Markham Vineyards Wine Dinner with Bryan Del Bondio at Cafe Maxx

"She said that all the railroad men just drink up your blood like wine"
Stuck Inside Of Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again by Bob Dylan

There is nothing like coming home and whenever we go to Napa Valley to Markham Vineyards it feels like coming home. I remember one of my first trips to Napa was with the group from Cafe Maxx to cook dinner for the grand opening of the new tasting room in 1993. This is only the first of many trips to Napa and many visits to good friend Bryan Del Bondio's house.

This is one of the historic wineries of Napa and one of the best kept secrets in terms of values. Many of the collectors that chase scores today have forgotten about this winery but every time I taste the Merlot or Cabernet Sauvignon and look at the price tag, it brings me back in time as the price apparently has not changed on this wine in 20 years.

Join us as we break bread with this 3rd generation Napa Valley native and Chef Oliver Saucy serves us a special five course tasting menu. The fee for this event is $85 + Tax + Gratuity, for reservations call 954-782-0606.

Markham Vineyards Wine Dinner with Bryan Del Bondio at Cafe Maxx
Thursday, April 25, 2013
7:00 PM

Pass Arounds
Maine lobster with lemon & caper
Crab and roasted corn pancakes
Dried peach & brie philo triangles

Markham Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc Napa 2011
Price: $15.00       Sale $13.20          Case $153

winemaker's notes:  A blend of 82% Sauvignon Blanc, 16% Semillon, 2% Muscat BlancThe 2011 Sauvignon Blanc is a golden straw color. Vanilla and citrus-laced pear syrup aromas with added notes of green apple and peach. Ripe tangerine and peach flavors are rich on the palate but still allow a bright citrus zest acidity to shine through.

First course
Seared jumbo sea scallop with shrimp and chayote charlotte over vanilla scented coconut carrot sauce

Markham Vineyards Chardonnay Napa 2010
Price: $18.00       Sale $15.84          Case $184

winemaker's notes:  When served at cellar temperature (~55°F) you will find our Chardonnay shows the best layering Gravenstein apple aromas with vanilla, butterscotch and spicy toast notes. Lush, juicy flavors of honeyed apricots are balanced by a Meyer lemon zest character. The creamy texture and toasty oak finish with continue to lengthen as the wine relaxes in the bottle. Why not grab a glass and do the same...Maybe luck will pair a pan-seared scallop in a spicy carrot sauce in your dreams?

Second course
Black raspberry BBQ Sterling Silver beef brisket, fried green tomato
goat cheese & chive spiked stone ground grits

Markham Vineyards Merlot Napa 2010
Price: $23.75       Sale $20.90          Case $243

winemaker's notes:  Dark ruby in color. A bit of coaxing will reveal cassis, vanilla, red cherry jam, spicy notes of cinnamon, anise and smoky BBQ. On the palate, this wine feels lush and silky.

Markham Vineyards 1879 Cellar Blend 2011
Price: $24.75       Sale $21.78          Case $253

winemaker's notes:  Deep garnet color and dark cherry and smokey oak aromas. The floral spice notes weave seamlessly around a core of chocolate and blackberry jam flavors. In this wine, the Markham Vineyards' Merlot provided velvety texture with distinct chocolate notes. The Cabernet Sauvignon provided the deep, smokey notes that weave throughout. The Petit Verdot is all about structure, while the Petite Sirah adds blackberry jam and floral spice you can't help but love!

Third course
Rack of lamb with Black Sambucca glaze, sage roasted fingerling potatoes
spring squash & sweet onion fricassee

Markham Cabernet Sauvignon Napa 2010
Price: $37.25       Sale $32.78          Case $380

winemaker's notes:  Dark garnet in color. On the nose, floral highlights of violets, vanilla and red fruit. Darke chocolate and berry jam on the palate, punctuated with graham cracker toastiness and hints of menthol.

Markham Philanthropist 2008
Price: $60.75       Sale $53.46          Case $620

winemaker's notes: Muscular in youth, this Cabernet demands at least a decade in bottle age for its generous nature to present itself. Dark chocolate, mocha and berry jam aromas remain tightly wrapped around the jammy berry, cola and spicy anise flavors found in the palate. The entry is ripe and juicy, but the chalky tannins hang on firmly at the end. Oak toast is layered successfully with vanilla, root beer and caramel highlights throughout this sophisticated wine.

The 2006 vintage of the Yountville Estate Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon is dedicated to the 2008 Markham "Mark of Distinction" grant recipient for their passion and commitment to feeding the hungry and helping to leadthe Table to Table food rescue program in Northeast New Jersey. Table to Table delivers perishable foods left over at grocery stores and retailers to the hungry for immediate consumption. Chuck Russo, dedicated Board member, used the funding to fuel the refrigerated trucks that distribute food that would otherwise be wasted. Markham helped the organization reach its goal of delivering over six million meals at less than eight cents each.

Dessert
Flourless dark chocolate cake with mixed berries and sorbet

Join us as we break bread with this 3rd generation Napa Valley native and Chef Oliver Saucy serves us a special five course tasting menu. The fee for this event is $85 + Tax + Gratuity, for reservations call 954-782-0606.

