Red Blend Archives

July 29, 2025

Walson Holland Mélange Rouge 2018

Walson Holland is a small winery nestled in the Ojai Valley of Southern California. it was founded in 2018 by winemaker Benjamin (“Benny”) Holland, a seasoned winemaker, and Jonas Svensson, an Ojai-based vineyard owner.

Benjamin Holland began his career by interning at Kosta Browne in 2016, then worked harvest in Central Otago’s Amisfield in New Zealand, and later interned at the prestigious cult winery Sine Qua Non in California. There, he honed the meticulous craft and precision that now define Walson Holland’s style.

The first vintage began with modest scale: in 2018 they produced roughly 600 cases in an Oxnard warehouse, sourced from vineyard sites across California’s Central Coast—Sta. Rita Hills, Ballard Canyon, Alisos Canyon, Happy Canyon, the Santa Ynez Valley, and Edna Valley. Production then grew steadily, reaching around 800 to 1500 cases by 2022.

As early as 2021, the Santa Barbara Independent featured them, celebrating their Rhône-style blends, field blend approach, and urban tasting room.[Now closed, from what I could determine. The wines are currently sold in a handful of California wine shops, and on an allocation basis on their Web site.]

From the start, the winery has specialized in Rhône‑style blends—including both whites and reds—and also single‑varietal Pinot Noir and Grenache. Their wines have garnered attention from critics including California Wine Advisors and The Wine Independent, with glowing early reviews for their 2018 Grenache and later vintages. Continue reading “Walson Holland Mélange Rouge 2018”

January 28, 2025February 25, 2025

Austin Hope Rhone Blend 2021

Austin Hope Rhone Blend 2021

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 Rhone Blend 2021”

January 15, 2025February 25, 2025

Ulysses 2020

Ulysses 2020

Charles Hopper first planted what is now known as the Missouri Hopper Vineyard (named for his daughter rather than the state) in 1873 in what is now Oakville, California. The parcel for this vineyard was purchased from George Yount. Now owned by the Beckstoffer family, a part of the original Missouri Hopper vineyard is used to produce Ulysses, a wine from Christian Moueix, a French wine maker famous for Petrus in France and Dominus in the U.S., as well as several other top wines from the region today.

Christian Moueix is one of the few winemakers to produce classic wines in both the old and new worlds, and he is also one of the most well-known. The son of Jean-Pierre Moueix, a Bordeaux wine merchant, he was born in Libourne, France in 1946. After completing his agricultural engineering studies in Paris and graduate studies in viticulture and enology at the University of California at Davis in 1968-69, he joined his father’s company in 1970 to manage the family vineyards, and in 1991 became its president. He oversaw the legendary Chateau Petrus for 38 years, ending with the 2008 vintage. Continue reading “Ulysses 2020”

January 9, 2025February 25, 2025

C.L. Butaud Cease & Desist Red Wine Blend 2021

C.L. Butaud Cease & Desist Red Wine Blend 2021

Texas isn’t the first place that comes to mind when most people think about wine, especially “serious” high-quality wine. And yet, Texas is fifth in the nation in both wine production and consumption. The history of grape growing in the state goes back at least to the 1660s, when Franciscan monks planted Mission grapes adjacent to their missions.* Today, Texas is home to a number of American Viticultural Areas, or AVAs; the two most prominent are the Texas High Plains AVA around Lubbock in northwestern Texas, and the Texas Hill Country AVA in central Texas west of Austin.

In his 20s, Texas native Randy Hester left a frustrating career in Psychology and adolescent mental health, and began to search for his next path in life. His first real exposure to the world of wine came during his years in restaurant management, where he discovered he had a naturally talented palate. Randy eventually moved into wine sales and distribution where he became intrigued with winemaking, and felt compelled to create his own. Continue reading “C.L. Butaud Cease & Desist Red Wine Blend 2021”

June 28, 2024October 1, 2024

Anchored Roots “The Summit” Red Blend 2018

Eric and Amy Gale are the owners and sole full-time employees of Anchored Roots, Door County, Wisconsin’s newest winery, founded in 2020.

