Mill Valley Market's Meet the Winemakers

Photograph courtesy of Brett Gulash

Last week, I had the pleasure of being invited by Shannon Burke to attend one of Mill Valley Market's "Meet The Winemakers" events on the evening of May 3rd. Shannon is a wine broker for the five wineries attending the event. They had large platters of various cheeses (drunken goat and brie were our favorites), breads, crackers, and fruits to pair with the fabulous wines. There were about six people around each table and the winemakers stayed at each table for about 20 minutes.  We tasted 20+ wines from five up-and-coming boutique wineries along the Central Coast. It was divine.

Rock Wall - A whole day's worth of tasting in one place (Part 1)

Rock Wall is on Alameda Island next to Oakland, CA is located on the defunct naval air base. Rock Wall is a winery and a winery collective. The tasting room houses 7 wineries with 18+ wines to try. All the whites were $18-25 and the reds were $24-36. There were many wines with excellent quality to price ratios. The wines are broken down into three flights ranging in price from $5 to $15 dollars which is waived with a purchase of $20 or more. In addition to the flights, you can also purchase wines by the glass. In addition to the wine, there is also a wonderful restaurant with appetizers and entrees; I had a bacon grilled cheese sandwich and a salad which were both delicious and the salad must have come out of the garden because it was so fresh. The food was served outside on the patio with a view of the San Francisco skyline in the distance.

Peju - Open Late

Photo by Sanae Burries

After Terra Valentine, Sanae and I headed back along Hwy 29 towards Napa and my car. We stopped at Peju a winery in the Rutherford AVA. We stopped at Peju for three reasons: we wanted to go to another winery, I had always meant to stop there but never had, and it is open until 6pm. The last one was key as I think we got there at about 4:30pm and most tasting rooms close between 4pm and 5pm.

The grounds are beautiful with well groomed hedges, statues, and fountains.  Peju is an art focused winery by which I mean the aesthetics are well thought out.  There is a lobby sort of area where we were asked what we wanted to do. Which seemed like a strange question at the time and still does. (Apparently there are many kinds of tastings and cooking classes which can be found on their website. The standard tasting fee is $15 per person which is waived with a purchase of $30 or more. There are more expensive options on the weekends with reserve wines.) The lobby has tons of books, mustard, t-shirts, chocolates, and other wine/Napa related souvenirs.

Charbay - Revamped Tasting Room

Sniffy Relaxing

Miles and Susan Karakasevic started Charbay in 1983.  Miles (winemaker and grandmaster distiller) stepped back a couple years ago to let his son Marko (master distiller) take over.  Susan still handles much of the business side with her team including Marko's wife Jenni.  This is a very family orientated company with about half of the staff being family.

The last time I was in the Charbay tasting room it seemed like the tasting room was an afterthought to the dimly lit barrel room with a small tasting counter and cash register in the cramped barrel room.  Now the lighting is better, many of the barrels have been moved out and replaced with well crafted product displays, a table with chairs in addition to a counter with stools, and much more space.  I didn't really notice anything wrong before, but I really like the new version.  There are still picnic tables outside which I recommend taking advantage of.  There are also two sweet old dogs that roam the property.

6 Great Sulfite-Free Wines for under $25

Recently I was hired by Fat Grape Winery to write up tasting notes.  I've been friends with Rick Bowen (co-owner) and his dad Pat (winemaker & co-owner) for many, many years. Patrick started as a home winemaker in the late 90s before he delved into the business side in 2008.  He has always made powerful but not overbearing sulfite-free, unfined, unfiltered reds.  If you are in the San Francisco Bay Area, I highly recommend you check out this little winery in the old Navy Brig on Treasure Island.  You can either make a quick trip or spend a day on the island as there are 4 other wineries out there and one of the most picturesque views of San Francisco.  When this was written the tasting was free.