Greanache
2023 Starfield Vineyards Grenache – With an Unique Taco Salad
Photo ©Michael Kelly
Background
When temperatures reach 106 degrees, one is not inclined to cook or even BBQ! So tonight was a simple taco salad with some new ingredients making it taste more than ordinary.
The Winery
The winery was founded in 2012 by Tom and Rob Sinton with plantings of 31 acres on the hillsides east of Placerville, California in El Dorado County. They are located at 2759 Jacquier Road.
Map courtesy of https://uscountymaps.com/el-dorado-county-map-california/
The names of the wines, especially their new labels starting with the 2023 vintages, highlight the history of the region from the Gold Rush with wine names as Miner’s Inch and Rising Hope. These two are for a nearby mine.
The winery produces 17 varieties of wines comprising of mostly Rhone varieties (66%) and Italian (30%) and a few Spanish varieties. The vineyards have been farmed using sustainable and fish-friendly farming since their inception.
Photo ©Michael Kelly
The winery name, Starfield, refers to “Star Fields”, sites where in their words “fruit develops the optimal balance of aroma, flavor and texture”. They also consider what they refer to as Sierra Spice, the aroma and taste characteristics that come from the western facing forests surrounding the vineyards. The local trees are Ponderosa Pines, Cedars and Douglas Firs and their oils provide earthy and woodsy forest aromatics from their oils as depicted in the tube.
The Wine – “Wine is bottled poetry” – Robert Louis Stevenson
Photo ©Michael Kelly
This wine is grown at 2400 feet elevation where sun exposure is more intense. This, along with the Sierra spice, provides some unique characteristics for this wine. First on the eyes, it was a soft semi-transparent magenta coloring. Thinking this might be a bit wimpy is far from the case. On the nose aromas of strawberries wafted gently into the senses. On the palate this “light colored” wine became a heavy weight boxer with fruit of aforementioned strawberries and blueberries. Secondary notes of forest minerality along with spices of clove and cinnamon completed the flavor profile. The wine exemplifies the saying “don’t judge a book by it’s cover” in spades!
The wine went through a 48-hour cold soak and then a 14-day primary fermentation. Malolactic fermentation followed to soften the structure of the wine. It then was aged 18 months in 15% new French oak with the balance being neutral oak.
The 2023 vintage was bottled in May of 2025 with 378 cases being produced. The wine came in at 14.1% alcohol and the price is $42/bottle.
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
The taco salad started off with ground chuck seasoned with chili pepper, sea salt, onion powder and bell pepper. Another 4 jalapeño peppers were diced up and cooked with the meat. The accoutrements included freshly diced tomatoes, lettuce, tortilla chips, cheddar cheese and two special sauces. Served with two sauces on top. First was from one of our new friends who provided her “famous” Jenn’s Spicy Salsa. She makes it from her pepper garden consisting of banana, jalapeño, serrano, Havasu and poblano peppers. Piquant and flavorful with just the right amount of kick for enjoyment. The other sauce placed on top was Norma’s Wicked Salsa. She makes this with avocados, limes, jalapeno peppers, vinegar, carrots, onions, cilantro, black pepper, cream cheese and a few other ingredients. Together these two sauces made the meal delicious.
Serving the Grenache cool (63 to 68 degrees) with its refreshing fruit was perfectly matched for this meal. An excellent food and wine pairing. I can see this wine making a steady appearance in the heat of Arizona!
Sláinte,
Michael Kelly