February's Friday Night Lites- Miles Garrett: The highlight of Willow Creek winemaking
Join us on February 2nd when we’ll be highlighting wines from Miles Garrett Wines out of Humboldt County. Located in the Willow Creek AVA, Miles Garrett, along with his wife Carla, are the minds behind these elegant wines. With the unique micro-climate in the Trinity River Valley, Miles can make beautifully balanced red wines. Miles Garrett’s production process is straight forward and, as some would say, minimal. The grapes are grown through dry farming and are CCOF organic certified. For help maintaining the vineyard, the Garretts let their farm animals graze at certain times. Once the grapes are handpicked, they are fermented with naturally occurring yeast and there is no sulfur or additives put into the wine. When aged, wines are aged in French oak barrels or stainless steel. And in the winter, the Garretts cultivate cover crops to help keep their soil nutrient rich.
Joining us on the 2nd will be Courtney Walsh of Amy Atwood Selections, the distributor of Miles Garrett’s wines. Not only is Courtney a huge proponent of minimal intervention winemaking, she is an awesome person with a wealth of knowledge that is always impressive. I always enjoy highlighting these "Mom and Pop" wineries because I feel a connection to them through this store. These folks put everything on their line, put their name on the labels (in the case of Miles and many more) all to supply something they felt the market was missing. Much like how Randy felt that Long Beach needed a wine store that was more than big commercial wines from the box stores back in 1995. So hopefully when I'm 56, I'll be able to celebrate Miles Garrett Wines 29th anniversary, like we at the store our celebrating this year. Below is a list of the wines we will be pouring on the 2nd;
*Blackberry and coco nibs make a wonderful flavor combination. Delicate leather characteristics serve as the tannic structure for the wine while rich notes of figs and vibrant strawberry wrap up the finish.
*Blueberries and strawberries coat the palate nicely. A combination of light vegetal characteristics and white pepper create soft tannic structure which leads to purple flowers and figs on the finish.
*A combination of dark purple fruits and purple flowers hit your palate first. Think plums, figs and violets. Soft white pepper brings a savory profile that leads to light tannins on the palate. More floral characteristics come out on the finish.
*This is probably one of the softest Syrahs I have ever had, and I love it! Plums, candied cherries and candied strawberries hit the palate first. The rich fruit, but soft acidity balance, each other out very nicely. Subtle smokey leather characteristics give you just a kiss of tannins creating a dry profile, but the fruit lingers.
*The first thing to hit your palate are the light tannins, masqueraded as cigar leaf to the tastebuds. Juicy fruit then comes and coats the palate, boysenberries, fig jam and strawberry preserve. Light vegetal notes cut through some of the fruit on the finish.
*Black cherries and raspberries bring a nice combination of rich fruit and tart fruit and create a balance in the wine. Soft white pepper on the finish adds depth and a savory characteristic, fruit lingers lightly on the palate.