During the height of Merlot’s popularity some ten to twelve years ago, wineries and grape growers were clamoring to plant and/or produce more and more Merlot. In the race to meet demand, there were countless acres of Merlot planted in mediocre appellations using undesirable clones. Needless to say, the resulting wines were often thin … lacking character, balance and structure. It is not surprising that consumers are somewhat skeptical of Merlot today, and realize they must select their wines carefully.
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Every now and then Lady Luck comes calling. Take the case of Dick Sherwin, a multi-talented professional whose activities included publication of Wine World Magazine. On a business trip to San Francisco in 1968, he happened to buy an amateur winemaking kit. The wine he made from the kit, he confesses, was pretty terrible, but he had been bitten by the wine bug.

By 1970 he was making regular visits to Sonoma County and on one of his trips he made another buy, purchasing a piece of vineyard land, on Lytton Springs Road, in Healdsburg (CA). The 50 acres of vineyard, which he named Valley Vista, was planted with 50-year-old Zinfandel and Petite Sirah. “From a practical standpoint,” he admits, “the vineyard purchase was not a good idea.” From the standpoint of sheer luck, we hit the jackpot.” Winemakers vied for the grapes, which produced big, fruity wines, and for years Ridge Winery built a reputation for outstanding, full-bodied Zins, using Valley Vista grapes.
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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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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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When Diane and Ken Wilson (of Wilson Winery, Healdsburg, CA) put their first Cabernet Sauvignon vines into the ground in 1989, they were already planning their winery and their product line. But, wisely, the young couple eased onto the wine scene by slow, careful stages. Neither had an agricultural background or came from a farming family. Neither was a dedicated wine buff either – until Ken bought a house that just happened to have some winemaking equipment in the basement. A friend, with a small vineyard in Sonoma County, offered to supply the grapes, and they became home winemakers. From that point on, the route was set, and Ken began learning everything he could about growing grapes and making wine.
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Germany
It is known for its white wines since Roman times. To the extent that the vineyards of Johannisberg, Steinberg is back to 1106 and 1131.
The German wines of the Rhine region, are renowned for their finesse, their bouquet.

Italy
It is known for being the second largest wine producer in Europe. Several Italian wineries are renowned for the quality of their wines, however, are not rivals of the French and German wines.
Within the recognized strong wines, is the production of Marsala in Sicily.
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When the ten families growing grapes at high elevations above Lake Sonoma banded together as the Rockpile Growers and petitioned the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (BATF) to create the Rockpile viticultural area, the officials thought it was some sort of joke. There really couldn’t be someplace called Rockpile. But the intrepid grape growers persisted, fulfilling all the requirements as to historical significance, soil type, climate, etc. With Jack Florence, Sr. representing the growers, working with Nancy Sutton of the San Francisco BATF office the Rockpile appellation became official April 29, 2002.
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Sebastiani
1997 “Sonoma Cask”
Sonoma County Cabernet Sauvignon

The price-value ratio is just too much to overlook. It screams, “Buy me, and try me”.

“Come on now, your telling me this is a $15 Cab from Sonoma?” That’s what you will be saying after you taste it. Then I expect to hear, “Thanks Greg, we appreciate the tip”. Just show me a little love for my efforts people.
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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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This time of year, along with gondolas trundling down the road and crushers running night and day, many of the wineries in the Napa Valley and Sonoma County – and probably every other wine grape growing region in California – are calling on the good services of local prelates to bless the harvest as the first load of the vintage arrives.
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