Thursday, May 22, 2008

Falcon Ridge Syrah

This wine is from California's Central Coast region. This area is quite large, extending from the vineyards just south of San Francisco all the way down to the greater Los Angeles area. Some of the delimited regions within the Central Coast are Santa Ynez, Santa Barbera, and Paso Robles. However, a wine labeled as just "Central Coast", as this one is, would probably not come from one of the smaller delimited regions within the overall Cental Coast region that are generally considered to produce better wines, but could come from anywhere in the entire Central Coast, probably from a lesser area.

Syrah is the red wine grape of the Rhone Valley in France. It is the variety of red Hermitage and one of those used in Chateauneuf-du-Pape. It gives a deep-colored, slow maturing wine, high in tannin.

The particular example is excellent. It has a rich, ripe feel to it with flavors of blackberries and currants. Almost chewy.

Falcon Ridge Winery is somewhat obscure, as it apparently does not have a web site, and I could find nothing on it. But the wine speaks for itself.

It is a great value at about eight dollars a botttle. I found it at Trader Joe's.

Sunday, May 11, 2008

Wisdom From The Founding Fathers

"For me, fine wine is a necessity of life."
Thomas Jefferson

"We hear of the conversion of water into wine at the marriage in Cana as of a miracle. But this conversion is, through the goodness of God, made every day before our eyes. Behold the rain which descends from heaven upon our vineyards, and which incorporates itself with the grapes, to be changed into wine, a constant proof that God loves us, and loves to see us happy."
Benjamin Franklin.