Vine Cliff Tasting at Wine Watch with Special Guest Rob Sweeney

Rob Sweeney from Vine Cliff is part of the inner circle here at Wine Watch.  If Vine Cliff makes it and the wine is in stock at the distributor it is here in the store.

We have watched this winery from the beginning and they get better and better every year with the two newest releases being among the best wines that they have produced here at this historic winery site. 

The Sweeney family resurrected this winery which was one of the largest wineries of the 19th century, grapes were grown on this site in Napa back in 1871! 

Rob is usually here for the South Beach Wine Festival but the last few vintages have been very small in terms of size in Napa and Rob lost his whole crop of Chardonnay in 2011, so instead of making a wine from purchased fruit that did not fit the Vine Cliff model of- quality first, they just decided not to make Chardonnay in 2011.  That is commitment to quality that you simply do not find with most producers.

Thank god mother nature usuallty corrects itself the next year and 2012 was not only a very good year in terms of quality it was also quite a large harvest so once again we have Vine Cliff wines to sell again after over a year of almost nothing on the shelf here at Wine Watch from one of our best friends in Napa Valley.

This evening will feature the new releases and some winery exclusives along with an incredible meal from Wine Watch Catering's Toni Lampasone this is one of our "Once in a Lifetime" events with one of the top producers in Napa Valley today.  When you see a Vine Cliff tasting on the calendar- don't wait for the e-mail to promote the evening it will probably sell out a few weeks before the event. 

Vine Cliff Chardonnay Carneros 2010 Price: $43.50    Sale $38.28    Case $444

Los Carneros is one of the most prestigious Chardonnay growing area in California, and this wine demonstrates why. Bright and balanced, it's simply delicious!

For our Los Carneros Chardonnay, we use traditional Burgundian techniques of hand picking and sorting, followed by whole cluster pressing. Fermentation takes place in new and experienced French oak, and small stainless steel barrels. The result is a wine with tropical and stone fruit flavors, complemented by a flinty minerality and bright acidity.

Vine Cliff Cabernet Sauvignon Napa 2008 Price: $66.75    Sale $58.74    Case $681

The Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is our interpretation of a “classic” Napa cab. A combination of fruit from several of our estate vineyards, the 2008 vintage was an excellent one. Well aged and integrated, this wine is balanced and drinking beautifully. Tasting Notes

Aroma: Nuanced aromas of both red and dark fruits, with blueberries and red cherries playing a leading role. Hints of spice, bay leaf and cocoa add layers of complexity and character.

Palate: Entering with bright sweet fruit, the palate is rich, full bodied and powerful. Shades of mocha and molasses from the French oak provide a complexity that lingers through the finish.

Vine Cliff Cabernet Sauvignon Oakville Napa 2010 Price: $87.75    Sale $77.22    Case $896

Our philosophy is that most of our winemaking takes place in the vineyard, and this, our signature cabernet, is the perfect example. Showcasing the best of the Oakville appellation, this signature wine balances fruit and structure, yielding incredible depth and complexity.

More unexpected is the suppleness of the tannins and overall level of approachability. If you’re interested in a complex, focused wine that can be enjoyed while young, yet rewards patience, the Oakville Estate is for you. Tasting Notes

Aroma: Strikingly layered aromas of mocha, cassis, anise, black currants, blueberry and black cherry.

Palate: Flavors of blackberry jam and boysenberry, with silken tannins and an elegant finish.

Menu

Grilled Tomato Steak on a bed of Lemon Arugula & topped with Burratta. Drizzled with Aged Balsamic

Cabernet Braised Short Ribs with Sweet Corn Custard, Grilled Baby Bok Choy.

A bit about Vine Cliff Winery:

It took close to 85 years before Vine Cliff, like the phoenix in its seal, rose from the ashes.  Chuck and Nell Sweeney, along with their son Rob are tireless hosts with an appetite for hard work, long hours, good food and great wine.  Their love of fine wines turned them into zealous collectors, and they became familiar and generous faces at the Napa Valley Wine Auction.  In 1985, the Sweeneys’ hobby turned serious when they bought a rugged, 100-acre parcel in the eastern hills of Napa Valley along the Silverado Trail.  Vine Cliff Winery was borne out of the Sweeneys' love and dedication to the production of fine wines.  The labor of love continues.   The original winery was resurrected in 1990 and 1991 with the construction of barrel chais.  In 1995 the gravity fed production facility was completed and is considered one of the top production facilities in California.   Additional vineyards were purchased in Calistoga, Carneros and Howell Mountain.  Today, Vine Cliff has over 40 acres of estate vineyards.  In 2000, the construction of 15,000 square feet of caves for barrel aging of the red wines was completed.  

