Magito Wines are created to reflect the Spirit of the Magi, an ancient tribe that was revered for sharing their cultural heritage. Magito (muh-GEE-toe) means to give, to share, and to enjoy with friends. Magito Wines' specialty is blending grape varietals from great vineyards in Napa Valley, Sonoma Valley and other California wine country regions. Producing an affordable and tasty Zinfindel blend.
Mi Sueno isn't your typical winery. It's located in an Industrial complex in the South of Napa and your tasting is in the chilled storage area of the warehouse. Despite the unconventional setting, the private tasting that I enjoyed here was extremely well done and informative. Jaime gave us a quick tour of the facility and we settled down at a grand wooden table and the pours began. Jaime is quite the story-teller, weaving together the story of the owner and the winery with the explanation for each of the wines. We tried 11 of their wines that day, with very very generous pours of each. My favorites were their 2009 Cab and the 2011 Valeria, a petit verdot, from their reserve line, Herrera, but I was also fond of the 2009 Chardonnay (not too oaky) and 2009 Pinot Noir. Give them a call or shoot them an email and make sure you stop and visit this place. A "Hidden Gem of Napa Valley"!
Margerum Wine Company is committed to creating handcrafted wines using only the highest quality grapes so that we can make wines that are indicative of the place where they are grown. We strive to make wines naturally, to make wines that have individual characteristics and to make wines with personality. The scale of production is kept at a level where we can touch and know the wine as it is raised to the bottle – the antithesis of mass production. Margerum Wine Company make wines they personally enjoy – some to drink young, all for the table, and others for long aging in cool cellars for later enjoyment.
The seeds for Santa Cruz Mountain Vineyard were planted when a young man by the name of Ken Burnap took a prom date out to one of the finest restaurants in San Antonio, Texas. Ken ordered a bottle of wine and mangled the pronunciation of the French variety. The very snobby and pretentious wine steward humiliated Ken with his reaction and in the manner of most of us when barely out of our teens, Ken vowed to learn as much as he could about wine and go back to show that wine steward a thing or two.
The young man who hosted our tasting was knowledgeable yet casual and easy to talk to - right up our alley. Really appreciated the time he took to do "compare & contrast" tastings! Definitely stop in here for a tasting - whether you linger or quickly move on to the wineries, you'll get a nice intro to wines in the region.
