Summer Evening in Sonoma Wine Country/ Greg Morthole/Winemaker/Rodney Strong/Davis Bynum

Recently Greg Joined me at Valette Healdsburg for many different courses and wines. We opened the great wines of Rodney Strong Vineyards and Davis Bynum. We have two great features...AGAIN,as the dishes just kept coming...,and quite frankly...Disappearing ! Harry Bryan joined the party as we closed the restaurant a couple nights in a row! First I will tell you about a couple of the wines and a few words of the great restaurant known as Valette Healdsburg. We have told you of the amazing Sav Blancs from rodney Strong and Davis bynum,and we now will discover the rose from Davis Bynum. Winemaking is light handed, with timely and deliberate choices made to craft a wine that genuinely reflects the vineyard and vintage. This rose has bright aromas and flavors, fresh acidity and a clean finish which is due to selecting exceptional blocks of fruit and picking early in the season when the acidity is naturally high and the sugars are low. The clone 113 block of Pinot Noir provided 92% of the finished blend, which was given 2 hours of skin contact to deepen the fruit and color before being pressed. The other 8% came from the clone 115 block, which also received 2 hours of skin contact. The resulting blend was chosen for its berry fruit, herbal and citrus notes and balanced finish. We also paired the beautiful Pinot Noir from Davis Bynum. Davis Bynum Pinot Noir showcases terroir: differences in flavor from distinct sites in the Russian River Valley. Our Russian River Valley Pinot Noir blends the characters of three distinct Russian River Valley neighborhoods and select blocks from the Petaluma Gap to create a wine with richness, balance and complexity. The darker fruit tones, richer mouthfeel and velvety tannins come from fruit grown in the warmer climate of the Santa Rosa Plains with its clay-rich soils underlain by volcanic ash. The fruit grown on the sandy soil of the warm Middle Reach neighborhood on Westside Road add to the spice, floral and red cherry fruit