" We don't sell the wine without touching the vine "
Wine from Smith Story
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Founders: Husband Wife Team, Eric Story & Alison Smith-Story
The Story:th Story Wine Cellars is the tale of true love. In May of 2013, Eric and Ali eloped on the Big Island of Hawaii to say I Do; also where the name Smith Story Wine Cellars was conceived. Bay Area born Eric and Fort Worth, Texas native Alison met while both working for K&L Wine Merchants in Northern California over a decade ago. A friendship flourished while discovering wines from far away lands, and visits to the Anderson Valley along with dear friends and their beloved dogs Henley and Lakota. “Drink what you love, love what you drink,” Eric often said to Alison while trying new wines over the years together.
Today they bring a combined 40+ years of wine industry experience to manage Smith Story Wine Cellars. Eric’s wine buying expertise and retail management lends a keen eye and discerning palate as he became the German, Loire, Alsace, Austrian and Greek wine buyer for K&L. Ali’s hospitality, wine buying, consumer marketing and national sales experience completes the entire wine-supply-chain as she transitioned from her decade old company TexaCali Wine Co. to drive the vision and brand for Smith Story Wine.
Alison Smith, grew up in the DFW Metroplex and Northern California native Eric founded the winery in Sonoma County. Smith Story Wine Cellars is based in Sonoma and with their tasting room Anderson Valley AVA.
In 2014 the launched "Farmers First" on KICKSTARTER and were fully funded in 30 days. Later that year, along with their dear Goldendoodle, Lord Sandwich, Ali Story founded a non-profit Socks For Sandwich, which donates new socks to the needy.
The birth of Smith Story Wine Cellars can be followed along the way as Eric and Ali write about their start-up experiences in The Chapters.
What’s in the bottle:
The wines begin with the land, places that are special to Eric and Ali throughout California and Europe. As the vineyard program grows, so will their true story. Their belief is to respect what the land offers, while shepherding in the cellar and ultimately delivering beautiful expressions of each varietal to supporters of Smith Story Wine Cellars.
The Mission: Smith Story Wines are made with respect for the land, kindness for the grower and, love from the winemaker. Each vineyard we work with is owned by families, we want to ensure their present and future success as grape growers. The wines show restraint, balance and integrity of the grape. Our winemaking philosophy is to utilize classic, old world techniques and let the grapes and sense of place where they are grown both speak for themselves.
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Smith Story Cabernet Sauvignon Pickberryis made from 100 percent Cabernet Sauvignon.
This wine is an old soul. I feel closer to it than all of the wines we produce, filled with excitement to show off to the world. A rebel of sorts, a Cabernet Sauvignon that is for the curious wine drinker for sure. The 2016 is going to be a showstopper complete with an standing ovation. I can’t wait to see it on stage. Worth the wait.
Ali’s Notes: This was the vineyard I spent the most time in during the 2016 Harvest. There’s a magical view that just pulls me in mixed with an incredible assortment of vineyard rocks popping up throughout the vines. The end of the vineyard rows always had the most gorgeous blooming red roses too. I often sat under the big shade tree on top of the hillside and took it all in. I was there the morning of the pick, the vineyard workers were full of song and hustle. So much TLC was given during harvest.
Eric’s Notes: Steady and mostly uneventful growing season with a bit of midsummer spikes of heat but nothing maddening. A cool slow end of the growing season led to really pretty and balanced fruit. We did get lucky though… we had some rain come in just a few days after picking. Speaking of… the grapes were hand picked. hand sorted, destemmed and fermented in stainless steel with daily manual punch-downs. Wine was then aged in neutral Bordeaux barrels for 22 months before bottling.
It’s wildly similar to our 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon. If opening right away, decant a few hours. The wine is a little tight out of the gates but showing nice herb and pepper notes - the salty minerality shows up on the back end of the palate as it airs.
LIBRARY WINE/ LIMITED AVAILABILITY: A Cabernet Sauvignon, without question on the nose. A Cabernet true to the Smith Smith story style; cooler and dancing aromatic while having density and layers of texture. Lots of spicy red fruits up front while fresh bramble fruits bounce around the palate which is rounded out by a savory, almost cinnamon-bark spice mouthfiling finish and pretty tannin structure.
Review:
The 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Pickberry Vineyard is the most convincing and complete of these wines from Smith Story. Deep and inky, yet very much medium in body, the 2016 has a lot to offer. Blueberry, menthol, licorice, lavender and spice meld in this supple, racy Cabernet Sauvignon. The balance of fruit, structure and freshness is terrific. This classically rendered Sonoma Cabernet Sauvignon needs bottle age to truly blossom; give it a few years to be at its best. - Vinous 93 Points
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Dr. Loosen Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese is made from 100 percent Riesling.
An endlessly energizing late-harvest Riesling from a selection of botrytis-affected grapes harvested in the “sundial” vineyard. This precipitously steep, rocky vineyard consistently yields some of the most elegant and sophisticated white wines in the world. Auslese means “selected from the harvest,” and is a luscious sweet wine made from very ripe clusters that are about 50 percent affected by botrytis. The resulting wine is dense, intensely flavored and rich on the palate, but retains the elegant structure that is characteristic of this great site.
Review:
Rich, but very elegant and creamy with beautiful, peachy character and lovely, floral-honey notes. Long, very silky finish. Drink or hold.
James Suckling 95 Points
Tasting Notes
Strong typical Pinot Noir characters are the distinguishing features of this wine, together with the balance of flavour. Made from just one small portion of Pinot grapes that are carefully spur pruned in winter, then meticulously looked after over the summer to eventually be handed from the vineyard team to the winemaking team to carry on the intense care and attention to detail that is needed to make the best Pinot Noir.
Winemakers Notes
The favourite wine of our winemakers to make as it really extends all of their skills from working with the small open-top fermentation tanks, which allow for constant hand plunging of the grape skins ( a small wooden plunger constantly pushes the skins below the surface of the juice) to selecting a variety of different French oak barrels that the wine will mature in for more than twelve months. The real skill is in the blending, as not all the barrels will make the grade for our top Pinot Noir. Days are spent tasting and re-tasting barrels and blends looking for the elusive blend that conveys the smooth velvet texture of Pinot Noir.
Alcohol %
14.5%
Food Matching
Best enjoyed with a leg of lamb on a Sunday with the family.
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