Ridge are best known for their Estate wines and Zinfandels. What's perhaps less well known is that they also produce a wide range of wines from other varieties. Paul Draper is a great believer in the expression of terroir through single vineyard designated wines, so on joining Ridge in 1968 he began to seek out quality vineyards around the state.

Production of these wines tends to be around 1000 cases and while that's more than the total production of many local wineries, by Ridge's standards it's pretty limited. Consequently these wines are only available at the winery or via the ATP wine club.

For the second Ridge bloggers' tasting event, tasting room manager Chris Watkins decided to focus on this range. We compared current and older vintages of four different ATP releases. But as is customary we began with some estate Chardonnay:

2008 Jimsomare Chardonnay, Santa Cruz Mountains
Opens with vanilla oak and lemon curd. There's creamy lemon and a mineral finish. Right now the oak is a little harsh, so short-term cellaring might be in order. 91

2008 Mikulaco Chardonnay, Santa Cruz Mountains
A more lemony, floral nose than the Jimsomare, with less oak evident.
Lighter weight, with creamy green apple and a hint of ginger, and a chalky finish. Drink now. Good value at $25. 90

Buchignani Ranch Carignane

Carignane is believed to have originated in north eastern Spain, but nowadays it's mostly grown in the Languedoc region. In the 1980s it was France's most widely planted grape, producing huge amounts of low quality vin ordinaire, though government sponsored vine pull schemes have reduced the acreage significantly. In California it's also in decline; the number of acres planted has decreased by over 50% in the past 10 years, but that seems to have stabilised. Currently there are around 3500 acres planted, mostly in Madera and San Joaquin counties, where it's used as a blending grape providing tannin, colour and acidity to jug wines. Ridge is one of a handful of wineries making varietal wines.

Buchignani Ranch is close to Dry Creek Valley, in Sonoma. The head-pruned vineyard was first planted in 1927; today the vines are between 50 and 80 years old.

2002 Buchignani Ranch Carignane, Sonoma County
The earthy, smoky nose initially masks the fruit. It's light in weight, with bright acidity and flavours of cranberry, tart strawberry and some dried herbs. 88

2005 Buchignani Ranch Carignane, Sonoma County
Bright nose of black cherry and raspberry. Again it shows some bright acidity and light fruit with an earthy finish. The tannins are rather soft. 89

2008 Buchignani Ranch Carignane, Sonoma County
The colour is rather purple in the rim, suggesting limited barrel ageing. On the nose there's cola and raspberry. Fresh bright 'fruit punch' flavours, with tannins showing a little on the finish. Judging by this vertical I'd say that short-term cellaring would be beneficial; drink over the next 3-5 years. 88 $26

Lytton Estate Syrah/Grenache

The Lytton Springs vineyard was first planted at the end of the 19th century. Ridge began sourcing fruit from there in 1972; 20 years later they purchased the property outright. One of the original blocks, which was planted in 1902, is a field blend that is predominantly Grenache interspersed with Zinfandel and Petite Sirah. The Lytton Springs' western vineyards were purchased in 1995 and include Grenache blocks planted in 1963 and 1991. Recent plantings include 10 acres of Syrah and an acre of Viognier.

Ridge has produced a Grenache since 1995 and a 50% Syrah, 50% Grenache blend since 2001.

2006 Syrah/Grenache, Lytton Estate, Dry Creek Valley
Bold fruity nose showing blackberry, cherry, perhaps a hint of VA?
More full bodied than the Carignane, with fairly intense fruit - blackberry and 'red vines' - finishing with nice smooth tannins. The Syrah seems dominant in the blend. 91
Not yet released, expected to be $35

2005 Syrah/Grenache, Lytton Estate, Dry Creek Valley
Strange note of blue cheese on the nose at first; this blew off revealing cranberry and raspberry aromas.
In contrast to the 2006 the Grenache appears dominant, with earthy raspberry flavours. Nicely balanced and a bit less tannic. 92

Lytton West Syrah

The Lytton West Syrah is cofermented with a small amount of Viognier. This is a practice common in Rhone, particularly the Côte-Rôtie appellation; the viognier not only adds some aromatic notes, it also assists in the extraction and stability of the colour from the Syrah.

