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.
CURRENTLY AVAILABLE MERLOT:
Each pail includes five gallons of grape must. Product will arrive partially frozen.
Livermore Valley, California
Brix 25.4, pH 3.78, TA .55
Harvested October 11th, 2019
This vineyard site in the historic Southwestern corner of the Livermore Valley was part of the original Ruby Hill Winery planted in 1885 by John Crellin. The vineyard and winery remained operational through a series of owners and even through Prohibition. More recently the vineyard was leased and managed by Wente who replanted it to Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Sangiovese in 2000. The Ruby Hill District of Livermore sits at 800 feet elevation and consists mainly of fine, gravelly sand loam, and sedimentary silt loam soils. These soils are very well-draining and average over 50 inches deep. The area is slightly cooler than the rest of the valley and experiences later harvest and longer hang time.The climate of the Livermore Valley is almost exactly the same as that of the St. Helena and Calistoga in the Northern Napa Valley. Morning fog, cold nights, and winds coming off the Bay temper the hot days and allow the grapes to preserve acidity while still achieving ripeness. The Livermore Valley is California's only wine growing region with an East-West orientation.