What Do the Country’s Top Sommeliers Bring to a BYOB Dinner?
“I’ve loved these wines for a long time, and this vineyard is special, and the 2014 magnum is rare!” Patrick Cappiello said excitedly. He grabbed the Dard et Ribo Crozes-Hermitages “Les Rouges des Baties” off a table in the basement of NYC’s Peking Duck House, a favorite BYOB party room of area sommeliers. “I’ll pour you a giant glass.”
That Northern Rhône wine made sense. The occasion was a dinner for producers visiting for a Rhône wine festival. It wasn’t the only thing that the wine director of Philadelphia’s Walnut Street Café was sharing that night. Jolie Laide Trousseau Gris Rosé, PAX Gamay Noir, PAX Sonoma-Hillsides Syrah — Cappiello had also brought a trio of California esoterica to share with the vignerons in attendance. It was an opportunity to show off the homegrown talent he distributes through his company, Renégat Wines. “We’ve been drinking French wines for a long time, so it’s about f*cking time, right?”
Sharing for pure pleasure, or sharing with an agenda? Pouring the tried and true, or busting out a maverick? As we tasted through the wines that Cappiello and other sommeliers had pulled from their personal stashes to share that night, I wondered what pros who weren’t there would have brought.
On the restaurant floor, sommeliers have other masters than themselves: the food, the diner, the bottom line. When off the clock, what bottles do they open to impress, and why? I asked the question of sommeliers all over the country. It turns out that the pros have some principles in common for the wines they use to wow pals.
Go Big or Go Home
You’d think that when sommeliers want to make a splash, they’d just pour big-name trophies. Sometimes they do: the Francois Raveneau Chablis that Evan Zimmerman, of D.C.’s Reverie, cracks open; the 2007 magnum of Carlisle Winery James Berry Vineyard Syrah that Leonora Varvoutis of Houston’s Coltivare “drools over.”
“But you don’t want to push too hard in that direction, or the bottle comes off as pure braggadocio,” says Steven Grubbs, wine director at Atlanta’s Empire State South. Rather, pros try to offer something unique.
“It’s nice to check in on the icons,” Caleb Ganzer of Manhattan’s Compagnie des Vins Surnaturels says, “but extra points if it’s a rarer bottling.” His go-to? Cedric Bouchard La Bolorée 2009, made from a tiny parcel of Pinot Blanc. With a golden apple core and a texture like compressed croissant flakes, it’s all the more impressive because it’s surprising. “People don’t realize you can make Champagne with Pinot Blanc,” he says.
That wine goes for about $600 on lists, but bigness isn’t just in a name or price tag. Michael Corcoran, of Peppervine in Charlotte, N.C., likes something brawny, “a wine that will unfurl in a decanter a few hours while more timid bottles are consumed and forgotten.” Dal Forno Romano’s Valpolicella Superiore, for instance, is a third the price of Amarones because its grapes have been air-dried half as long. But it’s “redolent of sugar plums, kirsch, baked black cherries, cedar, balsam, spice, and smoked meat,” he says, a bruiser that brings “lasting memories.”
Speaking of big, pros insist that size does matter. Patrick Laman of Chicago’s Maple & Ash found his wow factor in a 1985 Diamond Creek “Gravelly Meadow” Cabernet not only because of its Californian staying power — “My friends were laughing at how primary it still was after 30-some years” — but because it was a 6-liter bottle. “Everybody had more than their fair share.”
Element of Surprise
Somms take many routes to get their drinking buddies to that a-ha moment. Alexandra Rovati, head sommelier at Manhattan’s DaDong pours a familiar varietal from an unexpected locale. “Barely anyone has heard of Argentinean Pinot Noir,” she says. Particularly in its 2011 vintage, Bodega Chacra “Cincuenta y Cinco,” a biodynamic, old-vine Pinot, is the velvety knockout she brings to dinner parties.
Commanders Palace sommelier Dan Davis flipped that equation recently with an unexpected varietal from a classic region. He was pouring for a Burgundy blind tasting group. “The first thing that struck everyone was the color — almost golden, with flashy highlights,” he recounts. “It looked at once young and old. The nose was lemon curd and almond.” The group was stumped. “Remember,” he told them, “there is more than one white grape in Burgundy.” The wine was a 2007 Domaine Ponsot Clos des Monts-Luisants Premier Cru Morey-St.-Denis, Burgundy’s only premier cru Aligoté. “Everyone was excited to taste a special bottle and learn something in the process.”
