May 10, 2018

1984 Albariño 2017

(Carneros, CA) $28

The famous George Orwell novel aside, 1984 is also the brand created by Doug Shafer (president of Shafer, Napa Valley) and Elias Fernadez (Shafer’s winemaker). Albariño is about as far from cabernet as a variety can get, but the partners have made a lovely, long white with a rich texture and loads of personality.

Merlot and cabernet sauvignon share the same father—cabernet franc. But who was merlot’s mother?

A. Malbec

B. Manseng Noir

C. Carménère

D. Magdeleine Noire des Charentes

In the early 1990s, grape geneticists determined that merlot was the offspring of cabernet franc. But merlot’s other parent remained a mystery for ten years, until the French scientist Jean-Michel Boursiquot found merlot’s unnamed mother in an abandoned vineyard in Brittany, France. A few years later, more moms were found in the Charentes region of southwestern France. Bourisquot named the vines Magdeleine Noire des Charentes.

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Percentage of wine consumed in the U.S. by Californians alone. Of course, California is the leading wine producing state—making more than 90 percent of all U.S. wine. If California were a nation, it would be… Continue reading

1984 Albariño 2017

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