The Vintners… At it again! I’m Tom Simoneau with today’s wine minute here to say this past week found me driving over the hill for The Napa Valley Vintners and St. Helena Star Wine Tasting at the Rudd Center. This time – Artisanal Wine Making. Our first job was to define artisanal. Is it all about the numbers? Small batch vs. big batch? Wild yeast? Fermentation? Blending? Unfined, unfiltered? Even pruning techniques? We all decided that every winemaker’s goal is to make world class wine from the vineyard to the winery. And that big or small, the science and the art of winemaking have developed to the point where, at least here in our North Coast, every wine could be defined as artisanal. My favorite red and white at the tasting; the Jarvis 2008, Will Jarvis’ Science Project Cabernet Franc, $105 and the Franciscan Estate 2010 Carneros Chardonnay, $40. Click on sthelenastar.com for the related story posted May 31st.