Buy two bottles of these featured wines or ONE of the Oracle, and you will receive a link to the Zoom Event to join us for this special tasting.
Miner is a dynamic family-owned winery tucked along the eastern hills of the Oakville appellation in the heart of Napa Valley. Founded in 1998 by Dave and Emily Miner, Miner Family Winery crafts reserve-style wines by sourcing fruit from Napa Valley and other specially selected California vineyards .
Things all began for Dave Miner following a number of years spent working in the software industry. Dave got his start in wine in 1993 as President of Oakville Ranch Vineyards, owned by his late uncle, Robert Miner. Having spent years as an enthusiastic wine consumer and collector, Dave had a natural affinity for the business.
Emily Miner, a Minnesota transplant and graduate of Santa Clara University joined Oakville Ranch as the Tasting Room Manager. It was there Dave and Emily met and fell in love.
Over the years they have sought and secured a number of California’s finest vineyard sites, but only those allowing complete farming control. It is this level of detail and control, from vine to wine, that ensures a wine’s consistency and quality. The relationships with these owners and farmers are paramount to all that they do.
Each wine at Miner is crafted in a style to encapsulate the distinctive elements and the indelible fingerprints of their respective vineyards.
Our featured speaker is Mike Steffel. Born and raised in Minnesota Mike has spent over 20 years in the Wine Business. Before joining Miner Family WInes, he worked for a number of national distributors along with managing two estate wineries. The two other wineries were O'Shaughnessy Estate Winery on Howell Mountain and Domaine Serene in Oregon.
A few of the vineyards that are part of or influences the featured wines include:
Stagecoach Vineyard: is one of the most ambitious vineyard developments to date. Situated upon a stagecoach trail from the 1800s, this 800-acre vineyard was planted around enormous rocks and boulders atop the eastern hills of Napa Valley. At nearly 1,500 feet above the valley floor, this vineyard consistently produces bold, age-worthy wines from it’s famously red, rocky, volcanic soils.
Gary’s Vineyard: Located inland from Monterey in the Santa Lucia Highlands, Garys’ Vineyard is widely recognized for producing some of the finest Pinot Noir in California. Named after partners Gary Franscioni and Gary Pisoni, the vineyard was planted in 1996 using obtained budwood from a famed vineyard in Burgundy
Genny’s Vineyard: owned by the Garvey family and named after matriarch Genevive (“Genny”), is located in the cooler Carneros region of Napa Valley and is planted to three different clones (Robert Young, 76, and 96) of Chardonnay.
The various styles of wine Miner Vineyard’s creates include Bordeaux, Burgundy, Rhone and a little Italian. The wines we are featuring for this tasting include:
Napa Valley Chardonnay: Sourced from select low-yielding vineyards in Napa Valley, our Chardonnay is characterized by crisp apple, ripe melon and citrus flavors, gently balanced with toasty French oak. Our winemaker uses malolactic fermentation in moderation to retain the wine’s bright acidity. More than a decade after our Chardonnay put us on the map, this wine remains a classic.
Pinot Noir, Gary’s Vineyard: This 50-acre vineyard was planted in 1995 by friends and growers Gary Franscioni and Gary Pisoni along the terraces of the Santa Lucia mountain range, overlooking the Salinas River Valley. With plenty of lovely, rich tannins, this Pinot offers up flavors of dark red fruit, subtle oak, nutmeg-clove spice. Aged for 14 months in French Oak.
Emily’s Cabernet: Emily’s is their eponymous offering in remembrance of Emily Miner, co-founder of Miner Family Winery. This blend is as expressive and elegant as our muse.
Emily is honored by the crafting a decadent and rich wine layered with aromas of black fruit and hints of mocha, espresso and toasted oak. Truly iconic Napa Valley for a truly iconic woman.
Merlot, Stagecoach Vineyard: Challenged by the rocky volcanic soils of this mountainous vineyard site, the vines at Stagecoach produce fruit of extraordinary quality and intensity. This meticulously farmed property is hand-picked according to our winemaker Stacy Vogel’s specifications. Loaded with rich ripe fruit and spice notes with touches of toasty oak, our Merlot has a nice grip from fine tannins on the lengthy finish.
The Oracle: The Oracle is an exceptionally balanced, full-bodied red blend made from grapes grown at Stagecoach Vineyard in the eastern hills of Napa Valley. In Greek mythology, the oracle was a source of inspiration and revelation. We hope that you will find the answers to life’s most compelling questions while enjoying The Oracle with friends and family.
