Kistler Chardonnay and Occidental Station Pinot Noir Wine Tasting Saturday, July 12th 7:30pm and all the Kistler and Occidental Wines in the store on SALE!!
Be careful to trust a person who does not like wine.
Karl Marx
I will have to agree with Marx on this subject and I will add this caveat for Chardonnay and Pinot Noir Lovers- Do not trust California oenophiles that do not like the wines of Kistler Vineyards or the Occidental Station. There are few things that every major critic agrees on but the quality that these two producers both founded by Steve Kistler make some of the best wines when you speak of California Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.
We just received a bunch of older vintage wines from these two producers so I figured it was time to host an event to showcase one of the best Chardonnay and Pinot Noir producers in California. Join us as we do some serious scientific work with these two wineries showcasing some of the best wines made in California with these two varietals.
If you can’t make the tasting I have included all of the wines from these two producers on SALE in this offering!
The fee for this tasting which includes dinner is $275 + tax, for reservations call 954-523-9463 or e-mail andy@winewatch.com.
Kistler Chardonnay and Occidental Station Pinot Noir Wine Tasting
Saturday, July 12th
7:30pm
2023 Kistler Les Noisetiers Chardonnay Sonoma Coast
2020 Kistler Sonoma Mountain Chardonnay Sonoma County
2019 Kistler McCrea Vineyard Chardonnay Sonoma Mountain
2018 Kistler McCrea Vineyard Chardonnay Sonoma Mountain 375ml
2018 Kistler Trenton Roadhouse Vineyard Chardonnay Russian River Valley
2018 Kistler Vine Hill Vineyard Chardonnay Russian River Valley
2014 Kistler Stone Flat Vineyard Parmelee Hill Chardonnay Sonoma Coast
2017 Kistler 'Cuvee Natalie' Silver Belt Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast
2017 Occidental-Kistler Vineyards 'Cuvee Catherine' Running Fence Vineyard Pinot Noir
2017 Occidental-Kistler Vineyards 'Occidental Station Vineyard' Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast
2017 Occidental-Kistler Vineyards 'SWK Vineyard' Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast
2017 Occidental-Kistler Vineyards Bodega Headlands Vineyard 'Cuvee Elizabeth' Sonoma
2017 Kistler Laguna Ridge Vineyard Pinot Noir Russian River Valley
Menu
Selection of Cheese and Charcuterie
Scallop Carpaccio with Candied Citrus and lavender Aioli
Blackened Mahi Mahi with Mango Salsa and Coconut Rice
Duck Confit served with Brie Mashed Potatoes and Cherry Demi Glaze
Strawberry and Capriolina Cheese Tart
The fee for this tasting which includes dinner is $275 + tax, for reservations call 954-523-9463 or e-mail andy@winewatch.com. Please let us know when you make your reservations if you have any food allergies or aversions and chefs Toni and Dani will be happy to accommodate you.
A bit about Kistler Winery:
Opinions about Kistler are as unanimous as anything can be in a business where subjectivity can be all across the board. Clive Coates, the foremost wine critic in Great Britain, thinks Kistler is one of a handful of California Chardonnays that competes on a world-class level. Robert Parker JR. says Kistler is "clearly one of California's brightest stars"; Connoisseurs' Guide to California Wine, which anoints its best wines with “Puff” ratings, has given more of these quixotic puffs to Kistler than any producer in the twenty-two year history of the publication; The Wine Spectator has waxed poetic about Kistler Chardonnays with numerous 90+ ratings and picked the '92 Kistler Vineyard Chardonnay as its highest rated Chardonnay (94) in 1995. Although some producers can rival Kistler's efforts with very small quantities of top Chardonnay, no producer in the past four decades even comes close when one considers the fact that Kistler produces significant numbers and has done so at an awesomely high level of quality and consistency.
The winery got off to a grand start with a trio of 1979 Chardonnays that were ballyhooed by every authority in the business, but the 1980 Kistlers were bottled too early and had problems with sulfide. Kistler took the very difficult and unprecedented step of recalling what could be salvaged - but not before the critics had a field day trashing them and dismissing Kistler as a "flash in the pan." Right from the start Kistler was an innovator with winemaking methods that were once considered "out on the edge". Malolactic fermentation was one such technique - they were the first winery to undertake it on a serious scale. Today it is accepted gospel among many California producers. They didn't - and still don't - cold stabilize their wines. In the beginning filtration wasn't part of the plan - though some are now lightly filtered.
