Armida

This was the second stop on the third day and right after the epic 2-hour adventure at Siduri. The timing was good, though, because Armida always puts out a spread of finger foods and it's a fair distance to drive, allowing our palates (and palate processors) time to recover.

If you haven't read previous blogs about Armida, let me summarize quickly. This is a fun stop. Whether they're geared up for a big weekend or they're cruising quietly through the week, you'll have a nice time here. I'll cut it short for the sake of brevity of this blog and begin a contribution on the Review page.

I normally abhor tasting vintages that are younger than a year. In this case, I don't mind a bit. The 2009 Maple Vineyard Zinfandel is a delight! The maturation process on the wine will be very rapid and, quite likely, one of their best vintages of this wine. It was more than worthy of a case, which we generously shared a third of with a friend.

Once done with the barrel tasting, we rolled up to the tasting bar and like many other wineries we frequent, were immediately recognized. Janet, who recognizes us on sight, passed us off to Steve Cousins, brother of Bruce Cousins, and co-owner of Armida. For the next half hour, Steve took us through a few of the wines they had out for tasting, and a few they didn't. We got a real education on the Maple Vineyard that was a special moment for us all. In the end, another case of wine was tucked under our arm (2007 Armida Il Campo) and another great story.

2008 Barrel Tasting

March 2008
Another year of barrel tasting. My note-taking was abysmal, forgive me.

Siduri
There were a plethora of Pinot Noirs and Syrahs to taste here. For posterity’s sake we only recorded the guilt-free prices of the wines.

Pinot Noirs
Hawk’s View Oregon - $0 (Not a fan of Oregon Pinots, yet)

Parson’s Vineyard Russian River Valley - $18

Sapphire Hill Russian River Valley - $23

Amber Ridge Russian River Valley - $28

Sonoma Coast Tierra Promissio - $32

Sonatera Sonoma Coast - $40

Gary’s Vineyard Santa Lucia Highlands - $42

Syrah
Amber Ridge - $0

Judge Vineyard - $28

Christiansen Vineyard – Minty, mossy $0

Page – Nord - $30 Good

Rosella’s Vineyard - $25 (blah)

Susan’s Hill – Great! $35

Russian Hill
2004 Pinot Noir Estate Vineyard: $35/$34

2005 Pinot Noir Estate Vineyard: $35/$36

2004 Syrah : $25/$30
Futures worthy purchase.

Joseph Swan
2006 Ziegler Zinfandel: $20
Futures worthy.

2002Mancini Ranch Zinfandel: $20

Sunce
2005 Merlot (100%): $35/$33
Nice, good. Ended up splitting a half-case on futures.

2005 Cabernet Franc: $30/$30
Nice nose, but a little weak on the palate.

2004 Meritage Reserve: $48/$39

2005 Les Trois Amis: $65/$55

Porter Creek
Chardonnay futures well worth consideration@$200/case

Twomey
2000 Merlot: $60/$60
Good for a purchase of 2

Mill Creek
The zinfandel futures are not bas. We split a case of half bottles they were offering of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. This is a good-valued stop for both of those.

Armida
2006 Keefer Ranch Chardonnay
Expect a case of this – the fruit was a nice balance of melon and pear. The oak notes were light. $235/case (futures)

2006 Maple Vineyard Zinfandel: $327/case (futures)
This is a no-brainer. Another good year of Maple Vineyard Zinfandel.

Fritz
2007Pinot Noir
Releases in October 2008. Mild/easy to drink. Bottle purchase worthy, when it releases.

2007 Zinfandel
Releases in October 2009. Will be bottled in June 2008. Fantastic wine!! Keep an eye out for it. Pickup in December $40/bttl

Sbragia
2006 Gino’s Vineyard Zinfandel:$28
Releases Spring 2009. Fantastic, keep an eye out. Futures aren’t ever offered at this winery.

2005 Gino’s Vineyard Zinfandel
Not up to par; comparable to (or less than) 2004.

2006 Home Ranch Chardonnay
Good enough that I bought one for myself and one for a friend.

2005 Home Ranch Merlot
Good enough for one bottle.

Dutcher’s Crossing
2007 Zinfandel Maple Vineyard : $418/case (futures)
5% Carignane, 5% petit sirah, old vine. Very Good!

2007 Taylor’s Reserve Syrah
Nice but not future’s worthy. Spicy such that it can easily be confused with a zinfandel. The real risk with this one is that the winemaker still had some blending to do, so you don’t have a real impression of how it will turn out.