2005 Syrah Lytton West, Dry Creek Valley
Cofermented with 6% Viognier.
Very dark colour. The nose is heavy with herbal notes and brambly fruit.
Lovely blackberry and red currant fruit, with black pepper and floral notes, and dusty tannins. 93+

2003 Syrah Lytton West, Dry Creek Valley
Cofermented with 9% Viognier.
Deep red colour. Nose is strange with notes of liqueur (tequila?), a little aldehyde and black pepper. Flavours of sweet dried cherry and orange peel, with light acidity and soft tannins. 90

Dynamite Hill Petite Sirah

When searching for new vineyards, one of Draper's first discoveries was some old-vine Petite Sirah at the York Creek vineyard on Spring Mountain. The vineyard has remained a source of fruit for 40 years. Petite Sirah is notorious for producing monolithic, tannic wines lacking in fruit, but if the tannins are properly controlled the results can be very good.

2006 Petite Sirah, Dynamite Hill, York Creek Vineyard, Spring Mountain
Smoky nose with bright acidity and blueberry notes.
Good balance, with the tannins not overpowering; nice flavours of blueberry and white pepper. Surprisingly good now. 91

2003 Petite Sirah, Dynamite Hill, York Creek Vineyard, Spring Mountain
Nose shows notes of fireplace and roast meat.
Smooth blueberry fruit, with flavours of Italian sausage and pepper. A great barbecue wine. 92

Thanks to Chris Watkins for arranging this event, and greetings to my fellow bloggers: Wes Barton , Richard Jennings, Gary Chevsky, Liren Baker, Thea Dwelle, Jason Mancebo, Jason of Jason's Wine Blog and
Fely Krewell

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I got together with some friends recently for a pot-luck dinner and tasting around a dozen vintages of Ridge Monte Bello spanning a few decades.

Most of the older wines were in great shape, though as you can see the cork on the 1973 was in a terrible state and it came as no real surprise to find the wine hopelessly oxidised.

We began with a 1999 Ridge Monte Bello Chardonnay - Light mineral nose, lemon thyme and light oak. Initially showed some sulphur, but that soon dissipated. Flavours of peaches, cream, and some mineral notes. Plenty of oak on the finish. Still very youthful. 93

First Flight

1973 Ridge Monte Bello
The fill level seemed a little low and we soon found out why; the cork had totally failed and wine was bubbling up around it. DOA.

1983 Ridge Santa Cruz Mountains Cabernet
The 1983 Monte Bello was declassified and all the fruit went into the Santa Cruz Mountains bottling. On the nose there's some nice black fruit, a little herbal, perhaps vegetal. There's perhaps rather too much acid for the remaining fruit; it's simple but pleasant, and not bad for a 25 year old wine from a weak vintage. 87

1984 Ridge Monte Bello
There's a lot going on here; earthy, brambly fruit and some smoky notes. On the palate it's big with loads of smooth black fruit. The tannins are almost fully resolved, and there's nice acidity. This got better with air over the next 15 minutes. 93

1986 Ridge Monte Bello
A brighter nose than the 1984, with lots of pencil box and brambles. Again there's nice rich black fruit and a bit more tannin than the 1984. However where the 1984 seemed to improve with air the 1986 seemed to decline. Perhaps tasting the 1984 after the 1983 gave it an advantage, but to me the 1986 didn't seem quite as strong. Though we didn't tally scores the group seemed to be pretty evenly split between the two. 92

Second Flight

1992 Ridge Monte Bello, served from 375s
Meaty nose, with blackcurrant and brambles. Rich smooth fruit, nicely balanced, very drinkable. Coming from a half bottle certainly helped, though there was some definite variation between the two. I was lucky and got the better of the two. 94