Bixler goes into the vineyards every day at 5 a.m. during harvest to make sure that those blocks promised for Kistler are not picked until they reach optimum ripeness. "When I talk to other wineries about range of sugars, I am amazed about what extent they find acceptable - by and large we look for a very narrow range", says Bixler. "Steve is back at the winery - I'm out there in the vineyards during the picking, doing the sampling, and determining when we pick. I have a degree of care, attention, and concern; and Steve has the same extreme interest. It is very advantageous to have two different people doing two different jobs with an equally high interest in the outcome". The winery has learned that about 40% new French oak is the right formula for aging their Chardonnays, but some bottlings receive as much as 100% new oak.
The key to quality at Kistler is more than just the result of a highly talented team, lots of hard work, and intelligent effort - it is the special nature of their vineyards. Kistler owns outright only two of its six vineyard sites - the Kistler Vineyard, a 20-acre parcel that sits on the divide between Sonoma and Napa some 2000 feet up in the Mayacamas mountains and their new property on Vine Hill Road. Besides the winery's own vineyards, the relationship the partners have with their growers is crucial. Dutton Ranch in Sonoma's cool Green Valley has been in the Kistler camp since 1979 - Kistler gets very favored, low production sites on hilltops within Warren Dutton's famed vineyard. Another site which has yielded terrific Chardonnays for Kistler has been the Durell Vineyard. Although other wineries have produced Chardonnays that bear the Durell name, apparently Kistler also gets the most favored vines at Durell. Kistler's 1989 and 1990 Durell Chardonnays were our back-to-back picks for "Best Chardonnay of the Year" for 1991 and 1992 respectively. Kistler has high expectations for a new property, Camp Meeting Ridge Vineyard, located just two miles from the Pacific Ocean at an elevation of 2000 feet in Northern Sonoma County. This vineyard has yielded its first fruit from the '93 vintage - small amounts of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay were forthcoming in early 1997.
The luxury of picking and choosing exactly what will wear the Kistler name has placed Mark and Steve in a very enviable position. At the end of the 1987 vintage Fred McCrea approached them and asked if they would take his grapes. The McCrea Vineyard is a low-yielding, extremely well-situated property with thirty-year-old chardonnay vines that yield Kistler about 2500 cases of wine. Kistler's first seven Chardonnays from McCrea fruit have been outstanding. Several years ago Kistler purchased a thirty-year lease on this vineyard, so the winery essentially controls the fruit from vine to bottle. That lease, and others being negotiated, are part of the Kistler/Bixler game plan, which calls for less reliance on growers and eventual total control over all grape sources used in Kistler wines. We would be remiss if we did not mention the tiny amount of a seventh Chardonnay called "Cuvée Cathleen", first released from the 1992 vintage. This wine is a selection of the finest barrels from all the vineyards - about half of it comes from the Kistler Vineyard. In June of 1996 we had an opportunity to taste with Mark Bixler both the 1993 "Cuvée Cathleen" and the 1993 Kistler Vineyard in a side-by-side comparison - both were fantastic wines with the edge going to the more opulent and flattering Kistler Vineyard bottling. An eighth Chardonnay from the Hudson Vineyard in Carneros was added in the 1994 vintage, would it be a surprise if we told you that this wine was another home run.
Up until late 1991 Kistler made all their wines at a small, antiquated winery located next to the Kistler Vineyard on Sonoma Mountain. However, Kistler purchased a new twenty-acre vineyard site on Vine Hill Road a few miles west of Santa Rosa. There Kistler built an ultra-modern winery to handle all their grape sources. The adjacent new vineyard (referred to as the Vine Hill Road Vineyard) was planted in 1988 and first bore fruit in time for the 1990 vintage; the new winery was fully ready to receive the fruit beginning in the '92 harvest. This is a facility that was designed by a winemaker especially for his wines (not for tourists!), with many unique features that appear to have taken Kistler to an even higher level of quality.
Kistler also produces a small amount of Pinot Noir from the Vine Hill site, which supplements the Pinot Noir it now produces from the Dutton Ranch. Kistler has discontinued the Cabernet it once produced and has replanted the Kistler Vineyard with pinot noir. There is also a Pinot Noir from the aforementioned Camp Meeting Ridge Vineyard. The eventual plan is to offer as many different Pinot Noirs as Chardonnays.
