Fine Times at Teldeschi

Posted on May 29, 2012 by Sonadora

Our second stop on our CA trip was Teldeschi. Or, if I’m being honest, it was our 3rd stop since we first ran by Bovolo to partake in some house cured bacon goodness. I also seem to have failed to take pictures here. I think I was just too excited for our first day of vacation to think about taking photos! We like to visit Teldeschi for a few reason, in particular because my dad really likes the Zinfandel Port made there, so we always go by in order to pick some up for him! This time Dan Teldeschi, owner and wine maker was pouring in the tasting room!

2000 Petite Sirah: dark fruit, blackberry, juicy, black currant, tannins.

2001 Terranova: Juicy, red fruit, spicy, tannins, raspberries, red currant, earth.

2002 Petite Sirah: very perfumey, spicy, blackberry, black fruit, spice, earth, chocolate, really well done. We took some home.

2004 Reserve Zinfandel: dark earth, mint, eucalyptus, very dark, spicy, black cherry.

2005 Cabernet Sauvignon: black current, pepper, red berries, juicy, spice, very different. Really liked this one and we took some home.

2006 Terra Luna: Banana, red fruit, smooth, juicy, blackberry, blueberry.

2005 Home Ranch Zinfandel: spicy, earthy, big fruit, blackberry, some sweetness. Too some of this home too!

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Filed under: California, Teldeschi, Wineries | 5 Comments »

Any Port in the Storm

Posted on September 3, 2009 by Sonadora

As I mentioned, the weather has turned a bit cooler, thankfully. I need a reprieve from the heat! Along with cool weather comes changing leaves, crisp apples, warm cider, and of course, glasses of Port by the fire.  This evening we opened the 2006 Teldeschi Zinfandel Port from Dry Creek Valley, CA.  I actually purchased this for my dad back in the spring when Matt and I visited Teldeschi again. Whenever we go to wine country I make a point to buy my dad some sort of Port as he loves the stuff! But he never wants to open the bottles when we aren’t visiting, so he had stockpiled a few we opened on our last trip to CT.  I want to say I paid about $25 for this 375mL bottle, it had a real cork closure, and clocked in at 16.8% alcohol by volume…sometimes you see regular Zin clocking in at that or higher, so that’s pretty tame for a Port wine!

Everyone loved this bottle.  On the nose it had raspberries, chocolate, vanilla, blackberries, and spice.  In the mouth I found blackberries, black currants, black fruit, spice, raspberries, and chocolate.  It’s really smooth and almost silky in the mouth and made for a perfect dessert on its own.  I’ll have to get another bottle for dad next time we are out in CA!

Filed under: California, Red, Teldeschi, Wine, Zinfandel | 4 Comments »

Traipsing By Teldeschi

Posted on April 21, 2009 by Sonadora

I’ve had a hankering for some more 1998 Teldeschi Petite Sirah ever since Lowell and I drank the last bottle on election night.  So I put it on the top of my list for a visit on this trip.  So much so, that we drove in from the San Francisco airport, after having left our house in VA nearly 12 hours earlier, and went straight to Teldeschi.  We did just visit Teldeschi on our last trip, but the yummy wines drew us back in again…plus, we clearly didn’t buy enough last year as we had already gone through it!


2005 Zinfandel-Berry, cherry, currants, brown sugar, black cherry, big fruit, dry, well done. We took one home.

2000 Terranova-Dark, mint, barnyard, funk, big berries, tart cherries.

2000 Petite Sirah- $36. Chocolate, berries, fruits, blueberries, licorice. We brought home two of the 1998s.

2008 Zinfandel Port-Black fruit, berries, dark fruit, black berry, nice structure, great acidity.  We bought one for my dad.

We met Bill again this year, that would be Bill Wertzberger of the most excellent Grenache we tasted at of barrel last year and mistakenly attributed to Teldeschi, and tasted one of his wines in barrel this year.  Oh, and we took home a bottle of his 2005 Syrah which he assured me I would like if I loved his Grenache so much!

