It’s always a great time to have wine. Regardless of the season, wine is a mysterious, social, and enjoyable beverage to be shared anytime with friends and family or as a treat to yourself. And the best part of enjoying wine year-round is pairing it with the weather and seasonal foods to elevate the experience. As we enjoy the tail end of winter and look forward to summer’s warm, sunny days, learn more from Cornerstone Cellars about the best wines and food to pair them with to bring out the best flavors.

Best Wines for Winter

Characteristics of Winter Wines

There’s something truly unique about enjoying wine during the cold and snowy months. After a day out skiing, settle in with a cozy and warm bottle of wine that’s full-bodied and offers bold flavors of fruit and spice. Their high tannin levels give them even more depth, ideal for sipping slowly and swirling into their complexity. Often served at room temperature or slightly warmed, it’s best to let them breathe a bit to bring out the complete flavor or aroma of the wine.

Top Wine & Food Pairing Recommendations for Winter

Should winter wines go with pasta or a salad? If you’re looking for wine and food pairing recommendations and not sure where to start, consider these options:

• Cabernet Sauvignon: Known for its richness and bold dark fruit flavors like blackberry and cherry, this wine goes well with hearty meats. You can’t go wrong with a grilled steak or a tender roasted lamb. Cabernet is obviously a favorite of Cornerstone Cellars as we offer an entire portfolio of single vineyard Napa Valley bottlings.
• Syrah/Shiraz: Spicy and full of flavors such as peppers, tobacco, or coffee, a Syrah/Shiraz is ideal for pairing with a stew or potato gnocchi with red sauce.
• Malbec: A favorite in the winter, this type of wine is known for its smooth, dark fruit flavors such as plum. Savor this wine with a roasted pork or skirt steak.
• Chardonnay (Oaked): Don’t pass on a white wine during the winter. Often buttery and toasty, this delectable wine is best paired with chicken alfredo or even a creamy mac and cheese.
• Port and Dessert Wines: Sweet, rich, and perfect for holiday desserts, enjoy a glass of Port or Riesling to cap off the night.

Best Wines for Summer

Characteristics of Summer Wines

Swap full-bodied wines for light, refreshing wines as the days become longer and warmer. For the ultimate summer experience, sip on an acidic, crisp wine by the pool or pour yourself and your friends a glass while enjoying a picnic by a lake. Best served chilled and typically fruity, summer wines are the perfect refreshment and turn any day into a celebration.

Top Wine & Food Pairing Recommendations for Summer

Exchange hearty meals for light, fruit-forward dishes that bring out the flavor of each wine. Draw some inspiration from these wines and foods to pair with them:

• Sauvignon Blanc: Crisp, citrusy, and known for its vibrant flavors of honeydew and grapefruit, this wine is an excellent choice with summer salads, chicken, or even an eggplant dish. Our Sonoma Mountain Sauvignon Blanc has long been a club member favorite for its versatility and palate-pleasing presence.
• Rosé: Iconic for a hot summer day, rosé wines are versatile, ranging from light and minerally to rich and savory. Pair these wines with a nice pesto pasta dish or a lobster roll.
• Pinot Grigio: Bursting with fruit flavors of lime, lemons, and more, this wine pairs perfectly with slightly roasted vegetables and would be an excellent choice for a charcuterie board.
• Sparkling Wines: Perfect for celebrations, toast with a glass of sparkling wine. From Prosecco to Champagne, these wines range anywhere from dry and zesty to fruity and floral. They’re great to pair with a wide selection of food, such as oysters, smoked salmon, salted nuts, and more.
• Beaujolais: A rustic red, this easy-to-drink wine gives off notes of pomegranate and blackberry. This versatile partner can go along with roast chicken, fish, or even cooked sausages. Look for Beaujolais Nouveau right before the Thanksgiving holiday.

Explore Seasonal Wine Pairing at Cornerstone Cellars

Maximize each season with unique varieties of wine. Experimenting with different styles throughout the year can be fun and an opportunity to bring out flavors in the food you pair it with. Although you may be excited for warmer weather and summer wines, enjoy these last weeks and months of winter by popping open winter wines and relishing hearty meals.

