Well September snuck up on me. One minute its all hot and summery and the next thing you know its September. This month I'm keeping the summer vibes alive with California wine month. I've said it before and I will probably say it again, there are so many wines to choose from, like most months I hope I choose good. There are more the 6,000 wineries to choose from. Washington has about 1,300; Oregon is at 939 and Idaho has 115.
Again it was really hard to choose. It was easy enough to pick a wide variety of wine, there are over 100 varietals grown with Chardonnay being the most widely planted grape. I won't keep you waiting any longer......
I was quite torn on the white wine selection for the Indigo level. Of course I had a few to choose from and I had in my mind that I was going to pick a Sauvignon Blanc...until I tried this little number. The 2022 Husch Chenin Blanc is the best of both worlds. This family owned (3rd generation) is about 2 1/2 hours north of San Fransisco close to the Mendocino coast. Husch produces 22 different wines with Quality being the key word. The grapes are grown and managed by the winery, allowing the winemakers to have total control from the vineyards to the winery.
The red wine selection for Indigo level is the 2020 Trentadue 'La Storia' Merlot.
Poor little merlot grape after the movie "Sideways" came out. I hope you haven't been avoiding this varietal because of a sad, desperate character from a movie that came out almost 20 years ago. Paul Giamatti's character hated it because was so easy to drink-remember that his life was pretty miserable, so I would imagine it would be hard to impress him.
It would be kinda lame if I didn't include a Chardonnay, this month I'm featuring a wine from Paul Hobbs, my wine rep-Lisa's favorite wine maker. If it wasn't for her enthusiasm for this wine and the other wines he makes, my life wouldn't be boring. This month you are in for a treat with the 2021 Crossbarn 'Sonoma Coast' Chardonnay. I wanted to use more Paul Hobbs wines this month, but I will revisit some Paul Hobbs wines when we have S. America/S.Africa month in November.
Then there is the 2020 Eberle Paso Robles Zinfandel. Gary Eberle first produced wines in 1979 and they helped co-found the Paso Robles Appellation in 1983. Gary Eberle went to college and graduted with a Bachelor in Biology, he then went on to LSU for undergraduate work in cellular genetics. This isn't the first winemaker we've had in the wine club that is a smarty pants, and after intense schooling they change careers to a winemaker. I'm not complaining, it's just interesting.
For the peacock level this month we are featuring the 2018 Taub Family 'Rutherford' Cabernet Sauvignon. Marty Taub ran a successful wine import business in the 1970's with his son David. David's son, Marc, was immersed in wine his whole life-he dreamed of going west, he wanted to make wine. Fate worked it's magic and led Marc to Mendocino and that is where he discovered Saracina vineyards.
I didn't plan it, but the wines featured this month are all family run wineries that showcase the one of many varietals that California is known for.
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