The debut Syrah from Rancho Arroyo Grande -made by the talented winemaker Bob Lindquist of Qupe- displays aromas of rich raspberry, blueberry, plum and spice. Integrated flavors of red current, blueberry and black pepper lead to a lush mid palate. The finish is rich and long with masculine tannins.

The vineyards planted in 1998, were meticulously cared for, and we are proud to offer the fruit of our labor to you. The summer of 2001 was moderately hot with a gentle cooling in the fall. As a result of a long hang time the fruit developed rich concentrated flavors and firm structure. The Syrah was grown on the hillside of Thereza Vineyard were the soil structure is primarily limestone. The Syrah was picked on October 15th at 25.5 degrees brix and yielding a low 2.5 tons per acre.

The Syrah was fermented in small open top fermenters and punched down twice daily for maximum extraction of concentration and color. The primary fermentation took 16 days to complete. One of the lots was fermented with 3% Viognier to add a floral component to the finished wine. The wine was aged in 30% new French oak, racked twice, master blended in August and bottled in late November 2002.