Winery: Ironstone Vineyards
Vintage: 2008
Location: California, U.S.A.
Alcohol: 13%
Blend: Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Symphony, and Tempranillo
Tasting: Wednesday, February 24, 2010 - 4:00 - 7:00 p.m.

Ironstone Vineyards started with John Krautz in 1948 with only 12 acres of land.  Through the years, those 12 acres turned into 5,000 acres in both the Lodi (pronounced loüdai) region and the Sierra Foothills.  While growing the number of acres, John and his wife Gail gained a reputation for supplying premium grapes to wineries all over the world.  They became one of the top ten wine grape growers in California.  In 1988 the Krautz family then decided that they wanted to create wine of their own.  They brought on award-winning winemaker Steve Miller to launch Krautz Wines, which later became Ironstone Vineyards.

In 1989 on Gail’s family ranch in Murphy’s, California Ironstone’s Wine Aging Caverns were brought to life with dynamite, pick axes, shovels and a crew of miners.  These caverns were also the site of Ironstone’s first tasting room.  Many years into the future to present day and we are now looking at California’s largest winery entertainment complex.

The conditions to age wine are “ideal” inside the caverns.  The temperature is a steady 60 degrees Fahrenheit (15.5 degrees Celsius).  The humidity is 70%, thanks to the natural spring waterfall inside the caverns.  So the wine barrels don’t expand and contract, therefore no leaking wine and “the humidity minimizes evaporation”.

“The caverns hold a maximum of 1,500 French and American oak barrels, each holding sixty gallons of wine.”

“The beautiful wooden doors that grace the entrance to the caverns and the breezeway, as well as the tasting room, are made from 100-year-old redwood fermentation barrels from the Di-Augustini Winery in Plymouth, California, one of the oldest commercial operating wineries in the state.”

You know, our weather outside this week almost seems like we might have (dare I say)… an early spring.  Now I hope we didn’t jinx anything by saying that (cross those fingers).  In keeping with this lovely sunshine and the beautiful temperatures, we are going to taste a sunshine kind of wine from the sunshine state…California.  Ironstone Vineyards calls this wine “Xpression“.

It is a blend of some grapes we know (Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc), but there are also a couple that you may not be familiar with.

Tempranillo is a grape originally from Spain.  It is said to be Spains “noble grape”.  The grape itself is almost blue-black in colour.  On its own, it makes some very tasty wine indeed.

Around the same time that the Krautz family started their vineyards, The Symphony grape was developed by Dr. Olmo at the University of California, Davis Department of Viticulture and Enology. Dr. Olmo crossed a Muscat de Alexandria with a Grenache Gris and came up with this new grape, unique to California, which came to be known as Symphony.

So I bet you are wondering what happens when you mix a very dark grape, like Tempranillo, with the likes of light coloured grapes like Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and Symphony.  Well, the skins of the dark Tempranillo grape are only in contact with the light coloured juice for a short period of time.  Just enough time to get that lovely Rose colour.  Then the skins are removed.

What do you get when you add all of these nice grapes together?  Well you get a nice semi-dry wine with flavours of strawberries and cherries with a little watermelon, peaches and even some citrus fruit.  Now doesn’t that sound yummy?

As this is a nice easy lighter style wine, it would be best to chill it prior to sampling.

Food pairing:

Spicy foods like Thai, Chinese and Indian; turkey; ham; fresh berries and some light cheeses.  Ironstone suggests:  “try it with a salad of bib lettuce and fresh grapes topped with Roquefort cheese for a light and refreshing meal.”

CSPC:         715576
Price:

$14.75* (Minus Winesday 10% discount)

*Price Correct at time of printing.  Price subject to change without notice.

Come by, have a chat and enjoy a sip.  See you on Wednesday, February 24, 2010.

Next week we are travelling to Australia.