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Due to the slightly cooler climate, hang time is long, with grapes usually harvested well after the valley floor fruit. The very rocky soil is volcanic in nature and has great drainage. Howell mountain is known for its reddish volcanic soil. La Jota also makes a Cabernet Franc. Tasting of La Jota's wines are done at the tasting counter at Cardinale. All wines we tried were 2002 which was their current vintage at press time - somewhat older than most wineries' current vintages. We really enjoyed their 2002 Howell Mountain Cabernet Franc - blended with Cabernet Sauvignon. In our opinion, this is how a Cabernet Franc based wine should taste with lots of fruit mid palate and good structure on the finish. The nose is complex with hints of Cranberries and vanilla - with a lot of fruit on the palate touched by oak and some cedar. We also tried a special 21st Anniversary Cabernet Sauvignon. The "juice" for this wine was taken from only their top vineyard selections and is very Howell mountain teroir driven, earthy yet at the same time refined elegance. The chocolate notes that you often find in Howell Mountain based wines are hinted at on the palate. Visit: www.lajotavineyardco.com |
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During one period of ownership, the winery used a large mirror on nearby "signal hill" to communicate to Napa Wine Co way down in the valley when it was time to pick the grapes so they would have advance notice of when they would need to prepare the crush pad. This is ironic considering that years later, Ladera's first wines were actually made at Napa Wine Co! The grounds are gorgeous especially in mid spring - flowers, lawns and beautifully landscaped garden paths grace the property. Your tour starts with a taste inside the main building above the fermentation tanks and then leads outside and then back inside to part of their 18,000 square foot cave. Your cave tasting will be at a sit down table at the end of one of the cavern tunnels. This is a completely gravity flow winery and they use mostly native yeasts for fermentation but in winemaking sometimes you need to inoculate with commercial yeasts and this is done occasionally. A number of hillside wineries will employ extended maceration in which they leave the seeds and skins soaking in the wine for extended periods. Ladera rarely chooses this technique preferring to rely on taste and a style of wine that is not overly extracted. There is a small soils display next to the entrance of the back of the winery. It contains soils from both of their hillside vineyards. You can clearly see the difference between the red rock Howell mountain soils and the white dusty chalky soils from their Mt. Veeder vineyard. Ladera is about a 10 minute drive from the Silverado Trail on the valley floor; they are located at an elevation of about 1200 feet. All visits are by appointment only and are private for your party. Allow at least an hour for the tour and tasting. The name Ladera is a term for 'hillside or slope' and appropriately describes their own two primary vineyards; Howell Mountain and the steep hillside Lone Canyon, Mt. Veeder vineyard. Tasting wines from these two vineyards is a classic example of the difference that terroir or soil type and location has on a vineyard. The Cabernet's from the Mt. Veeder area are rich concentrated dark wines while the Howell Mountain Cabernet's while still very dark in color, are more refined and elegant but still show well structured tannins. They nicknamed their Cabernet from the Mt. Veeder vineyard the "cowboy"! It takes some time to tame down in the bottle and is generally held back longer before being released (compared to the Howell Mountain Cabernet). We tried the 2004 vintage which is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon; it has a certain briary and brambly nose with nuances of dustiness and other earth tones. This wine is very full bodied with a palate full of dark fruit flavors, blackberry, black currant and black cherry. The tannins are well structured and provide the backbone for a finish of great length. Ladera also picks their grapes when they are at the peak of ripeness. They are able to harvest individual blocks and then ferment and age them separately before any blending takes place. In addition, even parts of blocks are sometimes picked depending on the ripeness of the grapes. Their vineyard manager lives on site and has been managing these vineyards for many years. Case in point was the picking of their 2007 Sauvignon Blanc - it was harvested over a rather short time period but picked many times depending on ripeness. During our first visit we just missed tasting this wine, the one white wine they currently make, as it was being released the day after we arrived. However