When we did our shopping I had been pleasantly shocked to find Parducci back on the shelf...a wine I thought had disappeared forever. I immediately bought some and did some quick searching and this is what I found in brief and I hope I haven't misinterpreted anything.
Parducci is a part of Mendocino Wine Co., a collaboration of Partners Paul Dolan (formerly of Fetzer, the main force behind their organic movement) & The Thornhill Family (very interesting background). Together they have made a commitment to the earth that they are expressing through their wines. They are using what they call an E3 Action Plan - Economics, Environment and Equity for partners, Employees and community. Their commitment to the earth is huge - they use Biodiesel in all equipment, they use a wastewater recovery program and all their stationary, labels, etc are made from 100% post consumer recycled paper and new Leaf Tree Free Kenaf Papers (the neck tag talked about the ink they used, my recycling gremlin took it off my desk). They have 70 acres organic and biodynamic; 85 acres certified organic (44 of which are transitioning to biodynamic); 30 acres in 2nd year organic; 212 acres going to organic and 150 acres using Fish Friendly Farming. A huge commitment that made me feel happy about spending my $18 on their wines. I will add their website to my link list next time time I do a link list up-date, you should check them out.
So, you are probably wondering how was the wine? It was very tasty. Full review below.
Seeing Parducci stirred a craving for Petite Sirah. I did some digging through my "cellar" and pulled out a bottle of Concannon Petite Sirah. Concannon has always been one of my faves, sometimes hard to find, sometimes not. Posted Below.
So to sum it up...
Winery Name: Mendocino Wine Co.
Brand: Parducci
Grape(s): 100% Sauvignon Blanc
Wood: none, all stainless steel
Vintage: 2005
Appellation(s): Mendocino & Lake counties , California
Closure: Trad. Cork
Format: Standard bottle
Sniff, Swirl, Swallow: great aromatic nose, losts of limey-grapefruit notes; taste was smooth and like the nose, missing was that over fruitiness that you sometimes find in Aussie Sauv Blanc.
Had With: Roasted Chicken (purchased at a local grocery store), salad.
Recommend: yes, good wine hopefully it sticks around.
Price: $18
Winery Name: Concannon
Series: Selected Vineyard
Grape(s): 99% petite Sirah, 1% other (?, should they do some genetic testing in the vineyard?)
Wood: 6 month US & French Oak
Vintage: 2003
Appellation(s): Central Coast, California
Closure: Trad. Cork
Format: Standard Bottle
Sniff, Swirl, Swallow: yum, big nose piled high with blackberries, cedar and chocolate. The taste was more of the same with just a hint of mint, warm, velvety texture.
Had With: Pizza.
Recommend: definitely - but get some lamb or a roast, our pizza didn't do it justice.
Price: $30
Hats off to...The Uncorked column in the WFP. His article on oak was really interesting this week.
