Mannina Cellars - Up and Coming!
Mannina Cellars is a brand new winery located in the heart of the Walla Walla Valley in Eastern Washington State, home to one of the most acclaimed winemaking regions in the world. I actually have a personal connection to this winery: I received a call several months back from a family friend telling me about a great guy, Don Redman, who just released his first offerings at a new winery in Walla Walla. I asked for his number, and the next time we were in town I called Don and stopped by his tasting room.
Don had just opened the new tasting room and we had a chat. He is an environmental engineer by trade, who fell in love with the wines and wine country of Walla Walla so much that he put his background in chemistry to work making wine. I had a great time talking with Don. He spoke in careful detail about hand selecting and hand separating the dense clusters of his Sangiovese before crush. I could tell this is a winemaker who will stop at nothing to achieve perfection!
We tasted his 2004 Merlot (88 points in Wine and Spirits), it was incredible. I was absolutely blown away by his first releases! Next we tasted the 2004 Sangiovese. I enjoyed it so much I bought a case on the spot. Unfortunately, he is now sold out of the 2004 Sangiovese. I did not get the opportunity to taste his 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon, but if his other offerings are any indication, I really need to find some! You can visit Don’s website at http://www.manninacellars.com/ and can buy his 2004 Merlot (which I highly recommend) at http://www.lovewashingtonwine.com/ .
Original post by Mark Bolz