Wine Country Connection

Wine Country Connection formerly Groezinger’s Wine Merchant is located in the small restaurant and hotel rich town of Yountville. In fact, this shop is conveniently located close to Redd, Bouchon and Bistro Jeanty – all culinary delights in their own right.

There is an abnormal selection of very high-end well-known restaurants for such a small town. Where there is good food there is good wine (or maybe it’s also the opposite) and Wine Country Connection provides a number of wines from very small boutique wineries, most of which you will never have heard of unless you are in the wine business, or you are a very passionate consumer of wines. Their inventory features mostly small Napa and Sonoma producers.

Groezingers was the name of a historical winery built in 1870 which is home to Vintage 1870, a premium shopping center located slightly north and across the street. This very small retail shop is somewhat hidden unless you know where to look – they are across the street from the Villagio Hotel and next door to the Yountville Visitor’s Bureau. They began as a wine shop in Yountville in 1970 in what is now the Vintage 1870 shopping center. Their original location was in the store that now houses Michael Chiarello’s Ottimo Mercato. The store was then moved later to what is now Bouchon Bakery (a former brothel, among its other uses) and then finally to its currently location in 2002. The store has changed ownership several times over the years.

Current owners are Wine Country Collection, a wine warehouse business founded in 1997 – based in Santa Rosa (neighboring Sonoma County). Their core business is selling wine (they work with some 25 brokers) and sell direct to consumer via their online store. Master Sommelier (MS), Kevin Vogt became involved with Wine Country Collection several years ago and more recently became a partner in the business.

He lived in Las Vegas for some 25 years – and worked with famed chef Emeril Lagasse for twenty of those years finishing as Wine Director for Lagasse’s Las Vegas restaurants. His last day for Lagasse was April 28, 2016, and three days later on May 1st he was opening the Wine Country Connection retail shop in Yountville. While this turn around was quick, the pace of life in a retail shop is certainly less hectic than his previous career in Las Vegas.

Kevin was the only American to pass the Master Sommelier exam in 1999; his recall for wine stats is impressive. During our visit he was easily recalling percentages of varietals in various blends from some of his own earlier wines made years ago. He is not the only wine expert to work here; others are extremely well trained and can help guide you towards the wines or varieties that best suit your palate.

Five partners (all with well-trained palates) sit down once a week and taste through 50-60 wines – of which they only choose 3-4 for retail. Price is of course a consideration and many of their wines are available at a reasonable price to quality ratio. They offer a number of Napa Cabernet Sauvignon and Bordeaux styled Napa red blends. In addition, with their long-time connection to Sonoma County they have developed numerous relationships with vintners there and as a result provide a good selection of Sonoma County grown and produced Pinot Noirs.

The small tasting bar is open daily (note the nod to heritage above the bar – the old Groezingers sign) and features either small 2oz pours (samples) or wines by the glass. Some of the wines are from wineries without tasting rooms and also from producers with very limited distribution – but others are from larger producers. Tastings are chosen from a list separated into varietal categories. Their reserve tasting focuses on Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon based wines or Bordeaux style red wines. Tastings are hosted inside or weather permitting outside in the small fenced off area in front of the shop.

And Wine Country Connection also offers select wine tasting classes every Sunday throughout the year. These classes typically focus on wines from Napa and or Sonoma – highlighting the differences and similarities in each of the wines. Classes are also offered to those looking to improve their tasting prowess.

Wine Country Connection owns four unique wine labels: Mastery, founded by Kevin, Steps, a Napa Cabernet based Bordeaux styled blend, James Joseph, a quality wine that over delivers for the price point aged in premium oak barrels they purchased from some of Napa Valleys top winemakers and Blind Tasting, a red blend that is sure to be a hit – especially if first looks make a lasting impression. This wine is silk screened as a wraparound to resemble a paper bag with a tag hanging from the bottle with the words “blind tasting”. Ingenious packaging!

Mastery
When Kevin decided to make wine in 2005, he was introduced to noted winemaker Philippe Melka. Philippe made each vintage of Mastery until 2010. In 2011 Kevin was unable to secure fruit that met his quality expectations, so he did not make a wine. Champion of biodynamics and related farming, Rudy Zuidema has been making this wine since 2012.

The 2005 Mastery Cabernet Sauvignon was sourced from Gemstone Vineyards. Kevin introduced Philippe to the prior owners/founders of Gemstone and he became their winemaker for a number of years. This vintage is a blend of 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Cabernet Franc and 10% Merlot. Kevin noted that this wine took a while to ‘come around’ but it is drinking beautifully now (2016). The wine shows dark ruby red colors and medium viscosity in the glass – with aromatics that seemingly indicate a younger wine then in actuality. Sweet fruit, floral notes, blackberry, fine chocolate and nuances of cedar show. The palate has a pleasing suppleness; it is very balanced. The tannins are well integrated into the wine – are certainly still noticeable while lingering softly on the palate.

This wine and various vintages are available for sale in the store. Note the label on the Mastery Wines – it is the same grape leaf used in the logo for Wine Country Connection.

Select Wines
The following are tasting notes for wines sold by Wine Connection.

