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Wait, Wait, Don’t Taste Me: The Interactive Wine & Food Pairing Quiz!

February 8, 2013

Yesterday was a Wine & Food Tasting day on the mountain, and that makes Pappy happy.

The goal? Select three wines, and three pairings.

Our culinary compatriots for the event? The very fine chefs from Bash.

My co-tasters? The Depth-Chargedly-Groovy Hospitality Team at Monte Bello: Amy Monroe, Sam Howles-Banerji, and Kirsten Anderson.

The challenge: Select which of two possibilities is the right wine for the pairing, and modify one thing about each dish to better suit the pairing.

Round I

The wines: 2011 Ridge Vineyards Mikulaco Chardonnay, or 2007 Ridge Vineyards Monte Bello Chardonnay

The dish: Arugula salad with beets, pine nuts, and goat cheese, in a Champagne vinaigrette

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What do you do? Which wine do you select, and what do you modify about the dish, to create the perfect pairing?

Round II

The wines: 2010 Ridge Vineyards Geyserville, or 2010 Ridge Vineyards Paso Robles Zinfandel

The dish: Salmon with sautéed carrot and warm fennel-arugula-pomagranate salad

IMG_3597

What do you do? Which wine do you select, and what do you modify about the dish, to create the perfect pairing?

Round III

The wines: 2008 Ridge Vineyards Lytton Estate Syrah/Grenache, or 2006 Ridge Vineyards Lytton Estate Grenache

The dish: Braised short rib with tomato sauce, capers, garlic mashed potatoes and roasted corn

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What do you do? Which wine do you select, and what do you modify about the dish, to create the perfect pairing?

~

The results!

Round I

The wine: 2011 Ridge Vineyards Mikulaco Chardonnay

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The dish: Arugula salad with pine nuts, goat cheese, and sprinkle of pomegranate seeds with Champagne vinaigrette – two roasted beets on side for garnish (did you notice what we changed?)

Round II

The wine: 2010 Ridge Vineyards Paso Robles Zinfandel

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The dish: Salt & Pepper’d Halibut with sautéed carrot and warm fennel-arugula-pomagranate salad (did you notice what we changed?)

Round III

The wine: 2008 Ridge Vineyards Lytton Estate Syrah/Grenache

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The dish: Braised short rib with tomato sauce, capers, garlic mashed potatoes and roasted corn (Did you notice what we changed? Trick question! there was NO change, the dish was perfect!)

~

Thanks for playing!

And thanks to my co-tasters!

And especially, thanks to the very talented Bash team; for their well-honed skills, their delicious food, and their impeccable hospitality!

~

p.s. Special thanks to the very clever folks at NPR’s “Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me” from whom I derive both the title of this post, and many hours of educative amusement!

WWDTM

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Posted in Chardonnay, Food & Wine Pairing, Geyserville, Grenache, Lytton, RIDGE Staff, Syrah, Tasting Flights, Varietals & Blends, Wine & Food Pairing, Wine Tales, Zinfandel | Leave a Comment »

Another Monday, Monday At The Office!

January 7, 2013

I like Mondays.

Why?

May I present …

1.7.13_full

… my Monday Morning Meeting.

We started in on the zinfandels first. The tasters:

Myself

Paul Draper (CEO, Head Winemaker)

Eric Baugher (VP of Winemaking, Monte Bello)

David Amadia (VP Sales & Marketing)

Mark Vernon (President & COO)

Ryan Moore (Director, Direct-to-Consumer Retail Sales)

The wines:

1.7.13_zins

And some tasting note sketches:

2004 Ridge Vineyards York Creek Zinfandel

Nice, bright red ruby tones in the glass, fairly substantial bowl-side glaze, comparatively short, medium-speed legs — Slightly ripe nose, w/ sweet red menthol strains, a trace of anise, and an appealingly mild earthiness – Fairly mineraly tannins, though also somewhat powdery in character, mid to slightly low fruit tones, a nicely mitigated acidity, and a comparatively lean finish, tho still some good structure present; acid on the back-end is vibrant, tannins are still youthful.

