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GOLD CLUB Volume 31, Issue 02

Medal Winning from California’s Best Family-Owned . The SPRINGWine STREET Press CALIFORNIA’S CENTRAL COAST

The Best Wine Clubs on the Planet. Period. Spring Street Winery Honoring the history of Paso Robles’ natural sulfur springs, Spring Street Winery crafts distinctive, value-driven wines from some of the Central Coast’s best and appellations.

Condos, Spring Street Winery focuses on Paso Robles and the Central Coast of California, Recently crafting co-founded site-driven by first wines generation that express the Richard and the Bruno vineyards and Chrisfrom which they are from. Spring Street Winery is part of the Vinum Cellars collection of wines, which Bruno and Condos began in 1997 and it has grown to include a variety of winery brands that represent appellations throughout California. Bruno and Condos met while attending UC Davis in the early 1990’s and their passion for evolved into a lasting friendship that led to the establishment of Vinum Cellars. Since the beginning, their focus has been centered around searching California’s coastal vineyards and special microclimates for the best sustainable sites and growers with the highest quality possible. Each wine under the Vinum Cellars umbrella is hand crafted from single vineyards and made with a small-lot philosophy. From Coastal and to Napa

California’s best winegrowing regions. Valley Bruno Cabernet and Sauvignon,Condos’ new Vinum Spring Cellars Street makes Winery a variety venture of currentlywines from includes some of a

Monterey Pinot Noir, and a Paso Robles . This month’s featured Central Coast and Chardonnay, a from Clarksburg, a appellation. This third generation family farming operation produces exceptional 2019 Chenin Blanc comes from the famed Wilson Farms in the Clarksburg 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon is a blend of fruit from four sub-districts in Paso Robles California Chenin Blanc, a that was often overlooked until recent years. The producing world-class wines. - Adelaida, Templeton Gap, Creston, and Santa Margarita Ranch - each known for springs. For thousands of years, the area was inhabited by the native Salinan Tribe The Spring Street Winery takes its name from Paso Robles’ natural hot sulfur healing properties. Later, during the Mission Era, Franciscan priests from who knew the land as the “Springs” or the “Hot Springs,” and discovered the water’s springs, which began to attract the pioneer settlers to the area. These settlers becameneighboring the Missionfounding San members Miguel constructed of the community the first mineraland later baths established from these cattle hot

Street is also the name of the main road through downtown Paso Robles today. ranches, It’s noapple wonder and almondthat Richard orchards, Bruno and and eventually, Chris Condos the firstselected vineyards. the California Spring Central Coast for their new Spring Street Winery venture. With an abundance of microclimates, soil types and varying topography, the Central Coast offers seemingly endless opportunities for crafting a wide range of expressive and distinctive wines. We hope you enjoy these wines from the up and coming Spring Street Winery. Cheers!

Chris Condos and Richard Bruno, Winemakers

Co-owners and co-winemakers, Chris Condos and Richard Bruno are the master minds behind Spring Street Winery and its parent brand, Vinum Cellars. The friends and business partners have worked together for nearly twenty-five years, sourcing sustainably grown fruit and producing high quality wines from key wine growing regions. Chris Condos grew up in a large Greek family and was destined to follow his grandfather and father into the wine business. After graduating from UC Davis, Condos went to work for Pine Ridge Winery in Napa Valley. He is currentlyrestaurant a business. As aconsultant waiter and for bartender, Kathryn KennedyBruno had Winery the opportunity in the Santa to Cruz taste Mountains rare and exciting and recently wines started and it a new brand called Horse & Plow Winery. Richard Bruno, on the other hand, was first exposed to wine via the ultimately led him to become a . He has worked for various wineries from Santa Cruz to Napa Valley, spent eight years as the Director of Winemaking for Don Sebastiani & Sons, and has consulted for Niebaum-Coppola and Michael Pozzan Winery in Napa Valley. Featured Gold Club Wines Spring Street 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon, Paso Robles 1,200 cases produced A blend of Cabernet Sauvignon fruit from four sub-districts of Paso Robles (Adelaida, Templeton Gap, Creston, and Santa Margarita Ranch), the Spring

Street 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon is sure to impress. Dark in color, this ,Cabernet and Sauvignon a burst offersof ripe intriguing Bing cherry, aromas subtle of mochacassis, ripenotes, cherry and underlying and baked rhubarb pie. The palate is extremely well balanced with a silky texture, soft Food Pairing: exotic Tahitian nuances that lead into an elegant finish. Aged 18 months in French . 100% Cabernet Sauvignon. Enjoy! GOLD MEDAL SPECIAL SELECTION BRAISED SHORT RIBS WITH GoldMedalWineClub.com/RecipesPARSNIP MASHED POTATOES

