Sebastiani Vineyards and Winery

Wine Spectator 90 Points For Our 2006 Dry Creek Zinfandel!

2008-10-01T10:17:00.001-07:00

We were pleased to see the Wine Spectator praising our 2006 Dry Creek Zinfandel, with 90 points, calling it "supple and jammy". Sounds good indeed! Production was small, so you better get on it if you want some...

Click here to see the review.

Harvest is Here!

2008-09-03T10:25:00.000-07:00

On Friday, August 29, Sebastiani crushed its first several tons of fruit for the 2008 Harvest. We crushed a small amount of Chardonnay from the Rancho Miguel Vineyard in the Alexander Valley. Here, the grapes are being tipped into our brand-new auger where they are gently picked up by the conveyor belt and moved into our state-of-the-art winemaking facility completed in late 2006. The Chardonnay from Rancho Miguel looked fantastic, a great sign of what's yet to come this harvest.

Right now, we're stepping into harvest high-gear, so we'll have plenty of pictures and video of our new winemaking equipment and our production team in action!

Take the Trolley!

2008-08-08T13:16:00.000-07:00

We're happy to announce that the Sebastiani Trolley is back in service! After several months in the shop, the Trolley is good as new and is riding the roads of Sonoma once again. A perennial favorite of visitors and staff members alike, the Trolley tour is one of our most popular summer tours.

The trolley is manned by Trolley Bob, one of our best known staff members in our Visitor Center. Watch this video as we join Trolley Bob on a tour of Sonoma!

Evan Goldstein Discusses Our 2006 Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir

2008-08-07T15:07:00.000-07:00

Author, radio and TV resident wine expert and all around good guy, Evan Goldstein is one of the best known personalities in the wine business. Through his upbeat, high energy style of wine education, Evan has trained countless professionals in the industry and has made wine something fun and easy to understand for anyone wanting to learn more about the subject.

Evan's consulting firm, Full Circle Wine Solutions, has an engaging and wide ranging series of videos discussing all aspects of wine making and enjoyment. He recently took a look at our 2006 Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir; check it out!

Getting Closer....

2008-08-05T10:51:00.000-07:00

A visual update on our Mission Vineyard:

About 5 days ago, we were about 30-50% complete with verasion in the Malbec block of the Mission Vineyard. (see picture to the left). Mornings have been very cool for the past ten days, with the fog and mist persisting until almost noon on some mornings. We have thinned out some of the leaves in the "fruiting zone" so that any moisture will dry in the afternoon sun,. We hope that by opening up the canopy near the grapes, we can prevent mildew from attacking the grapes--a common byproduct of misty mornings in Sonoma County. In fact, we even had a record-breaking thunder and lightning storm late Tuesday. Although there was barely enough precipitation to note, the fact that it rained in August is pretty astounding.

To the right is a picture of the Malbec block taken today. The purple to green ratio is slowly improving, and after sampling several plump and purple grapes, we can report that the Malbec isn't quite ready for showtime. Although we might be several weeks away from harvesting Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, other wineries have already started! As Tom Wark reported recently, a Sonoma Valley vineyard was picked over the weekend for sparkling wine!

Before we know it we too will be up to our ears in sticky grapes...and until then, you'll find us enjoying our last days of casual freedom before the chaos and excitement of harvest kick in.

Forecast: Cloudy

2008-07-29T14:41:00.000-07:00

Word clouds are created through software that analyzes a block of copy and sizes the words based on their frequency of use. A new website, www.wordle.net allows you to paste in copy or a blog feed and produce word clouds, which can be very striking and even beautiful. I guess the graphic above tells you what's been on our minds lately...

Thanks to Jeff Lefevere at Good Grape-A Wine Manifesto where I saw the post.

SIGHTED: Five Purple Grapes!

2008-07-25T09:05:00.001-07:00

In our last post, we talked about the countdown to color--or veraison--happening in our vineyards. Well, after several days of mild weather with highs in the upper 70s to low 80s, the grapes have finally started to show their "true colors."

