Toca Madera Winery shines with winning wines
Toca Madera Winery took home six medals from the 2021 SF Chronicle Wine Competition. The Moscato scored a Bronze, with Silver Medals going to the Cabernet Red Blend, the Mirame Rose and the Mourvedre Red Blend. A Gold Medal went to a white blend called Conmigo and a Double Gold Medal for the Grenache Red Blend. It was the only winery in the region to receive a Double Gold. That’s pretty impressive for a small Madera winery making only estate wines from just 10 acres on Avenue 9.
Toca Madera also received more good news recently from Wine Enthusiast Magazine. Both the 2017 Zinfandel and the 2019 Marsanne scored 90 points and the 2019 Conmigo, scored 92. That gives this 2,500 case winery a total of seven wines scoring 90 or better. Toca Madera’s first vintage was in 2014, made by a rookie winemaker and a Fresno State Enology graduate, Shayne Vetter. The good news is, he’s still there.
The winery is open weekends, noon to 5 p.m. You can book a reservation online for outdoor tasting. Plus there is live music on Sundays. The winery grounds are beautiful and are available for special events.
The Residence at Fasi Estates Winery
The Navigator and I found the perfect house to reunite with our friends after the COVID lockdown. We all had our shots, so we booked the Residence at Fasi Estates Winery on Highway 41. The residence is 3,400 square feet, with four bedrooms, three baths, a game room with pool table and a classic pin ball machine, a huge dining table that seats 14, a slick Traeger Grill, a large covered deck overlooking a tree-shaded backyard. There is plenty of parking and a beautiful Swiss-towered winery is only 50 feet away. It was a the perfect place to relax and hear all the stories we had missed over the year.
Our host, Briana, and her crew, were top-notch in meeting all our needs. The house was special. The only time we left, was to walk to the winery for a wonderful sit down tasting. The home was so relaxing, we canceled our dinner reservations and opted to eat in on our last night. We had a great time. You can find the Fasi Estates Winery Residence at www.fasiestate.com.
What’s on our Table
We love dry roses. The vintages we’re drinking are the 2019s and just released 2020s. So what about those 18s? We tasted six from Grocery Outlet and our tasting team selected a winner. It was Washington State’s Charles & Charles Rose. It was just $4.99 and with a 20 percent sale, just $3.99. And that’s a steal.
Questions? Comments? Find me on Facebook or at rgwinton@yahoo.com.