Varietal:Cabernet Franc
Appellation:California, Mendocino, Yorkville Highlands
Style:Red
Price:$19
WOW Rating:91
The nose reveals a nice array of red fruit aromas. A sip offers flavors of complex fruit, earth, cocoa powder and great length. “We are one of the twelve original vineyards to be certified organic, since 1986,” says founder Edward Wallo. For more information, or to arrange a visit to this winery (located about 100 miles north of San Francisco), go to www.yorkville-cellars.com. The vineyard is located in southern Mendocino County between Anderson Valley to the west and Alexander Valley to the east.
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Varietal:Blend
Appellation:California, Mendocino, Yorkville Highlands
Style:Dry White
Price:$19
WOW Rating:92
There are aromas of fig with a touch of citrus and complex minerals. This wine was a Wine Spectator “Top 100 Wines of the Year” in 1995 and deserves watching. The name is inspired by the dowry of Eleanor of Aquitaine, that being the western part of France which included Bordeaux. “We are one of the twelve original vineyards to be certified organic, since 1986,” says founder Edward Wallo. For more information or to arrange a visit to this winery (located about 100 miles north of San Francisco), go to www.yorkville-cellars.com. The vineyard is located in southern Mendocino County between Anderson Valley to the west and Alexander Valley to the east.
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Varietal:Sauvignon Blanc
Appellation:California, Mendocino, Yorkville Highlands
Style:Dry White
Price:$14
WOW Rating:88
A crisp complex mix of bright citrus and delicate herbal, this white wine is well suited for most any food pairing. “We are one of the twelve original vineyards to be certified organic, since 1986,” says founder Edward Wallo. For more information, or to arrange to visit this winery (located about 100 miles north of San Francisco), go to www.yorkville-cellars.com. The vineyard is located in southern Mendocino County between Anderson Valley to the west and Alexander Valley to the east.
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Varietal:Merlot
Appellation:California, Mendocino, Yorkville Highlands
Style:Red
Price:$19
WOW Rating:89
There are aromas of delicate earth, then flavors of subtle plum. This charming red pulls you in closer, rather than hitting you over the head with typical California bigness. “We are one of the twelve original vineyards to be certified organic, since 1986,” says founder Edward Wallo. For more information, or to arrange a visit to this winery (located about 100 miles north of San Francisco), go to www.yorkville-cellars.com. The vineyard is located in southern Mendocino County between Anderson Valley to the west and Alexander Valley to the east.
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Published on July 28th, 2010 in
winery
When you ask Leo Trentadue (Trentadue Winery, Geyserville, CA) how he happens to be a successful winery owner, he gives all the credit to his father, Joseph Trentadue. A native of Bari, Italy, Joseph arrived in the United States when he was 16. Two years later he enlisted in the army, but before he could be sent overseas, Armistice was declared, and he decided to go back to Italy. At the railway station, where he and his friends were waiting for the train to carry them to the docks, he saw a poster with pictures of orange groves and the magic word, “California.” He decided he might as well go look it over. He could always go back to Italy – but he never did.
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If you didn’t know Stryker Winery was up there, sitting on a softly rounded knoll off Highway 128 in Alexander Valley, you’d drive right past it. This is pretty surprising, since the winery, owned by Karen and Craig MacDonald and (Ms) Pat Stryker, is large enough to produce 20,000 cases of wine, when operating at full capacity. Thanks to some very innovative and thoughtful planning by architects Richard Schuh and Amy Nielsen it is not just unobtrusive, but nearly invisible. Even after you have walked past the fermentation and aging cellars, you are not quite ready for the tasting room with a vaulted ceiling soaring nearly two-stories above the glass-enclosed interior. Three of the room’s four sides are glass presenting breath-taking views around Alexander Valley.
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1998 Alexander Valley Chardonnay
I took to this wine like I would take to Anna Kournikova at a summer tennis camp… clean, ripe, refreshing and hard to resist.
This Chardonnay is a pure Alexander Valley treasure. Some of the northern Sonoma County coolness has imparted a unique and tasty quality to this wine. I have been drinking bigger and fuller Chard’s lately and enjoy them, but I took to this wine like I would take to Anna Kournikova at a summer tennis camp. They are both clean, ripe, refreshing and hard to resist.
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Varietal:Chardonnay
Appellation:California, Sonoma
Style:Dry White
Price:$15
WOW Rating:93
This Chardonnay exhibits ripe melon, mineral/limestone and lime/citrus in the nose. The sip presents a wine with restraint, though there is citrus marmalade and toffee. The Alexander Valley Vineyards Chardonnay is bright, complex and beautifully balanced.
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Appellation:California, Sonoma
Style: Port
Price: $19
WOW Rating:91
This is a winery that has earned fame for the production of Cabernet. Their nearby neighbor is Silver Oak, the impossible to find and expensive Cabernet Sauvignon. The good news is that due to increased production, the Alexander Valley Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon is very much an equal that is much easier to find.
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Varietal :Syrah
Appellation:California, Sonoma
Style:Red
WOW Rating:92
A sniff offers dark red fruit, concentrated, with a lilt of menthol. In the mouth there is redcurrant, maybe cranberry, then bright fruit anchored by a touch of earthiness, a drop of lime, followed by long length.
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