Albarino
Spain through the Glass by GIL Family Estates at Vinum55 in Scottsdale
Slide from GIL Family Estates
Tonight’s presentation was by Ian Giza, Western Regional Sales Director for GIL Family Estates. This was a highly anticipated event as Spanish wines, in my opinion, are underrated and a tremendous bargain. Spanish wines over the years have represented the second or third most wines in my cellar by country. A map was presented of the various locations of vineyards and areas around Spain for a greater understanding. Also noted is which varieties are dominant in an area. Spain is the 4th largest country in Europe and is roughly the same size as California and Nevada combined.
Slide from GIL Family Estates
Classification of Spanish wines are broken down into four distinct classifications:
*Joven-young wines with little or no oak
*Crianza-aged for at least two years with a minimum of six months in oak and mostly twelve
*Reserva-Aged for at least three years, with at least one year in oak
*Gran Reserva-Aged for at least five years, with two or more years in oak.
The evening started out with a greeting of NV Bodegas Tridente Cantagrillos Sparkling Brut that was refreshing and enjoyable, a pleasant welcoming pour especially when coming inside from 112 degree weather!
Photo ©Michael Kelly
Next was a full introduction of Spain and the various regions, and the history of GIL Family, being now over 100 years old and managed by their 4th generation family.
Slide from GIL Family Estates
Their agricultural practices and care/concern for the land are extraordinary as outlined in this slide.
Slide from GIL Family Estates
We jumped right into the first pour. It was a 2025 Lagar da Condesa O Fillo da Condesa Albariño Rias Baixas. It was especially clear, crisp and bright in the glass and one of the better Albariño’s tasted in some time. This area in the northwest portion of Spain is known for producing some of the best Albariño’s in the world.
I had just recently tasted two Albariño’s, one that won Best of Show White Wine at 2026 SF Chronicle Wine Competition. The other won Double Gold at the Orange County Fair Commercial Wine Competition and awarded 98 points! The wineries being Las Positas Vineyards and Cellar13 are both from Livermore, California. Tonight this wine was equally delicious! This wine and three others received my highest scores of the evening, a rare occurrence with 4 out of 7 wines being rated this high. The other three missed the mark by a half point, still an excellent rating.
Photo ©Michael Kelly
Up next was the 2024 Bodega Atalya La Bien Plata Garnacha Almansa. Again, having enjoyed Garnacha from this area for some time, it also was phenomenal. Grown at 3200 feet elevation from plantings that are 90 years old.
Photo ©Michael Kelly
We moved on to the 2022 Cellars Can Blau Red Blend Montsant which appearing in the glass could be classified light and almost semi-translucent with a radiant purple coloring. However, this is far from reality as it came through as strong and spicy with the Cariñena and Syrah helping to punch up this blend. This was one of the best scores given this evening.
Photo ©Michael Kelly
Not only was this wine a blend of Garnacha, Cariñena and Syrah it is also a blend of three soil types, with two very different soils shown in the slide.
Slide from GIL Family Estates
The region of Jumilla in the southeastern portion of Spain has been a favorite for the last twenty years. When I first saw the geography of the region, I was shocked that anything could grow on it. Not only does it allow vines to grow, but the wine also produced is exquisite.
Slide from GIL Family Estates
Served this evening was the 2023 Juan Gil 110th year Anniversary Monastrell Jumilla. First on the nose, dark fruits of blackberries and blueberries fill the olfactory senses. On the palate, smooth and silky tannins allow the wine to glide down joyously with every sip. Mild spices are noted on the finish. This area is a high-altitude vineyard in Jumilla and rocky terrain. This wine was a standout winner for us again with the highest rating. I left the meeting ordering several bottles of this wine!
Photo ©Michael Kelly
The next two wines also rated extremely well. The first one was the 2022 Bodegas Rosario Vera Tempranillo Rioja. Considering it’s meek price point of around $20/bottle, this was a wine consumer’s best friend this evening.
Photo ©Michael Kelly
A special wine was served at the conclusion of the evening from 150-year-old vines. It was the 2021 Bodegas Tridente Rejon Tempranillo Castilla y Leon. Dark and brooding in the glass only began to describe this wine! 100% Tempranillo from pre-phylloxera vines in Castilla y Leon Spain due to the soil conditions. This vineyard was planted in 1898. Dark fruit of blackberries and plum abounded on the nose and palate. Oak and minerality were present at the finish. Key was the complexity and layers on each delightful sip. The wine comes in at 16% alcohol. It also received the highest marks for the evening.
