2027 Wineries San Jose

Home > 2027 Wineries San Jose (Page 4)

20 Sep

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

Ricci Vineyards

24165 Ramal Rd. Sonoma CA 95476
riccivineyards.com

Region: Carneros (Sonoma)

Owner/Winemaker: Dale Ricci

About: The Ricci family has farming in our blood. For multiple generations, our hands have tilled the soil and cultivated the land that has ultimately become one of the most esteemed wine locales in the world. Since 1982, our vineyards have produced premium wine grapes sought after by renowned winemakers and revered wineries throughout Sonoma and beyond.

After forty-plus years of farming, we are also very proud to be producers of small-lot, boutique wines crafted from Carneros. We encourage you to share in our adventures and be a witness to our wine journey.

What is your favorite undiscovered grape? St. Laurent — because we are the only ones (that we know of) who grow it!

What was your first experience with an undiscovered grape? St. Laurent continues to surprise us with how versatile it is. People who make St. Laurent feature it as a blend, or rosé, or sparkling (in addition to a still wine). We love it because it resembles Pinot Noir — but is so uniquely NOT a Pinot. It has savory and gamey edges but it is all encapsulated in a floral beauty.

What do you love most about the undiscovered grapes? The wine world is vast, and so many varietals are widely unknown because big producers are reluctant to make wine with them because it requires effort to teach people what they are. Weird, different, and unusual is fun — and we’re all about making wine fun.

Ricci1

20 Sep

Posted at 19:56h in 2027 Wineries, San Jose 2027, Wineries

Rosa Fierro Cellars

2245 S. Vasco Road, Suite A, Livermore, CA 94550
www.rosafierrocellars.com

Region: Livermore Valley

Owners: Rosa Fierro

Winemaker: Rosa Fierro

About: Rosa Fierro is the owner and winemaker at Rosa Fierro Cellars. She is the only Hispanic female winemaker in Livermore Valley, specializing in single varietal, single vineyard wines that express the true terroir of Livermore Valley. Her undiscovered grapes are Pinot Blanc, Carmenere, and Cabernet Franc, and is making a Mataro this year.

What is your favorite undiscovered grape? Cabernet Franc is my favorite, and is also our signature varietal in Livermore Valley. I love all the pyrazines!

What was your first experience with an undiscovered grape? The first time I had Carmenere, it blew my mind. All the green chili in the nose made me believe the wine would be chewy, but the wine was so creamy, silky and full of black berry and plumb.

What do you love most about the undiscovered grapes? I love watching my tasting room guests try them for the first time!

RosaFierro2
RosaFierro2

20 Sep

Posted at 18:06h in 2027 Wineries, Los Angeles 2027, San Jose 2027, Wineries

Ruakh

Paso Robles, CA
www.ruakhwines.com

Region: Paso Robles

Owner: Samantha Mogull Esquivel

Winemaker: Samantha Mogull Esquivel

About: In 2013, Samantha upturned her life and moved to San Luis Obispo to pursue a degree in enology from Cal Poly SLO. Choosing a life in wine was both uncertain and undeniable, a leap toward something she instinctively knew she was meant to pursue (even as others failed to understand). Since graduating, she has immersed herself into every facet of the industry, gaining hands-on experience under some of the Central Coast’s most acclaimed winemakers.
Her winemaking philosophy is rooted equally in science and intuition. Inspired by the rhythms of nature and the individuality of each vintage, she approaches winemaking as an ongoing conversation between craftsmanship and observation. Her wines emphasize texture, aromatic complexity, and balance with a special affinity for Petit Verdot. For her, wine is a living sensory experience, one capable of evoking memory, atmosphere, and human connection. These values continue to shape both her wines and the spaces she creates around them.

What is your favorite undiscovered grape? Petit Verdot! It’s dark, big, surprisingly floral and just silky and stunning.

What was your first experience with an undiscovered grape? I actually had it in a blend. I had never had something so big be so silky. It was eye opening to me and I fell hard.

What do you love most about the undiscovered grapes? I like that they don’t sit in the realm of my personal expectation. So much of my experience is rejecting things because they’re unfamiliar, not because they’re bad.

20 Sep

Posted at 20:38h in 2024 Wineries, 2027 Wineries, San Jose 2027, Wineries

Sakura Winery

2111 Research Dr., Livermore, CA 94550
sakurawinery.com

Region: Livermore Valley

Owners: Jennifer Sahara

Winemaker: Jennifer Sahara

About: Sakura Winery began somewhat unexpectedly. Owner and winemaker Jennifer Sahara spent her career in aerospace as an orbital mission analyst and had never planned on becoming a winemaker. After moving with her family to a property in Livermore that happened to have a small vineyard, she was drawn to winemaking, and Sakura Winery grew from there. The name “Sakura,” Japanese for cherry blossoms, was inspired by Jennifer’s mom and reflects the idea of slowing down and appreciating the moments we have. Sakura produces small-lot, thoughtfully crafted wines that are fruit-forward, balanced, and expressive of each grape variety. Jennifer especially enjoys taking grapes people may think they know—like Petit Verdot—and showing them in an unexpected way, including Sakura’s Petit Verdot Rosé.

