Wine Country Life

We anticipate bottling in August and harvest starting just after. But anticipating everything else that comes our way is just like guessing what next year will be like.

We did enjoy a 2 week feature at Sebastopol's Barlow Region Wine Bar the last 2 weeks of July. On the wall is our 2024 Grenache and they featured 2025 Muscat Blanc & 2023 Dolcetto in addition for the 2 weeks. We met some new fans and also had a great turn out of PMV family.

Bingo was a blast, that we will plan to bring to the tasting room this winter.

                                   

Timber Cove fire, that is just North of Jenner about 1/2 hour drive, was a 24 hour rush of adrenaline and smoked filled air. The air quality count was so bad but luckily the fire was in control very quickly and skies were clear as well. Unfortunately it spurred a huge concern of smoke tainted grapes. The count will take a while to get but we've heard a fair amount of vineyards that have been affected. Looks like our harvest just got very small.

Annual Library Tasting & Dinner

We had a nice turn out for the library wine offering. Vintages from 2014 - 2018 all showing well.

It is a pleasure to share these wines and a shame for anyone who missed the opportunity to attend.

Both Saturday & Sunday we had a solid turn out and Saturday evening we served the 6 Pinot's plus a magnum 2013 Horseshoe Bend Pinot alongside a 4 course menu.

                                     

Beef carpaccio, Cajun Shrimp with creamy polenta, Duck sausage Risotto and a local cheese plate to finish. The dishes all showed great with the wines and we let the guests taste their favorites from all 6 Pinot's through out the dinner.

        

As we were gearing up for bottling in mid August ...it's time to enjoy the days off as much as possible. A little bike riding through Napa, kayaking in Jenner and yoga in Armstrong Woods. Make the most of life as we know it.

Only a few days left of August and then we enter the " Sunday's in September " mode with new events, Feast above the River and Labor Day fun.

It wouldn't be life if everything is expected and it also wouldn't be a great life without all the great many faces we share it with.

The tougher days which we all know, make the great days greater and clearer to appreciate.

Cheers to the rest of summer in Sonoma County.

 FUN in the SUN!

Summer wines when the living is easy...

Sauvignon Blanc, Muscat Blanc, Viognier & Dolcetto for the win.

Think al fresco dining, picnics, kayaking...all the fun summer activities.

We hike all year long but summer hiking is my favorite. Evening hikes make for a perfect excuse to pack a picnic & find a perfect spot to sip and eat.

Our favorite spot over looks the mouth of the Russian River. Great views to boot.

Painting, flower press, make your own earring class, wreath making. We're offering a mix of crafty bitch afternoons.

Our trial paint & sip was super fun, so this Fall we'll offer another.

 

Sip & Seek Saturday event with Taste West County...13 wineries with a feature to photo. Ours is the chalk board wall

Annual Backyard BBQ is always a hit. On a perfect summer evening with temps in the 80's. We had 30 guests join us for our family style everything you want at a BBQ dinner. Beer bottle Chicken, Ribs, Corn with lime butter, Mat's famous baked beans, classic potato salad, watermelon, cookies and a very large 5 litre bottle of Pinot Noir.

     

    

So many of our favorite faces...

A friendly challenge of Jenga to win a magnum of Pinot..

and the winner is celebrating 37 years together with us.

 and a sweet finish...

Let the summer shenanigans continue! We have lots of new stuff going on as well as many traditions.

August Library Tasting including a dinner with the featured vintages.

Hope to see you here!

 Midway through 2026

It's amazing how time flies when you're already thinking about harvest and knowing that once that begins, the end of the year is near. 

We've been busy out in the world, our wines are currently featured at Grossman's Noshery in Santa Rosa, Bravas Tapas in Healdsburg, Region Wine Bar in Sebastopol and Fountain Grove Country Club.

      

                                  

                                                                    

Our Spring Club party was a hit with Fab new wines and great foods.

                                             

  

We served a broccoli chopped salad to pair with the Sauvignon Blanc and Ahi Tuna Slider to pair with the Pinot's.

With a little help from friends.

Once we completed our Spring shipping and local pick up celebration, it's time for some fun.

Between now and then we take the time to get away on golf road trips. And these trips often include a Wine Club family visit.