For others, the surprise is in the sticker shock — in reverse. A wine that’s a steal can really impress. For Ryan Bailey, wine director of the NoMad in Los Angeles, that bottle is low-intervention Lancelot-Royer Champagne. It expresses the minerality of its grand cru vineyards, but with a richness from aging. “I probably shouldn’t be too vocal about it because not a lot is made and it’s still incredibly affordable,” he says. “But tasted side by side with big house and cult grower Champagnes, these wines leave them in the dust.”
Better with Age
Most somms agree with Maple & Ash’s Michael Loveisky: “Drinking a wine that is older than yourself or produced the year you were born forces you to have some perspective.” But an aged wine only works if it’s as ready for drinking as you are. “My non-sommelier friends don’t have the knowledge to select properly aged wines,” he says, “so this is one of my favorite ways to impress them.”
For a recent get-together, Kevin Bratt, the beverage director of the Joe’s Seafood, Prime Steak & Stone Crab group, uncorked a 1995 magnum of Château La Croix de Gay Pomerol. The wine, he says, “was in a beautiful place and continued to evolve through the night.” What made it a conversation piece was Bratt’s perfect timing.
Of course, some producers do that work for you. Rustic Canyon Family wine director Kathryn Coker trusts in the Domaine de Vieux Château 1er Cru Chablis “Le Lys” 2005 precisely because of it’s aged so long in-house. “The ‘05 is the current release and it was just bottled in 2016!” she says. That time in the barrel leaves the wine textured and complex enough for a special occasion.
Best is an aged wine that subverts expectations. When she wants to impress, master sommelier Pascaline Lepeltier opens wine from her native Loire. Lately, she’s pulling out “a wild card”: aged Muscadet, like the 1989 Luneau-Papin Le L d’Or. “Everybody is surprised,” she says. “It’s incredibly briny and easy to drink but super complex at the same time. You realize it doesn’t need to be full or rich or dense to be good.”
Unsung Heroes
Somms such as Lepeltier like to knock friends’ socks off with underdogs that over-deliver. For Karen Van Guilder-Little, of Nashville’s Josephine, that means Zinfandel. Big, dark, and juicy but not overbearing, the little-known A. Rafanelli from Sonoma’s Dry Creek Valley has an elegance unexpected in a Zinfandel, she says. It’s a vehicle for her rehabilitation of the varietal. “I know it’s not cool to like Zin, but this bottle will convert people,” she says.
For Maurice DiMarino, beverage manager of SoCal’s Cohn Restaurant Group, sharing outliers with fellow somms is a service to the industry. “I like to remind them that almost every region is doing something unique,” he says. At a bottle share with master somms, he poured Lagrein from the Serra Guacha in Brazil, a region he describes as “dismissed by many and undiscovered by most.” The wine was “beautiful, fresh, and racing with acidity.”
Andy Hata of Cleveland’s Urban Farmer is the gutsiest underdog promoter. His current favorite is the 2017 M Cellars Reserve Pinot Noir. Though its cherry-raspberry juiciness evokes the Williamette Valley, and its earthiness and structure “scream Burgundy,” it’s made 45 minutes from downtown Cleveland. “Mention the words ‘Ohio wine’ and people’s expectations are for the worst,” he says. “Then blind taste them on this and blow their minds. In our local sommelier tasting group, it is not uncommon for one of us to sneak this into a lineup next to top Pinot Noirs from around the world. It always over-performs.”
A Story to Tell
Whether they’re pouring a star or a sleeper, a lot of professionals agree with Maple & Ash’s Frankie Villar: “The personal connection is what makes the difference when aiming to impress.” A 2010 magnum of the biodynamic, single-block Churton Pinot Noir “The Abyss” is his wine to share, not just because it’s only produced in exceptional years but because, as an intern at The Abyss in 2015, he walked the slopes where the grapes were grown.
Some sommeliers’ choices are Proustian. Angela Gargano, wine director at Montana’s Triple Creek Ranch, grew up in a Sicilian family. “Hidden gems” like the bright, aromatic 2016 Fattorie Romeo del Castello by producer Chiara Vigo, the third generation of women to grow grapes at her family estate on Mount Etna, evoke memories for her.
