wine

Feast on THIS!

I first found out about Cana’s Feast Winery when touring around the WIllamette Valley last fall. I didn’t pay it much attention, as we drove by on our way to a Pinot Pit Stop, primarily because they made other wines that weren’t on my hit list. Bu also because I was overwhelmed with other deliciousness. I finally woke up when my friend and fellow wine blogger started working there. Well! Fortunately for me, Tamara was able to send me samples as part of her marketing job, and I received a bottle of the 2008 Meredith Mitchell Pinot Noir.

I wasn’t very happy with this wine at first, because it was very woody, and suffered from a bitter quinine aftertaste that just didn’t sit right with me for an Oregon Pinot. There was some burnt sugar and earth, and it was overwhelmed with dusty baking spice. Where was the fruit? Where was the PINOT in this Pinot?

Well, far be it for me to throw away wine. It’s just not in my making to dump Pinot! So I left it, for about an hour, corked but not completely closed. When I came back to it, it was beginning to wake up but there really wasn’t any THERE there if you know what I mean. Oh well. Fortunately, the next night, since I already had two open bottles of Pinot, both from Willamette, I was able to re-taste it. What a different a day makes! Now, I tasted bright cherries, pomegranate, cranberry. There was my red fruit! There was my acid! It really opened up nicely, and turned in to a wine that I very much enjoyed. The lesson here is DECANT DECANT DECANT! It needs some serious air to show her true colors. I’d also cellar this for at LEAST 2 years to get the full benefit.

Which brings up an interesting point. When I was poking around in September, I really didn’t like the 08 Pinots coming out of Willamette. They were just too ripe, too big, too Russian River, bordering on Sta Rita Hills. Gasp! Shock! Horror! That wasn’t what Oregon was supposed to be! WHere was my Burgundy? Where was my restrained style and light body? I was sadly disappointed. That said, here were are 6 months later; I’ve been tasting several of the 08s, as they are the current release for the most part. My my my what a little bottle age will do! They are improving, slowly but surely. I think 2008 might not be such a bad year after all…

This bottle of Oregon Crack was supplied by my dealer at Cana’s Fest. Thanks guys!

Loosey goosey Dusi!

Apr 1st, 2011

by winebratsf.

No comments yet

It’s raining cats and dogs, and we’re driving around in the mud, trying to find Dusi Vineyards. As it happens, J Dusi Wines is tucked away in the family home in the middle of a vineyard just outside of Paso Robles, and is hidden in the 80 year vines of the vineyard. This is like stepping back in time, to an era when there were more cows in Paso Robles than wine; to an era of farming, of family, and of community.

As we enter the house, Janell and her mom greet us with coffee, which was welcome at 9:30 on a chilly wet day. Mom was in the kitchen cooking up a storm for the wine club party that night, and Janell sat down with us at the table to tell us the story of her wine, and the family tradition. Janell Dusi is turning her family business on its head, becoming the first Dusi to make wine and not just grow it. Her great grandparents, Sylvester and Caterina Dusi began farming this land in the early 1920s, and started business after business, including vineyards, farms, restaurants, and the now defunct Dusi Winery. She was born on this vineyard, and raised among the vines that her grandfather Dante planted with his two brothers, the sons of Sylvester. In 1945, vineyards were few and far between in Paso, since it was a large rural farming community. With the farm, came the Italians, and the rich tradition of Zinfandel and field blends. Th brothers planted a classic field blend, and head trained the vines, with no irrigation. 65 years later, the traditions remain the same.

This fourth generation winemaker hand picks during harvest, and enlists the entire family to help – including her nieces and nephews, who are young sprouts in the field. This family tradition is dying in California, and it’s refreshing to see a tried and true farm family, albeit farmign wine. Growing up int he vines, Janell learned all she could about grape farming, but she always wanted her Grandfather Dante to teach her how to make wine. When she was 16, she made her first wine, and continued making an Italian style zinfandel every year after that. Each vintage asked and answered a different question in winemaking, and Janell learned by doing, under the careful gaze of Grandpa..

