In last week's Episode (did you listen?), you met my good friends "English Anne", Joan and Erika as we did a fabulous tasting at Tres Sabores Winery in St Helen, CA led by fellow wine educator Jim Olmos.

This week you are hearing the second part of our visit as we pulled 3 of my unfinished 2023 Sollevato wines from the barrel to taste them mid-way through their journey.

I was excited to share my "babies" with this special focus group and their reactions are genuine, interesting and insightful!

Listen as we talk about:

• How wines change as they are aging in the barrel (and why we age them as long as we do)
• Where does tannin come from and why is it important?
• What you can tell by the color of a wine 
• What’s up with a white wine that looks brown?
• Can you /should you bottle age white wine?

Did you know I make my own wine here in Sonoma County? My 2021 Sollevato Sangiovese is available to be shipped to most US States. Use the code PODLISTENER for 10% off. It's a delicious, medium bodied, aromatic red wine that is perfect with pizza, pasta and your charcuterie spread!

• You can sign up HERE to be the first to know when the wines you are hearing about are available in 2025!

You NEED some delicious California Olive Oil from our awesome sponsor American Olive Farmer. Use code SipWithNikki for $10 off your order!

If you'd like to Support the Podcast, you can buy me a glass of wine and get a shoutout on a future episode.

Please leave a RATING or a REVIEW (on your podcast listening platform), or thumbs up and subscribe (on YouTube!)

Questions? Comments? Guest requests? nikki@sipwithnikki.com

I'm nervous.

Why are you nervous?

I'm nervous about it.

I'm tasting one of Nikki's new and different wines that you've never tasted before.

Well now I'm nervous.

Oh.

I love how floral this is.

It's like walking into a, like a nursery.

Not with babies.

No.

No.

Laughter.

Hello there.

Welcome to this week's episode of Sip with Nikki.

I am Nikki Lamberti and I'm a doctor.

Coming at you from Sonoma County, California.

If you're a new listener, welcome to the party.

So happy to have you for my loyal listeners.

If you listened to last week's episode, which was our zen centric tasting at Tres Sabores winery, a few of the voices from that episode are going to be familiar to you this week.

If you have no idea what I'm talking about, let me set the stage a couple of weeks ago, I had some dear friends in town visiting.

These are women that I used to work with at Walt Disney World in Orlando.

English Anne, who still currently lives in Orlando, but you'll hear the fabulous English accent remains, as well as Joan and Erika, who live in Nashville.

And we did some wine tasting over the weekend, including Tres Sabores Winery, which we highlighted last week.

But, if you are familiar with Soho, Solovato, which is my small wine label, I actually physically make my wine and store my barrels of wine that are aging at the Trisoboros winery.

So after our wonderful host Jim, who you'll also hear in today's episode, finished sharing the beautiful Trisoboros portfolio of wines with us, we changed gears and I said, Hey ladies, do you want to taste some of my not yet bottled Solovato wines right out of the barrel?

And needless to say, they said yes.

They're good friends.

They support me in everything that I do, and I absolutely appreciate them.

They have been following this journey since it was literally just a dream in my heart.

So what you're about to hear is our barrel tasting.

So I literally climbed up and use what looks like a turkey baster or a pipette from chemistry class.

It's called a wine thief and you thieve the wine out of the big 60 gallon wine barrels.

And this is something when you're making wine that you do regularly just to check in and see how things are progressing.

And so it was a special treat to have an audience share their feedback because what's really exciting is in the 2023 harvest.

which is the wines that you'll hear us tasting.

We made three different wines, and we've never done that before.

So we made our flagship Sangiovese, the Italian grape, but then we also added two new grape types, which will be two new wines.

both Grenache and Petite Syrah.

The reason I thought it'd be fun to share this with you was not only to give you a preview of what's to come with Solovato when we release these wines next year, but especially as I listen back after we recorded it, I

think it's really interesting to hear what are the types of things that we look for when we're tasting unfinished wine out of the barrel, and how do they change, and why the heck for red wines are we aging for a year and a half.

to two years.

You'll hear us talk about tannin and how that changes with time, what you can tell by the color of the wine, what's up with the white wine that looks brown, and also can you or should you age white wines.

So we really get into a variety of topics as we are barrel tasting these three 2023 Solabatos.

So I think it's a great education and just gives you a peek into some of the hot topics that we talk about as winemakers.

So here we go with Solovato barrel tasting.

So thanks to Jim and his climbing skills, my barrels are kind of obstructed at the moment with equipment and did you have to climb into this young man?

So we

were able to get to three of the lots which we will taste today.

We have all of the 2020 threes right now.

So we have the Grenache, we have the petit straw and the Sangiovese.

Music (2): All from 23

Petit straws definitely last.

