Honig Tasting at Wine Watch

You need not hang up the ivy branch over the wine that will sell.—Publius Syrius (c. 43 BC)
Maxim 968

And you won't be needing the Ivy branch over that Honig, it seems like every time we do a video for Honig we can ‘t find a bottle of wine to use in the shoot as they sell out on a regular basis and once again today we had to make a dummy bottle for our shot as we could not find a bottle in the house! 

We are happy to host the next generation of the Honig family, Stephanie Honig will be here to show us some of this small family owned wineries current releases with a few unique barrel samples and special selection of late harvest wines paired to small courses prepared by Wine Watch Catering’s Toni Lampasone.  The fee for this tasting is $45 + Tax for reservations call 954-523-9463.

 

Honig Tasting at Wine Watch
Wednesday, November 9th
7pm

Tasting Wines:

2010 Honig Sauvignon Blanc Napa Valley
Price: $16.50       Sale $14.52          Case $168

Aromas of orange blossom and grapefruit are accompanied by lemon, melon, peach, and nectarine flavors that are ripe, juicy and refreshing. Medium bodied, with a crisp, refreshing, slightly minerally finish.

2010 Honig Sauvignon Blanc Rutherford Napa Valley
Price: $25.50       Sale $22.44          Case $260

Melon, peach, and orange blossom notes are complemented by citrus, grapefruit rind, key lime and a hint of nutmeg. Fruit forward, with a rich mid-palate accented by toasty oak, and a long, crisp, minerally finish.

2009 Honig Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley
Price: $36.50       Sale $32.12          Case $372

Blackberry, plum and cherry notes are framed with hints of exotic spices, and perfectly balanced by sweet oak. The palate is full and rich, with structured tannins and a long finish.

2006 Honig Cabernet Sauvignon Bartolucci Vineyard
Price: $82.50       Sale $72.60          Case $842

Ripe red fruit, plum and black cherry, spiced by smoked tea, licorice whips, and dried herbs. Richly structured, with an opulent mid- palate and nicely integrated, plush tannins.

2008 Honig Late Harvest Sauvignon Blanc (375ml)
Price: $58.50       Sale $51.48          Case $596.70

A special Treat from Honig's Cellars:

2004 Late Harvest Sauvignon Blanc

2006 Late Harvest Sauvignon Blanc 

Menu

Selection of Cheese:  Epoisses, Beemster Gouda,

Tuna Carpaccio with lavender and fennel aioli

Grilled NY Sirloin with Cabernet and wild berry Natural Sauce served with potato augratin

A bit about Honig Winery:

When you make wine for a living it is supposed to be fun.  You can be serious about what you do and still at the same time be a bit of a “loose cannon”.  We wouldn’t describe the Honig Family as being a “loose cannon”, but let’s just say they follow their own path, to the beat of their own drum.  Anyone that has seen the postcards of the Honigs and their entire staff dressed up in bumblebee outfits buzzing around boasting about the organic nature of their vineyards, or in Gymnastic gear touting the wines excellent balance.  We look forward to see the next adventurous outbreak from the Honigs.

The Honig Winery was conceived by Louis Honig, an advertising genius who loved water skiing and wine. When he wasn't water skiing, Louis was creating classic advertising campaigns for some of the Napa Valley's earliest wineries.  It was while visiting these wineries that he fell in love with the Napa Valley. In 1964, he purchased a 68 acre ranch in Rutherford, hoping one day to retire there and make wine from the vineyard.  In the early days, the grapes he grew were sold to neighboring wineries and used to produce award-winning wines.  But before Louis could realize the dream of producing his own wine, he passed away and his children and grandchildren inherited the estate.  In 1981, the partners, Bill and Nancy Honig and Sue Honig Weinstein and Dan Weinstein, honored him by making 2,000 cases of Louis Honig Sauvignon Blanc in an old tractor barn.  The wine won a gold medal at the Orange County Fair!

In 1984, at the age of 22, Louis' grandson Michael took over management of the vineyard and winery.  One of the testaments of this winery’s character was their determination to become known for the wine that they loved to drink, made from the lowly (priced at least) Sauvignon Blanc varietal.  As the years went on the production grew, their accountants looked at them cross eyed.  They were sitting on this prime piece of Napa Valley dirt growing a varietal that yielded them the lowest possible return on their investment.  Maybe they envied them for having a great time with the land paid for by dear old dad long ago.  The Honigs never needed to work to make the banks happy, but they finally grew to a point in 1989 where they felt like drinking red wine and suddenly changed from growing exclusively Sauvignon Blanc to include a little bit of the local favorite- Cabernet Sauvignon.

Today the winery makes three different Sauvignon Blanc based wines.  The staple of the winery is still the Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc with over 15,000 cases produced annually this is far and above the largest production at the winery.  They also produce a Rutherford bottling of Sauvignon Blanc that contains a bit of Semillon.  To preserve the fruit characteristics of this wine, 79% is fermented at cooler temperatures in stainless steel tanks, then aged for 7 months in neutral oak.  The remainder of the juice is fermented in new French oak barrels, then undergoes malo-lactic fermentation and is aged on the lees for 7 months.  This adds a richly textured background for the bright fruit flavors.  There are only 1,000 cases of the Rutherford Sauvignon Blanc produced every year.  The third white is a dessert style wine that is only made when the weather permits.  The fruit for this wine comes from Block One of their vineyard located next to the Napa River.  This close proximity to the river's moisture aids in the natural occurrence of Botrytis, a critical component to a late harvest wine.

The somewhat recent arrival of Cabernet Sauvignon on the property was hardly an afterthought.  With prime vineyards in the heart of Napa Valley Cabernet country, the writing was on the wall that the Honigs would produce this noble Bordeaux varietal.  The winery produces two Cabernet Sauvignon based wines, the first is produced from 50% estate grown fruit.  The Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is aged for 18 months in American oak barrels 1/3 of which are new.  They also produce a single vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon at Honig.  This wine hails from Bartolucci vineyard on Dean York Lane in St. Helena.  This vineyard is located at the base of Spring Mountain.  It is an old, head-pruned vineyard that has been farmed by the Bartolucci family for three generations.  With its gravelly soil and warmer micro-climate, this vineyard is ideally suited to growing Cabernet Sauvignon.