Make your reservations for our
Private Wine Tasting
Monday, August 7th at 6:30 PM!
featuring winery owner Nikki Mustard from Pine Mountain Vineyards.
We will be serving appetizers from Executive Chef Charles Miller to accompany a selection of wines from Nikki’s portfolio. Wines will also be available for purchase.
Space is limited. Please call for reservations:
972-789-9558
The Winemaker: Thomas Rivers Brown
Thomas is one of the most celebrated winemakers in California, as evidenced by the extraordinary ratings, awards and accolades he has received from industry luminaries. The story that we would like to share is how Thomas came to be involved with a fledgling vineyard in an obscure locale, far from the usual prestigious wine regions of California. In Thomas’s own words:
“Pine Mountain Vineyards was one of the great revelations for harvest 2009. Every year, I take fruit from a few new vineyards to try and find something new and exciting for my various programs. After taking a ride to the edge of Alexander Valley, Pine Mountain looked like a vineyard with great potential. It was only after harvesting the fruit and midway through fermentation that we realized just how special this site is. Incredibly dark and super perfumey, the 2009 already exhibits great balance and structure to balance its red and black fruit core. The 2009 looks to be one of the stars of the vintage and I have no doubt we will do even better in the coming years.”
The defining characteristic of Pine Mountain Vineyards is its elevation, with all of its 36 acres of vine-planted blocks spread out between 2,200 to 2,800 feet, the large majority facing south or southwest. The mountainous terrain is typically steep; the soil is shallow to moderately deep, very well drained, and contains large components of sand and gravel. Prominent soil types are Cole Loam and the Hopland-Witherell-Squawrock Complex. The micro-climate of the vineyard exhibits all the characteristics associated with high-elevation viticulture. These include cooler daytime and warmer nighttime temperatures than in the valley, longer sunlight hours, and cooling oceanic breezes. An analysis of growing season degree-days at Pine Mountain Vineyards shows that it is very similar to high quality Cabernet Sauvignon sites in southern Napa Valley. With its unique combination of features, the Pine Mountain Vineyards terroir favors the production of fruit that is intense in flavor and color, with clusters that are typically only one-third to one-half the size of valley-grown grapes.