Charbono

Charbono

ZD Wines

Norman and Gino rented a small farm building in the Carneros region of Sonoma County. They purchased winegrapes, some 50-gallon oak barrels and a redwood vat. Three hundred cases of Pinot Noir and a small amount of White Riesling represented ZD's first commercial vintage in 1969. The grapes were purchased from the Winery Lake Vineyard, which had been planted a few years earlier by René di Rosa. ZD's 1969 Pinot Noir carries the historical significance of being the first wine to have a Carneros designation on the label. It states, "Made in Sonoma from grapes grown in the Carneros region of Napa." The Chardonnay winegrapes from Winery Lake Vineyard were not in production until 1971, which is the first vintage of ZD Chardonnay.

Papagni Wines

papagni wines, Madera Wineries

Over the years, Papagni has become a very diversified company bent on producing the finest grapes possible for the winemaker, and the consumer. While they guarantee that excellent wine can be produced from their grapes, and fresh grape juice, because for eighty years, their customers, and our own family have been doing just that: making exceptionally complex, quality wines using our grapes.Some of the oldest continuous wineries in the state of California. The Papagni family tradition of growing grapes for winemaking reaches back to Bari, Italy. Family members have passed down the art of grape growing from generation to generation.

The Papagni family have extended the grape growing traditions that started in Italy, to central California in 1912 and now to Madera, California.

The Papagni family dreamed of fine wines made from the San Joaquin Valley so they planted premium grape varieties, combining carefully monitored vineyards with the most modern technical advances in cultivation and irrigation with the ancient traditions that yield the finest of premium wines. Red, white, port and dessert wines.

Pacific Star Winery

The imposing redwood and stone barn structure nestles into the cliff side, protected from crashing waves by a flat rock bench eroded over eons. The cellar is filled with French, Hungarian and American oak barrels and specialty equipment suited to handcrafted wine production. The unique location lets magical forces come into play; waves crash into sea caves under the cellar, naturally filtering wine from its sediment. Salt from sea air deposits on barrels accelerating osmosis while creating viscous and dense wines. This is what Sally Ottoson has come to call Pacific Star Winery.

Shypoke Winery

I found this place several years ago and at the time, they only made two wines a rare Charbono and my favorite Sangiovese. Since those days they have now added a Cab to their line up. These wines are very small production and hard to find. The Charbono is a deep ruby red wine with intense complex flavors I think it needs to be decanted for a few hours to get the best of it.

The Sangiovese is just lovely, well balanced and goes great with a bowl of pasta or nice steak.

The whole operation is a great family story and they are most welcoming.
The Shypoke story starts back in 1904, with a fellow named Michael Heitz. Michael was an immigrant from the Alsace region of Germany (now part of France). Arriving in America with his wife, Louise, they started looking for a place to settle down and raise their growing family. In 1904 they found Calistoga and took an interest in a 50-acre parcel just south of town. They situated their home at the base of a wooded hill near a small spring-fed creek, and set about clearing some of the valley floor.

Robert Foley Vineyards

n 1998 Robert Foley Vineyards bottled its flagship Claret, a Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot blend, and has since expanded and diversified its production to offer more of the big reds Bob is famous for: Petite Sirah, Merlot, Charbono, the limited-release Howell Mountain Cabernet, and Bob's latest creation, The Griffin a blend of the best in the red cellar).

Bob's winery facility on the summit of Napa County's Howell Mountain near Angwin, houses more than 1,000 barrels in an extensive cave system that was completed in 2008 for the production of wines for the Robert Foley Vineyards label as well as Switchback Ridge, Dos Lagos Vineyards, and Engel Family wines.

The winery is a small production facility without visitor facilities, and is not open to the public.

Kachina Vineyards

THIS WINERY HAS CLOSED 

The grounds are beautiful and built to resemble a Tuscan villa and I must say that if you close your eyes while you're out on the patio sipping their Cabernet Sauvignon, you feel like you're miles away from civilization. Greg, the owner was extremely nice and told us that the winery is 100% solar powered and only about 2 yrs old, yet the '07 Cab was drinking deliciously and the '06 Port is worth a return trip by itself!

August Briggs Wines

The tasting room is at the end of the main road in Calistoga, you cant miss it. Its a smaller place with three bars for tasting, all in the same room. Their dog would greet you when you walked in which was kind of nice. I really liked this place because it was smaller, they took their time with your and would answer any questions you had. The other wines were very good too but it was our first winery on the trip so we just picked up the one bottle. We spent about 45 minutes there and will definitely stop back in next time in Calistoga.

Duxoup Wine Works

Pronounced "Duck Soup". This winery offers very limited quantities of unique varietals with a total production of only 1500 cases per year. Duxoup was founded in 1981 by two inquisitive winemakers and free-spirited: Deborah and Andrew Cutter. They built the winery with small production, gentle, gravity flow winemaking in mind. Duxoup wines are silky, fruity, and come from venerable vineyards. The wines express not only terrior, but the highly skilled work of the two owners, both experienced and respected for their independence and consistent quality. The wines are rare, but you may also agree that it is worth the effort to find them.

Jeff Runquist Wines

The strongest line-up of red wines in the Amador County. Just that simple and straightforward. Jeff history in Paso Robles winemaking shows up in his product here. Big. Bold Varietal flavors. Huge Palate. Strong finish. Complexity enough for everyone, but not edgy and overpowering. A true gem in Amador! Jeff Runquist is an amazing wine maker and he utilizes grapes not only from Amador but all over Ca. Open Friday through Sunday 11-5 Limos and large groups by appointment only.

Oakstone Winery

How many tasting rooms do you know of where the owner / vintner is there pouring? It's an added bonus that lets you know he's not only interested in his passion, but interested in your enjoyment of his wines as well. John Smith is not only very happy to pour for you, but is just as willing to tell his wine's story to a seasoned oenophile or neophyte alike.

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