McGrail Vineyards, May 11, 2013

Napa style in Livermore Valley.  Respectable cabernets and other varietals.
www.mcgrailvineyards.com

To avoid the Mother’s Day crowds, my sister and I decided to treat mom to wine tasting in Livermore Valley the day before.  We started our trip at McGrail Vineyards where my sister is a wine club member.  She had a club shipment to pick up, so she was able to kill two birds with one stone.  The weather was warming up, so we headed outside for the shaded patio on the north side of the winery building and were able to secure a table large enough for our little group.  The McGrail winery sits about 75 feet above the Livermore Valley floor and is just high enough to give a commanding view of the surrounding area.  We brought along some light picnic fare to enjoy with our wine flights.


View of Livermore Valley from McGrail Vineyards

 We started our tasting flight with a nicely chilled 2012 Sauvignon Blanc, which turned out to be the star of the flight.  Not only was it weather appropriate, it was very well made, showing off the quality of the recent 2012 harvest.  The Sauvignon Blanc was followed by a 2010 Chardonnay, a 2008 Merlot by their Picazo label, a 2008 Proprietary Red also by Picazo, and ended with the McGrail (2010?) Clone 8 Cabernet Sauvignon.  Our picnic fare included some cheeses that helped make these red wines sing.

A full review was written already about McGrail Vineyards during my visit on February 16^th, 2013.