Bowman Cellars · Graton
2023 Bowman Cellars Sauvignon Blanc, Russian River Valley
A place on your wine list
Alex Bowman's cool-climate Russian River Sauvignon Blanc. Stainless citrus and white flower, a little French oak for shape. Built for a seafood or goat-cheese list.
Winery SRP $34 per bottle
Why this bottle belongs on the list
Two selling points.
Then the market.
Alex started on a twenty-case family patch.
Alex Bowman grew up making Sauvignon Blanc with his father Doug on a west Santa Rosa vineyard that made about twenty cases a year. He wired tasting rooms as an electrician for Bowman Electric, entered amateur harvest fairs, and in 2013 took Best of Class in the white-wine division. Katie Bowman pushed the professional launch. His aunt Lisa Crean Bowman spent about twenty-five years as Director of Sales at Frog's Leap. This bottle is still that family wine, now from Russian River fruit.
Cool-climate Sauvignon Blanc, not a tropical porch bomb.
The 2023 is 100 percent Sauvignon Blanc from Russian River Valley. Stainless fermentation keeps citrus and white flower vivid. About 10 percent sees French oak for mid-palate shape, not cream. Alex has said he wants the classic herbal lane, closer to a cool-climate New Zealand profile than loud California tropical fruit. Russian River fog does that work before the cellar does.
Professional scores
What the press wrote on this vintage.
Named critic score on this exact 2023. This is a press rating, not a Wine-Searcher aggregate. Wine-Searcher lists 0 critic scores on this vintage.
The buyer's perspective
What the guest
hears first.
Michael Franz in The SOMM Journal scored the 2023 93 and called the acidity refreshing without going sharp. Staff can sell it in one sentence: Alex Bowman's Russian River Sauvignon Blanc, citrus and herb, pour it cold with garlic shrimp or goat cheese.
Winemaker's corner
Founder · Graton tasting room · fifth-generation Northern California family
Alex
Bowman
Alex started as a teenager on the family Sauvignon Blanc patch in west Santa Rosa. His father Doug made those twenty cases for friends. Alex took the project over, entered local harvest fairs, and in 2013 won Best of Class in the white-wine division. That is when he and Katie decided to do it as a business.
He had been working as an electrician for Bowman Electric, wiring tasting rooms and harvest equipment around Sonoma. He has said he got a real feel for the industry from inside other people's cellars. Bowman Cellars was founded in 2013 and opened to the public in spring 2017. The Graton tasting room on Graton Road opened 1 February 2018.
Katie Bowman, his wife since 2014, runs branding, labels, and hospitality. Her grandfather founded Andy's Produce Market in Sebastopol. Alex's aunt Lisa Crean Bowman, former national sales director at Frog's Leap, helped them think like a wholesale house. The 2023 Sauvignon Blanc is still the wine Alex grew up making, scaled to Russian River growers who farm the same cool-climate style.
The estate
A family patch, then Russian River fruit.
Bowman Cellars sits in Graton, in the Russian River Valley of west Sonoma County, about ten minutes from Sebastopol. The tasting room at 9010 Graton Road is the public face. The original Sauvignon Blanc vines are on the family property in west Santa Rosa, too small for a commercial bottling on their own.
Alex sources Russian River fruit from growers who farm the same cool-climate style he wants: citrus, herb, and snap rather than tropical volume. The house also makes Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from the valley, Cabernet from Alexander Valley, and estate Zinfandel from Mountain Ranch in the Sierra Foothills. This bottle is the Sauvignon Blanc.
Stainless tanks hold the majority of the 2023. About 10 percent ages in French oak barrels so the mid-palate has shape. The winery's own note is citrus and white flower, food friendly. That is the wine you are selling.
2023 in the glass
Grapefruit.
White flower.
A clean snap.
The winery calls this a cool-climate Sauvignon Blanc with fresh notes of citrus and white flower, fermented in stainless with about 10 percent French oak. Grapefruit peel, lime, green apple, and a whisper of green herb lead. Acidity is mouthwatering rather than sharp. Michael Franz in The SOMM Journal (93) wrote that Russian River's cool climate shows in refreshing acidity that is not overly tart, with a subtly herbal bouquet that is not pungent, and a harmonious medium body. Those notes are critic language, not a Wine-Searcher aggregate. The finish is cool citrus, fresh herb, and wet stone. Drink it cold. It does not need a decant.
Menu and service
Built for a serious table.
- Garlic shrimp with lemon and herbs
- Goat cheese salad with citrus vinaigrette
- Smoked salmon, oysters, or a clean coastal plate
Serve 46 to 50 F in a white-wine stem. No decant. Five minutes in the glass if the bottle comes out ice-cold.
Staff pairing clip
Gordon Ramsay cooks paprika garlic shrimp
The tableside introduction
“This is Alex Bowman's Russian River Sauvignon Blanc. Cool-climate citrus and white flower, stainless with a little French oak. The SOMM Journal gave it 93. Pour it cold with garlic shrimp or goat cheese.”
Ready for your team
Put the story to work.
Shelf talker
A concise bottle story for guest-facing displays. No trade price.
Download PDFServer card
The pitch, menu matches, and service notes in a compact format.
Download PDFFull trade sheet
Alex Bowman, Russian River fruit, tasting, market context, and the case offer.
Download PDFOrder the case
Put Bowman Sauvignon Blanc on the list.
Alex Bowman's Russian River white. Trade $13 a bottle, $156 the twelve-bottle case, one-case minimum.
