A September to Remember

There are some days when the score of the game does not matter… well, not nearly as much as it does on other days. The goal is always to get “The Win.” And yes, it was disappointing that we couldn’t offer our clients the TOTAL package, but everything outside of the score was top-notch.
One-hundred Bounty Hunter (and baseball) fans packed the Audi Legends Club at AT&T Park last Saturday for an exciting showdown between our San Francisco Giants and the LA Dodgers. It was a great game – we just didn’t come out on top. But as I write this post we are currently 7.5 games ahead of the Dodgers, so like I said, it’s OK we didn’t win this one…

This was our fourth trip to the Legends Club and it was fun to see a lot of familiar faces. We are starting to have quite the following to these games. For this latest game we partnered with Alpha Omega Winery. The Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon and II Proprietary Red were available for clients to enjoy along with colorful anecdotes from Winemaker Jean Hoefliger, and Director of Operations & National Sales, Chelsea Bellows. As if that was not enough, Gina Castillo from Don Julio made some delicious peach margaritas and poured samples of their “70” Claro and “1942” Añejo. And for the showstopper… enter Mike Krukow.
Mike Krukow is the former Giants starting pitcher and is currently the Giants television color commentator and beloved by the fans. There were some real once-in-a-lifetime moments created as Kruk (as he’s known by), posed for pictures, fielded questions and signed autographs.

Once the 2013 MLB schedule is released, we’ll be pleased to announce the games that we will be attending... of course we hope you can join us!
If you’re looking for something fun to do in Napa this winter, make your travel plans for the second week in November in time for Flavor! Napa Valley, a 5 day celebration of wine, food and fun. We will be serving ribs at First Taste Napa on 11/14, pouring our wines at the Appellation Trail event 11/16, and we are sponsoring the Dinner with Napa Valley Winemakers on 11/17. Hope to see you there!
Cheers,
Summer Olson Stubblefield
PR & Event Manager

Enjoy the Fruits of Your Labor

We’ve always thought of Labor Day as the last big event of the summer. When fruit starts coming off the vines – as some Sauvignon Blanc is here in Napa – it’s officially time to start thinking about fall. Everyone is rushing around trying to make it to the last BBQs, back to school sales (even when there isn’t anyone going back to school) and talking about how their team is going to fare on the gridiron this year. Soon the days will be shorter and darker and your internal clock will be telling you “work more and play less.”

Let’s make the most out of our last chance to really enjoy the sun! Team Bounty Hunter is not only on the continuing adventure to find the rarest wines, we’re also on the quest for the finest artisan spirits. Here are a few suggestions for some BBQ-riffic wines and a couple of specialty spirits for your Labor Day celebration. They are perfect for laying back and sipping the day away. Try them out and let us know your favorite. Cheers to one last holiday weekend!

2009 Graff Mourvèdre Chalone - Like its spiritual cousins in the south of France, this thoroughly quaffable Mourvèdre is about user-friendly gulpability (if that’s not a word, it should be). Red fruits, spice and blueberries are presented with the sort of body and texture that’ll even take a little chill in the fridge and still be ready to go. We’re offering it at a pretty sweet price too…

2008 Lagier-Meredith Syrah Mt. Veeder - It’s in the argument for Napa Valley’s best Syrah. Let’s see what Robert Parker has to say, shall we? “… a gloriously intense perfume of roasted meats, herbs, barbecue smoke, burning embers, plums and acacia flowers. The wine possesses exceptional intensity, a full-bodied opulence and not a hard edge to be found. It is a beautifully complex, ethereal Syrah.” Any questions?

2010 Casarena 'Sinergy' Reserva Mendoza - There will be a quiz later, so let’s see who’s paying attention. This is one of the finest values in our entire Fall Catalog. Tasted blind, we guessed this would be in the $40-$50 range… it’s not. Concentrated and silky at once, it’s a gorgeous display of violets, cassis, blackberries and caramel. Seriously, if this doesn’t get your engine revving, red wine may not be your thing.

Mezcalero Mezcal #6 Oaxaca - Unlike Tequila, mezcal can be made from different varieties of agave, some of which only grow in the wild. Leaving behind conventional farming, these modern day "mezcaleros" take donkeys into the highlands of Oaxaca, harvest the wild plants, and craft a spirit all by hand using traditional artisan methods. The No. 6 is made from agaves Mexicana, Madrecuishe, and Bicuishe resulting in a soft, supple and richly flavored agave spirit with a core of earth and smoke that with one sip will make anyone into an instant fan. Fewer than 900 bottles produced.

