2016 Spring Releases -a sporting chance at the 2014s from Ridge Vineyards

Posted on May 20, 2016 by Nicholas Livingston

AT LAST…2016 Spring Releases
The Ridge 2014s you’ve been asking for

Spring marks many a happy return not least the Spring Releases from Ridge Vineyards. A notable household name since 1962, Ridge remains an American classic. Ridge grows fine wines of provenance worthy of their high acclaim and are somehow still modestly priced considering these moving wines each earned their niche among the American pantheon.

More than fifty years on we are still keen to explore each exceptional single-vineyard every new vintage. This Spring there are three standouts sure to capture your interest as well as bins in your cellar. We feel we have a reliable impression of these singular wines having tasted each on two occasions: once with VP of Vineyard Operations David Gates while he was in town and once during the Spring 2016 virtual tasting. Enjoy while these are yours for the asking!

RIDGE VINEYARDS 2016 SPRING RELEASES

Ridge 2014 Paso Robles Zinfandel
At 14.4% this is a record low alcohol by volume and lovely for it. Benny’s vineyard offers a diurnal shift in temperature but without the fog keeping an invigorating acidity without any risk to damaging the fruit. Always lifted on the nose yet rich on the palate, Paso Robles has a tannic backbone in 2014 –soft enough for early drinking but concentrated from the minimal 6 ½ inches of rain that year which typically comes down at 14 inches.

This is 100% Zinfandel with the oldest vine rows planted in 1922 on their own roots to these Paso Robles soils of clay, broken down limestone and river rock. Each year some vines need replanting but as is the wont at Ridge, they follow the old ways replanting with like field blends. Bounding out of the glass is a bursting brambly fruit like the deep fragrance of mulberry meeting the licorice lift of hackberry. At once polished and bright, chewy and toothsome, the 2014 Paso Robles is a Zinfandel of great tension.

Ridge 2014 East Bench Zinfandel
Another 100% Zinfandel from Northern Sonoma’s Dry Creek on the east side of Dry Creek, this grows in the red clay and round oceanic rocks that comprise the bench which define the finest plots in those parts. Planted in 2000 and 2001 to farmland most recently devoted to pastureland, it turns out this plot was once planted to vines before prohibition so one might say they are picking up an old traditional thread.

A blend of all seven of the blocks available to East Bench –the first vintage they have ever been able to use all seven of the blocks, these Zinfandel vines are a rich mix with some grafted to 110R, a rootstock that holds its leaves longer and thereby ripens fruit to greater depth, and also St George whose roots scavenge the soil, love potassium and loses its acidity to polish blends with a portion of the wine tempering the rest by a higher Ph.

Good textured tannins offer more backbone in 2014 which welcome the earthen and meaty fragrance onto the palate nicely. Now that the vines here are past the first ten or twelve or even fourteen years old, we are seeing more terroir and a greater quality than ever before.

Ridge 2014 Geyserville
Celebrating 50 years, Geyserville is the only Zinfandel Ridge has made every vintage since 1966. Geyserville’s oldest vines are from “Old Patch” –a block that was planted in 1891. A blend of old vines planted to an ancient river bed in the Alexander Valley, Geyserville is a field blend of Zinfandel, Petit Sirah, Carignan, and Mataro (aka Mourvèdre) harvested over three to four weeks in 25 lots and fermented separately. Due to the prevailing drought, 2014 brings an opulence, ageable tannins, and depth.

A telling mark of the vintage is this depth of flavor. The drought meant that vines struggled to take up nutrients which meant the fermentations took longer –spending a longer time on their skins. When that involves their Geyserville Carignan that is 100+ years old –that is special fruit indeed! It’s a pitch black red of plum and dark cherry fruit, expressive of dried herbs and a beguiling exotic fragrance.

91-94 Vinous Media | Antonio Galloni July 2015

We at The Wine Company wish you a spectacular Spring season and hope you enjoy these while they are available. Once sprung, these Spring Releases take off!

