Monday, January 11, 2010

Wines For Rockers: Red Zeppelin

Red Zeppelin WineI ran across another rock'n'roll winery for your rocking and drinking pleasure. Red Zeppelin Winery is located in Cayucos, CA, just up Highway One from Morro Bay. It's an interesting part of California, and the Red Zeppelin wines are made of grapes taken from several nice areas near there. The fruit comes from Paso Robles, Monterey County and San Luis Obispo County.

Unlike other wines with rock'n'roll labels, Red Zeppelin seems to be a wine first and a marketing ploy second. I make this statement without the benefit of an actual tasting.  With what seems to be a good track record by the winemaker, a raft of awards and the fact that they've been doing it for a while now - since 1991 - I feel justified in biting on the hype.

One corner of Red Zeppelin's website describes a rather bizarre link between the dirigible on the label and Randall Grahm's Le Cigare Volant. It's worth reading. There, you'll also find that Red Zeppelin wines have won several awards and been praised by no less than the San Francisco Chronicle and Rachel Ray.

Their flagship wine is the Black Zeppelin 2005. This is a Paso Robles Syrah with a healthy dose of Alicante Bouschet and Cabernet Sauvignon blended with it. The Red Zeppelin Syrah 2005 hails from Bear Valley Vineyard in Monterey County. 99% Syrah, with 1% "white varietal." The Red Zeppelin Vinidiction is a non-vintage blend from Monterey and San Luis Obispo Counties, with 55% Cab and 45% Syrah. Red Zeppelin also makes a line called White Zeppelin, featuring a Riesling, a Chardonnay and a Viognier.

These wines are a little hard to find. Other than the winery's website, only a handful of retailers carry the line. There does not appear to be a tasting room associated with the winery, and tours are not given.  On January 11th, 2009, Wine Woot was offering a three pack of reds - one of each - for just under $50.

Winemaker Stillman Brown seems to be a fun-loving winemaker, indeed. Click on Swillyidle to find out what else he's been up to.

2 comments:

  1. [...] Our good friend and L.A. correspondent, and wine connoisseur Randy Fuller has written a fine blog post about this new rock and roll wine.  Titled Red Zeppelin, this wine promises to rock your world even it’s been a long time since you rock and rolled.  It will squeeze your lemon until … ahem, just read the item here. [...]

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