California’s Small Wineries Stretch Their Wings

Oakville East worker in the vineyard. Photo by Avis Mandel.

There’s a ferment going on among California’s small wineries. Have you noticed?

Gone are the days of Cab and Chard, Chard and Cab. Beloved as these wines may be, small California wineries are stretching their wings like hawks high above wine country. They’re soaring and exploring not only different kinds of wine, but also, different ways of being.

Elliot Stern, Founder and Winemaker at Oakville East Wines

For example, some winemakers, like Oakville East, are going local as never before. Founder Elliott Stern, who teaches wine business at The Culinary Institute in St. Helena, buys all of his fruit from his neighbors. They happen to occupy some incredible terroir on the eastern slopes of Napa’s acclaimed Oakville appellation. His 2013 Franc ‘N Stern Oakville Napa Valley Cabernet Franc tells the tale of that terroir. Locavores, take note!

The Patland estate evokes images of Tuscany with its stone houses and Mediterranean landscaping.

Further south, in the mountains above Napa, Patland Estate Vineyards 2014 Napa Valley Chardonnay beautifully expresses a beautiful place, namely, a Tuscan Idyll among the hills. It enchanted Henry and Olga Patland when they purchased it in 2007. and it epitomizes the kind of scrupulous, painstaking effort that is going into some high-end, small wineries these days. Given the resources, winery dreams are taking on the ethereal.

Natalie Winkler, Assistant Winemaker, Ben Cane, Head Winemaker, Carl Stanton, Founding Partner, checking vines in Westwood Estate Vineyard in Sonoma Valley.

Meanwhile, more friends than ever before are uncorking wineries together, as they do at Westwood Estate. Based in Sonoma, four friends are crafting some head turners like their 2014 Elevation Sonoma County Estate Red Blend. It’s stopping traffic with two 95-point ratings, plus one of 93 points, three 90-points and three Gold Medals.

Sottomarino Founder/Winemaker Bryan Kane enjoys a glass with friends.

In the San Francisco Bay, noted winemaker Bryan Kane’s Sottomarino has transformed a WWII submarine training vessel into a hot spot for cool wines in sight of the Golden Gate bridge. It’s a new twist on wineries embracing heritage buildings for their vinous vision. That, and his Sottomarino Winery 2013 Mendocino County Dolcetto, winner of “Best of Class” & “Top Dolcetto in America” at the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition, certainly deserve a salute. As do all of these wines featured in our Signature Series wine club this month. Each one is brimming with the vibrant energy that now animates California’s small wineries. How lucky we are to be in the midst of the pour!

Our Signature Series offers access to highly rated and highly coveted California wines that are handcrafted in such limited quantities that they are difficult to find.

Since 1990, it’s been our wine club’s mission to help artisan wineries share their small-batch wines with wine enthusiasts everywhere. At The California Wine Club we happen to think these wines simply taste better than the mass-produced wines that dominate store shelves.

We visit the wineries, meet the families and winemakers behind the wines and then invite them to share their favorite wines with our wine club members. Every wine featured in our wine of the month club comes from a real-working winery.

Come join our adventure!