Few districts have more of the character of old California than Sonoma County.  Grapes and wine have been integral to its history. As early as 1812, Russian colonists planted and cultivated grapes at Ft. Ross on the Coast. But it was the Spanish Franciscan Fathers who laid the foundation for our wine industry in 1823 when Padre Jose Altimera planted several thousand grape vines at their northernmost mission, San Francisco Solano in Sonoma. In 1834, political upheaval brought an appropriation of all missions by the Mexican government. During this period of disarray, cuttings from the Sonoma Mission vineyards were carried throughout the northern California area to start new vineyards.  By the time of the “Bear Flag Revolt” and the subsequent annexation of California by the United States in 1854, the vineyards of General Mariano Vallejo, the military Governor of Mexican California, were producing an annual income of $20,000. Other areas in the county were developing at this time: Rocky Mountain trapper Cyrus Alexander in northern Sonoma first planted grapes in what would become Alexander Valley; the county’s first “feminine vineyardist“, Senora Maria de Carrillo, had 2,000 vines in what would be Santa Rosa; Captain Nicholas Carrigan, probably the first American settler, had vineyards in the Valley of the Moon, and later in 1852, his neighbor William Hill, planted the first non-mission grapes in the county.

White Oak Winery
Born in Los Angeles, Bill Myers worked as a building contractor and salmon fisherman in Alaska. During the 1970’s, Bill relocated to the bucolic town of Healdsburg, California, sold his boat, purchased his first vineyard in the Alexander Valley and began to make wine.  With his newly purchased vineyard, a tiny tasting room and wine production facility just off the square in downtown Healdsburg, Bill started making wines. He quickly became recognized for producing wonderful Chardonnay, Zinfandel and Sauvignon Blanc. In 1991, Bill took home his first Sonoma County Harvest Fair Sweepstakes Award for his 1990 Sonoma County Chardonnay.  In 1997, Bill formed an alliance with Burdell Properties to pursue his vision of expanding the winery and thereby creating the foundation of today’s White Oak. Don Groth and Burdell Properties brought over 750 acres of prime vineyards in Napa Valley and the Russian River Valley to the winery.  Shortly thereafter Bill broke ground on this impressive Mediterranean-style winery in the most scenic area of the Alexander Valley.   The estate is nestled amongst seventeen acres of Zinfandel vines dating back to 1929 and 1935. Bill then added small lots of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc to the estate.   White Oak’s new tasting room in the Alexander Valley opened in October of 1998. Presently, White Oak Vineyards & Winery has nearly 750 acres of vineyards divided between the Napa, Alexander and Russian River Valleys. Roughly 10% of this fruit is used in White Oak wines with the Balance being sold to other well known prestige wineries. We always stop in at White Oak whenever we are in Alexander Valley to taste their Chardonnay we love so much.  This month we bring it to you to enjoy as well.  Cheers!
www.whiteoakwinery.com


