Behind the Cork™ - Ridge Three Valleys Red Blend

2018 Ridge Three Valleys Sonoma County ($30)

Ridge Vineyards was founded in 1959 when four Stanford Research Institute engineers—David Bennion, Charles Rosen, Hewitt Crane, and Howard Zeidler—purchased a mountainside property on the Monte Bello Ridge in the Santa Cruz Mountains. 

While winemaking on the site dated back to 1885, the partners produced their first small vintage of "Estate" Cabernet in 1959 and officially re-bonded the winery for the 1962 vintage.

Ridge Three Valleys red blend is produced from 70% Zinfandel, 14% Petite Sirah, 12% Carignane and 4% Mataro (a.k.a. Mourvedre).

The “Three Valleys” name comes from the fact that the grapes came from vineyards in Alexander Valley, Dry Creek Valley and Sonoma Valley.

Each lot of grapes was fermented for nine days on their skins followed by aging for 10 months in oak.

This 2018 Ridge Three Valleys red blend is medium ruby in color with aromas of dark fruit and dried herbs. On the palate, this medium-full bodied wine has rich black and red fruit flavors including black berry, black plum, raspberry and a hint of strawberry and red cherry. Although a 2018, it still had good tannin and medium acidity. It was a bit jammy with soft, smooth sweet-fruit flavor (not sweet, but invoking sweet fruit flavors).

Ridge is a dependably great winery and this 2018 Ridge Three Valleys red blend lives up to the Ridge reputation. A wonderful fit as this week’s Behind the Cork™ Wine of the Week. Cheers!

The opinions expressed are entirely my own.

A Tour of Wine Grapes: Carignan

Carignan 🍷

Carignan (care-in-yen), also known as Carineña or Mazuelo, is a black-skinned wine grape variety, most likely native to Aragon, Spain.

It is largely grown in France with smaller production in Spain, Italy and the U.S.

The vine of this grape is known for having exceptionally tough, woody stems. This makes mechanical harvesting nearly impossible because the grape clusters won't easily detach from the vine. So, most high-quality Carignan is still being harvested by hand.

The Carignan grape is known for producing wines that are high in color, tannin and acid.

Carignan has moved from being used in mass-market "jug" wines in the U.S. to being recognized for its potential to produce nice medium-bodied wines.

Wines made from Carignan have tasting notes include cranberry, raspberry, and black fruit.

Because Carignan can have naturally high tannins, many winemakers use carbonic maceration—the same technique used for producing Beaujolais Nouveau. This process ferments the whole grape from the inside out, often giving the wine surprising aromas of bubblegum, banana, or cotton candy!

Carignan should be served in a red wine glass at 60-68 °F after decanting for 30 minutes.

It can be aged 5 to 10 years but is often best when served young.

Behind the Cork™ - Wine of the Week

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2015 Beronia Crianza Rioja ($15)

The Rioja region of Spain is noted for its Tempranillo and this one from Beronia is indeed noteworthy.

This is a typical Rioja blend of grapes consisting of 91% Tempranillo, 8% Garnacha and 1% Mazuelo (a.k.a Carignan).

The Tempranillo in this wine defines its structure. The Grenache provides more berry flavors and spices while adding to its wonderful aroma. Finally, the Carignan, even this wine’s 1%, adds acidity and an ever-so-slight hint of tannin.

With nice bright fruit on the nose, this wine immediately yields red fruit flavors of cherry and raspberry. Its medium body allows the fruit flavors to shine though.

This wine’s label includes the word “crianza.” In case you are not familiar with this term, crianza indicates that wine has spent one year in oak barrels.

The oak aging was done in mixed barrels with American oak staves and French oak caps. This process added subtle spice flavors and yielded low tannin. This makes for a easy finish with each sip.

This is a very nice wine that can pair with lighter fare and also stands up nicely with bigger-flavored foods.

As with all wines featured as a Behind the Cork™ - Wine of the Week, it’s very affordable and easily attainable. Enjoy! Cheers!

Disclosure of Wine Sample Submission: I received this wine at no cost for review. The opinions expressed are entirely my own.

Sample Provided by Rebekah Polster of Donna White Communications

This wine is imported by Gonzalez Byass.