Photo ©Michael Kelly
Four wines hit all the high marks for this tasting for color on the eyes, aromatic notes on the nose, tasting for authenticity of place and a delightful finish. Those wines were: 2025 Lagar da Condesa O Fillo da Condesa Albariño, 2022 Cellars Can Blau Red Blend Montsant, the 2023 Juan Gil 110th Year Anniversary Monastrell Jumilla and the 2021 Bodegas Tridente Rejon Tempranillo Castilla y Leon.
Ian Giza did an outstanding job preparing and presenting these lovely wines from Spain. A special thank you to both Ian and Vinum55 for having this informative presentation and the opportunity to taste a wide range of wines showcasing not only GIL Family Estates but also Spain.
Sláinte,
Michael Kelly
https://californiawinesandwineries.com
Cellar13 Winery – An Exciting New Beginning
It is not often one gets to see a small company at its inception to grow and become a substantial part of a community. That is the case with Cellar13 Winery, with Darin Winton and Gail Henderson.
Photo from Cellar13 website
Firstly, their beginnings gained momentum with winning local wine competitions and then received national press at the SF Chronicle Wine Competition. Starting in 2017 after retiring, Darin took up winemaking, starting with enology classes and volunteering for various harvests. He became the Assistant Winemaker at local winery where he started honing his craft. Gail Henderson’s background is Human Resources for ten years and then the last twenty years she has been working as a licensed real estate broker. Gail is responsible for running Cellar13 behind the scenes with marketing, social media, wine club, holding tastings, winemaker’s dinners and so much more.
Darin is a quarter Cherokee Indian heritage and proudly uses that language for some of his wines. The artwork on the bottles is also done by a Cherokee Indian John Balloue, Darin’s uncle.
In a very short time Darin has received numerous awards for each of his wines. The list is too extensive to enumerate here but would direct you to their website to see the complete list. A few examples:
*2023 Chardonnay – Gold Medal Winner, 2026 SF Chronicle Wine Competition
*2025 Chardonnay – Gold Medal Winner, 2026 SF Chronicle Wine Competition
*2025 Albariño -98 Points, Best of Class, Double Gold Medal Winner, 2026 Orange County Fair Commercial Wine Competition
*2023 Sauvignon Blanc – Double Gold Medal Winner, 2025 SF Chronicle Wine Competition
*2025 Sidanelv – Best of Show (White Wine Blend), Best of Class, Double Gold Medal Winner, 2026 Alameda County Signature Wine Competition
*2019 Cabernet Sauvignon – Double Gold Medal Winner 97 points, 2023 Sunset International Wine Competition. Double Gold Medal Winner, 2024 Orange County Fair Wine Competition, top 1% of awards. Gold Medal Winner, 2023 SF Chronicle Wine Competition.
*2021 Cabernet Franc – 92 points, Gold Medal Winner, 2024 East Meets West Wine Competition. Gold Medal Winner-2024 Alameda County Fair. Gold Medal Winner – SF Chronicle Wine Competition.
And so many more………..
That is brief outline of their hard work and effort on chapter one from start to phenomenal growth.
Now on to chapter two. They have been pouring at Swirl in downtown Livermore and various popup locations for years. Now the exciting news: they just signed a lease agreement to take over the previous Cuda Ridge Wines location (with Cuda moving to the Concannon site). Cellar13’s new location, hopefully by the end of September, will be 2400 Arroyo Road in Livermore. They are over the moon to finally have a “home base” in which to host both their loyal club members and have the public experience their wines. Darin will also have a “home” to produce his wines.
Photo ©Michael Kelly
On a recent visit to Livermore Valley, I stopped by Swirl where they were pouring on Sunday afternoon. Greeted by the hard-working Gail pouring wine with her effervescent smile. We started off with one of my standard wines in the cellar, their award-winning Albariño.
Photo ©Michael Kelly
Next up on the tasting and then joined by one my favorite judges/SOMM’s Fran Cunniffe, to taste the 2025 Sidanelv wine, a refreshing and crisp white blend of 25% Albariño and 75% Sauvignon Blanc.
Photo ©Michael Kelly
We moved on with Darin providing “color commentary” on each exquisite and tasteful wines we sipped. The one in the picture was their Pinot Noir.
Photo ©Michael Kelly
We continued through with their Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc selections. A great afternoon!
In the interim if you can’t wait until the end of September to taste their wines at their new home, they will be pouring at Swirl in downtown Livermore before moving to their permanent winery/tasting room on Arroyo Road.
