Tagged: #AmericanWineSociety

Seabold Hosts an Exciting Summer Tasting for Local Wine Group!

THE STORY

American Wine Society Visits Seabold!

My quest to get the American Wine Society Monterey Chapter to every local tasting room continued this month at Seabold Cellars tasting room in Carmel Valley Village. This one took quite some time to arrange, as Eden Rift Vineyards and Seabold had a merger in 2024. (They described it as a “parent/sister” relationship; they continue to operate autonomously.) We took advantage of their offer for us to bring our own appetizers and make a little summer party out of it.  Their expansive and comfy outdoor space made it a perfect spot for our group of 25. We were hosted by Dre Bejines (Eden Rift) and Cynthia D’Vincent (Seabold Tasting Room Manager), who knows everything there is to know about Seabold!

Delicious food prepared by our members!

If you are interested in joining the American Wine Society Monterey Chapter on our quest to visit every Monterey County tasting room, please visit our website, join the National American Wine Society and select Monterey as your chapter! We hope to see you soon!

Our members enjoying being together on a summer evening!

THE WINERY

From their website:

“Seabold Cellars focuses on cool-climate organic and sustainable vineyards to produce balanced wines that showcase their origin more than their winemaking. During the year, more time is spent in vineyards than the winery. Our winemaking is as hands-off as possible, respecting traditional techniques and practices without being beholden to them. We produce non-interventionist, site-specific Burgundy and Rhône varieties, as seen through a California lens.”

“Seabold Cellars was founded in 2014 by Master Sommelier Chris Miller. Located in the small town of Marina, the winery is at the epicenter of California’s Monterey, San Benito, and Santa Cruz wine growing regions.”

You can read more about Chris Miller and Seabold Cellars here.

THE WINES

Today I am presenting the 4 wines we tasted that evening. Winery notes come from their tasting sheet. As a practice, I do not correct typos from winery websites or materials. My notes today are amplified by my fellow AWS board member Erin O’Reilly, home winemaker and author of terravenos.

2023 BOLD Sauvignon Blanc, Griva Vineyard, Arroyo Seco AVA, Monterey County, 13.2% ABV, $25 (#1587)

Winery notes: “Fresh and exuberant on the nose, with loads of pink and white grapefruit, starfruit, exotic flowers, gooseberry, honeysuckle and a core of ripe tropical fruit framed by crystalized ginger and fresh cut grass.”

My Review: Pale golden in the glass. Subtle pineapple, guava, and passion fruit on the nose. Pleasant round palate with lemon notes on the finish. It’s a very good wine – a nice warm climate. I would buy this wine!  August 2025                                                                                                      

2020 Seabold Chardonnay, Eden Rift Vineyards, Cienega Valley AVA, San Benito County, 13.5% ABV, $40 (#1588)

Winery Notes: “An open and exotic nose, with butterscotch layered over dried pineapple and ripe lemon curd. Telltale Monterey Bay acidity frames the richness on the palate, giving a fresh li to counterbalance the rich and ripe fruit. Truly a bole to ‘drink or hold’, with an immediate appeal.”

My Review: Pale yellow and viscous in the glass. Buttery nose with lemon curd and golden apple. Bosc pear, white flower and just ripe yellow peach. All the fruit is ripe and rich. The nose is more interesting than the palate. I attribute that to the vintage. August 2025

2021 Seabold Pinot Noir, Eden Rift Vineyards, Cienega Valley AVA, San Benito County, 13.7% ABV, $40 (#1589)              

Winery Notes: “From 120-year-old head-trained vines in Redwood Valley. Roasted blackberries, black currants, seared venison, black cherry compote, violets, and black olives.”

My Review: Dark ruby in the glass. Cherry, herbs, dry leaves, and bergamot tea on the nose. Medium tannins. Zippy up front with a palate of cherry, raspberry, herbs, and tea.  Forest floor and a touch bitter on the back end. August 2025

2021 Seabold Syrah, Rodnick Farms, Chalone AVA, Monterey County, 13.3% ABV, $50 (#1590) 

Winery Notes: “On the nose, charred blueberries and plums give way to subtle undertones of grilled venison. With air, black olive tapenade, rosemary, and dried sage start to emerge. On the palate the tannins and acidity are present but seamless, showing balance in youth with a promising aging capacity.”

My Review: Dark in the glass. Warm berry jam and brown sugar on the nose. Rich palate of rather jammy fruit followed by ham hock notes and a spicy finish. This is a very nice, cooler climate Syrah. August 2025

THE TASTING ROOM

“Visit us at our tasting room, located in idyllic Carmel Valley Village. Graced with sunshine, tucked at the base of the Santa Lucia Mountains, our tasting room is dog friendly and children friendly, and is the perfect place to spend an afternoon.”

Seabold tasting room’s lovely outdoor seating!

3 Pilot Road in Carmel Valley Village.  Open Thursday-Sunday, 12-5 p.m. and by appointment (831-288-2730).


© Decanting Monterey 2025

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Another Flavorful Valentine’s Celebration at Twisted Roots!

THE STORY

The Monterey Chapter of the American Wine Society #aws #americanwinesociety once again had the chance to celebrate an early Valentines Day at the Twisted Roots Tasting Room in Carmel Valley!  They allowed us to use their beautiful club space for our members to bring appetizers to share. The wines were delicious. The surprise wine education component was comparing and contrasting a filtered and unfiltered wine – the same wine, the same vintage. Eye opening, to say the least! Many thanks to Josh, Julie, Jon and the rest of the staff who helped us that evening!

