Notes from the Winemaker: Getting to Know the 2023 Grenache

People ask me all the time about how we come up with our blends. Like there's some secret formula taped up in the cellar somewhere. Truth is, it's a lot less mysterious than that - taste, adjust, taste again, and don't stop until the wine tells you it's done.

The 2023 Grenache is a good example of that process at work. Up front this wine is all ripe fruit, raspberry, cranberry, the kind of bright, juicy character Grenache is known for. But give it a minute and it starts to unfold: a more savory character, with black tea and mushroom creeping in. That's the push and pull I love about this grape. It's playful on the first sip and a little more serious by the third.

The Grenache itself came from Inland Desert Vineyard, but on its own it needed a little more depth than the fruit was giving us. So we brought in some Syrah to round things out. It added plushness, filled in the middle of the wine, and gave the finish something to hold onto. That's the kind of call you can only make by tasting through barrels again and again until the wine clicks.

This is a small lot, and once it's gone, it's gone. That's the nature of working the way we do: every vintage is its own puzzle, sourced from fruit that won't necessarily be there again the next year, blended based on what that specific harvest actually needs rather than a recipe we fall back on. Every barrel gets tasted, and every choice, when to rack, how long to age, whether it needs company from another varietal, gets made on purpose.

Come find the 2023 Grenache at either tasting room. Ask us about it. Jo and I are usually the ones pouring it.

Mark