Wine of Diplomacy - Chinese Cuvee

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Iron Horse Chinese Cuvee was the toasting wine at the lunch for Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping, hosted by Vice President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton February 14, 2012 under the crystal chandeliers of the Benjamin Franklin Dining Room at the State Department in Washington D.C.

The guest list included Henry Kissinger, Chevron Chairman and CEO John Watson, Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein, Walt Disney CEO Robert Iger, Dreamworks CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg, Sens. John Kerry, Dianne Feinstein and  Lindsey Graham, Human Rights Watch Executive Director Ken Roth, New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman and senior Chinese officials. It was a “who’s who” of U.S. - Chinese relations.

The tables were adorned with red rose bouquets with a Valentine’s Day theme. The menu featured Chinese-American fusion creations by chef Ming Tsai, including a roasted sweet potato soup with crispy duck confit roulade, soy marinated Alaskan butterfish, and "eight treasure rice packet" with dried fruit and pork sausage. Dessert was a flourless bittersweet chocolate cake topped with cardamom ice cream.

There were two toasts with Iron Horse - one by Vice President Biden and the second by China’s Vice President after his remarks. Mr. Xi is expected to be China's next president after a once-a-decade leadership change March, 2013.

Stellar Ratings

For Royal Watchers

We have a very big, gorgeous, new feather in our cap.  Iron Horse was served at the black tie dinner hosted by the President and First Lady at Winfield House, the U.S. Ambassador’s residence in London, for the Queen of England, Prince Philip and about 80 other guests on May 25 - Joy! in magnum during the reception and Russian Cuvee with Pecan Pie. 

A Toast to Mother Earth

This year's 5th annual Celebrate Earth Day in Green Valley featured Ted Turner, National Geographic's Boyd Matson, seven Green Valley wineries showing their delicious Chardonnays and Pinot Noir, grilled bison filets, a great art exhibit and vineyard tour. We even managed to nail a good weather day. Ted was wonderful. He was up. He was funny. He is an optimist ... and Iron Horse is the drink of optimists. Boyd Matson was the perfect foil. He is such a professional and so interesting in his own right. Ted said at the end "Gee that went fast" - and it did because it was just a great conversation. Enjoy the write up in the Santa Rosa Press Democrat, Jo Diaz's blog and the YouTube videos.

Failure is not an Option

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Earth Day with Joy Sterling

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Ocean Reserve – Limited Edition Sparkling Wine for National Geographic

Iron Horse has produced a vintage Blanc de Blancs Sparkling in partnership with National Geographic to help save the ocean.  The winery is contributing $4 a bottle to establish marine proected areas and support sustainable fishing practices around the globe. To learn more, click here to go to National Geographic’s website and here to purchase this wine.

Destination of Choice

The San Francisco Chronicle rated Iron Horse's "Tasting Room" three stars.  "Good bubbly and a great view."  Check out the article here.

Sunset Magazine named Iron Horse as a favorite stop in wine country for Sparklings especially on Fridays at 10am when Winemaker David Munksgard gives a personal tour.

World of Fine Wine

Iron Horse was featured in The World of Fine Wine, the very prestigious, very British wine publication, whose editorial team is led by Hugh Johnson. Here is a pdf of the article written by Lisa Granik.

The Wine of Presidents, Prime Ministers, Kings, Queens...and the Pope.

Iron Horse has now been served at the White house for five consecutive presidential administrations, beginning in 1985 with the historic Reagan/Gorbachev Summit Meetings, which ended the Cold War. The first Bush administration served our Sparklings at several State Dinners and brought our Classic Vintage Brut to Moscow for the signing of the first START treaty.

The Clintons chose Iron Horse for many occasions-most impressively for the official White House Dinner New Year's Eve 1999 to toast the new Millennium and at the 200th anniversary of the White House attended by all of the living presidents except Ronald Reagan who was too ill, at the time, to travel. 

The first time the George W. Bush administration served our wines was on the most somber of occasions-September 20, 2001, at a working dinner with Prime Minister Tony Blair, immediately prior to the President's momentous address to Congress outlining U.S. response to 9/11.  They chose Iron Horse Wedding Cuvee as the toasting wine for the State Dinner honoring newlyweds Prince Charles and Camilla. The Bush White House also served Iron Horse at the dinner honoring the Pope on his 2008 visit to the United States.

In January, Wall Street Journal rated Iron Horse Wedding Cuvée as the “Best of Tasting” of American Sparkling Wines, recommended to celebrate the Obama Inauguration. A Special Inaugural Issue of Washingtonian, a monthly which describes itself as the magazine Washington D.C. lives by, featured our Russian Cuvée with the writer Eric Felton concluding, “Among the sparkling wines with White House pedigree that I tried in a blind tasting, far and away my favorite was the Russian Cuvee that Iron Horse now makes in the style of the wine Reagan served Gorbachev.”

The Obama Administration has served Iron Horse at the Diplomatic Reception for the Ambassadors from around the world, as the after dinner Sparkling with dessert and a stellar performance by Beyonce the night of the State Dinner for the President of Mexico and at the dinner honoring the Queen of England in May 2011.

