A Guy, a Girl, and a Bottle

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In this episode we visit the Byington Winery - www.byington.com - located just off Bear Creek Road above Los Gatos, approximately 16 miles from downtown San Jose. Founded in 1989 by Bill Byington the 95-acre Byington estate resides at an elevation of 2000 feet overlooking several acres of vineyards, forest and of course Monterey Bay. The winery has planted about 8 acres of the on site property (all Pinot grapes) and buys the remaining grapes from other Santa Cruz wineries to help make up their total production of approximately 10,000 cases. The winery has beautiful sweeping views of the Pacific Ocean and their onsite ammenities make for a wonderful place to have a picnic, play bocce ball on their public court, or have a wedding to remember. Be sure to check their website for more details.

The wines we sampled during our visit are:

2002 Estate Pinot Noir $29.00 about 400cases produced
Winemakers’ Notes - This is a wine with a very approachable tannin structure and mouthfeel and finish like a comfortable chair after a great meal. This is a Pinot that stands firmly on it’s own. This is a great wine to try with Lamb Daube!

2003 Pinot Hastings $30.00
A very delicatble boquet opens this wine, setting the stage for something wonderful. Hints of black cherry, perhaps even some raspberry(?). Delicious, especially if paired with red meat.

2002 Alliage
$24.00, 4950 cases produced
Our FAVORITE! This is Byington’s largest production wine by far. Alliage is a true blend at 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Cabernet Franc, and 9% Syrah. The Cabernet Sauvignon lends the structure, the Cabernet Franc brings the delightful aromas, and the Syrah adds the depth and finnesse to make this wine a must when visiting.

Winemakers’ Notes “Alliage” is the French word for alloy. And just as a purposeful blending of metals produces an alloy that is greater than the sum of its parts, Alliage is the result of multiple blending components to arrive at a wine far superior to its separate parts.

We feel that Byington is one of those wineries that is a *MUST* on your visit to the Santa Cruz mountain wineries. Even if you don’t drink wine, the views and picnic ground are well worth the trip.

The music that we feature in this episode is by The Lascivious Biddies and the song is “Betty. Check them out at http://www.biddies4ever.com.

Special thanks to Scott Sigler for introducing today’s episode. Visit his website at http://www.scottsigler.net for a couple of awsome podiobooks.

As always, please let us know if you like what you hear, have suggestions, or would like us to review a particular winery, please drop us a line.

-A Guy
guyandgirl@gmail.com

Skype - aguyandgirl