Chillin' on the Ridge.
I’m just gonna say it.
Somebody has to.
It may as well be me.
Ridge Vineyards is the raddest winery in the history of all that is awesome.
A couple of months back, after visiting their Monte Bello tasting room in Cupertino, Kara and I decided to become members. The membership allows us free tasting, discounts on wine, and the ability to buy futures of their Monte Bello at a DEEP discount. One of the really neat things we’ve discovered since joining Ridge is how many cool members-only events we get to take part in. Recently we were able to go to two different events on back-to-back days.
Here’s the rundown…
July 1st: First Friday at Monte Bello
During the summer season, the Monte Bello tasting room will serve a special flight to club members on the first Friday of each month. Although Ridge is most known for their zinfandel and Bordeaux blends, for July, they offered a vertical tasting of chardonnay.
Who says white wine can't age?
The tasting consisted of the 2003 and 2004 vintages of the Monte Bello Chardonnay, as well as the 2005 and 2006 vintages of the Santa Cruz Mountains Estate Charonnay. The great part about this tasting was seeing just how well chardonnay can age. The two Monte Bellos were very much smooth and balanced. They both had really nice acidity. The 2005 Estate was a crowd-pleasing chardonnay with a beautiful creamy finish. The 06 Estate had this amazing smell of figs, but the taste did not live up to the nose. The winner of this throwdown was…
The 2003 Monte Bello Chardonnay. Class in a glass.
After the chardonnay vertical, I had a hankering for a zinfandel and a picnic. Now, if you’re talking zins, Ridge has ’em. Based on a recommendation, we got a bottle of this bad boy…
Ridge 2007 Carmichael Zinfandel and a picnic.
This zin had a nice spice and ripe fruit, without being too jammy. It was a great way to cap off the day…
Okay…
Seeing this thing on the road on the way back was pretty cool too…
If my car were just a little bit smaller, I'd have tried to drive under this thing.
July 2nd: Zins, Blends & BBQ
For an early 4th of July celebration, the next day, Ridge offered barbecue paired with many of their fine wines. Here’s what we had…
Check in with a glass of 2009 Mikulaco Chardonnay. Don't mind if I do.
2009 Geyserville paired with a bomb ass North Carolina Pulled Pork sandwich.
2006 Mazzoni Home Ranch with Kansas City Baby Back Ribs and a bunch of forks.
2007 Lytton Estate Zinfandel w/ California Tri Tip and Blue Cheese Potato Salad. Yum!
I found this 2008 York Creek Zinfandel hiding in the corner with Texas Beef Brisket. This York Creek has become one of my favorite zins in the Ridge collection.
After these pairings, there were three more wines for us to try in the main tasting room…
"Would you like to try our 2009 Jimsomare Chardonnay?" "Does a bear poo in the woods?"
The 2009 Buchignani Carignane. So nice, I had it twice... You'll see.
2006 Lytton Estate Syrah done in the true Côte-Rôtie style with 8% viognier.
We were such fans of the Buchignani Carignane that we got another bottle to have with our picnic leftovers from the day before.
I told you.
And there you have it!
13 wines.
4 barbecue dishes.
2 picnics.
1 dope time.
The shadows of Kara and JeffIsRad on the Ridge.
Stay Rad,
Jeff
Stay Rad 