Category Archives: California Wines – Reviewed

Trader Joe’s Grand Reserve Meritage | Trader Joe’s Wine

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Trader Joe’s Grand Reserve Meritage Napa Valley 2011 | Trader Joe’s Wine

Trader Joe's Grand Reserve Meritage

Recently I took a gamble on the Trader Joe’s Grand Reserve Spring Mountain Cabernet and was pretty surprised with the quality-price-ratio. At only $15, it easily drank like a wine costing twice as much if not more. So I went back to the Trader Joe’s Wine Section with the idea that I would stock up on this screaming Spring Mountain Cabernet value only to find that it had already sold out completely!

Apparently the Trader Joe’s wine experience is more similar to that of Shopping for Wine at Costco than I had imagined… So having learned my lesson and not wanting to leave empty handed, I decided to try the Trader Joe’s Grand Reserve Meritage Napa Valley 2011.

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Moone Tsai Wine Review | 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

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Moone Tsai Wine Review | 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

Moone Tsai Wine

Moone Tsai wine is a partnership amongst friends: Mike Moone (former President of Beringer) and husband and wife MaryAnn and Larry Tsai. Also on the team is rockstar consulting winemaker Phillippe Melka. Moone is actually responsible for originally bringing MaryAnn Tsai out to Napa Valley to work with him at Beringer. During his time at Beringer, Moone is credited with rejuvenating the winery’s business into the thriving one it is today.

And a rather fruitful partnership it must be considering the awards and glowing accolades Moone Tsai’s wines have received since it’s inception in 2006. Moone Tsai’s wines have been consistently highly rated as well as having been recognized by Wine Spectator as having the “#1 Rated Wine in the World” not once, but an incredible three times! And they aren’t shy about their ambitions to achieve the coveted recognition a fourth time.

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Whitehall Lane Cabernet Review | Whitehall Lane Winery

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– Whitehall Lane Cabernet Sauvignon Review | Whitehall Lane Winery –

Whitehall Lane Winery

On my most recent trip to Napa Valley I had driven past Whitehall Lane Winery in Rutherford several times. The thought occurred to me that I had surprisingly never tasted any of their wines so I decided to stop in one night around 5:40 p.m. while on our way back to The Carneros Inn after seeing that they were open until 6 p.m. This is pretty late for wine tastings as most wineries close their doors between 4 and 5.

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Spiral Cellars Napa Valley Chardonnay Review | Trader Joe’s Wine

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Spiral Cellars Napa Valley Chardonnay | Trader Joe’s Wine

Spiral Cellars Napa Valley Chardonnay Review

Despite all of the international and intriguing worldly white wine options available to us as consumers, good old Chardonnay is still easily number one. Much like popular but often looked down upon Merlot, arguably some of the greatest wines in the world are made from Chardonnay. Yet it often gets a bad rap as being too oaky, too, buttery, or just plain boring.

Despite this negativity it seems that it’s still Chardonnay, usually Napa Chardonnay, that consumers want. And if the level of searches I receive to from just the Spiral Cellars wines are any indication, this is a very popular choice that I needed to try. So if it’s Napa Chardonnay you want, it’s the Spiral Cellars Napa Valley Chardonnay 2012 I’ll give you!

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Gary Farrell Chardonnay Review | Russian River Selection

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Gary Farrell Chardonnay | Gary Farrell Winery

Gary Farrell Chardonnay

On my most recent trip to California wine country in October, I started out my trip in Napa and then made my way to the quaint yet trendy town of Healdsburg in Sonoma. It was my first time visiting this incredible town and it surely won’t be the last. There were so many fine restaurants and wineries I wanted to visit yet I had only a few days there to explore.

While Garry Farrell Winery was on my list of respected producers to visit, I was sadly unable to make it there during my trip. So I was more than delighted to receive the Gary Farrell Chardonnay Russian River Selection as a media sample.

