Kale Somerston Vineyard Grenache Blanc 2016
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Blend: 100% Grenache Blanc
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From a site tucked within the eastern hills of the appellation, this is a 100% varietal expression, dark hay in color, sparkling in minerality and sporting a gravelly edge. Stainless steel and one neutral French oak barrel helped ferment and age. Flinty, it shines in lime, peach and pear.
Kale Wines is an Asian American owned winery with an Asian American winemaker, Kale Anderson. Both Kale and his wife Ranko come from multiracial backgrounds. Kale is half Filipino and half white and Ranko is half Japanese, a quarter Filipino and a quarter Polish. Although Kale has always wanted to be acknowledged for his wines and winemaking, regardless of age, race or ethnicity, while Kale was Director of Winemaking at Pahlmeyer, he became one of the youngest winemakers to receive a 100 point score from Wine Advocate. He is also one of the only Asian American winemakers in the world to accomplish this feat.
Kale's name is actually Kalè, but born and raised in Northern California he has always gone by Kale. Kale's great grandparents were some of the first Filipino Americans to settle in the Central Valley, own land and farm. Ranko's grandparents met in the Japanese internment camps during WWII. Although Kale and Ranko's story is not the norm for a small, family owned winery, they celebrate diversity everyday by sharing their passion for Rhône inspired wines in the Napa Valley.
Producing full-bodied white wines, Grenache Blanc can be unctuous and soft or floral and fresh. Some of the finest examples are terroir-driven, age-worthy wines. It is a key ingredient in white Châteauneuf-du-Pape and many white blends across southern France and NE Spain. Somm Secret—Grenache Blanc plays a key role in the vins doux naturels of Rivesaltes and a subsidiary role in those of Banyuls and Maury.
One of the world's most highly regarded regions for wine production as well as tourism, the Napa Valley was responsible for bringing worldwide recognition to California winemaking. In the 1960s, a few key wine families settled the area and hedged their bets on the valley's world-class winemaking potential—and they were right.
The Napa wine industry really took off in the 1980s, when producers scooped up vineyard lands and planted vines throughout the county. A number of wineries emerged, and today Napa is home to hundreds of producers ranging from boutique to corporate. Cabernet Sauvignon is definitely the grape of choice here, with many winemakers also focusing on Bordeaux blends. White wines from Napa Valley are usually Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc.
Within the Napa Valley lie many smaller sub-AVAs that claim specific wine characteristics based on situation, slope and soil. Farthest south and coolest from the influence of the San Pablo Bay is Carneros, followed by Coombsville to its northeast and then Yountville, Oakville and Rutherford. Above those are the warm St. Helena and the valley's newest and hottest AVA, Calistoga. These areas follow the valley floor and are known generally for creating rich, dense, complex and smooth red wines with good aging potential. The mountain sub appellations, nestled on the slopes overlooking the valley AVAs, include Stags Leap District, Atlas Peak, Chiles Valley (farther east), Howell Mountain, Mt. Veeder, Spring Mountain District and Diamond Mountain District. Napa Valley wines from the mountain regions are often more structured and firm, benefiting from a lot of time in the bottle to evolve and soften.