Disclaimer: Don’t drink if you’re under 21, don’t buy alcohol for minors and always drink responsibly.
For quite a few of these vineyards, we have explored Californian wine and wines from abroad, but never something local. Therefore, this week I decided on a wine from our own backyard.
Blue Canyon Estate Grown is a pinot noir from right here in Monterey County. I tried this wine over a year ago when my mom came to visit me in California for the first time, and during the tasting, it was her favorite. I leaned a bit more toward the other red wine they had (which I later discovered through an old photo was Caliveda). However, we both agreed we had to get the one produced locally. How much more local could you get?
Their name, Blue Canyon, according to their website, stems from the massive underwater canyon found only a mile from our campus. It is 60 miles long, and two miles deep, where its size is comparable to the Grand Canyon in Arizona. Because of its sheer size, and the fact that it’s hidden in the watery depths, it has been nicknamed the Blue Grand Canyon.
Blue Canyon Estate produces a variety of wines, such as sauvignon blanc, chardonnay, pinot noir, and cabernet sauvignon. Students on campus are familiar with the famous Monterey fog, which often wraps our beautiful campus in a thick blanket. This cool fog followed by the winds, and sunny afternoons results in sauvignon blanc, chardonnay and pinot noir grapes to ripen both slowly and evenly. This results in a well-balanced and concentrated fruit flavor.
This wine is softer, more subtle in its flavor and profile yet without appearing anonymous. This is because of the climate it has grown in. The aroma has notes of cherry and vanilla but they are not overpowering. They complement the flavor beautifully which gives off red berries, almost a hint of strawberries. What I really found interesting is there is almost a small aftertaste of oak and spices like pepper. Yet they are only there for a brief time, which makes the wine taste more fruity and light.
This is a wine that might need a little bit of warming up because of its style. It’s very thin, as people might say. Traditionally people gravitate toward more full-body wines which can most times be seen through the color of the wine. A deeper and darker red usually indicates a fuller body or heavy wine. Blue Canyon, however, is almost see-through. Despite this, it should overall be a crowd-pleaser.
This wine would pair well with lighter meats like chicken and pork, but it also works really well alone.
Once again this wine was bought at Total Wine & More at Sand City and it retails for $15.99 which is a good price for this quality of wine. Explore the wines produced in your local area, you never know when you might suddenly find your new favorite wine.
Cheers!