Spring Street 2019 Chenin Blanc, Clarksburg 308 cases produced The Spring Street 2019 Chenin Blanc comes from the Wilson Farms Vineyard

for four generations. Pale, steely yellow in color, this Chenin Blanc is ripe within Clarksburg Ruby grapefruit where the and Wilson Casaba family melon has aromas meticulously that carry farmed through the rich into land the palate. Flavors of juicy Blenheim apricot nectar, guava, and ripe Bosc pear

that show off the charm of this varietal. Spring Street’s 2019 Chenin Blanc arewill highlightedquench your by thirst fresh on minerality, a warm day, crisp improve acidity any and seafood hints dish, of floral and it esters pairs Food Pairing:

GOLDincredibly MEDAL well with farmhouseSPECIAL . SELECTION 100% Chenin Blanc. Enjoy! FRESH OYSTERS ON THE HALF GoldMedalWineClub.com/RecipesSHELL WITH MIGNONETTE

HOW WE CHOOSE OUR WINES: Gold Medal Wine Club showcases exceptional wines from only the best small wineries of California. Featured wines include those which have earned medals in the top wine-industry competitions or have been highly rated by a respected national wine publication (see goldmedalwineclub.com/resources/wine-ratings). On occasion, we feature wines which are newly released by the winery and which medals and reviews are forthcoming. Each and every selection is a superb wine made in small quantities and with very limited considered in choosing the featured selections each month. distribution. There are over 4,000 wineries in California producing thousands of different wines. Only wines fitting the above criteria are

Add a Plus! Bottle to your next wine delivery This month’s Gold Plus! Featured Wine: Vinum 2016 ‘The Scrapper’ The Plus! Program automatically adds on one special wine to each , El Dorado $18-$22 per delivery Plus! wines are all highly-rated, very small production wines with availability too regularlylimited for scheduled all regular wine club delivery, members or to as receive. often as For you more like! information, - Wine Enthusiast magazine visit: GoldMedalWineClub.com/plus 566 Cases88 Produced Points Wine Wizard: Test Your Wine IQ 1. What is whole cluster fermentation and how does it affect the wine?

off the vine and then crushed and fermented as a whole intact piece, stems and all. With the riseWhole of clustermechanical fermentation destemming, is just the what great it sounds majority like of - thewines whole are grapemade clusterfrom fruit is harvested without stems. Traditionally though, this wasn’t the case, and a number of producers, for a variety of

reasons, still find advantages to fermentation with whole clusters of on their stems. One such advantage (for certain ) is that stems impart their own unique flavors and complexities, while also contributing more tannins and structure to the finished wine. Some winemakers find that the stems give more expression of site specificity with their unique flavor contributions as well. On the other side though, if the stems are unripe, they can give theincreased wine unwanted - which is‘green’ one aromasreason andwhy flavorsPinot ofNoir methoxpyrazines. is a popular Stem forinclusion whole tends cluster to correspond with less intense color in the finished wine as well, but the color stability is can improve the wine’s appearance as it ages). Whole cluster fermentation isn’t an ‘all or fermentation (its thin skin contains less pigment than most red varieties, so fixing the color

nothing’a whole cluster proposition fermentation either, so depends a winemaker on the grapemay choose varietal to and throw desired in a outcome few whole of the clusters wine with the rest of the destemmed grapes, or go all in with 100% whole clusters. Deciding to do

and2. What it is just is a one grape of the vine wide clone? spectrum of possibilities winemakers are faced with.

result from natural . Cuttings are made from an original ‘mother vine’ that exhibits In viticulture, a ‘clone’ refers to a grape variety that is selected for specific qualities, which

forty!desirable While characteristics there may be such slight as mutations disease resistance, to differentiate small berrythe various size, taste, clones, smell all clones and are size.considered Some grapeto be geneticallyvarieties are part known of the to same have variety a variety (i.e. ofPinot clones Noir). - sometimes The choice more of variety than

Careful consideration must be given to climate, soil type, drainage and estimated dates,and clone not tocan mention make the the difference ultimate gaol between in terms an ofaverage the buyer vineyard or desired and anwine. outstanding one.

Gold Medal Wine Store INSTANT Membership Rewards Pricing* Save 27% to 46% off Winery Retail Prices

Winery Gold Medal Membership Rewards Pricing* SPRING STREET Retail Price 2+ btls. 6+ btls. 12+ btls.

2017 Cabernet Sauvignon, 2-Bottle Members: $19.00 $17.33 $16.50 Paso Robles 4-Bottle Members: $19.00 $16.50 $15.25 $28.00/btl. 2019 Chenin Blanc, 2-Bottle Members: $16.00 $14.33 $13.50 $22.00/btl. 4-Bottle Members: $16.00 $13.50 $12.25

Clarksburg Shipping and tax (if applicable) not included in above prices. Membership Rewards does not apply to Sale or Special-Offer Wines. *Effective per bottle prices after Membership Rewards discount is applied at checkout. 1-800-266-8888 www.GoldMedalWineClub.com