NOTE: Our wines are being moved to a new shipping and logistics center in American Canyon. Orders placed through July 14, 2010 can still be picked up at the San Francisco facility for the next week or so. Details to come on how to arrange local pick up for orders placed after that date.

In the San Francisco Bay Area, you can purchase wines online and choose “local pick up” to pick up at our shipping facility (through July 14, 2010), located at located at 566 Minnesota Street, just off of Third Street and Mariposa. Call ahead at (415)558-9181 to schedule your pickup.

Retail

Canyon Market, 2815 Diamond Street, San Francisco.

Red + White (wine bar and shop), 678 Chenery Street, San Francisco

San Francisco Wine Trading Company, 250 Taraval Street, San Francisco

Draeger’s Market,  342 First Street, Los Altos, CA

Tastings/Events

2/18/10: Local Winemaker Tasting, Canyon Market, San Francisco

2/20/10: San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition Public Tasting, Ft. Mason

3/14/10: When Irish Wines are Smiling, Rutherford Grange, Rutherford, CA

4/11/10: San Francisco Vintner’s Market, Ft. Mason, San Francisco, CA

5/14-5/16/10: Anderson Valley Pinot Noir Festival, Boonville, CA

6/27/10: Pinot Days Grand Festival Public Tasting, San Francisco, CA

7/11/10: Waits-Mast Family Cellars Spring Release Event at Red + White, San Francisco, CA

11/13/10: Pinot Days Chicago Public Tasting, Chicago, IL

Examiner.com (7/12/2010): Review of our Spring Release event at Red + White.

2010 San Francisco International Wine Competition Label Competition (7/2010): Gold Medal for the label design for the 2008 Waits-Mast Family Cellars Pinot Noir, Amber Ridge Vineyard, Russian River.

2010 San Francisco International Wine Competition (6/2010): Silver Medals awarded to 2008 Waits-Mast Amber Ridge Vineyard Pinot Noir from Russian River and to 2008 Waits-Mast La Encantada Vineyard Pinot Noir from Sta. Rita Hills.

NBC Bay Area TV (02/04/2010): Waits-Mast Family Cellars profiled in “Urban Vintners Uncork the Stigma of Fine Wine” story about San Francisco winemakers that aired on the 11:00 News in the San Francisco Bay Area.

2010 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition (01/08/2010): Gold Medal awarded to our 2008 Waits-Mast Hein Vineyard Pinot Noir from Anderson Valley.

PinotFile (12/24/2009): Waits-Mast Family Cellars is included in PinotFile’s “New Pinot Hounds in the Race” for 2009 list of “the most promising newcomers with only a vintage or two under their collar.”

San Francisco Chronicle Top 100 Wines 2009 (12/6/2009): Waits-Mast Family Cellars 2007 Pinot Noir from Wentzel Vineyard in Anderson Valley is included in the San Francisco Chronicle’s annual list of top 100 wines. They write:  “Jennifer Waits and Brian Mast found a style that invokes old-fashioned Anderson Valley Pinot, full of woodsy conifer aromas, with a lighter touch and rhubarb-like highlights.”

Broke Wino (11/24/09): Regarding our 2007 Pinot Noir from La Encantada Vineyard in Sta Rita Hills, Broke Wino writes, “Their 2007 Santa Rita Hills Pinot Noir is what stole me, its nose had this crazy mushroom, sawdust play that not only do I adore, but almost makes me forget to sip.”

Chicago Food Whores (11/17/09): On Twitter they cited our 2007 Waits-Mast Pinot Noir from La Encantada Vineyard in Sta Rita Hills as their top pick from the Pinot Days Chicago tasting: “Favorite wine pick from Pinot Days- Waits-Mast 2007 Santa Rita hills, organic!” and wrote on their blog recap that it is “one outstanding wine.”

New York Magazine (11/5/2009): Our Valley Fog Blog was recommended in an article about weekend escapes to Mendocino County. The piece states: “Brian Mast and Jennifer Waits, proprietors of Waits-Mast Winery, write Valley Fog, their blog about Pinot Noir–making that’s full of area vineyard lore.”