The Vine Cliff Estate of today is an exquisite mountainside property located on land which was once part of the original George C. Yount estate. Noteworthy locals George Burrage and Thomas Tucker purchased the site for Vine Cliff Winery from the Yount Estate in 1871 (five years after Yount’s death).  Burrage and Tucker built Vine Cliff into what appears to be the largest winery in the Napa Valley.   After the deaths of Burrage and Tucker, wealthy San Franciscan John Fry bought the property and immediately set out to achieve his vision for the winery, which he did by the 1890’s.  Fry had made a fortune in Nevada silver and invested heavily in San Francisco real estate. He served on the board of directors of a dozen major companies, including the Bank of California and the Napa Valley Wine Company.  A half-dozen wineries were affiliated with the Napa Valley Wine Company, the leaders of which wanted to build name recognition for the company by setting a quality standard with its wines, unmatched in California. In 1886 the company began building a huge wine cellar at Vine Cliff - 60 by 150 feet - which was to be the principal cellar for the allied producers of wine.  Vine Cliff wines were considered the reserve wines of the Napa Valley Wine Company.  

As Vine Cliff Winery prospered, it attracted the social set of San Francisco.  Prominent San Franciscans visiting Vine Cliff included William Ralston, the founder of the Bank of California.  Amazingly, the early history of Vine Cliff is contained within a short thirty years.  Phylloxera destroyed the vineyards and supporting wine production by about 1900.  It would seem that after Fry’s death in 1901, most of the winery structure disappeared in a matter of a few years, with the exception of the stone first floor and tunnels.

The Sweeney Family continues the vision of Vine Cliff founders Burrage and Tucker, and that of Col. Fry - to produce outstanding and distinctive wines and to create a landmark where the incredible beauty of this historic hillside setting is to be enjoyed and where the legacy of Vine Cliff lives on into its third century.  The Oakville Estate vineyard consists of a total of twenty-two acres of vines on the one hundred acre estate. This is also the location of the Winery, Caves and Sweeney family home that is featured on the Vine Cliff wine label.

Situated about three hundred and fifty feet above the Silverado Trail on the East side of the Napa Valley is a plateau called the Oakville Bench. On this portion of the estate is eight acres of Cabernet Sauvignon.  The balance of the estate’s vines are planted on terraces starting just above and East of the Trail, both to the North and South of the main drive. These are also planted to Cabernet Sauvignon. Additionally, between the two lower Cabernet blocks, close to the North side of the drive, two acres of Merlot are planted.

The Oakville Estate vineyard, originally planted in the 1870s, but destroyed by Phylloxera in the 1890’s, was replanted by The Sweeney Family in 1985-1987 with AXR-1 rootstock vines. These unfortunately became infested with Phylloxera, and replanting with certified resistant rootstock began in 1990, at a density of about 1,340 vines per acre, on nine vineyard lots. This replanting enabled the old vines to be replaced with exactly suited varietals, clones, rootstocks, and trellising and irrigation systems.

Vine Cliff has three other vineyards in addition to the Oakville bench property.  The Carneros Vineyard consists of twenty-acres located on Carneros Creek.  It was planted with 13 acres of Chardonnay in May of 1999. It will ultimately have about eighteen acres of the twenty total planted with Chardonnay.  The Calistoga Vineyard is located a few miles south of Calistoga, on the east side of the Silverado Trail, about fifteen miles north of the winery.  It is adjacent to the famous Eisele Vineyard and is planted to five acres of Cabernet Sauvignon and one of Cabernet Franc.  Situated on hilly terrain, some of the vineyard is terraced, while the rest is sloping.  And finally the Howell Mountain Vineyard latest vineyard project is a choice site on the higher elevations of Howell Mountain. During the growing season, this vineyard will often be above the fog that can envelop the valley floor. With its south facing slopes and excellent exposure, this vineyard is perfectly suited to Cabernet Sauvignon and other red Bordeaux varieties. The deep iron-red volcanic soils will allow Vine Cliff to ultimately dry farm the vineyard. Protecting this unique environment will also be a main focus of Rob Sweeney's plans for this vineyard.  Wines from the Howell Mountain Appellation have long been acclaimed as being very powerful and concentrated, and this great region will round out our estate vineyard program.

Since 1990 all of Vine Cliff’s vineyards have been managed according to the principles and practices of Sustainable Viticulture. This has meant that, where possible, no pesticides, herbicides or artificial fertilizer have been used on the vines for almost a decade. Additionally, ten tons of plant materials are returned to the soil as compost annually. The vineyards have native species of grasses planted as ground cover between the rows of vines. These are never plowed under but only cut; allowed to naturally compost and further enrich the soil. The most ecologically complex and diverse biosystem has been established over the years resulting in natural control of plant pests and diseases.