Montevertine is situated in the heart of the Chianti, in the commune of Radda. Sergio Manetti founded Montevertine in 1971. Since Sergio’s passing in 2000, the estate has been run by his son Martino. Le Pergole Torte is the flagship wine of the estate and is named after the vineyards where the fruit is sourced. The artist for the Le…
Brady Vineyard is located in Paso Robles, California. Don Brady is the owner and winemaker. The 24 acre vineyard was planted in 2001 overlooking the Estrella River. The winery produces Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel and Petite Sirah. Until about this time last year I had never heard of the winery before but was intrigued when the 2018 Zinfandel was one of…
Bruce Patch cut his teeth in the music industry — having once met the Beatles and helped to discover the famous 80’s band, The Cars. Bruce moved to the Russian River Valley in the late 1990’s, and transitioned his sales and marketing background into a successful distribution business representing small independent wineries in Sonoma County. Bruce Patch Wines sources grapes from throughout Sonoma County, including…
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 December Zinfandel of the Month is the 2018 Carlisle Zinfandel Sonoma County. I chose this wine as…
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. Paul Draper recently…
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. The wines made at Sandlands include Syrah,…
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. Wine Enthusiast writes The Top 20 California Wines for Your Cellar (2021). Alder Yarrow reviews the 2019 Limerick Lane Cellars Estate Cuvee. Cindy Rynning writes The California Zinfandel…
Thomas Rivers Brown and his wife Genevieve Marie Walsh 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 few single vineyard Cabernets and Chardonnay.…
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…
Maggie Harrison was assistant winemaker to Manfred Krankl of Sine Qua Non for eight years before moving to Oregon to take over the wine making position at Antica Terra. Lillian Winery, founded in 2004, represents Maggie’s personal project and reflects everything that she learned during her time at Sine Qua Non. The fruit for the Lillian Syrah comes from the…