California wine country.

Grapes for the Russian River pinot are drawn from J's estate vineyards and from other growers in the appellation.

The fruit for the '08 vintage was harvested at night. The wine was aged for 15 months in French oak barrels, returned to the barrel after blending (and before bottling), and then idled at least six months after bottling.

"All my tricks I learned with sangiovese, I learned with pinot noir," Bursick said. "With both, you have to protect the fruit."

Beyond the core varietal wines, Bursick also is making a vineyard-designate viognier, a Russian River Valley vin gris, and a plush dessert wine fashioned from small amounts of chardonnay, pinot gris and pinot noir blended with Germain-Robin brandy from Mendocino County to the north.

Bursick is even doing a dusky pinotage, about 400 cases annually, from three acres planted to this red South African varietal.

"We are reinventing ourselves, redefining ourselves," Bursick said of all his and Jordan's varietal efforts. "We hope people keep an open mind."

This aerial view encompasses vineyards of J Vineyards & Winery in Sonoma County's Russian River Valley. J, long celebrated for its sparkling wines, has enthusiastically embraced varietal winemaking in the past several years. (Provided by J Vineyards & Winery)

J Vineyards & Winery produces Russian River Valley pinot noir, shown here, and several vintage-designate pinot noirs not distributed in Northern Nevada but poured at J's stylish tasting room outside Healdsburg. (Provided by J Vineyards & Winery)

WHERE TO BUY

J Cuvée 20 brut sparkling wine, J brut rosé sparkling wine, '08 Russian River Valley chardonnay, '09 California pinot gris, and '07 and '08 Russian River Valley pinot noirs are available locally.

Retailers might not carry every release.

» Aloha Discount Wine & Liquors, 4555 S. Carson St., Carson City, 775-882-5544

» Ben's Fine Wine & Spirits, 3480 Lakeside Drive, 775-829-2367, and 10870 S. Virginia St., 775-853-2367

» Fine Vines Cheese and Wines, 6300 Mae Anne Ave., west of Robb Drive, 775-787-6300

» L'uva Bella Wine Gallery, 13925 S. Virginia St., in the Summit, 775-851-1110

» Whispering Vine Wine Co., 3886 Mayberry Drive, 775-787-9463, and 95 Foothill Road, 775-622-8080

J VINEYARDS & WINERY

11447 Old Redwood Highway, Healdsburg, Calif.

Phone: 707-431-5400

On the web: www.jwine.com

J Cuvee 20 Brut NV featured with a killer recipe in the February 2011 issue of Chef Magazine!

Chef magazine: http://www.chefmagazine.com/digitals/2011/0211CHEF/pageflip.html

Scroll to page 19 and and click once to zoom in and use your cursor to move it around 

Four Stars & Highly Recommended - Press Democrat for 2008 J Vineyards Russian River Valley Pinot Noir!

 2008 J Vineyards Pinot Noir

Russian River Valley

Four Stars from Wine of the Week!

Highly Recommended! 

A pinot noir with tangy fruit

and layered flavors. 

Notes of black raspberries,

herbs, cinnamon and caramel. 

Lush! 

By Peg Melnik
Press Democrat

Get her tipsy, feed her chocolate!

Get her tipsy, feed her chocolate.

Special Valentine's TCHO Chocolates J Bubble Room Wine & Food Pairing

February 11 - 20, 2011

J Vineyards & Winery, Bubble Room

 

by Proximal.Kitchen

February 8th, 2011 07:50am

I don’t know about you, but I’m not above whetting my wife’s more carnal appetites with enough wine and chocolate to impair her better judgment. I’m sure that’s all very un-PC and certainly, as the father of young daughters, I live in mortal fear of the effects of alcohol on sensibility; but my wife’s a big girl, and above all, she knows how I think, so I’m pretty sure our pending Valentine’s Date – a savory symphony of handcrafted chocolate and wine at J Winery – will be consensual.

As a rule, I view Valentine’s Day rather dimly. It’s not that I’m a Grinch, it’s just that I tire of the obligatory expense, the Weimar Republican inflation of menu prices and long-stemmed roses, the topsy-turvy calculus of a holiday on which profligate spending is simply expected and only an absence of gifts attracts attention. But I’m trying to be less crusty and more romantic with the accelerating rush of time, and anyway, the grandparents volunteered to babysit our litter – if the first rule of child rearing is never to wake a sleeping baby, then the second is surely never to decline free babysitting. Or any babysitting.