they had plenty of this wine during our latest visit. We challenge you to name one other vineyard on Howell Mountain growing Sauvignon Blanc! Your not going to find this varietal on Howell Mountain; Ladera does a very nice job with this wine. The 2007 vintage is a very clean crisp wine with flavors that are well integrated and that complement each other including notes of citrus, and green apple. Also of note is their Pinot Noir - the first commercial release was 2006 from the Pillow Road Vineyard in Sonoma County. There is a reason Russian River Valley Pinot Noirs have such a good reputation and this vintage is a perfect start to their new Pinot Noir program. Aromatically, the nose is simply unable to contain itself - this is not a bad thing! It is bursting with fruit aromas - raspberry and strawberry aromas are integrated with subtle spices. This leads to the perfect Pinot Noir palate which is balanced between flavor, acidity and structure. The mouth feel is soft - this is a good wine to pair with food. Visit www.pillowrd.com - and their main website: www.laderavineyards.com |
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Lagier Meredith is run by Stephen Lagier and Carole Meredith and is an entirely "self made business". This is one of the more specialized wineries in the Napa Valley as their entire production is on one varietal - Syrah. It is wineries such as this one that you really have to seek out and know about! As this winery says, "Syrah needs a view"! Their 4-acre vineyard has just that and is located at 1300 feet on the slopes of Mt. Veeder in the Mayacamas mountains; their first vintage was in 1998. They moved to the site in 1986; the land had never been planted to vineyards and they planted all the vines themselves to a variety of clones. Most of their property remains wooded and covered with native vegetation. As they mention they have no employees, no consultants, no partners and no investors! Their philosophy is simple - live on the land, grow the grapes and make the wine. You could say this is a "mom and pop" operation and in a sense that is true, however the high quality speaks for itself and is not representative of just a mom and pop operation.
Stephen has a long history of winemaking, first as a "garagist" and "carport" winemaker and than at Robert Mondavi. Carol was a long time professor in the Department of Viticulture and Enology at UC Davis and has conducted extensive DNA research into grape clones while trying to track down the origins of some of the more well-known varietals. More than a few of her students are now working as full time vintners in the Napa Valley. All their wine is bottled unfiltered and their total production is under 1000 cases each year. This is about as boutique as you will find in Napa. The 2007 Rose of Syrah is a first for Lagier Meredith. They originally made this wine for fun as a home wine but the quality turned out nicely so they released it commercially. Only 80 cases of this wine were made. The wine is a orange and slightly pink, light to medium bodied with wild strawberries on the palate and hints of spices on the finish. The 2005 Syrah has been extremely highly rated and is in much demand. It is a rich well layered perfectly balanced wine with concentrated fruit on the palate mixed with crushed black pepper. Some Syrahs we've tasted have been so skewed on the pepper flavor that it overwhelms the wine; not this one. It has a very rounded mouth feel and a long finish. You can find their wine locally at JV Warehouse in Napa and Dean & Deluca in St. Helena. Visit: www.lagiermeredith.com |
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While this winery is located in the southern part of the valley, Laird's history in Napa actually started way north in Calistoga with the purchase of their first vineyard (an abandoned fruit orchard). Ken and his wife Gail drove up from the San Francisco Bay area for a romantic weekend and fell in love with the entire valley. They had no background in wine at the time (still not an uncommon story in Napa) and needed to raise capital to actually purchase the vineyard. The bank told them to "do some homework" before they would lend any money. Looking through the phone book Ken saw merely 8 Napa wineries listed and the only one he recognized was Robert Mondavi. Short story told, he met Robert at the site of what was going to be Ken's new vineyard and Robert told Ken what to plant and said he would buy the grapes for the next 20 years. Good timing on that partnership as Mondavi's fledgling winery was merely 2 years old at this time! More good timing occurred in the early 1980's when the Lairds purchased land in the Carneros region which at that time was pretty much just known to supply good grazing land for sheep. Today the Carneros is Napa's world renowned