Introducing Locanda Wines

Locanda Estate is a shielded, hillside reinforced vineyard estate, tucked tightly into a 3-sided crevice, deep in the heart of the Sonoma Valley. Having its own unique micro-climate, it is ideally suited to produce our unique, low production, cellar worthy wines. Proprietor Joe Cleaver. Winemaker Brian Graham.

Let's Pop some Rosé

When the weather starts getting warmer we know it’s a good time to pop (or twist) the top off a bottle of rosé. Quinta da Lixa SOL REAL Rosé is the perfect summer sipper at 10.5% abv and is a fresh and fruity alternative to Provence. Ripe strawberries, rhubarb, and watermelon provide fresh fruit notes while pear blossoms and white roses add a beautiful, floral elegance. A refreshing, chalky minerality cleanses the palate. 

$12.99 SRP, please reach out to your KJS rep for wholesale pricing.

Screen Shot 2021-07-23 at 3.30.55 PM.png

No Curfew 2020 Chardonnay for only $12 on the shelf?!? YES PLEASE

It’s that friend who bursts into a room and says, “The weekend is here and we are READY FOR IT!” …on a Tuesday. No, they won’t be limited by a silly thing like what day of the week it is: party time is all the time for the No Curfew Chardonnay. The wine is all about buoyant pear-and-green-apple fruitiness, over-the-top richness and acidity that zips like a twist of lemon in your gin & tonic. Open a bottle with friends to start off a great night, open a bottle with grilled chicken and a salad, or open a bottle because you made it past Humpday. We’re cool either way, and no matter the setting, the No Curfew Chardonnay will get the party started.

SRP $12, please reach out to your KJS rep for wholesale pricing.

No Curfew 20 Chard.png

Caliza Winery New Releases are In stock

The new releases from Caliza are here and they are absolutely incredible.

The below wines are now available. Please reach out to your KJS rep for wholesale pricing.

2019 Caliza Pink $28

2019 Caliza Kissin' Cousins 47% Viognier/31% Grenache Blanc /22% Roussanne $38 SRP

2018 Caliza Azimuth 50% Mourvèdre/30% Grenache/20% Syrah $65 SRP

2017 Caliza 100% Syrah Willow Creek District  $65 SRP

2019 End of the Day Albarino  $24 SRP                                       

2018 End of the Day Cuvee Grenache/Mourvèdre  $28 SRP

2018 End of the Day Cabernet Sauvignon    $30 SRP

Screen Shot 2021-06-03 at 3.27.38 PM.png

SPECIAL PRICE ALERT

We have a limited amount of Thienot Brut Rose Magnums available and ON SPECIAL!!

Call your KJS rep NOW to learn more about the special pricing available.

Dunnuck 92pts: The NV Thienot Champagne Brut Rosé is outstanding and is 45% Pinot Noir, 35% Chardonnay, and the rest Pinot Meunier based largely (55%) on the 2013 vintage (the balance is 2010, 2011, and 2012). It has beautiful strawberry, orange blossom, toasted bread and brioche notes to go with a medium-bodied, pure, elegant style on the palate. The acidity is nicely balanced, and it excels on its purity. The dosage is 10 grams per liter and everything is in the right place, with a great texture and a clean finish. It’s well worth seeking out.

Screen Shot 2021-06-03 at 3.23.01 PM.png

Introducing Adversity Cellars

ADVERSITY CELLARS, Napa 

Adversity Cellars is an exciting new project from Russell and Heidi Bevan that is designed to showcase sites that have unique flavor and textural profiles from vineyards whose location forces the vines to struggle for their existence; forcing them to deal with great Adversity. Their respective backgrounds and personalities love challenges so working with extreme sites is right up their alley as they strive to create dense and powerful wines.

Screen Shot 2021-05-06 at 2.39.05 PM.png

 

2019 Adversity Erba Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon

2019 Adversity Melanson Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon

2019 Adversity Sage Ridge Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon

All three wines are available for wholesale. SRP $225, please reach out to your KJS rep for wholesale pricing.