We tasted the Wertzberger Golden Chalise (need to look that up, as I think I wrote it down and spelled it horribly wrong!), something I’d never had before. It tasted and smelled of honeysuckle, almonds, nuts, honey, and lemon. Overall I found it to be delicate and very light.

A great visit, and one I’m sure we’ll repeat (again), as the wines are well worth the trip.  And, I’m still waiting for Bill to bottle that Grenache. Folks, it was so good, it’s a year and a bit later and I’m still talking about it!

Filed under: California, Sonoma, Teldeschi, Vineyards, Wine, Wineries | 4 Comments »

A Trip to Teldeschi

Posted on July 16, 2008 by Sonadora


On our 3rd and final day in California this spring, Matt and I parted ways with Russ after a stop for sustenance at the Dry Creek General Store. Sadly, Russ had to go home and needed to get on the road before rush hour became an issue for him. After he departed, we sat around for a bit, pondering what our next stop would be, and decided it was obvious, since Teldeschi Vineyards sits right behind (and up the hill a bit) the General Store.

Teldeschi’s tasting room is small, but the guy running it was extremely friendly. Like many others, he asked where we had been that day, and we told him Bella and barrel tasting at David Coffaro. He immediately said he couldn’t be outdone by a barrel tasting there and whisked us into the back to taste from his barrels! There, we tasted what is arguable my favorite wine from the entire trip. I signed up for the Teldeschi email list just so I could know when it comes out and scoop it up.

2007 Grenache: (Barrel sample). Very aromatic, bananas, berries, plums, blueberries, fabulous wine, I can’t wait to buy it.

2005 Cabernet Sauvignon: (Barrel sample). Nice red fruit, berries, spice, tannic.

1996 Zinfandel: Dark berry fruit, spice, cherry, smooth.

1998 Terranena: $22. Zinfandel, Petite Sirah, Carignane, Valdigue blend. Peppery, black fruit, floral.

1999 Petite Sirah: $32. Blueberry, cassis, vanilla, licorice, yum.

2004 Syrah: $32. Dark, rich fruit, velvety, blackberry. Yum. We took home 2 bottles.

We also took home a bottle of the 2000 Petite Sirah, which we did not taste, but our host told us I would like it even more than the 1999, so I took his word for it. One of the more unique things about Teldeschi’s tasting room is the way they store their sample bottles. Each time wine is gone from the bottle, they transfer it to a smaller bottle, all the way down to a tiny itty bitty glass medicine bottle. I’ve never seen anything like it! I very much look forward to the release of the Grenache and will definitely return to Teldeschi.

The picture at the top is me squinting into the sun in front of some vines at Teldeschi.

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Into the deep dark Syrah

Posted on May 15, 2008 by Sonadora

This wine was one of the darkest, if not THE darkest, Syrah I have ever seen. In fact, I think it’s intense purple color can only be compared to the teeth staining ability of a a typical Petite Sirah….it was that dark and my tongue and teeth were that blue after drinking my 2 glasses.

The wine was a 2004 Teldeschi Syrah that we picked up at the winery on our recent Sonoma trip. I am still slugging through the posts regarding our various vineyard visits, I certainly have more than a few left to put up for you. The Syrah cost us $32, had a real cork closure, and the bottle got pitched before I could record the alcohol content.

On the nose I found cherry, minty herbs, dark fruit, smoky meat, and purple fruit. This was a great Syrah nose, and by the time I finished sniffing it, Matt was looking at me wanting to pour me a 2nd glass. In the mouth I got dark fruit, blackberries, leather, herbs, and earth.

The wine had big chewy tannins and I fully believe this is capable of staying in the cellar for years to come. The backbone was there for the wine to keep developing and getting better over time. We took the remainder of this bottle outside to hang out with our neighbors, and the neighbor a few doors down also loved this wine…and he’s a harsh critic, preferring big, dark, intense reds. So I guess this was perfect for him!

Filed under: California, Red, Syrah, Teldeschi | Comments Off on Into the deep dark Syrah