Mrs. Barbarian made a Costco run today, and returned with several industrial-scale boxes filled with foodstuffs. At first I thought she was planning to load a C-130 headed for Haiti, but no… we’re supposed to eat it all. Conspicuously absent from the booty was any wine (Costco is where you’ll find our every-day wine choice, Cameron Hughes.) Thankfully I had stopped at our local grocer to pick up a prescription at the pharmacy on Friday and as always made a detour through the wine section to grab a few bottles. Dinner tonight was meant to make a dent in this huge food cache and Mrs. Barbarian cooked up some cornbread from a package the size of a pillowcase. Meanwhile I opened a gunny sack of broccoli flowerettes, and some (thankfully in a small package) bratwurst.

Food of this scale requires a big wine. A sledgehammer of a wine. No subtlety required. I reached for the Petite Sirah.

Concannon was the first winery to bottle Durif’s grape on its own, and the label proclaims it as “America’s First Petite Sirah.” It is also a 125 year old family-owned winery. This is a 2006 vintage Central Coast Petite Sirah. The label says “Limited Release”, which may be hyperbole if I was able to grab this for $11.25 ($15.99 retail, $12.49 with grocer’s loyalty card, $11.25 when combined with a multi-bottle discount!) at my podunk small-town grocery store.

It certainly is quite good though. When I first opened the bottle the nose was a little strange but that vanished quickly. In fact by mid-meal the wine seems to have lost all of it’s nose. That is OK though since it tastes wonderful. Big and broad-shouldered like a Petite Sirah should be, and easily able to stand up to the big flavors on the plate. Mrs. Barbarian liked it even more than I did, as I noted that after dinner there was maybe a glass-and-a-half left, and I sat down to write this review. I snapped the photo you see above (note: new cell phone… much better image quality from the camera!), then turned back to my computer to write; when I next turned to grab the bottle to read the label it was empty. I heard her come in and leave the room, but did not turn to look. She obviously slurped up the rest of this nice wine.

www.concannonvineyard.com

After the disaster that was the Raucous Red, I had to save the evening and the dinner with a “sure thing”. Around our house that usually means something from Cameron Hughes. CH Wines are almost always consistent. Consistently good that is. Mrs. Barbarian is partial to Pinot Noir, so I grabbed a bottle of Lot 110, a 2007 Pinot Noir from the “Los Carneros” AVA, which straddles both Napa & Sonoma valleys in California.

As usual, Mr. Hughes delivered on his promise and provided an excellent value wine for about ten bucks. Mrs. Barbarian liked it, and so I was spared any more discordant screeching that night.

Thank you Mr. Hughes, I am forever in your debt.

The Vinagoth loves him some Petite Sirah. While all manner of grapes grace these pages, when it comes to sitting down for some serious swilling your author oftentimes chooses the delectable delights of Dr. Durif. A considerable amount of the best Petite Sirah I’ve consumed originates from the Paso Robles area of California and some recent travels found me in that very town. I was traveling by car and Paso Robles fell at the half-way point of our two-day drive. While the town itself is not much to behold (think “Sunburns and Tractor Pulls!”) the vineyards of the region produce some damn good fruit.

My traveling companion and I went out for dinner upon our arrival. He chose the place, I chose the wine. He chose a local pizza joint, then informed me that he doesn’t drink. The things I have to endure! The pizza place was nice, with a big brick oven and a huge choice of wines, all local. We ordered a medium pepperoni, and I requested jalapenos and garlic on my half. (what can I say… I’m a barbarian!) Afterwards I walked over to the huge array of local wines and spotted this Petite Sirah, the only Durif in the whole display! I ordered a bottle, and the nice lady behind the counter handed me an open bottle and a glass.

Peachy Canyon 2005 Petite Sirah, Paso Robles, CA ~$18/bottle

Love this wine. Big. Tasty. Just like a Petite Sirah should be. It even stood up to the killer death barbaric pizza… well almost. You see they mangled the order and forgot the garlic, so we were given another pizza for free. The first had the jalapenos, but not the garlic. The peppers themselves were killer-hot. Like wines, you never know what you’ll get with a Jalapeno. Sometimes they are sweet and mild, sometimes, once bitten they will burn through matter like the blood of a H. R Giger Alien, seeking the gravitational core of the planet. The Jalapenos of Paso Robles fall into the latter end of the Scoville Scale. I had to peel off quite a few of the damn things to be able to taste anything afterwards. Very few wines, especially reds, can stand up to a Capsaicin clobbering such as the one I was enduring. The Peachy held up “ok” with plenty of ice water “palate cleansers” thrown over the tongue to douse the wildfire burning there.

I re-corked the bottle and brought it back to the hotel, where I assumed I’d have another glass before turning in. The stuff was so good I polished the whole bottle off that night…

A few nights ago I opened two bottles of Syrah. The first was one of our old standby’s, Cameron Hughes Lot 105 2004 Sonoma Mountain Syrah. I bought a case of this a while ago and we love it. Mrs. Barbarian and I enjoy this wine and have one likely twice a month. We have never NOT enjoyed it, and it is certainly a pleasing wine. Mrs. Barbarian likes syrah more than I do, and she has no complaints about Lot 105. It is a great value at $12 a bottle.

