2007-05-25
CHARLES CREEK
Premium Wines, Small Lots, Affordable Prices
by Charles Neave
Once upon a time, if you wanted to sample the wines of Charles Creek Vineyard, you either had to have a friend who ordered them and had them delivered, or you had to order them yourself. It was all very convenient and efficient, but not nearly as much fun as going to a tasting room to try them for yourself. But all that was then and this is now. Today, their award-winning wines can be sampled at their tasting room and gallery located right on the Historic Plaza in that quintessential Wine Country town of Sonoma.
If you are not familiar with the wines from Charles Creek, two minutes in their tasting room will give you a crash course. Ribbons and medals from seemingly countless wine competitions are literally everywhere, proof enough of a well-earned pedigree. Then there are the raves from respected wine publications. Pretty good for a winery founded in January of 2002.
But Bill and Gerry Brinton, founders and proprietors of Charles Creek Vineyards, knew what they wanted from the very beginning. Not surprising, really. After all, the Brinton family had already spent years as successful growers, cultivating grapes on Sonoma Mountain in Glen Ellen. So when they decided to create their own brand, their vision was pretty clear: create premium wines in small lots at affordable prices.
Today, their efforts have expanded to vineyards in the Carneros (both the Napa and Sonoma side), the Sonoma Coast, the Sonoma Valley, Napa Valley and of course Sonoma County. More than half a dozen exceptional vineyards to source fruit from, plus wines from their own estate vineyard. And the result? Just what they aimed for from the very beginning: award-winning wines and what could simply be called award- winning (to the consumer) prices.
After a tasting where Charles Creek wines proved to be the equal of – or often better than – wines tasting far more, Bill Brinton said, with great satisfaction, that, “Once again, these results validate our strategy of providing high-quality, world-class wines, at good value and price.”
Wines currently on the Charles Creek roster include the stellar Las Patolitas Chardonnay, plus the Las Abuelas and La Sorpresa, a trio of Cabernets (La Sonrisa del Tecolote, Las Pasiones and Stagecoach Vineyard-Napa Valley “La Vista”) and the Miradero Merlot. There are others as well, but this gives you an idea. What they all have in common is that they are exceptional wines produced in small lots with limited availability made with dedication to quality at every level of the winemaking process.
Of course what you need to do is try these wines for yourself. Here is the fun part, because even if the wines offered at the Charles Creek tasting room were not excellent (though they are), just visiting the tasting room is great fun as well as being informative. The cabinets are antique, as is the zinc-topped tasting bar. The wood on the cabinets and the base of the bar is polished but still nicely time-worn, all of which fits into the overall ambience of this beautiful old storefront building. There is an ever-changing collection of art on the walls and a cow (full size or close to it) made entirely out of wine corks that you will have to see to believe. The walls are a soft hue and the wines offered for tasting that day are written on the ends of barrels positioned behind the bar above the mirrored wall of wine and their handsome (and properly sized, thank you!) gold-etched glasses. Having properly sized glasses is always an important fact to consider whenever you are sampling fine wine.
Out front greenish planters sit below almost an entire wall of old windows. Double doors, glass-fronted as well, beckon passers-by, as they have for many decades. You can easily imagine it in a watercolor painting, one created yesterday, or a century or more ago. It is a nice feeling of quality and stability that well matches the wines inside. Which, of course, is the whole point.
If you would like to sample a taste or two of the wines of Charles Creek Vineyard, their tasting room is open every day from 11 a.m. until 6 p.m. They’re located right across the street from the Historic Plaza in the heart of Sonoma at 483 First Street West. For more information contact the tasting room at (707) 935-3848, email them at tastewine@charlescreek.com, or just go ahead and look them
up on your computer at www.charlescreek.com.
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