Marietta Cellars
Marietta Cellars is located just outside the little town of Geyserville in Sonoma County. Owner and winemaker Chris Bilbro initially founded Marietta Cellars in 1979 in an abandoned cow barn in the Dry Creek Valley. Over the past 28 years, Chris has developed a product of incredible consistency both in quality and price with relatively complete anonymity.  The wines of Marietta Cellars are a personification of Chris Bilbro’s personality, outlook on life, and general lifestyle. Chris believes that good wine is the perfect complement to good food and good friends. Pleasurable pursuits such as cooking, fishing, hunting, gardening, and entertaining add balance to the flavor of wine, as they do to life.  Winemaker, founder, owner, and nephew to Marietta, Chris Bilbro puts his life into his wine. As a child, growing up in his great aunt Marietta’s kitchen and garden, Chris learned to make the most with very little. While the presentation was simple, the food was always the right temperature, the portions were plentiful, and flavors were exceptional. This standard still holds true today. Making all the wines himself, Chris painstakingly evaluates his releases, while at the same time “shooting from the hip.” Chris’s winery is in many ways operated in the style of Marietta’s kitchen; just as Marietta wasn’t afraid of garlic and rosemary, Chris isn’t afraid of jammy fruit or ripe grapes.  The grapes are primarily from Sonoma and Mendocino County and grown in older, dry-farmed vineyards with limited production per acre. These are grapes that produce wines with the maximum concentration of fruit and complex flavors.   Marietta Cellars continues the tradition of family involvement. Chris’ four sons are active in winery activities at various levels… Jake, Scot, and Sam have more recently been joined by brother Lucas, who is now eleven.  For Chris, winemaking is by no means a job and far more than just a passion. It is his lifestyle, his tradition, and his love. With four boys, ages ranging from six to twenty-six, the legacy Chris has started looks secure. Don’t be surprised, in a few years, to hear that Chris has stepped back a bit from Marietta, and is living on a remote ridge top in Mendocino County, making home made wine for his friends, tending his garden, cutting wood for his woodstove, and cooking the same meals for his grandchildren that his great aunt did for him years before.  The wines currently produced are Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel, Petite Sirah, a proprietary blend called Old Vine Red, and two limited-quantity special blends called Angeli Cuvée and Emilia’s Cuvée.  For LWC, we chose the Angeli Cuvee.  A blend of Zinfandel, Petite Sirah and Carignane.  Although you can definitely detect the Zin, the other two varietals blended definitely add to this wine.  Our thoughts that this is a Zin, that’s better than a Zin!  Cheers!
www.mariettacellars.com


Martini & Ray Winery
Courtney Benham acquired the historic Martini & Prati winery in July 2003, which is now Martin Ray. The Tasting Room structure, dating back to the 1900’s, used to serve as a stable and bunkhouse where Italian immigrants stayed during harvest and Crush.  Established in 1881 as the Twin Fir Winery, the historic site is distinguished as the oldest winery in continuous operation in Sonoma County and one of the oldest wineries in California.   The winery was able to stay in operation during prohibition by selling sacramental wines by train to Rabbis’ through a winery in New York. Originally known as Martini & Prati, which was established in 1902, the winery was run by five generations of the Martini family and associated with the local Italian-American community that still includes the Sebastiani’s, the Foppiano’s, the Pedroncelli’s and the Seghesio’s.  Thirty 11,000 gallon old-growth redwood tanks dating back to 1904 are still used at the winery and can be viewed during winery tours.   Thirty-two open-top concrete Fermentation tanks are also still in use at the winery, as well as stainless steel open-top fermenters, which is a more modern method.   

In 1990 Courtney Benham was walking through an old warehouse in San Jose when he chanced upon a forgotten treasure -- some 1,500 cases of library wines, dating back more than forty years, made by California wine pioneer Martin Ray. Courtney explored further and found several old wooden crates filled with letters, press clippings, winery brochures and price lists from Ray’s four decades as a winemaker. It was clear that Martin Ray had quite a history, so Courtney contacted the Ray family and acquired the wine library and rights to the Martin Ray label. He decided to take up the Martin Ray brand with the goal of creating wines whose quality would make Martin Ray himself proud.  The Martin Ray intuitive winemaking method includes low SO 2 management, 100% French Oak Barrel fermentation, and open top-tanks, punching down the caps, extended barrel maturation and lengthy bottle aging. During his lifetime, Ray was one of the few California Winemakers, outside of Europe to use such meticulous techniques, which is why many considered Ray to be a visionary, and why he is frequently called “the father of California fine wines.”  

“Mountain soil is much better for producing wine grapes. Oh the vines would like the perfect soil, but grapes have a stronger flavor when vines Must work hard to get what they really need for growing.”
– Martin Ray

Why are grapes grown on mountains more intense, flavorful and distinctive? Experts offer a variety of theories. Some think the “Terroir” or quality of earth from which the grapes are grown, is the main reason for the distinguishing attributes. Others say it is the elevation, which exposes the vines to the atmosphere in ways promoting complete ripening and balance. Still others believe that the combination of soil and climatic conditions concentrate the grapes flavors.

