2027 Wineries San Jose

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20 Sep

Posted at 17:49h in 2027 Wineries, San Jose 2027, Wineries

Clesi Winery

1873 Templeton Road, Paso Robles, CA
www.ClesiWines.com

Region: Paso Robles

Owners: Chris and Adrienne Ferrara

Winemaker: Chris Ferrara

About: Tucked in between the rolling hills of the Templeton Gap AVA and surrounded by vegetable gardens and roaming chickens, Clesi is dedicated to the lesser-known varieties of Italy. Like the Sicilian trinacria stamped on the label, the inspiration behind Clesi is a symbolic trifecta. Equal parts legacy, curiosity, and culture, Chris brings his Sicilian-American farming roots, love of eccentric varietals, and reverence for Italian culture into his winemaking process. Because of this, Clesi wines are elegant, food-focused, and meant to be shared amongst family and friends.

What is your favorite undiscovered grape? Nero d’Avola: Anyone who has been to both Sicily and Paso Robles would agree that the similarities are evident. Nero d’Avola has been cultivated for more than 500 years in Sicily and perfected for a dry and warm climate with ancient volcanic soils and marine influence. While we don’t aim to replicate the delicious wines of Sicily, we do want to create an expression of this variety that showcases the similar growing conditions.

What was your first experience with an undiscovered grape? Chris and Adrienne worked for Ken Volk out of college. He was the preeminent forager of interesting wine varieties in the 1990s. He was growing Blaufränkisch and Tocai Friulano. He sought out Negrette and Malvasia Bianca and so many more. While there wasn’t just one lesser-known first, the exposure to so many all at once was a hook and helped Chris to realize that he loved the Italian grapes most, including Dolcetto, Montepulciano, Sagrantino, and Aglianico.

What do you love most about the undiscovered grapes? It is like a (yet) unknown cultural food or an interesting conversation with a new friend; it is so exciting to learn and be inspired. We are the adventurers!

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27 Feb

Posted at 05:56h in 2026 Wineries, 2027 Wineries, Los Angeles 2026, Los Angeles 2027, San Jose 2027, Wineries

Crocker & Starr Winery

700 Dowdell Lane, Saint Helena, CA 94574
crockerstarr.com

Region: Napa Valley

Owner: Pam Starr

Winemaker: Julie Robertson

About: Founded in 1997, Crocker & Starr Winery has grown from a visionary partnership into a thriving, values-driven team with more than 30 years of history in crafting exceptional wines and memorable experiences. What began with founders Pam Starr and Charlie Crocker evolved into a modern estate rooted in authenticity, sustainability, innovation, and genuine connection.

In our first decade, Pam and Charlie established the foundation for our legacy—creating world-class wines that earned the respect of top sommeliers and passionate wine lovers. The second decade expanded that vision: our team deepened our commitment to organic farming, elevated our hospitality experience, and broadened our estate wine portfolio. We closed this era with a major milestone: moving into our Napa Green–certified winery on the estate, further aligning our practices with our environmental values.

Now at the end of our third decade, we continue to raise the bar. With the arrival of winemaker Julie Robertson and the leadership of President and now Partner Cyrus Hazzard, we are embracing new ideas, deepening our craft, and shaping the next era of our winery.

Across the estate, our commitment remains unwavering: exceptional quality, from soil to glass. Every member of the Crocker & Starr team shares a unified vision and a collaborative drive to innovate, inspire, and deliver extraordinary experiences. Our past shapes us, our present motivates us, and our future is brighter than ever.

What is your favorite forgotten grape? Cab Franc for its fabulous non-fruited-ness.

What was your first experience with a forgotten grape? My first undiscovered grape was in the 1980s, and it was Colombard as a wine, not for a distillate. I was working full-time for Carmenet Winery (winery partner of Chalone Wine group), and during harvest, a delivery of Colombard grapes from Calistoga arrived for us to whole cluster press and barrel ferment. Typically, Chalone Winery would produce this wine, but our location in Sonoma proved to be more sensible. From a distillation class, I learned that Colombard was used to make brandy. And I learned by barrel fermenting Colombard sur lies aging that the resulting wine had aromas of flowers, apples, and nuts with texture.

