A couple of weeks ago Nancy and I went up Highway 4 to Bear Valley, Ca. to do some cross country skiing. We go several times each year and usually go straight up and back. This time, though, our trip took a twisted turn.
As we were headed down the road on our way home we decided to stop at Twisted Oak Winery and do some wine tasting. There are two ways to get to Twisted Oak Winery. Turn off Highway 4 onto Red Hill Road, it only goes off one way, and then you find there are two entrances to the winery, a smooth paved road and a gravel and dirt road. We had been up the paved road before so we decided to take the dirt road this day. If you are interested to can check out the post from our last trip back in November of 2011.
As we headed up the rough twisty road the leafless trees closed in make it somewhat spooky in places. There were numerous humorous signs guiding our way as we maneuvered around the potholes. When we were close to the winery we were greeted by pirates and rubber chickens hanging from the trees. Truly a twisted drive and it put us in the mood for some of their twisted wines.
Twisted Oak Winery specializes in Mediterranean varietals and makes some very good wines. They also have a tasting room in the town of Murphys down the road a few miles but is more interesting to taste at the winery.
At the entrance to the tasting room is a giant frog and there is music playing loudly from the wine making area. Inside the tasting room there is a small tasting bar and a large variety of twisted souvenir and food items. “El Jefe” (Jeff Stai, one of the owners) wasn’t there so Serena (sp?) was pouring. She was great… very knowledgable and personable. She told us about each wine and where the grapes came from and any other trivia that was interesting.
We started off with their 2011 Verdelho and 2011 Viognier which were both flavorful and crisp. Unfortunately the did not have any of the Ruben’s Blend, a Marsanne, Roussanne, Grenache Blanc blend I really like.
Next we tasted the reds starting with the 2010 *%#&@! – yes that is its name, a quote from the winery, “Sounds like Cluck, pairs with Duck”. A blend of Mourvedre, Syrah and Grenache it was a bit smoky with ripe fruit and smooth tannins.
Our second red was the 2009 Torcido, 100% Grenache. While very good with a lot of flavor and structure we didn’t find it typical of the varietal. Of course what is typical for the Rhone or Spain may not be typical of the Sierra Foothills. This wine was rated 93 points by Wine Enthusiast and was #50 on their top 100 wines of 2012. What else can you say!
After the Grenache we moved on to the 2009 River of Skulls – This 100% Mourvedre had sort of a dusty fruit nose with a bit of vanilla and great fruit flavor. I always appreciate a winery with 100% varietals. You get a real feel for what that grape should taste like. We really liked this wine and ended up taking some home.
The 2009 Tempranillo is another 100% varietal but from two different vineyards has big tannins and big flavor. This would be the wine to pull out for a BBQ. Another one that went home with us.
Twisted Oak Winery has many wines and we couldn’t taste them all but of the others we did taste, one that stood out was the 2009 The Spaniard, a blend of Tempranillo, Graciano and Garnacha. According to the Twisted Oak Winery web site this wine was made by “Winemakers of Unusual Size”, alluding to how big the wine is. If you follow James the Wine Guy, he rated this wine 9.1 out of 10 and has a video review you can watch.
The 2009 Ol’Chumbucket, Tempranillo, Monastrell, Graciano, Carignane and Grenache impressed us enough the we took some home with us as well. Not the cheapest but well worth the price.
The last one we brought home was the 2009 Petite Sirah. Described as “big, bad, bold and bodacious” it really lives up to that description. Dark ruby, plenty off tannins and fruit, well structured, a couple bottles of this came home with us too.
If you do a wine tasting trip to the Sierra Foothills you really need to stop at Twisted Oak. Lots of fun and nice wines make for a very enjoyable experience.
