And we are back! Added Ryker to the family on May 7th 2013 but Dagny has insisted that the blog not be renamed :)
Now let's chat about the Loki Experiment now in its 6th year...
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| This is LOKI |
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| The first 4 releases (in order: Syrah, Pinot Noir, Zinfandel, Chardonnay) |
The Background:
Back in early 2008 our close friend Charlie discovered this nifty little outfit called Crushpad (CPAD - RIP circa June 2012). As it sounds, CPAD was a custom crush business which catered to wine lovers and winemakers. At the time, CPAD was operating out of a huge warehouse space in the Dogpatch neighborhood of San Francisco. The lure of making urban wine drew a tremendous amount of locals (us included). The reality was a little bit different. They had a great vision but execution and the timing of the financial crisis got in the way. The idea is not new and has sticking power.
What/Who is Loki?
Loki is the Norse god of mischief. But our lore is that once upon a time Charlie wanted to name a dog Loki but then he saw a dog on Letterman named Loki doing stupid animal tricks and decided he just couldn't do it. Turns out he has yet to get a dog. So really who cares... Actually, it is a fitting description of what this experiment has been about to date. Plain old fun! Yes, some sweat and possibly a few tears too! There are great stories to tell about our adventures to date but for now I prefer to just tell you a little bit about what/who we are...
The Concept:
In brief, you purchase a barrel(s) of wine from a catalog that covers some of the prime vineyards and varietals from California. Once you pony up your thousands for a barrel the next step is to build a wine plan, follow the growing season and harvest, sort and pick your fruit, press your juice, rack your wine, transfer your wine to various barrels, design your wine label, play a mad scientist as you blend your wine, bottle your wine, and eventually drink the damn stuff. During this time (typically 12-18 months) you go through many emotions. Excitement at the thought of producing the next Parker 100 point 'garage' cult wine, frustration because CPAD talked a good game but then missed some basic steps on your wine plan, curiosity and concern that perhaps you spent way too much money after your first barrel sampling (i.e. your wine is on fire: www.ktvu.com/news/news/lingering-affect-of-2008-wildfires-impacting-mendo/nKhpp/), jubilation though tempered (see Zac) when you actually tasted the finished product 6 months after you bottled it, and tranquility because you may just re-up again even after all of this. Turns out not only did we re-up, we went to Napa, then Sonoma, then back to San Francisco, we moved to Dogpatch Wine Works (www.dogpatchwineworks.com), we added partners, updated the label, sourced some fruit ourselves to double down, and added some whites to the mix.
Pictures for Dummies: (oops for Beginners)
Our wines:
Pictures for Dummies: (oops for Beginners)
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| The Innoculation |
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| The Fermentation |
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| The Cold Soak |
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| The Pump Over |
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| The Press |
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| The Free Run |
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| The Foreman |
Our wines:
2008 Alder Springs Syrah (Mendocino County)
Blend - 94% 08 Alder, 5% 09 Alder, 1% 09 Catie's Corner Viognier (Russian River Valley)
Alcohol - 14.5%
Bottled - December 2009 (San Francisco)
Notes - En fuego! Yes, the fires resulted in some residual smoke taint. As for our juice, thicker grape skins saved us to some extent along with 09 juice and a splash of Viognier.
Bottled - December 2009 (San Francisco)
Notes - En fuego! Yes, the fires resulted in some residual smoke taint. As for our juice, thicker grape skins saved us to some extent along with 09 juice and a splash of Viognier.
2009 Amber Ridge Pinot Noir (Sonoma County)
Blend - 97% 667 Clone, 3% Brousseau Field Blend (Monterey County)
Alcohol - 15% (we think a hair higher)
Bottled - October 2010 (Napa)
Notes - Adam Smith consulted and introduced the Brousseau which was a great call as it rounded the wine with some earthiness. Blind tasted this with 2008 Kosta Browne Amber Ridge and 2007 Siduri Amber Ridge. 9 tasters resulted in a tie all around. Not the same vintages, I know, but big names producing out of the same vineyard. Pretty impressive!
Bottled - October 2010 (Napa)
Notes - Adam Smith consulted and introduced the Brousseau which was a great call as it rounded the wine with some earthiness. Blind tasted this with 2008 Kosta Browne Amber Ridge and 2007 Siduri Amber Ridge. 9 tasters resulted in a tie all around. Not the same vintages, I know, but big names producing out of the same vineyard. Pretty impressive!
2010 Grist Vineyard Zinfandel (Dry Creek Valley AVA)
Blend - 94% Grist Zin, 3% White Hawk Syrah, 3% Eaglepoint Ranch Petite Sirah
Alcohol - 15.5% (probably a hair higher)
Bottled - February 2012 (Sonoma @ Sebastiani winery)
Notes - Last barrel with CPAD. Adam Smith consulted on this too. Alcohol readings at 15.85% pre-blend.
Alcohol - 15.5% (probably a hair higher)
Bottled - February 2012 (Sonoma @ Sebastiani winery)
Notes - Last barrel with CPAD. Adam Smith consulted on this too. Alcohol readings at 15.85% pre-blend.
