Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
This is a fun wine, easy to like. It's also a serious wine. That's a hard juggling act, but Pride pulls it off so well. Shows the lighter side of the Cabernet family, with a silky, almost delicate body framing cherry and oak flavors. Yet there's tremendous depth, and the exquisite tension between fruit, acidity, tannins and wood is as intricate as a Cirque du Soleil trapeze act.
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Wine Spectator
A showy wine that has substance and depth, with lots of fresh, ripe, vibrant cherry, currant and earthy berry flavors, fine acidity and tannins and a nice splash of toasty oak. The flavors sail on through the long, complex, integrated finish. Drink now through 2012.
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Wine & Spirits
Grown well, cabernet franc can provide the sleek textural beauty of Napa Valley cabernet sauvignon without the weight. This one, grown on the border of Napa and Sonoma counties at the top of Spring Mountain, is mostly about that lovely feel. A fine cut of acidity keeps it lifted and fresh, while oak provides most of the flavor for the moment, in scents of espresso and chocolate-rich tannins. A beef tenderloin served with mushrooms will bring out the fruit, as will bottle age.
Cabernet Franc, a proud parent of Cabernet Sauvignon, is the subtler and more delicate of the Cabernets. Today Cabernet Franc produces outstanding single varietal wines across the wine-producing world. Somm Secret—One of California's best-kept secrets is the Happy Canyon appellation of Santa Barbara. Here Cabernet Franc shines as a single varietal wine or in blends, expressing sumptuous fruit, savory aromas and polished tannins.
Home to a diverse array of smaller AVAs with varied microclimates and soil types, Sonoma County has something for every wine lover. Physically twice as large as Napa Valley, the region only produces about half the amount of wine but boasts both tremendous quality and variety. With its laid-back atmosphere and down-to-earth attitude, the wineries of Sonoma are appreciated by wine tourists for their friendliness and approachability. The entire county intends to become a 100% sustainable winegrowing region by 2019.
Sonoma County wines are produced with carefully selected grape varieties to reflect the best attributes of their sites—Dry Creek Valley’s consistent sunshine is ideal for Zinfandel, while the warm Alexander Valley is responsible for rich, voluptuous red wines like Cabernet Sauvignon. Chardonnay and Pinot Noir are important throughout the county, most notably in the cooler AVAs of Russian River, Sonoma Coast and Carneros. Sauvignon Blanc, Merlot and Syrah have also found a firm footing here.