cool climate terroir - ideal for producing top quality Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Currently Laird is one of Napa's largest growers, managing over 2000 acres. This is very much a family affair with Ken & Gail's children involved including Justin who oversees all their vineyards. Their tasting room is small and is not setup for large groups, however weather permitting there are rod iron tables and chairs outside. We've seen several bike tour companies bring people here for outside lunches. As of our latest visit, a tasting includes a rather lengthy flight of 9 or 10 wines including 4-5 Chardonnays - each with their own unique taste and style. This is certainly one of the largest tasting flight selections you will find at any Napa winery! Their Carneros Chardonnay undergoes 100% Malolactic Fermentation and has notes of honey, apple and citrus; it is delicious! Their Cabernets and Merlots are styled so that you can drink them young. Also try the Jillian's Cabernet Sauvignon Syrah blend. It is a big wine with lots of structure and is named after Ken's grand daughter. Nice large glass windows surround the tasting room with a small adjoining gift shop. Laird typically produces only several hundred cases per varietal, so purchasing wine at the tasting room is your best bet. Due to all the custom crush winery clients who use this facility, this is probably our most often visited Napa winery! We've tasted with a number of winemakers outside next to the olive trees. Laird is sometimes referred to as "the Napa pyramid" due to its unique design. Visit: www.lairdfamilyestate.com |
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Today the vineyards are managed by Mike and his wife Terry - they are farmers and spend hundreds of hours in the vineyards each year carefully managing the vines and grapes. We had the opportunity to walk the vineyards with Mike Lamborn and his attention to detail is amazing. Each vine is handled on a case by case basis when it comes to crop thinning, dropping of fruit, pruning and suckering. The third generation is a part of this business as well with Mike and Terry's sons actively involved in to the day to day operations. The 4th generation is even well on their way! With the exception of their winemaker - this is an entirely family run winery. The well-known Heidi Barrett is the winemaker and has been at Lamborn since the mid 1990's. The details and micro management that go in to the farming and caring for the grapes, plus Heidi's considerable wine-making skills - produce two excellent wines. Their main focus has always been and remains on Zinfandel (the bulk of their production). considering the fact their vineyards are on Howell Mountain, they also produce Cabernet Sauvignon. The Cabernet is all that you expect in a high quality hand crafted Napa area Cabernet - it is soft, smooth and an elegant wine. The 2005 is layer upon layer of fruit with a slight dustiness towards the long finish. The demand is very high for this wine and is not even sold through their website. Visits here are for serious wine enthusiasts. A tour is conducted with the family and usually involves walking among the vineyards and tasting the wine on their deck or within their home. The Lamborns are some of the most hospital people you will meet - and it doesn't hurt either, that their wine is stellar! As a result the experience is very personal and tailored towards your interest and knowledge level. If you find yourself on the valley floor and want to sample their wine, try the Cult Wine tasting room at Napa Wine Co in Oakville. Visit: www.lamborn.com |
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Lang & Reed Wine Company was founded by husband wife team John and Tracey Skupny in 1996 and is named after their two sons. John has a long history of working with well-known Napa wineries including Caymus, Clos du Val and the Niebaum-Coppola Estate Winery (now Rubicon Estate) and today still consults on the side. What was a novel idea in 1996 and still is somewhat a novel idea today in the Napa Valley is a winery that focuses its entire efforts on Cabernet Franc. If you have tasted in the Napa area you will note that Cabernet Franc is most often used as a blending varietal typically as a small percentage in Cabernet Sauvignon. The reason for this is Cabernet Franc tends to take on similar qualities of the varietals it is blended with, brings very nice aromatics to the wine and adds structure - a backbone if you will. Cabernet Franc by itself sometimes has a reputation for "green-ness" or bell pepper flavors and tight tannins. L&R avoids this by carefully choosing their vineyard sources, picking at the right times, as well using mostly neutral oak barrels. The result is in the bottle - juicy, lots of fruit, smooth with well managed tannins.
