Wine & Cheese of the Week - Marita's Vineyard and Andante Crottin

Marita's Vineyard

Marita's Vineyard is a family owned winery in Coombsville and by far one of the best places I've ever been in Napa. Their story began when Bulmaro Montes left Oaxaca, Mexico when he was 16 to join his older brother and father in Napa. To make a long story short, Bulmaro spent over 30 years working his way up the ranks at Joseph Phelps. While he was managing the vineyards there in the 70's, their cabernet was named one of the best in the world. Bottom line is that Bulmaro is the man and an absolute master at his craft. After retiring from Phelps in 2003, Bulmaro wanted to grow grapes and make wine with his family.

Bulmaro and his brother are the only two people that touch their grapes - they literally do everything themselves and from scratch. The level of quality and standards they hold themselves to is truly unbelievable and obvious when you taste their wines. We were so fortunate to have Bulmaro host our tasting and learned so much from him in the two hours we were there. We were also treated to the most amazing, home-cooked tapas that paired perfectly with the wines. The entire experience at Marita's is so unique and very special.

Now onto the wines! They only produce 400 cases a year and make two cabernets - Marita's and Soma. Both wines are some of the smoothest I've ever tasted. The Soma is a little softer and a bit more fruit forward, while the Marita's is bigger and more full bodied. At only 400 cases a year, they obviously do not distribute anywhere and can only get the wine directly from the family.
2006 Soma - $87
2006 Marita's - $150
They are getting ready to release their 07's next month and we can't wait to go back and taste them! Thank you so much, Marita's, for the fantastic wine and incredible hospitality!
http://www.maritasvineyard.com/

Andante Crottin
Picture from www.andantedairy.com

I've posted about Andante before, but I really just can't get enough of these amazing goat cheeses coming outta Petaluma. We stopped into Dean & Delucca the other day and picked up some beautiful figs that needed a delicious goat cheese to eat with them. The Andante Crottin is perfectly tangy and nutty. It's really just the best.