Goosecross Cellars is a boutique winery owned by the Gorsuch and Topper families, whose joint passion for producing wines of the highest quality ensures that Goosecross’ wines delight and impress its loyal following of fans.
Open since 1985, Goosecross has never forgotten that wine is meant, quite simply, to be enjoyed. Goosecross only sells their wines through TopFlight Wine & Beer and the winery in Yountville – 100% direct to consumers!
Goosecross focuses on the basics – sustainable farming with attention, care and diligence in the cellar ensuring that their wines reflect both true varietal character and a sense of place. They grow grapes on their Yountville Estate, but also source grapes from only the finest vineyards in Napa Valley. By the time their wines are ready to bottle, this winning combination of talent and dedication results in the production of some of Napa Valley’s finest wines.
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Their Lake County Cobb Mountain vineyard is a true mountain top vineyard, surrounded by big timber, Ponderosa Pine, Firs and Black Oaks. This vineyard is one of the highest vineyards in the country at 2,900 to 3,000 foot elevation. The loose, rocky, red hills volcanic soil is extremely well drained and when you combine this terroir with Lake Counties tremendous sun and Cobb Mountain’s cool evenings provide an opportunity to produce premium wine grapes.
Meaning fate, journey and destination, the name Destino reflects a simple, guiding philosophy—that the winemaking journey is the destination. In this spirit, our approach to artisan winemaking expresses itself in a passion for the many small details. From the way the sunlight dapples the ripening grapes in the vineyards to the nuanced diversity of oak barrels from different forests in France, our wines embody a rich sense of exploration.
Destino Wines is a boutique ultra-premium winery owned by Kevin & Anne Murphy, whose passion for producing wines of the highest quality ensures that Destino’s wines delight and impress its loyal customers. Destino Wines’ approach to winemaking is about flavor intensity, passion for the fruit, and an uncompromising quest for quality. We source our grapes from only the finest vineyards in Napa Valley and Russian River, we crush, ferment and barrel-age our wines at our modern facility in Carneros, and when it is time to bottle our wines, we double-verify that the wine is worthy of the Destino label.
Thirty years after first planting its vineyards, Girard continues to produce wine reflecting the quality that has made Napa Valley the most famous New World wine growing region in the world. Napa’s rise to fame was punctuated by a renaissance that began at the same time Girard was setting down its own roots.
The valley’s benchmark year occurred in 1976, when a panel of French judges blind-tasted their own wines against a few upstarts from Napa. Much to everyone’s surprise, the California wines won first place in the white and red wine categories. Despite French howls of protest, the now famous Paris Tasting firmly established California on an equal footing with its Old World counterparts.
Today, Girard is experiencing a similar rebirth of sorts. Longtime California vintner Pat Roney purchased the winery shortly after the new millenium. Pat’s career in wine began as a sommelier at Chicago’s renowned Pump Room. Later he returned to his native California, where he ultimately became president of Chateau St. Jean, in Sonoma Valley.
At Girard, Pat continues a tradition of making Chardonnay and Cabernet-based wines. But he has also expanded Girard’s varietal focus to Zinfandel and Petite Sirah, grown on century-old vines that dot the Napa countryside. New vineyard plantings are also underway on both Diamond and Howell mountains, which border the western and eastern edges of the valley.
As it has been in the past, Girard’s goal is to highlight the flavors of Napa Valley and its rich, ripe grapes. A small portion of the winery’s portfolio also comes from grapes grown in Sonoma’s upscale Russian River Valley, where cool weather offers ideal conditions for Chardonnay.
Burgess traces its origins to an original winery on the property in
the 1880′s. Since 1972, Napa Valley pioneer Tom Burgess and his family have followed the belief that it is vital to grow only those varietals ideally suited to a particular vineyard’s soil composition, sun and wind exposure, and overall micro-climate. The French refer to this as “terroir,” and it certainly explains the consistent aromas and flavors found in the hillside Burgess Cabernet Sauvignon.
Over the years three distinct estate vineyard sites have been cultivated and nurtured to create the very best handcrafted wines. The Burgess flagship wine, Cabernet Sauvignon, thrives on the western slopes of Howell Mountain near the winery; Merlot is ideally suited to the Triere Vineyard on the Napa Valley floor in the Oak Knoll AVA just south of Yountville; Syrah is perfectly matched to conditions in the estate vineyard site on the eastern slope of Howell Mountain.
The worldwide reputation of Burgess wines lies in the fact that they are always in perfect harmony, fully integrated to form a “total impression”. Maximum varietal character, firm oak, good body, and long, complex finish are stressed. These attributes are controlled through painstaking attention to the estate vineyards and labor intensive old world winemaking techniques; all brought together with the most modern technology.
Burgess is somewhat unique in the Napa Valley today, in that it is truly a family-owned winery which has employed the same gifted winemaker, Bill Sorenson, since the winery’s re-birth in 1972.
Walt and Máire believe in fate. There’s no other way to describe how Rua began. After a combined 55 years in the wine business, they have created a wine that truly feels part of them.
A married couple who have been making wine from Sonoma and Napa Valley for over 10 years together also met through the wine business. In 2008 they were offered an opportunity they just couldn’t pass up – to make wine from a great vineyard in Napa Valley farmed by a great grower.
You can’t make a great wine without great grapes and they were fortunate enough to learn about a particular vineyard in Carneros that has long flown under the radar. This special site forms its own small valley facing San Pablo Bay, allowing the cool afternoon breezes to take the edge off the sun. Combining a unique vineyard, a skilled grower, co-fermentation and native yeast, Rua is a deeply complex, exotic, exciting, rich and layered wine made from Merlot and Cabernet Franc.
According to Walt and Máire, “We only make one wine, so all of our energy and determination is focused to produce a memorable and delicious wine.”
Are you a family winery interested in joining us in our tasting room collective? Please send email to Kim.
