WINEMAKERS TO LOOK FOR

Twenty of our current top picks for wines/winemakers to keep an eye out for. If you find bottles in a retailer from these producers, buy them!

And watch for BT winemaker dinners coming soon…

Palmina
Italian varietals by Steve and Chrystal Clifton. Their Nebbiolo, Dolcetto, Barbera and Tocai Friulano are stunning.

Edward Sellers
Look for Ed & Dani Sellers and winemaker Amy Butler’s 2005 Vertigo, 2005 Le Thief, 2005 Syrah Sélectionné and 2005 Cuvée des Cinq. They make some of the finest Rhone wines in Paso Robles.

L’Aventure
Look for owner and winemaker Stephan Asseo’s 2005 & 2006 Optimus, 2005 & 2006 Estate Côte à Côte, and 2005 & 2006 Estate Cuvée. Transplanted Frenchman, Stephan Asseo (from St.-Emilion) masterfully creates Bordeaux and Rhone style blends.

Kenneth-Crawford Wines
Look for owners and winemakers Mark Crawford Horvath and Kenneth (Joey) Gummere’s 2007 Pinot Noir from Babcock Vineyard, 2006 Grenache from Larner Vineyard, and 2006 Syrah from Larner Vineyard. These three current releases from Kenneth-Crawford are exquisite with a beautiful nose and long lingering finish. They are without a doubt some of the best wines I have tasted in the last few months.

Harrison Clarke Wine
Look for owners and winemakers Roger Harrison and Hilarie Clarke’s 2006 Estate Syrah, 2006 Syrah Cuvee Charlotte and 2006 Sorellina Grenache. The 2006 Syrah Cuvee Charlotte possesses deep, concentrated fruit, excellent purity, and notes of graphite, blue and blackberries, noticeable minerality, and a layered mouthfeel. They have perfected art of making great Syrahs.

Cass Winery
Steve Cass, Ted Plemons and winemaker Lood Kotze make killer Viognier, Syrah, Petite Syrah, the “Rockin’ One” and an unbelievable left-bank Bordeaux-blend Cab; all estate grown in the hills east of Paso Robles.

Stolpman Vineyards
Look for owner Tom Stolpman and winemaker Sashi Moorman’s 2005 Hiltops Syrah and 2005 Sangiovese, estate grown in Santa Ynez Valley and they are both extraordinary.

Thompkin Cellars
Look for Julie Thompson-Dobkin and Jeff Dobkin’s 2006 Grenache, 2006 Syrah, 2004 Couchant and the 2005 3ie Degré, they are all outstanding. The 2005 3ie Degré, a red Rhone-style blend (50% Syrah, 40% Mourvedre, 10% Grenache), is the jewel of the Thompkin Cellars wines. It was given a 90 point rating by Robert Parker in the Wine Advocate Issue 177.

Booker Vineyard
Look for owner and winemaker Eric Jensen’s 2007 White (blend of 65% Roussanne and 35% Viognier) with dense aromatics full of marmalade and honeysuckle, 2006 “The Alchemist” (85% Syrah and 15% Cabernet), and 2006 Fracture (100% Syrah) with blackberry, cassis and soft hints of all-spice and chocolate coat this beautifully textured wine.

Ken Brown Wines
Look for pioneering winemaker Ken Brown’s 2006 Pinot Noir from the Cargasacchi Vineyard, the 2003 and 2004 Bien Nacido Vineyard Syrah, 2006 Duncan’s Cuvee Pinot Noir,  and the 2006 Nielson Vineyard Chardonnay. Ken Brown produces very small lots of wine from some of the Santa Rita Hills region’s most highly acclaimed vineyards, including Cargasacchi, Clos Pepe and the historic Sanford & Benedict Vineyard.

Flying Goat Cellars
Look for owner and winemaker Norm Yost’s 2006 Salisbury Vineyards Pinot Noir, 2005 Rio Vista Dijon Clone Pinot Noir and the 2006 Dierberg Vineyard Pinot Noir, they are all innovative and extremely well crafted wines. The 2006 Salisbury Vineyards Pinot Noir, for the price, is unbeatable.

Epiphany Cellars
Look for Eli Parker’s 2005 Revelation, a red Rhone style blend with its aromas of black cherry, boysenberry, anise, spice box, cinnamon and vanilla and a nice long finish and the 2006 Inspiration, a white Rhone style blend will its rich flavors of apricot, tropical fruit, honeysuckle, pear, lemon zest and vanilla.

Melville Vineyards and Winery
Look for winemaker Greg Brewer’s 2007 Verna’s Estate Chardonnay, Santa Barbara County; 2007 Estate Chardonnay, Santa Rita Hills; 2007 Verna’s Estate Pinot Noir, Santa Barbara County; 2007 Estate Pinot Nior, Santa Rita Hills; and 2007 Verna’s Estate Syrah, Santa Barbara County.

Fiddlehead Cellars
Look for Kathy Joseph’s 2005 Estate Pinot Noir Lollapalooza and 2003 Sauvignon Blanc Hunnysuckle. Kathy without a doubt makes some of the finest Pinot Noir I have ever tasted!

Star Lane and Dierberg Estate Vineyards
Look for owner Jim Dierberg and winemaker Nick de Luca’s Dierberg Estate Vineyards 2005 Estate Grown Chardonnay and 2006 Pinot Noir from the Santa Maria Valley, as well as, Star Lane Vineyards 2006 Merlot and 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon, both are Estate Grown in the Santa Ynez Valley. Star Lane one of the very few growers of Cabnernet Sauvignon in the  Santa Ynez Valley.

Dierberg Pinot Noir and Star Lane Cabernet are kept in separate tunnels, respecting the fact that the winery encompasses two distinct winemaking philosophies: Dierberg Estate’s Burgundy-inspired Pinot Noir and Chardonnay as well as Star Lane’s mostly Bordeaux varietals. 

Zaca Mesa Winery & Vineyards
Look for former winemaker Clay Brock’s 2003 Estate Syrah which really coming of age this year, 2004 Estate Syrah (92 point rating in Wine Enthusiast), 2005 Estate Syrah (92 point rating in Wine Spectator) and 2005 Black Bear Block Syrah (94 point rating from Robert Parker of Wine Enthusiast). In 2008 Eric Mohseni became the winemaker and we look forward to great things from him.

Sol Rouge
Look for Bryan Kane’s 2006 Grenache, 2006 “The Gypsy” (a red Rhone-style blend), 2005 Marsanne-Roussanne and the 2007 Gypsy Blanc (a classic white Rhone-style blend consisting of 48% Marsanne, 48% Roussanne and 4% Viognier). Bryan is also the winemaker at VIE Winery

VIE Winery
Look for Bryan Kane’s 2007 Roussanne, 2006 L’Etranger (a Zinfandel based blend with 60% Zinfandel, 35% Syrah and 5% Petite Syrah) and 2006 Alder Springs Syrah

Ovene Winery
Look for Jeff White’s 2006 Pinot Blanc with its big floral bouquet, 2005 Pinot Noir with its intense fruit flavors and exotic spices and the 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon with its rich intense aromas of ripe berry fruit with a hint of sage and cocoa

Our recommendations are always highly-extracted, big fruit bombs with remarkable character, complexity and perfect balance. If it doesn’t knock our socks off, we won’t recommend it!

WINE BARS TO LOOK FOR