We made an unplanned stop here and were greeted by Aaron. We had a tasting of the estate wines and they were all excellent. We learned a lot about the grounds, the wine itself and the process. We also got to tag along for an impromptu tour of the grounds and the cave when someone stopped by to see the space for an event. We got to taste maybe 3 or 4 other wines that weren't even on the tasting menu. All in all, a very nice experience.
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.
Cynthia is the owner and winemaker at Passaggio Wines. Cynthia's focus is small lot boutique wines that include unoaked chardonnay, pinot grigio, rose altogether about 10 varieties of wine. Cynthia went from cop to artisan wine crafter, not a typical journey by any stretch. In 2004, Cynthia left a 15-year Law Enforcement career to pursue that passion and family tradition of winemaking. It has been enjoyable to watch Passaggio Wines grow and see Cynthia follow her dreams. Passaggio's tasting room is gorgeous for either tasting, having wine by the glass, or for a special event. The tasting room staff and winemaker are very friendly and accommodating and make you feel right at home.
Sean Capiaux founded Capiaux Cellars in 1994 with a dedication to producing single vineyard bottlings of Pinot Noir. The philosophy is to produce wines that express the unique location from which they came, a sense of place or distinctive quality that sets them apart. Only high quality, low yielding, select clonal grapes are used from unique viticultural areas.
Buccella, under the guidance of well-known winemaking consultant Celia Masyczek has fashioned brilliant Cabernet Sauvignons in both 2006 and 2007 and the 2008 continues their success. The 2008s are slightly more powerful, backward wines but they have enough structure as well as sensational concentration and depth to support the tannins.
ROBERT PARKER RATING: 95
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.
Carter Cellars produced their first vintage in 1998 with the help of veteran Winemaker Nils Venge. Since then they have had a string of fantastic releases and highly rated wines. Their focus has long been big Napa Cabernet, Merlot and Blends. They now focus on Vineyard Designate Cabernet Sauvignon and Red Blends from the famous Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard in Oakville and the steeply terraced Hossfeld Vineyard in Soda Canyon. The Carter Cellars wines are all deeply extracted and highly nuanced with bright fruit and intense structure that can be appreciated young, but will reward patience in the cellar.
Norman Vineyards was established in 1971 when Art and Lei Norman realized their dream of growing grapes and making wine. Art, a true pioneer, was spurred on by the memories of his father and grandfather making wine in the family home. They spent weekends scouting for the perfect site before settling on their Adelaida site in Paso Robles. Art and Lei fine-tuned their viticultural skills over they years supplying highly sought after grapes to several wineries.
This winery feels like home. Gracing the driveway is a pond overlooking the beautiful vineyards; you would not know you were close to the highway when you are here. Entering the winery there is a pretty vast selection of tastings on the menu. We did not taste one that we did not like and it made deciding on just a few bottles so hard! This tasting room was beautiful and I truly could have stayed all day here .. and night ! There is a Crush Pad on site! A lovely little cottage sits a top the hill on the vineyard and has four rooms for guests!
Cuvée Wine Cellars - A great little urban winery that began with a passionate home winemaker intent on producing quality wines. After a run of successes in amateur- winemaking contests Paul Rogerville decided to tackle the daunting task of becoming a bonded winery. Yes, Paul took a great hobby and turned it into a job. The good news is you can tell is that Paul loves what he is doing and when you visit you can tell. The staff is so friendly and we have enjoyed a number of visits with Paul. Often there are delicious appetizers or food and plenty of wine and we haven't had a bad bottle yet. This place is definitely worth a visit. Cuvée Wine Cellars is located on the Central Peninsula, which does not permit them to grow their own grapes. However, this has not proved too much of an obstacle by any means as Paul has partnered with some of the most outstanding vineyards in Northern California. Paul can be seen in a short video presentation made during our visit to the 3rd Annual Mid-Peninsula Summer Wine Walk. ~
Hours:
Fri - 6:00PM-9:00PM
Sat - 1:00PM-5:00PM
