news
 Rosé
wines bloom in many shades
Meanwhile, probably the oddest rosé
I've tried from the U.S. comes from Peter Cargasacchi in the
Santa Rita Hills, for his Point Concepcion label, called Celestina.
It is a Pinot Grigio, but for any Grigio lover, the look of
this wine will be an affront: It is a fiery blood orange,
the color of a smoky sunset.
Pinot Grigio, after all, is a white wine made
from a red grape (not exactly red, but more coppery gray,
which is where it gets its name). Instead of avoiding color,
Cargasacchi macerates the fruit to extract it, not unlike
the wines of its cousin, Pinot Noir. This wine has a richness
that no Pinot Grigio could ever aspire to, and a leesy, umami-like
sweetness that leavens its full-bore flavors of cherries spiced
with orange peel. It leaves you with plenty to ponder in a
wine that doesn't usually register a second thought.
 Spring
Open House: Chad comes to visit
We host Open House events at the winery three times a year
- last Spring, "Chad the Wino" joined us and then
wrote about his experience in his blog "The Wineries
of California".
...after tasting Peter’s wines, I’m
sure that I’ll be back. Grazie mille, La Famiglia di
Cargasacchi!
Click
here to read the full post.
Cargasacchi Dinner & Tasting
 One
of the offline events I attended was a comprehensive tasting
of Cargasacchi Vineyard and Jalama Vineyard Pinot Noirs. Cargasacchi
Vineyard is 16 acres planted in 1999 to Dijon clone 115 (scion
selection from Burgundy’s Morey Saint Denis), and located
at the extreme west end of the Santa Rita Hills (an excellent
map of many of the vineyards and wineries in the Sta. Rita
Hills appellation is available at www.
staritahills.com). The soils are ancient sea floor sediment.
Peter Cargasacchi is a meticulous farmer who continues in
his family’s farming heritage which dates to the early
1900s. A second vineyard, Jalama, was planted a couple of
years ago in the Jalama area outside of Lompoc. His grapes
have been highly sought after.
Point Concepción wines are described
as “food friendly,” and, indeed, they are lighter-styled
with more red fruit and floral highlights.
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