Kistler blends fruit from all of its vineyard sources to produce a Sonoma Coast bottling. The Kistler Sonoma Coast is the least expensive Kistler Chardonnay and is made in the greatest quantities (almost 7,000 cases). Essentially it's "leftovers"...of the sort we will be glad to drink anytime! The fantastic 1994 Sonoma Coast bottling was our pick for "Best Chardonnay of 1995" in The Wine News. The 1995 Sonoma Coast bottling was even better than the 1994 - the price also began to approach the single vineyard bottlings. 1996, amazingly, produced another excellent wine, released a little too late to be a candidate for the “Best of” awards. Kistler has become a perennial overachiever when it comes to Chardonnay. It would appear that Kistler is selecting much more carefully for this wine, and it is reflected in the price and the incredible quality. Kistler introduced two new bottlings to their line-up with the 1998 vintage, the Carneros appellation bottling and the Les Noisetier. The Carneros bottling is the lightest and most elegant in the line, almost untypical for Kistler to produce an elegant and lighter styled wine, however there is still evidence of Kistler’s hallmark style, over-the-top toasty, rich, ultra-ripe. In addition to the Carneros Kistler is also bottling a wine called Les Noisetier, this is a blend of Dutton, Durell and a bit of Sonoma coast.
The Sonoma Mountain bottling is just a shade lighter in depth and richness from the single vineyard bottling. Kistler’s wines are produced solely by native yeasts. Their barrels are crafted from French oak that is aged to our specifications and specifically tailored to our program. All of Kistler’s wines are bottled unfiltered and unfined.
Kistler Chardonnay is barrel fermented in Kistler’s subterranean, gravel floor barrel rooms, and is aged sur lie in those same barrels, remaining for eleven to eighteen months until bottling.
All the Kistler and Occidental in the store on SALE!!!
2023 KISTLER CHARDONNAY SONOMA MOUNTAIN
Price: $85.50 Your Price: $75.24
2023 Kistler Les Noisetiers Chardonnay Sonoma Coast, USA
Price: $81.00 Your Price: $71.28 Quantity in Stock: 3
2020 Kistler Sonoma Mountain Chardonnay Sonoma County
Price: $95.00 Your Price: $83.60 Quantity in Stock: 7
2019 Kistler 'Kistler Vineyard' Chardonnay Sonoma Valley
Price: $206.00 Sale Price: $175.00 Quantity in Stock: 1
2019 Kistler Hyde Vineyard Chardonnay Carneros
Price: $195.00 Sale Price: $165.00 Quantity in Stock: 3
2019 Kistler Hudson Vineyard Chardonnay Carneros
Price: $190.00 Sale Price: $159.00 Quantity in Stock: 5
2019 Kistler Durell Vineyard Chardonnay Sonoma Valley
Price: $190.00 Sale Price: $159.00 Quantity in Stock: 3
2019 Kistler McCrea Vineyard Chardonnay Sonoma Mountain
Price: $195.00 Sale Price: $165.00 Quantity in Stock: 9
2019 Kistler Trenton Roadhouse Vineyard Chardonnay Russian River Valley
Price: $195.00 Sale Price: $165.00 Quantity in Stock: 5
2019 Kistler Stone Flat Vineyard Parmelee Hill Chardonnay Sonoma Coast
Price: $185.00 Sale Price: $155.00 Quantity in Stock: 6
2019 Kistler Vine Hill Vineyard Chardonnay Russian River Valley
Price: $195.00 Sale Price: $165.00 Quantity in Stock: 4
2018 Kistler Hyde Vineyard Chardonnay Carneros
Price: $175.00 Sale Price: $145.00 Quantity in Stock: 1
2018 Kistler McCrea Vineyard Chardonnay Sonoma Mountain 375ml
Price: $99.00 Sale Price: $84.00 Quantity in Stock: 5
2018 Kistler Vine Hill Vineyard Chardonnay Russian River Valley
Price: $195.00 Sale Price: $165.00 Quantity in Stock: 5
2018 Kistler Laguna Ridge Vineyard Chardonnay Russian River Valley MAGNUM
Price: $450.00 Sale Price: $345.00 Quantity in Stock: 1
2018 Kistler Trenton Roadhouse Vineyard Chardonnay Russian River Valley
Price: $175.00 Sale Price: $145.00 Quantity in Stock: 7
2017 Kistler McCrea Vineyard Chardonnay Sonoma Mountain
Price: $159.00 Sale Price: $129.00 Quantity in Stock: 6
2015 Kistler Chardonnay McCrea Vineyard Sonoma Mountain
Price: $154.00 Sale Price: $124.00 Quantity in Stock: 1
2014 Kistler Hudson Vineyard Chardonnay Carneros
