HOMEWINES & VINEYARDS2007 Bouchaine Pinot Meunier, Estate Vineyard, Napa Valley-Carneros Wine Reviews

2007 Bouchaine Pinot Meunier, Estate Vineyard, Napa Valley-Carneros Wine Reviews

Bouchaine Bacchus Collection Pinot Meunier recommended in Forbes Magazine (May 2009) and Forbes.com (April 2, 2009)

Bouchaine is among only a HANDFUL of wineries producing a Pinot Meunier wine. We are delighted that this very special grape is getting some attention from Forbes Magazine and Forbes.com!

Excerpts from the article
"Meunier (moon-yay) is French for "miller," an allusion to the flourlike appearance on the leaves. Never heard of it? Not surprising. It's a red grape that, most of the world over, is pressed to extract clear juice, then fermented into a small component of sparkling wines, such as champagne. It's the wine industry's silver-haired stepchild. France grows more of it than anyone."

"But about a dozen American wineries say the French have got meunier all wrong. Instead of making white wine out of it, Yankees are fermenting pinot meunier on the skins and making red table wine, as they do with merlot, cabernet and syrah. They're doing so not to be different but simply because pinot meunier tastes better than most winemakers or wine drinkers realized it could."

"Meunier is winning over fans who like its bright, fresh flavor of raspberries and cranberries, balanced with tannins. Best drunk after less than a year or two in the bottle, it has a tangy, refreshing finish that begs another sip. Two California wineries, August Briggs in Calistoga and Bouchaine Vineyards in Napa, report that the variety is among their fastest sellers."

To read the full article, please click here to go to Forbes.com. To see the Forbes article's "Made in the U.S.A." sidebar listing the handful of wineries producing Pinot Meunier as a non-sparkling, single varietal wine, please click here.

2006 vintage Bouchaine Pinot Meunier in The St. Helena Star, December 24, 2008

The St. Helena Star, one of Napa Valley's two main local papers, recently tasted 32 limited production "tasting room only" wines (these wines are available only through the winery). The tasting panel selected four first place entries, and Bouchaine's 2006 Pinot Meunier was one of the four first place wines! We are honored to be placed among such classy company of Napa Valley neighbors.

"The Bouchaine Vineyards 2006 Carneros Pinot Meunier showed tasters ripe cherry and raspberry, spice, vanilla, leather and 'hints of grilled meat.' Several panelists commented favorably on the wine’s balance and long finish."

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