Burgess Cellars

Burgess Cellars
Location Deer Park, California, USA
Coordinates 38°33′26″N 122°28′29″W / 38.5571°N 122.4748°W / 38.5571; -122.4748Coordinates: 38°33′26″N 122°28′29″W / 38.5571°N 122.4748°W / 38.5571; -122.4748
Appellation Napa Valley AVA
Other labels Bell Canyon Cellars[1]
Founded 1972[2]
First vintage 1972[3]
Key people Tom Burgess, founder[4]
Bill Sorenson, winemaker[5]
Steve Burgess, vintner[6]
Cases/yr 20,000[7]
Known for Burgess Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
Varietals Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah, Petit Verdot, Cabernet Franc, Petite Sirah, Malbec, Grenache
Distribution national
Tasting by appointment
Website www.burgesscellars.com

Burgess Cellars is a California wine producer that operates from Deer Park in Napa Valley on the hillsides of Howell Mountain.[4] It was founded in 1972 by Tom Burgess[2] and now includes 120 acres (49 ha) across its three vineyards,[5] which are at elevations of 800 to 1,000 feet (240 to 300 m).[8]

Wines

Burgess Cellars makes "chef-friendly" wines with balance[9][10] in the European or Old-World style[3][11] The winemakers started setting aside "library" wines in 1980 for release at least 10 years later.[4]

They grow eight varietals at their vineyards, including their flagship Cabernet Sauvignon[9] at the Ranch vineyard, Merlot at the Triere vineyard, and Syrah at their vineyard off Ink Grade Road.[2][12]

History

Tom Burgess was an Air Force pilot and a jet pilot for IBM[5][11] who got interested in wine when he was flying around Europe,[4] and interested in the Napa and Sonoma valleys while traveling around Travis Air Force Base.[5][7]

In 1972 he bought the original Souverain vineyard from the Pillsbury Company, when they were moving production to Rutherford,[13] and its 1888[14] winery.[5]

Winemaker Bill Sorenson has been with the winery since its founding.[5][7]

Burgess Cellars formerly produced Zinfandels and Chardonnays as well.[9][15] They also formerly sourced grapes from other vineyards.[16]

Awards

2012 San Diego International Wine Competition[17]
2011 San Diego International Wine Competition[17]

References

  1. ↑ Anthony Dias Blue (1988). American Wine: A Comprehensive Guide. HarperCollins. p. 15.
  2. 1 2 3 "Burgess Cellars - Unique Story". Retrieved 2012-06-09.
  3. 1 2 Scott Cherry (March 12, 2003). "World of wines: Burgess Cellars a well-kept secret in shops". Tulsa World. p. D6.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Jordan Mackay (December 11, 2009). "Cellared wine as a window to the past". New York Times. p. 33B.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Marla Ridenour (October 19, 2003). "Napa by way of Akron". Akron Beacon Journal. p. A1.
  6. ↑ "Burgess Cellars - Bios". Retrieved 2012-06-10.
  7. 1 2 3 Steve Heimoff (February 1, 2012). "Napa Valley Cabernet Class of '72". Wine Enthusiast.
  8. ↑ Peg Melnik (November 2, 2010). "Decade in the making". The Press Democrat.
  9. 1 2 3 Mark Fisher (October 20, 2006). "A tale of two regions: Napa Valley and Italy". Dayton Daily News. p. D16.
  10. ↑ Bob Hosmon (December 7, 2000). "Napa Valley winemaker creates food-friendly wines". Orlando Sentinel. p. H4.
  11. 1 2 T. J. Foderaro (November 15, 2000). "Winning dinner candidates from the house of Burgess". Star-Ledger. p. 96.
  12. ↑ Official site's vineyard pages:
  13. ↑ "Souverain, savings and summer". Independent Weekly 20 (25). June 11, 2003. p. 32. ISSN 0737-8254.
  14. ↑ "Burgess Cellars - Tasting". Retrieved 2012-06-09.
  15. ↑ John Doerper (2004). California Wine Country (4th ed.). Random House, Inc. pp. 151–152. ISBN 1400012643.
  16. ↑ Karola Saekel (August 9, 2009). "Burgess Cellars is a wine purist's dream". San Francisco Chronicle.
  17. 1 2 "Burgess Cellars - Awards". Retrieved 2012-06-10. - Note: the page has the gold and platinum reversed for the 2011 competition; the linked PDFs of the awards show them as noted here

External links

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