Tangent Eccelstone 2008
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Blend: 56% Pinot Gris, 13% Viognier, 13% Riesling, 8% Pinot Blanc, 8% Muscat, 2% Albarino
Tangent is the first domestic winery dedicated solely to producing alternative white wines. Every day is filled with limitless possibilities, all you have to do is reach out to grab them... vibrant is what it’s all about!
Tangent wines are made with this adventurous attitude by their dynamic winemaking team, with over 30 years combined experience crafting wines from our historic estate vineyard. Their focus on refreshing, easy-drinking white wines that go great with a vast variety of foods. They are all made with estate fruit grown on the Niven family’s legendary Paragon Vineyard in the Edna Valley, the coolest AVA in the golden state of California.
This dynamic range of crisp and bright, individual and energetic, unoaked and screw-capped whites currently includes Albariño, Sauvignon Blanc, Viognier, Pinot Gris, Grenache Blanc, and a blend called Ecclestone. They invite you to join them as we explore and savor the many vibrant possibilities that lie ahead!
With hundreds of white grape varieties to choose from, winemakers have the freedom to create a virtually endless assortment of blended white wines. In many European regions, strict laws are in place determining the set of varieties that may be used in white wine blends, but in the New World, experimentation is permitted and encouraged. Blending can be utilized to enhance balance or create complexity, lending different layers of flavors and aromas. For example, a variety that creates a soft and full-bodied white wine blend, like Chardonnay, would do well combined with one that is more fragrant and naturally high in acidity. Sometimes small amounts of a particular variety are added to boost color or aromatics. Blending can take place before or after fermentation, with the latter, more popular option giving more control to the winemaker over the final qualities of the wine.
The largest and perhaps most varied of California’s wine-growing regions, the Central Coast produces a good majority of the state's wine. This vast California wine district stretches from San Francisco all the way to Santa Barbara along the coast, and reaches inland nearly all the way to the Central Valley.
Encompassing an extremely diverse array of climates, soil types and wine styles, it contains many smaller sub-AVAs, including San Francisco Bay, Monterey, the Santa Cruz Mountains, Paso Robles, Edna Valley, Santa Ynez Valley and Santa Maria Valley.
While the Central Coast California wine region could probably support almost any major grape varietiy, it is famous for a few Central Coast reds and whites. Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon and Zinfandel are among the major ones. The Central Coast is home to many of the state's small, artisanal wineries crafting unique, high-quality wines, as well as larger producers also making exceptional wines.