2011 Gewurztraminer Monterey County - 89pts. 

Light yellow. Intense aromas and flavors of peach, orange and lemongrass, with a hint of white pepper emerging with air. Tangy and precise, especially for this variety, offering bright citrus fruit flavors and a deeper note of pit fruits on the back end. Finishes spicy and dry, with strong cut and a touch of honeysuckle. The food matching possibilities here are endless. (JR)

2010 Cabernet Sauvignon Alexander Valley - 90 pts

(made from fruit picked at 22 degees Brix): Opaque ruby. Sexy, floral accented aromas of cherry and red and blackcurrant, with a peppery topnote and a hint of black cardamom. Juicy and incisive on the palate, with intense bitter cherry and floral flavors nicely lifted by zesty acidity. Sweeter and deeper on the finish, offering lingering notes of bitter chocolate and candied licorice. (JR)

2010 Zinfandel Dry Creek Valley - 89 pts.

(includes 8% petite sirah): Inky purple. Cherry vanilla and dark berries on the pungent, smoky nose. Ripe, palatecoating blueberry and candied cherry flavors show a slight warmth and become spicier with air. Closes with gentle tannic grip and good persistence, leaving a candied berry note behind. (JR)

2010 Zinfandel Branham Vineyard Rockpile Sonoma County - 91 pts.

Vivid ruby. Highly expressive aromas of blackberry, blueberry, violet and smoky Indian spices, with subtle vanilla and sassafras nuances building in the glass. Stains the palate with dark berry preserve flavors enlivened by gentle acidity, which adds back end precision. Finishes sweet, spicy and long, with a lingering floral pastille note. (JR)

2010 Pinot Noir Shapes/Shadows Potter Valley - 90 pts.

Bright red. High-pitched aromas of redcurrant, rhubarb and fresh rose, with a subtle note of anise building with air. Juicy and tightly focused on entry, then fleshier and sweeter in the midpalate, offering lively red fruit flavors and a touch of candied flowers. Finishes spicy and long, with lingering sweetness and very good clarity. (JR)

2010 Pinot Noir Central Coast  - 89 pts

Deep red. Bright aromas of redcurrant and dried cherry, with spice and herb accents adding complexity. Offers an array of juicy red fruit flavors, with a bitter orange note on the back end. Finishes nervy and energetic, leaving allspice and red berry notes notes behind. This fruit was sourced from vineyards in and close to Monterey. (JR)

2010 Chardonnay Santa Cruz Mountains - 90 pts.

(made from fruit picked at a very low 19.5 degrees Brix): Bright yellow. Pungent, high-pitched bouquet evokes lime, orange zest, pear and honey, with a floral overtone. Juicy, sharply focused citrus fruit flavors give way to deeper orchard fruits and fig with air and pick up a spicy nuance. At once rich and tangy, finishing with impressive energy and length. (JR)

2010 Pinot Noir Santa Cruz County - 89 pts.

Vivid red, Aromas and flavors of strawberry and raspberry show good clarity and offer zesty straightforward appeal. Shows a smooth, seamless texture and a sneaky note of candied flowers on the refreshingly brisk, persistent finish.

2010 Pinot Noir Belle Farms Santa Cruz County - 89 pts.

Deep red. Pungent aromas of dried cherry, botanical herbs and incense, with a spicy topnote; smells like a Chinato. Sappy red fruit flavors are complemented by bitter herb and rose nuances, picking up a cracked pepper note with air. Finishes with good spicy cut and bite, leaving smoke and cherry notes behind. (JR)

2010 Pinot Noir Aptos Creek Santa Cruz Mountains - 91 pts.

Full red. Sexy, heady scents of red and dark berries, lavender, star anise and minerals. At once racy and concentrated, offering intense black raspberry and cherry flavors given depth by licorice and bitter chocolate nuances. Shows impressive vivacity on the sappy finish, which leaves suave floral and berry notes behind. (JR)

2010 Pinot Noir Woodruff Family Vineyard Santa Cruz Mountains - 91 pts.

(made with 25% whole clusters): Pale red. Bright, mineral accented-aromas of red berries, wild herbs, licorice and rose. Tight and sharply focused, offering bracing red fruit and floral flavors with suggestions of cinnamon and allspice. Finishes nervy and long, with suave floral and spice notes lingering. This project of Healdsburg-based winemaker Kenny Likitprakong (Hobo Wines, Folk Machine, Banyan Wines) focuses on Santa Cruz, where he began his career in the mid-90s after graduating from UC-Davis. (JR)

 Edible Magazine featured Hobo with a few of our favorite wineries in this pre-harvest dinner. Here is the story...

http://onlinedigeditions.com/publication/?i=123345&p=60

Our first hit on this notable list. Have a look.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/wine/top100-2011/page?id=pinotnoir