2007 Cabernet Sauvignon Taylor’s Reserve: ~$38/bttl
This wine will be better once it has been blended, but the futures risk is too great.

Raymond Burr
We tend to stop here for the meatballs! The Cabernet Sauvignons are nice, but not compelling to me. If you’re a Bordeaux-lover, then these will suit you.

2003 Cabernet Franc
Light bodied. Less flavor. Too bland for a Cab Franc.

2004 Cabernet Sauvignon
Good; well structured.

2000 Cabernet Sauvignon $38

Gopfrich
I’m never disappointed with a stop at this humble, but charming winery. Ray and Bonnie spend much of their efforts growing grapes for other wineries, but they reserve about 10% of them for their own bottles. Barrel tasting here is a treat, but get here soon, because the case count is measured on a white board and dwindles fast. They might only make two to four barrels (less than 100 cases).

2006 Zinfandel (futures)
Good nose, weak body on the palate.

2006 Syrah (futures)
Excellent; full-bodied!

2006 Cabernet Sauvignon
Will buy in the bottle, when released: $39

Forchini
2007 Beau Siena (futures)
Bordeaux style. Good value at $176/case. Great nose, but very tannic.

2007 Papa Nonno (futures)
Tuscan style; Zin, Carignane, Cabernet Sauvignon, and mixed whites. Nice wine for the price ($160/case)!!

Unti

2006 Barbera: $28/$26
Excellent; smooth, balanced, great flavor

2005 Zinfandel: $28/$25
Very nice! Balanced.

2005 Grenache: $21/$30
Creamy, easy drinking.

2004 Syrah: $30/$26
Well-made.

2004 Syrah Benchland:$35/$35
Super!

2006 Syrah Winery Block
Tannic.

Mauritson
2006 Rockpile Malbec (futures) $30/bottle

This wine left me very enthused. Should be good to go in October 2008.

2006 Rockpile Cemetary Vineyard Zinfandel (futures price $35)
Missing a lot of zinfandel characteristics

2006 Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel: $30/$27
Very balanced, with full character; evenly balanced between fruit and spice.

2006 Sauvignon Blanc: $15/$17

2006 Chardonnay: $22/$25
Tart but has great personality.

Hanna

Sauvignon Blanc
Lemmony, not served well; too warm.

2007 Pinot Noir
Lacked complexity

2005 Cabernet Sauvignon
Very tannic; requires years of laydown. Not sure the fruit will ever appear.

2002 Two Ranch Road
Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon blend. Good nose, huge tannins, very unbalanced.

2004 Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
Berry, modest tannins. Not very complex, but better balanced.

Robert Young
2005 Chardonnay

Oakey, but nice balance. A lot of French character to it.

2005 Winery Road
Smooth mouthful. Humble fruit. Fun to drink.

2003 Scion
Modest balance. Structure seemed to break down. Flavor was very accessible.

2004 Scion
Great structure!! Heavy-bodied. Deep fruit flavor.

2006 Scion
Fragile tannins

Clos du Bois
2007 Reserve Chardonnay

I love the French oak Chards. Calcaire-worthy!

2007 Pinot Noir
Light to medium body
A little too simple for my taste.

2005 Pinot Noir
Nice comparison, still on the simple side. What the 2007 aspires to be…

Trentadue
2006 La Storia Cuvee 32 (futures): $264/case
Not ready; not integrated.

2007 La Storia Zinfandel (futures): $226/case
Very young, no spice yet. Very fruit forward & sweet.

2004 La Storia Zinfandel
Better balanced by the 11% Petite Sirah

2004 La Storia Cuvee 32
Better integrated, but not to my taste.

Non-Vintage Sangiovese (100%)
Nice fruit.
2004 Petite Sirah
Perfect body, mouthfeel. A little tannic; cool it down to find the fruit a bit.

Ridge
2007 Carignane
Good flavor and mouthfeel

2007 Zinfandel Ponzo (futures)
2% residual sugar; hard to tell how good it will be.

2007 Monte Bello (futures): $80/-/$60
Complex, very good. Strange tingle, possibly fermentation. Unequivocally not worth the price.

2005 Lytton Springs: $35/$35
Zinfandel blend with Carignane and Petite Sirah. Balanced, great mouthfeel. Vibrant raspberry, blackberry flavors.

