Russian River Vineyards, Corks Restaurant, and the Best Goat Cheese in the World!

The Thomas Gas in Action at Corks @ Russian River Vineyards!

Sorry for the delay in our next post, but Kelly and I were furiously working on an The Americans script for the Warner Bros. Television Writers’ Workshop that was submitted on Saturday!!! So now we can return you to our previously scheduled program… The Vines and Vinos Tour!!!

After sipping some bubbly over at Iron Horse Vineyards, we sally forthed to Corks Restaurant at Russian RiverVineyards for lunch with Mr. Raymond Rolander of Wine Cube Tours.

From its original planting in 1963, Russian River Vineyards has established itself as one of the premier organic (!!!) and sustainably farmed grape-growing properties in California.  Many generations previously, in the ancient time of the Native American Pomo, the vineyard was a tribal village.  And prior to the grapes, the land was a Sonoma hay field. 

The vineyards on the property, which include some of the very first Merlot vines ever planted in Sonoma County, were originally established in 1963, a time when most of the agriculture in the area was devoted to apples and prunes, surrounded by forests of Redwood trees.  Even the name Russian River Vineyards came long before the Russian River Valley was officially declared an appellation in 1983.

Corks Restaurant at Russian River Vineyards is the only winery-based restaurant in the Russian River Valley.  Its menu features the seasonal best from local growers and emphasizes organic meats and sustainable agriculture.  

Like all good winery adventures, Corks likes to paint a picture.  The patio was very romantic, with white light strings, distressed wood, brick flooring, and a rusting iron art pieces scattered throughout the gardens.  RRV has brand ambassadors, two rescue dogs on the property that roam about saying hi to diners and sippers alike.  A large 18^th century Russian Hop Hose with 800 bats living in it (since they are an organic vineyard, the bats are used in place of insecticides and rodent poison along with the guano being a great fertilizer) gives the outdoor tasting area the slightest hints of gothic Brontë novel.    

 

Initially we were planning on just getting lunch, but James, the Director of Sales at Russian River Vineyards was amazing enough to bring us over samples, which were perfect for the sunny al fresco lunch we had.  Wine tasting is a fun experience as long as the person who pours it is fun, knowledge, and (most importantly) doesn’t have an attitude and that James to a “T”!

James had us start with RRV’s `12 Sonoma CoastChardonnay ($35).  A (French) Oaked Sonoma Coast Chardonnay (somewhat of a rarity in the Russian River Valley), this wines delicately balances crisp tropical notes with soft vanilla.  It was a perfect compliment to our first starters at Corks. 

Redwood Hill Chevre and Corks Garden Chard, Baby Greens with Zatar (aka Za'atar is a Middle Eastern spice similar to thyme that is traditionally dried in the sun and mixed with salt, sesame seeds and sumac) Dressing ($14) was absolutely amazing!!!  Kelly described it as “an orchestra of taste where each instrument introduces itself subtly.” 

This was mainly due to the Auh-Mazing goat cheese that was used in this and others Corks’ dishes.  The cheese darling Redwood Hill Farm is an award-winning, Grade A goat dairy farm and creamery located in Sonoma County.  Committed to making the best tasting and least processed artisan goat cheese, yogurt and kefir, their family-owned and operated company uses solar power to sustainably produce all its goat products.  Redwood Hill Farm proudly became the nation’s first Certified Humane Goat Dairy in 2005. 

 

Our other appetizer was the Grilled Castroville Artichoke with Smokey Garlic Butter, Vella Dry Jack Cheese and Lemon ($10) was absolutely smashing!!!  The garlic butter was out of this world. 

Our next wine sampling by James was RVV’s `12 SingleVineyard Pinot Noir - Fratti Lane Vineyard.  RVV’s Fratti was a Silver Medal winner at North of the Gate Wine Competition (a competition that focuses on Northern California wines at the Sonoma-Marin Fair).  This wine has an excellent concentration, delicate smoothness and mouth feel, balanced with rich dark berry, currant, and spice. This Pinot did not disappoint and had a not so wild and crazy price point of $55.

This was followed by their ‘12 Benedetti PinotNoir ($55); another Single Vineyard Pinot Noir that was a Gold Medal winner at the North of the Gate Wine Competition.  These grapes hail from the Benedetti Vineyards in the beautiful Russian River Valley.  This wine is full of lush black cherry and warm vanilla spice with caramel notes and hints of smoke.

Onto the main course, I dinned on the Grilled Vegetable Wrap ($13.50).  Composed of Olive Tapenade, Sundried Tomato, Redwood Hill Farm Chevre (there it is again), Grilled Carrots, Squash, County Line Escarole with Corks Garden Arugula wrapped in a Spinach Flour tortilla.  The dish was smoky vegetable deliciousness with truffle fries.  Yummm (with 3 Ms)!!!

