Pinot Noir

Pinot Noir

Trombetta Family Wines

Wine label for Trombetta Pinot Noir

Trombetta Family Wines handcrafts beautifully balanced small lot Chardonnay and Pinot Noir from vineyards that exemplify the area in which they are planted. Erica Stancliff winemaker and daughter, takes great pride in producing wines with purity of flavor and balance. Rickey Trombetta, mother and owner, works closely with Erica and our growers to identify only the best fruit for our wines.

Trombetta Family Wines story began around the family table with food harvested from our garden paired with wines we loved. Our journey into winemaking began in the mid 80’s as home winemakers. Our passion for great food and wine led us down this lifelong journey.

Rickey and Roger learned to make wine from Carmine Indindoli, a wine grape grower, co-worker and neighbor. A passion was ignited and they pursued winemaking courses at Santa Rosa Junior College and UC Davis.

An opportunity to work side by side with Paul Hobbs in 1998 changed our hobby into a passionate pursuit of winemaking. One night at dinner, Paul discovered Erica’s palate at age 10. Encouraging Erica’s talent, Paul walked vineyards around Napa and Sonoma counties with her. In 2010 Erica graduated from California State University Fresno with her degree in enology. 

As a note currently the winer is having tasting (outside, weather permitting) by appointment.

Surh Luchtel Cellars

winery's barrel room - Pixabay

Surh Cellars, a producer of premium hand-crafted wines, has been rooted in Napa Valley since 1999. The winery specializes in crafting small batches of age-worthy wines sourced from distinguished vineyards in Napa, Sonoma, and beyond. Their wines are made with minimal intervention and without compromise.

Surh Cellars aims to create balanced yet concentrated wines that capture the fruit and character of each vintage and region. From the full-bodied, intense Cabernet Sauvignon to the softer Bordeaux blend Mosaique and versatile Pinot Noirs, their wines are designed to complement food and be enjoyed frequently with loved ones. With production limited to only a few hundred cases per batch, Surh Cellars' wines are truly handcrafted, reflecting the passion behind each bottle.

The wines of Surh Cellars are the result of an ongoing evolution. Since 1992, they have witnessed the industry's transformation, shaped by factors like Mother Nature, consumer preferences, critics, and technological advancements. This journey has been one of constant learning. As climate change has altered the suitability of various regions for fruit growing, Surh Cellars has adapted, focusing on coastal areas as inland regions have become less hospitable. Over the years, they have produced a wide range of varietals, including Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Zinfandel, Pinot Noir, Merlot, Syrah, Malbec, Sangiovese, Sauvignon Blanc, Viognier, and Chardonnay.

Frey Vineyards

Painting by Agata Zaborowski women enjoying wine

Beautiful vineyard and land. Frey produces organic and biodynamic wines- and is the oldest organic winery in the country. The Frey family, 10 out of 12 children run the vineyard and live on the 90 acres. The wine was tasty. I haven't had a lot of organic wines but I liked the organic Zin and biodynamic Petite Syrah.

Painting by Agata Zaborowski women enjoying wine

Villa Mt. Eden

barrel room - Pixabay

Mount Eden Vineyards is a historic wine estate situated at an elevation of 2,000 feet, overlooking Silicon Valley in the Santa Cruz Mountain Appellation, about 50 miles south of San Francisco. Established in 1945, it stands as one of California's original "boutique" winery properties, dedicated to producing small lots of Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Cabernet Sauvignon. The estate's lineage of estate-bottled Chardonnay and Pinot Noir is the longest in California.

The vineyards, planted in the austere, infertile Franciscan shale on a cool, exposed mountaintop, yield low but consistently high-quality crops that have produced world-class wines for over half a century. In 2007, Mount Eden expanded its holdings by acquiring a 55-acre wine estate in the Saratoga foothills, which was named Domaine Eden.

In addition to its estate wines, Mount Eden Vineyards also crafts non-estate Chardonnays from California's central coast, with a focus on the Edna Valley. They have achieved notable success with Chardonnay from the Wolff Vineyard, consistently earning recognition for producing exceptional wines from this region.