As always, the plan for our virtual tasting is for you to buy some of the featured wines to join in the Zoom Tasting on the 24th.
Typically the minimum is a two bottle buy, but this time around, we have a couple of higher end wines and if you would like to purchase a single bottle of the Oracle, we will include you in the tasting event.
Trust us, you will love these wines and we hope that you will be part of this special tasting.
Pre-orders are being done now and we will take orders online or in the bar up through Tuesday. We will place the order with the distributor for delivery on Wednesday the 23rd for pick up prior to the tasting event on Thursday evening.
Sep 16, 2020 at 4:00 PM
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We have a fun opportunity with an Italian Brunello from Castello Banfi from Tuscany which hits all of the marks.
Highly rated by several experts including James Suckling, Wine Spectator, and Wine Advocate.
Ready to drink today, but also ready for you to lay down for years to come to improve flavor as well as the potential price of the bottle. Imagine laying this special wine down for a few years and pulling a bottle from your collection to share with friends, or to have as part of a special meal with your loved ones.
We have several options for you to consider if you would like to grab a few bottles to enjoy at home.
Check our this brief video, feel free to pause the video to read more about the wine and the winery.
We are doing a pre-buy on the wine.
Order a single bottle of wine or a multi-bottle pack:
You can buy online at /Our-Wines-and-Products/Red or stop by the bar and order your wines in person. We will combine all the orders and send it to the distributor for delivery on September 29th for you to pick up at the bar.
*For our wine club members, your standard discounts apply on all options, including the multi-bottle packs.
Don’t delay and get your order in ASAP to take advantage of this special purchase.
About the wine:
Grape Variety: 100% Sangiovese, select clones.
Production Technique: A meticulous grape selection is followed by vinification with skin contact for 10-12 days. Released in the 5th year after harvest, the wine is aged for a minimum of 4 years, including 2 years in oak barrels of various sizes, mainly French oak barriques and partly in Slavonian oak casks.
Perfect with red meats, wild game and aged cheeses.
About the Winery:
Banfi was founded in 1978 thanks to the will of the Italian-American brothers, John and Harry Mariani.
Positioned at the confluence of the Orcia and Ombrone rivers, the Banfi estate extends along the southern slopes of the township of Montalcino across 7,100 acres of land; one third of the property is under specialized vine and the balance is shared between olive groves, wheat fields, plum trees, truffle stands, forest and scrub.
From the beginning, the goal of the two brothers was to create a state-of-the-art winery combined with the most advanced science in the vineyards for the production of premium wines.
Together with the Mariani family, Ezio Rivella, one of Italy's foremost enologists, who understood that due to the richness of the soils and the privileged microclimatic position, the property would have great capacity of development.
Since the beginning, the Castello Banfi wines achieved outstanding accolades from the most acclaimed wine writers and opinion leaders from all over the world.
Sep 11, 2020 at 2:00 PM
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Our in-house wine specialist Brian, has taken a leading role in learning and sharing information about our wines and specials. You likely see his daily posts on Facebook and the videos we have done to help our customers choose the right wines during this time of limited service.
The Concierge Service entails the following:
*This does not include the current months wine club wines.
Our hope is to offer you a fun and informative experience when considering all the wine options we have here at Steve’s.
We are offering this special service on Tuesday and Sunday. This is a reservation program so please call in to set your time to meet with Brian. If need be, to work with our customers schedules on Tuesday and Sunday, we will stay open a bit later based on reservations for the day.
Call our main number at 940-514-1852 to reserve your time.
Sep 9, 2020 at 12:05 PM
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The “Blind-Tasting Challenge” is back for September. In the past when we have done this, it has always been very well-received. It’s a fun exercise in allowing your senses do the decision making rather than the label, region, or varietal, to pick your favorite wines.
This month we are doing the Old World VS New World.
We have four wines on each club. Both clubs have a mix of old world and new world wines. Your challenge is to pick which wines are from which world.
We have 4 varietals on each club: Pinot Grigio/Gris, Chardonnay, Garnacha/Grenache, and Cabernet.
Platinum Club members of course will taste all 8 wines. You will have the chance to not only choose which of your four wines are old or new world, but you will be able to compare the varietal on which is old or new world.
Gold Club members have four different wines to taste and pick which is which. If you would like to take on the varietal challenge as well, you can add on the platinum tasting for just $10 a person.
When you pick up your tasting, we will give you a sheet to use to select if the wine is old world or new world. Return that when you come in to pick up your bottles and you can see how well you did.
