This week’s Wine Wednesday is about a wine that hails from the Livermore Valley from McGrail Vineyards. I first heard of Livermore Valley years ago at a Society of Wine Educators event in California I believe. At that time, a man who was passionate about his winery, named Steven Kent waxed poetic about the region and the wines. A great ambassador for the area, he and other winemakers recently sent our #WinePW group some of his wines to taste. Jim and Ginger McGrail planted the Cabernet Sauvignon vineyard in 1999 and originally sold all fruit to Steven Kent Winery. In 2005 the McGrail’s produced 1,000 cases of wine. I tasted the 2019 and it was a perfect pairing with the last week of my son’s 2nd grade.

Full bodied, rich with spice (cedar, tobacco, pepper), red, blue, and black fruits (plum, blueberry, blackberry), and earthy tones (bramble, forest floor), and the nose and palate. It was a really luxurious sip during this mad last week of school, filled with milestones and fun.

Made with 100%I Cabernet Sauvignon, it was aged in a blend of different oak barrels – French, Hungarian, and American. At 14.4% alcohol, it showed beautifully with pasta alla bolognese, pork chops, and a classic hamburger but I can imagine it would shine even brighter with a special steak or even a great mushroom dish, not my second graders style, not yet.

I’ve very much enjoyed all three of the wines I received from Livermore Valley. Here is my post on a Sauvignon Blanc I received and then one on a Cabernet Franc I was sent as well. Can’t wait to visit.