This was a trip so epic, that it took a year to digest and to prepare the story-telling...that's the story I'm stickin' to anyway!
Pops & I have taken many a wine trip together over the years, this was the sixth, in fact. Each one has been in a different appellation or sub-appellation around
NorCal. Following my
pre-WBC09 Twisted Murphys visit with some other
vinopanions in crime, I decided that Pops and I needed to definitely take over
Murphys and its
Calaveras County wine
country for our upcoming trip later that year.
I spoke a lot in that
earlier Murphys post about the exciting, up and coming aspects of the Calaveras County wine region and how it has already reached at least the wine crafting quality of it's larger and surrounding appellation of the Sierra Foothills and is coming into its own as a true wine destination. Murphys, the
historic Gold Rush and logging town, has completely reinvented itself as a more boutique, yet still nicely rustic
wine and
food mecca, tucked underneath the stunning
Sierras and
Calaveras Bigtree National Forest. Pops and I decided that we needed to dig a bit deeper this time and really get to know this comfortable piece of wilder wine country.
I had quite a great time while moderating and tasting my way through the very cool California Pinot Noir: In Pursuit of Balance (Twitter) event, back in late March. It was there during the trade tasting at Rn74 (Twitter) that I had the great pleasure of trying two Pinots from a young winemaker by the name of Gavin Chanin, winemaker and proprietor of his relatively new, Chanin Wine Company (Twitter, WineLog). After getting to know a bit about Chanin while at the event, I resolved to find out more about this fresh winemaking personality and his myriad of fine vineyard connections and non-wine, artistic leanings. 
