The George American Tavern, Naperville

Casual Dining at The George American Tavern, Naperville 

Downtown Naperville for a business meeting and shopping, we had an impromptu late lunch at the new, recently opened “George American Tavern” and adjoining Pontiac Lounge. Stop in for a trendy lunch, casual dinner, or late evening snack, and drinks, in a comfortable, cozy, stylish setting. 

The George is the rebirth and renovation of long time eateries at this landmark (pun intended) location, dating back decades - the Landmark, then Jimmy’s Grill that occupied the space for 24 years, then Bev’s, from 2022 thru late 2024.

The property, in the heart of downtown Naperville, was acquired by the Empire Restaurant Group, operators of Empire Burger & Brew, the Northcott and Hizemans. It is a project of Will Cullen and partner Dave Miller, operator of the Elements event space in the nearby Hotel Indigo, and Chef by Request, a special event catering company. 

The George is named for several historic Napervillians including local landmark names, early settler and first pre-emption house hotel/tavern owner, George Laird, (19th century Circuit Court Judge George) Knoch (Park), early settler (George) Martin (Avenue), and in recent times, the gregarious popular long-time native, former policeman turned Mayor George Pradel.

The decorating is stylish, clubby, warm, cozy and comfortable, akin a polo/country club lounge, bar and dining room. 

The dining room was decked out in festive holiday decor.

We sat adjacent the cozy fireplace in the adjacent Pontiac Lounge. 

One of the Georges, the late, former Naperville Mayor George Pradel, is memorialized in a couple of namesake entrees, and is pictured amongst the many stylish, whimsical, comical and historic prints and photographs that adorn the walls. 

The all-day menu is club oriented, upscale ‘tavern’ food, small bites, starters, and a focused set of special entrees such as Short-rib Stroganoff, served with pappardelle noodles, cremini mushrooms, in a mushroom-ricotta sauce, Fish & Chips, Smash Burgers, Sliders, and Bourbon-Maple Salmon with crispy onion straws, french haricot verts and whipped potatos.

There is a craft cocktail list, and a small but carefully and thoughtfully crafted wine cellar/list featuring a few selections by the glass, and a bottle selection of mostly premium and ultra-premium California labels from popular producers such as Cade, Darioush, Lewis, Plumpjack and Shrader.

Linda had the Sliders with a craft cocktail and I ordered the Salmon with a California Chardonnay BTG (By-the-Glass). 

Davis Bynum River West, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley, Chardonnay 2022

Davis Bynum was a pioneer and champion of the Russian River Valley producing award-winning Chardonnay and Pinot Noir for over fifty years.The Davis Bynum Winery initially began in 1951 when Davis Bynum, a young journalist with the San Francisco Chronicle, bought 50 pounds of grapes from Robert Mondavi and made 3 1/2 gallons of Petite Sirah.

In 1971, Davis acquired vineyard land near St. Helena in Napa Valley. Unable to develop the property due to the anti-growth moratorium on new winery construction by the Napa county planning commission, the Bynum Family purchased the 83-acre River Bend Ranch in the Russian River Valley in Sonoma County where they established a winery and permanent home.

The Bynum estate and River West Vineyard. is located on Westside Road on a low riverside bench in the far northern end of the valley. 

Initially they combined grapes from Napa with local Russian River Valley fruit, until they sold the Napa property in 1976. Their first Pinot Noir, the 1973 Davis Bynum Pinot Noir was sourced from the Rochioli Vineyard and was the first Pinot to carry a Russian River designation.

Today, Davis Bynum Winery produces about 15,000 cases of wine annually under the Davis Bynum label. While Davis oversees the vineyards and business, winemaking in managed by winemaker/producer Gary Farrell and Bynum winemaker is Greg Morthole. Bynum’s son, Hampton, manages daily operations, sales, and assists with winemaking and production.

Davis Bynum crafts wines that showcase the estate with its Yolo sandy-silt loam soil with a pocket of gravelly Cortina soil in one block, and near coastal moderated climate cool foggy climate.

This is the entry level, basic Chardonnay, part of the broader Bynum portfolio of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir labels. It offers good QPR (quality price ratio) for every day casual sipping and enjoyment, ideal for a WBTG (wine-by-the-glass) selection. 

