Lenoir Grape

• May 2012

  Had the pleasure of atending the 2nd annual Historic Vineyard Society Vineyard Tour and Dinner hosted by Joel and Morgan Peterson of Bedrock Vineyard. Was an all day affair that included walking tours of 4 historic Old Vine site planted in the late 1800's in Sonoma Valley.Started... Read moreHad the pleasure of atending the 2nd annual Historic Vineyard Society Vineyard Tour and Dinner hosted by Joel and Morgan Peterson of Bedrock Vineyard. Was an all day affair that included walking tours of 4 historic Old Vine site planted in the late 1800's in Sonoma Valley.Started the day out at Old Hill Ranch. Planted in 1885 it is a classic field blend of Zinfandel, Grenache, Cabernet, Carignane, Petite Sirah and over 30 other varieties.Farmer Will - Will Bucklin, Owner/Farmer of Old Hill RanchThis ranch has been dry farmed since its original planting and Will had some great stories of the history of the ranch and he lengths his family went in order to restore a field overgrown with blackberries to a working vineyard. Old Hill has historically been used by Ravenswood as well as Wills own label "Bucklin".125 year old Grenache Vine at Old Hill RanchNext stop was the iconic Pagai Ranch. Anyone who has traveled thjrough the Sonoma Valley will recall seeing Pagani with its massive Alicante Bouschet vines lining Hwy 12 just south of the Kenwood Inn. The 7' x 7' spacing of the vines here make it one that is incredibly tough to farm as the rows are too narrow for most farm equipment. It was orignally plowed by horse draw implements. Therefor many vines have been killed by the modern plow discs. Pagani fruit is currently used by Ridge, Seghesio, Carlisle and Bedrock.If this vine could talk, the stories it could tell.Notice the interesting leaf shape on the Lenior vines. Lenoir is a red grape with not just red skin but red juice. The juice looks like blood. The juice is used to add deep black color to field blends much the same way Alicante Bouschet is. Also used as an ink for USDA grade stamping of beef here in the States.Next on the tour was a winding ride up a one lane road to the Eastern slopes of the Sonoma Valley high above the Kunde Estate at 1500' elevation. Fredericks Vineyard was planted in the late 30's early 40's to the oldest Ruby Cabernet vines in the US which have subsequently been replced by Zinfandel and other mixed blacks. The awesome red volcanic soil is reminiscent of Monte Rosso, the terracing is impressive and the views are breathtaking.If you look real hard you can almost pick out the two towers of the Golden Gate Bridge off in the distance.Tegan Passalaqua of Turley explains how their organic dry faming methods have brought this vineyard back from overcropping to a sustainable high quality fruit site. This was one the most beautiful sites I have had the opportunity to see. 30 % of the Fredericks fruit goes into the Turley Fredericks SVD and the rest is used in their Old Vines Blend.Next up, Bedrock Vineyard. Joel (Ravenswood) and Morgan-Twain (Bedrock Wine Co) Peterson own the Bedrock Vineyard which is another gem of viticullture in the Sonoma Valley. Nestled beteen Hwy 12 and Arnold Dr just south of BR Cohn, it takes up a large swath of land. Planted to 48 separate blocks containing 11 red varietals it was a real eye opener to walk. The passion of Morgan is infectious and walking with him was asentertaining as it was educational.Monster 120 year old Carignane dwarfs its neighbors.Morgan talks about his Mourvedre plantngs that he uses for his Ode to Lulu Rosé.The deer love Petite Sirah and have eaten all the shoots off this vine.Morgan beams when he talks about his love just as a parent boasts about their children.A lizard hitched a ride on our tour.Got a million photos with each vine more majestic than the other but I'll have to keep the post readable. After the tour we had dinner and wine hosted by Bedrock in the vineyard. Joel Peterson waxed poetically about his years in the wine business.Vintner/Wine Historian Carole Meredith shared a story of the search to find the origins of Zinfandel. Considered a California wine she traced its roots, and for that matter DNA, back to Italy and then across the Baltic to a small town on the coast of Croatia where the original planting of a mere 9 vines of Crljenak Kastelanski are the mother of the Zinfandel/Primativo we all enjoy. Aren't you glad the name changed?Each winemaker on hand, Joel Peterson (Ravenswood), Carole Meredith (Lagier Meredith), Mike Officer (Carlisle), David Gates (Ridge), Tegan Passalaqua (Turley), Will Bucklin (Bucklin) and Morgan Twain-Peterson (Bedrock) gave a short presentation while we enjoyed the fruits of their labor paired with the best BBQ you can find in Sonoma County.Our hosts from left to right: Mike Officer, Joel Peterson, Mike Dildine, Tegan Passalaqua, David Gates and Morgan Peterson.The sun sets on another memorable day in Wine Country.    (hide)

  Forum post in the topic Sonoma Zinfandel / Historic...

  
  
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  May 2012

  Pindar Summer Blush Long Island United States New York Sweet

  Snoothrank: Starting at $7^.94

  Beautiful and fruity a great wine to sip while laying by the pool or down at the beach

  Wine review by mandamayhem

  
  
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  September 2011

  Jack Daniels Gold Medal

  Snoothrank:

  No written review

  Wine review by Vytautas Leskauskas

  
  
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  March 2011

  Jack Daniels Gold Medal

  Snoothrank:

  No written review

  Wine review by mwid625

  
  
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  February 2011

  Quarles Harris Port 1977

  Snoothrank:

  Beautiful port in superb balance and still with at least a decade of life left to it. Quite tannic at first, but opens up after a while in the glass. Full, still with some primary fruit showing (can you believe it) followed by rich sweetness of figs and raisins. finishing the bottle... Read moreBeautiful port in superb balance and still with at least a decade of life left to it. Quite tannic at first, but opens up after a while in the glass. Full, still with some primary fruit showing (can you believe it) followed by rich sweetness of figs and raisins. finishing the bottle on day 2 was even better, where it was completely composed and together. Goes well alone as well as with sweet deserts, chocolate, and would I suggest even rich soups and braised meets.    (hide)

  Wine review by erniex

  
  
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  January 2011

  Long Meadow Ranch Ranch House Red 2006

  Snoothrank:

  No written review

  Wine review by hamiltonzg1

  
  
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  December 2010

  Jack Daniels Gold Medal

  Snoothrank:

  No written review

  Wine review by Import Lover 5150

  
  

• September 2010

  We're having some friends over and plan on opening a few different reds and trying to pair them appropriately.  Do you have any suggestions for pairings with a lenoir?Thank you.

  Forum post in the topic What should be paired with a...

  
  
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  May 2010

  Long Neck Shiraz Red South Africa 2005

  Snoothrank:

  No written review

  Wine review by danakin

  
  
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  March 2010

  Chisholm Trail Winery Lone Wolf Lenoir 2007

  Snoothrank:

  Very good wine for being made from Lenoir grapes (Black Spanish) Plenty of flavor and amazing color for this type of grape.The only issue I had was the price. This grape grows abundantly in Texas and is fairly easy to maintain. Why a 20-25.00 price tag? Its good but not THAT good. I... Read moreVery good wine for being made from Lenoir grapes (Black Spanish) Plenty of flavor and amazing color for this type of grape.The only issue I had was the price. This grape grows abundantly in Texas and is fairly easy to maintain. Why a 20-25.00 price tag? Its good but not THAT good. I look to see more wines made from this grape in Texas. One thing I noted when tasting this with a friend after being in the decanted for several days the wine maintained its freshness and I do not believe there is any oak involved in making this wine.    (hide)

  Wine review by Jzak

  
  

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