Welcome Natalie Nicastro

I'm excited to announce Natalie Nicastro will be our new regional sales manager for seven Southeastern states ~ North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee. Georgia, Virginia, Florida, Maryland and Delaware. Before joining the Andis team, Natalie worked for Johnson Brothers and has many years of high-end wine expertise.

Natalie grew up in the mountains of North Carolina and graduated from Appalachian State with a bachelor’s degree in Marketing. Always having a passion for wine, she began exploring and studying on her own during her time as a business partner at her family's small restaurant. 

Natalie found opportunities within the industry, starting at country clubs and wine shops, leading seminars and tastings. This eventually led her to distribution where she received her WSET 2. The hospitality industry taught her skill sets about working with people, building community ties, and that there is no such thing as a small account.

We expect many great things from Natalie! Please welcome her!

Sep 19, 2023 at 8:44 AM Permalink

Legends of Wine

Believe it or not, the largest crop coming out of Sacramento County last year wasn’t rice or tomatoes. It was wine grapes. And that powerhouse crop is fueling some of the most incredible wines coming out of Northern California. 

I’m proud to say Andis Wines has been selected as some of the best. We’ve been invited to pour at this year’s Legends of Wine in Sacramento happening September 7th.

This is your chance to experience varietals from other regional wineries that were exclusively selected by international wine legends Darrell Corti and David Berkley. Favorite local restaurants will also be there offering selections of Sacramento’s finest farm-to-fork cuisine. 

I’ll be pouring our Arinto and Schioppettino. Limited tickets are still available for $75 per person. You can purchase tickets HERE. Please join us!

Aug 30, 2023 at 8:24 AM Permalink

Andis Chosen to Participate at CabFranc-A-Palooza

Two of our wines will be featured during a grand tasting at CabFranc-A-Palooza, the largest International Cabernet Franc festival happening in Livermore from June 1 through June 4.

We’ll be one of over 40 wineries celebrating all things Cabernet Franc, ending with a select group of wineries handpicked to pour (including Andis) for a grand tasting on June 4th. I’ll be attending the event with our Estate Winemaker, Mark Fowler, pouring our 2020 Cabernet Franc and 2021 Curse of Knowledge.

Our founders, Janis and Andy, have been making Cab Franc from the beginning. It’s been a labor of love for us, especially for me. It was a bottle of Andis Cab Franc that opened my eyes to the Sierra Foothills. To be able to share a wine and tell the story of how it changed my world is a meaningful honor.

There’s still tickets left for those of you interested. General admission is currently $99 per person. VIP tickets are $125 per person, which includes an extra hour of event, reserve wines only available to VIP guests, as well as barrel samples from participating wineries. For tickets, visit cabfrancapalooza.com.

May 25, 2023 at 8:45 AM Permalink

Andis Wines Rates 93 points

With winemaking, we follow one rule - to produce wines with a distinct sense of place. Or as I like to say, great wines taste like they come from somewhere. Lesser wines taste as they could be from anywhere.

Our Estate Winemaker, Mark Fowler, and I work with two internationally recognized winemaking consultants - Philippe Melka and Maayan Koschitzky, partners at Atelier Melka, who assist us with making sure this standard is met.

And we’re proud to note, it is. 

Our mission to produce quality wines was most recently recognized by Wine Enthusiast, three of our wines receiving a 93 point rating.

As seen in Feb/March 2023 Wine Enthusiast Buying Guide…

93 pts Andis 2020 Petite Sirah (Sierra Foothills)

This full-bodied, generous wine has lots to give and will offer even more as it ages. Notes convey plump black plum, blackberry, dried black cherry, fresh and dried violets, and chocolate. Hints of spice meat and barnyard add depth and complexity, making the wine both fun and interesting. 

93 pts Andis 2020 Shake Ridge Ranch Reserve Zinfandel (Sierra Foothills) 

This very layered wine is almost naughty in its decadence and deliciousness. Plump ripe fruit notes of bright red cherry, black plum and boysenberry join with complementary tones of vanilla, nutmeg, black tea, chocolate, black olive and game meat. Tannins are mouth coating yet smooth. The finish provides a lingering integration of aromas and flavors. 