So, instead of bitching about Hallmark Holidays, I’m leaving my kids with the ‘rents and taking my wife to “TCHO and Pinot”, what promises to be an extravagant mouth-party of artisanal TCHO chocolate and J Winery Pinot Noir, welded seamlessly together in Chef Mark Caldwell’s kitchen, and – you heard it here first – an official Best Bet To Make Her Smile and You Lucky.

Photo credits: J Winery, TCHO Chocolate

The meal itself promises wonderful things: Beef braised in cocoa nib tea; a cocoa-crusted loin of lamb with a cocoa-infused reduction of Pinot Noir; and root vegetables and whatever else Mark can get his hands on that is best, seasonal, and local at the moment. All in all, a compelling excuse to spend an afternoon with my wife, in a pretty little room with lots of light and views of our valley, and just enough room to play footsie. Although I’m still not buying that velveteen heart-shaped box or schmaltzy card.

About This Blog

The Proximal Kitchen is the bastard lovechild of Scott Kerson, a recovering hedge fund addict, husband, father, and dedicated home cook with a passion for food, wine, and the natural affluence of Sonoma County soils. Since trading in the avenues of Manhattan for the vine rows of the Russian River Valley, Scott has hit upon a simple philosophy: Purchase the best ingredients you can directly from the people who farm them, prepare them with care, and you will eat better and learn something about life in the process. Scott puts this idea into practice with seasonal shopping tips, foodie factoids, classic and original recipes, and observations on everything from getting your kids to eat real food to the importance of sharpening your knives.

Russian River Valley Winegrower’s Cioppino Dinner, March 5th, 5:30 to 10 p.m.

The Crab is Back – a Russian River Valley Winegrower’s Cioppino Dinner. The wine growers and wine makers of the Russian River Valley will host a Russian River themed evening at Grace Pavilion at Sonoma County Fairgrounds on March 5th. A full array of the regions wines will be poured at 4 tasting bars, a seafood cioppino dinner with appetizers, salad and bread are on the menu. Fly casting and fly tying demonstrations, informational displays, DJ Music and a special “Tube Lounge” complete with inner-tube bar stools!

March 5th, 5:30 to 10 p.m.

$55 general admission, $520/$65 per person for table of 8

For tickets: http://www.rrvw.org/crabisback/ or 707-521-2534

Lobster Bisque & Viognier @ J Winery: Two of a Perfect Pair

Lobster Bisque & Viognier @ J Winery: Two of a Perfect Pair

by Proximal.Kitchen

January 26th, 2011 08:48am

Forgive the hackneyed analog, but I’ve just eaten a Lennon-McCartney harmony of food and wine over at J Winery; OK, maybe that’s too much, but a solid Bee Gees, at least! Seriously, if we wore socks on our teeth, then Chef Mark Caldwell’s Lobster Bisque, together with winemaker George Bursick’s Hoot Owl Vineyard Viognier, would knock them clean off. And I don’t even like Viognier, as a rule.

Eight-Flavor Local Duck, Tamarind-Orange Glazed Pork Belly, and Yuzu Royale; a vertical of single-vineyard Pinot Noirs, a late-disgorged vintage sparkler. For breakfast, no less. Not that one necessarily needs a special occasion to have wine for breakfast when one lives in wine country, but it helps, especially if you’ve got school pick-up, or anything else marginally productive to do. Fortunately, I had neither, so I got to enjoy all of this at a “Chinese New Year”-inspired pairing of food and wine in J’s Bubble Room; the menu, and the wines, will be featured through February 6th, a great call if you’ve been looking for a something-special to do in Healdsburg.

As good as it all is – and it’s all very good – it’s that Lobster Bisque and Viognier that makes you forget about the door levy. To be sure, $65/head for a 7-course menu hardly qualifies for a budget-oriented visit to the tasting room, but to be fair, it’s a meal more than a tasting (7 substantial plates of very tasty vittles), and ends up as much a miniature course in wine education as it does a tasting (including 8 different glasses of J’s top-shelf offerings); really, my only gripe is that I had to write this review, instead of taking a nap. But back to that bisque: Chef Mark serves it as a “cappuccino”, the “foam” delicately laced with coconut, an intriguing note of lime adding just the right balance to the sweet-spicy decadence of the soup and coaxing a range of citrus flavors from the wine.

