Healdsburg California/Heart Of Sonoma Wine Country/ Rodney Strong Vineyards/8 Dragons Restaurant

Today we are opening a few different wines from Rodney Strong Vineyards.Three Reserve wines including Chardonnay,Pinot Noir,and the reserve Cabernet.We will look at the tasting notes and then travel over to the 8 dragon Restaurant,a local favorite in Healdsburg. Our story begins over 55 years ago, when a celebrated American dancer named Rod Strong settled in Sonoma County to pursue a second lifelong creative passion: winemaking. Rodney Strong Vineyards was the 13th winery bonded in the newly discovered Sonoma County wine industry. A trio of winemaking paths crossed when Rick Sayre joined the team as Winemaker in 1979, and again when the Klein Family, 4th generation California farmers, purchased the winery in 1989 and initiated a renewed commitment of modern artisan winemaking. Through the years, Rodney Strong Vineyards has earned the reputation for critically acclaimed Single Vineyard and Reserve wines, stand out Estate releases and best-in-class Sonoma County varietal wines. First let's try this beautiful Chardonnay . Our Reserve Chardonnay is created in our small lot winemaking facility, the Artisan Cellar. Winemaker Greg Morthole employs cutting edge techniques such as whole cluster pressing, "double dry" barrel fermentation, and unfiltered bottling. This wine is aged sur lie, with bi-weekly bâtonnage which imparts an elegant fullness and creamy texture on the palate. With small tanks and equipment sized for the most discriminating vineyard selection process, our facility is truly state of the art, and represents the Klein family commitment towards producing the finest wines possible. We have opened the Reserve Pinot Noir also. The 2015 Reserve Pinot Noir has wonderful aromas of dark cherry, plum and dark raspberry accompanied by clove and cinnamon baking spice notes on the palate. The wine is lush and rich, with a silky textured mouthfeel and well-balanced acidity. Storms in late winter filled the soil with water that the vines would need in a few months. Warm days in late winter and early spring induced the Pinot Noir buds to swell during the third week of Feb, earlier than normal. The weather alternated between cool periods and warm through the summer, with a few heat spikes making the sugars climb at an accelerated pace. Harvest would yield a smaller crop than normal, averaging just over 2 tons per acre. This would be the first Reserve Pinot to come entirely off our Jane's Vineyard since the 2008 vintage, concentrating heavily on our oft favored Crinella block. Our 2015 Reserve Pinot Noir was aged in less new French oak barrels than past vintages, but also for a few months longer, in order to showcase the terroir to a higher degree, but still keep the richness that barrel aging imparts. Recently I discovered the 8 Dragon Restaurant,which features many local wines to pair with their Chinese cuisine.Today we Are featuring the Reserve Cabernet with a few dishes. Visitors to the winery often ask what "Reserve" Cabernet means to us. It's simple. Reserve means the winemaker's careful blend of individual Cabernet Sauvignon lots made from time tested, meticulously farmed sections of some of the very best vineyards in Alexander Valley. Select areas within each vineyard are hand harvested individually, fermented separately and aged in the finest French oak barrels. After about six months, each lot is tasted and graded and only the Cabernets that display depth, richness, intensity, and age worthiness are considered for Reserve Cabernet. The 100% Cabernet blend is then assembled, and the wine is returned to barrels to facilitate flavor integration. The wine is aged an additional 14 to 20 months, depending on the vintage, before bottling. I hope you will enjoy our new feature with Greg Morthole and also the 8 dragon Restaurant. Cheers! Click here and join us as we enjoy the wines of Rodney Strong Vineyards and the cuisine of 8 Dragon Restaurant .