Primitivo = Tribidrag / Crljenak Kaštelanski clone found around Puglia, southern Italy. Zinfandel = Tribidrag / Crljenak Kaštelanski clone that came to California in the 1850s via Austria and New York. If you want to […]
Category Archives: Posted by Darren
What grape is in the Primitivo? Let’s answer that.
After the apparent popularity of my post uncovering the history of Petite Sirah and the fun I had researching for it, Paul, the winemaker at Sculpterra Winery, invited me back to do some more barrel […]
So what is Petite Sirah anyway?
A recent invitation by Paul Frankel, winemaker at Sculpterra Winery, led me down the rabbit hole of Petite Sirah. Paul wanted me to taste some samples of Petite Sirah from the 2021 vintage from a […]
Racking Wine at Sculpterra Winery
This past week at Sculpterra, our winery crew has been hard at work, caring for the 2020 harvest. I was invited out to our production facility to watch the process of racking and take some […]
Winter Pruning at Sculpterra Winery
Preparing for winter As temperatures drop and the days get shorter, grapevines prepare themselves for winter. Leaves and buds are isolated from the plant’s vascular system, becoming dehydrated, protecting the vines from frost damage. […]
Vertical tasting: Sculpterra Mega Focus
Mega Focus Named after the impressive 24ft tall Dale Evers sculpture at the front of Sculpterra Winery’s sculpture garden in sunny Paso Robles, California, Mega Focus is a blend of Rhone grape varieties. […]
Perfect Barbeque Wine: Sculpterra Statuesque
What makes a great barbeque wine? For me, the perfect wine to pair will food from the grill should be full-bodied and complex, with vanilla oak and ripe fruit flavours to complement the seared, slightly […]
Wine Review: Sculpterra Merlot 2017
Underrated Grape Merlot has had a fairly poor reputation among some circles in the past, and for no good reason. Even though it’s the most widely planted grape variety in the Bordeaux region of […]
Wine Preview: Sculpterra Zinfandel Reserve 2019
Preview Ahead of the bottling of this special new wine, I was invited by winemaker, Paul Frankel, to give it a try. It’s a collaboration between Sculpterra Winery and the Jardine family. They supplied […]
Ready for the Bottle: Tasting New Wines at Sculpterra
Into the Bottle It’s May at Sculpterra Winery, and time to bottle the latest wines. We usually bring in the bottling truck four times each year. They do an incredible job, with their all-in-a-trailer machinery […]