Stephen Vincent Crimson Red Blend 2013
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Wilfred
Wong
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
One of the unsung heroes amongst the California red wine blends, the 2013 Stephen Vincent Crimson exhibits excellent completeness. From start to finish, the wine's red fruit aromas and flavors sail nicely on the palate. Enjoy its bright fruit with an oven-baked game hen. (Tasted: January 26, 2018, San Francisco, CA)
Born out of friendship, a passion for wine, and a common love of Northern California.
Stephen Vincent was conceived in the infancy of California’s wine industry and Sonoma County’s rise to stardom. Founded by La Crema winemaker, Robert Goyette, Robert Mondavi executive and brand namesake, Stephen Vincent Situm, and prominent vineyard owner, Hossein Namdar in 2001, these three friends found rapid success with their joint venture Stephen Vincent.
Through the burgeoning community of growers and producers, they worked with Dennis Carroll (owner-founder of Wine Hooligans) at his Sonoma County bottling facility. Dennis’s mission of bringing artisan wines made by passionate winemakers to market found a perfect match with Stephen Vincent and its founders—once again bringing friends together through the brand.
2020 marks a fresh start for Stephen Vincent wines with the release of their North Coast line-up. Sourcing from vineyards in Lake, Mendocino, Napa, and Sonoma Counties—including premium fruit from Napa Valley, the Russian River Valley, and Carneros.
With hundreds of red grape varieties to choose from, winemakers have the freedom to create a virtually endless assortment of blended red wines. In many European regions, strict laws are in place determining the set of varieties that may be used, but in the New World, experimentation is permitted and encouraged resulting in a wide variety of red wine styles. Blending can be utilized to enhance balance or create complexity, lending different layers of flavors and aromas. For example, a red wine blend variety that creates a fruity and full-bodied wine would do well combined with one that is naturally high in acidity and tannins. 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.
How to Serve Red Wine
A common piece of advice is to serve red wine at “room temperature,” but this suggestion is imprecise. After all, room temperature in January is likely to be quite different than in August, even considering the possible effect of central heating and air conditioning systems. The proper temperature to aim for is 55° F to 60° F for lighter-bodied reds and 60° F to 65° F for fuller-bodied wines.
How Long Does Red Wine Last?
Once opened and re-corked, a bottle stored in a cool, dark environment (like your fridge) will stay fresh and nicely drinkable for a day or two. There are products available that can extend that period by a couple of days. As for unopened bottles, optimal storage means keeping them on their sides in a moderately humid environment at about 57° F. Red wines stored in this manner will stay good – and possibly improve – for anywhere from one year to multiple decades. Assessing how long to hold on to a bottle is a complicated science. If you are planning long-term storage of your reds, seek the advice of a wine professional.
A geographic and climatic paradise for grape vines, Monterey is a part of the greater Central Coast AVA and contains within it five smaller sub-appellations, including Arroyo Seco, San Lucas, San Bernabe, Hames Valley and the famous Santa Lucia Highlands. The climate is relatively warm but tempered by cool, coastal winds, allowing the regions in Monterey County an exceptionally long growing season. Bud break often happens two weeks sooner and harvest tends to be two weeks later compared to other surrounding regions.
Monterey’s coastal side, where the cooling ocean fog allows grapes to develop a perfect sugar-acid balance, excels in the production of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Riesling. Warmer, inland subzones are home to fleshy, concentrated and full-bodied reds like Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Zinfandel.
Chardonnay, covering about 40% of vineyard acreage, is the most widely planted grape in all of Monterey County.