We have a long history with Ali and Jarrod Boyle, owners of Alexandria Nicole Cellars (ANC), so we didn’t stop smiling when we saw them again recently and tasted their wines. We first wrote about ANC when we launched this site in 2007, inspired by some fabulous wine at ANC’s new (at the time) Woodinville tasting room. Subsequently, we were among the initial members of their original wine club, and attended many of their harvest parties. We first visited Destiny Ridge Vineyard in 2009, and we glamped there in 2011, when most people hadn’t even heard the word “glamping” yet. And we drank ANC Quarry Butte as our go-to wine during the Seahawks’ road to their Super Bowl win in 2014. From day one, we’ve always said it’s the people, the wines and the events that make a winery special. And ANC continues to check off all those boxes.
Category Archives: Carmenere
Wiens Family Cellars
Wiens Family Cellars combines standout wines, friendly and knowledgeable staff, and scenic surroundings. As a result, our winery experience was memorable when we visited Temecula earlier this month. As you can see, we brought quite a few bottles home. Moreover, we discovered that Wiens Family Cellars is a true family collaboration. Their mission is: “From vine to glass, our family is dedicated to producing harmoniously balanced and skillfully crafted wine, while fostering a culture rooted in the idea of family, quality, and integrity.” Read on for more about the family, their story and their magnificent array of wines.
The Ventisquero Grey Line
The Ventisquero Wine Estates Grey line offers some of the best wine from Chile that we have ever tasted. Our introduction to this line from single blocks of vines included four wines: 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon, 2017 Pinot Noir, 2017 Carménère and 2017 GCM blend. Above all, Ventisquero wants to pay tribute to Chilean terroirs by making wines from vineyards located throughout the country. We absolutely loved the Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinot Noir, and enjoyed the other two as well. Read on for details.
TerraNoble Wines
We recently attended a Zoom tasting of a diverse selection of TerraNoble Winery Carménère from Chile. For the tasting, we received five samples of impressive wines, detailed below. According to winemaker Marcelo Garcia, these wines are “fresh, easy-drinking, elegant, versatile, food-friendly, quality wines.” We couldn’t agree more, as did other wine writers at the tasting, and a group of our friends who shared the experience.