Grenache Archives - Winervana

Austin Hope Grenache 2021 — Austin Hope Santa Barbara County Grenache 2021
Click here for tasting notes.

Chuck Hope and his wife Marlyn came to Paso Robles in California’s Central Coast in 1978 to farm, and eventually to start what would become Hope Family Wines. This early arrival put them on the forefront of the Central Coast becoming a world-class viticultural region. Initially, the Hopes planted apples and grapes in this then sparsely-populated area. Seeing the property’s potential for grape growing, Hope eventually replanted the apple orchards with grapes.

Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, the Hope family grew grapes for various wine producers. In the 1980s, the Wagner family, owners of Napa Valley’s Caymus Vineyards, turned to the Hope family to source Cabernet Sauvignon grapes for their Liberty School label. Thus began a long-lasting partnership between the two families.

Since that beginning, in Paso Robles specifically and throughout the region generally, Hope Family Wines has built long-standing relationships with over 50 growers. They coordinate with farmers to carefully limit crop yields to ensure concentrated flavors.

In 1996,the Hopes acquired Liberty School from the Wagners. Also in 1996, they launched Treana Winery with Chris Phelps serving as winemaker. Continue reading “Austin Hope Grenache”

Cline Big Break Vineyard
Grenache 2014

Grenache is one of the most widely planted red wine grape varieties in the world. It ripens late, so it needs hot, dry conditions such as those found in Spain, where the grape most likely originated.

Cline’s Big Break Vineyard is named after a levee that collapsed over 80 years ago, flooding the surrounding local farmland near Oakley. The vineyard itself has extremely sandy and well-drained soils, and is cooled by breezes from the San Joaquin and Sacramento rivers. The century-old vines are dry farmed and head pruned.

Cline Big Break Vineyard Grenache 2014

The juice for this Grenache was fermented at moderate temperatures in stainless steel tanks, using a selection of cultured yeasts. After 10 days of gentle “pump-overs” and near dryness, the wine was drained and pressed from its skins. This Big Break Grenache was minimally handled and aged for 12 months in new, medium-dark toasted French oak (approximately 38% new) before bottling .

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A Note About Vintages

Although you will see vintage dates throughout Winervana, I don’t put too much importance on them. Major producers these days strive for a consistent style, and largely succeed. For instance, when shopping for a particular wine, if you have a choice between a current release and one that’s a few years old, there will certainly be differences in price and the character of the wine. But upon release, those two examples of the same wine are likely to be quite similar, especially for New World producers, who often enjoy more reliably consistent weather than Old World producers do. (Of course, global climate change may disrupt things for everybody.)

Wine Enthusiast has an interesting post about this here.

Category: Grenache

Austin Hope Grenache

Cline Big Break Grenache

Cline Big Break Vineyard Grenache 2014