Various California Apellations

Foxglove, Edna Valley   At the core of Foxglove is Bob Varner, the winemaker for Varner wines.  Beginning with their first 1991 vintage, Bob looks on the open market to buy a complementary toasty oak barrel of wine here, an enhancing full and fruity stainless fermented wine there, but always at a competitive price.  The resulting wine has Central Coast appellation  pricing, but full fruit flavors, complexity, toasty oak and barrel fermentation found in its Edna Valley appellation.

Four Vines Winery, Paso Robles   “Monster reds are my passion, and my travels have led me far and wide in pursuit of the red beast, Zinfandel”. These are the words of Christian Tietje, head winemaker and owner of Four Vines Winery. The vision of the Four Vines project is to create powerful and stylish wines from the finest Zinfandel regions anywhere: Paso Robles, Sonoma, Napa and Amador. Chris has sought out eclectic old vine vineyards to craft wines that express the unique characteristics of each appellation’s soil, water and sky – the very flavor that terroir imparts to a glass of wine. In Chris’ own words – “a glass of Four Vines that brings a sigh and a lingering smile makes all of my efforts worthwhile.”

Graziano Wines, Mendocino County   The Graziano Family has been involved in the Mendocino wine industry since 1918 when Vincenzo Graziano immigrated from Italy and planted his first vineyard. During Prohibition and through the Depression, Vicenzo was forced to support his family by selling fruit to home winemakers on the East coast and bootlegging wine wherever he could make a buck. Vincenzo’s son later took over the winemaking duties from him and today, it’s Greg Graziano who carries on the tradition first started by his grandfather. It’s not often that you run into a third-generation winemaker in the United States. Greg makes world-class wines, and true to his roots, focuses on Italian style wines made under his Monte Volpe and Enotria labels. Greg makes his wines in a traditional style, but due to the perfect conditions of the Mendocino County terroir, his wines tend be a bit richer and fuller compared to many styles from Italy. However, Italy is experiencing a renaissance when it comes to new winemaking techniques so it might be that Greg is just a little ahead of his time. Greg also makes Zinfandel and Petite Sirah under his Graziano label and other varieties like Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier and Pinotage under his St. Gregory brand. These wines are not only delicious, but value priced as well, with a tremendous amount of stuffing in every bottle. Magnifico!

JC Cellars, Monterey   JC Cellars produces hand-crafted, single vineyard wines specializing in Syrah, Petite Sirah, Viognier, and Zinfandel. Winemaker and owner Jeff Cohn (also winemaker for Rosenblum Cellars) started his own label in 1997. Also known as “Rhone-in-his-bones” Cohn, Jeff focuses his brand on hillside-grown Syrah, creating wines that offer amazing concentration and depth. These wines are consistently awarded top scores in the wine press due to their incredible balance, rich fruit and complexity. Jeff possesses an extensive background in both wine and food. He received his Master’s in agriculture chemistry, with an emphasis on enology, from Fresno State in 1996. Upon graduation Jeff joined Rosenblum Cellars as Enologist working with Kent Rosenblum. Jeff makes big and powerful wines with beautiful balance and loads of fruit. These wines are not for the faint of heart, so “Go Big, or Stay Home”!

Lange Twins, Lodi Valley   Langetwins has been a family run operation since the 1870’s when Johann and Maria Lange emigrated from their German homeland, bought some land in the central valley of California and started growing watermelons. Today,  Langetwins owns and manages hundreds of acres of vineyard property in a four county area in the northern part of California centered around the Lodi AVA. Langetwins is very conscious and concerned about the environment and they continue to invest in the practice of sustainable viticulture using only natural  means to grow the best quality fruit possible. These wines offer great quality for incredible value and if it’s a solid California wine you’re  wanting to pour by the glass, these are the perfect choice.

Longoria Wines, Santa Barbara   Rick Longoria has one of the longest histories of involvement in the Santa Barbara County wine industry, first arriving on the scene in 1976 to help make the wines at Firestone Winery. Subsequently, he was the winemaker at Rancho Sisquoc and eventually he made wines at The Gainey Vineyard before going solo under his own name. Rick has concentrated on small lot, artisan wine making with a focus on Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.  Later, he added Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Syrah to his arsenal and along the way he has experimented with a number of varieties to learn the exact potential of his Santa Barbara terrain. The popularity of the “Sideways” movie has done nothing but increase the demand for Rick’s wines. We are honored to be able to offer you small amounts of these finely crafted, classically made wines, showing real terroir, European style and quality. Way to go, Rick!

Ortman Family Vineyards, San Luis Obispo   In this day and age when even the most time-honored viticultural and winemaking practices are giving way to “production by numbers,” winemakers Chuck and Matt Ortman choose to rely on their skills and sensibilities to produce only the finest wine from the finest grapes.  Sharing the same vision of superior wine production and armed with 35+ years of knowledge and experience, this father and son have embraced a vision which sets their wines apart.  They have slowed the pace and gotten back to the accountability and fulfillment of producing small lots of truly exceptional wines.

Varner, Santa Cruz Mountains   Jim and Bob Varner planted Spring Ridge Vineyard in 1980.  Bob both manages the vineyard and makes the wine.  The rows are hand-hoed, disc-cultivated, leaf-thinned and naturally balanced but cluster thinned for quality.  The vineyard has not been fertilized and has been dry farmed for 16 years.  Insecticides have never been used.  Bob works in the rows during the harvest, insuring that sorting is done at the vine rather than at the winery.