 

Now, I don’t know about you and Viognier – with the notable exception of a few of the better examples from the Condrieu region of France, I generally won’t touch the stuff – but I’ve just been converted. The honeyed texture, the white flowers and stone fruit, and, above all, that mysterious note of lime zest in the wine do a little tango with the soup, each getting more from its partner than either had alone, the ultimate goal of all wine-food pairings. I’m going to try to convince Mark to give me his recipe for that bisque, but in the meantime, I’m headed back to J for another bottle, and then to pick up some Thai food to-go, something with coconut and lemongrass, maybe…

About The Proximal Kitchen Blog

The Proximal Kitchen is the bastard lovechild of Scott Kerson, a recovering hedge fund addict, husband, father, and dedicated home cook with a passion for food, wine, and the natural affluence of Sonoma County soils. Since trading in the avenues of Manhattan for the vine rows of the Russian River Valley, Scott has hit upon a simple philosophy: Purchase the best ingredients you can directly from the people who farm them, prepare them with care, and you will eat better and learn something about life in the process. Scott puts this idea into practice with seasonal shopping tips, foodie factoids, classic and original recipes, and observations on everything from getting your kids to eat real food to the importance of sharpening your knives.

92 Points & Outstanding- Anthony Dias Blue Reviews for J NV Brut Rose!

Anthony Dias Blue, The Tasting Panel

January – February 2011

92 POINTS & OUTSTANDING!

J NV Brut Rosé, Russian River Valley

Pale pink; clean, fresh fruit nose; lovely raspberry fruit, elegant small bubbles, creamy texture; raspberry and tangy citrus; long, smooth and charming!

J’s Bubble Room Hosts Valentine’s Weekend of Wine, Food & Chocolate

J’s Bubble Room Hosts Valentine’s Weekend of Wine, Food & Chocolate

February 11, 12 and 13, 2011 
February 18, 19 and 20, 2011

In celebration of Valentine’s Day, J Vineyards & Winery’s famed Bubble Room will feature a special food and wine pairing. The menu will center on J’s limited production Russian River Valley single-vineyard estate varietal wines, as well as the winery’s vintage sparkling wines.

Executive Chef Mark E. Caldwell has created a savory chocolate themed menu that is sure to awaken the senses. Cocoa Nib Tea Braised Beef, Yukon Gold Potato and Horseradish Gratin with Root Vegetables, and a Cocoa Crusted Lamb Loin and Seasonal Vegetables with a Cocoa-infused Pinot Noir Reduction sauce will be featured.

Seating times are Friday, Saturday and Sunday, 11 a.m., Noon, 2 p.m., and 3 p.m, Reservations are recommended.

On Saturday, February 12, a specialist from San Francisco’s TCHO Chocolate Company will be on hand to showcase their limited edition chocolates during a discussion on the intensely flavorful and sensual aspects of this popular food. There are only two seatings available on Saturday, February 12th: 11 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. Reservations required for the TCHO Bubble Room seminar.

Reservations are recommended, and required for the February 12th seminar. The cost is $65 per person and $50 for J Wine Club members.

For reservations or more information, please call (707) 431-5430 or (707) 431-3646.

J Vineyards & Winery, located on Old Redwood Highway south of Healdsburg, focuses on Brut and Brut Rosé sparkling wines, as well as Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Pinot Gris varietal wines, produced from grapes farmed primarily within Sonoma County’s Russian River Valley appellation.

Founded by Judy Jordan in 1986, J Vineyards & Winery is an independently owned Sonoma County winery. J celebrates its 25th Anniversary this year. To learn more, or to join the J Wine Club, go to www.jwine.com.

J Vineyards & Winery Bubble Room To Feature Asian-Inspired Cuisine Through February 6

Chinese New Year Celebration

J Vineyards & Winery Bubble Room To Feature

Asian-Inspired Cuisine Through February 6

In celebration of the Chinese New Year, J Vineyards & Winery is offering a special Asian Fusion-inspired wine and food tasting menu in its famed Bubble Room. The festive menu features limited production J Russian River Valley single-vineyard estate varietal wines as well the winery’s vintage sparkling wines.