2011 Red Wine (Goodkin Vineyard, Dry Creek Valley AVA)
Blend - 43.5% Goodkin Merlot, 43.5% Goodkin Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% 2012 Coplan (Carneros, Napa) Merlot, 5% 2012 Tourmaline (Coombsville, Napa) Petite Verdot
Alcohol - est. 13.5% or less (yes, these are from California)
Bottled - 3 December 2013 (San Francisco)
Notes - Picked too early resulting in an austere wine which required The Mad Scientist (Dave Gifford) to help us create an easy to drink "second bottle of the night" red table wine. After 3 hours of trying 8 different recipes we found a nice combination. This easily qualifies as a nice red table wine.
2011 La Cruz Vineyard Chardonnay (Sonoma Coast)
Blend - 100% single vineyard fruit comprised of Clone 4 and Wente Clone 17
Alcohol - 14.0%
Bottled - June 2012 (San Francisco)
Notes - 100% Neutral french oak, barrel fermented. We tasted three barrels of this juice, 100% new oak, stainless steel, and neutral. We choose wisely. Actually, this was excellent in the barrel to start and has not disappointed since. What a great way to recover from the red table wine hurdle. Thanks to Dave and Kevin for the super ridiculous offer to adopt this barrel!
2012 Day Ranch Pinot Noir (Anderson Valley AVA)
Blend - 100% single vineyard fruit comprised of Clones 667 and 115.
Alcohol - est. 14.0%
Bottled - 4 November 2013 (San Francisco)
Notes - 80% 667 in neutral barrel, 10% 667 in new oak, and 10% 115 in new oak. Mike had a great comment that our "667 was like the sun coming out, adding the oak was like the clouds rolling in, and the 115 allowed the sun to peek back through the clouds." The man is a poet!
2013 Day Ranch Pinot Noir (Anderson Valley AVA)
Bottled - est. November 2014
2013 Gianquinta Sauvignon Blanc (Russian River Valley)
Bottled - 23 April 2014 (San Francisco)
The Partners: (the glue... the syndicate... the foolish...)
Paco and Charlie - Co-Founders
Zac - #3 2009 (though played with the 2008 more than I did)
James - #4 2010
Mike - #5 2010
NOTE: Wives, significant others, and children are assumed (trying to stay out of trouble here)
The Friends of Loki: (let's call it what is it... seed funding of a sort)
The Spachman's
The Palmer's
Russ
Ryder
The Sventy's (NOTE: syndicate members for the 2010 and 2011 vintages before they moved to Michigan)
Bree
Handful of others along the way...
And What About The Loki Experiment Story?
Bottled - 3 December 2013 (San Francisco)
Notes - Picked too early resulting in an austere wine which required The Mad Scientist (Dave Gifford) to help us create an easy to drink "second bottle of the night" red table wine. After 3 hours of trying 8 different recipes we found a nice combination. This easily qualifies as a nice red table wine.
2011 La Cruz Vineyard Chardonnay (Sonoma Coast)
Blend - 100% single vineyard fruit comprised of Clone 4 and Wente Clone 17
Alcohol - 14.0%
Bottled - June 2012 (San Francisco)
Notes - 100% Neutral french oak, barrel fermented. We tasted three barrels of this juice, 100% new oak, stainless steel, and neutral. We choose wisely. Actually, this was excellent in the barrel to start and has not disappointed since. What a great way to recover from the red table wine hurdle. Thanks to Dave and Kevin for the super ridiculous offer to adopt this barrel!
2012 Day Ranch Pinot Noir (Anderson Valley AVA)
Blend - 100% single vineyard fruit comprised of Clones 667 and 115.
Alcohol - est. 14.0%
Bottled - 4 November 2013 (San Francisco)
Notes - 80% 667 in neutral barrel, 10% 667 in new oak, and 10% 115 in new oak. Mike had a great comment that our "667 was like the sun coming out, adding the oak was like the clouds rolling in, and the 115 allowed the sun to peek back through the clouds." The man is a poet!
2013 Day Ranch Pinot Noir (Anderson Valley AVA)
Bottled - est. November 2014
2013 Gianquinta Sauvignon Blanc (Russian River Valley)
Bottled - 23 April 2014 (San Francisco)
The Partners: (the glue... the syndicate... the foolish...)
Paco and Charlie - Co-Founders
Zac - #3 2009 (though played with the 2008 more than I did)
James - #4 2010
Mike - #5 2010
NOTE: Wives, significant others, and children are assumed (trying to stay out of trouble here)
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| Paco plying his trade (this is NOT a Loki wine!) |
The Friends of Loki: (let's call it what is it... seed funding of a sort)
The Spachman's
The Palmer's
Russ
Ryder
The Sventy's (NOTE: syndicate members for the 2010 and 2011 vintages before they moved to Michigan)
Bree
Handful of others along the way...
And What About The Loki Experiment Story?
Well, it has just begun. I suppose for now, the real question is what are we planning to do with The Loki Experiment? Stay Tuned! But for certain share some of our wines with us when you have a chance. We are cooking up some great juice and having fun doing it!
