Roussanne

Roussanne

Zenaida Cellars

It all started back in 1988 when Eric’s parents purchased the land where the winery and vineyard sit today. Eric was still attending Cal Poly earning his BS in Ecology and Systematic Biology at the time but helped his dad by designing and planting the vineyard. After getting the vineyard planted and producing, Eric began to expand his wine knowledge. Biologist as his day job, Eric went back to school, attending UC Davis’s enology extension courses. Eventually, landing his first wine job with Ken Volk at Wild Horse Winery in Templeton and then moving into a position with Kendal-Jackson Winery. Eventually in 1998, Eric made the first official vintage of Zenaida Cellars and has been working on developing the wines ever since.

Broc Cellars

At the tasting event, we got to try different whites and red wine varieties. Oddly, all the red wines tasted too young. The best wine was the white vine star blend wine. The flavors just juiced out. I was disappointed with this years vine star red release, having tasted the year prior. The best red wine that was poured was the carignin wine. Though to me, still a little immature, the flavor would be dead on.

Narrow Gate Vineyards

This winery is a must see/taste. The winemaker/winegrowers - Frank and Teena are truly special. Their passion translates into every bottle of wine. They have a very nice selection of both white and red wines that will appeal to just about every taste.Take a beautiful drive up to Narrow Gate and check them out!

Marilyn Remark Winery

Great wines, friendly service and fun intimate atmosphere. A great alternative to the larger tasting rooms in the area. Marilyn and Joel are often in the tasting room and are super friendly. A definite stop if you're in the area, or planning a day trip!
A simple,straight forward wine tasting experience of some of the most classic Rhone varietals to be made in California. Marsanne was refined and elegant. Viogner was excellent and Grenache was classic. Prices are good. This is a serious wine tasters place.

David Girard Vineyards

David Girard Vineyards is nestled in the Sierra foothills near where the south fork of the American River gave up its gold in 1849. At an elevation of some 1,200 feet soil, temperature and conditions, an environment ideally suited to growing the premier grape varietals of southern France's Rhône valley. Twenty years ago the folks at David Girard started with little more than good earth, a tolerance for risk and a willingness to learn from their mistakes. The winery has established a solid reputation for excellence and value by producing Rhône style wines in the heart of one of California's most historic regions.

Opolo Vineyards

Granted, this tasting was free, and they were pouring wine not on the list of tastings. But they were seriously understaffed. It was a bit frustrating that we had to wait and wait and wait… We will try again next visit.

The wines here, though, are excellent. Nice variety of reds, and tasty, smooth flavors.

Le Casque

We strolled in to find a huge courtyard area with lounge chairs surrounding a fire pit and a bar for tasting. We were welcomed by the owners (a husband and wife) and their daughter, who was doing the pouring. We tried a few of their wines, all of which were impressive but I instantly fell in love with the cab franc. The owner then took us on a tour of the facilities, explained their wine-making process, and gave us a taste of some young wines. We also had a chance to chat with the wine maker and and thank him for making such delicious wines.

Cult Vines

Napa Valley's Cult Vines, as its name not-at-all-subtly implies, has focused its efforts directly on this sub-sector of the wine market; and there is nothing modest about their strategy. They are choosing the best grapes from the most respected vineyards and endeavoring to make the finest Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon and Roussane/Marsanne possible to sell to cult wine fans with deep pockets. And to their credit, their strategy appears to be working as planned. IntoWine caught up with Cult Vines co-founder Michael Cochran to learn more about his foray into cult winemaking.

Renards Syrah

Bayard Fox has made his reputation as a true “Rhone Ranger” producing Syrah, Grenache, Viognier, Roussane and Rose from hand selected vineyard locations throughout California.

Cotere Cellars

Coterie Cellars produces distinctive wines of terroir from unique, tiny parcels within California's most esteemed vineyards in the Russian River Valley and Santa Lucia Highlands. Every wine from berry to bottle by hand with as little intervention as possible with the view smallness as a virtue.

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