Rios Wine Company – 194
Thursday, April 29th, 2010
Rios Wine Company, LLC is a bit of a hard find; located on a side alley off the main drag in Calistoga, you have to know where it is (or be willing to do a lot of stumbling around) to find it. The names from the three brothers, Manuel, Rafael, and Albert Rios, and their cousin, Jesus Hernandez. These are serious wine guys, with all four of them having started in the fields and working to the point where they could learn viticulture and start their own label.
It is still a small winery, producing only a handful of wines, two whites (a Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay) and two reds (a blend and Cabernet Sauvignon), under the name Solovino.
During my visit, I only tasted the Sauvignon Blanc and the blend. I found the SauvBlanc a bit thin on the entry but with detectable tropical fruit and grassiness. The sharpness of the entry rounded a bit but the wine was more tart than I care for, although the finish of green apple helped.
The blend, known as Mixto, is an equal blend of cabernet sauvignon, merlot and cabernet franc. This was a very easy-drinking wine with well-integrated red stone fruit and mild spice on the entry which blossoms to a darker cherry and hints of floral notes. This would be a great BBQ wine.
1334 Lincoln Avenue, Ste. B
Calistoga, CA 94515
707.942.1376