Winemaker Notes
-Wines & Spirits
Inspired by the pleasurable table wines of the southern Rhône Valley, Winemaker Chuck Carlson established our Heritage Series to craft unique, flavorful cuvées for everyday enjoyment. Our 2002 Heritage Cuvée is a robust Rhône-style blend that hails from the Mediterranean climes of Santa Barbara County's Santa Ynez Valley. Serve with good food, good company and good vibes.
Our 2002 Heritage Cuvée offers bright aromas of plum and violets, followed by rich flavors of black fruits with refreshing high notes of cranberry and cherry toward the finish. The texture is full and balanced, unfolding with warm, toasty accents of oak-inspired vanilla. Firm acidity and integrated tannins ensure that this wine will develop nicely over the next several years.
Professional Ratings
With bold fruit flavors and accents of sweet spice, Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre form the base of the classic Rhône Red Blend, while Carignan, Cinsault and Counoise often come in to play. Though they originated from France’s southern Rhône Valley, with some creative interpretation, Rhône blends have also become popular in other countries. Somm Secret—Putting their own local spin on the Rhône Red Blend, those from Priorat often include Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. In California, it is not uncommon to see Petite Sirah make an appearance.
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.