There is currently an epidemic in
this country. Recently, I have witnessed
some behavior that has me gravely concerned about many of those around me. It started a few weeks ago with strange
symptoms of people spending copious amounts of time of ESPN or other sports
outlets researching something very troubling…something called a bracket. Most inflicted with this strange syndrome
didn’t fill out a bracket (singular),
but many fill out multiple brackets
(plural), taking this strange behavior to a whole new level. For some, this behavior is so extreme it
could only be called “madness,” pure and simple.
Then there are those like me, who
get another kind of illness in March—spring fever! This disease doesn’t show itself in the
research of basketball teams and hours of sports watching (although I have
watched my fair share of NCAA basketball games lately), my spring fever
manifests itself in crazy thoughts of warmth, summer, and vacation. As others are choosing their teams to reach
the Elite Eight, I am doing my own study too, filling in my own bracket (in a
way) of the eight wineries I would make a priority to visit in northern
California wine country.
Similar to when people fill out
their brackets for the NCAA tourney, I have a list of qualifications I used to
choose my elite wineries: 1) I could not
have been to the winery before; 2) I could not have even tasted the wine before;
and 3) I had to have respected the wine on some level for a
period of time. However, even with this
criteria, my special wineries cover a gamut of styles of wine, sizes of
production, and popularity of products. Any
grape and any location in northern California could be contenders. Each has a specific reason for being chosen,
and each makes me thirsty just thinking of the amazing wine options available. Here they are, in no particular order, the
eight elite wineries I can’t wait to visit!
One—Ridge Vineyards: Known for its signature vineyard Monte Bello
in the Santa Cruz Mountains south of San Francisco, I remember the first time I
heard of Ridge’s Monte Bello red blend (Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and
Cabernet Franc). I read an online review
that made the bottle sound like heaven.
Over the years, I learned this one review was the norm, and Monte Bello
has been on my bucket list to drink ever since.
Produced by revered wine maker Paul Draper, Ridge has two locations for
visitors, and truthfully, I want to visit both (but I’m only counting this is
one of my eight). Of course, the original
Monte Bello location would be like Mecca for a wineaux like me. At the same time, the Lytton Springs location
outside of Healdsburg in northern Sonoma (purchased in 1991) looks like a
worthy stop as well. Read about both
locations on the Ridge website here.
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| Ridge Vineyards |
Two—Corison Winery: Corison is Napa royalty. With a female winemaker at the helm (which I
love), Cathy Corison and her husband primarily make Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignons
and Cabernet Francs. However, they also
produce a white from Gewurztraminer and a rose (among others). Cathy is known for using sustainable growing
and production practices in her quest to make wines that are complex and
powerful, while at the same time have some elegance. On my list to drink and see the facility,
Corison is definitely worth an elite eight position. Read more about Cathy and her wines here.
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| Corison Winery |
Three—Littorai Wines: Small, family owned Littorai is the baby of
Ted and Heidi Lemon. Ted learned the
winemaking business in the Burgundy region of France. Heidi spent some time in Germany for another
job. Together, they returned home and searched
northern California for the perfect spot for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay; they
found it in Sonoma and have a tasting room outside of Sebastopol. They believe in a hands-off, more natural
style of winemaking focusing on making the best wine after good vineyard
practices. Specializing in my favorite
wine, Pinot Noir, Ted and Heidi source from the Sonoma Coast and Anderson
Valley. They also produce quality
Chardonnays, in addition to a unique Sauvignon Blanc and Gewurztraminer
blend. Read about Littoria Wines
here.
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| Littorai Wines |
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| Copain Wines |
Five—Red
Cap Vineyards: Located on Howell Mountain
in Napa, Tom and Desiree Altemus started this winery after years in other
careers. Winemaker Rudy Zuidema is the
winemaker, joining the Altemuses after his time in Australia. The vines were planted on Howell Mountain in
2000, and Red Cap focuses on Cabernet Sauvignon and Sauvignon Blanc. The production is incredibly small, only 250
cases a year. There is no public tasting
available, so this is definitely a truly elite group of wines to
experience. Look for special events and
tastings in other locations, posted on their website here.
