Expand your wine palate with this set of wines donated by the parent volunteers of the Las Lomitas Education Foundation.

 

There are literally thousands of different grapes from which wine is produced, but just two wines make up more than 25% of all wine sold in the United States: Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon. The top 10 varietals account for nearly 80% of sales.*

 

Here's your chance to taste some lesser-known - but still delicious! - varietals.

 

This lot includes one bottle each of:

• 2012 Calder Wine Charbono Napa Valley
  
  Charbono is one of the lost grape varieties – almost. Recent reports indicate there are only about 70 acres of this variety in existence, half of this in Napa county. The original cuttings were imported to Calistoga in the Napa Valley from the Savoie region in the French Alps in about 1880. Subsequently, Charbono was wiped out in Europe by the Phylloxera root louse infestation. Its original name was Doux Noir, or “soft black,” later called Charbonneau (carbon water). It was alternately mistaken for Pinot Noir and Barbera until the mid-20th century, when Inglenook's John Daniel began making it famous.
  
  From the winemaker:
  
  "Hailing from the cool, clay soils and scorching-hot summer days at the northern tip of Napa Valley's Calistoga appellation, this Charbono features vibrant aromas of cherry cola and ripe plums, back by intense secondary flavors of forest floor, mustard flowers, dark chocolate, sour cherries and bee pollen. A soft, plummy texture blends with bright acidity and dusty tannins to provide a backbone to the intense aromatics."
  
  


• 2014 Calder Wine Carignane Mendocino
  
  Carignane is a curious red wine grape that provokes strong reactions in those who know about it. Yet, despite the fact it was the single most common vine variety planted in the world's most important wine producer France until it was overtaken by Merlot at the end of the 20th century, most wine drinkers have never heard of it. For the longest time, Carignan was considered a low-quality wine grape, however many producers are reinvigorating old vineyards and making tremendously rich, red fruit-driven wines that will blow your mind. Its fruit-forward red fruit and baking spice flavors, along with subtle notes of umami, make it the perfect food wine.
  
  From the winemaker:
  
  "The 2014 Carignane combines two separate vineyards, both farmed by the Colombini family in Mendocino County. The majority of the blend comes from the Road I block (the sole source for the wine in 2012 and 2013), planted in 1942 at 900 feet of elevation on the eastern bench of Redwood Valley. The remainder comes from the dry-farmed vines of the Cemetery block in the Ukiah Valley, planted in 1953. Its curious name derives from the fact that the only access to it is through the main gate of the Ukiah city cemetery! Both sites are brilliant in their own way: Road I contributes sheer density and savory intensity, while Cemetery provides bright fruit, precision, and lift—qualities that are highly valued in a warm, exceptionally dry vintage like 2014. The end result of joining these two blocks of old vines is a wine with depth, dark fruit, and intense, savory flavors, balanced by plenty of freshening acidity."
  
  


• 2012 Adelaida Touriga
  
  From the winemaker:
  
  "A key and primary grape traditionally used to make fortified Port, as we do with The Don, this is only our second release as a dry red wine. Touriga Nacional is loved by sommeliers throughout the country for its wild and free bad self. Crazily aromatic: violets and pine juice, bay laurel and sage. Check it out…try one and see what you think. The somm appeal is because the wine has such distinctive personality, juicy acidity that keeps hitting the refresh button with food as opposed to being dulled down flavor-wise. Low alcohol, 12.9%, so you can drink more than a thimble full without needing a nap. Touriga is an all around authentic wine having old world lineage and provenance. Give it a whirl, you only live once.  Drink now for fun. "
  
  


• 2013 Tablas Creek Rousanne (90-92 points Robert Parker)
  
  Roussanne, with its honeyed richness and excellent longevity, forms the backbone of many southern Rhône whites, and has found a welcoming home in Paso Robles. The varietal takes its name from “roux”, the French word for “russet” – an apt description of the grapes’ reddish gold skins at harvest. Roussanne is not grown widely outside of the northern Rhone, in part because it's not an easy grape to cultivate.
  
  Wines made from Roussanne are rich and complex, with distinct honey, floral and apricot flavors. They have a characteristic oily texture and a full body that is more reminiscent of red wines than whites. Roussanne can make powerful varietal wines, lend structure to wines led by Viognier or Marsanne, and can thrive as the lead grape in a blend, typically buttressed by higher-acid grapes like Grenache Blanc or Picpoul.
  
  From the winemaker:
  
  "The 2013 vintage was a classic California vintage, warm and sunny, with added intensity from the low yields produced by our second consecutive drought year. The summer was consistently warm, without the heat spikes or cold stretches that can delay ripening, and resulted in an early harvest under near-perfect conditions. The net result was a blockbuster vintage. The wine is exuberantly and elegantly in character of the Roussanne grape, with honey, honeysuckle, and pear aromatics, a rich, viscous mouthfeel with just a hint of oak, and a long, lingering finish."
  
  


• 2014 Tablas Creek Marsanne (90-92 pts Robert Parker)
  
  Marsanne is the most popular white wine grape planted in the Northern Rhone wine region. The grape helps produce rich, deeply colored wines with flavors and scents of roasted nuts, pears, white peaches, honeydew melon, spice and flowers. With age, Marsanne based wines deepen in color and complexity. Wines produced from Marsanne are quite rich and can even develop a silky, exotic, oily texture.
  
  Marsanne is a food friendly white wine grape. Marsanne pairs best with all types of seafood and shellfish, especially the richer varieties like lobster, crab, shrimp, seabass, clams and mussels. However, Marsanne also pairs perfectly with chicken, veal, pork dishes, spicy flavors and Asian cuisine. Marsanne works well with cream sauces and with a diverse array of cheese, both hard and soft.
  
  From the winemaker:
  
  "The 2014 Marsanne has a pretty pale gold color, with a surprisingly tropical nose of fresh pineapple and lychee, baked apples, lemongrass and wet rocks. The mouth is pretty and composed, notably saline, with apple skin and candied lemon peel flavors that soften and broaden into a long, gentle finish with echoes of soft minerality. It should drink well for at least the next five years, likely longer."
  
  


• 2011 Lavender Ridge Sierra Foothills Rolle
  
  Rolle - also known as Vermentino - is commonly thought to be Spanish in origin. Although it is currently grown in several countries around the Mediterranean, its best known examples come from northern Italy and the island of Sardinia, where the wines are crisp, citrusy and generally unoaked. It is also the most widely planted white grape on the island of Corsica, where high altitude and hot climate vineyards produce more full-bodied wines with heady floral aromas. Although it makes excellent wine, for many years Vermentino was best known for producing table grapes. The grapes are large with a good sugar/acid balance, making them a perfect choice for sweet snacking.
  
  Rolle wines are a pale straw color and relatively low in alcohol, with crisp acids, citrus-leaf aromatics, and pronounced minerality. In the mouth, Rolle shows flavors of green apple and lime, heightened by refreshing acidity, good richness and medium body. The wine’s crispness makes it a delicious accompaniment to fresh seafood, oysters on the half shell, or grilled Mediterranean vegetables.

*The top 10 varietals in the United States are: Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Pinot Grigio, Muscato, Pinot Noir, White Zinfandel, Riesling, Sangiovese, Sauvignon Blanc.