Lagrein is a
distinctive, ancient red wine grape variety native to the Trentino-Alto
Adige/Südtirol region in Northern Italy.
We started to produce Lagrein in 2019 after Margie and I discovered it
while on a hiking trip in the Dolomites.
We were familiar with another wine from Alto Adige, Teroldego, but kept
coming across a wine called Lagrein.
Always on the prowl for new flavors and styles we figured we had better
try a wine made from this Lagrein grape.
We did. Pretty good. Great color, black fruit aromas, deep rich
flavors and a solid core of fruit. We
noticed that several producers offered a Reserve, and we splurged the extra 5-6
euros and were further impressed. When we
got home, I did a little research and discovered that there are 64 acres of
Lagrein grown in California, over half of them in the French Camp Vineyard in
the Highlands District of Paso Robles and owned by the Miller Family, the same
family that tends the Bien Nacido Vineyards in Santa Maria. We reached out to the Millers and that fall
we crushed two tons, the resulting wine was fantastic. Upon release it quickly sold out, and we have
been making it ever since.
