Competitions

(nothing but gold in 2008)

 

2007 Cambiata Albariño

Riverside Wine Competition: Chairman’s Award, Unanimous Gold Medal

Orange County Wine Competition: Gold Medal

San Francisco International Wine Competition: Gold Medal

 

2005 Cambiata Tannat

San Francisco International Wine Competition: Double Gold Medal

 

2004 Cambiata Tannat

Orange County Wine Competition:  Gold Medal

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- unfortunately we only entered the 2005 Tannat in one competition: San Francisco International

Cambiata Central

Introduction

Wines

Just because a wine shop doesn’t have our Tannat on the shelf doesn’t mean there might not be a case in the store room. There’s no need to put this wine on display; though a bull of a wine, it escapes slyly from the cellar. Tannat, always in short supply, has a history of quietly being exchanged directly between friends and associates. Consequentially, Tannat is known as the “confidential” wine. 

Promotional Material

2004 Cambiata Tannat 

 

This wine almost needs a Richter scale to measure its intensity on the palate. It is a treasure for those that enjoy bold, mouth-filling wines that stain the teeth and challenge the tongue to a wrestling match. This is not a wine for the faint of heart. Tannat is best known as the grape used to make the sturdy wines of Madiran in the Southwest region of France; it is also grown in South America and in tiny quantities in California. Eric Laumann, formerly of Bonny Doon and Edna Valley Vineyards, had the opportunity to plant this tiny vineyard in 2002 and chose Tannat and Albarino because they were relatively unexplored in the States. Both of his efforts are delightful and true to the flavors of their indigenous regions. This Tannat is beautifully colored, intensely concentrated and brimming with ripe berry fruit. The tannins are substantial, but the fruit is sufficient to balance them out. Gorgeous! - Jeff Prather, former Restaurant Director and Cellar Master at the Culinary Institute of America, Napa Valley

There's a nautilus in our label?

What's for Dinner?

Is this the future of wine reviews???

Check out a very entertaining review of the Cambiata Tannat at www.winelibrary.com

Once at their web site, search for Cambiata Tannat and click on “watch the video for this product.” Welcome Vayniacs.

 

http://tv.winelibrary.com/2007/06/25/mixed-bag-of-tricks-arneis-tannat-and-black-muscat-episode-263/

 

 Wines are often praised for their versatility however should more consideration be given to wines that masterfully augment only a select brew of ingredients? (My immediate and preemptive apologies for waxing beyond my agro-anthropological expertise but please read on.) Cultural food and wine pairings evolve as a function of hunting, gathering and agrarian possibilities.  The wine you made had to go with what carbohydrate and protein source flourished in your neighborhood and if you lived in an arid climate you probably weren’t going to be cooking with truffles – until modern times. For the Basque of South West France, they had a surplus of carbohydrate rich chestnuts which led to their affection for chestnut fattened geese, pigs and ducks and foie gras and confits and goose fat in so many recipes. And somewhere along this path they seemed to have developed a fanaticism for over the top flavor – for example one Basque recipe for lamb advises prior to roasting that you slice half way into the meat at various locations and lay anchovies into the cuts so the fish flavors will absolutely permeate the meat. With some unease I will try this recipe and I know my Cambiata Tannat will probably be a fine compliment to the dish but my conventional, California cuisine minded thinking has me wondering, aren’t you a little bit crazy if you feel something as flavorful as lamb needs to be augmented with something as oily and aggressively aromatic as an anchovy? So if the Basque love Tannat because it goes so well with gregarious and  extroverted cooking does then proper Tannat absolutely have to have qualities that make it too zesty or too tannic for many other styles of cooking, cuisine that seeks to be more insouciantly witty?  And because Tannat is crafted for pairing with intense food should everyone forever forget about even contemplating a relaxing afternoon on the deck, reading a book and sipping, sans cheese or other lipid rich food, a true to the heritage Tannat? And back to my initial point, if a wine is so singular in purpose, in this case to waltz with the most savory and pugnacious culinary assemblages, is this not praiseworthy?

I’ve learned much about food and wine from this old and rustic grape. A master sommelier who frequently recommends my wine, lamented, along with my lamentations that Tannat takes an extra year in barrel to become drinkable, that “In the old days, classical foods apropos for Tannat & old varietals, seem to be longer cooked, braised... cassoulets, stews, etc.  We don't see as much of that today as we used to. Although I think there will be a time when classical will be back in....” I’ve attached the body of the letter I wrote him to make better sense of his comments but note that his tone seems to share sentiment with the principles of slow food.

My Tannat is a limited production wine for a limited audience but my observations are in earnest and my process may have some value if applied to other facets of the food and wine universe. After 26 years as a professional winemaker, my story is not about a redundant winery incarnation or about crazy hair and earrings to prove I’m a passionate artist; my project is about pursuing wine with rigor.

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