Wineries in the US

Visiting Sonoma County means for me all the time that I also have to visit a very special place – Cornerstone Gardens.

According to the website “Cornerstone Gardens is an ever-changing series of walk-through gardens, showcasing new and innovative designs from the world’s finest landscape architects and designers.”



This is totally true, but indeed Cornerstone Gardens provides more. For the full range of amenities please check the website http://www.cornerstonesonoma.com/. I want to concentrate on the three tasting rooms currently located at Cornerstone Gardens:

- Keating Wines
- Poseidon Vineyard & Obsidian Ridge Winery
- Meadowcroft Wines

During our last trip we spent in all three tasting rooms a lot of time and we had the opportunity to taste the full range of the fantastic wines produced by these wineries. Some bottles I took with me back to Germany and together with some friends we celebrated a reminiscence to these three tasting rooms and their wines. A really nice experience.



One thing is clear: Visiting Cornerstone Gardens means also that you have also to stop at Cline Cellars. So we all thought that perhaps we should start with a nice white wine from this wonderful family-owned vineyard.

2009 Cline Cellars Marsanne Roussanne Sonoma Coast (88/100)
Sonoma Coast, California
14.0 % Alcohol

Strong golden yellow, clear and bright. Aromas of buttered popcorn, butterscotch and ripe exotic fruits, mainly pineapple. Fat, heavy and absolutely full-bodied. On the palate the pineapple aromas are confirmed. Medium-long finish. A BBQ wine at its best. Absolutely on top. Don't wait any longer.

Cline Cellars is definitely the winery I visited most often in the last eight years. Also I met Fred Cline once during a presentation of his wines during the Rheingau Gourmet Festival in Germany. An extraordinary person and an extraordinary winery. When Robert Parker publishes his list of top US values usually Cline Cellars is represented with 10 % or more of all listed wines! I will visit Cline Cellars later the year again. And then I will provide a more detailed report.



But now we enter the three tasting rooms at Cornerstone Gardens. Or better I did this in my mind. Indeed it was Tuesday, the 17th of December 2013 when I visited all three tasting rooms last. I still know this because shortly before this latest trip to California I drunk the remarkable 2011 Dry Creek "Buchignani" Zinfandel from Keating. This wine was so good that I immediately wrote an email to Eric Keating to reserve another six bottles. And on the 17th we arranged the pick-up. Again it was a fascinating tasting. I am all the time surprised about the continuous quality of all Keating wines. This day my favorite was the 2010 Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Georges III. Also this wine we tasted during this reminiscence.

2010 Keating Cabernet Sauvignon Rutherford Beckstoffer Georges III (91/100)
Rutherford, Napa Valley, California
14.7 % Alcohol

Dark cherry red, nearly impervious. A full basket of dark fruits: blackberries, blueberries, paired with sauce of dark chocolate. On the palate very strong and rustic. Full-bodied. The presence of the alcohol is noticeable but not in a bad way. Decanting. After two hours smoother, more charming. Very, very good. Also a BBQ wine. Or even better a nice duck dish with a cherry gravy!

The originally plan for the 17th was to pick-up the wine at Keating and then to leave Cornerstone Gardens to visit some other places. Then we saw the tasting room of the Tricycle Wine Partners with the wineries Poseidon Vineyard and Obsidian Ridge. The tasting room was at this time not so long established, but it looked cosy and Henri - the dog we took care of - needed a break.



So we walked in - and left nearly two hours later. All tasted wines were at least very good. Some of them outstanding. Even the "everyday wines" like the Poseidon's Chardonnay and Pinot or the Obsidians Cab had a high quality. But my absolute favorite was the 2010 Half Mile - a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot. And yet a half year later and thousands of miles from home the wine was even better.

2010 Obsidian Ridge Half Mile Proprietary Red (92/100)
Red Hills Lake County, California
14.2 % Alcohol

Dark cherry red with some purple tones. Blackberries, chocolate and some earthy notes. On the palate fruity and wonderfully smooth. A charming guy. Absolutely on the top but it will hold this quality for another three years minimum. A partner for roast chicken!

I have to mention that we visited some days later the tasting room again with some very good friends for another tasting. See also one of my first entries. We wanted to stay for approx. 90 min and to have some other tastings the day. We left after two and half hours. Nothing more to say.

However after this first tasting at the 17th we really wanted to go. But Carole - the very charming lady from Tricycle Wine Partners - strictly recommended us to stop shortly directly next-door at Meadowcroft. We followed. A good decision. Also here the quality of nearly all wines is very, very good. My favourite: The estate Cab.

