Korbin Ming hosted another wine tasting at The Fine Wine Source in Livonia, Michigan.  I have been watching the reconstruction of the winery after the Tubbs Fire in 2018, in which they lost buildings, homes and part of the vineyard.  The winery is named after Mitchell Ming’s twin sons Korbin and Kameron, and it high above Sonoma Valley on Mount Veeder, on a 186 acre property where they grow several diverse varietals.  Moonridge Vineyard is a family endeavor, and a home above the clouds at times.   The estate was planted in 2000, and it sits on the ridge of Mount Veeder on Mayacamas Mountain Range and straddles the Napa/Sonoma County line at 2,300 feet in elevation.  The majority of the estate is in Sonoma County and they can look out and see Santa Rosa, Sonoma Mountain and on a clear day the Pacific Ocean.  Then if you turn around you are looking at Oakville and Rutherford, below the fog line.  That is the beauty of a mountain winery and one of the added benefits is a couple of hours of extra sunlight for the vines.   Korbin is the General Manager, Viticulturist and Winemaker with degrees from Boston University and UC Davis. 

 We started off the tasting with Korbin Kameron Sauvignon Blanc Moon Mountain District, Sonoma County 2021. Moon Mountain District AVA which is a sub-appellation of the Sonoma County AVA.  Moon Mountain is for the western slopes of the Mayacamas mountai ns between Sugarloaf Ridge and Carneros; while Mount Veeder AVA encompasses the eastern slopes.  The AVA is named after Moon Mountain Road which runs through the area and means “valley of the moon” in the local Native American dialect.  The AVA was granted in 2013, because of the region’s iron-rich volcanic soils, quite distinctive from the sedimentary soils of the surrounding area.  Initial Fermentation is in Stainless Steel followed by Malolactic Fermentation in French Oak barrels, eighty percent neutral and twenty percent new, for four months.  With two hundred twenty cases of wine produced.  A pale straw-colored wine offering notes of lemongrass, guava, and lime.  On the palate there were strong tones of yuzu, grapefruit, and honeydew with bright acidity and a medium finish.

Beside bringing the filets, we brought some wine, as if you might be surprised.  We started off with Korbin Kameron Semillon Moon Mountain District 2022. For years, I would hear how some of the famed Medoc houses made a barrel or two of white wine for their own consumption.  I also heard how some of the great houses of Sauternes would make a barrel or two of dry white wine for their own personal consumption as well. I guess that I would lump this wine with those, as there was only one barrel made, or to make it easier to understand, there were twenty-five cases produced.  The wine is organically made, using indigenous yeasts, it started in Stainless Steel and finished in new French Oak.  A very yellow/golden colored wine which at the age of six, was still showing youthful appeal of citrus and white florals.  On the palate there was still fresh citrus, and ripe pear mingling together and ending with a nice long finish of fruit and a touch of terroir.