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Emerging 90-Point Brand
FROM WEBSITE Banshee wines is not your normal wine company. It is a band of wine industry insiders dedicated to producing benchmark wines without the cult wine prices. We specialize in finding hidden gems in other wineries' cellars and then blending those barrels to create killer wines. For every barrel we take, we pass on 15 more that don't make the cut. The secret is that today, high-end wineries can't sell all the wine they make and they don't want to lower prices because they don't want to diminish their brand. They would rather sell some of their wine to us and protect their luxury prices. Fine by us and even better for you. You'll find Banshee on some of the best restaurant lists in the world and in the cellars of the wine cognoscenti. You know, those people that tend to know these types of things. Our goal is to deliver distinctive wines that beat the pants off many costing twice as much. We feel massively confident that we've exceeded that goal with Banshee Wines. |
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Emerging 90-Point Syrah Brand
FROM WEBSITE ABOUT Bedrock is an itsy-bitsy winery making wine in a converted chicken coop. Fruit from only the most excellent vineyard sites is hand pitch-forked into the destemmer, fermented in open top redwood and stainless vats using only native yeasts, and are manually basket pressed by winemaker Morgan Twain-Peterson into the sexiest oak from the coldest French forests. The winery’s objectives are: To channel the fruit of ancient vines into powerful, elegant, and distinctly Californian wines. To spread the gospel of Syrah in California by sourcing fruit from great terroirs throughout the North Coast. To proclaim the greatness of Sonoma Valley Cabernet Sauvignon by sparing no expense on wines of uniqueness and personality. To reclaim rose’ from the excesses of saignee and focus on precision, delicacy, aromatics, and food friendliness. To make fascinating and quixotic white wines from unique sites and interesting varietals. To make California Pinot Noir that ages as well as ’74 Swan. To dream big but keep production low! Picture: Stones, Red Soil, and Ancient Semillon at Monte Rosso Vineyard. |
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Emerging 90-Point Brand
FROM WEBSITE: K&L Liquours Pey-Marin 2009 Pey-Marin "The Shell Mound" Marin County Riesling 93 points and an Editors' Choice, Wine Enthusiast: "Pey-Marin's Rieslings have been among the greatest in California, and their 2009 is one of their best yet. The wine is entirely unoaked, and did not undergo the malolactic fermentation, but it was aged on its lees. That allows the acidity to star, and what brilliant acidity it is. Rich and bone dry in steel, mineral, slate, citrus, white peach and Champagne yeast flavors, it takes California Riesling in a whole different direction." (02/11) A refreshingly crisp and dry Riesling organically grown on the chilly western coast of Marin County This is a bright, steely and very delicate aromatic and flavor profile at modest alcohol. No oak, no malo, no blending showcases purity of well-drained, mature site and unique clonal provenance. The frigid vineyard site provides for naturally high acidity, a hallmark of the great Rieslings of northern Europe.—K&L Wine Merchants. http://www.klwines.com/detail.asp?sku=1061822 |
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Emerging 90-Plus Point Brand
FROM WEBSITE Who Is Sojourn Cellars Based in the town of Sonoma, Sojourn Cellars is a highly acclaimed winery specializing in the production of artisan Pinot noir and Cabernet Sauvignon wines. We source fruit from celebrated vineyards in both Sonoma and Napa Counties, and we help direct farming operations to assure that our grapes are produced using world-class growing techniques. We consistently produce remarkable wines with a hands-off natural winemaking style that showcases the character and personality of the individual vineyards. Sojourn feels passionate about creating high-quality wines and always being accessible to the people who buy and enjoy our wines. Sojourn offers seated tastings in a casual, yet sophisticated environment and prides itself on always putting the customer first. |
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Emerging 90-Plus Point Brand
FROM WEBSITE Nestled among boutique shops & restaurants, the Consilience tasting room is located on Grand Avenue in the wine country town of Los Olivos, California. The tasting room is open to the public seven days a week. The philosophy at Consilience has been to not only create expressive, reliably high quality wines, but also to put that wine in the bottle for a reasonable price that is far below what comparable quality wines would cost. We are in part able to do that by making our wines in a more commercially oriented wine making facility rather than a glamorous estate chateau. There are no fancy winery tours, but we hope you enjoy the value and reasonably priced wine this allows us to pass on. THE STORY "Consilience" is an old scientific word first defined by 19th century philosopher William Whewell as a way to describe the interlocking explanations of cause and effect among disciplines. The story of Consilience, the winery, began as a more humble interlocking of ideas among friends setting out with an inspiration to simply make the best wines possible in the Santa Barbara wine country. And this story does not begin with a vast dot.com fortune, but rather in a hospital emergency room. Luckily all involved were on the giving side of medical attention rather than receiving. Tom & Jodie had just moved to Santa Barbara to begin Tom's residency in Radiology at Cottage Hospital while Jodie began a new career in customer service for a medical device manufacturer. Brett was working as a paramedic and Monica as an emergency room nurse, all working overtime to survive the formidable cost of living in Santa Barbara. The collective budget was more in line with cheap beer in recycleable bottles than fine wine, but they did get together frequently and managed to enjoy the occasional good bottle. Brett's interest in the wine industry had actually already begun during an old college class and with seasonal work at the Santa Barbara winery. They all wanted to learn more about wine in general, and over a bottle one night decided on a long weekend getaway to explore the Napa & Sonoma wine country. Somewhere between the wine tasting, mud baths and cucumber water they all realized there was a better way of life out there, and the idea behind Consilience was hatched. Lacking a family oil fortune they all continued their day jobs for several years while gradually learning about what people really enjoyed in wine, and what it would take to make it in the wine business. Brett finished his masters degree in eonology and viticulture, and burning the midnight oil in a shared facility the first vintage for Consilience was produced in 1997. The first wines went out to friends, family and colleagues who helped spread the word about these new wines that were well received by both consumers and the media. Working from home they processed orders in the evenings and weekends, packaged wines for shipment in the garage, and endured the usual problems of any start-up as the business grew. Through years of teamwork and the good fortune of support from customers throughout the country, Consilience has become more widely known as a reliable producer of exciting, expressive and approachable wines relfective of the Santa Barbara area. Consilience wines can be found in restaurants and wine shops in many states, and they enjoyvistors from across the country at their beautiful tasting room in Los Olivos, California. Consilience Tasting Room (11-5 Daily), except major holidays 2923 Grand Avenue Los Olivos, CA |