The second bottle is more than twice that price, at right around $30. Rarely do I spend that kind of money and frequently when I do I’m disappointed. Not so this time!

This is Chatter Creek 2003 Syrah from the Clifton Vineyard in Washington state. It literally blew away Mr. Hughes’ wine. This was a case where the price was justified by the product within the bottle. Especially when compared to the California Syrah (which, I’ll repeat, we LIKE), the Chatter Creek is truly awesome. Much richer flavor. Much more depth. As much as I love it when the low price wine meets or beats the higher priced one, in this case it did not happen.

I recommend both of these wines, but if the occasion warrants it, go with the Chatter Creek.

This was dinner the other night at Chez Vinagoth, waffles and red wine. You see Mrs. Barbarian had failed to stop by the grocery store or Costco as promised, so when it came time to cook something up the pickings were slim. I punted and got out the waffle iron. Think of it as a Belgian delicacy!

Thankfully the wine cellar offered up this wonderful 2005 Napa Valley Meritage from Cameron Hughes. It was more than a match for this tasty treat from the Low Countries, and a bargain at $12. Next time I hope to try it with a proper dinner. At least Mrs. Barbarian doesn’t slather her steaks in peanut butter(!) like she does her waffles. Sigh.

I saw this bottle as I was picking up some Secreto Malbec to give away as xmas gifts. My eye of course was drawn to the “petite” word on the label, always a promise of my favorite varietal. It was a tad pricey, around $22. I also found it a bit disappointing to be honest. It is actually a blend of Petite Sirah and Petite Verdot. The latter served to just mellow it far too much for my taste. It is a 2006, made by Michael & David Wines of Lodi.

I imagine many folks would find this wine pleasant, which is why I’m not really going to downgrade it. I also noted that they are not making it anymore, so perhaps the point is moot. I will try their Earthquake Petite Sirah though at some point, as that sounds far more promising.

One of the primary things that attracted me to Mrs Barbarian when we first met was her natural frugality. To say that she is cheap is an understatement. That is a rare quality in a woman, so join that with a nice rack and I was sold. No fancy wedding – we eloped. No diamond rings – just a simple band. No closets filled with Imelda collections. The household finances are always in good shape. We each have our little pet extravagances, but those are not allowed to impinge on the Barbarian cashflow.

After my discovery of Cameron Hughes’ wines at Costco, I joined their Seasonal Red club, which delivers a mixed case, a sampler so to speak 4 times a year. This was several months ago, and we’ve received a couple of those mixed case since. However the end of 2008 brought financial turmoil to the entire globe, and Mrs. Barbarian declared some household belt-tightening. I’m a pretty cheap guy anyway, so no big deal there.

I came home from work one day to find the Mrs looking particularly barbaric as I opened the door. On the floor beside her was a case delivered by FedEx. A case of wine that is. “What is this?” she asked. Of course, she didn’t need to ask… plastered all over the box are large bright yellow stickers saying how the box contains alcohol and must be signed for by an adult, and the “Cameron Hughes Wine” label is kind of hard to miss. “I thought we were cutting back on spending” she said as she stormed off, leaving me to unpack it and put away the bottles.

What I love about CH Wines is their “upmarket wine” quality at “everyday wine” prices. Honestly these are almost always $40 bottles being sold for around ten bucks.

Within this mixed case were several samples of Lot 106, a Syrah from Sonoma County. Mrs. Barbarian likes Syrah, so it was the first one I pulled out of the box. I served it up with a pasta/pesto dinner, with some garlicy bread and broccoli. The Syrah is smooth and flavorful… not overpowering but holds up well amid the strong flavors present in the dinner. Mrs. Barbarian loves the wine… so much so that she pulls out a second bottle to open as dinner is coming to a close.

I’ll be in trouble again in 3 months when the next box comes… until I open a bottle that is. For now however, peace reigns in the Barbarian household.

Imagine then that you find out that somebody you know owns an old Ferrari or Jaguar and offers you some seat time. You meet him at the appointed place and time and as you stomp on the loud pedal instead of the exotic noise you have dreamt of all these years, the sounds that you have listened to countless times on Speed TV, various YouTube videos, you hear the generically common rumble of a small-block Chevy. Yep, the car has been “lumped” … that is had it’s original exotic engine replaced with a generic crate motor.

Now, not to say that an American V-8 makes an unpleasant noise. Not at all. It is just that it is common. Just about every Tom, Dick, and Guido you knew in high school made second-gear-scratches with his Camaro, so you’ve heard this sound a million times before. Every cop car, every SUV, every rental sedan, every muscle car you have ever known in your life made this very same noise. Sure, you are now in a unique package, but it has been blended with something .. well… DULL and your disappointment is palpable.

That pretty much sums up our experience with two bottles of Petite Sirah last night. Both were eminently drinkable, and in fact I’d say they were enjoyable and good. They just had been tamed by the introduction of some other grape. They’d lost their unique Petit Sirah-ness.

