With some mild shame, I am swallowing my pride here and ‘double posting.’ I wasn’t kidding - I’m going to do whatever it takes to keep my blog alive!

Here is an adaptation of the brief post I wrote today for The Vines’ Blog.

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Every Wednesday night at The Vines we host ‘la noche de enologo,’ or ‘winemaker night.’ This past week it was my great honor and pleasure to moderate the event myself.

While I regret the illness that laid low our lovely Mariana, Tasting Room Manager extraordinaire and the usual MC at our Wednesday night event, I’d like to share with you all my excitement at having been able to translate for the group and share the story of one of my favorite Mendocino wineries. While I am confident speaking Spanish, and (0bviously) have no hesitations babbling about wine, doing both simultaneously in front of a group of 40 represents a whole new challenge.

Luckily, by a twist of fate, the guest of honor at my first noche de enologo was none other than Fabricio Orlando, winemaker at my beloved Pulenta Estate.

Not to be confused with Carlos Pulenta’s Vistalba Winery, Pulenta Estate was started in 2001 by brothers Hugo and Eduardo (Carlos’ cousins). After selling Bodega Trapiche in 1997 each branch of the storied Pulenta family went off to start their own boutique winery in Agrelo (Lujan de Cuyo), dedicated to low production and high quality.

Fabricio and the team at Pulenta Estate strive above all else to create wines with elegance, balance and purity of fruit. Their wines have wonderful body and concentration, but more importantly they have a unique expression of varietal character in each wine that they make, in each product line. They have three (lines) - La Flor de Pulenta, Pulenta Estate, and Gran Pulenta. On Wednesday we tasted the Sauvignon Blanc Pulenta Estate, La Flor Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec Pulenta Estate, and Gran Cabernet Franc.

I certainly found each wine to be a paradigm of the elegance that Fabricio reaches for, and the audience seemed to be in agreement. The feedback was all positive, and for me the experience was marvelous - so much so that I am pushing for the chance to lead an event every month or so.

(Now, the inevitable plug: If you want to try these fantastic wines for yourself be sure to visit our online wine shop. We currently have available La Flor Malbec, Pulenta Estate Merlot, and the Gran Cabernet Franc - one of my favorites and a standout selection in our current Acequia Reserva Wine Club.)

March 18th, 2008 | vita, vino