Ramey Wine Cellars
Mediterranean Wine Cruise
June 3 - 13, 2011
Venice to Rome
Oceania Cruises' Nautica
Stateroom prices start at
$4,049* per person and include FREE air!
Book your stateroom by September 30th and get
FREE gratuities - a $270 to $370 per cabin savings
PLUS $100 shipboard credit!
(See Prices page for terms and conditions)
If you ever had a wine from Rudd, Dominus or Matanzas Creek that knocked you out, you may have already met David Ramey. David’s wine journey has taken him to Bordeaux (Petrus), to Napa (Dominus) and now back to Sonoma County. Although he has produced some of the State’s most lauded wines, he is fun and unassuming, and we are delighted has he has agreed to lead one of our wine cruises in Europe next year.
Edited from Wine Geeks “David Ramey is one sharp guy. He knows more about the process of fermenting wine than anyone I have ever met. It is a good thing he knows so much, because when you work with some of the very best vineyards in Napa and Sonoma counties, as Ramey does, you had better know your craft."
Ramey received a graduate degree from U.C. Davis in 1979 but he didn't immediately land a high-paying gig as an enologist, instead he traveled first to France to work as a cellar rat for Moueix, the owners of Chateau Pétrus. As David's knowledge base grew, so did the quality of his winemaking positions: He worked with Zelma Long at Simi, replaced Merry Edwards as winemaker for Mantanzas Creek and spent a little time back in Bordeaux with the Moueix family. ”But working for a Frenchman wasn't as much fun as being friends with a Frenchman," said Ramey, so in 1996 Ramey Wine Cellars was born. David soon moved his winemaking to the brand-new and state-of-the-art Healdsburg and the rest, as they say, is history.
Today Ramey wines continue to be some of the most highly sought after wines from the Golden State, something that David classifies as "stupid growth." Ramey often looks to the fine wines of both Burgundy and Bordeaux as models for his creations. In the end he crafts wines that have all of the fruit and concentration of California's more moderate climate but they are mixed with the finesse, charm, complexity, subtlety and texture that are the hallmarks of the greatest Domaines and Chateaus from across the pond.
