Event

Every Thursday from 4:00 until 8:00 pm we open a special bottle of wine and offer to you at a highly discounted price.
The wines are typically 90 points or better and are discounted 20-40%. Sometimes even more! when we can get special pricing from our vendors , we pass the savings along to you!!
Come in on Thursday and sample. If you can't make it, call us and we can put some aside for you!! 
(All purchases must be accompanied by a credit card.)

FORT ROSS
FRV
Pinot Noir
2013
100% Pinot Noir

Sonoma Coast, California 

This beautiful Pinot has both Calera & Pommard clone varietals, our favorites! 
It is aged for 10 months in 100% French oak; 30% which is new, production is beyond tiny (1616 bottles), 
so this wine never gets reviewed or rated but one taste told us to buy it all!
So we did.


Our Tasting notes.........

This Pinot Noir has an alluring antique garnet hue that leads to the evolution of aromas that evoke delicate black tea, dried rose petals and orange peel harmoniously interwoven with elements of forest floor. The beautifully integrated palate is defined by red fruits, raspberry and dark cherry keenly balanced by the complexity of baking spices and savory notes followed by the Fort Ross Vineyard signature minerality and acidity. The soft, gentle, refined tannins continue to delight through the lingering, velvety finish. While this elegant Pinot Noir has been patiently cellared  prior to release, it will evolve with grace for years to come.

Our Regular Price $54.99
Special Sale Price 
Only $41.00 a bottle

$222.00 for six  ($37.00 a bottle)!
 

Call us to order - 703-668-WINE(9463) 

Their History…their words…

Fort Ross
RISK TAKING AND RESILIENCE

 “The sheer beauty of this land overlooking the majestic coast drew us to the property.
It has been a labor of love ever since.”
- Lester Schwartz, Owner

In 1988 owners Lester and Linda Schwartz purchased a section of virgin forest and grasslands in the high coastal ridges of the Sonoma coast overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Told by academics that it was too risky plant a vineyard on these cool, foggy coastal ridges so close to the Ocean they were undeterred. After experimenting for several years with assorted clones, rootstocks and trellising systems they concluded that the property had the potential to grow exceptional Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. In 1994, after carefully sourcing exceptional heritage clones whose attributes they believed would reveal the terroir and varietal typicity, they began to prepare and plant the first vineyard blocks. Lester and Linda spent many days personally digging plant holes and planting vines as they meticulously laid out their 53-acre vineyard with roads, underground drainage and irrigation systems while developing and building a reservoir and designing a custom trellis system.
 
In tribute to their South African heritage, they sourced Pinotage bud wood from the original founding blocks in that country, and became the first private growers to import grapevine cuttings through the Foundation Plant Services that operates alongside the U.C. Davis School of Viticulture and Enology.
 
Today, Lester and Linda work closely with Jeff Pisoni, who came to Fort Ross as winemaker in 2009. They regularly walk the vineyard, making viticultural decisions and ultimately determining when best to harvest each block. Lester and Linda continue to oversee the day-to-day vineyard operations. Having worked tirelessly to carve this spectacular vineyard out of an untamed, extreme location, they have proved the academics wrong.
 
JEFF PISONI, Winemaker
Jeff spent his childhood immersed in his family, the farm and the vineyards. These influences, his father’s winemaking and an early interest in science allowed Jeff to know from very early on that he would pursue a life of making wine. He earned a degree in Enology from the California State University at Fresno, and after working at other wineries (Peter Michael and Bernardus), started making wine full-time with his family. Jeff loves the interwoven art, science and craft aspects of winemaking, and the never-ending learning and appreciation of nature found while working with the vineyards and wine.