1996 Ridge Monte Bello
There was initially a little heat on the nose, which soon passed leaving dark berry, plum and blackcurrant notes. Stacks of rich black fruit, with a hint of mint.
There is still plenty of tannin as you'd expect, and it continued to improve in the glass. More elegant than the 97, and still evolving. 95

1997 Ridge Monte Bello
1997 was a riper year, and this shows on the palate. It's a more fruit-forward wine than the 1996 (though still very restrained by Californian standards) - layers of rich sweet fruit and a hint of smoke, with a longer finish than the 1996. For now I gave it the edge, though I think in the long term the 96 might be a better bet. 95+

1998 Ridge Monte Bello
Not declassified, but perhaps it should have been. Apparently Ridge pulled out all the stops to help the grapes ripen in this terribly wet El Nino vintage. A much lighter weight wine than any other in the flight, with cranberry and plum notes, and some green tannins. Seemed simple compared to the others, but reasonable. 88

Third Flight

Each of these had been double-decanted that morning.
2001 Ridge Monte Bello
Rather bright on the nose - cranberry, black cherry and blackcurrant on the nose and palate. I also got liquorice root. Plenty of chewy tannins backed with loads of acidity. Keep it locked away for at least a decade. 94+

2006 Ridge Monte Bello
I felt this was a slightly weaker showing than the last few times I've tasted it up at Ridge - perhaps they had it open much longer. Loads of structure, with a dark chocolate note that I didn't notice previously. I took the last quarter home and finished it a couple of days later; it didn't seem to have faded in the slightest, which bodes well for a long future. 93+

2007 Ridge Monte Bello
I didn't really take notes on the 2007; I've had it several times recently and I think it's delicious. There was some discussion as to whether it's got the same ageing potential as other vintages, but I remain confident that it's a 20+ year wine. 94+

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Following the visit to Varner (see previous post) our group called in at Chaine d'Or. Paul poured a few barrel samples of the 2009 and 2008 vintages.

2009 Syrah, Split Rail Vineyard, Santa Cruz Mountains Barrel sample
Since the beginning Stefania have been looking for a local source for Syrah, and have found an excellent one in the Split Rail vineyard.
The nose is savoury, with soy, smoke and black fruit. It's rich and intense; lots of black fruit and white pepper, with a touch of liquorice on the finish. Delicious, even at this early stage.

2009 Cabernet Sauvignon, Chaine d'Or Vineyard, Santa Cruz Mountains Barrel sample
The Chaine d'Or vineyard is in a particularly cool microclimate; as a result the wines are very strucured and take a while to come round. The 2009 has a nose that's somewhat old world, with earthy, meaty and forest notes, with some smoke. In the mouth it's tight with black fruit and lots of tannin especially on the finish. It's going to need at least 5 years.

2009 Cabernet Sauvignon, Crimson Clover Vineyard, Santa Clara Valley Barrel sample
The Crimson Clover Vineyard will replace Uvas Creek as Stefania's source for Santa Clara Valley cabernet. The vineyard is located in the same vicinity and is farmed by Paul and Stef. The nose is elegant and dusty; on the palate there's rich blackcurrant fruit with, biscuit and herbal notes on the finish. It's a big, rich
new world wine in stark contrast to the Chaine d'Or Vineyard.

2008 Cabernet Sauvignon, Santa Cruz Mountains Barrel Sample
This is the final blend, returned to barrel prior to being bottled. At the moment it's pretty tight; the nose was showing some earthy black fruit, but not much. There's the typical blackcurrant, eucalyptus and menthol from previous vintages, with good structure and a long finish.

If you're already on the Stefania mailing list these should be no-brainer purchases. If you aren't on the list then you should be; I don't know of anyone making better wines anywhere in California at this price point.

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According to Bob Varner there are really only two ways to approach winemaking. You can begin with a budget; the wine will have a retail price of so much, which means I can spend this on grapes, that on barrels, bottles, corks, and so on. Or you can say I'm going to make the very best wine I possibly can, regardless of what it costs. That's the approach he and his twin brother Jim take to their wines.

