Jacuzzi Family Vineyard, Sonoma County

welcome to Jacuzzi, where the men are strong...

So we’re having a lovely picnic at Benziger following our ok tour and tasting. The weirdcombos crew wanted to hit one more place before driving back to the City. While eating homemade basil pesto over pasta, roasted eggplant with a selection of cheeses, olive bread, Benziger red wine, etc. we decided to go to Jacuzzi Family Vineyards.

Let’s face it, Jacuzzi is a kick-ass name for a vineyard. It sounds so spa-like and relaxing somehow. It turns out that the vineyard is owned and operated by the same Jacuzzi family that originally invented the Jacuzzi! They sold the patent for the device years ago and went into wine. Actually the company invented other interesting devices, too, like airplane parts that were used in World War 2 or something. The vineyard mainly produces Italian wine varietals which I thought was pretty cool. I have a hankering for Italian wines, even for breakfast.

The tasting room is housed off a main thoroughfare through Sonoma wine country so is very easy to find. The building itself is over the top Disneyland style. It sort of looks like a new Italian villa or small castle. There were huge heavy looking wooden doors all over, dramatic semi-erotic sculptures adorning some of the walls, and there was even stained glass in a chapel like area. I liked the restrooms which exuded a chlorine aroma like a swimming pool, or, well, maybe a Jacuzzi. Just before their entrance were old models of what appeared to be early versions of airplane parts and pumps for the famous hot tubs.

...and the women are pretty... in bondage

The tasting was free! That might explain why the place was so mobbed with tasters. The wines themselves were just so-so. “Tom” was our taste master. He was real nice but clearly harried by the high demand for his services. The wines were all in these funky shaped bottles that reminded us of old fashioned Italian wines.

2006 Bianco di Sei Sorelle: This is a chardonnay. It smelled of grapefruit and had a buttery, peppery finish. It tasted off dry to us.

2007 Pinot Noir: This tasted “fresh” and “light” with a “thin” body and a light tannic feel.

2006 Sangiovese: This one was pale red with notes of dark chocolate and black pepper. Some cherry flavors peeked through the bitterness. It had a long finish.

2007 Nebbiolo, Carneros: This was very light red with a light body and cherry and mildly tart pomegranate taste.

2006 Lagrein, Paso Robles: This had a dark color with an unappealing sweet-tart sour flavor. We didn’t like this one at all though I‘ve had some fine Italian Lagreins in the past. Tom corrected my pronunciation of this wine, which was also annoying. I’ll never say it right, so you should just give it up, Tom!
2007 Nero d’Avola, Tracy Hills: This wine was a medium red with a long finish. It had coffee, earthy and strawberry flavors.

castel Jacuzzi

2007 Barbera, Mendocino County: This was also a medium red with a bitter tobacco taste.

2006 Primitivo, Lake County: This had a distinctly caramel aroma with some cherry and plum fruit on the tongue and a bitter finish.

2006 Rosso di Sette Fratelli, Carneros: This merlot smelled of coffee and had a leathery lingering finish and silky tannins.

A lot of these wines would be pretty obscure if you were not familiar with Italian wine. The staff was so busy that they didn’t have much time to explain things either. I applaud their attempts to create American versions of these Italian classics. Unfortunately, too often these wines were unremarkable. In Italy, winemakers focus on just one or a few of the varieties on display here at Jacuzzi. Perhaps the winery could improve if it devoted more attention to fewer kinds of grapes. Then they could produce something approaching the greatness to be found in Italy.

exciting bottles of Jacuzzi white

contemplating Jacuzzi while enjoying our picnic