7th Annual roshambowinery Rock Paper Scissors Tournament

JUNE 6th 2009

High NOON till Done (all day event)
At Cornerstone Sonoma aka roshambowinery

23570 Hwy 121. Sonoma CA 95476 (just 30 minutes or so from SF, depending on how heavy your foot is)

$1700 Purse +funny money prizes
$20 to compete, $10 spectators

Get yer tickets right here!

A curious event unfolds today in Santa Rosa. The first ever, “Great West End and Downtown Railroad Square Handcar Regatta and Exposition of Mechanical and Artistic Wonders.” Yup! It’s a mouthful, but oh FUN! Created by our dear friend, Spring Maxfield (partner-in-crime of famed local artist, Todd Barricklow), the Handcar Regatta is nothing short of a stroke of genius. For those of you having trouble wrapping your head around this human powered race, here’s a 60-Second Weekend podcast by Press Democrat Arts & Entertainment prankster, John Beck. Our Wine Hero will be on hand, serving as emcee and race-day coordinator, and we’ll be pouring our wines in the beer & wine tent. Come play with us!

Dearest Readers,

My sincere apologies for the dearth of recent posts. I could list some excuses (Europe, Burning Man Festival, etc.) but I’ll keep the little violin in my pocket for now. The truth is, your once-dedicated Roshamblogger will be taking a sabbatical from my post here at the winery. In the coming months I will be living like a hermit and tapping away at a humorous memoir about my life in Wine Country. Tentatively titled, The Vineyard Idiot: One Guy’s Journey from Zima to Zinfandel, the quirky memoir chronicles my move from Gloss Angeles to Sonoma County five years ago, and my sudden shift from shallow Hollywood starf*cker to small town stepdad. Detailing why a “vineyard idiot” like myself should NEVER work at a winery - in any capacity - the book unfolds like an insider’s look at the wine industry as seen through the eyes of an outsider. And your Wine Hero, Naomi Brilliant, Justice, and the Roshambo team are the real stars of the story.

Next week I’m meeting with a publisher in New York who has always been very supportive of my writings. He has offered to give me direction in hopes of someday bringing the memoir to market. I’m not sure what the future holds, but I know that at least for now, I have to fully dedicate myself to writing this story. With any luck, someday I’ll be able to share this story with all of you.

In the meanwhile, I’ll be turning the blog password over to other colorful members of our team. Like Steve Morvai, for instance. A suspected spray tanner, Steve redefined peacocking this past summer when he showed up to work our RPS tournament in a cowboy hat, boots, a stuffed green Speedo, and nada mas. Granted, the “sport” of RPS has seen many uniforms over the years, but this one sent chills down our spines.

… or Adam Savin, Roshambo’s National Sales Guru. Or on this afternoon, “RoshamPEPE”

See!?! There’s no shortage of personality on our staff!

I’m sure that you will be in great hands! It’s not that I’m going to completely disappear. It’s just that I’m gonna let them fill in my blanks for a while.

Thanks for reading and all your support!

Scott Keneally

When Naomi named our Roussanne “marry me?” she always hoped to receive a letter like this…

Dear Naomi and Roshambo Winery team,

I want to thank you for your creative spirit and creating a wine named “marry me?”

My boyfriend Patrick and I recently went out to dinner for a lovely evening since he was going to be moving. After we finished the fine dining cuisine the waitress brought a second bottle of wine. I looked quizzically at Patrick because I didn’t recall ordering a second bottle of wine. The waitress presented the bottle of wine to me and required that I read the entire label, with a dramatic gesture of her hands. I got to the bottom of your Roshambo Roussanne 2005 label and it had written on the label “marry me?” At that same time I was reading and trying to figure out what I was reading Patrick was getting down on his knee and that’s when he asked me to marry him. I said an enthusiastic yes and we are planning to get married this coming April.

It was so special for Patrick to propose with your bottle of wine because he is a huge fan of your wines and is a part of your wine club. That is in fact how he received this wine marry me? last year.

