Size Matters: All in the Family--J Cage Cellars

The next installment in my small series on microwineries, continuing to tell the stories behind great, small producers.  Learn more about Roger and Donna Beery and their newest wine adventure, J Cage Cellars.  

Size Matters:  All in the Family--J Cage Cellars

Don’t let the last name fool you. 

 

Though “beer” is at the heart of their surname, wine has always been at the heart of Donna and Roger Beery’s family. 

 

It all started on their first date.

 

Roger confesses he may have had a little too much wine that night. 

 

Though just in his twenties then, Roger can think back even further to when he started to appreciate wine.  It was international cooking sensation Graham Kerr, who paired food with wine on his tv show, that turned Roger’s teenage interests to wine.

 

Both Roger and Donna saw their “wine-stained dream” begin in Napa, California on their first trip there in 1984. 

 

Roger’s aha! moment for wine happened when the Beerys pulled into Caymus Vineyards.  Winemaker Charlie Wagner met them in the tasting room.  Though the day was cold and rainy, Charlie gave a tour of the vines.  Roger began to understand how wine was actually made in the vineyard; he also saw that wine making was both a science and an art. 

Roger and Chuck Wagner, father to Charlie Wagner.

He was hooked.

Donna’s aha! moment happened later that same trip.  At the time, she didn’t like red wines, so she drank whites only.  At the end of the tasting day, the travelers and their companions made it a habit to open a special bottle.  One evening, the wine was a Jordan Cabernet.  The Beery’s companions basically forced Donna to drink the first sip…then she needed no encouragement.  She fell in love with the beautiful red wine.  She “lost her cabernet virginity” and went back to the winery the next day to buy two cases!

These two cases were the start of the 1000-bottle cellar Roger and Donna eventually collected.

It was this collection that initiated the Beery children into the world of wine.

 

Roger and Donna raised their children first in Austin, Texas and then in Breckenridge and Denver, Colorado, where Roger owned a risk management company for the auto industry.  All the family members kept close ties to Austin and their Texas roots.

Enjoying time with the Beerys...wine passion with Texas roots. 

In fact, when Roger and his son Conch were reading “the bible”—AKA Texas Monthly Magazine to a red-blooded Texan—Conch saw an ad for the brand new viticulture and enology program at Texas Tech.  He instantly knew that was what he really wanted to do, even though he was already working on a business degree from another college. 

 

Conch started at Texas Tech and fell into the life of wine he saw modeled at his parents’ elbows. Conch’s first winery gig was as a volunteer intern at Solaro Estate.  This turned into a paid internship and then an assistant wine making job there in the Texas Hill Country outside of Austin.

 

Roger encouraged any and all wine-related education for his children.  So much so that when Conch turned 21, Roger took his son to Napa, mimicking the trip Roger experienced in his twenties.  Later, Conch was able to follow the harvest season around the world.  Since the southern hemisphere harvests six months ahead of the north, Conch was able to work not only in Texas, Sonoma, and Napa, but also in Australia and New Zealand.  He currently works for Gundlach Bundschu in Sonoma.

Lest anyone believe daughter Whitney was not following the family passion, don’t be worried.  She also went to Texas Tech—like a good Texan—and got a degree in marketing and hospitality.  The wine-travel bug bit Whitney as well, and she soon started searching for jobs in Sonoma.  Today, she works for Jordan Winery.  Yes, the family wine story came full circle when Whitney took a job for the producer who made her mother’s aha! wine. 

The Beery family.

During this time of wine exploration for the Beery children, Roger and Donna were also charting new wine territories.  Still foodies, Roger and Donna watched the movie Julie and Julia.  The whole idea of blogging about their passion intrigued them.  At this same time, Conch was working on a project for his enology program—researching stories about the emotional impacts of wine.  Roger volunteered himself and Donna to write their wine stories.  These became the first posts on their new blog "Bacchus and Beery."

At first, Roger and Donna thought they were just going to be writing about why they loved wine and why others should too.  However, they quickly saw their fascination with, and appreciation for, small producers come to the forefront.  They championed the “little guys” of wine, those artisan producers who were often “overshadowed by their large, corporate brethren.” 

