What is a great vintage? Join THE VARIETAL SHOW in the Sawyer Cellar to find out lessons learned from the extraordinary vintages of the past decade. Join me to delve into Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa Valley, tasting an example from O’Shaughnessy Estate Wines, and Pinot Noir from Sonoma County, with special nods to Fel Wines & Papapietro Perry. CHEERS!
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Join me at Gravenstein Grill for the 3rd Annual Rhone Rendezvous! We will be featuring incredible wines from some of the best wineries in Sonoma County, along with small bites by Chef Simontacchi, hosted on our spacious outdoor patio.
Get your TICKETS, which include a tasting with ALL of the guest wineries, including Acorn, Anaba, Bee Hunter, Crux, Donelan, Enkidu, Jeff Cohn Cellars, Longboard, Miner Wines, Ramey, Ram’s Gate, Scherrer, Trentadue & Truchard!
See you there! Christopher
It is MERLOT MONTH and timely to share my varietal article that appeared in Napa Valley Life. Here is a starter to lure you in, finish it up by following the READ MORE link to their site. . . Cheers!
In the beginning, Merlot was mainly used as a blending grape in the famous wine-growing region of Bordeaux in France before it arrived in the New World. But that started to change after classic Napa Valley brands like Louis M. Martini, Newton, Sterling, and Trefethen slowly worked with the grape after World War II, and Duckhorn Vineyards became the first winery to bottle the variety on its own in the late 1970s.
When the inaugural Duckhorn releases hit the market in 1978, the Merlot was priced at $10.50 and the Cabernet Sauvignon at $10.00. According to veteran winemaker Tom Rinaldi, who crafted the spirited Duckhorn wines for the first three decades, the price differ- ence reflected not only the great potential of Merlot in the marketplace but also the challenges that go along with finding the best sites to plant a grape that performs best in more moderate climate areas. . .
Enjoy an outdoor Sonoma County Pinot Noir wine tasting paired with light appetizers by Chef Simontacchi & Chef Garcia at Gravenstein Grill, located at 8050 Bodega Ave in Sebastopol.
Passion For Pinot/Thursday September 30th/ 5:30-7:30/$55 per guest
The stellar wine guests include Trombetta Wines, Marimar, Belden Barn, Keller Estate, Balletto Vineyards, CalStar Cellars, Carpenter Wines, Emeritus, Thomas George Estates, Freeman Vineyard, Bricoleur Vineyards, Halleck Vineyards, Hartford Court, Moshin, Papapietro-Perry, Radio Coteau, Rodney Strong, Joseph Swan Vineyards, Benovia, Bacigalupi & MORE!
With a nod to National Rosé Day on June 12th, read my varietal article from the April 2021 issue of Napa Valley Life! Here is a starter to lure you in, finish it up by following the READ MORE link to their site. . . Cheers! Christopher
“Pink sunshine” and “freshness in a glass” are catchy phrases Robert Sinskey winemaker Jeff Virnig uses to describe the winery’s latest release of the 2020 Vin Gris of Pinot Noir, a complex pink wine with bright, fruity flavors, crisp acidity, and long dry finish. With a brilliant pale salmon hue, this signature style has become the benchmark for where classy pink wines have come over the past thirty years and one of the many reasons wine lovers flock to Napa Valley in the springtime to get their hands on these energetic young wines before they sell out.
The road to rosé’s popularity in Napa Valley did not happen overnight.
When Virnig started making rosé in1991, his goal was to create a fun, quaffable, food-friendly wine that added instant excitement to gatherings any time it was served. But at the time, the impression pink wines were making on American consumers was swayed by the sugary imports like Mateus and Lancers, which flooded the marketplace in the late 1960s. When Sutter Home Family Vineyards winemaker Bob Trinchero released their White Zinfandel in 1975, people went crazy for it, but it was still snubbed by serious wine drinkers.
As a result, the first few vintages of the Robert Sinskey Vin Gris were sold to wine buyers and sommeliers in New York City, who catered to world travelers that were already familiar with the drier styles of rosé produced in France, Italy, Spain and German. As the years passed, this learning curve gave Virnig and other adventurous winemakers of Napa Valley time to develop special techniques now being used to create various expressions of rosé wines.
What an amazing month of interviews I was privileged to do on my OREGON trek this year, wrapping it up with a big Zoom finale of fabulous Willamette Valley producers from Brooks Wine, Elk Cove Vineyards, Lenné Estate and Utopia Vineyard & Winery!
Watch that episode here, and follow the links below to see more of my OREGON conversations with Abacela Winery, Lingua Franca, Sokol Blosser Winery, Troon Vineyard & Biodynamics. FOLLOW my You Tube channel, for weekly notifications, Tuesdays at 12:30pm
LINKS to more Oregon Winery episodes on The Varietal Show: THANKS FOR WATCHING!
#OregonWine #WillametteValley #TheVarietalShow #SawyerSomm
The Varietal Show makes a big finish to #OregonWineMonth with four wineries! Don’t miss this invigorating discussion about the world-class winegrowing region of Willamette Valley, and sub-AVA’s.
Join Carl Giavanti and I for the PREMIERE on Tuesday June 1, at noon, to taste through the spectacular 2014 Pinot Noirs with . . .
And peruse my You Tube channel for more Oregon winery episodes on The Varietal Show!
#OregonWine #WillametteValley #BrooksWine #ElkCoveVineyards #LennéEstate #UtopiaWine #TheVarietalShow #SawyerSomm
The idyllic Dollarhide Vineyard at St. Supéry Estate is a perfect view to lead into warmer weather, home to their stunning Sauvignon Blanc: It is one of many white wines discussed in this article written recently by Katie Sweeney, where she follows my lead on many recommendations. To share a selfie quote “Dry white wines stand out because they pair so well with such a wide range of fine culinary cuisine, as well as comfort foods.”
READ MORE at this link to 24 Dry White Wines to Try When You Don’t Want Just Another Pinot Grigio, published in The Editorialist. You will thank us this summer! Cheers, Chris
Clockwise: Goosecross crushing Sauvignon Blanc; Tasting at Cuvaison; Chenin Blanc from Lang & Reed; Greetings from Smith Devereux!
Back in November 2020, my Cabernet Sauvignon varietal article appeared in Napa Valley Life. Here is a starter to lure you in, finish it up by following the READ MORE link to their site. . . Cheers! Christopher
At the time, America was captivated with Bordeaux wines, and in 1889, Inglenook gained worldwide notoriety with their Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon grown in Rutherford, which won the Gold Medal at the prestigious Paris World Fair. This accolade ultimately drove attention to the Napa Valley and set the stage for the region’s potential to produce premier Bordeaux-style wines.
Celebrating its 120th anniversary in 2020, the Rutherford- based Beaulieu Vineyard has become a benchmark of Napa Valley style: An iconic winery responsible for the success of world-class wines made with Cabernet Sauvignon grapes planted before prohibition and after the modern boom of large- scale plantings, which began when Robert Mondavi opened his winery in Oakville in 1966 . . .
In case you missed this #SauvBlancDay virtual event on Friday May 7th, here is the recorded conversation I had with four global winemakers from California to Chile. Did you know that excellent Sauvignon Blanc is made in Uruguay and Mexico? Discover these great regions in an engaging chat .
