River Grove Winery is an award-wining winery in the long established, but little known appellation of Clarksburg, California. River Grove selects grapes grown in their large vineyard holdings to produce and bottle their wine. This complete control over the growing and making of the wine permits the wine label to have the quality designation "Estate Bottled."
The tiny town of Clarksburg is the appellation of the same name, located in the delta of the Sacramento River. Each afternoon a strong on-shore ocean breeze cools the vines promoting excellent grape flavor. Throughout the world premium wine is made from vineyards near bodies of water that moderate temperatures. After cooling the delta the now warmer air sweeps inland and becomes the widely known 'delta breeze'; it is greatly appreciated in the surrounding valleys. The Clarksburg appellation annually produces about 2.5 million cases of premium wine.
River Grove Winery was founded in 2000 by Steve Pylman, a premium grape grower and winemaker Dr. Bob Scobey. The 250 acres of established vineyards are part of a farm that has been owned by the Pylman family for over 150 years. The winery selects about 1% of their premium grapes for their River Grove wines. The remainder goes to wineries in Napa and Sonoma.
Since all River Grove wines are made from grapes from their own vineyards, their labels are permitted to bear the words "Estate Produced". The winemaking is traditional, and the wines are made in relatively small batches. They cellar their wines very carefully, and when it is ready to bottle, they use all possible means to ensure that you savor the wine as it was intended, with all the aroma, flavor and character that we all cherish in great wines.
Syrah is a natural here and our selection is no exception. With ripe berry, cherry and spice, this estate Syrah is all about flavor, bold, robust and intense flavors. The acids, tannins, fruit and oak are well-balanced and linger on the palate. With all the texture and fullness of an un-filtered wine, this Syrah pairs well with spicy and piquant foods - think grilled meats, pizza and red sauces. Once we tasted it, even though there was very little made, we bought over half the entire production.
February 2010 Classic Series Newsletter (.pdf)
