Westbrook Wine Farm – 2007 Mariposa Count, Cabernet Sauvignon
Ingredients: Cabernet Sauvignon
Nose: earthy deep and rich
Taste: dark cherry for the fruit, hint of chocolate or mocha with just a hint or leather.
Character: Full flavored, fleshy and well-structured
Cellaring: good for a few more years if cellared but my last bottle will not last that long.
Alc. by Vol.: 14.5%
Personal note: While my favorite from this boutique winery is their Flagship wine, Fait Accompli, this wine has flavors of dark cherries, dark roses, chocolate, truffles, cedar, and Cabernet sauvignon fruit.
Tasting notes: smooth, well-balanced
Suggested pairing: Grilled ribeye steak

Westbrook Wine Farm is a vineyard and winery in the Sierra Nevada Foothills of eastern Madera County, California, near Bass Lake and Yosemite National Park. Westbrook’s mountain vineyards are planted to field blends of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Gros Verdot and Carmenere. The Krause’s, Ray and Tammy, practice sustainable farming and minimalist winemaking and make their wine in the traditional Claret style by co-fermenting grapes, rather than by making separate varietal wines and blending them. Their Flagship wine is their Fait Accompli includes six and our Museum, three of the eight red varieties permitted for use in Bordeaux or Meritage style wines.

Ray Krause started hauling hoses in the cellars of Fresno's Roma Winery as "Fermentation Control Specialist" in 1964. It was the year after his enrollment in the Oenology degree program at Fresno State College (now CSUF) which was facilitated by a scholarship from the original San Joaquin Valley Wine Growers Association. After completing his studies and a three-year tour with the U.S. Army Air Defense Command, Ray relocated to the Santa Clara Valley where he performed the duties of Hospitality Director and, eventually, National Sales Manager for the Mirassou family winery. Striking out on his own in 1975, he formed several product specific wine production and marketing entities which culminated in his ownership of the Fairview Farm Vineyard Winery in Templeton, California and a wine specialty store, Grape and Grain in Fresno.

Ray's passion for "growing" wine was realized with his 1994 purchase of the forty- acre "Paint Horse Ranch" along Fine Gold Creek in the historic Sierra gold mining hamlet of O'Neals. The dream became a reality (Fait Accompli) in 1999 when the first grapes from the carefully orchestrated three-year-old red Bordeaux varietal vineyard were harvested. The following year Tammy became co-winemaker and the year after that, Mrs. Krause. Tammy shares in all vineyard and winery responsibilities except the operation of their recalcitrant fifty-five-year-old Ford 8N tractor. With her organoleptic prowess, she is particularly valuable in wine blending and bottling decisions at Westbrook Wine Farm. She frequently judges at the prestigious Orange County Fair Wine Competition. Ray and Tammy have but two goals; to achieve a life in balance and to make wine which is at least as good as the best in the world. With goals such as these it is impossible to go wrong in selecting any of the Westbrook offerings.