Old Vine Merlot – Suisun Valley Wine Grapes for Sale
2016 Merlot, Suisun Valley — $125 - SOLD OUT
So you want Napa quality but you want to pay Lodi prices? The Suisun Valley has you covered. Though often overshadowed by their famous neighboring county to the North, the reputation of the Suisun Valley is changing quickly. In 2016 Napa big shot winery Caymus released their inaugural Suisun wine and so we got to work figuring out where their fruit was coming from and discovered one of their sources to be the this gem of a Merlot vineyard. The vines run along Suisun Creek and the alluvial fan that spreads out across the valley originates here. The soils feature large amounts of alluvium mixed into Sycamore Silty Loam and volcanic gravels. This is coolest section of the valley and Steelhead still run up the creek each winter. The vineyard was planted in the late 80’s making it one of the oldest and lowest yielding sites in the AVA.
The Suisun Valley itself is located just south of the Napa Valley between the volcanic St. George range to the west and the sandstone laden Vaca Range to the east.
Each pail includes five gallons of grape must. Product will arrive partially frozen.
Walla Walla Valley, Washington
Brix: 25.5, pH:3.86, TA: 3.4
YAN: 57 mg/L (as N), Malic Acid: .35 g/L,
Tartaric Acid: 4.8 g/L, Glucose + Fructose: 260 g/L,
Harvested October 4th, 2020
The Walla Walla Valley straddles southeastern Washington and northeastern Oregon. Walla Walla translates to “many waters” in reference to the land’s proximity to the Columbia, Snake, and Walla Walla Rivers. Rain is a seldom occurrence here and the area only receives about 15 inches of annual rainfall. Like the rest of the Columbia Valley, the landscapes and soils of Walla Walla were largely shaped by the cataclysmic Missoula Floods which swept through at the end of the last Ice Age. The Walla Walla Silt Soil left behind is a well-drained, sandy loess over Missoula Flood slackwater deposits and fractured basalt.
These grapes have never been available to the home winemaking community before, and were previously used in the Columbia Crest Reserve wine program for $40 per bottle.
The grapes come from the small lot Pheasant Run Vineyard located in the southern region of the Walla Walla AVA adjacent to the Pepper Bridge Winery. Pheasant Run is known to produce big fruit forward wines with earthy components. The Spofford silt loam soil at this vineyard site is excellent for growing grapes because it allows for superior drainage.