It was rated 90 points by Wine Spectator

Winemaker’s tasting notes - Aromas of lemon curd, apple pie and graham cracker, along with flavors of baked golden apple, pie crust and a sweet floral undertone. French and Eastern European barrel aging brings a measure of dusty oak tones and notes of butterscotch, tempered by a balanced acidity. 

Light straw colored, light medium bodied, crisp, nicely balanced, zesty green apple, pear, citrus and notes of pineapple with floral, vanilla, stone fruit, toasted almond and mineral notes on a bright lingering finish.

RM 89 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/w?4865246

https://www.davisbynum.com/

https://www.georgenaperville.com/

Beau Vigne “Persuasion” Chardonnay with Chicken Ciaccatore

Beau Vigne “Persuasion” Chardonnay with Chicken Ciaccatore 

We just received our club shipment of “Persuasion” Chardonnay from Napa Valley producer Beau Vigne. Eager to try this new label, Linda prepared Chicken Ciaccatore for dinner for a food wine pairing. 

This proved to be a good pairing of the bold expressive Chardonnay with the Herbes de Provence, oregano and rosemary spices with tomatoes, mushrooms and wild rice of the chicken dish. 

We have featured in these pages several Beau Vigne big reds from this emerging, interesting Napa producer, who produces a wide portfolio of wines from estate and contract growers, and purchased lot sources. This is our first introduction to a white, in this just released Napa Valley Chardonnay. 

I wrote about and featured this producer in earlier blogposts, such as this one, Beau Vigne Napa Valley Red Blend 2013, excerpted here:

If the pedigree of the winemaker says anything, then Beau Vigne is in a distinguished class with 100-point winemaker Julien Fayard (Lafite Rothschild, Smith Haut Lafitte, Melka, Quintessa, Realm, Covert Estate), and where Dave Phinney was the founding winemaker! Note also, the collaboration with Philippe Melka, and contribution of another of our fav’s, winemaker Kirk Venge. 

I featured Beau Vigne in detail in a more extensive blogpost last summer - Beau Vigne Napa Valley Proprietary Red, and several other blogposts such as the one’s below.

The producer writes - “Our Napa Valley winery is devoted exclusively to making influential luxury Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Sauvignon Blends. Taking inspiration from our founding winemaker Dave Phinney who sought out to make red wines that would compete with the greatest wines of the world. This tradition was enhanced by the addition of winemaker Kirk Venge in 2008 through 2018/19 who obtained a perfect 100 Points from Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate. Present-day winemaking is now in the hands of Julien Fayard who hails from the legendary first growth Château Lafite-Rothschild and Atelier Melka before becoming the brilliant up and coming new winemaker in Napa Valley.”

Beau Vigne was taken over by Charles Bartlett when he purchased the brand in 2019 with the intent to carry on the dream created by Ed and Trish Snider, whom he has known for many years. Charles has worked in Napa since the late 1970s and has built a successful wine trading company, working with many of the top names in the mountain AVAs. 

Bartlett hired Julien Fayard to establish and oversee modern practices in the vineyard and in the cellar. The release of beau Vigne CULT Cabernet Sauvignon, beacme one of Napa Valley’s most acclaimed labels with year-over-year 93 to 98 points from critics. Beau Vigne continues the tradition of hand-harvested grapes planted and grown on Atlas Peak, the Pritchard Hill region and other viticultural areas of Napa Valley including Howell Mountain, Oakville and Rutherford.

We featured other tastings from the Beau Vigne portfolio in these other earlier blogposts:  

https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2022/10/beau-vigne-reserve-proprietary-red-wine.html

https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2022/10/beau-vigne-proprietary-red-byob-at.html

This producer first caught my attention when buddy Bob brought it to our Pour Boys OTBN - "Open-That-Bottle-Night" 2022 in Charleston and I pegged it as WOTN - Wine of the Night, my personal favorite. Bob picked up the bottle at his local Total Wine beverage superstore in Boca Raton Town Center. I saw the label when there and also at the new Total Wine in Indy. 

Beau Vigne (pronounced bo-veenya), was founded by Ed and Trish Snider with their first vintage release in 2002. Translated from French it means beautiful vineyard in French.

