2011 Mark Herold Wines Castanho Vineyard Mouvedre

Mark Herold earned a Ph.D. in Ecology at U.C. Davis before starting his career in winemaking. He was a research enologist at Joseph Phelps Vineyards then in 1998 started making Merus, a cult Cabernet Sauvignon, in his Napa garage. Since then he’s been a consultant to wineries throughout Napa Valley and he has continued to make wines under his own name. He is best known for his full-throttle Cabernet Sauvignons, though he also makes blends and whites that are unusual for California. Herold’s non-Cabs include Tempranillo, Grenache, Carignan, Albarino and Verdejo blends. His Cabs, and some other wines, typically earn ratings in the low- to mid-90s from reviewers.

Contra Costa County is a sub appellation within the Central Coast AVA. Contra Costa is the region just to the east of San Francisco, Berkeley and Oakland. Though the area includes many square miles of suburban build-up, there are also vineyards. It is the northern edge of the Central Coast AVA, a huge wine producing area that extends from Santa Barbara County in the south to San Francisco in the north. With more than 100,000 vineyard acres, it includes parts of six counties near the Pacific Ocean. Nearly 20 smaller AVAs lie within the Central Coast AVA. Central Coast earned appellation status in 1985. Included in the appellation are parts of the counties of Contra Costa, Monterey, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Santa Clara and Santa Cruz. Nearly every grape varietal grown in California is grown somewhere in the Central Coast AVA, though Chardonnay accounts for nearly 50% of the entire wine grape crop.

Fans of Cabernet Sauvignon appreciate Mourvèdre. It’s a full-bodied Spanish native. It is grown prominently in Bandol, France, Paso Robles, CA and many other regions. It is often blended with Grenache and Syrah and can be used to make rosé and port-style wines.