Tag: france

When Julie and Bret Pittsinger opened Karma Vineyards on the beautiful south shore of Lake Chelan in 2007, they had plenty to celebrate. Not only were they launching a business named in honor of their children, Karle and Matthew, they were introducing the first méthode champenoise house to Washington’s eleventh American Viticultural Area, the Lake Chelan AVA.

Two years earlier, they had hired a winemaker who formerly had worked at Moët in France. From him they learned what they needed to know to begin to produce their Sparkling wines in the traditional method by which Champagne is made.

Rick Moshin, a former San Jose State University math instructor, made prudent use of his math skills to design a four-tier gravity flow winery for small-lot wine production at Moshin Vineyards. In 1989, he and his family purchased a small Pinot Noir vineyard, and this year, they observe a significant milestone: the family’s 25th anniversary of wine growing.

David Girard vineyards in Placerville, California, is dedicated to creating classic Rhône wines that capture the true character of El Dorado County. The winery was founded by David Girard after he fell in love with Châteauneuf-du-Pape on a trip to France's Rhône valley.

David, an attorney and former college professor, was intrigued with the similarity between the terroir of the Rhône Valley and that of his home in El dorado County, in the heart of the Sierra Foothills.

Miljenko "Mike" Grgich, who co-founded Grgich Hills Estate with Austin Hills, started in the wine business at the bottom. Born into a winemaking family on the Dalmatian coast of Croatia, one of his first memories is stomping grapes in a half-barrel when he was just 2.5-years-old.

Mike’s journey, from his peasant upbringing in communist Yugoslavia to Vintners Hall of Fame inductee in the Napa Valley, sounds like a Hollywood movie. He arrived in the Napa Valley in 1958 and worked for some of the region’s iconic wineries—Souverain, Christian Brothers, Beaulieu Vineyard, and Robert Mondavi Winery—before becoming winemaker at Chateau Montelena Winery.

Silvan Ridge Winery is like a slice of Alsace, France, but it's just 12 miles from downtown Eugene, Oregon. Bordered on one side by alpine forest and commanding views of grape vines and rolling hills on the other, it’s no wonder so many couples choose to say "I do" at Silvan Ridge.

The patio and expansive manicured grounds are a perfect spot for a picnic, complete with fresh fruit from one of the farm stands passed along the way—a magical drive that winds through the iconic Coyote Creek Covered Bridge, pastures, and miles of vineyards.

In terms of terroir, the Willamette Valley in is often described as the United State’s answer to Burgundy, and Elk Cove Vineyards has developed a reputation for crafting a refined French-style libation. Although many regions of the U.S. produce stellar Pinot varietals, it’s the temperate climate of the Willamette Valley in Gaston, Oregon that mirrors the exact latitude of France’ s Burgundy region—eliciting Oregon’ s persistent Old World comparison.

Robert Hall Winery bears the name of its founder, Robert Hall, an industrious entrepreneur who decided he wanted to own a winery during a family trip to France in the late 1970s. Robert was drawn in particular to Rhône varietals and—after a thorough search—he knew the terroir he was looking for was in Paso Robles, California. With the vision of building a winery that could handle a case production of 100,000 or more, he acquired his first vineyard, Home Ranch, in 1995, and Terrace and Bench vineyards shortly thereafter.