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2013 ALFARO FAMILY ESTATE PINOT NOIR SANTA CRUZ MOUNTAINS $27.99

12/17/2015

For the final 'official' Insider's Pick of 2015 (we will likely have wines open to taste on Christmas Even and New Year's Eve depending on staffing, but will not send out any emails) we wanted to put the focus on family, the most important thing we should have on our minds this holiday season. As much as possible we try to represent the more personal, intimate wineries that have a relationship between the vineyards and the families. The stories and history are always better, and more often than not the wines are better as well. These are wines that you will never see double in production once they get 'famous' because they come from specific vineyards, they will bear the personality of the vintages and showing variety that makes wines compelling. The Alfaro Family wines have been an exciting addition to our California lineup, providing a broad spectrum of wines off their home property in Corralitos as well as the ancient 100+ year old Gimelli Vineyard in the Cienga Valley, and the famous Chardonnay-exclusive Trout Gultch Vineyards (which they now manage for other wineries as well).

These are true 'terroir' wines that speak to the unique climate and character of the Santa Cruz Mountains.
A deep black cherry skin color in the glass, the aromas are equally deep and dark for a Pinot Noir, with lots of immediate cherry and dark spice that grow some subtle sweetness as it opens up with time. The Santa Cruz Mountains carry a lot of fog rolling off the Pacific Ocean, which keeps the vineyards cool and encourages less sugary fruit in the Pinots. The vineyards also tend to develop more acidity as well, which is definitely felt on the palate, bringing out a lot of tart cherry skin notes and savory almost peppery dark tones on the finish. This isn't 'Pinot approaching Zinfandel' with a jammy sweet texture, instead showing the elegance Pinot should always show. This is classic mountain Pinot at its best and most accessible.

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INSIDER'S PICK: 2013 LEO HILLINGER BLAUFRANKISCH $19.99

12/10/2015

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This is a very seasonally appropriate wine for the holiday season, inspired by the fact my parents are in Vienna today enjoying a Viking riverboat tour of the Danube. Thought it would be fun to recommend a wine that can be enjoyed by people locally and thousands of miles away simultaneously. Imported by one of our favorite Virginia based distributors, Leo Hillinger is a big part of the the Austrian wine movement that has been growing in the state for over a decade, providing great quality at all the price points, including the upper end 'Leithaberg' designation created as a sort of Grand Cru status for Blaufrankisch and other varieties. Blaufrankisch (also called Limberger or Lemberger in other parts of the world) is most noteworthy in the Burgenland region of Austria where the warmth allows it to ripen fuller and achieve more juicy intensity. The spicy red fruits can have some similarity to Zinfandel, but without the jammy textures and higher alcohol content. This new release comes from one of our favorite and most represented producers, as well as one of the more outlandish personalities in the wine business if you have the chance to check out his web site. From the first pour the black fruit and cola aromas pop from the glass, and as it opens develops loads of dark spice and raspberry tones. The palate is extremely silky with very little tannin, and since the texture isn't as sweet and extracted there are more savory tones that show through, with pepper and currant skin complimenting the black fruit flavors. This is a wine that will show very well into the second day, so if the weather gets bad today it will still be well worth your while to taste it tomorrow.

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2013 ALFARO FAMILY ESTATE PINOT NOIR SANTA CRUZ MOUNTAINS $27.99

INSIDER'S PICK: 2013 LEO HILLINGER BLAUFRANKISCH $19.99

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