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| Red Cap Vineyards |
Six—Dutton-Goldfield Winery: Located in Sonoma, this is a team effort from
fifth generation Californian Steve Dutton (wine grower) and Dan Goldfield
(winemaker). This producer made my elite
list because of the focus on Pinot Noir wines, especially from one of my
favorite areas, the Russian River Valley.
They also make wines from Chardonnay, Syrah, Zinfandel, and
Gewurztraminer. The tasting room is
outside of Sebastopol and is open daily for tastings. Find the hours here.
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| Dutton-Goldfield Winery |
Seven—Venge Vineyards: Kirk Venge, Napa born and raised and fourth
generation Californian farmer, makes wines much like his ancestors, yet with
his own stamp of originality. Kirk has a
true focus on sustainability; he uses dry farming, cover crops, and no
herbicides. Making wines in Napa primarily
of Cabernet Sauvignon, he also produces Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Sauvignon
Blanc, Zinfandel, Syrah, and Merlot. By
appointment only, the tasting experience here is more about education and
enjoyment in a quiet, formal environment.
Learn more about Venge Vineyards here.
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| Venge Vineyards |
Eight—Hirsch Vineyards: In 1980, David Hirsch sought a growing area
to farm grapes that would produce wines showing the specific site where the
fruit was grown. For decades, he sourced
grapes to some of the most prestigious winemakers in northern California,
including Williams Selyem (one of my bucket-list wineries I was able to visit last
year). Now he grows grapes that make
amazing Pinot Noirs (so I have heard because, again, none of these wines have
been in my glass…yet) with the Hirsch label under the direction of a team that
includes winemakers, a vineyard manager, a gardener, and sales marketers. I have followed his sales manager and
daughter Jasmine on Facebook and Instagram for quite some time. I can freely admit to the madness I feel
about the pictures she posts of Hirsch wines!
Tastings are given by appointment only and require a trek far, far north
into Sonoma, almost three hours north of San Francisco. However, the travel is worth seeing the
unique and remote vineyard where one can catch glimpses of the ocean at
times. Here is how to visit
Hirsch Vineyards.
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| Hirsch Vineyards |
Honorable mention—Patz &
Hall: I had to add a ninth winery to my
list, Patz & Hall. The reason it
didn’t make the actual list of eight is only because I have had the pleasure of
drinking Patz & Hall wines before, so having it on my dream team of wines
that I can’t wait to taste would have been breaking my own rules. However, this winery deserves a nod for several
reasons. First, it focuses on my
favorite variety, Pinot Noir, making wines from grapes sourced from two of my beloved
AVAs: Russian River Valley and
Carneros. Patz & Hall also produces
Chardonnays, focusing on single vineyards and smaller lots. The team of James Hall, who makes the wine,
and Donald Patz, who sells the wine, is joined by Anne Moses and Heather
Patz. They recently opened the Sonoma
House outside of the town of Sonoma. I
am dying to visit this beautiful facility after following its construction via
social media.
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| Patz & Hall Sonoma House |
Luckily, I was able to bypass the
current epidemic of madness everyone around me seems to have contracted. On the other hand, I caught my own—March wine
madness. Much thought and reasoning is
used when those infected with this madness go to fill out their brackets; these
are tough choices to make. I put even
more thought and reasoning into the selected eight producers here, all based on
my personal tastes and interests. I
could have easily made a list of the sixteen sweetest wineries I want to
visit. Even easier to do would have been
to bump up to thirty-two places, and sixty-four would have also been a
cinch.
These eight represent an incredibly
short list of a very, very, very long line of wonderful wineries to visit in
northern California. The madness of
trying to limit to just eight actually hurt me; it created a whole other list
of symptoms, some similar to basketball fanatics' issues this month: shaking, nervous twitches, and thirst. Those of you following the NCAA tournament
only have a few more games until your madness is cured; I still have months until
summer comes to cure mine. Bring on the
prescription for travel and let these eight elite wine producers cure my
madness—cheers!