 

"Bacchus and Beery" continued to expand.  Roger and Donna wrote about wine events, wine travel, and wine samples.  They met and interviewed winemakers.  Soon, “Bacchus and Beery Wine Radio” on Voice America Radio gave them yet another outlet to help artisan producers showcase their wines. 

 

Roger and Donna loved all aspects of being bloggers.  They especially enjoyed the stories of those that had left established careers to follow their dreams of making wine, often doing low-paid internships just to learn the craft.  Only a lover of the written word like Roger—who minored in poetry—could see the foreshadowing in this.

Tools of the blogging and wine making trade.

Sitting on a porch in Santa Rosa, Sonoma County, California, Roger and Donna were celebrating their wedding anniversary.  Roger had a very special gift for his wife of thirty-five years—a ton of pinot noir grapes from the Nunes Vineyard, one of their favorites.  This is exactly what Donna wanted and exactly what both Beerys had been working toward.

They now split their time between their home in Austin and the mother-in-law’s cottage in Whitney’s backyard, where wine making has them scrambling during the months they spend living in Sonoma County.

J Cage Cellars

The first vintage (2014) was the Nunes pinot, sourced because of great connections the Beerys made through their blog; a viognier that Donna calls “Momma’s wine,” sourced from an unusual clone; and a sauvignon blanc, sourced from the historic Schmidt Family vineyard.

  

Roger and Donna believe in minimal manipulation of their wines.  This is the reason they worked so hard to find high-quality fruit from high-quality growers.  They also believe that single-vineyard fruit shows true terroir, and they will continue to make this style of wine. 

 

This endeavor is accurately a family affair, as finally all four of the Beery family members and their wine obsessions have come together for this project.  Roger and Donna are at the helm of J Cage wines.  They harvest the grapes from those select vineyards themselves.  They also do the sorting table, punch down, and initial fermentation labor at a custom crush facility in Healdsburg. 

 

When they do go back to Austin, son Conch acts as a consultant to keep tabs on the wine as it ages and waits for the next step in its wine life.  Daughter Whitney uses her marketing expertise to promote and sell J Cage wines.  Even Conch’s and Whitney’s significant others help.

The entire extended Beery clan!

The name also has a personal connection.  Though the Beerys did experiment with other titles, they wanted something that was meaningful.  Beery sounds more like a malt beverage than a wine, so they went in a different family direction.  J Frank Cage was Roger’s great-grandfather.  The Cage family was very influential in Austin, and J Frank helped design and build the iconic Lamar Street bridge over Lady Bird Lake in downtown.  He was a great craftsman, and Roger wanted to honor the wine craft by naming it after J Cage. 

 

J Cage Cellars

The three current releases are truly excellent wines.

The Pinot Noir is filled with cherry, strawberry, and earth, both on the nose and the palate.  The strong acid is clearly showing, so this wine will age beautifully.

The Viognier is filled with overripe melon, tropical fruit, and mineral on the nose.  These same elements, in addition to a slight creaminess and a touch of apricot, show on the palate.

The Sauvignon Blanc is a beautifully aromatic blend of pineapple, mineral, and grass.  A richness shows through to the finish, without being overdone.  

 

J Cage wine and wine grapes.

In 2015, these same three varieties will be the backbone of the production, with chardonnay and another single-vineyard pinot being added.  The 2016 plan is still wide open.  Grapes will continue to be sourced from single vineyards; Roger and Donna hope to grow in production quantity while keeping the quality of wines top priority.

With a last name like Beery, one might believe this would be a beer-loving family—not that the Beerys have anything against beer!  However, from father and mother to son and daughter, passion for wine is in the blood of this clan. 

   

Roger and Donna should have known after their first date that wine was going to be a large part of their futures.  The connections made due to their passion for wine and the “Bacchus and Beery” blog continued to foreshadow the paths that would take four different routes but all end in the same place—Sonoma County, California. 

The Final Word--Northern California Wineries

There is often a hangover, so to speak, after huge sporting events and seasons end.  There is no more of the sport to watch on television, so the sports networks takeover, rehashing again and again the entire season of the sport and then looking forward to the next year already.  I am similar to the ESPN sports caster that just can’t get enough of the NCAA men’s basketball season as I keep commenting on great wineries.  However, instead of breaking down each questionable referee call or talking about the professional prospects of the players, I am going to hold on to the last vestige of my eight elite wineries by showing one final set of California producers, one final bracket for all to see.  The final word goes to my fellow International Wine (and Spirits) Guild alumni Oscar Montes Iga.

