Mission Codename: Neoclassical Pranksterism

Operative: Agent Red

Objective: Send Agent Red back to his early wine roots

Mission Status: Accomplished!

Current Winery: Kaz Winery

Wine Subject: 2005 “Plunge” Sangiovese

Winemakers: Mister Kaz

Backgrounder:
In early 2004, Agent Red was merely a casual wine drinker. Very casual. His informal attitude toward wine changed considerably when he happened upon a small and unassuming winery in the Sonoma County town of Kenwood. On tasting wine from the Kaz Winery, Agent Red was transformed. Some say that this is where his obsession with wine was born. Read his mission report below for more details, then favor your own taste buds with a few bottles of today’s remarkable wine!

Wine Spies Tasting Profile:

Note: Sangiovese is an Italian native varietal, now grown with great success by American growers. Sangiovese is the primary component in most Italian Chianti wines, which is Italy’s most common table wine. This wine is 100% Sangiovese, which is how we prefer our Sangiovese, and we absolutely love it

Look – Medium red-clear pink-plum color

Smell – Tangy cherry with plum and light floral notes

Feel – Initially wet in the mouth, this wine digs in and gives you a playful slap on the 4 corners of your tongue with its mild-to-medium tannins

Taste – Delicious, with sweet and mildly sour cherry with a hint of smoky plum and burned cranberry

Finish – Tasty and long lasting with around the mouth flavors and a tannic bite that tapers off smoothly

Conclusion – The Wine Spies almost universally adore wine from Sonoma AND Sangiovese wines. Add Kaz the winemaker to this adoration and you have a recipe for a great wine. This is a fun wine to drink, but it can also be enjoyed as a serious wine that can hold up to the harshest wine-snob scrutiny. Once again, we bring you a wine that we seriously suggest that you try… Are you detecting a pattern here?

Mission Report:

I am writing this report on my laptop, which sits perched atop the unpretentious bar in the Kaz Winery tasting room. It is exhilarating to be back here at the Kaz Winery, where I had my wine awakening.

My prior wine experience was limited merely to ‘red or white’; I had no clue that there was an amazing array of varietals to be experienced. I knew that I liked red wine better than white wine and I knew that some wines cost more than others. I was a total wine noob (newbie).

One day, while on my way to one of my favorite Sonoma County parks, I passed by a small winery that I had passed a half dozen times in recent months. Each time I passed by, my brain filled in more details about the place. It dawned on me that this particular winery, called the Kaz Winery was infinitesimally smaller than the behemoth corporate wineries I passed to get to this park. That made me wonder, were wines made by a smaller winery better, or worse than those from the big boys? Or, were small-winery wines less refined or less drinkable? I was soon to learn that small winery wines could be better, and that less refined could be a great thing, indeed.

With some trepidation I decided to go to the tasting room. Would these winefolk speak a language of wine that would be over my head? Would they be snobby and pretentious? I mustered my courage and walked to the door – which I tried, stupidly, to pull open. Pulling on the door caused it to bang loudly because it was a sliding barn door. I felt I was an idiot for missing the overtly placed sign with a thick black arrow and the words, “Slide to Open”. Despite my embarrasment I pressed onward and finally slid the door open.

Inside the room I saw several people lined up at a bar. They looked happy and relaxed. So, too, did the people behind the counter. They did not look as I had imagined wine people to look. One of the women behind the counter welcomed me in by waving me up to the bar. She asked me if I had ever been in before. I sheepishly admitted that I had not. She set a glass down in front of me and asked me what I would like to try. I asked her to surprise me, and boy did she deliver! What followed was a around-the-world tour of seven Kaz wines! My brain exploded. I would never be the same again.

Pour after pour, I was encouraged to look at the wine, to notice it, to sniff it and, of course, to taste it. I was awestruck by the subtleties of some wines, the brashness of others. I asked questions, listened, and absorbed the wisdom imparted to me on this visit. Before this visit I had known simple things like, wines are made from many different types of grapes, but I never understood why or what the differences were. The world of wine was finally becoming less of a mystery and more of a journey.

By the end of my visit I was well on my way to a paradigm shift in my perception of wine. I realized that wine is something that can be serious, or fun (or both simultaneously). I realized that wine can be enjoyed by anyone, even me. It made me wonder about other wineries and their wines. Could wine get even better than this? It was this simple question, brought on by my intitial experience that drives me to this very day.

Standing there, again, at the Kaz tasting bar, awash in the significance of the place, I felt a sense of respect, contentment, and purpose. That place, with those wines… That is where it all began!

Footnote :Kaz is a man with a mission of his own; He is driven to deliver big wines that don’t pussyfoot around. He also does so with a cheerfully irreverent sense of humor. He is part scientist and part court jester. While his image, and those on his wine bottles shout playfulness and good humor, his wines are serious… or, better put, sincere. Oh, and of course they’re always delicious!

Wine Spies Vineyard Check:

The location of the Kaz Winery can be seen in this satellite photo