Callie and I were having a lazy afternoon in Palo Alto the other day. Despite the record heat and our constant state of excessive drink, we decided to try one more wine tasting before she returned to Virginia the next day. I’ve been curious about Cinnabar for a while and have enjoyed their Mercury Rising before. They’re only about a half hour from Stanford so off we went.
this way to the Cinnabar tasting room
Normally, I write the county in which the winery is located as part of the blog entry when I write about our wine excursions. Cinnabar is tricky that way. They source out their grapes from all over California. Plus their web site indicates that they process them as close as possible to where they’re grown. So we’re talking Sonoma, Paso Robles, San Luis Obispo, not to mention the Santa Lucia Highlands in Monterey County. It’s a bit confusing from a “terroir” perspective and sounds like Cinnabar is more of a brand and perhaps a philosophy rather than a winery dedicated to place. Maybe not that French, that’s not necessarily a bad thing either.
Aside from wine, cinnabar has a romantic and mysterious sound to it all on its own. The stuff is some mineral that contains mercury (hence the name Mercury Rising) thought by certain medieval alchemists to be a key ingredient for turning base metals into silver and gold (I didn’t remember this and got it all from the Cinnabar site). That would be pretty neat if it really worked.
outside the Cinnabar tasting room in Saratoga, CA
The winery runs with the idea, for example, calling their wine club the “Alchemist Wine Society.” The bottles are stamped with lots of little stars and moons and ringed planets as well as mystical-looking symbols and what-knots. It’s cute: kind of reminds me of my adolescent Dungeons and Dragons days.
‘course, I didn’t know all of this before we went or I wouldn’t have been surprised to find that the Cinnabar tasting room was a storefront near the center of the charming town of Saratoga. Patt said that they moved there a few years before from someplace nearby but not as easy to access. Tasting was $5 per person. They waive the fee if you make a purchase. They also offer wines-by-the-glass, which is popular on the evenings when there’s live music.
The wines were okay and we enjoyed them well enough. I did buy a bottle of the 2007 Merlot from Paso Robles. I like Paso wines. Plus this one was listed on the tasting menu but they offered the 2007 Mercury Rising instead. There’s nothing more tempting then waving some wine in front of my nose then snatching it back before I’ve had a chance to try it. I couldn’t resist and hope that I’m not disappointed later.
a few Cinnabar wines
2008 Mercury Rising Blanc: This sauvignon blanc was pale yellow with a very aromatic, citrus-y and apple-y nose. It started out creamy with some sour green apple at the end. This would be refreshing for a picnic on a hot day.
2008 Chardonnay, Santa Lucia Highlands: This was a more golden yellow than the first. We tasted pear and apple. It had more body than the Mercury Rising Blanc.
2007 Mercury Rising: This is a fairly complex Bordeaux blend. It was a brownish red with an interesting nose of forest floor, dried flowers and pine. We tasted plum and other stone fruit. It was smooth with a nice finish.
2007 Cabernet Sauvignon, Alexander Valley: Patt said this is her favorite. It was a plum red color. The taste was totally different from Mercury Rising. We noted cherry and a resinous scent. It was very smooth with a long finish and more body. Good.
some Burgundian styled Cinnabar wines