The couple make an ideal front-of-house/back-of-house duo. Amy grew up in Milwaukee, with hospitality at the forefront of her career path. Her initial focus was event planning, from non-profit fundraisers and catering, to corporate events and weddings. This was followed by experience in tasting room management at Airfield Estates in Prosser, Washington.

Eric was born and raised in Luxemburg, Wisconsin. Perhaps predictably, while he was growing up he worked summers at a neighbor’s 60-head dairy farm. However, his academic bent led him to a Bachelor’s degree in biology with a minor in chemistry. He then pursued a Masters in Viticulture at Washington State University. After graduation, he landed a job at Chateau Ste. Michelle, Washington state’s oldest winery. His primary responsibility was overseeing the Cold Creek vineyard, Ste. Michelle’s first, originally planted in 1972.

Continue reading “Anchored Roots “The Summit” Red Blend 2018″

February 3, 2024February 24, 2025

Orin Swift Eight Years in the Desert 2022

Orin Swift Cellars was a relative newcomer on the California wine scene, having been established in 1998, but not by “Orin Swift,” as I had long assumed. Rather, it was by the now iconic, and iconoclastic, winemaker David Phinney. Orin is Phinney’s father’s middle name and Swift is his mother’s maiden name.

Phinney, a native Californian, was born in Gilroy (the “Garlic Capitol of the World”), the son of a botanist and a college professor. However, within a week he was in Los Angeles, where he spent his childhood, and finally an adolescence in Squaw Valley. He enrolled in the Political Science program at the University of Arizona, with an eye towards a law degree, but before long became disillusioned with both. At this juncture, a friend invited him on a trip to Italy, and while in Florence he was introduced to the joys of wine, and soon became obsessed.

Continue reading “Orin Swift Eight Years in the Desert 2022”

March 5, 2023March 5, 2023

Penfolds Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz 2018

Until Yellow Tail precipitated the boom in “critter wines” in 2000, it can be argued that Penfolds was just about synonymous with Australian wine in the U.S. The label is ubiquitous here, in both grocery stores and fine wine shops. Prices range from about $12 per bottle for the Koonunga Hill Shiraz-Cabernet, to $700 for the legendary Grange, and everything in between. (That $700 is doubly amazing, because just five or six years ago Grange was “only” about $200.) The selections are mostly reds plus a few whites and even a tawny Port.

Founders Dr. Christopher and Mary Penfold immigrated to Australia from England in 1844, bringing their own French vine cuttings. Not long after, their fledgling vineyard was officially established as the Penfolds wine company at the 500-acre Magill Estate in Adelaide.

Continue reading “Penfolds Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz 2018”

February 14, 2023February 3, 2024

The Prisoner 2019

Continue reading “The Prisoner 2019”

February 2, 2023

Ridge Lytton Springs Red Blend 2019

Ridge Vineyards is actually two distinct wineries, the original and more prestigious one is south of San Francisco and east of San Jose, and the other in Sonoma county is just north of Healdsburg.

Since this wine is from Sonoma, here’s just a brief history of the older San Francisco operation. In 1885, Osea Perrone, a prominent doctor in San Francisco, bought 180 acres near the top of Monte Bello ridge. He built a winery and released his first vintage in 1892. At some point the winery was abandoned (my guess is that Prohibition caused its demise, along with almost every other US winery).

In the 1940s, theologian William Short bought the property, and extensively planted Cabernet Sauvignon. In 1959, Short sold to three Stanford Research Institute engineers. They were joined in 1969 by the iconic Paul Draper, a philosophy graduate turned winemaker. Under his guidance and “hands off” approach, the quality and reputation of Ridge wines was established. Draper made the wine until 2016.

The Lytton Springs property was acquired in 1991, although Ridge had been sourcing fruit from there as far back as 1972. Where the southern operation focuses on Cabernet Sauvignon, in Lytton Springs Zinfandel holds court. Some of the ancient vines date as far back as 1901. The grapes from the vineyard are a true field blend; the vines are mixed varietals, planted right next to each other. Some of the vines were only recently correctly identified after DNA testing.