Morro Bay & Reno.

   

Our Reno trip was planned around a wine maker dinner at member's home with a great group of foodie friends. Each couple took a recipe from our website and we brought the wines to pair. A lot of food and wine was enjoyed.

Let us know if you'd like us to come to you for a similar winemaker dinner 

And now it is pretty much home for summer.

Celebrating we are where we live! From the vineyards, redwood trees to our beautiful Sonoma Coast covered in wild flowers during Spring. Healing qualities abound.

 SPRING is Springing!

With Spring comes Easter, Bud break, blossoms and wines that are perfect for warm weather. Generally these wines are made the harvest before and bottled at the beginning of the new year. It's wonderful to have newly bottled wines to share, 2025 sauvignon Blanc and Muscat Blanc, and enjoy. Always exploring new recipes and taste testing the perfect pairing!

Spring Wine Club wines have shipped. We barely beat the heat and had to maneuver dates to accommodate a record heat wave here. Temps in the 90's.

The new 2025 Muscat Blanc verses the 1st vintage from 2023....

                                             

2025 Muscat Blanc is now available in the Tasting Room.

For all the lovers of our 1st Muscat Blanc,  bottling from 2023 vintage, verses the new 2025 version.

Different vintage, different vineyard, slightly different flavors for the discerning palate. Both pair great with spicy foods, fish, salads, cheeses, cured meats....the list goes on and on!

2023 Vintage 

The vineyard is owned by Gil Tournour is located in the heart of Capella in Mendocino county. The Muscat Blanc was planted 65 to 70 years ago in white Pinole clay loam soils, head pruned with 8x8 spacing. The vineyard is farmed organically and is part of the original Vincenzo Graziano Vineyard established in 1918.

Tasting notes - Floral notes, orange blossom and jasmine with a delicate viscosity

2025 Vintage

The Dennison Ranch vineyard located in Anderson valley is owned by Castello di Amorosa, the Muscat was planted in 2020. The vineyard is characterized by well-drained, rocky, and alluvial soils, typical of the region's hillside and terrace locations. These soils often feature a mixture of loam, gravel, and clay, which supports high-quality wine production by limiting vine vigor and concentrating flavors

Tasting notes - Pear, unripe pineapple, lychee nut with gentle viscosity.

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Our 2nd Sauvignon Blanc from the same location with a different name. History of Floodgate Vineyard goes back to the 1970's, although we have only purchased this fruit twice. It was called Floodgate Vineyard when it sold multiple times over the years, the name changed to Starscape. The name Floodgate has cache and when the name became available once again, Starscape returned to it's original name - Floodgate.

Very similar to the 2023 version, 2025 was a cool 

New Pinot's as well which won't release in the Tasting Room for awhile.

2024 Russian River Valley Pinot and our only 2023 Wild Hog Vineyard. The WH Vineyard was formerly called Sonoma Coast although it was not 100%. Light Pinot with beautiful coastal characters, pomegranate, strawberry and rhubarb. This is a perfect Spring and Summer Pinot!

2023 vintage was a cool growing season. We started with some warm days in May / June and then cooled off for a cool summer and later harvest

2024 vintage classic Russian River vintage, warmer than previous few years leading to an earlier harvest. Not flashy but showing great balance, very terroir driven and consistent quality across the board. Lots of rain in the winter and no sustained heat spikes made for a low stress growing season with wines showing balance over power.

             

Also this Spring - we have our 1st cooking demo by Mat April 11th. This took place in our dining room with limited seating. 

Three course demonstration from Charles Phan street food cook book, all of which we serve at wine club events often.

shrimp and pork spring rolls, Beef Jerky and mama's meatballs.

The guests had the opportunity to get involved and have a try at rolling the spring roll.

       

                                  

                                        

Cooking demo was enjoyed by all! Happy to have a great group of members that engaged the chef, enjoyed the food and assisted with making this another great event!

Next up our Spring Wine Club party May 2nd and 

our 2nd offering to join us in a vineyard for a discussion of all things viticulture + food bites an wine pairings.

A little Karaoke FUN happens once a quarter in the Tasting Room. Look for the notice via email.

Cheers to Spring !

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