Winemaker Notes
This is a dark, ruby-red wine that is rich, textured and a considerable value - especially due to its fruit sourcing, quality and taste. This wine has layers of concentrated wild mountain blackberry, black cherry and ripe raspberry fruit flavors. It is well-balanced with coffee notes and a sturdy tannic backbone.
This wine brings out the best in grilled game, meats and fish, as well as stew and red-sauce pasta.
Not only popular as a rest stop, Ray's Station was gaining a reputation for its quality regional wines, made from grapes grown in the valley and along the lower slopes of Ray's ranch. Today, the wines of Ray's Station pay tribute to that pioneer spirit with a gutsy, food-friendly Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot that are testaments to the character of Captain John Ray.
Reaching up California's coastline and into its valleys north of San Francisco, the North Coast AVA includes six counties: Marin, Solano, Napa, Sonoma, Mendocino and Lake. While Napa and Sonoma enjoy most of the glory, the rest produce no shortage of quality wines in an intriguing and diverse range of styles.
Climbing up the state's rugged coastline, the chilly Marin County, just above the City and most of Sonoma County, as well as Mendocino County on the far north end of the North Coast successfully grow cool-climate varieties like Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and in some spots, Riesling. Inland Lake County, on the other hand, is considerably warmer, and Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel and Sauvignon Blanc produce some impressive wines with affordable price tags.
A noble variety bestowed with both power and concentration, Cabernet Sauvignon enjoys success all over the globe, its best examples showing potential to age beautifully for decades. Cabernet Sauvignon flourishes in Bordeaux's Medoc where it is often blended with Merlot and smaller amounts of some combination of Cabernet Franc, Malbecand Petit Verdot. In the Napa Valley, ‘Cab’ is responsible for some of the world’s most prestigious, age-worthy and sought-after “cult” wines. Somm Secret—DNA profiling in 1997 revealed that Cabernet Sauvignon was born from a spontaneous crossing of Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc in 17th century southwest France.