2005 Carmichael: $30/$30

2005 Geyserville Zinfandel
Very similar, still. Dryer, less fruity and less balanced.

Mazzocco
2005 West Dry Creek Zinfandel: $30/$27
Very well-balanced. Nose was a little wanting. This would be a good match with beef teriyaki.

2005 Home Ranch Zinfandel
Medium-to-light body. Brilliant raspberry w/ spices.

2007 Pony Zinfandel
Strange minty note.

2007 Maple Vineyard Zinfandel
Like it should be! Characteristic Maple Vineyard; jammy.

2007 Stone Zinfandel
Vacant nose; slightly spicier and less jammy.

DeLoach
2006 Chardonnay O.F.S.: $32/$30
Creamy, tropical.

2007 Green Valley Pinot Noir (Futures)
Fizzy, but expect good things when it’s ready!

2007 OFS Pinot Noir (Futures)
Nose is very full. Expect great things when ready!

2006 Pinot Noir Russian River Valley:$20/$16

2006 Green Valley Pinot Noir:$35/$36
Canadian bacon notes.

2006 OFS Pinot Noir:$38/$30/$30
‘shroomy, truffle notes.

2004 Russian River Valley Zinfandel: $22/$18
Harsh aftertaste.

2006 OFS Zinfandel

2006 Nova Zinfandel:$32/$32

2004 Gambogi Ranch Zinfandel: $27/$30

2005 Russian River Valley Syrah
Smells and tastes a lot like a sweet, fruit forward zinfandel.

2005 Wild Creek Cabernet Sauvignon Dry Creek Valley
Too simple, watery.

Dutton Estate
2006 Sauvignon Blanc Kylie’s Cuvee: $17/$18
Smells like watermelon, but tastes like melon, lemon

2005 Kyndall’s Reserve Chardonnay: $37/$18
Too much tang, not enough French oak, but light and yummy for a summer day or a select meal. Whole cluster press is the culprit; 100% malolactic fermentation in 100% French oak.

2005 Jewell Block Pinot Noir: $47/$26
A little hot.

2004 Stoetz Lane Zinfandel:$30/$26
Smells like a pinot, tastes like a good, aged pinot.

2004 Cherry Ridge Syrah: $34/$32
Big blackberry; full-bodied, complex. Recommendable.

2004 Gail Ann’s Syrah: No
Light-bodied; too much like a pinot.

October 2007 – Sonoma Harvest Fair

This was, without a doubt, the biggest trip we’ve taken. We dedicated ten days to exploring wine country in Sonoma and Napa counties. For our efforts, we visited 43 wineries, 26 of which were new, and 31 of which successfully plied money from our wallets. Together, we have not dedicated more than a few days to a vacation of any type since our three week tour of Europe (pre EU) in 1992. Needless to say, we approached it with gusto!

Friday Sonoma Harvest Fair
What you should know about Harvest Fair is that it’s not unlike other county fairs you grew up around. It has animal pageants, produce contests, and first rate flowers. The key draw to this fair, in my opinion, is what a $20 ticket will get you the first day… a glass from which you can taste all of the fair’s ribbon winners for the year. This particular year, there were a few standouts. Not only did Clos du bois’ Calcaire win best chardonnay wine, it was voted the best wine of the fair! If you’re a pinot-phile, then you’d want to stop by and taste De La Montanya’s prize winner.

Throughout this entire barn (and it is a big barn) are nothing but tables of wines of all different varietals grown and made in Sonoma County. If you ever wanted to “tour” Sonoma County wineries, there’s no faster way. Here’s the perfect opportunity to taste gobs of new wines that you know are notable, even though you’ve never heard of the winery.

If you do come to the event, I suggest packing a light lunch because there aren’t many food booths to sate your appetite or tame your buzz. Also bring very comfortable shoes, as you will likely be on your feet the entire time. Tables are available if you claim them as soon as you walk through the door or you attempt to reserve them well in advance. Given the size of the crowd and the limited seating, it’s unlikely you’ll have much to work with. Both the barn and the event are big enough to house a couple thousand of your closest friends, with seating for about a tenth of them.

Here's our massive itinerary. If you're wondering about the light day in the middle, somebody had to see the beach and play in the surf...

