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theCompass mobile application is a winery, brewery, and distillery locator for North America. |
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St. Helena Winery
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Peter and Paulette Story left the confines of Silicon Valley in 1994 for the wine country lifestyle in Napa Valley. Like others before them, the Storys purchased a vineyard, planted grapes, and built a house. Grapes from the vineyard were sold to a local winery, Merryvale in this case. Life was simple and tranquil. The turning point came in 1999. Peter and Paulette joined the Napa Valley Home Winemakers Association and they attended their first meeting in the old Rutherford Grange on Highway 29. The building, dilapidated but full of history and charm, was famous for the important meetings it hosted as well as its dance floor. One of the speakers at this meeting was a winemaker of a commercial winery in the Valley. He spoke of the limitations of working in a large winery, of producing wines to hit price points, rather than as a creative expression. His message was simple, and inspirational: become, and stay, a home winemaker. His words resonated with the Storys, so they took the plunge, hiring a consulting winemaker, to show them the ropes. The winemaker was an excellent tutor in both the joys and complexities of winemaking. But after the 2000 and 2001 harvests it became clear that the Storys owned a special vineyard. Experienced winemakers at commercial wineries marveled at the wines it produced: deep in color, with bold flavors and layered complexity. Peter and Paulette pondered becoming a commercial winery, but they were put off by its creative limitations. And they wanted to help wine lovers establish a more direct, emotional connection with the setting than a winery would traditionally offer. This is, afterall, what attracted them to Napa Valley in the first place. The wine country experience was just as meaningful as the wine. They wanted to share the experience, and their good fortune. They arrived at a startling conclusion: don't sell the wine. Instead, they would allow wine lovers to adopt one or more of their vines, and then enjoy the fruits of their vine, and property. The Storys' novel idea turns the traditional winery on its head, and met their desire to share the experience, rather than just the wine. The 'Adopt-a-Vine' program is unique, allowing wine lovers to adopt one of 12,000 vines, and receive an annual "appreciation" from their estate: Sympa Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon.
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Scandale
The 2003 Scandale is BIG in fruit, built on cassis, currant and mocha flavors. It has a very supple and silky tannin structure and finishes well in that palate.
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Sympa
The 2003 Sympa entry is powerful, sweet and fruity; seamless transition to mid palate, which is expansive; finish is quite long,,, well over a minute. Great tastes of blackberry, blueberry, cream de cassis, mocha and a hint of tobacco. Wine is perfumery with a splash of licorice. The finish is somewhat drying yet great structure to the wine with just the right levels of tannin.
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