Oscar has been involved with travel, tourism, and events his entire adult life.  He started first with degrees in Nutrition, Diet, and Health Science; Travel, Tourism, Meeting, and Event Planning; and Food, Beverage, and Hospitality Management.  This formal education came after he worked in family-run restaurants throughout his childhood. Then in 2005 while working in a prime steakhouse in Texas, he visited a local winery and was in love…with wine!  His lust for wine knowledge started, and he has hunted for this knowledge in almost every avenue possible.  In addition to the already mentioned International Wine and Spirits Guild where Oscar is an Executive Chef of Wine Arts and Guild Wine Master Candidate, he is a Certified Sommelier through the Court of Master Sommeliers and a Certified Specialist of Wine through the Society of Wine Educators.  He has worked tirelessly in the state of Texas to promote the state’s wines through groups such as The Wine and Food Foundation of Texas, the Texas Hill Country Wineries Association, the Texas Wine Consortium, the Texas Wine Journal, and Texas Wine and Trail Magazine.

Sommelier Oscar Montes Iga

What this very impressive list of accolades means is that Oscar knows good wine.  He makes it his mission to know good wine.  In fact, he admits to being a “grape hunter and oenophile, foodie and avid ambassador for hospitality.”  I think it only fitting that I give him the final say on our honored wineries. 

Oscar’s criteria is a bit different than both mine and Eric Gardner’s (check out Eric’s elite eight here).  Having been full-time in the industry for a decade, he has tasted multitudes of wines from all over the world, so choosing eight greats from California isn’t about what is his favorite wine.  His choices are based on wines of extraordinary quality that impacted his sensory perception and captured his emotions in the instant of the taste.  He has yet to travel to California, but these producers represent ones he will surely visit to get closer to the experiences he has already had with the wines themselves. 

One—Cain Vineyards and Winery:  A Napa Valley producer specializing in cabernet sauvignon (the king of grapes), Cain has 90 acres under vine and makes about 20,000 cases of wine a year.  In 2005 while working his steakhouse shift, a customer shared with the staff the bottle of unfinished Cain.  Oscar was clueless about what Meritage or Bordeaux meant, but he knew instantly when he sipped that this was a special wine.  He professes, “It was as if the wine spoke the truth about the tender journey it had taken to be able to express itself in such manner upon consumption.”  This winery now has a deep spot in his wine memory.

Cain Vineyards and Winery

Two—Opolo Vineyards:  In 1999, Rick Quinn and Dave Nichols teamed together to make Paso Robles zinfandels under their own label instead of just selling fruit to other producers.  At a Zinfandel Advocates and Producers event, Oscar tasted Opolo Vineyards wines.  Though there are many quality zins from Opolo, the Mountain Zinfandel is the one that grabbed Oscar’s attention.  “It was really robust with a full body, yet very well balanced, rich, showcased a ton of jammy fruit with some spice qualities, and sufficient alcohol, nothing overpowering, but certainly overwhelming.”  It is the most memorable zinfandel experience Oscar has had.

Opolo Vineyards

Three—Ridge Vineyards:  This Santa Cruz producer also made my elite list (see my list here), and Oscar loves the producer for the same reasons.  The history of Ridge dates back to 1885 when it was the Monte Bello Winery.  Through the 1940s, Ridge made one of the best cabernets.  In the 1960s, zinfandel was planted there.  Although Ridge is famous for Monte Bello, its cabernet blend, it was the Geyserville Zin that made Oscar sin.  “It’s a dark and plump wine, with eloquent fruit and restrained alcohol, but certainly a wine that shows minimal manipulation, letting the fruit ‘do all the talking.’”

Ridge Vineyards

Four—Jordan Vineyard and Winery:  Founded in 1972, Jordan created one of the truly original cult wines of California.  The story goes that winemaker Rob Davis was unhappy with his first vintage in 1975, so he decided to dump all of the wine and wait for the next year.  The move created an incredibly sought-after product, even today.  Oscar respects this producer saying, “The passion and dedication of the grape growing and wine making teams shows in the glass when you pour yourself some Jordan, a commitment of over four decades is reason enough to pay them a visit.”

