Ultimate California Wine Blog

There is a special place in my heart for Prager. Years before I moved to the Napa Valley, Prager Port Works was one of the very first wineries my sister brought me to visit. Barely detectable along Highway 29, Prager is tucked behind the large bushes between the infamous Sutter Home winery and the opulent Harvest Inn. There is a very small sign on the side of the road and the euphemism that Prager is one of Napa’s hidden gems does not fall short here.

While Prager does produce two still (non-sweet) wines, that is not what draws people to their tasting room or their products. The tasting room is nestled among a little garden area. You enter their building through a dark, barrel storage area to a comfy room with walls that are completely bedecked money. Visitors over the years have inscribed their good wishes and the money — both foreign and domestic — has completely plastered every square inch. But don’t get too distracted and keep your eye out for the small window covered with cobwebs and is a very impressive sign of the history of Prager as these things can’t be faked.

Besides the quirkiness of the room, it is the wines which bring the crowds and will always bring me back.

2006 Aria – A white port made from Chardonnay, this offering shows deep, concentrated flavors of roasted pear with a light nutty finish.

2006 Tomas – Showing bright caramelized cherries with a core of  orange, this unctuous wine made in the Portuguese style provides hints of caramel and a plummy finish.

Sweet Claire – A favorite of mine, a late-harvest Riesling has a slight mineral entry which complements the rich peach and dried apricot notes with a clean, engaging finish.

2004 Royal Escort – One that I brought home to be opened for a special occasion (or not!), the Royal Escort is one of their richest offerings with dark cherry, heady plums and a hint leather on the finish.

Prager Winery & Port Works
1281 Lewelling Ln.
St Helena, CA 94574
707-963-7678

One of the special surprises that came about from the Rhone Rangers event was meeting Shane of Shane Wine Cellars. I had been out of the loop on up-and-coming producers and Shane was an entirely new name for me. Gregarious and Falstaffian in demeanor, Shane Finley told me that he moved to California from New York in 2001 after obtaining a graduate degree in English! Working at Copain provided Shane with an early inclination towards the production of fabulous Rhone varietals.

Now an associate winemaker at Kosta Browne, he is producing exceptional Pinot Noir. Shane Wines is his own side project and gives him the opportunity to produce just 700 cases of Syrah. Currently,  he is selling about half of his production to a mailing list and the remainder at finer restaurants around California.  This is a producer I am looking forward to following as the wines shows tremendous promise, as greatness is already being tasted.

2009 Rosé, Ma Fille, Sonoma County, $15 – Smooth and easy drinking, this rosé of Syrah shows bright engaging flavors of clean refreshing red summer fruit with herbal hints that showed tight integration. There is not too much acidity and I appreciated the long finish, reminiscent of juicy watermelon and strawberries.

2008 Syrah, The Unknown, North Coast, $38 – A dark, inky wine, the grapes came from “unknown vineyard.” The entry was smooth and depicted the classic blackberry, black plum, blossoming with textures of dark chocolate. The finish was tight — this is a wine I would like to taste in a few years as I could sense potential expansion of the palate.

2008 Syrah, The Judge, Mendocino Coast, $38 – Rich and complex, dark and jammy fruit entered the mouth with a distinctive mid-palate of rose petals and elegant dried sage. The finish lingered with balanced tobacco and black plum.

Shane Wine Cellars
P.O. Box 533
Novato, CA 94948
415.342.7926

Rios Wine Company, LLC is a bit of a hard find; located on a side alley off the main drag in Calistoga, you have to know where it is (or be willing to do a lot of stumbling around) to find it. The names from the three brothers, Manuel, Rafael, and Albert Rios, and their cousin, Jesus Hernandez. These are serious wine guys, with all four of them having started in the fields and working to the point where they could learn viticulture and start their own label.

It is still a small winery, producing only a handful of wines, two whites (a Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay) and two reds (a blend and Cabernet Sauvignon), under the name Solovino.

During my visit, I only tasted the Sauvignon Blanc and the blend. I found the SauvBlanc a bit thin on the entry but with detectable tropical fruit and grassiness. The sharpness of the entry rounded a bit but the wine was more tart than I care for, although the finish of green apple helped.

The blend, known as Mixto, is an equal blend of cabernet sauvignon, merlot and cabernet franc. This was a very easy-drinking wine with well-integrated red stone fruit and mild spice on the entry which blossoms to a darker cherry and hints of floral notes. This would be a great BBQ wine.

1334 Lincoln Avenue, Ste. B
Calistoga, CA 94515
707.942.1376

It was not easy getting a photograph of Robert Pellegrini at the Word-Up tasting. He had been receiving accolades and congratulations from all sorts of people, but there was just enough time for me to grab this quick picture with his prized offering, the 2006 Milestone. I did not have an opportunity to speak with any Pellegrini representatives, so the only information I have is what I can read on their website.

But I can tell you about the wines for which I made tasting notes…

2007 Pinot – Classic cherry. And, I’m afraid to say, rather flat an uninspired. A rather insipid entry and biting finish.

2007 Zinfandel – Dark and chewy, a bit more structured than the Pinot with chocolate and deep blackberry fruit.

2006 Cloverdale Cabernet Sauvignon – Still very young and tannic upon entry

2006 Milestone – It was this wine that showed me why Robert Pellegrini was getting all the attention at this tasting. 55% Merlot, 1/3 Cabernet Sauvignon, and small amounts of Petit Verdot, Malbec, and Cabernet Franc. This was a well-blended, smooth offering showing defined plum and black fruit components. I detected a noticeable herbaceousness in the core, with a long, luscious finish hinting at cinnamon.

Pellegrini Family Vineyards ~ 4055 West Olivet Road ~ Santa Rosa ~ 95401 ~ 800.891.0244

Meeting Scott Stelzle and Toby Meeder of Venteux Vineyards was definitely a highlight of the Rhone Rangers tasting. I think it was just because after getting bread crumbs all over their table, they still had huge smiles on their gregarious faces. At the tasting, I was told that Scott and Toby were one and the same as far as the business is concerned; each taking on duties of winemaking, cellar rat, sales, but the website depicts Scott as the powerhouse behind the production.

Venteux means windy in French and that name is derived from the blustery location of the winery and vineyards. The establishment is ten years old and produces twelve varietals, but is keeping the production under 2,000 cases. Most of the wines are 100% varietals, with an occasional blend thrown in for good measure. And if visiting the Paso Robles area, apparently they have a lovely little bed-and-breakfast available for visitors!

2007 Grenache – One of the first “swallow-worthy” wines I tasted at the event. A huge Wow Factor with a supple, round mouth feel. The elegant nose provided the classic chocolate and cherries, but well-balanced and integrated. Hints of spice brought out the finish. At $28 a bottle, this is on the border of not quite the $10/$15 bargain, but not the $40 splurge. Worth the price!

2007 Farmouse Cuvée – A Château-du-Pape blend of 60% Grenache, 20% Syrah, and 20% Mourvedre, a heady aroma of truffles greets the nose but the mouth is filled with dried fruit, dark cherries and dried plums. This is one of those rare wines that exudes the passion of the winemaker. $28

2007 – Tache le Verre Syrah –  The guys told me that “tache le verre” literally means “stains the glass” and while this is a huge, bulbous wine, all dark and inky in its heartiness, it is still smooth and very accessible. Having spent 20 months in new French Oak, this is a wine I would like to taste in ten or fifteen years. $35.