Zinfandel and the term “Old Vines”

Posted on January 8, 2013 by Jason Kallsen

Much is made of the term ‘old vines’ when it comes to Zinfandel. You see it on websites, in reviews, and in sales pitches for the wines. Quite often it appears on the label or as part of the name. “Oooh, this Zin is so good. It must come from really old vines*,” is what many wine drinkers have been trained to say.

Is vine age always a virtue? Think about how often you see ‘old vines’ used when talking about Chardonnay. Little to none. Same with Sauvignon Blanc, Merlot, Pinot Noir, and many others. (The only other grapes that seem to be discussed in terms of vine age are the old Mediterranean varieties of Mourvedre, Grenache, and Carignane).

So why with Zinfandel? What does the age of the vine have to do with quality?

Many varieties that we know and love (Chardonnay and Cabernet are prime examples) have about a 30-50 year range of peak vine age before they start to slow down. But more importantly, the quality of the grapes does not continue to escalate as Chardonnay and Cabernet vines go into old age. There are incredible examples of top quality Cabernet being made from vineyards under ten years old. But some varieties seem to increase in quality while decreasing in yield as the vine ages. These varieties are the few where the term “Old Vine” comes into importance because it honestly translates to increased quality.

Think of the lifespan of a Zinfandel vine as equivalent to that of a healthy human being (many of the oldest zinfandel vines are over 100 years old). For the first ten years of its life, it is a child — sassy and young and full of vigor and rather uncontrolled. You can see this in the younger vine plantings throughout California. They have shoots popping out every which way. They constantly need tending, and if left to their own devices it would be a Lord of the Flies situation, with them taking over the vineyard in quick order.

Enter the teenage years of a Zinfandel vine, and like human teens they are a bit out of control while they figure out their role in life. (In terms of yield, many of these young vines are churning out 5-8 tons per acre). But with the right coddling and advice (forced upon it by pruning) it starts to figure out its place in the world.

As a Zinfandel vine enters “middle age” is settles into a pattern of consistency and higher quality (like us humans do between 30 and 50 years old). For many vines these are the golden years, pumping out great grapes without needing as much attention as when they were younger. A well tended 30-50 year old Zinfandel is prized for this combination of consistency and productivity.

Once a vine gets to be about 75 years old, it starts producing drastically lower yields (maybe one or two tons to the acre, naturally) and that fruit is of truly incredible quality. Darker, richer, spicier, and packed with all the goodness you are looking for in Zin. These are the wise old men of the vineyard, the elders. For example, the Ridge Geyserville vineyard, a field blend of Zinfandel, Petite Sirah, Carignane, and others contains vines planted only thirty years after the Civil War. In Contra Costa County, just east of San Francisco, the sandy soils kept phylloxera at bay and allows Cline to make their Ancient Vines Zinfandel from parcels over 100 years old (by far, without any doubt, the most affordable wine from vines of such age).

And thank the wine gods for White Zinfandel, for it saved many of these old vineyards from destruction. From the mid 1970’s into the early 1980’s there was so little demand for true Zinfandel that many of the great old vines we cherish today were set to be removed and replaced with the more popular Chardonnay and Merlot grapes. But the demand for the next new thing (White Zin) gave many producers (including Cline, Ridge and Pedroncelli) a market for those grapes and a reason to keep the old vines in the ground.

So the next time you walk by the White Zins, give a quiet nod to the bottle and whisper thank you for saving some of the great old vines of California.

*(Keep in mind the term “Old Vine” has no legal meaning in the United States. A vineyard can be five years old and still be called “Old Vine”. However, all of The Wine Company’s producers take the term seriously and many have a statement of “Old Vine Definition” that ensures 50+ years old as the minimum).

Barbecue Wines: Finding the perfect pairing

Posted on July 16, 2012 by Jason Kallsen

Summer season is in high gear, and this week we will be celebrating with the feast of Saint Thibault (barbecued meats and French wines). The question comes up often: what are the best wines for barbecued fare?

It’s a broad question, and has a multitude of answers. Let’s start with some definitions, talk about varietals and styles, and end with one of our favorite styles of wine.