Jordan Vineyard and Winery

Five—Robert Mondavi Winery:  Such an iconic winery and wine personality, California and the United States both owe a lot to Robert Mondavi.  He was instrumental in advocating for strict labeling laws aligned with growing regions, much like the European concept of terroir upon which our American Viticultural Areas (AVAs) are based.  When Mondavi was forced to leave his family-owned winery, he built his own facility, showing the future of California’s industry.  “Mondavi’s wine[s] continue to appear the world over, and it is with extreme dedication and care that we are able to taste in our glass the essence of the fruit and the winemaking techniques used to elevate each of his created [wines].” 

Robert Mondavi Winery

Six—Heitz Wine Cellars:  Though a traditional California winery dating back to 1964, Heitz has worked to find modern and new outlets to get traditional CA varieties to the market.  This blend of old and new can be seen in the fact that Heitz grows the traditional wine grapes of cabernet sauvignon, chardonnay, sauvignon blanc, and zinfandel, yet produces a zinfandel rose, the Grignolino rose.  This is Oscar’s favorite:  “A dry, medium dark cranberry hue, with fresh and ripe flavors of strawberry, cherry, and raspberry with good acidity and a pleasant floral bouquet enticing you to have a ‘pique-nicque’ at every city park or country outing.” 

Heitz Wine Cellars

Seven—Stolpman Vineyards:  In the business for over twenty years, some of Stolpman’s best wines come from the recently approved Ballard Canyon AVA.  Although some Mediterranean grapes like garnacha, viognier, roussane, and sangiovese are grown, the producer’s syrahs are world class—especially the ones from Ballard Canyon.  “Fresh and bright, with ripe fruit, pleasant perfume, dirty earth and spice components that are balanced and complex, ensuring you have an evolving glass of wine throughout the evening.”  Oscar says this is a must see!

Stolpman Vineyards

Eight—Chateau Montelena Winery:  In a way, this is Oscar’s honorable mention winery, merely because he has yet to have a personal experience with these wines.  However, the historic significance Chateau Montelena has in not only California but all of the United States makes it a significant producer.  The winery gets its fame from the celebrated Judgement of Paris tasting when British wine shop proprietor Steven Spurrier pitted American wines against French wines in a blind tasting.  The Chateau Montelena Chardonnay triumphed against the French wines, gaining respect for Napa Valley wines.  Oscar feels, “Visiting this chateau will give me an opportunity not only to taste the fruit of their labor, which they certainly take great pride in, but also to visit a historical site that has put American wine on par with elegant and ancient European estates.” 

Chateau Montelena Winery

Yes, well-educated and passionate sommelier Oscar Montes Iga definitely deserves the last word in our brackets of eight elite California wineries.  He is the final commentator dissecting the play-by-play of our wine game.  Though he lives in Texas, he knows good wine from all over the world.   His education and experience have helped to show that so many different options abound in choosing “teams”—the wineries which we love or would love to visit—for our elite brackets.  Luckily, unlike the actual brackets for the NCAA tourney, we can all be winners in our pool.  Just look for all of these wineries’ products.  Judge for yourself who your favorites might be.   

[Wine Bracketology]--Northern California Wineries

The madness must come to an end.  Last night, a new men’s champion was crowned.  The field was narrowed, and narrowed, and narrowed...until just two teams were standing.  Those two fought hard, but only one could win.  Someone, somewhere, chose the winner and today sat victorious over the others in the office pool.  Was it you?! (I took second in my office pool, by the way!)

Last week, I made the tough choices of eight elite wineries I was dying to visit in northern California.  I put much thought and logic into my picks.  I used a certain set of rules when making my choices, but just like with the regular bracket for the NCAA men’s tourney, there were literally another thousand different choices other than my eight. 

Experts say that the possible bracket combinations for the men’s tourney were more than nine quintillion…yes, quintillion...options.  I did not find nine quintillion other views on eight elite wineries in California, however.  I found two! 

