2014 Eric Kent Wine Cellars Steel Plow Vineyard Grenache

Eric Kent Wine Cellars was founded by Kent Humphrey, a self-described “hyper-enthusiastic wine geek” who left careers in academia and advertising to start a wine venture with his wife, Colleen Teitgen. Humphrey sources grapes from Sonoma County and focuses on Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc. Eric Kent hires artists to make distinctive labels for each wine, and the result is that the labels are different from vintage to vintage and wine to wine.

Sonoma Valley AVA is Sonoma County’s original winegrowing district. Designated as an AVA in 1981, it includes 14,000 vineyard acres in a long, narrow valley that runs north-south. Rather romantically, the valley is also called The Valley of the Moon. The oldest winery in the AVA, and one of the oldest in California, is Buena Vista Winery, founded in 1857 by a Hungarian count who planted vineyards in Wisconsin before moving to California. Today there are nearly 60 wineries in the AVA producing a variety of wines, from Chardonnay and Pinot Noir to Cabernet Sauvignon and Gewurztraminer. The appellation is bordered by mountain ranges on the east and west, which partly account for Sonoma Valley’s unique terroir. The mountains protect it from the cooling weather of the Pacific Ocean and fruit ripens well.

One of the most popular red varieties planted, it ripens late and prefers hot dry climates. It probably originated in Spain, where it is still widely grown. Grenache is best known for its use in Southern Rhone wines, including those of Chateauneuf-du-Pape.