Others like to share souvenirs of their travels. Jake Yestingsmeier of Omaha’s Monarch Prime looks for tasting room-only finds like Cliff Lede’s “Rockblock Series” Cabernet, whose blend and label change with each vintage. For Francesca Maniace, it’s the story of the hunt that elevates a bottle. The Jerome Prévost Fac-Simile Rosé Extra Brut that she recently brought to dinner was “vinous and expressive with intense depth and complexity of fruit.” But Maniace, the wine director at San Francisco’s Che Fico, valued it all the more because her purchase, at a shop in Reims, coincided with a chance meeting with Prévost himself.
On a Mission
Some sommeliers argue that the important thing to impress upon companions is a political or environmental statement. Their favored bottles reflect their mission. Allie Poindexter of Nashville’s Henrietta Red highlights the women who are transforming the wine world. If you drink with her, she’ll open an SP68 by celebrated young Sicilian producer Arianna Occhipinti. The mineral, terroir-driven white is “a jumping off point for conversations surrounding alternative growing and winemaking methods, gender in the industry, and the trajectory of Sicilian wines,” she says. Ditto the wines of Elisabetta Foradori, “a standard-bearer for native varietals” in the Dolomites. Her lively, polished Foradori Vigneti delle Dolomiti Teroldego, says Poindexter, “is a great example of the benefits of sustainable farming practices.”
Vinny Eng, who just left his gig as the wine director of San Francisco’s Tartine Manufactory, is a champion of emerging talent, especially new producers who haven’t yet picked up distribution. Lately, he’s been sharing wines by the young and “incredibly talented” Claire Hill, who makes “supple, entirely gulpable, fresh, delicious, and really soothing Mourvèdre.”
But whichever new producer he has spotlighted, Eng sums up the motivations behind every sommelier’s wow-factor bottle: to give friends an experience they won’t soon forget, and to connect through the shared pleasures of the palate. “What I love about the wine community and how it evolves is that you have room for more and more voices,” says Eng, “and it creates a beautiful experience for individuals to find affinity for things they hadn’t known they had an affinity for.”
The article What Do the Country’s Top Sommeliers Bring to a BYOB Dinner? appeared first on VinePair.
source https://vinepair.com/articles/sommeliers-best-byob-wines/
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Napa Valley Wineries
NAPA
*Acacia
2750 Las Amigas Road, Napa
707.226.9991
Andretti Winery
4192 Big Ranch Road, Napa
707.255.3524
Artesa Winery
1345 Henry Rd., Napa
707.224.1668
*Atlas Peak Vineyards (Trade Only)
3700 Soda Canyon Rd, Napa
707.252.7971
*Ballentine Wines
P.O. Box 3987, Napa
707.963.6100
*Bouchaine Vineyards
1075 Buchli Station Rd., Napa
707.252.9065
Carneros Creek Winery
1285 Dealy Ln., Napa
707.253.9463
Chateau Potelle
3875 Mount Veeder Rd., Napa
707.255.9440
Chimney Rock Winery
5350 Silverado Trail, Napa
707.257.2641
Clos du Val Wine Co., Ltd.
