| Food & Wine Magazine: “America’s 27 Best Value Pinot Noirs”
Nikolai Stez is the Woodenhead winemaker. He has been at fermentation since he was a boy making the traditional Russian drink "kvas" (a fermented bread or fruit drink) that his immigrant parents taught him to make. In college, he made wines for his biology and botany classes, and started making home wines in earnest since 1986. Nick worked for 17 years of crush fun for the famous "two guys in a garage cult winery" that put Russian River Valley Pinot on the map, Williams Selyem. Working for Burt Williams as an assistant winemaker confirmed his life's passion for wine. Born in San Francisco and living on the Russian River since age one, he considers the North Coast his back yard and knows it well, from Sonoma County north to Humboldt and Del Norte. The coast range is his playground. Nick also works as a building contractor in Sonoma County.
Zina Bower is the other part of the equation here, an escapee from L.A. and Nick's domestic partner. She was bitten by the wine bug in 1982 and has been intoxicated with passion for wine ever since.
The winemaking at Woodenhead is pure and simple, or, if you will, Burgundian done California style. The wines are handcrafted from a hard labor of love in tune to the natural rhythm of the land, the water, the air and the seasons. No mechanical pumping is employed. Inoculated yeast and malolactic cultures, hand punching, basket pressing, French oak and California fruit!
The Woodenhead wines are big and expressive of the varietal, showing the differences found in the appellations: climate, fruit, soil, and the sense of place |
| Woodenhead Vintners Website |
| Zinfandel 04 - Martinelli Road Old Vine, Russian River |
| From a 100+ year old heritage vineyard. Medium-dark ruby. A powerhouse that offers a bouquet of blackberries and perhaps black raspberries with a kind of bramble thicket nose. More cherries, cedar, tobacco and earth to follow. Complex bouquet. Juicy and rich with cranberry, elderberry, huckleberry, chocolate and white pepper. Should I go on? Great natural acidity. Expansive mid-palate is reminiscent of some fine Italian wines, maybe a high end Barolo? Finishes bright and earthy, with some hints of minerals and sage. Medium tannin. This is just going to get better. I suggest decanting. Serve with duck breast with a cherry port sauce or filet mignon with demiglace, smothered in morels. Definitely a food wine. Drinking window - now to 2015. Alc. 15%. 274 cases produced. |
| Zinfandel 05 - Braccialini Vineyard, Alexander Valley |
| You all remember this one. Dark ruby in the glass. A forward bouquet of brandied black cherries and spices (cardamom comes to mind). Mouthful of cherries, black cherries and more cherries, maybe even black raspberry; fruit galore, mouth-filling, decadent and voluptuous (call a friend). Finishes long with toasty oak, exotic spices and chocolate liqueur. Big, ripe and juicy. Very rich and delicious. Drinking great now, but I'll bet it will continue to develop. Drink now to 2009 and beyond. Serve with smoked baby back ribs with plenty of your favorite sauce. Alc. 16.5%. 384 cases produced. |
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| Zinfandel 06 - Guido Venturi vineyard 06 |
| Bright medium ruby, a powerhouse of aromatic pleasures of cassis liqueur, violets, tobacco and leather with light herbal flower undertones. Palate brings forth Bing cherries and more cherries, cherry pie and just the right touch of sweet oak, warm and fuzzy. Nice supple tannins focus these flavors into a lingering mouth filling finish. Drinking well now, just to get better of course!
Total production: 364 cases. |
| Pinot Noir 06 - Russian River |
| Bold and Burgundian on the nose with a light to medium ruby color. The aromas of dark fruits, toasty oak, cinnamon, Oriental spice and warm strawberry turnovers are dominant at this stage in its life. It gushes forth with flavors of cola, root beer, cherries, plums, licorice and green tea. Soft, warm, and luxurious velvet comes to mind. A pleasure to drink now, but the finely grained tannins suggest graceful aging. Dark cherries dominate the long, juicy finish, with some hint of green tea as well. All reflective of the River area in which we live. Enjoy! |
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| Pinot Noir 06 - Humboldt County |
| Medium dark ruby in color. Nose is vibrant and redolent with aromas of boysenberry and black raspberry framed in oak vanillins with a touch of herb. Expansive and fruit forward on the palate with cherries, black raspberries, white pepper, Oriental spice and earthiness, with a touch of cedar on the finish. Juicy and seamless, full bodied and rich. Moderate tannins that will soften with time. Rustic elegance. The best expression yet of terroir from this Humboldt vineyard. Total production: 350 cases. |
| Pinot Noir - Anderson Valley, Wiley Vineyard |
| 310 cases produced. "Exotic scents of sandalwood-tinged black fruit and red currant are replicated on the palate of this plush, super smooth Pinot. Flavors of red raspberry and strawberry give the wine a kirsch-like viscosity with complex notes of sour cherry and pomegranate with a hint of green tea; medium tannins and excellent balance." -- Steve Pitcher, Wine News, August/September 2005 |
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