Sláinte,
Michael Kelly
2023 Cellar 13 Winery Albariño with Blackened Swordfish
Background
Albariño or Alvarinho is a variety of white wine grape grown in Galicia (northwest Spain) and in Northwest Portugal (Monção and Melgaço). Albariño is the name for the grape in Galician. In Portugal it is known as Alvarinho, and sometimes as Cainho Branco. Around 93% of the world’s Albariño vines are planted in Spain and Portugal. In California for the 2024 harvest 9,784 tons were processed of Albariño grapes. That represents only .007% of the total white wine grapes for California! Approximately 81% of Albariño grapes come from San Joaquin County (AVA #11) and Yolo County (AVA #17), both AVA’s include portions of Sacramento County per the USDA Grape Crush Report for 2024.
Typical flavors of Albariño are lemon zest, grapefruit, honeydew, nectarines and salt and often finish with a slight bitter note or minerality note. I have noticed that American Albariño is crisp and with strong aromatic notes of stone fruits and honeysuckle.
The Wine – “Wine is bottled poetry” – Robert Louis Stevenson
Photo ©Michael Kelly
On the eyes Cellar 13 had a pale-yellow tinge. On the nose a strong aroma of honeysuckle flooded the olfactory senses. On the palate, stone fruit, honeydew melon with lemon zest completed the tasting experience. On the finish both minerality and a salinity note completed the tasting. A great wine for seafood and shellfish. The 2021 Albariño was a Gold Medal Winner at the 2023 Orange County Fair Commercial Competition. The grapes are from Livermore which only contributes less than .0035% of the total California production of Albariño grapes.
This wine made my annual Best Wines Tasted for 2025 and will again for 2026, which comes out each December.
The current release is 2023 and goes for $29/bottle and is 13% in alcohol.
The Food and Wine Pairing – “Food without wine is a corpse; wine without food is a ghost. United and well matched, they are as body and soul: living partners” – Andre Simon
Photo ©Michael Kelly
Selected this wine this evening for blackened Swordfish picked up earlier in the day. Usually, I go with Sauvignon Blanc but have enjoyed this wine with other seafood and decided to give it a go. The fish was prepared in a dry rub that called for dried coriander, cumin, garlic powder, smoked paprika and Kosher salt with pepper to taste. It was a solid choice with its acidity and citrus notes with the fish. Served with mandarin oranges and pineapple salsa and topped with both charred and white sesame seeds. The fruit salsa contrasting with the spicy and flavorful fish was perfect. Accompanied by a fresh homemade macaroni salad.
The Winery
Photo from Cellar 13
Cellar 13 was founded by Darin Winton, who also happens to be one of the few Native American Winemakers in the United States. He proudly uses the Cherokee language for their two Bordeaux style blends. The Right Bank blend is named “Aliheliga” which means grateful, and the Left Bank blend is named “Tsogadu” the number 13. On the backside of these two labels is artwork from Cherokee artist John Balloue.
Darin retired in 2017 and was immediately hired as the Assistant Winemaker at 3 Steves Winery in Livermore, California. Here he learned about wine making from start to finish. He was able to produce his own wines under his label. He has used a few wineries in Livermore as an impromptu “custom crush operation”. Darin handles the winemaking, and Gail Henderson runs the operations and marketing side of the winery.
The goal of Cellar 13 is to establish high quality and award-winning wines using fruit from only the best Vineyards. To that point here is just a partial list of their most current award-winning wines in just a few short years:
CHARDONNAY
* 2017 Chardonnay – Double Gold – 2019 SF Chronicle Wine Competition
* 2018 Chardonnay – Gold Medal Winner 94 points – 2023 Sunset International Wine Competition
* 2019 Chardonnay – Best in Class Winner – 2021 Livermore Valley Uncorked Wine Competition (Best Chardonnay in Livermore), Gold Medal Winner – 2021 SF Chronicle Wine Competition
ALBARIÑO
* 2021 Albariño – Gold Medal Winner – 2023 Orange County Fair Commercial Wine Competition
* 2023 Albariño – Gold Medal Winner – 92 POINTS 2024 Orange County Fair Commercial Wine Competition. Gold Medal Winner – 92 POINTS Sunset International Wine Competition.
SAUVIGNON BLANC
* 2023 Sauvignon Blanc – Double Gold Medal Winner – 2025 SF Chronicle Wine Competition.
CABERNET SAUVIGNON
* 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon – Double Gold Medal Winner 97 points – 2023 Sunset International Wine Competition, Double Gold Medal Winner – 2023 SF Chronicle Wine Competition. 2024 Orange County Fair Commercial Wine Competition, top 1% of awards.
