Bottle Notes, Zinfandel

2016 Carlisle Zinfandel Carlisle Vineyard – Bottle Notes

The 2016 Carlisle Zinfandel Carlisle Vineyard was the winning bottle in the January Installment of Pick My Next Bottle. The wine paired brilliantly with homemade pepperoni pizza. 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…

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Bottle Notes, Zinfandel

2018 Ridge Vineyards Zinfandel Pagani Ranch – Bottle Notes

Ridge Vineyards was founded in 1959 when three Stanford Research Institute engineers bought an abandoned winery in the Santa Cruz Mountains. The vineyards had been planted in the late 19th century by a San Francisco physician who produced his first vintage in the original winery, called Monte Bello, in 1892. The first Ridge vintage was in 1962. John Olney is Head…

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Bottle Notes, Pinot Noir

2020 Williams Selyem Pinot Noir Central Coast – Bottle Notes

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…

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Cellar Management

Pick My Next Bottle – 2016 Old Vine Zinfandel

The January Installment of Pick My Next Bottle focuses on 2016 Old Vine Zinfandel. 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 this Friday and a Bottle Note will be published early next week.…

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Bottle Notes

2013 Saxum James Berry Vineyard – Bottle Notes

Saxum Vineyards is located in the Paso Robles AVA of Central California. Founded in the early 2000’s by Justin Smith, a young winemaker who had previously been part-owner of Linne Calodo, Saxum leapt into the limelight in late 2010 when its 2007 James Berry Vineyards wine was named the #1 Wine of 2010 by Wine Spectator. Smith owns the winery…

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Bottle Notes, Pinot Noir

2014 Cattleya Pinot Noir Cuvée Number One – Bottle Notes

Cattleya Wines was founded by Bibiana Gonzalez Rave in 2012. Bibiana got her degree in Enology from the University of Bordeaux and worked at Château Haut-Brion and Domaine Stéphane Ogier amongst others before setting up shop in northern California. The winery specializes in Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Crimson in color. 14.2% ABV. Sublime nose of red fruits, cloves and…

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Bottle Notes, Pinot Noir

2018 Toil Oregon Pinot Noir – Bottle Notes

Toil Oregon was founded in 2012 by Chris Figgins. Chris is the President and Winemaking Director for Figgins Family Wine Estates. At present time this includes Leonetti, Figgins and Toil Oregon. Figgins Family Wine Estates has acquired a 42-acre parcel of extraordinary land in the Chehalem Mountains AVA of Willamette Valley. This will become the Estate Vineyard and future winery home…

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