A few miles north of the town of St. Helena and a few miles south of Calistoga in the St. Helena AVA of the Napa Valley is a gem of a winery, Sabina Vineyards. Named for the matriarch of the family, Sabina Sabin, Sabina Vineyards was founded in 2002 by serial entrepreneur, son David Sabin, and...
In all of my visits to Napa and Sonoma prior to moving here, I never discovered Pride Mountain Vineyards until recently. After traveling in a tour bus along curvy Spring Mountain Road, which changes to Saint Helena Road at the Napa and Sonoma County line and leads to the far-removed estate, I...
When you drive into the parking lot at Flora Springs' The Room just south of downtown Saint Helena, you are immediately taken in by the building's unique structure. This isn't just a regular tasting room; it's designed to look and feel as if you are tasting in an estate cave, but a beautifully...
As I turned off California Highway 29 and onto Dowdell Lane, I did not know quite what to expect, as the first part of the drive is mostly industrial parks with wine storage warehouses and the like. However, just past that, it was as if I entered a completely different place. To the west was a...
Beginning in 2008, I was working for a wine sales and marketing company as their business travel manager. The owner of that business arranged for me tastings and tours in Napa and Sonoma for my spring break in March 2009. During that trip, I visited my first Sonoma County winery, Trentadue....
Bob and Sandy Comstock, who have been vintners since 2002, recently decided to live the dream of owning a small, family winery. Comstock Wines, which opened in 2015 and is managed by daughter Kelly Comstock Farris, is the culmination of successful winegrowing turned winemaking. Enlisting the...
Thirteen years after beginning his career as a winemaker at Hacienda Winery in 1974 making Burgundian-style variety wines such as chardonnay and pinot noir, Steve MacRostie founded MacRostie Winery and Vineyards in 1987. Over the course of the past 30 years, MacRostie has developed relationships...
In August 2015, I was invited by the Winegrowers of Dry Creek Valley to participate in a virtual Twitter tasting of three wines. One of the wines I had the opportunity to taste was the 2013 DaVero Estate Altobasso ($70), a blend of 60% sangiovese from their Hawk Mountain Vineyard and 40% barbera...
Dutton-Goldfield began in 1998 with a handshake between Steve Dutton and Dan Goldfield. Steve, a fifth-generation vintner, grew up in the farming family which founded the 35-acre Dutton Ranch. In 1987, he joined the family business full time. Today, the Dutton property has expanded to 80...
Patz & Hall was founded in 1988 by Donald Patz, James Hall, Anne Moses, and Heather Patz, who combined their experience in enology, winemaking, and wine sales and customer service to create a premier wine brand and tasting experience. Beginning with their first offering of 300 cases of...
The Donum Estate, formerly part of Buena Vista Winery's Tula Vista Ranch before it was developed as an estate on its own, was created by winegrower Anne Moller-Racke, whose quest is to craft the best pinot noirs from their vineyards in Sonoma and Mendocino counties. The estate's first offering,...
In March 2014, shortly after moving from Virginia to Napa, I had a cool-climate syrah moment at a Rhône Rangers public tasting. The syrahs were produced by Sonoma's MacLaren Wine Company. Six months later, I finally found myself in the tasting lounge with winemaker and Scotsman, Steve Law. He...