Executive Chef Mark E. Caldwell will delight guests with such creations as “Eight-Flavor Local Duck” with Shimeji Mushroom and Bok Choy Stir-Fry, and “Vegetable Firecracker” with Spicy Sweet & Sour Dipping Sauce.

Reservations are recommended. This Bubble Room tasting is available on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, from January 7 through February 6. Seating times are 11 a.m., Noon, 2 p.m., and 3 p.m. The cost is $65 per person and $50 for J Wine Club members.

J Bubble Room

For reservations or more information, please call (707) 431-5430 or (707) 431-3646.

J Vineyards & Winery, located on Old Redwood Highway south of Healdsburg, focuses on Brut and Brut Rosé sparkling wines, as well as Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Pinot Gris varietal wines, produced from grapes farmed primarily within Sonoma County’s Russian River Valley appellation.

Founded by Judy Jordan in 1986, J Vineyards & Winery is an independently owned Sonoma County winery. J celebrates its 25th Anniversary this year. To learn more, or to join the J Wine Club, go to www.jwine.com.

 

Let’s Hear It For the Boys ~ At J Winery, That Is...

By "Juicy Tales by Jo Diaz"

All I know is that when I walked away from J this time, it was time to focus that spotlight on an unsung hero. Ron Clark wins my hospitality Man-0f-the Year award!

This story about J is going to be very different from most wine stories that wax poetic about the owner, the winemaker, or the wines. This one’s about a front liner… someone who is the face for most people when they come to wine country to learn about wine and are greeted by the hospitality department.

DIGRESSION #1: I was once told, while discussing the head of a wine company, “A fish rots from the head.” I thought about it for a second, and agreed. If the person running a company isn’t extraordinary, then you won’t find cream of the crop employees, for the most part. Why? The person doing the hiring won’t appreciate great talent, and will tend to hire those who won’t threaten or intimidate the boss; so things remain ordinary and under nervous conditions… Again, I said, for the most part. When someone good slips in, then the boss doesn’t know what to do with that talent, and that person will eventually be asked to leave.

On the other hand, when someone is self assured and knowledgeable, those being hired must exhibit extraordinary talent and passion. Someone self assured isn’t intimidated by anyone. That person welcomes what comes with being surrounded by remarkable people; so more frequently, you can expect exceptional things to be happening within that company. This story about J has reminded me of this parable more than once, but only in the most positive light for J Winery, because this is one healthy fish…

DIGRESSION #2: When I fly from place to place, I sometimes talk with the person sitting next to me… Sometimes we have nothing to say to each other at all. It’s a mood thing. When I do have conversations, they’re with people who click… people who are open and have fascinating stories to tell, and we share interests… Then we part, mostly to never see each other again. On my way to Portugal in October of 2009, I met Robin Parnell. She was headed back to Newark, having just worked in San Francisco; and I was leaving San Francisco to go work in Portugal with Enoforum Wines. She began my trip, I ended hers. As we parted after the flight, I gave her my card and told her, since she comes to San Francisco regularly, “Look me up and we’ll share my wine country insider’s edge.”

A little over a year later, she took me up on my offer. She was traveling for work, but would also take the weekend to visit wine country. One of her colleagues, Heidi Foot, was also flying in from England. And… Robin had a couple of her girl friends (Sherie Woody and Natalie Daniels) come along for the weekend adventure. Robin was ready to have a ball and to also have it be a lasting memory, not only for herself, but also with some of her closest friends.

I’ve now set the stage with all of the key players of this story… One wonderful tasting room person at J Winery, and a car load of beautiful women looking for a good time, with Jose and me along for the ride.

Most winery experiences begin in the tasting room. These hospitality people are the key ambassador faces of the company. My internal contact with J began years ago when I used to create sales support material for Shelly Eichner, during her time at J. She introduced me to others in the office, whom I also came to appreciate. Now PR colleague George Rose is working there. There’s also someone else whom I’ve had the pleasure of getting to know over the years, and this person is the catalyst for how this story has evolved. His name is Ron Clark; and if you’ve met him in the tasting room, you already know what a marvelous person Ron is.

