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April 4, 2008
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2008-04-04
Tasting Room of the Week:
BLACKSTONE WINERY
by Millie Howie
The one word most likely to come to mind as you approach the Blackstone Winery tasting room on Highway 12 in Kenwood is ”charming.” The cream-colored building, crowned with a low chocolate-brown peaked roof, looks very much like a cozy country cottage with its brilliant beds of perfume-rich blossoms. Beside the neatly trimmed grass an inviting bench lures visitors out of doors to sit a while and enjoy their wine explorations in the warm sunshine.
Blackstone wines are only available for sampling at the tasting room, daily from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Guests are presented with a varied menu of wines and may select any four for a $5 fee. Brad Yoell, tasting room manager, suggests that one of the first choices should be the Malvasia Bianca (available in May), an ancient grape variety grown in Mediterranean and Eastern European wine regions.
“This is the only sweet wine we make,” says Brad “and both the grapes and wine are wonderfully aromatic. Our winemaker, Gary Sitton makes this wine in a style that is layered with compelling fruit flavors with an aroma touched by exotic tropical fruit scents and a palate brimming with fresh pineapple and grapefruit The grapes are from a single vineyard – the Della Valle Vineyard in Madera, a warm area that suits the Malvasia Bianca very well.”
A walk around the tasting room will reveal some other exotic food stuffs that will make your mouth water just reading the labels: Honey Truffle Mustard, Peach Salsa, Caramelized Red Onions and Fig, to name a few. One item seldom seen in a tasting room is spotlighted by Blackstone: elegant 3L bottles of 2001 Sonoma Mountain Reserve Cab. With so much to celebrate in the years ahead this treasure makes an excellent gift or would be the perfect wine to toast a bride, a graduate or Dad on his special midsummer celebration. The rich and intense flavor of this wine and the soft, round finish make it a wine for all occasions.
For delightful non-wine, but wine-related giving and enjoyment Blackstone’s gift suggestions range from logo shirts and hats, oversized pottery for tossing and serving pasta, crystal carafes and decanters, True Tool accessories and books and games such as Pick the Right Wine Every Time and Blind Wine Tasting.
As spring and summer warm the days Brad invites visitor to carry their wine samples onto the porch and into the blossom-ringed back garden under the shade trees. He has also designed two guided tours ($10 each) of the winery and grounds offered each weekend day at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.
The winery is easy to find, at 8450 Highway 12, just as you enter Kenwood from the west. For directions or information, call (707) 833-1999. To keep up with all the activities at Blackstone it is wise to join the wine club and to periodically check the website: www.blackstonewinery.com. There you can also shop online and check on winery events.
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