The Gary Farrell Chardonnay is a cool-climate Chardonnay, sourced from select vineyards in Sonoma’s Russian River Valley during the 2012 growing season. Without as much heat as say Napa Valley, the grapes don’t ripen quite as much resulting in lower alcohol and higher acid wines. The result is a Chardonnay like you might find in Burgundy with good balance and mineral character.

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Conn Valley Right Bank Review | Anderson’s Conn Valley Vineyards

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Anderson’s Conn Valley Vineyards Right Bank

Conn Valley Vineyards

On my most recent trip to Napa and Sonoma in October I had the good pleasure of meeting up with fellow wine blogger Beth Smith, a.k.a Traveling Wine Chick. Beth and I had connected when she came across my previous review of the 2011 Anderson’s Conn Valley Vineyards Right Bank. It was an excellent wine and one of my favorites from the Conn Valley Vineyards portfolio from when I tasted there. It also happens to be one of the best values in the portfolio.

With the 2012 vintage being heralded as a hallmark vintage, Beth was excited and gracious enough to share this new release with me. As a big fan of the wines being produced at Conn Valley Vineyards, I couldn’t wait to try the 2012 Right Bank.

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A Taste of Ramey Wine Cellars

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Ramey Wine Cellars

How does the saying go? When in Rome, do as the Roman’s do? Well if I may suggest than when you find yourself in the fantastic town of Healdsburg, California that you do make a visit to Ramey Wine Cellars. Located in Sonoma County, Ramey Wine Cellars was founded in 1996 by David and Carla Ramey.

Before founding Ramey Wine Cellars, David forged his wine-making talents and experience first at Petrus after earning his Master of Science in Enology from UC Davis in 1979. From there, he took his first job stateside under Zelma Long at Simi and then took over for Mary Edwards at Matanzas Creek. While at Matanzas Creek David pioneering the now industry-wide practice of whole cluster pressing for Chardonnay. From there he went on to work at Dominus Estate.

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Jamieson Ranch Vineyards Review

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Jamieson Ranch Vineyards

Wine lovers making their way to Napa Valley owe it to to themselves to make Jamieson Ranch Vineyards their first stop as they make their way north into wine country from San Francisco International Airport.

As the southernmost winery in Napa Valley, this impressive 300 acre estate has 100 organically farmed acres planted to vine which benefit from the cooling effects of the nearby San Pablo Bay. Varietals grown on their estate include: Viognier, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. The fruit for their Cabernet Sauvignon offerings is sourced from other sites in Napa Valley. Owning a ranch this size is the epitome of the American dream. Personally, I’d prefer to own one of the huge Texas ranches instead.

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Kirkland Signature Cabernet Sauvignon Alexander Valley Review

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Kirkland Signature 2011 Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon Review

I’m perennially tempted and intrigued by Costco’s Kirkland Signature wines so I thought I might give the Kirkland Signature Cabernet Sauvignon Alexander Valley 2011 a try. Alexander Valley is the northernmost part of Sonoma County and is known for producing Cabernet’s that are slightly softer and more elegant in style.

It’s generally cooler temperatures produce a different Cabernet than you get in Napa, where wines are often riper, fruitier and more tannic. Often I find myself more inclined to drink Cabernet that is less fruity with good balance and acidity and Alexander Valley fits the bill at a better price point. Several notable wineries you might recognize produce sought after Cabernet’s from Alexander Valley including Silver Oak,  Jordan and Lancaster Estate.

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Roederer Estate Brut Review | Cristal’s American Relative

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Roederer Estate Brut Review | Cristal’s American Relative

Roederer Estate Brut

In 1982, Jean-Claude Rouzaud selected a 580 acre vineyard site in California’s Anderson Valley with the intent to expand and further build upon his long family tradition of producing world-class sparkling wine.

The descendant of the founder of Champagne Louis Roederer, Jean-Claude Rouzaud was running the highly successful family company when he decided to bring his vision of Champagne to the United States in the form of Roederer Estate. Six years after locating this ideal, sizable site near the Mendocino Coast, the Roederer Estate Brut was born!

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