Toasted Head Merlot 2009
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Where the heck is Yolo County?
Yolo County may not be a major destination for wine lovers, but that's okay by us. Our neighbor to the west, Napa County, gets all the tourists, while Sacramento County, to the east, gets all the politicians (and hot air!). We're in between, in one of California's original 27 counties, which has stayed a rural oasis that is now home to a large community of artists and craftspeople, as well as California's greatest concentration of organic farmers. The name Yolo is from the native Poewin Indian word "yo-loy," meaning "abounding in the rushes," but some locals insist it's an acronym for "You Only Live Once."
Our estate vineyards in Yolo's Dunnigan Hills, a designated American Viticultural Area (AVA) on the eastern side of California's Coast Range Mountains, are perched on rolling hillsides with well-drained gravelly loam soils. It gets warm in the Dunnigan Hills in summer, but cooling breezes from the Sacramento Delta and San Francisco Bay reduce evening temperatures to between 55° and 65° F. This enables our grapes to cool down quickly at night, preserving their fresh flavors and crisp natural acidity.
For over 30 years, the farms around here have supplied northern California's finest restaurants and farmer's markets with a cornucopia of delicious, organically grown fruits, vegetables and nuts. At Toasted Head, we're proud to have added fine wine to the menu.
With generous fruit and supple tannins, Merlot is made in a range of styles from everyday-drinking to world-renowned and age-worthy. Merlot is the dominant variety in the wines from Bordeaux’s Right Bank regions of St. Emilion and Pomerol, where it is often blended with Cabernet Franc to spectacular result. Merlot also frequently shines on its own, particularly in California’s Napa Valley. Somm Secret—As much as Miles derided the variety in the 2004 film, Sideways, his prized 1961 Château Cheval Blanc is actually a blend of Merlot and Cabernet Franc.
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.