The idea behind Varner Winery began when the brothers were at UC Davis; Jim studied oenology, Bob biology. After graduating they were introduced to Dr Kirk Neely, a local dentist who owned an idyllic property next to the Windy Hill open space preserve in Portola Valley. The area seemed perfect for a cool climate vineyard, located just below the fog line, and in 1980 the brothers planted two acres of Chardonnay by Dr Neely's house which became known as the Home block. The vines are own-rooted and the clone is unknown, but probably Cloned 4; they were simply purchased from a local nursery. Further down the hill they planted Gewürztraminer on its own roots. The following year they added the Amphitheater block, which was again own rooted, probably to Wente clone. A few years later in 1987 the Bee block was planted, this time with hybrid rootstock and grafted with cuttings from the Home Block.

Over the following years they farmed the vineyard and the fruit was sold, mainly to Thomas Fogarty and Bargetto. The brothers established a wine import business and worked at Fogarty. Then in 1996 they finally got bonded as Varner Winery and produced their first vintage. Permits to allow construction of a winery took a while longer, so the initial vintages were produced at Mount Eden and Chaine d'Or.

In 1997 they began planting Pinot Noir; the Hidden block contains Clone 115 and the Picnic block contains Clone 777. They later grafted over the 25 year old Gewürztraminer in the Picnic block to clone 777; the vines had been producing excellent fruit, but commercially were not viable.

The Varner philosophy is to be as hands-off as possible. The vines are trained in an unusual way, with two short cordons, each of which is pruned to two canes, and a single catch wire above. This results in an open canopy allowing each side to ripen evenly. All blocks except for the lowest are dry farmed. Sulfur is sprayed to control mildew, but that's all. Any imperfect fruit is dropped prior to harvest, with the result that there is little or no sorting required. The fruit is destemmed and crushed into a tank to allow any solids to settle, then pumped into barrels to ferment. No yeast or sulfur are added.

When it comes to racking, most wineries either siphon or pump the wine. Again the Varner philosophy is different - each of their barrels has a second hole in the 'head' (the flat part) stoppered with a bung, like a traditional cask, and racking is done purely by gravity. They even have a device to gently tilt the barrel when it's nearly empty. As a result of this gentle handling no fining or filtration is required. After fermentation the wines stay in barrel for around 9 months; the French oak barrels are on a three year rotation, so roughly one third are replaced each year. Each block is then blended separately.

The winery's total production is around 100 barrels, or 2500 cases annually. Visits are strictly by appointment only.

2009 Home Block Chardonnay, barrel sample
The nose was light, with cracker and lemon notes. On the palate there was creamy lemon, green apple and melon, with nice acidity. The Home block typically has lower alcohol since the own-rooted vines reach full ripeness at lower sugar levels.

2009 Amphitheater Block Chardonnay, barrel sample
Slightly lighter in weight than the Home block, with a more citrus/floral character. the finish showed interesting hoppy notes.

2009 Bee Block Chardonnay, barrel sample
The vines on Bee block are 6 years younger than Home block. Bee block is typically the most 'Californian' in style. This showed more toast, stone fruit and asian pear notes.

2009 Hidden Block Pinot Noir, barrel sample
Two samples from different new barrels. Both showed delicious cherry and raspberry fruit on the nose, with one having a smoky note and the other more woodland. The wine is light in colour (for California) with lots of rich spicy cherry fruit, pepper and rhubarb and a great long finish.

2009 Lower Picnic Block Pinot Noir, barrel sample
Nose shows strawberry and floral notes; on the palate it's earthy with rich, dark fruit and mineral notes.

2009 Upper Picnic Block Pinot Noir, barrel sample
Slight funk on the nose; this was less earthy and lighter, with cherry and berry notes, good tart acidity and nice structure. the Picnic block needs more time than the Hidden block from my experience.

