Jordan: We are Special!

Jordan Chardonnay grapes grown primarily in the Russian River Valley are the first varietal to ripen for harvest. They are followed by red varietals that compose the Bordeaux-style Cabernet Sauvignon.
The vineyard crews pick the grapes in the cool of the morning while skins are firm. They are placed in 40-pound lugs, which are in turn loaded into gondolas. As the gondolas come into the winery from the vineyard, they are weighed at the scale and samples are taken for sugar analysis and cluster weights. There is a feeling of urgency, excitement and satisfaction in the air.
The grapes are gently removed from their stems in the crusher/de-stemmer. The stems are conveyed into a waiting dump truck that takes them to the vineyards for composting.
After a maximum of one hour of skin contact, pneumatic presses extract juice from the Chardonnay grapes. Cool fermentation in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks further enhances the natural aromas and flavors of the Chardonnay fruit.
Grapes for Jordan Cabernet Sauvignon, harvested primarily from the estate vineyards in the Alexander Valley - Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc - ferment slowly in stainless steel holding tanks before pressing, acquiring the necessary extracts, colors and tannins from the skins.
Both Jordan Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay undergo malolactic fermentation in oak casks to soften the natural acidity and enrich the wine. The young wines then age gradually in oak barrels selected from carefully selected regions of France and America. Blending - a tremendously difficult art born of intuition, skill and experience - balances flavor components to complement the distinctive varietal character of each wine.
Jordan wines are bottled at the estate and aged under optimal cellar conditions before their release to market. The exceptional balance and continuity of style of Jordan Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay are recognized and appreciated not just in the United States, but also around the world.

the view from just outside our rooms...as the sun is going down

falling asleep with fires roaring...the best!

Vineyard 29 and Aida

the front door of 29 is at the top of the picture...you literally do walk right into the winemaking operation! they have gigantic wood fermenting tanks, and their own bottling line. fancy.


looking out the tasting room into the caves of Vineyard 29


Holly bemoans the yokels who crashed our tasting; the upside is we get to taste the '04 Vineyard 29 Cab!

About Vineyard 29:
Teresa Norton & Tom Paine came to Napa Valley in '89 to retire– a dream that was quickly replaced by another when they learned their estate was prime Cabernet Sauvignon territory. In a matter of weeks from purchase of the property, they were putting in a 3-acre vineyard under the watchful eye of lauded Vineyard Manager David Abreu and, within a year, planting cuttings from the Grace Family Vineyard, located 100 yards north.
The first release, 250 cases in '92, was warmly received by press and public alike.
The 92-98 vintages were made at the Grace Family winery with Gary Galleron (92-94) and Heidi Barrett (95-98) as winemakers. In 1999, Philippe Melka became winemaker, bringing about an important unification of vineyard and winery interests, as he applies his geological and viticultural expertise and Bordelais background to both the vines and the winemaking process. The '99 harvest was vinified at Miner Family Vineyards while plans were made for a winery and caves on the estate. Late that year, retirement began to sing its siren song again, and Teresa and Tom began considering what the next stage in their life should be. In early 2000, they met Chuck and Anne McMinn, a couple whose interest in the future of Vineyard 29 proved to be as serious as theirs. In a most pleasant transition, Chuck and Anne became the new owners of Vineyard 29 and immediately put the winery and cave plans into motion. Construction is now complete, with the 2002 and 2003 vintages having been vinified entirely here on the estate, and the 2004 vintage underway. The vineyards have also been expanded, with the addition of approximately 2 acres of Cabernet Franc vines, and 1 acre of Sauvignon Blanc. While the 30,000 square foot, 10,000 case winery and cave facility was under construction, Chuck and Anne began thinking about the opportunity to expand yearly production to better utilize the complete hands-on control of their own winery. As fate would have it, an historic piece of vineyard land became available at just the right time. The Aida vineyard, already famous as a source for zinfandel and petite sirah fruit coveted by several well-known winemakers, was 2 miles north of Vineyard 29, in a microclimate unique for the St. Helena appellation, and with soil capable of producing highly distinctive wines with great vineyard character. In January of 2001, Chuck and Anne finalized the purchase of the Aida vineyard, and began upgrading the plantings there to create a "sister" vineyard for 29's home wines. The future of Vineyard 29 now lies in the soil of our estate vineyards. New vine plantings both here at 29 and on the Aida property were harvested for the first time in 2004, allowing for a gradual increase in our production levels from 1,800 cases per year to approximately 3,000. This increase owes itself largely to the 15 acres of vines at Aida, consisting of cabernet sauvignon, zinfandel, merlot and petit verdot. The Vineyard 29 estate vines will continue to produce our eponymous cabernet sauvignon on the same scale as in the past. The growth of this property is seen along recently planted steeply sloping vineyards on the southern and western ridges that frame the winery building. The southern ridge was planted to Cabernet Franc in 2000, and the western ridge was planted to Sauvignon Blanc in 2002; both were harvested for the first time in 2004.

Good-bye casa, hello Jordan

February 1st...we pack up our lives at the Alexander Valley Vineyards and move on. Now that Kim's luggage is here, we are having difficulty shoving everything in the truck.

We head into Healdsburg for breakfast, at Center Street Cafe, which is covered diner-style with comical tin signs (Poop Deck, S.S. Titantic etc...).
After we fuel our bodies we head south to Vineyard 29, where we hook up with Holly for a tour and tasting. We sampled the 4 fantastic wines in the private wine library, which I have decided to build a replica of onto my future home. During this tasting, I was experiencing a bit of a red wine spillage problem; in short it looked like I had been shot on the table. My black Riedel O series spit glass had a crack in it. This will play into a later story as well.

After Vineyard 29, we headed back up to Sonoma, to Jordan Winery. Wow. It's something like 1200 acres, and they only farm Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, and olives for EVOO. We are shown to our guest suites, which looked like they had been plucked from the Ritz in Paris and plopped down in this Chateau. Kim's overlooked the production facility, while mine and Kelly's sported views of the barrel rooms (locked doors...wise folks). The bathrooms are amazing, and as big as most bedrooms (one suite was larger than my apartment in ACK). Huge bathtubs, down beds, fireplaces, views of vineyards, and cathedral ceilings completed the look. We headed down for the tour and tasting with Scott, and returned to our suites finding bottles of chilled Chardonnay, classical music, and our beds turned down. We promptly met in my suite to toast our lives, which is now a regular pattern. After we all soaked in our respective tubs, we decided that traveling off the property for any reason would be a waste of this amazing lodging, so we donned our bathrobes and dined on cheese, gourmet pizza, roasted chicken, and 3 bottles of wine, with fires blazing (one in each room, just cause we could!)