Whenever I come home to California, I like to explore lesser known Californian producers, regions and varieties. If you’re looking to find something else besides Napa Cab and save some money, here are the highlights of what I tasted, including a bonus review on wine from Hawaii.
The Grape Rush
As a proud Californian and former history teacher, I like to brag how California has always been on the cutting edge of American progress. From the Gold Rush in 1849 on, California has seen constant rushes that have led it to being the US center of: trade with the Pacific, most of the country’s agriculture, film and music production, progressive social and political movements, the tech industry, tourism, and the wine industry. Despite our recent Super Bowl loss, our sports teams have been innovative, iconic and influential as well. Go Warriors & Niners!!!
That sense of pioneering and rebelling still exists today among wine producers. In the past, I’ve highlighted some lesser known wine regions and even Baja California because wineries can be found throughout the whole state and not just Napa ever since the Spanish missionaries. There are backyard vineyards, urban wineries, old vines from immigrants and Spanish missions, and artisanal production of wine in addition to all the commercial wine industry.
This time around, I actually went to Napa but was able to taste some off-beat wines there. Plus I tasted several cool and interesting local wines during the rest of my stay along with a visit to Hawaii to taste at America’s southernmost winery. Therefore, this post is going to be a mix of my wine reviews with scores format AND wine tourism format.
San Benito County
The San Benito County AVA is part of the Central Coast region just east of Monterrey. It was a French immigrant who first planted vines here in the mid-19th century in the Cienega Valley, a sub-AVA. Although San Benito produces mostly Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, it’s also one of the only homes of a rare grape called Mourtaou originally from Southwest France. In fact, I tasted some in my article on Bordeaux Off the Beaten Path. There it’s called Mancin or Cot Vert. However, in California, where only 12 acres are planted, it’s called Cabernet Pfeffer. It was either named after a 19th century winemaker who cultivated it and/or the fact that it’s a spicy wine and Pfeffer means “pepper” in German. To further complicate the matter, it has been often confused with the variety Trousseau. I got to taste both: a Mourtaou and Trousseau from San Benito.
2020 Adroît Siletto Estate San Benito County Trousseau
Trousseau is mainly found in the Jura region of France and also in Portugal where it’s called Bastardo, which is used in Port and Madeira. Although there may be some old vines mixed in field blends, it’s generally something recently planted in California along with its mutated cousin Trousseau Gris. It’s a cool climate grape. Dark and red berry, bright and fruity with a touch of spice. Low intervention. Whole cluster, so a bit Beaujolais like. Nice wine to have as aperitif or with light or ethnic foods. 90
2018 Kobza “Wirz Vineyard – Old Vine” Cienega Valley Mourtaou (Cabernet Pfeffer)
Low intervention. 100+ year old vines. Light and fruity with a bit of spice. Fresh red fruit acidity too. Not as spicy as I thought it would be but nice and juicy. 90
*Attention Wine Geeks! If you’re looking for other varieties typically made in the Jura and Savoie regions like Trousseau in a low intervention/natural wine method, Phelan Farm has gotten a lot of good press because of their famous winemaker Raj Parr, whose Pinots I reviewed a while back. It’s just a couple hours south and closer to the coast from San Benito County in Cambria. He also recently bought his neighbor, Stolo, who make coastal Pinot, Chardonnay and Syrah.
So Cal Zin
My report on last year’s trip to California mentioned there are actually vines with wine tasting in Disneyland along with wineries in Southern California. Where there were Spanish missions, there are vines. That’s why I had to try a bottle of Zinfandel from Scar of the Sea Wines, who produce natural wines from old dry-farmed vines in the Cucamonga Valley just east of Los Angeles. One would think it would be too hot to make quality wines around Los Angeles, let alone dry-farm.
