McManis Family Vineyards

At a recent wine tasting event, I learned about McManis Family Vineyards. The charity wine tasting event featured many local Napa and Foothill wineries, including Jeff Runquist's Winery. As I commented back in July, I am a new fan of Jeff Runquist's zinfandel - the Z is excellent and I like the R as well. What I learned was Jeff is a winemaker for McManis Family Vineyards out of Ripon, CA. I understand this is a larger production winery. McManis was not pouring wines, so I have nothing more to post. I will seek out the label and post at a later date. However, if you have tried Jeff Runquist, and enjoyed it as I did, seek McManis - who knows, maybe it will be as good. http://www.mcmanisfamilyvineyards.com/

Jeff Runquist Wines

Ranking in my top 5 local wineries, Jeff Runquist Wines are amazing. I will caveat that with, you must be a zin lover to really appreciate his wines. Jeff Runquist is an Artisan, working for a larger winery, his private label is more of an art to him, and if he is not happy with the end result - well he won't put his name on it. This small winery produces less than 5,000 cases of wine per year. You will find them under two lables, either R or Z. Where to begin with this one...I loved the 2006 Z, a Zin with a nice balance of jam, earth and spice. My wife, on the other hand, enjoyed the 2007 R (I am guessing on the year but pretty sure it was 2007). This was a nice zin, which I enjoyed, however it lacked some of the spice making it a bit smoother Zin, which is what my wife enjoys. We were also both surprised, as Pop Runquist poured us one after another, with the 2006 Pinot Noir. A blind tasting, I thought this was closer to a zin than a Pinot, a nice one to try. Check out their website to learn more - http://www.jeffrunquistwines.com/