Varietal: 77% Carignan, 15% Valdiguié, 8% Syrah
Winemaker: Chris Brocway
Vineyards: Wirth Ranch, Ricetti and Rosewood
Appellation:North Coast, Mendocino + Solano County Green Valley, California
Alcohol: 12.5%
Case Production:
Vinification:The Love Red grapes are harvested early to highlight the fruit and preserve the acidity. The Carignan is a combination of whole cluster and destemmed fruit from four 70 year-old dry farmed vineyards. The Valdiguié and Syrah were whole cluster. The wine was aged in a combination of neutral French oak barrels and concrete tanks. The grapes come from 70+ year-old vines in Solano County’s Green Valley and Mendocino County. Solano County’s Green Valley area is tucked between Napa and Suisun Valley where the grapes of each vineyard grow in sandy loam soils and come from dry-farmed and head-pruned vines. The Solano County Green Valley vineyards practice non-certified organic farming. The Mendocino vineyards are both dry farmed and practice certified organic farming.
In the US, a red blend is essentially any domestic wine that's not made from a specific grape variety. Winemakers blend grapes because it allows them to reach desired flavor profiles that a single grape variety could not achieve on their own. Common red blends in the US often feature Cabernet, merlot and either cabernet franc or petite verdot. However there are many other common red blends including grenache, syrah and mourvedre often referred to as a GSM blend. In France, these blends would most commonly be named for the reason from whence they hail. For example, the Bordeaux blend or Rhone blend respectively.
