Menu
Menu
Tina and Brett
This Cabernet blend is made with fruit sourced from the two-acre Waterhorse Ridge Vineyard, which produces exceptional fruit high in the Cazadero Ridge. This small production wine displays all of the characteristics of a quality California Cabernet without all of the frills
Unturned Stone Wine was created by wine industry veterans Erin Mitchell and Randy Czech. Erin started her career as a wine buyer and sales manager for McCarthy and Schiering Wine Merchants, where she was the first woman to hold such a position. Randy, on the other hand, began as a brewer in Colorado and ultimately pivoted to wine. With stints at Flowers Vineyards and Winery and Gary Farrell, he knows the Sonoma County landscape well.
When Randy and Erin created Unturned Stone in 2010, they did so with the idea that they would make low-intervention California wine. Low-intervention wine essentially means that the winemaker takes a “hands-off” approach to the winemaking process by using wild yeast fermentation, adding minimal sulfites, and sourcing fruit that is organically or biodynamically farmed.
Randy and Erin also make a point to use fruit from small, on-the-margins vineyards, like the Waterhorse Ridge Vineyard, where the grapes in this Cabernet Sauvignon blend are from – more on that special vineyard below.
Unturned Stone has two distinct labels, their Allegory Series and the Spider Chase wines.
Allegory Series
The Allegory wines are everyday table wines. These wines are affordable, easy to drink, and meant to be enjoyed casually with friends rather than laid down and cellared. Allegory wines include a coferment Cardigan-Zinfandel, a Sauvignon Blanc, and a throwback-y White Zin.
Spider Chase
The Spider Chase label is a collection of small-batch wines from one-of-a-kind vineyard sites exclusively on the Sonoma and Mendocino coast. These special wines are made to savor and cellar. In addition to the Spider Chase Cabernet, this label also produces a Perli Vineyard Chardonnay and a Gianoli Ranch Zinfandel.
Snake Oil Series
If you’re looking for a unique bottle to show off to fellow wine geek friends, then the Unturned Stones’ Snake Oil Series is a good place to start. The 2019 ‘Freddie and Joe’s Old Vine Field Blend’, Alexander Valley, is made from 100+-year-old vines just outside of Healdsburg, and the 2021 ‘Firebird’ Vecino Vineyard, Sauvignon Blanc, Potter Valley, a sort of ode to the massive fire that ripped through the area in 2018, is made in the style of Jura wines using a flor yeast.
Waterhorse Ridge Vineyard is located roughly 7 miles from the Pacific Ocean, planted high among the pine trees and fog of Cazadero Ridge. Owners Jesus Velazquez and Patricia Greer didn’t settle in this remote part of Northern California with the idea of getting into the wine business or even being hobby grape growers, and yet their love of growing various plants on their land ultimately led them to try their hands at grapes.
Many wine lovers may see the Fort Ross-Seaview designation of Waterhorse Ridge and think ‘Pinot Noir’ why didn’t they plant Pinot Noir? But Jesus and Patricia didn’t want to put all of their eggs in one basket, so to speak, and didn’t want to follow the rest of the crowd in Cazadero down the Pinot Noir path, despite its popularity. Unsure whether or not Pinot Noir was a market trend or here to stay, they decided to plant a compact, two-acre vineyard dominated by Cabernet Sauvignon and a few other Bordeaux varieties.
When it came time to begin selling the Waterhorse Ridge fruit, both Jesus and Randy were in the right place at the right time. Jesus wanted to start selling his fruit, and Randy was interested in pursuing winemaking. Randy and Erin admired that Jesus and Patricia farmed the vineyard entirely themselves, and the resulting grapes exhibited an elegance on par with the unique microclimate of the ridge.
USA
California, Sonoma County/ Fort Ross-Seaview
Cabernet Sauvignon with Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Petit Verdot & Malbec
13.5
Jesus Velazquez
62–68°F / 16–20°C
Burgundy
30 Minutes
Now to 2027
Waterhorse Ridge
If you like your Cabernets in the style of Ridge’s famous Monte Bello Cabernet, a wine that comes in at a lean 13.5% alcohol, then there’s a good chance you’re also going to like the Spider Chase Cabernet blend.
Spider Chase is a field blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Petit Verdot & Malbec. In the glass, the wine is deep garnet and has a lovely clarity. The nose features a lot of soft fruit and damp forest floor. Concentrated prunes, plums, and black cherry are front and center. There’s also a touch of cedar.
This is a restrained Sonoma Coast Cabernet, rather than the overly oaked style that seems to be en vogue at so many Napa Valley wineries. There’s good acidity in this wine, and it tempers the palate beautifully. Black cherry, clean bell pepper, black pepper spice, but also hints of warm tobacco, licorice, and petrol. The tannins are defined and provide great structure. If you haven’t experienced a cooler climate Cabernet, you’re in for a real treat the first time you try a wine like this, especially if your palate has been trained on Napa Valley wines.
Just 160 cases of the 2017 Spider Chase Cabernet were made, and many online retailers have been sold out of this vintage for a while now. This wine is outstanding, and we highly recommend grabbing a bottle if you see one.
