Olson Ogden Wines

california wine examiner tasting panel review

The California Wine Examiner tasting panel tasted and reviewed our recently released 2008 vintage wines.  See what they had to say!  -- by John

the wellesley wine press review

Robert Dwyer of the Wellesley Wine Press called our 2008 Stagecoach Vineyard Margaret's Mandate Marsanne "freakin' delicious!".  See what else he had to say about our recently released 2008 vintage wines.  -- by John

norcal wine writes about our 2008 margaret's mandate marsanne

Norcal Wines stopped by our table at the Vinify Open House several weeks ago and tasted our 2008 Stagecoach Vineyard Margaret's Mandate Marsanne.  He called it "very good and varietally correct".  -- by John

drinknectar reviews our recently released 2008 vintage wines

Drinknectar takes our 2008 vintage wines through their paces on his engaging video blog.  Watch and listen to what he had to say about these wines.  -- by John

benito wine reviews covers our 2008 vintage wines

Benito describes the "sheer joy" of our 2008 Stagecoach Vineyard Margaret's Mandate Marsanne.  Click here to see what else he had to say about the 2008 vintage wines. -- by John

2008 margaret's mandate marsanne review by wine country insider

Wine Country Insider, Frank Thorsberg, writes about our 2008 Stagecoach Vineyard "Margaret's Mandate" Marsanne and our 2007 Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir after tasting both at the Vinify Open House on May 23rd.  He calls Margaret's Mandate "marvelous".  Read it about here.  http://bit.ly/dvQzyP. -- by John

trip to hong kong

I spent 4 busy days in Hong Kong last week with Altruistic Wines, our Hong Kong importer.  They put on an amazing wine festival to showcase the U.S. boutique wines they are bringing into Hong Kong.  It was the first annual festival with many more expected to come.  The festival started on Thursday night with a dinner at BLT Steak at the Ocean Terminal of the Kowloon neighborhood of Hong Kong and officially ended with a black tie gala dinner on Saturday night in the ballroom at the JW Marriott Hong Kong.  In between on Friday was  the big Grand Festival tasting for   the trade and general public held at the Marriott.  Sunday was a more low key day with an informal brunch and dinner with a little time for site seeing before flying home at night.  The dinner on Thursday night at BLT Steak was actually prepared by three celebrity chefs from the US (Ken Frank of La Toque in Napa, CA, Josiah Citrin of Melisse in Santa Monica, CA, and Hosea Rosenberg of Jax Fish House in Boulder, CO) and so we did not get to eat off the famous BLT steak menu but had a fabulous meal paired with select Altruistic imported wines nonetheless.  Saturday night featured the entertainment of Michael Wong, a US native who moved to Hong Kong and has become a huge movie and singing star there.  Our 2007 Russian River Valley Pinot Noir was served at Saturday night's Gala dinner paired with one of the courses (again artfully prepared by Ken Toque, Josiah Citrin, and Hosea Rosenberg).  Our 2007 Russian River Valley Pinot Noir was also included in one of the many auctions of the night to raise money for the Cancer Fund.  We donated a 1.5L (magnum) and it was included in a trio of magnums that raised about $500 US for the fund!  It was a truly memorable trip as I met many interesting people (including a woman who owns a vineyard in China that produces 120,000 cases of wine each year and it is all consumed in China!).  It was my first trip to Asia and not my last, I hope.  I posted some pictures from my trip on our Facebook Fan Page if you want to see some of what I experienced.  -- by John

the secret that is marsanne

Let’s just put it out there - the reception for our recently released Marsanne “Margaret’s Mandate” is complicated. Our peers laud this new addition to our portfolio – our loyal mailing list customers are a bit suspect and they have told us so. My own family is dragging their feet even though the wine is named after me. (SNAP!) Understandable, since founding our winery in 2002 we’ve built a reputation in the industry on our red Rhone varietals and pinot noir. Rest assured, this new Rhone white wine is authentic to our portfolio and here’s why.

The three best white Rhone varietals are Viognier, Roussanne, and Marsanne—Marsanne is easily the least well-known but, in our opinion, the most special. Marsanne is a grape for those who love structure. It has enough acid to keep it firm, the weight to satisfy our desire for substance, and a mineral texture to keep it interesting. Like every wine in our portfolio, this is a food wine.