5330 Silverado Trail, Napa
707.259.2220
*Costello Vineyards Winery
1200 Orchard Ave., Napa
707.252.8483
*Crichton Hall
1150 Darms Lane, Napa
707.224.4200
*Del Dotto Caves
1055 Atlas Peak Rd, Napa
707.255.5087
Domaine Carneros by Taittinger
1240 Duhig Rd., Napa
707.257.0101
*Etude Wines
4101 Big Ranch Rd., Napa
707.257.5300
*Hagafen Cellars
P.O. Box 3035, Napa;
707.252.0781
Hakusan Sake Gardens
1 Executive Way, Napa;
707.258.6160
*Havens Wine Cellars
2055 Hoffman Lane, Napa;
707.945.0921
Hess Collection
4411 Redwood Rd. Napa
707.255.1144
*Jarvis Vineyards
2970 Monticello Rd., Napa
707.255.5280
*Luna Vineyards
2921 Silverado Trail, Napa
707.255.5862
*Mayacamus Vineyards
1155 Lokoya Rd., Napa
707.224.4030
Monticello Vineyards
4242 Big Ranch Rd., Napa
707.253.2802
Mont St. John Cellars
5400 Old Sonoma Rd., Napa
707.255.8864
*Moss Creek Winery
6015 Steele Canyon Rd., Napa
707.252.1295
*Mt. Veeder Winery & Vineyards
1999 Mt. Veeder Rd., Napa
707.224.4039
Newlan Vineyards & Winery
5225 Solano Ave., Napa
707.257.2399
*Pahlmeyer (Napa Wine Company)
P.O. Box 2410, Napa
707.255.2321
Pine Ridge Winery
5901 Silverado Trail, Napa
707.252.9777
*Regusci Winery
5584 Silverado Trail, Napa
707.254.0403
RMS Brandy Distillery
1250 Cuttings Wharf Rd, Napa
707.253.9055
*Rocking Horse Winery
1001 Franklin St., Napa
707.226.5555
*Saintsbury
1500 Los Carneros Ave., Napa
707.252.0592
*Shafer Vineyards
6154 Silverado Trail, Napa
707.944.2877
*Signorello Vineyards
4500 Silverado Trail, Napa
707.255.5990
*Silverado Hill Cellars
3103 Silverado Trail, Napa
707.253.9306
Silverado Vineyards
6121 Silverado Trail, Napa
707.257.1770
Stag's Leap Wine Cellars
5766 Silverado Trail, Napa
707.944.2020
*Star Hill Winery
1075 Shadybrook Lane, Napa
707.255.1957
Steltzner Vineyards
5998 Silverado Trl. Napa
707.252.7272
*Stony Hill Vineyard
3331 N. St. Helena Hwy., Napa
707.963.2636
Trefethen Vineyards
1160 Oak Knoll Ave., Napa
707.255.7700
*Truchard Vineyards
3234 Old Sonoma Rd., Napa
707.253.7153
*Tulocay Winery
1426 Coombsville Rd., Napa
707.255.4064
Van der Heyden Winery
4057 Silverado Trail; Napa
707-257-0130
*Whitford Cellars
4047 East 3rd Ave., Napa
707.257.7065
William Hill Winery
1761 Atlas Peak Rd., Napa
707.224.4477
ZD Wines
8383 Silverado Trail, Napa
707.963.5188Top of PageYOUNTVILLE
S. Anderson Vineyard
1473 Yountville Crossroad, Yountville
707.944.8642
Cosentino Winery
7415 St. Helena Highway, Yountville
707.944.1220
Domaine Chandon
California Dr., Yountville
707.944.2280
Goosecross Cellars
1119 State Ln., Yountville
707.944.1986
Napa Cellars
7481 St. Helena Hwy., Yountville
707.944.2565
Robert Sinskey Vineyards
6320 Silverado Trail, Yountville
707.944.9090
S. Anderson Vineyard
1473 Yountville Crossroad, Yountville
707.944-8642
*Vine Cliff Cellars Winery
7400 Silverado Trail, Yountville
707.944.1364
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OAKVILLE
Cardinale Estate
7585 St. Helena Hwy., Oakville
707.945.1391
*Far Niente Winery (Trade Only)
P.O. Box 327, Oakville
707.944.2861
Girard / Rudd Winery
7717 Silverado Trail, Oakville
707.944.8577
*Groth Vineyards & Winery
750 Oakville Cross Rd., Oakville
707.944.0290
La Famiglia di Robert Mondavi
1595 Oakvale Grade, Oakville
888.453.9463
Napa Wine Company
7830-40 St. Helena Highway, Oakville
707.944.8669
Oakville Ranch Winery
7850 Silverado Trail, Oakville
