Sunday, December 26, 2010

Another Local Find


 We love the Joullian Vineyards (www.joullian.com) tasting room.  It is beautiful, inside and out.  And with the warm, welcoming, and knowledgeable people working there plus the impressive wines, we quickly became Joullian fans.
We tasted quite an array of wines on our recent visit.  We started with a 2008 Sauvignon Blanc, which we both really liked.  It had a lovely floral scent and seemed more buttery than many Sauvignon Blancs.  This particular Sauvignon Blanc was a silver medal winner at the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition.
Our next taste was the fruity and crisp 2008 Chardonnay from the Sleepy Hollow Vineyard, which the assistant manager of the tasting room called an “epiphany” Chardonnay.  When we asked what he meant by that, he said that this particular wine often made Chardonnay lovers out of people who had not been fans before. It, too, was a winner at the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition, a gold medal winner.  We can see why.
In moving to the red wines, LC loved the Retro Rouge, a blend of older vintages, and a good all ‘round table wine. MK leaned toward the 2007 Sias Cuvee Zinfindel, another award winner named after Dick Sias, who, according to the Joullian website, is considered the father of Zinfandel in Carmel Valley.
When we asked Deb Monastes, the tasting room manager, what made Joullian wines unique, she answered “Joullian’s consistency is unrivalled in the valley.”  The winery has had the same wine maker, Ridge Watson, since day one; one of the crew who planted the original vineyard in 1982 is still on board; the cellar master has been with Joullian for 26 years; and Deb has been the tasting room manager for 11 years.
When we made our purchases, Deb placed them in a classy re-useable black cloth Earthwise bag and we were on our way.
The Joullian website has some wonderfully fun descriptions of their wines and interesting details of the stunning building that houses their tasting room at 2 Village Drive, Carmel Valley.  The website, tasting room, and wines are all definitely worth exploring and enjoying.

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