Mijo and I were in Sonoma County to shop for a couple of bottles of Pinot Noirs. Where else to find great tasting Pinots other than the Russian River Valley area of Sonoma.
We went to Joseph Jewell to wine taste. We love their wines. Andy, our wine educator, was very knowledgeable and all around nice guy. Thanks guys!
I first sampled Joseph Jewell wines at work when we had our annual wine tasting event at the office. Joseph Jewell was one of the Sonoma wineries present during the event. I loved their wines so I asked their representative the usual questions - where they are located, where are their vineyards, is there a tasting room, etc. My being interested paid off and I got a 2-for-1 tasting coupon from them.
When Mijo and I decided to drive one day a few weeks ago to Sonoma to shop for Pinot Noirs, we remembered to pay Joseph Jewell a visit. Their tasting room is located in a small town in Sonoma called Forestville. We called ahead to ask if we need an appointment to wine taste. We spoke to Andy and he enthusiastically mentioned no need for reservation and we can just come by that day.
We got to their spacious and welcoming wine tasting room. As always, that whiff of wine scent welcomed us as soon as we opened the door. I mentioned to Andy that we are going to use our 2-for-1 coupon I got from the company wine tasting event. Though, he was not at that event, he was glad to hear that I liked their wine at the event and I remembered them.
He presented us the wine tasting menu. We chose their Single Vineyard flight which consisted of one white wine and the rest are reds. We started with their 2012 Chardonnay, Shiloh Hill Vineyard, Russian River Valley . This one is refreshing and a well balanced wine.
The next one we tasted was their 2012 Pinot Noir, Appian Way Vineyard, RRV. This one I remember Mijo and I both liked right away. Very tasty with caramel finish. We next tasted their 2013 Pinot Noir, Flood Gate Vineyard, RRV. This one, is very different from the first Pinot Noir. This one I tasted some earthy flavors. I really liked it.
Next was their 2013 Pinot Noir, Hallberg Vineyard, RRV. I think this is the part where we learned about dry farming where the vines are stressed out specially during dry years. This style of farming results to less watery fruits.
The last wine was supposed to be their 2012 Zinfandel, Grist Vineyard, Dry Creek Valley but we asked if we can taste another Pinot Noir instead. Andy was so nice so he let us switch the wine to their 2013 Pinot Noir, RRV.
In the end, we only had budget for three bottles. Since we were in the market for Pinots, we decided to get the first three Pinots we tasted from their Russian River vineyards. The 2012 Pinot Noir, Appian Way Vineyard, RRV, 2013 Pinot Noir, Hallberg Vineyard, RRV, 013 Pinot Noir, Flood Gate Vineyard, RRV. They're all different from each other.
I'll blog them when we start pairing them with our home cooked meals. Thanks also for Andy for sharing his passion about wines and being so patient with our questions.
Joseph Jewell is located in Forestville in Sonoma County.
~rl
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