2025 Press Democrat North Coast Wine Challenge Gold Medal
Tasting Notes
Uboldi Vineyard is located at the base of Sonoma Mountain with rocky volcanic soils. The Sauvignon Blanc vines are over 30 years old, running in perfectly sun-filled north-to-south rows. This terroir lends a fresh and vibrant nose of tropical fruits and florals in this refreshing Sauvignon Blanc.
Specs
Appellation: Sonoma Valley
Vineyard: Uboldi Vineyard
Harvest Date: 9/23/2023
Acid: 6.3 g/L
pH: 3.16
Aging: 43% in Concrete Egg, Balance in Neutral French Oak
Bottling Date: 01/09/2025
Alcohol: 13.5%
Production: 353 Cases
What’s Included
6-bottles:
6x 2023 Tin Barn Sauvignon Blanc, Sonoma Valley Case:
Tin Barn Vineyards celebrates those hidden treasures that lie off map. Our wines highlight the true character of Sonoma County. High atop the ridges of the Sonoma Coast, just off Tin Barn Road, lies a remote plot of Syrah vines. From this fog-enshrouded slope, we sourced grapes for our very first wine and derived inspiration for our name.
In the years since, winemaker Michael Lancaster and his business partners have made a fitting home in our own “tin barn”—a warehouse in rural Sonoma that serves as both cellar space and tasting room. Here, we’ve joined with fellow artisan winemakers to form the collective known as Eighth Street Wineries.
Come visit sometime! Remember, though, that a map will only get you so far.
Available States
AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, GA, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, LA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MO, MT, NE, NV, NH, NJ, NM, NY, NC, ND, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, VT, VA, WA, WV, WI, WY
Hello friends! Delighted to be your friendly neighborhood Lab Rat for this offer. We got the bottle on Thursday afternoon, with perfect timing—we’re headed off for vacation this (Saturday) morning! So a wonderful way to start off our holiday, but also a situation with some…interesting consequences for our tasting.
After a few hours in the refrigerator to bring the wine down from the absurd DC heat we’re having, we popped the bottle around 9 PM. Initial aromas were honeysuckle, melon, and a certain funky, savory note that Jenny described as hay and that reminded me very vaguely of a mango chutney. It tasted along the same lines, expanding on the floral and stone fruit flavors. Our initial temperature was too cold, in fact, and the aroma very much improved as it warmed up a bit.
As a standalone sipping wine, this bottle hit the nail on the head. But given the savory aspect we noted (which on its own gave the wine some interesting character), it seemed worth trying it with food. This is where the problems began. Ordinarily, we’d cook something or order takeout to pair with the wine. But in preparation for going on vacation, we had eaten just about everything out of the refrigerator, and already made non-Sauv-Blanc-appropriate lunch and dinner plans for Friday.
Thus began our quest for the holy grail random leftovers around the house that would go well with this wine. (In other words, do not take the below to indicate much about the nature of this wine; it says more about the odd things we have at home.)
Old sharp cheddar, unknown type: Not so great, made the wine taste fairly astringent.
Kirkland Signature green olives: The combination somehow tastes like cheese.
Sour cream and onion potato chips: Makes the wine taste like vegetables.
Spoonful of chili crisp: I was hoping that the wine would cut through the heat, but it made the chili even more spicy.
Unsalted almonds from the drugstore: This tastes fine, which is not saying much since the almonds taste like nothing.
Old, wilted endive: Nope, it just enhanced the bitterness of the leaves.
Based on these preliminary results, I came to two hypotheses: (1) fatty or oily foods aren’t this wine’s pairing of choice, and (2) the wine acts as a force multiplier on whatever flavors are in the food.
The published recommendation is to serve the Tin Barn with sushi or other fish. I’d bet money that this would be amazing, particularly with scallops or other shellfish, as the wine would dial up their subtle sweetness and brininess. But I’m not buying a lobster at 11 PM. What else do we have around to test this theory?
Reese’s peanut butter cup: Surprisingly decent. Obviously too sweet, washing out the subtle floral notes of the wine.
Mr. Goodbar: Similar results. Nuts seem to work well.
XO sauce (dried scallops, ham, and Chinese spices): Again not bad. The wine enhances the seafood aspect of the sauce, but plays less well with the star anise and other spices.
Thai basil chocolate chip ice cream: Again pretty good, though the basil tastes a bit strange against the wine.
So we’re on the right track—I just need something ocean-flavored with a hint of sugar but not too much. Is there anything left in this house? Scraping through the snack bin, after several minutes I finally come upon:
Japanese nori-wrapped rice crackers: Bingo. The seaweed works perfectly with the wine, and the hint of sweetness from the rice crackers brings out the white fruit flavors.
If there are any lessons to be drawn from this sequence of events, they are (1) pair this wine with some decent food, and (2) keep a wide variety of snacks at home—you never know when you will called to serve.