At Cornerstone Cellars, we want you to taste the best wine every season. Browse our range of wines to find your favorite for summer, winter, and everything in between. From Cabernet Sauvignons to Pinot Noirs to Sauvignon Blancs, we offer delectable holiday wine selections sourced from acclaimed AVAs across California. Discover our Yountville tasting room, where creative and exciting experiences await. Book a tasting today to reserve your spot. We can’t wait to give you a taste of Yountville.

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These are all common questions that many of us face. Whether you’re a wine enthusiast, a waiter, or someone who wants to learn more about the varieties of wine, many of us would enjoy making an informed choice that aligns with our preferences and what’s being served. Cornerstone Cellars can help, and we love nothing more than to share our knowledge and help you find your favorite. Learn more about what makes each wine distinct and when to reach for a specific variety.

Understanding the Types of Red, White, and Rosé Wines

What Is Red Wine?

Red wine is a classic favorite amongst wine lovers. Iconic for its deep purple and burgundy hues, red wine’s characteristics, color, flavor, and texture from grape skins. Winemakers create these beloved wines by pressing the grapes and allowing the juice to ferment with the grape skins and seeds. Grapes with thinner skin produce lighter red wines, resulting in Pinot Noir and Garnache. On the other hand, if a grape’s skin is thicker, those grapes produce darker wines, known for being robust and fuller bodied. Those wines include Cabernet Sauvignon, Petite Sirah, Tempranillo, and more.

What Is White Wine?

White wine offers a lighter flavor profile, typically sweeter and more refreshing than full-bodied red wines. Generally made with light-skinned grapes (although white wine can be achieved with red or black grapes), white wine gives off a pale or honey color. Instead of keeping the seeds and skins left on during the red wine fermentation process, white wine winemakers discard those items, and the end product is a crisp Sauvignon Blanc, aromatic Albariño, Chardonnay, and countless other varieties.

What Is Rosé Wine?

A delicious mix between red and white wine, rosé wine can be fruity or dry and has a distinct dragon fruit or salmon pink hue. Made with red or purple grapes, after crushing the grape skins, they are left macerating with the juices for a few hours or even up to a couple of days. The juices and flavors embody the color of the skin, giving it its color and profile. Typically, the shorter the maceration period, the lighter the color. Well-known rosé wines include a bold Syrah, savory Tempranillo, spice-forward Cabernet Sauvignon, and more.

Aging a Wine to Perfection

Aging is a huge part of winemaking for red, white, and rosé wine, which is why winemakers are extremely meticulous about how they want to age their products. Two of the preferred options are oak barrels or stainless steel tanks.

Oak Barrels

Oak has several advantages for winemakers. It can add layers of complexity to a wine, adding notes of vanilla, spice, or nuttiness. Since it allows for oxygenation, oak barrels can also smooth and round out the flavors of the wine. Additionally, these barrels can add tannins over time to the wine, so it’s important to know when to stop barreling the wine and start bottling. Oak barrels are often used for red wines and even white wines that need a bit more flavor enhancement.

Stainless Steel Tanks

Unlike oak barrels, stainless steel preserves the wine’s original characteristics and wine sweetness levels. Not adding any additional flavors, this form of aging is ideal for winemakers who want to maintain the freshness of a wine, such as a white wine or rosé. Since steel tanks are airtight, winemakers can control the speed of oxidation, having more control on how the wine will taste over the years.

Choosing the Right Wine for the Occasion

At the end of the day, it’s important to choose the wine that satisfies your cravings. But if you’re interested in pairing wine with food, an event, or even the weather, here are some occasions for wine!

Red Wine Occasions

• Romantic dinner
• Fall or winter evening
• Formal event
• Meals involving hearty food such as beef, venison, duck, pasta, or stews

White Wine Occasions

• Spring or summer gatherings
• Meals involving lighter fare such as seafood, chicken, or pasta
• Brunches
• An aperitif before a meal

Rosé Wine Occasions

• Summer picnics
• Poolside gatherings
• Meals involving tapas, charcuterie, desserts, or fruits and vegetables
• Bridal showers

Get to Know Our Wines

From white to red, we have a variety of unique boutique wines that are approachable and delightful. We invite you to learn more about the Cornerstone Cellars wine club and choose the best option for you. Our Classic, Collectors, and Case options are designed to go deeper into our portfolio and experience the complexity of each variety of wine.