Now, she’s in her 3rd vintage of J Dusi wines. The two original vineyards are about 1/4 mile away from the family house; the first is 40 acres, that was planted in 1943 with an Italian field blend of Carignane, Alicante Bouchet, Petite Sirah, and who knows what else. in 1945 a second parcel was purchased nearby. In the beginning, the family sold their grapes to surrounding wineries, but as the grape market fell in the 1950s, the Dusis ventured in to winemaking to make their way through the grape glut. Their first foray in to finished wine was about 8-9 years under the label Dusi Winery, and when the grape prices came back up, they stopped making wine and started selling grapes again.

One of the unique properties of this area is the large diurnal temperature swing during the course of day. This vineyard in particular can go from 99+ degrees on a hot summer day, to below at night on that same day. This gives the fruit some unique character. That, combined with dry farming, give the vines some vigor as they are forced to struggle a bit – classically, this makes a lovely wine. First up, the 2008 Dante Dusi Ranch Zinfandel. This was bright raspberry with white pepper, bold blackberry juice and hints of other spice box flavors. I found it to be viscous and lingering (in a good way). Only 850 cases were made, and since 90% of the home ranch fruit is sold to other wineries, this is a rare gem. Janelle really wants to showcase the whole ranch in one bottle and not segment the wine out. These wines are Representative of the terroir of the property as a whole, and this zin in particular showed a lot of juicy red fruit, with just a hint of oak, followed by a lot of cherry cola.

The 900 cases of the 2009 Zinfandel was just released. This was a totally different wine – and rather unexpected in the zone of big, jammy, raisiny Paso zins. The herbaceousness really struck me, and while it might have been a bit closed, it was herbal with bay leaf , dusty black pepper, a hint of red raspberry coming out under tobacco and leather. There were chewy bark lots of spice.

Finally, the 2009 Fiorento which was recently bottled. This blend of 50% Zin, 25% Carignane, and 25% Syrah showed dusty blue fruit, and was lean and racy but refined, with dusty blue fruit, and strong chewy notes from the Syrah. With only 50-60 Carignane vines on the property, they are hand picked to ripeness to make sure that the perfect fruit is selected.

We could have stayed and talked to the Dusi family for hours – about dry farming, about old vine zin, about restrained California Zinfandels, about Paso Robles’ best changes at Rhone. But alas, another appointment was calling. I did however not leave empty handed! I brought home some Zinfandel to share with my friends, and am looking forward to trying the 09 again after it settles down a bit.

Thanks for such a great visit Janell!

I’ve been Vintaed!

Feb 16th, 2011

by winebratsf.

7 comments

Remember Wine Blogging Wednesday?

The one day a month where we all gathered our collective consciousness and blogged about the same topic? Well the same theme anyway. Well it’s BACK! And I’m pleased to be participating because it’s a really great way to give me a shove in the right direction in my blogging efforts. With my day job, life, travels, and wine stuff taking over and an alarming rate, it’s nice to have a topic that I don’t have to come up with.

Gabriella Opaz of Catavino, who was with me in Porto

This month, Catavino’s Ryan & Gabriella encourage us to blog about Spanish wines. Fresh off the big ole jet airline from a trip to Iberia, where I spent some wonderful time with Gabriella, I am able to supply oodles of info on this topic! Specifically, Catavino is asking us to look at Spanish wines we’ve never tried before, or something unusual for the area. Since I recently blogged about Miguel Merino, my new favorite place in Rioja, I thought I’d use this opportunity to write about my new friends at Vintae.

is mixing it up in Spain, and starting a wine revolution of sorts. They are a young company which focuses on 6 specific regions in Spain, but in a different way. Vintae represents innovation and change in a wine region that has been very rigid in its ways, much like France, for years. The avant-garde marketing and approach have shaken up the industry in Spain, and spawned the Spanish Guerrilla wine movement!

In Spain, wine suffers from a bit of a bad reputation. There is some of a connotation that is is an old man’s drink, or an object ot mix with 7-up or other such items. Although, when we were out in Logroño doing a tapas bar crawl, plenty of young folks were drinking wine – but it appears that might be a bit of the exception. Since I have no real experience with the Spanish wine industry, you will need to take this with a grain of salt.

The company started with 5 wines, made in La Rioja, from grapes that are non-traditional to the region. Given that the wine laws in Europe are much stricter and somewhat archaic by western standards, they had a bit of a time introducing these wines to the market. They were, in fact, the first winery that was allowed to produce these varietals in La Rioja, and are guerrillas in the wine business here – stirring up the old ways of thinking, and trying to make wine fun. This is why their new brand is called "Spanish Guerilla". Kinda catchy don’t you think?

