THE DISTILLED TRUTH Explore the old-world
tradition of distilling at Charbay Winery & Distillery,
high in the hills above the Napa Valley. For $38 a
person, a special tasting package offered through
the end of the month reveals how brandy and port
are made. Guests get a mini-seminar about the
unique alambic charentais pot-still distillation process, followed by tastings of a selection of Charbay’s wines, distillers’ port, aperitifs and pomegranate dessert wine. Complete the experience with a
barrel tasting of an upcoming port release and a
sensory evaluation of brandy. charbay.com MIMI TO WLE
New Releases
Here are a few exciting releases we wanted
to share — a white, a red and an ale. If you
try them, let us know what you think. M. T.
; Fleuron, the second label from Captûre Wines on Pine
Mountain in Sonoma County’s Alexander Valley, was recently
released by husband-and-wife team May-Britt and Denis Malbec.
The chardonnay ($24) was just named best value for under $25 by
Forbes Magazine. capturewines.com
; Vinaceous, an English old ale from Hangar 24,
was released this year. Described as a craft beer
with a twist, Vinaceous features an ample amount
of Mourvèdre red wine grapes from Wilson Creek
Winery in Temecula, Calif. $5, 22-ounce bottle,
hangar24brewery.com
; Rubicon, the latest release from 133-year-old
Inglenook winery, is not going to be found on any
budget wine list. The wine, which goes for $200,
features an almost exact replica of the original
Inglenook label from the post-Prohibition era.
inglenook.com
FIND THE WINE If you haven’t
checked out the zany wine reviews on
ThumbsUp Wine.com, you’re missing out —
but even if you don’t have time to sift through
reviews, you should definitely download the
site’s accompanying app, WineFinder. Just enter
the name of the store where you’re shopping and
this intelligent app will recommend bottles based
on criteria like price range, wine type and planned
pairings. thumbsupwine.com CALIN VAN PARIS
ALL IN THE FAMILY You’ve heard of Robert Mondavi and Don Sebastiani, but do you know about
their blood-related successors? In Rock and Vine,
author Chelsea Prince profiles 11 wine industry
pioneers who are destined to make a change in
Napa and Sonoma like their familial predecessors.
Included are fourth-generation winemaker Angela Mondavi and Jordan Kivelstadt, CEO of the
premier wine-kegging business Free Flow Wines.
rockandvinebook.com SOPHIE SHULMAN