Ed’s family had a long history in Napa Valley dating back to his Swiss Italian grandfather Martin Garzoli who arrived in Napa in 1913. He grew up on a ranch in Carneros and worked on farms in Napa and Sonoma. Martin made his own wines at home in the evenings. His son John Garzoli played for the San Francisco 49ers in 1955 and went on to coach football at St. Helena High School in the center of Napa Valley where children of many vintners attended school. A number of Ed’s former students are now in the wine industry.

In 2018, they sold Beau Vigne to Don Dady and Jason Kyle from Arizona. Jason was a former NFL football player, a long snapper for five different teams including the San Francisco 49ers. In addition to his wine interests, Jason is co-owner of Press Coffee Roasters with locations in Arizona.  Partner Dady is co-founder of Annexus, a financial company in Scottsdale and also owns Seven Apart Winery in Napa Valley just north of the city of Napa. 

Beau Vigne sourced fruit for their estate wines from their 10 acre Stags Ridge Vineyard at the top of Soda Canyon Road on the slopes of Atlas Peak at about 1650 feet elevation. The site was planted to 8 acres of Cabernet Sauvignon and an acre each of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Ed sold the vineyard and it is now a part of Seven Apart Winery’s estate. Beau Vigne continues to source grapes from there and other premium vineyards in Napa Valley. 

Since 2019, Beau Vigne has partnered with Appellation Trading Company to distribute Beau Vigne as part of their portfolio of brands. 

Over the years, Beau Vigne has been crafted by several highly regarded Napa Valley winemakers. Their founding winemaker was Dave Phinney who went on to develop several successful brands, most notably, Orin Swift Cellars and the Prisoner portfolio of wines. One of our favorite winemakers, Kirk Venge of Venge Vineyards has also crafted Beau Vigne wines. Today the winemaker is Julien Fayard.

Originally from France, Julien began his career as a winemaker producing quality rosé at his family’s winery in Provence. He worked at legendary Chateaux Lafite Rothschild and Smith Haut Laffite in Bordeaux before relocating to Napa Valley where he was Philippe Melka’s director of winemaking for a few years before setting out on his own.

Julien earned his Master in Agri-Business from ESA France and his Master in Winemaking from Toulouse France. In 2011, he received his MBA from UC Davis. 
Recently, Beau Vigne became part of a select collection of vintners represented at Vintner’s Collective, the city of Napa’s oldest collective tasting room. They showcase wines from an elite group of premier Napa Valley producers who do not have their own tasting rooms. Select bottlings and vintages of Beau Vigne are available for tasting and purchase there. 

Beau Vigne bottles wines under three different brands; the Legacy Series, the Signature Series and the Discovery Series. This new release is from their “new expressions”  Discovery Series. 

Winemaker’s Notes - “Beautiful aromas of golden apple, with hints of lemon and a touch of jasmine. As the wine opens up it shows great characteristics of toasted brioche that will linger. The wine is vibrant with a lot of tropical aromas and a bright acidity.” 

This was golden straw colored, medium bodied, bright expressive and bold flavors of apple and tropical fruits with unique accents of what the producer describes as jasmine and toasted brioche, with bright acidity on the crisp finish. 

This unique flavor profile is an ‘acquired taste’, different from a traditional Chardonnay, but a nice fitting complement to the moderate herbal spices and mushrooms of the dish entree shown above.

RM 91 

https://www.cellartracker.com/w?5556506

https://www.beauvigne.com/

Jayson Napa Valley Chardonnay BYOB at Captain Dave’s Destin

Jayson Napa Valley Chardonnay BYOB at Captain Dave’s Destin 

With visiting friends Eric, Cathy, Pat & Rodger, we dined at Captain Dave’s On The Gulf Seafood Restaurant in Destin, FL., a short walk from The Cove, our Destin vacation rental. 

Captain Dave’s On The Gulf is the oldest seafood restaurant in Destin, family owned and operated since 1968. It offers beach front views from the spacious high ceiling dining room overlooking the gulf. 

They feature the usual appetizers, soups, salads and sides. Their speciality is American seafood cuisine infused with a ‘contemporary Gulf Coast twist’. - the local fresh catch seafood dishes - Flounder, Grouper, Mahi Mahi, Snapper and Refish as well as shrimp, lobster and salmon as well as steaks and chicken dishes. 

