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More wines available from Monte Rio Cellars
750ml
Bottle:
$24.95
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 a blue-skinned grape thought to have originally been grown in Spain, but which is now more commonly associated with southern France and various other countries, including Algeria and the island of Sardinia. They used to be blended with other Spanish varietals for the production of Rioja wines, although their inclusion today is rare. An ancient grape varietal, Carignan is often seen as quite a challenge for wineries to grow. Not only does it have an extremely sensitive nature, and is often highly susceptible to rot, but the grapes themselves have a high natural acid and tannin content, which can often be too astringent for modern tastes. However, given the correct care and treatment, Carignan grapes can produce wonderful single variety and blended wines, packed full of interesting characteristics and flavors which are fascinating to explore.
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.