At least a year and a half, some sanity has returned and my local wine shop The Fine Wine Source is helping to lead the way.  A general public winetasting was announced, because for the last eighteen months, it has been private wine tastings by appointment.  While private tastings are nice for the one-on-one attention that you receive, there is just something more wine-like of an experience when there is a crowd all enjoying the wines.  The wine shop did control the crowds by limiting the many wine tasters, so that everyone could have some space between, and I might add, the space was much greater than the space on a commercial airline.  I have to admit that the day was so special, that even my Bride came with me.

Korbin Ming returned once again to conduct the wine tasting at the shop, as he represents Korbin Kameron Winery and Moonridge Vineyards.  Korbin Ming wears many hats, as he is the General Manager, the Vineyard Manager and the Assistant Winemaker and probably wears other hats that may be required at a moment’s notice. He has a Master’s Degree from UC Davis in Viticulture and Enology.  He worked harvest in Bordeaux, Sonoma, Sierra Foothills and Napa Valley, before joining Korbin Kameron.

We began the tasting with Korbin Kameron Sauvignon Blanc Moon Mountain District 2017 and 2019.  Which immediately caught my Bride’s attention, as she has seemed to have become a huge fan of this particular grape and we always seem to have some chilling in one of the refrigerators.  Moon Mountain District AVA is a relatively new sub-region of Sonoma Valley and is distinguished by its volcanic soil, and it is one of the warmest regions in the valley, as well as having one of the longest growing seasons. As it gets more attention, you will probably see it more often, instead of the wineries using Sonoma Valley.  It was interesting to taste the two vintages, as they both began initial fermentation in Stainless Steel and then finished off for four months in oak, eighty percent neutral and twenty percent new.  They both had similar soft straw color, noses of lemongrass, with notes of lemon, honeydew and citrus and a finish of terroir.  There were three-hundred cases of wine produced for each vintage.  The 2017 vintage was softer and the 2019 vintage was much bigger.  We were there for the first day of tasting and the 2017 sold out while we were there.