Cuvaison Carneros

Happy Wine Wednesday! Wine Wednesday means that Friday is just around the corner. I am working on Sunday for our summer Sales and Marketing meeting, but I am still looking forward to a little bit of extra sleep. . . and to getting the meeting started so we can finish it! 😉

Before I tell you about our unexpected visit to Cuvaison’s Carneros tasting room, the winner of The Secret Ingredient giveaway is Erin! Thanks to all who entered, and remember, even if you didn’t win you can check out free recipes at The Secret Ingredient’s website.

Our last day in Sonoma was sort of up in the air, other than a visit to Domaine Carneros, a recap which will come at a later date. Cuvaison just happened to have a tasting room across the street and up the hill, and we decided to drive up to check it out. We were so glad that we did.

Cuvaison is the French term for the period when grape juice is kept in contact with the skins and seeds during both fermentation and maceration. Critical in the making of red wines, cuvaison allows color, tannins, and aroma to be transferred from the skins and seeds to the juice.

When we walked into Cuvaison’s modern, certified green tasting room, we were offered a seated tasting inside or outside. We chose outside as it was a sunny. beautiful day.

In addition to heading up a cork recycling program (think of all of those corks in wine country!), Cuvaison’s Carneros location is solar powered, uses sustainable winegrowing methods that restore the habitat of the community, and recycles everything that they can. They also have a ride sharing and bike to work program and have streamlined their packaging for less waste, in addition to several other great green initiatives.

Our tasting at Carneros was definitely an unexpected delight. While much of our trip had been planned, this was a random stop that allowed us to soak up the sun, sit back, and take in a few last moments on our long weekend away.

In addition to discovering a beautiful property, we also discovered a new favorite wine, Cuvaison “S Block” Chardonnay. This Chardonnay is really full of ripe, intense fruit flavors with lots of depth and texture. The climate and growing conditions of the Carneros region are ideal for Chardonnay, and this wine shows it well.

The cool Carneros climate is also great for Pinot Noir, and Cuvaison makes outstanding Pinot Noir from a couple of different vineyards.

With their great wines, friendly and knowledgeable service, and truly restful, serene tasting patio, I could have stayed at Cuvaison all day. I look forward to making it one of our first stops on our next trip to Napa.

Guys, I am feeling some blogger/Twitter burnout. Do you ever feel that way? What do you do to get through it?