In the Mission Vineyard, we have found just a few purple Malbec grapes (see picture). Although it doesn't seem like much, this first sign of veraison is the signal for viticulturists and winemakers that harvest is just around the corner. The rule of thumb is that harvest occurs 45 days after veraison--or mid-September. However, we must wait until at least half of the grapes in the clusters have begun to turn purple before predicting our harvest date. Usually the Mission Vineyard is harvested in October.

Today and tomorrow we'll have a tiny heat wave, which should speed up the process a little. Hopefully in a couple days, we'll have a lot more purple and even less green in our vineyards! However, it's important to remember that the mantra "slow and steady wins the race" is true in vineyard management as well. Slow, even ripening often produces the highest quality grapes, with fully developed aroma and flavor compounds and smooth, ripe tannins. With the beginning of veraison in late July, our Mission Vineyard Malbec is ripening on schedule, and so far, our outlook is positive for the 2008 vintage.

The Countdown to Color...

2008-07-17T10:58:00.000-07:00

It's that time of year--the countdown to color is here!

Reports of the first blushes of purple and red are being reported in Carneros, Russian River and Alexander Valleys. This stage in the ripening process is called "verasion" and is an exciting point in the season. As the grapes begin to color, they also begin to plump up to almost double their size!

We are keeping a lookout at the Mission Vineyard, which is contiguous to the winery property. This photo is of the block of Malbec in the Mission Vineyard. A classic Bordeaux varietal, Malbec often is one of the last grapes to ripen. For this reason, verasion will start a bit later than other earlier-ripening varietals like Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. So far, the grapes are still green and small, but hopefully within the next week the first signs of verasion will be evident.

Stay tuned!

2005 Cherryblock Release!

2008-07-17T10:27:00.000-07:00

Finally, after months of waiting, the 2005 Cherryblock is available! As our flagship wine, the Cherryblock is produced in very limited quantities using our state-of-the-art micro-crush equipment. (More on this in a later post.) This vintage is a blend of 87.5% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6.5% Merlot, 5% Malbec and 1% Petite Verdot.

The Cherryblock is styled for extended cellaring but this vintage is showing beautifully right out of the gate! The nose is heady and perfumed, with cherry, blackberry, mocha and vanilla notes. On the palate, the wine is plush, yet refined. Layers of sweet oak, dried herbs and spice mingle with the bright red berry notes. The tannins are silky and refined, and the finish lingers deliciously on the palate.

With this description, you might be tempted to drink your 2005 Cherryblock this weekend, be sure to buy several bottles for extended cellaring. The Cherryblock usually matures beautifully with five to ten years of aging.

Let us know what some of your Cherryblock experiences are. Favorite vintage? Memorable dinner? Special someones? We'd love to hear!

Sonoma County Wine Country Weekend

2008-06-27T09:33:00.000-07:00

The Sonoma County Showcase of Wine and Food has merged with the Sonoma Valley Harvest Wine Auction to produce a stellar epicurean event, the Sonoma Wine Country Weekend, to be held August 29th through the 31st. We'll be pouring at the Showcase, and we're partnering with Operation Youth in a major lot to be auctioned under the tent at Sunday's Harvest Auction.

Members of our Cherryblock Club are eligible for a $50.00 discount on tickets to the Harvest Auction and $25.00 off tickets to the Taste of Sonoma! As a member, you also have the opportunity to purchase reserved tickets to sold out Winemaker Dinners and Lunches and to special VIP access to Taste of Sonoma.

If you are not a member of our Cherryblock Club, and are interested in joining, you can get all the information you need here.

Everything you need to know about the Sonoma Wine Country Weekend can be found here.

Come out to Sonoma in August for a great weekend of wine and food!

