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> Main Catalog
Please click on the buttons on the left to view detailed information about each of our wines from every vintage. September 2009 releases are listed below.
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Downing Family Vineyards produces small case lots of hand-crafted, ultra-premium wines. Our premier vintage of Zinfandel was released in May 2001 and our premier vintage of Cabernet Sauvignon was released six months later.
Downing Family wines are distributed at select retail locations and restaurants and are also available via mail order. Mailing list members are notified of the upcoming release and given the opportunity to purchase wine prior to the general release. We don't have our own tasting room. Tastings available at Cult Wine Central at the Napa Wine Company in Oakville, see their website for fees and a weekly tasting menu. They may have large format bottles or library wines available in the tasting room. Prices and discounts at Cult Wine Central may not be the same as our on-line store.
Detailed vintage and tasting notes for all of our released wines including library releases is available simply by clicking on the varietal buttons on the left side of this screen. Library releases, when available are also listed.
We currently ship to these states, preferable to a business address: AK, CA, CO, DC (District Of Columbia), FL, IA, IL, MN, NV, NH, NM, NC, TX, VA, and WA. |
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2009 VALENTIEN Pinot Gris OUR FIRST WHITE WINE!
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Just in time for summer. VALENTIEN Pinot Gris from the Downing Family. Our first white wine! For years we have been captivated by the works of artist Albert Valentien. Our white wines are dedicated to his passion. Here is his story. In 1908, artist A.R. Valentien accepted a commission from San Diego philanthropist Ellen Browning Scripps to paint a series of California wildflowers. What began as an ambitious project soon became his life's work. He spent ten years traveling throughout the state, painting every specimen of California plant and wildflower that could be gathered. The Valentien watercolor collection was donated to the San Diego Natural History Museum by the Scripps estate in 1933. The Mariposa Lilly on our label is a beautiful wildflower native only to California.
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2007 Oakville, Napa Valley Fly By Night Zinfandel (organic)
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2007 Fly by Night Zinfandel - Oakville, Napa Valley (Organic) This marks our ninth release and is our third harvest from the new H&H vineyard in Oakville, Napa Valley. The H&H vineyard, like the original Pelissa vineyard in Oakville is a certified organically farmed (CCOF) vineyard. Bottled with Stelvin screw caps, this Zinfandel has bright crisp fruit with a remarkable balance and Cabernet like depth and complexity.
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2006 Rutherford, Napa Valley, Cabernet Sauvignon (organic)
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The 2006 vintage marks the ninth release of Downing Family Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa Valley. Our 2006 release is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon from a single CCOF (certified organically farmed) vineyard. The fruit comes from the Del Bondio vineyard and is located on Bella Oaks Lane just west of Highway 29 in Rutherford. The Del Bondio Rutherford organically farmed fruit has been the heart of our Cabernet Sauvignon since our first Cabernet vintage in 1998. The Cabernet is a beauty with loads of black cherry, black currant and a big sweet nose. The classic earthy Rutherford notes are unmistakable. Our production remains quite small with only 420 cases produced.
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2006 Oakville, Napa Valley Fly by Night Zinfandel (organic)
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2006 Fly by Night Zinfandel straight from the heart of Cabernet country in Napa Valley! Our 2006 was the second harvest from the new H&H vineyard in Oakville, Napa Valley. The H&H vineyard, like the original Pelissa vineyard in Oakville is CCOF certified organically farmed. Makes sense because it's farmed by the Pelissa family, pioneers in Napa Valley organic farming. This vineyard is located a few hundred yards from the original. We harvested 15 tons of amazing fruit yielding 986 cases. Barrel samples of the 2006 were poured at the January 2008 ZAP tasting in San Francisco to rave reviews reminiscent of our wonderful 1999. Bright crisp fruit, remarkable balance, and Cabernet like depth and complexity define this Zinfandel as something special. Sorry, no screw cap this year. Vinography rated 9.0 to 9.5 points.
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2006 Oakville, Napa Valley Syrah (organic)
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Our 2006 Syrah is 100% Syrah from a single CCOF certified (organically farmed) vineyard farmed in Oakville by the Del Bondio family. This will be the "last syrah" we will be producing at this time. We started producing Syrah in 2003 and that year it was called a Shiraz. The label contains a drawing of our Melges 24 racing sailboat.
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2005 Oakville, Napa Valley Syrah - A FEW CASES STILL AVAILABLE!
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Our 2005 Oakville Syrah has turned into a beautiful wine after 24 months of aging in French and American Oak followed by nine more months of bottle aging. This wine is 100% Syrah from a single CCOF certified organically farmed vineyard.
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2005 Yountville, Napa Valley Petite Sirah (organic) - LIBRARY RELEASE!
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This wine is our second vintage of 100% Petite Sirah from a single vineyard in Yountville, Napa Valley. Only 70 cases of this lovely wine were produced. Originally released in August of 2007 and quickly sold out. We are re-releasing a small amount from our library collection for you to enjoy.
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Please click on www.cellartracker.com for independent tasting notes, ratings and reviews of our wines.
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