Failla Is Ooh-la-la

Yes. that's a photo of Chardonnay, but it's the best shot I've got from a visit to Failla, which is in Napa a bit south of Calistoga, despite the winery mostly working with Sonoma grapes. Why winemaker Ehren Jordan and his wife Anne-Marie Failla (it's pronounced FAY-la) chose this spot for their  winery and cave would make sense to you, too, if you saw it, an idyllic acreage once owned by Cindy Pawlcyn of Mustards Grill fame.

But Jordan appears all about contradictions. For most first knew him as winemaker for Turley, and his brilliant but bombastic zins helped set the stage for big is beautiful in the late 1990s. So when people look at Failla, which mostly makes very well-balanced, low alcohol Chardonnays and, yes, Pinots, it might seem odd. Until you realize it simply means that's how good a winemaker Jordan is. He lets the grape set the tone; warm weather zin goes big, cold weather Burgundies have to be something else. No matter, all his wine is delicious.

"Our Pinot Noir is crafted to demonstrate history," is how national sales manager Cat Fairchild puts it. "With almost 30 years of experience, Ehren Jordan can undeniably capture the essence of each vintage. Thus, our wines are the ultimate story tellers. We do not ‘manipulate’ during our winemaking process and produce wines that are the purest expressions of the vineyard sites."

We're talking serious vineyard sites, too. There's the Gualala Ranch Estate Vineyard Jordan bought before the Sonoma Coast was cool (well, hip cool that is), but also the Whistler Vineyard in the northernmost bit of  the Sonoma coast, Keefer Ranch in Russian River Valley, and the Savoy Vineyard from Anderson Valley. In fact, at the Saturday tasting at World of Pinot Noir Failla will be pouring: the 2014 Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir, 2014 Keefer Ranch Pinot Noir, and 2014 Savoy Pinot Noir. "We picked these wine because they give a holistic vision of Failla," Fairchild explains. "Our wines are made in the same fashion, so it is great to showcases the characteristics of each vineyard site. Consumers can then compare and contrast the Anderson Valley, Russian River Valley, and the Sonoma Coast."

Tasting Failla is always a treat since you either have to be on the mailing list or at a good restaurant (in Santa Barbara think places like Downey's or Barbareno) to get some. But Jordan and his team like pouring, for as Fairchild says, "We are most looking forward to sharing our wines, while having direct contact with consumer. We believe our wines speak for themselves, but it is always important to us to open bottles of wine with folks because we are able to relay our story and share in the enjoyment! It is also fantastic to be in the company of so many outstanding Pinot Noir producers."

Sip This: Two Lands Shiraz

Two Lands Shiraz 2013: Australian Shiraz has often been thought of as the Jayne Mansfield of wines—perhaps a bit much too much. So along comes this collaboration between Jacob’s Creek, Australia’s largest wine brand, and California’s Ehren Jordan, formerly the winemaker at Turley, where he made big zins, but now the owner of Failla, where he makes exquisitely balanced Pinot Noir, among other varietals.

Want to read the rest then do so at the Independent's site.

An Australian and an American Walk into a Wine....

I'm having a wine tasting with at least 20 other people but I'm in a room alone. It's a digital tasting, where a select few watch on computer screens as winemakers Ehren Jordan and Bernard Hickin talk us through the new Two Lands line from Australia.

Perhaps I need to start again. The aptly named Two Lands brings together Jordan, an American who currently works with his own amazing Failla Wines, based in Napa but mostly working with Sonoma grapes, and Hickin, the chief winemaker at Jacob's Creek, Australia's largest wine brand. The four-wine portfolio they've developed, at 7,000-10,000 cases each, is made for the U.S. market only and priced to move at a retail price of $13.99. And it will move, as each one of these wines is not just tasty but interesting, too. It's what one might expect when adding the talent of maverick Jordan (best known for guiding Turley Wine Cellars to zinfandel dominance) to the might, money, and access of Jacob's Creek.

Want to read the rest then do so at KCET's Food Blog.

Failla Wines: The Anti-Napa

Sitting on the pleasant porch of a venerable old farmhouse along Napa's famed Silverado Trail this May, it seemed a bit of a surprise that the red wine I swirled in my tasting glass wasn't Cabernet Sauvignon, the valley's king grape. Nope, this was Pinot Noir, and a very Burgundian one at that. But I was tasting at Failla Wines (pronounced FAY-la, and it's Italian, or more accurately, Sicilian), and the wine was made by Ehren Jordan, who has made a habit of not being habitual. For 18 years he was the winemaker at Turley Wine Cellars, best known for their bodacious yet beautiful Zinfandels -- my friends and I used to joke the Turley Moore-Earthquake Vineyard got its name because it pushed almost 17% alcohol in some vintages, and was sure to register seismically upon you the day after (especially since it tasted so balanced you'd drink plenty of it). Jordan was also a partner and winemaker at Neyers Vineyards, but has been slowly building up his own winery -- named after his wife Anne-Marie Failla, who runs the business end -- and as of February is devoting himself totally to it, even if that it means less than 5,000 cases a newsletter (the best way to get the wines).

Want to read the rest then do so at the KCET blog.