Saturday, Feb. 9, 2008
KEET-TV Public Television Benefit Auction Carnivale
Blue Lake Casino Sapphire Palace Blue Lake, CA
Sunday, March 16, 2008
2008 Wine Extraordinaire Orange County Wine Society
Hilton of Anaheim California Pavilion Anaheim, CA
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Family Winemakers of California Tasting (Trade Tasting Only)
Pasadena Convention Center, 300 E. Green St., Pasadena, CA 91101
2:00 - 6:00pm
Open to the trade only
Friday, June 6, 2008
Art, Cheese, & Wine benefit for the Humboldt Arts Council
Morris Graves Museum of Art, 7th & F Sts., Eureka, CA
Friday, June 13, 2008
Back Room Blowout XXVII
Back Room Wines Napa, CA
August 24 & 25, 2008
Family Winemakers of California
Ft. Mason, San Francisco
Saturday, September 6, 2008
Winesong! 2008 Mendocino Coast Hospital Foundation
Mendocino Botanical Gardens Mendocino, CA
Double D’s Wine Diary
Daniel Dawson
Back Room Wines-
This is the beginning of a beautiful relationship: Violet-Green Winery makes "Alder Springs Vineyard" reds, and makes them very very well! Just received Violet Green Merlot "Alder Springs" 2002. Owners & Winemakers Lina Carro and Don Wattenbarger live and make their wine in my hometown of Eureka, California (Humboldt County, five hour drive north of San Francisco). They drive two hours south of Eureka to "Alder Springs," near Laytonville in Northern Mendocino County (dizzy with directions now?) to get their world-class wine grapes. The wine: silky, concentrated, intense deep berry/cherry. Luxurious mouth feel like cashmere...how Merlot should be but usually isn't. Those who know "Alder Springs" say Merlot is the least successful grape there. This wine will change their opinion.
Violet-Green's 2003 reds will be part of Holiday Newsletter. I've tasted all of them and they're some of the best, new California reds I've tasted in a long, long time. Very small production. I first tasted their wines at the big "Family Winemakers Tasting" in San Francisco this past summer. My mouth lit up with flavor, then my eyes shined in excitement.
In a nutshell, the Merlot is cinnamon & nutmeg on black cherries, cassis and mocha. Cab Franc is the “restrained one” with a little lavender, big plum, resin, and velvet. “UltraViolet” is a Cab Sauv/Merlot blend. It’s luscious, showy and the don’t-think-just-love-it-wine of the bunch. The Syrah is no holds barred huge. Espresso, port without the sugar, darkest chocolate. Dry-rub, heavy-smoked pork ribs is the way to go.
Violet-Green Winery
PO Box 165 Bayside, CA 95524 | Tel/Fax: 707.445.8679 | Email: wine@violetgreenwinery.com