A bit about Markham Vineyards:

The winery, north of St. Helena, was originally founded in 1874 by Jean Laurent, an immigrant from Bordeaux.  In 1977 an investor named Bruce Markham bought the rundown stone structure that once housed the former Laurent winery, and Markham Vineyards was officially founded in 1978.  Bruce Markham, one of the many former executives and business professionals who found their way to the rich, fertile Napa Valley to pursue the lifestyle of winegrower and winery owner, came from a family-owned advertising business which extended throughout seven of the Rocky Mountain states.  He began by purchasing some vineyard property in the Napa Valley in 1975.  Soon after, the family business was sold to a multi-media advertising firm; and Bruce invested in some additional prime vineyard property.  Then he and his wife, Kate, moved to California and took over operation of the vineyards and proceeded to the next logical step of launching a winery.  He hired an excellent team, headed by winemaker Robert Foley and winery manager Bryan del Bondio.  (Foley left in early 1993 to pursue new winemaking interests –Rob Hunter, formerly of Robert Keenan and Lyeth, is now the winemaker.)  Del Bondio, fresh out of UC Davis and the fledgling winery's very first employee, got involved with Markham after his father, Al del Bondio, had helped Markham outfit the winery.  The goal of Markham was to produce high-quality, estate-grown wines from grapes grown on the winery's three Napa Valley vineyards (totaling 300 acres): Calistoga Ranch; Yountville Ranch; and Napa Ranch.

Despite making many of the right moves, Markham could not "break from the pack" and attract much interest from critics or consumers.  Although the winery was producing one of Napa's best Merlots and an excellent Cabernet, overall sales were sluggish; and Bruce Markham was eventually forced to sell out to a Japanese-owned firm named Mercian in late 1987.  Finally, things began to turn around near the end of the decade as more and more critics came to recognize that not only did Markham produce an excellent Merlot, but that the winery's Cabernet was also very good.  In his book California's Great Cabernets, author Jim Laube correctly called the shot: "Markham Vineyards Cabernet is one of the most underrated wines and undiscovered values in Napa Valley."

Why did it take a decade to discover Markham?  It was primarily a matter of direction and finances.  Under former owner Bruce Markham, the winery was severely undercapitalized.  And despite producing superb reds, the whites were nothing more than ordinary.  New French oak, barrel fermentation, and new blends, in tandem with a change in ownership, have now begun to radically alter the perception of Markham's wines.  In a word, the winery's past four vintages of Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc have been absolutely delicious wines bursting with lively fruit. Since the 1989 Chardonnay received such acclaim, the winery has continued to produce excellent sequels.  We have selected the last six vintages (1990 through 1995) among the year's Top Ten Best Buys for Chardonnay in our annual selections for "Best California Wines of the Year" in The Wine News.  Also, the winery's Sauvignon Blanc has been very impressive in recent vintages.  The 1991 tied for first place in a tasting of 129 California Sauvignon Blancs conducted by The Wine Spectator and was also selected as one of the “TOP 100 wines of 1993” in that publication.

Markham produces five "regular" wines (a very good Muscat Blanc rounds out the portfolio) - all are now among the best in their price class.  In addition to the afore-mentioned wines that now appear under the Markham moniker, there is an excellent second label line of wines called Glass Mountain.  Under the umbrella of the Glass Mountain label, Markham makes a Chardonnay, a Cabernet, a Petite Syrah, and a Rubis du Val (a blend of several red grapes) that sell for prices below ten dollars a bottle.  In 1993 a $12 million renovation was completed which effectively doubled the current output of the winery from 85,000 cases to a projected goal of 150,000 cases.  The new winery facilities were unveiled officially at the Napa Valley Wine Auction in June of 1993 (we attended a grand dinner to commemorate the occasion at this beautifully renovated winery.)  In the fall of 1993 the winery introduced a new line of reserve wines under the Laurent label - the wines did not take off in the marketplace and have since been dropped.  Del Bondio, however, promises that there are new and better reserve wines now in barrel.

Since 1981 Markham's Merlot has been its flagship wine.   Ironically, the Merlot is the only wine that does not come from the winery's estate vineyards; most of the grapes are purchased from a ranch in the Stag's Leap area of the Napa Valley.  Markham's 1990 Merlot was "Highly Recommended" (91) in The Wine Spectator; it was also the highest rated 1990 Merlot among 85 tasted in a report in The Wine Spectator in August of 1993.  Not only has Markham's Merlot been rated consistently well by independent critical wine journals, it has also consistently been among the "heavy medal" winners in wine competitions.  The 1987, for example, was - according to statistics compiled by The California Grapevine  - the number two point earner among all Merlots in the 1990 judging season.  There are now 16,000 acres planted to Merlot with at least 250 brands on the market.  Merlot sales in California jumped an astonishing 80% in 1993, and there were also significant increases in 1994, 1995, and 1996.  In fact, Merlot has become the hottest varietal in the U.S. marketplace.  The “sideways” phenomenon of the early part of the 21st century has cooled things off a bit for this varietal but Markham is still at the head of the pack, especially when you look at the price.  The 2004 vintage proved to be challenging for some Napa Valley producers but this is where 30+ years of experience in the Napa Valley helps.