Authentic, that was the word that went though my mind as we drove away from Oakstone Winery this past Sunday. It's a word that proves elusive to most wineries, but not at Oakstone.
After spending 15 years in the wine industry managing the Direct to Consumer business of wineries in Napa/Sonoma, the thought of going wine tasting is not generally high on my list. I tend to focus on the experience first and wine second, that's not to say that I don't have high expectations for both. Oakstone Winery gets five stars for both.
We have a friend who loves tasting wines in the foothills and not being familiar with the area we followed her lead. We stopped in a at couple of places before we got to Oakstone and the experience to that point was pretty pedestrian. It sure seems like food is a big draw here in the foothills, I counted three places that advertised food. I suppose that's a nice option, but it's really not what I'm looking for. It also seems the staff isn't as engaged or experienced as they should be when dealing with customers who have the potential not only to buy wine but also to become brand ambassadors.
That all changed when we pulled into Oakstone. They were having an event where they were tasting what seemed to be their full lineup of wines in their barrel storage area along with a barrel tasting of their port style wine.
It's a working area of the winery, but it was immaculate. From a wine-making perspective, good hygiene is mission critical. I imagine outside of the occasional event, customers can only enjoy this space from the view down from the tasting room.
As we walk in we were handed our glass by a young man who I assume is related to the owners, big smile on his face, the great first impression that cost the winery nothing, but is so important when you are in the hospitality business.
Liz greeted us with a big smile, (starting to see a trend here) and explained the event and setup and we headed over to the long tables to see what was on tap. It's wasn't overly crowded, as it was toward the end of the day so there was no shoulder to shoulder jostling, but l'm sure they get busy.
The hosts behind the tables were knowledgeable and genuinely interested in us, explaining the wines and answering our questions, making us feel as though we were "part of the club" even through it was our first time there.
Steve, who along with his wife Liz are the proprietors, was at the end of the table pouring wines and handling the barrel tasting of the Port style wine. Extremely gracious and generous with his time and knowledge, he capped off what turned out to be one of the best wine tasting experiences I have enjoyed in quite some time.
In a word: Authentic.
We look forward to returning to enjoy and purchase more wines and taking in the stunning view from the deck.
Oh, the wines?
While my tastes run to the old world, it's nice tasting Zinfandel that isn't: 1) a heat-seeking weapon of mass palate destruction or 2) a casket of oak, acid and meager fruit.
The wines are rich and round with great depth and moderate alcohol. The 100 Anniversary 1916 Century blend is definitely one to seek out. Simply a stunning example of old vine Zinfandel from a winemaker who obviously understands this variety.
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