2005 Ridge Vineyards Lytton Springs

Nice pluot tones in the bowl, w/ a refined glaze and quick, slender legs. Very, very clear and pristine translucence.A bit tight on the nose at first, though it opens up a tad with time; an unusual, almost grapefruit-esque citricity in and amongst some dirt and forestation in the nose; a touch herbaceous. Beautiful, round, warm mouthfeel, good acidity, firm but integrated tannins. A pleasantly “sappy” character; sweet but not sweet, viscous but not viscous, piney but not green; herbality is in fact almost perfectly integrated. Great food wine, excellent at table! A more “European” style of zinfandel; w/ the focus being on finesse, balance, acidity.

2005 Ridge Vineyards Geyserville

Lovely bright, red, clear magenta tones in the bowl, with a beautiful, pale salmon-fuschia halo. Medium-glaze, fairly rapid legs. Lots of tobacco and cedar, cherry, concentrated plum. Fairly sharp, crisp, intense cherry, lazer-precise fruit, acidity has def. come forward, lots of gravel and mineral. The least ripe this wine has ever shown, and accordingly very, very delicious. Some plum skin showing towards the finish, w/ strong notes of boysenberries, and a trace of thin and sensorial smoke. Really bright finish, lively acid, slight grippiness to the still young tannins.

2006 Ridge Vineyards Lytton Estate Zinfandel

Very black core, clear garnet middle, magenta to salmon to pale fushcia halo. Remarkable striation to the tones in the glass; some 8-10 easily identifiable rings of hue cycling outwards. Fairly tarry character to the low-end of the aromatics, with a sense of  dense fruit — Black and brambly and earthy mid-palate. Very structured, w/ good acid on the back-end. Sightly herbaceous notes throughout, and still a tad adolescent structurally.  

2006 Ridge Vineyards Lytton Springs

Very nice, even-keeled color profile, minimal striation/variation, very good clarity, fairly brightly hued. Very pale, very pretty and subtle and fragile pink halo. Medium glaze bowl-side, with fairly quick and agile legs. Ever so slightly more dirtier and funkier nose, but in a very appealing way — Nicely autumnal fig quality to the mid-palate, w/ more of a sense of dried fruit and nut butter tones; especially a trace of hazelnut — Richer mouthfeel, very concentrated and compressed. Some meat and flesh to the mouthfeel, w/ more somber acid than, say, the Geyserville, but still percolating, particularly on the finish.

2006 Ridge Vineyards Geyserville

Darkish tones overall in the bowl, w/ a concentrated and dark core, ringed by a bright ruby outer striation; a very pretty, very concentrated halo – pretty intensely concentrated on the nose, with lots of baking herbs present amongst the fruit — Very autumnal, with hints of pistachio and roasted chestnut; very nice stone fruit presence mid-palate, bright acidity, very focused and precise fruit, though somewhat dark in character — A bit blacker, w/ some resin notes. Overall, very mysterious and autumnal and rich and exotic, w/ an almost chutney-like character. Possibly the most pleasantly delicious suprise of the lot, as I hadn’t tasted this vintage in some time …

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Then, after a break for liberal samplings of Watsonville Sourdough and Ridge Vineyards Olive Oil, it was on to the Monte Bellos …

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And more tasting notes sketches:

2007 Ridge Vineyards Monte Bello

Warm, elegant, beautiful plum hues in the bowl, brilliant lighter ruby on the limn, very controlled and elegant glaze with somewhat svelter legs — Beautiful; very pretty fruit, very accessible aromatics — Very refined, mentholated, herbaceous, along with richer fruit, a dense core, black-hearted and piratic of spirit, yet graceful, elegant, and demure in practice  — Unbelievably firm tannins, but so compressed, so graceful; as if balletic in a boxer’s body — Great evolution to date; lots of raspberry notes, and overall, perfectly balanced.