Many thanks to Alice, WD, and the WCC folks! We had a great time raiding the pantry for this. I’ll leave you with one final note:
Oreo cookies inexplicably hidden, probably by the kids, in the bag of rice crackers: Surprisingly tasty with the wine! Though as a general matter I wouldn’t recommend nori-flavored Oreos.
How much more are you saving by buying a full case?
(Note: tax and shipping are not included in savings calculations.)
2023 Tin Barn Sonoma Valley Sauvignon Blanc - $30 = 16.66%
2023 Tin Barn Sauvignon Blanc, Sonoma Valley
2025 Press Democrat North Coast Wine Challenge Gold Medal
Tasting Notes
Specs
What’s Included
6-bottles:
Case:
Price Comparison
$336.00/Case for 2023 Tin Barn Sauvignon Blanc, Sonoma Valley at Tin Barn Vineyards
About The Winery
Available States
AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, GA, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, LA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MO, MT, NE, NV, NH, NJ, NM, NY, NC, ND, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, VT, VA, WA, WV, WI, WY
Estimated Delivery
Monday, Jul 14 - Wednesday, Jul 16
2023 Tin Barn Sonoma Valley Sauvignon Blanc
6 bottles for $89.99 $15/bottle + $1.33/bottle shipping
Case of 12 for $149.99 $12.50/bottle + $1/bottle shipping
2023 Tin Barn Sauvignon Blanc, Sonoma Valley
Hello friends! Delighted to be your friendly neighborhood Lab Rat for this offer. We got the bottle on Thursday afternoon, with perfect timing—we’re headed off for vacation this (Saturday) morning! So a wonderful way to start off our holiday, but also a situation with some…interesting consequences for our tasting.
After a few hours in the refrigerator to bring the wine down from the absurd DC heat we’re having, we popped the bottle around 9 PM. Initial aromas were honeysuckle, melon, and a certain funky, savory note that Jenny described as hay and that reminded me very vaguely of a mango chutney. It tasted along the same lines, expanding on the floral and stone fruit flavors. Our initial temperature was too cold, in fact, and the aroma very much improved as it warmed up a bit.
As a standalone sipping wine, this bottle hit the nail on the head. But given the savory aspect we noted (which on its own gave the wine some interesting character), it seemed worth trying it with food. This is where the problems began. Ordinarily, we’d cook something or order takeout to pair with the wine. But in preparation for going on vacation, we had eaten just about everything out of the refrigerator, and already made non-Sauv-Blanc-appropriate lunch and dinner plans for Friday.
Thus began our quest for
the holy grailrandom leftovers around the house that would go well with this wine. (In other words, do not take the below to indicate much about the nature of this wine; it says more about the odd things we have at home.)Old sharp cheddar, unknown type: Not so great, made the wine taste fairly astringent.
Kirkland Signature green olives: The combination somehow tastes like cheese.
Sour cream and onion potato chips: Makes the wine taste like vegetables.
Spoonful of chili crisp: I was hoping that the wine would cut through the heat, but it made the chili even more spicy.
Unsalted almonds from the drugstore: This tastes fine, which is not saying much since the almonds taste like nothing.
Old, wilted endive: Nope, it just enhanced the bitterness of the leaves.
Based on these preliminary results, I came to two hypotheses: (1) fatty or oily foods aren’t this wine’s pairing of choice, and (2) the wine acts as a force multiplier on whatever flavors are in the food.
The published recommendation is to serve the Tin Barn with sushi or other fish. I’d bet money that this would be amazing, particularly with scallops or other shellfish, as the wine would dial up their subtle sweetness and brininess. But I’m not buying a lobster at 11 PM. What else do we have around to test this theory?
Reese’s peanut butter cup: Surprisingly decent. Obviously too sweet, washing out the subtle floral notes of the wine.
Mr. Goodbar: Similar results. Nuts seem to work well.
XO sauce (dried scallops, ham, and Chinese spices): Again not bad. The wine enhances the seafood aspect of the sauce, but plays less well with the star anise and other spices.
Thai basil chocolate chip ice cream: Again pretty good, though the basil tastes a bit strange against the wine.
So we’re on the right track—I just need something ocean-flavored with a hint of sugar but not too much. Is there anything left in this house? Scraping through the snack bin, after several minutes I finally come upon:
Japanese nori-wrapped rice crackers: Bingo. The seaweed works perfectly with the wine, and the hint of sweetness from the rice crackers brings out the white fruit flavors.
If there are any lessons to be drawn from this sequence of events, they are (1) pair this wine with some decent food, and (2) keep a wide variety of snacks at home—you never know when you will called to serve.
Many thanks to Alice, WD, and the WCC folks! We had a great time raiding the pantry for this. I’ll leave you with one final note:
Oreo cookies inexplicably hidden, probably by the kids, in the bag of rice crackers: Surprisingly tasty with the wine! Though as a general matter I wouldn’t recommend nori-flavored Oreos.
How much more are you saving by buying a full case?
(Note: tax and shipping are not included in savings calculations.)
2023 Tin Barn Sonoma Valley Sauvignon Blanc - $30 = 16.66%