What do you love most about the forgotten grapes? They offer flavors for tasting outside the ‘box’.

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22 Oct

Posted at 04:18h in 2027 Wineries, San Jose 2027, Wineries

Darcie Kent Estate Winery

7000 Tesla Road, Livermore, CA, 94550
www.darciekent.wine

Region: Livermore Valley

Owner: Darcie Kent

Winemaker: Julian Halasz

About: Established in 1996, Darcie Kent Vineyards is a family-owned & operated winery in the Livermore Valley located east of San Francisco Bay. Along with her husband David and her two daughters, Kailyn and Amanda (sixth generation), Darcie Kent is committed to combining Livermore Valley terroir with her artistry and passion to forge and sustain a world-class, family-owned estate winery. We grow, barrel, and bottle all of our own wines. As a fifth-generation artist and vintner, Darcie’s bloodline runs through both art and wine. At Darcie Kent Estate Winery, art and wine are inextricable and inseparable from the natural world. Originally, we made just one wine, and we were obsessed with making it well: a Merlot from our original vineyard. When we began to branch out, we didn’t just go to Cab and Chardonnay: we made Grüner Veltliner, Petite Sirah, and then branched out even further to Grenache, Cabernet Franc, Primitivo, and Albariño. Now, we are very well known for our world-class Grüner, Cab Franc, and Petit Verdot, just as much as our “noble” varietals.

What is your favorite undiscovered grape? It’s hard to pick a favorite. This year, we’ll focus on Grüner Veltliner. As a cousin of Sauvignon Blanc, it grows beautifully in the Livermore Valley terroir, just as Sauvignon Blanc does. It is versatile, complex, and manages to be both aromatic and food-friendly. It has a unique color expression, with a small green or sappy yellow tint; it ages well, and it has an impressive, “creamy” midpalate that can make it stand up to steak. Its a wild card!

What was your first experience with an undiscovered grape? Darcie’s first lesser-known grape discovery was Corvina, the key grape varietal in Valpolicella in Italy. Traveling to the Veneto region was a big, life-changing moment for Darcie, who had never been abroad until becoming an adult and starting her journey in the wine region. She loved these heavy, raisinated and complex red wines. For her husband, David, Barbera was his first lesser-known “aha!” grape variety, and is a favorite of his to this day. Their daughters, Amanda and Kailyn, grew up with Petite Sirah and Grüner Veltliner – their wine education had a heavy emphasis on lesser-known varieties!

What do you love most about the undiscovered grapes? Wine drinking and exploration is a form of travel you can do at home. And lesser-known varieties reveal aspects of your home region’s terroir that you might have never known about. Drinking lesser-known varietals is a form of adventure, and undiscovered grapes remind us that wine education is a lifelong journey full of rewarding surprises.

Darcie Wine
Darcie Wine
Darcie Wine
Darcie Wine

08 Mar

Posted at 21:51h in 2024 Wineries, 2025 Wineries, 2026 Wineries, 2027 Wineries, Los Angeles 2026, San Jose 2026, San Jose 2027, Wineries

Derby Wine Estates

525 Riverside Ave., Paso Robles
derbywineestates.com

Region: Paso Robles

Owners: Ray and Pam Derby

Winemaker: Sean Geoghegan

About: Derby Wine Estate is a boutique, family owned winery with three Estate vineyards across the central coast and a Tasting Room & production facility on the outskirts of downtown Paso Robles. We have a passion for good wine and good company, and strive to share both with everyone who walks through our door.

What is your favorite undiscovered grape? Cinsault

What was your first experience with an undiscovered grape? I honestly can’t remember, I have always looked for lesser known grapes and heritage vines to expand my palate.

What do you love most about the undiscovered grapes? The world of flavors and textures that open up when you think (and drink) outside the box.