2000 Ridge Vineyards Monte Bello

Beautiful, fresh young appearance, perfectly ruby-toned, w/ a pale, salmon-skin halo, and a slightly thickish glaze – A little intense on the nose, but very excellent cool-climate style; some menthol and eucalyptus, with a fiery exoticness – Seems to be showing more of its cab franc on the nose at this point, and accordingly a great herbality coming through — Perfection of mouthfeel; very round, w/ good focus, and a good spread across the palate. A slight citricty to the acidity in the finish, but overall, pretty classically Bordeaux in character. That said, is admittedly in a bit of an awkward adolescent stage; lots of elbows and knees; good cab franc up front, good cool climate aromatics, and great rusticity and structure to the finish, but mid-palate fruit is still coming in and out of focus. Clearly a stunning vintage, but probably 10 years away from full flower.

1999 Ridge Vineyards Monte Bello

Ah, the 99! Such a sexy, dirty, groovy, funky, sly and appealing vintage …Slinky and low and jazzy aromatics; subterranean and slick of style, hints of decadence and groove and purity… Good plummy middle, anchored by an almost neopolitan triad of cocoa, cream, and berry –Spryer and brighter fruit as the wine moves cross-palate; comparatively leaner, brighter acidity on the finish, tho balanced against the still-lingering dirtier funkier character. Proportions are pretty much perfect; a great, rustic Monte Bello with very controlled balance and precision.

 1995 Ridge Vineyards Monte Bello

Nice and rich and thick and juicy fruit-dense visuals, perfect ruby limn; really rich glaze, thick and gravitas-laden legs — Fleshy, forward, strong aromatics; muscular, meaty, dense — Some cedar and wood and bark aromatics leading into a plummier, sweeter, astonishingly fresh, lightly playful mixed harvest berry profile on the palate — Still lots of forward tannin present, and still great acidity; just a lot of wine in the glass; pound for pound, a VERY intense offering that continues its VERY slow pace towards long-term high excellence.

–

I DO know why I DO like Mondays …

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Posted in Bordeaux varietals, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Geyserville, Lytton, Lytton Springs, Monte Bello, Paul Draper, RIDGE Staff, Tasting Flights, Tasting Notes, Varietals & Blends, Zinfandel | 2 Comments »

Tasting Notes: 2008 Lytton Estate Syrah

January 4, 2013

In advance of tonight’s First Friday debut of the new 2008 Lytton Estate Syrah, we’re doing a little tasting of our own! Notes below:

2008 Ridge Vineyards Lytton Estate Syrah

Aromatics:

A genuinely alluring mélange of olfactory components, each a distinct iteration of density and concentration. The fruit characteristics are dark, baked, and gastrique-sweet; the floral notes are purple-toned and toothsome, and the herbalities are wintry, sylvan, and twilit.

Appearance:

To the eye, the wine is darkly concentrated, richly hued, and evidences a measured viscosity. The halo is a pristine magenta; the belly a compressed Byzantium.

Mid-Palate:

On the palate, the wine is perhaps somewhat brighter than one might be led to expect based on the intensity of the preliminary assessments; the wine is actually quite jovial in its way, with a spry bounce to the acidity and a lively and fresh fruit portfolio. The herbs are still dark, but the black pepper notes in particular are restrained and in good balance. There is a certain tarriness to the very low end of the flavor spectrum that is reminiscent of something along the lines of burnt meat skin, or perhaps teriyaki’d soy, while above is a decidedly sumptuous outpouring of rich and darkly flavorful fruit. The viognier lends a decadent florality to the middle layers, and just a hint of honeyed warmth across the top.

Finish:

The finish is where the viognier seems to have its greatest impact; softening tannins, and rounding out the mouthfeel. There is a powderiness to the tannin profile that plays nicely against the richly baked fruits, and the subtle sweetness contributed by the older barrels used for aging finds a pleasing match in the warm honeyness of the viognier.

08yle1

 

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Posted in Lytton, Lytton Springs, Rhone varietals, Syrah, Tasting Events/Opportunities, Tasting Notes, Varietals & Blends | 1 Comment »

A New Year, A New Syrah, A New First Friday!

January 3, 2013

Ah, 2013!

Lucky 13!

Lucky13

If one is searching for harbingers of hope early on in this newborn year, one need not look much farther than this Friday at Monte Bello. Or should I say, FIRST Friday …

That’s right folks, the first First Friday of the new year is THIS Friday, and we’ve got the perfect wine to celebrate!

