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Dorothy J. Gaiter and John Brecher of the The Wall Street Journal have written about Coturri Winery at least six times since 1999.
* The Gift of Food, Wine and Fun - December 17, 2004 - the WSJ wine writers wrote about a winemaker's dinner at Counter Restaurant in NYC they attended: "Last-minute wine present? Give a gift certificate to a winemaker's dinner....One reason more people -- perhaps including someone on your gift list -- don't attend these dinners, we figure, is that they think of the events as wine-geek fests, with extensive discussions of malolactic fermentation. It's a shame they haven't met Tony Coturri. Just the thought of Coturri wines always makes us smile. We had our first in 1987 during a cross-country train trip - we bought the 1983 Zinfandel during a layover - and it blew us away with its highly personal, rustic and earthy tastes. Over the years, we have always enjoyed Coturri wines even if we didn't like them, because they have never lost their drama and personal flair. In blind tastings for our column, we have enjoyed Coturri's Zinfandel, Pinot Noir and Sangiovese, but we always hasten to add that Coturri wines tend to be big and distinctive, so they are not for the squeamish. The chance to meet the winemaker, Tony Coturri, and to see what kind of foods could possibly match these wines was irresistible. We just wish anyone who is nervous about a winemaker dinner could have been there when Tony Coturri stood up to greet the crowd. He is a large man with a salt-and-pepper beard and a ponytail. He was wearing a Coturri T-shirt under a long-sleeve shirt, jeans and boots. He looked like he'd just come in from the vineyard, or just stashed his guitar. He spoke passionately -- winemakers pretty much always speak passionately, which is one reason we enjoy them so much -- about organic winemaking ("these wines are made in the vineyard"), about retaining a sense of personality in wine ("it's just letting the grapes speak") and about his family (one wine came from his brother Phil's personal vineyard and another is named Red, for their father Harry, who had red hair). But he mostly let his wines do the talking." * In Zin for the Holidays - November 22, 2002 - they wrote "Coturri one of our most memorable wines - they are not for the faint of heart ... always filled with personality." * On January 19, 2001 they said - "We had a Coturri Pinot Noir that tasted more like a Port than Pinot. We could feel our socks roll up and down as we tasted it. Coturri is always a name to look for if you're a bit of a risk taker looking for a unique experience." * June 17, 2000 - "A red zinfandel with a bite" - Q: What red Zinfandel do you recommend that has some bite to it? A: Dottie & John: Ridge, Gary Farrell, Selby, Rosenblum, Ravenswood. And if you really want to have your socks knocked off, find a Coturri. There ARE Zins with personality out there, but you might have to look." * In Giving Zinfandel a Second Chance - January 8, 1999 they gave the 1996 P. Coturri Family Zinfandel a Very Good/Delicious rating and said "Color is dark and forbidding: taste is all blackberries and bricks. And yet beautifully made. The real thing." * September 17, 1999 - Where Chianti Gets its Charm - they rated the 1995 Coturri Sangiovese, Sonoma Valley as Delicious (their highest rating!) the "Best of Tasting". "Rich, serious and deeply, darkly fruity, with some weight and some tart edges. A brooding, soulful, altogether fine wine. Very memorable". |
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