{"id":2492,"date":"2025-03-19T13:14:15","date_gmt":"2025-03-19T13:14:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/?p=2492"},"modified":"2025-03-19T13:14:15","modified_gmt":"2025-03-19T13:14:15","slug":"winemaker-interview-series-brandlin-steve-rogstad-february-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/?p=2492","title":{"rendered":"Winemaker Interview Series &#8211; Brandlin &#8211; Steve Rogstad &#8211; February 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Steve-Rogstad-Cuvaison-260-Home.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-2340\" src=\"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Steve-Rogstad-Cuvaison-260-Home.jpg\" alt=\"Steve Rogstad - Cuvaison\" width=\"260\" height=\"261\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Steve-Rogstad-Cuvaison-260-Home.jpg 260w, https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Steve-Rogstad-Cuvaison-260-Home-150x150.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 260px) 100vw, 260px\" \/><\/a><span style=\"color: #000000;\">On Wednesday, February 12, 2025, we had a chance to interview <a href=\"https:\/\/brandlinestate.com\/philosophy\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong><u>Steve Rogstad<\/u><\/strong><\/a> again. Steve is the winemaker at both <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cuvaison.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Cuvaison<\/strong><\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/brandlinestate.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong><u>Brandlin<\/u><\/strong><\/a>. We covered four of his 2021 current-release red wines and the Sauvignon Blanc from the 2023 vintage. It was another impressive tasting! We last interviewed Steve back in May 2024 and covered many of his 2022 Cuvaison wine offerings. If you want to read more about Steve\u2019s background and Cuvaison, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/?p=2338\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong><u>please check out our previous post<\/u><\/strong><\/a>. That said, below is the latest on Brandlin and our current reviews of the wines we covered with Steve.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Before we get to the wine reviews, I thought I would share a few tidbits we learned during the tasting with Steve.<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">What is new at Brandlin?<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Rebecca George has really taken Brandlin under her wing. (<a href=\"https:\/\/brandlinestate.com\/philosophy\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Read Rebecca\u2019s bio<\/strong><\/a>)<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">They converted a 2-acre parcel of Cabernet Sauvignon over to Sauvignon Blanc in 2020 which is used for the &#8220;Estate&#8221; Sauvignon Blanc.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">They used a Chateau d&#8217;Yquem clone.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Vintage Updates<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">2018 was cool. 2023 will be like 2018.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">2019 was more classic. Plush wines.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">2020 they did not make wine.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">2021 produced wines with lower yields and great concentration.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">2022 was super compressed and a big challenge logistically. It was a very flattened harvest timing wise.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">2023 was a big year tonnage wise. Harvested the last week of October into November. Flavors will be red toned fruit with more acidity.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">2024 Chardonnay and Pinot Noir were harvested in late August and early September. For your later ripening grapes, if you did not harvest in by the first week in October, you were harvesting in a hurry due to the heat.<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Canopy management was key.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">We expect that we will have dense colored wines.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Mount Veeder is one of the coolest areas in the valley. It is a late ripening area.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">They are cutting back on their Petite Verdot. They didn&#8217;t need as much as they had. They will convert those vines to Cabernet Sauvignon.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Malbec does remarkedly well for them on Mount Veeder. It a nice addition in their &#8220;Henry&#8217;s Keep&#8221; wine.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Cabernet Franc is a nice blender grape for them.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Only 1% of the grapes from Napa Valley come from Mount Veeder.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Mount Veeder is the least productive AVA.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Brandlin was planted in 1926 by Henry Brandlin. It is about \u00bd way up Mount Veeder. The soil is mainly blue shale.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Mt. Brave and Lakoya are further up the mountain. They have more volcanic soils.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The Sauvignon Blanc is made in large format barrels. 