On this day, we visited the two different Vintae production facilities, starting wtih the white wine facility, Castillo de Maetierra, where the illustrious Spanish White Guerrilla wines are made. Castillo de Maetierra is the only winery in La Rioja which specializes in making white wines. The Castillo has been an upstart, focuses on unusual (for Rioja) wines such as Muscat and Malvasia, and introducing Spain to foreign varieties such as Chardonnay and Gewurztraminer. Currently, Castillo de Maetierra works with eight different white varietals, including Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling, Gewurztraminer or Viognier. Because these are so unusual in the area, the branding became the “Spanish White Guerrilla”. Each of the fun labels makes a play on a character from the region – so the Gewertz has beer wench, the Sav Blanc looks a Little bit like Fidel Castro, etc.

Carmelo, our smiling host!

Because there really is a sense of terroir and micro climates in Rioja, the production facilities are separate and distinct to maintain this. The white wines produced here are so delicate and fickle, that anything more than 30 minutes from field to crushpad would destroy some of the characteristics that make them unique, which is what the winemakers want to avoid. This is somewhat difficult to grasp as a New World wino since we so often see grapes trucked long distances to production facilities. That said, it makes total sense – treat the wine like your first born child, and she will treat you like the king of the world.

The white wines are made here at Castillo de Maetierra, where approximately 500,000 bottles are produced. YOW! Just a little bit of wine there folks. Our hosts, Ana of Vintae and Carmelo Santos, the winemaker, showed us around and gave us a peek at the 2010 barrel samples as well as the current 2009 releases. The Castillo is located in southern Rioja, where it is a high desert – think Reno folks, and it can get up to 35c in the summer. That’s about 110! Phew. Hot. Because of this, they harvest in August at night. This is crucial for the whites because the whites can begin fermentation spontaneously in that heat.

I must admit, I did a poor job at taking notes of what I was tasting, but you really want to know more about the story right? Suffice it to say, they were surprising and delicious, and even though it was FREEZING cold outsidede, they were highly enjoyable. The Guerrilla wines, coming in at about 5 Euro, are an absolute STEAL for budget minded quaffers.

Happy reading, and you should be able to find these wines near you soon!

So…you want to taste the wine?

Jan 31st, 2011

by winebratsf.

No comments yet

It’s Wednesday, and I’m eager to get out of the city and out in to the countryside to explore. Today, we were going to the small hilltown of Briones, which is about 30 minutes north of Lagroño, where we were staying.

Bodegas Miguel Merino is a small, family run winery (and vineyard, and cellar) located in Briones, a small hilltown about 30 minutes north of Lagroño, Spain. It produces about 40,000 bottles a year, which – apparently – by Rioja standards is small! I guess California has some math to work on in that department. Even though it seems like a lot of bottles, it’s really quite a small winery and everyone is family or friends so it gives the feeling of the most welcoming small winery.

Miguel Merino does things differently, and I like it. All of the wines are produced from vineyards that were planted between 1931 and 1973, on over 11 hectares (about 27 acres).

Being in La Rioja, most of the grapes are Tempranillo, but there is a touch of Graciano planted as well which is used for blending with the Tempranillo. All of the grapes are hand harvested in small boxes, and brought to the winery, to prevent damage to the fruit, where it is hand sorted.

Jose S. Vergara, our guide and chief dude, likes to run things opposite to mainstream way of running wine operations in a very staid industry. Wines are aged until they are ready – adn that is decided by tasting and smelling, not by a number on the bottle or in a bank account.

One interesting thing that Miguel Merino does is that they use combination barrels that are made of American Oak staves, with French oak tops and bottoms. This gives the flavor of each, without the overwhelming characther of either. Traditionally, Rioja wine is aged in America oak, but they also use some Hungarian for variety. Josè also told us that they top their barrels every month, something that was very uncommon in Rioja but is becoming more popular.

We were lucky enough to get a private tour through the “bottle cemetery” or aging room, where we saw some very old and very large bottles that were sleeping, waiting for the right moment to be released.

Now, on to the important bit – the wine! I liked all of the wines here so much, we ended up taking some on the road. First up we tasted the 2007 Viñas Jóvenes, a 100% Tempranillo. I found lots of minerals and river rocks, which is not surprising given that they mine iron and chalk from the hillsides here. I also tasted olives, dried plums, red fruit, chewy leather, tobacco and dried cherries. It finished with some herbs and black pepper.

