From Joseph Filippi Winery & Vineyards

The Filippis have assembled a top-flight vinification (winemaking) team, headed by Director of Winemaking Joseph P. Filippi, Winemaker Tish Cooper, Cellar Master Jared P. Filippi, Dr. Fred S. Nury - Emeritus Professor of Enology and Food Science California State University Fresno and retired vintner-winemaker Rene' Biane. With this advanced level of winemaking expertise, Joseph Filippi Winery & Vineyards has placed Rancho Cucamonga back on the winemaking map.

Joseph Filippi wines are the result of a craftsmanship derived from tradition, passion, skill and artistry. The fifth-generation winery is establishing itself among California's finest producers, while remaining true to the family's heritage of excellence in Cucamonga Valley winemaking.

Joseph Filippi limited production releases include Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Pitite Sirah, Alicante Bouschet, Mourvédre, Muscat Canelli, Syrah, Chardonnay, White Riesling, Zinfandel, Orange Muscat, and Riesling, as well as aged sherries and specialty ports including the popular Fondante Ciello 'chocolate'. The Filippi's also present barrel select Barrel Blends.

Since 1995, the winery has undertaken several new acres of vineyard plantings and vineyard revitalization projects in the Etiwanda area of Rancho Cucamonga. Premium red grape varietals include Petite Sirah, Grenache Noir, Tannat, Mourvedre, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Alicante, Tempranillo and Syrah. New vine plantings in cooperation with the City of Rancho Cucamonga and the Rails to Trails project, the Cucamonga Valley Water District, Red Hill Country Club, and other private entities are scheduled for 2008 through 2010.

The Filippis' have expanded their operation and are producing delicious award-winning vintages, according to industry experts. "It's pretty amazing what they've been able to do," says Dan Berger, a Sonoma County wine columnist whose credentials include a nine-year stint as the Los Angeles Times wine writer. "It's not an easy business to be in," Berger said. "But the Filippis are really reaching out and making great strides. They've produced excellent wines and they're improving all the time."

Joseph Filippi Winery & Vineyards has earned over 200 Awards for winemaking excellence in the past 30 years. Award-winning varieties include Zinfandel, Grenaches, Cabernets, Syrah, Petite Sirah and Mourvedre blends, Sauvignon Blanc, Sherries, Ports and Angelica wines. Visitors are always welcome at our wineries to taste any our delicious wines and ask any questions they may have about wines. Come share our passion for the grape!

The Filippi family has grown premium wine grapes in the Cucamonga area continuously since 1922. In keeping with the City of Rancho Cucamonga's commitment to honor its viticulture heritage, the ongoing restoration/preservation and planting serves as a deserving tribute to the early vintner lineage that has made Rancho Cucamonga what it is today.

The Joseph Filippi Vintage Co.
12467 Base Line Road
Rancho Cucamonga, CA 91739
(909) 899-5755
http://www.josephfilippiwinery.com/

Submitted by:
Saundra Tyler
San Bernardino City Guides And Directories from USA City Directories

From Barra of Mendocino Winery

As you take a walk through the vineyard with Charlie Barra, you’ll find yourself surrounded by 50 year old, craggly, grapevines that resemble the sun-baked hands of the farmer that has nurtured them. These hearty, twisted vines, located on the bench lands at the headwaters of the Russian River in Redwood Valley, CA, are the source of the superior organic fruit that goes into each bottle of BARRA of Mendocino wines.

Following in the footsteps of his father, Antonio Barra, and his maternal grandfather, Guiseppe Rovera (who immigrated to Mendocino County from Piedmont, Italy in 1906), Charlie began farming grapes in the mid 40’s. By 1954 he had purchased Redwood Valley Vineyards, the ranch that is home to over 175 acres of organically grown Pinot Noir, Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon, Sangiovese, Merlot, Petite Sirah, Chardonnay, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Grigio and Muscat Canelli.

In 1955, when Charlie began planting new vines, he was fortunate to be able to rely on the practical experience of his father and grandfather to help him make the right choice in selecting rootstock and varietal clones. These choices, over the years, have proven that he made the right ones. Choosing to farm organically is just now beginning to pay off with consumer demand growing rapidly for wines grown without the use of chemicals, pesticides or other harmful materials.

With over 6 decades of experience in the back pocket of his Wrangler jeans, Charlie Barra, now 80 years old, farms his organic vineyards with the goal of producing rich, distinguishable fruits that “shine through” in every glass of BARRA of Mendocino wine.

All BARRA of Mendocino wines are made from 100% estate grown, hand-picked certified organic grapes. We believe that the combination of our organic viticulture practices, coupled with our unique geographic location in the Mendocino appellation, helps us deliver premium wines that are truly representative of their "roots". Our hot summer days followed by cool nights allow the fruit to ripen in a very unrushed manner, thereby giving them a long "hang time".

Barra of Mendocino Winery
7051 North State Street,
Redwood Valley, CA 95470
(707) 485-0322
http://www.barraofmendocino.com/barra/index.jsp

Submitted by:
Mike Richardson
Free Reverse Address Directories

Chardonnay is a versatile grape. In cold regions it shows crisp acidity and flavours of green hay with the flinty notes typical of the terroir - the wine even has a green tinge. Chardonnay wines taste very different when the vines are grown in hot climates such as those in the plains of California. The conditions ensure ripe grapes, which lead to high levels of alcohol in the wine, and rich flavours of peach, melon, citrus and tropical fruits. In the 1980s and 1990s many New World winemakers responded to these bold flavours with equally bold use of oak, ageing the wine for long periods in new oak barrels. The cheap way to add "oakiness" would be the addition of staves or wood chips to wine in stainless steel containers. The intention was to impart complexity to the wines by introducing desirable aromas of vanilla, caramel, and butteriness. Too often the result tasted like chewing on a piece of wood, and this led to something of a consumer backlash against heavy, oaky Chardonnays.