“Captain Dave’s Faves” signature dishes are artfully prepared with imaginative preparations featuring their signature homemade sauces such as their Parmesan Italian Cream Sauce. Our veteran server provided prompt attentive gracious and friendly service. 

I enjoyed their Mahi Mahi with Parmesan Cream sauce last month and was eager to have it again, and, based on my raving about the entree, several of us ordered it as well. Everyone loved it, although, beware, the Parmesan crème sauce is rich and filling. 

I took from our cellar, BYOB, this Carneros Chardonnay for pairing with the fresh seafood dinners. With two attorneys at the table, it was whimsical and fitting that I selected a wine from an attorney turned wine producer. 

I wrote about this producer and label in detail in a blogpost back in 2023, Pahlmeyer Jayson Napa Chardonnay with Grilled Salmon, excerpted here:

We have several bottles in this collection so I pulled this, the oldest vintage to consume as part of cellar management..  

Jayson Pahlmeyer was a successful trial attorney who started becoming hooked by the wine industry and slowly phased out his law practice in pursuit of developing his own wines. He partnered with John Caldwell, owner of a 55-acre site in south-east Napa Valley. Together, they began planting French clones of red Bordeaux varieties.

“All I wanted to do was to create my own ‘California Mouton’ – a rich, powerful Napa Valley Bordeaux blend, a wine that would drop wine lovers to their knees,” says Jayson Pahlmeyer.

He made several trips to France to find some of the highest quality Bordeaux varietal clones, seeking assistance over several years from viti-cultural professors at the University of Bordeaux who analyzed the soil samples, exposure, rainfall and temperature data from Napa. 

Jayson and his partner were able to acquire Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and Malbec vines and managed to smuggle their “suitcase clones” through Canada and then took them back to California where he planted his own vineyard.

“My closest advisors, Helen Turley and John Wetlaufer told me ‘If you want to be a first-growth, you have to have your own vineyards,’” says Jayson Pahlmeyer. “I found this property in the eastern hills of Napa Valley that was owned by the Waters family - an incredible parcel with views to the Golden Gate Bridge and San Francisco skyline. John did the soil analysis, David Abreu studied the terrain, and speaking for all of them, Helen proclaimed it ‘paradisal’. It was rocky, desolate, low vigor, with good drainage. Perfect for growing Bordeaux varieties.

“I hired David Abreu to develop it, and Helen and Erin Green, Helen’s protégé and our longtime winemaker, selected the clones, which included those smuggled from Bordeaux that I had been using since my 1986 vintage.”

Planted in 1981, the French cuttings slowly adjusted. Pahlmeyer Wine released their first vintage in 1986 with the help of Randy Dunn, one of California’s foremost winemakers, the Pahlmeyer Proprietary Red was made and launched.

Helen Turley took over winemaking in 1993 and further improved the quality and consistency of Pahlmeyer wines. They started producing wine at the Napa Wine Co in 1994 soon after Napa Wine Co underwent a huge renovation to accommodate production from wineries who do not actually have their own physical winery at the time. 

Jayson’s daughter Cleo joined the team in 2008.

Today, the winemaker is Bibiana Gonzalez Rave. She received her oenology degree from the University of Bordeaux and has worked at estates in Bordeaux, the Rhone Valley, Santa Barbara County, Sonoma Valley and other locations in addition to Napa Valley. She was named Winemaker of the Year for 2015 by the San Francisco Chronicle.

Jason Pahlmeyer understood that making wines with exceptional concentration, complexity, and ageability required venturing to extremes. That’s what drew him to the rugged parcel of vines on the ridgeline of Atlas Peak that would become his iconic estate vineyard. 

 

The Pahlmeyer estate vineyards include Water’s Ranch, Stagecoach, and Antica parcels, that all sit above 1,400 feet elevation where they benefit from three more hours of sunshine per day compared to lower altitudes that are often cloaked in morning fog. This additional sunlight ensures the berries achieve a deep, rich color and complex flavor compounds. 

 

Location, map and technical information for Pahlmeyer Estate Vineyard.

We love Pahlmeyer wines and have served special large format bottles of our son's birthyear vintage bottles at his wedding celebration and birthday dinners as posted in these pages -  

Pahlmeyer Caldwell Vineyard Napa Valley Red Blend 1990, and,

Wedding Wines - Birthyear and Big Bottle Extravaganza Continues.

