Operating under Winery License No. 4 since the repeal of Prohibition, the Pellegrini family of Sonoma has Pinot Noir vines that are about to mark their 50th birthday. The oldest in the Russian River Valley, the Olivet Lane Vineyard's vines show up as single vineyard designates on many prestigious producers' labels: Williams Selyem, Merry Edwards, MacRostie and Gary Farrell among them. In contrast to the star-struck prices of some of those cuvées, the Pellegrini family's wines offer better value at the high-end.
Read MoreThis is an original line-up of value-driven Chardonnays from River Road Family Vineyards and tea and wine guru Ron Rubin. Alas, the names of the first two wines below are confusing. Names aside, the wines offer a complementary array of Chardonnay styles.
Read MoreI recently reconnected with the Wentes of Wente Vineyards for the inaugural World Chardonnay Day webinar. The Wente Family is known for its "Wente clone" of Chardonnay, which is a highly sought-after heritage clone in California.
Read MoreRon Rubin makes not only wine but also tea with Republic of Tea. That certainly offered some level of confidence when I agreed to taste the wines. This guy clearly knows how to taste! The prospect of making high-priced, super-limited-production, hard-to-find wines is not what makes Ron tick.
Read Moren early 2018, Chehalem and Stoller became fully interconnected through a single owner, though the two properties retained their distinct personalities. The Chemistry label soon brought them together to make a third, easily accessible wine label - both in style and in price. Here's the latest...do NOT miss the "*" wines!
Read MoreHistory remains in the making at Pellegrini-Olivet Lane, as Alexia Pellegrini now commands the helm for the fourth generation. There is a steady, consistent winemaking hand here, and the wines are solidly good, even though only the rosé is a "wow".
Read MoreTwo years into the new ownership of Chehalem Winery, it is interesting to see how the winery is faring. The wines remain clean and pristine, and the prices of the most accessible wines remain exactly or about the same. Perhaps there are distinctions more visible further up the quality chain? At any rate, winemaker Katie Santora - with Chehalem since 2012, keeps the heartbeat steady here, from what I have tasted.
Read MoreThe Alois Lageder winery has a plethora of positive attributes: biodynamic farming, viticultural and winemaking history in the family dating to 1823, classy packaging, reasonable pricing and - of course - good wine. Interestingly, while Chardonnay has been in Alto Adige since 1835, it didn't become popular there until about 150 years later. Tasting this, I have to wonder why it took so long!
Read MoreChehalem Winery has a new 'do. Since the winery's purchase in early 2018, the font of the winery name went from "ALL CAPS" to "Sentence case". (The winery's founders previously used CHEHALEM to distinguish the use of the winery from the American Viticultural Area, or AVA, of the same name.) Then, this year, the label got a full makeover (now: sexy and sleek in black vs then: wine geeky and laid-back with colorful photos). My favorite part is the offer a new nugget of information: Chehalem is a Calapooia tribe word that means "Valley of Flowers".
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