707.944.9500
*Opus One
7900 Saint Helena Highway, Oakville
707.944.9442
*Paradigm Winery
83 Dwyer Rd., Oakville
707.944.1683
Plumpjack
620 Oakvile Crossroad, Oakville
707.945.1220
Robert Mondavi Winery
7801 St. Helena Hwy., Oakville
707.226.1335
Silver Oak Cellars
915 Oakville Crossroad, Oakville
707.944.8808
Turnbull Wine Cellars
8210 St. Helena Hwy., Oakville
800.887.6285
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RUTHERFORD
Beaulieu Vineyard
1960 St. Helena Hwy., Rutherford
707.967.5411
*Cakebread Cellars
8300 St Helena Hwy., Rutherford
707.963.5221
*Elyse Wine Cellars
P.O. Box 83, Rutherford
707.963.5496
Franciscan Oakville Estate
1178 Galleron Rd., Rutherford
707.963.7111
*Frog's Leap Winery
8815 Conn Creek Rd., Rutherford
707.963.4704
Grgich Hills Cellars
1829 St. Helena Hwy., Rutherford
707.963.2784
*Honig Cellars
850 Rutherford Rd., Rutherford
707.963.5618
Mumm Napa Valley
8445 Silverado Trail, Rutherford
800.95V.INTAGE
Niebaum-Coppola Estate Winery
P.O. Box 208, Rutherford
707.968.1100
Peju Province Winery
8466 St. Helena Hwy., Rutherford
707.963.3600
Quail Ridge Cellars & Vineyards
1960 St. Helena Highway, Rutherford
707.257.1712
Rutherford Grove Winery
1673 St. Helena Highway, Rutherford
707.963.0544
Rutherford Hill Winery
200 Rutherford Hill Rd., Rutherford
707.963.7194
St. Supéry Winery
8440 St. Helena Hwy., Rutherford
707.963.4507
Sequoia Grove Vineyards
8338 S. St. Helena Hwy., Rutherford
707.944.2945
*Staglin Family Vineyard
P.O. Box 680, Rutherford
707.963.1710
*Sullivan Vineyards
1090 Galleron Road, Rutherford
707.963.9646
*Swanson Winery
1271 Manley Ln., Rutherford
707.944.1642
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ST. HELENA
*Anderson's Conn Valley Vineyards
680 Rossi Rd., Saint Helena
707.963.8600
*Barnett Vineyards
4070 Spring Mountain. Rd., St. Helena
707.963.0109
Beaucanon
1695 S. St. Helena Hwy., St. Helena
707.967.3520
*Benessere Vineyards
1010 Big Tree Road, St. Helena
707.963.5853
Beringer Vineyards
2000 Main Street, St. Helena
707.963.4812
*Buehler Vineyards
820 Greenfield Rd., St. Helena
707.963.2155
*Burgess Cellars
1108 Deer Park Rd., St. Helena
707.963.4766
*Cafaro Cellars
1591 Dean York Lane, St. Helena
707.963.7181
*Cain Vineyard & Winery
3800 Langtry Road, St. Helena
707.963.1616
*Calafia Cellars
629 Fulton Ln., St. Helena
707.963.5221
*Casa Nuestra Winery
3451 Silverado Trail N., St. Helena
707.963.5783
*Caymus Vineyards
8700 Conn Creek Rd., St Helena
707.967.3010
*Chappellet Vineyard
1581 Sage Canyon Rd., St. Helena
707.963.7136
Charles Krug Winery
2800 St. Helena Hwy. N, St Helena
707.963.2761
*Chateau Boswell
3468 Silverado Trail, St. Helena
707.963.5472
*Chateau Woltner
3500 Silverado Trail, St. Helena
707.963.1744
Conn Creek Winery
8711 Silverado Trail, St. Helena
707.963.5133
*Corison Wines
P.O. Box 427, St. Helena
707.963.0826
*David Arthur Vineyards
1521 Sage Canyon Road, St. Helena
707.963.5190
*Domaine Charbay Winery
4001 Spring Mountain Road, St. Helena
707.963.9327
*Duckhorn Vineyards
3027 Silverado Trail N, St. Helena
707.963.7108
Edgewood Estate Winery
401 St. Helena Hwy., St. Helena
707.963.7293
Ehlers Grove Winery
3222 Ehlers Ln., St. Helena
707.963.3200
Flora Springs Tasting Room
677 South St. Helena Hwy, St. Helena
707.967.8032
Folie a Deux
3070 N. St. Helena Hwy., St. Helena
707.963.1160
Freemark Abbey Winery
