New (to me) Wineries

I've spent the evening recompiling a whole bunch of code and cleaning up the errors. At the same time I decided to go through and review the winery database.

I'd heard of a couple of new wineries recently and wanted to ensure my lists were up-to-date. Sure enough, several wineries that were marked as simply "Registered" last time I checked (way too long ago I admit) now have web sites and in most cases are selling wines. I'll try to dig out more information on them and hopefully get hold of some bottles to taste. But here's a few new names to look for.

GBH Vineyard is a tiny producer based in Woodside. The winery makes about 100 cases of estate Pinot which retails for around $21. GBH apparently stands for Great Blue Heron, though I suspect that part of the name is fellow British ex-pat Paul Smith's private joke. The 2006 vintage is available now; the 2007 will be released some time soon.

Regale Vineyards is another Pinot producer. Based in Los Gatos they also claim to produce a range of unspecified wines from other appellations. Their waiting list is currently open, but no indication of when the first release will be.

Big Dog Vineyards is based in Milpitas and is producing estate Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc, together with a sweet wine based on Cabernet Sauvignon. They are also sourcing Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah from Napa Valley. All are priced around $32 except the sweet wine which is $22 for a 375. The current releases are all from the 2005 vintage.

Satori Cellars from Gilroy has two 2006 Estate Zinfandels carrying the Santa Clara Valley appellation priced at $25 and $28 as well as a 2006 Walla Walla Cabernet Sauvignon at $30. Total production appears to be around 400-500 cases.

Monte Verde Vineyards are producing estate Merlot in Morgan Hill carrying the Central Coast appellation. There's also a second Merlot and a Syrah, as well as a red blend called Tres Amigos. All of these are 2006 vintage, but the web site is "under construction" and there's no prices or release date posted.

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