2021 Scar of the Sea Lopez Vineyard Old Vine Zinfandel Cucamonga Valley
100+ year old vines dry-farmed 70 miles east of Los Angeles. Native yeasts with some whole cluster. Organic and low intervention except minimal sulfur used. 8 months in oak barrels. Fruit driven at first. Dark red fruits. Medium+ acidity. Moderate tannins but approachable now. A savory spice to it and other notes from the wood. It could integrate a little more. Only 240 cases made. 91+
Cali Chenin
The Clarksburg AVA is located just south of Sacramento. It’s considered the hotspot for Chenin Blanc in California where the river and coastal influence keep the vines cool. However, they grow all sorts of whites and some red varieties too which are usually bought by other AVAs, so that’s why most Clarksburg labeled wines only feature what it’s known for: Chenin Blanc. This producer, however, produces mostly Chardonnay and Pinot from Sonoma besides this Chenin Blanc.
2019 La Pitchoune Chenin Blanc La Bombe Merritt Island Clarksburg
Only 255 cases made. 10 months in large, used French oak. Nice aromatics. Minerally flinty notes with ripe fruit, light body. Melon, honey and citrus. A little light on midpalate but fun to drink. Probably best to drink this year. 90
Napa Rebels
I had a meeting in Napa, so I got the chance to do some tastings while there. I went to 3 places that were all reasonably priced for Napa, where it’s not uncommon to have $75-100+ tastings these days. All these producers were sort of rebels in other ways too.
Frog’s Leap
Since my meeting was in downtown Napa, I only had time to visit one actual vineyard. I chose Frog’s Leap in Rutherford because it still makes classic Napa wines in the style of the 70’s and 80’s rather than the big, bombastic ones that emerged in the late 90’s. They also dry-farm, which is not common.
Despite being old-fashioned today compared to most Napa producers, Frog’s Leap was a part of a whole generation of currently famous Napa producers in the 70’s and 80’s. Frog’s Leap was founded by John Williams and Larry Turley, who made their first wine in 1981. Williams still runs the estate today. The winery itself dates back to the late 19th century and was restored for use by Frog’s Leap about a 100 years later. Prior to Frog’s Leap, Williams worked for Stag’s Leap Cellars and assisted with the famous 1973 that won top red at the Judgement of Paris in 1976. Back then, the wines were more like their French counterparts: more restrained, elegant and fresher. Plus, many couldn’t afford expensive new, French oak. Wine tastings were mostly free too.
Frog’s Leap
Even after tasting Frog’s Leap’s biggest, boldest Cabernet, I felt it was more on the elegant and restrained side compared to most Napa. I posted pictures in a recent post since I included their Sauvignon Blanc in my reviews. I also got to try a minerally Chardonnay, an elegant Zin and their Heritage blend featuring Charbono (Bonarda in Argentina) with some Valdiguie, Mourvedre, Petite Sirah, Carignan and Riesling.
Although visiting the valley in winter is not as pretty as other times of the year when there’s foliage and grapes, many of the wineries allow these yellow flowers around the vines to compete, so it’s still quite colorful in the vineyards. Frog’s Leap also has a nice, cozy fireplace.
Rebel Vintners
Next we went to downtown Napa, which has become much more of a picturesque showcase for shops, restaurants and tasting rooms than I remember since the last time I went downtown was at least a couple decades ago. Most everything can be found on First Street.
I decided to try Rebel Vintners, which is a tasting room shared by three boutique producers (Cadle Family, Leaf & Vine and Uncharted Wine) who don’t have their own vineyard. It has a casual, unpretentious vibe. One of the owners/winemakers is there to guide you through the tasting which is a flight of 2 wines from each although the owner (of Cadle) was happy to pour all his wines too. Their wines are not only from Napa but also Sonoma. As their name implies, they also go against the grain by featuring less common varieties like Sangiovese or a Pet Nat Pinot Meunier in addition to some Cab, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Overall, the wines show Napa/Sonoma ripeness but with only subtle oak influence.