Saturday
• De Loach
• Martin Ray
• Russian Hill Estate Winery
• Gary Farrell
• Moshin
• Porter Creek
• Arista
• Hop Kiln
• Rabbit Ridge
• Twomey

Sunday
• Imagery
• De la Montanya
• Sapphire Hill
• Holdredge
• Davis Family
• Christie Vineyard
• Huntington Wine Cellars

Monday
• Clos Pegase
• Cuvaison
• Castello di Amorosa
• Merryvale
• Flora Springs

Tuesday
• Ferrari - Carano
• Mauritson

Wednesday
• Mazzocco
• Dry Creek Vineyards
• Lambert Bridge
• Mill Creek
• Belvedere
• Gallo
• Rosenblum

Thursday
• Fritz
• Trentadue
• Robert Young

Friday
• Jessup Cellars
• Domaine Chandon
• Castella di Amorosa

Saturday
• Siduri
• Mill Creek
• Armida
• Fritz
• Clos du Bois
• Robert Young
• Stonestreet

Sunday
• Trentadue
• Heitz Cellars

Napa in 2007

Having learned some hard lessons in past trips, we made the appropriate adjustments for this trip and toured Napa during the week. Every place we stopped was new to us and the whole experience was unparalleled to anything we’d done before.
I'm still searching for the rest of my barrel tasting notes from this trip. Maybe I'll find them anyway...
Clos du Val
Cabernet Sauvignon
I enjoyed this wine while was still pretty tight, while others preferred it decanted/open. It’s a good wine to drink alone with lots of complexity to it: dark flavors like chocolate, black cherry, coffee.

Luna
Luna had some good wines, but they were overpriced and somewhat disappointing.

Conn Creek
These guys opend with a nice “hey, how are you?” chardonnay. It was the wine that led us to coin the term “social chardonnay”. You know the ones I’m talking about, where company arrives and you’re still settling in for the event, so you open a nice white wine to warm things up while you finish your preparations.
Smack me in the mouth, this is the biggest, baddest, Bordeaux blend I have ever tasted! Conn Creek Anthology, a full blend of the five Bordeaux grapes (Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Malbec), is the richest, chewiest, blast of complex flavor and mountainous structure that has ever crossed my palate! Wow! Woohoo!

Charles Krug
I confess that I made the same mistake that most people, new to the area, make. I recognized Krug as a sparkling wine maker, but what I learned was only their French wineries make it. They stick to the traditions of it, and therefore make Champagne. (Note: Champagne is a sparkling wine made in the eponymously named region of France.) Nonetheless, Krug was quite a pleasant surprise. They had a good merlot at the price point ($19/bttl). Their red blend, Generations, didn’t have the in-your-face structure that Anthology had, but it was smooth and suitably complex. For $15 a bottle less, it was also better valued.

Louis MartiniThe chardonnay they offered was good and fairly priced, as were all of their wines. The stand-out here was an old-vines zinfandel.

Simi - Barrel Tasting
We stopped at Simi to hit their barrel tasting since they were one of the few open on a Friday. Regrettably, it wasn’t really worth the stop – even the food was poor. At some point, it might be worth stopping for the winery tour.

Armida - Barrel Tasting
Nestled up on a hill overlooking a pond and vineyards, this is a nice spot to buy a bottle and sit out on their deck with a small picnic. We had a thought that having people at the rail of the redwood deck, overlooking the vineyards, with four glasses and a bottle on the rail, would be a nice artistic picture.
Once again, their Maple Vineyard Zinfandel is fabulous! We bought futures and I’m sure we won’t be disappointed. They were also tasting a 2006 One Old Vineyard Zinfandel that would be interesting to try once it is bottled.
Their chardonnay was so worth the futures. The 2006 Keefer Ranch Chardonnay had a creaminess to it while still sustaining citrus fruits of lemon, pear, and oddly, a little banana.

Hop Kiln - Barrel TastingKeep and eye out for the November Release of the Dijon Clone Chardonnay. They have a lot of great oils, mustards, dips, vinagrettes, etc. If you are hungry, they bake you a small loaf of bread in about 5 minutes for a couple of dollars. It’s nice to cut the buzz with… The most interesting thing about Hop Kiln is its history, having once been a brewery.

Copia
I talk about COPIA a little in my book. In short, it’s well worth the stop. Devote the better part of the morning or afternoon here as the museum, restaurant, and wine/food seminars will keep you occupied for a while.

Freemark AbbeyThere’s no doubt that this is a very charming place, but the wines, we found were a tad overpriced. We’ve since learned that the real value wines are in the reserve tastings.

