BK Cellars is a unique urban winery in Escondido. Here you can enjoy aiir conditioned, crystal chandelier tasing lounge. Enjoy the wide selection and flights of 5 or 6 of their wines. Feel free to bring along a few snacks to enjoyr with your tasting.
They are a family-owned estate winery is in the Willow Creek District of the picturesque Paso Robles. They believe the most memorable experiences occur at the crossroads of exceptional wine and food. Open daily, they offer seated tasting flights and a fresh, seasonal lunch menu sourced from local farms and their Chef’s Garden.
We had four distinct wines and it was so difficult to choose which ones to go home with! We bought 2 and will be joing their wine club for sure. The grounds were so beautiful ~ such rich history. This small family owned winery is a hidden treasure! The old barn, the cave and the tasting room were so beautiful. I strongly recommend this as your first stop..... it will be hard to find anything better.
Wellington Vineyards is owned by the father and son team of John and Peter Wellington. John purchased the winery site in 1986. At the time, it consisted of 20 acres of old vines and a few decrepit old fruit and nut trees. Replanting of part of the old vineyard and orchard started in 1988. The winery was completed in time for the 1989 crush.
Wild Hog Vineyard is at the headwaters of Wild Hog Creek (from which the winery derives its name) 45 minutes west of the small town of Cazadero. At 1400 feet elevation and 5 miles from the Ocean east of Fort Ross, the vineyard avoids most of the summer fog. The climate of the coastal range, in conjunction with our farming practices, helps to produce intense flavorful grapes.far off the beaten path, which, in my opinion, makes the place all the more special. There is no way anyone could find this place on his/her own. (You have to meander for miles on a narrow dirt road.) If you are one of the few people fortunate enough to do an actual tasting at this small, informal winery, you likely will meet the proprietor, Daniel Schoenfeld, a warm, kind-hearted gentleman, who obviously is passionate about wine-making. (He, quite appropriately, self-describes his line of work as a "labor of love.")
The first vintage of Tom Eddy Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon was 1991, but Tom’s experience in the wine industry goes back farther than that. He earned the U.C. Davis degree in 1974, did his requisite stint in a few big wineries, then settled into the North Coast as general manager and winemaker at Souverain Winery in Geyserville. The accolades for his wines started to follow, for everything from North Coast French Colombard to Sonoma County Zinfandel.
When Davis Bynum created Barefoot Bynum Burgundy—the first ever Barefoot wine—in his garage in Albany, California.
We changed our name to Barefoot Cellars, created the famous footprint label and quickly captured the hearts of our fans.
We struck gold. Jennifer Wall, winemaker extraordinaire, joined our team and sprinkled her magic dust on our line of fun, delicious wines.
For the adventurous wine drinker eager to explore the diversity of the wine world, Jeff Runquist Wines offers unique varietals sourced from California’s premier appellations, inspired by the curiosity and passion of the growers and winemakers.
Winemaker Jeff Runquist produces balanced wines that can be enjoyed in their youth while also having the potential to age and develop more complexity over time. His wines feature a consistent theme of fresh fruit, reflecting the inherent varietal flavors of the grapes. Jeff sources grapes from various regions across California, with plans to crush over twenty different varieties from nine different appellations for the 2013 vintage. While most wines are produced in small, limited quantities, four principal wines are consistently available throughout the year: Petite Sirah, Zinfandel, Barbera, and Petit Verdot.
Jeff selects grapes from vineyards that yield rich, full flavors without excessive astringent tannins. He has a preference for wines that are vibrant and zesty. "Once I release a new vintage, I rarely revisit the previous year's wine. My father appreciates that; it means more older wines for him," Jeff notes.
His journey in the wine industry began in 1977 when he interned with Seagrams at their Paul Masson Sherry Cellars in Madera while studying enology at UC Davis. After graduating in 1980, he worked in the cellar at Montevina in Amador County’s Shenandoah Valley, where he was promoted to winemaker in 1982. Following a three-year tenure at the Napa Valley Cooperative Winery from 1987 to 1990, Jeff became the winemaker for J. Lohr winery in San Jose. It was during his time at J. Lohr that he realized he needed to create wine under his own label.
In 1995, Jeff crushed ten tons of Zinfandel from the Massoni Ranch in Amador’s Shenandoah Valley, and on April 1, 1997, he released 700 cases of that Zinfandel under his own name. In 1996 and 1997, he produced his wines at Sycamore Creek Winery in Morgan Hill, followed by a stint at McManis Family Vineyard Winery in Ripon from 1998 through the 2010 vintage. In 2006, he returned to Amador County after purchasing a small five-acre walnut orchard on Shenandoah Road. In the spring of 2008, Jeff and Margie opened their tasting room, and production facilities followed, allowing Jeff to crush the majority of their production in Amador starting in 2011.
Photo courtesy photographer Randy Caparoso
“Sonoma County is one of the most fabulous places in the world to live and make wine,” says Gary Sitton, Blackstone's winemaker. “There’s no place like it. The immense diversity—from the coastline to the mountains, valleys and rivers—still leaves me in awe. For me, tapping into this range of growing conditions is fundamental to making beautifully expressive wines.”
The 37-acre estate vineyard continues to provide highly sought after Cabernet Grapes and a few small Old Vine Zinfandel plots around the Acampo, Lodi and Woodbridge wine-growing areas also provide intense, high-quality fruit that help us make incredible wines. Each harvest is crushed, aged and bottled on site, with the family and winemaker running every step of the process.