Glen Park News (9/10/2009): Waits-Mast Family Cellars was profiled in our neighborhood newspaper in San Francisco and we were described as “Sunnyside’s only known pinot noir winemakers.”

San Francisco Chronicle (6/19/2009): The Waits-Mast Family Cellars 2007 Pinot Noir from Wentzel Vineyard was described as “Tastes like old-fashioned Anderson Valley Pinot, bright and full of woodsy conifer aromas, with a lighter touch and rhubarb-like highlights. Deft and eminently drinkable.”

PinotFile (6/5/2009): Waits-Mast Family Cellars 2007 Pinot Noir from Wentzel Vineyard: “An impressive wine filled with tasty dark cherry and berry fruit, an underlying green note, and sporting a smooth, velvety texture, gossamer tannins, and a refreshingly clean finish. Close to a Pinot Geek wine.”

Bottlenotes (6/3/2009): Waits-Mast Family Cellars 2007 Pinot Noir from Wentzel Vineyard was featured as the “Wine of the Week” on Bottlenotes. They write: “This Pinot has a rich dark-cherry nose and is full of bold dark-berry fruit and a touch of spice on the finish.” They also reviewed our 2007 Pinot Noir from La Encantada Vineyard, saying,“Zaozers this smells good. Rich aromas of red and black cherry complimented by vanilla. Full cherry flavor and oak treatment lead to a long finish. Yum. “

The aroma is earthy, mushroom-y and has a smoky/woodsy note. On the palate, you’ll find tart cherry and cranberry that finishes smooth and juicy. An acidic core keeps it bright and structured. All in all, it’s classic
Anderson Valley Pinot Noir. Good acidity and subtle tannins provide structure to make this an enjoyable, food-friendly wine for years to come.

Our 2008 Hein Vineyard Pinot Noir was bottled in early August, 2009, after 10 months in 33% new oak, and is available in our webstore for $44/bottle. We made 300 bottles of the Hein and each one is hand-numbered. For San Francisco locals, you can find it at Canyon Market in the Glen Park neighborhood.

The aroma is earthy, mushroom-y and has a smoky/woodsy note. On the palate, you’ll find tart cherry and cranberry that finishes smooth and juicy. An acidic core keeps it bright and structured. All in all, it’s classic Anderson Valley Pinot Noir. Good acidity and subtle tannins provide structure to make this an enjoyable, food-friendly wine for years to come.

• Vineyard: Hein Vineyard, Anderson Valley, Mendocino County, CA
• Clones: 115/Pommard
• Alcohol content: 14.0% by volume
• Fruit: 100% whole berry (no stems)
• Barrel aging: 11 months in French oak, 33% new (Francois Freres, MT)
• Bottled: August, 2009
• Production: 25 cases
• Drink now through 2017
• Release date: November, 2009
• Gold medal in 2010 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition

• Vineyard: La Encantada Vineyard, Santa Rita Hills, Santa Barbara County, CA
• Clones: 115/667/777
• Alcohol content: 14% by volume
• Fruit: 100% whole berry (no stems)
• Barrel aging: 11 months in French oak, 33% new (Francois Freres, MT)
• Bottled: August, 2008
• Production: 25 cases
• Drink now through 2017
• Release date: Spring, 2009

But how does it taste, you implore? It is very fruit-driven, with fragrant cherry and strawberry on the nose, good tannins and a deep ruby color, leaning towards crimson. The palate unfolds with lush sweet cherry and blackberries, spice, floral notes and a hint of cola. The La Encantada has great structure and is a fantastic wine for both sharing with friends now and tucking away in the cellar for later. For more info and specs on this wine, click here.

We visited the vineyard last summer and experienced great hospitality from Richard and his crew and enjoyed a few Sideways moments. To read more about the vineyard tour and see photos, see our blog post here.