If the event is the harbinger, then surely the wine is the quintessence, and for oeno-emblemation, one need look no further than our viculturally apotheotic sanctorium to the north, Lytton Springs, from the vineyards of which emerges the 2008 Lytton Estate Syrah!

The 2008 Lytton Estate Syrah is the January ATP release, and we’ll be showcasing it at First Friday, this Friday!

And you, you simply MUST taste this wine!

For more about the very special event, please click here:

http://www.ridgewine.com/Calendar/EventDetail?id=402

and do please remember, this is a Member Event, so if you’ve not yet become kin with our kin, you ‘kin do so by clicking here:

http://www.ridgewine.com/Calendar/EventDetail?id=402

And for more about this highly-anticipated wine, read on!

Ridge has just over three acres of fully mature syrah and three and a half acres of younger vines at Lytton Springs West. These parcels are situated in the well-drained Sites soil on the bench overlooking Norton Creek. Since 1996, we have produced limited amounts for the Advance Tasting Program (ATP). Over time, the consistent quality showed syrah to be perfectly matched to the climate and soil of Lytton Estate. As in the past, the 2008 vintage was co-fermented with a small amount of viognier from an adjacent parcel. Following harvest, it was assembled, in blind tasting, from the most intense and distinct lots.

Key words/terms to extrapolate from the above? I’ll go with “consistent quality,” most intense” and “distinct!”

To read more about membership with Ridge Vineyards, please click here:

http://www.ridgewine.com/Membership/Membership

And to delve deeper into the world of the 2008 Lytton Estate Syrah (including an unprecedentedly transparent description of our minimalist winemaking techniques!), please click here:

http://www.ridgewine.com/Images/Acrobat/08YLE-BG.pdf

Hope to see you this Friday at our Monte Bello Estate!

08YLE1-1-front

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Posted in Events & Photographs, Lytton, Lytton Springs, Monte Bello, Syrah, Tasting Events/Opportunities, Tasting Rooms, Varietals & Blends, Wine Clubs | Leave a Comment »

Tasting Notes: 2008 Lytton Estate Syrah/Grenache

December 15, 2012
Video still

Video still

2008 Ridge Vineyards Lytton Estate Syrah/Grenache

Evidencing an intensely saturated and amethystian concentration of color in the glass, the borderline-impenetrable density of the liquid is visually lifted by the brilliance of the light-catching garnet limn. As the wine rolls against the bowl-sides, a stately and crystal-draping chemise forms, from which emerges impossibly slow-moving legs of a demurely elegant narrowness.

Aromatically, the wine is rich with mixed dark fruits balanced by a smoky earthiness and a compelling hint of anise. A brambly berry sweetness conjures olallieberry turnover, and there is just a trace of wintry clove hovering over it all.

The wine is surprisingly light on its feet as it lands on the palate; the acidity positively dances across the tongue, and while there is a certain viscous weight that lays generously in the cheeks, the excitement’s percolation remains essentially centrally-focused from start to finish. The primary measure of palate information still remains front-side —in indicator of the wine’s still youthful architecture — and while the primary fruit is somewhat restrained in its length, the supplemental components linger pleasingly into the finish; a finish in which the full measure of tannin emerges; tannins that, while well-coated with fruit, and of a powdery character, still dominate the close with an intense musculature and dusky minerality.

A blend of this construct succeeds on the strength of its integrative endeavor, and in this instance, the Syrah and Grenache are en route to a brilliant harmonization, with all the dark and low soulfulness of the Syrah being matched blue note for blue note with the rogueish enervation and spice of the Grenache. If there is a disclaimer, it is that the wine is indeed still young, despite having benefited from additional maturation in our cellars prior to release; as noted above, the tannins are still on the edge of aggressive, and the dance of the two varietals is still tilted a bit in favor of the Syrah, with the Grenache only just beginning to lend its singular exotics to the otherwise deep and wintry gravitas of this complex and compelling display of saturated blues and blacks.

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Posted in Grenache, Lytton, Special Offerings, Syrah, Tasting Notes, Tasting Rooms, Varietals & Blends, Video | 1 Comment »

And What Wine Thespian Strutted Most Significantly ‘Cross The Stage Of YOUR Thanksgiving Repast?