BORDEAUX BLENDS
* 2019 Tsogadu (13 in Cherokee) – Left Bank Bordeaux Style Blend – 2019 Tsogadu (13 in Cherokee) – Left Bank Bordeaux Style Blend – 94 Points, Gold Medal Winner – 2024 California State Fair. Gold Medal Winner – 2023 Orange County Fair Commercial Wine Competition.
* 2019 Aliheliga (“Grateful” in Cherokee) – Right Bank Bordeaux Style Blend – Best in Class Winner – 2023 Livermore Valley Uncorked Wine Competition, Gold Medal Winner – 2022 SF Chronicle Wine Competition.
See their website for the complete listing of their awards.
Sláinte,
Michael Kelly
Cellar 13 2021 Albariño – A Great Choice with Sashimi
Photo ©Michael Kelly
The Winery
Photo from Cellar 13
Cellar 13 was founded by Darin Winton, who also happens to be one of the few Native American Winemakers in the United States. He proudly uses the Cherokee language for their two Bordeaux style blends. The Right Bank blend is named “Aliheliga” which means grateful, and the Left Bank blend is named “Tsogadu” the number 13. On the backside of these two labels is artwork from Cherokee artist John Balloue.
Darin retired in 2017 and was immediately hired as the Assistant Winemaker at 3 Steves Winery in Livermore, California. Here he learned about wine making from start to finish. He was able to produce his own wines under his label. He has used a few wineries in Livermore as an impromptu “custom crush operation”. Darin handles the winemaking, and Gail Henderson runs the operations and marketing side of the winery.
The goal of Cellar 13 is to establish high quality and award-winning wines using fruit from only the best Vineyards. To that point here is just a partial list of their most current award-winning wines in just a few short years:
CHARDONNAY
* 2017 Chardonnay – Double Gold – 2019 SF Chronicle Wine Competition
* 2018 Chardonnay – Gold Medal Winner 94 points – 2023 Sunset International Wine Competition
* 2019 Chardonnay – Best in Class Winner – 2021 Livermore Valley Uncorked Wine Competition (Best Chardonnay in Livermore), Gold Medal Winner – 2021 SF Chronicle Wine Competition
ALBARIÑO
* 2021 Albariño – Gold Medal Winner – 2023 Orange County Fair Commercial Wine Competition
* 2023 Albariño – Gold Medal Winner – 92 POINTS 2024 Orange County Fair Commercial Wine Competition. Gold Medal Winner – 92 POINTS Sunset International Wine Competition.
SAUVIGNON BLANC
* 2023 Sauvignon Blanc – Double Gold Medal Winner – 2025 SF Chronicle Wine Competition.
CABERNET SAUVIGNON
* 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon – Double Gold Medal Winner 97 points – 2023 Sunset International Wine Competition, Double Gold Medal Winner – 2023 SF Chronicle Wine Competition. 2024 Orange County Fair Commercial Wine Competition, top 1% of awards.
BORDEAUX BLENDS
* 2019 Tsogadu (13 in Cherokee) – Left Bank Bordeaux Style Blend – 2019 Tsogadu (13 in Cherokee) – Left Bank Bordeaux Style Blend – 94 Points, Gold Medal Winner – 2024 California State Fair. Gold Medal Winner – 2023 Orange County Fair Commercial Wine Competition.
* 2019 Aliheliga (“Grateful” in Cherokee) – Right Bank Bordeaux Style Blend – Best in Class Winner – 2023 Livermore Valley Uncorked Wine Competition, Gold Medal Winner – 2022 SF Chronicle Wine Competition.
See their website for the complete listing of their awards.
The Wine – “Wine is bottled poetry” – Robert Louis Stevenson
Photo ©Michael Kelly
Albariño or Alvarinho is a variety of white wine grape grown in Galicia (northwest Spain) and in Northwest Portugal (Monção and Melgaço). Albariño is the name for the grape in Galician. In Portugal it is known as Alvarinho, and sometimes as Cainho Branco. Around 93% of the world’s Albariño vines are planted in Spain and Portugal. In California for the 2024 harvest 9,784 tons were processed of Albariño grapes. That represents only .007% of the total white wine grapes for California! Approximately 81% of Albariño grapes come from San Joaquin County (AVA #11) and Yolo County (AVA #17), both AVA’s include portions of Sacramento County per the USDA Grape Crush Report for 2024.
Photo ©Michael Kelly
Typical flavors of Albariño are lemon zest, grapefruit, honeydew, nectarines and salt and often finish with a slight bitter note or minerality note. I have noticed that American Albariño is crisp and with strong aromatic notes of stone fruits and honeysuckle.