Diplomatico “Reserva Exclusiva” Rum - While Jamaica and Puerto Rico are usually associated with "top-shelf" rum, aficionados will tell you Venezuelan rum is not to be overlooked. Copper-pot distilled and aged for 12 years, Diplimático Reserva Exclusiva massages the senses with rich molasses, allspice and dried fruit. The sweet buttery entry melts into a spicy mid-palate finish that lingers for minutes. You simply cannot get more taste-per-dollar than this!

Cheers,
Summer Olson Stubblefield
Event & PR Manager

A Peek Behind the Bounty Hunter Curtain

Ever wonder how that bottle gets an endorsement from Team Bounty Hunter?

My peek behind the curtain came last Thursday at about 10:15am PST. Thursday was shaping up to be an all around greyscale kind of day – no surprises or delights to look forward to, when all of a sudden Stefan Matulich, Bounty Hunter’s Sales Director (and champion of Spirits) rounded my cubicle partition with an impromptu invitation to a Bourbon tasting.

Heck yeah! I was off my swivel chair in a flash, dashing down the hallway to the conference room where seated at the head of our large wooden table was our team of highly qualified decision makers.

I was honored to take my seat to embark on our task (and tasting). The mission at hand was to select a single barrel Bourbon offering that would be worthy of bearing the Bounty Hunter’s endorsement. We had eight samples from three different producers from which to select. With a tasting sheet at hand, snifters, beakers of water and spittoons all lined up we dove head long into the bevy of brown liquors.

It was quite a lineup – in fact each and every sample had ample virtues, which of course makes it harder to pick the one that would rise above the others like cream to the top. Pony flasks adorned with large white stickers held all kinds of information (none of which would prove more important than our sensory observations).

Bearing in mind that Stefan had already done months of leg work whittling down the contestants to these eight finalists, we tasted the lineup in rapid succession. From the spicy nutty and leathery elixir that hinted of sea air, to the more feminine and Calvados-scented spice stick offering, we sniffed, sipped and spit. After each flight we compared tasting notes. Our small panel often found that we liked the same one or two, but at times there was dissent. I believe I heard the words, “You actually liked sample 4 the most?!?" Well, yes, I did… but that’s another story.

Ultimately a decision was made. Actually, we selected two. With our reputation at stake and you, our loyal spirit enthusiast in mind, we made our single barrel selections, and while you aren’t likely to see them until the holiday season, it’s okay to begin dreaming of what’s to come. Just a teaser – in spite of the early hour of the day, it was really, REALLY hard to spit out the winners…

Katy Long
Content Manager

Bin to Bottle

Grapes are harvested once a year (per hemisphere), but that doesn’t mean that we sit around twiddling our thumbs the other eight months out of the year. After harvest winds down at the end of the year for us here in Napa, we take a deep breath and then return our gaze to the wines that are aging in barrel.

Many natural elements conspire against the making of a great wine so we must always remain vigilant. It’s important to keep barrels full with no headspace so that excess oxygen is not introduced. It’s also vital to taste the wines to see where they are in their evolution. We strive to blend and/or bottle at just the right moment to protect all those prized flavors and aromas. Spoiler alert: the 2010’s taste amazing! But, we’re still going to keep them in barrel a little while longer.

As harvest looms in a couple of months, June is the perfect window to get some wine in the bottle. The wines have seen enough oak, and what better time to make some room in the cellar for the upcoming vintage than right now? So on a recent June morning we set off to check in with our wares. We were bottling few of our 2009’s and our 2010’s were ready for a preliminary run through tasting from barrel – a “well baby check up” as it were. Gus Rivers, Weatherby and Tin Star were making their journey from barrel to bottle and we wanted to see it go off without a hitch.

With the logistical nightmare that is bottling (and all that can go wrong in the blink of an eye) it’s easy to understand why this can be one of the most stress-inducing times for a winemaking team. Fortunately we had the experts on deck. Our Winemaker Tim Milos, Wine Director, Rhett Gadke and Bin to Bottle’s General Manager, Adam Braunstein stood at the ready. All the while a few highly skilled bottling line employees worked their magic shoulder to shoulder with and the incredible Bin to Bottle staff. Pumps whirling, hoses snaking across the floor, and forklifts singing with their customary reverse warning beeps. The senses are fully accosted and on overload. At first glimpse it looks like barely organized chaos, but after a few moments of peering around (and avoiding being struck by said forklift) a sense of order emerges; this is a carefully choreographed ballet.