November 25, 2012

All the table ’twas indeed a stage,

and ’tis true many a player

strutted and fretted its hour upon it,

but at curtain’s culinary closing,

’twas a deuce of thespianic éclat

that in truth reigned supreme …

–

Meaning, of course, that it weren’t one but TWO wines I was most especially diggin’ on T-Day!

–

And in this corner, a new release, the 2008 Ridge Vineyards Lytton Estate Syrah/Grenache!

Still showing youngish, most certainly, but so beguiling in its dark mysteriosity, and the perfect pairing for the various and sundry savories on said T-Day table; most particularly calibrated to all seasonings of the autumnal sort, and most certainly ever-so-slightly charred sage leaves …

And in THIS corner, a veteran, the 2004 Ridge Vineyards Buchignani Ranch Zinfandel!

A designation that, in truth, has come in and out of focus for me across the vintages, but one that is capable of greatness when the viticultural stars align. The 2004 was just such a vintage, and I have long considered it the absolute and utter ace of the decades. This wine was, in fact, and if I am not mistaken, one of the first Ridge wines I ever purchased for my dad, and he and I have long retained a certain affection for it, so it was with no subtle degree of both anticipation and curiosity that we approached said specific offering this very most recently past and holidarily-notable Thursday. Approached, contemplated, and subsequently revered! It was extraordinary! Supple, streamlined, and savory; rustic, earthy, and complex; controlled, elegant, and enticing; dangerously subversive, dirtily sensual, and broodingly beguiling. In short, nothing short of perfection. A small perfection, mind you; this is not a wine that strains for demonstrative greatness and expansivity; meaning, it does not set its heights at the stars. Rather, it is a small, quiet, intense, and excellently combinated concoction of concatenated concentrativeness that coalesces around a core of compendiumed complexicatedness. Meaning, it was perfect with mashed potatoes and peas!

And for those who, in an oeno-equivalent enactment of the boxers-or-briefs paradigm, will ask, “Russets, or Yukons?”, ’twas Russets.

Cheers!

And p.s. what was YOUR Thanksgiving Wine Rock Star?

and double p.s. can you guess how many words in the above post got the red-line when I ran spell-check???

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Posted in Events & Photographs, Food & Wine Pairing, Grenache, Lytton, Syrah, Tasting Notes, Varietals & Blends, Wine & Food Pairing, Zinfandel | Leave a Comment »

Tasting Notes: Assessing Possible 2013 ATP Releases

November 3, 2012

ATP Contenders …

It’s a ritual I always look very forward to; the tastings in which we consider possible release schedules for upcoming ATP wines. Why? Because I really, really, really love our ATP program. Want proof? When I was first hired by Ridge, one of the very first things I did to celebrate was to enroll my Dad in the ATP program. Because I really, really, really love our ATP wines. And now, he does too! (Plus, I really, really, really love my Dad! And, my Mom too, but she’s not much of a wine drinker …)

Anyhow, the Fall edition of this ATP tasting experience is always particularly enjoyable, as it’s generally the tasting in which we conclude by putting forth our first draft of the following year’s ATP release calendar.

The Tasters (minus moi, behind the lens …)

What this means, is that we taste a short list of ATP wines (already in bottle, but not yet released), to ascertain a) how they’re developing in the bottle, b) how soon they’ll be ready to release, and c) where on the calendar they best belong.

A number of factors go into making the decisions, but they can be deconstructed down to a pair of key considerations: a) developmental trajectory, and b) seasonality; meaning, how are they aging, and what time of year are the wines best suited for?

Paul Draper, talking ATP …

The first matter is very important when you take into consideration our approach to the ATP program. These wines are all very small-production, single-vineyard wines, and as such, they are traditionally available only through Ridge; meaning, they are not distributed. Which means there is no distributor calendar to meet. Which means we can release them when we want to. Which means, essentially, that we release them only when we feel that they are beginning to move into the first stages of their early drinkability. Meaning, we do a bit of the cellar aging for you! Which is why assessing developmental trajectory is important; we need to feel confident about how a wine is presenting, before we confirm it for a release date.