3-year-old wood and with no toasting.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Their &#8220;Old Vine Zin&#8221; is really a field blend of Zinfandel, Charbono, and other varietals.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Below is a summary of the wine offerings from Brandlin that we covered with Steve. The links below are to our full reviews. If you are interested in ordering and trying these wines, you will find some of these wines via your favorite fine wine shop or on top quality wines lists. You can also purchase these wines on the <a href=\"https:\/\/brandlinestate.com\/wines\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Brandlin website<\/strong><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Brandlin-Estate-Logo.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-2065\" src=\"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Brandlin-Estate-Logo.jpg\" alt=\"Brandlin Estate Logo\" width=\"225\" height=\"153\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/wine_review\/Brandlin-2023-Sauvignon-Blanc\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Brandlin 2023 Sauvignon Blanc &#8220;Estate&#8221;<\/strong><\/a> (Mount Veeder) $50 (<span style=\"color: #800000;\"><strong>KWGTP 91.5<\/strong><\/span>)<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/wine_review\/Brandlin-2021-Estate-Cuvee\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Brandlin 2021 Red Blend &#8220;Estate Cuv\u00e9e&#8221;<\/strong><\/a> (Mount Veeder) $75 (<span style=\"color: #800000;\"><strong>KWGTP 92<\/strong><\/span>)<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/wine_review\/Brandlin-2021-Estate-Cabernet-Sauvignon\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Brandlin 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon &#8220;Estate&#8221;<\/strong><\/a> (Mount Veeder) $110 (<span style=\"color: #800000;\"><strong>KWGTP 94<\/strong><\/span>)<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/wine_review\/Brandlin-2021-Henrys-Keep-Cabernet-Sauvignon\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Brandlin 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon &#8220;Henry&#8217;s Keep&#8221;<\/strong><\/a> (Mount Veeder) $135 (<span style=\"color: #800000;\"><strong>KWGTP 93.5<\/strong><\/span>)<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/wine_review\/Brandlin-2021-ThS-Cabernet-Sauvignon\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Brandlin 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon &#8220;ThS&#8221;<\/strong><\/a> (Mount Veeder) $175 (<span style=\"color: #800000;\"><strong>KWGTP 95<\/strong><\/span>)<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">You can find reviews of past and future Brandlin wines that we cover on the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/wine.php?winery=2894\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong><u>Brandlin KWG winery page<\/u><\/strong><\/a>\u00a0on our website. We hope you enjoy these terrific wines as much as we did. Cheers! &#8211; Ken<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>On Wednesday, February 12, 2025, we had a chance to interview Steve Rogstad again. Steve is the winemaker at both Cuvaison and Brandlin. We covered four of his 2021 current-release red wines and the Sauvignon Blanc from the 2023 vintage. It was another impressive tasting! We last interviewed Steve back in May 2024 and covered [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2340,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1917,22,18,2474,2638,1846,11,95,10,1778,123,1539,1918,1201,1187,9,2473,126,8,6,240,1292,39,1288],"tags":[2463,501,625,2818,2460,1428,2820,1911,1910,495,519,2819,649,507,1527,1900,1165,518,1904,1912,1624,523],"class_list":["post-2492","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-brandlin-estate","category-cabernet-franc","category-cabernet-sauvignon","category-cuvaison","category-cuvee","category-estate-wines","category-kens-wine-guide-tasting-panel","category-malbec","category-merlot","category-mt-veeder","category-napa-valley","category-petite-verdot","category-rebecca-george","category-red-blend","category-red-wine","category-sauvignon-blanc","category-steve-rogstad","category-wine-ratings","category-wine-recommendations","category-wine-reviews","category-wine-tasting","category-winemaker","category-zinfandel","category-zoom-wine-tasting","tag-brandlin","tag-cabernet-franc","tag-cabernet-sauvignon","tag-chateau-dyquem","tag-cuvaison","tag-estate","tag-estate-cuvee","tag-henry-brandlin","tag-henrys-keep","tag-malbec","tag-merlot","tag-mount-veeder","tag-mt-veeder","tag-napa-valley","tag-petite-verdot","tag-rebecca-george","tag-red-blend","tag-sauvignon-blanc","tag-steve-rogstad","tag-ths","tag-zin","tag-zinfandel"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2492","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2492"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2492\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2495,"href":"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2492\/revisions\/2495"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2340"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2492"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2492"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2492"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}