Next, we tasted the 2009 Mazuelo de la Quinta (a quinta is a vineyard) Cruz. Mazuelo is very unusual for Rioja, and this wine is special because it is also single vineyard. This is the same grape as Carignane, but tastes completely different than what you or I would expect out of a Carignane. It was elegant, refined, and delicious! There were blueberries, loganberries, juicy red fruits, cranberries, and baking specs hiding in there. With only 3000 bottles made, it’s going to be hard to find but was really lovely.

The 2005 Riserva had smokey dark red fruit with a touch of fig, juicy plums, dried cherries, more leather and tobacco, and lots of tannin. It was a baby, and really needs more time in the bottle to be fully appreciated but you can see the potential.

Last but not least, the 2008 Unnum was not yet released. It is also 100% Tempranillo, but is completely different than the others. It comes from 3 vineyard sites, planted between 1931 and 1946, a

nd is the best of the best. It’s aged 10 months in 85% new French& 15% new American oak, and then bottles. It was very meaty, tasting of stewed fruit, dark red fruit, peppercorns, and was quite herbacious. It was still tight and tannic but was really coming in to its own.

All of these wines were delightful, and Jose was an excellent host. I highly recommend you seek out the Bodega Miguel Merin

o if you are in Rioja, and if you are not – look for the wines in your local market! They are worth every penny and sip you can find.

By the way, I’m working on WordPress on my iPad and there are some bugs to iron out so…please bear with me!

Hello, my name is Inigo Montoya…

Jan 28th, 2011

by winebratsf.

1 comment

And i’m here to teach you a little bit about Spanish wine.
Today we’ll be looking at La Rioja.

Rioja is both a state, and a DOC in Spain. Part of Navarre and the Basque province of Alava are included in the DOC, which is split in to three sub regions: Rioja Alta, Rioja Balja and Rioja Alavesa. The total area is about 75 miles, which is about the size of Napa. There is a total of 123,000 planted acres, which is not a small feet in an area of high plains desert, with a rough looking iron soil which is mined for brick making.

Typically, in Rioja, you find Tempranillo, Viura, Garnacha, Graciano, and Mazuelo – which is Carignane.

It seems that wine has been made here since ancient times, and archaeologists have found evidence tha the Phoenicians and the Celtiberians made wine here. OF course, the monestaries aslo kept a brist business in wine making, creating it as a cash business.

In 1926, a regulatory council was created to control the zones and quality of La Rioja, and who can produce wine in the DOC. In 1991, it was “Qualified”, and became Spain’s first Denominación de Origen Calificada, which was quite a feet. Rioja still suffers from the problem of being seen as an old person’s drink, but that is rapidly changing.

Located south of the Cantabrian Mountains along the Ebro river, Rioja has a continental climate. It feels a lot more like the desert, but is very reminiscant of Calavaras – hot in the summer (up to 35 degrees C, or 110 F) and cold in the winter (it was about 2.5-4 degrees C when we were there, which is the low to mid 30s. brrr). The mountains and mesedas (mesas in Latin Spanish) moderate the temperatures in the valley below, and protect it from the winds. I couldn’t really say that about one of the wineries we went to however, which felt very much like Wuthering Heights with the windswept escarpment on a hilltop.

There are three distinct areas in La Rioja: Rioja Alavesa; Rioja Alta; and Rioja Baja. Each area has it’s own expression of the wines, and is very much like Dry Creek vs Russian River.

Rioja wines are typically red, but there are some white varieties as well. Tinto, or red, can be a blend of varietals but it’s most commonly tempranillo, but also include Garnacha (my favorite) and a touch of Mazuelo (Carignane to you and me) as well as For Rioja Blanca, it is mostly Macabea (or Viura), with a touch of Malvasia and Garnacha Blanca. There is also a lot of Rose made here, and is primarily made from Garnacha.

The soil in Rioja has a lot of iron, giving it a charachteristic red color – possibly the reason it’s called Rioja? It also has a lot of chalk in the limestone and sandstone soil, which presents a minerality in the whites wines produced here.

