Michael Hirby and Schatzi Throckmorton, owners of Relic Wine Cellars in Napa, which makes complex small-batch wines using old-school methods, have a lot to celebrate this year. “It’s our 25th harvest. It’s our 10th year in our winery and it’s our 20th wedding anniversary,” Throckmorton told us when we called the other day to interview them.
A few days after our dinner at Melba’s, we reached out to Deneen Brown, CEO of Brown Estate, to talk about the House of Brown range and what looks to us like smart ways to reach a new generation of wine drinkers while retaining longtime fans.
Grape Collective talks to Samra Morris about her path to wine and her winemaking philosophy.
Grape Collective talks to Jeff Beckmen about the history of the estate, the grapes he cultivates, and biodynamic farming in the Santa Ynez Valley.
Dan Petroski, winemaker and owner of Massican, which makes only whites in Napa Valley, has one of the most fertile minds we’ve come across in our 50 years of enjoying and studying wine. But when we heard about his latest project, even we had to say: What the Falanghina? Essentially, the idea is this: What if he asked other vintners to create a wine that would fit under the Massican style umbrella? Considering that winemakers have such individual passions, this seems a bit out there.
The Lake County appellation is situated next door to the Napa Valley yet has a very different climate. It is much warmer and lacks the coastal influence that its more famous neighbor basks in. Lake County has mostly been known in the past for its bulk wine production, yet a new generation of winegrowers are beginning to figure out what the area’s different microclimates are capable of. These quality-minded producers are making smaller volumes of elegant wines, like those of Prima Materia.
