Sip #1 – George Washington and Thomas Jefferson both had vineyards of the native American species Vitis labrusca, which has an unusual grape flavor called ""foxy."" To taste a labrusca, sip a wine made from the American grape Niagara by Oregon's Oak Knoll Winery, phone (800) 625-5665. Note: Oak Knoll was founded on May 18, 1970 and Mount Saint Helens erupted May 18, 1980. Recalling this, Oak Knoll's current Niagara release is labeled a ""Grape Eruption"" of flavors.

Sip #2 – Abraham Lincoln served wine from the best native American grape, the Norton, a rather robust red. It is not a labrusca, so it's not ""foxy."" Dr. Daniel Norton of Virginia introduced it to the wine world about 1830. St. James Winery in Missouri produces the one I use in my classes. Phone Ann Miller at (573) 265-7912.
Only in America: Now we switch to two grapes from Europe that are American success stories, zinfandel and petite sirah. They had no stature until planted in California vineyards.

Sip #3 – Bombed & banned: French botanist Dr. Francois Durif created the petite sirah varietal on the Rhone just over a century ago. Its wine bombed locally and hence was banned in most of France. It gained prominence in California about 50 years ago, being rich in color and rich in flavor. Here are the best petites we've tasted at the Fort recently. All are current releases.

Northside’s Petite Sirahs of Note

4th Peachy Canyon
3rd Bogle
2nd Silkwood
1st David Bruce

Note: A Mondavi moment – We started working with the Robert Mondavi Winery in the 1970s. The first wine we tasted was a memorable petite sirah. Alas, they no longer produce a petite.

Sip #4 – Heavenly Zinfandel:

“Unfortunately, the [outstanding zinfandels] are like angels’ visits, few and far between,” wrote Prof. George Hussman in the Napa Valley (1888). Since then, California has become the world’s unrivaled producer of heavenly zinfandels. Although the variety started in Croatia, it is now considered an American wine. And fortunately, fine zins are no longer “few and far between.” At Fort Mason, here are the best we’ve poured lately. The top bottle is listed last. All are current releases.

Northside’s Super Seven Zinfandels

7th Story
6th Chateau La Paws by Rosenblum
5th Rustridge Zin by Rosenblum
4th Sunset
3rd Gary Farrell
2nd Shooting Star (by Steele Wines)
1st Pacini Zin by Steele

The Joy of Booking: America the Villain!!!

“Monsieur M. Borty, a wine merchant in the southern Rhone Valley, secretly imported 154 American vines around 1862. He planted them in a little square plot in the middle of his vineyard of French vines. Before long, the French vines died while the American vines were luxuriant and full of vigor.” – Christy Campbell

This is the start of something big – Soon all the vines in the Rhone Valley suffered the same fate. In fact, 20 years later the plague had spread throughout the wine regions of France – Burgundy, Bordeaux, Champagne, even the vineyards used for the production of Cognac. Moreover, vines began to expire from Austria to Australia. What on earth had America done to the wine world? How could the devastation be stopped? British author Christy Campbell tells the fascinating tale of the disaster and its solution in The Botanist and the Vineyard, How Wine Was Saved for the World, Algonquin Books, Chapel Hill, 2005, $25. Don’t leave your bookshop without it!

Warning! This Wine May Be Hazardous
to Your Budget

“I want to give a wine to a friend who is a connoisseur. Your recommendation?” – Mrs. Ding Young, Northside reader.

Our Super Six: Here are the last six wines to score in the 90s at our Fort classes ... but they ain’t cheap. Ratings:

90 – Rodney Strong 2000 Symmetry, $55
91 – Jarvis 2000 Lake William, $58
91 – Sterling 2001 Reserve Merlot, $65
92 – Sullivan 2001 Cabernet Sauvignon, $50
93 – Gary Farrell 2002 Allen Pinot Noir, $50
93 – Beaulieu 2001 Latour Cabernet, $85

Get Smart!! Take a Wine Class

July 9 – Australia & New Zealand
July 16 – France & Italy vs. California
July 23 – Taste wines that illustrate terms such as
closed, supple, etc.
July 30 – How the winemaker affects the wine

Swirl, sniff and sip 20 wines each Saturday. Phone the Ft. Mason campus of San Francisco City College, (415) 561-1860, for more information and to enroll.

Would you believe??? If California were a nation, it would be the fourth-largest wine producer on the globe, behind only Spain (3rd), Italy (2nd) and France. Source: Gladys Horiuchi of the California Wine Institute.

Oodles of Googles

Northside reader Joe Lorentz reports that he ran a Google search on Fred McMillin. How many wine items did he find? About 4,000.

A Final Wine Smile

Northeastern Italy’s wine district of Veneto is noted for wine (and the canals of Venice). New Yorker magazine once sent humorist Robert Benchley to the city. Upon arriving, he wired his editors: “Streets full of water. Please advise.” Source: Matt Kramer’s always lively column in the Wine Spectator. This is an unabashed plug for that publication in return for their recommending my Ft. Mason wine classes.

Fred McMillin was voted one of the U.S.A.’s 22 best wine writers by the Academy of Wine Communications. If questions, phone him at (415) 563-5712.