3022 N. St. Helena Hwy., St. Helena
707.963.9694
*Green & Red Vineyard
3208 Chiles Pope Valley Rd., St. Helena
707.965.2346
Heitz Wine Cellars
500 Taplin Rd., St Helena
707.963.3542
*Joseph Phelps Vineyards
200 Taplin Rd., St. Helena
707.963.2745
Kornell Cellars
P.O. Box 1012, St. Helena
707.942.0859
*Livingston Wines
1895 Cabernet Ln., St. Helena
707.963.2120
Louis M. Martini Winery
St. Helena Hwy., St. Helena
707.963.2736
Mario Perelli-Minetti Winery
1443 Silverado Trail, St. Helena
707.963.8762
Markham Vineyards
2812 N. St. Helena Hwy., St. Helena
707.963.5292
Merryvale Napa Valley
1000 Main, St. Helena
707.963.7777
Milat Vineyards
1091 S. St. Helena Hwy., St. Helena
707.963.0758
*Newton Vineyard
2555 Madrona Av, St. Helena
707.963.9000
Nichelini Winery
2950 Sage Canyon Rd., St. Helena
707.963.0717
*Philip Togni Vineyard
3780 Spring Mountain Rd., St. Helena
707.963.3731
Prager Winery & Port Works
1281 Lewelling Lane, St. Helena
707.963.7678
*Pride Mountain Vineyards
Spring Mountain Rd., St. Helena
707.963.4949
Raymond Vineyard & Cellar
849 Zinfandel Ln., St. Helena
707.963.3141
*Ritchie Creek Vineyard
4024 Spring Mountain Rd., St. Helena
707.963.4661
*Robert Keenan Winery
3660 Spring Mountain. Rd., St. Helena
707.963.9177
Rombauer Vineyards
3522 Silverado Trail, St. Helena
707.967.5120
Round Hill Vineyards
1680 Silverado Trail, St. Helena
707.963.9503
Rustridge Winery
2910 Lower Chiles Valley Rd., St. Helena
707.965.2871
Salvestrin Vineyards
397 Main St, St Helena
707.963.5105
St. Clement Vineyards
2867 St. Helena Hwy., St. Helena
707.963.7221
*Smith-Madrone Vineyards
4022 Spring Mountain Rd., St. Helena
707.963.2283
*Spottswoode Winery
1902 Madrona Ave., St. Helena
707.963.0134
Sutter Home Winery
277 St. Helena Hwy., St. Helena
707.963.3104
*Tudal Winery
1015 Big Tree Rd., St. Helena
707.963.3947
V. Sattui Winery
1111 White Lane, St. Helena
707.963.7774
*Villa Helena Winery
1455 Inglewood Av, St. Helena
707.963.4334
Villa Mt. Eden
P.O. Box 350, St. Helena
707.944.2414
Whitehall Lane Winery
1563 S. St. Helena Hwy., St. Helena
707.963.9454
*Yverdon Vineyards
3787 Spring Mtn. Rd., St. Helena
707.963.4270
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CALISTOGA
Arroyo Winery
2361 Greenwood Ave., Calistoga
707.942.6995
Chateau Montelena Winery
1429 Tubbs Ln., Calistoga
707.942.5105
Clos Pegase Winery
1060 Dunaweal Ln., Calistoga
707.942.4981
Cuvaison Winery
4550 Silverado Trail, Calistoga
707.942.6266
Dutch Henry Winery
4300 Silverado Trail, Calistoga
707.942.5771
*Graeser Winery
255 Petrified Forest Rd., Calistoga
707.942.4437
*Hans Fahden Vineyard
5300 Mountain Home Ranch Rd, Calistoga
707.942.6760
*Helena View Johnston Vineyards
3500 Hwy 128, Calistoga
707.942.4956
*Larkmead Vineyards
1145 Larkmead Ln, Calistoga
707.942.6605
Sterling Vineyards
1111 Dunaweal Ln., Calistoga
800.95VINTAGE
Stonegate Winery
1183 Dunaweal Ln., Calistoga
707.942.6500
*Storybook Mountain Winery
3835 Hwy. 128, Calistoga
707.942.5310
Traulsen Vineyards
2250 Lake County Hwy., Calistoga
707.942.0283
Vigil Vineyard
3340 Hwy. 128, Calistoga
707.942.2900
Villa Andriana Winery
1171 Tubbs Lane, Calistoga
707.942.5508
*Von Strasser Winery
1510 Diamond Mountain Rd., Calistoga
707.942.0930
Wermuth Winery
3942 Silverado Trail, Calistoga
707.942.5924
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