Tag: wine


Apr
2020

Upstate New York Distilleries and Wineries team up in the Stone Soup Project

categories: Uncategorized

The below is a formal press release

Upstate New York Distilleries and Wineries team up in the Stone Soup Project, an initiative providing 20,000 gallons of hand sanitizer per week to support Upstate New York communities

Local business transformation agency, Aspire, lends their decades of experience in business management and execution to the project

Rochester, N.Y.—Upstate New York distilleries from Rochester to the Finger Lakes, including Rootstock Cider & Spirits, O’Begley Distillery and Uncharted Spirits, have come together in the Stone Soup Project to provide 20,000 gallons/week of hand sanitizer to support local Upstate New York communities. The initiative is being led by Rochester native Chris Carlsson, a world-renowned advisor to the spirits industry and Aspire, a boutique business transformation agency based in Rochester, co-founded by Ron Dougherty and Jonathan Romeyn.

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Apr
2020

Crystal Basin Cellars 2016 Reserve Mourvèdre

categories: Booze, Wine

I came across Crystal Basin Cellars during an industry event—actually it was a bit more like an informal gathering—of grapegrowers and winemakers in El Dorado County. The topic of discussion was lesser known varieties that thrive in this portion of the Sierra Foothills. We tasted some really interesting (and delicious) wines that day. A lot of what you may call “rustic” reds actually have an excellent “cool-climate” expression due to the colder air that sinks down through the Sierras and settles along the vines in the foothills. Indeed, Mourvèdre, a fun, funky grape that can be as carnal as you like it from one terroir but as delicate as a flower petal from another, has found a good home here in El Dorado, maintaining its innate structure, achieving full phenolic ripeness, but holding on to the much needed acidity to lift the beautiful fruit flavors on the nose and on the palate.

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Apr
2020

Wine Review: Panther Creek 2017 Kalita Vineyard Pinot Noir

categories: Booze, Wine

This is a continuation of my tour of Panther Creek Cellars’ various vineyard sources. Today, we travel to Kalita Vineyard, located in the Yamhill Carlton AVA of Oregon, and planted entirely to Pinot Noir.

A bit about the vineyard from the Kalita Vineyard website:

Year planted: 2000
Varieties planted: Pinot Noir
Clones: Pommard, PN 114, PN 115, PN 777, all on grafted rootstock
Acreage planted: 22 acres

  • A bowl-shaped site providing winemakers with the option to select grapes grown on hillsides facing South, Southwest or Southeast with elevations ranging from 400 to 800 feet.
  • The soil is classic WillaKenzie soil.
  • 22 acres of Pinot Noir with four different clones – Pommard, PN 114, PN 115 and PN 777 – all on grafted rootstock. Spacing is 4’x7′.
  • A Certified Sustainable Vineyard by Oregon Live
  • Managed since first planting in 2000 by Results Partners (currently led by Daniel Fey).

Now onto the wine…

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Mar
2020

Radio-Coteau 2014 Las Colinas Sonoma Coast Syrah

categories: Booze, Wine

Who likes a cool-climate Syrah? *Raises hand.* Syrah is one of the varieties that my partner in wine crime and I don’t agree on—meaning, he always wants it and I’m way picky about it. It was when I was working on an article for Edible Silicon Valley, discovering the Rhône wines of the South Bay (read: Where We Rhône: Wine Trends In Silicon Valley) that I discovered the broad range of styles that can come from the Syrah grape. And it was during an interview with renowned winemaker Ross Cobb that it dawned on me that I truly gravitate toward the subtle, but undoubtedly structured, Syrahs grown in cooler climates. “We’ve always known that this area (Sonoma Coast) is an outstanding place for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay,” Cobb said. “But I’ve always thought that it’s also an outstanding cool Northern Rhône climate here.” He’s right. (Read more: Technical Review: Anaba Wines).

Well, today I bring to you that experience—that experience of subtlety, finesse, structure, and a small snippet of the Northern Rhône with a taste of Radio-Coteau’s 2014 Las Colinas Sonoma Coast Syrah.

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