Alberto Rafanelli, an Italian immigrant, first founded A. Rafanelli Winery in the early 1900’s. It wasn’t until the early 70’s that Alberto’s son, Americo, came out with the present day label and started selling the wine commercially. David and Patty Rafanelli now run the winery and a 4th generation Rafanelli, their daughter Shelly, is the winemaker. The winery is perhaps…
Young Hagen produces wines of distinction from carefully selected vineyard sites. Committed to crafting wines that tell the story of each vineyard’s unique site expression and vintage. In addition to Young Hagen, winemaker/proprietor Tim Beranek is Director of Winemaking at Thomas Rivers Brown Winemaking. Jim Riddle owns and farms this vineyard just Northeast of Occidental on Stoetz Lane, just seven miles from…
No Girls Wines is a partnership between famed Cayuse vigneron Christophe Baron and longtime friend and Cayuse general manager, Trevor Dorland. The fruit comes from the Cayuse La Paciencia vineyard, which means patience—appropriate as the project was ten years in the making. The vines are tightly spaced and planted on an angle, giving No Girls a profile all its own. Karen…
Established in the early 1990s, Northstar Winery was founded with a singular, ambitious vision: to create world-class Merlots that could rival the finest examples from Bordeaux. David “Merf” Merfeld joined the Northstar team in 2001 and took over as head winemaker in 2005. The winery recently sent me samples of their new releases. 2022 Northstar Merlot – Crimson in color.…
Bedrock Wine Co. was founded by Morgan Twain-Peterson in 2007 and focuses on small production wines from many of California’ s most treasured and historic vineyards. The lineup of wines at Bedrock is expanding rapidly, but I think the best of the best are the ancient vineyard Zinfandels, Morgan is clearly passionate about. Bedrock Vineyard, formerly known as Madrone Ranch,…
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. Light ruby red in color. 14.1% ABV. Gorgeous nose of red fruits, cloves,…
Sky Vineyards, situated on Mt. Veeder, was founded in 1973 by Lore Olds. Lore purchased the property in 1972 and planted the Zinfandel shortly thereafter. The vineyard is dry farmed and for that reason the winery holds the wine back 2-4 years prior to release. Sky also produces a Syrah, Riesling and Rosé. Crimson in color. 15.5% ABV. Savory nose…
The history of Château Rauzan-Ségla dates back to 1661 when Pierre de Rauzan acquired the estate. Rauzan-Ségla grew in reputation and produced some of the most highly rated wines in Bordeaux. They delighted many well-known dignitaries, most notably Thomas Jefferson who came across this wine during his visit to Bordeaux in 1787, subsequently placing an order for several cases in…
CHEV was founded by Michael and Sarah Browne. Michael, of course, was one of the founders of Kosta Browne almost 25 years ago. Chev focuses on Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. The name CHEV is imspired by Michael’s love of old school workmanship, from classic cars to vintage clocks. Golden in color. 14.3% ABV. Beautiful nose of tropical fruits, lemon oil,…
Turley Wine Cellars was founded in 1993 by Larry Turley and specializes in small lots of Zinfandel and Petite Sirah from some of California’s most historic and treasured vineyards. Turley now makes right around 50 separate wines from 47 different vineyards, some with vines that date back to the late 1800’s. Tegan Passalacqua is the Director of Winemaking at Turley and…