ICON

Iron Horse Vineyards was named an "American Icon" in a coffee table reference book published by Random House in July 2007 alongside American Express, Coca Cola, Harley Davidson, Ipod, Harvard University, the New York Yankees, and Tiffany.

Special Cuvées for Top Chefs

Iron Horse is proud to produce special cuvées for some of America's top chefs-Charles Palmer of Aureole in New York, Las Vegas, Healdsburg, Washington, DC, and Dallas; Bradley Ogden of Bradley Ogden's in Las Vegas; Lark Creek Inn and One Market in San Francisco; Commander's Palace in New Orleans; and Michael Mina at all of his restaurants.  We also produce a special cuvée for Disney, called Fairy Tale Cuvée. San Francisco's de Young Museum commissioned Iron Horse to produce a limited edition special cuvée commemorating the King Tut exhibit .The winery  pledged $1.00 a bottle to go to the museum's "Get kids to Tut" campaign, underwriting the cost of admission for over 350 Bay Area school children.

Where Chefs Go

Chef Charlie Palmer’s top pick is Iron Horse. “The Green Valley literally blossoms in the spring,” he says, “Nothing beats sipping Iron Horse and looking down into the vineyards.” Palmer owns nine restaurants, including Aureole in New York and Las Vegas and Healdsburg’s Dry Creek Kitchen.

Eric Ripert, chef and owner of Le Bernardin restaurant in New York, writes in his Wine Spectator guest blog that one of his most memorable wine moments was visiting Iron Horse with Jean Louis Paladin.

Chefs' and Sommeliers' Quotes

"I've always liked the Iron Horse wine. [Iron Horse 2005 Green Valley Chardonnay] is a very California style of chardonnay, but these have more acidity than most, which keeps them interesting. It would go with salmon, lobster, crab, and lighter meats."

                                                    -- Alex Weil [of Los Angeles' Osteria Mozza]

[Iron Horse 2005 Green Valley Chardonnay is] "creamy and rich, with that vibrant acidity. I'd love to see this paired with seared dayboat scallops with an edamame purée and truffled kabayaki sauce..."

                                                    -- Nelson Daquip [of Seattle's Canlis]

"At last an un-oaked Chardonnay from Sonoma!  A sommelier's dream wine to pair with dishes, this one is full bodied with tangy notes of Granny Smith apple, lemon and kiwi fruit.  The long finish lingers on the palate with a hint of Jolly Rancher candy."

                                                   --Virginia Philip, Master Sommelier, The Breakers, Palm Beach, Florida

"Whenever I'm grilling fish with spicy flavors or slow-roasting chicken crusted with fresh herbs, I always reach for Iron Horse Chardonnay.  It's a perfect partner for the foods I like to cook."

                                                  --Bobby Flay, Chef, Restauranteur, Cookbook Author, TV Personality                                                                

"Fashionable" Bubbly

According to wine writer Matt Kramer, “Champagne is all about style …. Some are Armani … others are North Face.  If You Like Valentino… Then you'll like the good-taste opulence of Dom Pérignon (complex, weighty yet far from heavy; a champagne with an exquisite "hand," as they say in the fabric trade) [and] Iron Horse Blanc de Blancs LD (the "ld" means late-disgorged; dense, subtle, rich and refined).  December 6, 2006 New York Sun

Location. Location. Location

According to Bill Daley, Chicago Tribune:  "For me, a key factor in choosing a pinot noir is location.  I want cool climate areas.  In California, that's going to be near the Pacific Coast, San Francisco Bay and valleys that funnel cold fogs and wind in from the ocean such as the Sonoma County Green Valley region or Santa Barbara County's Sta. Rita Hills.

Green Valley, the special appelation where Iron Horse is located, was awarded a “Pinot Passion Award” in Gregory Walter's Pinot Report. Green Valley also received an 'A' in the latest report card on Sonoma County's AVAs in Wine Enthusiast for 'making great Pinots and Chards and...some of California's best bubbly.”

Another High Point

From Dan Rather's autobiography, “The Camera Never Blinks Twice”, about having lunch with William Paley in 1989: 'Now he was wheeled into the dining rooms and we continued to talk. Paley liked to gossip. We had a bottle of Iron Horse champagne with our veal piccata, and he says, “You know, for years I wouldn't touch this California stuff because I only like the best and I thought that meant French. I can truthfully say that California wine is among the best in the world.” With Mr. Paley, you always had to ask yourself, what's this about. And it lead up to this. He raised his glass, clinking his with mine, and said: “The Evening News is the only thing left at CBS that's on top right now. I don't know how or why it is and neither does anybody else. But take great pride in that. Take time to look around. Take in the view and breathe deeply. You won't be this high many times in your life.”

Mystery Wine

The Letter of the Law

In Tim Green's thriller, "The Letter of the Law," a world-famous criminal law professor is accused of murder, he hires his brightest former student to defend him, and she celebrates her victory with Iron Horse Classic Vintage Brut "every bit as good as Dom."

Joy's Books