Your favorite Cali Wineries... that are gone now?

[michaelhavens]

@Marc Frontario

Original Havens…Michaels blend was the best bordeaux look alike

Thanks, Marc. My 2014 Cave Dog will be released next year, made from the same blocks I formerly used in Bourriquot. Website will be announced here.

[Richard_Leland]

@Mel Knox

Don’t know what happened to Russ Woodbury…he did a lot of consulting.

Russ died about 20 years - way too young.

[Mel_Knox]

Agreed. Sorry to hear about this.

[Ian_Brand]

@TomHill

I’ll play along, Mel.
How about Quail Ridge. And Veedercrest. And Woodbury. And Cassayre-Forni. And EastSideWnry…incredible stocks of old dessert wines.
And Charles LeFranc.

Tom

It’s fun to read this. Jim Cassayre is my wife’s Godfather. My inlaws have a bunch of his stuff in their back closet. It’s been across the country a couple of times, so provenance is dubious…

[michaelhavens]

Cave Dog is launched! This is the only red wine I now make, from the vineyard blocks I formerly used in Bourriquot. First release in March, 2016, mailing list signup here: http://www.cavedogwine.com. Also a little more information on FB page, Cave Dog Wine.

[Seo_S_a_l_i_m_i]

@michaelhavens

Cave Dog is launched! This is the only red wine I now make, from the vineyard blocks I formerly used in Bourriquot. First release in March, 2016, mailing list signup here: http://www.cavedogwine.com. Also a little more information on FB page, cavedogwine.

Signed up. Looking forward to release details.

[Jud_Reis]

Signed up as well. Very excited to see what the wines are like!

[Al_Osterheld]

@Markus S

@Greg D

… I have a soft spot for SCM wineries in the first place…

Ever miss Santa Cruz Mountain Vineyard?

I never met Milan, but seem to remember he used to post to alt.food.wine back in the late 90’s.
Had a chardonnay of his that really threw me off tasting blind.

Santa Cruz Mountain Vineyard is still around, now owned by Jeff Emery, the former assistant winemaker. He couldn’t afford to buy the vineyard, though, and the current style is different. Milan was Thunder Mountain.

-Al

[Craig_Williams]

This may not count: Lynncrest Vineyards on top of Spring Mountain now Marston Family Vineyards. This winery produced the 1974 Eisele Vineyard, which was subsequently purchased in bulk by Bill Collins @ Conn Creek. John Henderson was the winemaker @ Lynncrest who I believe also subsequently moved to Conn Creek as winemaker.

[Greg_Harter]

Thunder Mountain was the first one that came to mind. Their Cabernet was amazing. Don’t have any left, but had one earlier this year at a friends, and they still are amazing.

My favorite that I miss must be Lytton Springs winery. While their zinfandels were hit or miss. Some years were dirty and nearly undrinkable, but when they were on, it was an amazing rustic, brambly zinfandel.

[Nevin_Miller]

@Jake Bilbro

@Mike Evans

I’ll supplement my earlier response with McDowell and Limerick Lane (now reincarnated, and apparently better than ever, but the pricing, while fair, isn’t the ridiculous value that the $15 1994 Collins Vineyard, which I recently learned was made by Joel Peterson, offered).

Mike,
Thanks for the vote of confidence on the quality and relative value of our wines at Limerick Lane as they currently stand.

Reading your post made me wonder about something… As the current owner of both Limerick Lane and McDowell, both brands and vineyards that have great reputations for potential quality as well as historically ridiculous value, would the original owners of both properties/wineries been better off to position their products as “fair” as opposed to “ridiculous values?” Having first hand knowledge of both of their situations, I can’t help but wonder if their incredible generosity didn’t end up hurting them… Or maybe it was a mixture of generosity and running a business with a slightly less than sharp pencil?

I want to be VERY clear I have utmost respect for both of the prior owners of our properties.

I also know I just initiated a bit of topic drift on this thread but as the producer of Old Vine Red, I think I have a pretty good pulse on how hard it is to make quality wine at a competitive price. I guess I’m wondering if the 1994 Collins Vineyard Zin would still have been perceived as fairly priced at $20 instead of $15 and if it had been, would the original owners still be in business today?

Maybe there are too many other factors to take into consideration…but it is an interesting question to me and one I never really thought about until I read your post so thank you for that!

Jake Bilbro
Limerick Lane Cellars/Marietta Cellars

Hey Jake

My step-father Jerry Aronson is first cousins with Bob Bilbro. Is that your father or grandfather? Jerry knew Marietta, Bob’s wife’s Aunt. Jerry, at 85, is alive and happy in Maui

And in a small world story, I’ve known Mike Collins since the early 90’s, and drank lots of 1994 Collins Zin’s!

Best regards;

Nevin Miller

[Dennis_Kanagie]

@Bud Carey

Match!!!

@p a u l b a t t a g l i a

match- huge fan of randy, his philosophy and his wines.

Surprised I didn’t see more mention of Match in this thread given Randy’s wines’ status as a (former) board darling. Is it because many of us still have plenty of his wines in our cellars?

[Andrew_Kaufman]

Mentioned above, HMR - Dr. Hoffman was still alive just a short time ago. Pioneer in Paso. Andre Tchelistcheff helped set up the winery. Real CA history there.

[Joel_Pulver]

For the 4 or 5 people on previous pages that mentioned Karl Lawrence, the wine maker Mike Trujillo has started his own winery … Trujillo. Slightly more expensive then the old KL but sourcing from many of the same growers as before.

The new Karl Lawrence that has emerged or about to emerge is not the same winemaker.

[Seo_S_a_l_i_m_i]

@Joel Pulver

For the 4 or 5 people on previous pages that mentioned Karl Lawrence, the wine maker Mike Trujillo has started his own winery … Trujillo. Slightly more expensive then the old KL but sourcing from many of the same growers as before.

The new Karl Lawrence that has emerged or about to emerge is not the same winemaker.

FWIW - I buy Trujilo wines. Good wines, but a very different style than what KL was. Trujilo is much more fruit forward and glycerin like in my opinion. What’s this about KL emerging again? This is the second time I’ve heard this but couldnt find any information… link??

[Joel_Pulver]

Seo,


PM sent with info

[Terry_H_a_r_r_i_s]

@Ed Kurtzman

Bellerose from Dry Creek. Their Bordeaux blends were similar to Quilceda Creek’s when they started out. I’m glad I have a couple of '85 Bellerose magnums.

Didn’t know anyone else remembered Bellerose.
Or the old Fountain Grove Winery for that matter.

Was just wondering what happened to Bellerose Vineyards. I really enjoyed some of their Bordeaux blends from the mid-90s.

[Leonard_A_Mauney]

Guilliams was nice. Steltzner is not the same.

[mowen]

Kitchak

[Mel_Knox]

Did anybody mention the original Jade Mountain??

The original Balverne??

The original Chalone, Acacia,and Edna Valley…

Long Vineyards??

Donna Maria??