Bottle Notes, Cabernet Sauvignon

2005 Betz Family Cabernet Sauvignon Père de Famille – Bottle Notes

Betz Family Winery was founded in 1997 by Bob & Cathy Betz. Critical acclaim from local and national wine publications has put Betz Family Winery at the forefront of Washington wines alongside Cayuse, Leonetti and Quilceda Creek. The winery was sold to Steve and Bridget Griessel many years ago. Louis Skinner, a longtime assistant of Bob’s, is now the full…

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Bottle Notes

2015 Sandlands Carignane – Bottle Notes

Sandlands is the personal project of Tegan and Olivia Passalacqua. Tegan is the Winemaker and Vineyard Manager at Turley. The line-up encompasses some of the forgotten classic California varieties, primarily grown in decomposed granite from regions and vineyards that have been farmed for many generations but have remained the outliers of California viticulture. The wines made at Sandlands include Syrah,…

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Random Musings

The Week in Zinfandel (7/29/19)

Welcome to the latest installment of The Week in Zinfandel. If I missed your post or story please send me a link and I will be sure to include it next week. The Nittany Epicurean reviews the 2017 Oak Farm Vineyards Zinfandel Mohr-Fry Ranches Block 417 Vineyard. The Wine Stalker reviews the 2017 Artezin Zinfandel Old Vine. Food & Wine…

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Bottle Notes, Syrah

2010 Cayuse Syrah Armada Vineyard – Bottle Notes

Cayuse was founded in 1997 by Christophe Baron, a native of France who grew up in family of winemakers in Champagne. Baron studied viticulture in Burgundy and Champagne, and had ambitions to make Pinot Noir in Oregon. However, on a visit to Walla Walla he found property that he believed would be perfect for growing grapes and decided to purchase…

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Bottle Notes, Pinot Noir

2013 Williams Selyem Pinot Noir Central Coast – Bottle Notes

Williams Selyem Winery began when Ed Selyem and Burt Williams started making wine as a hobby in 1979 in Forestville, California. Their first commercial release was in 1981, and in less than two decades they created a cult-status winery of international acclaim. Setting a new standard for Pinot Noir winemaking, they put Sonoma County’s Russian River Valley at the forefront…

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Bottle Notes, Zinfandel

2011 Turley Zinfandel Zampatti Vineyard – Bottle Notes

Turley Wine Cellars was founded in 1993 by Larry Turley and specializes in small lots of Zinfandel and Petite Sirah from some of California’s most historic and treasured vineyards. Turley now makes right around 50 separate wines from 47 different vineyards, some with vines that date back to the late 1800’s. Tegan Passalacqua is the Director of Winemaking at Turley and…

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Bottle Notes, Châteauneuf-du-Pape

2006 Domaine du Pégaü Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Réservée – Bottle Notes

2006 Domaine du Pégaü Châteauneuf-du-Pape was the winning bottle in the July Installment of Pick My Next Bottle. The family of Domaine du Pegau has roots in Châteauneuf-du-Pape dating back to the mid-17th century. The word Pegau refers to a wine jug discovered in the excavations of the 14th century Pope’s palace in Avignon. Today, the estate is run by…

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Random Musings

The Week in Zinfandel (7/22/19)

Welcome to the latest installment of The Week in Zinfandel. If I missed your post or story please send me a link and I will be sure to include it next week. Randy Caparoso writes The Biodynamically Grown Lodi Wines of Avivo and Köppen-Geiger Climate Classifications. Now and Zin Wine writes Zinfandel for the Barbecue. Peg Melnik writes Why Zinfandel…

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Bottle Notes, Zinfandel

2015 Bedrock Wine Co. Heritage Wine Pagani Ranch – Bottle Notes

Bedrock Wine Co. was founded by Morgan Twain-Peterson in 2007 and focuses on small production wines from many of California’ s most treasured and historic vineyards. The lineup of wines at Bedrock is expanding rapidly, but I think the best of the best are the ancient vineyard Zinfandels and Field Blends, Morgan is clearly passionate about. Pagani Ranch is just…

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