Pahlmeyer "Jayson" Napa Valley Chardonnay 2017

Over the years, the portfolio grew to also include the "Jayson" brand that includes several reds, and a Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc wines that sourced from lower elevation vineyard sites including some on the valley floor and in the Carneros region at the lower end of Napa Valley near San Pablo Bay. 

With daytime temperatures averaging 5-10 F cooler, our mountain vines respire less acidity to produce energy; the acidity retained in the grapes results in greater freshness and balance in the wines. Cooler temperatures also prolong the growing season, allowing the clusters to hang longer on the vine and achieve optimal flavor development. The Pahlmeyer Rancho Chimiles parcel, while slightly lower in elevation, sits close to the San Pablo Bay and enjoys cooling afternoon breezes that moderate temperature.

Tonight this big bold rich Jayson Chardonnay was ideal with our grilled mahi mahi and grouper dinners. 

Ironically, the week of that earlier blogpost, Pahlmeyer Twitter ('X') site features their Chardonnay harvest. 

 

This wine is a marriage of three distinctive Napa Valley regions: bright, elegant Carneros hillside; and rich, ripe St. Helena valley floor; with intense mountain fruit at its core. 

This was vinted by Winemaker Bibiana González Rave and blended by Jennifer Williams

Winemaker Notes - “This wine has brilliant golden straw color and aromas of warm spice, tangerine, and sweet orange; intriguing tropical floral notes carry over onto the palate. Flavors of ripe pear, apricot, and mango peel are accented by warm spice and rich caramel, for a wine that is both weighty and fresh.’

“The grapes were hand-sorted and gently whole-cluster pressed. After settling overnight, the juice was fermented in barrel, including 100% malolactic fermentation. The wine was aged in 35% new French oak barrels for eleven months.”

At eight years of age, the fill level, label, foil and most importantly the cork were all ideal. This was likely at the end of its prime drinking window, not likely to improve, but rather likely to start to diminish going forward, so it was time to drink. 

 

Similar to earlier tasting notes for this label, this was deep golden colored, medium full bodied, rich full bold apple and tropical and stone fruit flavors with hints of pineapple with a rich layer of vanilla and caramel/butterscotch with accents of oak, grapefruit and minerality on a roasted nut finish acidic finish. 

 

RM 91 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=3105647

https://www.pahlmeyer.com/vintage/2017-jayson-chardonnay/

https://www.pahlmeyer.com/

https://twitter.com/Pahlmeyer

https://www.captdavesonthegulf.com/

Drouhin Chardonnay and Artisan Cheeses …

Drouhin Chardonnay and Artisan Cheeses … 

Watching ‘The Voice, Blind Auditions’ has become one of our enjoyable pursuits spending time together. We pulled out remains of the artisan cheeses we opened the other evening to enjoy. We featured that tasting in this blogpost - Pour Boys tasting red wines with blue cheese assortment.

Linda prepared some Brioche toast points with Shiraz Blackberry preserve/jam and olive oil with shaved parmigiana, and havarti cheese, along with a selection of crackers. 

I pulled from the cellar a rich round Oregon Chardonnay to enjoy for the occasion as wine pairing accompaniment. 

Drouhin Rose Rock Vineyard, Eola-Amity Hills Oreon Chardonnay 2022 

This is the American venture of legendary Burgundian producer Maison Joseph Drouhin, whose family have amassed and operated over 250 acres of some of the most prestigious ‘climats’ of Burgundy since 1880, combining the roles of négociant, producer, and above all, owner.

In 1921, Maurice Drouhin purchased his first plot in the terroir known as "Clos des Mouches," located at the southernmost tip of the Beaune appellation area, halfway between Corton-Charlemagne and Montrachet. 

Joseph Drouhin took over a long-established business in the historic heart of Beaune in 1918 at the age of 22 and progressed developing and expanding the estate with the ‘finest terroir’ in the region over the following forty years. 

In the 1950s, Joseph’s son Robert Drouhin studied Law in Paris and then pursued Literature in Heidelberg. He returned to Beaune to succeed Maurice, who was unwell, and became the president of Maison Joseph Drouhin at in 1957, at the young age of 24. Following in his father's footsteps, Robert Drouhin took over and continued to expand the family Domaine acquiring numerous Premier and Grand Crus Chablis vineyards, particularly in the Côte de Nuits. 

