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Announcing the 2012 Ridge Vineyards Wine of the Year!
I cannot help myself; I’m in the Year-End-List spirit. I MUST make my Best-Ofs … And for today’s canonically contributive endeavour, I am going to grapple into submission a task never yet set; I am...
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Another Monday, Monday At The Office!
I like Mondays. Why? May I present … … my Monday Morning Meeting. We started in on the zinfandels first. The tasters: Myself Paul Draper (CEO, Head Winemaker) Eric Baugher (VP of Winemaking, Monte...
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“One Word Tasting Note Rock, Paper, Scissors” + “7-vintage Estate Cabernet...
Oh Susanna! Don’t you cry for me, cuz I’m goin to Monte Bello with Estate Cab on my knee … And by Susanna, of course, I mean Susanna Hoffs; she, of The Bangles, who formerly noted that, as opposed to...
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Tea For Two -or What Tea Can Tell You About Wine
I had the pleasure of hosting Paul Draper and two wonderful guests yesterday for what was not only an excellent tasting, but an enlightening conversation. The topics were, amongst other things, the...
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Beauty Is A Rare Thing: Building the 2012 Monte Bello
I was early, by intention. I wanted to absorb the air, the space, the mojo. Ghosts of Shamans past — silken-shadowed, proud and twirling — wove the naked canes with threads of dripping gossamer. In my...
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Another Day, Another Tasting -or- Guess Which Vintages Of Monte Bello We...
I just had the rather most lovely opportunity to prepare, taste and share a particularly singular line-up of Ridge wines … … Singular for a few reasons: –The new, not-yet-released 2010 Monte Bello...
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The Monte Bello Collector Component Tasting In Pictures, Praise, and Prose …
We don’t do a great many events in any given year up here on our mountain, so when we do stage them, we try to thoroughly imbue them with all the passion and gravitas our four-sizes-that-day...
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The Very First ATP Wine I Ever Gave My Dad (Is Coming To First Friday!)
There are four people from whom I learned what it means to be a man in this world. What it means to be a man, and how to be a man. One of them is imaginary: Rick, from the movie Casablanca. (Historical...
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Assemblage Monte Bello: A Pictorial Remembrance
It was a truly beautiful morning; ripe with promise, alive with anticipation, resplendent with resplendence. For events of this scale, we park our own cars well out of the way, high above the vines....
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Building The 2012 Monte Bello: Part II
We’ve just completed the second round of the Monte Bello Assemblage Tasting, and the blend is in! It was quite a remarkable tasting; somewhat unique in its architecture, as compared to some past...
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Scenes from Farm-to-Grill 2013 at Monte Bello!
At Ridge Vineyards, we don’t stage all that many truly large-scale events, but when we do, we always opt to go all-out, and our annual summer events are just these sorts of happenings. We present two...
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“Check Out” a 1977 Monte Bello from The Library!
Did you know we have a Library Wine Page on our website? We do! It’s here: Library Wine “Library Wine” It’s a term we use all the time, but when properly considered, it’s a somewhat strange term;...
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Do You Know The Way To Saison?
If not, just follow the two stars … Michelin Stars, that is! What a restaurant, what a team, and what a treat to host them today! And, what a roster of wines we tasted! Check this out: 2011 Three...
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#CabernetDay, 2010 Monte Bello, Fall Releases, & What Poetry Is
First, the facts: –We are about to release the 2010 Monte Bello. –You can be amongst the first to try this highly-anticipated – highly-regarded new vintage by attending our upcoming Fall Release...
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1998 Monte Bello: The Sleeper Vintage of the Millenium?
1998 Monte Bello Library Wines ~ 1997. 1997, 1997, 1997. 97, 97, 97, 97. Blah blah blah blah blah. 1998? Now I’m getting interested. Why? Because anytime anyone tells you something is the something of...
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1994 Monte Bello: Tasting Notes, Tasting Stories …
Cellarable wines in the middle years of their developmental trajectory can be funny things. Often, they seem to come in and out of focus right before your eyes. When they coalesce around a profile,...
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Double Descanting: scenes from RIDGEtalks – Talking 2010 Monte Bello
Ever wondered which classic Monte Bello vintage our winemaking team thinks most resembles the current release? Ever wondered which vintage of Monte Bello VP of Vineyard Operations David Gates wishes he...
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Announcing the 2013 Ridge Vineyards Wine of the Year!
And what a year it’s been! So rich with memories, adventures, tales and tastes; can it really be a mere 12 months ago that we were first tasting the 2008 Lytton Estate Syrah? It could be a lifetime...
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