Today’s pick is Broadside Wine. You may be familiar with the instantly recognizable label designs, as well as their reliably delicious flavors. The TasteTV wine reviewers recommend the following three as ones that combine great value with an attractive price.
Luxury wine producer HALL Family Wines, maker of HALL, WALT and BACA Wines, proudly announced that Megan Gunderson has been promoted to the position of Director of Winemaking. In her new role, Gunderson will be responsible for the production and direction of all wines produced under the HALL, WALT, and BACA brands. Gunderson has been a member of the HALL winemaking team since 2005, and head winemaker for award winning WALT Wines since 2010.
“We are thrilled Megan will be spearheading our winemaking program,” says Vintner Kathryn Hall. “Her expertise with Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir and Zinfandel has helped each of our brands grow over the years in quality and acclaim. Megan is a dedicated, inspiring and highly respected leader. Our entire team is excited to work with her in her new role.”
Gunderson began her career in the Napa Valley in 2001 after moving from Colorado to California to work as an intern at Robert Mondavi Winery. While at Mondavi, she discovered her passion for wine and viticulture which she regarded as a marriage of science, art, and technology. After completing her internship, she joined St. Supéry in Rutherford as Laboratory Manager, later moving to Dominus Estates in Yountville in the same capacity. At Dominus, inspired by the complexities of the Napa Valley appellations and sub-appellations, Gunderson developed her meticulous approach to winemaking. In 2005, she joined HALL Wines as Enologist and quickly rose through the ranks as an Assistant then Associate Winemaker, then was promoted to Winemaker ten years later, assuming the increasingly central roles within the winemaking operation.
“I am tremendously excited about this new opportunity” says HALL Family Wines Director of Winemaking, Megan Gunderson. “We have the opportunity to produce wines from many of the finest vineyards in the world, following the most efficient sustainability practices, while enabling our production team to utilize the newest technologies. I love to experiment within the winemaking process and look forward to continuing research as a core part of our production effort. I am also excited to continue to work with Director of Vineyards, Don Munk, Senior Winemaker Alison Frichtl Hollister, and all of the very talented, hard-working members of our winemaking team.”
In addition to managing HALL’s flagship Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignons, Gunderson will oversee winemaking for the WALT Pinot Noir brand, known for producing single vineyard Pinots, as well as the family’s newest brand, BACA, which focuses on the production of high-quality Zinfandels.
Gunderson resides in Napa with her husband Juan and three daughters, Lily, Emmy, and Vianny.
For more information, please visit www.hallwines.com, www.waltwines.com, and www.bacawines.com.
HALL Family Wines produces high quality Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir and Zinfandel under the HALL, WALT and BACA brand monikers. HALL Family Wines collectively owns five wine country tasting rooms including HALL St. Helena, HALL Rutherford, WALT Sonoma, WALT Oxbow, and WALT | BACA Healdsburg. Owned by Craig and Kathryn Hall, the family-owned winery produces artisan wines that express the unique and diverse character of the wine country’s soils and climates through meticulous attention to detail in the vineyards and throughout the winemaking process. The family’s luxury wine portfolio, led by Director of Winemaking Megan Gunderson, sources fruit from some of the most prominent vineyards up and down the West Coast including eleven Estate vineyards– Sacrashe, Bergfeld, Hardester, Beller, T Bar T Ranch, Atlas Peak, Lamoreaux, Rainin, Dellar-Freidkin, Cook, Bob’s Ranch, Clos Pepe and The Corners. The HALL St. Helena winery was the first LEED® Gold Certified Winery in the State of California in 2009 and earned another LEED® Gold certification for its high-tech production facility and Tasting Room in 2014. Since the inception of HALL in 1995, the three luxury wine brands have earned over 600 ratings of 90 points or above from the industry’s top critics, including five 100-point scores. Visit www.hallwines.com, www.waltwines.com, www.bacawines.com f
Red wines continue to fascinate, and are often the wine of choice for many. Add these three romantic California reds selected by TasteTV to your lineup, and you will not be disappointed.
Vegan wines taste as good as regular wines, that’s our proclamation! If you don’t believe us, then try Château Les Maubats 2015 Bordeaux Superior Rouge.
