Winemaker Notes
I’m always looking for a great BBQ wine, so I would suggest a grill-fired NY strip steak, hamburgers with bleu cheese mixed in to the meat, or some big sausages with some spicy heat on top.
Blend: 77% Petite Sirah, 10% Syrah, 7% Zinfandel, 5% Cabernet Sauvignon
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.
A major force on the global playing field, California is the world’s fourth largest wine-producing region on the planet and the majority of land under vine here is devoted to red varieties, covering nearly double the vineyard acreage of whites.
While the state’s incredibly diverse terrain and microclimates allow for countless red wine styles, the one factor unifying all California red wine is the abundance of sunshine and a long, consistent growing season, which leads to well-developed and fully ripened fruit.
The most famous region today, of course, is the acclaimed Napa Valley, where Cabernet Sauvignon reigns as king.
Sonoma County, nestled between Napa Valley and the Pacific Ocean, claims great variability in geography and microclimates. Here world-class Pinot Noir is possible from Sonoma’s cooler sites while old, gnarly Zinfandel vines survived Prohibition.
The Central Coast, Lodi and the Sierra Foothills also excel in the production of Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon and remain active frontiers for newer varieties, namely Rhône and Spanish.
The cool Anderson Valley in California’s North Coast region is a fantastic source of Pinot noir.
