About Doug Wilder

Doug Wilder - Founder, Wine Reviewer

doug@wildernapavalley.com

As a native of Northern California who regularly took trips to the vineyards of Napa and Sonoma during the 1960’s with my parents for Sunday drives, visiting the wineries introduced me to the sights and smells that helped fuel my passion for wines to this day. I always had an inquisitive nose for aromas and many years later realized that all of the training I had subjected it to prepared me pretty well for a career in wine. After starting in the business in 1990 I began writing about what I found in wine for the benefit of my clients. Over the last ten years I worked with two of the most influential domestic wine companies in the country based in the middle of Napa Valley where I continued to evolve the discipline of tasting, writing and reviewing.

The purely domestic wine blog is a unique source of consumer information as it is the only independently written blog dedicated to reviewing domestic wines produced in California, Oregon and Washington. The focus on emerging, cutting-edge producers who likely have not hit the mainstream press yet, brought to you from the local perspective. Thank you for taking the time to read it regularly.

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About Lulu Roberts

Lulu Roberts - Executive Coordinator, Writer/SF

lulu@wildernapavalley.com

Lulu joined the purely domestic wine blog in Spring 2009 shortly after arriving from London. Her enthusiasm for all things food and wine oriented and the fact that she lives in San Francisco led me to appoint her in November 2009 as my official eyes, ears and ‘pen’ for essentially all urban activities related to this website. 

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    Monday
    Jul052010

    2009 Sauvignon Blanc from Capture - Tradition and Les Pionniers

    DateMonday, July 5, 2010 at 19:00

    So what do you think of the first video blog post? I was a lttle nervous shooting it and I know they will get easier.

    It has been a little over a year since I tasted the wines of Capture, a project headed by Ben and Tara Sharp, and made by another husband and wife team, Denis and May-Britt Malbec. The previous vintage 2008 Sauvignon Blanc received a 93 point rating from me and was one of the first published reviews. In 2009 there are a pair of wines; the Tradition and Les Pionniers. The wines show subtle differences yet both retain a polished and sophisticated quality that makes them notable. 

    I opened both of the samples at the same time and initially tasted at refrigerator temperature. I revisited approximately 24 hours later with the wines only having the corks replaced and returned to the refrigerator. A glass poured and left overnight on a table showed no serious signs of degradation.

    2009 Capture Sauvignon Blanc Tradition, California; DW 91 $30.00

    14.0% alcohol, 875 cases produced, Clone 1 and Musque, sur lie aged in stainless steel for 5 months.

    Aroma: A chiffon of apricot and dewy white peach kissed with sweet cream

    Palate: Firm and focused entry with nicely sculpted roundness on the mid-palate, backed by a briny, mineral-laced acidity

     

    Impression: Very nice effort - shows classic weight and subtle restraint

     

    2009 Capture Sauvignon Blanc Les Pionniers, Sonoma County; DW 93 $36.00

    14.5% alcohol,  360 cases produced, Clone 1 and Musque, sur lie aged in stainless steel for 5 months

    Aroma: Concentrated with very solid stone fruit (apricot and peach) with hints of citrus blossom

    Palate: Shows more sophistication and length than the Tradition - starts off deeper, and more polished then brightens to display beautifully poised acidity

    Impression: The subtlety here is quite impressive - the wine can sneak up on the unsuspecting palate and create one of those “hmm, I just finished my second glass! What is this stuff?” moments…

    The wines may be ordered directly from the Capture website.

    Disclosure: I received these bottles as a professional sample.

    AuthorDoug Wilder | Comment1 Comment |
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    dougwilder - the purely domestic wine blog is written by Napa Valley-based wine expert, Doug Wilder, the widely regarded specialist in domestic wines since 1990. From 2005 through Fall 2008, he conceived and directed the acquisitions for the renowned boutique domestic wine program at Vinfolio, Inc. where he authored over 200 issues of reviews containing his discoveries, many making their first appearances in the market. From 1999 through 2004, he was responsible for bringing scores of emerging domestic producers to prominence while Wine Buyer and Senior Wine Specialist at St. Helena’s Dean & Deluca Wine Hall. He began his career in wine at Cannery Wine Cellar in San Francisco, a landmark location where he learned about the domestic wine market inside out, developed his palate, created his first wine notes and began reviewing wines using a numerical scoring system.

    This single-topic wine blog made its first appearance in October 2008 and aims to achieve the following:


     


    • Evolve the communication platform for professionally written independent, domestic wine reviews
    • Create relevant, timely, and authoritative commentary on wines of California, Oregon and Washington
    • Lead in early stage reporting of high quality new producers for small production, cutting edge wines
    • Advise readers on where to find (usually the winery) many of the small allocation wines reviewed