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They've been making these wines since the 70's, staying true to the principles of purity and balance, respecting the history of the grapes, being a reference point of American wine making. Recently I had a chance to re-visit Ridge. Another great experience, once again re-affirming that this local Santa Cruz Mountains winery not only has the world-class chops but also the soul.
![Chris Watkins, the tasting room manager at Ridge Monte Bello](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbUJncL5SX0IG8lkxvLYg_CY_jmKprlqzlu4v09jf7cAxZ84Aw8dO4qGKt85ywpYa_1IPCZHuWta8aCoiBnfaF_XQuxsgF4iW6BKYVpn7R-hMY7c6YfF7qYeWsni4jriqwqyQjgiGRlLA/s320/IMG_3468.JPG)
For the 2nd installment of
Ridge blogger tasting, Chris Watkins, the tasting room manager at Ridge Monte Bello, lined up an array of under-the-radar low-production (under 1000 cases) "Advanced Tasting Program" wines from Ridge that sell out to devout members without ever hitting retail - all Rhone varietals, for which Ridge obviously has a soft spot, but not a soft palate.
This time we focused on multiple vintages of 100% Carignane, 50/50 Syrah/Grenache blends (Southern Rhone style), Syrah/Viognier (Northern Rhone style) blends, and 100 Petite Sirah.
Continue reading this article on corkd.com.
Comments
I loved your detailed post - very useful notes. For my readers here, here is the link to Richard's article: http://rjonwine.wordpress.com/2010/07/10/ridge-wine-bloggers-tasting-atp-rhone-varietals/