Press
Dunstan Wins Gold
February 25, 2012
Our 2009 Dunstan Pinot Noir, Durell Vineyard was awarded 2nd place out of 460 wines tasted.
We also were honored to be picked as the crowd favorite and selected to pour at Rex Pickett's release of "Sideways" the play. Based on the novel, this play promises to be a lot of fun!
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The Holiday Wine Slate
December, 2011
Celebrating the holidays with wine is a tradition the world over. Whether you are sipping a hot mug of spiced wine at a Christmas market in Germany, toasting the New Year with a vintage bubbly, or savoring a rich red overChristmas dinner, wine and the holidays go together. The Durell Vineyard in Sonoma County, California produces some ofthe finest wines and are a favorite of the sommeliers at Horse Connection.
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Great Wines For the Holidays
December 8, 2011
Last time we looked at some of the white wines that I believe are good choices for your holiday table. Today, we’ll look at the red side of the wine spectrum.
Pinot Noir: Pinot is a natural for the holiday table. It has the depth of flavor and structure to stand up to the myriad range of flavors. It’s also not too heavy, so it does well as a wine to sip before you sit down to dinner. Great examples include Sojourn Cellars, Three Sticks, Dunstan, MacRostie, Landmark and Athair.
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WSJ - "Best of the Best"
2007 Sand Hill Pinot Noir
Winter, 2011
The objective: To find the 12 top wines in America. A panel of judges – chaired by best-selling wine writer Hugh Johnson – tasted more than 800 wines blind (to ensure impartiality).
These days, a handful of regions outside of Burgundy are matching that famous French region for class, elegance and fruit-richness, when it comes to great Pinot. Sonoma is a top contender — and Annual Dozen judge Justin Howard-Sneyd describes this “fascinating,” example from the renowned Sand Hill Durell Vineyards as “almost Vosne” — comparing it to Burgundy’s most sought-after (very expensive!) Vosne-Romanée wines.
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2008 Dunstan Chardonnay
Durell Vineyard
October 5, 2011
This big flavored Chardonnay is filled with melon and tropical fruit aromas and flavors, yet has enough acid and structure to keep everything in order. It walks the nice middle line between thin and tart and blowsy and overblown. It is drinking beautifully now and would be a great accompaniment to roast chicken.
Women of Wine: Ellie Price and Durell—Metamorphosis of a winery woman
Fall 2011
Sonoma Magazine covers Ellie, Durell, and Dunstan (both the wine and the Mustang!) in the Fall issue. Ellie on blending wine: “I love the fact that grapes are essentially themselves, this irrefutable factor. You can farm with a certain intention, but ultimately, a certain field is going to produce a certain kind of grape. I like that known factor. You can give two artists three cans each of the same paint and they can come up with two completely different things, of different quality, of different vision. But that grape is going to be what it’s going to be.”
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Dunstan Wines and Durell Vineyard owner save Wild Horses
June 17, 2011
Ellie Phipps Price, owner of Sonoma County’s Durell Vineyard and Dunstan-Durell Wines recently put up most of the $31,000 it cost a horse-rescue group to assure that wild horses rounded up by the BLM weren't sold to slaughterhouses.
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Summer in a Glass
Summer 2011
"The only Durell Vineyard designated rosé you’ll find, this wine is made from a soignée of Pinot Noir sourced from the ultra-premium Ranch House Block. The wine is crisp, dry and light with aromas of rose petals and fresh strawberry. Salmon pink in color, the palate is full of wild strawberries, a hint of Meyer lemon and a clean mineral finish. Each year we make a small production of rosé because it offers our customers a glimpse at the beauty of the vintage long before the release of the same vintage wine (almost two years later). Also, it’s a great way to kick off summer which is why we like to call our rosé ‘summer in a glass.’"
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Pour With Passion
March 2011
Ellie Price of Belvedere, owner of Durell Vineyards has always loved horses. “As a girl, I wished for a horse at every birthday, I drew pictures of horses, dreamed of horses, and now I finally have too many—careful what you wish for!” Price, who has long been an avid horseback rider, is now actively involved in protecting America’s wild horses. She also owns Dunstan Wines produced from Durell grapes, named after her first rescued mustang.
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DUNSTAN Celebrates its First Release
September 2010
Saturday I attended the release party for DUNSTAN Wines’ 2008 vintage. This is the first release for that brand which is owned by Ellie Phipps Price of Durell Vineyards. Founded in 1979 by Ed Durell and purchased in 1998 by the Price family, more than 20 wineries, including Chateau St. Jean, TOR, Pali Wine Co. Chasseur, Kistler, and Three Sticks source fruit from Durell. However, DUNSTAN takes its fruit solely from the Durell Vineyard’s Ranch House Block and nothing from that block is made available to other wineries.
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"Sonoma Coast Chardonnays"
San Francisco Chronicle
May 2010
2008 DUNSTAN Durell Vineyard Sonoma Coast Chardonnay: This new label from Durell owner Ellie Phipps Price harnesses a prime block (Ranch House) of a powerhouse Chardonnay site. A paraffin aroma, plus lots of toffeed and toasted flavors, reveal the oak influence. But there are dense layers of flavor beyond: minerally citrus and peach skin, and a savory twinge. Think brined green olive. The finish is fresh and bracing. A powerful, ripe style.
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"Durable Durell"
Santa Rosa Press Democrat
July 2009
Through 30 years of growing some of the best pinot noir and chardonnay in Sonoma County, through replantings and evolving winery partnerships, changes in ownership and economic ups and downs, there’s been one constant at Durell Vineyard: expert vineyard manager Steve Hill.
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