Sandlands is the personal project of Tegan and Olivia Passalacqua. Tegan is the Winemaker and Vineyard Manager at Turley. The line-up encompasses some of the forgotten classic California varieties, primarily grown in decomposed granite from regions and vineyards that have been farmed for many generations but have remained the outliers of California viticulture. Bright crimson in color. 13.3% ABV. Savory…
Leonetti Cellar was founded in 1977 by Gary and Nancy Figgins. Leonetti, along with Quilceda Creek and Woodward Canyon put premium Washington Cabernet Sauvignon on the radar of wine consumers across the United States. Leonetti also produces one of the very best domestic Merlots. Chris Figgins is now in charge of the winemaking. 77% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19% Merlot, 3% Cabernet…
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! Tom Mullen of Forbes writes Calveras: The New Pulse of California Wine Country. Vinous writes Paso Robles: Taming the Beast. Wine Casual reviews the 2013 M2 Wines…
Bella Grace Vineyards is situated in Plymouth, California in the heart of Amador of wine country. The winery was founded in the mid 2000’s by Michael and Charlie Havill. Michael is the winemaker and Charlie handles the day-to-day vineyard management. Bella Grace Vineyards grows 20 acres of grapes through sustainable vineyard practices. I was fortunate to try a few of the wineries…
Outpost Wines was established in 1998 and sits on a pristine piece of land atop Howell Mountain 2200 feet above Napa Valley. Thomas Rivers-Brown has been the winemaker from the start and has gained further acclaim making highly sought after wines for Schrader, Rivers-Marie and many others. Besides Zinfandel, Outpost also produces Cabernet Sauvignon and Grenache. Crimson in color. 15.9% ABV.…
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! The Washington Post writes How California Built Its Industry: “We Sold All the Wine Ourselves”. NorCal Wine writes Visiting Brown Estate in Napa Valley. Vinesse Today writes…
Williams Selyem Winery began when Ed Selyem and Burt Williams started making wine as a hobby in 1979 in Forestville, California. Their first commercial release was in 1981, and in less than two decades they created a cult-status winery of international acclaim. Setting a new standard for Pinot Noir winemaking, they put Sonoma County’s Russian River Valley at the forefront…
Force Majeure was founded in 2004 by Paul McBride and made its name pairing some of Washington’s highly acclaimed winemakers with fruit from one of Washington’s highly acclaimed vineyards, Ciel du Cheval. The winemakers contributing to the Collaboration Series (CS) is a Who’s Who of Washington winemakers including Ben Smith, Carolyn Lakewold, Chris Gorman, James Mantone, Mark McNeilly and Mike McMorran. Todd Alexander,…
The 2003 Pontet-Canet was the winning bottle in the September Installment of Pick My Next Bottle. This bottle was decanted for one hour and served with steaks. Chateau Pontet-Canet is situated next to Mouton Rothschild in the Pauillac region of Bordeaux. Pontet Canet was granted Fifth Growth status in the 1855 classification. Herman Cruse purchased the estate in 1865. The Cruse family…
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! Toledo Wines and Vines writes Lodi AVA Shines During 2016 Wine Bloggers Conference. Fred Swan reviews the 2014 Borra Old Vine Zinfandel Gill Creek Ranch. Randy Caparoso…