As you plan your 2025 calendar, come visit us in Yountville for a tasting. Whether you pick our Taste of Cornerstone or our Pairings Flight, get ready for a day full of delightful sipping. Our knowledgeable staff will even be happy to discuss the difference between white, red, and rosé wine with you. We look forward to seeing you soon!

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Winemaking and sustainability do go hand-in-hand. As global warming continues to change our planet, eco-friendly winemaking practices are more important than ever before. Winemakers around the world have the opportunity to implement practices that support the Earth and make a difference. At Cornerstone Cellars, we partner with farmers to implement sustainable agriculture in winemaking. We invite you to learn more about winemaking and sustainability practices and their benefits. Cheers!

What is Sustainable Winemaking?

Sustainable winemaking leverages environmentally friendly practices that help minimize waste, water use, chemical inputs, and more to preserve our planet. It often centers around economically practical methods, environmentally conscious practices, and improved working conditions for those making the wine. Since harmful pesticides are typically avoided, vineyards that strive for sustainability have a higher potential for ensuring healthier soil and energy efficiency.

Eco-friendly Winemaking Practices

Sustainable winemaking begins in the vineyard. Winemakers must pay close attention to how the land is managed and watch closely for any chemicals or other harmful properties that may cause damage to the soil or ecosystem. It’s recommended that wine makers use natural methods such as cover crops or compost to bring nutrients to the vine. These methods can even enhance each wine bottle’s flavor profile, expressing the grapes’ unique terroir. At Cornerstone Cellars, we prefer to partner with growers utilizing natural methods, which in our opinion more closely connects our wine to their land.

Once the grapes are ready for harvest and fermentation, winemakers can incorporate sustainable practices into their process. For example, using energy-efficient machinery and water recycling during production can improve the reduction of waste. Even using lightweight packaging materials when shipping bottles can lead to lower emissions during transportation.

Advantages of Eco-Friendly Winemaking for Sustainability

Implementing sustainable winemaking practices goes a long way. The benefits reach far beyond the vineyard, impacting those around you and changing how we think about wine.

1. Protecting the Environment: To achieve carbon-neutral wine production, simply reducing the amount of water used or using cover crops can make a long-term difference. It protects air quality, preserves ecosystems, encourages biodiversity in the soil, and lowers your carbon footprint.
2. Ensures Brand Quality and Authenticity: Sustainable wine tastes extremely flavorful, as it concentrates distinct terriers grapes are grown in. Additionally, consumers desire more sustainable wines, disrupting traditional wine production. Brands that advertise as sustainable or organic will draw consumers, particularly a younger audience, and have the potential to gain brand recognition and trust.
3. Promotes Sustainability Efforts: We all have a social responsibility to the earth, and the more we practice sustainability, the stronger the movement becomes. The push towards sustainability helps set the standard that more wineries aim to achieve.

Obstacles to Achieving Sustainable Winemaking

While efforts are being continually made, winemakers face a variety of challenges.

1. Balancing Economics and Sustainability: There’s no denying that sustainable practices can be costly. For example, production costs can rise 25-30% above the cost of traditional winemaking just through higher utility products that are perceived to be healthier and environmentally friendly. Companies often have to balance what fits within their budget vs. what supports greener initiatives.
2. Education and Training: Many staff members may not have experience with sustainable wine practices. This lack of knowledge can cause delays in implementation since education and training can take a considerable amount of time. The sooner sustainable practices are encouraged, the better.
3. Environmental Changes: Climate change is rapidly changing grape quality and the winemaking industry itself. As the years pass, winemakers will be forced to reevaluate their process and create new practices that drive sustainability.