What is your favorite undiscovered grape? Petit Verdot, for sure. Most people know it as a blending grape, but I love seeing what it can do on its own and then taking that a step further by making it as a rosé. I love the beautiful color and bright fruit it brings. It’s especially fun to pour for someone who has never had a Petit Verdot rosé before.

What was your first experience with an undiscovered grape? Tempranillo was the first lesser-known variety I worked with, simply because it was already growing on our property when we moved here. In fact, it was the first varietal I worked with, period. Since I was completely new to winemaking, I didn’t really have expectations for what it should be like, so there weren’t any surprises. What stood out right away, though, was its earthy spiciness, and it quickly became one of my favorite grape varieties to work with.

What do you love most about the undiscovered grapes? I love that people come to undiscovered grapes with less prior exposure. That allows them to be more open to simply experiencing the wine rather than comparing it to preconceived expectations. It makes tasting more about discovery and creates room for winemakers to explore new styles and expressions of a given varietal.

07 Feb

Posted at 19:25h in 2025 Wineries, 2026 Wineries, 2027 Wineries, Los Angeles 2026, Los Angeles 2027, San Jose 2026, San Jose 2027, Wineries

Starfield Vineyards

2750 Jacquier Road, Placerville, CA 95667 starfieldvineyards.com Region: El Dorado Owner: Tom Sinton & Rob Sinton Winemaker: Rob Sinton About: Starfield Vineyards is an estate vineyard and winery in El Dorado, halfway between Sacramento and Lake Tahoe — on the Highway 50 corridor near Placerville. Starfield Vineyards is known for its high elevation mountain vineyards in El Dorado and the fresh wines from rare varieties that exhibit the characteristic Sierra Spice from growing grapes in the pine forests of California. What is your favorite undiscovered grape? Cinsaut is my personal favorite. It was hard to find varietal examples of it before we planted it and it looks almost like a table grape, but it produces a light red wine with vibrant strawberry notes and a hint of leafy-bramble. It’s great straight from the fridge on hot California summer days. What was your first experience with an undiscovered grape? I always felt like I gravitated toward lesser known grapes so it’s hard to pinpoint the exact moment. I remember going through Cabernet Franc and Assyrtiko phases before I’d ever made it to my Cab Sauv, Pinot, and Chardonnay phase. What do you love most about the undiscovered grapes? It’s still a rare day when I open a bottle of a variety that isn’t considered an “undiscovered grape”. These varieties offer new drinkers a rare opportunity to discover their own opinions about varieties without the vast input of decades of publications and critics so I think it’s easier to find your own wine-tasting voice when drinking these wines and played an important role in shaping my winemaking (and wine-drinking) preferences.

Starfield1
Starfield4

24 Jan

Posted at 06:59h in 2025 Wineries, 2026 Wineries, 2027 Wineries, Los Angeles 2026, Los Angeles 2027, San Jose 2026, San Jose 2027, Wineries

The Steven Kent Winery

2245 S. Vasco Rd, Ste C, Livermore, CA 94550
stevenkent.com

Region: Livermore Valley

Owner: Steven and Beth Mirassou

Winemaker: Steven, Beth, and Aidan Mirassou

About: The Steven Kent Winery in the Livermore Valley is the preeminent producer of Cab Franc in the US.

What is your favorite undiscovered grape? Cabernet Franc, because it is the most alluring, beguiling, delicious, sexy, food-friendly grape…and it is criminally undiscovered.

What was your first experience with an undiscovered grape? Though I had known of Cab Franc, tasting Loire Valley versions in 2000 opened my eyes to a whole different way of thinking about winemaking and the most important parts of those (and all) wines. Keep the wines as pure as possible and help to shepherd in the most authentic and inherently valuable qualities each grape contains.

What do you love most about the undiscovered grapes? Bottomless allure and complexity, Cab Franc is the sexiest grape alive.

