Red Meritage

Red Meritage

Chateau Margene

Painting by Agata Zaborowski

The legend of Chronic Cellars dates back to 2004 when our founders, Josh, and Jake Beckett, combined their winemaking skills with their wit and humor to turn an idea into reality using two tons of the best – or ‘chronic’ – grapes to make killer wine. Ever since then, Chronic Cellars has been fully committed to making seriously good wine for people looking for a little dose of adventure. Their disruptive style is matched only by the killer quality of their wines, made with character to match our clever and playful labels.

Clos Pegase Winery

We dropped in unexpectedly on Saturday and received excellent service with Brian.
We chose to do the Reserve Tasting and found all of the wines very good or excellent.
It was raining out so we didn't tour the grounds but the winery itself is filled with beautiful artwork.
Brian walked us though the history of the land and winery and of course the wines and we didn't at all feel rushed. He was very polite and patient with us. Their Late Harvest Chardonnay, which we didn't even know existed, is a must try, even if you don't typically like Chardonnay.

Storrs Winery - Santa Cruz

Stephen Storrs and Pamela Bianchini-Storrs begn Storrs winery with their first harvest n 1988. Both are trained winemakers at UC Davis, they have wrked at a number of wineries which include Domaine Chandon, Felton-Empire and Almaden before starting their own venture. Stephen and Pamela appreciate the cool Burgundian climate of the Santa Cruz Mountains. This winery grew to a comfortable 10,000 cases per year and in 2001 realized a dream with the purchase of land in Pleasant Valley district of Corralitos.

Berthoud Vineyards and Winery

Berthoud Wines (Berthoud is pronounced: BEAR2) are produced and estate bottled in the barn depicted on the label from vines that are meticulously managed to yield less than two tons of small, concentrated grapes per acre. The grapes are punched down by hand several times each day in traditional open-top redwood vats during fermentation to maximize color and flavor extraction in the gentlest mannerTasting and purchasing Berthoud Wines is available at
Mayo Family Winery 13101 Arnold Dr., Glen Ellen, CA

Newport Beach Vineyards & Winery

Founded in 1998, Newport Beach Vineyards & Winery is one of the Best-Kept Secret destinations in Orange County, California. Newport Beach Vineyards & Winery is the first within the appellation to revitalize the tradition of making wine, well established in Anaheim at the turn of the nineteenth century. While not open to the public as a tasting room, Newport Beach Vineyards & Winer is open for private events and tastings by appointment only. *

Hours:
Mon     10:00 to 5:00pm
Tues    10:00 to 5:00pm
Weds    10:00 to 5:00pm
Thurs   10:00 to 5:00pm
Fri-      10:00 to 5:00pm
Sat-     Closed
Sun-    Closed

 

Dry Creek Vineyard

Dry Creek Vineyard is known for their Chenin Blanc, Chardonnay, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Meritage and, starting with the 1997 vintage, Endeavour Cabernet. Dry Creek Vineyard owns over 185 acres of vineyard land, primarily in the Dry Creek and the Russian River Valleys.

Levy & Mcclellan

Bob Levy is the winemaker for Harlan Estate, and his wife is the winemaker for the Sloan Estate. Both of them have made wines that have scored perfect 100 point ratings. They bought a 6 acre lot in the Diamond Mountain area, and the case production for their 1st and 2nd vintages is 400 cases or less. Robert Parker gave their 1st vintage, the 2004 vintage a rating of 96-98 points, and their 2005 vintage a rating of 95-97 points. What a great way to start off.

Their wines look to have excellent cellaring life. Their maximum estimated case production, given their current vineyard of 6 acres is around 500-600 cases at best. This is less then half the production of Harlan and about the same as Screaming Eagle. On average, Levy & McClellans case production will be less then that of Screaming Eagle.

As of right now, there is no waiting list to get into Levy & McClellan. But, I will say this right now, given the great history of these 2 great winemakers, it will not take long for their list to fill up and a very long waiting list to form.

The Wine
Levy & McClellan produces the following wine varietals: Bordeaux Blend and Cabernet Franc.

Brown Estates

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.

Pine Ridge Winery

The tour guide was nice and very informative. The walk in the constructed cave was standard and the wine tasting at a large round table in the center of the caves with cheese and crackers was a nicer setting than the normal tasting room. This is such a nice place with friendly folks. We had Jeff as the person taking care of us and he wasn't even rushing us. i know it was busy but he never made it seem like we had to get done and get out. he even took extra time to show us the cave and that was amazing.

B Wise Vineyards

B Wise is very small production, just 20 acres of vines on their winery estate in Sonoma. They do private tastings by appointment at their wine caves, absolutely the most spectacular cave I've ever seen! The tasting room in Kenwood is open to the public. The wines are truly amazing and beautifully crafted. Amazing wines, small production.

Pages

Subscribe to Red Meritage