Ashes and diamonds winery review

The winery is a very short drive from downtown Napa and often makes an ideal stop to either start or end your day. Nearby neighbors within walking distance, include long time restaurant Bistro Don Giovanni a favorite stop for both locals and tourists and the Craig and Katherine Hall owned Senza Hotel. As a new winery, refreshingly they have a coveted permit to allow visitors to walk in without needing an appointment although they will also accept appointments, ashes and diamonds winery review. In addition, they are permitted to stay open later if needed — currently they are open until 6pm.

Part I After toiling for a couple of decades as a creative executive in the media and advertising landscape of Los Angeles, Kashy Khaledi finally landed what he had long romanticized would be the ideal job. Now, seated at his desk inside the Capitol Records tower in Hollywood, he instead felt creatively bereft. It was the autumn of and Khaledi was ready for a change. By the time Khaledi really sank his teeth into the music business, it had changed dramatically. Streaming music is pennies on the dollar.

Ashes and diamonds winery review

This project was founded by California native Kashy Khaledi, a media and advertising executive, in I had been aware of these wines for a while, but never wrapped my palate around one until recently. I receive and review a lot of California wines, many of which I appreciate and enjoy. Sipping these wines, I was shocked at their complexity, vibrancy, effortlessness. The wines are really special and delicious, and perfect for palates with a tendency toward old-school California and Old World styles. Wow, the aromas are stunning and invigorating. Quince, fig, lemon peel, papaya, the fruit is topped in yellow flowers, honey, candle wax, sea salt, mountain stream. Precise and focused on the palate, the light body Brisk, mineral, wild herb, honey and chalk notes add all sorts of complexity. Such a nervy, packed wine, this will improve for many years. Such an inviting and vibrant mix of aromas, from yellow pear, apricot and raspberry, to celery seed, mint, with notes of crushed shells, clover and chalk dust. Crisp and bright on the palate Apricot, melon rind, white peaches and lemons, the fruit is juicy and pure, accented with all sorts of floral, salty, flinty, mineral, herbal tones. Beautiful presence on the palate, opens up wonderfully with air. So fresh and inviting on the nose, with chilled black cherries, plums, topped generously with spicy black tea, clove, plenty of rocky, dusty tones, with pepper, violets.

This is a members-only experience.

But the mostly stark white buildings designed by architect Barbara Bestor , one with a zigzag roof and the other with porthole windows, signal one of the most intriguing wineries to open in Napa Valley of late. Just like the rather obscure film from which it draws its name, his winery is rooted in the unconventional—something Napa Valley could certainly use as it struggles to attract a younger crowd. Khaledi, 41, came across the film Ashes and Diamonds years ago, when he was hitting a creative wall at Capitol Records. Khaledi coordinated the winery and its impressive cast in the same way a hit album might come together. Petroski made some of the first vintages and has since left the project, but the talented Diana Snowden Seysses, also the winemaker at Snowden Vineyards, has now filled his shoes. In addition to growing fruit on his own estate in the Oak Knoll district, Khaledi is also working with some of the top winegrowers, like Bart and Daphne Araujo, for his wines. To helm the food program at the winery, Khaledi hired chef Emma Sears, formerly at Scribe.

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Ashes and diamonds winery review

All tastings reported in the Buying Guide are performed blind. Typically, products are tasted in peer-group flights of from samples. Reviewers may know general information about a flight to provide context—vintage, variety or appellation—but never the producer or retail price of any given selection. When possible, products considered flawed or uncustomary are retasted. View Video.

Bf goodrich

By the time Khaledi really sank his teeth into the music business, it had changed dramatically. This label represents wines that are blends. He has worked with MTV among other outlets. To save water and to improve wine quality. Most Popular. Bright, refreshing, yet sophisticated, this struck me as a perfect expression of Cabernet Franc, tempered by a measured Merlot profile. Bart Araujo cuts an intimidating presence as he moves through the vineyard, but disarms me a little as we continue to walk and talk. The vibe here is young and hip with culturally and racially diverse employees often from urban backgrounds, yet the wine making style clashes dramatically with the young feel on premise and the style of wines that much of the Napa Valley is making today. With biodynamics, you just have a much larger population of micro-flora. Vincent, Liars, Childish Gambino. An appealing kiss of brown sugar shows as the wine continues to evolve in the glass. The Rancho Pequeno vineyard looks vibrant, healthy, meticulously farmed.

All tastings reported in the Buying Guide are performed blind. Typically, products are tasted in peer-group flights of from samples. Reviewers may know general information about a flight to provide context—vintage, variety or appellation—but never the producer or retail price of any given selection.

Such an inviting and vibrant mix of aromas, from yellow pear, apricot and raspberry, to celery seed, mint, with notes of crushed shells, clover and chalk dust. Black and red currant fruit abounds, with suave plums, and the fruit is laced with fascinating elements of green herbs, leather, rocky earth, black tea and anise. Cripe finally interrupts But Khaledi dug his heels in and kept the original estate plantings intact. With biodynamics, you just have a much larger population of micro-flora. This is an everyday drinking wine — soft, balanced with fine grained polished tannins. In a refreshing discovery, the wines are a throwback if you will to older wines from Napa from the s and s. We do try to limit irrigation. This experience is 60—75 minutes long and does not feature accompaniments. Medium-bodied with precise acidity throughout, the tannins show structure but refinement. Kashy Khaledi The next morning, I meet up with Khaledi at near his estate property. He was this mythic figure that was still accessible and warm in a culture that was hardened.