Beyond the Napa Valley - 5 Bottle Sampling

Explore wines beyond the beautiful Napa Valley. Bring you curiosity -- these selections are sure to delight and intrigue your palette!

Onward Art Label Series - Onward Wines 2022 Rose of Zinfandel, Mendocino

Delicate aromas of white peaches intertwined with wild roses; layers of citrus, red plum and yellow quince flavors; and a refreshing, clean finish, thanks to its vibrant acidity. This wine is brimming with layers of vibrant fruit and minerality, while having silky texture. She is friendly, fun, and easy to be around!

This is a whole cluster press rose, which was gently pressed for about 4 hours of skin contact time and then the juice was cold settled in stainless and fermented in neutral French oak BBL and puncheons.

This label features a painting by Sally White King, visit her website sallywhiteking.com to see more of the works of art that this amazing woman creates.

Name of Winery: Onward

Bottle Size: 750ml

Number of Bottles: One

Varietal: Rose of Zinfandel

Appellation: Mendocino

Onward Wines are single-vineyard, site-driven wines from vineyard sites that are very special to me. I am a true believer in personal connection and there is a story behind each vineyard site and how it came to be part of my portfolio. In these stories, you will learn more about the people behind these vineyards. I liken my connection to these vineyards to that of one’s favorite shirt or coffee mug or chair. Like a well-worn fabric or a slightly chipped mug that may have initially caught my eye for its beauty, but over the years has won my heart because it just feels right. When it comes to vineyards this happens too, because of a combination of my connection with the vines themselves and my connection with those that tend them. For me, the grower's hands are most definitely part of the terroir.

Discover more at Onward Wines

Smith Story Wine Cellars - 2021 Lord Sandwich Blanc, North Coast

We teamed up with our friends at Meeker Vineyard in selecting small lot white wine from the 2021 North Coast Harvest. The 2021 Lord Sandwich Blanc is a fantastic blend of Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Verdelho and Grenache Blanc.

Name of Winery: Smith Story Wine Cellars

Bottle Size: 750ml

Number of Bottles: One

Vintage: 2021

Varietal: Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Verdelho, and Grenache Blanc

Appellation: North Coast, California

Smith Story Wine Cellars is the tale of true love. In May of 2013, Eric and Ali eloped on the Big Island of Hawaii to say I Do; also where the name Smith Story Wine Cellars was conceived. Bay Area born Eric and Fort Worth, Texas native Alison met while both working for K&L Wine Merchants in Northern California over a decade ago.

A friendship flourished while discovering wines from far away lands, and visits to the Anderson Valley along with dear friends and their beloved dogs Henley and Lakota. “Drink what you love, love what you drink,”  Eric often said to Alison while trying new wines over the years together. 
 
Today they bring a combined 40+ years of wine industry experience to manage Smith Story Wine Cellars. Eric’s wine buying expertise and retail management lends a keen eye and discerning palate as he became the German, Loire, Alsace, Austrian and Greek wine buyer for K&L. Ali’s hospitality, wine buying, consumer marketing and national sales experience completes the entire wine-supply-chain as she transitioned from her decade old company TexaCali Wine Co. to drive the vision and brand for Smith Story Wine.

Alison Smith, grew up in the DFW Metroplex and Northern California native Eric founded the winery in Sonoma County. Smith Story Wine Cellars is based in Sonoma. In late 2021 they relocated their tasting room from Philo, California (the Anderson Valley) to Healdsburg, California. 

In 2014 they launched "Farmers First" on KICKSTARTER and were fully funded in 30 days. Later that year, along with their dear Goldendoodle, Lord Sandwich, Ali Story founded a non-profit Socks For Sandwich, which donates new socks to the needy.

The birth of Smith Story Wine Cellars can be followed along the way as Eric and Ali write about their start-up experiences in The Chapters.

Smith Story Wine Cellars

Trapi del Bueno 2022 'Hand Made' Sauvignon Blanc, Patagonia, Chile

This energizing wine hails from Chile’s northern Patagonia / southern Lake District and is a mineral-driven, zippy Sauvignon Blanc that blasts citrus like grapefruit, passion fruit, guava contrasted by a dry, saline nature that makes it lip-smacking delicious. Wonderful with seafood, as an aperitivo, with ceviche, or with a chevre goat cheese tart and tomato salad.

The original plantings, dating back to the early 1990’s, sit in gravelly soils studded with obsidian stones brought across the valley from Glass Mountain by the Native Americans that once camped along the creek. This vineyard is farmed “beyond organic” by Jim Gamble to cordon trained vines, low to the ground, which undulate along the alluvial fan allowing for wines of deep color. A cool evening breeze brought over the mountains from the Pacific Ocean assists in balancing the vineyard’s depth with a natural freshness, complementing the aromatically unique fruit from this well-draining site.

Name of Winery: Trapi del Bueno

Bottle Size: 750mL

Number of Bottles: One

Varietal: Sauvignon Blanc

Appellation: Patagonia, Chile

Trapi del Bueno winery and vineyard is the passion project of two life-long friends, winemaker Rodrigo Romero and agronomist Luis Moller. With a small production and 14 hectares of vines planted in the coastal hills of Osorno, this is true cool climate Chile.

Directly imported by Liz Caskey Culinary & Wine Experiences

Gundlach Bundschu 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon, Sonoma Valley

Bottle Size:  750ml

Number of Bottles: One 

Varietal: Cabernet Sauvignon

Appellation: Sonoma Valley

Vultur 2019 Gryphus Blend, Colchagua Valley, Chile

Elegant and complex wine of limited production. Predominantly Carmenere, with final blend percentages based on qualities of the year's vintage. Petit verdot enhances Carmenere's elegance and Petite sirah adds structure, color and aging potential. Gryphus has an intense ruby red color, showcasing the typical spicy touch of Carmenere, with cassis and licorice aromas. On the palate it's a structured and elegant wine, with lovely soft, rounded tannins and a complex finish.

Name of Winery: Vultur

Bottle Size: 750mL

Number of Bottles: One

Varietal: Carmenere, Petit Verdot, and Petite Sirah

Appellation: Colchagua Valley, Chile

VULTUR: HANDCRAFTED AND FAMILY-MADE WINES We are a family vineyard that elaborates wines on a human scale, amall productions with minimal intervention. In each of our bottles, we aim to express the unique characteristics of the grape and showcase the contribution of the terroir from which they originate. Our conviction is to execute a graceful and caraful winemaking process that exposes the qualities and natural details of the grape, revealing  the first class, premium quality of our wines.

Learn more at Vultur Wines

Directly imported by Liz Caskey Culinary & Wine Experiences