Brioche Chardonnay 2017

Brioche chardonnay is sourced from vineyards in Sonoma and Mendocino that have a NDA attached so we cannot disclose the vineyards. Sufficed to say the brand was started by a group of highly regarded wine distributors and the assistant winemaker at Babcock who wanted to create a label In response to all the very oaky and buttery style chardonnays out there and wanted a style with some of those characteristics but much more balanced and nuanced, clean and easy to drink with or without food and still at an affordable price. These partners have relationships with some of the most esteemed winemakers and vineyard owners in the valley who brought them the excess fruit from their highly regarded vineyards. The result is a Chardonnay that is crisp and bright with hints of stone fruit, apple, pear and a subtle, buttery richness from which it derives its name. TOP VALUE!

SRP $20, please reach out to your KJS rep for pricing.

Thienot Brut, the "baby Krug"

Rated 92 points by Jeb Dunnuck, “The NV Thienot Champagne Brut tastes like a baby Krug with its rich, nutty, powerful style. Ample apple and citrus fruits as well as a touch of minerality develop with time in the glass, and it’s medium to full-bodied, has a awesome texture, and a great finish. This cuvée is 45% Chardonnay, 35% Pinot Noir, and the balance Pinot Meunier, mostly from Grand Cru sites, and it was brought up all in stainless steel. The dosage is 9 grams per liter.”

$52 SRP, please reach out to your KJS rep for wholesale pricing

Screen Shot 2021-03-18 at 2.41.50 PM.png

New 96 point Cardano Estate Cabernet by the former owner of Beau Vigne Winery

Cardano Estate is a new project established by Edward Lewis Snider, former owner and winemaker at Beau Vigne. The vineyard is a tiny, four and a half-acre plot of Cabernet Sauvignon situated high on Atlas Peak, at 1,200 feet, in an area called “Prichard Ridge.” These first releases are very impressive indeed, delivering powerful fruit juxtaposed by earthy restraint and with a solid backbone for long aging. With Snider’s son, Nicholas, on board, this is a hot newcomer to the Napa Cab scene and one worth jumping onboard early!

Advocate 94pts: Composed of 98% Cabernet Sauvignon and 2% Cabernet Franc, the 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Black Fruit sports a deep garnet-purple color. It is a little broody to begin, delivering notes of cedar chest, black olives, pencil shavings and charcoal over a core of cassis, redcurrant jelly, stewed plums and spice box. Full-bodied, the palate has a firm frame of grainy tannins and great tension supporting the taut, muscular black and red fruit, finishing long and earthy. Give this one a couple more years in bottle and drink it over the next 18 years+. 226 cases were made.

Dunnuck 96pts: While a small step up in price, the 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Black Fruit is worth it and is one of the top values found in the vintage. A blend of 98% Cabernet Sauvignon and 2% Cabernet Franc, it has classy, complex notes of blueberries, blackberries, unsmoked tobacco, leather, and white truffle. It’s one of those wines you could smell all night, and it doesn’t disappoint on the palate either, offering full-bodied richness, a seamless texture, and ultra-fine tannins. Enjoy bottles any time over the coming 15 years or more.

SRP $75, please reach out to your KJS rep for pricing.

Chateau Belgrave- 5th Grand Cru Classe 1855, Haut-Medoc, 2012

Deep and concentrated in appearance. The complex bouquet reveals dark fruit aromas of blackberry and cassis, precious woods and mint, enhanced with a subtle mocha note. Initially velvety on the palate, the wine gains in body, with the very delicate and silky tannins adding structure. The wine is well-balanced and fresh throughout the tasting, and elegant until the lingering finish. Similar to Saint-Julien in style, Chateau Belgrave’s neighboring vineyard.

