Patianna Organic Vineyards includes 126 acres tucked alongside the Russian River in the Sanel Valley, Mendocino County. Patti Fetzer became the landowner in 1998. Patianna’s well-drained, gravelly soil is ideal for growing Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay. The primary characteristics of the fruit are purity and varietal character. Patianna Organic Vineyards preserves the clean, crisp flavors and produce wines with depth and solid structure.
Ovene Winery, Inc. was founded by Jeff & Genni White in March 2004. The winery is a culmination of 18 years of home winemaking preceded by 5 years of sales management in the wine. Jeff got his start in the wine industry with Italian Swiss Colony winery in 1983 as divisional sales manager for the Southern California market. After 2 years Jeff was recruited by the Seagram Wine Company and became district manager for Southern California in charge of Taylor California Cellars.
Oberon wines are crafted at The Michael Mondavi Family Estate, where they are also available for tasting and sale. The Estate is located on the southern end of Napa Valley – a tranquil spot overlooking lush vineyards and rolling hills.
Windsor Oaks estate is open to the public only eighteen days a year. They do offer limited VIP tasting and tours.In an wine tasting event that sadly has become increasingly all about tour buses, limos, bridal parties and frat boys guzzling Coors Light in the parking lots, many wineries struggled to find the right balance of paying attention to those that were there to focus on the art of winemaking, and those that were there to party.
The folks at Windsor Oaks rose above and created a memory for all in attendance.
Special thanks goes to winemaker Julie Hagler Lumgair, who climbed atop a second tier barrel, and from above, shared a taste of yet another wine "off the list"...her passion, expertise, warmth, and generosity.
After three years of traveling to various wine regions of the world, Charles B. Mitchell has returned the vineyards to operate with the highest standards possible. With estate grown fruit this winery strives for the highest quality from vineyard to bottle.
Pondering Freestone's tasting room, we weren't completely sold on the idea of spending $10 on a few sips of wine, but we decided to at least scope it out. It was surprisingly quiet on a Saturday afternoon, and the tasting room staff seemed excited to have a group of 6 appear. They offered us a private tasting room where we could all sit comfortably, and even offered us plates and knives to dig into our Wild Flour spoils while we tasted. Um yeah...we like this place already. With Freestone Vineyards and Wild Flour as next door neighbors, you've got the perfect one-stop-shop for a sampling of Sonoma County's bounty. Make the most of it: get some Fougasse, and trot over to Freestone for the perfect pairing.
Huntington wines are a reflection of the worldly and generous nature of the Hahn Family. With roots on three continents, Nicolaus “Nicky” and Gaby Hahn reside part-time in Northern Kenya, Africa where they own Mugie Ranch (mugie.org), home to a school, farm and wildlife preserve. Sales of Huntington wines benefit the Mugie Ranch Scholarship Fund for higher education of Kenyan children
I'm hesitant to tell anyone about this gem so I can keep this secret to myself but the zins are so outstanding that I suppose I should share. This is a small production winery that definitely focuses on quality over quantity but their price point is still so reasonable! If I were coming to the Napa Valley and only had time for one winery, I would come here, well worth the extra drive (it's sort of in the middle of nowhere). Appointment only and be prepared for the steep one way driveway.
This wine is outstanding. I had a chance to visit this vineyard and sample their most fabulous wine. The Boyd's are a fantastic pair and make such fantastic wine. We drank with the owner. He shared his great story with us on how he got into the business. I am sure glad he did. His wines were the some of the best we drank the while we were in Napa.
Nothing was extremely stand out here, and the room is very small. However, I was intrigued by the Howlin' Good Red and the donation they give to Monterrey County SPCA, so we stopped by and gave it a whirl. Caught them right before closing and had a nice tasting session. It is a pick and choose list if I remember correctly, and the ones I picked were very good but maybe priced a little too high. The Howlin' Good Red was a very good, upper middle of the road red blend, that I enjoyed enough to get a bottle.
