Mendocino County, CA – $13
The Boston Wine Expo hit the Seaport World Trade Center last weekend like one of New England’s infamous Nor’Easters, a swirling mix of 1,800 wines from 450 wineries and a whopping 17,000 boozehounds looking to get their drink on. With all that vino, it’s pretty easy to float away in a sea of bubbly and forget the details of everything you tried. Thankfully, there are always a few wineries that stand out!
The winery that really stuck with us this year was Parducci Wine Cellars. America’s first carbon-neutral winery, Parducci can legitimately claim to be the greenest winery around. Polishing off a bottle labeled with treeless paper that’s produced on their property (the paper is made from one of hemp’s genetic cousins, so smoke’em if ya got’em) from Parducci’s solar-powered winery should make even the most wasteful of winos feel like they’ve made a difference. Don’t think it’s all incense and peppermints with these guys, though; they make killer, yet incredibly affordable vino.
For the money, we really dig their 2006 Parducci Petite Sirah. Full of inky blackberry fruit, cocoa, and pepper, this is just the wine to enjoy once you get over that pesky Expo hangover. We recommend you grab a bottle of this and enjoy a night in with the homies as you fondly reminisce about all the party fouls you saw last weekend.
Drink liberally with braised short ribs, grilled mushrooms and the largest slab of beef you can find.
