Wannabe Wino

We stopped at Toulouse Vineyards in the Anderson Valley on the first day of our latest California trip. The tasting room staff at Roederer highly recommended the place, so we thought we'd give it a shot. I hadn't previously heard of Toulouse, they are fairly new with their first vintage being made in 2002. Total, the winery produces about 2600 cases a year.

Upon entering, we were greeted by owner Vern and the winery dog Tess who directed us into the barn for a tasting. We picked the right day to come, they were just wrapping up harvesting olives, so Matt got to sample the wares!

Everyone was very friendly and seemed genuinely happy that we had stopped by. Including a tiny new bundle of white fur that was joining the winery dog staff. The new puppy didn't seem to want us to leave and kept following us to our car!

2007 Rose of Pinot Noir: $22. Roses, watermelon, strawberry, dry. I really liked this one and we took home 2 bottles.

2007 Estate Riesling: $22. Floral peach, honey, light.

2007 Gewuartraminer: $22. Spicy, floral, fruity, honey, acidic, good structure.

2007 Pinot Gris: $22. Pear, peach, citrus, very nice fruit. 3 bottles came back to VA with us.

2006 Pinot Noir: $39. Cherry, leather, spice, earth, very light, tannic. Good, needs time.

2005 Estate Pinot Noir: $39. Fruitier then the 2006. Plum, cherry, bright fruit, vanilla, berries, maple syrup on the finish. We bought one bottle.

2003 Estate Pinot Noir: Raisins, sweet, almost port like, smooth cherry, very nice.

Overall, I thought all of the wines were solid and well done. I can easily recommend a stop at Toulouse, both for the wines and for the hospitality. And not to mention the dogs :)