Finally, Merchants of Fine Wine

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Portfolio

9 January 2010

AVA Russian River Valley
Series Winegrower

Sometimes you come across a wine and winemaker that just seems to fit your personality – your sensibilities, that captures a day...a journey. This wine is that place. For me, it was the first treasure discovered made by passionate people with a distinct connection to the earth and all that shapes it. With just two expressions, all their creative energy brims over in each glass. A self-taught winegrower…an explorer if you will...whose pursuit of a memory of his own – Domaine de la Romanée Conti, tasted only once but deeply felt – drives his through each vintage.

  • Russian River Pinot Noir, Baranhoff Family Vineyard
  • Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir, McJ Vineyard
Jemrose

AVA Bennett Valley (Estate Grown)
Series Winegrower

At the top of a long and windy road at the height of Bennett Valley is an unassuming house that is the home to James Mack and his estate grown grapes. With names like Cardiac Hill and Foggy Knoll, you can get a sense of the rolling hills that fill this simple estate. The energy is clearly on the vines as his home offers a vantage point of each of the vineyards. With Michael Browne of Kosta Browne fame as winemaker and James Mack as grower, this team makes stunning and unique expressions of Rhone varietals.

  • Gloria's Gem Proprietary Blend
  • Egret Pond Viognier
  • Foggy Knoll Grenache
  • Cardiac Hill Syrah
Adrian Fog

AVA Mendocino
Series Winemaker

Owners Stewart Dorman and Jane Farrell are a fun pair with an obvious love of nature that exudes into each bottle of Pinot Noir they produce. They manage this while maintaining a fun atmosphere that is deep but never serious. Focusing on the individual expression of each vineyard,

Stewart & Jane select their locations with the effects of the fog in mind. Their Numbers is a study in clones -- the numbers referring to clonal selections in the blend. Adrian is greek for dark -- the dark fog...much the depth of color and texture of each of their expressive Pinot Noirs.

  • Numbers Pinot Noir
  • Pinot Noir, Savoy Vineyard
Deerfield Ranch

AVA Sonoma Coast
Series Winegrower/Winemaker

The fact that Robert Rex has been making wine since 1972 will confound you as you taste through the full line of Deerfield Ranch wines. This winemaker's youthful vitality strikes you more as a new winemaker on the verge of a momentous discovery that a seasoned Sonoma winemaker whose craft has been honed through decades of consulting, winemaking, farming and building.

Deep inside the underground cave that houses this winery's new tasting room, a full range of wines--the result of a philosophy more akin to cooking than chemistry emerges. The gentle touch of these wines comes from Robert's dedication to his wife. Her heightened allergy to histamines and sulfites means that each wine is barrel aged and crafted so that his wife can enjoy each bottling and expression.

  • Super T Rex Tuscan Blend
  • Red Rex Bordeaux Blend
  • Shiraz
  • Cabernet Sauvignon
  • Meritage
Broc Cellars

AVA Paso Robles, Napa & Sonoma
Series Winemaker

If I have ever met a man passionate about soil, I found that in Chris Brockway. I am always intrigued by the purpose -- the goal of a winemaker in taking up the craft. Chris talks like a winegrower in the sense that soil is at the forefront of every conversation. I realized mid-way through dinner that the singular difference between he and a winegrower is that he loves soil too much -- too many types filled with too much history.

I know this feeling...that settling in one spot for too long runs the risk of letting something slip by. I was regaled with stories of a Picpoul & Chardonnay blend and an upcoming expression of Carignan fueled by the prospect that the vineyard owner was prepared to pull the deep, old vines out of the wretched soil.

Broadside Wines

AVA Edna Valley and Paso Robles
Series Winemaker

Brian Terizzi and Chris Brockway created this meeting of the minds in an effort to create varietally true, small production but affordable expressions of the consumers favorite bottling – chardonnay and cabernet sauvignon. Sources from vineyards in Paso Robles, these wines are created with the deft hands of winemakers seeking to redefine California wine in a way that is food friendly and leaves the palate wanting more.

Giornata

AVA Paso Robles
Series Winemaker

Brian Terrizzi has taken his heart felt desire to achieve a greater understanding for his own heritage to new heights with his passionate pursuit of creating expressions of Italian varietals made in California that can garner attention for their quality. With a background at Rosenblum Cellars and Isole e Olena, Brian's travels and skill are evident in each glass.

Cooper Mountain

AVA Willamette Valley, Oregon - Chehalem Mountains
Series Winegrower

The Chehalem Mountains loom large over the Willamette Valley horizon and so do the wines of Cooper Mountain within the Oregonian wine landscape. From their biodynamic winery under the leadership of the founding family, this winery is one of the few estate wines remaining in an increasingly congested Willamette Valley.

As time moves forward, provenance becomes more important, having more in common with the french counterparts over whose shoulders this appellation is gently peeking. Biodynamics can be such a buzz word but here -- in these wines and in these vines -- all moon phases, vine balance and earth join to create wonderfully expressive wines

Nota Bene Cellars

AVA Washington
Series Winemaker

Washington state is dominated by on major brand who successfully hides itself within many brands throughout the state. What these leaves, is a enological landscape bereft of individuality, completely at odds with its identity as the ultimate winemakers appellation. With :Nota Bene Cellars, we see an remarkable exception -- an independent winery crafting wines from of the region's most well-known and highly respected vineyards with a vision that is as vivid as the view of Mt. Rainier on a clear summer day. Uncluttered, expressive and filled with life.

Big Basin Vineyards

AVA Santa Lucia, Santa Cruz Mountains
Series Winegrower

Big Basin Vineyard believes in sustainable farming practices that promote the health of the vineyards over the long term. In our high rainfall region, this means maintaining a cover crop in the vineyard to hold the soil. It also means adding organic compost to the vineyard to build soil health, and using organically approved products to control powdery mildew - the main threat to berry quality in our cool mountain climate.

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