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10 Oct

Posted at 02:37h in 2027 Wineries, Los Angeles 2027, San Jose 2027, Wineries

Domaine Publica

PO Box 58, Grover Beach, CA
domainepublica.com

Region: Santa Maria Valley

Owners: Sarah Atwood & Ben Enos

Winemakers: Sarah Atwood & Ben Enos

About: Domaine Publica is dedicated to showcasing lesser-known Mediterranean varieties and their potential when grown in California’s top vineyards. Our wines are an homage to the public domain where artists, scientists, and innovators alike are able to build off the works (or wines!) that came before. Winemaking duo Ben and Sarah established Domaine Publica in 2024 and are so excited to share these fantastic wines with you.

What is your favorite undiscovered grape? We love all of our grapes, but our favorite has to be our Falanghina. Grown in one of our favorite vineyards in California, the grapes make such a complex, ageable, and food-friendly wine. It can be quite finicky during the winemaking process and has shown it needs a little extra time in barrel, but the results are always worth it!

What was your first experience with an undiscovered grape? Hard to remember the first time… but we are constantly finding new grapes and wines that excite us. Recently, we have been impressed with Pelaverga from Italian producer from G.B Burlotto and Xinomavro from Alpha Estate in Greece. Both are incredibly food-friendly and age-worthy!

What do you love most about the undiscovered grapes? While less well-known in the US market, these grapes all have vast histories and make the wines people drink daily all over the world. It is a level of connection to these other places and communities that we never had before– to grow the same grapes and enjoy them with their traditional cuisines– it is something special.

Domaine Publica Winery
Domaine Publica Winery
Domaine Publica Winery
Domaine Publica Winery
Domaine Publica Winery
Domaine Publica Winery

03 Dec

Posted at 19:19h in 2026 Wineries, 2027 Wineries, San Jose 2026, San Jose 2027, Wineries

Drava Wines

1378 E Turner Rd, Ste D, Lodi CA 95240
www.dravawines.com

Region: Lodi

Owners: Steve and William Carson

Winemaker: Steve Carson

About: Drava Wines is owned and operated by brothers Steve and William Carson. A true garagiste winery crushing around 5 tons per year, focusing on unusual varietals. We make different wines every year so the tasting list changes frequently. Small lot, hand harvested, Lodi Rules Certified Sustainable wines.

What is your favorite undiscovered grape? Teroldego. It’s one of the few wine grapes that consistently delivers good full-bodied wines.

What was your first experience with an undiscovered grape? Peloursin, planted by Richard Ripken. He took me barrel tasting at his former winery and there were several varietals he grew and made that I’d never tasted before, and I told him I’ll buy one ton of each in the future. I have made all of them since.

What do you love most about the undiscovered grapes? Learning new flavor profiles, and the story of where the grapes came from.

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19 Oct

Posted at 20:36h in 2026 Wineries, 2027 Wineries, Los Angeles 2027, San Jose 2026, San Jose 2027, Wineries

Dry Creek Vineyard

3770 Lambert Bridge Road, Healdsburg, CA 95448
www.drycreekvineyard.com

Region: Dry Creek Valley, Sonoma County

Owner: Kim Stare Wallace

Winemakers: Tim Bell & Brian Pruett

About: Established in 1972 by David S. Stare, Dry Creek Vineyard is Dry Creek Valley’s flagship winery, located in the heart of Sonoma County. Dave’s daughter, Kim Stare Wallace, serves as President, overseeing a successful family winemaking and grape growing business that includes 185 acres of sustainably farmed vineyards. The winery is 100% Certified Sustainable. Dry Creek Vineyard proudly produces a portfolio of critically acclaimed wines that includes Dry Chenin Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Meritage blends, as well as a collection of single-vineyard wines. The winery has been proudly producing a Dry Chenin Blanc for over 50 years, and in the fall of 2025, released a Sparkling Chenin Blanc.

What is your favorite undiscovered grape? Chenin Blanc because we love the aromatics and flavors as well as its versatility and acidity at lower alcohol levels.

What was your first experience with an undiscovered grape? Our founder fell in love with Chenin Blanc from the Loire Valley, and when he founded the winery in 1972 near Healdsburg, it was a varietal he set out to make. Long before the current wave of enthusiasm for lower-alcohol, aromatic white wines, Dry Creek Vineyard has stayed true to a vibrant, refreshing, and food-friendly expression of Chenin Blanc, setting a trend that is currently in the spotlight. The winery has been making a Dry Chenin Blanc for over 50 years, and for the last 40 years, the grapes have come from the Wilson Ranch in the Clarksburg AVA.