The first opposing bracket is from Eric Gardner—Rapid City, South Dakota’s wine and food loving meteorologist.  His love for wine and food are shown in multiple ways, but they appear first and foremost in his “In the Kitchen with Eric Gardner” segments on the KOTA network out of Rapid.  He has taught wine and food pairing classes in the area and has led multiple tastings and wine events around the Black Hills.  It is obvious through Eric’s elite picks that he loves a good cabernet sauvignon, yet he appreciates many California wines. 

[Eric Gardner with his two favorite hobbies:  food and wine!]

One—[Morlet Family Vineyards]:  Patriarch Luc Morlet came from France to the U.S. with just a thousand dollars in his pocket.  He sought the best grapes to make wines in the fashion of his homeland, and he has done just that.  Eric loves the Morlet white Bordeaux blend—sauvignon blanc and semillon—but he also enjoys Morlet’s cabs, pinots, and syrahs. 

[Morlet Family Vineyards]

Two—[Varozza Vineyards]:  Jack and Dianna Varozza started by growing fruit for other wine producers.  However, they make small amounts of their own wine.  Eric tells they grow some of the best petite sirah in Napa to produce wine under their own label.  They also grow and ferment a wonderful old-vine sauvignon blanc, a show-case Chardonnay, and a world-class zinfandel.

[Varozza Vineyards]

Three—[Verite Wines]:  Another transplant from France, Pierre Seilan makes Bordeaux blends using merlot, cabernet sauvignon, and cabernet franc.  Verite’s Le Desir blend has a higher percentage of cab franc than his other wines; it is made this way to be similar to the traditional wines of St. Emilion.  Eric’s “Parker palate” is evident in his love of this producer—a producer that has received perfect one hundred point scores from Robert Parker himself.

[Verite Wines]

Four—[Detert Family Vineyards]:  The Detert family has been growing grapes on the west side of the Oakville region of Napa for over sixty years.  Year after year after year, Eric believes the Deterts produce one of the most delightful, unusual, and complex cabernet francs from California; they are big reds with floral notes.  Since this is a smaller producer, to purchase these wines, get on the winery mailing list.

[Detert Family Vineyards]

Five—[Schrader Cellars]:  Speaking of winery mailing lists, Eric’s father was fortunate to be one of the elite on Schrader’s, earning the ability to access some of California’s greatest cabernet sauvignons.  Eric believes these wines show the “essence of California”; they have also received more perfect scores from Parker and other critics than any other wines in California history. 

[Schrader Cellars]

Six—[Alban Vineyards]:  Eric’s love of Napa is quite evident in many of his choices, but he shows his diversity with Alban Vineyards, a tiny winery near San Luis Obispo in Arroyo Grande.  One of the first wineries to produce wines exclusively from Rhone varieties, Alban specializes in syrah, grenache, mouvedre, marsanne, and grenache blanc.  Eric still considers an Alban wine to be the most moving wine-drinking experience he has ever had:  “When I drank the 2006 Alban 'Reva' Syrah. The enormous wine changed every 15 minutes in the glass - much like John Alban's personality, interestingly enough!”

[Alban Vineyards]

Seven—[Entre Nous]:  Grapes for Entre Nous wines are grown in the Kristine Ashe Vineyards and produced by the team of Philippe Melka and Julien Fayard.  Entre Nous has one of Napa’s finest sauvignon blancs but also produces a cabernet that is, as Eric states, “More than fruit and tannin.”  It is so complex that even floral notes show through.

[Entre Nous]

Eight—[Barbour Vineyards]:  Jim Barbour has tended some of Napa’s most prestigious grapes over the past thirty years.  He grows his own fruit for elite winemaker Celia Welch to ferment into wine.  (Celia is the second Barbour winemaker; the first was equally as impressive—Heidi Barrett.)  This duo only makes cabernet sauvignon--which Eric loves--from Barbour’s dry farmed, sustainably grown vineyards.  Celia also makes wines under other labels:  Scarecrow, Keever, Hollywood and Vine, and Corra (her own).

[Barbour Vineyards]

Enjoy Eric’s elite eight wineries.  Check back soon when I have yet another bracket to add to our “bracketology” madness, a viewpoint that will be completely different!  My fellow International Wine Guild sommelier from Austin, Texas—Oscar—is going to share his unique insight on eight special California wineries.  This is yet another bracket that could be a winner.  Let the madness continue!

