Frostwatch 2006 Merlot Bennett Valley Sonoma

Frostwatch Vineyard
This wine exhibits great density and gobs of cherry and plum flavors, yet has a silky texture and long finish. The Merlot grapes for this wine came from our vineyard and another Bennett Valley vineyard that produces very high quality fruit. The fruit from the two vineyards worked seamlessly together. The Cabernet Component of the wine came from a steeply sloped vineyard block of what was formerly know as the Priest Ranch in Napa. This is an exciting wine that demonstrates Merlot grown in the right places can really rock!
Connoisseurs' Guide
Its mix of red cherries, root beer richness and hints of woodsy and slightly herbal seasonings give this limited edition wine a good start, and its full, somewhat fleshy, open, supple nature prodvide an entirely likeable progression.

Type	Red
Varietal	Merlot
Vintage	2006
Bottle size	750mL
Alcohol content	14.8%
Appellation	California – Bennett Valley - Sonoma County
Wine Advocate	--
Wine Enthusiast	--
Wine Spectator	--
Other	n/a

Brett Raven, winemaker

Winemaking and farming represented a significant career change for Brett. After working as an attorney in a law office in San Francisco for nearly ten years, we had the opportunity to purchase property in Sonoma County which we did in 1995. While taking viticulture courses at Santa Rosa Junior College under Rich Thomas and installing our vineyard along with the help of veteran consultant, Bob Dempel, Brett discovered a new passion and he soon began applying himself to the art and science of winemaking.

He has literally learned the winemaking process from the bottom up. While attending U.C. Davis Extension courses and industry sponsored seminars, Brett has worked in wine production at Alderbrook Winery, Matanzas Creek Winery and Ramey Wine Cellars. This hands on winemaking experience, knowledge of vineyard practices, and close association with the winemakers who have been purchasing our grapes, have allowed Brett to learn rapidly and leverage his experiences at every stage of his professional development. At the beginning of 2009, Brett left his full time job with Ramey Wine Cellars. While Brett remains available to the team at Ramey for special projects, we felt it was important to devote more time to Frostwatch, both in the vineyard and the marketplace. Our wines currently in barrel, as well as future vintages, will be made and bottled at our new production facility, "Vinify" in Santa Rosa. Vinify specializes in providing state of the art winery facilities and equipment to small artisan producers and new ventures.