In the late 1960s, he expanded Drouhin’s presence there, acquiring nearly over 100 acres in the historic heart of the appellation including the XVIII-century Moulin de Vaudon. He established the House's oenology laboratory with one of Burgundy's first woman oenologists, Laurence Jobard. 

With 250 acres, Domaine Joseph Drouhin is currently one of the largest estates in the entire Burgundy wine region with estates spread across Chablis, Côte de Nuits, Côte de Beaune, Côte Chalonnaise, and Mâconnais. The estate comprises mainly Grand Crus and Premier Crus, planted with the two iconic Burgundian grape varieties: Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.

In 1987, Robert establish Domaine Drouhin in the Willamette Valley of Oregon with his daughter Véronique. In 1988, fourth generation Philippe Drouhin, the eldest son of Robert, took over leadership of the Drouhin estate. 

Today, three generations continue the legacy of Maison Joseph Drouhin, led by the four great-grandchildren of Joseph Drouhin. Philippe, Véronique, Laurent, and Frédéric, each holding key positions in the operations. Having grown in the vineyards alongside their father, they hold deep understanding of wine. The fifth generation is also beginning to emerge, with Laurène, the eldest daughter of Véronique, joined the House in 2020.

Through judicious acquisitions and family agreements, Domaine Drouhin produce a portfolio of Oregon Chardonnay and Pinot Noir; Domaine Drouhin Oregon Arthur Chardonnay, and this Drouhin Oregon Roserock Chardonnay Eola-Amity Hills.

Their Pinot Noirs include Domaine Drouhin Oregon Pinot Noir Dundee Hills, Domaine Drouhin Oregon Pinot Noir Laurène, Drouhin Oregon RoseRock Pinot Noir Eola-Amity Hills, and Drouhin Oregon Roserock Pinot Noir Zéphirine.

In 2003, Drouhin purchased the Rose Rock Vineyard at the southern part of the Eola-Amity Hills AVA, in the southern Willamette Valley of Oregon. The soils are volcanic, ancient, with an elevation between 120 and 260 meters above sea level. The ideal terroir benefits from a rather unique cooling effect called the Van Duzer corridor and which makes it possible to produce classic Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, typical of cool climates. 

Drouhin Rose Rock Eola-Amity Hills Chardonnay 2022

This single vineyard designated label is from three select blocks of the Drouhin estate Rose Rock Vineyard.

Tasting Notes by winemaker Véronique Boss-Drouhin - “Nice bouquet with intense floral notes and a discreet touch of hazelnuts. Nice dynamics in the mouth. A wine that has a generous breadth and an attractive finish.“

This label release was awarded 94 points by James Suckling, 93 points by Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate, Wine Spectator and Wine Enthusiast and 92 points by Vinous. 

Pale golden straw colored, light to medium bodied, rich, round, vibrant savory notes of Asian pear, green apples, spiced cinnamon, nut and hints of quince, ginger and rosemary spice on a bright expressive acidic finish. 

RM 92 points

https://www.cellartracker.com/w?4815383

https://www.drouhin.com/en_US/wine/drouhin-oregon-roserock-chardonnay-eola-amity-hills/2022

Pour Boys Wine Weekend Kick-off Dinner

Pour Boys Wine Weekend Kick-off Dinner at Entourage DG

In town for our Pour Boys Wine Group Fall Winers & Diners Gala dinner, Bill and Beth C came in from Charleston and stayed with us. 

We kicked off the weekend taking them to our latest favorite restaurant, Entourage DG for Friday afternoon dinner. 

On a beautiful exceptionally warm autumn afternoon, we dined 'al fresco‘, outside on the bustling sidewalk, across the street from and overlooking the train station amidst the high energy continuous commuters off the express trains arriving from downtown (Chicago). 

We had from our usual favorite “Social Hour” special selections, the Focaccia Bread and Deviled Eggs, along with the Spring Rolls. 

For our entrees, we all ordered their delicious Waygu Beef sliders, Filet Medallions with Horseradish Cream, Pickled Onion, Oven Roasted Roma Tomato and Arugula on a Mini Brioche bun.
.