Patrick, now my fiance’, and I are planning to turn the bottle he used to propose to me into a lamp to keep on our bed stand table when we get married.

It was really special and I just wanted to share how you were a part of our proposal story.
Thank you very much for your time.

All my best to you and your company,

Emily Cable

If you or someone you know needs a little help popping the question, follow Patrick’s lead and ask over a bottle of “marry me?” Roussanne.

Calling all Roshambuddies! If you’ve checked out our new tasting room (or tried our wines), and consider yourself interweb savvy, we’d love it if you’d share your thoughts with the world on Yelp. Of course, we hope your thoughts tilt towards VERY favorable. Not because we get points in a some sophomoric popularity contest, but because it means we’re doing things right around here. It’s our goal to leave you with a great taste in your mouth and awesome memories in your head, and if we did, it would be awesome if you’d let others know about it.

Here’s what “Elite” Yelper, Monica F., had to say in her 4 star review… (It sounds like a 5 star review to me… maybe her hand was shaky when she rated us? Ha.)

“Eccentric, fun, and hip. These three words aren’t usually what pop into your head when describing the typical Sonoma winery. With the words “fighting for fun in a winey world” plastered up on the wall, posters advertising their annual Rock Paper Scissors tournament, and an old school Pacman arcade game, immediately you’ll notice that Roshambo is not a winery for wine elitists!

The place is painted a slate gray, and there are lockers (yes, lockers) that surround the space. In the center of the tasting room are two very large birdcages: one with merchandise ranging from cycling jerseys to hats to t-shirts; the other with bottles of their wine inside. The centerpiece of the room is an odd, yet cool painting of monkeys and those Japanese good luck cats with the rock, paper, scissors hands incorporated into it. There are also little gnomes located at various parts of the room.

Even though Roshambo pokes fun at the culture of wine, their wines were actually fairly decent. They had one wine that was recently featured in Wine Enthusiast, and it was very good. Come here if you want to have an out-of-the-ordinary wine country experience. You won’t regret it! Plus, scour the rest of the grounds for more “hip” places to check out, as well as the sculptures.”

Thanks Monica F. from South SF!

If you want to be heard, please go to our Yelp Business Page.

In today’s Seattle Times, Wine Guy Paul Gregutt poses a mouthful of a question, “What is the foolproof, all-weather, any-food, surefire celebration Fourth of July wine?” His beyond-any-doubt answer? “There is only one possible answer: zinfandel.” The sharp and worthy read goes on to describe a brief history of the country’s native grape, noting the meteoric rise of the Skittles-sweet white zins that were as ubiquitous as white polyester in ’70s and beyond. Fortunately, “Zinfandel has since been reclaimed, rediscovered as the great red wine it truly can be.” He argues that while zinfandel is grown and made all over California, Sonoma County (particularly Dry Creek) – wink, wink - is the epicenter for many of the greatest examples. We tend to agree and are pretty damned happy he included “The Reverend” Zinfandel in his case of twelve recommended zins. So scoop up some zin up for your Fourth, or any and all other summer celebrations. And hurry, because supplies of our 92-point (Wine Enthusiast) offering are extremely limited.

As readers of this blog (and Jane Magazine) might know, Scott Keneally (ie. me, your “roshamblogger”) is a freelance treatment writer for music videos and commercials. In short, I collaborate with directors and pen two-page storylines that promise things like “Great attention will be paid to hair, makeup, wardrobe and lighting to ensure that Enrique Iglesias looks hotter than ever before.”

Emasculating? Check.

Fun? You bet.

Ultimately fulfilling? Get a grip.