If you are looking for excellent hand crafted Cabernet Franc wines by a winemaker who has a long passion with this varietal, Lang & Reed is an excellent choice. They are the king of Cabernet Franc in the Napa Valley! As of press time they have three wines available a 100% Cabernet Franc North Coast, sourced from vineyards in Lake (north of Napa Valley), & Napa Counties, the Premier Etage from Napa, and a unique Cabernet Franc blended wine called the Right Bank - also from the Napa Valley. We started our tasting with the 2006 North Coast "early release" 100% Cabernet Franc. The inspiration for this wine was in part inspired by similar wines from the Loire Valley in France. In addition John would often hit up his cellar for an everyday drinking wine but would find the wines either too young or too valuable for drinking! This wine has a luscious nose, with delicate flavors including plum and just a touch of herbaceous characteristics. It will pair nicely with a variety of fish dishes. It is by far their most produced wine at over 2000 cases whereas their other wines are typically in the several hundred case range. The 2003 Premier Etage is an excellent "food wine" and is again modeled after some of the Loire Valley wines. The two Napa vineyards used for this wine are grown in somewhat similar soils - old river soils so lots of gravel and cobble are present and are generally very well drained vineyards. This wine has a lot of layers in the nose and on the palate including chocolate, cherries, herbs and a touch of vanilla before the long somewhat smoky finish. On the winemaking side, it is interesting to note that the tannin management and the wine's fermentation was handled completely differently from each other. Their 2004 Right Bank still features Cabernet Franc as the dominant varietal but is blended with Merlot, Petite Verdot and Cabernet Sauvignon. This is an elegant wine not dominated by the Cabernet Franc, rather it blends well with the other associated varietals making a smooth silky wine with a rounded mouth feel. As this wine opens up the aromas bloom into dried fruits and herbs followed by cherry and currant flavors on the palate. You can find their wines locally at St. Helena Wine Merchants or from L&R's website. Also be sure to check out some of John's wine videos. Visit: www.langandreed.com |
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They produce affordable high quality award-winning wines - wines that are often lower-priced then similar caliber wines on the market. It is somewhat rare to find a Napa winery that only uses fruit from their own vineyards and Larkmead sources from their 120 acres of planted vineyards. This winery dates back to the 1890's (the current family has had ownership for over 60 years). They are all about their final product - the wine. Their wines are made in limited supply and they concentrate their efforts on a select number of wine varietals. Their tasting room (finished in early 2006) does not contain a gift shop, music, or food. You can either taste at the counter or in their adjoining windowed wine salon. Ask to see some of their older vintage bottles - one on display dates from 1915 and still contains the original label. This is a Bordeaux style winery in that most of their wines are blends and specific wines may be made only for one vintage. How many Napa wineries make a Tocai Friulano from Napa vineyards...only 2 or 3 wineries out of 500+ visited so far. This varietal is originally from northern Italy and the small part of their estate planted to this contains very old vines. You might almost think this is Sauvignon Blanc as some style Sauvignon Blancs are similar. The 2007 vintage is only their second release - but with a wine this nice and rare to Napa lets hope it becomes an ongoing production. It has nice floral notes followed by pear and citrus on the palate with a nice balance between fruit and viscosity. The other white they make is a Sauvignon Blanc and the 2006 vintage has already been highly rated. Our favorite red is their 2005 "Firebelle" Merlot/Cabernet blend. This has a very elegant nose, with delicious flavors of cherry and mocha on the palate. This wine is very smooth with an elegant softness that contains just a slight smokiness on the finish. The 2003 60/40 Blend is also drinking very nicely as of press time. This wine is made in the style of Pinot Noir - no pump overs, just punch downs during the fermentation process as a result, less maceration, and finishes its barrel aging in neutral oak like their other reds. It is a light to medium bodied wine with great fruit flavors, especially cherry and also notes of cinnamon. Note that often their wines are highly allocated and each wine is typically produced in very limited productions. Their wine club is called the Larkmead Firebelle Society, named after the aforementioned Lillie Hitchcock Coit. A visit here needs to be by appointment and is usually for those who intentionally seek out wineries "off the beaten path". Visit: www.larkmead.com |