It always has to be last 'cause it's like inky.

Let's do the sangiovese because you know it.

2023.

So been and barrel just about a year.

Knock in a bottle till next year.

So halfway through its aging process.

Ramis Vineyard, a hundred percent.

Is that the tasting notes?

It's, it's got that distinctive taste but it's new.

It has a bit of a bite.

Which smooths down, clearly smooths down because.

Because we had the 2021 last night at dinner.

Yes.

This is two years younger but the same wine.

Distinctive.

What's distinctive, that was your word, about it?

Rich, smooth.

This is a little.

She's making like a, a money, money, money sign.

Smooth.

Think it can help me with a word here.

Is it a texture?

No, slim is the texture.

It's smooth.

It's not quite as smooth as last night.

Again, we're still talking about wine?

Yes.

Okay.

It

has a It has a little more of that.

I've made you blush.

Yeah, I

Music (2): was going to say

that.

It has that Acidity.

Music (2): Acidity, yeah.

Acidity, yeah.

I think what you're noticing is all the components of any wine, but especially my wine that you know, the fruitiness, the tannin, the acid, the alcohol, they're all there always.

But right now, because of its immaturity All of those things are loud.

Yeah, pronounced.

You're noticing acidity.

Like a teenager.

Yes, it's like needs to tone down.

You notice the components.

You notice the acid.

You notice the tannin.

You're like, oh, I get fruitiness.

And that's why we will not bottle this for another year.

It's

thinner.

Yeah.

Yes.

Thinner.

Did you get more concentrated?

Yeah.

With age they all come together.

Yeah.

Mm-hmm . You guys have feral tasted this before?

Yes, we have.

Right.

Kind of at a halfway point as well.

Yes.

In past years.

Yeah.

But it's fun, especially since really strategic last night to have the 21 with dinner, just so that was sort of fresh.

But when you taste it, it's still delicious.

Like if there's something bad about it, that's not going to get better, but it's just going to get more integrated, in tune, thicker.

Synchronize is a great word.

Yeah.

This will, will smooth out all the time.

Yeah.

Yeah.

The tannins on this.

It's almost like, you know, how pollen sticks to a bee.

That's kind of how you get that into, in your, in your

I love that analogy.

It's such a visual.

I've never used that before.

I might steal that.

Thank you.

This color is brighter.

Yeah, very purple, bright purple.

Which is what you expect from young wine.

All wine ages to brown on the color spectrum.

Whether it's red or white, it ages towards brown.

Because of oxidation and some other chemical reactions that happen, so.

So when you see a white wine that is Nearly brown.

Yes.

It doesn't necessarily mean it's going to taste bad.

It's going to taste different.

It's going to be different.

And it usually is brownish because it's aged.

It's aged.

And that's an oxidation reaction that's happening.

It'll usually be kind of nutty.

The problem is

that when you see a brown, white wine, you're in your mind.

You're thrown.

Yeah.

That it's going to taste brown.

The dark red is generally aged better.

Yes.

Not necessarily white.

Right.

You can't say an old white's going to be good necessarily.

Depends on the white.

Right?

Depends on what the wine was when it started.

The levels of acid and I've had some beautiful 10, 15, 20 year old white wines.

But they're very different because if you think about like the thinking calf that we had today, Julie Sauvignon Blanc, Pride Viognier, Pride Chardonnay that you love.

What we celebrate about those white is they're fresh and they're floral and they're vibrant.

That does not increase with age in a white wine.

The freshness and the vibrancy goes away but other things replace it.

Like, oh, I'm getting like butterscotch.

I'm getting Toasted almonds.

I'm getting like a new nuttiness.

Yes, they just take on very different notes.

It can still be an amazing, very delicious wine, but it will be different.

For

most people's palate of what they like about white.

Yes, drink it young.

So first Ever production of Solomontoquinas.

We've got three barrels of this, so that's about 75 cases.

We're going to bottle this hopefully early next year.

This, I don't want to leave the witness.

I'll taste it first and then I'll tell you my thought on aging, but.

It has a lot of like, uh, lilac.

To it.

It's very floral.

It's

lighter.

Lighter.

I smell vanilla pudding.

Ooh, that's fun.

I mean vanilla is generally an oak note, right, from the barrel.

And we literally pulled this out of a barrel, thank you, 14 minutes ago, right?

It was touching

Music (2): oak.

Now none of the barrels holding this are new.

Which you would get a lot of that, but they're a couple year old barrels.

So there's might be a little hints of vanilla.

Music (2): Yeah

Tasting one of Nikki's new and different wines that you've never tasted before.

Well, no, I'm nervous.

I Love how floral this is.

It's like walking into a like a nursery.

