Avenue Vine

The California showing was all the more impressive because one of its six wines was corked, with no backup bottle available, and had to be eliminated from consideration. Imagine the Dallas Mavericks going up against the Miami Heat without Dirk Nowitzki and still winning.

At any rate, the drubbing by California isn't discouraging Lester Jesberg, editor of Winewise, from calling for a rematch in 2006.

As he did last year, Jesberg asked Sacramento grocer Darrell Corti to pick the wines to represent California.

Jesberg had one qualification: The syrahs were to be from appellations with cool climates. The term "cool climate" is somewhat ambiguous. In California, wine-grape areas considered relatively cool include the Santa Rita Hills, the Russian River Valley and the Sonoma Coast. They are areas where pinot noir tends to be more extensively planted than syrah, and that's where Corti went looking for candidates to represent California.

He rounded up 39 of them, most from the 2003 vintage, some from the 2004. Corti and a few others, including myself, tasted them one recent evening in a big back room at Corti Brothers on Folsom Boulevard.

Afterward, Corti polled the tasters on their preferences, and after checking with the wineries on availability, announced the six wines that would represent California later this summer in Australia:

• Sonoma Coast Vineyards & Winery 2003 Sonoma Coast Syrah ($45). This was the only unanimous choice among the tasters, winning over palates for its gentle heft, expressive smell, and broad and balanced flavors.

• Cycles Gladiator 2004 Central Coast Syrah ($10). The judges in Australia last year were bowled over by the Hahn Estates 2003 Central Coast Syrah ($12), marveling at its floral aroma, spicy fruit and overall class, especially given its bargain price. The Cycles Gladiator is made by the same winery and boasts those same sorts of attributes. It recently won the sweepstakes award at the Los Angeles County Fair Wines of the World Competition.

• Neyers Vineyards 2004 Napa Valley Hudson Vineyard Syrah ($49). The 2002 version of this wine was the top-ranked California entry in last year's Australian tasting. The 2004 is an even more approachable take on the varietal, but with the same lush, mouth-filling fruit.

• Lafond Winery & Vineyards 2004 Santa Rita Hills Syrah ($18). Nothing distinguishes cool-climate syrahs more than their white-pepper spiciness, and that characteristic is just one of several distinctive flavors here, joining truffles, berries and bacon in a powerfully compact package.

• Drew Wines 2003 Santa Ynez Valley Rodney's and Larner Vineyards Syrah ($32). What do we have here? Nothing less than chocolate-dipped almonds, along with a side of blueberries and cherries and a pinch of pepper. Another Drew syrah from 2003 was my favorite among last year's finalists, but the bottle to arrive in Australia was corked; this year, Corti is sending two of each.

• Jaffurs Wine Cellars 2003 Santa Barbara County Bien Nacido Vineyard Syrah ($30): Juicy and snappy as a bowl of freshly picked blueberries and cherries, with the sweetness of oak playing the role of the whipped cream off to the side.

State Fair calling vintners
After a one-year hiatus, the California State Fair Home Winemaking Competition is being revived. G.M. "Pooch" Pucilowski, who for 20 years has managed the State Fair's commercial wine competition, will direct the judging.

Members of the Amador Winemakers Association and the Lodi Amateur Vintners Association also are involved in coordinating the competition.

Deadline to enter is July 14. The judging will be Aug. 5, with awards announced Aug. 31. Details are to be posted on the State Fair's Web site, www.bigfun.org. They also are available at (916) 263-3146 or (916) 961-6150.

Source: “Rematch pits Down Under vs. California, vino a vino,” Mike Dunne, Sacramento Bee, June 21, 2006