Most treatment writers use this career and the connections they make in the industry as a launching pad into directing. Personally, I never shared those aspirations…. until now. After eight years of writing an evocative tableau of images that will ricochet in the minds of the audience long after the last shot, I’m ready to move on. Of course, the first step in becoming a director is to, well, direct. And so I recently gathered forces (ie. film friends who know what the eff they’re doing) to produce a commercial concept that I’ve had kicking around my head for a year. This is a very VERY ROUGH first cut, mind you. BUT even without the fine tuning, I’m still pretty happy with the job we pulled off. Especially considering the budget…

$492 for beer and pizza for the bikers
$49 for this royalty free song
6 bottles of Justice Syrah to rent the punchline

Enjoy! And please, if you like it or love it or even laugh just a little, pass the link to your friends. Help us spread the word! (Oh, and special thanks to Wine Blogostar Tom Wark for his very kind words on his wildly popular site, The Daily Fermentation).

The Press Democrat’s pop culture wiz, John Beck, stopped by the ranch yesterday to film his (highly entertaining, if not legally insane) 60-Second Weekend Podcast. Far from the bookish character I tend to invoke whenever I imagine a journalist, this man has combustible energy. So much so that he should probably be hooked up to wires and probed in a lab as a possible alternative energy source. That said, Mr. Beck had a lot of offbeat ideas as to how to incorporate the rock, paper, scissors into his podcast. Let’s just say he has single-handedly raised the sport to a new level. He also wrote a funny blog post about the event. And without further ado, I now present to you Rose’ Man… and the first ever, ATV RPS Joust.

“All You Need Is One Hand and a Dream” was the title of yesterday’s blog post on Jaunted.com about our forthcoming Rock, Paper, Scissors Tournament. The pop culture/travel blog is owned by the internet division of Conde Nast and sees about 550k unique visitors a month. Not to be too nitpicky, but given the size and budget of such a blog, I’m surprised that hotshot writer Dan Ricciato didn’t do a little fact checking. For if he did, he’d surely know that all you really need are (three fingers on) one hand. And a dream. But who’s counting?

That said, I’d like to take this space to STRENUOUSLY suggest you sign up asap for Saturday’s $1600 RPS Throw Down. Tickets are going fast and with the plugs we’re getting on Alice Radio tomorrow morning, 7×7 magazine, Press Democrat, Bohemian and in the Chronicle’s 96 Hours section, we expect to fill our competitor brackets. Besides, for all you seasoned vets to our sport, this year brings added interest as it’s being held at our splendid new home at Cornerstone Place in Sonoma. Think of it as our Welcome Back bash. (Which is ironic, since we never really went away.)

Several years ago, a brilliant journalist by the name of Jeff Gordinier filed a feature for DETAILS magazine about young maverick wineries, including Roshambo. Gordinier spent the day with our Wine Hero and deftly captured her in print, describing her as “blessed with the graceful kind of morbidity of a Tim Burton movie princess.” Spot on. While this piece came out before I met Naomi, I already counted myself as a fan of his. In my humble opinion, the man can write circles around most anyone on the newsstands and I always looked forward to reading his stories. In 2005, he published “The Lost Boys,” a fascinating expose about the slew of boys being banished from a Utah polygamist compound. The piece grabbed national attention and Dave Eggers included it in his “The Best American Non-Required Reading 2005.” But more importantly, Gordinier is a hell of a nice guy. Over the years, he has served as a kind of mentor of mine and his patience, in the face of my barrage of (certainly annoying) questions, is cause enough for knighthood.

Now, about the book. It is wildly entertaining. Smart, bold and hilarious. Naomi and I bought two copies and read it together this past weekend. We raced through it like giddy hicks on a Motocross course. In a nutshell, the book makes the case that in the wake of the mass-media fixation on Baby Boomer nostalgia and Millennial me-me solipsism, Generation X has been forgotten: “The thirtysomething has been shuttled off, like Molly Ringwald herself, to some sort of Camp Limbo for demographic lepers.”