The first was a Ravenswood Vintners Blend Petite Sirah 2006. I’ve had their wines before, but never a Petite Sirah. I spotted this one out of the corner of my eye at the grocery store and of course, had to buy it. Petite Sirah is my favorite varietal and as I’ve said many times before I’d pillage your village for a single bottle. This one required minimal pillaging as it cost a mere $9.99.

Even Mrs. Barbarian was looking forward to drinking it. As she was finishing up preparing dinner she said “Oh, I like Ravenswood wines.”

I popped open the bottle and did not experience the hand grenade aroma I usually expect from a Petite Sirah upon opening. Hrmmm. Poured a glass. It was “okay” but lacking in something… perhaps that big two-by-four whack to the palette I love so much about my favorite varietal? Yeah, that’s it. This wine is smooth and tasty. It just drinks like a GENERIC RED BLEND. OMG, somebody swapped a V-8 into my exotic sports car! Damn.

Things were about to go from generic to uncertainty… as I pulled out the other Petite Sirah I bought that day. Uncertainty because it was so damn cheap. Crane Lake 2005 Petite Sirah… a mere $3.99. Yep three dollars and ninety nine cents. While I normally relish finding any red wine under ten bucks, and can’t pass up a bargain, it is always risky to go that low. After all this is a crafted agricultural product that takes months, if not years to produce. It should not be that cheap. But hey, I’ll try anything once!

Surprisingly the Crane Lake was pretty much the same as the two and a half times more expensive Ravenswood Vintners Blend… smooth, tasty, but far too lightweight and dull to be a true representative of a Petite Sirah.

So if you are looking for a reasonably cheap, or even a shockingly cheap, everyday drinking red, by all means pick up either of these two wines. They are not however good representatives of my favorite varietal. The winemakers have obviously thrown something into the mix to tone down the bigness of the signature varietal on the label. I am disappointed in them as Petite Sirah, but happy with them as wine. Odd I know, but in this case even a barbarian can put on airs.

(Apologies for the horrible photo, I’m just not very good with a camera! Not to worry though all Cameron Hughes Wines look the same and I have another one queued up to review soon… I’ll get a better shot… promise!)

Not only am I a Barbarian, I’m also a man. Being a man means I have retail aversion. I don’t like to shop. I’d rather sit in the car and stare at my Blackberry or listen to the radio than voluntarily go into a retail establishment.

So Mrs. Barbarian’s eyebrows nearly flew off her head when I suggested that I accompany her into our local Costco.

I honestly had no interest in anything I might find within, except some Cameron Hughes Wine. Well, OK I lied… when I saw that you could buy a 55 gallon drum of motor oil I thought that might come in handy out in the garage. I have no way to get it TO my garage however, so my focus returned to wine. I heard Cameron Hughes on the radio and I was intrigued by the concept: He buys oddball bits of wine… stuff being sold due to divorce, leftover varietal lots from blends, etc, and packages it under his own label. He gives no indication where it came from, other than region and vintage. I heard him tell stories of finding amazing stuff, that would normally be sold for $40-$200 a bottle available from him, under a cloak of anonymity, for around $20. This is a man after my own heart!

The allure of big-buck wine at a 70% discount was enough to drive me into a big box retailer. While Mrs. Barbarian rolled off with her Hummer-sized shopping cart I made my way to the wine section, by way of the drums of 10W-40. I found the object of my desire, a treasure trove of Mr. Hughes’ masked wine bargains. I snapped up a mixed case and snickered all the way home. After tasting a few, and reading the labels I realized I could save myself the retail trauma and just order them online! Heaven.

These wines do indeed deliver on their promise. They are wines that I’d normally drink on somebody else’s tab, but here they are all available for between ten and twenty bucks. Gotta love that! Look for many more reviews of Cameron Hughes Wines here in the future but I’ll start right where you would expect me to… the beginning. No, not “Lot 1″ – that was the beginning for Cameron. The first wine I ever touched, bought, and drank from this label was of course a Petit Sirah. Called Lot 70, this Petite hails from Lodi, the Lubbock of California. (Lubbock of course is the Fresno of Texas, but I digress) and costs a mere $11.

Lot 70 is still a bit young, and tasted to me like it needed some more R&R in the bottle. I’ve stashed the rest of what I originally bought down in the cellar and eagerly await the passage of time so that I can drink it all. It did however show a great deal of promise. Big and bold like a Petite Sirah should be. Stay tuned for more CH wine reviews.

“…or a bottle of Petite Sirah!”

The immortal words of Rooster Cogburn, a man with True Grit. This bottle went down after being holed with a corkscrew, no need for the big bore gun. A tasty 2004 Petite Sirah, hailing from Mendocino County via its Parducci winery. Like any Petite Sirah, Parducci’s True Grit is as big, bold, and over-the-top as The Duke’s iconic portrayal in the eponymous movie. It is fat, blustery, big, wears an eye patch & cowboy boots, and fires away with both hands while holding the reins it its teeth.

OK, I exaggerated … it doesn’t wear an eye patch. It’ll drop a buffalo at 200 yards though.

This will set you back about $18, or 144 bits if you’re a grumpy old cowboy.