Elite Eight--Northern California Wineries

There is currently an epidemic in this country.  Recently, I have witnessed some behavior that has me gravely concerned about many of those around me.  It started a few weeks ago with strange symptoms of people spending copious amounts of time of ESPN or other sports outlets researching something very troubling…something called a bracket.  Most inflicted with this strange syndrome didn’t fill out a bracket (singular), but many fill out multiple brackets (plural), taking this strange behavior to a whole new level.  For some, this behavior is so extreme it could only be called “madness,” pure and simple.   

Then there are those like me, who get another kind of illness in March—spring fever!  This disease doesn’t show itself in the research of basketball teams and hours of sports watching (although I have watched my fair share of NCAA basketball games lately), my spring fever manifests itself in crazy thoughts of warmth, summer, and vacation.  As others are choosing their teams to reach the Elite Eight, I am doing my own study too, filling in my own bracket (in a way) of the eight wineries I would make a priority to visit in northern California wine country.

Similar to when people fill out their brackets for the NCAA tourney, I have a list of qualifications I used to choose my elite wineries:  1) I could not have been to the winery before; 2) I could not have even tasted the wine before; and 3) I had to have respected the wine on some level for a period of time.  However, even with this criteria, my special wineries cover a gamut of styles of wine, sizes of production, and popularity of products.  Any grape and any location in northern California could be contenders.  Each has a specific reason for being chosen, and each makes me thirsty just thinking of the amazing wine options available.  Here they are, in no particular order, the eight elite wineries I can’t wait to visit!

One—Ridge Vineyards:  Known for its signature vineyard Monte Bello in the Santa Cruz Mountains south of San Francisco, I remember the first time I heard of Ridge’s Monte Bello red blend (Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Cabernet Franc).  I read an online review that made the bottle sound like heaven.  Over the years, I learned this one review was the norm, and Monte Bello has been on my bucket list to drink ever since.  Produced by revered wine maker Paul Draper, Ridge has two locations for visitors, and truthfully, I want to visit both (but I’m only counting this is one of my eight).  Of course, the original Monte Bello location would be like Mecca for a wineaux like me.  At the same time, the Lytton Springs location outside of Healdsburg in northern Sonoma (purchased in 1991) looks like a worthy stop as well.  Read about both locations on the Ridge website here.

Ridge Vineyards

Two—Corison Winery:  Corison is Napa royalty.  With a female winemaker at the helm (which I love), Cathy Corison and her husband primarily make Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignons and Cabernet Francs.  However, they also produce a white from Gewurztraminer and a rose (among others).  Cathy is known for using sustainable growing and production practices in her quest to make wines that are complex and powerful, while at the same time have some elegance.  On my list to drink and see the facility, Corison is definitely worth an elite eight position.  Read more about Cathy and her wines here.

Corison Winery

Three—Littorai Wines:  Small, family owned Littorai is the baby of Ted and Heidi Lemon.  Ted learned the winemaking business in the Burgundy region of France.  Heidi spent some time in Germany for another job.  Together, they returned home and searched northern California for the perfect spot for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay; they found it in Sonoma and have a tasting room outside of Sebastopol.  They believe in a hands-off, more natural style of winemaking focusing on making the best wine after good vineyard practices.  Specializing in my favorite wine, Pinot Noir, Ted and Heidi source from the Sonoma Coast and Anderson Valley.  They also produce quality Chardonnays, in addition to a unique Sauvignon Blanc and Gewurztraminer blend.  Read about Littoria Wines here.

Littorai Wines

           Four—Copain Wines:  Also a Sonoma winery, the location is outside of Healdsburg (one of my favorite Sonoma towns).  Wells Guthrie is the winemaker here.  He traveled to the Rhone Valley of France to receive some of his training in winemaking.  Here, he learned to respect the French winemaking techniques.  These methods show up in his wines from Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Syrah (including a rose).  Guthrie’s ultimate goal of the wines (from grapes sourced from the Anderson Valley) is to reflect the terroir, to be a representation of the place where grown.  Tastings are given my appointment only, so to visit this winning winery, some advanced planning is required.  See how to get an appointment here.

