Camellia Cellars

New Kids on the Block - Camellia Cellars
by John Koetzner
Photographs by Margie Koetzner

Wineries in Sonoma County have been springing up lately like mustard in the vineyards. Both phenomena provide pleasure for oenophiles. One is aesthetically pleasing to the eye as one meanders through wine country in early spring, and the other is pleasing to the palate when a new venue happens to open. Such was the case when visiting Camellia Cellars new tasting room along Front Street in Healdsburg recently.

Chris Lewand, her father Ray Lewand, and partner Bruce Snyder have made the small tasting room an intimate and friendly place. During our visit, a group of people bellied up to the tasting bar beside us to taste different vintages of Sangiovese, Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon, and a proprietary red called Diamo Grazie. For the past couple summers Camellia Cellars has released a dry rose called Rosato di Sangiovese. This year’s bottling was limited to thirty-five cases.

Camellia Cellars serves award-winning wines and provides an outdoor picnic table outside its tasting room.

While Camellia Cellars has been around as a label since 1997, it originated from Ray Lewand’s home winemaking starting back in 1983 while operating one of Healdsburg’s finer bed and breakfast establishments, The Camellia Inn. Ray made wines and won awards in the amateur division at the Sonoma County Harvest Fair, sharing the fruits of his labor with guests. Often, they wanted to buy wine, but that wasn’t possible. That eventually led to getting bonded. Because they stored the wine in the basement, Chris joked about the winery’s origins with the customers saying, “Camellia Cellars sounded better than Camellia Basement.” Both Chris and Ray were pouring during our visit, making the experience one that is memorable because of how close they are to each of the wines.

Situated on Front Street along with a couple other tasting rooms, Camellia Cellars has the advantage over other newcomers because their wine has proven itself over numerous wine competitions. Their low case output (about 2,000 cases a year) makes this a winery that is desirable not only because of the limited quantities of the wines produced, but because their wines literally speak for themselves in the accolades they receive from such prestigious competitions as the Sonoma County Harvest Fair, California State Fair, San Francisco Chronicle tasting, and numerous others. The 1999, 2000, and 2002 Sangiovese wines have won a gold and best of class at the San Francisco Chronicle tasting with the 2001 Sangiovese taking a gold medal at the same competition. Their Cabernet Sauvignon wines for 1999 & 2000 won gold medals and best of class at the California State Fair.

Produced from Dry Creek Valley grapes, with Bruce doing most of the production duties, their wines have developed a stature within Sonoma County wine country. Yet, they are recognized beyond such provincial limits. Indeed, people from all over the country have sampled Camellia Cellars wines at events such as the Taste of Sonoma and spread the word nationally.

During our tasting, we were given the opportunity to taste a few wines that were not on their current list of available wines. The character of these wines demonstrates that Camellia Cellars has mastered handcrafted wines in limited lots to the point that one can expect to have consistently great releases in the future.

Here are the notes from our tasting of some of their wines that are currently available:

2001 Sangiovese Merlo Vineyards-Dry Creek Valley $24.00
Brilliant ruby color, aromas of cherry, plum, and spice, this wine has good fruit forward with medium soft tannins and good acid balance. It finishes nicely, lingering on the palate.

2002 Sangiovese Merlo Vineyards-Dry Creek Valley $24.00
Deep ruby color, aromas of spice layered over cherry, this wine has raspberry and cherry fruit forward with just a hint of vanilla that continues to a long finish that is satisfying for the way it lingers on the palate. It has a velvety mouth-feel and excellent acid balance. This is definitely one to take home.

2001 Zinfandel Lencioni Vineyard – Dry Creek Valley $22.00
Medium ruby color, black currant and raspberry aromas, this Zinfandel has distinct blackberry and raspberry fruit that cascaded across the palate, while its medium tannins were soft enough that it leads into a long, lingering finish.

2000 Cabernet Sauvignon Lencioni Vineyard – Dry Creek Valley $35.00
Deep ruby color, black cherry with nuances of pepper, this wine had great berry fruit forward with just a hint of bell pepper that carried through to the finish. It’s a luscious, full-bodied wine that leaves the palate asking for more.

2001 Diamo Grazie Dry Creek Valley (Proprietors’ Blend) $42.00
This wine is a blend of 65% Sangiovese, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 5% Petite Sirah.
Brilliant ruby color, plum and berry aromas, this wine has raspberry fruit forward with hints of plum mixed with vanilla. It has soft tannins, becomes silky as it rides to the back of the palate, and lingers long after the taste is finished. Excellent acid balance and complexity made this our favorite taste of the day.

Although we have tasted Camellia Cellars wines in the past, this recent visit just confirmed that they are still doing what we have come to know them for, consistently great reds such as Sangiovese, Zinfandel, and Cabernet Sauvignon. The next time you are in Healdsburg we suggest that you make a visit to see these wine veterans who are the new kids on the block. You’ll be glad you did.

For more information on Camellia Cellars, check out their website at www.camelliacellars.com. They are open daily from 11 AM to 6 PM at their 57 Front Street location in Healdsburg. You can call them at (707) 433-1290.