I may have been away from my local wine club for almost two months, but at The Fine Wine Source, it was no problem for me to get my monthly wine selections.  I guess that is the beauty of belonging to the club, is that they know that eventually I would show up.  The help was busy helping a couple of couples do some wine tasting, and my timing there would have been detrimental to the tastings that were going on, so naturally, I made some conversation, and I am pretty good at it. 

The domestic selection for the wine club in February was Field Recordings “Caloroso” Red Blend, Paso Robles 2018.  Some people might think that I am a maven, but probably ninety-five percent of the wineries in California, I have never heard of, nor tasted.  I am not embarrassed to admit that, as there are wineries all over that state and I can only go by what I have tasted at wineries, wine bars, tasting galleries and restaurants.  This was a winery that I had not heard of, but that can be rectified very easily.  Field Recordings is winemaker Andrew Jones’ personal catalogue of the people and places that matter to him in the world of wine.  He spends his days as a vine nursery fieldsman planning and planting vineyards for farmers all over California.  Andrew in the course of his activities is sometimes offered small lots of fruit on the side, and since he has been all over the state, he has developed a keen eye for vineyard land.  He sometimes sees undeveloped tracts that are overlooked that he feels may have untapped potential in the world of wines.   As friendships in the industry are made and opportunities are discovered and offered.  Field Recordings is his catalogue of single vineyard sites that he produces with a sense of the area, terroir and personality of these quiet vineyards.  His first venture in winemaking was in 2007 with some Chenin Blanc from the Firestone Jurassic Park Vineyards.  Since that first vintage he has continued with single vineyards, and some multi-vineyard blends and using some of the more esoteric varietals, that make his wines unique.  He is also looking into the concept of using cans instead of the traditional bottles. 

The Field Recording “Caloroso” Red Blend 2018 is from grapes that were sourced from the Guglielmo Giovanni Vineyard in Paso Robles AVA, part of the much larger Central Coast.  The wine is a blend of sixty percent Corvina, twenty percent Cabernet Sauvignon and twenty percent Rondinella.  Eighty-five percent of the grapes were destemmed, and fifteen percent were air-dried for twenty-one days with open top fermentation.  The wine is then aged for eleven months in French Oak, of which forty percent were new.  The notes I have read say that this wine is Old World meets New World with great body and an elegant finish.  The notes promise Kirsch Cherry and rose petals on the nose with a deep garnet color in the glass with cherry, chocolate and licorice and a touch of orange peel at the end.  You know that is not how I describe wine, but it sounds very interesting and I am looking forward for the right moment to try it.