Here’s what Gordinier has to say about Generation Y:

“When it’s not obsessing over the mating habits of AARP members, the media beast has taken a fancy to another rising demographic cluster, the millennials… That’s right. The boomers bred, and their solipsistic progeny have arrived just in time to serve Generation X a second helping of anxiety. The millennials… seem to speak with none of the doubt and skepticism that have marked - and hampered- Generation. They just love stuff. They love celebrities. They love technology. They love name brands. They’re happy to do whatever advertising tells them to do. So what if they can’t manage to read anything longer than a photo caption or an instant message - that’s okay. If anything, it’s an advantage. Because literacy leads to self-reflection and critical thinking, and self-reflection and critical thinking open the door to doubt and sketpticism, and stuff like that just gets in the way when you’re trying to get ahead, and OMG did you see how fat Britney looks these days?!?!?!?!“

Of course, I had somewhat of a sinking feeling while reading this book, a pit in my stomach that I can only describe as a shocking recognition of the similarities between the Millennials and Me. Whereas Naomi is Gen X to the core, I’m a little bit more, oh, how shall we say, imbedded, or immersed in, OMG did you see that picture of me + Paris and me + Jessica?

The April issue of the North Bay Biz features an article about “saavy wine companies” that are going online to promote their brands. Click here for the entire story. Or if you want to skip straight to the part about the Roshamblog, I’ve reprinted it here. (Apparently, the writer Mary Burnam and Naomi are in cahoots, as she describes the Roshamblog as “a platform for Brilliant’s boyfriend.”  Maybe she has a point.)

Here’s an excerpt from the story…

“Other North Bay wineries have ventured into social networking on their own. Roshambo, the 15,000-case Sonoma County brand owned by Naomi Brilliant, has its own MySpace page as well as the Roshamblog, a platform for Brilliant’s boyfriend and official Roshamblogger Scott Keneally.

Roshambo’s MySpace profile has about 500 friends on it, who, Keneally says, “are mostly people who’ve tried our wines, who know us, have been to our events and partied with us.” The winery posts bulletins and events to its profile, instantly alerting its fans when there’s news to share.

Facebook, YouTube videos and a website revamp are in the works, according to Keneally, who envisions creating short, funny commercial spots that capture the brand’s edgy and irreverent spirit. He enjoys being the voice of the winery via the Roshamblog, which draws about 2,600 people a month: “We started the blog to regularly communicate with our fans, but more than that, it’s there to support Roshambo’s vision of an accessible wine culture,” he remarks. For Keneally, this means posting about everything from his favorite indie rock band to Brilliant’s tattoos.

Conspicuously—and purposefully—absent from his posts is much about wine. “I’m a self-proclaimed ‘vineyard idiot,’” he says. “My tasting notes consist of ‘yum’ and ‘yuck’ or a series of emoticons. I’m not qualified to comment on things like ‘terroir.’

“But there are things, like music and art, that we support that help give a broader sense of the winery’s personality,” he continues. “The new wine catalog on our website focuses on the wines, but the blog focuses on the personality imbued in each bottle.”

Roshambo’s approach highlights a point that comes up over and over again with successful viral marketers: be authentic…”

In case you missed the big announcement…

Rapper ‘Lil Jon is throwing his hand into the grape business, launching his very own “upscale” label - Little Jonathan Winery. And whet your whistle because as he told the Associated Press, his wine is “not no ghetto Boone’s Farm.” Naturally, you may be asking, ‘What does ‘Lil Jon know about wine?’ Apparently not much. “I’m not no ‘drink wine every day’ kind of dude. I’m not like an expert, so don’t ask me no questions.” Very well then. So, if you don’t know much about wine, then… why the wine thing? “We were just going to do some private label stuff (for parties) and we did it, and people was like, ‘Hey, it’s pretty nice.’“

For those of you that have been following ‘Lil Jon’s career (Beuller… Beuller… Anyone?) you might remember this isn’t his first foray into the drink biz. In 2005 he launched the pomegranate juice Crunk!!! Energy Drink (yes, that’s Crunk with three exclamation points). I can’t say I’ve ever seen it on the shelves, but I’m sure Little Jonathan Winery will be a big success. After all, it’s, you know, not no ghetto shit.