Steven Kent Winery
Steven Kent Winery
Steven Kent Winery
Steven Kent Winery
Steven Kent Winery
Steven Kent Winery
Steven Kent Winery
Steven Kent Winery

06 Mar

Posted at 01:33h in 2025 Wineries, 2026 Wineries, 2027 Wineries, Los Angeles 2026, Los Angeles 2027, San Jose 2026, San Jose 2027, Wineries

Tablas Creek Vineyard

9339 Adelaida Road, Paso Robles, CA 93446
tablascreek.com

Region: Paso Robles

Owners: The Haas and Perrin families

Winemaker: Neil Collins

About: Tablas Creek Vineyard, in the Paso Robles Adelaida District, is a pioneer of the American Rhone movement and the first Regenerative Organic Certified™ winery in the world.

What is your favorite undiscovered grape? It’s unfair to ask us this! So, let’s go with the two rarest grapes we grow. On the white side Picardan. When we planted our half-acre it increased the world’s footprint by 40%. And on the red side, Vaccarese, where when we bottled it in 2019, we think it was the first 100% Vaccarese from anywhere in the world in 50+ years.

What was your first experience with an undiscovered grape? My first wine tasting memory — the first time I remember tasting a wine and understanding what the adults were talking about — was Gewürztraminer. It really did taste like rose petals, which I thought was so cool.

What do you love most about the undiscovered grapes? They offer an incredible variety of flavors and character, thrive in a variety of climates and soils, and can be remarkably valuable in blends as well as on their own.

01 Jan

Posted at 01:56h in 2025 Wineries, 2026 Wineries, 2027 Wineries, San Jose 2026, San Jose 2027, Wineries

Terah Wine Co.

425 S 3rd Street, Richmond, CA
www.terahwineco.com

Region: Bay Area

Owner: Terah Bajjalieh

Winemaker: Terah Bajjalieh

About: Small producer, focused on working with grower partners who farm organically and biodynamically. Making wine from Mediterranean varietals or varietals off the beaten path. Looking to produce food-friendly wines showing balance and site.

What is your favorite undiscovered grape? Barbera. I love the flavor and acid profile of the grape

What was your first experience with an undiscovered grape? 

What do you love most about the undiscovered grapes? Acidity and the huge flavors!

Terah Wine Co.
Terah Wine Co.
Terah Wine Co.
Terah Wine Co.

09 Mar

Posted at 00:39h in 2024 Wineries, 2025 Wineries, 2026 Wineries, 2027 Wineries, Los Angeles 2026, Los Angeles 2027, San Jose 2026, San Jose 2027, Wineries

Thacher Winery and Vineyard

8355 Vineyard Dr., Paso Robles thacherwinery.com Region: Paso Robles Owner/Winemaker: Sherman Thacher About: Our mission is to grow unique, and food-friendly wines that purely express the terroirs we farm throughout the Central Coast. We strive to make elegant wines with more nuances than sheer power. What is your favorite undiscovered grape? Cinsault What was your first experience with an undiscovered grape? 2015 Cinsault What do you love most about the undiscovered grapes? The unique expression that these forgotten grapes can produce.

20 Sep

Posted at 20:33h in 2027 Wineries, Los Angeles 2027, San Jose 2027, Wineries

Thumbprint Cellars

52 Front St. Healdsburg, CA 95448
thumbprintcellars.com

Region:  Sonoma

Owner: Scott Lindstrom-Dake

Winemakers: Scott Lindstrom-Dake

About: Scott Lindstrom-Dake, winemaker and founder of thumbprint cellars, majored in Fine Arts in College. One summer he studied Art History in Florence, Italy, and upon returning inspired, Scott decided to start making wine. His first vintage was tasty and he and Erica drank most of their creation! The holiday came around and as college students, the couple decided to give away some of their prized wine to friends and family. Erica gave Scott a gold ink pen to sign some bottles. It malfunctioned and spewed gold ink onto a bottle. Scott used his thumb to wipe up the dripping gold ink and inadvertently placed it on one of the other bottles. Soon, they were all adorned with one of Scott’s gold thumbprints. A passion and new wine brand were born.

What is your favorite undiscovered grape? Only one? Hmm, then old vine Carignane (karen yawn). Carignane was the first wine grape I picked and made wine from. Over the years I have been sourcing old vine Carignane to craft as a standalone and single vineyard varietal. The old vines grow lower yields with higher concentration of varietal character. I make this as a mid-weight red and sometimes even serve it slightly chilled. Carignane is also a versatile food-wine.

What was your first experience with an undiscovered grape? I had never heard of Carignane when a friends client offered their “few vines that weren’t picked”. The old head-pruned vines, each like a miniature tree and meticulously pruned all resembling individual works of art. As an art student at the time I thought, “well this should be fun!” From our garage winemaking in 1995 to our current 2026 harvest, I have never been disappointed with our old vine Carignane.

What do you love most about the undiscovered grapes? Sharing them with our guests and watching the surprise of discovering something new!