Wine Enthusiast Magazine awarded our 2007 Sierra Foothills Tempranillo an 86! "It’s a dry, light-bodied and silky wine, like Pinot Noir, except the cherry fruit, red currant, licorice and bacon flavors have a powerfully earthy note, like a mushroom and olive tapenade."

Enobytes.com offered a very positive review of our Just Joshin 2007 Tempranillo and gave us a Very Good (89) rating. "This wine was so far from that I was astonished; a wonderful product that had integrity of fermentation and well cared for fruit from start to harvest. The wines characteristics start with aromatics of dark wildflowers and cigar box and leather. The flavors are vivid and pleasant with lots of red fruit balanced acidity and well integrated tannins.  A medium long lush finish hammers home what a class act this product is and how versatile it is with many culinary applications. Big bold smoky flavored cuisines will work best with this Tempranillo. "

We were picked as one of the wines in the Holiday Gift Guide at Capital Cooking with Lauren DeSantis. Check it out!

Read what "Exploring Wine" had to say about our wines and our tasting room. For the Just Joshin Tempranillo 2007 Sierra Foothills, he wrote: "The palate was dominated by cinnamon, plum, and allspice. It had a little astringency and a crisp finish. At $15 it was a wonderful value." And, for our Stein Family Wines Gewurtztraminer 2009 Los Carneros, "This wine had a little more body than the typical Gewurtztraminer as there was a field blend adding some Chardonnay to the wine. Honeysuckle led the pack of floral aromas. On the tongue it remained floral, joined by honey, peach, and pear. This wine was off-dry, but the sugar was kept in harmony by the high acidity so that both were gentle nuances to this wonderful wine." Thanks for the kudos!

We were happy to be called one of the Wine Mavericks of Treasure Island by Wine Country This Week. "Sharing a location with Robert Amox, at Bodega Wine Estates, Josh’s wines are truly delectable! Come in and taste Just Joshin 2007 Tempranillo, received an 89 Best Buy, 2009 Semi-Dry Gewürztraminer, received  a 92 points, and  the new 2010 Sonoma County Chardonnay that’s soon to be released. In addition, Stein Family Wines takes it one step further, donating 5% of all sales to children of vineyard workers in the form of college scholar-ships and support funding. It’s all good! "

Bung R. Cooper interviewed Josh about his views on fairness in the wine industry. Key quote: “Every time you have a glass of wine, you are making a choice,” Josh said, “and these choices are going to have an impact on the generation that will follow us. Our decisions will teach them what is, and what is not, acceptable.” Read more here.

Beyond Napa Valley Wine ranked our Just Joshin 2007 Sierra Foothills Tempranillo as #1 on their Top 10 Wines of 2010 list. "Stein Family Wine’s Tempranillo showcases a balance of blueberries & brighter red berries combined with with a mocha aspect, and topped off with a dusting of terrior. A good amount of tannins make it perfect to pair with food. Yet the softer nature of this wine (in part due to the Tempranillo itself) makes an equally good sipping wine. Winemaker Josh Stein hit every note perfectly in crafting this wine. A relatively quiet grape from a small producer who deserves a large amount of credit. And the icing on the cake? It’s only $15! This wine is near if not perfect on multiple levels."

Napa Valley Winery Daily picked one of our blog posts to highlight. Read about our new tasting room coming soon!

Tastings.com gave our 2007 Sierra Foothills Tempranillo a Best Buy! This is what they had to say: "Garnet black color. Blueberry yogurt, clay, crayon, and chocolate flan aromas with a tangy medium-to-full body and a tart pomegranate, tomato, and peppery spice aromas."

The Napa Valley Register interviewed Cathy and praised the philanthropic work by Stein Family Wines: "Gillis already contributes to the network’s scholarships through the vineyard she and her husband own, Stein Family Wines. Five percent of their proceeds go to local scholarships, she said."

The Tasting Panel gave our Los Carneros Semi-Dry Gewürztraminer a 92! This is what they wrote about us: "In its first release, this refreshingly “shiny” white offers a clean, light lime and Asian pear-through-stone profile. Alsace-like aromatics entice for that next sip. 92".

On being named "Best In Show" at July 3rd's Crushbarrel Winemarket @ Ft.Mason:

"A new discovery and overall best of show winner was Stein Family Winery. Josh Stein was on hand to personally pour his two wines— a 2009 Los Carneros Semi-Dry Gewürztraminer and his Just Joshin 2007 Tempranillo, from the Sierra Foothills. The Gewürztraminer was beautiful with honeysuckle and rose pedals on the mid-palate with a big of orange and lemon to round it out. A touch of residual sugar adds to this wine, kicking up the acidity a bit and making it a desirable wine for my next outing to a thai restaurant.

The tempranillo further illustrated that, to me, the grape is Cabernet’s baby sister. It ripe and ready to drink now, though you might want to wait a few years for the soft tannins to further settle. There’s a bit of blueberries and red berries mixed with a mocha aspect, further added by a dusting of dirt (terrior). Tempranillos have a higher bit of acidity, making it perfect for your next lamb shank dish." Haydn Adams, author of "Wineries Beyond Napa Valley: Dry Creek and Alexander Valley"

The Bay Area Wine Society chose our 2009 Los Carneros Gewurtztraminer for 1st Place in their recent tasting: "lychee fruit, grapefruit, zesty, fragrant, fleshy, loaded with flavors, slightly off dry which suits this wine, well balanced, delightful".

About our 2007 “Just Joshin” Tempranillo: "Medium color, ripe red fruits and earth, big and structured on the palate with a grippy tannic finish, fairly straightforward but tasty." Ken Zinns, grape-nutz.com

At the International Eastern Wine Competition our 2009 Los Carneros Gewurtztraminer won a Silver Medal!

Blindspectator.com gave our Just Joshin Tempranillo a 86.

"Stein Family Wines acquitted themselves quite ably with their only wine, the 2007 Just Joshin Tempranillo. " blog.sostevinobile.com

Be sure to check back often as we update the kudos and articles we get from the media!