Mountain fruit are the source of Martin Ray wines, including vineyards in the Santa Cruz Mountains, Napa Valley’s Diamond Mountain, Sonoma Mountain and the hillsides of the Russian River Valley.   We really enjoyed the Russian River Chardonnay, definitely a Sonoma classic.  Cheers!
www.martinray-winery.com


Trentadue Winery
The Trentadue family arrived in Sonoma County long before their region gained a reputation as the Wine Country. Life-long, hands-on agriculturists, Evelyn and Leo Trentadue contributed significantly to the advancement of their region over the years. In 1959, the Trentadue’s decided to flee the developers encroaching on their apricot and cherry orchards in Sunnyvale, the area known today around the world as Silicon Valley. To preserve their way of life, these hard-working Italian ranchers purchased 208 acres of land in Sonoma County’s then remote Alexander Valley.  There was little market for the region’s dry-farmed apples, prunes, pears, and grapes in the late 1950s, so land was cheap and plentiful. Scores of ranches were for sale but, because it was blessed with an excellent combination of climate, soil, and water, Leo settled on a special piece of property in the heart of the Alexander Valley. Little did he know what this ranch had once been, much less what it was to become.  The piece of land, which is now home to Trentadue Winery, has a remarkable history. In 1868, a French botanist named Andrew Bouton established Heart’s Desire Nursery on this excellent site east of the railroad tracks. With a passion for breeding new and improved strains of fruit trees, Bouton devoted himself to plant propagation, becoming a major supplier of young tree stock to orchardists throughout the western United States. His reputation attracted the attention of a young man named Luther Burbank who visited Bouton frequently. Influenced by Bouton, Burbank conducted his own work in nearby Sebastopol and Santa Rosa.  Born and raised in northern Bulgaria, a region with many millennia of wine- making history, Miro (Miroslav) Tcholakov was exposed to wine and winemaking at a very early age. His grandfather had long made the family supply of wine, and as a boy, Miro was at his side during all phases of the process. After completing his mandatory military service, he attended the Higher Institute of Agriculture in Plovdiv and graduated with honors with a degree in viticulture and Enology. Soon there after in the summer of 1990 he was chosen from hundreds of candidates to participate in an international exchange program in Agriculture set up by The Future Farmers of America. After a brief stint in Napa, he was taken on as harvest intern at Sonoma’s Dry Creek Vineyards. What was supposed to be a temporary harvest job turned into a nine-year position moving through the ranks of Cellar Master and culminating in being named Assistant Winemaker in 1997.  In the summer of 1999, Miro was hired to be the Winemaker at Trentadue Winery. He came on board just in time to oversee the spectacular 1999 harvest. The wines from his first Vintage as winemaker at Trentadue, received unbelievable quantity of accolades from the professional wine press, including The Sweepstakes winning Zinfandel from the West Coast Wine Competition. During the following vintages Miro’s list of accomplishments continues to grow with a consistent 90 and above high scores from Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate and a pinnacle 92 point score from The Wine Spectator. The Trentadue cabinets are filled with over 60 Gold Medals, more than 30 Double Gold and Best of Class and hundreds of Silver Medals! At the end of 2005 Miro was chosen by popular media as one of the top 20 winemakers in America.  Our choice from Miro’s collection of classic wine is the 2005 Sonoma County Cabernet Sauvignon, a classic now, and later in the cellar.  Cheers!  
www.trentadue.com

As diverse and spread out as Sonoma is we definitely have our favorite areas to visit, some of those being represented in this months wines.  We hope you enjoy this months selections.  We will see you in 2009, shipping Longevity wines to all of our fans.  As always please feel free to contact Debra or myself via e-mail, plong@longevitywines.com, or dlong@longevitywines.com

Phil’s and Debra’s wine touring tips:
In Sonoma, temperature can range from very cool in the winter, to very very warm in the summer.  Most of the year it is very pleasant, but Sonoma covers such an area that you should be prepared for almost any weather.  Be sure and eat breakfast and lunch.  Keep food on your stomach.

Take care of your wine, heat and wine don’t mix well either.  Bring a cooler with a couple of those pre-made ice packs to keep your wine cool in the summer. Take care of yourself; Bring lots of water and hydrate yourself all day.

Always, always, have a designated driver in your group.  Remember what Longevity is all about.  It’s not just the wine, but the entire experience.  The people you meet, the environment you taste in, the food you have with the wine.  It’s all about the experience.
It’s about Longevity.

Happy Holidays and Happy New Year!