The White Wines From Philo Ridge Vineyards

We have traveled into the beautiful Anderson valley,and will stop off in Bonneville at the Philo Ridge tasting room. heather is the winemaker and I'm very excited to finllay talk with her. The wines are amazing and the vineyards are a story within themselves. we will check out the website and then open these fine white wines from Philo Ridge vineyards.So let's pop the corks and get started. Fred and Heather took possession of the property in August of 1999. There were already three acres of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot planted just below the house. The vineyard was planted in 1976 by the original owner of the property, Vernon Rose of Christine Woods Winery. The property was their original winery as well. There were an additional seven acres of plantable terraced land just yards from the original vineyard. We suddenly found ourselves in the wine business. It was quite thrilling and equally terrifying. Neither of us had ever actually farmed. We had read a great deal and we were well schooled in the wine aspect of the business, but we were lacking in that get-your-hands-in-the-dirt, practical experience. One of the first things we did was ask Norman Kobler to be our vineyard manager. Norman has many years of hands-on knowledge about almost everything to do with putting something in the ground, watching it grow, and making wine. Norman planned and supervised the installation of our Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris vineyards in 2000 and has worked hard to continue our education. We decided to become a bonded winery in 2001 and we released our first vintage in January of 2004: 167 cases of 2001 Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon. We were very pleased when our first submission – our 2001 Syrah – won a Silver medal in the San Francisco Chronicle competition. Since that time, we have entered a number of competitions with our wines and have done very well, including 90 points and Editor's Choice for the 2006 Pinot Noir in the July 2010 Wine Enthusiast. We also received Editor's Choice for the Gewurztraminer and Pinot Gris in the same edition. Our production is now up to 2200 cases and we continue to ratchet up our production. But we still make each wine by hand in small batches of between 90 to 450 cases each. Our goal is to make great wines that have complexity and exemplify the best their varietals have to offer your palate. Pinot Noir is our primary wine, but we have added Gewurztraminer, Pinot Gris, Chardonnay and Viognier to the mix for white wines with Zinfandel and Vino di Mendocino (our red blend). (Gewürztraminer in German-language areas) is a pink-skinned grape variety that produces some of the world's most distinctive aromatic wines. Its perfumed style is somewhat polarizing; fans adore its intense floral scent and sweet-spice flavors, while detractors lament its low acidity and lack of subtlety. Gewurztraminer's parentage is hard to trace. Modern research suggests that it is the aromatic mutation of Roter Traminer (Savagnin Rose), and therefore part of the ancient Savagnin-Traminer group of grape varieties, which have identical or near-identical DNA profiles. As such it is hard to locate a precise area of origin, though Savagnin is thought to have originated in...this wine is dry and rich,and perfect with spicy food. Viognier is a white-wine grape variety known for producing textural, aromatic wines with pronounced stonefruit flavors; "apricots and steel" are the variety's classic flavor associations. On the nose, Viognier wines can also be very herbal, with aromas of chamomile, lavender, thyme and even a hint of pine. In aged examples and sweeter styles, this potentially overpowering herbal profile is softened by honeyed notes. In the late 1960s ,just 14 hectares (35 acres) of Viognier vines were all that remained in the world, located exclusively in the vineyards of Condrieu and Château-Grillet. Happily, the 1970s saw new life breathed into the near-extinct variety, by the Yalumba winery in... and now it's time to pour another glass of these great wines and enjoy the audio feature.Please click on the link at the bottom,and sit down with us as we enjoy these amazing wines from Philo Ridge Vineyards We will pour you a glass of each wine,and I will head out to the kitchen to start up a few dishes to go with these incredible wines.Cheers! Click here and join us as we enjoy the white wines of Philo ridge Vineyards .