BARBECUE
As you probably know, barbecue, by definition, is cooking with offset heat (as opposed to direct heat) and often over plenty of time, patiently rendering the fat in tougher cuts of meat into succulent goodness (so note that this post is entirely about barbecue and not about grilling, which will be a future post). Another way to salivate over the definition of barbecue is to read how 16 different champion pitmasters define the term.

Pork shoulder, pork ribs (both spareribs and babyback), and beef brisket are the meats that most often fall into this category. Wood smoke is involved, especially in the early stages of cooking, to really impart the aroma and taste of the fire. This wood smoke build can make for intense flavors in the meat that are rich and long-lasting on the palate. Combine this heavy use of smoke with the common use of barbecue sauce (usually vinegar based and occasionally spicy) and you have a combination that can destroy the flavor of many wines, so you have to pick carefully.

VARIETALS AND STYLES OF WINES
Because of the intensity of flavors in most barbeque, delicate wines such as Pinot Noir are out. They would end up being the proverbial weakling on the beach getting sand kicked in their face. Also on the list of what not to pour are lower-acid varietals, namely many American Merlots and some Australian reds. If you serve a lower acid wine with a high acid dish (acidity in this case coming from the sauce) you make the wine taste flabby and the food taste too sharp. (For the ultimate example of this, have an inexpensive low acid merlot from California with red sauce pasta.)

What you should look for with barbecue are fuller bodied red wines that have a firm grip of acidity, which will help balance against the potential acidity of the sauce.

Chick thighs at the 2011 Saint Thibault feast

SAFE (AND COMMON) CHOICES WITH BARBECUE
There a number of ‘go-to’ varieties for classic pork and beef barbecue. One of the most common (for good reason) is the all American Zinfandel, which often brings a peppery spice with waves of black cherry and plum aromas … perfect for ribs and brisket. Zinfandel often clocks in with slightly higher alcohol that most wines (the grapes have a tendency to produce more sugars than say, Pinot Noir, resulting in higher ABV), and this actually helps to amplify the boldness and richness of the food with the drink. Favorites around the office of course include Ridge Vineyards and Chateau Montelena (who is best known for Cabernet, but make a stunning Napa Valley Zinfandel as well).

Another common selection is Malbec from Argentina, though in this case you have to be careful. Many pick Malbec because Argentina’s meat culture leads them to think it’s a perfect combo for any outdoor cooked meats, but the Argentine barbecue style is far different from America. Additionally, there is a wave of sub-par Malbecs flooding the U.S. market right now trying to ride the wave of popularity. These young-vine wines are surprisingly thin and one-dimentional. Best to stick with older vines that show the richness and power of Malbec, such as TintoNegro or Llama from Mendoza.

Another grape that is a barbecue superstar is Barbera from Piedmonte, Italy. High acid, low tannin (tannin makes spicy food taste unreasonably spicier), and core of deep black and red fruits. Called by many wine writers “Possibly the most food-friendly wine around” this is a perfect solution when cooking a wide variety of barbecue to be served at one sitting. Dozens of great producers are to be found, including the legendary Vietti, the under the radar Rizzi and Paitin, and the more modern style of Boroli.

UNDER THE RADAR CHOICES WITH BARBECUE
Why do what everybody else does? There is a world of varieties out there, and often times these hidden gems have some of the greatest bang for the buck. A few of our favorites:

Bonarda is a grape grown in Argentina (though most plantings are quickly being ripped up for more Malbec) that often has a smoky cherry cola undertone that makes it play extremely well with smoked meats. For those seeking a wine that works well but is not overwhelming, this is a fine choice.
Cabernet Franc when bottled on its own does a suprisingly satisfying job with barbecue. To test this theory we popped a bottle of wine from Chinon, France last week to test with a new rib receipe. It was stunning — fresh, lively, bright but not light. It’s a style of wine rarely found from countries outside of the Old World.
Classic Mediterranean bone dry Rose’ wines are possibly the best wine to pair with a hot day and good barbecue. Refreshing, cool, bright, and palate cleansing. The continued popularity of Rose’ is a sight to behold. Learn more about Rose’ and wine pairing from our Portfolio Director Wil Bailey in this video!