Posts tagged: Santa Lucia Highlands

95 Point, Value & Finessed Pinot

Gary and Rosella Franscioni started ROAR Wines with the knowledge that Pinot Noir had a shining future in the Santa Lucia Highlands, and a dream that their farming know-how would translate amazing grapes into amazing wines. Rosella’s Vineyard was planted on their home ranch in 1996, followed by Garys’ Vineyard in 1997 in partnership with […]

Friday January 15th, 2021 in , , , , | Comments Off on 95 Point, Value & Finessed Pinot

Jeff Pisoni’s “FINEST” Lucia Garys Pinot EVER – 96 POINTS

The Pisoni family has been farming Monterey County soil since the turn of the 19th century, when their ancestors immigrated to California. In 1951, Eddie and Jane Pisoni founded Pisoni Farms, a commercial produce operation in the Salinas Valley. They purchased land in 1979 high above the valley floor to graze cattle. At the time, […]

Saturday October 31st, 2020 in , , , , , , | Comments Off on Jeff Pisoni’s “FINEST” Lucia Garys Pinot EVER – 96 POINTS

BAR NONE – The Best Jeff Pisoni Syrah To Date (96 Points ~ sadly only 5 barrels produced)

  Garys’ Vineyard is named for grape-growing partners Gary Pisoni and Gary Franscioni, both of whom come from multi-generational farming families in the Salinas Valley. The Garys, like their parents before them, grew up together. Located in the heart of the Santa Lucia Highlands on sandy loam soil, the esteemed fifty-acre vineyard is planted mostly […]

Tuesday October 20th, 2020 in , , , , , | Comments Off on BAR NONE – The Best Jeff Pisoni Syrah To Date (96 Points ~ sadly only 5 barrels produced)

White Burgundy meet…. The Santa Lucia Higlands

After graduating from college in Vermont, winemaker, owner and native New Englander Ian Brand found a job on the Alaskan Peninsula leading groups of tourists to see grizzly bears in the wild. He continued his adventures for five years, ski-bumming, surf-bumming, doing wildlife surveys in the canyons of Utah, and joining the Peace Corps in […]

Wednesday October 9th, 2019 in , , , , , | Comments Off on White Burgundy meet…. The Santa Lucia Higlands

98 Point Syrah Sensation

Bibiana González Rave is the founder and winemaker of Cattleya Wines. She is also the wife of star winemaker Jeff Pisoni.  Born and raised in Colombia and trained as a winemaker in France, she moved to California in 2007 to settle into making extraordinary wines.  In her words: “Since my early teenage years, my dream has been […]

Monday May 13th, 2019 in , , , , , , | Comments Off on 98 Point Syrah Sensation

Drink wine with Eric Clapton, Robert Plant, and Jackson Pollock…

The wrath of Juno sent Aeneas wandering the Mediterranean in Vergil’s Aeneid. For the ancient Romans, ira or wrath, was a tool of a god, an unstoppable anger driven by forces greater than man. One can argue that we see such fury in both the might of nature and the passion of art. Wrath appears […]

Saturday December 15th, 2018 in , , , , , | Comments Off on Drink wine with Eric Clapton, Robert Plant, and Jackson Pollock…

Premiere Release 85 case Jeff Pisoni Pinot sensation

  This 85 case production, 4 barrels is a new road the Luli folks (Sara & Gary Pisoni) have taken.  Working with a single vineyard (Highlands Ranch), instead of a blend of various SLH vineyards.  This Innaugural release will wow you, both on the palate as well as the wallet! Luli is a partnership formed by […]

Wednesday September 20th, 2017 in , , , , , , | Comments Off on Premiere Release 85 case Jeff Pisoni Pinot sensation

Travel Notes ~ Monterey County

Monterey County ~ Travel Notes By Matt Kettmann, Wine Enthusiast Few places in California have welcomed visitors longer than Monterey County, home to one of the four presidios that Spanish colonists established on the West Coast in the late 1700s. Over the centuries, fishing, farming and tourism have thrived here. It’s also one of the […]

Saturday August 12th, 2017 in , , | Comments Off on Travel Notes ~ Monterey County

“SUCCULENT” 93 POINT CHARDONNAY

The Pisoni and Franscioni families, now third generation farmers, harness the wildness of the Santa Lucia Mountains. Their farming of the Chardonnay is pinpointed – each grape cluster and leaf positioned just right to be kissed gently by the morning sunshine and shaded from the afternoon sun and brisk Monterey Bay wind. The granitic soil […]

Friday May 19th, 2017 in , , , , , | Comments Off on “SUCCULENT” 93 POINT CHARDONNAY

What is a Microclimate?

Microclimate is a word English teachers love: the definition is self-explanatory. But while it seems easy to understand, the wine jargon that often accompanies wine tastings and tours makes microclimates seem complex and confusing. In truth, microclimates are easy to see and even easier to feel. Unlike “malolactic fermentation” and other mysteries of winemaking, microclimates […]

Saturday October 29th, 2016 in , , , , , , | Comments Off on What is a Microclimate?