Support Sustainable Green Wineries

Consumers have the unique opportunity to help steer the wine industry. Conscious choices to support sustainable winemakers and their products can drastically change the industry and bring eco-friendly wines to the spotlight. When looking for a bottle to enjoy, keep an eye out for wines that have the California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance (CSWA) certification or the Sustainable Wine Ltd, to name a few. 

At Cornerstone Cellars, we remain committed to creating wines that spark joy and capture the essence of unique vineyards. Come out to our Yountville, CA, tasting room for your chosen tasting experience. Our staff would love to take you on an exceptional journey into the world of Napa Valley wines and explain in more detail our winemaking process. Book a reservation with us today.

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Are you ready to learn more about how wine is made? We invite you to explore more about vineyard stages and winemaking, as well as vineyard management practices.

Seasonal Vineyard Care & Changes

Pruning and Cover Crop

The sun is starting to peek out after a chilly winter, and the buds are nestled in their vines. During this time, winemakers work with their vineyard managers and turn their attention to the cover crop that best suits that vineyard site. Among the most photogenic of many options, mustard-colored fields provide a lush habitat for insects and form a natural fertilizer to support the vines, which are pruned for the upcoming season.

Budbreak

The beginning of a vintage starts with a budbreak. These pruned canes push out tiny buds that flower and become grape clusters. Although this is such an exciting season for winemakers, it’s an extremely delicate one, as frost and an abundance of rain can cause damage. Those buds lucky enough to make it through the season will begin to ripen over the summer.

Suckering

Once the budbreak is complete, a season of rapid growth occurs. With so much moisture within their vines, our team has to make sure they strike a balance between forming and growing grapes—this process is known as suckering. If too many leaves and canopy overwhelm the fruit, it can block ventilation and introduce mold or mildew which keeps the vines from producing high-quality fruit.

Veraison

With the arrival of mid-summer, comes the veraison season. Green grapes change color and develop a red skin as sugars start to accumulate. This signals to the winemaker that grapes that will eventually be turned into red wine are ripening. Harvest season is on the horizon. This also creates a second opportunity to drop any unevenly ripening clusters.

Harvest Season: Timing and Technique

As harvest quickly approaches, our winemakers sample the grapes, checking for a balance of sugar, acidity, and phenolics. Weather can play a large role in this season, as heat waves or too much rain can delay harvest. When the weather conditions are suitable for picking, our team will begin picking grapes that span anywhere from two to three months, usually conducting multiple passes over the same vineyard over a period of time. Ripened grape clusters are collected by hand and are taken to be prepped for fermentation.

From Grape to Fermentation: The Winemaking Begins

Once the ripe and healthy grapes have been picked, they are taken to the cellar to be sorted, crushed, and fermented. During the sorting process, stems, leaves, and other unnecessary materials (sometimes called MOG or “material other than grape”) are removed from the grapes. After sorting is complete, it’s time for the grapes to be crushed! The grapes are split to release their juice and contact the skin to bring out color and flavor. As the sugars in the juice are exposed, fermentation begins.

Fermentation isn’t possible without yeast. Yeast converts sugar into alcohol and releases aromatic compounds that build the flavor profile of the wine. Two common types of yeast assist with wine fermentation and aging:

• Indigenous yeast: Native and wild, this yeast naturally occurs on the grapes’ skin. Although this yeast gives the wine unique characteristics, using it solely can potentially lead to “stuck fermentation,” where the wine is unable to organically finish fermentation. 
• Commercial (cultured) yeast: There are a wide variety of commercial yeasts, and they can give the winemaker more control over the fermentation process. 

Regardless of the yeast we choose to use, we pay close attention to the temperature at which the wine is fermenting. Temperature can change the structure of the wine and even change the flavors. 

Why Winemaking at Cornerstone Cellars is Unique

From grape to glass, we put excellence first. Every winemaking technique is thoughtfully completed, and every vineyard we partner with is farmed sustainably and often utilizes organic practices. Committed to belief in quality over quantity, we remain a boutique winery, producing limited batches of wines that capture the essence of the region they come from. Every glass of wine you enjoy from Cornerstone Cellars should spark a conversation filled with joy and celebration.

Kari notes, “I am thrilled to be part of the team at Cornerstone Cellars. We are committed to producing great wines from great vineyards, and making the kind of wines that we want to drink.”