I know… I know. I haven’t updated the Roshamblog in a while. Mil disculpas! Pero, estoy in Suramerica! I’ve been wandering around Ecuador for the past couple of weeks. In fact, last week Naomi and I rang in my 31st birthday in style… in the Galapagos. But unfortunately for me, Naomi returned to California a few days ago… citing something about running a business and being a mom. You know, r-e-s-p-o-n-s-i-b-l-i-t-i-e-s. An art I haven’t quite mastered, aparently. Well, since she left I’ve gotta say that I’ve been a bit LONELY.

However, yesterday a gift landed in my inbox in the form of a “roshambo winery” google alert. Some months ago some folks from WineTaste TV - a wine-related video blog - interviewed our wine hero and just this week posted it on their site. And ever since I got the google alert about it, I’ve been spending an obscene amount of time in internet cafes watching the interview. Especially the first 9 seconds in which she introduces herself while losing a round of Ms. Pacman. I think she looks totally, unfathomably adorable. (I miss you Naomi!) See for yourself… Don’t miss this clip featuring Naomi in our new tasting room!

And I promise, when I return to the states you’ll be hearing much much more from me. Especially in regards to our 6th Annual Rock, Paper, Scissors Championship - to be held at Cornerstone Place on June 7th.

Stay tuned and salud!

Whether you file the following story under fate or destiny, chance or luck, it is an interesting true tale nonetheless…

Many years ago Naomi took her family and friends out to dinner at (now-defunct) Popina restaurant in Santa Rosa. When it came time to order wine for the table, she asked the wine buyer for a recommendation. Without hesitating or knowing who he was speaking with, the man (Adam Savin) enthusiastically gushed about “a hip new Sonoma County winery called Roshambo” that makes “incredible wines.” He told them they absolutely had to try Roshambo’s Zinfandel. At this point, everyone at the table looked at each other as if to say, Is this guy for real? Naomi asked for a different recommendation, but Adam stuck to his guns and said “No, you asked for my recommendation and there it is.” He reiterated how great Roshambo’s Zinfandel was.

At this point, Naomi smiled and thanked him and told him that she was in fact the owner of Roshambo. Adam flashed a smile so bright it could have powered the Vegas Strip. He’s an extremely excitable guy in general (think zippity-do-da excitable) and a round of high fives were in order. What were the odds? A few days later, Adam recounted his chance encounter to a man sitting at the restaurant’s bar. That man happened to be a writer for the Press Democrat and a few days later the story of Adam Savin unwittingly pitching Roshambo’s wine to Roshambo’s owner appeared in Chris Smith’s column.

So why is this relevant, you might wonder? Well because these days Adam Savin is Roshambo Winery’s national sales rep and official “Road Warrior.” He and Naomi stayed in contact after that dinner and when Adam sold his Spanish wine import business he approached our Wine Hero for a job. Luck or Destiny or whatever you wanna call it shined upon him once again and a position opened up almost immediately. Adam has been kicking ass for us ever since. As one distributor recently said, “Adam Savin is The Glue that holds Roshambo together.” You could say Luck or Destiny shined upon us too.

Here’s a photo of Adam spreading the Gospel of Roshambo to a birthday crew at Rock ‘n Fish in Manhattan Beach.

Dear Readers,

I’m here to warn you that the Roshamblog is on the verge of mutiny. Some people here at Roshambo have been grumbling about my totalitarian tight grip of the blog content. They feel like I should cough up the password and “give others a voice.” These people cite my lack of posts over the past month as proof that I need to relinquish some control. Take for instance the fact that our road warriors, Adam Savin and Dan Ricciato, took the Roshambus to the Superbowl. Interesting blog opp, right? You’d probably want to hear from them about their adventures on the road. Or take the fact that The Wine Enthusiast’s March Buying Guide just rated three of our red wines at 90 points or higher. (FJV Syrah - 93 points; Reverend Zinfandel - 92 points; Rock - 90 points). I probably should have posted about that and maybe even mused about the rating system and our philosophy on wine scores. But alas, once again I failed you, dear reader.

