Bedrock Wine Company

I heard about Bedrock after reading an article called «When is a Zin not a Zin». I was interested in their field blends. I got on the waiting list for the email and when I finally got notice that I could buy an allocation, I ordered 5 bottles of wine. (I had previously found some of their wine after a long search). They were smart enough not to ship the wine in the summer so as not to damage it from possible heat exposure. When it shipped in mid-​October I followed the tracking number supplied by them and saw that my wine traveled from Fairfield to Sacramento, then to TEXAS for a week or so, back to Sacramento, to San Leandro and finally to my address in Berkeley, CA. I was concerned that the wine had spent a week in the Texas heat and when I notified them of this, not only did they communicate promptly, completely and courteously but shipped me another five bottles of the same wine without charge. Now that is what I call REAL customer service.

Bedrock is simply awesome. I admit it. I’ve put off reviewing this to keep my allotment reasonable sized. Ok, just kidding… sorta.
Why do I love bedrock you ask. Morgan Twain Peterson isn’t a fascist wine maker. Wait? Who buys wines from Putin and Mussolini? No, no, no! I simply mean that many winemakers simply make a certain style. Some rich and extracted (Parkerized). Some ridiculously lean (or as some say WInd Gap’d). But here the wines are balanced, but not over the top. Ageable, but also a bit difficult to keep your hands off in the short term. The old-​vine field blends (often zins with many other esoteric varietals thrown in, all picked at the same time) are about as cool as wine gets. Really no one else makes wine quite like this.
Also, Morgan is one of the few people I trust with syrah. Just too many fruit bombs and cool climate ones that’ll never round out. But here he’s got a great Griffin’s Lair (very cool climate) and a great Hudson vineyard too. Ok so Carneros isn’t so warm, but 09 was so succulent but if that’s the card he’s dealt he’s not going to castrate the wine to make the juice fit his mold.
Pick up days are neat. Just a few folks chattin’ with the winemaker. He’s a great source of knowledge and his wines are just gorgeous. It takes a while to get on the list and move-​up to a point where you can pick what you’d like. But along the way at pick up events you’ll be able to try a number of wines and realize it’s sure worth the wait.
To address Candy’s review. If there was one thing I could dock Bedrock for, it is the organization of the pick-​ups. Morgan’s am exceptionally busy guy (the bedrock motto is it takes a village to raise a wine, but really it’s just a one man show). Pick-​ups get announced without a lot of warning. On the latest release, he actually listed the pick-​up days when you order, which is a nice change and really should put that issue to rest. He’s supposed to get some new digs shortly and at some point, maybe he’ll allow tastings. But for now you wait.
Tasting: 3 – 5 wines
Price: Free
Appointment: ONLY on pick-​up days (a new release every season roughly)
Overall: Great wines. I drink a lot (too much?) wine and this might be my favorite winery.

I’ve ordered wine twice from Bedrock Wine Company (they are not open to the public but you can mail order wine at specific times of the year). I was very satisfied with my first order, which was delivered by UPS. I opted to pick up my second order on their one order pick up day. I received confirmation of that order, but there was no pick up address listed, so I e-​mailed and then called the company. I received no response. The address listed on the website is somebody’s home. I even called his father’s winery to see if they could give me the address, as I live 3 hours from Sonoma. In any case, I was not able to pick up my wine as I had no address, and my subsequent calls and e-​mails were unanswered. I then reversed the nearly $ 300 charge on my credit card. The wine in my first order was good, but frankly the customer service leaves something to be desired. I will not be ordering any more wine from them. I understand this is only a part-​time business, but at least he could return a phone call or an e-​mail.