Continue reading “Ridge Lytton Springs Red Blend 2019”

January 12, 2023February 12, 2023

Chalk Hill Estate Red 2018

One fine spring day in 1972, attorney, private pilot, and wine aficionado Fred Fruth was piloting his plane over the Russian River Valley area. Down below, he hoped he saw what he had been searching for: a property that had the climate and soils to grow first-class wine grapes. Furth and his second wife, Peggy, purchased the land, named the estate Chalk Hill, and started producing wine about a decade later. They gradually planted more than 270 acres of vines. Years later, Furth said, “I have always been interested in wine because my grandfather had vineyards. I’m actually more interested in the working-the-soil aspect, but I have many very talented people in the winery who know how to produce a world-class wine. When I bought this property, I was told it was too hilly to be a vineyard, but I simply planted the grapes in rows going uphill. People said you can’t do that, but I’d seen it done in Germany so I knew it would work.” After a rich and varied life, Furth died in 2018 at the age of 84.

Lawyer Bill Foley acquired Chalk Hill in 2010. Although Foley is titled as “vintner,” I doubt he sees the interior of the winery very often. He is a vintner in the broader sense of “someone who sells wine.” He also owns the National Hockey League’s Vegas Golden Knights, is the Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors for Fidelity National Financial Inc., is Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors for Fidelity National Information Services, Inc., and owns fifteen other wineries.
Continue reading “Chalk Hill Estate Red 2018”

August 27, 2022August 27, 2022

Scheid VDR [Very Dark Red]

Scheid Family Wines got their start in 1972 when Al Scheid first purchased property in Monterey County and wine grape growing there was in its infancy. Scheid was drawn to the region for what he considered its untapped potential, for making money as well as farming. Scheid was running his own investment company at the time. A graduate of Harvard Business School and an investment banker, he realized that vineyards could make an excellent tax shelter, with their usual heavy investment on the front end and no income until at least five years later. Originally named Monterey Farming Corporation, the enterprise he founded was a limited partnership; the tax laws at that time allowed investors to offset losses in one business against regular income from another one elsewhere. And even before one acre was planted, Scheid, shrewd operator that he was, had found a customer for 100% of the grape production he anticipated (although, I’m guessing, not allowing revenue to outpace expenses, for a few years at least).

A hard-nosed origin story, for sure. But Scheid was a firm believer in Mark Twain’s quote: “If you tell the truth, you don’t have to remember anything.” So the truth is what it is.

Scheid brought his eldest son, Scott, who had been working on Wall Street as an options trader, into the expanding business in 1986. (He is now CEO.) In 1988, Kurt Gollnick, an admired viticulturist who had previously farmed for Bien Nacido Vineyards, was brought on as General Manager of Vineyard Operations. A few years later, Scheid’s daughter Heidi, who had been working as a business valuation consultant after earning her MBA, also joined the operation.

Initial plantings were heavy on Colombard, Chenin Blanc, and Ruby Cabernet, but by the early ’90s the market was calling for Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, and, due to the 60 Minutes broadcast of The French Paradox, Merlot. In addition, during these first 20 years or so, quite a bit of knowledge about farming wine grapes in Monterey County had been accumulated. Countering these positive developments, the vineyard scourge called phylloxera was killing vines in a large portion of the Scheid vineyards. Other challenges, such as improvements to the irrigation system, were also involved.

A businessman first and foremost, Scheid bought out all of the initial outside investors so that operations could be streamlined and decisions made more expeditiously. In short order, almost every single vineyard acre was redeveloped; a new vineyard was acquired and planted to Pinot Noir; the number of customers was expanded from two to 20; and the company was rechristened Scheid Family Wines.

Continue reading “Scheid VDR [Very Dark Red]”

July 14, 2022June 4, 2024

August Hill Winery Berlyn NV

In 2002, Mark Wenzel, his wife Teri, and childhood friend Sean Ginocchio (who sold his interest in 2010) founded August Hill Winery on the hilltop land his grandfather August Engelhaupt had farmed, occasionally with Wenzel’s help. Located in Utica, Illinois, about 90 miles southwest of Chicago, in the ensuing years August Hill has expanded to include caves for aging wine, a tasting room, and a sparkling wine label called Illinois Sparkling Company.