In North America Chardonnay is mostly grown in California and Oregon, but is found in many of the states and Ontario. US winemakers tend to prefer an oaky, buttery style with full malolactic fermentation, but there are many exceptions to that rule.

Chardonnay became very fashionable in the 1990s, as the stereotypical drink of young urban women of the Bridget Jones generation. But as vineyards responded with massive new plantings of the variety, they found that fashions were changing again. The market was drinking more red wine, and as mentioned above there was a backlash against heavy, oaky, New World Chardonnays in favour of lighter wines such as Pinot Grigio.

Rich is the word that best both describes Chardonnay and explains its popularity. Its aroma is distinct, yet delicate, difficult to characterize, easier to recognize. It often smells like apples, lemons, peaches or tropical fruits. Its delicacy is such that even a small percentage of another varietal blended into a Chardonnay will often completely dominate its aroma and flavor. Oak commonly takes over Chardonnay if the wine is fermented or aged in new barrels or for too long in seasoned ones.

This delicacy also allows Chardonnay to absorb the influences of both vinification technique and appellation of origin. California Chardonnay is every bit as variable and possibly even more exciting than those from France because of the effusive varietal quality it develops there. In spite of this variety in style, Chardonnay is unmistakable in the mouth because of its impeccable sugar/acid balance, its full body, and its easy smoothness.

The widespread popularity of varietally-labeled Chardonnay wines spurred many new California plantings in the early 1970s. The most commonly planted clone was the "Wente" clone (UCD 2A) and, later, clone 108, isolated at UC Davis from vines grown in Carneros. Due to this grape's blank canvas nature and the proliferation of new vineyard sources using essentially only two clones, regional variations in Chardonnay wines became more apparent than perhaps in any other varietal wine in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

In the 1990s, California vintners began paying much more attention to matching, not only varieties but also clones, to specific microclimates and vineyard sites. Many new vineyards and re-plantings since then, especially in cooler regions, have propogated the "Dijon" clones (particularly 75, 76, 78, 95 and 96), the "Espiguette" clone (352) or, in fewer locations, "Champagne" clones.

The nominees for Best Supporting Appellation in a California Chardonnay are: Russian River Valley, shared by Sonoma and Mendocino Counties (apples, pears & peaches); Carneros, shared by Sonoma and Napa Counties (flinty); Monterey County (citric, lemony); Santa Maria Valley, Santa Barbara County (pineapple, tropical); Edna Valley, San Luis Obispo County (apricot, fleshy).

Challenges and difficulties in growing Chardonnay and higher production costs from barrel treatments, combined with increasing popular demand over the past decades, contribute to making chardonnay-based wines one of the most expensive on the shelf or winelist.

Submitted by:
Mike Richardson
Lifestyle Information And Resources

From Santa Barbara Winery

Located in the western Santa Ynez Valley, the Santa Rita Hills AVA is an ideal environment for growing intensely flavored full-bodied Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.

The AVA is distinguished by the very cool and long growing season created by a convergence of unusual geography in this part of California. Our southerly latitude means that frost danger is usually behind us in February of most years.

This leads to early bud break, which can start the growing season as much as a month earlier than growing regions to our North.

During the summer, heat rising from the Mojave Desert 90 miles inland and the eastern boundary of our unique east-west system of mountains and valleys draws in cold air from the Pacific Ocean 15 miles to our West.

This guarantees cool days and chilly nights during the long growing season of the nine-mile length of the Santa Rita Hills AVA.

Santa Barbara Winery
202 Anacapa Street
Santa Barbara, CA 93101
805.963.3633 or 800.225.3633
http://www.sbwinery.com/

Submitted by:
Josh Truegood
International Issues from Information Resource Network

Merlot is a red wine grape that is used as both a blending grape and for varietal wines. Merlot-based wines usually have medium body with hints of berry, plum, and currant. Merlot grows in many regions that also grow Cabernet Sauvignon but tends to be cultivated in the cooler portions of those areas. In areas that are too warm, Merlot will ripen too early.

Merlot grapes are identified by their loose bunches of large berries. The color has less of a blue/black hue than Cabernet Sauvignon grapes and with a thinner skin, the grapes also have fewer tannins. Also compared to Cabernet, a Merlot grape tends to have higher sugar content and lower malic acid.

Merlot thrives in cold soil, particularly ferrous clay. The vine tends to bud early which gives it some risk to cold frost and its thin skin increases its susceptibility to rot. It normally ripens up to two weeks earlier than Cabernet Sauvignon. Water stress is important to the vine with it thriving in well drained soil more so than at base of a slope.

White Merlot is made the same way as its more famous cousin, White Zinfandel. The grapes are crushed, and after very brief skin contact, the resulting pink juice is run off the must to then be fermented. White Merlot was reputedly first marketed in the late 1990s, and should not be confused with wines made from the white mutant of the grape.

While its flavor profile is similar to Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot tends to be less distinctive and slightly more herbaceous overall in both aroma and taste. Ripeness seems critical; both under ripe and overripe grapes lean away from fruit and towards herbaceousness. Merlot has slightly lower natural acidity than Cabernet and generally less astringency, therefore usually a more lush mouth-feel.

Earlier than Cabernet Sauvignon to mature in bottle, Merlot is held in higher esteem by wine drinkers than by wine collectors.

Syrah is richer and darker, Pinot Noir lighter and more velvety, but Merlot has become the darling red wine.

Submitted by:
George Snedrow
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