93 Andis 2020 Cabernet Franc (Sierra Foothills)

While enjoyable now, this wine will only get better with time. Currently, barrel aromas lead, with notes of fresh cedar, vanilla, star anise, cinnamon stick and chocolate. These override beautiful fruits and florals of boysenberry, blackberry, fig and violets. Tannins are still a bit tightly wound but the potential of this wine to age with elegance and grace is obvious. 

90 pts Andis 2020 Di Stasio Vineyard Reserve Old Vine Zinfandel (Sierra Foothills)

This is a big red wine that’s not overly bold or boisterous about it. Concentrated aromas and flavors bring forth notes of black cherry, chocolate, boysenberry, plum, clove, toasted wood, black tea, fennel fronds, cinnamon stick and cola. Tannins are firm and grippy, adding textural integrity. A pleasant acidity ensures freshness from start to finish.

Mar 21, 2023 at 8:54 AM Permalink

The Curse of Knowledge

Meridith May, SOMM Journal

ANDIS WINES’ LORENZO MUSLIA MUSES ON ITS NEWEST RELEASE, CURSE OF KNOWLEDGE, AND WHY WINES FROM THE SIERRA FOOTHILLS CAN BE A CHALLENGING SELL

It was 2014 when I left Italy and ventured into a “New World.”

To say I was culture-shocked at the start is an understatement. I went from walking out of my apartment in Florence and simply asking for an espresso to driving for 2 miles to engage in a three-minute interrogation with a barista: “What size, 16-ounce or 8-ounce? How many shots do you want? Do you need room for cream?”

Dinnertime used to be at 9 p.m., but now that’s bedtime. I used to make five stops at local grocery stores on the way home, and now everything is delivered to my doorstep.

But if I had to pick the thing that shocked me most, it was unquestionably the wines. I grew up drinking Old World wines that were the perfect complement to food; they weren’t better or worse than those from California, just a different style.

In 2015, I joined Andis Wines in the Sierra Foothills. My ultimate goal was to use those memories to close the bridge between what I used to drink and what we’re able to make here. It’s not easy, and it never will be, but we’ve gotten closer and closer year after year as we continue to pursue perfection.

I have visited locales in over 35 states over the past several years, from northern Michigan and Houston to Honolulu and Richmond, Virginia. I’ve ventured into hundreds of restaurants and wine bars with the purpose of selling Andis Wines, and it has been a journey! Almost every time I sat down with a potential buyer or exchanged a phone call or email, it seemed as though there was a preconceived perception of our wine, and it made me feel like I had something to prove. I wondered, “Why are people so skeptical and scared to try our wines from this region?”

It took me years to understand that the answer was in the history of what we used to be. We were “cursed by the knowledge” they had about our region, and the only way to break that spell was to make extraordinary wines. Opinions are hard to change in a short time, but it can be done.

So here it is the result of our dedication to five years of vineyard research to thwart the curse and equip people with new knowledge of the beautifully balanced, high-quality wines emerging from the Sierra Foothills. Painted Fields Curse of Knowledge is not just another red blend from another winery—it contains the authentic fruit of our labor.

Made in partnership with Philippe Melka and Maayan Koschitzky, two industry heavyweights, the wine is our first Bordeaux-style red blend; it comprises 45% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Cabernet Franc, 18% Malbec, and 7% Merlot and aged 18 months in 20% new French oak barrels to create the perfect harmony between fruit and oak.
—Lorenzo Muslia

Andis Wines 2019 Painted Fields Curse of Knowledge, Sierra Foothills ($25)
A powerhouse wine that effortlessly releases red and blue fruit into a stream of violets and mountain brush. Fine acidity leans into an inner meatiness that keeps it as fresh as it is bold and complex. Floral and fruit aromatics persist through the finish.
93 points —Meridith May, SOMM Journal

Aug 11, 2021 at 6:20 PM Permalink