Most of the red wines in Rioja are aged in Oak, weith a large influence of American Oak, as well as French oak barrels used for aging. Since American oak tends to be stronger and provides a bigger influence, it’s great for these bold red wines. The tintos (reds) can be aged for up to 15 years in some cases!

Tintas are classified in to four categories. The most basic is just called “Rioja” which is aged less than 2 years. Next, the “crianza” is aged at LEAST 2 years, with 1 of those in oak. Getting better, you have “Rioja Reserva” is aged at least 3 years, 2 in oak and one in the bottle. Finally, the best of the best “Rioja Gran Reserva” is aged at least 2 years in oak, and three more years in the bottle. Phew!

Wineries are known as bodegas, but you might also call a cellar or a warehouse a bodgega just to confuse you.

So now, that you know a little about La Rioja, you can follow along as I taste my way through!

Stay tuned…

Happy New Year!

Jan 5th, 2011

by winebratsf.

No comments yet

The Thursday before New Year’s Eve, my office was a dead zone. Being that I work in the dungeon of a six story building, and that the Marketing and IT departments are here on the 2nd Floor, we like to party. So, around 2pm, I decided to pen a bottle of Prosecco that I had stashed in the fridge.

This bubbly wine from Villa Sandi in Italy, and retails for around $12.99. It was quite a dry Prosecco, which i LOVE and went down a dream at our little party. Imported by Folio Wines, this is a great sparkler for those on a budget, or who drink a lot of bubbles. The pale straw color is followed by a light, refreshing green apple flavor, with a slight floral note. It was crisp and refreshing and a fun wine.

Very pale straw yellow and fine, persistent perlage. The aroma is fruity and flowery with hints of ripe golden apple and small mountain flowers. The dry, fresh and flavoursome sensation on the palate is followed by a fruity and harmonious aftertaste.

Enjoy!

This wine was a sample provided by Folio Wines for tippling. My office mates appreciate your generosity and immediately ran to Safeway to buy more!

Putting the pieces together

Dec 21st, 2010

by winebratsf.

5 comments

Brick by brick, Stone by stone.
That’s how you build a castle, and also a successful winery.

Tonight, the weather is crisp, and the rain has cleared up. Butternut squash soup is cooking and I’m sipping on Cornerstone Cellars’ sister label Stepping Stone 2009 Syrah from Napa Valley. I’m a huge syrah fan, and this is a great pick for budget minded wineaux. It’s a great example of the grape, and rivals syrahs that retail for $35-40 easily.

The earthy plums and blue/black fruit come out in this rich bold wine, perfect for winter sipping. It’s bold and velvety smooth, with hints of black pepper and licorice. I really love this wine, and for $20 you simply can’t wrong. MUST BUY

With the soup that was bubbling away, we had a touch of Creme Fraiche and bacon. I think I might be able to eat an ENTIRE bucket of Creme Fraiche but that’s another story.

Please, go out and buy some Stepping Stone today! My faves are the Cab Franc and the Syrah, so get both. You can’t go wrong!

All day, all night it’s…

Nov 4th, 2010

by winebratsf.

4 comments

Mary Ann, Marsanne! Down by the seaside with a drink in her hand…all the little wine bloggers love Mary Ann!

Here in the Bay Area, we’re experiencing an odd sort of Summer in Winter. The Giants won the series, and it was 76 in San Francisco on November 2nd. This summer weather has be drinking more white wines again, so I thought it would be a great time to finsih this post from earlier this year.

Marsanne is one of my favorite white wines these days. While I do occasionally like a Chardonnay, it has be a particular style, so I tend to lean towards alternative white wines, or more steely, less oaked Chardonnay (think some delicious Pouilly-Fuissé). Marsanne is one of the 22 Rhône grapes, and is most often blended with another beauty – Rousanne. It’s increasing popularity in the U.S. makes me smile!

This great example comes from one of my favorite small wineries in northern Calfiornia, Olson Ogden, who make limited production wines that really suit my style. I am a particular fan of the syrah, though I am almost through the case I had squirreled away last year.

This Marsanne tasted of marzipan, lemon, grapefruit and orange pith – you know, that slight bitterness from the white part (though not in a bad way). I also found loads of pear, and creamy stone fruit complimented with a nicely balanced acidity and a touch of honeysuckle on the nose. The 17 months in stainless steel and 28% new French oak give it a nice touch of oak without overpowering it. It’s creamy and rich but not an oak monster.

