Bottles that Show California’s 2017 Vintage Beat all Odds
BY: VIRGINIE BOONE – May 17, 2019
“The challenges faced during the 2017 vintage in northern California are not those anyone alive would like to repeat: record heat, havoc-wreaking thunderstorms and apocalyptic wildfires that destroyed lives and property…..”
VIRGINIE BOONE
Donald Patz: A New Beginning
BY: LOU PHILLIPS – April 17, 2019
“Donald Patz has never been known for being a wallflower in the wine world and his Patz & Hall wines were always as bold as the man himself. But not much had been heard from this larger-than-life winemaker since he cashed out on the brand a few years ago…..”
LOU PHILLIPS
This Winemaker Blew Off Retirement to Create 3 Secret California Wine Projects.
BY: JANICE O’LEARY – March 18, 2019
“Donald Patz knows a thing or two about keeping secrets. The winemaker could have retired after the sale of his Patz & Hall wines to Washington State’s Ste. Michelle Wine Estates in 2016, and many oenophiles might have thought he did. But Patz has been quietly (and passionately) pursuing three new projects, one of which made its second public debut earlier this month at the first Four Seasons Maui Wine and Food Classic: Secret Door….. “
JANICE O’LEARY
Maritana Vineyards – Four Ace’s On the First Vintage!!
BY: MICHAEL KELLY – December 6, 2018
“Recently I had the opportunity to try these four spectacular wines. Let’s start with the two that are available today and the other two will be released in early 2019. The first wine that I tasted (actually drank!) was the 2017 Maritana Chardonnay Sonoma County Russian River La Riviere. While Donald had many years ago produced Chardonnay’s but has been an industry leader for his Pinot Noir’s. I was expecting a good solid wine, but what my palate tasted was “total astonishment”. This wine was of another spectrum of quality found only in wines twice this price…”
MICHAEL KELLY
GYPSY MAGIC
BY: STEPHEN MCCONNELL – December 18, 2018
“Pure, clear even-colored transparent light ruby, pinking to a wide clear rim with nary a touch of garnet. Pitchy praline and wet fern crowd the thick fruit, dragging it along like an old shovel in a dank barn, past the tightly closed stalls, popping berries from a handful picked quickly at the small thicket where the water always drips from the iron spigot and makes a little puddle. Thin mountain smoke clears out…”
STEPHEN MCCONNELL