Varner remains one of my absolute favourite producers (I own more of their Chardonnay than anyone else's), and a visit to the winery is highly recommended.

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I heard over the weekend that Jeff Emery, owner and winemaker of Santa Cruz Mountain Vineyard, is recovering from a biking accident. Apparently he fell off his mountain bike while out riding last Wednesday and hurt his neck, bruising his spinal cord and requiring surgery.

The good news is that he has been discharged from hospital and is at home recuperating; the signs are that he should make a full recovery.

Our thoughts and best wishes go out to him; I plan on opening a SCMV Grenache later this evening and toasting his speedy return to health

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June see the annual SCMWA vintners' festival, with most of the region's wineries open for tasting. The first weekend showcases the western side of the mountains. The cost is $30 in advance or $35 on the day, and covers all four dates. For details see the SCMWA web site

This weekend the following wineries will be open from 11AM to 5PM:

Alfaro, Bargetto, Big Basin, Burrell School, Byington, Downhill (at Byington), Equinox, Hallcrest, Heart o' the Mountain, Hunter Hill, Loma Prieta, McHenry, Nicholson, Odonata (at SCMV), Pelican Ranch, Pleasant Valley, Poetic Cellars, Roudon Smith, Santa Cruz Mountain Vineyard, Silver Mountain, Sones Cellars, Storrs, Trout Gulch, Vine Hill, Windy Oaks, Zayante

In addition, several other wineries will be pouring at local restaurants.
Note that the restaurant locations close at 4PM.

Ahlgren - Scopazzi's, Boulder Creek
Aptos Creek - Michael's On Main, Soquel
Bruzzone Family - Rancho Don Bosco, Santa Cruz
Clos Tita - Rancho Don Bosco, Santa Cruz
Cordon Creek - Michael's On Main, Soquel
Dancing Creek - Rancho Don Bosco, Santa Cruz
Domenico - Tyrolean Inn, Ben Lomond
Muccigrosso - Tyrolean Inn, Ben Lomond
Naumann - Michael's On Main, Soquel
P M Staiger - Michael's On Main, Soquel
River Run - Michael's On Main, Soquel
Roudon Smith - Rancho Don Bosco, Santa Cruz

Next weekend features the eastern side, and the line up includes

Black Ridge, Burrell School, Byington, Cinnabar, Clos LaChance, Cooper-Garrod, Domenico, Downhill (at Byington), Fleming Jenkins, La Honda, Loma Prieta, Muccigrosso (at Domenico), Odonata (at Domenico), Savannah-Chanelle, Testarossa, Woodside

and pouring at restaurants until 4PM:

Cordon Creek - La Fondue, Saratoga
Hallcrest - Nonno's Restaurant, Redwood Estates
Heart o' the Mountain - La Fondue, Saratoga
La Rusticana d'Orsa - La Fondue, Saratoga
Naumann - La Fondue, Saratoga
P M Staiger - Nonno's Restaurant, Redwood Estates
Poetic Cellars - La Fondue, Saratoga
Roudon Smith - La Fondue, Saratoga
Windy Oaks - Nonno's Restaurant, Redwood Estates
The Surf City Vintners group - Nonno's Restaurant, Redwood Estates

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Another trip up Monte Bello Road on a beautiful spring Sunday morning, albeit unseasonably chilly thanks to some cold Alaskan air that has been visiting us recently. The vines are flowering, as are the California poppies, and the air was clear giving great views all across the valley.

But we didn't just come here to admire the views. Last weekend was the final assemblage tasting for the 2009 Monte Bello, as well as an opportunity to taste a few older vintages.

