While none of us at CA Corks has enjoyed Barbieri Wines to date they are said to have spent 11 month in oak prior to bottling. That the result is an inky, saturated, purple wine, with aromas of blueberries, charcoal, white pepper, and black fruits with a tangy acidity that keeps the fruit fresh and the wine in balance.
When Bennie Cassara first set foot on this mountain top retreat he knew this was the place for which he had been looking. Bennie a brick mason by trade was busy running his Masonry construction company in Orange County California, but he was looking for a place where he and his could get away from the daily grind. It was in 1990 the first vines were planted on the tiny hilltop estate. Bennie Cassara chose Pinot Noir grapes at the urging of his friend Brian Babcock of the Babcock Winery. Brian told Bennie his property would be the perfect growing environment for Pinot Noir grapes, this variatal is grown on hillsides in France, and Brian knew the combination of warm days and cool foggy nights would be perfect. Much of the rest of the story is in the glass.
When Jim Dierbert has a passion for something, he acts quickly and decisively. Just ask his wife, Mary, to whom he proposed on their first date! It was love at first sight, yet again, when they laid eyes on the Star Lane Ranch, now planted to some 230 acres of vines. "We had looked around Napa and Bordeaux for a property early on," Jim recalls. But Napa and the Old World were getting a little crowded. "We wanted open space and big sky." They found it!
BearTrap Canyon's Cabernet Sauvignon vineyard is located in the foothills of California's Angeles National Forest, at an elevation of approximately 3800 feet. The small family-owned and operated vineyard is over 15 years old and has been producing a "classic" Cabernet Sauvignon for the past 10 years. Wines appear to be age worthy.
Who would have guessed that a kid from Amherst, Massachusetts, with a Bachelor of Science degree in Animal Sciences (Pre-Veterinary) and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Italian from the University of Massachusetts, would end up in Santa Barbara County as an up-and-coming winemaker? Benjamin Silver did just that after catching the wine bug in 1993 at a summer job at Chicama Vineyards on Martha’s Vineyard.
D'Alfonso-Curran Wines is a family of professionals created out of a shared passion for wine. The crew was created with the same love and consideration that Kris & Bruno use to craft and stylize their unique wines.
When Kory Koehler acquired the property in 1997, all of the estate grapes were being sold to local wineries. Koehler soon recognized that some of the best wines in the valley were being produced with grapes harvested from her own vineyard so she made the resolved to launch her own winery and tasting room. From the start, Kory Koehler's vision was to create a world-class winery committed to making premium wines at affordable prices.
Three Saints wines are a vivid expression of carefully selected grapes from the Dierberg Family's vineyards which are located in three of Santa Barbara County's premium wine growing regions:
Santa Maria Valley, Santa Rita Hills and Santa Ynez Valley.
Summerland Winery is a boutique winery dedicated to the production of fine wines from the Central Coast of California. Nebil “Bilo” Zarif founded Summerland Winery in 2002 with the goal of producing premium wines from expressive vineyard sources spanning from Santa Barbara to Monterey. Since then, the winery has built a name synonymous with Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.
The 14+ different varietals from 9 renowned vineyards allow the Central Coast and Single Vineyard Collections to showcase their excellent fruit character combined with strong regional character. The winery’s tasting room is located in Summerland’s charming seaside setting, just 10 minutes south of Santa Barbara.
The name “Prodigal” stems from the career paths that Stephen Russell has taken. As an early (1960) graduate of the UC Davis Enology program, but not a member of a wine family, he was the first formally-trained enologist to be hired by the Gallo's. After discovering that corporate winemaking didn’t offer the future he had envisioned, and after attempting unsuccessfully to raise the money to purchase Freemark Abbey, with a twenty-something’s wisdom he decided to leave the industry. After returning to school and an academic career in cancer research, he and his wife, Mary, returned to California to found Quinta Santa Rosa Vineyard / Prodigal Wines in 2001. The ‘prodigal son’ had returned!
Tasting room was being relocated at time of entry.
ne