Come Visit Us

If you’re ready to experience Cornerstone Cellars, we welcome you to visit us! Book a tasting, and bring family and friends for a delightful introduction to Yountville CA wineries. We’ll tailor your tasting to your needs and interests, and our team will be more than happy to give you additional insight into the Cornerstone Cellars winemaking process. You’ll even have the opportunity to learn more about our wine clubs and the finest wines in our portfolio. Elevate your wine journey today!

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Why Wine Storage Matters

At Cornerstone Cellars, we know a thing or two about wine storage. We want nothing more than for you to experience maximum flavor, so we recommend these seven quick wine storage tips for beginners and more experienced wine enthusiasts. Your palette will thank you.

1. Avoid Temperature Fluctuations in Wine Storage

Temperature is an extremely important factor when deciding where to store your wine and protecting your wine flavor. It’s best to avoid storing your bottles near windows, heaters, appliances, and anywhere that experiences extreme temperature jumps. Otherwise, your wine will spoil and lose its flavor. 

When choosing your cellar, aim for an ideal wine storage temperature of between 45°F (7°C) and 65°F (18°C), with around 55°F (13°C) being ideal, especially for temperature-sensitive wines. However, different styles of wine require different storage temperatures. For example, full-bodied reds like our Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon should be stored at a slightly warmer temperature than light white wines. 

What are the Best Temperatures at Which to Store Wine?

• 55-60°F for full-bodied red wines
• 50-55°F for full-bodied whites and light red wines
• 40-50°F for light white wines, rosé, and sparkling wines

2. Store Wine in Dark Places to Protect Quality

We recommend keeping your bottles in a relatively dark, cool place. The effects of direct light on wine can harm the product, causing it to age prematurely and develop off-flavors. To maintain the quality of your wine, consider investing in a wine cabinet with doors or away from windows—just to name a few suggestions. 

3. Avoid Vibrations

Vibrations, too, can disturb the aging process of your wine. Heavy foot traffic areas, washing machines, refrigerators, and anything else shaking your cellar’s foundation can impact the quality of the wine. Vibrations can also disrupt the sediment in the wine, impacting its taste and texture, especially in aged wines. And just to be safe, we recommend that you cushion your wine shelves with rubber, place padding on the floor around the shelves, and keep your wine low to the ground. 

4. Maintain Humidity Levels

Aim for a wine storage humidity level of 50-70% in your wine storage area. Low humidity can cause your corks to dry out, which can spoil your wine, and too high humidity can cause mold and mildew growth. A hygrometer can be a useful tool in monitoring your humidity levels and can alert you if your humidity levels are too high or too low.

5. Store Wine Bottles Horizontally to Maintain Cork Integrity

Another way to dry out your corks and prematurely age your wine is to store your bottles standing up. Simply storing them on their side keeps your cork moist and properly sealed, and it makes the most of your space. A dry cork can lead to oxidation, spoiling the wine’s flavor. Prioritizing density allows for condensed rows, maximizes storage capabilities, and even keeps your wine more accessible and within reach. 

6. Don’t Move Your Wine Too Much

Moving your wine from place to place can greatly disturb the aging process, causing the wine to become cloudy or even gritty. Stability is important for maintaining the flavor of wine, so if you need to move them, keep them at a level position to minimize disturbing the sediment and stability of the wine. It also doesn’t hurt to plan ahead where you plan to store your bottles to avoid constant change and motion.

7. Keep Track of Your Inventory

Every bottle of wine needs different lengths of time to age to perfection. One of the best ways to store wine at home is simply to stay organized! Start by labeling your bottles with vintage, producer, and other relevant information to track their aging potential and get the most out of your collection. 

Visit Cornerstone Cellars

If you’re ready to start wine preservation at home, there’s no better place to get started than at a winery. Come out to Cornerstone Cellars for a tasting, and we’ll introduce you to delicious wines from our vineyards. We’ll be more than happy to help you find the perfect bottle that suits your palette and give you the best wine storage practices and wine storage mistakes to avoid. We hope to see you in Yountville soon!

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