2008 Chardonnay, Santa Cruz Mountains
Citrus, vanilla, mineral and some fig on the nose. Nice rounded mouthfeel; creamy lemon and wet stone with a toasty finish. I still say this needs 3-5 years. 91+

1990 Monte Bello
Poured from a 375ml bottle. The colour was brick red; the nose was much more mature than I'd have expected from such a strong vintage - mushrooms, leather and a little dried fruit. On the palate it had tart berry flavours, earthy leather and a hint of dill pickle. I'd consider it past its peak. 88

1992 Monte Bello
Also poured from a 375ml bottle. Quite a contrast to the 1990; the nose had plenty of smooth red berry fruit and fresh earth. On the palate everything was integrated; still some good tannins, plenty of fruit, with leather, tart cranberry and herbal notes. Drinking well, but will continue to develop. 92

1995 Monte Bello
This was poured from a 750ml bottle. Lots of black fruit and some eucalyptus on the nose. In the mouth there's loads of rich fruit and bags of tannin; it's still very youthful. Pleasant now, but some way from its zenith. 93

2009 Monte Bello, barrel sample
The final blend is 71% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Merlot and 7% Petit Verdot.
The colour is a deep red/black. The Petit Verdot seems to dominate the nose with its floral, violet notes, and some fresh bread. Stacks of rich sweet fruit; bramble, currant, graphite, with a dry herbal finish. Lots of potential; another clear winner. 94-96

Down in the tasting room they were pouring the current releases:

2007 Santa Cruz Mountains
The nose has a nice balance of herbal and fruit notes. Good fruit - tart black cherry, brambles and blackcurrant with a herbal finish. Good value. 92+

2006 Monte Bello
I've had this a few times recently; it never disappoints. The nose is enticing with lots of smoky black fruit; on the palate it's rich and rather concentrated, with loads of blackcurrant and brambly fruit, and a good long finish. 94

We then had a picnic and opened some interesting older bottles:

1987 Geyserville
Mature nose, leather and musty. Still has good fruit; raspberry, cranberry, lots of leather. 91

1994 Lytton Estate
Tart berry and light leather notes. Rich sweet raspberry candy, tobacco and wood. 91

1986 Monte Bello
Mature vegetal, rather stinky nose. But on the palate there's sweet fruit and plenty of it, along with earth and leather. 92

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Noël Relyea and Bill Wood are retired biochemists who own a beautiful property off Monte Bello Road. The property is located half a mile up a narrow dirt track close to the old Montebello school. It is situated on a ridge at around 1900 feet, with an incredible view west across the whole valley. The winery is in an annex separate from the main house, replete with shiny new steel tanks and a crusher/destemmer powered by solar panels on the roof.

In 2005 they worked with with Ron Mosley, the vineyard manager at Cinnabar, to install a picturesque vineyard on a half-acre of hillside behind their home. Unlike many small vineyard owners who have wine produced by sharecrop or custom crush facilities they decided to established their own bonded winery and do everything themselves. After all, as experienced biochemists they were already familiar with the principles.

2008 they saw their first harvest which yielded just 35 cases. To augment the estate fruit they also purchased Syrah from Santa Clara Valley and Cabernet Sauvignon from the Sacramento Delta. The latter wines were released in May 2010 and almost instantly sold out. The 2008 estate Cabernet Sauvignon is scheduled to be be released next year.

The couple are also keen astronomers; the winery even has its own observatory dome. In keeping with this the screen-printed bottle designs each incorporate a diagram of a constellation - the Syrah carries Ursa Major, while the estate Cabernet Sauvignon carries Orion - accompanied by a quote from Leonardo da Vinci: The discovery of a good wine is increasingly better for mankind than the discovery of a new star.

For 2008 the total production for all three wines was less than 100 cases. For 2009 the winery purchased Cabernet Sauvignon from Mount Veeder in Napa and a neighbouring vineyard as well as the Santa Clara Valley Syrah, so the total production should be around 150-200 cases. The target production for the winery is a scant 200 cases a year; although the winery could theoretically handle more the barrel room is rather tiny, and that's as much as Noël and Bill currently feel comfortable with.

