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Sullivan Rutherford Estate was founded in 1972 by James O’Neil Sullivan, a creative visionary and pioneer of the Rutherford appellation. For nearly fifty years, the Estate has been an oasis for artists, chefs and wine industry professionals. Today, the Estate continues to build on its legacy of growing world class grapes. While intense in its…

Spare me…get it?! Behrens Family Winery is a boutique winery in the truest sense. Owned by Les Behrens and Lisa Drinkward, who’ve made wine under the Behrens & Hitchcock label since 1993, Behrens Family Winery produces small lots of six or seven wines a year at its winery perched high on top of Spring Mountain in Napa Valley.…

Few of California’s young winemakers possess the regional mastery that is illustrated by the work of Justin Willett of Tyler Winery. A native of Santa Barbara, Justin founded Tyler in 2005 with eight barrels tucked away in the corner of Arcadian Winery, where he honed his approach to Chardonnay and Pinot Noir as assistant winemaker.…

Please join us Thursday, February 6 for the next installment of our Winemaker Dinner series.  Hawks chef Michael Fagnoni will prepare a curated five-course dinner hosted by Marcus and famed winemaker Julien Fayard.  While the menu is still under development, the wines have been selected and are sure to please: 2018 Nicholson Jones Sauvignon Blanc, Yountville 2017 Purlieu Chardonnay, Sonoma Coast,…

Winemaker Trevor Sheehan had a strong working knowledge of producers and vineyards from acclaimed regions around the globe well before he turned 30. He then started Precision Wine Company to showcase the complexity of flavor, diversity of terroir and distinct characteristics of California’s appellations and wine regions. With his knowledge, and by surveying the current…

This newly released vintage of The Mascot, now $134.95 at Capitol Cellars, is outstanding. As you may know, The Mascot began early on as an experiment by Bill Harlan’s son Will and is produced from younger vines of Promontory, Harlan Estate ($1,500), and BOND’s Grand Cru ($600) vineyard sites. An otherwise even growing season in 2014 was made memorable by an…

We had to go there…this afternoon I offered a glass of Shibumi Knoll to a client and he responded with “Gesundheit!”. All joking aside, Shibumi Knoll Owners Don and Joann Ross were inspired to name their vineyard home after the book and concept of Shibumi, a Japanese word describing a physical and emotional state which…

Paul Lato is one of the most celebrated winemakers in recent history and has become a dear friend of the store. I had the pleasure of speaking to him today and I am pleased to confirm that he will be here on Saturday afternoon, February 22 from 3 to 6pm to taste through his portfolio of Sauvignon…

We are happy to have this 95-pointer in the store! The 2016 G.B. Crane ‘El Coco’ is a red blent of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petite Sirah, and Old Vine Zinfandel.  The label is taken from the Goya painting of the same name featuring the mythical ghost-monster El Coco.  Reg. $80, NOW $69.95. Aromatics abound and are complete.  It’s…

Marques de Murrieta is named after Luciano de Murrieta, one of the founding fathers of modern Rioja winemaking, who established the estate in 1852 in the world renowned Rioja region of Spain. Today V. Dalmau Cebrian-Sagarriga, Count of Creixell, leads the family-owned company.  The winery is so spotless, so much to perfection, even the hand soap…