Rebel Vintners Flight
Chateau Buena Vista
Chateau Buena Vista Tasting Room
Lastly, we tasted some wines at Chateau Buena Vista, which is one of the oldest wineries in the region, founded in 1857. Although it’s historic, it stands out for its flashy, old-fashioned French-décor tasting room with caviar and chocolate. It matches the eccentric current owner, Jean-Charles Boisset from Burgundy. We tasted some lovely Sonoma Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, which veer towards Burgundy–not surprising given the owner. You also can catch some of Jean-Charles’ antique and avant-garde aesthetics at one of his other properties, Raymond in St. Helena. It’s unlike any other tasting room I’ve been to in Napa.
Volcanic Wine in Hawaii
Besides our own beautiful landscapes and touristy destinations, Hawaii is the place Californians love to go for vacation to really get away. Despite being tropical, there are a couple of wineries on the islands since there are microclimates suitable to grow grape vines as well as plenty of volcanic soil. There’s Maui Wine, who works with Napa producer Emil Tedeschi. Although they make wine from grapes, you often see their pineapple wines at the supermarket on all the islands, not just Maui. 
I spent most of my stay on the Big Island of Hawaii where they have several active volcanoes. A must-do is Volcanoes National Park which showcases the active volcano Kīlauea and is just next to another active volcano, Mauna Loa, which is technically the highest mountain in the world if starting from the base below sea level. Mauna Loa is the world’s largest active volcano too.
Just 10 minutes outside the park on the foothills of the Mauna Loa is the Volcano Winery, the United States’ southernmost winery. They are open for tastings without appointments everyday, so we stopped by after our visit in Volcanoes National Park. Many day tours that take you to see the volcanoes also take you to the winery.
Their vines are located in various places at around 1,200 m above sea level with temperatures ranging from 30F at night to 80F normally but occasionally hitting 90F. Most of their wines are non-vintage table wines that sell out to tourists not long after release while their estate vintage wines are only for members and are tiny production. Their estate Pinot only produces around 400 bottles for example. The cheapest wines sell for $25. They make their own estate tea too, which is infused in one of their wines. In fact, you can choose to do a tea tasting if you don’t drink wine. There’s also food to have with the wine. 
Tasting Notes
Their Muscat Dry (Muscat of Alexandria) is the only one I think wine geeks would like. Quite acidic–more than the Chilean versions. All the wines use commercial yeast unlike most Chilean versions which are from natural/traditional producers. It’s fruit driven with some salty minerality too. Their Table Pinot Noir was super-tart, like sour candy. Light bodied. Some savory smoke. 7 weeks in French oak. Ultimately too acidic for me which is weird because I love high-acid wines. It needs food. Their Volcano Red blends red varieties Cabernet, Alicante and Carignan with 15% Jaboticaba berries, which is a fruit that came from Brazil with the Portuguese in the 1800s. It’s like a fruit punch but with decent acid and some salinity. Ultimately, they don’t produce enough grapes so they need to add some other fruit juice to their wines. Their Volcano Blush, made of 70% Muscat and the rest Jaboticaba, is basically an off-dry to sweet White Zin like wine. Medium-low acid. Their Volcano White is 40% Muscat and 60% Guava, and the Guava dominates with the wine’s texture. Sweet and tropical. The last few we tasted are to meet the tropical fruit loving palates of Hawaiians. All but the Pinot see no oak I think. Their Macadamia Nut Honey Mead using Champagne yeasts was better since it was less sweet and less fruity with nutty notes in addition to the honey. The Infusion Tea Wine is the same but with their estate black tea steeped in it for 4 weeks. Lots of tea notes on the nose. Tasted a lot like an Arizona Iced Tea but not Snapple which has more tea notes.
All these wines could work well with the right pairing with local cuisine and for beginning drinkers who prefer sweet alcoholic mixed drinks. The Muscat Dry is the only one that tastes like “normal” wine, and that’s partly because most of the other ones are blended with other things. It was an exotic tasting to say the least.