2013 Chardonnay released; Summer Whites shipping this week!

We are very pleased to formally release our 2013 Russian River Chardonnay to our wine club this week in the Summer Whites two-bottle shipment.  Not a member?  You may join here!

This 2013 is a personal favorite at our house, it seems to pair with, and make special, the most mundane of weekly dinners (including the dreaded 'dino' nuggets our kids clamor for) and it is sitting at a week-night-friendly 12.5% ABV.  Neutral oak, battonage sur lie, and a careful native fermentation all give this wine a certain refinement; an elegant reflection of its origins on 15+ year old vines along Olivet Road.  If you've banned dino nuggets from your house, we also recommend pairing with coq au vin or poached salmon :)



We did not make much of this wine, so please act fast this fall should you wish to re-order.

See you at The Rind, Sacramento, Sunday 8/24!

Come join us at The Rind in Sacramento this Sunday where there will be Wait Cellars flights and inspired cheese pairings!  We'll be pouring the following and will also have a few bottles for sale:

* 2011 Russian River Pinot Noir
* 2012 Green Valley Pinot Noir, Devoto Garden Vineyard
* 2013 Russian River Chardonnay

Hope to see you!

Wait Cellars in New Jersey

We've been selling our 2012 Devoto Garden Pinot Noir in New Jersey through North East Wines since March of this year.  Last week I was on the East Coast with family and I spent a day with the ever gracious Richard Micketti of North East, who has been instrumental in introducing Wait Cellars to New Jersey.

It was a real pleasure to meet Randy and Phil at Walkers in Lambertville, Bryan at Public and Billy at Agricole in Princeton, and Paul at Phillips in Stockton, among others.  These guys are all doing fantastic work fleshing out compelling selections.

Early ripening

With the warm, dry winter of 2013-2014 leading into a warm, dry spring and summer, veraison is well underway in the North Coast.  These shots from late July show Devoto Garden in Sonoma's cool Green Valley over 50%, about 10-12 days ahead of 2013, which was also a warm, dry growing season.  Am expecting to pick shortly after Labor Day.  In 2011, we picked this fruit on October 4th!

Nets went up last week against this guy and his smaller, air-born brethren, all very interested in the ripening fruit...

Wait Cellars Goes Old World

Wait Cellars wines available in France? Indeed!  Intrepid exporter John Duval has moved his operations to France and taken 30 cases of Wait Cellars Pinot Noir with him!  Working primarily in the gorgeous old city of Annecy, near the Swiss border, he initially sold our Pinot into Le Clocher and Le Botrytis, two acclaimed local restaurants with excellent lists.

But then he shifted gears from wholesale into retail and opened up his own wine shop in the middle of town, dedicated to showing off honest, small production, Californian producers:

If you find yourself in Annecy, be sure to stop by and ask for John.  And of course, then demand to see the good stuff: a bottle of Wait Cellars Pinot Noir, for a taste of home away from home :)

California Wine Gallery

8, Passage De La Cathedrale

74000 Annecy, France

06 16 57 00 71

2011 Russian River makes top ten at Pinot Days

Venerable wine writer and critic Pierre Dumont of the Piedmont Post has compiled his list of top ten Pinots from last month's Pinot Days San Francisco event, and we're pleased to say our 2011 Russian River Pinot is on that list.  Full text of the article is here. 

How can you get a bottle of this stuff? Join our always low-key wine club, or send me a note -- we will be having a release sales event next month, and as part of that we will make some of our 2011 Russian River available to those on our broader mailing list.

Precious medals at SF International Wine Competition

We're pleased to announce that our 2011 Green Valley Pinot Noir, Devoto Garden Vineyard, received a gold medal at this years San Francisco International Wine Competition.  The 2012 vintage of that same wine, which has not yet been formally released, received a silver medal.  One of the largest competitions in the world, over 4500 wines from 1400 wineries were evaluated.

Last year, the 2011 Green Valley received silver as a young wine, just shortly before it was released -- we entered it again this year, and the gold medal received this year reflects it's maturation in bottle.  We expect a similar trajectory for our 2012!

Our 2011 Russian River Pinot Noir received double-gold in last years competition, and we did not re-enter it this year.

Summertime! Pinot Days discount & Summer Celebration

 Please join us this weekend for two of summer's most delightful events:


Pinot Days San Francisco, Saturday June 21st, from 12-5pm at the Metreon, is the largest gathering of Pinot Noir producers in the world! There is no better way to survey your favorite grape, and as a friend of Wait Cellars you may receive 33% off the current ticket price: just use the discount code WCLSF14 when buying tickets here.  Stop by our table and say hello!

On Sunday June 22nd, 6pm-9pm, come to CUESA's annual summer harvest/solstice celebration and be prepared to sample some of the tastiest bites you'll have all summer!






At both of these events we'll be pouring our 2012 Green Valley Pinot Noir, Devoto Garden Vineyard, due to be released in July.  Club members have already had the opportunity to taste this vintage, now you can too prior to our July release sale.  Wine Enthusiast has rated this wine a 93 (in the forthcoming September issue), and see what the Prince of Pinot has to say.

Family Winemakers Tasting: August 17th

Put this massive tasting for the public and trade in your calendar, it is a unique opportunity to taste through hundreds of brilliant California wines, all under one roof.  Tickets just went on sale here.  Note the new location this year -- the San Mateo Event Center.

