Sonoma-Cutrer Winery has been making Chardonnay since 1991, but the winery was not open to the public. The wines have been among the most popular at good restaurants and at retail for years. They have been voted #1 Chardonnay in the Wine and Spirits Restaurant Poll in nineteen of the last twenty-one years. Now, Sonoma-Cutrer have a tasting center which is open, by appointment, Thursday through Monday.

Sonoma-Cutrer was founded by Bill Bonetti and is now owned by Brown-Forman Corporation.

Open Thursday – Monday

Tours & Tastings available by appointment
For Tours/Tastings: 877-797-3489

Tasting: $10; Tasting & Tour: $25

This article is original to NorCalWine.com. Copyright 2010 NorCal Wine. All rights reserved. Photo: PR Newswire

Photo from Ediward Sellers Winery of the view from the new tasting room.

Edward Sellers Vineyards in Paso Robles offers some really good Rhone-varietal wines. Winemaker Amy Butler, who has been there for four years after stints at Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars and Schramsberg, coaxes excellent flavors and texture out of both the red and the white grapes. I’ve tasted their wines on a number of occasions and never been disappointed.

For now, if you want to try their wines, you can head to the Edward Sellers Tasting Room in downtown Paso Robles. It’s a convenient location and there are a number of other wineries with tasting rooms just a short walk away. However, in October, the Edward Sellers will be opening up a brand new winery at the vineyard with its own tasting room.

To kick things off right, Edward Sellers Winery will be throwing a big party there on October 16. There’ll be a lot of wines to try: current releases, barrel samples and library wines. There will also be plenty of food and a 14-piece band.

If you’d like to go, you should RSVP soon because tickets are limited. And because, if you’re like me, you might forget to RSVP until it’s too late... I hate when I do that.

Here are the details:
Saturday, October 16

Cellar Club Members receive (2) Complimentary tickets, Guests of Cellar Club Members are $50 per person, and new friends to the Winery are $75 per person

Contact the Tasting Room at 805-239-8915 or get tickets online at WINERY GRAND OPENING TICKETS

This article is original to NorCalWine.com. Copyright 2010 NorCal Wine. All rights reserved.

In 1990, Nan McEvoy bought 550 acres of former dairy farmland west of Petaluma. 18,000 olive trees later, McEvoy Ranch is an acclaimed producer of certified organic olive oil. They sell not just oil, but bottled condiments, soaps and lotions, and even olive trees. Their products are sold online, through many resellers and through McEvoy Ranch's own shop in San Francisco's Ferry Building.

Now, the company plans to become a winery as well. They are seeking a permit to turn one of the ranch's buildings into a winemaking facility. Most of the grapes will come from vines on ranch property, though some will be sourced. There are no plans to open the winery to the public.

A zoning meeting will be held on July 15 at 9AM. (MarinIJ)

Hot weather and evil yeast cells bent on converting sweet, innocent sugars into gas have been detonating wine bottles in Nova Scotia. The sparkling wine with a name that sounds like a missile, Nova 7, has been going off like small bombs in Nova Scotia. No injuries have been reported but there have been "two close calls" with glassy shrapnel.

170 cases of the wine, made by a small Nova Scotia winery called Benjamin Bridge, are at risk of going off. A recall is now in effect. Jean-Benoit Deslauriers, winemaker and commander of the recall operation said, "You know, for us, our mission and goal is to locate those products and get them back to the winery. And there is a risk, a genuine risk." Some might say, a clear and present danger. (CBC News)

Napa Valley’s Newest Tasting Room to Open Friday, July 16

NAPA, CALIF., July 1, 2010 – Valley Gate Vineyards (“Valley Gate”) of Napa Valley announced it will celebrate its official grand opening on Thursday, July 15, with a ribbon cutting ceremony at 11 a.m. Representatives of the Napa Chamber of Commerce, elected officials and members of Napa’s business community will welcome the winery to America’s celebrated wine country. Beginning on Friday, July 16, Valley Gate’s tasting room will be open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Located on the southern edge of Napa Valley in Jamieson Canyon, the sundrenched hills that make up Valley Gate were once part of a sprawling cattle and horse ranch that dominated the landscape for generations. Cattle and horses blanketed the ranch as it spanned from Rancho Petaluma on the west to Rancho Suisun on the east and down south to San Pablo Bay. More than 100 acres of Pinot Grigio, Chardonnay, Viognier, Pinot Noir, Merlot, Syrah and Cabernet grapevines now blanket the countryside that is now Valley Gate Vineyards.

“Located just 55 miles west of downtown Sacramento, we are one of the first wineries that visitors see as they enter the wine country,” said President Montgomery Paulsen. “Valley Gate is already one of the region’s premier custom crush facilities and we are anxious to open our own tasting room and begin hosting unique special events throughout the property.”

In May, Valley Gate renewed its relationship with local custom crush winery and winemaking firm Bin to Bottle. The Napa based firm provides management services to Valley Gate’s advanced custom crush winery and crush-to-consumer services. Continuing its relationship with Valley Gate allows Bin to Bottle to process significantly more lots of 20 tons or larger. Bin to Bottle, founded in 2006, has seen its custom crushing volume surge over 150% in the last three years due to the growing demand for high quality custom crush services in the region.

Valley Gate also announced the appointment of Lessly Van Houtan as the new winery’s tasting room manager. Van Houtan has more than ten years of experience in the wine hospitality industry including managing the daily operations of tasting rooms, overseeing retail sales, the hosting of special events and wine club management. She previously served as the customer service manager and partner of Folio Winemakers’ Studio in Napa and director of retail sales and hospitality at Mahoney Vineyards/Carneros Creek Winery.