Blend: 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot

Retail $62.99, Please reach out to your KJS rep for wholesale pricing and availability (and to learn about our other Bordeaux selections)

Screen Shot 2021-02-15 at 7.53.14 AM.png

Saracina Sauvignon Blanc featured in Forbes

On January 11, Forbes published an article 6 Great Dry WInes to Enjoy In January, and featured Saracina Sauvignon Blanc. We are so proud of Saracina for getting the recognition they deserve.

“This wine ($23) is special because it was made with organic grapes from two old vines vineyards. In fact, one of them, at Lolonis Vineyard, was planted in 1943 and it is recognized as the oldest Sauvignon Blanc vineyard in California). The result is a Sauvignon Blanc that is balanced and bright, and perfect for enjoying with fresh oysters, shrimp cocktail, or maybe a homemade sushi dinner!” Aly Walansky

Please reach out to your KJS rep for wholesale pricing.

$50 wine from a 100 point Winemaker

We are excited to announce a new wine from Tony Arcudi, Terramagra Napa Valley Cabernet 2018. Only 8 barrels were produced of this $50 Cabernet.

Vintage notes:  The 2018 Napa Valley vintage was quite simply an embarrassment of riches. High yields and high quality. The bud break was late but optimum conditions provided for an abundance of fruit set. Phenolic ripeness started very early, atypical of Napa Valley. A late September rain prolonged the season allowing for further ripening. Higher than usual natural acidity also contributed to the quality both resulting in wines with mature ripe tannins and great structure. Sourced from vineyards throughout Napa Valley, this blend includes 7% Merlot to round out the mid palate and finish.

Reach out to your KJS rep for wholesale pricing and availability.

Tony Biagi named Winemaker of 2020 by Vinous

We are so proud of Tony Biagi, who was listed by Vinous as Winemaker of the Year!

“I am fortunate to have the opportunity to taste with talented winemakers all over the world. This year, one person stands out. Tony Biagi is not only gifted as a winemaker, he also has a talent for mentoring young, emerging winemakers.

Biagi has made a meaningful difference everywhere he has been. An early stint in retail in the mid-1990s provided an opportunity to taste the first generation of cult wines just as they were getting started. Internships at Dry Creek and Hess led to a full-time job at Duckhorn, when it was still a relatively small winery. “That was my first experience working with world-class vineyards,” Biagi told me. “We sourced from Vine Hill Ranch, Spottswoode, Oakville Ranch, J.J. Cohn and other top sites.” Stops at Paraduxx and Neal Family Vineyards followed.

I first met Biagi around 2011 at PlumpJack, where he was making bold, luscious wines. A year later Biagi was looking for a role where he could also make wine on his own, so he went to Hourglass, but not before putting the pieces in place for a smooth transition at the three wineries in the PlumpJack group and staying on as a consultant for several years. Biagi took over Hourglass, which was stylistically adrift at the time, and brought a clear identity to those wines. Biagi then launched his own label, Patria, in 2013 in partnership with Kimberly Jones, one of the most respected distributors in California. The first few vintages have been positively stellar. 

Quietly and very much behind the scenes, Biagi consulted as Clos du Val moved away from an emphasis on volume towards a greater focus on quality under winemaker Ted Henry. The change in the wines was dramatic and sudden. Sinegal was next, where Biagi worked alongside winemaker Ryan Knoth to help the estate get off the ground. Other recent projects include Amici with winemaker Jesse Fox, Lasseter with winemaker Danielle Langlois and Alma Rosa with winemaker Samra Harris. In every one of these cases, Biagi has provided guidance, but always pushed his protégés into the spotlight and given them all the credit. In today’s world, that is exceedingly rare. In a relatively new role as winemaker at The Vineyardist, Biagi has ushered in small but noticeable refinements to wines that were already superb. For all these reasons, Tony Biagi is my Winemaker of the Year for 2020. “ Antonio Galloni

Check out the full article at https://www.vinous.com/articles/2020-the-year-in-review-dec-2020

Please reach out to your KJS rep to learn more about the Patria, Amici and Hourglass wines that are available.

Screen Shot 2021-01-04 at 8.48.01 AM.png