Winemaker Notes
Critical Acclaim
All Vintages
The mighty buffalo is an iconic symbol of American heritage, a heritage woven with a thousand stories, unique traditions and a pioneering spirit. Our country’s history of hard work and tenacity lives on today in each of us and continues to be at the essence of America’s character. This is the inspiration for 1,000 Stories, a unique wine aged in new bourbon barrels - a reflection of our winemakers’ pioneering spirits. It wasn’t a quick process, but creating something by hand to meet exacting standards seldom is.
What started as an experiment has now become a passion. Unbeknownst to the rest of the winery, Charlie and Bob had acquired some bourbon barrels from a distillery in Kentucky in hopes that wine grown from a small parcel of premium Zinfandel and matured in the bourbon barrels would achieve a unique complexity. As time passed and the wine evolved, it became clear that the result would be exceptional. No longer a secret, Bob and Charlie’s story is shared in each bottle of 1,000 Stories.
A major force on the global playing field, California is the world’s fourth largest wine-producing region on the planet and the majority of land under vine here is devoted to red varieties, covering nearly double the vineyard acreage of whites.
While the state’s incredibly diverse terrain and microclimates allow for countless red wine styles, the one factor unifying all California red wine is the abundance of sunshine and a long, consistent growing season, which leads to well-developed and fully ripened fruit.
The most famous region today, of course, is the acclaimed Napa Valley, where Cabernet Sauvignon reigns as king.
Sonoma County, nestled between Napa Valley and the Pacific Ocean, claims great variability in geography and microclimates. Here world-class Pinot Noir is possible from Sonoma’s cooler sites while old, gnarly Zinfandel vines survived Prohibition.
The Central Coast, Lodi and the Sierra Foothills also excel in the production of Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon and remain active frontiers for newer varieties, namely Rhône and Spanish.
The cool Anderson Valley in California’s North Coast region is a fantastic source of Pinot noir.