Price: $149.00 Sale Price: $119.00 Quantity in Stock: 1
2014 Kistler Chardonnay Vine Hill Russian River
Price: $149.00 Sale Price: $119.00 Quantity in Stock: 1
2014 Kistler Stone Flat Vineyard Parmelee Hill Chardonnay Sonoma Coast
Price: $120.00 Your Price: $105.60 Quantity in Stock: 8
2011 Kistler Trenton Roadhouse Vineyard Chardonnay Russian River Valley
Price: $149.00 Sale Price: $119.00 Quantity in Stock: 2
2011 Kistler McCrea Vineyard Chardonnay Sonoma Mountain
Price: $149.00 Sale Price: $119.00 Quantity in Stock: 2
2011 Kistler Hyde Vineyard Chardonnay Carneros
Price: $149.00 Sale Price: $119.00 Quantity in Stock: 1
2010 Kistler Vine Hill Vineyard Chardonnay Russian River Valley
Price: $149.00 Sale Price: $119.00 Quantity in Stock: 1
2023 KISTLER PINOT NOIR RUSSIAN RIVER VALLEY
Price: $87.00 Your Price: $76.56 Quantity in Stock: 12
2022 Kistler Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast
Price: $81.00 Your Price: $71.28
2021 Kistler Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast
Price: $69.50 Your Price: $61.16 Quantity in Stock: 1
2019 Kistler Russian River Valley Pinot Noir
Price: $99.00 Sale Price: $79.00 Quantity in Stock: 3
2018 Kistler Laguna Ridge Vineyard Pinot Noir Russian River Valley
Price: $169.00 Sale Price: $139.00 Quantity in Stock: 1
2018 Kistler 'Cuvee Natalie' Silver Belt Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast
Price: $174.00 Sale Price: $144.00 Quantity in Stock: 3
2017 Kistler Laguna Ridge Vineyard Pinot Noir Russian River Valley
Price: $159.00 Sale Price: $129.00 Quantity in Stock: 5
2017 Kistler 'Cuvee Natalie' Silver Belt Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast
Price: $174.00 Sale Price: $144.00 Quantity in Stock: 8
2016 Kistler 'Cuvee Natalie' Silver Belt Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast
Price: $185.00 Sale Price: $155.00 Quantity in Stock: 1
2015 Kistler 'Cuvee Natalie' Silver Belt Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast
Price: $205.00 Sale Price: $175.00 Quantity in Stock: 1
2015 Kistler Laguna Ridge Vineyard Pinot Noir Russian River Valley
Price: $185.00 Sale Price: $155.00 Quantity in Stock: 1
2013 Kistler 'Cuvee Natalie' Silver Belt Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast
Price: $185.00 Sale Price: $155.00 Quantity in Stock: 1
2012 Kistler Pinot Noir Kistler Vineyard Russian River Valley
Price: $215.00 Sale Price: $165.00 Quantity in Stock: 1
2006 Kistler Pinot Noir Cuvee Natalie Silver Belt Vineyard Sonoma Coast
Price: $165.00 Your Price: $145.20 Quantity in Stock: 1
2017 Occidental-Kistler Vineyards 'SWK Vineyard' Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast
Price: $170.00 Sale Price: $139.00 Quantity in Stock: 3
2017 Occidental-Kistler Vineyards Bodega Headlands Vineyard 'Cuvee Elizabeth' Sonoma Coast
Price: $175.00 Sale Price: $144.00 Quantity in Stock: 9
2017 Occidental-Kistler Vineyards 'Cuvee Catherine' Running Fence Vineyard Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast
Price: $175.00 Sale Price: $144.00 Quantity in Stock: 9
2017 Occidental-Kistler Vineyards 'Occidental Station Vineyard' Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast
Price: $165.00 Sale Price: $134.00 Quantity in Stock: 8
2015 Occidental-Kistler Vineyards 'Cuvee Catherine' Running Fence Vineyard Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast
Price: $215.00 Sale Price: $180.00 Quantity in Stock: 1
2014 Occidental-Kistler Vineyards 'Cuvee Catherine' Running Fence Vineyard Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast
Price: $240.00 Sale Price: $195.00 Quantity in Stock: 3
2014 Occidental-Kistler Vineyards 'SWK Vineyard' Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast
Price: $235.00 Sale Price: $185.00 Quantity in Stock: 2
2013 Occidental-Kistler Vineyards 'SWK Vineyard' Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast
Price: $220.00 Sale Price: $180.00 Quantity in Stock: 2
A bit about Occidental Station Wines:
“I started to develop a passion for the wines from coastal vineyards during my time at Ridge.
