Truffle Pig Winery

​It was time to return to the swine land, so we did.  Yes, we took a second visit to Truffle Pig Winery, this time to see their wine tasting room and, yes, taste some more of their wines. 
For those of you who have not read my previous blog on this winery, some background.  This winery used to be called Avensole.  It was purchased, renovated, and renamed by Robert Renzoni, his wine maker Olivia Blue, and Domenic Galleano.  The restaurant was renamed Domenico’s Italian Chop House and is extraordinary.  But when we visited there the first time the tasting room renovation had not been completed.  As you can see in the pictures that follow, the winery’s beautiful landscaping remains.

​Inside, the tasting room has a central bar, a lounge area, some stuff to sell, and a view of the winemaking room.  Those large vessels just behind the glass are made from a combination of materials including terracotta and limestone, and used to age certain wines.  The tanks behind them appear to be concrete fermentation units.  Pretty neat stuff.

​Now onto the wine.  The wine list is shown below.  I apologize for the poor quality of the picture.  Took it after a bit of wine tasting.  Anyway, not surprising for a new winery, most of the wines offered are white or rosé as most red wines are held for three or more years before release.  We tasted two whites and three of the four reds.

​We again tasted the Arneis and the Chenin Blanc.  The two whites were quite different.  The Arneis has a very high alcohol content, strongly suggesting that the grapes were fully ripe when picked.  Hence this wine has a fruit flavor and modest acidity.  On the other hand, the Chenin Blanc has a much lower alcohol level, suggesting the grapes were picked before they reached full ripeness.  This results in a brighter wine with low fruit taste and high acidity.
I love surprises, and Truffle Pig did not disappoint.  As one might expect for a young Nebbiolo, the tannins in the wine were pretty high – but surprisingly smooth.  Very nice wine.  Then we tasted the Grenache.  Now Grenache is not my favorite red grape, not even close.  But sometimes you just have to admit that the winemaker has bested you – created a really good wine from a grape you just don’t care for.  So, kudos to the Truffle Pig winemaker (Mollie Haycock)!  To me it seems that she set out to make a specific style of wine – emphasizing the flavor of the grape with just enough oak to add a nice hint of tobacco – and succeeded!  It probably would have been even better had they served it at the appropriate temperature.  Unfortunately, Truffle Pig does not properly chill its red wines.  Really a bad idea, especially when you have wines such as their Grenache which should be served around 55 F, not the 70+ F that we tasted it at.  Well, they did have water available….
The last wine we tasted was also a bit of a surprise:  a blend of Sangiovese and Barbera.  I would not have thought it would work, but it does.  They give the name Market Red.  Giacomo liked it as well….

We did not taste their Tawny Port.  I guess they have a license to use the name.  Anyway, not sure how tawny it really is – the server poured a glass for another customer, and it was pretty ruby.
They have a Swine Club.  Being exceptionally lazy the details of the club are shown below.  Only thing missing is that you can opt for either the mixed club (white and red) or the rosé club.  Of course if you are a member you can drink your wine in the pig pen....