Cellar Management

Pick My Next Bottle – 1998 Bordeaux

The April Installment of Pick My Next Bottle focuses on Bordeaux from the 1998 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 this Saturday and a Bottle Note will be published shortly thereafter.…

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Bottle Notes, Petite Sirah

2003 Outpost Petite Sirah The Other – Bottle Notes

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. Outpost produces  Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon, Grenache and a Right Bank inspired blend called Immigrant.…

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Random Musings

The Week in Zinfandel (4/16/18)

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. The Nittany Epicurean reviews the 2014 Portalupi Wines Dolinesk Ranch Old Vine Zinfandel. Bill Ward writes Zinfandel has a Well-Deserved Following. Aleksandar Zecevic writes Own Rooted vs. Grafted Vines: Which…

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Bottle Notes, Cabernet Sauvignon

2007 Force Majeure (Grand Reve) CS Reserve Cabernet Sauvigon – Bottle Notes

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 winery recently transitioned from Collaboration wines to Estate wines. Todd Alexander, formerly of Bryant Family Vineyards, is the winemaker for the Estate Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah. There is also…

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Bottle Notes, Zinfandel

2010 Ravenswood Zinfandel Cooke Vineyard – Bottle Notes

Ravenswood was founded in 1976 by Joel Peterson. The winery is a pioneer in producing single vineyard Zinfandels from some of Napa and Sonoma’s most treasured vineyards, including Dickerson, Old Hill, Cooke and Belloni. I used to visit Ravenswood in the summer, when they released their single vineyard wines. Back in the day they also served delicious barbecue on the deck out…

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Random Musings

The Week in Zinfandel (4/9/18)

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! Ken’s Wine Guide reviews the 2015 Bella Grace Zinfandel Estate. Costco Wine Blog reviews the 2015 Paul Dolan Zinfandel. Randy Caparoso writes Latest Styles and Grapes at the…

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Bottle Notes, Zinfandel

2009 Carlisle Zinfandel Papera Ranch – Bottle Notes

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 planted by Italian immigrants and date back to the late 1800s . They have also added their first whites, two blends from historic, old-vine vineyards plus Sonoma County’s…

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Bottle Notes, Cabernet Sauvignon

2005 Switchback Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon – Bottle Notes

Switchback Ridge wines are sourced from the Peterson Family Vineyard. The property, located just off the Silverado Trail between St. Helena and Calistoga has been in the Peterson Family since 1914 and was replanted to Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Petite Sirah in 1990. Kelly Peterson along with her father John founded Switchback Ridge in 1999. She is responsible for all aspects…

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