I recently purchased several bottles of ’09 Leoville Barton. The wine has long been a favorite of mine and I have over a dozen different vintages in the cellar going back to 1990. I knew the wine was well regarded by the Wine Spectator garnering a score a score of 95 points and the number 6 ranking in their top…
2004 Ponzi Reserve Pinot Noir – Bottle Notes
Ponzi Vineyards was founded by Dick and Nancy Ponzi in 1970 in Oregon’s Willamette Valley. The winery, along with other iconic Oregon wineries like Eyrie, Adelsheim and Sokol Blosser, paved the way for what is now one of the most exciting Pinot Noir regions in the world. Ponzi produces a number of wines including Chardonnay and Pinot Gris, but it…
Betz Family Winery Spring 2013 Release Party
Betz Family Winery was founded in 1997 by Bob & Cathy Betz. Critical acclaim from local and national wine publications has put Betz Family Winery at the forefront of Washington wines alongside Cayuse, Leonetti and Quilceda Creek. The winery was sold to Steve and Bridget Griessel (with Bob Betz remaining on as the winemaker), and I fully expect quality will…
2004 Outpost Howell Moutain Zinfandel – Bottle Notes
Outpost 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. Besides Zinfandel, Outpost also produces Cabernet Sauvignon and Grenache. Estate grown on their Howell…
Two Single Vineyard Zinfandels from Sbragia Family Vineyards
Ed Sbragia founded the Sbragia Family Vineyards in 2001 while he was still producing the wines at Napa Valley’s Beringer Vineyards. In 2006, Sbragia purchased the old Lake Sonoma Winery facility near the end of Dry Creek Valley in Sonoma County and began producing single vineyard wines from Sonoma and Napa using estate and purchased grapes. Ed is the president…
The Washington Wine Hall of Fame
I recently read an article about the Culinary Institute of America (CIA) and the new inductees to the California Vintners Hall of Fame. Members of the Hall of Fame include iconic California winemakers like Joe Heitz, Robert Mondavi and George de Latour. This made me wonder: Is there a Washington Vintners Hall of Fame? If so, who’s in it? As…
2004 Cayuse Syrah Cailloux Vineyard – Bottle Notes
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…
Dunning Vineyards 2010 Zinfandel & Petite Sirah – Bottle Notes
Dunning Vineyards is a small, family owned and operated winery making limited-production, artisan wines from their vineyards on the far West side of the Paso Robles appellation. Winemaker Bob Dunning and his family planted the secluded mountainous vineyards in 1991 with Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Chardonnay. The vineyards were expanded a few years later to include Zinfandel, Pinot Noir…
1997 Pio Cesare Barolo – Bottle Notes
The 1997 Pio Cesare Barolo was the leading vote getter in the February Installment of Pick My Next Bottle. Pio Cesare, located in Alba, Piedmont, was founded in 1881 by Cesare Pio and it is now owned and operated by the fifth generation of the family. Gambero Rosso, Italy’s most distinguished wine journal, notes that today Pio Cesare “invariably offers…
2006 Kosta Browne Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir – Bottle Notes
Kosta Browne began as a dream shared by Dan Kosta and Michael Browne. In the summer of 1997, while working at John Ash & Co. restaurant in Santa Rosa, California, Dan and Michael decided to pool their tips and venture into winemaking. Fifteen years later, Kosta Browne is one of the most sought after Pinot Noirs in all of California.…