“I’m thrilled to be a part of opening Napa Valley’s newest winery and tasting room,” said Van Houtan. “Surrounded by rolling hills and featuring unsurpassed views of Jamieson Canyon and San Pablo Bay, Valley Gate will offer picturesque wine tasting experiences as visitors first enter the Valley. Just minutes from downtown Napa, the winery also is ideal for wine tastings and food pairings presented during rehearsal dinners, cocktail parties and corporate events.”

Valley Gate announced in April that Top It Off Bottling of Sonoma, Calif., had entered into an agreement to utilize the advanced bottling line at the bonded winery and custom crush facility. Primarily a mobile on-site bottling firm, Top It Off is now able to increase its custom bottling capacities and expand its presence in Napa Valley. The firm had previously served the northern and central wine regions of the state and utilized mobile bottling trucks equipped to service wineries of various sizes. Featuring an experienced staff with more than 75 years of combined wine industry experience, the firm utilizes Valley Gate’s modern bottling facility for custom filtration, filling, corking, capping, labeling and packaging services for wineries throughout Napa Valley.

Valley Gate announced the appointment of wine industry veteran Montgomery Paulsen as president earlier this month. With over 20 years of California winery experience, Paulsen oversees the winemaking and general operations at Valley Gate, farming of grapevines, custom crush and crush-to-consumer operations, custom bottling services and general and administrative functions. In recent years, Paulsen had been active as an independent winemaking and wine business consultant with clients throughout California, Oregon and Washington, as a specialist in winemaking, brand development, financial analysis and integration, international business and operations.

About Valley Gate Vineyards
Located at 1 Kirkland Ranch Rd. in Napa, Calif., Valley Gate Vineyards features a 57,000-square foot three-story main building reminiscent of a California costal lodge, a 36,000-square foot cellar with a 3,000 barrel storage capacity and an expansive 3,000-square-foot tasting room with a wraparound terrace to enjoy unobstructed views of Napa Valley and San Pablo Bay. Valley Gate Vineyards’ advanced winery has the capacity of processing 3,300 tons of fruit and has 247,000 gallons of stainless cooperative.

Contact:
Jason Lindaman
Valley Gate Vineyards
303.957.4256
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Quivira Vineyards & Winery, a Dry Creek Valley winery with a strong committment to biodynamic viticulture, announced today that they've hired Hugh Chappelle to serve as winemaker. Chappelle replaces Stephen Canter who is leaving to take a winemaking position in Oregon. Canter had joined Quivira in 2006 when the winery was purchased by Peter Kight.

Hugh Chappelle's most recent position was at Lynmar Estate in the Russian River Valley. He had served as their director of winemaking for roughly four years. Prior to that, he was winemaker at Flowers Vineyard & Winery for four years. Before his time at Flowers, he served as winemaker at Madrona Vineyards in the Sierra Foothills.

Quivira Vineyards' best known wines are Zinfandel and Sauvignon Blanc. Their Mourvedre, Grenache and Petite Sirah have also been receiving acclaim recently.

St. Helena, CA - Spring, 2010 - Marko Karakasevic has earned the title ‘Master Distiller’ following a colorful 26 year apprenticeship under his father, Miles Karakasevic, who is a 12th generation European Grand Master Distiller. The family owns Charbay Winery & Distillery, an independent artisan winery and distillery based in the Napa Valley. Miles held the standards high and it was up to Marko to prove himself.

To become a Master Distiller, Marko was to source, distill and bring to market a spirit equal to or better than spirits he’d distilled under his Master. Marko’s thesis is a whiskey called Doubled & Twisted, which is an old distilling term referring to a critical point in the second distillation. When he told his father he had sold his first case, Miles, beamed with pride, shook his hand and said: “Congratulations, Marko. You are now a Master Distiller. Let’s drink some whiskey and smoke cigars.”

Marko’s apprenticeship included 26 years around the family Copper Alambic pot stills. Together, Miles & Marko fermented wines, distilled brandy, made ports (fortified with their own brandies), liqueurs and distilled grappa, pastis, vodkas, rums, Pachanga, whiskey and their latest release: Charbay Tequila which they personally distill in Mexico. They are hands on distillers.

It was Marko’s idea to produce Charbay fresh fruit vodkas back in 1998 when he was just 25 years old. The 100% whole fruit vodkas went national. The Food & Wine article by Pete Wells fueled the buzz that these vodkas truly captured the fresh fruit flavors. They woke up the world to a new category of artisan vodkas. Marko was honored with the Vodka Visionary award by Food & Wine magazine. Gourmet Magazine said they “…tasted better than the real fruit…”

Charbay is family owned and operated. They work with restaurateurs across the country including Employees Only, NYC; Michael Mina, S.F.; Rock House, Bahamas to the International Aman Resorts.

Marko’s thesis is called Doubled & Twisted Light Whiskey. He bottled his first release in 1 liter jugs. It retails California for $58.

CHARBAY WINERY & DISTILLERY was started in 1983 by Miles & Susan Karakasevic. Miles is a 12th generation winemaker & Grand Master Distiller from Europe. His family carries on a lifetime of artisan skills combined with the ‘can do’ spirit of California and the wonderful fruits available. Son Marko, who grew up in St. Helena, is the 13th generation winemaker/distiller in the family. Come taste the wines & ports of Charbay, an independently owned and operated winery & distillery.

Contact: Susan Karakasevic
Phone: 707-963-9327, ext. 16
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