August West Wine

Had your wines at a wine bar recently, my compliments!

August West Wine and Sandler Wines are both produced at the winery located in the industrial area of Bay Shore. Anyone familiar with the area would think what an out of the ordinary place to have a winery, but following the new tradition of the urban winery concept, the location is perfect for their production volume. Ed Kurtzman partner for August West and owner/​winemaker for Sandler Wines is a great person and interesting winemaker. He sources his fruit from Gary Francioni, Howard Graham, and Gary Pisoni. His wines are approachable, 3 dimensional with a bright red fruit — raspberry, cherry & strawberry, on the fore-​palate with just enough acidity, rose petal perfume, accompanied by a dense forest-​floor earthy characteristic, typical of Sonoma County and Santa Lucia Highlands, velvety yet still complex. The plush, velvety tannins, purity and balance make his wines elegant, delicious and ready to drink now. My favorites are the 06 Sandler Pinot Noir from Sonoma County and the Sandler Syrah. All of his wines are successful (Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Zinfandel, and Syrah) and appeal to any palate from a young wine drinker to a more sophisticated palate. He has great stories important for any winemaker selling and promoting his label. He has a pleasant and inviting personality that allows you to fully enjoy his wine in an informal setting. He sources his grapes from the North Coast (Sonoma County) and Central Coast (Monterrey County). Go out and support your local winemaker. August West and Sandler Wines are doing great things.

Oh. my. god. I think I just died and woke up in a vat of scarlet salvation. August West wine is a total knock out. I discovered them (strangely enough) at a wine convention in Chicago called ‘Pinot Days’ where all of California’s best pinot makers were showcasing for local Chicago resturants and winos. Even amongst all the other delicious offerings (lets just say none of the bottles there sold for less than $ 40) they were a total stand out.
Now, just a little background: If I understand it correctly, the August West label has two vineyards, one in the Santa Lucia Highlands called Rosella’s Vineyard, the other called Graham vineyard located in the Russia River Valley. Both vineyards work with wine make Ed Kurtzman. Both rule.
I ended up falling head over heals with the ’06 Rosella’s (though just to reiterate, both were incredible). The bottle I had is not even available for sale until Feb of ’08! Can’t wait…
Me and my sweetie have plans to visit the winery but until then, I’ve discovered you can order it up in some restaurants and from local wine merchants, too.
I got this from the website:
Ame, Amphora Wine Merchant, Ana Mandara, Blackwell’s Wines & Spirits, Boulevard, Campton Place, Gary Danko. Farallon, Ferry Plaza Wine Merchant, Fifth Floor, Hawthorne Lane, Jack Falstaff, Jardinière, Masa’s, Michael Mina, Myth, Napa Valley Winery Exchange, Postrio, Plump Jack Café, Rubicon, Vinfolio, XYZ.
I’ll post an update when I visit. How come no one told me about them sooner?