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Levendi concentrates on 100% varietal wines with the focus being Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon; in addition they typically will not blend multiple varietals into the same wine. They make two Chardonnays - the Red Hen Vineyard from the Wente clone which is known for its very small concentrated fruit and the other from Cold Creek on the Sonoma side of Carneros. The Red Hen Vineyard Chardonnay is our favorite of the two; is a rich wine with very nice tropical fruit flavors and hints of butterscotch and vanilla. Our two favorite wines from Levendi are the Symphonia and Stagecoach Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignons. Both are elegant wines which come from grapes that are grown in entirely different areas - Symphonia is wine made from valley fruit contrasted with the Stagecoach fruit which is grown at an elevation of about 1500 feet.Visit: www.levendiestates.com or view their blog here: http://blog.levendiestates.com |
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The sit down tasting is paired with gourmet cheeses. All vintages we tasted were 2004 - Lokoya owns and micromanages their Mt. Veeder and Howell Mountain vineyards and then sources the fruit for their Diamond Mountain Cabernet which is from a fairly steep vineyard. We started with the Diamond Mountain - this wine is all about the fruit both in aroma and continuing to the palate. Various spices add to the depth of this wine with a moderate tannin structure on the finish. The Howell Mountain is a beautiful wine which has an exotic fruit driven nose that is almost floral in nature. It is the most aromatic of the three wines. Some of the richer Howell Mountain Cabernets that we have tried have notes of chocolate in the mid palate and this full bodied wine is no different. Herbal characteristics continue through to the intense and lingering finish. Lastly is their Mount Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon. The nose is subtle and the least aromatic of the three wines. Its aromas however, disguise just how big this wine is! It is decidedly the darkest of the trio, a deep purple in color. The wine is very well structured with an amazing depth of flavor including blackberry and black currant. Their Mount Veeder is for serious Cab drinkers who enjoy a big wine, or don't mind cellaring for a number of years. This vintage has received a phenomenal rating from Robert Parker. It was also paired with a Cabra al Romero Spanish cheese coated with finely sautéed rosemary leaves that was out of this world. Delicious! Note, this wine will be made, probably by the 2009 vintage at the old Chateau Potelle Winery on Mt. Veeder which is now being totally renovated. Visit: www.lokoya.com |
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After the driving or hiking tour you will take a quick peak at their olive oil making facility. LMR is one of only two wineries in Napa Valley to make olive oil (the other being Round Pond). Your tasting will actually include shots of olive oil. We tasted their Sauvignon Blanc, Ranch House Red (both wines are light and easy drinking), and Cabernet Sauvignon. All their wines are very reasonably priced by Napa standards. Our favorite is their Cabernet - its very well balanced, smooth and has a long finish. Want some heat to finish off your tasting? Try their 80 proof Grappa made from Cabernet grapes. LMR has their hands in many aspects of farming (their vineyards are all organic), from their home grown produce available for sale on Saturdays at nearby Rutherford Gardens (also available at the St. Helena Farmers Market), a new 500 acre ranch on the coast in Marin county, to their famous beef. They also have a cattle auction each May. Visit: www.longmeadowranch.com Review in progress...check back soon for update. |
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A tasting here is is for the serious wine enthusiast; the tastings are always held at the Long home as the actual wine is made at Hall Winery St. Helena on the valley floor. Your tasting will be with either Bob or his wife Pat. Weather permitting the tasting is held outdoors under their vine covered trellis with great views overlooking the hills and Lake Hennessey in the distance. The Longs specialize in 100% varietals and have made a number of wines throughout their history. In 1978 they produced one of Napa's first barrel fermented chardonnays and until several years ago they made a wonderful 'botrytis' Riesling. After producing in the range of 3000 to 4000 cases annually, the Longs have downsized and now produce merely several hundred cases each year. Today they focus on two varietals, Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon. The Chardonnay exhibits amazing floral characteristics and is very well balanced with a lot of flavor due to the concentrated grapes from their mountain vineyard. The palate has notes of melon and lime flavors with even a steely minerality characteristic. The Cabernet Sauvignon is soft in tannins, has a high natural acidity and as a result should age well for many years. Cassis, anis, black cherry and blackberry flavors are layered on the palate. For serious wine enthusiasts this is a great opportunity to meet with a vintner and taste wine from someone who has a long rich history in the Napa area. Be sure to sign their guestbook before you leave. Visit: www.longvineyards.com |