Wenzel is both business partner and winemaker. Although he took a degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Florida, he had always had an interest in wine and experimented making small batches through the years. Once he learned that, unlikely enough, northern Illinois was developing as a viable vineyard region, the Illinois countryside and his farm boy roots beckoned to him. After seven years as an engineer, Wenzel decided to add a new career and immersed himself in the details of grape-growing climates, varietals, and winemaking while still working in engineering for an additional seven years before he could turn to winemaking full-time. Along the way, he received hands-on experience and support from others in the winemaking industry, from both Illinois and California. When he began the sparkling wine program, he consulted with industry experts as well as an expert from France, with whom he continues to work.

Teri Wenzel is August Hill’s visual taste-maker. She’s the creative eye behind everything from the product packaging to the tasting room environment. Continue reading “August Hill Winery Berlyn NV”

April 17, 2022June 22, 2022

Reddy Vineyards Field Blend 2017

A fifth-generation farmer, Vijay Reddy came to the U.S. in 1971 to pursue a graduate degree in soil and plant science, and obtained a doctorate in 1975 from Colorado State University. Along with his wife Subada, Dr. Reddy established and ran a soil consulting laboratory for 20 years while also farming cotton, peanuts, and various other produce in the high plains of west Texas near Lubbock (Reddy is a fifth-generation farmer).

In 1997, Reddy’s friends Neil Newsom and Bobby Cox talked him into planting five acres of grapes. Since his property was composed of sandy loam soils mixed with limestone deposits at an elevation of 3,305 feet, it seemed like a worthwhile experiment. Indeed, the grapes thrived. In short order, Reddy abandoned all but grape farming, and now has 400 acres under vine; the operation sells 38 varietals to a number of Texas wineries.

Reddy Vineyards has been recognized as a leading source of premium grapes by wine producers now for more than 20 years and is considered a pioneer in the Texas Wine industry due to their willingness to experiment with different grapes.

The Reddys

Continue reading “Reddy Vineyards Field Blend 2017”

March 1, 2022June 22, 2022

Austin Hope Quest 2017

Chuck Hope and his wife Marilyn came to Paso Robles (which roughly means “passageway of oaks”) 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. Vine density was increased, and each vine was pruned to limit yield for better-quality fruit.

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 fruit for their Liberty School label. Thus began a long-lasting partnership between the two families.

In 1995, the Hopes acquired Liberty School from the Wagners. In 1996, they launched Treana Winery with Chris Phelps serving as winemaker. Continue reading “Austin Hope Quest 2017”

January 30, 2022June 22, 2022

Keuka Spring Epic Reserve Finger Lakes Red Wine 2016

Long before California became America’s leading winemaking state, plenty of wine was being made in New York. The Hugeunots, a French Protestant sect of the 16th and 17th centuries, planted grapevines there in the 1600s. The first commercial plantings of native American grape varieties began in 1862. Shortly thereafter, the area established a reputation for making sweet sparkling wines, and by the end of the 19th century plantings had increased to around 25,000 acres.

In the early 20th century, production declined sharply as a result of phylloxera vine disease, competition from California wines, and Prohibition. After that scourge ended, production resumed but the rebound was moderate. Further limiting production, after World War II Americans began to develop a taste for the drier wines made from the European Vitis vinifera grape varieties dominant in California. Unlike in California, however, it was believed that these grape varieties would not survive in the harsh New York winters.

In 1951 Dr. Konstantin Frank, a Ukrainian immigrant with a PhD degree in Plant Science, came to work at the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station in Geneva, New York, with the goal of growing Vitis vinifera varietals in the cold Finger Lakes climate. This was unheard of — and laughed at — back then. Other winemakers predicted failure. “What do you mean?” Frank retorted. “I’m from Russia — it’s even colder there.” With support from Charles Fournier of Gold Seal Vineyards, a sparkling wine producer, he began planting Vitis vinifera vines in 1958. In 1962 Dr. Frank started Vinifera Wine Cellars in Hammondsport, at the far southern end of Keuka lake, where he began to successfully produce Riesling, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Gewürtztraminer, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Rkatsiteli (the most widely-planted white-wine grape in the countries of the former Soviet Union). Plantings of these varieties spread throughout the region and new wineries soon emerged. Continue reading “Keuka Spring Epic Reserve Finger Lakes Red Wine 2016”