Tasting Notes …

The second consideration is vitally intertwined with the first in an important fashion, in that, unlike with some of our comparatively larger-production distribution wines — which we generally recommend laying down for a period of time — we operate under the assumption that the ATP wines are likely to be consumed reasonably close to their release date (given the extent that we hold them in our cellars first), which means that seasonality becomes quite important; as but one example, we wouldn’t be likely to release a Petite Sirah in July any more than we’d be likely to release a Chardonnay in January! Though that said, there are always exceptions …

ATP, through the drinking glass …

Anyhow, our tasting was set for November 1st, with a roster of 7 wines to assess:

2007 Ridge Vineyards Dynamite Petite Sirah

2008 Ridge Vineyards Lytton Estate Syrah

2009 Ridge Vineyards Lytton Estate Syrah /Grenache

2009 Ridge Vineyards Mazzoni Home Ranch Zinfandel

2009 Ridge Vineyards Buchignani Zinfandel

2010 Ridge Vineyards Carmichael Zinfandel

2010 Ridge Vineyards Lytton Estate Zinfandel

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And here are some brief tasting notes:

2009 Ridge Vineyards Buchignani Ranch Zinfandel

Aromatics:

Rich, slightly smoky, with a hint of sweetness, offset by a nicely subtle florality

Palate:

Bright, lifted, great acidity, medium bodyweight; compelling notes of persimmon, dried apple, and black cherry

Finish:

Taut & lean, showing a smoothening continuation of good acidity

2009 Ridge Vineyards Mazzoni Home Ranch Zinfandel

Aromatics:

Plummy, sweet, and concentrated, with hints of cocoa, caramel, and chocolate.

Palate:

A slight mentholation lifts the otherwise round, voluptuous, and decidedly zin-driven opulence; shows hints of almond extract, medium-sour cherry, and an overall decadence and unctuousness

Finish:

An emergent mix of black and white peppers invitingly complexilates the rich fruit

2010 Ridge Vineyards Carmichael Zinfandel

Aromatics:

Cedar and vanilla/caramel, reserved fruit, some great autumn spice, even a hint of 5-spice

Palate:

Very focused, quite muscular architecture, tannin-forward, with good acidity and dense mid-tone fruit

Finish:

Gentle, with mello acidity

2009 Ridge Vineyards Lytton Estate Syrah/Grenache

Aromatics:

Dried fruit, Italian Pannetone, sandalwood, lavender and lilac, blackberry and blueberry preserves

Palate:

Smooth, balanced, integrated; great mix of fruit and spice, on the edge of decadent, but perfectly put together

Finish:

Pretty intense attack on the finish; short and wide, and an excellently reconciled expression of the fruit and spice balance

2008 Ridge Vineyards Lytton Estate Syrah

Aromatics:

Loads of umami; savory to the nth; good ripe fruit with a deep black core redolent of blackberry, briar, and blueberry slump

Palate:

Nicely weighty, round, fully spread across the palate, with chalky tannins, and a touch of bright cherry

Finish:

Very tannin-forward, strong architecture, deep and intense, with nice notes of black pepper and cocoa powder

2010 Ridge Vineyards Lytton Estate Zinfandel

Aromatics:

Massive amounts of fruit on the nose; powerful, ripe, strong and muscular, with intense notes of blackberry preserves

Palate:

Fairly lifted, with higher-tone fruit; red apple skin, sour cherry, and cranberry, all mixed into a very rich rendition of Dry Creek briar and bramble

Finish:

An intense combination of tannin, acid, fruit, herb, spice, etc.; meaning, lots of everything, in copious amounts. A very intense wine

2007 Ridge Vineyards Dynamite Hill Petite Sirah

Aromatics:

Coffee, chicory, with an appealing duskiness comprised of, among other components, an air of burr-ground coffee beans

Palate:

Approachable, not too deep into the black, nice compendium of lo-tone fruit: black cherry and pluot in particular

Finish:

Good amount of acidity, very focused down the center of the palate, with a nice skin tannin presence lending an appealing mellowness

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Posted in Carignane, Grenache, Lytton, Paul Draper, Petite Sirah, Rhone varietals, RIDGE Staff, Syrah, Tasting Flights, Tasting Notes, Varietals & Blends, Virtual Verticals, Wine Clubs, Zinfandel | Leave a Comment »

