& Going topless has never been so conservative… On many of our wines, we’re no longer fitting a tin capsule around the neck of the bottle. Instead, we’ve put our “S” Logo on the corks ends so the bottles can still be identified laid down in the cellar. Why would we do such a thing? Is it decent to send such naked bottles to the … Read More →
Stolpman Vineyards’ two entry level white wines, Sauvignon Blanc and Golden Point, exist in two different universes. Sauvignon Blanc appears straight forward: Clearly the most mainstream varietal produced at Stolpman Vineyards, the wine is pressed and aged only in stainless steel. Sashi inhibits secondary fermentation to create a crisp, pure profile and the wine is filtered, because God Forbid, an unsuspecting punter sees clouds in … Read More →
Saturday April 20th at Vintner’s Festival we had to chill our red wines on ice before serving. The next day, we stayed cool by zip-lining into the reservoir. It’s hard to imagine that just a couple nights prior, Ruben stayed up all night running our frost protection sprinklers. While the 40+ degree Fahrenheit diurnal swing is one of the most important aspects of our grape-growing … Read More →
I first met Master Sommelier Richard Betts in Atlanta over a few bottles of his Sombra Mezcal. After the bottles were emptied, we adjourned to a hipster beer bar where Richard earned a dirty look from our waitress by ordering a Tecate. “We don’t carry Tecate” “OK, give me whatever tastes like a Tecate” I’m not sure how much Richard actually likes Tecate, but he … Read More →
Held or holstered on their belts, each Cuadrilla member spends thousands of hours a year with their most used tool. Pre-Pruning, pruning, green dropping, and harvesting are all done with their picking shears. The image of the simple instrument best represents Cuadrilla’s day-to-day work. It’s also a proud badge for all of us at Stolpman Vineyards. In our experience, mechanization never trumps the human touch … Read More →
Prior to our April 1 Release, the entire tasting room staff sat down with me to taste through the newly bottled wines. Sashi and John usually join us for these mandatory – tough job – staff meetings, but they were both in France on a research trip – yes, even tougher jobs. 2012 Rose: The Grenache (60%) portion of this wine was peachy in color … Read More →
Ask any good restaurateur in DC, Baltimore, Richmond, Raleigh-Durham, or Charlotte who they buy most of their wine from and they’re bound to tell you Country Vintner. That’s because the Vintner Group has a gigantic international portfolio of family-owned wineries with virtually no big-brand bullshit. In late March, I graciously accepted the invitation to go on the Vintner Group roadshow, taking a Tour Coach with … Read More →
Definition of La Cuadrilla: The Crew. More literally, “the people of the vineyard block”. As we prepare the release of 2011 La Cuadrilla Red Blend under its newly designed label, there’s also a whole lot going on behind the scenes. The profit margin of the Cuadrilla Red Blend will continue to be given to Stolpman’s full-time vineyard crew, and we at Stolpman Vineyards remain as … Read More →
Come join Ruben & his team as they show us the right way to prune our Ruben’s Block – the only head pruned, Cote Rotie trellised, high density Syrah at Stolpman Vineyard. Click on the thumbnail to watch our first ‘Vlog’ Post!
Sashi has long talked about the legendary practice of Provignage employed in ancient, pre-phyloxera Burgundy and Champagne. Accounts of the practice date back to Roman times. Vignerons planted one cutting, and layered the vine time and time again until one vine, one being, connected by a maze of buried shoots, took up an entire vineyard block, possibly the size of a hectare, perhaps even larger. … Read More →