{"id":6684,"date":"2014-07-26T12:39:41","date_gmt":"2014-07-26T19:39:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lesliedinaberg.com\/wordpress\/?p=6684"},"modified":"2014-07-25T12:41:55","modified_gmt":"2014-07-25T19:41:55","slug":"cocktail-corner-lucky-dogg-winery-opens","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lesliedinaberg.com\/wordpress\/?p=6684","title":{"rendered":"Cocktail Corner: Lucky Dogg Winery Opens"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Brent

Brent Melville and his new Lucky Dogg wines, courtesy photo.<\/p><\/div>\n

A spirited toast to all things alcoholic! By Leslie Dinaberg<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

What’s in a name? For Brent Melville<\/a>‘s new Lucky Dogg Winery<\/a> it’s a little bit of kismet and a whole lot of luck.<\/p>\n

Searching for the perfect moniker for his winery venture, Melville\u00a0struck inspiration gold on the golf course.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy friend, referring to my \u2018lucky\u2019 streak, called me a \u2018lucky dog.\u2019 And it all clicked. We want to share the good karma of our grapes with others, through the resulting wines that we produce,\u201d says\u00a0Melville, Lucky Dogg Winery president\/owner\/winemaker. “I had a good shot and my friend was like ‘hey, you’re a lucky dog. “And I started thinking about it, and I was like, gosh darn it, I am. And I started thinking about karma and positive energy. Everybody has a little lucky dog in them, you know. If I grow really good fruit and make great wine out of it, I will then pass on the good vibrations to the consumer. …\u00a0Basically our philosophy is it’s all about the goodness from the beginning of growing the plant to the end of the consumer drinking the wine.”<\/p>\n

Melville knows a lot about growing good fruit.<\/p>\n

His roots run deep\u00a0in the wine industry, where he has\u00a0managed farming operations for his family\u2019s vineyards for the past 25 years. Starting\u00a0in 1989, when his family purchased a vineyard in Calistoga, CA, that would become the original \u201cMelville Vineyards<\/a>,\u201d\u00a0he\u00a0worked grape harvests in that vineyard through 1995, then moved\u00a0on to the family\u2019s new vineyard purchase of\u00a040 acres in Lompoc in 1996. In 1997, the family bought an adjacent, 55-acre parcel of land, now the existing \u201cMelville Vineyards and Winery\u201d in the Sta. Rita Hills AVA.<\/p>\n

Melville\u00a0now runs the 100-acre Verna\u2019s Vineyard <\/a>in Los Alamos, giving him particular control over the cultivating methods behind his own label\u2019s wines, as well as strategic farming practices for the four other Central Coast labels who pull grapes from Verna\u2019s Vineyard:\u00a0Tensley Wines<\/span><\/a>,\u00a0Casa Dumetz Wines<\/span><\/a>,\u00a0Consilience Wines<\/span><\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Frequency Wines<\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\n

The tasting room\u00a0is a casual, family-friendly\u2014and dog-friendly\u2014place to hang out. “We especially\u00a0encourage families that have children to come in to the tasting room … \u00a0we have a kid’s corner. They can do crayons or play games while the mom and dad can have a glass of wine. And we allow dogs in the tasting room as well,” says Melville.<\/p>\n

“Usually most tasting rooms are very prim and proper and they’ve got the classical music on. But we wanted to be very family-oriented because we’re not going to be doing a lot of case production at the facility or at the tasting room. We’re going to keep it very small and very intimate. We’re an estate winery, which means we don’t buy fruit from anybody else.\u00a0It all comes from the ranch named after my Grandma, Grandma Verna,” he continues.<\/p>\n