2008 "Summertime" Red Table Wine, California
100% Cabernet Sauvignon, sourced from the Tamayo Family Vineyard in Brentwood. As the name suggests it's a lighter styled wine, with a dusty, bramble jelly nose. On the palate there's plenty of smooth blackcurrant fruit with some floral notes and just a little oak. Very reasonably priced at $12. Only 32 cases made. 88

2008 Syrah, Mosley Vineyard, Santa Clara Valley
The fruit comes from vineyard manager Ron Mosley's own vineyard in Morgan Hill. Primary and malolactic fermentation took place in tanks before being pressed and transferred to the barrel room downstairs, where it rested in new French oak for 11 months. Dark in colour with plum and spice on the nose. Quite intense; concentrated sweet fruit backed by white pepper and plenty of tannin. Perhaps a little riper than I would prefer, but an excellent first effort and very well priced at $30. I plan to revisit this in 6 months or so. Only 14 cases made. 92+

2009 Cabernet Sauvignon, Camalie Vineyard, Mt. Veeder, barrel sample.
Lots of black fruit - brambles and blackcurrant, without pushing the ripeness the way the 2008 Syrah does. There's good balance; as you'd expect from a barrel sample it finishes a little weakly, but that should develop. I definitely look forward to trying the Santa Cruz Cabernets. 3 barrels made, which should yield around 75 cases. Target price is $30-$40. 92-94

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In 1960 Bob Mullen produced a batch of home-made wine from some abandoned vines in Woodside. Further research revealed that those vines were all that remained of Emmett Rixford's award winning La Questa vineyard, planted in the 19th century. Soon after Bob purchased a property on Kings Mountain Road in Woodside, planted vineyards of his own and founded Woodside Vineyards. The winery established a great reputation for their excellent red wines, all produced from small vineyards all over Woodside.



Eventually Bob retired from winemaking and was succeeded by his business partner Brian Caselden. In 2008 Bob decided to sell his home, so the winery needed to find new premises. They partnered with Buff Giurlani and Dick Burns, owners of Auto Vino in Menlo Park, a company specialising in the storage of fine wines and rare cars. Now after almost half a century on Kings Mountain Road, Woodside Vineyards has finally completed their move.

The new facility is at 205 Constitution Drive, just off 84 between Marsh and Willow, close to the Dumbarton Bridge. From the outside there are no signs that it's anything other than another business unit, but drive to the rear and you'll see the tell-tale discarded barrels.

Inside there's a mixture of high-tech and history. The main showroom is home to a dozen or so pristine vehicles from former race cars to classic Ferraris. Alongside them are winery relics including a century old corker, the hand crusher that Bob used until the mid 1970s, and Duane Cronin's old basket press. At one side there's an honour bar where club members can buy wine at any time, while at the other side there's a tasting area made from old champagne riddling racks propped up on barrels. Behind that through a window you can see the wine barrels stacked 5 high. In addition to guarding these pieces of automotive history AutoVino also rents out temperature controlled wine storage lockers (a 27 case unit costs $54 per month, if you were wondering).

The new facility will allow Brian and Bob to gradually increase production from the current 2,000 cases to a target of around 3,500 cases. The Woodside Vineyards wines will continue to be made only with estate grapes from the Woodside area, but there are plans to eventually introduce a second label made with fruit sourced from elsewhere in the Santa Cruz Mountains. There is also space for future expansion including a catering option.

Brian is currently preparing for the official relaunch, on Memorial day weekend. The winery will be open from 1-5PM on May 29th, 30th and 31st as well as on Sunday June 6th. Additionally the winery will open for the Vintners Festival on June 12th and 13th from 11AM-5PM the following weekend.

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I wrote recently about HR5034, a bill being discussed in Congress that would allow states to prohibit the shipping of alcohol outside of the distributors. This is a bill that could be devastating for many small wineries (as well as being terrible for consumers). It would mean that you could purchase things like guns, knives, cigarettes, prescription drugs and pornography from out of state, but not wine.

