UNCORKED WINE TRAVELS

Musings Along The Wine Trails

San Pasqual’s Hungry Hawk Vineyards Soars High

by

IMG_8792Hungry Hawk Vineyards, is one of the newest, and most promising, boutique wineries to join forces with the San Diego Vintners Association in the San Pasqual Valley AVA.

Nested in the rural outskirts of Escondido, Hungry Hawk Vineyards officially opened its doors in the summer of 2014 after several years of vineyard installation, tasting room construction and endless county and state ordinance permits.

IMG_8795Through the hard work of Ed and Jeanine Embly, Hungry Hawk Vineyards has morphed into a top-notch production facility and upscale tasting room.

Hungry Hawk Vineyards has already earned Silver Medals at the 2014 Florida State Fair and the 2014 San Diego County Fair.

IMG_8783

Hungry Hawk Vineyards, a former avocado estate, has been planted to 17 grape varietals.  White varietals include Albarino, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Viognier and Pinot Gris.  Bordeaux varietals include Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Malbec.  Grenache, Mouvedre, Petit Sirah, Sangiovese, Tempranillo and the little known Syrah Noir round out the list.  [Read more…]

Chateau St. Jean Vineyard & Winery Exudes Old World Charm

by

IMG_8335

Magnificent gardens, ornate statuary, grand water features and an incredible backdrop of Sugarloaf Ridge greet guests at Chateau St. Jean Vineyard & Winery.  Just outside of Kenwood in Sonoma County, this heavenly estate is reminiscent of a turn of the century French manor, surrounded by 90+ acres of vineyards.

IMG_8338Chateau St. Jean was constructed in 1920 as a summer home for the Goff family, who were iron magnates from Michigan.  Today, the home has been listed in the National Trust for Historic Preservation and is open to the public.  Parlor-style tasting rooms on the upper level are available for private tastings and events.

IMG_8350

Winemaker Margo Van Staaveren has handcrafted over 30 vintages for Chateau St. Jean.   An early pioneer of single vineyard grape sourcing, it is Margo’s belief that “great wines are grown”. [Read more…]

Iconic Merry Edwards Winery Embraces Pinot Noir Lovers

by

IMG_8521 Sooner, rather than later, Pinot Noir aficionados seek out Merry Edwards Winery near Sebastopol in the picturesque Russian River Valley AVA.  Considered a perfectionist and a wine muse by all who meet her, Merry Edwards is now in her 40th year of wine making.

IMG_8513

Merry and husband/partner Ken Coopersmith  manage five estate Pinot Noir vineyards: Coopersmith, Cresta d’Oro, Flax, Georganne and Meredith.  The Chardonnay and  Sauvignon Blanc grapes are sourced from other vineyards in the Russian RIver Valley.

IMG_8520

Private tastings are hosted by appointment in the state of the art facility’s elegant tasting rooms.  Guests are educated about the diurnal temperatures, climate micro zones and soils of the Russian River Valley and the diversity between the estate vineyards.   [Read more…]

Russian River’s Bacigalupi Vineyards Has Deep Family Roots

by

IMG_8478

Having experienced an over-the-top luscious and peppery Pinot Noir several years ago, whose grapes were sourced from Bacigalupi Vineyards, I set out on a mission to find the mother lode.  Winding scenic country roads on the upper westside of the Russian River Valley led me to the homestead-like tasting room.

IMG_8487

Nicole Bacigalupi welcomed me into the cozy tasting room and filled my head with family stories that would make a fabulous Lifetime movie.  Bacigalupi Vineyards was founded by her grandparents, Charles and Helen Bacigalupi in 1956. Planted primarily in Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, the original rootstock was obtained from Russian River Pinot Pioneer, Karl Wente.

ChateauMontelena_weighbill1973Charles Bacigalupi’s earliest claim to fame was selling his Chardonnay grapes to Jim Barrett at Chateau Montelena, who produced the top award-winning 1973 Chardonnay at the historic Paris Tasting in 1976.  While the American win put Napa Valley on the map,  40% of those Chardonnay grapes were actually sourced from Bacigalupi Vineyards in Sonoma County.

[Read more…]

Sonoma’s Buena Vista Winery Attracts Ghost Hunters

by

IMG_8371Buena Vista Winery is considered California’s oldest premium winery and was founded in 1857 by the self-proclaimed “Count of Buena Vista”, Agoston Haraszthy.  Situated in the Los Carneros AVA (also known as Carneros AVA), the Buena Vista Winery vineyards are poised atop the hills overlooking San Pablo Bay.

IMG_8355The proximity to the cool fog and breezes from the bay makes the climate cooler and more moderate than the wine regions further north in Napa Valley and Sonoma Valley, allowing for the cultivation of cooler climate varietals like Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.  Many of the grapes grown in Los Carneros are also used for sparkling wine production.

IMG_8365

Rarely does one think of ghost hunting when wine tasting, however, Sonoma’s Buena Vista Winery has a ghostly past and an eerie presence.  In 1862, legend has it that 20 Chinese migrant workers were busy bottling, corking and wiring Champagne magnums in the deep wine caves when a minor earthquake triggered a cave-in.  Racism attitudes at the time, left the men to be buried alive amidst cases of fine champagne.  [Read more…]