Lucky Dogg’s first five releases include:<\/p>\n

2013 Viognier\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

“This is a stainless steel Viognier. There was no oak involved and we picked the grapes at the perfect time to do it and it’s a wonderful, wonderful wine, something totally different. Not a lot of people do a stainless Viognier,” says Melville.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Tasting Notes:<\/strong> Aromas of pear, apricot, honeysuckle, maple, crushed rocks and pineapple rind with hints of vanilla, and maple. The mouth feel is lush and soft with crisp tropical and stone fruit flavors, and a long finish. This is a very well balanced wine with good tension that has a very silky mouth feel with a refreshing pop of acidity and vanilla tannin. Pair this wine with any Thai dish, specifically a peanut sa-tay. This would also go well with a spicy shrimp dish, scallops or a brie en croute.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Vineyard:<\/strong>\u00a0Verna\u2019s Vineyard, Ryann’s Block (named for Melville’s oldest daughter Ryann, age 12)
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

Fermentation:<\/strong>\u00a0Whole cluster pressed, no ML, inoculated in barrel
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

Aging:<\/strong>\u00a06 months in 100% stainless steel
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

Production:<\/strong>\u00a0118 Cases bottled<\/span><\/p>\n

2013 Ros\u00e8 of Pinot Noir<\/span><\/h3>\n

“The\u00a0Pinot Ros\u00e8\u00a0\u00a0is probably the best summer wine and probably one of our best sellers in the tasting room right now,” says Melville. “It\u00a0is also a very unique wine because a lot of people don’t do Pinot\u00a0Ros\u00e8. It sat on skins for less than 24 hours and then was pressed into a stainless steel tank and then cold fermented for four months and we bottled it in January.”\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Tasting Notes:<\/strong>\u00a0Aromas of plum, strawberry, ripe raspberries and just a hint of anise. Invokes a sensation of sweet acidity on the pallet, with flavors of vibrant strawberry, tannic spice and a mineral finish. This is a perfect summer time wine and pairs great with anything on the BBQ. This is your warm day, front porch relaxing, anytime wine.<\/span><\/p>\n

Vineyard:<\/strong>\u00a0Verna\u2019s Vineyard, Pressley’s Block (named for Melville’s younger\u00a0daughter Pressley, age 10)
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

Fermentation:<\/strong>\u00a02 days on the skins, no ML, inoculated in barrel
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

Aging<\/strong>: 6 months in neutral French oak
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

Production:<\/strong>\u00a0123 Cases bottled<\/span><\/p>\n

2013 Pinot Noir<\/span><\/h3>\n

Tasting Notes:<\/strong>\u00a0This is a very complex Pinot Noir with scents of wet gravel, sweet tobacco, pomegranate and earth. This is an old world style Pinot Noir that has a classic Burgundian start with smokey tobacco flavors, fresh, ripe fruits in the middle and a long tannic finish with mouth watering acidity. This wine is drinking beautifully now but will also continue to progress with time. Pair this with a roasted pork loin or beef tenderloin but will also work well with a grilled salmon or portobello mushrooms.<\/span><\/p>\n

Vineyard:<\/strong>\u00a0Verna\u2019s Vineyard
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

Fermentation:<\/strong>\u00a0Destemmed, cold soaked 14 days, punched down 3 times\/day
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

Aging:<\/strong>\u00a09 months in neutral French oak
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

Production:<\/strong>\u00a0196 Cases bottled<\/span><\/p>\n

2013 Syrah “Brady’s Blend”\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

Melville describes this wine, named for his son Braeden, age 8, as, “a very cool climate Syrah, not your big fat jammy or berry Syrah, it’s more of a peppery olive finish to it.”<\/p>\n

Tasting Notes:<\/strong>\u00a0Heavy and inky, this wine embodies everything that is traditionally Syrah. On the nose you will find smoke, dark chocolate, ground white pepper, sweet tobacco, fig, ripe plums, and hints of leather. The wine has great texture, very little acid and a long spicy finish that lingers on the tip of your tongue. Pair this wine with a grilled flank steak, flat iron or hanger steak.<\/span><\/p>\n

