A beautiful spring day, perfect for some winetasting. We only had time for one winery, so we went with a favorite: Eagle Ridge Vineyard.
This was the first weekend with Covid guidelines allowing winetasting visits without a reservation, which was a real boon for us. We made our way up the private drive off of Tesla Road, taking in the wonderful spring scenery and appreciating the nascent buds just barely visible throughout the vineyard. It was a glorious day to be outdoors in Livermore! There was plenty of space available for parking by the winery and plenty of open umbrella-topped tables in the side garden. With amazing weather like this, we could not imagine passing up a chance for an outdoor tasting!
Once comfortably seated, we started our tasting flight with their 2018 Pinot Grigio. A perennial favorite, we love the clean mouth feel and the mango and lemon zest notes that dance across the tongue. Just the right amount of acid for a crisp, dry finish without leaving a tart after taste. We next tasted their 2018 Chardonnay. A fun summer sipper, and not at all a butter ball, we appreciated the aromas of honeysuckle and the tastes of kumquat and lemon leading to a long, caramel finish. A true favorite was next: their 2017 Zinfandel. Aromas of Bing cherry and dark plum (some of the best aromas in a barrel room) led us to tastes of black raspberry, cinnamon, and cocoa. This wine led off our “Take Home” list.
Our next taste raised the bar even further: their 2017 Raptor, one of the few blends from Eagle Ridge. This was Judi’s favorite of the day because of the sweet plum start that quickly matured to dark plum on our tongue’s center with kiwi on the edges. We pronounced it “plum delicious” and added a bottle to our “Take Home” list. Our penultimate taste was their 2017 Malbec, a unique take on the Malbec grape. We imagined pairing this wine with a juicy steak and baked potato. Is it BBQ season yet? Our tasting flight wrapped up with their 2016 Petite Sirah, a delightful flagship wine for Eagle Ridge.
Pleasantly sun kissed and happy to have gotten reacquainted with a favorite winery, we thanked Jim for the hospitality, purchased our “Take Home” wine, and started down that long private drive toward home. Cheers!
About the Author: John grills a mean steak and is always in the market for another wine fridge. Believes that if a winery has more than 10 employees, it's probably too big. Buys wine faster than he drinks it, but who cares?
