Sometimes it’s nice to be reminded by how the best part of this hobby is the people. Sure we all love the wine but it’s the people behind the wine that really make things special. I got reminded of that again last week and wanted to send out a special thank you to a few folks.
Being “the wine guy”, I got put in charge of planning three days of visits in Napa/Sonoma for a group of mixed knowledge and interest levels. To be honest it was tougher than I expected not wanting to make the trip too geeky but also wanting to show them some things they wouldn’t find on their own. I put one stop per day on the itinerary that I hoped would do just this and thankfully it did.
Kenny Likitprakong of Hobo/Folk Machine/Ghost Writer/and other labels spent time with my group and his passion and care showed through to the group. The wines as always were great and Kenny is focused on keeping cost down to real bargains. He even delivered bottles to the rental house since he didn’t have enough on site. All the wines were strong but the Ghost Writer Pinot and the Hobo Riesling drew the most praise from the group.
Karen Troisi of Jean Edwards wasn’t in town for our visit but she made sure we were well taken care of by Jessica at the tasting room. All of the Jean Edwards wines are great and a style that I love. This was special for me as I have never tried Jean Edwards before but I will be buying more in the future. Jessica was kind to find enough clean glasses so that my group could taste the 2011, 2012, & 2013 74-41 side by side. For this group it was eye opening on how much impact vintage plays in the final product. BTW, the 2011 is strong and a steal at the close out price. Get some before it’s gone.
David Jeffrey of Calluna may be making the best red wine in Sonoma if not all Northern California. The 2013s are amazing and will live a long time and prices are honestly low for the quality. The scenery is the best we saw all trip and we were there right after Iron Horse which I used to think was amazing but this blew it away. But the best part was David. So friendly and knowledgeable, proud of what he has done without a hint of ego. Everyone was impressed and blown away by the visit. So much so, the group cancelled the scheduled stop at Ridge figuring there was no way to top this visit and wanted to end the last day on the high note of the Calluna visit.
This post is an unabashed thank you to Kenny, Karen, and David. They turned what would have been a good trip into a vacation that everyone will talk about for years. Their passion, caring, and love of people and wine is what makes it all special. The wines are pretty special as well.
Edited for spelling
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