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What's with this name, Matchbook? As farm kids growing up in the late 1950s, John Giguiere and his brother were little pyromaniacs. They set various things on fire, including their father's wheat field. Fearing total ruin from his kids burning him out of the house and farm, their father took them to the city jail for an hour stay. He wanted to impress on his two boys the dangers of their fascination with fire. Even so, his sons kept lighting fuses . Theylaunched rockets which often blew up at some stage of the journey, resulting in more small fires and calls to the local fire department. John Giguiere grew out of his love of matchbooks, but now he loves wine. Can you think of a better story as to how to name a winery? Matchbook has four products, all focusing on varietals that perform well in the warm Dunnigan Hills climate near the Sierra Mountains of California. They blend a percentage of coastal fruit to the Dunnigan Hills' wines to add structure and to intensify the flavors. "Tinto Rey" means Red King. Tempranillo is the king of Spanish red wines and one of the most important red varietals in the Matchbook vineyard. Tempranillo and Graciano contribute spicy red berry fruit flavors; Syrah adds rich flavors of black cherry and blueberry; Malbeccontributes red apple flavors; and Petit Verdot adds depth and structure to the wine. The 2005 vintage was a warmer season than average, which accelerated the early fruit ripening. A cool August allowed the grapes to hang on the vine well into September which produced incredible quality and intensity of flavors. After one day of cold soaking the grapes to extract color, the tank was drained to concentrate the flavors. After an eight-day fermentation to allow brighter, cleaner fruit expression and to avoid heavy tannins. and two rackings to remove sediment, the wine went to barrel to mature. The final blend was created in May of the following year. Only 6,460 cases were produced. Tinto Rey is a blend of 43% Syrah, 40% Tempranillo, 7% Malbec, 6% Petit Verdot, and 4% Graciano. Delicious. May 2009 Limited Series Newsletter (.pdf) |
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