Posted
by Adam Morganstern
on Mar 18, 2008
in Napa
Since 1971, some of California’s most ageworthy and intensely flavored Cabernet Sauvignons have been made from grapes grown at the Eisele Vineyard, located on a benchland near the northern end of the Napa Valley, just east of Calistoga. Protected by the Palisades Mountains to the north and cooled by westerly breezes from the Chalk Hill Gap, this 37 acre vineyard is planted on warm cobbly soils that produce a low yielding crop of exceptionally concentrated fruit. The wines produced in this remarkable place have a rare combination of forthright character with precisely defined flavors and fine textures, deep concentration without any sense of heaviness, and the capacity to develop profound complexity with age.Bart and Daphne Araujo acquired the Eisele Vineyard in 1990, committed to producing only estate grown wines of the highest caliber and distinction. They constructed a small winery and caves on the property, and redeveloped major portions of the vineyard. The property now produces five Araujo Estate wines each vintage: Cabernet Sauvignon, Altagrácia, Syrah, Viognier and Sauvignon Blanc, each expressing the uniqueness of the precious resource that is the Eisele Vineyard.
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Posted
by Adam Morganstern
on Mar 18, 2008
in Napa
RSV pursues purity from dirt to bottle, crafting inimitable wines that capture the unique relationship of vine and vineyard. Saveur magazine wrote that Sinskey has “seen the future of wine” in that they farm all two hundred of their acres organically and biodynamically, growing beautifully expressive, healthy fruit that needs little in the way of cellar cosmetics on its journey to the dinner table. Happily and quite intentionally, this pursuit of purity results in wines of understated elegance that enhance rather than encumber cuisine.All of RSV’s fruit grows on their own carefully tended land, spread over five vineyards in Carneros and one surrounding the redwood and local stone winery on the Silverado Trail in the Stags Leap District of Napa Valley. RSV’s Carneros vineyards are dominated by Pinot Noir, from which they craft five elegant and expressive wines including three single-vineyard designates. From white grapes, RSV produces a beautifully clean Pinot Blanc and a blend of Alsatian varietals called Abraxas. From red grapes, in addition to Pinot Noir, Sinskey makes several Bordeaux-inspired bottlings, including Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Cabernet Sauvignon, often in the very same bottle; and a few small-production gems rarely seen outside of the tasting room, including their delicious pink Vin Gris of Pinot Noir.
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Posted
by Adam Morganstern
on Mar 18, 2008
in Napa
John Williams founded Frog’s Leap in 1981 on a spot along Mill Creek known as the Frog Farm. An old ledger revealed that around the turn of the century, frogs were raised on the property then sold for $.33 a dozen, destined no doubt, for the tables of Victorian San Francisco gourmets.Today, Frog’s Leap makes its home amongst 200 acres of vineyards in Rutherford at the historic Red Barn. This grand and welcoming building was built in 1884 as the Adamson Winery and renovated in 1994 as Frog’s Leap’s permanent home. Winemakers John Williams and Paula Moschetti handcraft an annual production of 60,000 cases comprised of Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Zinfandel, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Rutherford.Using the best of Napa Valley’s dry-farmed and organically grown grapes along with the most traditional winemaking techniques, Frog’s Leap strives to produce wines that deeply reflect the soils, climate and community from which they emanate. Frog’s Leap produces some of Napa Valley’s finest wines and, undoubtedly, has one of the wine world’s best mottos: “Time’s fun when you’re having flies.”
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Posted
by Adam Morganstern
on Mar 18, 2008
in Napa
Our small, family owned ranch on the western Rutherford Benchland of California’s Napa Valley produces organically certified Zinfandel, Cabernet, Petite Syrah, and Petite Verdot grapes, olives, Meyer lemons, and exotic pomegranate cultivars. Tres Sabores: the “Three Flavors” in any wine: those of Terroir, Artisan, and Varietal has made single vineyard wines since 1999. Single vineyard bottlings of Zinfandel are wonderful vehicles for exploring one’s passion for variation of taste and complexity. Zin is delightfully impressionable and takes up the contributions of terroir and artisan in a particularly refreshing way. Zinfandel is a discovery grape and gets the Darwin award for adapting to its particular terroir and thriving on it. It has the capacity to produce fresh, berry-forward, spicy wines of great character. At Tres Sabores, as stewards of the land, we’re devoted to exploring the character of the grapes we grow and producing wines that truly reflect the “voice” of the vineyard. Goats, Sheep, Guinea Hens, Golden Retrievers, Bobcats, Red-Tailed Hawks, Bluebirds, swallows and a host of other denizens contribute mightily to our efforts.
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Posted
by Adam Morganstern
on Mar 18, 2008
in Napa
In 2002, Valeria and Agustin Huneeus’ dream of the Quintessential Wine Estate, one vineyard that produces one singular estate wine, was realized with the opening of the winery at Quintessa. Walker Warner Architects of San Francisco designed the winery to reflect Agustin and Valeria Huneeus’ desire for an inconspicuous structure that would blend into the contours of the property. The graceful crescent-shaped design was carefully considered for its environmental sensitivity and fits snugly into an eastern-facing hillside, disrupting little in the way of the aesthetics or natural beauty of the property. A facade of indigenous stone and natural landscaping of native plants and oak trees creates a subtle presence amidst the diverse terrain.Quintessa is truly a “winemaker’s winery. The design facilitates a gravity-flow process and a state-of-the-art winery specifically tailored with fermenters and tanks sized to match the diverse blocks in the Quintessa vineyard. Additionally, the winery at Quintessa is outfitted with the latest in winemaking technology. French oak and stainless steel fermenters stand tall along the winery’s front wall, providing the winemaking team with a choice of characteristics adding complexity and subtlety to the blend. Two Vaslin-Bucher JLB automated basket presses, designed for Quintessa to retain the benefits of gentle basket pressing while incorporating new efficiency and precision, are ideally situated at the center of the tank room to receive the grape must following fermentation and maceration. At the heart of the winery and overlooking the tanks and presses below, sits the glass-enclosed blending room and adjoining modern lab where the winemaking progress is painstakingly monitored daily.Behind the press hall lies the main entrance to Quintessa’s caves structure, 1,200 linear feet, and 17,000 square feet of caves and tunnels carved into the volcanic ash hillside directly behind the winery. Here the wine is left to age in French oak barrels in the caves’ ideal cellarage conditions for three years from vintage before its release. Quintessa’s caves can be entered through one of four porticos from the winery and have a capacity to store up to 3000 barrels.
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