For all you Pinot Noir fans out there, if you haven't subscribed to the Pinot File yet, here's a great reason - a nice in-depth profile on the winemaking techniques & philosophy behind LIOCO. Cheers - Ali
LIOCO Winery: A Different Path
Sommeliers approach wine from a different perspective, less focused on the hedonism of wine and more concerned with how the components of wine act in unison to compliment and enhance the experience of dining. Their profession teaches them about what kind of wine makes food sing. It is no surprise, then, that in recent years many sommeliers have launched their own wine labels, directing the crafting of wine or even making wines themselves that reflect their preference for food-loving wines. Many sommeliers have established intimate relationships with winegrowers and winemakers through the years, making it easy for them to gain access to talented people in the wine business to assist in the start up process. One of these sommeliers is Kevin O’Connor of Spago Restaurant in Los Angeles.
O’Connor predates the current surge in sommelier wine producers, having made wine for years under the O’Connor label. Beginning with the 2005 vintage, he teamed with former North Berkeley Imports wine importer Matt Licklider to found the LIOCO label, specializing in non-manipulated site-driven wines. LIOCO is a combination of the partner’s last names.
O’Connor works closely with University of California at Davis graduate Kevin Kelley (pictured below), who also crafts wines for Salinia Wine Company, Heintz Vineyard, and Spot-On Cellars. Like a number of winemakers who started out with ambitions to enter the medical profession, he was derailed after reading Charles Sullivan’s Like Modern Edens, the story of the origins of the Santa Clara Valley wine business. After serving an internship at Domaine Meo-Camuzet in Burgundy, he became an assistant winemaker under Wells Guthrie of Copain. He founded his own label, Salinia Wine Company, with his wife Jennifer in 2003, with the intention of producing wines with minimal winemaking imprint using indigenous yeasts and very little to no oak (only seasoned oak barrels are used). To achieve his goals, he picks early, does not temperature control fermentations, avoids fining and filtration, minimizes sulfur usage, and lets nature take its course...
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14.3% alc., pH 3.77, 343 cases, $48. This vineyard is located at an elevation of 1,600 feet on granite and limestone soils. The climate is extreme, with 40 to 60 degree diurnal shifts, resulting in stressed vines. 10-day cold soak, aged 12 months in 1, 2, and 3- year-old oak barrels, unfined and unfiltered.
· Deeply colored. Appealing, even ridiculously sensual aromas of warm cherry tart, tea, ground savory and dark roses. Flavors of loamy black cherries and berries, spice and grilled mushrooms. A sweet and sour thing is going on with the fruit. Silky and smooth with healthy ripe tannins yet a charming elegance. Amazing persistence of berry fruit on the generous finish. This wine will stand up to hearty foods. Very good (+).
Please click here to read in full and subscribe: http://www.princeofpinot.com/article/952/
So - bring on the bets - will it be California or Texas who wins the hearts of baseball fans all over America? My heart is in both places. We shall see...off to buy my peanuts and Crackerjacks...Cheers - Ali (this post is brought to you by Gogo Inflight Internet). 
Looking back over the past year, I can honestly say that many of my happiest "wine moments" are credited to the family-owned wineries I'm so honored to help in Texas (LIOCO guys I consider you family owned too!), but WOW Indigenous Selections continues to blow my mind with the quality of their producers and the respect and business sense they bring to the wine-table. I kid you not, I haven't sipped on a single bottle of wine in their very selective portfolio from Italy that I haven't fallen in love with. Some more than others, but every time a new cork is pulled from one of their producers a smile appears. My latest Italian discovery...the phenomenal wines of Cigliuti. 
To avoid running short of foodstuffs, he is asking WAGES for a loan to buy 3 cases of milk, 1 basket of fresh tomatoes, 15 trays of eggs, 10 cases of beer, 3 cases of spaghetti, and 1 big tin of oil. Nestor is not married and not raising any children. He lives in Adidogomé, Togo. 
“Men have sight--Women have insight”- This is an adage firmly embedded in 33-year-old Kigozi Grace. Kigozi belongs to Bazirengedde group. Because she has been able to solve deeply entrenched financial adversity on her own with no support, she now has a deeper perspective and understanding of how to handle a crisis situation in business. Notwithstanding the relatively short period of time she has had her food snack and soft drink restaurant business, she has given a good account of herself as a business woman. 
"$20/$16
Yesterday I was a vendor wrapping up Avante's 3 day, 3 city Portofolio Tasting. TexaCali Wine Co. as you know by now (or you are a clueless moron) represents some of the best family owned wineries from all over the world. I brought out bottles from all corners of Italy and California this week - and "not a sucker in bunch" said everyone that stopped by my table for a taste through. 
Avante - these group of fellas started a company driven by passion 4 years ago and live it everyday no matter what. Wine distribution is a tough, bumpy and steep road & peddling wine through distribution is filled with more hard & curvy roads. However, a week of seeing smiles the minute a wine sommelier or retail buyer's nose hits a glass for their first sip of wine makes it all worth it. Thanks to all who stopped by my tables, tasted the wines of TexaCali Wine Co. and continue to support and promote the good folks of Avante Beverages in Texas. 
14.3% alc., pH 3.77, 343 cases, $48. This vineyard is located at an elevation of 1,600 feet on granite and limestone soils. The climate is extreme, with 40 to 60 degree diurnal shifts, resulting in stressed vines. 10-day cold soak, aged 12 months in 1, 2, and 3- year-old oak barrels, unfined and unfiltered. · Deeply colored. Appealing, even ridiculously sensual aromas of warm cherry tart, tea, ground savory and dark roses. Flavors of loamy black cherries and berries, spice and grilled mushrooms. A sweet and sour thing is going on with the fruit. Silky and smooth with healthy ripe tannins yet a charming elegance. Amazing persistence of berry fruit on the generous finish. This wine will stand up to hearty foods. Very good (+).
