Milat Estate Winery, July 15, 2014

Winery - 5 / Wines - 5
Range:  1 to 9 (9 is best, 5 is average)
Closed tasting room.  Chenin Blanc, Zinfandel, and Cabernet.
www.milat.com

For nearly a decade I have been driving past the charming Milat Estate Winery tasting room and operations on the main highway without stopping in.  The winery is the next-door neighbor to Corison Winery, where I am a wine club member, so you know how often I have been just steps away from this place.  Today I decided to plan a visit here.  I parked at Corison (my next stop) and walked over to Milat.  (Trying to get from Milat to Corison by car in the afternoon is nearly impossible because of traffic.)  As luck would have it, a sign outside announced a 50%-off case sale, so I was eager to try the wines.  Once inside, a chat with the proprietor soon revealed that the wine was being cleared out before closing operations on August 1, 2014.  I was quite disappointed that I had not come in sooner, but more than happy to take advantage of the 50%-off sale.  The challenge would then be finding my way back to the car with a full case of wine.

The doors to the Milat Estate Winery operations building seen from the highway.

The Milat tasting room is reminiscent of the way that tasting rooms were before the limo-scene conquered Napa Valley.  Neither rustic nor refined, the inside is nicely appointed with ample woodwork.  A few large windows allow ample light inside, though they do not give the best view of the vineyards just beyond the parking lot.  The exterior of the winery is what makes this place shine.  The front features a large gabled wall finished with planking painted a neutral tone.  In the center is a beautiful rounded double-door that is done in a deep, natural finish (redwood?) that makes the front of the winery pop from the street.  The scale of the winery building reflects the scale of the winemaking operations – on the small side, but nicely styled.  My talk with the winemaker revealed that the new operators of the place plan to reopen with a larger, more modern tasting experience for their remote vineyards.  I’ll let you know more as I learn it.

The Milat Vineyards sign welcomes visitors, but sadly is no longer applicable.

Being a small operation, there are only a handful of wines available to taste.  I skipped the off-dry Chenin Blanc and moved onto the red wines.  I started with the 2012 Pine Station red blend, which is a blend of Zinfandel and Cabernet Sauvignon grapes.  Next I tried the 2012 Zinfandel, which is a more restrained style of Zinfandel.  Lastly, I sampled the 2011 Cabernet Sauvignon.  There is also a port wine available, but I passed on that too.  (I knew Corison would be pouring a number of great wines and I wanted to hold out for their wines.)  I ended up buying a case of the Zinfandel.  At the price, I will have some terrific wines to bring to parties.

Based on this experience, I would rate the winery a 5 and the wines a 5.  It is too bad that by now they have closed up shop.