Not with babies.

No

Or like a flower shop Yeah.

It tastes like it's more aged than it is.

Yes, it does.

It doesn't.

And it's the same exact age.

In fact, it was picked a couple of weeks after the Sangiovese you just had in 2023.

But we're going to bottle this sooner than the Sangiovese because Grenache doesn't have as much tannin.

It doesn't need as much time.

It's more synchronized to use your word, just because of the chemistry of the scrape and the character of the scrape.

This is more closer to being ready to go.

People don't drink enough Grenache.

People don't drink enough Sangiovese.

People don't drink enough Zindadell, right?

But Grenache, especially, I feel like is really not on people's radar.

And I'm really passionate about it.

I love it.

It's super food friendly.

It's so flavorful.

It tastes like an older wine.

It tastes like it's been developing for longer.

Yeah.

Which is so interesting because it's exactly the same.

I like vanilla pudding.

That's like almost a nostalgic thing, right?

It's yummy.

I'm very excited.

I mean, I'm always excited about the San Trevese, of course, but this being new, you're not nervous.

I'm going to have to think, oh, I'm going to find some things to say.

I have to be her friend and say something nice, especially because we're recording.

You don't have to say something nice.

You have to be honest.

Not

unless I feed it.

Be honest.

I'm not being honest.

Welch's grape soda?

No.

That's nothing good for me.

Oh, see, I love, that's like, childhood.

There's this really nice,

like, tea like aspect to this wine that I really like.

Tea?

Yeah, like, almost like um,

One of the fruity teas.

Like chamomile

or like black tea.

Something

on long does one.

Black

tea.

Is it Ong?

Ong,

. Nikki: Sorry, I made you laugh with wind in your mouth.

, Anne: this is

Jolene.

You're gonna make me cry.

Cry.

This is

so good.

So much.

Delicious.

It's really delicious.

I thought it was going to be, because I thought I was going to think, oh, I don't know.

I love this subject.

No, this sounds It's just different.

It's different.

It's different.

I have a portfolio now.

I have three different ones.

I get

a lot of Jasmine.

Oh, like from Aladdin, like a whole new world.

That's what

Music (2): it is for you, a whole

new world.

You're all about the floral and the flower shop.

You are.

It

reminds me a lot of we have a big jasmine plant in the garden.

So when you walk from the animals, smell the stinky animals to walking in the garden window.

This is somewhere in between stinky animal

and jasmine.

I like a little stinky animal in my wine.

I'm actually not offended by that, if that was a thing.

Thanks for tasting that.

Height 13s.

Over 14.

Over 14?

14 and 5.

Okay.

It doesn't run hot at all.

Just over 14.

But Grenache is kind of like Zin.

Grenache typically runs a little higher.

Alcohologists and how it ripens.

Are you ready for the finale?

Are you ready for the Petit Sauron?

So here's the fun thing.

This vineyard, I know I've told you guys this, but now you're like having it in front of you.

So you'll connect the dots.

These are the vines from Napa Paradise.

These are the vines from the property where I lived for the first three years when I moved here from 2012 to 2015.

And we looked out the window.

I literally can see these vines from my bedroom where I slept for three years.

We

drove through them to get to your house.

It's

very deep.

Music (2): Welcome

to Petite Seurat.

I don't think

I like it.

Okay, that's fair.

I mean, we went from one end of the spectrum with Grenache, even the Sangiovese, but especially Grenache, to this.

Yes.

Very different.

Completely different in aroma, in flavor, in color.

Petit Syrah is like ink.

Squid ink.

Squid ink.

This is very different for Petit Syrah.

Very very different.

So we have two barrels of this wine.

One is a brand new barrel that we purchased for twelve hundred dollars.

And the other one is a used barrel.

And so right now they're very different, but they will be, yes.

So it will be, the finished bottling will be 50% new oak, right?

'cause it was half and half.

So

this one,

this one barrel, the new is going to be

blended with the other barrel,

which is the same liquid inside, but with newer oak on it.

Right?

So the oakiness will be amped up a little bit.

Okay.

In the final one.

Oh, it definitely

does.

Definitely got that on that one.

What do

you mean, tannin?

What are you talking about, tannin?

There's still a lot of moisture in my mouth.

I mean, not a drop of moisture, like, Shrink wrap, just like,

Thick with the double

C.

That will calm down.

Of the three, this could age the longest.

To let those tannins And then I will encourage people that purchase it to let it chill for a little bit.

But it's just a bigger, richer, more tannic wine that is, like you said, barbecue.

I love this wine.

Smaller wine.

And it's not.

Because the word petite is in there?

Probably.

It's not smaller, it's a big, it's in your face.

I would say

petite straw can be heavier than cab.

