Midtown’s popular urban winery, Revolution Wines, is an enthusiastic supporter of local grape-growers. Committed to the notion that “the expression of place or terrior is an important pursuit,” winemaker Craig Haarmeyer crafts wines that, he believes, display the distinctive character of the Sacramento region.
Haarmeyer’s 2009 St. Rey, a Port-style dessert wine, is an exuberant celebration of several traditional Portuguese varietals – Alvarelhão, Tinto Cao, Touriga, Tempranillo and Souzão – all grown in the 300-acre Silvaspoons Vineyards in Lodi by grape-grower Ron Silva. Silva farms a number of grape varietals in his vineyard, including Zinfandel and Petite Sirah, but he acknowledges that the black skinned grapes from Portugal’s Douro River (where Port originated) are his most cherished because of his own heritage – his grandfather emigrated from Portugal to California in the early 1900’s.
Revolution’s 2009 St. Rey offers a perfumed profusion of intense, concentrated ripe blackberry, blueberry and dark cherry flavors, with rich hints of dried raisin, caramel and vanilla. Nicely balanced and sweetly pleasing, this fortified wine would pair beautifully with roasted nuts, blue-veined and robustly-flavored soft cheeses, dried fruits and dark chocolate.
If you’d like to try the 2009 St. Rey and Haarmeyer’s other wines, Revolution’s tasting room is open Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 12noon to 9pm; Friday and Saturday from 12noon to 10pm; and Sunday from 12noon to 8pm (it’s closed on Mondays).