A Tasting With The Cuneo Family At Casa de Sonoma

2008-06-05T15:13:00.000-07:00

Recently the Cuneo family, Richard, Mary Ann and Marc, got together with winemaker Mark Lyon at the Sebastiani family's historic home, Casa de Sonoma, to taste the 2006 Carneros Chardonnay. What transpired was a lively conversation, the sort the Casa has been host to for many years. BTW, the Casa de Sonoma is available for events; if you're interested, you can find out more information here.

A Nice Place To Visit...

2008-05-14T16:46:00.001-07:00

...and, actually, you probably would love living here! We certainly do. So it's nice when we get recognized not only for the quality of our wines, but for our hospitality. The June 15th issue of the Wine Spectator reviews a number of wineries in various corners of California wine country territory. We're one of five wineries selected as "Wineries To Visit" in the Sonoma Valley.

You can download a reprint of the article here:
Wine%20Spectator%20Wineries%20to%20Visit%20May%202008.pdf

This weekend is Passport To Sonoma Valley, which would be the perfect excuse to come visit if you've been thinking about it. 40 wineries are participating, with special wines being poured, discounts, food pairings and entertainment. We'd love to see you here!

In The Winery Part 3: Barrel Fermentation

2008-05-05T12:06:00.000-07:00

Sometimes we so easily take barrel ageing of wine for granted that we forget how controversial it can be, and how much the function of the barrel has changed over the years. We forget, for example, that barrels were originally used to store and ship everything, literally from soup to nuts, until the development of metal containers eliminated the need for expensive cooperage.

While we often consider the addition of flavor, aromatic and textural components to be the barrel's primary contribution to wine, that overlooks the revolutionary aspects of its functional design. Its bulging cylindrical shape allowed it to be rolled and spun, and its strength allowed it to withstand rough handling and extended transport conditions and to be stacked either horizontally or vertically. These were enormous advantages over the clay amphorae and other vessels that were used prior to the time that the Iron Age Celts began wide use of the barrel. And, as vintners soon found out, the barrel's bulge meant that wines could be more easily and effectively clarified, since with the barrel in horizontal position, sediment could be collected in the bulge and the wine could be easily racked off the sediment.

But, when we walk into a cellar full of barriques, it is easy to forget all this; we leave the world of mechanics and enter the world of chemistry. The interplay of anthocyans, tannin, phenolics, lactones and oxygen is uniquely transformative, producing rich hues, suppleness and complexity where there was once murky, astringent, simple wine. As with most important discoveries, the effect of oak ageing on wine was unexpected, as merchants began noticing more rapid and profound changes in wine shipped in wood as opposed to clay or other materials.

Ageing itself became a powerful and influential aspect of the wine trade, as merchants with the wherewithal to maintain large stocks of aged wine could always command a premium price. This in turn helped define stylistic standards of winemaking that are still in force today. The model of Bordeaux, ageing new wines for up to two years in oak barrels, is still the norm, in both the old and new worlds.

The concept of barrel fermentation of white wines, chiefly Chardonnay, traditional to the Cote d'Or, was the next natural step as winemakers concluded that fermentation on the lees in a barrel could better integrate the flavors of the barrel while protecting the fermenting wine from oxygen. This technique is now widely used by winemakers throughout the world in regions where Chardonnay is grown.

The difference now, of course, is that for many wineries, flying the banner of More Is Better, the use of 100% new oak has become commonplace. The trend towards excessive extraction of flavor, either from prolonged skin contact or ageing exclusively in new barrels, is a highly controversial topic of conversation among winemakers; suffice to say, as you will see in the above video, that our winemaker Mark Lyon falls squarely in the camp of classic winemaking.

Artistry is at the core of every aspect of cooperage, from the making to the using, and as Mark points out, the close, historic links between coopers and winemakers is one of the great joys of our business.