During my first harvest in 1975, one of my jobs was to drive the Ridge flatbed truck to a small zinfandel vineyard located on Harrison Grade, just west of Sebastopol, to pick up the bins of zinfandel that had been picked early that morning. Ridge had named this site “Occidental Vineyard” because it was Ridge’s most coastal site. Occidental was arguably Ridge’s most prized zinfandel vineyard and quite distinct from their zinfandels from Geyserville and Lytton Springs, which were grown in warmer conditions farther inland. Working at Ridge for over two years, I developed a distinct preference for the coastal character of the Occidental Vineyard zinfandel when compared to the other zinfandels in the cellar.
In the mid-1970s when I began my career at Ridge, there was very little pinot noir planted along the western reaches of the Sonoma Coast, and in particular on Taylor and Fitzpatrick Lanes. Then in 1992, I tasted a pinot noir that truly caught my attention – a Summa Vineyard pinot noir, from one of the first pinot noir vineyards planted on Taylor Lane. It had vivid aromatics, a bright natural acidity, and a more pronounced “cool climate character” than the Russian River Valley pinot noirs I had been tasting. After tasting this wine, I was more convinced than ever that many of California’s most compelling pinot noirs would come from these maritime sites in the future. And so soon thereafter, I began looking to purchase potential vineyard land on any one of the coastal ridges near Taylor Lane.
Since that time, Occidental has played a leading role in planting new pinot noir vineyards in the Freestone-Occidental area, pushing the boundary westward all the way to the coast. Today there are many small plantings of pinot noir on Taylor and Fitzpatrick Lanes, on the ridges surrounding Freestone Valley, and on the ridge where Occidental planted its pinot noir vineyards and built its winery.” Steve Kistler
Occidental: A Brief History
1993
I began producing a series of pinot noirs from the Flowers vineyards on Camp Meeting Ridge and the Hirsch Vineyard, both in the Ft. Ross-Seaview area. I was eager to compare these two coastal pinot noirs to those I was making at Kistler Vineyards from some of the best sites in the Russian River Valley.
1995
Together with Warren Dutton, I planted a four-acre pinot vineyard on Taylor Lane directly across the street from the Summa Vineyard. I named it “Occidental Vineyard” because it overlooked the Pacific and reminded me of my time at Ridge.
1998
I had the rare opportunity to taste the coastal pinot noirs I was making from the Flowers and Hirsch vineyards alongside the first pinots produced from the Occidental Vineyard on Taylor Lane, as well as the Littorai pinots from the Thierot Vineyard next door. These comparative tastings were invaluable in guiding the direction that Occidental’s future vineyard development would later take.
1999
I purchased the 100-acre Bodega Headlands property. Twenty acres of pinot noir were planted in 2001.
2008
I purchased the 250-acre property next to Bodega Ridge, on the same ridge overlooking the Pacific Ocean.
2011
I founded Occidental, the new Kistler family winery, dedicated to the production of world-class pinot noir from the Freestone-Occidental area.
2012
Beginning this year, we planted 65 additional acres of pinot noir and built a small winery that was completed in time for the 2013 harvest.
Today, Occidental farms 85 acres of pinot noir vineyards in the Freestone-Occidental area. The vineyards are farmed with great skill and commitment by many of the same men and women who have worked alongside me at Kistler Vineyards. The Occidental wines are produced by my original cellar crew, many of whom have worked with me for over thirty years.
For the past sixteen years, my family and I have lived in a home we built in the redwoods at the top of the Bodega Headlands property.
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