Tasting at ELYSE Winery

Elyse Winery, Yountville

A beautiful way to start a fall morning is to wake up in the middle of a vineyard in Napa Valley.  I did just this last week while staying at Elyse Winery, located in Yountville. 

Ray Coursen

Ray Coursen  is a man who enjoys life and it shows.  He grew up on a dairy farm in New Jersey and, like most people, had a taste of wine and wanted more.  He relocated to the Napa Valley in 1983 and eventually became the head winemaker at Whitehall Lane.  Ray was finally able to branch out on his own in 1997 when he bought the property where Elyse Winery is currently located.  His winemaker since 2001 is Mike Trotta, who has previous experience at Bernardus Winery in the Carmel Valley and Yalumba in the Barossa Valley.

Angela Raynor, Dre Solimeo, Mike Trotta

My trip to the Napa Valley was organized by Angela & Seth Raynor who I worked for this summer at The Pearl on Nantucket.  They have had a long-time relationship with Ray as he has attended the Nantucket Wine Festival for years and they share many mutual friends in the wine business.  Ray was gracious enough not only to host our accommodations, but also to spend an afternoon with us and his winemaker to taste through his wines paired with a plate of cheeses from Cowgirl Creamery.  Our cheese selection included: Fromage Blanc, Inverness, Pierce Point, Mt. Tam, Red Hawk and Wagon Wheel. 

L'Ingenue 2007 is made somewhat in a Chateauneuf-du-Pape style from mostly Roussanne, with Marsanne, Grenache Blanc and Viognier.  Ray says that while Roussanne is the work-horse of this wine, it is the synergy of all four grape varietals that really makes this wine what it is.  Mildly aromatic with tropical fruits, aged about 18 months in all old barrels, this is a perfect food wine.  I have worked in several restaurants around the country and was pleasantly surprised how easy it was to sell this wine this summer.

C'est Si Bon 2006 is a wine made to have fun with -a blend of Grenache, Mourvedre, Carignane, Counoise, Syrah and Cinsaut.  Again, aged in all old oak barrels. The grapes for this blend (and the one above) are both sourced from the Sierra Foothills.  An appealing combination of light red and dark fruits makes this wine easily accessible as a seafood wine paired with meatier fish.

Le Corbeau 2005 (translates to 'The Raven') is mostly Grenache, with about 10% Syrah, from the Hudson Vineyard.  What is unique about this wine is they take the cuttings from the vineyard, dry them in an oven, wrap them in cheesecloth and tie them together with a cloth cord.  These bundles are near the grapes when they are fermenting and the wine pulls some spice from the canes during fermentation.  While this was a type of 'bouquet garni' method that Mike brought back from Australian, the wine is neither Australian or Spanish in style, but more French.  The slightly aromatic compound from this process creates a wine that is a bit sauvage!


Zinfandel 'Morisoli Vineyard' (Napa Valley) 2007 is sourced from a vineyard relationship that Ray conceived in his days at Whitehall Lane.  Some of the vines are 130 years old and the soil is a gravely loam.  The wine has a sweet nose and pleasant (not too pungent) on the palate.


Zinfandel 'Black Sears Vineyard' (Howell Mountain) 2007 is blended with 9% Petite Sirah and is a wine of a different beast.  Pepper, tar and resin resonate in this wine, with chewy black cherry on the palate.

Petite Sirah 'Barrel Select' 2007 does have a small amount of Zinfandel added to it.  The wine is bright in color, juicy big black fruits and almost 15% alcohol.


*Cabernet Sauvignon 'Morisoli Vineyard' 2005 was my wine of choice for this tasting (although I am rarely one to have a favorite).  Aged 30 months in barrel and another one and a half years in the bottle before being released, this wine is very complex.  Mocha, chocolate nose, cinnamon stick, velvety texture on the palate.  It's the kind of wine that makes you think a) about the terroir from where it was grown and b) what kind of food you would pair with it!

Many thanks to Ray and his team for such a lovely afternoon!  For those of you in the trade, the wines from Elyse Winery are available through MS Walker in Massachusetts and recently with Selected Brands in Florida.