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

2008-05-05T11:42:00.000-07:00

Happy Cinco de Mayo! Cinco de Mayo celebrates the victory of Mexican forces over French troops during the battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862. While not a national holiday in Mexico, and not Mexican Independence Day as often thought, it is an important celebration of Mexican pride. There is some evidence that, had France won the battle of Puebla, they would have been in a better position to aid the American Confederacy in the Civil War, raging at the same time. So perhaps there is all the more reason to celebrate the Mexican victory at Puebla! And while beer might be the usual libation on this day, we like to raise a glass of wine to honor all of our fellow workers of Mexican descent and toast Viva Mexico!

Spring Is Here-Start Walking!

2008-04-25T13:49:00.000-07:00

While there's been a lot of talk about frost during the cold nights we've been having of late, the days here in Sonoma are showing undeniable signs of spring. Although we could always do with more rain, and we may indeed see a bit more next week, the pleasant days are bringing people out to the streets and Square of Sonoma in ever increasing numbers.

If you're looking for a fun way to get your walk on, the inimitable George Webber is starting up a new series of walking tours that will end here in the Marketplace at Sebastiani. The tours will touch on all of the historic points of interest in and around the Square and will take about two hours. $20 gets you the tour, including entry fees to the Sonoma State Historic Park, the Sonoma Barracks and the San Francisco Solano Mission.

Are you ready boots? Start walking!

A Winemaker's Influences

2008-04-14T15:25:00.000-07:00

Winemaker Mark Lyon discusses what inspires him in his winemaking style. His high regard for Burgundy certainly informs the finesse and balance we find in his wines, a style that is sometimes difficult to find in California!

Wilson Ranch Carneros Map

2008-04-11T15:55:00.000-07:00

Here's a map we put together of the Wilson Ranch, showing the make up of the different blocks and proximity of other well known vineyards in the area. Thanks Erinn for pitching in as cartographer! Click here to link to a downloadable pdf.

Sommelier Journal

2008-04-11T13:32:00.000-07:00

Tom Wark at the always readable Fermentations has a great interview with David Vogels, publisher of a new magazine titled Sommelier Journal. We're always happy to see new sources of intelligent, informed wine education, and by the looks of the first issue, this magazine will make a significant contribution. Here's a tip o' the glass to David and the Sommelier Journal-we wish him all success! Click here to link to the interview at Fermentations. Click here to go to Sommelier Journal.

In The Winery Part 2: Pressing and Settling

2008-04-08T13:18:00.000-07:00

No, its not a new pilates move; it's part of how we make Chardonnay at Sebastiani Vineyards and Winery. Balance and restraint are important to us in our Chardonnays, which requires very delicate handling of the juice prior to fermentation. Our state of the art tank press and settling tanks give winemaker Mark Lyon extremely high quality juice to work with!

If you prefer to watch via YouTube, where you can subscribe to our videos, make them favorites, etc. you can do so here:

Or you can watch via Viddler, which lets you tag portions of the video for later reference:

A View From The Hill

2008-04-08T11:28:00.000-07:00

Saturday April 5th we hosted a group of 10 wine and travel journalists from around the world here at the winery for a hike up the Overlook Trail on Shocken Hill and through Cherryblock Vineyard, finishing up with lunch and a tasting at the winery. With clear, sunny weather, the views over the town of Sonoma were awe inspiring. The occasion was to inaugurate a new series of walking tours in Sonoma offered by Zephyr Adventures, an adventure travel company out of Montana.

Marc Cuneo gave the group a fascinating glimpse into the Sebastiani family's history, explaining how his great grandfather Samuele worked in the rock quarry up on the hill, eventually starting his winemaking career in California by selling wine to the quarry workers for a nickle a cup. Or, as Marc says, so the story goes...

In The Winery Part 1: From The Crush Pad

2008-04-04T14:26:00.000-07:00

This is part one of a series of videos that explain how we make wines at Sebastiani Vineyards and Winery. For those of you who love detail, and you know who you are, here's a more in depth look by winemaker Marc Cuneo at our custom built grape handling equipment on our crush pad. When it comes to gentle grape handling, it doesn't get any better than this!