This story about our visit to J might serve as an example and inspiration for someone wanting to know how hospitality at a winery is done really well. If you’re a tasting room manager, send your employees to J to study Ron. It will be worth their time to see how it’s done by a master.

Ron said that morning, when his team was looking at who was visiting the winery that day, he saw “Jo Diaz” and said, “I’ll take this one.” My daughter Melanie was the first to introduce me to Ron, and we’ve tasted with him before. We know enough about each other that we would all appreciate the visit again, and Ron took the lead. I don’t know why I didn’t request Ron, in the first place, but know I always will from now on.

During our tasting, Ron said something that really hit a chord, when I asked him how long he’s been there. He told us 20 years. I almost gasped. (He must have also poured at that location for Piper Sonoma, because that was the company there before J. It, too, was a bubbles house, and closed shortly after we arrived in Sonoma County, to become J.)

What Ron said that hit home so hard, and I’m paraphrasing, was the following:

I love working in the tasting room. I’m happy right where I am. Most people who come here to work ask me, “Ron, how do you do it? How am I going to repeat the same thing over and over again all day long, and remain enthusiastic?” Within a short period of time they’re taken into the marketing department, or somewhere else in the company, or they leave. I’m staying right here. I not only love talking about the wines, but I also love meeting the people, finding out who they are, where they come from… what their stories are, getting to know them.”

Is he responsible for selling a boatload of wine? Well, he did to all of my new BFFs… as much as they could possibly and legally ship into New Jersey. Yes, Ron told us every aspect about the sparkling winemaking process. He didn’t skip a beat. But, you’d never know that he had told that story for the last 20 years, based on his delightful enthusiasm and his engaging manner. We laughed, played, and learned our way through the tasting. I took copious notes, hung on every word… Learned some new things, and pointed out some of my own that Ron could use down the line, too, as a wine educator… Like adding to his explanation of malolactic fermentation, which is as easy as A + B = C.

A + B = C (malic Acid + Bacteria = laCtic acid, like the one in Cream. (Ron liked this one.)

I left Robert Mondavi Winery, not for the people, whom I adored as colleagues and visitors. I left because I felt like I was performing what was equivalent to Lily Tomlin’s Broadway production, Searching for Signs of Intelligent Life. I had seen it performed, so I knew how helter-skelter it was, and I felt that way as an educator at Mondavi… going from one place to the next around the winery, three to four times a day, saying the same thing over-and-over again. It’s a rare talent for someone who can do this like it’s the first time, a thousand times over.

I personally went to a winery to get into their PR department. For Ron, he is the PR department, as far as it concerns consumers who are walking through J’s doors… perhaps for the first time, perhaps for the third or fourth based on their past positive experiences with Ron (and others within the company).

All I know is that when I walked away from J this time, it was time to focus that spotlight on an unsung hero. Ron Clark wins my hospitality Man-0f-the Year award… And, he certainly won over the hearts of my new friends, too. When you’re in J’s tasting room, if you’re not being educated by Ron, you’ll know who is based on the great time everyone is having… the laughter, the bubbles, the chatter…

Link to article: http://www.wine-blog.org/index.php/2010/12/22/lets-hear-it-for-the-boys-at-j-winery-that-is/

Monique Soltani of Healdsburg Patch Wine Wednesdays "Getting to the Bottom of Bubbly with J Vineyards & Winery"

By Monique Soltani, December 29, 2010

If what you are doing New Year's Eve involves breaking out a bottle of champagne, then we have found just the thing to add a little local twinkle to your New Year's toast. In this week's Wine Wednesday, Patch's Monique Soltani finds out the first step to starting a celebration is popping open a bottle of Healdsburg's own sparkling wine.

George Bursick, J Winemaker

J Vineyards & Winery was founded by Judy Jordan in 1986, and specializes in sparkling wines from the Russian River Valley. Monique talks with Winemaker George Bursick and Executive Chef Mark E. Caldwell to get to the bottom of the bubbly.

Mark E. Caldwell, J Executive Chef

Video Link: http://healdsburg.patch.com/articles/getting-to-the-bottom-of-bubbly#video-4187126