Wiens Family Cellars

Wiens Wiens Family Cellars WineWiens 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.

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The Ventisquero Grey Line

Ventisquero Grey LineThe 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.

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TerraNoble Wines

TerraNoble CarmenereWe 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.

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Grape Clones at Red Willow Vineyard

Red Willow Vineyard's stone chapel is one of the most recognizable buildings in Washington wine countryWe recently stopped by Red Willow Vineyard in the Yakima Valley and spent an incredible afternoon with the Sauer family, Washington wine royalty.

As mentioned in our previous post, one of the highlights of our visit was learning about Mike Sauer’s clone program, which he started with Master of Wine David Lake in 2005. The two Washington wine legends experimented with different cuttings certified from UC Davis Viticulture and Enology. Their clone program continues today.

 

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