J Vineyards & Winery is a perennial winner in our Best Of the North Bay readers poll—and really, what’s not to love? J produces four distinct sparklers, each one a delicious testament to the estate’s Russian River Valley vineyards and the mastery of vice president of winemaking Melissa Stackhouse, who joined the J team in 2010. (In addition to four sparkling wines, J produces Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Pinot Gris as well as limited amounts of Viognier, Vin Gris, Pinotage, a dessert wine called Ratafia and a unique pear liqueur.)
Coming from La Crema, Stackhouse brought with her a unique understanding of Russian River Valley terroir. It’s a knowledge she shares with winery founder Judy Jordan, a trained geologist and scion of vintner Tom Jordan (Jordan Winery), who more than 25 years ago recognized the potential in Russian River Valley soils for producing world class sparkling wine varietals. Today, J owns 274 vineyard acres, all hand-chosen by Jordan. In January, the winery achieved certified sustainable status through the California Sustainable Winegrowers Alliance; the certification covers all vineyard and winery operations.
In addition to her visionary choice to establish a sparkling wine house, Jordan is among those credited with pioneering food-and-wine pairings in the 1990s, and a visit to J’s exclusive Bubble Room showcases the concept. In a luxuriously appointed lounge (located at the winery), you can choose from a formal table setting or a more casual couch seating arrangement, mingle with other groups or keep to yourself as hosts serve a three-course pairing menu prepared by Executive Chef Mark Caldwell, who changes the menu seasonally and can accommodate food allergies with advance notice (each course includes two wines and two food offerings).
We started with 2005 J Vintage Brut and an amuse bouche of subtly spiced Pinto beans and crisp tortilla strips. The wine’s bubbles cut through the creaminess of the beans, and the food enhanced the wine’s toasty nose and nutty flavors. As we progressed through the courses, we were directed to taste each wine before, with and after the food, and to note the differences at each stage: Did the wine become more or less nutty, spicy, fruit forward or acidic? Did different flavor or aroma elements come to the fore after eating? How did the food flavors change when paired? It was a fun and educational experience, made even more enjoyable by the friendly but unobtrusive hosts, who explained what to look for then left us alone to make up our own minds. Of course, they were always quickly at-hand when we had a question.
Standouts included a cream of baby leek and celery root soup with crème fraîche paired with a 2009 Russian River Valley Chardonnay (the smooth, buttery soup mirrored the wine’s creamy mouthfeel and brought out its pineapple and citrus fruits), a chicory braised beef short rib with dauphine potatoes and baby carrots paired with 2009 Nicole’s Vineyard Pinot Noir (by far the best food of the day, we actually loved this even more when we switched to the more robust Robert Thomas Vineyard Pinot Noir), and a dessert pairing of a crème fraîche-green apple scone with delice nostalgie cheese and strawberry preserves with J Vintage Brut (the apple added just the right tartness to the creamy, crumbly scone, adding a perfect surprise to the traditional strawberry and sparkling match).
We finished with a sampling of the 2001 J Late Disgorged Brut, which is aged 9.5 years before being disgorged (removal of dead yeast cells from the bottle after the second fermentation)—most California sparklings age less than half that. The result is a delicious, sexy wine with very small bubbles and a yeasty, bready quality. Truly saving the best for last.
The Bubble Room is open Friday through Sunday with multiple seating times available; reservations are strongly recommended. J additionally offers more standard tasting experiences at its Signature Bar ($20 for five tastes) as well as wine tours.
