Carlisle Winery & Vineyards was founded in 1998 by Mike and Kendall Officer. Their passion is clear: Small lots of Zinfandel and Syrah from exceptional, historic vineyards. Many of these vineyards are heritage sites planted by Italian immigrants and date back to the late 1800s. Mike recently announced his retirement and subsequently 2024 will be the last vintage of wines produced…
Located in the Anderson Valley, Navarro Vineyards has been producing exceptional, fairly-priced wines since 1974. The winery is best known for its range of Pinot Noirs, including the showstopper Deep End Blend (available through futures). They also produce an age-worthy Cabernet Sauvignon a delicious Zinfandel and their whites are noteworthy and food friendly with an exceptional Riesling, Gewurztaminer and Gruner Vetliner…
Dehlinger Winery is located in the Russian River Valley of Sonoma County and was founded in 1975 by Tom and Carole Dehlinger. Eva Dehlinger took over winemaking duties in 2007. Known for their Pinot Noir, Dehlinger also makes Chardonnay, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon and Petite Sirah. Renatus is a selection of the youngest Pinot Noir vines on the Dehlinger Estate. Dehlinger…
The 20 hectare St. Emilion vineyard of Chateau Tour Saint Christophe is planted to 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc. The property was purchased by Peter Kwok in 2012. Kwok also owns Bellefont-Belcier and Haut-Brisson. Purple in color. 14.5% ABV. Gorgeous nose of dark fruits, leather and wet leaves. Medium body with perfect acidity. Very approachable with opulent fruits. Currants, cassis, tobacco leaves…
Joel Peterson founded Ravenswood Winery in 1976 with a focus on Single Vineyard Zinfandel. Ravenswood was immensely successful and over time began producing in excess of a million cases per year. Once & Future is the return to the original vision Joel had for Ravenswood so many years ago – a small project specializing in wines from unique older vineyards. Bedrock Vineyard,…
This past Saturday I was able to visit with John Thomas of Thomas Winery. I’ve been on the mailing list of Thomas for over 15 years and have been fortunate to try most of the wines going back to 2004 or so. I’ve blogged about Thomas frequently including Thomas Winery: The Best Pinot Noir You Have Never Heard Of. Thomas…
Welcome to the latest installment of The Week in Zinfandel. If I missed your post or story please send me a link and I will be sure to include it next week. Cheers!
Thomas Rivers Brown and his wife Genevieve Marie Welsh have quickly made Rivers-Marie one of California’s most sought after Pinot Noir labels. The winery was founded in 2002 and the first release was the Rivers-Marie Summa Vineyard Pinot Noir. In addition to the line up of Single Vineyard Pinot Noirs, Rivers-Marie also makes a several single vineyard Cabernets and Chardonnay. Thomas is…
Convene was founded by Dan Kosta in 2019. Shane Finley is the Winemaker. Dan and Shane previously partnered at AldenAlli and I have followed Dan Kosta since Kosta Browne launched over 20 years ago. Convene specializes in Sonoma Coast and Russian River Valley Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Straw colored. 14.1% ABV. Sublime nose of stone fruits, hazelnuts, lemon oil and…
The Antinori family has been in the wine producing business for 26 generations and it now one of the most successful and respected producers in Italy. The Estate is led by Marchese Piero Antinori, who is well regarded for his passionate attention to tradition and terroir as well as his interest in innovation and new ideas. Antinori originally made its reputation by producing Chianti…