Roshambo Trio

I’m a Sonoma snob, as I’ve admitted to before, travel there every year, and also love the Russian River/Dry Creek area wineries. The wine clubs I’m in prove this: Preston, Dry Creek (dropping soon), Papapietro Perry, and Bella.

Having said that, I’ve tried Roshambo, but have really only ever noticed their Sauvignon Blanc. It’s not one of my regular “must visits” when I’m out there. I love the Carignane grape (Lou Preston does it as a single bottling; very sublime red), but haven’t had it nor the others from Roshambo. So, it sounds like the negative, albeit honest, comments above are worth heeding on this one.

There’s my two cents.

Hey Grampa,

Loosen up and try not to sound so f’ing bitter. I don’t see any reason why wine and edgy art can swirl in the same, modern tasting room. But if you felt uncomfortable when walking into their former tasting room on Westside road, I’d have to say it probably says more about you than them. Because really, your discourse/diatribe post wasn’t about the wine. It was about OLD vs NEW. And I have a feeling, you would love for wine country to snooze in the status quo for another decade or more. Because really, your tasting notes don’t have anything to do with the actual wines Roshambo makes. They are SKEWED by your close-minded repulsion to the inspired art project that is Roshambo. How is it that year after year, Wine & Spirits magazine ranks Roshambo’s Zinfandel as one of the best. Last year’s vintage was ranked #2 of 276. No distinction? And Joe, put down your axe and really taste the unoaked Chardonnay. Because you are way in the minority in your opinion of it. And Joe, just cause the owner is hot and young and has much more of a life than you, don’t hate. It’s really unbecoming of you.

S

I have tried these wines and to be quite honest, I LOVE them. When I first started visiting wine country I really knew nothing at all about vino. And each time I went to a tasting room I felt really intimidated. But the staff at Roshambo was young and fun and clearly loved their jobs. They took the time to taste me through their flight and point out some of the more subtle flavor profiles I might expect to taste. And I fell for the wines hook, line and sinker. The Carignane is particularly AWESOME with a full burst of blueberry that fills your mouth. But it’s not sweet. Just delicious. This was the first wine EVER that I tasted and said, “Oh, yeah, I can taste that!” Usually I stare blankly when someone asks me to taste the notes of smoke and earth. But Roshambo Winery’s Carignane was my breakthrough wine.

I knew this was going to be dicey week! Hands covering my eyes, but some space between my fingers…

Hee hee…

I read Joe’s post in the wee hours of the morning at work and thought…

Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee… it’s gonna be an interesting one.

Hope the moderators have fun!

Um: "thanks "for what I consider to be a frank and personal opinion from a long-time wino and lurker; conversely, YOUR comment (from someone who registered, let’s see, oh!..TODAY) seems a bit more…personal and skewed than anything written by a veteran resident with multi-year tasting logs…

I appreciate opinions (for that is, indeed, what the poster was contributing), versus ad hominem attacks (which is, indeed, what your response amounts to).

So to fanatic4rf: Thanks! (for the opinion)
And even to skinnyreds: Thanks! (for the entertainment)

And, as others have said, it is the forums that keep me coming back here (DESPITE the dearth of MA-shipped wines).

Actually I found the post to be quite informative about the wine and the winery, inexplicably linked IMHO.

My guess is Skinny is either Naomi or her close friend.

I 'm gonna get some popcorn and enjoy this one.

Way to go WD, spice things up a little here.

Who-wee. And I thought Vegas was simmering…

While the response to criticism does initially seem overly-personalized, you have to admit the parry was not unlike the initial attack The wine review notes were helpful and hopefully objective, but you can’t deny "You know your taste buds are in trouble when the tasting room you walk into looks more like a cross between a modern art museum and a high-end casino restaurant. The view at the bar is nice, granted, but clearly Naomi’s dream is to be an art superstar, not an oenophile. Her sarcastic view of the burden (and limitations) a winery holds is well reflected in her tongue-in-cheek approach to selling her products. Sweetie, save us all a lot of trouble and open a gallery in Union Square or Castro, okay? Leave wine to those who understand and appreciate it. " sounds a little like someone with an axe to grind.

Controversy and strong opinions=good debate
Name calling and intentional wounding=I, for one, stop listening

Please play nicely.

