2017 Boedecker Cellars Pinot Noir Athena Willamette Valley
Boedecker sources fruit from four vineyards in the Willamette Valley, principally in the Chehalem Mountains and Yamhill-Carlton, to make this dark wine. The fruit…
2020 Birichino Grenache Pétillant Naturel Besson Vineyard Santa Clara Valley
This 2020 vintage pét-nat contains a small amount of the winery’s “Hommage à Georges Besson,” which is a multi-vintage assemblage in the appassimento tradition….
2018 Raptor Ridge Winery Pinot Noir Temperance Hill Vineyard Eola-Amity Hills
Raptor Ridge began transitioninng to organic, biodynamic, Salmon Safe, and certified sustainable credentials for all its fruit sources in 2016. The winery is certified…
2019 Division Pinot Noir Cent Cassin Vineyard Yamhill-Carlton
Fruit for Division’s “Cent” Pinot comes from blocks of the Cassin Vineyard planted in 2013. The wine spent ten months in French oak, and…
2018 Domaine Ligier Poulsard Arbois
Ligier’s Poulsard is hand-harvested and spends a year in large vats prior to bottling. It’s a limpid garnet color with a faint orange cast…
Reading List: January 23, 2022
Traditional drinks, modern palates, and the evolving social and agriculture landscape
2019 Gundlach Bundschu Estate Chardonnay Sonoma Coast
This Chardonnay is grown on the Gundlach Bundschu estate in a zone cooled by the Petaluma Gap. The average vine age is 30 years,…
2013 AXR Winery Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley
I received this sample in November, 2017, as part of a large, unsolicited shipment of California Cabernets made by consulting enologist Jean Hoefliger. The…
2019 Ciavolich Fosso Cancelli Cerasuolo d’Abruzzo
Ciavolich’s Cerasuolo d’Abruzzo is hand-harvested, de-stemmed, crushed, and given 24 to 36 hours of maceration to earn color. Winemaking, with ambient cultures, follows the…
Reading List: January 16, 2022
Seed saving, heritage foods, regenerative organic agriculture, and who owns the term “Gruyère”
Terranoble Carménère CA1 Andes and CA2 Costa
Terranoble’s Andes and Costa bottlings are part of an experiment to produce wines that showcase terroir. The Andes bottling should be warmer and friendlier,…
2019 Breaking Bread Grenache Redwood Valley Mendocino County
Winemaker Erik Miller sources Grenache from grower Alvin Tollini in Redwood Valley. The gravelly site, planted in 2002, is dry-farmed. At the winery, the…