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The winery is located almost across from Sutter Home on Highway 29 just south of the town of St. Helena. The building is quite non descript from the outside and you enter their tasting room through a side door next to the main parking lot. Once inside you will see everything is elegantly furnished and very classy. Their tasting bar is intimate and is sit down which personalizes the tasting experience. Choose from several different tasting flights - they own a number of acres in neighboring Sonoma County, make a wide variety of wines and often several Sonoma wines will also be available for tasting. We highly recommend one of their two tour options - one is a cellar visit and tasting and the other includes the full on tour including history, stops in the barrel room and sometimes a stop in the vineyard, especially around harvest when the fruit is getting ripe. The vineyard on site is called the Thomann Station Vineyard, named after an actual train station stop which used to be located here. By the way, this vineyard produces some excellent Petite Sirah. Both tours typically require advance reservations and at the time of this review are offered twice daily. On the tour, you will learn a little bit about the Martini family's history, their emphasis on red wines from Napa and Sonoma County premium vineyards, special winemaking techniques used, fruit sources, and unique characteristics of these wines. The tour is a good introduction to winemaking and general winery operations with lots of time for specific questions. You will finish the tour with a tasting of several of their Cabernet Sauvignons. Note the use of the Go Vino glass on the tour; you don't have to worry about breaking this one! It is plastic but looks just like a regular wine glass. On the start of the tour you will see that one end of the original winery building is completely covered with ivy. It is a huge wall - walk to the end of this wall and you will see the massive vines of this single plant which have completely grown over the side of the building...this gets our vote for the largest Napa Winery Ivy plant! During the main tour you will stop in their barrel aging facility - note the huge redwood tanks that date from the 1940's and 1950's. You don't see these in many Napa wineries today. A highlight of this tour is a visit into their old cellar - located just downstairs from the actual tasting room. Here huge tanks line the walls and is where you will finish your tasting. It is always interesting to compare terroir differences between same vintage wines - and typically you will try a Sonoma and a Napa Cabernet side by side; both are completely different in flavor and style from each other. If you enjoy full bodied, fruit forward Cabernets, try the Monte Rosso Cabernet Sauvignon. This wine is made in limited production and is typically only sold at the winery. The fruit for this wine is from vineyards Louis Martini originally purchased in 1938 located in the Mayacamas mountains above Sonoma Valley in Sonoma County. This vineyard and wine's name in Italian means "red mountain" which is quite representative of the rich red soils found there. We tried the 2004 vintage - it has lots of fruit up front with some nice spice characteristics and just a touch of oak on the finish. During our tour, the guide hand sliced some prosciutto which when paired with the Monte Rosso wine, made the wine really come alive. Course, they paired the most ideal prosciutto with this wine as they admitted to having tried 40 different prosciutto before deciding on this particular one! We were also fortunate to try a Martini Cabernet from 1979 - the nose on this was like a tawny port, but the mouth feel was as smooth as you will ever find from an older Cabernet. Their Martini Muscat is smooth to drink, has a slight sparkle to it and is available for a great price. They also produce a very nice Gewürztraminer. They have several places on site for dinner parties, groups, or educational wine seminars. As a side note, they offer "In the Vineyard" tours at their winery in Alexander Valley (neighboring Sonoma County) - visit our Sonoma County Wine Page on our travel site for more information. Visit www.louismartini.com |
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For those who want try a unique blend try Freakout, a mix of 4 white varietals including the Ribolla Gialla, a little used varietal in the Napa area originally from northeastern Italy. Also of note is their highly rated hillside Howell Mountain based Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon and a killer non vintage Pinot Grigio Luna Mille Baci Late Harvest Dessert Wine. Tasting is in a small cozy room - well heated by a roaring fire on winter days, for warm summer days relax on their porch overlooking the vineyards or perch yourself at the top of their tower. Choose from two tastings 1. classic tasting and 2. reserve tasting - although their estate Pinot appears on both lists. Their Napa Sangiovese is also popular - both in flavor and in price! It is a dark ruby colored wine with structured but smooth tannins. Great nose on this one. You can even purchase an Arnold Palmer Chardonnay from Luna. Arnold was one of their original investors and they have honored him by producing a wine in his name. Recently they announced a Reserve Wine Pairing - in which they pair their limited production red wines with cheese, truffles and other delicacies. Visit: www.lunavineyards.com Revisit planned - major update coming by the end of October 2008. |
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