Bressler Vineyards

glasses of wine and grapes with a Chateau in the background - Pixabay

Located in the small, historic town of St. Helena (yes, part of Napa Valley) Bressler like many of its neighbors is a small lot, premium producer of Cabernet Sauvignon. Bressler was started as many wineries do in Napa, with the retirement of an executive from nearby Silicon Valley. Bob Bressler spent his career at Sun Microsystems where he was a visiting scientist and advised the Sun executive team. Bob's wife Stacey is also intimately involved with the day to day operations of the winery and comes to the wine business after her own successful career in the Bay Area high tech market, although her focus was more marketing than it was the technology itself. Small production winery of approx. 500 cases.

Duchamp Estate Winery

corks and wine glass - Pixabay

Everything we do at Dutcher Crossing begins with the concept of family. Whether you are the oldest or newest member of the winery, everyone’s contribution is needed and integral to our success. From the vineyards to the tasting room, even though we all have walked different paths on our journey to Dutcher Crossing, we’ve settled into family life together.

Our belief is simple—to be a well-balanced, three-legged stool. Leg one is make the best wine we can staying true to the vineyard, vintage, and varietal. The second leg is the beautiful sense of place within our vineyards and winery. Finally, our third leg is hospitality. Whether you are a long-time visitor or new to the property, we want to welcome and treat everyone as we would our own mothers. With the balance of all three legs, we create an experience like none other in Sonoma County.

Tercero Wines

Tercero Wines Santa Barbara County

tercero wines is the brainchild of Larry Schaffer, owner and winemaker. He began the brand shortly after graduating with his Masters Degree in Viticulture and Enology from UC Davis – but this was well after he had completely switched directions in life and charted a new and exciting path.

Larry started his college career at UC Davis as an undergraduate, but had no interest in wine. The idea of getting into wine was something he had considered in the past – but more on the sales and marketing side because of his background. After graduating with his degree, he joined the winemaking team at Fess Parker Winery, where he stayed for nearly a decade before it was time to branch off and concentrate 100% on his own brand – and he could not be happier today.

Larry is adept not only at winemaking but at explaining the process in a very user-friendly manner. Visit his tasting room or follow him on social media to see for yourself.

MacFadden Vineyards

grape cluster - Pixabay

MacFadden Vineyards sells and ship out of their tasting room affordable, delicious, easy to drink wines from grapes organically grown on their own nearby vineyard in Potter Valley. McFadden Vineyard Tasting Room also sells organic dried herbs and herb blends, and organic beef, from the Potter Valley farm. MaFadden's has a nice tasting room on Main Street in Hopland. Friendly server. We had a good time talking with him.

Saxon Brown

wine barrels  - Pixabay

With Saxon Brown, owner/winemaker Jeff Gaffner has parlayed his longstanding grower relationships, developed as a consulting winemaker, into a line of small, site-driven bottlings that celebrate his favorite vineyard sites.

Jeff began his career at Chateau St. Jean, under the tutelage of renowned vintner Richard Arrowood, who Jeff credits with teaching him the importance of being as passionate about growing the grapes as making the wine. While at Chateau St. Jean, Jeff was part of the winemaking team responsible for the winery’s celebrated 1996 Cinq Cepages, which was named Wine of the Year by Wine Spectator Magazine.

In the years since, Jeff has become one of the most sought after winemakers for artisan labels, having gained critical acclaim and a loyal following for his site-specific focus and restrained winemaking style. The Wall Street Journal has said that they “love his vineyard voice”, while the Wine Spectator has lauded his winemaking as “deft”.

Enkidu Wines

wine and cheese - Pixabay

Don't miss Enkidu amongst the cluster of newer tasting rooms in Kenwood. The staff is always friendly and always willing to open anything you may want to try, Don't miss the 07 Humbaba, 08 Sangiovese and the Tin Barn Chardonnay.

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