Anthem
The 2021 Anthem Cabernet Sauvignon, Mt. Veeder Estate is deep ruby and nearly opaque; ripe and opulent this wine smells like blackberry jam, baked plum, Persian mulberry, dark cherry, black licorice and a light note of old cedar box, suede and cloves. As the wine further opens, it expresses a note of cocoa powder. As ripe on the palate as the bouquet, its flavors include blackberry, boysenberry, dark plum and some spice and herb influences on the finish including of smoked sage, crushed peppercorn and a minerally character including of chalk. The grippy mountain tannins fully coat the palate, but their presence is not edgy nor course, rather their texture is very much chalky and dusty. Texture outpaces the fruit by far on the finish. Showcases a balanced acidity. This wine has a listed AVB of 15.6%; it is not jammy, but it lingers with a light warmth, felt on the back of the palate.

Di Costanzo
The 2021 Di Co by Di Costanzo Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley is deep ruby and opaque; the bouquet is defined by dark red fruits accompanied by a floral lift. These scents include Santa Rosa plum, dark cherry, blackberry, boysenberry, Persian mulberry, blueberry, African violets, lavender and a light note of dried sage and sweet pipe tobacco. As the wine evolves it offers an additional layer of dark cocoa powder. This wine smells fresh and thoroughly alive, four years post vintage. Serious, dark and a savory showing, on the palate there are flavors of spicy plum skin, blackberry, boysenberry, assorted dried herbs including sage and bay leaf, smoked cedar and a ferrous character, most noticed towards the finish. The interplay between dark fruits, a lilting acidity and broadly coating and long-lasting texture contributes a certain density to the palate. The finish is supported by grainy, gritty and still pixelated tannins which if this were a race, far outpace the fruit with their firmly gripping, dusty and dense chalky character. Pair this bottling with something heavy, perhaps a hearty meat based stew and a cold winter day, or a tri-tip covered in assorted dried herbs and a BBQ.

Gemstone/Facets
The 2021 Facets by Gemstone Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley is deep ruby, opaque and completely amaranthine in color; there is a lot to like about this bouquet and collectors of serious Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon will be wowed by its ripe but fresh aromatics. These include dark plum, boysenberry preserves, dark cherry, blackberry jam and mulberry – paralleled by complementary barrel influences of mocha, cinnamon stick, clove and cardamom. The palate is dominated by an intensity of fruit including of blackberry, boysenberry, dark plum and black cherry paralleled by toasted cedar, dried tobacco leaf and dark chocolate. Fully ripe but not over ripe. Hedonistic. The chewy, grainy and firmly textured tannins persist for an extended period of time, their dusty influence ultimately outlasting the fruit. Highly representative of this particular vintage in Napa Valley, this powerhouse is built to age, or built to enjoy with a well marbled piece beef and a BBQ. It was aged for 20 months in 70% new French oak barrels. This wine clearly overdelivers for the price point.

Leto
The 2023 Leto Cellars Sauvignon Blanc Sonoma County is was fermented in stainless-steel medium gold in color; immediately upon nosing this wine, the first aromatic hit we wrote was pineapple, but there is plenty more going on here including aromas of grapefruit, granadilla, orange blossom, ripe honeydew melon, tropical guava, lychee, white nectarine and as the wine evolves in the glass, prominent notes of vanilla and caramel The bouquet is saddled more towards tropical scents offered from warmer locations but with some herbal essences inherently expressed by this variety. Bright, balanced and beautiful, the palate offers flavors of pineapple, honey crisp apple, peaches, yellow nectarines and crushed vitamins. This wine features a long, flavorful and fleshy filled finish. It drinks very well by itself.

Mayacamas
The 2024 Mayacamas Sauvignon Blanc, Napa Valley Non-Meshuval Kosher is pale straw in color; the first aromatic we noted was citrus blossom. This wine reminds us of the renewal and pending life that springtime always brings every year. Additional scents include passion fruit, lime and lemon zest, pencile shavings, guava and pomelo. The typicity of the variety is on clear display here with no attempt to showcase tropical characteristics that sometimes are associated with Sauvignon Blanc grown in California. The palate is lifted, featuring crunchy, juicy and mouth watering acidity. Its flavors include green apple, lime, lemon verbena, passion fruit, gooseberry and herbal notes including tarragon and lemon grass. Finishes tart and zesty. This wine was hand-picked over a span of several weeks, whole cluster pressed and fermented in a combination of concrete, stainless steel and neutral French oak barrels. It was then aged in neutral French oak barrels (62%) and stainless steel (38%) sur lie for five months before bottling. In terms of a pairing, bivalves baby.

Teeter-Totter
The 2022 Teeter-Totter Chardonnay, Napa Valley is deep gold in color; the distinctive bouquet offers aromas of a smoked honey, yellow peach, pineapple, baked golden apples, papaya and white toast. We would like to think we could pick this wine out of a lineup of other Napa valley 2022 Chardonnays in a blind tasting – either solely on aromatics or its flavor profile. On the palate there are flavors of honeycomb, smoked hickory, apricot, mango, baked pears and Golden delicious apples. Its fleshy and plump texture feels like running one’s fingers across a cashmere sweater. This mouth feel is complemented by its bright acidity and rich lingering flavors. Perfectly balanced, this wine over delivers in terms of its price to quality ratio. We would love to pair this with a meal of freshly caught Dungeness crab and a spring salad with goat cheese.

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For more information or to purchase wines, visit: www.winecountryconnection.net