Heitz Cellars
Bella Oaks Cabernet Sauvignon was a multi-layered wine that will improve even more in five years. It was so incredibly complex that there were two distinct phases to the flavors that appeared from the taste. The finish was so long I almost checked my watch!

The chardonnay they offer is quite nice as a social chardonnay. Note, however, that it differs greatly from other chards in the valley, in that it’s not creamy or buttery. This is a chard with so much oak flavor you almost have to dig the splinters out of your mouth. Don’t mistake me, it’s got good balance with lemon, pear, and melon, but this is not your Napa chard.

Grignolino Port – It’s a sweet port, but without the brand fortification. Heitz uses grappa, a wine spirit, to fortify their ports. It’ll be good with fruity desserts (including, oddly, pumpkin pie).
Grignolino wine – this is best characterized as a good pizza wine. I’ve found this varietal to be a little odd, with notes of yellow and red bell peppers. It’s not complex, but has an appealing nose. This one didn’t follow through on the palate, however.

Ink Grade Port – I have had a fair share of ports and, unequivocally, this is the best port I’ve ever had. Before I say more, I must say first that you should beware of which Ink Grade you’re buying. The non-vintage is good (and very well-priced), but the quality doesn’t hold water against the vintage port by the same name! What a fantastic port! Nobody does it better, in my opinion. Heitz is special in many regards when it comes to this port. First, they fortify it with grappa, not brandy like most ports. Secondly, the grapes they use are port grapes, which is to say they are the same varietals used to make port in Portugal! Don’t screw around with other wineries’ syrah, zin, or cab ports if you can get your hands on so much as one bottle of this elixir. It costs twice as much as the non-vintage port but no more than anyone else’s.

Peju
The merlot here was fine. The chardonnay is good at the price point. There was a fun “summer wine” (an expression I detest, but is favored by many feminine wine drinkers) called Prevance. I don’t know why, but they were also characterizing it as a fun, easy, “hot tub” wine. It’s much like Siduri’s “barbeque wine”, just more expensive. (Note: An argument ensued over which was better. No clear winner.)

St. Supery
There was nothing exciting here. I like a wine called Elu, but it didn’t really have the balance or complexity commensurate with the price.

Sequoia Grove
What a beautiful place! The cabernets were well-balanced, but on the spicy side. There wasn’t enough fruit accessible to the palate for our preferences due to the American oak aging.

Havens
“Black and Blue” was a nice wine that will be quite “yummy” in five to seven years. A new varietal to us, the Albarino was tart, but good. The crispness could easily be attributed to the lack of malolactic fermentation.

Twomey
Nothing but merlots and what a good source for them! They were complex and structured enough to be able to lay them down. They were in the process of release a Russian River Pinot Noir that might be interesting, but they weren’t tasting it.

Sterling Vineyards
What a beautiful place to visit, nestled like a mansion on the top of a knoll in the northern valley. A gondola ride takes you to the top where you begin a tour through the winery, narrated by automated recordings and large poster boards. The view of the vineyards in the valley below is quite rustic and charming. As you tour the winery, there are stations that serve you wine for your tasting pleasure. My overall impression was that the wines had a bouquet that was far and away better than the taste. In fact the wines were a bit disappointing across the palate.

Domaine Chandon
OMG, get your lips on a glass of their Pinot Munier! This is a varietal that is often grown to blend with other pinots and sparkling wines, but Domaine Chandon has found a real treasure in their Carneros grapes to make a vintage of its own.
The Etoile Brut sparkling wine was nutty, with a surprising honey taste that made it deliciously smooth.
Classic Brut was pretty good and very accessible – easy drinking
Chandon Riche’ had orange muscat added – perfectly balanced to be a sweet, dry, delicious sparkling wine, especially for the price point.

Schug
The white wines were a bit tart and acidic. The reds were a bit spicy, but unworthy of adding to our collection.

Viansa
What a great merlot they have! It goes down so smoothly and easily, but has a very fruit-rich nose without smelling like a pinot. Drink now or in 5 years.
The 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon was rich and full, but not at that price point.
The Cabernet Franc blend was excellent! Finished extremely well with nice balance and left a rich, smooth (non-drying) coating to the mouth.

Domaine Carneros
Great view! We tasted the sparkling wines which were mediocre. They were accessible, but available in any market. In other words, they weren’t anything special.

