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More wines available from Monte Rio Cellars
750ml
Bottle:
$22.95
100% Chardonnay from Hawkeye vineyard in Mendocino County. Organically farmed. Natural yeast fermentation occurred in...
750ml
Bottle:
$22.94
Mencia from 25 year-old vines of Somers Vineyard in Lodi. All organically farmed and hand harvested fruit. 100% whole...
750ml
Bottle:
$23.92
100% Mission grapes from Somers vineyard, farmed organically in Lodi.10-day carbonic maceration in tank. The fruit...
750ml
Bottle:
$19.90
$20.80
The 2021 Petite Sirah is laced with inky blue/purplish fruit, hard candy, mint, sage and white flowers. Whole...
750ml
Bottle:
$19.94
$21.60
100% Sangiovese from the biodynamically farmed River’s Edge Vineyard in Lodi AVA. Vine age is approximately 20...
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Winery
Monte Rio Cellars
Varietal: Carignan
Carignan is an ancient blue-skinned grape varietal, thought to be indigenous to the Aragon region of Spain. However, today it is most commonly associated with the fine wines of southern France, and has been grown in many countries around the world which have the warm and dry conditions it requires to thrive. Carignan is recognized as being quite a sensitive vine, highly susceptible to all kinds of rot and mildew, although producing excellent results when given the right conditions and handled correctly. Its high tannin levels and acidity make the Carignan grapes very astringent, and as such, they are often used as a blending grape to give body to other, lesser bodied varietals. Despite this, with careful treatment, Carignan can produce superb single varietal wines packed full of character and unique attributes.
Region: California
California as a wine producing region has grown in size and importance considerably over the past couple of centuries, and today is the proud producer of more than ninety percent of the United States' wines. Indeed, if California was a country, it would be the fourth largest producer of wine in the world, with a vast range of vineyards covering almost half a million acres. The secret to California's success as a wine region has a lot to do with the high quality of its soils, and the fact that it has an extensive Pacific coastline which perfectly tempers the blazing sunshine it experiences all year round. The winds coming off the ocean cool the vines, and the natural valleys and mountainsides which make up most of the state's wine regions make for ideal areas in which to cultivate a variety of high quality grapes.
Country: United States
The first European settlers to consider growing grapevines in the United States must have been delighted when they discovered the now famous wine regions within California, Oregon and elsewhere. Not even in the Old World are there such fertile valleys, made ideal for vine cultivation by the blazing sunshine, long, hot summers and oceanic breezes. As such, it comes as little surprise that today more than eighty-nine percent of United States wines are grown in the valleys and on the mountainsides of California, where arguably some of the finest produce in the world is found. However, American wine does not begin and end with California, and due to the vast size of the country and the incredible range of terrains and climates found within the United States, there is probably no other country on earth which produces such a massive diversity of wines. From ice wines in the northern states, to sparkling wines, aromatized wines, fortified wines, reds, whites, rosés and more, the United States has endless surprises in store for lovers of New World wines.