B.R. Cohn

Just around the corner from Valley of the Moon in Glen Ellen is the tasting room for B.R. Cohn. Owner Bruce R. Cohn is the long time manager of the Doobie Brothers so this winery is famous for events that involve live music and other fun! We just missed the Fall Music Festival! Of course the winery has a signature Dobbie Brothers wine. It's called Doobie Red and is a blend made with Bordeaux style varietals. A portion of the proceeds from this $20 bottle go to veteran and other charitable organizations.

2007 produced some great wines in California and all of them we tried at B.R. Cohn are worth purchasing. The Petite Sirah was dark, toasty, spicy and rich with tannins. My favorite of the tasting was the 2007 Petit Verdot. The grapes are grown at the Olive Hill Estate Vineyard and are said to receive "the same care and attention" as B.R. Cohn's well known Olive Hill Cabernet Sauvignon which totally rocked! The Petit Verdot was full of black-cherry and vanilla and got a gold star on my tasting notes!

They were making room for the new vintage and had great sales on these wines by the case. Another fabulous perk for visiting the tasting room in person!

By the way, if you are thinking about a wine country wedding B.R. Cohn hosts them and will soon be home to a culinary center.

Valley of the Moon

I just returned from five days of soaking myself in giant barrels of wine during the first days of harvest in California. Harvesting is late this year because of the cool summer they've had. The grapes have just begun to ripen enough to pick. I was asked why I didn't blog while on the trip. I was so immersed in what I was doing, so caught up in the moment that I just couldn't stop to write. I tasted literally hundreds of wines. So I thought I would blog a little at at time so I don't overwhelm you or myself!

Our first stop after landing at SFO was Valley of the Moon in Sonoma, Glenn Ellen to be specific. When I think of Valley of the Moon I usually think of an affordable, light Pinot Blanc. However, that is just the tip of the iceberg of what the winery has to offer. We started with a Rosato Di Sangiovese that smelled like raspberries. It was hot pink and full of pomegranate, cranberry and citrus. I was surprised at how long the finish was. A great wine for Florida! We tried some delicious sparkling wines, a tobacco filled Barbera, a spicy old vine Zinfandel, Syrah, Cabernets, some blends; about a dozen wines total.

Some of the wines we tried were only available at the winery or through the wine club so I stocked up on those and had them shipped home. Valley of the Moon also bottles Lake Sonoma wines. If you can find the 2007 Alexander Valley Cab you have to get it! It was full of blueberry and cassis, a little cinnamon for some spice and nicely balanced overall! The staff was great and the tasting room had one of the best gift stores! I had no idea Valley of the Moon had so much to offer!