wine cellar

Jordan Winery’s Wine & Food Pairing Is Alexander Valley’s Crown Jewel

December 20, 2015 by Deborah Mines

For one of the most memorable wine tasting experiences in Sonoma Wine Country, visit Jordan Winery in the stoic Alexander Valley. Founded in 1972, Tom and Sally Jordan had a vision to produce great “approachable” Bordeaux-style California Cabernet Sauvignon.

Inspired and fashioned after a French château, the Jordan Winery is at the top of the A-list for winery tours. No detail is too small, nor overlooked. Guests meet in the stately lobby for a guided walking tour of the grounds and production area, followed by a first-class private seated wine and food pairing in the château.

“Unique amongst Healdsburg wineries, more than three-quarters of the scenic estate has been preserved as natural habitat—an oasis where craggy oak trees pepper the landscape, geese and ducks swim the lakes, and rabbits and turkeys roam the hills. The property includes 112 acres of grapevines, 18 acres of olive trees, a one-acre garden, two lakes and several grazing pastures. The diversity of ecosystems on the estate encourages beneficial insects and other predators that support our sustainable farming practices”.

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Santa Ynez Valley’s Sunstone Winery ~ C’est Tres Magique

July 19, 2015 by Deborah Mines

villa_about

Reminiscent of a Provencal manor in Southern France, Sunstone Winery features one of the grandest tasting rooms in the Santa Ynez Valley.

The south-facing vineyards sway in the breeze along the Santa Ynez River, creating an ideal microclimate for producing high quality Bordeaux and Rhone varietals. French varietals planted on the 28 acre estate include Viognier, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Syrah.

Founders Fred and Linda Rice had a grandiose vision for Sunstone Winery, scouring reclamation yards in Marseille and Provence for artifacts and furnishings for the 8.500 square foot villa.

“Reclaimed materials, such as French limestone, hand-formed roof tiles, a fireplace from the Bordeaux region of France, enormous hand-hewn pine beams from Queen Victoria’s lavender factory, a prison cell door from Normandy constructed during Napoleon’s reign, and a thousand-year old limestone kitchen sink were all incorporated into their dream building.”

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Sonoma’s Buena Vista Winery Attracts Ghost Hunters

March 30, 2015 by Deborah Mines

Buena 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.

The 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.

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…]

Tenuta Valdipiatta – Montepulciano DOCG

March 6, 2013 by Deborah Mines

Grapevines as far as you can see... — Sangiovese grapevines as far as you can see…

While there are many excellent tasting rooms and wine cellars in the historic town of Montepulciano itself, I wanted to experience an “authentic wine cellar tour” in the heartland of the famed Vino Nobile wine growing region.

As there are over 72 bottlers in the Montepulciano wine consortium, who better to ask for a winery recommendation than the hostess at The Consorzio del Vino Montepulciano? As hoped, the hostess was more than happy to arrange a same day, private cellar tour and wine tasting at a boutique winery called Tenuta Valdipiatta, just outside the medieval walled town.

Roughly translated, Tenuta Valdipiatta means Estate in the Flat Valley….in other words, miles of wide-open rows of gorgeous Sangiovese grapes! Several winding roads later, our GPS led us down a long dusty dirt road toward Tenuta Valdipiatta in the wine-growing area known as Gracciano. [Read more…]