I really enjoy living vicariously through my friends,
especially when they vacation in California wine country, a trip I simply
cannot afford to make right now. One of my friends, Kye, managed to make it out
to Santa Barbara a couple of months ago and since he absolutely adores me (and
I laid a major guilt trip on him), he brought me back some rather awesome souvenirs.
I’m sure it’s no surprise that ‘Sideways’ is a film that’s very near and dear
to both our hearts, so my favorite present was the napkin he snagged after
eating at The Hitching Post:
Of course the wines Kye brought back were fantastic as well,
especially the Martian Ranch Grenache Blanc:
Martian Ranch is located in Los Alamos California, owned and
run by Nan Helgeland, who is dedicated to making Rhone varietal wines with
little manipulation. She is also the wife of writer/producer Brian Helgeland (‘L.A.
Confidential’ is right up there with ‘Sideways’ for both of us) and while that
association may have been why Kye chose to stop at Martian, Nan and her wines
are the reasons he fell head over heels for it. After tasting a few of the
wines brought back from there I can totally understand why. If I’d gotten to
try them while surrounded by the beautiful scenery in which they were created,
I’d be enthralled too.
I’d been listening to Kye rave about Martian Ranch for at
least a week so when their Grenache Blanc was one of the three wines he brought
me back it wasn’t too hard to decide what to open first. I’ve never found this
varietal to be overly complex, but this wine created elegance out of simplicity.
Tropical fruits, citrus and almonds on the nose, with bright pineapple, lemon
peel, passion fruit and lemongrass flavors coming through on the palate. Crisp acidity
and subtle minerality led to a refreshing, yet short finish that made me wish I
had more than one bottle of it.
Sounds wonderful. Can you find it in this area?
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