2010 Ghostwriter Santa Cruz County Pinot Noir ($30, 13.5%): Healdsburg-based Kenny Likitprakong (Hobo Wine) has become a curator of Santa Cruz sites, and while his single-vineyard efforts are winning, this blend of multiple sites (mostly near the town of Aptos) matches bright raspberry and rhubarb to a heartier earthen side. It's a contrast to the wonderful marjoram-scented delicacy of the 2010 Ghostwriter Woodruff Vineyard Pinot Noir ($45, 13.2%), from that 30-year-old dry-farmed site, one of the area's emerging stars.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/06/15/FD3M1P1AGE.DTL#ixzz1y4INqqlA

 We came in #4 on Christina Waters Top 10 list with the 2010 Woodruff. 

http://www.santacruz.com/restaurants/articles/2012/07/17/top_10_santa_cruz_mtns_wines

Check out this article by Christina Waters about young winemakers featuring us and a handful of other great winemakers 

http://www.metroactive.com/features/silicon-valley-winemakers/kenny-likitprakong.html

 The Hobo Zins were listed in the SF Chronicle's Zin picks on 5/6/12. Here is the article. 

 http://www.thundertrucks.com/hobo-wine-x-dylan-rieder/

Check out this little blurp in the Santa Cruz Goodtimes by Josie Cowden.

http://goodtimessantacruz.com/santa-cruz-wine-reviews/2913-ghostwriter.html

2009 Ghostwriter Woodruff Family Vineyard Pinot Noir, Santa Cruz Mountains - 91

Despite the light color and delicate silky mouthfeel, this mountain Pinot Noir is potent in fruit. It explodes in raspberry and cherry pie, red licorice and beef jerky flavors, enhanced with noticeable oak. But then it retreats into a dry, spicy, minerally finish. Firm in tannins and distinguished, it should develop in the bottle over the next six years. -S.H.

2009 Ghostwriter Pinot Noir, Santa Cruz County - 90

With a pale color, modest alcohol and plenty of acidity, this Pinot Noir is made in a more food-friendly style than some of the richer ones around. It's bone dry and sleek, with a minerality undergirding tart sour cherry candy and spice flavors. A lovely, elegant wine that should hang in there for a good six years. -S.H.

2009 Ghostwriter Chardonnay, Santa Cruz Mountains - 87

It's just two years old, but this Chardonnay already is losing fruit, turning nutty and herbal and dry. There still are traces of oranges and pineapples, but they won't last much longer. Drink up. -S.H.

San Francisco Chronicle July 24, 2011

Banyan Monterey County Gewürztraminer

Tastes like: $20

What: A finer, lightertake on Gewurz from a skilled hand

Why: Kenny Likitprakong (Hobo Wine Co.) has for years made this priced-to-go Gewurztraminer; the latest 2010 hails from the Ventana Vineyards site in Arroyo Seco. A lengthy 40-day fermentation releases nuanced aromas -pert and aromatic, this is Gewurz on gossamer, with mandarin orange, ginger, white peach and orange blossoms. Often relegated to lists at ethnic restaurants (Likitprakong is part Thai), Banyan deserves a deeper look. 

2009 Folk Machine "The Crooner" Pinot Noir, Potter Valley - 88

A very good Pinot Noir out of Potter Valley, one of inland Mendocino's cooler spots, made by Kenny Likitprakong, who also makes the Hobo and Banyan wines. This cinnamon and red cherry-tinged Pinot opens up with aplomb, getting more and more Burgundian in nose as it goes and at 13.5% alcohol, will get you pleasantly through a meal. -V.B.

2009 Hobo Zinfandel, Branham Vineyard, Rockpile - 92

Kenny Likitprakong started the Hobo label in 2002 without being tied to any winery or vineyards. He started making wine from the Branham Vineyard in 2004, where the original 1994 planting is head trained and dry farmed at an elevation of 1500 feet (80 percent of this wine comes from that block). This 2009 has an elegance and clarity that set it apart, and openness to the zinny sweetness of fruit that is not at all jammy. The red fruit flavors layer over broad tannins with an herbal, savory edge. A robust, earthy zin to serve with grilled lamb. 

2009 Hobo Zinfandel, Treborce Vineyard, Dry Creek Valley - 91

Treborce is a recent 10-acre planting of the Buchignani clone, this wine grown on a southwest-facing hillside block. It's cool and sophisticated rather than jammy, with zinny red fruit flavors of persimmon darkening to pomegranate and anise. The roundness of the texture adds to its charm, as does the lasting complexity. A zesty red for fennel sausages on the grill. 

2009 Hobo Zinfandel, Dry Creek Valley  - 89 BEST BUY

Black cherry flavors brighten this wine's tarry scent of reduction. Firm and juicy in the middle, it ends on warm, drying tannins. Brisket or other hearty fare will bring out the sweetness of the fruit.

2009 Hobo Cabernet Sauvignon, Alexander Valley - 88 BEST BUY

This wine's texture and weight give it an elegant feel. The flavors edge toward vegetal scents of green beans, mint and black olive. Decant if for braised duck. 

We were included in this article that the San Francisco Chronicle ran on July 17, 2011

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/07/15/FDOI1KA8UN.DTL&type=wine