Cayuse was founded in 1997 by Christophe Baron, a native of France who grew up in family of winemakers in Champagne. Baron studied viticulture in Burgundy and Champagne, and had ambitions to make Pinot Noir in Oregon. However, on a visit to Walla Walla he found property that he believed would be perfect for growing grapes and decided to purchase…
Zinfandel of the Month is a regular feature on Zinfandel Chronicles. Keep in mind that although the Zinfandel of the Month might be an older bottle, the current vintage will be one you can find at retail or via the mailing list. The September Zinfandel of the Month is the 2017 Bucklin Ancient Field Blend Old Hill Ranch. I chose…
Rochioli is one of the true pioneers in Russian River Valley, with a winemaking history dating back to the the late 1950′s. In 1987 Rochioli released their first estate wine, the 1985 Rochioli Pinot Noir. Although best known for their world class Pinot Noir, Rochioli also produces remarkable Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc. The winery has published a detailed map of…
I was recently sent samples of some new release Marlborough Sauvignon Blancs. I’ve long been a champion of Cloudy Bay and Kim Crawford is somewhat ubiquitous but have never really experimented far beyond that. All of these wines will be great at the table as you wind down your Summer. Appellation Marlborough Wine recently launched of the Wine Map of…
The 2009 Domaine de la Janasse Cuvee Chaupin was the winning bottle in the August Installment of Pick My Next Bottle. The wine was decanted for one hour and served with burgers. Domaine de la Janasse is located in Courthezon, in the Southern Rhone Valley, and it is one of the region’s brightest stars. The Sabon family has been growing…
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. Happy reading! Happy reading!
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…
This past Sunday Joel Peterson was gracious enough to host me and my partner under a canopy in Bedrock Vineyard and we tasted through most of the 2021 Once & Future Zinfandel lineup. Although I met Joel a few times back in the days at Ravenswood those moments were fleeting and in passing. This was my first opportunity to sit…
The August installment of Pick My Next Bottle focuses on Châteauneuf-du-Pape from the the 2009 vintage. As I mentioned in the first installment, the purpose of this series is to provide insight into specific wines or producers you may currently have in your cellar. The winning bottle will be opened on Saturday and a Bottle Note will be published the following week.…
This past Saturday Mike Officer of Carlisle Winery was gracious enough to host me and a guest at the winery. We tasted through almost a dozen different wines from the 2022 vintage all of which were still in barrel. The 2022 growing season was moderate until a heat spike in early September that necessitated the quick picking of every vineyard…