UNCORKED WINE TRAVELS

Musings Along The Wine Trails

Best Kept Secret in Sta. Rita Hills ~ Spear Vineyards & Winery

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Quite by happenstance, the highlight of my recent wine trek to Sta. Rita Hills AVA was discovering Spear Vineyards & Winery off Highway 246 in Lompoc.  While tasting at a neighboring winery, it was suggested that I make an appointment at Spear for “a true vineyard tasting experience.”

Much to my delight, I was welcomed to the newly opened tasting room for a private seated tasting. Unobstructed views of the vibrant Chardonnay vineyard surround the eclectic tasting room, formerly a 1920’s dairy barn and creamery, complete with towering silo.  Needless to say, the views were nothing less than spectacular.

Even more of a surprise, was meeting the young and upcoming Winemaker, Kat Gaffney.  Instantly, Kat’s laid-back, unpretentious manner put me at ease and led to many questions about her burgeoning wine path.

Kat started as a harvest intern in 2011 in San Luis Obispo, later working as a “flying winemaker.” Chasing harvests from the northern hemisphere to the southern hemisphere led her to cellar ventures in New Zealand, Oregon and Santa Barbara County.

Ego aside, Kat’s elegant Old World-style winemaking philosophy is simply to allow the pure expression of the fruit to present itself, with minimal intervention.  The small lot wines are artfully handcrafted via small cluster fermentation.  Grapes are carefully processed via gravity flow rather than traditional mechanical pumps, which can damage and bruise the fruit.  Wines are then aged in neutral French oak barrels to retain the varietal characteristics.

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Discover the Hidden Wine Caves in Sonoma Wine Country

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Looking for something different on your next wine trip to Sonoma County?  Start at the far end of Sonoma Valley at Buena Vista Winery, California’s first commercial winery established in 1857 by Count Agoston Haraszthy.

Steeped in history, legend has it that migrant Chinese workers were trapped alive while digging the caves for the Count.  Hence, ghost sightings have been reported in the tasting room and in the cave after hours.

Tucked away in the Chalk Hill AVA, east of Windsor, Roth Estates Winery features a more modern cave setting.  Specializing in Bordeaux varietals, Roth offers a unique property tour ending with a reserve tasting in the cave itself.

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Windsor’s Notre Vue Estate’s Unabashed Views Are Worth The Drive

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Always up for an adventure, I was curious about the seemingly bold name for a winery, Notre Vue, (translates to Our View), an off-the-beaten path winery situated a few miles east of the town of Windsor.   My directions were vague at best, so I proceeded up the lone dirt road, passing through the gates of the old Windsor Oaks vineyards, veering to the left, careening to the right, for what seemed a few miles, all the way to the end of the road.

All I can say is that the name Notre Vue is an understatement.  The expansive Notre Vue Estate sits high atop a ridge, surrounded by over 350 acres of wild preserved open space, with panoramic views stretching from the Russian River Valley all the way east to the Mayacama Mountains, with St. Helena as a backdrop.

Over 250 acres are planted to Bordeaux, Rhone and Italian varietals, allowing for small lot production. Notre Vue varietals include Dolcetto, Viognier, Chardonnay, Muscat, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Gris, Malbec, Mouvedre, Petite Verdot, Petit Syrah, Sangiovese, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel, Merlot and Grenache.  A second label, Balverne, produces a reserve Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, Rosé, Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet Sauvignon.   [Read more…]

Cheers To Russian River Valley’s “Uneventful” 2018 Harvest!

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By far, harvest is my favorite time of year in any wine country.  The sweet smell of ripe grapes fill the air as they wait their turn on the vines to be picked.  Night picking is the norm in Sonoma County’s Russian River Valley as the cool late summer nights provide a natural refrigeration, delaying oxidation and spoilage before the grapes get into the winery for processing.

Driving around the vineyards between sundown and sunrise can be a surreal sight as the fields are ablaze with spotlights, providing the ideal backdrop for the night workers.   (Photo courtesy of Jordan Vineyard & Winery).  The deafening din of the tractors and heavy harvest machinery can be heard for miles as the grapes are quickly harvested. Within hours, the vines are stripped and the grapes are loaded into large plastic bins and hauled off to the winery’s crush pad.

Upon arrival, the grapes travel down a vibrating conveyor belt where they are hand-sorted.  Undesirable grapes or under ripened grapes are removed by the sorters.  In larger winery operations, the grapes may be laser optically sorted instead. Depending on the varietal and wine style, grapes may be placed in a de-stemmer machine which effectively removes the stems to avoid bitterness, or in some cases, the grapes are placed in separate bins, with the stems to add tannin, for whole cluster fermentation.

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Add Healdsburg’s Raford Inn To Your Wine Bucket List

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Step back in time as you rock back and forth on the veranda of the Raford Inn, at the corner of Wohler Road and Eastside Road, in the iconic Russian River Valley.   Once part of Rancho El Molino, a Mexican land grant, this Victorian era beauty was built in 1880.  Hops pioneer Raford Petersen and his descendants fastidiously worked the 1,320 acres for over 100 years.

Today, the hops have been replaced with Pinot Noir and Chardonnay vineyards and the inn has been refurbished and designated as a historic landmark.  Named after Petersen himself, the Raford Inn now sits atop four acres overlooking the vineyards, one-half mile from the Russian River.

And the sweet smell of roses, roses, roses permeate the air…

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