Azari: Newest addition to Petaluma Gap

Just over a knoll on Spring Hill Road out Western Avenue rests the very ranch that this road was originally named after — the old Spring Hill Farm.

Purchased in 1989 by Kamal and Pari Azari, and planted with syrah, riesling and pinot noir in 2000, this land is now creating libations of the highest order.

The owners are two of the sweetest people in the county. The winery is tucked away in pine trees and awash in beautiful flowers. It is the newest of winery gems to add to our incredible local viticultural industry. This is Azari Winery.

The grounds are, simply, beautiful. In fact, this is one of the nicest, well-kept and luxurious landscapes, encircling one of the nicer estates in the hills surrounding Petaluma.

Waterfalls run the lengths of the gardens into ponds filled with big toads and small fish. Fruit trees reek of blossoms, and waves of lavender and rosemary sing to the bees, black and yellow, that bounce from each flowery purple tower to the next.

The Azaris’ beautiful, silky cat, Felfel, approaches me for a sensual rub, almost, cynically, as her soft caress would never indicate she’d been killing gophers all morning in her vicious morning hunts in the dry grasses.

It is a sort of paradise, no less, and we visit the winery on this beautiful estate to barrel-taste the seven different styles of wine from grapes plucked from this sustainable vineyard.

All of these wines are artisan. They are all gravity-fed and all hand-made. More, they are all excellent and each is showing, already, to announce itself in the 90-point range (on a scale of 100) for connoisseurs, for sure.

All of the wines are a bit young for release and they

are still in the barrel, but I cannot go without mentioning the pinot. Ripe raspberries and hard berry candies from grandma’s dining room table, with gentle orange blossoms with a slight tannic presence from his No. 667 clone, barreled in neutral oak, make this a stupendous wine.

My other favorite pinot, picked at 2 brix (2 percent sugar) is even better. (Brix is a unit of measure for the sugar content of grapes.) It is illustrious with a hint of spice and darker fruit notes that swagger the psyche like your first kiss of an older girl, your knees trembling like a Yorkshire terrier at its first dog run.

“This winemaking is not for everyone,” Kamal tells me. “First and foremost, it is to satisfy my curiosity and to create excellent wines.” Kamal has obviously been very quick to learn winemaking.

Hats off to you and Pari, Kamal. You have produced a knockout.

OK, so the “not in bottle” part kind of left you flat? Well, here’s good news: A) Azari wines are coming soon to fine wine shops near you in Petaluma (La Dolce Vita and Vine and Barrel) and B) You can sample them in all their allure just as I did right alongside several other high-end producers of local pinot noir at Cinnabar Theater’s Summer Music Festival, featuring the Cinnabar Quartet at 6 p.m. on Sept. 6. Go to www.cinnabartheater.org for tickets and more information.

(Jason Jenkins is the owner of Vine and Barrel, a wine shop at 143 Kentucky St. He offers Wednesday night wine education classes from 6 to 8 p.m. and Saturday tastings from 4 to 7 p.m. He can be contacted at 765-1112. The Web site is www.vineandbar rel.com)