Cellar Notes

Notes about the wines we have tried recently.

2021 Kono Sauvignon Blanc featured photo

Kono Sauvignon Blanc: A Reflection of Māori Traditions

New Zealand may produce only 1% of the world’s wines, but that small volume of wine is very well known among wine enthusiasts; especially its zesty Sauvignon Blanc. According to New Zealand Wine, Sauvignon Blanc represents 72% of New Zealand’s wine production and 85% of its wine exports. It is made in a range of styles using both stainless steel […]

Tangent Albarino featured photo

Tangent Albariño: Sip Something Different

Albariño has its origins in the northwest corner of the Iberian Peninsula along the Atlantic Ocean near the border between Portugal and Spain. In Portugal’s Vinho Verde region, Alvarinho is often made in a lighter style and bottled with a bit of effervescence. In Galicia’s cool, wet Rias Baixas region the wines are known for their complexity and brilliant acidity. […]

Esporão Monte Velho White and Rosé photo

Esporão Monte Velho White and Rosé: Sunshine in your Glass

White wine with bright, sunny flavors and rosé loaded with berry flavors pair as well with cozy sweaters as they do with a warm afternoon on the patio. We know this firsthand as we have just finished sipping two such wines from Esporão. As an added bonus both wines are an extremely good value. We received both wines as tasting […]

BARRA of Mendocino and Girasole Vineyards featured photo

BARRA of Mendocino and Girasole Vineyards: Family-Owned and Organically-Certified Wines

There is so much to respect about the Barra family’s commitment to growing grapes and making wine in Mendocino County. In a business climate that is seeing family operations gobbled up by large corporations at an alarming rate, BARRA of Mendocino and Girasole Vineyards remain family owned and operated after nearly seventy years.  In the vineyards, the Barra family have […]

Bella Union Cabernet Sauvignon featured photo

Bella Union: A Pretty Cab from Napa Valley’s Far Niente and Nickel & Nickel

Bella Union is a brand that was established by the partners of Napa Valley’s well-known Far Niente and Nickel & Nickel wineries in 2012. The art of blending Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is the focus of the Bella Union winemaking team, in contrast to the single-variety, single-vineyard wines of Nickel & Nickel and the estate wines of Far Niente with […]

2019 Coeur de Vigne featured photo

2019 Coeur de Vigne Cabernet Sauvignon Might Just Steal Your Heart

Coeur de Vigne Cabernet Sauvignon is a delicious reflection of Napa Valley’s Rutherford sub-AVA and Sullivan Rutherford Estate. The estate was established 50 years ago, with the assistance of esteemed winemaker André Tchelistcheff, a friend of the original owner, James O’Neil Sullivan. This is the second vintage of Coeur de Vigne Cabernet Sauvignon we have tasted. As with the prior […]

Alavida Malbec featured photo

Alavida Malbec: It’s Organic and Kosher

Honestly, I have to wonder if the fine folks at Domaine Bousquet ever sleep. The family-owned winery located in the Gualtallary sub-zone of Tupungato in Mendoza’s Uco Valley, has been organic from its very beginning in the late 1990s. Their wines are certified organic and they have earned a number of certifications reflective of their commitment to sustainability and the […]

Organic Clilean Wines featured photo

Three Affordable Wines from Chile — And They’re Organic

The three wines in this tasting have at least three things in common: organic viticulture, Chilean origin, affordability. And all three wineries, along with Neyen, are sister wineries. We received these wines as tasting samples. Organic wine choices are finally becoming more common and more wineries are putting their organic certification on the wine bottle, though not all do. That’s […]