Photo ©Michael Kelly
On the eyes Cellar 13 had a pale-yellow tinge. On the nose a strong aroma of honeysuckle flooded the olfactory senses. On the palate, stone fruit, honeydew melon with lemon zest completed the tasting experience. On the finish both minerality and a salinity note completed the tasting. A great wine for seafood and shellfish. The 2021 Albariño was a Gold Medal Winner at the 2023 Orange County Fair Commercial Competition. The grapes from Livermore which only contributes less than .0035% of the total California production of Albariño grapes.
This wine made my annual Best Wines Tasted for 2025, which comes out each December.
The current release is 2023 and goes for $29/bottle and is 13% in alcohol.
The Food and Wine Pairing – “Food without wine is a corpse; wine without food is a ghost. United and well matched, they are as body and soul: living partners” – Andre Simon
Photo ©Michael Kelly
Selected this wine this evening for tuna sashimi picked up earlier in the day. Usually I go with Sauvignon Blanc but have enjoyed this wine with other seafood and decided to give it a go. It was a solid choice with its acidity and citrus notes with the Maguro. This gives me one additional wine to pair with my weekly sashimi meal.
Sláinte,
Michael Kelly
Why Did the Crowds Show Up to Buck & Rider August 2nd, 2025?
The first reason is that they were named recipient of the Yelps top 20 oyster restaurants in America and Canada. What makes Buck & Rider unique is they fly in daily fresh seafood. While Phoenix area being in a non-coastal area is not a state that comes to mind for fresh seafood, they were one of three “land locked” states to win this recognition. They came in at number 16. Originally from Arcadia, California they expanded into Gilbert and Scottsdale in 2015.
I had visited Buck & Rider once before in July of 2024 and was so impressed with the quality of seafood I wrote up a quick review of the restaurant. I sought out to understand a little of the how and why their seafood was so fresh and delicious. I met the General Manager Jessica Rotner who informed me of the daily seafood being flown in. She and her staff were so friendly, I told her I would seek out the Gilbert location when I returned.
Fast forward to August 2025, while visiting family in the Mesa/Gilbert area my daughter forwarded me a write up on Buck & Rider being one of the 20 restaurants. In addition, the day after we arrived, all of their locations were holding their 9th annual Oyster Day on Saturday, August 2nd, featuring $2 oysters all day at all locations. The event also included live music and happy hour cocktails specifically at the Gilbert location at 3150 E. Ray Road.
Photo ©Michael Kelly
With this event, gather up those enjoying oysters to join in the Oyster Day celebration! So my sister, my grandson and I headed over to get a table at 11 am when they opened. Upon arriving 10 minutes before opening, we were standing in a line extending to the parking lot! Any future trips I will definitely make reservations. You know it is good when this many folks line up in triple digit temperatures!
Photo ©Michael Kelly
Their oyster selection today featured six selected specimens:
Rochambeau from Virginia, Sweet and Brine
Breakwater from Rhode Island, Weet and medium Brine
Standish Shore from Massachusetts, Crisp and Briny
Olde Salt from Virginia, Crisp and Briny
Summerstone from Washington, Sweet and Briny
Beach Plum from Massachusetts, Sweet and Briny
Here in the picture, starting at the two lemon slices and going clockwise, are the oysters order above. Also condiments of red tarter sauce, horseradish, mignonette and one other were provided.
Photo ©Michael Kelly
FYI, the pictures all have a “yellow tint” from the very welcome sunshades helping to cool down the temperature along with an assortment of fans and large misters!
After all were consumed, we each ordered some additional offerings. Normally with fresh seafood, especially oysters, I would order a glass of Albariño, Assyrtiko, Sauvignon Blanc or other white wine varietals. Since it was still early, my sister and I ordered what I can describe as a Bloody Mary on steroids! So many exotic spices were added it was almost chewable. FYI, my Grandson had a diet coke.
Photo ©Michael Kelly
My grandson opted for the Nigiri of all Big Eye Tuna:
Photo ©Michael Kelly
My sister enjoyed the lightly breaded Calamari:
Photo ©Michael Kelly
Next year will actually “purpose” to be here for this event and be prepared to eat inside. The inside folks waiting at the bar and foyer had to number close to one hundred. The entire facility was jam packed.
I ordered sashimi featuring two pieces of salmon, two pieces of Big Eye Tuna and two pieces of Hamachi. Unfortunately, it was eaten so quickly, I didn’t capture a picture of this excellent presentation.
Here is a quick video of the patio with the tables being packed!
Video ©Michael Kelly
A wonderful event, delicious foods and great service everything needed to make this a memorable experience.
Sláinte,
Michael Kelly