An amazing wine from winemaker Andy Erickson (Screaming Eagle)

2008 Leviathan Red Blend

Andy Erickson has worked with some of the biggest names in the wine industry. Currently he is the wine maker for Screaming Eagle, Ovid, Dalla Valle and Dancing Hares. He has worked with just about every major cult winery in the Napa Valley his resume also includes Harlan, Staglin Valley Vineyards, Spottswoode, Stags Leap Wine Cellars and Newton. Leviathan is made by Favia winery which is a project that Andy Erickson and Annie Favia started in 2003. Both bring great amount of experience to the wines they produce.  

40% Cabernet Franc, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon, 16% Syrah, 14% Merlot. Leviathan is Andy Erickson’s pet project where he can express his creativity and talents through blending different lots of finished wines he has made from various sources. I'm sure he has great sources to obtain top quality fruit, after all he is one of the top winemakers in Napa Valley.

Lunch with David Ramey

This past Wednesday we had the opportunity to have lunch with one of the superstars of the wine industry David Ramey. His venue of choice was Viognier  in San Mateo where chef Preston Dishman paired the Ramey wines with perfection. David Ramey started his career at place where many people can only dream of working or even drink there wine, Chateau Petrus.After learning many of the French wine making techniques David applied his skill to California grape varietals. He started working at Simi as assistant wine maker after 5 years had passed David realized that he wanted to be a head wine maker so he headed to Matanzas Creek where he resided as head wine maker for 4.5 years. From Matanzas Creek David made his way to Chalk Hill and then from there he helped the Moueix Family start the Dominus label.
 In 1996 David and his wife Carla started Ramey Wine Cellars. At the moment David owns no vineyards but has long term contracts with vineyard owners.