Mazzocco

California Wine Country hasn't been immune to the woes of the current economy and if you knew nothing about the business side of it, you could see evidence in the way Barrel Tasting was conducted. A good, conscientious winery (in good times) will age their wines at least a year before barrel tasting, offering the customer a taste of it after it's matured in the barrels and developed some complexity of character. What we found, beginning with Mazzocco, was that wineries were rushing to get their wines to market, in spite of everything.

When you taste/drink a wine that's labelled with a 2009 vintage (for example), you should know that the wine was harvested in the late summer/fall of that year and put in barrels mere weeks thereafter. So if you're tasting a 2009 vintage in March of 2010, it's been in the barrel less than 4 months. What's unfortunate in this economy is that the harvest may have been their best in years, but the rush to generate revenue is forcing wineries to forgo the maturation process, sacrificing what might be a classic wine.

Evidence would suggest that Mazzocco is in this condition. Their four wines being theifed from the barrels were all 2009, and since they won't be released until September 2011, it was difficult to gage or predict how they'd turn out. At a 35% discount over retail, you could also infer that their cash position was also barren.

2009 Stone Ranch Zinfandel :$29/$18.85/$34
A real favorite of ours at this price point.40 This will blow away any wine within $7 of it at the grocery store (eww...don't buy there) or other wine stores. The alcohol content will befuddle you; at nearly 16% with some vintages, you wonder how it's possible it could be so smooth.

2009 Warm Spring Ranch Zinfandel : $32/$20.8/$36
Antoine, the winemaker, has found a real gem in the WSR vineyards. While not especially complex, the shear fun factor associated with this wine (and Stone Ranch, for that matter) has really made it addictive! Drink it alone or with friends; it has such mass appeal without being overly simple (e.g. Menage e trois)! Pairing it with a meal is possible, but don't get rambunctious.

2009 Pony Zinfandel : $32/$20.8/$--
While the futures prices is very enticing, the wine was tasting very "green". Mazzocco did an unusual thing with this year's tasting by tasting the wine from both new oak and neutral oak (3 yrs old). New oak often imparts a lot more spice to the wine, but the wine was tasting green from both barrels.

2009 Maple Vineyard Zinfandel : $40/$26/$--
For those who know Tom and Tina Maple, you know that they have one of the premier vineyards in Dry Creek Valley for growing Zinfandels. I think Mazzocco, who makes the best Zin from Maple, did them a disservice with this offering. We have conducted a blind, vineyard designate tasting with Maple Vineyard grapes: Mazzocco, Armida, and Dutcher Crossing. All three were the same year, so the same lot of grapes. Hands-down, Mazzocco's "arrangement" (to use a musical expression) was the top pick within the group. I hope that tasting it this young in the barrel doesn't put-off it's cult-like following. It lacked the customary appeal that the Maple grapes are known for. Cross your fingers...

2010 Sonoma County Barrel Tasting

As you'll see, we have made an event of attending this event every year for the last five. This year was quite fruitful. In short, we hit 21 wineries in 3 days, all but 5 were in Sonoma County. If you ever have a desire for a quality intimate experience, then NEVER go to Napa County on the weekend. Friday's can be a little busy, but not crazy. This trip, we found time to fit in some Napa County favorites.

Friday - 3/5/10
Russian Hill Estate - RRV
Jessup Cellars - Yountville
Flora Springs - Rutherford
Merryvale - St. Helena
Freemark Abbey - St. Helena
Cuvaison - Calistoga
Mazzocco - Dry Creek Valley

Saturday - 3/6/10
Fritz Winery - Dry Creek Valley
Sbragia - Dry Creek Valley
Gopfrich - Dry Creek Valley
Michel Slumberger - Dry Creek Valley
Unti - Dry Creek Valley
Mauritson - Dry Creek Valley
Robert Young - Alexander Valley

Sunday - 3/7/10
Siduri - RRV
Armida - DCV
Twomey - RRB
Mill Creek - DCV
Sapphire Hill - DCV (Healdsburg)
Joseph Swan - RRV
Sunce - RRV

So, I'll be honest and say that our note-taking waned as the weekend progressed. After Siduri on Sunday, my notebook is filled with notes that are written in invisible ink. I'll do a fair job of recalling my opinions from those wineries, though. You have to appreciate the fact that note-taking is time consuming and some people in your party may be bored with the winery, expressing their impatience for the next one on the list. Moreover, you may be just too apathetic to take copious notes by day-3.

The Take: 12 cases of wine, 8 wine futures at 6 wineries. (6/16 is a very good ratio)