age well, producing good fruit with low
alcohol and high acidity. Clos du Bois
covers 2000 acres, and winemaker Gary
Setton takes pride in developing the
essence of each region in the wines he
makes. Today, they produce many fine
wines, including their Sonoma Reserve
Series and Select Vineyard varieties. We
sampled many of the wines from Clos du
Bois with Kim Phillips, our wine educator
and hostess during our visit.
Clos du Bois is also a certified
California Sustainable Winery, utilizing
solar energy, and they’re also very water-
conscious. Each acre of vineyard uses
less water per year than a typical family
of four. They even plant flowers between
rows in some locations to attract good
bugs to eat bad insects, to make the
vines struggle for water and become
more vigorous producing better fruit, and
to provide nitrogen to the soil once the
flowers die and are plowed into the soil.
Tuesday afternoon
We visited what was once the ranch
home of actor Fred MacMurray. He had
bought the ranch in 1941, and embraced
the rancher’s lifestyle, raising Angus beef.
His home has been restored, including
furnishings provided by his daughter
Kate, who is still actively involved in
Sonoma’s wine community. A tasting
room in the barn gives one a real flavor
of the history of this property. Many of
his Hollywood friends visited the farm,
including John Wayne & Clark Gable, and
quickly learned that there were chores to
be done before relaxing at the end of the
day.
The vineyards were first planted in the
mid 1990s. Today, 450 acres of Pinot Noir
and Pinot Gris vines flourish where cattle
had once roamed. MacMurray Vineyards
is in the middle of Sonoma’s Russian
River Valley, and the view from its highest
point is breathtaking. Sitting under Fred’s
favorite tree, it’s easy to understand why
he loved this ranch so much.
Wednesday morning
We visited Simi Winery in Healdsburg,
California. The history of Simi is
interesting; it dates back to 1849, when
Giuseppe Simi left Tuscany in search of
his fortune in the California gold fields. In
1876, he and his brother Pietro produced
the first Simi wines. In1904, both brothers
died, and Giuseppe’s daughter Isabelle
took over management at the age of 18.
In 1920, with the onset of prohibition,
Isabelle sold off the vineyard holdings,
but managed to retain possession of the
cellared wines. When prohibition was
repealed in 1933, Simi was immediately
ready to sell 500,000 cases of wines to a
thirsty public.
Isabelle had also worked out an
arrangement for the railroad to stop at
Simi’s winery and transport the wines
to San Francisco. She remained active
at Simi well into her 80’s, working as a
greeter in the cask tasting room. In 1970,
Isabelle sold the winery to Russell Green,
under whom Simi acquired the Landslide
vineyard in Alexander Valley and 100
acres in the Russian River Valley. The
proud tradition continues today, with Simi
producing a varied portfolio of fine wines
under the direction of head winemaker
Steve Reeder.
Our next stop was The Black Stallion
Estate Winery, in the Oak Knoll District of
Napa, California. This winery is located
on the grounds of a historic equestrian
center, and what once served as the
indoor track now houses winemaking
production. Remnants of the original 36
horse stalls are still visible today.
In May 2010, Black Stallion Winery
was purchased by the Indelicato Family,
one of the leading family-owned wine
producers in the country. Indelicato has
been growing grapes and making wine
for three generations. Their dedication
is evident in their wines and the “family
feel” of the winery. Each of the varietals is
handcrafted and carefully blended from
small vineyard lots. Black Stallion is noted
for their Chardonnay and their Cabernet
Sauvignon, with layered complexity and
rich fruit character. They are the only
winery to age some of their wines in a
concrete egg, in order to obtain some of
the unique characteristics of their wines.
Due to my industry connections, we
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were able to spend a night in the “family
cottage” at the Black Stallion Winery.
This was quite a treat; the guest house
has a patio with gas grill, gas fire pit,
and hot tub, and it’s next to the private
pool and cabana. We invited our hostess,
Katie, to join us for a steak dinner, which
was wonderful. The pool and cabana
were closed that night, since Chris
Indelicato was entertaining Francis Ford
Coppola and other guests for dinner. Our
experience at Black Stallion Winery was
delightful, and one we will never forget.
Thursday morning
We said goodbye to everyone at
Black Stallion, and began another day of
tastings, with a visit to Robert Mondavi in
Oakville, California. Robert Mondavi was
established in Napa Valley in 1966 with
a vision to create wines that would stand
in the company of the worlds finest. That
vision continues today under the direction
of Genevieve Janssens, who was chosen
as Wine Enthusiast’s Winemaker of the
Year in 2010. Her approach combines
time honored winemaking methods with
the latest innovations, to achieve Robert
Mondavi’s goal of excellence.
In 2001, To Kalon Cellar, which
required five years to design and build,
was completed. This cellar consists of
5,000 gallon Taransaud oak fermenters
(which were assembled in the cellar),
and completely changed the vinification
of red wine fruit for Robert Mondavi.
Later that afternoon, we visited
Franciscan Estate Winery in Oakville,
California. Franciscan began producing
wines in 1975, focusing on the principles
of small-lot winemaking. Founding
winemaker Justin Meyer divided the
vineyard into small blocks to createunique
microclimates and soils. Individual wines
are produced from each block, and only
blended after they are properly developed.
This small lot approach results in wines
of unmistakable character, highlighting
each block, and striving for that perfect
glass of wine to represent each vintage.
Our wine educator at Franciscan
guided us through a sense of smell
exercise at the end of our tasting. The
sense of smell is important to tasting
both food and wine. The nose can even
beat the eyes in the race for setting up
tasting expectations; an aroma can
carry from one room to another. Of our
five senses, smell is the most acute; it
accounts for approximately 75% of what
we term flavor. This is why foods and
beverages taste bland when one’s nose
is blocked by a cold. This exercise was a
fun way to end another day in California
wine country.
Friday
We concluded our winery tours at
Raymond Vineyards, which was started
by Roy Raymond Sr. He and his two sons
produced their first vintage crush in
1974. Today Raymond Vineyards is part
of Boisset Family Estates, which is one of
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Fall 2013
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