WD - I have to whine! I cannot click on the side deal button - it keeps logging me off. It has overlapped for aboput 6 wks, but now that I am intestested in buying, I can’t get in: (

Check the front page Natalie. I got in from there. I also aim in the overlap and manage to get in. I just ordered. Sigh.

Thanks thank thanks! I need coffee for those late night wootlegging missions ; )

How many home-roasters are there here? Awesome looking side deal but I like my coffee raw (to start, and then roasted to my own temperature demands).

These wines are exceptional and one of California’s best kept secrets, I was shocked when I saw them on Wine Woot for this price, not to be missed!!

do you work for the winery cause if you did (which i think you do, incredibly rare to find someone with zero posts, zero woot history suddenly popping in randomly and realizing omg i’ve never been to woot but there’s a wine i like on this board maybe i’ll make a post) i don’t think i’m ever buying wine from this winery.

and you shouldn’t quote Wine and spirit, you state fair medals, you also shouldn’t talk about Wine Enthusiast and Wilford Wong from Bevmo. They don’t get you all that far in the wine world =)
side edit: The poster with the negative opinion of the winery would have done much better without insulting the winemaker themselves. Its okay to hate a wine just don’t call a winemaker inept (you can think it if you want heh)

Maybe you know. As a coffee aficionado, do you have any idea where I might find a non-aluminum stove-top espresso pot?

Hopefully y’all will be respectful of each others’ opinions and make our jobs easy (read: unnecessary). :slight_smile:

Please do keep in mind this is the product thread. We would prefer interpersonal & relatively unrelated chatter hang out in the CyberPubor in PMs. As has already been echoed by several users, one thing woot does well is encourage all feedback about a product and allow the users to make as informed a purchase decision as possible. The fact that in most cases the winery sends some participants to the forums to chat with us is, for many of us, a HUGE plus.

Okay, I know this sounds ridiculous given all of the high-falutin’ “Iknow tons about wine and tour all through the area” posts out there, but I think this wine is worth it for the name and label itself. I bought two just because they’ll make great presents. I’ll probably sign up for a few more before the week is out.

Woot, Woot!

Wine Wooters!

After reading the rather lengthy indictment of me, Roshambo Wine and my approach to marketing, I feel obliged to jump right into this discussion. I just couldn’t sit idle as someone - perhaps someone I already know? - accused us of being too young a winery to appreciate vines or have real reverence for the quality of the wines we make.

First of all, I spent most of my summers right here in Healsburg, running around my grandfather’s Frank Johnson Vineyards. I simply fell in love with life on the vineyards and so when he passed away, I felt compelled to fulfill his dream of having a small family winery (no we don’t source grapes from Lodi, thank you very much).

Of course, if I were going to pick up and go, to throw my heart and soul into this vast undertaking, I knew that the winery would have to reflect a certain playful and irreverent spirit. It had to be a living, breathing artistic endeavor. My goal was to cultivate a snob-free culture that would appeal to people like my friends who had always assumed wine was too esoteric and exclusive. I wanted to create a forum free from the scathing snobbery so present in some remarks. In short, I just wanted to demystify it - and I believe we succeeded. With our quirky events like our Pirate Proms and Drag Brunch and our annual Rock, Paper, Scissors Tournament, we have always tried to be true to our mantra, “Fighting for Fun in a Winey World.”

But just because I have taken a fun and youthful approach to marketing, doesn’t mean we don’t care about what’s in the bottle. I’m smart enough to know that no matter how slickly you package wine or how flashy the label or marketing plan is, at the end of the day it’s all about what is INSIDE the bottle. That’s what people remember, and that has always been the important element. And I believe, once you open a bottle of the Carignane, un-oaked Chardonnay or rock, paper, scissors Merlot that wine.woot is offering, you’ll be able to see for yourself.

Honestly people, the only way to know if a wine stirs your senses is through a corckscrew (or screwcap) and copious indulgence. We always say “Try everything and stick with what you like.”

Cheers!

Naomi Brilliant
Wine Hero
Roshambo Winery

Thanks for jumping in Naomi, we welcome you with open arms.

Thanks for jumping in on an interesting woot day. I am not very familiar with the Carignane varietal. More insight would be great. Light or medium body (I am assuming since it might be delightful lightly chilled)? This is the clincher for me. I already enjoy a good unoaked chard.