In my defense - and it’s a paltry one at that - I have been sick. And busy. And sick again. And now, well, now I’m on tour with the rock band OURS, opening up for Marilyn Manson.  (Special thanks to our favorite Space Cowboy DJ, H8Ball, for the following photoshop job.  In the real world they don’t normally put the didgeridoo player’s name in lights).

Yes, I play the didgeridoo, or as Naomi calls it, the didgeriDON’T. In fact, I’m writing this post from the tour bus enroute to San Francisco for Wednesday’s show at the Warfield. In other words, I haven’t been able to give the blog its proper attention and perhaps I should consider letting others post. I’ll let you know how this all pans out. In the meantime, I will start to introduce some of the colorful characters who may help populate the blog. Starting with Adam Savin. Just give me a day or two.  Thanks for your patience.

Your faithful, though sometimes forgetful, Roshamblogger,

Scott Keneally

…and if you read today’s Napa Valley Register, you’ll see we are putting some pretty outstanding stuff in our bottles.

For those of you who haven’t been to COPIA: The American Center for Wine, Food & the Arts, it’s a non-profit discovery center whose mission is, in the words of Robert Mondavi, “to educate adults and children to the joys of living well.” The goal is to expose the positive roles that wine, food and the arts have played in our lives. COPIA features all sorts of wine and food tasting programs, art exhibitions, organic edible gardens, films, concerts, lectures, etc. Located in the heart of Napa Valley, it’s a must-see wine country destination. (Of course, I’ve never actually been there… but that’s why I’m the Vineyard Idiot).

Anyways, last weekend COPIA hosted their Sixth Annual “Taste of Sonoma County,” a signature event in which over 60 Sonoma producers participated. Our beloved cellar rat/winemaker Mikey Smith showed up to pour and I think part of him wished he gussied up a bit. Dressed in his usual attire (black Roshambo tee and not the cleanest jeans) he said he felt “frumpy” amidst the sea of polo shirts. Apparently it didn’t matter. People flocked to our table and Roshambo was a crowd favorite at the tasting, which is encouraging because first and foremost, we are interested in making great wine.  Here’s what Register Staff Writer L. Pierce Carson had to say…

SONOMA WINES GET HIGH MARKS AT COPIA TASTING

While Napa Valley is lauded as America’s premier winegrowing region, the grapes grown by our Sonoma neighbors are nothing to sneeze at. That fact was made more than clear last weekend as Copia hosted dozens of Sonoma County winemakers eager to pour their latest releases for wine lovers from near and far. Copia’s “Taste of Sonoma County” brought together producers from a number of Sonoma’s appellations, ranging from Rockpile to Carneros, Dry Creek to Russian River, Alexander Valley to Knights Valley. For more than three hours, consumers roamed the large lobbies of Copia tasting wines that ran the gamut of chardonnay to zinfandel. Starting with three favorites from Roshambo, the playful, consumer-savvy producer from Healdsburg, here’s our impressions of a number of wines worthy of your attention:

Roshambo 2005 Imago Chardonnay ($18): A stainless steel fermented, lees-stirred chardonnay with bready and tropical fruit aromas, this one has attractive ripe stone fruit and pear flavors with a bit of passion fruit that lingers in the mouth. It’s a medium-priced chardonnay without the slightest hint of oak (hooray!) that is an ideal aperitif or a fine accompaniment for salads, fruits and creamy cheeses.

Roshambo 2005 Zinfandel ‘The Reverend’ ($25): The winemaking team said it all in explaining why “The Reverend” was applied to this ripe, well-balanced zin - “Just like an old fire-and-brimstone sermon, it starts easy and lures you in with scents of Christmas spices. And then it kicks up the volume with an explosion of juicy red and blackberries, plums and chocolate. To finish, you are called up to the altar to be healed by a smack to the forehead of spicy, smooth tannins. You’ll be back next Sunday for some more.” To that, I say, “Amen!”