Movement abounds all around, fast-paced and precise with no room for error. Wine chugs through hoses from tank to the bottling line. Empty glass bottles are shuttled to the end of the bottling line. Here, wine meets bottle. Workers guide the glass through the various stages of filling, labeling, corking and foiling in mere seconds. The bottles exit the line filled with intoxicating ruby liquid. Finally the bottles are carefully packed into boxes and stacked on palates then wrapped in cellophane. They are then whisked away to a cool room where they will remain until we deem them ready to pop the cork and start the party. It’s just other ho-hum day in Wine Country.

Katy Long
Content Manager

A trip to Anchor Brewery

Besides the Golden Gate Bridge, nothing is more iconic to me in San Francisco than Anchor Brewing. Dating back to the ‘49er era of the great gold rush in Northern California, Anchor has been relentlessly brewing beer for more than a century. Not too shabby for a joint that has been almost bankrupt, burnt down, shut down by Prohibition, shaken from constant earthquakes and even suffered a few untimely deaths that left the ship unmanned for a spell. Thankfully, they stuck it out to brew another day and quench our thirst.
I recently had an opportunity to spend a couple of hours on a perfect summer day in the “City by the Bay” to take a lesson from the ones who have given me an image of what San Francisco beer is and where it came from. Housed in an old coffee roastery from the thirties, Anchor was finally able to put down their own roots in 1971. Throughout its rich history, Anchor has had as many as 6 locations across the amazing city of San Francisco. Now located in the Old Potrero District, this one and only brewery and tasting room makes itself at home in an urban setting with an inspiring view of the city.

Before we made our way into the brewery, we spotted a vintage delivery truck parked out front and paused for one of many fantastic photo ops. As we entered, we were greeted with a smile and quickly directed up the stairs for our tour and tasting. We felt like we were stepping back in time. We passed the last known working payphone in existence randomly perched on a landing, but it wouldn’t be until we were headed out – post afternoon sipping suds – that the payphone photo sesh went down. Three floors up through wooden framed windows, we spied the heart and soul of Anchor. Famous for their copper pot stills, it’s not surprising that the space was left open to show the wonders of brewing’s historic beginnings. Staying true to their craft, they are still used today – some traditions are just worth keeping. Stepping into the tasting room we bellied up to the commanding mahogany bar. It felt as if we were standing there chatting with the good old boys about how relieved we all are that Prohibition was repealed.
We were lucky to have Jeremiah as our tour guide-slash-bartender for the day to talk shop and learn all there is to know about what’s on tap. The wood paneled walls, (if only they could talk!), are lined with the history of American brewing. Signage and vintage artwork from breweries across the nation keep our eyes busy as our palates are treated to all of Anchor’s current offerings!

One of our favorites and easily, their most famous brew to date, Anchor’s “California Common” which was trademarked “Steam Beer” and has been produced at Anchor since 1896. The recipe creates a highly effervescent, drinkable beer with great crisp flavor that isn’t too hoppy or high in alcohol. The term “steam” is a result of means turning into a method. Back in the day, without refrigeration, these guys had to get creative. How could they cool the hot mixture of grains and water that are boiled down into a soupy liquid of extracted sugars called “wort?” They decided to pump the boiling hot wort onto the roof tops into long, shallow bins that resemble a cake pan. It was the only way to chill the eventual beer using something they had plenty of…the cool San Francisco night air.
Today this process is done indoors in a pigeon and seagull free environment. They still use the same long, shallow bins. If I didn’t know better, once fermentation begins, I would think they were making the world’s largest angel food cake. Our stroll through a maze of hallways and staircases allowed us to see the “hop” room, bottling line, keg room and pallets on top of palates of Anchor beer stacked 3 stories tall. We even managed to sneak a peek at Anchors venture in the art of catching a buzz with distilled spirits, the still used to pump out three whiskeys and two varieties of gin! These guys have got it figured out and are more than happy to share a little slice of their heaven. A good time was had by all, and we learned a lil’ somethin’ to boot! Thanks to the Anchor team for their gracious hospitality. Just another day and just another reason why the city by the bay has made its way into our hearts to stay!
Cheers for beers,
Brandon Macer
Wine Bar Manager

