Coursey Graves Winery

Coursey-Graves Winery
Coursey Graves Winery. Photo: Angelica Lee.  Click here for tasting notes. 

Cabell Coursey is a busy guy these days. In addition to being the winemaker at Lombardi Winery, he is also winemaker and co-owner at Coursey Graves Winery in Santa Rosa, California. He began his career in wine in Burgundy, where he worked his first harvest during an undergraduate semester abroad. After graduation, he returned to the States and pursued the menial but necessary chores of picking grapes, scrubbing tanks and barrels, and learning traditional winegrowing methods. He went on to toil in Oregon’s Willamette Valley, and later traveled to Christchurch, New Zealand, where he earned graduate degrees in Enology and Viticulture from Lincoln University. It was there he developed the passion for cool climate wines that guides his style today. Before starting Coursey Graves in 2015 with partner John Graves, Coursey made wine for Alder Springs Vineyard, DuMol, Flanagan, and Kosta Browne.

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Sanford Winery

Sanford Winery.
Sanford Winery. Click here for tasting notes.

Sanford Winery

Sanford, the first winery in Santa Barbara wine country, was established when the Sanford & Benedict vineyard was planted in 1971. Botanist Michael Benedict and his friend Richard Sanford were committed to finding a cool-climate location with just enough heat accumulation to ripen, but not over ripen, wine grapes. A place where they could plant and grow grapes and craft wines, where they hoped the quality might equal the best of Europe.

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Catena Wines

Catena Wines.
Catena Wines. Click here for tasting notes.

Catena Wines

In 1902, Italian immigrant Nicola Catena planted his first Malbec vineyard in Mendoza, Argentina. Domingo, Nicola’s eldest son, took the family winery to the next level, building the Catena business to become one of the largest vineyard holders in Mendoza. Like his father, Domingo Catena fiercely believed that Argentine Malbec could make a wine as worthy as any first-growth Bordeaux.

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Imagery Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay

Imagery Cabernet Sauvignon 2016 and Imagery Chardonnay 2016.
Imagery Cabernet Sauvignon 2016 and Imagery Chardonnay 2016. Click here for tasting notes.

Imagery Cabernet Sauvignon 2016 and Chardonnay 2016

In 1973, newlyweds Mike and Mary Benziger drove west and permanently settled in Northern California. Seven years later, Mike and and his brother Bruno Benziger purchased the historic Wegener Ranch on Sonoma Mountain in Glen Ellen, California. Hearing the Sirens’ call of the Golden State, over the next six years the four remaining siblings — Bob, Joe, Jerry, and Patsy, with their spouses — made their way to California.

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Stoller Vineyards

Stoller Vineyards Estate Pinot Noir 2007 and Stoller Vineyards Estate Chardonnay 2008
Stoller Vineyards Estate Pinot Noir 2007 and Stoller Vineyards Estate Chardonnay 2008. Click here for tasting notes. 

Stoller Vineyards

Dayton, Oregon, in the Dundee Hills AVA and 25 miles southwest of Portland, is home to Stoller Vineyards. Oregon started to become generally known for their wines, particularly Pinot Noir, only about 30 years ago. Stoller is even newer, bringing in their first wine in 2001.

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WALT Wines

WALT Bob’s Ranch Pinot Noir and WALT Bob’s Ranch Chardonnay.
WALT Bob’s Ranch Pinot Noir and WALT Bob’s Ranch Chardonnay. Click here for tasting notes.

WALT Wines

Walt Wines, owned by Kathryn Hall and Craig Hall, is dedicated to the production of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from the Pacific Coast, spanning nearly 1000 miles and including Sta. Rita Hills, Sonoma County, Anderson Valley, Napa Valley, and the Willamette Valley. They strive to source top fruit from the most distinctive vineyards; practice precise, non-interventionist winemaking; and focus on limited production. The goal is to allow the wines to naturally and honestly express the character of the sites where the wines are grown.

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Byron Wines

Byron Nielson Vineyard Pinot Noir 2014 and Byron Nielson Vineyard Chardonnay 2014
Byron Pinot Noir 2014 and Byron Chardonnay 2014. Click here for tasting notes.

Byron Wines

Designated in 1981, the Santa Maria Valley AVA is located in the northernmost part of Santa Barbara County, just east of Santa Maria city. The east–west orientation of the wide, open valley means cool winds and fog flow in freely from the Pacific Ocean, settling most noticeably in lower-lying areas. This cool maritime influence lengthens the growing season (among the longest in the world), and contributes to the eventual sugar/acid balance in Santa Maria Valley’s wines.

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Federalist Wines

The Federalist ‘1776’ Lodi Zinfandel 2013 and The Federalist Chardonnay 2011. <a href="#taste">Click here for tasting notes.</a>
The Federalist ‘1776’ Lodi Zinfandel 2013 and The Federalist Chardonnay 2011. Click here for tasting notes.

The Federalist wines are produced by the somewhat mysterious 2Sons Winery, which is owned and managed by the Terlato Family wine empire. The vineyards and winery were founded in 1981. Three friends, John Grace, Mark Rafanelli, and Philip Staley (so why isn’t the winery named 3Sons? See? Mystery.), joined forces and purchased the site that was formerly the Alderbrook Estate. In 2000 the Terlatos were asked to develop a long-range plan to produce world-class wines and market 2Sons throughout the U. S. The Terlatos later purchased a majority share, and invested in both vineyard sources and winery to provide the winemaking team with the best grapes and equipment available. This has helped position the winery to produce single vineyard and estate wines with an on-going focus on Zinfandel.

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