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Dragonflies, fine wine and a prime time
Hanna Nicole Vineyards
Winery
&
F
ar out on Brentwood’s Balfour Road is Hannah Nicole Vineyards
and Winery – a high-class country kind of place to whet your whistle, plight
your troth, reward your employees, sing “Happy Birthday to You,” fete
friends and family, enjoy a food and wine pairing, listen to live music,
taste wine made right here from grapes grown right here, tote away
some of same, or kick back in an Adirondack chair on the veranda with
a glass of same under an overhang with dragonflies displaying their
blue iridescent wings as they flit and hover over the lawn as cattails in
a pool sway in the breeze as Diablo and its southern arm look over you.
Hannah Nicole Vineyards & Winery
6700 Balfour Road
Brentwood, CA 94513
925.240.9463
www.hnvwines.com
Wed. - Fri. ~ 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Sat. ~ 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Sun. ~ 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Tasting fee $5 a person for five wines
2010 Le
Mélange
Blanc
Contra
Costa
County ($17)
This 50/50 blend of
sauvignon blanc and
viognier has a hint of freshly
mowed lawn, and a fruit
stand of melon, lime and
bosc or Bartlett pear, with a
great taste of grated lemon
for zest. Nice with a fruit
salad and a spiced pear tart.
2009 Le
Mélange
Rouge
Contra Costa
County ($17)
This blend of 76%
cabernet sauvignon and the
remainder cabernet franc
could be your default wine.
Very berry and plum good.
Liked with Porterhouse
steak and went well with the
BLT at Black Bear Diner
(where you can have it with
a meal).
In 1999, wife and husband Glenda and Neil Cohn bought
a few acres in Knightsen to grow Granny Smiths, but
didn’t like them apples, so grew grapes instead. In 2001,
they bought their property on Balfour Road and now
have 55 acres of 10 different grape varieties. They later
converted their garagista wine hobby of love into wine
making. The grapes are grown, harvested, crushed, fermented,
aged and bottled by Hannah Nicole. They buy some zinfandel and
chardonnay and occasionally some syrah, from other vineyards.
The deluxe tasting room is large, with a very long bar and some
tables in front of the south facing windows. On a recent Sunday,
first time visitors Jason and Kelly Swick sat at this perfect spot
for a couple, obviously enjoying each other, the view and a
couple of wines: Le Mélange Rosé and Le Mélange Rouge.
A large and popular event venue adjoins the tasting room. Hannah
Nicole hosts weddings and numerous other events and also has
wine and food pairing events and live music.Light-hearted Judy,
one of the tasting room hosts, is solid with the wine information.
The petite syrah is her personal favorite. “Enjoy by a fireplace,”
says Judy, “cold weather optional.”
Hannah Nicole currently offers sauvignon blanc, viognier, Le
Mélange Rosé (a blend of grenache and mourvedre), Grenache
Rosé, Cabernet Franc, Zinfandel, petit verdot, and sauvignon
blanc late harvest. Prices range from $15 to $38. Hannah Nicole is
between vintages on its cabernet sauvignon, merlot, and Meritage
(a trademark for a blend of Bordeaux-inspired wines) and letting
the wines mature a little. Ah, Dragonflies, Diablo, and very-good-
to-great Hannah Nicole Vineyards wine.
by Harry Stoll
Photos by Steve Nosanchuk