This gorgeous winery is very close to where I live, and yet this is the first time I've been there. There is also a fabulous Italian restaurant on the grounds and, IIRC, when we first moved here there was some sort of drama happening, and it either it was closed several days a week, or you could only get a tasting if you made a reservation. Whatever. There were other wineries in the area--and some amazing breweries, as well, so we didn't go. Until recently.
NOW, or so I've been informed, they're open every day for wine tasting, so YAY!
I haven't done one yet, I simply enjoyed a glass of their lovely 2023 Roussanne while I was waiting to be seated for dinner at the restaurant.
Interesting not-so-fun fact: Whatever the drama was, the scars are obvious. You can't bring your wine with you from the winery grounds to the restaurant's terrace (have I mentioned that the two buildings are RIGHT NEXT TO EACH OTHER?) and you can't order Duchman wines in the restaurant. Which is kind of nuts.
But I digress...
I'm relatively unfamiliar with roussanne. I first tried it in Temecula, a few years ago...more than a few, I guess, at this point. And I remember that I really liked it. I liked this one, too, and I imagine I'll be buying a couple of bottles over the summer.
The wine is a light gold (it also won a gold medal at the San Francisco International wine competition, so that fits, no?). The aroma reminds me of pear candy--not the first wine I've said that about. It's a very particular scent. Very Cavendish & Harvey-esque. But that's a story for another day.
It's a very Spring-like wine. Definitely one that you'd want to drink outdoors...or that you'd drink indoors to make you think you're outdoors because sometimes the weather here--ugh! Not last summer, though. Last summer was perfect.
There's an herbal/floral note to the nose, as well. Maybe honeysuckle and hay? I think that needs exploring. The mouthfeel is creamy. There are hints of citrus and peach. And, yeah. I might be revisiting my assertion the Viognier is the best picnic wine.
Oh! I should point out that the winery grounds are beautiful and they grow the grapes for their wine right there in front of you. Which is what I expect from a winery. And one of the things I love best about visiting. I love tasting wine in the place where the grapes are grown. This is the second such winery I've discovered in the last few weeks and I'm so, so happy about that.
For more about wine, check out the POUR DECISIONS series! Releasing this month!
Meet the Martinelli sisters: Rosa, Bianca and Allegra. These partners in wine have just inherited a once-storied winery in the heart of Napa Valley. They’re living the dream, right?
Not so fast! Because, as it turns out, not everybody is happy for them. And that includes their Uncle Geno who’d assumed the property would come to him.
There are hoops to jump through, barrels to get over, and a mountain of regulations they'll have to scale. But these sisters are crushing it—and we don’t just mean the grapes. They’re making wine, falling in love, and working together to restore their inheritance to its former glory, one pour decision at a time.
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