Earlier this year, I had the chance to sample some great Sauvignon Blanc from Bodkin Wines, a California winery and the brainchild of a very fun Mr. Chris Christensen. Is there a better time to start sampling Sauvignon Blanc than June? I think not. Is there a better time to enjoy any kind of sparkling wine than right now, always? Definitely not.
So, here’s what I’ve got for you today. Chris and I chatted a bit via email, and I asked him a few questions about his background and his wines. I really enjoyed this interview, and Chris seems like exactly the kind of person who’d be a blast to have a few glasses of bubbly with. He’s a creative spirit (we love that around here), and has a really interesting spin on the way he makes wine. Oh! And he offers a lovely champagne cocktail recipe about halfway through the post here, and I think you’ll appreciate that.
The interview is below, followed by my review and some photos of the wines, and a special giveaway for you at the bottom.
Interview with Chris Christensen, Bodkin Wines
What inspired you to start making wine, and why Sauvignon Blanc in particular?
I got into wine-making because after 4 years of college, I was not ready for the good times to stop. I spent enough time (and student loan money) partying, and I figured I knew a thing or two about alcohol. Armed with that and a couple of organic chemistry classes under my belt from my start as a Petroleum Engineering major, I landed an internship at Gallo of Sonoma in the fall of 2003.
My desire to make Sauvignon Blanc was rooted in the sobering reality that if I made a wine and nobody bought it, I would have a lot of drinking to do. I really like Sauv Blanc and aromatic white wines in general. Maybe it’s all because I was raised by a single mom, maybe I was just born with a lighter palate. Anyway, I’m secure enough in my masculinity to admit my love for crisp and refreshing white wine.
You make some different varieties of Sauvignon Blanc, including some bubbles. What’s your current favorite and how are you pairing that?
Lady D, that is a tough question. My wines are like my pets, I couldn’t pick a favorite.
[Editor’s note, can I keep that nickname? Lady D sure has a nice ring to it…]
The bubbles are always fun as they pair very nicely with sunny days, outdoor music, cool dudes and hot babes. I will have to say my dark horse favorite is my 2011 Reserve Sauvignon Blanc. I made that wine like one would make a red wine. It was fermented on the skins and aged in oak for 13 months, so it’s totally its own beast in terms of flavors and aromas. It has this whole Bloody-Mary-celery-licorice-anise thing going on and a palate presence that makes Carignan jealous.
At an event earlier this summer Chef Jordan Grosser from Stag Dining Group paired it with fenneled-out braised lamb shank, and it totally changed my mind about pairing white wine with red meat. POW! Lamb’s best friend!
I read in The Cedar Rapids Gazette that you chose this career as a way to “delay getting a real job.” As someone who left her own “real job” to pursue her own path, I can totally relate. Has it been worth the risk, and what’s the best part about the work you do now?
Where there is no risk there is no reward.
My old rowing coach back in college would tell us this as we prepared for races. At the risk of sounding contrite, he was spot-on. It was hard to break it to my then 86-year-old, non-drinking, Presbyterian, Iowan grandmother that I was starting a career in what she deemed to be a frivolous industry that caters to the morally weak, but time changes things, right? Well, that and a touch of residual sugar.
Ten years later, I know where I can always find a chilled bottle of my Muscat Canelli waiting for the next bridge circle get-together. It was a big jump from going from a cellar dude to an enologist, then to being my own winemaker, and finally to being a business owner who alsso happens to make wine.
I wouldn’t have it any other way though. I couldn’t imagine going to any winery owner and saying “I just bet the harvest on making the country’s first sparkling Sauvignon Blanc,” and still have a job the next day. No one in their right mind would (or should) have trusted me to skin-ferment Sauv Blanc or make a sophisticated Muscat Canelli. The risk has been all mine and in turn so are the rewards, so that makes all the crazy days and nights worth it.
I’m a big fan of champagne cocktails. Do you have any favorite recipes for your Sparkling Sauvignon Blancs?
A lot of wineries will tell you that it takes a lot of beer to make it through harvest. At Bodkin Wines, it only takes a couple of Ketel & Collins. That’s my go-to drink all summer long, and since it’s hard to find good Collins Mix, I use my Sparkling Sauvignon Blanc.