Yes, agree.

I would put it on the farthest end of the spectrum with the Pinot Noir on the lightest end of the spectrum in color and body and tannin.

Grenache, pretty close to that.

Sangiovese, more in the middle.

Zin, closer to Sangiovese.

Cab.

Petit Sirach.

Okay.

Music (2): Petit

Verdot.

Music (2): Petit.

Petit.

The berries are very tiny.

So less, juice in the berries.

There's more concentration, thicker skin.

That's why the

color is so dark.

When you have a smaller grape, and these grapes are small, you have more skin, less grape.

All the color that makes red wine red comes from the skin.

So when you have more skin, less plumpy grape, you're going to have a darker color white.

So this will have the Spring Mountain AVA on it because I'm in a bottle at 100 percent just like this.

It doesn't need anything.

And this is literally from that property where you couldn't figure out how to open the gate and drive down to my house.

The vines on that slope.

Wow.

That's what a full circle moment.

Yeah.

That's

amazing.

Well, for all of us actually, cause it's like, Oh my gosh, this is, this is it.

Do you remember when And you've seen me doing this multiple times over the years when we are topping off the barrels because they evaporate.

That's why, side note, when it feels thin and it's younger and you're waiting for that thickness, right?

Even the Sangiovese, because as they're sitting in this building for two years, they're evaporating.

So the barrel that was full is not full, but then you top it off with more of the same wine.

Every month and a half or so, we're here.

Topping off the barrel, which is why the wine that's in there is getting more concentrated.

Where are you getting that wine from to top it off?

From kegs, that the day that we press this off from fermentation and put it in the barrel, it never fills barrels exactly.

Right.

You always have a little extra.

So you put that in a So

it's the new one that's gone into the Same here.

Same here.

It's not been in a barrel yet.

You top with keg wine.

It's your topping wine.

You break down a five gallon or a 10 gallon keg.

Usually the math works out well that you can do that, right?

So you're topping it up.

So that adds to the concentration because it's evaporating.

You're adding more and you're evaporating and you're adding more.

But when we first started doing this, even until like last year, and Jim has witnessed this, we have like a hose, just like a plastic tubing.

That I would put one end in the keg of the topping wine, and then I have like a pitcher that I'm going to pour into the barrel, and I would just do the sucking, like the siphoning, just to get the flow going, right?

And inevitably, when I would do it, I'd be like, I'm getting hammered!

Because it like hits you in the mouth!

So now we got this little wand that uses suction so you don't have to do it with your mouth and we have a longer hose so you're not like on the ground but every time they're trying to work here and I'm in the corner like Sucking on a barrel.

No,

Music (2): I'm doing it.

Sucking the wine.

And it literally is like a shot of wine every time.

We're like.

So now we've honed in our process on that as

well.

So, we're all getting purple

mouths.

What's that from?

That's Petit Sirah.

Okay.

Everything it touches.

Trademark.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Cheers guys for 23.

I have three wines.

I can have a club.

I might have a club.

It's hard to have a club when you have one wine.

Yeah.

Hey, your club shipments coming.

Woo.

Let me guess what it is.

Now maybe there'll be a little room for a little more offerings or combo packs or things like that.

So you just need a white wine.

Or Rose

. Nikki: I do.

I'd love to make Vinet fer.

Matino like an Italian white.

We'll figure it out.

Hi.

Hey.

Hi lady.

Hi camera.

We didn't see you.

Hey,

sweet girl.

Legend.

We didn't see you baby brother.

First time I came here, she was the first one to greet me.

See?

Right.

You guys are bonded for life.

Yeah.

There's been a, you know, few hardships that I've gone through in the past couple years, and she always seems to know she'll come up and she'll put her head right on my, my lap and look at me and she, she knows.

Cheers

Casp, Cheers,

Cheers, Cheers, Cheers, 2020, Cheers, Kovacic.

Woohoo.

It's a whole new Petit Saran world.

And now we wait.

We wait for these wines to finish their magical aging in the barrel.

As you heard me talk about, we will most likely bottle the Grenache first and release that in the early part of 2025, and the Sangiovese will follow.

You may be asking yourself, well how do I get my hands on these beautiful wines once they are done?

Just visit my website, solovatowines.

com, and you can sign up to be on the mailing list, and we will make sure that you first to know as these very limited wines come available.

A special thank you to Jim and Anne and Joan and Erica for being a really great tasting panel, giving me all of their fantastic feedback.

And as always, make sure if you're enjoying Sip with Nikki, leave us a rating or a review.

And don't forget, you can also support the podcast and be an angel.

Buy me a glass of wine and you can do that using the link in the show notes.

I hope you've learned and laughed, and whatever you do between now and next week, I hope that you sip well.

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