7 on Locust: Wait Cellars pickup option in Mill Valley

It was great to meet everyone at the 7 on Locust summer celebration!





We're happy to announce that future Wait Cellars wine orders and club shipments may be picked up at 7 on Locust during normal store hours -- a very nice option if you're generally north of the bridge and want to save on shipping cost, footprint, and receiving hassle.  Plus a great opportunity to regularly check out the fascinating creative directions taking shape at this unique boutique.

Many thanks to Elena, Nadine, Elizabeth, Wendy, and the rest of the 7oL crew!

 

7 on Locust

Come celebrate summer's pending arrival while mingling amongst eclectic artwork and collectibles and sipping our latest Chardonnay in Mill Valley on June 5th!  This will be a great opportunity to taste the 2013 Russian River Chardonnay before it's formally released and shipped to our Summer Whites club later in the summer -- as well as to experience one of the most compelling open studio's of the year!

 







The 2013 Russian River Chardonnay

We picked this Chardonnay early (21.5-22 brix) to retain acids and temper alcohol, in pursuit of a natural expression of the block. It was destemmed and cold-macerated for 24 hours, cool-fermented with wild, resident yeast in neutral oak, then conditioned sur lie for six months prior to bottling without fining or filtration.  The result we think is a graceful Russian River Chardonnay, brimming with crisp, table-friendly acids, stone fruit aromas, and comforting apple, citrus and butterscotch flavors.

2012 Chardonnay sold out

Our 2012 Russian River Chardonnay sold out last month, though you may still be able to catch a glass at 123 Bolinas while it lasts!

Our 2013 Russian River Chardonnay will be released this summer -- there is still time to join our Summer Whites wine club to be among the first to receive two bottles of this crisp, refreshing Chardonnay.  We did not make much of this wild ferment Chard, and we expect this vintage to be sold out by the new year.




Note we will be pouring early tastes of the 2013 at a special event June 5th at 7 on Locust in Mill Valley, June 21st at Pinot Days in San Francisco, and June 22nd at CUESA's Summer Celebration.

The Wine Kitchen

Our 2011 Green Valley Pinot Noir, Devoto Garden Vineyard, is now available by the glass just down the street, with our friends the Wine Kitchen. 

Stop in for a glass and a tasty bite!

2012 Green Valley Pinot rated 92 by Prince of Pinot

We're pleased to mention that a bottle of our 2012 Green Valley Pinot Noir, Devoto Garden Vineyard, wound up in the hands of the Prince of Pinot, producer of the influential PinotFile report.  What did he say?

"Plenty of Pinot singing in this beautifully crafted wine"
                                    -- The Prince of Pinot, May 2014 

Click here for the Prince's full review

Flowering

It has been a warm, dry winter and early spring throughout the Northcoast, and the vines are ahead of 2013, which was already an accelerated growing year.

This year in addition to Pinot and Chardonnay, I am looking at Cabernet Franc around Healdsburg, with an eye toward making a medium-bodied, food friendly 'Loire-valley bistro' wine.

Here are some shots from the Los Amigos vineyard, farmed by Hook & Ladder, where you can see flowering on this Cab Franc just starting.  (These shots were taken in early May).

Here's Chardonnay from Inspiration vineyard, also just starting to flower.  This year I'm planning on making more Chardonnay than I did last year.

Huckleberry Youth Run for the Roses

Thanks to those who came out to taste with Kelly Z at the Huckleberry Youth Run for the Roses fundraiser on Saturday!  Beautiful day, beautiful setting, beautiful cause :)

Spring Club Shipment Going Out Next Week

Our spring shipment will go out to members next week, just in time to ease the tax-day blues! We're delighted to send out two Devoto Garden Pinot Noirs, the 2011 and 2012. We think the 2011 is drinking beautifully right now.  The 2012 we're offering to club members 'pre-release' - while still young and improving, we think this wild-ferment Pinot Noir is an exceptional expression of a remarkable vintage.

Both benefit from air time after opening and before serving, the 2012 up to an hour if you can wait!

If you'd like to join our club and receive these singular, limited production wines while they last, please click here.

Busy April: here comes the 2013 Chardonnay

We're bottling our 2013 Chardonnay next week in San Francisco, here's the Wait Cellars delivery truck loaded with empty glass to take down :)






This early-pick wild ferment Chardonnay looks great so far: a nice mouth-watering, acid-driven Chardonnay with round green apple/mango flavors.

Sign up for our Summer Whites club and be the first to taste this when it's released this August!

Vintner's Market this weekend 4/12 & 4/13

Tickets are still available to the San Francisco Vintner's this weekend in Fort Mason!  We'll be there with our 2011 Pinots and 2012 Chardonnay.  This is always a fun, energetic affair where you can find new wines as well as visit old friends.  Hope to see you there!

Come taste tonight at Ruby Wine on Potrero Hill

 I'll be pouring all of my current releases tonight (including our wine-club only double-gold 2011 Russian River Pinot Noir), 5pm-9pm, at Ruby Wine in San Francisco's Potrero Hill neighborhood, 1419 18th Street.  Come taste, and if you haven't browsed Ruby's thoughtful, eclectic selections before you are in for a treat!