Vinfolio’s Doug Wilder Announces his Top 25 Domestic Wines for 2006

To commemorate the year in American wine, Doug Wilder, Director of California Acquisitions & Sales at Vinfolio, a premier wine store and collector services company, has just released his annual top 25 wines of the year. As a specialist of small production and often yet-to-be-rated American wine at Vinfolio, Wilder is uniquely qualified to determine which wines have stood head and shoulders above their peers. Throughout the year, Wilder tastes over a thousand wines often upon release and directly from the winemakers and winery owners giving him insider access to the next great wine gems often before they are even rated by the national critics. Wilder packages his recommendations and scores in his free weekly email wineletter, The Wilder Side of California

“A highly regarded "cult" winery name or winemaker are not necessary to receive the highest score. To the contrary, “Vinfolio provides a service to clients much like an investment advisor, letting wine lovers know about wines that are on the way up,” Wilder states. In choosing from the three hundred wines he rates throughout the year, the Top 25 list, he adds “recognizes a core group that are truly the best of the best. ”

At the top of the list with a score of 100 points on Wilder’s scale is Auteur’s Pinot Noir, Shea Vineyard, Williamette Valley, the only wine to receive a perfect score. Three other Oregon wines are also on the list. Seven Napa Valley wines made the cut, as did two wines each from Paso Robles, Carneros, Russian River Valley, Santa Maria Valley and Sonoma Coast with one each from Santa Ynez Valley, Arroyo Grande Valley, in California and the Columbia Valley in Washington state.

The list and Wilder’s commentary can be found at: www.vinfolio.com/top25

Making the list for 2006 are the following wines which all scored between 93-100 points on Wilder’s scale in order of points received:

• 2005 Auteur Pinot Noir Shea Vineyard, Willamette Valley 100 points
• 2003 Favia Red Wine, Cerro Sur, Napa Valley 98 points
• 2003 Miura Pinot Noir Talley Vineyard, Arroyo Grande Valley 98 points
• 2005 Hartwell Sauvignon Blanc, Carneros 98 points
• 2004 Maldonado Chardonnay, Los Olivos Vineyard, Napa Valley 98 points
• 2003 Arcadian Pinot Noir Dierberg Vineyard, Santa Maria Valley 98 points
• 2004 Ambullneo Pinot Noir, Mastiff Cuvee, Carneros 97 points
• 2003 Drinkward Peschon Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley 97 points
• 2004 Peay Chardonnay, Sonoma Coast 97 points
• 2005 Garretson Grenache Blanc, Paso Robles 97 points
• 2003 Fidelitas Cabernet Sauvignon Champoux Vineyard, Columbia Valley 96 points
• 2005 Auteur Pinot Noir Sonoma Stage Vineyard, Sonoma Coast 96 points
• 2003 Diamond Terrace Cabernet Sauvignon, Diamond Mountain District Napa Valley 96 points
• 2004 Kapcsandy Red Wine State Lane Vineyard, Napa Valley 96 points
• 2004 Hansel Pinot Noir Cahill Lane Vineyard, Russian River Valley 96 points
• 2004 Dierberg Pinot Noir Estate, Santa Maria Valley 96 points
• 2004 Philip Togni Cabernet Sauvignon Tanbark Hill Estate, Napa Valley 94-95 points
• 2004 Garretson Syrah Mon Amie Paso Robles 95 points
• 2003 Harris Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, Jake’s Creek Vineyard, Napa Valley 95 points
• 2003 Tandem Chardonnay Ritchie Vineyard, Russian River Valley 95 points
• 2003 Chehalem Pinot Noir Reserve, Willamette Valley 94 points
• 2004 SCHOLIUM PROJECT Petite Sirah Babylon, Tenbrink Vineyard, California 94 points
• 2005 Margerum Sauvignon Blanc, Purisima Mountain Vineyard, Santa Ynez Valley, 94 points
• 2004 Serene Pinot Noir Yamhill Cuvee, Oregon 94 points
• 2004 Auteur Pinot Noir Hyland Vineyard, Willamette Valley 93 points


About Vinfolio, Inc. Based in San Francisco, Vinfolio (www.vinfolio.com) sells fine wine and services to wine collectors and enthusiasts. Its guiding principle is “Fine wine, finer service,” demonstrating Vinfolio’s unparalleled level of personalized customer service and collector services. Vinfolio’s wine store is seamlessly integrated with collector services, all designed to make the wine buying, selling and collecting experience effortless and enjoyable. From an extensive selection of fine wine to VinCellar™, its online cellar management software, to collector services (including on-site inventorying and full-service storage), Vinfolio delivers “Fine wine, finer service”. Vinfolio was founded in 2003 by CEO Stephen J. Bachmann, who incorporated his expertise in technology and finance with his passion for wine. For more information on Vinfolio visit www.vinfolio.com