CellarPassTV

CellarPassTV with Special Guest John Bigelow of JM Cellars

San Francisco,CA

Join us for CellarPass TV, broadcasting Thursday from 6PM - 7PM Pacific. In this episode, we'll be joined by special guest John Bigelow, owner & winemaker of JM Cellars.

Event Details

Join us for CellarPass TV featuring special guest, John Bigelow, owner and vintner of JM Cellars.

Want to order wines to sip along with us during the show? Scroll down to view purchase links.

JM Cellars

JM Cellars is a family-owned winery focused on producing handcrafted, limited-release wines since 1998.

We work with a diverse collection of Washington’s premium vineyards to craft superior quality wines styled for balance, power, dimension and finesse. Small production lots allow John and JM's winemaking team the pleasure of producing a broad selection of distinguished wines that showcase the region in which they were grown.

JM Cellars values and implements environmentally sound practices. Margaret’s Vineyard, JM's estate vineyard located in Walla Walla is certified Salmon Safe and sustainable while the tasting room at Bramble Bump is organically gardened.

Christopher Sawyer, Award-winning Sommelier

An internationally-renowned sommelier, wine educator, journalist, consultant, critic and public speaker: He travels the world following trends in wine and participating as a VIP judge in the world’s top wine competitions, and has been featured in a wide range of national media, including USAToday, MSN, NBC, ABC, CBS, Redbook, The Hollywood Reporter, Maxim, National Geographic Traveler, CNN and Esquire. You can learn more about Chris' world travels as an award-winning Sommelier on his website.

John Bigelow, Owner / Vintner of JM Cellars

John and Peggy Bigelow founded JM Cellars in the fall of 1998 after converting their Seattle basement into a small production space. John took the UC Davis extension winemaking course, read every winemaking book he could find, and was able to source fruit for his first wines from the acclaimed Klipsun vineyard on Red Mountain. 

Encouraged by the success of their first vintage, John increased production for the 1999 harvest to thirteen barrels of wine. The foundation of those first two vintages set the stage for the growth and evolution of John’s winemaking technique for years to come. 23 harvests later, John has increased production to 8,000 cases producing new world wines using old world winemaking techniques. Drawing inspiration from various wine regions across the world (France, South Africa, Portugal, Napa Valley, and others), John experiments and tries new approaches whenever he tastes something new that he loves. His sense of curiosity has unveiled staple techniques, such as whole berry fermentations, foot stomping, use of large French oak tanks for fermentations, and clay amphoras along with French oak barrels for aging.

Focused on producing handcrafted, limited-release wines, John & the JM team work with a diverse collection of Washington’s premium vineyards to craft superior quality wines styled for balance, power, dimension and finesse. Small production lots allow the pleasure of producing a broad selection of distinguished wines that showcase the region in which they were grown.

Woodinville, WA is home to JM's flagship tasting room affectionately known as "Bramble Bump" & their newest location, housing a custom, state-of-the-art production facility, is located at The Vault in Maltby, just a few miles up the road in Snohomish.

JM Cellars values and implements environmentally sound practices. Margaret’s Vineyard, JM's estate vineyard located in Walla Walla is certified Salmon Safe and sustainable while the tasting room at Bramble Bump is organically gardened.

Over the last ten years, more than 150 of JM’s wines have scored 90 points or better with International wine critics including Robert Parker, Wine Spectator, Wine Enthusiast Magazine and others. JM Cellars wines are sold in both tasting room locations (Woodinville & Snohomish), on the website, and at select wine retailers and restaurants.

Featured Wines

PURCHASE

JM Cellars Duo Pack

Be sure to order the two wines so you can sip along with us! Join for a delightful evening of wine tasting Thursday March 25th from 6PM - 7PM Pacific on CellarPass TV.

Relax at home with a virtual tasting guided by Sarah Elliman of CellarPass TV and sommelier Christopher Sawyer. This online wine tasting is our way of bringing the JM Cellars' warm hospitality, fine wines and Christopher’s expertise from our table to yours.

We're looking forward to tasting these two spectacular JM Cellars' wines.

2020 Cinsault Rosé

Each year John makes a “Provence” style Rosé featuring the Cinsault grape, a dark purple, large (like small plums) varietal featuring very thin skins. This wine serves as our annual reminder that Spring and Summer are just around the corner! The 2020 vintage was harvested by hand last fall on September 15th with perfect sugar and acid levels to create the crisp, refreshing Rosé we like to produce. This year’s vintage also includes 2% Grenache and 3% Syrah, contributing a touch of fresh citrus to the nose and palate, rich, soft colors & a silky finish. The Cinsault Rosé is the first wine of JM's 2020 vintage to be released; a year we will all never forget but the memory of it made just a little sweeter by the release of this fan-favorite wine.

2018 Louisa

The 2018 Louisa is a great tribute to John’s mom, who passed away in 2012 and was widely known as John’s biggest fan. John’s parents, Louise and Jack Bigelow, lived on the top floor of the winery for the last 10+ years of their lives. This vintage of Louisa is predominantly Cabernet Franc with a touch of Merlot, all sourced from Margaret’s Vineyard, our estate vineyard in the Walla Walla Valley.

The classic hot-site Cabernet Franc reveals red fruit notes and flavors of ripe Bing Cherry. The wine was aged for 21 months in 80% new French oak and 20% once-used French oak. John’s favorite pairing for the 2018 Louisa is a spicy salmon poke bowl.