ANTONIO GALLONI

95 / 100

"Hansel's 2014 Pinot Noir The South Slope Vineyard is bold and explosive, with tons of exuberant fruit. Bright red cherry, plum, rose petal and spice are front and center. A classic Russian River Pinot, the South Slo ... Read More »

ANTONIO GALLONI

95 / 100

"Hansel's 2014 Pinot Noir The South Slope Vineyard is bold and explosive, with tons of exuberant fruit. Bright red cherry, plum, rose petal and spice are front and center. A classic Russian River Pinot, the South Slope is absolutely gorgeous today. Hints of leather, tobacco and game underpin a core of flamboyant Russian River Pinot fruit. The 2014 is every bit as impressive as it was last year."

WINE ADVOCATE

93 / 100

"As for the 2014 Pinot Noir South Slope, this wine shows elegant black cherry and strawberry notes, and come across like a Premier Cru Côte de Beaune. The wine has a dark ruby color, sweet tannin and a nice, plump, round, juicy mouthfeel."

California

The largest domestic wine growing region in the United States is by far California.  California wines took international recognition in the 1976 competition known as "The Judgement Of Paris."  In this famous blind tasting, California wines were pu ... Read More »

California

The largest domestic wine growing region in the United States is by far California.  California wines took international recognition in the 1976 competition known as "The Judgement Of Paris."  In this famous blind tasting, California wines were put up against the best wines of Burgundy and Bordeaux - and won.

Today, California wines are among some of the finest made throughout the world.  For California red wines, grapes such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Zinfandel, Merlot and Syrah are among the most popular.  California "meritages" have also become quite popular.  These red "blends" commonly use the classic Bordeaux varietals such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc, though many winemakers blend with other varietals.  For California white wines, grapes such as Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc are the most popular - as they are throughout the rest of the wine world.  Whether red or white wine, the most popular wine AVA's (American Viticultural Areas) in California are the wine subregions of Napa Valley, Russian River Valley and Sonoma. 

California wines are often referred to as "New World" wines (as opposed to "Old World").  New World wines tend to be fruit forward and have new oak barrel influence, while Old World wines tend to be more mineral driven and have less oak influence.  Today, there is an emerging trend among California wineamakers to use less oak influence in their wines allowing the grapes' characteristics to better express themselves.