2017 MerSoleil Silver Chardonnay 2017 Emmolo Napa Merlot 2017 MerSoleil Reserve Santa Lucia Highlands Pinot Noir In 1971 Charlie Wagner and his wife Lorna Belle Glos Wagner asked their son Charles (Chuck) Wagner, who had just graduated from high school, if he would be interested in joining them in starting up a winery. If Chuck declined the offer, Charlie and Lorna were planning to sell out of their ranch in Napa Valley and move to Australia. Chuck accepted his parents’ offer to launch the winery, Caymus Vineyards. The Wagners produced their first vintage in 1972, consisting of 240 cases of…
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2017 Napa Carneros Red Shoulder Ranch Shafer 2016 Napa Relentless Shafer Vineyards traces its beginnings to 1972 when John Shafer left a 23-year career in the publishing industry and, with his family, moved to the Napa Valley to pursue a second career in wine. After purchasing a 210-acre estate in Napa Valley’s Stags Leap District, the Shafer family faced the arduous task of replanting the existing vineyards, which dated to the 1920s, and terracing the steep and rocky hillsides, eventually expanding vineyard acreage to its current 50 acres. From a modest beginning of 1,000 cases in 1978, the winery has grown steadily until…
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2018 California Rose 2015 Sonoma County Chardonnay In 1983, Nancy and Ray Coursen arrived in California from Cape Cod to fulfill Ray’s dream of making wine and Nancy’s taste for adventure. After working harvest at Mt. Eden Winery in Saratoga, they moved to Napa Valley and became innkeepers for a bed and breakfast. Ray then spent productive time at Tonella Vineyard Management, where he gained practical knowledge and perspective working in the vineyards. Ray’s 9-year tenure at Whitehall Lane Winery under the tutelage of Art Finkelstein, beginning as a cellar worker and then as head winemaker,…
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Hall Wines 2017 Napa Sauvignon Blanc; 2014 Hall Ellie’s Cabernet Sauvignon Kathryn Walt Hall is the proprietor of Hall Wines and has been involved in the California wine industry since her family first purchased a vineyard over thirty years ago. She has had a distinguished career as a successful businesswoman, community activist, and also named as the United States Ambassador to Austria. Kathryn Hall and her family have been grape growers in Mendocino County since 1972. The Walt family owns 63 acres of Cabernet Sauvignon, Gamay, Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon and Sauvignon Blanc in the Redwood Valley and has sold their grapes to such wineries as…
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2018 Napa Sauvignon Blanc 2016 Sonoma Coast Chardonnay Pastorale Vineyard Joseph Phelps Vineyards is a family-owned winery founded in 1973 when Joe Phelps purchased a former cattle ranch near St. Helena, the Stags Leap District, Oakville, Rutherford, Oak Knoll District, Carneros and South Napa Valley. In 1999, the Phelps family added 100 acres of vineyard property near the town of Freestone on the Sonoma Coast, where…
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Heitz Cellars 2016 Napa Chardonnay & 2018 Napa Sauvignon Blanc In 1961, Joe and Alice Heitz purchased their first vineyard, 8 acres just south of St. Helena. Working out of their small California winery attached to the land they purchased, they put in round-the-clock sweat equity to build their business. Heitz Cellars rapidly established a reputation as home base for one of the Napa Valley’s most innovative and brilliant winemakers, and the unassuming winery soon became a prestigious destination for wine connoisseurs. In 1964, Heitz acquired 160-acre parcel in Spring Valley and began sharpening his skills on Cabernet Sauvignon, and in 1965, by chance, acquired a small vineyard in…
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Silver Oak 2014 Napa Cabernet Sauvignon When Raymond T. Duncan first visited the Napa Valley in the late 1960s, he was taken by the region’s rugged beauty. He was also wise enough to understand the potential of the fledgling wine industry. In the 1970’s, he began to buy land in both Napa and Alexander Valleys with the goal of planting vineyards. But with his home and business in Colorado and no viticulture expertise of his own, Ray approached Justin Meyer, whom he had met through mutual friends, and asked him to plant and manage the vineyards. Then working at Christian Brothers, Justin agreed with one condition: in addition to managing…
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Roald Wine Company GSM Blend 2016 Roald Wine Company was formed by Greg Nelson who has a real passion for wine and he was inspired by his father, Roald David Nelson, who was a guru in supply chain management. Greg Nelson, after receiving a PhD in Biology at UC San Diego, became interested in biology and the process of winemaking which brought him to Sonoma County where he worked at several wineries, including Ramey and Martinelli, before starting Roald Wine Company. Greg has an affinity for journeys, jazz and American novelist Jack Kerouac. Roald has a “Wine Club” which offer some tremendous values on small production wines that can only…
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Frank Family Vineyards Napa Valley Zinfandel 2015 Recently I went to a tasting event and was able to try a selection of Frank Family Vineyards Fine Wines. A full selection is only available at the winery. Frank Family Vineyards first constructed as the Larkmead Winery in 1884, where a train had run through which is now their driveway. The building was refinished with native sandstone from the nearby hills in 1906 and still stands tall today, and at some point the original stone building was remolded. Richard (Rich) Frank started the winery as a hobby; and named it “Frank Family” to promote a Family atmosphere. The winery is believed to…
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Jamie Slone Wines Duo Cabernet Sauvignon (Reserve) 2013 In the Fall of 2018 I took a trip to Santa Barbara, CA to visit a few selective wineries and taste some of their current offerings, particularly the Rhone blends. There were four of us tasting wines and my comments, on each of the wines tasted, incorporate nuances from everyone’s palate. It was a great trip, the wines were outstanding and the folks I met at each of the wineries were extremely informative, helpful and very generous with their time. The wineries have “Wine Clubs” which offer some tremendous, small production, wines that can only be obtained directly from the vineyard. I…