The Herzog website says the company goes back to "Philip Herzog, who made wine in Slovakia for the Austro-Hungarian court more than a century ago. Philip's wines were so appreciated by Emperor Franz-Josef, that the emperor made Philip a baron."
Philip's grandson Eugene had to move his family around quite a bit during World War II to hide from the Nazis, only to be run out of Czechoslovakia by the communists. He brought his family to New York in 1948 and started working for a kosher winery that paid him in company stock. Within ten years all the other stockholders had given up on it, leaving Eugene as the last man standing. He and his sons then formed Royal Wines as a tribute to Philip.
Expansion to Southern California happened in 1985, but it was a couple of decades before they would build their present state of the art facility in Oxnard. Head winemaker Joe Hurliman leads the kosher facility and produces wines in the tradition of the Jewish people.
The 2022 Herzog Lineage Clarksburg Pinot Noir carries 13% alcohol abv and retails for $22. It is kosher for Passover.
This wine has a brick red color to it, medium tint. The nose shows nice notes of coffee and black tea, anise, a bit of tar, and a hint of chocolate. The palate is loaded with earthy dark fruit and savory tea. The mouthfeel is medium weight and has a decent set of tannins, along with some refreshing acidity. Despite the tannins, it's a fairly smooth sip. You can pair this with lean beef, lamb, pork, or chicken dishes.
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