Napa and Sonoma Wine Tasting: Everett Ridge (4.38)

http://www.everettridge.com/

Open: 10am-5pm

Appt required? No

Last barlinwine.com visit: 2012

Directions:

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Tasting:

We followed up our return trip to Mill Creek with my first-ever trip to Everett Ridge. The entrance is along the valley floor on the southern end of Dry Creek Valley, but a steep driveway takes you up a hill to the tasting room. Inside, a sizable tasting room is flanked by a large outdoor deck with an outdoor pizza oven and grill and picnic tables overlooking the vineyards. We were given the option to taste inside or outside, and in the interest of time we decided to head inside.

Meredith’s face lit up, and immediately declared Everett Ridge one of her favorite places when she was presented with a large bowl of cheese puffs to accompany our tasting. While she munched away, we started our shared tasting.

Everett Ridge was pouring several wines from their sister winery Esterlina, and many of these wines were featured during our visit. This also turned a hefty tasting into an extremely hefty tasting. As is customary, we started with whites and worked to reds. Wine #1 was the 2010 Esterlina Sonoma County Chardonnay, followed by the very sweet 2010 Cole Ranch Riesling. To transition into reds we tried a splash of the 2010 Everett Ridge Rose, which Meredith said, “tastes like cotton candy” -- probably not the review the winemaker was hoping for, but it takes all kinds.

We kicked off our exploration of reds with a 3-year vertical tasting of Esterlina Anderson Valley Pinot Noir, 2008-2010. I thought this was a solid wine, and a decent deal at around $35/bottle. For me, my favorite wine of the three was the 2010, followed by 2008 and finally 2009.

Everett Ridge is owned and run by the Sterling family (no relation to Sterling Vineyards), and the owner’s son happened to be at the winery the day we stopped in with one of his daughters, Heather. This became especially relevant because our next wines were named after none other than Heather. The name chosen for this wine line? “Diablita”, or “little she devil”!

Well, the Little Devil was very well behaved, sporting a Justin Bieber t-shirt and occasionally popping out from the back room where she was entertaining herself to ask her dad a question while he entertained guests in front. It turns out her wine was pretty good also. The first Diablita, a 2008 Zinfandel, was good, but the next wine, the 2007 Diablita Red Blend was one of our favorites, featuring a lot of spice while remaining easy to drink. The best part? Only $18/bottle.

Eight wines in, I could have been done, but our hostess would have none of it. She poured us the 2007 Esterlina Cole Ranch Merlot for wine #9, the 2007 Everett Ridge Anniversary Cab for wine #10, and the 2008 Everett Ridge Estate Syrah for wine #11. None blew me away, unfortunately, but at this point we had tried just about everything they had. And you know what was standing out? That $18 bottle of Diablita.

Meredith and I decided to take a bottle of Diablita, but only on one condition: The Little Devil had to autograph the bottle. Heather obliged (although she was super shy about it), and we went on our way.

While I didn’t love the wine, the tasting experience was a good one, and I think that this could be a great picnic spot out on the deck overlooking the vineyard. Meredith gives it “5 stars for cheese puffs” if you’re into that sort of thing. I thought the wine was decent, but the atmosphere and setting make this worth a stop.