This little diddy goes a-something like this:
The Bodkin Collins
- 2oz Ketel One Vodka
- 4oz Bodkin Sparkling
- Dash of St. Germain Elderflower Liqueur
- Garnish with a twist of lime, and if you are feeling real fancy, a sprig of rosemary. It’s trippy, but you’ll like it.
Where can we find your wines?
In California
You can find my wines at Parish Restaurant in Healdsburg, California, where you’ll enjoy beignets and Bodkin Bubbly for brunch 7 days a week.
The Cheese Shop in Healdsburg also carries the bubbles and the skin-fermented reserve.
The Beast and the Hare in San Francisco offers a mean brunch along side my sparkling, as does AQ on Mission who has magnums of my 2011 Reserve for those who are serious about their Sauv Blancs.
Hollywood is also popping bottles of Bodkin. Freddy Smalls in West LA has my 2012 non-sparkling Sauv Blanc, and Eveleigh Restaurant carries my wines as well. The SoHo House in Hollywood pours it for their members; I can’t get in, but my wine can. Go figure.
In Iowa
In my home land of the Hawkeye State, see Bryan Lee at Hy-Vee on Blairs Ferry in Cedar Rapids, Iowa who carries my whole line-up and logo merchandise too (shout-out!). Andrea at the WestLakes Hy-Vee in Des Moines will take good care of you there.
Not in California or Iowa? Order Bodkin Wines online.
Anything new and exciting coming up that we should know about?
For harvest 2013, I couldn’t resist the urge to de-segregate my line-up with a the addition of a Zinfandel from Conte Vineyards in the Russian River Valley. I will also be adding to to the whites a separate bottling of Musque Clone Sauvignon Blanc from the Sandy Bend Vineyard in Lake County. The last time vineyard owner Chris Schlies talked me into a couple tons of something else on the side, I ended up doing a 180 on my stance on Muscat Canelli, so I know well enough to start getting pumped up about the Sauvignon Musque. Additionally, I’m pretty fired up to start experimenting with acacia wood on my Sauvignon Blancs this year. It can add a flavor and texture that is delicate and intriguing in ways that oak just isn’t — fun and games, if you’re a wine nerd that is.
Well, we are certainly wine nerds around here, and I can’t wait to check in later and see how his side projects are doing. Meanwhile, you’re probably wondering how the wines are, aren’t you?
They’re delightful.
I tried both the 2011 Reserve that Chris mentions above, as well as the 2012 bubbly. Let’s just say that neither of these bottles lasted very long at my house.
Bodkin Wines 2011 Reserve Sauvignon Blanc
My favorite thing about this wine is Chris’ think-outside-the-box approach to it. As he mentioned above, he made this white wine in the style of many reds — fermented with the skins on, and aged in oak. This makes it a very unique (and quite tasty!) Sauvignon Blanc.
He describes it as having flavors of lemon, licorice, pistachio, and Bloody Mary mix. I know it’s a really great, really fun wine.
Bodkin Wines 2012 Sparkling Sauvignon Blanc
It’s a lovely, lovely bubbly, and just as it should be, it’s refreshing and bright. I’d like to tell you that it paired well with all sorts of snacks and summer foods, but I wouldn’t know because I enjoyed it solo. Bubbles are good like that, right? However, if I were to offer you some pairing suggestions, I’d offer light snacks like Caprese salad (I think the basil would be a lovely complement) or Parmesan-topped popcorn. It’d also be perfect for all of your upcoming holiday celebrations. Best part? This wine costs less than $20, and Wine Enthusiast just scored this one at 87 points. Win!
Wasn’t that fun? It was fun, and now I’m thirsty, and you probably are, too! You’re in luck! I’m giving away a bottle of the 2011 Reserve Sauvignon Blanc to one lucky winner of Nomadic Foodie. Hop aboard the Rafflecopter below for the different ways you can enter.
Disclaimers and fine print type stuff: This contest runs through 11:59pm PT on Sunday, November 10, and the winner will be notified by email shortly after one is chosen at random. Must be 21 to enter and to win. Contest is open to US residents in the lower-48 only (sorry Alaska and Hawaii). I was provided the wines for tasting and reviewing, but the giveaway bottle comes from my own pockets. All opinions expressed as my own are mine, and they’re honest. Duh.
This giveaway is closed. Congrats to Katelin, at Pretty Sandy Feet. Your bottle of Bodkin Wines 2011 Reserve Sauvignon Blanc will arrive soon! Big thanks to all who entered; stay tuned for more giveaways soon!
