I haven’t had any wines lately that inspired me to write — until now. I just tasted through some bottles from Cornerstone Cellars, Napa Valley and thought they were terrific. Winemaker Kari Auringer has been with this Napa Valley winery for the last decade and has certainly fine tuned the wines with her personal touch. She describes herself as a hands-on winemaker and is involved in every step of the process. You can also find her on Facebook Live in “Kari’s Kitchen” where she shares her favorite recipes and discusses Cornerstone wines.
I started with the 2018 Sauvignon Blanc “Farina Vineyards” from Sonoma Mountain. Tropical notes of lychee and pineapple were everywhere. Packed with flavor and at 14.1 % ABV, it’s exactly what I expected from the Napa Valley with its medium body and savory spices. It finished with lime zest and was perfectly rounded. I need to try this with a pasta or creamy chicken dish.
Next was the Cornerstone Cabernet 2016 “Benchlands” from Napa Valley. Wow. I loooooved this wine. On the nose I got ripe black fruit, violets and some tar. On the palette, I picked up black fruit, biscotti, chocolate malt balls, and hazelnut. Super silky and soft tannins, this is a wine to just sit back and sip. It was constantly evolving and I couldn’t get enough of it.
Last was the Cornerstone Cabernet 2016 from Rutherford. On the nose, I picked up dried roses, milk chocolate and black berry. It had flavors of black fruit, caramel, baking spices and black olive. Its medium tannins carried it all through to a nice long finish. Another stunner.
These wines were really a pleasure. I hope you get to try them soon!
Cornerstone Cellars