What do you love most about the undiscovered grapes? The chance to share a varietal we love with a new audience, and hopefully they will fall in love with it too!

Dry Creek Vineyard Winemaker
Dry Creek Vineyard Winemakers
Dry Creek Vineyard
Dry Creek Vineyard Wine
Dry Creek Vineyard Wine

03 Oct

Posted at 23:16h in 2027 Wineries, San Jose 2027, Wineries

Estate Crush

2 W Lockeford Street, Lodi, CA 95240
estatecrush.com

Region: Lodi

Owner: Bob & Ali Colarossi

Winemaker: Bob Colarossi

About: Estate Crush is a custom crush winery in downtown Lodi focused on high-end, small lot production and created to help new wineries get established with minimal upfront capital. Founders Bob & Ali Colarossi manage day-to-day operations and since starting in 2009 have always offered a full commercial production with only a one ton minimum. Bob leads the winemaking team and over the years has produced more than 1,000 different wines representing 51 varietals including lesser-known varietals such as Arneis, Corvina, Cinsaut, Godello, and Rondinella.

What is your favorite undiscovered grape? Bechthold Vineyard Cinsaut! Estate Crush has six dedicated rows in the Bechthold Vineyard, own root-planted in 1886. We love this grape because of the flavor profile and versatility. We have made it as a traditional red wine, a rosé, sparking rosé and a white wine.

What was your first experience with an undiscovered grape? Arneis because of the beautiful floral notes. We were surprised by the aromatic profile of the stone fruit, apple, pear and light citrus.

What do you love most about the undiscovered grapes? We enjoy the excitement of discovering new varietals and their similarities but even more so, their differences. We enjoy the unique flavor profiles that we’ve discovered through lesser-known varietals.

Estate Crush Winemaker
Estate Crush Winemaker
Estate Crush Winery Glass
Estate Crush Vineyard

03 Oct

Posted at 23:08h in 2027 Wineries, Los Angeles 2027, San Jose 2027, Wineries

Half Full Wine Company

3000-F Danville Blvd., #142, Alamo, CA 94507
halffullwine.com

Region: Northern California

Owner: Family Owned – Tim Harris & Antonia Rozakis, Roger & Jennifer Billeci, Demetrius & Tina Palavos

Winemaker: Tim Harris & Edward Cholakian

About: Half Full Wine Co. started in a garage, where we spent more than a decade learning by doing. We made it official in 2023, but kept the same curiosity. Today, we roam Northern California looking for vineyards, varieties, and ideas worth chasing. Our wines are small-lot, single-vineyard and tied to one vintage. No formulas. No reruns. One vineyard. One vintage. One chance to get it right. That model gives us permission to keep exploring. Albariño and Chenin Blanc from Clarksburg; Grenache from Amador; Cabernet Franc from the Sierra Foothills; and now experiments with Chenin Blanc Pét-Nat and partial-carbonic Valdiguié. We don’t want to make the same wines forever. We want to keep discovering what California can do.

What is your favorite undiscovered grape? Grenache. We sometimes think of it as a more rustic cousin to Pinot Noir. It can be delicate and aromatic, earthy and savory, or surprisingly serious. It can make a beautiful rosé, a bright lighter red or something with real structure. And it has a way of showing where it was grown without needing much makeup. Mostly, we like that we haven’t figured it all out yet. Every time we work with Grenache, there seems to be another direction worth exploring.

What was your first experience with an undiscovered grape? It’s hard for us to point to one grape or one bottle. The discovery itself has always been the part of wine that hooked us. A bottle from somewhere you’ve never been. A grape you’ve never heard of. Traveling somewhere and tasting something that makes perfect sense in that place. Then coming home and wondering what else is out there—and what some of those ideas might look like in California. That curiosity eventually became the model for Half Full. Instead of building a lineup and repeating it every vintage, we gave ourselves permission to keep looking. New vineyards. New grapes. New techniques. New favorites. The adventure of a new wine is still the part that fascinates us most.