NOT A CLUB MEMBER? Join today online and come and be part of the challenge. Or you can also simply purchase a tasting for you to pick up and enjoy at home or on our patio. Gold Club Tastings are $15 a person, Platinum Club Tastings are $20 a person, OR do both for $30 a person. You can stop in and ask to purchase a tasting to-go, or have the server help get you signed up for the club.
We look forward to having you join us in this challenge and look forward to seeing you soon!
Among the most respected regions in the world of cold-climate Chardonnay, Chablis produces maybe the hyperbolic examples of the style. This section of Burgundy is responsible for producing clean, lean versions of Chardonnay that stand in stark contrast to the heavily-oaked, rich examples produced here in the US. This is a quintessential example of the style. On the nose, look for aromas of lemon peel, crisp green apple, and flinty minerality. On the palate, see if you find the vein of salinity intertwined within the crisp tree fruit character supplemented by notable acidity and minerality.
Argentina is probably not the first place you would think of when it comes to Chardonnay. It is far from the most-planted white variety in the country, and rarely finds its way to the US market unless it is distributed by larger brands or one connected to a prominent domestic brand (Think Felino of the Paul Hobbs portfolio). This is not to speak ill of its quality, however, as Argentinian Chardonnay is a treat and will appeal to fans of other new world styles. In this example look for aromas of baked apple, ripe pear, and butter, with notes of vanilla, creme brulee, and ripe tree and stone fruits on the palate.
Italian Pinot Grigio is most often sourced from the Northeastern region of Alto Adige; one of Italy’s cooler climates that turns out crisp, mineral-driven interpretations. When sourced from a hotter region such as Tuscany, however, Pinot Gris usually displays a fruitier, riper character. In this example look for aromas of apricot and melon and notes of pear, stone fruit, honey, and cream on the palate.
Anderson Valley is known as one of the premier areas for Pinot Noir and Sparkling Wines in California, housing the wineries of many Champagne’s most prominent houses such as Louis Roederer’s (Cristal, Champagne Deutz) Roederer Estate and Scharffenberger. It would make sense then that cool-climate friendly grapes such as Pinot Gris would thrive in this cool, coastal climate. Take note of the aromas of stone and citrus fruits mixed with fresh lemongrass and the palate laden with lime zest, apricot, pear and subtle notes of beeswax supplemented by well-integrated acidity and minerality.
When we think of Rhone Varietals from California, we generally think of the regions that housed the initial ‘Rhone Rangers’ effort such as Santa Barbara (Bonny Doon, etc) and Paso Robles (Tablas Creek, etc.). They have found their way all over the state, as there are plantings of Grenache from the South Coast AVA’s all the way to Lake County. This example is from the larger Sierra Foothills region; an area primarily known for Zinfandel, but one that is expanding its wine repertoire. In this example look for aromas of nutmeg, cinnamon, and star anise playing with robust dark red fruits. On the palate, look for rich black cherry, blueberry, vanilla, and spicy smoky mesquite.
Standing in stark contrast to the Grenaches of Rhone and even the New World, Spanish Garnacha is like if wine was a ‘warm blanket.’ Due to its Mediterranean climate, Garnacha’s tend to display heightened notes of tertiary notes such as spices and oak influence. They can be manipulated greatly during the winemaking process, and use a wide variety of oak programs to yield different levels of richness or approachability. In this example, look for notes of five spice and reduced raspberry on the nose, with notes of rich plum, baking spices, and vanilla supplemented by firm tannins and lip-smacking acidity.
IIf you have had Italian Cabernet Sauvignon, it likely has been sourced from Tuscany, which has built its reputation with its approachable and legendary Super Tuscan blends. However, the variety is planted in select amounts all over Italy, with one of the more recent and prominent examples being Puglia. This region is located on the ‘heel’ of the boot that is Italy, and experiences a warm, Oceanic climate. This weather makes for reds with restrained tannins, moderate acidity, and fresh, lively fruit flavors. In this example, look for notes of black cherry, raspberry, and spicebox notes such as anise, and cinnamon on both the nose and palate.
We have long loved Cabs from this Central Coast region of California. The status of Cabernet Sauvignon from Paso Robles has seen a meteoric rise in popularity in recent years, and can be found just about everywhere at a wide variety of price points. Cab’s from this area are often excellent examples of how very hot climates interact with late-ripening varieties. In this example, look for aromas of macerated blueberries, reduced black cherries, and black peppercorn and notes of dark red fruits, five-spice, and rich vanilla on the palate.
Sep 4, 2020 at 12:00 PM
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