Petite Sirah

Petite Sirah

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.

Ranchita Canyon Vineyard

Bill and Teresa Hinrichs were looking for a place to retire and raise their twins, when they found Ranchita Canyon Vineyard. The property fit their criteria with hills, trees, ravines, and "character," plus some outstanding views from the hillside location. The Hinrichs' dove in head first, and have developed the property into a premium wine grape vineyard, with a new boutique winery focusing on small lot Estate Wines.

Hours:
Mon      11:00am to 5:00pm
Tues     CLOSED
Wed      CLOSED
Thur     11:00am to 5:00pm
Fri        11:00am to 5:00pm
Sat       11:00am to 5:00pm
Sun      11:00am to 5:00pm

Meeker Vineyards

The tasting was a blast, the guy behind the counter was knowledgeable and funny. Why can't all tasting rooms have this kind of service? He listened to what we said and altered our tasting to fit our palate. Excellent service.

Miner Family Vineyards

Location:
A delightful tasting facility perched on the hillside that feels spacious and has a great view.

Service:
Knowledgeable and friendly staff, although this is hit and miss. The first gentleman who poured for us was very helpful, but then a brusque lady came along and stole our spit bucket that we were using and gave it to the couple she was attending.

Wines:
We had a $25 flight of 5 wines that came with the flexibility to pick any combination of the wines they were pouring. Miner does not produce estate wines and their grapes are sourced from third party vineyards.

It was fun to compare the difference between the two styles of Chardonnay, one of which (2008 Chardonnay, "Wild Yeast") received more oak aging & malolactic fermentation % than the other (2010 Chardonnay, "Napa Valley").

Alger Vineyards & Winery

Had a wonderful afternoon enjoying the variety of wines from this lovely little vineyard. John poured for us and took extra time to explain some of the complexities of the wines. The tasting room and outside deck area are tranquil and relaxing and the wines are excellent. Produces an outstanding Syrah!!

Stonehouse Vineyards & Winery

Quaint wine tasting room included cheese, croutons and chocolates to taste with their port. Seems to be the only tasting room serving mature wines from 2003 and 2004. The 2004 Legacy Cab was awesome. If they were charging, I didn't notice since we purchased several bottles. Open Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays from 11:00 am to 5:00 pm.

Castelli Family Vineyards

Castelli Family Vineyards is a familiar story for many of California's wineries. What began as a hobby turned into something much more. The adventure began when Mike's daughter, Cassie, decided to get married at Cordiano Winery in 2008.  Its Italian owner convinced Mike to plant some vines. A few vines turned into 3,000 vines. Mike soon realized his hobby vineyard had grown into a business of caring for his young vines. Mike he recruited his son-in-law Nelson to join him. For three years, they spent most days caring meticulously for each vine. It was not long before Mike built a 1,600 sq. ft. cellar to store the wine he anticipated.  Early on Mike and Nelson soon realized that their endeavor needed advice on every aspect of growing, harvesting, and fermenting their grapes. They sought the counsel of neighbors with established vineyards, among them, Cactus Star Vineyard, Highland Hills Winery and Kohill Winery. The results? Passion, sharing knowledge of caring for the vineyard and expanded knowledge of Castelli Family Vineyards wine making empowering Mike & Nelson to take their hobby into turning their labors and grapes into some delightful award-winning wines. Today Mike and Nelson both have taken their passion for wines and the cooperative spirit of fellow winemakers to produce some delightful wines. Castelli Family Vineyards is a wonderful winery to visit for all you Red wine-lovers.

Outpost Wines

Kathy and Rich gave a great tasting and tour. They actually let the wine speak for itself. They were busy telling us about the plots of land and the intricacies of planting grapes in granite, while our small group quietly enjoyed three of their fantastic wines. With wine this good, we didn't need to be told what to look for in the nose, we just enjoyed it. If our glass was empty during the vineyard tour, no problem, Rich kept the bottle in hand and was happy to refill the glass.

Oh yeah, and the view. At 1400 feet, the tasting room and patio have an incredible view of the valley. Take the 2:30 tasting so you can watch the sun start to set.

Our intended 30 minute run in for a taste turned into more than an hour and a half of winery heaven. I wish we could have spent the evening in their tasting room.

Make this appointment first, then plan the rest of your day.

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