Roshambo 2005 Syrah “Justice” ($25): An outstanding Dry Creek syrah with floral and plum aromas and a big mouth full of blueberries and baking spice. This is ripe fruit in a bottle, from enticing entry to lingering blueberry finish. It invites a second, even third, sip, and proved to be one of the best syrahs tasted last weekend.

**ARE YOU WHET YET? If not, if you need a little bit more to turn you on, perhaps a little visual stimulation, then take a peek at these bottle shots.

Sexy huh? Now… follow your senses. Try the wines that everyone’s raving about.

Over the holidays, a writer from The Chronicle unexpectedly popped into our new Cornerstone tasting room. Since most everything in this world - movie, music, book, wine reviews, etc. - is so utterly (and sometimes incomprehensibly) subjective, we were naturally curious as to what said critic thought. A great review might send new people in our direction, and a bad review… well, I’m sure you get the point. The review got off to a rocky start in the opening line when our slogan was misquoted (It’s “Fighting for Fun in a Winey World,” not in a winery world.) That notwithstanding, I’m thrilled to report that we very much loved what Amanda Gold had to say. Por ejemplo, “If it weren’t for the flights being poured at the counter, you might not remember that this is Wine Country.” Thank you, Amanda! I couldn’t have said it better myself. Roshambo has always prided itself on creating a fun and disarming atmosphere in which to experience incredible wines. We never thought wine, even fine wines like ours, should be intimidating, esoteric, or an exclusive extravagance for the elite. We believe that wine should be as easy to embrace and enjoy as a cold bottle of beer. And that’s why Naomi designed another imaginative and offbeat tasting room (not to mention the Roshambus). It’s a place that, according to The Chronicle, “If you’re not in the mood to sample wine, you’ll still find entertainment - grab a seat at the old-school Ms. Pac-Man table and chomp away.” So what are you waiting for? Read this review. Then take a walk on The Wild Side at our new Cornerstone tasting room!

**Oh, and tell them “The Roshamblogger” sent you. (Not that you’ll get any special discount, but you’ll make me look good to my boss (and girlfriend, Naomi). And I promise that in return, I will love you forever. Well… “love” is a strong word. So maybe I will just like you forever. Not just a lot. But I will like you a lot, a lot.)

As told by Mikey Smith, Roshambo Winery’s cellar rat/winemaker, and official “good time guy.”

For ages, Carignane (pronounced ‘karin-YAN’) was the most most widely planted red wine grape in the world. The high-yielding fruit is heavy in acidity, tannins and color, which makes it ideal for blending, but… not always so great for drinking. Because of its reputation as a blending grape, the joke is that Carignane is “always the bridesmaid, never the bride.” Jancis Robinson, editor of The Oxford Companion to Wine, has even gone so far as to call the grape “the bane of the European wine industry.” Though she does note that old Carignane vines with interesting terroir can produce distinctive, characterful wines. The point is, there is a lot of Carignane in the world… and most of it sucks. But with so many Carignane plantings out there, there’s the occasional gem.

Cut to the fall of 2004, when an Alexander Valley grape grower named Jerry Angeli showed up at our facility with a bin of freshly-picked Carignane. He didn’t have a buyer lined up for the fruit, and was essentially going door-to-door. As you might imagine, this isn’t how grapes are usually sold, but “the cellar rats” of our winemaking team immediately saw the potential. The fruit was outstanding. Carignane is one of those vines that produce a better wine the worse they look, and his vines were hideous - gnarled, twisted beasts planted in dead-looking soil. What few grapes he had growing on them were small, sad looking things. PERFECT, we thought. And so, we rallied support from our quarterback, Naomi, and started making a small lot of Carignane for our Party Army Wine Club. She even named it in honor of us cellar rats who championed the fruit. Our ‘04 and ‘05 vintages were stellar, and after imbibing in the soon-to-be released 2006 vintage this evening, we’re just as excited. With aromas of blueberry, black cherry, sweet smoke, cinnamon, and nutmeg, “the rat” is finally ready to step up to the alter, pull back her veil, and kiss all the naysayers goodbye.