Have you heard of Saini Vineyards? We have to admit that we hadn’t until last spring when we were planning our self-made tour of historic vineyards in Sonoma County. Unfortunately, our schedule filled up quickly but we were determined to make it happen on our next visit to the area, and we did! Two of…
You may recall that a couple of days before our visit to Ridge Lytton Springs, Joel Peterson of Once & Future Wines had opened a bottle for us of the Ravenswood Belloni Zinfandel from 1993. Much to our surprise, Shauna shared barrel samples with us of the 2024 Belloni Zinfandel. Quite the coincidence! Even in…
For the final stop of our self-made Historic Vineyards tour, we took another of Historic Vineyard Society’s Emily Rasmussen’s suggestions and went to the Ridge Vineyards Lytton Springs property in the Dry Creek Valley, a visit that was long overdue. In an earlier article in this series, we mentioned the three Rs of Zinfandel –…
When we asked Emily Rasmussen of the Historic Vineyard Society for her suggestions of other wineries to visit in Sonoma County, especially in the Dry Creek and Russian River Valleys, she listed a few for us. One that got our attention was Nalle. Driving Northwest on Dry Creek Road, the sign for the winery might…
Finishing touring the Bedrock Vineyard, our glasses were now empty and we were getting thirsty again and perhaps a little hungry as well. We were ready to head back to the tent to enjoy the rest of our tasting as well as the delicious cheese, fruit and meat platter to accompany it that Aiste had…
(Photo Left to Right: Aiste Ballou, Chris Cottrell, Emily Rasmussen, Joel Peterson) Our visit with Mike and Kendall Officer of Carlisle Winery was only the start of our informal Historic Vineyard Tour. Emily Rasmussen is the Executive Director of the Historic Vineyard Society and is in addition co-owner of Desire Line Wines Co. with her…
A couple of years ago we were sitting with winemaker Antoine Favero on the tasting patio of Mazzocco Sonoma winery in the Dry Creek Valley discussing the winery. As our visit was wrapping up, Antoine asked us if we’d like to accompany him the next afternoon to Jaxon Keys Winery & Distillery in Hopland to…
The Historic Vineyard Society recently held its tasting at the Fort Mason Center in San Francisco. Sadly, due to the proverbial “circumstances beyond our control”, we were unable to attend the affair. Still, we want to share with you the list of participating wineries and the wines they were pouring. You may ask: Why are…
We’ve been supporters of the Historic Vineyard Society (www.historicvineyardsociety.org) for a long time. The work they do preserving and cataloging California’s old vine plantings provides an important service to our state’s heritage, especially when so many of these vineyards end up being replaced by more profitable grape varieties or become victims of real estate development….
Dry Creek Valley has some amazing wineries. Some of the wineries are pretty large and offer multiple experiences with winery staff. But if you are looking for something more personal, there is nothing more personal than Frick Winery. Bill Frick’s wine journey started at the ripe old age of 7. Yes, you read that right…