The Cult Whisk(e)y Phenomenon

If you were to look up “cult wine,” you would find the likes of Screaming Eagle, Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, Vega Sicilia, Penfolds Grange and many more. What these world-renowned icons have in common is that they have each built a reputation for being ephemeral and produce very little of their product, so demand far exceeds the supply. Having been in the wine business for almost 20 years now, we’d like to say we know a thing or two about those kinds of goods. We’ve recently seen this phenomenon reach beyond wine and into another liquid arena, whisky. Dedicated whisky enthusiasts are on a quest like Indiana Jones to the ends of the earth for micro production, special-bottling, and long lost Holy Grail spirits. Everyday we receive inquiries for whiskys such as Pappy Van Winkle, A.H. Hirsch, Port Ellen, Ardbeg Committee, and Octomore to name a few. More and more often these highly-coveted gems have earned a name for quality well above the status quo and are becoming more and more rare. Like junkies, we’re chasing the dragon for that magical unicorn that we’ve only heard of in whispers. Every so often we strike gold, however, more often than not we find the well is dry, which only makes us thirst for more.

As the taste for Whisk(e)y grows ever more popular, broaching all kinds of cultural divides, it’s following grows. And, as purveyors of great stuff, we’ve become acquainted with the major players (movers and shakers as it were) of the spirits world. In addition to our constant search for rarity, pedigree and certainty, we’re always looking for (and tasting) what’s coming next from the veritable “Who’s Who” of cult producers and who has the “next best thing” that will be all the rage and damn near impossible to get in a few months. Simply put, you’d have a better chance of being hit by lightning than finding this stuff in your local store, let alone in your friend’s stash… but no worries, we’ve got you covered. Check in with your Wine Scout to see what’s hot right now and make sure you are on “the list” for these rare treats, because once we get them, they’re already gone.

To view our full lineup of spirits, please visit our website.

Stefan Matulich
Sales Director/Spirits Buyer

Gemstone Vineyards

What’s the latest report from your local Napa connection? Well, not to rub it in, but life here is pretty frickin’ amazing. Sunshine, mid 70s to 80s, no rain in sight. This is how we remember summer; we’re right on track and it is shaping up to be a great vintage (fingers crossed). Vibrant green vineyards flank the valley’s arteries and each drive along them seems more picturesque than the previous. You can almost witness the vine tendrils unfurling ever skyward grasping at the sunshine. At this point the grapes can’t be much bigger than peas. Yet, these hard little pellets hold so much potential – in a few months they will become the juice of this vintage. As a winemaker told me recently, “The steady ramping up of heat has made things easier; the vines really seem happy this year.”

Nowhere is this sense of Mother Nature’s bounty been more evident than on a recent trip to Gemstone Vineyards. Molly Roberts and Elizabeth Vianello welcomed our small group on a recent cloudless morning. As we pulled off of Silverado Trail and into their gravel road we beheld workers busily tending the immaculate micro-block vineyards. Gemstone is a compelling reason to believe in the equation: vineyard quality = quality wine.

Going in, we knew a few things about the place. We’ve had the joy of pouring the ’09 Gemstone Estate Red Wine by the glass at our Wine Bar of late so we knew to expect quality but we had no idea just how far they were willing to go to achieve it. Molly and Elizabeth enlightened us; first, they drop quite a bit of green fruit so that the vines can concentrate on a few good clusters. Then at harvest time they “cherry pick” the best clusters which means that sometimes there’s what may appear to be plenty of crop still on the vine after they’re done. The recent year’s dearth of high quality grapes has squeezed the market tighter than a 10 foot boa constrictor and this revelation too, took our breath away. As a side note to all of you would-be winemakers – don’t even bother asking, that second crop is not for the taking. They’re just that serious about what they do.

To that end they’ve revamped their label design to better fit the wine inside; modern, clean and multi-faceted. Just like their space, the wines are inviting and plush. They’ve got a firm grasp of what we love to call “luxury goods with a blue jeans style.” Needless to say; it was hard to leave (shoot, it was hard not to drink every drop in sight).

--Katy Long
Content Manager