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Kari first worked at Cornerstone Cellars as assistant winemaker under Celia Welch from 2000 to 2007 and then returned for her homecoming as head winemaker for Cornerstone Cellars in 2015. Kari talked about the unique approach that Cornerstone Cellars took when Michael Dragutsky embarked on a quest to deliver on the potential he saw in a select few of Napa Valley’s finest mountain and benchland Cabernet Sauvignon vineyards. We tasted four wines from Farina Vineyard in Sonoma Mountain AVA (Sonoma Valley) and vineyards that are well-known, but not named from Howell Mountain, Oakville Station and Rutherford. * 2016 Cornerstone Cellars Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon – made with 100 percent mountain fruit, there is a reason this is known as the winery’s signature wine.

I was physically in the same place that I am today, the Four Seasons Resort in Punta Mita, Mexico, where we have spent Spring break as long as we’ve had a kid in school who has a holiday, with several of the same families. We aren’t in a place that hotel services could completely shut down and all food will come via room service to our room. Masks at the airport are mandatory … unless you are the 100 that we counted in the time that we boarded our plane who either weren’t wearing or were wearing improperly. It’s clear the pandemic is far from under control, so I do my best to balance keeping safety and sanity.

Today Longevity Wines is a boutique family operated, urban style winery located in the Livermore AVA, with a focus is on quality not quantity. The small quantity, Livermore boutique wines have a black label and continue to be hand produced by Phil. The other is the white-label line, which is distributed nationally by Republic National Distributing Co. due to a partnership between Longevity’s and the Franzia family of Bronco Wine Co., one of the 10 largest U. S. wine producers. The wines are a chardonnay and a cabernet sauvignon ($16 each) made in quantities of 2,700 cases each, which almost doubles Longevity’s former 3,000-case annual production.

She started Wine For the People, a company (even a mantra) inspiring community through wine culture and collaborating with nature to foster connection. She’s opened a Hill Country wine tasting room featuring Wines for the People Wines and C. L. Butaud. Sold in Texas at Central Market and Whole Foods for around $20, it is a blend of 40 percent Mourvèdre, 25 percent Cinsault, 15 percent Syrah, 10 percent Grenache and 10 percent Counoise. We tasted the wine, which as a blend of 70 percent Carignon, 10 percent Mourvèdre, 10 percent Grenache and 10 percent Counoise.