Category: cabernet franc

06 Rotta Winery Dino Boneso Vineryard Cabernet Franc

With the winery dating back to the 1850s, the Rotta family has owned it since 1908. Grandson of founders, Mike Giubbini has been pulling the winery out of a dormant stage to revive some of the family traditions and replanted vines back in 1990. Planting mostly Zinfandel on their 20 acres of estate vineyards which is also dry farmed, they starting bottling under the Rotta name back in 2002 after years of selling grapes to nearby wineries. Focusing on mostly red wines they also purchase grapes from local vineyards mostly on the Westside of Paso Robles and Templeton area. I’ve been told that the following wine is the only vineyard designate Cabernet Franc from California.

The 06 Dino Boneso Cabernet Franc is light colored garnet to the eye and and pretty on the nose with hints of cherry fruit and spices. Spicy and soft on the palate, its medium tannins linger and are worthy of the many accolades this wine has garnered. Dry on the finish it has a nice mouth feel and is not to overpowering. Limited in production this wine would go well with both grilled and/or roasted meats and wild game. suggested retail should be under $25 for this treat. www.rottawinery.com

Why it’s good to be a wine consumer now in 2010.

With more wine on the market than ever before it’s good to be wine consumer. Figure that not just is there more wine being imported from all over the world, all 50 states have bonded and licensed wineries. Keep in mind you’re going to see more and more wine hitting our shores from countries you least expect i.e. China, eastern Europe, etc then take into consideration the economy you have lots of supply & growing demand= lower prices. Prices are lower than they have been in previous years, high end wineries are either dropping prices or selling of wine to “negociants” like Cameron Hughes, Heron wines & Castle Rock, just to name a few. Big box store and small retailers are having private labels bottled for them or “exclusives” as we say.
There is no better time to try a new varietal(cabernet franc, grenache)you’ve always been curious about. Or how about something from a part of the world you’ve be hesitant to buy(South Africa, Portugal). Quality of wines are far above where they were thanks to new technology, colleges offering course in wine making and winemakers and grape growers experimenting and pushing the boundaries.

At some point the economy will do a 180 and things will be good again, wineries will increase their prices when inventories level level off & demand comes back. But will prices go back up to where they were? Who knows, if consumer will pay that high prices again after seeing that they can pay significantly less for the same wine. It’s only a good time time to be a wine consumer if you take advantage of it. Playing it safe and drinking the same wine will generate the same result, but trying new wines at this time should generate new experiences & new found favorites.

So take advantage of the wine economy 2010 and don’t let these opportunities pass you by and leaving you wondering “what if”.