For a wine accompaniment, we ordered with the starters, from the wine list, the Kokomo Sonoma County Chardonnay. Then, with the beef entrees, I brought BYOB from our home cellar this Napa Cabernet Big Red Blend.

We’ve featured this wine in numerous previous blogposts as excerpted here.

Kokomo “Peter’s Vineyard” Russian River Valley, Sonoma Coast California Chardonnay 2023

This is from family owned and operated Kokomo Winery that was started by Owner and Winemaker Erik Miller in 2004, a fellow Hoosier, who named it after his hometown of Kokomo, Indiana, which is near Linda’s hometown and family farm in North Central Carroll County, Indiana.

The Winery sits on the East side of Dry Creek Valley, twenty miles north of Santa Rosa, off the main route 101, midway between the towns of Healdsburg and Geyserville. The winery and tasting room is located at Timber Crest Farms, sitting amid 120 acres of vineyards, overlooking the valley.

Kokomo produces over a dozen different varietal wines and several single vineyard designated labels which are farmed by his partner in the winery, grower Randy Peters. Kokomo Wines strive to showcase the terroir of the their vineyard sources in the three distinctive appellations of Sonoma County - Russian River, Dry Creek and Alexander Valleys. They also offer some wines sourced from the Sonoma Valley Moon Mountain District.

This Peter’s Vineyard Designated label is 100% Chardonnay sourced from a site in the Russian River Valley, west Sebastopol, next to Luther Burbank's Farm where the soil is rich with Goldridge sandy loam. There the vines are exposed to consistent coastal fog, which calls for extended hang time and more development for the fruit.

I was a bit hesitant to order this bottle, especially to be paired with such a magnificent dinner, since our awareness of Kokomo is more modest entry level wines, less discriminating than the premium and ultra-premium labels we tend to enjoy.

We see their entry level labels widely distributed but have never had any of their more premium labels. Note they show two dozen different offerings on their website. Never-the-less I gave it a shot and found it to be an over-achiever to my perception of the brand, meeting our hopeful expectations for suitably pairing with our dinner.

Kokomo “Peter’s Vineyard” Russian River Valley, Sonoma Coast California Chardonnay 2023

Winemaker notes for this release - “Planted in West Sebastopol, this is a premier location for Chardonnay. The vineyard is next to Luther Burbank’s Farm and the soil composition is rich Goldridge Sandy Loam. With the consistent coastal fog extending hang time well into October, this fruit is fully developed and loaded with complexity. The Chardonnay is comprised of Clones 4 and 76.’

Continuing, Winemaker notes for this release remain the same as with the previous vintage: “Reminiscent of a classic white Burgundy but with a California twist, this Chardonnay displays vibrant minerality accompanied by the mouth-watering natural acidity typically found in Peters Vineyard. Stirring the lees (Sur Lie) was performed to this lot consistently once per week through malolactic fermentation. We feel like this gives the wine body, texture and depth while maintaining its graceful acidity and restraint. This Chardonnay is elegant enough to pair with delicate foods and delicious enough to drink by itself after a long day.”

This is 100% Chardonnay, Sourced from Russian River Valley Appellation, and was aged 11 months in 100% French Oak, 30% New..

While I gave it the same rating, this release had a slightly different profile.


Straw colored, light to medium bodied, tangy crisp acidity highlights a predominant layer of vanilla that overshadowed the subtle pear, spice and peach tones of the earlier release, accented by light sprites of oak on a pleasurable moderate finish.

RM 89 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=5165863

https://www.kokomowines.com/store/?view=product&slug=23ch

https://www.kokomowines.com/

As noted above, we followed with the beef entrees, this Napa Cabernet Big Red Blend that I brought BYOB from our home cellar.

Rubissow Napa Valley Mount Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon 2006

We visited the Rubissow estate vineyards and winery, high atop Mount Veeder, with Bill and Beth as well as Eric and Cathy and Dan and Linda, from our Pour Boys wine group during our Napa Valley Mount Veeder Wine Experience back in 2011. 

