From: Red Hills AVA, California

Varietals: Mourvèdre, Grenache

Tasting Notes: On the nose, blackberry fruit dominates with hints of truffles, tobacco, and underlying herbal notes. Black raspberry, currant, and charcoal unfold in layers of fruit and Asian spice on the palate with subtle tannins and firm acid which creates movement on the palate. The tannins carry this medium bodied yet focused wine into a finish with notes of red raspberry fruit, black pepper spice, and hints of toasted oak. This wine is meant to be paired with food and should be enjoyed within the next 6 to 8 years. 

Pairing: beef, lamb, braised pork shoulder, barbecue

Vie Winery became San Francisco’s first urban winery back in 2004, when Bryan Kane, a young winemaker renowned for his non-interventionist techniques, gathered a small team commited to producing high-quality, unique Rhône varietal wines. The French name of this wine, “L’Intruse,” translates to interloper: someone who becomes involved in a place or situation where they aren’t considered to belong. This title makes sense, considering that the varietal is perhaps most famously used in small amounts for blending in Châteauneuf du Pape and other Southern Rhône-style GSM blends.

The current winemaker, Todd Seaver, sourced the grapes for this wine from the Sol Rouge Vineyard, which is located about 20 miles north of Napa Valley on the northern edge of the Red Hills AVA (within the broader the Lake County district). The Sol Rouge Vineyards were planted in the volcanic soils of an abandoned Walnut orchard on the slopes of the Mayacamas Mountains. The looser clusters and smaller berries caused by the vineyards’ high elevation (1450-1950 ft) contribute to more concentrated, complex fruit flavors.