I’ve written about Twisted Roots Winery and their wines several times, with our previous AWS visit presented here: Valentine’s Celebration at Twisted Roots! You can read about their history in that post.

You can join the Monterey Chapter of the American Wine Society by becoming a member of the National American Wine Society and choosing Monterey as your local chapter.

THE EVENT

At this month’s tasting, we started with a new California bubbly, segued to a Lodi Albariño from one of the oldest vineyards in California.  Before moving into the Zinfandel and Petite Sirah, which they are mostly known for, Josh took us on a wine education journey.  In detail, he explained that he was presenting us with two versions of his 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon.  He tends to make his Cabernet Sauvignon in a lighter style.  For this vintage, he held back some of the juice (wine) from the filtering process and bottle it separately.  We got to taste the difference from the bigger, fruitier unfiltered wine and the lighter, more sophisticated style of the filtered wine.  I’m sure we put a dent in his last case of the unfiltered wine, so make a beeline there if you still want to grab a bottle!

THE WINES

Today I am presenting 6 wines, including the unfiltered version of the Cabernet Sauvignon.  As usual, winery notes come from the tasting sheet, the winery website, or tasting room staff. Any errors are mine or mine alone. As a rule, I do not correct typos from winery websites.

NV Twisted Roots California Brut, Monterey County, 12.5% ABV, $55 (#1516)

Winery Notes: “Our NEW California Brut Sparkling wine has notes of ripe green apple on the nose, followed by bright notes of lemon and citrus on the palate. We produced our new Monterey County, Sparkling Brut using the traditional of methode champenoise, which creates soft and round little bubbles that round the finish off perfectly! While completely dry, our California Brut also has nice hints of almond and brioche which pairs nicely with your favorite cheese platter. Cheers!”

My Review: A very faint nose with scents of apple. Light flavors on the palate beginning with brioche and finishing crisp. Tiny bubbles throughout. This was a favorite wine of the tasting. February 2025

2022 Twisted Roots Albariño, Bokish Vineyards – Terra Alta, Lodi AVA, $50  (#1517)

Winery Notes: “Our Albarino is a light, crisp, and fruity white wine. Perfect for a hot summer day by the pool, the BBQ, or just hanging out in the shade. This wine brings lots of tropical type fruit like mangos and pineapples, and lots of citrus type acid on the finish. Ice cold out of the cold box, its really refreshing!”

My Review: This Albariño begins with scents of wet hay, like after a spring rain, and ends with grilled pineapple.  Lots of minerality mid palate with a pronounced acidic, grapefruit finish. February 2025

2018 Twisted Roots (Filtered) Cabernet Sauvignon, Lodi AVA, 14% ABV, $60 (#1518)

Winery Notes: “Unlike those Napa Valley style Cabernet Sauvignon, with a ton of tannins, our Cabernet drinks more like a Pinot Noir, in terms of body and tannins, with all the fruit of a Cabernet Sauvignon. Our 2018 vintage present a soft sublte body, with dry cherry, and coco flavors on the palate. Great with a meal, or on its own!”

My Review: Light bodied with more tannin and cassis on the finish. The filtered version is lighter, yet still quite flavorful – a more sophisticated presentation than its unfiltered brother. February 2025

2018 Twisted Roots Unfiltered Cabernet Sauvignon, Lodi AVA, 14% ABV, $60 (#1519)

Winery Notes: Josh described how this wine was made – by reserving some of the wine before filtering.  It is the exact same wine and juice as the regular 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon, but without the filtering.  This leaves you with a more robust, juicy, tasty wine. There is less than a case left – so stop on over soon if you want one!

My Review: Distinctive yummy cherry and plum on the nose.  Delicious, with sweet cherry on the rich palate, finishing with raisiny notes. A delicious fruit bomb, in a good way.  This was the second favorite wine of the night for our group. February 2025

2018 Twisted Roots Petite Sirah, Lodi AVA, 15.5% ABV, $60 (#1520)

Winery Notes: “Our winemakers passion, the first wine he ever made, the one that he drinks the most. Our Petite Sirah is big, and bold, but not harsh, which makes it enjoyable. It presents lots of dark fruit, blackberry, and raspberry, both on the nose and on the finish, followed by a little black pepper as well.”

My Review: Purple in the glass. A subtle nose of grape sweet tart, oregano and raisins. The fruitiness in the rich palate is offset by a little tobacco on the finish. I liked this wine. February 2025

2018 Twisted Roots “1918” Old Vine Zinfandel, Dairy Vineyard, Lodi AVA, 14% ABV, $60 (#1521)

Winery Notes: “make sure right vintage These are the grapes that started it all for Twisted Roots… Originally planted on the “Dairy” Vineyard in 1918! Three generations of our family have cared for these vines, and they are still producing to this day. This wine presents itself as big and fruity on the nose, but on the pallet it has gentle fruit and smooth tannins. We aged this wine in 100% neutral French oak barrels to showcase the depth of flavor these old vines produce.”

My Review: Ripe plum on the nose. Prune and bitter tannins with a white pepper finish. The terroir of the old vines shines through. February 2025

THE TASTING ROOM

Visit The Twisted Roots Tasting Room: “Wine is an experience meant to be shared with others. Stop by our beautiful tasting room and let’s share it together.” Located at 12 Del Fino Pl, Carmel Valley, CA 93924. Open 12-5pm, Thursday-Sunday. Reserve online or at 831- 594-8282. You can also buy their wines on their website!

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