#Harvest2012: Pressing Viognier …

October 22, 2012

As the intensities of Harvest begin to fade into the now-falling rains, time affords a new exhilaration of contemplation; time to think, to ponder, to reflect …

Time to sort through a furor of chronicle for the esoterica that slipped through un-memorialized …

Time to shine a light on the rarities, the wonders, the unexpecteds …

As for example, my completely unexpected stumble into a press session for that most elusive of grapes; Viognier …

Elusive, in that it can only be found in two small geometries within the great quilt of vineyards we call home …

Lytton West. 157 acres all told; a mere .5 of it Viognier …

You’ve seen it, perhaps, when looking closely at a label of our Syrah …

Perhaps you’ve read of our approach to its co-fermentation …

http://blog.ridgewine.com/2009/05/28/some-follow-up-on-the-viognier-question-co-fermentation-and-the-2005-ridge-vineyards-california-syrah-lytton-west/

But have you seen it being pressed?

–

–

#Harvest2012.

You can still feel it.

–

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Posted in Lytton, Monte Bello, Video, Vineyards and Oenology, Winemaking | Leave a Comment »

#Harvest2012: The Rhones Are Coming!

October 8, 2012

If you were visiting the Monte Bello Tasting Room on Sunday, and you happened to be up on our knoll at about 2pm in the afternoon, you would have gotten quite the visual treat. Looking down on the road below, you would have seen a grape truck making its way to the Monte Bello Winery carrying a delivery of Grenache and Petite Sirah from Sonoma; quite a journey, to say the least!

As to myself, I headed up to the winery just behind the grape truck, and was able to catch the fruit as it was being delivered from gondola to conveyor; first up was the Grenache …

The fruit came down from a section of the Lytton Springs Estate known as Lytton West, seen here via our Aerial Vineyard Tour …

Nestled in between the East Bench Vineyards and Lytton East (where the Lytton Springs winery is located), Lytton West is a singularly weathered and uniquely diverse planting that features a fantastic mix of varietals; two acres of which are devoted to Grenache …

Here are winemakers Eric Baugher and Shun Ishikubo, patiently pitchforkin’ the fruit onto the belt …

–

The day’s other delivery was Petite Sirah from Geyserville …

Even from my distant vantage point high atop the gondola-laden truck bed, overlooking  David Gates (VP of Vineyard Operations), Shun Ishikubo (Assistant Winemaker), and Joshua Smith (Harvest Intern) at the belt, I could clearly see the knockout intensity of the grape color; no mistaking this fruit for anything BUT Petite Sirah!

There are over 8 acres of Petite Sirah planted at Geyserville, as can be seen here in a still image for our Aerial Vineyard Tour …

Last week’s heat continues to impact the vineyards, as #Harvest2012 pushes ever-onwards, ever-faster. It’s been a decade at least since we’ve seen a year like this, an the excitement borders on overwhelming as everyone races to bring the fruit in on time.

I was in a meeting with Paul Draper this morning, and in discussing the quality of this year’s fruit, he repeatedly used the word “exceptional.” Be excited. Be very, very excited.

–

#Harvest2012.

Feel it.

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Posted in Events & Photographs, Geyserville, Grenache, History, Lytton, Lytton Springs, Monte Bello, Petite Sirah, Rhone varietals, RIDGE Staff, Varietals & Blends, Vineyards and Oenology, Winemaking | 2 Comments »

Reminder: Ridge Vineyards Monte Bello Estate Closed 6.30.12 for Sold-Out Event!

June 29, 2012

If you were not able to secure tickets to our Saturday event, we welcome you to visit us on Sunday, when our Monte Bello Estate will again be open for general visitation (11am-5pm). For more, please click here.

 

In addition, we encourage you to snap up one of the few remaining tickets for NEXT Saturday’s event at our Lytton Springs Estate!

For more about this event, and to purchase tickets, please click the image above.

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Posted in Events & Photographs, Food & Wine Pairing, Lytton, Lytton Springs, Tasting Rooms | Leave a Comment »

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