Kelly sampled the Bodega Fish and Chips ($15.75).  A “Not So Traditional Spin” with Locally Caught Cod, Panko Breaded, Jalapeno Remoulade and Corks Slaw, she said it was everything Fish and Chips aspires to be: light and crisp with nary an oiliness about it.

Our amazing tour guide Mr. Raymond Rolander dined on the Ruben’s Reuben ($15).  House Smoked Pastrami housed on Costeaux’s Dark Rye (Costeaux FrenchBakery is located in Healdsburg and is known for their legendary artisan breads), Havarti, and Gruyere Cheese, with Sauerkraut and Spicy Sriracha Thousand Island.  Raymond and Kelly both agreed it the was the shining star of the lunch.

An awesome thing about joining the Russian River Vineyards wine club is that members and their guest enjoy discounts of 20% on Corks Restaurant food and wine portion of their bill.  So along with the organic practices, the locally sourced menu, and the rustic ambiance there’s one more reason to drive down their winding path road and experience what Russian River Vineyards has to offer.  
 

Local is Knowledge: Exploring the Russian River Valley with Wine Cube Tours

For the next day of our Vines to Vinos Tour Kelly and I drove southward through Sonoma County to the Russian River Valley AVA.  As the mercury dropped from the warm toastiness of the

Raymond Rolander of Wine Cube Tours

Alexander Valley to cooler coastal climates, the leaves danced along the road so they shadowed waves barrel rolling in a grassy ocean.
 
The Russian River Valley has a characteristically cool climate, by virtue of its proximity to the Pacific Ocean.  The weather here is heavily influenced by the cooling effect of the evening fog flowing in from the Pacific Ocean only a few miles West through the Petaluma Gap and up the Russian River.  The fog drops temperatures up to 40 degrees, allowing full grape maturity over an extended period of time, while simultaneously preserving crucial natural acidity. 
With over 15,000 acres of grapevines planted, there is a broad range of wines from the Russian River Valley.  The weather, along
with its famous Goldridge Loam (Loam is soil composed mostly of sand and silt, and a smaller amount of clay) converge, creating a phenomenal region for cool climate grape varietals like Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. 

Iron Horse Vineyard

This is not an AVA known for “Butter Balls” or “Oak Bombs.”  This style of Chardonnay has (for the most part) been replaced by a leaner, crisper, more sophisticated, fruit-forward wines with a palette ranging from pear and apple to peach and nectarine, often with overtones of Meyer lemon.

Pinot Noir is a difficult grape to grow and for this reason this native of the Burgundy region of France achieves greatness in only a handful of places worldwide; luckily the Russian River Valley is one of those places!!! 

Russian River Vineyards

The perfect Pinot climate combined with an amazing complexity of
soil types, results in wines that reflect their individual sites but share a common intention.  In the Russian River Valley, aromas tend to be bright and focused fruit, ranging from wild strawberries and raspberries to red and black cherries.  Notes of cola and baking spices are also standard.

Our tour guide through this cooler climate AVA (as introduced to us by the Sonoma Wine Road) was Raymond Rolander of Wine Cube Tours.  This grinning bearded guy in pageboy cap knows where to go and what to drink in the Russian River Valley.  Driving around wine country in his Nissan Cube, Sonoma Magazine referred to Raymond as “a one man Uber.” 

The Wine Guerilla

A native of Sonoma County, Raymond’s a former tasting room manager with a decade of bar work under his belt.  With all that knowledge, he’s gained a unique perspective of what guest are looking.  Raymond’s fun, compact (it can seat up to 4 guests), and economical car provided us with an almost 360 degree view as we zipped through the back roads of the Russian River Valley.

Rolander tailors all tours based on whatever you want in wine, experience, and location preferences in a fun and 100% worry free environment.  With a catchphrase of: local is knowledge, he specializes in access to small, off the beaten path producers of wine, cheese and olive oil while serving up a side order of local

history.  Rolander quite mobile as he covers both Sonoma and Napa (he does about a 80/20 split between the former and the later).  Upon request, he’ll even enhance your day with a local farm,

Tree Hugger Kelly at Armstrong Redwoods

cheese and/or olive oil production tour.  


Our day with Raymond consisted of four unique Russian River Valley wineries (which will be fleshed out in detail in coming posts!).  Our first stop was the sparkling wine gurus Iron Horse Vineyards and their outdoor tasting room.  Next was the Russian River Vineyard, their bat-housing chateau like Hop House, and their delicious Corks Restaurant located in a historic 1890s farmhouse.  In the afternoon we continued our tour with a

Zinfandel only based winery the Wine Guerillia in the tiny hamlet of Forrestville.  This was followed by Hartford Family Winery, a family owned winery that specializes in single vineyard Chards and Pinots.  To finish off the day we drove through Armstrong Woods, an 805 acre California State Park of the magnificent Sequoia Sempervirens (aka the coastal redwood).

It was a perfect day of beauty: of bucolic landscapes, bright and brainy teachers, and bewitching bottles for as Rolander noted, “an open bottle, is an empty bottle.”