Around 100 Representatives have signed up to support the bill. The current list includes: Bobby Bright [D-AL2] Harry Mitchell [D-AZ5] Edward Pastor [D-AZ4] Bob Filner [D-CA51] Gary Miller [R-CA42] Laura Richardson [D-CA37] Vern Buchanan [R-FL13] Ted Deutch [D-FL19] Lincoln Diaz-Balart [R-FL21] Mario Diaz-Balart [R-FL25] Alcee Hastings [D-FL23] Connie Mack [R-FL14] John Mica [R-FL7] Bill Posey [R-FL15] Adam Putnam [R-FL12] Thomas Rooney [R-FL16] Clifford Stearns [R-FL6] Debbie Wasserman Schultz [D-FL20] John Barrow [D-GA12] Paul Broun [R-GA10] David Scott [D-GA13] Lynn Westmoreland [R-GA3] Bruce Braley [D-IA1] Michael Simpson [R-ID2] Danny Davis [D-IL7] Bill Foster [D-IL14] Phil Hare [D-IL17] Jesse Jackson [D-IL2] Mike Quigley [D-IL5] Bobby Rush [D-IL1] Aaron Schock [R-IL18] André Carson [D-IN7] Joe Donnelly [D-IN2] Brad Ellsworth [D-IN8] Peter Visclosky [D-IN1] Michael Capuano [D-MA8] Frank Kratovil [D-MD1] John Dingell [D-MI15] Dale Kildee [D-MI5] Thaddeus McCotter [R-MI11] Gary Peters [D-MI9] Mark Schauer [D-MI7] Timothy Walz [D-MN1] Travis Childers [D-MS1] Gene Taylor [D-MS4] Bennie Thompson [D-MS2] Dennis Rehberg [R-MT] Howard Coble [R-NC6] Walter Jones [R-NC3] Patrick McHenry [R-NC10] Heath Shuler [D-NC11] Earl Pomeroy [D-ND] Paul Hodes [D-NH2] Robert Andrews Rush Holt [D-NJ12] Frank LoBiondo [R-NJ2] Frank Pallone [D-NJ6] William Pascrell [D-NJ8] Harry Teague [D-NM2] Shelley Berkley [D-NV1] Timothy Bishop [D-NY1] Michael McMahon [D-NY13] Edolphus Towns [D-NY10] Steve Driehaus [D-OH1] Timothy Ryan [D-OH17] Zachary Space [D-OH18] Betty Sutton [D-OH13] Charles Wilson [D-OH6] Robert Brady [D-PA1] Christopher Carney [D-PA10] Chaka Fattah [D-PA2] Patrick Murphy [D-PA8] Tim Murphy [R-PA18] William Shuster [R-PA9] Glenn Thompson [R-PA5] Henry Brown [R-SC1] Addison Wilson [R-SC2] Stephanie Herseth Sandlin [D-SD] Lincoln Davis [D-TN4] Henry Cuellar [D-TX28] Charles Gonzalez [D-TX20] Raymond Green [D-TX29] Rubén Hinojosa [D-TX15] Eddie Johnson [D-TX30] Randy Neugebauer [R-TX19] Solomon Ortiz [D-TX27] Ted Poe [R-TX2] Silvestre Reyes [D-TX16] Ciro Rodriguez [D-TX23] Lamar Smith [R-TX21] William Thornberry [R-TX13] Jason Chaffetz [R-UT3] Gerald Connolly [D-VA11] Glenn Nye [D-VA2] Ronald Kind [D-WI3] Shelley Capito [R-WV2] Alan Mollohan [D-WV1] Cynthia Lummis [R-WY]

You can view them on a Google Map at http://tinyurl.com/StopHR5034

The good news is that despite all this support there is wide opposition in Congress, including from Speaker Nancy Pelosi (who herself owns a vineyard and understands very well the implications of this bill); additionally there is so far no support for it in the Senate, so overall it would appear unlikely to succeed.

However if you haven't already written to your Representative then please do so. HR5034 is bad for wineries, customers and business generally; it's only good for the wholesalers who want to protect their monopoly.

Keep up to date on the campaign at http://www.stophr5034.org/ or on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/STOPHR5034

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