Altipiano is a boutique vineyard and winery surrounding Peter and Denise Clarke’s grand Tuscan villa with tasting room, barrel room and crush facility. Lush patios and gardens with vineyard and skyline views. Located above San Pasqual Valleys San Diego Zoo Safari Park five miles east of Rancho Bernardo at Interstate 15.
A boutique, family-owned winery located in the heart of the Livermore Valley wine region. Cuda Ridge produces Bordeaux-style wines from the premiere vineyards of Livermore Valley.
Acorn Winery is a small family winery in Healdsburg, appointment only . We were there for about 1.5 hours talking and tasting with the owners, who were super-friendly. Their wine is very good.~ Art work by Wine Artist Agata Zaborowski – Agata Art Gallery
Tradition and Innovation
Antinori Napa Valley stands as a landmark achievement for the Antinori Family, whose winemaking legacy spans over six centuries. By applying their Old-World heritage and knowledge, the family has unlocked the highest potential of this mountain estate, creating New-World wines marked by finesse and refinement.
The estate was born from Marchese Piero Antinori's dream of producing a sublime expression of Napa Valley mountain winemaking, inspired by his first visit to the region in the 1960s. Over the years, this vision materialized with the acquisition of a 1,200-acre property featuring rugged, high-elevation terrain in a remote part of the Vaca Mountain range, which Piero transformed into immaculate vineyards.
“Wine and vintners must respect the rhythm of nature. You plant a vineyard today and the first results that are really positive will come after six, seven, ten years, you never know. These are things that happen slowly over time and centuries but that show that we too feel it in our DNA. Passion, patience, persistency.” — Marchese Piero Antinori
Magito Wines are created to reflect the Spirit of the Magi, an ancient tribe that was revered for sharing their cultural heritage. Magito (muh-GEE-toe) means to give, to share, and to enjoy with friends. Magito Wines' specialty is blending grape varietals from great vineyards in Napa Valley, Sonoma Valley and other California wine country regions. Producing an affordable and tasty Zinfindel blend.
Frangipani Winery has an outside patio to sit in and enjoy the view. They also have a couple of little windows that look like pick up windows at a fast food burger joint. This makes it easy to do your tasting outside while enjoying the aforementioned view and the little crackers they offer you to go with your wine. Handy after several wine tastings and you need to start absorbing that alocohol before heading to dinner. Family Owned Winery On The De Portola Wine Trail in Temcula Wine Country.
We found the Barterra winery, located in Half Moon Bay, to be a delightful place. A husband and wife team run this winery. The staff is friendly and they know their stuff when it comes to wine.
Barterra offers premium wines from the finest vineyards in Napa Valley, Sonoma, Carneros, Lodi, Amador, Alexander Valley, Mendocino, Lodi, Paso Robles, Russian River Valley and Madera. All of Barterra Wines is sold directly to the public.
Their quaint tasting room is located on the main street and the pours are generous. Their standard wine tasting allows you to sample three wines, but the owner let me try an additional port (and it was excellent!). We enjoyed tasty white wines and their Ruby Cabernet and chocolatey dessert wine were very good. ~
Hours:
Tues-Weds Closed
Thur 12:00pm to 6:00pm
Fri 12:00pm to 6:00pm
Sat 12:00pm to 6:00pm
Sun 12:00pm to 6:00pm
Mon 12:00pm to 6:00pm
How many tasting rooms do you know of where the owner / vintner is there pouring? It's an added bonus that lets you know he's not only interested in his passion, but interested in your enjoyment of his wines as well. Winemaker John Smith is not only very happy to pour for you, but is just as willing to tell his wine's story to a seasoned oenophile or neophyte alike.
The vineyard is quite incredible and impressive. We tasted 9 different wines in their cave which was filled with millions of dollars worth of marble statues. The cave was nice and cool and the aroma of the wines in the barrels hit you as soon as you entered. There was Italian music being pumped into the cave which helped set the mood for the tasting. Afterwards we wandered around their property and enjoyed quite the view from their patio area.
Located on the eastern edge of the Napa Valley in the hills above Lake Hennessey and the town of Rutherford, this extraordinary mountaintop estate features 82 individual vineyard blocks, three distinctive soil types, and a range of elevations and exposures. From this rich and diverse palette of fruit, Kuleto Estate produces a small portfolio of exceptional estate grown wines.
Kuleto Estate wines are 100% estate-grown, produced and bottled. With 82.9 acres of vines planted between 800 and 1,450 feet, each of the 100+ micro-blocks must receive individualized treatment to maximize their potential. Winemaker Giovanni Verdejo has been working at Kuleto since 2002 and has mastered the art of cultivating the unique personalities of each block into some of the finest mountain estate wines in the Napa Valley.