2010 Meadowcroft Cabernet Sauvignon Estate Grown (90/100)
Mount Veeder, Napa Valley California
14.5 % Alcohol

Medium-dark cherry red. Cherry aromas paired with blackcurrant. Very fruity. On the palate fruits again; some spices. Tannins still present. Decanting. If you want to pair a Cab with seafood (e.g., tuna) this could be a partner. After one hour still fruity but smoother. Still very young.

Of course all the three Cabs are too young to drink them now. But with two hours decanting all of them offer maximum pleasure. And for me a wonderful reminiscence to a remarkable place in Northern California. I will come back again. Definitely.



PS: The day we tasted the wines is already some days ago. It took some time to finalise the entry for several reasons. However I added the last things last Sunday - just when the earthquake took place in Napa. In the meantime I received the information from Keating Wines and Tricycle Wine Partners that nobody was hurt and the damages are manageable. Thank God they were more lucky than other wineries near the epicenter of the quake. I hope that all wineries in the area can manage the impacts of this disease. But I trust in the spirit of the people in the region as mentioned in an email I received from Truchard Vineyards: "Napa is a strong, vibrant, and supportive community, and we are proud to call it home."

Recently I found in my cellar a bottle 2010 Chardonay Carneros from Roche. I thought it would be a good idea to drink this (last) bottle of this winery and to recall the place where my passion for California wine began. Indeed Roche was the first winery I visited in California. It was in 2008 and at this time the Roche tasting room was located at Arnold Drive, coming from the south just behind the Sonoma Raceway (formerly Infineon Raceway). My wife and I had an appointment at Gundlach Bundschu and of course we started our tour from Novato too early. First time in the area and no idea of nothing and how long you need to drive. And no navigation system.

So what to do? We stopped at the first winery which was already open at 10 in the morning. And just this moment we passed this scenic gate at the entry of Roche (today the Ram's Gate Winery is located over there). To stop here was indeed one of the best decisions of our life. Besides the fact that the quality of the wines of Roche is quite good, we met the first time one of today our best friends in the US. Our friend Brian not only presented the wines in an outstandingly charming way, he also gave us perfect recommendations for other wineries, transport of wine back to Germany and so on.

We stayed in touch but the funny thing was that we met in the upcoming years two or three times again per coincidence. For instance two years later we were looking for the tasting room again, but the location at Arnold Drive was closed. So we continued to Sonoma, walked around and suddenly saw the new Roche tasting room. And inside we found - Brian. It was the only day in the week he worked over there. Since then we met him and his beautiful wife Nancy at least once per trip to enjoy a lot of extraordinary areas with fantastic people all around the valleys. And of course it was Brian's idea to establish this blog.



But coming back to Roche Winery & Vineyards. Let's start with the tasting room. The location in downtown Sonoma just off the Sonoma Plaza is well-chosen. It is housed in a nice craftsman style building from the 1940's. Indoor and outdoor tastings are possible. I personally favor the outdoor tastings. You can relax on the porch or at the comfortable outdoor tables and have a look on the Sonoma Square. It is allowed to bring your own picnic and enjoy it together with the Roche wines. We did this once. Brian brought some artisan cheese and organised a tasting for us and some friends from Germany we showed this nice place. Fantastic. If you don't have some food with you but you are hungry - no problem. Roche has a partnership with the Sunflower Caffé nearby (http://www.sonomasunflower.com/). The owners of Roche encourage families to bring children and they are dog-friendly.

And the wines? I start with the review of the above mentioned Chardonnay.

2010 Roche Winery Chardonnay Carneros (89/100)
Sonoma, California
13.8 % Alcohol
Tasted 2014-08-16



Nice and clear yellow gold. Explicit gooseberry aromas. A little bit nuttily (young walnuts). In the mouth the gooseberry style is continued. A little bit like a Gooseberry- Meringue Cake. Straightforward, still crispy and very pleasant. Very long finish. On the top, but it will hold this quality for another two or three years.

Food pairing with Roche wines is in general no problem. This special Chardonnay is a typical summer one. If the sun is shining and you share this bottle with some nice friends and perhaps some cheese or Italian antipasti, then you know that life is good. We paired it with a classical "German" dish: Viennese Schnitzel with French Fries. Worked very well. The Carneros Chardonnay gave this dish exactly what it needs: Fresh and fruity pairing aromas.

From my perspective the Roche Winery is a real Chardonnay expert. Far away from all prejudices of Californian Chardonnays (too fat, too buttery and so on) here very fresh wines of this grape are produced which are perfect for food pairing. Roche offers different styles of Chardonnay: Stainless Steel, French Oak, American Oak and a Late Harvest variant. You like Reds more? No problem. Also the different red variants are worth to try. Check out this place during your next Sonoma stay. You will not find Roche wines in discount stores or wine shops! Nearly all information can be found on the Roche Winery website (http://www.rochewinery.com/). I will vist the winery again during one of my next trips and will give a more detailed report with more pictures.