A California Winery Blog

Three new releases.

Looking for interesting grapes to plant in his Santa Ynez Valley vineyard, Mr. Andrew Joughin purchased the cuttings for this wine from vines originating in Italy. Primitivo is well known as the primary wine from the Puglia region of Italy where it was widely planted starting in the 1850’s.

Interestingly, recent genetic research has confirmed that Primitivo is identical to Zinfandel. Because of the similarities of climate in his Los Olivos area vineyard and the Puglia region, Mr. Joughin thought this would be an interesting selection as well as a very good food wine.

2005 gave us improved yields from the Joughin Vineyard when compared to the paltry 2004 harvest. Flavors are more supple and extended barrel time adds to the length and desnsity of the wine.

This is a terrific wine to experiment with a wide range of flavors and cheeses, we feel the list of food pairings is rather large with this concentrated Primitivo tilting things to bigger, richer flavors and grilled meats.

After three decades of wine growing in the Santa Rita Hills, Pierre Lafond and winemaker Bruce McGuire are still experimenting with unconventional varieties in this very cool growing region.

Primitivo Retail Price 23.00/750m

Following their successful introduction of Syrah to Santa Rita Hills in the early 1990’s, they are now releasing their second Grenache from Lafond Vineyard. With Grenache, Bruce is probing the plump flavors for which this grape is known and evaluating its suitability for blending with Syrah or bottling as a single varietal wine.

Planted in loose conglomerate (sand and rocks to four inches) in the warmest section of the vineyard, we had a small yield of just under 5 tons from 2 acres of vines for this vintage. Historically, Grenache has been grown in the Southern Rhone of France as well as large areas of Spain.
Often used for blending, recent years have seen more Grenache bottled by itself as growers limit yields to make more flavorful wines highlighting the plump, mid-palate flavors that make this wine so versatile with food.
Simple, easy to prepare foods are at home with this wine, and the summer of 2008 should see the tannins integrate with fruit to make a most enjoyable quaff. We anticipate this wine aging nicely through 2009.

Grenache Retail price 22.00/750ml

Lagrein is one of the indigenous grapes grown around the town of Bolzano in the Alto Adige; Italy’s northernmost wine growing region. Locally known for its big, rich tannins and very dark color, this is a remarkable food wine.The key is a richness of fruit character, instead of hard tannins that delights and surprises the mouth at the same time.

“This grape yields the darkest, most saturated wine I’ve experienced”, remarked Winemaker Bruce McGuire. Mr. Andrew Joughin, who also happens to be the vineyard manager at our Lafond Vineyard, planted the Joughin Vineyard.
It was his idea to look for unusual grape varieties from around the world that would be suitable for his soils and Los Olivos climate. Of course Bruce was happy to offer some suggestions that would also add to the wide variety of wines he makes for Santa Barbara Winery. Poor fruit set in 2004 led to a very small crop of less than a ton per acre resulting in a four barrel production.

Pair with angel hair pasta in a light tomato garlic sauce to much heartier foods. This is also a great wine to taste with cheeses such as Brie, Camembert, Fontina, semi-hard Gouda, or your own selection in the fresh goat’s milk catagory. Cellaring is still an unanswered question, but this wine should age nicely through 2010.

Lagrein Retail price 30.00

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