Brad Widelock
Brad Widelock
Sometime in the late 1980s, after a hike across Pinnacles National Park, I was heading home to Santa Cruz and decided to stop at Chalone. I didn’t really know much about wine at the time. People who did know wine told me that if I was going out to the Pinnacles, I had to stop at Chalone.
I don’t remember what I tasted. What I do remember is the ride out there. In my memory, I drove down a dusty, rock covered road to a tasting room in the middle of nowhere. I want to say it was in some sort of trailer, but I can’t swear to it. What I remember most about the visit is that there were tubes filled with the rocks and soil that made up the vineyard sites. The samples were all shades of white and grey.
Last night I opened a bottle of Deauratus Grenache Blanc. The fruit came from the Michaud vineyard in the Chalone AVA. The wine was a beautiful reflection of the rocks and soil I saw in the tubes so long ago. It was flinty - a textbook example of minerality in a wine. The balance between the acid and the fruit was perfect, providing a dry and generous wine. I could smell that dusty road in my glass. I will definitely purchase more. The wine was made by Eric Baugher and Shun Ishikubo.
Brad
I don’t remember what I tasted. What I do remember is the ride out there. In my memory, I drove down a dusty, rock covered road to a tasting room in the middle of nowhere. I want to say it was in some sort of trailer, but I can’t swear to it. What I remember most about the visit is that there were tubes filled with the rocks and soil that made up the vineyard sites. The samples were all shades of white and grey.
Last night I opened a bottle of Deauratus Grenache Blanc. The fruit came from the Michaud vineyard in the Chalone AVA. The wine was a beautiful reflection of the rocks and soil I saw in the tubes so long ago. It was flinty - a textbook example of minerality in a wine. The balance between the acid and the fruit was perfect, providing a dry and generous wine. I could smell that dusty road in my glass. I will definitely purchase more. The wine was made by Eric Baugher and Shun Ishikubo.
Brad