Kudos to Kaz!

The blogger and Kaz, as he crushes his grapes

I have been meaning to write this post for quite a while... I have to admit that I am krazy about Kaz Winery! I was first introduced to Kaz while out in Sonoma in 2012. A favorite trick of ours when travelling out and about to wineries is to ask the person doing our tasting who we should check out. You almost always get suggestions of wineries that aren't as well known, but have amazing wines.

At any rate, we were out tasting and someone mentioned that we should check out Kaz Wineries, saying that he takes organic to a whole new level - and that he truly makes wine according to his own way. And that is saying something coming from another Sonoma vintner. Located not far from Naked Wines and Chateau St. Jean, Kaz Winery is unlike anything else.

Upon driving up a sunny November afternoon, we found Kaz prepping his latest harvest for bottling. The old fashioned way, that is... using a hand-crusher to take grapes that had been fermenting for two weeks and prepping them for bottling.

He greeted us warmly and said, "Oh I hope you folks don't mind if we do our tasting while I get some of this work done before the day goes by." So we proceeded to do our tasting combined with moving in and out of the tasting room while he proceeded to crush the grapes. I forget what he was crushing that day, but they had been fermenting for about two weeks. He let us even put our tasting glasses under the barrel to try, quite literally, the freshest pressed wine I had ever had.

We spent a good part of our afternoon there, staying to take in some lunch too. But the fun was not over. Before we left, we even were able to bottle some of his wine for our own personal collection - getting to pick the label from his collection. The artist who makes his labels is amazing, by the way. Each one has a very tongue-in-cheek joke and hilarious illustrations.

 All in all I would go back again (we just drank the last bottle, alas!). Again, I say Kudos to Kaz!!

Our last bottle of Kaz's Wine - one that we got to bottle ourselves!

**Blogger's note: Since I last checked, Kaz has actually 'gone underground' according to his website. He is helping a friend start a production in Lake County, from the looks of things. The location of his winery (where we visited and met Kaz) is now the home of La Rochelle. But you can still taste his wines and buy them online! I highly encourage it!!

What does your wine smell like?

Or more specifically, from where does your wine smell? Although my grammar is a bit suspect I'm referring to a phenomenon I have only noticed recently: wines from various regions have a very particular smell.

I suppose in official terms I am referring to the earthy elements that give wine a unique bouquet. The minerals and elements that impact the vine, the grapes, and ultimately the taste and smell of a wine.

But what I really am referring to is the memories that are brought up when you breathe in a great wine. I've heard it said that the part of the brain which registers smell is right next to the cells for memory. Thus, the things we smell trigger memories. In the case of wine, I am curious if memories have the equal and opposite action on how a wine tastes? Do memories of a place picked up by your nose impact the flavor on your tongue?

Skyline Drive in the Shenandoah National Forest

A few examples. For me Virginia wines when I smell them taste of the Shenandoah mountains when you are hiking the midst of the woods.  The heat of the Mid-Atlantic sun starts to evaporate the dew or wet on the ground from a storm the night before, into the already heaven laden and humid air. Combine that with the smell of fresh cut grass and damp under growth and you have Virginia wine in a glass.

The Pacific meets the Russian River

Or Napa where the scent of dry air combines with the luxury of a honeymoon and the smell of a vineyard exposed to the noon light after a cool, star filled night.

Sonoma smells like the Pacific breeze combined with rocks and hills and valleys and the undertones of a Redwood forest centuries old. Where the valleys of vines meet the crashing of the ocean - all warmed by a temperate sun.

Lake Huron at Sunset

Michigan wines, especially white wines smell like crossing the Michigan Diag in Ann Arbor on a freezing winter day when the cold from the Great Lakes air hits your mouth and invigorates your whole body with a sense of being alive!

And Santa Barbara smells like the Pacific breeze wafting up from Los Angeles and the desert, magnifying the harsh, rocky terrain with the hustle and bustle of humanity.

Spain smells like dry, sun-beaten olive groves, castles and palaces centuries old, and of fresh olives, manchego, and Serrano underneath a brutally hot sun. Oh and add in a side of cigarettes and flamenco and you have Espana in a glass.

Overlooking Olive Groves near Iznajar, Spain

France, or more specifically St. Emillion smells of small villages with meandering streets - overlooking vineyards as far as the eye can see. Where time is not measured in minutes and seconds, but in glasses, bottles, and friends made.  

In short, I never fully can appreciate a wine until I have visited the land where it is from and experienced the culture and people.  What about you? What, or where, does your wine smell like?