Williams Selyem Winery was founded in 1979 by Burt Williams and Ed Selyem. I started buying the wines in the early to mid 90’s. These wines fueled my passion for Russian River and Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir. Williams Selyem was one of the very first mailing lists I signed up for. In 1998 Burt and Ed sold the winery to…
Kosta Browne was founded in the late nineties by Dan Kosta and Michael Browne. In 2009 controlling interest was sold to Vincraft for close to $40 million. In 2015 J.W. Childs Associates, a Boston-based private equity firm, bought out Vincraft. With these investments have come numerous changes including a new Winery (Gallery) in Sebastopol and the purchase of Keefer and Cerise Vineyards.…
This is my 7th annual “Birth Year” case blog post. This post can serve as a guide for readers who had children born 2015 and want to set aside some wine for them to enjoy when they reach the age to appreciate said wines. My 2014 list was published in May of last year. 2015 was an exceptional in year in…
Bruce Patch cut his teeth in the music industry — having once met the Beatles and helped to discover the famous 80’s band, The Cars. Bruce moved to the Russian River Valley in the late 1990’s, and transitioned his sales and marketing background into a successful distribution business representing small independent wineries in Sonoma County. Bruce Patch Wines sources grapes from throughout Sonoma County, including…
I’m on too many mailing lists. It was one of the first topics I wrote about when Zinfandel Chronicles launched over 3 years ago in Confessions of a Mailing List Addict. The last mailers I added to my annual purchases were Sandlands and Horsepower. All that being said, three new projects have really caught my attention. AldenAlli is a collaboration between the…
The September installment of Pick My Next Bottle focuses on 2006 Washington Merlot. As I mentioned in the first installment, the purpose of this series is to provide insight into specific wines or producers you may currently have in your cellar. I plan on opening the winning bottle this coming weekend and will publish a Bottle Note shortly thereafter. 2006 was…
The August installment of Pick My Next Bottle focuses on 1996 Bordeaux. As I mentioned in the first installment, the purpose of this series is to provide insight into specific wines or producers you may currently have in your cellar. I plan on opening the winning bottle this coming weekend and will publish a Bottle Note shortly thereafter. 1996 was a…
The July installment of Pick My Next Bottle focuses on Châteauneuf-du-Pape from the the 2003 vintage. As I mentioned in the first installment, the purpose of this series is to provide insight into specific wines or producers you may currently have in your cellar. The winning bottle will be opened on Saturday and a Bottle Note will be published the following week.…
The May installment of Pick My Next Bottle focuses on Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon from the the 2002 vintage. As I mentioned in the first installment, the purpose of this series is to provide insight into specific wines or producers you may currently have in your cellar. The winning bottle will be opened on Saturday and a Bottle Note will be…
This is my 4th annual “Birth Year” case blog post. This post can serve as a guide for readers who had children born in the year of 2012. My 2009 list , 2010 list and 2011 list were published around this time in the preceding years. 2012 was hit and miss around the globe. Stellar in Napa Valley and Walla…