Visiting Peltier Winery During #WBC16

After tasting several wines from Peltier Winery & Vineyards during the #WBC16 Thursday night after party at Scotto Cellars, I scheduled a winery visit with owner Rod Schatz and Director of Marketing & Design Ian Bender. Besides being very welcoming, the primary incentive was to see and taste more of the winery's Reserve Teroldego -  the northern Italian cool climate grape from Trentino. You may be familiar with Peltier as Peltier Station. Bender instigated a brand and name change since the "station" part of the name wasn't really relevant, although railroad tracks do run past the winery.

I was able to persuade SanCrittenden to join me and Ian met us early Saturday and proceeded to provide a tour of the winery: from the crush pad, through the fermenting tanks, and into vineyards. During out visit, truck loads of freshly harvested Pinot Gris arrived as shown in the video below and Schatz had fired up the grill to BBQ lunch for the staff.  We also met newly hired winemaker Susana Rodrigeuz Vasquez, who allowed us to sample freshly fermenting juice. Oh so delicious. Vasquez comes from Constellation Brands where she managed the Chardonnay program and is expected to boost Peltier's white wine portfolio.  In the vineyards we walked through gnarly Old Vine Zinfandel as well as heavily canopied Teroldego.

We finished the tour in the tasting room where we tasted through the Peltier and Reserve brands. The whites include a light and graceful Vermentino, a tropical bright California-styled Sauvignon Blanc, and a silky smooth Preeminence blend of Viognier and Sauvignon Blanc. For the reds, the Old Vine Zinfandels, the Black Diamond and Peltier are fantastic. The 2014 Triomphe blend of Petite Sirah, Teroldego, and Cabernet Sauvignon is velvety smooth, finishing with dark chocolate. The Reserve Teroldego is much more tannic than I had remembered and the Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon a bold, bold wine. The tasting concluded with a delicious port styled USB made from Zinfandel. Excellent. Thank you Ian, Susana, and the Schatz family for a fantastic visit. Cheers.