It’s a bit pricy for an everyday white at $35, but this is a MUST BUY if you like whites and wantt o venture out of the Chard / Sav Blanc superhighway. But don’t just take MY word for it! My friends at NectarWine, WinePost and NorCal wine also enjoyed this wine immensely. Give it a try, and for those winter lovers, this wine goes amazingly well with all things butternut as well as a nicely herb rubbed roasted chicken.

Happy drinking!

THis wine was graciously provided by Olson Ogden. Probably because I keep gusying about thier syrah. BUt who cares! IT’s good!

Grace, Hope, Charity, Faith

Aug 31st, 2010

by winebratsf.

6 comments

Maybe those are the Four Graces. I’m not quite up on my religious mythology, but I do know that The Four Graces Winery in the Willamette Valley region of Oregon shares the winemaking talents of Laurent Montalieu with Solena Estate. You can read more about that HERE and HERE, but to refresh your memory, Laurent hails from Bordeaux, which is not exactly known for it’s Pinot Noir making prowess. Enter Laurnet, who shook things up and moved to Oregon to make Pinot Noir, and a star was born.

Since I know that I adore Solena’s vineyard selection Pinot Noirs, as well as their blends and Pinot Gris, I was exited to receive this bottle of Four Graces in my sample bin. Last night, I sat down to taste it. Ok drink it.

The 2008 Willamette Valley Pinot Noir is subtle, and a bit muted in the glass. It has a lot of Oregon terroir, what I consider it anyway, and tastes of sticks and earth, with mushroom undertones. It’s a smoothly elegant wine, with well integrated oak that adds class and doesn’t take away from the dark red fruit of the wine. The longer this wine sits in the glass, the juicer the red berries in it become. Tons of strawberry, raspberry and bright red cherry fruit are layered with cinnamon, wood smoke, and even a touch of rhubarb pie. This wine is really growing on me as an example of Oregon Pinot that is easily approachable. For $29, I’d definitely BUY this as a great entry point example to Oregon wine. the soft corners make it approachable and plush. the low 13.75 ABV make it easy to sip the whole bottle!

If you’re looking to learn about Oregon Pinot Noir, I’d try to find this wine as one of your educational experiments. It’s just a ncie sipper for after work, before dinner, or relaxing at a picnic.

The Grace-ful people at The four Graces generously sent me this wine to sample. I’m glad they did because the bottle is almost empty!

Water water everywhere, and lots to drink!

Jul 20th, 2010

by winebratsf.

1 comment

It’s day 2 of the Wine Bloggers Conference, and we’re off on the little yellow school buses to explore some of the Walla Walla terroir. Fortunately for us Bay Area folks,who aren’t used to the heat, it was a warm but pleasant day for walking around the vineyards and our bus was off and ready to go. Armed with my trusty compatriots Lynnette, Ryan and Ward, we were joined by some new friends and headed off to taste some of Walla Walla’s wines.

Our bus was hosted by Walla Walla’s mayor, and we were off to Watermill Winery’s vineyards in Milton-Freewater. Juts over the Oregon border, this area was first settled with orchards and vegetable farms. Now, we were examining the hard packed cobblestone soil, which is the remnant of the alluvial fan. With 200 feet of packed cobblestone, the soil is well drained suited perfectly for the big reds that we were tasting. Saviah Cellars was founded in 2000, and Watermill first planted grapes in 2002. This is a Certified LIVE vineyard, which in Oregon is Low Input Viticulture and Enology – very similar to a sustainable certified vineyard here. They are only allowed one herbicidal spray a year, and believe that microbiological health of the soil and vineyard is paramount.

The 2007 Watermill Malbec tasted of blueberries and black berries with chewy plums and huckleberries. There was a hint of smoke and white pepper, and we were told that growing Malbec on the rocky soil was unusual. The result is a dense intense wine that I really enjoyed. next we tasted the 2007 Watermill Cab Franc. Being a girl who loves cab franc, I was a bit skeptical, but this was a lovely plummy red fruit example with spicy smoke. the rich & smooth wine was a Tansy treat. we also tasted the 2008 Saviah Cellears Malbec, which was a great companion to the Watermill verison. This wine comes from the same vineyard, but showed more earth, leather and tobacco, followed by cigar box.

From Watermill, we headed over to Waters for lunch. More on that in my next post!