WINE 101 RED WINES Syrah With a climate almost identical to the famed Barrosa valley in South Australia-it was natural that as an antipodean I would plant this vine first on our lovely peninsula at Canterbury Vineyards. Here it has excelled, producing deep red wine with layers of dark fruit, stone and sweet spice flavors with delicate floral notes. The first wine was made in 1997, a rich, dark red wine with fruit forward characteristics and soft gentle tannins. It is still beautiful to taste after 10 years in bottle. Cabernet Sauvignon How often have you heard people say "good cab cannot be grown in the Sierra Foothills." Well we don't agree-for many years we have supplied these grapes to a winery (unnamed) in Napa. There it has been blended with the best Napa Cabs-a vinter told me that it was the best Cab he had, but of course could only use it to blend (less then 20%) with the Napa product. The economics of this practice are not difficult to understand given the finished product sold for $50-60 per bottle. Back to us-we have now used this fruit to make our own Cab. Come taste our lovely, smoky, red wine, layered with flowers, spice, and dark chocolate. Zinfandel Identical to an obscure Croatian grape and closely related to the southern Italian Primitivo, Zinfandel is about as Californian as one can get. Our Zinfandel vines were grafted onto 110R rootstock (6 yrs old) in 2006. This year we harvested 4 tons of beautiful grapes which have made 240 cases of fruity, jammy, berry flavored wine. Eventually we will produce 1000 cases of this lovely wine. Malbec This grape which originated in the Southwest of France, has become Argentina's most important red varietal. Full of luscious dark berry and chocolate flavors with relatively soft tannins, this grape appears to have founds its niche in Canterbury Vineyards. Grafted onto (6yrs old) 110R rootstock on shale, sun-baked terraces it promises to become one of our favorite wine. We believe that this existing varietal will become a favorite among our special customers. Petit Syrah Originally from France's Rhone Valley, this grape is a cross between the Pelousin variety and Syrah. Whether used as a delightful blending agent or as a single varietal, this lovely darkned wine, bursting with blackberry and spice flavors and with chewy tannins is an unforgettable wine. We are in the process of grafting Petit Syrah onto 10 yr old, 110R rootstock routinely and will produce wine in 2009. WHITE WINES Viognier With this Mediterranean climate and blessed by daily breeze from the surrounding Melones Lake , this great varietal produces delicious peach and apricot flavors in a zippy and acidic balanced wine. Our first fruit four years ago was made into wine by Twisted Oak Winery. It achieved a 91 point score from the Wine Enthusiast. It is now a much more mature vine and the fruit in the last two years reflects this awesome maturity. Marsanne Another Rhone Valley varietal , this grape is prized for succulent honey flavours and full body. The grape is grown by our winemaker, Brett Keller, at his home in Angels Camp. Tiny clusters of beautiful berries provide a limited amount of luscious wines for blending and stand alone varietal. We feel that this small volume production wine will be best saved for our wine club members.