2021 Donati Family Vineyard Petit Verdot
Photo from Donati Family Vineyards webpage
Background
This story unfolded from Donati’s participation in the 6th Annual International Cabernet Franc Competition on March 5th. They won Best of Category in the $56-$70 California Category and Double Gold Medals from the Professional Judges. They also received a Silver Medal from the People’s Choice Judges. This price category included wines from Lodi, Santa Maria, Paso Robles, Alexander Valley, Napa Valley and Temecula and perhaps one of the toughest categories in the California portion of the competition. This was their second year participating.
Photo ©Michael Kelly
While attending the #CabFrancMasters in Paso I contacted Donati Wines to arrange a visit as I did not know the winery. We agreed to meet on Monday after the event and what a fun, delightful and engaging visit pursued with winemaker Briana Heywood. Her background prior to joining the Donati Family was at J. Lohr Vineyards & Winery for almost 10 years as an enologist and previous experience with a variety of wineries.
Photo ©Michael Kelly
The Wine – “Wine is bottled poetry” – Robert Louis Stevenson
Photo ©Michael Kelly
During the visit with Brianna we sampled various wines from their award winning lineup. We left with two of their wines, one being Petit Verdot. Petit Verdot is best know as a blending wine for Bordeaux style wines. It was used consistently in Bordeaux as it was a late ripening grape varietal. It struggled to reach full maturity and when used in moderation (1-2%) for blending produced generally produced wines that were overly tannic and caused the vineyards to decline. More recently however Petit Verdot has had a resurgence due to plantings in warmer climates like California, Australia and Spain. The warmer climates allowing the fruit to fully ripen and provide a distinct character for the varietal. Providing a very drinkable wine full of body, tannins and structure.
Photo ©Michael Kelly
The Donati Family Vineyard Petit Verdot displays all the key components of this beautiful and often misunderstood varietal. First on the eyes, this wine is a lavish and royal purple in coloring contrasting from other varieties. In the glass, it has a medium-heavy viscosity. On the nose, aromas of violets and lavender along with plum and blackberry rise up to beckon your first sip. Once on the palate the essence of dark fruits, strong tannins and firm acidity greet the imbiber. Blueberry notes soften the impact of the tannins with a silky smoothness and flavor. On the finish, black pepper and spices and dried herbal notes and rustic smoky tastes linger. After the finish, you are struck with its full body, structural characteristics and tannins. Aging in oak barrels tends to soften the wine with a slight vanilla taste. Only 68 cases were produced and the wine lists for $56/bottle. The wine is 13.9% alcohol.
The Food and Wine Pairing – “Food without wine is a corpse; wine without food is a ghost. United and well matched, they are as body and soul: living partners” – Andre Simon
Photo ©Michael Kelly
This wine was chosen this evening to be paired with slow cooked beef short ribs. Many wines could be selected, especially for how the ribs are prepared and cooked be it braised or BBQ for example. Petit Verdot with its acidity and tannins complement the richness of beef. While the beef was cooked in red wine, the strong Petit Verdot continued to break down the proteins in the meat to enhance a more tender texture.
The recipe called for seasoned short ribs braised first and then transferred to the slow cooker. A sauce was prepared with onions, mushrooms, garlic, beef broth, oregano, thyme, rosemary and marjoram. Then in the slow cooker, red wine and the sauce were added with the meat along with bay leaves. It was cooked for 9 hours. When the meat was served it was so tender it fell apart with a fork. Accompanied by twice baked Russet potato. The food and wine pairing hit the target with the tannins from the wine standing up to the meat and the flavorful meat enjoying the dark fruit from the wine. Extremely simpatico!
The Winery
Photo of a small portion of the winery ©Michael Kelly
The winery produces both a larger scale commercial wine offering and very small artisan & boutique wines for direct to customer purchase and their wine club. They are located at 2720 Oak View Road in Templeton, California. Their tasting room is quaint and inviting and more like a family room atmosphere.
Photo ©Michael Kelly
Here is the lineup of some of their commercial and mass-produced wines. They are moderately priced for the consumer and Donati Family produces approximately 11,000 cases of these brands.
Photo ©Michael Kelly
They also have a fair number of varieties of wines for their club members and are sold only in the tasting room. These small artisan and boutique wines comprise a limited production totally roughly 700 cases. The tasting room is quaint and inviting to enjoy sipping some or perhaps all of their wines!
Photo ©Michael Kelly
A great visit meeting Brianna with her enthusiastic energy, bright smile and her knowledge of both the vines and making wine. While not one of the “major names” in Paso Robles AVA, they are getting noticed by wine aficionados and discerning wine drinkers. I will look forward to a return visit on the next trip to Paso Robles AVA. In the interim I have both a Petite Sirah and Cabernet Franc to be tasted and enjoyed in the coming weeks.
Sláinte,
Michael