Copain Wines

  Five—Red Cap Vineyards:  Located on Howell Mountain in Napa, Tom and Desiree Altemus started this winery after years in other careers.  Winemaker Rudy Zuidema is the winemaker, joining the Altemuses after his time in Australia.  The vines were planted on Howell Mountain in 2000, and Red Cap focuses on Cabernet Sauvignon and Sauvignon Blanc.  The production is incredibly small, only 250 cases a year.  There is no public tasting available, so this is definitely a truly elite group of wines to experience.  Look for special events and tastings in other locations, posted on their website here.

Red Cap Vineyards

Six—Dutton-Goldfield Winery:  Located in Sonoma, this is a team effort from fifth generation Californian Steve Dutton (wine grower) and Dan Goldfield (winemaker).  This producer made my elite list because of the focus on Pinot Noir wines, especially from one of my favorite areas, the Russian River Valley.  They also make wines from Chardonnay, Syrah, Zinfandel, and Gewurztraminer.  The tasting room is outside of Sebastopol and is open daily for tastings.  Find the hours here.

Dutton-Goldfield Winery

Seven—Venge Vineyards:  Kirk Venge, Napa born and raised and fourth generation Californian farmer, makes wines much like his ancestors, yet with his own stamp of originality.  Kirk has a true focus on sustainability; he uses dry farming, cover crops, and no herbicides.  Making wines in Napa primarily of Cabernet Sauvignon, he also produces Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Zinfandel, Syrah, and Merlot.  By appointment only, the tasting experience here is more about education and enjoyment in a quiet, formal environment.  Learn more about Venge Vineyards here.

Venge Vineyards

Eight—Hirsch Vineyards:  In 1980, David Hirsch sought a growing area to farm grapes that would produce wines showing the specific site where the fruit was grown.  For decades, he sourced grapes to some of the most prestigious winemakers in northern California, including Williams Selyem (one of my bucket-list wineries I was able to visit last year).  Now he grows grapes that make amazing Pinot Noirs (so I have heard because, again, none of these wines have been in my glass…yet) with the Hirsch label under the direction of a team that includes winemakers, a vineyard manager, a gardener, and sales marketers.  I have followed his sales manager and daughter Jasmine on Facebook and Instagram for quite some time.  I can freely admit to the madness I feel about the pictures she posts of Hirsch wines!  Tastings are given by appointment only and require a trek far, far north into Sonoma, almost three hours north of San Francisco.  However, the travel is worth seeing the unique and remote vineyard where one can catch glimpses of the ocean at times.  Here is how to visit Hirsch Vineyards.

Hirsch Vineyards

Honorable mention—Patz & Hall:  I had to add a ninth winery to my list, Patz & Hall.  The reason it didn’t make the actual list of eight is only because I have had the pleasure of drinking Patz & Hall wines before, so having it on my dream team of wines that I can’t wait to taste would have been breaking my own rules.  However, this winery deserves a nod for several reasons.  First, it focuses on my favorite variety, Pinot Noir, making wines from grapes sourced from two of my beloved AVAs:  Russian River Valley and Carneros.  Patz & Hall also produces Chardonnays, focusing on single vineyards and smaller lots.  The team of James Hall, who makes the wine, and Donald Patz, who sells the wine, is joined by Anne Moses and Heather Patz.  They recently opened the Sonoma House outside of the town of Sonoma.  I am dying to visit this beautiful facility after following its construction via social media. 

Patz & Hall Sonoma House

Luckily, I was able to bypass the current epidemic of madness everyone around me seems to have contracted.  On the other hand, I caught my own—March wine madness.  Much thought and reasoning is used when those infected with this madness go to fill out their brackets; these are tough choices to make.  I put even more thought and reasoning into the selected eight producers here, all based on my personal tastes and interests.  I could have easily made a list of the sixteen sweetest wineries I want to visit.  Even easier to do would have been to bump up to thirty-two places, and sixty-four would have also been a cinch. 

These eight represent an incredibly short list of a very, very, very long line of wonderful wineries to visit in northern California.  The madness of trying to limit to just eight actually hurt me; it created a whole other list of symptoms, some similar to basketball fanatics' issues this month:  shaking, nervous twitches, and thirst.  Those of you following the NCAA tournament only have a few more games until your madness is cured; I still have months until summer comes to cure mine.  Bring on the prescription for travel and let these eight elite wine producers cure my madness—cheers!