Vineyard:<\/strong>\u00a0Verna\u2019s Vineyard<\/p>\n

Fermentation:<\/strong>\u00a015% Whole cluster pressed, cold soaked 10 days, punched down 3 times\/day
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

Aging:<\/strong>\u00a08 months in neutral French oak
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

Production:<\/strong>\u00a0185 Cases bottled<\/span><\/p>\n

2013 Reserve Syrah<\/span><\/h3>\n

“Our reserve Syrah is\u00a0actually a clonal selection and the clone is called 383. It’s just a very unique clone for the Syrah family, and so we bottled it separately from all the rest because we thought it was our best flagship wine,” says Melville.<\/p>\n

Tasting Notes:<\/strong>\u00a0 The most decadent of our wines, the Reserve Syrah has a warm climate texture with cool climate flavors. You will find aromas of cocoa beans, cherries, dark bitter chocolate and a hint of cigar smoke. The mouth feel has a fresh, lush texture with strong minerality, assertive oakiness and a touch of black olive. Pair this wine with a big juicy rib-eye or just drink it on it\u2019s own.<\/span><\/p>\n

Vineyard:<\/strong>\u00a0Verna\u2019s Vineyard, clone 383\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Fermentation:<\/strong>\u00a015% Whole cluster pressed, cold soaked 10 days, punched down 3 times\/day\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Aging:<\/strong>\u00a08 months in neutral French oak
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

Production:<\/strong>\u00a0100 Cases bottled<\/span><\/p>\n

Also available at the tasting room is\u00a0a late harvest Viognier, “which is made specifically for all those sweet tooth people out there. Being in the business somebody always comes into the tasting room and they’re like, ‘hey do you have anything sweet for us?’ And I’m like ‘yeah; we have the perfect wine for you,'” laughs Melville.<\/p>\n

This is just the beginning.<\/p>\n

“I’m coming out with a bunch of different new wines next year and I’m actually going to come out with a Viognier beer,”\u00a0he\u00a0says. “I think it would be really cool to be the only tasting room in Santa Barbara County that does beer and wine. There’s a difference between having beers from other people and making your own. I’m making my own. …\u00a0And all of this is very, very small production. I don’t want to get into the business of selling my stuff to liquor stores or supermarkets or restaurants or anything like that. I want to keep it very simple.”<\/p>\n

Lucky Dogg Winery<\/a> currently produces about 750 cases, and aims to maintain a boutique winery status, with an eventual total of about 1,500 cases. Melville\u00a0will leverage Verna\u2019s Vineyard\u2019s reputation for producing Burgundian and Northern Rhone-style Santa Barbara County wines, in his future plans to release a stainless steel Chardonnay, among others.<\/p>\n

Lucky Dogg Winery\u2019s tasting room\u00a0is\u00a0located at\u00a01607 Mission Dr.,\u00a0Suite 102\u00a0(at the corner of Mission Drive and Atterdag Road),\u00a0Solvang<\/a>.\u00a0The tasting room\u00a0is\u00a0open\u00a0from noon-6\u00a0p.m.,\u00a0Sunday through Thursday; and from\u00a0noon-7:30 p.m.,\u00a0Friday and Saturday. The\u00a0label will be launching\u00a0a\u00a0Wine Club (called “The Doghouse”)\u00a0in the coming months.\u00a0For more information,\u00a0call\u00a0805\/691-9774\u00a0or visit luckydoggwinery.com<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Cheers!<\/p>\n

Click here<\/a> for more cocktail corner columns.<\/p>\n

Originally published in\u00a0Santa Barbara SEASONS<\/a>\u00a0on July 25, 2014.<\/p>\n

\"Leslie<\/a>

Leslie Dinaberg<\/p><\/div>\n

When she\u2019s not busy working as the editor of Santa Barbara SEASONS, Cocktail Corner author Leslie Dinaberg writes<\/i> mag<\/i>azine articles, newspaper columns and grocery lists. When it comes to cocktails, Leslie considers herself a \u201cgoal-oriented drinker.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n

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