The Visit: It was a lovely spring day when we arrived at the winery; the flowers scattered around the site were blooming profusely and the vineyards had all their new, bright green leaves.  This is a small family owned and operated winery and everyday there is something that has to be done.  The day we were there was no different, with the family busy bottling their Sauvignon Blanc wine while we visited.  Like so many of the small local wineries, there is an access problem for most of the mobile bottling lines getting to the site and it is just sometimes easier and more expedient to use a smaller, more manual process. Like many of the small wineries in California, the employment of a manual bottling  process allows the winemaker that crafts small, handmade batches of wines the leeway to bottle at just the precise moment for the wine, without worrying about someone else’s schedule.   

 

We had a great time watching Paul and his sons David and Andy work and then doing a little wine tasting after all was finished.  The Sauvignon Blanc they were working with is a refreshing white wine with a fruitiness that speaks of pears, tropical fruit and a hint of citrus all wrapped in bright, lively acidity; a great summer wine.  We also had a chance to preview this year’s Molino de Viento, the winery’s Syrah Rose, which won silver at the California State Fair last year.  I think this one is even better than the last years, with cranberries and strawberries in the attack, but following with a nice background of cooking spice and vanilla.  For a Rose it is quite complex and will be a great food wine.

After tasting a few of the wines we moved on to a tour of the vineyards and a little description of what makes this area special. Continued ...