Winery of the Labor Day Weekend

So just about a year ago I headed out West for a bit of a "reset" after a brutal start to 2010.  Among everything that I'm over the moon about since California welcomed me back (see Back in Cali post ) meeting Jason Enos and his team behind Enos Vineyards and Brack Mountain Wine Co.  has been such a pleasure.  

I have to laugh, Jason and I are the same age, exactly one day apart actually and pretty much everything he has created in his life has been a close (yet distant) day dream of mine.  Married, 2 kids, Labrador Retrievers, house in the vineyards, pool in the vineyards, pizza oven overlooking the pool in the vineyards, his own winery and of course his ability to create and produce world class wines from California. Yep,  Jason pretty much has my dream life.  So helping him with building his dream is totally cool yet very inspiring for me to get after it and go for it too.  Most fabulous "side-project" ever for TexaCali Ali!   Nice and refreshing after dealing with some severe egomaniac & bat-shit-crazy jerks over the years in the wine biz too.  Jason and his team have their feet and the ground and are great fun to be around!

So Texas, the wines you are sipping on draft at Whole Foods - Bar Lamar and Frank for starters are those of Brack Mountain Wine Co.  Also, bottles of Cyprus, Tramonto and Bench are starting to appear in the best restaurants and wine shops all over Texas.  They certainly are killin' it all over California, Chicago, NC and New York City.  Bay Area-  K&L Wine Merchants is currently rollin' through their 2009 Bench Cabernet Sauvignon - you can find the deepest selection at D&M on Filmore in Pac Heights.

I'll be sipping on the Estate Enos Cabernet, Enos Girasole, Cyprus Chardonnay this holiday weekend - the back story of all the hard work by Jason and his team is so incredibly inspiring and I raise my glass to them!  Cheers - TexaCali Ali  

PS - Favorite Brands (formerly Avante) is their Texas distributor.