I featured that estate visit and tasting in these pages in this blogpost, excerpted here:

Mt Veeder Appellation Trail - Rubissow Mt Veeder Vineyards

Mt Veeder Appellation Trail - Rubissow Mt Veeder Vineyards 

As was our custom, learned over the years after many trips to wine country, we learned to focus and concentrate on but one appellation per trip. Too often, folks try to take in too much, visiting properties geographically disbersed resulting in racing from one site to the next, traveling distances against the clock to meet the next appointment. 

This trip, we concentrated on just the Mount Veeder appellation, vastly simplifying travel from site to site, literally starting at the top of the mountain and working our way down to the valley.  

Named for the mountain at the southern end of the Mayacamas Mountain range that forms the western wall of Napa Valley, Mount Veeder is Napa’s largest sub-AVA. 

While the entire appellation is spread over 16,000 acres, vineyards cover only about 1,000, primarily in the the upper elevations of the Mayacamas Mountain, the highest point being at 2,400 feet.

Back at that time, only about 25 wineries produced wine from Mount Veeder fruit.

Mount Veeder was one of the earliest wine producing areas in Napa County with winemaking in the appellation dating back to 1864, when Captain Stelham Wing presented the first Mount Veeder wine to the Napa County Fair. That came from what remains today as Wing Canyon Vineyard. 

After the Prohibition interruption of the wine trade, viticulture and wine production was revitalized with the founding of Mayacamas Vineyards in 1951 and Bernstein Vineyards in 1964.

One of the highlights of our Napa Valley Mt Veeder appellation wine experience was our visit to Rubissow Vineyards. 

We also visited Yates Family Vineyards and Winery high atop Mt Veeder. 

Rubisow was founded by George Rubissow and Tony Sargent back in the 1960's when George also struck up a friendship with, and gained invaluable advice from the legendary winemaker Andre Tchelistcheff. They developed the Mt.Veeder estate and planted Bordeaux varietals. 

When we visited back in 2011, after twenty-five years, George was in the process of handing over operations of the vineyards and production to the next generation, Ariel and Peter Rubissow who were in their third year carrying on the family tradition of quality crafted mountain vineyard wines.

George Rubissow and the original 
Rubissow Sargent Label. 

Rubissow Wine Flight

This label was among the flight of wines we tasted that day and was arguably, the WOTN - Wine of the Night(Day). :

Rubissow Mt Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon 2006

While this is labeled a Cabernet Sauvignon, appropriate since it is more than 75% of that varietal, this is actually a Bordeaux Blend of 83% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% Merlot , 3% Malbec, and 1% Petit Verdot.

Out tasting notes from that original tasting: 

Complex, concentrated, full bodied - winemaker notes - deep brambly richness, black currant, graphite, clove, kirsch, raspberry jam, smoke, dark caramel.

RM 92 points.

Winemaker Notes -  On the nose, this wine offers aromas of red cherry, blueberry, plum, mocha, vanilla bean and caramel -- with hints of lavender, rosemary and raspberry leaf. A youthful mountain wine with amazing complexity. The palate shows plum, cherry and raspberry flavors, with good tannins and bright acidity.

This was rated 92 points and a Cellar Selection by Wine Enthusiast

Tonight, at 20 years, the label, foil, and most importantly the fill level and the cork, were still in good condition, although the cork was starting to soften. 

Amazingly consistent with that original tasting back in 2011, this was still drinking at its prime and has several more years of prime drinking yet. 

Much as noted earlier, Dark garnet colored, full bodied, complex, dense, concentrated, deep brambly black currant fruits with earthy tobacco and leather, graphite, clove spice, kirsch, smoke and hints of dark bitter chocolate on the long slightly astringent tannin laced finish.

RM 92 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1042516

The Rubissow hilltop vineyard looks south to the Carneros District with views in the distance of Mt Diablo to the west of San Francisco Bay and Mt Tamalpais in Marin, to the north of the Golden Gate. 

Rubissow Hilltop Vineyard looking out to San Pablo Bay

George telling the Rubissow Story to porch tasters

Rick and Linda with George Rubissow

Rick and Bill with George Rubissow

Rubissow Hilltop Vineyard

Rubissow Road Vineyard

Tasting on the porch at Rubissow

Rubissow's Barbara Jura leading estate grounds walk

https://entouragerestaurant.com/downers-grove/

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I brought BYOB from our home cellar this Napa Cabernet blend