Directly east of the San Francisco Bay lies the winegrowing appellation of Contra Costa County. While this region was once widely planted to a wide variety of high quality vineyards production here took a major hit during prohibition and many growers sold their land and moved on to make way for urban development. The few vineyards still standing today generally contain gnarly old vines and are usually planted to varieties like Zinfandel, Mourvedre, and Carignane. Soils here are particularly sandy and vine roots often run extremely deep to reach water. Contra Costa County has a warm to hot Mediterranean climate but experiences cooling influences from breezes coming off of the nearby bays. The combination of soil and climate typically allows for grapes grown here to develop good structure, rich flavors, and strong tannins, all while maintaining excellent acidity. Although Contra Costa County does not have the same name recognition as nearby Napa and Sonoma it is the source of some absolutely fantastic wine.
Spiced red plum, chili powder, brambly boysenberry. Dusty cherry, fresh thyme, whole pomegranate…
Pulverized cherry, dried lavender, wild black raspberry. Fresh elderberry, white sage, spiced blueberry purée…
Muddled raspberry, green peppercorn, fresh mission fig. Spicy boysenberry, chopped fennel, slightly bruised peach…