"We have refrigerated sunshine. It is sunny all the time, but it is never hot." The Hilt winemaker, Matt Dees, was referring to the one-two punch of the cold Pacific Ocean mere miles away and the mountains just south of The Hilt vineyards that block warmer, more southerly influences. I had tasted The Hilt Pinots before and found them not just crunchy, but almost raw. With such a vivid vineyard description, it certainly was easier to understand the wines' dispositions.
Read MoreWines arrive constantly at my doorstep and occasionally, I end up with wines that didn't fit into a tasting elsewhere that still merit write-ups. Such is the case here, with both of the reds being personal favorites.
Read MoreOperating 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 MoreEhlers Estate 2020 Sauvignon Blanc - This beauty's aromas are pretty and exotic yet also delicate: a plethora of floral blooms nest with kumquat, pomelo zest and cardamom. The palate has a pleasantly tactile pithiness that, with its medium-plus acidity, nicely corrals its rather full and creamy body - whatever one might assume from the abv. Minerally and lingering on the finish, this wine has oodles of charisma along with rather profound concentration to allow it to age in bottle well for several years.
Read MoreIn 2022, Sonoma's iconic Chalk Hill Estate will celebrate 40 years since founder Fred Furth first spotted from his airplane the property's natural amphitheater on the eastern side of the Russian River Valley. The property - and then in 1983, the AVA - were named for the area's white, powdery and volcanic soils. Though a sub-AVA of the Russian River Valley, Chalk Hill is warmer because it sits above the cooling fog experience throughout the rest of the Russian River.
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 MoreWinemaker Jesse Katz began this venture in 2009, just before I originally met him in 2011 when he took on the winemaking at Lancaster Estate and Roth. Fast-forward just over a decade….this is an incredibly rich Chenin Blanc to be only 12.1% in abv. It's deep yellow in color and rounded and broad on the palate with a generous oiliness…..
Read MoreBarbara Banke of Jackson Family Wines does nothing that isn't infused deeply with passion. So when I heard that she entered a partnership with a long-standing friend, Peggy Furth - formerly of Chalk Hill Estates - to develop a line of wines called Windracer, I was immediately curious. These are two class-act, business-savvy women, who earned their stripes and their very considerable paychecks on their own, well before they became part of California's North Coast elite vintners. I knew that the wines and terroir they chose would be distinctive.
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 MoreFEL focuses on Anderson Valley, which is packed with contrast - like Florence's wines apparently, despite its small size. The Anderson Valley is just slightly longer than the island of Manhattan! For every mile that one moves toward the Pacific coast from Boonville at the valley's eastern edge, there is the loss of one degree Fahrenheit from the average daytime temperature. There is a five week spread between picking in Boonville and Navarro, at the valley's western point! As winemaker Ryan Hodgins - who grew up outside the Willamette Valley but transplanted to California in 2002 - said, the Anderson Valley is nature's tipping point between "the feel" of the rest of California to the south and Oregon to the north.
Read MoreBouchaine's wines have a cosmopolitan edge, showcasing grace and pedigree with vigor. These are classy, approachable wines with broad appeal. Sitting on 104 contiguous acres on the southern cusp of cool climate Carneros overlooking San Francisco, Bouchaine Vineyards celebrates its 40th anniversary this year. Founders Tatiana and Gerret Copeland were pioneers in Carneros, which didn't become an AVA until 1985.
Read MoreYet again, Rodney Strong has released some solid wines, especially at the value end of the spectrum. The Chalk Hill Chardonnay is a perennial star, and the 2017 Russian River Pinot Noir is especially tasty!
Read MoreBlueberries and mulberries galore! This wine is vividly fruit-driven on the nose. The palate delivers some slate and ashphalt tones, too. The finish offers measured refreshment, which feels nicely integrated despite the 15.2% alcohol.
Read MoreThe Cirq. and CHEV. are markedly ambitious wines, but they feel and taste rather forced.
Read MoreIt’s always a treat to taste small production wines, and Andy Smith’s coveted DuMOL wines certainly fit that bill.
Read MoreUS consumers have arrived later than many others to the threshold of lower alcohol wines - not surprising for a country whose wine industry largely is known for cranking out high-alcohol, blockbuster bottlings. It's no surprise that US wine production has been slow to pursue the idea. That stands in grand contrast to the Moscato craze seven to eight years ago. (Ironically, many of those Moscatos were lower in alcohol.) The Moscato craze was easier to develop as sweet, low alcohol Moscato has been made - and made well - for a very long time. However, developing a dry, flavorful, low-alcohol wine is much trickier. I admit that I wondered if these wines would be more like "sunny with a chance of flavor".
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 MoreJordan 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon Alexander Valley: This Jordan Cabernet Sauvignon leans toward the youthful side of the fence more than the aged one...just. It is drinking nicely now with pretty red-toned fruits, especially plums, as well as blackcurrants. Licorice, eucalyptus and tobacco tinges give the wine a good array of flavors. Overall, it's a savory style of wine…, even if its cuddly structure suggests it may not be the longest-lived red from Jordan.
Read MoreStonestreet Estate Vineyards 2019 Sauvignon Blanc: This lush, come-hither Sauvignon Blanc is dynamic from the first sniff. Its aroma is immediately engaging, with an impressive unleashing of Key lime, honeydew melon, guava and grapefruit.
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