What do you love most about the undiscovered grapes? There is always something else to try. That’s what we love about wine in general. You can spend a lifetime exploring it and still barely scratch the surface. Different grapes. Different regions. Different producers. Different styles. And great examples exist in all of them. We love to travel. We love ordering the bottle we don’t recognize. We love tasting someone else’s experiment and having it change the way we think about our own. And we bring that same curiosity into the cellar. Right now, that means exploring Chenin Blanc in a completely different style and experimenting with partial-carbonic Valdiguié. Next year, who knows. There is too much good wine in the world to stop exploring.

Half Full winery
Half Full winery
Half Full winery
Half Full winery
Half Full winery
Half Full winery

13 Dec

Posted at 20:47h in 2026 Wineries, 2027 Wineries, San Jose 2026, San Jose 2027, Wineries

Harney Lane Vineyards

9010 E Harney Lane, Lodi, Ca 95240
harneylane.com

Region: Lodi

Owners: Kyle and Jorja Lerner

Winemaker: Kyle Lerner

About: As sixth-generation farmers, we’ve learned that high-quality, handcrafted wine requires an immense amount of heart and hard work – nothing can replicate the years we’ve sown into the land and our family’s legacy. Since 1900, with focus and fortitude, we’ve learned that excellence takes endurance, distinction takes determination, and grace takes grit.

That’s why we’ve taken matters into our own hands. We pour our heart into every step of the process – from soil to shelf – we’re committed to making the best possible beverage for our customers and the planet. Our 100% estate-grown wines are produced from sustainably farmed vineyards and meticulously made with no unnecessary additives and an unwavering commitment to quality. The result is a classic collection of naturally smooth, fruit-driven wines, perfect for enjoying in everyday life.

With over a century on Henry Ranch in the heart of Lodi Wine Country, our philosophy has been and will always be: to honestly make wine that is beautifully balanced, and consciously crafted with grace and grit.®

What is your favorite undiscovered grape? Our favorite “undiscovered” grape to work with here in Lodi is Tempranillo. While it’s a world-famous varietal in Spain, it remains a true hidden gem in Lodi, and it perfectly embodies our Grace and Grit ethos.

The Grit comes from managing the Tempranillo vine’s tendency to ripen quickly, requiring extremely careful canopy management in our estate vineyards. The reward is the Grace: a deeply-colored, medium-bodied red wine with beautiful balance, bright acidity, and structured tannins.

It gives us those lovely notes of cherry, dried fig, and leather—qualities you might expect from a complex Old World wine—but delivered with the authentic, fruit-forward generosity of Lodi. It’s an elegant, everyday wine that is incredibly food-friendly and continues to surprise both us and our members every vintage. We feel it has an important future in Lodi, and we love being a part of that discovery.

What was your first experience with an undiscovered grape? It was about twenty years ago, and the grape was Tempranillo. What genuinely surprised us was the incredible structure and acidity. Lodi is known for big, ripe fruit, but this Tempranillo delivered that beautiful, dark cherry profile alongside a backbone—a savory, earthy complexity and tannic weight—that was unexpected. It had the Grit of a classic Spanish wine but the expressive fruit of our Lodi soil.

That moment completely changed our perspective. It proved that Lodi could not only produce world-class Zinfandel, but that our vineyard’s specific terroir could nurture sophisticated, age-worthy, “undiscovered” varietals like Tempranillo. That single taste committed us to introducing that complexity to our guests.

What do you love most about the undiscovered grapes? What we love most is the authenticity and the sheer joy of sharing discovery.
Undiscovered grapes, like our Tempranillo, allow us to honor the pioneering spirit of Lodi—that spirit of Grit that has defined us for generations. They challenge us as farmers and winemakers to truly showcase the potential of our century-old estate vineyards beyond Zinfandel.

For our guests, it provides that moment of Grace—the elevated experience of tasting something they may have never encountered, right here in the glass at Harney Lane. It creates an opportunity for connection and education, proving that sophisticated, complex, and beautiful wines can come from a laid-back, genuine place like Lodi. It makes the conversation more interesting and the experience more memorable.