Marsanne in the United States is rare. This is a very special varietal. In California, Marsanne is almost unheard of with just 69 planted acres compared to 2200 Viognier and 180 for Roussanne. Marsanne has been grown since the late 1860’s in the Rhone region of France and has been called “the red wine drinker’s white wine” due to its inherent richness and weight on the palate.  Heritage aside, Marsanne remains under the radar. It's like a secret, privy only to wine enthusiasts. It is also very delicious – which is how I describe it.  We hope you will try it and let us know what you think!

-- By Margaret

great pork rib recipe to pair with the 2006 olson ogden unti syrah

A good friend from my days in technology is an amateur chef.  Amateur in that he does not cook for a living but nothing amateur about his abilities in the kitchen.  I have enjoyed his preparations over the years several times, each time marveling at his creations and secretly wishing I had the imagination to come up with something similar.  Several years ago I was fortunate enough to try pork spare ribs with his BBQ rub.  I asked for and got the recipe so I could make them at home which I have done many times.  I made them again this past week and really hit the mark this time.  It is hard to say what made them so good this time but here are my thoughts....starting with high quality tender, meaty ribs; cooking it long enough at a low enough temperature (sometimes I am in a rush I am told); and pairing it with the right wine. Turns out the "right wine" was the 2006 Olson Ogden Unti Vineyard Syrah.  It was the perfect match.  It's bright acidity, firm tannins and full mouthfeel were a good counterbalance to the sweet and spicy rub of the ribs.  The combination really sung!  Below is the recipe (reprinted with Chef Randy Dean's permission, I might add!) if you would like to give it a try.  Let me know how it works for you.  Do you have a favorite recipe you like to pair with an Olson Ogden wine?  Please share it. - by John

Randy’s BBQ Rub

Makes enough rub for two racks of babyback ribs.

Preheat oven to 275 degrees.

Quantity	Measure	Ingredient	Preparation
6	TBL	Light brown sugar	Firmly packed
1	TBL	Crushed red pepper flakes	(add more for spicy)
1	TBL	Paprika
1	TBL	Garlic powder
1	TBL	Fennel seeds
1	TBL	Powdered ginger
2	TSP	Onion powder
2	TSP	Coarse salt (e.g. kosher)
2	TSP	Ground cumin
1	TSP	Ground cinnamon
1	TSP	Black pepper	Freshly cracked
1	TSP	Dry mustard

Combine all ingredients in a bowl.  

Rub mixture lightly over bone side of both racks. Place racks bone side down on a baking sheet.  Rub remaining mixture heavily over meat side of ribs. Press rub into meat trying to get as much of the rub to stay on top of the meat as possible.  Bake at 275 degrees for approximately 3 – 3.5 hours (don’t rush them).  Remove from oven.  Cover ribs with foil and rest for 10 minutes.  Cut and serve.

Notes:  

• •    Buy the best quality ribs you can find.  

• •    This rub is also really good for beef ribs, steaks, rack of lamb, leg of lamb, and even lightly used on fish such as halibut or salmon.

and the winner is persuasion

Last fall we tapped our passionate Facebook community of fans to come up with a name for a new wine in our portfolio. They (you!) met the challenge with 150 names - exceptional names, it was hard to choose a winner. Our contest judge Guy Kawasaki of Alltop.com picked five finalists - and the winner is Persuasion.

Persuasion. The brash, carefree offspring of artisan winery Olson Ogden Wines. Born to be indulged - a blend of reckless abandon and practical accessibility. We hope you find it as persuasive as it is enjoyable. 

Thanks to our winner Paula Warren for coming up with the name. Coincidentally, Paula and I were high school classmates. Go DJO! Paula's name is on Persuasion's wine label. Special thanks to Susan Bond, Les Tsoporific, George Roletter - who submitted the names that made the final cut. 

Persuasion is a special occasion red table wine at an everyday price point. Be sure to sign up for our mailing list to hear more about the wine and where to buy it.

-- posted by Margaret Ryan