This wine is bright and refreshing, and fully meets our expectations of a pleasantly drinkable French vintage. The fact that it is vegan is an afterthought, at least from a palate perspective. What does surprise us more than anything is that it is French, because the style is so New World in presentation, almost Californian or Australian.
The winemaker describes Château Les Maubats 2015 Bordeaux Superior Rouge as “Deep ruby core with aromas of red cherries, raspberries, thyme, and earthy notes. Full-bodied on the palate with integrated oak flavors, ripe red fruit, coffee, a hint of tobacco, and a touch of licorice”
Definitely a great drinking or gift wine, and guaranteed to be a conversation starter… or deal closer.
We are often asked, “Wait, aren’t all wines vegan?” No, mon frere! They are not , just like honey is not vegan, nor is butter, because they both came from animals.
Wine may be made of grapes, but it has to be cleared up and filtered to make it drinkable, otherwise there are a number of unpleasant floating things you might swallow. An agent added to the wine can absorb this debris and when removed, leaves most of the wine a tasty and clear liquid.
As Vegan Wines describes, “traditional wine fining and filtering may involve many animal products, such as isinglass (from fish bladders), gelatin (from animal hooves and sinews), chitosan (from crustaceans), albumin (from eggs), and casein (from milk).” Vegan wines use non-animal derived methods to clarify the wine, including no slaughterhouse byproducts such as animal blood, bone, feathers, or fish waste are used to enrich and fertilize soil.
Vegan Wines is expanding its offerings and wine club, especially for lovers of reds and lower-priced wines. It’s also the the U.S.’s first all-vegan wine club
Vegan Wines began in 2018 to make buying vegan wines easier, to give boutique vineyards and wineries more exposure, and to raise awareness about the exploitation of animals in winemaking methods. Founded by Frances Gonzalez, a long-time vegan and wine enthusiast, with an assist from in-house sommelier Sunny Gandara, DWS, CWE, Vegan Wines offers unique wines that are animal-friendly ‘from the vine to the glass.’ Vegan Wines visits wineries across the U.S. and the world, touring vineyards and winemaking facilities, talking with owners and winemakers, and of course, tasting wines, to uncover rare and small-scale wines that are guaranteed vegan. Vegan Wines also offers the first online vegan wine club in the U.S., with hand-selected wines, special discounts, recipes, events, and more. For more information visit http://veganwines.com.
Château Les Maubats 2015 Bordeaux Superior Rouge retails for around $30, find it here.
If you love food and wine, then you know that Napa Valley is an epicenter for both. Between the vast acres of vineyards and the great selections of restaurants, it’s a place where new trends constantly emerge.
We’ve asked experts Chef Barbara Alexander and Karen Rowley what they see as some of the upcoming ones.
Karen Rowley
Karen Rowley owns a travel company completely focused on creating wine and culinary adventures all over the world on land and sea. She works with wineries, culinary experts, and chefs to curate the most amazing experiences imaginable. Travel has been her life for 30 years, and she is part of the prestigious Virtuoso Travel Network of the best luxury travel advisors on the planet.
Chef Barbara Alexander
For over 30 years, Chef B. has worked as a professional executive chef, running pedigree hotel kitchens and Michelin-level restaurants in Vancouver, Canada and Sydney, Australia. She has been a culinary educator with The Dubrulle French Culinary School in Vancouver, Canada, The Culinary Institute of America at Greystone, Napa Valley, and had a 16-year stint as Culinary Director at the lauded Napa Valley Cooking School. Currently, Chef B. is a consultant for the Culinary Institute of America.
Curated Journeys
Karen Rowley, the co-founder of Curated Journeys, which provides elevated private experiences, discovering what the locals and insiders love about Napa Valley. Food and wine produced by award-winning chefs and winemakers, served in stunning settings.
Curated Journeys wants their guests to know the secret enclaves that lie behind closed gates, in hidden caves, and private estates. Committed to quality, local food, and small production, outstanding wines in their personal lives, they have created unparalleled, immersive experiences for small groups of people to enjoy.
For more information, please visit https://www.manymoretravels.com/product/napa-valley-curated-journeys
At certain times of the year such as during Holidays or summer vacations, sweet foods and wines are often on everyone’s minds. TasteTV recently had the opportunity to review two wines of this genre from Herzog Cellars: