Serve 2019 Gratitude from Iron Horse, Sebastopol’s finest glittering pearl, to your Christmas visitors to wow them. Thirty percent chardonnay and sixty percent pinot noir make up this somewhat amber-hued effervescent. This wine is the ideal complement to the rich tastes of fall, with a burnished note of candied ginger and dried apricot and a cran-apple scent. Don’t forget to save some for dessert, apple pie.
The amount of 1985 sparkling gave the 2020 Iron Horse Classic Brut a note of caramel and walnuts, adding depth. Nowadays, anyone can create sparkling, but not everyone has a cellar deep enough to accomplish such a feat.
The face of the 18,000-case brand is Joy Sterling, the daughter of Iron Horse founders Audrey and Ben Sterling. She insists that you use bubbles to celebrate life since every day should be happy. Someone will be extremely appreciative for at least a year if you give them a gift pack of their four seasonal sparklers.
From October 31 to November 2, I went to a seminar at Big Sur Food and Wine that highlighted the recently created SLO Coast AVA. From north of San Simeon to Arroyo Grande, the SLO Coast is essentially a strip of terrain impacted by the ocean. It is known for its magnificent chardonnays, salty albarinos, and otherworldly pinot noirs. Talented young vintners like Aaron Jackson of Aequorea Cellars and Mikey Giugni of Scar of the Sea are risking their lives on these dangerous grape plots, which are incredibly beautiful but frequently don’t yield enough fruit to cover the costs of cultivation.
The gorgeous 2021 Aequorea Derbyshire Vineyard Pinot Noir, SLO Coast, originates from what is probably the most hostile location to cultivate pinot noir—a steep, wind-buffeted hill north of Cambria.
Even though it’s hardly worth the effort, Jackson is compelled to return because of the ethereal texture of the wine, which is so poor that the majority of the berries lack seeds.
Don’t miss Kathryn Kennedy’s mixed red case, which is available locally at https://kathryn-kennedy-winery.obtainwine.com for $707, which includes two bottles of 2016 Lateral, four bottles of 2021 Lateral and 2022 Small Lot Cabernet, and one bottle each of 2006 Estate Cab and 2014 Estate Cab. This represents a $202 savings.
At a hard-to-beat $199 per case, Dan Martin of Martin Ranch Winery offers an excellent assortment of his award-winning J. D. Hurley wines. 2020 Santa Clara Valley Merlot, 2020 Central Coast Pinot Noir, 2020 Santa Cruz Mountains Cabernet Sauvignon, 2020 Santa Clara Valley Zinfandel, and 2021 Arroyo Seco Chardonnay are your options.JD-Hurley-Offer wines: https://martinranchwinery.orderport.net/wines
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