Napa and Sonoma trip: Dutton-Goldfield Winery

After a nice lunch in Forestville, we met Valerie Wathen from Dutton-Goldfield at the winery's tasting room that it currently shares with Balletto Vineyards on the outskirts of Santa Rosa.

Dutton-Goldfield is the partnership of grapegrower Steve Dutton, a fifth generation farmer in the Russian River Valley, and winemaker Dan Goldfield. The winery's main focus is to produce cold-climate Pinot Noir and Chardonnay and also a bit of Zinfandel, Syrah and Pinot Blanc. Most of the fruit is sourced from the various vineyards of Dutton Ranch in the Russian River Valley AVA


Russian River Valley AVA

With Valerie, we tasted the following wines:

• 2007 Dutton-Goldfield Chardonnay Dutton Ranch: a blend of five Dutton Ranch vineyards from the coolest part of Russian River Valley. My notes: ripe apple and pear on the nose, creamy and lush on the palate with some good acidity, elegant finish.

• 2007 Dutton-Goldfield Pinot Noir Dutton Ranch: a blend of five Dutton Ranch vineyards from the Russian River Valley. My notes: sweet and spicy cherry aromas on the nose, bright and fruity on the palate, earthy finish.

• 2007 Dutton-Goldfield Pinot Noir Freestone Hill Vineyard: farmed by the Dutton family, the Freestone Hill Vineyard overlooks the tiny town of Freestone located between Sebastopol and Bodega Bay. This cold-climate wine is bottled separately only in years when the fruit stands out as truly unique. My notes: exotic spices on the nose. On the palate, herbs and licorice flavors, very distinctive.

• 2007 Dutton-Goldfield Pinot Noir Devil's Gulch Vineyard: located on a steep hillside near the Point Reyes Peninsula in Marin County, the Devil's Gulch Vineyard is farmed by local grower Mark Pasternak, a viticultural pioneer in Marin County. My notes: deep color, red and black berry aromas on the nose, rich and complex on the palate, lingering finish.



• 2007 Dutton-Goldfield Zinfandel Morelli Lane Vineyard: planted with Zinfandel, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, Morelli Lane Vineyard lies just north of the town of Occidental in the Russian River Valley. My notes: nose of sweet blackberry, lots of fruits on the palate, lively acidity.

My favorites were the Freestone Hill and the Devil's Gulch Pinots and I bought a few bottles of each to bring back home. These wines should age well, said Valerie, so I am looking forward to retasting them in a few years.

Related posts:
•  Napa and Sonoma trip: visit of Quintessa
•  Napa and Sonoma trip: Hanzell Vineyards
•  Napa and Sonoma trip: Emeritus Vineyards

Technorati tags: wine food & drink

Tour of the Marin County Tasting Rooms

Earlier this month, on a cool and rainy Saturday morning, we drove north towards Marin County for some wine tasting. Deciding which wineries to visit was easy: only two wineries in Marin County have tasting rooms opened to the public.

Our first stop was for a hearty lunch at the Station House Cafe in Point Reyes Station. Then after driving about 2 more miles north on Highway 1, we found the entrance to Point Reyes Vineyards.


Estate vines behind the tasting room at Point Reyes Vineyards

The family owned and operated winery, the first in Marin County since prohibition, is in a peaceful pastoral setting with beautiful views of the West Marin rolling hills. Six acres of grapes are grown just behind the winery that are used to produce a sparkling wine, unfortunately sold out and unavailable for tasting that day. Overall, we didn't enjoy the selection of wines offered in the tasting room, some we found too oxydized, others too high in alcohol, and left disappointed.

The Ross Valley Winery is the other Marin winery with a tasting room. It is situated downtown San Anselmo, about 20 miles north of San Francisco. The place really feels like a neighborhood wine bar with the winemaking facility located in the storefront's back room. Owner and Winemaker Paul Kreider is a jovial man with a laid-back attitude and a minimal intervention philosophy towards winemaking. His wines are seldom fined or filtered and only minimum amounts of sulfites are used. He makes the wines he likes, fruity and accessible instead of hard and tannic.


Owner and winemaker Paul Kreider at The Ross Valley Winery

This time, we enjoyed the wines we tasted as well as the company of our friendly host, even exchanging a few words with some customers passing by. Here are the wines we liked the best:

2006 The Ross Valley Winery Chardonnay Grebennikoff Vineyard Sonoma Valley: light yellow color, no oak, unfiltered, apple and pear on the nose, fresh and crisp on the palate.

2005 The Ross Valley Winery Merlot Oller Vineyard Sonoma Valley: medium red color, black cherry and crushed peppercorns on the nose, juicy with some tannins, slightly oaky on the finish.

2004 The Ross Valley Winery Cabernet Sauvignon Leoni Vineyard Sonoma Valley: medium color, red berries on the nose and notes of vanilla, supple with spices and good acidity on the palate.

Related post:
•  A discovery: Riesling from Marin County

Technorati tags: wine food & drink

A discovery: Riesling from Marin County

Marin County? A little known wine region for sure. Located north of San Francisco and just a stone's throw from Napa and Sonoma, this county has more suburbs than vineyards, with just approximately 200 acres under vine, planted to Pinot Noir, Riesling, Chardonnay, Gewürztraminer, Merlot & Cabernet Sauvignon.

It's a coastal region, bordered by the Pacific Ocean to the west and the San Francisco Bay to the east, with a climate marked by relatively warm winters and very cool summers. Thanks to a long growing season, the resulting wines are characterized by a high acidity, low alcohol, and bright flavors.

Winegrowers and winemakers Jonathan and Susan Pey of Scenic Root Winegrowers are pioneers in the production of wines grown exclusively in Marin County. Their Shell Mound Riesling was named after the many mounds of oyster shells left by early Americans settlers across western Marin County. The wine is estate grown in an eighteen year-old vineyard located less than eight miles from the cold Pacific Ocean. While the vines require meticulous work, very little is done in the winery. After hand-harvesting and hand-sorting, there is no oak, no blending, and no malolactic.

The 2007 Pey-Marin Vineyards The Shell Mound Riesling Marin County is only 11.8% alcohol. It had a bright color and a mineral nose with notes of citrus. On the palate, it was dry and crisp with a nicely concentrated mouthfeel and aftertaste. Try it with an Alsatian onion tart, it's delicious!

Technorati tags: wine food & drink